Night 53: Main Hallway 1-West

[hasnomeaning]

[from here]

And again, quiet. Silence broken only by far off footsteps and the creak of a building settling. There was more in the darkness, Ayanami knew this, but currently nothing had stepped forward to show itself. This night was too similar to another, and her hand raised to her neck without meaning to. There was nothing like trauma in this, she told herself. It was only that she had become wary of empty halls, had become distrustful of others in the dark.

More than before, it seemed. Still, Rei moved slowly, satisfied with checking the hall thoroughly before passing through.

[Eva pilots!~]

Comments

[windstwilight.livejournal.com]

[from here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1015366.html)

Looked like a lot of people weren't out yet. That was... sorta weird, to be honest. Senna had a tendency of being late to everywhere, and being one of the first few out was a change. After glancing around perfunctorily, she just shrugged to herself and continued down the hall. It wasn't anything bad, she guessed. Just a little weird to be the early one.

[to here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1016035.html)

[thatdemonbitch.livejournal.com]

[ from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017178.html) ]

And there it was. The large, sweeping hallway just past the nurse's stations wasn't quite so empty and desolate as the others had been. There was a girl there, dark-haired and looking like she was hanging around for the same reasons as Ruby, and the demon regarded her out of the corner of her eye with a suspicious glance. She didn't look like she was gonna be attacking anyone anytime soon, though, so after she flicked her flashlight over that way once, she decided further inspection wasn't worth her time.

Instead, she headed to the wall opposite the nurse's stations. Folding her arms over her chest (with some struggle, considering how full her hands were) and leaning up against the cool brick, she got comfortable, ready to wait. From there, Roxas would be able to get a good glimpse of her from whichever hallway he headed down, and she could wait and keep an eye on whoever -- or whatever -- showed up.

Hopefully, Roxas would be among them, and hopefully he'd be in one piece.

[ roxasssssss ]

[rischiarare.livejournal.com]

What he now thought of the main hallways - especially with their position on the map - was as crowded as ever, and still seemed to be a prime meeting place to more patients than just the Nobody. He even spotted Sora's dark shock of hair, speaking with... oh, wasn't that Neku? He didn't know Sora and Neku knew each other, but he shouldn't have been surprised. Sora seemed to know a lot of people. They looked deep in conversation with a girl, so Roxas didn't feel it was the best course to interrupt.

He swept his light over the various patients as they did the same, then along both sides of the hallway. He'd almost mistaken another girl for her, but her hair was a lot shorter... once he'd found the right silhouette, Roxas made sure to wave at her just in case the Organization coat was making him blend into the darkness a little too well.

"Hey Ruby!" He gave her a small smile, glad to see she was in one piece. And she'd gotten a pipe! Now she wouldn't be completely defenseless. "I have a good idea of where to go now. There's a kitchen on the second floor that should have some knives you could use. Does that sound okay?"

[autophoenix.livejournal.com]

[ from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017178.html?thread=74731098#t74731098) ]

There were a couple people waiting in the main hallway that connected the patient room blocks. Sure, it was supposed to be reassuring enough to make it so she didn't need to check for monsters, but her flashlight beam made one quick sweep of the area nonetheless. Paranoia, maybe, or maybe just habit.

Regardless, she just took a quick left and continued on. They could hang around and get jumped. She'd have enough of that later, or so she figured, considering what she'd heard about the second floor and what she'd seen. There wasn't enough time in the night to stop and make sure that everyone was safe. If they were sticking there waiting, they knew what they were doing.

At least, that's what she convinced herself to keep herself moving forward, past the stairs to make the left down the next hallway and not look back.

[ to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017510.html) ]

[lighthearted]

[From here.]

A-ha!

Sora took a moment to glance around the area, but the only people he saw was a woman who was carrying a pipe and seemed to be waiting for someone and a girl closer to his age with light blue hair. No Kairi and no Neku, which meant he was the winner of this informal contest. Neku probably wouldn't care, but he could at least tease Kairi about it.

Though what he really wanted to do was ask the girl if she remembered Claire. She probably did, since they'd sort of bonded over their similar voices, but it would still be nice to have that confirmation. There were so few people still left in the institute from that far back, and even Kairi had been gone for a good chunk of time.

All of that would have to wait, though, and he hoped that Kairi would show up before Neku just so they could talk it over quickly without wasting time. He'd just have to wait and see, though, and so he took his usual spot against the wall and kept an eye out for either red hair or... hair similar to his own.

[For Kairi and Neku.]

[kingdomless.livejournal.com]

"How did you get here so fast? Not fair!" Kairi's voice came from the darkness of the hallway, and a few moments later, out she stepped, sword in hand. She was used to being the first one at the meeting place, but now it appeared as if Sora had beaten her for once! She had gotten so caught up in talking with Rita that she had hardly noticed the time.

Finally reaching her taller friend, Kairi set her sword down against the wall, smiling up at Sora as she clicked off her flashlight as so to not draw attention to the two of them. Why had it felt like she hadn't seen her friend in a long time ... ?

Time runs strangely here, she told herself mentally. That has to be why.

"How was your day?" she asked him in a soft voice, pushing her hair behind her ear. She at least hoped his day was pleasant, considering his previous night had been plagued by shadows. He deserved a rest.

[damnrudecock.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1015688.html?thread=74739080#t74739080)]

So far so good. Just a few patience, with no sign of monsters trying to eat anyone just yet. Sanosuke had broken into a run the moment he left his room, despite the fact that it was damn dark out. At least the light stick things still seemed to work the same, and Sanosuke kept his on as he made his way down corridors and around turns. He'd gotten almost halfway there before something pretty important popped into his head, and it brought him to a screeching stop with a curse.

Fuck. He'd completely forgotten to find out if Ninja Girl was still in the same room. Even if there probably wasn't a chance in hell that Yuffie would tell him, he could've found out from Kenshin. Damn it.

Oh well. It wouldn't be the first time Sanosuke had to go hunting for the right door. He'd start with the same place she'd been in before, and work his way down. He just had to move even faster now, to make sure he found her before she had a chance to dart off.

[damnrudecock.livejournal.com]

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1016305.html?thread=74740209#t74740209)]

[longlivetheking]

[From here]

Following the next hallway, Scar eventually reached the main hallway. While it usually had many patients simply waiting, tonight the area was disappointingly empty. He supposed he truly was early tonight, though it limited the choice of potential meat-shields.

Lovely...

The former lion picked a wall and leaned against it, keeping an eye on the patients walk in and out of the area. There, he waited in the darkness for someone that looked remotely suitable (and free).

Thanks to the absence of his torch, he couldn't make himself visible even if he wanted to...

[For the crazy robot!]

[arc-wrench.livejournal.com]

[Crazy robot incoming from here! (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1019631.html)]

HK moved quietly, not carrying a glowrod, as always, distracted by his thoughts. He just couldn't decide what he wanted to do to ruin Landel's day tomorrow. Certainly he had to do something, and he wasn't afraid of consequences. In fact, he'd be interested to find out what the consequences might be. But there were so many choices!

No, no. Think logically, not like a scatterbrained meatbag. Stabbing someone, while dramatic and utterly preferable, wouldn't do very much. Fights never seemed to really go anywhere, or snowball with these meatbags. They didn't appreciate violence as they should. Possibly thrown food... Yes. That could create utter chaos, what with easy collateral, universal availability of ammo, and he could have an opportunity to stab someone anyway! Perfect!

Now that his plans for bothering someone tomorrow were all set, he just needed someone to bother now. Maybe someone like that meatbag whose heat signature he could see up against the wall. He waited until he was impolitely close before opening his mouth to speak. "Observation: Looking nonchalant does not exactly do very much when no one can see you, meatbag." Well, except for HK. But HK would find something to comment on, no matter what the meatbag was doing.

[tasteoftruth.livejournal.com]

[From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017510.html?view=74743718#t74743718)]

There were even more people out here than usual, and some of them just waiting around with nothing better to do. The 'dream' code had been easy enough to break but there'd been much more complex, seemingly incoherent phrases flying around. Arts and Crafts. History Club. Early Christmas. How much of it was meaningless ramblings and how much had some secret deeper meaning?

Right. Focus on the mission in front of him, he like he always did. You put your emotions aside and just kept walking until you'd finished the job. After that you could have your little breakdown.

[oneman-onekill.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1021454.html)]

As he'd predicted, there were definitely more patients moving through this hallway - in fact, he thought he spotted some he knew (Hello, Mele-san and Leela-san.) - but it was still early in the night; the hall wasn't even close to crowded.

He wove his way down, so focused on looking around the hall that he wasn't quite watching where he was going...and crashed into a man walking the other way. Oops. (Or had it been intentional? The world would never know.) "Whoa--" Swiftly, Niikura moved the beam of his flashlight so that it wouldn't be shining right in the guy's face (the man's height suggested that he'd run into Recluse again), and backed up a few steps, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, my bad."

[human-sponge.livejournal.com]

So this was it. Peter slowly started to move toward the stairs, though there was really only one kid that was standing close to them, and there was nothing cat-like about him. He eyed the boy for a second or two, but after a few seconds he gave up on him being part of the "Search and Rescue" group.

Which meant that he'd made it here first. That was almost worse, since he would have no idea if someone passing by was someone who he needed to be talking to. All he could really do was linger near the stairs and hope that someone would notice him and say something.

Hopefully his pillow case full of stuff would stand out, though he also knew that there were healers here who literally only needed their hands to patch up wounds. He'd stopped feeling weird about that, though, since everyone he'd talked to had been thrilled to have him around despite his more "traditional" methods.

Leaning his shovel against the wall so he didn't have to hold it while he waited, Peter ran a hand through his hair and watched the rest of the hallway carefully. He hoped someone showed soon...

[toxicspiderman]

[from here]

A girl in a skintight bodysuit that belonged in some weird-ass Japanese pornography, not this dim hallway caught his eye.  Heart-shaped face, blue hair, no visible nipples. Hell, she probably had.  Hopped off the direct-to-video screen and been stranded here.  That, plus the fact that she looked about twelve except efor the boobs (though that might be a trick of her height), made him feel slightly green.  (Anyone else would call it seasick, but S.T. didn't get seasick. Not even on a choppy night and some bad tequila, the kind that had worms to make gringos pay more. Green it was.)

She wasn't the only one cruising this strip.  Peter was standing by the stairs, a pillowcase doing stand-in duty for the little black bag.  What the hell he planned to do with the shovel, unless Landel was sending then out in body bags now was less clear.  S.T. stepped out of the shadows and leaned up against the wall with a nonchalance that would make James Dean envious.

"Peter?  Assembling the team here, or just killing time before the bastards put the needles away?"  Clean-up duty, Depth Charge had bitched about, and he'd been right.  Maybe he'd gotten too jaded.  Forgotten that some crimes could be stopped before half-rotten-alive dolphins washed up on the beach.
 
O.K., that was a bad thought to have on an already-queasy stomach.  He couldn't actually smell anything putrefying in the hall, which was a plus, but his imagination didn't need much.  He swallowed hard and forced his shoulders to stay loose through sheer determination.      

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

[From here.] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017510.html?view=74752678#t74752678)

For a moment, Ludwig had to consider waiting here. His brother often went with him, and he also had made some arrangements with Austria as well, but... after last night, he wasn't sure if he wanted to meet with either of them tonight. Not when they'd undergone such a... disturbing sight.

No, for tonight, Ludwig wanted to stop thinking about such things and focus solely on getting to where he needed to go. In this case, that would be upstairs- he'd done enough searching outside of the Institute, it was time to focus on the interior portions he hadn't investigated yet. The second floor was a gigantic question mark to him- he'd just have to take a look and see what he could obtain for himself.

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

[To here.] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1019972.html?view=74778436#t74778436)

[freewill]

[From here.]

As Castiel moved into what he considered the main hallway, he did everything he could to keep his gaze on the stairs ahead of him rather than looking at the other patients who were scattered around. It was usually around this spot that people would meet up; it was here that he'd run into Orihara, for instance. So long as he looked like he was already busy, it was likely that no one would try to get his attention or ask him for anything.

That was the plan, at least, and it worked well enough. The moment that he set foot on the first stair that would take him up, he increased his pace.

[To here.]

[heroesdontshave]

[from here]

Good news: Snow had made it to that big hallway where everyone was supposed to be meeting. Not-so-good news: He had no way of really finding anyone since it was kinda really, really dark. Maybe he could adjust enough to navigate the halls, but this? Kiiinda not great for looking at people or faces. Hmm.

Well. The other people he was supposed to be meeting all knew they were all joining up in the hallway, right? So if he hung around, he'd have to find them eventually. Not like he'd just be stuck in the dark all night.

[flashlight-less and waiting for Russia and Amaterasu]

[divinebrushwork.livejournal.com]

[ From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017178.html?thread=74864218#t74864218) ]

Amaterasu was really starting to regret that she had not read the other replies to 'Japan' on the bulletin board. How on earth was she supposed to find a group of strangers in the dark with so many others around?
The beam of her flashlight bounced across the faces of strangers, moving up and down their bodies so she could study them.

If Japan . . . If Nippon was a person, what would it look like? Would it be a man or a woman? They were probably very beautiful, of course. Possibly wearing a kimono with their hair in an elegant chignon of sorts. A sword in their hand was also a fitting image, though as Heiji had said last night, there were no such weapons in this facility.

The goddess was so wrapped up in her mental images that she failed to notice the tall blonde in front of her. She let out a small gasp as she bumped against his chest and as an immediate reaction, her body jolted backwards.

"Excuse me! I am very s-sorry!" Ammy said, bowing in a deep, apologetic manner.

[sainted]

[from here]

Instead of going left, Stefan headed the other way, entering the main hallway of the first floor. If he were at all practical, he would start hunting straightaway — he'd seen the exit to the outside, and even if he hadn't personally taken the way yet, he didn't believe it would be difficult to escape the building. As Claire had told him, their captors had ways of bringing them back even when they went further than the grounds. Some sort of binding magic, maybe, combined with location spells after they blacked out... Whatever the case, he knew the way he had to go, and he knew time was limited.

Even so, he didn't think twice about going to Elena's room first. She had promised to stay put tonight, and he believed her but knew his worries wouldn't rest until he saw it for himself. The last hour with Castiel had only made him realize how easily something could happen to her during dinner, locked in a room with a stranger and no nurse to intervene. And as tumultuous as his urges were right now, Stefan was certain he wouldn't hurt her, at least.

Just to see her. That was it. Once he did, he would be on his way again.

[to here]

[full-score.livejournal.com]

((From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017510.html?thread=74770086#t74770086))).

Raising his light, Claude immediately caught sight of a tall, blond guy standing around as though waiting for someone. Maybe Mason? Relief flooded through him for a moment -- until he belatedly realized he'd just passed another blond guy in the hall behind him.

But it wasn't like he had time to waste, he firmly reminded himself. He threw a glance over at the taller blond, and then at the blond further behind him, before deciding to backtrack on an impulse. They both looked like they were hanging around for other patients. If he was wrong about the other guy, he could just as quickly come back here.

Tightening his grip on his possessions, Claude turned around and rushed back.

((To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017510.html?thread=74755494#t74755494)))

[justthedealer.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1016445.html?thread=74766717#t74766717)]

It looked like he was the first to arrive, which wasn't all that surprising now that he thought about it. Lightning had been going to see a healer before she met up with him.

He hadn't realized she was that injured at the end of the night, and it was depressing to think that she'd been dealing with that through the entire day. What would the nurses say about that when asked, he wondered? If he knew anything about this place (or places like it) then they'd give some excuse and play it off. Maybe she threw a fit in the lunch line and in the process burned herself on the lights under the glass in the buffet. Something ridiculous like that.

There was no way of knowing how long he'd be waiting for her, and he hoped the other group wouldn't go off without them, but he wouldn't leave this spot until she showed.

[thestormishere]

[ From here! ]

Even in the dark and at a distance, Lightning didn't need her repaired/replaced lighting device switched on to be able to spot the guy who called himself Gambit. It helped that he was waiting in the place she'd asked, but... good. She didn't have the patience right now to fool around with what to do if he had been missing.

As soon as she was near enough to likely be recognized for certain and have her actions seen, she merely inclined her head, keeping her still bandaged - but now mostly healed - arms by her sides. Her demeanor was otherwise calm but serious. She definitely hadn't forgotten how they'd last parted ways, of course, and that fact colored part of her current behavior. It was difficult to not hold herself at a distance after something like that, with the memory of their strange 'shadows' taunting them still ringing as clear as day in her head.

She also knew nothing about Gambit anyway, beyond the name he'd given her, his claim that he was a 'mutant,' and that he was capable of what she assumed to be l'Cie magic as well. Their alliance was tenuous at best.

"Start talking," she said immediately, in her low, vaguely rough voice. No time to waste, since he'd very likely been waiting for her while she'd been with Sakura. They'd interacted enough that he probably had the gist of how she did things; she felt it safe to assume he'd know what she wanted: to explain what he'd meant by 'rescue' on the bulletin board earlier, like he'd said he would.

[you-miss-it.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017510.html?view=74780326#t74780326).]

There were even more people here. John wondered at how so many patients could just be allowed to wander freely -- and why? Nothing about this place made the least bit of sense. He glanced up and down the corridor, looking at people clustered here and there, but still, there was no one he recognized. No Sherlock.

It wasn't any use, skulking about and waiting to see someone who was probably never going to show up. Who was, John hoped, safe at home. (At least as relatively safe as their home tended to be.) Coming to a quick decision, John headed for the stairwell. He had some chance to see this level during the day, but he had no real idea of what the other floors had to offer.

It was as good a place to start as any.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1019972.html?thread=74782020#t74782020).]

[mugenreppa.livejournal.com]

Everything else depended on luck, though. And it looked as if Landel had moved to block his enemies before this date, if last night's broadcasted struggle was any indication. And they'd known what was going on. Tomorrow must be important, then, for whatever reason, and not just for the Head. That was no comfort. Not like she expected it to.

Mele cast her flashlight around, cursed when it dimmed slightly, and shook it. Out of batteries again? She sighed and leaned on the same wall she'd leaned on last night. It wasn't like she'd had a designation, anyway.

[scarefaux]

[Running in from here!]

Clicking his flashlight off, the Scarecrow rounded the corner into the main hallway, keeping along the wall as he headed to the east. Even in the dark, he could tell there weren't many people out and about yet, which was a good sign in his eyes: maybe Landel's army of witches hadn't had the chance to make themselves at home in the shadows yet. And thinking of shadows, he clicked on his light and looked behind him without stopping, making sure his own shadow was in the right place. It was still acting normally enough. He could only hope Depth Charge's would behave.

Returning his attention to the hall before him, the Scarecrow's light swept over a figure directly in front of him, taking him by surprise. He leapt backward with a yelp, landing on his rear (and immediately letting out a second help, as said landing feel at all well on his body). Grabbing his flashlight before it got too far from him, he shakily rose the beam before him.

"Mele!" the Scarecrow said with a relieved sigh. All the thinking about witches and shadows and what was happening to those who'd gone missing must have made him jumpier than usual. "Boy, am I glad to see you're okay. What are you doing out here?"

[shorttank.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1015366.html?thread=74791238#t74791238), skipping F-A block and South Hall 1-B]

Wow, it was still pretty empty, Leela noticed as she walked. She didn't know what the mad-scientist-in-charge had meant when he said he hoped they did well, but she was sure it was a lie, or that his definition of doing well had so little common with hers that it might as well have been in a different galaxy. She didn't much like the sound of that Eagle, either. If she managed to get to Marc, she'd have to ask him about all that.

Ah, finally, more people, as usual in this bigger hall. One of the two similar-looking kids from the band earlier, and oh hi, a very cute guy with almost-white hair. She had no time to waste now, she told herself firmly. She had a message to deliver. Planet Express, Stupid Ages Branch. Okay, Forest Express, maybe. She clicked on her flashlight, and started toward the hall that would take her out and to the wall. With any luck, there wouldn't be a creepy house in her path again. Honestly, the things she had to devote her time to hoping here got weirder and weirder.

[Juuunior!]

[beastlyred.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1021857.html?thread=74906017#t74906017), skipping South Hall 1-B]

So far, Jr. had only run into one other person, who had seemed in a hurry and had likely only noticed him because they'd almost collided. But as he saw another person, Nigredo's words from the day before yesterday echoed in his head. Don't travel alone. So far, he hadn't run into any trouble, but he didn't exactly know his way around, either. Deciding to approach the woman was an easy choice, though he was still prepared for a fight if he had to.

"Hey, got a second?"

[ai-no-minako.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1016305.html?thread=74809585#t74809585)]

There were sure a lot of people out tonight, weren't there? Had she really delayed that long? Minako pursed her lips thoughtfully as she regarded the other flashlights visible in this section of hallway, then gave a small shrug and wandered onward. Well, that just made it more likely that Neku had already left, so hopefully he'd remembered to leave the map behind....

[ai-no-minako.livejournal.com]

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017510.html?thread=74810278#t74810278)]

[godforsaken]

[From here.]

By the time Sync reached his destination a considerable amount of people were already there to greet him. There may have been something jarring about the changes in activity, and yet it'd long since grown to the point where he didn't think twice about it. The only thing that mattered now was meeting up with his 'ally' for the night and getting to whatever they needed to accomplish. In one hand held his flashlight, pointed down in order not to bring any attention to himself, and in his other was the broken ring. He'd slipped it over his middle digit out of convenience, the broken shards shining faintly from the various points of light.

Green eyes glanced over the hall, keeping an eye for that familiar shade of blue to pop out from nearby. Even now he had no personal opinion for the latter other than what he discovered last night, and even then there were too many gaps for it to be considered a 'comfortable' relationship. But that was fine; he wasn't here to make acquaintances, though the latter proved herself to be useful when it came to getting things done.

With that he leaned against the wall, keeping close to set of doors he'd just walked through.

[For Failrika.]

[witchoftruth]

[ from here ]

As she expected, Sync had already reached their meeting place before she did. Even though she was closer, Erika had taken all that time to write down tonight's broadcast and even search on her way here, but the detective didn't bother apologizing as she approached Sync, stopping right beside the boy. First things first, she would have to give him a rundown of what they planned to do tonight.

"Glad to see you made it. We're going to the file rooms on the first floor, then I intend to go up to the second floor and search the patient storage. There should be a staircase at the end of the hallway on the east side, which will take us straight up to the storage," She explained, her eyes on the broken ring on Sync's finger the entire time.

... Oh, well that was troublesome. Erika supposed she was a little foolish for assuming the ring would reset like everything else. That would make things a little too easy for them, she guessed, but was there some way of restoring that? Perhaps Sync would know, since he seemed comfortable with it on. Though Erika wouldn't be surprised if he thought that she knew something about it; it was a reasonable assumption to make.

"We're also going to have to find out how to fix that," Erika noted, finally looking away from the ring.

[fangirlfatale.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017178.html?thread=74819162#t74819162)]

Yep, no Guybrush. There were a decent number of other people around, but they all looked about as interested in Morgan as she was in them--that was, not at all.

She found a spot by the wall to wait. It felt good to be back in her own clothes again--kind of empowering, even if she was still stuck here for at least another night. Having a good sword in her hand was even better. For a second there, Morgan could almost imagine she was standing on the deck of her ship, with the sea spray in her face and the trade winds at her back, with her sword in one hand and a sack of gold in the other, bound only by where the next job might take her.

Then she remembered: she'd been trapped in a freaky asylum by some unknown kidnapper, she'd been dead up until she showed up there, LeChuck had been preparing to ravage (or maybe already ravaging) the Caribbean, her ship and all her hard-earned money were gone, and she was wearing a pauldron so dinky they wouldn't even give it as a carnival prize. God, what a downer.

[threepwood]

[From here.]

Feeling no less ire once he reached the main hallway, Guybrush looked for Morgan the second he stepped into the corridor, spotting her standing along the far wall. He made a bee-line for her, sidling along idlers and trying not to impale them on the sword in his hand.

"Morgan! LeChuck is gone! That two-faced son of a jackal has split, left town, flown the coop! His room is empty, Elaine's nowhere to be found and..." Guybrush looked Morgan up and down as he trailed off, a look of confusion pushing the anger from his face. "... You've been fashioning an exact replica of your usual outfit out of sweatpants and lunch trays?"

[promisedawhale.livejournal.com]

"Yohohohooooo- oh, maybe not so loud!" Brook realized his voice was rising and hushed himself down in a whisper, chuckling just after. That was the problem with the song after all - it could just become so uplifting! But he couldn't be singing at the top of his lungs in these hallways, so he returned to humming as he rounded into the larger hallways. Maybe he'd attempt to see what the far side of the institute looked like. It was a rarity to be taken over there after all.

[promisedawhale.livejournal.com]

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

Speaking of charades, Landel's disorientation and breakdown had proceeded apace; by morning he'd either be ready to join the rebellion or hunkered down in his office with the best gun he owned (which might be dangerous to be on the same planet with). Or have slept it off, but that might take someone getting past his guard to knock him silly. (That was a lot harder than it looked, as it happened. Knocking someone out without putting a dent in their skull. Usually it just made them mad as hell from the killer headache.)

Taura spared each of the faces in the hall a quick glance; Scar and Leela were both here, but she didn't have time to say hello. Nobody that she recognized from History Club, and no-one waved at her as she went past. Given that she was pretty unmistakable, being the only woman topping two meters in the prisoner's roster, she probably had some time before she'd be missed.

[to here]

[gomenkudasai.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1017807.html?thread=74838735#t74838735)]

The farther Ritsu walked, the more he realized it didn’t matter to him where he was going, or whether he made it there. Without Kagura here, to move to, to follow, what did he even have to work towards in this place, especially at night, when it was at its most dangerous? Without his dear cousin, to guide him and tolerate his useless presence, what reason did he have to even exist?

As he ascended the stairs to the second floor, he paused, that last thought bringing back a memory…a familiar voice, from a time that was so recent, but felt so far away that he found himself questioning whether or not it had even been real. His eyes widened softly as he remembered Tohru Honda’s gentle smile…her kind, honest tone, and the touching and simple advice she had given him that day as they sat together on the park bench. The day she’d shared her hope with him, and let his lowly self take it to heart.

“I want to find my reason to live in another person…”

[gomenkudasai.livejournal.com]

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1022074.html).]

[tightsofmight]

[From here.]

And now for even more people. At the beginning of the night this place was always a hot spot for patients, being the easiest to get to and somewhere everyone knew about. Later on it would trickle down to almost nothing, but for now they were safe. Monster attacks, as far as he knew, rarely occurred when there were huge amounts of people around.

Peter located the stairs with his flashlight, the beam growing faint with distance as he traced the edge of the rail with it. "Kay, I had gone up through there to get to that hallway. Um - here, let me grab the map." He tucked the flashlight under his arm and groped inside of his sling for the roll of paper, gripping it with his sling hand once he'd fished it out and focusing the light on the surface. He could really use an extra set of hands right now.

"I was running up through the hall on the far left-" he turned the flashlight towards the picture, in what was hopefully a decent substitute for a pointer finger, "-and I dropped my flashlight near the door to the next hall up. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have just left it there, to be honest, but I don't know where the supply closets are. Do you?"

His map was, unfortunately, largely unmarked. He should work on filling that out sometime.

[autophoenix.livejournal.com]

There was some definite face-making going on when he mentioned his middle name being Ben and she couldn't help the way her lips pursed and her nose crinkled in her disapproval. Claire shook her head, raising one hand in surrender as she tried to stop him from his rambling. No dice, however, and she just wound up chuckling a little in amusement at his enthusiasm on the subject of his potential nickname.

"Okay, okay, nothing too complicated. Pete's definitely good enough for now, assuming you don't have uncle-based or any other-based protestations to that one too that you'd like to share." There was an edge of mocking to it, but she couldn't really blame him. After all, if it were her name up on the chopping block, she'd probably get defensive too. Was there even a good nickname for Claire? Not that she could think of on the spot, at least.

Luckily, the turn back into the familiar main hallway brought up a new topic of discussion and any further contemplation of the art of nomenclature was left in the dust. She followed the beam of the flashlight to the stairs and then back towards the map. She used her free hand to trace the path upstairs with her pointer finger to the hallway where he'd dropped his flashlight, using his direction to assist herself.

Her finger stopped dead at the door that she and Peter had lost it at, however, when she realized it was the same hall that Pete had lost his flashlight in. Jaw tensing briefly as a wave of anxiety washed over her, she hesitated for a long moment, staring with a certain kind of distant fear at the paper as she tried to work through what she was feeling. Dread, certainly.

"You sure that's the hallway you lost it in?" She didn't really need to wait for a response. She just swallowed hard, suddenly painfully aware of how very dry her throat was. Never before had she found herself so wholly terrified of something that hadn't even hurt her. Physically, anyway. -- Well. That wasn't true, if she was being entirely honest, but she was never being entirely honest with herself these days. Not when she would much rather act like she was just driven to want Sylar's head on a stick instead of the God's honest truth that she was scared sick of him.

"Okay. I know the way." She cleared her throat, dismissing it and putting up her brave front. If she pretended like the pause and blatant fear had never happened, maybe he wouldn't mention it and let it affect his perception of her. "We can try there first -- if we don't have any luck there, my roommate told me where the storage rooms are." She planted her finger back at the stairs and traced the path Bella had laid out straight through the main hallways all the way across to the opposite side of the map and up the rightmost hallway of the second floor.

"She said we might need to bust open a door or two," she explained. Dropping her hand away, she straightened up some, and nodded back in the direction of the stairs, starting to walk towards them. "The bat should make that pretty easy -- it worked on the file room." That reminded her. Another brief pause and she stopped to look back towards him. "Actually. If we get time after we grab you a flashlight, do you think we could swing by there? There's something I want to see. We could probably also fill in some parts of your map if you want to sit down and work on it a little."

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

Taura didn't need the flashlight, but she left it on; it was back to full brilliance now, and she wasn't sure who, exactly, she was supposed to be meeting.

Either none of the other members were here yet, or they'd left without her. Either way, she had nothing to do but wait again. She hated waiting. But nobody had asked for her input on that, either. She found an empty space between where the two patient halls disgorged people into the main hall, and took up her usual lazy-looking waiting stance that was nothing at all of the sort.

[History Club, any and all]