Nightshift 34: M31-M40 Hallway
[M39]
You could get outside now?
Well, he'd heard mention of the walls coming down, but the lack of any reports of successful escape were conspicuous in their absence; Zelnick was inclined to believe Landel that going outside would do as little towards your escape as staying indoors.
Of course, Zelnick did have plans for indoors ( Read more... )
You could get outside now?
Well, he'd heard mention of the walls coming down, but the lack of any reports of successful escape were conspicuous in their absence; Zelnick was inclined to believe Landel that going outside would do as little towards your escape as staying indoors.
Of course, Zelnick did have plans for indoors ( Read more... )
"Er, yes, that's correct. I had not anticipated the loss of my vision in the low light of the corridors, and in any case was unaware of the existence of the flashlights when I set out. Thankfully, I met a Mr. Vlad Masters in the hallways, who was kind enough to both provide some light on my way, and help me find your room." Tanaka didn't mention Vlad's comment about his map being "rather poor"; it was bad form and in any case Tanaka was sure that the Captain wasn't cutting any corners he didn't need to cut. However, having been reminded by this stray thought of the map issue, he added, "By the way, do you have access to any more detailed maps than the one I received? It did well enough in leading me here, but it would not be sufficient for navigating the rest of the Institute."
Having asked this question, Tanaka then turned his attention to Xigbar, adding an "and a good evening to you, sir" to his previous greetings. The Shofixti took a close look at the man, and didn't recognize him by face, but realizing that many of his former acquaintances might be quite unrecognizable here, he asked Xigbar, "I'm sorry, but... have I met you before?"
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The "Go away for a bit" order should have been fairly obvious, really.
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Though, when Zelnick made that 'favor' comment, Xigbar snickered to himself. Really, the human was far too cute for his own good, and... compared to the current run of people running out on him or ignoring him quite dramatically, he kind of preferred this turn of events. Especially considering what he already knew about the guy. "Yeah," he muttered under his breath with a grin, "you're gonna repay me for that favor..."
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However, it seemed that the Captain did have some items for him - the aforementioned knife, which would do as a weapon even if it was a little short for his tastes, and a flashlight similar to the one Vlad was using. Tanaka nodded and gave a "thank you, Captain" as he received these, glad that he would have some kind of defense against the alleged "monsters" (although he had seen none himself).
And then, a dismissal? Tanaka was a bit surprised, until he remembered the Captain's comment about being "a bit busy" in his bulletin posting. Not that he was complaining about being sent to the bomb-maker next. "Understood, Captain. Feel free to meet me at, er, Captain Usopp's room?... when you've finished your business."
With a quick "good evening, gentlemen," Tanaka closed the door, and quickly began his trek down the hallway to find the Captain's ally.
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When Tanaka closed the door, Zelnick turned back towards the bed, smiling as he sat down a Oreo package away from Xigbar. "I will need to get going eventually," he noted, snagging up another cookie and nibbling the edge. He didn't particularly want to leave Xigbar and the Oreos, but he did need to wok towards getting out of here, and the last few nights had been woefully lacking in progress. In a thoughtful murmur, tapping the half-eaten cookie against his lips, he asked nothing-in-particular, "What else did I promise...? Oh, yeah!
"You've never seen or heard Into the Woods, have you?"
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Xigbar knew that he was just getting this as a result of the promise he'd made with Zelnick, but that was entirely all right. If he shut his eye, he could pretend that they were doing this because they were homies. And if he could pretend that, then it felt so much better!
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Well, Zelnick was already sitting down, so he took the suggestion to sit as a suggestion to relax farther back on his bed-- something he had no objection to at all-- and begin with a fair deal of enthusiasm, "Right, Into the Woods. It's a kind of merging of a lot of the old fairy tales into one story-- Rapunzel, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, a couple others here and there-- mostly in their older forms, with a new fairy tale thrown into the mix to glue it all together, about a baker and his wife who want a child. There's this witch next door, and she tells them that when the baker's mother was pregnant with his little sister (that's Rapunzel, though he didn't know she existed until he was told), his mother coaxed his father into stealing vegetables from the witch's garden. The baker was caught (of course), and the witch agreed to let him have the vegetables if she could take the child. But she didn't know he'd taken her beans--" he paused for a short breath, then sang a short snippet of patter song, "The special beans! I let him go, I didn't know he'd stolen my beans. I was watching him crawl back over the wall, and bang! flash! the lightning crashed! And, well, that's another story, nevermind-- it's implied later that her mother punished her for the loss of the beans by turning her into a hag." He flashed a grin at Xigbar. "Cheery already, innit?
"So the witch cast a curse when she took away Rapunzel, that 'their family tree would always be a barren one'-- but she's willing to take it off if they find her the ingredients to a potion, which're some of the things the other characters have-- Cinderella's slipper, Little Red's Hood, Jack's cow, Rapunzel's hair. So the first act is gathering those, paying for the cow and slipper in magic beans, while the other fairy tales play out per usual, everyone living happily ever after, all their wishes come true."
With a grin, he raised a finger and (really getting into the telling) lowered his voice dramatically. "But in the second act, Cinderella's magic bean gets cast aside, and the Giant-- the one Jack killed-- the Giant's wife comes back to get revenge. And thus most of the cast dies, the princes are shown to be selfish adulterating egomaniacs, the narrator is thrown to the Giant's wife to be killed (the other characters didn't like how the story was going, you see), and the protagonist characters all learn that they're nice, you're not good, you're not bad, you're just nice," the lyrics are sung low and mostly in-tune, "but that someone is on your side, someone else is not. While we're seeing our side, maybe we forgot-- they are not alone. Truly, no-one is alone. So they face up to the consequences, and mourn what they've lost, and the baker raises his son alone."
Laughing quietly, he took another Oreo from the package. "The composer's really know for his, ah, uplifting shows." He almost took a bite, then remembered, "You had a question...?" before nibbling on the edge.
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...it made him snort and shake his head. "Nah, some people really are alone. An' my question can wait; sounds like you've got other things you need to do." With his friends and crew mates and such. No, Xigbar wasn't jealous, he didn't have the heart for that; it was just a little harder for him to keep his usual jovial tone around that. Though he still managed a laugh and a grin anyway. "Like what happened to the narrator, though. Talk about jumpin' off-script."
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"... though I really should take off soon, make sure Tanaka doesn't start attacking people for being too tall or something..." he muttered under his breath. Mmm, he really didn't want to leave here, not when he could hang out with Xigbar and pretend all that escaping stuff didn't matter... but he couldn't, not with his allies depending on him.
"Ahaha, yeah, that was a great plot twist. I mean, who expects the narrator to kick the bucket?" He grinned cheerily, taking another Oreo. "And the music's good, too, of course. Into the woods we go again, we have to every now and then..." These things really were tasty. He'd have to find more.
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That hadn't been the most pleasant of experiences... but at least he'd managed to make it here in one piece, despite his dying light. Human eyes really weren't designed for the dark... if they were a bit bigger, maybe a reasonable size, it wouldn't have been a problem.
But for now, there was something more important to check on. Had his human been abducted, like his roommate had been earlier this night? He had to make sure... after all, if anyone was going to run off with his human, it was going to be him!
ZEX peered at the door, hoping he was in front of the right one, and curled up one hand in a poor imitation of his natural arms. It got the job done servicably enough though, and he knocked.
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But that was part of the deal. He didn't have best dudes; Luxord tended to hate him as often as he loved them, if either of them felt emotions; Zelnick was just a bit of a fun diversion, nothing serious; and everyone else was in various degrees of diversions. "You prolly should take off. But here's a hint, 'bout the game... I don't have anyone on my side."
He hopped to his feet, then walked over to Zelnick so he could clasp his hand on the guy's shoulder. Friendly, surprisingly so considering what he was saying. "When I die, it'll be alone an' without leaving anything behind. That's just how it is with dudes like me. So you should focus on playin' with your friends; they're the ones who-"
Then there was a knock on the door, and Xigbar turned in mid-faux-drama to blink at the portal. Now who could that be?
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The knock on the door was unexpected, and he blinked blankly at it for a few seconds before calling, "Who is it?" He finished the half-started gesture, patting Xigbar's hand comfortingly, attention distracted by the door but unwilling to move away from the... the moment he'd been having with Xigbar.
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"It's Admiral ZEX, Captain." He called, smiling somewhat. "Are you safe?"
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At the question, he pantomimed a nodding motion to Zelnick, hoping that he'd catch on. ...and who knew? Maybe if he played it right, he could have a little fun with this relationship!
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The question was asked out of curiosity; Zelnick had been under the impression ZEX had someonething to do tonight. Still, having another ally was never a bad thing, and having ZEX along meant Tanaka would have to get used to his presence.
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