NIGHTSHIFT 30 - M21-M30 Hall

[blacksustenance]

So that was what that bastard had been up to: he'd been wondering where the Head Doctor ran off to and now they knew. Personally, he didn't care one way or another what happened in their little bitch-fight - he didn't trust Martin Landel and he didn't trust whoever was behind the radio. If one of them was dead? They didn't care unless it meant they

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[fly_petrelli]

Night came suddenly again. Thankfully, this time, Nathan was prepared for the unsettling intercom posts timed perfectly with the eerie sound of door latches snapping open. He stood ready and waiting, flashlight in hand as the other remained free to fend off whatever stood to get in his way. Or attempt to, at any rate; it wasn't like his fists of fury would come anywhere close to taking down the monsters here, at least not if last night were any indication. Procuring some sort of makeshift weapon would have to be a top priority after he located Claire, and hopefully before that other asshole had time to do so at that. He stepped out of his room carefully; he wasn't happy to just leave Cid like he was, but he hoped the pilot would understand. He wasn't sure what he could do for Claire here, but he owed her that much, to take care of her. Like Peter would have.

Yes, this time around, Nathan Petrelli was prepared for whatever Landel and his sick cronies wanted to throw at him. He was almost sure he could handle a thousand, sharp-toothed molemen now that he had a good handle on where he stood power-wise. No more surprises; he was ready for anything.

Almost.

As the former Congressman's flashlight beam arched down the hallway, flooding it with dim light, his eyes briefly came to rest on a figure somewhere down the hall as it stepped out of its room. It was a passing glance, and, really, the sight was one being duplicated everywhere as patient after patient stepped out into the darkness, all seeking some manner of escape or victory over their captor. Yet his eyes locked on the figure, on the back of his head, on the way he walked. They'd almost glanced over him, writing him off as another poor sap stuck in the same twisted cycle.

But Nathan's eyes knew better.

There were a dozen emotions and thoughts crowding his mind as he stood there, dumbly staring at Peter's back in disbelief. He couldn't be alive. It wasn't possible. He'd failed. Nathan had failed. The words he'd said to Claire earlier in the day rang again and again in his head, repeating like a broken record.

Pete's gone.

But there he was, standing just a few feet down the hall. Peter. Peter. It didn't matter how little sense it all made in the end. Peter was right there, and he was about to let him walk away because he was too caught up in the why. Nathan found that his feet were moving before he was.

"...Pete?" he managed, his voice partially strangled by too many emotions to count. It wasn't possible, and the fear that the man in front of him would turn around only to show his own, mangled face was too much to bear.

[human_sponge]

Just as Peter had been starting to move, he heard the voice chime in from behind him and was forced to stop. The name was right, the voice itself was right, but the tone was wrong -- worn and strained. He wondered if he was just hearing things after his earlier thoughts about his half-dead brother - there was no way Nathan could be here.

He remembered what the nurse had told him when he had first woken up here: that they were "taking care of" his brother, too. He hadn't known what to think of it, but maybe...?

But Nathan was severely injured, and this was no normal hospital. Nathan being here didn't make any sense, which was they he hadn't even considered it until now. Part of him wanted to shrug it off, to just keep on moving, but there was no harm in turning around and checking, was there? The worst thing that could happen was that nothing would be there, and checking was better than just walking away.

Swallowing painfully, Peter half-turned, enough to tell that someone was behind him. After that, he couldn't stop himself from quickly whipping around to fully face the figure.

His mouth fell open slightly and he stared, confused and unsure. Peter could still remember clearly. It had only happened two nights ago, as far as he knew -- Nathan's dead weight in his arms, the way his face had been disfigured, his skin burned away, and all to save him.

Though what made even less sense than his perfect condition was why Nathan was here, in this place. His brother had always kept a distance, staying outside of his issues so that he could fix them when Peter screwed up somehow. If anything, Peter would have expected Nathan to be working on getting him out of here - making calls and pulling strings like he always did - instead of going through it alongside him. Though he realized that distance he always expected had vanished the moment Nathan had grabbed hold of him and taken to the skies.

His hair was the wrong length, he wasn't clean-shaven, there was none of that normal confidence there - but it was him.

"Nathan." Peter felt like his stomach was lifting and his heart was pounding faster than it had when he had run from those creatures last night. "It's really..."

[fly_petrelli]

Nathan almost flinched as Peter turned around, expecting that face to greet him. When he turned, when Nathan saw Peter's eyes, his face, that same, goofy haircut... It was hard to think at all. His thoughts were racing, the logical side of him struggling to determine how and why as the lesser known aspect of him, the big brother, struggled to form words to express anything at all. Peter was dead, his mind kept screaming, but clearly Peter was here.

It wasn't like him, but it had become him. The stranger standing there with messy hair and a five o'clock shadow was the picture of everything he'd hated in life. Losers who sat back and let their worlds fall apart around them, unable to cope with the lot they'd been given. Nathan hadn't understood until he'd lost something that really matter. Not the election, not his house or his money. His brother. Part of him had died that day when he woke up in the hospital, not a mark on him as his brother had faded away...

What came next surprised even Nathan. The older brother took another step, wrapping his arms around his young brother and embracing him a display of raw emotion that would've surprised even their mother.

He was surprised that he didn't challenge it, but his face... His face was Peter's face, not some twisted mockery of what Nathan should have become, what he almost wished he'd been so he had some scar to show of his failure.

"I thought you were dead."

[human_sponge]

Peter didn't hesitate to let the shovel, radio, and flashlight fall from his grasp, ignoring the loud clatters they made in the mostly empty hallway. He forgot all about how this didn't make sense as he stepped into the hug and then returned it, resting his head on Nathan's shoulder as he stared down the dark hallway.

There were a lot of things he should have been feeling at that moment. Maybe he should have been upset that Nathan was stuck here with him, or angry that they had only run into each other now, or even upset that this added one more question to the long list he had accumulated during his stay here. But he was just happy, plain and simple. Happy that Nathan was alive and that he was here with him, as selfish as that might be. Happy that his brother wasn't blaming him for what had happened.

Hearing those words, Peter frowned and pulled back from the hug slightly, moving his hands up to settle on Nathan's shoulders. "Because of the explosion? But I was fine. You're the one who was hurt. I... I took you to the hospital, and you were in really bad shape." Peter's eyes searched his brother's face, but there was no sign of the damage he had left on it, almost like it hadn't even happened.

But it must have. That had felt too real to be a dream, and there was no way he was crazy. Peter had no clue what was going on at this point, but they were both alive and well, so he wasn't sure it mattered as much to him anymore.

[fly_petrelli]

Nathan felt a sharp stab of fear, a lingering habit from such a long time living in self-induced pity. What if this was Peter from before? Before the explosion, before he'd known that his older brother hadn't abandoned him? What if it would all come to be, and what if he was destined to lose him anyway? He felt sick to his stomach as his simple conversation with Cid suddenly came back to haunt him.

Needless to say, it was a relief when Peter at least confirmed the incident, off-the-wall as his concern seemed. He'd been the one to bring him to the hospital? His brow furrowed in concern, despite the happy reunion. None of it made sense...

"They told me they weren't even able to find your body..." Nathan began, hands still resting on Peter's shoulders as though he were afraid that his brother would disappear if he removed them.

It was then that it hit him. They'd been sure Peter would live from the explosion, but he'd assumed that something far worse had happened when they hadn't found his body. Claire's power... It had come through in the end. But it still didn't explain his miraculous recovery, or why Peter had been nowhere to be found months after he was out of the hospital. Then again, Mom had been the one to relay that particular tidbit of information to him.

"Look," he started, defaulting back to that same, older-brother-knows-best logic without even skipping a beat. "A lot of things don't make sense right now, but that's not important. The important thing..." Nathan paused, so many important things about right now coming to mind as he struggled to find the right thing to say. "...the important thing is that we're here together."

[human_sponge]

Peter had been getting ready to explain further, since his ability to stay unseen had probably made him rather hard to find, hence them not finding the body -- but then Nathan cut him off, expressing a sentiment he had been considering himself. Maybe it was better not to worry about any of the details at this point, though he knew that they were going to have to try and figure it all out eventually. It might be the key to finding out who was keeping them here, and for what reason.

It was true that all of that could wait, though, and all Peter ended up doing was sending his older brother a crooked smile. Even though their situation hadn't improved, Peter couldn't help feeling like everything was going to be okay. Nathan was here, and he wasn't hurt somehow, and he was going to fix everything like he always did.

"Yeah," he said, finally managing to pull away from Nathan's grasp. He brushed his hair back behind his ear and nodded. "We'll figure out a way to get ourselves and everyone else out of here." He was probably assuming that he was capable of more that he really was, but he always felt stronger with his brother around. He didn't have to run from him anymore, especially since his powers were no longer a danger. Speaking of which...

"My abilities... I think they're gone. I think the people keeping us here weakened them somehow. Do you think the Company is behind this?" Peter wanted to hold onto that theory, since it would be better if there was only one evil organization that they had to worry about, but it was seeming less and less likely the more he learned.

Knowing Nathan, he probably had all the answers somehow. On the other hand, if they were both newly arrived, then his brother might be as clueless as he was. There were so many questions he wanted to belt out, but Peter managed to restrain himself.

[fly_petrelli]

Nathan quirked an eyebrow at Peter's remark, more amused than he probably would've been by his heroic tendancies for the sole reason that he'd just found out his brother was alive. The likelihood that any, single group of people would be able to sweep in and rescue everyone there was slim to none; escape was clearly a more plausible option, but he wasn't ready to argue with Peter about that at the moment. So far as he was concerned, escape was a long way away unless they happened to be extraordinarily lucky.

The matter of their powers was a far more pressing concern. Nathan had expected Peter's to be weakened, like his own, but to have them completely missing was something he hadn't been prepared for. He frowned, thinking on the matter before responding.

"It was my first thought," he admitted. "I'm not so sure anymore, though. There's a lot of... interesting talk around here about this place. My... abilities aren't gone, but they're pretty limited as I was lucky enough to find out last night." Nathan gestured to his bandaged ankle.

[human_sponge]

It didn't make much sense that Nathan's power was only weakened while his were completely gone, but it might be because he posed more of a threat. Though Peter forgot all of that for the moment when Nathan pointed out that he was hurt.

"Oh," he started, quickly returning one hand to his brother's shoulder as if for support, "do you need to sit down or something?" They could always go into one of their rooms if Nathan needed rest. It was hard to know how bad the injury was with the bandages covering it, but if whatever had attacked Nathan was anything like those monsters Peter had seen, then the wound might be pretty bad.

Peter realized that he still needed to collect all of the items he'd dropped, but that could wait.

[fly_petrelli]

"It's not bad," Nathan assured him, quick to dismiss his brother's concern. "I'm fine. We've got more important things to worry about right now." Bending down to scoop up his brother's discarded flashlight and radio, Nathan looked up.

"Claire's here, Pete." It was a simple admission, but one that he was sure would catch his brother's attention. The words he'd spoken to her earlier stung, and he couldn't help but feel even guiltier still for throwing the news at her like her had. All to have Peter show up, alive and well.

But there wasn't time to just sit back and torture himself about it. There was a lot of work to be done if they were going to get out of here alive.

[human_sponge]

Peter took the two retrieved items from Nathan thankfully and then moved over to pick up the shovel as well, but just as he was bending down to grab for it, Nathan added another surprise to his night.

He paused for a moment, glancing over at his brother. "Claire? Here?" It didn't seem fair for her to get involved in something like this, especially when her father went to such lengths to look after her. Besides, she was just a kid. And while he didn't have to worry about her getting hurt in this place, there were other sorts of damage that could be done.

Resuming his movement for the shovel, he straightened, slung it over his shoulder, and returned to Nathan with a sigh. "Then we should find her." But then something occurred to him that didn't make sense. Noah Bennet was part of the Company, wasn't he? He'd been chasing after Claude. There was no way he would let the Company put Claire in a place like this, which meant it probably wasn't the Company after all.

"This can't be the Company," he vocalized, sending Nathan an uncertain glance. "Claire's... dad wouldn't have let them hold her in this place." It was a little awkward to mention the girl's father considering everything that had happened, but Peter knew that Nathan understood who her real father was in the end. He probably wouldn't be all that offended by it.

[damned_monsters]

While the reunion was touching indeed, these men would soon learn that even the patient hallways weren't safe. Fiends with teeth and claws were all too common here, and the influx of new patients in Landel's Institute meant more fresh blood. Fresh, delicious blood.

And there were far too many shadows holding creepy-crawlies and mutated mammals with sharp points at nearly every end. The shadows of this hallway were, of course, no exception.

There was a grossly-mutated cat in the shadows at the end of the hall, green eyes glowing faintly from the flashlight, watching every move that these two men made. One of them had been injured some time in the past, and it could smell the still-torn flesh at his ankle. And soon would be the perfect time to sink its dirty, diseased claws into tender flesh.

Soon.

[Kat!]

[fly_petrelli]

"Yeah, I'm beginning to have my doubts too." If Nathan was bothered by the fact that Peter hadn't referred to him as Claire's father, it didn't show on his face; he was right not to. He'd never been a father to her, not even when she'd sought him out in New York.

It didn't mean it wasn't his job to look out for her, though.

"I didn't get the chance to find out where she is," he continued, unaware of just how quickly he was slipping back into his usual self. "But I think I know about where F-Block is." Nathan paused, reminding himself again that Peter was really standing before him. Perhaps that was why, even as he swept the light around their position quickly, he didn't pick up on the fact that something was stalking them in the shadows.

[human_sponge]

Peter was just as oblivious. He didn't have enhanced hearing or anything, after all. He hadn't even had that in the first place. Besides, he was more focused on the fact that Nathan and Claire were both him, trying to piece together what this all meant. They did all have one thing in common, but he wondered if any of the other people he had met were around. Isaac, Hiro, the guy who could read minds? Who knew?

"Well, maybe if we get over there fast enough we'll run into her." He knew that Claire wasn't the type to stay put, but the night was still young, right? Nathan looked ready to get moving if the way he was scanning the area was any indication, so with a shrug Peter started down the hall, making sure to go at a slow pace since he knew his brother's ankle was injured.

There was one question he just couldn't hold back, though, and he glanced over his shoulder at Nathan for a moment, taking in his features again. "How did you--" He started, but then he paused and sighed. "You were so burned." He knew that there could easily be some reasoning for it, with everything he had seen. Someone with a healing power, maybe?

[damned_monsters]

Now. Now was the time.

Noticing that the two of them were turning, making the overtures to leave, the cat realized that it was now or never. It wouldn't let them. No.

And there was the human baring his back to him, even as he looked over his shoulder. Yes, that one would be the target.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the grotesque feline launched itself at Peter's back, baring huge, mutated claws as sharp as razors and covered in grime.

[fly_petrelli]

Nathan wasn't sure what to say; he wasn't sure how he'd escaped unscathed either. A miraculous recovery in not even a day's time... He hadn't deserved it, he still believed that much, but he wasn't about to burden Peter with that kind of talk now, not when they'd just found each other again.

Unfortunately, the older brother didn't have time to think up an appropriate way to steer them away from that line of thought for now; he would've preferred tackling it over what came next.

Nathan didn't have time to react as the large form sprung past him, pouncing on Peter as he stood there helplessly, lacking the reflexes or foresight that might've allowed him to put himself in its path instead.

"Peter!" He didn't even stop to think as he rushed in with only a flashlight in hand to try and do something, anything, to get the monster off of his brother.

[human_sponge]

Considering he had only run into monsters when he had gotten to the courtyard the night before, Peter certainly hadn't expected them to be around in the hallways right outside their rooms. He should have been more attentive, but it was hard for him to focus on anything but Nathan at the moment.

Since he had been turned around to talk to his brother, the first sign of danger was the other man's expression and the way he yelled his name. Peter didn't even get the chance to spin back around before he felt large claws cleaving into his back. The sharp pain that started slightly below his shoulders blades was enough to make him scream.

There wasn't much he could do in this situation, since trying to hit the thing with his shovel wouldn't end very well, so Peter's first instinct was to start backing into the wall, hoping he could slam whatever was clinging to his back against it hard enough that it would do some damage.

He wasn't sure how he was staying standing with the added weight and how much it hurt, but it had to be due to adrenaline. He remembered the strain Claude had put him through, and hoped that somehow this encounter would pull his powers out again - he definitely needed them.