Nightshift 24: Entry Room

[transgenix]

( coming from here.)

The hall was dark and quiet as Max led the way deeper into the building and away from the dorms. She could hear the faint murmur of voices coming from... somewhere, but couldn't quite pinpoint a location

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[broken_exorcist]

Allen watched Mustang struggle at the door. It seemed to budge only for a moment, then the man gave up! Allen wasn't sure if it was his place to say so, but Mustang didn't exactly seem the strongest among them. Shouldn't they try harder?

He coughed and did what he could to look strong. A difficult task given his small height and lean build. "I can do it," he said firmly. Afterall, he'd made his way through much thicker walls than these before. "Please, move aside."

Allen hadn't been at the top of his game when he'd arrived, at it was true he hadn't had a decent meal yet, but even going to his first level shouldn't be difficult. It should be more than enough to get them through. He concentrated this time, his arm glowing brightly for a moment before it burst into its battle form. A bright green light circled his upper arm and below it, the once burned-looking, reddish flesh was now pale yellow, in plated armor running up the length of his arm. Which had more than doubled in that instant. His arm nearly hit the floor at the elbow and that was only about a third its length. It ended in a claw at least half Allen's size, with wickedly sharp points.

Allen was almost sweating from the exertion of invoking it. It wasn't usually so difficult to maintain. With a grunt, he heaved his arm toward the door, connecting with a heavy thud that seemed to even shake the walls around them.

[notmyfather]

While Allen was performing whatever magic he had - what had he referred to his 'weapon' as? - Valyn was gathering his own power, squeezing his power center and stoking up what remained of his abilities. He could at least manage a fireball, if Allen was unable to break open the door.

Of course this wasn't easy. But he had been roped into this, he was going to do his part. He held his hands near his chest, one atop the other, as though he was holding something between them.

"Stand back if you can't manage it," Valyn warned, a spiraling ball of flames gathering between his hands.

[muted_flame]

While Roy had been preparing to try and stick his hand through the crack in the door, it seemed that his company had other ideas. He knew that when someone told you to move aside, the best thing to do was listen, and quickly. So he backed away, watching with quite a bit of interest as Allen's arm morphed into something much heftier.

It was almost like the reports he had read about that homunculus, Wrath... Fascinating, really. He was curious to hear how that worked, if time ever permitted such a conversation. It probably wouldn't make much sense to him, as it had already been established that Allen's world was quite different from his own, but he couldn't help being curious.

Valyn was gearing up for something as well, it seemed, so Roy backpedaled even further. These three seemed to have a good amount of manpower between them, now that the time came...

And yet it didn't seem to be working. The door had barely budged. He glanced at the others and sighed. "I don't believe we're meant to get through. Not tonight, anyway."

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia quickly got out of the way, surprised by Allen's sudden transformation. It reminded her a little of the powers hat some of the Arrancar possessed, how they could grow larger or change shape to become stronger. She couldn't help but stare for a moment, but soon recovered, taking up a position off to one side in case they were attacked from behind.

Then Valyn was conjuring up magic of his own, but this was more familiar to Rukia. While he hadn't needed an incantation, summoning fire was something she could do as well.

Between the two of them, she was sure they would be able to break through whatever was blocking the door. Yes even Allen's powerful hit hardly seemed to do anything. At the loud sound, Rukia glanced around, nervous that they might be attacked.

Looking at the Colonel, she couldn't quite hide her frown. "Not meant to, sir?" Did he mean to say that nothing they did mattered? That it was all up to those who controlled this place? It had certainly seemed that way on occasion, but Rukia refused to believe that.

[broken_exorcist]

When Allen saw the magic flames from the corner of his eye, he'd almost hoped it was Ravi summoning the flames of his giant hammer, but no such luck. He didn't know what good that kind of... power would do against the heavy door anyway.

"I'll handle it," he managed, when the man, er... elf? offered his assistance.

When his first hit had little effect, only some large dents, he made a fist and swung again. The noise was louder this time, with more force behind it. The door was sturdy, certainly, but how long did they really think it could stand up to that kind of damage? If he kept hitting it, they were sure to get through.

[damned_monsters]

Something was tired of the pitiful bashings of the weak little things on the other side of the door. Something was annoyed by all the unproductive banging. And something was quite, quite hungry.

The door was ripped from its hinges by claws as long as a man's hand.

There was enough time for those inside to catch the hurried impression of matted black fur, and ragged wings, and the TEETH.

It roared, the sound ancient, angry, and deafening.

The stench of rot rolled before it in a sickening wave.

[notmyfather]

"Ancestors!"

For the first time in the night, Valyn's expression changed. To an honest expression of fear and shock. When he caught a flash of whatever was on the other side of that door he felt a wave of fear he'd never felt before. Not even when he faced his father - as frightening as Dyran was, at least he had been familiar to the young elven lord. This wasn't. The sound, the reek... it took his mind back to the horror tales of the creatures of Evelon. he took a step back, what little color there was draining from his face.

Raising his hands, Valyn readied his fireball. Changing his mind at the last moment, he set the spell into his knife, coating the blade with flame. It wouldn't last more than a blow or two, but maybe it would do something....

[muted_flame]

When he felt the building shake a second time, Roy started to get nervous. He remembered how the building had reacted to being damaged in the past, and while he hadn't heard stories of anything of that sort happening recently, who was to say that he could completely write off that danger?

He had been about to order Allen to stop, and then divulge more of his thoughts to Rukia, but as expected...

The institute retaliated.

Pure instinct forced him to respond, quickly jumping further away from the door and the monster and falling into a combat position. "I warned you!" he barked, some irritation coming through in his tone. His hand was dipping into his pocket for his lighter within seconds.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia had been off to the side, wary of an attack from behind, when the door Allen had been pummeling simply wasn't there anymore. In its place was a huge creature that she couldn't see very clearly, but the sound, and the smell told Rukia all she needed to know for the time being. She had a moment to be thankful that Renji had made her take his sword, and to hope that he wasn't in need of it right now, before she slipped it from the makeshift belt at her waist.

Taking a step toward the wall, she hoped to get a strike in before the creature - whatever it was - had gotten fully through the doorway. There was no sense in waiting around for it to get its bearings. Rukia shifted her stance to account for the Zabimaru-replica's weight, and darted forward, aiming a slash at the creature's huge clawed hand.

Hopefully the others had some combat experience that would come in handy.

[broken_exorcist]

The invocation was taking a toll on Allen as he had been pounding the door, but finally, the real enemy had appeared. He had to hold on. If they could get past this one obstacle, they'd be in the clear! Everyone seemed apprehensive, but it didn't look much different from the Akuma he'd faced before. They came in many different forms: winged, claws, teeth, guns, smelly, hairy... Though it didn't register this time. His cursed eye still glowed red in the darkness, but it was because of the nearby shinigami, not the monster in front of them.

Strange. Allen had only a moment to think as the creature bellowed loudly. The claws didn't phase him. His own claw was much larger, though he only had one. He had to hope it would last long enough to defeat the creature. He coughed once and tasted blood, not a good sign. He would have to be quick.

Not yet, just a little longer. You have to keep going!

He caught Rukia's movement from the corner of his eye and made room for it, his own massive claw aiming for the creature's body. The tips heated white-hot by the power of Innocence. It could rip apart an Akuma in seconds, and the effect on human flesh was just as nasty, incinerating upon contact, often with explosive results.

The strength went out of him then, as his knees buckled and he fell to the floor in an undignified heap. The energy that once spit and crackled around his arm burst in a sudden flare, as his arm twisted and bent, fingers popping at impossible angles, as he struggled to control the power. In the back of his mind he heard something rip and he knew, with a hint of shame at his own weakness, that he'd pushed himself too far. He bit back the screams at the sudden, debilitating pain that came with the rebound. It was familiar, but it didn't make it easier to bear.

Dammit...

[damned_monsters]

The monster filled the doorway; nothing would be able to slip past. It went for the most obvious victim first; Allen. As the boy tumbled down, one paw came swiping down, toward the boy's head in a blow intended to crush his skull.

Only Rukia's lunge saved the boy, as immobilized as he was with pain. The sword flashed in the dim light; it struck true. The monster snarled. Impossibly fast, it reversed its blow, paw striking Rukia claws first. The sword sank deeply into its flesh, but the monster didn't seem to care; it snapped its paw around and flung Rukia at the wall as if she weighed nothing.

As soon as Rukia was out of its way, its attention fixed on Allen again, claws slicing down toward his unprotected back.

[notmyfather]

Valyn ignored Mustang's griping - did the man think they wouldn't be attacked? or the door would be unguarded on another night? - and lifted his hands, hoping for a clear shot. He winced when Rukia was flung, training and instinct rousing him to act quickly to protect a female.

It over-rided even his fear.

Without saying a word, he narrowed his eyes and raised the knife, crouching to leap at the creature and slice at the paw that came down for Allen, hoping the flames or the blade would at least damage the thing, if one was useless. He was hardly thinking now, acting purely out of some chivalrous conditioning that said women were weak and valuable and needed protection at all costs - even the cost of male elven life, if it came to it.

But iff he ended up dying here, Valyn was going to be very upset.

[muted_flame]

This was probably the closest he had seen to a chimera in this place thus far. Roy wouldn't be surprised if it had come about by similar means. In fact, the monsters of Landel's could have been transported from countless worlds, the same as the patients. It was a possibility he would have liked to consider if he'd had the time.

It was better that no one answered him - instead, everyone got to work, though Rukia was flung out of the way within seconds. When the creature's arm came down again, Roy moved without thinking. Usually, he wasn't a close-range fighter, but something had happened to Allen, and it reminded him far too much of an alchemical rebound.

He dashed forward, hoping to get under the arc of the monster's arm to stop it from making its full descent down toward the boy, while making sure to steer out of the way of Valyn's attack. He threw his forearm up in an attempt to stop it, but a part of him knew this was going to fail. This beast was much stronger than him, and was going to knock him down easily! Why had he not kept his distance and attacked from afar like usual?

Then, all of a sudden, his arm started to harden. He couldn't watch it happen because of the coat he was wearing, but he knew what was going on. The shield had just kicked in.

Maybe he would stand a chance, though he was probably going to collapse from exhaustion once the adrenaline wore off.

[haiiro_no_chou]

The creature was faster than Rukia had expected, but at least she had distracted it enough to buy Allen some time. Probably not much time, but maybe enough to keep him from becoming one with the floor. An instant after she felt Renji's katana bite into the monster's clawed foot, the claws were coming at her.

Pain flared in her side, and then she was flying through the air. She hit the wall, which knocked the air out of her lungs, and fell to the floor with a thud. She gasped, fighting not to cry out at the pain in her shoulder that had quickly eclipsed that in her side. Rukia gripped the sword more tightly, her fingers shaking, and tried to lift herself up off the ground. The shoulder that had taken the brunt of her impact with the wall, though, wouldn't move properly. "Damn it!" she hissed, gritting her teeth and rolling onto her good shoulder.

Her shirt felt wet, but she didn't have time to worry about it now. Glancing up at the others, she managed to push herself up onto her knees. Thinking quickly, she realized that she didn't have the strength to wield Renji's katana one-handed. Her only option was Kidou, even if it was incredibly weakened.

Thankfully she didn't need both hands for the spell she was going to use. She held up her good arm, fighting to focus despite the pain, and spoke the incantation.

[broken_exorcist]

Allen knew he had to move. If he didn't move, something, whatever it was, was going to grind him into the floor and it would be very, very unpleasant. His body, however, seemed unwilling to help him. He tried to press himself up from the floor, and watched in wide-eyed worry as Rukia was flung across the room.

"R-rukia!" he coughed again, bringing up blood in tiny splatters that landed on the ground. The Innocence was struggling to keep his arm together. The tell-tale signs were showing already, the reddish arm looking more like a decaying stump than anything living. His strength wavered and he hit the ground hard, vaguely aware of those around him. It was infuriating. He'd trained so hard and when it came down to it, this was all it amounted to?

Allen forced himself to his knees. Mustang was standing in front of him. Why? He'd be hurt! "I'm sorry," Allen managed. "I can't move I-" Another cough. "I..." No, this was all wrong. He couldn't just give up. He had to keep going, no matter what. With a shuddering breath, Allen did what he could to shake away the pain, pushing himself up onto one knee, then to his feet. It took considerable effort, but perhaps it was enough of a show of strength for Mustang to seek his own safety.

[damned_monsters]

Valyn's blade grazed the monster's paw; it had been watching for an attack similar to Rukia's. For a moment the fire caught and smoldered; the monsters snarled, the sound becoming another deafening roar. The stench, this time of rotten flesh cooking, was overwhelming. It pulled its paw back, then brought it swiping around, razor claws extended, to give Valyn the same treatment that it had given Rukia.

Roy hadn't caused it pain; Roy was more of annoyance than anything else. He was positioned rather helpfully.

The monster closed its jaws around Roy's arm.