Nightshift 27: M12

[bond_off_lame]

If anyone had been waiting outside M12’s door they would’ve been sorely disappointed to find out that the entire room was unoccupied. However, there seemed to be several slips of paper poking from underneath the door, all conveying the same message just in case someone decided to take one for any reason. If they choose to pull one of the slips out

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[heavens_too_far]

It was with some relief that, for the first time in several nights, Dias was able to step out of his room without a sling around his neck holding up his arm. His shoulder was - inexplicably, given the severity of the injury - healed up to the point where it was once again relatively usable and the wound unlikely to reopen, and he seemed to have regained enough of the feeling in his arm to be functional; apparently whatever nerve damage he'd sustained had been temporary. Whatever the case, his arm was usable again, and he could once again wield his sword with a semblance of his usual skill.

He wasted no time in striding down the hall to Ashton's room; he knew Claude would be showing up as well soon enough, and wanted to talk to his friend alone first. Over the last week - which somehow felt like much longer - he'd come to trust Ashton to the point where there were things he was comfortable speaking to his friend about that he wouldn't be prepared to say in front of Claude. (Besides, maybe he could ask Ashton not to show Claude his sketch...)

His overactive powers of observation alerted him to the strange bits of paper sticking out from beneath the door before he'd even had a chance to knock, however, and with a slight frown he reached down and tugged one out from beneath the door and nearly ripping it in the process.

He got as far as 'experimentation rooms' before he'd slammed the door open, sending several notes fluttering, and moved into the room, giving it a quick visual scan. No Ashton. Even if he'd been terribly inclined to be skeptical about taking the word of Ashton's roommate - and why should he be? This was exactly the sort of thing his and Ashton's miserable luck would dictate - he couldn't believe Ashton had just wandered off. He'd been grievously injured; he probably couldn't even walk.

And they'd taken him.

It was just as well that there were several copies of Axel's note, as Dias' hand had clamped down on his tightly enough to nearly compress it back into bark.

Claude. Claude was coming, too; Dias would have to wait for him. Normally he would have gone off on his own without a second thought, but this place didn't follow normal rules and he couldn't afford to fail because he'd thought he could go solo. He'd already let Ashton down the night before - it wasn't going to become a habit simply because he was too stubborn and impatient to change tactics. Sitting down on Axel's bed to wait, however, still took an effort of will to make himself do.

[full_score]

((From here. ))

Claude moved swiftly through the dark, his flashlight beam illuminating his path. With a furrowed eyebrow, he couldn't help but think he'd need to be careful with his only light source in the future. He doubted the batteries were built to last forever. Maybe he could share with Dias or one of the others once they'd set out. He doubted anyone would object, considering it was the practical thing to do.

But first he needed to stop by Ashton's room. He was very grateful to have the opportunity to wield a sword for the night, and yet he couldn't take too much pleasure from it. After all, the only reason he was getting to use it was because his friend had been so injured the night before. There was nothing worse for a swordsman than losing the use of something so important. He knew if he were in Ashton's shoes, he'd be terribly frustrated.

I'll have to cheer him up somehow before leaving, the blond told himself. The drawing he'd made earlier that day was tucked in the pages of notebook. Maybe he could give that to him, and promise he'd do his best to make it back to him by the end of the night...

It was about that time he finally arrived at room M12, and as soon as he got there, he could tell something was off. Not by a feeling he got, but rather by the fact the door was wide open, and there were a couple of pieces of paper resting next to the threshold, as if they'd been scattered somehow. It was a little strange, to say the least, and he sped up his pace as he approached the room.

When he arrived, he was a little stunned to find it empty, save for Dias, who was sitting on one of the beds. Claude immediately frowned when he got a good look at the blue-haired swordsman. His gaze seemed distant, as if he were wrapped up in his own thoughts. That by itself wasn't that unusual, but the fact the room was completely empty otherwise was enough to help realize something was definitely wrong.

"Dias," Claude said, and he stepped towards the bed, suddenly looking anxious. "Dias, where's Ashton?"

[heavens_too_far]

Dias had deliberately detached himself from his surroundings and the world around him; despite the danger inattention presented, it had been pretty much the only way he could keep himself sitting still, knowing his friend had been taken and was having who knew what being done to him while he waited. It was something like a self-induced fugue state, a technique he'd learned out of necessity in the hours he'd lain waiting to die after the bandit attack. Some things simply could not be thought.

When Claude spoke, however, this shook him back to the waking world, and his gaze focused before it turned to Claude. Of course; he'd thrown the notes into disarray, Claude probably hadn't even realized there was important information on them. "He's been taken for experimentation." He stood up, sword in hand. "The experimentation rooms are on the second floor. We should go now; I would have left already, but we'll work better together." The one good thing about waiting for Claude was that, if it hadn't actually calmed him down any, it had at least given him time enough to get control of himself outwardly.

[full_score]

Claude was relieved Dias had heard him. He didn't really want to go over and try to shake the taller man out of his thoughts. But the relief was short-lived. He's been taken for experimentation, Dias had said, and the blond's heart almost stopped.

Ashton...taken for experimentation...

"Those bastards!" he hissed suddenly, his grip tightening almost painfully around his flashlight. "Why Ashton? Why him?! He can't even walk properly. He didn't even have a fighting chance!" As soon as he found out who took him, Claude wasn't going to let anyone escape. It was bad enough that they'd all been brought here in the first place, but to take one of their own and torture him--

Claude abruptly took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down. Dias had trusted him enough to sit here and wait for him. He wasn't going to betray that, or let him down. They needed to move, and they needed to move now.

"I have to get Ashton's sword, or I won't be good to anyone," he said, his voice a lot more subdued now. "Hold on..." He turned and glanced around the room. If he were hiding a sword, where would he keep it? It had to be a place that wasn't too easy to get to, or else he'd risk the nurses finding it, so that at least ruled out the closet.

He made his way over to Ashton's bed, his gaze sweeping over the bedspread. There was Ashton's journal, along with two felt belts with loops fit for swords, a sketch of Ashton, and...a bullet? That was strange, but he didn't have time to dwell on it.

"Here," he said suddenly, tossing the blue belt over to Dias. "I have a feeling you'll be needing this." He glanced at the purple one, which was undoubtedly for Ashton. Frowning to himself, he figured his friend wouldn't mind if he borrowed it for one night -- especially since he'd be using it to save him.

After hastily fitting the belt (which was surprisingly well-made, considering it was made from felt and yarn) around his own waist, he cleared the rest of the stuff off of the bed, including the tray of uneaten peas Ashton had left behind, and placed them onto the table. He nudged the mattress over with all of his might, and he was pleased to find the edge of a sword gleaming in the dark. He pushed the mattress further until he was able to grasp the blade's handle, and he lifted it up.

It was different from the sword he'd used back on Expel, but its weight was oddly comforting and friendly. Claude would make sure to use Ashton's sword particularly well tonight.

After that, he turned towards Dias, his mouth pressed into a thin line. "I'm ready to go."

[heraldric]

[please to be ignoring the actual wording of the post leading here - he didn't knock]
[from here]

Leon came rushing into the room at that point, expression curious as he hadn't expected the door to be open when he arrived. The words Hey, I'm here! were on his lips, but never made it out as he stared at the two men who'd made it before him. He hadn't expected to see both Claude and Dias there, either.

"Big brother?" he asked hesitantly. "Dias? Where's Ashton? He... asked me to come see him tonight..." he trailed off, taking in their unhappy expressions. "Did he go out somewhere? He wasn't well enough to go out, was he..?"

Ashton was wheelchair bound. That was the whole reason he'd asked him to come see him in his room anyway. The boy couldn't think of any reason he'd left - unless he'd been forced to leave. The thought caused Leon's heart to drop to his slippered feet.

"Has he been taken somewhere?"

[heavens_too_far]

Claude's outburst of the obvious earned him a condescending look through narrowed eyes from Dias; yes, it was all true, but standing around and ranting about something they were both well aware of wasn't getting them anywhere and it certainly wasn't helping Ashton. Fortunately, Claude shook himself out of it after a moment, precluding a growl from Dias about more effective ways to use his time.

He hadn't actually noticed the belts, even though he'd been staring across the room at Ashton's bed; he'd been too detached to notice anything. But looking down at it, his expression softened for a moment before it set into one more grim than ever - there was no way in hell that they were going to let anything happen to their friend.

Leon's arrival, although not exactly anticipated, didn't even cause Dias to look up from putting the belt on and sliding his sword into it - what he wouldn't give for a proper scabbard. Leon had proved the night before that he was capable of at least some spells, and any help they could get was appreciated - Dias wasn't about to question the circumstances. "He's one of the people who was taken to be experimented on tonight," he informed Leon brusquely. "We're going after him. Are you coming?"

[full_score]

Claude wasn't entirely surprised when Leon suddenly arrived, and he looked over at the boy with a soft frown. "What Dias says is true," the blond added. "With every second we waste, something awful is happening to Ashton. But we need all the help we can get, so..." Claude had a feeling Leon would want to come along. Ashton was his friend as much as he was any of theirs, after all, timeline difference or not.

"If you're coming, we need to head out now." Claude situated the sword into his belt and made his way towards the door. "It'll be dangerous, but Ashton is depending on us."

He had faith in Leon's abilities anyway. He wasn't like ordinary kids by any means, and it made Claude feel a little better that they were going out as a team instead of separately. Even Dias looked like he was going to cooperate with them, which, for Claude, was a miracle in of itself.

[heraldric]

"Experimen...." Leon's eyes widened, and he bit his lower lip to stop it quivering. The idea of Ashton being taken away to be used in some sort of science experiment was horrific. He felt his heart drop nearly to his slippered feet. As a scientist himself, even working on animals had never sat right with him. How could they do that to Ashton?

"Of course I'm coming", he half-whispered. He yanked his journal from his pants, snatching it tight as if he might need it any moment. "Let's go, then! We've gotta save him!"

Even if there was hardly anything he could do.

[heavens_too_far]

"No one suggested waiting," Dias growled. More useless statements of the obvious; Claude and Leon both were reiterating the need for haste as if they all weren't perfectly well aware of the necessity already. If anything, their chatter was wasting the very time that they were declaring so precious. "So move." He swept past Claude and only narrowly missed bowling Leon right over on his way out the door, heading for the nearest set of stairs he could think of. Axel's note hadn't actually detailed where on the second floor the experimentation rooms were, but the sooner they got there the sooner they could look for them.

[Moving to here, unless anyone has any objections~]