Nightshift 35: South Hall [Basement]
((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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In the end, however, these questions were, while relevant, not terribly helpful. They could not turn back now. Only two could move forward. The choice was clear.
"One of us should go," he quietly said as he faced Qui-Gon. The other could stay and help protect the rest in their group. That way, their resources would be evenly stretched out, and if something happened to one, there would still be another to carry on with their investigations. Perhaps it was a cold way to think, but as a Jedi, he was trained to consider practical issues first and foremost.
"I volunteer," he added after a brief moment, glancing from Sanzo and Goku, to Callisto. He knew he was fully capable -- there was no doubt of that in his mind now. And, most importantly, he knew Qui-Gon knew it.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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He was momentarily distracted when Callisto was stopped by Goku - and before he could do anything, Sanzo had already pushed past the two and pricked his finger just like that. Qui-Gon sighed. He didn't think Sanzo was the best of their possible choices, to be brutally honest: the man had a lot of spirit, but he was also still recovering from grave injuries he'd received only last night, with hardly any time to heal. But he already went and "sacrificed" his blood, and looking back on what he shouldn't have done wouldn't help them.
Qui-Gon turned back to Obi-Wan. He could see him in the dim light of the glowrods, his youthful face dead serious. By the same argument, Qui-Gon knew he wasn't the best choice either, not with his bad knee from his duel with the two droids. But the selfish part of him, the one that'd been slowly growing within, didn't want to lose Obi-Wan to the darkness he could feel, pulsing and vaguely nauseating just to be in its evil presence.
"I would rather you reconsider," Qui-Gon said, lowering his voice to speak privately with his former Padawan. "But I know you do what you must, Obi-Wan."
His words were stiff. Obi-Wan was just as capable as he was, if not more so: he wasn't injured and, what was more, he was the one who actually survived a Sith encounter out of the two of them. Before Naboo, Qui-Gon had sometimes been preoccupied with wondering if he was somehow holding Obi-Wan back because he didn't want to let him go. Now he knew it to be true. Qui-Gon battled his own fear and doubts even as his face settled into a neutral expression. The truth was he didn't want Obi-Wan to step into the darkness without him, step into the unknown when they were already beyond the Republic's reach. The truth was also that it was Obi-Wan's decision to make, not his, and he'd made it.
He would have to let him go.
Qui-Gon reached into one of the small pouches of his belt, reaching behind him and coming up with one of the makeshift commlinks.
He held it out. "Here: I finished them last night. I might not be able to come with you, but I should be able to still remain in contact. I haven't had a chance to test its capabilities, but it's what we have right now." The Jedi Master paused. He couldn't just leave it at that, all duty like the last time they separated. Qui-Gon dipped his head, reaching out, and lay a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulders. For a second, he didn't bother to school his expression, the turmoil of emotions clear in his eyes before his face smoothed out again.
"May the Force be with you."
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He frowned as Sanzo pricked his finger, but it was too late to say anything. It seemed he was going, whether anyone wanted him to or not.
As Qui-Gon quietly spoke to him, the younger Jedi met his gaze. They were equals now, working together as partners on this mission. His friend had done a remarkable job up until this point, and it was likely for the best that Obi-Wan help shoulder some of the burden. He would not ask him to forge on ahead without him.
Of course, if his former Master had insisted he stay, Obi-Wan would have wanted to respect his wishes. But his logic was tried and true, and out of the two of them, he was better suited for this job -- on this particular night, at least. And there were no guarantees that they would be here again anytime soon.
When Qui-Gon presented the makeshift commlink to him, he raised his eyebrows, but he was not shocked. His friend was resourceful and capable, so of course he would have used the supplies they'd gathered to complete something like this. He gently took it, nodding that he understood. "Thank you. I'll check in regularly, and give you a detailed report of everything we find."
It was then that he felt the older man's hands on his shoulders, and he was stunned to catch a glimpse of something in his eyes that Obi-Wan hadn't seen in a long, long time. It was fleeting, however, and before he could properly put a name to it, his friend's face became neutral once more. He gave him a small, quiet smile, placing a hand on one of Qui-Gon's arms.
"And also with you."
With that said, Obi-Wan didn't linger, as much as it might have been tempting for others to do. He turned away and moved towards the statue. After taking in a small breath, he swiftly pricked his finger on its fangs.
And then everything went black.
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