Hey everyone! New chapter! And on a completely awesome side note, there is going to be art based on this story! This is all thanks to Cortexiphan, one of my fantastic readers. She has started drawing this story in comic book form and it looks incredible. There's a cover drawing up on her Tumblr, you should check her out at frizzy-hair-and-frumpy-clothes and also look at some of her other art. Now, on with the story! Hugs and butterfly kisses, ravenclawdancer4999.


The shadowy figure scoped out the first floor hallway; this is where the fun would begin. All of a sudden, she heard the creak of a door and bolted into a nearby room.

"Matt? Nick?" a deep voice called, "I have the black paper and tape you asked me to bring!" Curious, the figure poked her head out the door and watched an extremely tall male stumble along the wall, trying to adjust to the darkness.

Jim Povolo didn't have a clue what was going on; all he knew was that Matt and Nick had called earlier that day asking if he was in town and if he was, to meet at the drama center at two o' clock sharp and bring tape and black paper. Unfortunately, this had been conveyed in voice mail form, seeing as he had been in the middle of an audition. He knew he was several hours late, but figured he should still show up. The building seemed to be empty, but Jim had seen a few familiar cars in the parking lot and decided to check anyway.

Out of nowhere, he felt a hand on his shoulder and whipped around to see a set of eyes looking back at him.

"Nice of you to turn up, Jim," the figure chuckled.

"Hey, I figured better late than never," he shrugged, looking around, "Do I even want to know what's going on in here?"

"We shouldn't talk in the open," she whispered, "Follow me if you want to survive." She turned to leave and Jim, still bewildered, obediently followed. She climbed the stairs once more up to her base in the security office. After quickly unlocking the door, she pulled Jim inside and turned on the security feed once more.

"Okay, so what's going on?" Jim asked again, leaning against a wall as the figure fell back into the chair.

"Matt and Nick issued a challenge," the figure answered, turning her attention the screens, "You have just walked straight into a Nerf gun war like you've never seen. Anything goes; stealing weapons, making alliances, and taking hostages are all fair game. The brothers also hid extra ammo around the building, but most of that is already gone as far as I can tell."

"Anything else I should know?" The mysterious person turned back to Jim, evil villain style in the office chair, hands folded in front of her.

"I plan on winning."

Joe, Brian, Meredith, and Lauren continued their descent into the basement of the building. They crept up to the stage combat room, but at this point, subtlety wasn't exactly the group's strong point. Brian ended up kicking the door open before anyone could say something against it. However, on entering, the room was abandoned.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Meredith remarked.

"Shut up," Walker scowled, looking around the room and heading towards the stack of mats by the back wall. He stuck his hand in between the blue pads, reaching for something. "At least we still have-" Joe stopped abruptly, freezing momentarily.

"Still have what?" Lauren asked keenly.

"Don't tell me," Brian groaned, "They got those too." Sure enough, Walker came back empty-handed.

"You still haven't answered the question," Meredith responded, "What are you two looking for?"

"A pack of twenty extra darts, but it's gone," Brian answered grimly, "Joey and Dylan must have found them while they were here and used them against us."

"Not so unimportant when you lose something, is it?" Lauren retorted, crossing her arms.

"That's different," Joe shook his head, "Those darts could have actually helped us in the game."

"Just drop it you two," Meredith rolled her eyes, "We have more important things to do."

"Alright, we need to figure out our strategy. I'm not going on some suicide mission to take out those four," Julia remarked, drumming her fingers on her knee, "Who has ideas?" The group of three was currently sitting underneath a stairwell, laying low and biding their time.

"Let's start with what we know," Nick asked, "What are their weaknesses?"

"They're a bigger group than we are, but that means it's harder for them to mobilize," Matt answered, "They lack stealth."

"Right," Julia continued, "What about individual weaknesses?"

"Walker has muscle, but he's slower than the others and can't maneuver as well," Nick pointed out, "We could easily outrun him."

"Brian isn't as good a shot as the others," Matt added.

"As for Mere, she's probably the best markswoman, but she's easily distracted," Julia replied, "And Lo, she's got a temper that makes Serena Williams look tame."

"We're forgetting the most important point though," Nick said, "Their advantage comes from them working together, right? If we can separate them, we could pick them off one by one."

"I'll take Joe," Matt volunteered, "I know for a fact I can outmaneuver him."

"In that case, I'll handle Holden," Nick responded, "What about you, Julia?"

"In all honesty, I'd rather try to take out Meredith," Julia sighed grimly, "But I think we all know Lauren wouldn't take that lying down and I can't outshoot Meredith on my own. We'd be better off getting rid of Lauren and then focusing on Meredith. Besides, I'm pretty sure I know how to push her buttons better than anyone else."

"Then it's decided," Matt nodded, "We'll work as a team to divide them and once they're alone, we can pick them off one-on-one. Our best bet would be to let them see us, then take off running in different directions so they have to split up to follow us."

"I know Mere and Lo are going to follow me," Julia commented, "They're probably still pissed I got away, especially after that text I sent."

"How are you going to manage to shake Meredith off to get Lauren alone?" Nick inquired.

"I've got a pretty good idea," Julia grinned mischievously, "But what about you two? How are you going to split Walker and Holden up?"

"We're brothers," Matt smiled devilishly, "We'll just have to give them double trouble."

Joey, meanwhile, had managed to collect a few things on his way to meet Dylan on the first floor. After the quick raid of a costume closet, he now had a pair of black gloves, a few bandannas, and black war paint. Along the way he had also found a roll of duct tape, a screwdriver, a flashlight and a length of rope.

He casually strolled along the hall, stopping in front of the janitor's closet. Joey quickly looked right, then left, to ensure he was alone. Quietly twisting the doorknob, he entered the pitch black closet.

"Dylan, it's me, Joey," he whispered, flicking on his flashlight, "So what's the plan for-" He stopped and had to keep himself from yelling out.

The light had fell on to the back corner of the closet, revealing Dylan, who was gagged with his hands tied behind his back. A look of panic flashed in Dylan's eyes as he struggled to free himself. He made noise, but the gag kept Joey from understanding.

Suddenly, Joey felt cold plastic between his shoulder blades and a hand over his mouth.

"Don't take another step and don't you dare scream," a throaty voice rasped in his ear, "Or so help me, I will shoot."


Wow, that got really intense, really fast...I enjoy it...If you enjoy it too, use that nice little review button!