"What's a college?" The angel girl had a confused look on her face "Ooh, will I meet lots of new friends there? Then let's gooooooo!" Flonne dashes headfirst into the limousine

With a grand gesture, he shouts, "Oh hell yeah!" This is where he would become a world class cook, after all, so Alex hopped in.

I'm always up for a learning experience. *Gin smiles, scratching the back of his head.* But, er. Is the Limo really necessary?

"Right... Let's get started..." Leon nervously closed his door and headed towards the limo. "Fancy..."

R-right, wow a limo! She ran her fingers through her short black hair. Do you we really go to the college in that?!

An limo just to get to the college? "heh... I expect nothing less from the best college in the world"

[Yu looked at the man.] "A college I didn't apply for, hmm? I suppose I haven't had any interesting cases lately... I might as well come."

The tall man was happy at Alex's enthusiasm. He let him inside the limo, which welcomed Alex with cool air. There was three people already inside waiting to go to the college just like him. Three other men. "Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly." The tall man said getting into the driver's seat. The man smiled at Gin opening the door to the limbo, giving him refreshing frosty air. "It is entirely necessary! If BlackRain can't provide something as simple as a comfortable transport to it's school then how would it keep the title of the best school in the world?" He preached to Gin. Going inside the limbo would greet him with three other people also waiting to go to BlackRain. Two men and a woman. "Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly." The tall man said getting into the driver's seat. The man nodded, seeming to take pride in Leon's comment. As he let him inside, a blast of above average temperature air gently hit him. There was two women and one man already inside waiting to go, "Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly." The tall man said getting into the driver's seat. The tall man grinned while opening the door of the limbo to Isla. "Of course! There will be nothing less for the students of BlackRain college." A blast of non-hot air hit Isla nicely. There was two woman and one man inside. "Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly." The tall man said getting into the driver's seat. The tall man nodded his head. He opened to door to Jo, letting out icy air. There was one woman and two men already inside. "If you expect the transportation to BlackRain to be this first-class then expect it at the college as well" The man told Jo while closing the door. "Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly." The tall man said getting into the driver's seat.

The man made no remark to the comment about not applying, but wore a sinister smile when Yu mentioned it. He opened the limo, which hit Yu with chilly air. There was three woman waiting inside the limo to go as well. "Please sit down, we'll be at BlackRain shortly." The tall man said getting into the driver’s seat.

Jo sat inside enjoying the cool air. He considered taking to the other people inside but he instead looked to the tall man. "Has there ever been a student who got accepted despite not applying?" Jo said casually while watching to see how the other people inside the limo reacted.

Oh... ok. She walked inside and sat down. She wanted to ask about her not applying but was scared that she'd be kicked out if they realized there was some mistake. She wanted to talk with the other people inside. Hi! I'm Isla!

Heh. Bit too fancy if you ask me, but what do I know? Guess I shouldn't expect less from the best though, should I? Heh heh. *Gin sat in his seat, leaning back and closing his eyes. He opens one eye and looks at the others.* So, who are you lady and gentlemen. If you don't mind me asking, of course?

Leon sat in the limo and looked at the people who were already inside. He sighed and looked at the window. He didn't apply but he won't deny how interesting this was. "Oh, you mind if I get a drink?" Leon asked the tall man.

Alex practically threw himself in with excitement "Hooah!"

[Yu entered the limo and sat down.] "Quite crowded, I see. And when do you plan on answering?"

Alex looks at Yu "Who're you?"

The tall man looked at Jo and Yu. “There many things that BlackRain does that may seem strange at first, but never without reason! BlackRain can’t become the best in the world by doing the same thing your competition is can it?” Jo noticed a woman who was typing endlessly into a laptop flinch at his question. She quickly recovered but Jo could feel her eyes on him. The man laughed at Leon and tapped the touch screen next to his wheel. The sound of whirring and machinery softly humed before a can of soda popped out of the cup holder next to Leon’s elbow. “I’m sorry but soda will have to do for now.” A relatively muscular man grabbed Isla’s hand and shook it with a firm grip. He had blond short hair and blue eyes, but what stood out the most was the fact that the claws from a tattoo on his neck were showing. “Hi, my name is Marc. Marc Taylor. A lot unfamiliar people right?” He said with a smile. He turned to Gin and stuck his hand out as well. “It is really fancy right? Feels like a lot for just a college huh?” Gin could feel the tall man grip the leather wheel tighter at Marc’s comment. Alex got a few stares from the other students due to how he “entered” the limo. There was 25 people in the limo in total. The sound of the engine starting was the only indication that limo began moving. Since Jo was looking out the window he would notice that the road around them became more and more empty despite being on the freeway already. “We’re almost there!” The driver said excitedly.

"Intriguing. This'll definitely be... Interesting."

Ha. Tell me about it, man. Though the driver called it "neccasary" and, well. *Gin looks around at the other 24 people.* I can kinda see why. Still, a bus would've surficed, yeah? Names Gin, by the by. Gin Bara. Good to meetcha, Marc.

Why did she react? Seems like I've gotten on her radar already. Better to memorize what she looks like just in case. Jo shifted and looked at the window. "Wow... it's pretty empty for a freeway" Jo waited to see what the woman would do after hearing what he said. He also memorized what Marc looked like due to how suspicious he is.

Isha laughed, smiling at Gin and Marc. Ah well I never really went outside so every single person is unfamiliar to me heh...heh. She pulled her sleeve over her hand to hide her pale skin that barely saw the sun.

Leon's eyes widen at the soda suddenly appearing. "Woah, first class isn't for show." He took a sip and looked out the window before frowning. Why is there less cars?

"..."

The tall man nodded at Yu, giving him the same sinister smile as when he first met him. He then told Leon about how the best college in the world isn’t just for show as well. “Gin Bara? Never heard a name like that. Are you from overseas or something? I’ve heard of plenty people named Isla though. They also don’t get much sun.”Marc laughed. He suddenly turned serious before asking: “So what are you trying to get out of BlackRain?” The woman once again flinched before looking out the window. She turned to her laptop and began typing faster. At this point Jo would notice she was looking at him, not even trying to hide it like before. Alex would hear a man and a woman laugh at his entrance. When Alex looked at them anyone could easily tell that they were twins. The man held out a drink towards Alex and padded the seat next to him. The woman also smiled and offered her hand to help. “My name is Faust Graham” She told Alex. “Mine’s Fern Graham.”The man said warmly. The limo took a turn off road making the trip now slightly bumpy.

Um what do I want? Ah... well I didn't even apply um... I guess I really want to be the worlds greatest actor? Isla nervously scratched her arm. Well what about you?

"Best college in the world? Hm... I guess I'll see for myself since it's free. My favorite price." Leon then looked at the window. Now we're off road? Where the hell are we going?

Overseas? Heh. Something like that. *Gin chuckled to himself. He rests an arm on his leg before resting his head in his hand.* What do I want? Well, they say this is the best place in the college in the world, right? Where better to learn the past to figure out what to do in the future? *Gin frowns slightly.* Didn't apply eh? Intresting...

Looks like she's jotting down everything she sees. A journalist maybe? Either way I think it would be nice to have a chat. Jo leaned next to her to see what was on the laptop. "What are you typing, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Hello Mr. And Mrs. Graham." Alex took the drink carefully and responded to the question,"Well, that's a hard question."

Marc laughed before scratching the back of his head. “It’s kinda embarrassing... but I want to fin- What the hell?” Marc had realized the limo stopped. In the middle of nowhere. The tall man who was driving was now outside of the limo. The driver tapped his watch making burst of vapor exploded inside the limo. Jo would see the heading with the name “Mary” on it before she slammed it shut. “D-don’t look at it...it’s...private…” She was only be able to get those words out before passing out. One by one people began dropping like flies. Faust would scream trying the door only to realize it was locked before being knocked out. Alex would see Fern trying to wake her up before he joined her. Marc smashed his elbow into the window to no avail. He collapsed just a moment after. Yu had already succumbed to the gas. The tall man’s sinister smile glared at them the entire time. Isla, Leon, Gin, Jo, and Alex would all begin to feel the effects of the gas, the desire to sleep becoming overwhelming.

G-Gah. What is this? *Gin struggles against the effects of the sleep gas but soon passes out.*

In possibly his last moments, Alex attempts to break down the window, but passes out halfway. "Raa-!"

Marc!? What the hell... is happen...ing... Isla couldn't say anymore before she passed out.

It doesn't take genius to figure out what's happening. "Got to get out of here..." Should I take Mary? Alex did make a big enough hole. Jo began to get up, only taking a few steps before falling to his knees. "Son... of a bitch... you got me good..." Jo stopped moving.

The tall man made a call. A few minutes later he stepped back into the driver's seat of the limo. Still on the phone, he would begin driving to the true BlackRain. While everyone was asleep, they all had the same dream. They were in the middle of a beautiful forest, emerald green grass and leaves. A man wearing a white tailcoat and black fedora pushed a cart in front of the table you were sitting at. His blond hair covering his left eye. He pulled out a tea cup and teapot, beginning to pour… nothing. He smelled the empty cup and smiled. “My favorite tea, it’s named Purple Blood, and I must say it surpasses any tea I’ve ever tried.” He said before setting the tea cup in front of you. He would then look off to the distance, admiring the scenery. Everything was perfect. Except one thing. The cup was now filled with a crimson liquid. “Now then!” He yelled before slamming the table. His nose was gone, a smile which covered the bottom half of his face disturbed you. The green grass and tress was now black as if caught in a fire. Lavender blood dripped from what you assumed the man’s left eye. What is your desire?

*Gin chuckled.* Heh. Nice place you have here. *Gin sighed.* My desire, eh? Knowledge I guess. Not useless trivia, but actual knowledge. The knowledge that can bring me power. Be it historical, current or warfare, I don't really care. As long as it brings me power.

"My desire? That's a hard question... But I had to say Mr.Bleeding Man it would be that which I don't know."

What I want? Umm I guess if I had to choose one it would be to graduate BlackRain College. Isla said, making sure to not touch the blood.

Leon stared at the blood coming from the man's face, becoming more and more disturbed at him and his surroundings. But somehow he had an urge to answer. "I want enough power to kill the people I want, and save the ones I want." Leon said with confidence.

Alex took a good drink of the cup; pretty delicious, actually. Alex guessed that this was another hallucination, but he continued, "To have a friend."

The man laughed at how Leon and Gin wanted power, yet he was interested on what they would do with it. “Hmm… yes that will certainly help her... very well… you can serve her.” With that, Leon and Gin woke up. The man paused after hearing what Jo said. He chuckled. Then he laughed. Then he exploded with a cackle. He smacked the table after calming down. “That will be easy detective, there is much you don’t know... yes, you can serve her well.” With that, Jo woke up. He looked at Isla before frowning. He leaned across the table, his eye widening beyond what any human should be able to. “That is not your true desire girl, but I know what it is.” The backed away before his iconic smile appeared again. “Well, I think once you realize what it is you’ll have the power to do so. Hmm... But even as you are now, you can serve my master well.” With that, Isla woke up. The butler eyes widen when he heard Alex’s desire. “Hmm, that will be a challenge, especially where you’re going… but someone with your mentality…yes… she needs someone like you” With that Alex woke up. Gin, Jo, Isla, Leon, and Alex all woke up surrounded by the other students they met in the limo. Most of them were already awake, a few still asleep. You are in a Gymnasium; the four gray walls around you had to windows, only two double doors behind you and the other one next to a stage. The stage had it’s curtains drawn, a panel hovering above displayed a clock counting down. It read 00:02:34. Observing your own body would show that you now had a brand on your right hand that read “Z”, along with a throbbing pain from your forearm. There was a red dot on it reminding you of when you got a shot at the doctor’s.

*Gin awakens with a yawn.* Well, that was a hell of a dream. Now then.... Oh yeah, the limo. So this might be... *Gin rolls his right shoulder.* Ah. That hurts. Still, wonder what was with the whole "Sleep Mr Bond" bullshit. Such secrecy. If this Blackrain, I wonder what that was all about. And what's with the countdown. Agh. Too many question...

Wha... Where am I? Who are these people? Who... am I? Oh wait I'm Isla It's all coming back now ugh... Isla looked to her arm, looking at the brand. Why a "Z"? And why a countdown?

What the fu... Where am I? Jo slowly sat up, pausing when he saw all the people around him. He looked at the clock and the brand What? Branding... I have a bad feeling about this. "Mary?" Jo called out.

Leon woke up, looking around to see the other people. He quickly got on his feet and watched the counter. While the brand made him feel uneasy he was more worried about the countdown. "The doors are probably locked so nothing to do but wait." He thought out loud.

Alex instinctively pulls out his trusty cooking knife and squats over one of the sleeping students looking down on it curiously.

Gin and Isla would find no answers asking the same questions the other students around them were probably thinking as well. They noticed the countdown was nearly done, whatever it was counting down for would come soon. Jo however drew attention to himself by calling out, yet it worked because he heard a quiet timid voice answer back: “Y-yes…? Oh, it’s you from the limo...” She would walk over to him nervously. “How did you k-know my name? Who are you?” The student Alex was looming over regained conscious before Alex could go any farther. “What the fuck?!” The student screamed before smashing his elbow into the handle of Alex’s trusty knife. He then jumped up and took a boxing stance. The student Alex was.... “Curious” in was named Marc. Leon made the wise decision of simply waiting the time out. The clock was now 00:00 Jo, Marc, Alex, and Mary all were cut off by the sound of the curtains covering the stage drawing back, revealing a old man with some of his limbs covered with wires like the they were his veins. Next to him was the tall man you’ve come to known as your kidnapper. The old man smiled warmly, which was somehow more disturbing due to the situation. “Hello! My name is Bramwell Arapovic. However you may choose to remember me as the Founder of BlackRain.” The old man introduced. He then waved his boney arm to the tall man. “This is the principal, Zane Ancic. We will be the ones that oversee your stay at BlackRain.” The students that were awake were beginning to murmur among themselves. The principal, Zane, put his hand up making them silent. Zane then began speaking with a clear deep voice. “I will now explain what you will be doing here at BlackRain. You will attend classes regularly. You will not fight among each other unless you are chosen to be in the birdcage or challenged. You will obey your instructors. You are all given 36,000 dollars to begin with. You will find out quickly what you can use with this money but the main thing I know you can think of is this: If you have 1,000,000 dollars, you can graduate early. Ways to make money is by challenges, birdcage fights, gambling, and by getting them from other students. The money you have is stored on the IDs you will be getting in a moment. You will also be required to wear a watch once they arrive. Any more questions can be answered by your seniors, which will be here shortly...“

What? What the hell is this? Jo tried to process all the information he was getting all at once. Birdcage fights? Seniors? Graduate? What the fuck is going on? Jo was so deep in focus he forgot about Mary for a moment. "Oh, I saw it on your laptop at the limo... My name is Joe" Jo whispered this, worried that the two men might get angry from him talking when they are. This is bad... how'd I get into this? They hold all the cards...

*Gin begins mumbling to himself.* Credits. Wonder what those are for. What's the point of graduating early anyway? You want out, you can just drop out like any other uni. Birdcage fighting sounds interesting though. A fighting space between students, perhaps? Hmm. Is that even legal? Well, I suppose I can ask when these Seniors get here.

Leon paused after hearing all this. While he barely knew what this was he did know onw thing. People are going to die. As if it was in the air, he knew they didn't have a choice. That means he has to try now. "And what if we don't do that?" Leon shouted to the old man.

Isla looked at Leon. Yeah, can't we just leave if we want? She hoped the other people around her would follow with her.

Surprised, Alex stumbled back, and he let It take the wheel. He snarled at Marc as he got up and backed away to grab his knife.

Mary gave Jo a worried look after hearing what Zane said. “What’s happening Jo? What are they talking about? What did you mean by not applying??” Mary became more and more visibly distraught, shifting back and forth. Gin would look around, seeing people ask the same questions. Which led to them questioning if they had to do any of this. After a while most of the students were mumbling the same things Leon and Isla were yelling. Marc would look at Alex, trying to focus on the speech while not taking his eyes off him. Alex grabbed the knife Marc knocked out of his hand. “Who are you? What the fuck was that?” Marc quietly yelled at Alex. Bramwell frowned from what Leon and Isla were yelling. Zane rolled his sleeves while walking off the stage. Bramwell held his hand up which made him stop in his tracks. “They are freshman, of course they don’t know how things work.” Bramwell explained. “What makes you think you can keep us here? My family will be looking for you as soon as you even try and touch me!” A student yelled. Alex would recognize the voice to be Fern, one of the twin’s from the limo. Bramwell then smiled like he was waiting for something like this. “It’s quite a tragedy… so many phone calls… how your families are planning your funerals as of now”. “What?!” Fern yelled. The old man smiled, showing how much he was enjoying this. He snapped making the panel that showed the countdown change to a News report. It showed the limo you remember being driven in. It was on the freeway. On fire. The limo was completely destroyed, another car was rammed in the side of it while the rest of it seemed to be engulfed in flames. The headline was the most disturbing, it read: Breaking News! Lethal car crash on the freeway. Reports confirmed no survivors… The crowd became silent. There was no sound coming from the panel. The only thing breaking the silence was the sound of the double doors opening, many other people were now walking in. “The seniors are here!”

What...? Car crash? Isla was frozen in thought, but the seniors suddenly popping in snapped her back. seniors? Hi my name is Isla!

It knew Alex's family would be okay, but it was about to- "Oh shit!" Alex looked at the knife then at Marc, "Sorry, I have serious multiple personalities disorder, my bad," Alex dropped the knife and raised his hands.

*Gin would remain silent as he watched principal about to get violent and soon the screen showing his apparent demise. Soon, he would shake his head before looking at the seniors.*

Jo looked at the News Report. This is just getting worse and worse. We're dead to the world and some mad man is thinking that we're his new toys. Jo would then look at the seniors. Seniors? That must mean they are used to the place and rules, but no reason to trust them as of now... I need to get some allies. "Listen, we're both confused and don't know what's happening. For now lets just wait until we are alone so we can take a deep breath and think about what to do." Jo told Mary.

One of the seniors that walked in was a girl with long sleeves that covered her hands. Her hair mostly covering her eyes and you could see her visibly shaking as she trailed behind the others in the group. Yet on her face was a small smile, maybe to help her get over her nervousness or maybe something else. But she would continue to walk with the other seniors onto the stage. She took a short glance at the others as she ascended the stairs to the stage, taking her place next to the man in the wheelchair.

One of the seniors, a man wearing a black tuxedo with combed black hair, nodded to Isla while scratching the beginnings of his beard. Marc lowered his guard slightly before turning his head towards the seniors. “I can’t tell what the fuck is happening anymore man…” Marc sighed before letting his guard down. He then held out his hand towards Alex smiling. “At least I can trust you won’t die right?” Mary agreed with Jo while looking at the seniors. Her jaw dropped for only a moment before she began walking towards the stage. “You! You’re the girl that went missing ten years ago!” Mary was pointing to a woman wearing a black tank top and ripped jeans. The woman frowned at Mary, obviously not pleased with the sudden appearance of her. The woman slowly bit her wrist. “You’re from that Highwater middle school! You’re Sebasti-” Mary didn’t finish her sentence. Blood would usually drip down from people’s wounds, but the woman’s blood didn’t. It shot out of the bite mark of her wrist, becoming a line that stretched from her wound to the inside of Mary’s skull. Mary froze. The woman smiled before the line explored with smaller thorns. Mary’s head stood no chance, the thorns ripped the top side of her head into chunks of cleanly sliced meat. Jo would see this from a front row seat, so close a drip of blood fell on his cheek. The woman’s smile grew wider and wider until a hand was placed on her shoulder. Zane seemed furious. “Calm down now, we’ll excuse it just this once since that journalist was an annoying thorn in our side.” Bramwell told the vice principal. He slowly let her go. Yuki was used to seeing things like this, but she noticed a bit of blood landed just in front of her. Since Leon was the first to see them, he was the first to notice the seniors had a “Y” brand on their left hand. “Well we’ve explained the fundamentals, if you any questions ask your seniors I’m sure they’ll be…” Bramwell looked at Mary’s corpse. “Delighted to help. So get out there! Explore! Make friends! Get stronger! But most importantly, make sure to not lose too much blood.” The man then walked to the backstage and vanished, leaving the freshman alone with the seniors and the rest of BlackRain to explore. The sound of a student vomiting was a clear indicator to start now.

*Gin winces slightly as Mary's head exploded.* Brutal. What was that move? Bloody thorns? If heard of fiery blood, but that's definatly a new one. Heh. Wonder if I could pull that one off. Nah. Probably not. *Gin turns his head back to the stage as Bramwell moves backstage* Get stronger. Make friends. Heh. Wonder what his plan is? Probably better to stay out of it and do as I'm told for now.

What? What just happened? Mary? Mary... Jo wiped the blood off his cheek, looking at his hands then at the woman. He never felt this much fear towards the same person he hated. "...Why'd you kill her?" Jo quietly asked the murderer.

After noticing the blood fall in front of her her trembling only became worse. She screamed as she backed up and swung her arms around, hitting one of the nearby students in his shoulder. A creepy cracking noise rang out as the students shoulder completely dislodged itself and deformed. The student knelt on the ground screaming as Yuki fell back onto her butt and scurried behind another student with heavy breathing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she repeated with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

What the fu- Isla felt like was going to vomit. She held it in and nodded back at the student, then she went to the women who was crying while trying to not look at the body. H-hey... I'm Isla... what's... your..... name?

Leon only paused for a moment after seeing what happened to that women. Mental note: avoid anyone with a "Y" brand. He began to walk towards the doors like he wanted to all along. "No way I'm sticking around to lose my head"

Alex lowered his hands and shook Marc's "Yeah, no-holy shit! She dead!" Alex looked at the body then back at Marc. "Hope this doesn't happen the next time we meet," he said before picking up his knife and leaving the room through one of the doors.

The woman paused snapped her head towards Jo so fast you heard a crack. She pointed her arm towards him, once again a line shot out of her wound, stopping one inch away from his forehead. She paused as if she could sense his anger. She recoiled her blood before jumping off the stage. She walked towards him while smiling until she was an inch away. She was the same height as Jo so she had direct eye contact with him. She didn’t blink the entire time. As for Isla she would be ignored by Yuki since she was shaking too much to focus, however she did noticed a “Y” brand on her neck. Gin, Leon, and Alex would begin heading towards the door before a large section of the floor near the corner elevated. Floating robots in the shape of a ball, roughly the size of your head, popped out. They all displayed a name on the screen that took up half of their body. They headed towards only the freshman; the ones that said your name floated above you before dropping two things: keys that had a room number on the keychain and a wristband. One went to Mary’s corpse and dropped the items on her blood. They all returned from where they came before the floor closed to was it once was. The wristband turned on as soon as you put it around your wrist: It displayed the logo BlackRain College. Room numbers Alex: X-2 Isla: X-21 Jo: X-24 Leon: X-25 Gin: X-5

Jo flinched slightly when the blood shot towards him but it was so fast he couldn't even react before she put it away. What... what the fuck... I could've died... wait she's coming here? Jo froze out of fear, but tried his hardest to make it seem like he was calm. He had a sigh of relief when the robot dropped the items. "oh wow look a room thingy so sorry you don't need to answer my question because I'm going to my room bye" Time to never go near her again...

Umm are you ok? Do you need something? Isla was cut off when the key and wristband dropped on her. Ow... oh wow, it lights up and everything. Isla put it on her wrist seeing the Z that was on it which made her stare at Yuki's brand that had a Y. Hey why do you have a Y and not a Z?

*Gin looks at the robots and the wristband and smirks.* Huh. Techno. At least this place seems to be ahead of it's time. Heh heh heh. *Gin turns and adresses anyone who cares to listen.* If you need me, I'll be in my room. Probably see most of you again later anyways. Later. *With that, Gin would head for his room, providing nothing happened on his way there.*

It pocketed the keys, put on the wristband, and walked back into the gym to take the keys and wristband Mary must have had and began to go to his dorm, wherever that was.

Jo would only get a few feet away before he felt the woman’s hand on his shoulder. She spun him around with inhuman strength and grabbed his keys. Before he could even try to pull away she looked at Jo’s room number and let go. Instead of her classic sinister smile she wore a warm one while walking to the doors opposite of the stage. Isla would realize Yuki was far beyond talking and gave up, but it became obvious that the seniors had a Y brand while the freshman had a Z one. Only thing weird was how she had it on her neck instead. Isla would feel like she should go to her room since the other students were all heading towards the door, except the one with the dislocated arm from Yuki’s freakout. Alex would see the the keychain Mary was supposed to get: X-16. He then headed towards the double doors like Leon, Gin, and the other students did. The seniors were headed for the door opposite of the stage. There was a sign next to the doors that read Section Z. From there is was a hallway that spit into a four-way. The one directly head of them had a sign that said: Dormitory. To the right it read: Cafeteria. The left one said Classes. Gin and Leon went to the doors that matched their keychain, seeing some that had a holographic sign that said failure on it, the doors were X-1, X-18, and X-19. Gin and Leon opened their doors with the keys while Alex opened Mary’s. They all looked identical, a plain white bed in the corner, a white dresser next to it, a door that lead to a bathroom, and a closet next to the dresser with a robot identical to the one that gave you the keys and wristband, all kept in four gray walls. The light that illuminated the room brought the eerie glow of isolation into frame. The dresser had underwear and socks, while the closet had 20 pairs of solid white t-shirts and grey pants. Immediately after you entered the room a t.v. you didn’t notice built into the top right corner away from the door flickered on. There was protective glass around the screen you knew wouldn’t break.

“Hello! I’m here to teach you the rules of BlackRain college!” the immensely annoying voice cheered, the only thing on the t.v. was the BlackRain logo. “Now I know that you’re confused and scared, but cowering in fear won’t help now would it? Besides you need to go to class! What? This is a college after all, more on that later, the main thing you should know is that you’re body is going through changes. This may be from shock or the injection we gave you, you’ll know the difference from if your blood is moving or you throwing it up. You’ll learn more about this in class where you’ll learn how to use it! However, this is the second main thing you need is this: Money. Or credits since it’s stored in the wristband you have on right now. Just tap the amount of money you want to deposit or withdraw and hold it to the thing you want to give/take from and boom. You’ll find out soon what to buy, but how do you make money? If you survive win a challenge, which starts everyday and 6 am, then you will be awarded with money. Same thing if you win a birdcage fight. You can also “borrow” some from your fellow students heh heh. Well, that’s all for now, but I’ll be here tomorrow same time to explain more! This is your principle signing off.” The screen flicked off. Your wristband now displayed three options that you can choose to see. 1.Map. 2.Schedule. 3.Current amount of credits.

It wanted to see the map, but more importantly get the credits. On Alex's, It chose Map, but on Mary's, it chose schedule.

I don't think people will listen if I try to help... but I want know more about them. Isla headed towards the door opposite of the stage.

*Gin reaches under his scarf and scratches his neck.* Blood? Control? Wait, we actually can do the thorny blood thing? That's fun. Something vague about money. This place sure loves its vague, long explanations about things may or may not matter. *Gin presses the 2 button, curious about when stuff starts.*

Gin, Leon, and Alex would see their class schedules, starting at 7 am till 12pm. First hour was P.E. Second hour showed “blood endurance.” Third hour showed physical combat training, then fourth showed “blood combat training and development.” All of this seems to start tomorrow. The numbers 1 and 3 then displayed for them to see. Alex and Jo would see the map of the school, and a red dot to show where they are. The space they were in read “Dormitories.” (You can press on map to know where you are and where you’re going if you want to.) Isla decided that heading to where the seniors were was the best option, and went through the double doors. She saw a sign next to it reading Section Y before heading in. She then made it to the four way path. In front of her read a sign that said Dormitories, to the left said Classes, and to the right it was Cafeteria.

They should be at the Cafeteria right? Isla began to head towards there, and pauses when she sees people Ok... just ask them what's going on...She began to walk towards the people eating.

PE. Eww. Then again, perhaps it's nesassary for this... "blood endurance and training". OK, wierd but awesome. *Gin smirks before pressing "3"* This is gonna be better than I thought. Well, if I died to be here, it better be worth it. Heh heh heh.

It began to sharpen Alex's knives, starting with a small paring knife, to a cleaver "This is my life now, huh." Said Alex as he finished. Alex quietly opened the door to look around before closing it and lying down in bed "Wait, what about my parents?" Alex asked seemingly no one. "You ate them, their wishes" It replied in a whisper "Why are you whispering?" "We're probably being monitored " It whispered back "How do you know that?" "I'm the smart one, you're the nice one, but why did you want friends more than anything?" Alex didn't reply, because he had fallen "asleep", so It settled to check the knives and eat a piece of jerky and rummage through the dresser and the closet.

Well at least no math classes. But the rest of the stuff is just disturbing. I'm getting hungry... I'm pretty sure I saw a sign for he cafeteria back there. "Time to see how good the food is at least..."

Isla would see about 10 people sitting down eating on the lunch tables. In front of them was the lunch lady while to the left there was a door that had a sign saying: BlackRain General Store. There was two people standing up while eating, both of them laughing from a conversation. You recognized one of them as the man wearing a tuxedo from earlier. He took a sip from his water and let his eyes wander around the lunchroom until he saw Isla. The sip of water he took was coughed out before he grabbed his napkin and made a beeline towards Isla, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her away from the lunchroom. “What the fuck are you doing!?” He quietly yelled in her ear. “Did the woman exploding the other one’s head not enough warning?!” He made it to the crosshair with Isla before he suddenly stiffened, his hands now painfully gripping her shoulders tightly. She couldn’t see why until she looked over his shoulder and saw another man. The man behind him was six feet tall with blond short hair and a muscular body. He was dressed smart casual. “James? Are you going to section Z as well?” The man chuckled at James as Isla felt his grip tighten even more. James wasn’t even looking at her, his brown eyes pleaded to be anywhere but here. “Who do you have there? I don’t recognize them.” The man looked over James’ shoulder and saw Isla. He smiled while looking at her hand. They both knew he saw the “Z” brand on her. He grabbed her hand looked her in they eye, “What is your name girl?” He asked. “Zlatan I think she just got lo-” James began before getting cut off. It was obvious why, even Isla could feel the killing intent from Zlatan, so strong that it felt like pins and needles over every inch of your body. He stared at James with cold blue eyes. Isla could now feel something very few people have ever known. The feeling that you’re going to watch another person’s final moments. They both froze when all their wristbands glowed including Isla. Gin would see a map of the entire school, Section Z and Section Y, they both looked identical except Section Y was just flipped compared to Section Z. The red dot showed where Gin was at this moment, however he didn’t have anytime to study it before his wristband changed, even the robot in his closet suddenly flashed on showing the same thing as his wristband. Jo would tap the robot, seeing it flicker on and begin to float over him to the middle of the room. The screen at first showed the BlackRain logo before changing to a smiling digital mouth and big eyes. Jo couldn’t try anything else before the screen changed, his wristband changing to the same screen. It would see plain white underwear and socks in the dresser with a lot of empty space. Matching 20 pairs of solid white t-shirts and grey pants in the closet. He would then see the robot in the closet he was rummaging through turn on, showing a screen he would then notice his wristband showing too. Leon would walk out of his room heading to the cafeteria seeing the same woman that showed displayed her ability with Mary walk by him. Leon froze, not even realizing he was holding his breath until she walked far enough away. What disturbed him the most was the fact she was walking to the door next to his. By the time he recovered his wristband was glowing with a new notification.

The screen everyone was seeing was a announcement for a challenge. The screen displayed that it will start in a hour, the challenge being a obstacle course. It said that people from Section X, Y, and Z were allowed to join. The main thing you could see since it was covering half the screen was the cash prize: 108,000. The rules appeared if you tapped on it. No blood usage. No weapons. First one to make it to the finish line alive wins. No teams, only one winner Stay on the track. Wear your number at all times. Sign up at the gym then follow the guide! The screen would change to a map with a red dot showing where you are and where the gym was.

What... what is that thing? Leon would look at door she was going to. Poor guy. He then looked at his wristband. "No way I'm going to pass up something like this, I've been to hundreds of obstacle courses, especially with prize money." Leon though out loud heading towards the gym.

A map? I thought 3 was money balance. Tch. Just my luck to get a faulty wristband. *Gin shakes his head. He then notices the notifacation.* A challenge? A race, is it? Hmm. This could be an opportunity to see how things work in here. I think I'll sit this one out. Observe and use it as a learning tool. Might as well head to the Gym and see if theres a viewing area avalible. *Gin heads for the Gym.*

Isla would then step between James and Zlatan My name is Isla! And I'm going to the gym for the obstacle thingy so nice meeting you. Isla grabbed James and pulled him away from Zlatan while going to the gym.

It checked the details and was not willing to risk It's life, so It walked over to Alex's dorm and knocked on the door next to him, seemingly just to say hi. Thirty minutes later, It went to the gym and followed someone who did sign up

Jo was about to open his door until he felt it vibrate from someone knocking on the other side. He couldn’t even try to open the door before they knocked again, heavier this time. There was no way of seeing who was on the other side unless he opens the door. Every second longer he waits to open it means the longer person on the other side would wait too. The knocking kept going off in random intervals, stronger and stronger. Jo had no doubt whoever was on the other side could break the door if it went on like this. He needed to act fast. Leon, Gin, and It all headed towards the gym together, noticing a crowd of other freshmen headed there was well. They all made it there in no time, seeing the gym had completely changed. Mary’s body obviously wasn’t there, cleaned up like it never happened. The stage had disappeared while the walls were now white, and a door was in the spot where the stage was. In the center of the gym there was a man wearing heavy looking purple suit. Shortly after the freshman walked in the seniors appeared from the opposite door was well. Isla would start walking in the cover of the other seniors headed towards the gym as well. She noticed Yuki was in the crowd going to the gym too. James would be silent for a while before finally talking: “Hey uh…. Thanks. I know I froze but seriously, stay away from him. The fact he hasn’t killed us means he thinks we’re worth something…” James pupils suddenly shinked. He turned around, becoming ghostly pale before leaning to Isla’s ear. “Z-Zlatan… He’s following us…” After a while of waiting the man in the suit assumed that everyone here was ready and raised his hand. The floor in the corner once again opened, releasing robots that scanned your wristband. Your wristband displayed the only option of “Player” to choose from. The man walked to the door where the stage was not saying anything. The door opened and stayed that way waiting for you to join.

Isla shoved her elbow into James stomach to snap him out of it. Calm down! What's he going to do? Push us off the ladder in the obstacle course? Isla let the robot scan her wristband and pressed "Player." She then walked to the door dragging James with her.

Huh? No spectator option? Well that sucks. I was hoping to just watch. Ah well. I can still do that just as well from the playing field I suppose. *Gin presses the Player option and heads for the doors.*

It lost It's shit when Alex pressed "Player" and began screaming in his head, berating him for risking their life, which Alex blatantly disregarded. Alex began walking to the door, Constantly glancing at Isla and James.

Jo would see the door continue to boom as the knocking became increasingly more violent. It was like seeing a rope holding his life grow thinner and thinner with each slam against his door. Jo’s grip showed the white of his knuckles when he saw a crack form and the hinges. It no longer sounded like knocking. Like someone was smashing the door with a sledge hammer. Another knock made the cracks grow like cobwebs on each side of the door. The cracks began to make holes. They grew larger and larger. The knocking now sounded like it was pounding into his skull, knocking him off balance. Then it stopped. The “knocking” had stopped. Pure silence became more terrifying as Jo’s heartbeat felt like it was going to explode from his ribcage. A woman’s quiet and calm voice broke the unbearable silence. The voice came from the other side of the door. “Hey… Are you there? Open the door…” Isla would see the color return to James face before he rubbed his chest. His face turned red as he smiled in embarrassment. “Um… Y-yeah sorry… I promise I don’t freak out like this all the time. I promise.” He said with a grin while looking around the gym. He saw Zlatan walking towards the door like them, however he noticed Alex looking at them. He shrugged and decided to keep walking in. Leon, Alex, Gin, and Isla all walked through the doors, immediately greeted by a man behind a counter in an empty room. “Get your number here and then please step into the elevator, wear the numbers at all times please.” The man said while handing the people numbers and opening the elevator to the ones he gave them to. Isla- 21 Alex- 2 Leon- 25 Gin- 5 Everyone stepped in the huge elevator, waiting for it to be loaded. Gin noticed Marc stretching in the elevator with the number 17 on his chest. He turned to Gin and waved, calling him over. Alex would see Faust and Fern both in the elevator as well. Sadly Isla would see Zlatan there as well.

Shit... She's going to break through the door if I don't answer... Jo readied himself, breathing heavily as he told the robot to open the door. "Hello..."

Ok... It's fine if he's in here... Not like we can stop him joining right? Isla told James because she knew he would freak out. Just gotta avoid him. Easy enough to dooo

*Gin walks over to Marc.* Oh, so you joined this thing too, eh? Good to see, man. Good to see.

"..."

The door would creak open only a crack before it gave way from the knocking withstood. Jo would feel his muscles tense as he saw her. The same woman from the gym walked into his room looking around. “Why didn’t you opened faster?” She said calmly but with edge in every word. She shook her head like she just remembered why she’s here. She pointed to her wristband, showing the ad that was on Jo’s. “Do you… want to go to the obstacle course?” She looked him in the eye, shifting her weight between her feet impatiently. The elevator became full in no time. The man waved his hand, making the elevator’s doors close. Not even a second after it began to descend, along with Alex, Gin, Leon, and Isla along with it. Marc smiled at Gin. His eyes had dark circles outlining them, he’s clearly seen better days. Though Gin could say the same thing. “Hey I know we don’t know each other for long but that’s better than most people here.” Marc held his hand towards Gin. “Do you want to team up and spilt the money? Do you actually you can make it far without an alliance? ” James eyes closed when he saw Zlatan walk pass them. However Zlatan didn’t spare them a glance as he was simply headed to someone else. Alex wouldn’t see anything unusual except the fact James was wearing a tuxedo. Alex would probably wait until the elevator arrives. Leon would see a man walking towards him, he was tall with his muscles showing in the outline of his clothes. He used his hand to brush his short blond hair while staring at Leon. Leon would feel something wrong in his eyes. The man’s blue eyes looked at Leon as if he was exactly what he needed to pull of a prank. “Hey.” The man would say with a deep charismatic voice. “Want to make a deal? If you make sure that man wearing a tuxedo doesn’t win…” The man pressed on the number 3 in his wristband. “You’ll graduate.” The man’s balance was over 3 million.

Jo would feel his entire body reject what was happening. It took everything he had to not scream at her, however his survival instincts voted against it. "What? What...?" That was the only thing Jo could get out.

It's ok don't freak out... he's just... stretching out his legs... Isla told James. Though she was also confused why he randomly wanted to walk across the elevator but it's fine.

A team, eh? *Gin hummed in thought.* Well, I wasn't planning on winning, but sure. Why not get into the spirit of things? *Gin nods and shook Marc's hand.* This is all assuming we win, of course, but sure. A team up works for me.

It just stood silent.

Yuki would be trying to find a good spot through the crowd in front of one of the displays around campus but found difficulty with so many people around. There usually were such a large volume of people clustered around for these matches, especially when Zlatan was participating but she knew the real reason for the crowd was their interest in the new students. They wanted to see their potential, whether they would be a threat, a possible ally in a faction, or a heap of flesh and broken bones waiting to happen. "Um...e-excuse me....coming through...ngh" She said as she tried squeezing in through the crowd before bumping into a larger person in front of her. The person turned around pissed at first but upon seeing Yuki he quickly silenced himself and moved out of the way, even going as far as shoving other people out of the way for her so she wouldn't have such a hard time seeing the display. "T-thank you very m-much!" She nervously said as she bowed over and over again to the man before turning her attention to the screen.

Leon would stop as soon as the man stepped in front of him. Something about him made Leon on edge. Everything from the way he looked at him from the way people looked at him. Leon knew this was too good, but he had nothing to lose since he hasn't gained anything so far. "Alright. Deal." Leon shook the man's hand.

The woman would frown, clearly annoyed by Jo not answering in 0.2 seconds of her question being asked. “Do. You. Want. To. Go. To. The. Obstacle. Course?” She repeated to Jo while using her hands to point where the course and elevator was. “Hurry up because they’re going to be full in a couple of seconds.” The woman began pacing back and forth. If Jo said yes then she would grab him by the wrist and practically drag him to the elevator with the speed of an olympian. James would nod at what Isla said, whispering to her with a quivering voice he tried hard to hide. “He almost never goes to challenges. He has it out for us. He’s going to make sure we go face first into a trap, oh gods…” James would nearly have a meltdown before taking a deep breath and putting on a confident smile. “It’s ok, it’s ok. I haven’t really been on any challenges but I’ll protect you. I promise.” James would look at Zlatan talking to Leon, adjusting his collar with worry. The crowded elevator was just making him feel worse. Isla would try to calm him down before she stopped when she and everyone else felt the elevator stop. Marc sighed in relief when he heard Gin agree. He wiped the sweat off his brow and grinned weakly. “Thank god man. I was worried I’d be going into this thing alone, I don’t know what’d I do if you said no to be honest.” Marc leaned next to Gin’s ear and whispered. “Ok, so here’s the plan. Since we’re going to split the money only one of us need to get to the finish line. We are going to help each other in any way we can out there, even if it means pushing other people off the track or something. If one of us gets knocked out or can’t go any longer then just leave me and I’ll leave you. That doesn’t mean we still won’t split the money. How’s that sound?” Marc said happily pulling his head back. Gin would say his answer right as the elevator arrived at its destination.

It would stay silent as the elevator descended lower and lower, It was probably still mad at Alex since they both weren’t much for conversation during the ride. Though It was most likely used to things like this from Alex. It would look at the elevator’s doors as it slowly opened, they have made it to the obstacle course. Yuki would stare at the screen from the corner of the elevator. She would also see how all of the freshman were reacting to her peers. Some blending nicely like Isla and James. Some being used like Zlatan to Leon. She would also see people like Gin and Marc sticking together to face the challenge. Yuki knew how weak James was compared to the rest of the seniors and how odd it was for Zlatan to be here. It put her on edge, but she decided it didn’t involve her so she simply waited until the elevator reached the challenge. The man smiled at Leon, showing teeth that almost glowed in the dark elevator. Leon would shudder seeing this, but he knew he would probably wouldn’t have want to see what the man would look like if he said no. “Remember, you don’t have to kill him or anything, just make sure he doesn’t win and you’ll have one million credits in your wristband.” The man said walking away, people shoving into each other in order to make sure they don’t get in his way. Leon would barely have time to think this over before he felt the elevator stop.

I don't have a choice do I...? I just I have to, no telling what she'd do if I refused. "OK, I'll go, but can you explain wh-" Jo wouldn't finished his sentence before she grabbed him and pulled him from the hallway to the gym to the elevator. She was moving at an incredible speed despite basically carrying him.

Yuki would simply continue to stare at the screen as some of the students seemed to be keeping at least out of arms length of her. As she looked at the freshman displayed on the monitor her attention stopped on Isla. "So that's the girl Zlatan-chan took an interest in? Hm? I don't see the other one anywhere?" she said with a slight tilt of her head "Sebastia-chan is missing too. That's weird. She usually likes the obstacle course. You think she fell asleep?" she asked to no on in particular before nodding "Yeah, you're right....Eh? I can't say any of them stands out but....." she would then shake her head before replying to no one "I didn't mean....hm? Ah. Yeah, we could probably see more there huh?" Soon she turned around, the crowd splitting for her as she walked away, heading towards the hallways.

I think I can agree to that plan. It seems to benefit us both, after all. Not that I think we're gonna win, but we can at least give it a shot. *Gin frowns slightly as the elevator stops* Well. Looks like we're about to start. Get ready partner.

Isla smiled and walked over to James. Before he could do anything Isla slapped him across the face. HEY. SHUT UP I'M SCARED TOO BUT YOU'RE MY SENIOR SO MAN UP FOR ONCE AND HELP ME! With that in mind Isla began walking forward to the elevator doors.

It made it way through the crowd, weaving between and trying to stay unnoticed

"Yeah... I got it." Leon looked at the elevator doors, waiting to get out when the other people inside did.

A robot quickly came and scanned both Jo’s and the woman’s wristband as they moved past the man at the counter. The man was clearly about to leave before seeing them. He sighed and waved his hand, making the elevator open. “I thought it was strange that you weren’t here when it started.” The man groaned. “Thank you for waiting for me.” The woman said loudly as she and Jo jumped into the elevator. The man waved his hand, making the elevator doors close. Jo and his kidnapper both stood in silence, simply waiting to catch up with everyone else. “Hey.” The woman told Jo. “What’s your name? And what was the thing you were about to say back at your room?” Marc laughed and padded Gin on the back. He walked alongside with him out of the elevator into the darkness on the other side. The seniors seem like they expected this, not hesitating to step out into the shadow beyond the elevator doors (though they did flinch when James got slapped). Marc followed with them. James paused for a moment before laughing. He rubbed his cheek, his eyes finally showing confidence. He grabbed Isla’s hand, walking towards the door. “You’re right! I’ll get through this! We’ll get through this!” Isla couldn’t refuse that kind of attitude and charged with him into the dark. Alex and Leon both weaved through the crowd, Leon spotting James right away due to his outburst and him being the only one wearing a tuxedo. Everyone all made it out of the elevator into pure darkness. The bright light of other elevators near yours cut through the darkness like a knife. However the people that came out looked hazardous. They all wore striped jumpsuits shackles. The thing that stuck out the most was their eyes. Quite literally in the darkness, they glowed with insanity. Their pupils danced around back and forth as if they could see something in the dark until that lasered onto the group you were in. A few seniors sighed in annoyance, some even mumbling “The founder really wants to bring those lunatics for the freshman’s first day? Hehe…”

Yuki would walk into the calfateria, which was closed at the time due to the challenge, and looked both ways to make sure she wasn’t followed. She then would scan her wristband on a tile near the frame of the door, disabling the security for only one minute. She would skip to the wall next to the BlackRain General Store pressing her hand on another tile. A small hole would form next to her. She jumped inside, using her arms to push herself from side to side at seemly random patterns as if she done this before hundreds of times. She would land in a soft jelly that broke her long fall. The boxed shaped hole she used to get there quickly closed as she jumped off the jelly. Using the double doors at the end of the hallway, Yuki would finally reach her destination. The bowl of cookies and the cup of milk inside the Founder’s office. Bramwell smiled seeing Yuki grab the bowl of Oreos off his black coffee table. He was looking out a window that showed the obstacle course, still shrouded in darkness. He sat across from her. “Well? What do you think?” He asked her. “Hm? Think about what?” She spoke through mouthfuls. “Yuki… What do you think about them?” Yuki’s eyes slowly closed, her body features shifting before it slowly opened its eyes, black pupils now half as big. “What do you mean by what do I think about them?” It asked. The old man shifted his wires slightly before looking at Yuki. “Anyone stick out? Have any favorites yet?” It stilled for a while, choosing its words carefully “I think the girl is interesting. I wonder how long her attitude will last in a place like this. As for the junior detective, I think he might survive for a while since he knows his strength painfully clear. The agent named Leon has an advantage due to his training. The green haired one seems like he’ll fit in nicely because of his personality. The man named Gin looks like he’ll adapt well, he’s doing surprisingly nice so far emotionally. Still, none of them has truly sparked my interest. I don’t understand why you went through so much trouble to get them.” Bramwell chuckled softly, standing up and walking to the windows again. “What you see are simply people that will die or merge with the rest but…” The founder pressed his hand against the window. “I see a new hope to free her.” Yuki take another cookie while he snapped his fingers. Alex, Gin, Leon, and Isla would all flich when the darkness disappeared, replaced with large spotlights displaying a gigantic obstacle course which spanned twice a football field. The obstacle course was mostly red with green accents. The left and right walls of the large room were actually screens. The screens showed avatars that ranged from a animal to a human to a alien, all with complex usernames dotted around. At the center of both screens there was a number. Above the number said: Number of People Watching. The number was more than 4 million. “Are you readyyyyyy!!!” A loud voice you recognized as the principle boomed from all directions. “We’re not going to make you wait a second longer! Remember the rules Deadman, and have fun!” A wall erected from the ground behind you, covered with barbwire and spikies. The wall began to slowly move at a pace you could outrun with a jog. However its purpose was clear, there’s no way to sit this course out now. The first obstacle in front of you was enormous slow swinging axe heads.

If I lie there's probably going to be serious backfire... "I wondering why you're doing all of this? Like why me?" Before she could answer Jo told her his name. He was leaning against the corner of the elevator as it moved it.

Ok are you ready James? Just move past those terrifying axe heads! Come on! Isla pulled him along to the axe head, if nothing stopped them then as careful as she could they moved past the axe heads, Isla keeping an eye out for Zlatan.

It was not impressed, axeheads, seriously? Impratical. It also noticed Alex never put away his knife, fool that he is. It tried to not get swept by the crowd as It looked for opportunities to "cull the herd" and move forward.

*Gin looks over his shoulder at the wall.* Well, so much for observing from the back. Well, if that's how this game is gonna go then I might as well try. Hope Marc will do well. *Gin jogs ahead towards the axes and tries to make his way past them.*

The woman’s eyes became dark, like the question Jo asked was something forbidden. She stopped half-way from biting her wrist. “Hmm. Yeah I guess you can ask that after what I did.” That was all she said before the elevator stopped. Jo was hit with the scene of his peers running towards axe heads. To him it looks like they were charging for death. HE would have time to observe that screen before the woman grabbed his arm and ran towards the course. She jumped over a wall before letting Jo go. HE saw the wall they jumped over had spikes and barbwire on it facing them. The woman smiled and point to the first obstacle. “Come on! We finally caught up!” She yelled running to the rest of the group. Jo was now running along side of the other students. James and Isla were able to dodge the first round of axes until Isla saw one of the crazed students she saw before running at her. Not running at her, at James. And by running she saw then flying towards him. She pushed James out of the way, feeling the cold metal of a axe head graze her arm. She then saw what the hell just happened. Zlatan grabbed another crazed student by the collar and hurled them at James. The student flew over James, crashing into a axe that sliced off it’s arm. She noticed that both students had a large “X” branded on their forehead. Isla saw Alex past her, missing axe heads by an inch at a time. Gin and Marc were both neck and neck. Gin however would be thrown forward shortly after by a body slamming into him, which he found out was senior that passed him as he did so. Marc would then give Gin a nod while passing him. Leon saw Gin getting up, opting to jump over him. However before he could fully make it past Gin the woman would use him like jumping pad to hop over the rest of the axes. It couldn’t warn Alex in time before she landed on top of him, jumping back into the course in no time. Jo would move side to side, dodging the chaos around him. “What a start Ladies and Gentlemen! Only seconds after the course started number 2 of section Y has began throwing section X students at number 24 of section Y and 21 of section Z! Here is how they are doing so far! 1st. Number 1 of section Y! 2nd. Number 2 of section Z! 3rd. Number 25 pf section Y! Please keep watching and don’t forget to place your bets!”

Leon picked himself off the ground and growled as he saw the woman get ahead of him. "That bitch!" [I]Leon yelled moving through the rest of the axes onto the next obstacle. He kept an eye out for James through, getting behind him again[/i]

*Gin gets to his feet, rolls his shoulder before continuing to jog, trying to catch up with Marc.* Ugh. Just my luck. Well, at least I'm not dead. And for crying out loud, what do the numbers MEAN?

Are you ok James?! Isla yelled over everything that was happening. She grabbed her wound and pulled James to the axes with her other arm, hoping to pass it and make it to the next obstacle. Alright maybe asking you if you were ok was a stupid question.

It began to run, not wasting any time. "What the hell was that shit?!" It said as It shoved people aside.

Leon trailed behind Isla, making it through the axe heads. He would see the crazed students begin to surround him. The next obstacle was easy, but he knew what it was for. Students were already making it past it easy, like the woman that used him as a jumping pad. It was a 20 by 20 meter long tiles that made up the floor. However, each time someone stepped on the tile it would break, revealing a spiked floor below. Everytime a student passed it made it harder for the next one to do the same. Gin got up and found no more problems passing the axe heads. He would then be on the same obstacle Leon was on. Marc had already passed the obstacle. The crazed students were rushing past him, making tiles fall one after another. Time is running short. James nodded with a smile getting up. They moved pass the axes, they weren’t dead last but they were near it. The made it to the next obstacle. The same tile trap as the rest. Isla noticed Leon trailing behind them. Jo would have no difficulty moving pass the first obstacle and onto the next one. He saw the tile crumble when someone stepped on it, figuring out what the challenge was this obstacle easily. The woman who dragged him to the course was already past it. Alex quickly gathered his bearings and ran to the next obstacle with everyone else. He managed to shove his way to the front, seeing how the challenge worked first hand when he saw a student fail because he took too long to jump to the next tile. The student’s tile below him crumbled making the sound of metal piercing meat when you saw him hit the bottom. Everyone saw three paths to choose from, each one deteriorating with every student that passed or failed going the same way. The Left Path: Mostly intact but most people heading to it. The Middle Path: Mostly destroyed but barely any people heading to it. The Right Path: Roughly good around the edges but a group of students heading that way.

Ok... James we're taking the midd- wait no the Right Path! Because it's the Right Path! Isla grabbed James wrist and tried to make it there before the group did.

Well, this is a problem. Hmm. If most people are going Right and Left, I should probably head the way no-one is. Even if that means. *Gin looks at the state of the Middle Path and sighs.* Well, my luck hasn't killed me yet. Just got to stick to the tiles. It's a short cut. Right? Heh heh Oh I'm so dead. *Nevertheless, Gin decides to break away from the rest of the runners and heads down the middle path.*

It ran harder as It took the right path, shoving people aside.

Isla, Leon, and Alex all headed to the Right Path. The tiles crumbling beneath them the second they stepped off a tile. It would see people left and right fall as the destination became closer. It saw Leon and Isla run beside It with a few people close by. Shoving people now would cause the path in front of him to collapse. It felt a chill as he saw a person next to him reel his arms. It knew that he was going to push It off the path to the spikes below. If It pushed back than It will fall too because of balance. It needed to act fast. Thanks to Leon’s training he was able to dodge most people. He met his dilemma when he saw that James was right in front of him. This would be the perfect time to make sure he never finishes the course. Isla ran to the end of the course with James right on her tail. He hasn’t even broke a sweat despite all the running they have been doing. He smiled knowing they were going to make it at this pace. Isla and James would finish the tile obstacle if nothing went wrong. Jo took the Left Path, trying to keep near the front to avoid being turned into skewered meat. He managed to stay roughly in front of the group. That was until he looked behind him and felt his heart drop. Zlatan hurled a body, smashing a few people next to Jo. The people who got hit fell down with blood curdling screams that surely tore their throats raw. Luckily none of them hit him as he finished the trap. Less than half the people who started the path made it to where he was. Gin felt each step gave way the moment he took the next one. He had to jump from one tile to the next. His bad luck almost seemed to stop working as he saw he was nearing the end. That was until he saw a body fly above him, landing on the path in front of him. The tiles the body rolled on and where it landed all collapsed taking the body with it. The path behind Gin is destroyed. The path in front of him is nonexistent. Gin turned around and saw Zlatan smile as he waved him goodbye. The tile from where Gin was and the end was two meters away. Gin had to make a move before the tile he was on gives away.

Oh, you play fair don't you? *Gin backs up slightly.* Welp, I'm super dead now. Yeesh. Welp, only one thing to do. *Gin cracks his neck, takes a step and leaps as far as he can, trying to wither land on or grab onto the tile, al the while praying to as many gods as he could name in that short time period that he wouldn't die. He mutters something under his breath.* When I tried overturning that first tile, the rats, at last...

Nicole stops dead in his tracks and turns around when he heard the body slam into a tile. He turns to see a man fall into the trap. I can save him! One of the seniors yelled while turning to him. "That's suicide, wait!" But He didn't hear, as he was already jumping into the pitfall. He reaches one for Gin's outstretched hand, with Nicole's other hand grabbing on the ledge. "Hey, are you still alive?" He said to Gin.

*Gin grabs Nicole's hand.* ..Survived?

Alright James we made it! Zlatan didn't do anything! Now to the next trap... Isla headed to the next trap while holding her wound with James.

"Phew..." said Nicole with releif. "Give me a minute." Nicole reeled his back and threw Gin up. With another free had, Nicole lifts himself up. "Are you okay? Did you break any arms? I think i might have threw you too-" Nicole stops talking as he looks over at the start line. "Zlatan..."

Alex ducked down, (hopefully) avoiding the push and It countered with a gut punch.

Isla and James passed the tile trap, making it to the next trap with the most of the other seniors. James sighed in relief after seeing they made it. “Thank gods… I mean not that it was hard. Yeah it was easy….” He said with a “reassuring” smile. “So are you ready for the next obstacle course?” Jo also made it through with the other seniors. He saw the woman sitting down at the end of the next obstacle. Her eyes wandering around until she saw Jo. She smiled and waved to him. The other seniors exchanged a confused look until they figured out she was waving to Jo. They began to move away from him, except James and Isla. Alex ducked dodging the man’s push. However as Alex looked up he saw the man lift his arm and swing it towards him. Before he could land the blow Leon’s elbow rammed into his jaw sending him down below. Leon and Alex both made to the next obstacle easy after that. Gin paused seeing Zlatan’s smile. He was grinning with excitement, his eyes trained not on Gin, but at Nicole. The wall was approaching behind Zlatan yet he took his time walking to the tile trap. Barely any of it was left, just a few platforms that were meters apart. Still Nicole’s grip tighten on Gin. Zlatan then jumped from tile to tile at impossible speed, each jump being nearly a meter high as he made it to the end. As he began to walk to the next obstacle he grinned and waved at Nicole. Gin and Nicole simply walked to the next obstacle after that. The next obstacle was simply a rope swing over spikes. Three ropes tied to a pole over a pit filled with the founder obviously favorite spikes. While it seemed easy enough the look on the seniors faces said otherwise. After all, no one but the woman has gone yet.

Of course! Literally just going along the path nothing hard. Isla walked to the next obstacle, and saw the other seniors doing nothing. What the hell? Why aren't they going? Is this a part of the obstacle James?

"Thanks, man." Alex said as he waited away from the edge.

"Sebastia-chan and Zlatan-chan seem to be having fun. I haven't seen Sebastia-chan act like that since her last crush." she said as she stuffed her mouth with sweets and sat upside down on a nearby sofa. The sofa was green and though it seemed out of place it was there specifically because of her occasional visits and it didn't get in the way anyways. She would swing her feet up and down as she watched the screen upside down. Her eyes would land on Nicole as they widened a bit. "Heh~. I didn't know they let Winstein-san out of the infirmary already. Is he going to be ok?" she raised a brow as another cookie was brought to her mouth. She would reach for another cookie but found herself grabbing air. When she looked over at the bowl near her she saw it sat empty, her cheeks puffed up as she silently pouted. She carefully set herself up right so she wouldn't fall and hurt herself and then stood up, grabbing the bowl. "I'm getting more cookies!" she said as she scampered off into a nearby hall before the founder could stop her. Hopefully her poor sense of direction won't bring her into any trouble.

*Once past the tiles, Gin turns to Nicole.* Thanks for saving me. Really appriciate it. But uh... *Gin glances at where Zlatan went.* I assume you know the guy who threw a body at me. *Gin looked at the next obstacle. He then looks back to Nicole.* Hmm... I'll let you go first, if you don't mind.

Nicole looks off in the distance. "He's a... old colleague of sorts." He said bluntly. "We shouldn't go yet, not until.." He glances over at the x band seniors. "A little bit."

“I don’t know I haven’t been to many challenges.... I don’t think we should go first.” James clearly didn’t trust the way everyone was looking at them. They were waiting for someone to go first but James didn’t know why. Alex and Gin made it to the beginning of the rope swing and then saw the same problem everyone else was having. No one was going. Alex would have to decide of he should go first while Gin was most likely thinking the same thing. However Gin also saw Nicole waiting at the very edge of the pit. Jo sat down like the rest of the seniors. Waiting for someone else to test the waters seemed like the safest bet. The woman frowned when she saw this. She walked as close to the edge as she could and cupped her hands around her mouth. “HEY! HURRY UP AND GET OVER HERE!” She screamed at him making the people around him jump in fear. Once they figured out she wasn’t angry at them they shuffled a straight path to the rope swings for Jo. Leon would see himself having the same thoughts as Alex and Gin. Someone had to over first, the wall kept inching closer. The founder sighed seeing Yuki flee. He turned his attention to the screen. His eyes narrowed at Nicole as he gripped a remote with the brand “X” on it tighter. “This is where the thorn finally gets plucked…” The founder cooed. Yuki would go past the familiar room next to the one she was just in. It was covered with 17 different locks ranging from the most hi-tech locks to a retina scanner on the door. She made a right at the next turn to the kitchen. At least it would be the kitchen if she took the first left turn instead. She was now in front of a door, frost seeping out from the edges of the frame. She didn’t remember this door being here, but she didn’t remember places that well in general. The trap is simple, a 20 by 20 meter pit filled with spikes. There was a pole hanging horizontally from two chains with three ropes of equal length dangling from the bottom side of the pole. Each one of these poles were a meter apart, making there 20 poles in total from start to finish. Just rope swing from one rope to the next. “A sudden turn of events ladies and gentlemen! All the participants of the obstacle course have suddenly stopped on the third trap the rope swing! The only who’s made it through is number 1 of section Y. But even she has suddenly stopped upon finishing it! The results are as follows… 1st. Number 1 from section Y. 2nd. Everyone else from section X, Y and Z. Stayed tuned to find out who will be forced to go first!”

No-ones going. Why not? *Gin didn't dare go. Something was going on, that much was for sure.* This is strange. There has to be some sort of trap to this. A trick of some kind. But if we don't go... *Gin looks behind him to see how close the wall was.* I wonder who will go first?

Alex waited.

Did she just... call me? Seeing the people move out of the way confirmed his fear. Why does she hate me so much? Damn it. I can make use of this though... "Hello! I'm going over to you now! I have something to tell you when I get there! Wait for me..." Jo began to walk to the edge of the pit near the rope hoping that his plan wouldn't fail.

Leon stood up and walked over to the edge. "I guess I'll go first then" He gripped the rope and took a few steps back ready to swing.

Ok so maybe we should go second then. Sounds good. Isla sat down. She did flinch when she heard that woman yell though.

Yuki would observe the door at first, thinking to herself she probably took a wrong turn before suddenly thinking this may be a huge freezer. If so then she might be able to find Ice cream beyond the door. She walked up to the door and opened it, careful not to drop the cookie bowl she cradled in her arms. As she walked in she hummed to herself a familiar tune, though a little off tone.

Gin, Alex, Isla, and Nicole all sat there waiting. The wall was only a few yards away now, The seniors around them were getting impatient. Most of them constantly shifting and moving. Still no one went. Some seniors heads looked up when they saw Jo and Leon get up. Along with every single student with a X brand. The woman’s eyes lit up when she heard what Jo said. She bounced back and forth. She began to tap her thighs with her fingers. The X branded students all began to stand up, their eyes focused on Jo. The woman’s pupils shrank as she realized what was happening. She nearly forgot about those things. The thought of him dying was the first thing that hit her. If he died from that then he wasn’t strong enough. Plain and simple. Then he wouldn’t be able to tell her what he was going to say. That thought struck her head and filled her mind. She painfully walked side to side seeing Jo grab the rope and the students get closer. She bit her lip seeing him back away ready to swing, once again the students straightening their backs. Finally, just when Leon stood up she leaped from the edge and headed for Jo, her eyes wild with curiosity. Leon saw Jo get up, making the other students stand up as well. He would stand next to Jo gripping his own rope. The same round of students beginning to surround him and Jo. Leon backed up, the tension beginning to strain the very air. One hop and he would swing. The woman who was swinging towards them was on Jo’s side so he’d be fine in his swing. Yuki felt the frost blast all around her. She stepped in while the door automatically closed behind her. The freezer she’s in had no light source. The sound of chains rumbling on the sound making a soft jingle was the only sound besides the whirr of AC. The sound of the chains hitting the ground was obviously making a song, a disturbingly soft tune. Yuki would realize the chains were hitting the ground to the same tune of the song she hummed. “Hm-hm, hm-hm, h-” Thum, Thum, Thum, Thum. The chains stopped as soon as the door closed behind Yuki enclosing her in darkness. She felt her arms soften from only being there for a minute. By now she realized she wasn’t in a big refrigerator. Before she could even think about turning around a child like voice came from the darkness, coming from all around her. “Hey!” It called. “Is someone there? Can you turn on the lights, it’s right next to the door…”

Yuki would hear the voice and without thinking, flipped on the switch next to the door so freezer would illuminate. Looking towards the place the voice came from with a nervous smile. "H-hi. What are you doing here? D-do you know where they k-keep the Ice-cream?" she asked while slightly fidgeting.

Well, I suppose we're going then. *Gin sighed.* Well, it's either we go now or die to advancing wall of doom back there. Not much of a choice eh? *He smirked before starting to press towards the obstacle himself. If there were some trick, he was hoping someone would at least be "kind" enough to show it off to him before he got there.*

"..."

Oh it's time James! Knowing that the wall was coming and two people were already going Isla grabbed a rope and waited for James to do the same thing. This is like the best time to swing!

"No you're right it's time to go." Nicole nodded over to Gin. "Go. I'll make sure that there is no sabotage on you. Don't worry." Nicole smirks. "I wouldn't be far behind you."

"All or nothing!" Leon yelled while running full speed over the edge into the rope swing. He was ready for anything that would come behind. He did steer clear of the woman though.

Multiple things happened at this moment. In short, mayhem had broken loose. Jo had swung to the next rope. Upon seeing this, the section X students charged at him. This was when another thing happened, they broke into two parts, attacking whoever went to the rope swing. At least they would've if all the seniors didn't jump to the ropes as soon as Leon swung off. Roughly five seconds after Leon swung Isla and Gin both went to the ropes as well, Nicole hot on Gin's heels. In ten seconds, every single student except Alex was on the ropes gunning it to the end, knocking anyone in their way off. Jo had made it half-way through the trap when he saw an X branded student swing towards him. However, before the student could knock him down the woman slammed her knees into the section X student's hip, sending him flying down to his death. She turned around and grabbed the rope next to Jo swinging by his side. "Hey what is the thing you're going to tell me!?" She screamed at him before knocking an innocent student behind her to whatever god they believed in. Gin was roughly in the middle of the chaos. If he didn't make sure to grab a rope which no one was going for he would fall to his death due to the fact he wouldn't grab anything. Gin noticed Nicole staying behind him. Zlatan suddenly was next to Gin, moving towards James. Gin noticed there was now an opportunity next to him. He could push Zlatan, stalling him and guaranteeing that he'd stay behind. Nicole saw the same opportunity as Gin did. Isla swung from rope to rope with James next to her. They both were near the front and could see Jo and the woman directly ahead of them. Isla would then see two people reach for the ropes in front of her. One that was next to James reaching for the rope on her right. The other reaching for the rope on her left. The rope in front of her was safe, however, the woman was there. It was obvious they were trying to reach the front, even if it meant she wouldn't. Isla could try to call James for help with her the rope to her right or try her chances with her left rope against the other student alone. Or if she was feeling lucky she could use the middle one. Leon would keep away from the woman and stay on the right side avoiding most of the students, because of this he was now neck and neck with the woman. He'd see James nearby to his left next to Isla. The two students coming to the top would provide good cover. He could safely make his way over to him, securing his graduation money from Zlatan depending on what he'd do if he got there. Alex would see everyone else leave. The wall now only 10 feet away from him. He'd have to swing right now to avoid being stabbed in twelve different places at once. Yuki's eyes flinched as they adjusted to the light. She would then see a little boy against the middle of the wall. He had a straight jacket on with black pants and no shoes. There were two chains on his wrist and two on his thighs, and two around his ankles. He had black wavy hair that turned purple at its tips. There was a gag around his mouth preventing him from speaking. Before she could question it he stared at her with bright blue eyes. "Don't worry about the cold you'll get used to it after a month Yuki." He told her. It was then that she saw he had a speaker on his throat. "Oh, and would you mind freeing me? I'll show where the ice cream if you do~"

*Gin looks at Zlatan.* Hey isn't that that body throwing jack ass? What's he doing this time? *Gin looked ahead of him.* Is he after certain people or trying to thin the herd? Well, it doesn't matter in the end. I'm staying outta this. *Gin rushes to grab a rope as quick as he can so he can make his way past the obstacle, hopefully avoiding Zlatan trying to kill him again.*

Holy shit my plan is actually working. But that will be until she hears what I have to say. If she does I'm no longer in her protection. "I'll tell you after we finish the course..." Jo said grabbing another rope to swing off of.

Nicole however took this chance to slam into Zlatan, making sure that he doesn't murder anyone. Nice ploy, kid. Nicole looks toward Zlatan.

Nicole's plan bore fruit as he slammed his body into the unsuspecting Zlatan, making them both swing counter clock-wise. For Nicole, this was a small price to pay to stall him. For Zlatan, he thought of it as an annoyance and would get back on track soon. However, that was when he saw who he was swinging to. Gin was swinging at the same pace as most of the seniors. He decided to not delay Zlatan who was right next to him. As Gin grabbed the next rope he saw Nicole ram his body into Zlatan making him go forward counter clock-wise. If things went like this Zlatan would swing right into Gin's path. Jo, who was at the front of the group, was nearing the end with the woman. She frowned and closed her eyes when she heard what Jo said, he could almost feel her internally screaming with a mix of excitement and impatience. He then could see that the end of the rope swing was a wall with a ladder on it leading to a platform. He knew he'd finish the trap soon, that was until he saw the woman's head next to him suddenly perk up. She turned her head towards another woman with short hair reaching them. She was next to a man in a tuxedo who was screaming: "Wait Isla don't get near th-!" Another man came to the one wearing a tuxedo and pushed him to the side making him swing right into another senior was in the middle of grabbing a rope. Jo then felt the same feeling he got only two hours ago with Mary. The woman's eyes grew dark as she reeled her hand back mid-swing at the approaching person. Isla would see the two people next to her not move towards her. Their eyes filled with fear and pity for Isla. She didn't understand why until she saw the woman in front of her suddenly perk up and turn around to her with cold dark eyes. It was a feeling Isla wouldn't forget. The woman's entire body was tense like she on fire while her eyes were as cold as ice. During the time the woman in front of Isla was reeling her hand back towards her she heard James yell: "Wait Isla don't get near th-!" Before a man swung beside him and pushed James into one of the people who tried to pin her before. James held on tightly while the person James crashed into fell to the spikes mercy. Leon would see his plan work out in the best way he could manage. Leon made his way to the man wearing a tuxedo. He didn't notice Leon since he was extremely concentrated on a woman with short black hair. Leon got ready to push as the man was yelling: "Wait Isla don't get near th-!" Leon cut him off by pushing his body to the right. The man slammed into another person sending him down the spikes. Alex would feel a spike slowly pierce his right cheek as he stood there emotionlessly. A small stream of crimson liquid would flow from the wound. The other spikes along with the one in his cheek would slowly and painfully grow closer if he didn't move.

Yuki looked over the boy then looked around the freezer. After her gaze settled on him again a smile arose. "Why are you here?" she said cheerfully "Did you do something naughty?" her smile becoming more like a predator after finding its prey.

*Gin sighs.* Just my luck. Well, let's not focus too hard on that guy. Instead, I'll make like a Mad Hatter and change places. *Gin goes for another rope outside of Zlatan's path.*

Oh no... Jo saw her slowly get closer when the man in the tuxedo yelled her name. Isla? What the hell is wrong with her?! "Uh, hey I think I could tell you what I was going to say now!" Jo yelled at the woman to distract her.

------- ----! I take a break and this happens! Seriously! It took control, getting onto the ropeswing, trying to stay away from any struggle.

James?! Isla then looked at the woman in front of her. Uh... Wait let's talk about this... What's your name?

Nicole recoiled back and spun forward getting to the next ropein front of him. This should work.

"What?!" The little boy screamed through his speaker. "You mean good kids don't get chained up and locked in a freezer? Oh, wait I guess he forgot to lock the door this time... anyway I can't do much when I'm like this. Come on, free me and I might show you something cool~" He told Yuki. She began to lose feeling in her body due to how cold it was. Gin would move out of the way just in time, so close that he felt the rush of air from Zlatan swinging by him. In the brief time they were near each other Gin saw that Zlatan was smiling. A devilish smile that looked like he planned something. However, if Gin continued like this then he'd reach the end of the trap. The woman paused and stared at Jo before grabbing the rope in front of her. They were nearing the end of the trap. She silently nodded at Jo before turning away from the other woman named Isla. She ended up finishing the trap, with Jo having a clear way to the end of it. It would then find that the rope swing wasn't a race against the other students anymore, it became one against the wall itself. It now had to make way through the rope swings without any delay or else the wall moves to kill him. It would find no trouble catching up with the rest of the group since most were already finishing the trap. Leon would then make it to the end of the rope swing with no trouble. Just like the other traps, Leon noticed the amount of people left at the end was not nearly as much as the number of people who started it. He would also feel a slight burning in his arms from all the exercise. The end of the trap was a ladder against a wall with holes seemly for decoration. Isla would then see the woman ignore her as a man distracted her long enough for her to finish the trap. Isla then saw that she had a clear way to the end of the trap. James was making his way towards her after regaining his flow. Nicole would see Zlatan swing far, grabbing other ropes and making a complete circle. Zlatan swung so far he was now behind Nicole. He didn't realize why until he saw the smile across his enemy's face. Zlatan flew behind Nicole using a rope and crashed his foot onto the wound on Nicole's back.

James over here! Isla yelled to him as she finished the trap.

What's that guy planning? Ugh. As long as it's not directed at me this time, I'll stay outta his way. *Gin would just try to make his way to the end of the trap.*

Yuki pondered for a little bit as she put her hand up to her chin. After about a minute she opened her eyes with a smile before turning around. "Alright, I'll go ask jii-san for the key. I'll be right back!" She said as she left the freezer and attempted to wonder back to the room the founder was in.

Nicole grit his teeth as he got hit but using the momentum he swung forward to the latter. That could have gone better. He makes his way up the latter.

Isla and James both would finish the rope swing. James grabbed Isla's shoulder before she could try and move to the ladder. "Hold on, I need to tell you something," He said somehow not out of breath. "That woman from before you went behind on the rope swing, don't do that ever again if you like arms where they are right now. She's bad news, I can't tell you how many seniors she tortured when she wanted them to act like slaves and couldn't obey her impossible standards..." He then looked over at the man who the woman was waiting for. The same one who distracted the woman for Isla. James then mumbled an apology to the man before climbing the ladder to the next trap. Gin managed to finish the trap pretty early due to his steady pace. Before Gin could try and grab the ladder to the next trap a hand gripped his shoulder. It was Marc. Despite the smile he gave Gin, his skin was pale and his eyes were droopy. Gin would then see the scarlet stain on his back. "Hey man! Looks like you made this far huh? We might actually win this thing since the both of us lasted this long!" He reassured Gin if he needed it. The woman crossed her arms as she waited for Jo to finish. Before he could say anything she put her hand up. "I know... After the course right?" She smiled warmly. "This better be good!" She warned Jo as she climbed up the ladder to the next trap. Leon managed to be one of the first people to climb the ladder giving a head start in front of most of the students. He would have to first chance to try the last obstacle. Nicole would also be one of the first people up the "latter" as well to be one of the first to sink his teeth into the next trap. He would see that the X students were following close behind him as if waiting for this obstacle. As the last of the students made it up the ladder the wall would slowly close against the ladder, filling the holes on the walls with its blades, taking anyone too slow on the rope swing. That included Alex, his life being reduced to a mere pincushion of the wall before it closed against the end. Alex has been killed. The next trap was the simplest and the last one. There two platforms with a huge gap between them. Four tightropes connecting the platform you were on to the finish line on the other side. The boy would watch Yuki leave the freezer saying a word he didn't understand. What the hell is a jii-san...? Ah, wait she forgot to lock the door just like him... be a waste to just let this slip by... I hoping for a better chance, but gotta take what ya got. He began to stretch his arms inside the straight jacket, slowly and comfortably, the sound of the locks popping off of the jacket from the force of the stress filled the freezer. Until finally, the boy tore it off of him. He then ripped the gag off his mouth along with his speaker. He massaged his chin before smiling. Yuki would run out of the freezer, feeling her body relieved at the warmth of the outside. She would try to make a bee-line to the founder's office, however, she then heard the sound of a metal against metal. Upon inspection she finally found it. The kitchen. That was prior to hearing a loud clamor of something metallic slamming onto the floor with great force, enough to make the sound echo across the hallway.

Don't jinx it, man. We ain't done yet. *Gin chuckles as he heads for the next trap.* We do I feel this isn't quite as easy as it seems. Well, might as well let someone else try first. See what this one does.

Jo sighed and smiled back. Well at least it's more time. "Yeah, let's finish it quickly then." Climbed the ladder with her and looked at the tightropes. Another 3 choice decision... maybe the third rope?

Isla stopped and stared at the man. Um, shouldn't we try to warn him? She yelled to James while climbing the ladder.

Marc and Gin both looked at the three options. The finish line was right there. Gin would see Marc slowly limp his way to the tightrope in the middle. "If we wait we'll lose the lead we have already. We need to make it before they do." Marc crouched near the rope to nearest to the left edge. He grabbed the rope with both hands, intending to use his hands to make his way to the end. However, he reeled back in pain when he wrapped his hands around the rope. His hands were quickly covered in blood. "What the fuck?!" Jo would begin to walk to the third rope before he heard a scream of pain. He saw a man who already had a wound on his back suddenly bounce backward from grabbing the tightrope near the edge. His hands had his blood dripping from his fingers. "The rope's sharp. Try and grab it and your fingers might get chopped off." The woman told Jo while looking at the man. "He has a nice tattoo though." "Sorry, he's a lost cause as soon as the Queen set her eyes on him. No way we have a chance of helping him." James told Isla before she heard the man scream. She recognized him as Marc from the limo. He was clutching his wrist while his hands were bleeding from his palms. "Oh shit... the rope is sharp, we can't use our hands to get across. We have to balance our way to the finish line." Leon would also see what happened to the man when he tried to grab the tightrope. If Leon inspected the rope he would see that while it is sharp, it wasn't enough to cut through the soles of someone's shoe. That would mean they were safe as long as they used their legs to get across. Nicole would feel the tightrope slice into his skin, but he endured it as he made his way to the end at a pace neither fast or slow. The only problem he'd have was the fact his blood was now dripping onto his baseball uniform.

A tightrope made of Cheese Wire. Well, let's just hope our shoes can handle it. And here I am without my comically large stick. *Gin stretches.* It's not like we can wait. Move fast. Embrace the pain. Easy right? Heh heh. *Gin tries to move across one of the tightropes on foot, moving as fast as possible while also being careful not to fall off and become another dead body for Zlatan to throw at someone.*

What? So we just leave him to die? And why is her name the Queen? Isla felt more and more question bubble inside her.

Nicole clinch his teeth and move forward. I have to make it. There was no question about it. Nicole make a his way forward.

Yuki would walk over to the kitchen but stop where the paths converge, instead leaning against the wall and waiting. Her innocent and lively eyes now a dull expression reflecting the magnitude of numerous sleepless nights. She simply remained there waiting for what would come next, still holding the empty bowl in her hands.

Gin would go in front of a man on the tightrope. He felt the rope sway as he managed to balance both of his feet onto the rope. He felt the string dig into the soles of his shoes, but it didn't cut through, in fact, it helped his balance in terms of grip. However, he felt a strain on the rope as another person took the same route as him. Distance to the finish line: Near Halfway Jo would see another man making his way through the rope. He would then go on the rope himself finding his balance as well. He did feel the rope began to bend more downwards uncomfortably as he stepped on it. Jo would figure out that the rope could only hold a few people at a time. It also would be that moment that he would realize how few people made it this far. Only eleven. Distance to the finish line: Beginning. Leon easily found his balance thanks to his training and walked slightly faster than most people due to it. That wouldn't help in the fact that he felt the rope suddenly stretch downwards. Leon would see two more people go onto the same rope he did. Going fast may risk the rope's strength now because of this. Distance to the finish line: Near Halfway. Isla would see James go onto the first rope before he turned to her. "Weren't you also in that gym? You say what happened to that woman when the Queen snapped! We don't stand a chance even if we jump her majesty. She's an Ichor, the only people who can touch her are the other nine." Jo then called for Isla to hurry up and follow him. Distance to the finish line: Beginning. Nicole would be going across the rope smoothly until he felt his weight shift downwards. Four X students were on the rope, their eyes focused entirely on him. Unlike Nicole, their hands were bleeding heavily yet the kept the same pace, which was faster than Nicole's pace at the price of nearly slicing off their fingers. At this rate, they will catch up to him by the time he nears the end of the trap. Distance from the finish line: Halfway Yuki would hear the sound of feet tapping the floor and chains dragging on the ground grow closer and closer. There was no one else in the kitchen, just stainless steel equipment that showed Yuki's glass-like eyes reflected back. Yuki would then hear the footsteps and chains stop. "Heya lady!" The familiar voice greeted. "You were busy stuffing your face? Can't blame ya I'm hungry too. Though the guards will be here any minute, what do you recommend to eat?"

Don't tell me. The ropes are fragile. Too many people on one and they go down. *Gin sighs but remains resolute.* Can't go back. Only one way to go. As long as no-one throws bodies at me, I think I'll be good. Ha ha. Oh, I hope I didn't jinx it. *Gin decides to keep going forward, a bit slower than he had to try and keep his balance.*

Isla went to the same rope as James. Ichor? What does that mean? Isla noticed how the rope bent when they stepped on it. James I think we should go slow, the rope isn't strong...

Yuki looked at the boy then looked back at the cookies she just stored in the bowl before hesitantly handing it to her. "You can have some cookies." she said a bit nervously as she obviously didn't really seem like she wanted to share her bounty

Gin would keep his pace with only a few quick moments of swaying as he grew closer to the end. He would then feel his legs wobble side to side as the rope shook from extra weight. That would be when he saw two more people slowly walk on the rope. One of them being Zlatan. Zlatan walked on the rope with his hands in his pockets. He clearly knew if someone so much as jumped. The weight wouldn't be able to hold if two people were halfway at the same time. There needed to be less weight, or Gin needed to not be on the rope when they other students reach halfway. Distance to the finish line: Halfway Jo would be doing fine making his way across the rope until he felt the rope shift downwards. Another student along with Zlatan behind them was quickly and recklessly making their way across the rope. If two people were at the middle of the rope then it would surely snap. Jo would then be faced with a choice. There was a man in front of him and a man behind him who just got on but he was making his way quickly. There needed to be less weight on the rope if two people were to be on the rope near the middle. Distance to the finish line: Near Halfway James would steadily make his way across the rope when he heard Isla's advice, he would then answer her question. "Means she one of the top ten strongest in the school! We don't stand a chance." Isla would see that another student was now attempting to use to the same rope as them. That student overestimated her sense of balance and slipped, catching herself on the rope before screaming as her blood dripped down her palms. "Oh shit!" James yelled as he saw what happened. The rope had swayed heavily due to this and both her and James would feel their balance shake. Distance to the finish line: Near Halfway Nicole would feel more of his blood begin to drip down more heavily. He had lost half a cup now if he loses much more he'll begin to go numb and then unconscious. He needed to finish it quickly. One of the X students suddenly would let go and fall down below, showing a preview of Nicole's fate if he lost more blood. Yet despite this, the other three X students continued towards him at the same pace. They were only 3 meters away from him. Distance to the finish line: Near End Leon would find that his pace would help with the constant shaking of the rope due to the other two people. However, they didn't have the same courtesy as he did, they were catching up to Leon with no sign of slowing down. Distance to the finish line: Halfway Yuki would see the boy grab the cookies and sit in a chair, his chains rattling from it dragging on the ground. "So Yuki, I kinda need some help with something. I know that you have a-" The sound of footsteps cut the boy off as fully armored men with rifles entered the kitchen. They trained their aim at him and without a second thought all four of the men shot the boy. The ear piercing sound of gunshots echoed in the kitchen. They each shot one bullet. Two in his chest and two in his head. A spatter of his blood flew the fridge. They all then aimed their guns at Yuki. Yuki would also notice that the boy's blood was... magenta. "Did he tell you anything?" The man demanded.

Isla used her arms to regain her balance before she looked at the woman who was hanging off the rope. James we need to help, she's gonna fall! Isla began to slowly make her way to the woman.

*Gin sighed deeply. He knew the rope wouldn't last if there were too many people on it and judged by how the rope was straining that there were too many too close. Gin decided to speed walk across the rope, hoping that he wouldn't fall and the rope could last until he reached the end.* Don't break. Don't break. Don't break.

Yuki would simply sigh. Not even giving the guards the satisfaction of an answer. "For guards, you all are idiots huh. Well, the jii-san doesn't pay you to be smart." he said as he continued to stand there, awaiting the massacre that would soon follow.

Isla would see the woman's hands begin to slip as she made her way to her. The woman saw Isla began to attempt to get closer to her, stretching her right arm to Isla. "Isla, get away from her if you both start pulling on the rope it'll snap! No way it can take it you have to find another w-way!" James yelled at Isla as he swayed back and forth. Distance to the finish line: Beginning Gin felt the rope slowly bend lower and lower, each step making the rope dip another inch down. It will no doubt break when the other three people reach halfway. Gin would then see that the end was only a few meters away. If he speeds up dramatically and jumped there is a chance he might make to the cost, however, the people behind won't have the odds in their favor. Distance to the finish line: Near End Leon would see the two people aid in bringing the rope lower than comfortable. He was now at the pace as the other two people, yet it was debatable whether or not that is a good thing. The rope will not hold when those two people reach halfway. He only had one more chance to reach the end. Distance to the finish line: Near End Jo would feel the rope bend more and more. It was going to snap. Jo saw the woman stare at him, knowing that she knew exactly what was going to happen. That was also when he would her turn her head to the side, toward a man walk across the same rope with his hands in his pockets. While the main concern should be the fact the rope is going to break in mere moments. Distance to the finish line: Halfway Nicole quickening pace allowed him to reach the end of the rope before the X students. He would feel his strength weaken almost completely due to the loss of blood. The remaining three X students were only a meter away from Nicole, their eyes still locked on him as they tried to finish the trap. Distance to the finish line: The End Yuki would see the guards put their fingers on the trigger. "Tell me what he told you or else the frosting on those cookies will be your blood, Deadman" He threated. The boy's body still remains motionless, his blood still mostly frozen, as if it was a smoothie.

*Gin glances behind him. Seeing Zlatan is all he needs to know as he looks back at the finish line. He breathes in.* All or nothing at the moment. Sorry, but I have promises left to keep. *Gin makes a running jump for the end of the rope, hoping he can make the ground on the other side before the rope snaps.*

Son of a bitch... No choice, I haven't done this in a while. Leon began to quicken his pace towards the end. "Get ready random students!" Leon said while he jumped to the end if he made it that far.

Don't worry about me just get to the end! Isla yelled as she got to the woman. Hey hey, you're going to be fine, I'n going to hand you may jacket so you can wrap it around your hands and just slide to the end ok? Just trust me i'll make sure you won't fall ok? Isla said as calm as she could. She took off her jacket and handed it to the woman's right arm.

Realization dawned on Yuki. The boy had only come out of the freezer so his abilities would still be limited. Yuki would look at the group, knowing they wouldn't want to reason. They were never the type to use their head after all. Well, not that it mattered. A sigh escaped the young teens lips before finally speaking. "I don't feel like dealing with this." Immediately afterwards Yuki's eyes changed from the tired and indifferent expression from before to cheerful and lively. She looks over to the boy on the ground, noticing the blood on the ground. Her eyes became wide as her body began to tremble. Upon hearing the yelling of the guards she began to panic. Fearing the blood before her and the pain that would surely follow soon after. Her body moved. She simply swung her arms around at first, they didn't seem coordinated, more clumsy than anything else but she continued to do so until finally falling onto her but and then crawling to a corner as tears began to escape from the corners of her eyes. The guards themselves may even be confused at her strange actions but they wouldn't even live long enough to really notice the change as their upper halves, legs and arms, head and feet slowly separated and fell onto the floor in a sloppy mess. She would remain in the corner trembling in an attempt to calm herself. "Pain, blood....I don't want to hurt. Please don't hurt me. Please." she sobbed to no one in particular

Gin would barely make it a few feet before he knew the rope would snap, forcing him to jump. He managed to grip the ledge at the end of the broken rope. If he turned behind him he'd see that Zlatan had leapt too. His jump made his cling to the wall a few feet below Gin. Somehow, his fingers were stabbed into the wall, small craters around each finger. Zlatan slowly arched his head up towards Gin as he stabbed his hand to the wall again, slowly climbing towards him at alarming speed. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Jo would see the rope snap as soon as the man in the front jumped. Thanks to Jo's prepared grip he managed to not fall directly down like the person right behind them. However, as Jo fell he would see Zlatan soar over him, heading directly towards the end but landing on the wall. Jo felt the rope slice into his skin as he swung to the wall and slammed against it. Zlatan was only a foot above him to the right, yet his head was point upwards as he began to climb up upwards. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Leon would feel the rope vibrate violently as he jumped towards the end. As he was mid-air he saw that the people behind them were a man and a woman. The man had managed to jump in time, however, the woman lost her balance, falling to the bottom. The man landed on the edge barely able to pull himself up. He then looked at Leon with nothing but hatred in his eyes. "You... killed... my sister..." He mumbled angrily. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Isla saw the woman only nod as she grabbed her jacket. Isla's new problem used her jacket as a cushion to her bloody hands. They were now making their way slowly across the rope, with James now slowly and carefully making her way towards them. Distance to the finish line: Halfway Nicole was barely able to lift his hand to snap his fingers, which made his blood on the rope suddenly begin to boil with red mist escaping in the air. The X students already blood fingers didn't flint in the slightest even when another one of the three students couldn't hold on anymore. That was when the rope snapped from different places at the same time, just as one of the X students grabbed the ledge, taking all of the maniacs with the rope down below. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Yuki would see one of the guards who was split in half reach his hand towards her. "Y-you... Deadm-" A rope of magenta blood shot down, exploding into spikes as soon as it connected with the man's skull. "Man that was rude, rearranging my brain back took longer than I thought. I nearly saw my neighbor's dog back there." The boy said with annoyance. He then looked at the trembling woman in the corner. "What's wrong lady? You did a good job, made an amazing blender if I say so myself haha! So back to business. I need to know the door's passcode."

*Gin pulls himself up and looks down at Zlatan* I'm not gonna question how you did that, but I admire your determination. We're even now, Zlatan. You threw a body at me. I tried to drop you into a pit. No hard feeling, yeah? Ciao. *Gin starts heading for the finish line at a slow jog, hoping to finish before Zlatan could catch him.*

You're ok, You're ok... Isla looked at James and knew that they'd never make it this way. James, you're already near the end! Get to the finish line hurry! I've got this!

Walks past and Sticks up the Middle Finger "Fuck You"

Yuki would continue to tremble in corner trying to calm herself and avoiding looking back to the gore she saw earlier. She was genuinely scared. Yuki used splash.......nothing happened lol

Well I didn't really plan for this to happen... "Listen man, she was going to die anyway with the way you guys were running, but at least you now have someone to blame for her death." Leon then turned his back to the man and began walking towards the finish line.

Gin would see Zlatan look back at him with a cold stare. Zlatan then sped up, making it to the ledge inhumanly fast, he then passed by a woman as he walked over to Gin. He took long strides as he caught up to Gin in seconds. He then shot his hand forward Gin's neck with an iron grip. Zlatan lifted Gin off the ground looking at him with not a face of satisfaction, in fact, it was a blank stare he gave Gin. He wouldn't last long, Gin had to think of something before his windpipe gave out. Distance to death: At His Door Isla would take her time slowly across the rope along with the woman. James nodded hearing what Isla said and quickly but carefully made his way off the rope. The woman Isla was saving would then mumble something Isla couldn't hear. Distance to the finish line: Near End Jo felt his arms slowly give out, the rope being impossible to climb with the state he was in. That was when he felt the rope tug upwards. Jo then realized someone was pulling the rope towards the ledge. He recognized the person pulling the rope as his personal kidnapper. She smiled as Jo slowly made his way to the top. Distance to the finish line: A Few Less Meters The man would try to get up, ultimately failing, making him collapse. Leon would see the only people have made it this far was occupied with something, the man who offered him the deal was in the process of killing someone, a woman was pulling a rope up, and the baseball player was barely mobile. The finish line seemed easy until he saw a man in a tuxedo suddenly finish his way across the rope, he was now running at an Olympic speed towards the finish line. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Nicole saw the situation with Gin and Zlatan, along with his fellow senior, James, making a bee-line towards the finish line. Nicole would only be able to stop them with his strength using ordinary means. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters The boy rolled his eyes and poked Yuki's knee with his foot. "Hey, you know he'll be coming soon right? I can promise that the Ice Box isn't a fun place to be." The boy persuaded to no effect. He groaned at kneeled down to get to eye level with Yuki. "Listen, I don't know what the hell is going on with your morals right now, but I either need the passcode to the entrance of the prison doors. I can't do this without the rest of my crew." The child then held his hand towards his mouth, breaking into a short violent cough. He wiped his hand on his clothes before waiting for Yuki's answer. Akuma would find the exit easily and managed to graduate as the earliest student in BlackRain history.

Hm? What was that? Isla asked the woman as they were getting near the end of the trap.

Now, can't you take a joke? I mean, it's not like I was the one who broke the rope. You can blame that guy who was between us for that. So. How's about a truce? Parley, y'know. *Gin chuckled slightly, smirking as Zlatan tightened his grip.* Oh I am not becoming another piece of ammo for you to throw next game. Let's see here. *Gin would look around frantically for something to use, a weakspot Zlatan has so he can break his grip or someone to help him out.*

"Bastard!" Leon yelled while running after the man in the tuxedo. I completely forgot about him!

I wonder if I jump will I be able to fall before she has the chance to catch me... Jo held on weakly as he made it to the top, taking the woman's help to getting back to solid ground I hate this... "Hey. Thanks." Jo told the woman for helping him not die.

"I-I don't know!" she practically yelled as she began to hyperventilate. "I-I don't k-know about that s-stuff. I-I don't want to hurt. Please don't hurt me. Pain. Blood. I don't like it." she trembled as she seemed to huddle up even tighter. She was completely terrified and anything else that could be said to her would simply fall on deaf ears.

Isla would find that the woman went silent, though she still kept moving towards the end. Once they reached the finish line the woman extended her bloody arm towards Isla. If Isla took her arm then she'd pull the woman up onto the ledge. The woman would also give Isla's jacket back. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Gin would feel his world sway as Zlatan shifted to the side violently before he could respond. Not only did he not fall, he still held his grip. Zlatan slowly turned his head to the man who saved his life. He then dropped Gin harshly to the ground as he walked to the person who rudely interrupted. The path to the finish line was now almost clear with the exception of two people running to the end. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Nicole saw Zlatan dropped the man he was holding while turning his head towards him. Zlatan smiled when he saw how tired Nicole was. He bit his wrists, making his blood wrap under his sleeves and over his hands like a glove. The blood over his quickly hardened as Zlatan walked to Nicole until he was a few inches away. "This won't be like last time old friend" Zlatan taunted. Distance to a fight: A Few Words Leon would only be able to keep pace with the man in the tuxedo. He was now only a few feet away from the finish line. He would make it by the time Leon made a move. He had to make it count. Distance to the finish line: A Few Feet Jo would see the woman pull him to the ledge, helping him get back into the solid ground. "Hurry up, the finish line is just about a second run from here...." If Jo didn't move she'd carry him to the finish line. Jo would be weak from blood loss. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Yuki saw the boy shake his head in disappointment. He then looked at her neck. "A sophomore huh? Well, I guess it's senior now. That goes for me too. I'll make sure of it." The boy turned to the exit and began to leave. Yuki would be alone with the bodies she killed.

Isla took her arm and Jacket, while offering her shoulder to lean on. Hey what did you say back there on the rope? And what's your name? Why'd you lose your balance?

Twice now eh? Guess I'll have you lunch or something then. *Gin chuckles before continuing towards the finish line.* Can I finish this stupid thing before I almost die again? Is that too much to ask?

Jo sighed and stood up slowly and painfully. "No I'm fine thanks for asking." Jo told her as he limped to the finish line.

Gotta do something! "Not losing all that money!" Leon jumped towards the man, aiming for his legs in order to stop him.

Nicole would say nothing, trying to catch his breathe to regain as much energy as he can. Nicole would stare at Zlatan as if studying, however he indication he was. Waiting for something to happen.

Isla would find that the woman stayed silent, she didn't say a word. She did though take her offer and leaned against her shoulder. Isla saw that the woman's blood-soaked right hand had a Z brand on it. Her eyes were avoiding Isla at all cost it seems. Isla would also see James at the finish line. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Gin would see a man in a tuxedo already at the finish line along with another man right behind him. It would seem like making it to the end would be impossible unless Gin could teleport. However, he did notice the screens on each wall to the left and right of him have the avatars suddenly jumped behind him excitedly. They were all ready to see the fight between the man who saved him and the man who tried to kill him. Either way, the finish line was free game. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Jo felt a chill down his shoulder when the woman gave him nothing but a stare in response to his remark. It quickly faded when she seemed to realize something, however, so she jogged next to Jo. She pointed to Zlatan and the other man. They were each tense as if they were ready to pounce as soon as one of them flinches. She jogged around them, ignoring the problem. "Don't it won't last long." The Queen told Jo Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters Nicole would feel Zlatan's stare begin to remind him of a fox right next to its prey. He didn't say anything more, he simply put his hands in his pockets and walked towards Nicole. His smile grew back while he paused only inches from Nicole. Nicole would see a red blur shoot out of Zlatan's pocket. His fist stopped an inch away from Nicole's nose, so close Nicole saw his reflection on it. The thing that stopped Zlatan was a loud buzzing that rang out from every corner. Distance to the finish line: A Few Meters(?) Leon would see the man catch his motives and jump right as he dived. He leaped directly to the finish line. As soon as he passed through the holographic line it disappeared. A loud buzzing noise filled the course, making everyone stop in their tracks. Distance to the finish line: A Foot Where It Used To Be "There it is folks! We have a winner! A Y section student section student has crossed the finish line! The bets and course are now closed! I hope you enjoyed the show and I'll see you next week." The voice then disappeared just as the screens shut down. The course was now eerily dark, only illuminated by the background lights. As you looked around from where you were you'd see that there was only 9 people left. Some of them unconscious. The finish line then erupted with light as a room lined with a neon glow rose from the ground. The seniors like The Queen and Zlatan both made their way towards the door as if they done it countless times before. You got the feeling that the room was the exit, finally, a way out of the course. Yuki then heard a tune pierce the silence of the kitchen coming from her wristband, making her eyes turn from being in a frenzy to calm and focused. A voice then spoke to her through it, the founder, telling Yuki the course was over and that Yuki needed to leave. He'd handle the situation.

Gin Teleports an wins *Gin would walk cross the line.* Finish line? Oh right. We were doing this for a reason weren't we. Money I think. Anyway, I'm getting out of this mess. Wonder who's still alive. *Gin starts heading for the apparant exit door, looking at the group to see who was still up and running.*

We made it! Alive at least! Isla yelled to the woman hanging off her. She looked over to James and waved. James! You made it, I knew it!

Gin would recover from the ordeal of nearing having the life choked out of him and walked towards the exit door, along with the other eight people who survived. He noticed one man was unconscious near the ledge at the end of the rope trap. Now that the shock and adrenaline began to fade, the feeling of the numerous cuts and bruises he had formed around his body, along with a burning sensation of soreness from his muscles. He would then feel a hand slam down on his shoulder, then a weak smile greeted him. Mark practically leaned against Gin with the hand he placed on his shoulder. "Ok, that was harder than I thought... well, can't win them all right? We should probably never do this again heh....heh..." Marc was breathing heavily as he went ahead of Gin to open the door for him. Inside the room was just empty space. Marc staggered inside after Gin. "Where the hell do we go?" After a moment a woman walked inside with a man, she quickly waved her hand making a screen appear next to the door frame. She pressed the only button on it, causing the holographic window to turn green and disappear. Marc sighed and shook his head. "Hey, Gin, I know this doesn't even matter anymore, but why did you apply to this college? Was it just for kicks?" Marc asked softly. Nicole saw Zlatan give him a blank stare. Zlatna nodded while smiling before walking by Nicole. Zlatan patted his shoulder as he passed him, a friendly gesture, but a firm one. Nicole would see the exit form at the end of the challenge just like the other challenges. He would find no reason to stay at the course since everyone was heading to the elevator. He walked towards the room with everyone else, seeing his fellow Ichors: the Gentleman and the Queen. He would find his place in the room with the rest of the people. He would notice there were only eight survivors. He felt a nag in the back of his head. It said something was wrong. Challenges were never this fatal, this was something that was made to thin out people. Yet Nicole was left to wonder why. Jo would a peaceful end to the fight as the room erupted from the ground. He walked with the Queen to the exit, right behind the familiar man who was on the same rope as him before. Once they entered the room the Queen waved her hand at the door frame making a screen appear. She pressed something on it which made the screen switch green as it disappeared. She then leaned against the wall as she waited for Jo. "Well? Tell me what you were going to say. I'm waiting." She said with an edge to each word. James ran to Isla and practically picked her up and spun her around. "Holy shit you're right I made I can believe it IthoughtIwasgonnadietherewasaguywhotriedtostopmebutIjumpedthen I... I..." James slowly put Isla down and stared at the man walking towards him. James looked at him and froze. "H-Hey Zlatan..." James stammered. Zlatan extended his hand towards James making him flinch. It was for a handshake. "Congrats, you fought hard James." James slowly shook his hand, afterward, Zlatan simply walked to the exit. Isla realized that when James picked her up the woman she was helping fell to the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" James apologized grabbing the woman and carrying her bridal style. The woman groaned and looked at Isla with empty eyes. They both walked towards the exit and stepped in. James looked at Isla. He was lost in thought before he sighed and shifted through his wristband. Isla's wristband then beeped softly. If she checked it she would see a notification which read: You have received a friend request from: James Burns Accept Decline

Leon would make his way towards the exit after getting up and recovering from the fall. By the time he walked into the room he realized he was the last one inside. He found his spot near the corner. As soon as he settled in a screen next to the door frame appeared which displayed a countdown. He soon felt a nudge on his arm, turning around would reveal the same man who offered him a deal back near the beginning of the obstacle course. He expelled an air of intimidation from his every pore. "We have a while until we reach the gym again. Why don't you tell me what went wrong?" He said with a calmness that made him seem like he held the world in his hand. Yuki would walk back to the founder's office, passing by him, the founder didn't say anything. Yuki saw that the boy was sitting across from him. The boy waved at Yuki. "The elevator is already here." The founder told Yuki. Yuki would take the elevator leading back to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was closed, so Yuki would have to leave before the survivors made it back.

Isla looked at the woman holding in a laugh before looking at her wristband. She paused before accepting. Afterwards she stared at James. Hey James, can you tell me why don't you believe in yourself more?

I guess that she's done this a couple of times, a door like this must appear every challenge then. Jo felt his heart drop when she asked about the thing he promised to tell. ok... this might work. "Well, I actually apply to this college you see. They accepted me without my application"

*Gin chuckled.* Why I came here? Heh. Does that truly matter anymore? I doubt I'll be getting to learn what I want to anyway. Any ambitons... heh. You get the picture. *Gin looked back at Marc with a smile* The important thing is we're both alive. I got a feeling life is gonna get harder from here on out. We've got a lot of work before we can win the next one. And you seem to have a lot of injuries to heal.

Nicole simply greeted the two other Ichors with a nod of his head. He mumbles to himself, thinking about the shortage of people here. Is it the Principal? The Vice? Why send so many for this batch? Nicole waited to leave the room.

Leon scratched the back of his head and leaned against the wall. "Well, I forgot about him while I was trying to stay alive. Not to mention he passed by you near the finish line, why didn't you stop him?" Leon looked at the man with a calm face over his true one.

I AM STILL ALIVE BITCHES!!!

Yuki looked around the silent cafeteria. Nothing has really changed since they arrived. How many years has it been now, yet things were finally beginning to move forward. Was this caused by the arrival of the new students or something more. Well, considering it had only been a few hours since they arrived it was still far to early to tell. A sigh escaped the blackrain youth's lips. A more cheerful expression soon replaced the morbid seriousness she once had as she slowly walked towards the exit. Something stuck in her mind however. "Will these days continue like this?" she asked herself The silence was all that answered her before she sighed once more and left the desolate space. Things were beginning to change. It was subtle. It was slow.But even she could tell that things would not remain the way they currently were. She would simply watch and smile as she always has.

The elevator began to ascend when the countdown of the screen reached zero. A new timer replaced the screen starting from 05:00. Isla felt James sigh in relief before quickly regaining his composure. He paused after hearing Isla's question right after. "Oh, of course, I don't believe in myself. I'm the weakest Deadman there is... I don't even have a blood style. The only reason I'm still alive because I know how to run. I... I hav-" James was cut off when the woman he was carrying tapped his chest, signaling that she wanted to be put down. He carefully placed her woman, helping her regain her balance. She shoved her hands into her pockets and avoided Isla's ad James stare. A moment passed until she finally spoke. "...My name is Augustina. Thank you for saving me back there." James smiled at Isla proudly. The Queen's eyes widened when she heard Jo's words. She became lost in thought for a few seconds before she stretched her arms towards the sky. "I didn't apply for this either. I got accepted ten years ago hehe" She revealed, her eyes staring to somewhere in the past. Marc shrugged and straightened out his back. "I'm fine... wait, next one? Don't tell me you're actually going to try something like this again? I saw you nearly die back there!" Marc scolded Gin. "Actually didn't that guy save you? Maybe we should get on good terms..." Nicole would overhear the conversation Gin was having with his ally. Since he wouldn't have any answers with so little information, after all, he found it easy to hear the side conversations of every person in the elevator. Leon felt the air of intimidation from the man briefly turn into pins and needles on his skin as his blue eyes looked at him like prey. He changed back as soon as the feeling came. "Hm, I guess you're right. I was preoccupied, but then again so where you. The results were interesting enough to keep me entertained. Yet now I'm intrigued, why did you apply for BlackRain?" Time Left is: 03:30 Yuki would walk past the barricade at the entrance of the cafeteria due to it being closed. As she walked away she noticed a man leaned on the door frame leading to the cafeteria. The man had dark skin with no shirt, revealing various tattoos across his chest and shoulders. His dreadlocks covered his eyes. Yet the most noticeable feature of him was despite the fact he refused to wear a shirt, he had a crimson scarf around his neck. Yulo recognized that man as a fellow Ichor: Deshawn Stone. "Lunch hours were over three hours ago. What were you doing in the cafeteria Yuki?" He asked her. The solo surviving X student had to take a different elevator made specifically for him.

What? Ten years ago? She knows way more than she lets on. "Ten years ago? You must've been a prodigy to be accepted as a kid without even applying."

*Gin leans his back against the elevator wall.* Well, objectively speaking, I can't see there just being one of these death games day 1 and then nothing for the rest of the time we're here. Though, if it is anything like today's, I don't think it's forced. Optional games where you can die. This place is wierd. *Gin shrugged before smirking slightly.* As for... you know, I'm not actually sure that person ever gave me his name. Intresting. Well anyway, I suppose it couldn't hurt getting to know someone who actually knows a bit about this place, eh?

Yuki would put on a bright and cheerful smile at her fellow classmate. After hearing the question she nervously reached into her pockets, pulling out crumbled cookies. "I went to have a snack. There were some really good cookies so I wanted some. Did you wait here for Deshawn nii-chan?" she said eating a few of the cookies.

Smiled back at James and held her hand towards Augustina. I'm Isla and this guy is James. What happened back there at the rope?

Leon sighed and pushed his hands into his pockets covering his nervousness. "Well it's meaningless now, but I was hoping on learning how to help the people I want to help and hurting the ones I want to hurt. I'm a simple guy." Leon turned to the man. "Mind telling me your name? And if you're in the mood, your reason for applying?"

Nicole heard Gin and Marc talk to one another, only really caring after Nicole was mention. Nicole walks over slowly, his hands stopped bleeding. "Hey, you talking to me?" Nicole looks at Gin. "How's your neck?"

Jo would see the Queen giggle and rest her head against the wall. Her black hair fell and covered her eyes as she did so. "I don't even remember my grades when they took me. That was the least of my worries. I just had to make sure I don't bleed too much and talk to that Bastard" She mumbled before turning suddenly and taking a step towards Jo so that their faces were separated by a few inches of empty air. Her obsidian toned pupils seem to dominate his field of view unnaturally. "Hey. You saw him too right? That man who was wearing a whitetail coat with a black fedora. Hey, what did he tell you?" Gin would see Marc shake his head at him as if he was a madman. He obviously didn't see Gin's way of committing suicide. Though he did nod at his suggestion to talk to the other man. Marc would take the lead. "Yeah, I saw how you saved my friend here and wanted to thank you. I didn't catch your name though, mine's Marc." He introduced to Nicole. Augustina looked away and took a deep breath. James exchanged an odd look with Isla before she spoke up. "I just lost my balance. Of all the traps the last one had to be a balanced one. Bad luck is all." She stared at nothing before turning back to them quickly changing the subject. "So you added her as a friend, what does that mean? Can you call her or something?" "Yeah, you can call or text people on your friend's list. You can also see where they are on the GPS You can disable that though..." The man chuckled softly putting Leon on edge. He slowly opened his eyes, clearly enjoying the conversation. "Very straightforward aren't you? Well, it's a breath of fresh air to have someone like you here. My name is Zlatan Black, I can tell you that free of charge since you'll hear it almost everywhere. As for my desire, I wish for something very dear to my heart. I'm not as straightforward, unnecessary complexities have infected me." The Time is Now: 02:00 Yuki would see Deshawn tilt his head up, making the dreadlocks slide enough to reveal one of his eyes. It was intense, not the eyes of something prepared to kill her, but one that looked as if it was seeing absolutely everything like an owl. "Don't fuck with me. Why didn't the alarm go off when you went inside, and why didn't it go off when you went outside?" He demanded.

Oh that's really helpful! Isla turned to Augustina Hey can I add you too?

Leon kept his composure as he stared at Zlatan not breaking eye contact. "Why would I hear it everywhere? Are you well known?"

Stiff, but nothing new there honestly. If anything, our friendly neighbourhood SpiderZlatan helped massage it. Might've helped something who knows? *Gin chuckles.* Names Gin, by the by. Can't remember if I introduced myself after you saved my ass.... twice. Still owe you lunch for that, don't I? Heh heh heh.

Yuki would get a little flustered at his sudden accusation. "Eh? It has alarms? But they never go off when I go in." she would nervously say She didn't really lie. Deshawn wouldn't feel like any deceit from her words "A-are you mad at me Deshawn nii-san?" she said with a few sniffles

Jo took a step back at the sudden invasion of privacy. "Wait, you mean the dream I had? You had it too? You saw the Butler?" I thought that was just a nightmare... did other people have it too? I hadn't considered the possibility but in a place like this I can't rule it out. "He asked me for my desire. After I told him it he said I'd be useful to Her. As for what my desire is, I'll tell you after you tell me what he said to you."

Nicole nodded to Gin's respond. "Good to hear. I'm Nicole. Nicole Winstein. Good to meet you Gin and Marc." Nicole said bluntly. Nicole crossed his arms and looked at them. "So, what do you want? I doubt you came to me to invite me to lunch." Nicole looked at them.

Isla would see James agree with her, causing Augustina to become flustered. She put her hands up in defense. "Oh sorry I don't think we'll even be seeing each other anymore" She looked at James and Isla's faces before going limp. "Ok..." She added both Isla and James as a friend. "Hey, since we are asking questions do any of you have any idea what the hell is happening? Where even are we and... what's going to happen?" Zlatan stared at Leon for a brief moment as he took a deep breath. He sighed and straightened his back, combing his blond hair with his fingers. "I guess you've only been here for a few hours so I'll excuse the questions. For starters, I'm an Ichor. One of the top ten strongest Deadman in the school. I won't tell you my rank but you'll hear it eventually so it doesn't matter. Tell me, what do you think was the point of this obstacle course, Leon?" Gin would see Marc look at Nicole with a friendly smile. His wounds were clearly getting to him but he held on. He scratched his neck, his fingers grazing his tattoo nervously. "Um, that depends on how you much you eat. You look like you're a bodybuilder haha." Marc told Nicole. The Queen paused staring at Jo. She took a moment to consider his question before her face became carved with a grin. "He asked me the same thing. But I don't remember what my desire is. Now tell me yours." She said coldly but clearly interested. The Time is Now: 00:30 Deshawn seemed to pause when he saw Yuki's reaction. A thought thundered through his head before he steadied himself. He began mumbling to as he walked over to her. "Ok." He said quietly. "Then walk through the gate again. I'll join you, after all, I really want a late night snack."

Damn it, I don't have any chips to bargain with. I need to stall for at least 30 seconds. Jo looked at the clock and chose his words carefully. "Well, I don't think it matters. I wanted to see things that I do not understand. So, my desire was already full filled."

Yuki thought for only a second before a slightly less nervous smile crept onto her visage. "O-okay Deshawn nii-san. Then follow me!" She said a little more energetic as she skipped back towards the cafeteria. If nothing went wrong she would skip into the place and climb over the lunch counter, heading directly to the where the snacks were as if she had done this a hundred times before. She'd then peak over the counter back to Deshawn with a smile, holding a piece of notebook paper with the names of her favorite snacks on them. "Do you see anything on the list you like? M-my personal recommendation w-would be the chocolate raspberry swirl cookies!" Maybe because she was talking about something she truly enjoyed her eyes were now sparkling and her smile was all the more radiant. Far more pure for someone whose been at this school for so long.

Don't expect much. I said lunch. That doesn't mean a 7 course meal. *Gin looked at the timer.* So, what's up with the timer? I mean, I'm assuming it's how long til we get back above ground, but who puts a timer for something as menial as that?

Isla smiled knowing she probably broke the record of most friends in one day before frowning at Augustina's questions Um... I don't know... I just got here too remember? Maybe you know James?

Leon thought about it for only a moment before answering. "It was an example right? To show us what we are in for?"

Nicole thinks for a moment before answering Gin's question with knowledge bestowed upon by the gods. "The same people who decided to it would be fun to watch a bunch of other people murder each other." Nicole said shrugging. "I'll take you up on your offer." Nicole said blankly.

Yuki noticed Deshawn hesitate when he saw how confident she was. Yet the fact the alarm didn't go off proved something was off to him. He began to walk to the barrier, his finger was barely an inch away when he pulled it back because voices suddenly echoed from the main gym. "They're back..." Deshawn said under his breath, beginning to leave as if he forgot Yuki was there. His spider tattoo was the only thing Yuki would see before he headed into his room if she followed him. Jo saw the Queen think about the answer he gave. She tilted her head back and forth as she stared at the clock. She looked at Jo in the eye, then as if she made the decision she had been fighting mentally, she tapped her wristband a couple times just as the elevator stopped. She quickly left the room, which led to the main gym and headed to Section Y. Jo would hear a beep on his wristband, a notification: Sebastia Palmer has sent you a friend request: Accept Decline Gin saw the timer slowly count down until it reached zero. Just as he thought, the doors opened as soon as it ended, the elevator leading to the main gym. Marc tapped Gin's shoulder. "Hey, I'm going to try and find an infirmary... maybe you should too if you have any wounds ya know?" He told Gin before walking away. James flinched at Isla's question before shaking his head. His eyes looked dark and distant. "Besides just a few tips on how to get by, all I know is about as much as Bramwell told you at the gym. Unless you become a part of WhiteStorm or do some digging yourself, you can't hope to find out more." James sighed, his head looking up at the doors when they opened. Isla would see him recommend that she and Augustina get some sleep as he headed towards Section Y through the main gym. Leon would see Zlatan nod his head satisfied with his answer. Zlatan nodded towards the doors as they opened. "I'll tell you one thing in this college Leon, make sure to find what you can do with your blood or else you won't last long. Most of all though, don't bleed too much." On that note Zlatan left the room, going to the Section Y doors. Nicole would see everyone begin to leave, yet before he could even try to leave he felt a hand slam down on his shoulder. Marc was using Nicole's shoulder to hold him steady. "Hey... do you know where the infirmary is?" He asked clearly needing it an hour ago.

So nothing? Maybe I should go yo sleep. Isla thought about what was WhiteStorm, but it could wait till the morning. Isla headed to her room from the elevator with Augustina if she was coming.

Nah, I'm good. Good luck finding the damn place though. *Gin waves as Marc ran off before he decided to return to his room.* I need to rest.

Nicole looks over at Marc as he begins to walk, signaling Marc to follow. "i need to head over too. I'll take you." Without looking back Nicole made his way to the infirmary.

Yuki would simply trot after Deshawn as he walked away. "Deshawn nii-san. I thought you w-wanted some snacks. Does your tummy hurt now or something?" she asked as she was resisting the urge to grab his waste in fear of making his stomachache worse.

Isla made her way with Augustina to their rooms, passing by a few students that pointed at them, exploding with chatter. Once they made it past the Dormitories Augustina stopped at room X-10. "This is my stop. Yours is just a bit over there yeah? I'll see you during... classes? Bye." She told Isla before using her key to open her door. Isla then headed to her room, X-21, and would be greeted back to the plain room as before. Jo would see his wristband flash green then back to normal. As he made his way towards his room he saw a group of students pause their conversation until he passed, eyeing him the entire way. He reached his room, X-24, and used his keys to enter. Everything was the same as before, though he noticed the dents on his door and cracks on his door frame. He also saw his robot floating in the middle of his room, greeting him on his arrival. Leon easily made his way to his room, going to his door, X-25, and used his keys to open the door. He saw a few guards place a sign on doors around him. On closer inspection, the holographic sign floating next to the numbers stated: Deceased. Leon would enter his room. Gin walked to the Dormitories and to his room, X-5, catching other students eyes as he walked by them. Using his keys he made it inside his plain room, exactly the same as before. Nicole would see Marc limped after him, trying to strike a conversation. As they passed by the Dormitories, Library, Training Course, Fountain, and Classrooms as they made their way to the Section Y Infirmary. "Thanks, man... I didn't expect to actually get this hurt ya know?" Marc laughed while he sat down. The Infirmary was the familiar plan white beds side by side with curtains and doctors, nurses, and patients being inside around the clock. Marc stared at Nicole for a while before speaking. "Weren't you also hurt?" Yuki would see Deshawn ignore her as he did to everyone else as he unlocked his room and step inside. She also heard voices from the gym echo out, but it was 10 pm, and her room was close by.

"Hey there, I forgot I left you here." Jo greeted the robot back before falling onto his bed, trying to get some sleep for the next day. Is everyday going to be like this...?

*With a yawn, Gin would take his scarf and coat off and throw them over the chair in his room before falling backwards onto his bed.* Ugh. Lugh Morair. How did you get yourself into this mess? Should've just stayed in Ireland.

Time to go to sleep! Isla announced before crashing headfirst onto her bed falling asleep instantly.

Yuki would begin to pout a little as Deshawn blatantly ignored her. She would pout the entire way to her room as she made a mental note to play a prank on him later and not give him any cookies even if he begs. With all the excitement of the new students arrival she hadn't even had enough time to review her homework. Not that it mattered. Despite how she acted she was still pretty intelligent. She would retreat to her room, change into her pajama's which consisted of bear eared footy pajama's. She would then snuggle in her bed with a large life sized teddy bear and soon find herself drift into the land of dreams. A table situated in front of the two. At the table sat one other person who looked like the two but they themselves were asleep, as if it was the most natural thing to sleep here surrounded by the forest. The two sat down at the table as a butler appeared bringing them tea. "I haven't seen you two in quite a while, Yuki." the butler said to the two as he poured them tea.

Nicole sits down on the bed and talks to Marc "Yeah, I expected it." Nicole says blankly. "And yes, i was injured. Good night." Nicole lays down and falls asleep.

There were no clouds to disrupt the sapphire-colored sky. Yet there was no sun either. There was a white marble table with two chairs. Around the table was a moat of slow-moving water, populated by a diversity of fish. Around the moat were a canopy of emerald colored leaves and plants all beautifully spaced and organized. All of this, inside a glass dome. You were sitting in the middle of this scenery. The Butler greeted you as he poured you a glass of empty tea. "Hello!" He waved sitting down. "Please do tell, how was your first day? Have you made any friends or enemies?" He adjusted his fedora waiting for an answer from Isla, Jo, Leon, and Gin. Nicole would find himself sitting on a bench with a boy next to him. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't turn his head to see what he looked like, yet he recognized the voice. In front of him was a field with boys in dirty and ripped old clothing kicking a worn out ball. It seemed like a sight from a poor country until Nicole saw of their faces. They had no facial features as if someone took a skull and simply stretched skin over it. "I can't remember what they look like." The boy's familiar voice told Nicole. "I keep having memories like these, and I'm sure they are important to me, but... I don't know why. Nicole, do you remember your life before you... became like that? What was it like?"