[From here.]

Well, this room was certainly a change from the last two. Instead of a cluttered heap of boxes, row after row after row of cabinets filled the entire room, the aisles casting long shadows as the Scarecrow's light swept over them. He took a few steps inside, checking down the lanes and into the corners for anything out of the ordinary (relatively speaking to the rest of the Institute, of course).

The Scarecrow looked at his map again, finding the room they were in. "It just says this is the 'Main File Storage,'" he said, turning to Mele before looking over the nearest cabinet. The drawers held no outward clues, aside from the letters each one bore on a plaque on the front- it seemed they'd need to see what was inside for their answers. "Files for what? Like papers?"

[from here]

"How many doors along this hall have you been into?" Mele asked as she turned the knob, and then, failing that, hit it with her flashlight like Scarecrow had done earlier.

Nothing but bunches of boxes, Mele noted, stepping in and shining the light carefully around. She peeked into one and found it full of uniforms. Useless, unless she wanted to dress up for some reason.

"You said you couldn't see your roommate's shadow?" she asked, her mind replaying the part about the shadow things in slow-mo, it felt like. Mele had been alone last night, and had been avoiding the subject all day, so she hadn't corroborated her experience with anyone else's. Whether or not she thought anything could be gained by following this new development, there was something to be said about persistence. Or whatever it was that applied to situations like this. "Was it just too dark?"

[from here]

That was a lie, though. She didn't have a definitive list that she added to and subtracted from, but she had the general sense that certain people she'd talked to once or twice were missing. But if they were gone, there was nothing she could do. Except rain curses on the institute, but she'd already done plenty of that, and it didn't work. Because then they'd just take away someone else.

Swinging her light cautiously from side to side, Mele squinted into the dark at the doors lining the halls. "What are you looking for, anyway? What's in these rooms?"

[From here.]

Reaching the top of the stairs, the Scarecrow followed Mele into the eastern end of the Horrible Hallway. Two steps in, and it didn't seem very dangerous yet- then again, the western end of the Hallway hadn't seemed so bad his first night until they discovered Mele and the somethings attacked. The balcony overlooking the Sun Room was usually dangerous, as well. It seemed only natural to assume there'd probably be witches on the eastern end occasionally.

That thought in mind, the Scarecrow gave the area a cautious sweep with his flashlight before looking at his map again. "We'll find some time tomorrow for you to copy this," he said quietly, breaking the eerie stillness of the corridor with his voice. "I usually see you at breakfast- it's a good thing, too. I know I'd be worried if I didn't see you every couple of days, knowing how people come and go in this place."

The Scarecrow looked toward the side halls, turning right and taking a few steps. "It'll be this one over here. Let's move before something notices us."

[from here]

"I have a pen," she added as she ascended the stairs. She was already using her journal to keep track of the days, why not stick a map in the same place? Unless they didn't let her carry the journal around tomorrow, but if so, that didn't make any sense (why give her a journal? Why let her carry a pen?), and she was going to tell the nurse so. "Tomorrow."

More importantly, she needed to keep her attention on what might lay ahead. "You haven't been this way before, right? Keep behind me." On the other hand, if Mele fell, she'd tumble into him. But someone had to take point, so... "And a little to the side," she added, glancing down.

[from here]

"And anyway, was that a map or what?" She hadn't gotten a good look, but if Scarecrow had consulted it, it was either a map or instructions. Mele didn't know which was more likely.

It was a good idea to exchange notes once in a while, probably. Maybe she'd do that in the day tomorrow; she'd been focusing so much on what everyone encountered that it hadn't occurred to her to ask where they'd been exploring. It wasn't that hard to see all there was to see in a building, or so she'd thought.

The flashlight flickered again, and Mele bit back a curse as she paused to shake it.

"Dude, you are totally bugnuts crazy," Yuffie told the intercom.

She stood by her bed, hopping vaguely as she pulled up her socks. The rest of her clothes, sans shorts and bra, were in a messy, rumpled pile on top of her equally messy, rumpled bedsheets. Next to them sat her sheathed wakizashi and her two knives; her shuriken, too big to fit, had been left to lean against the side of her desk.

"And that's worth saying only 'cuz that's the most sense you've, like, ever made. Can't you go back to being creepy and stereotypical? I'm serious."

The arm warmer went on next; she buckled it quickly as she toed into her (still laced) sneakers. Gloves followed swiftly after, and Yuffie mumbled, "C'mon, geez," as she slipped them on. She'd been too distracted by her notes to get dressed during dinner shift, and now she had to hurry. Sagara could be here any minute.

Finally, finally, Yuffie jammed the woollen turtleneck over her head.

[ from here ]

She'd kind of been expecting to run into someone by now -- hell, with the amount of people who'd been in the cafeteria? But maybe they were hiding out from the monsters that they weren't equipped to handle. After all, if Ruby hadn't been through what she had and lived as long as she had, she'd probably be curled up in her room for safety, too. It wasn't like she was excited to tangle with these freaks.

But, it was a necessary evil, just like most of what she was doing these days. The nurse's station that Roxas referred to was on her right as she headed down the hall with slow, purposeful steps, following the path that the nurse had taken her out through while the lights were up.

A part of her wanted to know how aware they were of this shit -- of the fact that they were basically leading the patients through the paths they'd need to know to screw them over. Probably. Judging by Landel's taunts, they knew a lot of what went on. Security cameras, maybe? She hadn't seen any -- yet -- but she couldn't eliminate the possibility.

[ to here ]

[from here]

And the center of the main hallways it was. Nice and tidy, right, right; a bit too quiet to be sure, but hey. The place would probably liven up soon, one way or the other. She, on the other hand, just needed to wait here for this Scott guy so they could go on their important mission of stealing instruments that may or may not be there.

...Yeah, this might have been a way to release some stress by not worrying about things for a little, but hey. Senna was reminded of Reid, and that damn ice field night, but either way, things had started off the same that night, hadn't they? Ah, well.... The girl stretched upwards, then wandered next to the entry room doors, leaning against the wall. In her shinigami uniform, with the red-hilted sword in her waist band, she might have made an impressive figure... If she wasn't only five feet tall. Oh, well. Intimidations could be had by someone else. Senna would just stick to wit and charms if she got accosted by a random passerbyer.

[For Scott!]

[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!~]

[from here]

None seemed to have fled their rooms yet. It was both beneficial and a hindrance. Ayanami could move without hesitance in this manner, but she still wondered about the girl she had come to know. With little to none in the halls yet, there was a slim and lowering likelihood that she would actually see Aigis this night.

There was tomorrow, still. And the time after that. Until they completed the purpose here, they had limitless time, until they fell to another’s machinations.

[to here]

The commotion just after the intercom's jingle displayed the same kind of erratic energy that the Head Doctor had been exuding all day.

"Come on, get those papers out of the way – no, I don't...! Ah! Good evening, everyone, and I hope you all enjoyed the activities we had to–"

Someone whispered something in the background. The Head Doctor sighed and muttered: "Yes, Lydia, I know we don't have many organized activities...

"...But anyway! Next up is dinner with your roommates! Tonight, we'll be having turkey and gravy, which will consist of some moist slices of turkey breast and garlic mashed potatoes, garnished with steamed broccoli, grilled asparagus, and topped with delicious gravy. We'll be serving the dinners with small side salads and our dessert will be pumpkin pie – as per usual, we have alternate meals for alternate dietary needs."

The Head Doctor took a long pause. Lydia mumbled something in the background.

"No, I'm not dawdling–! Er... I'll talk to you shortly, everyone!"

The intercom clicked off.

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you! ]

Well, if it wasn't his favorite time of the week. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Of course in this case, distance makes Klavier feel like an abused, neglected animal who was only now being allowed a taste of actual food. These people were such savages. It was still absolutely absurd that they were allowed access to this room so rarely. But the tactic was also brilliant on their part, sad to say. Klavier was always at his quietest and most obedient on Music Room days. The perfect model patient. He would give them no excuse to deprive him of this precious time.

Today was going to be a little different, however. Not only was he given access to music today, but a bout of entertainment as well. Apparently that band that had been setting up tryouts for the last week was ready to get the show on the road and start their auditions. Normally, this was the sort of project he wouldn't hesitate to take part in. But aside from the injury to his left hand and shoulder, there were three critical factors keeping him from doing so:

1. The band was named "Sex Bob-Omb." Klavier may have missed the band scene, but he had no intention of attaching his name to some Tom Jones cover band.
2. There weren't many actual instruments in the Music Room; certainly not enough variety to form the type of band they want. The one who made the poster said something about improvising instruments through whatever means necessary. A noble goal, but again, Klavier was not so desperate yet as to reduce himself to playing with a box of tissues strung up with rubber bands. That was too pathetic an image to ever place himself into.
3. The person who had posted placed up a sample music sheet of one of their songs. Klavier had no idea how many people here could actually read music enough to know what it was they were looking at there, but he had been able to decipher it perfectly. Their music... it was kind of god-awful.

In short, this was basically a disaster waiting to happen. The hints were enough to tell him this was likely going to be something akin to nails on a chalkboard... amplified by five. So honestly, he should be as far away from this room as humanly possible.

But he was not going to let these people ruin his rare access time to the Music Room. No, instead he took one of their old CD players and a carefully selected CD of choice (for the sake of his sanity) and took a seat at one of the tables, turning the chair so as to get an optimal view of the show. Why not? No harm in indulging in a little "entertainment," yes?

[free to anyone who wants to watch this train wreck with him :D ]

There was little to be said of the daily business that went on. He allowed himself to be shuffled, mind embedded too deeply in things he shouldn't be dwelling on. The night was over, the shadows had vanished, and there was little more than bad memories to be left in their stead. This was logic, pure and simple, and should have been reassuring but for the whispered accusations made by his own. Of all things that his mind moved to unconsciously focus on, it was one of the first things spoken. That he could kill himself and nothing would stop him.

Which was pointless. In the whole of its entirety. Gaara had not truly moved in that way for time past--And now, even, he had goals and aspirations that he would see come to pass before he gave anything of himself away. He was working for what he believed in; he was working to become acknowledged by others as himself, and not as what he was created for. And there was no point to anything that thing had said.

His thoughts shifted, moved over the night, each dark statement echoed by an internal vow of his own, a denial of returning to what he once was. He still had yet to seek out Temari--his sister, too, would have been confronted by her demons, and there was a edge of concern in that thought. Considering all of this, he seated himself in a place near the wall, glancing at the doorway every few moments.

[sister dear.]

With breakfast finished and a new acquaintance made, the Scarecrow's mind turned to his other friends. The disappearance of Depth Charge's friend had brought back memories of how he'd felt when Kaiji went missing: helpless, useless, as though he should have and could have done something more to find him. If only he had his brain, then maybe he could have thought of something!

As much as he didn't like to admit it, it was unlikely his former roommate was still within the Institute's walls at this point, though the Scarecrow wouldn't know for sure unless Kaiji returned to visit him as Dorothy had, encouraging his supposed recovery. There was still the concern that Landel, despite his vile methods, was actually right and he was suffering from the delusion of having been a scarecrow in Oz. After all, that movie had been a pretty elaborate trick. Would he have planted it in town on purpose, knowing the Scarecrow would be taken there the night of the enchanted doors? And how could he guarantee that once he did find it, he'd take it and actually watch it? There was so much guesswork involved- it seemed the Wizard Landel either liked coincidences or he had more power on his side than any of the patients could have guessed.

The Scarecrow stopped by the bulletin board before heading for a seat, considering writing a note to his friends to check on them. He'd heard from Depth Charge, Remy, and Kibitoshin within a day's time, so he figured they were probably fine (as fine as Depth Charge could have been after last night, anyway). He'd seen Mele and Scar the day before. He put a finger to his head, thinking- he'd not heard from Abe or Sangamon in a day or so, but being professionals, they were probably very busy. Perhaps a note would be best for them.

[Kibby]

With sigh that toed the ambiguous no-mans-land between soft and explosive, Yuffie collected a plateful of waffles with all the toppings. She was sure that, if nothing else, it'd making a pretty satisfying splat if—when?—she launched it at somebody's face, and that was all that counted.

"Hanna, isn't that a little much?" Plucky asked, doubtfully.

"Uhhm. No. About, like... a little while ago, I managed five caramel apple pies with ice cream and berries and, y'know, I think there was a gallon of soda involved at some point." It wasn't the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. There really had been five caramel apple pies, but Cloud had ended up wearing two and a half and the third had taken a vacation to Boobsville (Tifa had loved it. Really. Really). The moral of the story (as she'd told Marlene and Denzel later) was that anything was game, just as long as you could run fast enough afterwards.

The nurse nodded slowly. "I… suppose. Well, I'll leave you to it. See that you behave, won't you, dear? You need to set a good example for the new batch of patients."

"My examples are the best examples," Yuffie proclaimed, with the dark-bright grin that still came so easily, no matter how little she felt really felt it. It lingered even when the nurse had flitted off to deal with another charge, but there was an edge to it. What the edge was, Yuffie couldn't say. Didn't want to say, after what'd gone down last night. Nah, she had better things to do; things like sitting down and waiting, just waiting, for Cloud or some other sucker of an easy target to walk through the door.

[HARLEY HARTWELL o/]

[From here.]

While it was his first time heading up the stairs, Castiel felt no trepidation. Even if he was alone and it was deathly quiet, he was used to unsettling situations and saw no reason to slow his march upward. Though at the sound of footsteps, he did glance over his shoulder for a split second, to see another patient who was taking the same path as him.

Not completely alone, then, and yet Castiel saw no reason to call out to the man. Even though he did take note of the coat he was wearing, immediately being reminded of his own.

Not, it wasn't his; it had been Jimmy Novac's, but that had been in another time and place.

Turning his gaze forward again, Castiel continued to climb up. He would find the chapel in one way or another.

[To here]

"Made it..." She whispered triumphantly as she walked quietly into the dark and quiet hallway first. It was hard to decide where the best place would be to stand since once others began to flood in, Asuka could easily be overshadowed by the taller adults. "Hmmm..." The best she could guess was to hug the opposite wall by the doorway and hope she would pick out the two members once they entered.

Remember, Asuka, you aren't the veteran here.

This wasn't NERV anymore. She had no one under her to display her impressive and extensive training to. The redhead was a newbie like the ones she was going to be working with, though perhaps a bit more intelligent. This first mission was important for popularity's sake. She needed to play nice for now, gauge their strengths and weaknesses until she knew who she could topple the easiest.

[Waiting on Agatha and Zevran]

[From here]

Another bare hallway, Asuka observed once she poked her head out of the F-A block and shined her light back and forth. Even when she left her room rather promptly, there was almost always a handful of patients coming or going. Maybe she had just been way too uptight tonight for this mission. But was that such a terrible thing? This initiative clearly displayed her commitment to the club. The eva pilot had to show Okita that she was determined, that she showed leadership qualities so she could rise through the ranks. Higher rank gave her access to better resources, which got her closer to getting the hell out of this place.

No, there was nothing wrong with a little hustle at all. The other new members could learn from her, certainly. Keeping her objectives in sight, Asuka kept following the hallway until it split into the common area that most patients used to rendezvous with others.

[To here]

Tifa wasn't sure what to make of the strange promise heard over the intercom. The only conclusion she could come up with was that perhaps this would be another wild goose chase, running into one door, but coming out in a completely different room, time, or world. The first time had been exhausting and fruitless enough, she didn't really want to go through the ringer a second time. There was nothing she could do about it on her own, so she got up and tore through her closet for her ice materia and the knife she had borrowed from Yuffie. The former she tucked into her bra as usual so her left had could easily hold the flashlight.

She wished her roommate good luck and hoped that she returned from the night unscathed, or at least in one piece. Tifa would have offered to take Lightning with her, but it probably wasn't a good idea, not where they were going. The door was opened as quietly as possible and her yellow light was quickly flashed down both directions of the hall. Now that the coast was clear, she left the room just as silently down the hallway where it connected with another.

[To here]