damned_institute | Night 51: West Wing, South Hall 1-A

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/965458.html?thread=72297298#t72297298), skipping M-A Block]

He couldn't have said he felt optimistic about their chances of actually being able to help the poor bastards chosen for 'sleep studies,' but then, he was optimistic about very little, these days. Mello knew all too well that the only thing anyone was likely to want, in the aftermath of their own personal hell up in that hallway, was for any obvious bleeding to be stopped, and then to be left alone. Aid and comfort wasn't his primary goal, anyway; information was. If he found common ground with someone potentially useful, so much the better. He'd taken situations almost as bad and turned them to his advantage, he reminded himself. He could do the same with this one, even though it meant going back there.

Which Matt wasn't going to like, but he'd just have to deal. Mello leaned against the wall to wait for him, swinging the flashlight back and forth lazily, head tipped toward the door at the far end of the hall. Casual. Like a guy who'd never even heard of post-traumatic stress, much less one who suspected he was going to being playing chicken with it before the night was out.

It wasn't difficult to spot the blond barely halfway into the hall, and he actually felt good approaching his friend. That was new, but it wasn't a bad feeling in the least. There were a few more people lining the walls here, but it wasn't a large enough crowd to unsettle Matt, and he took a small puff from the cigarette as he slowed to a walk, coming right up to Mello but maintaining a safe distance, just in case he was in a sour mood.

...which he normally was, but Matt really didn't feel like any bullshit one-sided fist fights right then.

It still felt weird to look at Mello without his goggles, but it was just something else he needed to hurry up and deal with. The sooner he was past it, the sooner he could completely focus on a way to leave Landel's with his heart still beating.

A quick jerk of his head in greeting as Matt said around the fag, "Hey." A gruff greeting, yeah, but one he knew Mello would prefer. It meant everything was cool, everything was normal. "So what's the plan?"

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swornandbroken.livejournal.com - 2010-08-31 02:25 (UTC) - Expand

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gamingsostfu.livejournal.com - 2010-08-31 20:36 (UTC) - Expand

There was a door up ahead, on the right, that went into the unknown - Logan pointed his flashlight at the next one, further down the hall. It was obviously time for his favorite thing in the whole wide world: trial and error.

He didn't know what he'd do if he found M1 and Kurt wasn't in it. Sleep studies, some ominous part of his brain suggested. And what then, if he was gone, and not out in the big hall, waiting? The countdown to morning was on, and he had at least two possible threats to go through before he even got past what he'd already seen. Scott would prioritize: Kurt can take care of himself, or Kurt's been brainwashed; he won't listen to you even if you do find him. Something like that.

Not that it really mattered what Cyclops would say, Logan decided. If that was the case, the basement thing was going on the back burner. Kurt, if nobody else and if only years in the future, would do the same for him.

Edited 2010-08-30 16:58 (UTC)

McCoy walked through the halls at a brisk pace. It was going to take too long to get to Dean's room at this rate.

His mind drifted back to the captain as he walked. It wasn't like him to actually admit he needed the rest. At least, not that often. Something was either wrong, Jim was either that tired (unlikely, he'd seen him work on less), or he was trying to get the doctor off his back. It was probably the first or the last.

Maybe he should check on him quick. Jim was a grown man, but he also had cussed stubborn streak in him a mile long. That, combined with a general lack of self-preservation made it hard to count on Jim accepting actual rest when there was work to be done, even when he desperately needed it.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/966747.html?thread=72292955#t72292955)]

Edited 2010-08-30 03:00 (UTC)

[From here.]

As expected, he had beaten Roxas. Sora didn't really take much pride in it, though, since he would have been sort of ashamed of himself if he couldn't make a quick getaway from his room by this point. His Other hadn't been around for that long, all things considered. Even though he'd actually walked these halls twice before, he clearly didn't remember and probably never would.

All these missing memories were so tricky. Sora had gotten enough of that even before coming here...

Well, waiting was something he was used to, and so the boy positioned himself against the wall across from the door that he'd just walked through, swinging his flashlight around in his hand as he waited for a familiar face to emerge. He couldn't help noticing that Mello, of all people, was also waiting nearby. He'd only spoken to the scarred man once, and it had mainly been to exchange information, but it was always interesting to spot someone he recognized.

Sora watched Mello, but made sure not to stare or be too obvious. He was really just trying to pass the time, and he didn't think that turning the radio on and listening to random music would be the best way to do that.

[For Roxas.]

"Sora!" Roxas caught sight of his Other the moment he stepped through the door; he waved and walked over, shutting his own light off. He'd donned his Organization coat despite being firmly detached from the group, with one pocket bulging with his radio and the other holding the flashlight as he stuck it between the leather. If Sora had his, the radio must have been helpful in some was - really, he was hoping to hear that girl's voice again, hoping she'd get away somehow. Wasn't she just another victim, anyway?

"Hey, you heard that radio thing, right?" he asked between breaths of air - he'd run from his room, since it seemed the safest way to travel. And maybe he didn't want to make Sora wait. And maybe he was a little excited... "With Jill? Do you know anything about her?"

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As Peter took a right out of the block, he made sure to listen for any nearby attacks, as unlikely as it was for something to creep this close to the rooms this early in the night. Knowing that Claire was out and about made him hyper-aware, and he had to remind himself that it didn't mean she had been taken if she took more than five minutes to get to their meeting place.

Hell, he wasn't even there yet, though he was getting close. The stairs were a reliable place to meet, seeing how most anyone could find them regardless of how new they were. Claire had already been through two nights, at that, and one of them had been an extremely confusing one. He couldn't imagine starting off in this place with that as your first nightshift experience.

The girl knew how to handle herself well enough, though; being able to heal was also a help, obviously. And yet Peter still found himself hurrying to meet her, not wanting to worry her either.

He realized that he might be leading Claire right up through the area where Elle had been killed, but maybe that would be a good thing. He could tell her about it and make it real for her, because really, there was no such thing as too scared. The more scared she was, the faster she would run when Sylar found her. And Peter wanted her to run. No one was wise to fight that man, except...

Well, except for him.

He hated to think of that murderer prowling around through the halls, and more than that, he hated the thought of Elle wandering around thinking that she wasn't in danger of dying by Sylar's hand once more. Sighing, Peter continued down the hall.

[from here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/965458.html?thread=72315986#t72315986)

This hall was traced lightly, the presence of others noticed and accounted for. Thoughts taking into consideration the items seen in their hands, and which could be used against him. The pillow-case hung impotently against his leg, as if to mimic motivation.

If he could get outside, then he, too, would have weapon in hand.

[to here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/963137.html?thread=72316481#t72316481)

Edited 2010-08-29 23:33 (UTC)

[From here.]

The next hall was just as dull as he remembered it, and Lelouch gave it only a cursory check for monsters before heading toward the next. Nothing to see here. Move along.

[To here.]

Edited 2010-08-30 03:54 (UTC)

There were a few patients here, most of them only recognizable in the vaguely familiar sort of way that came after nearly a month of living in a confined space with them. Javert ignored them and kept walking.

[From here]

Gren stepped through the doorway from the men's room block and into the larger hallway, casting his flashlight around. There wasn't much to see, just a few patients going about whatever business they had for the night. The stairs he was pretty sure must lead to the second floor were down at the junction between this hall and the one that lead to the Sunroom, unless he was very mistaken, so he turned in that direction.

Edited 2010-08-30 05:29 (UTC)

[To here]

[From here.]

As Harvey moved down the hall toward the nurse's station, he couldn't help noticing that the kid he'd spoken to in the grocery store at Doyleton that past Saturday was waiting around nearby. They hadn't gotten to know each other well enough for him to even give him a nod, especially since the young man seemed to be deep in thought.

Unfortunately, it looked like he would be following in his footsteps, as Jones wasn't here yet. He didn't know where the man's room was, but he would have thought it would be close-by, seeing how he'd been one of the first to the meeting spot the night before. Maybe he'd gotten tied up. There was no indication that he'd been taken for a sleep study yet.

And if he had? What would he do then? Harvey already knew how that decision would be made, but it was too early to bother with it. Instead, he leaned himself against the wall next to the nurse's station and then grabbed his gun out of the elastic of his pants, turning it around in his hands to pass the time until the archaeologist got there.

If anyone gave him a strange look as they walked by, he'd just glare right back at them.

[For Indy!]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/962955.html?thread=72337547#t72337547)]

Indy'd thought he'd made good time to the hall, but the small crowd of people already moving through it suggested otherwise. He let out a small grunt of annoyance--you just never knew here. As luck would have it, he could already pick out Dent waiting for him up ahead by the wall, so they at least weren't going to be any later in leaving. Wherever they were going, Indy was ready to hurry up and get there.

As he got closer, he saw Dent had brought the gun. It wasn't a model Indy was familiar with (no surprises there), but it was a handgun and it looked like it'd hurt if you got shot with it, which was good enough for him. Speaking of getting shot, he wished Dent would stop messing around with it before he hurt someone. The little hallway was unusually full of "patients," including several kids and that Logan guy, to whom Indy'd nodded as he passed. Indy didn't particularly want to end the night with an accidental gunshot wound either.

The best way to avoid that outcome was probably to get moving as fast as possible, so he made a beeline for Dent, raising a hand briefly in greeting as he did. "Evening," he said, and decided to skip the small talk and get right to business. "Like I said, I don't have any particular plans. We could try to take a look around the basement, or we could head outside the compound and see what else we can find." Dent was already dressed in coat and boots, so maybe he favored the latter option, which was fine with Indy. He wouldn't mind seeing if what Kirk had said about the stars around here was accurate.

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dualistic - 2010-08-31 00:31 (UTC) - Expand

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its-the-mileage.livejournal.com - 2010-08-31 04:23 (UTC) - Expand

[ From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/963137.html?thread=72340801#t72340801) ]

She was getting closer.
Amaterasu was tense, excited to meet up with the Cake Club, yet wary of her surroundings. That little beam of light kept her going. It was nice not to have to rely on the pattern of the walls.

[ To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/966029.html?thread=72342157#t72342157) ]

[from here]

It was here Snow finally noticed. Unlike last night, the halls actually had people wandering around. Well, you know, openly. Everyone had been hiding last night, so he'd kind of figured everyone would be doing the same thing tonight. But as he moved along, he saw lights coming from some devices other people had managed to find. There were also people talking, whispering, moving around.

Maybe it was because there hadn't been any monsters yesterday? That had to be it. Everyone probably felt safer since it looked like the monsters weren't coming out, so they were all feeling more relaxed. If that were the case, maybe if he moved fast with the rescue group, they could just keep going and bust a way out of here, too. Take advantage while the coast was clear, you know?

Had to go meet with the others first though. The meeting spot definitely wasn't in this hallway, he knew that for sure. So he kept moving on, hand against the wall and walking around the others in the hall, until he reached the end where the hall opened up.

[to here]

Edited 2010-08-31 01:57 (UTC)

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/963137.html?thread=72361793#t72361793).]

There were fewer people around the closer that Ruby got to Sam's room. Most had already left for the night, were already on their merry little ways. This also meant that there were fewer beams of light to see by. The demon was forced to turn on her flashlight, just to make sure that she wouldn't run into anything with sharp teeth along the way.

It wasn't like she could get lost. She knew the way pretty damn well by now.

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/964861.html?thread=72363517#t72363517).]

Edited 2010-08-31 06:14 (UTC)

[from here]

Two paths. This was about where his travels had been halted last night, when the darkness descended on him and he'd woken up again to the white ceiling of M39. Elena was right, it was weird that they were allowed to wander around — "even the bad ones," as Claire had told him. What did she mean by that? Heroes and villains. Young girls and vampires. Stefan smiled ruefully at himself as he considered their options.

To his left, the hallway stretched on into darkness, but he'd seen during the day that another patient block lay up ahead. The dancing beams from flashlights also suggested as much. To their right, the path immediately opened up into a larger hallway, from where his ears could pick up indistinct voices. People gathering and talking. They'd crossed this way a couple of times to get to and from the Sun Room.

Left or right. F30 was the room number Elena had given him. So which way would be the quickest to get to her?

Touché.

"Stefan displays confidence," Damon said. "I like it."

Short-term confidence, at least. It wasn't long before his brother hesitated at the sudden number of options facing them. Fortunately, Damon had seen exactly which direction Elena had gone dashing out from. They were in a different hallway now, obviously, but since he'd turned left to get to the cafeteria this morning, Elena had to be one of the halls over to the right. Unless she was on the other side of the building altogether, but a) that made very little sense and b) they'd...just have to find out, wouldn't they?

The momentary pause allowed Damon to catch up, whereupon he turned the corner without waiting for Stefan to finish meditating on life and the universe. For someone bent on getting to Elena ASAP, his brother was being awfully thoughtful about the whole navigation aspect.

Though true, it wasn't as if Elena would be going anywhere now that she knew she wasn't alone. Possibly. Anyway, Stefan's life wasn't in immediate danger, so Damon had faith that she'd stay put instead of rushing somewhere stupidly.

And no doubt Stefan had assured her he'd be coming along to pick her up. Of course.

[going here]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/964399.html?thread=72377135#t72377135)]

Another corridor, one that was once more defined by silence and emptiness. The darkness that was so different from the darkness he had once investigated revealed patient nor monster, at least allowing the Nobody free passage. Did these abominations even venture near the patient blocks?

Without further delay, Xemnas moved down the hall and turned the corner.

[To here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/963137.html?thread=72378177#t72378177)

[[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/964861.html?thread=72322557#t72322557)]]

So far, so good. Nothing popped out and no screams of terror or the smell of blood in the air. But then again, the night was barely getting started. Not a pleasant thought. He banished it quickly, flashlight bouncing along through the hall as he jogged toward the larger ones. So far the hall in front of the dorms might as well have been Scramble Crossing. He seemed to find new people there every night. Some useful, some bizarre, and some... he wasn't really sure about.

[[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/963137.html?thread=72405569#t72405569)]]

[ Skipped from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/966747.html?thread=72293723). ]

Haseo was clearly on edge as he exited the door into the patient room block... not because there seemed to be anything unusual or dangerous there, but because he was nursing heightened emotions already and had had far too much happen to let his guard down even the slightest bit. Therefore, even if he was silent as he walked and thought to himself, his eyes continued to move and his posture remained tense. He wasn't an expert at being as cautious as this place demanded, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try his best at it.

Of course, it would probably help if he gave some sort of explanation for where they were going, but it barely crossed his mind to offer one until his mind accidentally came back around to... something he'd left alone for over an entire week.

"Hey... do you remember talking about the basement here?" he asked, both suddenly and a bit hesitantly as he glanced back. It was kind of weird that so much had happened since then, but considering they'd planned on trying to find it the night he'd been taken for torture, perhaps it wasn't all that odd nobody had bothered to mention it in the meantime.

"The basement...it's been a long time since we talked about it. But I...I do remember. Do...do you want to try it? Going down there, I mean..."

That much was obvious, and Endrance regretted the words the moment they came out of his mouth, for being too obvious. But they were out, and they were as good as anything. The Head Doctor was supposed to be down there, and they were certainly better equipped, in terms of weaponry, than they had been when they had initially thought of going. That was a point in their favor.

What wasn't a point in their favor...the sneezing didn't help, but more than that, the emotions didn't help. Haseo was tense, and Endrance picked up on the tension, yes, but he also picked up a lot of his own nervousness. If things went badly down there...they needed a third, is what they needed. If either of them had seen Alkaid lately, the choice would be clear, but...

So he followed, and he thought. Who? Tsukasa...or Leon? Possibly...

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feartehreaper.livejournal.com - 2010-09-07 23:31 (UTC) - Expand

[ From here. ]

It didn't take long for Sylar to exit his patient block, which was more than he could say for his progress the night before. He immediately wrenched his mind from the memory; it'd been more unsettling than it'd been helpful, even if it had been pretty damn helpful. In a relative sense.

Back to the task at hand. Sylar already knew where he was going tonight, even if he hadn't given it much thought until now: upstairs. So far, upstairs had been infinitely more productive than anywhere else, even if he didn't have a flamboyant little death god to lead him around this time.

Probably for the best. Sylar was sure Grell had given him just a little piece of the Landel's pie, and he wasn't about to play into his game just to get to the juicy filling.

Quickly, Sylar made his way into the next hallway, then toward the stairs.

[ To here. ]

Edited 2010-09-02 06:12 (UTC)

Another nearly empty hallway. Somehow, the continuing lack of traffic outside of a few other prisoners wasn't exactly comforting. While he wasn't exactly hoping to run into either a guard or the monsters nearly everyone he'd spoken to during the day had mentioned, it would have at least one benefit: he'd have a better idea of what he was up against. So far, there were absurdly well-coordinated orderlies, and that was about it.

Not enough to keep so many people captive, of that he was certain. Not even with the application of absurdly effective knock-out gas, or whatever it was they'd used the night before.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/963137.html?thread=72443457#t72443457)]

"I wonder what crazy thing's going to happen tonight. First, the doors go all wormholey, then the mad scientist flips a switch or something, and we're all boned. Linguistically." She shook her head. "Is there such a thing as a normal night here?"

The news about Jill gave her pause. She'd always taken it for granted that a scrappy band of rebels would be the good guys, and an evil mad scientist and his creepy, brainwashed minions would be... well, evil. And creepy. "And maybe Jill didn't have time to give the real clue. Or it led to another clue that was just really well-hidden." That seemed likeliest to her.

Niikura laughed. "Don't think so. This place, it's really crazy. Well. I'd call it interestin', but most people, they don't really see things my way."

It really did intrigue him, every action that the doctor took. What was the ultimate goal behind all of this? Toying with people could be fun enough, but after a while, surely even that would become routine and mundane. There had to be something to all of this, something that linked everything together...

He shrugged. "Who knows? It's not like anyone's met 'em yet, right? I'm just goin' by what's happened to me."

Niikura noticed that they weren't moving toward the front doors, which was the direction that he presumed they would be approaching the forest from. Instead, they were going in the direction that Mello had taken him his first night: toward the recreation field. He'd never considered that a viable way to get into the forest, but...he was new.

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Traveling in the building was beginning to become a nuisance. Naraku missed the outdoors; so widespread, so open and inviting. It invited him to make it his, of course. And he would.

...just as soon as he located the way out, once and for all.

He entered the next hallway, a grand, wide space - though filled with bustling humans and their sickening scent. His strength and speed had been altered somehow; why had the demented mastermind Landel not thought to decrease the power attributed to his nose? Naraku would have thanked him.

It occurred to the youkai that he'd chosen to go left the night before, heading for the door that so obviously led outdoors.

That had been a major failure, as far as quickly formed plans went, so Naraku chose to go right this time, deciding that he would brave the throngs of humans in favor of a new plan.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/962955.html?thread=72406155#t72406155).]

Kenshin and Cloud made good time to the first of the larger hallways, headed towards the women's block. The hallways were clearing; maybe the rurouni had been standing outside his door a little longer than he'd thought.

Hopefully Yuffie wouldn't be too annoyed with them.

"Knowing Yuffie-dono, she's probably got some grand scheme cooked up for this evening. Did she tell you what she's got planned?"

"Not really, no, but I'm sure she'll improvise if she doesn't."

Cloud wasn't going to push leadership issues here. He wasn't that attached to the position, and the fact of the matter was that Yuffie had been around far longer than he had. She'd know better than he would what was worth checking out and what wasn't.

Like Kenshin, he also noticed everyone milling about already. He didn't count it as anything out of the ordinary, as the number of people he saw out and about when he left on any given night never seemed to be the same.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/963788.html?thread=72457164#t72457164)]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/966029.html?thread=72436365#t72436365)]

The sound of his own footsteps against the cold floor slowly began to spark uneasiness into Isaac's stomach as he continued down the long stretch of hallway. It didn't have to do with how loudly they seemed to echo against the backdrop of eerie silence, but rather how their monotonous beat caused his mind wander. He had too much to think about, but there was no point in pushing everything back into the depths of his mind again. He would just have to continue on, feeling slightly not anxious than he had before.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/963137.html?thread=72467521#t72467521)]

Edited 2010-09-04 06:10 (UTC)

[From here.]

"'Scuse me!" Peter hissed, half out of breath and too distracted to even think about talking. He'd just barely missed colliding head on with one of the stragglers, but he didn't stop. He didn't slow down.

There were stairs at the end of the main hallway, right? He'd used them to get up to the morgue with Matt that one time. Thank god they were so close by. He was going to have to do enough hunting around as it was.

Please let Brainy be okay...Let me make it on time just this once. Please please please...

[To here.]

Edited 2010-09-05 02:20 (UTC)

He breathed a sigh of relief as he walked past the door, a little bit further away from that thing he had encountered just moments before. Locke didn't want to admit it (and he never would), he didn't really have a chance against these things without a weapon. With a weapon... well, even then he wasn't all too sure.

Locke passed through the hallway, even more alert than he was before.

Edited 2010-09-05 03:09 (UTC)