The 'Asylum'.

"... S... Sarah..?"

Sarah spun in place where she was on hearing her name. The relief she felt when she saw he was still around vanished when she saw the state he was in. Not normally a physical person, she reached him in two long strides and wrapped her arms around him in a brief hard hug.
“It’s all a game to them,” she whispered in his ear. “Whatever you saw, whatever they did, it was all to mess with you.” She released the younger boy and reached up to grip the sides of his head gently, looking him in the eye and willing him to believe her.
“We’re going to get through this, so long as we stay strong, ok?” She leaned back and watched him for a moment before smiling encouragingly. “Hey now, let’s go find Jack, ok? Everything’s a bit easier to deal with when you’re together, huh?” She turned around and looked down the hall, coming to an abrupt halt when she saw Aveline standing there. While there was a slight chance that the other girl wasn’t going to start screaming and try to jump on them; she wasn’t going to be the one to make the first move. Instead her shadows wrapped around their feet in a protective tangle. If crazy girl made any sort of move, they’d be ok.

1305.

Room 1.

Tori looked up when Xavier found him, purple eyes scrunching in pleasure. He had been found at last! They had missed him in the morning, too busy being busy, but now he had been found and oh, how exciting! He grinned (wide and too full of teeth) before bouncing to his feet and scooting towards the door.

“Hello! You must be Xavier! Ooh, I know all about you; you’re the one that eats orderlies in the bathrooms and sees Devils in the mirror! How utterly fantastic and brilliantly wonderful! I’m Agent Tori Sith, Tori with an eye and not an eye-ee or a why, though there are lots and lots of whys everywhere else. You mustn’t get my name wrong, though, it’s ever so important. I’m a secret agent, and I know everything, and I’m a Sith.”

Tori, who was all wild eyes and damp sleeves, met Xavier with an inane sort of fearlessness- a perfectly logical insanity. “You are Anakin, and Icarus is your Sidious, but who is your Palpatine?” He laughed, half frenzied, and shrugged his skinny shoulders. “It’s all so varied. Even I can’t see it all, and I’m a Secret Agent, which means I know everything.”

Room 14.

Keiko was alone in the corridor; there was nobody to feel there, and she knew full well that Jack was screaming somewhere in the bowels of the Infirmary, with only Icarus to hear him. She smiled, feeling dangerous and whole; her previous body was gone, now, leaving no ties to pull her back towards a budding corpse. It was freeing, it was delicious.

The little girl who had lingered and cried, pushing against the inexorable telepathic attack, had faded into nothingness; her consciousness consumed by a far more ancient force. Trephan was Keiko, but Keiko would never be Trephan. Fluid in identity but steadfast in intent; this would be ever such fun.

Memories rained down around her, brushed with the thoughts of the others; The Asylum was waking again, and the game was progressing. Icarus was a loose cannon as ever, the Instigator was awake and insane, and Keiko was going to enjoy every minute of it. She knew the endgame, she knew the rules, but unlike the others, she wasn’t invested in the outcome so much as the playing.

Icarus would, of course, vanish in the end; there was no holding the creature with the homunculus mind; prison would likely please her, for as long as she decided to stay there. The Instigator would both prove his point and flee content, gratified for the remainder of his cursed existence. Or be proven wrong and lavish in an institution, seeking answers and destroying lives along the way. Keiko would, of course, receive assistance and compensation for her terrible ordeal, and then move on, finding fresh minds to prey on. The others (and there was the Irony for Icarus) would suffer. All those with good intent- it was pitiful, and glorious for it.

Satisfied with her thoughts, she did not leave her room, choosing instead for the others to come and find her as they saw fit.

Room 1
1306

The man looked up at him and grinned, much to Xavier's dismay. It reminded him of his sister and how she used to think she was the Cheshire Cat. She might even still think that- he wasn't sure. Perhaps even more concerning was that he seemed to know the basics of what had happened to him in particular since awakening in this unfamiliar place. That's when it clicked- he had seen this Tori with an eye before, right before his fight with Devan.

He listened to the so called 'secret agent', wondering what exactly he meant by him being Anakin and Icarus being Sidious. He knew it was a Star Wars reference; he wasn't born under a rock, but he'd never bothered to delve into that world much. As far as he was concerned, it was just a story with a many, many fans. It was the sci-fi/fantasy version of the Harry Potter series basically. He'd never bothered to read those books either.

"Just because you're a secret agent does not mean you know everything. As far as I know, you're no god or sacred deity," he told Tori, wondering if he was serious or if he was merely insane. "You can't be everywhere at once, nor can you be every being in the universe- living or not. I think you're confused Tori with an eye."

Residential Hall
1307

Maybe I should have thought this through. But now was no time for thinking, only for doing. Or should she think before she did? Or maybe she should do as she thinks she would do should she think that she would need to. Oh, now she had to decide and forget it! Sarah was giving her a death glare and Matt looked more pathetic than usual. Actually, he looked genuinely terrified. Maybe they had all lived a thousand lives without really knowing it. Did time even pass by in here?

Aveline grinned like the Cheshire Cat, because she was one you know. Besides, didn't people find it more comforting when others smiled? Maybe not right now, but they could learn to love her smile. Rather, they would learn to love her smile and everything else about her. She was going to be the queen with Tori's help. All she needed to do was destroy Sarah, change Xavier, not be dismembered by Devan, or attacked by anything else lurking in these halls. It seemed easy enough. Now where had she put her broomstick?

Ooh, she was a witch now! Her smile only widened and she chuckled a bit before being pulled back into reality. "Hello again," she sang, glancing at the shadows around their feet. It looked like a bird's nest, but an intimidating one at that. They seemed to be ready to attack her at any second and rip her to shreds. Her eyes widened a bit, anxious. The effects of her weak tolerance for the supernatural was not going to be much help now.

"Could you tell your friends to go away?" she asked, quieter than before. She looked back at Sarah, wondering what was swirling through her head and if she would really kill Aveline.

Sarah arched an eyebrow at Aveline. The shadows at her feet knotted themselves tighter and higher, coiling like snakes. She tightened her arm slightly around Matt's shoulders.
"I don't think so. They're part of me and I'm part of them. You can't make parts of yourself go away, can you?" There was no use talking in straight lines to this girl, but if she came at it round abouts, maybe she could talk some sense into her. Or scare her away. When in doubt, pretend to be the biggest predator. And actually, it wouldn't be pretend. So far all she had done was a bit of harmless reshaping. She could do so much more......

"I'll make you a deal, ok? You leave me and my friends alone and we'll leave you alone. This place is big enough for the all of us."

Residential Hall
1305 - 1307

He watched the girl swivel toward him and her face light up with both recognition and some amount of alarm; another few seconds and she had moved briskly in his direction. Matt flinched at her sudden embrace, taken off guard, but returned the hug - tentatively at first, and then tighter before pulling away as she did as if bewildered it was already over.

His mind flickered over his not-dream as Sarah tried to reassure him. He flinched again at her grasping his head to try to meet his gaze, though his dark eyes moved away somewhat anxiously. Her words didn't help him. He didn't want to think over what had happened or almost happened. But as the girl studied him and cast a soothing smile, he offered a small smile in answer if only to try to make her feel better.

Jack. Matt perked up then, finally lifting his gaze to fleetingly sweep Sarah's face. "Is Jack okay..? Where is he? What time is it.." His eyes flitted over the walls then in search of a clock as Sarah began leading the way down the hall, but instead he found a familiar head of disheveled, teal hair a ways away. Aveline cast an eerie grin and giggled quietly; it made Matt shift his feet in discomfort at her presence. He jumped a little upon noticing the tangle of shadows ensnaring the floor around him and Sarah, and couldn't help bristling as they appeared to coil and writhe angrily like snakes. He glanced at Sarah when she placed her hands about his shoulders like a protective parent... but didn't want to look away from Aveline for too long either, despite the rather unnerving black tendrils at his feet. The way she had smiled, he liked the idea of Aveline leaving them alone...


~


Residential Hall
1305 - 1308

There was no one in sight in the hallway. He paused in the middle of the hall to peer back at the restrooms, gears churning in his head as he mulled over if there was anything he could make a weapon out of in there besides the toilet seat cover he had used before. That wasn't exactly convenient to tote around. He soon decided it wasn't worth it, and continued down the hall, freezing just around the corner.

A girl... He knew her name... Sarah, or something, maybe. By a scruffy boy he recognized from before. And further off, the teal-haired, throat-poking bitch.

It felt a little too crowded for his taste. Especially with Sarah, who he recalled had some kind of weird shadow power, which he spotted writhing dangerously at her feet just then. Dark eyes flickering between the figures in the hall, Devan took a couple of cautious steps back nearer to the corner he had just rounded, his posture subtly withdrawing as if to make him less noticeable. For all the hostility burning through his brain now, he remained wary of taking on a group, especially one with something like Sarah in it... and as his body belatedly caught up in waking, his stomach felt violently empty, enough that a brief grimace crossed his features. He hadn't eaten since getting here... and he didn't even know how long that had been. Appetite was not an overtly bothersome issue for Devan, as it was not often that his was roused, nor did it take much to put off his hunger. But that certainly wasn't to say he never got hungry.

Room 1.
1310.

"Oh, I know." Tori's smile was unsettling, and he watched Xavier with his strange eyes; he seemed to see far too much and nothing at all, all at once. "Can I really be confused if I know I am, I wonder? Now isn't that a debate that would last forever. We could rip the world apart trying to prove one way or the other."

He giggled, skipping back and forth on light feet as if the floor was electric and he was some sort of anthropomorphic tram-car. Strange, living monorail that wobbled in pidgin-steps across Asylum lino. "People say a lot of things about the first signs of madness, do you know that? I've heard all sorts of things. Growing hairs on your palms, for example. Matt has those, did you know that? Dogs have these little fuzzy bits between their pads. But I think you know that. Surely you've cut a dog up before? I know Devan has, and you wouldn't want to be second best to him. That'd mean he'd win."

Mauve eyes glittered as Tori swanned forwards, peeking out into the corridor, peeking back at Xavier. "But you know what the second sign is, right? It's looking for them. I've looked for them, see?" He held out his hands, dark and strange, but quite hairless. "No hairs, but I'll keep on looking until some appear, just to prove you wrong."

It was all utter nonsense, but Tori spoke with perfect certainty, as if he were speaking the Gospel. "Or maybe it's doing the same thing, over and over and OVER, and hoping something different will happen. People say that's madness." Maliciousness; there was a subtle suggestion that Tori might just be dangerous, before it was swept away by his vapid good-humor. "But they classify mental illness by looking at the 'norm', then try to treat it. And they fail. And fail. And fail and fail and FAIL! But they keep on trying. Who's mad, Xavier? Can you tell me?"

Control Room.
1310.

The control room wasn't quite Icarus's place, but it had been designed more to her specifications than those of the Instigator, who had no real talent for the technical sides of exploitation. She found him amusing, for all of his flaws, and let him have his fun; it was sweet, to see him think he was in control. That his fluid existence and the claims to this little idea made him in some way superior to others. As if his walls could keep her out of a Control Room that she had built.

There had been a schedule for this day, but that had been abandoned by the wayside long ago, along with bodies in the bathrooms and several unfortunates who were no longer in play. Icarus wondered how long it would take the children to realize that several rooms that had been filled were now empty. Like lambs to the slaughter, all of them. Perhaps that proved The Instigator's silly little point, but Icarus had larger plans in mind.

From her perch, she watched Xavier talk with the occupant of Room 1, and laughed to herself. Discussions of madness, while outside the children formed sides. They were heading towards warfare, as predicted, and that was fascinating. She enjoyed this game for that reason alone; it would be fascinating to see where they would end up.

For now, however, she would observe; holing off the nurses and the call for breakfast until she had seen the potential confrontation come to its conclusion. Jack, who even now was screaming himself into hysterics in the Infirmary beside a corpse, seemed to be on the forefront of several minds, and that was interesting; the boy was becoming something of a linchpin. She looked forwards to seeing where he fell within the evolving society.

Chess pieces falling into place, and people taking sides- she smiled, knowing that in the bowels of The Asylum, The Instigator was doing the same- the opening gambit was almost over. Soon, they would be playing for keeps.

Room 1
1313

Xavier watched Tori closely, wondering what kind of drugs he'd stolen from the infirmary before he'd vanished. He speaking nonsense and soon was dancing around the room as if staying in one place would spell the end for him. He doubted that a sinkhole could form and swallow one so quickly and saw no reason for this man to be twirling and prancing about.

Tori began to talk again, about madness. It was ironic and absurd to have a conversation like this right now. He mentioned something hairs growing on your palms. It took a conscious effort for Xavier not to look at his own hands out of both curiosity and worry. He wasn't going mad, was he? No, of course not. He knew who he was, he sort of knew where he was, and he was quite confident in what he was.

His eyes narrowed as the secret agent mentioned the unruly boy he'd fought with before. He'd cut open a dog before, who hadn't? The half demon bit his tongue as Tori rambled on about being second best, tempted to tell him that he had rightfully won their duel and that Icarus was the reason it had ended almost as abruptly as it had begun. Furthermore, why should Xavier be bothered by what this man said? After all, his eyes were impossible albeit intriguing colors. Something was clearly off about him, but he wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Isn't that a quote from Einstein?" he asked as Tori mentioned repeating a process over and over again and expecting s different result. The example he had used of mental illness seemed fitting in this situation, given that Xavier was stuck talking to a lunatic in an aslyum that he didn't remember being checked into. Time was eluding him evermore. "I can't say I'm not a little bit mad, but you seem to be off the deep end," he told him bluntly. "This is an asylum after all. Doesn't the containment of those who are classified as mad define it?" He knew this meant that he'd called himself a hatter, but he knew that nobody was normal, not even in the slightest. He was being truthful to himself and to Tori; he was a bit of an extremity as it was, let alone completely sane. So what did that make him?

He frowned a bit as he looked back at Tori, wondering what exactly his intentions were here. Were they both mad? Or was Xavier simply surrounded by a sea of mad, mad people in an attempt to bend his mind to that of his peers? The questions themselves were irritating to him and he pushed them away.

Residential Hall
1309

The teal haired crazy shifted her weight, still uneasy about the looming thorns waiting to entangle her at her feet. She pursed her lips before looking up at Sarah again, not at all happy with her attitude or her proposal. "You couldn't cut off your arm," she stated casually, as if out having lunch with a friend. She pouted a bit, annoyed that nobody seemed to be her friend except for her brother, but she hadn't seen him since initially waking up. Oh well, she'd find him sooner or later.

"Define friend. Why aren't we friends? It's lonely without them and I don't want to be lonely in this place." She paused as Matt eyed her wearily. She really was terrible with people wasn't she? Aveline smiled again, but without any sort of intentions behind it. It was merely a muscle twitch because she knew not what to do. Glancing again at the swirling shadows she took a small step back, waiting for an answer.

Sarah arched an eyebrow and replied drily. "Friend. Noun. A person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations." The shadows at her feet continued to boil, almost shapes appearing and disappearing with alarming ease. "I'm afraid we can't be friends because I don't trust you, Aveline. Not when you attack people for no reason. I get the feeling you like to hurt people, make a big fuss and watch all the chaos, dance around it it like a kid in the rain. That's the kind of thing I want to stay very far away from." She glanced down at her feet, only then noticing that things were starting to appear that had too many legs; things with tentacles that stretched out....... She closed her eyes briefly, taking in a steadying breath. Slowly the shadows subsided, slowing until they lay harmlessly at her feet once more. It was sloppy of her to let that happen.

"But I'm going to go find Jack," she announced softly. She loosened her arm from around Matt's shoulders, leaving it up to him if he wanted to go or stay. She hoped he would come with her, but she couldn't drag him around after her like he was a toy. He had to make up his own mind. Still, she looped on hand around his and gently tugged, inviting him to come with her. Stepping forward, she walked past the teal haired girl, the hair on the back of her neck rising as she passed.

Room 1.
1315.

A person had so many tells, and Tori had seen Xavier's. It was so obvious, when someone was trying not to look at their hands; the proverbial elephant that they've been ordered to put from their mind and therefore can't stop thinking about. Tori smiled, all small, sharp teeth, and stuck out a darkly pattered tongue.

"Do you find it strange, that I know all sorts of quotes? I can tell you about the classics, about pivotal figures in history, about complex mathematical and psychological theory... Would it surprise you, Xavier, to realise that I'm just as intelligent as you are, if not more so?"

Without warning, Tori's mannerisms changed; he went from hopping hyper-actively about the room to leaning with a casual air against the door-frame, smirking. "I think it's sort of funny, really, how people make that mistake. They seem to think that just because someone's crazy, they're stupid. Somehow less. I wonder what they'd think, if they realised I could beat them at any debate, could do their job better and faster, could get better grades, have a higher IQ..."

He snickered. "For all you know, I could BE Einstein, but nobody ever thinks of that because I'm wearing these pyjamas, standing here, talking to you. But I wonder what would happen if I brushed my hair and stole some clothes- I could be a doctor. Or a visitor. All I'd need was the right ID and nobody would check. It's because they don't expect a doctor to be crazy. They don't expect a visitor to be dangerous. All you have to do is get a costume and play the part, and nobody questions you."

Dark lips curled up into a grin. Tori's eyes, when they locked onto Xavier's stare, were frighteningly lucid. "Have you ever thought about trying it, Xavier? Learning to play pretend."

Control Room.
1315.

There had, of course, been detailed plans put into place about how the first day of the contestants' new lives should play out, but Icarus rapidly found herself ignoring it, just as the Instigator had. It was the flaw in these things; the interaction rapidly became too interesting, and the itinerary was sacrificed as a result. No matter, however; things were still progressing nicely.

Deliberate, Icarus reached for the microphone, and flicked on the PA.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," she purred, voice calm, casual, and well enunciated. "It is currently eleven-thirty in the morning on Monday the seventh of July. Lunch will begin in thirty minutes in the Dining Room, and all residents not confined to their rooms are requested to visit before twelve-thirty to receive their medication and meal."

She pressed another switch, watching on a multitude of screens as small clocks were unveiled in key locations, displaying the (false) time and date. Simultaneously, all clocks in unoccupied rooms reset themselves to the new Asylum Standard Time. In the cases where a clock was visible to an inmate, a subtle malfunction made itself apparent so that the clock would appear broken when examined.

Icarus smiled; this was going to be interesting.

Elsewhere.
Days ago.

He stood in his room, staring at the unimaginatively painted white walls. His room was rather bare, sporting little more than a table with writing utensils, a bed and some speakers hooked up to his cell phone. When he was blind he needed very little. Of course now that he can see he has not needed much either.

His hand began to reach out towards one of the walls. He was about to reach through again but a knocking on the door interrupted his concentration.

"Arthur? Can we speak with you? Can you please come out?"

He heard the familiar voice of his mother through the door. He didn't bother replying. It was not important to him right now. They were often like this. Always fussing about him, asking why he doesn't come out often and worrying about him. Most days he kept a better patience but they interrupted at a particularly poor time today.

"Arthur, please open this door. We need to talk with you."

"I just need more time! I'll be out soon enough." He responded, his tone sharp with irritation. He was just about to try and understand the physical properties of these 'holes' in the walls again. He held his hand back up again, ready to test his realities boundaries once again.

"But Arthur, the last time we even got to see you was a week ago!"

"And things haven't changed since then. I suggest you wait the few minutes it will take me to finish this speculation of mine and then I will humor you." Their concern was beginning to irritate him now. They never understood just what he could see, they never really tried to either. Admittedly the concept was a difficult one to comprehend. The very idea of the universe and everything in it having more than three dimensions would of seemed impossible to even Arthur before that fateful day he regained his sight and so much more.

"Arthur, this is your father speaking! Open that door right now or I am going to knock it down!"

"Damn you! I have been more than patient with all of you! The very least you could give me is the same courtesy!" Arthur shouted back through the door at them. His parents, his girlfriend, his co-workers at the coffee shop, everyone dismissed him. They called him crazy, told him he was just seeing things, that everything he has seen and done since he could see wasn't real. He didn't care now. He wasn't going to let them interrupt this, not now at least. His hand was but mere inches away from the hole, away from the angles he was going to change. He was about to see if he could alter the holes like he would if they were three dimensional, but differently since they are not.

The loud crashing and banging on his door got quieter and quieter as the world grew dark. Before the door could open all was black.

Room 8.
1315.

He awoke.

Looking up at the magnolia ceiling Arthur rose from the strange bed into an unfamiliar place. He ran through his head trying to remember anything connecting that last memory to now. He was relatively jarred by this sudden change of scenery. "How... How did I-" He spoke out to no one in particular, pausing upon realizing a far more disturbing revelation. "The holes. Where are the holes!?" He was now in a panic. The walls, the roof, the floor, the door, even the barred window to this room were the same no matter what angled he looked at them. Looking down at himself he was a little relieved to see that he still had differences in shape in the other dimensions.

It didn't really bother him that he had been stripped down of all his clothes save for a dreary grey night-cloth. He went over to the door, still deeply disturbed by this most unusual room, and put his hands on it. Before he could search the door's frame for a gap to see through the door swung open sending Arthur stumbling forward into the hallway. After regaining his composure he looked forward to see four other similar cells in his wing. They were all impermeable like his own cell however not all the walls were so unperforated. The other walls had more typical geometries of the outside world as he examined the surrounding area more. Before he could see any more a female voice came on from the speakers.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," "It is currently eleven-thirty in the morning on Monday the seventh of July. Lunch will begin in thirty minutes in the Dining Room, and all residents not confined to their rooms are requested to visit before twelve-thirty to receive their medication and meal."

This enticed Arthur's curiosity. He was beginning to put the pieces together, one detail after another. 'This appears to be some form of asylum.' He came to the conclusion in his head. The questions began to pile up in his head even more now that he had his answer. 'How did I get here? Why am I here? Who brought me here? Why can't I remember how I got here?' and many more questions were asked of himself in thought. The biggest question to stick out amongst them all was 'How are there no holes in those walls in particular?' He decided to check his door number so he'd have a landmark to navigate this facility by.

"Door number 8. I'll have to remember that for future reference."

Residential Hall
1307 - 1315

Matt couldn't help bristling a little at the unnerving, absent-minded smile the teal-haired girl cast them in answer. But she did step back, at least, betraying the caution her face showed no signs of. Sarah spewed off what seemed to be the very definition of friend, just as requested - and it was clearly not a definition that Aveline fit.

Glancing down, he eyed the shadows that appeared to grow angrier at their feet before slowly settling. The boy stared down at them blankly. Though Matt was not visibly frightened, Sarah's powers rather unsettled him nonetheless; at least, at such immediate range. At Jack's name, he seemed to be pulled from his thoughts, gaze lifting to his companion as she began to move off not without gently taking his hand. A small smile crept over his lips, and Matt promptly laced their fingers like a child excited to hold hands, toddling after Sarah only to pause as an announcement began over the PA. The sound was unexpected enough to inspire a short jump in his frame.

11:30AM... Surely more of the day had passed than that? What time had they woken up..? Unease sifted through his features, and he shifted his feet somewhat with the same subtle nervousness. 11:30AM didn't feel right, but why would the facility bother lying to them about the time of day?

At talk of lunch, Matt had to take a moment to gauge how hungry he was. Having forgotten about it, he recalled the ice cream he had been treated to, but wasn't sure how long ago that had been. He decided lunch didn't sound bad. Hopefully it was something better than what breakfast had been, not that he was too picky. He looked at Sarah once more with an expectant gaze, wanting to have lunch but uncertain if she still planned to look for Jack first. Decidedly, he wanted to stay with her. Before quite registering her response, however, his attention flickered back toward the hallway behind him, where he caught the scarecrow boy peering at them from around the corner. Toothpaste hair. Matt eyed the other boy cautiously only for a moment before turning to Sarah again.


~


Residential Hall
1308 - 1315

He watched on as the two girls exchanged words, though he couldn't make out most of what they were saying from the distance he kept, just bits and pieces and tone of voice. It was obvious the dark-haired one was wary of the throat-poking bitch. Probably because she was a throat-poking bitch.

Sarah and her slightly shorter companion turned to leave the throat-poking bitch and walk off somewhere. Devan's gaze lifted toward the nearest ceiling speaker at an announcement starting. Why 'good afternoon' if it was 11:30 in the morning... The very word 'after noon' didn't apply yet. Whatever. It felt like more time had passed than that.

The wild-haired youth perked up significantly at the word 'lunch', his stomach giving a desperate, unpleasant twist at the thought of food. 30 minutes sounded like a long time all of a sudden. He wondered if he could go to the dining room before then, considering there wasn't much else to do and he wanted to be there as soon as the food was ready. He glanced at the group nearby, a modest amount of tension rippling through his frame at the scruffy boy gazing his way, though the other's features were blank and unthreatening. Devan returned the stare deadpan. He cast a fleeting glance behind him but froze then, turning partially around for a better look.

Dark eyes swept up and down the small build of another boy at the end of the hall behind him, who appeared to be examining the door right across from his. It was someone Devan hadn't seen before yet... A little shorter than him, with longish, black hair. The other boy looked like an easy win in a fight, but with weird powers like Sarah's around, Devan couldn't be sure what he would be in for in picking fights with strangers. He glanced back toward the three around the corner, cautious of having a group of people behind him - he figured Sarah and her friend would move off soon, but even if that just left the throat-poking bitch, he did not like the idea of turning his back on her of all people. So rather than really moving anywhere, the boy turned to press his back against the wall, still studying the other at the end of the hallway with a carefully blank expression while also keeping alert for sounds from the group's direction.

Room 1
1317

Xavier stood tall as Tori spoke to him, though he had to admit that his confidence was beginning to wane. He had a good point- assume was a dangerous habit of most people. Tori could just as well be a doctor, though he highly doubted it. His intelligence though had been proven within the last few moments as he continued on about playing the part. The demon boy couldn't help but wonder what part Tori was playing now- doctor or patient. While thoughtful and highly insightful, he still couldn't help but think that this man had a loose screw.

Oblivious to the announcement made by his dear friend Doctor Icarus, though his mind did briefly process a female voice speaking somewhere above him, he looked at Tori and wondered how to respond to his question as the man stared at him with bright eyes. He was equally oblivious to the hidden warning within his words about a doctor who was not quite just that.

"Yes," he told him hesitantly, though did not elaborate further on it. "So tell me Tori, are you just playing a part as you've suggested? Or are you just as real, as guilty of confusion as the rest of us?"

Residential Hall
1310-1315

Aveline's smile slowly faded as Sarah spoke, giving a very straightforward definition of friend. She hadn't known that the dark haired girl was a walking dictionary. Perhaps she should ask for the definitions of more complicated words such as antidisestablishmentarianism. But before she had a chance to speak she noticed that the shadows were becoming long and unruly. She blinked a few times and looked back at Sarah, focusing on her so the evil shadows wouldn't get to her.

Sarah announced that she was going to go find Jack. Who was Jack again? He was the guy from Titanic wasn't he? Or was he the girl? Oh no, he was the one who wanted her sparkly hat which she had left in her room after her interaction with Tori. She watched as the other girl passed her, head held high. Matt followed behind her like a lost puppy, obviously in need of someone to lead him. Aveline grinned a bit, confident that she could lead if she really put her mind to it.

Suddenly, an announcement came over the PA system. It was 11:30 on July 7th, but since when was it July 7th? Or July for that matter as she could not recall what day it had been when she'd last been awake. She turned and thought of following the other two towards the cafeteria for lunch. She hadn't received any ice cream earlier and didn't know when they had last fed her, if at all. Her stomach growled in response, making her think of a beached whale. She needed food.

Aveline walked around in a circle, debating whether or not she should head for the cafeteria now only to painfully wait for half an hour. She was also curious as to what medications needed to be taken. Oh right, she was supposed to take some. She chuckled at her own ignorance when she heard a door close in one of the hallways. Food forgotten, she took a few steps towards the noise and noticed the wild haired boy whom she had poked earlier standing there, pressed against the wall and looking down the hallway at something she couldn't see from her vantage point. Her head tilted to the side a bit as she pondered what to do. She did not really want to mess with Devan for fear of being skinned alive and having her ribs torn out. But if there was someone or something else here, that meant there might be a chance of someone helping her out if he decided to attack her.

Residential Hall
1310-1316

Arthur didn't have to turn around to know he was being scanned. To put faces to the eyes he felt watching him he turned and alas, his audience was revealed. A strange man who, even with his back to the wall, loomed over Arthur. Then again a lot of people loomed over him on a regular basis. The consequence of being somewhat short. From foot to head he scanned this stranger as he had scanned him, the intent behind this differing wildly from that of the resident in front of him. As Arthur's soft off-white eyes met with this man's dark foreboding gaze what should of been a cold, unnerving stare wasn't really so for him. The reason for this? He wasn't looking at the man at all, yet he was. The parts of the body his watcher wasn't aware of didn't sell the intimidation as well as this man's three dimensional self could. How could it be if he didn't even know it was there? It would be like trying to scare someone by trying to recite a poem that he never read or even knew about.

It clicked somewhere in Arthur's head that staring for anything longer than a fleeting glance would create unnecessary attention. The last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself right from the start. He looked aside to the opening at the other end of the hallway. As he started walking in that direction he came into view of the second viewer, a blue haired girl watching just out of sight of him initially. She was actually shorter than him, a first for him. Not too threatening but not exactly normal looking either. Nothing was truly normal looking to Arthur though. He has, in a sense, been blessed by losing the bias of judging people upon first seeing them. It wasn't that he couldn't see them in three dimensions normally but he could see so much more as well. Confusing? Definitely. It made talking to people in person almost impossible for the first whole month.

None the less if he wasn't going to start drawing attention from the wild haired man than he wouldn't provoke this girl into a conversation either. He did make eye contact as well though. Her eyes were a similar colour to her hair.
Intentional or serendipity? He thought to himself as he started to pass her. He made sure to put a measured distance between himself and her. Not far enough to make it look like he was outright avoiding her but enough to be able to get away without injury. He didn't need to break eye contact to watch her hands for a sudden reaction. It would simply show that he's expecting an attack and he didn't need to look down to tell if she was going to do something. Years living blind had taught him how to know what's going on without being able to see it. Being able to see as well helped a lot anyways but it wasn't necessary.

All this subtle posturing however was for naught as the expression on his face explained himself all too well. He was suspicious of everyone and everything in this facility, possibly even the facility itself. After all, he was no spy nor an actor of any sort. Pretending to be something he is not was never something he had to do much of. Had he known he would of been thrown into a situation like this he probably would of brushed up on that skill, although he probably would of attended to more pressing questions before thinking of that. He could hear talking in the distance. Not unexpected considering it was announced over the speakers that it was lunch. People were likely to be heading through here on their way to the cafeteria, which was where he would be. Not that he was hungry, not at all. His paranoia outweighed his hunger. He figured that on the way he could do some sight seeing while being on a definite path. Just wandering around in a place like this could get him lost and just as likely hurt...

or worse.

Residential Hall
1316

Sarah glanced up at the announcement, but didn't break stride, merely wrapping her fingers around Matt's instead. She looked over at him, noticing the hungry look he was giving her. She bit her lip slightly, not wanting a return of the Mad Hatter's feast she had been subjected to the first time around. Not that they were likely to do such a thing with everyone present, but still. She'd also have to figure out a way to get past taking this medication that was scheduled.
"We have half an hour before anything is served," she said quietly. "That's enough time to find Jack and see what's going on." She rolled her shoulders in an effort to loosen them after the confrontation with Aveline, leading Matt down the hall and straight past the nurses station. "We want to get a good seat!" she announced cheerfully as they sailed past. When in doubt, the best option was a full frontal assault. She knew from her earlier wanderings that the actual medical facilities were...... this way. She strode towards them, her steps unhurried yet implacable. She was going to find Jack if she had to run right over the top of anybody in her way in order to do so. Planting one hand on the door she swung it open, flashing a slightly edged smile at whomever was standing on the other side.

"I'm looking for Jack. Tall fellow, a bit on the shy side, had a seizure this morning. Where is he?"

Room 1
1320

Tori paused, albeit briefly, to look at the ceiling when the PA crackled to life, but he didn’t comment on it at first. Instead, he turned his gaze back towards Xavier, who he studied quietly before nodding, having apparently come to some form of conclusion. What, exactly, he was thinking was unclear, and probing into his mindscape was likely an exercise for the unwise.

“ Oh, I’m pretty sure I’m real. Definitely real. That’s not one of my problems. Not at all. I’ve never been worried that I’m not real. Who I really am, though… well, that’s a bit of a difficult question, don’t you think? Can you ever know who anyone really is? Seems to me we’re all just guessing away, day in, day out, making all sorts of silly, dangerous assumptions that get us killed or worse.”

White teeth glittered as Tori stretched his thin lips into a smile. “Like Icarus.” He snorted. “Doctor Solaris. Whatever she wants to call herself. She is who she is, but to different people she’s different things. I suppose what she is to me is very different to what she is to you. Or poor little Sarah. Or Jack. But that doesn’t change what she is. She’s still real, even if everything you think about her is a lie.”

Tori carefully made his way back towards the door, leaning right out to look down the hallway. “Did you know that Sarah has just wandered off with her little friends? Not that Japanese girl, she’s not out there at the moment, but she’s not vanished like the others. Do you know how many people have gone already? Nobody else has noticed, but you’re clever, Xavier. I think you can figure it out if you pay attention.

“But that’s not important at the moment. They’re going on an expedition, Sarah and her little friend Matt with the hairy palms. Probably looking for Jack. They remember him, even when they forget Kieko. And Karissa. And Elise. Don’t you think that’s odd? I think that’s odd. They certainly remember your sister, though. She’s a difficult one to forget. Ever so exciting.”

Humming to himself, Tori took a firm hold of the doorframe and leaned even further out, before making a startled sound and throwing himself back into the room again. “Oooh, naughty. Naughty! Icarus has let her little pet out. Ooooh, this is going to be fun.”

Residential Hall
1317

It was fascinating, Keiko decided, how Icarus liked to change the rules on a whim, despite the game being long since set in stone. It would likely drive The Instigator mad(er, because even if Trephan couldn’t read his mind, the man clearly had a loose screw knocking about in there) that his plans had been disrupted, but it would doubtlessly be entertaining.

Arthur had not been planned. Nobody had been commissioned to capture him, The Instigator had made no plans for him, but as the Asylum was coming together the boy had been delivered along with the rest and assigned a room as if it were already pre-arranged. The Instigator had blown a fuse, in his own enigmatic way, but Trephan hadn’t been to blame and had been quite content to watch sparks fly.

It was obvious (at least to a mind reader) that Icarus was to blame; Trephan didn’t need to see into her head for that, nor had he ever felt the desire to peek. He was very old, and very skilled, but there were some hornet nests that were better left un-prodded.

Stealing the mind of a young girl and taking over her body, however, was little more than a half-drowned bee-hive without a queen, and Trephan had done it without remorse and with relative ease, becoming Keiko with a sense of expectant delight. It had been quite some time since he’d been a woman; women were fun.

With fun in mind, as well as mischief, Keiko crept out of her room and headed towards Nurse Base. Sarah (traitor) had already apparently gone off without her, more focused on Jack than anything else. That was an interesting development to say the least; nobody had factored romance into the games, but it would be fascinating if some were to happen spontaneously between inmates. The Instigator would likely want to study it, if he wasn’t too busy buzzing about getting everything else done. If there was one thing the man had, it was a highly skilled sense of organisation.

Walking up behind Arthur, Keiko quietly cleared her throat, keen to seem small, anxious, downtrodden; inside, she was nothing of the sort, but inside she wasn’t even the girl everybody else saw her as anymore. Trephan, in the depths of her mind, smiled, but Keiko’s face remained a mask of uncertain fear.

“Um… are you new?”

Infirmary
1320


Despite its function, and the assumption that there would at least be someone on duty at any given time, the infirmary was empty when Sarah and Matt came through the door. The whole area, as a matter of fact, had the air of sterile disuse about it, despite the battle that had raged there not all that long ago. The Asylum’s cleanup crew, ever diligent, had reversed all trace of what had happened previously.

A risky venture, but one played out by experts; Jack, who had been stored lightly sedated until such a time as the stage had been reset, had been laid out beside the body of Trephan, now deceased, and given drugs to induce consciousness at ten minutes to one. He had woken at one. By five past one, he had flown into a panic and secreted himself in a laundry cupboard that had been skilfully lighted to draw his wavering attention. By quarter past one, the team that had been hiding in Intensive treatment had wheeled out the twin metal tables and replaced them with a slept-in looking hospital bed, table and locker.

By the time Sarah and Matt arrived, the room appeared to be deserted, though recently vacated by a patient, and the closet in which Jack was hiding was silent save for his deliberately hushed breathing.

Residential Hall
1317-1318


“Um… are you new?”

To say the sudden voice behind him was not a surprise would be untrue to say the least. A sudden twitch was his body recognizing this mild shock, signaling his immediate halt. Of course the natural course of actions would be to turn and identify the source of the voice before making further decisions so he did. Arthur turned about one hundred and eighty degrees on his heels, spotting the talker and with no unwarranted haste shuffled back until he was about twice his arms length away from the cyan haired girl and the one who just spoke to him.

The first thing he noted about the girl was that she too was just slightly shorter than him, making him feel a bit like Gulliver on Lilliput island. She looked Asian enough with the shape of her facial features and the almost typically Asian long straight black hair, but there was something else. Arthur took what little time he had before he should respond to think about it. "Her face looks... Worried? Uncertain possibly." He thought, contemplating the expression of her three dimensional figure. He could examine and possibly determine what she might be feeling by her expression but because of his gifted eyes he made very little if no judgement on her character at all based on her appearance. After all, everything looked strange and unearthly to him. He would consider her just as trustworthy as the tall man just down the hall and right now everyone was untrustworthy.

"Yes... I am." He answered her question, taking more time to contemplation.
"Seeing as she is from around here she might know more about this place than I do. Perhaps, but on the other hand, judging from her expression she might be just as confused as I am. Yes, I don't think I am going to get anywhere quick here. I need to move forward to find answers, not more questions." He concluded in his mind, setting his resolve on figuring out this bizarre prison over making alliances right away. Truth be told, Arthur didn't know where to start. Finding out what he could was all that he could do. To do anything else before getting the requisite info would be an uninformed decision, a foolish one.

Having made his decision without another word he slowly and silently backed away, turning his attention from the girls to the surrounding exits. One of the exits from the center area connecting these halls seemed to him to be the one exit that led to the next wing of the facility, where most of the service and utility stations would be or so he assumed. Hoping the girls in front of him were not planning on striking up a conversation he picked up the pace from a silent inching away to a mild shuffle. He proceeded towards the cafeteria area while his hands hovered uselessly to his sides, unsure of what to do with themselves.

Residential Hall
1315 - 1325

Sarah remained resolute in finding Jack - before lunch, apparently. The girl rolled her shoulders in some attempt to relax. Matt offered a small nod and, still with fingers linked with Sarah's, trailed along after her. They moved briskly past the nurse's station, where Sarah's enthusiastic call perplexed him momentarily until he realized she was trying to throw off the staff. That was smart. Sarah was smart.

Deciding he should be of some help, Matt began to tune up the amount of air he was inhaling, sifting through it as they moved; but the air was stale and blank, like a freshly cleaned hospital that only smelled of linoleum floors, disinfectant, and various medicines stored away in musty cabinets. Even the staff seemed to carry such an odor... The only distinct scents he picked up were those of Sarah and the other patients they had left behind. His brow furrowed a little. This place didn't really seem that big. Even if Jack was locked away in a room somewhere, Matt should be able to pick him up. It felt like the walls and doors must have been airtight.

As they neared the infirmary, however, a scent became clearer that stood out from the standard cleanly odor of the facility. A human smell. Male. By the time Sarah led him to burst through the infirmary doors, Matt felt sure Jack was nearby. His olfactory detective work grew more noticeable as he inhaled quicker, deeper snorts of air, and absently pulled away from Sarah to step closer to the empty hospital beds of unmade sheets. Dark eyes alert, had he wielded canine ears at the moment they most certainly would have been perked - Matt turned away from the beds, trailing through the room. He paused from his focus only to call a quiet "This way," for his companion's sake.

Stress. There was the dark odor of stress, fear, anxiety seeping from the pores, and faintly, a soft, subdued breath, male. "Jack.." A mere murmur Matt realized was more to himself than it should have been. "... Jack?" He called a little louder through his soft-spoken tone. Another sweeping turn of his head for a proper directional test, and his gaze moved swiftly for a small closet. "Jack," Matt called again, toward the cupboard, convinced of his friend's location now. "It's Matt. And Sarah." Cheerfulness as much as reassurance crept into his tone at the mild joy of their search's success. They would certainly be on time for lunch now, and Jack would be with them again.


~


Residential Hall
1315 - 1320

The dark-haired boy turned upon noticing his presence, and appeared to sweep the other up and down just as Devan had exercise a moment before. Dark eyes stared unwavering, and the youth stood frozen like a raccoon caught in the garbage late at night... Finally bristling when their gazes met. The other boy appeared perfectly blind, with eyes such a milky hue as to completely contrast with Devan's own. Yet the stranger was clearly, distinctly studying him. How could this guy see with eyes like that?

Feeling another gaze on him, Devan turned to spot Aveline tilting her head at him. His expression darkened a little as if in warning, but was soon pulled back to the stranger on his other side, who had begun to pace carefully closer. Devan bristled again, tension creeping readily through his lanky frame. But the other boy kept ample distance as he stepped past, even safely moving a little beyond Aveline before he was brought to pause again.

Dark eyes flickered to the small girl he took a moment to recognize. The quiet, Japanese girl he had only seen fleetingly before. She appeared to have snuck up behind the stranger from some other hall. They made a short exchange of words before the more-or-less-blind boy resumed a steady shuffle away, presumably to the dining room. Skittish little thing. Didn't want to stick around to introduce himself, it seemed.

Devan eyed the two girls remaining before deciding to move for the dining hall and wait for lunch to open. It was proving difficult to keep his mind on anything else when he was so hungry, though a venomous sense of spite persisted in the absence of the scalpels he had gone through so much trouble to acquire. Gaze cautiously shifting between the girls as he passed them, the boy strode off for the dining hall, quickly outpacing the stranger scuttling in the same direction.

Room 1
1321

Xavier had had a feeling that Tori would say that he was real. He didn't doubt that he was real, though he brought up a good point about knowing who somebody was. It was odd to think that you could never truly know someone, not even yourself. He was sure that there were those rare handful of people who knew more than others, but there of course were many more who did not. Tori was proving himself to be more than Xavier had first assumed, more than a crazy, rambling man who believed himself an agent.

Assumptions, hmm? Perhaps Tori was right and he was making too many of those. It was obvious that the so called agent was not fond of the doctor, who engendered thoughts of suspended butterflies, beauty and mystery within Xavier. He was curious as to what Tori thought of her, but before he could get a word in the man was talking about the other inmates as apposed to the staff.

Sarah, Jack, Matt, Keiko, Karrisa, Elise. Three of them were apparently forgotten. Xavier himself couldn't recall haven't met an Elise. But Karissa and Keiko were two of the four girls in the asylum. Keiko was the Asian one and Karissa another short one who looked anorexic to him. He briefly recalled interacting with them in the hallway before the group had gone their separate ways. He remembered them, but hadn't been around multiple people for most of the day and so he was not exactly inclined to notice their absence.

Then of course there was his sister. He had actually managed to forget about her for the rest of the morning, but now a hint of worry crossed his features. His sister was insane and childish, which only ever led to trouble. And whose fault is that? He could only hope that by some sort of luck she hadn't gotten into trouble.

As he spoke, Tori was flinging himself from the doorframe into his room and back again. He commented on Icarus releasing her 'pet', though he hadn't the slightest idea who or what that could be. Before he could speculate too much, Tori had retreated to his room and Xavier heard a loud beep and 'hello' from the hall. He groaned and quickly raced out into the hall to see Aveline on the back of a boy he hadn't seen before. "Ave!"

Residential Hall
1316-1321

Aveline made a purring noise as the new boy passed, staying a good distance away from her or Devan. Awww, he didn't want to play? Well it was unfortunate for him that she did. Forgetting about Devan and any potential threat he posed to her, she began to stalk the new boy when a small girl suddenly appeared, startling both the boy and her.

A bit agitated, because she was the Cheshire Cat, she watched quietly as whatshername spoke to him. Aveline knew that her name started with a K, but was unsure if she was Karissa or Keiko. Maybe it was Kirsten? Or Kristen? Or Keira? Oh, now she was really confused. But what did it matter to her? Once she figured out how to destroy them all with Tori's help, their names wouldn't be of much concern to her. Oh well, all that mattered now was that the new guy was walking away from her, on the same path as everyone else seemed to be.

Why did people only think of food? Actually, she did like food very much. But she also liked playtime. Without another thought, he decided to say hello in her own special way. Aveline charged after the slow moving young man and jumped onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso. As if that weren't enough, she made a beeping noise in his ear before cheerfully exclaiming, "Hello!"

She barely noticed her twin appear from the small hall of rooms 1-4 and yell at her. She was too busy being given a piggy back ride from an unsuspecting and unfortunate soul.

Residential Hall
1320-1325

Arthur did not foresee the girl's intent on jumping on him. She collided with his back to his complete surprise. Not being the most muscular person around by far the sudden force as well as the suddenness of her actions caused him to fall. Reaching out with both he hands he tried to stop the floor from meeting with his face at the very least. He succeeded in that regards as instead he distributed enough force through his hands that after they buckled from under him the rest of his body hit the floor as his head did, distributing evenly. This sudden chaos and confusion was compounded when the girl for her own peculiar reasons decided to make a beeping noise in his ear before greeting him with a cheery hello. He couldn't really respond properly in this position as his stomach was on the floor with his head awkwardly angled against it but the girls arms and legs wrapped around him, trapping him in her hold. The one thing he figured he could do from there was to turn around in her grip. His thin build was the reason he was on the floor to begin with but it also served as the reason for how he was able to turn around in her hold so his back was to the floor while his head faced upwards, a much easier place to speak from.

Now face to face with the grinning young girl he chuckled a bit, nervously of course. "I take it this is the formal greeting for er... Newcomers here?" He jested in a deadpan fashion. His tone of voice really did sell the facets of his uncertainty by this point. Really he was just talking to kill the time until she got off of him. Now in a more comfortable position Arthur was not being pressed quite so seemingly hard from the girl basically grappled to his chest like before. After all, the girl didn't weigh all that much, just enough to knock him down.

He heard another person yell a name in his general direction. He knew the person wasn't addressing him so it, by process of elimination, was probably the name or possibly the nickname for the blue haired girl currently holding him captive. "So... Ave? I didn't catch your full name. My name is Arthur, um... good to meet you?" He formally, although stretching the definition of the word formal, introduced himself to his excitable new acquaintance. Although she was mostly inconveniencing him she did yield some useful information in her approach. From her mannerisms as well as the general tone of the surroundings he now knew what kind of hospital he was sealed in. A mental hospital.

Sarah followed after Matt; evidentially he had some clues as to where Jack was. Across the room and towards a closet; Sarah winced slightly. For Jack to be hiding in a closet, it was obvious that they had been working on him. Whatever it was, it had to have been bad. She reached out, gently tapping on the door.
"Jack? Hey man. You ok in there?" Nothing. Sarah cleared her throat. "Jack. They're messing with you. Whatever you saw, they didn't it to screw with your head. They want you off balance, they want you suffering. They only win if you give in to it." She waited a beat longer. "Listen, I''m not gonna leave you alone here, ok? So either you come on out and have lunch with us, or I"m climbing in there with you. I'm sure Matt can bring us something to eat. What do you say?" She gently opened turned the door knob and pulled it open an inch or so, not enough that Jack might feel threatened, just enough he could see a slice of her face and hear her voice.

"Room for one more?"

Residential Hall.
1320.

Arthur had the strangest of minds. It was the first thing that drew Keiko's attention upon speaking to the boy. She had met him before, of course, if only briefly; Icarus was a loose canon, but there was no way that even she could have snuck someone into the building without anyone knowing about it. Trephan had examined the boy while he was asleep, and declared him interesting, but now, awake and alert and vibrant, Keiko found him delicious. The Instigator would likely find him quite the opposite, but that would only make things more fun.

"Well, it's nice to- uh-" She didn't get much further, as Arthur rapidly lost interest in her and started to walk away. Keiko would have followed, but the sudden presence of the others was more than a little distracting. Devan clearly wanted nothing to do with them, but he was going their way; there was no avoiding the boy. Keiko didn't smile at him, choosing instead to fearfully duck her head in submission, as if hoping he would pass her by without notice.

It seemed to work, given that Devan gave them little more than a look in passing before trailing after Arthur. Aveline, who had been standing beside her up until this point, apparently was not satisfied with being ignored, however. Keiko very nearly smiled when she felt the idea pop into Aveline's head, but she managed to restrain herself, and even look shocked and appalled when Aveline charged forwards and launched herself at Arthur, crushing him to the floor.

"Aveline! That's not very nice! Don't hurt him, he's not done anything wrong!" Oh, if only she knew. There was a special little place in Trephan's heart for Aveline; his murderer. What would the girl say if she realised the man she thought she had destroyed was now possessing Kieko quite so expertly.

Her brother was clearly not particularly pleased with what was going on; Keiko watched him pass with interest, wondering if another battle was about to break out.

Room 1.
1325.

Icarus was a traitor. She thought she ran the game. She thought she was so clever... Tori glared out from the crack in the door, his mauve eyes alight with a fierce anger. Alone now, abandoned by Xavier and left trapped by his own indecision, he looked nothing like the confused but harmless young man that he had been only moments before. That spark of unusual, sharp insight had fanned into a razors edge- there was something dangerous in his expression.

"Sending out your pet, Icarus. That was mean. That was... naughty."

He watched as the others drew Xavier's attention, watched as the focus was pulled further and further away from himself. Aveline too- did she even remember that she had been his? That she was his tool, not a free agent any longer?

Tori closed his eyes, summoning up a strange, warping sensation in a dimension that Arthur could likely sense. "You forget, though, Icarus... people only remember you because you got burned."

To Arthur, it would be as if reality suddenly creased; a dimension of fabric space, running in a plane that overlapped seamlessly with the everyday world, was suddenly torn by expert fingers. Close, but not so close as to be on top of them, the tare widened, exerting a sucking pressure that built and built to a horrible level before suddenly stoppering closed with a jolt. The ripples left behind swirled and settled, but only for a moment before striking up elsewhere, this time with the impression that something had been pulled forth and set back in the physical world before the fabric space was stitched shut again.

Tori had vanished.

Infirmary.
1325.

In literally every sense of the word, Jack felt awful, and for once he remembered every second of what had happened to him. For so many years, he had begged every deity he could think of to let him remember, let the strange, alarming periods of absence leave him, but now, for the first time in his life, he wanted nothing more than to forget.

In one terrible moment, his entire world had shattered into fragments, the bedrock of his soul torn free and shattered. Vinny was gone. His parents were so far out of reach that they might as well be. His friends- his family- his career- in one fell swoop everything he held dear and everything that he had ever worked for had slipped like smoke though his fingers, and he couldn't get it out of his head.

He had woken feeling sick and disoriented, a sensation that lasted even now, hunched up as he was in the tiny, dark hideaway that he had selected after hurling himself out of bed and scrambling as fast and as far as he could away from the corpse he had been laid out beside. It was cramped and uncomfortable for someone of his height to crunch down into such a small cupboard, but it made him feel more secure than anything else had so far.

Sarah opening the door, on the other hand, was not so nice; the light slanted in and burned Jack's watering eyes, leaving him feeling even more nauseated than he had previously. But despite the fact that he was forced to turn his head away with a shudder, part of him cried out desperately for the few people that had become familiar to him in this nightmare.

"I- I don't think I'm ready to come out yet..." It would be a tight fit, with Sarah in the closet with him, but Jack couldn't actually think of anything he desired more than being held right about now.

Infirmary
1330

Sarah smiled gently and opened the door a bit further. "All right. Scoot over then." It was a tight fit and she ended up in something of a crouch, but she needed the extra height in order to wrap her arm around Jack's shoulders and bring him closer to her. She frowned as she could feel the tremors snaking through his thin frame; rubbing her hand up and down his back as she hummed softly.

Sarah was troubled. The entire time she had been free to wander about, she had been careful to build something of a mental map of this place. She had seen what she thought was an exit and she had also noticed the locks. Locks that needed keys. Keys which the orderlies would have. It would take some doing, but she was pretty sure she could make her break for it tonight. She didn't think that they would expect an escape attempt so soon, and thus they might be a little lax in their security measures. It would take some doing; but she wasn't going to stay here a second longer than necessary.

But........

She glanced down at the top of Jack's head and held him a little tighter. Jack was fragile, that was becoming alarmingly apparent. He might have had some sort of difficulties before he ended up in this hell hole, but much longer here and one of the merry band of lunatics would manage to shatter his mind like fine china. While it wouldn't be her fault, if she didn't do something about it she would carry the guilt for the rest of her life.

Sarah glanced out the door at Matt. Him too. Not as fragile as Jack, but vulnerable. She wouldn't give him more than a couple days at best before something permanent happened.

Your soft heart is going to be the end of you someday. She could almost here her older brother laughing at her. She wasn't all that close to him, he being a whole eight years older and too busy for a little girl growing up; but that hadn't stopped her from tagging along after her. When will you learn, little wisp? You got to look out for yourself before you can help someone else. Sarah mentally gave the memory of his words the finger and kept up her soothing rocking.

They were getting out of here. All three of them.

Tonight.

Residential Hall
1323-1328

Aveline was just as surprised as Arthur had been, but for a different reason. She had misjudged the young man, particularly in the strength category as he fell forward with her still on him. Oopsie daisy. She hadn't meant to knock him off his feet, but at least it was consistent with the first impressions she gave. The boy wiggled underneath her as he could not support her weight, much less move when she had pinned him to the ground and trapped him there unknowingly.

"I take it this is the formal greeting for er... Newcomers here?" The stranger was trying to be funny, but this did not register in the crazy girl's head. She shook her head, a few strands of hair brushing against his face. "Nope, I like to change it up. I poked whats-his-name in the throat but he didn't like that. Sarah and Jack don't like me either. I think Matt might, but he likes Sarah so probably not." The girl had not taken the hint that she should get off of the new boy. She was perfectly content to hug him on the floor. It was like she was a koala and he the tree. Or she could be a sloth, but they were so incredibly slow and-

"Aveline! That's not very nice! Don't hurt him, he's not done anything wrong!" While she knew the voice belonged to K Number 1, she wasn't overly concerned. She actually hadn't see her in awhile and given her stature doubted she could do more than scold her. And what did she know? He wasn't broken from what she could tell. No harm, no foul.

"Ave!" Oh rats. Xavier was here. Now she was in trouble. He quickly walked over and attempted to pry Aveline off of her new friend and/or enemy. But she held onto him for dear life, as if her twin was a hurricane trying to knock her from her tree.

The stranger, who had now identified himself as Arthur, introduced himself as best he could given the circumstances. He looked terribly uncomfortable and Xavier couldn't blame him. Aveline had once hugged him and wouldn't let go for six hours until she became hungry. That had not been a fun day for him.

"I'm sorry about my sister Arthur. She's a bit of a nutcase." All thanks to you. You really shouldn't have uses your gift on her, it drove her insane... a small voice in his head quipped. Now was not the time for guilt to creep into his head. Xavier looked at Aveline and told her sternly, "Let go." A frowning blue haired girl released her grip and let herself be plucked up from her new friend. As she glared at Kieko for yelling at her, Xavier lent a hand to Arthur to help him up.

"I'm Xavier and I see you've met my sister, Aveline." He briefly glanced at Kieko who stood back from the group. He thought of giving her an encouraging smile but figured it wouldn't transfer well. Xavier looked back at Arthur, trying to ignore Aveline as best he could. She had decided she wanted to play with her brother now and was tugging gently at his long black hair. "I'm sorry again, I probably should have kept an eye on her." He swatted at her hand behind his back, trying to tell her to stop.

Aveline frowned again and stepped out from behind her brother to speak to Arthur. She gave a friendly wave and smile, as if she had never tackled him. "Hello Arthur! Welcome to, uh, well I'm not sure. But lunch is soon. I like food!" She went to turn and run to the cafeteria, where she would surely encounter Devan and have her throat ripped out or something of that sort, but Xavier caught her arm and kept her there. He had forgotten how crazy she was and wasn't sure he wanted her running around all by herself. But then again he had done just the same and had his own fun adventures.

Interestingly enough, each of the twins had killed someone, though in different fashions and with different results. They had also both encountered Tori, who was on a different mission each time. It seemed that they were in need of a bit of catching up.

Residential Hall
1323-1330


"Nope, I like to change it up. I poked whats-his-name in the throat but he didn't like that. Sarah and Jack don't like me either. I think Matt might, but he likes Sarah so probably not."

Already this was quite a lot of information. Nothing immediately useful however knowing who's who around this place was no resource to scoff at either. Aveline obviously knew more about the asylum than he did. Enough to know about the residents, although they could simply be characters she invented. Without any way to tell which truth that matter belonged to he simply put the question on hold until needed. She really did like holding onto him it seemed. Seeing her true shape gave him no first emotional impression of her, good or bad. In light of her actions she was still more trust worthy than everyone else he has met so far. For now.

"Aveline! That's not very nice! Don't hurt him, he's not done anything wrong!" The shy girl seemed rather upset by his current grapplers actions. So it seemed the two had met already. This made no difference in Arthur's opinion of the girl and even if he didn't think as much there was little say he had in the matter of his position.

The person who had been yelling earlier came over to assist him. The stranger pulled at Aveline to try and make her release him from her grip to no avail. "I'm sorry about my sister Arthur. She's a bit of a nutcase." The man apologized for his sisters behavior. The revelation that he was her brother came as little surprise to him. With his expanded sight no human form was no more eccentric than another. Quite frankly he was kind of like a foreigner to the human race at this point. All humans look alike, some just act differently than others.

At that point her brother had commanded her to let go at which instant Aveline begrudgingly obliged. After she was picked up he noticed her glare directed over to the shy girl from earlier. There was little time to dwell on that detail however as her brother had offered a hand to help him up from the prone position he was trapped in just seconds ago.
"I'm Xavier and I see you've met my sister, Aveline." He listened to Xavier's introduction of both himself and his blue haired sister. Arthur was about to reply

And then something changed.

At first it was subtle. He noticed all the angles in his field of vision suddenly bend in a single direction before resetting back to normal, like a flicker. A flicker alone could not of prepared him for the following distortion. A hole, one that threatened to swallow everything. The effect was reminiscent of something tearing through a cloth sheet. As it pressed through, everything stretched towards the point of impact. Reality, not unlike the example of the cloth, tried to bend around the object rather than tear asunder. At the point of ripping is where the metaphor of the cloth and this instance ceased to compare. While a cloth would relax after being torn through, the fabric of space's pull intensified around the aperture. He could see himself almost being dragged into this singularity as well, the whole room twisting at one end into a single point in the distance, the rest of the room behind him soon to follow.

Ignoring the helpful hand of Xavier at this point he backed away. Away from Xavier, away from Aveline, away from everyone. The whole asylum was a sinking ship and he was doing everything within his power to avoid falling in with it. He scrambled to the opposite end of the room and pressed his back so firmly against the back wall it would take a considerable effort from someone reasonably strong to separate him from it. As far as Arthur was concerned, a black hole had just manifested and was dragging everything near into oblivion.

Arthur would have lost his balance if he was standing up as soon as reality snapped back into place. It was as though someone placed him in a rubber band and stretched him back along it almost to the point of breaking before letting go. Luckily, Arthur cannot be fired through a solid wall, at least not like that. Just like that it all stopped. It was as though something just punched it's way out of existence. The entire time his mind raced like a mouses heart hooked to a car battery, not unlike his own heartbeat at the moment as well.

Among the thousands of questions that instantly jumped to mind was a simple "Why?" It was also the only question that was answered when a distant pulse registered in his vision. Something had just pushed it's way back into reality like a stone dropped into a pond. It was not nearly as close as the opening was so it's jarring effects on him were lessened. Less it's distance however was the fact that little could top the initial surprise that came with the opening breach.

No ordinary man would be able to so much as even compose one's self after witnessing such a disturbance. Arthur's psyche was greatly disturbed by the sudden occurrence of something so impossible. His face was pale enough to be the very mask of pure illness most grave. He was dripping a cold sweat which adorned his brow and lined his quivering palms. His jaw hurt from the intensity which he grit his teeth with. The adrenaline which was strong enough to almost poison him made it impossible to keep his legs still.

Despite all this though he had one thing to hold onto his sanity by. A feeling of familiarity, a sensation no different than when he first discovered that he could see this world expanded. To see something so impossible without having seen anything like it before had effectively incapacitated him before, rendering him screaming in pure shock with nothing to ground him to reality.To see something that defied all conventional expectations of reality was not a new feeling. It was amazing how powerful the sense of familiarity could be, no matter what situation it may be. He had not even cried out in shock despite the gravity of the situation that unraveled before him. He may not have been able to stand and face this threat but at least he could still stand and act if required.

He needed to take a moment to gather his wits. With this time he was able to string together what he saw and deduce the result from the effects witnessed.

It... Something bypassed this plane entirely and somehow moved to another location.

He concluded in his mind. Summoning up what remained of his strength he pushed himself up the wall, still resting upon it even while standing for support. The tensity his body had held made him surprisingly exhausted. He was breathing like he just jogged a marathon. It took him a moment to catch his breath before he was able to address the most likely confused bystanders whom were speaking to him mere moments ago. What felt like an hour to him was little more than the span of a few seconds, no more than thirty.

He looked up at the onlookers, his breath still shaking with him. If either of them had said anything past what he last heard than he clearly didn't notice. "S-sorry for that. Didn't mean to be rude there. It is a pleasure to meet you both, it really is." His voice ragged with tension still intoxicating his body. Pushing himself off the wall he managed to stand without falling over, his knees still shaking beneath him as though threatening to buckle all the while.

He briefly contemplated asking the two if they had seen what he just saw but quickly dismissed the thought. They were no different than everyone else. His whole life and no one could see what he could see. Every time he told someone about what he saw and each time was met with ridicule and unwarranted concern for his mental health. Now would be no different to him. It was him, alone, to carry the knowledge of what he sees what others cannot, or more correctly what he hoped others cannot. It was the possibility there was someone or possibly something else in this hospital that may know more about the holes know one else can ever conceive of than he did. It was a thought scary enough to chill him to the bones.

There may be a person here who knows more than me and is keeping me here against my wishes.

What do they want of me?

Infirmary
1325 - 1330

There was no answer for almost a minute. Sarah took a try then, knocking lightly at the cabinet door and also adopting a reassuring tone. Hers sounded more effective than Matt's; the boy watched the cupboard intently for signs of movement, ears alert for sound. He glanced fleetingly at Sarah at mention of his name. Under normal circumstances, he would not be opposed to fetching them something to eat, but here - especially after whatever had happened in his room - he didn't want to go anywhere alone.

When there remained no response, Sarah tentatively opened the cupboard a crack, her voice maintained calm and soothing. As the light crept in, movement inside shuddered away from it. Finally, Jack's voice murmured from the cupboard. Matt perked up immediately, studying everything he could see from the crack in the cabinet door. If he had had a tail at that moment, it likely would have wagged. Sarah crept into the cupboard, coiling into a crouch so she would fit, hugging Jack closer and beginning to hum. Matt watched them with a light expression, convinced Sarah could make their friend feel better. He did turn to raise his head and gaze around the infirmary warily, though, still aware that they may have been somewhere they were not supposed to be and should probably move as soon as Jack was capable.


~


Residential Hall
1320 - 1330

Devan only paused to glance back at a sudden ruckus that sounded like somebody being tackled. His gaze quickly came to rest on the pile of people on the floor that included Aveline and the stranger. Nothing to bother getting involved in. Much better that guy than himself. He was just about to turn to resume heading for the dining hall when his attention darted up to where a short shout came from - Xavier appeared from one of the hallways.

The boy's gaze narrowed darkly. He wouldn't mind another fight with the other boy without weapons involved. No scalpels or hospital stands. Or interference, for that matter. But with the group Xavier was now gathered around, Aveline in particular, Devan was cautious of approaching. He was not sure what the stranger's capabilities were yet, either, besides apparently being able to see with eyes that looked more or less 100% blind.

His appetite for food persisting over his appetite for conflict for now, Devan turned away to continue toward the dining hall. He barely glanced at the small Japanese girl who appeared to shrink at his passing by, as if trying to make herself less noticeable; it was a response to his presence that Devan was not unaccustomed to. When he reached the dining room door, it was still shut, and upon testing it, he found it was still locked. There must be a little while longer before lunch. The bottom of his stomach seemed to sift unhappily, and he set a hand on it as discomfort ghosted through his features in answer. The boy leaned against the wall beside the door to wait. His gaze kept active, drifting and flickering around cautiously.