Night 50: Sun Room

[its_the_mileage]

[from here]At the front of the group, Indy edged cautiously into the Sun Room, sweeping his flashlight around in a search for movement or lurking figures. A couple of times he thought he caught something, but it was hard to tell in the darkness and with the arrhythmic tramping of six pairs of feet behind him. If something was here, they might just

Comments

[unheroed]

Never had Harvey even gotten close to running around with this many people. It looked like Jones really got around when it came to meeting people in this place. That wasn't so surprising, though Harvey had been shocked to see both his roommate and the man from the chapel (Ryuuzaki, wasn't it?) as part of the group. Granted, he'd been made aware of the fact that they both knew Jones before this, but still, what were the chances? And why hadn't Lunge said anything? Not that Harvey would have necessarily wanted to walk over with the guy, but it still struck him as odd. Then again, maybe Lunge hadn't been expecting him either.

In the meantime, he managed to catch the names of the two kids he hadn't known (Scott and Keman), along with making a note of Scott's informality (had he really taken to calling Jones "Indy"?) and Keman's... quirkiness, to use a relatively nice word for it. Harvey couldn't explain how that floating light worked, but the description still caused him to reject it on principle

[mind_the_sukima]

Something stirred within the darkness. Perhaps it was the darkness itself that stirred. Perhaps it was just their imaginations.

Oh, how she'd waited and now they'd come to play. But it wouldn't do to scare them of, oh no, not yet, not when they hadn't even all finished walking into her domain - ah, what sad little domain this was.

A clue, first.

Blinking and glimmering, so ephemeral that it almost seemed like a trick of the light, there was a butterfly fluttering about in the center of the Sun Room. Anyone with an eye for detail however, would be quick to note this was not any actual insect, but more like a form of violet light, iridescent and sparkling brightly, that was simply in the shape of a butterfly. Regardless of what it actually was, it seemed content to flutter around the center of the room.

What threat could a harmless little butterfly possibly pose?

[quarter_english]

L made a brief bob of his head at Scott, then at Keman, who explained his ability to produce the convenient sphere of light. In the middle of the story, a new member joined the group

[vsyourface]

By the time Scott followed the group into the Sun Room, his head was spinning just a bit. Too much had happened all at once, with spandex-covered fingers flying and voices sounding all around for a few moments. The most important points he had gathered from all that were that 1) Apparently Spider-man (not Peter) was here and he was mad at Scott for some reason (and Scott had been too flaily and confused to respond to his accusations); 2) Indiana Jones had saved him from certain Spider Doom somehow; 3) the last person to join was another older guy; and 4) now was the time to move. On the first two, Scott didn't quite understand how they had gotten to those points. It involved pyjamas? He guessed? What? Agh! How had he gotten in trouble (and back out) without even doing anything?! On the third point, he nodded in the direction of the newcomer, dubbing him Mr. Forehead in his mind for now

[scientist_skye]

[from here]

Making it a point not to look at Lana, Ema slipped into the Sun Room. There was a crowd of people already in the room, but they were unimportant at the moment. Ema ignored them and started moving through the room.

Sticking to the instructions given to her and unable to see well enough to navigate the large space without assistance, Ema hung a right and moved with one hand lightly brushing the wall. In an embarrassing bit of nightblindness, she almost collided with the wall ahead of her at the corner.

If she ever saw that doctor again, she was going to throw something at him. Honestly, how was she supposed to be a better investigator when she could hardly see at night?!

[fourstonewalls]

Ema was having trouble -- she'd never been particularly agile, but usually basic walking, even in the dark, wasn't a problem. She can't see. Damn. Lana moved closer, close enough to slide her hand back into Ema's. The handhold wasn't a comfort; it was a necessity, if Ema couldn't see well enough to walk straight.

Alright, it wasn't just a guide, or leverage. Lana couldn't turn back time and have another chance at seeing Ema grow up, but she hadn't forgotten. If we are going to be childish, this will suffice. Lana had had more than enough shouting, and here they couldn't afford loud noises.

Someone else disagreed, however. A shout rang out from above; Lana ducked further behind a couch, pulling Ema down with her. There were several people on the balcony, and what Lana initially labeled an explosion, except for the fact that it had been silent. And that it was persisting -- odd-colored flames, hanging in mid-air, without visible fuel. What on Earth was going on up there?

[scientist_skye]

Ema held onto Lana's hand rather tightly, a silent admission that she was unable to see and that she was scared because of it. There was a reason why Ema had been quick to dodge uncomfortable topics and snap back at her sister; between her poor vision and worry over her roommate, her nerves were completely shot.

The shout from above caught Ema by surprise, as did the speed of Lana's reaction time. Before Ema could fully register what could have been happening on the balcony, Lana was pulling her down behind a couch. There was a flash of... something... and Ema realized that she was going to have to depend on Lana's eyes if she wanted to know what was going on.

She was definitely going to throw something at the doctor if she ever saw him again.

Taking care to keep her voice soft, Ema leaned in closer. "What's going on up there, can you see?"

[fourstonewalls]

"There's some kind of flame. What chemical burns purple, and do we need to warn the others?" glanced at the crowd again; Harvey, too. And someone with an eerie resemblance to a young Harrison Ford, but if she brought that up Ema would start talking about cloning and genetics and they would be here all night. She looked back up to the balcony; the flames were swirling, and there was more light coming down than there had been a minute before. Negative Gate? Did that have anything to do with what had happened last night? "There's light..."

And what was going on up there? A third source of light, this one flashing and sparking -- was that a glowing sword? -- illuminated a face. A familiar face.

"Agatha!"

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

Turning off their flashlights helped, but there was no getting around the fact that there was one main door.  The room was perfectly quiet; if they were going to bee seen, they already had.  Speed was what mattered now; the sooner they made it to the start of their mission, the better.

Her resolve was steady, as were her soft footsteps, but something was prickling in the small of her back, and it wasn't sweat.  Steel blades and thin cotton were no substitute for a stunner and combat armor.  The former could only hit a distant target once (well, four times, in quick succession), and the only thing she could praise about the latter was that natural fibers burnt, not melted, if the situation heated up.  She felt naked, which wasn't the kind of feeling she wanted during combat. What would Admiral Naismith say?  And what had those odds been, Sergeant?  She could see his too-satisfied (oh, never) grin now.  Fourteen to four, wasn't it?  All of them armed.  And they had the audacity to think they had the advantage.

[number1smiley]

Teresa was very familiar with the layout of the Sun Room, from both daytime spent there and the times she passed through it at night. Generally, she avoided this path on her way to the basement, given the known danger the room possessed at night, but there had been a large group heading that way and she was giving this Asuka a chance to catch up to them. This route was the best known one.

Nothing looked amiss - yet. Like Taura, something was tickling at the edge of her senses, only the hybrid's senses were a bit... specialized. She could taste it in the air, feel it around them. Youma. And she wasn't referring to Hayashi.

It was frustrating how she could smell it but couldn't pinpoint where it was. Making no move to draw the claymore across her back - no need to let the youma know she knew it was there wherever it was - Teresa weaved her way through the furniture.

[mind_the_sukima]

The Sun Room was all silent and pristine, as if they were the first to enter this room. Perhaps they were. Time worked in strange ways when one erased the gap between the past and the future

[ninelivesonce]

The sound of disaster wasn't always an ear-splitting roar, even in war.  Sometimes it was the click of a finger on a weapons console, the rest of the heat and the noise and the screams swallowed forever by vacuum.  Needler darts only shrieked when they missed; the soft, slightly damp popping sound behind Taura was not unlike the sound when they didn't.

She turned around. Where there had been two, now there was only one; Teresa.  At least there was no body on the floor; whatever had hit Yomi, it wasn't a projectile.  Had the teleportation effect not been removed, but expanded?  If so, she could be anywhere.  Not just in the Institute, but anywhere.  Taura took a couple quick strides to approximately where the noise had originated; they needed three, and the effect might even speed their progress.  Or if it's like last night, he can't yell at us for not showing up 'cause we were off-planetNothing happened, at least not immediately.  Taura turned back to her original heading; they could plan a strategy when they'd found some cover

[aperfectbloom]

[From Main Hallway, 1-Center.]

Yuyuko slowed as she turned into the Sun Room. In a room-by-room sense she was almost to her destination, it was true, but the Sun Room made for a formidable final stretch. Yuyuko didn't think in terms of tactics or viable ambush sites; it was just the kind of place that people showed up for a fight. Anyone would know that. And a room of the sun filled with moonlight would be deceptive and ill-omened by nature.

And hard to sneak through. The ghost tried anyway, though, creeping around the outer edges of the room.

[mind_the_sukima]

No such luck. As much as the ghost might enjoy playing ninja, there was no way she'd be able to slip past Yukari's senses in that clumsy human shell.

Besides, what kind of best friend would she be if she didn't come out and greet her?

Not that the youkai revealed herself right away. No, there was far too much fun to be had for that. She'd see how long it took for the ghost to recognize what was going on.

A noise first, off to the front, like the tingling chime of volley of magical butterflies. Then behind her, a touch, a hand tapping on her shoulder, disappearing before it was seen.

[aperfectbloom]

Yuyuko noted the sound, familiar though it was, with only idle curiosity... perhaps she'd simply forgotten it was one she frequently made? Even though it did make a nice accompaniment to the pleasing visual aesthetics of her wonderfully indiscriminate projectile barrages. The ghost started, though, at the tap to her shoulder, and predictably looked back.

Finding nothing, the ghost 'o'e her mouth, then looked around again and smiled. "I thought maybe a snack had come all the way out of the kitchen for me~" She announced, presumably for the benefit of the mystery manipulator, contriving to sound sly even though she was the one who'd just been caught out at sneaking.

Yuyuko was of course not in any shape to actually turn the tables on any but the most pathetic attacker, but that wasn't going to stop the ghost from dreaming.

[mind_the_sukima]

At her friend's amusing comment, a laugh echoed through the room. A mixture of laughs, actually, including the giggle of a child, the guffaw of a boy, the snicker of a woman and the deep booming bark of a man among others.

And then, as if to fulfill her hunch, a sandwich fell from the shadows of the balcony above her, landing on top of the hungry ghost's head.

[boketa]

[From here]

"Whoa...." This room was really big. There were couches everywhere. "Oh hey! I know this room, hahaha!" This was the place where he saw those people getting attacked by the big ol' monkey. Gosh, he hoped they were alright, since those mean white people kept hindering his heroic plan to save them.

[repeatingfate]

[s c r e a m I'm sorry this is so late, dammit LJ! Also, timeskipped to after the doom thread of doom?]

Rika's eyes went wide as they entered the Sun Room. She'd heard enough stories about what happened here at night that she was wary. She didn't want to have to use what she had in her pocket; the knife's weight felt too heavy by half and she felt a little sick and dizzy at the thought of needing to use it.

There was no reset. There wasn't someone who could come and save her if she died here. So...

The girl turned to Claire then, tugging on her sleeve once. "I - I have a weapon. But I'd rather someone who's older than me have it to take care of. It's something I was given, so I may ask for it back one day, but..."

She took a deep breath, then took out the knife, still wrapped in layers of T-shirts, and offered it.

[savagesolitude]

[I see your late and raise you DOUBLE LATE. Also yes, very time-skipped. Otherwise I'll have to playercest ;;]It wasn't a fluke. After another nonsensical announcement and that ear-splitting screech, Claire had thought that her ears were still ringing. That or the boy had been talking too fast to understand. She couldn't make sense of anything that came from his mouth. Memories of Jin and Sun popped into mind, the pair speaking to each other in rapid Korean with funny syllables and an unfamiliar rhythm while the rest of the camp watched, politely confused

[mind_the_sukima]

They were being watched. No, not by some mysterious force pervading the room or some creature lurking in the darkness. They were being watched by, of all things, an eye. And just an eye.

While Rika was offering Claire the knife and the two had their attention there, a tiny gap, but a few inches across, opened up and folded inside out, becoming a floating eyeball, all right before Goku's own eyes. Staring at the boy, it floated around him in a circle a few times. Of course, the moment the other two would look, it disappeared.

And then it came back with friends. Seconds after that, dozens of little gaps opened all throughout the air, each turning into a floating eyeball with a small popping noise. They didn't seem intent on doing anything other than staring though. Well, they were just eyeballs.