Nightshift 34: M11 - M20 Hallway

[only-logic.livejournal.com]

Drawing himself up and out of bed, Hohenheim gathered up his supplies for the evening and fixed his glasses back upon his nose. He flicked on his flashlight and looked around the room. He slipped the radio into his pocket in hopes of hearing some good information, but he was expecting a bit of a busy night if all of his theories came true. He was looking forward to one aspect but not the other.

Ah well. He couldn't have everything go his way. He needed to get moving in order to make good use of the night. He really needed to explore this place as well, but he could do that if there were no good books in the library.

Heading out into the hallway, he set off.

[To Here]

Comments

M13

[screwthegods]

Homura found it strange listening to the voice overhead, how it changed entirely in just a short time. When it did, however, the demi-god stood, moving to his closet to begin going through the items there. He'd listened several in the notes he'd left for Kenren and Hijikata, and sure enough, all were there. One in particular, however, gave Homura pause, and made him wonder if he should touch it.

The sword, shaped like that of the Toushin Taishi.

He pulled out the blade, feeling it's weight as he lifted it. How many had died on this imitation, much less the actual weapon giving to him by the Heavens? Homura didn't want to consider it, but what choice did he have. He was the one who had killed them, in the end.

The sword was laid on the bed, followed by the outfit he found in the closet. He didn't want to change in front of Shito, however, so instead, after that brief exploration, he moved to sit down, and wait for Kenren. There was more to go through, he knew, but it was enough for now to simply find those things, the undeniable markers of who he had ultimately become.

Re: M13

[opposingheaven.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/423535.html?view=34671471#t34671471)]


Kenren slipped quickly along the corridors and into the corridor which Homura's room was on. He stopped outside M13 and rapped on it with the end of his katana, loud enough to hopefully be heard unless the other god was asleep or something.

[clockmongler.livejournal.com]

Dinner went nowhere in terms of speaking to Not-Noah, as to be expected. Did the staff seem to think that sticking someone fun with someone boring would make magic happen? Noah hadn't talked much, but at least they could understand one another. Not-Noah was simply... ugh.

After eating his meal, Luxord laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and reflecting over the events past--Landel's, Naminé and Kairi, Xigbar, his heart... He generally resigned himself from participating in anything while doing so.

He spent about fifteen minutes and thirty-seven in this deep meditation before boiling all his thoughts down to one, simple thing: Why the hell did he care?

The Answer, he decided? He didn't.

After that, it didn't take long for him to grab his coat, cards, and pocket-knife and leave out into the hallway. He was the Gambler of Fate--he didn't give two shits what Xigbar or Naminé did with their Time. It wasn't his concern. What was his concern was himself, and he simply wasn't having any fun. It was time to fix that; it had been way overdue.

[clockmongler.livejournal.com]

[Going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/421626.html)]

in front of M18

[part1of3.livejournal.com]

As soon as nightshift fell, Ashton dropped everything that he was doing and made a clean break six doors down. Thank Tria that he was in the same hallway, otherwise their meetings might not be so frequent.

But Ashton had pretty awesome plans tonight, and he was taking Axel with him. Still, he didn't want Dias to think that he was ignoring him, of all things, so he'd prepared a little note, which he slipped underneath Dias' door, a little blush on his face as he did so:

Dear Dias,

I'm sorry I don't have time to meet with you tonight, because I've got an assignment, but...
I'd like to meet you tomorrow for breakfast.
I'm not sure if I'll take no for an answer.
I mean it!!

I have something important to tell you, so please be there!
From Ashton

♥

After that was over, he stared at the door for a moment, his heart pounding for fear of being discovered. Then he booked it back to M12.

Re: in front of M18

[part1of3.livejournal.com]

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/423701.html?thread=34720533#t34720533)]

M12

[part1of3.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/423701.html?thread=34717717#t34717717)]

Okay, now that that was done...

"Ah, sorry, Axel," he said as he ran back in. "Had to.. drop something off." The blush was still fresh on his face, his heart was still pounding. Was Dias just now reading the note he'd left for him? ...Maybe. Maybe. Aah, how embarrassing. He'd show up, wouldn't he?

And he wondered if he'd get the guts enough to tell Dias - or ask him, rather - tomorrow morning. It was.. really important to him, but it was worth it, right? ..Right? He needed closure. Not that.. he wanted to close anything. Maybe he wanted to open it? He wasn't sure.

So Ashton went about changing into his Expellian outfit, turning to Axel as he did so. "Aaaah, I don't wanna make him wait too long. The Colonel's really important, y'know?"

Re: M12

[bond-off-lame.livejournal.com]

"Right, right."

While Ashton had slipped out of the room to drop off his note to Dias, Axel was busying himself with preparing for nightshift. He'd taken the time to slip into his Organization uniform, adjusting the outfit wherever it needed to be and flexed his gloved hands with a light grin. While he wasn't exactly egging for an encounter, a little bit of excitement every once in a while never hurt anyone, or at least, not to the point where one couldn't recover within a few days.

He was reaching under his mattress by the time his roommate showed up again, pulling out his trust chakram and gave it an experimental spin while he listened to Ashton.

"Well then, once you're ready we'll be good to go." Really, the sooner they got to Roy and got their mission the better.

M14

[unmocked-lawr.livejournal.com]

Javert ignored his roommate for the most part as soon as the doors unlocked, changing quickly into his usual clothing and sweeping his usual Nightshift materials - pen, journal, radio, gauze - into his pillowcase bag. He elected to leave the heavy greatcoat and frock-coat behind for the time being; as far as he knew, he wouldn't be going outside tonight, and extra layers might only slow him down.

The idea of breaking and entering into a doctor's office, even if it was for the sole purpose of gathering information, still didn't sit well with him. To be perfectly honest, he still wasn't entirely sure why he had signed up this afternoon. It had, admittedly, been partially borne of a desire to do something useful for once, instead of wandering around the halls as usual. But it left him feeling, albeit vaguely, as if he were participating in some form of organized crime.

He shook his head slightly as he stepped outside, glancing at the door next to his. At least, a treacherous voice in the back of his mind said, it was something to do.

Re: M14

[strange-unlife.livejournal.com]

[from a few threads up (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/423701.html?thread=34673941#t34673941)]

Shito also had an empty pillowcase with him when he stepped out of M13, though he was in the process of folding it up into a smallish square so that he could tuck it into the waistband of his trousers. Aside from that, though, he brought nothing with him at all--no light, no note-taking materials. He didn't see much of a point since the dark was something he was used to, and maps of this floor already existed.

What he'd do with his right hand, Shito still hadn't decided. The handcuff jingled softly every time he moved it, reminding him of the problem even though his fingers hadn't even begun to go numb yet. At least he, unlike Akatsuki, was left-handed--the other zombie was no doubt in even worse shape than Shito right now, wherever he was, with his dominant hand being useless at least half the time.

Spotting the man waiting just outside, Shito nodded to him vaguely and asked, "You Javert-san?"

[haikudemon.livejournal.com]

Hijikata was just as pleased to let the meal pass in silence. Finished, he scooted back, rising from his chair slowly so as not to open the gut wounds again. For the moment, anyway. Tonight's announcement... 'counseling'? That must be the effect that sometimes set patient against patient. So brainwashing, tonight, rather than torture.

He made a face, walking to the bed to pull his sword out from its hiding place under the mattress. He was in no shape for fighting and he knew it; but if there proved to be a serious enemy in the halls somewhere between here and Souji's room, he would rather face them with steel in hand.

His roommate was lying on his own cot, silent. Hijikata offered him a brief nod, then slipped out the door, closing it softly. A clear hallway, here. And now, down to the end, and -- where was Souji's room again? He racked his memory for a moment. Ah, 63, that was it.

He turned silently at the end of the hallway, heading for the door.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/421742.html?thread=34736494#t34736494)]

M15

[dawn-rune.livejournal.com]

Frey was up and almost ready to go as soon as the locks clicked open. A chance to actually accomplish something was such a rarity here that he couldn't help but be eager. He hoped he wouldn't annoy Takaya with his desire to hurry.

As he felt around under the mattress for his closet-rod-cum-staff, Frey asked of Takaya, "Do you think one pillowcase will be sufficient to carry the metal?"

Re: M15

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya stood and streched when the crazy talk started up.

"If you're just picking up small shit, should be fine." The teenager shrugged. "We'll take both though." He quickly stripped his own case from his pillow.

[winged_moon]

When the door unlocked, Yue paused to grab his flashlight and ear cuff from where he'd hidden them, trying to close his hand around the latter quickly enough that his roommate wouldn't see. He wasn't exactly embarrassed to have the thing - he had worn it every night since finding it, after all - but for some reason was reluctant to put it on in front of anyone.

He gave Ken a barely visible nod in farewell before heading out for the evening. It was only as he left the room, though, that he started to consider just where he was planning to go...

[To here]

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

The toy sitting on the shelf would have to wait again, Gin conceded as he prepared for the night. He tied on his old robes and wrapped the sword carefully before tying it to his waist. It was so much heavier than Shinsou, but maybe he could get one of the alchemists to pare it down into two smaller blades instead of this large one. It wasn't at the top of his list, however, there were more pressing matters.

Ran seemed to have completely forgotten him since their victory last night, and while he wasn't bitter about it, he certainly didn't like being brushed off while the others went to go explore. They had the other half of the key, Gin was sure of that much, and he knew where they were heading, so why not make his "project" for the evening to check up on them and see where it led?

[[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/421626.html)]]

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

Kratos scanned the room around him one last time, making sure he had everything, particularly the item that he needed to return to Tamaki. He would need to bring the topic of making a sword up again with Hohenheim, although the other man probably had more important things to attend to.

Grabbing his flashlight, he stepped out into the hallway.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/431283.html)]

Near M13

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

[[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/421626.html?thread=34949114#t34949114)]]

Yuuhi turned the corner to find that the hall was mostly empty. There was some activity near the door to M13, but the bulletin had said to wait outside, not in, and he'd no desire to get any closer to Homura and his crew than he absolutely had to.

He leaned back against the wall a few doors down and settled back to wait.

Re: Near M13

[youlackmascara.livejournal.com]

Itachi stepped out of the room to find his third companion waiting there. He recognized him as the man who'd been badly injured on Itachi's first night. Then, Itachi had considered him worthless, but now that he knew more of the Institute -- well, perhaps not worthless, but certainly still weak.

"You're Fai?" Itachi asked, blank tone conveying his disinterest. "I am Itachi. Kunzite is not here, but I do not believe we should wait too long for him."

M14

[lawful_perfect]

[Yes, I know, this is totally tl;dr ^^;;]

Pretending to only be focused on writing in his journal, von Karma observed his new roommate through the periphery of his vision as the other man made preparations to leave the room, tossing various items into his pillowcase. von Karma had not asked what his plans were, but it appeared that he was on an important mission of sorts. With interest and envy, he watched the man change into what von Karma considered to be acceptable attire, especially the cravat. He would have to inquire him later as to where he obtained his outfit -- it had been much too long since von Karma had been able to wear his elegant clothing.

After the man left, von Karma closed his journal and started looking around the room to see if there was anything useful that he could take. Perhaps there was something that he could even use to defend himself in case he ran into Edgeworth, Wright, or Gumshoe. He opened the desk drawer only to find precious few items. A key ring with no keys, some batteries, and a bundle of pens secured by a rubber band. Although these items appeared to be useless, they were better than nothing. He set them on top of his desk and then got up from his chair to go to his closet.

A search of the closet yielded nothing more than those hideous garments matching the one he currently wore. Utterly useless! He looked through each of the shirts once more in the hopes that at least one of them did not bear that patronizing symbol on the front, but to no avail. He angrily slid the closet door shut and went to the dresser only to find equally useless items in the bottom two drawers designated as his.

For just a moment, von Karma was tempted to rummage through his roommate's belongings to see what he had been able to collect from this place. After all, it would be a simple matter to cover his hands with one of those outlandish shirts as a means to prevent leaving fingerprints (in which case, the shirts would be useful after all, he mused cynically). However, he realized that it might not be wise to do so without the man's permission, as he might return at any moment without warning.

He then walked over to the side of his own bed and pulled the blankets and sheets and lifted the mattress to see if anything was hidden there. Nothing. Shrugging, he picked up the pillow to remove the pillowcase. To his surprise, a flashlight had been lying underneath the pillow this whole time. He blinked in confusion. How was it that he had awakened on this very bed with his head on this very pillow and not noticed that something had been underneath it? No matter.

He took the flashlight and then pulled the pillowcase off the pillow. It would at least make a good makeshift bag to carry his other items, just as the man had done. It appeared that one truly needed to be resourceful in this institute. As an afterthought, he decided to take along a couple of articles of the horrid hospital clothing in case he could find some useful application for them as well.

He casually threw his meager belongings into the pillowcase, then cautiously opened the door to the darkness of the hallway outside. The atmosphere seemed... unusually forbidding, but he decided to shrug it off as just his own imagination. After all, it was most likely that the "dangers" that the other patients spoke of were merely products of their own hallucinations. He wanted to confirm this for himself, as well as to find more useful equipment and learn more of the hospital's layout.

Illuminating his flashlight, he stepped out of his room, looking around vigilantly to ensure that no one he recognized was nearby, then stealthily walked down the hallway. A few people were indeed present -- including his roommate, so von Karma was thankful that he had not indulged his fleeting temptation to disturb the man's possessions after all -- but none of them were any of the three whom he was attempting to avoid for now. Eventually, he reached the south end of the hall with little incident but having learned very little of significance thus far.

[To here]

[never-learns.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/421742.html?view=35234414#t35234414)]

Well, he thought that this was the right corridor at least. He walked along until he came to the room that Ken had said was his. He paused for a moment before knocking. "Hey, Ken! Your hot date is here."

[gentiana-clusii.livejournal.com]

Ken had just been resting on the bed, staring at the ceiling--he had no real plans tonight, and he didn't want to go anywhere alone. He wasn't that stupid. So he was surprised when there was a knock on his door, and even more surprised when he heard Yohji's voice.

"Fuck off, I'm washing my hair," Ken shouted back, teasing, but he got up and opened the door anyway. "Hey, stranger."

M19

[ham_fisted]

Mia Fey - that was a name he wouldn't soon forget. Weird how the further they got into the future, the more frequently he reflected on the past. The meeting this afternoon hadn't helped at all, of course. If he had the power to cross out an entire day of his life, the day of Mr. Edgeworth's debut would've been his first choice. He hated thinking about it as much as he hated talking about it.

... On the other hand, Gumshoe felt pretty fired up about tonight! He'd gone to the file rooms already, so he knew what they were up against. With that thought, he double-checked that every single scalpel he owned was in his right pocket. If that giant cat thing was still lurking around in there, he'd need a swift hand! He made a mental note of ordering the others to let him take point when they got there.

He smiled to himself. With an enthusiastic spring in his step, the detective shut his door and headed down the hallway.

Re: M19

[ham_fisted]

[ to here ]

[face-of-chaos.livejournal.com]

How much time had passed? Yuber couldn't be sure, but all he knew was that his mind was still somewhat sluggish from the drug, and that it appeared he had somehow slept in. That wouldn't do.

Disgruntled by these findings, Yuber silently stormed his way out of his room, and down the hall.

To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/421626.html)

M14

[lawful_perfect]

[From here]

Although the remainder of the trek back to von Karma's room was thankfully eventless, it was also somewhat difficult due to his weakened state caused by the intense stress from what had happened earlier. Occasionally bracing his hand against the wall as needed for support, he slowly made his way down the dark hall, watching out for possible danger. How he wished he had his cane to assist him. Ordinarily, he didn't really need it, but it would have certainly been useful here -- and not just to aid him with walking.

Before long, the door bearing the number M14 came into view. Grateful that he had finally arrived at his room, he immediately entered it and shut the door behind him. Curiously, as with the door leading to the patient block hallway, he was unable to lock it. A hospital whose doors could not be securely locked at night when deranged patients and bloodthirsty creatures ran amok? Unacceptable! Merely another reason for him to press charges against this blasted facility once he escaped it.

He had to find a way to ensure that he would be undisturbed for the rest of the night. In his weary state of mind, all he could think of to do at the moment was to prop his chair under the doorknob. It wasn't a foolproof solution, but it would have to do for now. Not thinking nor caring about the danger that this might pose to Javert by effectively locking him out, von Karma dragged the chair from his desk and tilted it so that the top of the chair held the doorknob securely in place. Even were this stopgap measure to fail, the racket made by someone trying to break in would likely alert him in time.

Finally, he removed his slippers and lay down on his bed, grateful to be off his feet. However, even as exhausted as he felt, he was unable to relax enough to sleep right away. So many peculiar things had happened during the entire day, very few of them making sense and almost none of them pleasant. Reflecting upon the continuous humiliation he had suffered during the day, he mused that execution would have been far more preferable to this wretched hellhole. The worst of it all had been, of course, his former student's gloating followed by the strange creature's attack, immediately disproving everything he had held to be true and disrupting his own sense of reality.

Perhaps this was all merely a bizarre nightmare, negating the validity all of the absurd notions he had just finally started to reluctantly become convinced of. Perhaps once he lost consciousness here, he would suddenly awaken in his cramped prison cell in his orange uniform, awaiting his death sentence. He hoped that was the case.

One thing was for certain: if this were not a strange dream after all, he absolutely must find a fail-safe way to destroy the sickeningly self-righteous Miles Edgeworth -- provided, of course, that the boy survived the scorpion's attack. The prospect of finally completing his revenge against the Edgeworth bloodline would make this whole unsettling experience worthwhile.