PITCH BLACK〔M〕「Hoef & Hannelorian」

[Dire Hoef]

When Hachi was reminded of his observational skills, he briefly thought back to all the times where he was on the outside of conversations and encounters. From his social vantage point, he was often found surveying the group and the conversations therein. He realized how diverse the sets of opinions were among the various groups of women. Though, being a man, he wasn't as privy to those conversations as one might think. So whenever he did, he took that time to really look and listen.

He was quite thankful for those skills and said, "Y-Yes. I often found myself..listening.. m-more than talking." Though, his mind shifted back to the behavior of the ooze. Her speculation was, indeed, spot on. "T-Temperature in the vents hovers at arrround twenty-three degrees Celsius during the winter months.. So, if w-we are to operate under the assumption that it behaves like a bacteria, then the vents are a breeding ground for propagation right now.."

Then came the subject of the creatures' biology. "Entire species..." His face crinkled slightly at the counting of how many they've encountered thus far. "They share the same properties as the ooze.. I-It's possible, but not certain. We haven't even left the c-complex yet...let alone the campus entirely..."

He pivoted, turning his gaze to Nabuo as well. He only stared, contemplating his reaction to not having an arm anymore. Hachiro wondered if the old man cared for cybernetics. While he thought of cybernetics, it shifted again to Nora confirming that she was, in fact, a psychic. "T-That is..fascinating.."

He then nodded to allow her to examine him to which she confirmed that there wasn't any broken bones. His expression dowered a little at the thought of them using Nabuo's infected arm as bait. However, he understood that it could be a useful distraction against the creature outside in the hall.

He looked over at the doorway and saw something that sent a chill up his spine.
The bidepal humanoid monstrosity was back to its patrol pattern, this time the darkness having accompanied it. He pointed the scene out to Nora having said, "I-It's a possibility.. But I don't know if.. It would take it.. I don't favor it, but c-considering the circumstances.. We don't have a choice do we..?"

He huffed seemingly frustrated. He didn't want to throw the arm away if there's a chance to reverse the ailment. However, that arm had gotten darker as they were talking; now black around the wounds. He observed the dark spots on the arm, and saw how it was beginning to ooze. Hachi swallowed the fact that they couldn't keep the arm.. It was a liability at best, and a dangerous ooze vector at worse.

[Hannelorian]

"How do you know that?" Nora was somewhat caught off guard, or rather was surprised that Hachi could immediately bring to mind the internal temperatures of the ventilation systems, especially at this time of year. Not that it was absurd that one would know that, but rather why? He wasn't some sort of custodian, but rather a mage. Never the less, that little details had managed to impress her, just a bit anyway.

"One supposes that nothing is certain until we can either get answers from on high, or take a look for ourselves." Nora thought of the sample she had taken which now lay in the pocket of the lab coat. She would need to remove it, for safety sake for the poor professor. "I don't relish the thought... but after all... the finest minds are right here. Or they were." It seemed implausible that everyone had been killed within the complex so quickly. But still questions remained, did everyone get out at the first sign of trouble? Or had most people simply not made it in for the morning? Were the odds better or worse outside of this place? Given how little she could see out of the windows, it seemed an unlikely prospect that those outside would fair much better.

At the same time, the creature from outside of the room had risen, seemingly healed of its wounds or at least recovered enough that it had begun to patrol. "You were right about the phases, or patterns. It's returned to what it was doing." Nora made sure to speak in a softer voice now, unsure of exactly how much, if anything the creatures could hear. There were any number of methods it could employ to hunt. "Alright... we need to move quickly to get Nabuo to relative safety." After that the two could worry about traversing upward.

"There is always a choice Hachiro." Nora sighed softly, slowly pushing herself upward to her feet. "For every choice we make there are consequences. Often we will never know what the other path held. But never make the mistake of thinking you are out of those very choices." Nora now looked at the arm, and then at the professor, approaching him she leaned over, reaching into the pocket to grab a hold of the petri dish within. For the moment the pieces of flesh, or skin, whatever they had been remained dormant. "Similarly, I wish not to use his arm in such a manner either. But I don't imagine it will be returned to him at this rate, and at the very least it can be of further use."

It was oddly utilitarian and likely quite cruel what Nora was suggesting. But if it had been her own arm severed, she would have preferred something done with it, rather than simply hope it could one day be returned to her. "Take the axe, and I'll take his feet. I can drag him the ways to the closet." The next part would be the most tricky... They had to distract the creature and get past it. "Fuck." Nora whispered to no one in particular, she rested the sample she took on a shelf, and moved to grab the professor by his ankles. "Are you prepared Hachiro?" Not that his answer mattered, if they remained where they were it would only be a matter of time before they too were consumed.

"All you have to do is run as best you can and open the door. I'll be right behind you." One step at a time as she had said earlier, that was their key to survival.

For a moment, Nora closed her eyes, using her minds eye she was able to picture the limb before her, and when she opened those eyes it was all she saw. In a moment of pure concentration, it slowly lifted itself from the ground, limp, the black ooze starting to pour from the wounds. As if by thought alone, it slowly began to move toward the door way and into the hall, with a defiant flick of her head, the arm was released and flew down past the creature, in an attempt to draw it in the opposite direction. Even if it only bought them seconds, it was seconds more than they had.

Nora, putting her back into it as best she could would move quickly to drag the professor as quickly as she could into the hall and toward that store room.

[Dire Hoef]

Hachiro, himself, was caught flat-footed. He thought it was an innocuous detail. Though, upon closer retrospection he saw how it could be construed as oddly detailed. "I-I regularly spoke with the custodian.. There's only a handful of us men on c-campus.. Before all of this.. I spoke with the professor and B-Bunko.. That was the custodian's name.. He's really knowledgeable, and I often visited him on my b-breaks between assignments... I hope he's alright..." He rolled his shoulder, the pain having slowly subsided.

Hachi's eyes strayed to the windows. She was right. They don't exactly know who's still alive. The exact scope of this unseen disaster is unknown. Was this localized to the campus, or has this spread into the city, or worse country? They didn't know, and that's what bothered him. The mere fact that they were literally left in the dark about these circumstances irked his arcanic brain. If one studied him in this moment, one would see that a growing look of disgust is forming.

But that expression quickly died when it was finally time to move the old man. Nora's wisdom was something he was beginning to admire. There was an earnestness in what she was saying, and Hachi read this like a violinist reads sheet music. It was a tune that was of triumphant harmony. He was most certainly in good company for this hellscape.

After having nodded to those statements, he proceeded to take the axe into his hands; getting a firm grip on its handle. He looked to Nora as she popped the question that flared up his soul like match stick. "I am."

He then watched Nora exercise her psychic power. It was truly a display of mental prowess that, again, fascinated the mage. He never knew that such affects were achieved by the human mind, but now was not the time to study her powers. He needed to be running, and running fast. He leaned forward before putting his all in the first series of steps.

Clearing out the door, the creature turned its back to the pair as it followed the arm. Those precious seconds Nora had bought them was enough for Hachi to pivot, coming under with the axe and separated the right leg of the creature. When the creature came tumbling, Hachi bolted down the hall; dialed-in to clear the corner. He skidded around it, only briefly tripping due to the ooze having gripped his pant leg.

Once cleared, he spotted the door to the custodian's closet and ran straight for it. He does another slight skid as came to a stop in front of it. He flicked his hand to reveal a couple circles that appear before the handle. Then, there's a click and Hachi whipped the door open and having it ready for her and the professor.

He used the axe's flat-side to kick the light on inside the walk-in closet to force the dark ooze back. And gradually, it does; receding into the shadows of the room and hallway. He waited for Nora to step inside before shutting the door behind them.

[Hannelorian]

You have to do this Nora, you have to. Three...two...go!

Nora counted down in her head, a deep exhale passing through her lips before putting on what one might describe as her game face. The Professor's ankles were in her hands, her grip was tight, not that he was with it enough to know. Hopefully this whole thing would be nothing but a distant memory for him, a bad dream. A bad dream that unfortunately cost him one arm. Though that was the cost of saving lives, or at least that is what Nora rationalized.

Once Hachiro had bolted out of the room, she began to pull and move backward. That was the downside of dragging a body, she had to drag and not pull it, so Nora would have to take her time in looking back as she moved. Heels were not an ideal shoe for any of this, but in the moment she pushed through any doubt or struggle and pulled like hell. From the corners of her eyes she caught Hachi moving swiftly with the axe and claiming a limb from the creature. That would be enough. It certainly seemed that he was pulling together, finding his footing and perhaps some of that elusive confidence she had mentioned earlier.

Either way now it didn't matter, all that mattered was the task at hand and Nora moved swiftly, as swiftly as she could. "Come on old man, just a little further." He was heavy, or perhaps Nora was weaker than she had considered. The idea of using her own abilities to pull him had crossed her mind, but she had never moved something so large, and now seemed like a poor idea to try it. Nora could feel the pain building in her muscles, the desire to let go, but she ignored it and kept going until she had finally reached the store room just behind Hachi who sealed the door after their arrival.

Nora let go at the first moment she could and allowed her body to collapse under her, she sat on her knees on the ground, taking a moment to catch her breath. "Impressively done." She forced out between deeper inhales and exhales. Looking around the room, she noticed that it seemed to lack appropriate ventilation. Who cares about a closet? Was likely the rationale behind it, or it wasn't. That too didn't matter. "He...he should be safe here. As safe as he can be..." Nora did not want to promise the professor's life or longevity. But as far as she knew with the facts they had this was the best thing for him.

"Okay." Nora looked up at Hachi and offered a small smile, a few stray locks of brown hair had escaped the neat bun at the back of her head through the running, and came neatly to rest on the side of her face. Using a fingertip she swiftly tucked it behind her ear. "Now... the real challenge begins. Three floors between us and Lady Kei's office. On the opposite side of the building." It did not seem entirely insurmountable.

"We could make a break for the west stairwell, go up as far as we can. Or, we could take a gamble and try to get to the elevators hope they run..." Nora eventually came to her feet, using her hands to dust off her dress she turned to the shelving units around them. She was looking for something, something specific. In a corner she came across a dusty shelf with a worn green bag, taking it she unzipped it and withdrew a small red object. "Emergency flares. That should fuck 'em up a bit." Nora had never used the devices, but if she had figured out how to maim creatures with an axe and amputate an arm, a flare shouldn't be much of a problem.

Nora had now noticed the traces of ooze on Hachi's pant leg. He must have gotten caught... "You'll want to cut that away." Nora pointed and spoke once more in that same gentle tone she had come to address Hachi with when it came to matters of their health and safety. "Just in case."

[Dire Hoef]

Safe. A word Hachi found solace in. A word that described the brief state of affairs. However, it was more important to have described the old man in this way. While not the most fanciful of places, only sporting enough space for a table and a shelf's worth of cleaning supplies, it proved to be the only bastion in this dark hellscape. A safe haven from the further challenges that were soon to be laid thereafter.

Three floors up on the opposite end of the complex was Kei's office. That was their destination.
"W-We saw that the stairwell is a..r-relatively safe passage.. So long as the ooze hadn't shrouded it in d-darkness by now." He pondered the choice quietly, pacing back and forth. "But.. The elevator is the most d-direct route. And we s-still have power.. Perhaps we should take our chances with the elevator.."

Then he ran the scene out in his head. He hypothesized that if the elevator was working, then the light from it would provide them enough of a boundary to get a headstart towards the office. "The elevator light could b-be used as a shield against it.." Didn't want to enterain the idea of the elevators being out, but his mind was needlessly coming up with what ifs. But thankfully, Nora's helpful reminder snapped him out of his anxiety-ridden mania.

He looked down at his pant leg and saw the ooze. He then proceeded to take the axe, and used its head to rip the piece from his pants. Once torn, he opened the door briefly and tossed it out; flicking some of it off his thumb. After which, he looked back to Nora having signaled that the deed was done. "F-Flares.. Good find," he wanted to give credit where credit was due. Hachi took this brief moment of peace and serenity to find somewhere in him to relax his soul. He wasn't exactly feeling right..

Ever since yesterdays violent reaction on the floor, his magic had been wavering in its form. It felt like something was actively trying to penetrate its boundary.

He didn't exactly feel prickling at first, but it became more pronouce until it was too much too bear. There was a gnarling feeling that gnashed at his mental heels. He felt his soul contort into odd shapes and sizes, melting its very form. But if one were to, say, manifest it physically, then it would appear as nervous catatonia.

In this distorted twisted maelstrom of collected anxiety...
Sought a sudden need to repair oneself.
But then It came like a whisper,

Not here,

Not there,

Not anywhere,
But still somehow present..

But then it stopped being a whipser,
It became a voice,
Loving,
Comforting,
All the while still having anger..

But that voice stopped talking,
And was never heard,
Never again did It speak,
In the end, cascading into darkness..

Hachi blinked a few times, his consciousness having returned to reality.
Time, of which was an illusion at that moment, lapsed but a few minutes. In that time, Hachi had leaned up against the door and had taken a meditative expression, but that expression had contorted into disgust before it snapped back to his current, half-dazed, alertness.

[Hannelorian]

Nora let out a deep sigh, followed by a deeper inhale. For a moment everything was quiet, and she could stop to think, or more particularly not think, or perhaps somewhere in between. Her mind drifted to her colleagues, and then her students. Then of course her work. How much of her research would she lose? How many of their projects would destabilize and break down as a result of this problem? Nora supposed it didn't matter, but years of her life were on the line. It all suddenly seemed so worthless in the face of the black ooze and possible death.

In all of this she had kneeled down and moved to take the Professor's pulse, it was stronger now and far more stable than it had been back in his office. His chest was rising and falling at a regular and even rate. These were all signs that boded well for him. Though she hoped he would not regain his full consciousness any time soon, as the pain he would feel would surely be overwhelming. A few times during this vitals check, Nora would look up at Hachi, who had now been resting against the door, almost peaceful, or so it seemed. But as he seemed to be rousing, she noticed his face contorted, and the expression he made seemed to sadden her.

"Where'd you go?" Nora spoke out, her voice low enough to be heard, soft enough to be kind and curious rather than anything accusatory. There were no shortage of things about this situation that were not right. In the depths of her mind, Nora could almost feel the darkness reaching out, trying desperately to communicate, but perhaps not with her, but even with itself. Like the lightest of whispers with the most unpleasant static. Something was happening, and this life form, which seemed now an appropriate title was likely more intelligence than either of them gave it credit for.

"I have to admit... you're quite surprising Hachiro." He had become noticeably calmer and more well adapted to their situation. He seemed to be able to more easily get out his thoughts, there wasn't the same kind of panic or hesitation there had been in the beginning. Nora had been raised to believe in the power of the Mothers, and that all men were inherently weak, flawed, generally incapable. They served little purpose save for procreation, a handful, if that many were to be trusted with real work, with a role in society that in all honesty, they did not deserve. Or so she had believed. Nora did her best to view the singular man on her team, and her singular male graduate student as exceptions to rules. They were intelligent, they were strong and had a will of their own. But deep inside, it felt like a betrayal.

But here was Hachiro Yamazaki, who seemed to be weaseling his way into her thoughts, and slowly pulling at the threads of the way she thought. Stitch by stitch he might rewrite her world view, might. Or perhaps he was just another exception to a more generalized rule.

"When you're ready, we make a mad dash for the elevators. At the very least, I should be strong enough to force the doors opened." If there was no power, however, they might be screwed. Elevator shafts were dark, the walls could be covered. Or perhaps it hadn't spread that far inside just yet. If the elevator wasn't operational, assuming it was below them, they might stand a chance at the emergency ladders.

[Dire Hoef]

"Nowhere..." That was all he was to say at first, but he continued. "It's.. not like I'm not answering your q-question.. It's just that," he looked over at Nora trying to find the words to describe it, "It was literally n-nothing.. Empty.. Dark.. Cold.. It was a state of...n-nonexistence...? I don't know if that is the r-right word." He was fixated on the feeling, but quivered at the thought of it. He decided against it for now, and returned his eyes to her after his eyes wandered that entire time.

"Uh, oh, thanks.. Not alot of people ssay that.." It still felt strange to receive a compliment from her. Again, women didn't really pay Hachi much mind. In fact, they kept their distance. However, to be such close proximity to such a positive force, he wasn't sure if something like this was even possible.

Hachi came off the door, and turned now facing it. They needed to beeline to the elevators.
That was the next objective.
As such, he claculated the possibilities in his head. He took into account the distance between this closet and the elevator, and the certainty that the hallway was infested with the black ooze. So, he took the knob of the door and said, "On 3... 1... 2... 3..!"

He swung the door open, and wiped out the torch. He shined it down at his feet and created a path. He sprinted once more, bolting down the hallway towards the elevator doors. He never rant this much before, and his endurance was already bad enough as it is. However, survival was firmly planted in his mind and so he knew that slowing down now would mean death for both him and Nora.

However, his thoughts weren't focused on the aspects of survival but rather survival itself. He ducked and dove at various points to avoid the dripping ooze that had further crawled into the shadows of the hallway.

Though Hachi, after having cleared a corner, came running up to the elevator door and pressed the button. He flashed the light around in a semi-circle around the elevator as he glanced at the lights still being on.

"It still works..!" Success, now all they needed to do was wait for the elevator to arrive on their floor. Hachi glanced around cautiously as he heard the ding signalling that it cleared a floor. The anxiety of the ding being so loud caused him to quake a little. But, while waiting, he heard something off to his right only briefly; its form having slinked into the shadows before he had a chance to react.

He looked that way in some manner of confusion before the elevator doors opened revealing the light of the elevator providing a sort of temporary safe haven. He gestured for Nora to step on first before him, only keeping his eyes peeled for anything attempting to get close.

[Hannelorian]

Whatever this was, this darkness, the ooze, it was infectious and not just in a clinical sense. It had gotten to Hachi, in some way. Into his mind in some way. Was it psychological? That seemed doubtful. The exact nature of what they were facing was unknown, and for it to have some kind of... ability, well that wouldn't surprise Nora one bit. As she had surmised earlier, it definitely seemed like it was trying to reach out, to send them some sort of message. But she supposed that was a problem for another time.

Even Nora had to follow her own advice and take it one step at a time. As Hachi prepared to open the door and began the countdown, she could only nod in affirmation, and bolted behind him when the time came. She made sure, however, the door closed securely behind her, ensuring that the Professor was as safe as he could be. The next task was now at hand, her mind transitioned to the thought of running down the hall.

When had she run this much? It had been a long time, her days of sport seemed somewhat behind her, but now her life would depend on it. Hachi had moved like a bat out of hell, the light shining along the floor as he went, sending the pieces of darkness cowering and receding every so briefly. Long enough for him and her to make it through. She didn't focus on how tired she was, or how her body was in pain, or that something felt like it was crawl in her head though she couldn't really describe it. She just ran.

A wave of relief washed over when Hachi had indicated that the elevator was in fact still running. But the unease of having to wait was nipping at the heels of that very relief making it rather short lived. It was one of those moments where Nora wondered how fast the elevators were. She had never noticed, never paid attention. Usually she was reading assorted reports, or conversing with a colleague while she waited, all things that passed the time and ensured no one really focused on waiting, or how slow it was once inside the elevator. Well, not entirely there were times the ride felt like an eternity if someone she did not approve of, or was interested in had insisted upon taking up her time on such rides.

"Come on... come on." Nora repeated, her eyes now for the first time starting to wander, to take stock of what was around them. There was movement from the corner of her eye, and she wanted to push it down and ignore it, deny it's very existence but that was of no use after all of what they had seen. Nora darted in when the doors had opened, and as soon as Hachi had pulled himself in, she looked out. There was always that momentary pause before the doors closed. The dinging of the bell was like a beacon, sending out a wave letting whatever was out there know that there was still a target to be hunted.

Something large, much larger than they had seen was rearing it's ugly head around the corner. It caught sight of them immediately and Nora stared into the face of potential death. It had massive legs, almost like tree trunks, or so it felt and with a distorted roar the ground would shake as it began to launch into a run of it's own. It was picking up speed, and in a moment of pure instinct, Nora slammed her finger into the 'Door Close' button, and watched as they slowly lurched toward one another, closing. Sealing just as some kind of claw came through the small space that remained, being sliced off when the doors sealed. Nora took a step back, and also following her instinct pushed Hachi away, not with any degree of major force, but enough to stop the claw or whatever from dropping at his feet or on his feet.

"Fuck." Nora let out, their destination was highlighted with the faint glow of the button '5'. "If whatever they are hasn't killed your sister... I just might." She let out a deep exhale, and let her back fall against the wall in the back of the elevator.

[Dire Hoef]

It all happened so suddenly. All in several seconds, a creature sporting that of overgrown siberian tiger, came charging down the hallway toward the pair. Thankfully, and swiftly, Nora had the reaction to close the elevator doors just as the beast stuck its fleshy, clawed, appendage through it. There, on the floor, in the elevator was a writhing appendage. One that, eventually, stopped moving.

He was very grateful that Nora had that reaction as Hachi was dazed by the whole encounter. He had never seen a creature so large, and he never EVER saw a creature that large move that fast. He was utterly baffled at the physiology of the monster, but he wasn't a biologist so he was left in mere awe.

The mention of his sister only snapped him out his daze, and he turned towards her now seeing that she was up against the elevator wall. "Y-Y-Y-Yeaahh..." The fear slowly bubbling beneath his tone.

The moment of truth was upon them. They had set their sights on his sister's office, hoping to find Kei there. Kei has been an elusive figure thus far to Hachi. And, Hachi never really liked his eldest sister. This feeling was mutual as Kei never trusted men, not even her father and younger brother. However, Hachiro never totally hated her. He was always very standoffish with her, never staying within her sphere of influence for too long. This worked for awhile, until his studies forced him to interact with her more.

"W-What is s-she like...? When not talking t-t-to m-men I mean..." He wanted to know. For far too long he had stayed outside that inner circle. He wasn't privy to that side of her. He always wondered what his mother saw in her. Why she was always so strict and formal with her, but then treated him as if he was some lost puppy. He tried to use his brain to speculate as to the reason but without having the opportunity to even ask about this, he was at a loss. So, he took this chance and inquired. He wanted at least some answers as to what his sister does.

[Hannelorian]

Nora sighed and took a moment to truly catch her breath in what now seemed to be the closest thing to calm they would be able to find. The question that came next was unexpected, but understandable. It did not surprise Nora one bit to hear that Hachi didn't really know his sister, and even less surprising that Kei wouldn't want to know him. These were expected family dynamics and given the personalities in question, it made sense that those same dynamics were pushed to an extreme end of the spectrum.

"Kei is..." Nora trailed off for a moment, wanting to choose her words carefully, not out of a kind of fear, but out of respect. "Brilliant. Absolutely, at times she can even give me a run for my money, and I fashion myself pretty intelligent." That was an understatement. Nora considered herself to be one of the smartest people alive. Humility was generally unknown to her, but she had to give the woman credit where it was due. "She is very serious, most of the time. She works hard to be the best. But she isn't without a sense of humour." The more Nora thought about it, the more seemingly straight forward Kei actually was.

"She has this laugh that is unexpected, but sort of charming. You don't get to hear it very often. She also has this irritating ability to look at your face and know exactly what is about to come out of your mouth." This part made Nora chuckle softly. "We have dinner, once a week. I get the sense she doesn't have many friends, she prefers to keep things close to the vest. To be honest, I've always thought she has a sort of thing for me. A crush? I don't know." Nora did not fancy the notion of inflating her own ego with such speculation.

"Her research is top secret, so she won't tell me much and until now I hadn't really thought about pressing her on it. She is one of the few people here with clearance to know about my work, so she's always been rather helpful in that regard. Does that help at all?" Nora asked genuinely curious as the elevator made a soft whirring noise, moving them very slowly up to the top floor.