Nightshift 24: Hallway outside entry room

[traitors_smile]

The giggling and the stinging scent of pepper faded as Gin and Jack changed their route to the second set of stairs near the doctors offices.  It was Gin's first time leading, usually Jack took that job, letting him take up the reasonably safer rear guard.  He kept his flashlight trained on the path ahead of them, his knife in the other hand.  With

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[akarusa]

[[from here.]]

Once out of the Sun Room, Hokuto got Nel propped up against a wall to look at her--there was no way they were going far without Amaterasu at least. "Let me see your legs," she said, not wanting to waste time when Nel was actively bleeding. She really wished she knew healing spells, but her knowledge of first aid would have to do. Of course, without any bandages...

Not sure what else to do, she knelt down and tried to rip at the leg of her own pants; the entire outfit was hideously ugly anyway. It was a temporary measure at best, but it would have to do until... she didn't know when. Hopefully they'd get somewhere safe and then they could explain a few things to her!

[runed]

Nel leaned against the wall right outside the door. The runes on her thigh were bleeding, though not as bad as they had been originally. The blood had soaked through her pants, though, and any light shown on it would show a rather drenched spot that only ran as far as her knee before the rivulets ran down her calves, where the leg of the pants flared out in what was normally a surprisingly comfortable fit.

"...I don't know if I should use Healing. I'm going to save it for the goddess.. she needs it more than I do, I bet.." she whispered as she slid her pants down around her knees. Thankfully she wasn't afraid to show a little leg - her military uniform showed enough leg to where Nel simply didn't care.

The injured runes glistened dark red in the light of the flashlight. It looked as if they'd just been freshly tattooed, even though they'd been there for years. The skin looked slightly raised, adding to the effect.

[akarusa]

Hokuto managed to rip a few strips off her pants, making them into ragged shorts above the knee, and tied them onto Nel's legs as well as she could. "Is that too tight?" Even in the light of the flashlight, she thought the wounds looked bad.

Which was the main reason she was managing not to think about how bandaging the woman's upper thighs had been very slightly awkward--she'd tried not to touch anything she didn't need to, but, uh... well, accidents happened...

When she'd run out of bandages, she just sat back a little and tried to think. Knowing nothing about their location hindered her getting any real ideas, so she asked, "Is there anywhere we can go that's safe?" It was good to know in general.

[runed]

"It's.. ah.. fine. Thank you. " Nel watched Hokuto as she worked, absently noticing that her face had warmed a little bit when the black-haired girl's hand brushed her panty, cheeks blooming very slightly in the darkness. The feeling was foreign, though - she hadn't blushed in months, though such a thought was far from her mind at the time. It didn't even occur to her that she had never been touched there before, not even accidentally. No, all that was on her mind was the pain, and hoping for Okami Amaterasu to make it out safely

[usoppsenchou]

[coming from Sun Room]

There were two more girls out here, talking softly and tending each others' wounds... he remembered them dashing in with the howling woman earlier. He hoped the others in there would escape. But even if they didn't, what could he do? True, he was better armed now--if he could get an arm free. And leaping and trying to bludgeon the demon hadn't worked so hot last time--he didn't have any Stars made up to shoot yet, even with his little rubber band at a short distance.

This isn't running away. This is The Great Captain Usopp's Tactical Retreat. Right.

"It's not far to my room," Usopp whispered to Yuber, not wanting to disturb the women's conversation. "Then I can start to make some weapons."

Although he didn't know what he could do against something like that thing in the courtyard--even if he had twenty bags of flour.

[face_of_chaos]

(( Entering from here))

The idle chatter of the females outside was hardly of any importance to the knight as he walked out into the hallway. Gaze roaming down either side of the long corridor, Yuber’s attention eventually found itself back onto Usopp as his ally whispered to him.

He didn’t bother to reply in hushed tones, and instead answered in his usual smooth voice. “Then lead the way. Once you’ve properly equipped yourself, we’ll head back out.” Gesturing back towards the male dormitories, the black knight waited for his companion to move. He knew not where Usopp’s quarters were stationed, which left him with no option but to remain following his ally.

At least once Usopp was properly prepared; he’d be able to properly gauge just what remained of his own abilities. Perhaps it was something that could be tested during the wait in Usopp’s quarters?

[usoppsenchou]

[scooting, with Yuber along, to here]

[arc_wrench]

[[from here]]

HK turned the corner from the cell blocks and continued on. The area up ahead lead to the dining hall and sun room, but after that...

"Statement: After we pass these doors," he pointed towards the Sun Room, "I have no knowledge of the compound's layout." Everything else he knew perfectly. Even if he was a meatbag now, he still had near-flawless spatial recall of the areas he had seen. Just one more advantage to having a droid mind.

[icy_demise]

"Well, now is a good time to go figure out what's over there, don't you think?" Hopefully something useful, as far as SubZero could tell, all the patient blocks were on the same side. That was where everyone, male, and female, had been taken for dinner.

"Just go down the first hallway you come across, we can just check out everything we come across, if we have too." This could turn into something that would take several nights to finish.

[arc_wrench]

"Statement: Very well." HK was a little miffed at SubZero's tone. He was an intelligent droid, he knew how to explore an unknown area. "Query: Shouldn't you be on point, meatbag? I would rather not be damaged by a preventable assault from behind."

[icy_demise]

"Preventable assault from behind? I'm smart enough to know better than to go around stabbing allies in the back without good cause. And I have good enough aim to avoid hitting you." He was almost insulted that HK would say something like that.

"You are a pretty small target after all, but you don't have very much muscle, you should work on that, HK. Maybe do some push ups, get a good work out. If not you'll start to get fat."

[barium_bullet]

[[From here.]]

Yazoo paused in the middle of the hallway as he considered where to go next. The three of them could stick to familiar territory and head back to the sun room, cafeteria, and kitchen, but he wanted to do something different. However, that probably wasn't a very bright idea. He still wasn’t very adept with his daggers and both of his brothers were injured.

So much for a fun night.

He tried to hide a pout as he turned and looked back at the first waiting room, idly twirling his weapons in his hands as he waited for Kadaj and Sephiroth to catch up.

[deathinvitation]

Sephiroth was content to walk along with them, his mind still on their situation versus settling on any one real thing. He was content enough that he had surprised them or so he thought. In the end, it didn't matter.

"She is fine but weakened by this Head Doctor and this place. She is pleased that we have made progress and wishes us well for tonight. There was a question about some woman named 'Inara Serra'. I know it is the name of one of the 'patients' here, but nothing beyond that. I felt bad for disappointing her when she was so eager. Perhaps you two know more?"

It wasn't beyond Sephiroth to use what lever he had against parts of himself. They were, after all, part of himself. The woman hadn't fled from him this morning or been offensive. Therefore, she couldn't be human, could she? Given that these two had been here longer, perhaps they knew more than he did.

[muted_flame]

[ From here. ]

Roy continued on, maneuvering around the other patients in the hall. He could only hope that whoever was around didn't recognize him. He didn't need lots of people seeing him in this state. Granted, most would probably know why he looked so drained, as his weapon-making ability (and what it did to him) was practically common knowledge by now. There was really no reason to be ashamed of the fact that it took so much out of him, considering he was such a huge help to everyone at his own disadvantage.

Then again, did he have much choice? He wondered what people would do if he refused to make a weapon for them. They expected him to be compliant, and he really should have made more of an effort to take some sort of payment...

"Almost there," he said quietly, in case any of his accompaniment wasn't aware of the Entry Room's location.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia had fallen in behind the Colonel when they set off, but when she noticed his apparently weakened condition she moved up a little so that she was to the side and only slightly behind him. She made note of where they were going, but stayed primarily focused on watching and listening for anything suspicious.

"Have you tried getting out this way before, sir?" she asked quietly.

[broken_exorcist]

Allen followed, feeling much like dead weight. He was still unsure of what exactly was going on, but maybe tonight's adventure would at least yield a few answers. He hoped. This business of shinigami and Akuma and who was friend or foe was terribly confusing. Rukia's touch had been so warm though. It was almost like Rhode. She'd not been an Akuma, she still had a human soul, human heart, human warmth. But she worked for the Earl. Her touch had been warm too. Until she'd

[notmyfather]

Valyn, having exhausted himself the night before, recognized the signs in Mustang. And wasn't about to point it out. It would be rude to draw attention to anything that could be seen as a weakness, especially in a warrior. And Renji had stated that Mustang was a soldier. No, Valyn certainly wasn't going to be so crass as to point out that the other man may need assistance.

Of course, if something happened, it could be a problem. Of course, they were there to protect the man, apparently. But Valyn knew soldiers, and they didn't exactly enjoy being protected....

Damn it all to Evelon, tactics weren't exactly Valyn's strong suit. Not battle tactics, at any rate. Politics he knew, battle strategy he didn't.

Well, it wasn't his problem. It had been made very clear he was simply there to be there. He was going to keep quiet.