"This is soooooo booorrriiiinnng!"
"What?! We literally just started lookin'!"
"Wow! What's that?!"
"Th-That's a... broom."
"A magic broom? Is there a witch here? Ooooh, did a witch chase you on that broom, Engine?!"
"No... a-and my name is E-E-Enji..."
"That's weird. Your name's weird, E-E-Engine! Were you born on a train or something?"
Cash slammed his head against the wall and Enji scurried to the other side of the room while Claire was, well, being Claire. What did that mean, exactly? For starters, she literally hadn't stopped talking for thirty minutes, and counting; she failed to call either Cash or Enji by their names, though they couldn't tell if that was intentional or not; and she'd get sidetracked for ten or twenty minutes at a time by the dumbest things - like the broom, for example.
As a result, they managed to search just one room: the one Enji hid in. Most of the building was broken up into rooms filled with typical jail cells - you know, the ones with bars - squeezed together and stacked on top of each other, similar to where Claire had been cooped up. Small tunnels ran through all four sides of the rooms and were located on every one of the four floors, likely for easier movement for the prison's guards. And while that was true for the three Ultimates, they also found it too easy to get lost and lose track of where they had been previously, given that every single room looked exactly like the others.
"Is it just me, or is there jack shit in these cells?"
"I-I haven't found anything..."
"D'you find anything, Claire?"
"No siree! No signs of a scary monster in here, either."
Her response generated a sigh of relief from Enji while Cash placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the area once more.
"So all we know about this place is there're a fuck ton'o empty cells, but they're not like the ones we were in."
"We?" Claire asked from across the cell room. "You were in one too?!"
Cash and Enji nodded, the former saying, "I was outta mine a few seconds before you were."
"A-And I was released b-before both of y-y-you..." The Boxer scratched his wrists as he spoke and trembled when he continued. "So was that m-m-m-monster..."
"Awwww, I wish I was let out with the monster. That would've been fun," Claire whined as she buried her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and kicked at the ground like a child would.
She continued to pout as the two boys regrouped by her, though the second they did the sound of a booming roar flooded into the room.
Enji let out a startled scream, Claire slid down the stairs' railing, and Cash stood in place without any sort of reaction.
"E-E-Engine, did that sound like the suuuuper scary monster?"
Enji nodded his head violently.
Claire's eyes lit up in an instant and she took off. "Let's go get it! C'mon!"
"W-Wait! D-D-Don't you think that's a b-bad idea...?"
The Etch-a-Sketcher came to an abrupt stop and stared at Enji, who hunched over and shielded his face with his arms. He waited a few seconds before peeking over his arms, and he let out a startled gasp when he saw Claire's face was suddenly devoid of any emotion.
Even Cash took a step back before saying, "I agree with Enji. We should look for a way out."
"Why would I do something if I thought it was a bad idea?"
Enji lowered his arms and took a deep breath while Cash stood off to the side, dumbfounded. Did he hear that correctly? Claire actually had a thought, and it made sense?
"I bet this'll be suuuuuper fun too!"
And just like that, she went back to skipping and twirling towards the monster's roar with an ear-to-ear smile. Cash followed her while shaking his head, but he glanced over his shoulder after a few steps and noticed Enji had yet to compose himself. He couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh at such a sorry sight, nor could he stand by and remain silent.
"Standing still ain't gonna help ya get outta here. Let's go."
Enji flinched, looked up from the floor, and watched Cash saunter down the hallway. To see someone remain that calm, even in a situation as crazy and confusing as theirs, was nothing short of a relief. With his nerves settled, Enji took off like a bullet and caught up to Cash in an instant.
Cash kept looking straight ahead as he chortled. "Well I'll be damned. You were tellin' the truth back there, after all."
"W-Why would I lie ab-ab-about that...?" Enji stammered as he scratched his wrist.
"Fuck if I know. People say all kinds of shit, sometimes for a bunch o' reasons; sometimes for no reason at all."
The Entrepreneur paused to interlock his fingers behind his neck.
"So why'd you get into boxing?"
Enji immediately looked away from Cash and at the floor. "I-I..." He paused at the perfect time, as a second roar emanated from down the hall and nearly burst his and Cash's eardrums.
"AAAHHH!"
Then a scream from Claire followed, and the two boys bolted down the hallway. When they emerged from the hallway and stepped foot in yet another room filled with empty cells, they saw Claire hunched over and gasping for air while holding her chest. Neither Cash nor Enji thought about looking at their surroundings and instead rushed to Claire's side, and then it happened.
"RRRAAAWWWRRR!"
The monster's roar went off like an explosion, simultaneously deafening and disorienting the Ultimates. They stumbled around and looked for the monster, though they soon found out there weren't any signs of it - or anything, for that matter - being present in the room with them. That is, until someone else finally spoke up.
"Ahahaha! You should see the looks on your faces~"
The voice sounded like it belonged to a little girl no older than five or six years, but no matter how hard Claire, Enji, or Cash tried they couldn't spot them. And then, before they knew it, the person poked their head over the second-floor's railing, laughing manically, and approached them. The left side of their face was covered by a fox mask, oddly enough, though the right looked just as young as their voice sounded.
"Wh-What? Where's the m-monster...?" Enji stammered as he looked every which way.
"Isn't it obvious? She's the 'monster.'"
The little girl stopped halfway down the stairs, stomped, and puffed her cheeks out. "I am not a monster!"
"Yeah, Cashtopher, she's waaayyy too short to be a monster! She's like a lil' munchkin!" exclaimed Claire once the little girl was within a yard of them.
A nasty look was sent Claire's way, not that she noticed.
"Just because I'm short doesn't mean you can look down on me!" the tiny girl shouted, craning her neck to make eye contact with Claire.
"But then I can't see you."
While the little girl fumed over Claire's quick response, Cash decided to interject. "Tell us who ya are and how ya roared like that."
She glanced at him for less than a second, crossed her arms, and pouted.
"I don't wanna."
A vein in Cash's head protruded instantly as he glared at the tiny girl, who was a little taller than his waist - or a bit over 3'6".
"Listen here, ya little-"
"That's okay, we'll just leave you here alone."
Claire grabbed Cash by the arm and motioned for Enji to follow as she headed for the tunnel to the left of the one she entered.
Only after they began to disappear down the tunnel did the little girl finally call for them to come back, and when they did she greeted them with a scowl.
"I'm... Chiharu Shimizu." She lifted the fox mask so that it was only covering part of her head, revealing a few jade green bangs that nearly reached her left eye.
Chiharu didn't speak another word, and instead stared at each of Claire, Cash, and Enji.
"It's common courtesy to exchange names-"
"Name's Claire Fleener, and I'm the Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher! These are Cashtopher, the Ultimate motherfuckin' Entrepreneur; and E-E-Engine, the Ultimate Boxer!"
"It's Cash, not Cashtopher."
"A-And Enji, not... E-E-Engine..."
There was a moment of silence, during which Chiharu nodded and muttered something to herself while looking at each of the three Ultimates. Then she crossed her arms again and said, "I'm called the Ultimate Mimic. Basically, I can mimic any voice I hear."
"Soooo you did hear a scary monster in here! Otherwise you couldn't have mimicked it!"
"Were you listenin'? She can only mimic voices."
Chiharu shook her head. "No, she's right. I heard something roar like that earlier, figured mimicking it would attract people."
"Wh-Why would that attract p-people...?"
"You should be asking yourself that."
She had a point there, kind of. Her mimicking the monster was a small part of what brought Enji and Cash to the room they were currently in; whereas the big, and perhaps only, reason was Claire. Speaking of whom, she'd been strangely quiet - for her standards - since running into Chiharu.
Cash glanced Claire's way to see her speaking to herself while fiddling with her Etch-a-Sketch. Whatever she was doing seemed rather... intense, so he left her to her own devices and returned his attention to Chiharu.
"Hey, were you stuck in a cell that was different from these?" asked Cash.
She nodded, but she didn't elaborate. Getting answers from her was going to be like pulling teeth, wasn't it?
"How long ago were you let out?"
"I dunno."
"Was anyone released with you?"
"Probably. I didn't stick around to check."
"Have ya found anything since ya got out?"
"Uh uh."
Fuck it, I give up! Cash thought as he sighed and slid his back against the wall until he was sitting. All o' these fucking rooms look the same, and we don't know where the fuck we are. What're we s'posed ta do?
He ran both of his hands through his hair while trying to think of an answer, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't come up with one.
"Cash Cow? Hey, you okay?"
A hand fell on Cash's shoulder and shook him out of his trance. He turned to face Claire and was greeted with a smile, which he almost returned. Almost.
"The fuck kind o' nickname is 'Cash Cow'?"
"Hm? It's a play on words. A cash cow's-"
"I know what a- ahhh, fuck it. Whaddya want?"
Despite poor wording, Cash was able to convey his genuine interest through his tone. Claire's smile was evidence of that, as she seemingly understood the true intent and nature of his question.
All of a sudden, she flipped her Etch-a-Sketch around and showed Cash what she'd drawn. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he looked over the drawing and then up at Claire. It was a perfect recreation of the area where they'd met a short while ago, detailing each of the sixteen cells and even the hemisphere they spotted. To put it simply, the drawing was nothing short of spectacular.
"Soooo ya know how all four of us said we were locked in those until now?"
"Mhm."
"Weeellllll that means there're twelve other cells, and I bet there's an Ultimate - like the four of us - in each of 'em!"
Once again, Cash felt his eyes nearly shoot out of their sockets. He got up in a flash and grabbed Claire by her shoulders, shaking her violently with a slight smile. "We just hafta find the other twelve people! That's what you're saying, right?"
"We-e-e-ell ye-e-eah, bu-u-u-ut..." Claire said as Cash shook her back and forth until he noticed what he was doing.
"But?" he asked, tucking both hands in his pants pockets.
Claire leaned on her side against the wall and took a moment to regain her sense of balance, much to Cash's embarrassment.
"Engine said he was released with the scary monster, and you said we were let out together, right?"
"Yeah, but what does that-"
"I bet some people are still in there! And we could find whoever got out with Gee-Who-Are-You."
How did ya butcher her name that badly?
"You're smart, so what do you think we should do?"
Cash turned his back to Claire and walked away without answering, causing her to sigh and hang her head.
"Enji! Chi... uh... You! We're goin' ta the cells we were locked in, right now!"
Enji trembled at the thought and struggled to lift his head so as to make eye-contact with Cash. "B-B-But why...? I don't want to go b-back there...!"
"Claire's idea. She'll tell ya about it on the way."
Next up was Chiharu, who staggered towards Cash. "My name's Chiharu! Chi-har-ooh! Got it?!"
"I don't give a fuck."
Cash headed for the exit without another word, leaving them both in stunned silence, and on his way out he nodded at Claire. She could've swore she saw him smiling as he passed her by, and she felt herself smiling like an idiot until Enji and Chiharu asked her about the plan. But not just any plan, her plan.
She relayed the information to them for the next few minutes as they followed Cash, and their reactions to her drawing were just like his.
"Th-That's amazing, Claire...!"
"Wo~oow! It's so pretty!"
"Thanks!" Claire exclaimed before shaking her Etch-a-Sketch, thus erasing the drawing.
Chiharu and Enji could only watch in horror as Claire simply tucked the plastic device back in its protective case and acted as if nothing happened, at least until she was questioned about her actions.
"Why w-would you erase that...? I-It was fantastic...!"
Claire shrugged. "That was just a rough sketch."
"'Just a rough sketch'? You're so~ooo lying!"
As Chiharu and Claire bickered over whether or not the latter was lying, Cash laughed to himself and remained at the front of the group. They passed through a handful of cell rooms, one after another, until suddenly finding themselves in the hallway where they'd met Enji, and before they knew it they were back where they started.
"What floors were ya on?"
"The th-third floor."
"Fourth~"
"Interestin'," Cash muttered, stroking the non-existent beard on his chin.
Chiharu titled her head to the side. "Wha~aat is?"
"Me an' Claire were on the second floor."
This time it was Enji's turn to ask a question, which became quite obvious to the others once he started scratching his wrists and fidgeting. "S-So...? Is that supposed t-to matter...?"
The Entrepreneur nodded.
"Weellll, if you think about it suuuper hard," Claire said, "me and Cashtopher got let out together."
Again, Cash nodded. He figured she'd explain since she brought it to his attention, anyways.
"R-Right..." Enji stammered.
"That's gotta mean second floor's the best floor! Woohoo!"
Cash's face dropped, and Chiharu and Enji turned to each other in utter confusion. Claire was back to being... Claire, and for that very reason Cash had to step up as the leader.
He cleared his throat, unintentionally drawing the others' attention. "It's interestin' that neither o' ya saw who ya were released with. That means we know there're at least two more people in this place."
"Bu~uuut what if we were released by ourselves? If anything, it's interesting that you and Claire were released together," Chiharu said. She then adjusted her fox mask so that it covered the left side of her face and tilted her head, waiting for a response.
She and Enji watched Cash close his eyes and take a deep breath, a sight Enji had grown all too familiar with during the limited time he'd known him. As such, the Boxer was quick to provide an out for Chiharu.
"Y-You don't mean a-anything bad by th-that, right...?" he asked, trying to force a smile.
"Good point, Chiharu; I hadn't thought o' that," Cash said calmly, much to Enji's surprise. "I say we wait here ta see if more people are released, and if they're let out together."
CLICK!
Everyone's ears perked up in unison as the first-floor door furthest to the right - and nearest them - suddenly opened.
Seconds later, a young woman stepped outside shielding her eyes with the light green beanie on her head. She was about an inch taller than Enji and an inch or two shorter than Cash - so between 5'8" and 5'9" - with straight dark brown hair that stopped at the backs of her knees. Her hands remained in the pockets of her white paint-splattered jacket even after she saw the strangers standing a few yards away.
Before the young woman could get a word in, the door next to her made a clicking sound and opened almost immediately. A second young woman who had a pixie cut and was a couple of inches shorter than the first - perhaps 5'6" - sprung out of her cell sporting a blue tank top and dark green pants. She had a certain energy about her that was both oppressive and filled with intensity, and it could be felt from anywhere in the room.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs before squaring up like a boxer. "IF YOU COME AT ME, I SWEAR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
The taller young woman rolled her eyes and, without saying so much as a word, began to walk away.
"Stop right there!" Cash barked, reminding everyone of a police officer.
He marched over to her with a scowl, only to receive a disinterested expression in return. It was impossible to tell whether or not she was waiting for him to continue, and everyone watched him crumble under the pressure of her gaze.
"Who are ya, and where are ya going?"
The young woman didn't bother to respond; instead, she just continued to stare at him with that blank expression of hers. Everyone kept quiet and still while watching the interaction, which Cash and the woman were well aware of.
"I'll go first. My name's Cash Bach, and I'm the Ultimate Entrepreneur. Now it's your turn."
Silence.
"Now it's your turn," Cash said, this time with a bit more anger than before.
Once again, silence. The veins in Cash's head protruded all at once and he breathed through his nostrils like a wild animal, yet he refused to speak a third time without a response.
"If you're done wasting my time by acting like a two-year-old, I'd like to find a means of escape," said the young woman.
Her words struck like a hammer, and Cash took them like a nail. There was simply no coming back from such a comment, all you could do was take it and carry on like nothing ever happened.
Then Claire decided to butt in.
"Excuuuuse me!" she shouted, waving her arms like an idiot as she ran towards the young woman. "It's suuuuuper rude to not give someone your name when they give you theirs."
The young woman rolled her eyes and attempted to walk away, but Claire grabbed her arm.
"Unhand me this inst-"
"I'm Claire Fleener, the Ulllltimaaaate..." She let go of the young woman's arm and opened the protective case on her hip. "Etch-a-Sketcher!"
Claire held the plastic toy out for the young woman, whose face dropped.
How is THAT an Ultimate Talent?!
Oddly enough, the expression on her face slowly became less disgusted as she eyed the toy in Claire's hands.
"So I'm not the only one who appreciates the arts, then? Good."
"What do you mean?"
The young woman scoffed. "Few people realize how important art is to a nation's culture. Artists depict important topics, subjects that no one else will talk about. If we don't do it, who will?"
"Uh... comedians?"
The young woman's expression returned to one of disgust, and she started to walk away again.
"HEY, ASSHOLES! WHAT ABOUT ME?!"
Although Enji and Chiharu hadn't spoken to the other woman like Claire and Cash had, they knew they were being referred to so they shifted their attention to the shorter one.
"Who a-are you...?" Enji mumbled, refusing to meet her intense gaze.
"Dulcinea Cervantes! And unlike you assholes, I don't have an amazing Talent."
The room fell silent.
"Wooooow, that sucks. What's it like being untalented?" Claire inquired tactlessly.
Everyone deadpanned and the same thought went through their minds: what did you just do?!
On the other hand, Dulcinea's blood came to an immediate boil as she screamed, "Fuck you, bitch! I am NOT untalented!"
"Then what's your not-amazing Talent?" Claire asked, tilting her head.
Dulcinea clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
"I was given the 'title' of Ultimate Runner-Up."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Dulcinea surveyed the room and tapped her foot against the floor. Clearly, she wanted someone other than herself to break the ice, but she was ultimately left fuming in the corner when everyone went back to focusing on the still-nameless woman.
"Would ya just tell us who ya are already?" Cash asked, drawing an eye-roll from said woman.
"If I comply, will you no longer pester me?"
Cash and Claire nodded, as did Enji and Chiharu once the young woman looked their way. She then groaned a second later, straightened her posture, and cleared her throat as if she was about to deliver a presentation.
"My name is Fay Kingsley, the Ultimate 3D Printer. Will that suffice?" she asked rhetorically, though Cash still nodded.
With that, Fay turned her back to the group and headed for the winding staircase in silence. By the time she reached the first step, she heard a pair of footsteps right behind her and turned around. Dulcinea and Claire stood there waiting for Fay to turn back around and head up the stairs, but she continued to stare at them.
"What on Earth are you doing?"
"Investigating the second floor," Dulcinea replied, prompting Fay to let her pass by. The Runner-Up wasted no time flying up the stairs and jumping right into detective mode the instant she arrived at the nearest door.
Fay reverted her gaze back to Claire shortly thereafter and repeated her question.
Claire giggled, then exclaimed, "Following you!"
Fay rolled her eyes and turned around. "I don't have time for this nonsense," she spat, scaling the stairs until she also got off at the second floor.
Emanating from behind Fay yet again was the sound of Claire's footsteps, which prompted her to stick her hand out like a crossing guard even as she marched towards the floor's white-bricked hallway.
"Hey! We're supposed to stick together and find everyone!" Claire shouted to Fay, cupping her hands around her mouth.
Her cries fell on deaf ears, as Fay simply ignored her and continued down the hallway without ever turning around. Claire folded her arms and pouted like a child, though when she glanced back at the others none of them looked too distraught over Fay going solo.
"What a bitch," said Dulcinea.
She cracked a smile and eyed Claire, almost as if she was waiting for her to laugh before joining in. The laughter never came, however, leaving a dejected Dulcinea to cuss under her breath while Claire talked to the others.
"Soooooo should I go after... What's her name? Fake? That's a weird na-"
"Claire, shut up; her name's Fay! And no, do not go after her!" Cash snapped.
"Why?"
While the Entrepreneur pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to ten, Enji waved at Claire to get her attention.
"Uh, sh-sh-she didn't seem like a t-team player."
Chiharu nodded at the still-trembling Enji and added, "Plu~uuus, she said not to follow."
Claire brought her index finger up past her chin and rested it there, looking off into the distance as if she was deep in thought. Suddenly, she pivoted on her right foot so that she was facing Dulcinea and snapped her fingers to get the Runner-Up's attention.
Still muttering obscenities to herself, Dulcinea stopped investigating her surroundings to glance over her shoulder with a furious expression.
"Whaaat?" Dulcinea was so angry she ended up growling like a dog, eliciting a hearty round of laughter from Claire.
"Dooo yooou..." The Etch-a-Sketcher dragged out both words and bobbed her head from side to side. "Dooo yooou... wanna come with us?"
Although Claire could barely see Cash, Enji, and Chiharu out of the corner of her eye she could tell from their shadows that they approved of her question.
Dulcinea flinched.
"Join... you guys?"
Claire nodded like an idiot, messing up her hair in the process, but she stopped all of a sudden and peered down the white-bricked hallway.
Meanwhile, Dulcinea slowly looked over the area she'd just started investigating and let out a deep sigh. It didn't seem as if there was a right - or wrong - answer, which made responding to Claire that much more difficult, though she was certain she didn't want to be seen in the same light as Fay. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she answered.
"Pfft! Like I'd want to spend my time with you assholes!"
She stuck her nose high up in the air and snickered at the lack of a response, stunning as it was.
Conversely, the other Ultimates shook their heads and tried getting Claire to do the same - or, at least Enji did while Cash sat against the wall opposite the cells and closed his eyes. As for Chiharu, she alternated between offering Enji a hand and trying to get Cash to contribute in some manner.
The tiny girl took her eyes off Claire for just a moment as she approached Cash and shouted, "He~llo! We could really use your help right now!"
One of Cash's eyes cracked open ever-so-slightly and locked onto her in a split-second. She saw that the look on his face had hardened considerably, though for whatever reason she pressed on without so much as a second thought and leaned in once she grabbed the torn sleeve of Cash's suit.
"What should we be doing right now?"
He slapped Chiharu's hands away in the blink of an eye and brushed the dirt off his sleeve in silence. Once he was done doing that, Cash interlocked his fingers and rested the lower-half of his face against them with a disgruntled huff.
"Don't touch the suit."
There was a chill in the air after he spoke, which was likely the cause of Dulcinea, Enji, and Chiharu shivering in unison. He noticed as much, and yet he refused to put on a nicer face.
"I'm waitin' ta see if there'll be more releases; and I'm plannin' our next moves if there are, or aren't, any."
Cash's eye closed less than a second later, and by the time Chiharu noticed that she threw her arms towards the ground and stomped away. At the same time, Dulcinea gave up on shooing Claire away, both in general and from the area she was investigating.
They both squatted a few inches away from the door nearest the winding stairs and inspected everything there was to inspect - the metal flooring? the door? the metal flooring again? Check, check, and check again. With that being the case, why was it so hard to put any of the puzzle's pieces together? Surely there must've been a clue around that could give them some idea of where they were, and why they were there.
The two of them continued to pick at nothing within in arm's reach under the guise of investigating, though that didn't last very long.
"RAAAAWWWWR!"
Fay sprinted out of the white-bricked hallway covered in sweat, veered right, and crashed into both Claire and Dulcinea just outside the hallway. She and the other girls found themselves tangled in a mess of limbs and struggled to get all sorted out, let alone back on their feet. Right as they did, Fay booked it for the staircase at the other end of the metal walkway and left them behind without any warning of what was headed their way.
Enji and Chiharu alternated between looking at her and the hallway she came barreling out of until the former caught sight of a black figure bounding down the hallway. He backed away in a panic, tripped over his own two feet, and landed on his rear, but none of that stopped him from trying to crawl as far away from the black figure as he could.
Chiharu covered for her fellow Ultimate and spotted the black figure right away.
"RUN! RUUUN! IT'S THE MONSTER!"
000
First, they locked me up in a prison; then they let me out of my cell, without any instructions; and now not only can I roam free, but I can also find other Ultimates here? This place is...
"Hey! Hey, Jackie! Hey! Over here!"
Jackie paused her train of thought and strolled over to whomever had called her name. She sat down on an empty bench next to a girl who was sprawled out on the grass, yawned, and let her head fall back to gaze at the bright blue sky. There wasn't a single cloud overhead, and the only sound to come from outside the prison's walls was that of waves breaking.
I know we're out in the ocean, but something feels... off. Jackie rubbed her forehead and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Heyyy! Jackayyy!"
"Hm?"
Jackie cracked one eye open and looked at the smiling girl. She hadn't noticed it until then, but after looking at the girl's oversized silk circus pants Jackie could only picture her as a clown.
"What're you thinking about? You're SO quiet!" the girl asked as she rocked back, then forward and into a sitting position.
"Oh, it's nothing... I guess."
"You 'GUESS'?! C'mon, now I HAAAAAVE to know!"
Rather than go back and forth with the clown-looking girl, Jackie leaned her head back and closed her eyes again. Not even a second later her eyes shot open when she felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders, which shook her like mad until she broke free from their grasp and jumped out of her seat.
All of a sudden, Jackie regained her composure. "What was that for?"
"I was trying to shake some sense into you, Miss Ultimate Game Reviewer!"
"That... that's not a thing."
"It is if you're the Ultimate Motivator!"
"Which you're not, 'Miss Ultimate Fire Breather.'"
The cheery girl put her index finger up to her lips and shushed Jackie, who closed her eyes and leaned her head back in response. The cheery girl also returned to laying sprawled out on the grass, though she soon began to examine the buildings surrounding herself and Jackie.
There wasn't a single word exchanged between the girls for the next however-many minutes until, suddenly, Jackie got up from her seat on the bench and turned every which way while looking around.
"Do you hear that?" she whispered to the other girl, who was busy picking the grass. "Momoko!"
The other girl, Momoko, flinched at the sound of Jackie's voice and rolled onto her back, asking, "What's up?" Her question was answered in an instant, as both a high-pitched scream and menacing roar rang throughout the courtyard.
Momoko and Jackie turned to each other, the former with fire in her eyes, and ran in the direction of the scream. The sound of their shoes hitting the concrete was like that of a bomb going off, which would've made it difficult for the girls to keep an ear out for another scream or roar had they needed to. Fortunately for them, they reached the entrance to the building from where the scream and roar came, and they charged inside.
There were two hallways, one with white-bricked walls and the other with red-bricked walls that looked as if they'd been freshly painted, freezing Jackie and Momoko in place. Their eyes darted left and right between both hallways, and when Momoko started to move her legs Jackie threw an arm out to stop her.
Jackie then held one finger up, telling the other girl to keep still for a moment, and cupped her left hand around her left ear.
"RAAAAWWWWR!"
Both girls jumped, though Jackie was quick to react after hearing where the roar came from. "This way!"
She waved for Momoko while dashing down the white-bricked hallway, and before either of them knew it, they emerged from the dusty hallway and walked into the very first room they'd ever been in: the one with sixteen cells.
Those were exactly what Jackie first looked at the instant she stepped foot in the room.
"Hey, Momoko, how many of those doors were open when you got out?"
"Hmmm... mayyyybe four. Why?"
"Now ten ar-"
As if on cue, the two closed doors on the first floor swung open at the same time. While Jackie kept her distance, Momoko hurried over to the doors and poked her head inside both for a second each.
"We don't have time for this, Momoko! We need to find out where those screams came from!"
"WOW! People are in these! Did you hear that, Jackie?! PEOPLE are in these!"
"I'm sure there are. Now can we- wait, what?!"
Jackie rushed over to Momoko's and peeked inside both cells, which were just as disgusting and horribly lit as her's was. Two boys suddenly stepped out from them, shielding their eyes until they adjusted to the light.
One was easily a foot taller than the other, maybe even a foot-and-a-half, yet despite his size his face looked much younger. His shirt, if you could even call it that, was unlike anything Jackie and Momoko had ever seen - it had a black and gold color scheme, which went well with the red cape tied to his shoulders. His baby blue eyes locked on to Jackie, and he grabbed her hand before she could even blink.
"Your eyes... they sparkle like the diamonds in the sky! They are gorgeous, just like you." He then pulled a rose out of thin air and offered it to Jackie, who blushed. "Be my girlfriend!"
Momoko's and the shorter boy's jaws dropped as they watched Jackie struggle to grab ahold of the rose, both thinking, This guy's got balls! Even if there was no attraction whatsoever, how could anyone say no to the guy when his approach was that direct? You almost had to say yes out of sheer respect for his courage.
"Thanks for the compliment, but ask me out properly first. Then maybe we could talk."
Although Jackie said them jokingly, her words still delivered a gut-punch that even Momoko and the short boy felt. The tall one, however, laughed the rejection off and let go of Jackie's hand. How was he not crushed?
"So who are you, anyway? Usually people know each other's names before they ask each other out."
The tall boy leaned back and laughed, displaying his pearly white teeth. "Haha, that's not necessary when you're as handsome as I am."
Jackie stopped smiling, whereas Momoko nodded in agreement with the rebuttal.
"Sounds like someone's compensating," the shorter boy muttered just loud enough for Momoko to hear, which elicited a fit of laughter from her.
"I am the Ultimate Matador, and my name is Antonio Ordoñez. Be sure to remember it, baby."
"Yeah... I'll try," Jackie replied before shifting her gaze to the shorter boy.
There wasn't much to look at in terms of clothing - he wore a beige trench coat that covered his upper-body and had a microphone pin on the lapel; a pair of jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. His accessories were a different story, however, as he donned a beige pork pie hat with a black stripe around it, and a pair of large black headphones around his neck.
"This situation just gets more and more irritating by the second." He sighed and extended his hand, which was hidden inside a black leather glove that also had a mic pin on it. "But where are my manners? Koji Nakajima: Ultimate Radio Host."
As Jackie went to shake Koji's hand, Momoko shoved her out of the way and jumped up and down after grabbing his hand.
"You mean THE Koji Nakajima?! You're REALLY him?!"
Koji gave an awkward smile as he nodded and tried to pull his hand away, only for Momoko to hold on even tighter. Antonio and Jackie, meanwhile, watched in confusion until the latter interrupted.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but who is he?"
Momoko finally let go of Koji's hand when she spun on her heels, so she didn't see him bury his hands in his trench coat pockets with an unamused expression.
"Only the host of the biggest radio show in Japan: Koji Hour!" The lack of a reaction from either Jackie or Antonio left her speechless.
"It must be because I'm American. Sorry if I offended you," Jackie said.
"And I'm from Spain, so the same goes for me," added Antonio.
Koji waved off the apology and started towards the winding staircase. "Doesn't bother me. Life, and everything that comes with it - fame, money, power - means nothing." He kept an eye on the others and took in their befuddled reactions with a smirk as he made his way up the stairs.
"RAAAAWWWWR!"
All four of them stopped what they were doing to look in the direction from which the roar came. Momoko and Jackie then glanced at each other and darted towards the staircase while Antonio and Koji remained frozen - perhaps by fear, shock, confusion, or some combination of the three.
As both girls passed by him, Koji turned around and asked, "Are you two actually going towards that?"
"We heard someone scream before we found you guys, so yeah," Jackie replied as she sprinted to the other end of the metal walkway and turned right, disappearing down the hallway along with Momoko.
Antonio also scaled the staircase nearest that hallway, and opposite Koji, but he stopped running once he was on the second floor. His legs shook like jelly as he listened to their footsteps grow quieter with each passing second. He took a deep breath while beads of sweat rolled down his head. Then he gave chase.
Koji, having watched the sequence of events, shook his head. "Idiots."
000
"Quick! Get in!"
Dulcinea grabbed Claire by the arm, yanked her inside an empty square-shaped room, and started to close the door until Fay crashed into it with her shoulder. She stumbled inside and fell on her face, though fortunately for her Dulcinea slammed the door shut just as they caught a glimpse of a massive black figure charging at them.
CRACK!
"Rrrgh," the monster growled. The girls could see its shadow from underneath the bottom of the door, and it seemed to stumble around a bit as it fled.
Fay and Dulcinea audibly exhaled in relief before the latter pressed her back against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the cracked concrete floor, gasping for air. Fay continued to lay on her stomach and also struggled to catch her breath. Then there was Claire, who, unlike her fellow Ultimates, hadn't broken a sweat. She stood on the opposite side of the tiny room with her face pressed against one of three bar-covered windows, mindlessly gazing outside at the courtyard like a zombie.
They remained like that for the next ten or fifteen minutes, with Dulcinea and Fay keeping an ear out for the monster while Claire stared into space. Then, without warning, Dulcinea slapped her hands against the floor.
"WHAT... THE FUCK... WAS THAT THING?!" she yelled in between breaths.
Fay flipped over and onto her back. "Quiet down, you buffoon."
"It doesn't matter how loud I am, that thing knows we're in here."
"It does now that you've gone and screamed like a banshee." Fay sat up, stared at Dulcinea, and clapped without making a sound. "Congratulations, Runner-Up. Your idiocy has not only put your life in danger, but ours as well."
Dulcinea's chin jutted out and her arms shook violently after she balled up her fists. "Go fuck a jackhammer, bitch!"
Her words bounced around the room like rubber bullets fired from a gun. An awkward silence fell over the room and only became more awkward due to the girls' refusal to look in every direction except each other's. Every so often they'd glance at each other, scowl, and look at something else, only to end up doing the same thing less than a minute later.
Hearing Claire groan all of a sudden drew both Fay's and Dulcinea's attention. They watched her turn around very slowly and inched away upon seeing her expressionless face.
"You two aren't fun. I'm leaving."
"Fun? How does such a thing take precedence over survival?" Fay snapped.
Claire ignored her question and headed for the door, the latter of which broke Dulcinea's silence and prompted her to rise to her feet.
"Hold on a sec, we don't know if that thing's waiting right outside for us."
Fay scoffed, drawing a glare from the Runner-Up. "Now you care about that? How rich."
With Dulcinea taking the bait and firing back with an insult of her own, Claire slipped outside and closed the door with a sigh. She looked down both ends of the hallway and saw nothing resembling the monster, so she turned right since that was the way she, Dulcinea, and Fay were running before they had to take shelter.
As Claire twirled around she scanned every inch of the hallway, which had nothing but brick walls covered in dirt, cobwebs, and some random brownish-red splotches. She dragged one hand along the wall and her face scrunched up when she saw the residue on her fingers.
Wowzers - this place is groooooossss!
She wiped her fingers with her black leggings, but she didn't notice that left trails of the residue on them.
How do I get outside? Is it this way? I bet it's this way. I wonder where that big, scary monster is. Getting chased by it was sooooo much fun! Too bad that runner-girl made us hide. That's sooooo boring! I hope there's another fun person here. That would be suuuuuper fun! Wait, where am I?
Claire stopped and spun around to take in her surroundings. Instead of the bricks being painted white they were blue, and there were three doors scattered down the hallway with two on the left side and one on the right. She approached the nearest one and reached for the handle, but she paused as her eyes lit up.
Unlike every other door she'd come across up to that point, this one seemed to have a "theme" of sorts. There was some sort of chart drawn on it with a bunch of random letters thrown together - such as Cu, Ag, and Au, among a hundred others.
She jerked her hand back and ran towards the other doors. Ooooh, do those have designs too? I bet they do!
The second door was painted black with a gold trim, and a bull's head had been printed in the center of it. Additionally, the bull's eyes were painted bright red, though compared to the previous door it was terribly underwhelming.
Claire then reached the end of the hall and examined the last door, which only had the face of a lion etched into it. "Well this one's super-duper boring! Is the inside like that too?"
Upon grabbing hold of the door handle, Claire felt her ears twitch when an unfamiliar sound sprang up from out of nowhere. She turned to see what it was and suddenly let go of the door handle when a massive black feline crept forward with a low-pitched growl. It locked its emerald green eyes onto Claire, who turned to face the feline before slowly placing her hand back on the door handle.
The feline snapped its jaws immediately, prompting Claire to put her hands up as if she was being held at gunpoint, and it licked its lips. It quickly shifted its weight to its hind legs. It was at that moment Claire realized the feline was going to pounce. Her heart started pounding and sweat rolled down her brow. Was she about to die? It didn't feel like it, but she had to consider it since the threat was literally staring her down.
CLICK!
"RAWR!" the feline roared as its eyes shot open.
It spun around a nanosecond later, or at least it tried to before suddenly falling on its side. Claire tilted her head and eyed the feline, whose legs were cuffed together, until she saw an unfamiliar girl squat and take notes right in front of the snarling feline without ever flinching.
"What're you goggling at?"
Claire flinched. The girl hadn't even looked at her, and yet she knew Claire was staring. Judging by the sound of her voice, she wasn't too happy with that.
"That big cat! How'd you cuff its legs?!"
Suddenly, the girl cracked a toothy smile and turned to Claire. "Relax! I'm just fucking with you!" she exclaimed after standing up. "Did this pussy take a bite outta you?"
"No siree Bob!"
She simultaneously nodded in response and wrote something down in her notepad, before running a hand through her dark blue hair. In doing so, her duster opened up just enough for Claire to see a police badge sticking out of a pocket and a gun holster strapped to her hip.
"Holy moly! Is that a police badge? Are you a policewoman?! An ULTIMATE policewoman?! I'm Claire Fleener, the Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher!"
Claire leaned forward with a twinkle in her eyes and invaded the girl's personal space, not that she seemed to mind.
"Hm? No, I'm the Ultimate Cop. Name's Kaguya Akise."
"Hey, can I shoot your gun?!"
"Eh... sure, why not?"
Claire jumped up and down, giddy with excitement.
"But you have to draw me like one of your french girls in return."
"SurewhateverIdon'tcarejustgimmethegun!"
Kaguya leaned back and laughed while Claire continued to jump and down out of excitement.
"Hahaha! I'm just fucking with you, Claire. I don't have my gun with me," she said while displaying her empty holster.
The Etch-a-Sketcher froze. Her smile turned into a frown and the twinkle in her eyes went out, causing Kaguya to purse her lips.
"But you know what? When I get one, I'll let you shoot the first round. How does that sound?"
Claire's face lit up in an instant, and she lunged forward to embrace Kaguya. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you soooooo much, Kaguya! That sounds suuuuper fun!"
"Sure thing. For now, though," Kaguya said as she pushed Claire back and looked at the massive feline, "we need to take care of this thing."
As she said that, Kaguya strolled over to the feline and clicked her pen so that the point shot out. Claire stood by and watched Kaguya rear her arm back and swing it down like a hammer.
"What are you doing, Human?!"
Kaguya's arm froze before the point of the pen could impale the feline's head, and her neck whipped around as the door with a lion head swung open. A tall young man jumped out and charged at Kaguya, who sweep-kicked his legs out from underneath him and pinned him down by pressing her forearm against his throat.
The feline roared and bucked at the sight, trying to crawl its way over to the young man.
"Stay... back, Black," the young man muttered as Kaguya applied more pressure to his throat.
"Black? Ohhhhhh! Is that your pet?" Claire asked, pointing at the feline.
The young man's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and he threw Kaguya off himself before bounding towards Claire. "Don't you dare call him a pet!"
"Whoopsies! Sorrrry." She bowed before he could swing at her, causing him to freeze mid-stride. "Y'know, even though he almost ate me, it was reeeeaaallllly fun running from him."
The young man stared at Claire with his piercing gold eyes for a moment before glancing over his shoulder and at Kaguya.
"Black would never eat something as disgusting as a human."
"Pfft. Yeah right," Kaguya retorted, drawing the young man's attention. "That fucker would've torn her apart had I not cuffed its fucking legs."
His eyes twitched, and he slowly started towards Kaguya. "Take them off. Now."
Claire tilted her head. The young man spoke in a low tone that made him sound as if he was growling almost exactly like Black did when she grabbed the door handle. And then her eyes slowly began to open wider and wider until, finally, she gasped.
Kaguya kept an eye on the stranger as she asked, "You okay, Claire?"
"Yuppers! I just noticed something, is all."
"Lay it on me."
"I think Black was trying to bring people here. He definitely could've caught us, but all he did was chase us until I got here."
"Us? What're you talking about?" asked Kaguya.
Claire tapped her index finger against her cheek a few times and looked off into the distance. "Weeeellll I was with some other people earlier, but they were sooooo boring."
Kaguya leaned her head forward and eyed Claire intensely and took out her notepad. "There're other people here? How many? What're their names? Wait... what's your name?" she interrogated, pointing her pen at the young man.
"Uncuff Black first."
The Cop muttered under her breath as she uncuffed Black's legs, and as soon as she did he trotted over to the young man's side.
"Toto Shishigo, Ultimate Lion Tamer. Just so you know, I don't associate with humans."
"But you're doing that right now."
Toto hissed at Claire and headed for the door he came out of with Black in tow. However, the moment he grabbed the handle an intercom switched on.
"Attention inmates: Now that you're all in groups, get your asses over to the courthouse! That's in the center of the prison, or opposite your cells for those of you who're lost. Anyone who isn't present twenty minutes from now will be put to death, so ya better hurry!"
Toto, Kaguya, and Claire let the announcement sink in for a second before Claire began to skip down the hallway. All they could do was follow orders and march towards the center of despair.
Nine more students were introduced, and the final six will make their appearances next chapter, which will signal the end of the prologue and the beginning of the Killing Game!
For those of you waiting to see your character's introduction, my goal is to have the chapter posted by the end of next week. Thank you for your patience!
BouncingFish: Thanks! I'm happy to hear you like them so much, and hopefully I keep it up with the humor. Fingers crossed! You're right that a prison isn't new (far from it), and I appreciate the positive feedback
Warrior of Hope: Love the character analyses - you hit the nail on the head for each of them - and I appreciate the kind words. I'm confident you'll like the rest of the cast just as much as these three
Crimson Spider Lily: I hadn't thought to look up Etch-a-Sketch art till you brought it up, lol. For as big an idiot as Claire is, I'm glad she's gotten such a positive reception. Enji ain't the Ultimate Boxer for nothing! And thanks!
dougcupkae: Oh man, thank you! I hope every character lives up to your expectations now and going forward. I agree that Enji is similar to Mikan right now, but I believe he'll distance himself from that image in the future
Umber105: Lol. No need to explain, my good man/woman. Glad to hear you're excited, and I hope everything lives up to/exceeds your expectations!
pokemansuperallstar: Now for "The Ultimate Prisoners!" lol. I plan on rotating characters in and out of that role, so while Claire may be one of many, y'all should be more familiar with her than the others. I like your character comps, too; tbh I hadn't thought of Claire as an Ibuki/Kaede/Hina combo until now, but I love it!
HoppsHungerfan: I didn't realize Cash's appearance was so much different than his Talent suggests; and Claire's an idiot, to put it lightly. Enji's the one I'm most interested in too for the same reason, plus he's a nice contrast to Cash and Claire
Students Met: 12/18
1. Claire Fleener - Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher
2. Cash Bach - Ultimate Entrepreneur
3. Enji Tsukamu - Ultimate Boxer
4. Chiharu Shimizu - Ultimate Mimic
5. Fay Kingsley - Ultimate 3D Printer
6. Dulcinea Cervantes - Ultimate Runner-Up
7. Jackilen "Jackie" Ruben - Ultimate Game Reviewer
8. Momoko Fujimori - Ultimate Fire Breather
9. Antonio Ordoñez - Ultimate Matador
10. Koji Nakajima - Ultimate Radio Host
11. Kaguya Akise - Ultimate Cop
12. Toto Shishigo - Ultimate Lion Tamer