Issac "Icarus" Clark

Issac was quiet as everyone left to go and see Elijah, but it wasn't that he didn't want to go. He wanted to go more than anything at all, but nobody had offered to transport him and he still needed some help moving around from all the burns. It was sitting in the activity room that he heard the voice. " Who's there and what do you want us to find?" He asked. It seemed like the right question.

@Ver @Capri @Minerva @Gummi Bunnies @Activity Room
 
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"Wait, what's...?!" Peter could only exclaim as the comics in his hands seemed to have a strange effect on Clark, Michelle, and Sylvia, mostly the former of the three. Before he knew it, the man found himself throwing the two comics to the ground like dirty socks, and then holding up his hands defensively.

"Wait, Clark... Elijah's just playing games with you! You're relapsing! Remember where we are; Dr. Staple said we're as good as out of here, but you have to keep your grip on reality in check!" He began to say, before relenting as it seemed Takara put it better than he could in reaching Clark.

Of course, Elijah wasn't about to take all that lying down.

Looking at Michelle, the paraplegic man signed toward her, but also spoke aloud as he intended for everyone else to hear as well. "You are right about one thing. Time is running out, and those comics are only a small part of the puzzle."

"They're nothing! They're just comics! It's all just fiction!" Peter exclaimed angrily. "The fact that they're comics -- and not something like newspaper clips -- should be proof enough that none of that happened in real life!"

"Not in this real life, you mean," Elijah reveals without missing a beat. When Peter only lets out a confused breath, not sure of how to respond, the man continues, looking intently at everyone else.

"Tell me... Do any of you know anything about the multiverse theory?"

@Jeremi @Takumi @Rwac96 @Not a Writer @Ottonomous Ghost @Josh @ElijahRoom


"God shut up!" Fujiko yelled at Erin in a sudden outburst, not appreciating her first gut response to the harrowing scream heard from the hall as the girl's scream made Fujiko jump yet again. Regardless, the voice did not make itself known again. In turn, when Isaac would attempt to call out to the source of the voice, no response came. Whoever made that scream either couldn't or wouldn't reply, and Fujiko dared not imagine which possibility was worse.

She was hesitant about the prospect of investigating further, but if nothing else, it wasn't something she could pretend she alone imagined with everyone else hearing it, so they couldn't very well ignore it. As Erin took the initiative to check around the source, venturing deeper into the dark hall, and the others made their choice, Fujiko followed everyone through the hall.

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Past the first door, the halls were nightmarishly dark. At this hour, the lights were supposed to be on, but for whatever reason, no such respite was granted to the group. Even so, everyone's eyes would be able to adjust to the darkness well enough before too long, assuaged by the windows on both sides of the hall.

"What the hell... Where did that voice even come from? We better not have gotten lost already..." The woman grumbled, mostly to herself, before suddenly stopping as her brow furrowed in the dark.

"Wait... Where even are we? Since when did we have windows?"

Fujiko wouldn't have a chance to ponder how they even came to be in an unfamiliar hall after passing through just one door, before--

THUNK!

A harsh pounding noise came from outside the left window, like a fist slamming impotently against glass, eliciting a surprised gasp from the woman as she backed away toward the opposite side. "What the fuck?!"

On the other side of the window, in the nebulous "outside" that showed nothing, one could barely make out a shadow standing upright in front of the glass, barely moving, staring intently at the group, as though... waiting.

"..."

@Lucky @Capri @Crunch @Minerva @Yun Lee @Gummi Bunnies @Hall
 

"Wait, Clark... Elijah's just playing games with you! You're relapsing! Remember where we are; Dr. Staple said we're as good as out of here, but you have to keep your grip on reality in check!" He began to say, before relenting as it seemed Takara put it better than he could in reaching Clark.

Of course, Elijah wasn't about to take all that lying down.

Looking at Michelle, the paraplegic man signed toward her, but also spoke aloud as he intended for everyone else to hear as well. "You are right about one thing. Time is running out, and those comics are only a small part of the puzzle."

"They're nothing! They're just comics! It's all just fiction!" Peter exclaimed angrily. "The fact that they're comics -- and not something like newspaper clips -- should be proof enough that none of that happened in real life!"

"Not in this real life, you mean," Elijah reveals without missing a beat. When Peter only lets out a confused breath, not sure of how to respond, the man continues, looking intently at everyone else.

"Tell me... Do any of you know anything about the multiverse theory?"

Listening to Peter's words, a repeat of Takara's piece of advice; he seemed to be taking a moment to think back and remind himself that Elijah had faked his condition. It could be one of his tricks, but after everything he has seen so far; it certainly made the journalist uneasy. The Kansas-Raised man turns to Peter, about to reply until the elderly man speaks up; mentioning the multiple-worlds theory. Though, it was better known by a more common name.

"The Multiverse Theory," Clark replies to the wheelchair-bound man, pushing his glasses up against his face. "Well, the theory is that there's more than one universe and we're one of the infinite many, according to quantum theory."

Then, on impulse, he clasps his right hand onto his forehead; his blue eyes shifting down to the comic in his hand. Another image begins to flash in his mind, which made his body visibly shaking in fear.

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"I'm here because I'm the baddest of the bad!" The man bearing his face speaks as he lifts a car over his body, his eyes gazing down at the inevitable victim before him. He resembled Clark, similar to the man in the armor; but the five-sided shield was upside down and sported a large 'U', a series of grey spheres were attached to his waist. "Anybody who ever stood in my way is dead! Everybody!"



Shaking his head frantically for a moment, bring himself back to reality(?), taking a moment to breathe. "Some are similar to ours, while others are radically different. There's a reality where we were never born, or another where apes are the dominant species of Earth. Heck, there's even a reality or a few where this planet isn't called Earth."

@Ver @Takumi @Not a Writer @Ottonomous Ghost @Josh @Jeremi @Elijah'sRoom
 
View attachment 11264

"Wait, what's...?!" Peter could only exclaim as the comics in his hands seemed to have a strange effect on Clark, Michelle, and Sylvia, mostly the former of the three. Before he knew it, the man found himself throwing the two comics to the ground like dirty socks, and then holding up his hands defensively.

"Wait, Clark... Elijah's just playing games with you! You're relapsing! Remember where we are; Dr. Staple said we're as good as out of here, but you have to keep your grip on reality in check!" He began to say, before relenting as it seemed Takara put it better than he could in reaching Clark.

Of course, Elijah wasn't about to take all that lying down.

Looking at Michelle, the paraplegic man signed toward her, but also spoke aloud as he intended for everyone else to hear as well. "You are right about one thing. Time is running out, and those comics are only a small part of the puzzle."

"They're nothing! They're just comics! It's all just fiction!" Peter exclaimed angrily. "The fact that they're comics -- and not something like newspaper clips -- should be proof enough that none of that happened in real life!"

"Not in this real life, you mean," Elijah reveals without missing a beat. When Peter only lets out a confused breath, not sure of how to respond, the man continues, looking intently at everyone else.

"Tell me... Do any of you know anything about the multiverse theory?"

@Jeremi @Takumi @Rwac96 @Not a Writer @Ottonomous Ghost @Josh @ElijahRoom


"God shut up!" Fujiko yelled at Erin in a sudden outburst, not appreciating her first gut response to the harrowing scream heard from the hall as the girl's scream made Fujiko jump yet again. Regardless, the voice did not make itself known again. In turn, when Isaac would attempt to call out to the source of the voice, no response came. Whoever made that scream either couldn't or wouldn't reply, and Fujiko dared not imagine which possibility was worse.

She was hesitant about the prospect of investigating further, but if nothing else, it wasn't something she could pretend she alone imagined with everyone else hearing it, so they couldn't very well ignore it. As Erin took the initiative to check around the source, venturing deeper into the dark hall, and the others made their choice, Fujiko followed everyone through the hall.

View attachment 11263

Past the first door, the halls were nightmarishly dark. At this hour, the lights were supposed to be on, but for whatever reason, no such respite was granted to the group. Even so, everyone's eyes would be able to adjust to the darkness well enough before too long, assuaged by the windows on both sides of the hall.

"What the hell... Where did that voice even come from? We better not have gotten lost already..." The woman grumbled, mostly to herself, before suddenly stopping as her brow furrowed in the dark.

"Wait... Where even are we? Since when did we have windows?"

Fujiko wouldn't have a chance to ponder how they even came to be in an unfamiliar hall after passing through just one door, before--

THUNK!

A harsh pounding noise came from outside the left window, like a fist slamming impotently against glass, eliciting a surprised gasp from the woman as she backed away toward the opposite side. "What the fuck?!"

On the other side of the window, in the nebulous "outside" that showed nothing, one could barely make out a shadow standing upright in front of the glass, barely moving, staring intently at the group, as though... waiting.

"..."

@Lucky @Capri @Crunch @Minerva @Yun Lee @Gummi Bunnies @Hall




Listening to Peter's words, a repeat of Takara's piece of advice; he seemed to be taking a moment to think back and remind himself that Elijah had faked his condition. It could be one of his tricks, but after everything he has seen so far; it certainly made the journalist uneasy. The Kansas-Raised man turns to Peter, about to reply until the elderly man speaks up; mentioning the multiple-worlds theory. Though, it was better known by a more common name.

"The Multiverse Theory," Clark replies to the wheelchair-bound man, pushing his glasses up against his face. "Well, the theory is that there's more than one universe and we're one of the infinite many, according to quantum theory."

Then, on impulse, he clasps his right hand onto his forehead; his blue eyes shifting down to the comic in his hand. Another image begins to flash in his mind, which made his body visibly shaking in fear.

View attachment 11265

"I'm here because I'm the baddest of the bad!" The man bearing his face speaks as he lifts a car over his body, his eyes gazing down at the inevitable victim before him. He resembled Clark, similar to the man in the armor; but the five-sided shield was upside down and sported a large 'U', a series of grey spheres were attached to his waist. "Anybody who ever stood in my way is dead! Everybody!"


Shaking his head frantically for a moment, bring himself back to reality(?), taking a moment to breathe. "Some are similar to ours, while others are radically different. There's a reality where we were never born, or another where apes are the dominant species of Earth. Heck, there's even a reality or a few where this planet isn't called Earth."

@Ver @Takumi @Not a Writer @Ottonomous Ghost @Josh @Jeremi @Elijah'sRoom

Hagusa's brows furrowed as Elijah said that there was more to the situation than some comics, before asking them if they knew of the multiverse theory, followed by Clark explaining the theory.

"You mean, like...that one movie with the talking apes?" Hagusa muttered in response to Clark's list of examples on world's that fit the theory. Most of it sounded like, well, fiction. Much like the comics both he and Sylvia had been so eager to look through. Clark made it sound like he believed the theory, and the way Elijah was talking made it seem like he was suggesting that said theory was true.

As interesting as it sounded, Hagusa held some doubt and didn't bother hiding the way his expression nearly twisted from the emotion. If they all weren't from 'this world' then why were they even here? Wouldn't that, like, cause problems where they lived?

@Ver @Not a Writer @Rwac96 @Jeremi @Ottonomous Ghost @Josh @Elijah's room
 

"You mean, like...that one movie with the talking apes?"

AvefHk0.jpg


"Well, yeah," he nods his head lightly to Hagusa's question, "even if it is fiction and a theory." The reporter adjusts his square, black-rimmed glasses once more.

1649472095188.png


"Multiverse theory is just that, a theory." Slyvia said. "I mean, if you would told me people had superpowers, I would have called that crazy too. Still might." A frown adorned the Women's face. "But something is telling me where there is smoke, there is fire."

"Even if it is a theory," the Kansas-Raised man replies to Slyvia, "even if I am this...Superman with powers or not, you can't deny there's something suspicious going on in this Institute."

@Ver @Takumi @Not a Writer @Ottonomous Ghost @Josh @Jeremi @Elijah'sRoom
 
ERIN NATICK
@Ver @Lucky @Crunch @Minerva @Yun Lee @Gummi Bunnies @Hall

Erin jumped a mile at the strange being in the window. Her breathing was erratic at this point, and her eyes widened.

She hates to admit it but she’s scared.

Erin flipped off the shadow, before quickly returning to a spot away from the window. God she hopes he doesn’t break through.

"I… guess we could continue onwards…" Erin said.​
 
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All of a sudden, the room felt like it'd gotten rather loud. Everybody had something or other to say about Elijah and his theories, and Takara couldn't help but feel an intense pang of sympathy for the ones going along with it. Clark's argument against her plea was understandable, but she had to nod in agreement with Hagusa's words. He might've just been a kid, but he was smart to so quickly piece together that conclusion. "Hagusa's right. Whoever that man was, the odds of him being this 'Trevor' person are incredibly small..." The dead coming back to life? That was just movie nonsense, thrown together to make a quick buck. The old her likely would've thrown such ridiculous notions out like hot garbage right to his face, but Takara didn't fancy herself a cruel individual. She was doing her best to approach this as gently and sympathetically as she could, because she knew what it was like to not know what was real or fake. "He could've been anyone. Could have known about the Steve Trevor who died, or had no clue and combined a couple of common names. It's hard to say, and it's even harder to say he was being honest when he claimed to know us. I mean, seriously; how could he know a whole institute's worth of patients, unless he was ex staff or something? Or some sort of stalker?" The thought was enough to make her want to throw up. "It was probably just an excuse to try to get in." She hoped.

The din of the room carried on. Peter dropped the comics like he'd touched a hot stovetop, and Elijah chimed in with even more cryptic nonsense. She couldn't imagine what he meant by their time running out, or what 'puzzles' he had conjured up in his mind, but she wasn't sure she had it in her to mother an entire group out of making poor choices based on the ravings of a man who still yet needed help. She would happily try, but with neither her nor Peter's words seeming to have much bearing on the group, she couldn't say how far she would get. She gave Hagusa's hand another light squeeze, both to remind him she was here if he needed it, but also to keep herself grounded in the moment, before she opened her mouth to speak. "Look... I appreciate your concern over us, Elijah, but I think Peter's right. Those comics might have influenced some things, but--"

Before she could finish putting her thoughts together, the wheelchair-bound man was speaking again, claiming that the comics only weren't real in this real life. Jeez, this guy had built himself some convoluted fantasies, huh? The multiverse theory... What, like other worlds and stuff? All of his claims seemed to grow wilder and wilder. She couldn't help but release a sigh in the face of the things the group at large was spouting, and their readiness to believe Elijah at the drop of a hat. She liked helping people, but she simply wasn't a psychological expert like the staff members of this facility. She wasn't equipped to handle this many people slipping out of their reality. She mulled over what to do as everyone spoke their piece, before she eventually shook her head slowly.

"There's a big difference between 'suspicious' and 'superstitious'," she disputed Clark, though it came out more pleading than harsh. She was calm and steady as ever, standing as tall as any woman under five feet tall could. "I agree that today's been weird. Crazy, even. Lots of really odd stuff has happened. But- and I guess I can't speak for everyone here when I say this- disregarding how strange the last 24 hours have been? I've had a really great experience here. Everyone's been so kind and understanding and helpful in ways I couldn't have even imagined before coming here, and in the..." Uh. How long had she been in this place again? She trailed off momentarily as she tried to recall, but eventually gave up on that effort when she couldn't seem to, shaking her head to clear it. "...in the time I've been here, I've come a long way from the mess I was before. I think all of us got some much needed help here, judging from the stories of where we came from we discussed this morning. So... is one or two weird things really enough to turn all that on its head? I really don't think anybody in this institute is out to get us, or anything like that. If they had bad intentions for us, don't you think they'd have acted on them already?"

All this talking was getting tiring, but she was determined to do what she could for her fellow patients. "Again, I'm not trying to be a debbie downer or anything. I totally get where everyone's coming from. I just... don't want anyone getting their hopes up for something that isn't guaranteed. Especially when we're so close to graduating. Secret exits and other worlds just feels like it's veering into dangerous territory."

@Takumi @Ver @Rwac96 @Josh @Ottonomous Ghost @Jeremi @Elijah's Room​
 
[That there's many universes out there, right?] Micheal signed. The theory described itself exactly for what it was, not that she really knew anything else about it. She looked over to what the others were saying to her best ability and nodded at Clark. [Yeah. Even if there's not like anything, really out there going on. There's still clearly something! That's why we need to get out of here as fast as we can. The moment I tell my parents about this we're going to have every single news outlet on this place ass.]

@Ver @Takumi @Rwac96 @Not a Writer @Ottonomous Ghost @Josh @ElijahRoom
 
View attachment 11281

All of a sudden, the room felt like it'd gotten rather loud. Everybody had something or other to say about Elijah and his theories, and Takara couldn't help but feel an intense pang of sympathy for the ones going along with it. Clark's argument against her plea was understandable, but she had to nod in agreement with Hagusa's words. He might've just been a kid, but he was smart to so quickly piece together that conclusion. "Hagusa's right. Whoever that man was, the odds of him being this 'Trevor' person are incredibly small..." The dead coming back to life? That was just movie nonsense, thrown together to make a quick buck. The old her likely would've thrown such ridiculous notions out like hot garbage right to his face, but Takara didn't fancy herself a cruel individual. She was doing her best to approach this as gently and sympathetically as she could, because she knew what it was like to not know what was real or fake. "He could've been anyone. Could have known about the Steve Trevor who died, or had no clue and combined a couple of common names. It's hard to say, and it's even harder to say he was being honest when he claimed to know us. I mean, seriously; how could he know a whole institute's worth of patients, unless he was ex staff or something? Or some sort of stalker?" The thought was enough to make her want to throw up. "It was probably just an excuse to try to get in." She hoped.

The din of the room carried on. Peter dropped the comics like he'd touched a hot stovetop, and Elijah chimed in with even more cryptic nonsense. She couldn't imagine what he meant by their time running out, or what 'puzzles' he had conjured up in his mind, but she wasn't sure she had it in her to mother an entire group out of making poor choices based on the ravings of a man who still yet needed help. She would happily try, but with neither her nor Peter's words seeming to have much bearing on the group, she couldn't say how far she would get. She gave Hagusa's hand another light squeeze, both to remind him she was here if he needed it, but also to keep herself grounded in the moment, before she opened her mouth to speak. "Look... I appreciate your concern over us, Elijah, but I think Peter's right. Those comics might have influenced some things, but--"

Before she could finish putting her thoughts together, the wheelchair-bound man was speaking again, claiming that the comics only weren't real in this real life. Jeez, this guy had built himself some convoluted fantasies, huh? The multiverse theory... What, like other worlds and stuff? All of his claims seemed to grow wilder and wilder. She couldn't help but release a sigh in the face of the things the group at large was spouting, and their readiness to believe Elijah at the drop of a hat. She liked helping people, but she simply wasn't a psychological expert like the staff members of this facility. She wasn't equipped to handle this many people slipping out of their reality. She mulled over what to do as everyone spoke their piece, before she eventually shook her head slowly.

"There's a big difference between 'suspicious' and 'superstitious'," she disputed Clark, though it came out more pleading than harsh. She was calm and steady as ever, standing as tall as any woman under five feet tall could. "I agree that today's been weird. Crazy, even. Lots of really odd stuff has happened. But- and I guess I can't speak for everyone here when I say this- disregarding how strange the last 24 hours have been? I've had a really great experience here. Everyone's been so kind and understanding and helpful in ways I couldn't have even imagined before coming here, and in the..." Uh. How long had she been in this place again? She trailed off momentarily as she tried to recall, but eventually gave up on that effort when she couldn't seem to, shaking her head to clear it. "...in the time I've been here, I've come a long way from the mess I was before. I think all of us got some much needed help here, judging from the stories of where we came from we discussed this morning. So... is one or two weird things really enough to turn all that on its head? I really don't think anybody in this institute is out to get us, or anything like that. If they had bad intentions for us, don't you think they'd have acted on them already?"

All this talking was getting tiring, but she was determined to do what she could for her fellow patients. "Again, I'm not trying to be a debbie downer or anything. I totally get where everyone's coming from. I just... don't want anyone getting their hopes up for something that isn't guaranteed. Especially when we're so close to graduating. Secret exits and other worlds just feels like it's veering into dangerous territory."

@Takumi @Ver @Rwac96 @Josh @Ottonomous Ghost @Jeremi @Elijah's Room​

When Takara basically agreed with his assessment that the man claiming to be Steve Trevor couldn't have been the man Clark wrote the eulogy for, the teen nodded. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he's be able to handle the situation the way Takara was when speaking to the rest in the room.

When she squeezed his hand, he returned the gesture. Thinking over some of her words, he thought it was odd that Staple seemed so eager to have them graduate, yet at the same time he was both excited and scared to finally leave this place. He wanted to find Mizuchi and his sister so bad, but he was sure he wouldn't even know where to start. Maybe he'd figure it out tomorrow.

"So other than theories and comics, are we done here?" Hagusa pondered aloud. Admittedly, it was late and he was growing tired. He also really didn't see what else Elijah could throw at them regarding the supposed 'puzzle' of the institute and the staff present over the last, honestly weird, 24 hours.

@Ver @Not a Writer @Rwac96 @Josh @Elijah's room
 

Many thoughts ran through Clark's mind, as he kept the comic firm in his hand; as he knew that Takara and Peter made a few good points on being a coincidence. There was great tension in the room, regardless of any of the reasons that were given. The people present and those who decided to stay behind, to his knowledge, have gone through a long road of mental recovery. But, at the same time, the investigative journalist within him nagged at the signs of this place having committed shady practices.

"So other than theories and comics, are we done here?"

He saw that Hagusa was growing tired, as it indeed was late. "You can go back to your room if you wish, Hagusa," Clark replies to the young man, rolling the comic up and placing it in his pocket. "regardless of our actual origins or multiverse theory, one thing can be cleared; this facility is damned liable and will be held accountable." The Kansas-Raised man's eyes turned to Micheal, as he knows that there are people who have the right to know. "If we can get to a phone, I can at least contact Lois to get Mister White to open up any kind of investigation into Raven Hill."

@Ver @Takumi @Not a Writer @Ottonomous Ghost @Josh @Jeremi @Elijah'sRoom
 
Issac " Icarus" Clark

Issac had never been more intrigued or terrified by the prospect that nobody answered after the scream. Were they dead? It seemed to be a very real possibility and despite the fact that it was diffcult, the man would wheel himself into the hallway like the rest of the group. There was a touch of horror to everything going on and he approached the shadow at the window. "Who are you?" He asked.

@Capri @Crunch @Minerva @Yun Lee @Gummi Bunnies @Ver @Hallway
 
"Top points to Mr. Kent. And I'll give you credit for effort, Mr. Hagusa," Elijah chuckled, seeming amused at the latter's words, but shaking his head lightly all the same.

"I brought it up because I just want you to think about it. Not just whether these other worlds exist, but also... if they're fiction. And is fiction inherently more valid an existence than... this world that we call "real?" We might think we're real, but... who's to say we're not fictional to someone else out there?" The man said, seeming to take a sudden turn for the abstract in his words.

View attachment 11436

"Sorry, I slept through philosophy class in high school. Like Hagusa said, can you get to the point, or just stop bothering us?" Peter chimed in impatiently.

With a curt breath, Elijah took another second of silence, before raising his hand to his temple, tapping it slightly. "You believe super powers to be a creation of fiction. But if I told you I had super powers and showed it to be real... would that be something you accept as natural as the rest of real life? Or would that be... a piece of fiction encroaching on the natural world?"

"Yeah, I'm out of here. Now I know you're just making shit up; you never believed yourself to have powers. That wasn't part of the treatment."

"Oh, let's just say they're... newly gifted to me. I can see things, things that humans were never meant to know. Entire new layers of thought and reality granted to me by the person behind the screen," Elijah continued to speak cryptically. "I can see in the basement of the building. The good doctor is there, waiting like a program on standby. That's why I knew she wouldn't interrupt us. I can see behind the screen, the people logging in with the dead look in their eyes. I can see the future, and assure you that despite what Staple said, you will not be leaving tomorrow. She won't allow that to happen."

His expression suddenly turns gravely serious as he goes on. "She'll kill us before she lets that happen. And as long as you're your weak, worthless versions of you, you'll be powerless to do anything about it."

@Josh @Jeremi @Not a Writer @Rwac96 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Elijah



"And let whoever that weirdo is outta our sight? Not likely," Fujiko said worriedly in response to Erin. Still, she couldn't help but give another dazed look at the dark hallway they were all in. She remembered taking the usual way to their bedchambers, but this wasn't where the path was supposed to lead, was it?

The shadowy figure only continued to stand in place for another moment, until Isaac directly approached the figure on the other side of the window. However, rather than say anything back immediately, the figure swiftly raised its fist and banged it against the window. The glass shook against the force, but held its ground.

"W-What... What do you want?!" Fujiko could only cry out.

THUNK!

The figure only wordlessly gave another pounding against the window, to no avail. Like a helpless child, it slapped its two palms onto the glass, and a muffled voice was finally heard coming from it.

"Wake... up... won't... you... leave..." was all anyone could decipher from the garbled words, regardless of whatever it meant to say.

"F-Forget this! I'm getting an orderly, get this freak out of here!" Fujiko exclaimed, before turning back toward the way they all came, and pushing the door open with all the force she had, threatening to topple through it before--

"Aaaah!"

The woman let out a piercing shriek as loud thumping noises were heard, followed by additional pained groans from her. Behind the door was not the same hall the group would recognize, but rather, another dimly lit corridor, with... stairs right in front of it? Stairs that Fujiko fell down because she naturally hadn't seen them coming.

@Capri @Lucky @Crunch @Minerva @Yun Lee @Gummi Bunnies @Hallway
 

"Top points to Mr. Kent. And I'll give you credit for effort, Mr. Hagusa," Elijah chuckled, seeming amused at the latter's words, but shaking his head lightly all the same.

"I brought it up because I just want you to think about it. Not just whether these other worlds exist, but also... if they're fiction. And is fiction inherently more valid an existence than... this world that we call "real?" We might think we're real, but... who's to say we're not fictional to someone else out there?" The man said, seeming to take a sudden turn for the abstract in his words.

He squints at the wheelchair-bound man, furrowing his brows as he takes note of his head shake towards Hagusa. The Journalist then blinks when Elijah's words had seemingly taken a sudden turn for the abstract. It brought both confusion and concern to the Kansas-Raised man as if there was more than malpractice taking place at Raven Hill.

"Sorry, I slept through philosophy class in high school. Like Hagusa said, can you get to the point, or just stop bothering us?" Peter chimed in impatiently.

With a curt breath, Elijah took another second of silence, before raising his hand to his temple, tapping it slightly. "You believe super powers to be a creation of fiction. But if I told you I had super powers and showed it to be real... would that be something you accept as natural as the rest of real life? Or would that be... a piece of fiction encroaching on the natural world?"

"Yeah, I'm out of here. Now I know you're just making shit up; you never believed yourself to have powers. That wasn't part of the treatment."

"Oh, let's just say they're... newly gifted to me. I can see things, things that humans were never meant to know. Entire new layers of thought and reality granted to me by the person behind the screen," Elijah continued to speak cryptically. "I can see in the basement of the building. The good doctor is there, waiting like a program on standby. That's why I knew she wouldn't interrupt us. I can see behind the screen, the people logging in with the dead look in their eyes. I can see the future, and assure you that despite what Staple said, you will not be leaving tomorrow. She won't allow that to happen."

His expression suddenly turns gravely serious as he goes on. "She'll kill us before she lets that happen. And as long as you're your weak, worthless versions of you, you'll be powerless to do anything about it."

Clark was about to move his foot but stops when Peter chimed in once more, as he understood the young man had grown impatient. As he listens to the elderly man's words, as cryptic as they are, he couldn't help but ponder back to Steve Trevor's appearance and Doctor Staple's reaction. Elijah referred to her as a 'program on standby', which made the meeting in this room at such an hour make some sort of sense to him. Then, his brows raise when he mentioned 'people behind the screen' and the powers he has.

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"W-What!?" Panic rose in the journalist's tone, as the gravity of this situation begin to sink in. It went from possible malpractice and unethical methods to...well, an illusion or simulation where the victims trapped inside would die. If this wasn't real and Elijah spoke as if they were trapped in a computer program; they were in a place where they were all vulnerable. "Elijah, if what you're saying is true...then we and everyone back in the Activity Room are in danger!"

@Ver @Takumi @Not a Writer @Ottonomous Ghost @Josh @Jeremi @Elijah'sRoom
 
@Ver @Lucky @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Yun Lee

The voices continued, driving their way into Morgan's head, similar to the Phantoms.

"They could be anything, anyone!" Echoed in Morgan's head, her mind flashed back to the lobby of Talos One and the Art Deco aesthetics. She was dizzy for a second, but then she heard a scream and a thump of someone falling.

"You alright?" Morgan said, stepping inside the room and crouching to offer her hand to help Fujiko up.

"Someone should really mark off these areas, or at least, add more light." She said, looking around the dimly lit hallways. "Before anyone else gets hurt."
 
[Dead?] She let the signing hang in the air for awhile before lowering her hands. Micheal figured this situation was serious but to kill them for it? She didn't recall if Peter knew sign language or not but the runner was too flustered by what Elijah shared to care. [And if he's right? You're just going to sit around when they drop a bullet in our heads? If Elijah's full of shit then trying to sneak out will just get us a slap on the wrist if we're caught. But if he's telling the truth...] With a heavy sighed she pulled her hand over her fact before continuing. [We need to get the others and get out of here. Now."]

@Josh @Ver @Not a Writer @Rwac96 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Elijah
 
Issac " Icarus" Clark

" Well, I don't think that was there before and somehow, I feel like we should look into it. I'm not sure I'm going to be much help here though."
The man would gesture towards the fact he was in a wheelchair and look back at the window. "Wake up? I wonder what it meant about that and leaving,"he mumbled.

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Yun Lee @Crunch @Minerva @Hallway
 
@Lucky @Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Yun Lee @Crunch

"Non-Euclidean Architecture, and hallways that weren't there before, huh? So you're saying this is like House of Leaves?" Morgan mused towards Isaac.

"So, uh, speaking of House of Leaves, anyone read anything good lately?" Morgan asked during the pause in conversation. "I used to read a lot of HP Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, but Doctor Staple said it wasn't helping with my delusions. Lately I've been reading a book of Chinese Poetry my dad gave me."​
 
Isaac " Icarus" Clark

Isaac was about to point out that he had no clue what Morgan was talking about but before he could, words slipped out. "I hope not, the main character in House of Leaves goes insane and dies."

How did he know that? He didn't remember reading that book. Maybe he had read it before the plane crash, that had to be it. There was no other explanation for it. "I haven't really read any books recently. It's kind of hard to do that when your body is burned and I don't know about you, but I don't exactly want Doctor Staple reading me books."

@Ver @Minerva @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Yun Lee @Crunch
 
@Lucky @Ver @Hallway

"Ah, the old Lovecraft Character special." She said, regarding the comment about House of Leaves. "Go mad at the revelation, shout 'The Horror, the Horror!' and it's goodnight Sweet Prince." She said,

"Shame, Carter, it's nice to read a bit. Well, let me know if you want any recommendations." She said, giving him the nickname of HP Lovecraft's recurring protagonist. After helping Fujiko up, she sat on one of the stairs leading upwards. "Hope you don't mind the nickname. Carter, like Randolph Carter."​
 
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