"Hi, you've reached Jeffrey Levitt. I'm not in right now, so leave a message and I'll call you back as soon as possible."

((Leave a message here if you'd like to get in touch with me.))

The Sanctuary is almost always deserted in the early mornings, so it makes for an ideal meeting place when one is in search of neutral territory. Or at least, territory that doesn't have an annoyed fiance looking for an excuse to disintegrate the person one is meeting. Jeff arrives early despite the ungodly hour, and spends the extra time bustling between the kitchen and the main public area, making breakfast. It keeps his hands and his mind occupied as he waits.

The Sanctuary is almost always deserted in the mornings, making for a decent place to meet someone without being disturbed. It's a bit less private than the Keep, but Jeff wasn't quite well enough for everything that re-opening it involved. Besides, there's couches, drinks, a kitchen...anything one could really need was right there. And the best damn AV field in the Nexus doesn't hurt any, either. He promised Rassilon.

If the large stack of pancakes and bacon on the counter is any indication, Jeff's already been here for a while. He's doing far better than he was the last time Soze saw him. He's fully human, for one thing, looking pretty much like his old self, save for the recently-shaved head. He's trying to grow it out, but for now there's little more than a faint dark fuzz covering his scalp. He's sitting behind the bar, nursing a coffee and a rather large helping of food. He glances at the door every so often, waiting.

Jeff returns to the Nexus much the worse for wear. Meanwhile, Njoki gets a Mysterious Package (tm).

( Is he a person or a pet? )

After Jeff's escape attempt, there was very little left that could be called by that name. Marco had tried a new DNA sample, something much less aggressive. And while the sloth DNA quite thoroughly removed any trace of lingering predatory instincts, it failed to bring Jeff's mind back to anything resembling sentience. The project was labeled a failure, and Marco moved on to other projects while Jeff lived contentedly in his cell, a mindless animal.

( But then something happened. )

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore...

Jeff frowned. Dammit, what comes next? He took a deep breath--well, so to speak. He was breathing water through his skin now, thanks to Marco's latest DNA infusion. Agalychnis callidryas, he'd said, along with something about adapting to aquatic environments. The end result was the same as always; new organs, muscles and bone configurations worked themselves out while Marco watched with disturbing enthusiasm, and Jeff once again wound up looking like something out of a Disney film gone horribly wrong.

Or a Muppet, he noted wryly, eyeing the green, slimy skin and webbed hands. At least the new pool they provided him allowed a measure of quiet and privacy. None of the orderlies particularly wanted to fish him out of the water, so for the most part he was left alone to his thoughts. He'd been biding his time until now, trying to figure out patterns, appearing as cooperative as he could, keeping his eyes open for any opportunities for escape. There were none. And now he realized that he was starting to slip.

He hadn't noticed at first, but on further reflection he was sure it got worse with every injection. Poems and passages he'd had memorized for years were eluding him now, and with every rush of animal instinct he lost something new. He was beginning to struggle with words, forgetting the names for things with alarming consistency. Hadn't Marco warned this would happen? His stomach twisted. It was only going to get worse from here.

So that's it. You have to get out of here. He couldn't afford to be cautious anymore. How many more before he lost himself completely? He was out of time.

After Jeff's rather drastic "enhancement," he gets a surprise visitor.

( Who did I piss off to end up like THIS? )

oo1. A screaming comes across the sky...

...A loud sound like a siren. Not the siren that brings the black birds and their rains of RED and HURT and DEATH. This is the pain siren. The scared siren.

The siren makes words. Torn up words in little pieces. Wheezing. Whimpering. Whining. Wounded. Words.

"Help...help...oh God someone please...help me..."

The siren is a man. A man in yellow.She finds him there, outside the house. Curled up like the little pillbugs that are under the rocks and above the MANS. The bugs that watch the earth for the RED WORM and keep it safe. Hello, bug.

"Hello, bug."

"Wh..."

Ooh, no more words, Mr. Bug! Now is the time for shaking and shaking and sshhaakkiinngg!

HOORAY!

A new neighbor soon!

The woman rings a bell. Come everyone, smile for your neighbor! Hello, new neighbor! Hello, RED WORM! It is a special day! Smile for the RED WORM, new neighbor!

Why are you SCREAMING, new neighbor?