Author's Note:

Chapters 2 and 3 will be updated according to this order:

Team M - Team R - Team C

This chapter is a bit shorter than the other teams' Chapter 2, but we'll get into some shocking action very soon.

[C] INSCRIPTION [2]

A short but very loud creak resonated in the room, reaching the German Shepherd's ears as if a thunder struck on his side. He quickly woke up, very startled.

"Whoa... What?" He had a very firm posture, looking at the source of the sound. It seemed that it came from the ceiling. A very bright halogen light was shining directly at his eyes, which made him squeeze them.

The puppy was sitting alone, at a small, metallic framed bed, like those used at certain public locations. It wasn't very comfy. He looked around the room with white tiling covering the walls, gazing the sink not very far away, and a small seat close to what seemed to be some sort of sink and a couple of mirrors. At his left was a much more comfy-looking seat, with a very large array of lights that seemed to be like the commonly used lamps for operating. He also gazed a mirror close to a desk in front of him. There was also a computer screen of some sort on the desk, but the computer itself was nowhere to be found. There was also an iron door with a small window to his right. In conclusion, this seemed like a dentist room, which didn't seem to be of Chase's liking. Apart from that, he didn't get to see any of the other pups anywhere in that room.

"Where are the rest?" He got up from the bed, and tried to open the door. However, it was locked. "Darn, I'm stuck here... Wherever this is!"

As if a motion sensor was placed behind it, by just moving the knob of the door, the screen powered on.

"It appears you have awaken." Said Y, with the same screeching, distorted voice as before. "Time to explain the rules to you."

"Y..." Grumbled Chase.

The perpetrator mentioned they had to make some things clear before explaining the rules. "Asking questions to me will be worth nothing but a waste of time. This is a recording, being broadcasted to all of the dogs within this facility."

Now that the kidnapper clarified that first thing, they announced that they would detail a fragment of the story that the puppies heard back at the prison cells.

"July 19th, 2013, it was a rainy day. A man was getting home from work. His usual route led him to a fork in the road within a park. Normally, he'd go through the left path, but for some reason, he chose the right path that day. Along the way, he bumped into a woman who happened to be a coworker.
Surprised to see him, she asked: 'Why did you come this way today'?
The man showed her what was hiding under his coat. It was a small puppy, with bloody stains from gunshot wounds. It was clear the puppy was in peril, so he decided to head towards the closest vet in the neighborhood."

"This story again..." Chase remembered the full story, about the catastrophic chain of events that were caused by a single pup. "But then, that puppy wouldn't have done anything wrong...!"

The voice of Y grew deeper and resonated the following words. "His body was found two hours and four minutes later. Murdered. They found him behind some bushes along the right path of the park. Sometimes, life is simply unfair..."

However, to Chase, it didn't sound particularly shocking. Instead, he wondered what happened to the wounded dog.

The kidnapper continued their explanations. "It's the same for all of you puppies. The pull of an unjust fate carried you along to this precise moment. Only to find yourselves in this underground facility, 30 meters below ground..."

The screen showed up a complex map with many rooms intricately networked by what looked like meandering hallways. It was so distorted in shape that it felt like a ruined spider web lair of some sort.

"As you can probably see from where you are, you have been divided into three groups of three dogs each." Y explained that the groups were distributed as follows:

Marshall, Skye and Tracker were the now named Team M. The leader of the group would be Marshall, as hinted by the initial of the team. The team was given red-colored bracelets.

Rocky, Zuma and Robo were Team R, with Rocky being the leader. Team R was given green-colored bracelets.

Finally, Chase, Rubble and Everest had been associated the name Team C. The color of the bracelets from this team was blue.

"Bracelets?" The Shepherd dog just noticed what looked like a clock display strapped to his left paw with a blue, metallic wristband. He tried pulling it off, but it was too tight to move at all.

"Speaking of the bracelets, there are some important things to mention about them. As of now, each of everyone's bracelets is inactive. You will need to activate them by using a circle scanner that can be found near your TV screen. Simply pass your paws over the reader to enable their functions. This is very important for The Game to happen."

The screen switched again, showing a schematic of a bracelet similar to those Team C wear, but yellow-colored. The puppy looked at the sides of the display, when he noticed two buttons on their sides. Chase also noticed four cylindrical extrusions under the display.

"Once activated, you can press the two buttons on its sides simultaneously for an arrow to be displayed. This arrow will serve you as a guide to where you will have to go next. Consider it as a compass."

Chase looked around at the room again, with no luck finding said activation device.

"The bracelets are absolutely necessary to enter the Numbered Doors. As of now, you probably haven't seen any. They just look like any regular door, but they present a colored number splattered on them. Near these doors, you will find the devices called Bracelet Authentication Devices, or BREAD, for short. You must scan your paws over these devices in order to activate the X-Paws Input Device beside the BREAD. The Numbered Door will not open unless you enter the same amount of X-Pawsses as the number painted on the door."

"BREAD? Pawsses? What kind of puns are those?" Grumbled the dog watching at the screen.

However, the voice of the masked man suddenly turned even darker after the next sentence.

"Each time one of you puppies is unable to continue the Game, the bracelet will automatically disengage and an X-Pawss will be revealed. In blunter terms, there will be an X-Pawss for each dead puppy."

His indifferent look switched to an angrier one, clenching his teeth with such strength it could hurt him, growling with about half of his full strength.

"It is hidden, but an exit can be found. Seek a way out... Seek a door that carries a [6]. This obviously means that, at least, six of you must die in order to open the door that connects to the exit of this facility."

"Damn you, Y. Six of us have to die if we want to open that damned exit?" Uttered the dog who was watching the screen.

"There's a few things to mention about their interaction with the bracelets, as well. Each Numbered Door will only remain open for 24 seconds. Once that time passed, the Numbered Doors will automatically close. By then, any puppy that did not authenticate on the BREAD, but managed to pass through it, the injectors hidden within their bracelet will automatically trigger. The trespasser will be penalized by an injection of an aqueous solution of mercuric chloride. Once that happens, the digestive tract will collapse due to the poison, killing you in about 23 minutes."

Trying to understand that rule, he deduced that some conditions must follow in order to open the doors. Whoever doesn't apply for them, will get killed if they trespass.

"Also, don't expect the Numbered Doors from opening again. Once they close, they will remain locked until those who have last opened the door authenticate in the Door Unlocking Device, or DUD. Only then the rest will be able to open said door."

Chase tried his best in getting to understand that rule, but he didn't get the point of it.

"I believe that concludes the rules explanations. Remember that I can't answer your questions."

However, despite Y having explained the rules, he added one more last thing to his explanations:

"Sometimes, you will encounter different challenges. Only fate will only decide whether if you overcome it... Or not. With that... I wish you... Good luck."

"Goddamn you!" shouted the Shepherd dog, kicking the screen. Hopefully, the screen remained intact, because the message kept running for some reason.

"Chase, I have a special message specifically dedicated to you." Y was now directing his words to him.

The puppy sat down on the bed again, a little bit surprised, listening carefully.

"You have... A very special power. A hidden ability. If you manage to control it, that power will serve you very well in the near future. Let's hope you reach a happy destiny. Have a nice escape."

With that goodbye, the screen turned off, and the door automatically unlocked. He stood there for a while, deeply thinking.

"A special power...? What is Y talking about...? Is it the reason why I'm convicted in this hell of a game? How... How good can it serve to me, that power? Or will it convey something awful? I don't think he's lying, but... I know he's hiding something."

The dog then proceeded to leave the room via the door that was just unlocked.

"Chase!" a somewhat familiar female, husky voice could be heard from the narrow hallway. The Shepherd's right ear caught most of the noise, leading his head towards that direction.

A lavender husky, followed by a beefy cookie bulldog. "It's good to see you here, too..."

"You were separated, just like me, eh?" The bulldog that was still approaching the pair, asked that question, who nodded when he arrived.

"Where are we...?" asked Chase, looking at the ceramic white tiled walls of the hallway. "This is much different from the prison we were in..."

"This isn't as eerie as a hospital. But it still gives me the creeps..." The sad look from Everest was gone. Instead, she seemed more energetic. "It must be a clinic or something..."

"But this is way too big for just a clinic or a vet." Argued Rubble, with his blunt language. "Plus, I just woke up on an operating table! I thought I was dreaming I was going to get fucking operated! Jeez!"

"A small hospital it is, then..." Chase concluded, while gazing at a suspiciously looking circular device looking thingy screwed at the middle of the hallway. "Hey, is that the activation device?"

The pups approached it, with a very curious glare on their eyes. "It doesn't look like a nice ornament to me." Commented Everest, putting her paw on the device. A digtal beep could be heard, coming from her blue bracelet. "Oh, I think it turned on!" An arrow that was pointing to the right appeared on her display.

"So we have to go to the right end of the hallway, hmm." Said Chase, putting his paw on the device as well, without taking care of putting it on top of Everest's.

"Ah, wait Chase." The husky lifted her paw, showing a very faint blush. "Sorry."

Upon placing on the activation device, an arrow pointing to the same direction as the lavender dog appeared on the Shepherd's bracelet. The same happened to Rubble's.

"Okay, now that we all have our bracelets on, let's go follow the arrow!" the happy husky sprinted towards the hallway, followed suit by the chocolate-caramel Shepherd dog and the cookie bulldog. The latter took advantage of the distance between them and the male pair to say something.

"Isn't Everest a bit different from the time before we fell to sleep?"

Chase looked at her, following the seemingly very long and meandering hallway of ceramic tiles. There were a few doors here and there, but they looked like locked shut. "Yeah... She wasn't this enthusiastic before. She looked very cold and sad... I wonder why."

The bulldog decided to pull a prank on him. "You care for that babe eh? You hot stuff." The Shepherd dog merely threw an 'are you kidding me' face. He had to admit, though, that husky was worth looking.

Both didn't seem like they were paying attention to the road, because they bumped straight into Everest, who stopped upon gazing something near the end of the hallway. Because of this, the three of them were now laying down on the floor, like if someone were to score a strike on bowling.

"There's the door..." said the snowy dog, getting up. "A numbered door."

A double, grayish green door was present on front of them. It didn't look like any of the other doors they had seen or because it seemed like an elevator door. Not because of its size, but rather because of the sign that was painted on it.

A blue [0]. According to the rules, that would mean that zero X-Pawsses would be required to open the door.

"How generous, this stupid Y... Nobody has to die now..." Said Rubble.

"Wait, let me check the bracelet for a second." Replied Everest, with a now very serious look. She clearly wasn't the same as the one girl they just saw moments ago. A click could be heard as the girl pup put her paw on the right button. "Just as I thought. No X-Pawsses are shown on the bracelet."

"Come on, Everest. Nobody can be dead at the first five minutes of the game." Rubble was looking at her wrist watch device. On the screen there was a "NO CASUALTIES" displayed.

"I was checking, just in case..."

Anyways, Chase took a gaze at the device that was beside the arrow buttons on the elevator. There was a round machine, with some sort of navy styled decorations. There was a bread ornament on top of it, as well.

"So he really took the puns seriously." Said the Shepherd dog as he placed his paw on the machine. A short electronic sound could be heard. Then, a panel suddenly appeared where a keyboard fitted for the size of a pup's paw appeared below the arrow buttons and the BREAD.

"Wait, is this for entering the X-Pawsses?" Asked Everest, biting her lip with a slightly shocked glance. "But this door doesn't require any... Right?

"Good question." Replied Chase, placing a paw at the Enter key. "I'll leave it blank... Place your paws on the BREAD, or you won't be able to come along."

Obeying like if he was their master, the two pups who hadn't authenticated put their paws on the device to do so. Immediately after, the chocolate-praline dog pressed the Enter key.

The arrow pointing upwards lit up, meaning that the elevator was running and it was going up. A bell rang, pointing out the elevator arrived to its destination. The [0] door subsequently opened, and the pups entered the cabin.

It was big enough so that at least four or five pups could go in, so there was plenty of space to be a little comfortable. There was a small screen on it, reading out "-15m / Hospital"

"That's where we are... Right?" said Rubble, while also checking the buttons of the gray metallic elevator. "Damn you Y. You have to make us use an elevator that goes up, can't you...?"

Indeed, there were only three buttons, followed by a tag to their left. The top one said "-15m / Hospital", the middle one said "-30m / Machinery section A", however, it was destroyed. The bottom one said "-45m / Maintenance section B". This meant that they could only go down, so Chase pushed the button, making the elevator cabin slowly move down.

On the other side of the wall, there was a circular, white device, with another bread decorative figurine at the top.

"Wait, this doesn't look like the BREAD..." pointed out the bulldog. "Is it the DUD?"

Everest followed suit. "What are we waiting for, then? If we don't authenticate, we won't be able to go up!" She was right, since according to the rules, the door wouldn't open until those who passed that door placed their paws on the DUD.

"So that's what Y was trying to tell us with that rule, eh..." Deduced Chase. "We will have to backtrack at some point of the game."

With a nod, the three pups place their left paw on the device, making an electronic chime sound. However, the pups didn't get to see that under their paws, a countdown from 32 was being displayed. However, upon confirming the presence of the three dogs, it went down.

When the elevator doors opened, the scenery that was before the puppies' eyes had changed considerably. The hallway was a little wider than the hospital's, but the walls were now metallic panels attached to each other by rounded bolts. The ceiling had some pipes from varying colors and sizes present. There was a rather humid smell in the air, too.

When the doors of the elevator closed shut, since they were different from the one in the hospital section, the blue [0] was gone.

The puppies decided to take a look around at the new, Maintenance area. There was a bifurcation just in front of the elevator, but the way going forward was blocked by a wall of white metallic bars. It was futile to make an opening wide enough for the pups to go in. Chase also spotted a smaller grate on the upper part of the wall to the left of the blocking wall. He supposed it'd be connected to the ventilation network. He tried reaching it, but it was way too high.

Rubble checked his bracelet, pressing the two buttons at its sides at the same time. An arrow pointing left appeared on the display. "We have to go left, pups."

"Yeah, let's go." Said Everest, a little cheered up. The three puppies followed the much more meandering hallways of the Maintenance section. It felt like it'd take forever to reach their destination, so they decided to have a short talk to kill time.

Chase immediately brought up the story that Y talked about. "Hey... What do you think of Y's story? Do you think is it real?"

There was a short silence, but the bulldog spoke up. "I guess... If it wasn't true, I don't see the point why that fucked up man locked us up."

"Do you think that story is the kidnapper's motive?" uttered the husky, with not a happy look, but rather a serious one.

"What else could it be, then?" Rubble's patience was very short, but he hadn't still lost his temper. "It has to be something that all nine pups could be involved in."

"...I don't want to accept that I was involved in such story." Everest replied, whimpering. "It makes me feel guilty."

"Everest... Is that why you have mood swings?" Chase spoke for the first time in that conversation.

"Mood swings? I don't think it's that..." Explained the girl pup. "Normally I can fight this kind of situations... I want to think myself I'm a firm and strong dog. But sometimes, when this happens..."

They were still moving. The corridors started to feel endless. "I want to have a stronger mind. I want to stop being so sensitive, like any other female pups." Chase blushed to Everest's last statement. That was one of the types of dogs he liked the most. Rocky threw an "I told ya" glare at him.

However, the pace suddenly stopped when the hallway met a corner, with a rusty door and a small glass window at its right on it. There was a plaque on the door, reading out "SECTION B". However, it was locked. The dogs saw a card reader on the side, meaning they needed a magnetic card in order to open the door.

"This isn't going to be easy..." said Chase, taking a look at his bracelet. The arrow that appeared upon pressing the lateral buttons wasn't pointing towards the door, so they moved along the meandering path.

As they continued the seemingly endless path, Team C kept talking.

"Do you think Y could be someone who is close to one of us?" Suggested Everest. "Maybe even an owner."

Long silence. Again, Rubble break the silence with a short sentence. "What makes you think that?"

"Y could be the owner of the dog that got shot. The one that apparently started everything. That person could probably want to take revenge on us...?"

"That's can't be, Everest." Objected Rubble. "Remember? The game won't end until at least six of us die. Doesn't sound like they are going for specific pups."

"We can't confirm his identity without knowing anything about that person." Commented Chase. "Their motives could help us a bit, but without information, we would only be shooting in the dark."

The three pups stopped again. However, this time it was a dead end. A black door with the plaque "EMERGENCY DISPOSAL CHAMBER" read out. When the bulldog placed a paw onto the door, he swiped down some of the blackness that covered the door, making a lighter gray mark on the door. "Eww!" He checked his dirty paw, now in a coal black color.

"Wait... That seems to look like... Fumes dust?" Said Chase. "It looks like something was burning on that room..." It didn't look good for the three pups.

"Oh man... Maybe going there is way too dangerous." Mentioned Rubble.

Everest checked her bracelet, and pressed the lateral buttons, showing the arrow yet again, pointing towards the door coated with black powder. "Well, we have no choice, guys... We have to go in there..."

The cookie colored bulldog released a sigh from his lips, while Chase moved his head up and down in a nod gesture. He proceeded to open the door, while some of the black powder fell to the team's faces. Due to the intrusion, the three heavily coughed, trying to breathe. Until they were able to open their eyes, even though their vision was blurry, they were able to gaze the room they were going to enter...

STATUS
(According to Team C's perspective)

Team M:
Marshall (?), Skye (?), Tracker (?)

Team R:
Rocky (?), Zuma (?), Robo (?)

Team C:
Chase (ALIVE), Rubble (ALIVE), Everest (ALIVE)