Nightshift 44: Kitchen

[ran_on_empty]

[From here.]Since there hadn't been anyone else in the Sun Room when they arrived, Sync figured they were the only ones that managed to get this far this early in the night. The God-General couldn't complain; after all, that meant less people getting in his way

Comments

[dahliahasthorns]

Hm. Looked like it. But was it really...? Dahlia waggled her flashlight around, looking for anything suspicious that could be lurking in those dark shadows. Any monstrous threats or sudden traps or anything interesting.

...Nope. Completely boring in here too. Surprise, surprise, surprise.

She readjusted the strap on her shoulder as she frowned and looked between Syncie and Annie. As long as they weren't hurt, they could do anything, couldn't they? They had each other!

[gald_digger]

The kitchen looked about the same as always. Then again, even if something did change, Anise probably wouldn't notice. She'd only been there twice before, and they only had one flashlight among them this time around.

Nothing seemed to be prowling around, though, so she figured that meant it wasn't any different. Once again, Landel failed to deliver monsters on one of the few occasions Anise actually wanted to encounter one. It was like the bastard knew.

This way was familiar to all of them, so it wasn't long before they gravitated over to the walk-in refrigerator. Like before, Anise held the door open for the others. She tried to keep to the rear of the group whenever she could. It meant that if they walked into any danger, Sync would be the one to deal with it, leaving an opening for her. It was looking less and less hopeful that that was going to happen, though.

[to here]

[full_score]

((From here.))

Normally he would have entered the kitchen with more caution, but tonight he could barely spare a glance around their surroundings for creatures. Sync was the monster he was the most intent on finding right then. But Claude could only see the gleam of the walk-in refrigerator through the dimly-lit darkness of the kitchen. He let out a frustrated puff of air. They must have managed to open the door, dammit! That meant that they were probably already on their way down through the trap door, if they weren't in the basement already!

"We've gotta hurry!" he urged his companions as he rushed forward. No doubt they were already thinking that, but he'd blurted it as soon as he realized how dire the situation was starting to become. What would they do if Sync managed to escape from them? What would happen to the two girls who were with him?!

[razing_phoenix]

It looked like Sync just kept picking up the pace, and Guy wondered how it was that he was managing to force the others along with him so quickly. Why would Anise do this? He wanted to believe that there was only one answer (that he had threatened her or the other girl that was with them), but part of him had to wonder if there was more to it than that.

Still, he knew that his friend would never act out of malice. She had originally lied to them because she'd been trying to support her parents, and in this case it had to be something similar.

Nodding at Claude's assertion, Guy quickly kept after him. The amount of disappointment he would feel if they reached the ballroom and Sync was nowhere to be found wasn't something he was prepared to have to handle.

And so he ran as fast as he could, maneuvering around the counters as he kept his focus on the door into that walk-in refrigerator.

[heavens_too_far]

Dias grunted an annoyed affirmative to Claude's imperative, though he wasn't actually irritated by his rival so much as the fact that they didn't seem to be gaining any ground on their targets. How was that even possible? Even Claude was taller than all of the people ahead of them, so they all had longer strides, and they were moving as fast as possible, but they weren't any closer to catching up to Sync than they had been when they'd first seen him.

The logic didn't bother him much - clearly, for whatever reason, Sync was simply setting a phenomenal pace, perhaps being aware of their pursuit - but it was frustrating. But he'd long ago learned to use frustration as a tool, letting the aggravation spur him on to greater speed.

The others had neglected to close the door to the refrigerator - and, judging by the misplaced tile he could already see in the back, were already on their way down to the basement, if not within it already - and so Dias went through without even slowing.

[To here.]

[giftofstars]

[from here]

Once again, the three were in the relatively familiar setting of the kitchen. It had served as their safe-haven on Friday, and from first glance, it looked as if it would continue to serve as such. In fact, the room was even void of any other patients, similar to the cafeteria.

"We need to go to the refrigerator, right?" Sakura asked, looking up at the boys for confirmation.

[guardiancomplex]

"Yeah," Touya confirmed with a nod. It looked like someone had been there before them, though, so no breaking down this door again. Though he had to admit that it was nice they didn't have to rush or hurriedly perform first aid on the members of the group. He really hoped that didn't mean they'd have to do it once they were down in the darkened hallways of the basement, trying to feel out where the hell they were going.

"Let's move before something crawls out of the cupboards," Touya said, only half-joking as he put a hand around Sakura's shoulders and urged her forward.

( To here.)

[faile]

[from here]

Bursting into the kitchen, Faize took a few long steps and then spun around to see how his comrades were faring. Even though he only ran a short distance, he found himself breathing heavily. It wasn't so much an issue of physical exertion; rather, forcing himself to flee from something that seemed so much like a victimized child was mentally exhausting, somehow.

He hoped they hadn't damaged the door too much. If it couldn't close behind them... No, it was possible that whatever was pursuing them would not be stopped by doors. After all, he hadn't seen it enter behind them when they came from the courtyard. Perhaps their best chance was simply to gain more and more distance from the unknown creature until it would no longer follow.

[spandexorgtfo]

Kratos had merely nodded in response to Faize and Hitsugaya, wishing to quickly put the entire episode behind them. However, it seemed that their phantom follower was unwilling to let it go so soon; he realized that they had made a gross misjudgment of the monster's tenacity as soon as he saw the frost on the floor and heard the weeping increase

[itstaichoutoyou]

"Agreed," replied Hitsugaya while already moving towards the next door. This time it was unlocked, so the door swung open easily. With the enemy nipping at their heels, Hitsugaya didn't bother to scan the room beforehand and went straight in. At the very least, if there was an enemy inside it'd have to deal with him first.

[to here]

[slipperymagic]

[From here.]

When Howl entered the kitchen, it was empty. He was torn; On one hand, the less people he had to deal with, the better. On the other, a few voices filling up the space might have actually been reassuring. He truly hated this place, or would have, if he had the energy for that intense of an emotion at the moment. It was more of a simmering loathing, really, as he went to peruse the stores.

[gavemyword]

Zoro had to double back when Howl took off through a different door. He stopped short of pointing out the other's mistake when he himself stepped through to a room that looked a lot like a kitchen. He decided not to say anything.

Howl seemed to be looking for something, his "components" no doubt, so Zoro made some effort to be useful. The other was letting him tag along after all, it seemed only fair that he keep up his end of the bargain. He opened the door to one of the pantries, shining light on the shelves that were within reach.

"You need any of these?" he asked, peering inside doubtfully.

[slipperymagic]

"If you see any honey, I could probably make use of that," Howl called back as he opened up one of the other doors. Honey was more Mrs Faifax's style, but Howl could make it apply to his own spells in a pinch. He might have put on airs and claimed it was more simplistic than he was accustomed to, which perhaps it was on some level, but mostly it was just different. He had to approximate everything, but he at least knew that honey could carry and project the magic like he wanted. It did have a solid magical frequency.

He made a face at the spices he found there, but grabbed a couple bottles that looked promising. At the end of this, Howl feared that his creation might be edible.

"Where are you from, by the way?" Howl asked curiously. "And why did they let you keep your hair dye? Inconsistency is hardly good for my mental health." he continued, but it was sullenly muttered under his breath more than anything.

[gavemyword]

"... I don't dye my hair...!" Zoro's voice floated out from within the pantry, sounding a little distracted. There was some clanking as he shuffled through random cans and jugs of foodstuffs. At last, he found a jar of something that looked like honey.

"Here," Expertly grasping the flashlight between his teeth, Zoro maneuvered two jugs and a jar onto one of the tables. All three were filled with liquids of varying degrees of yellow but Zoro pushed aside the jar for Howl.

Uncapping one of the jugs, he sniffed hopefully at the liquid inside. Apple juice. So much for finding some grog. He took a long swig from it anyway, trying to imagine the burn of strong alcohol trickling down his throat. "I'm from East Blue," he answered when he was done drinking. "We were sailing on the Grand Line before I got here. And you?"