[The tape comes on, showing both Nunnallies, smiling happily, snuggled together under blankets in what can be recognized as the common room cast in the eerie glow of the phosphorescent wood. Originally Nonnally]

Hello, everyone! Most of you I know, but for those I don't, my name is Nunnally vi Britannia, princess of the former Holy Britannian Empire.

And I'm also Nunnally vi Britannia, from an alternate world to hers. We know it's been a little scary lately, which is why we wanted to say something.

Everyone is working really hard to try to sort this out. It's truly amazing to see people, criminals though we are, coming together like this to find a solution.

That's right! If everyone keeps up their hard work, we're sure everything will turn out just fine. We're just so glad to see that everyone is trying their hardest and working together. It's truly inspiring.

Keep it up, everyone! I know we can find the answer if we don't give up and bring all of our resources together. There's something for everyone to do, even if you don't have any special abilities.

If there's anyone who needs anything, we're in the common room of the shelter. We'll do whatever we can to help!

Or if you know of someone else that's in trouble, we can make sure they're taken care of. Hang in there, everyone! I know we can do it if we all come together!

[A good number of plants, both old and new, and wooden surfaces about the dome have been glowing with alchemically-induced phosphorence, but the reaction is dying down and the light is dimmer than it was before. The Tringhams are going to try to fix that, but for now they have a more pressing problem. Right now...]

[Fletcher can be heard coughing over the headsets.]

There has to be a way we can do this... the alchemic energy should be enough to replace the sunlight necessary for photosynthesis, but with all this smoke... they can't thrive like this. They can't convert that into oxygen...

[He coughs again.]

[Riku puts his communicator on in the early morning, thinking of asking anyone if they had seen Sora. He doesn't care if it's still morning, he's bothered that his best friend failed to return last night.]

( That's when he notices the breathing... )

[Riku's voice comes over the network, loud and trying to hide his panic.] Is anyone a Doctor?! It's Sora he...I don't know what's wrong. Is there a doctor or a healer or anyone?

[It's quiet, dark and cold -- darker, and colder, as if the emergency lights are dimming as the silence stretches out, for hours and hours, days and days.

And the atmosphere is still thick with oppressive smoke outdoors, descending to pollute the breathable air. Going outside means choking on ash and squinting through stinging debris, and if you manage to stay there for any period of time, you might be able to experience shortness of breath, sense the thinness of the air, as the usable air begins to dwindle.

There may not be much time left.]

( exposition )

This situation is out of hand and time is running short. I am requesting volunteers to find and manually reset Sentience. I don't know if anybody is working on this, but if they are, I want to help in anyway I can. Please contact me if interested or if you have information.

Also, I have some important information concerning Lain. If some of her friends could contact me, I think it would be better for everyone.

[ There's a laugh to start it off, faint and tremulous and perhaps a bit of nervousness to underlie it all. The focus is on a rather rumpled young man, dark of mussed hair, suit wrinkled as if slept in on more than one occasion. The dimmed lights make his expression difficult to discern, but it seems as nervous as his voice, despite the faint smile present.

Not a very impressive sight all, crouched against the wall, and under the fading light, as he is. ]

Haha. Kinda cold, isn't it? So no one really knows when this 'Sentience' is going to kick back online, huh? I guess not.

So. Aah-- [ A nervous cough, a clearing of the throat. ]

J-just something to talk about, you know? Pass the time. What-- What are some of you in here for? I mean, by the sounds of it, most of us are kind of here for no real reason. All this stuff about 'crimes you're going to commit' and all that. It's pretty weird, isn't it?

What reasons were you given?

[Bakura wakes up in the morning, still feeling rather tired. He's disappointed to see that it's still dark. He's laying under a pile of blankets, and gropes around in them for his flashlight. He switches it on, seeing the strange room, before he remembers the Spirit told him they would be moving out of the shelter for a while. As if he didn't already have problems being social, taking him away from the majority of the other inmates certainly wouldn't help.

He knew he would never be allowed to have any friends, though, and was trying hard not to let it bother him.

'It hurts that you think so low of me. Of course I want you to have friends.'

Bakura tries his best just to ignore the Spirit. He rolls over onto his side, and freezes when the light from his flashlight falls on a small figurine sitting on his bedside table.]

No! You didn't!

[He snatches up the doll off of the table, looking at it closer. The features were similar enough, that he immediately recognized it as Sora.]

Why?! Why did you do this?!

[Angry tears start streaming down his face, and he grips the Millennium Ring hard. He wants to throw it across the room, or out a window, or into the ocean, or something, but he knows that he won't.

'You wanted a friend. So I gave you one.']

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you...

[He looks back at the doll.]

S-Sora? Can you hear me?