[From here]


Vertigo hit, a sick lurching feeling as soon as she stepped through the door, making her vision swim and her legs seem to take on the consistency of jelly. She stumbled forwards, the ground uneven and oddly unstable beneath her feet in the way that a solid floor shouldn't have been and it was only when she caught her balance and her vision resolved itself to reveal her surroundings that she realised why.

"W-what?" She stared around herself with wide eyes. Pristine white sands and the bright blue ocean sweeping gently across the shore. The parasols and deckchairs were too familiar for her not to recognise and when she took a few steps forward, half dazed at the sight and the feelings, she felt warm sand slip between her toes, making each step that bit more laborious but rather pleasant in a way. No, this wasn't just any beach, it was that beach, the one that the Turks had made their own when they'd visited the Costa Del Sol. And bare feet! She hadn't had bare feet a moment ago, and she could feel sunshine on her bare skin, and she didn't need to look to know what exactly she was wearing. She hadn't even looked at it since that day with Zack at the beach. She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, peering along the beach, breakwaters buildings and all completely empty like she'd never seen it before. How was this even possible? Perhaps... had she fallen and hit her head during the battle on the beach? Maybe everything since then had been some terrible dream and she was here now, and Zack would turn up, Tseng in tow in his full suit and they would laugh and drink and forget that Genesis existed. It was a nice dream at least and she took a moment to let herself believe it, think about what she could change.

The footsteps on the sane behind her quickly dispelled that idea and she turned around to face Taura and Rika, giving them a wry smile and a small wave, resting her free hand on her hip. They were still dressed in Institute grey, their dull shirts and pants looking immensely out of place against the bright summer scene of the Costa Del Sol. "Hi! I'm fairly sure that the Costa Del Sol isn't inside the Institute but... at least the weather is good?"

[from here]

When he rounded the corner into the larger hallway, Kurogane determined to put the thoughts of being the only patient there aside. Even if that were the case, it didn't change his final goal for the night. The magician would have been helpful, but he was confident enough in his own ability to get things done.

Finding the feather remained a difficult task though. The basement had been less than helpful when it had come to locating the source of this place's power. But the third floor... no one had ever been able to reach it, yet they all knew it existed. The outside of the building proved enough. They just had to find the way to get up. If that meant forcing a hole through the floor, then fine, because right now it was the last place to go.

[gone here]

[From here]

Maybe she should go snatch up her patient file? Possessions, too. Yuffie'd never say no to free stuff, even if it was a bunch of crap from a lie of a life. If she was lucky, she'd get somethin' handy. Handy like a cellphone, or, hell, even a laptop! Yuffie wasn't a technical genius at the best of times, preferring to leave all that stuff to Reeve and the guys in R&D, but if she could get 'em up and working, they'd be like a gift straight from Leviathan.

[To here]

[From here]

Where it was time to go, Yuffie wasn't exactly sure.

The weather warned against another attempt on the outside. Disappointing, but there'd always be another chance in the future; a chance that didn't involve hypothermia, pneumonia, and-or drowning in flood water. Yuffie was no coward, no way, but she could appreciate prudence.

[To here]

Although the trip was longer than usual on account of the rain and wind, the buses did eventually – and safely – reach Landel's Institute. No strange happenings yet; the patients were escorted off the buses according to the usual protocol and made to go to their rooms and change back into their normal uniforms while the nurses temporarily left them to retrieve their dinners and, in some cases, new roommates.

It wasn't long before the Head Doctor made one of his usual announcements:

"Welcome back, everyone! I regret I was unable to join you on your foray today, but you'll soon find that we had some new guests to attend to in your absence! And now, for your dinner: lamb curry, spicy, but served with naan and mildly seasoned steamed vegetables for anyone who might have a sensitive tongue! For dessert, we'll be serving each patient a slice of banana cream pie, and our usual drinks and dietary alternatives are available.

"I'm hoping you all didn't get too wet, and hopefully the hot dinner will warm you up in no time. Nurses, please escort our newer patients to their new rooms, and everybody, I'll speak to you again soon!"

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 new room assignments here. ]

The sun was taking on water and riding low in the sky. Or it would if it weren't completely overcast. The needle hadn't hit overheat, but S.T. wasn't taking any chances. Time to find some place remotely defensible.

Everyone and their brother would be in the hardware store or the car lot. If they had half a brain, which was a more reasonable assumption of the Institute population than your everyday random sampling. Which meant a shitload of transforming monster nurses. He sneered at the one who was making coaxing motions towards the video store.

What could they do, put on Zombie Nurses Sex Follies and see if the staff were too brainless not to follow along?

O.K., he'd officially been here too fucking long if that had even occurred to him. He jogged out into the street without checking for cross-traffic, and into the welcoming arms of an atrocity against apostrophes. The checkout was nestled amidst bags of charcoal -- the plain kind, not the pre-petroleumized sort for yuppies who couldn't be assed to even open a bottle of lighter fluid.

[Remy?]

"I look like a hobo," Yuffie whinged.

"You look lovely," her nurse consoled.

Yuffie was having none of it. "Hobos aren't lovely," she argued. "They're smelly and gross and they try to steal your small change." And then they realize who you are, and why they've suddenly got their feet jammed up the exhaust pipes of two separate trucks. And then they wet themselves (though that might've just been the cheap booze they'd been guzzling; she hadn't stuck around to find out).

Plucky sighed, ushering Yuffie firmly onto the bus. "Sit by the front," she said, still affecting that disconcertingly soothing air. "In case you feel ill."

In case? In case? "There's no 'in case' about it! You could always let me walk, y'know. Or, like, hook up a skateboard to the back of this bolt-bucket. That'd be mad cool, huh, don'tcha think? Near death-experiences always did help keep dinner down the trap-hole." Well, it was true. They did help, adrenalin being awesome like that. Unfortunately, Plucky was a prude, stubborn, and a complete party-pooper. All she did was shove a breakfast bag into Yuffie's hands—orange juice, thank gawd—before gliding away.

Left alone, it was all Yuffie could do not to fall into the biggest sulk of the century. If she didn't look like a hobo, she at least looked like she'd crashed into three separate wardrobes and come out wearing whatever fell on her first. And, and! And, the jeans! Why in Leviathan's name would anybody consent to wearing something so restrictive? They were like death in denim form.

Admittedly, part of her ire—most of it—was down to how far she'd gotten last night.

Because she hadn't. Gotten far. At all. Ugh!

She dropped her head forward, then knocked it back once, hard, against the seat. It's just one of those things, she could hear her old man say. Nothing you can do, he'd add, so you might as well go along with it. Crotchety, senile old jerk, always talkin' like he had the answer to everything right there in the palm of his hands. What a dumb way to live.

[Kurogane?]

[from here]

Once Ema and Agatha made their way upstairs, they were officially in unfamiliar territory. At least, it was unfamiliar to Ema; the girl had no idea where Agatha had and had not been. She figured it was time to check in with the other party. Even if there was an unspoken agreement that Agatha was the leader of the pair, Ema still wanted to know what exactly was going on.

"Do you know where we're going, exactly? Is our stuff up here?" It was possible that Agatha had gotten some sort of tip, after all. Ema wished she had checked the bulletin board more closely when the pair had checked it before dinner instead of simply correcting someone else's scientifically impossible assertion. It would have been nice to have been more fully informed.

It was time to go. Taura considered, one last time, taking the carryall from the box she'd discovered. But carryall was a misnomer -- it wasn't big enough to hold more than a wallet or a gun, and too fragile. It would only get in the way. If she needed a holster, someone should have mentioned it.

So she set out, armed with only a flashlight, for the rendezvous point.

[to here]

( from here. )

So far, so good. Kairi tried to move as quietly as she could, not wanting to attract any kind of baddies that could be lurking in the shadows. ... And lest she forget actually crazy patients. Then again, she doubted she'd ever forget that incident.

Oh well, she was almost there. No time to think about past injuries.

( to here. )

Yet another intercom jingle sounded, and the nurses, anticipating the Head Doctor's orders, already began grouping around the patients as he began to speak.

"Good evening, everyone and I trust you all enjoyed your fun day of physical activity! I sure wish I had! Aha! Anyway, our dinner tonight is some spaghetti with our ol' homemade Landel's marinara sauce, served with garlic bread and a Caesar salad. Our usual assortment of drinks and vegetarian alternatives is available, and our dessert for tonight is vanilla gelato ice cream with chocolate sauce.

"I do hope that sounds palatable to everyone! I will be speaking 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. Find new room assignments here. This shift's intro group is here. ]

[from here]

There wasn't anyone on the stairs, which was good, cuz curiosity had gotten to Donna and she didn't want to end up embarrassing either herself of the alien she was traveling with - if his species got embarrassed. "So hey," she started, looking back as she took the first step onto the stairs, "The place you're from, what's it called? I might not look it, but I've been to a few places other than Earth before. Maybe I've stopped off at your planet without even knowing it."

Wouldn't that be a surprise if she had?

[falling in from here]

The sound Kurogane made as he fell echoed in the empty hallway and soon faded out to silence. That had been stupid. He should have been more prepared for the lock to snap suddenly and not have gone tumbling into the hallway like that. But the ninja couldn't take back the action now. At least no one had been around to see him take the spill. Or if someone was there, they didn't have enough light to have seen him do it.

Everything was still dark as night, and as Kurogane picked himself from the floor, he had to feel around for a barrier to the area. If he was somewhere open he was in trouble, but thankfully there was a wall there. Given the fall, he couldn't figure out if it was the adjacent wall or one right next to the door, but he'd find out eventually. Dragging his hand again, he started along the wall (apparently away from the door since he wasn't feeling it) and was soon at another door. Feeling it, he knew it wasn't the one he'd just came from, and after a quick test he knew that it was another that would give if he forced it enough.

But where was he then? There were so many doors on the second floor like this, and then areas that still hadn't been listed on the map he'd gotten. He could be going further in or heading back out or anything right now! And he wouldn't know any wiser until he got a damn light!

Calling to see if anyone could hear him was out. With his luck he'd just draw the attention of some monster that he'd have to fight blind. He was lucky enough that one hadn't come at him anyway with the noise he'd been making in ramming that door. Did he chance another one? Or was wondering blind some more a better option. Ah, to hell with it. One, two, and three tries didn't have the door giving, but a flustered fourth had this door going down as well, only this time, Kurogane kept his feet.

[gone here]

[[from here]]

Sakura wasted little time in waiting to see if Raphael could keep up.  This was a mission, which meant something completely different from a simple argument in the cafeteria or outside during a training session.  There was the goal, and reaching it safely and with optimal results was the only thing that mattered.  She'd been teamed up with other annoying people before; after the Chuunin exams, most of team 7 had gone their separate ways, whether that was because of training or whatever other reasons.  So teams weren't always with the people she wished they were. 

At least she'd gotten her old clothes back.  Raphael should have no trouble following the emblem on her back as she passed him by, taking the stairs two at a time with hardly a sound to mark her passing.  Her flashlight flicked up and down the empty hall, a tool she might have put away had there been others about, but one that was still had its uses. 

[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]

For the second time, Rika found herself waking with a start. She blinked at the grey light streaming through the windows, and looked across the room. Anise was still asleep. So. I'm still here. Let me just check...

Rika put on her slippers and walked over to the desk, checking the drawer and breathing a light sigh of relief. Good, the knife was still there. She wasn't sure why it would be there - shouldn't they have confiscated the weapon? Either way, though, as much as she was reluctant to use it, she was glad to have it still there.

Just then, she heard the creak of the open door, and quickly closed the drawer. Her nurse peeked in, whispering, "Rachel? Time for breakfast. You should put on a sweatshirt, it's a bit chilly." Rika nodded, quickly adding the extra layer and following the nurse out into the hall and to the cafeteria.

She was used to a Japanese-style breakfast, so the idea of something sweet - which the nurse was avidly describing, with the waffles and fruit and syrup - was a bit odd. Once she walked in, though, she had to admit it smelled good. She filled her plate with waffles topped with blueberries, some sausage, and eggs, took a glass of orange juice, and took a seat. It seemed she was early, so she took a seat close to one of the windows and waited.

[For Ange.]

[from here.]

There seemed to be a lot more options here, Aerith noted as she passed a few doors along the way. Maybe she'd come to center of the building? It was hard to tell, and her sense of direction wasn't fantastic. She was lucky if she'd remember the path she'd taken so whimsically to get here. Stopping in front of a particularly large set of doors, the flower girl took a quick break from her exploration to try and commit to memory all the turns she'd taken to get here from her room.

It was certainly worth noting that she still hadn't heard even a whisper from the Planet. Aerith had always thought she would be thankful to not hear the screams and whispers for once in her life. Now that her wish had been granted, she honestly found it strange and more than a little unsettling. Even in Midgar, she'd had a place that she could always go to if she needed to hear the echo of her mother's voice. If anything Gaia had always given her direction and companionship. Clearly, she'd have to apologize when she got out of this place.

And Aerith Gainsborough would get out of here. One way or another. She had to believe that.

The young woman lifted her flashlight, scanning every inch of the wide hallway that she could. Maybe it would be best to take a moment and collect before she continued on her exploration.

The intercom had come on.

The lights had gone off. The intercom had come on.

Again.

Hanna hadn't known what to do. Sure, she'd tried sneaking out at night before; who hadn't? It was the natural thing to do! But just now, the doors had unlocked. On their own. No need for tedious, tongue-between-teeth picking, they'd just — on their own. Almost like the patients were expected to go gallivanting out into the darkened hallways.

But then, natural curiosity had taken over. What an awesome opportunity!, it had said to her. Get off your lazy butt and go! The voice had sounded a little too ninja-like to be entirely comfortable, but nonetheless, the call was irresistible. It was just like how she felt when presented with a patch of pristine snow, or an old abandoned anything, just waiting to be explored. With her heart hammering its way up her throat, she'd rallied herself, poking her head out of the door.

And now, here she was. In the musty—since when had this place been musty?—old corridor right outside her room, each footstep taking her closer to the institute at large. The darkness was pitch; Hanna wished she had a flashlight, or something, anything to give herself a little more to work with than feel and memory. The atmosphere wound its way 'round her, wrapping her up and sending shivers down her spine. This… This was amazing! Crazy, but amazing.

[To here]

Today was really trying to rain on her parade, wasn't it?

Well, it wasn't gonna work! Hanna was determined to stay strong and cheerful, in spite of Kenshin throwing a mega bitchfit and that the chick from the library being… Yeah. Her flightiness had been bad enough, but the half glossed-over memories had bordered on terrifying. Had she really been that far gone? It had to have been the meds. Just the meds. Yuffie was a douchey, semi-sociopathic klepto ninja thing, but even in that imagined world of hers, she hadn't gone around slashing people to ribbons for fun. Had she? Ugh, Hanna didn't even know anymore. Crazy people were capable of crazy stuff

Hanna's gut clenched just thinking about it, and she turned determinedly back to her lunch. The food wasn't exactly great, but it was better than some of the stuff she'd eaten. Like Stan's Deep fried Twinkie and mashed banana hot pot. Or, y'know, the normal stuff that teenage semi-runaways ate. Craptastic sandwiches and super economy potato chips, when she could get them, and whatever was in Tiffany's fridge when she couldn't. Dignity was dignity, and dignity was important, but being able to scratch a living from a rock was a handy life skill to have.

Stuffing another few chips in her mouth, Hanna did her best to ignore the door—and, by proxy, anybody who happened to come through it. Nostalgia trip aside, hadn't the Head Nurse said something about a whole new batch of crazycakes? Now she'd feel even more like a sardine than ever. Great.

[ For Cloud? :D ]

Mori woke with a start. He lay on the bed for a moment, staring up at the ceiling and sighed quietly. Another day, another round of shifts and people and-- Wait a minute. Breathing in carefully, Mori's brow knit together as he realized that his ribs were no longer broken. After testing his collarbone, he found that it, too, was healing faster than it should have. Not that he was complaining, but there was something odd about broken bones setting so quickly. Pushing himself up out of bed, the teen shook his head, knowing that he'd have another day or two of the sling and then he'd be free from it.

But more important than that was finding out how Mitsukuni was doing. The last thing he remembered was the bathroom and gathering metal. Since they were together at the end of the night, Mori was certain that Mitsukuni would be fine, but...well, he still liked to confirm such things with his own eyes. With the twins gone and Tamaki still missing, Mori didn't want to take any chances anymore. Especially not with the strange announcements this morning.

As usual, his nurse came to collect him and helped him into his sling. Then he followed her quietly into the cafeteria, taking notice of the unusually empty bulletin board. They really were cracking down on it already. Weird. Even weirder? For once, he was the first into the room. Picking up a tray, he pointed out what he wanted, making sure to take double of the pancakes (asking to keep them away from the sausages for now), double of the strawberry jam and biscuits, and an extra helping of fruit. To top it off? Milk. It'd help his bones mend. Hopefully.

Going to a nearby seat, Mori took a look around the empty room and shivered. Kind of eerie in here without anyone else but the nurses. Someone was certain to come sooner or later though, right? He hoped so at least.

[for Chihaya]