With breakfast finished and a new acquaintance made, the Scarecrow's mind turned to his other friends. The disappearance of Depth Charge's friend had brought back memories of how he'd felt when Kaiji went missing: helpless, useless, as though he should have and could have done something more to find him. If only he had his brain, then maybe he could have thought of something!

As much as he didn't like to admit it, it was unlikely his former roommate was still within the Institute's walls at this point, though the Scarecrow wouldn't know for sure unless Kaiji returned to visit him as Dorothy had, encouraging his supposed recovery. There was still the concern that Landel, despite his vile methods, was actually right and he was suffering from the delusion of having been a scarecrow in Oz. After all, that movie had been a pretty elaborate trick. Would he have planted it in town on purpose, knowing the Scarecrow would be taken there the night of the enchanted doors? And how could he guarantee that once he did find it, he'd take it and actually watch it? There was so much guesswork involved- it seemed the Wizard Landel either liked coincidences or he had more power on his side than any of the patients could have guessed.

The Scarecrow stopped by the bulletin board before heading for a seat, considering writing a note to his friends to check on them. He'd heard from Depth Charge, Remy, and Kibitoshin within a day's time, so he figured they were probably fine (as fine as Depth Charge could have been after last night, anyway). He'd seen Mele and Scar the day before. He put a finger to his head, thinking- he'd not heard from Abe or Sangamon in a day or so, but being professionals, they were probably very busy. Perhaps a note would be best for them.

[Kibby]

[ From here. ]

Even the kitchen here looked spruced up and colorful, though Sylar didn't give much of a damn about that as he started rummaging through the drawers and cabinets for any kill-friendly utensils. So far, though, he was having surprisingly little luck: mixing bowls and stirring spoons weren't exactly going to help him in his efforts against Peter Petrelli unless his nefarious plan involved sitting him down and serving him waffles or something. Maybe if they were poisoned? That'd be kind of funny.

"How about something sharp," he muttered as he yanked open another compartment. Rolling pin. Yeah, if he was going to choose a blunt instrument to flail around, that wasn't the one. Finally, he tugged on one of the smaller drawers and found it jammed somehow, which, unfortunately, was probably a good sign. Peering down at it, he jostled the contents and pulled it out the whole way, revealing a mess of utensils, and...

"There you are." Sylar smirked as he drew out a long, thin carving knife and held it to the light of his flashlight. Polished and gleaming. He wouldn't mind having this while going up against some freak-of-nature monster.

He placed it on the counter and retraced his kitchen-raiding steps with a little more leisure and open-mindedness. A couple of cake testers might make for better lock-picking tools, for instance.

But he wasn't about to load himself down with too much unnecessary equipment. Snatching up his knife again, he started making his way out of the kitchen, a smile on his face.

[ Awaiting Elle encounter. ]

[ From here. ]

As expected, everything at the counter was cleaned up and put away, but that just meant Sylar had to make one more move into the kitchen. Trailing a hand along the smooth metal of the counter, he walked toward the kitchen doors and shined his flashlight through one of the porthole windows to check out the interior. The coast seemed clear, and he took a cautionary glance over his shoulder to make sure nothing nasty had followed him up here.

So far, so good, though that didn't mean much these days. He tugged at the door and scowled when it just clanked in its place. Come to think of it, it was weird that nothing else so far had been locked.

He kicked at it, but there wasn't much give. His eyes rested on the lock itself. Tentatively, he reached forward and ran his thumb down the keyhole. He closed his eyes.

Dragonflies.

Sylar slipped his hand into his coat pocket to carefully pick out a needle and a pen. He crouched down, taking the pen in two hands and cracking it in half to pull out the thin piece of plastic at the center. He took off the pen cap and pressed the sharp end of the needle into its base, then took it and pressed it gently into the keyhole.

He pressed his ear to the door and listened. A little to the left. To the right. There.

Gently, he let go of the cap and left the needle in the hole. Then, getting a little higher on his knees, he took the exposed ink tube and pressed the pen tip into the keyhole, angling it downward. He put his other hand to the door handle and pulled.

Nothing. He frowned, putting his ear to the door again and jiggling the needle.

Click.

Music to his ears. Sylar's mouth widened into a full-blown grin as he pulled the door open and stepped to the other side.

[ To here. ]

[From here.]

With the door shut behind, Sechs took in a few cautious glances around his darkened surroundings. The corridor of the second floor was eerily quiet and unnervingly empty; he must have been one of the first prisoners to arrive here so far. For the first time that night Sechs noticed just how hard his heart was pounding inside his chest. He didn't think it could have been because of the stairs, he didn't have as much trouble climbing them like last time. No, it must have been his body reacting to the memories of this place. He took a moment to allow his burdened body to relax a little as he scanned the hall with his flashlight. Nothing out of the ordinary so far... except for that nightmarish patch of darkness to his left...

( More under cut )

[From here.]

Leaving the wandering patients on the first floor behind him, Sechs pounced upon the first row of stairs and took little time to climb them up to the next level. His hand gripped tightly into the handle of his axe while the other held his flashlight aloft, constantly searching for any real dangers that could be lurking nearby.

Once he turned a corner to ascend the next row of stairs, Sechs was greeted by another unnerving illusion. The once empty chamber was now engulfed by a hideous outbreak of slithering shadows! The walls and ceiling dripped with tar-like tendrils, even the steps and rails were drenched with the disgusting black ooze! The shadows reached out for him, coiling and quivering in the air like nauseous worms. Sechs grunted at the sight, he felt a deep disgust that he didn't think he could ever shake off, no matter how many gory battles he'd leave in his wake. He had to keep going! The door to the second floor was right there! The Replica willed his muscles to move under his command only, he couldn't let his body be swayed by the poison's deceptions again...

A few more strained steps later and Sechs reached the top. Grunting, Sechs fumbled to free one of his hands and turn the knob before opening the door with a vicious kick. Once the door was closed behind him, Sechs could only hope that the dark mirages were left behind as well.

Unfortunately, by now Sechs had learned that things were never that easy in Landel's institute...

[To here.]

Yuffie Kisaragi, indomitable bouncing ball of sunshine and unfathomable ebullience, was tired. It'd been a long night full of gibberish and getting nowhere fast.

"Can't I—"

Plucky, who had been busily loading a plate full of French toast and bacon, tittered. "I'm afraid not, Hanna, darling. A chat over a nice, hearty breakfast would do you a world of good, don't you think?"

"Aaaaactually—"

"Come on, let's find you a seat. Plenty to choose from this morning!"

For a long moment, Yuffie seriously considered doing something—anything—to act out. Punch her nurse, rub jam in an orderly's face, climb a wall and hang off the ceiling, jump on a table and parody Loveless… A ruckus like that would definitely jolt her back into gear, right? Sedation aside. And it'd turn Plucky's good day right on its head, which was always a bonus worth shooting for.

But, by the time she'd reached a decision—and it was an epic decision, a really awesome one; everybody'd appreciate the genius, she was sure—she was already alone. Her breakfast tray had been set down neatly by the nurse, who had left with an infuriatingly winsome smile.

"Wow," Yuffie muttered. Shaking her head, she picked a chair at random and threw herself into it. She kicked back, one arm slung across her eyes, to wait. For what, she wasn't totally sure. Some moron to decide that she looked like good company? That was how it usually went.

[ from here ]

As difficult as it was, especially given her constant need to outperform Elle, Claire tried her best to bat down the looming arrogance that she'd been able to get them in while Elle stood around being useless. It was the little things, really, that made all the difference, and this little thing happened to make Claire just a little more full of herself.

But, they needed to deal with the situation at hand, and this particular situation made Claire suddenly grateful for the cleanliness of the institute proper. The shed was dirty -- it looked like it had probably been months since they'd last cleaned it, and the cobwebs that hung from the ceiling and the equipment racks and tied up corners of the small shed made her scowl.

Maybe it was a little cliche, and maybe it was silly to worry about compared to what else was crawling around the institute that could actually hurt her, but Claire hated spiders.

The shard of glass she'd been bringing around got tossed into one of said cobwebbed corners and she got the chance to finally examine her hand. It looked disgusting, and through all the blood it was hard to make out just how bad the cut was, but she tried to squint at it, shining her flashlight's beam directly on it to examine it anyway.

When she remembered that Elle had followed her, though, she went back to browsing the baseball equipment.

"You should probably grab something, too." As if it hadn't already been a given. The flashlight beam moved over a collection of aluminum and wooden bats and Claire tried to decide which to grab. The metal one seemed the obvious choice, but there was something to be said for a Louisville Slugger in that it was the only bat brand she knew by name. Suddenly, she regretted how boring she'd always found sports to be.

[from here]

There was no one here yet. And wasn't that strange? If she remembered correctly, there was a male patient block here. Even if it was away from the others, it should still be fairly well occupied. Were they all just staying in for the night? It was also odd that no one from the female block had come up this way yet either. Either it was just too early, or something had happened in her absence that kept others from coming this way unless they had a larger group with them (or not at all).

Callisto stopped to shine her light down into the adjacent hall, seeing if she could pick out anyone heading out of their room. She thought she heard the sounds of people moving about on the other side of the wall, so it couldn't be completely empty. Was there any point in waiting around? She didn't need someone to accompany her, and it had only slowed her up in the past anyway.

She would wait a bit, perhaps, if only to sate her own curiosity before moving on.

[from here]

Was she really the only one out in the hallway right now? Minako certainly couldn't hear anyone else, and she didn't see any flashlights out there in the darkness. Brr. That was kind of... creepy. When it was dark the hallways seemed a lot more echo-y, and she couldn't help but think about the stories about monsters and things that might be lurking where she couldn't see.

"Stop being a scaredy-cat," she muttered to herself, then turned to her right and resolutely marched onward. Out to the main hall there, down a bit, then left. That would take her to the hall where she'd run into Arthur and the fake-Alfred the night before, which thought reminded her that she hadn't talked to either of them today. Maybe she should've left them a note or something on that bulletin. Oh, well. Tomorrow.

[to here]

[from here]

Like a ghost story, Natalia told herself as one hallway opened into another. Reminding herself that these were the same halls she had been escorted through during the day had not served to ease the hairs on the neck, nor her quickening heartbeat. An adventure, a quest through haunted rooms to find the one responsible. That she was not, in fact, looking for Dr. Landel, but heading to a meeting of the Cake Club, she opted not to consider.

Simply thinking of that man emboldened her heart, hastened her hesitant pace, threw back her shoulders. In short order she stood before the doors that opened into the next hall, and was not afraid. Would not be afraid. Had she not faced many beasts during her travels? True, she no longer had her bow, and in that she was at an extreme disadvantage.

Then, be sure to escape. Then, be wary, but not afraid.

[though i walk in the valley...]

It barely felt like she'd been outside for any time at all when the intercom sounded and the nurse came to fetch her. "Can't I stay a little longer?" she asked, but the woman only clicked her tongue and frowned, reaching to feel her forehead as though testing for a fever. "The weather simply isn't good enough, Natalie dear," the nurse said, once satisfied that her charge was all right, then drew back and made shooing motions toward the door. "Go on inside and warm up, okay? I don't want you taking a chill now that you're just getting better."

Nunnally sighed but didn't protest; remembering something that Yuffie had said to her, she instead elected to visit the "arts" room. The nurse was all too happy to agree, and once in the room brought over a small pile of assorted supplies with a number of suggestions for projects that Nunnally might want to undertake. She listened with a polite smile but as soon as the woman left again sorted through the glitter and markers and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

Several minutes of careful folding later, she set the completed origami crane on the table in front of herself with a small smile. It was somehow calming, following the familiar pattern of movements that turned a simple piece of paper into a bird; though the process was easier now that she could see how even her folds were, it still felt the same. And still meant the same. She gently tapped the bird's beak with one fingertip, her smile turning briefly thoughtful before she moved to take another piece of paper from the pile. Maybe she could remember some of the other shapes Sayoko had showed her.

[Lelouch and Renamon]

The intercom jingled to life a little later than usual, after most people had already cleared their plates. (Assuming, of course, that they hadn't gone for seconds.)

"Hello there, everyone! I apologize for the wait – needed time to set up the Sun Room and all, didn't we? Of course, it doesn't exactly seem like the 'Sun Room' at the moment; in fact, the lights have been dimmed and the ceiling's windows have been covered so as to private a good movie-watching experience! Our nurses and orderlies have arranged a projection screen in the room and have rearranged all the furniture to face it, and it would seem that... ah! King Kong garnered the most votes, so that's what we will be viewing today.

"Of course, you don't have to view it! Today is our free day, which means that all our activity rooms – as well as the Recreational Field and Courtyard, with proper escorting from your nurse, are available for use! Of course, some of you do have visitors ready to see you, which our staff will take you to very shortly! Unfortunately, we have not yet finished reviewing the suggestions in our box, but we will be finishing shortly!

"I believe that's all! Enjoy your day, everyone!"

The intercom clicked off.

[ ALL NEWLY ACCEPTED CHARACTERS MAY POST TO THIS SHIFT. All character introduction should be made in response to this post. Please have your character wake up in a random room, as we have not yet assigned them. Thank you! ]

_{[from here and about to be perved upon]}

She'd been upstairs once, to visit the Chapel, but that had been during the day. There were no staff members escorting her this time, which only made things more dangerous, in a way. The shinigami, Abarai Renji, had been killed battling nurses at night.

When Tsubaki stepped into the stairwell, she did a quick check--stairs, behind the stairs, the door behind her--before putting a foot on the first step and slipping the makeshift bag off her shoulder to balance on her knee. The sound of her boot shifting against the edge of the step was eerily loud.

Once she'd fished out her flashlight, Tsubaki lifted the bag of cloth again.

A deep, silent inhale. Let's go.

Fully armed, Beatrix left Maki alone in the room. She didn't know if her roommate was going to take the advice given and rest for the night, but the Bride didn't have the time or desire to make her point any stronger.

She was to meet SubZero and HK-47 in front of the Sun Room. Here's hoping they'll be able to sneak past anything that may be lying in wait. She'd like to do something productive and her encounter with Celes the previous night did not count.

[to here]

[From here]

As she entered the hallway, Ophelia stopped for a moment to quickly fold up Kio's maps and stuff them into one of her pockets. She had been hoping to take a peek at them at various intervals during the night, but in this dim light, there was no chance of being able to see them. For now, she would have to travel by memory of where she had been taken during the day.

At least this time the choice of where to go was easy. On one side she could just barely see the hallway ending, and on the other it continued for a ways. The path that continued would surely lead to the Sun Room and the areas around it. She started running again with a grin spreading on her face, emboldened by the long, seemingly unobstructed length of the hall. Perhaps she would find her first challenge of the night soon.

[From here]

Ophelia was faced with a choice upon entering the next hallway. The path to her right she remembered would lead to the areas she had visited during the day. The path to her left lead to an unknown area. While the thought of upping the challenge (and thus the fun) by going down an unknown hallway in the dark without her night vision was appealing, she decided to save it for another night, perhaps. Tonight she would try to build off of where she had already been, so she decided to take the right-hand path.

She could see barely there patches of moonlight from a window in the hall up ahead, and sped up to a jog in her eagerness to get to where there was a little bit of light. Despite the danger of running into something in the dark, her growing excitement was getting the better of her.

There were still too many things on Armand's mind for him to truly relax. The morning with Alec had been a help. And seeing that TK was going to be well helped him know that it was time to work out something else, but what? He'd already, without success again, tried to reach one of the club leaders about his sole idea of something new and different. Maybe it was hopeless.

There was no way he was going to play with paper and glue like a small child, and he glared at the nurse as best he could until she gave up on the idea. There was a free chair in the Sun Room--in fact, there were many free chairs--where he settled down to see what the new patients looked like. Prisoners, not patients. He felt bad that he had to remind himself. Even if he was crazy, he wasn't going to give in to Dr. Landel's game, not today. He nibbled on an overgrown cuticle and kept an eye on the room. No dozing today.

[for Citan]

[for Sylar, I believe]

At the sound of the intercom, Wally jerked awake and blinked around at the room. He’d fallen asleep. He should have been up and keeping an eye open for ZEX, but he’d fallen asleep waiting on his bed.

“Idiot,” he groaned, ruffling his hair and sighing in annoyance. “Way to help a guy out, hotshot.” Hopefully ZEX hadn’t dropped by and thought he’d left or something, or wouldn’t be too mad at him for just forgetting about it like that. If he was lucky, he’d be able to catch up with the other patient at some point and explain what had happened.

Rolling himself a little awkwardly out of the bed, Wally took the opportunity to stretch his injured leg and test how well it was holding up. It was feeling a bit better, not so much that he could abandon his crutch or that it didn’t pull painfully if he wasn’t careful, but better. Tony had apparently made it through the night in one piece as well, which was a relief. He really didn’t feel comfortable about the thought of his roommate wandering about on his own with an injured arm. Not when Wally himself could relax and fall asleep in the apparent safety of their room.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to let himself forget that one in a hurry.

It was at that moment that the door swung open to admit one of the nurses. She seemed surprised to find him awake and ready to go already, but smiled warmly. “Hungry, are we Mr. West? Well in that case, let’s get you to the cafeteria. The staff have provided some delicious French Toast as well as a range of other foods I’m sure you’ll like. Now will you be needing a hand with your leg, dear?”

“No thanks, I can handle it,” Wally replied, smiling back. After all, it probably wasn’t the nurses’ fault that this place was so messed up, so it wasn’t like picking fights with them would do anything. With a cheery wave goodbye, Wally slowly made his way to the cafeteria, keeping a tight grip on his crutch all the while. Obtaining a plate of food was only slightly less difficult than it had been yesterday – he didn’t have the painkillers to work around this time – but he managed well enough, coming away from the buffet with a tray containing a plate piled high with slices of French Toast and slathered in maple syrup, butter, and sugar, as well as a glass of juice. Not quite as good as some coffee would be right now, but the sugar would hopefully make up for it. And, with how few people were here at the moment, he could afford to take more food than might have been considered ‘normal’ – he’d have most of it gone by the time anyone came to keep him company, then he could just worry about how many extra serves would be allowed before he aroused suspicion.

Feeling pretty happy with how things were looking so far, Wally hummed faintly to himself as he dug in to his breakfast.

[from here]

Inside the building was oppressively dark, so Brainiac 5 paused, allowing his eyes to adjust more as he took the opportunity to look around. The beam from his flashlight was pathetically weak compared to what his own flight ring would have produced - though that might also have been an effect of how he no longer had the highly advanced sensors built into his eyes - so it took him a moment to realise he was looking at a multitude of humanoid skeletons scattered about the immediate area, many of them locked in tableau of pain and desperation. There were suspicious dark stains on the floors which he felt confident that further testing would have revealed as human blood, and with the darkness of the night, the overall scene was one he felt Bouncing Boy would have described as coming straight from one of those ancient Earth horror films he was so obsessed with.

As it was, Brainiac 5 glanced about uneasily, trying to suppress the sudden wave of nausea from his stomach and retain his calm air in front of Elle. "What do you think happened here?" he asked, more quietly than he'd intended.