Bam burst through the skylight. As the ceiling crumbled and fell around him, everyone in the room turned. In the corner was Wangnan, smiling and waving like a lunatic despite the gun pressed to his head. Behind him were Miseng and Goseng, clutching each other and staying as far from Quaetro as they could. There was also an orange-haired guy standing with them, but Bam didn't pay him much attention.

At least he wasn't too late.

Opening his hand, he let two angel bullets drift from his palm. "Chang, Quaetro," he said. "You can't win this. Let me send you up to Archimedes."

Chang barked a laugh. "Cocky, eh?" he said, pressing the gun a little harder against Wangnan. "Don't kid yourself. Surrender, and this guy won't die."

Quaetro looked at him, looked at the rubble, then took another step towards Goseng and Miseng.

Well, Bam had given them a chance.

Without hurting his teammates, he needed to resolve this situation quickly… and, more importantly, he needed to show 'strength'. Last time they ran into Chang and Quaetro, Khun had drilled into the team the importance of looking strong. And now, without Khun here, Bam needed to be the strong one. With a sigh, Bam flicked his fingers, sending an angel bullet at Quaetro and suppressing his bangs.

"You know who I am," he said. He turned to Chang, who would've already shot Wangnan… if Bam hadn't frozen him first. "You know who my teammates are. Do you want another scar?" He smirked, doing his best to imitate Khun. "Wangnan: shoot Chang. Goseng: shoot Quaetro. I'll take care of Miseng."

"W-What?" Goseng yelped, "I don't like them, but I don't want to kill them—"

"It'll be fine," Wangnan interrupted, whistling as he poked Chang's shoulder. "We'll just shoot them in the leg or something…. GAH!" He jumped back. "Viole, are you sure they're completely frozen?"

"Yeah," Bam replied, "I've stopped a Ranker before, so it'll be alright."

Wangnan squinted at him, then took a careful step towards Chang. "If you say soo— GACK!"

In a blur of motion, Chang cracked Reverse Flow Control, grabbed Wangnan's arm, pulled him close, then pressed a gun against his head again. Bam immediately seized the shinsu, but Chang just hissed, "Don't test me, Viole. I will shoot."

"Really?" Goseng had a gun against Quaetro's throat. The gun shook as much as her voice, but she still seemed deadly serious as she said, "If you shoot him, Quaetro dies."

Chang looked at her, his eyes narrowed, and Bam stifled a sigh. The situation's getting out of control. He squinted at Chang, wondering exactly what his next move should be, when Wangnan caught his eye. Wangnan was winking at him, then squeezing his eyes shut and sticking out his tongue, but Bam shook his head. He wouldn't let anyone else be hurt or left behind.

"Alright, Viole." Chang grinned, sharp and easy. "There's no way for either of us to win, so why don't we both settle for not losing. If you shoot me and Quaetro with angel bullets, I won't attack Yellow here."

Bam met his eyes. That… sounds like a deal that Khun would make. He tilted his head. That was the deal I originally made. He nodded, then said, "Fine, but if you betray me…" A wave of shinsu spread from Bam, weighing heavy in the room as he muttered, "I will end you."

Chang shook his head, then chuckled. "Wow, so scary. Just shoot me already."

"Look," Bam said with a sigh, sending angel bullets at the two of them, "as long as you don't hurt us, we won't hurt you. Just stay out of our way."

The bullets touched Chang and Quaetro, and as they disappeared into the blue light, Chang smiled. "Don't worry, Viole. We'll definitely fight again."

When their figures finally faded, Bam let his shoulders slump. He hadn't looked strong enough. After all, Chang had promised to fight them again. With a sigh, he turned to his teammates. "Mr. Wangnan, do you think I looked scary enough?"

"Heck yeah! Even I was scared of you, and we're on the same team!" Wangnan's hands were trembling, but he still shouted, as confident as ever, "Nice job, Viole! That's what I'm talking about!"

Goseng snorted. "Yeah, it's a good thing he showed up. You sure weren't any help."

"Hey!" Wangnan shouted, "If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have made it out the window!"

As Wangnan and Goseng quibbled, the orange-haired guy walked over. "Um, Mr. Viole?" he said, shifting from one foot to the other and never quite meeting Bam's eyes, "I think you were absolutely terrifying."

"Ah," Bam said, unsure quite how to respond. He rubbed the back of his head, shrugging a little as he replied, "Thank you, I guess. Um, who are you?"

The orange-haired guy stood a little straighter. "I'm the Traveller."

"Well, how about I shoot you up, Mr. Traveller? So you can get on Archimedes."

Traveller chuckled. "Nah, I'm not a Regular. I'm happy I could help, though, like Ms. Emily said!" He cheerily saluted, then picked up the pink bubbles in the corners of the room. After sticking them in his duffel bag, he ducked out the man-sized hole in the door. "See you guys later, when you help me. Bye, Miseng and Wangnan!" he called.

Bam watched him leave, then turned back to his team. "So, I don't know what just happened," he said, "but we're running out of time. How about I shoot you guys up to Archimedes, and I'll catch up later?"

Wangnan shrugged. "Sure."

Msieng piped up from the corner, "Emily says that's a good plan!"

"Wait." Goseng pushed up her glasses, then said, "Viole, how are you going to get onto Archimedes?"

"Well…" Bam said sheepishly, almost rubbing the back of his neck again before remembering how Rachel always said that made him look indecisive, "I'll just shoot someone." He took a breath, then repeated, "I'll shoot someone with a devil bullet. I need to get on Archimedes, but before that, I need to shoot people with angel bullets." Before anyone could ask, he sighed and added, "Khun wanted the White Heavenly Mirror, but he's too injured. I want him to have it, though."

It was the least he could do, since he couldn't protect him in the first place.

At least Rachel had a chance of winning the Blood Tamara.

After sending Wangnan, Goseng, and Miseng up to Archimedes, Bam stepped on the Blue Oar once again. Now that everyone was safe, it was time to go solo. His new plan wasn't exactly complicated: he was just going to fly around, steal bullets, and shoot other Regulars with the stolen bullets. It was simple, and with luck, it would be easy.

He checked his pocket. There were only seventy tickets left — he needed to hurry.

With a burst of shinsu, he sent himself flying through the demolished ceiling. Despite his pressing mission, he took a second to create the Blue Oar and admire the city spread out beneath him. Two hours ago, it was filled with light and laughter, but now, it was silent, save for the occasional gunshot. In a way, it reminded him of the cave: the silence, the darkness, the loneliness.

It was strange. After meeting Rachel, he thought he'd known the pain of loneliness, and taken comfort in how it couldn't get worse. Now, though, after meeting Khun, Rak, Wangnan, everyone… the loneliness was even more excruciating. Ever since Khun had found him, ever since FUG took him in, ever since Team Viole had formed, he was rarely by himself.

Until now.

After all his time with Rachel, with his team, and within the Tower, the cave still lingered in his thoughts. It was just underneath the surface, and so he shook his head to clear away the memories. That was a problem for later, once he was on Archimedes. Right now, he had a mission.

He dove into the city, the wind whistling in his ears as the Blue Oar took him deep into a shadowed alley. There, two Regulars crouched behind stacked crates, but Bam wasn't going to play their game. Instead of stumbling through the dark like an easy target, Bam froze both of them, then zipped forward on the Blue Oar. When he found them, he hopped off, took their guns, and raised his own.

Two gunshots later, there were two more Regulars aboard the Archimedes.

By the time the now-empty guns fell to the floor, Bam was already gone. The night was young, and he had much to do.

62 tickets left.

As the night wore on, Bam was almost surprised by how easily he stole bullets and shot other people. As the shinsu rippled around him, as he either granted Regulars' dreams or crushed them, he realized that he finally understood Lero Ro. Although to the other Regulars, he seemed like a god serving divine judgement, it was only luck. Luck, that he had chosen to steal from them, or luck, that he had chosen to shoot them.

Most importantly, though, Luck was on his side.

23 tickets left.

It had been so easy, it almost didn't seem real. It didn't feel like he was fighting other Regulars: right here, right now, with his six bangs in the dark night, he was the ultimate weapon. Floating in the dark sky, the Blue Oar steady beneath his feet, he waited for another sign of a Regular.

He looked up at Archimedes, where his team waited, then back down to the city. All was silent, only a faint breeze whispering past him and tugging at his ponytail. Then, he felt a surge of shinsu. He plummeted towards the city, his smile widening. Stopping the Blue Oar at a fancy balcony, he stepped up to the sliding door. Now that he was closer, the shinsu felt even more familiar, and if he was right, then he would see…

A small, squat crocodile burst through the glass door. It shattered, but that didn't stop Rak from barrelling into Bam. For a moment, Bam couldn't breath — partly because this was Rak, but mostly because Rak's hug was practically strangling him. Regardless, Bam hugged him back. "Rak? I-It's been a while."

That was certainly an understatement. It had been years, for both of them. Now, Rak was at least twice as muscular, and Bam was certain that the scared little boy from Evankhell wouldn't have recognized himself.

Rak snorted. "How dare you leave, Black Turtle! And you took Blue Turtle with you!" Before Bam could answer, Rak grabbed his ponytail and sniffed. "And what is this? Some new mating signal?" He scowled. "It doesn't suit you, Black Turtle. It looks too cool."

Despite himself, Bam smiled. "It's great to see you too, Mr. Rak." He couldn't wait to have all three of them together again, just like it was on the Floor of Tests, even if all Khun and Rak did was bicker.

As though they had both thought of Khun at the same time, Rak released Bam and roared, "Now, where is Blue Turtle? Where are you hiding him?" Rak started punching him. Although Rak's voice lacked any real anger, those punches still hurt. Bam began to reply, but Rak cut him off, growling, "Cocky Blue Turtle needs to be reminded who the TRUE leader of our team is."

Bam wriggled away, his smile faltering. Yes, when Khun and Rak met again, there would definitely be more conflict. Khun was colder and more serious these days, even to Bam. A lot had changed since Evankhell… and some of those changes couldn't be undone.

Still, maybe seeing Rak again would help. "Mr. Rak, when you see Mr. Khun—" From the corner of his vision, in the shadowed depths of the hotel room, was a hulking figure and a faint blue glow. In one smooth motion, he pushed Rak down and froze the figure. "Mr. Rak, are you oka—"

"BLACK TURTLE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Rak easily threw Bam off and huffed, "You've gotten above yourself since I've been gone." The crocodile pointed a stubby finger at the frozen figure. "That's my new follower."

"Really?" He unfroze Rak's new 'follower' and waved. "Hello! Sorry about that." When Rak grumbled about impertinent turtles and dragged him into the hotel room, Bam sighed. "I don't have night vision, Mr. Rak." With a wave of his hand, Bam lit the darkness with a bang and took his first look at Rak's new teammate.

It was a huge man in an oversized overcoat with a bright blue wing floating above his shoulder. It's like Mr. Casano's wing… Without hesitating, Bam stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr.—"

"Brooding Turtle," Rak finished. "That's his name."

'Brooding Turtle' frowned, then shook Bam's hand and said, "My name is actually Horyang." After a moment's pause, he added, "Are you the Black Turtle or the Blue Turtle?"

"Black Turtle," Bam replied, "but I just go by V—" He glanced at Rak. "—Bam. The 25th Bam. If we'd met a little earlier, you could've seen Khun— ah, I mean, the Blue Turtle."

"Khun?" Horyang's eyes widened, then he muttered, "It can't be."

Before Rak could butt in again, Bam clapped his hands. "So, why are you guys still down here? Do you need help getting onto Archimedes?"

"OF COURSE NOT! You dare suggest the Leader needs help—!"

Horyang shook his head. "Rak insisted that we stick around to help you pass, but it looks like you're doing fine."

"Ah, alright." Bam nodded, then brought out two angel bullets. "I can just shoot you guys up."

Horyang tensed, his wing turning an ugly shade of red, and Bam almost grimaced. Even if they'd just met, he still wanted to be friends with Rak's new teammate.

Rak sniffed. "Nothing would disgrace me more. I'm a hunter. I don't accept help from my prey."

"... Alright." While he understood why Rak wouldn't accept his help, he wished Horyang had at least said something. Still, he didn't have time for this, not if he was going to win the White Heavenly Mirror. He stepped out onto the balcony, conjuring the Blue Oar beneath his feet. "I've got to get going now, but good luck on the test! I'll see you guys on Archimedes!"

He willed the Blue Oar up into the sky, and when he looked back down, he saw Horyang watching silently, his wing forming a blue question mark. And of course, Rak was jumping up and down on the balcony, waving his spear and shouting, "Don't run away from me! You'd better be on Archimedes, insolent turtle!"

With a faint smile, he soared higher into the sky. If anything motivated Rak, it was his prey. He would definitely see both Rak and Horyang on Archimedes. He glanced at his pocket.

20 tickets left.

Frowning, he sped up the Blue Oar. This next shooting would need to be his last, and luckily he sensed two presences in the city below: one in an alley, and another in the street. Swooping into the back alley, he landed lightly on the cobblestones. After a cursory glance, he loaded his gun with his final two bullets, summoned a bang, and shot into the shadowy doorway. By bending the shinsu around the bullet, he was sure it would find its target.

Until it didn't.

The bullet came flying back at him; on reflex, he snapped his arm back and caught it in his shinsu control, but the bullet refused to stop. Although his bangs surrounded it, a dark shadowy shinsu still forced the bullet forward.

There weren't many Regulars who could match his power…

He gritted his teeth, then forced even more bangs into moving the bullet. If he remembered correctly, the rules said that they couldn't shoot themselves, so if he lost this battle and got hit with his own angel bullet, he would be disqualified.

That was unacceptable, but the bullet still refused to submit. Bam wasn't strong enough to overpower the other Regular. He redoubled his efforts, then froze, his eyes widening. "Who's there?" he called, raising his voice to carry through the doorway. "It's you, isn't it, Mr. Reflejo?"

Silence.

He narrowed his eyes.

Jinsung had mentioned Reflejo earlier, before the Workshop Battle started. He'd warned Bam to be careful, and that he shouldn't underestimate the other Regular's power or shinsu quality. Regardless, Bam hadn't expected to meet him here. He took a step forward, then stopped.

In the doorway, something glinted in the moonlight, and then a shadowed figure stepped out of the darkness. "Hello, Viole," it said, its silver mask never moving.

It was Reflejo. Bam kept his eyes trained on his enemy, then slowly stepped into a defensive stance. This situation… was it a gift, or was it a curse? If he won now, he would eliminate his toughest competition. If he lost, though… his team wouldn't stand a chance. His hands trembled. It all came down to one question: could he beat Reflejo on his own?

"Well, Viole." Reflejo's cold eyes were piercing, but Bam held his ground. "Should we get this over with? If you can't even win against me, you obviously aren't worthy." Although his words were cutting, Reflejo's voice never changed — it remained as flat as his expression. "And you won't win."

Bam grimaced. Reflejo might be right, but he had to try. If he beat him now, the FUG team lost its most powerful member. He bit his lip. This was the best way to protect his team. It was dangerous, but he would just have to win. He poured even more shinsu into controlling the bullet, making it waver and inch towards Reflejo. "Alright," he said. "Let's fight, one on one."

Reflejo chuckled, grating and metallic, then two purple bangs zipped towards Bam.

What?! Bam jumped back, eyes wide. There's no way, there's at least five bangs on the bullet… He barely managed to dodge, thanks to the Blue Oar, but a purple bang still nicked his side. Blood trickled from the cut, and Bam narrowed his eyes. He only had six bangs, and Reflejo had at least seven. According to those Wave-Controller lessons on the Floor of Tests, in a straight-up fight, he would lose.

And according to Jinsung, Reflejo had decades of experience and had earned the title 'Top Five Strongest E-Class Regular' many times over. There was no way Bam could win a fair fight.

I just need to finish this quickly. He focused on Reflejo and concentrated. Reverse Flow Control!

Reflejo chuckled, then lifted his hand. "I've been an E-Rank Regular for thousands of years," he drawled, taking a few steps forward. "The only reason I'm not D-Rank is because FUG needed me here." Somehow, the lips of his silver mask seemed to curl. "Just give up, Viole. You aren't good enough."

Bam tensed. "No," he growled. He could almost feel his blood boiling from Reflejo's words. "I am enough. I joined FUG to make sure I could protect my teammates, and I will." He glared at Reflejo, daring him to take a step closer, then forced himself to think instead of flying into a blind rage.

Something was wrong.

Reflejo was trying to goad him, to make him fight. But why?

Oh.

Bam whipped out his pocket.

5 tickets left.

"Viole? Is that all you have? Pathetic."

He ignored Reflejo, instead double-checking that the second presence, the one in the street, was still there. It would have to do. "We'll finish this another time," he muttered, throwing a Springy Step onto the cobblestone, bouncing on it, and using the forward momentum to skim along the wall with his Blue Oar. The combo had taken him months to perfect, but now, it was unbelievably fast.

Nevertheless, he got the distinct feeling that Reflejo could have shot him at any time.

As he zoomed away, he caught a glimpse of the phantom watching him, an unreadable expression on his mask. "I guess the new Slayer Candidate is a coward," Reflejo muttered. "Enjoy your next few days, Viole, before you lose everything."

3 tickets left.

As Bam whizzed around the corner, he shot his devil bullet, pushing it forward with a shinsu boost.

2 tickets left.

The Devil bullet struck its victim.

0 tickets left.

One Shot One Opportunity: End.

After a long night, the morning still dawned, bringing light and warmth as though the shootings and deaths had never happened. High in the sky, the pristine Archimedes floated above it all.

On board Archimedes, on a balcony overlooking a luxurious pool, Endorsi waved away yet another microphone. "Yes, yes, I did get Bong Bong last night." She stifled a sigh. Of course, these reporters didn't really care what she said — they just wanted to show the Endorsi Jahad in a bikini. She was an idol, and her stans were probably squealing and slobbering right now, but she couldn't care less. At least she got a cut of the merch sales.

"But Princess!" This reporter was a bit smelly, and his belly jiggled when he stuck the microphone in her face. "How did you know where to find the Bong Bong? It's supposed to be almost impossible to find, but you got it right away!"

Endorsi resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose. These interviews really dragged sometimes. "Well," she said, pasting a carefully crafted smile on her lips. "I guess you could say it was… a princess's intuition."

Around a corner, unnoticed by both the Princess and the reporters, a guard smiled and stepped away.

Pool Party Politics: Start