entranceway | [video | open to action / text / voice response]

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[When the feed flickers to life Sunday afternoon, Dean is standing in front of a door. Not his door, not the entrance hall door, but a door he's never seen before and one that can only be bad news.]

Aright, I'm sure some of you have heard the news, but in case you haven't...

[He glances over his shoulder and then turns his attention to the camera again.]

It looks like some shit is about to go down. I'd like to start by asking any jackass who thinks they're clever enough to throw out an answer and get it wrong to, you know, not do that.

[A strained smile, which falls flat again in a second.]

I'm sure a bunch of you guys are gonna be down here throwing out answers, so all I'm asking on that one is work together. That's all. Figure out something you all agree on before you start... poking it with a stick.

[He licks his lips a little, shifts, levels the camera with a look.]

The rest of you... I think you know who you are and what I'm talking about. I'll be in the diner on the eighth floor. We need to do a little organizing and put some things into the works. Just in case. Check in with me if you can. We need to be prepared for when that thing opens... for whatever's behind it.

[Text to Chihiro]

How we looking on the network thing?

[Voice to Cas.]

Hey. You think you can get down there and see what your mojo picks up on that door?

[Text to John Blake.]

What do you make of this, man?

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[It's been some time since Martha's seen Dean around. Not that she forgot him, but between a large number of familiar faces arriving, setting up the clinic, and then everything that's gone on with Ruby, she's been busy. She imagines he has been too, handling his own research and his own set of friends. There must be others here who are from the same world as him; that seems to be the case for practically everyone else.

He does seem to like the leader role, though, as he's already setting out rules when it comes to that door. Martha had stumbled upon it just a little while ago and then came up to her room to jot it down. He's right, of course, that they need to make sure they have the right answer before they start just guessing randomly. Which is why she plans to work on it far away from the door itself for now. For all she knows, murmuring a guess near it will count as putting in a final answer and then she expects they'll be in far worse shape than anyone on one of those game shows.

It's what he says toward the end, all that cryptic language about "you know who you are" and organizing and putting things into place, that intrigues her.]

I agree that we need to handle this carefully. But we also shouldn't take too long. For all we know, there's a timer on that door. [She hates to bring it up, but it seems to always become a factor at one point or another.] My room's up on the eighth floor, so I'll probably run into you before long. I'd like to hear about whatever you're organizing, Dean.

[He hasn't exactly been keeping track of her either, all things considered. The influx of people from back home (and a certain amount of damage control that comes along with it) has kept him more or less swamped with shit. Not to mention what happened to River and Ruby.

He sighs, passes a hand over his face as she mentions a timer- he hadn't though of that, but yeah. He wouldn't be completely surprised if that were the case. The thing is, do they want it open?

...Yeah. Yeah, he does. Anything that breaks away from the monotony of the day to day and offers a clue about this place is something he wants his hand in.

He licks his lips and puts his eyes back on her over that last sentence.]

You know what? I think you better drop by. You're gonna want in on this.

[It might sound mad, but Martha also wants it open. She wants to get it right, because it's already been made clear that if they don't, there are going to be consequences. Fear of the unknown has never been an issue for her, and so she'd rather work this riddle out as quickly as possible.

Mentioning a possible time limit was probably a bit mean, she'll admit, but she also thinks it's best to be realistic about the situation as it is now.

When he suggests she come find him, though, she finds her curiosity piqued, just like it constantly seems to be in this place. In on what, she wonders. Well, only one way to find out.]

Sounds good. I'll be over right now. [Seeing how the diner's on the eighth floor, it's particularly convenient. She steps in about a minute later and goes to sit with Dean, a conspiratorial smile spreading over her face as she eases down.] So what's all this about?

[It's not as mad as it should be, all things considered. They can stay here and rot forever, or they can deal with a little danger and a little consequence for the trade-off of solving this mystery and getting the hell outta here.

When she joins him at the counter, the place is pretty busy. People are coming and going, half absorbed with food and half discussing the door and quite a few looking for answers. The seat beside him's empty, though, and he looks up as she occupies it. Shoots her a strained smile that falls away too quickly.]

It uh- well, there's a... group of us. People interested in getting together, getting organized, fighting back. We're trying to keep it off the radar, keep the wrong kinda people out and the mirrors from finding out. I figured you might want in.

[It definitely seems that the diner has taken off, which Martha isn't too surprised by. It's a good gathering place and unlike the bar, it doesn't run the risk of people getting so sloshed that they aren't of much use. And it's more kid-friendly, which is helpful considering there are quite a few teenagers around.

She's a bit hungry herself, but she sets that aside for now, figuring that she can grab something to eat once she's worked out what Dean's up to. She smiles back at him, but she can tell that he's overwhelmed.

As he explains, she quickly becomes more drawn into the conversation, back straightening before she leans in close toward him. As he finishes speaking, she grins at him and gives him a playful smack on the arm.] Oh, you do know the right buttons to press, don't you? Of course I want in. [She's sure she can be of help.] That clinic we're working on should be opening in a day or so, too, and plenty more doctors have arrived recently, so we should be set if anything goes wrong.

[And if they're looking at things realistically, that mysterious door is more or less a recipe for disaster. Martha's expecting people to get hurt, much as she doesn't like to acknowledge the possibility.]

[The smack to his arm is unexpected and amusing, and his eyebrows twitch up a little at it but his lips quirk along with it. In his line of work, you don't usually come across playful very often.

He's pretty sure she shot him down a few days ago, too, but hey, at this rate he might angle for it again. Just for the fun of flirting. Funny, the things you miss being trapped in Purgatory and then locked in a semi-vacant wonderland full of scared standoffish natives (and mostly dudes).]

That's good- damn good. Having a clinic on our side's gonna make things a lot easier.

[And it means they can take more stupid risks, which Dean's always a fan of.]

[Despite the fact that Martha's work can be rather serious as well (she's a doctor and she deals with alien threats, there's plenty that goes wrong), she's never lost that playful side to her. Maybe it's from the traveling with the Doctor and seeing how he handled things, or maybe it's just part of her nature, but she doesn't see much point in sucking the fun out of everything.

While she's already well aware that the clinic's a brilliant idea, it's good to have it confirmed. She nods.] There's at least four people I can think of off the top of my head who'll be working there -- and who knows, we could get more. I'm hoping we can split up our working times so that there's always someone there, no matter the time of day.

[Which means some poor sod is going to have to sit there in the middle of the night, but at least they can switch off.]

So, is there some secret code you use for speaking with other people in this... group you're putting together? [Martha respects his decision to keep it all on the down-low, but she needs to know how to handle that if she wants to be a part of it.]

[It's a damn rare thing to see, someone that can keep a sense of humor through the shit that she's been through. He can sympathize- it's the only thing that keeps him from going completely Agent Orange if he's honest with himself. Which he rarely ever is.

He nods a little at the game plan- seriously, the resistance could use a clinic. That's better news than he could've expected, especially if Martha's involved in it. They're gonna need all the support they can get.

He huffs a little at the question.]

Not yet. We've had a grand total of one meeting, so not a lot of time for organizing. We've got a few people working on setting up a base camp, though. Somewhere away from the mansion and the mirrors. Soon as they're done with that, I'm thinking of gathering everyone together and ironing a few things out.

[Just one meeting? Well, that's good news, because it means that she hasn't missed that much. Martha imagines that it would be best to become a part of this resistance group while it's in its forming stages, so that she can find her spot within it, and so she's glad that Dean trusted her enough to tell her about it.

The idea of a base camp sounds promising. It means being away from the mirrors, at least, and they can only hope that there's no way they can be watched outside. Martha isn't convinced that's the case, but it's got to be a little bit more secure.]

Sounds like a plan. Now, am I allowed to tell friends about this? Not just random people I met here, but friends from home. Or is there some kind of screening process that you put people through first? [She's guessing not, seeing how he told her about this after a single conversation.]

[He shrugs a shoulder.]

Trust your own judgment. I can't make that call, and it ain't just for me.

[The way he feels about it is pretty simple- they all want out of here. The number of people likely to sabotage something like that is pretty damn slim considering they were all pulled here against their will. Whether your a cop or a goddamn villain, they've got a common enemy here. The only people he's really interested in keeping this thing a secret from? The queen and her mirrors.

And also maybe Crowley.]

You think they could be helpful, bring 'em in- but I'm begging you, don't do it anywhere near a damn mirror or over the network.

[It sounds like it's all open, then. Martha's surprised that there isn't a stricter method for handling this, but then she considers the fact that she's been allowing any doctor who she comes across to join the clinic. They just can't afford to be picky.

As for his last point, she raises up her hands disarmingly.] You don't have to tell me twice! [She understands his paranoia, and she's also noticed how the diner doesn't seem to have any mirrors -- or if they're around, they've all been covered up.]

I do have a few friends here who would be perfect for this, though, so I'll do what I can to spread the word. [Jack's the first person who comes to mind, because this just seems right up his alley. She plans to tell Donna and Jenny as well, if she gets the chance. And Owen will find out as a matter of course, she's sure.]

[They can't- and they can't afford to be exclusive in a place like this. Everyone is here against their will just the same as everyone else- the second they start turning on each other and forgetting the bigger picture is the second they lose any chance they ever had of getting outta here.

At least she seems to get his reservations about spamming the place with the deets- he's not keeping it a secret from the public, but that's quite different than keeping it on the DL.

He nods his approval.]

Fair enough. Sounds good. Soon as this whole thing blows over, we're gonna try for something a little more organized. A better meeting, a plan of action, delegate some responsibilities, try and make the most of what we've got.

[Until this whole thing blows over, he says, but they still don't know how that's going to happen. They have no idea what will be coming out of that door, and how it might change things around here. For that reason, Martha agrees that it's for the best if they put things off until it's settled. At the moment they should probably all be focused on that riddle.

Either way, it seems like Dean's got some experience with this sort of thing, from the way that he's handling it. Or maybe he realized that someone had to step up, and decided not to wait on someone else to do it. It shows initiative, and Martha likes that.]

And we've got a lot. From what I've seen and the people I've met here, it's clear that we've got plenty to work with. Everyone here seems brilliant in their own way, and if we get people working on the things they're skilled at, then we should make some real progress.

[That's all common sense, of course, but organizing people is easier said than done.] I'll focus on the clinic for now, so just let me know when things start proceeding, will you?

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