Night 59: Grand Ballroom

[lovecrafty]

> Rose: DescendRose bounded off the stairs and down onto the floor of the ballroom as soon as she could, alighting on the floor in what was, on its own, a graceful maneuver. As she jumped, the flames on her wands extinguished, and her sylladex reset itself to the auto-balance modus, ejecting everything in it. Her possessions rained down on her

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[sixth_attack]

Everything was going great. Sechs' attack blew out the monster's brains and heart without causing as much as a droplet of sweat. With the creature down and out, the Replica couldn't help but feel all the more pleased as he approached the three other patients, head and bloody weapons held high as he did so. He practically beamed to himself when he caught a jealous glance from the one stranger with the reddish hair. Utena's awed gratitude received a cocky nod from Sechs, while Aigis' soft touch upon his arm didn't cause so much discomfort as it normally would (although he still felt a wave of heat invade his face...) Things were finally starting to look up for the proud android!

"Everyone, grab onto me! We're leaving!" Sechs heard Utena cry out. He pouted slightly; there were still monsters around to fight! Still, if there could be greater damage done down in the basement, missing some more fun targets on the main floor should be worth it. He heavily placed his large hand upon Utena's shoulder and held on...

A familiar ring was brought out and Sechs immediately recognized it and the power which it held. Utena readied the ring and smashed it against the wall; its shattered pieces glittered in the bloody darkness as the spinning sensation of the teleportation took over. A dizzying second later and the battlegrounds of the hallway were instantly replaced by a brightly lit chamber of such impressive (and unexpected) elegance that Sechs had to rub at his eyes before he could believe what he was seeing. So this was the basement...!

It was then that everything seemed to go wrong.

As the others settled into their new environment, Sechs' attention was forcefully pulled away from the towering ceiling and its prestigious chandeliers. Something wasn't feeling right here... His instincts were suddenly confused and bothered, like something very important had just been lost. Sechs looked down upon himself, he still had both his weapons and flashlight right? Why did he feel like he had forgotten something...?

A glint of metal briefly passed over the skin of his fingers. Sechs froze at the sight. It was the same flash of power he had witnessed just as the chaotic night had started. Yet this small glimpse into his former self meant something else...

Slow... Weak... Powerless...

"N...No...!" Sechs murmured, his eyes wide and focused upon his weakened hand. Panic rapidly began to rise inside him, and Sechs nervously tested out his power; he gave the air an anxious punch, but no matter how much effort he put into it, his attack was just as slow and weakened as any strike made by an organic being. "No! NO!!" he cried, his fear transforming into anger as he attempted another supersonic punch in vain. "NO!! MY POWER! IT'S GONE!"

It was all too much for the android. The return of his powers had granted him such solid hope that he could have wielded it within his very hands like a true weapon! Now it was gone! Sechs' whole body seemed to break beneath the weight of such a loss. His breaths turned ragged and shallow as his thoughts spun out of control. All he could think of now was why, and Utena with her ring stood to be the closest scapegoat for Sechs' enraged mind.

"YOU! What the HELL did you do to me?!" Sechs shouted, storming towards the pink-haired girl with his bloody machete held out towards her neck, "Your STUPID ring took away my powers!!" Total rage blinded his wolfish eyes as he glared down his enemy with frightening intensity. "Give 'em back NOW or I'll-- I'LL FUCKING KILL YA!"

[train_tracer]

Vino was at a loss at what exactly he should be feeling at the moment. On one hand, these people were sort of amazing, weren’t they? But on the other hand, it meant they were becoming serious contenders against him.

For one, it wasn’t just the black blur that was good at doing what he did. The pink-haired girl had gone on to slice the ape-like beast’s arm off. And the other girl’s magical spirit or whatever that was seemed to be able to heal people, in addition to fighting! Vino was inclined to find it a bit unfair, even if the others apparently decided that they could leave the rest of the dogs to him.

The giant monster was brought down in a flashy explosion of blood (which was, admittedly, kind of cool) from the dark stranger. Vino didn’t bother avoiding the splatter of gore from the beast; rather pointless, since he was already covered in the stuff from the other monsters he’d taken care of. The fact that his face was probably covered in gore that would make his features nearly indiscernible didn’t stop him from leveling a look at the man. Really, showing off like that! Not that he had anything against showing off, but it was about opportunity-stealing! That wasn’t right at all!

And to top it off, Vino knew that the man had given him that smug expression because he’d gotten a chance to kill off the bigger game and Vino hadn’t. It was almost like a challenge, wasn’t it? A challenge was perfectly fine with him, if that were the case. There were plenty of monsters still.

But the pink-haired girl, Miss Utena, called for them to gather, probably to prepare for the teleporting magic that was supposed to take them to the ballroom in the basement. He was torn between staying to fight more monsters or seeing this magic and exploring this underground ballroom. If only he could have both! But it was very clearly going to have to be a choice, so Vino laid a hand on the girl’s arm just before she punched the wall behind her.

And then suddenly, they weren’t in the hallway any longer. If Vino had a word to describe what the next few seconds felt like, he’d say ‘flying’… if perhaps a bit more dizzying and uncontrollable. But the next thing he knew, they’d landed in an elaborate ballroom, just like Miss Utena had said on the bulletin board! And Vino had other things to consider. He’d only meant to tag along until they got to the basement, anyway.

He was in a large ballroom, for sure, circular in shape. There were several doors he counted leading out, one of which were a large pair of double doors. Interesting! He walked up to it and examined it, gave an experimental tug. It didn’t budge. Vino would have tried again, but he was interrupted by shouts.

It seemed the dark-haired man wasn’t particularly happy with something. Something about his power being gone? Well, why depend on something like that if it wasn’t going to stay with you all the time. Didn’t make sense to him.

“Hey now, there’s no need for any killing here, right?” he said, coming back to the group and stepping in between the two.

[no_dont_go]

The warping sensation was new to Aigis. She hadn't gone far the night everyone claimed to have transported between places so she had yet to experience the disorientation that came with the maneuver. It also took her a moment longer to realize that the weakening between her link with Athena was not connected to their flight at all but an on-going thing. She had returned to the same state she had been before the Code Red had been signaled.

Sechs' outburst of rage was so shocking that Aigis had to take a moment and step away in a human-like reflex. The pause gave their fourth member, the red-haired man, a chance to step in between Aigis' two friends, for which the android was grateful. With someone obscuring Sechs' direct line of sight, she felt confident she could ease the tension a bit more and perhaps bring him to reason. She reached out again, unafraid, and touched his arm lightly like before.

"Sechs-san, it is not Tenjou-san who is to blame. If anything, it would be this place," she said ominously, then gestured to the Grand Ballroom as a whole. Her eyes sharpened in their seriousness and she spoke clearly, trying to get her point across firmly. "We have reached The Next Level. All handicaps will likely be stacked against us from here on out."

Not that Landel's typically allowed them their usual strengths to buffer against his trials, but that didn't need to be said at this time.

[roseoverture]

Utena had only just begun to suspect the real reason behind the prince's absence when suddenly Sechs flared up with a shout that caused her to tense. Then he was stalking towards her, shouting threats as he held up the bloody machete. Utena's eyes widened in surprise, and she couldn't help taking a step back with Aigis. Not counting monsters or people who had been brainwashed, the last time she had seen someone look at her with such intense anger was Nanami. In this round, elegant space and with the man advancing on her with sword in hand, she couldn't help but think of the other duelist, even though Sechs's rage was more like Nanami's times ten.

It didn't help that a redhead was the one to intervene between her and Sechs in that moment. That subconscious Touga association alone may have been what made Utena raise her sword in a defensive stance then; never mind that Sechs still looked serious about making good on his threat. "I'll say!" she said after the redhead spoke. "I didn't take anything, and I'm not about to get killed for something I didn't do!" she shouted back.

Utena was more than grateful when Aigis spoke up next, and she let her stance relax just slightly. She stayed on her guard, but reminded herself that Sechs had seemed like an okay guy over the bulletin. She still hoped that was true, and that this was just anger over the loss of his powers taking over. "That's what I was just thinking," she added with a nod. "There was a..." How to explain it? "...A noble feeling inside me that was guiding me in those halls, and now it's gone too. I bet Aigis is right. It's gotta be something about this place, I'm sure!"

[sixth_attack]

"Prove it then!" Sechs snarled back at Utena. The Replica was about to go over the edge, his fury charged every part of his body, sending hot blood to pound thunderously inside his ears, blood that was pumped through vulnerable flesh by a weak organic heart... Someone was going to DIE for taking away the power which Sechs dearly missed for the past three weeks!

Snarling at his target, Sechs just about made good on his word when the others intervened. The redhead barged in first, his remark coming across so insultingly snobbish that Sechs just about twitched his machete to the side to give him a good thwack to the head. Yet Sechs was halted by the gentlest of touches, one which sent him flinching and his face flushing into a light shade of scarlet. Sechs snapped his gaze down to the side to see a solemn Aigis, her small hand resting upon his lean arm with no fear for her own safety.

Sechs growled. Why was Aigis defending Utena after what she had done to him?! Was what she was saying really true? That it wasn't Utena's fault after all?! This forced Sechs to pause with the same ease of a car smashing into a concrete wall. His focus returned to Utena and the sword she raised in response to his own machete. He decided not to attack yet, but he was still so pissed off! His blade wasn't as long or nimble as the one Utena held, and he had seen how good her sword wielding skills were. Still, if he could just knock the rapier away and strike for her head...

No. He couldn't attack, not with Aigis beseeching him to stop and everyone's words finally sinking into his hot head. Against his furious state, Sechs was forced to rethink the situation, something which took him as much effort as stopping a supersonic punch in mid-throw...

Breathing haggardly, Sechs glared between the three patients like a cornered wolf, even his lips were lifted to show off his sharp canines. For what felt like hours, Sechs refused to move from his hostile stance. His mind reeled over what everyone had said so far; his rage refused to believe any of it, but the absence of the red glow that protected the walls above the basement stood as powerful proof for the true reason behind his loss. It was this place that stole his power, not Utena or her ring. Visibly frustrated, Sechs finally let out a harsh sigh and slowly withdrew his machete as he arrived at the same conclusion as everyone else.

"Shit...!" he growled, his shoulders slumping over as his rage slowly seeped out of his system. Scowling, Sechs stuffed his blade under his belt and stepped back from the others. Feeling all the more vulnerable, it didn't help that his face had now turned a shade darker with shame; he had nearly killed an ally over nothing!

"I seriously thought this was finally it... That we'd have the powers we need to get outta here. Everything was just doing great before we teleported!" Sechs said with gruff bitterness in his voice.

Once it dawned on Sechs that he was going to face down the institute's most dangerous area with no powers, his shoulders nearly slumped completely over from the sheer weight of the situation. "...What are we gonna do now?" he grumbled, "We're all weak again..."