The next day of school was pretty normal for Leon. Random quiz on the history of the Weenonian revolutionary Aaron Melchiondo. It was a pretty basic one, but his quick glances around the class when he was done seemed to indicate only he thought it was simple. And the second he stepped out of history class, Allan had taken him by surprise, shoving them both in a storage locker.
"What's going on here?" Leon sighed.
"Look, I've been talking." Allan started. "Tedros said he'd be willing to scope out the place. Evelyn told me to eat shit. Thinking of passing this idea to Ulysses later. Do you have any ideas who could-"
"I gotta get to English." Leon interrupted, shoving him out of the way and leaving the locker.
"This is important!" Allan yelled. Leon walked into a random crowd, which were now looking at Allan.
The day ended, and before anyone could leave, Leon had a message beamed into his head. He didn't even react physically. It's been roughly a week, and he's already gotten way, way too used to this lifestyle.
"Hell-o, players!" That same voice rang out. "Today's game is a special round. If the participants work together, then nobody has to die! The game takes place at the middle warehouse in the housing district. If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask Allan. He'll guide you!"
The fuzzy feeling snapped from his head. So, the next round was at the warehouse he and Allan discovered. That could mean a lot of things. Either they chose that place to mess with Allan specifically, or he was actually right about something, and that felt wrong. But in a few short hours, he'd have the answers.
Straight after work, Leon took the bus to the warehouse. He finally arrived, and a few familiar faces were stalking the perimeter, right outside the gates. Leon hopped it, and as he got closer, he noticed the warehouse was covered in the same shield he was trapped in during the second game. The crowd was smaller than last time, but Allan was obviously there. Next to him was Tedros, looking impatient as he waited for the next game to start. Ivan was in the back, smirking after taking one look at him.
"Sooo…Leon."
"Hey." Leon replied.
"Any clue what the next game is?"
"Nope."
"Would have made the last one, but I was too busy modding the car."
"Ah, you have a car now?"
"Workin on it. Scrapyard's tuning it up, and I'll be able to buy it once I get the job."
"What job?"
"Well, I…I mean…look, the market's pretty bad right now, okay? You know if any spades know a guy who knows a guy-"
"I keep telling you, I'm not with the spades anymore."
"Not in touch?"
"I keep telling you, not in touch either."
As for girls, there were four. Janet, Blair, Latrell, and Gabriela. Latrell and Gabriela were talking to each other, occasionally looking over at the other players. Blair was looking over her sketchbook, and Janet was checking her pockets. Both her trouser pockets, and her breast pocket, nodding to herself. After a few minutes, a couple light portals opened up behind their observers, teleporting them back where they lived. Hopefully. A few seconds later, the shield faded away from the warehouse, and by itself, the doors opened.
The lights were on, but none of the machinery was. The rusted forklifts were still misshapen from years of neglect, and the only figure was a man in a suit, slowly clapping his hands from the top of the staircase, leading to the office.
"So, you eight are the players?" He asked. He glanced around the room, trying his best to make eye contact with everyone. "It's very nice to meet you all."
Blair took a step into the back of the crowd. Ivan looked back her, smirking. Her fear was briefly overtaken by disgust.
"Anyway!" The man said. "My name is Junichi, and I'll be hosting this round. Now, the rules for this game are pretty similar to the first round, only I'm also considered a player. A shield is blocking us from escaping, and will open when one of us dies. So, you can try to kill me, or aim for each other. The choice is yours. Now then…
Allan Reeves!
Blair Vollom!
Gabriela Pereira!
Ivan Thornton!
Janet Felloni!
Latrell Freedman!
Leon Chai!
Tedros Mekonnen!
Let's begin the game, shall we?"
The eight quickly looked around the warehouse. Aside from the staircase and the broken machines in the corner, there wasn't much. It was almost entirely an open space.
Blair ran towards the forklifts, hiding behind them and flicking through her sketchbook. She found a drawing of a bird she fully inked in, quickly raising her hand. Ivan was suddenly beside her, and the bird drawing came to life. Blair pointed forwards, and the bird flew straight into his chest, sending him flying into the wall. Blair jumped out from the forklift, the bird perched on her shoulder, and rapidly kicked Ivan in the head. That didn't end the game. That was good, last thing she wanted to do was kill another player.
The other six were staring Junichi down. He slicked his hair back, seemingly by instinct, his eyes darting around the warehouse. He saw Blair knock out Ivan, but the shield didn't lower.
Janet pulled out the family gun and fired. She still wasn't used to how heavy it was, so the bullet ended up firing slightly beside where she wanted. The bullet hit the metal flooring of the top with an awkward clank, and Junichi merely glanced over to the bullet.
As soon as he looked away, Leon took the hook out. It rapidly stretched outwards until it latched around Junichi's tie, jerking him forward and causing him to grip the metal railing. Latrell sprang into action, running up the stairs and delivering a swift kick to the head, causing Junichi's grip to fail. Another kick and he was down. Tedros tried setting up a pillar, but Junichi was on the ground before he could place the second dot. Janet landed a shot, and Junichi managed to grab the bullet in midair, even if once he did his smile finally dropped. He looked strained, opening his hand and letting the bullet fall to the ground. He grabbed Tedros leg straight away, and Tedros felt the impact course through his leg. In an instant, he was on what was now his only good knee, trying not to cry from what felt like a gunshot wound.
"He can store impacts and release them later!" He yelled out through the pain. "GoGo's Ridiculous Escapades, chapter 483! Gordon almost loses his leg when his foe, Deceased Kennedy, is revealed to be able to store impacts. It's an exact recreation!"
"Well, I don't know what a GoGo is, but yes. Congratulations on figuring out my ability. If I may, I would like to request Tedros move on to the next game."
Nothing happened.
"That's a shame, seeing that you're such an easy target now." Junichi sighed. But he refused to capitalize on this opportunity, instead getting back up the stairs and running into the office. Allan ran after him, but Junichi shut the door just before he got to him. A crashing noise was heard a second later, and the door wouldn't open. Allan bashed the door a few times in frustration, but quickly tunnelled underneath the floor and re-emerged right behind him, landing one solid kick to his back and sending him to the floor, hitting his head on an old filing cabinet.
"Okay, mister Junichi." Allan said, trying to crack his knuckles. "Before I open the door, I'm gonna get myself some answers. Sound good?"