Axel Lerate's Story

Axel couldn't help but smile back when Anna giggled... It was almost infectious, seeing as just a week or so ago she couldn't even imagine someone like him existing, someone who could touch her, that is. And she was right. He wasn't fully human, but that wasn't bad. He was given life by scientists, and that was good. And in that moment, to finish off the quote from Wreck-It Ralph, there was no one he'd rather be but him. He hugged her this time, and the only new thing that she would register was unconditional happiness.
"Thank you, Anna... And by the way, pardon my asking this late into the moment, but speaking of bathing, am I on the wrong side of the bath?" He was very suddenly aware that maybe, just MAYBE, this could be awkward for other people who weren't used to bath houses in Japan, implanted memories or not. Speaking of awkward, the Dead Pool decided to take particular time to ruin a perfectly good moment with his sudden, unexplainable presence. If Axel had been paying close enough attention, he would have heard something akin to a god of thunder laughing his ass off in heaven. "VIETNAMESE JESUS, MORT!" Axel said, jumping in his seat, "I thought you were going to the room! It can't have been more than ten minutes!"

(OoC: Seriously though, Zalggy. I both totally love and hate you for that.)

Axel's embrace was overwhelming with joy, it flooded through her body, warming her from head to toe. Her smile grew wider because she knew it was because of her. She wrapped her arms around him, and held him for a moment, before realizing how intimate this moment really was. As if he knew her thoughts Axel asked, " And by the way, pardon my asking this late into the moment, but speaking of bathing, am I on the wrong side of the bath?"
A blush rose over her whole face before she quickly let him go, dipping all but her head under the water and turning around quickly to make her way over to a different wall.

"...O my!" she squeaked as she quickly wadedaway from him, reaching for the side to pull herself out. As she lifted her body out of the bath and onto the wall she heard Axel exclaim, "VIETNAMESE JESUS, MORT!...I thought you were going to the room! It can't have been more than ten minutes!"

Turning around she saw another boy, one she had not met before, but had seen in Axel's memories. He was standing less than two feet away from her. Surprised, she fell back into the bath, making a splash, "AHHH! " she shreiked out of embareesment, hoping the steam prevented him from seeing her nude, though she couldn't be sure.
Though she moment had passed, she peeped " Yes Axel, you are on the wrong side of the bath...as are you Mortimer..." and slid under the water, holding her face in her hands.
Two boys...two boys have now seen me naked....what a birthday this is turning out to be....

"VIETNAMESE JESUS, MORT!...I thought you were going to the room! It can't have been more than ten minutes!"

Mortimer pondered what she meant by that deeply, standing there simply looming near the baths.

Last she left it was 2:00 AM. The clock in her room last indicated it was 6:00 AM. Perhaps the clock in her room is set wrong? No, the sun does not simply rise in a span of ten minutes. Clearly it must be Axel who is mistaken.

"It has been four hours since I arrived at your room." He stated clearly. "...O my!" The other person from the other side of the bath exclaimed. Unexpectedly he heard that person swim over and suddenly emerge from the bath. Before he could react there she was standing before him. A young girl of great esthetic quality. The steam was as clear as air from the distance she was standing from him. Time had seemingly stood still as both the girl and himself were simultaneously surprised and in considerable thought, all within the short span of time that was passing. Her body was slender and pale, not unlike a brilliant white ivory tulip stem and seemed just as delicate. Her long black hair contrasted her fair skin as much as night contrasts day, serving perfectly as a canvas to illustrate her. Her face had a kind of classical beauty to it, a kind face that almost anyone could get along with in his opinion.

His opinion of her physical appearance was high indeed. She was so lovely in his eyes that he had almost run out of convenience store gift card adjectives to describe her. When one spends almost every night of his life lurking in graveyards and hiding in dark alleys and trash yards the opportunity to see someone of such exquisiteness is as common as winning the lottery. It can happen but it was most considerably rare. Mortimer's admiration for her appearance came not from a physical attraction but rather from a more analytical observation. His body had long since lost that function. He could not even feel warm or cold. For what he lacked in reproductive capabilities he possessed a poetic soul and an appreciation for natural beauty.

One detail that was odd to him though was that her face was bright red and he didn't really understand why. He had heard in the past that if living people hang upside down then all their blood rushes to their head.

Had she been hanging upside down for a while before? How odd.

His thoughts only managed to proceed that far before the girl screamed in surprise and fell back into the water. He reached out to catch her since he was worried she might hurt herself but it was too late as she fell in. Somewhat disappointed in himself he straightened back up and unruffled his coat.
"Yes Axel, you are on the wrong side of the bath...as are you Mortimer..." The young girl he had just met squeaked out from just above the surface of the water before submerging once more.

The wrong side of the bath?... Wait, why did I come inside even though the bath area in this section is restricted to women only? I don't remember coming in. Perhaps I did without really thinking about it? That's the only explanation I can come up with. Oh well, I had best give these two young women the privacy this area permits. Even still though, I should apologize for scaring the young woman so. What to do... Ah! I noticed the girl was about to leave the bath area. Perhaps I can assist in some way before parting ways so I can go inquire to the nurse area about acquiring new parts.

With an idea in mind he walked over and procured a white towel provided by the school so thoughtfully in case spare towels were ever needed. He used the sleeve of his coat to hold the towel so that his blood wouldn't get all over it. He stepped over near the rim of the bath and outstretched the towel so it was within easy reach of the girl he had spooked. He thoughtfully turned his head away and closed his eyes so they would feel as though they had more privacy than they had previously.
"I apologize for my intrusion." He offered his apologies along with the towel to the girl who he admired so despite not yet knowing her name.

"Right! I'll go over to the guy's side, feel free to join me if you wish, Anna." Axel said, standing up to get out of the water. As Axel stepped out of the water, his prosthetic leg clicking on the floor, he was able to prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was definitely a guy. As he stood up, he took the towel from Mort, thinking it for him, seeing as Anna wasn't going anywhere now that there was a new guy in the area, and threw it around his shoulders.

"And where are my manners?" he said with a laugh, "Anna, meet Mortimer, our new fellow student and I'm guessing my roommate, which I find kind of fitting. Morty, this is Anna, my closest and dearest friend." Throughout all of this, he remained uncaring of his general nudity, and clapped his hands after finishing his introductions. "Well! With that, I guess I'll get back to my side of the spring wih Mortimer! Again, Anna, feel free to join, it IS your birthday, after all!" He had seen it during his(now a really bad idea in hindsight) transfusion of blood during the night that he'd last seen the nurses, and figured that if was going to be up and coming, he'd better remember it. He had been planning to make her a present or something, but that had been met with a rather big wrench in the works. He would probably make it up to her tonight with a movie or something.

With his invitation in the air, he grabbed Mort's jacket and dragged him along, wishing Mort wouldn't be such deadweight. He was already acting like a buzzki-(*smack*What? Make me say one more dead guy joke, and you're joining him. Got it? Ugh, yes, MOOOOOOOOOOOM.) He just brought Mort over to their side of the baths so it wouldn't be so awkward.

Adrien

When Adrien has woken up the first thing he had noticed was that Anna was gone. He swallowed, his throat tight and dry. Everyone was disappearing, he was unsure of where everyone was. Anna was sick before she went missing, he remembered seeing her in bed, with a high fever, clammy and sweating. He felt bad for her, her powers had hurt her so much...it put her through such emotional stress and if that wasn't enough she constantly got sick because of it.

He sat back down on his bed, tapping his foot nervously. He checked the clock, 6:00 AM. It was her birthday...maybe she just went somewhere in the school to celebrate with someone? Adrien wasn't sure but he got up, deciding to look around the school. With all the disappearances going on as of late he wasn't sure if hers was just a coincidence. He roamed the halls, looking around to see if she was there. The windows were being hit with small flurries of snow, the blizzard from yesterday night completed.

He kept looking, he hoped everyone was okay...but he couldn't possibly be sure. He checked the Nurse's Office first, assuming that would be the place she'd go to if any, and no one was there. After that he went to the library, thinking that if she was feeling well she would go back there. He wondered if she ever finished that book she was reading...what was it...? He couldn't remember the name but he remembered she was interested in it, and he was pretty sure that it had some religious context to it. Unfortunately, she wasn't there either. Next, he checked the cafeteria, guessing that she might have went there for food, and she wasn't there either.

Adrien's head was throbbing and he eventually got tired of the searching. He was hopeless and confused, where had everyone went? Why was Anna gone when she was sick earlier? His mind kept going to worst case scenarios and he wasn't sure what all of these disappearances meant. But when he was walking past the hotsprings he heard voices...Mortimer...Axel...Anna! That was at least three people and if James wasn't there he was probably asleep. Though he was still worried for where the others were he was relieved that at least some people were definitely okay.

He stepped into the hotsprings, taking off his clothes and putting them into one of the lockers, wrapping a towel around his waist. He decided he would meet up with Anna and talk with her once she was done, not wanting to disturb her. He decided that for the time being, he'd catch up with Axel and Mortimer. He walked into the male section of the hotsprings and put his towel on a bench, going into the water. "I was worried about you guys...is it just me or do a lot of people seem to be missing recently?"

Anna remained soaked in the water as Axel began making his way over to the other side of the the hotspring. As he stood she began blushing once more, due to his complete lack of modesty. Quickly she hid her face as she murmered, "It's nice to meet you Mortimer. "
By now she was used to Axel's social awkwardness.

Mortimer seemed like a pleasant fellow. His limbs seemed to be sewn on, and he was quite tall. It made sense however, she knew that he was dead, well un-dead. Looking past the stitches and pale skin, she could tell that he was once a handsome man, and for someone dead, he wasn't half bad.

Lifting her hand out of the water, she gave him a smile and a wave. Though before she had a chance to speak more with him, Axel dragged him away to the other side of the bath. She could still hear them talking through the bamboo divider tunning down the room. With a giggle she thought, Well that was interesting, though Axel does keep me on my toes it seems. I'll have to talk more with the new guy later...

As they left she reached into her bag and removed a bottle of peppermint scented oils, and seeing how she was the only female in the bath, she poured a hefty amount into the hot steamy water. Soon the air was filled with the delicious smell, and the water became tingly on her skin. It felt good to clean off the sickness. As she began washing her hair she heard Adrein's familiar voice enter the bath. She felt relieved that he too was alright and made a note to meet up with them after they were finished.

After dressing and packing her things she returned her bag to her room and made her way to the common room. Plopping down on the couch she cracked open her copy of The Divine Comedy once more. After a few minutes of reading, the same man who took her suitcase on her first day stepped into the room and addressed her.
Miss Annabel Logan, I have some packages for you. He then brought in three wrapped boxes and placed them next to her.
"Thank you," she said as he walked out. Looking at the tags she saw one from her parents, one from her brother, and one from all three.
Her brother's package contained three new books; one with classic horror stories by H.P. Lovecraft, one complete works of Shakespeare, and one collection of Robert Frost poems. In his card he mentioned how much he missed her, and couldn't wait to see her again. In the box from both of her parents was purple cell phone with a cute green octopus dangling from it. Flipping it open she saw that all their phone numbers were already programmed in and she already had a text message from her father,

So you can talk to us anytime, hope you are making new friends!

Lastly she opened the box from all of them. It was a framed picture of her family, apparently her mother had started painting again. It was beautiful, and brought tears to her face. She didn't realize how much she missed them until she ran her fingers over their faces once more. Flipping open her new phone she send a message to all of them,

Thank you so much, I love everything. I miss you guys. I'm doing well here, and yes I am making new friends. I can't wait to see you again!

Her brother was the first to text back.

Happy Birthday sis, I'm proud of you.

"Right! I'll go over to the guy's side, feel free to join me if you wish, Anna." He heard Axel say from the other side of the bath. Just as she, no wait, he...

Now I'm just confused. He was still actually a guy? Strange. What is he doing in the female springs area then?

Perhaps he was mistaken just like he was about the time?

Yes, that seems like the most likely answer. Of course, he could of had a good reason for coming here too that I simply hadn't considered. I'll refrain from assuming a motive from here on out. It would be unnecessary to complicate this matter further until I can get more definite information on the matter.

Mortimer decided to not assume anything about Axel's presence in the female bath area. Axel took the tower he was offering Annabel and before he could contest his decision Axel spoke, cutting Mortimer off mid syllable. "And where are my manners?" The rather talkative fellow chortled. "Anna, meet Mortimer, our new fellow student and I'm guessing my roommate, which I find kind of fitting. Morty, this is Anna, my closest and dearest friend." He introduced him to the exceptionally lovely girl shying back into the bath waters at the moment. "It's nice to meet you Mortimer. " Anna murmured before waving her hand to him. Mortimer nodded to Anna, keeping his eyes averted downwards as to not discomfort her any further. "It is nice to meet you as well." He traded welcomes with her in his awkward and unusual sounding way. His words tended to sound poorly rehearsed as though he were reading them from a script as he spoke. A strange habit developed from having learned English over a year instead of living around it his whole life.

Before he and Anna could speak further Axel grabbed him by the lapels and dragged him over into the male bathing area. He stood there in relative silence as Axel proceeded into the bath as well as Adrien, although Mortimer did not hear Adrien dressing in the locker room separating the baths from the hallway making Adrien's sudden appearance all that more sudden. Watching the two submerge their bodies into the heated liquid brought back to mind his question as to what he was even doing in the bath area in the first place. What started as absent minded wandering as result of curiosity quickly lost any point of remaining. Without Anna to converse with so he can see if her personality compliments her elegant and enchanting aesthetic he couldn't see any purpose in staying in this particular place. He could not feel any comforts of the flesh and he was fairly certain that if he were to step into the steaming waters the three of them would get the rare opportunity to take part in one large human flesh stew. Water tended to disagree with his condition all the time making life far more difficult.

"I was worried about you guys...is it just me or do a lot of people seem to be missing recently?" Adrien brought up a good point. He too was wondering why the halls were so uncharacteristically empty for such a large school. Even at a third of this schools original size it could still easily house more students with plenty of room left to each student. He nodded in agreement to Adrien's question before posing his own. "What happened here?"

He could swear he heard footsteps leaving from the women side. Had Annabel left her side so soon? Then again, it it wasn't for the relevant question posed by Adrien he would not here as long as he had remained.

Axel heard Anna's footsteps shortly following Adrien's comment on the current school population. Guess she wasn't going to take him up on his offer, then. It was a shame, seeing as she would have been good for some conversation, but at least Ecruteak's Gym Leader and Adrien were both here. He stretched, the popping of his spine audible through the water, and said his response to Adrien.

"Honestly, I can't say for sure. I'm just gonna take a basic guess, based on what the others are like and what TV Tropes has taught me. Since classes haven't restarted yet, Chandler probably went off somewhere to get away from the school for a while, can't blame him, Danny and Arian are both probably going through some sort of relationship upgrade, Mikhail probably got abducted by the Russians, because they're always involved somehow, Liesel is a part of Those Wacky Nazis, so she ran off to meet up with them. James, we saw, Zara is still here, I think, Zoe's with Chandler, because why the heck not, and... Uh... Anyone I miss?" Axel sent a swift prayer of thanks to whoever had decided it would be easier to acquaint him with pop culture by simply uploading the more popular parts of TV Tropes to his memories, and then throw a few games and movies and such in to boot.

Adrien

He sat in the springs, soaking in the water for a moment as he heard someone leaving the other side of the bath...he wanted to catch up with Anna as soon as possible, but the matter at hand was still bugging him, maybe more than it should have. He glance up at Mortimer as he spoke and then at Axel afterwards, what he said could be true... "Well even if that's right Mikhail being abducted by the Russians isn't exactly safe...and Hallie is missing too..." He thought for a moment that they might just be hanging out but remembered that things were pretty troubled with them lately...

"I don't know...I guess it would make sense for each of them to just be hanging outside of the school..." He said somewhat silently, sliding deeper into the hotsprings. "But I can't help but feel worried..." He sat for a moment, twiddling his thumbs in silence before smiling slightly. "Well I'm sure they're all okay, and we won't know for sure what happened to them until they come back!" He said, regaining his normal, extremely less somber tone. "And speaking of the wellbeing of others, are you sure you don't need to go to the Nurse Axel? I don't know a lot about aneurysms but it'd probably be best to check that out..."

He sprawled his hands on the edge of the springs, still sitting and leaning on the wall, submerging himself into the relaxing water, waiting for his response, and to see what Mortimer was going to do next, finding him quite the interesting newcomer...although any newcomer was interesting to him!

Mortimer listened to Axel's speculative spiel with moderate interest. All of this was speculation of course but Mortimer couldn't help but be slightly worried that kidnappings and such drama was the normal setting for this school seeing how Axel was listing these probabilities off with such little care. On one hand Axel seemed quite a bit out there in terms of logical thinking but he wouldn't disregard anything he had to say based on his actions so far. Axel was weird but he did not appear to be a liar,
at least as far as Mortimer knew. What was helpful from listening to all this was the opportunity to learn a bit
about the other students. This way if he ever met the other students they wouldn't be complete strangers at least.

After Adrien threw in his addendum to Axel's list of hypothetical happenings a brief silence entered the room. It was at this point he realized that his point for remaining in the hot springs had been answered so he could leave now. He wouldn't want to interrupt the two's bath time any longer than necessary. With that in mind he nodded to the two in the bath.
"I bid you both a good morning." He turned, his coat swishing slightly behind him and exited the hot springs. He emerged back into the halls, a massive cloud of steam filled the scene in the short window of time he left the door open in. He now faced a fork in his route. On one hand he could simply proceed straight to the nurses office like planned and undergo repairs. On the other hand he could go and converse with Anna first. She was quite beautiful and she seemed nice if a little shy from first impressions.

If I go to the nurses office I could see if they have been informed of my condition. However I may enjoy getting to know Anna better first. If they do have body parts for me to attach then they probably won't be going anywhere anytime soon. The opportunity to converse with such an astounding young lady is one I shall not pass up.

With his decision made he turned down the corridor he believed he heard the footsteps go down and proceeded to trudge onward. After some time he made it to the residential halls. He figured it would be a reasonable place to look for her first. Following his map he stepped up in front of Anna's dorm where he hesitated. He could hear some sounds from within indicating that someone was in fact inside. He took his next actions into deep consideration.

Do I knock on her door and disturb her? What if I make another bad first impression? If I seem like I'm following her too much she could be wary of me, something I'd rather not seem to be doing. After our last meeting I could just be making her opinion of me lesser by following her to her room. Perhaps... No, my worries are unfounded. I am assuming too much. I should base this decision on the facts alone, no assumptions about it. We met in the bath and she seemed mildly flustered but not outright distressed. If she thinks less of me for coming to greet her more appropriately then it wouldn't be the first time. After all, I may not remain here any longer should answers come sooner than later. given the recent information, my death could come first, making this all irrelevant anyways. This is it...

His cold decrepit hand rapped the door to her chambers three times, each time a precise and measured movement to make sure it was strong enough to produce a suitably audible sound while refraining from banging too loudly upon her door so as to not frighten her unnecessarily.

Axel shrugged, waving as Death's son-in-law left for deader pastures.

"Eh. If something was wrong, I'd go to them. But I seem to have no bad aftereffects from it, so I think I'm good for now. Though I AM shocked at how I seem to have completely lost track of time, seeing as I've been in here essentially since one-thirty. Perhaps my aneurysm gave me the ability to soak for hours on end without wrinkling!" he said, laughing after he realized what he said, then stood up and placed his prosthetic leg on where he had been sitting, pointing his finger off into the sky at a 45 degree angle. "ALL HAIL THE KING OF THE TUB! I shall rule with kindness, a firm hand, and a soapy cleanliness you can't deny."

Adrien

"Alright well as long as you're okay I guess," Adrien said, still somewhat worried, but trying to forget about it. "Well if anything the fact that you're still awake after being in these relaxing hotsprings for so many hours is amazing," he said, closing his eyes and leaning back again, feeling himself get a bit drowsy even though he had just after woken up from his sleep. Adrien blinked for a moment after Axel declared himself King of the Tub, "That sounds like a commercial for dish washing soap or something," he said laughing. "Also, I'm more into democracies so I think I'll pass on your regime."

Zoe

Zoe shuddered when Chandler fell to the floor, immediately crouching down to help him up. She was worried for him, he had blood rushing out of multiple places, Liesel had really given him a beating, which just made her want to kill her even more. But she shook the thought. She tried to help him to get up, to help him make it out, and she could feel the area around his knife wound was soggy and warm...he was still bleeding.

"...Let's go...we gotta get out of here..." She wrapped Chandler's arm around her shoulder and tried to assist him, stumbling and panting, she was too weak and he was heavy...there was nothing she soon knew she wouldn't be able to help much longer before they were even out of the door. She had only one idea, but she didn't want to go through with it...she was too dangerous...she shook her head, if she didn't do it, Chandler would have to continue on by himself with even more difficulty.

She began using her powers, lifting him up telekinetically along with physically. She had to be careful, one slip up and she could end up hurting him even more. But for some reason she felt as though she was doing it with at least slight ease but she had no clue why...it was all completely strange and odd. Soon they made it out of the cabin, the old couple had already started on untying themselves so they would probably make it out in time.

They continued on for a few moments, before finally seeing two people in the distance she thought to herself that they could be seen as their saving angels...or just demons taking them back to their hell. It was two teachers from Psy Prep, a man and a woman. She didn't know their names, but she recognized them from around the school. The man apparently had powers as well, cloning himself enough times to make enough people to carry Chandler and assist herself. She was unsure but she was somewhat certain that she had heard the woman whisper to the man to kill all witnesses and the girl, her mind immediately reverting back to the old couple...she could have saved them...they were going to die now because of her...she didn't care much about Liesel though, and wasn't sure how much she cared about the fact that the man was going to kill her...

After that everything became a blur, she had pretty much fallen unconscious once again but soon she realized that they were back in a helicopter, the mans clones had disappeared and only the woman had remained, still smiling, she was filling Zara in on the fact that they were going to wait for Mr. Sianturi before leaving and taking care of Chandler's wounds..she hoped he'd be okay. Her eyes drifted around to see Zara in there as well and she wondered if she had been kidnapped too. She coughed slightly and closed her eyes, trying to stay awake...

Eve

Eve had a perplexed look as she glanced over at Hallie. "Well I'm unsure of how or when you arrived here, as I'm sure Mikhail is too, seeing as Daniel and Arian brought you here..." Eve said, fiddling her thumbs. She looked at Hallie with concern, knowing she had been suffering from memory loss. "What is the last thing you remember before you woke up here? You've been suffering from some memory loss so it's likely that that can be the problem here," Eve said, filling her in now so she didn't have to shock her later.

Axel laughed at the thought of himself in a soap commercial.

"Dear lord, can you imagine? 'Hey, Axel Lerate here, and I want to tell you about Tele-Clean-This! Guaranteed to get rid of food stains, grass stains, and even BLOOD stains! But if you're cleaning blood out of your things, maybe hygiene isn't your biggest problem right now! So get Tele-Clean-This now by waiting at your door! Don't worry. We knew you'd call and how much soap you'd want.' Yeah, I'll stick with my day job of student at a life-threatening school." He then cricked his back and stepped out of the water, splashing himself with cold water before wrapping himself in a towel. "I'm gonna head back to the dorms, then swing by the cafeteria for a bite, join me in twenty minutes if you feel up for it." With that, he began walking out the door and headed down the hall, with only the clicking of his prosthetic as proof he was more than a ghost.

As he swung by his room, he smelled the rot in the air, and promptly decided to get one of those pine-tree air fresheners for his side of the room. After he got dressed, he opened the window, grabbed his trademark trenchie and dramatically put it on, using the wind coming in from the outside for the rippling effect. One fluid movement later, and he was out the door, about to head towards the cafeteria, ten minutes ahead of schedule... Until he heard Mort and Anna talking in her room. He knew he didn't have anything to worry about in terms of a romance between them, Anna didn't seem the type to read books or watch movies like Warm Bodies, but there was one fear that rang clear in his mind like a bell as he walked down to Anna's dorm room and knocked on the door, as calm as he could bear under the circumstances.

"Mort, I need a word with you out here, sooner rather than later. Anna, mind if I borrow him? And if you could pour me a cup as well? It smells wonderful." Of course, he only added that last part because it would do what he intended: keep her from touching Mort. The tea would be a nice bonus.

Eve

It didn't seem Hallie had heard Eve earlier when she spoke, which she assumed could possibly be due to the fact that she was mumbling and stammering as usual. She also assumed the confusion that came with memory loss was overwhelming her as well. Eve was about to speak up again before she heard Hallie speak up.

"What did you do?" ... "Eve...tell me...what happened."

When Eve heard her first speak her worries began, her mind raced and her nervousness grew, she tried to tell herself that Hallie didn't know anything, but eventually her worries were confirmed at her last statement. Her eyes widened and she shook slightly. "...W-what do you mean?" She asked, playing dumb, knowing Hallie would catch on due to her powers, "...If you mean what I did previously...then I just healed you slightly with my powers, tried to make you more comfortable and try to restore your memories..." She said, pretending she was innocent, "W-why? Is something wrong? I know you still can't remember some things but I'm pretty sure you've improved..." She felt horrible about lying...but she had to lie...if she didn't she wasn't sure what would happen to her...

Before anything else could happen a man in a suit knocked on the door and stepped in. "I'm here to drive you back to the school, Dr. Ziles, Mr. Sianturi, and your peer Zara will meet you there and are already on there way, or possibly there already." He stepped out of the room, leaving the door open, waiting for them to get up so he could lead the way.

Adrien

He laughed at Axel's impression due to his vivid detail in it. "Yeah maybe it's for the best that you do," he said, still laughing slightly, but he had a tinge of worry in his mind, even though they were only joking it was entirely possible that the school was life threatening...though they were being casual about it now they never really knew what was going to happen with the school...he shook his head, deciding he was just being paranoid because of all the disappearances.

"Alright I'll see you then," he told Axel as he left. After he had left Adrien relaxed for a few more moments, soaking in the water. After around ten minutes or so he got out of the springs, pouring cold water on himself and then drying himself out thoroughly and putting his clothes back on. He slung a small towel around his neck as his hair was still wet and he left the springs, picking up a bottle of water on the way out.

He made his way to his dorm, deciding he'd make it to the cafeteria after seeing if Anna was there to invite her and get his scarf. However, he surprisingly noticed Axel and Mortimer outside of the room. He smiled and waved at them after taking a drink from his bottle. "Hey guys what're you doing here?" He asked with a smile. He walked around them and leaned on his door, "I'm just gonna stop off in my dorm before we go to the cafeteria Axel, I also might invite Anna if you don't mind," he finished, waiting for their responses. "Is Mortimer coming too?" He asked, hoping he would, he was definitely a fan of the phrase, 'the more the merrier.'

Dr. Ziles

Soon Mr. Sianturi returned, whispering something into Dr. Ziles' ear that caused her to frown. She shook her head, focusing on the moment, deciding she'll think of the future later. "Alright we're going back to the school now, when we get there anyone who still needs medical attention may visit the Nurse," Dr. Ziles said, hoping that what had happened there before wouldn't occur again.

She glanced at all of the students, concern ringing on her face. She wanted to make sure that they were all okay.

It came as no surprise to Mortimer, Anna's suspicions about the school not being entirely honest with it's intent. An element of human nature that Mortimer had seen more than enough of was the correlation between power and greed. Those who had power would take what they wanted from those who had no power while those without power would lust for power so that they may be the ones taking from others. Crime, in it's rawest sense, had many forms but it's essential components were not hard to distinguish.

Anna's illness was of more concern to Mortimer although not so great as to warrant any kind of action. He understood fully well that he was not a unique situation within the school. Just as he had special requisites that needed to be fulfilled so too did she. Her power had special repercussions such as the aforementioned illness. Such thoughts raised another question about her. Just what could her power be? He wondered. He noticed now however that the mood in the room had grown predictably more serious. Her question did answer many questions of his despite not being the most informative but it drew the mind towards matters of the conspiracy at hand while he was just trying to make a good impression.

A good impression, yes. Though lovely she may be I cannot deny myself the simple undeniable fact that I am here for the truth and nothing short of that. My heart yearns for a life I have been denied for so long yet my mind knows my life is over. I am slowly dying, though I do not know why I move as though I live. They say a miracle of science, but such scatter-shot truth does not quite fill that void in me seeking the answers. I am not a natural creation. I was built for a reason and to know that reason is the only hope I have left. I know not of a cure short of death to my rapid deterioration and those who I have been invited by seek to use me for purposes unknown. So why? Why do I pursue a relationship who's foundation rests upon a frail existence in juxtaposition against a volatile dilemma?

He would of pursued that train of thought further but there was a knocking on the door. "Mort, I need a word with you out here, sooner rather than later. Anna, mind if I borrow him? And if you could pour me a cup as well? It smells wonderful." It was Axel, apparently in need to speak with him. In the beginning he had trouble finding him but now that he has found Axel the man seems to make himself abundantly prevalent. "Of course. I shall be out in just a moment." He responded to Axel, just the vaguest hint of reluctance noticeable in his tone. Only someone who had professional practice in reading expressions could tell that he was not keen on ejecting himself from this stimulating transaction of information with Anna. "I do apologize for having to leave so abruptly. I did enjoy our conversation and look forward to speaking with you again." He carefully stood up from his chair, disturbing nothing in the room the best that he could. "Farewell, Anna." He bid her his typically dead-pan farewells and proceeded to exit the room, taking one last fleeting glance back at Anna before shutting the door behind himself.

There in the dormitory hallway he stood, Axel seeking an audience with him. Before Axel could speak Adrien arrived on scene as well. "Hey guys what're you doing here?" He inquired about a conversation that had yet to take place. "I was speaking to Anna. Axel wanted to talk with me but he has yet to specify his reasons." Mortimer brought Adrien up to speed with the current events. "I'm just gonna stop off in my dorm before we go to the cafeteria Axel, I also might invite Anna if you don't mind," The question clearly directed towards Axel, Mortimer simply nodded, signifying his allowance of said invitation.

"Is Mortimer coming too?" Adrien proposed the question of whether he should proceed along with Anna and Adrien, an idea Mortimer had little to no objections to. "Yes." Was his reply. Terse yet effective, a style best suited to him as it left itself to both widely different interpretations and yet very little interpretation simultaneously. Of course, he would need to wait for Axel's and of course Anna's responses but he for one would be happy to join Anna and a group of friends for some socialization and a little information gathering. He may want a real life with real friends but his curiosity was, like himself, perpetually animated.

"Yeah, sure, whatever floats your boat." Axel's response to Adrien was anything but warm, although that chill was mainly the result of what he was about to say to Mort, sapping the heat out of all his words, and keeping his voice low enough for Anna to not hear. It was still enough to lower the ambient temp a degree or two as Axel stared down Mort, his irises a brilliant violet in the light, despite their previously being otherwise.
"Listen, Mort. If you EVER touch Anna, I swear to whatever god that made us and raised you that you will fear me. She learns the history of things by touching them, and if she ever experiences what your body parts went through, I will never forgive myself, but more directly... I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU. ARE WE CLEAR. The last part wasn't so much a question, but a statement. He then pivoted on his heel, and went to stalk off to the cafeteria, but remembered his tea and returned, each step making the cold Axel disappear until he was back at the door to Anna and Adrien's room, as warm as he had been before he left the springs.
"So!" he said, rubbing his hands together jovially, "Anyone else want to take bets on where people are? I start the bidding at one day of desserts. And speaking of missing folk, anyone have James' number? He seemed a little cabin-feverish when we saw him while meeting Dead Man Walking. Pretty sure that didn't help, either."

Mortimer looked at Axel more confused than anything. His temper was not unusual to him but the timing as well as the juxtaposition with his former attitude was a little baffling. On one hand Mortimer did think less of Axel due to the threats made but on the other hand he had told him more about her powers than he had known before. During the entire exchange Mortimers face remained a cold neutral expression, no notable change one way or another. After Axel was done his tirade Mortimer responded with nothing more than a simple nod. That was all he felt needed be done in response. Not that he was chatty most of the time but in this situation he really didn't think there was much else to say in the matter.

Don't let Anna touch me or Axel attacks or something. Not too difficult to comprehend.

His thoughts were interrupted as Axel decided to pace for a moment before deciding to switch his choice of conversation topic amongst the remaining members of the current group, Mortimer counted amongst them. He was going on about the other students, babbling on about desserts or some matter before going on about James, the man he had meet in another hallway earlier. Mortimer recalled James's anxiety regarding their first meeting but at the time it did not seem strange or unlikely a reaction at all. Now reflecting on the matter it could of been entirely possible James might of been concerned with other matters, the most likely one being any of the number of absent members of the school. It was not a matter He would likely involve himself in but he did not simply wave off the well being of another student simply out of disregard for their social troubles.

Of course the conversation Axel had been dragging out came to an end when a helicopter made itself heard just outside. His attention was at that point ripped away from the words spoken and turned towards the sound not too far out from the main entrance. Mortimer was standing on a crossroads around this point. In one case the group he was already standing amongst was larger than his taste to begin with. On another case he was very much curious as to the health and well being of the students who were previously absent and this would be an opportune time to find out more about the cast of this school roster.

Curiosity won out and Mortimer proceeded down the hall towards the main entrance. The doors leading into the foyer from his side opened with a slow creak, the hinges in need of a bit of oiling. He stepped forwards and took position at the side of the room. He was out of the way but still plainly visible where he was. Mortimer stood, a small worry entering his head as he awaited the other groups arrival.

These characters have been on life or death missions. I have no reason to believe they would do me harm but at that same time I had assumed that of Axel and look what that had brought me. Perhaps I need to plan an escape route should this exchange go worse than my last one. I do not intend to give up the second chance at knowing my fate so easily.

Adrien

Adrien was a bit taken aback by the sudden change in Axel's mood and tone. He understood why he wouldn't want Mortimer to touch Anna due to her powers...but he didn't understand why he was so aggressive about it...He could have just calmly informed him of her powers to make sure everything would be okay, couldn't he? As usual Adrien was lost amid the whole situation but he shrugged it off, trying not to think too much of it, it wasn't his business to stick his nose into.

Once Axel returned acting as he usually did, something that only made things more confusing and eerie, Mortimer had left. Adrien could feel the tension lowering around them but he still felt an odd pit at the bottom of his stomach that just wouldn't go away. He shook his head and entered through the door, smiling happily at Anna. "It's great to see you're doing better!" He exclaimed, noticing there was tea being made.

He didn't really get many chances to drink tea throughout his life though the occasions that he did he was quite fond of...though he still had to get more accustomed to the taste it were the memories in which he was drinking it that made him feel serene and blissful. He sat down on a chair, smiling still as he thought on what Axel said. "I think I heard some noises from outside, maybe that was everyone returning..." Adrien said, thinking that may have been where Mortimer had gone. "As for James I have no clue...hopefully he's okay, it would suck for someone else to get lost right after we got everyone back."

He slumped back into his chair, a soft aroma flowing in the air of the room that he didn't know how to describe. "Sorry if it's a bit late, but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," Adrien said with a warm smile, it was pretty late but he didn't see her since she got better at all. He had a gift wrapped up and hidden in one of the cabinets, wrapped up somewhat messily due to his poor wrapping skills, but he still couldn't wait to give it to her when he got the chance.

Zoe

Soon within the helicopter she had drifted into a deep sleep, and there was nothing she could do about it. Everything had felt numb and sleep was an escape from everything around her. Once they got back at the school they had brought her and Chandler to the Nurse's Office, requesting that Mikhail go as well and asking Hallie and Zara if they needed to go.

The Nurses had concluded that she didn't suffer severe injuries, and simply needed rest and time to recover from the emotional trauma, whereas Chandler was on the same grounds but also sustained some injuries, which could be fixed and stitched. The Nurses got to work immediately, putting them back on their monitors for their vital signs and beginning their work on Chandler and their surveillance on her. There wouldn't be any screw ups in the Nurse's department anymore, as they were more skilled than the last ones when it came to defending themselves.

Smiling Anna placed another cup of tea on the table for Adrein once he returned to the room. It was pleasant to have her friends back around her, especially now that so many others were gone, Sipping her tea she listened as they spoke about the others, taking in what she could about all that had happened while she was ill.
It worried her that James had seemed ill as well, and she made a mental note to visit him, and maybe bring him some tea if he wasn't feeling better wuite yet.

It seemed that possibly the others had returned, with a sigh of relief she smiled. Knowing that they were okay was a great gift to her, even though she knew very few of them personally.
"Sorry if it's a bit late, but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," Adrein said, making her grin.
"Why thank you!" she said as she stood, placing her cup on the table and wrapping ehr around him. As always she was careful not to touch his skin with hers.
Looking to Axel she asked, "Where did Mortimer go? I was having such a lovely conversation with him, it saddens me that he left so abruptly."

The commotion outside was growing louder as the beating of helicopter blades came to a halt. Voices carried up to the room, though she couldn't tell what they were saying, she could make out some of them as the other student. Walking over to the window she pulled back the curtain and peered out,
"The others are back, we should go greet them, and make sure everyone is okay.

Axel shrugged as he sipped his own tea, enjoying the aroma.
"Probably went off to see who's in the helicopter. And speaking of, you're right, following him to go check up on the people who are back would probably be in our best interests..." he said, drinking the rest of the tea as fast as he pseudohumanly could, then placing the cup down. He then made his way back over to the door, and waited in the eaves. "And we won't be finding out how everyone is any sooner by sitting here, will we?" His money was still on what he'd said earlier, but he wasn't going to say that out LOUD, of course... Not until after he and Mikhail were alone... And that sounded much better in Axel's mind before he thought about it too hard... And immediately wanted to gouge his eyes out after imagining Mik lying on a heart-shaped bed in nothing but his skivvies, rose in his teeth, and why did everything smell like copper again?