The soft hum of some motor, perhaps an air conditioner, was a constant as their footsteps echoed softly against white walls. Jigen's hidden eyes darted every which way, his posture relatively slack for at least the feigned appearance of calm. The room was enormous, and seemed to stretch much further than what would make sense to be built into the wall of a cavern. As the immediate threat of physical danger seemed to ebb with each passing moment, Jigen lowered the arm that held his gun, clicking the safety on and letting it hang slightly at his side. He slowed for a moment as his eyes caught a desk covered in messily spread papers, noting the almost... frantic look of the writing on them. Handwritten, dark, scribbled over and over.
Jigen felt something creep at the edge of his vision, and he exhaled sharply, tossing his head over his shoulder and staring at the nothing behind him. Goemon appeared a few moments later, his hair looking a bit damp from the decontamination spray. Jigen managed a weary smile, waving for the samurai to catch up. His smile faltered as that humming noise wormed its way into his ear in a particularly unpleasant way, and he grimaced, sticking a finger in his ear in attempts to plug the sound out.
Lupin had gone on ahead. He, too, was feeling it—a strange, almost lightheaded feeling, while his body grew heavier. He began to slow as the feeling grew more and more noticeable, less easily explained-away with exhaustion or some newfound allergy to antiseptic. He scratched nails at the back of his head, weaving through short hair as he grit his teeth and furrowed his brow. Something about this place... about that sound...
Lupin drew in a sharp inhale, and seconds later, the sound of a gunshot rang out deafeningly in the small room. It ricocheted off the floor, embedding in a light overhead and blasting it to pieces, showering a piece of the room in sparks and darkness. Lupin whirled around to see Jigen and Goemon grappled together, with the latter's hand forming a deathgrip around Jigen's wrist, his pistol hanging from his fingers. "Lupin!" Goemon shouted, as the thief ran towards the two.
"What's going on," Lupin hissed, stopping short before he could decide which of the two to help. Jigen was yelling, near snarling, as Goemon tried to keep hold on him. "What happened?!"
"He doubled over. Fired a shot, and leapt for me."
"Did you hurt him?!" Lupin knew Goemon didn't—by some inherent trust, and too, that Zantetsuken was sheathed) but asked all the same in his brief moment of panic. He went for Jigen's vice-lock fingers, carefully peeling them away from metal as he eased the gun from Jigen's hand and set it on a nearby counter.
"Of course not," Goemon muttered, gritting his teeth with effort. Jigen was stronger than he looked.
Lupin dove down and gathered up Jigen's legs, trying to ignore that buzzing in his head that only seemed to be getting louder and louder. He pressed his weight into them to pin them to the ground, and reached past the tangle of Goemon and Jigen's limbs to grip the gunman's face in his hands. "Jigen," he breathed, more genuine worry than any real attempt—as Jigen thrashed in Goemon's hold and tried to bite down on Lupin's hand, Lupin jolted and reeled a hand back, clapping it hard against Jigen's face. "Fucking hell, Jigen!" Lupin cried, the high break in his voice betraying his shock.
The strike seemed to only make things worse. Jigen suddenly surged with adrenaline, wrenching his hand out of Goemon's grip to rake his nails down the inside of Goemon's arm, drawing red lines with them. Goemon snarled and let go, only to have Jigen lunge forward and grab Lupin, flipping the both of them onto the ground in a flurry of blows and spitting, wordless curses. Goemon stumbled back, a hand at his sword, eyes darting rapidly as he tried to see an opening, or a need, for him to unsheathe it.