MAKE or BREAK : THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU

[Artemis]

CRUNCH. A fist collided with Kenji's nose, the sickening sound of breaking cartilage and bone overwhelming his gasp of pain, and blood spewed forth in a steady stream. He barely had time to register his broken nose when another fist connected with his side, stealing the wind from his lungs. He fell to his knees, gasping for air as the older boys around him laughed mercilessly. They circled him as if vultures circling a carcass. He dared a glance around; the boys had him surrounded on all sides, but if he was fast enough he could shoot the gap between two of them, go straight for his guitar, and run out of the park to safety. A painful kick to his stomach brought him out of his thoughts, and he moaned in pain as he struggled to keep from throwing up. They were preparing for their next round of beatings, and Kenji knew it was now or never. His life might depend on it.

With a burst of adrenaline, he shot to his feet, surprising his attackers, and lunged to the side. Just as planned, he slipped right between the two and swept up his guitar as he sprinted. He barely managed to get ten feet away before someone grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him back, choking him momentarily. The fear returned to him, he hadn't been fast enough, and now he was going to pay for his stunt. The next fist came at him out of nowhere. The punch hit him square in the jaw, sending him reeling backwards. For a moment, Kenji thought he was seeing stars. His world was shattered when he realized he was seeing stars; the punch had sent him over the bridge he was standing on, and he was seeing the night sky above him. The next second, his body slapped against the surface of the river as if he had just fallen onto concrete off a roof. His guitar, which had been held in his iron grip until then, was ripped away from him. Disoriented and confused, he sunk below the waves, water filling his lungs as his body failed to react to the situation. He didn't want to die.

---

Kenji bolted up, unable to breathe as the water crushed down on him. However, when he opened his eyes, he was not at the bottom of a river. He sucked in a large breath of air with surprising ease. He was not drowning, he thought incredulously, though just a moment before he could have sworn he was on the verge of death. "Unless... That was just a horrible nightmare?" He wondered aloud, though he knew that thought made no sense. "I guess however I got here makes no sense either though." He reasoned, standing up. He looked around him, surprised no one had bothered to question as to why he had been lying down in the middle of one of Shibuya's busiest intersections, the Scramble Crossing.

He was about to stop someone and ask him if they had seen how he got there, when his phone vibrated. Confused, he took it from his pocket, as it should have been lost in the river, or at least malfunctioning from all the water damage.

Reach 104. Time limit: 60 minutes. Fail, and face erasure.

"What the hell-" Kenji started, then yelped in pain. His palm was stinging fiercely, and he turned it over to see if he had been stung by a bee or some other insect. Instead of a bite, he found numbers, actively counting backwards. 59:58, 59:57, 59:56, and it continued. He stared dumbly at his palm, trying to conceive any possible way that a working timer could be engraved into his hand in a split second. He found none, and with that in mind, he decided he better do what the message said; it might provide him with some of the answers he desired. "104... I think I know the place." He muttered, turning and heading in the direction of a large skyscraper. "Pardon me, excuse me, pardon me." He repeated as he shuffled through crowds of people, though no one seemed to acknowledge him. "Rude... They must all be in a hurry." He deduced, weaving through people and apologizing as he went.

 

[Rhapsody]

Ugh, boring. So boring. Summing up her obvious affliction of boredom with a heavy sigh, the young woman scraped her fist against the video screen before stepping off the platform. What was everybody else up to? Well, she supposed that they would be at HQ, but not like Kam had time to hang around there. And since Miss Producer hadn’t yet plucked Kam away, safe to say she was not the Gamemaster for this week. So… who’s the unfortunate victim for this week? Well, she could always find out, wouldn’t be that difficult.

After all, wherever there was noise, there was an unfortunate Player or Players suffering. Not exactly her cup of tea, but, hell, at this point any sort of entertainment was better than no entertainment. So, onward she went, skating through alleys and streets, turning a corner til she hit Scramble. Ah, so here was where the action was. Of course–the infamous crossing had of way of luring all the chess pieces together to the center of the game board.

That is, everyone and their mother gathered right here.

And, no doubt, it was pretty crazy at the moment. A few Players were trying to keep ahead of the snapping wolves, hopping frogs, you name it. And right there, in the midst of the chaos, a flicker of some strange static. Ah! So that could only mean… She clicked her tongue in half-hearted amusement. Gendou. To get a better view of the scene, Kam found access to the rooftop of a nearby building, and, surprise, surprise: Kage. “Pfft. Looks like a train wreck down there.” Casually she approached the other, yawned, and kicked out a foot to hop on the ledge of the rooftop, right next to the psycho. “But I damn well know one thing," she observed the scene below, the slightest hint of a smirk on her lips, "Sure sucks to be you.”

 

[saphexteni]

Yukira could feel the frog graffiti creatures gaining on her, despite the fact that she was running with all her might. Despite her presence not registering to the crowd, she still couldn't go right through them, and had to weave in and around the huge crowd. The frogs, however, merely bypassed their obstacles by making long and tall leaps. They were getting closer, and at this rate, she wouldn't make it to the 104 district before they surrounded her again.There has got to be something I can do to shake these guys off... something... ANYTHING.

As she wove around the crowd, the frantic girl reached her hand into her pockets, searching for anything that might help. Maybe her cell phone could make a high frequency sound to scare or freak the frogs out? Who knows. She was about to grab her phone when she felt another item in the same pocket. Curious, she pulled it out and glanced at it. It was a black and white pin and had a very ominous looking symbol on it. It looked almost like a skull. Then, almost instantly a second later, there was an onslaught of chatter coming directly around her.

"Those shoes were beautiful! If only I could afford them..."

"Shoot! I need to go pick up my paycheck!"

"Such a hot day today... what am I even doing here?"

"Why is the Scramble Crossing always so crowded? I should have just gone around."

"Ah, 777 is playing at the concert tonight! Can't wait!"

Yukira's head felt like exploding, like a bunch of thoughts all reaching her at the same time. She stopped, clutching her head and turning to find the source of the noise, but no one around her seemed to be speaking to what she was hearing. Staggering, her hands dropped the skull pin, and instantly, all the noise stopped. What was that all about? Did I just...

But her thoughts were interrupted when she saw that the frogs had just about caught up to her while she had been distracted. She vaguely heard someone call out in the distance, but she was too preoccupied to figure out who he was talking to, let along what he said. Seeing no other choice, since they had already caught up to her, Yukira turned to face the creatures, her fists up as one jumped right at her head.

 

[Artemis]

Kenji ambled down the street, checking the timer on his hand every so often. "This is the weirdest day ever..." He mumbled to himself. There were less people out and about as he neared 104; he still couldn't understand why everyone was ignoring him. "Do I smell?" He asked aloud before sniffing his armpit. When he looked up, he saw a girl sprinting across the street from him, and she looked like she was in trouble, like she was being chased or something.

"Hey!" He called out to her, waving a hand. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, but she couldn't hear him. She had stopped and was clutching at her head as if in pain. Kenji checked his palm once more, 45:45, 45:44, 45:43. He figured he could spare a few minutes to make sure the girl was fine. "Heeey!" He called out again, starting to cross the street. But the girl was no longer clutching her head, she was upright again, though she looked troubled. She spun around, looking ready to fight. Confused, Kenji looked down the street to see a mob of large, sinister frogs charging straight for her. "What in God's name-" He uttered in disbelief. They were like demon mutant frogs, definitely not the normal ones from the pet store.

He bolted across the street towards the girl. One of the frogs leaped straight at her, and he threw himself forward. He'd apologize after he saved her life, he decided. He grabbed her around the waist as he tumbled down, twisting so that she'd land on top of him instead of on the ground. The frog whizzed through the air, right where the girl's head had been only half a second before. He landed hard on his back and shoulder, the girl plopping down squarely on his chest. "Sorry for tackling you." He coughed out to her, turning his head to look up at her.

 

[saphexteni]

Yukira braced herself for an impact, but it came much lower than she expected. She had been so focused on getting away from the frogs, she didn't notice the figure that had rushed up at her, suddenly grabbing at her waist and pulling her to the ground. Though she didn't hit the ground directly, she felt winded from the sudden movement, and it took her awhile to realize that whomever it was who had tackled her had gotten her out of the way of the graffiti-limbed frogs.

"Ughh..." she groaned, shaking her head to get oriented again. It was then that she realized she was still sitting squarely on top of the stranger who had helped her, to which she quickly tried to stand up.

"Oh! I'm so sorry- I'll get up right away--"... She began, though only to get interrupted by the sound of approaching creatures- unfriendly ones.

The frogs were back, and her throat tightened at the sight of them all over again. Yukira wasted no time in standing up, and promptly held out her hand for her companion to use as leverage to get up quickly. As she held it out, in that split second, she got a better glimpse of him. He looked to be around her age, if not younger, and had dark, cropped hair.Is he in the same position as I am? He can see me, after all.

"Hurry! Take my hand! We need to get away from those things, towards 104."

 

[Artemis]

"It's all good." Kenji cleared his throat and sat up. His attention was caught by the approaching demon mutant frogs. "Yeeesh." He frowned at them.

"Hurry! Take my hand! We need to get away from those things, towards 104." The girl he had saved addressed him, offering her hand. Well, Kenji had never been one to refuse a lady... He grabbed her hand and pulled himself to his feet. "Wait, you're going to 104 too?!" It just registered with him, and a smile broke on to his face. "That means-" But he stopped mid sentence to duck as a frog charged him, leaping into the air where his head had been. "Go!" He shouted, and he turned and sprinted, his hand locked around the girl's. They bolted down the street, the frogs hot on their heels. In the distance, they could see the top of 104.

"So... you've got... this... timer thing... too right?" Kenjia huffed out as they ran. He wasn't in the best shape, cardiovascularly anyway. "And I bet... no one... can you see... or... hear you?" He was hopeful that she was like him, caught up in the same situation. Maybe they could help each other out, he thought.

 

[saphexteni]

Yukira grasped the young man's hand tightly to pull him up. A warm and comforting feeling enveloped her hand at the touch of another person, but in the situation at hand, she didn't have much time to dwell on it.

"Wait, you're going to 104 too?! That means-"He paused for a moment to dodge and duck beneath a leaping frog. "Go!"

She didn't have to be told twice. She gripped his hand even tighter as she ran off beside him toward District 104. It sounded like he was also headed in the same direction. If that was the case... the two of them were likely under the same circumstances. In other words, fellow players (hopefully) in this twisted game someone thought up.

"So... you've got... this... timer thing... too right? And I bet... no one... can you see... or... hear you?"

Yukira looked up at the guy's hand, and her heart leapt at knowing that they were indeed in the same situation. His hand was, indeed, tatooed with a countdowning timer exactly like her own. And if he was also headed towards 104, it only made sense that he too received that text. She got the feeling that she could trust him, and that together, they could work through this "game."

"Yeah! The same exact thing is going on with me, too! A text, the people, and especially the timer..."

With warm smile of relief, she lifted her palm up to show him the timer as well.

As soon as she did, however, a bright, whitish blue light overtook them, enveloping her and everything around. It was filled with a warm and comforting feeling, an intense version of what she felt when she had first grasped the stranger's hand to pull him up from the ground. Instinctively, her eyes closed at the feeling, and in her mind, she heard and saw the words:

PACT

PARTNER

​

As her eyes opened, the intense feeling disappeared, leaving deep confusion showing in her expression. "What on earth was that just now?" She turned to look at her "partner," hoping she wasn't just going crazy. Well, going more crazy, anyway. The situation couldn't possibly get much worse.

 

[Artemis]

Kenji couldn't believe his luck, he'd managed to find probably the one person in Shibuya who was in the same funk as he was. "Yeah! The same exact thing is going on with me, too! A text, the people, and especially the timer..." The girl said, then raised her hand to show Kenji the timer she had on her palm, identical to his own. A blinding, light blue light overwhelmed his vision, and for a moment he feared he had gone blind, though the comforting feelings brought by the light assured him he hadn't.

PACT

PARTNER​

"What on earth was that just now?" The girl looked at him with confusion once the light had subsided.

"Well... I'll take a wild guess and say that you and I made some kind of agreement and now we are working together in this crazy game... Assuming you saw those same lights and words that I did." Kenji looked at her thoughtfully, and was filled with a sensation of warmth and security. He still didn't know her name, he realized, and mentally kicked himself for being rude and not asking earlier. He opened his mouth to introduce himself, but noticed the frogs hopping quickly after them and thought better of it. "Is there any way to get rid of these things?" He asked the girl, ready to start running. His hand went instinctively to his pocket to check for his phone, but he felt something else in there, something that hadn't been there before... His hand closed around the foreign objects and he drew out several pins with various colorful designs.

"These are new." He mumbled, wondering how they got onto his person. He rolled a pin with a lightning bolt around in his hand, and was about to show his partner when a frog charged at her. "No! Look out!" He shouted, throwing out his arm in front of her protectively.

A bolt of lightning arced from his hand with the pin, driving straight into the frog and zapping it out of existence with a small 'poof'. Kenji stared incredulously at his hand. "How..." He whispered to himself. "Did you see that?!" He turned and asked the girl, showing her the pin in his hand.

 

[saphexteni]

Yukira looked at the guy who's name she still did not know. 'Cause we had such great opportunities to ask each other our names...She was still faintly aware of the hopping frogs still going after them.

"Well... I'll take a wild guess and say that you and I made some kind of agreement and now we are working together in this crazy game... Assuming you saw those same lights and words that I did."

She nodded slowly in apt agreement. What he said made sense and seemed to be as straightforward as the rest of this game. Just less dangerous, thank goodness. Too bad they couldn't figure things out anymore with the frogs still tailing them.

"Is there any way to get rid of these things?"

Yukira wished she had an answer. If she did, she wouldn't still be running from them. The only things she had the last time she checked was her useless cell phone with the creepy text, along with that skull pin that put a bunch of people's voices in her head. She highly doubted either of those would help. Maybe she had something in her other pocket... Before she could consider anything else, her partner pulled out a few other pins, not unlike the skull one she had, but with other symbols on them.

"These are new." He clearly didn't have them before. Wondering about the mysterious pins, too, Yukira didn't notice when a frog charged at her. "No! Look out!" The boy stuck out his hand to block the oncoming attack, and Yukira didn't even get a chance to respond when lightning flew from his hand and struck the frog, making it vanish midair. Speechless, she just stared at his hand, which was completely unharmed. "How... Did you see that?!"

"Um... if you're talking about the lightning that just zapped from your hand, then yes. I did. W-where on earth did that come from?!"

Trying to collect herself, Yukira stared at the pin he held, which had a lightning symbol on it. It must've been the pin. Pins in this world... no, game... seemed to have mysterious powers. Meanwhile, the frogs seemed to back off just a bit from the sudden lightning attack. No kidding. She would, too. Instinctively, her hands went to her pocket, which she expected to be empty. But it wasn't. Putting her hands in, she also pulled out several pins. They varied in colors, and one in particular was bluish and seemed to have a mask-like image printed on it.

"That's really strange. I have some too."

She rolled the blue pin in her hand briefly, though her body immediately tensed up, feeling the frogs venturing closer, their initial shock at the lightning subsided. I'd better figure out how to use these things fast, then. At least my partner already seems to have some sort of handle on that lightning one. Deciding now was better than ever, Yukira put her hand out at the frogs, forcefully, hoping for some kind of similar reaction like with her partner. But nothing did. Not even a puff of smoke or spark.

"I guess not all of these pins work the same way..." she muttered, partly to herself and partly to her partner. Her mind raced, wondering how else to work the pin, as she crouched her body, readying herself beside her partner for the incoming frogs.

 

[Artemis]

"Um... if you're talking about the lightning that just zapped from your hand, then yes. I did. W-where on earth did that come from?!" His partner asked him.

Kenji continued to stare at the pin in his hand. He felt powerful, for once in his life. He liked being able to protect himself, and others as well. "I wonder if I can do it again?" He mumbled to himself. He suddenly became aware of her question. "Oh! I have no idea how I did it. It's gotta be this pin, it must be magic..."

That's really strange. I have some too." Kenji looked up to see her examining pins of her own, a blue one in particular. He watched as she tried to concentrate and access the power of the pin while the frogs hopped closer and closer. "I guess not all of these pins work the same way..." Kenji put an hand on her shoulder, hoping she wasn't discouraged.

"Hey, one of those is bound to work!" He told her before looking back at the approaching frogs. They sat back on their hind legs, ready to pounce at them. "Okay, go lightning!" He said to himself, and stretched out his hand in front of him. Another bolt of lightning shot from his palm and towards the closest frog, electrocuting it instantly, and it disappeared in a small cloud of black smoke. "I like this, I could get used to it." He smiled to himself, unleashing another bolt of lightning at a jumping frog.

"Ahhugh!" He cried in surprise as a frog tackled him from behind. He hit the ground hard on his front, some of the wind knocked out of him. He rolled over, wiping the dirt from his face, and came eye to eye with one of the demonic frogs.

 

[Mason Stark]

[Much apologies for the crappy post, but here it finally is! ;A; ahhhhh awful delay i'm sowwies *hides*]

The girl kept her back turned, hands twisting before her as she hid herself away in plain sight. She just didn't do well around others... and being forced to speak to someone only made that worse, an even worse barrier being thrown up. Staring down at her left hand, the same hand that took Andre's own when the blue light appeared, she tightened it and cursed. Why did she have to be so scared all the time? Her fear got the best of her, worse than her social anxiety did.

shish!

Blinking, Kusari fell back hard into reality with the appearance of more creatures. She assumed now that these things weren't real animals, having appeared in a static haze and carrying graffiti'd appendages. There was no way that they were real... But, gasping, the girl reeled back when Andre stepped in front of her. Wait... was he protecting her?

Apparently so. The girl whimpered, wondering how a stranger could put themselves on the line for another stranger. The boy foolishly wielded a phone, hoping that it would be enough to fight off the monsters. Yet, he ended up choosing another weapon: a pin.

"Stay behind me!"

Kusari's eyes bugged, watching as a shockwave burst into the streets and charged at the creatures.

"H-how..." she whispered, gulping. Her bugged blue orbs searched her pockets and she stared down at the pins she took into her hand. One had a shadow with beady, golden eyes, and another with blue flames... While the former was interesting, she was apprehensive about it. She pocketed it and clutched the second in her fist, stepping out from behind Andre.

Frowning, the girl was unsure of where to begin. Did she throw it or something else? Reeling her arm back, she swung it down and, when she did, a burst of blue flame crawled onto the pavement. It burst on contact with one of the creatures, engulfing it in flames, then the monster froze.

Eyes bugged, Kusari stared down at the pin and mumbled, "Whoa..."

---------------------

Things were going right to plan: the world was thrown into chaos, the Noise ready to swallow their prey and end this game. Hearing footsteps off to the side, Kage's pierced ears tuned in as his golden eyes stared down into the world below.

"Pfft. Looks like a train wreck down there."

His plain smile turned into a tainted smirk as he replied, chuckling, "Yuuuuup, just the way I like it..."

But I damn well know one thing. Sure sucks to be you.

His brow ceased, looking a bit stunned and perplexed for a bare moment... until he realized. With a growl, he turned and faced Kam, a frown poisoning his tanned complexion.

"Hahaha," he rolled his eyes, shoving his middle finger up at the girl, "eff you, too, bitch."

Kage pocketed his hands into his jacket pockets, snarling as he glared at the Reaper, "Where the eff were you?! That bitch of a Conductor saddles me up with this bullshit job, and you're off doing... who knows what, in the middle of a freakin' game!"

He scoffed, turning back to the chaotic world below. With a click of his tongue, he continued, "But nuh-uh, you're helpin' me out this time. I'm ending this game now -- we're going to erase all of those Players. Plus, we won't even have to lift a finger."

 

[saphexteni]

"I like this, I could get used to it."

Yukira smiled at her partner's comment, though it was short lived when he was tackled from behind. Squeezing the pin in her hand, she looked around desperately for a way to help him, but just saw some mailboxes and a bunch of cones. She didn't know if the cones would be of any use against the frogs, but it would certainly be better than sitting around waiting for lightning to shoot out of her palm. Literally.

There was one cone that was just within her reach if she could just bend down and get far enough before the frogs saw her as a threat and attacked her. Cautiously, and with quick, but smooth movement, Yukira bent down and slowly put her hand out, reaching for the cone, her other hand gripping the blue pin tightly. She took a moment to take a quick look at her cornered partner before she turned back to lunge at the cone. She never got to, though.

To her shock, the cone was no longer sitting on the ground. Instead, it was floating in the air in what looked like a small transparent bubble or sphere. "What the-" Caught by surprise, Yukira dropped her hand that was intending to reach for the cone. As she moved it downward, the cone also moved downward until it hit the ground with a loud thump. Additionally, the pin had grown a bit warmer in her hand.

She didn't get a chance to ponder the mysterious levitation display very long, however, with the frogs suddenly gathering around her. Getting back up, Yukira took a gamble and reached her hand out to the cone, praying that her hunch was right. To her relief, it levitated off the ground, and floated in the direction her hand was reaching. "Well, here goes nothing..." Forcefully, she swung her arm in the direction of the frogs. And sure enough, the cone followed her movements exactly, knocking the frogs in disarray.

Sparing no moment, Yukira swung her arm towards the frogs surrounding her partner, knocking them away from him. She rushed forward and quickly grabbed his hand. "Hurry! To 104! Before those things get after us again!"

 

[Artemis]

Kenji closed his eyes, wincing for the attack he was sure was only a second a way. There was a great whoosh of air overhead, and suddenly his chest felt a bit lighter. Curious, he opened one eye, then the next. There was no longer a frog looming over him, nor were there any surrounding them. They'd all been knocked aside, somehow.

"Hurry! To 104! Before those things get after us again!" His partner said, grabbing his hand and yanking him to his feet. They took off, leaving the frogs strewn behind them.

"That was awesome! How did you take care of all those?" Kenji asked her as they sprinted. 104 was dead ahead, only several blocks away. He chanced a glance behind him, the frogs were up on their feet and on the chase, though there were fewer than before. He shot a bolt of lightning from his hand, aiming it at the center of the pack. There was an eruption of black smoke where one of the frogs was most likely hit, but the rest continued to hop onwards.

"Okay, 104! Right there!" He allowed himself a small smile. He glanced down at the timer on his hand, 39:25, 39:24, 39:23..., they still had plenty of time to spare. He slowed out of his run, breathing heavily. "We made it!" He huffed, coming to a stop right in front of 104. "We make a good team... I'm Kenji by the way." He introduced himself with a grin, then looked abashedly at his hand, which was still clutching the girl's. He let go immediately, blushing slightly, and tucked his arm behind him. It was strangely empty around 104, no people about to even ignore them. Kenji bit his lower lip, feeling unsettled. Something behind his partner caught his attention. A large cloud of black smoke was swirling around, rising high into the air. There were symbols, dark and sinister looking, forming from the cloud.

H-hey, look at that!" He gestured at it, and watched in horror as a large creature emerged. It towered over the two of them, covered in blue-grey fur with long, orange arms. Symbols covered its body, which resembled a demonic grizzly bear. "Our timers haven't disappeared either!" He choked out, showing his palm to his partner. "I think we have to fight it..." He swallowed hard as the bear gave an ear splitting growl and reared up on its hind legs, preparing to charge at them.

 

[Rhapsody]

Kam didn’t look at all willing to take the middle finger seriously, her only rebuttal being her palms, which rose up in a half-hearted gesture of defeat. “I was joking,” Her feet kicked out, and her eyes fell to the ground below carelessly as the next mumbled word fell from her lips: “Little pussy.”

Oh, but now he really actually did sound like he was crying! To Kam, no less! As though he’d gather some sympathy from her, or maybe an apology of some kind, for leaving him to be tortured and tormented by that she-conductor as he made it seem. But Kam would tell him not so much as a hint regarding where she was prior, at the arcade, so she kept silent until the end of his rant (his tantrum, to be more precise), and only after a brief pause did she nudge her way back into the conversation.

“So... feel better? You done crying now?” She pursed her lips at the other and touched her palm to her cheek, “Need some tissue? How 'bout a hug? Does wittle Kage need a hug?” Feigning a look of sympathy, her tone falsely saccharine, but still the delivery fell slightly short of the mark; even-toned Kam wasn’t used to theatrics, nope. That was Kage’s department. “Christ, you are a pussy. I was minding my own business, as you yourself should be. I’m not the Game Master for this week; therefore, I don't have responsibilities that involve babysitting Players and listening to that Conductor. Sorry... but kinda not sorry.”

But she looked at him with slightly raised brows at the mention of a rather peculiar thing from Kage. “'Won't even have to lift a finger', huh? Pfft. Get the hell out.” The incredulous scoff-chuckle mix undermined Kage’s resolve, cut short as the Reaper suddenly swung her feet back onto the solid ground of the rooftop. She stood and looked the other dead in the eyes then, hint of her flippant ‘tude very much gone. “You're asking me to break the rules and get a target behind my back all for some dumbass plan spontaneously thought up by you? Which, by the way, has not a chance in Hell of getting pulled off anyway?” Seriously. Erasing them without any kind of physical involvement? Kam rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in visible disbelief. Tragically, this guy was becoming insane...-er. Which, before now, she thought to be impossible.

Not to mention the most obvious problem to this idea of his: Kage was up for this week. So long as he was the Game Master, that meant the others had to keep out, including Kam, or else it would be their hide up for erasure. And what was left for her after erasure was something Kam was not too thrilled about hypothesizing or testing. Though tantalizing was the thought of rebellion to the young woman’s heart, she would betray not a hint of it.

“Ballsy idea, and kinda attractive; but I’ll pass. Count me out. Not throwing my life away like that.” Life, she had said. Huh. What sort of life did she have continuing her existence down here in the UG as a Reaper? She was dead already.

 

[saphexteni]

Yukira took off alongside her partner, the two of them still grasping each other's hands. "That was awesome! How did you take care of all those?"

She gestured at the pin in her hand. "I figured out how to use this pin- it has some sort of levitation power. And the traffic cones just happened to be there." She gave a little laugh, despite their still dire situation. Though it was looking much better than it had just a few minutes ago.

"Okay, 104! Right there!"

Yukira nodded in relief, a smile breaking across her lips despite her panting. The two of them stopped right in front of 104, and Yukira made an effort to catch her breath, though hopefully they had done their quota of running for the day. Turning around, she didn't see the frogs coming after them anymore, either, which made her sigh with relief.

"We made it! We make a good team... I'm Kenji by the way," Kenji introduced himself, though he quickly noticed that he was still clutching Yukira's hand, to which he let go immediately with a slight blush that made Yukira blush a bit in return.

"And I'm Yukira. We did make a great team out there, didn't we? Though I have to thank you for jumping in there to help me out in the first place... I seriously thought I was a goner!"

"H-hey, look at that!" Though something seemed to have Kenji's attention behind her- curious, and a little scared, she turned around only to face a cloud of smoke that was forming with a bunch of symbols, not unlike the frogs that were attacking them. It only took a couple more seconds for a massive creature to form. It towered over them and looked like a grizzly bear, but with graffiti-like tattoos for its arms. It certainly did not look friendly. A part of her would have rather faced twenty of those smaller frogs any day.

"Our timers haven't disappeared either! I think we have to fight it..."

Yukira didn't have to look at her own palm to confirm it. If their timers hadn't disappeared.... did that mean the game wasn't over yet? Did they have to defeat this huge grizzly thing, too?

"A boss at the end of the stage... whoever concocted this game and put us into it... sure has a twisted personality."

The grizzly glared at them with its small, beady eyes, and let out an ear splitting howl into air, only to turn back to the two of them with anger and hunger evident in its eyes. It stood on its hind legs, and began to lunge at them. Acting quickly, Yukira pushed Kenji in the other direction and jumped just barely out of the way.

"Kenji! We need to split up- give it two targets to attack instead of one!" she called to her partner. The bear looked momentarily confused at which target to go after next. Seeing her chance, she took the blue pin in her hand, and looked around desperately for cones again, but found none. The only things she saw were a mailbox and a couple cars and motorcycles in the area. She wasn't sure if the pin could lift large things, too, but with not much of a choice, she raised her hand in the direction of the mailbox, which stood just ten feet away from where she stood. To her relief, it floated in the air as if ready to be flung somewhere. Not wasting a single moment, Yukira swung her arm in the direction of the bear's head, and there the large blue mailbox found its way. It hit the grizzly with a loud SMACK!, and for just a moment, she saw the grizzly's form flash. Yes! I think I got it! The feeling was short lived, however, as the bear turned to face her, clearly decided on who would be its first target.

It lifted its claw and swung it straight down at Yukira, who stumbled backwards to the ground just in time. And for probably the fifth time of the day, Yukira found herself on the ground. Being approached by a giant animal. This just isn't my day.

 

[Artemis]

"Kenji! We need to split up- give it two targets to attack instead of one!" Yukira yelled to him after pushing him out of the way of the attacking bear. Kenji stumbled, but with a flail of his arms was able to recover his balance, and he turned to watch his partner. He watched in awe as she lifted a mailbox and swung it at the monster, her pin probably giving her some kind of telekinetic powers.

"Awesome." He mumbled to himself, smiling as the mailbox connected with the bear's skull with a satisfying sound. It's form flickered, as if about to dissipate in smoke like the frogs, before returning to tangibility and turning it's ferocious attacks towards her. "Ah! Yukira!" He exclaimed, watching in horror as she barely dodged an attack, falling backwards onto the ground while the bear reared for another swipe with its paw. "Stupid me, I should have been helping!" He cursed himself, raising up his hand to strike the bear with a bolt of lightning. His stomach dropped into his feet when he saw his hand was empty, the pin dropped somewhere in his haste. "No, no, no, no!"

He knew he didn't have time to look for it, and pulled out the first pin in his pocket and attached it securely to his jacket's lapel. No losing this one this time. The pin had an animated volcano on it, so he could only guess it had some relation to fire. He looked up and saw the bear ready to attack Yukira, and his chest tightened. He raised up his hand, aiming it for the bear and hoping whatever he had pinned on would work...

A jet flame erupted where the bear stood, towering well over its head and engulfing the creature. It roared in pain and jumped backwards out of the fire, it's fur smoking and singed. There was an overwhelming, slightly nauseating smell of charred hair from the bear, which continued to growl in torment and paw out the burning parts of its body. Kenji raised his fist into the air in success and ran over to Yukira.

"Here, need a hand?" He pulled her to her feet and turned to face the now enraged grizzly. It's form flickered again, a little longer this time before returning to normal. "I think one or two more big attacks and he's done for." He pointed his finger at the area in front of the bear and gave a little wave, and watched in surprise as a small trail of flames sprouted from the ground where he pointed. He twirled his finger around, almost as if conducting an orchestra, and watched delightedly as the path of flames followed his direction. The bear roared, clearly not amused by his light show, and he drug his finger through the air in front of the bear. Jets of fire erupted all around it, but only lasted for a moment.

The fire quickly died away, and shocked, Kenji waved his whole hand this time. Nothing. He waved again, and still nothing. Panic began to set in as the bear shook out the last few flames from its fur and reared back, ready to charge. Kenji looked at Yukira, eyes wide and mouth dry.

"I-I think there's a recharge time on some."

 

[Endless Warrior Sora]

Andre grinned, and raised his body. When he looked over, he squinted as he scanned the area for the other girl. She was no where to be found, unfortunately. Suddenly, a faint glow flickered behind him, and the teenager turned just in time to see blue flame consume another one of the creatures.

"Whoa..."

The boy's hazel eyes widened as he turned to the source of the small chime. "What the! Did you do that?" He said, sprinting toward her a bit more excited than he probably should've been. This girl was practically a stranger, who seemed terrified of him to the point where she wouldn't speak to him and he was running to her to give her waves of praise.

"THAT was SO dope! It was waaaaaay better than mine! How'd you DO that? Can I do that too?" He asked, giving Kusari a curious and wondrous smirk. He looked over to where the creature had been. "My partner can shoot blue flames..."

"'Ey, we should probably get to 104, huh?"

 

[saphexteni]

"Here, need a hand?"

Yukira gladly grabbed Kenji's hand as he helped her back on her feet. Her heart was still racing from the close call with the grizzly bear. Sure, she'd been cornered by those frogs, but she didn't think a swipe from the gigantic bear would just leave a bruise like they had. They couldn't afford to be caught by those claws.

"Thanks. That was really too close for comfort... and impressive fire, by the way."

Kenji seemed to really like the new pin he had used on the bear as he continued to experiment with the fire with his hands as if he was conducting an orchestra, the bear still distracted. Both their smiled died away, however, when the flames slowly simmered and died away. "The flames... they're disappearing. What's going on?"

"I-I think there's a recharge time on some."
Of course there is... more restrictions for us. To make things worse, the flames on the bear were disappearing as well, and it slowly turned to locate the source of the previous irritating flames. It didn't take long for its eyes to land on Yukira and Kenji. Hoping her pin would still work, Yukira raised her hand with the blue pin towards a car. Sure enough, it levitated in the air. She swung her arm at the grizzly's head, hoping the car would deal a huge blow to it. Her heart sank, however, when the car began to fall mid-swing, and only knocked itself into the bear's legs, though possibly giving them a couple seconds before the grizzly could come back after them. She raised her hand to pick the car up again, but it didn't even budge.

"I guess my pin's used up, too. You have any more pins?" As she asked him, her hands automatically rummaged through her pockets to find another one she might be able to use. Surely she had one that could be activated easily by just raising your hand or something like that. She had seven total pins, including the weird white one with the skull. Two of them, the blue and skull ones, she already kind of knew how they worked. That left five. She took one at random and thrust it out towards the bear. Nothing. Moving fast, she picked a second one and thrust it out. Still nothing. Meanwhile, the bear had climbed over the car easily and was within reach. Third time's a charm. With her third pin, which she briefly noticed had the letters "EX" on it, she felt the pin grow slightly warm before small round bullet balls began shooting out of it.

"Yes! It worked!"

 

[Artemis]

"I guess my pin's used up, too. You have any more pins?"

"Yeah, they're all in here." Kenji's hands fumbled frantically in his pockets for his other pins. He pulled out several, flipping them over in his hand to look at the graphic on the front. He knew he didn't have time to be picky, but by the time he had selected another pin, Yukira had already begun her attack. He looked up just in time to see the bear's charge halted by a barrage of bullets, courtesy of his partner's new pin of choice. They struck the bear right between the eyes, and it fumbled. With a roar of pain, it's legs buckled and it collapsed on the ground in front of them. It's form began to dissolve away in a black mist, blown off by the wind and leaving nothing behind.

"Ah! Yukira, that was awesome!" He turned and smiled at her, relief washing over him. It had been a close call, but they had managed to come out on top. "I think we're really starting to get the hang of fighting with these pins. And fighting together too." He replaced the pins in his pocket and took a step back. Something felt uneven under his feet, and he moved his foot to check it out. "Ayah, my other pin..." He moaned, picking up the lightning pin he thought he had lost. "Idiot!" He cursed himself, putting it back onto the lapel of his jacket. He flipped his hand over and examined his palm, 33:56, 33:55, 33:54 and counting. He cringed, watching the timer tick lower and lower.

"Our timer still isn't gone yet!" He said, slightly frustrated. "The message said to go to 104, we're standing right here. What else do they want?" He looked around cautiously, "I wonder if we are supposed to fight more... How are you, Yukira? Are you doing okay?" He asked her, slightly concerned after her close brush with the grizzly earlier. "You're not hurt right?"

 

[Mason Stark]

THAT was SO dope! It was waaaaaay better than mine! How'd you DO that? Can I do that too?

Kusari was taken back by the boy's reaction, looking up and seeing the enthusiasm in his features. She gulped, took a step back, and froze, looking around hesitantly. How was she supposed to react to that?

My partner can shoot blue flames...

Blinking, she glanced down at the pin in her hand, blue eyes bright. Her shoulders dropped and her frigid stance loosened up. A sheepish, tiny smile formed on her features.

"That's... good... right?" the quiet girl piqued up, her smile turning into a grin. She supposed that it was a good thing.

'Ey, we should probably get to 104, huh?

Glancing up, the girl nodded, pocketing the pin. Without speaking a word, the young brunette dashed forward past Andre, pulling her hood over her head at the sight of a pair up ahead. Yet, as she ran, it seemed as if a weight had lifted from her hand...

----------------

Kam's words barely passed Kage's ears. He heard them, but never acknowledged them... until a single sentence struck a chord.

You're asking me to break the rules and get a target behind my back all for some dumbass plan spontaneously thought up by you?

"Why the heck would I ask you that? Geez Kam, stop being such a bitch." The black-haired man turned around, his golden eyes stared down the Reaper. Deep down, her words stabbed at him, bugging him down to his core. Didn't she realize what they could do? They wouldn't have to fight the Players: just use the Noise to kill them! They could barely take the Noise out there already; they could've easily ended the Game then and now.

Ballsy idea, and kinda attractive; but I’ll pass. Count me out. Not throwing my life away like that.

He grumbled, thrusting his hands into his pockets.

"Whatever, Kammie. It's not like you have a life to throw away, am I right? If you're content down here in the ashes, then feel free to hang around, but I'm not staying here. I'm going straight to the top and I'm getting a damn better life than this bullshit."

SLAM!

Kage's eyes bugged. He whirled around, staring down at the street below.

"Dammit, no!" Slamming his hands into the edge of the rooftop, he watched as the Noise disappeared, leaving behind the Players. The four teens were heading off for 104... but it wasn't over yet: there were two stragglers. One team had already completed the mission, but he wasn't going to lose out on his chance.

Clicking several buttons on his phone, he slammed it against his ear, resting his boot on the short, concrete wall and resting his forearm on his knee.

"--yeah, I know you're supposed to clear the wall when they show up. Geez, ya think I'm an idiot? Just put the damn thing back up! Now!"

Kage slammed his phone back into his pocket, rose to a stand and snapped his fingers.

The wall -- the damn Reaper listened to him -- was back. And so were a couple of Grizzly and Shark Noise to take out the last two stragglers.

He hissed under his breath, "I'm not losing this... I am ending this damn game..."