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Chris stood up as the monster did, and so was able to shift his position until he was at the crown of its head. He considered doing a leaping stab into it again (inasmuch as anyone could consider anything while in his situation, stupid as it was), but the crawler was dealing with the shifting terrain much better than he was -- there wasn’t much time to waste on an attack that would do “some damage” but probably not “enough.” At the same time, there wasn’t much else he could be doing. There weren’t any more directions to run. Either he could fight a losing battle against the crawler, or he could run (in any direction) off of the side of the colossus and fall all the way to the ground. Neither seemed appealing. He hadn’t lost hope, though. He could keep fighting. He had that capacity still in him. All those promises he’d made, and he was still so young! Just because he hadn’t found a way out of the predicament he’d put himself in just yet didn’t mean he wasn’t going to. Chris let his arms fall to his sides, and relaxed his stance. He kept an eye on the thing crawling towards him, but his focus was elsewhere. Down below, Ziun was keeping the other monsters at bay, while Lana had run off in pursuit of light he could barely see as high up as he was. There was nothing for it. He had done what he could up here, and hopefully been enough of a nuisance where it mattered, but, somehow, he needed to join his teammates in the fight below. Chris sheathed his sword and took out a dagger. He could climb down, but this was a different sort of climb, and the smaller blade size did matter in this case. Just as the crawling monster started to catch up to him, Chris shuffled to the side, and scrambled down towards where one of the larger monster’s ears might be. He leaned against the slope as it increased, and, when it got too much to bear, he put his dagger against the monster to help break his fall. The monster’s skin did not give easily, and he knew he had to be careful to not jam it in too deep and get stuck, but Chris somehow managed to at least land on the monster’s shoulder no worse for wear. Chris looked at the ground, significantly further away than the fall he had just taken. “Really glad I’m not scared of heights,” he said. There wasn’t time for second-guessing. Even just an errant shrug would have displaced him at that point. Chris leaned over the side of the shoulder, adjusted his dagger, and slid. Despite his best efforts, Chris still hit the ground hard enough to collapse him to his back, though, thankfully, besides the pain, still no worse for wear. He could get up quickly enough, and good thing, too. Ziun had been distracting some of the shadow monsters with illusions, but it was clear they wouldn’t be distracted for much longer.

Phase 1 - Bad Moon Rising The room was silent… bone chillingly silent at that. Those that just entered it simply looked in the direction of the one at the very front of the room, keeping within the shadows, avoiding the city lights coming from the windows. A series of noises broke the darkness, the sounds of armored feet clanking along the floor. “So, this is where you've been hiding.” the voice sounded… disappointed? “...so… of course they'd send five…” the voice from the shadows responded, almost seeming tired. “I take it the other seven may be on their way to my location now? Or perhaps… you wished to face me all on your own?” The deafening silence was all the answer that was received, but it seemed the latter was indeed the answer. “...I figured as much. I would've preferred it not to be you to be the one to find me… to figure it out. I have a lot of respect for you… despite the rivalry I wanted for us, you were like a friend to me.” The sounds of shuffling came from the shadows, it unnerved the one standing in the middle of the room, the city lights showing off the familiar red scarf the armored individual wore. “Try as I might… I don't understand the reason why? You owe at least that.” he sighed, his fists tightening slightly. “Why eliminate the number one?” Silence once again filled the room, before a heavy sigh echoed. “Pay it forward… help however you can… be someone else's hero… back then, that was my reasoning. To strive to be that kind of hero, like the one who saved me that day. However… it all became a contradiction to me when I hit it big…” The sounds of footsteps from the shadows began. “...the rank of number one… the ability to inspire hundreds… thousands… the amount of good done in this regard just from having that title alone. A higher audience is given with that… so why wouldn't I take that opportunity?” The steps grew louder… before one foot started to cross into the light… a red boot. “I chose to shake things up by removing that slouch… to spread that message that I've held onto so dear for my whole life from his position.” The rest of the body soon was in the light… the red and black suit wearing figure stood there, his own red scarf waving behind him. “I won't stop here… I will become number one… Feel free to attempt to stop me, but we both know… I'm the unstoppable force… I am the immovable object… and my inertia knows no bounds.” That was the big reveal? It didn't seem like that big of a surprise, though. It was written on the wall from the beginning… least, from what he could tell. After all, some of the characters here had suspicions from the start, and even during that small gala, the one that showed up moments after him had something squish under his feet on the red carpet, that sticky feeling anyway. It was a good fake out with the whole “maybe it was gum” aspect. Even still… the character played his part in this story and feigned ignorance up till it finally was revealed, but for the reader, yeah it was obv-... BGM “...today, you all will do a short tour of the school. Afterwards, you'll get situated in your dorms. Tomorrow, school really begins. Dismissed!” Blake paused, just remembering where he was and what was going on. He had been so engrossed in this chapter that he barely registered the principal's opening ceremony speech. …IF you wanted to even call it that. Best he could tell… it was thirty seconds, if that. Closing his book, he watched as the principal simply walked away after delivering his riveting speech… almost seemed rehearsed, like he said that exact thing to each and every Freshman class. But rehearsed or not… it was clear that he meant it. Not surprising… it's called DEAD END for a reason. he thought, closing his book slightly before shoving it back in his bag. It wouldn't be a wonder that he meant every word he said. Doesn't sound like he really believes in anyone gathered here… not that I blame him. He leaned back in the chair, exhaling slowly. But this school is just a means to an end for me… so he can take that and shove it up his-... "Yeah, fuck this! A school is a school! You've seen one, you've seen them all! I'm heading into town! If you dumbasses had any sense, you'd do the same!" Blake sat up slightly from his lounge state in the chair, glancing in the direction of this person who just spoke out like this. He seemed like the arrogant sort, but then again, first impressions weren't much to go by for him. Still, he had to admire the brazen boldness to simply say that like this. And it wasn't like any teacher was available at this present time to do this new student orientation bull… perhaps this arrogant peer of his was right. "pretty stupid to wait all this time and then just run away before anything happens, huh?” Another voice cut through, this one, a young girl… she looked like the definition of “cutesy”... like a porcelain doll, which might've been her make-up and complexion, Blake wasn't sure… he didn't know much about make-up. Nevertheless, she spoke loud and clear, rivaling her peer's viewpoint of this current situation. Not to say it wasn't a valid one, the principal just said they'd be going through a tour, not his fault that said teacher wasn't here yet. That said… He slowly stood up, stretching as he yawned loudly. "Truth be told, he does have a slight point. This is a school, albeit the... 'last school you'll ever go to'..." Blake scoffed, waving his fingers in a manner some would think to signify creepy. "The worst they can do is write us up for not being around... not like some of us haven't gone through that rigmarole before. I, for one, am agreeing with our hot-headed... friend... eh, too early to call him my friend or anything. Either way, I'm heading out." He slung his bag over his shoulder, gave everyone the two finger salute before turning on his heel and walked on off after the arrogant one. Plus... this is an excellent opportunity to look around... get acquainted with the locale... then... then I'll find my answers. Only a matter of time before the wolf goes on the prowl...

BQ “I do not believe in coincidences. I imagine we will have to find both your missing Pokémon and this lighthouse’s resident ghost if we are to solve this mystery. But such a task requires your cooperation.” The boy glanced between Bridget, catching the Shellos that she had moments ago asked if it was his, and Quinn, who was insisting on looking for his missing Pokemon together, and he was clearly growing more anxious. He tugged at his faded shirt and kept casting glances at the trapdoor. As if debating if he wanted to just take off and escape. But then his eyes turned towards his stash. His comic books. His snacks. His pouches of berries...his berries? Those weren't there before. He shook his head and looked back at Quinn. "You just want to distract me so you can steal my things! You can't trick me that easily!" Just then they all could hear the sound of laughter echoing around the space. In spite of the eerie nature of the noise the boy's face broke out into a smile. "And now you've done it. You better get out of here before it comes to drag you to the abyss!" JA Anneliese tilted her head as she watched Jacklyn's expression of joy. As the girl turned to her she attempted a fist pump as well, though it was much slower and less energetic than Jacklyn's had been. Was this some sort of victory ritual she was unaware of? She would have to ask Jacklyn when she got back to the surface. She had actually tried to say something but only bubbles came out and Meredith gave her a look of concern which convinced her not to try again. When Jacklyn waved to Meredith the Shellder shut its shell in embarrassment but, a few moments later, the shell opened slightly and she gave a nod, or rather moved her whole body in a nod-like motion, to Cherry. Now that the excitement was over Annelise was drawn towards the statue again. She felt...strange as she got closer to it. It wasn't entirely pleasant of a situation. But it also wasn't exactly unpleasant. She reached out and grabbed the statue.    ǝ̴̡̢̨̟͉̻̬̜̘͚̼̙̩̻͙͎͇̺̈́̔͌̏ͅq̵̧̗̦̮̤͖̠̀̈́̐̒̉̀̔͊͠ȍ̸̜͇̱͓̙̖̠̟̳̓̋̈́̇̇͌ʇ̵̢̫͖̼͓̭̰͈̮̪͔̈́͊̔̈́͒̉̓̐̏̈́̏̍͂̊̈̓̚͜͜͝͝ʇ̸̰̤̩́̈́́͊ú̶̢̮͚͇̼̰͍̞̤̝̤̮̬̹͙̰͎̥̦̩͇̩̋͒͌̈́͠ɐ̴̧̡̛̭͖̪͈̖̘͉͔͎̱͚̫̲̭͚̲̬̼́̀̅̍̈̄͒̄̒̀́͒͋̂̽̿̒̿͆͘͝͝͝ǝ̵̧̧̢̗̘̝͕̙̘̤͔͓̭̬͍̣̠̙̘͑́̈́́͜ͅɯ̷͈̤̲̟̟̯͚͈̯̳͙̘̩̻̼͑̀̑̌̔̓̋̕ͅş̷̧̼̝͍̲̖̫͖̺̰̰͕̭̻̹̮͍̟̀͂̽́͌̽̅̽̚͝͝ɐ̶̩̳̪̟͓̩̰̜̥̩̼̈̈͂͂̃̓̊́̅̈́͐͛̽̌̋͋͝͝ʍ̶͔̹̐̆ʇ̵̢̧̢͙̙͇̝̪̫͚̼̘̟̥̀̄̉̆̀̈̉̆͑̈́̈́̉̈́̕͘͜͜͝͝ᴉ̶̢̡̲̬̖͙̗̯̳̥̘͚͋̏͗͆͐̚ͅś̶̺͆̌̅́̏̊̚ͅɐ̸̛̝̮͓͓̝̩̻̫̤̦̝̗̳͍͚̦̠͈͎̠̲̠̱̊̂̈́̾̐̀̊̓͑̏̒̈́͂̄̋͆͌̈́̚͜͝ǝ̶̜̩͕̫̞̈̂̓̆̑̂̄̈̍̉̎̂͑̊̎͗͗̉́̀̃̚͠ͅu̶̢̨̧̪͕̖̱̣̠͇̻̭̣͇͉̻̱̭̭̩̺͚̬̾̇̍͑͑͜͠ᴉ̸̡̛͎̭͈̟̳̞͙̙͍̘͉͌͛̂͐ɯ̵̘͙͒̋̎́̾̄͑̕̕̚͝ǝ̴̠͔̤̬͊̍̎̉͒̑̏̂̓͂q̸̨̛̰̱̼̦͇̱̳͖͈͓̳͕͕͙͇͋͊̌̃̿̂͂̊̓͑̋̈̋̌̔͘͜l̸̨̛̤̣̬͈͈͍̪̱̙̱̦͉͈̫̳̞̞̼̠̥͎̽̓̒́̿̾̔͂̿͊̐̏͑̆̌̅̀̈̚͜͝l̸̡̘̦̰̠͇͖̜̗͍̫̼̇̂̋͆̏͂̓́͐̉̒̀͆̈̈̒́͝͝ͅͅᴉ̵̛̯̑̐͗̇̓͠ʍ̴̨̛̖̻̯͛͐̾̋̽͆̌͊͗̔̆͑̾͑̈́̔͛̚͜͠p̷̧̼͇̘̞̘̤̟͉̜̙̦͕̬̖̖͉̠̔͂̒̒͑̑̏͆̏̊̔̚͘͜ļ̸̢͙̤̩͕̱̯̂̅͛̈̓͐̈́͊̎͑̆́̂̊̀̍͛̄̂͐͐͠͠͠ɹ̶̢̤̞̦̭̜̪͉̹͚̬̜̦̫̬̹̦̪̓͆͂͂͛̌̽̔́͋͐͗͒̀͗̍̔̿̈́͗̿͊͘͜͜͝ǫ̶̛̛̟͕̹̪͇͎͔̭͈̭͙̝͇͓̜̉̑͐͗̓̈́̔̓̆́̂͜ͅʍ̸̨̹̹̞̦̹̪̘̠̹̰̣̤̪̲̠̥̓̈́̃̎̏̔̅̕͜ǝ̴̧̧̡̡̯͇̻̖̠͕̗̜̤̱͈͈͌̋̃̽̿ͅɥ̸̨̣̥͇̬̳͔̭̲̔͒̏͑̾̆̃̽͑̓̑͐͋̀̋̚ͅʇ̷̘̫͔͈̼̯̪̺̩̿̏̽̀̊̕̚͠u̵͍̺͚͈̥͌̓̀͊̏̋̄̆̌̊͌́́̀̆̾̎̋̊̕̕͝͝ǝ̷̤̠̘̝̹̜̝̘͓͓̜̈́̈́͑͌́̅̓̃͛͐̿͛̐́͘̚ş̶̡̨̢͈̗̼͇͕̬̦̩̣̦͙̖́̈́͛̎͊́͜ͅͅᴉ̴̡̨̛̫̰͙͕̹͉͙̪̩͓͚̬̱͖̫͎̆̒́͊̀̍͋̀̉̓ͅɹ̶̨͇̞͙̺̩̯͆͂̓̃̉̄́͐͜ɯ̴̡̠͓̣̖̩̠̗͔̣͕̬͓̣̼̮͑͊̊́̅́̈́̓̂͊̐͂̑͒̚͝͝͝ɐ̸͈̘͙͓̘͒͐̅̅͐͌̉́̓̍̆͑̀͛̒͒͠͝ᴉ̵̛̛͚̝̎̈́̅͑̌̓̾̓̎̓̄̄̒͆͑̑̒͊̕ǝ̵̧̖̬͇͍̮̠̓̅͑ͅɔ̸͔͈̦͕̹͎͈̝̘̗̙͎́u̷̧̢̢̧̺̬̰̠̜̲̘͉̱̤͇͖̖̻͈͇͊̄͐͋̽̒͌̓̓͋́̑̾̄̎̎̃̏́͘͜͝͝͝͝ͅǫ̴̰͙͚̭̬̣̘͇̺͉̀̒̾͂̒̏̇̈̓̈́̂̀̕͠͠ʇ̷͈͖̲͙͍͚̭̮̣̠̋̊͌̈̅͆̎̂̄̈́͋͐̌̚̕͝͝͝ᴉ̶̛̼̣͉̅̃̇̈́̃̈̃̀̽̆̄̅̈́͠d̸̡̨͉̭͈̙͍̖̰͉͓͉̈́̍̇̈́͐͆̓̌̈̔̆͆̓́͛̈́̏̅̔̅͝͠ͅo̶̳͖̗͍̻͍͇̼̫̼̲̯̘͎̒̄̚ͅʇ̵̛̺̥̺̎́͛̉́̇̋̀̏͗͑̌̽̚͝s̷̨̛̟̠͆͆̿͗̔͑͑ḽ̴͈̪̭̥̙̲͕̥̻̳̠̖̦̺̘͈͐̑̍̊̂̓͌̽̊́͜͝͝͠͝ͅl̶̨̧̩̫̻̺̫͚̖͚̲̦̙̥̣̻̺̣͍̳̼̝̆̓̈͜͠ᴉ̴̥͍̠͖̼̜͍̖̤̭̟̼̭͓̱̒̒̈́̊́̄̽͛̇̿̔̾̕̚͝ʍ̷̡̡̢̡̢͇̬̘̩̹̣̥̣̥̗̪̱͔̄́̎̃͑̚͘͜ͅƃ̷̨͖̞͚̜̦̳̮̰̰̺͔͚̘̥̤̗̳͎͈̓́u̴̳̫̱̼͈̮̦̫͊͌͘ᴉ̶̢̨͉͙̺͔̹̣̬̱͚̳̖͕͍͓̞̰̰͖͍̞̎̃͆̑͌̎̔̇̅͛̇̋̐̊͠ɥ̶̬̲̠̏̀͂̈͝ʇ̵̢̜͎̳͙͇̰̲̯̯̭̬͉̜̣̥͙̪̜̰͍̜́̈́̎ͅö̷̡̨̢̺̖̩̟̳̘́̿̑̈͗̆̒̃̌̇̀͛̍̈́̅́̓̐̉̿̉̚͝͝ǘ̶̧̳̱͓̭̤͇͓̖̼͙̳͍͓̯̳͑̑̐͗̌̓͐͑̔̅͒̒̒́̈́́̾̐ʇ̵̧̢̢̧̯̺̳̝͓̙̻͍̤̫̼̗͖̬͕̣̜̠̠͠ͅᴉ̷̧̮̝̤̯̰͊̆̇̏͒͛͘͜͠d̸̡̨̼̠̦͔̙͎̲̥͓̼͓̊͊͠o̸̯͔͇̬̤̭̗̹͖̥̺͇̍̋͑̒̇̔͐͊̑̒̒̀̇͛͂̕͜͝͝ͅʇ̵̙̬̝̐́̔̎͂̏̽́̀̀̅́̓̂̾̃̋̍̀͋̚͠͝͝s̵̢̢̧͓͖͖͇̜̳̜͈̘̎͂̀̏̀̈́̍̔̈̿̕͜ͅǜ̴̢̲̬͈͚͋̂̂͑̎́̐̄́̔̍͆̚̕͘ɐ̶̡̛̛̱͈̰͓̳̬̙̮͖̂͋̐̓̋̿̅̎͋̎̓̀̅̌͆͋̊̚͝͝ɔ̴̛̞̹̼͍̖̖͕͎̦̥̺̮̭̭̝̹̰͇͕͐̊͋̂͛̋̏̒͗̈́̏͑͌̈́̅̓͛͑̕̕͝ƃ̷̡̖̘͍͈͚̠̹͉͎̮̳̳͔̝͎̘͍̫̤̊̋̽̑̿͊̾͒͌̐͆̇́͑͜͝ͅȗ̷̠͓͇̘̰̟̫̮̅͗͂̈̔̚͠ᴉ̶̡̨͓͍̳̘͉͉̯͕̰̲͈̜̾͆̎̆̇̉̈́̉̈̅̈̈́̃̚͜͝͝ͅɥ̶̝̱̗̳̤̻͔͈̖͍͝ʇ̸͕͚̙͂̽̒̔̀̃͌̋͑͐̐̑͛̈̆̋̎̒̓̈́̄͜͝͝ơ̴̛̠̥̠̮͍̬͚̼͔̪͓̙͉̱̋̂̓̈̃̈̈́̅̅͝ư̴̰͍̖̠̄͐͒̌̾̀̈̓́͊̄̓̏͝ǝ̴̢̨̗͚̭̜͎̥̩̣̜͇͆͛̄͂̂̽͐̎̉̈̚ɯ̸̡̛͇̝̤̝̻͉̲̏̀̅͗̐̔̊̉̍͂̾͒̓̅̀̆͋̊̾̋̚̚ͅǫ̸̠̼̓̉̐̽̄͒̐͐̇̽̍͒̕͠͝ʇ̶̢̡̝̞͔̺͙͔̤̣̞͔̯̭̹̫̳̙̱͖͉̘̋̾ƃ̴̛̯͇̌̓͒̏̿́̔̽͛́͐͋͂͘̕͘͝͝͠u̴̢̯͂͗́͗̔͐̐̈́̆̑̕͘͠ơ̷̧̡̼͚̭̭̺̥̻̼͓̳̯̌̑̋̊͌͗͊̈́̅͋͗̋͆͐̒̌͝͝l̴̼͎̰̬̙̬̮͉̩̱̅͂̒͌̀̚ͅǝ̶͚̙̼͊͆̂͗̆̀̀͆́̇̿̌̂̋̅͐̓͌̎̀̚̚͝͝q̶͓͈͈̙̱͉̱͙̲̻̯̮̺̠͇̹̟̙͔͓̱̈́͑̐͜l̸̢̡̛̩̞̻̦̣͇̺͉̘̪̘͍̳̫̻̦̳̱̤̜̹̻̂̀̉͆́̀͑̎̀͐̚͝͝l̵̨̺͓̣̩̯̱̯͂̓̾̒̌̊̈͊̈́͛̕͘̕͠͠͝ᴉ̴̧̧̨̢̳̯͔̻̤̘̲̺̰̙̲͔̭̺̑̄͗͑̔̇̆̂̓̈́͛̊̓̑̈́͝ͅʍ̴̫͋̊̃̂̾̃͂͑̾̇̊́͗͒͂̅̓̚̚͝͝ǝ̴̢̛̻͙̥̯̙̜̱͍̩̠͈͓̦̒̓͌̽͋̀̇̾̈́̕͜͠ɟ̷̡̢̛̦͍̼͍̯͉͎̲̖̻͎͇̯̒̀̇͛̋̑͌̆̚͝ᴉ̴̛͓̹̟̮̲͙͓̿̐͊̌͌͛̈̈́̈́̎̽̚͜l̵̫̬̭̙̎͐l̷̝̳͚̘̖͗̏̎̑̊̋́̓̍̎̌̿͋̔͜͝͝ļ̶̼̰͔͕̻̣̲̳̜̭̥̗͉̯̻̘͍͈̰̫̋̔̈́̃͗͐̉́̅͊̾͐͌͌̂͐͝ͅɐ̶̻̲̖̮̦̩́̆̋̄͛́̏̀̓́̈̚͝p̶̦̗̰̗̙͈͍͈͂͌̔͘͜ù̷̡̢̧͈̟̣͚̣̙͕͉͓̯͂̚̚ɐ̷̩̝̣͚̣̪̻̺̈́͒̈́̓̆̿̇̓͊̍̐́̚͘͘͘ǝ̵̡̛̖͔̦͖͚̜̙͓͒̏̑̔̂̋̈́́͂̃̆͆̆̔́̅̚̕͜ͅɯ̴̧̬̰͇̼̳̗̜̟̝̮̮̫̠̻͍̞̮̻̤͔̩̔̎͊̋̓̿̊̏̋͑͘̕͝͠ŏ̷̡̡̳̹͍̼͙̭̳̗̬̺͖̬͍̟̮̬̦̼͎̱͕ɔ̶̡̨͔͚̞̯̭̽̈́̀̿̿̀̓̒́l̸̨͍̰͈͚̰̗̯͐͆̃̎͒̅̿̈́̋̐̋̊̇̔̍̃͗̕͘l̵̡̨̨͇̟̟̞̦̘͚͍̭̹̳͓͔͚̠̰͈͆̑́͛́̄͊̽͊̎ᴉ̴̢̳͇̙̜̹̭̞̦̥̯̝͎͖̬͕̞͋͋̓̃̈́̽̊͗̀̾̉͛͗́̚ʍ̵̝͇͎̤̭̫͉̝̟̜̤̬̩͎̪̍̾̀͑͑̓̾͊̓̈́̚p̵͓̬͍͖̲̬̝̳̩̻͕͉͙̹̤͝ͅu̴̩̯̹̩̮̖͇̺̩̽̔̐̅̆́͐̇̇͛͆̏̀̀͒̒͋͂̒̈́͝͝ǝ̵̞͓̳̫͚̰͈͖̺͔̳̪̠͎̪̮̝̠͔̪͇̑̇̿̂̆̍̄͌̄͊̄͜ǝ̷̧͔͙͉̙͇̼͈͑̎̑͋̏͊̃͒̊̾̎̒̕͝ɥ̸͒̅̐͊͊͌͗̂̂̏̎͌̄̽͘͘͝ͅʇ̵̞͎̤͚̯̪̺̮̖̼͎̈́̌͌̅̅͆́͆̇̔͗͘̚   Annelise dropped the statue and it slowly began to float to the bottom. She couldn't understand what it was that she just heard all she knew was that there was a ringing in the back of her head and her hand was shaking. And there was an uncomfortable, sick, feeling in the pit of her stomach. As the statue sank lower the ringing subsided enough that she could think again and she looked over at Jacklyn in confusion as if asking for an answer for something the girl couldn't possibly know had even happened.