Futuristic Mass Deception

[thelovelyloser]

Being placed on the ground was more relieving that Penelope could have ever expected, her body finally relaxing atop the warm cement and welcoming the stability. She was incredibly greatful for Klaüs, clutching the chocolate in her hand at the thought. It was short lived though, strange hands grasping and pulling at her. “H-Hey!” She tried to pull away, sure that it wasn’t a teammate but unable to open her eyes to look. When she tried it was blurry and painful, them instinctively squeezing shut once more when something sharp was injected into her arm. As soon as she was released she pulled away with a gasp.

Unlike her she was about to give the strangers a piece of her mind until the pain from the gas and the soreness of her body started to fade almost instantly. Just as she began to open her eyes in search of answers a voice boomed overhead, “Phase four will now commence.” The relief she felt was replaced with growing anxiety, a feeling she was unfortunately becoming familiar with as she spun back around to see that there was a fifty foot drop behind her.

“There’s more?” She whined, more to herself than anyone. Here she had been thinking that by some odd chance they made it though. The pain was gone but she was still mentally exhausted from the course, the strange injection being the only reason she was able to shakily push herself to stand. Taking in the area she couldn’t help but feel as if this whole thing was a big joke, a teacher at the front of them all. Even with all of them, how were they expected to take on experience? She hadn’t even tried shooting yet. With another whimper she huffed, “They really are trying to kill us.”

 

[Hugh Flynn]

Lukas tried to relax as medics ran around attending to those that crossed the line. Nineteeners were prioritized last, so by the time he had gotten his shot, a familiar voice announced Phase 4. Phase Four? There was no Phase Four last year. What the hell is going on? His teary eyes cleared up and the slight paralysis wore off, prompting Lukas to shoot to his feet and assess the situation. What he saw, he did not like it at all.

The top Medic in the track stood in front of them, a menacing look on his face. Lukas didn't feel so good about Phase Four, because if the trainees were tasked to defeat him, then they'd all fail. Even the nineteeners. We just need to survive. The senior lurched to the side as a body was sent flying his way, straight into the 50-foot drop behind them. Oh boy, there they go.

"Come on guys, either you get slashed by me or you fall into the pit. I honestly prefer the latter," their opponent remarked.
Lukas met eyes with Jullian, the two entering a death stare contest. The brunet addressed his allies, "Don't let him touch you, don't let him hit you with a knife. Sustain even the tiniest touch from his hands or graze from his blades and you're done for." He brought out his whip and glaives to enter a defensive stance, hoping to react quick enough to any attacks Jullian would throw.

Jullian locked eyes with a familiar face, his primary torture victim from a week earlier. Hearing the little warning Lukas sent to his teammates, Jullian couldn't help but scoff. "Oh Lukas, you know that doesn't even come close to what I can do." Jullian brandished his blade fans and took note of everyone's positions. With a gleam in his eye, he flicked his wrists, causing the individual knives in his blade fans to disconnect. Every knife was sent in different directions, each heading towards a lone trainee.

When a majority of them tried to dodge, he dashed up to one of them in the blink of an eye, kneeing them in the chest. His kneed victim was sent flying backward, the sound of a broken ribcage echoing throughout the hallway. Jullian waved a sadistic goodbye as he watched them fly over the edge. "Welcome to Infiltration folks."

Are you watching, Rider? Is this what you want? Brutality? Complete insanity? Jullian's gaze snapped onto the next target, this one lying on the floor.

Seeing his teacher brandish his weapons, he knew Jullian was about to launch an attack. He moved to dodge but having been the last person to get treated by the medics, his reaction time was still subpar. He sprawled onto the floor from his failed dodge attempt, but thankfully the knife narrowly missed his face. Lukas quickly got off the floor, but just as he righted his figure, he felt a cut deepen into his shoulder. A look of horror morphed onto Lukas' face, only now realizing that his opponent was serious.

Shit. I'm next.

Lukas' assumptions were correct, as a heavy shove sent him tumbling backward. More cuts seemingly appeared onto his skin as he flailed around, finally finding his balance just at the edge of the pit. When Lukas looked up, the color drained from his face as he stared down a flying knife. It sunk straight into his chest, the force and pain just enough to topple him. Fucking bitch. I'll have my revenge.

With that thought, the nineteener fell and disappeared into the chasm behind him as the culprit waved a teasing goodbye.

Jullian waved another sadistic goodbye, before again addressing the rest. "That was your senior! A whole year of experience and training ahead of you, and he still had the same 50-foot drop as his fate. I honestly suggest that you lot just follow suit!"

Pause for dramatic effect.

"You're facing the Maiming Maestro. You have no chance," the man defiantly proclaimed.

 

[Yakov011001]

Klaüs' body moved without thinking, he really didn't have time to. He dove out of the way of the knife flying towards him, in the direction of Penelope. He rolled to be in front of her, kneeling to her level. His sword having been drawn as he moved, he aligned the flat of the blade so that it was where Penelope's head would've been. I was afraid of that, the knife clanked off of his sword and fell to the ground. He's going for lethal blows. While Klaüs desperately made to put together a plan, in the corner of his eye he saw something rather unnerving. Lükas was sent soaring off their platform and down the fifty foot drop behind them.



That's... not fantastic. Lükas was supposed to be their way out of this, he was far more experienced than they were. Now he's gone, and it only further reinforced Klaüs' thought that they'd not be making it out of this alive if they slipped up. He had one idea though, but if it didn't work he didn't know what they'd do--except die that is.

"Hey," He whispered to Penelope. "Take this."

From his cardigan, he used a bit of slight of hand to slip her a little something he'd been hiding. It was a knockback arrow! He'd lifted one off a bowman from earlier.

"Try to get him off the ground, I'll distract him." He ordered.

He lifted himself off the ground from by her side, lifting his blade to a centre stance. While it wasn't exactly a comfortable arrangement, it was the most effective defensive stance. The blade's size provided a lot of neutral coverage, while requiring little adjustment when defending other parts of his body. Like this, he could advance. If he and the others all moved in at once, he would most definitely not see Penelope coming. Klaüs moved in fast, if this guy thought anyway close to what Klaüs imagined he would, Klaüs wouldn't appear to be a threat. Now, if he could just bait out some kind of cocky over-extension...

thelovelyloser

 

[PinkChiffon]

A look of panic flashed through Mena's eyes as she watched in horror as Lukas was sent over the edge. Mena kept her body low and her feet moving. Standing still felt like a quick and easy way to get got and she was definitely not ready for that. She kept her gaze locked on Julian, afraid of what would happen if she let her guard down for even a moment. She heard the sound of metal clattering to the floor, she assumed someone had lost their weapon. Mena's line of sight did not falter, though. She was not about to be caught slipping. Her knives! She forgot she grabbed a set of throwing knives earlier. She just had to get them from her pack incredibly quickly. Just as she unbuckled her pack, she saw one of her fellow teammates begin to rush forward. While this seemed like a remarkably bad idea to her, they had already lost one teammate to this phase. As her pack fell to the floor, Mena rushed forward to support her teammate, rapier in hand.

 

[-ferret-]

As Lukas was sent over the edge of the cliff, Weasel felt an unnatural sadness. It was...unfortunate that one of his team members had just died. And in such a gruesome and cruel way. But Weasel didn't really have time to ponder on that as his own life was in danger. And the lives of the rest of his teammates.

Now Weasel wasn't the most adept at hand to hand combat. Despite the many instances in which he had time and opportunity to practice, he'd just never grasped the concept of discipline and order in regards to close up combat. That's why he'd always been more fascinated with long range weapons. But that wasn't to say he was terrible at all forms of short distance fighting. He had always been a scrappy kid and a feisty fighter. Some might call it dirty fighting. Weasel called it survival. He used every option at his disposal. Scratching, biting, using his bony joints in places that would really hurt. There was nothing that was off limits to Weasel in order to save himself. Many scuffles as a younger boy insured that he knew at least one way of fighting. And it was a good way of fighting. He was unpredictable, adaptable, and vicious. And as Mena and Klaüs darted forward, so did Weasel, going for the older man's legs with his savage way of fighting in mind.

 

[EmmaWings]

Layla stood back relaxed, looking at all her teammates storming forwards. She was not sure what she was doing, but it was definitely not something productive or helpful. Just about she would try to do something, she saw a body fly past her, ending in the long pit of death basically. She had a strong opinion of him, but she assumed nobody would survive that fall, not even Lukas. She was tempted to go back and look, but if she did, the chances were high she would somehow end up with him.

After some moments Layla grabbed her machete’s tighter as she was thinking about what she would be doing in a couple moments. After seeing her red haired teammate storming forwards as well, she decided she could not stay behind anymore. Without making or barely any sound, she pushed herself forwards and slowly crept up behind him, ready to use her weapons at any time. Indecisive of what she would do when she got near him, Layla kept running whilst waiting what would happen next.

 

[thelovelyloser]

After watching Lukas fall, possibly to his death, Penelope was starting to spiral. When knives were launched in the direction of every trainee she didn’t even attempt to move, eyes fixated on the spot where he had stood. If it weren’t for Klaüs once again going out of his way for her she would have surely had a knife through her skull, the blade bouncing off of his own. The clank of the metal caused her to stumble backward in shock, blinking rapidly.

“Lukas just-“ she couldn’t finish the statement. Surely he didn’t die right? They wouldn’t kill of a valuable nineteener? This was a test for them, it wouldn’t make sense that they would force him and Aster to participate only to target them. She hoped that this was all part of the plan and that Lukas had been involved. Build up trust so that it’s more impactful. It was all just to seem realistic right? They were just trying to recreate an actual situation, not really put them through it. Though she had a feeling they were in real danger, she didn’t want to face that.

Taking the arrow her hands were shaking, doing her best to slow her breathing as she looked over the ammo. “How did you get this?” She wondered aloud. There were no rules against this right?

With no time to worry about the rules she raised the cross brow, intimidated by the weapon. She had read enough to know the concept and had seen pictures but her mind was suddenly blank, scrambling for the information that was stored somewhere.

After running her fingers along the grooved track along the top she slid the arrow in, taking a moment to situate it until she heard a click. Cranking it back the string was taut, her finger moving to hover over the tigger. She wasn’t even sure if she was doing this right, the arrow could easily fly in the wrong direction or not shoot at all. Still, her teammates were running forward and she didn’t have time to falter no matter how much she wanted to take a step back and think this out.

Instead she slowly rounded to the other side, raising the bow so that the stock rest against her shoulder. She had to suck in deep breaths in hopes of steadying her grip at all, staring down the barrel which aimed directly at the instructor. She had little hope in her aiming and wished she could shoot one for practice first. The thought only made her nerves worse, watching as the redheaded teammate lunged towards the man’s legs. Someone was coming from every direction so she had to choose the shot carefully- if she could even land it.

Sucking in one last breath she let her finger squeeze the tigger firmly, feeling the kick back against her body. The arrow flew and she silently prayed it hit the target and not an ally. Since Klaüs had instructed to get the man on the ground she aimed for his shoulder, too scared to aim low as the others lunged. If she was lucky it would land and catch him off guard enough that he would topple over, allowing a moment of vulnerability for the others.

 

[Hugh Flynn]

THE MAIMING MAESTRO

You locked your eyes on to the man with the bladed fans. As you rushed forward, you watched as your target spun to dodge a screaming arrow that came his way. In that one revolution, the man started throwing an impossible amount of knives in every direction at anyone who came after him. You closed your eyes as you anticipated a swift end of metal into flesh, but instead opened your eyes to the sound of metal into the concrete. We're practically running towards him, and he still misses? The thought sent a variety of emotions crossing your mind; relief, joy, and maybe even mockery. All the knives had embedded themselves halfway deep into the concrete, a feat that would've made you stop in your tracks if it weren't for the situation. As you ran past the knives, you raised your weapon to attack the man, seeing as he had run out of throwing knives and as a result, had no main weapon.

Just as you brought down your weapon, you felt your skin tighten as cuts deepened everywhere on your body. What? How? The knives missed! You didn't know what was happening, but something about your newfound wounds completely stopped all movement. It's just a few cuts, keep going! But you couldn't. Every attempt to move was met with a weird tightening of the limb as if the man himself was there pushing you back, despite him standing a few feet away. You looked around the hallway. Your fellow trainees seemed to also be stuck trying to find a way to get their limbs to respond, each also met with the same tight feeling in the limbs.

The man in front of you scoffed. "I thought I suggested that you all fall into the pit. Was my suggestion not good enough?" In what seemed like a dramatic gesture, he balled his fists and crossed his arms; just as he did, you felt your limbs tighten even more, cutting off your blood circulation and giving you pins and needles. "Maybe I should help you, you all seem... frozen in fear." The man snapped his fingers, somehow causing the cuts from before to tingle then lose all feeling. Slowly that feeling spread throughout your body, locking up every area that it spread to. Immediately your brain connected the dots of the feeling to a paralytic toxin. But how did he even touch me? How did he wound all of us?

The toxin set in as you and your trainees fell to the ground, unable to move. One by one you watched in horror as your opponent grabbed each person by the arms and tossed them over the edge. It came to your turn, and that weird tingle you feel from free-falling now joins the pins and needles from the toxin. You plummet through the 50-foot fall, bracing yourself for a nasty death on the ground below.


Or so you thought.

THE "FALL"
Instead of a very much deadly fall from a building onto the ground below, your body impacted on a thick crash mattress. Teachers rushed to pull you off of the mattress onto a gurney as other bodies fell from the sky, all paralyzed with the same toxin. Another round of green syringes was administered to everyone, this time completely nullifying whatever paralytic toxin affected you earlier. You watched in awe as the cuts on your skin completely closed up, leaving nothing but a thin and barely visible white line where a wound once lay. But immediately after the healing process, you felt the sudden compelling urge to tucker out.

Looking around the area you had landed in through half-closed eyes, noticing that instead of an open field like you had seen from above, it was a closed room with towering walls. When your gaze shifted to the sky above, the gray mundaneness of concrete met your eyes instead of the brilliant sky blue you had expected there to be. The opening from which paralyzed bodies were still one by one falling through was a mere 20-foot drop instead of the 50-foot you had seen from up top.

What the- And with that thought, you passed out.

OBJECTIVES
You wake up in your quarters, greeted by your assigned seniors. They've invited you to the annual Collectee party, a trainee-made tradition that involves a secret party unmonitored by the teachers. You can choose to tag along or stay in your quarters. Interact with people at the party or with your fellow trainees and get to know them better.

PEOPLE & POSSIBLE TOPICS OF INTEREST

Spoiler: PEOPLE

Lukas | Kairo | Albert

Spoiler: TOPICS

How did Jullian paralyze us?| The 50 Foot Drop | Was Phase 4 intended?

not everything is as it seems.

 

[-ferret-]

Weasel had awoken feeling well rested and tired all at the same time. Physically he felt fine, but mentally he'd felt checked out. That is until he saw Lukas in the corner of their room and he'd smiled, patted his shoulder and began to stuff his bedding under the bed and into the corner. He'd feel more protected there.

After the seniors had led them to the party, Weasel stuck close to his teammates, not wanting to stray very far lest he end up being cornered by someone he didn't want to talk to. He didn't particularly feel like saying anything today. It might change, but it likely wouldn't. It likely wouldn't for a while. He had a habit of not talking and it was unlikely that it would break now when he was under all this pressure.

He quickly stole away though to grab a snack and drink, but sped back in his return to his team. He'd likely have to pick one to hang around if they all went their separate ways, but he wasn't quite sure who to follow. Or more so who would let him follow. He figured Penelope would cling to Klaüs as they seemed to have made good friends. And he figured Aster and Lukas would hang around each other, but the last two girls hadn't talked to him at all, in fact none of them had, but he was unsure who was the wisest choice to trail around behind. But that was a decision to make if they all split up. For now, he ate his snack and eyed the things around the room.

 

[PinkChiffon]

Mena woke up and was immediately startled when she was not in her bedroom at home, forgetting where she was for a moment. Once her lapse in recall passed, her confusion was instantly replaced with frustration. 'What the hell was that last phase all about." she thought. Mena understood the objective of the test. The had to see where their skills where, but to put them against an instructor on their first day there seemed absolutely pointless. What could the have possibly gained from that?

Any other time, the idea of a party would have absolutely delighted Mena. She loved a good get together, and this would be the most ideal time to suss out how the other teams were getting along, but she was having a hard time moving past her qualms. Mena really toyed with the idea of just staying behind to blow off steam. She wouldn't be the best of company at the moment. But she knew how to fake pleasantries, and she knew she'd be kicking herself later if she missed the opportunity to gather some information. She get over her irritabilities, she always does.

As Mena trailed alongside her team, she figured now would be a good time to pose a question to them. "The fight with the teacher... Did you guys think that was strange? It didn't seem like a useful assessment."

 

[thelovelyloser]

The moment Penelope’s eyes opened her body jolted up, scanning the room for the opponent. However, he was no where in sight and they were back in their dorm room alive. Slowly the memories flooded back, questions rising in her mind with no answers. Due to just waking it was still fuzzy, remembering her finger on the trigger of her crossbow last. The other memories followed, such as their bodies reacting to some kind of toxin before being tossed over the edge. She had thought highly of the man they had faced against already but even more so now. How had he done that?

If they had survived then surely Lukas had as well right? A sigh of relief left when she spotted the nineteener, her body finally relaxing as they were lead down the hall, informed that there would be a party held in celebration. How were they suppose to have a good time after that? Not only was a room filled with people the last thing she wanted but she couldn’t stop thinking about the test.

Apparently she wasn’t the only one, Filomena speaking up from behind her. The blonde turned back, hesitating to respond. “I’m sure they had their... reasons.” As usual her voice was low and didn’t hold any force, tired from the events that had just taken place. Though she had just woken up she was already preparing for bed again, wishing she could go to sleep instead of celebrating.

After the statement she turned forward once more, not holding eye contact for long. She had been taught to not question authority so while she pondered Mena’s question she remained silent, hands fidgeting in front of her. Something was off about the final assessment, she just wasn’t sure what.

 

[EmmaWings]

As her eyes started to open, her arms and legs started stretching too in every direction possible. It was time to get her blood flowing again. She was not quite sure what happened, but thinking about it made her head hurt so she decided to leave it as it was. If the 50-foot drop was a lie, what else could be a lie? The test? Julian skills? This test? Or this whole thing? Could she just have stayed home at this point? As thoughts kept running through her head, she pushed herself to go walk with her team to the party. If this was any other party, she would have definitely stayed home, but what if there is some important information to be found?

Never in her life was Layla one to put on a lot of make up. Most said she was naturally beautiful, or it might just have been her mother who kept printing this in her brain. But this time she had to do it without any. She was not bothered either, she was more worried if she would return to her bed safely without falling asleep or fainting because of her headache. Walking somewhere in front, she listened deeply to the questions raised behind her.

“Everything has a reason. But that’s not important right now. But if he was an example of what we will be facing in the future, then we have work to do.” The blonde said, whilst keep facing forwards talking to the people behind her. These words came out of her mouth either out of the fact she hates losing, or to be well prepared for future tasks. But either way, she was not going to let anyone beat her that easily ever again.

 

[Hugh Flynn]

Lukas leaned in the doorway of the trainee's quarters, massaging his left shoulder to pacify a dull ache. Jullian's knife from earlier sunk pretty deep into his chest, but it was quickly dealt with when he fell onto the crash mats. However, a second green syringe would do more harm than good so Lukas was given the traditional first aid treatment, which meant some afterpain.

The teen never liked going to parties, especially the Collectee party. While the seniors said it was to celebrate those who didn't die in the assessment test, the nineteener knew it was just an excuse to get wasted then screwed on the shelves. It didn't help that despite the airconditioning, it was hot as hell down in that room. But a certain someone he knew had just come back from a mission, and he couldn't wait another second to pummel them.

Once the teammates that agreed to follow him to the party got up, he started down the hallway in a series of winding turns. He kept a small pace ahead of them, but he could still hear their conversations regarding Phase Four. The gal's right. The test was almost identical to last year's test, except for a few details and that last phase. Phase Four seemed unnecessary. Another thought he couldn't shake was that Rider was the one to announce Phase Four, yet Jullian was the one who they fought; it was weird because he knew that the teachers, especially Jullian, didn't want to get their hands dirty. What the hell is going on? He didn't want to force himself into the conversation, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

He pulled his jacket off, placing it on top of his arm and tucked his hands in his pockets, feeling for his yoyo. As his fingers closed around the yoyo's familiar shape, Lukas pulled it out as the group approached a fork in which Lukas took a left turn before realizing his mistake, turning a 180 to take the other direction. At the end of the hallway stood what looked like a rectangular vault door as a red ceiling light casting an ominous shade onto the floor. As Lukas neared the door, he could very faintly hear the thrum of bass through the door, making a mental note to slap whoever turned the music up high enough to leak through the vault door.

The nineteener knocked on the door with his yoyo, crossing his arms as the vault door creaked open. With every inch that the door moved, the view of your typical night dance club presented itself rather boldly to Lukas and the others. To greet the new guests, a rather scantily-clad woman and a bare-chested man came to the entrance, both holding a tray of tumblers filled to the brim with alcohol.

Lukas scoffed and slipped between the two, heading straight for the dark corners of the room. The outfits, or rather, the lack of an outfit is just too much guys.

 

[Yakov011001]

Klaüs awoke with a start, his mind had no grasp of what had happened. He was back in the dorm, but he couldn't shake all those many things from his head. He was in thinking mode, and he couldn't get out. His heart was racing, and his fight or flight response was firing on all cylinders. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. He spilled from his bed, frantically digging into the pockets of his cardigan which somehow stayed on him through this whole journey. He grabbed handfuls upon handfuls of chocolate. He tore through the wrappers without remorse, shoving the chocolates into his mouth with reckless abandon. The second they were in his mouth, his breathing slowed. His eyes clinched shut slowly softened as he chewed. Still, he was crouched low and away from the others, his shoulders refusing to relax. Calm down, no attacking now. From where he squatted, he noticed that everyone was gone. He was alone in this room.

"Probably--" Klaüs huffed to himself. "Probably for the best." He pulled his knees into his arms, resting his head over them.

Fuck, I am so tired.

If only he were actually talking about sleep.

 

[Shadow Cat]

​

Aster, upon finally waking herself up and pulling herself out of the stupor of the drugs the medic from the assessment test had given her, left the group to Lukas to lead and instead made her way to one of the shops to purchase something to wear. Normally, she wouldn't have bothered attending the collectee party (she had gone to her own the previous year, after all, and it had been less than impressive) but seeing as she and Lukas would be spending a lot of time with this year's eighteens, she figured it would be best to build a rapport with them. Then, of course, there was also the fact that it would give her a chance to wear a little color. She was quite tired of the bland, black outfits they were expected to wear for their day to day routines.

In the end, she chose a simple, burgundy evening gown with a deep v-neck and a banded waist. She wasted no more than a minute or two in pinning her loose waves to one side of her head, leaving a few strands out to frame her face. After one last glance in the mirror, she was satisfied and finally began to make her way toward the sounds of laughter and music that could be heard in the distance.

She arrived to find the door already cracked open and stepped in, shutting it behind her as the loud music of the room washed over her. A woman who could stand to wear quite a bit more than the scant amount of clothing on her appeared in front of her, a tray of what smelled like hard liquor in hand. Aster lifted one of the tumblers with a delicate hand, nodding her thanks to the woman before sweeping her eyes over the room.

She found Lukas immediately, tucked away in a corner of the room by himself, arms crossed over his chest as he observed the scene with a permanent scowl. She snickered to herself, shaking her head at the boy's predictability. After a moment of consideration, she took another tumbler and made her way over.

"Lukas," she said simply as she approached, holding out one of the tumblers for him to take. "You seemed stressed. Need a drink?"

 

[EmmaWings]

Disco music, weird dress codes and lots of drinking, it was your typical night to get drunk and wasted. But you had to be in the mood for it and the problem for Layla was that she did not know if she was or not. Especially after the test she had took before and the weird ending of it. Although some asked Layla to party, or offered her a drink, it was something else that caught the little blonde's eye...or rather someone. She wasn't quite sure what it was exactly, whether it was their aura, their attitude or something else she still had to figure out. She remembered the 'conversation' they had before and what was said back then. What was sure was that her opinion did not change, and she would still do what she did back then every time out of a hundred. But it was the white haired girl's attitude and they way she talked that stood by her.

Sipping on a glass she got offered by some random participant whose face she had already forgotten, she watched the dance floor in the middle of the room. Out of the corner of her eye she focused on the nineteens leading her group. Jumping off her bar stool with a glass in her left hand, she walked up to her nineteens whilst patting her hair with her other free hand on her way to them. Whether she was subtle was up to them.
"What the f was the last part of the test about?" She asked both of them like they knew everything about it. Layla was quite confident about the fact that both of them were unaware as well, but it was probably her attitude that made it sound like she didn't know. The only thing that did make her doubt was the fact how easy it was to make Lukas fall over the '50-foot' drop. Did he do that on purpose knowing it was only 25? And how about the girl that got Layla's attention? Did she do anything remarkable?

 

[Hugh Flynn]

Lukas was definitely feeling out of place as he watched the other seniors chug beer and break out on the dance floor. It was an environment he disliked being in and he was starting to regret his decision to participate in the party, if brooding in the corner could be classified as participation. His deep blue eyes were scanning the crowd in search of a specific person, but after a long while without any sign of his target, a scowl etched deep into his face.

His expression morphed back into a neutral face as a familiar white-haired gal approached him from across the room, two tumblers in hand. She cocked a tumbler towards the male, the liquid inside reflecting the party lights as it sloshed around. A sarcastic scoff followed by an eye roll was shot towards his fellow nineteener, Aster. He accepted the offer and daintily drank from the glass to not be rude, pondering what he should say in reply.

"Stressed? I guess you could say that, I don't know, really. I guess I'm just looking for Jesse. Have you seen him? I saw the idiot's squadmates roaming the grounds earlier, so I guess they must've come back from their mission-" Lukas paused, realizing that in his rambling he'd almost finished his drink. He cast a hysterical look at Aster before chuckling under his breath as he grabbed another glass, this time a bigger one, from a passing tray.

He raised his newly-acquired glass at Aster before going quiet, sending his gaze across the crowd again. Despite him observing the crowd, he failed to notice one of his team members approach him and Aster. Her opening line shocked him back into reality, his head trembling slightly at the sudden interaction. He exchanged glances with Aster before taking another sip as a reply formulated in his head.

"If you mean Phase Four, I honestly have no idea why the hell a teacher was posted against us. That was definitely not in the test last year; if it was, I and a majority of our best Infiltrators right now wouldn't be here," Lukas quickly glanced at Aster, wondering if she had any speculations to contribute to the conversation. He finished off his glass and snatched another one off a passing tray-handler, "It was completely pointless to needlessly harm and paralyze trainees. It was even Jullian that they sent to fight us, the Maiming Maestro of all people."

 

[EmmaWings]

Layla listened interested to the words of Lukas. It seemed like neither him or the mysterious girl had an idea of what had happened during phase 4. But either way, if it was a sign of what would be awaiting them in the 'real' world, then they are all dead very soon. This thought did not get stuck in Layla's head as she worded her worries as followed: "It might be time for us all to go back training instead of being at this stupid party."

The little girl turned her back to both of the nineteens as she walked out through the exit door. Her blonde shiny hair fluttering in the wind she caused herself with her sudden turnaround.

With a steady walk like a student through the hallways, Layla arrived back at their quarter just to find Klaus on his own. She looked around to find her bed and jumped on it with her last energy of her body. She closed her eyes and rested for a while. Sleeping was definitely out of her plans as she knew she would get woken up no matter what when her other teammates came back from the party. This left her thinking, not sure about what, but her mind drifted from phase 4 to the white haired woman.

 

[thelovelyloser]

It was all too much. The lights, the people, the noise- the moment that Penelope stepped through the door behind the others her nerves were rising like they always did. She had never been in this kind of setting and had no desire to be. Did they always celebrate this way? While the others dispersed around the room she stayed frozen at the door, her hands fidgeting in front of her. She was too focused on one of the seniors attempting to spin on his head in the middle of the dance floor to notice that someone was approaching her from behind. The moment a hand was placed on her shoulder she was jumping to the side, defensively raising her arms due to still being on edge from the obstacle course. However it was just the woman who had greeted them at the door, offering another drink after noticing that she had been rooted in place.

"I'm uh- good thank you. I actually f-forgot something. I'll be right back." As usual the words were stuttered out and she wasn't able to keep eye contact with the woman after seeing the slight hint of concern in her features. The moment she was done speaking she pushed past and out the way she came. She was in such a rush that she stumbled over her own feet, bumping into the walls until she made it back to the room that would likely be her only escape for quite some time.

At first the didn't notice that someone else was even in there, falling onto her bed in an attempt to even out her breaths. Once her mind slowly cleared she finally noticed the figure not far from her, wondering how she had even missed the man hunched over and tucked into a tight ball. "Klaus?" The name escaped, her brows furrowing. From just his body language she could tell that something was off. It wasn't her place to ask about it though, she barley did know him. Realizing that he likely wanted to be alone as well she pushed herself back up, stumbling toward the door, "I'm s-sorry! I didn't realize that anyone else was in here. I'll uh, I can leave you alone."

 

[-ferret-]

Weasel didn't like the party to be honest. There was nothing to steal and the people around were boring. He also hated alcohol. When a scantily clad girl came around trying to offer him some, he hissed at her as angrily as he could. When she jumped back in surprise, he felt a little bad, but when she gave him a weird look, he felt less bad.

While Weasel was skulking around, angrily hissing at people trying to offer him drinks, he noticed both Aster and Lukas talking to the angry blonde. He didn't know her name, but he did think her pretty badass so he was calling her Lioness in his head. The calculating, brown haired girl had been trailing behind them but he'd now lost her in the fray of people. He'd thought long and hard about what he knew about her through his limited time watching her. All he really knew was that she had sharp, calculating eyes. He'd call her Eagle.

The skittish blonde by the door was the last he saw. She obviously wasn't having a good time either, but it definitely seemed worse than his. He'd taken to calling her Lapine. Rabbit hadn't felt right. He saw her flee the party and decided that was a pretty good idea and manuvered around the party people to follow after his teammate. When he entered back into their room he saw Lioness resting on her bed, Owl (the brown haired boy) eating chocolate, and Lapine turning around to escape after telling the rest she would leave.

That didn't sit right with Weasel. This room was supposed to be their safe place and she shouldn't feel like she wasn't welcome because others were in here. It looked like the rest of them were pretty miserable too though.

Weasel places his hands gently on Lapine's shoulders and tried to direct her to her bed. He patted her back and checked her forehead for fever. He didn't think she actually had one, but it always made him feel better when his mother checked his forehead for fever when he was feeling down or nervous. He tried to get her to lay down and patted her shoulder gently. He then covered her eyes with his hands and breathed exaggeratedly to try and get her to understand.

"Weasel," he said in a soft, croaking voice. He hadn't talked in so long. He hated doing it, but he wanted to foster familiarity. "I am Weasel."

 

[PinkChiffon]

Interactions: Albert​

Despite her earlier hesitation about attending the party, Mena was starting to enjoy herself. This was exactly the sort of event she loved, one that would make her mom clutch her pearls if she caught Mena there without an escort. Mena took a drink from a very pretty girl and started to survey the room. She was definitely in the social mood and there is little she'd rather do then go and get the name of the girl passing out drinks, but alas, time was ticking and Mena had an agenda. Mena began to work the room, eavesdropping on the conversations of her fellow collectees, inserting herself into any that were talking about the test, hoping that someone let something slip that she didn't already know. To Mena's dismay, most of what she heard was pretty much what she and her team and talking about on the way to the party. The test was difficult, phase 4 seemed out of place, etc etc. Finishing her drink, Mena was starting to feel like it was a bust. She saw the retreat of a few of her teammates, and she considered the same.

Just as Mena was ready to call it and rejoin her teammates, her gaze swept over someone who stood out to her. He was a bit older than the rest of the party-goers and was likely Mena's best target for information. As she was about to move forward, there was hesitation in her movement. The last person she tried to extract information from ended up absolutely destroying everyone during phase 4. 'I mean, really. What are the odds of that happening again?' Mena tossed caution right out the window, picked up two drinks, and made her approach. "A party was such a good idea, don't you think?" Mena held out one of the drinks to the man, "Especially considering how strange the last part was. Seems like everyone is pretty on edge about it."

 

[Hugh Flynn]

The man had snuck into the party despite not being a trainee. His looks alone were enough to pass him for a trainee, but his popularity amongst the students as well as his reputation for infiltrating trainee-only sessions made his presence known almost immediately. He immediately snatched his drink, downing one after the other whilst chatting with his trainees. "Don't tell Big Al I told ya'll, but he's here too. I'm pretty sure you guys noticed him, he looks nothing like a trainee if ya ask me." The group around him laughed ecstatically and wandered off to go find the other teacher who infiltrated the party.

The minute he was left alone, he chugged his last drink and started scanning the crowd for another tray-lady, but was instead immediately refilled by a gal that wandered up to him.

"A party was such a good idea, don't you think? Especially considering how strange the last part was. Seems like everyone is pretty on edge about it."

Slightly influenced by his countless drinks, the man replied, "Oh yeah. When I walked into the teacher's lounge like almost everyone was arguing about Phase 4's necessity. It was complete hell so I decided to infiltrate your little party; I've had enough teachering duties for today."

The man was right, he took the brunt of the workload calculating everyone's test scores and grades, so he needed a well-deserved break. He drank half the drink the trainee had given him. "You're new aren't ya? 'aven't seen you around these parts. Bah, what does it matter. Everyone's gonna receive hell tomorrow in training. Rider. Is. FUMING."

With that final thought, the teacher chugged the last of his drink. "Aw man. I'm out again?"

 

[PinkChiffon]

Interactions: Albert​

Mena was far too interested in what the man was saying to even touch her own drink. She raised an eyebrow at the mention of the teachers arguing about the final phase. 'Why would the teachers be arguing about it? Why wouldn't they have been informed about the changes?' Mena passed her own drink to him as he finished the one she had given. "You've must have missed me somehow," Mena lied with unnatural ease. She wracked her brain trying to recall who the hell Rider was. She had met so many people today, that she was having difficulty keeping names together. Surely he was one of the staff members who had been there for their arrival. "Damn, he's so strict as is, he's really going to be a force tomorrow. Any idea what he has in store for everyone?"

 

[Hugh Flynn]

The man's mood perked up when another drink was handed to him. "Awww shoot, now you're out a drink. Oh well, you're probably not fond of alcohol. I do apologize for my over-drinking tonight though, very improper for a teacher. But, can you blame me? Us teachers barely get a break. It's hell!"

A smug expression morphed onto his face, seemingly pleased with his half-assed excuse to drink. "You sure? I could've sworn you were new. It's not like me to forget a face. But then again..." the teacher gestured to his drink before nonchalantly shrugging. "Strict? The man's a dictator! God, I hate him. I'd wish for him to die on the battlefield, but he's one of our best Infiltrators. It'd be such a shame if his score of 100% was wasted."

The man took a second to digest the trainee's next question, "That reincarnated Hitler? It's hard for me to predict what he'll do. No one expected he'd freaking initiate some stupid impromptu Phase," he paused, a nagging feeling in the back of his head, "Your best chance at guessing his next move would be asking a man named Jullian. Otherwise known as the paralytic knife-wielder that wiped the floor with everyone earlier." The teacher chuckled to himself, thankful that he didn't have to go up against his fellow teacher in combat.

"But what I can tell you is his course is everyone's first 'subject', I guess you could call it. Nothing like Mr. Strict Bitch in the early morning breathing down your neck ey?"

 

[PinkChiffon]

Mena was surprised to hear him speak to her so candidly about his dislike for another staff member. She felt like it was widely inappropriate, but she couldn't help but be thankful for his loose lips. He had plenty of unkind things to say about Rider, and she was sure the alcohol was exaggerating the issue. The mere mention of Julian was enough to make Mena's expression drop. After phase 4, he wasn't exactly on her shortlist of people she wanted to have a chat with. Besides, it was getting later into the evening and she didn't really have it in her to track him down to have a conversation that didn't involve her losing her temper, instead, she wanted to head back and have a chat with her teammates about what she had learned. "Well, it sounds like tomorrow is going to be a very long day, so I should get going. It was really lovely to talk to you, truly. Have a nice night, I'll be seeing you." With that, Mena spun on her heels and left the party.

It didn't take her long to return to the barracks, it seemed like a good portion of the team had returned before her. Mena glided across the room and sat herself down on her bed. "So, how did everyone like the party? Did anyone else learn something interesting?" Mena played with the ends of her hair, looking like the cat who ate the canary.