[From here.]

They appeared in the same area as they always did when they transported, but a different part of it. As Guy found his feet unsteadily settle on the other bank of the shore, where the ferryman had taken them the night before, he almost stumbled right into the lapping water of the lake. He stopped himself up, sucking in a breath as he came face-to-face with one of those drowned ghouls.

Guy regained his balance, backed away, and then glanced at the torches that only sort of lit the way into the tunnel where they would be heading next. It was just as dark and mysterious as it had been last night, but they couldn't let some apprehension stop them now.

"Well, at least that ferryman kept his word," Guy said. "No toll, no crossing the river, we're just... here." Which meant that they probably shouldn't waste any time seeing where the tunnel led.

[From here.]

Harvey stepped out of the block and then took the usual right down the hall, pondering over the coming challenge as he went. While he, Sangamon, and Scott had successfully passed that trial last night, it hadn't led to anything. Had they made a misstep somewhere? Or was there more that they had to do? They were going to have to try and get answers out of that damn skeleton again.

Speaking of which, the toll would be going to Sangamon tonight. Harvey wondered what he'd end up choosing. He figured it was between touch and voice, but it wasn't really his problem.

On one hand, Harvey was getting sick of going down into that dank cavern every night. On the other, it was good to always know what he was doing when the doors unlocked. He just hoped that all of this effort actually led somewhere.

[To here.]

[In M63]

Despite the nurses efforts to 'wake him up' he still felt as sluggish as before. The little bite of food he'd ventured during dinner just made his stomach twist more unpleasantly but he willed himself to keep it down. He couldn't just go a day without eating, that would only make things worse.

He knew he had to get up. He had to meet Tolten and get back to the X-Ray room maybe, this time, the clue they found wouldn't result in them arguing the night away. Besides, the sooner he got moving the sooner they could get there and the sooner they might be able to find a cure to make this feeling go away.

He just hoped his friend was doing better than he was, if they were both in this state, they might not be getting anywhere tonight. As it was, Locke had only gotten so far as thinking that he should get up. Hell, sitting up would be an improvement, but all he'd managed was to dig the heels of his palms into his eyes as if that might relieve his pounding head.

It wasn't doing a very good job.

When the cheery jingle sounded over the speakers, the Head Doctor could be heard humming a song that suspiciously sounded like pieces of "Superstar" from today's movie. Then, as if realizing people were listening, he abruptly cleared his throat.

"Good evening, patients!" he greeted after a quick recovery. "I do hope everyone had a pleasant day. And what better way to end things than with a scrumptious steak dinner? We'll be including fries on the side, as well as offering our usual assortment of water, milk, and juices. Of course, we also carry vegetarian options for those of you who don't eat meat. Enjoy!"

The intercom turned off, leaving the nurses to escort patients to their rooms.

((Please make all dinner threads under this post with your character's room number in the subject line. For updated roommate assignments, refer to the latest Lounge Post. Thanks!))

By the time the darkness fell and the strange fluxing of air swept across the buses, Tolten still wasn't certain what was going on. Only that there was some problem with the final bus, and that they had been waiting to resume.

Of course now it was very certain that there would be no return trip tonight. Whatever the implications of that were, the young king had no idea. Nor did he spare a thought to it. Rather he found himself lurching to his feet and losing his lunch in the empty seat space behind him.

It was the only reaction his body could offer to what he saw unfold before his eyes, a twisted carnival show of gore and depravity the likes of which he had never imagined. Even the creatures in the sewers were less violent and torturous than this!

He knew he didn't have time for pity or wonderment as to whether or not the staff was always like that, under the surface, but his mind was slow to follow. He could only stare, shaking, his mind buzzing with fear and disgust and sorrow.

This was simply wrong!

[For Locke!]

[From Here]

Of course, as soon as he thought about what Tolten could be planing for the night, Locke's thoughts went to Edgar's comments on the board; not for the first time since Tolten's post, Locke found himself silently cursing his friend's teasing. 'What if he's right' was a thought that plagued Locke as he entered the main hall and turned left towards the hall that would take him to Tolten's room.

He just had to keep himself calm and ignore those thoughts. Surely that's not what Tolten had meant...besides, from what Locke could tell, his friend had wanted time to think everything over-which was fine-and it had only been a bit over one day so...

Locke decided he was going to have to find some way to get back at Edgar for messing with his head like this. Maybe if his head wasn't so fuzzy this whole thing wouldn't be as confusing.

[To Here]

Even after dinner and mostly resting on his bed for the final shift of the day, Locke wasn't feeling any better. His face was still warm and, if he made any quick movements, the room would spin; his hope that this was just fatigue was quickly fading away and the announcements Landel made did nothing to ease him.

Not that the creep's announcements were ever anything to feel happy about.

The treasure hunter slipped on the boots from the military outfit, the only thing he was willing to put on from that thing, and headed out as soon as the doors clicked open. He didn't really know what Tolten had planned but he figured preparing as usual was his best option.



[To Here]

He'd spent his time during second shift in the Sun Room observing, primarily, the nurses. He'd been hoping to spot something, anything, that could point to where he'd need to look for those keys. Disappointingly, he'd come up with nothing. Not that that really surprised Locke too much. It wasn't likely they'd keep something like that out in the open where just anyone could find it.

He'd have to dig around a bit more. And that had been his intentions for lunch, until he'd started feeling...off. At first, he'd been able to ignore it, but as the shift wore on, he could feel his face warming like when he'd spend too much time out in the sun and he just didn't want to be around as many people as there were in the Sun room.

So, he'd made his 'escape' to the only place that sounded good: the Green House. He'd always felt better with nature and this was no exception. Although the 'offness' didn't go away, he was able to concentrate on the plants and the quiet, which helped.

Hopefully, once he got more than the few bites of sugary pancakes he'd had that morning into his system, he'd start to feel more normal.



[Robin]

[From Here]

The moment they were both through the doorway, Locke let Tolten go and went to close the doors. Perhaps it wouldn't have any affect. Who knew what that thing could do, but it felt more secure than leaving them wide open like an invitation. Once they were shut and the hall outside disappeared from sight, the treasure hunter pressed his back against it. Again, maybe it wasn't the most effective way to block doors, but it was better than nothing.

Besides, for all he knew this thing hated doors. There were stranger things. This was turning into one hell of a night.

Locke had nearly choked on his food with how fast he'd eaten it so that he could jot some notes in his journal and get ready for when the doors unlocked and he could head out to meet with Tolten. It almost felt like a race at this point which, considering his track record for success the last few nights, it sort of was. But tonight would be different; he was sure of it. They had a new plan and a direction to go, it renewed his hope.

Even if it wasn't a knife, Locke would be able to get a weapon and be a lot more useful during these night-time hours. That was what he was going to believe. Grabbing the flashlight and the 'tools' he'd managed to swipe through out the day, the treasure hunter dashed out the door the second he heard that click.


[To here]

[from here]

Still nothing out of the ordinary here. Soma kept jogging, keeping her eyes peeled for any movement in the shadows ahead.


[to here]

Loki wasn't entirely thrilled about returning to the recreation field, though he supposed it would be nicer during the day. And without the annoying presence of Riku. Some fresh air would likely do him good; that was what Sif and Thor had always claimed right before they dragged him out of the library.

He wasn't entirely certain if that was a pleasant thought or not. It was still far too mixed up and painful.

He was allowed to go back to his room and pull out every bit of warm clothing he had, bundling up as much as he could. As he followed the nurse out into the field, he also wondered if this meant he would miss out on the greenhouse, since he'd arranged to meet Soma after lunch. That had priority, of course, but he did find plants interesting. At least it was good to know there were activities they were forced to participate in during the day that weren't as horrifically painful as, say, what the music room would indicate.

Good to know that as prisons went, it wasn't all just torture, torture, torture. Some variation was good for the mind.

He wandered along the crunchy, dead grass, for now steering clear of the few other patients. The air felt much better during the day, smelled much better to him as well as he sniffed at it. even if it was cold enough to make his nose hurt. It reminded him uncomfortably of Jotunheim, and...

But at least here, there was sunlight. He wasn't trapped in that dark place as sometimes was in his nightmares.

Loki stopped about halfway down the field, tilting his head back to take in the thin sunlight, his eyes slipping shut.

[Here, angel angel angel... :D Castiel!]

[From here]

Down this corridor, out to the patio, and then through two more doors and they'd be in. He could see the map in his head and they were so close. Assuming nothing happened between here and the kitchen...there was a chance, and that made him all the more hopeful.

Perhaps, now, something could be accomplished and he would actually be able to protect the people he traveled with rather than hope he didn't get in the way.

"How long have you been here, then?" Long enough to think being hopeful was strange. But how long that took just depended on the person, really.

[From here]

Once through the door, Tolten turned, not taking much note of the room other than to note they were indeed in an eating area of sorts. His heart was still beating wildly from the thing outside, and he doubted the rest of their way would be devoid of problems. This place was a nightmare!

But they were proving quite capable of making it through whatever was thrown at them. He was glad to have Locke with him, and fighting at his side. He was a good man, and proving to be a good friend. A man needed that in a place like this.

And now he wanted to make sure his friend was safe as well.

[Coming from here.]

Daemon slipped from the hallway and into the stairwell, starting the climb to the second floor. His gaze searched the shadows and he'd made no more than three steps up when he went carefully still, holding up a hand to halt Renji as well. The chittering came from above their heads, quiet but definitely there, the sound familiar enough to send a chill down Daemon's spine.

"Above," he whispered in warning, moving quickly to the landing to put the wall at his back.

Renji walked with purpose down the hall, though he wasn't in enough of a hurry to flashstep yet. He had to have somewhere he wanted to go first. Of course the idea that sprang instantly to mind was easily summed up as an equation: INSTITUTE + HIHIOU ZABIMARU = BOOM = :-D

However, that would need to wait until, for example, there weren't people he liked in the institute. And even with the Shinigami gone, he was sure there were people he liked around. Sora and Kairi sprang instantly to mind. So how to work that out? And he was sure there were other people around that had their own brand of kidou that could blow some shit up in a way that would paste a permanent smile on his face.

Organizing. That organizing thing needed to happen. And fast.

Anise couldn't get out of the Cafeteria fast enough. The stench of rotted food was overwhelming, and she was starting to feel sick. Most of her nausea came from seeing the people around her eating it, though. Even her friends! Anise didn't know what to do... What if lunch ended up being the same?

The Sun Room didn't feel like it was nearly far enough from all the rot, and Anise was convinced she could still smell it even after leaving the Cafeteria. She considered ducking into that blanket fort to get away from it (wait, blanket fort?), but decided distance was a better buffer than a pile of sheets and cushions (but seriously, blanket fort?). After giving the bulletin a quick look-over (No one had said anything about the food yet. It wasn't just her, was it...?) she decided to duck into the Library. With her privileges, Anise probably could have run off to wherever she wanted, but she figured it would be too boring to do that if she wouldn't have anyone to talk to.

Come to think of it, Anise hardly ever came to the Library, even though she liked reading. It just never felt like there was enough time to read. The first and last time she came was the day she had that fight with Aidou. She wondered how he was doing. Maybe it was about time they made up...

The last time she came, she'd been looking up Earth myths and legends. Anise wandered back to that section, looking over the rows of books as she considered giving that another shot.

While she stood there, her stomach growled, and she set a hand on it with a groan. "Like I could even stomach a meal right now..."

[Tear.]

[From here]

The young king thanked Locke silently for holding open the door as he threw himself through, hoping that his assumption had been right. There had been none of that poison - whether it was literal or figurative - in the hall before the Sun Room, why would it be in the mess hall? Unless....

No. There were too many 'what ifs' and 'might bes'. Now was hardly the time to ruminate on them all! Cursing his stupid brain, Tolten sank down to his knees beyond the door of the Sun Room. He didn't care at the moment that they'd nearly reached their destination. He turned and looked through bleary eyes for Locke, praying the other man was right on his heels. He'd go back and retrieve him, if need be - Locke had gotten a stronger dose of the poison - but he rather hoped that he didn't have to.

What sort of place did this? Why?

"What...?" It was all he could manage. What madness ruled this place in truth?!?!

[From Here]

As they made their way down the hall way and to the doors of the Sun Room, Locke couldn't help but feel a little creeped out by how the place looked at night. It wasn't like anything had really changed, but, the shadows and silence made it seem a lot more eery than it did during the day.

Really, it wasn't even like the place itself was scary at all, but, the thought that he might miss something in the dark while unarmed and without magic made him more paranoid than he liked. He trusted Tolten to be able to handle himself, the man even said he was a knight, so Locke wasn't overly concerned there. However, if something did attack, he didn't want to be the unarmed-burden that needed protecting either.

To say the thief was 'on-guard' was a huge understatement. "All right....shall we?" Locke asked, opening the door and stepping in as quietly as possible.

[From here.]

He set off, a little man with a toothpick and a flashlight, past his room's hallway and into the adjoining one. To be frank, he hadn't really cared where Castiel was cooped up before. Of course the lack of knowledge was going to bite him in the ass. Big surprise there. While he didn't intend to stand in the hallway all night, leaning next to the bathroom door, he could stay long enough to make sure Michael wasn't going to pass by on an innocent route to exploration.

Besides, he was probably having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that the doors unlocked when night hit. It was too bad he wasn't going to have a fun power-trip via intercom to contend with in his logical, human mind as well. That would've been amusing.