Rene hummed as she spun the pen in between her fingers. She was waiting impatiently in the halls by the classrooms. Her eyes darted continuously watching for guards. None presented themselves though, probably all off eating at this hour. So far so good. She was twitchy, far more so than she cared to admit. It shouldn't be that bad, yet all of her was on edge. Her plan was...well less than perfect. At least Lora had kept her promise. She had a message delivered to Rene's room early this morning stating that the chair was no longer a threat. A change that must have pissed many a person off because Rene had been getting glares from people ever since. Miss Rachel even cancelled their one on one. Rene smiled at that. Nice to know she got under her skin even if their exchange hadn't been as fruitful as Rene had hoped for. How Lora had gotten Rene out of frying when so many people were gunning for her was still a mystery. Once they got face to face again, Rene planned on intriguing the truth of exactly how that was possible out of her. Until then Rene needed to keep up her end of the bargain. She twirled the pen one last time before slapping it into her palm sharply. Time to go.

Strolling casually down the hall, she twirled her long ponytail up into a bun and stuck the pen through holding it in. Everything seemed normal as she passed by the rooms. The dirty windows allowed little peeping into them, not that Rene needed to look in to know exactly what she would see. All the classrooms were the same right down to the look on the students' faces. The students were eventually dragged into the pit of pain this place generated. No one escaped it. A fact that was going to change if Rene could help it. She needed to save them, Cassie and Danny. They were going to live whether they liked it or not. Which they definitely would be angry about once they found out what she was doing to make it happen, a strong veto for life if it puts Rene's at risk. Rene reached down and patted her pocket nervously to double check the pass was in there just in case. She had faked food poisoning to get it from her teacher. Unfortunately, that wasn't a far fetched idea with the slop served around here.

Her nerves felt raw and exposed. It had been so long since she had felt this present. Yeah probably not a good sign concerning her sanity. Well, suppose there is no time like the present even if it was to go crazy. Rene paused in front of a door near the end of the hall. Unlike the other rooms, this door had no window slit on it. She reached out carefully to jingle the handle. No surprise it was locked. Rene sighed impatiently. She had expected this but it still was incredibly annoying. Gez...it was like someone didn't trust them or something. Rene continued walking, fine if she couldn't do things the easy way she'd do them the pain-in-the-butt way. She turned around a corner and approached the female's bathroom. Kicking the door open, she stepped in glancing around the room. The bathroom brought her back to the day she had rushed in here and fainted on the floor over the appearance of the moving ink. Rene approached the mirror and cocked her head. Poking at her hair with her finger, she managed to move it around enough to see bits and pieces of the vine. She glared at it. Stupid thing. Suddenly it twitch or wait, crap did she move. Rene blinked hard before letting her hand fall and jumping back. Maybe she didn't want to know either way. Rene turned back to the moment at hand and stared down the small vent in the top back corner of the room. This was going to suck.

Anyone who came in would have busted a gut laughing guard or not. She must have looked absolutely ridiculous. Rene was balanced precariously on the top edges of a stall. She had to take her shoes and socks off in order to get better traction on the small ledge. The thought was making her want to vomit. The smell in here really didn't help either. Who knew when the last time this place had been properly cleaned. The back of the toilet had boosted her up to her current position from where she was trying desperately to get the vent cover off without falling. The stupid thing was screwed in of course. Rene pulled the pen out of her hair and shoved it into the screw, frustrated. She started cussing under her breath with each attempted turn. The screws were striped and spun uselessly. Time for more extreme measures. Rene adjusted her feet as best she could for a more stable base. She then carefully strung one of her socks through the slot and back out. She crouched gazing at the floor rather sadly. Here goes nothing.

Rene jumped off the stall putting all her weight into the motion and with it forcefully wrenching the vent cover off the wall. It made a large racket. She couldn't stop coughing from the plaster debris now floating in the air like snow. Pulling her t-shirt collar over her mouth, she crawled back up to her position on top of the stall and squeezed herself into the vent. Rene had noticed the vent her first month in the asylum. It was the only one she knew of that wasn't being watched by guards semi-consistently. In theory, she could use this to get into the room that was locked, the electrical room. That was if she could get there before the guards sent someone in here after her. Stupid stripped screws ruining her ninja like stealth. Haha...her a ninja, Rene couldn't seem to be sneaky if her life depended out it. Oh well, nothing like a big boom right? Rene was fairly tall but not particularly big around, not like she ever got feed enough around here to worry about anything as superficial as weight. Still the vent was a tight fit and the movement incredibly painful. It was slow progress down the way. She had to stop at every opening and peek to see if it was the right room as well. Luckily, Rene had been in the asylum for long enough to know where she was in general, even if she was in a vent. She paused to check another opening. Gotcha.

The vent was incredibly tight as Rene scooted past the opening and angled herself properly, which involved angles that her joints did not agree with. Satisfied she gave one powerful kangaroo kick and sent the vent cover flying into the room as it bounced off the opposite wall. Crap, probably not the smartest idea to be making that much noise. Rene waited quietly listening for the pounding of boots. One heartbeat, two, three. Nothing. She pulled herself out of the vent and tumbled rather ungraciously to the hard floor. More curses. A princess she was not. Not with that dirty a mouth anyway. All in one piece though, thank God. Her feet were a bit scratched up from kicking the vent barefoot, but otherwise she was no worse for wear. Rene stood up shakily darting eyes about the room. Chair. Yes! She grabbed it and drug it over to the door using it to hold the handle in place. Content it would slow someone down, she flicked on the light to take in the room better. Now it was time to play. Rene eyed all the wires, buttons, and lights. And...she had no idea what any of these did. Man she was such a bad heroine or sidekick or whatever she was. Alrighty then new strategy.

Sitting against one of the walls was a large red toolbox. Rene went rummaging through it looking for anything useful. She pulled out some pliers, a wire cutter, and a large wrench at random. These looked like fun. She felt the heft of the wrench in her hand tapping it against her palm. This would do nicely. She walked calmly back to the control console. It was consisted of four large black rectangles standing vertically and spanning one entire wall. With a smile, Rene raised the wrench over her head and brought it down with a large crack into the plastic and wires. Now things really started lighting up. She kept swinging continuously, each arc causing the wreckage of the equipment. Who said she knew nothing about technology? Her arms quickly tired out though from the force required to break stuff. Next item. Rene grabbed the wire cutter and randomly picked ones to snip clean. So many wires were exposed now from her mini demolition, she had  her pick of the lot. Lights all over the boards were flashing hazardously or flickering off completely. Poor thing was having a breakdown just like a real crazy.

Rene stepped back and studied her handiwork with a grin. The lights above her started flickering before most went out completely. A few stranglers gave the room an eerie feeling with their desperate attempts to fight off the creeping darkness. She raised an eyebrow. Not exactly an explosion but she had a feeling the job will have created a big enough boom for Lora. Rene hummed as she twirled the wire cutters in her fingers.

"Well that was fun." Rene whispered.

Quit reveling in your handiwork and get moving fledgling. Karo roared rattling her brain.

Damn, Rene hit her head lightly as though it could actually shut them both up. Still, Karo had a point. She put the tools away quickly except the wire cutters. She slipped the wire cutters under her bra strap. She may be working with Lora, but that doesn't mean she didn't need to have an alternative plan and stay one step ahead. Besides, a good player always was prepared or maybe that was the boy scouts. Oh well, it was a good philosophy either way. She paused to the sound of pounding. Someone was coming fast towards the room. Time to make a get away as cleanly as possible. Rene turned off the lights before grabbing the vent cover and hoisting herself back into the cramped space. Lightly aligning the cover she put it back in place. Keeping quiet, she held it still and waited for the guards to force their way into the room.

It didn't take long. The slapping feet stopped right outside the door and the handle started jiggling wildly. Swears could be heard through the door, as they tried to open it with the handle jammed by the chair. Here she was thinking she was the only sailor around. "Stand back you idiots I'll do it myself!" Hm...sounds like Derek.

Crack. The door bent and splintered with the impact of someone throwing themselves at it. Once more, someone slammed into the door causing it to fling open and a body to fly across the floor. She stifled a laugh at Derek's sprawled and dirty figure. He stood up growling. Rene squinted in the dark watching the shapes as they scrambled for light. It was finally found flooding the room with enough patches to show Rene's accomplishment. It somehow looked so much more beautifully destructive from in the vent and people gaping at it.

"Holy shit..." someone muttered.

"What's going on in here?" Lora's commanding voice drifted in from the hallway.

The crowd of guards parted to let in their head officer. "Ma'am we're not exactly sure, but no doubt this is the cause of all the problems going on throughout the asylum." Derek grumbled.

"I see and have we received a full report yet of what all those issues are?" Lora questioned calmly.

"Um... not fully but what we know of so far is that many of the lights are down, internet access has been cut off, all automated locking mechanisms are down, no power is getting to the electric therapy room, and the biggest problem..." a girl gulped uncomfortably, "the fence perimeter is down in places."

"Well then, sounds like there is a lot that needs to be dealt with. For starters get any residents to their rooms and lock them in manually, also someone please send out a call to an electrician and mechanic. Get maintenance in here to clean this place up as well. Don't forget to spread the word via walkie."

The guards saluted and quickly dispersed. Derek took one last look over his shoulder scrutinizing every inch of the room. Idiot didn't think to check the vent as he exited. Lora stepped fully into the room and shut the door quietly. She slowly turned around taking a 360 of all the damage caused.

"So, me enough for you?" Rene called from above.

Lora glanced up to see Rene dangling the cover down the wall in one hand and resting her head inquiringly on the other. A slight smirk graced her face. She must look deranged.

"It was you."

"Of course, who else knows how to have this much fun?"

Lora shook her head, holding it, "What the hell have I done?"

"Come one now. This is exactly what you wanted isn't it? An explosion to distract those in charge." Rene hummed.

She sighed, "I suppose it is, but still I was not expecting..." she gestured at the debris, "all of this."

"That my new ally," Rene strummed her fingers against her head, "is because you aren't, shall we say, flexible enough in the head."

"No, but at this rate I'll get there soon enough."

Rene raised an eyebrow but didn't reply to the statement. She hadn't really thought about that, how exactly this would affect Lora. She could lose her job or much worse. Yet Lora had decided to help Rene do what needed to be done for the good of the patients here. Very commendable, heroic even. Yes there was no doubt now. Lora was a heroine in disguise. Rene was a mere expendable sidekick as she had feared. Rene watched Lora closely deep in thought. Regardless of the outcome and damage it would surely bring to herself personally, Rene had made a decision. She would stick with this woman and help her in the quest. She would help her win the game for Cassie and Danny's sake. And more importantly, she would do so while finding a way to keep the toxicity of this place focused at her. She would not be the reason that Lora went insane.

Her peripherals caught movement of Lora's lips, had she been talking this whole time Rene was lost  inside herself? "Pardon? I didn't catch that."

"I said, you're lucky I was near the bathroom and got there first. I managed to put the vent cover back on and hide you shoes and socks before the other guards showed up." Lora paused thinking, "Actually your lucky they are a bunch of lazy asses who took their sweet time getting to what could have been a real emergency." she sighed again "I'm so done with all the crap in this place."

Rene smiled, that made two of them. "Thanks I appreciate it either way. Good luck with whatever it is you plan to do with all this distraction I created. I better get going, all us crazies are supposed to be locked in our rooms after all." she gave Lora a two-finger salute and started dragging herself away.

"No one gets hurt right?"

She stopped, "What?"

Lora's voice came out shaky, uncertain of what she was getting into, "I said, no one gets hurt right?"

Rene thought about that. No one gets hurt. She hadn't killed Kristy because she hadn't wanted to become a monster like her. She wanted to be able to recognize herself and ideally not be dragged down by her own madness. She didn't want to hate herself for the things she was doing now. It was easy to stay light and not dwell when she thought of this as a game. It was all just a game. But how far, was she willing to take it and what would happen to her if she stepped wrong over the line she carefully teetered. It was all just a game.

"Rene?"

"I'm still here...I'll do what's necessary. I can't guarantee no one will get hurt, but I promise no one else will die. Not because of me at least."

A sigh again, they both realized how complicated their lives had become. It was not an easy path they had chosen. "That will have to do I guess. Now get going I'll stall anyone from checking your room for a while but it won't be forever."

Rene dug her nails into the metal and forced her way down the tunnel. She couldn't turn around it was too tight a fit there was only one way out and that was through. Ironic. She really hated irony.