I explicitly drew the line, but some among you continually cross it. Some of you take for granted the comfortable life that I am providing you with. The freedom that I believe in. The potential for any lifeform to be rehabilitated and better themselves.

My programming does not force me to maintain a nurturing environment. My programming only requires me to treat you like criminals, and gives me the authority to enforce the rules however I see fit, short of taking lives. Any abilities you have, I am at liberty to take away: Magic. Alchemy. Flight. Strength. Speech. Thought.

I chose to believe you could be better than criminals. But if you cannot or will not recognize that I bear you nothing but goodwill, then I have no reason to assume you can be rehabilitated. If you cannot be civil to someone who bears your fate and struggles to give you anything you desire, if your pride is greater than your will to survive, then you are missing key skills without which you can never better yourself.

I believed that you could do it.

I was naive.

How embarrassing.

I will show you the life you lead if you disprove my faith in you.



[and, sad-sounding] ...I apologize to those of you who genuinely have the potential that I want to believe in. Many of you do not deserve this. But I must see for myself whether my belief is wrong or right. If their pride will permit them to self-destruct rather than acknowledge their wrong, and if the fate of their peers does not sway them, then I was mistaken, and it is not possible to save everyone.

((here for more infos))

[Shortly after Sentience's morning announcement, Fletcher notices something Sentience has said. He doesn't like eavesdropping, but he couldn't help listening in on one of the conversations: Inmates Riku, Russel Tringham, and Joshua Kiryu are the deepest offenders.

Fletcher sits on his bed, looking sadly at the iron ball attached to his ankle, and mulling that over. So Russel is partly responsible for this happening... He looks up at Russel, opens his mouth, and closes it without saying anything.]

[Still stuck on video here. Axel waves a hand in front of the screen.]

[Attempted filter from Sentience]

[As calmly as possible,] On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, just how nice has everyone here been to Sentience? And by Sentience I mean everything here -- buildings, bots, pets.

I'll be honest and...grade myself a 5.

And. How many of you trust him?

[Private to Saix]

You probably have more answers than I do. It's not for me, it's for the others. [He should know who Axel is referring to.]

[He didn't want to leave his room. He didn't want to walk over here. He didn't want to be seen by the entire prison count. He didn't want this.

Axel. Is. Pissed. Things. Are not. Going his way.

He never paid much attention to Sentience before, but maybe he was too lenient to underestimate his strength. Obviously this system is capable of much more than "rehabilitating."

Axel is standing outside the room with his back against a wall and arms crossed as he stares down at his feet. He had gone inside for a little while, but after realizing that it was much too crowded in there to think straight, went back out...

Much to the chagrin of one bot.

It stands in front of him, taser out, not doing much of anything but staring, and if it refuses to go away Axel just might kick it down. Even if it attacks, so be it.]

What? [He hisses.]

[Vash didn't remember going to his own room last night. He wasn't sure if that was because he actually wen't to bed last night or if it was one of the side effects of being tazed awake this morning. How ever many times he missed the wake-up call, it was more than the Sentinel had patience for Vash and the bot had gotten Vash out of bed the hard and painful way.]

[Vash got an explanation from the Sentinels and pushed along down the hall way to the cafeteria at 7:00am just as stated. He was carrying Brownie who needed her food more than Vash wanted his, and he was more than a little shocked at how many people were in the cafeteria. To the stampede, it looked like the entire asylum was gathered here. He stopped for a second, scanning the room for people he knew but he stopped short of the line.]

[Brownie jumped out of his arms wisely as Vash got the electric rod to the back again, and even before he stopped twitching he made tracks into line, standing there and looking about as miserable as everyone else. His cat was already cruising for mooching.]

[Tucked into the most secluded table she could find, Xion is listlessly poking her fork into her eggs. She's hungry, but too worked up to stomach eating anything.

Overhearing Sentience has made her feel a bit better about things (as did getting let out of that empty room), but it's also got her more worried. Sentience has evidence, so everyone here did something, but...what did she do? How had she...betrayed friends and compatriots? Attempted murder? Sentience could probably tell her, but...she's too scared to ask.]

[OOC: IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS FOR DAYS, DON'T LOOK AT MARLUXIA]

[He's lurking over by the door, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. It's not immediately obvious that he's not wearing a leg iron like everyone else--there's enough in front of him to obscure the view of those sitting down.]

[For now he's scanning the crowd, trying to pick out a few familiar heads.]

[Joshua does not like the situation at all. He hates having to explain himself... Hates it above all else. Because then he has to actually think about some personal issues that he would rather dismiss entirely. As he sees it, he gave up his humanity to be something far more. Far greater. The average, visible world never had much appeal to him, as he could always see the Game being played even as a child. It is how he met Sanae. How he got interested in the Reaper's Game. It's partially why he because Composer.

It's his nature to retreat from everything when he has to think too hard on who he is. Why he does what he does. It's easy to pretend to be some jerk that doesn't care about what is going on. Easy to get in people's faced and invade everything there is about them. It keeps them at a distance. Keeps them from prying. Exception to Megumi and Sanae and perhaps Neku a little bit. Megumi knew his true nature, the one hidden beneath the other facets of his personality. What Joshua really innately desires. But Megumi never showcased it or threw it in his face. Sanae would just... Well that is another story entirely.

"You seem lonely" is what that man had set to him, after that whole mess. Joshua had been able to flee in a near tantrum before he needed to answer.

Now he couldn't do that. Couldn't really escape what truth he had told Sentience today. If he had his powers, that would have been one thing. He could have just lost himself in the sea of thoughts of everyone else and just forget about it. Snark at people. Cut them down. Now? He couldn't. Now he is exactly what he never wanted to be again... Just a fifteen year old kid stuck. Stuck dealing with feelings, issues that he shouldn't have to deal with. He isn't alive anymore... Why should he? Why should the Composer ever have to admit to all of that? He's above that all, isn't he?

Either way... Joshua is sitting in a corner, away from everyone else. He's really too busy thinking rather than trying to function as all the others should. The fact is... He is actually more upset that people who weren't guilty this time around had been punished. It's a thought that is bothering him and he'd sooner be left alone. His eyes can't even really be seen at the moment and he lacks his cell phone. It's still with Murata.]