Night 56: The Grand Ballroom

[witchdetective]

[ from here ]That feeling of vertigo that came with using the ring seemed to be getting worse with each trip, Erika thought, as she saw the world spin around her and felt that tugging sensation pulling all three of them. Well prepared this time, Erika braced herself as she felt wind roaring in her ears and saw the surroundings change into that

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[falseblack]

A brother breaking and sneaking around already tipped the scale of today's events toward bad. Discovering a familiar sword and an equally recognizable sash at dinner pushed it to worse. By the time Nigredo collapsed on his bed in a fit of stressed-induced stupor, he predicted he would die sooner than expected. Promise or otherwise, the loss of an affecting individual and Albedo's hurt were telling details, and the boy simply knew things would become worse than they would get better. He probably wouldn't exist at some point if this deterioration kept.

Turns out he was only partially correct.

The variant awoke on his back, feeling as though he had been knocked about in his sleep. At first, the sensation didn't make sense. Feeling sore after a rest was logical; muscles could tense when the posture was not correct. You usually did not feel bruised and broken unless you were moved. Still, here he was, wondering why his body was reacting like it had taken a tumble down a hill.

Of course, when he recognized the soft lighting and an open space, the answers clicked into place. Green eyes widened to their fullest, and Nigredo practically flew to his feet. His waveform expanded--the mental link shuddering in the effort--and then contracted in preparation to strike. He was moved during his sleep. There was no other logical explanation for his presence in the basement. The one responsible may still be nearby.

One happened to be two, with the second figure being entirely recognizable. In regards to the other, he hadn't a clue as to her identity, but something about her was deemed familiar. No matter. Sync alone was enough to label both the perpetrators. Nigredo incensed, his eyes iridescent in the dark, fingers curled into steely fists.

"What is going on?"

[ran_on_empty]

"What the hell did I say?"

Erika could do well with losing a few pounds, but other than that the deed was done. The landing had been rough despite expectations, and while he'd managed to land on his knees the latter's fall had well to disrupt his balance. Scowling at the teen as she moved away, Sync was quick to stand from his spot and inspect himself. The rush of vertigo had already came and went, so all that really mattered now was making sure Erika hadn't been heavy enough to strain any portion of his body.

Fortunately, a quick look over seemed to be enough. Sensing that nothing had been twisted or fractured, the God-General watched the other approach her gun before he himself made his way over to the katana. But it was when he reached the weapon, lifting it off the marble floor, did he catch movement from the corner of his eye. In all honesty, he knew the fall would've either shocked Nigredo awake or knocked him out, though it looked like their opportunity to advance further without protest had come to an abrupt stop.

However, Sync wasn't worried at all. With no one else around it would've been too easy to overpower his roommate, and he was certain the latter would agree. So with a smug grin he propped the katana up, leaning slightly into it as if completely relaxed.

"Isn't it obvious?" He began, eyebrow arched. "You'll be spending tonight with us."

[witchdetective]

The detective was only happy to ignore Sync's whining, though she scowled when she saw him helping himself to her things without asking. It was a shame she needed to keep her trump card a secret for now, otherwise she would be busy threatening Sync herself. After gathering her things, she returned her attention to the irate boy who just woke up and only smiled smugly herself. She didn't know if that boy knew where he was, but she hoped to make it clear that staying with them was going to be the best choice for him.

"I hope you're not thinking of being rude and declining the offer. Sync worked really hard to get us here, so let's not waste his efforts." She cast the latter a look, not particular a friendly one. He was going to return that, wasn't he? It was easy to tell that he was likely going to reset the ring, and this was still the best place to do it. Erika wasn't a fool; she knew that whatever was in there, it was likely going to be dangerous and keeping everyone alive was actually a priority of hers for once. It was strange having to not rely on dead people to solve this mystery, but she couldn't call herself a true detective if she wasn't flexible.

"And I hope you're planning to return that once you're done with it," She added to Sync, looking back at the other boy to see what he was planning to do. Certainly, most idiots would try to fight or something, but this boy... she couldn't quite pinpoint it, but if he was here with the rest of them, then chances were he was no ordinary child. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much of a bother to keep the boy in line.

[falseblack]

A more volatile individual might have slipped into fury, threw out his waveform in the method most damaging to humans, and ideally stalked back to his room. Nigredo, however, was a more discerning individual and thus, saw all of the flaws to that plan, especially when he caught the glint from the objects each carried. They had weapons. He did not. Furthermore, his abilities proved themselves to be faulty at best, and although the hypnosis had worked admirably in past situations, the child had felt the limitations. Risk powers? Be shot in the arm. Run? ...Likely be shot in the arm. If only that girl didn't have that firearm, he could risk an escape. As Nigredo existed, not a chance.

And Albedo would never reach him in time, even if he had changed his mind about his brother's involvement.

He scowled, eyes narrowing in the perceived helplessness of the situation. Their demands were obvious--the setting gave everything away. You required at least three bodies to open the doors in the basement, which the child had discovered fairly recently in retrospection. The two were looking to obtain the useless sword and the equally useless shield, and they needed his presence. The fragile part of him remembered a trauma and scrambled to deaden reactions, but in the end, the advantage in this scenario was clear.

Nigredo relaxed to the point of apathy, the light in his eyes subsiding in the span of a single sigh. "Could have spent more of that effort getting my shoes," he muttered, pointedly staring down at his socked feet. "Tell me what I'm getting out of this, and maybe I'll consider it without dragging my feet," he added, louder this time. Hostage or no, promise or otherwise, the boy had no patience for making himself to be pleasant tonight.

[ran_on_empty]

Sync ignored Erika's response for the time being, knowing exactly what he was going to do with the katana before tossing it aside once he was done. He had no interest in using the latter's weapon aside from the obvious, though he felt it was idiotic of her to bring about two weapons. That meant having to keep a close eye on Nigredo, who could very well take an opportunity if Erika ever gave him that chance. Idiot.

Their voices carried farther in the large expanse of the ballroom, and so he couldn't help but chuckle at his roommate's side quip. The God-General soon made his way over to where Erika stood, angling his own arm so that he could slide the katana's blade over the healing skin and reopen the wound. Expecting the other to cooperate and hold out the ring, he quickly hovered a drop of blood over the shattered jewel.

"Maybe you shouldn't have taken them off in the first place," He pointed out for the sake of belittling his roommate further. "Anyway, I'm sure most would be happy enough to keep their lives, but I guess I can make an exception. If you cooperate then you're free to come with us to the-"

But before he could finish it was as if something had completely cut off his thoughts, green eyes narrowing as Sync fumbled to finish. Yet the words refused to spill, and after a few more seconds of trying he finally gave up. Letting his scowl get the better of him for a moment, he pushed the handle of the katana into some vague direction of Erika's hand, gaze still focused on his roommate.

"You're after the same thing, aren't you? Don't be an idiot and fight back. You would've just wasted my time getting you down here in the first place."

GOTTA MAKE HER MIND UP, WHICH DOOR CAN SHE TAKE???

[witchdetective]

It was truly amusing to Erika how simply having the fake firearm in her possession was enough to gain the boy's reluctant assistance. Therefore, she had to do her best to keep herself from smiling too widely and decided to just hold her tongue on the whole matter. Honestly, the fact she was carrying what was assumed to be a loaded weapon in a pillowcase should have been enough to tell them at the very least that she wasn't planning on using it, but she shouldn't complain. Perhaps she was mistaken and Sync was the reason why the boy was at least bargaining with them.

Her ego took a bit of a blow when considering this reasoning though. The threat of violence was always such a crude method for gaining assistance, one that Erika greatly disliked in favor of having people follow her simply because they were stupid and she knew better. That was probably why it greatly pleased Erika when Sync's threat was interrupted, the boy seemingly at a loss for words when he tried to describe where it was exactly where they were going.

Or perhaps the words weren't coming out at all. Erika arched a brow, realizing that it was not a case of forgetfulness. He looked like he couldn't say anything about their destination, a fact that both pleased and intrigued her. How was this possible? Sync was a violent, angry child at best, but he wasn't stupid. She took her katana back wordlessly for a moment, contemplating the situation. She didn't have any incentive to offer the child, nor did she care to. Simply sparing his life should have been good enough and Sync knew more about the rewards to be gained from going through this place.

For Erika, the only reward would be solving it's mysteries. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Let's go. You two can work something out while we walk, can't you?" The other boy didn't have anywhere to go, and she was sure Sync would just drag him along if he had to, so Erika let the two of them sort each other out while she headed towards one of the two other doors in the room. She already knew that two items were needed to open the third door across from the entrance, and the door behind the stairs wouldn't open to her. So... which one did she want to go through first.

The doors were identical, with no hints if there was a right or wrong answer. Erika had the feeling it didn't matter.

"Let's go through the left one." She called out to them, hoping her voice would penetrate through their thick skulls. Sync's reaction would probably tell her how good of a guess that was.

EVERYTHING. UH. /lets Brenda choose

[falseblack]

Keeping his life was a laughable concept, like being told you could have a cookie when you hated sweets. If not for his tendency of being the stable child, Nigredo might have taken a cue from his less sane sibling and giggled in a high-pitched tone. He would have done it, too, if not for the effort involved and the offer given--the latter having less to do with Sync's "willingness" to concede and more the strange cutoff. Like the girl, he lifted an eyebrow at his roommate, incredulous of what he saw. Though reason would suggest otherwise, Nigredo refused to believe the older boy was the type to trail off without a reason.

Before he could question, however, a ping from the shared mental space threw any sarcastic remarks to the wayside. Which in complete honesty, happened to be the worst interruption imaginable. If Albedo knew the exact source of his anger, all control would be lost, and the situation would derail into a more comically stupid wreck than it already was. Without hesitation, Nigredo dispersed his previous thoughts and divided the attention between people.

"You don't know what I'm after," he retorted, eyes rolling in disdain. He then stepped toward the girl, who was heading in the direction of one of the doors. Of course, the child ignored what was actually chosen. "But fine. I won't waste your time. Just don't ever touch me again." Anyone who knew Nigredo well enough might have been taken aback by his attitude, but in his mind, all bets were off. Propriety was the last thing he wanted to hold to this night.

To Albedo, however, the response was less hateful. Unfortunately, his sibling was sharper than most, and it took maneuvering to offer a believable excuse. It helped that the words were mostly true, and that he was staring angrily at the female the entire time. They eventually offered their farewells, and Nigredo was left alone. Uneasiness slid through his chest, but nothing could be helped. They were not in the relationship they were last night.

As the girl offered her suggestion, his mind moved suddenly, a memory flitting to life. He had thought that girl looked familiar. "Hey," he called out, not bothering with pleasantries nor addressing the decision. He did, however, walk to the aforementioned door. "Do you know someone named Rika?"

my choices are the best.

[ran_on_empty]

Sync tried not to think too deeply about what just happened, even if he was certain the other two had also noticed that obvious pause. It could very well have been another one of their captor's tricks, but it wasn't like it mattered in the end anyway. Didn't Erika want to just figure out what was actually down there as opposed to the end result? Still, he supposed it was just added insurance to make sure the 'mysteries' of the coliseum weren't revealed prematurely.

"There's only one reason why you'd already have one of the items in your possession." Sync thought it was common sense, unless Nigredo was the type of person that hated progress. But given the pacing of this damned Hell he wouldn't have been all that surprised if that were the true. "But don't worry, I'm not interested in taking what you have."

It was Erika's words that caught his attention next. Right, they might as well make it a quick run if they wanted to get anything done tonight.

"Fine by me." Like Nigredo, he was compliant with the girl's choice, and he'd remain that way as long as they didn't go through those damned elemental rooms. He said nothing at his roommate's question, figuring it was reserved for Erika given the similarities of names, but that alone was enough to pique his curiosity. Regardless, he acted uninterested, pushing open the door and making his way into the next hallway.

[To here.]