Nightshift 60: Main Hallway, 2-Center

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

The main balcony was an extremely hard place to defend -- big glass windows, looking out onto stars that twinkled through the atmosphere, the often-occupied room below, and the doors that were locked to patients -- or locked to most patients, as the case might be -- but not to the staff that lurked behind them

Comments

[ninelivesonce]

"Lots," Taura confirmed. "Last time we were in there, we had to retreat -- but we didn't do it empty-handed." She waggled the tines of the claw on her right hand. "Picked up this, and a few other things, but I'm not sure what we got. We grabbed whatever we could before we ran."

"Homura never did mention how he got the key, but I'm glad it didn't leave with him." She shrugged. This whole place was set out as interlocking challenges; the only prize they'd won in the basement was a singularly useless decoration, but perhaps it wasn't the only one available.

She paced a little, and tried to remember everything. "We're directly over the visitor rooms -- the room behind the door is slightly smaller, with two doors along the far wall, both of which were locked. Nothing attacked us in there, but I wouldn't count on that. The fight was in the room past that, directly above the entry hall. They gassed us as soon as we entered; not mindless thugs, here. Look sharp, yeah?"

That was about it -- the gas and the fight had smeared her memories into a string of attacks and retreats and bodies falling, too many of them her own teammates knocked unconscious.

[damned_monsters]

'Look sharp' was solid advice, especially when there were true monsters lurking in the hallway. One shadowy form from the far end of the balcony moved on its own, revealing itself to be not one, but two hulking creatures that had been huddled together. The voices awakened them, their senses teased by the light nearby.

One snorted in the dark, trying to smell out the intruders that had wandered into their territory; the other growled, baring his yellow teeth, his eyes locking onto their prey. Three figures- one small enough that he was only worth a single bite. His eyes focused on the taller patients, his simple mind deeming them to be the threat by virtue of their being bigger.

Splitting apart, the two lurchers lumbered through the darkness, one along each side of the balcony that overlooked the Sun Room, their heavy steps audible as they approached. The smaller of the brothers got impatient, leaving the other behind as he charged the group with a guttural howl, his monstrous fists swinging for the tallest of the three.

[boketa]

Goku wasn't sure exactly what Taura meant by gassing. His feeble brain came up with an image of creatures farting until their party could stand it no more. That didn't sound too fun, but it wouldn't be the first time he encountered an opponent that used its smell to deter attacks. Living in the jungles for most of his life gave the monkey boy his own distinct odor as well. Who was he to judge anyone else about their stink?

Speaking of smells... The young boy's nose began to itch as a new scent carried along the cold air from the vents above them. It wasn't a smell in the aromatic sense. It was more like a feeling best explained as a smell that left Goku restless for a right against evil.

He heard the steps seconds later as one hulking creature ran toward them. Giving out a cry of warning to his comrades, the monkey boy jumped away from the fray so he could unsheath his nyoibo and ready an attack.

[she_is_ruin]

An armoury that had a high risk of ambush, huh? Yomi would have liked to educate herself with more details on the supplies found inside, not to mention what the enemy situation was, but a smooth debriefing just wasn’t meant to be.

Speaking of monsters… Like clockwork, nighttime terrors began emerging from the Institute’s woodwork like ants from an anthill, effectively putting an end to their idle conversation. Her questions died on her tongue as her spiritual sense tingled in warning, alerting her to something that her eyes could not yet see. Both she and the sesshouseki were back under the hospital’s repression, but not all of her abilities had been all lost.

It wasn’t long at all before the creature in the lead came hurtling into sight, locked onto Taura.

Was there ever an end to these interruptions?

Yomi fanned out in a different direction than Goku, but she was also ready with the Shishiou replica in her hand. How many were there? Just the two? She couldn’t immediately tell with all the places a spectre could crawl out of.

[ninelivesonce]

Taura had been on edge since she'd reached the second floor, and the army of butterflies in her stomach had been steadily donning combat armor and lining up as they'd waited, and waited, and waited some more. It didn't distract her, though beyond an initial alertness it didn't really help, either.

Still, it meant that, when two dark shapes lurched out of the darkness, she wasn't so much disappointed as resigned to a fight. One of them broke formation and went for her -- that wasn't quite the usual reaction, and her golden eyes narrowed as she slid her throwing star free and hurled it straight at the chest of the lead attacker.

[damned_monsters]

In his rage, the smaller lurcher (only smaller relative to his brother, as he was easily a hulking beast by comparison to those intruding in his territory) failed to notice the star flying straight at him until it was too late; one of the sharp points lodged itself in his shoulder, piercing his muscles and halting his approach. The effect was only momentary, as the injury only fueled the beast's anger. With another howl, he continued his advance, thick blood trailing down his arm.

The other lurcher let forth a guttural battle cry of his own as he approached the fray, heading for the smaller woman with a more cautious gait. His breath was heavy in the air, muscles tense as he readied himself for an attack.