The doors unlocked.

They weren't supposed to do that. The Head Doctor wasn't supposed to speak with that tone of voice either, much less laugh at them, but he had. All of that meant-- what? Was Brendan having a relapse already? He didn't think his day had been awful enough to trigger it, but-- no, the fact that he was still thinking of himself as Brendan should be enough to disprove that theory. He wasn't Lelouch. Lelouch wasn't the one staring fixedly at the door and shakily rising to his feet, book, king, and cranes on his desk going entirely forgotten. Maybe it was just-- a minor hallucination, nothing to worry about. It certainly couldn't mean what he thought (more like dreaded) it meant, and with that firmly in mind, he ripped his gaze away from the door and slowly made his way to his bed.

He found his flashlight under his pillow as usual, thank god, and he quickly flicked it on before sitting on the thin mattress. That was probably rude of him when his roommate would want to sleep, but he needed to see right now and know that nothing else out of the ordinary was going to happen. He didn't dare check the door at the moment; if it opened under his touch, he would have actual physical proof that this was real. It could just be some malfunction in the locking mechanism, maybe, but-- no, he was going to stay right here and touch nothing. It was just a hallucination. None of this was real.

He pulled his blanket partway over himself and lay down on the bed, making sure to partially obscure the light so that it would neither bother his roommate nor attract the attention of anyone in the hall. If it was a lock failure, he didn't want anyone wandering in here, and if it wasn't, he could at least try to be courteous while he wondered where his mind was going.

[Continued here.]

[from here]

At first, when Sakura entered, the golden radiance gave her a warm and pleasant feeling which she wasn't expecting at night. However, her warm feelings were quickly squashed as soon as she laid eyes on the menacing and giant sphinx before them. Its eyes seemed to pierce straight through her.

"W-What is that?" she asked, taking a step backwards.

[from here]

They were making good time, but there wasn't anything good about that. With the entrance to the basement just ahead of them, Anise could feel her chest tighten with dread.

"You will find yourself able to enter so long as you are willing to make a sacrifice."

That's what that golden monster said before, right? There was no telling what kind of sacrifice it meant, but it probably wasn't anything small. If it came to that, she could be sure that Sync would be shoving one of them ahead to take the brunt of it. Maybe one of them would die. Maybe both of them would.

Anise felt a strong chill surge through her body as she thought about it, but maybe it was just the air inside the refrigerator. She stepped to the side, shuddered, and hugged herself for warmth. She remembered where the trap door was, but Sync could go find that himself. It wasn't like he had anyone stuck to his head this time, or anything.

[from here]

It looked like they were the first ones in the Sun Room this night. There weren't any monsters in plain sight, which was a good sign.

Or was it? Getting held up by a monster actually sounded kind of nice, for once. If it was strong enough, it could keep Sync busy - maybe even enough to derail his plans. Of course, it would also put their lives in danger, but they were in tons of danger anyway. Whoever said "better the devil you know than the devil you don't" obviously didn't know Sync the Tempest.

So even though Anise walked into the Sun Room with soft, cautious steps like she usually would, the girl inwardly found herself praying for someone or something to intercept them.

It was time. Once the nighttime announcements began, Anise grabbed her flashlight, flicked it on, and...

Huh. It wouldn't turn on. She pushed the switch up and down and shook the device, but it didn't so much as flicker. Was it broken? She'd noticed its light seemed a little weaker than usual the previous night... but she wasn't really sure what that meant. Not knowing what else to do with it, she shoved it into a drawer. A flashlight that couldn't light up wasn't worth carrying around, and she didn't have time to ponder how to fix it.

When she opened the drawer, a glint of something sharp and shiny caught her eye. The shard of glass she picked up two weeks ago, during the ambush on the buses. Anise had grabbed it just to have something that could potentially be used as a weapon, but thankfully it never came to that. Now, though...

Anise pulled Tokunaga off of her back and stuck the long, triangular shard into the pouch on the doll's back. It didn't completely fit, and one point stuck out a little, but that was fine. It wasn't likely that anyone would be looking at it, and it was clear anyway. Plus, it would be easier to pull it out if it wasn't enclosed completely.

It wasn't much of a weapon, and Anise doubted she'd have a chance to retrieve it if she ended up in a struggle with Sync, but it was better than nothing.

The doll went back over her shoulders, and the girl picked up her main weapon: a meat tenderizer. Before she had time to calm her nerves and collect her thoughts, the Head Doctor finished his creepy announcements and the door unlocked. The instant she heard the click, Anise bolted out of the room and down the hallway.

[to here]

[From here]

Hime peered out into the hallway. It was mostly empty; it seemed she was one of the first to come out of their cells. While this presented the problem of wandering alone without the cover of the herd, this also gave her a chance to scout out the population as they left their rooms. While Hime had confidence in her fighting abilities, she had no delusions about taking on whatever horrors lurked here by herself. Besides, she needed to find people who could fight; the basement did not sound like the kind of place one explored on their own, or even with just one other.

Recalling that all the patient rooms filtered out into the main hallway, Hime headed that way.

[To here]

That had been a very frustrating shower. For many reasons. At least Raine was going to at least look at Forte. Hopefully, she'll actually heal him. The showers had also succeeded in making the ninja feel like a pervert. A mild one, but still... It was as if Yukari had picked that spot in the showers because she knew the ninja could easily see her.

Ugh! Damn youkai.

Squirreling herself away in a corner of the cafeteria, Sheena finger combed her wet hair before pulling it back with the bright red ribbon. She so needed her own hair ribbon back. She was attempting to formulate her plan of acquisition - she was ninja after all - as people started trickling into the room. The plan was put on pause, though, when her stomach rumbled.

Food now - plan later.

[Closed to Haseo and Endrance]

Okita had woken with a start, his breath coming back to him in a rush. Toward the end of the night, he had sworn he'd seen someone in the shadows - someone no taller than a boy of nine, a mask covering his face, blood running down his front. He'd seen him. There was no way of mistaking that outfit or that mask; and Okita didn't need to see the face behind it to know who it was. The man didn't have a name and he likely never would, but Okita could never forget him. No one ever forgot their first kill.

When his breathing returned to normal, he realized that Guy was gone and worse, that the shift was nearly over. The nurses came in, fussing over him, saying he'd had a fever or some other nonsense that morning and thus they had left him to rest. Now they were asking how he was feeling, touching his forehead and trying to get him to put some metal tube in his mouth. That? Was a big no. Okita politely and firmly refused their repeated requests and they finally gave in, allowing him to get up and get dressed before informing him that today was--

"Now, the adults may be escorted to the showers while children can partake in Arts & Crafts activities."

The intercom cut in and Okita smiled. Finally. A shower. He put up little resistance when the nurses led him to the shower room, quickly undressing before touching his shoulder and ribs. Fully healed now, not a trace of his former injuries. Without further hesitation, Okita went to the closest stall and turned on the water, closing his eyes as the heat washed over him, clearing his head of the previous night's illusions. There was no way that demon man was still alive, and no way that he could have returned to taunt him yet again. It was merely a trick of the mind; something easily dismissed. That was exactly it. With that decided, Okita began to shampoo his hair, marveling again at the conveniences of the modern day.

[free~!]

Yuffie had died.

No, really. Seriously. She had actually died. Bleeding all over the place, making a horrid, sticky mess and scaring the hell out of Suzaku; she remembered it clearly. Kind of. Sort of. Through the blood loss, the pain, and the visions. Through Aerith's voice whispering in her ear, Cloud's stricken eyes, and her own panic. As bad nights went, it had been Bad, capital B and all the trimmings, and oh, god. She sat, trembling on the edge of her bed, eyes closed and hands pressed hard over her racing heart. The by-play between Landel—Landel!—and Lydia barely even sunk in. There was nothing in the whole world, any world, that could prepare you for something like…

Had it all been some kind of hallucination?

Had she imagined the whole thing?

No… She didn't think so. Nightmarish or not, Yuffie knew reality. But if it had been real, how was she alive now? That kind of pain wasn't something you could just cook up, was it? She thought about it all the way to the cafeteria, drifting behind her nurse without focus or intent. Maybe if she tried to stay clinical, tried to step back… But she'd never been good at that when things got personal. And every time she closed her eyes or blinked, she swore that the scenes played back to her, like an overused commercial on a crappy channel on a crappy TV, in a run-down dump of an inn that smelled like mothballs and yesterday's breakfast.

The scent of blood and damp, rotted wood clogged her nose. Disgusted, Yuffie shoved her bowl of cereal—handed to her by a clucking Plucky—off to the side so that she could melt into her chair, palm heels scrubbing against her eyes. Too much. This was… Too much. She couldn't even paste a plastic smile on her face to make herself feel better. Her usual shield, the white noise of inane babble that could filter out almost any crisis, was in tatters all around her. Five minutes, she gave herself.

Five minutes (not) to think, five minutes to get her act together, because there was no way she could let herself shatter here. No way…

[Closed to Sheena]

Touya sat on his bed with his hands folded, listening to the announcement, hearing the doors unlock. He hadn't been paying much attention, though--his mind was elsewhere.

For one, Jaime was gone. The bed across from him was unoccupied, and there wasn't any sign of his stuff anywhere. He'd been a nice kid, though Touya couldn't help but feel like he had been hiding something. Considering the events of last night, Touya didn't want to think about what might have happened to him. Tomorrow, he should post something.

His lack of roommate, though, had caused him to be left alone to his thoughts. They ran circles in his head, wearing a beaten track in his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about what Nakuru had said.

What if he had taken those pictures? What if he was stalking Yuki? What if he was an obsessed, crazed teenager, bent on getting his way just because his hormones said so?

He had to talk to Yuki about this--and in private. Sakura shouldn't be there if her brother really was a stalker. He quickly gathered his necessary items for the night and struck out for Yukito's room.

[in F12]

Momo had almost considered not changing into her uniform given how injured she was, but she grit her teeth and slipped the black fabric on, feeling instantly more comfortable than she had before. Still, the thick bandaging on her left arm made it impossible to attach her vice captain's badge, so she set it inside her desk drawer for safe keeping.

Now, all she had to do was wait for Reinforce to arrive. Sitting on her bed, her own sword and a sheet-wrapped bundle sitting on the bed beside her, Momo carefully unwrapped the gauze around her hands, examining the burns and letting her thoughts drift back to the previous night.

It'd been nice to talk with Subaru, if only to see that the young man was faring a little better than before.  He seemed to have the worst luck and unfortunately, there wasn't always someone there to protect those that needed it the most.  As he passed the Sun Room, there was still no sign of a post from Ururu either.  Things didn't look promising.  But the nurse didn't stop there, she led him out and into the waiting room, empty now, but she promised his visitor would be along shortly. 

He thanked her and nodded, taking the seat provided and folding his hands quietly in his lap.  Would today be the day that he would get to leave this place with Ashura?  He'd done everything he could.  Followed the nurse's and doctor's orders, taken his medicine, even though it was causing havoc with his magic and his health, he'd tried to keep from causing any major fusses.  Would that be enough?  If he didn't get out soon, well... he didn't want to think about what might happen.

So he continued to sit, looking up anxiously every time the door opened, wringing his hands in his lap.  There was a mixed feeling of dread and happiness that seemed to be at war within him.  It would be a relief to see him again, but at what cost?  How long could he keep trying to balance two different lives?

Snake jerked his head away from Fox's hand and shot to his feet, disorientated slightly by the sudden shift. The grout in the tiles was black with what looked like old blood, and the stench of rot heaved in his throat. Something was badly wrong. He sensed threats - left, faint shapes in the dark outside the large windows - Fox - something creaking in the ceiling - a long groaning voice off to the right, past the walls - and something moving in the back of the room -

It staggered towards him, and before he fully knew what he was doing he ripped the match from the book and struck it with his left hand alone, popped the cap off the hairspray, and blasted a tongue of flame at the aggressor, aiming for its face. He saw, in the flickering light, long hair and long nails and the skin on its rotten face peeling and cracking and bubbling in the heat. It gave a long, screaming cry, and toppled to the floor. Its arms and legs writhed and kicked furiously, an automatic, animal gesture, before it finally lay still.

"Here?" he snapped at Fox, wrapping his fingers around the can of hairspray. "This place gets better and better. It's like a theme park." His voice quaked with anger. The place now stunk of something far worse than rotten meat, and for a fraction of a second he thought he could hear Big Boss's voice saying something he couldn't make out before he realised that it had come from inside his own head.

"At least I don't have to be the only thing here back from the dead," he growled. The woman zombie was leaking something he didn't want to think about. He guessed that the decomposition must have trapped methane and other flammable gasses inside the body, hence why it went up like a candle.

That said, he didn't really think he could burn anything else again. For a while.

[from here]

The streets hardly seemed to be a better alternative to the pet shop. In fact, it seemed like there were more zombies on the street than where they were originally. Sakura glanced around the town in a frenzy. Zombies were everywhere! Where were they supposed to find somewhere safe?

She picked up a rock and pitched it at a zombie approaching them from behind. "Fai-san, where do we go?" she asked, looking up at him once more.

The shift was familiar enough, in it's own way, but it came too soon. He wasn't sure if any of the others in the group aside from Stefan had been around long enough to witness this before, but he wanted to reassure them that this was just like the changes the institute underwent at night.

Except it wasn't, this time. Marcus could hear them before he could see them, clawing through the dirt, and paused with his mouth open, losing what he'd been about to say. Then the first hand popped out of the ground, much like the zombified followers of the Banished Pantheon often did. Marcus didn't wait for them to start pulling themselves out of the ground entirely before he spoke, loudly but clearly. "It's time to go. Stefan, Scourge and I will head to the Sheriff's office and secure it, you three get people in Magus Park and down South Street to go there, we'll have it cleared and safe to use as a rallying point. When that fills up we'll take the hardware store," He could hear the moans of the undead off in the distance.

"I suggest you only go halfway down South Street and then go up to Main Street to arm yourselves in the hardware store if you need it, that will also take you past the Sheriff's office so you can drop anyone off. I have extremely good hearing so if you shout loud enough I may be able to hear you if you get in trouble and need reinforcements," Marcus decided it was time to wrap things up when the undead were finally all the way up out of the ground. "Try not to get bogged down in too many fights if you can avoid it. Go!"

He didn't waste any time either, and took off at a brisk but not all-out pace for main street.

The temperature was starting to cool down, but that was okay with Akihiko. It wasn't that much different from winter evenings back home. He was feeling better, having been outside most of the day, but still. That niggling stress from the previous few days was still getting to him. He sighed, looking up at the darkening sky and thinking about it all.

Just need to focus. That's all.

[Adel? Boxing Club folks? SEES?]

Already, it was well past noon, and von Karma had yet to accomplish anything of significance during this "field trip." Now that he had finally gotten rid of that apple-obsessed madman, he was now free to visit the bookstore he had seen earlier. Glancing around himself to ensure that there were no other potential hindrances on the way, he headed directly for the establishment that called itself "The Bookworm." Hmph. Such a 'charming' name for a store, he thought sardonically as he looked at the sign. This had better be one instance in which the adage of judging a book by its cover holds true.

The instant he set foot inside the store, he discovered right away that exceptions did indeed exist to that cliche. A cloud of dust greeted him, causing him to sneeze. As it settled, he saw the piles upon piles of books that were haphazardly organized -- if one used the word in its loosest meaning ever -- without any rhyme nor reason. What manner of bookstore was this?!

"Clerk!" he finally demanded at the peon working behind the counter. "Has the concept of categorization eluded you? How is anyone supposed to find anything useful here?!"

The clerk just smiled at him in a rather patronizing manner. "I'm sorry, sir. Can I help you find anything?"

von Karma just glared at the clerk for a moment. "I am seeking informational materials. Books on law, in particular. Or at least the history of this region. But all I see here are frivolous romance novels, flimsy children's stories, and books pertaining to the 'metaphysical sciences.' They are all useless to me."

The incompetent clerk just shrugged. "Sorry, but as you said, we don't have those here. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Do you at least have newspapers here? Preferably ones that don't pre-date my eldest daughter's birth!" von Karma's patience was obviously wearing thin.

"Nope, sorry, sir."

"Bah." von Karma said nothing else, but proceeded to take his leave. The one place in this miserable little town in which he had hoped he would find real answers, and it was even more of a waste of his time than anything else he had done thus far.

[Somewhat open for harassment for now, but tagging back will be slow at best, and I may have him eventually move to the antiques store at some point. ALSO: I have never posted top-level to Doyleton before, so please let me know if anything in this needs to be fixed, and I shall do so. Thanks in advance.]

Senna stepped off the bus to wind blowing through the clothes she was given. A sad face at one of the nurses allowed her a long red scarf as well, and once she had draped it around her neck and let it hang down her back, she had trotted off.

The park she had saw last time seemed a good place to be on the look-out for the chicks from last night. It was close to the buses, and a big enough place that if they remembered that they had a race date, it would suit its purpose. The girl ran to a place in the middle of the field and waited there, shifting her weight from side to side. After a while, this wasn't enough, and Senna traded back and forth between jogging in place and acrobatics--the easy flips and cartwheels keeping her warm.

Her mind had changed in the night before. She had gotten a taste of what leadership entailed, and she wasn't sure she had rose to the occasion or not. She knew she had tried her best, and had been willing to give as much as she had, but it hadn't been enough. She knew this. Hokuto, at least, had gotten hurt, and in the end, they still hadn't explored more than the schoolhouse. They really needed a different approach with that place.

She went back and forth internally, body going through the motions and reflexes of her movements.

[for... Falis, Hokuto, Meche, and Soma?--and down to here]

After the way night had ended (Miku wasn't sure if they'd ever get the smell of charnel out of her clothes), and morning had returned with its clockwork weirdness. She was hurried onto the bus in her dark red long coat and the dark, knee-length, slightly full dress beneath it. It was surprisingly warm, Miku noted, but that could've just been her body lying to her legs, which were going to be undoubtedly chillier through the day. As always with these trips, her nurse had taken the opportunity to channel Little Red Riding Hood into her patient's life.

Oh, well, she didn't mind that much. It was just clothing.

Miku slid into a seat with her bag of breakfast and her camera in her pocket. She couldn't help shake the feeling of oncoming dread that had started with the end of the night's bleeding walls. Maybe she was just being silly, maybe she shouldn't listen to the alarm ringing in the back of her mind.

But still, she couldn't help but to wonder what it was leading to.

[Waiting for Peter]

[from here]

The first surprising thing Yue noticed when he entered the room was the bright light within, even more so than the previous: seemingly impossibly so, given the look of the - were those skylights overhead? Impossible, this was underground. Wasn't it?

Yue shook his head slightly to dismiss the pointless train of thought and returned to a wary survey of the area, alert for danger. He could hopefully push the other two back through the door again before it closed behind them. And if not, the newly-obtained bow was an almost comforting weight in his hands.