Nightshift 32: West Wing, Hall 2-A

[tyki_pon]

[From here]The sounds of battle didn't seem to follow them as Tyki slipped into the next hallway. That was at least one less bothersome problem to stand between him and his cigarettes (provided that he'd find any tonight, of course

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[gray_gambit]

The reasoning was simple enough, being that Lia had no source of light, and so could not efficiently take the lead. She'd no problem determining direction once asked, however. Indeed, she seemed more comfortable in this role than that of a passive companion as she stepped forward to try the first door on the left.

Locked, of course. She eyed it, brow creasing a little as she frowned in consternation. Had she been in her own world, she could have passed through, but here something as simple as a physically locked door was a nigh insurmountable obstacle. And least for Lia, who knew little more of picking locks than a goldfish might of scaling mountains.

"The first unlocked one we find," she replied, the faint frown still marring her features. "And hope we're not being herded to some purpose."

[tyki_pon]

Tyki wasn't used to being stopped by a door. Even if he didn't have an opportunity to simply phase through it by using his powers, there was always a lock pick. But he currently had none of the two, and the obstacle in front of his nose was pretty much rubbing that in. And with the bothersome whatever-it-was in the previous hallway, trying to kick it open didn't seem like such a good idea.

They didn't have much of a choice but to leave the door be and pick another. He moved towards the door located at the end of the hallway and grabbed the handle, half expecting this one to be locked as well. He was surprised to see that it wasn't.

"That would be this one, then." he said, pushing the door further open and stepping into the next area.

[tyki_pon]

[To here]

[quickdrawbkiddo]

[from here]The Bride moved their trio quickly down to the end of the hallway, fingertips lightly brushing along the left-hand wall, counting the doorways they encountered along the way. When she reached the door at the end of the hallway that lead to the outdoor patio, the place where she received the injuries that were starting to really bother her, she stopped and knelt down

[inb4crazy]

The whole hallway had felt... eerie, for some reason, but Mion couldn't quite place why it felt like that as she walked through it. Still, she was glad she was going to be out of it, even if it meant there would be a monster coming up in a moment. Mion nodded at Arlene's request, though just as she turned on the light, Arlene ripped off the bandages, and well... Mion was too taken aback by it to finish covering the light.

"H-Hey, that looks pretty bad!" Mion said, startled at the small exposure of injured skin - which she guessed there might have been more of. Her next question might have been kind of redundant, all things considered, but Mion wasn't really thinking much at that point. "Are you alright?"

[kaerutokoro]

So close... Ugh, she was beginning to feel far too nervous for her liking. Rena could only take comfort in the fact that it was dark, and neither Mion nor Arlene would notice her jittery self. They had enough on their plates as is.

Finally, they reached the door. The redhead was just about to reiterate the plan as instructed when Mion pointed out the injury. Instead, a wave of guilt passed over the younger girl while a look of concern fell upon her face. That really didn't look good...

"Y-Yes, Arlene-san, are you all right?" she added nervously.

[quickdrawbkiddo]

Such stupid questions. Beatrix looked up sharply at the girls, but then her expression softened a little. They were only teenagers and, even though Rena had been there the previous night, she hadn't seen the extent of her injuries. Rena was probably feeling really guilty as the burns were received because the ex-assassin had protected her from them. Better me than her, she thought to herself.

"It hurts, but I'm fine." She looked up at Mion, the illumination from the unshielded flashlight momentarily winking off of the slightly exposed metal plate in her head at the left temple. "I've had worse," she said with a quirk of her lips. "Remember?"

She went back to the bandages and got the last bit around her wrist torn off and she flexed her hands, rolling her wrists. It hurt, but at least now she had better freedom with her hands. "Focus girls, please - the plan."

[rectifies]

[From here.]

This hallway was fairly silent, to the point Ken wondered if the place was empty. There could have been someone at the end of the hall, but the darkness made it difficult to tell. At least it wasn't a factor for them, as long as nothing drew close.

He stepped ahead of his teammate and thus, reached the door to the staff library first. That, however, quickly proved to be fruitless as the entrance did not give way on the first push.

"Crap." Ken frowned, obviously disappointed. "It's locked."

[remedying]

Yukari checked with her light, as well; emptiness accompanied the silence when they turned the corner. For the first time, they truly were alone somewhere. The thought of it chilled her for a moment, yet she quickly shoved the thought aside. She couldn't be afraid because of that.

Ken's statement made her echo his expression, grabbing the doorknob for herself before stepping back with an irritated sigh. "Stupid locks are everywhere, I swear," Yukari muttered, thinking back on their past efforts. "Okay; kicking it didn't work--" not for them, anyway. "-- and ramming it didn't work. If you have any other ideas, let's hear them."

[rectifies]

"Hmm." The boy bit his lip, thinking over their choices, before his eyes fell on Adelheid's spear. The possibility was a long shot--he'd never done anything quite like it--but it was also the best chance they had of opening the door. He couldn't argue with trying.

With a hopeful expression, Ken nodded. "I can try something," he said, "but, um, you might want to stand back, Yukari-san." The act required a good deal of room to pull off, after all.

[remedying]

"Huh?" Despite her puzzled, curious look, Yukari stepped back as instructed. "What are you-- wait, don't tell me you're gonna..."

She trailed off with a small expression of disbelief. Oh, she had an idea, all right-- but on a door... The thing was never gonna see it coming, that's for sure.