November 30, 2009 // 12:31am
"Or maybe incendiary rounds, right? Just set that zeptoliter ablaze!" he laughed, waving his arms about enthusiastically as they came out into the moonlight. He came to a halt by the edge of the patio, looking out over the courtyard. Didn't look like there was any activity down there yet; a bit disappointing, though he could hear some noise from the rec field. Too bad the view was blocked by the building at the other end of the patio.
"Still, maybe some heat-seeking missiles? Just imagine sending a set of those on a trajectory in that directional," he said, pointing towards the courtyard, "just to see who they locked onto and erased, right? They wouldn't even know what hit 'em!"
Now Sho was hoping he really would run into a robot to derive parts from.
November 29, 2009 // 9:17pm
Now they truly were alone. Maybe Jason had made the right choice after all. Either they had beaten everyone else here, or this just wasn't a very popular place to go. He couldn't blame people for wanting to stay away from the experimental lab and animal kennel, seeing how the animals tended to come giant-sized and hungry in this place.
Which begged the question of why Jason wanted to go this way in the first place, but Harvey figured he'd see for himself soon enough. Since they were on their lonesome in this hallway, it seemed like as good a time as any to get to the heart of the matter.
"So, this partner of Batman's. Does he have a name? Just the alias is fine." Harvey doubted that Jason knew any more than that, unless he was really withholding from him. Still, even if the kid did know, there wasn't a chance in Hell that he was going to tell Harvey. The ex-attorney just wanted something to refer to their new target by to make this chat of theirs a little easier.
November 29, 2009 // 3:03pm
"They got a few other factors also," he added as he strode down the hall. "Sometimes they brainwash other patients, restoring their full functions to measure up against the rest of us. I also got attacked by a temperature-augmenting alien the first night."
That hadn't been one of Sho's finer moments. Being forced to retreat from some naked genetic freak of nature was not high on his list of accomplishments.
"Oh, and some of the other hectopascals are robots," he added as an afterthought. "Y'think they turn back into scraps of talking tin if they get put on guard duty?"
Deriving the parts from one of those could be very profitable. Rocket punch? Laser eyes? Sign this mathematician up!
November 29, 2009 // 8:49pm
Lunge landed on the other side of the wall with a soft but heavy thump that shot up through his legs, even if he did manage to take most of the shock through his knees, and he stumbled and had to put out a hand to steady himself. Immediately he took the flashlight out of his coat pocket and flipped it back on, sweeping the area twice before letting himself relax.
The terrain was uneven and coarse even under his feet, moreso to the north, and he made a note to be even more vigilant with his footing while they were still in the open. The last thing he wanted was to fall and twist his ankle before they even found the ruins, even less so while he was working with Laurier. A shiver began in the base of his spine but he stopped it before it could get any further; they were exposed out here, yes, but as long as they kept to the Institute walls they would always have something to their back.
Speaking of which... he eyed the wall behind him critically; no vines here. It was, ironically enough, going to be even harder to get back in than it was to get out; if the night didn't end before they reached the Institute there was a good chance they were going to be trapped in the wilderness until dawn broke.
Good. He liked a challenge.
The light from Lunge's torch flashed over the top of the wall. "Can you get over by yourself?" he called, careful to moderate the volume to a level that Laurier alone would be able to hear. Attracting unwanted attention was certainly not at the top of his priorities. Not that he was going to go back over for the man if he were stuck, of course, he wasn't his father...
November 29, 2009 // 3:27am
Dias had simply assumed things could only get worse - he was generally a pessimist, if only because there was at least a certain grim satisfaction in being right frequently - and he wasn't disappointed. Moving, and moving with urgency, was definitely making his wound bleed more freely; the sheet was completely plastered to his chest with blood by now, and he wasn't entirely certain how much good it was doing anymore.
And, of course, the hall was completely empty, from one length to the other; it was dark enough to make that not entirely discernable visibly, but the complete silence and just the sense of emptiness was enough to tell Dias that not only was no one in the hall, no one was even within hearing distance. And, really, could he have necessarily relied on assistance even if he'd found someone? He wasn't sure what kind of picture he'd make to an outside observer, but he was certain that it probably wasn't one which inspired confidence...and he, himself, had never been one for inspiring goodwill. Besides, he was pouring blood; he might as well be monster bait. There weren't many people in the institute he'd trust to help him in spite of the fact that he might bring an attack down on the heads of his rescuers, and of those he did, he certainly didn't know how to reach them.
Still, with bloody-minded (and bloody-everything-else) determination, Dias moved down to the far end of the hall, keeping one hand on the wall as the dizziness grew worse. He really doubted falling over could make things that much worse, under the circumstances, but he'd still prefer to avoid it.
When he reached the door, he paused, debating what he should do, and what he was actually able to do. He could press on a bit further, he was fairly certain...but he recognized that, if he did, there was no way he'd have strength enough to make it back to Guy. And Guy was even more helpless than he was at the moment - leaving him undefended, even if Dias himself was in no shape to do much defending, felt like...some sort of betrayal. Or at least a failure. If he couldn't find help, then Dias ought to at least be there to help Guy himself as much as, and for as long as, he could. And Guy had asked him to come back, as well...
With the indecision came hesitation, and in that lack of momentum, the lightheadedness took full advantage, his body suddenly cashing in checks he hadn't realized he'd been writing. The transition as he sank heavily to his knees took him entirely by surprise, and some consternation.
November 29, 2009 // 1:34am
Yukari didn't push the door completely open right away; instead, she peered through a small crack, and when there was nothing but silence in the restroom, she then proceeded further in. Before stepping away from the door, she shined her flashlight in every imaginable direction, and thankfully it proved that they were the only occupants in the room so far.
"Looks like it's clear," Yukari announced to Luke behind her, and with a little more ease she ventured in some more. After glancing around one last time, she stopped in place, turning around to face him, and gestured toward the sinks. "There. Have at 'em."
November 28, 2009 // 10:19pm
The room was very bright. That was the Bride's first thought and then she noticed why. Gold. Everything was gold. Everything, that was, except the Sphinx on a pedestal in the center watching them with eyes far more intelligence than any beast should have.
"Do be careful what you say to it," she warned before setting her attention on the Sphinx.
November 28, 2009 // 8:32pm
Stepping into the hallway, Beatrix noted that this one was almost exactly like the eastern one except for the tapestries. These ones were different and depicted battle scenes that, like in the other hall, didn't quite match with the apparent age of the threadworks. It was yet another mystery she didn't care to solve.
"Would either of you have guessed that?" she asked in relation to the riddle's answer.
November 28, 2009 // 12:07am
Sho came to a halt as he topped the stairs, glancing down this hallway and that. He had a triumvirate of options and he hadn't a clue which one was right.
"There's a kitchen in this quadrant," he explained more helpfully. "The one downstairs requires going through the Sun Room and I've so far gathered convincing data suggesting a high probability of meeting attack in there. This one, however, bypasses that prerequisite." And instead was a big unknown, but what kind of man of science, even one who was first and foremost a man of numbers and art, didn't like exploring the unknown? "And in a kitchen we can probably find lighters and matches." He grinned. "And knives."
He'd obtained his share of blunt objects, and sure he had the paper cutter arm in his jacket, but nothing so precisely dividing as a knife. He wouldn't mind adding a few of those to his arsenal.
"Now, the only question is which directional do we go with?" he muttered, considering his options. Right headed over to the other side of the institute, which was definitely not where he'd seen the kitchen marked on the ill-remembered map; it also headed over the Sun Room, which could be just as bad as through it. Turning left meant going back the way they'd come, which reeked of backtracking and inefficiency. That left straight ahead.
"Let's go thataway!" he declared, directing forwards with his shovel. A sense of purpose in his stride, Minamimoto was off.
November 28, 2009 // 12:38am
Edward's self-control lasted only until they were on the third stair in the short walkway.
He turned on her quickly, pressing fingers warmed from her body's heat along the curves of her face, afraid if he let go they may collapse into themselves or disappear. He had been detached from his mother's memory for so long; the sight of her had been certainly jarring and reliving her last moments had been painful... but still, it was bearable. If this man called Landel was indeed controlling the hallucinations that Edward had been plagued with only two nights before, he may have discovered the perfect sort of image to completely destroy the vampire.
Kill the girl, kill his humanity.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, though he could see nothing external on her in the foggy darkness or by the dim glow of the flashlight. "How long have you been here? What on earth are you doing out here in complete darkness?" That last question was unfair, so he quickly added, "Have you seen anything? Didn't anyone tell you about the -"
He stopped. "Monsters" wasn't going to phase her. She loved the word, after all.
"- how dangerous it is right now? Were you running from something?" His mouth turned down. "Someone?"
November 27, 2009 // 5:34pm
Beatrix lead the4 way down the stairs into the vast ballroom. It was just as the last time she and the assassin's had been there. Stepping lightly, knowing all to well how much sound echoed in the room, the Bride moved so she could see on the other side of the closest group of fountains. It would not do to get attacked again so soon.
Taking a sconce down off the wall, Beatrix started toward the western door. She didn't like being in this room for very long.
November 27, 2009 // 4:58pm
And here they were again. This was becoming routine. HK headed for the tile he knew hid the way down to the basement, lifting it up and gesturing to it with completely faked politeness. "Deferential: Meatbags first!"
November 26, 2009 // 10:42am
Joshua looked over his shoulder to make sure Willy was keeping up and hadn't fallen down the stairs like...like that Ryuk who might or might not have done a few nights ago who he'd never seen again. He was used to having gaps in his memory from drinking or worse, but he wasn't used to having to pick through his past and figure out which parts were real and which parts were crazed fantasy. Walking around in the dark at night was real and going to the kitchen to bake things with Willy was real. Zombies weren't real, but had they really spent the night in Doyleton? He remembered going out at night, he couldn't remember ever coming back.
"So are you out here every night?" he asked. "It doesn't seem like a great place for taking a walk."
November 25, 2009 // 1:46am
Pulling Chris through the door, Sean nearly slipped on the grass as he ran barefoot across the yard outside the greenhouse. It was quiet--a strange and eerie silence that made Sean's skin crawl. He had a bad feeling about being outside. Like eyes were watching him run across the grass. Like he shouldn't be out here without something... but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"This way," he whispered to Chris, guiding his friend around the back of the greenhouse and ducking down into the shadows. Maybe Schuldig would think they'd gone through the door on...
Goddammit! Why hadn't he taken them through the second door?! Now they were trapped here, praying that Schuldig didn't see them hiding behind a glass wall.
'He's going to kill you now,' Artemis gloated. 'You heard him--he's going to be even angrier now that you've made him chase you this far. And only to be caught~ How disappointing.'
November 25, 2009 // 2:11am
And on they went, into the realm of meatbag fuel preparation. The damned guards didn't even have the courtesy to leave any knives laying around, or, so far as he could tell from his frequent walks through the place, chocolate.
The galaxy was a cruel place indeed.
November 25, 2009 // 1:28am
HK skidded in through the door to the cafeteria, stopping dead and letting his concentration slip, meatbag reflexes returning to their pathetic norm. His heart rate and breathing had increased significantly, but he tried to hide that. He really wished this was not so taxing to do.
"Statement: Well, that went far better than can be expected when a meatbag actually finds a way to attack you by shooting themselves in the head," he said, not sounding as winded as he was. For HK, talking was always a free action.
November 24, 2009 // 9:05pm
Oh, Sun Room. During the day, a place of boredom, lounging meatbags and... sun. But at night, it was a place where one moved quickly and quietly if keeping all your extremities was high on your list of things to do.
Also, one generally tried to be the second group into the room, so that what was left of the first group acted as a distraction to whatever brainwashed meatbag or misshapen monstrosity was stationed there that night.
Unfortunately, they were the first group. And they had someone along who wasn't taking this seriously. If 'Lance' kriffs this up for us, I'm offering him up as a sacrifice to tonight's hostile thing, HK thought grumpily as he scanned the surroundings for a heat signature. "Statement: Nothing yet," he whispered, moving carefully forward.
November 23, 2009 // 4:48pm
The door opened without much trouble, creaking only slightly as the Scarecrow stood in the doorway. The rooms looked so different at night- even his flashlight had little effect on the overwhelming darkness. He looked over his shoulder into the hallway, briefly thinking of turning back and finding someone to look for Mele with him. Then he remembered all his friends were changed somehow, affected by the Institute's influence. He took a deep breath, more determined. No turning back now. It might take all night, but he was going to search this place as best he could. He couldn't just let them wander around, thinking everything was fine and dandy- they were in danger!
He took a step into the room and closed the door behind him, moving his light toward the front door of the building, then toward the walls, attempting to find the door to the Waiting Room where he'd seen Dorothy. He swept half the room quickly with his light, making his way in a few more steps. "Hello?" he decided to ask the darkness, almost hoping he didn't get an answer. The handle glittered in the dim light. The strawman gave his dying flashlight a shake, trying to get it to brighten as he made a bee-line for the door.
November 23, 2009 // 12:10pm
Sean rounded the corner, Chris in tow, and skidded to a stop (fortunately not wearing shoes had helped him run faster, though his feet felt uncharacteristically dirty--the floors were clean, weren't they?). He looked around frantically in the dark for at least one glimpse of a member of the night staff. Nothing. He and Chris were on their own.
"Try the doors!" Sean instructed, letting go of Chris' hand to yank on the first door handle available. Locked. He tried the next one. Locked, too.
"Chris you remember what I said about that bruise being done myself?" Sean called over the frantic jiggling of doorhandles. "I lied--Schuldig did it while trying to get Artemis back. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I'm afraid he's going to do it again!"
November 23, 2009 // 2:17am
Sean kept charging down the hallway, not pausing to see if Schuldig was still following them or not. At this point, his priority was getting both himself and Chris to safety as soon as humanly possible. Fortunately soccer practice had done something besides give him bumps, bruises, and skinned knees--he could run for a decent amount of time at a swift clip.
"Let's try the doctor's offices!" Sean replied. Maybe one of them would be unlocked and they could hide in there until someone found them. At this point, getting in trouble was better than facing Schuldig.
November 22, 2009 // 5:27pm
Naturally, Dist couldn't do his exploring alone. It could be dangerous! Jade, after all, had his artes, and even if they weren't as powerful as they should have been, they were more than Dist himself had.
When he got to the end of Jade's hall, he walked right up the door and knocked loudly. "Jade!" He stood there for a moment before remembering that the doors unlocked themselves after dark. That made things much easier; he simply pushed the door open himself. "Jade?"
November 22, 2009 // 12:21pm
While a part of him was mortified that he'd even think about stepping foot into the girl's bathroom, Stephen knew that anything was better than just vomiting all over the hallway. He didn't bother (or more like he didn't have the time) to check if anyone else was occupying the space, rushing to the sink and ducking his head down just in time.
And that was how he remained for the next few minutes. He'd long since dropped his flashlight, the object having clattered to the floor several feet away from him. The teen weakly held himself up as he emptied the contents in his stomach, all the while trying not to breathe through his nose and triggering another series of heaves and coughs.
Eventually the heaves became far and few until they were completely gone, though Stephen didn't feel any better than before. He took the time to catch his breath, reaching over to turn on the faucet and grimacing as the discolored water washed his dinner away.
November 22, 2009 // 4:28am
Demyx settled himself on his bed with his sitar, forcing himself to ignore the still vaguely uncomfortable feeling (or sensation, or whatever it was; it kind of made his skin crawl a little, whatever it was) of sitting right where Abe had inexplicably died the night before. It wasn't really squeamishness, or sympathy for the guy; mostly he didn't like the thought that something invisible had killed someone right where he was sitting, and could theoretically do the same to him at any given moment.
But he'd been around awhile, and until Abe, nothing invisible had attacked him
...oh. Um. And he'd promised to meet Kvothe. He'd kind of forgotten they were both going to be coming at the same time...well, Kvothe was a musician, too, wasn't he? He probably wouldn't mind listening to Hanatarou's song before they went to patient possessions. And - hey, maybe Hanatarou could help with Kvothe's hand! He'd said he was a healer or something, right?
Cheered up significantly despite his double-booking mistake, Demyx set to work on Hanatarou's song. Something soft and low-key, definitely, understated but nice and upbeat despite that...
November 21, 2009 // 11:40pm
The air outside tasted so good that Bill didn't even bother to worry about how improbably realistic it was that he could be hallucinating fresh air too. He supposed if his genius IQ had to be good for something, it was for conjuring overly complex delusions. How else would he have come up with that whole bit about old future Spock instigating him to start a fight with Aidan? Only his own awesome brain, creating elaborate lies to excuse the shitty things he did after getting suspended from school.
It was freezing out here. Balancing his flashlight in one hand, Bill reached for the buttons of his coat to block out the cold, but then stopped when the dancing beam of light made it obvious that he was alone on the soccer field. Or, at least, imagining that he was alone as far as he could see, which admittedly wasn't that far at all. Still, there was no one moving along the building to the other door, no one headed to the walls...
Bill squinted through the barely moonlit darkness, unable to explain why any of that should unnerve him.
November 21, 2009 // 9:36pm
There seemed to be a lot more options here, Aerith noted as she passed a few doors along the way. Maybe she'd come to center of the building? It was hard to tell, and her sense of direction wasn't fantastic. She was lucky if she'd remember the path she'd taken so whimsically to get here. Stopping in front of a particularly large set of doors, the flower girl took a quick break from her exploration to try and commit to memory all the turns she'd taken to get here from her room.
It was certainly worth noting that she still hadn't heard even a whisper from the Planet. Aerith had always thought she would be thankful to not hear the screams and whispers for once in her life. Now that her wish had been granted, she honestly found it strange and more than a little unsettling. Even in Midgar, she'd had a place that she could always go to if she needed to hear the echo of her mother's voice. If anything Gaia had always given her direction and companionship. Clearly, she'd have to apologize when she got out of this place.
And Aerith Gainsborough would get out of here. One way or another. She had to believe that.
The young woman lifted her flashlight, scanning every inch of the wide hallway that she could. Maybe it would be best to take a moment and collect before she continued on her exploration.
November 21, 2009 // 9:20pm
Here. Finally.
Except there was no sign of Simon. There was also no sign of crazed hungry monsters, wearing ninja outfits or not, but he checked the hall as well as he could with the handheld light, including the ceiling, before giving a hesitant knock on the M60 door. It was nice that the room was on the end of a smaller hallway. If something went wrong, he wouldn't get cornered too easily.
"Simon? Are you there?" Usopp kept his voice low, although trying to keep it from shaking. That didn't make a very good impression on people. The rubber band in his coat pocket snapped between his fingers nervously. "It's me. Usopp. Your friend that doesn't remember you who's a great pirate and sharpshooter? Um, you didn't turn into a monster or a werewolf or anything for the night, did you?"
November 21, 2009 // 9:05pm
Aerith's first course of action had been to explore her room. A thorough sweep had revealed a few interesting finds: a flashlight under her pillow, a journal, a few pens, and a radio. The most curious discovery, however, came in the form of a very familiar set of clothes hung carefully in her closet. Her pink dress was just as she remembered it, and even her red jacket was there along with her favorite boots, the string necklace she'd been fond of wearing, and the ribbon. As strange as it was to find a set of hr own clothes in what she could only assume was some sort of mental hospital, Aerith didn't think twice before exchanging her current sweat suit for her usual garb. She even took the time to braid her hair and tie it up with the pink ribbon. In fact she was in the middle of adjusting the silver bangles around her wrists when a strange announcement sounded over the intercom.
The man's voice was a far cry from the overly pleasant announcer that had bid his patients good night only moments ago. Aerith hardly had time to wonder more, however, as the loud sound of her door unlocking almost made her jump out of her boots. Aerith stood slowly from her seat on the bed and fumbled for the flashlight she'd set beside her. Cautiously, she moved to the door, testing it. She frowned. Apparently she hadn't been losing it. The heavy door was open, revealing a dark hallway. Was this some kind of game?
Eventually rationalizing that she wouldn't be able to learn anything about her predicament just sitting in her room all night, Aerith stepped out into the hallway. She shined her flashlight up and down the hall. So far it seemed completely empty. How weird...
"Hello?" she called out softly. With any luck, she wouldn't be in this alone. Someone had to know just what was going on in this place.
November 21, 2009 // 9:02pm
The lights in the bathroom didn't seem to be working.
Heath flipped the switch a couple more times just to be certain before angling his flashlight upward. It wasn't as if he could actually tell if it was the bulbs or the electricity that was out unless there were broken bulbs and wires dangling, but it had been worth a shot anyway. Eventually, he set his light on its end so that it shone up at the ceiling and bathed the area around him in a faint glow. That would be enough for now, as he didn't expect to stay long.
( Read more... )
November 21, 2009 // 6:20pm
He turned his mind to the issue of Captain Kirk. Upon further reflection, it was painfully obviously that he'd been brainwashed or at least had fallen to Stockholm syndrome. What would cause that so quickly though, was a mystery to Chekov. It had to be something akin to brainwashing--short term brainwashing at least. Or possession by some higher entity that the Captain was now doing battle with in his mind. But these were just ideas.
The better question, he thought, was what would he and Commander Spock do once they'd tracked down Bill? Commander Spock must have had some kind of plan, otherwise he wouldn't have suggested putting this particular mission into action. From what Chekov could tell of his conversation with Bill, there wasn't much of Captain Kirk left--even if his mannerisms were similar. At least, they were similar to when Captain Kirk had taken command of the Enterprise and gave the ultimatum: either Nero was going down, or they were.
November 21, 2009 // 6:11pm
His breath came back to him slowly, and each bit of oxygen that he took in went down cold and numb. His whole body was numb, to the point that he wasn't even sure if he was really there. Where did people go when they died? He'd never known.
As his eyes (if that was really what he was seeing out of anymore) opened, he saw nothing but blackness in front of him. Was he standing up, lying down, floating? Did he exist? He had to. He could think, and he could remember the way those fingers had squeezed around his neck...
Another breath (a breath), and suddenly the pain in his throat started. It was sore the whole way round, almost like a broken bone—even though that made no sense. Slowly but surely, his sense of his physical form came back to him, and he realized that he was alive.
Alive and trapped.
His arms could still barely move (on top of possibly still being broken, they were numbed from the cold), and so Guy concentrated on moving his legs, waiting for the feeling to come back into them. They'd weathered the least damage in the battle, and so he used them to slide over cold metal and figure out his surroundings. He was in some sort of tube, completely enclosed, and it was only as he jammed his foot against the lower part of his cage that he realized he might be able to get out.
Actually forcing the door (if that's what it was) all the way open was going to be a feat, though. He banged his foot against it again, trying to force it to slide open. If only he could move his arms!
Then again, if he could, they would probably ache too much to do anything with. He realized he should be grateful for the general lack of feeling for now. When he really started to warm up again, it wasn't going to be pretty.
His mind was spinning, wondering how this had even happened, and yet right now he was just going to focus on getting out and figuring out where he was. From there he could try and answer the how.
| PAST RECORDS |