Night 56: Main Hallway, 1-West

[freewill]

[From here.]

He had reached the meeting point in less than a few minutes and there was still not another patient to be seen. Castiel paused, standing near the wall as he moved his flashlight up and down the corridor. There was nothing, not the sound of a shadow slipping through the dark; not the whisper of something less than human.

The only sound was the static that periodically came from his radio. He couldn't seem to get it to let up, and he wondered if it was reacting to him or if he'd been given a faulty one.

He would have preferred the former option, but he had been knocked down too many notches when it came to the loss of his abilities, his divinity, the very things that made him him.

Castiel let out a breath that had been caught in his chest and then lowered his flashlight. He wondered how long this whole process would take, but he supposed that all depended on how well he did as a student. He fashioned himself a fast learner, but he had never been able to grasp things like popular culture.

He imagined he would do a bit better with lockpicking, though. Leaning himself against the wall, Castiel stood there quietly, waiting for Orihara to show himself.

[For Izaya.]

Comments

[tightsofmight]

[From here.]

And the only company awaiting him in the big hall was a stoic looking man, leaning on the wall and surveying the place with unblinking eyes. Heyo, stranger. Don't know you, don't recognize you, so I'll just be on my way.

Peter disappeared into the shadowed corridor to the right mere seconds after he'd entered. No time to waste.

[To here.]

[oneman-onekill.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1106225.html)]

Well! At least he wasn't the first person to end up here. Niikura eyed the one other guy standing in the hall with a little bit of curiosity; it looked like he was waiting for someone as well.

He edged over to the wall as well, maintaining a healthy distance from the other man while pointedly keeping his eyes and his flashlight beam on the space of hallway in front of him. The last thing he wanted to do was that awkward routine where people kept sneaking little looks at each other because they had nothing better to do until they accidentally did it at the same time. And nothing was worse than unintentional eye contact.

He nearly started humming the Kamen Rider theme again, but realized just in the nick of time that he might attract more bats or something again. It was better to just stay quiet, as difficult as that was right now.

Hm, hm, hm, any minute now, really...

[for lawyers squared]

[the-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1104269.html?thread=78365325#t78365325).]

Although Edgeworth didn't say anything, he did notice the change in Phoenix's stride, and even if he was tempted to slow down as well, he pressed on. Someone was waiting for them, and they had dawdled enough; after all, he had put everything on the table for discussion later - some part of him hoped that would satisfy Phoenix enough for now.

"This way?" Edgeworth asked for clarification as they rounded the hall, casting his flashlight in all directions as he tried to get his bearings. As much as he was unfamiliar with all the other hallways, he couldn't quite say he was comfortable treading in completely new territory without getting a good look first. "What does this friend of yours look like?"

[diamondstorm]

[from here]

The main hall was relatively empty, and Renamon was thankful for it. She would prefer to move quickly upstairs so she could take her time moving through the rooms again. Simply because things reset did not mean that she could afford to take it for granted. Some things could shift, and by any rate, she had not explored each room.

She moved to the stairs and kept going.

[to here]

[rocksthecourt]

[from here]

Silly as it may sound, it actually did help to distract his mind with a melody. Silence was painful, and if he at least could focus on something else, he could think a little more clearly. Even without the actual presence of music... though that would have been preferable.

And now that he was focusing, he recognized this place as somewhere he most certainly did not wish to linger. Twice now something had made its presence known to him in this hallway. It was proving to be one of the more dangerous areas. Best to continue moving rather than standing there and possibly attracting attention. If he recalled the map correctly, the doctor's offices were further down this hall, past the Sun Room. The labs were upstairs. Both might prove useful, but the offices were a bit more dubious. The labs held far more promise. Actually, the entire second floor did. It was the one section of the institute that could only be glimpsed after nightfall, and more of the unusual rooms were up there.

He quickly moved toward and up the stairs, running the image of the map through his mind's eye as he moved. Where exactly... did he want to focus his attention first?

[to here]

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1104269.html?thread=77974925#t77974925)]

"You know, I am so going to complain about the number of hallways we have to go through here," Wally complained loudly as he entered the, guess what? next hallway. "Landel could teleport us, right? Why not give us some kinda door zapper remote control thingy that we could use to just--"

He stopped mid-complaint as he realised that, one, his voice carried in the quiet of the night, and two, this hallway wasn't completely empty either. Great, way to look like an idiot, Flash. Still, it wasn't like he could claim that he'd been trying to avoid people noticing him, what with the running around in red spandex. Not that he was really looking for the attention either, but... yeah.

Wally laughed a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his cowled head and flashing a quick smile in response to any of the looks he got before heading further into the hallway towards where he remembered going the night before...

When he'd gotten attacked and his arm broken, among other things. He hesitated, torn between trying to find some other place he could get something to eat and deciding to risk it. All because last night had gone so horribly wrong didn't mean that he'd run into trouble the same place tonight, right?

...yeah, that wasn't very reassuring. Forgetting about the wonderful first impression he'd made on the others here already, Wally studied the doors he'd been aiming for, then turned to look further along the hallway. Weren't there some stairs around here, somewhere? Maybe somewhere upstairs...

[for Edward!]

[prodigalson]

[From here.]

Fruits, definitely. He actually recalled perhaps seeing a few in that cooler, though with Venom having a miniature panic attack in the confined quarters, he hadn't really had an abundance of time to inspect everything. Maybe some sort of bread, if he could find it. Things that wouldn't spoil for some amount of time. Nothing that needed to be refrigerated. If he couldn't get milk, some other form of calcium...

Was that - Edward had meant to move through the hallways without distraction, but he also hadn't expected to see a grown man wearing red spandex. Red spandex that he recognized, especially having lived through the 1940s. And also: yesterday.

Apparently he wasn't the only one with food on his mind.

He didn't waste effort in fetching the flashlight from his sling considering Wally had his on. He seemed distracted by which direction to go, so Edward took the opportunity to slip out of the shadows next to him.

"I never would have thought you actually wear that at night. Doesn't it receive unwelcome attention?"

[gald_digger]

[from here]

As expected, the main hallway had a little more activity. That was good, since more people meant less of a chance of monsters getting the drop on anyone. Anise was able to breathe easy for a short time as she passed through the hall, turning to enter the halls leading to the men's blocks.

She walked quickly, realizing there was a possibility that the others had the same idea that she did, and were going over to meet her at her side of the patient blocks instead. Or maybe they'd go off somewhere on their own without waiting. Either way, Anise had to hurry if she didn't want to miss them.

[gald_digger]

[to here]

[taggingwomprats.livejournal.com]

_{[From here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1104269.html?thread=77980557#t77980557).]}

Luke finally emerged into a larger hallway; this one seemed like it was more traveled. He took a moment to get his bearings and glanced up and down the stretch of tile and walls. Strange. Still no guards, no alarms - nothing to hinder his escape. Not even a locked door.

It couldn't be this easy.

_{[For Donna!]}

[mateswithnobody.livejournal.com]

Her plans from the nights past had admittedly not gotten her very far, but each night was fortunately it's own cup of tea. Thanks to her experiences she knew that they had free roam when not being taken and experimented on and that said free roam included being able to waltz right on out through the front doors. Even if there weren't Panzers ready for the taking in the driveway, just strolling out of the place's entrance way gave a certain feeling of accomplishment.

And with how Donna's day had been, doing just that and knowing she would feel good for it was exactly how she wanted to start off her night.

"I wonder if one of those buses might still be around..." Donna muttered curiously to herself as she took her usual route to the larger hallways, torchlight beaming ahead of her. Hijacing a tank had been a longshot in hindsight, but a bus she might be able to manage if she set her mind to it enough. Or if she found the Doctor.

[witchoftruth]

[ from here ]

Their usual meeting spot wasn't too crowded as usual, though Erika could tell that she probably wasn't the only person who was waiting. Hopefully, this wouldn't be a problem, but she still stayed closest to the hallway she just came out of as she set her things down and waited. It was a shame she couldn't look at her toy, but Erika didn't want to draw attention to herself for once, and she did that enough simply by not wearing her uniform. That was a shame, because she really did want to take a few more looks at it...

Oh well. Erika settled for the tedious task of straightening out her outfit, since she was so sloppy lately with putting it on. Erika cared greatly about her appearance, it was just that time wasn't on her side for once. Troublesome. At least it was a good way to pass the time.

[ Waiting for Sync and Nigredo. ]

[godforsaken]

[From here.]

It was just like he'd anticipated.

One of these days that dress was going to be the death of her, but hopefully it'd be at a time where she was no longer needed. But until then Sync found it a hindrance, something that brought unwanted attention depending on who caught a glance of it first. However, lecturing the other teen about her choice of outfits couldn't have been any farther from his mind. His arms were aching already, but he managed to keep at it until he finally reached the end of the hallway. He wanted nothing more than to drop Nigredo at their fight, but he figured that might be a bit counterproductive for what he was aiming for that night.

It might've been an odd sight, a boy carrying an even smaller boy in his arms, but if there was something he'd learned fast from Erika it was that her threshold for the bizarre was pretty high.

"We're going to be having company tonight."

[nonheinous.livejournal.com]

People. Ted's heart leapt a little, eagerly searching the sparse group for signs of a familiar face, his own quickly dropping as he failed to find any. Some part of him hoped to suddenly spot Bill, but it was a vain hope and he knew it.

But there had to be others here trying to escape. Surely they could see what a totally egregious place this was. They didn't turn on the lights at night, and there weren't even any ghosts. At least, none that had greeted him yet.

And there had to be a way out...

[age-of-kings.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1104269.html#comments)]

The sensation of feeling as though he were surrounded without yet seeing more than shadows ahead was beginning to fray Tolten's already ragged nerves. A part of him urged him to run towards the signs of other people, but a cold knot in his stomach stopped him. He didn't know if these vague figures were friend or foe! And from what he could see, they seemed to be moving with purpose. And what a fool he'd look, running to catch up with strangers and having to explain he had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there!

At last, upon entering yet another corridor - perhaps it was time to rethink being trapped in some old Gohtzan facility - he spotted something he'd yet seen. Someone else, alone, and by the weak light of the torch, looked to be about Tolten's own age.

He asked himself the usual question and was unsurprised at the answer. Make contact. Approach this stranger and hope that luck is good and kind and he's not an enemy. Perhaps he could help, and if he couldn't, he didn't appear armed. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. All he had to do was seem confident...

"Ah...hello?" Tolten offered, his voice wavering some. He winced, and cleared his throat. "Pardon me," he started again, lending more strength to his lilting and rather feminine voice. "I'm afraid I may be in some sort of trouble...."

So much for trying to come off as strong and confident.

[New too! Hope you don't mind!]

[shorttank.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1105943.html?thread=77997591#t77997591)]

As usual, this hallway was more crowded than the others. Leela shined the flashlight around, but didn't see Gren yet, so she leaned against the wall nonchalantly, as out of the way as she could manage while still keeping an eye out for him.

[Team Bebop! ♥]

[stellarregions]

[From here]

He was making good time as he stepped out into the main hall and finally clicked on his flashlight. There weren't many people out here, either, so it didn't take long to spot Leela and head off in her direction. "Hey," he commented as he made his way over, leaning on his shovel a little once he reached her.

[swornandbroken.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1104269.html?thread=78033549#t78033549)]

Matt hadn't been in the hallway where they usually met, though Mello looked for him out of habit, despite the note. He wasn't in the hallway by the stairs, either. Really holed up, then, and probably sulking.

Mello had never been very given to introspection, not generally liking what he found when he looked too deeply into his own psyche; but he was self-aware enough to realize that his way of coping with things--do more, do anything, only act--didn't work for everyone. He didn't begrudge Matt the right to take some time off. ...all right, he did, but he wasn't going to admit he did.

He made for the stairs, sweeping the flashlight beam along the floor in front of him. One benefit to being alone was that he didn't feel any need to pretend he could see perfectly well.

[unwittingly awaiting the Sisters Skye XD]

[fourstonewalls]

[from here]

When she'd stopped laughing, Lana schooled her face into something resembling a serious expression, and gave Ema a serious answer.

"I'd expected a little more polish from the man who could defeat Miles Edgeworth." Mmm. How should she put this without insulting either Phoenix or Ema's judgement. "He's very...earnest."

Mia had been, too, but she'd been eighteen when Lana had met her, and she'd grown up a lot before even setting foot in the courtroom. Personal feeling had very little to do with law; they'd disagreed on that repeatedly, though it shouldn't surprise her that she'd found an apprentice that shared her values.

"He recovers quickly, I'll give him that. And his heart is in the right place." There had to be courage under that terrified-rabbit expression; perhaps he was better at summoning it in familiar surroundings. Or perhaps he'd just found her someone he could relax around; goodness knew, he'd seen her at her worst, even if she could only imagine what she must have put him through. He'd had practice on Edgeworth, though, and a certain teenaged informant; her façade had likely been almost as transparent to him as it was to Ema, despite her hard work. Ah, well. What was done was done, in her future/his past, and all for the better, in the long run.

[stlg13bomber.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1104945.html#comments)]

Carter kept playing with the stone of his ring, which he was currently wearing on his flashlight hand. He hoped it went up to the mines instead of dumping them in the middle of the mountains because that really would be a pain. And whoever went with him probably wouldn't be too happy either.

He waited in the hallway, watching people wander and looking for someone who seemed like they'd want to go out on a good old-fashioned adventure.

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

Ilia slowed her jog as she reached the Main Hallway, coming to a stop against a wall to survey her options. There were several ways she had yet to travel but where to start?

She pulled her journal out of her pocket and unfolded it, working the crease the other way to flatten it out a bit. It wasn't the best job, but at least she could still write and read without much trouble. Actually, having it a little bent made it easier to hold with one hand. She held her flashlight in her free hand over her abused journal and found her map. It was still an unfinished copy, but she hadn't been able to completely it before dinner was up and Lana had to move on out before her. Ilia didn't mind. She would just have to tread cautiously in those blank areas.

She shifted on her feet and looked up at bit, down the darkened hallway. Just considering the possibilities wasn't going to get her anywhere, but she thought she should at least try to gain her bearings before pressing on. Ah, heck with it.

"Well, gotta start somewhere." She folded her notebook again and replaced it in her pocket, chuckling ruefully. She only wished she knew where that somewhere was.

[purgatio]

[from here]

The first task had been settled the night before and he held to a path recently known and newly considered. His brother had left already, likely the other as well, and when all was said and done, perhaps Albedo was glad of it. There was pain in him, and he had stopped considering it. There was a part of him, masochism aside, that was tired of being hurt.

There was a part of him, in retrospect, that had wished he never had gathered kindness anew for his sibling.

[to here]

[lighthearted]

[From here.]

Oh, there were a lot of people in this hallway! That would be a good distraction from the whole girlfriend topic, wouldn't it? Some of them Sora recognized and some of them he didn't, but that was always how it went. Even with how long he had been here, he hadn't met even half of the patients here, probably. That was kind of a crazy thought, but it was true. And it didn't help that people got cycled in and out so quickly, either.

Of course, the thing that stood out to Sora the most was when he saw Edward, seeing how he both knew him and he was Venom's friend. Or something like it, anyway. This time Sora didn't stop himself from grabbing for the man's wrist and then pointing Edward out. "Hey, look who it is!"

In the end, he couldn't hold back from waving at Edward either. The guy he was with was wearing a really flashy costume -- something even more over-the-top than Sora's own outfit -- but the boy just thought it was cool. It was the sort of thing that would probably stand out to monsters, though, unfortunately.

[anemptydecapo]

"Oh." From how quickly the boy turned into a stuttering mess, either Venom had missed the mark entirely or Sora was as terrible a liar as the assassin was. Though the answer wasn't something he actually cared about at the moment, the ingrained formality shined through the haze and Venom offered a tired apology. "I'm sorry."

He actually wasn't.

It felt like it was becoming harder to walk the more their discussions went from one tangent to the next, like forcing an over-taxed machine to keep watch over a tennis match. The sound around him melted into a sort of low-level hum, each footstep and word fizzling into the air. The world was getting darker and if his head really kept spinning like this--

"Hey, look who it is!"

He most likely wouldn't have even heard the statement without the sharp tug on his wrist (and as it was, he could barely process it with the quickness he normally could). Truthfully, irritation at someone pulling at him was quicker to reach for than the focus it took to look at whatever Sora was waving at, though the latter was eventually...

"...what is that." and why is it so red

[tightsofmight]

[From here.]

The stairs were up ahead, already bathed in the strained glow of flashlights that didn't belong to him. There was no need to point it out when they were already beelining to it.

Peter paid little attention to who was in the main hall with them tonight. He did the customary sweep, of course, but once he identified that none of these people were known stabbypantses or familiar faces (Senna wasn't here either), they became irrelevant. He had bigger things on his mind tonight.

"Um. So. Your hair's gotten pretty long." He took another anxious glance back to follow the length of that mane. Peter was positive it was about half that size the last time he saw her. He knew his hair was thick, but jeez. You could hide a baby in there. "How long has it been since we last - uh. Since the thing with all the clones?"

A question he wasn't sure he wanted the answer too. He'd met people from different versions of his universe. Most of them knew him as a grown-up, but a grown-up that didn't look anything like him. A Spider-Man who had lived a totally different life. Jessica was the first one to recognize him on the spot, no questions asked. And he knew her. Yet unless that was some spectacular weave she was sporting, odds were that they didn't line up on the timeline so well.

It would take months to grow her hair out like that. Maybe even a year. Peter's stomach churned. Longer than he remembered it being.

[arakhnes.livejournal.com]

"What?"

His question caught her off guard, seeming completely out of the blue. She frowned, bringing her free hand to to touch the long, curling brown locks that draped around her shoulders and despite the situation and despite how she was feeling, her cheeks were tinging red in embarrassment. It had started to get a bit long but what with working with SHIELD and following Roxxon and just dealing with everything, she hadn't had time to focus on herself, her hair being part of it.

Besides, it was too much of a big deal to constantly get it cut and she was used to letting it grow.

"Yeah, I..." She brought her hand down, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger, chewing on her lip again. "Don't really think about it." And then another pause at his question. Wait, so when was he from? Erika had mentioned something about weird timelines, but... he seemed the same to her from the last time she saw him, which was with Reed.

"That was, uh, a long time ago. Almost half a year."

But if he didn't remember anything they went through, if he hadn't gone through any of it, she wasn't quite sure what she should do. Like Peter's, her stomach twisted instinctively and she found herself chewing on her lip harder.

[no-dont-go.livejournal.com]

Aigis didn't stop after exiting the block hallway, moving quickly into the main hall of the institute. She would have been lying if she said she didn't feel a need to rush past the place Aidou had ambushed her the night before. Something about that area now had her spooked, and she was a bit breathless by the time she reached the main hall.

There was still a lot of activity here, so she felt relatively safe to stand by. Leaning against the wall, Aigis turned off her flashlight and caught her breath. For a moment, she just indulged in the feeling of the rush of air in and out of her new lungs. It had been a while since she'd allowed herself the extravagance of enjoying a human sensation. Other than eating, of course.

She didn't want to waste time waiting too long, but maybe she could rest here. Just a moment more.

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

Sechs stormed through the halls like soldier rushing in for combat, yet his agitated pace was without direction, his focus comprised by the stalking shadow of his dark consciousness. The voice from the drug continued to accuse and blame him, staying just out of reach for Sechs to confront or ignore. It was just as bad as having to hear that damn Landel's taunting speeches echo from the countless speakers that infected the halls of the institute; he couldn't just cover his ears and tell it to shut up.

The burdened Replica just wanted to get away from the terrible thoughts, but that meant getting away from himself, which was impossible and only added to his sense of helplessness, a feeling Sechs hated to experience. It was like being chased by an unseen pack of wolves in the dead of a wintry night, chilled to the bone from a fear that Sechs could not bear to face...

So he marched, pushing himself forward to his goal, fighting to keep his mind directed towards finding the answers to his questions. Was Alita truly here in the institute? Could Sechs find his revenge against the doctor who experimented on him nights ago? Where were the institute's weaknesses, secrets, and most importantly, exit?

It wasn't long before Sechs arrived in the Main Hallway once again, shivering and panting quietly in his armor, bent over slightly from the weight of his axe which he always kept propped on his shoulder, and the damning thoughts that weighed down his spirit.

He finally stopped, just for a moment, to check out his surroundings with his flashlight. No towering men with glowing red eyes and swords were to be spotted. Just the usual population of patients scurrying about with no signs of danger lunging out from the darkness. Some shadows moved unnaturally, which was to be expected when the side-effects of Sechs' ordeal under that sick doctor's mercy were agitated so much by the cold and guilt. Sechs gritted his teeth and ignored the shifting blackness before making one last sweep of the area with his light.

A familiar head of blond hair was caught by the beam of Sechs' flashlight. Leaning against the wall in what appeared to be an exhausted state was Aigis! Immediately concern filled Sechs, which was swiftly demeaned by the drug in his spine. "Why do you care so much about her? You'll just drag her into more trouble like you did with all the others!" it hissed in Sechs' ear.

Sechs hesitated, gritting his teeth against the freezing guilt that crawled throughout his body and heart. She looked fine, and nothing was attacking her. They were probably both better off if he just left her there and went onward alone...

Yet that one slice of his heart that was untouched by the drug reached out, and Sechs found himself take a wary step towards the fellow battle android. "Aigis...?" he said, his voice strained against his better judgment to keep to himself and away from everyone else.

[fangirlfatale.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1105943.html?thread=77995543#t77995543)]

There were only a few people in the main hall, and they all looked like regular prisoners. Morgan didn't bother with more than a quick glance at them. She was just opening her mouth to ask Guybrush whether he'd found anything worthwhile in the antique shop when his radio crackled to life.

"Oh my God," she said when the broadcast shut off. "Was that Landel? Actually talking about helping people get out of here?" No way. LeChuck was a master of that no-really-I'm-just-a-normal-swashbuckler-like-you routine too, and Morgan didn't buy it any more from a kidnapper than she did from a murderous voodoo-soaked undead pirate with poor personal hygiene.

Morgan stalked ahead, scowling at the darkness in front of them like she expected Landel to step right out of it. "He must think we're idiots."

[threepwood]

Guybrush quickly discovered that trying to thumb through files while following Morgan was not going to work, especially while juggling a flashlight, a sword, and a radio. Luckily, said radio came to life, giving him a reason to stop and adjust his inventory. He strapped the radio to his sash, stuck the sword through one of the loopholes in the underwear, and tucked the files into the waistband of his pants. As much as he wanted to read all the useless information they held for himself, it wasn't exactly practical at that moment. Once they had escaped and had some actual light, maybe, but they could wait for the time being. It wasn't as though LeChuck and his beard were getting any more gone.

While adjusting his assortment of items, Guybrush kept an ear on the radio, occasionally pausing out of pure disbelief over what was being said. Wait, Landel helping people? And working for What's-His-Name on the other end? Surely this wasn't the same crazy doctor De Landel and his brainwashing team of terror.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I believe this myself," Guybrush said through his teeth as the broadcast ended. "It sounds like a plan nuts enough for LeChuck, right down to the part where he pretends to be a good guy just long enough to gain our trust, then he comes out and stabs us in the gut. My roommate said he had a pretty dramatic exit from the building when he was fired, but it's hard to think he might be on our side now. Kind of difficult to forget the fact that he kidnapped us in the first place." And that wasn't including the part where Landel ruined his marriage and the time-space continuum, as well.

"But no worry," he continued. "There's got to be a limit on how far they'll drag us back to the building. If nothing else, we'll get to roam around town taking anything that looks useful. And we may even find some grog! I'm pretty sure I saw a bar in town." He knew in his heart that grog probably wasn't on the list for items necessary for a successful Escape from Landel's Institute™, but he could dream.

[hasnomeaning]

[from here]

Here was where indecision would always lay. There were places to break off to, rooms to shift into and explore, but the point based itself too lacking. And if one spoke further, it had been shone that the more she explored, the more she was at risk. She had no skills to nullify a creature or beast, and by fleeing and escaping constantly, nothing new would be learned. Was there a different approach to take, or was she simply failing at the task in front of her to an extreme degree?

What was the purpose in this place? What path was left before her? There lacked meaning in the night's wanderings, the day's interactions, and she considered if there was a purpose. If this was only a holding cell for a set period of time. She did not know. And moving forward became difficult when forward was too hard to define.

She paused in the hall, white plug-suit bright against the dark, and placed a hand to her throat, tracing scars.

[for the pilots.]

[lookitmemama.livejournal.com]

Asuka hated how crowded it got out in the hallways after dark. Usually she was good and high-tailed it to the regular "date" spots before anyone even started getting ready to leave their rooms. Now, she was forced to push people out of the way with her bat to get a glimpse at all the patients that swarmed the corridor.

She didn't see anyone that was affiliated with History Club, but she did recognize a certain doll in a white plugsuit. Her first reaction was to rip it off her, but the eva pilot remembered that she hadn't asked Rei about this mysterious portal ring they may have received. There would be plenty time to rip into her after question.

"What are you doing, First Child? Waiting for someone?" She was very certain she knew the answer.

[hairraising]

[From here]

Unconsciously, Rapunzel followed the same route she had taken a few times by now. That was almost definitely a comfort thing, she supposed, or at least as close to comfort as one could get in this place. She knew she was going to have to veer off into unknown territory eventually, but for now, getting her bearings in familiar hallways seemed to be the easiest thing to do.

She slowed her jog somewhat to keep from tiring too quickly, but kept her walking pace quick as she passed the corner of the 1-A Hall. There were some doors coming up in the centre hall, she knew. Now would it be better to take one of those, or keep going and see what's in the east wing...?

[ippo]

[From here]

Before he had even turned the corner, Ippo began his very loud speech to address everyone of the danger they were suddenly neck-deep in. "Everyone! Please be careful! There's a monst--!" He saw the strange tail of hair, but its owner had not been what the young man expected. Big eyes, long hair, blond. Oh god.

Unfortunately, his embarrassment didn't end with his outburst. The inertia that threw him around the corner kept moving even as he tried to stop. The boxer's ankle buckled under his own weight and Ippo fell to the floor with a hefty "Umph!"

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1105167.html?thread=78082063#t78082063)]

Now in the main hallway, Sai stopped. He didn't immediately see anyone else from his group meaning he'd either missed them (which was highly unlikely) or that they had yet to arrive. He just needed to stand out of the way of the main crowd now, somewhere his fellow ninja would still be able to see him, and wait for the others to arrive. Any spot along the wall would do, so he picked a spot and stood to wait.

As he waited, he watched the others passing in the hall. There were some familiar faces, but many that he just didn't recognize. How many new patients had come and gone while he hardly noticed, he wondered. The ninja had been focused heavily on his own goals recently, which was probably good in many ways but still meant he wasn't learning as much about others as he used to. Perhaps he should change that in the near future.

[promisedawhale.livejournal.com]

The young man was able to beat him out by a hallway, but thankfully for Brook Sai held up in the larger hallway, giving the musician time to catch up.

"Hey, Sai-san!" he tried from down the hallway, hand waving once again as it sent the flashlight beam back and forth. He dropped it once he was close enough and huffed from the quick sprint he'd just managed. "Are you always so quick in the evening?" he wondered aloud, then smiled at his friend, "Not that it's a bad thing. Do you need any help for the evening?"

Brook would leave if Sai wanted him to, of course, since he never wanted to impose, but that didn't mean he wouldn't worry over his friends. Those were so important in a place like this.

[thestormishere]

[ From here. ]

By this point, usually Lightning would have turned off her lighting device already. Right now, though? She knew that she just really couldn't afford it, at the cost of potentially missing something in the darkness. She definitely wasn't a cat or anything, and the powers afforded to a l'Cie didn't include anything quite as useful for a time like this, even if she had been at full strength.

Of course, the act of carrying the light around also made her more visible to others as well... and she knew already that it was entirely possible that Hope may try to actively avoid her if he was the one to spot her first...

But damn it, what was she supposed to do?!

There were a few people waiting around like usual, but even the brief reminder of her two nights with Gambit when she saw where she'd first met him wasn't enough to distract her from her task at hand. Her mind was entirely on her current predicament as she lingered in the hall, shining her light on the others as she very slowly made her way towards the building's center-point.

She counted out the stairs as a possibility very quickly. The darkness was certainly thick enough to make someone think that they were underground or something, but she also assumed that Hope had come in through the front door earlier and would know that wasn't the case. She also knew he probably wasn't likely to adventure needlessly...

... Unless there was someone else with him?

No, no, she couldn't succumb to what-ifs. Stepping forward more quickly, she continued further into the hall.

[ To here. ]

[thestormishere]

[ From here. ]

Still no sign of Hope. Once again, Lightning was left with a choice, and once again she paused, at a loss for what to do. If she couldn't manage to scrape enough luck together to just run into the teen, dare she really spend the rest of her inevitably short night wandering the front of the building, counting on that already tiny, waning, vague chance?

All this, right after she'd gotten after Zack the night before for not keeping track of Cloud. Annoyance caused her chest to tighten, and she rolled her shoulders a few times to try and relieve the rising tension as she turned to once more lean against one of the walls.

Was it really possible that this was her fault?

Her eyes were wide as she stared down towards the end of the main hall, then turned towards the first off-shooting one, wishing desperately that her way were clearer- both in front of her and behind her, in whichever path that had managed to land her in his hellhole.

Down the hall she was facing was where she knew Snow's room was, but if she also knew him at all, he would have already left by now too. Unless he was actually waiting for her, although again, she didn't have much faith in the man's ability to stay put for long. Going looking for him would just be taking another chance.

A chance she might have to turn to instead. It hadn't escaped her that she still needed to talk to him, and that need was only amplified by the addition of Hope's presence...

With one last look down both ways of the front hall, she made her decision.

[ To here. ]

[sainted]

[from here]

Stefan caught the flashlight without thinking. Honestly, he would've caught it even if he was thinking — it was too ingrained in him to counter Damon's chaos with order, and the sound of a flashlight clattering on the tiled floor by itself went against a vampire's natural desire for quiet and staying hidden. Well, unless those vampires were Damon, but his brother had always been... exceptional. Either way, no doubt Damon had expected Stefan to do exactly this, and now that he had the flashlight, there was no way his brother was taking it back. So Stefan stopped staring at his hand and didn't even waste a second to roll his eyes before following after him.

"What happened last night, anyway? I talked to both Alaric and Wally, and it sounded like you ran into something more than the usual super-size animal." Usual, as if they should just expect to run into giant rodents everywhere they went. In truth, that would probably make their lives a lot easier, but the only one Stefan had actually seen so far was one squirrel. He wasn't sure how they'd hunt creatures which didn't even give off a scent (how a bear-sized squirrel didn't give off a scent aside from its blood—?), but between his luck and Damon's, finding trouble was probably the least of their worries.

Stefan glanced over surreptitiously as he walked alongside his brother, wondering how he was doing with his lingering wounds. In the past, having the two of them take down a mountain lion with their bare hands would've been child's play. Now, doing so would be asking for deep scratches and broken bones. "We should find some kind of weapon too... Do you know if there's anything up there?"

[saviored]

[going here]

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

She was good at what she did; she'd been designed to be, even if the committee that had done the designing had done everything in their power to screw up the project before it had even begun, and gotten worse once their experiments were old enough to voice an opinion on it all. In general, it had been a crashing failure; in specific, specifically Taura, it had been a raging success. Not so much for house Bharaputra, who'd sold her off at a bargain price, but for the Dendarii, yes! And for Taura herself, who no-one had bothered to ask until Miles had.

"I've been with the fleet for four years now, and I've been here for over two weeks." Both made her a veteran; she wasn't sure which was more important, really.

The larger hall was a little more crowded, but no more so than usual; Leela was deep in conversation with a couple of people she didn't know, so Taura just waved and flashed her a wide grin.

[bodhiandspirit.livejournal.com]

Rita narrowed her eyes at that initial reply. Closely acquainted...? It seemed like there was another meaning behind that.

Well, in any case, she had her answer. It looked like she wasn't dealing with an amateur, though it certainly wasn't a surprise to learn that Taura was a mercenary. From what Rita could tell, if she were on Terca Lumireis, she'd probably fit right in with the mercenary guilds there.

"Quantitatively, I guess that's more than I have," Rita admitted. "I've been practicing offensive magic for years, but it's only in the past year that I've been going out and applying it in actual battles." She was basically the most powerful mage in the world, but that was more due to knowledge and talent than experience, and she wasn't about to hide that.

[deadlyjuliet.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1104269.html?thread=78125197#t78125197)]

The main hall provided far more entertainment than the others, as was to be expected. This was where all the rats in the maze gathered before setting out on their individual missions for the night. Grell paused, sliding over toward the wall as he observed the ones who had taken temporary refuge here. A man flicked his torchlight up and down the hallway, obviously waiting for someone - a man who was not a man as others would call him. He was different, something...unusual. But what? Grell could not tell.

Further down, he could hear a certain redhead's boisterous voice, but the god kept his gaze away. She knew him and he could not afford to, nor did he want to, run into her right now. She might ask about the chainsaw sitting on his shoulder or the clothes. Or ask him where he got his make-up and that was simply not a detail he wanted to share.

So many people waiting, everyone buzzing with anticipation (better to say apprehension, perhaps?) as the night began. Here and there, Grell could hear snippets from the radio. He himself never carried it as it could turn on at the most inappropriate of times and ruin one's cover. He hardly needed to, however. Someone, somewhere, always had that thing and it was loud enough that if he stood still, he could make out what was being said.

Betrayal seemed to be the theme tonight. Landel betrayed by the Institute went to seek help from the ones who set themselves up to be angels for the patients. But with this alliance, they would lose so much faith and fall so much farther than they had thought. Some patients would feel betrayed by their allies in the shadows while others would not care. And eventually...Landel would betray the rebels. A man like that had little qualms over killing allies to achieve what he thought was rightfully his.

"And so the plot thickens..." Grell murmured to himself, smiling at no one in particular. "How many shall fall before the curtain does, I wonder..."

Having seen and heard all he could here, Grell stepped away from the wall and continued forward toward the stairs.

[selfnighted.livejournal.com]

Nothing new in the last hall aside from patients who seemed to be waiting or talking; little seemed to have changed in this hallway. A strange sight to see, surely—patients walking around so decisively. Hmm...the list of things Maya wanted to ask come morning was lengthening a good bit. Better than not having a purpose, I suppose?

Little comfort. No matter; she had a closet to find.

[selfnighted.livejournal.com]