Max ([info]transgenix) wrote in [info]damned,
@ 2008-04-29 13:59:00
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Entry tags:armand, leon kennedy, mark, max, rangiku, renji, thursday

Nightshift 31: The Grand Ballroom
[Coming from here.]

Max descended the staircase - which stretched on far long than she'd anticipated - in near silence, her eyes searching the darkness ahead with alert wariness. Luckily, their descent went uninterrupted until they came out at the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the immense room below.

She stared around them in awe for a moment, taking in the water that fell from the ceilings and vanished further below, the flickering of the lights from the candlesticks on the wall and on the great chandelier that hung suspended from the center of the room.

"What the heck is this place?" she whispered to her two companions, her dark eyes wide. She'd had no idea there were places like this beneath the institute.


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[info]jurisfictional
2008-04-30 03:28 am UTC (link)
"Holy shit."

As much as she'd heard about the basement, Thursday still wasn't prepared for the sight that met them as they exited the staircase. She gaped stupidly at the ceiling - how high up was it? - for what seemed an eternity before turning her attention to her teammates.

"This'd be the ballroom everyone keeps talking about, isn't it?" she murmured. She felt compelled to keep her voice quiet in a place like this, and not just because there were almost certainly monsters down here. It was the same sort of feeling you got when you were in a cathedral - something like that.

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[info]stray_shinigami
2008-04-30 03:54 pm UTC (link)
"Yeah, this'd be it," Renji said. "Over that way's the hall that leads to the armory where I got the sword. Dunno what else is down here... that's the only place I've been so far."

He frowned. So far, he'd only done a very cursory examination of the room, looking for doors once he realized there wasn't really anything of use in it. Now, though, he supposed they should give everything a better look, even this room before they continued on. "Guess we should take a good look around," he said. "See what we can see." He headed toward the back of the room where the massive doors were. He couldn't open them, but it was a good starting and ending point.

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[info]transgenix
2008-05-01 04:26 am UTC (link)
"They won't open?" Max asked, watching him study the pair of massive doors, a frown on her face. She'd already learned that there were some doors that could be opened or forced opened and some that could not - even by her. Glancing around the expansive room, she took in the other doors scattered about that led off into different directions.

"Is it better to split up and explore in separate directions or stay together and take them one at a time? Do either of you have a preference?"

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[info]jurisfictional
2008-05-01 10:45 pm UTC (link)
"Probably best to stay together," said Thursday, frowning slightly at the ballroom in general. "GSD knows what sort of shit is waiting for us behind those doors."

Armand hadn't told her which door he and his group had chosen - presumably it was the other one, but even so, it was important that more people get an idea of the place. "You said you took that hallway last night, right, Renji-san?" (Was that the right honorific? She hadn't been to Japan in years.) "It only makes sense to try the other one - " she pointed at the door directly across from the one Renji had indicated - "it's probably got a hallway behind it, too."

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[info]stray_shinigami
2008-05-02 05:00 am UTC (link)
"Let's stick together," Renji said. "Thursday's right." Max was confident, and he liked that, but he was rather they were all confident together. "There's two doors in the hallway I took. I only know what's behind one of them. And that door... no idea what's behind there," he said, meaning the one Thursday had pointed at. "We'll pick one to check out, but I want to get a good look at everything in this place first. We wanna take a long look at everything we see. Maybe we can find a clue about what we're doing with the sword and shield."

After checking over the large, rough doors, he began to move slowly along the wall, looking at everything.

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[info]transgenix
2008-05-02 10:55 am UTC (link)
"Might as well make sure we're not missing anything in this room before moving on to the next one," Max agreed, seeing that Renji was inspecting the walls. Moving to the giant doors, she started moving the other direction, examining the walls and pillars as she went, checking for engravings or hidden areas or anything that looked out of the ordinary.

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[info]jurisfictional
2008-05-02 09:33 pm UTC (link)
Seeing that Renji and Max were tackling the room's walls, Thursday moved toward the center of the room, checking the floor around her for possible clues. The more she moved away from the surrounding walls, the more oddly isolated she felt. This place was creepy.

She peered out across the ballroom, squinting slightly. There were white doors directly across from where they had started; while it was hard to see from this distance, it appeared they were of a considerably different design than the others in this room. Curious, she quickened her pace.

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[info]stray_shinigami
2008-05-02 11:31 pm UTC (link)
Renji glanced over his shoulder to see where Thursday was headed. He'd get there eventually himself, but if she'd spotted something, that was good. He figured she'd say if it panned out and was interesting.

He slowly began moving along the wall, in the opposite direction from Max.

...he'd almost forgotten, just how much this detail shit got on his nerves. By the time they were through with this room, he'd be ready to snap.

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[info]transgenix
2008-05-03 05:51 pm UTC (link)
Max moved silently and efficiently, her eyes searching out every inch of the wall as she moved around the room. The first door she came to, the knob turned easily in her hand, but she left it shut for now, not wanting to face whatever might be on the other side. The second door wouldn't budge. Continuing her exploration, she came around the final curve of the room, heading towards the large doors that Thursday was approaching.

"Anything interesting?" she asked the other woman, glad to be back with another person again. Despite knowing Thursday and Renji were nearby, the room was so immense it was easy to forget you weren't here alone.

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[info]jurisfictional
2008-05-03 07:10 pm UTC (link)
Thursday pointed across the room at the doors. "These kind of stood out to me. They look like they're made of the same stuff as the pillars."

As she got nearer, she was finally able to make out the engravings on the marble doors - celebrating angels, or what seemed like them at first glance. The design was, she thought wryly, decidedly incongruous with the rest of the room.

A few more steps brought her right in front of the doors, and she placed her hands on them cautiously, pushing. Nothing. She stepped back, eying the carvings for any clue that might lead to their opening - ah.

"Sir?" she called, staring at the indentations in the door. "I think we've found something!"

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[info]stray_shinigami
2008-05-03 11:07 pm UTC (link)
Renji hadn't gotten all that far, and he was more than happy to desert the boring stretch of wall he'd been inspecting. He headed over to Thursday, long legs covering the distance quickly.

"What is it?" he asked, leaning in to look where she was. He focused on the indentation that looked like it could be sword-like, frowning. "...that's just about right," he said.

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[info]transgenix
2008-05-04 08:44 pm UTC (link)
Max was leaning close to study the other indentation. "It looks like your useless sword is more useful as a key," she commented mildly, tracing fingers over the carving of an angel. "You'll have to see if you can work together with the people who have the shield. I'm guessing this isn't going to open without both of them."

Which pretty much halted their progress in this direction tonight unless the way Renji had gotten the sword the first time continually passed the things out like a gumball machine.

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[info]jurisfictional
2008-05-05 05:45 am UTC (link)
Thursday nodded. "I'll speak with them tomorrow morning, if I can. I can't imagine them not wanting to work with us." Armand seemed to trust her, at least.

She turned around to face the rest of the room. "Did either of you find anything else interesting in here?"

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[info]stray_shinigami
2008-05-05 09:28 pm UTC (link)
Renji nodded. "Worth a try," he said. It was worth more than a try, really - it was the best lead he'd gotten on anything in a long time. He laughed, and said jokingly, "Hopefully they don't got a problem with me or taichou and our charmin' ways. Could be awkward." He knew a few people out there did, but he really doubted that their luck was that titanically bad.

He shook his head. "I didn't find anything so far." He couldn't hide his vaguely disgruntled look. "Guess we should finish looking over everything..."

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[info]transgenix
2008-05-05 09:32 pm UTC (link)
"There was nothing along my wall, either," Max added, shaking her head as well. "There was a door that looked as if it would open fairly easily and another that wouldn't budge, but otherwise I spotted nothing out of the ordinary."

She propped her hands on her hips and stared back around the large room. "So do we want to keep searching just in case or pick one of the doors to go through?"

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[info]jurisfictional
2008-05-06 03:28 am UTC (link)
"This was the only thing I spotted along my route," said Thursday, frowning slightly. "If there's anything else hidden in here, we might need other things to open it - not unlike the sword and shield. If you ask me, we'd be better off taking one of those doors - and I must admit I'm pretty eager to see more of the basement."

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[info]stray_shinigami
2008-05-06 03:31 pm UTC (link)
Renji nodded. He was willing to take almost any excuse to not spend half the night nosing up to a wall. If they'd found one place where they could use the sword and the shield those other people had, it was good enough for him. They could only do one thing at a time anyway.

"Might as well finish the hallway I was in last night," he said. "There was a second door we didn't go through." He figured that was a decent way to be thorough that wouldn't drive him crazy. He headed toward the door they'd used last night.

[ooc: sorry for the fail, but I've got a lot of studying to do today. :( Could one of you guys move us?]

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[info]transgenix
2008-05-07 11:09 am UTC (link)
"That was the one on your side of the wall, wasn't it?" Max nodded. "That sounds like a good place as any to start."

Eager to continue exploring, she turned and led the way in that direction, eyes still combing the darkness in search for anything that might have thought it was a good idea to sneak up on them.

[Going here.]

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[info]small_fortune
2008-04-30 03:57 pm UTC (link)
[From here]

Mark was panting for breath, a bit, as they neared the bottom. Stop complaining, with Gorge working as hard as he can, we could use the spare exercise. But being worn out before they even met danger was not exactly optimal. His knowledge of this area was limited to the vague information that the surface appearance of a hospital would be left behind entirely in favor of grandeur, and sure enough, as they made their way down Mark looked around, impressed despite himself.

He liked to think that being at a few of the official events in Vorbarr Sultana, such as the Emperor's Birthday, did give him an edge of experience with overly ornate architecture. Maybe it was just the incongruity of seeing such a place hidden here, past food storage...

This is the fourth floor I've been to, if I count the top of that staircase. Was it a record? Not that it mattered too much.

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[info]officer_leon
2008-04-30 04:46 pm UTC (link)
Leon trailed the other two down the dark staircase, uncertain of what they would find at the bottom. His eyes widened in shock at the room that spread out before them. 'This is impossible,' some stunned part of his brain told him. 'There isn't room for the ceiling to be that high...'

He continued staring around the room, picking out the doors set into the walls. "Where to from here?" he asked Rangiku quietly, trying to keep his voice from echoing.

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[info]fuyunohanabi
2008-04-30 05:52 pm UTC (link)
It was no less impressive the second time down there. The space was huge, big enough that it shouldn't really exist, she felt. How did the Institute not collapse into such a massive space right underneath it? Their footsteps echoed eerily across the marble floor, destroying any chance at secrecy. It was light enough from the candles that the torches weren't needed. After a moment's thought, Rangiku blew out a few of them and took them out of the wall scones, slipping them into her sash and the grabbing an already lit one. Who knew what it was like outside this room.

"Now we go exploring," she said, her voice barely above a whisper so as not to cause an echo. "The first door we find, I guess we go through it.

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[info]small_fortune
2008-04-30 08:40 pm UTC (link)
The first door they found? Even with the size of the place, or its probably intentionally intimidating yet barely useful lighting, Mark thought he could see the sign of doors or hallways around the edges of the space. Pick one at random? Was the mapping of the underground still so incomplete, and was Captain Taichou Hitsugaya either not handing out what was available, or did he simply not have anything available?

Mark almost thought he should take out his notebook and start mapping right there, except for now all he had to draw was a large vague circle. "Any direction is the same as the other?" He wondered if the overwhelming view was any different from a foot or two higher up, but doubted it. "How about to our right?"

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[info]officer_leon
2008-05-01 12:00 am UTC (link)
Leon frowned slightly. He'd rather thought that Rangiku had a plan for where they'd be going. Perhaps that was their mission tonight, to learn more about the basement. "To the right sounds good," he said. He glanced over at Mark, noting that the man had started mapping out the place. "Good idea," he commented, nodding at the notebook. "We might need that to find our way back out."

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[info]fuyunohanabi
2008-05-02 11:53 am UTC (link)
Rangiku glanced back towards the two men and nodded, giving them an apologetic look. "None of us have been far enough to have much idea of what's down here yet," she explained. "I don't think anyone has been very far yet." She pulled out her notebook and sketched out the position of the doors quickly.

"Right is as good a direction as anything," she said, starting off across the ballroom to the door on the right. She pushed it open and slipped through.

[To here]

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[info]secret_orchard
2008-05-09 02:02 am UTC (link)
[from here]

He held his breath all the way down the stairs, knowing that the massive ballroom awaited them, but not knowing if he was prepared to see what was behind the other doors. Even though he knew others had gone before them tonight, Armand didn't see any sign of them when they got down there. The light from the chandelier was strong enough he turned off Citan's light and tucked it under his jacket. As he waited for his companions to follow him, he went to examine the doors.

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[info]reanalyze
2008-05-09 02:12 am UTC (link)
"And here we are again," Citan said, folding his hands behind his back as he looked over the great hall. It was still impressive, but not breathtaking now he had seen it before.

"Shall we try the other direction this time?"

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[info]loyal_soldier
2008-05-09 02:28 am UTC (link)
"It seems to be the only direction we're allowed to go if we want to get anything." No one was here, and no signs of any fighting. It seemed like this place wasn't guarded. Hopefully. He kept his glowrod on until he'd gotten a decent look at the entire room, then turning it off, still keeping it in his hand. It was a useful short bludgeon, and bright light could easily be used to blind or disorient an opponent.

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[info]secret_orchard
2008-05-09 02:36 am UTC (link)
"There are seldom choices allowed us here," Armand grumbled. Even with the healing Citan had done on his hands, he knew that the pulling on the door was likely to hurt. Yet TK hadn't complained. He flexed his hands slightly, biting his lip, then crossed to the indicated door to start trying to pull it open.

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[info]reanalyze
2008-05-10 12:40 am UTC (link)
Citan lent his own strength to the door, grunting a bit as he put his full force into it. As much as they needed to conserve strength, if they couldn't get the door open, there was nothing to conserve it for.

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[info]loyal_soldier
2008-05-13 02:42 am UTC (link)
TK planted himself firmly and put all of his considerable muscle mass into opening the door. Hopefully there would be no monsters on the other side, if things were the same as they had been on the other side. Apart from the 'sphinx'. TK would just love it if he could run into a test that involved feeling less stupid and useless than that one.

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[info]secret_orchard
2008-05-13 03:24 am UTC (link)
The door edged open, like the one opposite had so many nights ago. Armand took a deep breath. As the slightest, he knew it would be easier for him to get through. He was contributing less to opening the door anyway. He tucked himself inward as small as possible and then dove through the gap.

[going here]

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[info]broken_exorcist
2008-05-10 07:16 am UTC (link)
[[from here]]

Allen was a little surprised at how far down the stairs took them. Just how large was this cellar? He knew there were some sort of hidden secrets here, but he'd expected nothing at all like this! After a while there was even light enough that they didn't need their torches. The strange decor only further reminded him of the castle they'd found Crowley in not so long ago. It made him feel terribly small to be in such a large and spacious room.

"It's... not at all what I expected," he admitted aloud. "Which... way shall we go?" He'd been given no clear directions past the icebox door, just to explore and map things out. If they were lucky, they might even be of some use this evening. He sent Rinali a hopeful smile.

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[info]offduty
2008-05-10 05:00 pm UTC (link)
[here]

Whoa. What. Okay. This sure as hell wasn't what he'd anticipated to be downstairs. He'd been thinking more along the lines of dark and dank. He half-expected to see a few girls twirling in those ridiculously puffy dresses from centuries ago.

"Kinda off on the definition of basement, yeah?" he said, eyeing the chandelier for a second before turning to Signum. "Where to?"

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[info]blazing_general
2008-05-10 08:05 pm UTC (link)
Signum couldn't help but agree. "It's strange that something this grand is under a storage room. It could be that it's part of an earlier structure and the Institute was built over it." She'd seen a lot of that kind of thing, since a lot of her job was policing the artifacts of ancient civilizations. Plus when you were a few millenia old sometimes you found yourself recognizing rooms you'd walked in at the height of their builders' civilization in someone else's sewer system.

But as impressive as the room was compared to the drab and dolorous halls of the Institute above, its chief feature of interest was simply the number of doors it contained. It looked like it was some sort of crossroads or nexus for a larger underground...

"I don't know any specifics of the layout. We'll just have to choose one," she responded, and headed for a door.

It didn't open. Frustrated, she kicked it several times, and when this didn't have any effect she backed up for a running start and drop-kicked it.

"It's fairly strong," she reported neutrally as she picked herself up off the ground, determined not to show any embarrassment at having fallen on her ass for absolutely no gain against a mere door.

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[info]offduty
2008-05-11 05:17 am UTC (link)
"I dunno," Reno replied, still scanning his surroundings. "Something tells me this was made for us. Like everything else."

Why else would there be a trapdoor? He could remember the Head Doctor announcing the basement as a place for the staff to check out and tour around, but as far as he could tell, there weren't any direct entrances. And somehow, he doubted the staff were meant to dig around the entire institute just to find a goddamned trapdoor in.

He watched Signum try to knock down the door, only to get knocked over herself. He cocked an eyebrow at her observation.

"Uh-huh. You think? C'mon, there're a shitload more."

He moved to the next door over and tested it. Locked, too, and a kick failed to break it in. Jeez. Did any of these friggin' things open?

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