The intercom clicked on, and once again, it was Head Nurse Lydia and not the Head Doctor whose voice echoed through the halls.

"I am pleased to hear that all of our patients were generally well-behaved this dinner shift. That's all for today, and all nurses should escort their charges back to their rooms for bedtime. The Head Doctor is still preoccupied with the.... clean-up of the riot and its following events, but I trust he'll be back on by tomorrow. I'm sorry for the continued delay.

"That is all."

Once again, her stony voice went silent abruptly and the intercom clicked off again.

"It's been a full month now."

The Head Doctor's voice wasn't as melodramatic as it usually was, though it certainly wasn't dipping into any realm of "normal." Still, he lacked his usual tone of smug superiority and he continued to speak in a strangely sane tone.

"For a full month, this batch has been cycling through. Surely, my love for holidays and their traditions has kept you all on your toes? A ha ha..."

Even his laugh seemed more thoughtful than condescending. He finally seemed to sigh and speak directly into the microphone, saying briefly and levelly:

"The man on the radio is dead. I killed him - stabbed him six times in the chest."

A pause.

"I have to say, it took a lot off my mind."

And then the intercom clicked off again in unison with the doors unlocking.

So that was what that bastard had been up to: he'd been wondering where the Head Doctor ran off to and now they knew. Personally, he didn't care one way or another what happened in their little bitch-fight - he didn't trust Martin Landel and he didn't trust whoever was behind the radio. If one of them was dead? They didn't care unless it meant they were free. Although stabbing a guy six times seemed pretty excessive to Brock, even so.

The symbiote, on the other hand, didn't think so. It almost gave off a sense of admiration for what it thought was a thorough job. If you were going to stab someone, at least stab them enough to make sure they'd be dead, as much as it took.

But just because they approved of going overboard didn't mean they stopped hating Martin Landel.

Opening the door of his cell as soon as the lock clicked open, the blond peered out. Empty hall so far. And it was his first night fully-healed. His Other's night-vision kicked in automatically, casting the corridor in a grainy, grayish "light". They had no real plans for tonight.

Feed? The symbiote, as usual, got down to business. They weren't starving, but it was starting to get to that time. Better to nip that crap in the bud before Brock ended up in a padded cell again. The thought of feeding again made his stomach turn though, and it didn't have anything to do with the fact he'd have to kill something (or someone). No, he remembered his last attempt to feed from a monster; it'd been one of the most godawful experiences in his life and while he'd been able to choke it down, it'd been like trying to eat squishy, half-solidified vomit.

At least he'd canceled that out by crippling that crippled patient even more. Nothing like some good, old-fashioned maiming to settle a guy's stomach. Maybe it was karma.

Brock stepped out into the hall, looking down and testing his claws. They materialized almost instantaneously, the slick "oil" of the symbiote covering his hands and forming their claws. Perfect. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring it. Perfect. Just knowing they were back together made him feel much safer, much more complete. Not as complete as he would've liked, but better than being normal: he needed this feeling even more badly than he'd thought.

Dinner had been relatively quiet on his part, seeing as that he partook in no social commotions for the duration of the shift. He had caught a glimpse of the redhead he had been meaning to pull aside, yet he refrained himself when he saw him stumbling towards Ion. There was a time and place for anything, of course, and the Colonel was a relatively patient man when it came to timing.

Jade followed his nurse back to his room, where he spent the remainder of it preparing for the upcoming night. As usual he chose to done on his coat, stuffing the pockets with the necessary baggage he decided upon. However, it wasn’t until he was absolutely sure that a nurse would not come by did he reach underneath his mattress and pulled out the menacing cleaver he stolen back from his Majesty. As much as he would’ve preferred for his friend not to wander about without a weapon in hand, maybe this would prove to be the experience needed to make him realize that he had taken the colonel’s company for granted.

Though if he were to die during this lesson of life, then Jade would surely find himself in quite a bind, now wouldn’t he?

But such trifling matters were pushed away from his mind for the moment as he finished his preparations, smiling when the intercom came to life and the doors unlocked. At first he paid no mind to the doctor's words. To him it felt as if the inevitable took place, and now was not the time to dawdle on what had already happened.

"As much as I would have enjoyed sharing a few minutes, I’m sure there will be other opportunities. After all, you don’t look like the type that would recklessly get yourself killed. I’m afraid I can’t say the same for my last roommate, but that will have to wait for another day."

And just like that Jade made his way out of the room, keeping near the walls as he meandered down the hallway without a flashlight in hand.

[To here.]

[From here.]

As passive as he may have seemed in the room, Jade’s expression hardened as he continued on into the next hall, being mindful of his surroundings until his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

So the only means of outside help that they’ve had was met with an unfortunate demise by the doctor’s hands. Well, he couldn’t say that he wasn’t expecting something like this to happen. One can only meander about enemy territory for so long before they were caught and killed. It was truly unfortunate that he hadn’t a chance to see their savior himself, but it was best to move on.

There was hardly a soul stumbling by as Jade reached the next hall, keeping himself poised as he glided over to the next set of doors that lead outside the patient blocks. Time wasn’t something he was meaning to waste for tonight, and getting past the sudden rush of patients that would soon follow was his top priority.

[To here.]

A loud "clunk" signaled the unlocking of doors in the hallways outside, cuing Kunzite to slide off his bed and proceed to his dresser. The soldier recovered his flashlight, a pen, and his journal, slipped on one of his coats, and creaked open the door to his room.

"Empty so far," he murmured, sweeping the rays of his flashlight left and right. Footsteps shuffled along in the rooms nearby; surely the other "patients" were getting ready to stir as well. No matter, he thought to himself, using the light to scan the map in his journal. For now, a rendezvous with the Princess and Mercury, and we shall proceed from there.

As Kunzite strolled south, his attention ever-vigilant to sudden motions in this unnatural darkness, he mused on the words spit out by the doctor. "I've killed the man on the radio," Kunzite whispered with a smirk. "As I suspected, a power struggle. This place gets more and more interesting with each passing moment..."

[Going to M-B Block Hallway]

[Specifically M12]

"… Wait, really?" Axel asked, mainly to himself, as he listened to the intercom and the head doctor’s sudden confession. It hadn’t been long since he was escorted back to his room after his dinner, feeling rather content after spending a shift to himself. It was fun and all to chill with a couple of people beforehand, but a guy needed a break every once in a while.

His plans were relatively simple at the time. He was going to run off to Kairi’s room, swing her body over his shoulders and haul her back over to his own. He’d forgotten to write a note down for Roy in the bulletin saying he couldn’t make it, but he was sure the colonel could make the right assumptions.

He had been in the middle of rummaging under his mattress for his chakram when the intercom came to life again, and with that he couldn’t help but stop and look up at the ceiling with a mix of curiosity and disbelief. At this point it almost felt like a tradition for the man behind the radio to pop up every evening, so a change this big earned a bit of attention. Axel’s gaze remained on the ceiling for at least half a minute before he glanced over at his roommate on the other side.

"You know, I almost don’t believe it." But this was technically a battlefield, and one side had to give in one way or another. He had to remind himself that tradition didn’t exactly last forever.

[From here.]

Jade was met with more silence as he stepped out of his patient block all together, keeping his senses wide open in case anything was prowling about further downward. It looked as if he had beaten the rush, if but slightly, yet his destination was still far from his grasp.

The Colonel was looking forward to leaving the blocks, having been confined there for the past few days without much to do but wander to aimlessly with his comrades. Yes, a change of pace was in order, much to the point where he hardly felt guilty about it, if at all. He had taken it as part of his responsibility to find some means of escape, and hanging around the sidelines wasn't bound to do anyone any good.

Now that his eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness, Jade quickened his pace and strode forward into the next hallway.

[To here.]

[M39]

Being dragged away from ZEX mid-conversation was something of a mixed blessing. On the upside, it meant that Zelnick would have at least few minutes to regain emotional balance before spending the whole night with the guy....

Well, perhaps it was more of a mixed curse. Normally Zelnick didn't begrudge allies their oddities, but ZEX had this amazing ability to jump straight from normal conversation to oh-god-awkward innuendo-laden flirting, and Zelnick couldn't do much but hope that he'd keep away from the latter.

In any case, he paid closer attention to where they took him, this time, not just his room number, and he realized he was actually really close to Yuber's room. Wasn't that convenient?

Once he was in his room, he started to get ready for the night; skillet, knife, pestle, all loaded into the apple basket that had wound up in his closet, along with a couple pens and the radio (hadn't Yuber said it spilled hints at night?). This meant he couldn't take all the apples with him, so Zelnick wrapped them in one of the extra shirts and left them in the corner of the closet. All that was left was to get the flashlight, which he found under his pillow like he did last night.

Then the intercom clicked on.

So that was their lord and master, in this place? After spending the first night confused and the first day hearing the voice of the Head Nurse, he found that the guy sounded pretty sane, until he admitted to killing someone. "The man on the radio--" did he mean whoever was on the other side of the little antique, sending out hints? And the method of death sounded... frighteningly personal.

He unloaded the skillet from the basket and held on to it as the doors unlocked, and sat at his desk to wait for ZEX.

[In M47]

Artemis was particularly pleased at how the day had ended. Showering with his fellow underage males had been embarrassing and uncomfortable, but he'd ended on a good note--a wonderful, wonderful argument in which the opponent couldn't hit him. Perhaps the orderlies weren't so bad after all.

They deposited him in his room with Haku, and the moment the door shut, the Head Doctor came over the intercom. He frowned at the mention of a month and filed away the information for later. No... he'd have to write it down. His head was suddenly somewhat muddled. He groaned lightly and put a hand to his head, trying to sort things out. Things pieced together, but only with some effort. He actually had to think about things instead of automatically responding. What was going on?

"The man on the radio is dead. I killed him - stabbed him six times in the chest... I have to say, it took a lot off my mind."

Artemis' eyes flew open. Oh this was bad. This was bad beyond words. Even if he couldn't think as well as he normally could, he could understand that much.

"H-Haku, you wanted to do something, correct?" He reached under his mattress for his sword, hands shaking. The patients were in trouble now. Deep, deep trouble.

[ inside f7]

“What?” Kairi had been in the middle of getting off of the bed when she heard the announcement the head doctor made, surprise overtaking her face. Hadn’t the man on the radio been well known? Hadn’t he helped all kinds of people?

Her look of shock slowly turned into a sad frown as she moved across the room, not saying a word other than the “what?” she had muttered before. This place was so horrible –

Moving to her dresser, Kairi pulled open the doors in hope of perhaps finding another flashlight. What she found instead was something much better (in her opinion, anyway) and much more useful!

“Oh!” she exclaimed happily as she pulled the pink dress out of the wardrobe, a grin crossing her lips. It had been such a long time since she had seen the pink dress she usually wore, and to see it now just randomly sitting inside the large wardrobe was a pleasant surprise! Before she could really even think, she slowly began to change into the outfit, pausing once she was done to look down.

She looked like herself again! (Minus the bandages, anyway)

Pumping her fists, Kairi did a quick hair flip and let out a happy giggle.

Now all there was to do was wait for Axel.

After a few moments of waiting, Kairi decided that perhaps it would be better to wait in the hall. After all, nothing would happen ... and if something suspicious came, she'd just run back into the room.

((taking place in room F25 specifically))

Dinner had been alright. She had somehow avoided talking to anyone, which was both good and bad. The good part was, unless it had been someone she knew, she didn't have to talk to anyone. While she felt considerably better after meeting Rena, she couldn't stop her mind from going back to being strapped to that table again... The bad part was, she wouldn't get to talk much until nightshift ended.

Mion wasn't quite sure how she should have felt about the announcemnt, but if you got right down to it, it honestly meant nothing to her. On the one hand, the man on the radio had apparently been helping people. But who knew if that was true? Seeing as he wasn't exactly on good terms with the boss here, it made perfect sense for him to have been using them during Nightshift, for whatever reason.

Plus, his help couldn't have been that helpful anyway. She hadn't heard about any break outs yet, and until she did, she wouldn't call it helping. Not from someone who apparently had been on the same terms as the Head Doctor, anyway. She might have felt differently had she known she had met him during the trip, and then again, maybe she wouldn't. Living in Hinamizawa meant you saw things.

Letting out a loud, exagerated moan, Mion got off of what she had been forced to call her bed and began pulling the mattress off of it. It was going to be a long, lonely night; might as well start.

[from here]

Falis strode down the hall from her room, a look of anticipation upon her face. The wooden rod rest easily upon her shoulder as she headed directly to the women's bathroom.

She wondered if the pansy wizard was even going to show.

[to here]

[from here]

Despite her outward confidence, Falis entered the bathroom with the caution of a trained hunter. She carefully shined the lantern around and checked all the stalls to make sure there were no beasties hiding.

She was a bit disappointed to find it empty.

All in all, it was better this way. If this Mozenrath decided he'd try and 'set her straight' through magic, it'd be much easier killing him without there being any monsters about. One never knew when a magic-user can control the other magical beasts that were around.

She leaned back against the wall by the door, lantern pointed at the ground. She listened to the sounds about her, a smirk upon her face. Maybe Mozenrath was a coward and simply wouldn't show. That would suck.

It was unexpected to Sai, actually being led back to his room before the night came. He'd been sitting, planning for the event of darkness overtaking the institute and them becoming surrounded by monstrous orderlies. Even Haku had been on his toes. While it was for the best that they'd been returned to their quarters first, the ninja couldn't help but muse on how he was apparently a poor judge of what actions the staff here would take next.

Being in his room meant he was able to arm himself and change before nightfall. A glance over the black outfit revealed that any damage it had sustained the previous night had been repaired without leaving a mark. Curious. He took the opportunity then to claim the two trowels under Kurikara's mattress and wrap the bit of extension cord around his waist. The wire brushes he left for now. He still needed proper ink.

To Usopp's, then. Other plans would be made after he arrived.

[to here]

[F33]

Beatrix didn't waste any time once her and Maki were returned to their rooms. She made sure she had the sturdier shoes on and ripped a sheet into several lengths of cloth to use as bandages if needed. The long strips were wrapped about her waist and tied like a belt.

The announcement of the radio man's death caused the Bride to pause and stare at the intercom with the hatred she felt for Martin Landel clearly in her eyes. She didn't know the man, but from what she'd gathered, the radio man had been helping the prisoners out.

"Just you wait, Landel," she said in a cold voice.

Her eyes moved to her roommate. "Watch your back, Maki. I've got a bad feeling about tonight," she said as she exited the room.

[to here]

The shinigami had never changed her clothes so quickly before in her life as soon as the nurses had left. Momo did not want to spend any more time than was absolutely necessary with her roommate. The shinigami uniform went on easily enough with her injured shoulder, now that it had healed some, with tolerable pain. As the night before, she did not affix the vice captain badge to her arm, but slid it into her belt next to the hanging sling.

Without a look at Anya, Momo retrieved her katana from underneath her mattress and slid it into her belt as well. A part of her was worried that Anya might try to steal it, she was Oni after all, but she figured she could at least use a binding spell on her long enough to retrieve it.

With no plans for the night, other than maybe talking to Reinforce if the woman was at the clinic, the shinigami darted out of the room as soon as the doors unlocked. She was concerned about the death of the radio man, wondering if it was really true or just being said, a tactic being used to lower their morale. Regardless, she decided she needed to see Hitsugaya and talk to him about it.

Yeah... that's why she needed to see him.

[to here}

[from here]

As usual, the door to the hallway had been open. He was never certain if it started that way or other prisoners opened, it, but he guessed it was probably the first option, now. He paused for just a moment to listen, then continued on. It wasn't that much further until he reached Daemon's room.

[to here]

[from here]
Renji paused just long enough to open the door into the first M-block, then ran in, leaving it open behind him. He headed toward the last hallway.

He did switch his flashlight on now, though.

...just in case there was another spider. And no Daemon. In which case he would do more than punch the shit out of the man when he got to him.

[to here]

[from here]
Renji slowed a little as he headed up the hallway, sweeping the ceiling with his flashlight. So far, no giant spiders. He liked that. It wasn't that he had anything against spiders; he wasn't some pansy that was afraid of a little bug. Or a big one. He just hadn't liked the feeling of getting bitten and poisoned.

He went to the room almost at the end of the hallway - M2.

Yuuhi sat up from his bed when the doors unlocked.  Dinner had passed harmlessly enough, despite the angry glares he'd been given by Kuro.  And when it came to his plans for the evening, once again, he was indecisive.  He might've gone with Inoue, but she was already meeting with Rukia and Ururu, so he knew she'd be much safer than she'd be around him.  He'd pestered Rukia this morning, but hoped to stay clear of the shinigami if at all possible.  This morning had been a fluke.  He'd make sure it didn't happen again. 

He hurriedly picked up his flashlight and pressed his hand against the door.  Kuro already knew where his room was so it was pointless to stay.  He wasn't ready to face the man again, not after their earlier conversation.  It was better that he go by himself. 

There had been plenty of maps posted on the bulletin board earlier today and only one place really stuck out in his mind.  There was some kind of file storage on the second floor.  If it had information on Robin, the one he was supposed to be, it might get him one step closer to leaving this place.

[[to here]]

[[from here]]

It didn't take long to scurry down the short hallway and into the main block one.  His flashlight bounced along as he went, not quite a run, not quite a walk.  He'd feel much better once he was clear of most of the people here.  At least, that's what he told himself.  The truth was, as much as it scared him to face Kurogane or the others, it scared him a lot more to think of facing the things that lurked here in the dark by himself.

[[to here]]

[From here]

Homura had to pause for a moment when he came to the main hall, just long enough to grit his teeth against the pain. His eyes were never still, however, his guard never lowered as he lingered. One minute, two, then onward, refusing to delay any longer than absolutely necessary.

He hated being this way.

[To here]

[[from here]]

The hallway looked terribly long and empty when he stepped out.  The night had just barely begun and already he could feel a slight tremor in his hand.  He steadied it and began walking down the hall, toward the next, reminding himself that the more he lingered, the greater the chance that he'd run into someone he knew.  It was best to hurry.  The file room was on the other side of the building, so it would take a little while just to reach it.  He spotted a few other lights further down the hall and quickened his pace.

[[to here]]

[From here]

After all of the painfully bright light he had been subjected to throughout the day, the pitch black halls of this place at night were a blessing. Recluse kept moving, far more silently than anyone would expect for such a large man. This shouldn't take long.

[To here]

[from here]

The bathrooms smelled just as horrible as Dib remembered, but at least there weren't any giant leeches around. He walked up to one of the sinks and turned on the faucet. Instead of blood, rusty water came out. "Well, that's weird," Dib said. "Maybe it's a lunar cycle thing..."

With nothing else to do, Dib leaned back against the cracked, tile wall and waited for the man named Jack Skellington to arrive.

[[from here]]

It didn't look like anyone had come through this way just yet.  The file room was still a long way off, on the other side of the building, but at least now he'd put some distance behind him.  He hadn't really been up this way much, not alone at least.  He'd seen some of it his first night, exploring and looking for supplies with Harry and the others.  Yuuhi tried to quiet his breathing, but his heart was beating faster than usual.  He continued on at a slightly slower pace now, on the lookout for creatures both in front and behind him.

[[to here]]

People out to destroy the world always sort of sounded the same. The Head Doctor reminded Angel a little of the Mayor, actually. They were both...politely insane.

Slipping quietly out the door, he peered down the hallway. Skuld had run into him last night coming up from there, which meant Willow was likely down that way, as well. She'd said she was somewhere around F23, hadn't she?

Though in truth, he wasn't sure if they'd be able to accomplish much—if anything—by a trip to the library. His brief visit there had revealed it to hardly be Giles' collection and about half of it was already taken up by popular fiction as things were. But he hadn't wanted to crush Willow's hopes before they gave it a try. It was better than doing nothing.

Of course, if his usual luck had its way, he'd probably get attacked by something before he even managed to make it to Willow's room in the first place.

[here]

[from here]

Nakago opened the door that led to the outside world as quietly as humanly possible, closing it as quietly as he had opened it. The former general, however, knew full well what happened if you remained outside for too long. Strange creatures appeared and attacked you; he still bore the healing scars of his encounter with the wild dogs, after all.

Best to make things quick, then.

A quick scan of what the rec field revealed rather familiar-looking territory on the opposite end where he had fought with the dogs the night before. That meant the door he and Mozenrath had come through to get here the night before had to be on the other side. Satisfied with this determination, Nakago took off as quickly as he could for that other door, having no desire to waste any time. He just wanted to get the map and then get back to his room.

Running it was, then. He would leave this place as quickly as he had arrived.

[running along to here]

[[from here]]

Others were beginning to catch up as Yuuhi moved onward, across the main hallway.  It wasn't much further until he reached the part that overlooked the Sun Room.  He gave it a glance, but not much more than that.  The big things usually stayed there, didn't they?  He didn't know how likely they'd be to come up and pay him a visit if he got too close.  Probably best to just leave it alone. 

It was more than a little nerve-wracking, to be alone in the dark like this, but he did his best to bear it, to keep from giving himself away with loud frightened breath or noisy steps.  He was getting closer now, just a few more halls and he'd be there.