Night 59: Main Hallway 2-Center (Includes Sun Room halls)

[bastard_sadi]

[Coming from here.]Upstairs was dark and silent, although to Daemon, the faint pink glow that coated all the surfaces since the alarm went off seemed more concentrated here. Was it stronger, perhaps? Or was there just more to hide? He brushed his fingers against it curiously as he stepped out of the stairwell and into the corridor above, his senses

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[stray_shinigami]

Renji stepped into the hall, listening intently. It didn't really look any different from the last time he'd been there, but it felt different. "Nothing in the immediate area," he said. "You have a point of attack in mind for the third floor?" He'd been more interested in the basement himself, hadn't worried so much about the upstairs.

He brushed one hand against the wall, frowning at the feel of it.

[bastard_sadi]

Daemon set a ball of witchlight burning just above them before turning out the copy of the map he'd scribbled earlier in the day. "There's locked doors up here. Several areas of them. We need to find a way upstairs." Which reminded him...

"Did I tell you what I found out just before I... slept?" he asked, glancing over at the redhead curiously, trying to remember if he'd passed on word of the tangled web or not.

[stray_shinigami]

Renji looked at thee map and nodded. "Start trying the doors you want. I'll watch your back."

He went quiet at Daemon's next question. "You said you had an idea," he said. "That was it. You'd tell me about it later. That was the last I ever heard from you. Next day your spirit was goner." His tone was matter of fact. There was no need to blame Daemon got something that wasn't his fault.

[bastard_sadi]

"Yes, convenient, that," Daemon drawled, tone dry as he moved to his right to the series of doors that led off into parts unknown. There were several sets of areas upstairs that no one had gotten into yet, but this was the closest. It seemed as good a place to start as any

[stray_shinigami]

"You didn't really explain much of anything," Renji said. It had given him the impression that Daemon hadn't really trusted him, but apparently he'd been wrong on that count.

He listened intently to the explanation, and the message. "I never got that message," he said. "But maybe that was about the time... things got really fucked up." No need to elaborate any more on it than that. "So, the choice is vengeance or freedom. Hn."

It shouldn't have been a difficult choice.

But it was.

[bastard_sadi]

"If it still applies," Daemon countered, inclining his head in agreement, his expression carefully composed. "I don't know why they took me out of here for four weeks, or what they might have changed in the meantime. But Renji, if it's still true... you need to make your own choice. If you'd prefer to head to the basement, I don't mind. I will understand. You'd probably get through the challenges tonight with your sword and your powers restored. You have people waiting for you back home."

[stray_shinigami]

Renji snorted. "I don't think it works like that," he said. "I don't really have anything left to go back to. If I was leading a group of kids around tonight, maybe. But they all think I'm dead, so it's not like it'll make a difference. I'd rather just finish this thing. It's more important to stop what's happening." He shrugged.

A hint of movement in the hall caught his eye - a single rat, skittering their way. Zabimaru flicked out, two quick slashes reducing the monstrous creature to a fine mist.

He looked over his shoulder at Daemon. "I figure you already knew what I was going to say anyway."

[bastard_sadi]

Daemon hesitated, then lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. "Not for sure. But I could guess. The people we want to protect have a better chance of being safe if this place is a pile of smoking rubble. Freedom is no good to anyone if this place still exists and could pull us or those important to us back into the game at any time."

[stray_shinigami]

Or already took everything that was important.

But that, Renji didn't say.

"Pretty much my thoughts," Renji said. They were supposed to be the meat shields for everyone else, so it was time to get down to that business. "So let's get looking for our vengeance." He grinned. "By the way, you tell Sora about the message?"

[bastard_sadi]

Daemon hesitated another moment before shaking his head. "No. I wasn't sure how to explain without... going into too much detail. What I just told you... about how I received the message... It's not something I can tell just anyone. It's a grave secret," he admitted, his golden eyes serious, a hint of wariness around the corners. It was still so hard to trust any details like this about himself with anyone, no matter how much he trusted them.

"Besides, again, I still don't know how much my extended nap was coincidence or not. There's no way for me to find out at the moment. The message might be useless anymore anyway. But I can't just let it go before I make sure for myself, you understand?"

[stray_shinigami]

"I see." Renji snorted. "It's your decision to keep whatever secrets you want. But I'll tell you something. Everyone knowing that I'm a Shinigami, and that we even exist, that's a thing that could get me imprisoned or worse back home. But I didn't see a point in keeping it a secret any more." Because he'd decided it was better for at least some people to know what he was and what he could do, so they'd know he could be relied upon for help. "I'll make sure Sora gets the message. I think he'd trust it coming from me, and he'd trust it if I say I can't tell where it came from." If nothing else, it meant that Arts and Crafts really needed to concentrate on the basement, if any of it had been left unexplored yet. With the time that had passed, who knew... but even if it had been thoroughly mapped, it meant that there was something left to look at.

"Might be useless. Might not be." Renji shrugged. "We take what intelligence we can get, right? Because it's better than just pissing in complete darkness."

[bastard_sadi]

Renji had a point. Especially if by going after vengeance meant home wasn't really an option. Although Daemon refused to believe that, wouldn't give up the hope that the two paths couldn't be connected. There were always loopholes

[stray_shinigami]

"I manage to have a point sometimes," Renji said cheerfully. "You don't have to apologize. Just lemme know what you want me to tell Sora."

He grinned. "Well man, when you got to go, you got to go. What can I say."

He watched Daemon try to open the door with narrowed eyes. It didn't look like anything out of the ordinary, but he felt what the man was trying to do. He indicated Daemon should move farther away from the door with a little jerk of his head, then dropped Zabimaru from his shoulder.

He half turned to put some extra snap into the blow, then whipped Zabimaru out at the door. In a just universe, the damn thing should have just exploded. Instead, his sword bounced. And that was unacceptable, because zanpakuto didn't just bounce off of things like they were made of rubber. He had to do a quick wrist snap to recall the blade before it went flying off somewhere that would make both Daemon and him very unhappy

[bastard_sadi]

Daemon stepped back when Renji stepped up for an attempt, although Daemon had a sneaking suspicion of what would happen even before Renji pulled out his sword. Just to be safe, he took another few steps out of the way, not wanting to get with any rebound.

He didn't look surprised when Zabimaru bounced off the barrier, but he hardly looked pleased about it either. "Mother Night. So we've got our powers back, but whatever this barrier is is protecting the structure itself. How can they possess anything that strong?" It was a blow, a devastating one. There was only one person in all his Realms more powerful than him. Until her, Black had been the deepest reservoir of power imaginable. it made him the single most terrifying Warlord Prince in all three Realms.

And here, he couldn't even break through a locked door.

Frustrated rage snapped out as he slammed a fist against the wall beside him, ice crackling outwards along the barrier and coating the wall, although it, too, made it no further than the glowing surface.

[stray_shinigami]

Renji was equally angry, but he stored the growing rage away. It was something that he could expend in a fight later. He gave the door a narrow-eyed stare, contemplating the possibilities of what they could do. "I could try using my bankai on it," he said, sounding contemplative. "I don't know if it would work, but it might be worth a try." He wasn't trying to imply that he was stronger than Daemon; really, he had no idea which of them would win when it came to a fight. It probably just depended on what kind of fight. But rather, Renji also knew that he was really geared to doing one thing, and doing it really well - cutting shit apart.

He glanced up at the ceiling, considering the options. "I can't do it in here, though. There's not enough space." And he didn't really want to squash Daemon against a wall, for example. "So we could always go up to the roof and try to punch a hole through."

[bastard_sadi]

"Why don't we try the windows outside first?" Daemon suggested, glancing around the hall. "If I remember correctly, there's an outdoor area behind the kitchens. We can try there first, see if there's a way in from the outside maybe?"

He turned in that direction, but paused, picking up on something else, coming from deeper down the hall. "Do you hear that?" he asked, hesitating. Was that... voices?