...And do try not to get lost. That wasn't an idle threat. Lana still wasn't sure what he'd meant in his first announcement or the dinner announcement -- she wasn't trying to hide the fact that she was ill, now, and the nurse who'd accompanied her back to her room hadn't said a word about additional treatment. Nor had Lana asked. He might have meant the patient efforts, but somehow, it didn't ring right. He didn't generally go in for complete contradictions between the two late-evening announcements. More that one was straightforward and the other wasn't, though which was which changed from day to day, and he hadn't even chided them for taking matters into their own hands. Notes had been disappearing, but that happened any time people were sloppy and mentioned activities after dark.

So there must have been something else happening, and Lana hadn't been subject to it. And there was going to be something disorienting them tonight, whether it was physical or mental.

It didn't mean she had any good choices other than trying to get to the greenhouse, possibly alone. Possibly she'd been too confident when she'd refused Ryuuzaki's offer of assistance. She might need to work on that, assuming she survived the night.

She threw her coat on, checked that the gun was still safely in the pocket, and strode out of her room as fast as she could without running out of breath.

[to here]

[From here]

It seemed as though the corridors were somehow longer, more cavernous. Lust knew it was only her fanciful imagination, but the sense persisted. The supposed she was unnerved, on edge. It wasn't something she enjoyed but she didn't know how to change it. Everything felt more since she'd come to this place. Sometimes the intensity of her feelings startled her.

But here were the main hallways, she was making good time. Another corner and it would be the true main corridor...

[from here]

The homunculus covered the ground to the main women's hall quickly, her flashlight in her hand but currently off. She could see well enough in the dark, and she had little desire to get caught in some conversation as she had had happen all too often in the dorm halls.

She checked the mental map she'd memorized - roughly - of the place. The Greenhouse was on the far side of the building...what would be the quickest route? God, she wished she knew which doors were accessible and which weren't.

Ah well. It was a mostly straight trip across the Institute....

[to here]

"Goodness, is it really already time for dinner? Time certainly does fly! And such a lovely day, too. I certainly wouldn't mind having a nice cup of cocoa out on the patio or something..."

That was how the Head Doctor greeted them, although it apparently didn't take him long to realize he'd gotten a little off topic.

"Now then, it's time for the nurses to escort you all back to your rooms, where you'll have the opportunity to tuck into a scrumptious plate of turkey and gravy. And, of course, we always carry vegetarian options for those who don't eat meat. We also have our usual assortment of water, juice and milk.

"Also, some of you will be receiving some extra help in warding off whatever bug some of us have been catching. Please take care, everyone, and be sure to wash your hands! I'll talk to you all again later. Enjoy your dinner."

The intercom clicked off, leaving patients with the prospect of preparing for yet another grueling Nightshift.

((Respond to this post with your character's room number in the subject line. New room assignments are listed here. If you have any questions, let us know!))

Between his informative conversation with Taura, helping out Leanne, and then finally hearing back from Anise about her well-being, Guy's mood had improved exponentially since he'd woken up. They really seemed to have found the cure, and while a small part of him was worried that the worst would happen and Anise would relapse or it would all just be some way of distracting them from a worse problem, he did his best to shove those thoughts away.

For once, he wanted to feel optimistic about things.

In fact, when the shift change came and it was announced that they would have the opportunity to go to the greenhouse, Guy was quick to get to his feet and let his nurse know that he wanted to go there for lunch. If Taura had found some of that Saint John's Wort there, then Guy needed to at least scope things out and see if there were more of the flowers scattered around to be collected.

He didn't plan to hoard them all for himself -- far from it, in fact. But the more information he could gather and pass on to sick patients, the better.

It didn't take long to get to the greenhouse, and once they were inside Guy's nurse handed him his sack lunch. She told him to enjoy his meal and then left him to wander the area. Guy jumped to it, searching through the aisles of different plants and flowers for something that matched what he'd seen last night.

[Free!]

For the first time since Kyousuke arrived, waking up didn't feel the slightest bit strange or out of place. It was still like night had suddenly stopped, with nothing in-between then and now, but instead of being disorienting, or like there was something missing, it was like waking up from a nightmare. His breaths came heavy and anxious, everything flooding back to him, but unlike last night, he had more mental clarity, and he actually understood what it meant.

Sora... was dead.

After a moment, his breathing seemed to ease up, and he sat up slowly, and simply stared down at his blanket. The motion hurt quite a bit, a lot worse than it had yesterday morning, but he seemed to be in decent shape, all considered. Sore, battered, a little faint, but compared to worst of it...

He wondered if he should feel upset right now, or want to yell, or cry, but the truth was, he didn't. If anything, he was just numb. Tired and listless. He wasn't sure what to think or feel about anything, but somehow it seemed distant and disconnected, like something that hadn't actually happened. Yet, if he lingered on it too long, the lifelessness grew into something nauseating, heavy and constricting in his chest, and he didn't even notice until he realized he was gripping his bedding unnecessarily hard. So he forced himself to relax, and not focus on it too much. ... He preferred the cold sort of nothingness.

When the nurse arrived, she wasn't empty-handed, unfolding a wheelchair by his bedside and looking at him expectantly, as if she wanted him to settle himself into it. Looking at it was strange and uncomfortable, and he found himself refusing automatically.

"... I can walk fine. I don't need—"

"What you don't need," the nurse said sternly, "is to be overexerting yourself. You got to walk around yesterday, and what do you do? You go and reopen your injuries! Honestly, Mr. Taylor, you might be young, but you need to take better care of yourself! Today, you're resting, and if you're good about it, we'll see about maybe taking the chair away tomorrow."

That was bad enough, but then she wouldn't even let him wheel himself, and pushed him along from behind. This was totally unnecessary... But though it made him feel helpless, Kyousuke didn't have the energy to argue, so he let her do what she wanted. She asked if he wanted to make a quick trip the bulletin, first, but... Would the news be there? There were people who deserved to know, but there would be reactions to it, questions he didn't want to answer, and feeling his stomach give a lurch, he decided he didn't want to deal with it. Any of it.

Once in the cafeteria, the nurse asked him about breakfast, but Kyousuke insisted he wasn't hungry. ... He wasn't. Sensing he wanted to be left alone, she wheeled him off to an easily overlooked portion of the cafeteria, but quickly returned, setting food and some juice in front of him, "just in case." She set a small paper cup with a couple of painkillers on the tray, and after that, she left, leaving the boy to stare down the meal he didn't really want.

[ Kratos! ]

[ from here. ]

There were footsteps now.

Soft ones, loud ones, some that creaked and others that seemed to slide on smooth like the sound of shadows spilling along the walls. If anything, she could tell by the attempts at quiet that there was nothing of immediate concern in the area, or else there would be more alarm, more panicked voices rising to the occasion. No danger yet, but there were likely people, and Orihime wondered how everyone was coping with the fact that some of their friends held monsters beneath their skin. Wondering if they were flooded with the same fearsome doubt that she once had when she first saw--

Inside of her sneakers, her toes wiggled. The hallway seemed clear enough, and so there was nothing to fear, but every time her shoes hit the floor, she worried over her clumsy steps, her shoelaces – perhaps they’d reach up around her ankles and yank when she was least expecting it.

The hallway was exceptionally wider, perhaps colder, but she tried not to think about how small her light seemed as she scanned it across the floor in front of her, focusing instead on her instructions, on the little pieces of information she had gathered during the day. The door over there possibly led to there, the hallway on this end led over there…

Maybe she should have drawn herself a map before she left the room, but memory and necessity served well enough for her purposes. Paranoia, too. Battery life, her mind reminded her, and she shut off her flashlight as she neared the opposite wall, pressing a hand against it as she blindly groped around in the darkness.

You’re a cat. An owl! Kangaroo, Bat M-

Regardless of how much she attempted to imagine herself as a creature of the night (vampire? No, no, best not to cause any unnecessary panic in the off-chance her acting skills were too much for anyone else to handle), adjusting was much more difficult than she’d initially thought. Even as she heard others passing on by, she stubbornly persisted, biting the inside of her cheek as she avoided looking at the occasional beam of light coming from a stranger. Her eyes needed to get accustomed to the night anyway.

Anything else would’ve been cheating.

[ to here. ]

[ from here. ]

Learning process: she knew the monsters were there now, lurking behind every corner, within the shadows her flashlight cast whenever she redirected the beam. Last night had been a blur of confusion and apprehension, and this night was quickly turning out to be the same.

Or perhaps it was even more pronounced in all of its unknowns. A sharp blur of anxiety and fear that crept up on and crippled her more than the supposed limits imposed upon her powers, than her legs that felt like jelly beneath her with every successive step until she worried that they would trip her up as they had done the night before. It took a considerable amount of effort to tell herself that the monsters didn’t frighten her. A Hollow, Dracula, a Godzilla-sized Kon could pop out at her at any moment, but she knew – she was not afraid.

No, the monsters did not frighten her, but her imagination did worse. As Orihime made her way down the corridor, she attempted to instill some confidence in herself, to talk and try to start a conversation in hushed, whispered tones. “Ayame, Shun’o… You two are okay, right?” How apt, she thought, that if this asylum held any credibility to it, then perhaps she really was talking to the voices in her head, to the fairies that lived in her hairpins that allowed her to heal the wounded.

Putting it into perspective like that, she quickly realized she did not like the aforementioned perspective very much.

Learning process: she bypassed the door to the women’s restroom and made it to the door leading out to the bigger hallway she was led down earlier in the day. At the very least, she thought, it was progress.

[ to here. ]

With Rapunzel occupied, Tsubaki had no one to share her amazing discoveries with, not that she really knew what to make of them.

The thick, yellowy liquid she’d ingested seemed to be exactly what the Head Doctor’s note implied it to be--a healing draft of some kind. Instead of making her ill as she’d feared, she’d taken a peek under her bandages and noticed straight away that the cuts on her chest were rapidly healing. Not enough to make them made completely, but enough to be noticeable to the naked eye. And she’d only taken a small sip!

As far as she could tell, there were no side effects, either. The only strange thing to happen all dinner shift was the moment she opened her storage box and found throwing knives tucked inside. A whole set, sleek and black. Professional grade, too.

Tsubaki had spent a long while looking them over, perplexed. It wouldn’t be the first time a surprise had turned up in her things; the vial itself was one of them, the container of poison another. But ninja weapons? What was the motive behind giving her those? The Institute had conditioned her to be wary of blessings, given how double-sided they often were.

Blades would be useful, though. There was no doubt of that.

As the start of nightshift neared, Tsubaki had slipped them into her clothes, a strange taste of home in the act. It felt weird to be armed with more than just scalpels again. Granted, a few knives weren’t going to solve her and her friends’ problems, or prove the Head Doctor’s words wrong, but they were something tangible to hold onto. Something she might have to use before the night was out.

When the lock on the door finally clicked, it was like the starting gate at a race being flung wide. Time to go!

_{[to here]}

As the sun began to inch closer to the horizon, dark clouds gathered overhead. Even so, the Head Doctor didn't let that damper his enthusiasm.

"Good evening, everyone! I hope you've all had an enjoyable day, particularly our newcomers. Here at Landel's Institute, we're eager to welcome you into our big, warm family, so make yourselves right at home!

"For dinner, we're serving teriyaki & tempura, with our usual assortment drinks, including water, milk, and several kinds of juices. Enjoy your meals!"

As the nurses escorted patients to their assigned rooms, thunder rumbled in the distance, and the sound of rain tapping against the outside of the building echoed through the halls. Some of the staff would comment about the sudden change in weather, but no one let it interfere with their duties.

((Respond to this post with your character's room number in the subject line. New room assignments are listed here. If you have any questions, let us know!))

[from here]

Lana had pried herself back out of bed before exhaustion could overtake her -- now, she moved through the hallway with purpose. Anyone who knew her might be able to spot that she was moving at perhaps half the speed she usually did, but the hall was empty.

[to here]

To die for...

Was that idle chitchat? A red herring? The nausea making a convincing case for the chicken's immediate release and acquittal on all charges? Her stomach did a little flip as the gavel came down, pronouncing it not guilty. But wouldn't that mean it wasn't poisoned? Objection, your honor. This case makes no sense. She fell back onto her pillow for a second, head spinning. She was lightheaded, and giddy, and in no shape to be gathering her things in the dark -- she'd landed on the flashlight -- and heading out into it.

Nevertheless, she eased the flashlight out from under the small of her back and switched it on. A circle of light flickered into life on the ceiling, as the Head Doctor's voice came back on the intercom.

Five. How many were sick? She held the gun up into the light, probably thoroughly freaking out Ilia, even as she kept it pointed only at the near wall. What made a human? Guilt. Or innocence. A lawyer's answer, to pick both, but it was true. Animals didn't know what they did. Humans did. Temporary insanity, turned into a monster. It was a defense on legal grounds, but not on ethical ones. She wouldn't let it come to that.

Harrington's little interjection cut into the path her thoughts had wandered down. Another clue. This time, she was going to see it for herself. As long as she was still herself to do so. A good reason to hurry.

[to here]

A...visitor?

After the therapy session had ended, the nurse cheerfully announced that this mysterious person was waiting for him. Puzzled, he had to wonder how far their insistence to keep up appearances extended. Keep up appearances for whom, exactly?

Nonetheless, Seishin was led to the front of the building into some sort of waiting room. It was still empty when he entered, and after he had sat down in a chair the nurse left to collect his visitor -- or so he assumed.

He frowned. A visitor, was it? He had no idea what exactly to expect... Would it be someone he knew? That would be...impossible, wouldn't it? The fact that he alone had been dragged away from such a bloodbath was absurd enough as it was, after all. Surely, no one from Sotoba would be casually visiting a place like this, convinced their former village priest -- who had betrayed them, no less -- was simply 'mentally ill'. Not after such a mess...

Still, he had a bad feeling about this...

With how he was feeling between the wound on his shoulder and the overall body aches the illness was plaguing him with, Castiel hadn't minded the opportunity to eat on his own. For once, no other patients came over to speak with him, possibly because the pain he was in was noticeable somehow. Either way, he'd managed to eat enough to quell the twisting in his stomach and had then, against all attempts, fallen asleep.

It was the first time such a thing had happened when it hadn't been forced on him, and it was only when a nurse shook his shoulder that he woke up, half in a daze, and realized what had happened. While it was disturbing to realize to what extent his body was shutting down on him, the nap had at least eased up some of the pain that he was in.

With the second shift having passed far quicker than expected due to that unexpected doze, Castiel now had to decide where he wished to go next. It seemed that he wasn't due to see a doctor or a "visitor" at this point, but when Castiel stepped into the Sun Room he was told that they would be playing a film called "Jesus Christ Superstar."

In other words, remaining in that room wasn't an option.

As usual, his first choice in such a situation was to go to the library, and so that was where he ended up. The silence was even more of a relief than usual, due to the state he was in, and he quickly found himself a book to read -- Dracula -- and took a seat.

[For Izaya.]

[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.]

Kotetsu was permanently twisted around in his seat as he stared out the emergency exit at the bus behind them. Out of nowhere, it had veered right into a tree and dented the side of the bus, leaving the other buses no choice but to pull off to the side of the road and assist in anyway they could. It was hard to tell whether anyone had been hurt, but thankfully every bus was equipped with nurses so Kotetsu hoped any damage inflicted on the patients could be treated immediately.

Either way, the bus apparently couldn't start up again and that left them all little choice but to wait. With little to see and no signs of emergency care or an ambulance, Kotetsu started to get antsy in his seat.

Some of the other patients seemed just as restless as he, but in a much more dramatic fashion. Some stared out the windows with restlessness, with anxiety, and even grim resignation. It seemed like an odd mix of emotions to him, but if they had problems with hallucinations and schizophrenia, the night wouldn't be a very fun time for them.

Soon, though, the sun set, the rays fading with it, and then all hell broke loose. Kotetsu should have read the signs, seen how some of the adults and children on the bus clawed at their seats like they were on fire. When the nurses fell to the floor, Kotetsu instinctively jumped up to assist, but what he saw had him frozen in place. They were literally changing into ghouls and panic quickly overtook the entire bus.

The former Hero was grateful the nurses--Now monstrous villains--hadn't confiscated his new, crappy mask along with his alcohol as he dug it out of his jacket and cinched it to his face. He turned to his partner, but neither Hero needed words. They simply understood and Kotetsu immediately broke open the emergency hatch behind them with experienced ease, while Barnaby tried to corral the masses to the back of the bus. The alarm sounded but it really couldn't be heard over the raucous surrounding them all.

After lunch, Niikura was in much higher spirits, enough to actually suggest that he and Shiina go shopping for the heck of it afterward while they digested the heavy burgers. Even after thinking about it for a while, he still hadn't come up with anything he really, really wanted to buy, except for maybe some snacks, and those he could do without, seeing as they'd all be eaten in a matter of seconds. So, instead, he'd used his card to buy something cute (...he'd really used that word. WOW.) for Shiina. He'd actually felt pretty good about it too; even though she'd said that the hair bows were for kids, the smile on her face had said a lot more.

And now? Now, they were taking a walk through the park. It was still windy, but it had kind of warmed up...okay, it hadn't really, but that was okay because he could just protect Shiina from the wind with his gigantic, fat, poofy jacket. If he wrapped at least an arm around her, he could--this was a date, wasn't it? They'd gone out for a meal and some little cutesy activity, and now they were enjoying a quiet walk in a park with a pond and thoughtfully placed wooden benches and--

Niikura decided right then and there to be in denial.

"Looks good," he said with a grin, nodding to the ribbon now neatly tied in Shiina's hair.

This town was really beautiful!

Sonia had spent most of her morning looking around. There were so many places to see here. Even the run-down park on the far end of the town was better than some of the places she'd seen on Mobius. The townspeople were polite, but they seemed nervous about the prisoners being here. But the fact people were out in the street at all was a foreign sight to her. Which was a good thing in this case! This was how towns ought to be. How they'd look once Robotnik was out of town.

Shortly after checking to see what this place had to offer, she'd entered the beauty salon. There hadn't been any sign of Sora, but she knew he must be around. It was hard to find one person when everyone was spread out like this. In the meantime, she'd gone for the free manicure and facial. No massage today, she'd decided. Too many things to worry about, and it wasn't like she hadn't already spent a long time in there.

Her last treat to herself--possibly until next week, if she wasn't back in her dimension before then--came in the form of the Bath and Beauty Shop. She bought a mirror, a hairbrush, and a bottle of shampoo and conditioner (might as well make use of the money Landel had given them), and still Sonia walked out of the store frowning. If they could just get the townspeople to start taking them seriously, they might be able to join forces. The "patients" needed all the help they could get.

We have to prove to them that Landel is lying. If we do that... She might have said it out loud, but what difference would it have made? Neither of them were here to finish off the sentence.

She missed them so much.

[free]

As soon as Anise achieved wakefulness, the Head Doctor's words from the previous night immediately came floating back into her mind. People were getting sick. They were going to turn into monsters. That thought alone was chilling enough, but it was nothing compared to the terror that struck her when she sat up and saw her own hand. A red blotch covered the back of it, extending upwards to the wrist. Where did that come from?

The signs are already showing. That was what Landel said.

It couldn't be. Not her. If it was really true, then her life was as good as over. No... it had to be a mistake. Maybe the Head Doctor's words had scared her to the point that she was attributing random things to his threats. She was being paranoid. That was all it was.

And yet, no matter how many times she told herself that, she feared what might happen.

A nurse came to her soon, bearing an outfit for her to wear on the field trip. The striped shirt and gray skirt weren't particularly appealing to Anise, but the purple coat she was given wasn't so bad. It was a little big on her, but it was a nice, feminine color... and the extra long sleeves served to cover most of the strange rash. Anise didn't want to look at it, and she sure as heck didn't want anyone else seeing it.

When it was time to board the buses, Anise quietly took the lunch bag, climbed aboard, and sat down. She didn't look anyone in the eye. Even after sitting down, she merely stared down at the contents of her bag. The muffin didn't look the least bit appetizing - not while her stomach was busy twisting itself into knots, anyway.

[free!]

[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]