Nightshift 38: Main Hallway, 1-West

[shallweplay]

[From here]Ophelia slowed back to a walk as she entered the main hallway. It was a ways off in the dark, but she could just make out a small patch of light further down in the center of the hall, presumably streaming in from the Sun Room's glass ceiling. She didn't see anything yet, but there was no telling when something might suddenly jump out at

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[scalyfishman]

[From here]

Through the haze of his anger, it suddenly hit Depth Charge that the reason the his torch's beam wouldn't stay still was that he was shaking all over.

Muttering curses at himself, he leaned heavily against a wall for a moment as he tried to collect himself. But he was too restless to stay still to long, too agitated. The hot fury surging its way through his muscles left him with an unbearable desire for release. Like a man possessed he stumbled jerkily into the hallway, staring about him with a desperate wildness but finding nothing. The hallway was empty.

For a moment he kept walking, as though the answer would materialise in front of him, even backtracking to the door he'd passed, but it was locked. What was he looking for anyway? X?

"You stupid spawn-of-Unicron..." he hissed. The words started softly but soon took on a life of their own, contorting into an ugly, strangled gurgle. "I hope you burn in the Pit, you slagger, I hope you burn!"

But words just weren't enough. He needed release. Suddenly, in one fluid motion,Depth Charge spun on his heel, raised the bat and, giving a roar of pain and fury, swung it as hard as he could against the nearest door. There was a loud crunch and the bat splintered ineffectually against it, sending him staggering backwards into the main hallway. He pressed his back to the nearest wall, knees buckling beneath him as he drew breath after ragged breath. Oh, Primus...

[requiemforasoul]

[from here]

Siegfried had almost arrived at the main hallway when he heard someone shout as though they were being attacked. Without thinking, he speeded up into a run, intending on helping those in trouble.

He reached the hallway just in time to see a man fall back against the wall with a broken bat in hand. He quickly searched the surrounding area, looking for any sign of a monster, but found none. There was nothing in the hallway aside from other patients.

Siegfried approached the man slowly, coming to a stop a little distance away from him before he spoke.

“Next time, wait until there is a monster around if you want to hit something.”

[scalyfishman]

The roar in Depth Charge's head deafened him to the hurried clatter of footsteps until their source was within ten feet of him anyway. His head jerked upright and he peered towards it blearily. A monster? No, a human. Male. Though it's hard to see the difference these days, he added bitterly.

"Mind your own slagging business!" he snarled, aiming the full glare of his frustration at the newcomer. Despite the aggression, his voice sounded strange; to his horror, he realised that he couldn't stop his voice from trembling with the force of his emotions, however chaotic they were. What the Pit is wrong with me?! Infuriated, he tried again, this time deepening his tone to a menacing growl. "Who the frag are you?"

It didn't work.

[requiemforasoul]

Siegfried was far too used to insults and curses and people generally not being nice towards him that he didn’t care about how the man was speaking to him, nor did he find it very intimidating. He wasn’t stupid, though. He realised the man was angry - very angry - and the fact that the bat had broken after being hit against something (the wall?) with such force hadn’t gone unnoticed. It would not be wise to further anger the man. Siegfried did not want to get into any unnecessary fights.

He spoke calmly and matter-of-factly. “I’m afraid that if you’re going to wander the Institute in your current state, then you’re then you’re going to get picked out very easily.” A broken weapon would be useless, and Siegfried doubted the man could concentrate on a fight whilst so furious.

He continued on, this time answering the man’s question. “I’m Siegfried, and you are..?”

[scalyfishman]

Presumably Siegfreid was trying not to antagonise Depth Charge, but his response seemed to have the reverse effect on the Maximal. The man’s calm sent a painful jolt of humiliation through his core; underneath it all he knew was acting like a slagging animal, but his pride had already been too badly wounded that evening. Admitting it now would be tantamount to admitting to his failure, and that? That would be unforgivable.

“Don’t you patronise me!” he retorted, drawing his slumped frame up a little higher. He swayed uncertainly, struggling to keep the force behind his voice. “Why does my safety matter to you anyway?”

His knees buckled again. The hallway dipped to the left but his hand slammed against the wall to catch him just in time. “And I told you, mind your own slagging business!”

[requiemforasoul]

He should have known that would not work. All he had done was hit a nerve and made it worse - definitely not the intended effect. Although, he would have reacted in a similar way, had their roles been reversed and it was Siegfried who was so furious.

“I would not leave anyone alone in the hallways like this.” It was true - if he could prevent someone from becoming a target of Landel’s monsters, then he would do.

Siegfried watched as the man desperately tried to stay standing, and didn’t say anything for some time after, giving the man time to attempt to regain some control.

[scalyfishman]

"Well, I'm not anyone." There was a juddering lilt to the Maximal's response, caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob. Depth Charge wasn't sure which it was closer to.

He tried to clear his head, focus a little, but it was like trying to see through a fog. Even his breathing seemed stunted- no matter how deeply he inhaled, his breaths were still weak and shaky. Felt like he was drowning in thin air. Thick air.

Eventually he lifted his head enough to meet Siegfried's stare (what the Pit was he looking at, anyway?!) head-on. "I don't need your slagging help!"

[requiemforasoul]

Siegfried’s gaze did not falter when the man glared back at him. The more the man protested, the more Siegfried felt inclined to stay. The protests weren’t convincing him at all.

“You are sure? You would rather be left alone here, when you can not even stand up properly, easy prey for any of the monsters?” He stopped talking briefly before continuing in a quieter voice, one that was deliberately spiteful. “That is rather pathetic.”

[scalyfishman]

That did it. Depth Charge's head jerked upwards, eyes wide. Siegfried could have said anything- reckless, insane, stupid- but somehow he'd managed to aim his jab straight in the gearbox. Because Depth Charge couldn't have put it any better himself.

The response was immediate.

"What was that?" he hissed, pushing back off of the wall and squaring his shoulders. The touch of hysteria in his tone went unchecked and Depth Charge drew himself up as highly as he could, clenching the broken bat in his hands as if it were an anchor in a storm. "Pathetic? You wanna say that again?!"

[requiemforasoul]

That definitely had the intended effect. The man was on his feet in seconds, and no longer looked like he was about to collapse to the floor any minute, although the crazed edge to his voice remained. Only now Siegfried had to deal with the consequences. Despite the fact that the man towered over him, and an attack seemed very imminent, Siegfried did not move an inch. He would not back down.

“I called you pathetic. I offered you help when you clearly needed it, and you refused just so your pride would not be damaged.”

[scalyfishman]

Depth Charge flinched visibly, and for one moment (albeit a brief one) it became all too obvious that Siegfried's words had hit their mark again. Pathetic? His pride?! A flush of anger burned within him, sharpening into startling focus against the dizzy blur of his mind.

"Smelt you! You don't know the first slagging thing about me!" he growled, teeth gritted, louder and angrier than ever, "And pathetic? You think I'm pathetic? I'll show you pathetic!" He swung the ruined bat upwards, staggering a little under the momentum but poised to strike at any moment. "Make my day, scraphead!"

[requiemforasoul]

So it would be as always. Siegfried sought to help others but inevitably ended up in a fight. Though it was not what he wanted, he would deal with it, no arguments. He knew he would not be able to convince this man otherwise.

“Very well, then.”

He shifted his stance and raised the pipe in front of him, ready for an attack.

[scalyfishman]

Part of Depth Charge knew this was crazy. Part of him knew that an adrenalin rush could only get him so far. That part of him was being studiously ignored. Slag, all he had left anymore was his pride, even if it was was in shreds, he wasn’t about to let it go without a fight. Just so long as he could keep hold of that little pretense he could keep going. And if he lost... well. Would it really matter?

With a strangled roar he swung wildly at Siegfried, stumbling towards him in a blind rage.

[requiemforasoul]

The moment the other man moved, Siegfried was on the defensive. He knew the man was strong, yet also knew that Landel had weakened many of the patients and Siegfried did not know how he had been affected. He had best be careful.

He blocked the attack, staggering back a few steps under the force of the hit before he regained control. Then, he threw his weight into an attempt to push the other man away, hoping to give himself a chance to attack back.

[scalyfishman]

The force of Siegfried's parry sent Depth Charge hurtling backwards. He hit the wall with a painful thud that knocked the wind out of him and set the clouds of bruises across his shoulders ringing like sirens. The flashlight fell from his hand and rolled out of his reach and he gasped, legs giving way a little from shock. Useless slagging human flesh! Blood pounding, he forced his head upright and tried to steel himself for the assault he knew would be soon to follow.

[requiemforasoul]

Siegfried did not waste an instant. As soon as the other man hit the wall, he rushed forward, swinging the pipe and bringing it down against the opponent’s arm that held the bat. Although the strike was powerful, Siegfried did not put as much force behind it as he could have. It was more of a warning than anything else.

He did not move the pipe away afterwards. Instead he kept it where it had connected and pressed it firmly against the man’s arm.

“Stop it. You will gain nothing from fighting me.”