[From here.]

Axel was pretty surprised to find the main hallway completely empty by the time he stepped through those double doors, shining his flashlight about before shrugging. At least this meant wading through less traffic, or in this case no traffic at all.

“You’d think people would be bustling out after all that racket,” He murmured grudgingly to himself. It was no surprise that the head doctor’s screaming was enough to rattle him awake. Though he did have his map completely memorized he wasn’t exactly sure where Second floor, East Wing, North Hall 2-B was besides the obvious. Maybe it’d do them some good to snoop around, but they had to be fast or else they’d get beaten to the punch.

The Nobody stifled another yawn, stretching his arms back as he nudged himself into the next hallway.

[To here.]

And against his will, he joined the ranks of those he'd hoped never to empathize with.

Artemis couldn't remember the last time he wanted someone dead, but it was particularly difficult to consider the past when all he could think about was how very happy it would make him to see Mr. Reid Garwin dead in a hallway somewhere. Where was Butler when the boy needed him most?

It wasn't as though he was internally crumbling at the thought of his life being made-up. There was absolutely no way that anyone could possibly dream up his life. It was too... him, really. His scars were real enough, his memories weren't fabricated, Holly's eye was in his head.

No, what he was furious over was being called a 'rip off' and a source of entertainment for children. His story was both nothing like Harry's, and definitely not for children. Children couldn't appreciate the pain he'd been through and the feats he'd accomplished, and as much as Artemis respected Harry, he wasn't as foolish as his friend was.

And secondly... he should be making royalties on such a book.

Someone would surely be sued once he returned.

For now, he would have to settle for some good reading. He'd discussed philosophy with Ritsuka on the board, but he needed something a bit lighter after that. He pulled The Picture of Dorian Gray, sat down in a corner amongst the stacks and began reading--a crease forming between his eyes.

At least one million, if not one point five. Pain and suffering could be added to the claims as well.

[For Renji]

[From here]

After all of the painfully bright light he had been subjected to throughout the day, the pitch black halls of this place at night were a blessing. Recluse kept moving, far more silently than anyone would expect for such a large man. This shouldn't take long.

[To here]

[from here]
Renji slowed a little as he headed up the hallway, sweeping the ceiling with his flashlight. So far, no giant spiders. He liked that. It wasn't that he had anything against spiders; he wasn't some pansy that was afraid of a little bug. Or a big one. He just hadn't liked the feeling of getting bitten and poisoned.

He went to the room almost at the end of the hallway - M2.

[from here]

As usual, the door to the hallway had been open. He was never certain if it started that way or other prisoners opened, it, but he guessed it was probably the first option, now. He paused for just a moment to listen, then continued on. It wasn't that much further until he reached Daemon's room.

[to here]

[from here]

Despite her outward confidence, Falis entered the bathroom with the caution of a trained hunter. She carefully shined the lantern around and checked all the stalls to make sure there were no beasties hiding.

She was a bit disappointed to find it empty.

All in all, it was better this way. If this Mozenrath decided he'd try and 'set her straight' through magic, it'd be much easier killing him without there being any monsters about. One never knew when a magic-user can control the other magical beasts that were around.

She leaned back against the wall by the door, lantern pointed at the ground. She listened to the sounds about her, a smirk upon her face. Maybe Mozenrath was a coward and simply wouldn't show. That would suck.

[from here]

Falis strode down the hall from her room, a look of anticipation upon her face. The wooden rod rest easily upon her shoulder as she headed directly to the women's bathroom.

She wondered if the pansy wizard was even going to show.

[to here]

The cafeteria was all but empty when Zelnick got there. He was a little disappointed; he had gotten the impression that patients usually ate dinner in their rooms, so he hadn't arranged to meet anyone, and there really wasn't anyone to sit by and engage in conversation yet.

Quietly, he collected dinner and a big glass of orange juice, and chose a seat near the food-serving counters. Talking for so long had made him thirsty... and, well, fruit juice was a luxury he had missed.

[Stalk away, my dearest Admiral. <3 ]

As much as Nia didn't want to leave her new friend alone she didn't have much choice in the matter when her nurse coerced her out of her room. She'd always been the type that wore her emotions on her sleeve, so it was easy to spot the look of dismay written on her face. Try as she might, Nia couldn't bring herself to smile, feeling like she let someone very dear to her down, and to her that was the worse feeling she could have ever felt.

But oh, did she try! It wasn't until they reached the Sun Room did she manage to smile for her nurse, trying to look for the silver lining in the clouds. At least no one was killed, or even seriously hurt for that matter, but she hoped no one would be punished too severely for his or her actions. Everyone must have had good reasons to fight, and until she was convinced otherwise she would only hope for their safety.

When her nurse offered her a choice of rooms to go to, the girl pursed her lips and thought hard, but it didn't take long for her gaze to land on a big board with several notes pinned on the surface. Her curiosity piqued immensely, and with her nurse's question long forgotten, Nia raised her arm and pointed over at the aforementioned object.

"If I may ask, what is that?" The woman followed her patient's gaze before laughing lightly, letting her hand rest on the child's head.

"Why, that's the bulletin board. It's an awfully popular place for patients to go to, especially if they want to talk to someone they can't seem to find. But the things they write there..." The nurse shook her head, but that was enough for Nia. She was already walking over to it, but she caught herself and offered the latter a cheerful smile.

"May I stay here?"

"Of course you can, Rachel. Just don't get in the wrong crowd, okay?" Nia hadn't the slightest clue of what the nurse was talking about, but she nodded nonetheless and sat herself on one of the chairs and began to read. However, not even a minute into it she found herself tilting her head out of habit.

What was a club?

Burly orderlies and agile Calm Effect nurses flooded the cafeteria from the Courtyard while regular hall nurses filed in from the Sun Room and ushered out those not involved in the rebellion. It indeed seemed as if Landel was sending out all the cavalry, and an effective cavalry they were: The riot didn't continue for much longer after the alarm sounded, though it seemed strange just how quickly all of the mutinous patients fell, even the ones who hadn't been injected with anything.

The hall nurses were quick to escort their well-behaved charges back to their rooms, praising those who hadn't joined in and chiding those who muttered under their breath in response. There were some exceptions, of course: One nice young man had even defended one of the nurses from the violent patients! Now, wasn't that exemplary behavior? Dr. Landel would be so proud to hear about it...

Within half an hour, all of the so-called "loyal" patients had been safely deposited in their rooms, and it was then that the alarm finally stopped and the true difficulty of the situation was tackled. There certainly weren't enough rooms in solitary to accommodate such rampant disobedience, and yet measures would have to be taken to ensure proper consequences for each and every patient involved. After all, something like this couldn't be allowed to happen again!

Different options were considered. Perhaps they should make an example out of the girl who had sparked the riot, but then again, perhaps not. This certainly wasn't the first case of patients attacking nurses or their peers in a crowded area, but what had been different this time was the sheer support that the other patients had shown for her. Should the staff then make examples of all those who had tried to "protect" her from the well-meaning nurses? No, there were too many for that...

In the end, it was decided that the best immediate solution would be to treat the rebellious patients in the Medical Wing while they were unconscious and then move them back to their rooms to await punishment. To ensure the safety of both their roommates and the patients themselves, however, the staff decided to securely fasten their limbs to their beds and keep them heavily drugged. Such a sad sight they were to see, but... it was necessary.

Finally, when each and every patient had been escorted back to their respective rooms, the staff hurried off to an emergency meeting upstairs. Strangely, Head Nurse Lydia was the one taking care of the proceedings in the Head Doctor's stead. She calmly told them that he was preoccupied with more urgent matters, and as she began to speak to the crowd, the staff could only wonder what could possibly be more important than an unprecedented patient riot...

[ Comment to this post with separate threads for each patient room, and please put your character's room number in the subject line. Thank you! ]

Hitsugaya woke with a start.

His entire body ached, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as it had been the night before. His injuries had been tended two with clean gauze and bandages, and he found every movement wasn't agony. He wasn't in the best of shape, but thanks to the miracle of landel's strange time distortion, he had mostly recovered from the vile poison without having to waste anyone else's talents.

And in his hand, still...there was the key.

He dressed quickly, sliding the key onto the key ring from his desk drawer and stuck it into his pocket. Whether the key stood to gain them anything or not, it stood as a vital reminder that they could succeed in this place. There was hope, as insignificant as it often seemed. They could beat this place.

That small shred of hope made getting up worth it.

The nurse who escorted him to breakfast was cheerful, and commented idly about how wonderful it was to see young Tommy Winters up and about again after his unfortunate run-in with a bad case of food poisoning. He smirked slightly, knowing that any lies the institute forced into their heads were only that: lies. He wouldn't buy it for a second. And on top of that, the concept of muffins sounded almost appetizing. While he still preferred his authentic Japanese cuisine, the food here was slowly becoming more and more bearable. He would have preferred a warm bowl of sweet nattou over rice over the mufffins, but they would do. The plain yogurt and fruit, on the other hand, was excellent. He piled his plate high with fruit as usual, and got several small bowls of yogurt as well.

Finding the most convenient table to the end of the food line, he took a seat and scanned for the new arrivals. New arrivals meant people who would be lost and confused. Renji did a good job of making a bulliten post last time...he should recommend abarai-fukutaicho do the same again this time.

[Waiting for Angel]

"Hit a nerve, did I, Alec?"

The Head Doctor spoke so quickly after switching on the intercom that there was nary a sound of static until his words had already been broadcasted. Laughs echoed through the halls, low and deliberate, before a steady pounding sound came through the static.

"I'd have thought you'd figured it out by now. Really, you've let your brain degenerate without enough stimulation, haven't you? Not that I can't say the same of our dear, dear old friend. After all, they're the reason you turned on me, isn't that right? The reason you betrayed our cause?

He paused, as if checking something in the middle of his speech.

"Unfortunately, the time I have allotted for rebutting you is short, and I do have other matters to attend to. Dear nurses, would you be kind enough to open the doors for our newest batch of patients? Poor bastards, really, being thrown into hell with no clue of what hell is. But then again, Alec, you made this hell, so perhaps the evil in itself is indecipherable.

"Alas, I don't have time to trade insults with you all night. After all, there are experimentations to oversee, patients whose limits need testing... I'll be around, though, old friend, so should you decide to share more of your decidedly lacking threats..."

The intercom slowly crackled back into silence.

[ All introduction posts for this round of new patients go here! Just pick a random, unoccupied room for your new character (one in the higher numbers would probably be best) and have them start from there, as we haven't yet assigned rooms. ]

Having eaten, Kagura was feeling much better, but her mind was still uneasy.  All she really had was a room number, M14, though no idea how to get there.  The rooms she'd passed by all had F numbers on them.  What if the M ones were on the other side of the building?!  What if she couldn't find Hatori's office?! 

Her fist collided with a nearby wall in her frustration.  Bits of it flaked away on her hand, but she didn't even seem to notice.  It wasn't fair!  Why did something crazy like this have to happen today of all days?!  She looked down the hallway, unsure.  There were a few other flashlights in both directions, but which way was the right way? 

[[From here]]

The hallways were empty so far, and while SubZero was glad he didn't have to put up with a bunch of kids and other people running around, it was odd to be in an area without any sign of other patients after having been surrounded by them so often.

He much preferred the silence, though there were a few prisoners that he could tolerate. HK was being quiet at least, which was a welcome change from the constant complaints and insults.

[From here.]

It didn't take long for Ururu to make it to the meeting place, since really, it was right outside her door. Maybe that's why she was the first one there. She shined her flashlight around slowly, thinking it was awfully dark and awfully quiet right now.

Maybe other people had been sleeping too, and just hadn't woken up in time.

Ururu moved over by the stairwell she thought Rangiku had meant, and watched the area around her with wide eyes. It wasn't that she didn't think she couldn't take care of herself, because she knew she could. It was just that everything looked so different at night, when it was dark, and she was alone.

And all of that put together really made everything seem scary.