Night 48: Grand Ballroom

[sasuke_of_sound]

[[from here]]The only place in the Institute Sasuke was truly uncomfortable navigating was the basement. He'd walked the halls of the structure aboveground enough days and nights by now to know the layout like the back of his hands; he used the hand that was beginning to grow slightly callused from nights of following the walls as a secondary

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[idontregret]

Somewhere at the other end of the room, two heads belonging to the same creature rose abruptly, catching the sound and sent of the approaching patients. A large figure shifted from where it had sat in wait. It rose to all fours and began padding silently around the perimeter. If it came at them too soon, they would flee back up the stairs and it wouldn't have the opportunity to do with them as it pleased.

Its claws twitched in impatience, every muscle in its body tensing in anticipation at being able to spring upon its prey. It had been far too long since Agni had been allowed a real hunt.

[zack_fair]

Adjusting to a sudden light source was enough to make Zack pause for a second. Everywhere else he'd been thus far had been pitch dark, but this place... Well, he could actually see the detail as his eyes adjusted and he took in what looked to be a massive ballroom.

He marveled at the sheer size of the room with his mouth hanging slightly open. Even though he'd gotten a small description, that didn't really match up to the real deal. Why build something like this under a mental hospital?

Then again, he knew from experience that places that stood out to this extent were usually important, so he got the feeling that they were on the right track.

Just as he was about to say something, though, his eyes focused in on movement further ahead. The torches gave him enough of a light source to make it perfectly clear that that was not another patient. Zack had seen monsters that looked similar enough -- it seemed like he'd finally run into one of the creatures here

[blood_and_pocky]

The underground ballroom was far larger than any of the indoor spaces above, and that alone meant extra caution. With its expanse, the columns that ringed it, and the burbling of the fountain, it was difficult to know what might lay in the areas out of sight. But movement that wasn’t theirs, however slight, was like ripples in a pond

[sasuke_of_sound]

The same movements of other two that Sasuke relied on to pinpoint their position were what prevented him from noticing the faint sound that marked tonight's guardian for this area. It took Zack's warning for the tension already-marked in Sasuke's posture to sharpen into threat -- he turned fully in the direction opposite to Zack, and then Aidou's, voice

[idontregret]

They knew he was there now. That meant there was no further need to hold back. Agni broke into a dash toward them, claws tearing across the marble. There were three targets, all able-bodied, and that made for a promising hunt. One of his heads bellowed a roar that echoed across the ballroom.

There was a familiar scent among them, and the beast dove for it instinctively. It didn't help that the flash of red in the boy's eyes had mirrored his own in his human form and something about that angered Agni beyond reason. That wasn't a difficult task given his current state of mind.

One large, red, familiar clawed appendage slashed toward Sasuke, hoping to shed first blood for the night.

[zack_fair]

Both of them immediately tensed after his warning, ready to fight. That was good, since it meant they were sharp and up for a tussle if it came to it. Considering the size and amount of teeth that the monster seemed to have, Zack was pretty sure that they weren't going to be able to weasel out of this one.

He wouldn't have been as bothered by that prospect if he was probably armed, but he had to wonder what a flashlight could do against something like that. Zack was willing to wing it, but he paused when Aidou mentioned that the thing was familiar -- and then Sasuke expanded on that by saying it was someone who'd been brainwashed

[blood_and_pocky]

If Landel’s usual rules held true, then the video game reject’s scope of movement was only the ballroom. And in the ballroom, any prisoner was a worthwhile target after Landel had incited his guard dog to attack.

To that end, the response seemed clear enough to Aidou.

“Back!” he shouted at Sasuke, over the sounds of Agni’s rampaging. A complete retreat was definitely not an option at this point, not when they were so close, but what looked like a retreat on the surface could be an opportunity in disguise if things played out well.

[sasuke_of_sound]

Sasuke had scarcely stopped the flow of chakra to his eyes before Zack shouted out a startled warning that meant he'd have to use them again. Shit, he thought, this isn't going to be a five-minute fight --The first fight since Itachi that might not be, and even Itachi had been -- almost easy, even restricted. The thought invaded without warning and left Sasuke a half-second slow to react, but it was all the time needed for the Sharingan that whirled to life to abruptly Heat's demon-form almost on top of him. One arm (and from this close there was no way Sasuke could be mistaken that it was Heat's chakra) was outstretched and posed immediate threat to Sasuke

[idontregret]

There was another roar from Agni as Sasuke's sword connected with his ankle. However, the demon's skin was thick and the blow wasn't hard enough to cause any real damage. It was the fact that it had hit in the first place that had him angered.

Others had entered the room as well, and that made the situation more complicated. No one was to get through. For just a moment, Agni diverted his attention from the ninja with one head and breathed a long jet of flames in the direction of the two who were watching. There were five of them and one of him, but he'd keep all of them at bay for as long as he had to. No little human was getting past his watch that easily.

He pulled away from Sasuke in order to take up a position closer to the center of the room where he'd be able to get at all of them, even if it ended up taking more spells than physical attacks.

[zack_fair]

In the scuffle, Zack wasn't even able to determine if his flashlight had hit the thing or not. Even if it had, it clearly hadn't done much damage -- which wasn't a huge surprise, he had to admit. He needed more than just a blunt object if he hoped to leave a mark. Not that he was sure he wanted to, if this really was a brainwashed patient

[blood_and_pocky]

Ugh! What the hell were these guys doing!?

It was bad enough that Sasuke hadn’t gotten out of range in time, but now he was openly attacking the very enemy it would be a fool’s errand to engage. As if proving the point, the beast belched a stream of fire at the stairs, and although the vampire was quick to put distance between him and the duo, the heat of the flames warmed the right side of his body. The grunt he’d released at the dodge was more and more a growl of aggravation.

This was not a good change in affairs. Now the two further up were escaping, and Zack was talking about handicapping them further by showing the thing mercy. In an out-and-out battle, of course they’d have no choice but try and hurt it! Badly. Humanoid in his other shape or not, a beast was a beast, and Aidou would kill it before