Once again, a couple of bursts of static greeted Link as he entered the room, but there was no audio message waiting for him. Strangely, the drawing from last night remained largely intact, as if it had been impossible for their captors to remove. The only thing different was that the vibrant glow from before had diminished, and the image was mostly reduced to a faint, green outline.

But more than that, a companion clue had apparently been set up for whoever entered here. This one required a flashlight to fully examine, but a well-aimed beam would illuminate a framed oil painting hanging from the wall. Beneath that were words written in the same green, glowing paint from last night:

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist

If that wasn't odd enough, though, whoever had arranged the clues also left a small pile of dried leaves beneath the painting. The leaves themselves were unremarkable, and were likely pulled from a common tree. Was it another message, perhaps?

Despite the cryptic clue, though, the person who had come before did not want the patients' troubles to go unrewarded. A first aid kit with these items was perched on the table in the center of the room.

[Crashing in from here]

Goddesses, there was nothing of interest in here. It was only labeled "observation," though, which explained the (strangely opaque) glass. Link wasted no time pondering this. He charged on through another locked door, thankful that his light still worked after bashing it around so much.

[To here]

Five more.

Aigis clenched at the rash growing steadily up her arm. The stomach cramps had kept her from eating, and now this news. She couldn't have stomached food had it been announced before dinner. What could she do now? Follow the new clue Harrington had left for them? It was a start...

But first, she needed to keep her promise. Assuming she didn't change before she got to the planned meeting spot.

Giving her plush cat one last squeeze for strength, Aigis fought off shivers and prepared for the night. With her necessary equipment assembled, the android took off out the door and headed to the main hall.

[to here]

[From here]

Link passed through another, smaller room filled with strange machines before finding himself in the main operating room. It was rather similar to the X-Ray Room, though colder and filled with strange equipment that Link knew nothing of. He pulled open the drawers of one of the machines only to find them empty as he tore around the room looking for something.

It was then that he looked up to see a door labeled "supply." That had to be it. And for once, it was unlocked. Praise Nayru.

[To here]

[From here]

This was what he was looking for! Thankfully he didn't have to worry about grabbing one of everything now that he had found this medical kit. Pain killers, though... He had no idea what they might look like, or be called. All of these bottles were white! Not even red or blue to indicate their strength! How did people know what they were doing, here?

It seemed like he'd just have to grab one of everything after all.

Scooping the various medications, Link darted to the back wall where all the tools were kept. He grabbed three scalpels and several sponges. Link couldn't fathom what the other tools were used for.

With all of his things stuffed in the pillow case, Link was off once again. He prayed he wasn't too late.

[Back to here]

Five. An interesting number to add to an interesting situation, and wasn't it interesting, wasn't it quaint, that it matched another number given? There was no humor for the thought; Albedo had intent and purpose, and there was no time for idle chatter-- Well, perhaps there was, but currently, he had to make sure a certain brother of his stayed inside his room tonight, and for that, he would--

The holster went around his waist, the hunting knives on either side of his hips. The two shotguns possessed, now cleaned and reloaded from dinner, were strapped loosely to his back over the military jacket with the top sheet from his bed. It wouldn't hold under heavy movement, but it allowed them to be grasped and pulled out quickly if necessary. Extra rounds were taken from the cardboard box and pocketed into the jacket. He viewed the rest of his weaponry with a detailed eye, and finally shrugged. This was enough to down a monster dressed in humanity's skin--or the reverse, if they had already turned.

[to here]

As the intercom died away, the Once-ler grabbed his crutch and hobbled over to the door. Poking his head out briefly, he glanced up and down the dark hallway before retreating back in and shutting the door.

“Just Once-ler is fine,” he said in response to the other man, still facing the door. “And again, you are?”

While he waited for a reply, he mulled over the intercom’s message. It sounded like the sickness was a twisted experiment, and five people would ‘turn’. The Once-ler was not certain exactly what the Head Doctor meant, but found himself hoping that Soma was not among that number. Sora also hadn’t been feeling well, he recalled.

Hopefully whatever was in the X-ray room tonight would prove useful. There was so much wrong with experimenting on people and making them sick, and there had to be a better solution than amateur stomach surgery.

The Once-ler’s thoughts were interrupted when the other man spoke up again. He turned around to see that his roommate had gone pale. It sounded like he was afraid of the sickness going around. “Not really, no. I was traveling with someone sick last night, but she said it probably wasn’t contagious. I feel fine. Aside from the injuries, obviously.”

Speaking of Soma, hadn’t she had a flashlight last night? That would make navigating the hallways much easier, and safer too. “You don’t know where I could get a flashlight, do you?”