Disclaimer: KHR no mine. KHR why art thou not mine!
Suspended in the air, Zero gazed upon the eight people who gazed right back at him. Observing each person, Zero softly laughed, his eyes glittering. Turning to Anrya, he said, "What an interesting group of guardians you've assembled~ I'm surprised that you chose such inexperienced teenagers to be your guardians when there were plenty of people to choose from."
"Hmph~ That's really none of your business but I'll explain why I chose them anyways," Anrya huffed. "I would've felt uncomfortable having adults or anyone else as my guardians; therefore, these seven are suitable for me."
Zero chuckled at what Anrya said, and Anrya indignantly glared up at him. "Ah Anrya-chan~" Zero said, "When it comes to life-and-death situations, you may need more experienced people. You yourself aren't experienced in the first place, so gathering more inexperienced people will just weaken your family~"
"Then we'll just get stronger as we go along," Anrya snapped.
"But as of right now, you and your guardians are too weak. Weak guardians won't help you get through this test~" Zero said.
"So what? It's just a test," Anrya said rolling her eyes, "If we fail, we can always work on our mistakes."
"Ah~ But you see, that isn't how this test works," Zero said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Esa questioned, joining the conversation. Esa didn't like the smile that played upon Zero's lips.
Zero inclined his head slightly towards Esa and replied, "I'll tell you that right now. It's quite simple really. If the eight of you fail this test, then you will be…eliminated…"
"W-wait, what?" Crystal said, her voice slightly shaking.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Esa protested, "We didn't know what was going to happen in this test of yours!"
"She's right Zero," Anrya said, "You never gave me the details to this test. We were completely unprepared for this."
Zero amusedly listened to each protest until he answered, "Things happen in a flash~ Life isn't going to warn you before events occur. You'll just have to be prepared for the worst."
"Ugh," Esa muttered, "Why does this have to happen to us?"
Zero smiled wickedly. "Esa-chan~ I'm going to quote what your little friend said earlier: Life is full of surprises, as are people…"
Esa frowned in hearing Rai's words being repeated. Then remembering something, she said, "Hey! How did you know that Kor-Rai said that? You weren't there with us when he said that!"
Zero chuckled. "I was watching you all go through your little adventure while I stayed hidden by my illusion," Zero answered. "I must say, it was quite entertaining to follow you and tinker your path with my illusions."
"…So wait, were you the one that made us go in circles when we were trying to find the exit?" Crystal glared at Zero.
"Hm?" Zero said in slight confusion. Then recalling the moment he answered, "Ah that~ No, that was just your friends' poor sense of direction."
"Ah…" Anrya said, and gave the others a long stare. "You guys got lost?"
"Hey, it was an unfamiliar place," Jasmine said defensively.
"Yeah, long story," Esa replied with a shrug. Turning back to Zero, Esa asked, "So, how did you tinker our path Zero?"
"Oh nothing much really~" Zero casually replied, "I just made things take longer…such as leading you through a long route without you really knowing it. The pool is one example." Zero slid his eyes across each of the guardians and continued, "I didn't really want to stop you from finding the exit, so I had my fun of slowing you down and making your adventure that much more interesting~!"
Narrowing her eyes at Zero, Esa glared. "I seriously hate you. You made me walk and breathe the same air as Kor-Rai for that much longer."
Rai gave Esa an innocent puppy look. Esa skewered the look with a glare.
"Oh Esa-chan~" Zero said, "Hate is such a harsh word~"
"Fine," Esa retorted, "how about I dislike you with a burning passion?"
Zero's mouth twitched into a smile. "Seems like you have a smart mouth~"
Esa snorted.
"Anyways," Zero turned to look at the rest of the group, "it's almost time to begin. Are you guyr prepared?"
"Obviously not," Jasmine muttered.
"Hey wait a minute! We don't even know how to fight!" Crystal protested, "What are we suppose to do?"
"Hmhmhm~" Zero laughed. "Crystal-chan, fighting comes in many forms."
Crystal wrinkled her nose and said, "What the hell is that suppose to mean?...Actually, I don't care. I don't really know any form of real fighting, so whatever."
"But even so," Zero continued, "Shouldn't you at least know the basics of self-defense~?"
"Nope," Crystal bluntly answered, "Unless you count kicking guys in the balls."
Anrya sighed.
"Hmhmhm~" Zero chuckled, "Such weak children. Only four of the eight here can use their flame while the other four can't" Then glancing at Ryo, Zero added, "And one of the four who can use their flame isn't even in middle school yet~"
Anrya slightly seethed at the fact Zero was scoffing at her choice of people. Jerk she thought, gritting her teeth.
"Aw, Anrya-chan~" Zero purred, "Why the unhappy face?"
Anrya glared at Zero.
Smiling, Zero continued, "Well how about this: If at least one of the eight of you can stay conscious for the next ten minutes, which I will make the time limit of this fight, then you all pass. If not…" Zero gave a shrug and said, "…then sayonara~"
"Oh God," Anrya muttered. Then glancing up at Zero, Anrya gave a long look and questioned, "Why would you…eliminate us when you're the one who made me boss?"
Zero considered Anrya's words for a moment and answered, "'Boss' is just a title. You have to prove your worth in being boss, so what better way than to have a fight with me~? We can always find a new person fit enough to be boss if you fail." Then smiling again, Zero said, "Let's begin~!"
The lights in the large room dimmed and a thick mist began to settle in. The guardians, excluding Darke and Ryo, began to worriedly look around.
"Ah, I hate this," Anrya grumbled, "I can't even see my own hand in front of me."
She's right Jasmine thought as she lifted her hands up to her face. Her hands were still visible, but just barely.
"Hmhmhm~" came Zero's voice from somewhere in the mist. His voice couldn't be quite pinpointed but everyone turned to the general direction. "Since I'm so kind~" Zero said, his voice echoing, "I'll set up an invisible wall around the opened present so that you won't set off any traps…Hmhmhm~ I wouldn't want Anrya-chan's little guardians to be put out so quickly~"
"Sadist," Esa muttered.
Anrya scowled and thought grimly Just like a cat who plays with its food before he kills and eats it…
Crystal's P.O.V.
I blindly walked through the thick mist to find the others. Tch, I should've just stayed where I was…then I wouldn't be lost in this mist… Continuing to navigate my way through the mist, I soon gave up after I began to feel like I was walking in circles. Oh. My. God. Everything looks the same. Annoyed, I just took a random direction. Might as well… I thought. Still unable to see even a foot in front of where I was, I ended up walking straight into the invisible wall. "Ouch," I hissed irritably. Placing my hands on a wall I couldn't see, I cursed under my breath. "That bastard Zero…if he just got rid of this wall then I wouldn't have a problem." Then thinking back to the moment when Selina threw a piece of candy on a trap tile, I reconsidered Well, maybe smashing into an invisible wall isn't as bad as getting shishkabobbed… Then, to make sure I wouldn't walk into the wall again, and to take out my anger (but mostly just to take my anger out), I kicked the invisible wall with disgust.
"Not the brightest thing to do, but expected from the likes of you~" said a voice to the right of me. I soon identified this voice to be Zero's.
Looking around for Zero, I called out, "What do you want?"
"Hos-tile," Zero said. "I just want to have a little chit-chat with you before you…take a nap~"
Attempting to sound undaunted, I snorted, "Why don't you get some friends." Not that a creeper like you would find any…
Ignoring my insult, Zero continued to talk. "Anyways, back to the wall. Why did you kick it~? What did it ever do to you?"
"You're making a pointless conversation," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Oh it's not pointless I assure you~" Zero answered. "Since I can kill some time by talking with you, this conversation isn't pointless…I wouldn't want to take out you and your friends so quickly~ That would be too boring~!"
Oh, so that's it I glumly thought. Might as well talk then… Uneasily glancing around, I crossed my arms. Clearing my throat, I attempted to sound indifferent and said, "Hmph, I'll go along with it then. To answer the other question, I kicked the wall because it bothered me."
"Hmhmhm~ How can a wall bother you~?" Zero questioned amusedly.
"It just did," I muttered.
"That's not such a detailed answer Crystal-chan~" Zero said.
"I don't have to give you a detailed answer," I answered back. Then pausing for Zero's next accusation, I waited…but it never came. Scowling, I then just answered, "The wall was in my way."
An amused snort sounded from Zero. "Yes, but it was there, unmoving, and you were the one to smash into it," Zero pointed out.
You sure have annoying ways to put things I thought. "Just shut up."
"Hmhmhm~ Then I guess our conversation will end here—". Then suddenly, Zero was behind me. Swiveling around, I was able to see Zero standing very close to me. Though the mist was very thick, I was still able to faintly see Zero's outline…especially his snow white hair and his mismatched eyes. A smile then played upon his lips and he swiftly advanced upon me. I started to back away, that is, until I felt a wall hit my back. Oh shit! Turning to find a different route, I started to the right until an arm blocked my way. Looking to the owner of the arm, I gulped as I realized that I've been trapped.
"Don't worry Crystal-chan, I'll go easy on you~" Zero purred. So swift that my eyes couldn't follow, Zero injected something into my arm that soon took effect. My vision quickly began to dim and my balance faltered. Feeling weak in the knees, I sank to the ground and tried to stay conscious. "What did you do to me?" I asked, my words slurring.
"Oh~ I just gave you a very strong sedative," Zero said. Bending down, Zero smiled at me and said, "I have an appointment with your other friends now so… sweet dreams~" Standing up, Zero turned away from me and began to walk away. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the flapping of Zero's black coat as he disappeared into the mist…
Rai's P.O.V.
"Wait up!" I cried out to Darke and Ryo who were walking in a quicker stride than me. The two completely ignored me and kept walking at the same pace. In efforts to try and keep up, I ran and caught up to them. "Hey Darke-kun, Ryo-kun, where are we going?"
The two stopped in their tracks and continued to stay silent. I was expecting them to answer my question but instead, Darke-kun tensed and looked around.
"What's wrong?" I asked Darke-kun. As usual, he didn't answer me. Sighing, I looked at the same direction that he was, to see what he was seeing. Squinting at the very thick mist, I saw nothing…wait…what was that flash of white that I saw? "Hey, what's that—" Before I could finish my sentence, Darke-kun jumped to the side and I felt a foot on my chest. "Oof!" I gasped. Falling on my back for the third time that day, I looked up to see a pair of mismatched eyes and snow white hair. It was Zero. "Ouch…um…excuse me Zero-san, can you get off of me so that I can breathe properly…please?"
Zero looked down at me but kept his foot on my chest. He then looked around; and when he set his sights on something, he used me as a stepping stone and swiftly disappeared.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," I said repeatedly. Rubbing my sore chest, I slowly stood up to look for Darke-kun and Ryo. Lifting my head up, I said, "Hey Darke-kun do you—" No one was around. Ah…I got ditched… With no one around, I aimlessly wandered for a while in random directions.
Esa's P.O.V.
I walked around in the thick mist unsure of what to do. Behind me were Jasmine, Selina, and Anrya. Luckily we stuck together since the thick mist settled in. Continuing to walk, I briefly looked over my shoulder and said to no one in particular, "Any fighting advices?"
"…Aim low…?" Anrya replied unsurely.
"I already know to aim for a guy's balls in self-defense, but I'm asking for real fighting advice."
"Then I've got nothing," Anrya said with a shrug.
"Hey Anrya," Jasmine suddenly said, "Who were the four people that Zero mentioned with the flames?"
I took interest in this and listened carefully.
"Well…" Anrya started, "The four people are Darke, Selina, Ryo, and…me…"
"Wait a second," I cut in, "Then shouldn't you know how to fight?"
"Just because I can manifest my flame doesn't make me all-powerful," Anrya snorted. "No one taught me how to fight and my flame only lights up 40% of the time. The fact that I don't have a weapon with me right now puts me in a greater disadvantage."
"So basically, you're saying we're screwed right?" I said with a droll stare.
"Yep…" Anrya answered.
"But wait," Jasmine said, "What about Selina? You said she had a flame too."
Everyone turned to Selina. Selina uncomfortably met our gazes and said, "But…I don't have a flame…" Jasmine and I turned to Anrya and glared.
Shrugging, Anrya said, "Well, Selina can use illusions so basically it can be considered a flame. Selina just can't form a flame yet without the proper materials. What Selina needs is a ring and a weapon."
"But Selina can still do something right?" Jasmine said.
"Yeah, basically," Anrya answered with a shrug.
Jasmine and I turned to Selina. Opening my mouth I said, "So Selina, can you make some illusions to make us untouchable or something?"
"Mmmm…" Selina said with a shrug. "I'm not that advanced in illusions right now. The only times I've ever used my illusions was to make my manga book look like a notebook during social studies class, and to make my computer screen look different to outside viewers such as parents and teachers."
Jasmine and I hung our heads in defeat. This is hopeless… I thought.
"Look on the bright side though guys," Anrya said in a cheerful voice, "If we can prolong this 'stage' until time is up, we'll be fine and pass."
"I hope so," I said with a sigh.
"Hey guys, is it just me or did the mist get slightly thinner?" Jasmine asked suddenly.
Squinting, I found that the mist did get a bit thinner.
"You're right, the mist did get thinner." Selina commented, as she too observed the mist. Shrugging, Anrya, Selina, Jasmine and I continued to wander in the mist.
After a while, Anrya told me that we should stop to take a break. Agreeing with her, I stopped walking and sat down to rest my legs. Jasmine, Selina, and Anrya sat down as well. Around me, Anrya rested on the ground and Selina yawned. Yawning myself, I leaned back on my arms and closed my eyes.
Suddenly a sound of metal chains surrounded us.
Huh? I thought a split-second before I felt the metal chains constricting me.
"What the—" I heard Jasmine gasp as she and the others were constricted with the chains as well.
"Hmhmhm~" came the annoying voice of Zero which I began to recognize well. "Hello ladies~" he purred.
Ugh… I thought instinctively through his tone. Another pervert…
Zero walked up to us with a smirk. "I'm very disappointed…I was expecting a bit more of a fight, but I guess I expected too much."
I glared at Zero with hatred as he advanced to Selina with lithe steps. Watching him crouch down in front of Selina, I watched as Zero extended his hand out to Selina's cheek. At first, I thought he was petting her cheek, but then, Selina collapsed onto the floor unconscious. "Hey! What did you do to her you bastard," I called out, foolishly perhaps.
Zero got out of his crouch and turned his head towards me. Smiling ever so slightly he said, "I just hit one of her nerve clusters and made her fall unconscious."
I frowned. What?
Anrya coughed and said, "He means pressure point…"
"Oh…" I muttered.
Zero then began to advance towards me. Oh shit… When he got in front of me, he crouched again and began to do the same as he did to Selina. Oh no you don't… Just as Zero's hand got near my face, I opened my mouth and bit his hand. Hard. Zero didn't make much of a reaction, which disappointed me. All he did was look at his hand then back at me with a facial expression that said: Really? To my astonishment, Zero's hand began to disintegrate into indigo sparkles. "Whaf da heck?" I said, with my teeth still clamped onto the remaining parts of Zero's hand. The part that I bit into soon began to disintegrate too. I didn't bite THAT hard… I thought to myself, still dumbfounded. Looking over to the others, I noted Jasmine's facial expression of disbelief. Shrugging at Jasmine's facial expression, I looked around wondering where Zero was.
"Looking for me~?" said Zero in a seductive purr, near my ear.
From behind?! Inclining my head slightly, I found that I was correct. Zero was behind, his lips by my ear and his arms around my shoulders as if we were pals. "Ugh, get off of me," I snapped, but unable to push him away due to the chains.
"Ah, ah, you forgot the special word~" Zero said.
"Die," I spat, curling my lips.
Zero frowned, but the frown quickly vanished. Instead, Zero smiled and pulled out a tranquilizer and prepared to stick it in me.
Is that a big, long needle? I thought with a slight chill.
Just as Zero was about to stick the tranquilizer dart into my arm, a high-pitched girly scream came from within the mist. All heads turned towards that direction to see…Rai running around frantically.
"Is that a three-headed dog chasing Rai, or am I just imagining things?" Jasmine asked with a frown.
"It's a three-headed dog chasing Rai," Anrya confirmed. "I think that's an illusion though…yep, it is."
"Wow that's…pathetic," I said. But that idiot did just save me from getting a really long needle injected into me.
"Yeah," said Jasmine, "But then again, Kor-Rai's the one being chased by an imaginary giant three-headed dog so…"
Rai was getting closer as the three-headed dog chased him towards our direction. When he finally spotted us, he yelled, "HELP MEEEE!"
I gave him a droll stare. Help YOU? Hello, I'm bound in chains and so are the others, not to mention Selina is out of commission…But I wouldn't want to help you anyways.
Rai seemed to notice the chains as he got even closer. Panicking, Rai ran towards us.
"Kor-Rai! What the hell are you doing!" I shouted. "Go run somewhere else, not here!"
"Isn't the three-headed dog just an illusion though?" Jasmine asked.
"Eeii! Any suggestions!" Rai shouted as he ran in circles with the dog at his heels.
"RUN. LIKE. HELL!" Anrya shouted.
"But I'm doing that!" Rai shouted back.
"Play dead?" Anrya suggested.
"I don't think that's a choice," I commented.
"Um guys, like I said, isn't that three-headed dog just an illusion?" Jasmine repeated.
"Oh yeah," I said after a moment's thought. "How do we escape this illusion though?"
"Not believe in it?" Anrya suggested.
"That's kind of hard to do…" Jasmine said.
"It's worth a try though—"
"Looks like I'll just have to end his pathetic misery~" Zero said from behind me. I had totally forgotten that he was there. Turning my head to face him, he met my eyes and gave me a smile. "Of course Esa-chan, ladies first~" Zero quickly stuck the dart in my arm and left my side.
I started feeling woozy. Wow, this drug is really strong… My body began to weaken and soon I had slumped over to the side, the chains still constricting me. I was facing Zero and Rai while lying on the floor. Vision beginning to flicker, the last thing I heard and saw was Zero taking down Rai and laughing…
Anrya P.O.V.
To my right was an unconscious Selina and now, to my far left was an unconscious Esa. Crap… Now that Zero had finished off Rai, Jasmine and I were the next targets. Beside me Jasmine gulped audibly. Scary, metal chain no exist…Scary, metal chain no exist…Scary, metal chain no exist…DAMMIT! STUPID METAL CHAIN DISAPPEAR! I thought. I soon panicked as Zero neared and waiting for my doom, I was flabbergasted when the chains fell to the ground. Did my will power work? Looking up, I was just in time to see Darke attacking Zero and Zero defending himself. Nope. Definitely not my will power…
"I must say, that was pretty good—" Zero said.
"—But not good enough," continued Zero…the real one. The Zero that Darke attacked disappeared and the real one ran at him.
Jasmine and I, now free, stood and observed the scene. Jasmine turned to me and asked, "What do we do now?"
"Walk away really slowly and disappear?" I suggested.
"I want to do that, but I'll feel bad for leaving Darke behind," Jasmine said.
"Really?"
"No," she answered, "Let's go…Darke seems to be holding his own fine. If we could kill some time, then this should be over…"
"Good idea." We both began to walk away when two long daggers came whizzing past us. Hairs on end, we both turned around to see Zero momentarily grinning at us.
"Where are you ladies going~?" he purred.
Somewhere where it's safe I thought.
Zero and Darke continued to fight each other. Darke ran at Zero and aimed a kick for his head. Zero smoothly caught the kick and tossed it aside. Darke fell, but quickly recovered. Now this time Zero attacked first. Throwing an upper cut to Darke's stomach Darke was tossed back once more. As Darke fell to his knees, he started to stand up again when Zero's illusionary chains tied him down. Darke scowled. He struggled to break free from the chains but was unable to.
"Hmhmhm~" Zero laughed. When he got to Darke, he snapped back his arm and punched Darke square in the jaw. Zero's fist impacted Darke's jaw with a smash and Darke slumped over.
"Five down, three to go," Zero sadistically purred.
Ah shit I thought grimly. Wait, three more? Looking around, I was able to spot Ryo idly standing to my right. Following my gaze, Zero spotted Ryo as well. Giving a smile, Zero ran at Ryo. Alarmed, I ran at Ryo too. Thankfully, I was closer to Ryo. If I wasn't, Zero would've outrun me. Reaching Ryo, I grabbed and held him tight as I felt the impact of Zero's feet on my back. Falling on the floor with Ryo, I tried to quickly recover and get us farther away from Zero. Standing back up and backing away, I drew close to Jasmine. "Anyway we can escape him and kill some time?"
"I don't know," Jasmine grimly answered.
Biting my lips I racked my brain. Looking around for an answer, I saw from within the mist, a purple light. Huh? I soon found out that the light was a concentrated beam of flames that Zero released. How do I know? Well, I got hit by it and so did Jasmine and Ryo. It wasn't fun. The power of this attack was pretty intense for us and it threw us back very far. We went flying so far that we hit the invisible wall. "Oof!" Gasping in the impact, the three of us fell to the ground.
"My, my, what a shame~" I heard Zero say from a distance. I couldn't see him due to the thick mist. "You still have forty five seconds left…but I doubt you'll stay conscious for that long~"
I hated to admit it, but I knew that we weren't going to last that long. Dammit! We were so close… I thought. Ryo squirmed slightly in front of me. I was able to cushion his impact to the wall, but he still took a lot of damage from the beam of flames. Dammit! I thought again. My vision blurred and I soon fell into darkness.
Hm imagine if Zero was a real person o3o...*shiver* XD