Snake jerked his head away from Fox's hand and shot to his feet, disorientated slightly by the sudden shift. The grout in the tiles was black with what looked like old blood, and the stench of rot heaved in his throat. Something was badly wrong. He sensed threats - left, faint shapes in the dark outside the large windows - Fox - something creaking in the ceiling - a long groaning voice off to the right, past the walls - and something moving in the back of the room -

It staggered towards him, and before he fully knew what he was doing he ripped the match from the book and struck it with his left hand alone, popped the cap off the hairspray, and blasted a tongue of flame at the aggressor, aiming for its face. He saw, in the flickering light, long hair and long nails and the skin on its rotten face peeling and cracking and bubbling in the heat. It gave a long, screaming cry, and toppled to the floor. Its arms and legs writhed and kicked furiously, an automatic, animal gesture, before it finally lay still.

"Here?" he snapped at Fox, wrapping his fingers around the can of hairspray. "This place gets better and better. It's like a theme park." His voice quaked with anger. The place now stunk of something far worse than rotten meat, and for a fraction of a second he thought he could hear Big Boss's voice saying something he couldn't make out before he realised that it had come from inside his own head.

"At least I don't have to be the only thing here back from the dead," he growled. The woman zombie was leaking something he didn't want to think about. He guessed that the decomposition must have trapped methane and other flammable gasses inside the body, hence why it went up like a candle.

That said, he didn't really think he could burn anything else again. For a while.

The shift was familiar enough, in it's own way, but it came too soon. He wasn't sure if any of the others in the group aside from Stefan had been around long enough to witness this before, but he wanted to reassure them that this was just like the changes the institute underwent at night.

Except it wasn't, this time. Marcus could hear them before he could see them, clawing through the dirt, and paused with his mouth open, losing what he'd been about to say. Then the first hand popped out of the ground, much like the zombified followers of the Banished Pantheon often did. Marcus didn't wait for them to start pulling themselves out of the ground entirely before he spoke, loudly but clearly. "It's time to go. Stefan, Scourge and I will head to the Sheriff's office and secure it, you three get people in Magus Park and down South Street to go there, we'll have it cleared and safe to use as a rallying point. When that fills up we'll take the hardware store," He could hear the moans of the undead off in the distance.

"I suggest you only go halfway down South Street and then go up to Main Street to arm yourselves in the hardware store if you need it, that will also take you past the Sheriff's office so you can drop anyone off. I have extremely good hearing so if you shout loud enough I may be able to hear you if you get in trouble and need reinforcements," Marcus decided it was time to wrap things up when the undead were finally all the way up out of the ground. "Try not to get bogged down in too many fights if you can avoid it. Go!"

He didn't waste any time either, and took off at a brisk but not all-out pace for main street.

((Closed to the Grim Heaper))

Heh, it seemed like he'd riled up Sho Minamimoto well enough from that one comment. It was refreshing, really; while the Reaper was certainly capable of coming up with innovative strategies, his basic core was still the same. It was a challenge each time, but not a serious one; something that Joshua could enjoy without putting too much effort into it.

Of course, now he was the one at the disadvantage, and Minamimoto was the one who could end this game as he pleased. Even still, the thrill of the Game filled Joshua as he strolled down the lanes of the park, waiting for Minamimoto. 'Magus' Park, a high class of men who revolutionized the field of astronomy and mathematics. He was sure that Minamimoto would think to search their, considering how he knew Joshua's flair for the dramatic. And if not, it certainly wasn't an unpleasant wait, now was it?

Senna stepped off the bus to wind blowing through the clothes she was given. A sad face at one of the nurses allowed her a long red scarf as well, and once she had draped it around her neck and let it hang down her back, she had trotted off.

The park she had saw last time seemed a good place to be on the look-out for the chicks from last night. It was close to the buses, and a big enough place that if they remembered that they had a race date, it would suit its purpose. The girl ran to a place in the middle of the field and waited there, shifting her weight from side to side. After a while, this wasn't enough, and Senna traded back and forth between jogging in place and acrobatics--the easy flips and cartwheels keeping her warm.

Her mind had changed in the night before. She had gotten a taste of what leadership entailed, and she wasn't sure she had rose to the occasion or not. She knew she had tried her best, and had been willing to give as much as she had, but it hadn't been enough. She knew this. Hokuto, at least, had gotten hurt, and in the end, they still hadn't explored more than the schoolhouse. They really needed a different approach with that place.

She went back and forth internally, body going through the motions and reflexes of her movements.

[for... Falis, Hokuto, Meche, and Soma?--and down to here]

Haseo's steps were heavy with the weight of righteous anger as he was escorted into the Sun Room, his posture so sullen and reluctant you could almost hear the nostalgic cry of an electric guitar. He was seething, and though perhaps it was a bit harder to be intimidating while wearing the uniform of an insane asylum and flanked by a bored-looking orderly, it was not for lack of trying.

Unfortunately, his nurse seemed unaffected by the act, and even with the cloud of failing to keep "Kai" away from "Peyton" hanging over her, remained determinedly cheerful. She merely said something about receiving a lecture later on, ignored his retorts, and assured him that it would be alright even though his internet stalker was in the same building. For the most part, Haseo tuned her babbling out after that, dismissing it as hopeless.

"...and usually this would be the time children would be taking showers, but you don't have to worry about that right now. Now then, le--"

"Wait. What?"

"Oh, all the children seventeen or under are separated right now while the adults go to the courtyard..."

"Hey, I'm not a kid you old--!"

"Oh of course you aren't dear, but you're not eighteen yet either, now are you?"

Haseo resisted the urge to do something rash, literally biting his tongue to keep quiet. But upon having the bulletin board pointed out to him, he shrugged off his anger for the most part and headed that way, fully intending to get more answers than he'd had time to receive during breakfast.

Well... at least Endrance is in another shower group, he thought, Thank god.

[Closed to Tsukasa, for now!]

Endrance turned his head to look at the intercom, giving it a look that would wither an entire rose garden in an instant. He would never get used to ending up in his room again from somewhere else in the Institute.

He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, not sitting up just yet. He could tell already that his torso had been heavily bandaged, even more so than it had been the night before. The cuts on his arms were covered with fresh bandages, and the one on his cheek seemed to no longer be there at all.

Endrance had been expecting to wake up in a lot of pain, but even that seemed numbed. "They must have given me something," he murmured quietly, as he slowly sat up.

At that moment, his nurse came to get him, pushing a wheelchair along with her. "Peyton, dear, good morning. I've come to take you to breakfast, so..." He shook his head. "I'm fine. There's no need for that...I can walk perfectly well."

She sighed. Well, if he insisted, she wasn't going to stop him. She motioned for an orderly to take the chair away, and walked him to the cafeteria. Once they had gotten there, she pointed him toward a seat, then set a full tray of pancakes covered with syrup, a bowl of fruit, and a glass of orange juice in front of him. "Now eat all of that, Peyton, or else you won't be strong enough to keep walking like that."

He glared at her back as she walked away, then stopped suddenly. There was that faint pulse he'd felt the night before...it was exactly the same.

And so he completely ignored his food in favor of staring at the cafeteria doors, looking at every patient that came in.

[thread will be closed to Haseo. ♥]

Utena's second night seemed to have ended even sooner than the first had, which greatly disappointed her. She had been hoping that at some point, she could have coaxed her friend into telling her what was so horrible that happened in her future. Then again, curiosity aside, she was also somewhat relieved that she didn't have to hear it just yet. She half-wondered if Landel had ended both of their previous nights early on purpose, too, just to make certain that Utena didn't spend enough time with her friend to potentially hear of that future.

Almost as soon as she thought of Landel, Utena heard his voice crackle over the intercom again. Hearing him yawn through his announcement almost made her sleepy as well; she'd had no idea that yawns could be contagious over speaker systems. Physically, she did feel rested, though she certainly couldn't remember sleeping or dreaming between the end of night and her waking up.

As her nurse came to collect her for breakfast, Utena felt conflicted over whether she ought to see Himemiya again that night. On the one hand, she wanted to be there for her friend and try to coax some of the girl's old self out of her. Either that or at least try to console her about whatever was troubling her. On the other hand, she knew that it would be stupid to waste too many nights on talk. She could be helping Seiya or the clubs or finding metal to store for whenever Skuld was ready for her, something that would help her and Himemiya break out faster.

Maybe I'll post a message for her later if I don't see her again during the day. It's not perfect, but at least it'll let us talk and then leave me an opening to go out and do . . . whatever it is that might need doing, she thought as she was escorted into the cafeteria to pick up breakfast (english muffins that morning). Remembering the clubs again, Utena thought about the message exchange she had had with that girl from Arts & Crafts, Momo Hinamori. They were supposed to be meeting over breakfast, right? Utena didn't see anyone who matched Hinamori's description yet, but then, the girl had said that it would be easier for her to find Utena than the other way around. She sat down at a nearby table for the time being and waited, running the previous night's short conversation in her head over and over.

[For Momo]

[from here]

Obviously she had hurried too fast. No one was even in this hallway yet, and she stared at the empty hall with a sigh. She guessed she was waiting then. At least she had arrived before the other two of her team.

Her. Hah.

Senna moved to a closeby wall, leaning against it lazily. Momo was a Shinigami. She'd be here soon. Then they'd sort out this mess. Senna watched the doorways, one hand holding her spear and the other idly playing with the red sash tied around her waist.

[chatting with Momo over here.]

[From here.]

"It's not a problem," Sousuke replied, hoisting Miku a little higher on his back as he spoke.

Miku wasn't heavy by a longshot, but Sousuke was starting to feel as though they had been walking for much longer than he had anticipated. There should have been a road or some sort of landmark by now. He couldn't afford to show that he was nervous, though. He had to keep up appearances for the sake of Allelujah and Miku. If either of them knew that he was having second thoughts about this operation, they would realize that they were lost in the fog and possibly panic. So he pressed on, still keeping a hold of Allelujah's sleeve, determined to find something.

[From here.]

Sousuke was a little surprised at how easy opening the gate had been, but then again, hopping over walls wasn't all that difficult either. But with Miku clinging to his back, it was preferable that they walk out instead of do any climbing.

But now they were positioned to make their way to the town. The road looked like it curved in one direction further down, but Sousuke's sense of direction said that the town was in a different direction. Considering how different everything looked during the night and how foggy it was, he wasn't going to trust his eyes--just his senses.

"This way," he said, jerking his head away from the road and towards a group of trees not far off.

There had been an awkward air left between him and Tyki after their conversation. Yuuri knew he wasn't the best at explaining much of anything, and for the tenth time he wondered why Murata wasn't here to answer the difficult questions for him. Everyone had been herded out of the cafeteria after that, and Yuuri had simply followed along in confusion as he headed towards the showers.

Yuuri still hadn't seen Wolfram yet and the young Maou was wondering if the blonde Mazoku was alright. Stretching his head up higher, Yuuri attempted to look over the heads of the other patients around him in an attempt to catch sight of Wolfram. Unfortunately, though, he was unsuccessful.

"Where are you, Wolfram?" He muttered to himself while stepping under the shower's spray. Maybe a shower would help clear his mind.

[Waiting for Wolfram]

There were still too many things on Armand's mind for him to truly relax. The morning with Alec had been a help. And seeing that TK was going to be well helped him know that it was time to work out something else, but what? He'd already, without success again, tried to reach one of the club leaders about his sole idea of something new and different. Maybe it was hopeless.

There was no way he was going to play with paper and glue like a small child, and he glared at the nurse as best he could until she gave up on the idea. There was a free chair in the Sun Room--in fact, there were many free chairs--where he settled down to see what the new patients looked like. Prisoners, not patients. He felt bad that he had to remind himself. Even if he was crazy, he wasn't going to give in to Dr. Landel's game, not today. He nibbled on an overgrown cuticle and kept an eye on the room. No dozing today.

[for Citan]

Kio had been having quite a time with Kunzait. He couln't really believe that one of his childhood characters was here. Well... characters. Some guy with a lot of time on his hands and cosplay. That was all there was to it. He had hoped, as people filed into the Sun Room, that he would glimpse Soubi. No luck.

Perhaps it was better to just accept that his friend was gone. Soubi was in Goura, with Ritsuka. Well, sort of. If the bulletin note was anything to go by, Kio had a handful of pranksters on his hands. He could understand it if this were an appropriate time for jokes and such, but it wasn't. However, should that boy prove to indeed be Ritsuka, then Kio had someone from home. He'd hoped that the identity of the other person would be revealed, but other than minor scathing remarks between 'Ritsuka' and the other, nothing Kio could say was Soubi or not.

If anything, it just annoyed the man. When the nurse came to take him away, Kio went silently. He did not remark on how 'Mr Akatsuki' was being friendly already and how that was a great improvement. If anything, Kio was not himself. But he had to try. Grabbing a tray with enough meat and vegetables, he frowned at it.

"No sushi?". The nurse just smiled. No sushi. Sighing, he moved to a centre table and sat down, picking at his salad. He was a bit hungry. But more than anything, he was despondent. He missed Soubi. He wanted all this to prove to be one giant nightmare.

[Sou-chan! <3]

((Specifically M22))

Pain. Adelheid suddenly felt a stab of agony radiating from his right eye, where that ghostly woman had brushed up against him. He could feel the lines of the tattoo starting to spread across his skin, the pain extending until he nearly couldn't think straight.

And he had things to do, people to meet and weapons to make. Adelheid gritted his teeth and swore he would make it through. It was just pain, right? Just pain... he could endure that. He had to endure it.

Sheena kind of felt bad leaving Elena with her obviously upset, but she guessed there were friends coming for her and they were definitely more equipped than the strange ninja that happened to be her roommate for handling these things. So, fresh cards in hand, with less ink stains on her hands than before, the ninja set out.

Let's see... Pick Raine up, get to the Clinic, hope Ritsuka would ask for the escort to Soubi's room... train Forte. She was worried about Forte given that post on the board, but she'd deal with things as they came.

[to here]

Bidding farewell to his brunchmates, Zelnick headed into the sunroom, pausing to consider which of the other rooms to spend his time in--

-- only to find his arm caught by a nurse. "Come on, Caleb, time to see your visitor!"

He couldn't have heard that right. "Visitor?" he echoed, and she nodded, guiding through the sun room.

"Yes, visitor. Come on, you don't want to keep her waiting, do you?" The nurse took him into an unfamiliar room, settling him into a chair, and left him to wait.

[From here]

Miku pushed open the door to get away from the smell wafting down the main corridor. She swallowed some of the bile down that threatened to surge up into her throat and sighed. Her face felt hot, and her hands seemed clammy. Miku worried if there was something she would see tomorrow night, and hoped she didn't know the victim.

Her thoughts turned to Ritsuka, and her stomach dropped into her knees. "Sousuke," she squeezed her new boyfriend's (again, that was such a weird... word to use) hand and shined her light up the stairwell. "You don't see anything, do you?"

[from here]

The top of the stairwell led to... another hallway. It looked a lot like the one they'd just left, complete with looming shadows and a sense of impending doom. Wally was starting to get really sick of it. If he was going to have to walk everywhere at this insanely slow speed, he could at least have gotten something slightly more interesting to look at. Or course, 'interesting' in this place seemed to mean 'monsters about to kill you', so maybe he shouldn't complain that much. Besides, at least he could keep talking at Tony while walking. "So, I don't suppose you've got a weapon on you at all? In case we do get attacked?"

Once again, Sheena ended up with a broken pen and ink stains on her hands. She glared at the offending writing utensil and then sighed. At least she had some spell cards again and she'd taken extra time to make sure they were done right this time since the ones she made last night had all mysteriously smudged come morning. She left the small amount of crumpled up paper laying on the floor as she ripped her sheet up and folded a long strip properly and then tied it about her waist, perfect bow in the back with the long ends hanging down (the way she liked it), fashioning an obi. It felt more comfortable and she had a better place to put her cards.

The summoner broke off a teeny tiny piece of fudge and wrapped it in it's own piece of paper to take along. She thought Tamaki might like it. With a grab of her cards, Sheena slipped out of her room to go collect Raine. She wondered if she'd run into Forte again. Then again, if Forte ran into any monsters, she'd probably hear him clear across the building.

[to here]