Forum Thread

Rui felt disappointed in herself after seeing the reactions of the judges, wishing she could’ve done something. She was just too scared, a coward as her mother would say. But she was also the same person who put this fear into her head, fear of her own power and even herself in general. Her stomach growled yet again as she walked back to her room in silence, with a face full of deep sorrow and regret. She opened the door and fell onto her bed, a tear falling down her eye. She couldn’t do anything... All because of this stupid life she had to live, she couldn’t live to please anyone, not even herself. If only she could’ve done something about it, maybe things would be different... Tears began to uncontrollably fall down her face as she curled herself up into a ball, reliving her past yet again.

She wasn’t always like this, in fact, she used to be a normal girl in a somewhat normal family. No matter how hard she tried, though, she couldn’t remember her normal life... It was at the age of 3, too young of an age for anything to have to go through this. This memory was just a giant stab in the back that she couldn’t get rid of, a memory that wouldn’t go away no matter how hard she tried. She was playing at a playground one day, having fun with the other kids there until suddenly they were all dead. One minute the world was bright and cheery, bright colors and joyful sounds surrounded her until the lights were turned off, everything seemed to be turned upside down. The colors she was just enjoying had turned into colors that gave her the feeling of death. They were all seemingly inverted, and the sounds she heard were distorted. She had witnessed a mass murder. Once she had realized what was happening, she let out a scream as she had to stare upon the bodies of the friends she was once playing with. Rui was left in shock, too scared to even move. She was only 3! How could you expect someone as young as her to know what to do?!

“What the hell did you do?!?!” her mother had screamed at her, terror in her eyes as she looked at the kid who looked to be the murderer. “I-I didn’t-“ “THEN WHO COULD!?” Her mother’s voice echoed through the house, making Rui start to cry. “I... I’m sorr-“ “NO YOU’RE NOT, YOU FREAK! HOW COULD A MONSTER LIKE YOU BE SORRY FOR MURDERING THAT MANY PEOPLE!? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE?!?” Her mother didn’t care at this point, she was screaming in Rui’s terrified face, not holding back once. “I DIDN’T RAISE A MURDERER!” Was the last words she heard from her for a while. Rui was suddenly grabbed by her shirt and was thrown down the basement steps, the click of the door locking echoing through the dark room. Rui cried for hours, and even banged on the door, begging to get out. A few days after no interactions whatsoever, a strange man entered the room, one she had never seen before. She quickly went up to him with the little energy she had and pleaded for him to help her. “Oh I will my little murderer, just you wait and see... I’ve come here to help you with that ‘problem’ of yours...” Those words stopped her dead in her tracks, she immediately knew it was danger, she tried to go up the stairs but she was immediately stopped. “Woah there, I can’t have you leaving on me...” he said with a large, ominous smile. “Now... may we begin?” Rui didn’t know what it meant in the slightest, but she violently shook her head and tried to escape again, but there was nowhere to run. “Let me go! I didn’t do anything, I didn’t! I-“ her pleas were cut short by the man grabbing her by the throat, choking her until she fainted. It felt like hours, hours of pain and struggle. She tried to manage a call for help, but nothing came out. Next thing she knew, she was strapped to a bed, unable to move whatsoever. “P-please! Let me go!” She struggled and struggled, unable to get anywhere. “Guess who’s awake... Now, are we ready to have fun?” The man loomed over her as she began to cry and scream, wanting this nightmare to end already, not knowing what was next for her. He didn’t even bother putting her to sleep or even paralyzing her, he went right into it.

Pain. For the next 6 hours, that’s all she felt. Needles, needles, and more needles. The unhealthy amount of drugs caused her to grow sickly during this, making it even worse. Not only that, the unknown substance he was using was causing a sensation all over her body, one that made her feel like she was being burned alive and not being able to die. Her screams kept filling the air, unable to be heard by anyone other than the two. Finally, she was done. The bonds holding her to the table were released, and she was allowed to leave. On the entire way back to her house, she cried and cried, unable to control herself. Once she was there... Well, she finally realized what the man had done to her. She had attacked him against her will, leaving her parents hating her more than they did before.

“You don’t deserve to live...” “It’s all your fault...” and so many more of those awful words... Each and every one of them had brought an image of everyone she had killed to her mind, causing her cry to become a bawl, and her whimpers into screams. All these people she killed, they were the people closest to her, ones that had been the ones she went to for comfort. Her friend, her aunt, all those people... what were their dying thoughts? Did they think she had betrayed them? Dying to the hands of a toddler who had once been someone you loved, was it painful for them? If there was a heaven... would they be looking down at her in disgust and shame? Would they even feel sorry for her? She couldn’t do this anymore... She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she went into the arena, even if she died immediately. She just wanted to get the punishment she deserved already... She tried to calm herself down enough to find an object sharp enough she could use, and she was somewhat successful. She found a pair of scissors in the drawer next to the bed, then brought it closer to her. “I-I’m sorry mom... I’m sorry auntie... W-will you forgive me...?”



Lesia was slightly worn out and terrified about what had happened minutes ago, really just wanting to go back to bed. It felt weird using her power again, it was like doing a cartwheel after years of not doing it. The movements were foreign, but also vaguely familiar, enough to re-train your body to do it as well as you did before. She let out a yawn as she headed back to her room, stoping once Che heard a startling scream come from one of the doors. What the... She ran over to the door that housed the noise and knocked on it, waiting for a response. She instead heard more screaming, which led to her quickly opening the unlocked door and rushing inside. What she saw made her eyes widen. Rui... with a pair of scissors... ready to... “Rui!” She yelled, running over and grabbing the pair of scissors out of her hands, throwing them across the room, then tightly grabbing her hands. “What are you doing?!?!”

---

As Suvansh started to tread back towards his room, he heard some screams. He ran in the direction of the screams, and noticed Lesia enter Rui's room. He follows suit, and watches in shock as Rui had a scissor in her hand, and had tears rolling down her cheeks. He was glad that Lesia confronted her with whatever she was going to do. She surely has gone through a lot Suvansh thinks, almost holding back tears. He didn't approach further, but folded his hands and watched from a distance.

---

Wiping away her tears with a huff, Katana continues her pursuit towards her room. It doesn't take long for Katana to finally reach Rui's room. Like Suvansh, she heard her cries and pauses by the entrance to curiously look into the room. Her eyes widen at the sight until she realizes that Lesia was already helping her out. Her eyes narrow slightly as Katana reads Rui's expression. It was almost sinister how familiar it seemed. Pain, loss, confusion, heartbreak. All those emotions seemed to be packaged together and were all displayed on Rui's face.
For a moment, Rui remindes Katana of herself. Her feet seem to move on their own accord as she steps into the room. But whatever trance was luring her into the room suddenly snaps, just as quickly as it appeared. She won't want my help Katana tells herself. She has been nothing but cold to everyone. They would sooner chase her off than accept her help. She wouldn't blame them. She wouldn't be surprised if they expected her comfort to be a trap.
Her eyes soften as she glances down at Rui with a pitied look. Wiping away her own tears, she does nothing but offer Rui a kind smile. "Stay strong and keep fighting." The words slip out of her mouth without conscious thought. She turns away and leaves the room, walking fast and keeping her head down low.
...
Charlie hangs out in the hallway. She is like a ghost. Silent, but watching everything. Her gaze was unreadable, at least until Katana left the room. Then suddenly, pure agony fills her gaze. She wants to help Rui, but she knew that she had to keep her distance. Don't become attached! Her instincts scream. Like Katana, she turns away. Guilt stabbing at her heart with every step she takes. People are there to comfort her she reminds herself. Somehow that doesn't make her feel any better.

Hearing those horrific screams, Echo waves to Mare before leaving to check it out. She sees Rui about to harm herself, and several people rushing to help, as well as a slightly flustered katana exiting the room. Her eyes harden, and she clenches her jaw as she relieves another memory....

“stop, please just stop, I’m begging you. I’m sorry, I don’t know what I did wrong.” a younger version of herself cries, as she is strapped to a chair, metal cuffs binding her hands and legs. Needles were injected into her from all aspects, and a shock collar like device around her head. Serums were flowing into her body, as pain coursed through her. “Begging is for the weak. You failed, Shadow. We do not tolerate failures.” Her mother replied coldly, tilting Echo’s tear streaked chin up to look at her. That was the last thing Echo heard, before her parents send shock waves through her mind to brainwash her, and the searing pain and the headache, before she passed out, blood dripping from her temple, as her parents watched on......

“SHICKKKKK” The sound of a knife was audibly heard, as it sliced straight into the door, sending a shower of shards flying to the ground, jolting Echo from her memory. “oH, oh I’m so so sorry” she mumbled, plucking the knife from the wall and tucking it back into her pocket

---

“Let me go...” she managed to get out through her sobs, hardly moving anymore. She was now quiet other than faint sniffles, appearing to have calmed down. She didn’t struggle to get her hands loose from Lesia’s grip, all she did was say those 3 words. Why now of all places... She hated this, she hated bawling her eyes out in front of complete strangers who would end up killing her. The more people that drew near, the quieter she got. “Let me go...” she said yet again, this time, Lesia’s grip loosened. She was a mess...

Lesia’s eyes softened and her worried expression turned to a sad smile. Was she ok? No... of course she wasn’t... She wanted to give her a hug, she wanted to do something, but she knew she couldn’t. She looked over at Suvansh, then at the doorway where several people had walked by.

---

Akiro started heading back to his room, but was alerted by the screams. As usual, he hurried over, wanting to know what was going on and how he could help. He may have been distant torwads the other tributes, but that didn't mean he didn't care about their well-being. Especially when there was a scream out of nowhere. He ran into the hallway, even more concerned when he realized it was coming from the room he had seen Rui leaving earlier. She had already seemed so sad and lonely, if something happened to her-Akiro pushed those thoughts away. He was going to see if she was alright, and that was it. There was already sevreal other tributes there, so Akiro tried to see what was going on. Rui, and another tribute-that didn't help things, Akiro was just as much in the dark as before. But he could tell that Rui was extremely upset. He turned to leave, and nearly bumped into Charlie, not even realizing she was there, she had been so quiet. "Sorry," he said apologetically.

---

Surprise fills Charlie's gaze to have somebody bump into her. She turns to look at who would've done that, noticing Akiro standing close to her. He was probably the one who bumped into her. Great observational skills Captain Obvious. Charlie offers Akiro a smile to let him know that everything is okay. Until she realizes that he won't see it under the cloth mask. So she hopes he can see it in her eyes.
Akiro had definitely peaked her interest. Him and Rue. People seemed to flock over the two. She sensed that there would be a large alliance involving them. She would have to stay on their good side. Things would get... Complicated if they turned against her. Not like my job isn't already complicated enough Charlie thinks to herself bitterly.

While it was hard to tell if the girl that Akiro had bumped into or not was angry, he had a feeling she wasn't, just by looking at her. That was good. While he wasn't here to make friends, he wasn't here to make enimies either. He quickly got out of the way, though he gave a hesitant glance torwads Rui's room. He really liked the kid, and she seemed really upset. But if she had been the way she was with just a one-on-one interaction with him, Akiro doubted that she'd want more company. It seemed like something serious was going on with her. "Please be okay, Rui," he muttered. He half-glanced at Charlie, wondering if she had heard that. If she had, would she use it against him, or Rui? Akiro knew nothing about the girl, or just about any of them. He couldn't trust anyone. Jamming his hands into his pockets, he started walking torwads his room, though he kept glancing back, wondering if maybe it was better if he did something. Gah, that was the hard part. Worrying and caring about someone. Painful, but there all the same.

---

Hearing the words "Let me go" come out from the youngling's mouth started to pain Suvansh. Being the second closer to her in the room, he approached her, and kept a hand at her cheek, with a brotherly affection. "I am not letting you go." He says calmly, trying to calm Rui. He had taken quite a liking for the girl, and to see her pained such...

---

Charlie, had heard Akiro say those words. While they were dangerous, they weren't a surprise. She knew that he cared about her. Many people cared about Rui. Heck, she cared about Rui, no matter how hard she tried to deny it. She wouldn't use this information to her advantage- she couldn't. The thought of harming her pained Charlie. The thought of killing anyone was far worse. That would be one of her biggest problems in the arena. But if it came down to it, she would have to.
As she walks back to her room she imagines what she'll do in the arena. For her survival and her target's survival, she'll have to be two steps ahead of everyone.

Rui didn’t fight, nor did she say anything. The tears had run dry and her eyes were left blank, dull, and emotionless. They were all gonna die anyways, why care about her now... She didn’t understand, she didn’t understand anything. She didn’t understand why she rejected the kindness she she was getting when she wanted it so badly, she didn’t even understand why they were being nice to her in the first place.

probably too late to put this in here but... go with it ;)
While she had looked out the door, she saw something she never thought she would see. Was that... Katana? What the hell was she doing here? Did she come to laugh in Rui’s face about how she was weak for crying? She had almost lashed out with all the pent up anger until she saw something... unexpected. She didn’t laugh, she didn’t mock, she didn’t act like a jerk. She instead had a comforting appearance, followed by encouraging words. She was left in shock. Katana could act this way? Before Lesia had a chance to react, Katana walked away and was replaced by Akiro, who also left soon after. She doubted Rui heard any of that, but... Was there a way to tell her that she was cared about?

---

Jacovin sighed as he heard a few more names called. I'm up soon.. He couldn't use his ability, but he had to. If he didn't he was dead anyways. But if he did, then he might die there too. If only he could- "Jacovin Dersam." He felt his eyes widen. I'll use my power. I have to. No other choice. Standing up, he started towards the door that he knew would likely spell his upcoming doom in the arena. Taking a deep breath, he stepping through them. Standing there, he looked around. Then, he looked up. He could tell what they were thinking, the Gamemakers. 'Impress us.' Taking another breath, Jacovin stepped towards the center of the floor. Looking around, he spotted a large piece of... Well, it seemed to be collateral from another Tribute. Taking a breath, he held out his right hiand, then pulled it back towards him, as if pulling on an invisible rope. The piece flew towards him, then directly upwards as Jacovin made another motion. With a twist of his wrist, he sent the rubble spinning across the room. All in a matter of two seconds, he had demolished the piece against the wall. Well, three seconds. But he could only control it for two seconds at maximum. Gasping slightly, Jacovin headed for the exit.


-=-



The name "Jacovin" brought an excited shiver to Chelsea's spine. The boy she'd been watching, that was Jacovin. She grinned, wiggling in her seat as he walked in. Nearly five seconds later, he stepped back out, pale and shaky. Frowning, Chelsea sighed. "Oh, nevermind, then. He's no good." 'He's been terrified by the Gamemakers,' she thought. After a few moments, Chelsea stood. "Chelsea Silver," had been called out. Her grin came back, a spark reigniting in her soul. Striding forwards on quick, elegant feet, Blackheart felt her excitement build. Pushing the doors open, she made her grand entrance. Stepping to where the Gamemakers could see her, she did a little curtsy. Then, a fraction of hell broke out. The room was filled with a bright red light, and fire seemed to be burning the air around Chelsea. Her eyes had ignited, trails of fire marking her every move. She stood stock still, then rose into the air. Her feet hovered around a yard above the ground, fire leaping up towards them. After a moment, a cry of rage filled the room, and the fire flared. Chelsea blacked out, losing herself in the fury. As the fires grew, her cries become for agitated. A blast of the scarlet flame leapt across the room, igniting everything it touched. The fire had been shot from her palms. After a few more seconds, everything halted. The fires froze, the light retracted. As the flames died, Chelsea fell to the ground. Opening her eyes, she watched the fires die. Standing up shakily, she did another curtsy. Looking around, she spotted the door. Focusing her blurred vision on it, she mentally counter her steps: 'Left, right, left, right.. Good girl, Chelsea. Keep walking.' When she reached the exit, she nearly collapsed. Pushing the doors open, she slumped against the nearest wall she could find, just to the left of the door.

"Mare Elive."

Mare bit her tongue. Now that she knew how this worked, she expected an exceptionally low score. She enters through the doorway and casts a nervous glance throughout the room. Her eyes flick from the knives to the spears to the bows. The gamemakers coughed a little, obviously telling Mare to hurry up. Mare takes a deep breath and walks straight to the training partner given for hand-to-hand combat. Mare and said training partner take positions on a mat. She clenches her fist for a moment before nodding to her opponent. The trainer struck first, sending a fast blow towards Mare's head. Mare sidestepped effortlessly, landing a swift blow and jumping back. Mare closed her eyes for a second, steeling her nerves. Her skin becomes even more pale then it was before almost transparent. She launces herself at the trainer with supernatural speed. Every blow that Mare doesn't dodge simply goes straight through her. But every time Mare launches an attack, her hands and feet solidify, allowing her to land hard blows and not taking severe damage. After a fast two minutes, Mare has the trainer on the floor, she has immobilized him. She turns back to the gamemakers, narrowing her eyes. For the first time ever, Mare is actually proud of her work. Many gamemakers clap, looking impressed. Sort of as if they never expected such a performance to come out of someone as weak and as pale looking as Mare. "You may leave." one says, clearing there throat. Mare dips her head in acknowledgement and leaves. As she walks away from the room, she can feel herself getting unusually excited. The thrill of that fight and the satisfaction of having defeated her opponent makes Mare near giddy. With a sharp pain in Mare's temple, Mare collapses against the wall. "That was a mistake." she immediately thinks, the happiness she had just felt disappearing as soon as it had come. So much switching between Specter and Normal has drained a lot from Mare. Mare pulls herself back to her feet and stumbles back to her room. She collapses again, this time on her bed. She closes her eyes and the tendrils of sleep drag her down, into a disturbed half-sleep.

Mare was dead. She was sure of it. The pain that had followed the wound was so severe, Mare was sure she was in eternal punishment. Mare slowly opens her eyes. Three faces are above hers. None of which she recognized. "Hello Mare." one of the men said. "I am the doctor." he added. Mare nods, looking to the other two people, one of which was female and one of which was male, for introductions. "They are not important." the doctor says, when he notices Mare was looking at the others. The doctor sits down on a chair. He begins talking about how Mare wasn't alive anymore. She was legally dead. She was a spirit that had been brought back. Mare was so confused she couldn't even speak. "But always remember Mare...if you allow yourself the Specter, you will become one." the doctor finished. Mare could barely ask what he meant, before another wave of pain washes over her, and she falls unconscious again.

---

Eventually, all the TVs in the building click on and the anthem can be heard. For an intense few seconds the screen is dark while the anthem plays. Finally, after what seems like years, the scores can be shown. The scores are ranked 0-12. 0 being the worse and 12 being the best. The screen first shows the name, then the score appears underneath:
Charlie ---------- 0
Katana Lozano ---------- 8
Shrek ---------- 12
Ellie Ashbrooke ---------- 8
Heather Spritz ---------- 3
Coraline Splatterhawk ----------2
Bella ---------- 2
Rita Stoneheart ---------- 7
Riley Woodsly ---------- 1
Chester Bradly ---------- 5
Akiro ---------- 9
Katherine Green ---------- 4
Lesia ---------- 9
Rui ---------- 0
'OX- Man' ---------- 7
Echo ---------- 9
Suvansh Agarwal ---------- 10
Doug Dimmadome ---------- 3
Jacovin Dersam ---------- 9
Chelsea Silver ---------- 10
Sheldon Dinkleberg ---------- 2
Mare Elive ---------- 9
...
Charlie doesn't react to her score. In fact, it doesn't even look like she cares about her score. She simply yawns at her score, then perks up when the rest are revealed. She excitedly pulls out her paper and furiously writes down the scores.
....
Katana is fuming at her score. An eight! She has been training for this for years! She should have gotten a twelve! At least a ten! If she were able to, she would've flipped a desk. "So unfair!" She mumbles.

Rita blinks a bit, she was honestly a bit surprised at her seven. "Huh, not too bad I guess."

Bella and Coraline looked from their duo of twos to each other, Bella looked a bit hurt but Coraline wasn't surprised.

Ellie perked at her eight. She was expecting a lowish score given that she caused some damage, but then again, Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing Pokemon was tricky business.

---

Rui still hadn’t recovered from her previous breakdown, it was almost like she had a shell around her. She wouldn’t talk. She would hardly move unless she was forced to, and she reacted or showed emotion to nothing. She didn’t even bother looking at her score, she knew what it was. She didn’t care, she didn’t even bother. She was stuck inside her own head.

Lesia’s eyes widened as soon as she saw her score, unable to believe what she had saw. She... had a 9?! That was one of the best scores on there! Even weirder, she had a higher score than that Katana girl... Wasn’t her family very involved in the games? Katana... was surprisingly a little right. It wasn’t exactly... unfair, it was more just unbelievable. She looked at everyone else’s scores, noticing only 2 people got a 0. The girl in the mask and Rui. She could understand Rui’s, but she didn’t exactly know why that was for the case for Charlie. Did she just do nothing during her test?

---

A 9? Now that was surprising to Akiro. While throwing a dummy at the Gamemakers wasn't exactly "Bringing down the roof" as the tribute before him had, doing it with the full intention of hurting one of them and only accidently missing should have gotten him a 5 at best. But this was good, at least. With a high scoring, he had a better chance of getting sponsors. With full intention of coming back alive, Akiro knew his main prorities included getting sponsors. Without their gifts, there was a good chance he'd run into a problem that he couldn't get out of on his own. But with those priorities in mind, he also knew that he would have a larger target on his head, and had to be even more suspicous. He looked at the faces that he had already connected with the higher scoring names on the list. Would they be more concerned about keeping themselves safe, or taking out the competition?

---

Mare stared at the screen in shock. A 9? That's better then most of the people! Mare's hands started shaking, and this time, not from nerves, but from excitement. Mare took some deep breaths, her sickness from earlier evaporating. Smiling widely, Mare exited her bedroom. She had yet to make any new friends. And surprisingly, Mare really wished she could share this moment with someone.

---

Jacovin frowned. Maybe he shouldn't have sued his power. A 9? He was either going to be a target or he was going to be treated like royalty. Well, lesser royalty. Two other scores popped out to him, just one point above his. They would be the ones being treated like loyalty. Sponsors left and right, allies all around... Shaking his head, Jacovin stood and stepped out fo the room. He didn't want to look at the television any more.


-=-


Chelsea let out a giggle, kicking her legs and playing with a lock of hair. A 10 was a great score! Clearly deserved by somebody with her ability. Carefully, she slipped out the door of her room. She'd separated herself from the rest of the Tributes to recover from her ability, which had taken a few hours. Even then, the effects weren't completely gone. Tiptoeing down the hallways, she listened carefully for the sounds of voices. She wanted to try and pull somebody from that hoard to toy with.. Maybe seduce somebody and leave them speechless? Or maybe just tease them and get minorly flirty? Chelsea giggled again at the idea, shivering with excitement.

Suvansh gasped at his score. A 10! Second highest on the board. He did not expect it. Heck, if the judges didn't tease him or the hurricane thingy never happened, he would've probably gotten a zero too. He noted the other scores carefully too. Rui...he understood...but Charlie? She looked like she would be able to do stuff...so why a zero? Then Akiro, Lesia, Mare, Echo...with a 9 each. He noticed how Katana, the spoilt brat only got an 8, though not unimpressive, not the best as she mustered. He wonders what Chelsea could do, scoring a 10 too. But last but definately not the least, he wondered how Shrek, got a complete 12. He just shrugs it off and goes towards the training grounds, hoping to do some practice on his newfound skills...and also giving Flare his daily training. And well, who knows what combos wind and fire could make?

---