Nightshift 33: The Grand Ballroom

[blood_and_pocky]

[from here]Before they’d even reached the bottom of the stairs, Aidou heard the sound of trickling water. And once he stepped onto the black marble floor, it was oddly the first thing he focused on. Fountains… His gaze trailed them up, to the seemingly infinite expanse of ceiling

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[traitors_smile]

[[from here]]

Gin waited for Ran to come through before the started descending the staircase. The cool air made the new cut on his back sting, but not so much as it had in the freezer. Though his shirt and his bandages had offered some protection and managed to keep the cut from being too deep, he wasn't thrilled about so obvious an injury.

He pulled his flashlight from his sleeve, tucking the sword into the waist of his hakama. They weren't all the way down the stairs just yet, but he didn't want to be taken by surprise.

[wishescankill]

Anya followed Angel, pressing the cloth he'd given her into her side. She'd healed a bit, but not enough that she was enthusiastic about the idea of getting her head ripped off by a triangle-headed monster.

"No more hitting it," she stridently advised anyone who would listen. "Flee now." The door opened easily when she grasped the handle, revealing a long hallway lined with wall sconces and tapestries. Not quite oozing green slime and cobwebs, but it was a little more like what Anya had been expecting.

She took a step into the hallway, fully intended to let everyone else sort out the monster, but she... didn't want to. She actually wanted to help. How irksome. With an exasperated sigh, she drew her sword and returned to Angel's side.

[light_wicca]

And almost without warning, Angel was diving headfirst into a fight with another monster. A... very strange-looking one. It kind of reminded Willow of the old days back when they were still in high school. Except that they were allowed to leave the high school occasionally.

She wanted to help, but she didn't have any real weapons to use and she was still exhausted from the last spell. Rather than give Angel or Anya any more to worry about, Willow moved quickly and quietly around the fight and over to the door Anya just ran away from with the vague idea of gathering her strength for another attempt. There was another woman there, too, but Willow was too distracted at first to realize how familiar she looked.

[thebloodyacacia]

Though his sword missed and was sent slamming into the ground, sending thin flakes and broken chunks of the floor scattering through the air, Pyramid Head was far from daunted. When Gin charged him and slashed, the blade met; Pyramid Head jerked, his skin rending and a disgusting combination of blood and pus seeping out from the new wound.

It was accompanied by an acrid stench that would bowl over anyone too close. Gin was right next to it.

Angel's scalpel smacked into the skin beneath the helmet, striking and cutting - then slipping away from - the flesh. Already frozen from the first attack, Pyramid Head paused for a moment longer, as if recoiling from so much sudden pain (if he could feel pain at all).

Then his free arm whipped out and made to grab Gin by whatever was closest - arm, chest, or neck - and squeezed.

[fuyunohanabi]

Rangiku turned back and stared as the doorway opened under the other woman's touch as easily as it had the night before. What was going on? But she didn't have enough time to think about that now. She turned back to the fight, glad to see Gin not alone, but concerned because she didn't think that they had enough people to take care of that thing, definitely not with scalpels and pens.

"Gin!" she shouted. "Strangers! Run!" There was the bite of command in her voice now, the one she used when commanding shinigami against a Hollow. They needed to get out and get out quickly.

[traitors_smile]

The creatures here all seemed to have their own little quirks about them. While he didn't expect both blood and pus to come oozing from the wound he'd left behind, he wasn't terribly surprised. It was the overpowering smell though, that was hard to ignore. He stumbled backward, almost choking on the horrible stench

[blurred_divide]

Already naturally sensitive to anyone's blood, the smell became overpowering, and not in a good way. It was enough to distract him for a second. By the time his focus was pulled back, the monster was reaching for the patients, who were now...gone?

Helpful.

Anya and Willow might've made it to the other side during the creature's distraction, but Angel was still trapped on the stairs. And he was pretty sure if he darted around in front, the thing would just grab him.

He jumped on it instead while it was still turned around, trying to stay on its back just long enough to slice some part of it open before it threw him off.

Which was half of the point. If it tossed him anywhere but back up the stairs, he'd have a clear path to the door. Probably.

[wishescankill]

Anya was definitely starting to feel woozy from blood loss. She didn't have the strength to stay in the fight, but she couldn't just leave the other Scoobies, as much as she wished she had the lack of morality necessary to do so.

Willow had headed for the door, which was good, but Angel had apparently decided to go through the creature instead of around it. Why did men always have to do things the hard way?

Mustering up all her energy, Anya dropped to one knee and swung her sword at the monster's legs, hoping to knock it off its feet.

"This isn't the World Wresting Foundation!" she shouted at Angel. "Get off its back!"

[light_wicca]

As much as Willow wanted to help, the fact remained that all she had as a viable weapon was a small scalpel. Much more deadly in the hands of a vampire, she'd observed, than in hers. Normally, her first thought would be her magic, but on top of everything that had happened in the past few months to drive her away from it, using even a simple spell here seemed to render her dizzy just walking. Willow didn't think that she had the strength to try anything more, no matter how easy. She looked forlornly down at the small scalpel in her hand, remembering how easy it used to be to send it rocketing into a monster's chest with a little magic push.

Here, all she could really do was grip the wall behind her to stay upright and hope that Angel and Anya won. Or at least didn't lose.