The intercom came on, and as it did, it seemed to carry a little more interference than usual for a daytime announcement, a little more static. While the patients might have thought for a moment that once again the elusive woman on the radio had hacked into the Head Doctor's system, the man himself soon proved that theory faulty as he laughed over the broadcast.

"Hello, hello, everyone, and I'm sorry for the bad quality of this broadcast; we've been having some technical difficulties lately, you see, and we wanted to make sure everything was fixed by tomo...."

His voice crackled out into inaudibility for a moment before fading back in.

"Yes, hopefully that will be done soon. In any case, now's the time that you all head back to your rooms to enjoy a delicious meal... seasoned salmon! Yes, we have filets of very tasty, very juicy salmon seasoned with herbs and garlic; on the side, we have mashed potatoes, peas, and to drink, our usual assortment of beverages. For dinner, you'll all be enjoying vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce."

The intercom's broadcast crackled again. The Head Doctor laughed, seemingly a little nervously.

"Ah, yes, perhaps we'll be able to finish the repairing tomorrow, when all of you are away at... Doyleton! Yes, yes, you're all in for a fun and exciting day, a day whose activities will be new for some and a welcome familiarity to others. You'll be under strict supervision, of course, but... well, I suppose you'll find out all about the circumstances tomorrow, before you set off, mm? Yes! In any case... I hope you all enjoy dinner!"

The intercom clicked off again as the nurses began ushering patients back to their quarters.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. (You can find your character's room assignment here.) Remember, everyone responds to this post with their character's room number in the subject line. ]

As she was waiting to be led out of the cafeteria, Hokuto looked for someone in Arts & Crafts, and spotted... Renji. She covered her mouth with her hands to muffle her giggles; after everything she'd heard about him, he was the LAST person she wanted to go to with this; he'd probably figure out exactly why she wanted the night off and never let her hear the end of it!

I'll just wait for Momo, I guess... she can't spend the whole shift in the shower, right?

Knowing her friend and vice-captain liked fresh air too, she opted to go outside; she settled down in the grass and pulled out her journal. Writing was... kind of a bad idea right now, but she could always draw something. Clothes were always fun, since they were what she liked sketching the most anyway; after some thought, she started on a dress design.

[[Fukutaichou~!]]

[tl;dr]

Renamon was resolute in maintaining an aura of unemotional professionalism after last shift. She wasn’t going to allow herself to be affected by anything here--at least, not until she could analyze them. Lost in thought, she followed the nurse leading her without paying much attention to her surroundings. It wasn’t until she realized they were moving through the Sun Room that she spoke up.

“If possible, I’d like to stay in the Sun Room again. I’m still feeling worn out.” Her speech was clipped and polite. Hopefully the nurse would allow her to do-so again--she had to meet another this afternoon.

The nurse was cheerful, replying reassuringly, “Oh, that’s fine dear. You can come back here right after your shower.”

Renamon took a moment. Shower. She filtered through her knowledge of human speech for an exact definition for the word. Once she found it, her eyes widened and she missed a step. She instantly calmed herself, and spoke as if everything were fine. “Would it be possible to pass? I’m not quite sure it’d be…” She couldn’t think of an excuse. Starting to panic, she clutched the short sleeves of her shirt, wishing for the sweatshirt she mistakenly passed on. Why hadn’t she kept it on?! Her voice had turned soft and pleading. “Could I not? Please.”

The nurse went over Renamon’s strange reaction. “Dear, it’ll be fine! You must want to get cleaned up--you’ve been here a few days already.” The woman kept walking, turning her head back to smile at Renamon. “I’m afraid the doctor made it clear that all patients must participate.”

Renamon’s eyes darted to either side, eying the room. Orderlies were seen by the doorways, and she had seen several patients be sedated at mealtimes. She wasn’t willing to risk losing her mental agility and alertness for a doomed from the start escape attempt. And over such a ridiculous thing too. She trailed after her nurse silently, for all purposes seeming like someone being led to hang.

She froze in the changing room, and had to be coaxed by her nurse to slip out of her clothes, and then into the shower room, where the nurse turned on the spray. Renamon had long fallen back into the “catatonia” the first nurse she had come into contact with had whispered about, non-responsive and sluggish. In actuality, Renamon was in a forced meditation, the only thing keeping her calm at the thought of no fur covering her, nothing covering her, nothing protecting her, she was naked, skinned! Muscles and flesh revealing the delicate organs beneath for any predator to rip and tear out; her outsides torn off by ones who only wished her harm, trying to reach at her insides, her core, her soul. Did she have a soul? Was she just data? Is she was just data, then this wouldn’t bother her. She wouldn’t care. Did this prove she was real? Her arm brushed her bare side and she jumped sideways, cracking into the wall and sliding down. She stayed sitting, slumped on the floor, letting the water hit her in the face as she stared at nothing. The heightened sensations were numbing her, leaving her skin tingling from the extra sensitivity. Everything was felt in explicit details: where the spray was hitting her, where her side was going to be bruised, the re-opened cut on her shoulder, the hard floor underneath her, the weight of her hair pulling on her skull. This body wasn’t hers. This wasn’t her. This wasn’t real.

Maybe she didn’t want to be real, if this is what it was. Renamon raised her head to stare mournfully at her nurse, looking more like an animal then she had as a fox Digimon. Hand half raised to her mouth in a mix of surprise and shock, her nurse stared back for a moment. Renamon didn’t care enough at that point to control her expressions. Her eyes and face showed everything she was, and wasn’t, feeling for the first time. She sat there in the water, motionless, until her nurse saw fit to take her away.

[taken to here]

Yuffie bounced all the way through collecting her lunch, all the way to a good seat- one with a nice view of the whole cafeteria, which was something she'd been missing out on during the past day or so that she'd been stuck in the Institute- and hell, she even bounced into her seat.

A good mood? No, really?

Despite the occasional blip, talking to Sagara had been awesome. He was a fun guy; he wasn't a prude, didn't have a stick shoved so far up his ass it was poking out his eyeballs, and he'd actually had a conversation with her. One that hadn't revolved around doom, gloom or how much life sucked. If she could find other people like that and keep in touch with Sagara, maybe there was a little hope for this place.

After a quick gulp of pink lemonade, Yuffie settled to munching through her food and keeping an eye on the door.

[Waiting for Dean, I think? :x]

The whole not-bursting-into-flame thing was still a perk Angel could get used to. He ended up sitting just beneath a tree by a patch of sunlight, hoping maybe he'd go undisturbed just this once. The courtyard was more relaxing during the day, with its distinct lack of hyenas.

Journal on his lap, he plucked a blade of grass between his fingers. It was nice. He didn't think he'd ever just sat on the grass for no apparent reason before. Except for the couple of dates he'd ended up having with Buffy in the cemetery, but those always got interrupted by the undead.

The fact that he sort of counted those dates, anyway, probably said a lot.

[for Harley :D]

[from here]

There didn't seem to be anything in the courtyard - it all looked quiet and peaceable. Elle sat down on top of the wall and shone her flashlight into all of its corners.

Nothing. If something was going to jump out at her, it was either well hidden or invisible. Which was a possibility, but she wasn't about to get squeamish over the possibility of invisible monsters now.

Sneering distastefully at the prospect of sliding down vines, Elle tucked her flashlight back into the waistband of her pants and began the descent. It was grubby, and awful, but she finally felt her feet touch solid ground again.

When she got out of here, she was gonna have a chat with Daddy about the hygienic standards of this place. Dr. Landel needed to have a serious talking to, and Daddy was the one to do it.

_{[from here]}

The first and only time he’d come to the kitchen, it’d been his first night, and it had started with chocolate cake, too. And ended with fighting off lizards, meeting Sasuke, and being inflicted with Alucard. There weren’t any good memories of this place (if that could seriously be said of any part of the building).

Aidou was certainly more wary entering.

“Be careful not to bump into anything or get near the stoves,” he muttered, looking around the room with a frown. “Giant lizards that breathe fire seem to dwell here.” It didn’t feel as ridiculous saying that, since he’d been faced with the evidence once before. He hoped the newbie, Wolfram, wouldn’t question that beyond simple words, because Aidou really didn’t want to have to rush to break down a door because of stupid monsters. Though maybe he should have been more worried about Jack.

[Coming from here.]

The door was unlocked, much to his relief, and Tyler wasted no time in slipping outside, keeping his flashlight turned off for now. He didn't want to attract the attention of anything, especially since he was probably alone out here until Reid showed up.

Moving as quietly as he could, he slid the door closed behind him and stepped to the side, between the two doors that led back inside once more, and leaned back against the wall to settle in and wait for the blond to join him.

One moment Beatrix had been lounging calmly on her bed. At the sound of the intercom, the usual prattling Martin Landel did coming across, the Bride stretched and sat up. The moment she heard the door unlock, well before it normally did, she was up and out the door, not a word to her roommate.

Keeping along a wall, she sprinted down the empty hallway, flashlight still dark in her hand. Two nights... two nights in a row she'd made this same trek and two nights in a row she hadn't achieved her goal. This night would be different.

[to here]

"Good evening, patients and staff!" the Head Doctor said just as the intercom's usual jingle ended. Strangely, he seemed even more tense now than he had been throughout the day, though as he continued to speak, he seemed to get back into the usual swing of things. "I hope you all had very productive outdoor activities today and helpful therapy sessions to boot. Now, however, we must all begin to retire, and as always, our nurses will be bringing your dinner to your rooms shortly after your being escorted there. Tonight's meal includes a generous portion of delicious spaghetti with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese (and meatballs if you choose), along with sides of hot garlic bread and fresh Caesar salad. For dessert, we will be serving slices of moist chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream."

The Head Doctor paused, and there was the sound of rustling and then muffled voices, as if the doctor had put his hand over the microphone and was clarifying something with someone--a female voice, probably Lydia. He took his hand off the mic and cleared his throat.

"Yes, that's all for now. I hope you all enjoy dinner, and remember, some of you tonight will be lucky enough to participate in our CM-US Experimental Therapy Trials, so look forward to that after the meal. Goodbye for now!"

The intercom clicked off.

[ Please respond to this post with all dinner shift threads between roommates, putting your character's respective room in the subject line. ]

Momo was planning on heading to the red field, but her instructions from Hitsugaya about her needing to see to Mustang had her going to the Sun Room. The shinigami stood by the door, leaning back against the wall, as she waited for the colonel to appear.

[poised to Roy-nap for a quickie^^]

Claire wasn't sure how gardening was a means of relaxation, but she didn't point this out to her nurse as she was escorted outside and towards the large glass structure. Inside, the air was warm and humid and she wrinkled her nose as she eyed her surroundings somewhat skeptically. This had always been more her mom's thing than hers, but still, at least there wasn't going to be anything popping out and trying to eat her here in daylight, so she'd take what she could get.

Edging away from her nurse as quickly as possible without looking suspicious, Claire moved to the far side of the greenhouse, wandering up and down the aisles of planted greenery. As long as she didn't get in trouble for not getting her hands dirty, she much preferred to watch and let her mind wander.

[Free to be pestered]

Renamon blinked, and suddenly she was laying flat in the bed she had originally woke up in. The timing was impeccable, accenting Orihime's explanation perfectly. She just hoped that she hadn't freaked the girl out with her little disappearing act. She quickly shifted out of bed, and grabbed the journal she had wrote notes in last night, and jotted down another page. No sooner did she finish did her ever-so-friendly nurse come to collect her. Renamon didn't respond to the nurse's excited talk of making friends and breakfast, and simply followed her, journal in hand.

She paused at the Sunroom to leave a message on the Bulletin Board to Toboe. Hopefully the wolf had simply gotten lost, and wasn't truly gone. On the other hand, maybe she should be hoping that the boy had found a way out, and a way home. No use overly worrying about it now.

She continued to the Cafeteria, only pausing to take a plain muffin and water. It seemed she was early. She sat at a table near the wall, scanning over her notes and waiting for her breakfast date.

[Waiting for Kairi and Sora]

((Separate room post made with mod permission.))

Luffy had wasted no time in scarfing down his dinner, so once nightshift started, he was actually left with little to do while he waited for the others to show up. The Head Doctor's message was pretty weird, though it was probably always pretty weird, now that he thought about it. A part of him was really curious about what he'd put up in the chapel, but they'd already planned a big, important part--meeting, and pirates didn't go calling those off without a damn good reason.

As the captain waited, he pulled out his notebook and began to make some large, loopy doodles of some Cat Ladies. Hopefully everyone would show up soon (though knowing Zoro, he'd probably get lost on the way, and they'd be waiting for him for ages), but at least Luffy could keep himself entertained while he sat around, whether it was by drawing, or napping, or, well...doing whatever suited him at the moment.

He eyed the blank wall next to his bed, his eyebrows furrowing as he grabbed his crayons. The room did look kind of boring, didn't it?

Was it still nighshift? Orihime looked around the room - the one belonging to her and Tear - completely confused by what had just happened. One moment she was in Fai's room about to heal Keman and the next she was waking up here again in the middle of the night. It was worse than aliens. At least they tried to be consistent about abductions.

Worse than that, she hadn't been able to help Keman at all, and now it looked like she'd missed the chance to talk to him too. Orihime sat up and yawned widely despite herself. She felt sluggish and hungry but it was nigtshift and she had to do things now. She wasn't really that hungry anyway. She could eat a big breakfast in the morning and everything would be fine. Right now, she should probably look for...Keman or Fai or Ururu-chan or...someone.

She pawed around for her flashlight and flicked it on before ducking into the empty hallway.

[to here]

The intercom clicked on and the Head Doctor spoke with his usual fervor.

"Good evening, patients and staff! I am pleased to announce that the arrival of nearly all of our new patients will conclude this shift. In addition, we have a very delicious dinner in store for you: carved Turkey with a side of mashed potatoes and steamed, seasoned vegetables. For drinks, we have our usual assortment available, and as a dessert included with your dinner, we will be serving a slice of warm apple pie with each meal.

"I trust that those of you enjoying the company of new roommates will give them a warm Landel's welcome, and I also hope that those of you who participated in therapy today were able to find a productive time with their doctors.

"That's all for now! Enjoy dinner, everyone!"

The intercom clicked off again.

[ Please respond to this post with all dinner shift threads between roommate, putting your character's respective room in the subject line. While we have none scheduled for this shift at this time: all introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post; the introduction may then continue on to be a regular roommate thread. ]

It was rare that Homura's nurse try to persuade him to a scheduled activity, but then, it was rare that Homura didn't go. But the demi-god had plans, and the poor woman had little other choice but to leave in a huff as he once again settled himself near the bulletin board in the Sun Room.

His conversation with Kenren the previous shift had left the demi-god with a lingering sense of anxiety. Perhaps it was something only those from his own world could do, but none the less, he was all the more ready for night to begin now. Goals and memories, the truth of his past and the possibility of the future: all thoughts lingering on the forefront of his mind, more than enough motivation to move forward.

Impatience was something of a rush for an immortal, he'd discovered. Homura liked the feeling, the excitement even before he had arrived in this prison. And now while he waited, he savored it again, a yearning that shone so much brighter than the boredom of Heaven.

[Waiting for History Club Q&A time.]

Sanosuke hadn't quite been ready to part ways from Kenshin, but his nurse was insistent, and she was offering food. That second thing was what really got Sano off the couch and headed to the cafeteria. And at the very least, the thing about Okita had been settled, which meant the fighter could focus on his meal.

That may or may not have been a good thing, though.

What the hell was it with these people and their obsession with flat folding things to eat with? Sanosuke had thought that western countries could at least figure out chopsticks at some point. Simple, easy, uncomplicated, glorious chopsticks. But no, instead it was all weird bread things that randomly exploded all over Sanosuke without it being his fault whatsoever. And orange rice, which was just impossible to forgive, but thankfully had yet to reappear.

And as if that hadn't been bad enough, now the weird flat bread things weren't even round anymore. No, Sanosuke was left with some odd triangle shape, peppers that smelled a lot hotter than the kinds he was used to, and this sort of dust that Pinky called cheese, and promised would be good if Sanosuke just tried it.

Which Sano had heard before, plenty of times. Oh yes, he could count the number pretty easily, when Jo-chan tried her hand at some new recipe, some old recipe, or some recipe so simple that even Sanosuke could make it in his sleep, all of which she promised would be good this time, and none of which actually were.

Never stopped Sanosuke from eating them though. Free food was free food.

And dust or no, he'd eat this stuff too. The man had already decided to by the time he'd gotten to his seat. Between the smell and the rumbling in his stomach, Sano didn't figure he had much choice. He would just have to take his time, figure out the best way to go about eating it without getting the stuff all over his face again.

Simple. Had to be.

[Waiting for Zuko?]

[from here]

Nakago opened the door that led to the outside world as quietly as humanly possible, closing it as quietly as he had opened it. The former general, however, knew full well what happened if you remained outside for too long. Strange creatures appeared and attacked you; he still bore the healing scars of his encounter with the wild dogs, after all.

Best to make things quick, then.

A quick scan of what the rec field revealed rather familiar-looking territory on the opposite end where he had fought with the dogs the night before. That meant the door he and Mozenrath had come through to get here the night before had to be on the other side. Satisfied with this determination, Nakago took off as quickly as he could for that other door, having no desire to waste any time. He just wanted to get the map and then get back to his room.

Running it was, then. He would leave this place as quickly as he had arrived.

[running along to here]

[From here]

After all of the painfully bright light he had been subjected to throughout the day, the pitch black halls of this place at night were a blessing. Recluse kept moving, far more silently than anyone would expect for such a large man. This shouldn't take long.

[To here]