[From here.]

The room was mainly empty when Michael reached it, which was fine by him. It wasn't that he didn't feel sympathy for the other patients, but he also didn't know if it would be helpful for him to talk to them. The staff seemed to think that forming bonds amongst themselves would lead to recovery, but to him it felt more like they would end up feeding on each other's delusions.

Of course, being reclusive was a problem of his in general. He threw himself into work, into dealing with the scum of the Earth; rape, murder, assault. Someone had to deal with those people and make them pay for their misdeeds, of course, but --

No, he was thinking too much like Castiel. Thinking in a vocabulary that most normal people wouldn't. As he found a couch and fell onto it, Michael winced his eyes shut and realized that the shower hadn't helped as much as he would have liked.

Either way, he couldn't say he was in the mood for talking to anyone.

[For his bro.]

By the time that breakfast had ended, Michael didn't really know what to think.

The good part of him -- the part that went to church every Sunday and prayed that he could find justice for his clients -- wanted to feel for those two boys. They were going through Hell (and not the literal kind that they were thinking of) and he really did hold out hope that they would get their acts together. But the rest of him wanted to forget all about them and focus on himself. They weren't his responsibility anymore, now that the case had been dropped. The very idea of a killer had been a fantasy, after all. It wasn't his job to worry about them.

He certainly wasn't some guardian angel, either. He had never signed up for that and he had no idea why his mind had decided that was the case. Figuring that out was probably his key to getting healthy again, but it seemed like an uphill journey at this point.

Either way, it was good to get away from Matt and Eric. He needed some breathing room, some time to just let his mind clear out all of that crazy angel and demon stuff. Being religious was one thing; this was another, and he knew it wasn't right. He tried not to think about what his parents probably thought of him, but for all he knew they weren't even aware that he was here. In fact, Michael couldn't even remember who had admitted him. It was possible he'd just brought himself here.

A shower sounded like a real blessing, though, and he didn't hesitate to strip out of the uniform and find shelter under the hot spray of one of the shower heads. It was definitely more than just washing off; it felt like a cleansing experience, like he was scrubbing the very idea of Castiel out of his skin. He knew it wasn't that easy, that he could relapse at any point, and yet he tried anyway.

However, once he'd washed his body and shampooed his hair, he realized that he needed to give up the shower space for someone else who might need it. As much as he would have liked to spend the entire shift there, he did the right thing and went back to get dressed once he was finished, heading out into the Sun Room on a soldier's heels.

[To here.]

Since her talk with Soma in the morning, Rapunzel had been afraid this moment might come. Even as she distracted herself with other things, there was a tightness knotting up inside her stomach. Even as she assured herself that she would be prepared if it happened, the feeling wouldn't pass. And now, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, and the word "visitor" passed from the lips of a disguised soldier to her ear. She hadn't thought that knot could get any tighter, or heavier.

She forced herself to breathe as the soldier led her to a room full of chairs. Okay. You can do this. Just take it like Soma said. Whoever this is, or looks like, or whatever — it's not the end of the world.

She drew a deep breathe in. Let it back out. Then lowered herself into a seat. She was glad for that seat, at least; it made the shaking of her legs harder to see.

Brunch had tasted delicious as usual, but he still felt guilty for enjoying it when so many other patients weren't as fortunate as him and Ritsuka. Still, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't grateful for his meals. His appetite had been pretty spotty during the week after his "sleep study", so Claude wanted to think he was making up for lost time by packing it away now.

In the meantime, it looked like they really were playing a movie this shift. Claude had half wondered if they'd simply been putting on an act for the benefit of any civilians in the building, but that didn't seem to be the case. That was good, at least. It meant that he and Guy could follow through on the plans they made a week ago -- back when Claude was still suffering from the immediate affects of the experiments, and Guy had kindly offered to stay with him.

That seemed so long ago now, and yet Claude could still feel his stomach knot up with uncertainty when he thought about the implications of what the doctors had done to him. Without thinking about it, he brought his hand up to crest inscribed onto his shoulder, beneath the fabric of his sleeve. He'd kept himself so busy that he'd never spent much time examining it.

But now wasn't the time to get wrapped up in that. It was easy to let himself get distracted by things he couldn't control if his mind wandered to much. Instead, Claude was going to try his best to enjoy his time with Guy.

After settling down on one of the couches in front of the projection screen, Claude leaned back and folded his arms over his chest as he kept a look-out for his friend.

Edgar's charming company had raised Anise's spirits enough that not even the Head Doctor's voice could bring them back down. Besides, she was feeling pretty sure that Landel wasn't actually around. To begin with, it wouldn't make sense, and secondly, his announcements sounded suspiciously like ones she'd already heard before. While Anise wasn't very familiar with Earth technology, she'd seen the little devices in the Music Room that could play recordings of people's voices. This had to be something like that.

It wasn't long before Anise was escorted to the Cafeteria, and then to the section where edible food was being served. As she filled her plate with waffles, fruit, and sausages, she looked to the other side of the counter with a look of sympathy. It was hard to enjoy her own meals while knowing what the other patients had to suffer through.

She wasn't about to refuse her meals just out of guilt, though. Anise needed her strength for tonight. There was still a bit of a nervous twist in her stomach whenever she thought about what could happen down in the basement... but she wasn't going to back down. Not after promising her friends they'd go together.

With her tray in hand, Anise seated herself at an empty table in the middle of the room. She preferred to have company while eating, but it looked like she was one of the first patients there, so there was no one to sit with. Maybe if she minded her manners and tried to look her cutest, she'd attract someone handsome! Holding her utensils delicately, she began to cut her waffles into smaller pieces.

[For Battler.]

> ==>

The snow had gotten heavier. Rose walked out into it. It was better than being on fire, but slow going. She let one needlewand slide back into her hand, and pointed it at the ground. Nothing. At the air. Nothing. She wasn't going anywhere her own feet didn't deign to carry her. Her powers were well and truly blasted back to square one. Before square one. She didn't even have a laptop.

At least she could see the shape of the other side of the building. Provided a general lack of space-time paradoxes, the extents were clear. That was a stupid assumption to make, so she didn't.

Instead, she turned back to Lily, who still hadn't answered her questions. This made sense, as it had only been a few seconds, mostly occupied with such trivialities as doors.

[From here.]

As Castiel exited the room block he'd been assigned to, it occurred to him that Gabriel had not caught up with him this time around. That was for the best. He had a difficult time shaking his brother off in this place, seeing how he couldn't disappear at the snap of a finger. If he'd had to bring his brother along on his lesson with Orihara, Gabriel would have broken up the instructions and also invited far too many questions, considering his paranoia from the other night.

He had little idea of what the archangel got up to on the nights that they didn't come across each other, but at this point he couldn't get caught up pondering about it.

Straight down the hall and he would be at the spot that they had decided upon. He still had no idea of where Orihara's room was, but perhaps it was better that way. Their relationship should remain strictly professional, especially since he didn't really know how to turn it into something other than that.

This was easier.

[To here.]

Dinner had seemed to pass by too quickly, while night had come on quietly, with just the click of the door opening. Nonetheless, Peter had managed to get his new duffel bag packed with all of the medicine, syringes, and medical supplies that he might need without it being too heavy to manage. He still had to carry his shovel in his other hand, which meant he was going to be weighed down more than he probably should be, but he would just have to drop the bag if he got into a nasty fight.

It wasn't the best system, but it was all he had to work with and being able to hang the bag over his shoulder also meant that he still had an open hand for his flashlight. He definitely felt more like a paramedic at this point, especially since he had changed back into the military uniform.

Still, he could suit up as much as he liked, but none of it would matter if he couldn't find people to save. That started at square one, though, which meant finding Claire. She was probably the person who needed the least protecting, but he couldn't kick the feeling that her night yesterday hadn't gone well after she'd left him, and so she wanted to be a good uncle this time around. He owed it to her after she'd healed him.

After bidding farewell to Sam and heading out into the hallway, Peter didn't delay in moving down it. He didn't know if there was anything planned for them tonight by Aguilar, but it wasn't something he could spend time worrying about when he needed to high-tail it over to the female block.

[For Sylar.]

Despite the rough start and the heavier snowfall, the buses managed to stay on route and on schedule. With minutes to spare, they arrived at the gates of Landel's Institute, back to the waiting arms of the military. All pretenses seemed to drop at this point, and the soldiers again took on their patented gruff exteriors. Patients were filed out of the buses in an orderly manner, eventually being escorted to their rooms for dinner in much the same. There, as promised by the personnel, well-behaved patients found their purchases among their returned possessions. A few even found new faces, though whether they brought as much joy as bought goods remained unseen.

The woman manning the intercom seemed to have missed the notice about the day's trip as her announcement remained no different from the usual. "Attention all subjects and personnel," she said. "Lights Out will commence within the hour."

A pause.

"I repeat, Lights Out will commence within the hour. All personnel: please report to your stations. The General will begin his address once preparations are underway. Thank you."

The intercom clicked off.

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. ANY NEWLY ACCEPTED CHARACTERS MAY POST TO THIS SHIFT (but are not obligated to if you would like to wait for Nightshift or Dayshift); please refer to the new room assignments before posting. Thank you! ]

Doyleton, Lana had surmised within the first few hours of her last visit, was too ordinary. Nothing this trip, even the abandoned building, had made her reconsider that assessment. She hadn't found the point where the small town stopped, and the lie started, where she could slip in a well-placed word and start to unravel the whole shebang.

Standing around freezing her fingers off wasn't going to do her any favors. What she needed was somewhere she could listen to the locals talking to each other, as if she wasn't there at all. The tables at the Twin Pine were spaced for relative privacy, not convenient eavesdropping. Besides, she'd already spent her coupon, and while another cup of hot coffee sounded heavenly, it wouldn't be free.

The bar, now that was an idea. She pushed open the swinging doors, a blast of cold wind whipping through with her. She brushed the snow off her shoulders, walked up to the bar, and hunted through the drink list until she found something she could afford. Only after he slid the screwdriver over did she realize that left her nothing to tip with; she murmured a thank you and picked a stool over to one side to watch the after-work crowd, such as it was, wander in.

And if any other ghosts from here past, present, or future were going to turn up, a street-side saloon seemed like a mighty fine place to have a chat.

[free!]

Sora was glad that he had gotten the chance to talk to Wally, since even if he drank coffee with a ton of sugar with it, that didn't stop him from being a nice guy! Not that the two were related, but it had been kind of weird. Sora had been pleasantly surprised that the man was so friendly and optimistic even though he'd also been stuck here for a while, since sometimes he did feel like the only one who could keep his spirits up.

Well, there was Kairi, but he hadn't seen her yet today. She was probably having a fun time looking through all of the shops, though, so he wasn't too worried about her. She'd always loved shopping for knick-knacks in the market back home.

This place was completely different from Destiny Islands, though. The snow was making that very obvious, and while Sora was still in a state of wonder because of it, he had to admit that the cold was starting to get to him, mainly in the way that it seemed to practically seep into his bones. He found himself shivering as he moved away from the Twin Pines restaurant and back toward the main street, and ended up jogging through the snow as a way to warm himself up. That's how he'd handled it before, right?

Though, speaking of knick-knacks... once he made it back onto Main Street, he found himself running past a shop that had caught his eye but that he'd never been in before. "Mountain Antiques" -- that meant it had old stuff, right? Maybe there would be something interesting there... or maybe he could even buy Kairi a gift! If she wasn't there already.

He stepped inside, wondering if getting a friend a gift was really the best way to spend his money. But he really couldn't think of anything better to do with it. He was relieved to find that the shop was well heated, though his eyes were almost immediately drawn to the large stuffed tiger near the counter. Sora wandered toward it, staring it down. "Whoa..." He couldn't help but think of his time in the Pride Lands, even if that had involved lions and not tigers. It was still cool!

[Free!]

[from here]

Only a couple more rooms and then he was going to eat everything he laid eyes on in the pantry. Even the condiments, at this rate. How much nutritional value did tomato ketchup have anyway? And was he really in any position to turn it down if that was all he could find?

Even with the hunger twisting his stomach and making him feel slightly sick, Wally wasn't quite so bad off that he needed to just rush into the room beyond. His luck had been pretty good so far, well, apart from his speed dumping him into a wall like that, but that didn't mean a thing here.

But the sun room seemed empty, from what he could make out in the darkness and with only a flashlight that had seen better days, so Wally relaxed and headed further into the room, weaving through the chairs and things as he aimed for the cafeteria doors.

[from here]

Wally yelped as his powers propelled him into the next hallway and, as it would turn out, a wall. He hit it with a thump loud enough to rattle his teeth and make his head throb as he slowly pulled himself back up to his feet.

"I'm okay," he announced for the benefit of what turned out to be an empty hall. Which was fine by him because he really didn't need people seeing the Flash running into solid objects like that. It'd raise some questions about why his control was so off and he really didn't want to get into those right now. At least he'd stopped in the next hallway and not the other side of the institute, so that was something. Backtracking would have been even more embarrassing.

"Well, I guess that's just another reason not to do any running just yet," he muttered to himself and headed towards the sun room. Get through that and then he'd hit the cafeteria and, after that, the kitchens and a better chance at finding something to eat.

[to here]

Dinner was just as unappealing as lunch had been. A plain, tasteless gruel that had the same consistency as okayu without any of the flavor. If it were up to him, he would have flavored the broth, maybe topped it with pickled plum or green onions. He would have preferred salted salmon on top, but that was a luxury now. Worse than the taste was the color, an odd pink color that convinced him more and more that this place had to be somewhere in America. Only America could make such strangely colored food. Although...the taste was more like England's cooking, only less burnt.

When the silence started on the intercom, Japan put down his spoon. And when the silence turned into static, he politely covered his ears, waiting for it to end. This new person didn't seem to believe in the chimes he'd just recently grown accustomed to, but Japan wished he would use them. The static grew unbearable and he pressed his palms harder against his ears until - suddenly - the noise vanished. Shaking his head slightly, he looked up at the speaker and frowned to himself as the man on the other side spoke.

What he had to say sounded ominous indeed.

Even more so when he considered that this wasn't some game, but real life or some strange approximation of it. Japan still wasn't sure what to believe when it came to the Institute. Was it a mental hospital? A military prison? Some weird cosplay LARP where the people were real? He was still hoping for the latter, but every moment he spent here took that one remaining ray of sunlight away from him.

With a heavy heart, Japan got up from his desk and eyed the metal box that he'd found in his room. He had an inkling of what it was as it reminded him of military trunks and so, very cautiously, he crept over and pried the top open. What he saw both took his breath away and caused his blood to run cold. He hadn't seen the uniform since he put it away over 50 years ago and now here it was, pristine as the day he'd first put it on; none of the rips, tears, stains and patches anywhere to be seen. Was this a joke? Was he supposed to put this on? He had no other clothes, but this?

Pushing the lid from the box, he reached in and pulled the uniform jacket out. It was just as he remembered... But he couldn't wear this. It was a symbol of his country in its darkest hour. And yet...

Japan pulled the outfit out and looked at it, frowning. Not now. He folded the pieces back up and was about to put them back into the box when he suddenly changed his mind. Pulling the pillowcase from his bed, he stuffed the clothes in there along with his flashlight. Maybe he could use the fabric for something else. Italy would have made flags out of it, but he made flags out of everything. Perhaps he could use it to carry things. Somehow. Whatever the use, it was something familiar from home and it meant this place knew who he was beyond just "Honda Kiku."

Bowing to his roommate, Japan headed out the doors, not entirely certain where he was going for the night.

[For Prussia]

[From here.]

The route was a well practiced one by now. He'd leave his block and enter the next one down, change in the washrooms, and then stroll on out worry free. No one would know which room Spider-Man slept in. Unless they followed him - which, as far as Peter knew, had not happened yet. He liked to think that even when his spider sense was on the fritz, it liked him enough to at least warn him about that.

You never really knew, though. Peter sighed as he slipped into the lower men's block, looking from left to right with rote caution. Again, nobody here. And again, no tingle in his head. For now, he could take it for granted that that meant there was no danger. If he started getting jumped from behind with no warning, then maybe he'd reconsider that.

Whatever. He had to get hopping. Indy and the rest were waiting on him.

[To here.]

[From here.]

Yep. Still the only one here. He supposed that could be a good thing. That meant there would be less people to notice the teenage boy strolling into the bathroom and the schmuck in tights that came out two minutes later. He was all for less people noticing that.

[To here.]

Snow doubled in number as the day transitioned into the evening hours. Unfortunately, none of the patients were allowed the time to enjoy the weather changes. They were instead greeted by the telltale jingle of the intercom, signaling their cue to return indoors.

Once again, they heard the voice of a familiar female. She sounded unchanged from her previous announcements, her intonation as clear and as flat as ever.

"Attention all subjects and personnel. All subjects are to return to their assigned rooms for their evening meal. Lights Out will commence shortly after."

The woman paused, seemingly for effect.

"All personnel: you are to report to your stations. Thank you."

The intercom clicked off.

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. ANY NEWLY ACCEPTED CHARACTERS MAY POST TO THIS SHIFT (but are not obligated to if you would like to wait for Nightshift or Dayshift); please refer to the new room assignments before posting. Thank you! ]

[ from here ]

It took her a moment when she turned down the men's hallway to skim the area with her flashlight. This was the part where she got confused, the muscle memory not really carrying her the whole way. He'd given her directions once, but that felt like a lifetime ago now that she actually needed to put them into practice without Bella attached to her hip. Being alone made it harder, for some reason. She hoped Bella was having more luck than she was at getting to … wherever.

On her left, the single door of the bathroom that she suspected was the same as the women's facilities, and on her right four hallways. Peter's was … she scrutinized. Second in from the door? It sounded about right. If her room was F34 and it was the closest to the door, 24 should be one row further in. So, she hung a right and headed down the hallway.

Her flashlight beam checked the numbers on the doors as she headed down. 30 … 29 … the numbers were counting downwards, which was a good sign that this was the right hallway to get her to M24.

[ bumping into sylar peter ]

[From here.]

The big connecting corridor. He may be in a rush, but this hallway deserved extra caution. What would he do if he tried to get to Stefan and ended up mauled on the way there? The first night when he'd smelled blood here, it was still a bit... haunting. It meant there was a chance of something lurking, dragon or not.

Dammit, he was trying to reminisce again. Less thinking, more walking (which, as things went, was actually a feat for a vampire. It came with the whole multi-tasking thing.)

Sweeping his light through the length of the corridor, Edward inspected every bit of wall the light touched, eyes darting like a bird's for any sign of movement. Still no patients. At least the stillness would make it easy to see any potential ambush. At least, that's what he was going to tell himself.

[To here.]