[From here]

Clearing the last stretch of hallway, Link arrived at the door to the medical wing. Taking a steadying breath for whatever might be waiting for him, the Hylian gave the lock a good bashing with his light before pushing it open.

[To here]

[From here]

It was eerie, how empty the halls were. They seemed somehow larger at night, the darkness swallowing his magic torch's beam within little distance. Link was very attentive, knowing full well that something could pop up at any moment.

He refused to slow down, though.

[To here]

[From here]

The main hallways. Good. And the coast seemed to be clear, so far. Link briefly wondered if the new clue would help the situation, or only make it more grim. He would know soon enough.

[To here]

As some of the clouds from earlier began to clear, the intercom jingle sounded over the intercom once again.

"Hello, patients!" came the Head Doctor's cheery voice. "I hope you're all feeling fresh and clean this evening! To top it all off, we've prepared a scrumptious herb chicken dinner for you to eat before bed. Of course, we have vegetarian options available, so please don't hesitate to ask the nurse if you're interested in that.

Also, since we have the pleasure of welcoming a few new patients into our family, some of you will be receiving new roommates. Let's do our best to give them a nice, big Landel's Institute welcome, shall we?"

The Head Doctor gave a friendly chuckle. "Well, anyway, enjoy your dinner!"

With that, the intercom shut off.

[Note: All dinner threads are posted in response to this entry. Be sure to check the Roommate Assignments if you're not sure what room/roommate your character has! Thanks.]

[From here.]

It was chilly out in the courtyard, making Lloyd glad for the odd but relatively warm clothing he'd found himself in when he woke up. He could have stay inside the building, he knows. His nurse had told him he had a choice of several rooms he could eat his lunch in, if he wanted. The cold felt good, though, and the tree he was sitting against felt solid and comfortable. He still felt lost, but trying to get straight answers from the nurse was frustrating. The man had retreated to let him eat in peace, promising to come back when Lloyd was finished and he'd had a chance to "clear his head." The teen was just fine with that.

Lunch itself was actually pretty good. He'd gotten a chicken sandwich, and his spirits lifted a little when he saw that there was a brownie with it. It had taken him a minute to figure out the box with juice inside, having never encountered anything like that before, but after that it was easy to just settle down and enjoy his food.

Well, for the most part. Worry for his Dad still ate at him, and he had no idea where any of his friends were. He still felt a little off, too, like some intangible part of him was missing or weakened, but he chalked that up to leftover side effects of whatever it was Yuan had done to him. He was confident that would disappear soon enough, once he finished recovering. He already felt well enough that as soon as he was done eating, he was determined to leave. If his doctor had his things, he'd ask for them first, and maybe he could talk to some of the other people here, see if they knew anything that could help, but one way or another, he needed to find his friends and make sure his Dad was all right.


[To here.]

Well, it was about time they got to bathe, that was all Loki really had to say about it. He'd been wondering just how barbaric his captors were. The fact that it was showers only, and no baths for soaking spoke volumes, as far as he was concerned.

But at least there were showers, which was certainly better than nothing. Loki felt something approaching cheerful as he allowed the nurse to lead him on. At the showers he shucked off the ridiculous uniform without so much as a pause and claimed a shower head from those available.

He was used to bathing around others. And as a god among mortals, he definitely had nothing to be ashamed of. Though the warm spray of the shower did let him know that he had some definite bruising on his back from where Kratos had managed to hurl him into that wall, and one of his ribs still twinged occasionally. His jaw still hurt a bit as well, but any bruising there had taken care of itself during the night.

[For the ambiguously gay duo!]

Scar came to slowly, vision blurred and head throbbing. His memory of the previous night was vague and somewhat scattered. What he was most aware of was his renewed and increased hatred for the man called Lingormr. The Ishbalan didn't give a damn if he had been a special counseling patient. That bastard had enjoyed every second of tearing Scar to shreds. What he may or may not have realized was how much it had affected Scar emotionally. He had felt a renewed sense of drive at the start of the night; the disruption on the intercom and the news of the 'cure' had rekindled a fire that fueled Scar to drive forward. To have a little hope.

Lingormr had promptly crushed that.

He was in pain. So much pain. The cut on his hand was only fading scab at this point, but stitches now pulled at the deep gashes in his legs and back. Not only had the nausea not settled, but his stomach was beginning to cramp. The rash on his arm was impossible to hide without the old bandages covering it. It had nearly reached his elbow.

Scar's hazy eyes could make out the nurse, now pushing a wheelchair up to his bedside. This was humiliating. And he was too exhausted and hurting to lash out or become angry. He was just broken. He still tried to take some sort of grudging control, insisting that he didn't need to be pushed around, that he could at least turn the wheels of the damned chair himself. But he didn't make it down the hallway before the pulling and sharp pain in his back became so obvious on his face that the nurse took over.

He entered breakfast with a frustrated, tired, but overall defeated look to him. Scar felt too sick to eat. He sat at the table and brooded, wishing more than anything to simply be left alone.

[For Goku!]

As soon as the patients entered the dark room, the first thing they might have noticed were a couple of short bursts of static from the intercom. But no voices or cryptic messages greeted them.

Instead, their eyes would undoubtedly be drawn toward the strange picture of a human stomach carefully painted onto the southern wall, its paint casting an eerie green glow that cut into the darkness.

Although the artist had done their best to make the picture as clear as possible, they had apparently decided to leave a sharp kitchen knife perched on X-Ray table to compensate the patients for their troubles. Hopefully whoever picked it up would be able to make good use of it and the clue created for them.

It wasn't as though Tolten could ignore the (no longer just) implications. But regardless, there was work to be done. And while he felt miserable, he was certainly still very much himself now that night had fallen.

He was not about to allow this place to break him. He knew he was a rather soft and sometimes timid thing, given to strange fits of emotion and often questioning himself. But he also knew he was the last son of Uhra, blood of the ancient golden knights, containing all the strength of of his holy ancestors. He bent and bent but he would not break.

Fueled more by anger than anything else, the young king took up his pipe - he would give it to Locke, as he'd have a sword now - and headed into the hallway.

He didn't allow himself to consider the possibility of Locke not meeting with him tonight. The other man had never failed before, he certainly wouldn't now. And they would go to the Medical Wing and try and decipher the only clue they'd been given.

Failure was simply not an option.

[to here]

_{[From here]}

Looking around, Scar wasn't quite sure what to expect upon this returning visit to the medical wing. It was silent, for now. Scar shined his light around each corner as he moved silently through the room, ready for something to jump out at him at any moment. He wasn't sure of what to expect, but he held his scalpel at the ready with his free hand. It was feeble protection at best, but Scar was a sitting duck without his alchemic arm.

He still wasn't sure if he would actually want it back, though.

_{[From here]}

Scar continued through to the easternmost end of the hallway, finally reaching the door to the medical wing. Grumbling at the damn thing being locked, the Ishbalan bashed it a few times with his flashlight until it broke, and he pushed open the door somewhat cautiously.

_{[To here]}

_{[from here]}

She paused again by the Sun Room, probing the darkness. There were no flashlights around to break up the shadows, and no natural light to guide her eyes. After all her many nights moving around the building without her own flashlight she’d become more than adept at navigating in total darkness, but caution still pricked at the fine hairs on the nape of her neck every time she reached an area that was not heavily populated with foot traffic.

If Landel had half a mind to prevent them from reaching the secret in the Medical Wing, now would be the time for him to act. Tsubaki couldn’t trust that he hadn’t heard I.R.I.S.’ relay, if the intercom’s abrupt cut-off had been any indication.

As she passed the doors leading to the entryway, she once again felt her eyes wandering toward them. Would what had happened there happen again? To someone she knew next time?

Would someone be injured because of the transformed prisoner?

Keep going, the assassin in her said. No time for doubts.

_{[to here]}

[From here.]

Well, that had been painless, but the good time he'd made also meant that he was the first to arrive. Harvey leaned himself up against the wall, swinging his metal pipe around in his hand as he kept an eye out for Scott or Sangamon.

He had to admit, it was strange that their group had been cut down so considerably. He didn't even know if Depth Charge was still around, but it didn't matter to him too much either way, so he hadn't put much thought into it. He figured that one of the others would mention it when they showed up, if they even knew themselves.

While he waited, Harvey grabbed the bone bracelet out of his pocket and started to spin it around in his hand. The skeleton hadn't been too clear about how this worked, but there was an obvious answer about what to do with it, not that he was going to attempt anything until the others had shown up.

_{[From here]}

Scar made his way through the halls, knowing for once exactly where he was going. He fiddled with the scalpel between his fingers as he walked at a brisk pace, knowing full well that the tiny knife would hardly do him any good. But it was better than nothing, should he come across anything along his way.


_{[To here]}

Guy had to admit that as hard as it had been for him to follow some of the things that had gone on during Jesus Christ Superstar, it had been more enjoyable than The Great Escape. One reason was because of the music, which had given it a more lighthearted feeling despite the heavier subject matter that had been taking place. The other thing was that it hadn't mirrored their own efforts as closely as The Great Escape, so even though it had ended with a death, it hadn't been quite as depressing.

Of course, the whole issue of betrayal was something that he understood very well, so in some ways he had felt for Judas. Granted, Guy had never sold anyone out in the same way, but he couldn't let himself forget his past transgressions so easily, even if most of it had never progressed past carefully laid plans.

Still, he left the Sun Room in a decent mood, though he couldn't quite forget the fact that Anise was ill. The good news was that night would be coming soon -- he, Claude, and Anise could meet up, discuss her situation, and try to form a plan for how to deal with it.

For now, he still had one more shift to get through before dinner, and given the option, the obvious choice was the Game Room. Guy was thrilled when he stepped inside and realized that not only was he the first person there, but there were some devices connected to larger screens to play on. He had never had the chance to check it out for himself, and so he approached without any delay.

[Free!]

While Guy's conversation with Tear had taken a more somber tone in the end, he was still glad to have confirmed that the girl was all right. Sleeping in was not her style in the slightest, but seeing how something similar had happened to him recently, Guy knew how easily it could happen. In the end, he hadn't suffered any ill effects as a result of that day spent asleep, so he was going to not worry too much about Tear.

Anise was the one he was more worked up about, especially because he didn't know who she had told about her illness so far. Was he the only one? Was she planning to tell the others? Guy didn't feel right keeping it from them, but he didn't want to run around spilling Anise's secrets, either. It was something he was going to have to check with her as soon as he could.

In the meantime, it seemed like the movie that he and Claude had decided to vote for had been picked as the one they would be watching this afternoon. Claude was definitely going to be happy about that, and Guy was pretty excited to see it too, now that he had some idea of what it was about. Calling some sort of religious figure who had sacrificed himself a "superstar" certainly seemed odd, which was probably why it had stood out to Claude in the first place.

When Guy entered the Sun Room, he saw that his friend hadn't made it there yet and that the staff was still setting up the projector. With his first pick of the couches, Guy made sure to choose one that had a clear view of the screen but wasn't so close that it might hurt their eyes. He took a seat and then kept an eye out for Claude, figuring that the younger man would be along any minute now.

[For Claude.]

Well, that went well! Anise had gained herself a gorgeously handsome new friend. She just hoped that weird illness didn't get either of them killed before she could get to know him any better.

... Yeah, that was morbid. It was hard not to think about, though.

Before going to the Cafeteria, Anise made a stop at her room to grab her journal, maps, and a pen. Once she finished eating, she could get a start on copying the maps for Barnaby. He was going to be so glad he met her!

With that done, Anise made her way to the Cafeteria, where she picked up an assortment of food, making sure to get some meat, vegetables, and milk on her tray. She then sat down at a table and set her notes aside while she started on her meal. It was hard not to feel self-conscious about the rash on her arm, though the makeup she used had blended the discolored part enough that it couldn't be seen from a distance. Anise just hoped no one would come specifically looking for it.

[Ilia!]

This time, when the darkness faded and the next thing Skulduggery became aware of was that same bed underneath him, he didn't take the time to absorb the jarring feeling and sort out what might be going on. He leaped off the bed immediately, almost stumbling in the process - damn balance - and took a moment to realize that his eyes were burning and he could barely see a thing.

The room was blinding. The light itself wasn't an issue; it was the fact that Skulduggery's eyes had to slowly adjust to it, a sensation he hadn't experienced in ages and had never expected to experience again. He had a hand pressed to his forehead and was blinking rapidly when a woman knocked on the door and came in.

She was... cheerful. Everything was cheerful, from the bright light and noises outside to the intercom announcement that interrupted the woman's sudden spiel. It was such a startling change from just a few minutes ago that Skulduggery found himself lost for words while the... nurse... nodded brightly at him. She'd said something about a mental hospital, something about a man called Erik, and something else about 'not real' and 'getting better.' With Skulduggery's mental prowess - even operating at less than its usual efficiency - it was easy to work out what she meant.

He studied her openly once the light wasn't so blinding. "You're either a very convincing liar, utterly insane, or a psychopath. Let me find out which one." His head tilted. "Would you believe me if I said there was a woman last night who had been mortally wounded, but who was still walking around?" He cut her off before she could answer. "No, obviously not. And I don't think you're a psychopath who murders people for fun. A convincing liar, then. That doesn't clear anything up in the slightest, but I suppose it's something."

"Mr. MacAuley, you were sleeping all of last night. Are you sure you didn't just have a nightmare?"

Skulduggery wanted to point out that as a skeleton, he didn't sleep, and he certainly didn't have nightmares. The blurriness at the edges of his vision, however, reminded him with a jolt of his mysterious transformation to human. Suddenly, annoyingly, the nurse was making much more sense.

Was it... real, then? Everything with Yomi and the chapel - had that all just been a vivid hallucination? Had his entire life just been a vivid hallucination, like the woman was insisting?

In a slight daze, Skulduggery asked to see the chapel. He was standing there alone now, examining the fountain carefully for any sign of its demonic visage from before. But now it was just a fountain, the water was just water, and despite Skulduggery's best efforts, the water didn't respond to his Elemental magic. It remained stubbornly in its basin without so much as a ripple, silently mocking him.

Skulduggery sat down heavily on one of the pews, mystified. He wasn't insane. He joked sometimes that he was, and it might partly be true, but he wasn't insane on a level like this. He didn't just make up his whole life as he pleased.

[Free! But be prepared for a barrage of questions.]

[From here.]

But being outside was probably just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than it was being trapped inside the bus with that nurse.

Besides the many other deformed nurses that were roaming around here, Zero caught sight of numerous forms flying overhead, casting large shadows on the ground as they passed by. They looked like...eagles. But deformed and horrific-looking, just like the nurses. At first, they seemed content to simply circle overhead, screeching, like vultures swarming above a carcass. But then many of them suddenly swooped down and headed straight for some of the prisoners running in the street.

Kind of like the one flying at Zero right now.

"Kh--!" The once-Reploid barely managed to dodge the monster as it dived for him by falling to the ground and rolling back onto his feet. The bird flew upwards again, slowly flapping its wings, then circled around as if to try again, another eagle joining it. To avoid them, Zero quickly moved out of the open, where he was obviously a target, and circled around one of the buses, keeping his back to it for cover. But he knew he wasn't going to be safe here...not when there were nurses on the ground and so many eagles above.

Not since the night he had become temporarily stronger had there been so much visible chaos... And if that one prisoner hadn't started a riot, this wouldn't be happening right now...!

As he stood contemplating the best route for escape, Zero glanced around quickly, searching the fleeing prisoners for anyone familiar or anyone who might need help. He was defenseless, so protecting someone else would only get him so far (and he certainly didn't want a repeat of two nights ago), but they all might have a better chance of survival if they grouped up...

[Leanne, Lana, and Harvey, WHERE YOU AT.]

Kotetsu was permanently twisted around in his seat as he stared out the emergency exit at the bus behind them. Out of nowhere, it had veered right into a tree and dented the side of the bus, leaving the other buses no choice but to pull off to the side of the road and assist in anyway they could. It was hard to tell whether anyone had been hurt, but thankfully every bus was equipped with nurses so Kotetsu hoped any damage inflicted on the patients could be treated immediately.

Either way, the bus apparently couldn't start up again and that left them all little choice but to wait. With little to see and no signs of emergency care or an ambulance, Kotetsu started to get antsy in his seat.

Some of the other patients seemed just as restless as he, but in a much more dramatic fashion. Some stared out the windows with restlessness, with anxiety, and even grim resignation. It seemed like an odd mix of emotions to him, but if they had problems with hallucinations and schizophrenia, the night wouldn't be a very fun time for them.

Soon, though, the sun set, the rays fading with it, and then all hell broke loose. Kotetsu should have read the signs, seen how some of the adults and children on the bus clawed at their seats like they were on fire. When the nurses fell to the floor, Kotetsu instinctively jumped up to assist, but what he saw had him frozen in place. They were literally changing into ghouls and panic quickly overtook the entire bus.

The former Hero was grateful the nurses--Now monstrous villains--hadn't confiscated his new, crappy mask along with his alcohol as he dug it out of his jacket and cinched it to his face. He turned to his partner, but neither Hero needed words. They simply understood and Kotetsu immediately broke open the emergency hatch behind them with experienced ease, while Barnaby tried to corral the masses to the back of the bus. The alarm sounded but it really couldn't be heard over the raucous surrounding them all.