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. ]

There wasn't any jingle as the intercom came on; it sounded like the Head Doctor was still having issues with the system, and it also seemed like he was none too pleased about it.

"Well, everyone, I hope that you all had more fun this last shift than I did! Hahahaaa..."

His weak laughter trailed off. His office chair squeaked.

"In any case, as you all probably know already, it's now time for dinner! I'm sure you've all worked up an appetite after all that repairing – er – exercising, so I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that you'll be served generous portions of spaghetti with delicious tomato sauce and, if desired, meatballs. For sides, you'll be having some freshly baked garlic bread and, if requested, a Caesar salad. Our regular drinks are available, and for dessert, we'll be serving some delicious strawberry gelato.

"And, now, I suppose it's time we get back to this wiri–"

The announcement cut off abruptly.

[Currently in M01, from here.]

Kurt exhaled loudly and suddenly when Kon sat on him. Jeez, way to knock the wind out of someone! Kurt was barely half Kon's weight, he would be crushed!

"I said I give! Give!!" He shouted, struggling to get Kon off of him. The announcement came on, though, and he looked up to listen.

He was... snoring now. Seriously, someone had to smack this guy one. He looked back up at Kon, everything a bit clearer in the dim light now. His tail slid out from under his body, and it poked Kon's leg as if to say, 'I'm being crushed here--help?'

"My powers hurting me?" he frowned. "No, but I haven't really used them. Except for that one time when I fell off the ceiling." And how embarrassing had that been? Oi, he'd never live it down. "Why? Are yours hurting you?"

The Head Doctor seemed a little rushed as he spoke on the intercom, not taking as much pleasure as he usually did in describing the delicious food that would soon be served.

"Hello, everyone! Tonight is turkey night, which means turkey breast in a great turkey gravy with some nice turkey sides: peas, herb potatoes, a small garden salad, and for dessert, a slice of pumpkin pie. We of course have vegetarian substitutes available, as well as our usual assortment of drinks.

"...I believe that's it! I'll talk to you soon!"

The intercom clicked off abruptly.

[ 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.

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! ]

Ah, that was right. He should roll up-- Huh?

Cross blinked his eyes open to stare up at the ceiling, then sat up quickly. That was odd. Hadn't he just been in the hallway? This was the second time he'd woken in a room like this and it was baffling. He didn't even recall anything that would cause him to fall unconscious again. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took a moment to scratch his head and try to put together pieces of a puzzle that had no intention of fitting.

This was ridiculous.

He wasn't allowed much more time before a boisterous woman arrived saying something about breakfast. Too surprised to put up much of an argument, Cross allowed her to lead him out of the room to a familiar and yet unfamiliar hallway. This wasn't the same room he'd been in the night before.

Trying to ask what was going on proved to be fruitless, and he decided to just take the food he was served and sit down. There had to be someone around here who knew something. And what had happened to Ryuuzaki?

[free]

Ururu hadn't talked much during dinner. Talking to Yukito during fourth shift had made her feel a little better, and she'd eaten something, but she still wasn't happy. She wasn't crying anymore though, and that was a good thing. She had promised to meet Kurt that night, and Ururu knew it was important. She wanted Kurt to know that he was still her friend, no matter how weird he said he looked.

Ururu was quick to leave when the time came, waving goodbye to Skuld. She still didn't have a flashlight, and she felt a little bad about it. She'd have to talk to that person from the board soon. She didn't mean to keep putting it off, especially because he'd been so nice to offer it to her at all. But for now, she focused on what she had to do tonight, and that was find Kurt.

Despite it being dark, the little girl took off running once she was in the hall.

[And dashing to here!]

Dean had taken a nap after dinner, figuring that he might as well grab whatever rest he could before he took off trying to find supplies for a full-blown exorcism. His sleep was fitful, the hunter tossing and turning in the bed, eventually settling for sprawling face down in it with his arms flung around his pillow. When he woke up, Angel was gone. Dean rolled over to sit up, jaw set as he rubbed the sleep from one bleary eye, still breathing heavily. Cold Oak. Fucking Cold Oak. That was over and done with, yet he was still having nightmares about the goddamned place, as if enough wasn't enough that all of that was far behind him now. Reaching up, Dean took in a slightly shaking breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he told himself he wasn't gonna keep waking up in cold sweats feeling Sam's blood all over him, and, if he was, he would deal with it 'cause it was just a bunch of dreams. Wasn't real anymore. He'd saved Sammy.

When he stood up, he was ready to get on with the night. He'd find his little brother, no matter what, even if he had to get his information from that demon Punk-Ass and not by asking nicely.

Dean was even looking forward to it now.

Heading over to the closet, Dean opened it. His clothes hung there in the closet, all perfectly folded, just like it'd been this morning when he'd left it. Feeling under his jeans, his fingers closed around the bowie knife's hilt. Setting the knife aside, Dean began changing, shrugging out of his simple patient clothes and kicking them aside so he could put on his real clothes. The last things to go on were his boots and jacket, the weight of his pendent settling comfortably against his chest. Dean turned his attention to getting ready for the night. Flashlight? Check. Bowie? Check. And something to carry more than a handful of salt...Dean improvised, removing the pillow case from his pillow and balling it up so he could stuff it in his pocket.

Ready as he was ever gonna be. Aside from being bandaged up still, he was good.

Dean consulted the map he'd copied his first day here from the bulletin board. If he was gonna try to get hold of a rosary, it'd most likely be in Patient Possessions - someone here would've had to be a Bible-thumper who believed in God and all that stuff at some point, right? Salt, he figured the kitchen. As for something to deal with Punk-Ass, he figured he'd need some rope (or duct tape, if they didn't have any rope just lyin' around) and something to draw out the Key of Solomon. Not to mention water; kinda hard to make holy water when you had the holy but not the water. First thing was first though; he still had that meeting with that "R" chick - he thought it was a chick - in F-A hall for that spare flashlight.

The hunter turned on his flashlight and opened M2's door, stepping outside.

[To here]

The Head Doctor sounded rushed, as usual, as he began speaking on the intercom.

"Good evening, everyone, and I once again express my highest hopes that your collective therapy sessions and good, old fashioned relaxing went well! Now, perhaps we shouldn't excite you at the end of the day, but... I fear I must! You see, we're just beginning to bring in our new batch of patients, and they will join their new roommates come dinner. Yes, yes – apologies for the slight disorganization, but we can only accommodate so many people at once, right? Right.

"As for dinner itself, I'm sure many of you will enjoy it, even if it isn't quite authentic. We have shrimp and vegetable tempura along with chicken teriyaki; there is dipping sauce included, along with a bowl of rice, bean sprouts, and edamame – that's soybeans. In addition, your dessert is some delicious green tea ice cream. Mmm!

"I hope you all enjoy dinner as much as I suspect you shall, and I bid you farewell until I say goodnight."

Just after the redundant statement, the intercom clicked off.

[ If you would like to introduce your character during this shift, please respond to this post. You can either choose for your character to wake up before their roommate gets back, or after they do. Find your character's room assignments here.

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! ]

Soubi was beginning to feel the effects of a busy morning on a tired body. To make things worse, they were serving Tacos and Burritos. He could really do some with something a bit softer today. Blander. But it was hardly his biggest concern right now.

Having picked out his lunch, he looked for Ritsuka. He had to apologise, but these things usually ended up in bigger arguments, so, as could be expected, Soubi was a little nervous. Maybe they wouldn't find each other this shift. Maybe he had a little more time?

Soubi sat alone, being sure that his face was set in the expression that sent the girls at College the other way.

[He gots a Sheeny Beeny]

"And I believe it's time to start wrapping up the day," was what the Head Doctor said after the intercom's initial jingle. "Now that everyone's all cleaned up, I think it's time for some... that's right, dinner!

"Tonight, we're serving some scrumptuous rotisserie herb chicken, seasoned with rosemary, lemon juice, and other delicious seasonings. On the side, we have cooked asparagus with bits of grilled onion, as well as small roasted potatoes with garlic and butter; for dessert, we'll be serving vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top. Our normal assorted drinks and specialized diet alternatives are available.

"Some of you might find that you have new roommates since your old ones were fortunate enough to recover and leave us. Hopefully, you'll be able to see them again the next time we have visitors if you wish, but in the meantime please treat your new bunkmates kindly.

"I believe that's all for now. I hope you had a wonderful day and that you have a delicious dinner! ...Well, you'll definitely be having a delicious dinner, but there's nothing surprising about that, is there? Hahaha..."

With a seemingly good-natured chuckle, the Head Doctor turned off his mic.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. Find your character's room assignments here.

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! ]

Kio had been having quite a time with Kunzait. He couln't really believe that one of his childhood characters was here. Well... characters. Some guy with a lot of time on his hands and cosplay. That was all there was to it. He had hoped, as people filed into the Sun Room, that he would glimpse Soubi. No luck.

Perhaps it was better to just accept that his friend was gone. Soubi was in Goura, with Ritsuka. Well, sort of. If the bulletin note was anything to go by, Kio had a handful of pranksters on his hands. He could understand it if this were an appropriate time for jokes and such, but it wasn't. However, should that boy prove to indeed be Ritsuka, then Kio had someone from home. He'd hoped that the identity of the other person would be revealed, but other than minor scathing remarks between 'Ritsuka' and the other, nothing Kio could say was Soubi or not.

If anything, it just annoyed the man. When the nurse came to take him away, Kio went silently. He did not remark on how 'Mr Akatsuki' was being friendly already and how that was a great improvement. If anything, Kio was not himself. But he had to try. Grabbing a tray with enough meat and vegetables, he frowned at it.

"No sushi?". The nurse just smiled. No sushi. Sighing, he moved to a centre table and sat down, picking at his salad. He was a bit hungry. But more than anything, he was despondent. He missed Soubi. He wanted all this to prove to be one giant nightmare.

[Sou-chan! <3]

Okita hadn't been expecting it when his nurse suddenly appeared in the Game Room. He'd expected to be left alone like last week, but instead she gently took him by the arm and told him he needed to say goodbye to Kaden for now. Okita assumed it was time for his visitor and waved goodbye to him, only to be led off himself. The swordsman had followed obediently into the Sun Room, but when he tried to go off to another room, she stopped him. "Not today, Julian."

Not today? Something about his nurse's demeanor seemed off, almost as if she were worried about something. It wasn't until she led him out of the Sun Room that he understood what was going on. He had a visitor. There were only so many people that would come to visit him in a place like this. His sisters, Tetsu, Kondou or... Okita didn't want to think about the last option.

Taking a step into the waiting room, he stopped at the door and turned to look at his nurse. "Are you sure you're not mistaken?" he asked, feeling actual fear for the first time in a long while. If this wasn't some strange punishment/joke for behaving poorly in the chapel, he didn't know what to do. Badou's graffiti was still on his hand and he quickly slipped that hand into his pocket. He could feel the pen there, clipped to the inside of his waistband. The nurse shook her head and moved to the side of the room, keeping a close watch on him as he stayed by the door, trying to hide his anxiety by feigning interest in the strange magazines on a table nearby.

Mello did not have high expectations for the evening.

If the previous night had been any indication, they'd get about thirty feet before Near's obsessive observation habits ruined any hope of beating the time curve, but without the bulletin to find a new group he had no choice to repeat the effort.

Normally, he waited several minutes to set out into the hallway, but this evening he had no time to spare.  He closed the door behind him and stepped quietly down the corridor, flashlight focused a few feet before his slippers and ears focused on the silence that surrounded him.  His other hand clenched his knife, which he'd modified by wrapping the metal grip in surgical tape.  In the unlikely situation that his hand was slick with blood, he couldn't afford to have it slip from his grasp.

He reached the end of the hallway and turned, glad that Omi's room was nearby.

[to here]

[From here]

He moved as quickly as his leg would allow him to, taking the pain for what it was and letting it flow through him and out of him. Qui-Gon knew how to get to the Main Hall from here and didn't anticipate any trouble.

[to here]

Sai leaned his head woozily against the cool glass of the bus window. Helping out his fellow ninja had been a failed effort thus far, and he didn't have any idea how Naruto had been able to put up with that friend of his for so long. If he was asked to lead Sasuke around in the future, unless they came to terms with their differences before then, he would have to turn the task down.

It was probably a good thing he hadn't eaten in town. The movement of the bus combined with his sedation would most likely make him sick to his stomach if he had. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain the situation to Naruto if he had to.

He had a wet paper towel for his black eye that'd had a couple ice cubes in it before they'd melted. (His "violent behavior" meant they weren't willing to leave him with a bag of ice - something that could be potentially used as a blunt weapon.) It was sitting in his lap now, though, for what little good it was doing him.

Not the best of days.

[for Honey-chan (sorry, Team Naruto, I forgot)]

Rukia filed out of the bus with the other prisoners, shivering a little in the cool autumn air. She was a little irked that the nurses hadn't given her mittens on this trip. Forced to stuff her hands in to the pockets of her jeans, Rukia hunched her shoulders and wandered to the edge of the park before turning around to look for anyone she knew.

Nurses and orderlies were already milling about, supervising and watching the prisoners. Rukia's plan was to get a hold of something - anything - that she could use as a weapon when they returned to the Institute that night. It would be difficult with so many staff members around, but she was determined; the last thing she wanted was to be trapped on the buses again with no weapon.

[from here]

[M1 specifically]

The small shinigami padded down the hallway to M1. Clad in her uniform, she blended in well with the darkness until she reached the far end door. There she turned her flashlight on, the light muted by a piece of cloth tied over it, and let it hand from her sash, illuminating the small circle of her immediate area. Since Mustang didn't know she was stopping by, she figured she'd turn the light on.

Face solemn, Momo knocked on the colonel's door. "Mustang-san? It's Hinamoro Momo," she identified herself.

The intercom came on, and as it did, it seemed to carry a little more interference than usual for a daytime announcement, a little more static. While the patients might have thought for a moment that once again the elusive woman on the radio had hacked into the Head Doctor's system, the man himself soon proved that theory faulty as he laughed over the broadcast.

"Hello, hello, everyone, and I'm sorry for the bad quality of this broadcast; we've been having some technical difficulties lately, you see, and we wanted to make sure everything was fixed by tomo...."

His voice crackled out into inaudibility for a moment before fading back in.

"Yes, hopefully that will be done soon. In any case, now's the time that you all head back to your rooms to enjoy a delicious meal... seasoned salmon! Yes, we have filets of very tasty, very juicy salmon seasoned with herbs and garlic; on the side, we have mashed potatoes, peas, and to drink, our usual assortment of beverages. For dinner, you'll all be enjoying vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce."

The intercom's broadcast crackled again. The Head Doctor laughed, seemingly a little nervously.

"Ah, yes, perhaps we'll be able to finish the repairing tomorrow, when all of you are away at... Doyleton! Yes, yes, you're all in for a fun and exciting day, a day whose activities will be new for some and a welcome familiarity to others. You'll be under strict supervision, of course, but... well, I suppose you'll find out all about the circumstances tomorrow, before you set off, mm? Yes! In any case... I hope you all enjoy dinner!"

The intercom clicked off again as the nurses began ushering patients back to their quarters.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. (You can find your character's room assignment here.) Remember, everyone responds to this post with their character's room number in the subject line. ]

[One speedster, free to a good home! Plays well with others and has had his shots. Adopt today!]

Wally followed the steady stream of patients from the cafeteria towards the showers, but was prevented from entering by one of the ever-present nurses.

"Not you, dear," she said with a fixed, though pleasant, smile, "you were already cleaned up on arrival. I know, why don't you wait here in the Sun Room and see if you can make some new friends?" She gave him a gentle push back towards the centre of the room. Wally forced a smile in response and made a show of wandering around the room, taking in the paintings before pausing to check the bulletin board.

He wondered what the nurse had meant exactly. Had he been showered and cleaned before he'd gotten here, or had one of the nurses taken care of it while he'd been out? That was an unnerving thought. He added it to the long list of unnerving thoughts he'd gotten that day. Most of the rest had been about monsters, but there was also the whole powers thing which no one seemed to know much about, judging by the bulletin board, and Kal-who-thinks-he's-Clark. It had given him a lot to chew over, which was more than he could say about lunch. He hadn't been game to even grab a snack on the way out with Marcus watching him.

"Well this bites," he muttered to himself. He made his way over to an empty couch and flopped down with a sigh in the warm sunlight. Surely it couldn't be that much longer until he was able to bid this place 'goodbye' as he speed back to a more familiar setting. At this point he'd even be willing to let J'onn beat him at Brawlin' Bots, or go on a completely serious, Flash-please-stop-talking-and-concentrate patrol with Bats, if it would get him home.

Yuffie bounced all the way through collecting her lunch, all the way to a good seat- one with a nice view of the whole cafeteria, which was something she'd been missing out on during the past day or so that she'd been stuck in the Institute- and hell, she even bounced into her seat.

A good mood? No, really?

Despite the occasional blip, talking to Sagara had been awesome. He was a fun guy; he wasn't a prude, didn't have a stick shoved so far up his ass it was poking out his eyeballs, and he'd actually had a conversation with her. One that hadn't revolved around doom, gloom or how much life sucked. If she could find other people like that and keep in touch with Sagara, maybe there was a little hope for this place.

After a quick gulp of pink lemonade, Yuffie settled to munching through her food and keeping an eye on the door.

[Waiting for Dean, I think? :x]