Night 54: The Sphinx's Chamber

[toxicspiderman]

[from here]The room was warm. Boiler room? Anyone who'd gild the bowels of a psych ward was a nutcase. Or -- S.T.'s brain coughed up equally ridiculous yet plausible scenarios as he stepped through the door, flashlight trained on the floor in front of him. Glittering toilets for visiting foreigners who'd flown out of their palaces on a private

Comments

[its_the_mileage]

"Sphinx," Indy said, putting two and two together. Ryuuzaki and Lunge had been here on the night Indy himself had stumbled into Barnett College. What had they said? Ryuuzaki had mentioned a riddle, one patients rarely got wrong (four legs in the morning, two legs at midday, three legs in the evening?), and had suggested he'd won something for guessing correctly. The room was disorienting (true enough, with the overwhelming gold color of the ceiling and walls). The shift had ended (conveniently, he thought) before Ryuuzaki could answer any of Indy's questions, and Lunge hadn't had much more to add on that subject

[unheroed]

While Harvey had heard a number of stories about things that he could barely believe -- such as what Jones had told him about that monster that he'd run into when he'd traveled out to those ruins -- a sphinx hadn't been one of them. He knew what a sphinx was, but it was something that was supposed to be purely fictitious

[damned_monsters]

"So he is," came the deep voice, resounding around the empty chamber. Obviously, the last, at least, had been heard. There was not much use in attempting silence near ears as large as a man is tall. What was this, then? Another group, another trio of men, and another night to end without satisfaction. The sphinx stared at them, clearly unamused. "At least one of you has some intelligence in dealings of this sort."

And what did that mean, but a quicker question and answer period in the end. The sphinx sighed, hot air casting out over the room, and refolded his paws in front of himself. "I'm surprised a group is down here tonight, after everything, but I suppose one has to amuse oneself. At least you have the option of choice, in the end...." Another sigh, and then it narrowed its eyes in due seriousness. "I'll advise you; speak carefully, or you'll lose before you've begun."

[toxicspiderman]

"You know this critter -- er, sphinx?" S.T. was still whispering, despite the cat being so far out of the bag it had its own shrine. Hell of a place for a temple. Hard to get congregants flocking around with no PR and an obstacle course filled with brainwashed apostates on the way in.

Then the thing was talking and they all shut up. Cryptic bullshit. "Are you actually going to give us the cost-benefit analysis, or do you get off in talking in riddles?" The room seemed fractionally warmer. In a friendly, not sulfurous way. S.T. pushed up one sleeve with the back of his flashlight, then the other. He didn't know why a duck-squeezer biologist would find thumbing his nose at men -- er, sphinxes -- of power to be as comfortable as the broken-in cotton of their clothes, but he wasn't arguing with that.

The sphinx was a different story. "It's not much of a choice if we don't know what we're choosing. Or if you won't tell us, Mr. Jones will, so really, go on."

[tsunagari]

[from here]

At least Sasuke seemed to have Sakura's best interests in mind. It was surprising, but if they'd been here for some time then they had good reason to work together to find a way out. The truce might not last past that point if they reached it, but as long as it existed for now they were all better off.

Sai stepped into the room cautiously. This was... not what he'd been expecting. Not that this was saying much, since he hadn't known what to expect from the start. Perhaps he'd thought they'd walk into another hallway, not the chamber he was seeing now. Was this where they were supposed to be? What would they accomplish by being here? There didn't appear to be any other exits.

He turned to the others with a questioning look.

[see_my_back]

With how tonight was going, she was fairly certain she was going to wish she was unable to feel pain. But it seemed both a blessing and a curse. She managed to disentangle herself from Sasuke, but despite his sharp reply-

Stay close to me...

She stripped the boot and wrapped the injury quickly and expertly, though she still favored it as she followed after them. But to her surprise, Sasuke not only said such a thing, he actually waited for her to get up and go along before he continued

[yin_yang_fox]

...And for some reason, suddenly, Renamon was reminded of Jiraiya. Perhaps it was the compliment. Or the manner of speaking. She looked at Brook curiously for a moment, before allowing the quiet, "It is," in response to her name being said. To the rest, there was only confusion, and she nodded politely at him before watching the girl more carefully. Sasuke seemed prone to assist her, and in that, perhaps, the two were closer than the Digimon had first thought. The fifth of the group, Sai, seemed as silent as Renamon herself, and she was curious how all of them knew each other.

Curiosity that broke when they entered the room Sasuke had lead them into. Its ceiling towered, gold shimmering in places, and at the other end of the room, there existed a statue--

...A creature. It moved slightly, and the Digimon was alert to the fact that it was, indeed alive. A Deva? No, it couldn't be... Humans had images of this somewhere, but she couldn't recall... Rika had not had too much interest in some mythology. So what was this trial? Would they

[damned_monsters]

No rest for the weary, and no change for those doomed to certain apathy. There were nights of none, weeks on end, and then, multiple parties in the same end. Joy of joys. The sphinx was ecstatic. It was certainly wonderful. It hated its life