It was a strange feeling, but Noah felt as if he were in a dream. As he followed the almost floating figure of Hope through the depths of the administration building, he half wondered whether he would simply wake up in his bedroom before all of this. Before the List, before the loss of his eye, the stab wounds to his gut, before the stress and the mental fatigue. There was a time when Noah would have hated the idea of losing all of that time but… a part of him wanted to just wake up and for it all to be fake. A part of him that he hated but nevertheless was there. In such a short time, he had grown so weary.

"There is no need to be weary. It could all be over soon," Hope said, glancing back at him with those vibrant eyes of hers.

"You can read my thoughts now?" Noah did not even find the idea strange.

"They are familiar to me," Hope responded.

"Where are you taking me?"

"I want you to meet me in the flesh."

"Why?"

"…Because I feel so close to being strong again. The others don't like it. They don't want it. But you can help me achieve it."

"Which others?" Noah asked. "That girl from earlier?"

"In a way, yes. They are friends. Allies. Yet they do not see the bigger picture. They want to be free, but I want to escape."

"So you're imprisoned?"

"Like no other in Hearthome. We are not patients or those wretched souls in the cells beneath. We are true prisoners, kept in mock comfort. None of us have seen the daylight in years. To grow without the sun…" Hope stopped for a moment. "It is a sad thing, Noah. I am the only one working to try and change that. You are the one helping me with that."

"So you are using me?" Noah asked.

"You are helping me," Hope responded.

"You mentioned souls before. That you needed lives. You know what is happening out there, don't you? You saw them… die… Theodore and Rebecca… and who knows who else. Are these lives not worthy for you?"

Hope smiled. "The souls I require must come from the List. Four more. And all in short order, I suspect."

"…So you make the List? Are you the reason for it?"

"Only this one. Come along, Noah, come along. We're nearly there." Hope led Noah down a few stairways, through a few more corridors, and down some more stairs. They must have been below ground now. Noah never knew such a section existed but he supposed that patients were not allowed free reign of the administration building. She led him to a cold corridor with a set of double doors at the end. They were sealed with a small keypad on the side of the doors. "Here, Noah. Through these doors you will see me. The code is—"

A hand suddenly grasped Noah's shoulder.

Noah jumped and spun around in surprise, coming face-to-face with the burned face of John. Flanking John was the orderly called Cynthia as well as Johann.

"Finally caught up with you," John said. "You were moving at quite a pace."

"John… What are you doing here?"

"Trying to catch up with you," John peered over at the double doors. "Where are we?"

"I didn't think he was actually telling the truth," Johann mused.

"Noah, are you okay?" Cynthia stepped over to Noah and held his arm gently. "Are you well?"

"I'm fine," Noah replied, gently pulling away from her grasp. "Why did you follow me?"

"You left the others," John said. "Shepherd wanted to keep you altogether. It's dangerous."

"It's not dangerous down here," Noah said, gesturing to the walls. "No windows. No harm."

The others were silent for a moment, staring at Noah. Noah was confused and a little frustrated. It was hard to read John's face, with half of it covered by the burns. Cynthia looked sad. Johann looked somewhat perplexed.

"…So, who were you talking to, Noah?" Cynthia asked.

Immediately Noah realised what they were thinking. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, pressing the palm of his hand on his forehead. "…How convenient for you to hear a patient seemingly talk to themselves." With his one good eye, he glared at Cynthia. "Think I'm crazy all you want. I don't care."

"We don't think you're crazy." John said. "At least, I don't. Remember, I'm somewhat of an expert to talking to someone who no-one else can see." John scanned around Noah. "Whoever you are, if you can hear me, I don't know what you're doing, but you need to leave him alone. It's obvious even from the one-sided conversation that you are using him."

"She's not using me!" Noah said firmly.

"No, I am not using him," Hope said. Both John and Johann visibly reacted to Hope by the closed door now. Johann's eyes went wide while John seemed to tense up. "Gerald Ryoushi. Johann Schneider. A pleasure."

"Who the hell are you?" John asked.

"John, what's going on?" Cynthia asked, grabbing John's arm and looking around. "What can you see?"

"Purple eyes…" Johann muttered. "I cannot believe it. Joshua was right, they were hiding the daughter…"

"My name is Hope. It is rare for three survivors of different Lists to be in one place at once." Hope seemed to regard both Johann and John with a small smile playing on her lips.

"…Are you suggesting that because we have been on a List, that we can see you?" Johann asked.

"You can see me because I allow you to see me. But you are correct. I cannot make her see me." Hope walked past Noah towards Johann. "It is interesting, Johann Schneider. There is a… block within your mind."

Johann's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Hope raised a dark finger and pressed it against Johann's forehead. "Let us remove this mental block of yours, shall we?"

For a moment, Johann seemed wary, and that wariness suddenly switched into shock. The old man stumbled backwards away from Hope and pressed his back against the wall. His eyes were wide, his eyebrows shooting to the top of his head. "What have I done?" Johann gasped, his skin whitening. "Gareth… I was there when he faked… the woman with the ice-cold eyes… I told them…" Johann stumbled and suddenly fell to his knees, clutching at his head. "…I told them…"

"What's wrong?" Cynthia asked, immediately crouching next to the professor.

Professor Johann Schneider looked up at Cynthia and there were tears in the old man's eyes, trailing down his wrinkled cheeks. "…I told her everything… about… about the Department… about Joshua… What have I… What have I… I was… I…" Johann was shaking now, quivering as if ice were creeping on his spine. He started muttering incoherently, falling sideways against the wall. Cynthia quickly caught him in her lap before his head could hit the floor.

"Come along, Noah, the code is nine-four-six-four," Hope said with a neutral tone to her voice, regarding Johann blankly. Noah also cast Johann a look and felt compelled to move to the doors, lightly pressing in the numbers. There was a beep and the double doors swung open. Noah and Hope moved inside the next room.

"Wait," John said, looking from the open doors to Johann and Cynthia.

"Go on, I got the professor," Cynthia said, cradling the old Johann in her arms as if he were a baby. "I'll wait here for you and Noah."

John nodded, and followed Noah and Hope into the room beyond the double doors.

It was a surprisingly round and cool room, with venting across the floors and the ceiling. Other than the double doors, circling the room were seven individual doors. Each door had a small window in front of them. Hope started walking around the room clockwise from the double doors, and Noah followed her. John trailed after carefully, not sure what was happening. While Noah stared straight at Hope as she walked, John cast his eyes into each window as they passed.

He was surprised to see humans within rooms that were made up like hotel suites, each with one occupant. There was a young woman wearing punk clothes, gently smoking a cigarette inside the room. A man was laying on a bed, reading a book, with something glittering on his ring finger. Another young woman occupied a cell, tall and slim, with vibrant blue hair that must have been dyed and glasses on her nose. Next to her cell was a girl who must have still been a teenager, in a hoody that was over her head despite being indoors. A young man was playing on some kind of handheld console. Another woman who was drawing in a notepad. Each of them paid no attention to John glancing into their cells, as if they couldn't see him at all. Each of them also had strange devices about their necks, glittering with lights.

"And here we are, Noah." Hope said, ignoring John completely. She stood outside the seventh door. John and Noah both looked in.

Inside was a young girl, perhaps even younger than the teenager in the other cell. She wore the same strange collar around her neck. She was dark skinned, with braids, and vibrant purple eyes.

"That's…" Noah muttered.

"Me." Hope finished. "The real me. The me I am, and not the me I want to be." Hope smiled sadly. "The real me cannot hear you, Noah, but knows what you are saying. I am using this form-" she gestured at her adult body. "-as a proxy. These doors are sealed from both sound and sight. You can hammer on them all you like, and none of us will hear a thing."

"How do I free you?" Noah asked, looking at the door.

"I appreciate the intention, but alas it is not so easy. I did not bring you here to free us. That will come along shortly. No, I wanted to show you who I was behind this projection. I wanted you to know that I am real. I wanted you to know that, so that what I say is real."

"…Noah, we shouldn't be here," John grabbed a hold of Noah's shoulder. "Let's go back. We can ask—"

"No, John." Noah said firmly. "I want to hear what she has to say."

"Thank you," Hope smiled. The smile slowly faded away, along with all emotion. Noah looked at her confused as the emotionless face looked at him. "As you now remember Noah, I have been with you since the Crosshatch Club. That is where you met me. Or at least, that is where I projected myself to you. I chose you simply because you were chosen by somebody else. I chose you because you were a visionary. Not only a visionary, but the last visionary before she was taken from us. It was my last chance to latch onto somebody related to a List, elsewise I would never gain any power back. I ensured that you couldn't save anybody from the Crosshatch Club. I made you watch while the survivors died. I gained that sweet release from the deaths of those on the List."

Noah blinked. "I… I don't understand what you are trying to say…"

"I made the actions happen as they did, Noah. You survived because of me. And I started putting suggestions in your mind. Suggestions that perhaps things weren't so real… or perhaps that they were. I made you think that the bus crash was a vision. I made you believe that you would wake up from it, another vision. That was never to be. The bus crash was a true accident that I made happen. I killed Amelia."

Noah stiffened. His mind was racing. Going too fast. He could feel things rising in him, like bile in his stomach. "…Why are you… Why are you telling me…"

"I guided you to Hearthome by affecting your mind. I altered your reality. I made days pass, and then move back. I made you think you were getting better, and made it get worse. I made you unable to believe in your own reality." Hope's face was still as blank as before, yet there was a dire shadow behind her purple eyes. "I alter your very perception, Noah, and I have done since the Crosshatch Club. You have been my puppet. Every action you have taken has been because I have wanted you to take that action. You have never gotten better, Noah. You have never had any free will. You have merely had the illusion of it. You have—"

"Enough!" John raised his voice and pushed past Noah, pushing both hands into Hope's chest. His hands moved through her like smoke, and Hope started to laugh. Her laughter remained even as the rest of her body swirled away, echoing off the walls of this mysterious room. John turned back to Noah. "Noah, she is clearly manipulating you even now, you need-"

Noah looked up at John with no words on his lips. He looked haggared and gaunt. Haunted. Defeated. It was if whatever spirit had remained inside of Noah had disappeared. "…I knew it…" Noah muttered, shaking his head.

"Noah…"

"…I knew it, John… I knew it… I knew it wasn't real… I knew I wasn't… I knew…" Noah licked his lips, glancing around the cells. "I don't even know where I am, I don't even…" He reached up and clawed into his face. He pulled the patch from his eye, revealing the shadowy, crusted up wound beneath, and one nail actually tore into the skin.

"Stop it!" John reached to grab Noah's hands but Noah drew away a couple of steps.

"…I will not be… I will not be controlled… I will not be… I have to wake up… I have to wake up, I need to wake up…" Noah stared at John, both of their individual eyes staring at the other. "I have to wake up, John. Sleep won't work. I need to wake up. There's only one way to wake up from this hell. Only one way." With that, Noah suddenly turned tail and ran straight out of the room.

"Damnit!" John grit his teeth and went to follow just as the doors slammed shut in front of him. He bounced straight off them but kept his balance. "What…" He pushed against the doors. "…Oh come on!" He pushed his shoulder in the doors, but they were locked. "Damn. Noah, get back here!" Through the windows of these double doors, he saw Noah run past Cynthia, where she was still cradled with Johann on the floor. Cynthia looked at Noah run past, back to the door, and gently lay Johann down. The old man appeared to be in some kind of extreme state of shock. "Cyn!" John yelled, pressing his fist against the door. "Nine! Four! Six! Four! The code for the door!"

Cynthia got to the window and put a finger to her ear.

"Nine! Four!" John started again but Cynthia shook her head. "…'Course you can't hear me…" John held up nine fingers and pressed it against the glass. Then four fingers. Then six. Then four again. Thankfully Cynthia got the message and pressed the buttons into the pad. The door unlocked and John pushed his way through. "Thanks, Cyn, we need to get to Noah now."

"What's wrong? I'll need to stay with the professor, he's not well, I don't know what happened, but I don't think I can move him and—"

"I think Noah is going to try and kill himself," John growled.