‹‹PEREMUTE: The WORLD›› PG-16 [IC, Not Accepting]

[Enrise]

When the intercom shut itself off, Drake glared at the sky. He thought of the moment. He didn't like it. He hated it. He absolutely despised it. The moment. It was all an absolute disgust. He thought of putting a female figure in such tortures because of how she held the lives of others in hostage. But suddenly, several thoughts came to him.

He looked down, and saw Anna's hand. He questioned it. Reluctantly, Drake proceeded to connect their hands, and shake it.

"[color=#800000]I wouldn't be surprised if you knew me or if you didn't. Whatever,[/color]" he remarked with a hushed grim tone, releasing the handshake. He walked over to the clock tower, sat, and leaned against it. He started having ideas about Phi.

[i]Phi is a Greek Alphabet symbol, which is used commonly in several fields, such as mathematics and science, and other small fields. But remembering my trip to Thailand, they use that word, or what sounds like it, frequently. Perhaps the library has some information exactly on Phi. I don't know what Phi is used for in Thailand, but it does mean something that it's used.[/i]

He looked at Anna, and proposed something. "[color=#800000]Hey, Anna, after this sh*t's taken care of, how about we go to the library? I wanna see what information I can get on this Phi b*tch. Sound good?[/color]"

[i]I may not get on her specifically, but at least we can figure out the gist of Phi.[/i]

--Italics is Drake talking in his mind.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Anna was beginning to get a little annoyed at Drake's attitude and constant cussing. [i]"I don't know if I will want to go to the library, Drake. Ask me when we're done with this "challange."[/i] she replied. She walked over and sat back own on the steps to wait for everyone else to get together and make teams. [i]"I'm just a little interested in what our "lusterous" prize will be for winning this "competition" of Phi's. I also can't get what he said about people losing their lives because of our actions." [/i]She said.

Anna looked around and realized that one of the students were gone. [i]"Hey, where'd that girl with the peircings go? She'll miss out on team making."[/i] she asked, towards anyone who knew.

[Hotaru987]

[i]'Teams? So...Does that mean we're playing some type of game?' [/i]Karen thought as she listened to the intercom. Then Jasen asked her and Olly if they wanted to be on a team, and Karen shrugged, "Sure why not. So far you two are the only people I know." She stated looked at the others who seemed to be yelling at the one speaking over the intercom. The person then said that lives might be lost, and that they only reason that she was doing it was because she was bored. "Well, that sounds pretty selfish. But whatever this is it seems like a challenge, and what kind of sport would it be without a bit of risk?" She questioned a smirk showing on her face. From the way things were going it didn't seem like they had much of a choice, so arguing was too much of a hassle. While she hated being pawns for some other person's entertainment, she wasn't going to waste her time crying about it. When she was little she learned that crying wasn't going to get you what you want, so what was the use?

Karen sighed, "Well we should just get this over with...."

[Simping For Hina]

Here we go again, Skyler thought. She really was in more confusion than before. Every thought rattled through her head like a game of tennis, thoughts bounced off her head back and forth. [i]"Well, if we have to have teams, I guess I should think of the best person to work with."[/i] was Skyler's main thought she was able to focus on. She finally just gave up on thinking who to pick and stared at Mark for a second or two.

"Hey Mark, don't you think we should have known more about this situation before we get too invested in it? It seems like the person on the intercom is trying too hard to keep things from us, and it just doesn't feel right to me." Skyler brought up, " Well, you want to be my partner?"

She transitioned her eyes shut and awaited for his response. She kept quiet.

[.:Blu:.]

Mark stood there, observing the other students that were present. Why were they here and why was he here? How did this voice choose them? Was there something special about each student? Questions kept popping up in Mark's head but no answers came. Just then, the voice came over the intercom again. Mark's train of thought stopped at the first sentence when the voice, named Phi, said, [b]"You're right. None of you know anything."[/b] Mark now turned his full attention to the voice, noticing that it sounded masculine. But that wasn't important, at least not at the moment. Mark wanted to see if "Phi" would reveal what he has accomplished and for what reason. Listening closely to pick up all details, Phi explained that the students would be starting a challenge soon and that they would need to choose a partner for this challenge. The choice of partner is free for everyone. After partners have been chosen, Phi states that he will explain the rules of the challenge as well as providing hints.

Mark didn't like what he has just heard. Basically, he and the other students are forced into challenges without the knowledge of Phi's reason or reasons for why he is forcing it. The last thing Phi said was that they had no choice in participating or not. However, that didn't stop some people from complaining. Mark found one remark to be rather odd. Mark overheard a student name Jason suggesting that the "game" might be fun. "(Fun...? I hope that's sarcasm because there is nothing fun about being forced to do something like this. Even worst, no reasons were provided as to why this Phi is doing all of this...)" Mark thought. More notably, the student called Drake was addressing the issue of participating or not. However, it sounded more like Drake was merely insulting this Phi.

Phi provided some more answers but Mark didn't like what he heard. Now Mark is forced to bare the burden that if he doesn't participate, people will die. "(This bastard's forcing us to compete by using human lives...?! Then he acts like he has nothing to do with their deaths if they do die...?! How sickening...)" Mark thought but kept it to himself. There was no way out of it now. Drake had to participate whether he wants to or no. There are human lives at stake, and if he can stop such atrocities from happening, Mark will do whatever he can.

A moment later, Drake told everyone that they would all "kick [Phi's] ass," at least he assumes everyone agrees. Mark didn't reply but he thought it was idiotic that Drake would say something like that. "(He believes that he is able to kick this Phi's 'ass'? What a joke. Does he think this is some kind of movie or something where there can be happy endings? This is real life and if this Phi can accomplish all of this, just what can a high school-level student do?)" Mark thought before shrugging Drake's comment off.

Mark's thoughts were then interrupted when Skyler asked him a question. "I believe we deserve to know more, but this Phi is not giving us any information. I know there's more to it and I know he's definitely hiding information on purpose. Whether or not he's trying to hard to keep it from us remains to be seen. In the worst case scenario, he's toying with us by making himself appear that way..." Mark replied. Skyler then brought up about the partner issue, asking if he wanted to be her partner. Mark gave a single nod before answering verbally to let her know his answer. "There is no way around it. There are human lives at stake. Though I wish that wasn't the case, what he has accomplished so far gives his words merit so it's not hard to believe that human lives will be endangered if we do not participate." Mark explained.

[ListenToLife]

As the message from the intercom ended, on a slightly more depressing tone than the previous ones, Olly shuddered, thinking about the burden of bearing the responsibility of keeping people alive. It was too much pressure, especially as he'd only been at the school for a month or two. [i]I should've stayed in England.[/i] He noted, musing that stuff like this never happened in England. "Ahh, well. I guess there's no way out of it. If there are people in danger, I cant just stand by and let them die, especially if I could prevent it. Argh, but this is going be a hassle." He groaned, standing up to face Jason.
"I guess, if we have to partner up, three would be better than two. We can buddy up, definitely." Olly stated. "Though I doubt it'll be 'fun', as you put it. If we've got lives in danger, it's more likely to be a massive hassle." At this he yawned and placed his hands behind his neck. "Stupid effort." He muttered, yawning again. He leaned against one of the walls and rubbed his eyes. "They could've atleast warned us about this. I would've tried to get more sleep." He shrugged, scraping his shoulders against the wall, causing him to wince.
[i]Well, it seems like the people I've been lumped with both have huge amounts of energy. I'll get left behind. Ah, well. At least if I come across anything physical I can let them do it. But thinking it'll be fun? People have been kidnapped. What are they, Eight?[/i]
He smiled a little bit at the last thought. Had he said it out loud, he'd probably be a beaten pulp by now. But at the very least, they seemed like nice people. And he'd finally made some friends aswell.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color=#000000]Still struggling to comprehend what took the man so long to kill her, assuming [i]that[/i] was his intention, or why she was even spared in the first place, Dominique continued to smoke behind the clock tower, trying to alleviate the migraine she got for being unable to find shade fast enough. Not that smoking would be the correct method, but she didn't know any better than that, especially considering she couldn't leave to get the proper medications for it. Suddenly, she heard a voice from around the corner.[/color]

[color=#000000][i]"Hey, where'd that girl with the piercings go? She'll miss out on team making."[/i][/color]

[color=#000000]At first the voice was unfamiliar, but as Dominique turned her head and peered around the corner, she immediately recognized the person that the voice belonged to; it was the same girl that Dominique tried to partner up with earlier. Unwilling to make eye contact with the girl for whatever reason, Dominique tore her head away and looked down slightly, before speaking.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]"If you're talking to me... then I'm here... the other side of the clock,"[/color][color=#000000] [/color][color=#000000]Dominique spoke weakly as per usual, almost as if she were talking to herself through the last few seconds of her life, [/color][color=#4b0082]"I... I can't leave here... I need the shade."[/color]

[color=#000000]Dominique gulped. This was the first time she'd talked to complete stranger in a long time... well, ignoring the group that she had attempted to ask for shade earlier. She was more than expectant for the girl to come over to [i]her[/i] position, but at the same time, she didn't think she could continue the conversation... well, at least not before her [i]nerves[/i] would give way.[/color]

[Kakashi Hatake]

[i]"Oh, hey. I guess you and that girl are the only ones that didn't partner up!"[/i] Anna said, pointing over her shoulder at Erin, who Ann didn't know the name of yet.

[b]"That's my cue!" Phi said, as the intercom switched back on. "The teams are Dominique and Erin, Anna and Drake, Olly in the team of three with Karen and Jason, and Skyler with Mark! Hm, a predictable bunch, aren't you? Ok, here is what your first challenge will be."[/b]

The intercom cut to what sounded like a radio news stations.

[color=#696969]"Welcome back to ZNN World News, I'm Rose Tennant here with David Johnson to explain the situation."[/color]

"[color=#696969]Thank you, Rose. I'm here, in downtown New York, standing in front of one of the four apartment buildings that have been issued a bomb threat. We believe that this is the work of a small terrorist group. As you can probably hear behind me, the bomb squad and emergency response units have already arrived but they cannot get into the building because the doors and windows have been rigged with some kind of charge. We are told that there are four hostages inside, and will be killed if the terrorist's demands are not met by 5:00PM. We currently do no know what their demands are but we are told that the police are doing their best to meet them-"[/color] The broadcast was cut off.

[b]"You get it? For this challenge, you and your partner will be put into one of these four buildings to disarm the single bomb attached to the hostages in each apartment. You will each be given a simple set of four numbers. You will need to use these four numbers to disarm the bomb using the keypad on the front. Now, each hostage has a small LED bulb attached to them. If you enter your set of numbers into the bomb and it is in the wrong order, the light of the first hostage to the left will turn red. If this happens, then you will no longer be able to save this hostage. You will continue to enter the set of numbers until you get the correct password or until the lights on all four hostages have turned red. Once either of those conditions are met, the challenge will be over and you will all be returned here to watch the after effects of your deeds. Now, if you attempt to detach the bomb from the hostages or disarm the bomb in any other way than I have told you, the bomb that one of the other teams is dealing with will be detonated, killing the other team, the hostages, and any bystanders near the building. Now, if you do not meet either of the conditions set forth by 5:00, you will be killed by the explosion. At best, you will save all four hostages. The worst you can do is doom all four hostages. Do not attempt to leave the room you are sent to. Do not attempt to use the window in that room, because it is rigged with explosives. Do not attempt to contact the outside in any way or you will be killed by the explosives. Any questions before we start?"[/b] Phi asked.

Anna stood there, speechless after what she had just heard. A single drop of sweat stood on her cheek.

==

[size=2](OOC: Ok, each team will be put into one of the four buildings. You will be put into a room. Inside that room, there will be four hostages attached to a bomb, a window, a door, your numbers scrambled on the wall, and nothing else.
Remember that you will each be given a different set of numbers and each on will be a different code so there is no use paying attention to the codes other players use.)[/size]

[ListenToLife]

"Yeah, I have a question." Olly said, raising his right hand as a way to get attention, although he knew that the voice probably knew each of them inside-out, and wouldn't struggle telling the voices apart. "Well, two actually. Who on earth are you? And how much power do you actually have? I dont pretend to be an expert on anything, but from my point of view it seems impossible to get this large a group into those buildings without anyone noticing." Olly stated, lowering his hand. He looked around the clock tower, trying to locate a camera or some other kind of bug through which 'Phi' was spying on them, but couldn't spot a single one, only seeing spider webs and dust.
[i]As long as we obey this person, none of us will get hurt. That's a small comfort. But if we fail, then at most 4 people will die. What kind of twisted person plays a game like that?![/i] Olly mused. He looked over to Jason. "Sounding like fun then?" He asked, quietly and quite sarcastically.

[Durandamon]

[color=#800080]"God...oh my f*cking god..."[/color] - Jason went further away from his team - [color=#800080]"This is too much...four lives...and also we will die if we don't do it right. F*ck I need a cigar..."[/color] - Nervously, he reached into his back pocket for a cigarette and his front pocket for a light. He took a deep breath, and inhaled as much as he could. - [color=#800080]"F*ck this sh*t..."[/color]- In two inhalations, he finished the cigarette. He proceeded to do the same with another one, and then approached his partners with a third one in mouth - [color=#800080]"Sorry for that, I got really nervous....still..."[/color] - he looked down, knowing that he got himself into something big. He looked up, to the ceiling, talking back to the voice that had just spoken - [color=#800080]"Even if nobody saw you carry the hostages, there are bomb squad units at the buildings. How are we going inside without being seen? And besides...who the f*ck do you think you are? ***hole..."[/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]"Sounding like fun then?" - said Olly. He didn't seem to be so...nervous, as Jason was.[/background][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#800080]"Yeah! Let's try not to screw it up!"[/color] - he directed his eyes to Karen, who hadn't spoken yet. Jason was concerned that this might be too much for her - [color=#800080]"You in, Ren?"[/color]

[Kakashi Hatake]

[b]"I have no problem revealing my identity at all. My name is Phi, remember? I'm the voice in the intercom![/b] [b]That's really all I am to you."[/b] Phi said, almost sounding like he was smiling. [b]"And as far as how I'm going to get you there, I thought you'd never ask. You'll be going door to door."[/b]

[i]"Door to door"? What does that mean?"[/i] Anna asked, still a little shocked.

[b]"Just what it means, Anna. You and your teammate will go find any door on campus. Any door, and open it. On the other side will be your challenge room. Once you enter that door, it will close behind you and you will be trapped until your challenge is over. Call it a little trick we like to pull on you... people."[/b]

[i]"You're joking, right?"[/i] Anna asked.

[b]"I do like to joke but, sadly, this isn't one. Does anybody else have any questions before you start?"[/b] Phi asked

He heard Jason begin speaking.

[b]"Weren't you listening? It was a terrorist group who put the hostages there, not me. But I will certainly remove the survivors safely once you finish the challange."[/b] Phi said, again sounding like he's smiling.

[Enrise]

"[color=#800000]Forget it. There's no use asking questions if this thing is going to continue playing games with us, not giving us the information we want. We'll just have to play along. That's the only way we're getting out of here...[/color]" Drake grimly remarked, and felt a slight tug in his stomach.

He coughed a bit, and a few drops of blood spewed from his mouth. Wiping his mouth, he continued on.

"[color=#800000]Y'know, I still don't know why you're doing this. And why're you doing this to [i]us[/i]. But why bother telling us, right? Why not just get your challenge finished?[/color]" he told Phi, but it's not like it mattered much anyways.

He looked over to Anna, and swung his head over. "[color=#800000]C'mon. The sooner we get this finished, the better.[/color]"

[ListenToLife]

[i]That was helpful. What a helpful guy.[/i] Olly thought sardonically, looking at the intercom. "Your parents obviously had an interesting taste in names." He muttered, before turning to face Jason. "Y'know, it's amazing how you can go from extremely nervous to thinking it's fun within seconds." Olly noted, sighing. "Well, I guess that must be your way of dealing with it. I cant say I blame you. I wish I could make it seem like fun. I feel like my insides are burning up with anxiety."
He turned to face Drake. "Maybe asking questions wont help. But it wont hurt to try." He pointed out, though he foresaw himself being ignored. He shrugged and turned back to his make shift team. "Well, it's effort, but I guess we have to save some peoples lives." He shivered, wiping a bit of sweat of his face. "I'm starting to wish I'd disappeared like the rest of 'em." He murmured, before turning to the intercom. "Anything else we should know before we go?" Olly asked, half expecting another [i]'Oh, and have fun~~'. [/i]

[CinnamonStar]

[font=Arial][size=3]The few people on the schoolyard had already formed small groups, each questioning the others about what was happening. The 18-year-old decided to stay in the background for now and see if she perhaps knew anyone. Yet, even if the people closest to her sometimes had trouble telling how high her fear barometer had risen, the confusion could almost be felt.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]Everyone was so agitated, but things didn’t turn any better when the mysterious voice emerged again from the speakers. At this point, Erin could already tell that she didn’t like that “Phi” person who was giving the students orders. If people had something to tell, she would always prefer it to be a face-to-face discussion rather than hiding behind speakers.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]‘Now they’re expecting us to build some teams’, she mumbled while crossing her arms. “But for what exactly?” One thing she didn’t understand was how the unknown man was talking about a challenge, but in the same breath mentioned how “the remainder of the lives of many other people” would be decided. How would that work? It was obvious that none of the people present knew what to make out of the situation, but something about the voice’s tone made it clear that not following the orders wasn’t an option.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]The blonde-haired turned around and started to take a closer look at the people present. If she had to pick one of them for a team, who would she choose?[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]The long-haired guy she had often seen nitpicking on his guitar and talking with his similar-minded friends? But he seemed so rough and lacking grace… The fact that he was just shouting at the intercom like a wild man didn’t really help it.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]That girl she had seen in the school’s soccer team… She seemed to have a lot of stamina and her movements were sharp. However, the long-haired guy had already teamed up with her.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]There was this bigger student around her age who was just talking to two people she didn’t knew. He seemed like the best person to approach, but would he have enough stamina to keep up with a long run?[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]What about the girl with the piercings, who reminded Erin of a character she had seen in that “Lord of the Rings” movie, but who wasn’t exactly the elven princess? She was just walking away with a cigarette in her mouth, and smoking is bad for your health.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]Suddenly, a voice branched into her thoughts.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3]“Oh hey. I guess you and that girl are the only ones that didn’t partner up!”[/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=3]Erin looked up and saw the girl from the soccer team throwing a quick glance at her. Indeed, as the voice from the speaker confirmed, the few students on the place had teamed up in groups of two, the three who had already been standing next to each other forming a group on their own. Which left her with [i]Dominique[/i], the smoking girl.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]Erin barely had time to look where her teammate had gone off when the voice on the intercom switched to some sort of…radio broadcast?[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]‘But if a bomb threat has been announced, why didn’t the school staff say anything?’, she thought, her eyes narrowing at every word.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]However, the more she heard of it, the more the 18-year-old’s hands became wet. If what the unknown man said was true, there would be hostages in the school building. These people would be kept there and possibly die if the “chosen students” got some numbers wrong. They’d have time until 5 o’ clock to save the “hostages”, or run into the danger of getting blown up in some global explosion.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]But how could that be possible? Wasn’t she just hanging out with her friends and enjoying the first sunrays on the lawn not even an hour ago? Yet everyone besides her had disappeared from the grounds… Had they been evacuated because of the bomb threat? But she clearly remembered that bright light showing up, and with that, so many people had disappeared from the surface of the Earth…[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]The girl's mind took a blow when the intercom voice mentioned some sort of “little trick he liked to pull on them”. “Door to door”, they would have to go, and any door they open would reveal their “challenge room”. Enter that room and you would be stuck until this sort of…hostage was over, with explosives all over the windows and seemingly no way out through the door.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]This barely made sense in her mind, yet Erin decided not to question the orders. It was hard to believe and part of her common sense still expected someone to come out and announce how great of a joke this was and how much they all fell into it. Yet that flashlight, the news broadcast and people disappearing to nowhere…how would anyone set that up? One thing was quite certain though: Someone was playing with them. She could hear it in the man’s voice, but for now, it would be wiser to wait until further orders came up.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]“I get it”, she whispered with a sore throat and her lips shivering mildly.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]This wasn’t some sort of game after all, or a trial to choose your partner for the next dance.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3]It was a rather wicked amusement Erin normally didn’t have patience for and that she couldn’t tell how it would end yet. At best, someone would still come out of the bush and laugh at everyone’s face on this late April’s Fool joke… And then she would get slightly angered and confront the person about the bad taste.[/size][/font]

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#4b0082"][i]'He really [b]is[/b] trying to kill us all, isn't he?'[/i][/color][color=#000000] Dominique thought to herself as she heard the [i]first[/i] challenge that Phi had issued the team. They were supposed to attempt to defuse bombs? REALLY??!! It was hard [i]not[/i] to be overwhelmed by such a task, especially if one was never taught how bombs were even [i]made[/i]. However, Dominique, although she was depressed by this, still managed to prevent much fear from being shown in her face. Thanks to all the questions that the [i]others[/i] had asked, Dominique had all the information she needed to know. Now all she needed to do was find a door.[/color]

[color=#000000]Luckily, she had eyed a door up that wasn't too far from her current location. Now all she needed to do was get there. But first, she figured she better dispose of the cigarette that she had lit in her hand. Nothing a half-assed toss couldn't handle. The next thing she did was locate Erin, the girl that Phi had arranged to be her partner at the last second.[/color]

[color=#4b0082]"You coming?" [/color][color=#000000]she asked simply, before opening the door she had eyed up and entering it.[/color]

[Kakashi Hatake]

[b] "Ah, Dminique's taking the initiative, running straight into the challenge head on? Can't say that it wasn't predictable. Well, if they are starting, then the rest of you may as well. Question time is over so go on."[/b]

The intercom shut off. Seconds later it turned back on.

[b]"Oh, yeah. And everyone see what time it is?"[/b]

Anna looked up towards the clock tower and realized that it was already 4:00PM!

[i]"Crap, I don't know if this is all real or not but I don't want to chance it. Uh, Drake, I think it's about time to get started. Let's use that door over there on the back of the main building. It's pretty close."[/i] Anna said, as she started to quickly walk towards the door.

[b]"Remember, everyone. Once you go through those doors, you will no longer be in the school! Your codes will be written on the walls."[/b]

The intercom shut off.

[i]"Huh, I expected him to say-"[/i] Anna's sentence was cut off by the intercom turning back on.

[b]"Oh, and have fun~!"[/b]

The intercom shut back off.

Anna looked back with a predictable look and continued walking towards the door.

[size=1](OOC: I will give you guys your codes in OOC and you can write that your characters saw them on the walls in the rooms.)[/size]

[Hotaru987]

Hearing that their first challenge was to disarm bombs that were placed on hostages in a terrorist bombing. Her eyes widened and she took a step back from the shock. Not only that but the one on the intercom seemed to actually be looking forward to the first "game". [i]'This guy is crazy. At first I was all for whatever challenges he had, but this...This is just too much. Who in there right mind would want to go through with this, but....As stated earlier we don't have a choice. Phi won't let us leave until all of his little games are completed.' [/i]Karen thought as she looked down.

"Sounding like fun?" She heard Olly say sarcastically towards Jason, who then walked off away from the group to calm himself. She couldn't blame Jason, and if she smoked then she would have took a quick breather. [i]'Do we really not have any choice in the matter? I would really rather not go along with this. If it was just my life then sure...but...If we fail then other people will die. Their survival completely rest with us.' [/i]She came too when she heard Jason ask if she was alright. Karen took a few seconds to think whether she was really alright, and finally she sighed and looked at him with a grin. "I'm just fine. We should get going though. The longer we stay here the more time we waste, and we're going to need every pit of time so we don't make mistakes." Even though she was saying that she was already preparing herself to lose at least two of the hostages during this trial and error game. There was no way they would get the right code the first time. [i]'So that means at least one of the hostages will die...'[/i]

One of the girls took a running start at the door and Karen looked at both Olly and Jasen. "Well, we should be going. Like I said we definitely don't have any spare time to waste." Karen then made her way to a door, nervousness and anxiety running through her veins like a virus.

[Durandamon]

Relieved, knowing that both his friends were okay with the "game", Jason finished his last cigarette and looked at them one at a time - [color=#800080]"Okay, let's go!"[/color] - He approached the door, and looked back. His legs were like jelly, and he was about to fall. He rested himself on the wall besides the door. - [color=#800080]"Are we all thinking the same thing? Today, at least an innocent person will die. Maybe more. Let's try not to kill any hostages...."[/color] - He looked into the door - [i][color=#800080]"This makes no sense, whatsoever. Who is this guy? Was this some sort of sick, perverted joke? Was this how that psycho got his kicks? If he isn't lying...people will die. I may be able to crack my code, but not at the first try..."[/color] -[/i] He pushed the door, and made a run for it, eyes closed. When he opened them, he wasn't at school anymore.

[Enrise]

After all the teams were decided, and the challenged was issued (and the doors to go through were chosen as well), Drake looked at everyone with their expressions. Some of them were probably intensely nervous. [i]Of course, they would, lives are at stake.[/i] [i]Of course, the worst that can happen is four deaths. I've had mosh pits with more deaths than that. I've gotten used to the death of fans. Of course, they died happy people.[/i]

Seeing Anna walk over to the door, he noticed everyone was walking to a door, especially his team mate Anna. He still didn't quite know how they would be transported to another room, but he'll have to figure that out later. Right now, he has to focus on this challenge, and whether the outcome to save a life or to kill one is what matters.

Rushing from behind Anna, Drake arrived at their destination to the challenge. Opening the door, Drake looked back at Anna, and gave an apathetic facial expression. However, he did quite care about the moment.

[ListenToLife]

[b]"Oh, and have fun!~~"[/b]

Olly sighed, half with anxiety, half with relief. Sure, there were innocent lives on the line, something he seriously thought he wouldn't be prepared for. But this Phi person was becoming almost predictable, which was something of a consolation. [i]If I can predict them, then perhaps I can find out who or what they are.[/i] Olly mused, looking towards Jason as he finished his last Cigarette. Coughing slightly, an automatic reaction to any smoke, Olly watched as Jason again went from extreme nerves to a happy and up beat manner. "I guess we should be going. Wasting daylight." Olly stated, following Jason and Karen through the school corridors as they were looking for a door, turning back occasionally to watch the other teams split up.
He looked on as Jason finally stopped, staring at the plain door infront of them. He said nothing as Jason wrestled with his nerves, merely watching as his new teammate wrenched the door open and ran straight in, barely looking where he was going. "Ever heard of the phrase 'Look before you leap'." Olly muttered, hoping that Jason wasn't always going to be this rash. That probably wouldn't be good when they came across these people with their lives in danger.
Olly motioned for Karen to go through before him, and then exhaled loudly, looking down at his now red hands. Lifting his hand and raising it to look at, he noticed that he had been unconciously squeezing his hands, nearly puncturing the skin. "Seems I'll have to get a bit of control too." Olly whispered, pushing his hands into his jean pockets. [i]Well, here goes. Let's hope I'll wake up when I go through that door.[/i] He thought, walking purposely towards the door.
Half expecting to enter a store cupboard, he opened his eyes to find he was now in what appeared to be a run down apartment. The first thing he noticed, as he looked around, was a large set of Numbers on the wall, surrounded by peeling beige wall paper. "Zero, Zero, Five, Three. Guess that's our code then." Olly muttered, turning around to face his team, his face paler than usual as he looked at the four hostages.

[Durandamon]

As Jason opened his eyes, he found himself in a broken down apartment, and beige walls around it. - [color=#800080]"Sorry man...it's just that...I got too nervous, I couldn't feel my legs! Won't happen again."[/color] - said Jason as Olly lectured him. He looked around for a bit, the lights were dim and the wall paper was peeled almost everywhere. He spotted a set of Numbers on the wall paper - [color=#800080]"Oh, Oh, Five Three...how do we find a pattern here? Got any ide...?"[/color] - he stopped, as he saw Olly's face grow paler than before. Jason looked at the spot Olly was looking, and, to his own horror, saw the shape of four people on the ground. The hostages were shaking on the ground. - [color=#800080]"God...s***. G-guys. They all have a light bulb with a green LED on it, and a panel to input the code. You all remember the rules right?"[/color] - he looked at his partners, hoping that they weren't as scared as he was -[color=#800080] "Let's....let's do this."[/color] - he peeled a piece of wall paper - [color=#800080]"Anyone have a pen?"[/color]

[ListenToLife]

"N-not on me. No." Olly stuttered, not taking his eyes off the people slouching against the wall. They were all unconcious, but some were shaking a bit, as if having a fit. [i]Sh*t, Sh*t, Sh*t, Pull yourself together![/i] Olly mentally shouted, his fingers once again cutting into his fist, luckily unseen as they were inside his pocket. [i]Look, you're probably the smart one here. They're sporty, you're smart. Figure something out. Find something, see something. Anything! [/i]He mentally slapped himself, and managed to look away from the sight of the beaten up victims. "We've...we've got to figure something out. Find some clues or something." Olly stated feebly, attempting to take charge, but failing[i]. [/i]
[size=2]H[/size]e looked around the room, avoiding eye contact with the limp bodies on the floor, as he searched for anything that they could use to help them. As expected, nothing of value could be seen. The room was empty, so it was unlikely there was anything of value at all.
He sighed, picturing the numbers in his brain. He turned to the wall nearest to him, pressing his fingers to the wall like a pen. Closing his eyes, he started to move his finger along the wall, tracing the shape of the numbers in different sequences. As he wrote, he muttered the different combinations under his breath. "0053, 0035, 0305, 0503, 0350, 0530, 5003, 3005, 3050, 5030, 5300, 3500." He sighed as he finished reciting the numbers. Reciting them once more, to make sure, he turned to face the others. "Twelve combinations. That's how many we've got. We're lucky we've got two of the same number in the sequence, because that makes it a lot simpler. In fact, that halves the amount of possible sequences. ." He sighed once more, before leaning back against the wall. "We've got 4 chances to guess the sequence, and it's out of 12 sequences. So we have a one in three chance of saving at least 1 person. Okay?"

[Durandamon]

[color=#800080]"Damn, gotta write it in my mind then..."[/color] - he closed his eyes and repeated [color=#800080][i]"Zero Zero Five Three, Zero Zero Five Three...I don't see it...damn!"[/i][/color]
Jason looked to Olly, analyzing the walls, writing with his finger - [color=#800080]"I know, one out of three chances of success. But there must be something to tell us how to do it, right? Like, for example...the code has 4 digits. 5 and 3 are the 2 number between 4. So we could make it putting it in order...3500? I'm just guessing wildly here..."[/color] - Jason shook his head [i][color=#800080]"Come on Jason! Where do the Zeroes go!?." [/color] - [/i]He slapped himself lightly on the face. - [color=#800080]"Also, emm...we are the team with 3 members, and in the scrambled code, 3 is the 4th number. If we substract 3 from 4, you get 1. So maybe 3 is the 1st number."[/color]
He looked at Olly, and then at Ren. If the clock hit 5, they would die. This was no longer a game. The room was hot, and everyone was sweating, partially from the nerves of the situation. - [color=#800080]"What do you say, Olly?"[/color]

[.:Blu:.]

Once the first challenge was explained to everybody, Mark immediately felt unnerved, something he haven't felt since being the victim of bullying as a child. Mark's eyes widened and he felt his knees becoming weak. "(F-Four lives plus Skyler's and mine's are placed into our hands just like that...? Even if Skyler and I follow all of the rules, there is still a probability that all four hostages will die... Just- Just how am I suppose to get through this...?!)" Mark contemplated to himself, his expression seemed to be in shock. Clenching his fists, a sweat drop slid down his cheek and then fell onto the ground below. Mark brought his head up and inhaled deeply through his nose then exhaled through his mouth. Relaxing his tense muscles, Mark opened his fists slowly. Mark then looked to Skyler. "From what we were just told, it seems this challenge is simply a challenge of luck not skill, so our particular skills won't be of any use. Maybe we can also employ a bit of logic to help us get the correct placement of numbers in the code. Overall however, I'm afraid it will boil down to luck..." Mark explained.

Mark didn't like the idea of having to rely on luck at all, but there is nothing he can do now but comply with the challenge's rules. After Dominique had taken the initiative to go into a room for the challenge, other teams soon followed not wanting to be wasting time. After all, it was already four. Mark looked at the closest door that hasn't been entered yet before turning back to Skyler. "Let's hurry..." Mark said in an melancholy tone before rushing over to the door.

Nark stopped himself just right in front of the door. Mark was unsure as to what he would find once he entered. In all honesty, Mark was actually afraid. However, lives were at stake and he couldn't just sit still and let innocent people die. Shaking off his fear and nervousness, Mark opened the door and walked quickly inside along with Skyler. Once the two had entered, they were transported into a small room. In the middle were four hostages sitting on the ground, wearing exactly the input device Phi said they would be wearing. Suddenly, the door behind the two students closed, causing Mark to jolt a bit.

Calming himself down, Mark looked at the hostages. "H-Hold on, we'll do our best to save you." Mark tried to reassure them but he knew the possibility of saving all of them are slim. Mark looked to the wall and sure enough, the four scrambled numbers are on the wall. The numbers are placed in the order: 7387. Mark turned to Skyler. "Alright, so we can definitely say with confidence that the order we see now is wrong." Mark stated. "But now what order are they suppose to be in...?" Mark wondered out loud. Mark noticed that there were two sevens. In a winning jackpot, there would be three sevens in a row. Maybe it's a sign that seven is the first number. Mark turned to Skyler to share what he has came to. "Alright, there are two sevens. Now in all situations, we can say that because there are two sevens, the probability would be higher for seven being the first number. So I say the first number is seven." Mark explained.

But now the next seven Mark was unsure where to place it. In a jackpot, there are three sevens in a row, but there are only two. The probability of the next number being seven again is too far off like in a real jackpot. Mark had to go with his intuition. "Having a seven after the first seven is too high of a probability to count on. There's no way it could be another seven right? It makes logical sense that we would be better off choosing eight or three over the second seven." Mark explained. Now however, Mark was in a stump. Which one would go after the first seven: eight or three? There are way too many logical factors that could affect this, Mark didn't know what to do.

Mark turned to Skyler. "I-I don't know what goes next..." Mark admitted.

[Simping For Hina]

Completely in thought, Skyler was on Mark's words constantly, trying to not miss a single one. The stakes were too high at a time like this. 4 lives were the cost, and who knows what else. She felt slip down to her chin, gravity pushing on her shoulders more and more. She was too nervous, but it was times like these that her mind would work creatively. The ideas were like a book, a simple code in spy mysteries. She thought of each spy book she as ever read like a movie moving faster on forward. Everything just started to click, get in place, make more sense. She wasn't as nervous, she was able to understand the situation and how she might be able to complete the task. She was booming with confidence on the inside, and on the out she gave a smile to show.

"Mark, you seem to be on the right track with the numbers so far. We need to figure out what number goes first now, the three or the eight." Skyler explained, just how Mark did, but with more of a regular tone that showed no fear or nervousness. As she looked at the numbers more, she began to think of the other contestants. Through that though, the order of the numbers became more clear. "Do you know which number would be higher?" asked Skyler politely, with more of a happy tone. She realized what this test was about.

Skyler rose her hand, parallel to the floor, and pointed her finger towards the number 8. "Look at it. This number is higher than 3. It would usually come after when counting, but that would be too obvious. You need to get rid of the 8 first, like the contestants. If you get rid of eight of them, the number would decrease and you would have a better chance of winning. It is as simple as that. We get rid of the eight, the 3 would be left. Not exactly how many people are playing this game, if I am correct. I may or may not be." Skyler minded, her thoughts poured out just like she was one of the investigators, spies, or robbers. This entire thing made her feel like one of them, and she started to believe it for a moment. The numbers felt like they were part of a code to break into a safe, save people from a bomb explosion, and in reality save these innocent lives. Skyler knew what she was doing.

It would only make sense. Now why would the 3 go before the 7? That is what really caused her problems, it just didn't add it for it to got in from of 3. She kept her mind focused on that thought. It juggled around her brain like a basketball shuffling from the ground to the player's hand. She thought of an idea, but it didn't add up properly in her mind. "I think that 7 would go after 3. It would be reasonable, I just have the feeling. It might be because Phi, or whatever his name is, has 3 letters in his name. He is taking control of this entire thing, so he should be the main focus. 7 could be just a number to fool us, and lose our focus." Skyler said abruptly, knowing it was stupid. Even if that was true, she felt it seemed to be right.

"The code is 7837." she blurted out straight at Mark with her eyes gazing upon him, "Trust me."