The intercom's usual jingle played through the empty hallways and the full patient blocks. The Head Doctor's voice seemed as jovial as ever; hopefully, he wouldn't end up in a stupor like the night before.

"Good evening, everyone, and I hope you enjoyed that hearty dinner and delicious dessert! Now, nurses, if you could kindly collect patients for our nighttime treatments? As for the rest of you, sleep tight and please don't let the bed bugs bite!"

The intercom's broadcast faded with the Head Doctor's cheerful laughter...

...And the intercom faded back in with cackling of a more malicious nature.

"Ohhhh, I haven't felt this alive in years. Literal years, I'm telling you! It's extraordinary what the demise of one's greatest enemy will do to a man, isn't it, Nurse Lydia?"

An incoherent, guttural noise came from some other corner of the room. The Head Doctor let out another laugh.

"Quite right, quite right. Unfortunately..." the Head Doctor let out a sigh and tapped on something, as if he was operating a computer or a console, "it would seem that we're not rid of nuisances just yet. We're detecting a broadcast on our specifically hackable radio channel, but no matter. A signal gives us something to trace, doesn't it? And what's the code on this? P.A.I.L. FM?"

The Head Doctor paused, then gave one last chuckle.

"Well, Ms. Radio, well. I suppose we'll see if you fare any better than your predecessor..."

The intercom was overtaken by the crackle of static. Then, nothing.

It took quite some time for Anise to figure out how to open the flashlight and replace the batteries within, but eventually she had the device working again. Once that was done, she began to prepare for the night. When she opened the closet and looked around, she found just what she was looking for: shoes. There were boots too, which was kind of tempting, but she supposed the running shoes would be better for running and jumping in.

After tying those on, the girl took a pillowcase from her bed, rolled it into a tiny ball, and then crammed it into the small sack on Tokunaga's back. If that town outside of the institute turned out to have anything useful or valuable in it, she'd have a sack she could use. If it really was just a pile of ruins, then chances were that everything was free to take!

It was at that time that the nighttime announcements came on, opening with a creepy laugh from the Head Doctor. And... was he talking about Jill? It had been so long since Anise had heard anything about that woman, so that was unexpected. For a moment, the girl considered bringing a radio with her tonight, but remembering how much trouble its clues had caused her before, she decided against it.

Forget the radio. Exploring was more important. As soon as the doors unlocked, Anise stepped outside her room, but immediately paused just outside the door. That broadcast had been pretty distracting; she didn't forget anything, did she? She had her meat tenderizer in one hand, flashlight in the other, and Tokunaga on her back...

[From M59]

Dinner hadn't been Italy's cooking, but Prussia finished it anyway; food was food, and if he succeeded in breaking out of here, it might be a while before he had another chance at a meal.

When an announcement mentioning "patients" was broadcast, it had merely confirmed his suspicions that he'd been placed in a hospital overnight—or perhaps, during the day; from the sound of things, it was already night again. That suited him; the door may have been locked, but his attempts to force it open hadn't brought in any guards, so it seemed that he was alone. He wondered what the control council was trying to accomplish by putting him here; they'd hardly been concerned about his health before (were they trying to make up for what they'd done to him?), and relaxing their guard on him was foolish.

After the announcement, Prussia had started searching for anything that he could use to get out, but the only particularly useful things he'd found were a handheld light, a key, and a pair of boots. It was while he was putting on the boots—who knew what terrain would be like once he got out?—that another announcement was made, of a different nature than the first. The man on the broadcast seemed to be going on about a radio.

Far more interesting than the announcement, however, was the fact that when Prussia tried the door again—out of hope more than any real belief that it would be miraculously unlocked this time—the knob turned.

There wasn't a moment to waste.

The hall was empty. No guards, no England or America just waiting for him to slip up so they would feel more justified in crushing him, no one. Prussia felt somewhat insulted that they were so overconfident as to think their law and a locked door alone would be enough to render him useless.

There was a long row of doors ending in what looked to be a dead end to his left when he exited his room, but there was another hallway to the right. That was the way he'd go.

[To here]

[From here]

There were more halls branching off from this one, and a peek down one of them confirmed they were identical to the hallway his room had been on. There would be no use in going down any of them, unless he needed to find someone else.

He wondered briefly if they'd moved West here, too, but there were far too many rooms to check if he was going to get out of here unnoticed. West hadn't been up for execution at their hands like he was, anyway, so his brother would be alright.

There was still no sign of anyone else, but Prussia didn't want to risk using the torch to confirm in case it alerted a guard or doctor or anyone to his escape. He could make out a door at the end of the hallway, and he headed for it. It was unlocked, and he continued onward.

[To here]

[From here]

The hallway led into yet another hall, but this time there was little to recommend one direction or another. It stretched on to both the left and the right, and without the use of the torch, he wasn't sure which way to try.

Prussia hesitated for a moment, but then turned left. If it proved to be a dead end, he would just have to turn around and try the other direction. He found a door at the end of the hall and upon opening it, he was rewarded by the feel of cool night air. Perfect. Once he was outside, he would be that much closer to getting away and orienting himself properly. He headed through the door.

[To here]

[From here]

There were no lighted guard towers out here and no heavily-armed patrols, and Prussia again felt insulted by the lack of security. It was almost as if they wanted him to escape! Until now, hardly a day had gone by without the control council making its presence—and his position—known. The sudden change in tune disturbed him more than he cared to admit, and he couldn't help but wonder if he were walking straight into some kind of trap. But they'd already taken everything away from him— the feel of land beneath his feet was good, but it would have been better if it had been his land and felt in his very bones—so what else could they possibly do? He refused to die, and he'd refuse to let them kill him, no matter what they tried next.

Prussia finally decided to use the torch, clicking it on to survey the area. It was a field of some sort (for football, perhaps), with a shed at one corner and a wall surrounding its entirety. He took a few steps forward along the nearest wall before turning towards it and starting to scale it.

Once he was high enough to see over, Prussia propped himself up with his arms and shone the torch into the next area. It didn't look like a way away from the hospital's grounds—it was just a walled courtyard and more of the hospital—so he carefully dropped back to the ground.

He'd have to try his luck with the other two walls, and their corner seemed like the best option. He started across the field, heading in the direction of the shed.

The moment the lights went out, Kairi was filled with that chill of fear, followed by a familiar rush of adrenaline. It felt like years since she had wandered out into the night, and she was ready. They had a job to do, and they would do it!

... Whatever the plan was. She was sure Sora would tell them.

Reaching under her pillow, she quickly grabbed onto her flashlight, clicking it on and off a few times before leaving it on so she could once again retrieve the sword from under her mattress. With that in hand, she knew that she was ready to go. She ad to go and meet Sora and Riku by the stairs, and she figured she'd rather be the first one there instead of the last.

With a smile and a quick wave to Yuna, Kairi was out the door and wandering down the familiar darkened hallways, determination fueling her every step.

( to here. )

( from here. )

One thing Kairi couldn't help but admit was that her room now was a lot closer to the door than her old one was. It was practically a hop, skip, and a jump away! Not bad at all.

... Not that she was lazy or anything. She wasn't the lazy one of the group. Certainly not.

Either way, Kairi continued down the hallway and out the door with ease, careful to watch her step.

( to here. )

( from here. )

So far, so good. Kairi tried to move as quietly as she could, not wanting to attract any kind of baddies that could be lurking in the shadows. ... And lest she forget actually crazy patients. Then again, she doubted she'd ever forget that incident.

Oh well, she was almost there. No time to think about past injuries.

( to here. )

( from here. )

There was the stairwell. Kairi couldn't help but smile to herself as she rounded the corner and spotted the familiar hallway, still shrouded in darkness like she remembered it. She could see down the hallway and slightly into the Sun Room from where she was standing, and she lowered her flashlight, not wanting whatever it was that was lurking inside it that night to spot her.

At the thought of that, she looked down at the sword that she held in her hand, feeling ready to take on whatever it was that they were going to do tonight. Though, she had a feeling that even with her own weapon, the two boys wouldn't exactly let her help out all that much. Still, she'd try. The sword she had was real and with her at all times, not like a keyblade that would appear seconds before being attacked.

And to think, back when they used to play on the island with wooden swords, they had never given her one. Well, now she had a real sword, so hah!

It was, thought Agatha, about time this Landel guy started acting like a real evil megalomaniacal mad scientist. All the sugary-sweet fakery had been getting on her nerves, but this persona was something she knew all about. Right down, in fact, to the inclusion of information helpful to his enemies.

She'd been spending most of the time since finishing dinner assembling the pitifully few useful-looking items their room contained. She hadn't originally meant to include the little radio in that, since no matter what settings she tried it had only produced rather forgettable music and she didn't have the time or the tools to reduce it to usable parts.

Now, though, she snatched it up and slid it over to the channel that had been mentioned. It might not be much help, but she didn't see how it could hurt, either. "I think I'm all set," she declared. "Ema?"

Shinji once again lingered on the threshold of his room, debating on whether he truly wanted to step out into the dark, uninviting hallways. The sense of claustrophobia, of being watched, of being enclosed were already starting to creep up on him. He rubbed at his arms, swallowing softly. He paused to pick up his flashlight, rolling it back and forth between his two hands before he finally stepped out.

Again, he felt hideously vulnerable. He wanted to find Kaworu and Asuka though. He wanted to make sure they were alright. The guilt and fear of letting them down overrode his own instincts to curl up and hide somewhere, to simply duck and cover until it was all over. If they left or rejected him, who would he have? Who could he turn to?

Nobody. He would be alone again. He didn't want that. He didn't think he could stand that, as much pain as there was involved with becoming close to others.

He pressed on into the darkness.

_{[Moving to here.]}

As he made the changeover from mild-mannered mental patient to impeccably-hatted archaeologist, Indy was compelled to admit to himself that he wasn't sorry Ryuuzaki and Lunge were coming along for the ride that night. As little as he trusted those two, his methods hadn't been having a lot of success, and a couple of inspectors who'd be more likely to approach the place as a crime scene than a site of potential historical significance might at least shed some light on things from a different perspective. If nothing else, the three of them might be able to make a call on whether the whole thing was a waste of time. Indy enjoyed working in (or maybe it was just puttering around) the ruins, but not as much as he'd enjoy getting out of here and back to his real work.

Once dressed, he picked up the usual set of effects (dog leash/whip coiled over the right shoulder, scalpel and gardening gloves in one jacket pocket and map, journal and pen in the other; flashlight. Nothing he'd seen out there so far convinced him that he'd need the pipe). Tonight he decided to carry the little radio with his free hand--Landel's announcement made it sound like it might actually be good for something for once, and there was always the chance that it could pick up some different stations (news, maybe) some distance away from the compound. If nothing else, he could bash it against the killer plant.

That was everything. Indy headed out.

[to here]

[from here]

The hallway they were meeting in was the same one he'd run into Dent in last night; from there, it was a straight shot over the back wall. Indy wondered idly as he walked whether that route was faster than going out the front door. It was hard to tell, given how much the lengths of the nights varied. What it did do was exchange the potential dangers of the entry room with the potential dangers of the rec field. Indy wasn't sure which of the two was the lesser evil.

This hall was empty, though, and he passed through without incident.

[ahead to here]

McCoy listened to that crackling intercom with some concern. A "Mr. Radio?", "P.A.I.L.?" Coupled along with the smugness and that cackling, he had to say it sounded like this head Doctor had gone off the deep end himself long ago. Somehow it made sense. Only a mad man could conjure up all this.

Well, he was as ready as he was ever going to get. McCoy took one last second to check things over. He was armed with a flashlight, that primitive radio, a bulky winter coat unearthed from that closet and the pillow case stripped off his bed. He tucked the last two both under an arm, feeling more like he was seven again and about to go trick-or-treating than something a lot more serious. It was the pillowcase. It was fit for Halloween, not carrying around medical supplies in them. It was risky, possibly carrying around delicate liquids and tools like that, and something he'd never thought about considering until now. But there weren't too many (or any) alternatives at the moment.

It'll be blood-letting and leeches next, McCoy silently grumbled as he started down the hall. Things could only get worse.

He didn't remember seeing any orders, but Mr. Spock had mentioned his room number earlier. He could report to him, maybe bring up his concerns about the rec field incident in the meantime.

[to here]

_{[From here.]}

Shinji emerged into another familiar hallway. At the same time, everything was off. He'd learned this his first night, but it seemed to get worse each time. He hated this feeling, but he had to press on. He couldn't run away. He couldn't hide. He didn't have any other choice. He paused for a brief moment to steel himself and then moved on. He had to keep moving. He had to keep going. He moved on.

_{[To here.]}

HK grabbed his weapons and left as soon as the door unlocked, wrenching it open with an uncommonly forceful motion and storming out. He had to go find Lugnut. This much was clear. He had to make sure the big, third-class intellect didn't get himself shot or starve, because he was the only droid left. Even if it came down to a maker-damned tug-of-war with the meatbags here to hold on to the Decepticon, he would.

[to here]

[From here]

HK slowed down from the run he'd maintained all the way to the hall, taking a deep breath (Curse these meatbag lungs and muscles! I detest the build-up of lactic acid!), waiting for a moment, dithering before door 101.

Eventually, he straightened, knocking at the door. "Query: Lugnut? Are you there?" Because if you aren't, I'll strangle you for making me worry.

As the static faded out, Carter was left staring up at the ceiling in confusion. Dr. Landel had seemed like such a nice guy a minute ago and now it seemed he'd gone off the crazy cliff in a tank made of whiskey-laced coffee. The institute had found many ways to amaze him but this was the first thing that had actually come close to scaring him.

Still, he had a Mr. SWM 29 (people had such weird names in the future) to go see about things that exploded. Kommandant Landel wasn't paying him any mind and therefore it wasn't really Carter's problem. The young sergeant gathered up a flashlight someone had left in his room and struck out eagerly for M30.

Maybe he'd run into one of those monsters people kept talking about. Wouldn't that be neat?

[To here.]

It was time to go. Taura considered, one last time, taking the carryall from the box she'd discovered. But carryall was a misnomer -- it wasn't big enough to hold more than a wallet or a gun, and too fragile. It would only get in the way. If she needed a holster, someone should have mentioned it.

So she set out, armed with only a flashlight, for the rendezvous point.

[to here]