_{[from here]}

Like each time before, crossing onto the third floor resulted in some minor nausea. Tsubaki had readied herself for it, and in a second the wave of discomfort was no more than a fading memory as she adjusted to the darkness. And like each time they'd stepped off the warp pad and into the Fitness Room, the room itself was empty aside from the two of them.

Being alone for so long was strange, wasn't it...

She looked around, half-expecting something after Landel's ominous warning, but her senses picked up very little. "We're okay for now..." she said aloud, both for Korra's sake and her own, a means of breaking up the third floor's stillness a little. "Do you want to head the same way as last time?"

They hadn't gotten very far to exactly decide on a route, but each night they got a little closer. A little progress counted for something.

[From here]

Link struggled to force his eyes to adjust to the sudden white light of the moving staircase. As always, they began moving as soon as he stepped up. He turned to face Sora, finally breaking the silence.

"Hopefully the top brings us partially through the journey like it did last night."

[From here.]

Once they got inside of the library, Sora definitely slowed down. It just didn't feel like the kind of place they could run in, since libraries were always supposed to be quiet.

Besides, they were going to have to pull the switch in the bookshelf first anyway. Sora knew exactly where the Oxford book was now, so without any delay he moved over and yanked it out.

The door slid open and he turned back to Link. "Let's go."

[From here]

Link broke into a run as soon as he crossed the threshold of the Sun Room. Even if something was waiting for them in here, there was absolutely no time to be wasted. He only made sure that Sora was still with him as he approached the door into the library.

[from here]

Whatever else he'd meant by the broadcast, the Head Doctor hadn't been kidding about the patient population. Lana hadn't seen another soul on the walk from her room to the center of the main hall. She could only hope Ryuuzaki was still here.

Well, hope, and risk a solo expedition if he didn't show up within what seemed a reasonable interval.

[L]

[from here]

It was still dead quiet as she rounded the corner between the women's hallway and the central artery of the Institute.

She'd seen these halls, almost as empty, on the monitors last night. Was there anyone watching the screens tonight? The Head Doctor, laughing? Though he'd surely have his own set of monitors, somewhere private. He seemed to like his luxuries a little too much to be wandering between multiple cold, sterile rooms. Especially since the teleporters were hard on the stomach, and his enthusiasm for food seemed to go beyond just the wholesome front he put on by day. Not that it wasn't an act, but when people acted like that, they usually picked something with a kernel of truth; it made it simpler to keep their story straight. So whether or not he liked waffles as much as he claimed, there was something about food that kept him coming back to the topic.

If she hadn't seen him being dragged from the Institute, she might wonder if he was ill in a way that made him unable to eat. But he'd looked healthy, at least in body.

[to here]

Lana was ready to head out, standing next to her desk, when the intercom switched on and off and on again. She listened, quietly.

She gave herself one long moment to wonder how bad losing really would be. If Ema was out there, brainwashed, and she could join her? She'd seen Shirley Franklin's file -- her life wasn't that bad, and her relationship with Ema had been, if anything, a little better than it had been before they'd hashed things out at the Institute.

It would be living a lie, but she'd done that before. And this time she wouldn't know it.

Then she shook her head, not that anyone could see it in the dark. No. She'd come too far to go back now, and she would fight as hard as anyone else to stop that from happening.

[to here]

_{[from here]}

The teleportation... things were just as bad as the ring, though like the ring, passing through the door to the third floor deposited them exactly where it had before: in the same nondescript fitness room. He wouldn't call standing on a mysterious pad trustworthy, per se but at least their trip had been fairly reliable so far.

"So far" being the important part of that sentence.

The vampire was quick to step away from the pad like it were a creature that might rise up and bite him in the ankles, turning away to give the room another once-over. "I see things haven't changed that mu--"

A squeak from his pocket interrupted him. What the hell? Aidou hadn't spent much of his life learning how to operate such cheap devices, so when he pulled out his toy radio, it was with a frown. Both radios had been rather quiet of late, but not tonight. Apparently someone had come across an interesting science experiment in their travels.

[From here.]

At this point they all knew the steps to get up to the third floor's entrance, and so Castiel didn't hesitate to step onto the escalator, expecting the others to keep up as it started moving.

As they made the short trip to the top, Castiel shifted around to look back at Kratos in particular. This area had been safe of any kind of monsters every time they'd been here, so he was willing to let his guard down at least enough to ask a question.

"How are you feeling?" He needed to assess what kind of state Kratos was in, so that he would be able to factor in how much or how little help he could expect him to be if they were attacked. Clearly Kratos could walk fine on his own, but being deprived of oxygen for so long still may have had some lingering effects.

[From here.]

The library was dark and quiet - eerily so, in fact - and the row upon row of shelves would make it all to easy for something to hide in the shadows. Tense, Lloyd gripped his sword and tried to piece the dark with his eyes while Kratos went for the book that would open the secret passage.

He almost jumped when his light abruptly failed, then cursed under his breath. "Hang on." Fumbling for the lantern's crank, he tried to ignore his hammering heart. Damn, he was going to have to get used to this if he was going to use this lantern all that much. At least he had the light from the others' flashlights to see what he was doing.

By the time his lantern sprang back to life, Kratos had the passageway open.

[From here.]

The expansive room was as dark and as quiet as last night, but that didn't do anything to set Castiel at ease. He took a moment to tilt his head upward, trying to see if he could make out even the slightest sign of the third floor through the skylight. But somehow, even through sun streamed through that window every day, there was no way to make out anything above the second floor.

Some kind of illusion, maybe? It was bizarre, either way.

Castiel refocused his attention, shifting to step toward the library doors. They couldn't waste too much time here and risk getting attacked.

[from here]

The main hall was not, in fact, full of people. There was a light down the hall, though, where a figure was obviously waiting for someone, and not especially patiently. She could do better than what looked to be a teenager, and settled up against a wall to wait.

If Ryuuzaki wasn't along in a few minutes, she'd call him on the radio, but she'd slept all day; she wasn't exactly the model of punctuality herself.

[Ryuuzaki]

[from here]

The women's block was empty as she turned from her hall into the larger connecting one; there were fewer and fewer people here every day. She'd slept through almost all of it herself; would she be next? It might be welcome. On the other hand, they'd made something approaching real progress last night, if there was any point to any of it.

And she didn't especially like the idea of leaving Ryuuzaki alone. He wasn't the easiest partner she'd ever worked with, but she'd soured on the idea of perfection anyway; she and Damon had been like hand in glove, and that had turned out so well, hadn't it?

[to here]

The Head Doctor had dropped most of his pretense. That was always a sign that a change was coming -- a witness about to spill a secret on the stand, a defense attorney no longer trying to pretend they believed their client was innocent. A detective offering to forge evidence outright. Landel was either confident or overconfident. Or just exhausted. He had had a tumultuous few weeks, after all. Much more so than when she'd first arrived, and the Institute had been running like a terrible, orderly machine.

Lana packed in silence, the keycard and her gun being the two most important items, stowed carefully in her coat pockets. Then she grabbed her radio and flashlight and headed out.

[to here]

[From here.]

He hadn't seen any sign of Kratos all day. Lloyd hadn't thought his father had looked that badly injured after his ordeal in that chamber, but how did he know Kratos hadn't downplayed his injuries? Maybe he didn't even know the full extent himself. After all, who would have experience with what it did to a person to have the air sucked out of the room?

Maybe I just didn't see him. The thought wasn't as reassuring as it could have been. He knew how much he'd been trying to keep an eye out for the man, telling himself it was just so he could share his theory about the cards. It was still possible he'd been distracted at a crucial moment when Kratos passed by, so he stubbornly continued to deny the leaden weight in his gut as he settled into place to wait. He wasn't worried. Kratos would come just as he always did. He'd probably laugh if he found out that Lloyd had been (not worried) just... just concerned.

Okay, maybe Kratos wouldn't laugh, but still. He didn't need to see anything but Lloyd standing and waiting. Totally nonchalant. He could totally pull that off.

...dammit, he hoped they didn't catch him fidgeting when Kratos or Castiel finally showed up.

[For Castiel and Kratos.]

The silver light of dawn was strengthening in the sky, but that hardly mattered... none of the patients at Landel's had windows in their rooms. They relied on the intercom to wake them.

This morning began like almost every other: with crackling from omnipresent speakers, then the cheerful voice of Dr. Landel booming through the building. His good mood sounded forced this morning, with a manic edge.

"Good morning, patients! I trust you slept well? It's time to greet the day--and the excellent staff here--with smiling faces! We have delicious waffles with real maple syrup and all the other fixings waiting for you in the Cafeteria, as well as all our usual sides and beverages, and your nurses will be along any minute to--"

The announcement was interrupted by a brief loud clatter somewhere near the microphone: half metallic, half plastic. It was followed by a mutter of frustration, then a soft scraping sound. Maybe Landel had dropped a heavy pen on his desk and was scrambling to retrieve it.

"Ha, ha, clumsy me. Your nurses will be along any minute to help you get started. It's cloudy out there today, but the temperatures are... just fine." The announcement ended on a flat, awkward note.

Landel continued to announce shifts in the usual way through the day. Second shift was in the Sun Room, Third was the free shift with bagged lunches that had become the usual in recent days, and Fourth was in the Music Room. Therapy wasn't mentioned... maybe these patients were doing well enough now that they no longer needed individual attention, or maybe they were beyond hope.

Only one element was notable: every time he spoke, the good doctor sounded distracted, as if making the announcement had been an imposition on his time.

--

Mingle log guidelines:

1. All Day Shift 74 threads will take place in the comments to this post.
2. PROSE!
3. Tag under the proper time of day for the thread. You do not have to stick to one thread per shift, as long as you don't try to do a large total number of threads (4 or less is best, but a fifth won't get you in trouble).
4. Subject line of your opening tag: Location (required), shift (optional), OPEN (if appropriate).
Putting "OPEN" in the subject line should make it easier for other players to find open threads, and the nature of this log means that you should be able to pick up an open thread that interests you even if you already have something scheduled for that shift. Threads which are not open can be marked the way they always are, with the names of the other characters in small text after the opening post.

Edited to add: To clarify some confusion: each thread should have its own separate starter, just like on any other DS. The format of threads is not changing, only the format of the log post itself, and the fact that you don't have to strictly stick to one thread per shift.

[ from here ]

.... There it was. One of the pads they were looking for. Which meant the from here on out, they could start making some progress. .... Hopefully, anyway. It was probably too much to ask that it would send them somewhere useful right away.

"It's in here," he called out from the doorway, and approached the teleporter. He was eager to just step onto to it, but he had to wait so they could all use it at once—it would be problematic if they ended up in different places.

[from here]

The door led out to another balcony, like the one on the second floor, where they could see down into the Sun Room below. There was a sheet of glass, however, that meant though they could see down, nobody could see up. ... Too bad for Landel that hadn't been enough to keep this floor a secret.

From here, however, there were a lot of potential places to go. "Normally I'd suggest starting at the end, but I guess it doesn't make much of a difference in this case," he said with a frown. They couldn't methodically check through every room in a linear fashion like that when there was no predicting where any of the pads they found might take them.

[From here.]

After stepping through the door, Sora didn't immediately find himself in another room. There was a few seconds where he felt like he wasn't really anywhere, or in some in between place, before he staggered out into...

Some kind of gym?

He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to dispel the dizziness. Sora had traveled by unorthodox means before, so he wasn't as thrown off as he could have been. Besides, the institute had decided to warp them around before, so this wasn't exactly new.

"So this is the third floor?" Somehow he'd been expecting something more... intense. Not an empty gym. But Landel probably didn't want them to arrive anywhere close to his actual location, so it kind of made sense.

He glanced back at the pad that they'd stepped off of, which glowed with a purple light. "So we have to find more of those, I guess." But for now, there were some doors they could go through, and that was really the only path available to them. Seemed pretty straight-forward.

[from here]

The lights flickered on as Kratos entered; he quietly sheathed his sword and then walked onto the escalator after checking to make sure that Castiel and Lloyd had made it in after him.

"I realize our keys may not match," he said, mostly for Lloyd's benefit, as the escalator began its slow climb upward. "We have the radios, though, so if there are any issues, call." Both Castiel and Lloyd had easily remembered numbers; hopefully, they both recalled his.