The intercom gave its last jingle for the day and the Head Doctor began with a yawn that sounded very, very forced.

"Hm! Yes, patients and staff, I do believe I'm through for the day, and hopefully, you all are ready to retire as well. I hope you enjoyed your meal and... oh! I almost forgot! Tonight, we will be beginning a special dual counseling round that will include five patients in our CM-US Experimental Trials and one patient in a Special Counseling session. Yes, yes, those patients might not be getting sleep for a while, but I'm certain that our nurses can allow them to sleep in a bit in the morning, yes? Yes, yes, of course..."

If the Head Doctor realized he was repeating himself, he gave no indication of it, instead clearing his throat and sighing.

"And I believe that's all for... tonight. It's been an eventful--I mean--productive day today, hasn't it? It's--"

Suddenly, without warning, the sound of the patient rooms unlocking rang throughout the institute; this was a nightly occurrence once the Head Doctor had finished his first nighttime announcement, but such a thing had never happened before he'd even dropped his daytime guise. The Head Doctor paused suddenly and then began speaking to someone next to him.

"...What? No, no, you can't be serious--again?! Is it--" He gave a long hesitation. "--th-that Jane. No, no, Jill. It was Jill, wasn't it? ....The microphone? NO, I turned it--"

The intercom slowly descended into a cacophony of static...

And the static continued, rising and falling in volume. Slowly, the Institute's radios came to life and began making the same noise of electrical interference, coming to a final crescendo when they suddenly went silent. The Head Doctor's voice could be heard in a massive broadcast throughout the entire Landel's system, but without the usual clarity that the intercom lent him. In fact, he sounded younger, more cheerful, almost.

"Is it recording? Yes, I think--well, you know these things better than I do--we can delete this part, right?--yeah, okay, in any case, all right! One, two.... This is Dr. Martin Landel--"

Another voice spoke, this one just as familiar as the Head Doctor's, but in a decidedly more positive sense.

"And this is Dr. Alec Doyle. We now begin our fourteenth meeting concerning the structure of Landel's Institute; today, we will be discussing for our contributors the predicted benefits and projected costs of construction, as well as the new technology we will be implementing to facilitate the most efficient environment for treating our expected patients."

"We will also be reviewing our potential personnel applicants and their records, including doctors and nurses, as we want to make sure that you, our supporters, are briefed on every step of the process. Accompanying this recording is a digitized presentation...."

The static rose again, drowning out the voices. When it died down, it seemed that the recording had been fast-forwarded to a point farther along in the discussion. Mr. Radio's younger, more professional voice sounded as if he was enthralled with what he was trying to pitch.

"....it's a brand new shielding technology; as you can see here, our outer walls can be kept deceptively short while we still exercise the utmost amount of caution with our inmates."

"This shielding," the Head Doctor's voice added, "will also be used throughout all other sections of the Institute. The computers behind the technology itself will be kept under the strictest of surveillance and password, retinal, and fingerprint input are required for each separate log-in. The security on it, thanks to your financial support, is such that not even the most advanced hacker could break their way into the mainframe--"

The recording suddenly stopped. A snippet of the dialogue replayed, louder in volume.

"Not even the most advanced hacker could break their way into the mainframe."

The static rose again along with loud bursts of electricity that seemed to sound like they were coming from outdoors, perhaps in the direction of the Recreational Field. Suddenly, the interference stopped and the Head Doctor's voice, much older, much less controlled, and much less idealistic, could be heard.

"Shit!" He was breathing hard. "You said this wouldn't happen again, Lydia, you said that with our new measures, there's no way they could possibly...."

He gave a slow pause, as if of realization. He drew a long breath.

"No, of course not. He's gone. We picked his body down to the bone, for Godssakes! At any rate, he could never pull off something of this magnitude, so how could she.... No, proceed with the treatments for tonight as scheduled. I won't be intimidated, and.... well.... it's all just a new game, isn't it? A new playing field? Yes, it's not as if they'll make it out of our realm of influence, and we can implement... it's all under control..."

The Head Doctor began to chuckle as the intercom began to fade out.

"It's too bad they didn't play the rest of the recording. Like a tease without the solution. Too, too bad..."

And then, finally, silence.

The beginning of nightshift, mmm? What a strange and funny thing had happened. It wasn't like normal Landel's nights by any stroke of the imagination; indeed, the radios and the intercom were playing this time. How fancy! It was like three voices talking at once, once from the wall and twice from the two radios in Peony's and Siegfried's room.

The voices were lighter, brighter, as if many years had stood to pass between the first recording and Dr. Landel's subsequent cursing and damning what had happened. Peony could tell as much. And he wondered if, perhaps, there had been such a change between his and Jade's voices from so long ago and their voices now.

Funny how this place made him think about himself sometimes.

Yes, it was a rare and introspective moment for the emperor, and he was rather glad it was dark. Not for long, though; his flashlight flicked on in the darkness, and the tube of light passed over Siegfried for a moment before the emperor grabbed the few scalpels he'd harvested the other day. And - well, hell, why not. The radio, too. Which meant he'd need his coat. For the pockets.

"Bye," he said abruptly, excusing himself into the hallway.

Now all there was was to wait for Gailardia. He was actually quite curious on what the young man would say about such a strange thing. So he leaned against the hallway wall outside their rooms, waiting. They would get going quite quickly tonight! It would be glorious.

That announcement had been... interesting, to say the least. The result of the new people over the radio? It was something worth looking into when he'd be more capable of defending himself and others. Right now his wounded arm made too much exploring a bad idea. He'd head to Usopp's tonight and see if the pirate needed any help.

The fact that his roommate hadn't showed up was worrying given the happenings tonight. But if he'd been taken for either Special Counseling or the CM-US sessions there would be no means for him to stop it at this point. It wasn't good, but the boy should return the next morning.

Then again, hadn't he just been taken to be brainwashed not too long before? It was strange that they'd take the same person more than once, especially this soon after the last time.

That was more than Sai needed to worry about at the moment, however. Itachi should have plans, according to the bulletin, so there shouldn't be any reason to wait around and see if he'd be stopping by. He'd simply head to the pirate's room before the usual rush.

[to here]

[from here]

Sai had only brought one weapon tonight. With only one usable hand there was no point in bringing another. The patient rooms didn't seem to be that large a source of danger in the first place, unless it involved another patient. Hopefully it wouldn't be necessary at all, as he wasn't in the best condition to be fighting period, but one could never be too careful.

He hardly needed his flashlight by now. The way over to the next block was as familiar as anything now.

[to here]

[from here]

It didn't look like many patients were out and about yet, which suited Sai's purposes just fine. The less bodies there were to maneuver around, the more quickly he could reach his target destination. He supposed making any haste at all was unnecessary, as it was doubtful Usopp would be going anywhere, but it was never a good idea to stick about in one hall for very long anyway if it could be helped.

[to here]

[from here]

An uncomfortable ache in his chest announced to Sai that moving so quickly right now wasn't helping the healing process any. His pace slowed, but he kept his ears open for signs of any potential danger. He'd be too easy of a target, so showing weakness was out of the question. Luckily, he'd never run into much trouble in this stretch of hallway. The fact that it was possible kept him moving. It was doubtful he'd be doing anything overly strenuous tonight, so he could afford it now.

On to the next hall.

[to here]

[from here]

One row over - first row in. Sai had stopped needing to look at the room numbers some time ago. He couldn't help but wonder if Usopp would be surprised to see him. His visits were a regular occurrence, but it wasn't as though he'd told the pirate he'd be coming this night in particular. He didn't think he'd be shooed away, but perhaps he should have asked?

[to here]

[outside M33]

Now at his destination, Sai knocked lightly on the door with his good hand. "Usopp, it's me." He hadn't even bothered to check and see what his friend's plans were for the night. What if he was meeting up with another group and/or planned to go out for more supplies?

The thought of supplies reminded him of the night before, and with a sudden frown he realized he'd also forgotten to check for Naruto's file.

The Head Doctor's announcement was intriguing, to say the least. Putting that information together with what Kagura had told him about trying to climb the walls last night made Leon quite curious to investigate the Rec Field.

But doing that in his current condition and with his current lack of weapons would be suicide. Leon pulled on the heavy, grey sweater and collected his flashlight and baseball bat. He tore the pages with the maps out of his journal, and tucked them into his pocket. The second floor supposedly had some interesting things. Things like knives.

With a goal in mind, Leon walked down the hall, relying on the light from other patients' flashlights to guide him, at least for now. [to here]

If he didn't know better, he'd say that the intercom announcements were playing mind games tonight, more than usual.

Clark left his room apprehensive. Last night hadn't gone well; he'd probably nearly died from wounds that shouldn't have even been possible and, to make it worse, Alkaid and Badou and Claire had gotten hurt trying to help him. And what was with the intercom announcement? It sounded like Landels had gotten hacked and then there was something about the security system. Was it possible to leave? Or was it a glitch, something that could make the security system even more deadly? Clark didn't know, but he planned to find out.

Gripping his flashlight in one hand, he stepped outside.

here]

[from here]

He knew he was out early now; the main hallways like this one usually had at least one or two other people scurrying about even when he was rushing through. Not yet though, but that was just as well. He took the usual right and kept along the wall just in case his senses just weren't picking up on some kind of threat. Being quick did not mean not being cautious, and he'd be damned if he took another injury for being that stupid.

[gone here]

[from here]

Upon entering this hallway, he did slow his movements a little just to be more careful. He did know the way, but this was not a hallway he was used to traversing and that was reason enough to be more careful. The trip through it was quick enough though as he slipped into what was the only female block he was aware of. F3 wasn't far now.

[gone here]

[[from here]]

The hall was empty when he arrived, which was something of a relief.  Last night the hall had gotten fairly crowded with people coming and going and even people trying to keep others out of the Sun Room.  He knew there'd been some kind of fight going on in there, so maybe it'd been for the best to involve as few as possible.  For now, though, things were quiet, and Allen was content to lean back against the wall and wait for Rukia and Rinali to arrive.  He knew Rukia would be a bit delayed, since she had to meet with her captain, but hopefully Rinali would still be able to make it to the meeting point before long.

For a moment, Renamon paused. That was more unsettling than she'd care to admit. She needed to get out of here.

Ignoring her instinct to leave the small cramped room immediantely, she snatched at her map again, and made some adjustments to her night's plan. Still, weapons first, and for that she had to move. She grabbed three pens and stuck them in the waistband of her pants, and held a fourth in her hand with the flashlight. It wouldn't come on for a little bit. She knew this part.

She didn't know what was going on. Not at all. It was bothering her, and setting her on edge; nicely ruining the calm she had worked to achieve.

Don't think, Renamon. Move.

[to here]

One moment Beatrix had been lounging calmly on her bed. At the sound of the intercom, the usual prattling Martin Landel did coming across, the Bride stretched and sat up. The moment she heard the door unlock, well before it normally did, she was up and out the door, not a word to her roommate.

Keeping along a wall, she sprinted down the empty hallway, flashlight still dark in her hand. Two nights... two nights in a row she'd made this same trek and two nights in a row she hadn't achieved her goal. This night would be different.

[to here]

[from here]

Once in the stairwell, Beatrix clicked her flashlight for a brief moment to illuminate the ascent, solidifying it in her mind, before shutting the light off again. Climbing stairs slowed her down, but she was leaving the safety of the first floor, so more caution was needed.

Still, she moved quicker than the previous nights, not having any of her wards to watch over. She'd always worked alone anyways.

[to here]

[from here]

The Bride paused at the top of the stairs and listened. Quiet. It was quiet. If it hadn't been for the knowledge that there were people up here being tortured, she'd have thought she was the first to make it to the second floor. The Bride headed down the hallway, not even bothering to give the hallway where the torture was done more than a brief glance. Those people and their suffering were none of her concern at the moment.

She turned down the second hallway on the left; another step in this night's line dance.

[from here]

[from here]

She'd been here before. She knew this particular hallway well. left hand trailing along the wall, the Bride counted her steps in the darkness. Three doors to the left, just as they'd been there the two previous nights. Now, there was just the one directly ahead of her.

Beatrix's fingertips made contact with the door before her, alerting her to its presence. She grasped the knob and paused, taking a moment to replay over the fight with the winged-snak creature and the layout of the patio on the other side. She nodded to herself; she was ready.

[from here]

[from here]

Beatrix slipped through the door and out into the open night air like she was infiltrating a target's base. She might as well ahve been. A quick glance around showed her the winged snake-bird wasn't there. Good. No time was wasted and the Bride went straight to the door next to the one she came in from.

[to here]

Tamaki was still awed and touched that Ritsuka had set up the clinic for him. He... well, he'd stay alert and up and as focused as possible until Raine showed up. And anyone else. He remembered Kratos had said something about not being able to make it....

They really did need more healers and doctors. Maybe during the day he could hold classes in first aide or something, and anyone who wished to help could come. Yes, that was something he could focus his mind on. That was good.

He struggled out of bed, eyes still feeling hot and itchy from crying, and opened the door with another small smile directed at his roommate.

From the sound of the intercom, something was happening tonight. Maybe he should ask Ritsuka to stay after all.....

[from here]

Now that the Bride was inside the small cafeteria where the nurses and other staff obviously had their meals, the Bride moved slowly and cautiously. Being less familiar with this area than the others, she turned her flashlight on and kept the beam pointed down. Just as she'd thought the previous night; there was nothing of use here.

Focusing on the door to the kitchen, pleased to see that it didn't show any signs of having been forced open like the previous night, she allowed herself a tiny smile. A sharp kick to the door, near the knob, and the lock gave.

[to here]

[from here]

beatrix played her flashlight across the kitchen once she was inside, eyes vigilant as she closed the door behind her as much as it could with the damage she'd done to it. Nothing was moving and it looked like a regular industrial kitchen to her. Excellent.

The Bride made her way through the front of the room further into it, back to where the prep area was. In a normal restaurant layout, sharp knives were kept near the stations they'd be used. She didn't see any laying out, what a surprise, so she was left with looking through drawers and in bins.

Spatulas... wisks... wooden and plastic spoons... no, not what she wanted.

Inside a cabinet she found a couple full-length aprons, one with a frilly trim to it. She grabbed it, thinking Mion would probably find a way to amuse herself with it at a later date given the girl's obsession with dressing people up, as well as a pair of oven mitts sitting near the range. She stood still, eyes and flashlight slowly and methodically sweeping the room. There had to be...

There. Clever, clever. She'd missed the small drawer welded underneath the prep table in the back.

Pulling it out, the ex-assassin frowned at the protesting noise the metal drawer made as she pulled it out. She was positive it wasn't as loud as it soudned to her, but she preferred the silence, especially in this environment. Focus turned to the drawer she dug through the contents of the drawer, pulling out a couple serving spoons and scoops until her eyes lit upon what she'd been wanting - knives. Two chef knives and one pairing knife in the drawer, Beatrix felt a surge of satisfaction and accomplishment, something she hadn't felt in a long while.

At leats these made up for being electrocuted as many times as she'd been. She wrapped the pairing knife and one of the chef knives in the apron and then slid the bundle inside one of the oven mitts for safekeeping. The final chef knife she kept at the ready. Beatrix had never been as good with a knife as Vernita had been, but she'd pressed the Copperhead hard and remembered the way the other assassin had wielded and used the chef knife.

Tucking the oven mitt bundle underneath her arm, the Bride decided to take just another moment to see if there was anything else useful in the kitchen. She doubted it, but it was better to be thorough.

[Coming from here.]

Max didn't slow down or even pause to look around her as she slipped out of her hall and headed onwards, a determined expression on her face. If anything was stupid enough to pick a fight with her right now, she'd be more than happy to oblige it.

[Going here.]

[from here]

The stairs were empty, for the time being. Leon didn't feel like lingering, though, and he hurried up the stairs, glancing over his shoulder every few steps to make sure Clark was following.

"How long have you been here?" Leon asked Clark. He couldn't remember if they'd gone over that last time they'd met; it had been a few days since then, and they'd only met briefly. "And have you been up to the second floor before?"

[F22]

The intercom startled Falis when it went off and thankfully, she'd set the newly crafted spear down or she might have jabbed a splinter into her palm. As it was, she was stading over her bed looking at all her weapons laid out upon it. One sharp spear, still stained with Eve's blood, one fresh spear, and a stake. Maybe she needed another stake. Nah... Namine should remember hers; Namine didn't forget things. This was why Falis liked the girl so much.

Her eyes moved to look at the intercom as the announcement continued, nodding as it pretty much conformed the whole ancient technology thing she'd been pretty certain of in teh first place. And since it seemed like it was on the fritz, whatever it did, that maybe the princess wasn't going to have to use her super-secret sealing Forland blood anytime soon. Maybe there was another princess around with special blood doing it for them.

What was her name? Jill? Jane? Whatever.

Now, if the people that were supposed to be showing up showed up soon. Bounty hunters had to be patient, but that didn't mean they liked waiting.

L was not going to waste any time tonight talking tonight. The moment the doors unlocked, he picked up his flashlight and radio and headed out into the hallway. As he moved, he scanned the darkness for potential dangers lurking in the shadows. Naomi would not be around yet to protect him should he encounter something unpleasant, but so far his encounters with the creatures of the institute had been few. Hopefully that luck would continue tonight and his trip to the file room would go smoothly.

It wasn’t long after he stepped out into the hall that his radio came on. L listened to it intently as he moved. The shielding… Someone was trying to press the fact that they had somehow gotten into the mainframe and messed with it. As much as he was tempted to investigate this shield, he had other matters that needed to be tended to tonight. Besides the birds would attack him if he ventured outdoors.

[Going here.]

Tyler waited until the lights went out to retrieve the clothing he'd discovered last night in patient possessions. If he and Reid were going to try and levitate over the wall tonight, he wanted to dress in something a little bit more suitable than demented smiley pajamas.

Changing quickly and silently, Tyler grabbed his flashlight and radio - securing the latter on his belt - and stuffed the roll of pens and his extra batteries in his pocket before heading out the door. Reid was supposed to be meeting him out on the recreational field and Tyler didn't want to keep him waiting.

[Going here.]

[Coming from here.]

Tyler slipped out into the adjoining hallway, pausing to glance around him, his flashlight beam bouncing off the walls and tiles to reveal no immediate threat. Judging it was safe, he continued quickly on his way.

[Going here.]

[Coming from here.]

Tyler turned into the wider corridor, pausing to take a quick glance at his map, making sure he could get to where he needed to go from where he was. Seeing there was a door at the end of this hall, he turned left, figuring that was the quickest route to outside and where he was to meet Reid.

[oing here.]

[Coming from here.]

The door was unlocked, much to his relief, and Tyler wasted no time in slipping outside, keeping his flashlight turned off for now. He didn't want to attract the attention of anything, especially since he was probably alone out here until Reid showed up.

Moving as quietly as he could, he slid the door closed behind him and stepped to the side, between the two doors that led back inside once more, and leaned back against the wall to settle in and wait for the blond to join him.

Yuffie carefully tightened and tested the knot at the back of her head. The long strip of torn and folded bed sheet was a lousy replacement for her usual headband, but she could deal with it. For now, anyway.

Frowning, she dropped her hand to pick briefly at the grey material of her pants. It was so tempting to rip them, to modify them into shorts... The young ninja shook her head, blowing a raspberry at nothing in particular. Later, maybe, when she'd have a use for the extra material. Right now, she had better things to do.

Picking up the already turned-on the flashlight she'd left sitting on the desk, Yuffie checked the five pens she'd shoved in the waistband of her pants. They weren’t exactly her weapon of choice, but...

... Well, they'd have to do for now. Cloud had promised her those Hira shuriken, so it wasn't like she'd be relying on writing utensils for too long, anyway! And besides, no way was she gonna waste tonight sleeping, not like last night. The intercom and radio announcements had been totally weird, but weird was interesting- sounded to her like the Head Doctor was having a bit of trouble. And where there was trouble, there was the chance for an advantage.

Or maybe just a bit of fun. Whatever.

Yuffie span on heel, heading towards the exit. After one final glance over her shoulder at the bedroom, one last deep breath, one last moment to steel herself, she swung the door open and stepped outside.

[Going here]

[Specifically M16]

Well, dinner did a lot of nothing. Chances were that Not-Noah would depart soon, so Luxord merely continued to pet Tyche (who had, by now, ceased her need to paw his chest in an attempt to make it softer or whatever reason cats did that and decided to curl up and sleep again). Knowing full well that he was lacking in the 'people who care' department, the Gambler already came to terms with the idea that no one would enter the room later, so he might as well sleep off the pain/pain-medication.

Considering the mood Roy had been in when he had been brought back for dinner, he had been glad to find that his roommate was still in a deep sleep. He would have made for horrible conversation when he could only think about Kimbley's words, the look on his face, and the feel of him.

It wasn't like he hadn't been forced to endure that countless times before, but it had been a while since they'd had a talk like that. It was hard to stop thinking about, even with the prospect of nightshift ahead of him. It also kept him away from his food -- thinking about the possibility of having to burn someone to death (or tear them apart with claws, since that was a viable option now) wasn't very good for the appetite.

The announcement before nightshift came on as normal, and Roy was busy zoning it out until the doors suddenly opened long before they were supposed to. His head snapped up to the intercom, and as a strange recording started to play, he placed his full attention on it.

Things certainly seemed to be going wrong for the Head Doctor tonight, and that was almost enough to get Roy's mind off of Kimbley. He made sure to grab his radio this time, and while he had a few guesses about what was going on, he would rather stick to the original plan.

Granted, he had to make Reno his weapon first, but he might as well find Hughes and let him know about that while he waited for the redhead to show up. Roy stepped out into the hall and moved down to M6.

[from here]

The Sun Room at night was drastically different from its impression during the day. The sunlight allowed beams of moonlight to hauntingly cascade in. The chairs and sofas looked like perfect hiding places, and Archer checked them with his light. He felt uneasy but he needed the materials for his bow.

"The Music Room's over there alright Brook?" He pointed at his roommate's goal. "I'm going over here to the Arts and Crafts Room. We'll meet back here in a few minutes." Archer really didn't feel like bailing out his roommate, but he couldn't exactly leave him to the wolves either. "If something happens then give a shout, and I'll come over, alright?"

Dinner had been spend in silence, something which Scar didn't mind too much. Given that it'd be nice to know who he was sharing his room with, but the lack of trivial speech made it possible to think of any possible courses of action to take during the night. With a frown he concluded he had yet again failed in finding anyone useful to travel with tonight, nor did he have any sort of destination in mind aside from wandering around aimlessly in the hopes of stumbling on something useful. There were plenty of areas left to explore (because Scar simply wasn't familiar with the concept of 'maps'), but there was still a distinct lack of proper help in that regard. Again, he'd have no choice but to hope he'd run into someone along the way.

Not that he was too fond of having to depend on luck rather than his brain...

The King was soon jerked out of his thoughts by the voice from the wall announcing the end of the day, quickly followed by a second announcement. One that piqued his interest, even despite the fact he wasn't all too sure what the meaning was some of those words...

Nonetheless, he quickly collected his items before heading out into the hallway. The hall was dark and silent, indicating that he was fairly early tonight. Shrugging, he moved to the next hallway.

In the end, he decided to head into the direction of the Sun Room. The area - or rather the hall in front of it served as a good enough land mark, and it was an area often visited by other patients. He'd decide where to go from there.

[To here]

[from here]

Archer quietly and cautiously entered the room. His flashlight swept across the room. Luckily, there didn't seem to be very many hiding places. After he was certain he was alone, Archer moved towards the dark blue, supply cabinets along the walls, searching for some glue for the fletching and string for the bow.

"There we are." He found the desired items fairly easily.

From his pillow case, Archer took out a few feathers and the two arrow shafts, placing them on the table. Then he used the glue to begin working on the fletching, the feathers at the rear of the arrow. They stabilized the arrow by making it more aerodynamic. He finished in several minutes and took a few moments to inspect his craftsmanship.

"Good." He gazed down the shaft, observing the straight arrow's fins.

To finish them off, he fished out a few rocks he had chosen. He placed them at the front of the shaft, where he made an incision earlier. The sharp, flat rocks became stone arrowheads, increasing its piercing capability.

Placing everything into his makeshift bag, he took one last glance at the room before he silently left.

[to here]

[from dinner post]

... the doctor sounded tired. Shawn wasn't sure if he preferred that voice or the more youthful one in the second announcement but either way, he figured, this guy's still fucking nuts.

Talk about Sci-Fi gone wrong. Gus would've loved this, even if Shawn knew the other wouldn't have been able to stop shaking in his slippers long enough to go into full dweeb mode. Shawn committed both announcements to memory-- just because authenticity sounded verified, it didn't mean he could trust anything that was being said especially when it involved so-called advanced technology, a "shield", and some kind of super hacker. Hackers, honestly. If the act didn't involve Angelina Jolie in any way Shawn just wasn't interested.

He held pushed at the prematurely opened door, looking out into the dark hallway warily. Pulling back in, he cast an almost-cautious grin at Peter. "After you...?"

Like he was going to go out there first. Yeah. Right.