Night 52: Rec Field

[tsunagari]

[from here]This was already further than Sai had gotten the past couple nights, which was saying something. It was getting over the wall that would be the real test, though. The actual act of scaling the brick would be simple, but the night had an odd way of ending before he'd gotten beyond that point. Hopefully the same wouldn't hold true this

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[razing_phoenix]

[From here.]

As usual, the field was buzzing with activity, though most of it was difficult to pinpoint considering how dark it was, along with the distance between them and the other patients. Still, it was clear that they weren't alone, and that was reason enough to be careful. They couldn't just march across and expect to not be confronted by something or someone.

"We're heading for the wall; it's straight across," Guy explained, even though it wasn't actually visible from where they were standing. There were some floodlights that surrounded the field, but they were very come-and-go, and didn't give as good of a view of everything as he would have expected.

All it really did was play tricks on him. He kept glancing around, thinking that he saw something when he didn't.

"There's a good chance we'll get attacked by something, so be ready." That was all he said before moving toward the side of the field in hopes that they could sneak by unseen. It was a long shot, but he preferred to err on the side of caution either way.

[full_score]

Apparently Asch decided to be reasonable and come along, and Guy didn't have any objections. Good, Claude thought to himself with some measure of relief, now maybe they could get moving now. He was sure that, if they ran into something dangerous, they'd all be able to put aside any differences long enough to handle it

[mirrorbirth]

Asch wasn't about to bring up his particular issues about staying close, even though he did work with them and make sure he kept up the pace. It was against his nature to cooperate with people or work closely with them. The only exceptions had been Ginji and the Dark Wings out of necessity, and he'd only done that because he could accomplish more with hired help working in the shadows. At least their loyalty could be bought; there'd been more guarantee that his own soldiers wouldn't betray him for Van. Here there was no money, no one to bribe or employ. And now he was with the last person in the world he would ever be able to win over with money.

Instead, he tried to focus on Claude's words, and keeping an eye on their surroundings. Monsters here, too? It figured. Just when he had no weapon or powers with which to defend himself. He knew how to fight without a blade, somewhat, but it wasn't at all his area of expertise. He looked sidelong at Guy. Speaking of weapons...

"My fonic artes don't work here. Where did you get that sword?"

[razing_phoenix]

At the mention of flying monsters, Guy found himself tensing for a moment, though he didn't let it stop him from continuing forward across the grass. It was just that it reminded him of that night when the buses had broken down and those creatures had attacked them all in one huge swarm. He still wasn't sure if Aidou's hypothesis about who they attacked was really true (it seemed pretty unlikely), but either way, he knew that those aquila wouldn't hesitate to come after him. It was one more reason to keep moving as fast as they could without attracting attention to themselves

[full_score]

Claude blinked in surprise when Guy mentioned that he was still holding onto the knife that they'd gotten for Asch. He must have disappeared not long after that, then. He almost wondered how he couldn't have realized what had happened, but, then again, it was also true that he and Guy didn't exactly talk about Asch much. The nosy part of him wanted to hear the details of what had happened between them before, but Guy could get weird about even the most innocuous questions sometimes. That was why Claude had never really broached the subject much before

[mirrorbirth]

Alchemy? Okay then, whatever. Not caring for more of an explanation, Asch nodded, filing that information away, though he has no idea where he would conveniently find metal for such a thing. Still, a knife was a promising start. He could wait for more if he needed to, and it was apparent that in this place, patience was definitely a necessity

[razing_phoenix]

When Claude brought up Leon as a possibility for how Asch could get a sword, Guy couldn't help noting how poetic that would be; for both Luke and Asch to get a sword from the same person, that is. Though thinking of Luke's specifically crafted sword also reminded him that he was going to have to drop by his friend's room as soon as possible to gather his things. He needed to save them, in case Luke came back once more. Having a sword waiting for him would make things a lot easier, after all.

It was good to hear that Asch was willing to take the knife, though. As they reached the far end of the field and the wall that was separating them from their destination, Guy turned back toward the God-General and nodded. "We can meet up tomorrow night and I'll give it to you," he promised. Because Luke had asked, and because he was trying to give Asch another chance

[full_score]

Well, whatever Asch and Guy's differences were, it sounded like they were both willing to at least temporarily put them aside in order to beat this place. At the very least, Asch was open to accepting help from Guy if he thought it benefited him. And Guy...well, judging by what Claude knew of him from their experiences in Landel's, it was hard to figure what he might have done if this had been Auldrant instead of Earth. Not that it was any of his business, exactly, but that didn't stop him from wondering from the sidelines. As long as he was spending the night with the both of them, it wasn't as though anyone could blame him, right

[mirrorbirth]

Asch didn't know what the deal was about whatever was going on behind them, but if Guy was in that much of a hurry, he knew there was no time to inquire about it. Questions could wait until they were free, so without hesitation he lunged for the vine after Claude, scaling it as quickly as he could. At least his body was in good shape for the moment; he hadn't felt any sudden weaknesses or pains in his chest just yet. Whether that was due to his death or an effect of being in the facility, he couldn't tell, but unless the weakness presented itself, he wasn't about to mention it. No point in giving Guy - or anyone else - that sort of advantage over him.

It was all precautionary, of course... but one could never be too careful. Shaking aside such miserly thoughts, he focused instead on climbing.

[razing_phoenix]

Neither Claude nor Asch hesitated in climbing up after him; all of them were obviously used to this kind of physical exertion, because by the time Guy made it up to the top, the others had followed.

It didn't look like the brainwashed patient was letting up any time soon, and Guy didn't really plan on sticking around to see what happened next. He was amazed enough that they'd made it past without getting noticed, but he wasn't about to push their luck.

Tossing his flashlight and sword down ahead of him, Guy then pushed himself off to land neatly on the other side of the wall. Finally, they were getting somewhere!

[To here.]