The intercom's jingle came on as usual, though the Head Doctor seemed rushed as he made his last announcement of the day.

"I hope all of you enjoyed your meal, and I'm sorry to say that my announcement tonight must be cut short in the interest of paperwork. Dearie me, whenever did it become so hard to be an administrator, eh? Haha... ha..."

The Head Doctor seemed to realize his own joke had fallen short and cleared his throat.

"In any case, I'm glad you all were able to enjoy this special day with your loved ones or at least with your newfound friends. Goodnight, everyone, and I hope to speak to you tomorrow!"

The intercom clicked off.

The intercom crackled into a low whine and then hummed, though the The Head Doctor himself wasn't saying much. He seemed distracted as he rummaged through a stack of papers or something else faint and crinkly-sounding

"You know, I wasn't lying about all this goddamn paperwork," he muttered into the microphone, sounding a little more sincere than usual (but just as despicable). "They're a doozy, really – acquiring all these new patients... new subjects..."

He paused, seeming to pay more attention to his own words. He gave what seemed to be a genuinely regretful sigh.

"I wasn't even able to prepare a new playground for those of you who rightfully earned it! Shame on me, really... I was looking forward to seeing how you fared in the deeper depths of the Institute... But I suppose they'll be plenty of nights after this, yes? Yes..."

He trailed off and the rummaging of papers continued. Slowly, the intercom crackled into silence, as if detecting that the Head Doctor was, for once, preoccupied.

[ If you're introducing your new character during the night, you may do so whenever you wish; please have them wake up in a random, unoccupied room consistent with their gender (compare this to this) and make your character's introduction post in response to the appropriate hallway post (you can find it here). However, when you do post, please reply to this intercom post with a link to the introduction for organization's sake. Thanks and continued apologies to those of you who are waiting a long time for a response to your app!

Also, sorry to those of you who got clearance from Landel to get through the extra-special doors – I don't have the maps ready yet, so failure in that deparment as well. D:]

A void, no sounds, no light, the air chilled and closed in around him...

No air.... no air---

Sanzo's eyes flew open (he couldn't fucking see) with a gasp, right before his lungs desperately tried to suck in oxygen.

It was too much, too soon. The ice-cold air dragged like knives down his throat and he started to choke, coughing raggedly even as he struggled to breathe. The monk's chest was heaving from the effort it took to draw in air, fingers digging into his palms. For several minutes, all he could do was try to suck in desperate breaths, and not pass out again. Convulsion after convulsion wracked his body, before finally slowing.

"Shit....." it sounded weak, hoarse. He tried to swallow, something to push down the irritation in his throat. It didn't work. Another explosive coughing fit. At this rate, he'd be surprised if he didn't just hack his lungs right out.

Reflexively, Sanzo rolled onto his side, started to curl into a ball to try and stop the choking--

---Only to have his head abruptly bang into something hard.

The priest froze, the next gasp dying down into a wheeze. What the hell...?

( Read more... )


[to here]

[from here]

Sanzo didn't move where he'd landed, all his attention focused on not getting sick. He hadn't fallen very far, but the landing had aggravated the wounds from the lightsaber, sending jagged spikes of agony through his body and right into his fucking brain. It felt like he'd been electrocuted all over again.

The monk couldn't do anything but lay against the tile floor, panting.

After awhile, he finally moved, slowly curling up against the wall he'd apparently fallen out of. Sanzo let his head fall back, to rest against the metal. The monk couldn't suppress the shiver that went through him. He could barely see it, but his breath was coming out in faint clouds. It was actually somehow colder out here. His skin was prickling from it.

At that realization, Sanzo looked down involuntarily. It was a stupid move, considering he couldn't see shit. He touched his chest, hip, a shoulder, a knee. His fingers were coming against healed gashes, old scars, and new ones. Nothing but bare skin.

He was naked. His clothes were gone. And the sutra....

( Read more... )

(M6)

And now it was nighttime.

Hughes had ignored dinner, for the most part, only bothering to make sure he put aside the juice. He reclined on his bed, lost in thought, and trying to make sure he got all the sort of thinking that would distract him later out of the way.

It had been a long as hell day. And it wasn't over, not by a long shot. How many people were supposed to come by tonight? He'd lost track. He had a list to give to Ed, and it looked like a dozen plans to make, and tomorrow would bring more of the same.

And somewhere in there, he needed to find time to properly grieve.

Now wasn't the time, though. He got up once the intercom started its nightly tortures on the ears and ran a hand through his hair. Soldier's work was never done and all that. And while he knew damn well how to lead...

This was supposed to be Roy. He was the help, the behind the scenes, the support. That was how it had always been. This...this wasn't right. If anyone should have been taken or killed or whatever it was the institute did, it should have been him.

Well, he'd just do what he could.

Falis was ready to go as soon as the doors unlocked. Spear tied across her back with a torn sheet for easy removal, three stakes hanging from the braided bandoleer about her waist and sword in hand, the bounty hunter's armory was back to where it had been before she'd fought the demons. The stakes were spaced out far enough that they wouldn't clack together as Falis slipped quickly down the hallway without a word to Senna.

The princess was on a job, her actions set, and she was focused now. She didn't even give Hokuto's door more than a brief glance as she passed by. Down the hallway before anyone else seemed to exit the doors, her eyes fixed on F29 as she passed. She only needed to wait for Yukari to leave and then she'd double check the girl's room for any references to 'Danielle.' She had a few suspicions concerning 'Danielle' but she wasn't going to say anything until she was certain. The girl being gone was a good thing, but it was also could be a bad thing. She'd have to see.

Passing by the end of the hallway, Falis entered the connecting one and slipped around the corner just past F30. Using the wall as cover, she knelt down and pressed her body against the wall, sword flat on the ground and ceased her movement.

The hunter was still except for her controlled breathing, undetectable by those leaving the hallway. Her light was turned off as she waited. Yukari had to leave at some point. The hunter would wait.

Sheena kind of felt bad leaving Elena with her obviously upset, but she guessed there were friends coming for her and they were definitely more equipped than the strange ninja that happened to be her roommate for handling these things. So, fresh cards in hand, with less ink stains on her hands than before, the ninja set out.

Let's see... Pick Raine up, get to the Clinic, hope Ritsuka would ask for the escort to Soubi's room... train Forte. She was worried about Forte given that post on the board, but she'd deal with things as they came.

[to here]

[outside F33 to be specific]

Beatrix, with sword across back and chef knife in her makeshift oven mitt sheathe that rests on her hip, stepped into the hallway after warning Maki that one of her wards was coming to the room. She'd attempt to give the other woman and her 'date' some space when she could, but she had no plans on discussing Rena's disappearance with Hanyuu out in the hallway. She was only out there to keep an eye out for the small girl. She didn't expect there to be trouble in the F-Block hallways, but one never knew.

The doors opened with a click, and Renamon didn't waste any time. She'd stop by that person's room from the Bulletin, and see if they had anything useful to say, and then she'd be off on her errands. Her spade and clay shard were in her waistband, staff and flashlight on hand. She would get something accomplished tonight.

She had to get something accomplished. Rika was waiting for her.

[to here]

[from here]

She didn't pause, only noting that the halls were empty for once. It seemed that she was one of the first out. It didn't matter in the long run. She was focused on her tasks; nothing else registered.

[to here]

[from here]

Another moment, another mandatory sweep of the light, and then she continued. The lack of knowing when the night would end ate at her.

[to here]

[M39]

Dinner finished, Zelnick grabbed his flashlight and settled down with his journal and a pen, fully intending to catch up on taking down notes-- and finding himself too distracted to do more than scribble out vague doodles in the margins, occasionally jotting down a word or two before becoming distracted again.

Well, supposedly, allies would come by and distract him. And until then, it wouldn't hurt to try and sketch out Talana's smile from memory, the way her eyes should flash, the curl of her hair...

((Specifically M22))

Pain. Adelheid suddenly felt a stab of agony radiating from his right eye, where that ghostly woman had brushed up against him. He could feel the lines of the tattoo starting to spread across his skin, the pain extending until he nearly couldn't think straight.

And he had things to do, people to meet and weapons to make. Adelheid gritted his teeth and swore he would make it through. It was just pain, right? Just pain... he could endure that. He had to endure it.

Third time was the charm, as they said. Ken was not about let the old axiom fall by the wayside if he could help it. Alita may have sounded reasonable regarding his end of the bargain, but the child hated leaving things undone, especially after multiple tries and the addition of another request. Come Hell or high water, he had to retrieve his payment tonight. His ego depended on it.

A quick inventory check later, Ken flew out the door and down the hallway, the spear hovering menacingly over his shoulder.

[To here.]

[From here.]

The corridors were silent aside from atmospheric noise and the occasional wisp of activity a far off. Ken continued on, finding no reason to linger.

[To here.]

[from here]

There was no one in the hallway at all when Toboe turned the corner, slowing from his run for a brief moment to look around. No, there really was no one there...they probably were still getting ready for the night.

He walked toward the next hallway down, peeking to see the number at the end of the hallway. That was 20, he thought...It would be one more down then, wouldn't it? This reading thing wasn't that hard...

"Well, here goes..." He took off down the second hallway.

[to here]

Nightshift tended to prove just as lackluster as Dinner. At least Tyche was there to give the Gambler company for the previous shift (and she received most of his steak. Enjoy it as he may, he just never felt right about eating it). Without a roommate, there was little to complain about, so he simply watched as the kitten tunneled herself under his blankets and mocked the Head Doctor as he spoke.

He almost wished Mr. Radio would revive himself like the savior everyone else thought he was and get back into Landel's bed so the imbecile would shut up. Really, and Sora complained about his habitual monologues. Though Luxord supposed he would go off just as much if someone handed him a microphone and told him to taunt an entire building. Perhaps that was the issue with Xemnas? He'd have to remember that.

As for the night... yes, he did promise the night to Lust, did he not? It was unfortunate that he had absolutely no idea what her room number was. He'd just have to venture out and hope Luck was on his side once more.

[Went wandering over here]

Sanosuke had spent the last two shifts doing two very important things. One was recovering, because damn it, Ninja Girl didn't hold back when she decided to kick him in the groin, and the girl could kick fucking hard. The second was to actually eat something, because even the nausea and the pain eventually passed, and Sano couldn't remember the last time he'd had steak. It wasn't seasoned right--at least not like he was used to. But it wasn't a Kaoru specially butchered steak either, and it tasted pretty good.

By the time night shift came, Sano was actually able to move again, and he had one goal in mind: find Ninja Girl before she did something really stupid. Also, smack her on the head. Hard. Because Sanosuke wasn't the kind of guy to dish out low blows (though he had been tempted for awhile, screw the fact that Ninja Girl was a woman and he'd felt the boobs that proved it), but he wasn't the kind of guy to just let something like that go either. Trying to get his light stick to work made it two goals, however, since the thing wouldn't come on. He remembered something Kenshin had said about the little cylinder things, which he found after a few minutes spent feeling around his drawers. He pocketed those, took the defective light stick, and headed out the door at a fast pace--as fast as he could manage given his injury, anyway.

No way in hell he was going to let Yuffie wander too far alone in the state she was in. No way.

[To here]

[From here.]

For once, this hall was devoid of traffic, though people were beginning to appear in the adjacent areas. Ken simply looked on and ran, seeing little point in staying in one place.

[To here.]

"But I suppose they'll be plenty of nights after this, yes? Yes..."

There was a loud crackle of static, and then silence.

Akihiko sat upright in bed, awakened by what he had thought was just a tree branch hitting his window, but wasn't. There weren't any windows in the room he was currently in, and that meant it couldn't possibly be his own.

"...where the hell am I?"

No one answered. It was too dark to see much of anything, and the silence in the room was more than a bit unnerving. The fact that this couldn't be the work of a Shadow, unless they were breaking their pattern of only appearing on full moons, only added to that feeling. It wasn't that he was scared - concerned, yes, on edge, yes, but not scared - it was that he was honestly perplexed. This couldn't be Strega's doing, either. They wouldn't try kidnapping any of SEES' members a second time, not after the first time had led to them losing one of their own. They also weren't stupid; they wouldn't come anywhere near the dormitory, not after what had happened the night before last. They knew better than to do that.

There was only one thing to do, and that was to figure out what had happened. Akihiko threw off the covers, bracing one hand against the pillow and swinging his legs off the side of the bed - and that was when he realized that not only was the setting unfamiliar, the clothes he was wearing were unfamiliar. That didn't matter, though; as long as they didn't hinder his ability to fight if he needed to, and they wouldn't, that was fine. There was something else that struck him - the hard object underneath the pillow. A...flashlight? Why would there be a flashlight under his pillow? It certainly couldn't hurt to take it with him, he thought, then paused. If this was the Dark Hour, it wouldn't work, but more importantly, it would keep him from fighting effectively. He decided to leave it there, thinking that if he needed it, he could always come back for it.

He nodded. This was just like any other challenge, and he hadn't met one yet that he didn't think he could face. If anything, he was more resolved to face them head-on now. It's what you would want me to do, isn't that right, Miki and Shinji?

With that, he stood and walked to the door, turning the handle. There didn't seem to be anyone outside when he stepped out. He took a few steps forward, looking in both directions. The end of the hallway wasn't too far away, it seemed. He nodded to himself and then walked in that direction.

[to here]

It was a calm, collected ninja that stepped out of his room after the doors had opened, clan in the usual odd black attire. Perhaps a bit too calm. He spared his roommate merely a nod of farewell before leaving. He had both trowels on hand, though he doubted he'd have much need of them tonight.

He strode purposefully down the hallway, intent on getting to where he needed to be as quickly as possible, with a short stop at Usopp's along the way. This was easy enough to achieve since he and Mello were in the same block.

[to here]

[from here]

The second hallway was at least better lit than the first, due to the light from some others' flashlights. So it's not the Dark Hour. That still didn't provide much of an explanation as to where he had awakened, though.

He didn't recognize any of the passing silhouettes...until he caught sight of one that looked awfully familiar. Short person, with a spear. Akihiko was about to call out to ask whether it was Ken, but the door at the end of the hallway opened a moment later, and the figure stepped out and was gone before he could ask.

He turned and walked the length of the hallway, peering down each of the connected hallways. Most of them appeared identical to the one he had come from. That was a little reassuring, because it meant that this likely wasn't a labyrinth like Tartarus was.

With that, he walked over to the door, opening it and heading out.

[to here]

Tempting as it was to just lay down and sleep the night away, pretend that it really was a hospital, that th door was locked and outside were just night-staff checking to make sure that patients were safe during the darkness hours, he couldn't quite bring himself to give up to such an extent, not yet. So once he heard the Head Doctor's announcement, he forced himself to get up and pull his things out from beneath the mattress.

He frowned for a moment, before pulling out his journal and scribbling a note to Ken in it.

In M43, don't worry.

Yohji

Because like hell was he going to give Ken a chance to think the worse. Yohji was much better at taking care of others than he was at taking care of himself.

He nodded to Leon and grabbed the plate with the slice of tonight's dessert on it, before slipping out into the corridor. Schuldig's room was just a few rooms down, thankfully, and he paused outside it, knocking lightly on the door, well aware that he would have a roommate too, and not certain what to expect. He'd seen the telepath out on the field today, looking just as broken as Yohji felt.

"Schuldig?"

[From here.]

He was quick to approach the hallway leading into the Sun Room and consequently, his first obstacle of the night. With an intake of breath, Ken slowed his pace to a walk, his eyes focused on the space between the double doors. Nothing.

That, however, could change once he ventured inside. It happened the same time yesterday; it was bound to happen tonight. Whatever occurred, he would have to follow through with the plan he'd concocted during dinner: run. If not run, fight until escape was possible. That should hopefully get the boy to where he needed to be.

After a close inspection of the entrance, Ken brought his spear into his hands and walked in.

[To here.]

[From here.]

The Sun Room appeared no different from the time Ken entered in last night. What he could make of the floor seemed perfectly intact while sounds inside were nothing of consequence. Nothing mangled, nothing broken, at least as far as the boy could sense.

Still, the chance for change remained, a fact the child wasn't willing to risk. On instinct, he broke out into a run (rather difficult with a long weapon), hoping to reach the cafeteria before anything in the room noticed his presence. It shouldn't be impossible; after all, the walk across the Sun Room was supposed to be short.

Right?

[To here.]

Matt wasn't sure how prepared he was going to be able to get himself to do whatever training he was going to be doing tonight. Kenshin was still a bit injured, so it wasn't like he could go all out on him. Then again, he wouldn't need too. And how easy would his lessons start out, anyway? What was the basic of the basic, or would they skip past that?

He tried not to think on it too hard. Either he got his ass handed to him or he didn't. The goal was to learn something. He could consider it raising his stats to level up. Gaining experience. Just with more pain and less unlocking of higher level magical items.

[to here]

[from here]

Even though Archer didn't really feel energetic tonight, he might as well make this quick. There was no sense in wasting the nightshift's time.

The cool breeze of the night greeted him as he stepped outside. For now, he needed some melee weapons. Having his bow was nice, but he didn't want to get caught without a propper weapon if it came to short ranged combat.

[to here]

[from here]

The lock wasn't really a problem. A few good kicks did the job. As Archer stepped inside, he used his flashlight to look around, since he didn't want anything getting the drop on him.

Picking up a pair of aluminum bats he took a few swings to test them out. They were fine. He reached into his soul, calling upon that familiar trickle of mana, sending it down his magic circuits and into his bat. The image of a sword formed in his mind as the bat glowed brightly for a few moments before dying down. In its place was a brand new sword.

Satisfied, Archer left the shed behind.

[to here]

[from here]

Maybe tonight would be a good time to drop off his metal to Skuld, but just to make sure, he'd take a few more fixtures and pipes. Moving over to the sink, he got to work on removing the metal. It took awhile, but when Archer thought of the reward, it was all worth it.

[to here]

[from here]

Javert barely gave his surroundings a cursory glance as the door swung shut behind him. The beam of his flashlight clearly illuminated the sinks in front of him - as well as the pipes underneath them.

He wasted no time. Propping up the flashlight so it gave him a clear view of the sink nearest the door, he crouched beside the pipes leading to it and began to strike at them with his bat.

After a pretty uneventful dinner Tyki gratefully inhaled from his cigarette. Oh, how he had missed his nicotine, and it'd be a cold day in hell if he'd ever have to go without them again. The Noah took a moment to enjoy his smoke properly before finally stepping out into the still-deserted hallway.

Landels was another distance away from a smoke-free nut house.

Now that he had everything he had been looking for, Tyki found himself wondering what to do for tonight. He could track down that Shinigami person, but the odds of randomly running into this 'Hinamori Momo' were pretty slim. Searching the building for someone who he wouldn't even recognize wasn't the way he liked doing things, anyway. He'd have to find something else to do for tonight.

He guessed he'd think of something entertaining along the way.

[To here]

Allelujah quickly gathered up his things once he heard the intercom announcement, wanting to get going quickly. Homura was a busy person, it seemed, and he didn't want to hold him up for something so unimportant, not when he probably had things to be doing for the History Club. He picked up the little bag that held the smoke bombs, as well as a couple of scalpels and pipettes and his torch, as well as the flasks of acid. The flashlight he tied around his waist. he could remember the corridors around the dormitory blocks well enough by now to not need the light.

He smiled at Fai and gave a little wave to him. "Be careful," he said again, hoping that his roommate would be alright. Or as alright as it was possible to be in such a terrible place. With that, he slipped out into the darkness of the corridor.


[To here]

[From here]

With the smoke in his mouth, Tyki almost casually walked from one deserted hallway into the next. Or at least, as casually as he could when the wounds he still had objected to his movements. Going out with plenty of injuries probably wasn't the best idea, but there was something about staying in his room two nights in a row.

Not having a reason to stick around, he moved into the next hallway.

[To here]

[From here]

There were times where Tyki thought some buildings just looked too dull. Landels, with its amount of hallways, definitely fell into that category. It was more than cruel to let someone walk through a boring set of hallways before finally arriving somewhere interesting.

With a bored sigh the Noah entered the next one, a brief look around proving that the area was just as empty as the ones he had just passed. There wasn't much else to do but simply moving on, which was exactly what he did.

[To here]

[From here]

In the incredibly boring and uneventful hallway that followed, Tyki paused. He guessed he was pretty early, considering there was a huge lack of anyone around. No monsters or not even other patients. The thing there wasn't a lack of, though, were directions to head in to. And that was pretty much the question that kept the Noah occupied right now;

Where to?

[For Peter Petrelli!]

[From here.]

Ken heaved a sigh of relief as he opened the door into the cafeteria, despite knowing full well he had two more rooms to cross until the pantries. It was nice having to worry over one less danger zone, at least.

Now, where was the entrance to the kitchen? Ken pouted thoughtfully in the darkness, attempting to recall the several details he'd sorted out over dinner. The map had indicated the door was somewhere on the left side at the edge of the room, directly across from where the cafeteria staff usually served the main course. If his memory proved correct, that meant all he had to do was walk past the tables and then circle around the food counter.

Sounded easy enough, he supposed.

A quick visual sweep revealed nothing suspicious--only empty chairs and counters. Something about the place, however, seemed a little off to Ken, almost as if he hadn't expected the cafeteria to be so vacant. Then again, he'd only set eyes on the place when it was packed full of people. Maybe the contrast was just getting to him.