[From here.]

Even though the hallway seemed especially quiet tonight, Zack wasn't bothered. He was used to moving around in quiet areas on his own, from caverns to wide open fields to shorelines. He didn't get spooked very easily, and if anything, he felt like he was in his element. He had a weapon in hand was was moving at his own pace, not trailing after anyone else or being followed by someone. As much as he realized that working solo wasn't possible here, sometimes he wished he could still have the luxury of only having to rely on himself.

"Ahh well," he muttered to himself as he took a few testing swings with the pry bar. This was yet another thing he had to thank Tifa for. He was hoping the metal wouldn't bend when he actually started to pummel monsters with it, but there was really only one way to test that. Though he also had to wonder if it could double as a way to get doors open when they were being difficult.

Zack was still jealous of Cloud's sword, but he had to remind himself that he had a materia to test out. He still didn't think that sizzled zombie flesh sounded like something he wanted to be exposed to, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made.

He'd set the meeting spot as the hallway by the stairs, and so Zack continued down the corridor. At this rate, he'd probably beat Tifa there.

[To here.]

[From here]

"Ah...!" This wasn't the right hallway yet, but he could tell it was close from the fresh smell of patients off in the distance. He continued to jog briskly down the hallway, making sure to control his breathing so he didn't get winded so easily. There would be a lot of running (he hoped, at least) this night and it would be good for him to return to his basics in order to ration his stamina. Unfortunately, honing his stamina did nothing for his irregularly terrible night vision. Out of nowhere, he bumped into the wall beside him, squawking like a bird at the sudden impact.

"Jeez..." At least he only got hit on his forehead, that was the thickest part of him really. Keeping one small hand on the side of the hallway for safety, he continued forward, grumbling softly.

[From here]

"Hmmm..." Goku walked down the hallway with short steps, stubby arms crossed over his chest, as he wandered down the dismally dark corridor that seemed to just continue on forever. This was where he had met Spock last night, but he couldn't really sense anyone else in the hall with him. He took another sniff, but decided to just keep searching elsewhere for a companion for the night. The monkey boy had seen plenty his first night in the institute a few hallways away. That would be the best place to start looking.

With a destination in mind, Goku quickly jogged down the hall and opened to door ahead of him.

[To here]

The intercom jingle was slightly different for this shift, almost as if it had gone up in quality. The Head Doctor gave a sigh of relief, his own voice clear as a bell despite the usual electronic buzz.

"Hello, everyone – from our new and improved intercom system! We've had electronics rehauling our circuitry, and you can hear the result quite nicely! A whole bunch of improvement! Right, anyway...

"As I'm sure you've noticed, we have a whole new bunch of patients that have joined us recently, and because of the changes in our roster, we've updated our roommate assignments, so some of you might be enjoying the company of someone entirely new tonight! Please be polite and friendly to anyone you might encounter!

"Which brings us to... dinner! Tonight, we'll be having a delicious 'bento box' meal consisting of fish and vegetable tempura along with chicken teriyaki, a bowl of steamed rice, miso soup, salad, and... green tea! Decaffeinated, of course. We can't have you bouncing from wall to wall when there's sleep to be had! Our usual assorted drinks and alternative meals are also available. Oh, and... dessert! Green tea ice cream, with a topping of red bean paste.

"I think that's all for now! I'll speak to you once more before bed time."

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. Please refer to the updated room assignments before posting. Thank you! ]

Lunch had taken his mind from his worries, if only for a few minutes. But after the intercom sounded and the nurses began leading patients onto the next activity, one look at the bulletin board brought everything back in full force. No replies from Ashton, Dias or Dad. By now Claude felt like he was practically counting down until the end of the day, when he was going to have to finally grapple with the real possibility that most of his friends from before Landel's, as well as his own father, had fallen victim to the institute.

And now he was going to have to deal with his mother being here on top of that. It didn't seem like a coincidence that she'd show up right when his father's whereabouts were so up in the air. But what did it mean? Why couldn't Landel leave his family out of this?

Normally, the announcement about new video games would have made him perk up, but his eyebrows only knit together with concern as his nurse led him into the game room. That didn't seem to stop her from trying to get him to unwind, though.

"Oh, come now, Thomas, you've worn that expression for most of the day!" she told him with a frown. "Why don't you have a bit of fun now that your eyes are all better? I'm sure you could use it."

The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of his "sleep studies", he darkly thought to himself. But before he could protest, his nurse had sat him down in front of one of the television screens. There was an old gaming console, one Claude had never seen before, and he glanced at her with a confused expression. "Go on," she encouraged as she placed one of the controllers in his hands. "I know how much you enjoy these kinds of things. Someone will come play with you soon, too, I'm sure. Doesn't that sound nice?"

He didn't have time to answer her, because she'd soon bustled off to tend to some of the other patients. Claude watched her leave with a sigh. He realized the daytime staff meant well, which made knowing what they turned into at night even worse to think about. But now he was just being negative for the sake of it, wasn't he?

Taking in a small breath, he reached over to the console and turned it on. As long as he was waiting for some kind of answer from the bulletin, there probably wasn't much he could do except pass the time. Claude watched the title screen appear on the television, his expression growing more curious in spite of himself. Super Mario Bros....

[For Prussia!]

Scar possibly couldn't have been more thrilled at the prospect of being escorted to the library. He had visited this particular room plenty of times to know that it was entirely useless and uninteresting - like most daytime activities, for that matter. Still, the nurse seemed rather convinced he'd like one of those silly books filled with papers and papers of those silly symbols he could suddenly understand for reasons that still puzzled him. These symbols didn't quite tell him anything interesting either; if he'd wanted a silly story he'd listen to that senile baboon back home. Instead, he felt like he was particularly mocked with this activity. He had been blinded last night, only to be dragged over to something that required his eyesight as soon as it had returned.

Not caring whether he was taking the situation way too personal, the former lion opted for glaring to the spine of a book - with words reading 'Lolita' (whatever that may have meant) along with a name he didn't care the slightest bit about - as if everything had been its fault. The truth was that Scar was this close to snapping, and though breakfast had been a welcome distraction it hardly did anything to defuse his frustration and anger.

Especially because he had no idea when something like that would happen again. Or what else they had been doing to his head...

[For Naraku!]

How one's body could maintain a waking schedule when sleep came unnaturally and in a room without windows, must surely be a mystery. Yet, as if working on cue, Natalia stirred well before her nurse arrived. That was normal. Less so, the weight that sought to press her eyelids closed again, the heaviness of her limbs that made lifting her hands to her face an effort. She put her wrist to her forehead with a frown, then attempted a jolt of energy – to swiftly dig her hands into the mattress and shove herself into a seated position, and from there, to her feet.

Not to overexert herself once again, but to refuse that it could be possible after sleeping. Happily, though all still felt leaden, her head did not swim. Encouraged, Natalia put on her slippers, rearranged the bedding, and waited. There came the announcement (reminding her, suddenly, of what she had last heard, and the guilt that had twisted in her gut, Jill--), and her face wrinkled with disgust at the hacking sound. Therapy and breakfast. Food would surely help.

Natalia did not wait long before her nurse opened the door, and after exchanging cursory “Good Morning”s (with rather more enthusiasm on the other woman's part), they began the walk to the Cafeteria. With, of course, the essential rest room stop, where water was splashed and scrubbed over her face, and her hair toyed with to no great satisfaction. At least the shower had renewed its body.

Separating in the Cafeteria, Natalia took her place in line and loaded her plate: eggs, fruit salad, fried “tater tots” (potatoes?), and curious meat wrapped in cooked dough. Some of everything, with juice and water. She thanked her servers, collected utensils and napkins, and found a seat at an empty table. It was early yet.

Sparing a brief look around to be sure no one she recognized had arrived – though she remained eager to greet every patient, at the moment she chose to focus on the possible strength gained from the meal – Natalia began to cut up the items and eat with a refined gusto. Entirely possible!

[Claude!]

No. Not even that ever-so-charming red-headed girl wasn't able to take his mind from memories dragged to the surface. It wasn't so much of a surprise--those things, that girl, had occupied his mind for a long period of time. Where every waking thought, after reaching over to find his twin's mind on her, became an undulating hatred of her presence. And so being reminded of that again had become simple. He had hated that girl. And there was nothing more clear than that fact. Nothing.

Even still. Stepping into the empty shower room was almost a shock. Every one since he had arrived here had been shared with one sibling or the other. The absence of both-- Though both should already have been recognized. Was he still looking for Rubedo, out of habit, when Albedo knew, knew in the way that his heart was beating solitary yet again that his twin was no longer here? How absolutely pitiful he was. With no wanting to stay, Albedo hurriedly washed to the nurse's specifications, then moved to leave. To come nearly face to face with the baby. Blanks looks and shifted eyes seemed the norm, and even as Albedo didn't move to break the pattern, something burned within his chest.

Something close to hate; something touching on despair.

[to here]

Edward was glad to wake up to a period of respite. While he had been conscious during breakfast, he'd requested to remain in his room for extra "sleep", which had consisted waiting until the room was vacated to ingest the vial of Venom's blood. The vampire had lost his chance last night, but that might have been for the better; this way he wasn't in a rush to examine the flavor, as somewhat repulsive as that sounded. Even though he was primarily concerned with getting a meal instead of trying to divine what chemicals could be in the patient body as a whole - if any were at all - he was taking his job seriously, as he knew the risks Venom was already taking with him

He didn't like debts, after all. He was still trying to make up for his first transgression against the assassin.

The blood was familiar to him, but he could find no difference in it from the first time he had drank from Venom. Though his sense of taste was probably lacking compared to what it had once been, Edward couldn't sense any chemical that shouldn't have been a part of it. It was just... blood.

After the vial was emptied, he'd been sure to shove it back into the pillowcase stashed in the closet, as long as shoving the shotgun under his mattress. He was actually surprised the weapon was seemingly so easy to hide; unless the nurses never entered the rooms to search through them, there was no way it should still be here. In a way, he was beginning to think of the rooms as a safe haven.

Though that thought couldn't be necessarily true. After all, when he awoke, Bella's blood wasn't staining his fingertips, and the bandages on his face had been removed as the cuts slowly healed themselves. Someone was changing them, and if he assumed he hadn't gained the ability to sleepwalk as well as sleep, well...

Lunch had already passed for the vampire if Venom's blood was anything to show for it, so he took his usual route through the line, promptly pushing the tray of whatever-the-hell away from him as soon as he sat down. This time he'd brought his journal with him, and though his memory was perfection itself he wanted physical evidence of what he had found in the institute after all. Mostly he was making a note for Bella - a picture of the blond man, the not-Zato, and sketches showing the way its form had changed subtly to reveal the nature of the beast. Assuming it was a beast, of course.

[For his killer bff.]

[From here]

Of course. Yet another of his suggestions unheeded. The instant that von Karma entered the Sun Room, he nearly tripped over one of those blasted cats that tried to knead its head against his leg. Since the nurse's watchful eye was upon him, he nudged his foot against the furry nuisance to move it aside so that he could make his way to the bulletin board.

Hmm. It appeared that Franziska had already found his report and taken it down, even though he hadn't seen her at all today so far. It was just as well. He wasn't eager to even look at her, let alone speak to her. As for his note to Ms. Taura... no response yet. He frowned. There was no notice from the damned History Club offering assignments, so she couldn't have accepted one already. It was imperative that he get an answer regarding his own mission as soon as possible; he would ask the nurse about "Ms. Jackson" should he receive no response by the end of the day.

Two notes caught his attention, both from Ms. Ema Skye. One of them, in particular... so she had connections to Mr. Javert, did she? von Karma would have to keep an eye on this discussion; his name had better not come up in it.

After he was finished perusing the board and finding little of use so far, he found a secluded table in the corner and sat there, hoping that no one would disturb him.

[Mello]

As expected, after the allotted amount of time had passed, the nurses started to move through the waiting rooms to inform the visitors that it was time for them to leave, whereas in the Sun Room King Kong was turned off and the staff quickly sprung to action to put the equipment away.

Meanwhile, the sound of intercom turning on cut into the hustle and bustle, but it was Lydia's voice which came through. "Mr. Landel is taking a quick nap," was all she said by way of explanation, as she seemed to be beyond making lengthy excuses for the man. "Nurses, once the visitors have said their goodbyes, escort the patients back to their rooms for dinner. Tonight there is steak and fries on the menu, with a slice of cheesecake for dessert and vegetarian options if requested.

"Enjoy your food and have a good sleep." Keeping it short, the intercom then turned off.

[From here]

The kitchen was another totally valid target. Last time, that spider had kept him from getting to keep those cookies (nevermind he had thrown them at her). He just felt like going there first tonight. In no way was he avoiding dealing with Neku. He could go kick that nanogram's face in any day of the week. He just had better things to do now than here him whine about some dead variable J. That was practically old news - he was composer now.

"Out the door, patio, 180 to the left, door, door, kitchen," he rambled absently.

[From here]

Stomping up the stairs, the Mathematician was immediately reminded of his lack of a hand truck banging up behind him. He'd probably need to replace that if he wanted to grab more materials for his artwork.

"Haven't made so much as a single standing statue since Night 1," Sho muttered as he clomped up the stairs in his institute boots. Sure there'd been the occasional creation in Arts&Crafts, but that hardly counted. Well, there was one artistic piece he could be proud of, fleeting as it was... "Well, other than my latest masterpiece!"

A chuckle and laugh - he still had most of the materials for another as well - all he needed was a suitable subject to paint red with flame.

[from here]

As Mello walked toward the area overlooking the Sun Room, a tension he hadn't realized he was carrying eased off a little, not entirely. There'd be screaming in the rooms by that hallway, the one he deliberately hadn't let himself glance in the direction of, though he knew the sound wouldn't carry to the hall itself. Nothing he could do for them, he reminded himself, and finding out what Matt knew was more important. "Did we win yet?" he asked.

He fought to drown out the doubts trying to crowd in, the thought that even if they had for Matt, that didn't mean it would happen that way for Mello. Here L was with the answers to the case ready to act on, but Mello still remembered standing in Roger's office, hearing the unthinkable, as vividly as if it had been yesterday. The possible explanations were all equally horrible--L dead despite everything, or dead no matter what in Mello's timeline, or unable to escape soon enough--and though Matt hadn't had time to answer, Mello looked back at him and snapped, "Well?"

[from here]

When he rounded the corner into the larger hallway, Kurogane determined to put the thoughts of being the only patient there aside. Even if that were the case, it didn't change his final goal for the night. The magician would have been helpful, but he was confident enough in his own ability to get things done.

Finding the feather remained a difficult task though. The basement had been less than helpful when it had come to locating the source of this place's power. But the third floor... no one had ever been able to reach it, yet they all knew it existed. The outside of the building proved enough. They just had to find the way to get up. If that meant forcing a hole through the floor, then fine, because right now it was the last place to go.

[gone here]

Although the trip was longer than usual on account of the rain and wind, the buses did eventually – and safely – reach Landel's Institute. No strange happenings yet; the patients were escorted off the buses according to the usual protocol and made to go to their rooms and change back into their normal uniforms while the nurses temporarily left them to retrieve their dinners and, in some cases, new roommates.

It wasn't long before the Head Doctor made one of his usual announcements:

"Welcome back, everyone! I regret I was unable to join you on your foray today, but you'll soon find that we had some new guests to attend to in your absence! And now, for your dinner: lamb curry, spicy, but served with naan and mildly seasoned steamed vegetables for anyone who might have a sensitive tongue! For dessert, we'll be serving each patient a slice of banana cream pie, and our usual drinks and dietary alternatives are available.

"I'm hoping you all didn't get too wet, and hopefully the hot dinner will warm you up in no time. Nurses, please escort our newer patients to their new rooms, and everybody, I'll speak to you again soon!"

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. Find new room assignments here. ]

Other than catch a glimpse of a few book spines and the first floor, McCoy hadn't gotten the chance check out the store fully. He'd still managed to uncover a few interesting things before he left. It wasn't exactly the answer, or even close to it, about how to get out of here, or what they had planned for them, or even who these people really were. What it did give them was just a little better picture of what they were dealing with. Venkman had been his usual self, complete with the sarcasm and sass, but he'd also said plenty.

It did tell him that the staff wasn't as unified as he'd thought. 'Course, Venkman could just be the odd man out. That fact wouldn't surprise him, considering that personality of his. But supposing that the other doctors weren't completely fooled by the whole charade, or if they weren't fully on-board...

It was raining more heavily by the time McCoy left the building. As much as he wanted to stay behind, where it was dry and he wasn't flirting with the flu, he had his orders. These grounds weren't going to cover themselves.


[For Jim]

That kid probably deserved some kind of award for being pretty high up on the Annoying Teenager scale, and yet Harvey wasn't willing to give him anything. Eventually he'd been able to lose him, though it took the heavier rain and a bit of persistence to pull it off. He ended up ducking into the grocery store, despite the fact that he had little interest in what the place had to offer.

Not that the people here were ever willing to sell them anything.

Still, there was one other small reason for coming in here. Even though he hadn't heard from Jason in what felt like too long (the period of time wasn't all that long, but every minute seemed to count in this place), he remembered that they'd set up a meeting on the bulletin board in here last week.

Maybe the kid would stop by and Harvey could catch him for once. It was hardly a plan, and he felt ridiculous just standing around and waiting, but the town was useless to him and this place was at least dry and open. So, Harvey lingered near the bulletin, arms crossed over his damp raincoat, scanning the store from time to time. He just hoped the owner of the place didn't decide he was "loitering" and kick him out.

[He's free! Free as a bird!]

[M88]

The same routine again. Leon didn't want to admit he was still feeling a little tired; he'd be able to do what was asked of him tonight at least. It hadn't appeared to be that complicated of an order. Hopefully, some of those that had promised to pay back the metal he'd used for their weapons would show up as well. It would be nice to know he could count on others to be true to their word.

His own very diminished supply was dragged out once more, in the event that whoever was coming tonight would have need of it. He hoped not, since that would be four out of four that had come unprepared.

The young mage sat patiently at his desk, ears twitching every so often. It was a pleasant reminder that they were there. The announcements were also worth thinking over, since he hadn't heard about the people on the radio for some time now. An interesting name for a group, wasn't it? P.A.I.L.? (He'd thought for a moment that Landel had said "fail," but that didn't make much sense in the context. Not that "pail" made a whole lot more.) It would be worth bringing up with Claude if he could get the opportunity to speak with him again soon.

[For Yuna!]

Fish and chips weren't his favorite thing ever, but he did make sure to eat it all. He just liked to think of the fish as the Filet'o Fish without the bun and it made it easier to eat. The french fries had been pretty well cleaned off and he'd even managed a bit of fruit, although he avoided the oranges and other sour things his nurse had insisted on putting on his plate. But the fries had been good and he felt a little better having eaten something. With everything that had been going on lately, Ritsuka had been shirking on his meals more than usual and it'd all but made him sick.

Now, as he flopped onto a sofa in the Sun Room, he felt sick in a different way. He really shouldn't have eaten as much as he did, but there was no helping it. He'd been hungry. Wasn't hi fault the grease was starting to get to him.

Pulling his legs up onto the seat cushions, Ritsuka leaned back and asked his nurse to bring him the book he'd checked out from the library last time. She returned soon enough and he curled up with the book, ignoring her curious looks at his choice in literature. He hadn't seen Soubi at lunch and now that it was the fourth shift, he figured most of the men would be out in the Greenhouse. He'd have to catch up with the Fighter later, now that he'd calmed down.