5pb. Phase 4: In which the first official round has begun
They barely got time wake up in the morning, or at least what they thought was the morning hour. It seemed that a few hours had past since Lyrica met Zyng and Quantic, and yet the battle for their lives was already commencing. When she awoke (the first in her group to do so), military-like soldiers, dressed in the finest steel imaginable, walked up and down the aisles, banging the butt of their guns on the cage-doors, alerting everyone to awake status. One of the soldiers finally got to Lyrica's cage and, though he found that she was awake and alert already, still banged on the iron door, forcing the whiny princess and the innocent foreigner awake in the process (shouldn't they both be considered foreigners? Ah, who cares). This process continued on until all the freaking cages had angry grievances issued throughout the cages.
"Ah, how dare those buffoons wake me up in such an uncivilized manner! Do they not know who I am?" Zyng yelled to the soldiers with a fist raised in the air, a thumb aiming downwards as a result. Lyrica pictured this as a childish manuevuer, but in Foreheadbook, that down-thumb gesture is one of the worst insults you can possibly give to any gent. However, this is not Foreheadbook, so that fragment of culture is simply laughable, even here on Lan16. With a heavy cry, Quantic also arose, standing up silently as she stretched to the heavens above. Oddly, her movements seemed to be less humanlike, and more in the style of interactive movie, where her motions can simply be modified at the push of a button. It was all strange to Lyrica, but seeing as how she might end up seeing them dead in a short spell, she decided that perhaps, she should cherish some of these cultural oddities for at least a little bit. Though, since one of them was a bitchy princess, she wondered how far she would go for that.
Oh dear God… do I want them to die?
"Oi, weiz must goi! Wonde what weiz do?" Quantic pondered, confused over why they had to be awaken at a time like this. Most of the people around them began to bang on the cage doors, with the soldiers on the other side simply yelling back at them to keep quiet, apparently due to them having to show some respect to what they were about to say. Still, this did not stop them from pounding on those metallic doors, begging for them to be open, allowing what may have been one of the deadliest riots Lyrica would have ever seen (And trust this author, she has happened to see a couple in her rockstar life). Zyng made a loud sigh, slouching against the metallic door as her hands were crossed over her chest, one of her fingers restlessly tapping on the opposing arm. The soldiers were actually quite pleased with how Lyrica's group was doing, seeing as how the others were simply attempting to break out and kill anything that stood in their way. It was this thought that made Lyrica chuckle, as she wondered if the men could handle Zyng for more than ten seconds. That would be a riot to see, no?
"Everyone, pipe the hell down! Show some dignity; you all want to win this game, correct? Just stay calm, and when the doors open for your cages, proceed out the door quietly and with order. Any who do not follow these rules will be shot on the spot, and if you are the leader and the bullet ends your life, realize that your teammates will share your same fate!" A soldier yelled, aiming his rifle at the groups, prompting the other soldiers to follow suit. The denizens of each cage retaliated with either a wimper or loud protest, though all were admittedly fearful of a barrel aiming straight towards their faces, so they all backed off, just in case those soldiers got a little frisky with their trigger fingers. Lyrica still remained crouched on the floor, trying to pinch herself awake, just in case this whole scenario turned out to be a well-made dream. Or, would that be a nightmare? Either way, it still wasn't pleasant in either way.
One by one, a door opened, and three of the prisoners stepped out reluctantly, some attempting to jump and frighten the soldiers, though a few warning shots toward the ceiling made them all go back on track. Even though it was evident that barely anyone knew who each other was, two of the group members would walk around the third member, presumably the leader of the pact, making sure that no matter what, the leader couldn't do anything that could end the lives of the others. It was a strange form of teamwork that begged the question of whether anyone could co-operate in such a bizarre situation quite like this. Sure, two men would protect the leader, but would they do the same if that person was not the leader? Hell no; Lyrica has seen situations where people simply wouldn't help those that need it. If that leader title was not added to the person, that person was as good as road kill. It made the idol scared, as she was now considered a leader of a motley pack, who already were proving to be unstable. It made Lyrica wonder if, she had this title stripped from her, would the two of them immediately set their sights on her life? It was one of those questions that could keep a stoic being up for plenty of hours during the night.
"So, something happens to the leader, the rest of the team dies? What a bizarre rule!" Zyng yelled, still slouching on the door, waiting for it to open, so she could be the first one out and have the chance to speak her mind against the soldiers on the other side (perhaps she failed to realize that the soldiers already warned against that. Then again, maybe she did realize the situation, and she simply didn't care. Can't tell with these new characters, kind readers). She looked over at her other team members, smirking as she tapped that finger over and over again. "5-whatever, you better not pull off any, stupid trick! I don't know about you or this girl, but I prefer staying alive!" Zyng yelled, taking a cautious peek out the window of the door to see if the soldiers were heading their way yet. They were coming closer by the minute, but they were currently busy with a cage three down from them. Seems they have a little bit of time for conflict, huh?
Lyrica looked up at the apparent Princess. "I would never do anything stupid, if it meant that someone would get hurt. I'm more worried about you, Zyng. You seem to be the type who would lash out at random. Oh, and its 5pb. If I have to address your name right, I think I should have mine said right, too!" Lyrica yelled, trying to restrain herself from lashing out too much. Who would think that Lyrica had the ability of speaking with a snarky attitude? I do say, that was quite unexpected, but since books can't talk, I guess you'll just have to visualize it for yourself. Will it work in Japanese? Do they even know what Japan is?
Zyng suddenly grew angry, and made an angry step forward, making Quantic make a hilarious yelp as she covered her head in the corner of the rom. "What was that? Did you just talk back to me, you little welch? I would never lash out at others, even if they were clearly evil (heh, good one). Honestly, I want to hurt these fools, but I'm apparently not allowed to, so don't you dare think I would do it! You have no right to speak to a noble lady such as myself!" Zyng yelled, pointing a finger straight at the idol. It was this type of attitude that angered Lyrica to no end, and whenever someone had the gall to actually wave a finger in front of her face, she was essentially ready to embark on a quest to rid that person from this planet. She stood up on her feet (feeling cracking as she did this, having been crouching for a long duration of time), and simply stared down at the princess. "You know, I seriously think I should be leader rather than you! At least I know what I am doing," Zynga proclaimed, looking quite overjoyed with herself, patting her chest with a mighty fist. This only added fuel to the fire.
"You know what? Just can it, Zyng! I am the leader, even if I don't want it, so that's that! If you don't clean up your attitude right now, I'll…I'll…" Lyrica said, before trailing off. What would she do? She couldn't just hurt Zyng, being that she was a party member and all, but that wasn't the main reason for her hesitance. Even though this person was quite rude and filled with ostentatious behavior, she was still just like Lyrica herself: a human. She had never hurt another person in such a bad way, as far as she knew; even when her old group had to fight off Underling so many freaking times during the ASIC days, she never exactly hurt the girl, only brushed her to the side, while the rest of the party did what they could. Could she really hurt Zyng, even after all of this noise that came from her "royal" mouth? Lyrica wasn't sure, but she knew already what the answer will be in due time; she would simply just end up tolerating whatever the hell Zyng told her. Hopefully, during whatever they have to do in this twisted game, she would get Zyng to stop being such a jerkass. At least, she hoped.
It was around that point that Lyrica remembered what IF told her about what occurred at the benefit concert for Lastation. It was still pretty vague within her head, but she still recalled that being, who has now been identified as The Phantom, who made her so twisted on that stage, to the point that she said some cruel things about her audience. Why did she say that? Yeah, she was angered about their apparent drug use, but she would never think those cruel thoughts. Crap, why was she thinking about this now? Was she really thinking the same thoughts toward Zyng now? Wow, and she thought there were crueler people in the world.
"It's your entire fault! I hate this fucking world! I write songs for you, and what do you do? You just get yourself drugged up and look like idiots! God, I fucking hate you all!"
She wondered if there was any reason why that quote was censored before, but later on every other quote was not. Ah, change in demographics, or something like that; anyways, why did she that? Was this a seriously good time to now be thinking about all of this? No, it couldn't be, but for some reason, her mind decided to be a decisively selective asshole, and forced her to think during a dark time in her life. No, Lyrica thought to herself, I shouldn't be thinking like this! I hate her guts, but I shouldn't be thinking like this at all!
"Hey, did you yield already? What type of leader gives up so quickly in an argument? Come now, surely you have more within you than that!" Zyng yelled, bringing Lyrica back to the material world. She shook her head, her hair flipping about in the air, accidentally hitting Quantic in the process, regaining her position within this needless argument. She once more made a face of irritation, offending the princess even more, which had to be quite the accomplishment.
"Listen, just don't do anything stupid out there, all right? We are a team, so no matter how much you protest about us, you just have to deal with it. I'm going to be fine, and Quantic will help us. Just be a team player, okay?" Lyrica tried to sound as much like an adult as she possibly could, hopefully dispelling this argument before it got out of hand quickly. However, because Lyrica has only known Zyng for less than half-an-hour (not counting the time spent sleeping), she has yet to realize the fierce determination that the lady of ForeheadBook held within her. In other words, Zyng refused to accept that as the true end to this vapid argument.
"I am a team player! If you dare speak back to me one more time…" Zyng said, once more pointing her index finger towards the idol once more, a horrific form of kinesics towards others, before Quantic broke through her shell by extending her arms out at both of them.
"Stoip! We can't juiz continzue argruing! Pleaz, maik upe!" she yelled at both of them in her heavily thick accent. Lyrica felt the cold palm of Quantic's hand hit her, and in a spontaneous instant, she immediately calmed down, looking down towards the floor in shame. Zyng, on the other hand, did stop herself from continuing this rather pointless argument, though she pouted and looked the other way, still believing that by the end of all things, she was still the one that could be considered physically and mentally superior, at least compared to the two girls that made up her team.
"I'm sorry, Quantic. I didn't mean to start arguing. Zyng, let's just call a truce, okay?" Lyrica said, making Quantic smile; such a strange child, though seeing her smile made a smile jump upon Lyrica's lips, which was quite relaxing and soothing to those that actually care for her personal, well-being. Lyrica held a hand out, hoping for Zyng to take it, but the princess simply continued to look away with a pout on her face, refusing to even bate an eye towards Lyrica's direction. This made both Quantic and Lyrica look at one another, unsure as to how this group was ultimately going to work out.
Zyng, if that attitude is not cleared up, we can both be doomed. Come on…
The metallic door soon opened, with two soldiers aiming their rifles towards the three girls. The girls in question held their hands up high, Quantic ultimately releasing some tears from her eyes as the men entered the room. They demanded to check their bodies, just in case they were harboring anything that could be horrific for the day ahead. The girls were reluctant, but they had no choice, given the barrels that were aiming down at their necks. Strangely, given that this story is M-rated, you would expect some twisted scene where the men take the advantage, but surprisingly all they did was their job, briefly going over any part of the body that could possibly hold a tainted object, before simply standing by to the side, still holding their guns towards the three of them. It made Lyrica nervous, that's for sure.
"You three, listen up! You are expected to walk out in order from leader to two members. You must walk to the door out there, and have no interaction with the rest of the members of the game. Doing so will end your run here prematurely. Please, co-operate with us, and we wish you the best of luck for the day ahead. Now, march!" one of the soldiers said, standing tall with his gun holstered over his chest. The girls didn't really glare at him, but in their minds they sent words of spite and strife, and with other soldiers on the outside now aiming their guns, the girls had to walk out without another option, holding their hands on the backs of their heads as they walked the long and dangerous mile.
Iffy, where are you? Oh, please give me strength for whatever is happening. You, Epica, everyone…please help me, Lyrica thought to herself as they entered into the blinding light of the next room, the same one that they walked through when they entered the first competition, where Lyrica had to witness brutal murders of children that simply deserved much more than this horrific, hellish world. Lyrica could already tell that their next thing will be just like the last game, but now that there are teams, what could that possibly spell out for them? Will there be another game that required so many to just die out like the inferior beings of mankind? Were they chosen for this to be the delightful toys of the people on this side of Lan16, only meant to be animals trapped in a game of wits and bloodshed? Lyrica grew even more angry, and as the light faded away and the entrance to the arena was visible, with the audible sound of the crowd cheering in enthusiasm coming into full stereo, she could only clench her fists when the whole world came around her.
On the balcony above the entrance, FPS made his grand return, walking slowly as his massive frame shook even the landmass itself. It sounded as though he made an audible cough as he walked up towards the booth with the microphone, though Lyrica couldn't confirm this. She could only stare at the ground as he began to clear his throat, two soldiers standing next to him making sure that he was all right. How could he possibly cough, anyways? From what Lyrica could see, this man wasn't even a man, but a machine! Eh, she assumed that this was just another example of "don't judge a book by its cover" taking affect, though Lyrica didn't know if this really corresponded to this dark and twisted gent. She just wanted to wait and hear what the man was going to say, do whatever he wants (regardless of whether she wanted to or not), and just go back and cry herself to sleep. At least this meeting should be short, correct?
But against all odds, he didn't actually speak right away. Instead, he clapped his massive hands, and it seemed that a cover went over and covered the sky. This made the entire population of contestants rather scared, and a couple of terrifying screams were made that made Lyrica shiver. Artificial light began to pour through the cover, with each light jumping about the massive crowd like flies trying to mark their territory over a land of massive horrendousness. The lights were all a sickly green, reminiscent of a child, who may have eaten too much of a spoiled product, all bouncing off the people with a temerity of an angry gust of wind. To Lyrica, this was all like a twisted rave at an unknown club underneath a city, situations of which she commonly attended during her early days of being a star (days she would like to forget. Relax, folks, nothing twisted occurred to her. They were just stupid, that's all). What the purpose of it was entirely unknown at the moment, but she could at least infer that whatever it was, Lyrica was going to hate it no matter what.
After five seconds of the game's budget going to weird places with lighting, the lights finally rested, seeming to intentionally stop on selected, key officials, of which Lyrica, Quantic, and Zyng were a part of, due to them standing beside one another to the point of hugging. The other lights hovered over three individuals for each, all causing the masses to freak out, with one random man proclaiming that somehow, aliens were going to abduct them and send them to planet Mars. However, because no one knew what a "Mars" was, they simply dismissed it for their own thoughts, which generally include something involving monsters, mass genocide, and bad taste. To Zyng, she thought that Celestia has finally shown to the world how truly important she is to everyone else, with Lyrica and Quantic only being in the light because they were next to her. To Quantic, she thought that the lights signified that they were destined to die, and she shrouded her face with her hands, afraid to see how it will all end. To Lyrica, she had a slight suspicion on what was about to happen. Just as she thought, she was definitely not going to like it.
In what had to be another five seconds, the cover flew away towards the sky, being blown into the stadium, apparently resting on a portion where no one sat to watch the scene unfold. The groups all looked at one another in bewilderment, though this confusion was short-lived, as soldiers came out of nowhere and began to pull most of the groups away towards the sidelines, leaving only five groups behind. Most of the people still tried to fight against the soldiers, but more warning shots were made, forcing the contestants to be quiet for another spell; each shot made the crowd within the arena cheer even louder, regardless if they actually saw the shooting or not. In the end, Lyrica's group, along with the other four, remained standing in the middle of the entrance, all concerned as to why they were not selected. Were they going to be executed? Were the other groups going to be executed? It was all too confusing, and when situations are confusing and filled with the chance of being shot dead, turmoil was expected to be there at any second.
When all the groups were removed, FPS watched the remaining groups. "Congratulations, you lucky five groups! You have all been selected to fight in the next round. Those that were pulled away, return to your cages; breakfast will be served momentarily," the man said, hands folded behind his back as he observed the groups. It was this sentence that made a horrific drop in atmosphere occur, as the five groups in the center felt a horrific tinge of dread play about on their spines. Zyng was utterly devastated, looking at FPS with eyes that, if you happened to hold a piece of wood near them, it would be set ablaze in a fashion so deadly, it could possibly kill you (it is the best I got. Sorry). Lyrica made another mental slap, hating herself for somehow calling it.
"Hey, why do we have to fight? Can't we at least eat first?" some obnoxiously fat man yelled toward FPS, raising his fist in the air as his other team members tried desperately to calm him down (it was evident that he was there leader). FPS managed to pin-point the buffoon, and let out a laugh. A couple of soldiers were about ready to shoot the poor sod for speaking against FPS himself, but the tall, towering figure held out his hand, forcing the soldiers to be at ease.
"Dear boy, have you no respect for your elders? They can eat because they are at rest. You, on the other hand, have been selected to fight, and fight you shall! If you survive, you can eat an even bigger meal than the others. Die, well, the dirt will be the only food you receive. Just remember, kind contestants, you do not have to die today; you may be injured, but no one has to die. Now, show honor and be at ease, before I do call for my men to fire upon your unforgiving soul!" FPS yelled towards the jolly gent. The man just stared at FPS for a split second, before calming down and remaining still as he allowed his teammates to console him. Never had Lyrica seen a man so fat break down in an instant; truly a waste of the common macho-man stereotype, no?
FPS clapped his hands once more. "Well then, where was I? Yes, you selected will fight today, simple as that. I guess I should explain some rules to you before I allow you into the arena. My friends, the goal of what you are about to do is not to kill thy enemy, but instead get the requirement to win first. Those that win are, of course, safe. The second and third place people will be safe as well, no penalties. Everyone else, however, receives a strike against them; three strikes, and the party will be killed off. Those that are found to be in last place of a match will get a penalty, and, well…they will be forced to kill one member of their team. If one is already dead, the other dies. And, remember contestants; if the leader dies, the rest of the party is required to end their lives as well. This is a teamwork show, not an individualist network. Do I have an understandment with you all?" FPS asked, passing the stand over to the rest of the crowd.
Of course no one wanted to understand what the man said, but what other choice did they have over the matter? The groups, even the ones that were spared from the violence for today, all took a couple of looks around at the rest of the members, suddenly growing an intense state of paranoia, making their nerves shiver as though they were being exposed to the wilderness, which wasn't entirely far off. Heavy breathing became symptomatic across the board, and perspiration like you wouldn't believe began to appear all over the contestant's faces, including Lyrica, who, while predicting correctly what was about to occur, still felt hopeless and disturbed over the whole concept. However, the thing she was most scared about was how calmly FPS sounded when he said those words, and how goofy it must have sounded to him, given how he was chuckling after every word. What the hell was about to happen to them?
Yet, no one spoke up now, all afraid to do so, given how every soldier held a rifle high in the air, ready to fire upon any who dare oppose the twisted rules to this game. Lyrica looked at both Quantic and Zyng, who were displaying different variations of fear; Zyng was biting one of her thumbs, her eyes twitching at a rapid pace, while Quantic held her hands to her eyes, possibly still reeling from the fear of being under those lights. Shaking her head, Lyrica just gave a sigh, placing a hand on her hip as she watched the ginormous man walk about on that accursed podium. Above all else, she still heard the heavy crowd within the arena cheer loudly, starting to grow anxious over waiting for so long. Dear Goddess, they actually want to see this game? What is wrong with Lan16? Lyrica asked herself, gritting her teeth as FPS went back to the microphone, coughing somewhat to himself in the process.
"To those that were selected, this one's for you! Inside that arena is a mighty hedge maze, with walls that continuously shift around as time goes on. Be careful, as you can get crushed to death at any moment! All three members of a party will be separated from one another, and the goal is for them to meet up once more, touching the other team member in order to confirm that they found one another. This seems somewhat easy, yes? Well, here in 'Arena-o-Violence,' we do not like simple things. You see, the leader of the faction will be blindfolded, only having small slits in the fabric to allow them to see around them. Wouldn't that be interesting? Around the floor of the maze may be a weapon, be it blunt or sharp, though there will be no guns allowed! Yes, you may hurt opposing members, even as far as kill them, but your priority should be finding your mates, so better make haste!" FPS monologued to the group of combatants. Lyrica shook her head as the rest of the people, including her own party members, screamed and shouted profanity towards FPS. Not only was there the chance of her dying once more, but now she had to go through this moment while blindfolded. That just sucks, kind readers.
Zyng looked over at Lyrica. "Listen, leader, don't do anything stupid out there, okay? I don't want to die just because of your blunders!" the Foreheadbook princess yelled toward the pop idol. Lyrica instantaneously forgot the fear she was currently holding when she heard her say that, and she folded her arms and looked away, too angry to actually look at Zyng in the face.
"Please, don't say things like that! We are a team, Zyng, so please don't say anything harsh. I won't mess up, but please, protect yourselves out there," Lyrica begged her teammate, still feeling as though she may just collapse in a few seconds due to this intense fear. Quantic, still quite filled with tears and utter uneasiness, looked at both of her quarrelling team-members, and while still sniffling from that intense crying, she managed to say:
"Plewse, stoip! Foive-peh-beh, I'll maike sure you soivoirve this. Zoyng, wei halp one anoither, roight?"
Zyng glared at her teammate, which caused Quantic to flinch back. "Hm, I guess I have no other choice. Fine, but you better be worth the trouble, Quantic! And, for crying out loud, stop producing those damn tears!" Zyng yelled at the foreigner. Quantic flinched once more, but Lyrica was genuinely impressed to see how Quantic's face rapidly changed to look so determined. She didn't know if this was due to Quantic really wanting to win and, of course, survive, or if it was out of fear, as Zyng most certainly gave off a threatening stance. Still, it at least made it seem as though the group had a shot. Lyrica rubbed her forehead.
"I'm glad I have your support. Um, I guess I'll do everything in my power as well! But…I'm not sure about that whole 'blindfold' gimmick," Lyrica told her team. Quantic and Zyng both looked at her, Quantic with curious-yet-welcoming eyes, and Zyng with, well, eyes that made you want to go and hang yourself out of desperation.
"Foive-peh-beh, holled one hained ouwt. It'll halp you ouwt thar!" Quantic said, holding her arm out in order to demonstrate the rather easy motion. Zyng just laughed to herself, and surprisingly, it was Quantic's turn to glare at her teammate. Knowing that another conflict was possibly right around the bend, Lyrica had to quickly think of something. Even though it was foolish to do it in front of everyone, Lyrica soon motioned like Quantic, literally trying to imitate as though she was trying to comprehend it. Quantic smiled at the idol when she saw her do this, and nodded in order to confirm that Lyrica was doing it right. Zyng stopped laughing, and turned her head and pouted, not believing that both of them were doing that.
However, once the microphone made a feedback sound so loud it could deaf the strongest of ears, Lyrica found that all of them were filled with fear and anger once more, and they were forced to look at FPS again. It seemed that just like Lyrica's group, everyone was attempting to strategize how in the bloody hell they were going to survive this, though unlike Lyrica's group, they weren't as composed, so most of the words coming out of their mouths was nothing but a babble of unintelligible nonsense; Lyrica couldn't blame them, given the situation they were all in, but she was actually scared at herself for not being like them. Was she simply just used to this? No, she was only in one event, and even then, she was pretty scarred by it, just like everyone else. Maybe I'm sadistic…No! I am not! Why am I so calm?
Due to this, FPS waited patiently for everyone to finally calm his or her mouths, before he finally began to speak. "Well then, I am glad that everyone seems to be enthusiastic to join in on this triumphant battle. Even if you do fall in combat, know that your name will go down in the history books as both a hero and a legend out on the battlefield! Now, Let us give our fans quite the show, shall we? For those blindfolded, the soldiers will now escort you out," FPS said with a chuckle that sounded like someone scraping their fingernails upon a nicely-made chalkboard. The crowd of contestants all looked about themselves, as though they were signaled out for no particular manner. A loud crash was heard, and the door below the mighty podium FPS stood upon began to open, two pulleys's barely managing to complete the job. The crowd of Lan16 must have realized what was occurring, and began to stomp their feet, cheer like rapid dogs, and caused one ruckus that quickly outweighed any tropical storm.
Through the door, Lyrica saw the entrance into the maze, and even though she only could see about two feet in, she immediately inferred that the bastardly contraption will surely not disappoint her wits. Before she even got a second glance at it, she felt a tough arm grasp her shoulder, and before she turned around, her hair was forcibly pulled back. She struggled to break free, but as she continuously shuffled about, a big piece of cloth came over and covered the top portion of her face, blinding her as her struggling began to degrade to a fit of confusion. Her two teamates didn't seem to be trying to stop this whole act of injustice, but that was probably due to a couple of soldiers aiming freaking guns at their tiny, vulnerable faces. "Doint hurt her! Foive-peh-beh is impowtant to uis!" Quantic shouted as Lyrica felt her feet being forcibly moved across the floor, two soldiers holding her shoulders firmly in their grasps.
"What's going on? Please, you're hurting me," Lyrica said, feeling sluggish as the crowd went crazy once more, seeing the contestants beginning to thin out into the mighty maze from the graveyard herself. At this point, Lyrica had no idea where on Gamindustri she was, only knowing that the ground randomly shifted from being dirt, to grass, to sheet metal, to even crushed rocks.This already doesn't feel safe, Lyrica felt like she was making a joke within the foundaries of her mind. She heard buzzing on one side of her, and a strange crackling like fire on the other, and occassionally the soldiers were forced to stop as something in front of them shifted, which would've probably crushed them if they were not careful enough. All of this, coupled with the soldiers not talking once, made Lyrica fear for both hers and both of her partners. No matter how things played out, she knew that this was going to be one hell of a game. She could already feel goosebumps appear all over her skin.
Soon, she was finally stopped, and the soldiers turned her around for some reason. In what might as well been a mighty flash, she felt a knife skid across the cloth over her face, and soon she came equipped with two slits for her eyes; they allowed her to see just a little bit in front of her, but to call it actually seeing was more or less an insult on the whole infrustructure of the optic system. "Why did you…?" Lyrica asked, knowing it was indeed a stupid question, but hey, when soldiers randomly do something that sounded against their code, wouldn't any sane man ask out of curiousity? One of the soldiers faced her, though his face was obscured by a heavy gas mask.
"You are granted only minimal sight. It would be impossible for even the most aware individual to survive this maze completely blind. Also…" the soldier said, before giving a hand signal to the other. Lyrica was shaking in the Game-show-provided boots as the unseeable soldier position himself right behind the poor idol of Gamindustri. Pretty soon, she felt her hair being tugged once more, though this time it was considerably more stronger than ever screamed as the mighty hand of the soldier held her down, with the other soldier holding a finger up to her lips. "You may want to keep your voice down. I've seen some of these contestants, and if they hear someone not on their side, they may just disembowel you on the spot," he said, followed by a laugh that sounded surprisingly lively.
"B-But what are…" she began to say, before she felt the slice. It certainly came from a blade fashioned for military use, and the cut was pretty impressive, almost too good to be true. The slicing noise was clearly not on her skin or clothing, as there was no apparent pain, but she did suddenly feel somewhat lighter than ever before, and she hasn't adequately eaten in days. But it was strange, for she did not understand how she could possibly be lighter, if no pain was felt. Was her body supressing the pain, and she will feel whatever it was that they cut off, or will simply drop dead because it was them who disemboweled her, rather than the other teams? It was simply too confusing.
But that was when she realized that no one was holding down her hair anymore. Did the soldier just let go of it? Strange…but why would he? This is creeping me out! She thought to herself, desperately trying to piece together anything she could in order to find just what they cut off. Her hands were luckily free, so she began searching her body all around, making the soldiers smirk and shrug at one another. Lyrica sweated rather profusely, not getting what they did to her. She heard the slice, she knows it! Something was sliced off of her, and she will find it-
What happened to her hair?
Her hand waved about behind her, but when it did, nothing was felt. There was only the space of darkness that greeted her, and this greeting was one she wished would never be given. Slowly, her hand raised upwards, until she finally felt the looseness of her blue hair. For many that know her, the hair of 5pb. was legendary, being a striking blue color that was juxtaposed against her black-and-pink uniform, along with her disturbing-yet-surprisingly-calm eyes; it was always long, from the day she was born, and while she did cut it on occasion, it was only to make sure it never reached her thighs. It always covered her back, and made her feel confident and quite unique. For many that loved her, that hair symbolized just how great she was.
And from what she was feeling, her long hair was ripped off, only now reaching to just past the back of the neck, though not by far. The soldiers sighed, glad to see she finally found out what was wrong with her. "Forgive us, miss, but it was on the order of FPS himself. Don't think it's just you; he despises anyone who has long hair during conflict. He says it goes against all laws of the battleground," one of the men said (She was not sure who). Lyrica's eyes widened in shock and trepidation, backing up just a little before the soldier behind her caught her before she moved too far. "Lady, we're sorry, but it had to be done. I'm sure it will grow back, nice and clean and full of life and…hey lady?"
Both soldiers quickly grew concerned towards the idol, who was now going into that strange episode of, eh, disturbance. Her eyes, while held behind the cloth, were rolled up once more, and her mouth stuttered up and down, her body beginning to lose strength as it collapsed upon the currently metallic floor. On the ground, she was twitching about, her arms moving rapidly up and down as though she was trying to stand back up. She produced no major noise, but the two of them heard a distinct, low groaning noise, which only served to give them nightmares for a few nights.
"Ah crap, what do we do?" One of the soldiers asked, with the other responding with only a plain shrug. Above them, the crowd cheered even louder, and a bell rang, indicating the start of the game. Already, there were people fighting with some form of weapons. "Shit, it began already. Come on, we don't have time for her! FPS will kill us if we're spotted out here!" One of the soldiers said. The other looked down at Lyrica helplessly, unsure of what to do. The other soldier was already well on his way towards a spare exit (only for approved officers, of course), angirly motioning for his partner to get a move on. At last, the other soldier knew that his own hide was more important, and decided to follow his partner out of there, leaving Lyrica to writhe on the floor, all alone in the dangerzone.
Thus, the first true game has officially begun, and Lyrica was already down and out.
5pb. Phase 5: In Which Zyng and Quantic try to locate their beloved or reviled leader
The bells did indeed ring, and in a solid jiffy, every member of the groups selected, all randomly placed by various soldiers one at a time, began to run for their lives. It was immediate that the maze was just as deadly as FPS's sense of dark humor, with the walls commonly shifting in front of a running contestant, or the oh-so popular knife wall appearing around each and every corner, always ready to stab an unsuspecting contestant who dared to hold onto a wall in order to pivot around. There were walls that burned to the touch, floors that shocked a person after first stepping on it, and some on the ground that were laced with either a tripwire or some slippery substance, forcing the person down, most of the time onto some tacks convientely left behind by the soldiers. I haven't even begun to describe the complexity of the maze, or the amount of arms that lay about the ground, ready to be picked up and used against the enemy man.
Zyng, being one of the first contestants to officially enter the maze, ran like the scaredy cat she was. She didn't show it in her face, and she cleary didn't show it out loud with either Quantic or 5pb., but deep down she was reeling in her disturbance, barely keeping her composure as her paranoia kicked in. Commonly, she had to look behind her back, thinking that someone was deliberately sneaking up on her, a dagger in their hand and a handgun holstered within their jumpsuit (though that wasn't allowed), though she had to quickly snap back into reality in order to see if a wall was ready to crush her. She was the proud Princess of Foreheadbook, which meant that all of her life was filled to being catered for, never having to stress out with even lifting a finger. Her family was quite the royal one, and if there was ever any incident that could cause dear Zyng to be in considerable danger, she would have men of the royal army come and assist her at once. There was never a point in her entire life that she had to exert any form of strength or intellectual prowess in order to succeed later on.
Hell, the only real time she had to exert any form of…anything, was when her father specifically told her to travel to Gamindustri, in order to express how great and powerful their own landmass was, and either strike a deal with the Governments of the land, or threaten to conquer them in the future. True, it was quite a good move for a developing nation such as Foreheadbook, but there was something really off about it. Please, take a minute to think about what could be wrong with it, before you happen to read the following sentence. You see, Princess Zyng was exactly what it said on the tin: a princess. She was one of the most powerful members of a rather powerful nation, and if anything were to happen to her, the whole nation could have possibly erupted into chaos, leading to its quick and painful downfall. So what does her father do? He sends her on a dangerous quest to a foreign land, where nobody truly knows of her, though once they find out, kidnapping or worse could possibly occur.
And now that she thinks of it, the army men that accompanied her on that boat were all sick, and close to the brink of death, barely able to hold any weapon in order to protect her personal well being. When they arrived on Lan16, they barely stood a chance, and that was how she ended up here in the first place. Hell, while she couldn't recollect the entire event that lead to her prescence here, she remembered that the thing that did most of them in was not man, nor beast, but trees that simply had vines that lived. The vines were extremely thin, and they only attacked one at a time, but one-by-one, every soldier with her was either hung or dragged off into an unknown fate. She was soon dragged off, having no experience at self-defense, and promptly woke up in a cell with some deranged lunatic.
Father, I must admit, you are a smart man, but certainly, this was quite a stupid one, yes? Zyng thought to herself as she continued running, turning every corner cautiously after almost being shot by an arrow around the knees after hitting a trip-wire. Once, she spotted a balding, fat man, but luckily he did not spot her, running in the opposite direction, not to be seen by her again. That was good, because he had a freaking spiked bat (which also pissed Zyng off, because she had yet to find a weapon lying around on the ground, and even if she had no idea what to do, at least she would be viewed as a threat). She continued running forward, but another wall shifted right in front of her, almost splitting her in half if it weren't for her reflexes. "Damn, this is not how royalty should be treated! Honestly, when my father finds what you all did to me, oh, you will surely get it!"
She had to turn the other way, and continued running down another path, which she instantly regretted due to the floor being continuously slippery, and the parts that weren't being filled with rocks, meaning she still easily lost traction. Luckily the walls were not trapped, so she managed to hold on to herself, and allowed herself to continue forward, though it was quite haphazard. "Oh, what my father would do to them," Zyng muttered once more, angry that this was how she was being treated by those she never met. "If my daddy had his way, this whole place will be wiped off the map! You all should be ashamed of yourselves!"
As she ran, she felt her body grow tired, and seeing as how no one appeared to be around her, she decided to rest for just a little bit. She sighed, knowing that no matter what was happening, she would just have to live right through it. She placed a hand on a wall next to her, balancing her body weight as she tried her best to reclaim all of the lost energy she expelled from all of that seemlessly pointless running. However, in yet another regrettable decision, she yelped out loud, jumped, and quickly stayed away from that wall, writhing in pain as she held her arm towards her chest. She examined it, and much to her shock, she saw her entire palm scathed and black, seared completely from what had to be the heaviest burn she had ever experienced. She quickly darted her eyes to the wall, and much to her horror, it was burning red; inside the wall were burning pipes filled to the brim with hot water, turning the wall into quite the effective stove-top.
"Ah, bollocks, that was fucking…shit!" Zyng shouted plenty of profanity out to the world, which apparently was heard and beloved by the crowd above, who proceeded to go crazy once more; I guess people shouting swears from being burned is the new thing, or something. She jumped up and down, breathed in and out quickly and erratically, and barely kept her stance, intense pain radiating all throughout her body. "I am the Princess of Foreheadbook! Harming me will see to be the last thing you have ever done! I will kill you, dammit!" she shouted up towards the crowd, rousing them once more. Zyng's eyes were turning bloodshot from all of this. Damn…damn all of these savages.
Speaking of savages, Zyng heard quite a loud snarl ahead of her, causing her to return looking towards the rest of the path. In front of her, standing only 10 feet away from her, was a clearly famished teen girl, breathing heavily, a large gash on her chest from what appeared to be an attempted bullet lodging. Her hair was twisted, its color a muted red, and her eyes matched the same hue. She had on a smile that was possibly even scarier than The Phantom's, and in her hand was actually quite a simplistic weapon. Hell, it wasn't even really a weapon, but an appliance often seen in some workshops: the all-common scissors. They were clean, and seem to function pretty well, and from the looks of things, the blades were both quite sharp. Easily capable of slicing through dozens of paper at once.
Or easily-rippable material like Maker flesh.
Zyng felt her jaw drop. "Y-You wouldn't d-dare use that on me!" Zyng stammered, feeling her spirit quickly leave her body. The other girl let out a small chuckle, and just like something out of a horror movie, the girl walked in such a way that Zyng felt like she was the undead. She was slow, but Zyng's mind was slower, barely able to process the whole act of fight/flight, which earnestly meant that she was most likely a goner.
The girl soon charged Zyng, and though the Princess wasn't in the mood for hearing, those good at hearing would probably hear her say: "I'mma friken cut ya neck!" The girl raised the scissors to be right around where Zyng's neck would be, and opened them up, just ready to snap off Zyng's delicate neck. Zyng was completely defenseless, with the only action she was really allowed to take was covering her face, hoping that she could somehow fight the girl off, though with her inexpertice, that was possibly impossible, if I do say so myself.
But thanks to deus ex machina, a wall just between the two of them shifted, revealing another path as the wall receeded into another. On the other side was the young Quantic, who was quite terrified herself, holding what appeared to be a glass contianer containing some form of clear liquid, though what it was is not known (there was a "toxic" label on it, so that couldn't be good at all). The young girl was still charging, completely unheeding the wall opening up next to her, which understandably worried Quantic once she entered her vantage point. Quantic, out of pure instinct, threw the contents of the glass out towards the girl, hitting her directly on the cheek and partially on the exposed wound on her chest. It was then that everyone found out what was in that bottle.
The young woman quickly stopped in her tracks, screaming as smoke appeared off of her cheek, her hand quickly covering it, though that proved to be stupid as the liquid transferred onto her fingers, causing even more pain. Her cheek shriveled up, turning to an almost darker color similar to Zyng's current wound. Whatever the liquid was, it was some form of highly corrosive acid, and it cleary showed. The girl crouched down as she continued to scream, her voice becoming hoarse from the constant neglect of water the world forced upon her. Quantic, however, still felt fearful that the girl will get up and attack her, so before the young girl could fully recover, Quantic smashed the glass onto the girl's head, causing the young teen to pass out on the spot.
Zyng finally saw who her mysterious savior was. "Q-Quantic? How did…but, what…" Zyng said, completely flabbergasted. Quantic shrieked and got into a comedic defensive stance, before realizing who addressed her.
"Zyng! I'm so glahd I fawnd you! Are yuoi alroight?" she asked, constantly looking around herself, just to make sure no one was attempting to tackle them down. Zyng was still in awe at the fact that this young, pathetic girl managed to save her life. How did find that glass, anyways, and was she fully knowledgeable over when that wall was going to open? Quantic looked to be a scaredy-pacifist on the outside, but damn, she didn't hesitate when it came to smashing that glass upon that poor girl's head. She actually wanted to say her thanks to Quantic, as any good Princess would do when someone saved them from a dishonorably death, and all of these words would've been perfect for the young foreigner. Instead, though, Zyng said this:
"Th-That's Princess Zyng to you!"
Quantic felt betrayed, and looked down disappointed. Zyng, surprisingly, felt bad for doing this, knowing that Quantic did save her own, royal life, and that was an act of true benevolence rarely seen even in Foreheadbook. Still, her pride and ego were quite large, and perhaps that masked the gratitude she actually wanted to say towards her comrade. Either way, Zyng wanted to change the subject, knowing that Quantic was her ally and all. "5-something-something, have you seen her?"
Quantic looked up, looked to the sky at first, but then looked down once more. "Have noi idear. I saw anohthar ladi woith a bwoidfold, but it woisn't her. I'm soirry, Zy-I moin, Princess Zyng," Quantic said bashfully, feeling a total failure right about now. Zyng sighed, scratching the back of her head with her good hand. This whole battlefield was really becoming quite the hot-spot.
Luckily, thanks to deus ex machina once more (you all have to love it), there was a huge screen above the arena, showing off what was possibly the greatest action during the game at that moment. Before, it actually did show the incident with Zyng and that other girl, and it rapidly switched so the fans could get a closer look at the action. Zyng quickly saw what was currently being displayed on such a screen. "Damn, Quantic, look up there!"
Both girls looked up towards the screen, and saw, much to there horror, Lyrica being cornered by three men, in what appeared to be a purely-metallic portion of the maze. From the looks of things, the guys were all powerfully armed, but poor Lyrica was sadly not. "Oh shit!" Zyng yelled, once more to the delight of the fans.
Lyrica broke out of that state of hers about five minutes after the soldiers left. It took her a few moments before her mind fully recollected itself, but once it did, she felt just as scared as her teammates. Unluckily for her, she was in a dark portion of the maze, and even worse, she was blindfolded, only having slits where her eyes would be, thus giving her some form of sight. She did what Quantic told her to do, and held her arm out, hoping to hit something. She saw what may have been a wall, but when she was about to touch it, it shifted, and she was almost impaled by an arrow fired by some random trap that was promptly disfigured. She shrieked, but was glad to see it missed. She knew she had to find her team, so she quickly sucked up any emotion she had, and quickly walked forward, making sure nothing was about to get her. For the sake of her own problems, she tried her best to ignore her hair situation.
She made it a good distance, but everything fell apart when she entered that purely metallic part of the maze. It was also dark, minus a couple of dangling lightbulbs, and in front of her were plenty of tripwires. While her sight was terrible, she thought that she saw some axes suspended on the walls around her, ready to slice her down once she stepped forward. However, her choices of movement were severely limited, as the way she entered was soon blocked off by a wall shifting suddenly, locking her in, unless she tried to trek through the heavily bombarded area in order to reach the other side, which was practically suicide. "Oh, I'm screwed," Lyrica grunted at herself.
Lyrica, you can't just give up! Zyng and Quantic need you, and they may be beyond this path. If you stop here, how will you ever find them? She contemplated in her head. She heard something that sounded like a gun being firedf in the background, causing her to shriek and bend down, even if the gun was not she felt it was all safe from that damn gun, she quickly stood back up, facing forward towards the other door, which felt completely out of reach. The traps were clearly there, and her visibility will certainly fail her, grind her to dust, and eventually kill her, dooming her two team members, scarring her party back home, and IF…
"I have to do it!" Lyrica said, taking a deep breath. Her team was possibly on the other side; that was what was motivating her at this point, and if that motivation were to fail her, she would certainly die right here in this horrible place. She didn't have her sight, but she did indeed have her intuition, and if she played her cards right, she would be able to carefully skip her way over to the other side, possibly bringing her closer to reaching her team, and thus victory for the match. All she had to do was stay calm, carefully balance herself, watch the shadows of the room, keep her eyes on the ropes around her, hold her breaths in case they end up causing her to trip, pray that wind is on her side…
"Fuck it, it's easier to run," Lyrica said, excusing herself to no one after swearing such a deep profanity. The tripwires were clearly not that strong, so if she just ran for it, she actually might just be able to make it on one, swift go. She took a step back, took a deep breath and, going against all her principles, ran like all forms of hell. Each tripwire was activated one-by-one, with the axes and other assorted objects springing to life, barely missing Lyrica as she made a swift run towards salvation. She winced and made a "ye-ye-ye" noise whenever an object was bound to hit her. By some miracle of the heavens, Lyrica actually made it to the other side unscathed, though she felt like she lost a few years off her life.
Praise it now, girl, because you will never be that lucky again.
And indeed she never will, for once she regained her breath, the tiny slits that served as her eyes panned upwards, only to be greeted by three men standing outside the metallic portion of the maze. They were clearly on the same team, yet they still have not won because they refused to touch one another in any way. Lyrica couldn't get a good look at them, but whatever she saw, she clearly did not like one bit. One man was short and stout, holding what looked to be a machete; the other one was the exact guy Zyng saw, complete with the spiked bat in his hand; The third guy was hard to make out, but he had some form of sickle, and it was clearly used before, judging by the blood on the tip of it. She stood there, stunned to see the three of them.
"Well, what'ya know? I told you boys some nice chicks are in this!" The short guy said. The other two laughed. Lyrica couldn't see well, but she knew they were beginning to circle around her, like they were voulchers, and she was the rotting carcass. She still stood, motionless and scared.
"You were completely right, man. I don't dig the small hair, but hey, a chick is a chick!"
"Shit, she can't even see us, can she? This will be perfect!"
Lyrica couldn't move, but she still had the mentality to speak up. "Don't…P-Please don't do anything! I-I don't want to hurt you!" Lyrica stammered, covering her ears as she sanked down. The men laughed.
"Lady, you have nothing to fight us with! Hell, you're blindfolded! Besides, we can send you to Celestia early, you know? I highly doubt any of us will make it, so how about we have a little fun before we kick the bucket, eh?" The man with the bat asked. It came to Lyrica's attention that one of the men was also blindfolded, but something managed to rip a hole through the cloth, allowing him to see; this only increased the fear felt by Lyrica. The men continued to laugh, and one aimed his sickle right at her back, making her shiver.
"Yeah, now let us have some fun!" The short man said, quickly punching Lyrica in the stomach. Lyrica winced and fell to the floor on her knees, holding her stomach as, shockingly, the men continued to laugh like rapid hound-dogs. "Listen lady, we'll even make it simple. You won't even watch us with that blindfold on!" The short guy said, before he turned to the man with the bat. "Hit her again."
Lyrica heard that, and knew that she was done. She could best many monsters out in the wild, that was for sure, but when it came to actual people, she was completely defenseless to everything around her. She could never hurt a person, even if they were about to strike her down like this gent. It was just too much for her; too much.
Remember the concert…
Dust in the breeze…
All they are is dust in the breeze…
Lyrica had no idea how she did, and neither did the men, but once that bat came roaring down, Lyrica literally grabbed it, and flung it back to the man's face. The man was both in pain and in confusion, being thrown about on his own two feet as he felt his nose break in front of him. "How in the hell?" was the sentence each and every one of them, including Lyrica said to the whole scene. The guy with the sickle grew infuriated.
"How dare you, you bitch!" he yelled, and proceeded to run up to her, ready to impale that sickle into her back. Lyrica gulped, knowing that she wouldn't be lucky anymore, seeing as how the man was coming up from behind; she was clearly fucked now. Dust in the breeze…
The man with the sickle was sent flying right into the short man, as Lyrica managed to stand quickly, kick the man in the groin, and lift him with her foot alone, right into his other team-mate. The sickle slashed through the smaller man, and he quickly went down, wincing in intense pain as his other party member held his groin, crying his eyes out. Lyrica could only watch in horror of what she somehow did, not understanding how a girl like herself, especially when blindfolded, could manage to take out three, strong, armed men all by herself.
"H-H-How did I…?"
At that moment, Quantic and Zyng walked into the room, finally managing to get to Lyrica's position. Both managed to grab a weapon lying on the ground (Quantic with a boomerang, Zyng with a broken rapier), and were ready to protect their defenseless leader. However, once they got there, they stared in awe at the sight before them, with Lyrica somehow being the dominant individual in this battle that surely should have been her demise. "What in the world?" Zyng said, scratching her head once more.
This is taken from The Phantom's book "Neptunian Theory: The Destruction of Man and Planet through the trivial matters of Godly dissolution;" Page 5, para 2:
"…I began to wonder if it is possible for people to get spontaneous strength out of just primal instinct. Does it truly work like that? Does that explain why many times the feeble overcome the hefty? It is truly bizarre, but what completely causes this strange onset of power? From what I learned from some of my patients, it could be because they were soon going to meet their end quite naturally…"