To die for...

Was that idle chitchat? A red herring? The nausea making a convincing case for the chicken's immediate release and acquittal on all charges? Her stomach did a little flip as the gavel came down, pronouncing it not guilty. But wouldn't that mean it wasn't poisoned? Objection, your honor. This case makes no sense. She fell back onto her pillow for a second, head spinning. She was lightheaded, and giddy, and in no shape to be gathering her things in the dark -- she'd landed on the flashlight -- and heading out into it.

Nevertheless, she eased the flashlight out from under the small of her back and switched it on. A circle of light flickered into life on the ceiling, as the Head Doctor's voice came back on the intercom.

Five. How many were sick? She held the gun up into the light, probably thoroughly freaking out Ilia, even as she kept it pointed only at the near wall. What made a human? Guilt. Or innocence. A lawyer's answer, to pick both, but it was true. Animals didn't know what they did. Humans did. Temporary insanity, turned into a monster. It was a defense on legal grounds, but not on ethical ones. She wouldn't let it come to that.

Harrington's little interjection cut into the path her thoughts had wandered down. Another clue. This time, she was going to see it for herself. As long as she was still herself to do so. A good reason to hurry.

[to here]

[from here.]

Since the recreational field was quiet tonight, Phoenix found himself pausing briefly between doors, glancing up at the sky. It was what the sky looked like on television, pitch blackness interrupted by bright points of starlight, which was what really made him stop in the first place, really. He'd spent his entire life in Los Angeles. He didn't expect anything from the night sky but a dark, dusky rose, dotted with perhaps five valiant stars, assorted satellites, and the blinking slow-motion of airplanes coming and going from LAX. Seeing the sky the way he'd always known it was supposed to look pulled at him strangely. There wasn't supposed to be a single thing about this place that was beautiful, but there were the stars, cold and twinkling and completely unfamiliar.

He turned away abruptly, walking quickly for the next door before he could stare any longer. This wasn't the time to get caught up in things like that.

[to here.]

[From here]

It became more obvious as he went down the hall that he'd been moved rooms: this wasn't the same room as it was the night before, he realized, shining his flashlight for a second on one of the room number plaques. Before, it'd been in the hundreds. Now he was passing M8, M9. Dean moved quietly, keeping up a good pace but not breaking into a run and stopping every now and then to listen. He stopped at the end of the hall, examining a door. This one led to a bathroom, which was where Skuld suggested he get metal for the knife.

Glancing around, he checked for anyone else - or anything - before turning back to the door and testing the handle. It turned, the men's bathroom door swinging open...

[from here]

[M23 to be exact]

Momo stopped in front of Hitsugaya's room and sighed. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been sedated, so he probably hadn't noticed her dead eye. She didn't like the idea of keeping the state of it from him, but she wasn't sure if this was the right time to tell him. Then again, he'd probably notice it now.

She knocked on the door, pushing all that inner turmoil and worry aside, and called out just loud enough to carry through the door, "Shiro-chan?" She just... wanted a hug. She wanted to be held. Be weak for a moment wrapped in his arms and then... then she could be strong again.

[from here]

The men's block was just around the corner. So far there weren't many people out. Was she simply moving faster than the others? She hoped Ichimaru had the sense to steer far away from her and the memorial. Momo couldn't promise she wouldn't try to kill him if she saw him.

[to here]

[From here]

As she entered the hallway, Ophelia stopped for a moment to quickly fold up Kio's maps and stuff them into one of her pockets. She had been hoping to take a peek at them at various intervals during the night, but in this dim light, there was no chance of being able to see them. For now, she would have to travel by memory of where she had been taken during the day.

At least this time the choice of where to go was easy. On one side she could just barely see the hallway ending, and on the other it continued for a ways. The path that continued would surely lead to the Sun Room and the areas around it. She started running again with a grin spreading on her face, emboldened by the long, seemingly unobstructed length of the hall. Perhaps she would find her first challenge of the night soon.

[From here]

Ophelia was faced with a choice upon entering the next hallway. The path to her right she remembered would lead to the areas she had visited during the day. The path to her left lead to an unknown area. While the thought of upping the challenge (and thus the fun) by going down an unknown hallway in the dark without her night vision was appealing, she decided to save it for another night, perhaps. Tonight she would try to build off of where she had already been, so she decided to take the right-hand path.

She could see barely there patches of moonlight from a window in the hall up ahead, and sped up to a jog in her eagerness to get to where there was a little bit of light. Despite the danger of running into something in the dark, her growing excitement was getting the better of her.

[From here]

Turning right at the end of the corridor, Ophelia squinted in the dark, trying to remember how this area had looked in the daylight. She could somewhat see a door to the next hall down at the end, though she was only able to make it out because she knew it was supposed to be there.

Not able to hear anyone in her way up ahead, the warrior sped up her walking pace as she made her way to the door.

Joe had read some of the larger notes stuck up on the bulletin board when the announcement came on the intercom. All things considered, this Landel guy didn't even seem so bad. Even if these people were held here against their will, he was certainly nice about it.

Apparently, the new patients - including Joe - were to hang around in the Sun Room or go to Arts and Crafts with the kids. Well, there was plenty of information on the board, including maps and descriptions of monsters, for Joe to prepare for the nighttime, when he could seriously get going on fighting his way out. He could look for where the boss would probably be waiting, or where his V-watch might be, and figure out how to fight the monsters. In fact, he had plenty of time to work all that out... but this the first time he'd had to really relax since he got his powers. So it couldn't possibly hurt to enjoy the calm period, could it?

The red-head stepped back from the board, and hopped back onto a comfy-looking couch to digest in the sunlight. He reached up to pull his cap down, and sighed when he realized it wasn't there. "Oh well, nothing's perfect. I still wouldn't call this hell."

[free!]

For the first time since arriving at Landel's, Elle woke up feeling... almost peaceful. She lay in bed for several minutes, adjusting to certain things. Mostly the fact that her left arm was in a sling. And her shoulder didn't hurt as much as she would have expected it to, which probably meant she was on meds.

She got out of bed slowly, and made her way to the desk. Her journal was still in the top drawer, lying closed on top of the files she'd stolen. She grabbed it, along with a pen and a rubber band - not easy, one-handed - and allowed herself to be escorted to the Sun Room by a nurse.

The Head Doctor's words intrigued her. Visitors? Friends and family from back home? Despite the sudden ray of hope, she had to admit the unlikelihood of seeing Daddy. Either he'd put her here for a reason, and so would have no need to visit, or he couldn't get here at all.

It took a very long time to figure out how to hold her journal open and write at the same time. Through trial and error, she discovered that using her left hand to hold the journal didn't hurt too much.

This was probably a really bad idea. But if Daddy had really put her in here to kill Sylar as some kind of test, he wouldn't have given Sylar the virus. And if it came to having Sylar as a friend or as an enemy, she'd rather have him standing between her and the monsters than in a nearby corner laughing while she got ripped apart.

[for Eddie]

[from here]

Which way was it, now? Out and down and around. Further into the facility. Who'd reach their destination first, Callisto wondered. Perhaps they'd run into each other along the way.

This really got the blood going. She still didn't know what was really going on with this place, but at least she had a goal for now.

[to here]

[Coming from here.]

Claire stepped into the bookstore, relieved to be out of the chilly autumn air. Her sweater was warm, but the weather outside was still cool, and she guessed it had to be very late autumn, at the very least. Where were they? And when?

The interior of the little bookshop was somewhat cramped and cluttered, the shelves filled with books of every type and size and shape, and she couldn't help but smile at the sight. It felt... homey, if not a bit claustrophobic-inducing.

"Is this better?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at Tony as she made room for him to squeeze in behind her.

Claude couldn't fight the sinking feeling in his stomach when he woke up. Nightshift was over, and they hadn't even made it into the basement. Man, how tough was that? Sometimes it seemed like the night could drag on and on, and when he actually needed the extra time, it went by too fast. It didn't make any sense.

Too bad he wouldn't have much to report to Ashton. But now the blond's curiosity was peaked, and he had to admit that he was pretty interested in finding out just what was under there. But first things first -- he needed a sword, because walking around there unprepared was probably one step short of suicide, really. The scars in his side were a stark reminder of what happened to people here who weren't ready to face the dangers.

Until that time, the Earthling had plenty of projects to keep him occupied. It really was too bad that they couldn't get anywhere, though. And when Ashton had finally let him borrow a sword, too...

The blond decided not to dwell on that for too long, especially once his nurse came to wake him up. She handed him the same set of clothes he'd worn for the last trip to Doyleton -- a dark, faded jacket, a blue, button-up shirt, some casual slacks, a brown paperboy cap, and a red scarf. He knew he'd have no problems staying warm today, and he didn't really look all that bad, but he kind of wished they'd given him a better pair of shoes than the over-sized sneakers that kind of flopped when he walked around.

As he exited his room, he caught sight of someone sleeping in the other bed, and while he'd never formally met his roommate before, Claude knew it wasn't Asch.

Once he'd boarded the bus, the blond didn't waste much time in finding a seat. There weren't many people here yet, so he opened up his sack and took a bite of his muffin. It was kind of sad how small the portions were for today's breakfast, but he was an adult, so he wouldn't complain about it. At least Landel bothered to feed them at all.

((For Sync, I believe?))

Okay... that was creepy, thought Sheena as she stared up at the intercom. She glanced around her room nervously, balled up pieces of discarded paper strewn all over the floor by her. The man sounded like a seriously screwed up Desian that liked to toy with people... like Kvar did. Shuddering, the guardian picked up the cards she'd made with an ink-stained hand and fanned them out.

Alright... not the greatest work she'd ever done, she had to admit, but only three of them felt a little off when she concentrated on them. A few smudges of ink shouldn't matter anyways. Fanning herself once, she then folded the cards back up and looked down at her inky hands. "Stupid pen. Why did it have to break so easily? I was just trying to figure out where the ink was, NOT get it all over me. I hope I don't have any on my face..."

If she did, she was certain Raine would point it out to her. As long as the half-elf didn't do that weird lick her thumb and wipe it off thing she'd seen her do to Genis more than enough times, Sheena would be fine. If not... well... she'd glare at Raine or something. Grabbing her flashlight and cards, Sheena lamented the lack of an obi as she left her room.

Now where was F18?

[to here]

[From here, waiting for his bff. ♥]

The walk with the nurse provided little more information; the woman still refused to go into detail on his particular diagnosis. She did reveal, however, that Near's name in this place was Nathan Ritter. Again he noticed the closeness to his real name, but given the woman's insistence on referring to him as either "Nathan" or "Mr. Ritter," Near decided it was safe for the present.

She'd revealed that he would be given a choice to where he would stay for that period of time. Despite her encouragement to choose the outdoor Courtyard, Near instead opted to remain inside. The large window overhead no doubt gave the Sun Room its name, and from the position in the sky, Near would wager that it was mid-morning and approaching noon. The room itself was lobby-like in appearance. Several doors lined the walls, which were painted a mild green--unsurprising, given the calming nature of the color. Accompanying pictures also seemed place to induce a sense of relaxation, completed by the inviting furniture. The only thing that seemed to contrast with the atmosphere, in fact, was the balcony above, on what was presumably the second floor. So the patients were to relax here, and at the same time, perhaps be watched by the keepers?

Interesting.

But clearly what held the most promise for Near was the large board hanging on the far wall. His nurse left his side after he came to the room, and Near approached what was clearly a place for communication and messages. The number of notices signified that it was well used, and the information within was fascinating. Near ignored the patients filing in around him for the moment, instead focusing on reading the various notices as quickly as he could. The information was quite extreme--different worlds, non-humans being forced into human bodies, the dead being brought to life here. Certainly things that one might expect to see in an asylum.

And yet all of it was made much more believable by one note in particular, written in hands Near was intimately familiar with.

A sense of urgency crept into Near's thoughts then. He didn't show it outwardly, save for twirling his hair tighter, tugging at it before freeing his finger. If he was here, and they were here, then who else had arrived? Already Near longed for his toys, or a fingerpuppet kit to make them, the task ideal for filtering through the information. As it stood, the thin paper of his notebook would be a lacking substitute, but the only option at the time.

First, however, Near began to write on several of the notices. There was obviously much more to this hospital than its surface showed, and the push to solve the puzzle was quickly born in his mind.

[starting off in M13]

The last part of the night was little more than a blur in Homura's mind. The men had rushed in, but not joined them, instead staying off to themselves. Before any of them had a chance to react, however, a voice sounded through the air, mocking some other person Homura had never heard of, and the patients themselves.

To Homura, whoever that man was, he sounded a great deal like a god.

But before he could ask questions, the demi-god found himself no longer in the chapel, but some strange room on a bed. Is that what Kenren had meant from his earlier warning? Homura sat up, glad at least that the world didn't spin when he did so. Then the same man from before began to speak again, with a completely different tone. It was confusing to hear him talk that way, calling them patients instead of prisoners as he had before. Homura listened quietly as the announcement was made, then got out of bed.

Maybe he wouldn't have to go anywhere yet. It wasn't like Homura knew where to go anyway, and that meant he had time. If this was his room, and if he had been here as long as Kenren had said, there was a chance he could find something with answers. The Taisho had even told him that Homura had seen Rinrei. Certainly he would've written something down, made a map, something that could let him find her again! He started with the desk at the end of his bed, first finding a small stack of notebooks. Picking up the first, he flipped through, turning the pages with quickening desperation as he found each one to be blank.

[from here]

Beatrix slipped through the door and out into the open night air like she was infiltrating a target's base. She might as well ahve been. A quick glance around showed her the winged snake-bird wasn't there. Good. No time was wasted and the Bride went straight to the door next to the one she came in from.

[to here]

"Good evening, patients and staff!" the Head Doctor said just as the intercom's usual jingle ended. Strangely, he seemed even more tense now than he had been throughout the day, though as he continued to speak, he seemed to get back into the usual swing of things. "I hope you all had very productive outdoor activities today and helpful therapy sessions to boot. Now, however, we must all begin to retire, and as always, our nurses will be bringing your dinner to your rooms shortly after your being escorted there. Tonight's meal includes a generous portion of delicious spaghetti with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese (and meatballs if you choose), along with sides of hot garlic bread and fresh Caesar salad. For dessert, we will be serving slices of moist chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream."

The Head Doctor paused, and there was the sound of rustling and then muffled voices, as if the doctor had put his hand over the microphone and was clarifying something with someone--a female voice, probably Lydia. He took his hand off the mic and cleared his throat.

"Yes, that's all for now. I hope you all enjoy dinner, and remember, some of you tonight will be lucky enough to participate in our CM-US Experimental Therapy Trials, so look forward to that after the meal. Goodbye for now!"

The intercom clicked off.

[ Please respond to this post with all dinner shift threads between roommates, putting your character's respective room in the subject line. ]

By the time fourth shift came, Renamon was mentally tired. Even though she was able to somewhat sort her thoughts last shift, since Kaneyoshi had never shown, she was still a more somber fox than she usually was. As much as she didn't want to believe it, she was starting to think that she was looking for connections where there weren't any.

No. She couldn't think like that. She wouldn't allow herself those thoughts.

Per usual, she checked the Bulletin Board before allowing herself to be led away. She had spoken to her nurse for the first time since she arrived, merely asking her name. The nurse seemed overjoyed that she was responding to someone other than other patients, and told her that her name was Reiko Akiyama--don't you remember, dear?

"Of course. Thank you." She then went back to ignoring the staff.

Once at the recreational field, she did a few breathing exercises. One more meeting of the day, and then she would again try to shift through her information. Renamon rolled her neck and stretched her arms above her head. She wondered how this nightshift would go.

Bouncing lightly on her feet, she took a defensive stance, and started practicing her high-kicks. It seemed no matter where, or what, she was, she was still a warrior.

[Dairine time.]

There was a knot in Sai's stomach as he was led back inside to the cafeteria. It was an unfamiliar feeling, and he tried to ignore it. What was it? Was he actually uncomfortable with his decision? He couldn't afford to be. This alliance with Itachi was crucial, and he'd just have to try and make sure the others saw it that way.

The promised lunch didn't help, as the fish was fried and generally not something he'd eat on a regular basis. The cod by itself would have been far more preferable. Nevertheless, the ninja took the meal as it was offered, figuring he could simply scrape away at the breading once he'd sat down. He passed up the "chips" completely and just added the cooked carrots in their place. It was somewhat more appealing than he'd anticipated once he sat down.

Having done about all he'd intended to do today already, Sai allowed himself to get comfortable and relax. His wounds needed time to heal, even in this place. The more rest he got, the faster that would happen.