Nightshift 49: The Labyrinth

[loyal_soldier]

[From here]

"Oh bloody hell, not another one." Another room that looked not only useless, but confusing. He didn't even have a clue where this was. "We should--" he was cut off by the sound of the suddenly much larger door closing with a rather final sounding 'click' behind them. "...Keep going, apparently. There has to be another way out of this

Comments

[tsunagari]

[from here]

Upon entering the room, Sai froze - firstly, because it wasn't supposed to be a room. The ninja had walked out the door leading to the Rec Field numerous times over the course of his stay and never once had it led to... wherever this was. Turning back to the door they'd just entered through, he realized it didn't even look like the one he'd just entered.

It was unexpected, to say the least.

But could they turn back around and go back? They'd been ordered to run, and there was no reason for them to head right back into the combat zone. There only real option was to go forward. And who knew? This could be a new opportunity.

"...Do either of you recognize this location?" He asked, even as he listened carefully to see if they'd been followed.

[byname_bynature]

Artemis felt himself being dragged towards the Recreational Field and away from the fight, the chaos not quite drowning out his sense of direction. They would be running for quite some time, he wagered--what with the rain and whatever was lurking in the rain.

But as they passed through the door, Artemis felt the distinctly unpleasant feeling of being thrown out of a window while spinning. Only instead of landing on pavement below, he was still standing when the feeling subsided. Another shocking thing: he wasn't being pelted by water. He was inside.

Blinking, he took stock of where they were and quickly realized that something had gone very, very wrong. As in, "Go Through One Door, End Up In A Place That Door Definitely Does Not Lead To" brand wrong.

"No..." Artemis said slowly, casting his flashlight around the foggy corridor. "I have no idea where we are." Which, he had to admit, was a little unnerving considering Artemis Fowl almost always knew where he was. At least which timezone.

[faithful_frost]

Haku was already tense enough, he really didn't need to add this to the mix. "No," he said softly, looking around and straining his ears for sound.

"I've never seen this place before." Which made it a dangerous place and one he would very much like to leave. "It would seem we're at the whims of Landel again."

[tsunagari]

It looked like the door behind them had locked shut. Somehow this didn't surprise him. "I suppose our only option is to move forward." Even if visibility was bad. "Stick close to me or we might lose each other."

The path in front of them appeared straight and linear, but it was difficult to see very far ahead of their current position, and anything could be waiting in the thick fog. Things could get ugly if they were attacked, since it would be easy to separate them so he couldn't see his charge anymore. Haku could handle himself, but Artemis... "Stay against the walls as well."

This hall had to lead somewhere, even if it was just into further danger. Sai kept his machete ready.

[byname_bynature]

Artemis swallowed lightly and nodded. Out of the frying pan and into the smoky-nondescript hallway, he supposed. At Sai suggestion that they stay close, Artemis gently took hold of Haku's shirtsleeve. He'd almost forgotten how much he hated unpredictable situations, and this certainly was classified as an unpredictable situation

[faithful_frost]

Haku frowned thoughtfully. A maze... He glanced over at Sai. "That sounds fine to me," he offered softly letting the other ninja decide if he wanted to follow that wall as well.

He couldn't hear anything in the maze aside from the three of them and the soft flow of air around them; the silence was more troubling than anything. Who knew what could move so softly and sneak up behind them all?

"It would also help us stay together should there be danger." Which, this being the sort of place it was, there almost certainly would be.

[tsunagari]

Sai had to take a moment to consider their options and what Artemis had suggested. The hallways surrounding them were all identical, reaching up to the ceiling to avert any attempt at escape by climbing over them. It was at a time like this that someone from one of the leaf village's clans known for their tracking skills would come in handy. If he'd had full use of his chakra it wouldn't have been much of a problem even for him

[byname_bynature]

Artemis watched Sai work, curious as to what he was doing. He'd seen Haku's abilities in action, but not Sai's. He immediately saw why the marks Skuld had put on Artemis' back were of such interest--Sai apparently worked with ink and paper. The drawings moved off the paper, but then couldn't continue onto the floor. Artemis guessed that should Sai have unlimited access to his power, the drawings would have retained their form off of the page.

"It was a valiant effort," Artemis assured him, offering a small smile. "It honestly would've made things much easier, most likely."

They walked on, Artemis keeping his hand against the wall, even as they turned corners. He wouldn't put it past Landel to switch the walls around if Artemis didn't keep a hand on the line they were following.

It felt as though they had been walking for hours, though the scenery could have made it seem longer. Artemis' hand wasn't a firmly on the wall anymore, and he skimmed his fingers along the wall lightly. "How far have we gone?"

Backthread?

[faithful_frost]

Haku frowned at the surroundings. He kept thinking something was going to happen, but it felt like they'd been walking for hours without a break in even the scenery. "It's difficult to tell distance," he said softly. He wasn't tired so they can't have been walking far but ...

"I'm not ...sure how far." And that was a bit annoying to have to admit.

I'm down for that. (Sorry for being slow.)

[tsunagari]

This whole affair would have irritated Sai more if he hadn't still been dwelling on the matter with Okita, and if he hadn't been... himself. He knew they'd backtracked at least twice just following the walls until they reached a dead end. This method was definitely the slowest one, and they were lucky not to have run into some sort of creature yet. He expected any moment for something to come at them from around one of the dead ended paths.

Is this how patients were lost, he wondered? They randomly found themselves here? Would the others from the Leaf Village be asking about him tomorrow? Hopefully he was just over-thinking this. Unfortunately, ideas like this couldn't just be shoved aside here, since he'd learned that just about anything was possible.

"Some ways," he muttered. "It's hard to measure distance here."

Same. D|

[byname_bynature]

The fact that both Sai and Haku didn't know how far they'd come made Artemis feel even more tired. If they were feeling the wear of walking through this maze, Artemis would be feeling it doubly no doubt. His legs were heavy, and he dearly wanted to stop walking.

But that might be akin to stopping for death. A rest might mean something finding them and slowly choking the life out of the small, confused traveling party. His shoulder was still sore, though he still kept his fingers in the hem of Haku's shirt and his other hand skimming the wall as they moved forward. He kept quiet, thinking that the rest of his observations concerning how far they'd come wouldn't be met with much enthusiasm or be very helpful. The only thing left to them was continuing on.

"I wonder where this place is," he said quietly, slowing his pace slightly.