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 ]

[Waiting for Kaito... I think...]

Well, meeting his new roommate had been an interesting experience. Especially since the guy had been strapped to his bed and barely able to form coherent sentences. Heiji had to give him some credit, though, there weren't many people who would have tried to rescue a girl from the riot. Too bad he got caught.

He wanted to relax--away from all the orderlies and such, so he opted for the Game Room (even though he was, after eating pretty much nothing at all, starving). His nurse, at his request, handed him one of the old Gameboys out of a box along with a game. The detective flopped down on a chair, popped the cartridge in and began playing.

Heiji frowned. Just what the hell was this? He'd never even heard of this game. It looked like he was playing some kid who had these cards, that transformed into a ball, and then into a monster. What was the point of that?

...wait, was that monster named Whiplash?

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]

[from here]

It was lucky for both him and Usopp that their rooms were just a block down. Not that he'd seen many monsters or otherwise around the patient blocks themselves, but the further apart they were the more likely there would be something that could stop them on the way. Here they had simply a short run between them. Granted, it would have been even better if they'd been in the same block or even the same hallway, but given the overall situation they could have been far worse off.

He took one more glance around, saw nothing and no one, and continued on his way.

[to here]

Another unexciting dinner led into to another shot at busting out of the institution as Nightshift rolled around. Of course, Jack had other plans to attend to first. He had been rather interested in crashing paying a visit to M98 after the bulletin promised "cigarettes, booze, and sandwiches". The "manflesh" he could do without, but even if he wasn't welcome (last time he checked, he wasn't a hot lady, though the way things were going, who knew what tomorrow held?), he'd strong arm his way in and take what he wanted!

Sliding from his room into the hall with his maps and flashlight, the Fable set out to find his way to the party and may score some liquor and smokes.

[Still in Room M23]

He'd gone to the closet to search for a new hiding place to dump the cigarettes, and instead, found something very unexpected.

Hanging in the closet was a set of very unmistakable clothes. Sanzo stared for a second.

What the hell?

It had to have arrived very recently, because he hadn't seen it earlier. He wasn't even going to ask how, only whether it was actually Landels doing (he didn't see any point in that, it had to be some fuck up), or if it was that hag in the sky actually doing something right for a change and not laughing her/his ass off at him.

Everything looked to be in order. The breastplate was there, the sandles, everything...

Sanzo began stripping off the Landel uniform.

He felt more awake with each piece that he put on, not nearly as lost in the sheer mindlessness of the dayshift anymore. Sometimes the robes were a pain in the ass on the road - especially in hot weather - but right now, it was the only familiar thing he could grasp onto.

Just like holding that heavy weight of the gun in his hands.

Sanzo slipped on the sandles last, and dropped the matches and cigarettes into a sleeve. The map, radio and pens soon joined them, although the last was more of an afterthought. Pens probably wouldn't do shit as weapons, but at the rate things were going, it was better to be prepared.

No sutra on his shoulders and no gun, but everything else was almost as it should be.

Hiei easily grew sick of the same walls--not to mention the same idiots always within those walls--and while not perfect, the chance to go outside was better than lingering in the boundaries of that damned prison. So when the chance came, the demon was quick to leap on it, heading outside almost quick enough to make a nurse wonder if he was attempting escape.

Almost.

But there were things Hiei had to take care of before he left this place, and first came sorting through his thoughts. Kurama was gone; the demon was sure of it, even without the use of his Jagan. The fox was one of the people Hiei was closest to, one of the few Hiei would admit being close to, and his presence weighed heavily on the demon, nearly as heavy as his absence.

It made him angry, that Kurama had vanished. Be it by escape or some other circumstance (which Hiei barely considered possible, only by his own refusal), the fox should be there with him, fighting with him. That was how they worked, supposedly. As a team.

Now Hiei would have to do without. And he would be fine with that, eventually. For now it was annoying, but that would pass. Perhaps quicker with a nap, and the demon moved under one of the trees. He didn't care that it was colder in the shade; his contrasting origins mixed with his stubbornness kept the weather from bothering him too much. Closing his eyes, he relaxed against the bark, as much as he could given the circumstances, and hoped for a lack of bothering.

Finally.

Brunch was over, he had eaten his fill, and now he was free from all the others so he could have his moments alone. Okita had never realized how much he missed being alone until he was constantly surrounded by the swimming throng of the Landel's Institute. Having long ago promised himself not to show his weaknesses to any living creature, he'd been bottling everything since the moment he'd arrived.

Now, at last, with no one else in the Sun Room, he could lie down and think. Taking one of the couches furthest from the doors, he positioned himself so as to not aggravate his wounds and stared up at the ceiling. Hijikata was certainly gone. Okita's discussion with Homura earlier had done nothing but show that his doubt was in itself a dishonour to his vice commander. Hijikata had his duty to their cause first and foremost and whatever Okita felt was inconsequential next to that. It was his job to continue searching for information on the Bakumatsu while he was here. That was what he could do. Find information to use against the Choushu and escape with it.

Sighing slightly, he grit his teeth against the pain in his chest and closed his eyes. He wasn't going to nap, but it was easier to keep people away when he seemed like he was sleeping.

[ooc: D: Bug him? He shouldn't emo for too long or he'll explode]

She was still picking pancake pieces from her hair as her nurse lead her towards another room. The stickiness was all right, but only Jasdero wandered around with old foodstuffs in his hair like an idiot, and Rhode had enough etiquette not to fall to his level even without the Earl around to scold her. Picking at her hair was a helpful action regardless of that. She needed something to help drown out the nurse's scolding. The nurse's voice was still heard, but Rhode couldn't agree with anything that was said. Just how was it "all her fault" she'd gotten decked by pancakes at breakfast?! It wasn't as though she had done it to herself! She didn't see Renji or Allen Walker getting scolded either, and they had been the ones who'd started it!

Everything about today was being so unfair!

"... and I'd hope for no more attempts at food fights from you, Miss Grace," the nurse finished as she seated Rhode in a chair, "Just be thankful that you have a visitor today. Maybe they can get you to behave, hm?"

Rhode had just finished with cleaning her hair when the nurse set her down. Her eyes left her hair and turned up at the nurse, showing a small amount of confusion. "Visitor?" she asked, blinking. She had still been angry over Renji and Allen when the announcement had blared, so she hadn't caught the Head Doctor's words concerning the next shift.

The nurse sighed. She had a feeling the girl hadn't heard a thing she'd said, but she was not about to re-explain herself for the time she had. "You'll see shortly," she nodded, then added, "Don't cause any trouble," before turning to leave.

As she had nothing to hurl the nurse's way, Rhode only stuck out her tongue after the leaving woman. Normally she wouldn't have cared for being unanswered, but breakfast had her more irritated than was usual. It wasn't fun being threatened while unable to retaliate, and now there was something about visitors she didn't understand. Unless the Earl was finally coming to get her, then no visitor would be welcome. The only thing that could make her feel better right now was burning this place and everything in it, and that required the Earl.

It was with some relief that Yuuhi awoke the next morning, in his own bed, sore and tired and achy.  He would've slept more had they let him, his face down in the pillow, away from all the others and their questions and their concern.  He didn't want to see them, but he managed a little smile when the nurse came in and didn't object when she lead him out into the open hallway that had been splattered with blood, plenty of it his, just last night. 

The Chapel or the Sun Room?  He felt he had good reason not to be terribly religious and had a feeling he wouldn't be very welcome there anyway.  The Sun Room would be nice though.  It was bright and cheery and he could always doodle or write notes on the community board if he'd nothing better to do.  Besides, the nurse was kind enough to let him take a book with him.

He found a seat on one of the couches, far from the entrance and seated himself in the far corner, legs scrunched up against his chest so he only took up one of the cushions.  He opened up where he'd left off, fingers carefully turning the worn pages  of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz. 

(From here.)

Artemis poked his head into Farfarello's room, and seeing that there wasn't anything waiting for him, entered. "Right," He stopped in the middle of the room and turned, "Where do we start?"

Why did the room suddenly feel like it was the size of a matchbox?

[[From here]]

Allen struggled to keep Sanji from falling over as they walked further into the institute. The halls were so dark without the portable lanterns, it was difficult to see much going on in front of them. He didn't like it, but there wasn't much he could do about it for the time being.

"Whatever is close I guess," Allen replied to Sanji's question. He hadn't thought much further than that. As long as there was a place where the other could rest until the effect of the drugs was gone, it didn't really matter where, did it?  "Unless you want to go to yours?  Mine is much further up the hall."

[OOC: As the maps are currently down, I don't have the exact room name handy. Will edit if necessary when the maps are back up.]

[coming from here]

Farfarello was a little surprised to find the lobby empty when he came through the doors. They hadn't been the first off the buses, he knew that for certain, but no one else had made it inside? Pathetic. But also good, for Schwarz' purposes.

Leaning against a wall and keeping his senses alert for any trace of monsters, Farfarello waited for Schuldig and Crawford to catch up with him.

Sanji was blinking furiously, trying to figure out why he still felt awake though everything was dark. The sedatives, just recently injected into his system, were working full force and he was having difficulty figuring out which way was up and down. All the sounds were reminiscent of something out of a nightmare. Was that what this was?

But why couldn't he see anything?

He struggled out of his seat and into the aisle. Slipping and falling to his knees from lack of balance once there, he simply sat for a bit with a hand on the seat behind him. "Th'shit is... What?" his slurred question probably wouldn't mean much to anyone, but that didn't matter. The floor was as good a place as any for the moment as he tried to get a clearer view of things going on around him. Squinting into the darkness revealed very little, and so many voices just befuddled his drugged mind further.

What the shit was going on?

[ from here ]

Could Nami be acting any more natural? Could her smile be any more confident?

Perhaps, although she'd done this what seemed like thousands of times, on her way to make the millions of beli she needed to free her town. And while pirates were her usual targets, stealing pirates' booty held with it the threat of death. Here? The worst that would happen to them was a scolding look and a mild sedation. Nothing big, right..?

..Unless they took her and made her do the things that Luffy had been forced to do. That wouldn't be very fun.

Still, she was going to undertake this job with the utmost professionalism; just because they were on a different planet didn't mean that she would stop stealing things like she meant it.

Nami let herself into the store as if she were a regular. She looked around slowly - at first glance it seemed that it was a normal hardware store. Maybe with a bit better technology, but she could certainly deal with that.

[ entering from here with TK in tow ]

Oh so much joy, there was a place to play here, a pit full of plastic balls! Yes, so many fun things had been destroyed on her own world, why not enjoy what was offered here? After icecream. And the coupon was good for a whole meal too! Ed finally dropped TK's hand and sauntered up to the counter, presenting the slip of paper to the attendant with pride.

"Ed wishes to have her tummy filled with yummy!" The employee behind the counter took her coupon and before long Ed had her meal and sweet treat. She commandeered the first available table without a second thought, digging into her food with gusto.

When the bus had lurched to life, Okita was barely able to contain his scream of terror. He was lucky no one was sitting next to him or he would have died of embarrassment at his actions. Never having seen or even been in a modern transportation vehicle, he spent most of the trip curled up in his seat, gripping it like it was his only lifeline. The bus terrified him - the sounds it made and the way it jolted along the road. When it had become apparent that it wasn't going to explode, though, he'd relaxed enough to realize that unlike riding a horse, this metal monstrosity made him motion sick.

As soon as the thing stopped, Okita was off it, looking a little green. He remembered to take his sack breakfast and the coupon book, though, and quickly fled the area to find the closest place to hide. It ended up being a beautiful park with carefully sculpted lawns and what looked like play equipment. The fresh air did him some good and he quickly moved to the swings, setting the brown bag in his lap as he lazily moved to and fro on them.

He still had a lot to think about, he'd been able to supress most of his worst homocidal urges on the bus. Hijikata couldn't just disappear like that. Perhaps he'd been rescued earlier and would be somewhere in town today. All Okita had to do was get up the courage and start moving - no matter how difficult that seemed to be.

[from here]

Momo headed down what she suspected was the center street for the town. She noted the various businesses as she walked, as well as the increased staff presence, and kept to herself. If she was going to be wandering around lost in her own thoughts, she might as well get a feel for the town.

Maybe she'd make a map once she had a better idea.

[to Kelley Street]

Zelgadis was not happy, at all. Not that this was any change, but the events of the past few hours had given him more to angst about than usual. Nightshift had been dreadful: first he was attacked by a small green man and then covered in leeches, neither of which lead to warm fuzzy feelings.

And now this.

When the nurse had come into his room with new clothes he had a small glimmer of hope-- some thief had taken his normal Landel's wear in the night, so perhaps this was a change in luck. However, it was not the godsend he had hoped for. Minus the threat of sedation, there was nothing in the universe that could make Zelgadis wear a bright lemon-yellow shirt. There was a jacket of a slightly more tasteful variety, so Zelgadis made good us of it-- he put all his coupons in a pocket and pulled up the hood. It was almost as good as his cloak. Well, no it wasn't, but it would have to do.

With mild protesting, Zelgadis was lead to a large yellow vehicle. He climbed the stairs, took a seat towards the back, and readied himself for another frustrating day of being attacked and threatened with spoons.