If she were honest, Yukari would have said she had no idea what a "sun room" was supposed to entail. She didn't ask, though, because by the time she had finished asking all the more important questions (which still weren't getting answered in any way that made sense), Yukari was getting rather fed up with all the nonsense her accompanying nurse was trying to feed her. It was all 'getting better this', despite insisting on the contrary, and 'your family is worried about you that', which was ridiculous considering the conversation she had with her mother the previous night actually went fairly well, considering-- and she was the only family Yukari had nearby.

She tried to be patient, but not long after she exited the room she woke up in the exasperation was becoming fairly apparent on the girl's face. The nurse, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed, as if she were used to seeing this reaction out of people. Did she make it a habit of confusing the hell out of everyone? Before long, Yukari was following her in silence; maybe there would be someone else around who would be far more helpful than this lady were.

What she hadn't been expecting after winding through hallway after hallway (or so it felt like a bit of a trek) were large doors that lead to an even bigger room; no, the room was huge, not to mention bright. Yukari had to shield her eyes with a hand for a moment or so as the late afternoon sun poured through the windows that encased the ceiling, making it considerably brighter than what florescent lights could produce. Huh. Fitting name. Large windows aside, with all the chairs and sofas placed about around each other and nothing more, it must have been some sort of lounge area.

"You've been asleep for most of the day, so perhaps somewhere a little more sunnier would wake you up some." Professional and all smiles still, the nurse stepped aside as if she needed to make room for Yukari to walk by. "Will you be okay for now? I'll leave you be, if you'd prefer."

"Uh-- yeah, thanks," she responded halfheartedly; if anything, she wanted this woman to scurry off somewhere already. "I'll just pick out somewhere to sit."

And that she did. The nurse eventually abandoned her side for whatever other matters she had to tend to, and Yukari... She never thought she would become one to ever get indecisive on where to sit, but with too many questions still going unanswered, it was all making her far too antsy for comfort.

What was going on?

After feeling like a little lost kid in an unfamiliar place, Yukari gave up and plopped right down on the nearest sofa, leaning back with a forearm covering her face. This was getting ridiculous. Sheesh, they didn't even have any magazines here.

[for yuffie!]

[M60]

Honey's words from that afternoon still bothered Sai as he sat on the edge of his bed when the doors opened. Unlike the previous night, he'd changed back into his black ninja attire now, that damned kunai held loosely in one hand. He had a job to do, and though there was the danger of Okita attacking them again tonight, he couldn't just leave Artemis and Haku to do their task alone.

He nodded his goodbyes to his roommate, everything he needed (including a pillowcase just in case they needed a makeshift sack) tucked into his belt. Now wasn't the time for worrying. Though there was still the chance that whatever creature had possessed him in the sun room would do so again, it at least hadn't the night before. That was always a good sign.

Hoping that danger didn't await him the moment he stepped out the door, or that he didn't bring it with him to Artemis's doorstep, Sai walked out into the darkened hall toward the rooms just two rows over.

[to here]

[from here]

This was where his skill with stalking people came in handy; Matt crept along as quietly as he could, relieved to see that the hallways still seemed to be pretty empty. He liked this turn of events. It put him at ease as he strode determinedly down the hall, images of his mental map of the ground floor of Landel's running through his head. He wasn't entirely sure still which room Mello was in, but he felt confident that he could find him before he ran off to do... whatever he had planned.

Which was probably crazy, knowing Mello.

[to here]

As expected, after the allotted amount of time had passed, the nurses started to move through the waiting rooms to inform the visitors that it was time for them to leave, whereas in the Sun Room King Kong was turned off and the staff quickly sprung to action to put the equipment away.

Meanwhile, the sound of intercom turning on cut into the hustle and bustle, but it was Lydia's voice which came through. "Mr. Landel is taking a quick nap," was all she said by way of explanation, as she seemed to be beyond making lengthy excuses for the man. "Nurses, once the visitors have said their goodbyes, escort the patients back to their rooms for dinner. Tonight there is steak and fries on the menu, with a slice of cheesecake for dessert and vegetarian options if requested.

"Enjoy your food and have a good sleep." Keeping it short, the intercom then turned off.

Could it really be? Could Goku really be here?

Kibitoshin didn't want to get too excited- he didn't dare, not when he was still so accutely aware of how unfair the Institute could be with things like that. They'd taken Trunks away, and Apollo, and Dahlia, so who was to say this was going to be any different? But in between the worrying and drifting he'd been doing all day ("Mr. Williams, you should really try to stay in one place. How will you make any new friends if you don't concentrate?"), all he wanted was to be able to really believe in something again, and maybe- maybe if Goku really was here, things could change. There wasn't anything Goku couldn't do. If he was on their side, they could-

- not get ahead of themselves. They were supposed to be meeting in the rec field, right? They could talk properly there.

He'd tried not to panic when he hadn't received an immediate response (admittedly he had only waited for five or ten minutes, but it had felt like forever), and he'd tried not to worry when his nurse had asked him why on Earth he wanted to go outside when everyone else was inside (maybe he'd missed him? But Goku was so tall...), just like he'd managed to conveniently ignore how bad Goku's handwriting on the bulletin board had been (so he wasn't all that educated, but surely he knew how to write?). But when Kibitoshin stepped out onto a conspicuously, miserably grey and empty field, he truly felt his heart sink again. He couldn't have been wrong. Surely not?

[sob, so late. GOKU COME HERE]

Somehow, after their talk in the chapel, Elaine felt simultaneously more accepting of and more irritated by her future husband. On the one hand, seven years had clearly been good to him. He seemed more sincere and thoughtful than he had been before his disappearance, and he had a more mature (dare she say, handsome?) look to him. On the other hand, there were clearly some things that made even time throw up its hands in vain and say, "To hell with this!" Guybrush was still inexorably prone to disastrous accidents if the story about the Pox of LeChuck was anything to go by, and he was so obviously keeping something important from her that any passing dolt in the Institute would have been able to tell. In the end, that eternal underlying sweetness of his that won out, keeping her from punching him again, at least. That was only by a hairs width, though. Her snugglecakes was going to have to stay on his best behaviour if he knew what was good for him.

She left the Mighty Pirate™ alone for the time being when the announcement of the next shift went off. He would want some time to catch up with Morgan next, presumably. As much as the woman's attitude bothered her, she was a friend of Guybrush's, as she had claimed. Elaine could be strict, but she wasn't the kind of shrewish future wife/past fiancé who would keep her man from seeing his friends. Besides, she needed some more time to catch up on the goings-on of the Institute. Patients filled the building to the brim, now, it seemed; there would be a lot to investigate.

After a few quick trips back and forth to the bulletin and a few new leads to follow up on, the governor gave in to her nurse's persistent nagging and headed to the cafeteria for brunch. After the relatively light fare of the day before, Elaine took advantage of the Institute's admittedly scrumptious offerings and loaded up a full, balanced brunchfast of eggs, sausage links, waffles, and vegetable soup. As expected, the selection of drinks did not offer either root beer or grog. Grog she could live without, at least, she thought while making a face. Eugh. For now, she settled for a tall glass of water.

Elaine settled into a seat in the cafeteria and tucked into her meal. Her eyes didn't stay on her food, though, instead gazing around restlessly; she hadn't seen LeChuck so far this morning, and god forbid he wanted to invite himself to brunch with her if he chose now to show up. A certain horribly unpleasant dinner on Mêlée Island came to mind. She was prepared to either move at the first sign of the dread pirate or signal a random stranger to sit with her before he could.

[For Dean]

Zack was staring to think that he had bad luck when it came to roommates, since this time his new one had come back from wherever he'd been (not the field trip, since he hadn't looked like he'd just taken a dive into a river) and then immediately fallen asleep. His first roommate had slept until he'd just disappeared, and so the soldier couldn't help wondering if this was some sort of nasty repeat.

As a result, he'd had to deal with a very quiet dinner until the intercom announcements came on. The head doctor was just as much of a creep as usual, though it sounded like the rain was doing some structural damage to the building. "That bad, huh," Zack commented to himself as he stood from his desk to grab his flashlight and prepared to leave. It wasn't like that was going to stop him from venturing out.

The talk of visitors also nagged at the man, but it was something he'd be better off asking a more experienced patient about. For now, he just needed to get going. From what he'd managed to piece together, Tifa was heading out with Rude tonight, which meant that he'd be better off finding Cloud or Aerith. Maybe even his favorite ninja.

The faster he got going, the more likely he'd be able to catch someone on their way out of the patient rooms. And if he didn't manage that, then he'd just invite himself into another group. There was, of course, that urge to just go off on his own, but Zack was doing his best to hold back and listen to the multiple warnings he'd been given. He wasn't always the best at thinking before he leaped, but he knew that he couldn't toss his life around like it meant nothing.

Nodding to himself, Zack left his room (it looked like he was the first in this hallway to do so -- good sign!) and started down the hall.

[To here.]

Even before preparing for the night to begin, Kurogane had made the decision that he would not be wasting any time once night fell. He noted the intercom a moment, snorted at the message, then grabbed the last of his gear before leaving his room and heading off.

Kurogane always expected the worst when heading into the hallways, and tonight would be no different. That the intercom was warning them though... it sounded like a plot. Or at least more of one than what was usual. That bastard doctor wouldn't be bragging otherwise. It annoyed the ninja some to think that there could be something worse than what he'd already experienced there, but there wasn't a damn thing he could do for it now. So he pushed the thoughts aside. Right now all he needed to do was get to the magician. Whatever changes he faced, either on the way or after, could be dealt with when he faced them.

[gone here]

[M57]

Having no roommate pretty much sucked. Even if the first guy who'd been in here with him had just slept the whole time, at least there'd been someone else around. It was one small thing to focus on, even if only as a perplexity. Tieria had actually given him someone to talk to after that, but this evening the man had just never shown up. Did that mean he was gone? Or maybe the nurses switched things around sometime. If not, though, that'd make the second roommate of his who'd just up and disappeared.

Was he bad luck or something?

It looked like he had the room to himself for the moment, but that wasn't something Zack liked. He'd prefer to have someone to chat with over dinner, but instead he'd been forced to eat in silence and then scribble in his journal to pass the time. He'd made sure to get a hold of his flashlight before the lights went out, but since that was really the only thing he needed at this point, it wasn't like he'd had to do much preparation.

The announcements from the Head Doc spiced things up a little, but it was hard to care too much when Zack had barely any idea of what the man was going on about. Jill, a rebel... what was all that? Maybe he could ask Aidou, since the kid seemed to be well-informed. If they got the chance, anyway. He didn't know how much effort this task of theirs was going to take, but he'd stay focused on the matter at hand if that was what it came to. He was nothing if not a good soldier, as much as it hurt him to admit these days.

Once Landel was done talking, all Zack could do was wait. He stood in the center of the room and started in on some squats, figuring that he could limber up while he waited for Aidou to arrive. He hoped it wouldn't take too long.

Kirk looked up as he always did when the intercom came on during dinner, as if it would be that easy to catch a glimpse of the man who presided over their captivity, and did so with such glee. CM-US trials. Without meaning to, he glanced at Admiral ZEX at those words, and away again when "re-trials" were mentioned. What did that mean? It wasn't enough to worry about getting dragged off for the night and cut open, but now you had to worry about it happening twice?

The Head Doctor's message meant that the door would be opening in a few minutes, and Kirk hurried to finish his preparations. Once again, he donned his hospital-issued coat and boots, and (remembering his lack of a sturdy container last night) stripped the case off his pillow. In his coat pockets went the radio, the box cutter, and the medical supplies he'd picked up last night. When Landel's more sinister ramblings started up, Kirk listened with only half an ear as he wrapped the bandages and things for carrying convenience.

By the time he was done, the door had long since unlocked, and there was no sign of nurses knocking on the door to retrieve ZEX... or Kirk, at that. One piece of good news, at least. He hesitated before the door, some part of him wanting to stay and speak with his roommate, but instinct and duty forbid him from dawdling. Night was short here, and his crew was waiting for him.

Simply bidding ZEX good luck, Kirk grabbed his flashlight and "weapon", and hurried down the hallway.

[to here]

HK grabbed his weapons and left as soon as the door unlocked, wrenching it open with an uncommonly forceful motion and storming out. He had to go find Lugnut. This much was clear. He had to make sure the big, third-class intellect didn't get himself shot or starve, because he was the only droid left. Even if it came down to a maker-damned tug-of-war with the meatbags here to hold on to the Decepticon, he would.

[to here]

[For Yuna!]

Fish and chips weren't his favorite thing ever, but he did make sure to eat it all. He just liked to think of the fish as the Filet'o Fish without the bun and it made it easier to eat. The french fries had been pretty well cleaned off and he'd even managed a bit of fruit, although he avoided the oranges and other sour things his nurse had insisted on putting on his plate. But the fries had been good and he felt a little better having eaten something. With everything that had been going on lately, Ritsuka had been shirking on his meals more than usual and it'd all but made him sick.

Now, as he flopped onto a sofa in the Sun Room, he felt sick in a different way. He really shouldn't have eaten as much as he did, but there was no helping it. He'd been hungry. Wasn't hi fault the grease was starting to get to him.

Pulling his legs up onto the seat cushions, Ritsuka leaned back and asked his nurse to bring him the book he'd checked out from the library last time. She returned soon enough and he curled up with the book, ignoring her curious looks at his choice in literature. He hadn't seen Soubi at lunch and now that it was the fourth shift, he figured most of the men would be out in the Greenhouse. He'd have to catch up with the Fighter later, now that he'd calmed down.

Cloud knew he should be taking the opportunity to check out the rec field during the day. The fresh air would be a welcome change from the crowded stuffiness the Institute usually provided, and he would have a chance to scope out the area when it wasn't all under the cover of darkness. When offered a choice, however, he remained in the sun room. He told himself it was so that he could watch the bulletin, him still being fairly new and needing all the information he could get, but the thought rang hollow.

The real reason he was here, he knew, was because he would be out there. Maybe it was weak of him, but he needed a chance to breathe. Ever since he'd arrived it had been nothing but one shock after another, and seeing Zack standing in the cafeteria that morning talking to Aerith had been the final card that caused his tower to crumble. He needed to just sit back somewhere out of the way and start rebuilding.

Being able to watch the bulletin from here was just a perk. Cloud made himself comfortable on one of the sofas, watching people come and go but not really paying attention to them. He took the time to try and rate this on a scale of the biggest messes he'd ever gotten thrown into.

(for Sheena)

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]

[from here]

Mitsukuni was up on the wall and Mori took his hand, knowing that despite his smaller size, his friend was more than capable of helping him up. For how tiny he was, Mitsukuni was strong enough to throw Mori - twice to three times his height and possibly twice his weight - across a room like a ragdoll. Pushing on the wall and pulling himself up with Mitsukuni's help, Mori soon joined his cousin on the ledge of the wall and motioned the other boy forward.

With a cautious glance upwards toward the roof, Mori dropped to the other side of the wall and found himself in the courtyard. He'd been in here before, during the day, so he knew the layout. Trees and benches here and there, with a large pond in the middle of the area. And to his right, the Institute and the doors leading to the kitchen. Their goal was in sight, so now all that remained was staying alive and out of reach of those birds until they actually achieved it.

Waiting until Mitsukuni was at his side, Mori started forward and headed for the doors.

[from here]

The kitchen appeared to be empty, but Kratos understood that initial impressions were usually incorrect. Through the dim light provided by the flashlights they had, he couldn't see anything lying out; everything was apparently tucked into the appropriate cabinet or drawer, which was how a proper kitchen was meant to be kept, but given the atmosphere, it almost felt as if its cleanliness was meant for reasons other than sanitary ones.

As the group moved through the kitchen toward the refrigerator, Kratos kept his ears especially open for any sounds of rapid movement across the white tiled floor, as even with a flashlight, it was difficult to see much other than what was lit a few feet ahead of them.

Heh, tonight was promising to be kind of interesting. First time in awhile, it seemed like, for which Xigbar was far too happy to give things a shot. That in mind, he stripped off that aggravating gray shirt and started grabbing his weapons, making sure that they were all okay. Three knives lashed to his ankles, three arrows tied around his waist, and the clips of ammunition for the gun were carefully put away for safe-keeping. The gun, naturally, remained in his hands, and he reminded himself that he needed to get some duct tape so he could lash the flashlight on the thing.

For now, though, after preparations were complete, he opened the door and eased out into the hallway, keeping his eye open for trouble. Not that he'd mind, but he'd prefer seeing some trouble after meeting with his people. No point in showing off if there wasn't an appreciative audience, after all!

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]

Even before he got sick, Sean had enjoyed reading. His teachers had always said that he read 'ahead of his age group', but he figured that was just because he read more than most kids his age did. He liked everything: fantasy, science fiction, biographies, journal articles... There was just something satisfying about holding a book--something someone poured a lot of effort into producing--to Sean.

Today, though, he didn't want to get into anything particularly heavy or involved. No psychology textbooks for him today--he was going to read something fictional. Pulling what looked like an interesting science fiction novel off the shelves, he cracked it open and began to read happily. Oliver would find him soon enough and no doubt interrupt him, so he'd just read as much as he could for now.

[For Badou]

Mori woke with a start. He lay on the bed for a moment, staring up at the ceiling and sighed quietly. Another day, another round of shifts and people and-- Wait a minute. Breathing in carefully, Mori's brow knit together as he realized that his ribs were no longer broken. After testing his collarbone, he found that it, too, was healing faster than it should have. Not that he was complaining, but there was something odd about broken bones setting so quickly. Pushing himself up out of bed, the teen shook his head, knowing that he'd have another day or two of the sling and then he'd be free from it.

But more important than that was finding out how Mitsukuni was doing. The last thing he remembered was the bathroom and gathering metal. Since they were together at the end of the night, Mori was certain that Mitsukuni would be fine, but...well, he still liked to confirm such things with his own eyes. With the twins gone and Tamaki still missing, Mori didn't want to take any chances anymore. Especially not with the strange announcements this morning.

As usual, his nurse came to collect him and helped him into his sling. Then he followed her quietly into the cafeteria, taking notice of the unusually empty bulletin board. They really were cracking down on it already. Weird. Even weirder? For once, he was the first into the room. Picking up a tray, he pointed out what he wanted, making sure to take double of the pancakes (asking to keep them away from the sausages for now), double of the strawberry jam and biscuits, and an extra helping of fruit. To top it off? Milk. It'd help his bones mend. Hopefully.

Going to a nearby seat, Mori took a look around the empty room and shivered. Kind of eerie in here without anyone else but the nurses. Someone was certain to come sooner or later though, right? He hoped so at least.

[for Chihaya]