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]

107   //  WENT MAD

They had been so close! Celes woke, furious with their inability to accomplish their mission. She hid her suddenly pilfered sword away with her other clothing, in the closet. When her nurse bustled in moments after she’d finished (thank all the Triad for that), Celes was more than willing to let the woman chitter away like an overgrown squirrel while the General dressed.

“Oh, won’t you be so very happy, Nancy,” the woman chirped. Celes raised an eyebrow and let herself be dragged along to the Chapel. “I won’t tell you why, it’s a surprise, you see. But, I’ll be you’ll be pleased as punch!” She left the General to herself after Celes seemed no more willing to help bolster the conversation. With an irritated sigh, Celes took a seat in one of the pews and folded her hands in her lap. She was a picture of piety.

Oh Triad, give me strength, so I do not choke my idiot of a nurse. She was worried, however. There were visitors today; would her surprise be in that horrid form?

189   //  WENT MAD

Dawn broke over the Institute with all of its usual glory, lighting up the half-clouded sky beyond the mountains with shades of pink and orange. One would find it hard to believe all the horror that Nightshift brought when looking upon a sight as welcoming and relieving as daytime at Landel's, though the intercom's jingle and the voice that came from the speakers weren't quite so reassuring despite the lighthearted guise they hid behind.

"Good morning, everyone!" the Head Doctor began, sounding just as good-humored as he had in his previous announcement. "Today is a beautiful day in both appearance and spirit, as some of you will be having friends and family come visit you very soon! Why, yes – you'll be able to see your loved ones and hear back from home; you'll also be able to share with them the progress you've achieved here!

"But first... time for some early-morning relaxation before the delicious brunch that our cooks are painstakingly preparing for you. You may either lounge in the Sun Room, or, if you feel spiritually inclined, you may ask to be escorted up to the Chapel for your own personal meditation needs.

"I believe that's all for now! Look forward to seeing familiar faces, as well as a less stringent schedule. I hope you all enjoy your morning!"

The Head Doctor chuckled and he clicked the intercom off.

0   //  WENT MAD

When the intercom crackled on and the Head Doctor spoke, it was with a calmer, more controlled tone than that of his usual ranting. The obvious reason might have been, of course, the absence of any radio broadcasts during the entire Nightshift, but those who had just encountered the doctor face-to-face would know that his satisfaction went beyond that. It must have been a long while since the Head Doctor had reaped the fruits of his basement playground, because there was no time in recent memory that he'd seemed so laid back during an announcement.

"Hello, everyone. I'm so glad to see you're enjoying every aspect of the game I've created for all of you to play." He audibly shifted his weight in his chair, and from the sudden thud near the microphone, it seemed that he'd put his feet up on his desk. "Ahh.. nothing like seeing an underdog overcome obstacles in order to get ahead. Really, it's fulfilling to see how much I've impacted you all, how much I've succeeded in... changing you. Oh, sure, some of you haven't been under the knife yet, but all of that is purely superficial compared to the torment you go through every day – the very hard choices you all have to make."

He paused and sighed, as if relaxed.

"In any case, my fun is done for tonight." He let out an eerily cheerful laugh. "I do look forward to meeting more of you in person."

The intercom clicked off.

0   //  WENT MAD

[From here.]

The deserted hallway meant this was either a place that wasn't worth going or that patients simply didn't know to check here. Sometimes the most interesting things were hidden in plain sight, which meant that Roy wanted to look around despite the fact that it might not amount to anything.

There certainly were a lot of doors to check, after all. He let out a small sigh as he looked over the rows of them on both sides of the hallway.

At least this place seemed relatively safe. He tried for the first door on the left and found that it was locked, so he automatically started grabbing for his keys.

1   //  WENT MAD

[[From here]]

She'd looked all around the old school and still hadn't found anything useful.  Carefully, she made her way back into the street and toward the only building still standing that she hadn't yet investigated.  It might've been a church once, but now the steeple was cracked and broken, though that left most of the building in good shape comparatively.  Kagura pushed back her fear as she pulled the door open. 

She hadn't taken more than a few steps inside when she lost her nerve and ran back out, letting out a frightened scream.  She slammed the door shut and leaned back against it, as though to keep all the horrific sights within at bay.  Rows and rows of bodies, all dead and rotting, sat quietly in the chapel pews.  Blood stained both the floor and the walls, as though there had been some terrible slaughter.  Would there be anything inside worth looking for?

Kagura let out a few frightened sobs before she could even stand the thought of going back inside.  It was for Bridget, she told herself.  Even if it was scary, there might be things in there that could help him.  Steeling herself, she pulled again at the door.

She kept her eyes on the floor in front of her as she continued, wondering if she dared to try pulling clothing from the old bodies or if it was worth the effort.  Crossing her free hand over her chest, the staff in her right, she finally looked up at the walls, letting out only a tiny squeak this time when she saw the bloody writing on the wall.  "YOU WILL BOTH BURN," was written in angry red letters.  As if the cold wasn't enough, the words gave her goosebumps, but she kept on walking, the pain in her leg almost forgotten for all the other fearful things in this place. 

The podium at the front was relatively bare, save for a dusty old book, some candles, and a small tray with American paper money and coins.  If she had pockets, she might have taken some, if only to take with her the next time they went to town.  She'd feel a lot better buying things instead of trying to steal them again. 

It seemed she'd come up empty again.  Unless she raided the bodies here for clothes, there was nothing that would help keep either her or Bridget warm.  A door in the corner caught her eye though, and she crept toward it, expecting more bodies to fall when she opened it.  To her surprise, there was a small room beyond, complete with a bed and a desk.  Finally!  She let out a choked sob of relief and hurried inside.

She raided the small cardboard box, pulling on an oversized, faded blue dress shirt and doing up half the buttons before rifling through the rest.  Blankets went into the box first, she pulled every scrap of material from the bed and stuffed it in, then poked through the dresser, adding a bottle of some kind of drink and a couple of light jackets before she picked it up and went back out into the scary main room. 

Pausing only for a moment at the podium to take a few of the bills and coins, Kagura ran the rest of the way out the door, not bothering to close it behind her.

1   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

Sai had seen the cages when he'd opened the door earlier, but it wasn't until he and Vlad entered that he truly understood what sort of place it was. There were animals in these cages, which should have been apparent by the smell, and the room was filled with various unnatural barks and cries as they entered. Their presence stirred some of the poor creatures into a frenzy.

Many ninja worked alongside animals - dogs and cats in particular - a majority of which were sentient beings unto themselves. This here was a type of cruelty on the level of Orochimaru, though even he had made pacts with serpents. Sai wasn't used to properly displaying disgust, however, and the gaze he flicked over the room remained impassive.

He moved further inside, looking over the contents of each individual cage.

10   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

Hitsugaya was getting used to this by now. He straddled the wall, quickly shone his light around the ground to make sure it was safe, then quickly dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch and scanning under the canopy of trees.

"Coast is clear," he called out to Senna and Artemis up above.

8   //  WENT MAD

[[from here]]

The nearest building that still stood was across the street from the General Store.  Kagura picked it first, not wishing to be outside longer than she had to.  The building, however, wasn't much help.  It didn't even have a full roof, she noticed as she pushed open the door, still holding her staff in hand.  At least there was benefit to that too, in that the rooms weren't completely dark as they might have been otherwise.

The main room looked like an old classroom, but it'd fallen into terrible disarray.  Desks were overturned, chairs broken and hardly any still usable.  There were shelves, like the cubby holes they'd had for shoes in high school, but they were smashed up and empty.  A single blackboard, cracked down the middle, sat at the front of the classroom.  So far, nothing at all of use.

She sighed, turning toward the only door inside, one that was already halfway off its hinges. 

A bathroom.  Great.  There were two stalls, but no towels or tissues, not that they were likely to be clean enough to use in a place like this.  There was a third area, beside the stalls, that looked almost like a shower, but said something about decontamination.  Whatever it was, it was of no use to her.  Kagura headed back toward the door she'd come in through, rubbing her arms for warmth.

1   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

Bravely wandering first into the room this time, Vlad was pleased to find the contents were the sort of thing he'd been looking for. Chemicals, more laboratory supplies, and all neatly organized and stored. He hadn't come prepared to actually take anything, and wouldn't bother without specific plans for anything he took; trying to fight a monster while holding a tray of dangerous chemicals somehow did not appeal, particularly considering that the mixture of many of these would result in explosions or dangerous gas. It was good to know for sure where it was for later, though, and good to have a general idea of the sorts of things at hand without working through one of the groups or Clubs.

"You might like to come in here, there are some more sharp objects available," Vlad suggested cheerily over his shoulder at the boy. He seemed to like the scalpels in the other room well enough, after all, and the young man couldn't say he hadn't gotten anything out of the evening.

2   //  WENT MAD

_{[from here]}

The doors to the chapel stood before her, sealed, but it didn't prevent her from tasting what was beyond them. Diva had to put her palms against the wood and push it open to get inside, and then...

The girl's hair swished around her as she moved up the center aisle, following the sound of trickling blood.

For there was no doubt it was blood. Lots and lots of blood. It was almost entirely dark, but once Diva got close enough to the fountain, she could make out its shape, the smooth angles of the sculpture, and the arch of liquid as it tinkled into the basin below. For a moment, she stood before it, staring.

The moment passed, and then she was climbing up onto the fountain's lip so that she could peer into its surface. Swinging her legs over, her toes touched wet blood. And then so did her feet, her ankles, her calves... The Queen stood up in the pool and began to walk in a slow circle within it, the end of her hair trailing in the blood. She dipped her hands in, examined the sheen of her fingers, before touching her tongue to the pad of her forefinger. Hmm. Was that so?

When she had finished, she returned to her original position, like a girl who had been playing in the water at a park fountain, not a Chiropteran who was now half-soaked in red lifeblood. After a while, she laid down on her side, one foot and a section of hair submerged in the pool.

Would her daughters want to have something like this? Maybe...

0   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

Matt eased the door open once the lock made a friendly click, checking around with his flashlight before entering all the way. There didn't appear to be anything inside, but then it hadn't looked like there was much inside the room he and the History Club group had checked the night before, either.

"Screw monsters showing up," he muttered, making way for his partner. "If the temperature drops the slightest bit, make for the door." If there was any way to get away from one of those soul-sucking creatures, he was going to go for it.

36   //  WENT MAD

[[from here]]

If there was one thing pigs were good at, it was scavenging, and Kagura was no exception.  Being in her zodiac form was a real pain at times, but at least now it came in handy.  She started rooting around the rubble of the nearby buildings, starting with ones near the General store, but there wasn't a lot left.  It wasn't until she reached the end of the street that she saw a place that might have what she was looking for.

She didn't know what it had once been, but the antiseptic scent, old as it was, was still familiar enough for her to hope there might be more left behind than just cleaning supplies.  It was no easy task, but this tiny body was built for foraging and rooting around.  She probably would have started crying if she was able to when she started uncovering medical supplies. 

There were a few bottles, most of which she didn't recognize, but she knew the painkillers, and there were some moderately clean bandages that she pulled out from an old broken cabinet.  What else, what else, she thought hurriedly and had time for little else before a pop of smoke heralded her transformation back into a human.  While that did make the supplies easier to carry, it made walking back harder.  Her leg throbbed painfully with each step, no longer supported by the other 3 little piggy legs, and the bottom of her feet were raw by the time she was halfway back down the street.

[[back to here]]

0   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

The hallway was familiar, though Mello was annoyed to depend on someone else's flashlight to illuminate any corners he found suspicious. There was nothing worth pointing out, though, and he stopped opposite the first door and rested his weight against the wall. He begrudgingly accepted that the sling had been a good idea, but he definitely wasn't going to admit it to Matt.

"It's this door," he said as he fished the box of syringes and the thin blade from his pocket then offered them to his friend. "I didn't have any trouble with it last time."

1   //  WENT MAD

[[From here]]

Allen picked up a few small and large towels as he walked toward the dark, empty showers.  It felt strange to be here at night, but at least he had some small measure of privacy.  With Rinali right outside the door, it was hard not to feel at least a little nervous, but after what'd happened earlier, he was still pretty numb. 

He didn't even bother to disrobe until the water was running hot in the nearest shower.  It seemed a little murky, but it was cleaner than the muck that covered him now.  He peeled off the sticky shirt and pants, casting them to the other side of the tiled shower floor, then stepped into the stream of water. 

28   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

Rinali cautiously entered the bathroom, finally turning on her flashlight and doing a quick survey of the area. Everything seemed clear, but it was hard to say how long. At least the fighting outside would hopefully mask their presence a little bit.

She stepped to the side to allow Allen to enter as well and shone her light on the door leading to the showers. "I'll check to make sure it's safe, then I'll wait by the door while you clean yourself up. Hopefully the showers still work at night."

1   //  WENT MAD

(From here.)


Bridget managed to get through the doorway and over to a wall before his legs finally gave out. He felt cold, and knew that shock was setting in. Sliding down the wall, the staff falling to the floor with a clatter, he had enough presense of mind to sheild Kagura as best he could from his fall.

Back to the wall, breath sharp and shallow, he reached up and fumbled with the buttons on his coat, managing enough that the small pig would be able to escape. "Sorry... Miss Sohma." He'dlost too much blood now... All he had to do though was hold on until daylight. He could do that... right?

39   //  WENT MAD

(From here.)

Bridget was panting and hoping that he wouldn't fall flat on his face which would wind up crushing Kagura by the time he reached.... Well, it looked like a town. It was quiet though, and there was no sign of life anywhere. It looked a lot like some of the places he'd gone to after a Gear had torn them apart.

"Are you still with me," he asked softly, wanting to make sure Kagura was alright.

7   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

It was just as advertised, really, and Brooklyn didn't know if he should have expected any different when the door broke open and the two of them entered the small room. He felt bad about the fact that they were most likely going to be stealing supplies from here just as they had the other place. Some poor soul, most likely oblivious to their nightly plight, was going to return to work tomorrow and find his cleaning supplies missing.

Or was he? They couldn't have been the first people to raid this place. But if the supplies were replaced, when did it happen? The gargoyle stepped aside as he thought this over to let Near do as he would.

12   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

More empty beds. The more he thought about it, the odder it seemed to him; didn't they do experiments fairly openly on the patients at night? It was possible these rooms saw some use during the day, the autopsy room as well, but it seemed the low report of deaths and the fact that no one reported being carted off to be experimented on during the daytime, or for that matter, reported friends being carted off...

Then again, if someone came, retrieved you from wherever you were at the time, experimented on you, and then took your memories of the event before placing you in the next friendly daily activity, would anyone notice it? It wasn't a very pleasant thought, and worse, he could think of no reason why they would be unable to do so, given the control they'd demonstrated over patients so far. Perhaps he should be focusing more on making very good friends.

Not expecting much, he reached down to casually turn on the computer on the corner desk. "I don't suppose you break into computers as easily as you break through doors, hm?"

12   //  WENT MAD

[From Here]
Miku scurried into the room and caught her breath, leaning against a file cabinet. Sousuke seemed pretty irritated with her calling out to the other patients, but it wasn’t as though she’d been trying to purposely upset him. The patients' possessions room was dark as pitch, and Miku looked around with the flashlight, moving the beam over the cabinets. It was highly possible that they’d be attacked here, too, which was ten times more than annoying.Today's goal was to not be injured if they could help it.

“I’m sorry, Sousuke, I couldn’t... I couldn’t let them wander around injured. I’m not sure they listened to me, anyway,” Miku apologized between snatches of air. In all likely events, those four men hadn’t. They’d other things on their mind than a fleeing girl and her protector. She just hoped that he wasn’t going to carry on about her safety. Sometimes, there were things a little more important.

But only sometimes, if sometimes were never, according to Sagara Sousuke.

18   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

It wasn't too hard to figure out what this room was once Sai entered, especially when placed nest to the other. While it was interesting to note that these places existed, they weren't helping them find anything for Vlad. Not that the man seemed to mind.

He walked straight through to the other side and tested the door before searching the room more thoroughly. This one, unlike the previous one, was locked. It did make sense, though, for the connecting doors to the morgue not to be.

5   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

Vlad waited for the helpful ninja to break the door down, and didn't enter the room until Sai was already inside, but did follow a bit quicker than he had for the previous hallway when he felt the rush of cold air inside.

Looking around with the flashlight, Vlad recognized the room immediately as storage for dead bodies. The empty beds waiting for passengers were a little dramatic somehow with the dim lighting, although it again surprised him that the beds weren't fully occupied in a place like this. Were the bodies cleaned up that quickly?

"Do you recognize what this room is?" he asked Sai in a mild tone. The young whoever from downstairs would probably not wind up on one of those beds, despite being a clear fatality--perhaps mopped up until a neater pile, then kept in one of those drawers in the wall. Or simply disposed of, however the bodies here wound up. "I wonder if there is anything in those right now..." Sliding one open to be attacked by the undead would be so cliche, though. "We seem to have more proper doors to explore as well, for now."

3   //  WENT MAD

(from here)

Eileen was sobbing and muttering incoherently when the doctor thrust her out into the hallway. Her arm was still bleeding, but she was paying it no mind. She could barely feel it, in the state she was in now. She stumbled, her body wracked with strange tremors that seemed to move in time to the pulsating violet veins that stretched across her body.

It was just like the nightmare again, she realized, her legs akimbo as she groped for the wall to try and make her way down the unfamiliar hallway, frightened and unable to get her thoughts about her. Blood dripped from her open wounds to the floor, reminding her (in some dim, still functioning part of her mind) of the water dripping in the nightmare hospital.

The other nightmare hospital.

What the doctor had told her rang in her mind through it all.

There was no one to save her this time.

52   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

Still keeping in front of Vlad, Sai stepped cautiously into the next area. It was another hallway, which wasn't what the ninja was used to finding when breaking in the doors upstairs. There were two more doors to their left, as revealed by his flashlight, but nothing else.

Grasping the handle on the first door to his left as they entered, Sai found that this too was locked. Considering the poor condition a good many of these doors were in, he began to wonder why they bothered locking them to begin with.

He glanced to Vlad for input on where to go next, not even voicing the question.

1   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

"I hope this is important," Brooklyn grumbled as he led Near inside.

The room seemed to be full of medical supplies, mostly the medication itself. This sort of thing could be useful to anyone, though he had no way of knowing what this boy wanted it for. Another experiment, perhaps? Or did he honestly have someone he needed to get some pills to? Either way, the gargoyle felt that there were better things he could be doing with his time right now. Though there was a voice in the back of his head that told him he wouldn't be able to save everyone.

11   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

Considering Sai's generous offer, Vlad was in no hurry to rush his way down the dark corridor, which sounded empty enough for now. That didn't mean there was nothing waiting in the darkness, of course, just that there probably weren't any patients currently engaged. Vlad had been a fan of letting others go before him since soon after his arrival, but just one other companion wasn't nearly enough barrier space between himself and the creatures in here for his tastes. Still, he was armed enough even as Masters, and the young man had practically volunteered himself.

Well, practically.

Following Sai's lead, he gestured down the hallway. "Let's work down as far as we can, then start to make our way back?" After all, if there were monsters along the way, being timid wouldn't mean they vanished, just that they were reached more slowly... or that Vlad and Sai were ambushed while exploring.

12   //  WENT MAD

( They say a man can survive any atrocity so long as he had his health. They were aiming to fix that... )

25   //  WENT MAD

[from here]

Knives went into the room, shining his flashlight around for a moment to orient himself. He didn't say anything as he walked to the counters to look for a knife, a slight limp to his step from the strain of kicking down the door.

He gathered up any metal he could fit into his pockets, thinking it might be smart to bring it to his roommate eventually, considering Roy's talent with things like that. When he found a long kitchen knife in the drawers he couldn't help but grin.

It wasn't his Angel Arm, but it would do.

He ignored Subaru for now, letting the boy do whatever he wished.

20   //  WENT MAD

[From here.]

The silence in the stairwell was slightly eerie, and Roy tried to catch snippets of conversations from either above or below them as he went step by step.

"Now I have to try and remember where I left off," he said to both himself and Hughes with a small smile, doing his best to lighten the mood. He had made some steady progress with searching the second floor's locked doors, but it had been a while since he had gone on this particular "mission."

Still, he trusted in his memory. He would know where he needed to go once he was seeing it with his own eyes again.

22   //  WENT MAD

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