Alright guys. I did say things continue to stay dark, so fair warning. It's not nearly as descriptive as I'd normally write but considering the rating and the possibility of younger readers I toned it down. It's still extremely obvious what's happening though.

Trigger Warning

-Violence

-Gore

Jasper frowned down at the watch. Had it already been over thirty hours? They hadn't slept at all, had they? His phone, filled with new and interesting notes and little storytelling tidbits, indicated that no, no they hadn't. No wonder he was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

Not that he wanted to sleep around Camo or Gray but… he couldn't exactly stay awake for three days straight! Not that he was going to say anything to the two adults that were tromping into the next room a few paces ahead of him. They were probably tired too but… he honestly couldn't focus well enough to see.

"Finally! The last damn room! Wait… seriously?"

At the very quiet disbelief, Jasper sped up. Camo he had come to learn was very loud. So for him to be quiet?

"50 hours… O-or only one of us…?"

Gray sounded off as well. She didn't raise her voice but the tone of it sounded… harder almost?

"What are you guys talking about," he grumbled, stumbling into the room. He paused at the glass display cases lining the room. There were plenty of old looking weapons but there also seemed to be vials of some kind. He blinked at them before looking at where Camo and Gray were facing each other.

There was a tension in the air now that made his hackles raise.

"N-no hard feelings, huh s-sweeties," Gray cooed (she actually cooed what the heck was going on?) as she shook her hands, catching the daggers that fell from her sleeves.

"The hell! You go straight to attacking?" Camo growled, his stance firming up.

"Psh. L-like any of us are going to want to give up! And we d-don't have nearly enough time to go the l-long route because of y-your u-useless ass. Not that I'd w-want to of course," she hummed, her fingers tapping idly on the daggers hilts.

Jasper knew a fight was imminent (he was awake and aware so much more so than a minute ago) and he immediately crouched next to a display case, focusing on limiting his presence as much as possible. If they forgot he was here he would have the advantage. He could just go after whoever was left.

"You're one messed up chick," Camo scoffed, starting to circle warily. Gray easily matched his steps. "A honeypot, huh?"

"A w-woman's gotta do what a woman's got-gotta do," she chuckled. "B-besides who would e-ever expect me, hm? M-My stutter is pretty helpful that w-way."

"Tch." Camo's mouth twisted in a sneer and he lunged. He was slow though, most likely from fatigue and blood loss. Gray was also more agile. It was tugging at something in his memory. A kind of deja vu from earlier in the day, but Jasper was much too focused to try and chase after his foggy memories.

It was a pretty brutal fight; fast paced, and bloody. As it was happening, Jasper had slowly started arming himself. His phone went back into the pouch to be replaced by his trusty survival knife, the leather sheath staying put away, and his steel wire was wrapped securely around his right wrist.

He was not about to lose his chance to get a Hunter's License. And if it required a sacrifice or two, so be it. Besides, Uncle Lin always told him that self-defense was important and if it went too far… well, he was more important than them.

In the next few seconds Camo went down hard. His back slammed against the stone floors and Gray stood above him with that wretched aura that definitely felt way too familiar. Her face was more of a gray color and her tongue snuck out to wipe away a spot of red. She was completely focused on the man in front of her.

Jasper chose that moment to strike. It was hard to judge the exact sweet spot on her back considering the puffiness of her sweater, so he didn't even try to aim there. Instead he aimed for the ankles. With her skirt pressing high against the back of her calves as she leaned forward, they were the easiest target to get. Gray went down with a yowl, falling directly on top of Camo who wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her neck and wrangling her into a better position for crushing her throat.

He paused… staring at the two predators going at each other, rolling around on the floor. Large, wide eyes watched patiently, waiting for his next moment. One threat was easier than two.

Except he didn't have to do anything else for Gray eventually fell limp and Camo had two knives sticking out from his gut. They were both down… but not out yet. He had to make sure. He wouldn't turn his back on someone playing dead, after all. Better safe than sorry.

He crept over quietly, his robe barely a wisp of sound in the quiet room. Gray's brown eyes were wide and staring, mouth slack. But Camo… he was watching with half lidded grey eyes. They looked pained, a furrow between his brow, mouth twisted into a heavy frown.

"That… wa-was a nasty thing to do, kid."

He said nothing, only watching from the shadow of his hood.

"Tch. Such a brat. After all the," Camo paused to cough, "help I've given you. First you try to claw my hands off… now you're gonna finish me. Heh. Shoulda known. S'always the quiet ones… s'always the unexpected. Never shoulda… shoulda let my guard down. Hey. Do me a favor. Make it quick. I'd rather not- not hang around for the next few hours… if I'm just- just gonna die anyway…"

He could do that. But should he even risk getting close to the bear trap of his arms? It was much safer to just stay away and wait.

"Such… a brat," Camo huffed after Jasper had refused to move for over a minute. "Fine. Be that way… S'not like you can go anywhere with Honeypot over here dead anyway. She- she can't vote anymore. S-So least I'll have company."

Vote…?

Why was a vote needed?

No wait.

Jasper twitched, his body stiffening. Hadn't he written something on his phone about them all being needed to move on? Why- Oh no. Oh nonono!

He jerked upright and scrambled over to the screen.

'X - LONG PATH

Over fifty hours of grueling rooms that will pass all three applicants

O - SHORT PATH

The quickest path for only one applicant'

He gaped at the screen. Was this what had caused the fight? Was this-? But why? If they were all needed, then why try to kill each other!?

He spun back around, heat building in his chest and filling his mouth with rage. "Why," he thundered, storming back over to the prone man. "WHY!?"

Camo chuckled. "Dunno 'bout her… but she was annoying. Honestly, she was probably aiming to force my vote. But, I'm already a dead man. Too much blood loss. S-So, I don't mind… taking her with me."

"You-! You ruined-! How dare you! How dare you! How dare you! How dare you!"

He fell upon the man with righteous anger, his knife going in and out and in and out and-

Jasper fell back onto his butt with a sob. He ignored the ever growing redredred that stained his hands and clothes. How was he supposed to find his family if he couldn't get a Hunter's License? How could he go back to them and tell him that he was a failure!?

(Would they still want him?)

His chest hurt and his eyes burned and he just couldn't get enough air. His fingers curled into fists that he smashed into the stone over and over. It. Just. Wasn't. Fair!

He screamed and sobbed and screamed until-

Until, he woke up with a groan. His thoughts were muggy and his body stiff. What happened-?

He shifted, trying to look around, without moving too much and caught sight of the large black screen.

Oh.

Right.

He had already failed.

He shivered on the floor, just lying there staring up at the ceiling. He didn't want to get up and be reminded of what happened. Of what he should have stopped if only he'd actually spoken up about needing rest. He obviously wasn't thinking straight and-

Something buzzed against his hip.

He blinked. It buzzed again.

Jasper pushed himself up with a groan, gagging at the horrid state of his clothes. He'd been laying in a puddle. Gross.

He shoved his injured hand (dirtied wrappings and all)- ignoring the sharp pain- into his pouch to yank out his phone. It buzzed harshly in his hand, an alarm flashing across the screen. The title read, 'Remember Whitey's Name!'

Jasper sucked in a breath, his lungs greedily accepting the inflow of air. Whitey… Whitey's name was… was…

With the lack of name popping into his head, his frustration only grew sharper and sharper, curdling in his stomach and making it harder to draw breath again. Why couldn't he remember? Why did he have to be so useless- such a failure- why-

He jerked and slammed his hand onto the stone floor again. They were red and stinging, some of his knuckles already split and beading with blood. He didn't care.

He didn't want to cry again and yet the tears still fell. He didn't want to scream again and yet his voice wouldn't shut up.

He jerked his head, trying to literally shake the tears from his face but it did nothing beyond making him dizzy enough to collapse on his side. He sniffled, very upset at his bodily leakages, but still not being able to stop it.

Teary eyes drifted towards the bodies next to him. He was actually really upset at what he did. Not to Gray. She deserved it for being the one to start everything even if her death was… a really big inconvenience. But he did feel kinda sad for Camo. The man had been a jerk but… he'd asked for a quick end and instead-

"I-I didn't mean to kill you," he slurred, his throat rough and scratchy. Then he paused. That sounded familiar. "I didn't meaaaan… No. Kill you? Kill… you… Killyou! Kill-u. Kill-u-a! Ah! Whitey's name is Killua," he exclaimed happily, jolting up into a sitting position.

And Killua and Greenie were going to be waiting for him… and he wasn't going to be able to see them. Would they even care if he doesn't make it? He slumped over again.

He glanced down at his watch. Thirty-one hours left.

Then he glanced at his still buzzing phone. The battery indicator at the top was blinking red which wasn't a good sign. He would need to charge it soon. He swiped the alarm away and opened up his notes to get himself caught up on anything he may have forgotten. He fell, he needed everyone, the tournament, the puzzles, that one room that required him to crawl through a vent, a message to eat sometime soon…

Hm. Had he eaten yet? He read through the rest of the short notes, ending on 'haven't slept in thirty hours', before coming to the conclusion that he hadn't actually eaten yet. That may actually explain why he felt so exhausted and weak still.

Oops.

He sniffled again, his running nose and still burning eyes causing his fluctuating emotions to steer right back towards irritation. Maybe food would help because Jasper hated being upset like this. It was never good for him or anyone around him. (redredred)

With a soft huff, he reached out to start undoing the hidden buttons on the front of his robe. He shoved his hood off next and yanked the strap of the satchel over his head so he could more easily pull it into his lap. The top flipped off easily and he tugged the zipper open so he could get to the food inside. The plastic container was still surrounded by those cold blocks but they looked more… melted than before and the cold wasn't nearly as strong. He was surprised they lasted so long actually.

His attention turned to the eggs though because those were the real prize. He carefully pulled out the container, noting that a corner of it was cracked, and popped the lid off. A dark egg was pulled out and he tapped it on the ground to crack the shell.

Jasper peeled and ate three of them in quick succession because they were just so goooood!

But when the fourth egg was in his hand, hovering above the floor, he stopped. Did he have any food other than this? No, definitely not. So, what was he doing? Food should be stretched and saved!

Argh!

Jasper sucked on his bottom lip before pouting and grumbling and shoving the egg back into the container. He still had a long time to get to the bottom of this stupid tower so resources like food should be saved.

After mournfully stowing the container back into the satchel, he slipped everything back on and pulled his hood back over his head, relishing the comforting feel of the fabric. With a quick note in his phone that he ate at (he checked his watch and growled at the time lost) 30 hours left, he pushed himself into standing. It took a moment or two for the dizzy feeling to fade but after that he was fine.

Directly avoiding looking at the bodies, he ambled over to the display cases against the wall. The old looking weapons wouldn't do him much good (especially since he had no way to carry them) but the vials… Well, those were filled with some noxious looking liquids. Some swirled almost like a fog in their glass, others sat heavy in the bottom of the vial, and more still bubbled like a boiling liquid. Unfortunately, none of them were labeled.

With a hum, he moved on to the two doors to either side of the large screen, the largest that he had yet to see since the first room. He read the words again carefully before deciding that it really probably was the last room… if he could open the door to the quick route that is. There were no markings to say which was which.

Okay. First things first! He determinedly turned towards Camo and Gray and marched over to them. He started with Gray, grabbing her cold stiff wrist and jamming his finger down on the 'O'. Then he did the same with Camo's and then his own. He glanced up at the screen but there was no change.

Fine. If they had to push their own buttons he'd just use their fingers. Except Gray was super stiff and there might have been a crack or two (that he blatantly ignored and definitely did not wince at) when he forced her other hand to to push the 'O' button. The same problem/solution occurred with Camo and Jasper finally moved onto his own watch with relief.

Still no change.

Jasper let out a short screech before cutting himself off. He hated how the noise had broken the strange silence that had settled over the room. He hated that he couldn't stop himself from making it in the first place.

He hatedhatedhated that burning building back up in his belly and that sting in his eyes when face already throbbed from crying so much.

In his frustrated rage he smashed the nearest display case (not caring if the glass scratched at his hand) and chucked a few vials at the nearest door.

And was promptly bowled over at the resulting explosion.

With a coughing gasp, Jasper sat up, wincing at the new bruises already forming from where he was flung into the wall like a ragdoll. His ears were ringing unpleasantly and the air reeked of something he couldn't identify. He pulled at his robe to cover his nose and mouth. Whatever was in the air, he was pretty sure he didn't want to breathe it in. A few moments later, the purple haze that had settled over everything cleared enough that he could see the giant hole where a door used to be.

He blinked at it. Blinked again. Rubbed his eyes with his left hand- his right still injured and holding his robe- despite the burning still persisting. Then he carefully stood, testing his limbs to make sure nothing felt off beyond slight twinging. Careful steps and disbelieving paranoia dragged him down as he made his way closer to the hole. There he could see remnants of what looked like black slime releasing wisps of purple smoke clinging to (and eating at?) the broken stone where the door used to sit.

He hurried past that, not keen on being near the unnatural colored smoke.

Now… luck had certainly been a key factor for that whole… thing… But was it the right door? How far did he have to go to be able to tell? And if it wasn't, was he going to be able to go back and somehow repeat what happened before? He didn't even remember what vials he had grabbed…

With thoughts like those circling in his head, Jasper pushed forward, keeping his robe up just in case, as he marched into the ever darkening corridor. Unfortunately, it started to get so dark that he shoved his left hand against the rough wall so he knew he wasn't going to run into it if it suddenly curved.

Well.

It wasn't the wall that curved.

A yelp and some horrified flailing later, Jasper sat up with a groan. He was against all this abuse! Could he get a refund on bruises today?

He pushed himself up with another long groan as he stumbled forward to catch himself on the wall. It was still pitch black, which was starting to get really irritating. How was he supposed to get back up that… that slide if this was the wrong way and he couldn't see?

The rumbling and scratching of stone against stone caught him off guard and he pushed himself further into the wall, trying to see what was going on.

The path in front of him was suddenly illuminated in flickering orange (fireburnheat) and he gaped as an entirely new room was opened before him. Just from where he was standing he knew it was larger than any room he'd seen so far in the tower. He shifted a little closer trying to see more than just some torches and empty space.

There were people in the room. Other people with badges on their chests. He stumbled forward in excitement. This had to be it! The bottom of the tower where Green and Whi-Killua were waiting for him! He'd done it! With more luck than he'd like to admit but he'd done it!

His legs were suddenly not quite so achy and his chest not quite so tight. With giddiness powering his steps, he practically skipped into the new room. As soon as he passed the door, a vaguely familiar voice announced, "Applicant Number 406: 14th to pass. Time Elapsed- Forty two hours and thirty eight minutes."

He squeaked happily before looking over the assortment of people in the room. None of them were who he wanted to find. He frowned. That meant he was here first… and that meant he had beaten them?

Jasper grinned, letting out a silent whoop as he punched his hand in the air. Take that, Killua!

"Well, aren't you dirty, little rat." He yelped and spun around his left hand grasping for the steel wire still solidly wrapped around his right wrist. Sitting up against the wall, a few feet away from the doorway he'd just come through, was a red (redredred) haired man dressed in something that you'd see on a clown at a circus. There was even a star and teardrop painted on his face to match the theme. "I wonder what happened to soil you so."

As he said that, he knocked down the stack of cards he'd been building with a flick of his forefinger and an unsettling smile. Jasper took a step back, immediately wary of the presence that was coating the man. It sat heavily on his tongue and made the hair on his body rise in terror.

Golden, piercing eyes looked up at him and he could practically see the malicious amusement in them. He took another step back, then another and another and an even larger one when the man's tongue swiped across his lips.

Jasper didn't even realize when he'd made it across the room until his back bumped into a wall. He jerked in shock, his hands clenching his wire tightly.

… When had he unraveled it?

He chanced a glance down at it, drawn tightly between his aching fingers. Then he glanced back up and froze. The man was still there, no longer looking, but- but he had moved. He had moved exactly a foot over without actually moving. He was in the same lackadaisical pose, one leg curled to his body, his elbow resting atop it. His cards were still scattered in front of him, a mess of white and red wreathed in flickering orange.

How? How had he moved like that? Was… was his mind playing tricks on him?

His chest ached sharply enough that he coughed to relieve it, but refused to remove his gaze from the predator across the room. Even if the man was no longer looking… Jasper just knew he was still watching.

He would have stayed frozen like that for much longer if he hadn't started coughing again. As the time wore on, the ache in his chest grew a little more persistent and he growled at it. It was extremely distracting. Now was not the time to be weak!

But the coughing never stopped and neither did that feeling of eyes staring him down from a distance. Even though he never caught the man actually looking.

Eventually though, that feeling of being drowsy, that feeling that fed the frustration in his chest, that inevitable vulnerability caught up with him.

He passed out with his hands still clutching his weapon and his chest still aching.

When Jasper woke up, it was to the sound of cards shuffling. It took a moment, his muggy thoughts not at all ready to get on with the day, before he startled himself into full wakefulness when he tried to move his head and caused ringing pain to echo down his body. The sound, though, didn't register fully until he finally opened his eyes to take stock of his surroundings. He needed to know if he was in a dangerous situation after all.

Which-

He was.

But scrambling away from someone was not only embarrassing but also unwise when they felt like a predator like this clown did. So he sat there, stiff and still, trying to figure out why the clown was here (mere inches away from him). And where was his weapon? He could have sworn it had been in his hands!

"Did you sleep well, rat?" It had been perhaps something close to an hour before the man said anything. Or it could have been a few minutes. He couldn't tell.

"W-What's it matter to you," he gritted out, wincing at the absolute mess his throat felt like. It was tight and hot and made his voice sound like gravel being run over by a car.

A catty smile formed on the redhead's face as those horrible horrible eyes slid over to him. "I'm interested, of course. Is there a reason you can't tell me?"

"Don't want to," he huffed, wincing against another cough he felt building in his throat.

"So feisty," the man laughed. "Contrary and spiteful. That certainly narrows it down. Or perhaps it's too soon to tell."

What the hell was this guy even saying? Jasper wasn't sure if he even wanted to know. What he did want was for him to get out of his personal space.

"Tell me," the clown turned to him fully, attention solely on Jasper and he hated it. "What color are your eyes?"

The question was completely random and it caught him by surprise. Surprise enough that the rattling he'd been holding in his lungs was suddenly in his throat, then his mouth. He coughed harshly, warmth splattering across the hand he'd brought up to cover it, to try to smother it.

When he pulled his hand away, he stared in horrified silence at the black spatters covering most of his stained fingers.

AN: Hey look! Another all Jasper chapter! He deserves it~ Probably doesn't deserve the trauma and overwhelming emotions I've foisted onto him but, such is life. :)

Leave a comment and tell me what you think! They make inspiration come easier!

Q&A: darknesslight13- I can't tell you too much about Harry just yet, but Harry is from a certain in point in canon, yes. It's hard to uncomplicate it without spoiling the mystery! XD I just hope you continue to enjoy.

Shoutout to KrixLight who has been amazing and continuously commented. I adore that you keep coming back! Seeing your name in the reviews has me dancing in the clouds for hours!