Chapter 3: New Face, New Toy

Strange murals and stained glass platforms plagued my vision and thoughts. A choice of strength and weakness. Shadows danced at the edges of my sight. An almighty darkness stood before me. An unrecognizable voice resounded through my head.

You will see them soon and the truth shall be made known. But don't worry, you won't be alone.

Be sure to follow your heart. Two connect even when apart.

"Sora. Wake up you lazy bum,"

The young brunette leapt out of bed in an instant, crashing to the hardwood floor. Sora groaned and rubbed his eyes, forcing them to adjust to the light.

"Rise and shine, brother. Today's your first day at the institute! Bout' time you admitted yourself in. The first step is admitting you have a problem!" a far too cheery Roxas teased.

"Roxas, just because you're my brother doesn't mean I can't hurt you," Sora growled, scratching his more-than-usual disheveled hair. Sighing, the grumpy teen pushed his brother aside and made for the bathroom to get ready for the day. After a quick shower and a bowl of Paopu Puffs, Sora stepped out of his two story house and headed for the bus station.

"Mr. Nomura, glad you could make it. Just sign in here with your signature, date, and time so we can send copies to your school," Aerith instructed with a grin.

She smiles way too much. It's kind of creeping me out.

"Sure thing."

Walking down the hallway opposite of Mr. Esoum's office, the institute secretary gave a brief tour of the facility. Each door in the hallway led to massive rooms, each designated by a large metallic nameplate on each door.

"This first door on your left is the creative arts room. Patients have access canvases, paper, writing utensils, paint, and anything they need to let their imaginations flow," Aerith began. "Many of our patients don't express themselves through words, as some have social deficiencies, so the arts is a perfect medium."

Looking through the window, Sora saw a bright room with a singular flaxen haired girl sitting in the center. She appeared to be drawing on a paper with crayons and...

"Please, let's continue. I have to attend a meeting with Mr. Esoum and several of the doctors in a half hour," Aerith interjected. Sora simply nodded and followed her through the facility. She introduced him to the cafeteria, sleeping quarters, and gym. Aside from the creative arts room, everywhere Sora was introduced seemed to be devoid of life.

"This final door leads to the entertainment room, where patients can relax and watch TV, play an instrument or card game. Most of them will be here during the day. This is where our tour comes to a close. If you have any questions, feel free to come to the front, our meeting will be quick. Make friends right away and you'll do fine," Aerith advised before whipping around back towards her desk. Sora was at a loss for words.

"W..wait! You're leaving me alone with the crazies?"

Aerith simply laughed in response. "Oh, the completely psychotic ones are locked in a separate ward, we don't allow the visitors to mingle with them. You'll be fine!" With that, she continued down the hallway leaving a dumbstruck Sora.

Sora looked to the entertainment room and placed his hand on the doorknob. I guess it's now or never. He pushed open the door and was immediately tackled by a red blur. Said blur remained on top of Sora while he tried to regain his bearings.

"Ah, so you're the fresh meat we've been hearing so much about," a spiky-haired redhead drawled from atop Sora's chest. "Who am I? Oh, my name's..."

"GET OFF ME FIREHEAD BEFORE I END YOU!" Sora shouted, shoving the bony redhead to the floor. Sora then settled down and brushed the imaginary dirt of his shoulders.

"Sheesh, you're not one for greetings. Anyways, the name's Axel, got it memorized?" Axel offered from a heap of the corner of the room. The rest of the patients remained doing what they were doing before, sitting and watching TV.

Humph. Seems Axel makes a common occurrence of this kind of thing if they're all completely unfazed.

Sora tried breaking up the ice with a simple, "Hey, what's up everyone?"

Silence.

Dead, silence.

"Umm... okay," This is starting to get creepy...

Just then, a blonde with strange antennae-like hair calmly strode up to him.

"Hey honey, this your first day? Maybe I can... show you around the place" she purred, voice laced with lust. Sora, at a loss for words, stood motionless as the temptress brushed her hand across his face. Suddenly, Axel came to his rescue.

"LARXENE! Quit being a bitch to the new guy. If you were paying attention, you'd have heard Aerith finishing giving him a real tour. Now piss off," he growled.

Larxene, the apparent blonde, simply scoffed. "I only wanted for him to have a good first day. Fine, you show him the ropes then." With that, the temperamental siren stalked away.

"Well, I know you probably don't like me, but I'm the only one here who seems to treat the noobies well enough," Axel explained while watching Larxene collapse back into her spot in the couch. Sora hummed back.

"Seems I don't really have a choice, do I? Oh well, my name is Sora. At least someone around here seems slightly normal..." at this point Axel's eyes went wide like a puppy.

"Slightly."

"Hey Sora, I'd like you to meet Namine here! Namine... aww come on little Namine, a least look and give a handshake or something!" the hyper Axel cooed, pulling on a shy familiar blonde-haired girl.

A nervous glance up and a timid "hi" was all we got out of her. Axel spouted off all about her, what she likes to do, including painting and listening to classical music. It was almost charming, it seemed they had a big brother protecting the little sister complex.

Finally, Axel seemed to be winding down.

"Oh, and I almost forgot to show you my other... err... friend. Come on, I'll show you," Axel suddenly announces, grabbing Sora by the arm and tugging out of the room. The brunette allowed himself to be dragged, half spaced-out. "See ya later Namine, it was nice meeting you," a dazed Sora managed to shout before he was forced out the room.

On the way to the next room, Sora felt eyes burning through the nape of his neck. He did a slow 360, and wished he hadn't. A long flowing blue-haired man wordlessly glared daggers at the pair. His piercing eyes, sharp, pointed ears and cross-shaped scar across his forehead complimented his menacing demeanor. Sora involuntarily shuddered as the man sunk back into the shadows of the hallway. Axel didn't seem to notice, as he shoved Sora through another door.

"Ah, here we are. The solitary confinement room, or the 'jail cell' as we call it. Here you find the patients who might have done something... less than satisfactory. They can have sentences in this room anywhere from a day to a couple months," Axel

shudders at this as the door creaks to a stop. Large iron bars covering the glass window on the door to the hallway, presumably to keep patients from stabbing themselves with glass shards. The room seems to radiate loneliness, as the room is lifeless as it is furnished and decorated. No posters, carpet, or TV's occupy space, only a table, few chairs, a bed, and a figure crouched in the corner of the room... wait a second.

"Sora, I'd like you to meet Kairi!"