Night 58: Main Hallway, 1-West

[princeofthemoon]

[ from here ]

Sesshoumaru had not been in the building for nearly long enough to really know it, and his knowledge had not been expanded yesterday as it might otherwise have been, because of the poisons that had been fed into his system - poisons that somehow worked, which had been a disconcerting and unpleasant experience. In the end, though, all

Comments

[doneinthree]

[from here]

Somehow Kirk made it all the way down to the usual meeting place without spotting a soul. He knew there were others around - he caught ahead of him the wobbling of flashlight beams, and the soft echo of boots against the linoleum - but there was something unnerving about emerging into the nearly empty main hallway. It was just... weird. All of it was weird. Him sleeping through the day, the mysterious Code 1-8, the reappearance of "Max" as his roommate, and the heavy silence from the intercom... little things, all disconcerting in their own way.

Whatever the case, he just had to wait for someone to show up. Kirk flicked his flashlight on and off, spelling out P-A-R-A-N-O-I-A in Morse code before deciding it wasn't a particularly funny joke. He shut his eyes, wondering if it was mere tiredness which had gotten to him. He'd gone on two-week stretches of scant sleep before - in Starfleet Academy, you pretty much had to just to pass your second year midterms, never mind what came afterwards - but at least he'd tackled

[spandexorgtfo]

[from here]

The hall had never seemed so long or agonizing before, but it still took what felt like an eternity for Kratos to finally make his way to where he was meant to be. Every step now brought with it the trepidation of hearing her voice in his ear, of turning around and actually finding her in some dark corner, a herald of his own, premature demise.

If he had to die again, at least let it be later on after he and Soma had more thoroughly explored the medical wing.

The thought that maybe he would simply hear things and not suffer anything more did cross his mind, but again, that fear of experiencing her death all over again overwhelmed the idea and continued to assure him that at some point this night, he would find himself run through. It was supremely ironic that a man who sought his own death might actually fear it once it loomed large in front of him, but Kratos, if he were to die, wanted death on his own terms; he wanted his end to be his alone, and not, of all people's, Anna's. He already drowned himself in regrets

[madeinthehrl]

[from here]

And there was Kratos, standing at the side of the hallway. Soma skidded to a halt in front of him, straightening and resisting the urge to dash off a salute.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said immediately, only slightly out of breath. "I must have dozed off before dinner--I don't know how that could have happened--"

[spandexorgtfo]

He couldn't say with much certainty how much time had passed, but what he could say was that Soma's arrival could not have been more timely. The voices had only crept in once during that dreadful span, but Kratos was sure that any longer alone, and he might have actually gone insane. But now a distraction had arrived; he could try to focus on her instead.

"It's of little consequence," he said, acting as if everything was perfectly normal. "What matters is that you're here now, so we may properly begin." He peeled himself away from the wall and began walking down the hall. "Sora was quite clear in his directions, so I don't believe there is anything more that we need to address."

[to here]

[madeinthehrl]

[detouring to here just prior to meeting with Kratos, because Ireny is a derp]

[ultimagi]

[from here. sup sesshoubaby?]

Her footsteps were steady on the hard floor. There were others nearby, but nobody she could recognize. She wondered if Bella and Lana were both alright. The former had been so frightened by that ghost...

But thinking on that wouldn't change anything. The girl was more concerned with finding the stairs.

There are at least two file rooms, Edgar had said. One here on the first floor, near the lobby; the other on the second floor, in a corridor near the eastern stairwell. She had not seen the lobby, and she had never been to the second floor. Similarly, she wasn't even sure which direction was east in this building. But, she thought, if she could find a staircase, there seemed a good chance she could eventually find the corridor he mentioned. Having never seen the second floor, anything she learned up there could help her

[princeofthemoon]

Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed bright red in the light cast by the flashlight for just a moment as he turned to look at the young woman who was hesitantly approaching. He might not have noticed her as soon as he did, but the flashlight remained steady as her footsteps came closer, and although he was weak he would have been pathetic indeed to miss such obvious markers.

Her movements, though hesitant, were precisely controlled and economical, the precise steps and gestures of one who had been trained to fight, and trained well. This alone was intriguing. As a result, he looked slightly curious (or as much as he ever looked anything) as his eyes darted over her, taking her in.

"Hello."

[ultimagi]

For as certain as the girl's body seemed in subconscious motion, her expression carried none of that. Uncertainty even in neutrality. Her gaze, in examining the man, lingered for a moment on the space where an arm should have hung, but she returned her eyes to his. What an unusual color, she thought.

This was no time to get distracted. This was a time to speak. The girl swallowed, bowing her head once--more for thought, for gathering words, than for politeness, but who needed to know otherwise. "I'm... told," she started, already fighting back waves of anxiety and panic, "that it's... unsafe to travel alone."

And was it any safer, she thought, trusting any stranger with her safety, more than she trusted herself alone? Edgar had said he'd been here for a long time. Even if she couldn't trust what connection she assumed he believed they shared, he probably hadn't lied about that. Right?

She pushed on. "I know you don't know me," she hoped, rather, "but... would you... mind? Going with me?"

[princeofthemoon]

Sesshoumaru watched her coldly, or blankly, or something in between. He seemed neither interested nor disinterested, and concealed the flash of displeasure when her eyes lingered on the empty sleeve, neatly pinned up. But for the mutt he would still have his arm, which was annoying - it was an inconvenience to be left with one arm instead of two on many occasions, but all the same not something he usually dwelled on, or minded except sometimes distantly. But, in his true place and true time, there were few who even realized he had lost his left arm. His proficiency - already great, and which had been pushed further by the new challenges - and the way that his sleeves hung was sufficient to deceive most opponents - even if not intentionally, because he did not care one way or another. Most did not live long enough for it to matter. Here that was not the case, and unlike usual, here the idea of being judged as crippled and underestimated was annoying. Perhaps due to the thought that it would hardly be an underestimation at all. He felt

[scientist_skye]

[from here]

Once Ema arrived in the Main Hallway, she stopped and looked around. She couldn't make out anything beyond moving shadows in the darkness, but at least she was out in the open where she could be found. Shifting her weight awkwardly, she played with the strap of her bag while she waited for luck or chance to kick in. Hopefully, she would be found by a friendly face before a monster noticed that she was easy prey and took the opportunity to strike.

The more she waited and thought about it, the more her doubts slowly transformed into dreaded certainties. This was a bad idea. Lana was going to have a conniption fit, and rightly so. Ema hadn't even left a note for her older sister should she stop by, which in hindsight was poor planning. Lana was probably worried sick, assuming she was still in the Institute at all. What if she had been released? The possibility was awful, but that didn't mean it didn't exist. For all Ema knew, she had been out for days. Lots of things could have changed between then and now--for

[believein0]

[From here.]There were some more people in here. Ahh, this place was familiar. Zero remembered walking through this large hallway multiple times, mostly when the sun had been up. Now he was sure that he was going the right way. His destination was that area he'd failed to finish searching the night before, the one where medicines had been offered. There had to be something he'd missed there...perhaps even a chance at a weapon of some sort

[scientist_skye]

The person who ended up approaching Ema wasn't a familiar face like she had hoped, but the fact that she had gotten someone's attention was a welcome relief from the weird isolation that she had felt since waking up earlier in the night. She heard him approach, so his voice didn't startle her at all; she knew someone was headed her way and had time to prepare herself for it. His unchanging stare went unnoticed. Ema couldn't make his features out well enough in the dark to be able to tell either way.

Shifting her weight, Ema replied, "I just woke up after being asleep for... awhile. I didn't want to be trapped by myself in my room, so I came out here and hoped that I would find someone I know." The plan sounded stupid when she said it out loud, even stupider than it had sounded in her head. However, she saw no reason to lie to this person. He was reaching out to her and so far, that had worked out well for her.

"I'm Ema. What's your name?"

[believein0]

"Zero," the Reploid-now-human responded, and then took a moment to think about the girl's answer to his question. She had...been asleep for awhile, and then came here hoping to find a familiar face. That didn't sound like the safest course of action, but it didn't surprise Zero to hear that. She was only a child, after all, and probably scared out of her wits. How long had she been here? Could this be her first night? It would explain why she seemed confused, or how she had 'been asleep for awhile', as she'd put it.

Ema didn't look like she was afraid of him, either; in fact, she seemed a little too friendly toward someone she'd never met before. Another cause of concern.

"It's too dangerous to be standing out here alone. How long have you been here?" He meant the question in two ways: how long had Ema been standing in this hallway by herself, and how long had she been in this institute to begin with. So far, Zero was getting the impression that both answers would be not very long.

Then again, this place had a way of surprising him

[heroesdontshave]

[from here]

As it turns out, it really wasn't as easy to push that out of his mind as he would've liked to think. Since the moment The Purge had started, every day had been rushed and hectic. One thing right after the other. He was always on the move. There hadn't been any time to think back on any of it. Not like he would have wanted to anyway. You can't keep your head on straight when your head was all muddled with thoughts. And it was just easier for him to continue pushing forward when he didn't think too hard on the details. Or on the past (even if it wasn't that long ago).

That was kind of why he was so damn confused. Why was he suddenly thinking back on it? And why did it feel so fresh? Dammit, he didn't have time for this. He didn't have time to get all distracted by things he couldn't even do anything about right now. All he had to focus on right now was finding Serah. She was waiting for him. This wasn't the time for him to be wandering around with his head off somewhere else