"It should wear off over time, but depending on the length of exposure... I'm sorry, I can't give you an exact estimate. I've witnessed three cases aside from this one, though. Two others and myself." Matt placed a hand on his chin, making an effort to look thoughtful even though everything he needed to say was already on the tip of his tongue.
"One person was exposed to it for only a very brief moment, and managed to pull out of it after a few minutes, though this involved a distraction in the form of a monster attack. The second was exposed to it for a bit longer and it hadn't yet worn off by the end of night. You could carry on a short conversation with him if you pressed hard enough." There were some facts he was leaving out, such as that he hadn't actually seen either of them make contact with it, so he didn't know the exact amount of time it touched them. They had also found Mello in that condition from the start, so they didn't know how long he'd been that way. "As for myself, night ended too quickly for me to be able to give you much information on how it felt."
He stopped, looking as if he'd just remembered something - his manners, most likely. "I'm Robin, by the way."
Suzaku sighed. That information wasn't the most exact, and not very comforting -- they'd definitely been in there for more than a brief moment, and if Lelouch was out of commission for the rest of the night, it would make them both more vulnerable. Still, it was a relief that the problem wasn't anything worse, once again assuming Robin was right.
"I guess. . . I'll just wait around for a little while to see if he gets any better, and if not I'll get him back to his room somehow. Assuming we don't get attacked in the meantime," he added with a wary glance around the dark hallway. "Doesn't look like there's much else I can do. Thank you so much for going out of your way to help us, by the way." He finally tore his eyes from Lelouch's slack face and managed a weak smile in Robin's direction. "I'm Suzaku and, well, you already know this is Lelouch."
"Well, it's not like I was doing much else." Matt feigned embarrassment, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I came up here for something, then got so freaked out being on my own that I bloody well forgot what I came up here for. I'm sure it wasn't important enough to face monsters over." He shook his head. "Like I said, I've faced those things before. I wasn't feeling up to facing them again when there was no one to drag me away if something hungrier came along afterwards."
Yeah, that's right. He was just an innocent fellow patient. He wasn't following them around at all. Definitely not trying to listen in on their every conversation. No sir. He was helpful.
Suzaku raised an eyebrow. He could understand Robin not wanting to face a monster on his own, especially if he wasn't a trained soldier and he was up against weird shadows and stuff you couldn't stick with a sword. But forgetting what you even came for? And people went around calling him airheaded. Provided Robin was telling the truth. . . Suzaku was inclined to believe him, however. In the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn't believe everything people said and that Lelouch would berate him for being a naive idiot, but he couldn't help it. He decided not to lose sight of the possibility that Robin was more than just any helpful stranger, but when he looked at the man's face, he couldn't seem to find any reason to think he was lying.
"I'd offer to guard you in return for helping us, but --" He jerked his head at Lelouch with an apologetic smile. "I can't really go anywhere right now. You shouldn't come up here by yourself, though. There are worse things around than those shadows." Or so he had heard. The only thing he had seen himself was the bird the night before, but all the corroborated reports were enough for him, not to mention Lelouch's own testimony.
He looked around at Lelouch again, an unconscious frown beginning to form. Maybe he was impatient, but he didn't want to stand here all night, making an obvious target. And he was still entertaining fears that what was afflicting Lelouch was something completely different from what Robin had experienced. "Lelouch, are you feeling any better?"
Matt scratched at his head, if only because it helped with the baffled innocent routine. His expression hopefully conveyed just how little he liked the idea of being left out in the halls on his own again. After all, Suzaku was a very capable looking guy, and he felt safer just standing next to him!
"I can just... stick around you guys, yeah?" He smiled weakly. "I mean, you said yourself that I shouldn't go off on my own, and I know I should have known better. Night can't end too long from now, right? I'll just stick by you and you'll have an extra set of eyes, if nothing else."
Man, he should win an award for this bullshit or something.
"Um, yeah, sure. That's fine," Suzaku replied in equal measures of half-clueless awkwardness, except he wasn't acting. He smiled again, this time trying for reassuring. "I'm a fairly good fighter, so I can protect you from the more, er, physical threats."
And they might be there for a little while, if Lelouch really wasn't feeling any better. Suzaku had his doubts if Lelouch felt up to glaring at him, but a glare was a long way from walking down the hall. Robin was right, though; it had been long enough that night was probably almost over. If they were going to be halted in their tracks and brought back to their beds every night, they might as well take advantage of it. Maybe there was no need to drag Lelouch back to his room. Besides, while he was pretty sure Robin was harmless, he didn't want Lelouch's room number or even his block to be public knowledge.
"What about you, if I might ask?" The question was more for the sake of filling the silence than for practical purposes. Then again, he did want to get more of an idea of who Robin was, and it was probably a good idea to start with something applicable to the situation. "Do you have any combat experience?"
"Negligible." Matt gave an embarrassed sort of shrug. "I could use a gun if there were any here to be found, but that's probably about it. Had a guy who was trying to train me some, but you know how the nights go here." This response, at least, was a hundred percent truthful.
He had to be consistent with his stories, so sticking close to reality was the best way to go. The man looked around a bit. Yep, the hall was still clear of monsters. "My job, before I was picked up for this place, was just a computer programmer, so it's not like I'd had any need to fight." He laughed. "Not unless a mob showed up at my door angry about the latest software patch, anyway."
"You're about the same as him, then." Suzaku nodded in Lelouch's direction again. Maybe he shouldn't give out that information, but Lelouch's public persona was that of a student, so he didn't see how anyone could expect him to be more physically capable. Besides, all you had to do was look at him to tell he was more of a thinker than a fighter. Telling the truth in this case would just support the image of Lelouch as being nothing more than he appeared, wouldn't it? Or so Suzaku told himself. Really, he just saw no reason not to be candid with someone like Robin, who seemed perfectly harmless himself.
"That's understandable, at any rate. I'm in the military myself, so fighting is my job." Even if he'd gone into the military to find a way to stop people from fighting. It was a little late to call himself a pacifist, however. "Still. . . learning something about it can't hurt, considering how dangerous it is here at night."
There. That might finally be some relatively important information. Suzaku had to be from the same world as Lelouch, he was obviously protective of the man, and he was in the military while Lelouch had no combat training to speak of. (A fighter and an enchanter, said the part of his brain that related everything to an MMO.) It wasn't much, but it was something for his troubles.
He was about to smile and respond, when there was a sudden groaning noise. It didn't sound like their near-unconscious companion, but he glanced at Lelouch just in case. A chill ran up Matt's spine and he glanced quickly along the halls but saw no one it could rightly have belonged to. Then, hands a bit shaky, he pulled his radio from the pocket of his pants. It had been silent for a good few days, but it was clear now that the moaning was coming from the speaker. He almost wanted to drop it and forget about it right then, but he knew this meant he'd probably need it later. What was going on?
And then things got downright creepy.
Matt stepped closer to Suzaku without even thinking about it as the fog began slowly creeping into the halls. "Shit, mate..." he muttered. "Shit."
Suzaku also started in alarm at the sound, staring as Robin pulled the radio out. That was. . . not normal. Was someone on the other end hurt? Not that he could do anything about it if they were; he had to look after Lelouch. But he couldn't help the immediate flash of concern, because no matter how much he thought he had hardened himself, he could never stand the thought of people being injured or killed.
When the creepy fog started rolling in, however, it looked more likely that this was the work of some other kind of supernatural monster. "Let's get out of here," he muttered, looking back towards Lelouch and wondering what to do about him. And that's when he saw it, in the faint light from his flashlight -- the slick dark liquid sliding down the wall, making a horrifying and disturbingly appropriate backdrop behind Lelouch. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew, even before the distinctive smell reached him. There was so much of it -- where was it coming from? Was there a floor above? Was it possible that -- Suzaku tasted bile in the back of his throat. He lunged forward, jerking Lelouch away from the wall, even more disturbed to realize that he would have ended up covered in it because he didn't have the energy to move himself. So much blood -- scenes flashed before his eyes, his father lying at his feet, the bodies of hundreds of faceless Japanese lying in heaps, Euphemia falling. . .
Somehow, he managed to block out the images and focus on the present moment, the way he had done the previous night. He had had to learn to shut down those reactions, or he could never have been the Knight of Seven, Britannia's White Reaper. Still, all he wanted was to leave. Now. Before whatever had -- had spilled all that blood came after them. Thinking a little more clearly now, he shifted his bat and flashlight under one arm and leaned to the side, trying to support Lelouch while he groped around for the things he'd dropped. The blood was dripping to the floor, so he hurriedly snatched up the other bat and articles of clothing before they could get covered with it. Looking around, he didn't see any immediate danger, but he didn't want to wait around to find out. "Let's go," he said again to Matt, shifting his and Lelouch's stuff around so he could hold Lelouch up a little better. "Any chance you could help me with him?"
"One person was exposed to it for only a very brief moment, and managed to pull out of it after a few minutes, though this involved a distraction in the form of a monster attack. The second was exposed to it for a bit longer and it hadn't yet worn off by the end of night. You could carry on a short conversation with him if you pressed hard enough." There were some facts he was leaving out, such as that he hadn't actually seen either of them make contact with it, so he didn't know the exact amount of time it touched them. They had also found Mello in that condition from the start, so they didn't know how long he'd been that way. "As for myself, night ended too quickly for me to be able to give you much information on how it felt."
He stopped, looking as if he'd just remembered something - his manners, most likely. "I'm Robin, by the way."
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Suzaku sighed. That information wasn't the most exact, and not very comforting -- they'd definitely been in there for more than a brief moment, and if Lelouch was out of commission for the rest of the night, it would make them both more vulnerable. Still, it was a relief that the problem wasn't anything worse, once again assuming Robin was right.
"I guess. . . I'll just wait around for a little while to see if he gets any better, and if not I'll get him back to his room somehow. Assuming we don't get attacked in the meantime," he added with a wary glance around the dark hallway. "Doesn't look like there's much else I can do. Thank you so much for going out of your way to help us, by the way." He finally tore his eyes from Lelouch's slack face and managed a weak smile in Robin's direction. "I'm Suzaku and, well, you already know this is Lelouch."
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Yeah, that's right. He was just an innocent fellow patient. He wasn't following them around at all. Definitely not trying to listen in on their every conversation. No sir. He was helpful.
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"I'd offer to guard you in return for helping us, but --" He jerked his head at Lelouch with an apologetic smile. "I can't really go anywhere right now. You shouldn't come up here by yourself, though. There are worse things around than those shadows." Or so he had heard. The only thing he had seen himself was the bird the night before, but all the corroborated reports were enough for him, not to mention Lelouch's own testimony.
He looked around at Lelouch again, an unconscious frown beginning to form. Maybe he was impatient, but he didn't want to stand here all night, making an obvious target. And he was still entertaining fears that what was afflicting Lelouch was something completely different from what Robin had experienced. "Lelouch, are you feeling any better?"
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"I can just... stick around you guys, yeah?" He smiled weakly. "I mean, you said yourself that I shouldn't go off on my own, and I know I should have known better. Night can't end too long from now, right? I'll just stick by you and you'll have an extra set of eyes, if nothing else."
Man, he should win an award for this bullshit or something.
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And they might be there for a little while, if Lelouch really wasn't feeling any better. Suzaku had his doubts if Lelouch felt up to glaring at him, but a glare was a long way from walking down the hall. Robin was right, though; it had been long enough that night was probably almost over. If they were going to be halted in their tracks and brought back to their beds every night, they might as well take advantage of it. Maybe there was no need to drag Lelouch back to his room. Besides, while he was pretty sure Robin was harmless, he didn't want Lelouch's room number or even his block to be public knowledge.
"What about you, if I might ask?" The question was more for the sake of filling the silence than for practical purposes. Then again, he did want to get more of an idea of who Robin was, and it was probably a good idea to start with something applicable to the situation. "Do you have any combat experience?"
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He had to be consistent with his stories, so sticking close to reality was the best way to go. The man looked around a bit. Yep, the hall was still clear of monsters. "My job, before I was picked up for this place, was just a computer programmer, so it's not like I'd had any need to fight." He laughed. "Not unless a mob showed up at my door angry about the latest software patch, anyway."
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"You're about the same as him, then." Suzaku nodded in Lelouch's direction again. Maybe he shouldn't give out that information, but Lelouch's public persona was that of a student, so he didn't see how anyone could expect him to be more physically capable. Besides, all you had to do was look at him to tell he was more of a thinker than a fighter. Telling the truth in this case would just support the image of Lelouch as being nothing more than he appeared, wouldn't it? Or so Suzaku told himself. Really, he just saw no reason not to be candid with someone like Robin, who seemed perfectly harmless himself.
"That's understandable, at any rate. I'm in the military myself, so fighting is my job." Even if he'd gone into the military to find a way to stop people from fighting. It was a little late to call himself a pacifist, however. "Still. . . learning something about it can't hurt, considering how dangerous it is here at night."
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He was about to smile and respond, when there was a sudden groaning noise. It didn't sound like their near-unconscious companion, but he glanced at Lelouch just in case. A chill ran up Matt's spine and he glanced quickly along the halls but saw no one it could rightly have belonged to. Then, hands a bit shaky, he pulled his radio from the pocket of his pants. It had been silent for a good few days, but it was clear now that the moaning was coming from the speaker. He almost wanted to drop it and forget about it right then, but he knew this meant he'd probably need it later. What was going on?
And then things got downright creepy.
Matt stepped closer to Suzaku without even thinking about it as the fog began slowly creeping into the halls. "Shit, mate..." he muttered. "Shit."
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When the creepy fog started rolling in, however, it looked more likely that this was the work of some other kind of supernatural monster. "Let's get out of here," he muttered, looking back towards Lelouch and wondering what to do about him. And that's when he saw it, in the faint light from his flashlight -- the slick dark liquid sliding down the wall, making a horrifying and disturbingly appropriate backdrop behind Lelouch. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew, even before the distinctive smell reached him. There was so much of it -- where was it coming from? Was there a floor above? Was it possible that -- Suzaku tasted bile in the back of his throat. He lunged forward, jerking Lelouch away from the wall, even more disturbed to realize that he would have ended up covered in it because he didn't have the energy to move himself. So much blood -- scenes flashed before his eyes, his father lying at his feet, the bodies of hundreds of faceless Japanese lying in heaps, Euphemia falling. . .
Somehow, he managed to block out the images and focus on the present moment, the way he had done the previous night. He had had to learn to shut down those reactions, or he could never have been the Knight of Seven, Britannia's White Reaper. Still, all he wanted was to leave. Now. Before whatever had -- had spilled all that blood came after them. Thinking a little more clearly now, he shifted his bat and flashlight under one arm and leaned to the side, trying to support Lelouch while he groped around for the things he'd dropped. The blood was dripping to the floor, so he hurriedly snatched up the other bat and articles of clothing before they could get covered with it. Looking around, he didn't see any immediate danger, but he didn't want to wait around to find out. "Let's go," he said again to Matt, shifting his and Lelouch's stuff around so he could hold Lelouch up a little better. "Any chance you could help me with him?"
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