[from here]

The stairwell was echoingly empty when the pair entered it, leaving Hanatarou even more nervous than he had been before. What if there was something waiting in the shadows for them, that hadn't already been flushed out by someone previously moving through the area? And if they were the first ones here they might also be the first ones upstairs, as well, which didn't reassure him at all.

He cleared his throat quietly, giving a sidelong glance toward his companion. "Hinamori-fukutaichou suggested the...the pharmacy or the storage room. Have you been up there before?" Maybe he'd be lucky. Maybe Kira had already been there and would exactly where they were going and what to look for once there.

Dinner had been refreshingly quiet after the roar of the music room- apparently Matsuda was sleeping this one out- but even with room to reflect, Depth Charge still found himself at a loss. For one thing, he hadn’t made any plans. For another, he’d dropped his slagging flashlight and bat last night. Three minor issues that, while not exactly worrying him individually, posed a far more formidable problem when put together.

Besides, he had other reasons to dislike the nightshift- like the way it always seemed to lead to thinking about things he didn’t want to think about. Like Primal, and Earth, and the fact that he’d left the entire Pit-forsaken universe for-

I bet you’d love this, X. I bet you’d fragging love it.

No. No, no, no. Not tonight. He’d just have to suck it up unless he wanted to spend the entire night alone, and that just wasn't an option. One look at that bed and Depth Charge knew he’d give himself a far worse time asleep than Martin Landel ever could awake. He left the room swiftly and silently.

[To here]

[from here]

Miles slowed again as he entered the hallway, due to another sharp spike of pain in his head. This time, it was accompanied by a louder rumble, one that almost sounded like garbled words.

He swept the beam of his flashlight from side to side. "Now, see? Nothing - and no one - is there," he muttered, hoping that would silence the voice's insistent worry. It was starting to get both annoying and worrisome at the same time. What was making it react like this? He couldn't think of anything, and the intercom announcement hadn't indicated anything particularly worrisome, either.

He sighed and continued down the hallway, continuing to scan for anything in the shadows with each step.

[to here]

[From here]

This hallways seemed familiar. But then, they all looked the same.

Keeping an ear out for creepy-crawlies, Yukari passed the Nurse's station and came to the door to the men's block.

It was this one, right? Why did there have to be so many male rooms? Her mind wandered from the gender-imbalance to poor architectural design to a lack of signs to what room was she trying to go to again? Yawning again, Yukari considered calling the whole matter off and going back to sleep.

No, this was important. Making nice with the rescue team could come in handy later. This in mind, Yukari mentally confirmed her directions and destination then headed onwards.

Besides, if she got there early enough, maybe she could catch a few moments of shut-eye before they headed out.

[From here]

Belatedly, Yukari yawned in response to the doctor's own repose. She'd been awake for more than half the day; it was no surprise she was tired. Youkai were nocturnal, after all. But there were so many things to do, so many people to see, so many new and interesting phenomena.

Maybe she'd catch up on her sleep in a few weeks. Just sleep a month straight. Yeah, that sounded good.

Yawning again, Yukari headed onwards.

The Head Doctor seemed a little rushed as he spoke on the intercom, not taking as much pleasure as he usually did in describing the delicious food that would soon be served.

"Hello, everyone! Tonight is turkey night, which means turkey breast in a great turkey gravy with some nice turkey sides: peas, herb potatoes, a small garden salad, and for dessert, a slice of pumpkin pie. We of course have vegetarian substitutes available, as well as our usual assortment of drinks.

"...I believe that's it! I'll talk to you soon!"

The intercom clicked off abruptly.

[ If you are introducing your character during this shift, you may either choose for them character to wake up before their roommate gets back, or after.

All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you! ]

That had been a very interesting shift, Miku decided as she was wheeled around. Not only for making a new friend in Endrance (well, perhaps not friend, but very kind acquaintance), but for the overload of unwanted information from the bulletin. It was enough to make her want to hide until there was no chance of a blush ever forming on her face (and ears, and neck and anywhere else a blush might decide to raise its wily head).

Her nurse was oddly quiet for once, as she gathered her meal (vegetable pizza and milk) and wheeled Miku away from the crush of other patients being herded in. Well, then it would be a quiet lunch, she decided.

"Now, Alice, I expect not to see a crumb of food left, do you hear? Not a crumb," her nurse chastised her gently and Miku winced. So, they were noticing. She'd have to be more careful to eat a little more.

"Ah... yes. I'm sorry," Miku ducked her head and started picking at her meal with her knife and fork. "I'll eat." Even if the nurse was really a monster at night, she hated that tone of disappointment. She sighed and picked at what appeared to be a piece of broccoli on her pizza.

[For Sousuke]

After dinner Depth Charge had drifted over to his bed and collapsed onto it, feeling disturbingly fragile, as if a strong breeze could shatter him and blow away the pieces like they were nothing but dust. Matsuda’d tried to help, but the human had no idea He’d never felt so helpless, so useless, so slagging vulnerable. What was he supposed to do now, just sit around and wait? What if X had survived? What if he was still out there?

Maybe that’s the point. There’s got to be a reason you’re here and not him. Think about it. Five stellar cycles of ceaseless hunting, and for what? Petty vengeance? Don’t give me that ‘justice’ smelt either. You know this is personal. Ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe he’s not the monst-

The doctor’s announcement buzzed hollowly overhead, splitting his thoughts in two. Depth Charge, as grateful as he was for the distraction, barely noticed the change in tone, nor would he have given a slag if he had. Why the Pit should he have done? X had pulled out the ultimate get-out-of-jail-card on him and left him to rot in the mutant’s place and he was supposed to care about something like that? Slag that!

In fact, the more he thought about it, the more cheated he began to feel. The more angry. And anger was always preferable to despondency; it brought with its frenzy a blinding effect that, while it lasted, removed him entirely from his thoughts. The thoughts that, otherwise, would have eaten away at him all night. It would hurt like frag afterwards, of course, even more than if he’d never bothered, but he was hardly thinking straight enough to care.

The rage continued to bubble and seethe within him, until, finally, it forced him upright and out of bed. Grabbing the bat from under his mattress and the torch from his drawer he wrenched open the door and burst out into the hallway.

[To here]

[From here]

This hallway wasn't exactly bustling with people either. Granted, this nuthouse was probably different from a general town square, but the fact that Tyki happened to be one of the first people out could probably considered as surprising. The Noah of Pleasure was known to be slacking off on occasion, usually needing others (more often than not the Millennium Earl) to urge him to do something. But tonight was a little different. Tonight he was going to take some revenge. And have some proper entertainment while he was at it.

And unless Martin Landel had an annoying sense of logic he was only one door away from his destination.

[To here]

[From here]

Tyki casually glanced around for monster activity as he stepped into the next hallway. There were patients nor monsters around, but he hadn't really expected otherwise anyway. After discarding some of the ash from his cigarette on the floor, he headed for the double doors on his right.

[To here]

[From here]

Ophelia slowed back to a walk as she entered the main hallway. It was a ways off in the dark, but she could just make out a small patch of light further down in the center of the hall, presumably streaming in from the Sun Room's glass ceiling. She didn't see anything yet, but there was no telling when something might suddenly jump out at her. That large glowing thing before had seemed to come out of nowhere, hadn't it? Who knew how Landel inserted his creatures into the building when night fell. For all she knew, he had some sort of magical location abilities, transporting creatures to wherever he desired on a whim. Power great enough to bring so many types of beings to a place like this was surely great enough for such feats.

Keeping her wits about her, Ophelia moved slowly down the hallway.

[To here]

Daedalus was content to remain in his office for lunch, though after his mid-morning session, he debated joining one of the other doctors, or even visiting the cafeteria. In the end, he decided against either option. His thoughts were really the only company he needed, when forced to be apart from his true duties.

His wants, sadly, needed to be kept hidden.

And now he was moving from the child psyche to the adult psyche. If he had been any less accomplished in both study and skill, he might have wondered in the vague, ambivalent way of the average citizen exactly what the foreseeable future held for him. Could he possibly provide the proper care for these people in a reasonable time period? But since Daedalus was neither incompetent nor average, he knew only that the tedium would end eventually. It always did. He would have Re-l again.

Until then, he'd pay his dues in the form of dedication and patience.

He left the door of his office open for the next shepherd and her sheep, while he idly worked on his last patient's data file.

Matt had to bite his tongue hard to keep from insisting he would be perfectly comfortable in the library, really, and could he please stop being led around like freaking cattle? As the nurse drew him into the empty Sun Room, the answer to that seemed to be a resounding 'No'.

Great.

He was given the usual talk of 'be nice', 'maybe someone will come back and you'll have someone to talk to' and the strangely sincere 'we're getting a few books in braille, they just haven't arrived yet'. He was sure he believed that one, but it would be nice to not be singled out for a change.

Reminded him of grammar school actually.

What a coincidence, he hadn't been fond of grammar school either. Settling back on the seat he'd found himself in, the Daredevil closed his eyes and debated on the merits of a nap as he listened to the occasional person stop by and scribble something down before leaving. A message board or something? He'd have to ask someone about that.

(Free to any and all!)

What a singularly delightful evening he'd had. It was dampened, of course, by two things, but those were small things and he supposed he could overlook them for now. First was that his powers had still not returned. If he truly were on punishment as he thought, though, he couldn't very well expect those to come back. Second was that the little brat had gotten away and was likely gearing up to blow his cover. That was something a little more concerning, but he had a story he could use to sweep all that under the rug. Still, he'd gotten a beautiful box of scalpels out of the deal and even with the annoying pain of his skin being irritated by the drops of acid, he wasn't any worse for wear.

And just as he thought that, Grell woke up in his bed, disorientated as he had been the previous night, still cluthing the box of blades, but no longer in his own clothes. The indecency of it all! Honestly! To strip a lady when she was unconscious was just unheard of! Stupid future and its stupid lack of any sort of propriety. At least it seemed someone might be dead according to the last announcement. That brightened his day a bit.

Getting out of bed before Mr. Grumpyface did, he hid the box of scalpels in his desk and sighed. His old glasses were gone, replaced with the ruddy circular pair and his clothes had been all but ruined the night before. He doubted he could do much for them either, since he'd been the one to rip the sleeve off. Such a shame, but it had kept him from getting permanent scars on his arms.

It wasn't long before the nurse came and Grell once again put on his lovely little play for her. Confused, bumbling and asking for a hair tie, he was perplexed by the little round elastic thing he received in return, but used it anyway to put his hair back. Led into the cafeteria, Grell realized he was the first one and took a bit of breakfast before finding a seat.

[free]

[from here]

Unlike usual, he didn't pause on the wall for his partner. It wasn't that Usopp didn't care if Sai made it over, or that Usopp wasn't worried about what might be on the other side, but perching in a high place seemed like a really bad idea.

As soon as he made it over, he crouched, looking around suspiciously. The whole area was familiar, now, and somehow after last night even with the threat of yet more brainwashed patients or other monsters he felt more comfortable with dangers he'd gotten used to. If this area was too dangerous, though... where to run to? Flee into the kitchen, maybe? There were things he could work with there, too. It could be a back-up idea.

"Sai, hurry." Usopp muttered more to himself than to the ninja, even though it was doubtful Sai really would need to be told.

[From here]

On entering the hallway, Depth Charge was met with another split pathway. Should he head outside or further into the building? A few nanokliks of processing and he settled on the latter; if he were X, he’d stay inside too. More enclosed spaces would mean more opportunities to strike when people were least expecting it- more places to hide and wait in and less room to run away. Slag, this place was a perfect hunting ground for the mutant!

Turning in the right direction, he noted that the doors leading into the next corridor had been flung wide open, although what lay beyond them was obscured by shadows too heavy for his flashlight to penetrate from where he stood. A humourless smile slid into place almost without him realising it. What more did he want, a written invitation?

[To here]

[from here.]

Since the recreational field was quiet tonight, Phoenix found himself pausing briefly between doors, glancing up at the sky. It was what the sky looked like on television, pitch blackness interrupted by bright points of starlight, which was what really made him stop in the first place, really. He'd spent his entire life in Los Angeles. He didn't expect anything from the night sky but a dark, dusky rose, dotted with perhaps five valiant stars, assorted satellites, and the blinking slow-motion of airplanes coming and going from LAX. Seeing the sky the way he'd always known it was supposed to look pulled at him strangely. There wasn't supposed to be a single thing about this place that was beautiful, but there were the stars, cold and twinkling and completely unfamiliar.

He turned away abruptly, walking quickly for the next door before he could stare any longer. This wasn't the time to get caught up in things like that.

[to here.]

"And I believe it's time to start wrapping up the day," was what the Head Doctor said after the intercom's initial jingle. "Now that everyone's all cleaned up, I think it's time for some... that's right, dinner!

"Tonight, we're serving some scrumptuous rotisserie herb chicken, seasoned with rosemary, lemon juice, and other delicious seasonings. On the side, we have cooked asparagus with bits of grilled onion, as well as small roasted potatoes with garlic and butter; for dessert, we'll be serving vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top. Our normal assorted drinks and specialized diet alternatives are available.

"Some of you might find that you have new roommates since your old ones were fortunate enough to recover and leave us. Hopefully, you'll be able to see them again the next time we have visitors if you wish, but in the meantime please treat your new bunkmates kindly.

"I believe that's all for now. I hope you had a wonderful day and that you have a delicious dinner! ...Well, you'll definitely be having a delicious dinner, but there's nothing surprising about that, is there? Hahaha..."

With a seemingly good-natured chuckle, the Head Doctor turned off his mic.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. Find your character's room assignments here.

All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you! ]

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]