Nouvelles et Textes pour Rien is the third chapter of the Main Story in Reverse: Reverse:1999 . After her devastating loss in the previous chapter, Vertin returns to the St. Pavlov Foundation for treatment. Much of the chapter takes place in the past, recounting Vertin's childhood as a student of the School of Primary Defense of Mankind and her desire to learn the truth about The Storm . Flyers dropped by Manus Vindictae give the students hints about the outside world, but asking about The Storm is forbidden - as Vertin learns first-hand when her innocent question lands her in the guardhouse. There, she meets The Ring , a fellow troublemaker who shows her a Manus pamphlet with a poem that inspires them both. She and her classmates, most notably Isabella , The Ring, Mesmer Jr. , and Matilda , have a secret gathering where they decide to sing the poem rather than their school anthem at an assembly. However, this act of rebellion quickly becomes dangerous, with the principal going so far as to use tear gas to disrupt the students when they refuse to stop singing. Vertin is hit directly with a canister, and suffers from a coma for two days. The violence deters many children from continuing in their desire for freedom, but The Ring, Isabella, and Vertin are still determined to escape and witness the outside world for themselves. Tragically, Constantine learns about their plan and decides to manipulate them into escaping successfully on the date of The Storm, knowing that the children would be killed. In her reasoning, it was better for them to be reversed than to be received by the Manus Vindictae, and furthermore, she believed that Vertin witnessing their deaths would lead to her finally losing her will to rebel. Though Madam Z objected to the plan, she did not interfere. Vertin and her friends escaped, just as they planned, but rather than excitement, she watched in horror as her friends were reversed before her eyes. Madam Z appears behind her with an umbrella and asks her if she would like to become the Timekeeper, and the chapter comes to a close.