Once again, the intercom jingle sounded through the halls of the institute. "Goodness," the Head Doctor said as he stifled a yawn, "I don't know why, but I'm suddenly awfully sleepy. I can only imagine how bushed you all must be after a fun day in town!"

After shuffling some papers, he added, "Well, hopefully you're all nice and full with warm food and ready to hit the hay. Tomorrow won't be quite as busy as today, but we'll still have a couple of fun things lined up. Good night, everyone, and pleasant dreams!"

The intercom clicked off.

By now, most patients likely expected the static that swelled from the intercom speaker a few moments later.

"But seriously, though," the Head Doctor's voice cut in, distorted by the heavy interference but still clearly carrying a darker edge. "You probably all look forward to Nightshift as much as I do. True, you're basically just letting me watch you run through a rat maze all night, but it certainly must beat the alternative, yes? Staying in your rooms and going nowhere? Enduring the nurses as they treat you like children? You should be grateful I'm even giving you the chance to stretch your legs at all."

He laughed a little. "Also, let this be a friendly reminder that people who may think they're somehow pulling the wool over my eyes shouldn't delude themselves. Just because you may have found some unusual little nook or cranny somewhere doesn't mean I don't know exactly what you're up to. That's all I'm going to say on the subject tonight, though. Do enjoy your night out."

With that, the static faded until the intercom fell completely silent.

Upon returning to his room, Castiel found that Kobayashi was fast asleep. This wasn't the first time that it had happened, and Castiel wondered if it was as a result of that illness or if there was something else behind it. Even if he'd considered it worthwhile to ask his roommate along on the plans he'd made with Kratos, that wasn't an option. Castiel got the feeling it would just be the two of them tonight.

While he made certain to eat as much of his dinner as he could stomach, Castiel spent most of the shift trying to get his radio working. He opened the package of batteries and then popped off the panel on the back of the radio itself. They definitely fit, just as the clerk had promised, but it took Castiel a few tries with turning the batteries around in different combinations before he got the polarity correct and the radio came to life.

Though at the moment, all it was doing was spitting out static. Castiel imagined that he wouldn't be able to put it to the test until night itself came, and so once that was settled he finished his dinner and then changed into his more familiar outfit for the coming night. He was just pulling his flashlight out of his desk when the intercom came on, signaling the change from day to night.

As usual, it was the nighttime persona of the Head Doctor's that had more interesting things to say. That mention of "some unusual little nook or cranny" made Castiel even more certain that he had been put on the right track by following Skulduggery's information. All he could do now was make every effort to see that he and Kratos were successful in investigating the secret passage. He knew it wouldn't be easy.

With his flashlight in one pocket of his coat, his new radio in the other, and his blade clutched tight in his right hand, Castiel exited his room and moved down the hall, intent on getting to the meeting place he'd set with Kratos as quickly as he could.

[To here.]

[From here.]

Thankfully, Castiel had reached a point in the healing process where he was no longer being slowed down by it. There was still some tenderness in his middle, and he planned to keep his abdomen well guarded if he ended up in fight with some kind of creature, but he was no longer limping or dragging his feet as he moved down the hall.

It was a refreshing feeling, and for the first time in a long time he could tell that he was one of the first patients to make it out into the halls. If anything, realizing that only spurred him on. He reached the block's exit and carefully creaked the door open before stepping out into the next hallway.

[To here.]

[From here.]

It was quiet -- so quiet that Castiel slowed his pace slightly, keeping a careful eye on the dark hallway that stretched out in front of him. With the help of his flashlight he was able to spot the stairs that would have taken him up to the second floor, if that was where he wanted to go. Instead, access to the third floor was supposedly found here on the ground level. That was the exact sort of confusion that he would expect from the Head Doctor, however.

As empty as the area was, there didn't seem to be any sign of monsters or ghosts, either. He was alone, and while that might have been frightening to a human, Castiel saw it as liberating. He squared his shoulders and kept moving toward the meeting place he and Kratos had decided on.

[To here.]

[From here.]

And here he was.

Castiel had made it to the meeting spot without any complications, which also meant that he was the first to arrive. Not only out of him and Kratos, but out of the entire patient body. There wasn't another soul here, and Castiel wasn't even in a position where he could sense if others were close or not. With no other recourse, he leaned against the north wall and pulled his new radio out of his trenchcoat with his free hand.

He glanced down at the three numbers printed at the bottom -- 77.7. It caused him to twist his mouth, because he knew the meaning behind it, at least from a human's perspective. It had to be a coincidence -- there was no other logical explanation for it -- and yet he still had to wonder.

He turned it on, but there was still only static. Castiel imagined that the radio wouldn't be of much use unless he had someone else's number to switch it to.

[For Kratos.]

Though Guy had once again found himself in an empty room (which was made even more worrisome, now that he knew for certain what had happened to Locke), he had managed to make the best use of his time. Seeing how he, Claude, and Anise might not be back in the institute for a while depending on how things went, preparations had to be made. So Guy had spent the dinner shift writing a note out to drop off in Luke's room and packing away the supplies that he'd picked up in Doyleton.

With nothing else to work with, he'd had to put the food that he'd bought in a pillow case that he stripped from his bed. It wasn't a very sturdy pack by any means, and so he'd decided to double layer it. That would still be torn through easily by any monster, but he didn't have any other materials.

And while it might not have seemed like such a large detail, Guy had still decided to change into his more familiar outfit. It was fitted to him and would give him much more ease of movement if they got into any fights. That was why he wore it every other night, but it seemed even more important when he considered the fact that they might not be making it back here in the morning like they were used to. Which was a crazy enough thought on its own, but he wanted to be ready for any possibility.

By the time that he was done with all of that, the intercom came on, and Guy paid close attention to what Landel had to say. No mention of the caverns or what he and his friends would be up to, but more hints about some secret access to the third floor. Guy was still pretty curious about that, but he had to focus on the hidden pathways that he and his friends had found -- and those went down, not up.

Leaving that note in Luke's room was going to slow them down when it came to meeting with Anise, and so Guy wanted to get a good head start on that. He strapped his sheath to his hip, slid his sword inside, and then exited his room and strode down the hall at a brisk pace.

[To here.]

[From here.]

Guy had to admit he felt kind of ridiculous, walking down the hallway the way he was outfitted right now.

His clothing was fine -- it was just his normal outfit from home -- but along with the sword that he had hanging from his hip, he had a pillow case full of food draped over his shoulder, which bumped against his back each time that he took a step. He'd shoved his radio in there too, since they might be cut off without it, along with the note he'd written Luke, and in his other hand was his flashlight.

It wasn't ideal, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to move with any kind of agility unless he dropped his supplies, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Maybe Claude and Anise would show up a bit more prepared.

Speaking of Claude, Guy halted when he reached the middle of the hallway, prepared to wait for his friend like always. He remembered how Claude had mentioned that Lloyd had been taken from his room the night before, and wondered what information he'd have about that this time around, if any.

[For Claude.]

After exchanging radio numbers, Uryuu picked at the salad in relative silence. Once sure he really couldn't be bothered with another bite, he set about arranging his things for the night. The sound of the intercom stirred his attention, and he looked up, waiting for the static. As ever, a nice addition to the atmosphere. He could still appreciate that, despite himself.

Grateful, indeed. Nook or cranny probably referred to the newly found passage in the library, which stirred Uryuu's curiosity further. Tomorrow, perhaps, unless Kratos-san did the unexpected and really did call. The very thought had his mouth curling with dry amusement, which failed to reach his eyes, narrowing with irritation. The doctor's spiel was the usual, and yet...

"Someday," he groused, "I'm going to put an arrow in that man's throat."

Uryuu said it, but did not swear -- not to his pride as a Quincy, not to anything. Not because he doubted he could, but because it wouldn't be practical in the moment. Much as he would aim to maim, not kill, to make speaking impossible, that would be a problem. They would want him to speak, after all.

As gratifying as imagining that future was, it only wasted time in the moment. The door unlocked, and almost simultaneously, Uryuu felt the pressure of the spirit particles filling the air. He reached, seeking Inoue-san, and felt nothing like. Pressing his teeth together, he nodded to Tsurugi-kun (expecting him off) and stood, to set about changing into the uniform. It was an obnoxious thing to have to choose, but unfortunately, better than the sweater and ill-fitting pants he'd be forced to wear during the day. Placing the toy radio in his pocket alongside the key ring and two pens, he lifted his pillowcase turned bag(with its two sweatshirts, journal, and his room radio) and slid it over his shoulder.

Wasteful as it was, he left the bat in the closet. Vantas-kun seemed to have disappeared as well, and it had never properly gotten to Inoue-san. Tonight it would just get in the way. Ready, he started into and down the hall, clutching his flashlight switched off.

[ to here ]

As soon as he was dressed in his normal clothes, the last button on his red jacket buttoned up, Lloyd strapped on the utility belt he'd bought in Doyleton that afternoon. One pocket on the side that was probably meant for a screw driver fit his knife and sheath pretty nicely, and his lock picks fit neatly inside another pocket, with plenty of room for his map and the small radio he'd been given at the toy shop. He still hadn't quite figured out how to use it to talk to other people, like the clerk had said it could do, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to bring it along anyway.

Claude still hadn't woken up. As much as Lloyd hadn't been looking forward to telling the story about what happened to him the night before, he would have preferred that over this. The blond didn't even stir when Lloyd tried to shake him. Dammit, he hoped nothing was wrong. But there wasn't anything he could do for him, so Lloyd had continued getting ready.

On his table, his dinner sat only half eaten, but he just hadn't felt hungry enough to finish it. Probably the late snack he'd had in Doyleton was to blame for that. Either way, he was out of time. The doors were open and he was ready. A scowl of determination settled onto his face as he took off.

He wasn't about to give up and do nothing just because Landel said he knew what they were doing.

[To here.]

One more night. Korra was thankful that she could finally get moving to doing something useful again. When she and Tsubaki were through with their nightly chat, she set off into the hallways.

Korra didn't really have a set goal in mind. She just knew that she wanted to do something. Maybe she'd get lucky and run into someone who had a better idea of what was going on, or someone else that she knew. Guy and Luke seemed to be pretty cool guys, even if Luke could be a bit annoying.

Or maybe he was just more similar to Korra than she was willing to admit.

[To here]

[From here]

Korra rounded the corner into the bigger block hallway quickly. The flashlight felt bulky and unnatural in her hand, but it cast off more light than a safely sized flame could in the hallways. Frustrating as it was, she had to get around even at night without much help from her bending.

Soma's words of warning still tingled in the back of her mind, as well. What it it was somehow limited?

The Avatar shook her head, pushing forward.

[To here]

[From here]

One more hallway until the big one where everyone met. Hopefully she wouldn't find any unpleasant surprises there, either. It was still early in the night, so that probably meant a "no."

Again, she could hope.

[To here]