Nightshift 33: The Grand Ballroom

[blood_and_pocky]

[from here]Before they’d even reached the bottom of the stairs, Aidou heard the sound of trickling water. And once he stepped onto the black marble floor, it was oddly the first thing he focused on. Fountains… His gaze trailed them up, to the seemingly infinite expanse of ceiling

Comments

[traitors_smile]

[[from here]]

Gin waited for Ran to come through before the started descending the staircase. The cool air made the new cut on his back sting, but not so much as it had in the freezer. Though his shirt and his bandages had offered some protection and managed to keep the cut from being too deep, he wasn't thrilled about so obvious an injury.

He pulled his flashlight from his sleeve, tucking the sword into the waist of his hakama. They weren't all the way down the stairs just yet, but he didn't want to be taken by surprise.

[fuyunohanabi]

Rangiku slipped down the hole quickly after Gin, turning to move the tile back into place as best she could from beneath it. It was when she turned that she saw the gash on the back of Gin's robes and she reached out to touch his shoulder. "How badly did it get you?" she asked seriously. It looked bad, but it was difficult to tell. "And you won't need the torch yet. There are candles in the wall when you get further down."

[traitors_smile]

At least it would save how long the light lasted. He shrugged and slipped the device back into his sleeve. Odd that this was the only place that was lit at night.

"Can't very well see it, but I don't think it's more n' a scratch. M' more upset about the clothes. They jus' don't last like they used to," he said lightly as he began walking down the staircase. Sure enough, there was light in the distance. If she was really that worried, they could take a look where they could actually see.

[thebloodyacacia]

He was close enough to the stairway that there was no chance anybody coming down the stairs would be able to get by without facing him. Pyramid Head wasn't moving now - he'd stopped after some fruitless searching and (seeing? feeling?) sensing nothing.

But now there were more people coming. Though he remained mostly still, the fingers on his free hand twitched in what might have been anticipation.

His blade was ready.

[fuyunohanabi]

"If we can, maybe we should take some more of the candles," Rangiku suggested. "I took a good few the other night, but didn't bring them with me, but if we take some, we can keep a couple lit and just switch between them as they run out." Although, if they were going to use candles when they came down here, next time she might think about bringing the cup that the juice came in for dinner to hold them.

She frowned slightly at his back, not liking that he was injured and she probably couldn't manage another spell to deal with it if it did turn out to be bad.

[traitors_smile]

"Nn," he consented with a nod, somewhat surprised he hadn't thought of it himself. Candles would be tricky if a fight broke out, but they were better than no light at all when these devices ran out. He'd already gone through one set of the batteries. It was lucky that Cloud hadn't needed the other set

[thebloodyacacia]

As they paused on the stairs, he stayed right where he was, helmet fixed and staring in their direction. His free hand twitched a bit more, tightening into a fist momentarily before his fingers fell loose again.

There was guilt, after all, and it wasn't terrifically hidden. Not that any such thing would ever hide from him.

If they turned around and went back up the stairs - back toward a different kind of doom - he wouldn't give chase; he couldn't. But as soon as one of them set foot on the ballroom's floor, he would begin. They would not walk away unscathed. Alive, maybe, but certainly not whole.

[fuyunohanabi]

Candles were also less of a loss than the flashlights if they were destroyed in a fight and she was sure that there were plenty of things in the Institute which would dislike fire more than they disliked light.

She shivered slightly, moving to rest her hand on the hilt of her katana, looking around the ballroom warily as they descended. The candles seemed too bright after the darkness of the rest of the Institute. It might have been just her imagination, but she thought that the ballroom felt more ominous this time around. NO, it was just shock left over from the kitchen, she was sure.

She stopped dead when Gin did, following his gaze. Her eyes widened hugely at the sight of the huge man shaped figure with the metal helmet. She too had seen the messages about this creature, the warnings about it. "No. You're right. That isn't the Sphinx."

[traitors_smile]

Despite their arrival, the giant of a man hadn't done more than twitch his sword hand. It wasn't like when he'd fought the others; there was no chatter, no pleasantries, he'd no clue when, or if the man would even make a move. The blood hadn't even dried from his last wound and there was already another opponent. What did he want? Was he waiting for a challenge? For them to go back the way they'd come? That was definitely out of the question. Retreat meant going back into the kitchen with the other creature.

Gin padded slowly down the last of the stairs, watching the hulking giant with each step. He could see a bit more of the room and there were several large doors. He really hoped Ran remembered which one the Sphinx creature had been behind. With some hesitation, he stepped down onto the ballroom floor, trying to edge around the huge man.

[thebloodyacacia]

When that first foot hit the floor, he moved.

Pyramid Head's body shifted, twisting slightly in the direction Gin was edging in, and his hand tightened around his massive blade. Then, with an almighty heave, he stepped forward and dragged the blade with him, making the massive scar in the floor even longer.

He was headed directly for Gin, but it would be a few moments before he got close enough to swipe. Admittedly, close enough was almost six feet away.

[fuyunohanabi]

Ran swept the ballroom quickly, searching in the dim light for the doorway which she'd taken the other night to reach the Sphinx. It took a moment but she finally spotted it, across the room to the west of them, forcing them to cross a wide expanse of empty floor, vulnerable to that creature.

She caught the movement of the massive sword out of the corner of her eye, the strength of it evident from the huge gouge across the floor from the blade. "Gin!" she called out quickly, beginning the words of another spell as she stepped down a couple more steps. She didn't think it would work, but she couldn't just stand and do nothing!

[traitors_smile]

He hadn't expected the thing to stay still, so he was ready when it began to follow him. He hurried his pace, backpedaling across the marbled floor. So far it was just dragging that massive sword along slowly, but who knew when it might change tactics?

Ran's shout wasn't necessary, he was well aware of the threat, but if it was so single-minded, perhaps she could handle the door while he distracted the thing. Then again...

Ran was trying to cast a kidou spell. He cursed under his breath. Why was Ran trying to cast a kidou spell? "I'll catch up in a bit," he called out, hoping to cut her off before she wasted her strength. He could probably distract the monster, but looking out for her too? He wasn't cut out to be a hero. "You go on 'head now," he added, hoping she would take the hint.

[thebloodyacacia]

If he heard her speaking the beginnings of a spell, he did nothing. He continued onward, dragging the massive blade toward Gin. The massive footsteps - the space he covered with just one step - was unnerving, and he was likely getting too close for comfort.

And then his hand gripped the sword's hilt tighter, and he heaved, his entire body lunging forward as the blade lifted off the ground and swung outward, a massive, deadly arc headed straight for Gin.

The momentum would twist his body back toward the stairs, but there were other people there. Yes - more than one now, as a new group arrived just behind the first.

[fuyunohanabi]

Rangiku stopped when she heard Gin's shout, gritting her teeth and nodding. Damn it, if he got himself killed she was going to hurt him badly. As the creature moved, she darted down the last couple of stairs and around the back of it, missing the huge sword and heading quickly over to the door that she'd gone through the other night, slippers nearly silent on the stone floor.

She grabbed the handle and pulled but nothing happened. Her eyes widened as she tried again to get it open with the same result. It wouldn't even budge! It had opened so easily the other night and it didn't feel like the mechanisam was just stiff. It just wouldn't open, like it was just a handle on a normal wall! "Gin, get back!" she shouted. Maybe if they could get back onto the stairs they could avoid that creature.

[traitors_smile]

It wasn't easy to pay attention to his metal-headed opponent and what Ran was doing halfway across the room, but he tried. It threw him off a little, that this slow giant could move so suddenly and attack with such ferocity, but when the attack came, there was no time to think about the mechanics of it. There was only two options, dodge or block

[blurred_divide]

[from down here]

From the force of its swing, the monster drew uncomfortably close to them. Angel had no idea if it'd noticed them or not, but the possibility was there. Still, it was big, and sometimes the larger ones were less bright and less quick. Mostly because they didn't need to be.

Taking a step to the left, he didn't hesitate in throwing a scalpel at it, aiming for the flesh just beneath the-(head?) Not that he expected to accomplish much; he just wanted to either catch its attention or distract it enough for the other man to get a hit in with his sword.

Granted, it might not be enough to even do that. But he'd try his luck.