[from here]

Here. Finally.

Except there was no sign of Simon. There was also no sign of crazed hungry monsters, wearing ninja outfits or not, but he checked the hall as well as he could with the handheld light, including the ceiling, before giving a hesitant knock on the M60 door. It was nice that the room was on the end of a smaller hallway. If something went wrong, he wouldn't get cornered too easily.

"Simon? Are you there?" Usopp kept his voice low, although trying to keep it from shaking. That didn't make a very good impression on people. The rubber band in his coat pocket snapped between his fingers nervously. "It's me. Usopp. Your friend that doesn't remember you who's a great pirate and sharpshooter? Um, you didn't turn into a monster or a werewolf or anything for the night, did you?"

The game room made Heath feel more like he was being treated as a child than any other place in the Institute. It might have just been the selection they had to choose from. A deck of cards was a safe choice and would hopefully keep him from attracting much more energetic company. Yet as he sat down and began shuffling them between his hands he was surprised to find that he couldn't remember how to play a single game. At a loss, he blamed it on his current state of mind.

The red-head sat back in his chair and began looking through the deck one card at a time, if only to have something to do with his hands. The kings, queens, and jacks blurred together despite suits as this did nothing to distract him from the pangs of his still somehow empty stomach.

The deck was eventually tossed to the floor in front of him, free for anyone who felt like a game of 52-card pick-up.

Heath swore under his breath and slouched where he sat. This whole ridiculous matter was more than wearing thin. He'd have to get the involvement of a nurse before dinner. There was nothing else for it. Still, more than one came close enough to stop and he did nothing. Something deep within him knew there wasn't anything any of them could do.

[for Argilla]

[from here]

The decor of this hallway certainly appeared more sinister than that of the room before. Once the group entered the hall, Faize swept the light of his flashlight over the walls, revealing tapestries of an unsettling nature. The Eldarian paused in his steps, studying the gruesome images and wondering whether they were mere fiction, or if they depicted a battle that had happened before.

He opened his mouth to make a comment, but was cut off before he began by a distinct click. While the sound wasn't particularly loud, it rang clearly in the empty hallway. Faize turned his head sharply to look at the door they had entered through, which was closed tightly. Had they been locked in?

[from here]

Hitsugaya dropped down into the courtyard, the lush lawn cushioned the sounds of his fall. He then quickly took cover behind a nearby tree while waiting for his teammates to follow. Just because he didn't see any enemies didn't mean they weren't lurking out there. The nightshift was radically different from the dayshift. As soon as night fell, an oppressing, sinister feeling crept down his spine. If he wasn't aware of the dangers accompanying the night, Hitsugaya might have chalked it up to paranoia, but he knew better.

[From here]

Dahlia made her way over to the fountain first thing and went to sit down next to it. Believe it or not, her feet were still aching from last night and just because this room never stopped being gorgeous did not mean she stopped being sensible. If there was something going on soon, she needed to be ready for it.

Hmph. More like ready to push either one of these brats into the fray instead of dealing with it herself. Either or, she'd need to rest for a little while. May as well drop her bag for now while she was at it, too; the strap was bugging the bandaged gash along her back.

She wasn't dumb though. She kept one of her hands on it just in case someone got grabby.

"So, um." She brought her other hand to her mouth, thinking to herself. Did she dare ask now? Or was Syncie going to keep some more secrets from her? "What do we do now?"

[from here]

They were making good time, but there wasn't anything good about that. With the entrance to the basement just ahead of them, Anise could feel her chest tighten with dread.

"You will find yourself able to enter so long as you are willing to make a sacrifice."

That's what that golden monster said before, right? There was no telling what kind of sacrifice it meant, but it probably wasn't anything small. If it came to that, she could be sure that Sync would be shoving one of them ahead to take the brunt of it. Maybe one of them would die. Maybe both of them would.

Anise felt a strong chill surge through her body as she thought about it, but maybe it was just the air inside the refrigerator. She stepped to the side, shuddered, and hugged herself for warmth. She remembered where the trap door was, but Sync could go find that himself. It wasn't like he had anyone stuck to his head this time, or anything.

[From here.]

Since there hadn't been anyone else in the Sun Room when they arrived, Sync figured they were the only ones that managed to get this far this early in the night. The God-General couldn't complain; after all, that meant less people getting in his way.

Still, he entered the Kitchen with the same cautious approach as the other rooms, keeping his eyes wide open in order to catch any sign of movement in the darkness.

"Looks like the coast is clear," Sync announced after a minute, looking over his shoulder at the other two and nodding.

[Running in from here]

Thankfully, that rambling from the Sun Room didn't come through any farther the Cafeteria doors. Half the time, she didn't know whether this building just wanted to annoy her or drive her insane. Either way, they weren't going to get what they wanted, not out of Dahlia Hawthorne.

It'd be a hot day in Heaven when she believed their cheery lies.

But in any case, they were out of the sun room now. Didn't that mean smooth sailing? Last time there wasn't any other pipsqueak in the way to their destination. And really, she could keep hoping there wasn't; if she wanted to see Sync get brutally murdered, she wanted it to be by his own devices, the idiot.

She tightened her grip on his hand and took a frightened glance over at Anise, pulling her flashlight back out to light the way. "What was that?"

Sai changed quickly. Whether he was less emotionally stable that usual or not, he was far better off than he'd been the night before. He would perform the mission required of him tonight. It was nothing that should put anyone's lives at stake, and holing himself up would only decrease his ability to perform his duties later.

The vial of sedative was secured safely in the sweatshirt he used as a makeshift belt. It was important that he got the item to Sakura tonight. They might not get an opportunity to get hold of a replacement if this one was lost.

M90 was in the men's block in the opposite hall. He should make haste so that his teammate wasn't delayed.

[to here]

[From here.]

It didn't strike Peter until he was on the grass and staring at the moon that the last time he'd gone out this way, it had been to collect Harry. The thought was a sobering one to say the least, particularly when he was the only soul on the field. No one but him and the great outdoors. Except replace 'great outdoors' with 'big fat death wish'.

His path remained as close to hugging the building as he could get, and soon disappeared inside once more.

[To here.]

[From here]

After Tyki rounded the corner and headed into the block's main hallway, he paused to lit himself a cigarette. It pretty much sucked that the only time he could actually smoke was during the night thanks to the bothersome staff.

Not to mention they weren't easily to come by, either. Why did Cheating Boy go and disappear before giving him his seven packages? He could've at least waited until after delivering those. Or even after the Noah could got around to finish the job. At least this place had people like Sylar and Miss Shinigami to keep his black side occupied. But with his those bothersome burns, it probably wasn't very smart to pick a fight. Not that he was one of those impulsive warrior-types, but he liked his fun. The thrill of the kill and all that.

At least for now, he had a couple of boring hallways to travel through.

[For Demyx]

[from here]

Lockdown scanned the hallway with his flashlight before entering. Axe poised, the bounty hunter stepped into the long and wide hallway. After taking a brief klik to review his map, Lockdown continued on his way.

Well, at least his optics and processor weren't playing tricks on him like the last night. Although apparently people had suffered much worse that night than he had. Due to his habit of checking the board every chance he got, he'd seen the notices and questions about 'dying' last night. With slag like that going down, Lockdown was more anxious than ever to get out of this Pithole and back in his real body and world.

The day had been slow for L so far, slower than he required: the events of the previous night were traumatic, but they did not outweigh his need for information and a useful way in which to apply whatever he might learn.

When the nurse shepherded him from the cafeteria, through the Sun Room, and over towards the door of the Arts and Crafts Room, he experienced a small internal wince: this was the room where it had happened the night before. Unpleasant, yes, but likely to be irrelevant in terms of my own welfare, except in terms of what I can learn from it, he reminded himself.

He had the impression that he could avoid the room if he wanted to, but there were several convincing reasons to push past his reluctance: his meeting with Lunge was necessary, the opportunity to see the room in more usual circumstances might be valuable, and he did not want the staff to see that he had been affected. He wasn't sure how they were tied to the events of the previous night, but the buzz of information around the Institute suggested some kind of strong connection.

As he stepped into the room, feet feeling imprisoned in the slippers that the staff kept insisting that he wear, he avoided the area where he had collapsed. Instead, he turned to the right and proceeded as far into the room as he could, then left, then took a seat in the back corner.

If the nurses pressed him to be more creative, he would take up painting. However, he expected to express his creativity in other ways.

[For Lunge.]

[from here]

It was quiet so far up here. Sam couldn't see anyone around unlike how it'd been downstairs. Which actually put him in more of his comfort zone, really. Wasn't often they did a hunt while other people were strolling through the halls of what basically amounted to an abandoned building and he could never shake the feeling he needed to clear the area before anything happened. He probably should've gotten used to the patients ambling through by now, but old habits were hard to shake.

He followed Dean into the joining hallway, scanning the rear with his flashlight while Dean looked ahead. The last time they'd gone down this way, they'd come across some spirits on their way out. It hadn't attacked then, but that didn't make it harmless. And from what he'd heard, the dead had made their way here last night, too. At least that didn't look like it was happening again. So far.

Sam cast a side glance at his brother. He was starting to wonder if he was maybe going about this the wrong way, if maybe looking for answers in every place possible wasn't what he was supposed to do considering it'd, you know. Worked out so great the last time. But it was what he was good at. The only thing he knew how to do well that he didn't have to feel guilty about or like it was all gonna go wrong if the scales tipped just a bit off.

[from here]

A sudden wave of fear washed over the Decepticon as his recently-injured foot hit the first step; granted, tonight was, as far as he could tell, no different from any other night here... but the events of the previous evening had had their impact upon him, as it doubtless had on the other patients. Thus, it was with quiet trepidation that he slowly made his way up the two flights of stairs, his back to the inner railing, the flashlight pointed forward with an occasional swing back to the ground floor.

His foot, though no longer in a cast, still ached if he placed too much pressure on it, and though he could walk just fine, he found the branch to serve as an excellent cane in times of particular pain. Perhaps I should fashion this into a proper staff at some point, he mused; it's certainly long enough, and from its heft, it does not appear as if it would break should its mass be decreased to a more manageable amount.

Reaching the top of the stairs after a few tense minutes, Starscream paused, sweeping his light around him. No one here yet, he thought to himself. Rather than stepping into the hall, however, he chose to wait just to the left of the doorway, light shining forward as he slid to a seated position, back to the wall. He held the branch vertically at his side; surely his anonymous companion would not mistake him for someone else now.

The intercom's words grew more and more telling as the day neared its end. Faize now understood that to those running the institute, he and the other captives were the subjects of some sort of reeducation program, one which was responsible for the brainwashing of patients, visitors, and doctors alike. Next Wave, the announcements mentioned often. Whatever it referred to, it seemed important.

Shortly after Faize finished his dinner, the automated voice seemed to malfunction, repeating a single word as though trapped in a loop until the doors finally unlocked. Without hesitation, Faize took his newly copied maps, stuffing them into the waistband of his pants at the back, where they would be out of the way. With his flashlight in hand, he took to the halls.

The moment he stepped out into the hallway, he thought he saw a door on the opposite side of the hall, but after a blink, it was gone. It wasn't unusual for one's eyes to play tricks on them in the dark; when trying to identify obscured objects, the mind often attributed a familiar shape to them, such as a human figure or a face. Perhaps that was what happened just then. It showed that Faize needed to be more focused.

The Eldarian's pause lasted only a second, and soon he was walking again, making his way over to the next hallway.

[to here]

[from here]

Even distracted as he was, Suzaku remembered to stay on his guard as he passed into the main hallway. He would only be here for a moment, but there could still be a monster lurking in the darkness. And it was so quiet and deserted just now that he would make easy prey.

[to here]

[from here]

Raz trudged on forward over to the Sun Room. Still no monsters...

[to here]

[from here]

As he scurried through the corridor, the boy started to notice something was off.

"Where are all the monsters?" Raz wondered aloud. Everyone else was stressing the fact that this was a terrifying place crawling with giant snakes and zombies, but none were to be seen so far.

But then again, that was... probably a good thing.

[to here]

Fresh air, devoid of the foul stench of death, was quite welcome, along with the sun's warmth. It help to distract him from last night's events. The courtyard hadn't been his first choice, but he hadn't had much say in the matter when his nurse cruelly snatched him away from Hinamori, just when she started to warm up to him.

He sat down on the grass and laid against a tree overlooking the pond. The view was marred only by the grim memories of last night.

[Reserved for Faize]