Night 44: Walk-In Refrigerator

[gald_digger]

[from here]

They were making good time, but there wasn't anything good about that. With the entrance to the basement just ahead of them, Anise could feel her chest tighten with dread.

"You will find yourself able to enter so long as you are willing to make a sacrifice."That's what that golden monster said before, right? There was no telling what

Comments

[ran_on_empty]

Sync would've been more than ecstatic if he heard Anise's thoughts of dread. She was right after all; if necessary he wasn't above using either girl as a sacrifice, but there was a reason why he dragged Guy and Claude down here as well. If he managed to off them both then that would make running amuck in this institute so much easier.

After scanning the room for anything out of the ordinary, the God-General wasted no time making his way to the very back of the room, all the while ignoring the chilly atmosphere. He waited until Dahlia walked over with her flashlight to pull up the loose tile in the corner. Just like any other time the trap door revealed a set of stairs, making him smile in return.

"Ladies first." Usually he'd be the one to lead the way, but it may have been smarter to step back since he was technically being pursued.

[dahliahasthorns]

If Dahlia could hear Sync's thoughts, she would have started laughing. Him? Play her? How stupid did he think she was? No one, no one got away with crossing her bad side. And those that thought they did? Were going to pay even more than they could imagine. If they thought she couldn't get at them? Oh, she'd find a way...

Thinking that about that would have made her grind her teeth at the thought of Mia Fey being out of her reach. But her ego? Oh, that went on. That would always go on and, as long as it did, she could still have revenge. Who knew? Maybe little Maya could show up tomorrow and Dahlia wouldn't have to die for her plans to work out.

But since she couldn't hear a thing but their combined breathing, she just hurried herself along with the other two, that practiced frown still on her face. After last night, the temperature in here was nothing, but that didn't mean she kept herself from rushing down those stairs to where it was warm. Ballroom, take her away!

[To here]

[heavens_too_far]

[From here.]

Well, he'd been right, though that was literally cold comfort; there was no one within the refrigerator. Yet again, their quarry was considerably ahead of them.

With a growl of annoyance, he moved to the stairs to see if he could see or hear anyone on them, but didn't proceed downwards yet. There were three of them; he wasn't afraid of being overwhelmed if he came upon them alone, certainly, but it would be considerably difficult to secure three people at once armed with only one sword. Besides, he still wasn't certain what Guy and Claude wanted to do when they caught them.

[full_score]

A cold feeling that had nothing to do with the chilled air ran down Claude's spine once he saw the removed tile. Rats! It looked like they'd already descended into the basement! Claude wasn't entirely sure what Sync intended to do once he'd made it down there, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that it wasn't good.

When he approached the trap door, Claude peered down into the darkness. But there wasn't anyone he could see, which only confirmed his fears. They didn't have any time to waste. Moving forward was clearly the only option.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked in a whisper that cut through the silence. "Let's go."

[razing_phoenix]

Here was the moment of truth. If they moved down those stairs and found the ballroom abandoned, then that meant that they truly had failed despite all their efforts. He wasn't sure how Sync had been able to rush his victims along so willingly, but right now that didn't matter.

There was no time to hesitate, and he could sense that urgency from Claude as well. Dias had been as ready as he could be for something that he wasn't entirely involved in, and the three of them were just going to need to settle this once and for all.

Guy tightened his grip around his sword as he moved down the stairs with his two companions. He would do whatever it took.

[To here.]

[guardiancomplex]

( From here.)

Seemed like the door was already open. Lucky them. Like an inky black mouth waiting for the three of them to crawl into it, only half-expecting whatever would come at them.

"You want to go first?" Touya asked Yue. "Or you want to watch her back this time?"

[winged_moon]

It had been obvious that someone already passed this way from the broken-open door, but now it was even more clear, with that particular floor tile already pulled up and ready for them to head through. Yue frowned slightly, glancing back the way that they'd come, and considered the question. It was still quiet back there - but could he trust that? The moment he thought it was safe enough in this place was the moment he'd get one of the night creatures coming at him from the shadows.

"I'll go first," he finally declared, giving Touya a look that clearly pointed out that he was trusting the young man with his sister's safety. Not that he expected Touya to do anything but his best in guarding Sakura: he'd been doing that since well before the Book came into the Kinomoto household. But the guardian was still wary, as always.

[going here]

[itstaichoutoyou]

[from here]

Once he was sure everyone was in, Hitsugaya slammed the door behind him. There was no telling if that creature would follow after them, but it was best to operate under the assumption that it would. Hitsugaya always prepared for the worst case scenario. That's what it meant to be prudent.

"Hurry! There should be a trap door in one of the corners!" The sooner they found it, the sooner they could move forward.

[faile]

The refrigerator door was much more solid than any of the other doors the group had previously passed through. There was a chance that it would stop any inhuman pursuers, but Faize knew he couldn't let his guard down just for that reason.

At Hitsugaya's request, he shone his light around the room, quickly noticing a tile that had been lifted and pushed aside. Faize walked over to it, pointing his light into the hole in the floor, illuminating a small staircase. "I've found it!" he announced. "It seems we aren't the first here, however."

[spandexorgtfo]

Kratos waited for the crying and weeping to start up in the refrigerator, but none did--for the moment. It seemed they had either escaped or only earned themselves a temporary respite.

He peered down the small staircase. "Not the first, no, but it seems unlikely that many have come before us. In any case..." Kratos took the initiative and began quickly descending the stairs.

[to here]