damned_institute | Nightshift 45: M11-M20 Hallway

It really hadn't been a long walk to get to this room, had it? Well, that was good. Allen knocked on the door and waited. It was really dark out here, and there were lots of people around...was that normal? What kinds of delusions were people having?

He hoped that kind of thing wasn't actually the norm. It would be hard to protect so many people at once! Even so, he'd do his best to help protect them. Even if it took awhile to get things straightened out so he could get home, he could always lend a hand. There was nothing wrong with that at all.

Another night, and another melodramatic announcement over the intercom. Yue would have preferred to be spared Landel's posturing and gloating, but it was simple enough to ignore. After all, he had something to accomplish this evening, and hopefully it would prove to be worthwhile in the end. It had better be worth it, after all the work they'd put into it and the risks they'd taken...

No. It would be. Yue was certain of that, or so he told himself.

As he started to push to his feet, though, intending to retrieve the items they'd collected from their hiding place in the closet, the guardian abruptly froze in place. Something was...different. Wrong? No. Wait, not wrong but, somehow...right.

The lock on the door clicked open but Yue didn't notice. Light flared at his back, taking shape and stretching out like wings - and then the light vanished but the wings stayed, great white-feathered wings which the guardian abruptly had to draw in lest they take up far too much space in the small room. Wings that he'd sorely missed for the last two weeks and now, suddenly, had appeared without him willing it.

It left him alternately pleased to have them back at last, having been displeased at the lack of two of his limbs for all that time, and once more irritated at the way those in charge of the Institute toyed with them so. His ability to shift forms had already been taken from him, and now he was being taunted with the presence of his wings. Although in his distraction and muted delight, he'd also managed to completely forget the presence of another in the room at the moment.

That had been...unsettling, to say the least. Once the lights were out, though, Endrance quickly figured out the mechanics of getting into what should be a physically impossible outfit, and let out a relieved sigh. That was so much better that it wasn't even funny. Even if the outfit was a little different than he'd thought it would actually feel, he felt like something was right that hadn't been.

Once he'd made the last adjustments, he took Haseo's sword and his own pipe from the closet, then headed out, but not without stopping for a moment. What had he been thinking a few minutes ago? That brainwashing had better not be catching...

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/754018.html)]

Edited 2009-11-22 05:38 (UTC)

[continued from dinner (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/752063.html?thread=62067391#t62067391)]

That announcement killed the somewhat optimistic impatience that Luke had after Cloud managed to make him feel better about things. The guy in charge definitely had some kind of problem, and Luke was ready to show him a lesson. But given how long things took on their journey, he had a feeling that it was going to be a while before he really got things sorted out. It was just the first night, so he had to be patient enough.

After he had finished the tempura on his plate, he returned to his bed and sprawled out, flashlight lying against his stomach, and waited for the door to click open. A part of him wanted to stand near it, watching, waiting, even pacing, but he knew it would annoy him if someone else was doing that, so he tried to give an air of calm. Who knew what really lied out there? Depending on where he was at any given period of time, monsters always tended to look ... different. Some were scary, some were weak, and some, as Tear seemed to try to keep from pointing out, were rather cute.

Of course, Luke had a feeling that they wouldn't be getting warnings about cute, fluffy animals if they posed a threat. Those types usually weren't that tough. Or maybe it was just how Tear handled them.

Either way, he didn't let himself carry on thoughts about fluffy monsters versus scary ones for too long, instead thinking of strategies. Not that Luke was fantastic at them, but it killed the remaining time while his right foot moved side to side until that announcement clicked on, and not long after, the doors opened.

Something like "it's about time" seemed inappropriate. It wasn't like Luke wanted to trek out there into unknown territory. He kept his mouth shut as he sat up, flashlight rolling down to his lap, and turned so his feet could quickly hit the floor as he stood up. "I guess we're as prepared as we can be." That sounded a little less like someone who wanted to rush out there, he decided. And a bit more fitting for the slightly more subdued feeling that was coming over him.

Edited 2009-11-22 10:54 (UTC)

The beginning of Nightshift had long since become business as usual for Kenshin. He would finish his dinner, bid his roommate farewell, and then go to his closet to collect his things before heading out. He did it every night, and the actions had practically become unconscious. That was why, when he got to his closet to retrieve his sword, it took him several moments to realize what he was seeing.

His clothes. Red kimono, white hakama, tabi, and sandals, all there and all so very familiar.

The rurouni reached out his hand and felt the soft cotton and rough silk that he had practically lived in for the past year. So this was how Okita and Homura had both gotten their clothes. They must have just appeared in their closets, just like this.

Kenshin changed into his clothes without a second thought. They felt so much more comfortable than the oddly constricting Western-style trousers provided here. Whoever said that the clothes make the man was not entirely wrong. Kenshin had always been the rurouni here, but he felt even more like his old self not that he was wearing his old clothes than he had before. It was strange.

With this sudden burst of confidence, he stepped out into the hallway to await Yuffie's mystery friend.

After that reaction, David wasn't all too thrilled at the idea of continuing any conversation with his roommate. He remained silent for the duration of dinner, and just hoped Kaoro wouldn't decide to strangle him or anything in his sleep. He was looking forward to actually having a peaceful night for once. With everything he'd gone through, he deserved that much.

His mind, however, didn't seem to agree with this sentiment. The normal announcement shifted, as it seemed to every night, to something sinister. He pursed his lips a little, thinking to himself. No, actually, this was fine, right? He could work with this. He was getting better. The announcement wasn't being detailed and horrible like it normally was, a sure sign that his delusion wasn't as bad as it used to be. Maybe hoping for nothing at all was being unrealistic. He just had to tell himself this wasn't real. There was no laughter, no condescending voice, no click of the door lock. It was all in his head. Just in his head.

David sat on his bed and closed his eyes, ignoring whatever his roommate was doing until he heard silence. The room was blissfully quiet; peaceful. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. ...Empty. His roommate had disappeared. He bit his bottom lip and looked around the room a bit warily. It really looked like he had left the room entirely. Was this really an illusion? Had the doors actually opened? It was possible. Maybe... He could always test it; try the door himself to assure himself it was, indeed, locked. But knowing him, it would open and something horrible would be right there. He obviously had a pretty sick imagination, and David didn't want to test it.

In the end, he didn't move. He simply sat there and tried to will himself to cool down enough to attempt sleeping. Maybe then, he could have a little peace.

Edited 2009-11-23 01:31 (UTC)

As the Head Doctor's voice rattled through the intercom, Kratos's thoughts drifted toward Sheena, who he knew would be spending this entire night with people who thought her unfortunately insane. He personally felt she was unnecessarily punishing herself, but he understood her desire to keep her friends all safe, even if they all didn't know her the same way anymore. He silently wished her luck; she was going to need it.

Kratos allowed his roommate to step outside before him before pulling on his customary outfit, grabbing his sword, and heading out the door. Hitsugaya wanted to give last night's foray into the basement a second try; this time, he was hoping they would get farther than that peculiar room filled with suits of armor.

Dinner had been silent thanks to Dias's absence. Kakashi had been so caught up with the ninja that he'd failed to notice it until the final shift, when it was too late to ask about his presence. But the pristine bed and the lack of a meal meant nothing good, so the ninja would make a point to ask after him the next day. The rest of the time was spent eating his food (and avoiding the tempura--why on all days wasn't Dias there?), then getting ready for the coming night. He'd purposely not written any plans for the ninja, deciding that he wanted to see how others would react without his direct leadership. It would give Kakashi a better idea of where to go in terms of teaching them self-reliance, along with deciding what they needed to work on as a whole.

So Kakashi's plan for the night revolved around checking on the others, as well as getting metal for his appointment with the toymaker. While Sakura and Sasuke were obviously important to get to, Kakashi wanted to check on Shikamaru first. While the risk of either of the brainwashed ninja getting into trouble was high, their inexperience would likely mean that they would move slower through the halls, making them easier to catch up with. More importantly, they were now unaware of all of the things they'd suffered through, both individually and as a whole. Shikamaru, on the other hand, hadn't been offered any relief from the torture. Quite the opposite, as it only seemed to get continually worse for him in particular.

Kakashi was prepared to go by the time Landel made his announcement: short and to the point. Though there was danger in the words, Kakashi wasn't about to complain about hearing their torturer any less, and headed out the door.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/755104.html?thread=62245280#t62245280J)]

Edited 2009-11-24 17:30 (UTC)

If he had to be on patrol, this was a good night for it. Maybe for the first time since he got here, Indy was both uninjured and, if not actually well-armed, at least approaching it. Once dressed, he tucked a scalpel into his jacket pocket, coiled the whip over his shoulder (he really needed to come up with a belt hook) and picked up both the flashlight and the metal pipe. Might not be enough to beat back King Kong, but it should be enough to convince any wayward patients to stay inside for the night.

Indy set off.

Well, that was certainly intriguing, but Time should never be wasted. The moment the door unlocked, X gave his goodbyes and was on his way, wandering about the halls to see where they took him.

Hm...

It was dark. Needless to say, his coat did wonders to blend him into the darkness, the soft thud of leather boots against tiled floor and occasional rustle of silver clasps being the only signs that he were there at all. If he chose to pull up his hood and slow down, he could go completely noticed to anything and everything that may have wished to spot him.

But he was not about to sneak through the halls like some promiscuous girl on a mission to see her precious partner. This was not a mission, after all, he thought to himself. Simply put, it was exploration for the sake of exploration. A game for the sake of the game. There was no need to silence himself when he had yet to completely see what Fate could have in store for him here.

[Off to see the Roxas (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/754522.html?thread=62326874#t62326874)]

So even Landel was bored tonight, hm? It wasn't surprising. Not to Porky, at least. After all, how was anyone supposed to be the teeniest bit excited if nothing ever happened here? Oh, sure, there were monsters and all, but what about the shenanigans? If there weren't any crazy schemes being planned or diabolical and fiendishly over-complicated plots being sketched out, there wasn't much to stimulate an intelligent mind such as Porky's.

Ah, well. He was supposed to meet up with Harley tonight. Maybe that would provide some semblance of fun to his otherwise dreary schedule.

As he sighed and managed to force himself off his bed, Porky gathered his unlit torch, a notebook, and a pen. Perhaps an idea for some wacky hijinks would present itself as Porky roamed the hallways.

Outside M14

M11

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M19

Outside M20

M12

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M13