Day came too soon.

Sora hadn't been able to find Rena, had instead been forced to crumple onto the grass of the recreational field and bleed all over himself, and hadn't even accomplished what he'd been sent out to do. What he'd been entrusted to do. He didn't know how he was going to be able to face Renji and the others, but he also knew he wasn't going to hide from them, either. That would just be low, after all, and he was ready to face up to the consequences.

He didn't try to make excuses for himself. Even though there had been a Special Counseling patient, they had managed to take her down by sheer numbers. The fact that he hadn't seen any sign of Rena was what had him the most worried. He hoped he could find her today.

The boy laid in his bed for a good while that morning before his nurse finally came in to collect him. She clucked over the bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and leg, and asked him if he was okay to walk.

Once Sora assured her he was fine (he didn't really want to use crutches, as that would just attract attention to himself, and he didn't need others worrying over him), they made their way to the cafeteria. Sora yawned and winced against the bright light of morning - it seemed even earlier than usual, and he realized why when they entered the cafeteria and found it empty.

The boy shuffled over to grab a chocolate chip pancake, a bowl of cereal, and a glass of milk (good for the bones, or so his mom had always told him) before settling at a table. He kept an eye on the door, hoping he would see Rena walking in soon.

Qui-Gon was in a mixed mood. On one hand, the maps from young Artemis Fowl would be incredibly helpful, and he had made sure to make extra copies for himself, Obi-Wan and anyone else he might pass it onto in the future. On the other, the intercom announcement was more than a little worrying. He had heard mention of other patients being taken for experimentation, only to released on their friends; it looked like that was true, if Martin Landel was to be believed.

The Jedi Master sighed, collecting the flashlight and the small collection of metal utensils that he'd collected with Obi-Wan last night. His meditation into the Force had been only slightly more fruitful than before, but he was nowhere near strong enough to help as much as he would like. There was no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't be able to use the Force to persuade the experimented patients that no, they didn't really want to hunt down their fellows, and they should listen to him just because he said so.

He wasn't too sure about the other areas mentioned, but he did know enough to avoid the Sun Room for now. Stepping outside, Qui-Gon prepared himself. Tonight his grasp on the Force wasn't as strong as it had been when Obi-Wan was knighted. But even now he could feel the swirl of anger, fear, and hate around him, dotted with the moving "holes" that were the Earthian creatures and the staff. The fear and anger, he was unfortunately familiar with. The galaxy, despite the efforts of good people, was a regrettably nest of such emotions. But the holes in the Force, the sense of void, would never be familiar.

And he would have to watch for both, it seemed. The dangers tonight wouldn't just be the creatures, or the staff. Qui-Gon turned and headed down the hall, extending his senses as far as he was able.

Christ. Brock didn't like the sound of the intercom tonight; considering how Landel was gloating, it sounded like they'd done the same experimental bs they'd done earlier with Luffy...although this time there appeared to be some kind of warning as to where these wackos would be wandering around. So long as it wasn't Luffy, they didn't care though. And listening to the description, Brock was pretty damn sure it wasn't Parker either.

Shame.

They might be weakened, but they would've loved an excuse to duke it out with their favorite neighboorhood Spider.

But of course that wouldn't be possible tonight anyway. That symbiote and its Kasady-Host are ours tonight, the symbiote hissed angrily. Young they may be, but they've gone too far to go unpunished. Oh, Brock hadn't forgotten. It was hours after the fact, but the anger was just as fresh as it was this morning. No one acted all buddy-buddy with Parker - much less in the showers, goddamit - than him, and definitely not Kasady. If they weren't going to beat in Parker's skull - figuratively speaking (they didn't want to injure him permanently after all - then they would go for the next best thing and beat in Kasady's. Literally speaking.

Brock slipped out the door as soon as it clicked open, leaving his roommate to his devices. They weren't entirely sure where Kasady's room was, but they would find out. The younger Host probably hadn't fed yet, which would be to their advantage. Licking his lips, Brock headed down the pitch-black hall, searching for that strange feel of another symbiote in the air. At night it was more difficult to pick him out, but he wasn't going to let this slide without beating the lesson of stay-the-fuck-away-from-Parker into Kasady.

The intercom clicked on with its usual jingle, the Head Doctor clearing his throat before he made his last shift-changing announcement of the day.

"Well, now that everyone is clean and having fun, I suppose it's time for everyone to be escorted back to their rooms for dinner! Yes, yes, I know the game room can be entertaining and doctor sessions can be fulfilling, but we only have so much time in the day, don't we?

"Ah, and speaking of dinner, tonight, we'll be having an old favorite--seasoned steak, a baked potato, and peas! Yum, yum. You also get a choice of vegetable soup or caesar salad--just tell your nurse which you'd prefer--and may also choose from our usual variety of drinks."

He made his usual pause, perhaps contemplating what the night would have in store once the sun fully set. Now, however, wasn't the time to reveal such musings, and so he ended on his usual cheery note:

"That's about all for now! I hope you all enjoy your suppers."

And again the intercom turned off.

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

Gluttony didn't want to leave his Lust, not after he'd just found her!  But the mean tasty nurses said he had to.  "You can't join her in the women's showers" was a bad excuse.  He didn't like the mean tasty nurses.  Maybe Lust would let him eat them later.  Still, he knew he would see his Lust again, and that was good.  He liked Lust.  She was good and beautiful and smart and kind.  Why did they have to take him away from his Lust?

Still, he would see her again.  And she would tell him it was okay to eat the tasty nurses, and that would be good.  His new friend liked eating people, too.  That made him happy to find a friend who shared a love for eating people.  Today was a very good day.

As he entered the showers, he stood under a shower head and opened his mouth wide to drink up the water.  It wasn't as good as eating people, or eating waffles that didn't scream when he bit into them so weren't nearly as good as eating people, but it was still swallowing something, and that made him feel better.

Hisoka couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as his roommate finally left for his nightly activities, the empath was getting edgy being watched so much. It didn't matter how harmless it was either.

To make things worse, everything about Renji's behavior reminded him of himself and the last thing he needed was a reminder of how fucked up he really was. Hisoka was sure Muraki was going to do a pretty damn good job doing that for him when the time came, he was always good at that...

Now why couldn't he be good at taking a hint and just go shoot himself?

Hisoka scowled, glancing around the quiet room as he waited for Tsuzuki and Byakko to arrive-- they still needed to go to M23 too. The silence, for once, was comforting. Hisoka almost hoped neither one of his team members arrived, but that would be a stupid wish made for selfish reasons that would never last. There was no point to make the wish to begin with.

As soon as the doors had unlocked, Xemnas already headed outside. His amber eyes scanned the dark hallway, but there were patients nor monsters lurking within the darkness. Keeping his flashlight off as to avoid any unwanted attention, the Superior quickly proceeded.

He was aiming for another visit to the second floor, hopefully to get as much exploring done as possible. The Nobody didn't care to take any other patients along the way. Conversation and planning was best to be saved for the dayshift, after all.

[Off to here]

The intercom clicked on with its usual jingle, the Head Doctor's voice carrying with a bit more authoritative ease than it had earlier.

"Good evening, patients, and I'm pleased to announce that we've finally finished organizing when our new batch of patients will be introduced, and unfortunately, it'll have to be tonight while you're all in bed. Truly sad, that, as I'm sure all of you are eager to see our new faces as soon as possible!

"In any case, the dinner that will be brought to you tonight will be herb-marinated pork roast with buttery corn-on-the-cob and fluffy mashed potatoes. Of course, we have our usual vegetarian salad available to those who request it, along with our regular assortment of drinks."

He paused and sighed. After all, it had been a long day.

"Oh, of course--Some of you may be unhappy to hear that Dr. Crane and Dr. Jiyani will no longer be serving us here at Landel's Institute. For those of you who were scheduled to have sessions with them, we'll be providing a substitute group therapy session in upcoming days. More details on that tomorrow.

"I believe that's all for now. Enjoy your dinner!"

The intercom clicked off.

[ As always, post to this entry with separate threads for each set of roommates. Thanks! ]

Renji had mostly been ignoring what the head doctor said, until he got to the magic r-word; that certainly captured his attention. The prospect of rice made him a little more willing to let the nurses separate him and Rukia.

In the lunch line, he piled his plate to the maximum with steamed rice, adding a little chow mein, balanced precariously on the side, as an afterthought. That and tea was all he needed.

He sat somewhere he'd be pretty easy to spot from the door and started wolfing down his rice. He wondered if Hisoka and his friends would show up before he headed to the lunch line to get seconds.

Rabastan was on a mission to try to please Severus Snape. Someone should really stop and pity the poor Potions Master. So far, Bast had managed to lose just about everyone he had gotten attached to, and he was determined to not lose Severus. Severus was real after all.

Radio tucked into the crook of his arm, he grinned and shook his head when the nurses tried to get him to play, going for the sweet and cute thing. He did seem to be listening to their warnings to stay off the field then so he wouldn't get hit accidentally by people playing their various games. Heading to the sidelines, he began poking around at the grass and other small plants, trying hard to remember Potion classes from back at Hogwarts. Was that a good one? Or a bad one? Maybe it was a weed.

Either way, Bast plucked it gently and cupped it in his hand as he settled down on the grass and began fully inspecting the area around him. His radio was lectured to as he looked around.

"Mr Head Doctor, do you think we could go to the Arts and Crafts room later today? Severus might like some of the things in there. I'd like to get some of that faerie glitter if you don't mind."

Kuja was, in fact, quite surprised to suddenly find himself in bed. An odd turn of events, as he previously remembered investigating the contents of a closet. If the genome hadn't known any better, he would have thought he hadn't even left the room. However, the items he was still holding obviously proved such thoughts untrue; he had left his room.

This cage was a peculiar one.

In any case, unlike the night the day seemed the appropriate time to perhaps take a rest from all the danger lurking in the darkness. While he was resting his wings, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to "socialize" with the other patients, as allies would certainly be more useful during the night (and not merely to open doors for him). Perhaps he had made a fool out of himself tonight, but such wouldn't happen twice. Not everyone was fond of an encore, after all.

The sorcerer silently stepped out of bed, noticing his roommate was still asleep. The man didn't waste any time, however, as he hastily stored the items into his own closet, camouflaging it with clothes. Nurses finding his newly acquired items was the last thing Kuja needed, after all.

After he had closed the doors of said closet, another door opened as an extremely cheerful woman came in. Such contrast with the night, but the actors played their parts well.

Perhaps too well...

Kuja allowed himself to be escorted to the cafeteria, his attempt to gain more information from the nurse proving to be completely fruitless. Halfway, he had given up, as the staff seemed not as stupid as the Alexandrian court. Either they were acting, or they were unaware of the role they were playing. Regardless, they were mere pawns.

After he had filled his plate with some food, he seated himself at one of the tables, purposely choosing a place where he could easily watch the others patients entering. Blue eyes studying the various canaries flying within their cage as they were finally allowed an opportunity to rest their wings, he picked up a fork and began eating his breakfast.

(starting in room M23)
For the first time since he had arrived, Hitsugaya cracked a slight dirisive smile at the Doctor's intercom announcement. He seemed exhausted and weary, which meant hope for his team and, better still, hope for Mustang's team. If his despair grew powerful enough, he'd start making mistakes, which meant that when the time came to strike him down, they'd have better chance of doing so.

As the doors clicked open, he paused to take stock of his inventory. Not much...a flashlight heavy enough to use as a makeshift club, a handful of pens, a random keyring, and his journal. His roommate had been kind enough to leave him alone after their mild explosion, giving him time to complete the copy of the map in his journal. He ripped out the pages comprising the map, then ripped out a few more pages for him to make notes on their exploration, just in case.

Taking the entire band of pens which he stuck in a pocket, he stepped out of his room to wait for his team to arrive. The halls were dark and eerie, much like Renji had said they would. Thankfully, he was a death god. He was accustomed to the dark and eerie.

Leaning against the wall next to his room, he went over his map, slowly working out their plans. He wished Rangiku could have been on his team, but every team needed to have a shinigami, and there were enough of their forces that every shinigami could have a team.

Mustang was going to need a lot of help, and the 'arts and crafts division' were determined to provide it.

Too goddamn tired, huh? Kimbley smirked up at the intercom sealed in the corner of the room and continued rifling through his drawer. Under his pillow he'd found the flashlight; in here, there were pens, a radio, a journal ... they were actually giving them supplies here. Clearly, this was not a real mental hospital ... or prison. More of hell than home.

The door was unlocked. He ignored his roommate almost entirely as he opened the door and stalked out, flashlight in one hand and radio in his pocket. (Who knew when he could disassemble it and use the parts inside for a makeshift bomb?) He'd said he'd meet Wesker here, but there was no way Kimbley was going to just hang around and wait for the man; no, he would make his way somewhere else. Wait for him at the door to the cellblock, maybe. Surprise him.

With an attack.

Ginji peered around before he started to walk again. This place was pretty empty. It was still pretty early in the night so he wasn't too worried. He wanted to get to Kurama as soon as he could. That way he could also find the stuff he needed to find tonight.

"Do you mind if I ask how old you are?" he whispered to Haku, in a voice that could probably only be heard by the boy with him. He didn't like the idea of so many young people stuck here. He was still moving pretty soundlessly but that didn't mean he didn't want to learn something about the person he was traveling with temporarily.

Not wanting to be dragged along on whatever Mission of Annoyance Schuldig had planned for himself at lunch, Farfarello instead headed straight into the cafeteria, alone.

The tranquil haze of the drugs was fading and the thought of being stuck in a room with dozens and dozens of strangers was starting to make the hair on the back of Farfarello's neck stand on end. He'd spent the last year and change mostly in solitary confinement, except for visits from Schuldig and the times he was let out for missions, and being expected to sit calmly and have his lunch while surrounded by potential threats was not something the Irishman wanted to deal with; unfortunately, he had no choice, so at least he could get there early and find a table close to a wall.

Much to Farfarello's surprise he was not only early, but the earliest patient to arrive in the cafeteria. He almost expected to find rank, disgusting food, as a result--if patients were so reluctant to come to lunch, surely there was a reason--but instead was reasonably pleased by what he found. Two sloppy joes and a token piece of fruit later, Farfarello retreated towards the tables, only to find that not one of them was isolated enough for him. So, he grabbed a chair, dragged it into a corner, and sat down with his back to the wall and his tray balanced on his lap.

He would get through lunch without getting sedated again, no matter what it took.

Uncharacteristically, Muraki yawned. Despite the fact that he knew better, he'd had a late night before therapy this morning but, in his most humble opinion, it had been well worth the effort. The best things in life really couldn't be bought with money.

His dry cleaning wasn't one of those things. So he came to work a little early and leafed through his patient files with a lazy curl to his lips that could have been bemusement. He much preferred the look of his proper lineup of patients.

There was a small, elegant tea set arranged on the table and an extra chair set in front of his desk this time around. Patients were always more compliant when they were comfortable and he wanted all of his patients today to be very, very comfortable.

Aidou Hanabusa, a vampire, was one of the first into the cafeteria, which was swimming in dim sunlight. A grey morning suited his mood.

The fact that his biological clock was pitching fits was only the cherry on top of the cake; the last thing he wanted to do was sleep. "Waking up", once again, with no memory of how or why he'd been brought back to room M52 infuriated him, on top of getting absolutely nothing done during the night. In the (miniscule) self-deprecating part of his mind, he thought it served him right for making concessions for humans. He wasn't going to make that mistake again, no matter how alone he was.

Aidou secluded himself in a corner. Solid food couldn't replace what he was missing, but it would keep his appetite in check. For a while. If his better sense told him not to repeat yesterday's mistakes, then at least he could forget tablets and go hunting tonight. It wasn't like Aidou was required to follow protocol during Landel's fine nightshift. No one else did.

No one from home would think less of him for cutting corners, either. If they hadn't been able to find him by now, then things were worse than he imagined. With a table piled high with food, he cupped his chin in his hand and let his gaze wander. He had a fair idea where the female cell block was. It wouldn't be difficult to overpower a young girl...

Eventually grabbing the knife, Aidou poked at one of his many bagels. He'd been right about to find a suitable instrument in the mail room, something long and sharp enough to cut into a bat and allow him to see what similarities remained on the inside... The plastic blade sank through the bread, went through the paper plate underneath it, and finally snapped in two against the plastic tray.

More new "patients". A day of "doctor consultations". It was nothing he'd ever experienced before, nothing he'd ever heard about before, and it was seriously driving him nuts. For the first time in his life, he just wanted to be left alone, without feeling a set of eyes on him.

[From here.]

The halls were eerily empty. No one seemed to be out and about anymore. At least not between the sun room and his room. There had been the echo of voices from down the halls, out of sight, but not out of earshot; and there was a group near his hallway, along with another two people heading away from them.

But Tsuzuki wasn't interested in them. His top priority was getting to his room to see the damage that had been done to him and his partner during their fight.

Reaching his room, Tsuzuki pushed open the door and ushered the boy inside. He dropped the metal bar onto his bed, then turned to face Hisoka.

"Alright. Take your shift off."