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damned_institute2010-10-12 06:00 am
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Night 52: F11-F20 Hallway
Asuka had almost missed the eerie, parting words of the head doctor as she hustled around her room. Everything had been eaten so she would have plenty of energy to burn all night. Her roommate never returned to the room, which was more than fine with Asuka. It gave her free reign to bustle around their compact prison cell, grabbing her baseball bat from the wardrobe against the wall, as well as her red jersey Junpei had given her. She wrinkled her nose every time she saw it, but it was her favorite shade of red. It made her stand out and that was very important. The eva pilot also remembered to take along her radio this time after Okita had stressed how important it was.
Since there had yet to be any regular pattern from the nurses suddenly walking in after dinner was handed out, Asuka was confident her preparation would not be discovered. True, her roommate could walk in any minute along with her resident vulture, but the head doctor's broadcast was already running. It wasn't likely she was here any longer. It was the same superficial yammering as the night before and the night before that, so the redhead didn't bother paying much attention. The institute grew silent and dark soon after as Asuka tugged her jersey on over her regular uniform. It was in her struggle that she heard the strange chuckle and the ominous message thereafter.
Well, it was either for them or for another person in his office. Either way, it seemed this night might get interesting. It was hard to manage, but Asuka successfully grabbed her flashlight, radio, and baseball bat before leaving her room for the main hallway.
[To here]
Since there had yet to be any regular pattern from the nurses suddenly walking in after dinner was handed out, Asuka was confident her preparation would not be discovered. True, her roommate could walk in any minute along with her resident vulture, but the head doctor's broadcast was already running. It wasn't likely she was here any longer. It was the same superficial yammering as the night before and the night before that, so the redhead didn't bother paying much attention. The institute grew silent and dark soon after as Asuka tugged her jersey on over her regular uniform. It was in her struggle that she heard the strange chuckle and the ominous message thereafter.
Well, it was either for them or for another person in his office. Either way, it seemed this night might get interesting. It was hard to manage, but Asuka successfully grabbed her flashlight, radio, and baseball bat before leaving her room for the main hallway.
[To here]
F13
And Elle didn't want to find out what her plans were. She didn't care, frankly.
So she left her room and headed out into the hallway, remembering her bat and flashlight like she had the night before. She had no plans of forgetting them again. Ever.
[ to here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/988120.html?thread=73454296#t73454296)]
Re: F13
She had to go. Claire couldn't stand the thought of spending another minute in the same room as her. Let alone sleep while she was around.
It didn't matter now. She was alone for the time being, and finding a way out was top priority. She had to find a way out. Get to the outside and run as fast as she can. (Or maybe wait on that. Keep note of any exits, and see if she could grab the kids tomorrow night and make a break for it. Rika and Goku did not belong here.) This place was dangerous in a way the island hadn't been, and she didn't have the advantage of experience on her side. She knew the Island and its threats like the back of her hand. Back there, she'd known what she was doing. This place was a stranger to her.
Claire fumbled in the darkness for her torch. Under the pillow, right? That's where it had been the first time. She tossed it aside and groped the barren sheets for it. And when she finally gripped the handle, her knuckles brushed along something sharp. Claire paused. She withdrew the torch and flipped it over, spilling light onto her bed.
Rika's knife.
Her eyes lit up. Not so defenseless after all, was she?
[To here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/988120.html?thread=73523928#t73523928)]
F16
Next to her flashlight was a radio, completely undamaged. Well, well. What was this? It seemed the Head Doctor was adamant that they stay apprised of every broadcast. She left it behind; one night to sort out two murders was a fair bargain. Besides, the bulletin had proved that they didn't lack for investigative minds. She picked up the light and the candlestick, tucked her notebook under her arm like it was an unremarkable case file, and left her room.
[to here]
F16
Pushing her chair back, Ilia stood up from her desk and winced slightly from the pull on her wound. She'd taken all fourth shift to stretch but it still felt tender. At least she had something to help it heal up nice and tidy. Reaching into her desk drawer, Ilia brought out some of the supplies she and Anise had gathered. Lana had been quick to gather her items and start out, leaving Ilia as much privacy as she needed to redress her leg. There was a long, red trench down the edge of her calf, but luckily it had been shallow. She could still move on it fine at least, but probably not the whole night through.
Maybe I should just stay in? The thought was appealing and besides, she hadn't made any plans tonight like she had the day before. But that was no excuse to be lazy. She would take it easy, yes, but she'd also train a bit. Standing off in the middle of the room to keep out of the way of obstructions, Ilia began a simple shadow boxing routine. She focused on her posture and stance rather than the power behind her fists. A journey back to the basics was always a rewarding venture.
Re: F16
Ilia... The message the woman left on the bulletin board was still fresh in Anise's mind. 'Come see me if you ever need help.' 'F16.' It was only two doors down from Anise's room.
Anise made her way back down the hallway, stopping in front of the door to Room F16. And there... she hesitated. Anise didn't want to have to run to anyone for help; she had to show that she was every bit as capable as her friends. But if Tear was in trouble, then Anise had to do everything she could to help.
Finally, she tucked her flashlight under her arm, lifted a hand and knocked on the door. Part of her regretted it immediately - this wasn't Ilia's problem. She didn't even know Tear. Even if she had offered to help Anise, it wasn't fair to make her get involved in something that could end up being seriously dangerous.
But she'd already knocked, so it was too late to change her mind now. "Ilia?" she called, "... Are you in there?"
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"Coming!" Ilia moved quickly to the door, opened it, then stepped to the side to let the younger girl in. She also took a quick glance about the darkened hallway, but she couldn't see if Anise was being followed or had brought any friends.
She gave Anise a reassuring smile. If the guardian had come here instead of running off on her own or with friends tonight then something was probably wrong. Or maybe she just needed help with redressing her bandages. Her wound was located on her shoulder, which could be awkward to redress on her own. But Ilia wasn't going to assume anything. "Anything I can help you with tonight, Anise?"
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F14
Suddenly alert, Anise shot up into a sitting position. She'd only meant to rest her eyes for a few minutes, but it looked like she drifted off at some point. From the looks of it, night had already began, but how long had it been going on? The girl slid off her bed and took a look at the untouched dinner on her desk. The ice cream hadn't melted too much; that meant it was still early. Tear was probably on her way.
... Where was Rika? Anise was sure she would have heard the girl come in. Looking around, there was no sign of her... and no sign that she had even come back for dinner. Could something have happened to Rika? Anise's chest tightened as that dark thought crossed her mind, but she knew she couldn't jump to conclusions. It was still possible that Rika came and went while she was asleep. That girl wasn't particularly noisy, after all.
In the meantime, there was an untouched box of food next to her. Anise was a little hungry, and perhaps more importantly, she didn't want Tear to come in, see that she hadn't eaten, and start thinking there was something wrong with her. Anise sat down at her desk, deciding to eat as much as she could while waiting. A half-cleared tray would look much better than a full one.
When she reached the last section of the box, Tear still hadn't arrived. Her room had to be close to Anise's. What was taking her so long?
That tight, heavy feeling was coming back. Tear wouldn't waste time, and Tear wouldn't get lost. Something must have happened.
Anise grabbed her flashlight and mallet and poked her head out the doorway, pointing the flashlight around the hallway in some hope that she might spot Tear approaching. There was no sign of her, however, and so Anise slipped out of the room and walked cautiously to the edge of the hall. Peering around the corner, she saw the main hall of the girls' block... and still no Tear.
Now what? If Tear disappeared so suddenly between fourth shift and the start of night, it had to mean she was taken away. If Anise was the only one who knew about this, she couldn't just ignore it, but she wasn't in any shape to go running after Tear alone, either...
... No, she wouldn't have to go alone. There was still one person she might be able to turn to.
[moving up one thread to here]
Outside F14
Ilia moved her flashlight around the hall, making certain nothing nasty was awaiting them while they took the brief walk to Anise's room. She stopped just short of going inside the door, in case she had misheard or Anise's roommate was still inside. "This the one, Anise?"
F14. She would remember this. If Anise ever needed company, or Ilia found herself also with some trouble she knew where at least one dependable friend could be found. And the location was convenient. Anise didn't have to risk her safety just to come see Ilia, so the woman could rest easily on that end.
Re: Outside F14
Over the weeks, Anise had done a lot to brighten up her room, with cute dolls positioned on her dresser and her origami animals lined up on her desk. She usually loved showing off her room when she had the chance, though right now there wasn't much time for that.
The girl went straight to her desk, ripped a piece of paper from her journal, and quickly scribbled a note to Tear, explaining that she had gone to look for her. At the end of the note, she asked Tear to leave a message on the bulletin tomorrow. To make it stand out, she pushed most of the other things on her desk to one side, and left the origami duck Tear had watched her make on top of it.
"... Finished!" she announced, whirling around to face Ilia again. "Let's start looking. I know three places that special counseling patients tend to show up at, so we should try those first." There wasn't much time, so she'd have to explain as they walked.
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F14
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F20
She had no idea what to expect when it officially became ‘night’. She had been warned by nearly everyone not to leave the room alone; that there were literal monsters stalking the halls. No one had really told her more than that—so she wasn’t expecting to hear the ominous change to the intercom. She paused in her exploration of the closet, turning her eyes warily toward the source, her jaw tightening as she heard the doctor’s taunt. She jerked abruptly at the sound of the door unlocking, a chill going up her spine. She watched the exit in turn for another long minute before taking slow steps toward it, the temptation to move there, certainly. She went as far as to set her hand against the western knob and stopped. She didn’t even know how safe it would be to even open the door, and all that she had found in the room thus far that could even really be used as a weapon were the pens in the desk drawer or the fork from her dinner.
Tomoe swallowed thickly and backed away from the door again. Kenshin had said he would find her again before they were separated that morning. She had gotten his message on the bulletin board. He would be coming, and she would wait there inside the room for him. She wasn’t sure she was ready for whatever the meeting would entail, but she wasn’t completely stupid.
And she didn’t particularly want to die again.
Re: F20
And here he was. F20, just like Tomoe had written in her note. Kenshin took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock. "Tomoe?" he called out. "Tomoe, it's this one."
They wouldn't go out tonight, he reasoned. They'd stay in and talk and maybe Kenshin would even be able to give voice to all of the conflicting emotions roiling around in the pit of his stomach. Unlikely. But there was still so much to tell her, so much to catch up on. It had been fourteen years since her death. Everything had changed since that night.
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She jumped ever so slightly at the knock and turned back toward the door, just staring at it at first, a knot she had barely noticed forming in the bit of her stomach making to rise higher. She didn't rush to the door, instead holding her position for a long few seconds. In truth she was looking forward to this about as much as Kenshin was, but it really couldn't be put off. She moved to the door again and carefully opened it.
Tomoe couldn't help the momentary surprise that must have shown on her face, because she was expecting to see him dressed in the same clothing as before--not distinctly normal kimono and hakama. It was enough to stall her reaction for a long moment as she simply gawped at him before finally opening the door the rest of the way.
"Please... come in," she finally said, trying to set that same false calm from the morning back in place.
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She picked the neck of her new bag in one hand and the closet rod in the other. That didn't leave her any room for a flashlight, but then, the other things were more important. Besides, a seasoned professional mercenary like Morgan didn't need to rely on futuristic tools to do her job. Her eyes would adjust just fine, and she'd have the added advantage of not being seen by anyone who might be looking for her.
That was everything. She waved a terse goodbye to Princess Natalia and left.
[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/988984.html?thread=73503544#t73503544)]
F18
But, Morgan's earlier question remained stuck in her head: Do you have an escape plan? Natalia realized that she'd never even asked how Guy spent his nights, or what he prioritized after so many days here. Without question, if any were injured, she would heal them. Hopefully, it would not always completely drain her. For the moment, that was the best she could do. Especially as she did not intend to have even a hint of doubt or somberness when E.F. arrived.
He (or she) had assured her that his(/her) mobility was not limited by her(/his) injury. Though it had not taken her overlong to reach other rooms the previous nights, Natalia prepared herself nonetheless for a wait. Anything could happen, and from that awful announcement, something would. How difficult to sit at her desk, pen in hand, musing over an empty journal page, when the door was open and the night beginning! When somewhere in the institute, that man was planning or already doing something terrible.
As Natalia remained able to be in only one place at a time, compelled to choose, she managed to dismiss her impatience. In her life, she had spent enough time waiting, usually keeping her hands as busy as possible. She must trust in her fellow prisoners, and do what she could.
[waiting for Edgar and Locke~!]
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There was another pause as Edgar reached the door, a second look thrown over his shoulder. There was more light in the hallway now. It seemed the patient halls were the brightest- befitting of what were possibly the only safe areas during the night- and even though there were few places one could hide in a hallway, Edgar still couldn't shake that strange feeling that there were eyes on him.
For a moment, he thought he saw his shadow move on its own, but he dismissed that thought with a shake of his head. One would think more light would be a blessing, but it seemed it only served to make his eyes play tricks on him.
One benefit of the unusual illumination was that the room numbers were visible without the aid of his light. The healer's room was found easily enough: it was only a few doors from Celes' old room. Edgar stopped before F18, sighing and straightening his sling before giving the door a few sharp knocks.
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F11
And maybe she'd run into Elle again, and the two could look around together. Even if they didn't, though, Jo was perfectly content just sticking close to the hallway her room was in. She had a feeling that she'd meet others that way, and could get more answers.
She wasted no time in searching through her room, trying to find something, anything to bring with her. There wasn't anything she could use as a weapon, but tossing over her pillow turned up a flashlight. Digging through the desk turned up a cluster of pens, two of which were pocketed. It wasn't the best thing to be using, but it was a hell of a lot better than nothing.
Flashlight in hand, she headed out her door and down the hall.
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F15
Although Sakura still missed Utena, she was already trying to look on the bright side of things. Maybe Utena found a way home. Maybe she was living life happily as if she had never been taken away. Of course, Sakura would have loved to continue their friendship, but if she could return a friend home, Sakura would gladly send that friend back instead of continuing their friendship at the cost of suffering the terrors of the institute.
Picking up her flashlight, Sakura sat down on her bed in thought instead of checking the outside hallway like she usually did. It had been a long time since they had actually traveled a ways during the night. What should they do tonight?
Re: F15
Touya was fairly certain that he and Yue could walk this path blindfolded by now. Yue might have a slight advantage, given that he could sense Sakura, but Touya could at least do it via muscle memory. How many times had they gone to pick up Sakura? Ever since she arrived, probably, except for the few nights where they collectively stayed in.
He cast a look back at Yue and rapped on the door with the end of his flashlight. "Oi, Sakura. It's me and Yue."
Teasing could wait. Now, Sakura probably only wanted to know that Touya and Yue were still around, given their absence during the day.
Re: F15
As they approached Sakura's room the sense of her presence grew stronger, as did that of the card he'd sensed, convincing him that it hadn't been imagined. And yet... how could such a thing exist here? Sakura had been separated from the cards and her wand on arrival, much as her guardian had lost the majority of his powers. What could have changed?
It was that question, almost as much as the concern for her safety, that left him watching the door with somewhat more intensity than usual as he waited for an answer. She had to be all right, despite the fact that both he and Touya had managed to sleep through the day. He just had to verify that himself.
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F??
Depth Charge would've flown down the hallway if it wasn't for the Scarecrow- one step away from the guy would've left him open to Primus only knew what, and he wasn't prepared to take another hit this evening. Especially not after what had happened last night- that witch was still lurking around here, and if he didn't stay alert the odds were she'd get the better of them for the third time running, 3-0 with no extra time.
One, two, three, four... how many doors could there be in this stupid hallway, anyway? The second he caught sight of the right one he prickled instantly. "There. That's the door." He didn't waste any time. Darting towards the door, he grabbed ahold of the handle and all but tore it off of its hinges, only to find- nothing. The room was completely empty.
The Maximal froze in the doorway for a moment, watching the lights flicker spasmodically down on the room: the neatly-made beds, the desks, the chairs. Empty. Somehow, being able to see made it more difficult to accept- there was nowhere to hide in here anymore.
"... so she's gone, then." He took a few cautious steps into the room, though why he felt he had to be cautious he couldn't say. Respect, maybe? But then, with a low sigh, he sank down into one of the chairs, kneading his forehead. "Should''ve figured. Should've figured it from the start." Forte for a while, Luffy, Blitzwing, and now Hime. There were more, he was sure, but right now the numbers didn't matter.
Re: F??
There was another pause, then an idea. "We can't just give up now, Depth Charge," he said, breaking the silence. He took a step toward his roommate, then looked around to the other side of the room. "She's been gone no more than two days, right? Let's look around- maybe we can find something that'll give us a clue as to what they did with her. She might even still be here, just locked up somewhere. It can't hurt us to try, and we might even learn something we can use later, should this ever happen again."
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But somewhere in the back of his processor, somewhere in his emotion circuits, there was still some naive glimmer of hope. Besides. You only had to look at the Scarecrow's face to get that he wasn't just throwing slag out to make him feel better. "... yeah. Why not? Not gonna make any difference anyway."
He got up, putting his shears and flashlight on the desk so that his hands were free, and starting to look around the desk; there was a fifty-fifty chance it would be hers, after all. Maybe she'd left a note or something. The top of the desk was empty, as was the first drawer- but one look in the second was enough to shout down that old voice of his that still liked to put his trust in fate. There was the radio. If she was going out, she'd have taken it with her.
Really, he didn't know why he was disappointed. He glanced over to the Scarecrow. "Radio's here. She's probably long gone by now." There was something else there, too, a glint of silver. The ring? Carefully, as though it might burn him, he picked it up and rolled in between his fingers. Now what?
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F17
With a groan, she got up and walked towards her desk to finish today's entry in her diary. On the top of the page there was a note that read "Bulletin Board: Roommate Gretal discharged from the institute" and "To friends: Room change to F17." The rest of the page was filled with events and conversations that happened several hours ago. At the bottom of the page was a message to Shuji, thanking him for the beautiful ring, which sat next to her diary. Fumbling it through her fingers, she observed in facination at the way the red stone sparkled in the light. When Chise found it in her drawer, she instantly assumed that it was an engagement ring from Shuji; what else could it be (other than an equipped accessory to boost up her states)?
Several minutes later after the intercom went off, she decided to head outside to stop by Fai's room and then explore the rest of the institute. After memorizing her map, she put her diary away, slipped on the ring, and exited the room with her flashlight in tow.
Re: F17
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As for herself, she had Fai to meet… or at least she was going to try her best to get to him. With Kurogane occupied with whatever it was he was doing, she was more determined than ever. But when the nightly announcement finally came on, it cast a grim light on those plans and made her wonder at her decision to bring the vial with her.
The Head Doctor didn’t seem like he had any intention of showing them leniency. What was he up to now? And what was it going to mean for the rest of them?
It was hard to try and part with Sakura on a high note. All Tsubaki could really do was wave and tell her to be careful. If something was going to happen, there wasn’t a lot either of them could do besides hope for the best.
[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/988120.html?view=73877720#t73877720)]