I saw a lot of interesting theories as to how this arc will play out. I won't say anything, but I do find the interaction to be awesome. Seriously, it makes me smile when I see people make theories about how certain things will be going down, gives me more motivation to write this.

Anyway, with that out of the way, let us begin…!

[Opening Song: Kyouran Hey Kids! – By: The Oral Cigarettes]

[The "Not-So-Dull" Summer Camp – Pt 3]

Silence. No one dared to exhale even the faintest bit louder than a whisper. Whatever conversations were being had before Maxwell answered Julia's question had completely halted, in favour of staring at Maxwell and the militia behind him. It was only now that Luz had gotten the chance to see what they had been carrying, and it wasn't limited to rifles.

They had heavy machine guns, shotguns, and even miniguns. They were prepared should any one of them step out of line. And the worst part? They knew that they had them cornered. Sure, they all had superpowers of some variety. But bullets would still pierce flesh. Still strike arteries. Still do ever-lasting damage.

Those weapons were used to render whatever they fired at into tiny little bloody puddles. They weren't aimed at them just yet. But she felt as if at any moment, should any of them breathe incorrectly, they would be aiming down their sights faster than she could say "Wait". What was worse was the look in their eyes.

They were bloodthirsty. Ready and waiting. Maxwell stood behind them, arms at his sides, expression twisted into one of false glee. The weight of his words hung heavily over them.

There was often a saying used to justify actions like these, the saying going along the lines of "This is a kill or be killed world so it's best to be the one who kills first, otherwise, you might be the one killed." But she didn't think it would apply to this situation. At least, currently. Maybe… maybe there was a way out of this?

"I, uh… what?" A French-accented voice spoke out, as Luz glanced in the voice's direction. A black-haired boy who looked no older than twelve stood more toward the center of the group, skin an ashen pale most likely due to the fear he was feeling. He had a single streak of white going through the right half of his hair, and he had heterochromia, with one of his eyes being blue, and the other silver.

He was dressed in a black shirt with a missing right sleeve, and a pair of dark brown shorts with black socks and shoes. He had a burn scar on his wrist, and she noticed that he had a hole in his wrist—most likely a side-effect of his power, whatever it might have been.

"What's the matter? Can't handle the truth?" Maxwell asked as the boy flinched.

"N-No, it's just… why?"

"Why?" Maxwell replied, tilting his head slightly to the left as if puzzled. He smirked, before tilting his head upward ever-so-slightly, holding his head high as if he were some kind of judge. "Well, I could lie and say that I want you all turned into super soldiers for the benefit of the country. But, considering that's what Texas is doing, quite literally might I add, I wanted to do something else. Except, I didn't know where to begin. Until one person approached me and offered me a deal I just couldn't refuse."

As Maxwell spoke, the tension in the air seemed to spike. Luz was the only one who noticed it, her shoulders raising as she felt herself begin to shake. She couldn't tell if it was out of fear, or anger, or both. But the feeling Maxwell's words gave off was nothing but sinister. That was obvious, especially considering the context behind them, but still!

"This person offered me as much money as I needed to make this project a reality. We only had a week to do it, but it worked out in the end, didn't it? I can't go saying my benefactor's name, but they are a consistent backer of mine. But, instead of making it obvious and boring and painfully clear that all I want is for you kids to die—because, I mean, I'm an open book. There's no reason to lie about it. I decided to make it a game! And, don't worry, I'm a man of my word. If there are any survivors by the end of it, you'll get the money I promised."

"This isn't a game… this is just murder with extra steps! How can this lunatic think this is a game?!" Luz thought, frowning. She was getting major Danganronpa vibes off of this man. The more he talked, the more he sounded like Junko. Except, even Junko was more reasonable than this nutcase.

"But why?!" Kennedy exclaimed, glaring daggers at Maxwell, his hands clenched into fists as he sneered. "What did we ever do to deserve this!? We're just kids! It's not like we kicked your dog or some shit!" Kennedy spat, taking a step forward. As he did, the sound of a gun firing echoed throughout the silent clearing in the forest, causing Kennedy to stop dead in his tracks.

In the dirt, an inch away from where Kennedy stood, there was a bullet hole. Kennedy paled, eyes wide as Maxwell frowned, turning to look behind him, his back facing them. "Which one of you idiots fired your gun?" As Maxwell asked that, one of the soldiers from the back raised their hand. Maxwell sighed, before digging something out of his pocket, that something being a gun, a revolver, to be precise.

Maxwell pulled back the hammer on the gun, and without so much as giving the soldier a chance to say anything, he raised the gun toward him, and fired, shooting a bullet between the man's eyes, watching as he fell to the ground in a heap, his gun falling to the floor as well. The other soldiers straightened out, holding their heads high and keeping their guns lowered.

Maxwell pocketed the gun, the butt of it sticking out from his pocket as he glowered. "Now, I don't think I should have to say that we're trying to get these kids to not panic anymore than they probably are. What's rule number one about hunting an animal? You, private Stevenson!"

"Never try and make them feel threatened, sir!"

"You're goddamn right! So, let's make this a lesson, folks! No firing at the kiddos unless they try to escape, 'kay?" Maxwell said to the soldiers, who all barked out "yes sirs" in tandem with one another. Maxwell then turned to face the would-be campers turned hostages, a slightly apologetic look on his face. "My apologies for that, son. He didn't know his place. Anyways… what were you going to do? Attack me? Tackle me? Punch me? Don't suppose you have a plan, do you?"

Kennedy gulped, taking a step back as Maxwell smirked. "Smart boy. Now then, any other questions before we begin the main event?" Maxwell asked, scanning the crowd. All Luz could think about was just what kind of mess she had gotten herself into. She was stuck in a rock and a hard place and that hard place was backed up against a grinder.

Their lives were, essentially, handed to a psychopath with what appeared to be the attitude of a child. Either that, or he was having way too much fun. What was worse was that this whole thing could've been avoided if she had just stayed home. Ignored the wishes of her mother, and tried to lie to her about the bus not showing up when she got home from work.

Though, then again, that probably wouldn't have ended well either. She most likely would get angry at Luz, and they'd have a repeat of last night, just… hopefully without the whole glass-throwing thing. Assuming she'd get drunk. If not, then hey, maybe they could have a civilized conversation. But that was all just a bunch of what-ifs, and it was unfortunately not the reality of things.

The reality of things was that she was stuck in what amounted to a game of life and death, surrounded by a bunch of complete strangers, with no real way to escape without the threat of being gunned down! And all of this was happening on the third day of summer vacation! Just what kind of screwed-up situation did she find herself in? What was this, a book? A TV show? A movie? Where are the cameras, the director, or the showrunner? Because she sure heck wasn't seeing them!

Unfortunately, there was nothing of the sort. This was the reality of the situation. This was real. She could truly, honestly, die here. All it would take was one wrong move. One wrong word. It didn't matter. She would die horribly, so for her sake, she had to keep her mouth shut. Because she knew the moment she opened her mouth, she would say something to piss Maxwell off.

Then came everyone else. Her fellows in this situation, and the threat they presented to her now. They were all superpowered children, much like her, and they knew the stakes, too. They knew that they were in a kill-or-be-killed situation. And chances were? They were eyeing up each other, her included.

It was only then that she realized, truly, that she was a dud. They were being thrust into a situation that banked on survival of the fittest, and she had yet to figure out her powers, what they did, and how they functioned. While some people's powers were hidden or unable to be figured out, some of them, like the girl with the cat ears, were obvious.

What was she going to do if she ever got into a fight with these people? Maybe she could try and talk them down? Pull a Naruto and befriend them? That was honestly her best shot until she figured out what her palm-holes did. She was still working on the theory of her being able to copy people's powers. But, for all she knew, she could be wrong.

What she did know, was that, compared to everyone else, she was nothing. She had nothing to her name, no ability to fight, and the unique thing she had was her ability to see strings on people's faces that made her hands spark red! What kind of lame power was that?!

"Everyone else in this place has stronger, better powers than myself, even Julia does! If I'm caught off guard by someone who has murder on their mind…."

A wave of dread washed over her as a horrifying idea welled its way through her head, finally fully setting in. "Oh, Dios mío! I could die here!" The dread on her face was visible to anyone who looked at her. She felt a squeezing sensation on her right hand, and when she turned to look where it was coming from, she saw Julia.

She had completely forgotten that Julia was next to her, still holding her hand, still just as scared as she was, and was now staring at her with concern in her eyes. It was sweet, and she was glad she had someone like Julia right about now. Despite having just met, it was clear that Julia was, on some level, an empathetic person. She liked that. Aside from her mother and late father, oh, and her cousin Riley on some levels and Mr. Jones, Julia was the only person she had known who had been nice to her.

"Are you alright?" Julia whispered as Luz sucked back a shaky breath, nodding. Julia looked unconvinced but didn't bother to say anything. She just smiled and nodded, letting go of Luz's hand, who swallowed a lump down her throat. Her nerves were all over the place right now, and try as hard as she could, she couldn't get them under control.

After a few more moments of silence, Maxwell nodded to himself, before speaking up. "Alright, to the main event, it is! Now, pay attention, because I won't explain this again. The game that'll be had all summer long, or until one team is left standing, is called Civil War! The rules are simple. All thirty-three of you will be split up into teams of eleven, and of that group of eleven, one of you will be pronounced the Leader. It is that leader's job to, well, lead the team to victory! Everyone following me so far, nod your head yes or shake your head no."

Everyone nodded in unison.

"Great! Now, some ground rules! I will condone murder and torture on game grounds. I mean, that's the whole point. But I don't want any of you older kids to get frisky, ya hear? We're here for killing not making love, yeah? Don't matter if there was consent or not involved. I don't want to see it, because I have cameras set up everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. And where I don't have cameras, I have drones. Which leads me to my next point. No breaking the equipment on purpose. If it's an obvious accident, that's cool, shit happens. Especially so with superpowers.

"Now, these are the three most important rules. Everyone gets a base. Each of your teams will be led by one of three individuals to go to your corresponding bases. For Team Alpha Squadron, when you're all picked out, you'll be led by Sergeant Dempsey. You all met him, he's the guy that woke your sorry asses up," Maxwell said, pointing to the man in question, who was standing beside what Luz assumed to be the flag of that group, which was black with three large blue knives going across it, along with the initials A.S in the upper right corner.

"Team Foxtrot will be led out to their base by Sergeant Mathers. He's the big black guy with the buzzcut and beard." As Maxwell said that, a man with dark ebony skin and bulging with muscle, dressed in the same camo uniform as every other soldier, stood next to a bright red flag with a white kitsune mask logo on it, surrounded by a sakura flower. He grunted, nodding at them as he did.

"And finally, last but not least, Team Heavens Devils will be led out to their base by Sergeant Holden. He's the big guy with the eyepatch and bushy mustache," Maxwell concluded as he pointed toward Sergeant Holden. He was shorter than Dempsey or Mathers, but Holden was still very much an intimidating individual.

He was like a mix between Dempsey and Mathers. He wasn't scrawny or bulky like the other two. He fit in a comfortable in-between. He had tanned skin, either because it was a tan, or because he was born like that, and he had a single brown eye, narrowed with distaste at them as if he found their existence to be offensive. And, much like the others, he wore the same uniform, though he had a sunhat on his head to block out, well, the sun. Holden stood next to a flag that had the decal of a pair of red horns accompanying a halo, with one angelic white wing and a bat-like black wing on both sides of the decal. It was probably the most basic of designed flags that Luz had seen out of the three, but the name was kind of badass.

"Focus, Luz! Death game, remember! Don't give this guy any praise, he's a monster!" Luz thought to herself, turning her attention back to Maxwell. The man put his hands behind his back, clearing his throat as he did before continuing.

"Now then, as for the second very important thing. At the end of every week, until only one team remains, there will be an air-drop containing food, water, and clothing. It will land precisely in the center of the forest, and it will be your guy's job to try and capture it for your base. Only one air-drop will be available, so be quick about it.

"Don't be alarmed, as we have also given you enough rations to last the whole summer, provided you use them correctly, of course. The airdrops are meant to give you a safety buffer. After all, while the goal is to kill people, survival is kind of necessary. Also, it would be boring just watching a bunch of teenagers starve to death, right?"

The question was obviously rhetorical, but still, the way he said it rubbed Luz the wrong way. What was he implying here? Were… people going to be watching this? Who? Where? How? Was that why he had set up cameras? What kind of sick freaks would watch such a thing? Then again, considering just how depraved some people could be, and also the existence of murder-mystery games, and novels… yeah that checked out.

Of course, he could also be implying that it would be boring for himself, considering it was obvious that he was observing the whole thing from start to finish. Which got Luz wondering. If he was here, then who was in charge of Connecticut while he was away doing this? Was taxpayer money being poured into this death project?

She'd have to assume so. This whole thing reeked of illegality on so many levels. The only thing he probably wasn't able to be charged for would be kidnapping since he technically was right. Luz didn't know law stuff very well, so she just assumed he was right.

"And finally, and this is the most important one. If there is not just a single team left standing by the time the summer is out, I'll press a neat red button in my observatory far, far away from the site of this little camp… and have it carpet bombed. And again, before you ask, I have all of these guys on my payroll, funded by your tax dollars. Isn't that amazing?"

And just like that, things went from bad, to even worse. How was this guy even allowed to run for office as the Governor? There had to be a background check or something for that, right? That, and there was no way he was just allowed to do that. That sounded super illegal.

So, to sum up what they were being told, not only were they being forced to kill one another, but if not enough people were killed, he was just going to bomb them. She guessed that once the media found out, he would paint this as them carpet bombing the kidnappers and frame it as a shame that everyone died in the bombing.

"You… you can't be—"

"Can't be serious? Why, I very much am," Maxwell said, interrupting the German girl from before, whose face had turned completely pale after what it was that Maxwell had said. This was a nightmare scenario, and the only winner here was Maxwell. He would get what he wanted, regardless of the outcome. "Now then, onto the leaders! We'll start in reverse order, so, the Heavens Devils are up. Holden, who is the leader of Heaven's Devils?"

Holden looked at them, before looking down at a clipboard he had pulled out from underneath his armpit. He looked back at them again, a smirk taking up his visage before a New Yorker accent came out of his mouth. "Kennedy Jennkins."

Kennedy froze, before shaking his head. He looked back at Luz and Julia, before smiling at them. "Let's hope we're on the same team, yeah?" Kennedy said, before walking over to his flag, standing in front of it as per instructed by Holden, who pointed at the spot in front of the flag.

"Alright, and Foxtrot! Tell me Mathers, who gonna lead it?" Maxwell asked as Mathers wordlessly pointed at Emelia, who gulped, walking over to the flag without saying a word, standing in front of it, just like Kennedy. That left The Alpha Squadron. Maxwell smirked, before clearing his throat. "Alright, and Dempsey, who's going to lead The Alpha Squadron?"

Dempsey smirked, cocking his head from left to right, cracking his knuckles as he did. "Well, if it were up to me, I'd say no one, since none of you spineless fucks are worth the sperm you were made out of. But, since I'm being forced to choose…" Dempsey said, a cocksure tone to his voice, he tilted his head up, as if to analyze everyone.

"Hmm… well, I gotta say, this is a bit harder than I thought. Those two fucks already had their choice when they looked at the files. I decided to wait till I got to see ya all, and personally, the type of qualities I pick in a leader are the kind who don't show any visible fear in a dire situation. For a majority of ya, ya failed that right off the bat when I showed up. But there was one person. Only one. Who didn't show that fear? Who stared at me, and even had the gall to glare at me. That person has balls of steel. Metaphorically speaking, obviously. And for that, they got my respect, for what that's worth anyway."

And then, Dempsey's eyes landed on Luz, his smirk increasing tenfold. "And that person is you. Congratulations, Luz Noceda. You get the shitty job of leading a buncha pathetic whelps. Good luck. You better win this shit, or I swear to God, I'll haunt ya."

And as soon as Dempsey said that, he looked over to Maxwell, and straight out glared at him, confusing Maxwell. "What's got your panties in a twist?"

"Max, buddy, I respect ya mate. Through 'n through I did. We agreed on a lot. When you proposed this idea to me and this little group here, I thought you were joking. But then ya go out and do it and throw me into this mess? What kinda friend does that? So, ya know what, fuck you. Fuck you, and fuck your little twisted game. If you hadn't jammed communications, I would've alerted the rest of the military to your shit. I'll see ya in hell," and as Dempsey said that, he drew his gun, a Berreta 92X, aimed it at Maxwell, and just as he was about to pull the trigger, a bullet shot through his skull, courtesy of Mathers.

"Damned rat," Mathers spat as Maxwell blinked, staring at Dempsey's corpse with a disappointed look on his face. He snapped his fingers, as another soldier took his place, while another one dragged Dempsey's corpse away. All Luz could do was stare with wide, horrified eyes. In the last few minutes, two people were already killed, and excluding those back at the bus, that was far too many for her to stomach. But, because she was running on empty, she couldn't exactly throw up—though she did want to.

This was awful. If Maxwell was so willing to kill his own people, be it by himself or through others, then that meant that he really did have no qualms with killing them or watching them die. A naïve part of her hoped that maybe this was all just a prank, and Maxwell had a horrible sense of humour. But, she couldn't deny it anymore.

Once again, she was faced with the reality of the situation that this really was happening and no one was coming to save them.

"Well, that was a waste of time and effort. Oh well, not that I care," Maxwell said, turning to face Luz. "Well, what're you waiting for, get over there, kid."

Luz didn't know what to say, or to do. What happened in that moment was far too bizarre for her to even ask about. It looked like Dempsey was trying to spark something in them, but whatever it was, it didn't work. But, those last words that Dempsey said specifically to her. The "you better win this shit, or I swear to God, I'll haunt you."

Maybe it was because she was a bit on the naïve side but she wanted to honour that. And she'd do it without killing a single person. Flat out, she would not cave to this madman's so-called game. She refused it. But, for the time being, she'd play her role. So, she walked over to the flag, closing her eyes, before standing in front of it, glancing over at Kennedy.

Kennedy stared back at her, an upset look on his face. It was clear that he didn't want this to happen. She guessed they were enemies now. But, that didn't feel right. None of this felt right. Everything since the second she woke up here felt wrong, and now, more than ever, that sensation was ringing in the back of her head.

This was not what was supposed to happen. Something was missing. There had to be. Maybe this was some kind of dream. Maybe the first time, when she pinched herself, she didn't do it hard enough. So, she did it again, and yet again, she felt that same sharp feeling when one did when they pinched themselves.

"Alright! Well, that concludes the leaders. As for the rest of the teams, choose whoever you want to go to. Just remember that only 10 people can join that specific team. We don't want to make things unfair, do we?" You all got a minute to get this done, so, go!" As soon as those words left Maxwell's mouth, the others filtered their way to find their respective teams.

The first person that she saw come over to her was Julia, who stood next to her, glancing over at Kennedy who nodded in understanding. The next person who joined their group was that Stanley person from the bus, and so too did that goth-looking cat girl. They both stood close to one another, both talking in hushed voices, which meant that they must've known who each other was.

One of the stranger people who joined Luz's team was the boy with the holes in his wrists. The French-sounding kid. Another person who joined was the other bulky Hawaiian kid. Next to him was a girl with neck-length black hair, who seemed to have two-toned skin in splotches, like spots of black and white littering her skin, along with bright yellow eyes. She was also by far the most mature-looking person out of all of them, minus the adults and Emelia, so she was probably 18, maybe 19.

She was dressed in a brown sweater shirt with the sleeve on the right having been cut short, bandages travelling up the rest of the arm and hand, even wrapping the individual fingers. She wore a pair of high-waisted jean shorts and fishnet stockings with heeled boots. Around her neck was what appeared to be a yin-yang necklace, and over her shoulders was a cloak of sorts, a deep viridian with a circle pin keeping it in place.

Why would she be wearing a cloak? For fashion? Probably, but it was a little weird. Then again, Luz knew she had worn weirder herself. The less she talked about the embarrassing Shrek shirt, the better. Honestly, she had no idea what possessed her mother to buy it, but it was kind of funny.

The next person to approach Luz's group was a golden blond-haired boy with hair that was styled in curls, dressed in a pink, wide-collared shirt and dark blue pants. He had paler-than-average skin and greenish-blue eyes. Along with that, he had a ladybug-themed bracelet on his wrist and a pair of slip-on red shoes. He also had a chain in his pocket that circled up to the lip of them, clipping onto it with a clamp-style clip.

The final three weren't much to write home about. They walked to them in a group, meaning they were a tight-knit group. From left to right, there was a small girl who was maybe 13 years old with shoulder-length strawberry-red hair, pink eyes, and a permanent blush on her cheeks. She was a little on the bigger side of things, and she was dressed in a black hoodie and red pants with black hiking boots.

Then, there was a slightly taller boy with an average-ish appearance. The only thing that made Luz say that he wasn't completely average was the streak of green in his hair. Aside from that, he had brown hair, brown eyes, and peach-coloured skin. He was also wearing a sleeveless pull-over hoodie, the hood being down, with a pair of light brown cargo shorts and black sandals. Of note, he also had a tattoo on his arm, signifying that either his parents allowed him to get a tattoo, or he was older and just turned out to be a bit on the small side. The tattoo in question was of the Vampire Mask from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, a show that Luz wasn't exactly too fond of due to the intense amount of gore.

Finally, the person on the right was another boy, though he was the tallest there. If the strawberry-haired girl and the average-ish guy were four foot five and five feet flat, then he was five feet seven inches, hitting the standard height most boys were supposed to be at 16 years old. He was dressed in a standard white T-shirt with short sleeves, and the starting of a mustache on his upper lip. He had a nose ring piercing, along with a few horn piercings in his eyebrow. He also had a pride flag pin on the shoulder front-facing part of his shoulder.

He also wore a pair of snake-skin slacks, held up by a pair of black leather belts, along with a pair of cowboy boots. A pair of suspenders was also attached to the lip of the pants, and he had a bowtie on the collar of his shirt. It was like he had walked out from the Wild West, and it was more than a little jarring.

Luz looked over to the other groups, though she could see no one she recognized from the bus in the other teams. Although, the boy with orange hair was on Kennedy's team, and he looked more than a little eager to get things rolling. It made Luz wonder just how many other of her fellow kidnap victims were of the same mindset as him.

Kennedy, for his part, didn't seem the least bit happy about his attitude but didn't show it. She could tell, though. It all came from how his eyes gleamed with annoyance staring at the redhead. As for Emelia's team, she looked content with the people she had around her. Luz looked over her team and felt fairly confident. Now all she had to do was find a way to not have this whole thing end in a blood bath.

"Alright, alright! This is looking good! Now, one more thing. For the next 24 hours, there will be a time of peace. Meaning no bloodshed can occur during this time," Maxwell said, clasping his hands together, before smirking. "Holden, Mathers, and Private Daniels will lead you now to your bases, respectively. Get going!"

And so, without another word, they were led off to where they needed to be, into the brush of the forest led by their captors to where they would be for the rest of the summer break. As they hiked through the woods, no words were exchanged with anyone. The sounds of the wilds echoed around them, such as the chirping of birds, the rustling of bushes, and the rays of the sun peaking out from the leaves covering the sky.

All the while, Luz was left to her thoughts, frowning as she did. She couldn't find any silver lining here. Not only were they kidnapped, but they were on a time limit, too. She glanced down at her hands and shivered. Maybe… maybe she could just let the other two teams kill themselves. But, then that meant that Kennedy had to die, and Kennedy was a friend, so that couldn't happen.

"This sucks… what am I doing to do!?" Luz thought, clasping her forehead as she mindlessly followed Private Daniels and everyone else through the forest. She glanced over at Julia, who had a stoic expression on her face, her hands clasped one over the other as she walked forward. Everyone else was still in the groups they had made for themselves, seemingly watching each other's backs.

Luz felt out of the loop. But then again, she was used to that. As Luz continued to walk, she stared blankly ahead, stuffing her hands into her shorts pockets. She had to admit, that probably the only good thing about this was that they were in the wilderness, so they were away from constant air pollution. Not to mention the sound of the birds chirping was nice. It helped her—

"Watch out for the root. You'll trip."

Out of nowhere, a sudden, baritone voice invaded her thoughts, causing her head to ache. Clasping her head in pain, she hissed, squinting her eyes as she stopped dead in her tracks. The group stopped, turning to look at her, including Private Daniels—not that he seemed to care, more of it was out of reflex. Luz looked up, then at the ground, and saw the root that the voice had mentioned.

She looked back at everyone else and smiled faintly, laughing awkwardly to herself. "Sorry 'bout that… uh, sudden migraine?"

"Whatever," Private Daniels spat, before continuing forward. Julia walked over to Luz's side and helped her up. She glared at the back of Private Daniel's head, before turning back to face Luz.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine Julie, promise," Luz said, smiling earnestly as Julia stared at her for a second, determining whether or not she was lying or not. If she had made a decision, Luz couldn't tell, as she backed away, smiling, before following the rest of the group, who had begun to leave them behind. Luz glanced back at the root, then scratched the side of her head, following after everyone.

That voice…. It was the same one from her dream, though this time it was speaking English and not Japanese. "What is going on today…? Why is my life becoming so damn weird all of a sudden?" Luz thought, shaking her head with disbelief and annoyance. This was starting to get a little too much, even for her.

It took another hour before they were brought to their base, and when they got there, all Luz could do was stare up at it with a mix of amazement, and also disgust, especially considering what it took to get her there. What she was being forced to do, and why she was being forced to do it.

The walls were made of logs, spiked at the top with two towers at the entrance. A giant-bridge-like gate sat between them and the interior, with flags planted into the walls, said flags belonging to them. Private Daniels marched them inside the base, and as they entered, Luz was able to get an idea of just how large their base was.

The walls of the base were at least 30 feet wide and 30 feet high—at least, that was what Luz thought anyway. There was a lot of open space, mostly empty but still, there was stuff to do. Several wooden cabins sat in the center in a semi-circle, about three to exact. In the center of the cabins, there was a campfire, unlit with supplies next to it to light a fire. There were also cooking materials like pots and pans hanging from a makeshift rack.

Out from the center of the base, there were two pathways, one going left and the other going right. On the left, there was a path leading to what appeared to be a bathroom set up with two outhouses, both connected to a septic tank that was covered by a wooden building. Luz knew that because of the sign on the building of a tank and the common graphic for the toxic smell above it.

To the right there was what appeared to be what Luz could only describe as a storage shed, and next to it was another shed, though it had a skull insignia on top of it. That made Luz think that was where the dead were supposed to be stored. Not that she would allow anyone to die. It was a leader's job to ensure that their people survived. And Luz would do that. She would not fail them, regardless of what happened.

Even if it cost her her life.

That bitter thought made Luz feel gross. She just hoped it wouldn't get to that point. But, considering that redhead and his eagerness…. There was a distinct chance that not everyone was of the same mind as her. And that could be very, very bad.

"Don't think about that," Luz chided to herself, frowning. "Have faith in others. Everything will be alright… for the most part…. No one is going to die. Not on your watch." As Luz thought that, she looked over to Private Daniels, who was beginning to leave, shoving people out of his way. However, as he walked past the girl with the black and white spotted skin, and as he shoved her, she stomped on the grassy terrain below her feet.

As soon as she did that, a shadow appeared underneath Private Daniel's feet. The shadow was circular, and as soon as that happened, he fell through the shadow, only stopping halfway as the shadow snapped shut, cutting him in half as blood splashed on the floor surrounding him. People flinched, Luz included as the gun clattered to the floor. The black and white-skinned woman picked up the gun as one of the spots on her skin disappeared.

"Idiot," she spat, before putting the gun into one of her spots, kind of like a miniature pocket in her skin. Luz stared at her with wide eyes, shock evident within them as the girl shrugged. "What's got you bugged out?"

"You just… killed him," Luz said, staring at her. In response, the teen scratched the back of her neck, an uncaring gleam in her eyes.

"Well, he had it coming. He's one of the people who kidnapped us. Besides, that prick Maxwell said no bloodshed between us. That, and do you really think he cares about those under his employ?" She said as Luz went to say something, but stopped, closing her mouth before sighing. She supposed that the girl was right.

Still, it just didn't sit right. It also unnerved Luz how willing the girl was to kill him. Then again, she had no idea what kind of life the girl before her had before this. For all she knew, she was some kind of assassin or something like that. Not that it was possible for that to be the case. Right?

"So, leader, what's the plan now?" Stanley spoke up, as Julia was over by the draw bridge, using her vines to pull the rope to bring it to a close. She made it look effortless, though she guessed that made sense. It wasn't like she was lifting it herself using her arms. Despite her frail appearance, she seemed stronger than she let on.

Luz let out a shaky breath, her nerves unwinding and her hands shaking. A bout of nervousness washed over her in such a way that it made it hard to think. The last hour and a half had been filled with nothing but terror and turmoil. The last thing she wanted to do was come up with a plan. "Plan? What plan? I don't have a plan. We just got here…"

"M-maybe we can leave her be for a minute. Give her a chance t-to, uh… get her nerves in check?" The strawberry-haired girl suggested as Stanley nodded.

"Yeah, makes sense. I'll go scope out the cabins." And with that, Stanley walked past Luz, but not before patting her on the shoulder, and whispering "You got this buddy" before walking away. Luz was inclined to disagree with him, but for her sake, she had to "have this" so to speak.

"How about we do a get-to-know-each-other thing?" Julia suggested, walking over to stand next to Luz, the drawbridge now being fully raised.

"Like, share our names?" The boy with the green streak in his hair asked as Julia nodded.

"Precisely. We'll go from left to right, starting with me. Oh, and the boy who walked into the cabins is Stanley Richardson. He has a strength-based power. He told me as such on the bus," Julia said, before putting a hand above her chest. "As for myself, I am Julia Scotsman Wittebane, and I can produce thorny vines from my fingertips. I call my power Vines. Basic, but accurate."

"What about our leader?" The goth-looking girl asked as Luz looked over at her, smiling faintly.

"Oh, uh… I, um... don't know," Luz said as the goth-looking girl raised an eyebrow, which prompted Luz to quickly follow up. "A-And by that I mean I don't know what it does! I, uh… I can see strings attached to people who have powers, and my, uh… hand sparks red whenever I touch the string. But, um… I don't know much else, hehe…." As Luz finished frantically explaining what she knew about her power, and after the embarrassment of being called out faded away, the goth-looking girl nodded.

"Well, if you don't know, then you don't know. But try and find out soon, yeah? As for me, I'm Carla Tsunata. And, if it wasn't obvious, I'm part cat. I can also turn into a cat if I scratch myself with my claws. I'd demonstrate it, but it's kind of messy. I can either turn into a house cat or a panther and I act accordingly with no control over it," Carla explained as Luz's eyes sparkled with intrigue.

"That's so cool!" Luz exclaimed, and in the blink of an eye, she was up in Carla's face who recoiled at the sudden action. Julia watched from a distance, giggling softly to herself at Luz's antics. It was almost relaxing to know that Luz could go from depressed and moppy to excited and happy in the blink of an eye.

However, Julia did find it a bit strange. How could she do that? Especially knowing the situation? Or, maybe, she was forcing it? That was definitely a possibility. Julia blinked, and in the time it took for her to do that, Luz had been picked up by the back of her shirt by the Hawaiian boy, lifting her off the ground a few inches as she crossed her arms, pouting, with Carla giggling to herself.

"Jeez, you've got quite a lot of energy in ya," the boy said, putting Luz down, who brushed herself off after landing.

"Sorry about that," Luz apologized to Carla, who waved it off.

"Nah, it's fine. You're cool."

The large boy smirked as Luz turned to look over at him, an eyebrow raised. "So, what about you? What's your deal?"

"Me? Names Ronny Armstrong. I can enhance my base strength. Dunno by how much, but I think it's doubled," Ronny said, flexing his arm as it bulged with muscle. "You see this? Wasn't like that last week. It doubled my muscle mass, too. Freaky, yeah?" Ronny asked as Luz nodded, scratching the back of her neck.

That was kind of weird. It sounded like super strength, but not really. "Uh… so, you have super strength?" Luz asked as Ronny lowered his arm, shrugging.

"Yes and no. Pretty sure cousin Thomas has that, and he's with that Kennedy guy. It sucks, but it happens, I guess. I just hope we can find a way to make sure this doesn't turn into a bloodbath…" Ronny said, frowning.

"Considering everything? I doubt it," the golden-blonde-haired boy spoke up, getting Luz's attention. "Name's Marcone. Marcone Giovanni. I can give life to anything I touch, but it takes a lot out of me. Makes me sleepy." As he said that, a butterfly, which Luz had just noticed was sitting on his finger, transformed into a dollar bill, before it then transformed into a flower, specifically a rose.

"I'm Jean Pierre," the French-sounding teen, who was standing next to Marcone, spoke up next. He shifted uncomfortably where he stood, rubbing the back of his neck as a nervous look took up his visage. "Bonjour. C'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer…"

"Huh?" Luz tilted her head to the side, confusion on her face as Jean sighed.

"Right, u-uh, it's nice to meet you. Er, well… It would be, but considering the situation…." Jean said as Luz looked away. Yeah, she felt the same way. It was kind of upsetting that she was getting this chance to meet all these people but in this crappy situation. "U-Uh, I can sprout swords from my arm…" Jean said, flexing his wrist as a sword blade ejected out from the top of his wrist. "I can create them anywhere on my arm, but this is, uh… easier."

"Judy," the girl with the black spots on her skin spoke up. Jean faltered, earning a snort from her. "You saw my power. I can control the dark spots on my skin and put them anywhere. They can act as storage or as weapons. I call it Spot."

"Like Spot from the comics or some shit?" Stanley called out from the cabins, who were walking out from the one in the center. He approached the group, a smirk on his face. Judy huffed, crossing her arms. She muttered something, which earned a snort from Stanley. "Knew it."

"What about you Stanley? What can you do?" Julia asked. Stanley, for his part, looked over at Ronny.

"You got a strength power, yeah?" He asked as Ronny nodded. "Good, hit me square in the chest." As he said that, he tapped himself in the center of his chest. Ronny raised an eyebrow, before glancing over at Luz. Honestly, she didn't know what to say. At first, she was a little concerned, especially considering that Ronny didn't look too sure of himself. But, that confident look on Stanley's face. "C'mon, don't just stand there, do it!"

Ronny glanced again at Luz, who stuck a thumbs up. Ronny nodded, before turning to look at Stanley, clenching his hand into a fist. As soon as that happened, Ronny's arm bulged, veins becoming more apparent as if he had just taken steroids. His eyes became bloodshot, and his teeth gnashed together. He charged toward Stanley, who stood with his arms wide open, a smirk on his face, not once losing confidence.

When Ronny struck, Luz thought that Stanley would go flying. She expected it to be something out of one of those anime fights. That Stanley would crash into the drawbridge and get knocked out. But, that wasn't what happened.

The fist made contact with Stanley's chest, the impact causing a massive burst of wind to blow through the air, blowing leaves off of nearby, low-to-the-ground trees. Bits of grass were torn up by the wind and flew against the wooden wall behind Stanley. Anyone around Stanley had shielded themselves from the wind, Luz included, who covered her face behind her arms.

After a second of the wind blowing as hard as could be, it stopped, allowing Ronny to look up at Stanley, removing his hand from his chest, Stanley not even having a single speck of dust on his body after the fact. Luz lowered her arms, staring at the scene before her, mystified. While what she imagined before was cooler, what she witnessed was just like in those crazy action anime. That kind of awesome power was only something seen in fiction. And both Stanley and Ronny displayed such feats in real life.

Her inner nerd was screeching with excitement, and a large dopey smile had wormed onto her face, while it wasn't displaying the same amount of excitement in her head, it was still there, and it was showing that she still thought it was cool.

"Shock Absorption," Stanley said, smirking. "I can absorb a lot of force, nullifying the damage. Pretty cool, yeah?" Stanley continued as he put his arms down to his sides, his right hand in his pocket and his left hanging around uselessly. "I found out at the start of the week when I got hit by a car, and instead of me going flying, the car flipped over me."

"I would say that's u-unbelievable, but a-after seeing what we just saw…" The pink-haired girl said, before glancing over at Luz. "O-Oh, a-and I'm Arla. Arla Thatcher. I-I can heal people j-just by touching them. T-Though it makes me sleepy… and I-I can't heal myself…" Arla introduced as Luz nodded. A healing power. Interesting. And also very helpful given the situation that they had found themselves in.

"I'll go next," the boy with the green streak in his hair said, crossing his arms as he smiled. "The name's Johnny Marshal," as Johnny introduced himself, he picked up a stone, and as soon as he did, it began to vibrate. "And I can vibrate things."

"And I'm his cousin!" The boy with piercings said, wrapping his arm around Johnny's shoulder, transforming his other arm into, quite literally, a sword. It went from his slightly peachy, slightly tan skin colour, to jet-black steel. His fingers formed together to make the point of the blade, the blade itself gleaming in the sunlight. "Names Theodore! Theodore Jackson, nice to meet you all! Wish it was in better circumstances though."

"Well, if that's everyone, then I guess we can just, uh, relax for a bit?" Luz said, earning a nod from everyone. Everyone except Julia, looked at her with a concerned look in her eyes. But why? Was it something that she said? As everyone broke off from one another, Julia approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. As she did, Luz yawned, a wave of exhaustion washing over her.

"Are you alright? You look like death warmed over," Julia asked as Luz shrugged, rubbing at her eyes. Where had this sudden exhaustion come from? Well, she hadn't exactly slept all that well, having been knocked out and all. Not to mention she had hiked a distance she wasn't used to walking.

Maybe she could go for a nap…

"I'm just tired, that's all. I didn't sleep well for, well, obvious reasons. Being knocked out sucks…" Luz replied, rubbing the back of her head, right where she had been hit with what had knocked her out, which now that she thought about it, was probably the butt of a gun.

"Then go lie down," Julia said, causing Luz to frown.

"But… that'll set a bad first impression. I don't want people to think I'm lazy…"

"You're not, though. Besides, this will probably be the last day anyone one of us will get a chance to relax without feeling like we're being watched. So go take some time for yourself. I can take charge of everyone while you're out. Besides, everyone in a leadership role has a second-in-command. I can be yours!"

"Really?" Luz said, as, only now, she realized that she had been tense since they walked through the drawbridge, her shoulders just now relaxing as Julia nodded.

"Why not? Think of it as you being King Arthur, and I'm Sir Geraint if you know what I'm referring to, anyway," Julia continued as Luz scratched the back of her neck.

"The only King Arthur I'm familiar with is from Seven Deadly Sins…"

"Ah, well, maybe I'm Meliodas and you're Ban?"

"That implies you're a pervert and I'm into young-looking people…."

Julia giggled, shaking her head as Luz sheepishly smiled. "Well, either way, you get what I mean," Julia retorted, crossing her arms. "You need the rest, and I'm all energized. If anyone asks, I can just say that you were about to fall asleep standing up. Friends look out for other friends, right?"

Luz smiled, relaxing even more. If Julia was willing to take up that burden to let her sleep, she'd take it in stride. Besides, she was right. Friends were there for one another when they were needed. And right now, she needed a friend to help her out.

"Thank you, Julie, you're a lifesaver," Luz said, not realizing she had embraced her in a hug, which she didn't seem to mind, even hugging her back after a moment of shock. It was only when Julia hugged back that she realized that she may or may not have overstepped her boundaries, causing her to take a step back and start to apologize.

"A-Ah, my bad! I'm sorry if I offended you, I—"

"It's alright, Luz. Seriously, calm down. Go rest. I'll wake you up when you're needed. Besides, I don't mind hugs from people I believe I can trust. You seem more than trustworthy, so you're okay," Julia said, a faint smile on her face as Luz sighed, her cheeks still tinged pink with embarrassment.

"R-Right… uh, wake me up in an hour or two, Adiós!" And with that, Luz walked over to the cabins, she entered the middle one, and upon entering, she was greeted with exactly what Stanley had described. Three bunk beds on either side, with sloppily put-together beds, each with a single pillow and sheet to act as a blanket. There were no lights, just windows, and aside from suitcases lining the back of the wall, there were no decorations within the cabin.

Honestly, it looked like a military barracks, which was more than a little disappointing. But, what was she to expect from a psychopath with no concern for human life?

Luz walked over to the nearest bed, and sat down, before shifting to lay down on the thin, barely even usable pillow. A heaviness washed over her eyes, making it extremely difficult to keep them open. After just a few seconds, and with one final yawn, Luz drifted off into a deep, mirthless sleep.

And then, as if zapped back to life, Luz's eyes reopened, her vision flooded with darkness, and the same place that she had been in before. The same carpet. The same throne. The same fireplace—all as she had last seen it. Except now, there was another person. And just by looking at him, Luz could tell that he was bad news.

He sat on the left throne, dressed in a black business suit with a crimson red tie hanging from the collar of a white dress shirt poking out from underneath the suit top. He even had a gray pocket square in the left pocket of his suit blazer. Pale skin, the same kind of pale a ghost would have, and crimson red eyes were his most defining features.

He wore a thin-lipped smile on his face, one hand stroking his chin as he hummed in thought. Short, white, ear-length hair sat atop his head, and he had a few freckles on his cheeks. There was one more thing about the man that caused Luz to be more than a little nervous.

He was a very broad-looking man. She could tell, just by looking at him, that he was powerful. His gaze doubled that feeling as if his eyes were scanning her like a machine would, breaking her down into individual categories and judging her before even speaking a word to her.

Alarm bells rang in the back of her head. This guy, whoever he was, was bad news. His stare, combined with his smile, and combined again with the way that he sat screamed evildoer. And the worst part? She felt as if she had met him before. As if she had known him. But, for the life of her, she couldn't recall anything about him.

And then, in a voice that she recognized, the man finally spoke.

"Luz Noceda. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. It's time that we've had a little chat."

-To Be Continued in – The First-

[Ending Song: Life – By Rude-a]