Matt was leading the way to the grocery store; it was easy to tell what was what here, thankfully. A really simple town, so far as he could tell, and the best bet he had here from the looks of it was the grocery store.

If they didn't have his smokes, he was screwed.

Mello could follow as long as he wanted. It wasn't like Matt was going to just fall over without a moment's notice; no, he'd been zombified, but not much else seemed out of the ordinary today. No voices were constantly rambling in his head, no little angels or devils making a cozy little workspace out of his shoulders. He wasn't seeing things that weren't there, and he wasn't in dire need of swallowing a couple fresh brains.

He didn't feel like a total zombie, at least. He still had his good old nicotine craving, after all.

Which was refusing to take a backseat any longer. It had been at least a good twenty-four hours since his last cigarette, and Matt felt like he was going insane. His right hand wouldn't quit twitching, and his irritability was meeting its all-time max; he wasn't sure how much longer he could go around letting Mello hover over him without ripping someone's head off.

So inside the grocer's he went, glancing behind him at the blond he figured was planning to follow him around all day. "Coming?"

Getting to check up on Neku had been good (even though Sora realized that he was the one who'd been approached, rather than doing the approaching), but when the buses finally made their way through the snow and into the town, the boy was completely distracted by the view that followed. It really did remind him of Christmastown. There were no lights up and he wasn't going to stumble on Santa's factory anytime soon, but it was still beautiful and he couldn't wait to get out into it.

So, the moment that the bus came to a halt, Sora waved a goodbye to Neku, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder for a moment as reassurance before he made his way down the aisle and eventually out the door and into the cold weather.

Sucking in a breath, he spun in a slow circle and grinned to himself. It was so pretty out here! And there was a whole thick layer of untouched snow that was just asking to be played in. Sora realized that his priority should have been finding a place where he could spend the twenty-five dollars he'd been given, he figured he'd have all day to work that out. Right now, he wanted to make the best of this weather, since he doubted it was going to be like this next week.

And so without delay he headed across the street and right into Magus Park. It also occurred to him that he'd finally broken his pattern of being injured whenever he came to town, which meant he had all the freedom to play around as he wanted.

The first order of business was making one of those snow angels that he'd learned about; it would be way easier than trying to make a snowman, he was guessing. Making use of the winter clothes he'd been given, the boy threw himself on the ground and started to fan out his arms and legs.

Maybe he was the leader of the Arts and Crafts club and maybe he'd fought against the Heartless and almost all of the Organization members during his journeys, but sometimes Sora just felt the need to be a kid again.

[For Tsubaki.]

Though five days without bathing was hardly unusual for Rita, she was actually looking forward to showering today. To her, the last shift had been somewhat enjoyable, if only because it allowed her an opportunity to be alone with her thoughts for a bit. Of course, she couldn't be completely alone in the communal showers, but no one was rude enough to disturb her in there, which was good enough for her.

Once the shift was over, she re-applied the bandages on her leg and knee, dressed herself, and made her way to the cafeteria. The pain in her knee seemed to lessen as the day progressed, and her slight limp became less noticeable to herself. Hopefully it wouldn't impede her much come nightfall.

Upon entering the cafeteria, however, Rita found that she had more immediate problems to deal with. What was that slop they were serving?

Deaf to her complaints, a soldier quickly ushered her into the line for the pink gruel. While waiting, Rita became aware of a section in the room where edible food was being served... but apparently only to selected patients. Whose butt did they have to kiss to get that treatment?

After receiving her "meal" (using the word very loosely), Rita found an empty area to sit in. There, she made no move for her utensils, but instead glared at the plate of mush as if the food itself had somehow wronged her.

[For Woody]

[ from here ]

Either she was the only unlucky person to experience a freezing shower, or she just hadn't built up the tolerance for it that the more seasoned patients had. Whichever it was, she was the first person into the sun room and while normally she wouldn't mind that, the soldiers were majorly creepy and she was kind of hoping for some kind of buddy system thing to be established to minimize the creep factor.

No such luck, apparently.

With one shifty look around the room at the soldiers positioning themselves strategically and then a glance upstairs to see if the doctors and nurses were lurking -- they weren't, which was possibly even more unsettling than when they were -- she beelined for the bulletin board to scribble a worried note.

Four days since she'd showered meant three since last seeing Elle around. That didn't bode well for anything, especially considering the last time they'd talked it was about just how dangerous Sylar really was to her. If she was dead -- Claire had promised Peter that they'd keep her safe, this was just about the furthest from safe you could get. And it would definitely add up to why she'd been able to safely run into Peter the previous night without slamming straight into Sylar when they were shacked up in the same hallway. Obviously, he'd been busy carving Elle up like a pumpkin with his brain.

So, she stuck the note up on the board and then tried to hover around a couch until she found something to do with herself. The anxiety wasn't going to get her anywhere anytime soon, but hopefully someone would show up with information on where the blonde had been those past couple days (an answer that involved intense actual therapy rather than implant things in your brain therapy would be preferred, but as long as no one was getting mutilated, she couldn't complain) and if not hopefully someone could just distract her from that impending sense of massive failure that was threatening to cause a nuclear meltdown of feelings in her brain.

[ free ]

With sigh that toed the ambiguous no-mans-land between soft and explosive, Yuffie collected a plateful of waffles with all the toppings. She was sure that, if nothing else, it'd making a pretty satisfying splat if—when?—she launched it at somebody's face, and that was all that counted.

"Hanna, isn't that a little much?" Plucky asked, doubtfully.

"Uhhm. No. About, like... a little while ago, I managed five caramel apple pies with ice cream and berries and, y'know, I think there was a gallon of soda involved at some point." It wasn't the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. There really had been five caramel apple pies, but Cloud had ended up wearing two and a half and the third had taken a vacation to Boobsville (Tifa had loved it. Really. Really). The moral of the story (as she'd told Marlene and Denzel later) was that anything was game, just as long as you could run fast enough afterwards.

The nurse nodded slowly. "I… suppose. Well, I'll leave you to it. See that you behave, won't you, dear? You need to set a good example for the new batch of patients."

"My examples are the best examples," Yuffie proclaimed, with the dark-bright grin that still came so easily, no matter how little she felt really felt it. It lingered even when the nurse had flitted off to deal with another charge, but there was an edge to it. What the edge was, Yuffie couldn't say. Didn't want to say, after what'd gone down last night. Nah, she had better things to do; things like sitting down and waiting, just waiting, for Cloud or some other sucker of an easy target to walk through the door.

[HARLEY HARTWELL o/]

The mines tonight. Indy dressed quickly in his usual clothes and picked up his flashlight, machete and whip. He added his journal and a pen to one jacket pocket, so he could map the area as they went. Thinking of the minotaur from the other night, he was half-tempted to bring a ball of string, but of course he didn't have one. The journal would just have to be enough.

He took a last glance around the room to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then headed for the door. He had a lot of ground to cover before morning. Better get started.

[to here]

[To here]

"Made it..." She whispered triumphantly as she walked quietly into the dark and quiet hallway first. It was hard to decide where the best place would be to stand since once others began to flood in, Asuka could easily be overshadowed by the taller adults. "Hmmm..." The best she could guess was to hug the opposite wall by the doorway and hope she would pick out the two members once they entered.

Remember, Asuka, you aren't the veteran here.

This wasn't NERV anymore. She had no one under her to display her impressive and extensive training to. The redhead was a newbie like the ones she was going to be working with, though perhaps a bit more intelligent. This first mission was important for popularity's sake. She needed to play nice for now, gauge their strengths and weaknesses until she knew who she could topple the easiest.

[Waiting on Agatha and Zevran]

[From here]

"Ah...!" This wasn't the right hallway yet, but he could tell it was close from the fresh smell of patients off in the distance. He continued to jog briskly down the hallway, making sure to control his breathing so he didn't get winded so easily. There would be a lot of running (he hoped, at least) this night and it would be good for him to return to his basics in order to ration his stamina. Unfortunately, honing his stamina did nothing for his irregularly terrible night vision. Out of nowhere, he bumped into the wall beside him, squawking like a bird at the sudden impact.

"Jeez..." At least he only got hit on his forehead, that was the thickest part of him really. Keeping one small hand on the side of the hallway for safety, he continued forward, grumbling softly.

Asuka had almost missed the eerie, parting words of the head doctor as she hustled around her room. Everything had been eaten so she would have plenty of energy to burn all night. Her roommate never returned to the room, which was more than fine with Asuka. It gave her free reign to bustle around their compact prison cell, grabbing her baseball bat from the wardrobe against the wall, as well as her red jersey Junpei had given her. She wrinkled her nose every time she saw it, but it was her favorite shade of red. It made her stand out and that was very important. The eva pilot also remembered to take along her radio this time after Okita had stressed how important it was.

Since there had yet to be any regular pattern from the nurses suddenly walking in after dinner was handed out, Asuka was confident her preparation would not be discovered. True, her roommate could walk in any minute along with her resident vulture, but the head doctor's broadcast was already running. It wasn't likely she was here any longer. It was the same superficial yammering as the night before and the night before that, so the redhead didn't bother paying much attention. The institute grew silent and dark soon after as Asuka tugged her jersey on over her regular uniform. It was in her struggle that she heard the strange chuckle and the ominous message thereafter.

Well, it was either for them or for another person in his office. Either way, it seemed this night might get interesting. It was hard to manage, but Asuka successfully grabbed her flashlight, radio, and baseball bat before leaving her room for the main hallway.

[To here]

[from here]

It was a race. A fight against patience and a Song's call. Still, the sedation's dredges churned through him. Two close at hand had a potent effect--much like the night that they were left in that town, and the morning after. Rubedo had came then. Came for them like something out of place, and wasn't that so ironic afterwards--when Albedo knew what he knew now? How many times would a twin appear to abandon him to harshly? How many times would Rubedo make promises only to break them--tear them to pieces like he did Albedo--in the perfectly precise way of those who knew how to break you down because they knew you so perfectly.

Was that how Rubedo had killed him? Or had Albedo forced him to it? His twin wouldn't say before, and asking now was too much like dead blood rotting in veins--he no longer cared, no longer needed to know how easily it was for his twin to rip him asunder. How joyous Rubedo must have been. If that night was any hint, his twin hated him with a passion to rival man's hatred toward god. And wasn't it the same. This. In ways it was the same. An existence meted out, for what it's worth, and then you were simply trapped in it. Trapped in it and stuck stagnant where you were, bound by that other, unless you forced your hatred forward to strike down the other.

To kill god? It seemed too quaint to entertain.

Be it that he woke as the last shift was ending, Albedo had been escorted to the cafeteria early. He took what was offered without a word, sat in the back without a sound, and sipped at the water put in front of him politely; a hand curled around the cup lightly, fingers loose. Eyes burned into the entrance--for Nigredo or Rubedo, either would suffice. The doubt that his twin would come to him was faulty--to ignore them for a week and then vanish as if they were nothing spoke of only distain, whatever Nigredo chose to believe. The eldest of them hated them both. This was truth. The only truth that Rubedo had shown Albedo, in thought, word, action, and deed, in the two weeks that they had shared here.

So Rubedo was to kill him. Well. Never say Albedo accepted his destiny. Yes, he would die by his twin's hand. But first he would rip Rubedo's throat out, claw out his eyes and press them into his beloved's mouth--see the lies you spew--lift his tenderly beating heart for all to see and then crush it.

This, Rubedo, is what you've done to me.

[...for the twin.]

How one's body could maintain a waking schedule when sleep came unnaturally and in a room without windows, must surely be a mystery. Yet, as if working on cue, Natalia stirred well before her nurse arrived. That was normal. Less so, the weight that sought to press her eyelids closed again, the heaviness of her limbs that made lifting her hands to her face an effort. She put her wrist to her forehead with a frown, then attempted a jolt of energy – to swiftly dig her hands into the mattress and shove herself into a seated position, and from there, to her feet.

Not to overexert herself once again, but to refuse that it could be possible after sleeping. Happily, though all still felt leaden, her head did not swim. Encouraged, Natalia put on her slippers, rearranged the bedding, and waited. There came the announcement (reminding her, suddenly, of what she had last heard, and the guilt that had twisted in her gut, Jill--), and her face wrinkled with disgust at the hacking sound. Therapy and breakfast. Food would surely help.

Natalia did not wait long before her nurse opened the door, and after exchanging cursory “Good Morning”s (with rather more enthusiasm on the other woman's part), they began the walk to the Cafeteria. With, of course, the essential rest room stop, where water was splashed and scrubbed over her face, and her hair toyed with to no great satisfaction. At least the shower had renewed its body.

Separating in the Cafeteria, Natalia took her place in line and loaded her plate: eggs, fruit salad, fried “tater tots” (potatoes?), and curious meat wrapped in cooked dough. Some of everything, with juice and water. She thanked her servers, collected utensils and napkins, and found a seat at an empty table. It was early yet.

Sparing a brief look around to be sure no one she recognized had arrived – though she remained eager to greet every patient, at the moment she chose to focus on the possible strength gained from the meal – Natalia began to cut up the items and eat with a refined gusto. Entirely possible!

[Claude!]

[M11]

After dreading the arrival of night through the entire dinner shift it was almost a relief to hear Landel's self-important evening announcement; the content was somewhat unusual, certainly, though Yue knew little of the woman Jill and had just as little reason to care. Even if he had wished to focus on her predicament, however, his attention was quickly drawn to his own situation. As he'd spent the day in his false form, night meant the involuntary return to the true -- something he'd not wanted to display to anyone, much less one as unfamiliar and distant as his current roommate.

But it wasn't as though the Institute gave him anything so simple as a choice, so even as the door unlocked golden light traced an intricate circle at Yukito's feet; at the same time a glow sprang to life at his back, lifting and expanding to take the form of great wings which wrapped around him in a white-feathered cocoon. After but a moment they spread again to reveal the guardian's true form, his expression set with icy irritation. Without either word or look at his roommate, Yue took up his flashlight and turned away, moving to the door as quickly as dignity would allow. If he simply left quickly enough it would prevent any unwanted questions... for now.

[to here]

[In M93]

Heiji hid under the covers until his roommate left, dinner untouched, hands clamped over his ears. He had been pretending to sleep all throughout dinner, but in reality he'd just been listening to the wet footprints run the length of the room. It was looking for him, it had to be. But why could he hear it through his hands?

He couldn't go out like this, he was going to kill Himura, he knew it. Someone was going to get hurt, at the very least. Honestly, he didn't know if he could stand both survivor's guilt and hurting someone else against his will.

Though the idea was that no one would have to be hurt. Himura might be able to keep him in check. He might be worrying over nothing.

He might snap Himura's neck from behind.

The Sun Room was dark when Taura re-entered it; her eyes adjusted quickly, but not quickly enough to avoid one of the 'techs coming over to talk to her.

"Were you going to join us for the movie, Kitty?" she asked, waving a hand at what appeared to be a 2-D projector screen.

"Movie?" This was, apparently, the wrong question to ask, as the woman's face fell into a moue of practiced disappointment.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, Kitty." Doing what, exactly, was something 'Kitty' was evidently supposed to know. Then the screen flicked on, and some sort of advertisement was playing while a staffer adjusted the volume. Oh. The term was unfamiliar, but entertainment hadn't changed that much.

"I mean, er, what movie is it?" Taura rumbled, keeping her voice low so as not to interrupt. That must have been the right question; the woman brightened back up and started explaining.

"King Kong!" she said, clearly expecting a reply. Then she sighed, and continued. "It's about a giant ape, brought back from an exploration," she began. "It's also a love story -- oh, just trust me. It's a classic."

"The ape falls in love?" That sounded a little outré, at least by Institute standards of entertainment. Not by Jacksonian ones, but those Taura had been just as pleased to leave behind.

"Oh, nothing like that. Well, the ape does fall in love -- but it's just a beast. Why, Fay Wray doesn't even come up to its waist." Taura blinked at her again. What did height have to do with it, anyway? She was leaning, just a little, without even realizing it. Perhaps looming would be a better word. The 'tech blinked back, and then finally the penny dropped. "Oh...oh. Maybe it wouldn't be to your taste, dear." And with that, she scurried off to adjust a chair that was already facing the screen quite adequately. Taura sighed, and slipped through the gathering crowd to the bulletin board.

[Zack]

[M16]

Edgar made note of the intercom's nightly message. Visitors. He'd heard the prisoners received them on occasion, but hadn't put much thought into the matter. There were more pressing concerns at the moment.

"I've not had much opportunity to try escaping yet," he told Gren as he thumbed through his journal, taking note of the supplies he still needed. "Even if we could, there's still the matter of getting back to our individual homelands. It can't be as easy as leaving this place and finding a ship headed in the right direction. It's even more complicated for those who claim to be from different times entirely."

Then there was what he'd seen on the board- stories of patients being "released," as the nursemaids put it. Edgar doubted the validity of being "released" by the institution as a method of escape. It was more likely those who had been removed from the ranks had been killed, or perhaps had submitted to the brainwashing they were trying to-

The machinist froze as his mind entertained a dark thought. Celes. Her words just the day before had reflected someone who was ready to give up, her spirit more than battered from its long battle with imprisonment. If Luxord could disappear without notice...

He rose from his chair, the metal scraping against the floor slightly. Pulling the desk drawer open, he took his light and radio. "You'll have to forgive me, Gren, but there's something important I have to check." He looked over his shoulder at the other man, feeling a little guilty for leaving him with little explanation of the situation into which he'd been thrust. Edgar had been there himself once, and not everyone had enough skill in combat to defend themselves. "It might be best that we stick together for this evening. This place is more dangerous than it seems during the night."

Even with the nasty weather, Zack still felt refreshed after going outside. Humidity would have reminded him of Gongaga, but he wasn't sure he needed that. Not now, not when he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to get back home and see his parents again. Not that he should have the chance at all, but it was hard to think about nonetheless. Seeing how Gaia hadn't even gotten a rocket into space yet, the idea of figuring out how to get home was one huge question mark in Zack's head.

He already felt hungry again, but after his talk with Aidou the soldier knew that he needed to get that bulletin note up as soon as possible. For that reason, he gave the nurse who was currently herding him his best pleading eyes as he asked to be taken into the Sun Room for a quick second. Once there, he scribbled out a note as fast as he could (he hoped his friends would be able to read his writing) and then tacked it up.

Also, what was with the guy on the intercom all of a sudden? Had he gotten a spontaneous cold? It seemed ridiculous considering he was their captor, but it also meant he was at least somewhat human. He could get a stuffy nose. That meant he was probably weak in other ways.

But there he was, resorting to violence again. It was difficult not to, when that was what he was used to. Besides, Zack was getting the feeling that this Landel guy deserved it.

Shrugging to himself, he entered the cafeteria again and got in line for his lunch. He had to admit he was glad that the food didn't seem to be drugged, seeing how it was downright delicious. Zack got a whiff of the fried poultry as it was put onto his tray and let out a happy sigh. Chow time!

Seeing how the cafeteria was still pretty empty, the young man found the closest empty spot and then sat down. Hopefully one of his friends would spot him and head on over. For now, though, Zack picked up one of the pieces of meat, bit into it, and leaned back into his chair with a content look on his face. So much better than the slop Shin-Ra had called food...

[For Tobias! Let us know if you want to join.]

It took quite some time for Anise to figure out how to open the flashlight and replace the batteries within, but eventually she had the device working again. Once that was done, she began to prepare for the night. When she opened the closet and looked around, she found just what she was looking for: shoes. There were boots too, which was kind of tempting, but she supposed the running shoes would be better for running and jumping in.

After tying those on, the girl took a pillowcase from her bed, rolled it into a tiny ball, and then crammed it into the small sack on Tokunaga's back. If that town outside of the institute turned out to have anything useful or valuable in it, she'd have a sack she could use. If it really was just a pile of ruins, then chances were that everything was free to take!

It was at that time that the nighttime announcements came on, opening with a creepy laugh from the Head Doctor. And... was he talking about Jill? It had been so long since Anise had heard anything about that woman, so that was unexpected. For a moment, the girl considered bringing a radio with her tonight, but remembering how much trouble its clues had caused her before, she decided against it.

Forget the radio. Exploring was more important. As soon as the doors unlocked, Anise stepped outside her room, but immediately paused just outside the door. That broadcast had been pretty distracting; she didn't forget anything, did she? She had her meat tenderizer in one hand, flashlight in the other, and Tokunaga on her back...

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]

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.]