The second the intercom sounded, while the man on the intercom was still talking, Ashton pulled himself off the couch in the Music Room and slowly made his way to the door. He walked, glided even, as if he were a ghost in a dream. The nurses had already filed up to escort the patients to the lunchroom, and one bustled over to walk Ashton those few feet from one room to another.

"You're not looking very well, Mr. Pritchett," she said cheerfully. "Didn't you enjoy your shower?"

Ashton replied with a small, forced smile, then shook his head. He didn't feel like talking now. Though the nurses were pushy and downright annoying, he figured he owed this one at least a little explanation. They didn't know - or didn't believe - what went on after dark, but he owed them the benefit of the doubt. "Bad day," he decided on telling her.

Bad day indeed. The showers and the music had done nothing for his nerves. But then again, what could get that graphic image out of his head?

He glided ghostily through the taco line and settled on two chicken and bean tacos, with chips, a scoop of guacamole, two churros on the side, and a glass of apple juice. He wasn't used to this sort of food (save the juice) and he wasn't even sure he'd eat it, but the chances were high that he'd be able to pass it off on someone.

He was on the verge of tears again, too. What he would have given to just sit down next to a barrel and eat a hamburger.

Thank goodness the cafeteria was bare just now, too. It left all the corner tables open, the tables that shouted 'Don't talk to me, I'm brooding over here.' He sat at one, pushed his food a little away from him, and buried his head in his arms.

Time for lunch.

Nothing new there. It was at the same time, in the same place, but it was far from ordinary today. Sure, it was the Halloween celebration, or whatever the man announcing the daily activities had gone on about, but that was the least of Zexion's concerns. Rather, his attire was his new source of distress.

After showering, he had discovered the plain grey uniform he had become somewhat accustomed to was gone, for the most part. One of the nurses explained his wardrobe change was a gift from his.. family?

That was an astounding lie. He had to wonder, was there really an outside source responsible for all of this, or was it all an excuse to humiliate them?

While grudgingly attempting to puzzle out the costume, he asked every question he could think of concerning his 'family'-- what were their names, where did they live, what did they look like, etc. Sadly, all of his inquiries were cheerily brushed off, and he was led away to the cafeteria once he had dressed himself.

Naturally, he was not pleased once he arrived, looking like.. some.. humanoid penguin-dolphin thing in a beige coat.

Ugh. The shame.

As Ginji was ushered through the halls towards the cafeteria he felt a little dizzy. He felt like something was very, very wrong but he wasn't sure what. It wasn't just the fact that he had woken up in the middle of some strange place, or the fact that Ban was no where to be found. Something else was wrong. Something important. Something that he should be noticing but wasn't. He was sure that if Ban was here his partner would have figured it out a long time ago, but Ginji was at a loss. He realized he should be asking questions, demanding to know things, but by the time he opened his mouth to ask anything the smells of foods distracted him.

"Can I really have all the stuff the voice on the speaker was talking about?" he asked the nurse. He found it hard to believe that he could have eggs and waffles and sausage and fruit and cereal. That and he could have milk or juice instead of just water. He tried to remember the last time he had eaten so much. Probably one of those rare occasions that he and Ban didn't lose all their money before they could spend it. His mouth was drooling at the thought. That much food... all at once. It was like a dream. This had to be a dream. That would explain why he felt so out of it, so sluggish.

The nurse nodded and then handed Ginji a plate. He took it and, still not entirely sure that he was really going to be able to eat all of this, began putting food onto it, cherishing every item like it was platinum.

When he made it to the table he sat down and looked at the piles of food he had picked out. He looked at the fork he had also grabbed a little curiously before stabbing at some eggs. Strange. He brought the breakfast to his mouth and cautiously took a small bite.

It was really good!

Suddenly Ginji seemed to be a master at using the fork to shovel massive amounts of food into his mouth as quickly as possible. It was all so good and tasty! He completely forgot that he was in a strange place and that it was probably a bad idea to eat the food they gave him. It felt very good to be able to eat and eat and eat. He didn't even take a moment to realize that Ban wasn't there to steal what he was eating.

(Coming from here)

Knife at the ready, Hughes re-entered the hospital. He knew Haru was right behind him, armed and ready to head into... whatever they were heading into. He paused a moment, inside the door, to let his eyes readjust to the darkness of Landels.

"I wish I knew where the damned courtyard was." He turned to glance over his shoulder, a pained expression on his face. He had no idea where to go, or what to do other than just open doors and hope for the best. And he somehow doubted that Haru had a better idea. Or that anyone would have a better idea, really.

"We'll do what we can. You set?"

(Coming from here.)

Haru approached the door cautiously, having moved ahead of the others. Pausing to listen for any sounds, he waited for a moment, but all was quiet, except the faint sound of voices of the others down the hall behind him. Not waiting for them to catch up, he reached out and tested the handle. It turned easily and he pushed the door open.

Fresh night air greeted him, cool on his skin as he blinked into the darkness beyond. It was outside. Really outside. There was no way it was that easy. Wasn't there supposed to be bleeding walls and things waiting to kill them?

Although that didn't mean outside was safe, either. Clicking off his flashlight, he took a step further, moving out of the building, waiting and listening.

Haru woke slowly, feeling disoriented and very thirsty. The past day or two had passed in feverish dreams and vague snatches of memories. He'd been aware of a nurse in the room once or twice, but other than that, he had no real recollection of what had gone on or how much time had passed. The dark room, however, left little question about what time it was now and instinctively, he groped under his pillow for his flashlight.

Staggering to his feet, Haru caught his balance, his legs slightly shaky beneath him as his stomach let out a protesting growl and a demand for food. There was a tray on the nightstand, untouched and holding more food than they normally handed out here, which made him curious and just a bit wary. He snagged an apple from the tray and bit into it before checking under the bed and reaching for the metal rail he'd managed to keep since his first night here before grabbing his robe out of the closet and opening his door.

And blinked at the plain wall across the hall. Hadn't there been a door there before? Had the hospital gone all wonky again while he was sick? He shined his flashlight up and down the hallway, trying to catch his bearings before he set out and seeing if he could spot a familiar face anywhere.