The last announcement of the day was more mellow than those preceding it, as was usual for the Head Doctor's routine ramblings. He yawned audibly as the microphone clicked on and then smacked his lips together.

"Well," he sighed, "it would seem that we're all due for a bit of shut-eye, eh? Ahaha... In any case, we'll be bringing in a few more new patients during the night and, of course, administering Special Counseling to a select few, but other than that, our daily activities are more or less over! I do hope to talk to all of you again tomorrow and I hope you enjoy a good night's rest."

The intercom clicked off and went silent for only a short while.

And then came the static, slow and steady and loud. The Head Doctor wasn't laughing maniacally or even chuckling smugly, but there was some ring of amusement to his voice as he began his first tirade of the night.

"Good... evening, precious inmates, patients of lost patience. And it is a good evening indeed, more than you know and more than you would expect. Why, yes, everyone, you may be mourning over your precious radio bastard while simultaneously reveling over your new wench, but tonight, I shall be the one to provide a service; I shall be the one to make your miserable lives just a little more bearable.

"For you see, patients, I have a gift for you all. Ah, yes, it is a good gift, and it is one I will offer openly, unabashedly, without a booby-trapped giftwrap of riddles and deceit. The gift is in the chapel on the second floor, and though you cannot move it, it provides a service of great importance, a service of... great price. It's behind the altar, and if you're worried about some of my little pets accosting you on your way there, don't be. The chapel is a safe haven for those who aren't even religiously inclined. No creature of mine will cross the threshold into that one small, safe domain, and perhaps you would want to go there even more if you carry with you some... previous damage?"

The Head Doctor paused in his rambling and then sighed.

"But you don't believe me, do you? Of course not. You'll have to see it with your own eyes, though once you do, keep in mind that each one of you may only use it once every night. Of course, I wonder if you'd want to use it more often even if you could, considering the downsides...

"But I do believe those are enough hints for now. HAH! We'll see which disembodied voice you like more by the end of your long, long stay."

The intercom's static faded and the room doors unlocked soon after.

[ If you're introducing your new character during the night, you may do so whenever you wish; make your character's introduction post in response to the appropriate hallway post (you can find it here) with your character's room number as their subject line. However, when you do post, please reply to this intercom post with a link to the introduction for organization's sake. Thanks! ]

[[From here]]
It didn't take long for Yuuhi to hobble through the darkened hallway toward the main hall.  He'd left as soon as he'd heard the door unlock and just kept going, quickly as he could, fear and anxiety driving him on.  Much as he was afraid of what Sakura might know, it was even worse not knowing at all.

His flashlight bounced shakily in his free hand as he walked, scanning the hallway.  There usually weren't any beasties out this early in the night, but he wasn't about to take any chances.  In his current state, he was probably easy prey for whatever might be lurking, which wasn't exactly a comforting thought.  He put it aside, instead concentrating on getting down the hall and to where the princess was waiting.

Sync slipped out of his room without a sound, pressing up against the wall as he listened for anything within the hallway. Even after what he’d read on the bulletin the God-General couldn’t afford to make stupid mistakes, treading cautiously until he was absolutely sure that nothing else was lingering there alongside him.

He made quick work with the distance between himself and the door, being mindful of the other patient rooms incase one of them swung open without warning. He’d slipped his notebook into the waistband of his pants, already knowing what his route was for the night. Sync was also tempted to make a stop at the Chapel at some point, but it was low priority for now.

Taking one last look behind him, the God-General pushed through the door and slipped into the next hall.

[To here.]

Jade was rather used to these quiet meals nowadays. It didn’t provide much in the form of entertainment, but they were efficient and that was all that mattered. He quickly finished his meal and began preparing for the night, gathering the same materials as the previous night before setting out into the hall.

There was no doubt that the Colonel was amused when he discovered that he was – yet again – the first to walk out of his room, but it wasn’t like he was complaining. In fact, he was quite happy that everyone else was so sloppy; it provided him with a head start without the need to fuss over traffic.

As usual, Jade wandered down the hall without using his flashlight, casually pushing open the door at the end and made his way into the next area.

[To here.]

[From here.]

Meandering about like this was really just a waste of his time, but Sync strove forward anyway with that same bored expression as he made his way into the next area.

It was true that he wanted to explore outside and examine any weak spots for escape, yet it wasn’t on the top of his list of things to do. No, instead he was more curious about what ludicrous lives the staff plastered on top of them. The God-General was used to shadowing his own identity, so it was interesting from his point to see what they’ve managed to conjure up in their spare time.

Call it an acquired taste.

He followed the wall from the time he entered the room, allowing the tips of his fingers to run along the surface before he exited into another hallway.

[To here.]

[From here.]

For all the hype he heard up on the bulletin, Sync had to say he was somewhat disappointed with how dull these halls have been. Maybe these ‘monsters’ only attacked when there was less traffic around, but his guess was as good as anyone’s.

Regardless, even if he did keep to one side of the wall, the God-General was anything but impressed. He’d barely seen anyone, and the only person he did see was some guy limping around on crutches! How pathetic could they all possibly be?

He didn’t bother to hold back a snort, keeping straight until he disappeared around a corner.

[To here.]

[From here.]

Sync stifled a yawn as he entered one of the main hallways, already knowing where it led since he’d already spent a majority of his time around the Sun Room that day. He couldn’t help but find himself smirking smugly as fond memories sprouted from those thoughts, wiping at his cheeks as if Anise’s tears were still smeared all over his face.

With Anise, Guy and that bastard Fon Master lingering around, he had to wonder who else managed to get themselves in this mess. From the way the swordsman tried to threaten him, Sync could only assume that there were even more of their allies around. Yet, in the same light, it sounded as if he was the only God-General there as well.

No matter. He knew he was more than enough of a challenge for all of them.

[To here.]

The lights went out, and Edgeworth prepared for the excursion at hand. He put on his coat, slipped several fresh scalpels into his left pocket, and put the scalpels for Claude in the right pocket. He tucked his notebook and a pen into the left inner pocket of his coat and took the pillowcases off his bed, folding them neatly and putting them into the right inner pocket.

Edgeworth paused for just a moment, listening to the intercom announcement. What are you playing at, Landel? If I weren't on a mission tonight, I might explore, but the mission comes first. With that, he briefly scanned the first floor map - the layout was fast becoming familiar, but he wanted to be doubly sure of where he would be going.

He took the extra batteries from the desk drawer and put them into the pocket containing the scalpels, took his radio, and took the flashlight.

There. That should do it.

He stepped out into the hallway, keeping an eye out for the person he was supposed to be meeting.

[From here.]

The Colonel found it tempting to check on his Majesty before he continued on his way to Roy’s room, but with Guy having been roomed nearby he really saw no use in further tangling himself in trifling matters. Of course, that wasn’t to say that he was completely comfortable with the idea, but he had a strict schedule he needed to follow to keep a lasting impression.

But this also brought up the point of a head count. It was true that he’d been relatively lax with attendance, yet he knew that they were all due for a gathering – at least on the bulletin – any day now.

Jade sighed as he pressed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose before continuing along his way.

[To here.]

Renamon had been testing out the limits to her new body, flexibility, speed, stamina, when the intercom had sparked to life. The first one she ignored, like she had all the others. But when the second one came on...

She could see, maybe, Yukari's fear of the man. This was Landel, she had to remember. The man who might control the doors. And then when he mentioned the chapel, everything in her froze for the second time that day. She listened, and listened carefully, to the riddle that was meaningless to her, as surprise flowed through her. The place she had planned to start looking was now the end result of a game. She didn't like that others' would be headed there, but she reminded herself everyone was just trying to survive. Her dislike of crowds would have to disperse.

Still resolved, she stretched her arms one more time. She was more used to this body now, and had tested a few other limitations while trapped in her "room." She would find Toboe, and they would head to this chapel to find what was there to be found.

[going here]

Shion had slept the remainder of dinner, the effects of the tranquilization slowly wearing off as she slipped deeper into unconsciousness. Over all, being tranquilized was much more pleasant than having your nails ripped off as a punishment, the teenager decided as she awoke to find all the lights off in her room.

Ah, so this was night.

Turning her head, she was surprised to find something hard against her head, and she instantly reached underneath the pillow and grabbed at the item that had caught her attention – a flashlight. “Lucky!”

Moving to stand, Shion reached out and opened the door, staring out at the dark hallway for a second before remembering the comments the sniveling blonde had told her. Monsters wandered around at night, take caution.

Bah.

Shion’s head turned to the side quickly, eyes catching on the chair that just so happened to be on her side of the room.

It would work.

Moving quickly, the teenager grabbed at the chair with one hand, testing to see how heavy it was. Perhaps some dragging was in order, but for now … she could carry it. She was a strong girl, after all! Hadn't she been able to carry all of those disgusting corpses all on her own? That was right! She could!

Hoisting it up, Shion cautiously moved out the door and down the hallway, chair in one hand, flashlight in the other.

[ to here ]

[ from here ]

Shion continued to move down the hall, her eyes peering around at every corner she could see. Sadly, she was yet to see these so called “monsters”, but she knew that could always happen later, too.

Hm, first things first. She had to at least get out of the female block. Then she’d be able to figure out exactly where she was planning on going.

And so, Shion continued down the hallway, humming a song as she went.

[ to here ]

_{[from here]}

Once his roommate had scampered off, Aidou had been sure to change, desiring the touch of familiarity (even if he’d ditched some of his uniform so as not to blatantly scream "that unknown guy in white who bites people.") as always. He also had more pockets to keep things when wearing his uniform, which meant he could carry his journal and the radio without too much discomfort. And the other items he hoped to collect that night... considering how and why he hadn’t gotten around to them before.

Sighing softly, Aidou moved down the hall to the first male cell block. No, there was no time to be thinking about that.

The real annoyance came from having to carry a useless flashlight that was never on, but on the off chance that he did attract someone’s attention by accidentally stepping into an illuminated spot, the vampire wanted to cover his bases. People like Miku wondered at how well he traversed the pitch black.

_{[to here]}

_{[from here]}

Aidou stepped inside, closing the door behind. There was noise--the sounds of prisoners starting to collect themselves for the night--from the rooms around him, but nothing and no one in the immediate vicinity.

He really had to start designating a meeting place or something, because the vampire thought having to make the entire distance himself just to collect one measly ex-human was a waste of time. Enough time had been wasted already, which Aidou’s pride wasn’t going to let him forgive easily, and any means of quickening the pace would be appreciated.

Honestly, there was always the option of not bothering, letting Kyon grapple with his bloodlust on his own… The noble pursed his lips, repressed another sigh, and crossed into the hallway to M37. Unfortunately, he’d been raised better than that.

_{[to here]}

Clark got up as soon as he heard the click of the locks being released. Hiding his patient file under his pillow, he knew he'd have to open it up again another time and probably find out more stuff he wouldn't like. He was about to rush out when he suddenly remembered to grab an extra pair of batteries, palming them before he left the safety of the room. He might have a lot of different ways of seeing tacked on him, but night vision apparently wasn't one of them; he didn't want to be in the dark in a place like this if his flashlight went out.

Stepping outside, he could already hear the sounds of other patients doing the same and leaving their rooms, no doubt to try to find ways to escape or meet up with people.

Swallowing, Clark set out. There had to be a way to find out about the experiments here, some kind of paper trail. If he could find something about the Haitian, Claire's disappearance and (or) Kyon's condition, he figured he could call it a night well spent.

[Heading off to here]

[From here.]

He was close now.

Sync could hear footsteps from within the previous hall, signifying that there were at least a few people out and about. That meant it was a good thing he left as early as he did; he wasn’t in the mood to brush elbows with anyone else.

The God-General paid no more mind to what was behind him, instead focusing on what was ahead. Now that he was traversing in one the larger hallways he knew he had to keep his guard up since there was a greater chance of getting ambushed. Sync slowed his pace all up until he reached the doors that led to the Entry Room, giving one last glance behind him before testing the door.

Finding it unlocked, he slipped in without a sound.

[To here.]

[From here.]

The first thing the God-General noticed was the roughness that replaced the smooth tile beneath his feet, pressing the tip into the floor before sinking his sole into the carpet. The rest of his body followed soon after, fingertips pushing against the door until it slowly clicked shut. As calm as he may have appeared the outside his senses were on high alert, eying the room for any kind of movement.

His eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to see a majority of the obstacles that lined this new room. Sync stepped forward once, then twice, and then finally picked up his pace until he reached the set of doors that apparently led outside.

Sync knew well enough that the doors were locked, and these thoughts were only reinforced as he tried to open one to no avail.

Was it still nighshift? Orihime looked around the room - the one belonging to her and Tear - completely confused by what had just happened. One moment she was in Fai's room about to heal Keman and the next she was waking up here again in the middle of the night. It was worse than aliens. At least they tried to be consistent about abductions.

Worse than that, she hadn't been able to help Keman at all, and now it looked like she'd missed the chance to talk to him too. Orihime sat up and yawned widely despite herself. She felt sluggish and hungry but it was nigtshift and she had to do things now. She wasn't really that hungry anyway. She could eat a big breakfast in the morning and everything would be fine. Right now, she should probably look for...Keman or Fai or Ururu-chan or...someone.

She pawed around for her flashlight and flicked it on before ducking into the empty hallway.

[to here]

Nathan was somewhat thankful to hear the heavy sound of the doors unlocking and opening that night. Sure, no one in their right mind wouldn've wanted to wake up to live a nightmare, but in his mind it was at least better than falling into a coma-like state and unable to even open your eyes. He grabbed his flashlight and the radio that so many people seemed to think would help them on their nightly expeditions. A quick glance over in Cid's direction confirmed what Peter had said. Apparently this was his roommate's night sleep in.

Nathan didn't frankly have the time to waste trying to wake the other pilot and was out the door only a minute or so after the Head Doctor dived into his maniacal tyrade for the evening. They'd have to make good time tonight. There was a lot he needed to tell his brother, and apparently they were babysitting some other, poor sap to top it all off. Leaning against the wall with his arms folded in a brooding sort of way that he'd developed over the months, Nathan waited patiently for Peter.

[ In M1. ]

Returning to his room only to find that his roommate was still in a deep sleep (which didn't bode well for him, Roy morbidly thought), the colonel quickly ate his dinner and then took the chance to get some sleep, figuring he had at least a half hour or so until nightshift officially started.

The nap wasn't much, but every minute of sleep that he could get was worth it, considering there wasn't usually any space for it in his schedule. The static was what drew him out of his sleep, and he wasn't surprised when it didn't do the same for Knives. He wasn't sure how the institute knocked patients out so absolutely, unless they came in during the day to drug them.

He considered just getting the arrows made while he waited for Kadaj and Jade, but he realized that Jade might want to see the process again, and possibly ask questions about it.

So, for the moment he stayed where he was on the bed, thinking over what the head doctor had said about the chapel. He wondered if Axel and Roxas might choose to check that out instead, though he wouldn't mind if they followed the radio clues either.

[from here]

Angel stepped inside the bathroom, the sword held loosely in his hand. He let the door close on its own, but didn't quite shut it completely, scanning his darkened surroundings instead. A part of him found it vaguely odd that he was even in here. He hadn't been in a public bathroom in...well, ever. Going any place in public where there were mirrors around just wasn't a good idea in general, and there hadn't exactly been any need to, either.

Unless dismantling sinks was on the to-do list, apparently.

He'd been warned that there could be something in the mirrors, but giving them a quick glance now, he couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. Not yet, at least. And if he was lucky (who was he kidding?), they'd stay that way.

[from here]

The cool night breeze greeted Archer as he stepped outside. Breathing in the fresh air, Archer felt thankful that he remembered to wear his sweater; it was chilly tonight. He swept his flashlight across the open field, searching for enemies and the activities shed.

"Bingo," Archer said softly, spotting his goal in the distance. "Come on, let's go pick up some supplies."

He began slowly moving towards the shed, making sure his partner kept up with him. Well, that and to make sure Brook didn't run.

[from here]

They quickly reached the northwest corner, coming face to face with the maroon double doors. Unfortunately it was locked; fortunately, it wasn't exactly Fort Knox they were breaking into.

"Oh, look at this. They're trying to keep us out." Archer nonchalantly said, giving it a nice, strong kick. "That's no good."

The rusted lock, weathered by time and the elements, broke under the force of his kick, forcing the doors to violently swing inwards, banging against the walls. He gave the shed a cursory sweep with his flashlight.

"Looks clear," he said. Unable to resist the temptation, Archer continued, "After you?"

In all honesty, Tyki hadn't exactly expected what had happened during dinner. Though it was definitely strange to have woken up in his white side this morning, he hadn't given it too much thought beyond his initial surprise. It had probably something to do with his white side being a laid-back bum, but it simply hadn't come to mind just yet.

It happened after he had finished his dinner, when he was searching his room for something useful while the sun was about to set. The Noah within him had been dormant all day, as it usually was when he was in his human side. But something had changed all of a sudden, which was enough to make Tyki pause as he searched the closet. He knew what was going on, all too familiar with shifting from white to black, but there was only one little problem; he wasn't willing it himself. He could always shift through his white and black side whenever he liked, but now he had no control over it. At all. He couldn't stop it when white turned black, when his skin turned a darker color. It was beyond his own control...

And that didn't sit quite well with the Noah. If there was one thing he had to be careful about, it was losing control. Not being able to turn back. He didn't want to lose them, but...having both was fun.

But he quickly reassured himself. Hadn't he woken up here in his white side? Though he couldn't switch back now, there was reason enough to believe that it wasn't lost. It was too much of a coincidence, to shift to his black right after the sun had set. He didn't knew how, or why, but what if it was related to day and night?

At the very least, having his black side would make his stay a bit more interesting.

He removed his glasses, leaving them on his desk. There was no need for these now. Too lazy to do anything about his hair, he grabbed his flashlight and moved into the dark hallway. He had seen the area on his way to his room, and logic told him the row of doors held more rooms. Not really interested, he moved along.

On to some cigarettes first. He needed a smoke, already!

[To here]

It was fairly obvious that Ken thought it was a bad idea for him to go off by himself, but Yue remained determined to stick to his plans for the evening. He did at least take along the bat his roommate had given him, reluctantly giving in to the possibility that it might actually be needed. It was mildly annoying to have to deal with that and the flashlight, he noted, but darkness had never seemed quite so dark to him before, and he'd found he needed the light source.

The moon guardian glanced down the hallway, noting that it seemed empty so far, then started on his way. He wanted to be gone before anyone tried to give him any more reasons why what he was doing was a bad idea.

[To here]

[From here]

Tyki stepped into the hallway outside of the patient block, sweeping the beam of his flashlight around. As far as he could see, the hallway was completely empty. Not that the Noah minded; he was busy right now and any distractions would be way too bothersome.

After a moment of debating which direction to take, he opted for taking the nearest door; the one he knew that would lead to the next hallway thanks to his experience during the day.

[To here]

Scar wasn't entirely fond of having to go out by himself again, but unless he wished to spend the entire night in his room, he did not have much of a choice. He would have to test his luck again on finding someone suitable enough for life bait company. Hopefully they would be more useful than the idiots he had run into the last few nights. Good help was so hard to find.

After the lights had gone out and the doors had unlocked, the King reached for his light stick and his steel pipe and moved out.

[To here]

Kenren was already getting ready when he heard the doors open. He chuckled softly at the ominous words from the Head Doctor, finding them more amusing than threatening now. In terms of causing fear, he wasn't exactly up there with Gyumaoh or the other demon kings. Admittedly, he had succeeded in trapping various gods and such in this place, and there were certain things that Kenren would enjoy taking out of his hide when the time came, but he was more entertained than anything else. Shame that he was in the minority.

He grabbed the katana out from beneath the bed and slipped the vegetable peeler into his pocket too, just for good measure. After a moment he remembered to pick up the radio too. If they were following clues, it made sense to have more than one in the group, just in case something untoward happened. He turned back to his roommate, giving him a reassuring smile. "Good luck tonight, especially with your friend. I hope everything goes okay with him." He felt kind of bad for the guy if he was so scared, being in a place like this. With that, he stepped out into the corridor, heading towards Adelheid's room.


[To here]