Nightshift 24: Entry Room

[transgenix]

( coming from here.)

The hall was dark and quiet as Max led the way deeper into the building and away from the dorms. She could hear the faint murmur of voices coming from... somewhere, but couldn't quite pinpoint a location

Comments

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia was torn between stopping to talk to Vice Captain Hinamori and staying with Colonel Mustang. On the one hand, she was here tonight to assist the Colonel, and protect him (which he clearly needed, considering his apparently weakened condition) while he tried to open the door. On the other, Rukia has to assume that Vice Captain Hinamori had only just woken up here tonight; none of the other Shinigami had mentioned seeing her. While Rukia had no doubt that Hinamori could take care of herself, shouldn't the other Shinigami at least be informed of their situation

[broken_exorcist]

The invocation was taking a toll on Allen as he had been pounding the door, but finally, the real enemy had appeared. He had to hold on. If they could get past this one obstacle, they'd be in the clear! Everyone seemed apprehensive, but it didn't look much different from the Akuma he'd faced before. They came in many different forms: winged, claws, teeth, guns, smelly, hairy... Though it didn't register this time. His cursed eye still glowed red in the darkness, but it was because of the nearby shinigami, not the monster in front of them.

Strange. Allen had only a moment to think as the creature bellowed loudly. The claws didn't phase him. His own claw was much larger, though he only had one. He had to hope it would last long enough to defeat the creature. He coughed once and tasted blood, not a good sign. He would have to be quick.

Not yet, just a little longer. You have to keep going!He caught Rukia's movement from the corner of his eye and made room for it, his own massive claw aiming for the creature's body. The

[damned_monsters]

The monster filled the doorway; nothing would be able to slip past. It went for the most obvious victim first; Allen. As the boy tumbled down, one paw came swiping down, toward the boy's head in a blow intended to crush his skull.

Only Rukia's lunge saved the boy, as immobilized as he was with pain. The sword flashed in the dim light; it struck true. The monster snarled. Impossibly fast, it reversed its blow, paw striking Rukia claws first. The sword sank deeply into its flesh, but the monster didn't seem to care; it snapped its paw around and flung Rukia at the wall as if she weighed nothing.

As soon as Rukia was out of its way, its attention fixed on Allen again, claws slicing down toward his unprotected back.

[notmyfather]

Valyn ignored Mustang's griping - did the man think they wouldn't be attacked? or the door would be unguarded on another night? - and lifted his hands, hoping for a clear shot. He winced when Rukia was flung, training and instinct rousing him to act quickly to protect a female.

It over-rided even his fear.

Without saying a word, he narrowed his eyes and raised the knife, crouching to leap at the creature and slice at the paw that came down for Allen, hoping the flames or the blade would at least damage the thing, if one was useless. He was hardly thinking now, acting purely out of some chivalrous conditioning that said women were weak and valuable and needed protection at all costs - even the cost of male elven life, if it came to it.

But iff he ended up dying here, Valyn was going to be very upset.

[muted_flame]

This was probably the closest he had seen to a chimera in this place thus far. Roy wouldn't be surprised if it had come about by similar means. In fact, the monsters of Landel's could have been transported from countless worlds, the same as the patients. It was a possibility he would have liked to consider if he'd had the time.

It was better that no one answered him - instead, everyone got to work, though Rukia was flung out of the way within seconds. When the creature's arm came down again, Roy moved without thinking. Usually, he wasn't a close-range fighter, but something had happened to Allen, and it reminded him far too much of an alchemical rebound

[haiiro_no_chou]

The creature was faster than Rukia had expected, but at least she had distracted it enough to buy Allen some time. Probably not much time, but maybe enough to keep him from becoming one with the floor. An instant after she felt Renji's katana bite into the monster's clawed foot, the claws were coming at her

[broken_exorcist]

Allen knew he had to move. If he didn't move, something, whatever it was, was going to grind him into the floor and it would be very, very unpleasant. His body, however, seemed unwilling to help him. He tried to press himself up from the floor, and watched in wide-eyed worry as Rukia was flung across the room

[damned_monsters]

Valyn's blade grazed the monster's paw; it had been watching for an attack similar to Rukia's. For a moment the fire caught and smoldered; the monsters snarled, the sound becoming another deafening roar. The stench, this time of rotten flesh cooking, was overwhelming. It pulled its paw back, then brought it swiping around, razor claws extended, to give Valyn the same treatment that it had given Rukia.

Roy hadn't caused it pain; Roy was more of annoyance than anything else. He was positioned rather helpfully.

The monster closed its jaws around Roy's arm.

[hajike_tobiume]

((from above thread))

Momo darted out of the file room doorway after having observed the monster for a few moments. She stayed low to the ground and thought quickly. She had an idea of something that might work.

As she crossed the room, passing by the injured Rukia, Momo held her hand out.

"Kuchiki! The katana!"

Normally, Momo wouldn't have asked another shinigami for the use of their weapon, but in this circumstance, considering the weapon in question was not Rukia's zanpakuto, the vice captain deemed it neccessary. Especially since it was obvious her fellow shinigami was unable to properly weild it with her injuries.

Momo did not slow her movements, expecting Rukia to toss her the sword once she finished the kido she was conjuring. This shinigami did not want to be immediately detected as a threat to the monster.

[notmyfather]

Valyn twisted, trying to bring the knife up to deflect the blow. But the flames on his blade winked out, the spell fading. He felt claws on his flesh, slicing open the flesh of his arm. Hot blood spilled across his skin, and his mind registered that there was pain. Cuts and wounds that bled or bruised were still new to him.

"This thing is too strong!" he called out, a strange shiver of pain shooting through him as he switched the knife to his unwounded hand. He was rapidly running out of options - improvisation wasn't one of Valyn's strong points. But he gripped the sword in his left hand and aimed it for the creature's chest, trying to ignore the blood dripping from his arm.

He could fix it in the morning.

[muted_flame]

An apology from the boy was not what he had been looking for by helping him. While he didn't know Allen or any of the others very well, when it came to a fight like this it didn't matter. If people were going to fight together, there had to be some level of trust, even if it only stood during battle. If Roy had been in the same situation as the boy, he would have expected the same from one of them. There had to be that sort of understanding for it all to work

[haiiro_no_chou]

"Hadou Thirty-three!" she finished, voice strong despite the pain, as a glowing ball of blue energy shot from her palm. It streaked toward the creature, briefly illuminating the room.

Dimly, Rukia had registered what was going on a round her: Allen trying to get up, Valyn and the Colonel both being attacked. It was Vice Captain Hinamori's voice, though, that forced her into action. Gritting her teeth against the nausea and dizziness the spell had caused, Rukia moved the katana to her good hand and sent it sliding across the floor.

Rukia tried to stay up, but the floor just got closer and closer. She had put all she had left into that spell, and simply couldn't hold on to consciousness any longer. The room spun around Rukia, filled with the monster's roars and its stench, and then everything drifted away into blackness.

[broken_exorcist]

Allen had to get moving, he had to get the others out of here and if possible, take care of that creature. The only problem was finding the strength to do more than just stand there on wobbly knees. Mustang was already fading fast, the creature's jaws around his arm. It seemed to hold though, oddly enough, but Allen had little time to sit and think on it.

If he could just invoke it long enough, he might be able to stall it while the rest escaped. He swallowed back his worries and did what he could to focus; light sputtered and flashed around his arm like a fire that just wouldn't start. And just as quickly it was dark. The light went out as he felt a lurch in his stomach.

He wasn't strong enough. The thought haunted him as blackness crept into his vision, the last thought he could keep hold of before he lost consciousness. Not strong enough.

[damned_monsters]

The monster swept one of its wings down to strike Valyn's arm as he tried to stab it; it had learned that some of its prey had teeth, and was wary.

The blue energy that Rukia cast at the monster struck it; it actually stumbled
a step to the side, teeth still biting down on Roy's arm. It hide smouldered; it snarled, a sound that would have been a roar if it had been willing to release its jaws.

It was annoyed; very annoyed. Rukia was out of reach; it was unwilling to leave the doorway. It took out its ire on the best target available - Roy. It reared back, flapping its ragged wings, dragging him forward by the arm, and slashed him with both paws.

[hajike_tobiume]

Momo reached down as she ran across the entryway and scooped up the katana as it slid along the floor. She was grateful that evenin her current condition, Rukia was aware enough to get it to her. The vice captain readied the weapon, compensating for the extra length and weight, and assessed the situation.

Two down, two severely injured and one lone armed shinigami. This did not look good. She gritted her teeth, set herself, and pushed on toward the monstrosity.

[notmyfather]

This was far more dangerous and trying than bouts in the arena - even against his father's trained gladiators or liege lords. But that training came in handy - Valyn had never been more thankful for those hours and hours of training his father had insisted on. As the wing came down, Valyn twisted, thrusting the sword up to try and slice at the membrane of the wings.

"Get out of the way, Colonel!" Valyn barked, recognizing that the man would be in severe danger if he didn't extricate his arm and get away.

The other woman was at least coming to their aide. Perhaps they could at least retreat....

Before Valyn lost too much blood. Light headedness was already beginning to set in.