Hello my little reader bunnies! Yes, it is time for your demise, for the next chapter is here!
If you've been waiting for this chapter, FORGIVE ME!!! The Internet cockroaches were at it again, and they broke off the connection of the internet in my dwelling. BUT DO NOT WORRY, FORSOOTH, I AM BACK 8D
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.
"Finally!" Shelby exclaimed, as the humongous airplane touched down on the Island. Their luggage was to be collected at the private airport the landed in, and their baggage was at hand. An in-flight check took place before they could leave, which gave Shelby enough time to build up her energy.
Seeing as they were close to the cockpit, they were one of the first to exit. That was lucky, seeing as Shelby looked as if she was going to burst with all the pent up energy she gathered. Wing honestly felt the same. Laura giggled a little, as she saw the expression on Wing's face, as if he was trying to cover up the excitement on his face. Otto was the same as ever, his emotionless face unnerving.
Rounds of 'Thank you, we hope you enjoyed your flight' echoed throughout the plane, as contestants passed by the flight attendants. Shelby was not the only person who was bursting with excitement. Many of the other players were grinning, or at least shaking with anticipation.
Most of the people on board got off by the time Wing, Laura, Shelby, and Otto got their baggage. Laura's suitcase was easily the biggest in their lot; it was probably filled with her guns and extra ammo. Wing's bag contested with Laura's; only an inch difference separated the bags. Shelby's bag reached up to her upper thigh, as most of the things inside were clothes. Otto's bag was easily the smallest. It only reached his knee, but its thickness compensated for the size. It was still small though.
"What do you think the lectern is for?" Laura asked, pointing to the marble platform just ahead of them.
"What else? Obviously someone's going to announce something to the contestants." Otto said blankly. Laura's rising indignation was replaced with utter surprise. Those were the most things he had said in the past twelve hours.
Before she could say anything, however, guards announced that the contestants were to gather in front of the lectern. There was a flurry of pushing and bag grabbing, as everyone moved to the front of the lectern. A sudden silence ran through the airport, as someone came to the platform.
"If I may have your attention," he said in a loud voice. Everyone hushed up, looking up at the man. "My name is Doctor Maximilian Nero, and I am the developer of Battala de Paz."
At these words, some started whispering, while others stared hard at Maximilian Nero. That was the man who started the program, and created a revolutionary peace action between nations. That was the man who everyone deemed a hero. That was the man who had the public vote for Nobel Peace Prize Winn—
"Hey Wing." Laura said, waving her hand in front of his face. Apparently, Wing had been staring hard enough to lose track of his thoughts. The whispering had stopped, and everyone paid attention to the man on the lectern.
"Sorry, drifted away there for a moment." Wing said, smirking. "Right." Laura said, smiling.
"As you may know, Battala de Paz is a peace movement between most of the nations of the world. This program is to carry the name of peace abound the hearts of the future leaders, namely, the children." Nero said, addressing the group of two hundred. "I hope to meet you again soon, as all of you will be competing to be the winner of this competition." The man stopped, and seemed to flinch. The kind look on his face disappeared for a flicker of a moment, and then it went back to its kid self. No one but Wing, and maybe Otto, seemed to notice.
"Our friendly guides will now bring you to your rooms. In the rooms, there will be computers which will allow you to keep contact with you family, and give you more information about Battala de Paz. Thank you, and good day."
Nero disappeared, as everyone started to talk once more. The guides seem to appear out of nowhere as well, until Wing noticed the doors that opened before Nero's abrupt departure. The guides, clad in navy robes with a gold line running down one side, a pin on their chest bore the symbol of Battala de Paz, also the coat of arms of the Nero family.
Wing approached one of them, a tall, handsome, bald fellow who looked kind hearted, at least. He and Otto seemed to have the same idea. They approached the man, who smiled at the two of them.
"Hello you two, my name in Nigel Darkdoom, how may I help you?" he asked. Otto did not look at the man straight in the eye. Wing took this as a sign that the other did not want to speak (as expected).
"Hi Nigel, I'm Wing, and this is Otto." Wing said, gesturing to himself and the person beside him. "May I know where Otto and I will be staying?" he asked politely.
"Wing Fanchu, and Otto Malpense, I presume." he stated, rather than asking. Wing nodded, however. Nigel Darkdoom referred to a touch screen panel, bearing the Battala de Paz seal.
"You two are in luck, you'll be sharing a room." He replied. Wing's eyebrow cocked upwards, and Otto glanced at Wing. The trio walked off, Wing and Otto bringing their luggage. Wing waved at Shelby and Laura, who were being taken care of by a pretty French lady. The girls waved back.
"If you want, you may ask anything about the program as we walk around." Nigel said to the two boys. The group clambered onto a walkalator, and they slowly progressed along the hall.
"If I'm not intruding," Wing started, and Nigel looked at him. "May we know more about you? I mean, besides your name?"
Nigel smiled. "It's fine, you're not intruding my privacy." The man replied. "To begin, I'm Nigel Darkdoom, and please don't mind the surname." Wing chuckled a little, and Otto gave a hollow smile. "I'm twenty-nine years old, and I'm the head gardener in the entire Island. But of course, I have a bigger responsibility than people think. I handle all the plant life on this very island, supplying food for everyone here as well. It's my job to take care of the vegetables, some chance forests here and there on this island, and of course, challenge rooms, which involve vegetation."
"Excuse me, but what do you mean by 'challenge rooms'?"
"You'll find that out sooner or later." Nigel said. "Don't worry, nothing life threatening, as long as you follow the rules."
There was a small silence between them, which was broken when a plump man walked up to them.
"Nigel, I am needing a full batch of iceberg cabbages for tonight's dinner! Please, after your shift here, transport them as soon as being possible." The man said in a heavy German accent. Nigel sighed, and mock saluted the man.
"Aye aye, Captain Argentblum." Nigel replied. The larger man rushed ahead, not even taking heed of Wing or Otto.
"Who was that?" Otto asked. Wing was caught off guard by the sudden question. As far as Wing was concerned, Otto only spoke twice for the entire trip.
"Oh, that was Heinz Argentblum, our head chef. He is temperamental, that's for sure. Smart-mouth him, and you'll see kitchen knives flying at you, then he'll be on his knees begging for your forgiveness. Some say he's crazy, but I say he's a genius in the kitchen, bless the man." Nigel said. "His son's less moody, but he can still be one pain in the—"
His vein was broken, when he looked ahead. "Looks like our ride's done." He commented. Wing got ready to haul his bag, as did Otto.
"After this, be ready with a strong grip, my friends. It'll be downhill from there, believe me." Nigel said. Wing wasn't sure if he was joking or not.
Once they got off the walkalator, Nigel approached a pod-like thing in front of them. Others gathered in front of them as well, some entering or exiting.
"These transporters are called the Shrouds. They can take you anywhere valid on this island, in a blink of an eye. Their only glitch is their roughness. Our technicians have been trying to solve that all year."
"What do you mean by 'roughness'?" Wing asked, as they entered the Shroud in front of them.
"Just hold on to your bag, the bar, and your life." Nigel said, and Otto's eyebrow cocked once more.
Wing's question was answered, when Nigel dialed in the code of their room.
Wing's reaction would have been a loud, venomous 'shit', but he was too busy trying to hold on to the sidebars of the Shroud. As far as he could tell, they were traveling at about 100 miles per hour, though he was sure it was more. As quick as it started it stopped; Nigel wasn't the least bit affected. Otto, however, took the same shock as Wing. His face actually had a hint of expression, surprise. His hair was a little mussed, and he was on the floor.
"Sorry about that." Nigel said apologetically. "That's the hitch I was talking about. But it's the only public transportation around that Island that takes less than two minutes." Nigel lifted Otto up, who still seemed dizzy from the ride. When they walked out, others also seemed to have experienced the roughness of the Shroud, one of them even ran to an open window and puked. Wing inwardly laughed; it was Shelby.
Said girl looked up from the window, and saw the two boys coming from the Shroud. She glared, though her indignation disappeared when she noticed the size of the place they were in.
"Whoa." She said, her head swiveling on her neck. Wing looked around as well; the place was huge!
"This," the French lady said. "Is the Accommodation Area. The accommodation area is equipped with 120 rooms, private and public baths, and a fully equipped entertainment area and library."
At the word 'library', Otto's eyes lit up. Wing looked at him, and smiled a little.
"Outside the area is the official garden of the Island. It is eight acres long and wide. If you ever get lost there, just follow the arrows on the walls." She said. "If you want to train for the upcoming competitions, training areas are spread throughout the school, and can be visited with the Shrouds."
Shelby winced a little at those words, and Laura laughed lightly.
Afterwards, the girls and the boys separated, Otto, Wing, and Nigel heading to the west end of the Accommodation Area. After a short elevator ride, they found themselves in a corridor of twenty or so rooms. They walked down, and stopped in front of Room 87.
All of the doors were mahogany, and had the room number in gold. When they entered, they noticed that the room inside was cozy, if a tiny bit cramped. With a light apricot color on the walls, the beds on each side of the room were separated by a bathroom for two. On the left and right walls were PCs, with a mahogany dresser beside. A large window on one side lit up the room, giving the room an all around comforting feeling.
"This is… nice. Thanks Nigel." Wing said. Nigel smiled. "Glad to help. If you have any questions, just check out the info on the PCs." He said, gesturing to the computers on both sides. "See you soon." He said, and he closed the door behind him.
Wing dragged his bag to one of the beds, and plopped down onto it. The bed was soft at least, and in all ways, it felt comfy. Otto still stood by the door.
"Come on Otto!" Wing said. "Don't tell me you've got a stick up your—never mind."
Otto sighed, and pulled his bag to the other bed, near the window. He sat on the bed, looking a little uncomfortable. Wing seemed to notice, for he approached him and sat down beside him.
"Listen," he started. "We didn't have a good start, or rather; we didn't really start at all. So I'll introduce myself, and you'll introduce yourself. There'll be no choice anyways; we're going to be room mates for a few months at least. Is that all right?"
Otto looked to him, and nodded.
"Hey there, I'm Wing Fanchu. I'm from Japan, and my specialty is Naginatajustu. I enjoy training from time to time, hanging out a little, and of course, making friends here and there. How about you?"
Otto sighed. "My name is Otto Malpense. I'm technically an orphan, though now with a 'family', and my specialty is Capoeira. I'm pretty much your polar opposite; I like reading, and I'm pretty much an introvert."
Wing grinned. "Well, as they say, opposites attract, so I think we'll be fine." He said, extending a hand. Otto looked from the hand to Wing's face, and smiled a little as well. "You're so gullible, but quite interesting." Wing raised his eyebrow, and then laughed a little. Otto chuckled as well, and Wing smiled.
"What?" Otto asked. "Your laugh is pretty nice; why don't you talk or laugh often?"
Otto shrugged. "Don't really know; force of habit, honestly."
Wing cocked his head to the side. "If you say so."
8D
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