Proofread by me, Fee5h, and Comrade's Lament

Welcome To The Flock

(Orientation)

"Break me piece by piece."

"Destroy me until nothing is left."

"Punish me for failing, I deserve it."

"But I tried so hard, I swear I did."

Glittering Tears In Pieces

…

…

…

"Eddie...?"

It was a long while, but the faint dream of his voice snapped me awake. I almost expected to see him when I opened my eyes, still smiling, still reaching out...

...but nope, it was the same goddamn reality I was stuck in.

Shit...

I forced a large hand over my head and rubbed it, hoping to somehow quell this damn headache I was having. Whether it was from some by-product of getting knocked out or something else, fuck if I know. All that I knew was that some fucker caught me from behind, what a cheap trick.

Shit, before even fully registering where I was, I knew the GHA situation was over and done with. Fuck teaching, someone damn near tried to kill me. I'm no stranger to threats on my life… but it seems someone had the balls to follow through.

Guess they don't value their own life that much, because by the time I'm done with them, I'm going to tear them apart-!

"Ugh… shit-!" A flare of pain entered my head and I uneasily started to fall, but I forced my feet down and looked up. That's when I felt a tug on my neck… something cold… metal. Definitely not something I was used to. Gritting my teeth, I went to grab the thing…

…and then a jolt zapped my hand tight around the metal and forced me down painfully as my neck buzzed from electricity. "D-Damnit! Ah-!"

My throat felt like it was one fire, and I could only force myself to rip my hand away in shock by whatever the fuck just happened. It felt like something was trying to tear my neck apart… it still burned around the pain, but… what was it? No, it was obvious now… I could feel the metal, the whir of buzzing electricity now dying down as it let me breathe.

An electric collar was strapped on my neck.

And what was worse…I wasn't the only one who had one. That damn girl Kokoro Takano, was dead asleep with the same thing around her neck.

…ah fuck.

...

WELCOME TO GOLDEN LAUREL

...

The room was withered and torn... harboring dust that was probably centuries old.

Both the decaying walls and ceiling had faint doodles of flowers, animals, and owls drawn all over. It seemed someone tried to give the room a playful look with the cute drawings... but all it did was add to the depressing state, for the lines blurred with the dust. The floor was coated in an almost ghost-like sheet of these gathering particles, marking blatant chaotically strewn footprints.

They led to a large desk, not only covered in dust... but also electronics... though it was a miracle they were working at all given the room's sorry state. Speakers hung loosely on the walls, DVD players appeared cracked and battered, and most of the computers had been smashed in.

...all but one, at least.

It looked no worse for wear. Cracked screen, broken keyboard, and barely functional speakers. But what it lacked in function it made up for in its crisp digital image. The screen glowed ominously, sending out a flickering light, showing glitched text. It read out…

Golden Laurel Sanctuary Orientation

Start...?

{YES}

Instantly, the computer obliged the request of "yes" and booted up. A whirring of electricity sparked and crackled, casting bright flashes against the decaying atmosphere. The lights revealed the clutter and trash around the room previously hidden by darkness...

…plus more childish drawings... and pictures of Ultimates around the world placed along the wall.

But none of that was important. Out of all the pictures... sixteen were circled in red... and four others circled in blue. Thin strings from those photos led to the computer, where a drawing of a doll and owl could be seen.

More importantly... it led to a wall of monitors, each one turning on due to the haggard electricity. First one screen... then two... then five. Finally... nine screens were all lit up, peering into the classrooms... as well as the waking students and teachers who would soon find themselves in this hell.

...

The first classroom: History. The blackboard had a bunch of important figures drawn with their names incorrectly spelled. There wasn't too much effort put into the drawings, either. They were sloppy.

The camera connected to the minor screen and crackled the speakers to life. They could pick up the sounds, or lack thereof. The two figures inhabiting it, particularly a much older gentleman shifting around with his cane… and a younger teen with a tired look, were both as deathly quiet as everything else.

Having woken up from the spot, the teen did not attempt to move, not even to claim any of the empty desks. Instead, his glowing yellow eyes, covered partially by strands of his medium-length tonal hair, pitch black at the top and dark gray near the ends, watched the older man limp about. He debated on whether he should join him or let him do all the work, but eventually decided on the latter, at least not to get in the way.

Instead, he put up his hood on his thin charcoal black jacket... which had gold accents along the cuffs, zipper, and hood itself. Imprinted on the left sleeve was a pattern of 3 gold and 2 yellow feathers. The jacket was over a dark blue shirt with a black outlined paper crane symbol. He also wore pastel white cargo pants that had zippers at the knees, to make them shorts, which he contemplated doing as it felt hot inside. Maybe he thought he could get comfortable, even if school was the last place he'd rather be in.

Meanwhile, the older man had already captured everything of note with his experienced brown eyes, not that there was much to find besides the blazing camera keeping tabs on them. Although the thought of hitting the camera with his oak cane came to mind, he decided against it, knowing there was still much to investigate. Despite his increasing age, he managed to study the room without much trouble, thanks to his body being decently toned, if not rigid in his posture.

His only problem was the stiffness in his right leg, forcing him to limp with said cane. He had on a ratty, faded old black peacoat over a wrinkled white dress shirt with the top button unbuttoned. His gray slacks were held by a snakeskin belt with a gold buckle. The brown dress shoes completed an outfit that very much retained a "retired'' look for someone like him, but he barely paid much mind to it. He scratched the vertical scar on his right cheek, which looked just as messy as his short white hair.

Yoshinobu Date scratched it with a sigh. He knew the situation was dire the second he woke up, but appeared un-phased about the whole ordeal. He then patted his peacoat pockets for a cigarette box. His baggy eyes turned sour once he realized he didn't even have his lighter to enjoy such a treat.

"Couldn't even leave me with a light. Talk about a rude awakening..." He huffed wearily and took it easy at one of the dusty desks, hoping the relaxation could somehow substitute the shitty situation he knew they were in.

The kid was also relaxing... although more lazily than the old man, funnily enough. Adam Faulx had taken one look... and almost went back to sleep. He had placed a small crumb of expectation that the older gentleman would've found the way out, but after hearing him mutter... Adam put two and two together and sighed.

"So how trapped are we...?" He asked, not really out of curiosity, but just to know how slim the chances were.

"Since you're so invested, I take it you did your own investigation?" Naturally, Yoshinobu knew all the kid was planning to do was sit there. He could tell by the... well everything. Drained eyes. Bored posture. Tired voice.

He was right on the money. Adam gave a lazy nod, probably not even hearing the question. "Yeah, sure. I investigated," He lied effortlessly. "Wanted to compare notes… or whatever. There's, like, desks everywhere. I think doors that lead us out? Have you found one yet?"

He thinks there's a door. Oh brother.

"There's only one door and they got it barricaded already… the cheeky bastards," Yoshinobu replied, pointing his pale and wrinkled hand at said door. It was indeed barred up tight with iron. Given Yoshinobu's age and the kid's sleepy look... neither of them were busting it down anytime soon. "Apparently, it says something."

On the door was a simple drawing of a head and a message, saying, "I'm scattered around, from head to toe. If you find me, you're free to go. The item you seek is hidden about, it's the one thing you can't live without."

The three year old rhyming scheme didn't take long for Yoshinobu to figure out, "looks like we gotta find some item in this place and they'll let us out. Simple."

Adam sighed at this. "And why should we listen to that note? It sounds pretty childish honestly, there isn't a reason to go along with that stuff."

"You're right, no reason 'cept that camera keeping tabs on us." Yoshinobu pointed at it. "And the two of us stuck in here. And the collars on our necks. That already says quite a bit about our captors, could do to us if you were paying attention."

Oh right, probably the most important thing of note in this room: the black collars. They were tailor-made to both their neck sizes... so they fit snugly. The sight made Yoshinobu's neutral face twitch a bit, while Adam only glanced at it like it was a new accessory.

"And what's that tell us, again?" Adam gave yet another indifferent sigh as he rubbed his head, his fingers brushing through his black and gray hair as he leaned against a shelf to ease his nerves.

"Nothing good, that's for sure." That was Yoshinobu's only way to describe it. No matter the explanation… nothing good was awaiting them in this room.

As if to prove his point, a demonic buzzing sounded from Adam's collar after he leaned against the shelf. The two expected a shock or something similarly terrible after hearing the noise.

Instead, they were met with a box suddenly slamming onto the ground beside Adam, which had a faint blue light that caused their collars to switch to that color as well. Neither of them saw where the box had dropped from, it might as well have popped out of the sky by some lucky chance.

But in reality, it fell when Adam had leaned against the shelf behind him. "Oh, a box." He muttered sarcastically after he calmed down. "We're saved."

"…Close but no." Yoshinobu added as he took a stumbling step forward to hold the box up. "It's not just a box, it's clearly the first part of whatever this game is. Probably the item to let us out."

"Game?" Adam muttered, not looking to particularly care. Whatever the old man figured out wasn't his concern. "I didn't really sign up for that… only this program that I'm already regretting."

"You're theorizing." Yoshinobu thoughtfully spoke, biting down a chuckle. "That's a start. It could be that what we're going through now is the GHA program, eh? Although records back then show this isn't how they greet their newest class."

"They might be rebranding, who knows? I don't care anyway." Adam shrugged.

Yoshinobu showed a faint flicker of satisfaction at hearing that. "And in that we see eye to eye at least."

Adam just sighed at the old man. "Sure, okay. Are you gonna open that box now?"

Yoshinobu thought for a moment, tapping his withered finger on his cane before deciding on something. "Hm, since you seem so interested, how about you be the one to take a look then?"

It wasn't really a question, more so an order for Adam to retrieve whatever was inside it. Adam relented, only to get whatever lecture the old man was cooking out of the way. Rolling his eyes faintly, Adam reached into the box and pulled out… a head.

…a head?

"W-What?" All that fatigue in Adam vanished instantly as he dropped the head back into the box. "Gross, what the heck was that?! Why is there-?"

"It's a doll." Yoshinobu managed to keep his cool long enough to realize that he picked it back up. "Someone drops a care package and it turns out to be a doll's head. Guess that's these folks' idea of a joke around here."

"And yet no one laughed." Adam muttered as he studied it. It was indeed a doll head, but it was around the size of a normal human's. It looked to be a smiling girl, whose closed eyes and black pig tailed hair had flowing flowers pouring out. "We supposed to do something with it? Dolls were never really my thing."

"Me either kid." Yoshinobu grimly spoke. "But hey, at least it's not alive and kicking."

"You wanna jinx us dude?" Adam mumbled. He was not in the mood to be cursed by some doll head because of gramps here.

Thankfully, fate seemed to intervene with that idea as once they took the doll's head, the metal door to the room suddenly opened, revealing a brilliantly glowing light to whatever awaited outside.

"Finally… some fresh air." Adam stretched. Seems one of the rare instances that he was lucky. "Well there's the escape."

Yoshinobu didn't seem to view it that way. "Ha! Escape to the next point of this game, I bet. First these collars, then a doll head, now this? They'll probably have us scampering around like mice pretty soon."

Adam just let the old man talk to himself. "It's a way out, isn't it?"

"'The way out'... doesn't always lead to something better," Yoshinobu grimly spoke as he shakily stood with his cane. "Obstacles are bound to arise, like always, so being vigilant… might do you some good."

Vigilant. It's not like there was much to see here for Adam. Sure the whole situation sucked, but what could Adam do? Not much. He just accepted that. Why care… or bother with anything, really?

"Well whatever, you can just do that for me," Adam shrugged, staring off at the door.

"Yeah, I could, kid." Yoshinobu closed his eyes as he shrugged. "Will I, though?"

"Guess not." Adam finished for him. It would take too long for this old man to finish speaking.

Yoshinobu only gave a withered sigh and ventured forth. "You'll know firsthand in a moment, Adam. Come on, bring that doll head with us."

Leaving the conversation on that note, the old man exited the room first, hobbling forward with casual steps as if returning home after a long day. What awaited them was something he was gonna have to get accustomed to. Given all the evidence, he was sure the GHA was gonna be the least of their concern now.

Adam watched him from afar, blinking in surprise. He never told him his name. What was his deal? He seemed pretty relaxed, but threw around tired lessons and quips that already annoyed Adam. He only signed up for this program just to figure out what to do with himself.

And yet this guy was making him ask more questions. So much for him being "lucky".

...

The second classroom: Physical Education. The blackboard had doodles of children playing on some playground equipment. None of them were drawn with smiley faces. This door to this room had a drawing of an arm to look for as the item.

Inside were vibrant gym equipment and bubbly motivational posters matching the attitude of the younger adult male searching for an exit. He appeared incredibly focused but still rambled on with a hearty laugh as he zipped around the room. The young girl stuck with him seemed winded over his course of action, choosing to stick to herself as she eyed the obnoxiously colorful space that burned her retinas. Not that color was a personal dislike for her... it was just a fact... the place was too bright, clashing with the decayed state.

The girl's auburn eyes scanned the room cautiously, noting the lack of escape routes and the heavy duty collar she had on. It was fastened uncomfortably against her neck, making her pale skin irritated as she made a mental effort not to mess with it. The collar covered up part of her golden necklace, though the sapphire pendant hanging from it was still visible. An accessory that made her red pinafore dress stand out, despite her unremarkable physique. Her dress had a skirt that went down to her mid-calf, where her black knee-high stockings and mary janes could be seen. Under the dress was a white button-down shirt, and over the entire appearance was an Inverness cape with a white faux-fur trim on the edges. The cape was colored black, just like the bow fastened behind her gray (bordering on white) hair, which was done in a hime cut below her shoulders. The scholarly attire was supposed to help mold her into the school environment... but now it seemed like that plan was a thing of the past.

The young man didn't notice her silence at first, but he carried a bright smile to reassure the kid. He fit right in with his athletic build, a war bronze complexion complimenting his lean physique. Pale freckles dotted the skin, trailing up to his faintly scarred face, with vibrant forest-green eyes and bushy eyebrows. His medium-length tousled brown hair bounced around as he explored the space with a confident look, despite the headband he wore to handle the loose strands. It matched the vibe of his color-block hoodie over his white t-shirt, and his black shorts over compression leggings. He also had on a white fanny pack strapped across his chest, mirroring the same color of his running sneakers.

To anyone who saw Mateo Feliz Oliveira, his presence with the academic girl couldn't be more confusing, but he managed to talk to her as if he had known her forever. "Man, nothing like waking up in a spooky classroom to get your blood pumping. And I thought I was done with school. Ha! Looks like life's got other plans for us!" He chuckled as his notably calloused hands rummaged through all the workout equipment. "Say, you look pretty smart. You know where this item thing is hidden?"

Just like Yoshinobu and Adam, their door had the same message.

Ayame Fuse remained silent, looking exhausted despite her intent to investigate alone. "Wherever it is… it's well hidden that we can't see it on our first viewing."

"Bummer." Mateo needed to get them out fast, or at least reassure her as tapped his finger rapidly on the metal collar. "Hey, think we can use any of this equipment to snap open these collars?" Maybe that idea would give her hope.

The idea of removing the collars had tempted Ayame, but given the camera and means they woke up, she deduced it would only lead to problems for them... which deflated her care for the adult's excitable personality. It didn't help that the blistering temperature was making her feel sick, so she didn't have much care to respond to him.

Mateo didn't get the hint right away and laughed at something hilarious in his head. What it was... honestly, neither of them knew. "Nah, you're right. Too risky, yeah? No worries, I won't try anything too crazy yet, but we still gotta try something here. Hmm… maybe if I just examine it I could see if there's a latch." His fingers carefully reached for the collar before the girl suddenly snapped her eyes in his direction.

"Don't." She tried to warn, but her voice was far too soft, barely above a whisper for him to hear.

The effect was instant. A blinding flash sparked from Mateo's collar and he yelped. He pulled back instinctively, his green eyes wide. "Ah shit! What the fu- I-I mean... ah crap, what the heck was that?" Seemed he was trying to keep his words clean for the girl's sake... even if the instinct to curse was strong.

"An electric shock." Ayame didn't have to point it out, but considering he asked... she tried to keep the obvious answer brief, at least so he wouldn't do something so stupid again. "Our collars are bulky with lights on them... so there's circuitry implanted to shock us. That's my guess."

"Dang, electricity?" Mateo resisted the urge to adjust the collar, not wanting to tempt fate. "But when I tapped it earlier, the thing didn't do jack! What, was it cause I tried to take it off?"

Ayame nodded, also arriving at that conclusion. If the active cameras didn't indicate it already, someone had put these on them... and is now tracking their movements carefully. The thought brought back memories she didn't want to revisit.

Mateo tilted his head, trying to dial down the energy as he noticed the girl's weary look. "Well… good to know not to mess with these babies." He gestured at the collar and sighed. "Problem is, what the heck are we gonna do now?"

Ayame blinked. "You're the adult, aren't you? Shouldn't you know?"

Mateo also blinked, not registering her words before he regained himself, "oh yeah! Right! I'll figure this out in a jiffy, just leave it to me! I've got experience in dangerous situations like this!"

"...? Ayame glanced at the guy. "Experience?" She propped subtly, wanting to understand him more. "I guess I was curious how you weren't affected by the shock too much. Does that play into your experience?"

"Oh, well yeah it kinda does!" Mateo grinned, "I don't got experience in an actual crisis, though. More like, I get myself into danger all the time, on purpose! I don't really gotta go into it, I mean you've probably seen my channel right?"

…Ayame blinked.

Mateo blinked back. This kid hasn't seen his work?! "Oh it's cool, if you haven't." He reassured her. "I just tend to do stunts and what not on there! It's why this place doesn't phase me too much, I've been through WAY worse."

Stunts? Ayame thought about it. Now that she was thinking, the man's voice and face did seem familiar. It's possible she did know him, but the stressful situation wasn't helping her thoughts. She did know he had to be a Supreme though if he was here… at least for the GHA.

But she kept that to herself as she nodded. "Okay, hopefully that work proves useful here, but how are we gonna use that to get out of here?"

Mateo wanted to appear strong for her sake, so he tried to crank the old gears in his head to make a plan. "We just need to find that thing the door wants. But if we can't find that, I might as well try to bust the door down!"

Ayame should've expected that plan to be the first thing this man thought of. "Okay. Should I look for a helmet for you?"

"Nah no need!" Mateo waved his hands casually. "I'm a professional!" He paused before quickly adding, "but don't follow my lead, you should wear a helmet whenever you can! Consider this, plan b if we don't find that item."

Ayame sighed. It sounded like he was doing a disclaimer for some video. "Okay then, let's search again, we got lots of ground to cover."

Mateo nodded and scanned the room, his steps quick as he tossed around anything he could find. Ayame's search was slower, more thought out. She didn't think they could bust the door down anyway, but she could use his idea as an excuse to search more for whatever that door required.

But she didn't have to look for long, as Mateo pushed a few boxes aside on top of a shelf and jumped. "W-Woah! There's a-!" He shut himself up. He shouldn't freak the girl out like that by announcing what he found. What kind of teacher would he be!?

But it was too late, Ayame heard him and eyed an… arm dangling from the shelf. "Is that… an actual arm?"

"Shoot, s-seems like it." Mateo winced. Guess they found their item after all.

..

..

"Aren't you going to grab it?" Ayame asked.

"W-WHAT?" Mateo jumped. He was gonna have to grab an arm? "Why?"

She figured out it wasn't real pretty fast. "It must be what we need for the door right? It has a drawing of an arm on it so this must be the doll arm we need."

"A doll arm? Shut up no way!" Mateo carefully climbed up and grabbed it. To his shock, it really was robotic! He could even see the plastic and metal! "Woah sick, it's like a freaking action figure! Maybe we could use this to karate chop the door down!"

"I don't think that's right." Ayame mumbled that bit to herself.

Ironically, just as she said that, the metal door to the room opened, with a light on the collars turning blue once the item was picked up. Naturally, Mateuo lit up at this, "Well well well… lady luck seems to be on our side! Ha, what did I tell you? The arm was the true calling!"

"Didn't I say that earlier?" Ayame sighed, ignoring his subtle boasting. "Anyway, the door opened because of something else… perhaps from the person who brought us here and saw we found the item."

"Gah… True, I guess…" The ego boost faded, not that he needed it. Now he could get this girl outta here and back on home! "Anyway… looks like we're free. But we got some unknown territory ahead of us. Just keep behind me, got it? If any smart guy wants to try and test us, I have some choice words for them."

"Wasn't planning on running out alone anyway…" Ayame stuck close to the adult, noting his attempt to be hopeful as he carried the doll-like arm out of the room. Although the sentiment was nice... it didn't mean anything here. They both had to prepare for the worst.

Out of anyone... she especially was cursed with such understanding.

As for Mateo, despite the new exit he wasn't that stupid. He could tell the girl didn't believe his ideas for a second. What sucked more is that… he agreed with her. Who knew accepting to be a teacher for the GHA would lead to such wacky stuff. First a doll arm, a destroyed gym class? What else was he gonna run into?

And more importantly, how the hell could he get them both out of there?

...

The third classroom: Science. The blackboard had sketches of test tubes and vials, with different colored chalk to write down formulas for experiments. It also depicted famous scientists whose names were incorrectly spelled. The door to this room had a drawing of an arm on it as well.

Filled to the brim with chemistry sets and vials of old liquid, the place was a mess. Broken equipment and half-finished experiments were lazily strewn about, as if someone struggled to put everything away. A man in his mid-forties stroked his goatee, grinning from ear to ear as he pointed out the dripping mess from one such chemistry set to a younger boy who looked just as eager to learn about the oozing substance.

The latter was right at home in the science setting. With notably good posture, he made sure to keep a distance away from the messy matter in front of him. Despite that, he had some plaster on his face, perhaps from some clumsy antics earlier in his life. He stood taller than most folks, his narrow shoulders accompanying his slim frame, highlighted by an ashy chemically-stained lab coat with its sleeves rolled back and a fancy letter 'L' insignia embroidered on its left pocket. Under the coat was a fuschia pink short-sleeved t-shirt bearing the staff of Aesculapius design. He also wore light gray ripped jeans and dark brown lace-up boots, which faintly covered a prosthetic left limb that started below the knee and was composed of a sturdy, resistant, and light-weight material.

As for his face, it was mostly diamond-shaped, with a slightly pointed chin and a small upturned nose. He had a light complexion, emphasizing a splash of freckles across his friendly face. His eyes were bold dark brown and softly rounded, with thinly arched eyebrows. His pale red lips formed a resting smile. His ears stuck out through the thick strands of his messy brunette hair, the right ear holding a single stud earring of a swan.

The free wavy wisps gave way to a parted fringe cut across his forehead, with a distinctive pink streak running through the central two parts. The two longest wispy strands of hair hang in front of each ear, alongside the completely out-of-place curly stray hair poking out from atop his head, completing that wild wispy look.

It was certainly a lot to take in, but the older man could appreciate the wacky colors on display. Out of the two… he knew this kid would win the most bombastic outfit award! His attire looked cleaner by contrast; there weren't many accessories to his long white lab coat. What he wore under the coat, though, added some flair: a dark green and dark blue plaid button-up with black dress pants, plus white shoes for the entire look.

The older man was fairly shorter than the boy, his posture crooked with a bit of a hunchback as he giddily examined the chemicals around him. His white hair, blending with his pale skin, was average length, styled into a rat tail in the back. He stroked his goatee once more.

This was the look Akinari Kaneko decided to stick with for most of his day-to-day life. It was fairly straight forward, but he'd still be turning heads through a bright grin that would blind people more than any chemical in the lab.

"This is why following safety instructions is ALWAYS important in the lab, young man!" Akinari pointed out as he gestured to the chemicals, his hands covered with blue medical gloves. "If you don't get things properly set up, you'll end up with a big mess like this! And that's a no-no in the medical field. Basic lesson number one! Can't have patients getting sick from such poor handling, now can we?"

"Not at all, sir!" Tracy 'Trace' Fleming was eager to show he was paying attention. "A patient's care comes first above all else! Which makes this… ah… lab catastrophe a little concerning, haha!" The importance of safety wasn't lost on the kid, since he wore gloves too. His were mint green latex… and he had a black face mask with white skull teeth drawn on in a grin similar to his current expression.

"It's VERY concerning!" Akinari adjusted his rectangle-framed glasses as he pointed out the substance, allowing his dark green eyes to scan the rest of the mess around them. "Some of these substances have been left untouched for what seems like decades. And this floor! It's so slippery that I could fall and accidentally land onto some of them! I want you to stay close to me, just as a precaution as we investigate!"

"You got it, sir!" Trace bobbed his head around in understanding. "I'll take care not to get infected by this, but don't worry, I'm prepared juussst in case it splashes onto us or something."

"Well I'll be, is that right?" Akinari liked this kid already. He came prepared! "And what, say, have you got, my star pupil?"

"I cover every element of safety in this goodie bag here!" Trace smiled as he showed off his brown leather waist bag. It was decorated with colorful pins and badges of chemical symbols, pills, a mortar and pestle, a green healthcare cross, and a final distinctive badge bearing the familiar letter 'T' from earlier. "I got it all! A medicine guide, my notebooks filled to the brim with research, and also a little med-making kit! That baby's got test tubes, beakers, the works! O-Oh! And band-aids and pain killers. That's the most important!"

There was more that he didn't mention, like his empty sweet wrappers, but he felt those weren't important right now.

"Excellent, young man!" Akinari was impressed. Too bad the adult didn't have much on him himself. He just had to leave most of his work at home. "Depending on how long we're stuck in this lab, these materials will do us a fine job of at least keeping us unharmed."

"Of course, but ah… how long are we gonna be in here, sir?" Trace was still puzzled over it all. How could he and this adult wake up in such a strange locale? It didn't make any inkling of sense.

Akinari didn't appear to have an answer, either, but he managed to keep his wits about him as he stroked his beard. "Well well well, ha! Like any good scientist, we must confirm what we know! Only then can we make a proper hypothesis that can ease our worries."

"R-Right." Trace tried to keep up with the thought as he scratched his slim neck, which bore a black choker with a hanging silver skull. He also tugged at the cracked acid-proof goggles atop his head. All signs Trace was thinking hard on what he did know…

..which wasn't much. "W-Well, we have metal collars, and there are cameras in this room."

"That's right." Akinari stared at the camera currently activated. It was one of the many things that gave him the heebie-jeebies, but he pressed on. "What else, young man?"

"Umm… the door out of here is locked and barricaded." Trace continued. "And there's writing saying we must find something to leave… but we haven't found anything to satisfy the criteria yet."

"Precisely. Which must mean…?" Akinari encouraged the boy to continue with his line of thought.

Trace let out a weary sigh. He didn't want to be a debbie downer so soon, but… "...it looks like it's gonna be a while… until we escape or rescue comes, sir. That's my best guess."

"Unfortunately so." Akinari's bright grin faded a tad. He knew, as the adult, he had to be realistic, but the kid thankfully understood the seriousness of their predicament. "With this… ah… less than ideal scenario, it seems much darker than we could ever imagine. But do not fret, we shouldn't be deterred. We will find an escape in due time…!"

"Of course!" It was a little scary, but Trace knew they eventually could make it out… somehow. "If we can't find the item. Maybe we should try the door again? What if we used some of my equipment to scoop up the acidic material and… like melt off the metal bars?"

The kid's imagination amused Akinari as he chuckled and adjusted his face mask. "A fine idea, young man, but we would have to handle the chemicals with care! Who knows what might happen should we play around with these age-old liquids. It's best if you leave something like that to me!"

Trace nodded as he began to prepare for the idea. It was shaky, at best, but it was all they got right now, so he could only hope it all went uphill from here! It probably would go well since there was a Supreme Level with him.

He could put his faith in this adult… right?

Trace wouldn't have to figure that out quite yet, as while he was getting his equipment set up, he caught a glimpse of something glimmering from one of the science closets. "Wait, sir, I think… I see something shining out of that closet over there."

"Hmm?!" Akinari jumped and glanced over. He could see it too! "Possibly some reflective material, this could be the item we need for the door! Keep behind me!"

Trace obeyed, but craned his neck to see what was inside when Akinari opened it. Inside were labcoats, five to be specific… and underneath them was… an arm?!

"Sweet mother of-!" Akinari stopped himself from jumping as the slippery floor below almost gave him a tumble. "T-That's an arm! Yep, that's a whole arm!"

"A-An arm?" Trace gulped and studied it… only to realize it looked rather harmless. In fact, it was a doll arm! "Oh, it's just a doll arm I think sir. Look at the surface material, it's trying to imitate being fleshy when-"

"It's PLASTIC!" Akinari finished. At least he didn't have to worry about this kid being exposed to the horror of a detached limb, even though Trace had on a prosthetic so he probably knew what that was like. "That puts my fears down a peg! Guess we have nothing to worry about."

"But why an arm?" Trace questioned, as he stared at the limb. "And why was it so shiny?"

Before he could ask more questions, the metal door trapping them had suddenly opened up, registering that they had found the doll piece to leave.

Akinari grinned at this as he snapped the face mask under his chin. "Ha! Would you look at that?! An obvious exit!"

"W-Woah, guess this is what they call a lucky break or something!" Trace stared at the door in awe, surprised at how quick they were being let go. "We should head out now, right?"

"But of course!" Akinari grinned with his hands on hips, "Allow me to take the lead. I'll ensure we both get outta this mess, no matter what it takes! It's my duty as a scientist!"

He boldly stepped forward with the doll piece. No matter what challenges laid ahead, this kid would need his guidance, so he needed to set a proper example like a good adult!

"Right then!" Trace put on his game face, strapping his goggles over his eyes. "Let's stay positive and charge ahead!" He didn't realize he made a chemistry pun. He was just too into the moment as he ventured out with the older man, a great bounce and energy to his step.

Akinari stared at the young teen's antics and chuckled. As long as the kid kept his brains to him… they were gonna be fine.

...

The fourth classroom: Math. The blackboard had equations repeated over and over again, all done in fancy white chalk. Top to bottom, left to right. It got to such a point that the entire board was covered with manic writing. The door to this room had a drawing of a hand.

Neither of the pair in this room paid much attention to it. Both of their focus was fixed on escaping. The older woman scoured the area for any signs of the item they needed to escape this place, her blazing eyes not leaving anything to chance. In contrast, the teen girl went to the immediate answer: the barred door. She stomped and kicked on the bars.

Despite the sheer anger she harbored, her small frame wasn't getting the door down any time soon. Her round eyes glowered upon realizing this, the sharp eyeliner highlighting the light gray color of her boiling glare. The half-round glasses highlighted such eyes, the small frame adjusted by her as she scoffed and gave one last kick to the bars. Her strength wasn't initially noticeable, due to a slightly chubby body with a light mocha skin tone and pale patches of skin all over.

She had knee-length messy bright red dyed hair (her natural hair color is brown). A small double bun and a long sharp ahoge adorn the top of her head, while two small braids decorate the sides. Her open red plaid long coat had the sleeves rolled up and a rainbow pin on the left collar. Underneath it is a black t-shirt with a cute cat face on it, tucked under her light blue loose fit jeans. Her sneakers sport a black and red checkerboard pattern. Her choker, as black as her fingerless gloves, has a bright red heart dangling on it.

The woman, meanwhile, was tall and still in great shape, despite her age. She's rather slender, but still has plenty of noticeable muscle on her arms, legs, and core. Her skin is a little on the darker side. Tanned. She had an angular face and sharp hazel eyes. Her signs of age exist in little ways, like in her laugh lines and the crow's feet on her eyes. Her hair is jet black, with a few streaks of gray making their way in. It falls just a little past her shoulder blades, but she almost always keeps it in a side bun. She wore a dark green suit jacket with a dark gray undershirt and equally dark green dress pants. Below that were a pair of black flare heels and black dress socks. Her only accessory is a necklace consisting of a heart-shaped stone made of topaz, strained by the black collar on her neck.

In anyone else's shoes, they'd be panicking, but not the Gunnery Sergeant herself: Veleria Ortiz. Whatever this nonsense was… it wasn't a kidnapping. It was training. She told herself that, just like any other day, and easily controlled herself, breathing steady as she investigated for the item they needed. She had to understand her surroundings if she was going to tackle this challenge head on… if only the subordinate she was stuck with could show as much restraint.

That word alone… "restraint"… seemed lost to Yumi Toyotomi. "What fucking bullshit!" Bitterly tugging at the bars in front of the door, the girl huffed. "If you think you can keep me locked up, I'll fucking tear you to pieces! You hear me?! Open the fuck up!"

Whoever she was calling out to, they didn't even humor her with a response.

But Valerie did, her eyes blazing with authority. "Enough." She stood tall behind the girl, her posture utterly perfect, speaking with refined command. "Wasting energy in this type of situation is a death sentence for any cadet in training. Ask yourself what you're achieving by throwing this tantrum."

"The fuck?" Yumi whirled toward the old hag. "You got a damn death wish, yourself? We're fucking stuck in the equivalent of a prisoners day care and you wanna talk lecture? Get the hell outta my face-"

She didn't get to finish as Valeria's voice effectively shot her down. "If you feel inclined to ignore the question, I'll answer it for you. You're achieving nothing, and disrespecting me won't progress the situation. Control yourself at once."

Yumi scoffed. "So this is how Supreme's conduct themselves, eh?" She spat, her face red. "Well, at least I'm doing something, unlike your bitch ass! You're just admiring the scenery. Yeah, get a good long look, cause I'm leaving your ass in here the second I get this door open." Yumi figured she'd leave the old hag with that, returning to her attempts at busting down the door.

But in the blink of an eye, the young girl heard a sudden slam of a boot next to her. Valeria had stormed up terrifyingly close to Yumi. "I understand the situation is tense, but your insubordination will not be tolerated while I'm around." Her imposing structure somehow grew, an almost cold look entering her stare. "Do you understand me?"

The sight of such a freezing look would send shivers down even the toughest soldier's spines… but Yumi almost smirked at the reaction. Despite the aggression, she glared at Valeria with similar intensity, her own blazing eyes clashing against the blinding cold stare of the Gunnery Sergeant.

"And what if I don't understand… you washed up hag? You gonna force me to drop and give you twenty?"

Valeria's glare was unyielding to the disruptive child. "Your conduct will be corrected in time, I guarantee that much. But stirring up trouble now, of all times, is beneath me. I can see you have potential-"

"More than you might realize," Yumi smirked as she interrupted.

"-however, that potential is being squandered." The thought made Valeria's heart storm with irritation. Her sour expression, those defiant eyes… just like all the other soldiers taken under her wing.

But if she had any reason to believe this classroom belonged to Golden Laurel… then naturally her training would leave Yumi like all the rest. Stronger… better… and that rebellious smirk wiped right off her face. "You will be trained accordingly, but I have a duty to get you out of here, as your commanding officer… so our focus must be properly placed on what matters, which is locating the item we need to leave this place."

"And you haven't found shit, which is why I was trying to bust down the door-!"

"And did that work?" Valeria's observation left Yumi stewing.

Even if it got her "punished", or whatever this crazy bitch was talking about, Yumi was not about to be disrespected by some cartoony-ass drill sergeant. "You wanna keep talking shit? I'll fucking end you!"

She was ready to throw a punch, but instantly Valeria had dodged and restrained Yumi toward one of the shelves. It was an easy enough task, but Yumi's thrashing made it difficult for Valeria to stay focused.

But before things could escalate, the duo's collars let out a demonic buzz and started to charge an electric shock. Valeria, sensing this, let go of Yumi, not wanting to risk both of their lives. Thankfully, this let the charge die down.

Valeria huffed and glared at the disobedient girl. "Do you get it now? It seems whoever is watching us wants to encourage cooperation as well. Does such a concept simply not register for you, or do you wish to have your brain fried?"

"Yeah fuck you too." Yumi coughed, clutching her collar. "I'm not taking orders from anybody!"

"And if you don't, you'll be electrocuted," Valeria pointed out in warning.

Yumi bit her tongue. She wanted to snap off the damn collar so badly, but that was the first thing she tried and she got a nasty shock from it. "Whatever, I'm breaking out of here without you bitch! Just try and stop me!"

Valeria messaged her forehead, exasperated by this nonsense. "You'll need the item for the door to even think about escaping."

She only earned Yumi flicking her off as she returned to slamming against the door.

Valeria was ready to storm up and teach this brat a lesson, but she stopped herself, both out of restraint… and out of clarity as she noticed the shelf she had pinned Yumi against earlier. On the shelf… looked to be… a hand in a box? Valeria instantly grabbed it, recognizing it as whatever item she needed to get them out.

Once Valeria grabbed it, the door opened. Dust shot around the room, and a blinding light entered.

Although a confusing sight for Yumi, she took the victory and leaned against the doorframe, smirking triumphantly. "Pretty sure punching that shit finally fucking worked."

She didn't realize Valeria had found the doll hand earlier, which she quickly showed it off so Yumi knew who really was responsible for their freedom. "When I order you to do something, you'll be doing it from now on. What comes next is up to both our efforts so behave yourself and move out."

She took the lead out of the door, forcing Yumi to follow with her intense grip on her arm.

"Oh, we're gonna get along just fine bitch…" Yumi bit her tongue as she ripped away from Valeria's grip… but begrudgingly followed. She knew better than to trust this adult… or any Supreme for that matter.

After all… types like Valeria weren't few and far between in this fucked up world.

...

The fifth classroom: Art. The blackboard had faded chalky handprints with different kids' names written under them. They had long since been washed out… leaving them forgotten in time. The door to this room also had the drawing of a hand.

Although the abundance of art supplies would be enticing to some, the duo stuck in here were more eagerly focused on the mystery. A young woman with elaborate attire was skipping for joy at the situation, quite literally. She jumped on the tables to get a look at the ceiling, giving a mischievous fanged smile as she did. A much smaller girl joined in on the fun, excitedly combing the room with her finger as if to find a secret passageway.

The young girl was somewhat tall and slim for her age. Her light beige skin and lively aquamarine eyes glowed in the dark classroom. Her little snub-shaped nose and rather "w"-shaped mouth made her appear faintly feline. Messy dark plum hair also added to the crazed cat look, ending just about mid-arm length, with the side strands shorter and curled upwards just like her bangs. She had a mascot hairpin ticked between the strands; a mint green triangle with a smiley face and white wings on the right side of her head. The eyes happen to glow as well!

If her look wasn't playful enough, she wore a fluffy plush hoodie guaranteed to give that impression. It stops at her mid-thigh, the shirt part mostly sky blue, except for the center which was white and decorated with button knots. The lower part of the shirt , also white, had a popping UFO pattern that could draw anyone's eyes in. Her hood was pale lilac with grayish-purple lining. Her sleeves were very short, around cap length. The shorts matched the color scheme. The dark purple and brown boots complemented it. As did the white arm warmers and knee-high socks, sporting the same Fair Isle pattern as the hoodie. And the dark purple choker on her neck… and the large umbrella with a cloudy print on it. She was twirling it out of instinct as she bumbled around for clues.

Meanwhile, this little girl's partner in crime came off as… MUCH more extravagant. She had a fair-skinned hourglass-shaped body. Her heart-shaped face had freckles splashed on her cheeks and nose. She examined the place with blood-red almond-shaped eyes, hidden behind her mask. She had soft-arched eyebrows that matched her ginger hair color, tiny heart-shaped lips, and a Roman nose. Her extremely long ginger red hair had side swept choppy bangs in the front; the side bangs curled towards her face, ending near her chin. The back is tied in a large braid that managed to stop halfway between her knee and foot.

She wore a white dress shirt with the logo of her former high school printed on her right pocket. The shirt had all seven see-through buttons closed except the last one, leaving it partially open from the waist. The shirt had a gold spread collar with a black diamond shape imprinted on both sides in the front of the collar leaf. Her sleeves reached her wrist and are cuffed with gold snap fasteners. It also had a single large coattail that starts round and ends pointed around her knees.

Over all that, she wore an open golden vest with five silver buttons on each side. There were five golden threads, connecting each pair of buttons. She had a black capelet that barely reached past her chest in the front and draped to her hips in the back. The capelet had white triangles on a line on the bottom corner. Its hood sported four gold buttons, two on each side. Tied to the collar was a red silk ribbon. Its bow has a golden four-pointed star-shaped brooch with a french rose crystal in the middle. Her hands donned a pair of black silk gloves.

Her gold-colored bubble skirt started under her dress shirt and ended in the middle of her thighs. It had black vertical stripes, ten in total. The hem had black lace, shaped like a petal, with three teardrop shapes in every odd part, and a shorter petal with one teardrop shape in every even one. On the right, in between two black horizontal lines, the seam of the skirt was visible. She had black thigh-high socks partly covered by gold-colored boots that reached her ankles. The boots had black laces, a circular black toe cap, and black soles.

Her black headband had a diamond pattern in a lighter shade of black, the diamonds visible in the middle of it. In the middle of each diamond was an actual oval-shaped diamond cut. The corners of the headband were gold. She had a silver metallic domino mask with black mesh, allowing her to partially hide her eyes. It was tied to her head with black elastic, making sure it stays on at all times. A big white beret rested on the right side of her head, on top of her headband, with only the left half remaining visible. The corner of its brim was gold, while the rest was black and white, alternating like a chessboard pattern. There was a golden ball on the top of the beret, and a golden ornament attached to its right side. The latter was in the shape of a wing, pointed to the right, that had a ball-shaped hole containing a circular french rose gemstone. Her black hair tie was made of plastic. It has the same diamond pattern as her headband, with an oval diamond in the middle. It tied her large braid together.

Her 'magic staff' appeared to actually be a prop, but she treasured it. The pink rod had two gold circles near the top , slightly apart from one another. A smaller golden disk at the bottom held a magenta teardrop shape, with a golden circle just like the rod in the middle of the circular part of the teardrop. On the top, there is a singular golden wing to the left, with a magenta orb visible from within the wing in a ball-shaped hole. On top of the wing was a golden-shaped heart that was broken in half. It had two separate magenta gemstones inserted into it.

Such attire blew everyone that came before her out of the water, as expected of the divine Lady Midas. "Now this is a most vile lair for only the most twisted of individuals, if I've ever seen one! The decayed artistry and building? It's no wonder I've been placed here! They are sooooo fearful of my capability that they had to place a shriving underling before me to keep guard, haha! But it is only a matter of time before I unleash my chaos onto the people's world!"

…Freyja Dalhström stared at the hot mess that was a teacher. She theorized the woman was supposed to be one, given the classroom. But… the lady gave off more of the impression of the roleplayers in chat forums she saw. "I get you're having your big disney villian moment and all… butttt, shouldn't we step down from crazyville for a bit and find whatever doohickey the door needs for us to get outta here? Or are you too far gone?"

"Crazy?" Midas laughed maniacally, kicking her feet in the air as she did a flip onto the dirty classroom tiles. "I am as crazy and diabolic as the eroding sun on a raging summer day!"

"Oh, wow, how poetic!" Freyja smirked. "You the SHSL Poet or something?"

"Supreme! I am the Supreme Villain!" Midas emphasized with a proud smirk of her own. "And besides, being crazy… opens up opportunities, kid, to commit as much destruction and chaos into the world as possible! It's all a matter of villainy when I'm around, as you'll soon come to understand it within that underdeveloped brain of yours!"

"Underdeveloped? Oh boy, she's definitely too far gone." Freyja spoke to the air, as if she was talking to someone beyond whatever screen this was being read on. "Welp, I'm gonna take a wild shot in the dark and assume you didn't get much attention from your parents then. Am I close?"

"You already have the markings of a villian in training with such words!" Midas looked almost touched at the insult as she giggled. "But NOPE, you must come up with something far more creative to wound the withered husk some call my heart you rat-infested minion!"

"Oh, that's a new one!" Freyja had to admit this woman was crazy, but she definitely wasn't boring. "As much as roasting each other sounds fun, we need to be quick, lady! Traffickers are gonna come in any second and start preparing us for surgery if we don't bust out of here!"

"Really now?" Midas perked at this, sticking a tongue toward the cameras in the room insultingly. "Traffickers? They would dare lay a finger on me? Although I'm naturally desirable, I'm off limits from police, heroes, and criminals alike. And if they want my pupil, I won't have that! I'll wrangle them all nice and proper. Make sure to take notes when I do, kid!"

Midas spotted the messenger bag that Freyja carried, which had a notebook she referred to.

"Actually, it's either traffickers or the government planning to whip us into shape with some intense Ultimate training regimen for some secret alien war." Freyja wrote in her little notebook, its pages rambling and sprawling. "I heard the GHA has close ties with some shady government organizations trying to fight extraterrestrials, and that Ultimates go missing from time to time for their use!"

Freyja looked quite proud coming up with that one, since it naturally made the most sense. The metal collars, the camera, the locked door… the kidnapping after the GHA accepted her to Golden Laurel? It all lined up perfectly to aliens.

Midas didn't look taken aback by the absurd theory at all. "HAHAHA! I've been paired with a most interesting nutcase as my protege! Truly, the stars aligned for me to mold this child into a perfect image of evil. But, kid, if you can truly believe that the government are the ones behind my detainment, you have another thing coming. Not even in their most lucid fantasies could they lay a finger on me!"

Freyja raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh yeah, lady? Well then, why are you stuck here? Hm? Seems to me like someone got the jump on you."

"It's but a small issue!" Midas crossed her arms mischievously, slightly pouting despite keeping the smirk of her smile. "I'm guessing I've been on quite the crime spree, recently, so it's only natural the GHA would send their best to ensnare me! But even knowing that, they truly underestimate what the hell I'm gonna end up doing once we blow this joint up, haha!"

Yep, crazy. No getting around it, in Freyja's eyes. "I dunno why you called me the nutcase earlier, when you sound fresh out of an asylum, but I can work with that! Since you're so great as a 'villain', you must know a way out of here?"

The only way out was the metal door, but Freyja and Lady Midas both knew that wasn't opening anytime soon… at least with the missing item not showing itself. Although Midas had a twisted idea of where it was.

"Of course I know of a method of escape," Midas posed proudly, "but what makes you think I'll take you with me, my pupil? If you truly wish to serve me-"

"I don't."

"-then your escape method must be bold, elegant, something jaw dropping when the time comes for it! I expect something flashy, or else you can kiss your freedom goodbye and I'll enjoy seeing you rot behind these bars!"

Midas had planned to teach her little underling a lesson on the mastery of escape. Sadly, there wasn't much in the room to make an exciting exit. There was a dolly, and some wooden hammers hung nearby to maybe knock down the door, but the art room was lacking in paint for her to write a scathing message for whoever trapped her here. What a joke!

Freyja puffed her cheeks and tapped her chin. "I would tell you, but you might not catch on. As a theorist, I have my ways of getting the info I need to get outta here. Heck, I'll even escape before you, just to show you how easy-peesy it is for me! That is, if you can keep it up you old bag of bones! Teehee!"

Midas was 25. She had no idea where this kid got off by calling her a "bag of bones"!

"Then we both will find a way to escape," she challenged with pride. "Make sure to follow closely on what I do. I'll be grading you on your ability to keep up with me, if your little legs can even carry you that far. By the time you even make it out, I'll already be scot free!"

"You sound confident about that…" Freyja murmured, a smirk lining her lips as she studied Midas. "Almost like… you already found the item."

Midas jumped at this, pretending to be surprised. "Oh my! You dare accuse me?! I am one of true evil, so it is possible, but I demand evidence for such baseless conjectures!"

"Nah, there's evidence lady." Freyja looked the woman up and down. "You've been acting pretty sneaky since I woke up. And as I searched tirelessly for the item… you've basically been watching me perform child labor without lighting a finger, as if you aren't too concerned about finding it, becausssssee… TAKE THAT-" she pointed at Midas in a super cool counter pose "-you already have it with you!"

"And where would I have hidden it, my pupil!" Midas encouraged with a scheming laugh.

Freyja sighed. Why couldn't she just say her wacky stuff without being questioned? "I dunno, in your bra or something? Or probably your beret? Either way, I just know you have it, lady, so cough it up! I'm not gonna be stuck here and grow wrinkly like you. I'd rather live to at least my sixteenth birthday outside of this cheap art room."

Again, Midas wasn't that old, but she laughed at the confidence Freyja exuded as she indeed pulled out a doll-like hand from behind her back. "My my! Seems you are far more perceptive than I gave you credit for, my minion!"

Suddenly, as Midas revealed the item, the door opened up.

"Another theory proven!" Freyja reveled from the dub she took with a teasing glance to Midas. "It's so tiring being right all the time… NOT… I already have a few more ideas cooking about that weirdo hand. But whatever, I'm not gonna stay here and find it out. Hehe! Catch you on the flip side, if you can keep up!"

Despite how serious this all was, Freyja was content as she scampered out of the room first, twirling her umbrella around like it was a UFO carrying her into the sky. She wasn't really concerned about any of this given all the shady stuff she looked into, it was only a matter of time until someone out there noticed her. But for it to be the GHA to drop her off in this twisted place, oh she had the most devious article planned about the organization already!

As for Midas, she gave a dismissive wave and gracefully flipped over to the door with the doll piece in hand and took from behind to leave. "Oh, we got a brave one, don't we? It's always the shorties with the most to prove. Gyahahahaha! Let's see how far you manage to go under my reign of terror!"

She wasn't going to be outdone by her pupil, as long as Midas drew breath, she'd be the only chaos bringer around!

...

The sixth classroom: Social Studies. The blackboard had a large drawing of the Earth, with different kids of all ages and backgrounds holding hands together. However their faces were teary. No smiles on any of them. The door to this room had a drawing of a leg.

The room lacked much of anything besides books… the duo here were focused on the locked door, both unsure of its purpose and design. The young woman was clearly dumbfounded, but tried to keep a sweet smile on her face for the sake of the young fashionable boy with her, who didn't seem too rattled. He harbored a sense of purpose to his movements, tugging on the bars with a steady grip, while making great care not to damage his black and white patterned trimmed nails… which he was hoping to paint to a more vibrant color later.

His espresso-brown complexion was highlighted by his slightly pale but healthy skin. His build appeared slightly feminine. A cream-white turtleneck cable knit wool sweater was draped over his slim frame. His lower half adorned light brown khaki pants and white moccasin shoes that had brown inner cotton lining. Overtop the sweater, he had on a beige jacket with black buttons, giving the illusion of a masculine frame. But even with that, his entire look glimmered just as brightly as his metallic-silver dyed, messily styled hair. Two red hair barrettes shaped like an X were pinned on the left side of his head, popping out of his wavy bangs. His fringe parted to the left in a windswept way, with small hairs sticking to and fro, and a small ahoge strand shaped like a heart stood atop his head. Twinkling heart glitter was sprinkled underneath his eyes.

The woman was concerned over why such a young face was trapped with her in this dusty place, tapping her chin uneasily. Given the environment, someone with the child's slim build could easily be hurt… which would be very bad for the long term. Knowing this, her hazelnut eyes focused on the task at hand. The musculature in her arms and legs wasn't anything crazy. Her lean body held a rectangular shape making her appear proportionate from her c-cup chest to her legs, though her hips were a tad larger, outlined by the blue jeans she wore.

Her upper half wore a yellow long sleeved shirt, with a bright smiley-face in front. A white apron was over it; a white handkerchief was inside its front pouch. Her feet wore black ankle socks and brown shoes, dirtied by the dust everywhere.

But Chuya Yagami didn't mind it, or the darkness slowly closing in around her. Her attention was solely focused on ensuring her and the boy's escape. "Oh dear… how troubling this might be." She pursed her red glossed lips, attempting to formulate comforting words for the child. "This door is quite sturdy… but… I'm certain that, with enough effort, we'll both manage to take it down. You're already doing so well, so just one more try…! Together now!"

"You wanna try again?" Casey Rosario's teal green eyes glared at the door, his dark eyebrows furrowing as he tried to find any access point to open it. He didn't need the comfort, he needed out, but he tried not to be hasty… "If you say so… I'll follow along. Just pull when I pull and let's do our best."

"Of course!" Chuya's peach skin appeared to glow at the assurance as she grabbed one side of the door. She poured her full weight into opening it, allowing her worry, determination, and slight impatience to fuel the flames for her hidden strength.

But even with her belief and Casey's resolve… the door remained fastened shut.

"No dice." Casey huffed after the fact, pinching his button nose. His small lips with a pronounced cupid's bow frowned, only emphasizing his baby face more. "Whatever we do, that door's gonna stay closed so… might as well look for that item it's talking about, yeah?" He was bothered by the lack of escape, but tried to at least be friendly to the woman.

"What a good train of thought to follow!" Chuya clapped her hands together, her blonde hair in two buns bouncing with her approval of the idea. "Since it's locked tight, we must try to remain aware of anything else that might stand out, but also stay safe during our exploration. We don't want to get ourselves hurt looking for clues!"

"Right…" Casey felt that was obvious, but knew the reminder for caution was just as important. He was already on high alert after waking up next to this… overly friendly woman… but the camera pointed at them and the collars on their necks didn't help settle his nerves. "How about I take one side of the room, and you take the other? We could cover my ground that way."

"Are you sure you could explore alone?" Chuya looked concerned at the thought. "I wouldn't want you to investigate in this dark room without an adult present."

"But the classroom isn't that big." Casey said calmly. "We can see each other the whole time, so I wouldn't be alone. Besides, if we both cover our sides, we can make a thorough search and maybe not come back empty-handed. Isn't that logical?"

"Logical, yes… but there could be hidden dangers I'd wish to shield you from." The woman's eyes wide and assuring. "Perhaps I can stay close by and scan over areas you might have missed. That way, I can stay close without invading your own investigation!"

Casey tugged at his jacket's ends, staring at the bracelets on his wrist for a subtle distraction. His left wrist had a rose gold one, glimmering with his engraved name, while his right wrist had a red bead one. "That's funny, you know… you're very doting and protective." He chuckled. "With the whole look you got going, you're kinda familiar to me."

"Really?" Chuya gasped happily, the praise perking her up.

"Yeah, really. I've met types like you in the industry… they're always reliable. I can imagine you're a caretaker… a good one at that, since I feel like I've seen you somewhere. But I won't pry. It seems you're always looking out for others like myself. That's real dedication."

"How sweet of you! I am indeed a caretaker. I even run an orphanage, so that's where you might've heard me from. I hope that helps you understand why I only wish to see you safe in this hazardous environment… especially since I imagine the… industry… takes all precautions to keep you from harm as well."

"Yeah, can't ruin the image or anything," Casey laughed as he rubbed his neck, like it was some sort of joke at his expense, "but that doesn't mean I'm totally hopeless. I wanna help, and I get you an adult and everything, but trust me, I'm not stupid. We're both talented here. I got skills… same as you…"

"I suppose that is true." With a smile, she nodded. "Look at me, all worried over your safety. You clearly are a capable child. So… I will simply be a few paces away! If you need anything, or find something distressing, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. We must still be collaborative! That's the key to any friendly environment!"

"Collaborative…" Casey only nodded as his lips formed an easy smile. "Yes, let's work together through whatever this hot mess is. I'll let you know if I find anything… and vice versa, okay? If you figure anything out, holla at me." With that, he was finally able to go off on his own. After using up so much time…

But as for Chuya… she figured some things out… or at least had a vague enough idea forming in her head about the situation. That boy was talented like her, an Ultimate, or specifically a SHSL. He most likely came from the entertainment industry… as his face was recognizable right away. No introduction was needed. That was Casey Rosario… a famed boy on television, for the most part… so an influential face was trapped along with her… a Supreme.

Pair that with the collars… the ominous camera… this worn down classroom. Was it possible… that… this situation could've been much worse then she realized…? Could've it been like that… game all those years ago?

Before she could consider such an idea… something tucked into one of the closets caught her eye. She curiously opened it up. She saw it was an adorable black cat backpack, with a bunch of dangerous tools for starting fires inside. Why was a backpack like this in the social studies class? Did some poor child leave it behind? The items would be doubly concerning, in that case.

As Chuya carefully took care of the items, Casey explored further away for the item that could help them escape. His eyes scrunched into focus, sort of annoyed at how long it was taking him to find a way out… and that's when he found it, A leg crammed beneath the floor tiles. It was sort of eerie to look at, but Casey realized it was a doll leg pretty quickly...

...which must've meant it was his ticket out of this disgusting place.

...

The seventh classroom: Biology. The blackboard had fishes drawn on it, cut open to reveal whatever anatomy was inside. The door to this room had a drawing of another leg.

Tables were set up with decaying fish carcasses… much to the horror of the large man… and to the curiosity of the frail-looking girl paired with him. As the hulking man panicked and tried to pry open the barred doors with his massive arms… the young girl merely studied the dead creatures with a hint of an unnerving smile. Her sharp teeth gleaming from the haunting orange glow puffed out from her large, ornate black pipe with gold embellishments between her lips.

The girl fit into the dark room with her ominously elegant attire, fashioned with a large, frilly, old-fashioned black dress that reached her feet. Each time she moved, the long dress flowed hauntingly around her, briefly revealing the pitch-black heels she wore. Her skin was just as pale as the ghostly dust dancing around her, looking sickly and thin. Despite her above-average height, her limbs were just as frail, though the dress covered most of it. Her thin neck was strapped with a bulky collar. Her sharp-looking face was under a black frilly hat, with a wide brim and a tall, flat top, reminiscent of what a pilgrim would wear. Falling out from it was very long, pitch-black hair, which reached to her ankles and covered the right side of her flickering green eyes. She was an enigma, to be sure, fitting the image of a witch rather than a proper teenager.

The man was quite the same… in the bizarre outfit category. A gargantuan adult with a round body, harboring some clear, but heavily scarred, muscles. His frame was outlined by a white tank top, baggy red pants, and a pirate-like captain's hat... with a small accessory being a black choker covered up by the metal collar he wished to be rid of. He wore sandals with seahorse designs, showing his scarred feet. The defining item of his outfit was a huge shark-skin-colored overcoat with a fake shark fin attached. Similarly, he had a belt with a fake shark tail that thrashed around as he tried to open the door. He messed with the toy horns on his head as he panicked for escape. Despite his towering presence, his round face looked meek and soft, with bushy black eyebrows furrowed in fear above his worried green eyes. He had faint body hair on his chest and arms; the small black stubble on his chin was no better. His fluffy black hair was braided loosely and slung over his right shoulder, with half of it shaved and the other half covering his left eye.

This made it hard to tell who was the adult and who was the child. The supposed behemoth of a man, Bohai Shuǐniú, looked rather pathetic as he panickedly tried to rip open the bars with his brute strength. "P-Please let me out! I-I didn't do anything! I kept the sharkies a-away from town! Don't h-hurt them, please!" He deflated once he noticed his efforts amounted to nothing. "N-Ngh! Ugh! D-Don't keep me here!" He whimpered and crouched down, resisting the urge to snap off the collar squeezing against his neck... as he had already been shocked earlier when he tried to pull it off. He knew he should've been acting stronger for the young girl in the room, but his heart was racing from fear.

Louise Annabelle Bogweather, however, was used to intense situations. This one was a little unique for her, but be it in the doctor's chair or a kidnapping situation... she handled her role with elegance. She rummaged through her worn-looking medical bag, letting her scarred hands slip past medical items, a pair of reading glasses, and a stick of dynamite she casually brushed over. "Calm yourself... you're inhaling far too much dust for those oversized lungs of yours," Louise murmured with a hypnotic voice, her southern accent adding a hint of condescension to the adult, despite her attempt to be professional. "Even the smallest of diseases can take down the mightiest of giants. Don't let that be you."

Almost instinctively, Bohai obeyed and managed his shaky breaths. Though his mind raced with worry... if a doctor said he should calm down, he needed to calm down. "O-Of course... okay... u-uh... am I breathing right?"

Louise took a puff from her oversized pipe, the purple smoke swirling around her, highlighting her green eyes and sharp nails. "You're as hysterical as my patients... but you managed to calm down quicker than them. I suppose that's as good a sign as any." It was a first for her to have someone instantly listen to her without fail to her orders... aside from family. Sensing an opportunity, she examined the adult's large body. He seemed durable... dense... having the ability to withstand whatever came his way, given the old scars.

All in all... a perfect lab rat. "Being taken here might've been worth the trouble after all," she mused, her high-pitched voice forever stuck at a low volume. "Tell me, have you ever been interested in becoming a medical assistant?"

The man's eyes widened sheepishly as he squeaked in uncertainty. "I-I'm not... sure? I... uh...mostly s-spend time out a-at sea for work so... I never got o-offered-"

"You're being offered a position now." Louise fished through her patchy and worn medicine bag. Digging past most of the bizarre items, she managed to find a package of strange vials of who knows what. She pulled out an ominously glowing green one, matching the changing smoke that swirled around her pipe. "Should you accept and sign an agreement, you can test some medical concoctions I create. Take, for example, this vial. Made from frog mucus and mixed with mosquito blood, this should increase your physical strength tenfold, should you drink it."

Whether the logic of such information was sound or not... Bohai nervously took the vial from the strange kid. "A-And this works?" He asked worriedly before stammering with guilt, "N-not that I'm questioning your knowledge!"

"Of course, it works. I'm an Ultimate, after all." Louise seemed annoyed at the comment and wrapped her fingers cruelly against a voodoo doll she carried. "Not only do the effects give strength to those ill... but also heal up old scars. Seeing that you are covered with them, I'd imagine the doctors you had were very... let's say inexperienced, I'd imagine."

Bohai wasn't sure what to say in response to that... but if he could be helpful to the girl... maybe she'd ask more of him in the future. With the artificial shark tail somehow wagging, he nervously smiled. "O-Okay... I'll believe you. If I drink this... then I'll bust down the door and get you out of h-here. Please... r-rely on me!" Like a madman, Bohai swallowed the mysterious substance.

It tasted... as bad as one would expect, making him gag, but once he got past that he got to work on the door. Much to Bohai's surprise, the bars budged a few inches. "O-Oh, it's working! I-I might be stronger than before!"

"...well, that's expected."

However, despite Bohai's efforts afterward, it didn't budge anymore.

"I-It's not moving anymore… u-ummm…" The deep shame he felt rivaled that of the ocean as he teared up. "I-I'll keep trying, I promise!"

"You do that." Louise glanced around the Biology room. "Perhaps you need a stronger dosage. I'll look for ingredients to give the medicine a little… kick." Neither of them considered looking for the item the door message spoke about, but Louise took her time exploring and adding more drugs to her bag, as if she was shopping at a store.

But the door opened before they could continue their experiment. Louise blinked. She had accidentally come across the item without even realizing it.

"I-It opened!" Bohai yelped as he ran to Louise cheerfully. "I-It finally opened! We can l-leave!"

Louise nodded, but appeared disappointed. "The mechanisms for the door triggered before we could test my medication further… What a pity."

"D-Don't worry, your uh… medical stuff made me feel way more energized." One could only wonder if the man was lying or not to assure her. "And t-the bars moved a bit before the door opened! Y-Your… medicine helped!"

"I'm sure it did. But I also assume it was mostly due to this leg laying in the wall." Louise pointed out the doll-like limb which made Bohai jump.

"A-Ah! It's a b-b-body!"

"It's a piece of a child-sized doll," Louise mumbled as she squeezed her voodoo doll. "More specifically, the leg as I just said."

"O-Oh." Bohai sheepishly frowned. "D-Do we need it?"

"I suppose." She puffed from her pipe. "Grab it and we shall venture out. Be sure to describe any symptoms you feel after consuming my vial."

"O-Okay, I will!" Bohai mumbled obediently and carried the doll leg with comical ease. "I'll g-go first and protect you… um… so s-stay behind me… please?"

Please? This man was a lost cause. But Louise listened and ventured out with the whimpering man. One had to imagine what chaos the two would make together.

...

The eighth classroom: Business. The blackboard had kids drawn with suits, surrounded by money. They looked happy, but had childish devil horns on their heads. The door to this room had a drawing of a torso.

Eddie and Kokoro were trapped inside, with the large casino owner having woken up earlier. Confusion turned to anger pretty quick at the sight of his new surroundings.

"I let my guard down for one second and this shit happens…" he muttered. "Tch, shoulda just listened to reason."

His complaints were heard by no one, but it didn't stop him from airing them out. If he kept it bottled up, he'd just explode later. Might as well bitch about it now, when no one was there to witness his wrath.

Well… Kokoro was there, but she was unconscious, oblivious to the situation.

Eddie studied the girl again. He remembered how she came off at the airport, her formal deemenor paired with stubborn pride and aggression. In any other scenario, he'd scoff at the sight of her passed out… not caring in the slightest…

…so why couldn't he bring himself to do that? Why did he try to help this damn girl back then? If he wanted to be petty, he could say she was at fault for him being dragged into this mess, but… he couldn't…

Eddie thought back to his wife, to those damn words she would spew about the next generation. Did he let that get to him? Was he going soft? Impossible. Brats like this girl always got on his nerves. And yet, despite thinking that, he didn't leave Kokoro's side. Not even to look for the last piece of the doll body to escape.

"Dammit… come on kid, wake up…"

His words fell on deaf ears. Kokoro slumbered in an endlessly dark dream.

What was Eddie to do?

...

There was one more classroom, further away from the rest: Homeroom. The blackboard had nothing on it but dust, indicating a lack of use on the school's part. Most notably, the barricaded door in the room didn't have a message or drawing on it to clue in on what item to look for.

The four people inside were disoriented and confused, some taking it better than others. One such soul was a very small girl who giggled and hummed at the desk absently, staring off into the distance, no longer a part of this world. The much taller boy standing next to her sighed in bewilderment at her reaction, realizing he couldn't rely on either her… or the two adults trying to figure things out. They couldn't have been more insufferable in his eyes, with the older and gruff gentleman taking a formal and strict tone that already got on the kid's nerves, while the young woman nervously nodded her head along to everything he was spewing.

The smaller girl didn't notice the tension. She just danced around and searched for something fun to do. She had Central Heterochromia, so her eyes glimmered orange near the border of her pupils, swirling around like flames. She swung her head around restlessly, allowing her long, messy, blonde hair to sway widely about, ending at her hips. She had two braids that framed her face and went down to her collar. Her hair looked burnt for some reason, at least at the tips.

For clothes she had on a white short-sleeved T-shirt, covered mostly by a pink hooded sweatshirt jacket with a small head of a cute bear sewn on it, black sweatpants, gray socks and orange slipper boots with tiny flames on them. There were three pairs of bows in her hair, one being red for her braids, another being white for decoration, and the last being bright yellow with devil horns attached to them.

As for the older teen boy, he tugged frustratingly at his dark gray long-sleeved jean jacket. It was overtop a blueish-green tank top, which outlined his fairly muscular form. He also wore slightly ripped blue jeans revealing parts of his dark skin, plus black parkour shoes fitted with green laces. His frizzy and slightly unkempt short black hair, a little longer in the back, had white highlights.

These two kids were Miho Akatsuki and Naohito Urabe, and they couldn't be more different in every aspect.

Miho in particular grinned as she observed the shady-looking classroom, her fangs shown off cheerfully. "Woweeeee! This place is way bigger than my old room, although not as cute! It's kinda crabby and dark. But at least I got new friends to share it with! But I lost my backpack! Aw, it's like I'm on a roller coaster of emotions right now! Both good and bad things keep happening! Maybe we should find something fun to do so it's only good things for now! Yep yep! Let's jump on the desk, orrrrr I can do everyone's hair! A makeover would be great! Just a little lighter to the tips and you'll be like me, yayyy!"

"Who… Who the hell are you talking to?" Naohito watched the unique-looking girl prance about, his agitated amber eyes narrowing at her antics. "Have you lost your mind or something? This is a kidnapping, and you're over here talking about makeovers? This isn't a playground, you know, we're here to-"

"But it's school, yeah?! It's just GOTTA have a playground!" Miho bounced on her tippy toes, looking far too excited. "Maybe we can go play on it after we get outta here! Wanna help me on the swings? You look pretty strong so I'm sure I can go up higghhhhh like a rocket! Maybe all the way around in a loopy loop! Hey, that ties into roller coasters! Hey, I just talked about roller coasters! Now I wanna go to an amusement park!"

"Weirdo…" Naohito muttered. So much for finding a way out of here. There was some crazy kid who couldn't care less about being trapped here, and two useless adults preoccupied with other boring matters. Why did he decide to attend this school, if this even was the GHA's program thing?

Speaking of the adults, they were still theorizing. Taking the lead was a relatively short man with a stocky body type and dark olive skin, which helped radiate an aura of authority. He had a ducktail beard; black, albeit graying, just like his crisp short hair. His light green right eye observed the room with purpose, with his left one being eyepatched. For his outfit, he wore a gray t-shirt and jeans, plus modest shoes and a small hat. His black gloved hands held onto some tobacco. He also owned a pair of circle-shaped glasses.

As for the other adult, they were of average size with grayish-purple, short wavy hair. She trembled while her gray baggy eyes narrowed at the door, as if pleading it to open by itself. She was slightly slender with lightly tanned skin and a heart-shaped face, which she rubbed wearily. For some reason, she had scratch-like scars on her shoulders that she did her best to cover up. Her purple shirt helped do the trick. It had a white moon design on it that peeked out from underneath a gray cardigan with silver buttons. She also wore lilac pants and black boots.

Despite Tiago Rodrigues de Andrade and Jiyuu Mochizuki attempts to appear on top of things, neither of them had a clue on WHAT was going on.

Actually, Jiyuu had a faint idea, but she kept it to herself.

The thought was grim. and she didn't want to anger Tiago who already looked angry as he spoke. "Seems that our captors barricaded the only exit, and these collars can't be tampered with. We're stuck in the meantime, but if we're able to explore our surroundings without trouble, we should strive to do so for some means of escape. Understand?"

"U-Um… yes…" Jiyuu wiped away some nervous sweat building on her forehead, glancing at the blue, green, and purple bracelet on her left wrist. Staring at them gave her the strength to speak again. "B-But with how barren this room looks, I'm worried we might not f-find much. It's pretty empty, right? Should we just… wait for someone to come help us… maybe?"

"Nonsense, we wait for no one!" Tiago declared with a stern look. "The door itself is barricaded, but we can use materials here to open it by force."

"Are we in a p-position to do that?" Jiyuu tried to follow along as she gulped. The thought of stepping out of line and destroying the door scared her a tiny bit. "I… I don't know if that's a good idea. The collars could s-shock us again, like it did that little boy."

Naohito frowned. When they first woke up, he tried to take it off, only to earn a painful shock. It was a bit hasty of him, but didn't need these people looking down on him for that mistake. "I hear you talking about me, you know. You're doing a great job telling us how screwed we are."

"I-I didn't mean it like that." Jiyuu painfully looked away and scratched her sky blue fingernails. She shouldn't have said that, not in front of kids! "I'm sure we'll find a way out of here and... manage to not get shocked in the process."

"But I wanna see him get shocked again!" Miho gestured to Naohito "You shoulda kept holding onto that collar! You were adorableeee! Your face sparking and frying up! So many sparkles! Hehe! You went all -bzzzzzzzzzz- and -ahhhhhh-! It was so silly! Maybe I should try?!"

Tiago was disturbed by this girl's antics. "Cease such a performance at once! We are not here to fool around, or taze ourselves like maniacs! We're here to escape. Everyone's hands must be on deck if we are to accomplish such a thing."

"And how are we going to do that, grandpa?" Naohio muttered, his unrest evident as he tapped his feet against the floor.

Unfortunately for him, Tiago heard that and snapped. "Keep that backtalk to a minimum, boy… and we won't have problems." The two stared each other down before Tiago took back the reins. "Now, grab what you can and we shall try to cut down the bars to this door! That's the plan!"

"O-Okay." Jiyuu had reservations on the idea, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Yeah, we get to break stuff demolitionist styleeeee!" Miho rummaged through the classroom to find something to break.

Only Naohito didn't move, seeming u. "That isn't going to work. The door is barricaded with metal. Nothing here can cut that. We'll be lucky if we make a dent."

Tiago didn't have time to entertain children, but he had to respond if his authority was questioned. "And I suppose you have a bright idea, young man? Please enlighten us on what we should do."

"Ram the thing down, get a desk, and slam into it!" Naohito proposed bitterly. "Chipping it away like in those prison movies ain't gonna work. Trust me."

"Wowie, do you have experience in prison escapes!?" Miho didn't realize how bad that sounded. Naohito glared at her.

"Ignoring that…" Jiyuu mumbled uneasily as she adjusted her square-shaped, narrow purple glasses. "Someone could get h-hurt doing that, I think…"

"So what? We're kidnapped!" Naohito couldn't believe this nonsense. "We ram the door down and beat up whoever trapped us here! It's that simple."

"Dismantling the door is a far better option!" Tiago's patience began to waver. "We can cut away at the bars with some sharp material."

Naohito narrowed his eyes. "Is there sharp material in here?"

"It's better then ramming a desk like an idiotic bull won't accomplish anything!" Why must Tiago have to explain something so obvious to this child? Was he going to be a headache for him?

"P-Please calm down." Jiyuu stepped in, the shouting growing too much for her to bear. "I-I'm sure we can come up with something t-that lets all of our ideas come into play. How about we take turns u-um… submitting a proposal?"

"Let's waste more time, sure. That sounds efficient…" Tiago muttered.

She deflated at that. Maybe she should've kept her mouth shut. "W-Well, let's give it a shot, a-anyway. Maybe… this sweet little girl has an idea?"

"Let's blow the door up!"

"N-Nevermind-!" That was the last time Jiyuu let her propose a plan.

Naohito sighed. "We're all stuck in here, we'd be blown up." Could he maybe get this girl to chill out somewhere else? "Just go and entertain yourself in the corner or something. We'll just find a way outta here eventually."

"Okie dokie!" Miho sprinted off with a grin. Usually, she would play around with her backpack of goodies, but her little black cat was missing. The realization made her roll to the floor, searching for it. That's when she found another animal. A bird. She cringed and ran back to Tiago. "EWwwieeee! There's a bird in here, grandpa!"

"W-Why is everyone calling me that?" Tiago grumbled. "What are you even saying about a bird?"

"Itwasabigbirdontheflooranditlookedreallygrosslikesuperduperubergross!" Miho explained quickly, her words fumbling.

"M-Maybe try to go a little slower?" Jiyuu said sweetly.

Miho widened her eyes in understanding. "Oh, ok! Yep yep, I'll do that! There was… a big bird… it looks… infected!"

"Gross." Naohito scoffed.

"Hm, let me see," Tiago ordered. "Perhaps it flew in from a hole somewhere. If we find it, that's how we can escape."

Tiago followed Miho to the body of the bird and picked it up. He tried to do it with care, since he worried it could be diseased like she said, but then he noticed it was… a mechanical bird. An owl, to be specific, with the most bizarre of eyes…

…No, he knew those eyes, the jagged glint, and the despairful red aura. Tiago's heart sank at the sight of the old enemy in his hand. But he didn't dare look weak in front of the others. He only gathered himself and sighed. "Everyone, it appears to be a toy of mechanical structure. Hmmm."

"A toy? There was a toy in this dump?" Naohito muttered. Given it wasn't a mechanical bear, he didn't recognize the severity of the eye design at first. "So it turned out to be nothing."

"It's actually a Great Horned Owl!" Jiiyuu noted, her eyes flickering with unease at its jagged eye. It looked… familiar to her as well. "It's… It's… designed in a… weird way." She tried to hide her internal terror for the kid's sake.

"The horns are cute!" Miho giggled. "Everything else is ugly, though."

"Thanks for your brilliant opinion," Naohito was exuasted from all this already. "So what's this things deal?"

Tiago wasn't sure, but he had to answer his question. "That's what we're going to find out. Perhaps this is the key to our escape."

"Really? Are we going to fly outta here!?" Miho beamed.

"No." Tiago crushed her dreams real quick with a sigh. "Allow me to look it over."

The second he picked it up, the door opened! "Ha! Looks like an escape opened right before our eyes. This… toy… really must've been the key to opening it."

"B-By just picking it up?" Jiyuu gulped. "W-What do we do, now?"

"Um… hello? Book it the hell outta here! I'm gone!" Naohito didn't waste any time. He ran out with a speed that shocked the others. No way was he going to spend another minute in this nut house.

"Yeahhhh! We're racing each other! I'll take first!" Miho skipped after Naohito, excited to have made some new friends!

"Do not run off in such a manner! We must stick together!" Tiago charged after the children. Despite his time as a leader, never had he encountered such disobedience before. This group was surely going to be a handful.

Jiyuu lagged back in the homeroom as she gulped at the darkness ahead of them. It was familiar to her… this whole situation. What was she going to do? "I-It's so dark out here. Are we really going to find a way out?" She tried to call out, but no one heard her.

...Jiyuu paled, it was going to be the same as last time, wasn't it…?

She clutched her bracelet painfully and shakily stumbled forward.

...

...

...

Orientation Concluded

Remaining: 20/20

{Author's Note}

This chapter took years out of my lifespan.

First things first, thank you to Fee5h and Comrade for tackling this monstrosity. I promise I will never write this much again but I seriously appreciate you for helping me through it! I hope I managed to edit it okay.

As for the story itself, I did struggle to release something for awhile because I wanted to focus on Gold House and had other stuff going on, but this is here now... and I hope it gives greater insight to the cast and their personalities then the older intros did. If I did anything wrong please message me and I apologize for the delay in how long this took. I will say it's nice to assign faces to characters now!

I made the chapter in this style to both get everyone introduced and out of the way, and have their intros be independent from Kokoro and Eddie for the time being. It's definitely a bit cluttered, but I hope it gave more diversity to the cast than through one characters view.

With all this said I'm gonna probably sleep, and then work on the next chapter. I have an idea for it, and I'm super excited to show you. But until next time! Love all of you guys!

Take Care

CandleFire45