Chapter 1: Awakening

"God, what the hell happened to my head?" Len thought. He was lying down somewhere with his eyes closed, suffering from a headache that didn't seem inclined to let up. The next thing he became aware of was the cold floor. "Where the hell am I?" he thought, panic creeping up on him. His eyes snapped open. Hanging over him was a dark, endless pit rather than the ceiling he was expecting. He frowned, beginning to feel more and more puzzled. A male laughter rang in his ears as he turned his head towards the sound.

"Kaito? Is that you?" he asked in a raspy voice. Kaito turned to look at him as he tried to sit up.

"Len! My man! You're awake!" he said, visibly happy.

"What's going on he/" "Gakupo!" Kaito yelled, cutting Len off, "Len's awake!"

"Really?" a distant voice, probably Gakupo's, answered.

Looking around, Len noticed the others. It seemed like they were all there. Miku, Meiko, Luka, Lily, Ia, Miki, Gumi, Teto, Ted, SeeU, Neru, and Haku were all sitting around on crates, talking and laughing. There were no lights anywhere, yet the place was flooded with some kind of weird blue-green shine. None of it made any sense. Then a horrible thought came to him. Fear gripping his heart, he stood up abruptly.

"Len, are you okay?" Kaito asked, his overgrown smile fading immediately. Len ignored him and continued frantically looking around.

"Len! Len! Tell me what's wrong!" Kaito insisted. Len pretended not to hear.

"LEN!" Kaito yelled, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to look into his face. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Where's my sister, Kaito?" Len asked in a slow, threatening voice.

"Your sister?" Kaito echoed, "I… I don't know. I… haven't seen her… maybe you should…"

"Where is she? WHERE IS SHE, KAITO?"

"Calm down Len," someone behind him said. "She's over there." Len whipped around and came face to face with Gakupo. Slowly, Len shifted his gaze to the area Gakupo was showing him. There he saw Rin's figure lying down motionlessly. Ignoring Gakupo's mocking laughter, he ran to her. Dropping to his knees beside her, he cradled her body against his.

"Rin. Rin, wake up," he said quietly.

"Len? Is that you?" Rin whispered. He sighed in relief and smiled down at her.

"Yeah, it's me." She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He tightened his grip on her waist as she rested her chin against his shoulder.

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"Do you think Len likes her?" Lily asked.

"Likes who?" Miku replied absently.

"Rin. I mean, I get that he's worried and all because she's his sister. But, sometimes, it just seems like it's too much."

"Uh, huh." Lily glanced at Miku. She was staring at Kaito with a dreamy look on her face.

"Are you even listening to me?" she asked angrily.

"Uh huh," Miku replied although she clearly wasn't. Lily sighed and walked away, deciding she had better take her comments to someone who wasn't so obsessed with Kaito. Miku continued to stare without even noticing Meiko until she snorted.

"Staring at the man you'll never have, Miku?" Meiko said sarcastically. Miku threw her a death glare, but didn't reply.

"Leave her alone, Meiko," Luka said.

"Easy for you to say," she replied. "You have Gakupo all to yourself."

"Gakupo is a pervert and I don't want him," Luka answered dryly. Meiko rolled her eyes but let it go.

"So, did Gakupo and Kaito figure out where we are yet?" Meiko asked seriously. Luka sighed.

"No, they haven't. Kaito went to go look around."

"What about all the weapons?" Meiko asked again, frowning at her feet. Luka shook her head.

"Don't know. Looks like we'll just have to wait."

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Len was looking at the floor biting his lip.

"Everyone just woke up and found themselves here?" he asked.

Gakupo nodded. "I don't know what happened. But, what worries me are these weapons. Maybe Kaito will figure something out."

Len's head snapped up and he glared at Gakupo. "You sent Kaito away? All by himself?"

"Well, yeah… What's…? Why are you… mad?" he stammered, confused by Len's anger.

"Because you sent Kaito out alone while we have no idea what's going on!" Len yelled. A sharp squeak sounded behind them, cutting their argument off. They turned around to see Neru standing up and staring at her beloved cell phone with horror struck eyes. Gakupo and Len glanced at each other before walking to her.

"Neru, are you alright?" Gakupo asked. She shook her head and speechlessly handed them her phone, something she never did. Len, growing more and more worried, read the message that was written, his heart skipping a beat as he connected the dots.

Welcome to the Game, my friends! It has already begun. Prepare yourself and never hesitate to strike down your friends, because in the end, only one of you can win.