The continuous barrage of noises slowly rattles Nil from his sleep, his head still swimming a bit. He rubs his head and sits up, and looks out at the situation. Seeing everything that's going on, he ducks back in, and slowly lets his head come back together, trying to come up with a proper plan.

"...time machine."

It made perfect sense. If they could get the time machine to work again, they could avoid the entire situation. To that end, though, he needed Pascale's help. Seeing as she actually got a full night's sleep, she was likely going to actually be helpful this time. But the issue was that he had to get through a barrage of softballs. Still, both Ms. K and Tim were out there.... Trusting his teachers, he rushes out behind them, looking to take cover at the benches and make his way to the building, noticing Sora as he does.

"Everybody get down and out into the hallway!" ordered Frenchy as she took charge of the situation, Mr. Johnson had been hit in the head, but it was luckily a glancing blow deflected off his desk. He was still out cold though. Pascale did just that and moved out into the hall way to see Sora and his class barricading the doors. She ran up to him and asked him what the heck was going on.

"Nil! I'm so glad to see you! Cover Tim and the kid from that side with the lid. I'll cover the front while you guys make a break for the main school building!" Ms. K ordered, "You need to take em to Penny's office, I can handle these creeps but you need to hurry!"

She swatted away 5 more balls, sending three of them back at the machines but the last one dented her bat significantly and they still kept coming.
>logout

Nil nods, grabbing the lid. "Mr. Tim, can you carry Nathaniel with just one arm? Because I really, really hope you can."

>Logout

Without turning from what he was doing, Sora responded, "The school ball machines were hijacked somehow. They're trying to kill us! We need to do our best to keep them out of the school! Can you try to find the others?" Keeping his eyes trained on the door he was reinforcing, Sora began to feel like there was something much worse he should've been worrying about.

Burning sensation lingering in the back of his eye sockets, Sora winced slightly and squinted, trying to keep his vision focused.

>Logout

Chubs decided to take a drink of water. He lifted his body off and started going to the tin machine that slowly spewed water. Despite all of the school's greatness, their water fountains strangely disappoint.
As he was about to take a sip, however, he heard a meaty smack, and strangely remembered a ball hitting his face.
He went to investigate.
>Logout

A few moments later, the lights flickered which made the girl who came, who was just dazing away happily wake up. Though Frenchy said that "It was all under control," Robert begged to differ. Another few moments passed then the lights flickered again. After that chaos happened, Mr. Johnson was hit in the head by a projectile, Frenchy was shouting orders, which everybody was listening to except Robert whom wanted to see what was going on.

Robert went outside the room to the area were the commotion was going on. The area was filled with students trying to barricade their classroom, though there was a teacher who was fending off the machines samurai style, they just kept coming, and coming. Pretty soon Robert needed to run, but not before he got some answers even if it had to be him talking to another student.

>Log out

Aiko made his way back to Chi, taking the same course as before-high above everything.

"What do you mean they're off already?! They're obviously not! Did you check it twice?" Chi was still taking cover, behind the bench, having little to no idea, about what is actually happening around her.

"Someone turned off the electricity in the whole school as well, yet...the Machines are still working..." Aiko rattled.

"How's tha-...Are you sure? That doesn't make any sense!"

"As if anything did, in those recent couple of days..." She thought, and then, something ticked in her head. "Wait a second...Aiko, we need to get out of here...I mean, that's the obvious part, but If we could get the others to Factory we could..."

Further explanation would not really make sense either, Aiko won't understand or know what she means anyway.

"Ok...we just need to focus, and we'll be just fine..." She didn't hear any balls coming in her direction for quite some time already, which made her decide to take her chances, and sneak out of the field. Slowly, without any sudden movements, she began to sneak her way around the "turrets".

Pain blurred her vision as she felt the sting in her face. It would probably bruise this time, she'd have to use a lot more concealer. Hands shaking, she fiddled with make up glancing at the bathroom mirror.

A thin red gash ran across her cheek, and tears ran down her eyes. That was strange, she didn't realize she had been crying. It all started to blend together to be honest. With the coldest and precision she had grown accosted to, she poured Hydrogen Peroxide on a cottonball and pressed it against her cheek. She winced at it stung even further but held it fast.

"PENNNNNY!!!"

Penelope let out a little squeal as she dropped the cotton ball in the sink. She knew he would come but it still started her. Picking up another cotton ball, she began once again.

"Hey...Penny, I'm sorry baby, c'mon, open the door..."

Penelope looked at the door, but knew that nothing good would come of listening to him like this. Maybe he would cool down this time.

"Penny, you know I love you right? No one loves you like I do...I just lost control a bit. You know how I get sometimes..."

"You always lose control..." said Penelope, although the voice felt like it didn't come from her.

The man behind the door, laughed but slammed the door with his fist once startling Penelope once again.

"That's why I need yah to help me Penny. Baby, please, I'm sure we can just talk this out...just let me in."

"We can just...talk he-"

"BITCH I SAID OPEN THE FUUCCKING DOOR!!!"

"...sorry...I"

"PENNY!!! PENNY!!!"

"What..."

Nurse woke up to a familiar voice pleading from behind her door.

"Maddie?"

A groggy Nurse opened her door to find Ms. K holding a bat in one hand flanked by Tim, Nathan, and Nil with a battered trash can lid.

"Hey sis..."

Chi managed to safely cross the field. The pitching machines had moved on for now.

"Sora...I gotta tell you something...something I learned yesterday...On the supercomputer, there was something else on there," she admitted.

Nil wipes his brow, and gives a half-hearted fake wave. "Sup, Nurse," he says. "Sports accident. Really nasty. These guys could use a patch me up."

Sora thought for a moment, "Yeah, ok, you're going to need to talk fast Pascale... really fast." Looking over to an idle student next to him, Sora gestured to the door he was guarding, "Take my place eh?"

The student nodded grudgingly, getting up and standing in the right spot after a moment of confusion. Once satisfied the guy was paying attention, Sora turned to Pascale.

Speaking in somewhat of a quiet whisper, Sora continued from where he left off, "Alright, you mind telling me this away from the crowd of people here? We still need to find the others." Pointing towards a nearby empty classroom, Sora raised his eyebrows slightly, waiting for Pascale's response as he started to walk over to the location.

"I guess we're safe...for now..." Chi sighed and leaned against a wall. "...Now to find the others, Aiko, have you seen anyone, when you were up there?"

There was no response, for a longer time.

"Aiko?"

"Nathaniel got hit there... He and others shoul-"

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!" Chi interrupted his rattling almost immediately.

"...d be at the nurse's office by now...Your safety is a priority."

"And who told you that, huh?!" For the first time in a while, she was genuinely mad at her helper.

"Your father." Message was short, but it hit Chi like a hammer, closing her mouth. "Just... lead the way to the nurse..."

They've made their way around a building, since Aiko noticed more of these machines, right in front of the frontal door. As Chi was making her way through the empty corridor, her ears quickly picked up a sound of commotion. Couple of students were barricading the doors, not letting the machines in. Among them, Sora, and Pascale. Although she wanted to get to the office, as fast as possible, her primary goal was to assemble the group again, after all. She approached them, waving from the distance.

"You guys alright?"

"Merde..." cursed Pascale under her breath. She had no problem telling something outlandish to Sora, and Chubs didn't seem like he would care, but it was telling to Chi as well made the guilt come back, especially considering what happened yesterday.

"Pascale, If you want to make friends you've got to be a friend..."

The voice rang in her mind and she braced herself. Pulling Sora and Chubs along with her to meet Chi she finally approach the two with truth.

"Yesterday, I was trying to catch those things...that attacked us last time...I used you all as bait, and I'm sorry but, It was because I knew we'd have to go back in the computer, cause something like this would happen. You see when I was working on it yesterday, I learned something. Some kind of rogue program in the computer...I don't exactly know what it is yet, but the program files describe it as XANA. And whatever it is, we've got to stop it...I'm willing to bet that it has something to do with these psychotic pitching machines..."

Jostling and bouncing around on Jim's shoulder, Nathaniel just focused on staying awake. He could feel his ribs shift around then suddenly a jab of pain and he couldn't breath. He opened his mouth and began gasping, but every exhale came with a small cough of blood. His breathes came out as small wisps and no one could hear him struggle. He grit his teeth, just waiting for them to reach the nurse before he died. He could feel a warm feeling blossom in his chest and realized his rib must've pierced his chest. As he realized his the injury, he could faintly realize that they had reached the nurse's office.

He was placed down on a bed and his hand crept onto his chest, feeling the warm blood seep through his fingers and coat his hand. His other hand desperately clawed at and grasped onto the blankets as he tried to just keep breathing as well as deal with the pain. He could feel his ribs ease into their new positions and screamed, but it came out as nothing more than a gurgle as he coughed up the blood that pooled in his mouth. The blood streamed down his cheeks and chin, as well as staining his teeth red. His hand weakly pressed down on his wound and he could feel a small nub poking at the palm of his hand as he tried to keep pressure on his wound to no avail. The blood spread, creating a flower on the boy's shirt. His eyes glazed and he looked around listlessly and incoherently, as he mouthed words that no one could hear but if they could read his lips he was repeating the names of his family. "Isaiah, Belle, and mother." A cold sweat plastered his hair against his forehead and defined the deathly paleness that was coming over him, the color draining away.

Sora listened closely to what Pascale was saying, but the pain in his eyes still remained present in his mind. He hadn't really been acting like himself in the past couple days, ever since he first went into the virtual world the first time. The idea of going back was a bit unwelcoming, despite how he still had somewhat of an addiction to it, but he quickly cleared the doubt out of his mind.

"As long as you thought it was for a good reason I don't care... but maybe tell us next time? We actually trust you, you know. Look, I'm sorry about my poor attitude but we really do need to hurry. So get the others and make our way to the factory? That the plan?" Sora rubbed his head. He still wasn't thinking straight. Finally giving up on holding on to the feelings he had become addicted to, he simply let go for the time being. The change was quick, likely not noticeable to those around him, but Sora was quickly brought back to his normal state of mind.

Face losing a bit of color for some absent reason, Sora waited for Pascale's response.

Nurse sighed and assumed the serious yet distant face of a focused experienced doctor, quickly donning some gloves and a face mask.
"Somebody shut that kid up, its not as bad as it looks...hold him down so he doesn't squirm around and make it worse." she ordered as she dug around her magical cabinet.
With only working arm, Ms. K struggled with Nathan's right arm while Tim held him down on his left side.

Out of the cabinet, she pulled out a strange unmarked needle filled with blue liquid and handed it to Nil, while still rummaging through the cabinet.

"Nil, inject him in the heart with this." she ordered bluntly.