The night kicked off with another cryptic, creepy message from the Head Doctor. A rebel? Was he talking about Jill, or maybe another comrade of hers?

Well, whatever. Anise figured it was best not to think on it too much. There was a chance that this was just another ploy to make Jill seem trustworthy, after all. Anise had more important things to think about! Like how she was going to get to the ruins tonight. Ugh. How could she let the whole day pass by without at least asking someone to join her? She couldn't just go alone... could she?

For a minute, Anise was seriously considering that thought, but she knew her friends would probably be upset with her if she went through with it. In a way, she was more worried about getting scolded by them than she was about getting attacked by monsters. Even though getting attacked while on her own would be seriously bad...

When she thought about it, though, there was another way to go about this. She could head outside, see if she could find some other bold individual going the same way, then join up with him or her! Preferably a 'him'. A handsome 'him' would be even better.

As she did every night, Anise gathered her things for the excursion: the meat tenderizer, flashlight, running shoes, and a balled-up pillowcase stuffed into Tokunaga's sack. Once she was ready, she gave the room one last glance to make sure she had everything, then slipped out into the dark hallway.

[to here]

((From here.))

Claude didn't sense any danger as he stepped into the room, but that didn't mean he could lower his guard. It would be too easy to get ambushed in a room they weren't familiar with, especially if the layout happened to work against them somehow. Still, as the flashlight beam spilled into the room, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. From the looks of it, they'd found some kind of a food counter, sort of like what one would find in a cafeteria, though obviously meant for use on a smaller scale. Maybe this was where some of the doctors stopped to grab a bite before relaxing outside? Since it was nightshift, though, there wasn't exactly any food sitting out for them to take.

But if this was supposed to be some kind of food counter, then it was possible there were more interesting places close by. Perking up a little, Claude whispered, "Hey, I wonder if there's some kind of kitchen around here." If there was a kitchen, maybe they could find something interesting to take. Not that he had the munchies or anything, but it was definitely worth checking out, at least, right?

It was then that his light settled on a door that was positioned along the wall across from them. Maybe they were onto something after all! Glancing over to Guy, he raised his eyebrows in a silent suggestion that they get a closer look.

[from here]

Raphael continued on his way as silently as possible, though it was more out of habit than any real desire to avoid detection. Despite the few people in the main hallway, the stairwell itself was silent and empty; anyone who'd been here had likely already left, if he wasn't the first person to come this way at all. He took the stairs two at a time, impatient with losing any more time, but with each footfall, he had to wonder what the hell he was doing. Any idiot could see that the whole training thing was just another way of wasting time here. A way to pretend like they were doing something worthwhile and that any day now they'd all be out of here and home free. Hell, he didn't think he'd seen a single good plan on how to get out of here, even though it seemed like everyone talked about having one. Even Pinky had been on like her team had some way out they were working on, and then what? They get sent picking up goddamn books on medicine. He could get it was important, but that kind of stuff? It wasn't what you did if you didn't think you were going to be around for a while.

His mind still caught up in these thoughts, Raphael left the stairwell on autopilot, pausing only long enough to flick his flashlight off again and allow his eyes to readjust before moving out into the hallway.

[to here]

Heat was able to ignore the still faintly throbbing spot on his head as he was led back into the cafeteria for another meal he had no intention of eating. He kept himself from rubbing at what he knew would be a small bump because dammit it didn't hurt that much. It was embarrassing, was what it was.

At the fishy odor filling the room when he entered, the demon wrinkled his nose. How that was supposed to be the slightest bit appealing he had no idea. Then again, it wasn't always the taste that mattered. Whatever this cod was, it could very well taste better than the rotting flesh he'd gotten down the night before.

His nurse made some comment about his lack of appetite, but he wasn't paying attention. She could eat his damn lunch if she was worried about it going to waste. It wasn't his fault they didn't inform their staff properly of their patients' eating habits. The room was fairly empty too, so Heat wasn't picky with where he sat. He just hoped one of his tribemates found him before he was stuck with some other pest for the duration of the meal.

[Sasuke?]

Why couldn't she get it out of her mind? It was a stupid white dress. So what if it was visual evidence that she was a princess? It should not be bothering her this much. It was a just a dress.

Falis didn't protest when the vultures herded her outside to the greenhouse for some quality time with Mother Nature, or something like that, as lost in thought as she was. Her headache had subsided to a dull throb in the back of her head, but she still stared at the plants and dirt wondering if they really expected her to bother. She had no talent for such things.

Turning her eyes to the others that had been herded along with her, Falis looked for someone she knew. Someone who might... No. She wasn't going to start questioning herself. It was just a stupid white dress.

[Soma and eventually Hokuto]

It had all been going so well!

Seeing Cloud and Aerith(!) again had brought a now unfamiliar lightness to her shoulders. Work would be harder from here on out, but she wasn't on her own anymore. She was getting a second chance she'd never thought was possible. And then, then they'd trekked outside, totally ready to face the fog and the unknown (privately, the ninja had been a little worried; it couldn't happen again, it just couldn't, but what if it did?)—only to wake up. In their beds. As usual. Gaaaaaawd—!

"I just want you to know," Yuffie informed her nurse, grabbing her journal from the desk on her way out, "that your hair looks spectacularly god-awful today. What did you do, stick your tongue in a socket? I'm not exactly hip on fashion, too busy badass for that fluffy stuff, but—"

Plucky looked ready to plant her face in her hands. Or to plant her hands somewhere else. To her credit, and much to Yuffie's eternal disappointment, she did—tried to do—neither. "One of those days, is it?" the nurse sighed, disapproval incarnate. "Well. You're just going to have to behave; the new batches of patients are due today. We don't want to make a bad impression."

"I am feeling so completely convinced of my wrongdoing," Yuffie confided. They stepped into the cafeteria, practically empty as of yet. The chocolate cake last night had worked a treat, whetting her appetite. Honestly, she was getting sick of pecking at scraps like a runt Chocobo in the snow plains—but not literally, of course. Ew. She got more than enough of that on those damn buses once a week. Now that AVALANCHE really was dropping onto her lap—and remind her to get the hell out of dodge if Barret ever took his turn—she couldn't afford not to keep her strength up. For one, she'd be a liability. For two, she'd get her spine chewed out.

"Fruit," said Plucky, hovering as her charge picked out her choices for the day. Rolling her eyes, Yuffie grabbed an apple, slinging it onto the tray alongside an 'English' sandwich. "That'll do. I'll leave you to your breakfast, now." Somehow, that sounded about as comforting as 'My name is Don Corneo and I am raiding through your panty draw', and Yuffie was stopping that thought right there. Oh, god. Eurk. Bad, bad, bad! Bad, brain. Bad. That—yeah, no. Just, no. 'Sides, the guy was as dead as a doornail, splatted across Da Chao's feet. Dirtying them, really, but somehow Yuffie couldn't bring herself to be sorry about that.

(And it wasn't like the creep'd ever end up here, right? Right!)

She took to a seat, dropping her tray and her journal both onto the table. The book fell pages-down; Yuffie flipped it over, thumbing through to the middle as she worked through her apple. An almost finished map of Gaia stared back at her, neat as she could ever manage. Dots for major locations, squiggles for mountains. Stars for the materia caves, Chocobos for the tracks. All labelled in Wutaian. It was just a little piece of the home she absolutely had to get back to, 'cuz Leviathan knew what kind of trouble they'd be up to their necks in without her.

[For Donna]

[from here]

Beatrix shouldered the door open and helped Lugnut get over to the nearest table. The Cybertronian was big and heavy, but the Bride didn't have too much trouble. Her eyes did a quick scan of the area, looking for immediate threats before she flicked the blood off her katana and sheathed the weapon.

Turning to Lugnut, the Bride drew a sharp curved knife out of her oven mitt. "We need to get that bullet out of you before you bleed out. Can you handle the pain?"

[from here]

And now it was time for the traditional cautious entry into the Sun Room, the old classic of carefully scanning the area for the enemy that will surprise you anyway, and then the venerable tradition of running in an attempt to not become very lumpy wallpaper.

HK had done this so many times by now, it at least felt like it deserved tourist brochure terms such as those. Come, see the Institute, walk its halls, eat its chocolate, be nearly disemboweled by interesting meatbags...

[from here]

And of course she was the firs to arrive. It was becoming a common occurrence.

Leaning back against the wall next to the Sun Room doors, Beatrix waited and listened to the silence of the hall. While detecting HK-47 would be difficult, she was certain Lugnut would be pathetically easy to hear coming. She was not thrilled with the idea of another Cybertronia joining them, but she could not deny that without SubZero, they had to take measures to secure their passage to Landel.

Lugnut wanted her dead, she recalled. This was going to be like working with the Vipers again. The only difference? The Bride had no ties at all to Lugnut. Then again, perhaps he understood how outclassed he was. She could only hope HK-47 had given him proper warning. Beatrix was even less thrilled with the idea of securing a hostage so she and the droid could pass through the doors.

[from here]

Beatrix had walked this path to the Sun Room so many times, she could do it in complete darkness. Which was exactly what she was doing. Knowing the way, there was little need for light as it would only draw creatures and other unwanted attention. Silently counting her steps, at the right number, the assassin headed left and down the hallway.

[to here]

Utena tested her flashlight one more time after the lights went out. Still not even a sputter like there had been during the previous two nights. She sighed softly. Sure, Himemiya still had full batteries, so moving around tonight wouldn't be a problem. She knew that she couldn't just ask to borrow the girl's flashlight forever, though; that would just be delaying the problem. It would be best for them to go up to the janitor's closet for extra batteries tonight rather than waiting. Besides, Himemiya still needed something to defend herself with, and the pipes up there were better than nothing at all.

Frankenstein's monster? she thought as she listened to the Head Doctor go on about something on the intercom. That doesn't have something to do with what the transcript from a few nights ago, does it? She shook her head. She didn't have time to think much about it. Opening her closet door, she took out a garbage bag and the Sword of Dios replica. Even in the dark, she could tell the sword looked much better alongside her duelist uniform than it had with "Yomi's" institute clothing. She smiled a little at that.

After bidding a good night to Sakura, Utena stepped out into the hallway, squinting in the dark for Himemiya's room. Which one had it been? She knew it wasn't too far down from hers.

The intercom jingle went off, mirroring the cheery voice that came out of the speakers soon after it.

"Hello, everyone, and I hope you found productive endeavors in both your music-making and your therapy sessions! Now, our nurses will be escorting all of you to your rooms and to your delicious dinners. Tonight, we're serving moist slices of turkey breast covered in gravy and served with mashed potatoes and grilled artichoke. Also available are our usual salad and drink choices, as well as a to-die-for devil chocolate cake dessert!

"...Mm, yes, I do think I'll have to partake in some of that myself! I trust you'll all enjoy it as much as I do, and I'll speak with you again shortly!"

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. ]

Peter woke up suddenly, his body twisting in the bed and then forcing him to catch his breath in pain. Pain, which was coming from his middle because of the thing that had scratched him last night, and after that...

After that, Zach had jumped in front of him like some kind of martyr, like the exact opposite of everything Sylar stood for, to take the next hit for him. It got pretty fuzzy after that, so night must have ended right around then.

The man let out a pained grunt as he straightened himself up in bed. For some reason, he got the feeling that he'd slept in. There was no way for him to really tell without a window in the room, but he just knew. The fact that Sam's bed looked long since vacated was another clue.

Sam, but was he Sam again? Had the brainwashing worn off, as he and Roland had hoped, or was he going to have to go through this nightmare for even longer? He didn't know how long he could handle "Zach" and "Harrison" before he started going batty himself.

Pulling himself out of bed, Peter lifted his shirt and saw that he was tightly bandaged. The scratch most likely wasn't nearly as bad as the bite that "Zach" had received, but it still smarted. He let his shirt fall and then had to deal with a nurse chiding him for sleeping through the morning announcements. Not that Peter really cared at the moment. He was too busy thinking about last night and the fact that in a way, he now owed something to Sylar. Except it hadn't been Sylar. That was something he was sure of now.

Lost in his thoughts, Peter reached the Sun Room right as the rest of the patient populace was trickling in from breakfast. Sighing to himself, he headed over to the bulletin board and then saw a note written in familiar yet unpleasant handwriting. Holding his pen in a vice grip, Peter scribbled out a reply and then stalked over to an armchair and fell into it with a huff.

While Sylar was maddeningly frustrating, there was one good thing about the fact that he was himself again. It meant that Nathan was too.

[For Spock!]

[from here]

The room was very bright. That was the Bride's first thought and then she noticed why. Gold. Everything was gold. Everything, that was, except the Sphinx on a pedestal in the center watching them with eyes far more intelligence than any beast should have.

"Do be careful what you say to it," she warned before setting her attention on the Sphinx.

[from here]

Stepping into the hallway, Beatrix noted that this one was almost exactly like the eastern one except for the tapestries. These ones were different and depicted battle scenes that, like in the other hall, didn't quite match with the apparent age of the threadworks. It was yet another mystery she didn't care to solve.

"Would either of you have guessed that?" she asked in relation to the riddle's answer.

[from here]

Beatrix lead the4 way down the stairs into the vast ballroom. It was just as the last time she and the assassin's had been there. Stepping lightly, knowing all to well how much sound echoed in the room, the Bride moved so she could see on the other side of the closest group of fountains. It would not do to get attacked again so soon.

Taking a sconce down off the wall, Beatrix started toward the western door. She didn't like being in this room for very long.

[from here]

And here they were again. This was becoming routine. HK headed for the tile he knew hid the way down to the basement, lifting it up and gesturing to it with completely faked politeness. "Deferential: Meatbags first!"

[From here]

And on they went, into the realm of meatbag fuel preparation. The damned guards didn't even have the courtesy to leave any knives laying around, or, so far as he could tell from his frequent walks through the place, chocolate.

The galaxy was a cruel place indeed.

[From here]

HK skidded in through the door to the cafeteria, stopping dead and letting his concentration slip, meatbag reflexes returning to their pathetic norm. His heart rate and breathing had increased significantly, but he tried to hide that. He really wished this was not so taxing to do.

"Statement: Well, that went far better than can be expected when a meatbag actually finds a way to attack you by shooting themselves in the head," he said, not sounding as winded as he was. For HK, talking was always a free action.

[From here]

Oh, Sun Room. During the day, a place of boredom, lounging meatbags and... sun. But at night, it was a place where one moved quickly and quietly if keeping all your extremities was high on your list of things to do.

Also, one generally tried to be the second group into the room, so that what was left of the first group acted as a distraction to whatever brainwashed meatbag or misshapen monstrosity was stationed there that night.

Unfortunately, they were the first group. And they had someone along who wasn't taking this seriously. If 'Lance' kriffs this up for us, I'm offering him up as a sacrifice to tonight's hostile thing, HK thought grumpily as he scanned the surroundings for a heat signature. "Statement: Nothing yet," he whispered, moving carefully forward.