Ururu hadn't talked much during dinner. Talking to Yukito during fourth shift had made her feel a little better, and she'd eaten something, but she still wasn't happy. She wasn't crying anymore though, and that was a good thing. She had promised to meet Kurt that night, and Ururu knew it was important. She wanted Kurt to know that he was still her friend, no matter how weird he said he looked.

Ururu was quick to leave when the time came, waving goodbye to Skuld. She still didn't have a flashlight, and she felt a little bad about it. She'd have to talk to that person from the board soon. She didn't mean to keep putting it off, especially because he'd been so nice to offer it to her at all. But for now, she focused on what she had to do tonight, and that was find Kurt.

Despite it being dark, the little girl took off running once she was in the hall.

[And dashing to here!]

Celes had disdained taking food that was so alien in texture and consistency, and instead had taken her meal in her room. A room, she quickly discovered, did not hold any trace of her roommate’s belongings. It was troubling, very troubling; Celes remembered a promise of protection to the girl, which had fallen by the wayside. Guilt stabbed her between the eyes and she made a note to tell her roommate’s loved ones – should there be any left in this place – the news.

It would be cold comfort, of course, but Celes had never been very good at that. Comfort was for barmaids and nurses, lovers and wives, and since Celes practiced none of those professions, straight talk it would have to be. With a sigh, she wrote a quick note in her neat, masculine script and flourished the signature, just as usual. There was still worry in her heart over the location of Noah and Luxord; the act in and of itself something she chastised herself over. What was the point in worrying over two men that would be unlike to mourn over her own death or disappearance? Especially the literally heartless man.

Celes alighted on a couch and looked up at the afternoon sky, crossing her legs and forcing herself to concentrate on the evening ahead. She hummed one ditty or another – marching songs, none of that foolish, tavern-born, romantic ballad trash – and looked down to her journal, pen poised above paper and waiting for her composition.

[For one Judge Magister]

Celes's meal had finished itself by the time the General got to dressing in her proper clothing. As an afterthought, she put on the overcoat to hide most of it. It would be in her best interests anyway; if some overzealous, fool patient tried to attack her while she was perfoming her tasks, the General would be quite incensed indeed. Besides, if they needed to go outside for any of the Radio woman's clues, then she'd need the coat anyway.

Celes tapped the toe of her boots against the floor and checked her corslette's ties for the last time. She was ready, it was time to go to the men's halls and ask for Xigbar's whereabouts.

[To here]

[From here]

As she entered the hallway, Ophelia stopped for a moment to quickly fold up Kio's maps and stuff them into one of her pockets. She had been hoping to take a peek at them at various intervals during the night, but in this dim light, there was no chance of being able to see them. For now, she would have to travel by memory of where she had been taken during the day.

At least this time the choice of where to go was easy. On one side she could just barely see the hallway ending, and on the other it continued for a ways. The path that continued would surely lead to the Sun Room and the areas around it. She started running again with a grin spreading on her face, emboldened by the long, seemingly unobstructed length of the hall. Perhaps she would find her first challenge of the night soon.

[From here]

Ophelia was faced with a choice upon entering the next hallway. The path to her right she remembered would lead to the areas she had visited during the day. The path to her left lead to an unknown area. While the thought of upping the challenge (and thus the fun) by going down an unknown hallway in the dark without her night vision was appealing, she decided to save it for another night, perhaps. Tonight she would try to build off of where she had already been, so she decided to take the right-hand path.

She could see barely there patches of moonlight from a window in the hall up ahead, and sped up to a jog in her eagerness to get to where there was a little bit of light. Despite the danger of running into something in the dark, her growing excitement was getting the better of her.

"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! ]

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]

[From here]

In the incredibly boring and uneventful hallway that followed, Tyki paused. He guessed he was pretty early, considering there was a huge lack of anyone around. No monsters or not even other patients. The thing there wasn't a lack of, though, were directions to head in to. And that was pretty much the question that kept the Noah occupied right now;

Where to?

[For Peter Petrelli!]

[from here]

Another moment, another mandatory sweep of the light, and then she continued. The lack of knowing when the night would end ate at her.

[to here]

The doors opened with a click, and Renamon didn't waste any time. She'd stop by that person's room from the Bulletin, and see if they had anything useful to say, and then she'd be off on her errands. Her spade and clay shard were in her waistband, staff and flashlight on hand. She would get something accomplished tonight.

She had to get something accomplished. Rika was waiting for her.

[to here]

Falis was ready to go as soon as the doors unlocked. Spear tied across her back with a torn sheet for easy removal, three stakes hanging from the braided bandoleer about her waist and sword in hand, the bounty hunter's armory was back to where it had been before she'd fought the demons. The stakes were spaced out far enough that they wouldn't clack together as Falis slipped quickly down the hallway without a word to Senna.

The princess was on a job, her actions set, and she was focused now. She didn't even give Hokuto's door more than a brief glance as she passed by. Down the hallway before anyone else seemed to exit the doors, her eyes fixed on F29 as she passed. She only needed to wait for Yukari to leave and then she'd double check the girl's room for any references to 'Danielle.' She had a few suspicions concerning 'Danielle' but she wasn't going to say anything until she was certain. The girl being gone was a good thing, but it was also could be a bad thing. She'd have to see.

Passing by the end of the hallway, Falis entered the connecting one and slipped around the corner just past F30. Using the wall as cover, she knelt down and pressed her body against the wall, sword flat on the ground and ceased her movement.

The hunter was still except for her controlled breathing, undetectable by those leaving the hallway. Her light was turned off as she waited. Yukari had to leave at some point. The hunter would wait.

(M6)

And now it was nighttime.

Hughes had ignored dinner, for the most part, only bothering to make sure he put aside the juice. He reclined on his bed, lost in thought, and trying to make sure he got all the sort of thinking that would distract him later out of the way.

It had been a long as hell day. And it wasn't over, not by a long shot. How many people were supposed to come by tonight? He'd lost track. He had a list to give to Ed, and it looked like a dozen plans to make, and tomorrow would bring more of the same.

And somewhere in there, he needed to find time to properly grieve.

Now wasn't the time, though. He got up once the intercom started its nightly tortures on the ears and ran a hand through his hair. Soldier's work was never done and all that. And while he knew damn well how to lead...

This was supposed to be Roy. He was the help, the behind the scenes, the support. That was how it had always been. This...this wasn't right. If anyone should have been taken or killed or whatever it was the institute did, it should have been him.

Well, he'd just do what he could.

Keman retreated to libraries almost instinctively. He liked books. Books were simpler to deal with, and they didn't change. No matter what, the ending always stayed the same. Even if it was a bad ending, that ending was still a constant. Constants were good. They didn't surprise him, didn't show up out of nowhere and throw everything off kilter.

This had.

His mother. They'd taken Alara and done horrible things to her. Made her forget, fed her lies. He wouldn't wish it on anyone, not even Myre. And that was what would happen to him, too, if he wasn't careful. He'd lose himself completely. He was already slipping, already more halfblood than dragon. How long before halfblood turned to human, and Keman became Calvin?

At any rate, he needed to tell Shana everything that had happened. Alara was her mother, too. Keman left a note for his sister on the board, letting her know where he'd be, and then pulled the largest book he could find off the shelf: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. It looked to be a massive collection of plays and poetry. Good. Opening it to a random page, he settled down and began to read.

[for Shana (and Valyn and Shadow?)]

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.

For the first time since arriving at Landel's, Elle woke up feeling... almost peaceful. She lay in bed for several minutes, adjusting to certain things. Mostly the fact that her left arm was in a sling. And her shoulder didn't hurt as much as she would have expected it to, which probably meant she was on meds.

She got out of bed slowly, and made her way to the desk. Her journal was still in the top drawer, lying closed on top of the files she'd stolen. She grabbed it, along with a pen and a rubber band - not easy, one-handed - and allowed herself to be escorted to the Sun Room by a nurse.

The Head Doctor's words intrigued her. Visitors? Friends and family from back home? Despite the sudden ray of hope, she had to admit the unlikelihood of seeing Daddy. Either he'd put her here for a reason, and so would have no need to visit, or he couldn't get here at all.

It took a very long time to figure out how to hold her journal open and write at the same time. Through trial and error, she discovered that using her left hand to hold the journal didn't hurt too much.

This was probably a really bad idea. But if Daddy had really put her in here to kill Sylar as some kind of test, he wouldn't have given Sylar the virus. And if it came to having Sylar as a friend or as an enemy, she'd rather have him standing between her and the monsters than in a nearby corner laughing while she got ripped apart.

[for Eddie]

Rukia filed out of the bus with the other prisoners, shivering a little in the cool autumn air. She was a little irked that the nurses hadn't given her mittens on this trip. Forced to stuff her hands in to the pockets of her jeans, Rukia hunched her shoulders and wandered to the edge of the park before turning around to look for anyone she knew.

Nurses and orderlies were already milling about, supervising and watching the prisoners. Rukia's plan was to get a hold of something - anything - that she could use as a weapon when they returned to the Institute that night. It would be difficult with so many staff members around, but she was determined; the last thing she wanted was to be trapped on the buses again with no weapon.

Sanji woke up groggily to find his nurse already in his room. He gave a sleepy and half-hearted "Buh?" before realizing that nurse meant dayshift, and he'd fallen asleep after dinner.

"Shit!" He sat up abruptly, which gave his nurse a start. "Nami-swan!" How had he allowed himself to sleep through an entire night? What if she'd tried to return to the basement? What if she'd been waiting for him to appear and protect her? He'd let her down!

"There, there. Calm down." His nurse set a familiar flannel shirt down on the bed and Sanji eyed it with confusion. The last time he'd worn that had been... "Sorry I didn't knock or anything, but I was so excited~!" A pair of jeans followed the shirt. "Today is the field trip into town! Aren't you looking forward to it?"

The chef had to admit, the town had been an interesting enough place the last time he'd been. If he could find Nami early on he might even be able to lead her around... So he didn't complain too much as he changed into the other outfit (which he really wished they'd let him keep - anything was better than the regular gray) and was led out to the first of the buses.

He took a seat near the front, hopefully easily visible to any of his crew - especially to a certain member of his crew.

[for Usopp!]

(From here.)

And this, Artemis thought. Is why I would get down on my knees and thank the powers that be that I was rich. If I actually put stock in that sort of thing.

Not only was the mine dark, decrepit, and in danger of cave-in, it smelled. Freud's mother did it smell. The combination of standing water and abandoned camp sites was enough to overpower Artemis' nose and make him cough and snort to try to expel the stench.

The path sloped downwards into the main shaft, where he found himself at the head of several branches to different areas. This was, indeed, a good place to hide something. It would take hours to search all of the routes. Not to mention any levels the tunnels could lead to.

Well, best get to it.

"Let's search the tunnels. It will take a while, considering that splitting up isn't an option--" Like hell he was going to go down an abandoned mineshaft alone. "--but if we're going to find something, it will be in one of these shafts."

_{[from here]}

The first and only time he’d come to the kitchen, it’d been his first night, and it had started with chocolate cake, too. And ended with fighting off lizards, meeting Sasuke, and being inflicted with Alucard. There weren’t any good memories of this place (if that could seriously be said of any part of the building).

Aidou was certainly more wary entering.

“Be careful not to bump into anything or get near the stoves,” he muttered, looking around the room with a frown. “Giant lizards that breathe fire seem to dwell here.” It didn’t feel as ridiculous saying that, since he’d been faced with the evidence once before. He hoped the newbie, Wolfram, wouldn’t question that beyond simple words, because Aidou really didn’t want to have to rush to break down a door because of stupid monsters. Though maybe he should have been more worried about Jack.