Day 35: Bus 1

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

Sanji woke up groggily to find his nurse already in his room. He gave a sleepy and half-hearted "Buh?" before realizing that nurse meant dayshift, and he'd fallen asleep after dinner.

"Shit!" He sat up abruptly, which gave his nurse a start. "Nami-swan!" How had he allowed himself to sleep through an entire night? What if she'd tried to return to the basement? What if she'd been waiting for him to appear and protect her? He'd let her down!

"There, there. Calm down." His nurse set a familiar flannel shirt down on the bed and Sanji eyed it with confusion. The last time he'd worn that had been... "Sorry I didn't knock or anything, but I was so excited~!" A pair of jeans followed the shirt. "Today is the field trip into town! Aren't you looking forward to it?"

The chef had to admit, the town had been an interesting enough place the last time he'd been. If he could find Nami early on he might even be able to lead her around... So he didn't complain too much as he changed into the other outfit (which he really wished they'd let him keep - anything was better than the regular gray) and was led out to the first of the buses.

He took a seat near the front, hopefully easily visible to any of his crew - especially to a certain member of his crew.

[for Usopp!]

Comments

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

He felt like shit. He was pretty sure he looked like it too.

The last thing Sanzo remembered was electricity crackling against him, and then a feeling of weightlessness, and then nothing after that.

Sanzo instantly regretted waking up. His body just seemed to be radiating pains and aches from the wounds, even if they'd all been bandaged. Every move he made only strained at them. It didn't help matters that he felt disgustingly weak.

The monk forced himself to get up, and get dressed. As much as he wanted to go and just pass out again, he needed to check on Goku. The monkey'd gotten that idiot notion into his head to go look for Hakkai on his own. And although Sanzo'd waved it off - he wasn't the kid's babysitter, he could do whatever he wanted - well, that didn't mean he shouldn't check to see if the kid actually found something.

....And to see if he was in one piece.

Sanzo slid gingerly into one of the empty rows. At least there wouldn't be a repeat with Homura this round.

[qui-gonjinn.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/445457.html?thread=36029969#t36031249)]

"How are you feeling?" Qui-Gon asked.

The Jedi Master limped to a stop next to the chair and carefully sat down next to the monk, studying him. He was pale, too pale, and Qui-Gon thought he shouldn't be traveling, but instead resting. It was with regret he had to admit he couldn't offer to heal him right now - his reserves were spent and while he was overall fine physically, he was unable to surrender himself to the Force and have it respond in turn. The Jedi Master settled in his seat, hands folded in his lap as he turned his full attention on Sanzo.

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

The monk glanced over his shoulder in time to see Qui-Gon sitting down. Sanzo leaned his head against the window and looked outside.

"I feel like shit," he replied. Was he expecting him to feel anything but that, after last night? Qui-Gon's movements were stiff; there wasn't any missing how the Jedi favored a leg. "You aren't looking that much better yourself either."

Sanzo licked at dry lips. "What happened after I passed out?"

[qui-gonjinn.livejournal.com]

Qui-Gon was frank. "I fought the two droids. After I incapacitated the one with the lightsaber, I went after the other and destroyed it as well. It wasn't like anything I've ever seen before. It was like it was created specifically to counter a Jedi, and not just for training," he said, looking thoughtful. While it was common for the droids in the Temple to be prepped to fight Jedi, he could safely say the other wasn't anything belonging to the Order. "After that, I treated your wounds as best I was able. Callisto found some kind of artifact in the training chamber and took it."

It'd been some kind of sword, obviously intended to match the shield. Qui-Gon hoped to meet up with Callisto to discuss the artifact she carried, especially now that he knew it was part of a set that might open up the door to some answers. Obi-Wan as well would need to be informed about the developments of last night. Qui-Gon went on:

"Going upstairs was out of the question. We went west. It was there we met some kind of feline-creature, who spoke and presented us with a riddle." It was still a mystery how it survived down there - hibernation, perhaps - or if it was there willingly or was serving Martin Landel. "I was given a shield artifact and told that by having two artifacts, we would be able to go down the South Hall."

There, the being told them, was another test, where there would have to be sacrifices to be made. Being a Jedi was living a life of sacrifice, in all senses of the word - a Jedi's home was the Temple, but he couldn't have personal attachments, couldn't serve his own life but lived by serving others. But, going over what he knew about Martin Landel, Qui-Gon suspected the sacrifice in question in the basement would be of a more physical, violent nature. But it would be necessary to risk it.

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

So those metal creatures were something from Qui-Gon's area: he didn't seem surprised to see them. Whatever they were, they definitely weren't from China and India, or from where Callisto came from.

Sanzo closed his eyes.

"Assassins just for Jedi, maybe." His voice was muffled against the window. "Somehow they knew you were coming."

The artifacts were interesting, if only for the fact that they lead to somewhere else. The question was whether that 'somewhere else' was something that would actually help them and not more of Martin Landel's bullshit.

"It could still be a trap. In case the first two didn't work..."

[qui-gonjinn.livejournal.com]

If they were assassins, then why hadn't they taken him two on one? Qui-Gon shook his head slowly. Thinking back to the fight, thinking back to every detail - it was a Padawan exercise to be able to recall an event and remember any seemingly small detail, like the imperfection of durasteel in the training droid's right hand - Qui-Gon knew they hadn't been fighting to kill. Injure, perhaps, but if the droids were programmed to kill him, then they would've targeted him alone.

Despite his experience, Qui-Gon knew he would not have been able to take them both. Not after healing Sanzo. And not without the Force as his ally.

"I don't think they were assassins," Qui-Gon said, weary. "But I do agree: somehow they knew I was coming. That room was made specifically to test a Jedi." Or a Sith, Qui-Gon thought, thinking back to that strange lightsaber. It'd felt right in his hand and yet it was also disquieting. "It could be a trap. Or it might not be. Dwelling on the ifs won't give us any answers: we can only act on what we know. The creature let us go after we answered the riddle. I believe what it said to be true."

It had even warned them. And it had even, in its own way, tried to warn Callisto as well, warning her against her impatience. Sometimes learning to wait was difficult, but just waiting and seeing what happened could bring you results.

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

Sanzo was not so quick to trust the place on their orders not to kill. Especially not with that hair-covered brute of a patient last night. Maybe the wounds themselves wouldn't have killed him, but the blood loss certainly would have.

It didn't matter that they had those orders - not in Sanzo's eyes, at least - because when it came down to it, shit had a way of happening. There was absolutely no reason to trust the institute on their "good word".

It was tantamount to handing a loaded gun to a blindfolded man scared out of his wits and shoving him into a prison. And telling him to try not to kill anyone. Good fucking luck with that.

"So you want to go back and check, even if it's a trap. At least you gave the idea a thought. I don't think your new 'friend' would have." Callisto, while definitely not as nearly annoying as Homura, was still enough to try his patience. "What happened to that glowing blade? Do you still have it?"

[qui-gonjinn.livejournal.com]

Qui-Gon didn't let the loss of the lightsaber's show on his face. "They're gone. I took both with me but when I woke up this morning, they were missing."

The lightsaber in the armor room had been presented almost as some kind of grotesque trophy, the blood of its owner still stained on the electrum hilt. Lightsabers were difficult to create and it took the Force and proper focus to make one that was of good quality. The two he'd seen in the Institute hadn't been like the knock-off lightsabers he'd seen occasionally in the galaxy, ones with poor hilt construction, with faulty focusing crystals. The red and blue ones he'd seen in Landels were most definitely made by someone with knowledge of the Force. How many Jedi (or Sith) had been here? Qui-Gon suspected that there was one way to find out.

The lightsabers. Martin Landel kept them. So far he knew there was himself, Obi-Wan and two mystery Force-users. That made four. But there could be more. Qui-Gon wouldn't know for certain unless they found a room where the hilts of the fallen were being kept.

"I'm planning to go investigate with a student of mine," Qui-Gon said. Obi-Wan didn't know, but Qui-Gon felt he would most likely want to come along. Callisto would have to be talked to: she was a bit of a wild card, but considering how she pressed on last night, Qui-Gon thought she might be willing to come as well despite her dislike of Sanzo. "Would you be interested in coming along? Trap or not," he said, with a dry quirk of his lips.

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

Now Sanzo did lift his head from the window. He settled against the seat, looking at the Jedi fully. The dry smirk was familiar, one he'd seen on Hakkai's face a few times, with that very same question, right before they jumped into something with the odds heavily against them.

Things had way of getting interesting after that.

The monk snorted.

"I need to find my dumbass ward first, but I'll go. I want to see what I nearly got killed for."

[accursed-rock.livejournal.com]

Zelgadis was still shaking from last night's misadventure. Mason was dead.

Dead.

Because of Hellmaster Phibrizzo, one of the most powerful mazoku (if not the most powerful) he had ever run into. Who was also supposed to be dead.

Dead.

Was Amelia dead because of Hellmaster?

And what of Rezo, who he had believed dead but had shown up only last week, looking entirely alive.

A chill ran through his spine as he sat in the moving-wagon's seat, his mind reeling.

[Sousuke]

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

Sousuke woke up, his first observation being that he was covered in bandages and couldn't sit up properly. His suspicions were confirmed when his nurse, bright and cheery, wheeled a wheelchair into the room.

Why she still wanted him to go to Doyleton, he didn't quite understand.

She dressed him in a pair of stone gray jeans, black socks and shoes, and a lavender dress shirt. His nurse commented that if he wasn't already covered in bandages, he would look quite handsome.

The nurses and orderlies helped him onto the bus and sat him down next to Zelgadis. Oh... it was the man who wouldn't talk to him. Zelgadis, was it? He frowned. The man didn't look very well.

"Are you okay?"

[accursed-rock.livejournal.com]

Zelgadis felt a strange mixture of groggy and overly alert-- his mind was half-occupied with last night's events but also very concerned that he was being watched by last night's tormentor.

He almost jumped when someone sat next to him but realized it was just another patient. Well not exactly "just"-- the man had previously made an attempt on his eye's with plastic utensils.

As thought through a thick fog he heard the man's question. He half-mumbled a non-answer that he hoped sounded positive.

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

Sousuke's frown deepened, despite the fact that he was covered in bandages from head to toe and really had no reason to be concerned about anyone besides himself. But that was Sousuke, after all. He knew when people were dealing with post-traumatic stress, and Zelgadis was dealing with something he did not wish to talk about.

"What happened?"

[accursed-rock.livejournal.com]

Sousuke's words penetrated his mind slowly and caused Zelgadis to consider what had happened last night. There had been so much going on-- Mason had come in fighting and... It turned black. When he woke...

Oh god. Hellmaster Phibrizzo was going to kill him, he was sure of it. And the mazoku lord had already made quick work of Mason and Amelia.

He groaned and shivered a bit, hugging himself.

[vessavana.livejournal.com]

[Free for use]

Kunzite was much more groggy this morning than he had been since his first day at Landel's. Sadly, he had a very good sense as to why that was. Leaping out of his bed, he tossed the sheets aside, flipped over the mattress, peered under the bed...nothing. No cape, no uniform...and no sword. I attacked those humans under orders from Landel, he snarled, pounding the ground angrilly, and I don't get to keep any of my equipment? What are they playing at?

With a slow stumble he stood, looking to the door as his nurse appeared - as usual, with that disgusting smile - bearing a pile of folded clothes and some shoes. "It's time for the bus ride for Doylton, Mr. Stevens! We hope this outfit works for you." He laid it on the desk, then looked at the bed with a chuckle. "Rough night, huh? We'll make sure the nurses get that ready for you by dinner tonight." At that he left, leaving Kunzite to don the new clothes.

White, long-sleeved turtleneck, khaki slacks, and white loafers...it's as if they're mocking me, he said, pulling his hair into a ponytail as he followed a number of patients out the doors of the facility and onto one of the buses parked out front. Kunzite was handed a brown paper bag as he reached his seat; inside was a small bag of apple slices, a muffin, and a small box with a straw attached to the side. He broke pieces off of the muffin and chewed slowly, impatient for this "trip" to start.

[thesadist]

Nightshift had ended rather abruptly, finishing things far sooner than Daemon had liked. And he'd never gotten to the web, either, which placed him in a rather annoyed mood this morning. Still, it was a day to get out of the institute and into the town once more, so he put aside his irritation as he dressed in the same clothing he'd gotten to wear last week and followed his nurse out to the buses.

He didn't spot River right away, and could only hope that she'd have time to explain things to her brother before they met again. Things could be awkward otherwise. He boarded the first bus and took a seat, glancing around and wondering if Ranji and Lucivar had made it to the basement last night, and how Karla and Rainier had fared.

[Waiting for Lucivar]

[eyrien-prick.livejournal.com]

Lucivar didn't really know what to expect when he was suddenly ushered out of the building and onto a large metal carriage. He was not in the best temper, having spent most of last night waiting around doing nothing. It was frustrating but at least he could try again tonight. And this strange trip out of the hospital left him too puzzled to be completely enraged.

He saw Daemon on the carriage and walked over to him, sitting down with a bit of a flop. "Morning," he said, slouching against the back of the chair, looking deceptively lazy as he scanned the area. "How was your evening?"

[thesadist]

Daemon shifted over to make room for his brother on the seat beside him, his gaze narrowed and studying his brother intently for a moment. Deciding that his brother seemed well enough, though slightly irritable, he casually shrugged one shoulder.

"Eventful, if not in the way I planned."

[eyrien-prick.livejournal.com]

Lucivar raised an eyebrow, curious of Daemon's tone. "Trouble?" he asked, his muscles tensing as though he was preparing for a fight.

[thesadist]

"Not... exactly," Daemon replied carefully, not meeting his brother's gaze as he stared out the window. He looked for the right words to phrase this, uncertain of them himself. Everything had gotten... twisted last night.

"River came to my room last night."

[eyrien-prick.livejournal.com]

A cold shiver ran down Lucivar's back as he gaped at his brother, doing his best not to jump to conclusions. It was difficult with Daemon being what he was to not let his brain drift to unpleasant things. "How is the Lady?" he asked, figuring this simple question was safer then asking if the Sadist was out last night. He didn't know the girl well enough to know if she would provoke Daemon or not.

[thesadist]

"Confusing," Daemon answered, hips lips twitching faintly in remembrance. "But that is nothing unusual."

His expression turned solemn once more, however, and he raked fingers through his hair in mild agitation. "Something happened last night that... probably shouldn't have," he admitted quietly.

[eyrien-prick.livejournal.com]

"You're making me anxious," Lucivar said, turning to face his brother. "What exactly happened last night? I'm going to assume that the Sadist did not come out or else you wouldn't be as calm as you are right now. If it wasn't the Sadist then, what?"

[kirasonlyone.livejournal.com]

It was definitely not a good time to try stuffing Misa into a shapeless green blob of a dress. She was cranky, upset (mostly at herself), and groggy from having slept through the last day and didn't at all feel the need to cooperate with anyone, least of all the person who was attempting to get her to put on said shapeless green blob.

But in this case, her nurse won the fight and Misa was left to fume on her own in one of the most hideous dresses she'd ever laid eyes on. To be fair, the flowers stitched into the edges looked like they were attempting to look cute but the patterns only helped the dress look even more like a tablecloth. Misa wondered if that was its secondary purpose long ago in the 1800's when people were mostly blind and wearing curtains was still fashionable. Ohh, if Light saw her in this...

Taking an empty seat and sulkily kicking at the chair in front of her, Misa pondered if she could maybe find some decent clothes to trade for in Doyleton. From what little she gathered pouting and yelling at her nurse, it was doubtful. But if she did find something and somehow found Light and got him to agree to a date then maybe the miserable start of her day could still be forgiven.

Of course, strange as she felt that morning, Misa still hadn't realized that she'd slept through an entire day.

[free!]

[atoyboxworld.livejournal.com]

[...I. I had to. The power of cod compelled me.]

So the phenomenon was to be repeated. Near opened his eyes, finding himself not in the original room he woke up in the day before, but in the room he'd been assigned to for dinner. Just as had happened previously, Near had not had the slightest indication of passing out, the only warning of what was to come being the Head Doctor's voice sounding through the halls.

He certainly would have to keep that in mind for the future.

This day, however, was not to be so simple as the others. When his nurse came in, instead of being escorted to the first room of the day, Near was instructed to dress himself in an utterly garish outfit (http://www.jiminees.com/Images/Large_Doll_Photos/4-4-04_large/striped_overalls.jpg) that took him more than one try to arrange properly. Why a person would want to dress themselves in such a manner, particularly for the purpose of 'blending in,' as the nurse put it, was beyond even the teen's understanding. It did speak for Landel's culture, however, if this was the sort of outfit typical worn by the civilians.

Near followed along as he was escorted to the bus, no different in appearance from the buses he had seen in his own world. He noted immediately that Mello too was on this bus, engaged in the conversation he had signed up for on the bulletin. Near would of course be listening from this point on, interested to see how Mello handled this particular situation, though he had little doubt he would be surprised by the ultimate results.

What was certainly inconvenient, however, was the seat the nurse showed him to. Or, more to the point, the person already sitting in that seat. Near recognized Amane Misa from a distance, and knew very well that she was the second Kira. In his own time it was likely that her powers had already been taken from her. In this place, however, there was no guarantee of when she was from, or if she still had the Shinigami eyes. Near would have to be careful, as it seemed the nurse had little interest in showing him another seat.

Near didn't speak to Misa, or even look at her as he moved to sit beside her. He pulled a knee up to his chest, curling a single lock of hair tightly around his finger. From the data he had on Amane, she would no doubt be the one to start any conversation. Would she recognize Near? The teen would miss nothing in her actions, and would respond accordingly.