Nightshift 35 - Ballroom (Basement)

[qui_gonjinn]

[From hereMoving down the stairs, keeping his senses alert, Qui-Gon led the way deeper beneath Landels. The darkness in the Force here was even stronger. Qui-Gon faced it even as he felt its effects; his stomach turned, he could feel the hair on the back of his hands standing up, and there was always the sense of someone looking over his shoulder

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[braidless]

As Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon, he too could sense the oppressive darkness weighing in on him, as if the reflective dark marble somehow magnified its intensity. He knew that likely wasn't the case, of course, but this room was unlike any other room he'd ever seen in Landel's, in that it was grand, expansive, almost overwhelmingly large, and perhaps a sign of the new things they would probably encounter from here on out. As he moved, he was instinctively careful to make as little noise as possible, falling into step beside his friend

[givemeoblivion]

They'd better damn well be prepared. Who would come down this far and then wuss out? Or did some of them want to do stretching exercises before they went any further? What a question.

All the same, she tightened her grip on the sword item as though it wasn't just a blunt showpiece. They didn't have any idea of what was ahead of them, and there was a good chance they were just being played for fools. The sphinx had seemed serious enough, but creatures like that often spoke in riddles even after their trial was passed.

"If you're not ready now then you're never going to be ready, and I suggest you turn back before you get yourself hurt," she said, voice cold.

[prevails]

Sort of, but not really. At least he was as prepared as he could be, given that he had no idea what was going on or where they were headed. The basement didn't leave a lot to be desired (it was like an alternative to the word 'dungeon' to make it sound nicer, something that never worked) and Sanzo's brief story made it even less appealing. 'course, he wasn't afraid of danger and he did plan on going wherever Sanzo went.

That was being prepared, right? He wasn't a stranger to battles either. Hopefully as long as he kept up his guard that made up for everything else.

Except the saw, that one he was still figuring out.

[31st_of_china]

Sanzo drew the gun out, flicking the safety off.

"Let's just get this over with," he said. There were no guarantees that the sutra was here, but he'd nearly been killed trying to see what was down here. Was it a way out? Some answer to how they got here? Or maybe a chink in the Head Doctor's armor.

He hadn't had a chance to really tell Goku exactly what happened down here, but the monkey was good at diving headfirst into anything (it wasn't like he usually asked questions first) and coming out just fine.

[stray_shinigami]

[from here]

He thought he'd been imagining things, but yeah, there was the sound of someone singing. He wasn't quite sure yet if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but knowing this place, it was probably bad.

He paused on the stairs for a moment; nothing jumped out at them to try to eat them. "This is it," he said, glancing at Lucivar. Ran, he knew, had obviously been down here before. "South doors."

It looked like someone was already there. Hand on his sword hilt, he headed cautiously downward.

[eyrien_prick]

Lucivar nodded, the sound of a girl singing making him shiver. He gripped the metal pole he had brought from his room tight, following Renji down the stairs. He kept alert, waiting for whatever it was that was singing to burst out at them.

"Is the weapons room very far?" Lucivar whispered, wishing that he had something better then just this blunt stick.

[parasite_dawn]

The singing stopped as Lucivar entered the room. Eve floated away from the south doors, her movements quick but seemingly effortless. "About time someone got here. I was starting to get bored." As she approached, the patients would feel their bodies flush with warmth; not as though the room had become warmer, but an entirely internal warmth, not dangerous yet but certainly quite uncomfortable.

As she came fully into the light, Eve's unusual appearance became clear. Part beautiful woman, part grotesque mutation, the combination was unsettling at best. She showed no signs of shyness at her nudity, nor any shame at her more inhuman aspects, coming towards the group confidently, with a smile on her face. "I'm afraid you go no further, but will have to stay and entertain me."

[stray_shinigami]

The sudden warmth and the woman's nudity certainly had at least one effect on Renji; it pissed him off. He certainly saw at least one direction this could head, and he was damn tired of people trying to mess with his balls. He bared his teeth and drew his sword. Scraps of the sheet fluttered down around his feet.

"Fuck off."

[traitors_smile]

[[from here]]

He'd caught up with the others, but he still kept out of plain sight, sticking to the shadows of the staircase as the rest continued onward. He'd have a hard time of following over the large expanse of the ballroom, especially since he didn't have a key. He'd hate to have made it this far only to fail at the crucial point.

His curiosity got the better of him in the end, though, and he ventured quietly out onto the main floor, his sandals hardly making a sound, especially with the sound of the woman singing.

[spirit_forge]

[from here]

Archer descended the stairs, picking up the sounds of battle. It seemed like someone else had beaten them to the fun. That was fine with him. After reaching the bottom, he halted his team and then peered around the doorway, confirming his suspicions. "Looks like a group is already busy with the monster. It resembles a woman with wing-like appendages. Let's try to sneak around it."

He drew an arrow and placed it on his bow but didn't take aim at the creature yet, merely preparing himself for the shot. Slowly, he entered into the room, his slippers softly echoing off the stone floor. Not too loud, but Archer wasn't going to risk breaking into a mad dash. He led his team over to the southern doorway, dividing his attention between their destination and the monster.

[lady_general]

"Mm," Celes agreed as they skirted towards the southern door. The warm flush that washed into her skin, even from this far away, was uncomfortable, and Celes hoped that any attention garnered would be fully on the heads of the men that creature was lulling.

She did give the redhaired man one thing; at least he was quite adept at drawing attention to himself. Celes gripped the hilt of her sword, and considered casting Runic just to see if it worked. But until the woman showed signs of being able to use magic, Celes chose instead to refrain. Besides, the bright light of a charged blade would be more of a distraction than they needed.

[littlestrawdoll]

There were a number of things that bothered the doll once he stepped off the stairs. One, he didn’t think it was very safe for Brook, forcing him to cross the ballroom all by himself just to rendezvous with them. Waiting at the basement entrance would be safer for all parties involved, wouldn’t it? But that brought him to number two. How had Ren managed to overlook so many people when he’d scanned the ballroom

[spirit_forge]

The group reached the other side without any trouble, since the monster seemed preoccupied with other prey. He turned around to help Ren with the artifacts, but everything turned black when his hands made contact with the sack.

[givemeoblivion]

[from here]

Qui-Gon had been right on all accounts. Callisto would have betrayed them all in an instant - had all but done that already with her actions in the arena. She strode past them and pushed open the doors to find several other patients outside. Now when had they all gotten here?

With a smirk, she closed the doors behind her. No sense letting them get in on the fun the easy way. There was a strange woman approaching one of the groups - obviously inhuman. Most likely she was one of Landel's playthings.

Calmly, Callisto began walking briskly to the right and around the outer edge of the ballroom.