damned_institute | Nightshift 23: Sun Room

Kazuo made his way down to the sun room as well, having brought everything from his room that he could carry. Radio, pens, rubber bands and the like. Tonight's mission would definitely be trying to find a new weapon; he was bored with pens already.

Penelo was already there. Good. He liked people who were on time. "I'm here," he said shortly. "Where to first?"

Maybe some people would have jumped at a sudden voice cutting through the silence, but it made Penelo feel relieved once she worked out who it was. It wasn't very hard. Good, so Kazuo didn't get attacked. Or if he was, it must have been an easy fight.

"Um..." Penelo hadn't worked that out yet. They had a goal... but no destination. She thought for a moment. There were an awful lot of people gathering at the second floor stairs. Was there something there?

"Maybe the second floor? I guess if they'd keep anything like weapons or important items, it's probably there. It might be more dangerous though..."

On the other hand, it wasn't like they had much of a choice either.

"That's fine," Kazuo said. "I haven't been there much yet." He did a quick inventory of his items. "Do you have anything on you for a weapon yet? I've got pens. These rubber bands are flimsy otherwise I'd make a slingshot."

He turned to go toward the stairs, beckoning her along. "Anyone else coming with us?"

Penelo shook her head, a little disappointed in herself. "No, and Kiden didn't wake me up, so I couldn't ask her where she got her pipe... But, uh, I think we can manage. There must be something here." As long as she told herself that, she felt a lot more confident.

"No, not that I know of. I didn't see anyone who wasn't already with a group," Penelo informed him. Looked like it was just the two of them.

"All right," Kazuo said, holding out one of his pens. "Take this for now. It's not great, but if you can hit the eyes it'll do."

Kazuo wasn't affected either way by the lack of others; in fact, it might be to their advantage. It was easier to travel in a small group.

"Let's go then."

Penelo gratefully took the pen, realizing that she had yet again neglected to bring one along. A pen just didn't strike her as a suitable weapon, but it was something that worked in the end.

Aim for the eyes. Right. Kazuo mentioned that earlier. She walked forward, leading Kazuo to the stairs that she passed by earlier.

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[From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/97505.html?thread=6148065#t6148065)]

The Sun Room's vast space had been one of its most inviting features during the day, when sunlight filled the room and Kyouya felt halfway at home. Most of the areas in the Institute were far too cramped for his taste, but he would've accepted uncomfortably close quarters right at this moment.

There were far too many hiding places for monsters here. On the positive side, Kyouya supposed he could use those hiding places for himself should something unpleasant happen.

Does she mean she can't help the apparent telepathy? Raine kept looking at River, and realized the girl had much the same expression on her face that Hisoka had... when Raine had confronted him that morning at breakfast. If she really couldn't help what she did, then she shouldn't be blamed for it--but Raine couldn't help severely disliking it. More than that, if River couldn't help reading minds, that was one thing, but she didn't need to blurt out everything she learned. Like everything else did lately, that brought memories of Genis to mind; he was used to being one of the smartest people around in any group he was with, something Raine had told him time and time again that he didn't need to show every chance he got.

Remembering that Homura had asked a question, Raine pulled herself back to the present moment as firmly as she could. "Only one, fortunately. A boy, Hisoka, who was on Special Counseling; incidentally, he happens to be telepathic as well. He also had a gun." She'd faced teleporters before, and various long-range weapons, but not quite that combination. She wasn't looking forward to any possible repeats.

That in mind, she looked around the Sun Room as they entered; she hadn't wanted to come back here tonight, but she knew Hisoka at least wouldn't be lying in wait. Not that the thought of anything or anyone else doing so eased her mind much, but the only way it showed was in how her grip on her broom tightened slightly. She didn't like how many hiding places most rooms offered the monsters, who already had the home advantage.

River's apology won more than tolerance from Reinforce. To be granted powers you couldn't control by a process that broke you... how could she not empathize with the girl? This had been the story of her own life, and she had done far worse in her lives than simply steal private thoughts and disturb people. Yet she had been forgiven, even loved. How could she not feel forgiveness and compassion for River in turn?

Of course, a reader could construct an explanation designed to elicit her sympathy, but Reinforce couldn't bring herself to doubt so easily now. It was for the better, too... to not give River a chance because of her ability would be wrong, even if it left her slightly open. It was imperative she not be manipulated, that hadn't changed, but if she became so obsessed with protecting herself that she lost sight of her purpose what was the point?

This sudden change of heart, though, was not reflected in her behavior in the least. Their entrance into the sun room, site of the previous night's battle, called her attention fully to her surroundings, and she responded to Homura's question with only a brief description of the few monsters she'd seen since she arrived. "I've seen only a swarm of large roaches and a single large cyborg with energy blades, far more powerful the patients in our reduced states. Both were particularly well-armored."

River understood. Homura's words were a sharp reminder of just why she needed to be fixed. She was wild, a dozen colors of the rainbow mingling and seperating themselves all at once. It was to be expected that something that was never consistently and entirely itself wouldn't be the weapon of choice. It would stand that she would have to prove herself.

She smiled gratefully at Kyouya. He'd taken a scolding that hadn't been deserved. Or maybe it had. They were on a mission. A mission. River closed her eyes, continuing to keep up with them as she was led, focusing on the word. No more was said on the subject, only words to be offered to contribute to the information supplied.

"An arachnid. Several sizes larger than would be considered natural. Vanquished." Her speech was more halting, brief and only what was necessary to complete a proper report. Mission. Mission. "Engaged a deranged subject who was exceptionally resistant to bludgeoning and puncture wounds. Theory: the female in question is unable to react to stimuli that cause physical pain. Observation. Not all patients are to be considered allies. Was forced to penetrate the chest of the subject Kadaj with a pen to force retreat."

River paused and opened her eyes, seeming focused but a bit more regretful than she had a moment ago.

"Took my brain. Flipped the switch. They can make everyone dance. Injured two patients and crippled one. Conditioned. Not..." River bit her lip and looked up, seeming to look for something that she'd been expecting as her voice trailed off.

It wasn't for lack of interest that Homura pressed the others forward; if anything he only grew more curious about River and her experience. But they were coming closer to the goal, and now wasn't the time for needless distraction.

The information about the creatures, however, was quite useful. Homura himself had only encountered a single kind, and from the varied accounts, it became clear that they shouldn't expect any one specific attack. Anything at all could be lurking behind the doors to the cafeteria, should it have had the whim to end up there that night.

((Going here.))

( From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/97505.html?thread=6103009#t6103009))

"Well then, I hope my company provide some ease. There are even others to turn to if we are in need of more." Larsa hoped that nothing uninvited would trail up to them anytime soon, especially since there was hardly anything done that night so far. Granted, it was still quite early to be assuming such, but it was always best to look out for the worst.

Since Gabranth had his hands full with his own and the weapon, the child took the time to shine his flashlight in the large room. Even now he could hear the fierce grunts of battles above him, but he wasn’t sure which location it was coming from. Above them perhaps? There were only a few other people in the room, but their presence did ease his nerves somewhat. After giving the Sun Room a general sweep of light, Larsa pulled his guardian over to the bulletin board, giving it a few minutes of his attention in case one of the other patients had provided sufficient information.

The room was quiet, and blessedly empty of any fiendish types. Tailing the young lord, he also found the board of scribbles and scratches less than informative, though he noted the question of patient files. A way to keep track of the patients that abided here, he surmised. The least he learned was that it was guarded by a nurse. The description of said nurse sounded less than appetizing. Would it be a nurse he recognized? The change sounded rather ghastly, after all.

The guardian stood by his charge, however, without tugging on his leash. He had hoped to get to the kitchen before another morning came, at least to find some sort of weapon, and what with time being so unmeasureable here...

Noah looked up to the ceiling as many cresendoing thumps echoed along the dimly-lit room, even the windows that ran along the walls completely lost in the darkness. He rather hoped whoever was battling whatever was doing so with good reason - and had an upperhand, as well.

"I hope their battles prove fruitful." The young lord spoke, gray eyes slowly turning away from the board and towards his guardian. Though the man remained ever faithful, he knew it would've been best if they continued along their way. Maybe Penelo had made some progress throughout the night, and Larsa didn't want to approach her empty-handed when day broke.

"Gabranth," He started with his ever curious tone, flashlight shining towards the floor to relieve its harshness. "I know 'tis not the best to ponder in such a prison like this, but... who would you like to see again?"

It was a odd thing to ask, but Larsa was always one to contemplate the circumstances.

"Aye," the judge responded nonchalantly, keeping his eye still on the area around them but turning as the boy said his name. His eyes followed the path of the light to the ground as he listened to the question and then pondered it for a brief moment, caught between the first answer that came to his tongue and the curious nature of the inquiry.

"I am unsure," he said at length. "mow that I know I am by your side and that I am dead in our world." Noah stopped at this, in silence of the knowledge of his own passing. He had many regrets, but there was not much way to make up for them now. Of all the things he had failed at, at least he had never faltered in protecting Larsa.

Larsa had almost forgotten of the fact that Gabranth's life had, indeed, passed in Ivalice. The thought of it made the child cringe, idly moving closer to his Guardian as if fearing the man would sprint away without warning. He sighed, gray eyes glancing at the set of doors that lead to the kitchen before coaxing the latter through them to the Cafeteria.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/104918.html).]

[From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/97505.html?thread=6183649#t6183649)]

There were surprisingly few people in the Sun Room tonight, but Kadaj supposed it was just as well. Couldn't have more people around to attract all those monsters, right? He didn't particularly like how shadowed the room was, but that was unavoidable at night and didn't necessarily indicate the presence of monsters, so he didn't worry too much about it.

"Is there anything else Mother wants or doesn't want me to do?" he asked Sephiroth, while at the same time wondering why he hadn't done so sooner. Had he? Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask again if he had. Mother might have thought of something new after all.

Kadaj had just handed Sephiroth the keys to his soul in Sephiroth's mind. Whether or not that was true remained to be seen.

"Mother wants us together, to work with each other. Something Yazoo is sadly lacking in. Has he always been that way?"

Looking around the room, Sephiroth began looking through the what lay about. The shadows didn't seem to matter to him much. He was usually the thing that people feared meeting up with versus fearing something else. 'Pain' was something he was still learning the meaning off, the bruise on his leg from Dean reminding him of that with each step along with the ones forming on his wrists from Kadaj.

"Fighting among ourselves gives us nothing. Then, we find out what happened to ... him."

Sephiroth didn't specify who 'him' was, believing that Kadaj would simply know somehow he meant Cloud Strife. That wasn't a grudge he was about to let go of, not now or ever.

"His woman is here, one of them anyways, not to mention the other. The flower girl."

While the "working together" part of that was something he could agree with and embrace wholeheartedly (well, almost wholeheartedly), he was quick to frown when Yazoo's absence was again brought to light. "No, he hasn't," Kadaj ground out, glaring at him. "I'm beginning to think it's a side effect of this place. He's usually very reliable, and he, Loz, and I all got along perfectly well before all of this happened." Yazoo and Loz had actually gotten along better than Kadaj himself had with either of them, but that wasn't something he really felt like mentioning at the moment.

He was silent for a few moments after that, frown still hovering around his features and deepening when the traitor was brought up. The grudge he had against him was in many ways different than the one Sephiroth did, but in others it was quite the same. Strange how that worked.

"I know they are," he said tersely, still walking through the room. "They had such a happy little reunion. Do you think it would be more painful for him if we killed them before or after he arrived again? I think after sounds better, don't you? I'd love to see his face after he had something like that ripped away from him, especially if he'd only just received it..." Turnabout was fair play after all.

"Perhaps. This place is enough to weaken us some. It is not beyond the realm of logical thought that they may have manipulated his mind as well. We shall have to be patient and attempt to return him to himself."

That left Sephiroth troubled. He would have to work with Yazoo when he could hunt down the remnant, bring him back into line. Whatever these humans had done to Yazoo could and would be countered. Failure was not something he took well or considered in his plans.

"I should like to meet Loz."

Strangely enough, Loz was the one most alien to Sephiroth's self and yet alike. He interested Sephiroth in that way, not understanding how part of him could cry as others had suggested. Kadaj's suggestion moved his thoughts off that and brought a cold smile to his lips.

"An excellent suggestion, Kadaj. I told him once that I wanted to know what he loved the most so I could take it away."

There was an almost proud light in Sephiroth's eyes as he glanced at Kadaj.

"I wouldn't say it's his mind that's being manipulated. His energy levels, yes. He spent his first nightshift here asleep, even when I told him to try and get himself armed. Beyond that..." He trailed off, then shrugged faintly. He didn't like having Yazoo disappear so often, and for obvious reasons. What if he went away for good? But he'd show up again, surely. This was only temporary.

The idea of Sephiroth meeting Loz was more than enough to derail his somewhat melancholy train of thought, and he struggled for a moment while he tried to decide whether he should be alarmed or amused at the idea. Loz would... what would Loz do? Cry eventually, yes, but before that? Ask Sephiroth if he wanted to play? Either way, it wouldn't end well. "I'm sure you will some day," he said after a moment, fighting back a grin. He had to be there when it happened or he'd never forgive himself.

He was a little disturbed but not entirely surprised to find that his idea had been along the same lines as Sephiroth's had been, but he was reasonably certain the motivations behind it were entirely different. They had to be, right? He didn't want to be exactly like Sephiroth-- unless Mother wanted him to be, of course. "Then there's our chance," he purred, forcing his mind away from those thoughts. They weren't very productive, were they? And Mother would want them to be productive.

"That may be their plan. Weaken us that badly and make us easy targets for the others to slay. There has to be some reason they let us remain armed when they could easily steal away your sword. They may desire us to kill each other, letting only the best survive."

It went without saying who was the best around here. Kadaj's amusement was missed by Sephiroth, the man having no real idea what Loz was like. When he had overtaken Kadaj to fight Strife things had only come in bits.

"I imagine I will, yes. I dislike being in pieces while I am whole, but this place defies reality. As for him, we need only wait until he revives or returns."

It did bother Sephiroth to have parts of himself wandering about. They were evolving in a way, and that was disquieting. That was not supposed to happen. His frustration showed itself as he dug through what he could find, searching for some sort of metal.

"I am finding nothing," he stated, a tiny hint of Kadaj's petulance creeping in which he chose to ignore completely.

That theory didn't sound entirely right to him, but Kadaj supposed it was good an idea as any as to why they were stuck here in the first place. Still... "If that were the case, wouldn't more people be affected the same way? And, you know, aside from when I cornered Elena, there haven't really been any cases of patients attacking one another-- unless you count special counseling, that is." Which he didn't, but it was there. He was annoyed he still hadn't received it either. It would be the perfect excuse to kill off some of the more annoying people here, and who was he to pass up an opportunity like that? Too bad there was no way to volunteer for it.

He found himself rather rapidly becoming annoyed again, both because of that and what Sephiroth was saying. He disliked it? Ha! "I'm not anymore pleased with this arrangement than you are, Sephiroth, but I suppose we'll just have to deal with it. It's easier to serve Mother this way too, isn't it?" That made it more tolerable for him, but he wasn't sure how his big brother viewed it. "And yes, we'll wait for him."

His amusement returned somewhat abruptly after that, and with a small laugh that he only half-heartedly tried to conceal from his brother, he closed the short distance to the door to the cafeteria and said over his shoulder, "We're not quite there yet, big brother. Follow me."

[To here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/104918.html?thread=6287830#t6287830)]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/96650.html?thread=6275210#t6275210)]

The Witch hoped that maybe she would find Snake at the Sun Room, which seemed to be an obvious place for a demonic psychic child to throw someone in.

Apparently not. The room was eerily empty and devoid of light, except for the flashlights of the few people in as well as her own.

"Hm... I was hoping Manah would have brought him here," Naminé frowned, seemingly disappointed from not finding Snake. Not that she could predict the child's actions, but she was hoping for a little luck. It seemed that Lady Luck wasn't looking down on her favor tonight.

Fortuna was a fickle woman, X knew. "Hmph."

He'd no idea whom this Snake was, nor this Manah's thought-process, but he could understand his own. And the way his hands were shaking…

"Perhaps we can search the Cafeteria? Or the kitchen. 'tis not so far from here."

The Cafeteria? It seemed like an odd place to look, but Naminé didn't have any better suggestions. She didn't seem to notice the shaking in Luxord's hands, so she just smiled and nodded.

"Okay. I guess it's as good as any other place."

[moved here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/104918.html)]

Nightshift 23: Sun Room

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