Night 52: West Wing, South Hall 2-B

[dual_worlds]

((From here.))This corridor was empty as well, which was not surprising when one took into account the lack of activity in the previous area. They passed a door to their left, one that lacked a clear label on the maps Spock had seen. While there were several possibilities of what it entailed, Spock knew he would need to make some inquiries from

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[ai_no_minako]

Minako grimaced and side-stepped the fragments of broken glass with over-elaborate care. The lights were still flickering down here, too, and it was no less disquieting to have their shadows shifting like that against the walls. But really, was that the best Dr. Landel could do? Dramatics and shadow puppets?

Well, and torturing some poor woman wherever he was hiding. Couldn't forget that part, especially since Minako would really, really have liked to find them and put a stop to that. What kind of defender of justice knew that sort of stuff was going on and just walked away?

She glanced up at Arthur's question and wrinkled her nose slightly. "Talk to him? No... didn't think he'd really be interested in talking to me, all things considered." If he could talk all that well, after the way she'd kind of kicked him in the face.

[slipperymagic]

Howl was announced by the sound of glass sliding across the tiled floor, propelled by a breeze that seemed to touch nothing else. It gave the whole thing a look as though the shards of broken bulbs were politely stepping out of the way of the man who was now walking down the hallway, straight towards the pair. He moved with purpose, but beyond that, Howl knew he was impossible to miss, particularly in a hall as dreary as this. The deep red of his suit, the unnatural gold of his hair, it all served to make the grey surroundings look that much more muted. He actually liked the image in his head quite a bit

[ai_no_minako]

Released? Minako's eyes narrowed at that; she'd been here long enough to know that "released" was code for "brainwashed" and sent off to... wherever people went when they were brainwashed. Outside of the Institute, at least, which was the important part here. So, what, Alfred didn't think he was a country anymore? It was probably an improvement, but it seemed to have disturbed Arthur and he was friend enough by now that that annoyed her on his behalf.

"I hadn't seen him, so...." And there she paused, alerted to the arrival of another -- and one kind of familiar. Except he looked a lot nicer now than he had the last time they'd spoken, and he'd managed to get some new clothes, too. How did he get so lucky? And why was he trying to get them to leave? Was there something down this hallway that he was trying to protect?

Minako tilted her head to one side a little, giving the man a curious look and completely ignoring Arthur's own annoyance. "Howl-san? What's down there?"

[slipperymagic]

Howl greatly desired to focus on the lovely young woman that knew his name and yet was not spitting venom at him or crying, but his eyes were still set on the man. The dark corners of the room, as few as they were, seemed to deepen, and the glass on the floor trembled. Howl opened and closed his hands, feeling the magic that built up in his veins and fingertips. He could almost hear Calcifer in his ears, roaring and ready, egging him on. Where Howl expected to hear a voice and some acerbic commentary though, there was only the fire in his head. It didn't bother him much when there were other annoyances occupying his mind

[ai_no_minako]

Okay, now this was different. Kind of familiar, too, in a disturbing way, and not something she'd expected from Howl. There'd been no sense of anything evil or nasty about him when she'd met the man, and there still wasn't now. Maybe her ability to notice an enemy was as much on the fritz as her ability to transform? What she wouldn't give to have Rei there right now -- or, well, any of the senshi would be pretty welcome. Even Artemis would be good

[slipperymagic]

"You two are both so quick to judge others," Howl complained, looking up from straightening his suit. Some dust had gotten on it, kicked up by the magic, but as soon as Howl realized it was there it was gone again. "One runs about making insults and boasts, and the other comes to defend him when he gets what he deserves. Quite a pair

[ai_no_minako]

Considering that Arthur was injured and all Minako wasn't terribly pleased when he moved up to stand beside her, but she didn't argue the point. It was partially because she realized that he probably didn't want to look weak, whether in front of her or Howl (if it really was Howl; she wasn't quite positive about that) and partially because she found herself distracted for a moment by the way the shadows slid and shifted against the wall nearby. That looked almost like -- but that had to be impossible, she was just imagining things. And imagining things at a really bad time, too.

She frowned, grip tightening on the chain she held as she cast a sidelong glance toward Arthur. There he was not making sense again, but... whatever. Crazy or not, he didn't seem like there was any harm to it. And besides, there were more important things to worry about. Things like Howl attacking them, maybe.

"Maybe we should go, Arthur-san," she hissed, but anything else she might have said was choked off in a soft gasp as Howl started to change. This was