Nightshift 35: South Hall [Basement]

[braidless]

((From here.))The darkness here was thick and oppressive. Even with the beam from his glowrod, it was difficult to get a clear idea of what, exactly, was ahead. For a moment, he reached out with his senses, but he was met with murky clouds of aggression, cold air, and something else he couldn't identify. There was a draft, but that wasn't why

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[prevails]

This was different. More... ominous than the other rooms; it was darker, colder, more silent, and overall more dangerous feeling. Where were they really heading? Now he wished he would have asked earlier, it felt a little too late now.

Forcing down the feeling, Goku made his way up to the guy that was first in line. He was wishing he'd brought his flashlight with him now, so much for it being useless. 'least the darkness wasn't that bad, not when other people had flashlights. Using both he could pretty much see what was immediately around them and a ways in front. Sort of like ...

"Is that a door?" Suddenly seeing the "end of the rainbow" (so to speak), Goku jogged a ways ahead of the party. There went the 'stay close' line.

[31st_of_china]

"Goku..." Sanzo's voice came from the darkness, warningly. Of course the runt would completely forget the 'stay close' from just seconds earlier. Common sense said not to run, for fuck's sake, but common sense wasn't something the monkey was known for.

Sanzo came up behind him, coming to stop in front of the immense set of double-doors, made of some black stone. He shown the light more fully on it. Demonic creatures seemed to dance across it, and from the middle, like some obscene plant, sprouted a carving of a serpent's head.

The beam of light went further up, lighting on words carved over it.

'“Only those two who offer their blood will be allowed entrance.”' Sanzo repeated.

[qui_gonjinn]

Qui-Gon fell silent. He didn't like this. Only two of their party would be able to pass through, it seemed. Whoever went in would have to be ready, both in body and mind, he knew, gazing at the door with its grotesque carvings, the serpent's gaping head casting sharp shadows in the flickering light of their glowrods.

"What do you think, Obi-Wan?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet. Obi-Wan was a full-fledged Jedi now. While Qui-Gon's first impulse was to offer his own blood up first, it wouldn't be right to act without first consulting his friend; he'd been known in the past for being impulsive for a Jedi, but somehow it felt right in his core to turn to Obi-Wan first.

There were the others as well to deal with as well.

[braidless]

Obi-Wan read the words etched into doors, saw the disturbing images, and comprehended their implications. Whatever was beyond these doors was going to be difficult, perhaps even deadly. It was even possible that whoever ventured onward would never be seen again, leaving the others to forever wonder what had happened to them. And if that was the case, would they be able to return here again the future and send more people past this door

[givemeoblivion]

The contrast between this door and the one before it caused Callisto to give the slightest of smirks. Of course the true nature of this place was hidden behind an angelic facade.

She stepped closer, also taking in the words Sanzo had already read aloud. In her mind, the solution was simple and Obi-Wan's words caused her to glare. "You?" Of all the... He hadn't even been with them the night before!

"I don't see why there's any need to discuss this." The blonde turned her head to look back over her shoulder briefly, giving the others a sinister sort of smile. "Qui-Gon and I are the only ones who actually deserve to be here. The rest of you can... wait your turn."

With that, she stepped quickly towards the door, ready to offer her blood to the carved serpent.

[prevails]

Whoa, wait.

Goku dropped the bonesaw (which, mysteriously, didn't land on him or anything else - just to make things easier) and jumped forward to grabbed Callisto's wrist. He really didn't care who went in, all he knew was that it was better for them to come to an agreement than to just do it and see what happened.

"We don't know what's behind the door," that felt somewhat strange, coming from him, "so we should be more careful. Shouldn't we pick the two that are the most capable? Somebody might die, we need to pick whoever will come back." Goku shook his head. Yeah, that was right; he didn't want to see anybody die from this ordeal. With everybody taking it seriously, there had to be something to it.

He released Callisto's wrist. "You don't even have a weapon."

[31st_of_china]

Callisto surging forward like that wasn't surprising: the bitch had some serious entitlement issues, even though it'd been her who'd ended up tagging along with Qui-Gon and himself last night.

Goku's actions and words were something else entirely. Sanzo stared at the kid for a moment, an eyebrow raised. Was he actually stopping to think things over for once? Speaking actual sense?

He was right, except they didn't have time for this bullshit. The monk felt the impatience rising in him. Maybe what Goku said made sense, but they'd be here all night arguing about it.

Sanzo scowled. "Can we just fucking move on already?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He went up to the damn statue and pricked his finger in one motion.

[qui_gonjinn]

Qui-Gon shot a startled look at Obi-Wan. Somehow he knew his friend would volunteer and yet it still surprised him even so when he heard those words out loud

[braidless]

Obi-Wan pursed his lips as he watched Callisto and Sanzo. Perhaps, from another perspective, he didn't have any business here. But as far as he was concerned, this was an investigation -- not a competition. There were no grand rewards, only answers -- there was no glory, only danger and uncertainty

[givemeoblivion]

[at this point, the whole group passes out and is moved here]