There was, at first, a light. There was something familiar in that.

Renamon's eyes eased open slowly, cracking in increments instead of all at once. She expected to feel as she ought, beaten and sore, a heavy heart and weary soul. To again have to think about everything that had been fought for. The winning that was worse than losing, and the stagnancy that trumped over all. Sometimes continence, existing, living-- Sometimes the act of protecting life itself took away your reason for it. The feeling of loss would always be fresh. She would never get over the lack in her heart. Even the mindless rituals she could call, familiar patterns to give herself to, monotony to keep her body busy so her mind did not think could not absorb the need in her chest. For the one who was everything, and the one who Renamon was parted from. She took a breath, careful and quiet. And realized belated that the light shining down on her wasn't natural, wasn't the light she had become used to.

She opened her eyes fully, to take in what was there. And before she could ken the sand enclosure, the grandstands, the other people spaced around her, the Digimon took in one thing, and only that.

Her fingers stretched, claws shining--when she tensed her thighs, she could feel the strong muscles that would propel her into the air. Behind her, a heavy tail moved, for the balance needed to sustain the grace she imposed on her surroundings. And atop her head, large ears flicked, taking in the movement of the two in the stands, and another somewhere close-by.

It was too obvious to say the change. And she found that in the face of it, to the return of what had been taken, she could not speak.

... ... ... ...

It was shock, like failing to recognize some heavy injury following a traumatic accident. Zero's mind was reeling, still trying to accept the fact that Ciel - or else, someone who looked and sounded exactly like her - had been standing right before him, calling him by a different name. She'd spoken untruths, supporting the Institute's idea that he was mad, but her face, her voice, her mannerisms...! It had undeniably been Ciel!

No, his mind couldn't accept that. Not yet. The so-called superior thinking power of the human brain couldn't do anything to help him.

And so the once-Reploid slowly walked out of the visitation room as if in a trance, following behind his forever cheerful nurse. She, of course, thought that there was nothing wrong and began chattering to herself about how healthy that visit must have been for him.

'Healthy'.

On any other day, he would have let out some sort of displeased grunt or, better yet, some rude remark about just how 'healthy' such a visit had been for him, but any sort of response became impossible when his brain was too busy just trying to process simple facts. So he simply stared past the nurse instead, only vaguely aware that she even existed. (Not that she seemed to notice. In fact, she probably took his lack of rudeness as a good sign. Wouldn't be surprising.)

Thankfully, it was only a very short walk back to the Sun Room and, therefore, only a short amount of time spent with that woman. Zero abandoned her and then slipped into the library in order to find some peace and quiet. He could sit in a chair somewhere and try to think about what just happened...

...He ended up standing in front of a random bookshelf mindlessly staring at the rows of paper-made novels in front of him rather than sitting, but oh well. His mind was in the same place either way.

[Long Hair Brigadiers UNITE!]

[from here]

Instead of thinking of the mess she might find—which she promptly realized wasn't going to be that easy to figure out, there weren't exactly people gathered here like she expected—she decided to think of food instead. Okay, so Ramona wasn't exactly a chef or a connoisseur of good food—even she was Stockholmed into liking Sneaky Dee's nachos after the sixth time she'd been there—but she figured she could whip something up. There was a part of her that wondered if they really ... bothered to look at recipes before they cooked things here. Was it all cafeteria style, comes in a giant pan food? Then again, it tended to taste better than that. Were the eggs really made with eggs? Were the burgers actually ostrich? These were the mysteries that the world left her with when it came to food.

Of course, maybe the food was laced with hallucinogens and they were about to find out the great mystery to that. Anything was possible, she figured. Anything. But she figured as long as nothing turned out to be Soylent Green—which, unfortunately, seemed to be a possibility—they were golden. And even if it was, you can't make grilled cheese out of people, right? Right? And that was one thing she was sure she had a handle on. Maybe she was selling herself short a little in that area. She could cook, but who knew what was lying beyond the great abyss of the kitchen. Wherever it was.

It wasn't here, anyway.

Ramona trotted up to the entry way and tapped her bat on the door. Well, there wasn't any immediate growling, so she figured she could risk opening the door and taking a peak inside ...

[to here]

Quiet static filtered through the intercom as the door to the Entry Room was pushed open. The area was almost completely dark, save for the flickering beam spilling from the lone, abandoned flashlight on the floor.

If that wasn't enough to put any entering patients on edge, the crimson puddle smeared across the flashlight's path likely was. The source of the blood soon became obvious: two still corpses lay sprawled next to each other. One was Daemon Sadi -- or, rather, what was left of him. Although his face was still recognizable enough, one of his arms was missing, and his chest looked as those some creature had reached in and ripped his heart out.

The other mangled body was trickier to place, as the poor person's flesh was twisted and bloated beyond recognition in some places, not unlike the way some of the nurses had transformed on the buses.

Closer inspection would reveal the face of a man in his final moments. Some would even see the distinct tattoos and recognize him as Abarai Renji. More unnerving was the abandoned, bloodied knife resting next to the former man's corpse, his belly having been gouged open for some unknown purpose. A trail of scarlet footsteps led away from the scene before abruptly disappearing at the northern door.

Did a similar fate await the unfortunate one who had stumbled across this bloodbath?

[From here.]

But being outside was probably just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than it was being trapped inside the bus with that nurse.

Besides the many other deformed nurses that were roaming around here, Zero caught sight of numerous forms flying overhead, casting large shadows on the ground as they passed by. They looked like...eagles. But deformed and horrific-looking, just like the nurses. At first, they seemed content to simply circle overhead, screeching, like vultures swarming above a carcass. But then many of them suddenly swooped down and headed straight for some of the prisoners running in the street.

Kind of like the one flying at Zero right now.

"Kh--!" The once-Reploid barely managed to dodge the monster as it dived for him by falling to the ground and rolling back onto his feet. The bird flew upwards again, slowly flapping its wings, then circled around as if to try again, another eagle joining it. To avoid them, Zero quickly moved out of the open, where he was obviously a target, and circled around one of the buses, keeping his back to it for cover. But he knew he wasn't going to be safe here...not when there were nurses on the ground and so many eagles above.

Not since the night he had become temporarily stronger had there been so much visible chaos... And if that one prisoner hadn't started a riot, this wouldn't be happening right now...!

As he stood contemplating the best route for escape, Zero glanced around quickly, searching the fleeing prisoners for anyone familiar or anyone who might need help. He was defenseless, so protecting someone else would only get him so far (and he certainly didn't want a repeat of two nights ago), but they all might have a better chance of survival if they grouped up...

[Leanne, Lana, and Harvey, WHERE YOU AT.]

With the blond's outburst disturbing not only the peace and quite of the trip back, but the trip itself by way of a detour into a damn tree, Kurogane's patience had worn thin by well before the sun had begun to set. No amount of alcohol would have helped temper his mood either. Stuck on the side of the road with the night drawing ever closer... it was almost as though Landel had intended for something like this. That man knew what happened were they not back in the building by nightfall, and a good number of them knew the same.

Probably not the blond idiot.

Though his patience was all but gone, his attention to the situation was heightened with the threat of darkness closing in. Each passing moment put them closer to another attack like before, and if there was where the night was to begin, he wasn't going to be trapped in any vehicle, moving or otherwise. That decision kept him on edge, watching between the window and the bus's back door beside him and waiting with the only remaining patience he had to spare.

"Be ready," was all he'd said to the girl beside him, knowing or at least hoping that she understood what was soon to come. He wasn't sure if she'd been there the time before, but as a ninja she should have known enough to expect anything with the tension aboard.

The moment he caught the sun's final dip beyond the horizon, he was out of his back seat and unhinging the emergency hatch for a quick exit to the ground, expecting that Tsubaki would be close behind. "Come on!" he barked back before starting around the bus at a quick pace. The town was long gone, but the chance stood that the Institute would be not too far ahead of them.

Sora had to admit, that soup had definitely hit the spot even if he'd had to force the first few bites down. His stomach was full and warm and while the fever was definitely still there, it felt more manageable now that he had some fuel in his system. It was too bad he couldn't carry a water bottle around or something, since that would have also been a help with cooling him down.

Then again, the wind seemed to be doing a fine job of that on its own. A nurse made sure to walk with him as they moved back toward the buses, doing her best to shield him from the wind with her body. It was something that Sora actually appreciated; she didn't have to do that, after all, and with how weak he felt right now fighting the wind was pretty tough.

Still, they made it back safe and sound, and Sora boarded the bus, realizing at a delay that he hadn't even bought anything on the trip. It was a waste, but he wasn't going to dwell on it too much. He already had enough on his mind as it was. Like the fact that he hadn't seen Riku and Kairi all day and couldn't have told them about his illness even if he wanted to. He'd at least had the chance to make plans with Tsubaki, but still, where were his friends? If there was a time when they should have been around, it was now.

Sora leaned against the window, keeping an eye on the other patients that were approaching. He wiped his hand over his forehead and found that it was still covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Not much he could do about that unless he found some medicine or Dr. Facilier worked out a cure. One step at a time, right? He could beat this.

[For Albedo and Nigredo.]

While Castiel had been forced to spend his meal with that strange man, he'd still accomplished what he'd set out to do, which was to eat and replenish his energy. He didn't know if it was simply the power of suggestion, but his head didn't seem to hurt quite as much after eating. He wasn't going to question it too much, as it was the first bit of relief he'd gotten since last night.

After leaving behind his so-called lunch partner, Castiel realized that he had still used only a very small amount of his spending money. That wasn't so surprising, though. The very idea of buying things was foreign to him, and he didn't have a good understanding of what would be a smart purchase. It harked back to what he'd discussed with Lust, which was that non-humans didn't seem to have the same attachment to material items unless they were of some use.

Nonetheless, spending the entire rest of his day inside "Tasty Burger" would be pointless, and so Castiel stepped out into the wind in order to find somewhere to else to explore.

He didn't make it far down the street before he felt like he was going to be knocked over by the gusts, however, and a concerned nurse ended up tracking him down, grabbing him by the shoulders to make sure that he didn't lose his balance.

"Mr. Collins, you should get inside," she urged. "Here, why not check out Pearl's? It's really quite nice."

Before he knew it, Castiel was inside an establishment that, judging from the sign outside, was a beauty salon. From what he understood, this was where humans went to get their hair styled and their nails painted, but he had never seen the point of it. Apparently it was for aesthetic reasons, but that was more or last thing on his mind. It did offer protection from the wind, although part of him wished that he'd been allowed to explore for a little longer.

Instead, he was left to stand near the entrance awkwardly and scan the strange products lining the shelves.

[For Renamon.]

Believe it or not, Byrne had read the notes. Eventually. It took him a little while of grumbling and huffing and being too much of a man to admit Badd had helped him out, but after some time he read the notes over a burger and fries at Tasty Burger. And yes, he had actually given them more than a few seconds' glance, and even had the decency to think them over carefully.

There wasn't much he could conclude from them, however. The notes were filled with several other nightly torture session cases, but they didn't seem to have any pattern to them other than that they happened. Everyone experienced something different; some got screwed up like Byrne himself had, some got physical benefits. One was actually happy with the results, and another had no ill effects whatsoever. And like Byrne was wondering, there didn't seem to be a cure for any of this besides modern medicine, and that was only a guess. One detail was interesting, though: the injected substances are most likely not made in the laboratory on the second floor. There was a laboratory on the second floor? Not that it should come as any great surprise, but wow. Did this mean whatever they used for their experiments here weren't created here at all, or just not on the second floor? Hmm.

Byrne continued to ponder this after lunch, as he wandered into the local grocery store. Just like last Doyleton trip, he was set on picking up a box of Swiss rolls. Why not? They were one of the few good things about this whole damned place, and they reminded him a bit of home. Only one problem: he couldn't remember where they were in the store. Byrne began pacing up and down the aisles, searching for those elusive chocolaty treats like a man on a mission. Oh, if they didn't have any today...they better have some today.

[free!]

With Eugene in need of some time to just rest up and let more of the drug get out of his system, Rapunzel had to wonder what she was going to do for lunch. It would be too loud and crowded in that Tasty Burger place, but she doubted he had the energy to sit down to a full meal with her either. In the end, they compromised. Eugene came with her to the Twin Pine Restaurant, but opted not to eat just yet. There would be other opportunities for him to get food later, when he was more ready for it.

So Eugene sat in a comfy chair near the front while Rapunzel found her way into the main seating area of the restaurant. To be honest, she had other reasons for wanting to sit down by herself for a bit. This was the place she had met Facilier the week before, and with any luck, she hoped he would show up to have lunch with her again. She hadn't seen him since the night they had talked to Harrington. Moreover, as much as she wanted to show off her boyfriend (could she actually call him that now?) to people as soon as possible, she doubted either Eugene or Facilier would be up for awkward drugged-up conversation during a meal.

She sat down at a booth, picking up the menu as she had the week before. What to try that she hadn't tried last time, she wondered as her eyes scanned down the page.

[Facilier]

The night hadn't been nearly as productive as Loki would have liked, though he didn't feel all that upset about it. He had all the time in the world, as far as he was concerned.

He would have to keep an eye out for those showing very visible signs of infection. It seemed to be a very rapidly progressing disease, which was interesting, but not necessarily all that helpful. Of course, the question of humanity was cute in terms of philosophy, but considering that Loki had never been human and had no desire to lower himself to that level, he found it amusing more than threatening. It would probably set the mortals into mental paroxysms, though.

The prospect of visiting the town Soma had told him about, that was certainly more interesting, and possibly useful. Particularly considering they were apparently to be given some money to spend. There had to be a book store in the town at the very least, an possibly something more useful. He had serious doubts that he'd be allowed to purchase anything overtly useful like specialized tools, but the knowledge was far more important and books were the best place to focus.

Loki smiled prettily enough for the nurse when she showed up and took the clothing offered. It was slightly less painful to look at than the normal horrible uniform - jeans and a green flannel shirt, though he wasn't enamored of the plaid pattern. The outfit also included a black jacket and gloves, necessary since the weather was still cold. He made certain to tuck his notebook and a few pens into the jacket, since even if he wasn't allowed to purchase useful books, there would no doubt be an opportunity to take notes.

And he had a message he wished to pass around as well. Hopefully there would be some sort of bulletin board in the town. If not, it could always wait another day he supposed. That didn't tend to make people less dead.

Loki went quietly to the bus, accepting the sack of food and the little booklet of coupons. He examined the card that came with it for a moment - apparently that was the money equivalent - then looked through the coupons. Really, of the choices the massage and the manicure sounded the nicest. He was particularly wary of the 'tasty meal' since in his experience, anything with 'tasty' actually in the name was destined to be anything but.

With his normal air of amusement mixed with despair at the general state of food in this place, he started picking through what passed for breakfast.

[Send me an angel!]

[from here]

As soon as the southern door opened, a draft started blowing through it, and Taura almost hauled the door shut. This wasn't a station, or a ship, though, and drafts didn't mean certain death. It wasn't reassuring, though, given what little people had said about what was waiting at the end this hallway.

She took one step into the hallway, which was nearly pitch black. She extracted her flashlight and flicked it on; just a short area, and then another set of doors, which, from a distance, looked as equally ornate as the last set. "All clear," she called back.

[From here.]

Another ornate room met her eyes, one with a low ceiling and a gold finish everywhere she looked. The focus of her gaze, however, fell on the centerpiece--the strange creature Renamon had referenced. It looked to be a hybrid, an unrecognized formation of animals she knew well, but for some reason, Tear did not believe it to be a product of science. The sphinx maintained an antiquated countenance, as if it had originated from a point far in Earth's past.

Nothing so old could logically be conceived by artificial means.

One might have expected the soldier to outright stare as she had with the tapestries. Tear, however, recalled the existence of riddles and stayed respectably cautious, even as she could not hide the wonder in her blue eyes.

[from here]

The hall, and its near-horrific tapestries that the Digimon hadn't been able to view properly before called itself as stark in the silence that still rang after IRIS's disjointed speech. Renamon truly wondered if the AI was self-aware, or only a complex program. Something like Digimon, or closer to the D-Reaper? Or not even anything of the sort.

They moved down the hall, and she ventured information. "Where we're going holds a being that commands respect. It isn't human, but it doesn't change the fact that it's an entity from human mythology. We have to face it, and solve a riddle it offers. If we don't succeed, it will fight us." She paused, then went on. "As things are, I don't think that we would survive."

[teleporting from here]

Her stomach twisted painfully, and she swallowed harshly. This was not her first time, and a lesser distance than the last two, but still it affected. She regretted suddenly finishing the remains of her dinner. Taking a moment to refind her feet, she moved to face the group. "...I'll explain. The--"

--To be cut off by the intercom sputtering to life. Expecting Landel, IRIS's tone came as a surprise. And more--

When the AI started rattling off binary, the Digimon's head jolted towards the ceiling, listening intently. After the first few repeats, she was sure that was all there was. She waited a moment more, and the intercom cut off sharply. "Jessica Drew and Peter Parker...." she murmured. One of the names sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. Who were they, to gain such a reaction to their demise?

[from here]

Taura took up station midway between the two halls leading back into the dormitories. Alone with her thoughts; the hall was quiet. Too quiet. Dead quiet, a little voice hissed in the back of her mind.

This was no time to be getting superstitious. It was unavoidable, really, in a profession with so much risk involved in daily operations, that those who survived found things to credit. Beyond their own skill, because they'd all seen better men/women/herms when their luck ran out, and skill only improved your odds.

Her luck was holding, tonight. Was Rita and Goku's?

[Rita and Goku]

[from here]

Taura was passing the door to the bathrooms when a thought occurred to her. Could that have been what Okita had been worried about? Did he know something had started? He hadn't looked especially well, come to think of it, but he'd never looked terribly energetic, except in the middle of a fight.

But if he'd known this was coming, why hadn't he said anything? He didn't have to use his own handwriting -- if he'd wanted to, he could have let them all know that something was coming without tipping his hand.

Or it could be something else. Politics. Loyalties. She hadn't expected him not to have any, but she wished he'd been willing to explain. Did he think she'd be disappointed? Maybe she would have, a little, but she would have listened to what he had to say. Did he -- no, he didn't think her unworthy of trust, but perhaps he hadn't been able to turn that same regard to himself? Or maybe it's just embarrassing, Taura.

[to here]

Anise had been quiet that evening. She ate dinner quickly, changed her clothes, then lay down on her bed to rest. The night hadn't even started, and she already felt worn out. She hoped that closing her eyes for a bit would make the headache go away.

Unfortunately, the pain was still there by the time the Head Doctor's voice began to ring through the institute. And his message... was possibly the creepiest she'd ever heard. A bug, an infection, symptoms, and then...

Anise clutched her pillow tightly, trying not to imagine it too vividly, but against her will, the memories of the nurses' transformations came flooding back. Was that going to happen to them...? He didn't say what the symptoms were. What if the aches and malaise Anise felt weren't just from overexerting herself and being under stress, what if...

No. Anise wouldn't believe it. She couldn't accept that. But her mind continued to wander. What if it wasn't her, what if the friends who'd been strangely absent that day were actually...

Damn it, no! The longer she stayed put, the more her mind was going to linger on horrible thoughts like those. Anise shot out of bed, scrambled to grab her things, and shot out the door. She had to find Guy.

[to here]

Lana was the first into the showers when the doors opened; she didn't really have a problem with communal showers, but she needed a few minutes to herself, a few minutes where she didn't have to watch her every reaction with the eyes of an ace interrogator. The tiles told no secrets, or, if they did, not to any of the other patients, and the near-scalding hot water spraying around her made an adequate do-not-cross line. She shampooed her hair, fingers tugging out the tangles one by one, and then ducked her entire head under the water. Her eyebrows needed plucking; with no makeup, no suit with tailoring that ran as close to military lines as could be respectful, no battles of wits that ran half on appearance and the other half on intimidation, she'd let things go. Pity. She'd need to fix that. They'd be in town tomorrow; perhaps she could purchase a few things then.

She had let herself relax. Taken a vacation, in this dead-end, because the only thing that had kept her going when everything had gone to hell was here, safe and sound and willing to forgive her. And now they were back to square one, at best. The worst-case scenario was what she needed the armor against.

She wrung as much water as she could out of her hair, tucked it behind her ears, and dressed in silence, as other women were still filing in.

[to here]

This was shaping up to be an emotionally draining day. Seeing Ilia at her weakest was heartbreaking, and trying to be strong enough to support her had taken a lot out of Anise. She just hoped it was enough...

But then there was another issue: keeping track of her Auldrantian friends. Returning to the bulletin, Anise found that Tear had replied, which was a relief... but there was still no word from Luke or Guy. It was too early to say if anything bad had happened, but Anise was worried. Guy in particular was always totally reliable, so what could be keeping him from answering?

Anise waited near the entrance to the showers, watching the people who went in, hoping to see a familiar face. Time passed, and most patients filed in... but there was still no sign of Luke or Guy.

Disheartened, Anise made for the courtyard alone. She walked for a while, and eventually decided to sit down on a bench. There, she pulled Tokunaga in front of herself and clutched the doll tightly against her chest. Between her worries about her friends and the various aches and pains in her body, Anise felt awful all over.

[free!]