full_score
in
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Nightshift 27: Second Floor, hallway containing disciplinary therapy rooms and nurse station
((From here. ))As Claude stepped into the dark hallway, he made sure to shine his flashlight beam enough to light their way forward. Doing a quick scan of the area, Claude noticed the closed doors along their path. He swallowed hard. Were they torturing Ashton in one of these rooms? Who else did they have trapped here
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Clark's first instinct was to get this poor guy on the floor away from them. He might squirm or struggle, considering his reaction to Allen's attempt to help, but Clark wasn't too worried that he'd drop him. Bending down, he gathered the other boy in his arms and lifted him up. Clark gave a surprised grunt under his breath. He didn't have too much problems picking him up, but he felt...well, heavier than he should, and that was saying something when he was used to picking up tractors and cars without breaking a sweat.
Puzzled, he decided he'd worried about it once they got out of here. It wasn't the first time his abilities had gone on the fritz - he just wished they'd pick more convenient times to do it.
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Rinali was first, whether it was a conscious thing or not, he wasn't sure. Hearing that tone in her voice... it was enough to fill his stomach with a cold lump of anxiety. Sorry? "Rinali," he turned to tell her there was no need, that there was nothing she ought to be apologizing for. If anyone had reason, it was him.
But the boy's reaction startled him further. The way he'd scrambled backward as though frightened or upset. "H-hey," Allen managed, getting to his feet as Clark picked the boy up. "It's alright, we're here to help you."
It was enough that he didn't see the rat until it was too late to dodge, too late to move out of the way of its sharp teeth. Though by some small miracle, the creature had picked the wrong arm to bite. His left arm looked warped and deformed, but in truth it was strong as metal. He could stop Akuma's bullets with it, and had, on many occasions. The only thing that could pierce it was other Innocence... or of course the power of Noah, as he'd come to find out first-hand.
The thing managed to latch on, but there was little damage it could do. It might have been a simple matter for the dementor as well; Allen did not have many happy memories and at times it was easy to despair. But the one thing that he'd fight for, even if his life was the price, was his friends. His life meant precious little compared to them and right now, they were in danger. He had to save them. There was no question of it in his mind.
Though his legs shook, he held his arm out with what strength remained. "Innocence, activate!" he called. It was slow to answer, but in a flash of light that same deformed arm grew to more than twice Allen's own height. It gave off a faintly silver and greenish glow as he swung it, the creature still clinging on tightly, against the nearest wall. If the motion didn't shake it loose, the impact surely would.
He turned to the ones that had gone after the others. Take care of these first, he told himself, then help Rukia and the others. He only hoped he'd be able to hold out long enough. The chill feeling that surrounded him insisted otherwise.
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Stop thinking that way, she told herself as she raised her flashlight like a club. She felt lost and worthless without her boots, but she would do her best.
She took a defensive stance as best she could, ready to kick one of the rats away if it came near her. Even without her boots, she remembered how to fight with her legs. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Hopefully Allen would be able to fight them off and she'd be okay. They'd all be okay.
For now.
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The rats were another story.
Allen managed to thud one off the wall quite nicely, the cat sized creature bouncing on the floor like a rubber ball, each smack punctuated with a squeak. That was going to be one pissed rat once the room stopped spinning for it. Meanwhile, it just squealed a few more times to express a thought or two that probably wasn't 'Happy Birthday' in rat-language.
The rat that had been charging Robin stopped and stared at it, ugly pink nose quivering as it took in his scent. It was man-shaped, that much the rat knew. Just didn't smell right for some reason. Rats had a lot of natural predators, and the fox happened to be one of them. That rat thought better of matters and headed for the wall to try to get around Robin to go join in attacking weaker prey that didn't smell like fear and death to it.
At least it was trying to get around him and his spade.
The final two bypassed Clark and Kyon for the moment, heading straight for Rinali.
((Just to keep count for everyone, there's four rats. One is trying to escape Robin, one is stunned from Allen, the other two are trying to get past Allen to get at Rinali))
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So, with a sigh, Robin moved after it and brought the spade down, 'blade' first, aiming between the rat's head and body.
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Too weak right now to fight Clark's fairly strong grip, Kyon tried to cover his nose and fight back his thirst. These people were trying to help him, so he was doing his damnedest not to blindly attack one of them and start sucking on their blood.
The thought caused Kyon to shudder uncontrollably.
Fucking doctor. Fucking Landels. He honestly wanted to know what he'd done that was so terrible that he deserved this kind of treatment. He must have done something to have his humanity ripped away from him.
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But what place was safe when they had rats the size of cats here? Clark felt certain he could protect him, but for how long? And what about the others? Come to think of it, they looked like they were doing surprisingly well, considering they were up against rats that were far bigger than they had any right to be: Allen had his not-so-human arm, Rinali had this look about her like she knew how to fight, and Robin was armed with the shovel.
Clark adjusted his hold on the boy. He still didn't have a name to his face, but he'd just have to get it later. "Guys, I've gotta take this guy back to someplace safe," he said, pressing himself up against the wall and keeping his charge lifted well off the ground.
He didn't like the idea of leaving the others even if they looked like they could hold their own. But the best way he could help was make sure the boy he held in his arms was okay - he could come back to look for the others once he made sure he was safe. As far as he knew, the patient rooms seemed to be pretty secure, at least judging by the windows and the doors.
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Luckily, his arm had quite a decent reach now that it was twice as tall as he was. It was a weapon that had taken some getting used to, but he was accustomed to it. He leapt toward the other creatures, using the large claw to pick up the nearest one and fling it away, much like the first. There was still another headed for Rinali though. He hoped he'd be able to make it in time to get the other.
Clark was leaving with the boy, which was something of a relief, but he hardly heard them. Rinali would probably be safest if she could get away. She was fast, even without her boots, so maybe... "Rinali, run! Look out!" Probably not the most helpful bit of advice, but in the heat of the moment, it was really all he could come up with.
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But then Allen was there, and Allen knocked away one of the rats for her! She was being silly. Everything was going to be okay. It had to be! As considerate as Allen's advice was, she knew how to fight. Even without her boots, she could handle herself. Besides, she only had to hold it off long enough for Allen to get there with his claw. Besides, if she ran she would've exposed her back to the rat. Better to be ready for the attack than to be caught off guard.
She bounced in place, ready to duck and weave once the creature jumped. If she timed it right, she could duck to the side and bat it away once it jumped at her...but she wasn't going to time it right. She was going to fail and the rat was....
No! she repeated again to herself. I'm not going to think like that.
Keeping her wits about her, she readied herself and prepared to block and dodge the attack.
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Another rat met its end against the wall thanks to Allen. From now on, there were going to be posters of him circulating in the rodent underworld. That was two of them that he had injured or killed. They would remember that. One could be sure.
The rat continued its race towards Rinali. Even it could smell easy prey. Gathering its legs under it, the thing leaped for her leg.
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"Hey! Where's tall boy?!" he called out. "Oh geez, that ain't good." Another look and it seemed most of the rats were dealt with. Apart from one.
Robin dashed after Rinali, spade ready to strike again. Whatever his strange feelings and thoughts towards those familiar rat eyes, he was here to protect these children.
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Maybe it was because they'd defeated most of the rats or maybe it was because that strange creature the others were fighting was backing away, but things seemed to be just a little bit brighter. There was hope, he only prayed it would reach Rinali as well.
"Ah- I... I think he took the injured boy to get medical attention," Allen cast a worried look toward Robin. Hopefully Clark would be able to handle anything they ran into.
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Rather than worry about dodging the rat as it leaped at her legs, she took a quick hop back and kicked at the rat in the head with all of her might. Her legs weren't supernaturally strong like Allen's arm was, but they were strong after years of training.
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