[from here]

The main hallway was empty, too. The quiet was broken only by squeak of S.T's shoes on the tile floor and tiny creaks of metal as the toolbox swung as he walked.

This was the part in the horror movie where the cheerleader took a knife to the throat. Good thing he'd left his pom-poms at home. As long as he was the idiot friend or the brains (hell, both) he should make it at least to the third act.

He hurried along, hugging close to the left-hand wall.

[to here]

When the intercom's jingle sounded, there seemed to be some kind of tapping in the background noise, like letters being punched into a keyboard. It stopped and the Head Doctor chuckled.

"Hello, everyone! I'm actually taking a break from paperwork for once – everyone needs some recreational time, you know! – and of course, now we can all look forward to a scrumptious dinner from our cooks. Tonight, herb-seasoned grilled salmon is on the menu, served with buttery mashed potatoes and asparagus. All our regular drinks and vegetarian options are available, and for dessert, we will be serving yellow cake with a whipped cream icing.

"...Well! I can hardly wait to get my own dinner after saying all that. Good bye for now, everyone, and enjoy your delicious food!"

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. (Find all of the newly changed room assignments and shift introductions here.) If you are introducing your character during this shift, you may either choose for them character to wake up before their roommate gets back, or after. ]

Just as von Karma started to enter the doorway leading to the Courtyard to look around for anyone remotely resembling his daughter, that pretentious lunatic's voice rang out over the Intercom, heralding the approach of lunch time. Right away, the damned nurse practically dragged him back into the cafeteria and towards the serving tables, telling him in that cloyingly cheerful tone that he could get his fresh air after he had had his meal. What rotten timing!

His mood worsened as he saw what was on those tables. "Nurse! This is the same greasy, disgusting, perfect-artery-ruining swill that was offered for lunch the last time I was in here! Does this Institute serve nothing else? How is any of this healthy for someone whom you claim has recently suffered from a stroke?!"

"Why, you're right, Mr. Fuchs! Here, I'll fix you a nice, big, healthy salad." Before he could protest that he wasn't hungry anyway, the smiling nurse loaded a heap of greens and some fruits onto a plate for him. Then she led him to one of the tables and seated him there. "Now, be a good man and finish all of that. You will do that just for me, won't you?"

The look he shot her in response indicated that he would never do anything "just for her." Certainly, not consuming this entire mountain of lettuce and carrots. As much as he approved of salads, the portion she served him was nothing short of ludicrous. Glaring at her in silence, he made no pretense of even starting in on this ridiculous travesty of a meal. Finally, she seemed to take the hint, excusing herself to attend to the other patients... but not without admonishing him that his "plate had better be clean" by the time she returned to take him to the Courtyard.

As she left him, von Karma looked all around him to see whether Franziska had come into the cafeteria yet. Unfortunately, as he had already arranged to meet his former roommate at this time, all he could do for now was to attempt to visually confirm her presence in this hellhole. As much as he hoped that the author of the replies to this S.T.'s note was nothing more than an impostor -- in which case, he would make that person pay for brazenly impersonating his daughter -- he was not entirely certain of that right now.

In the meantime, he had other practical matters to attend to. He still needed to speak to Javert to find out what had truly happened during the time he was unconscious. As he surreptitiously scanned the stream of arriving patients for the face of his daughter -- or those of his enemies -- he patiently awaited Javert's arrival, hoping that the man could still recognize him after all this time.

[Closed to Javert]

Endrance turned his head to look at the intercom, giving it a look that would wither an entire rose garden in an instant. He would never get used to ending up in his room again from somewhere else in the Institute.

He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, not sitting up just yet. He could tell already that his torso had been heavily bandaged, even more so than it had been the night before. The cuts on his arms were covered with fresh bandages, and the one on his cheek seemed to no longer be there at all.

Endrance had been expecting to wake up in a lot of pain, but even that seemed numbed. "They must have given me something," he murmured quietly, as he slowly sat up.

At that moment, his nurse came to get him, pushing a wheelchair along with her. "Peyton, dear, good morning. I've come to take you to breakfast, so..." He shook his head. "I'm fine. There's no need for that...I can walk perfectly well."

She sighed. Well, if he insisted, she wasn't going to stop him. She motioned for an orderly to take the chair away, and walked him to the cafeteria. Once they had gotten there, she pointed him toward a seat, then set a full tray of pancakes covered with syrup, a bowl of fruit, and a glass of orange juice in front of him. "Now eat all of that, Peyton, or else you won't be strong enough to keep walking like that."

He glared at her back as she walked away, then stopped suddenly. There was that faint pulse he'd felt the night before...it was exactly the same.

And so he completely ignored his food in favor of staring at the cafeteria doors, looking at every patient that came in.

[thread will be closed to Haseo. ♥]

[from here.]

Endrance closed the door behind him and stepped out into the courtyard. The way it looked at night almost reminded him of Indieglut Lugh, with the way the trees took on a silvery appearance and the moonlight reflected off the pond. He looked up at the sky, but the moon was obscured just enough by a cloud that he couldn't see it completely.

He moved to the water's edge, looking down at his own reflection. The bandages on his skin seemed to stand out a little more than they might have normally. He gingerly touched them, wincing just slightly at the pain.

But right now wasn't the time to focus on that. In truth, he hadn't tried summoning Macha since the Demon Palace title match. He was certain he hadn't lost his Epitaph, but...to try it here, rather than in a familiar setting, was unsettling.

He needed a minute to calm himself and collect his thoughts.

[from here]

Endrance took one slow step inside the Sun Room, then another. He stood just beyond the doorway for a moment, sweeping his flashlight from side to side. There were too many shadows for him to scan them all; if he did that, he would be there all night. That was the last thing that he wanted.

He didn't see the false Mia lurking behind a couch or under a table, and that would have to do. He couldn't dwell on it too much. I can't...I have to let her go. It's the only way to move forward.

With one last, resolute nod, he moved through the room and through the cafeteria doors.

[to here.]

Well, that was... special. No wonder he was losing respect for this place--the fearful Martin Landel was coming undone, most probably with boredom. So scary. Even Nursey seemed a little exasperated, though that most likely had more to do with X's constant insistence to stay in the Sun Room rather than go inside the Greenhouse.

He did, after all, have business to attend to (and plants just annoyed him, though that was besides the point).

He took a seat on a particularly comfortable looking couch, keeeping an eye out for any signs of- Ah, there was Tyche! Luxord plucked her from the floor and placed her on his lap, smiling at the little ball of black fluff as she played with his fingers. It felt like so long since he'd last seen her!

[For Grell and Jason, I think?]

*hobble wobble*

"Damn that SCOURGE!" Starscream cried out, the slowly-filling cafeteria producing a jarring echo of his raspy voice. His limping, already bad enough from not knowing how to properly use his crutches, was now exacerbated from the injuries he'd received the shift prior. Despite the gauges in his non-casted leg so lovingly provided by the aforementioned 'patient', Starscream could still put some weight on it, but not so much that he could really stop and rest; relieving the soreness under his arms was out of the question. The nurse that walked behind him with his tray, already upset at having to deal with yet another troublesome inmate, was growing rather impatient as his charge slowly made his way down the food line.

"Just...give me a standard serving of the aquatic creature's flesh, some of those fried potato slices, two bananas, and three bottles of juice," Starscream sighed, his anger from just a moment ago assuaged by the physical exertion needed to move the way he did. "I'm going to sit down here...bring it to me when you're done."

He was hardly surprised to find that one of the bananas was completely bruised along its inner curve, or that the handful of 'chips' on his plate were all on the small side. Tired and frustrated as he was, however, he could barely muster a 'damned flesh-creature' before moving his fingers to the plate, picking one of the longer 'chips' and shoving it into his mouth listlessly.

There was an unusually high concentration of sodium chloride crystals on it. Of COURSE.

[For Tony Stark]

Yuffie was in two minds about how the 'meeting' with Orangello had gone. No, scratch that; two was way too small a number. Maybe four? Or five, no, make it six. Maybe. The only thing she knew for sure was that something had to give, and it sure wasn't going to be her. Whether or not she actually joined up with anybody was irrelevant, as long as she got the results she was aiming for; Yuffie wasn't so proud that she'd refuse help when it was offered. But whether or not that she could trust the ones offering…

It was enough to give her a headache.

Still, messing around on the bulletin had brightened her spirits a little. There, she could pretend to be friendly with Orangello. There, she could pick on Yukari. There, she could gather and exchange - haha - information with people like Suzie, who (like Yukari) was the epitome of entertainment. And with the likes of Lelouch, who she really didn't know quite what to make of. He was an arrogant bastard, but even Yuffie couldn't deny that he'd be handy to have on-side.

The day's schedule, apart from the time in the Rec Field later on, looked like it was designed with the sole intention of boring her to death. Yuffie sighed noisily at a plant, easily kidding herself into believing that nope, she wasn't happy to be around some genuine greenery again. Gardening was for people like Aerith. Hopefully Elena wouldn't take too long to find her.

[For Elena]

Utena's second night seemed to have ended even sooner than the first had, which greatly disappointed her. She had been hoping that at some point, she could have coaxed her friend into telling her what was so horrible that happened in her future. Then again, curiosity aside, she was also somewhat relieved that she didn't have to hear it just yet. She half-wondered if Landel had ended both of their previous nights early on purpose, too, just to make certain that Utena didn't spend enough time with her friend to potentially hear of that future.

Almost as soon as she thought of Landel, Utena heard his voice crackle over the intercom again. Hearing him yawn through his announcement almost made her sleepy as well; she'd had no idea that yawns could be contagious over speaker systems. Physically, she did feel rested, though she certainly couldn't remember sleeping or dreaming between the end of night and her waking up.

As her nurse came to collect her for breakfast, Utena felt conflicted over whether she ought to see Himemiya again that night. On the one hand, she wanted to be there for her friend and try to coax some of the girl's old self out of her. Either that or at least try to console her about whatever was troubling her. On the other hand, she knew that it would be stupid to waste too many nights on talk. She could be helping Seiya or the clubs or finding metal to store for whenever Skuld was ready for her, something that would help her and Himemiya break out faster.

Maybe I'll post a message for her later if I don't see her again during the day. It's not perfect, but at least it'll let us talk and then leave me an opening to go out and do . . . whatever it is that might need doing, she thought as she was escorted into the cafeteria to pick up breakfast (english muffins that morning). Remembering the clubs again, Utena thought about the message exchange she had had with that girl from Arts & Crafts, Momo Hinamori. They were supposed to be meeting over breakfast, right? Utena didn't see anyone who matched Hinamori's description yet, but then, the girl had said that it would be easier for her to find Utena than the other way around. She sat down at a nearby table for the time being and waited, running the previous night's short conversation in her head over and over.

[For Momo]

[From here]

There were no windows here, and few sources of artificial light. Looking to his right, Kunzite observed a half dozen lamps, barely illuminating a few feet around them. Stepping forward and facing northward, the Shitennou warrior could faintly make out the outlines of doors, ten to his left, six to his right. Something seemed...odd, perhaps, about these latter ones. A strange aura was emanating from behind most of them, something evil and unspeakable. The swordsman gripped the handle of his bat tighter, walking forward with slight hesitance.

"This is definitely the place we need to be," he snarled. This evil...being forced to experience vileness of this magnitude was not something he was willing to tolerate further. If he would not suffer to have Beryl or Master be in control of his mind, then neither would he let Landel do the same to his fellow 'inmates'.

[From here]

Celes came to a stop at the firmly locked door at the end of the hall. The general examined the door and put her hand on it, testing the knob. Hm, perhaps not so firmly locked as she thought. It would attract attention if she kicked it, but she did have her hairpins, after all. Pulling one from her hair, and hoping that Locke's little parlor tricks as they traveled together were still useful, she bent two of the teeth on one pin and used her knife for a little leverage. What had that loud mouth said? Gently, like you're making love to it? Did it have to be something that unreasonable?

It was then that she realized she should've brought along some sort of back up, but it was far too late for that now. After fiddling with the lock with for a few long, frustrating moments (from now on, she would definitely leave this to the experts), she heard a click, and pulled her mangled hair pin from the keyhole. The door opened and Celes went inside to the next hallway, quietly.

((From here.))

It was still dark, and unnaturally quiet, when they slipped out of the stairwell. Kira checked the grip on his sword and slipped the map from his pocket, the flashlight making it all very awkward. The pharmacy ... it was to the east of where they were, provided this place didn't shift unnaturally when people needed to go somewhere. He glanced to the east and saw only darkness and silence leading away.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Everything seemed too still for there not to be something lying in wait, but then again, he'd expected something on the stairwell, too. Carefully putting the map back in his pocket, Kira aimed the flashlight down the hall they needed to go through and glanced at Hanatarou.

Once the doors unlocked and night began, Tamaki hoped that everyone came to the clinic tonight. He wanted to talk about what had been discussed at lunch. He knew Raine agreed with the idea, that they needed mobile units, and Kratos as well. And while they were currently under-staffed...

Well, that was going to change! Tomorrow, Tamaki was going to make a lovely, eye-catching flier for the public board, advertising the need for more doctors, healers, or anyone with medical training. And then they could offer mobile units, which were very much needed - as everyone agreed.

And tomorrow he'd also take time for the Host Club and for Ed, because he missed them both terribly and felt horrible at how busy he'd been. Busy was no excuse to neglect friends and loved ones!

With all of that in mind, Tamaki opened the clinic in a good mood. After tonight, things were going to get better.

He was going to make sure of it!

[From here]

Celes paused at the foot of the stairs and looked up. There was no proof yet that anyone had moved up the stairwell, so did that make her the first of the evening? The general almost laughed. Perhaps it would be an easy night, after all.

She ran up the stairs just as swiftly as she had run through the hall way. Perhaps it wasn't as quick as it would've been if she'd had a pair of sprint shoes, but it was good enough for now.

Along with giving him an idea for a good cover story, Scourge's conversation with the soldier-human on the bulletin board had made the tracker stop and think about his place in the Decepticon hierarchy. More specifically, the fact that he didn't have one. Galvatron wasn't here anymore, there was no one who he was obligated to by virtue of creation. He was a free agent for the first time in his life, and it wasn't as scary as he thought it'd be.

Lugnut and Blitzwing probably wouldn't be too happy with him thinking like this, but who cared? They were both crazy, Blitzwing random and Lugnut stubborn, and without a stabilizing Cyclonus-like influence Scourge suspected they wouldn't get very far. Better to get himself a better footing with someone saner and just give lip service to "mighty Megatron" when it was convenient.

In the meantime, Scourge had to see a Superboy about a virginity. What exactly that would entail he wasn't really sure, but it sounded a lot more fun than raiding the kitchen with pointless idiots who seemed to be liking him less and less as things went on.

The tracker took out the wooden cooking spoon he'd found last night, set it on the floor with his foot on the scoop end, and yanked upwards. The spoon cracked and left him with a long rod with a dangerously pointy and splintered end that would probably at least distract anything with a squishy place to stick it in. Better than nothing. The makeshift wooden shiv went in one pocket, the flashlight in the other--with his eyes he wouldn't need it for anything but small details and it would be easier to hide in the dark. The handle of the pan went in his hand and the tracker cautiously went out into the hallway. Let him be a force to be reckoned with.

Or at least one that made the other guy look like a tastier option.

[To here.]

[From here]

Belatedly, Yukari yawned in response to the doctor's own repose. She'd been awake for more than half the day; it was no surprise she was tired. Youkai were nocturnal, after all. But there were so many things to do, so many people to see, so many new and interesting phenomena.

Maybe she'd catch up on her sleep in a few weeks. Just sleep a month straight. Yeah, that sounded good.

Yawning again, Yukari headed onwards.

[From here]

Yukari peered up and down the hallway, deciding against shining her flashlight this way and that; she didn't particularly want to attract any monstrous attention. Mentally going over the maps, she tried to remember where she was going. Ritsuka had said M35, right? So that was the next block over... she'd have to go through the West Hall, but hopefully could get through without getting attacked her first night.

M35... why did that ring a bell?

Giving a shrug, the youkai headed on her way.