[ from here ]

Either she was the only unlucky person to experience a freezing shower, or she just hadn't built up the tolerance for it that the more seasoned patients had. Whichever it was, she was the first person into the sun room and while normally she wouldn't mind that, the soldiers were majorly creepy and she was kind of hoping for some kind of buddy system thing to be established to minimize the creep factor.

No such luck, apparently.

With one shifty look around the room at the soldiers positioning themselves strategically and then a glance upstairs to see if the doctors and nurses were lurking -- they weren't, which was possibly even more unsettling than when they were -- she beelined for the bulletin board to scribble a worried note.

Four days since she'd showered meant three since last seeing Elle around. That didn't bode well for anything, especially considering the last time they'd talked it was about just how dangerous Sylar really was to her. If she was dead -- Claire had promised Peter that they'd keep her safe, this was just about the furthest from safe you could get. And it would definitely add up to why she'd been able to safely run into Peter the previous night without slamming straight into Sylar when they were shacked up in the same hallway. Obviously, he'd been busy carving Elle up like a pumpkin with his brain.

So, she stuck the note up on the board and then tried to hover around a couch until she found something to do with herself. The anxiety wasn't going to get her anywhere anytime soon, but hopefully someone would show up with information on where the blonde had been those past couple days (an answer that involved intense actual therapy rather than implant things in your brain therapy would be preferred, but as long as no one was getting mutilated, she couldn't complain) and if not hopefully someone could just distract her from that impending sense of massive failure that was threatening to cause a nuclear meltdown of feelings in her brain.

[ free ]

[F2. Continued from here.]

But not all light was gone from the room, at least not for long. After the corpse-like woman left the intercom, and after her serious-sounding male replacement had finished his warning, a faint golden light faded into existence. Rapunzel couldn't place the source right away - it seemed to be coming from everywhere in the edges of her vision, casting a bright haze over things as it strengthened. Quickly enough, however, she realized that the glow was familiar. Very familiar. Like so intensely familiar it hurt. The glow was coming from the top of her head, and it was slowly spreading down from the roots of her hair, down, down, down to the tips.

Rapunzel could only watch, dumbfounded as her hair grew. It grew and grew and grew and grew, spiraling into a pile at the foot of the bed, all the while her scalp pulsating with the warmth of her magic. "I... I-I—" She couldn't get a word out until it was all finished. Still not as long as it had been before, but there it was. Her hair was back, almost entirely intact.

She looked back up at the dark-haired girl, still gawping at the sight as the glow faded back into the darkness. "I... Oh my gosh, I can't believe it." Rapunzel sifted a hand into her locks, pulling a section up and drawing it through her fingers to make sure it was really there. "I-I guess I don't have to explain anymore. This is what I was missing! Why is it back now, though? I mean, I heard someone say things 'get better at night', but I didn't think...!"

Rapunzel pushed herself back to her feet, wobbling as she nearly tripped over the pile of hair in the dark. "Did something happen to you just now? Did you feel anything different? Tell me this isn't just me!"

[From here.]

It was probably a good time to declare everyone legally dead, because this was the fourth hallway in a row. This was what being proactive felt like. Yes. He was going to roll with that. Proactive and paranoid as hell, that was him.

Paranoid enough to take out the pathetic little knife from the pillow case and clutch it around the handful of cloth. Maybe one day, Edward thought derisively, I'll be lucky enough to find night-vision goggles so I can stop wasting my time with the light. As soon as he thought it the flashlight flickered, the round yellow beam turning black before popping back on again.

What little blood he had in him drained from his face. "That was terrible of me, I'm sorry. You're a fine flashlight. Possibly the best."

[To here.]

Having to endure an empty room for yet another night had Sora worried. Were they not planning to give him a new roommate? He didn't know how these soldier people worked -- would they rather that patients were left in their rooms alone? That didn't make much sense, but he really didn't know what to expect anymore.

Most people would have been glad to have a room to themselves, but Sora wasn't most people. He wanted someone there who he could talk things over with while he ate his dinner. Instead, he had eaten his meal in silence, still reeling from the announcement that Landel was being replaced. It was something he would have preferred to discuss with someone else rather than dwell on alone, but he could always do that when he met up with Kairi and Riku.

That was the one good thing he had going for the moment; Sora was glad that the three of them were going to be side-by-side once more. He was particularly interested in hearing what Kairi had to say, since she'd also been here for a long time.

His dinner was interrupted by IRIS coming on, and Sora frowned when the automated voice became distorted once more. A program was being initiated? What did that mean?

He'd expected for IRIS to continue through the whole night, but soon after that a more human voice was heard. But even as Sora tried to place it, he realized that it was new, totally different from Landel's usual loud tone. But there was still a threat in those words, still a hint that something was going to happen tonight. Sora had already counted on that. With everything that had happened, how couldn't there be?

He just hoped that he and his friends could manage to get somewhere even with the odds stacked against them. Sora quickly changed from his Landel's uniform into his more familiar clothes from home and then grabbed for his flashlight (while also remembering to take Venom's copied note at the last moment; he wanted Kairi to see it too).

Once he was ready, he quietly moved out of his room and headed down the hall.

[To here.]

Well, that was the most exhausting lunch Elena had ever experienced. And she didn't get around to eating very much either. Her headache was a least somewhat bearable now, but as the shift ended, she realized how stupid it had been to not get something in her system before the shift ended. But that apparently wasn't in the cards. In fact, just as she stopped panicking long enough to try and get some food down, her nurse was sweeping to her side.

"Shift change, m'dear." Like she hadn't noticed everyone getting up out of their seats and leaving the cafeteria. "I'll take your tray for you, and you make sure to get out to the field on time."

"On time?" Her blank expression must have given away more than she realized, because the nurse was giving her yet another sympathetic look.

"You slept thought a lot this morning, I'm afraid. I'll explain along the way."

By the time they had reached the Rec Field, the nurse had explained most of what had happened with the food fight, and the tear gas, and it only served to damage her calm yet again that day. Of course she slept through something like this, and of course the boys and girls were split up this shift, and of course Elena would have to wait around for some uniformed man to call out her fake name before she could get to Stefan.

At least her last name was near the stop of the list.

"Bailey, Samantha-"

"Here! I'm here. Can I go back inside now? Please?"

Though she didn't even wait for an answer before turning back and heading for the building. As far as she was concerned, she did what she was told, and there was no good reason why she couldn't make her way to the Sun Room right this very second.

[to here]

He saw her at the end, when everyone was rising from their seats.

For all that Stefan had spent the day consumed with his own thoughts and cravings, the conversation over the intercom distracted him too. He hadn't been paying attention enough to follow what they — Landel's irate voice, the head nurse, someone else (the one in charge of the soldiers?) — were talking about, but he noticed the way some people looked up at the sound of the last voice. Stefan didn't recognize it, but it was clear that many people did.

He puzzled over it only long enough to notice two people who didn't automatically get up as the new shift was announced: his brother first, still a shock in anything less than tailored black, and there, right beside him...

Elena.

By the time Stefan registered what he was doing, he was already on his feet, a little shaky but walking steadily enough across the cafeteria. She was whole. She was safe. And if she'd already seen Damon, even better. As much his brother pretended to care otherwise, there was no way he'd let Elena go to the Rec Field alone if she was seriously hurt — although it was just as possible that Elena had insisted he not hover. Either way, it didn't matter. Stefan would know soon enough once he was able to hold her in his arms, and feel her warm and alive against his chest.

"Christian!" A nurse stepped in front of him. Stefan pulled himself up short, and helplessly watched as Elena moved out of sight. The nurse seemed to guess what he was thinking anyway. "Samantha needs to go for roll call. You've already had your session on the Recreational Field, remember?"

Which meant he was supposed to be in the Greenhouse with the other men, guaranteeing he wouldn't be able to see Elena. "I'll go to the Sun Room. Could you tell her I'll be waiting for her there?" He remembered how sharply the staff had looked at them the last time they'd been together. How strict were the rules here, for patients? "I haven't seen her all day. Please."

In the end, she agreed, leaving alone at the entrance of the Sun Room. Stefan sank into an empty couch, and tried his best not to get into any more trouble.

All things considered, last shift had been pretty low key. After this morning's disaster, though, that was perfectly fine by Claude. Some fresh air and a chance to make sure Guy and Okita were all right weren't things to take for granted. It was also good to have a fairly normal, conversation with Guy that didn't slip off into awkward territory. Having Okita there as a sort of buffer probably made things a bit easier in that regard. Claude was confident that things would smooth about between them fairly soon -- if they hadn't already, even.

After checking the bulletin and making some notes of his own, Claude walked alongside his nurse into the cafeteria. As far as he could tell, the soldiers hasn't cleared out any since their arrival this morning. Not only that, but Landel didn't sound too happy about what happened. Was he going to get into trouble for the food fight?

Not that he had any sympathy for the Head Doctor, of course. That bastard deserved every bad thing that ever happened to him, and then some. On the other hand, it did make Claude wonder what would become of the captives if someone even harsher stepped in to take his place...

Was that even possible? Then again, Claude had to consider that no one even used tear gas the last time a riot happened. Had this morning's response been someone else's idea?

As hard as it was to sit and wait for things to pan out, Claude knew that ultimately time would tell what was going to happen. Thankfully, he had a lunch appointment to keep him occupied. After collecting his tray of food, Claude took a seat at one of the tables. It looked like he was one of the first people here, which gave him an opportunity to notice just how much better the room looked than after breakfast. He couldn't imagine how many people had been asked to clean things up. Really, it was a wonder they hadn't just made the patients do it themselves as punishment.

Well, regardless of all that, he needed to wait for that Mordio person to show up now, right? Claude kept an eye on the cafeteria entrance, although he suddenly remembered that the patient had never given a description of themselves. Hopefully Claude's own description would be distinct enough for Mordio to find him.

[For Rita!]

For once, HK was working very hard to hide a giddy facial expression as he met his nurse at the door. He'd already hidden his scalpels in his clothing. The wonderful, sharp implements of doom would be needed today. “Statement: Despite my reticence towards all processed meat and plant products, I am experiencing intolerable levels of hunger,” he informed his nurse. “I require an especially large meal.”

It was the easiest and best excuse to load his food tray with several of these 'inglish muffin sandwiches', and two glasses of white milk. He then found a table strategically located in the center of the refueling area, and waited. He needed the room as full as possible before the Evil Plan could begin.

[Free, but planning doom upon all.]

"Dude, you are totally bugnuts crazy," Yuffie told the intercom.

She stood by her bed, hopping vaguely as she pulled up her socks. The rest of her clothes, sans shorts and bra, were in a messy, rumpled pile on top of her equally messy, rumpled bedsheets. Next to them sat her sheathed wakizashi and her two knives; her shuriken, too big to fit, had been left to lean against the side of her desk.

"And that's worth saying only 'cuz that's the most sense you've, like, ever made. Can't you go back to being creepy and stereotypical? I'm serious."

The arm warmer went on next; she buckled it quickly as she toed into her (still laced) sneakers. Gloves followed swiftly after, and Yuffie mumbled, "C'mon, geez," as she slipped them on. She'd been too distracted by her notes to get dressed during dinner shift, and now she had to hurry. Sagara could be here any minute.

Finally, finally, Yuffie jammed the woollen turtleneck over her head.

Lunch hadn't helped much. In fact, Venkman thought he might be feeling sick after eating too much food too quickly. He hadn't gotten through any of the files he had wanted to read, either, and popping headache pills had only helped so much. Really, the only thing that was keeping him from just going home sick right now was the fact that his last session today was going to be with a rare female patient. He wasn't exactly feeling like putting the moves on anyone today, but hey, women irritated him less than most men did, at least. So long as they weren't as bug-eyed and annoying as Egon, anyway (Janine).

He could get through this. It was just one more session, and then he could go home and sleep things off.

[Yuffie]

With sigh that toed the ambiguous no-mans-land between soft and explosive, Yuffie collected a plateful of waffles with all the toppings. She was sure that, if nothing else, it'd making a pretty satisfying splat if—when?—she launched it at somebody's face, and that was all that counted.

"Hanna, isn't that a little much?" Plucky asked, doubtfully.

"Uhhm. No. About, like... a little while ago, I managed five caramel apple pies with ice cream and berries and, y'know, I think there was a gallon of soda involved at some point." It wasn't the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. There really had been five caramel apple pies, but Cloud had ended up wearing two and a half and the third had taken a vacation to Boobsville (Tifa had loved it. Really. Really). The moral of the story (as she'd told Marlene and Denzel later) was that anything was game, just as long as you could run fast enough afterwards.

The nurse nodded slowly. "I… suppose. Well, I'll leave you to it. See that you behave, won't you, dear? You need to set a good example for the new batch of patients."

"My examples are the best examples," Yuffie proclaimed, with the dark-bright grin that still came so easily, no matter how little she felt really felt it. It lingered even when the nurse had flitted off to deal with another charge, but there was an edge to it. What the edge was, Yuffie couldn't say. Didn't want to say, after what'd gone down last night. Nah, she had better things to do; things like sitting down and waiting, just waiting, for Cloud or some other sucker of an easy target to walk through the door.

[HARLEY HARTWELL o/]

[Currently M36]

Touya had thought that the last vestiges of his exhaustion due to the drain of his power had all but vanished, but apparently it had made one last stand. Touya awoke briefly when his nurse had brought in dinner, the last thing he remembered being talking with Yue in the hall.

Talking with Yue in the hall?! He sat up abruptly, noting the meal left on his desk and groaning. So he had slept through the entire day and no doubt both Yue and Yuki (possibly Sakura as well, though she didn't come out of her room very often really) were petrified that something had happened to him. They always met for lunch, after all.

Way to be, Kinomoto, he thought crossly. He'd decided that the best move now was just to get the last vestiges of this exhaustion out of his system, then go to meet Yuki right after the doors unlocked.

Which would have been a great plan, if he hadn't slept through the doors unlocking as well.

((From here.))

As Claude made his way through the dark, he considered the message he'd seen on the bulletin just before dinner. Guy had invited him to come along for...whatever he'd had planned. To be honest, he wasn't too sure of what he'd agreed to do tonight. But with how crazy everything had been the past several days, he wouldn't have been surprised if he'd made plans with his friend and somehow forgotten it. The thought made him feel kind of embarrassed, and he hadn't wanted to draw more attention to that kind of slip than was necessary. After all, he didn't want anyone thinking he was unreliable, especially after how much time and care Guy had put into looking after Claude during the last two nights.

Even if the trip hadn't been planned before today, though, Claude was still glad to get a chance to help out and make himself useful. He didn't want to get rusty with his sword or anything, after all. Plus it was hard to imagine his friends going off to face the institute's dangers without him, even if part of him realized that things very well could have played out that way if it hadn't been for Natalia.

But now wasn't the time to think about stuff like that, and Claude did his best to focus on what was right in front of him. There wasn't a single soul in the hallway yet. He passed by the entrance to Guy's hallway, his steps slowing down. Maybe they could walk to the meeting place together? It was what they usually did for things like this, anyway. Not only that, but after what had happened in the library this morning, Claude knew he owed Guy a proper explanation. Even though he probably wouldn't have been able to explain much until tomorrow, he at least wanted to acknowledge that he appreciated Guy's support today.

There was also everything that had happened with some of Guy's missing memories. His friend hadn't given him an update about that for awhile now, though Claude assumed part of it was because he hadn't want to be a burden to someone who was recovering from experimentation. Now that he was better, he intended to find out if anything had changed since their talk in the sun room that day. Like the mess with Mom, though, he'd probably have to wait to delve into that, too. Talking about heavy stuff while walking around at night usually didn't work out too well for them.

Frowning to himself, Claude leaned against the wall and waited for Guy to appear.

[from here]

She remembered the last time she'd been down this way. With Yukari in tow, she'd headed over to Mori's room to exchange a closet rod for her shuriken. Okita'd popped out of his own room—man, she hadn't expected that.

But, this time…

Maybe it was a little weird, that she was willing to work with the same guy who'd stabbed a pen through Sagara's lung. That she was being polite enough to set her shuriken point-down on the floor, and to keep it slightly behind herself, with her fingers clasped loosely around the top-most blade. It was a big weapon and not exactly something she could sheathe; keeping it in a non-threatening but easy to manoeuvre from position was a courtesy, though not a deference.

… Kinda weird how interacting with Okita made her actually think about these things, too.

Shaking off any further thoughts of weirdness for the time being, Yuffie knocked on the door. "Special delivery," she announced

[To here]

"Made it..." She whispered triumphantly as she walked quietly into the dark and quiet hallway first. It was hard to decide where the best place would be to stand since once others began to flood in, Asuka could easily be overshadowed by the taller adults. "Hmmm..." The best she could guess was to hug the opposite wall by the doorway and hope she would pick out the two members once they entered.

Remember, Asuka, you aren't the veteran here.

This wasn't NERV anymore. She had no one under her to display her impressive and extensive training to. The redhead was a newbie like the ones she was going to be working with, though perhaps a bit more intelligent. This first mission was important for popularity's sake. She needed to play nice for now, gauge their strengths and weaknesses until she knew who she could topple the easiest.

[Waiting on Agatha and Zevran]

[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.

Tifa wasn't sure what to make of the strange promise heard over the intercom. The only conclusion she could come up with was that perhaps this would be another wild goose chase, running into one door, but coming out in a completely different room, time, or world. The first time had been exhausting and fruitless enough, she didn't really want to go through the ringer a second time. There was nothing she could do about it on her own, so she got up and tore through her closet for her ice materia and the knife she had borrowed from Yuffie. The former she tucked into her bra as usual so her left had could easily hold the flashlight.

She wished her roommate good luck and hoped that she returned from the night unscathed, or at least in one piece. Tifa would have offered to take Lightning with her, but it probably wasn't a good idea, not where they were going. The door was opened as quietly as possible and her yellow light was quickly flashed down both directions of the hall. Now that the coast was clear, she left the room just as silently down the hallway where it connected with another.

[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! ]

If she were honest, Yukari would have said she had no idea what a "sun room" was supposed to entail. She didn't ask, though, because by the time she had finished asking all the more important questions (which still weren't getting answered in any way that made sense), Yukari was getting rather fed up with all the nonsense her accompanying nurse was trying to feed her. It was all 'getting better this', despite insisting on the contrary, and 'your family is worried about you that', which was ridiculous considering the conversation she had with her mother the previous night actually went fairly well, considering-- and she was the only family Yukari had nearby.

She tried to be patient, but not long after she exited the room she woke up in the exasperation was becoming fairly apparent on the girl's face. The nurse, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed, as if she were used to seeing this reaction out of people. Did she make it a habit of confusing the hell out of everyone? Before long, Yukari was following her in silence; maybe there would be someone else around who would be far more helpful than this lady were.

What she hadn't been expecting after winding through hallway after hallway (or so it felt like a bit of a trek) were large doors that lead to an even bigger room; no, the room was huge, not to mention bright. Yukari had to shield her eyes with a hand for a moment or so as the late afternoon sun poured through the windows that encased the ceiling, making it considerably brighter than what florescent lights could produce. Huh. Fitting name. Large windows aside, with all the chairs and sofas placed about around each other and nothing more, it must have been some sort of lounge area.

"You've been asleep for most of the day, so perhaps somewhere a little more sunnier would wake you up some." Professional and all smiles still, the nurse stepped aside as if she needed to make room for Yukari to walk by. "Will you be okay for now? I'll leave you be, if you'd prefer."

"Uh-- yeah, thanks," she responded halfheartedly; if anything, she wanted this woman to scurry off somewhere already. "I'll just pick out somewhere to sit."

And that she did. The nurse eventually abandoned her side for whatever other matters she had to tend to, and Yukari... She never thought she would become one to ever get indecisive on where to sit, but with too many questions still going unanswered, it was all making her far too antsy for comfort.

What was going on?

After feeling like a little lost kid in an unfamiliar place, Yukari gave up and plopped right down on the nearest sofa, leaning back with a forearm covering her face. This was getting ridiculous. Sheesh, they didn't even have any magazines here.

[for yuffie!]

[from here]

It was a race. A fight against patience and a Song's call. Still, the sedation's dredges churned through him. Two close at hand had a potent effect--much like the night that they were left in that town, and the morning after. Rubedo had came then. Came for them like something out of place, and wasn't that so ironic afterwards--when Albedo knew what he knew now? How many times would a twin appear to abandon him to harshly? How many times would Rubedo make promises only to break them--tear them to pieces like he did Albedo--in the perfectly precise way of those who knew how to break you down because they knew you so perfectly.

Was that how Rubedo had killed him? Or had Albedo forced him to it? His twin wouldn't say before, and asking now was too much like dead blood rotting in veins--he no longer cared, no longer needed to know how easily it was for his twin to rip him asunder. How joyous Rubedo must have been. If that night was any hint, his twin hated him with a passion to rival man's hatred toward god. And wasn't it the same. This. In ways it was the same. An existence meted out, for what it's worth, and then you were simply trapped in it. Trapped in it and stuck stagnant where you were, bound by that other, unless you forced your hatred forward to strike down the other.

To kill god? It seemed too quaint to entertain.

Be it that he woke as the last shift was ending, Albedo had been escorted to the cafeteria early. He took what was offered without a word, sat in the back without a sound, and sipped at the water put in front of him politely; a hand curled around the cup lightly, fingers loose. Eyes burned into the entrance--for Nigredo or Rubedo, either would suffice. The doubt that his twin would come to him was faulty--to ignore them for a week and then vanish as if they were nothing spoke of only distain, whatever Nigredo chose to believe. The eldest of them hated them both. This was truth. The only truth that Rubedo had shown Albedo, in thought, word, action, and deed, in the two weeks that they had shared here.

So Rubedo was to kill him. Well. Never say Albedo accepted his destiny. Yes, he would die by his twin's hand. But first he would rip Rubedo's throat out, claw out his eyes and press them into his beloved's mouth--see the lies you spew--lift his tenderly beating heart for all to see and then crush it.

This, Rubedo, is what you've done to me.

[...for the twin.]