Wally woke as the intercom crackled to life and was surprised to find himself back in his room. The last thing he'd remembered was feeling relieved at finally beating off those dragonfly-lizard things. There'd been that weird intercom message, then... he wasn't quite sure what had happened after that, but he was certain it hadn't involved falling asleep. He'd be half-wondering if he'd dreamed the whole thing if it hadn't been for the nagging ache on his back and ankle from where he'd been bitten. A quick check revealed they'd been bandaged, apparently while he'd slept. He wondered if he had Kal to thank for that. Maybe he'd get the chance to ask later.

He jumped as the door swung open to admit the familiar face of the nurse who'd woken him yesterday. "Up already, are we?" she said cheerfully as she busied herself pulling out clothes. A blue shirt and a pair of jeans were passed to him. Wally blinked, he hadn't been here long, but he'd gotten the impression that the grey-and-smiley-face combo was standard.

"Does this mean I'm being released?" he asked, hope creeping into his voice.

The nurse turned back to him, pity etched on her features. "I'm afraid not, dear." She smiled brightly as she continued, "but today's when all the patients get a special field trip into town! Won't that be a treat!"

Wally stared at the clothes, his mind working away. He'd been trying to get into town and to a phone last night before he'd been attacked. But if they were going in today, this might be the perfect chance for him to contact the Justice League. He smiled warmly and thanked the nurse as she left to allow him to change, then happily allowed himself to be led to one of the buses, picking a seat about halfway down and sliding in to look out the window. It seemed like today was going to be brighter than yesterday, at least in the area of possible phone calls and rescues. About the only dark patch he could see was that the contents of his paper-bag breakfast were going to be nowhere near enough to fill the yawning pit that had taken the place of his stomach, and even that was tolerable when he was positive he wasn't going to be here much longer.

"And you say that time goes rushing by, but it seems so slow to me, and you see a blur around you fly, but it takes too long, it seems so slow to me..." he sung absently.

[Oh Captain, my Captain~]

[From here]

Junior left the door open as they got inside, glancing back to make sure nothing followed them in, and then looked around the room. It was hard to see if there was anything waiting for them in here, but it also looked like they had some useful stuff. Might as well take the risk, since they'd taken another just to get the door open.

"Looks like most of what they've got in here is pills," he said to Wash and Atoli, opening his pillowcase so he'd be ready to dump some things in it. "Let's see what they've got, and what might be useful to the patients for ingredients or actual medication. You see anything live that shouldn't be here, lemme know."

The redhead paused in his quick search as something in the corner caught his eye. Was that a computer over there in the corner? An older one, looked like, but definitely a computer. Junior was overjoyed; it had been way too long since he'd been around a computer. He'd have to take a quick peek before they left, see if they could find out anything interesting or important from it. But first, what he had come here for. Since it didn't seem like they had many bandages, the next thing he could go for would be the pain relievers. Those would definitely come in handy, and could always be ground up as ingredients for something else, couldn't they? Worth a shot, at any rate.

[From here]


There was no ignoring the impending struggle in the Sun Room below, nor how it must have been indicative of far worse cruelties in places unseen, but Anthy did well to separate herself from it.  A darker instinct of hers; one she had supposed would shed as she grew, blossoming in the freedom of the world outside, following in Utena's path,  but here, she reasoned, that habit of indifference served its purpose.  Caring too much about every person within sight was what had lead her brother to fall to begin with; what had caused her to be crushed in his wake. 

And yet, even as she looked away and pretended to see nothing, she could not help but scold herself.  Utena, ever the idealist, would have expended all her energy in a struggle to right all the wrongs, save all the innocents. 

But Anthy was helping.  In a sense.  Or, she would be when she discovered the secrets of the chapel, of the inner workings of this institute; whether they held close ties with the tales of martyrdom she had known and lived in.

After all, Utena, in all her wisdom, had still been naiive.

And Anthy, in all her enlightenment, still could not find it in herself to return to that.

[from here]

Leon was still debating his options when he reached the second floor. Again, it was more or less empty. He shined his flashlight down the hall, trying to see if there was anyone (or anything) else around. The weak beam couldn't penetrate the dark shadows. If someone was lying in wait, they were pretty well hidden.

With a sigh, Leon leaned against the wall, trying to call up a mental image of his old map. He'd have to try and find a new copy tomorrow, or Sunday, as his previous one had gotten ruined. Bleeding all over things did that. He knew how to get to the janitor's closet, but he recollection of how to reach the kitchen was a bit fuzzier. In theory, he could head in the general direction of where he knew it was and start trying random doors, but that didn't seem like the best plan.

But neither did taking on whatever might be waiting for him in the darkness down the hall.

Indecision kept Leon where he was for the moment, deep in thought.

[F33]

Having grown up in a small town in the Heartland of America, Beatrix had learned something of sewing. She wasn't the greatest at it and really only ever utilized the skill when it came to stitching her own body up, but it came in handy this night. Between the apron, oven mitt, pairing knife and some thinly ripped strips of sheet, the Bride was able to fashion something akin to a sheathe for her chef knife. It looked stupid, but the Bride was far beyond caring at the moment.

The mitt with its knife hung from her waist, resting on her hip, and the Bride once again pulled her hair back, taking the time to make sure the shaggy bits that hung loose covered the metal plate as usual, and slid the pairing knife into her hair. The Bride was not looking forward to getting wet, but it was better than being set on fire again. or electrocuted.

She was getting tired of all that and just wanted to deal with something that bled... profusely when cut, if she had to deal with anything at all. She sighed as she stripped the rest of her bed, knowing she'd need the sheets to carry the pipes in. At least Donna would be enjoyable company.

Hopefully, she'd find the room okay.

[from here]

The shinigami padded silently down the hallway, keeping to the left-side wall and her hand upon her sword's hilt. Her eyes scanned the area surorunding her as she continued on to the next hallway, especially the nurses' stations as she neared them. This would be a horrible time for her to get attacked by a nurse or two. Thankfully, the halls were empty, btu she didn't drop her guard. She knew better.

Almost there.

[to here]

[from here]

A quick look to the left was sent down the hallway in search of any potential threats before Momo headed to the right. So far, so good. Hopefully, she wouldn't run into any complications before she was able to meet back with Signum.

Then, she'd almost feel sad for whatever the knight came across.

[to here]

[from here]

This shinigami moved out into the hallway at the end of the women's block. It seemed she was moving faster than the others given how empty it all seemed. She shot a quick look down both Signum and Skuld's hallways as she headed to the door to the outer hallway. She paused at the door, listening for sound beyond it, before opening it and continuing on her way.

[to here]

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. ]

As she was waiting to be led out of the cafeteria, Hokuto looked for someone in Arts & Crafts, and spotted... Renji. She covered her mouth with her hands to muffle her giggles; after everything she'd heard about him, he was the LAST person she wanted to go to with this; he'd probably figure out exactly why she wanted the night off and never let her hear the end of it!

I'll just wait for Momo, I guess... she can't spend the whole shift in the shower, right?

Knowing her friend and vice-captain liked fresh air too, she opted to go outside; she settled down in the grass and pulled out her journal. Writing was... kind of a bad idea right now, but she could always draw something. Clothes were always fun, since they were what she liked sketching the most anyway; after some thought, she started on a dress design.

[[Fukutaichou~!]]

"Good afternoon, patients, and I am glad to see our new arrivals are already making such good friends with our current population!" The Head Doctor's words were usual, unremarkable, which meant that whatever had gone out of control these past couple days was evening out into some form of Dr. Landel's nefarious schemes. For now, however, he simply chuckled with good humor. "We'll be bringing in new patients during this shift as well, of course, but what I'm sure most of you are most intrigued by is... food! Yes, although lunch is posted up on the bulletin board on the schedule, I doubt many of you pay attention to it.... Ahem.

"Today's meal is chicken tenders made from fresh, juicy chicken breasts. As sides, we have potato chips, vegetable soup, and cole slaw, and we of course have honey-mustard and barbeque sauce for dipping. As always, our fruit and salad bar is open for anyone looking for a different meal, and our drinks are water, milk, apple juice, and pink lemonade.

"Mm! Sure sounds delicious, doesn't it? In any case, I hope you all enjoy your meal and your new company."

The intercom clicked off.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. (Have your new character wake up in a random empty room, as we aren't yet able to officially assign rooms.) Thanks! ]