AUTHOR'S UPDATE:
June 16th, 2015
Hey, everyone! Thank you all for your encouraging feedback, faves, and follows! At the moment, however, I'm attending school full-time (5 days a week, 12 hours a day), so I just don't have time to write much on my stories. :( Good news is that the course is only until mid-August, so I'll have lots of time then to write. Also, I'll do my best to update sooner if possible!
Thank you! - NuzzleBunny
CHAPTER THREE
"Show Time"
"What? What happened?"
This was the question Hisoka asked himself. The dark ceiling above him had a three track lighting but only the middle light was lit, and was shining in his eyes as the room blurred into view. His back was cold. He concluded that he was lying on concrete and somewhere above him he heard Illumi groan. Taking his time while propping himself up, he glanced around the room through dishevelled strands of hair.
"Where are we?," Illumi suddenly asked. He seemed just as confused. Not a good sign…
"I was hoping you'd know, actually. May I assume this wasn't the part of the plan?"
"…you may… Damn."
"Just perfect."
The light crackled as it occasionally flickered over a small metal table standing at the center. He began to clumsily crawl towards it and steadied himself as the tranquillizer gradually began to wear off. Using the table to stand, Hisoka rose to his feet and closed his eyes until the world stood still. When he opened them, the first thing he noticed was the only thing on the table: a standard, pre-paid cell phone, with a charming, decorative, red ribbon that tied to a little bell. Picking it up, he inspected it carefully before beginning to search through the phone's contacts.
Nothing, nope, nada… wait…
"The Host?," Hisoka uttered under his breath.
"Found something?" As usual, Illumi never seemed to miss a beat. Not even as he still sat recomposing himself against the wall.
"A cell phone." He turned to show it to Illumi, "pre-paid, disposable, jail broken, and likely completely untraceable. However, there is contact information for someone named 'the Host'."
"Interesting…," the man's pitch-black eyes flickered for a moment, like a caged animal. "On a side note, don't you find this room… peculiar?"
Now that he was able to take a proper look around, he could see Illumi was right. It was obviously custom-made and was very, very small: no bigger than maybe two janitor's closets in size. It was pure concrete, too, and with not a single window nor door. More unsettling than the increasingly claustrophobic environment, though, he had noticed not long ago that someone had taken the liberty of putting them into their own fighting gear. It made him slightly shiver at the idea that someone had been dressing him and that they knew what he typically wore. However, that person had been a little too… kind - or perhaps foolish - when they even provided him with a limited supply of playing cards. Only 3, but he could work with that.
"Why would this fool give us weapons?," it was eerie how easily Illumi seemed to read him.
"Beats me. Maybe we should call our Host and ask?," Hisoka crooned with a smile, giving the small cell a little wiggle, and making the bell's jingle resonate gleefully through the small space. The tiniest of smiles shadowed the man's empty face and he silently waved Hisoka on. The contact information was already on the screen, so all he needed to do was hit send and then speaker phone. However, he did so with some hesitation. Something still felt off…
The line rang for a bit but, to their surprise, was quickly answered by the sound of audience applause and an almost too generic game show tune.
"W-what is this?" Illumi's eyes grew wide in mild surprise, but all Hisoka could do was silently stare at the device.
"Goooooooood morning, gentlemeeeen", a man's deep voice boomed at them through the receiver! "Or is it good afternoon? Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter from in there!"
A canned laugh track followed and caused both men to stare at one another in disbelief. Was someone playing some sort of joke? No… who would be so stupid?
"Good evening! Good night! Welcome everyone to our show! Let's get ready to play…"
"THE! CRIMSON! LOTTERY," the audience shouted back and erupted into another tremendous roar or applause.
"Let's introduce our newest contestants!" As the voice continued, the track light just above Illumi turned on in a showcase fashion: "First up is #12, Illumi Zoldyck! At 24, this Manipulator type fighter is the eldest son of the famous assassin family! Let's give it up for Illuuuumiiiii! [audience cheering]"
"What?" His expression remained calm, but the intensity of his stare, and the speed in which he rose to his feet, made it apparent that Illumi was perplexed. Being one who preferred to prepare for contingencies, he had now found himself in a rather unexpected situation that he hadn't considered to plan for.
"Our second contestant is #13, the Dark Magician, Hisoka! This 27 year old fighter is a real mystery, but one thing is certain! His Transmuter abilities are not to be trifled with! A round of applause for Hisoooooka! [audience cheering]"
"Thank you. Thank you," Hisoka squinted in the spotlight and played along with an exaggerated bow. "A game, hm?"
"Yes! Yes, indeed! And what a glorious game it is! One in which only the most talented Nen users survive! And I'm your host… the Host!"
The audience appeared to cheer extra loudly at this point and Hisoka slightly scoffed at the insecurity of this man.
"The Host?" His golden eyes flicked with increasing curiosity, "So, is there an audience watching us right now? Or just you?"
"Right, you are! We certainly have quite the lovely audience with us tonight! [audience cheer] However, they're here to be entertained! So, if they feel you two fail in this, then you should know the Crimson Lottery will quickly become… your executioner!"
The pause in the sentence was clearly held for theatrical suspense, but the responding "ooooooo"-ing and clapping from the audience was all clearly canned sound clips.
"'Ooooooo', indeed. How ominous," Hisoka smirked and couldn't help but add a tone of sarcasm.
Without warning, though, he found himself slightly thrown off, as the man's voice broke character. It grew low, as if he were speaking to himself but not realizing they could hear him. He breathed into the phone heavily:
"Confident? Oh, he's confident NOW, alright. But, he'll bleed… yes… yes, they all bleed, don't they?"
"You alright?" Illumi's interruption of the Host was blunted more in part to growing impatience than concern, and the Host seemed to shake himself from his dark thoughts:
"Uh… Yes! Of course! Shall I explain the rules of round 1, then? Listen closely to survive…"
Out of the corner of his eye, Hisoka could see Illumi looking at him with mild dismay. No doubt the man considered it rather irritating that he was egging their captor on. None-the-less, they both remained silent and waited for their instructions.
"You may have already noticed," the Host began to explain. "There are no windows nor doors in this terrible, cramped, little room you've found yourselves in. However, there IS an exit… In order to leave this room and make your way to the next part of round one, you'll simply need to find it!"
"That's it?" Illumi's soulless eyes glared into the phone suspiciously, "that sounds too easy. What's the catch?"
"Ah, yes! The catch! Nearly forgot! Thank you for reminding me! Catch is, in just 3 short minutes, we're going to kick things up a notch and start filling up this room with TOXIC GAS! [audience laughter and applause] Now, parental discretion is advised, because this substance is not for the faint of heart! We've seen what it can do before, folks! On previous contestants, the motor skills go first, followed by internal bleeding, and suffocation… but the mind is said to remain fully aware during the whole process! Unfortunately, if our dear contestants can not find their escape in the allotted time, then they too will tragically perish! [audience awwww] There, there. Don't be sad! It makes for great entertainment! [audience applause]"
The phone crackled as the Host let out a deep, bellowing laugh alongside the people's cheers before continuing:
"Oh, for contestant #12, we have an extra bit of info! Illumi, the Crimson Lottery has accounted for your high tolerance to poisons. So, this toxin is designed to still affect your motor skills, but someone will be along shortly after you're incapacitated to put a bullet in your head… just for good fun! [laugh track] Time is on the clock. Good luck, gentlemen…"
As the loud applause on the line went dead, an LED panel that had been hidden in a darkened corner began to count down from 3 minutes.
"Well, shit…" Hisoka softly chuckled to himself. "And I thought I was messed up…"
By contrast, Illumi had become quite annoyed by the situation and was likely miffed that someone had turned their mission into a gong show: "We don't have time to compare patient files, Hisoka. Let's just look for an exit."
"Hmph… Whatever… Tear down one of the walls. They're just concrete, right? A few good Ren attacks should break them."
"I suppose," Illumi sighed and began tapping against the walls to look for a weak spot.
After about 20 seconds, it became clear that the concrete was reinforced with something denser behind it. Perhaps steel? Breaking them down was not a viable option. Furthermore, their ability to perform attacks strong enough to break through walls that strong was restricted by their limited available space and the time it'd take to accomplish.
2 minutes and 15 seconds remaining.
Hisoka checked every inch of the metal table, then every nook and cranny of the phone for any devices or code inputs to open a door. Nothing. Illumi began searching the floor for signs of a trap door. Again, nothing.
1 minute 10 seconds remaining.
Hisoka began to trace his palm up and down the walls slowly to search for a hidden button. Illumi began to search the ceiling.
"Found it," Illumi announced after some time. "There's a faint outline of a hidden entrance on the ceiling here."
"Good. I think I've found something over in this corner, too."
Upon closer inspection, Illumi could see a tiny hole in one of the walls that Hisoka stood by.
"This little hole? Well, it's worth a shot… I think one of my pins will fit."
He gracefully pulled a silver pin out and slowly inserted it in as far as it could go. They heard a click and the trap door on the ceiling behind them popped open.
"Ah. Excellent," Hisoka was relieved but Illumi still noticed a problem.
"Maybe not. It's on the other side of the room and it seems as though the button in this wall is pressure sensitive. One of us can get through but the other will be stuck here. We better figure something out fast. There are only 23 seconds left."
Hisoka smiled coyly and walked over to the trap door. With a little wave, he jumped through.
"And me?" Illumi sounded annoyed.
"Undo," came the reply and the table seemed to come alive as it leapt forward and lodged itself into the exit, prying the doors open momentarily. "Better hurry!"
With 10 seconds left on the clock, the timer was now letting out a loud noise for each one that ticked away. Illumi didn't need to be told twice. He removed the pin from the wall. The doors groaned against the metal barrier in protest and began to slowly warp it under the pressure. Just moments after he made it through, toxic clouds billowed into the room behind him and, with one powerful kick, he managed to dislodge the trap door before the gas could flood through into the room they were in.
"That was close," Hisoka chimed in.
"Too close... It would seem our Host has a rather dark taste in entertainment."
"I know. It's making me all tingly," his breathing had grown shallow at the thought. "I'm getting kind of… excited."
Dusting himself off, Illumi's paused briefly and pressed a finger up to his lips, as if carefully considering the appeal of Hisoka's whimsically twisted outlook. His annoyance was gradually replaced by a soft, dark smirk. He could sense the excitement, too!
"A Crimson Lottery?," he finally sighed.
Hisoka grinned, "Challenge accepted."