Night 57: Sun Room

[boketa]

[From here]Goku took a giant leap into the room, going even so far as announcing his whereabouts with a loud battle cry. Staff poised to strike, the young boy watched the room for any hint of movement. He turned in a circle, glaring daggers into the darkness as he surveyed chair after couch after table. The lack of lighting put him at a

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[full_score]

For a moment Claude actually thought they were home free. Before he realized what happened, though, his senses were suddenly overwhelmed with lights, music and the applause of a pre-recorded audience. The strange sensation of being on stage washed over him, and the blond abruptly stopped in his tracks. "H-huh?!"

But if that wasn't weird enough, they were greeted by a man who was clearly wearing a dress, and he was acting like he was the host of some kind of... game show? Was this a Special Counseling patient? Or the military's idea of a huge joke?

Either way, Claude had no intention of sticking around. For starters, they couldn't trust that this was just a harmless competition. There was a chance their "host" would try stabbing them while he forced them into doing the tango or something equally ridiculous. And...was this seriously happening? Really?

"I, uh..." Wow, what did he even say to that? "I can see we have the wrong room here. We'll just...be on our way now, sir. I mean, ma'am. I mean...you. Um..."

Glancing at Guy and Anise, Claude lowered his voice. "Don't make eye contact. Just back away and get to the Courtyard." He could deal with someone charging at them with a blade, but this was a little more dicey. It was so unlike anything he'd seen in the Institute before now. Consequently, Claude began inching toward the door through which they'd first entered, hoping his friends would follow suit.

[razing_phoenix]

Despite the fact that Guy had been here longer than most and figured that he'd seen just about everything there was to see, along with the secrets of the mysterious basement, this was something he hadn't been prepared for.

He didn't realize how the Sun Room could have been converted to a stage without them noticing until now, but he got the feeling it was some kind of illusion. It had to be, right? Either way, the bright lights were enough to hurt his eyes when they had become so adjusted to the dark hallways, and more than that...

A man dressed like a woman was on a stage, acting like they were about to be part of a dance show. Anise and Claude looked just as confused as he did, so at least he wasn't alone in being totally bewildered by this. It was the sort of thing he could have imagined Peony setting up, to be honest, but he could only hope that the emperor wouldn't have crossdressed.

That was really the last thing he needed to be thinking about at the moment.

It seemed like Claude had already decided that it wasn't worth trying to puzzle through this when there was another route they could take, and Guy had to agree. With any luck, the recreational field and courtyard would be completely clear and they wouldn't have to worry about trying to dance for some flamboyant, showy guy.

Listening to Claude's orders, Guy nodded and started to retreat. It felt like an eternity before they reached the door, but once they did he slipped through it and back out into the hall.

[To here.]