Challenge Details:
1. Location: The second event will take place in the Underground Labyrinth beneath the Colosseum. Each individual will be starting in a different, undisclosed location and will not be permitted to move until the starting signal is given. Once the event has begun, exiting the premises will result in immediate disqualification unless instructed otherwise.
2. Objectives: Every individual will receive a secret objective, only visible to the individual. Individuals will be given one of three objective Alliances:
Blue Objectives (Read more)/Red Objectives(Read more)/Neutral Objectives(Read more)
Mission difficulties will vary based on current individual point scores. Completed objectives will earn individual points, based on completion efficiency, difficulty, and other factors. Completed objectives will also earn objective Alliance points based on your predetermined value. (Read more)
At the end of the event, the team that completes all objectives first/ or the team with the most objective Alliance points/ or achieving a total of 10 000 team points will get an automatic bonus in individual points. This bonus may only be triggered once per game.
[You are currently worth: 1 100 Alliance points]
4. Awakening Restrictions: Usage of Awakenings shall be monitored. You are not permitted to purposefully manipulate, damage, or destroy the labyrinth in any way shape, or form. Excessive violence and disregard for others will result in immediate disqualification. Consider your safety and the safety of others before using your Awakenings. Limited medical assistance will be provided.
Duration: The game will begin at 18 00 and will terminate at 21 00. Time remaining: 2h 59 m
"Good luck, dear contestant."
(Exit Challenge Details)
(GERMANY POV)
Through the silence of the maze, occasional but rapid footsteps could be heard thundering down the winding stone halls as players rushed out of their starting cells. My own strides pounded heavily in my ears, along with the half-baked plan I had come up with as I approached the end of the dim, connecting hallway.
It was better than nothing, but rarely did I feel so unprepared like this. There were just too many unknowns, too many what-ifs that knawed on my perfectionist brain. It felt akin to being stripped naked and left out in the open, though perhaps that was a little dramatic, but the atmosphere was definitely tenser than usual.
Was it just the chasmic ambiance, or perhaps the fact that this event decided if I could stay in the Tournament?
In any case, it was just unpleasant. I didn't even have someone to talk with and fill the silence.
For the first little while, winding, never-ending tunnels flashed through my peripheral vision as I ran for what felt like forever, only stopping occasionally to take short breaks and glance up at the gleaming broadcast that glowered from above. Little snapshots of other players flickered across its holographic surface like dancing electric sparks, never stationary and never dull, but Olympia and COE's usual live commentary was nowhere to be found. In its place, was a flashing, "NO SIGNAL" sign.
"The audience that is supposedly above us is unusually quiet too," I noted with a slight frown as a soft tremble rattled the loose pebbles on the ground. It seemed that things had begun to heat up elsewhere, though I could have sworn that it came from overhead, somewhere aboveground. How odd, but I didn't dwell on it. I had other things to worry about.
"Find all ally objectives," my azure screen displayed right above the 3-hour countdown that seemed to be draining unbelievably quickly. This meant I had to somehow track down everyone who had a blue objective while everything was secret and tensions were high. Elimination was right after this after all, and no one wanted to drop out. People were bound to be suspicious.
The unseen cameras captured my peering face and flashed it back at me like a mirror, as if it were saying, "Look at you, spacing out like this. Don't you have an objective to complete?" I scoffed at the imaginary voice in my head and ducked into the nearest tunnel as the broadcast continued its roulette of live feeds.
The main problem was I didn't know how many players I had to find to complete my objective. Of course, if I had been lucky enough to get the dice box, this wouldn't have been a problem but Russia ended up getting it.
'My first move, logically, should be to find Russia then–," I reminded myself as my eyes scanned across the screen (again) for non-existent hints–, "and have him confirm the number of blue team members with the dice."
There was also the possibility that he was on the red or neutral team so I would have to take a very careful approach. A confrontation with him was one of the last things I wanted.
I hadn't even realized how deeply lost in thought I was until I emerged from the other side of the tunnel, only to hear a shout erupt from the side. By the time I snapped out of my head, a flurry of something came charging out of the corner of my eye and the next thing I knew, I was staring at the ceiling, lying flat on my back, and doing my best to suppress all the swearwords I had in my arsenal.
2 hours and 32 minutes remained when I finally came across another participant.
"AUGGHHHH HEY!" the person I had headbutted wailed as we cradled our heads that felt like lead blocks. Bursting stars now swam in my unfocused vision and when my limbs decided to function again, I groped around the cold stone ground to find my knocked-off glasses to return to my face. Finally, my fingers contacted the wiry metal frames and by some miracle, they had not broken, allowing my vision to focus on the blurry mess named Poland. It seems that our teams weren't too spread apart then, which was a good sign.
I would have liked to say that was exactly what was going through my mind at that moment, but it wasn't. My only semi-coherent thought was if I was alive or not because, I swear, Poland's head is made of bricks. That's what it felt like at least.
"Watch where you're going!" he continued to yell as he stumbled to his feet, swooning as he went. "Who the hell spaces out at a time like- oh wait it's you!"
I held in the sob of pain and offered a forced smile instead as he effortlessly pulled me up from the ground. A massive, lopsided grin of relief lit up his face and he laughed, "Perfect timing too! I was just thinking that I needed someone to talk to or I may just go insane."
"I didn't think I would run into you so soon either, literally," I admitted as I glanced toward the direction he came from. "Though aren't we still near the outer edge of the area? I didn't think this maze would pose so much trouble for you."
I pointed to his wings when he didn't get the hint, "Y'know, with you being able to uh... fly and all that."
He shook his head as glorious wings of light unfurled from his back to lift him off the ground, but just as he was about to clear the towering walls, he slowed into a hover and placed his hand against an invisible barrier. The air rippled outward from his fingertips in warped, iridescent rings and no matter how hard he pushed, the barrier did not budge. With the demonstration complete, he touched back down and deactivated.
"Yeah, I thought of that already. Now I know what birds that fly into windows feel like," he grumbled, staring daggers at the ceiling. "Man, if only I could fly out, I would have probably completed my objective by now."
As soon as those words left his mouth, his pouty face froze. Like the gears of a machine, something clicked in the back of his mind and he backed away like a defensive animal.
"Shit, I forgot," his eyes never left me, as if I would disappear like a ghost if he did so much as blink. "Are we... on the same team?"
That's right, I grimaced, my lips pressing into a thin line of worry. Unlike last time, our pairings and Branches didn't matter. In this round, I wasn't even sure if Poland was a friend or foe.
"You... um..." We both struggled to find what was right to say as we eyed each other warily. Neither of us wanted to make the first move but neither of us wanted to be caught off guard either. This feeling of distrust wasn't very nice– it brought back unsettling chills that I didn't want to relive, so I urged myself to think of something- anything- to relieve the tension.
I snuck a quick glance at my blue display, which seemed to be only visible to me, wondering if there would be any kind of progress tally or counter that would help me keep track of my progress. Right now, my screen was still as uneventful as ever which meant that there simply wasn't that function or Poland didn't have a blue objective.
My mind raced to come up with my next plan but doubt was clouding my head like a thick wall of fog, setting everything into slow motion. Poland seemed to also feel the tension because his Awakening suddenly flourished to life.
"Woah, hey, let's not be too rash now," I coaxed as I took a couple of involuntary steps back, widening the gap between us. "What if we are on the same team? Let's figure this out first." The other glanced down at his glowing form and a startled expression flickered across his face as if activating had surprised himself.
"Sorry, that was instinctive probably," Poland apologized but the apology didn't seem to reach his razor-sharp gaze. "But with that said, I'm all too familiar with that look. What are you scheming?"
"Scheming? What do you mean by scheming???"
Poland's eyebrows drew into pressed, sharp lines that etched out the intense visage of a person deep in thought, as if a million things were running behind his eyes. Then he looked up and pointed to me.
"That's the face you make every time you come up with a plan. You always look like you're constipated and then suddenly, a plan that never goes wrong pops out of your head. It's honestly a little freaky."
"Poland... was that mental image really necessary?" I sighed in defeat and said nothing more for the sake of our peace. After all, if we were enemies, our tasks may not completely overlap so there was a possibility for peaceful coexistence. If we were teammates, all the better! In any case, I didn't want to come out of the gate fighting.
Come to think of it, I don't think that this challenge was meant to be very combat-focused in the first place.
The dark tunneled and constricting nature of the halls made head-on fighting very inconvenient. There was nowhere to maneuver– the width barely allowed three individuals to stand side by side. Poland couldn't even fly, thanks to the invisible barriers that stretched over the walls. The paths often ran long and unchanging, which meant surprise attacks from the front and back were out of the picture. The opponent would see it coming from a mile away.
Then how would we settle our differences and disputes? Perhaps this was what the challenge was testing us on.
"Poland, I don't know how much these words will mean to you but I don't want to fight. If combat strength was what this challenge was testing us on, it wouldn't be formatted like this," I tried to think out loud with the most innocent face I could muster but perhaps that made it worse. His eyes narrowed with uncertainty and the lump in my throat grew.
Should I just tell him what my objective was? Was I willing to take that risk?
If it were anyone else, I would probably have never thought of doing something so risky but...
"You know what, let's reveal our objectives and be transparent with each other," I suggested hopefully, extending my hand out for a promising handshake. "Then we can go from there. Just... trust me. Please?"
'Trust me.'
Poland stared at my hand for a solid 10 seconds before turning his head away, finding it hard to look at me as I uttered those familiar words.
I admit, it dug into a bittersweet spot for the both of us. Those two words had accompanied us for who knows how long now but by now, it had become something akin to a guarantee. No matter how difficult the situation, how crafty I had to be, he knew that I wouldn't lie to him, at least not without good intentions. That was something I had promised a long time ago, a line that I wouldn't dare cross.
We had been through this before.
"...Fine. Trusting you has yet to let me down," Poland muttered as he completely deactivated his Awakening, returning the depressing halls to their original darkness. I squinted as my lightning-blue screen reappeared on my command. The button in the upper right corner occupied my attention and I let my finger hover hesitantly over it.
"I'm on the blue team," Poland declared after some hesitation as he seemed to pull up his invisible screen. "I just need to find someone with a neutral objective and convince them to ally with the blue side. That's my objective."
It was as if a huge boulder had lifted off my chest when I realized that we were allies, and I guess my relief showed because Poland's face lit up as he asked, "Wait, do you have a blue objective too?!" Immediately, the somber tenseness was swept away like dust in the wind. All our doubting and second-guessing just felt silly now. It was so silly that a chuckle almost slipped out.
"Yeah! Mine's a little more tiring though," I replied confidently as I pressed 'CONFIRM' on the display. The word, 'REVEAL,' lit up as it buffered for a moment before rippling away.
With two bright flashes, two brilliant blue screens flickered above our heads and announced our objectives loud and clear to rid each other of any more lingering doubts but perhaps it had been a little too loud and clear. After a moment of hovering, they suddenly shot straight up to broadcast our goals to everyone else in the maze as well.
Apparently, the reveal button meant it would be revealed to everyone immediately, not just simply turning visible to those around us. A distant jumble of confused murmurs from other players rose over the walls as they reacted to the daring, and possibly stupid display.
"...Well that wasn't what I was expecting..."
Fantastic. So much for the cautious approach. Everyone knew what we were gunning for now, which would either be alright or absolutely kill us, depending on who was nearby. Poland didn't skip a beat, fully grasping our situation and we bolted down the hall, hoping that our other allies would find us first before any opponents could.
"So what's the game plan?" Poland brought up as we narrowly avoided turning into a dead-end. "Where were you heading to earlier, before I ran into you?"
"I was going to try and find Russia–," I thought aloud so he could follow my thought process, "–since he has the dice. I was going to ask him to use them to see how many people I have to find but seeing that my allegiance has been disclosed, I'm not too sure it would be smart to go."
"Then again, wouldn't it be good to confirm his stance in the game early on?" Poland pointed out after a moment of deliberation. "If he helps us, great! If not... uh I guess we'll have to see. Either way, he's strong, we can't ignore him even if we wanted to."
I nodded along to Poland's sound logic but I wanted to add a small step before that to make sure things went as smoothly as possible. First, I wanted to make sure we could catch him alone, so we had to be quick. Second, I wanted to gather a couple more allies first, in case things did go south. In such a situational game like this, strength in numbers was a viable strategy.
Before I could say any of this, however, a sudden quake that seemed much stronger than the others hit and we were thrown to the ground without warning. Small pieces of debris from the ceiling also slowly trickled down from larger chunks, threatening to fall at any moment.
Luckily, Poland was quick enough to catch both of us. He dragged me away from the walls when a huge chunk of earth dislodged from the sky and came crashing down, mere millimeters from where we had been standing. Just as quickly as the tremors had started, they stopped.
Just what in the world was going on up there, I wondered as I craned my neck.
"I'm sure that's going to get really annoying," Poland sighed as he gently touched down away from the debris pile and I wholeheartedly agreed, squinting at the ceiling to see if I could spot anything amiss but there was nothing. "Is this part of the challenge? Switzerland said nothing about having to dodge for our lives."
"No, I don't think so. This seems like an unrelated thing, or someone is using their Awakening but that's unlikely," I murmured to myself. I had to admit, I was a little alarmed but I reminded myself that if it were something to be concerned about, I'm sure the hosts would have informed us by now. The blaring, "NO SIGNAL" on the broadcast glared down at me, challenging that notion.
"In any case, we should stay on the move and stay alert." I mentally groaned, preparing to pick up the pace on an already-tiring journey but time was of the essence. "Hopefully we'll be able to make some progress before another nuisance hits."
Poland grinned, clearly taking that as a challenge, and vaulted over the debris pile in a single jump. But before we could go, there was still a little problem I noticed as I glanced down at my dangling feet.
"Also... Pol, you can put me down now, if you want."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Luckily, no other wild tremors hit, and only a few minutes of running later, a booming voice that was impossible to ignore called from somewhere ahead of us. We skidded to a halt to see two figures emerge from the dark.
"Over here! Is that them? Hey, you two!"
It was Venezuela and Pakistan, running toward us breathlessly, and from what I could tell, they held no hostility. If anything, they looked somewhat excited.
Well, Venezuela did at least. Pakistan just looked tired from having to keep up with the other unpredictable country. It was quite the unusual pairing if I do say so myself.
"We saw the overhead declaration," she managed to smile as she gestured at the both of them. "Don't worry, we're allies. We have blue objectives too."
Venezuela seconded that and snickered a little, "Honestly, I was a bit shocked when you revealed your objectives. I didn't take you two as super straightforward and bold people." He caught the side glare that Poland was giving him and quickly made a correction to his statement, "I mean... I didn't expect that from Germany at least..."
We confirmed that they were telling the truth before letting them close and to our relief, they were.
"Yeah, well it wasn't my intention to reveal it to everybody," I clarified with a sheepish chuckle. "But never mind that. How did you two team up?"
Pakistan pointed at the other, almost accusingly, and told us that she had just been avoiding the tremors when "this guy" popped out of nowhere, nearly giving her a heart attack.
"He didn't bother to be discrete at all," she shrugged with a half smile when Venezuela tried to interject. "He was so loud about being on the blue side that I thought he was actually on the red side, trying to trick me into trusting him. If he had known about the reveal button, he probably would have pressed it in the first ten seconds of the game."
"Hey now... transparency and boldness are sometimes keys to success too," Venezuela sulked under his breath as he leaned against the cold stone wall. "At first, I tried to go the mysterious route but that was too hard and took too long. I accepted the risk and see, it didn't turn out too badly!"
Poland and I shrugged. We couldn't disagree with that last statement but still, if Venezuela had run into the wrong person at the wrong time, things could have gotten really messy for him. He waved it off and turned the attention back to us to change the topic. "Okay well, what are you two doing then? You seem to know what you're doing so mind if we tag along?"
I motioned for us to continue onward and Poland helped explain our plans on the way. They both seemed to be on board with our idea of finding Russia while picking up other allies on the way.
"It's better than the aimless wandering we've been doing so far," Pakistan smiled, which prompted a little 'tsk' from Venezuela. "Sure, we'd be happy to help you two with that."
"Really? Thanks, guys!" Poland beamed excitedly, "What about you though? Shouldn't you two also focus on your own objectives?"
Venezuela seemed to be waiting for us to mention that because a wide smirk suddenly spread across his face as he pointed to the broadcast overhead, where the number of completed tasks was displayed. I hadn't even realized that the zero had changed to a one, which meant one person had already completed their objective, and from the pride oozing from Venezuela, that was probably him.
"Already?!" Poland gaped but before the other could brag, Pakistan replied, "Don't be too impressed. His objective was just to team up with another player with a blue objective. That's why he was being so bold. As for my objective, I just need to find someone with a relic. I was going to try and find India but Russia works too, I guess."
So India was the one who ended up with the Eastern Branch's box. That was good to know but in any case, they were on board with everything which meant that we were still on track. It was a good thing that we managed to run into them first and if this little luck and civil streak continued, this game may not be so bad.
Of course, as soon as I said that, the next wave of tremors hit and we sprinted to find shelter.
With Pakistan's begrudging permission, I summoned Kerberos to take the lead in hopes of shortening the tiresome search.
"See if you can find anyone that we know nearby," I instructed as Poland ruffled their ghost-like ears. With a joyful yip, they bounded off, and since they had already been familiarized with the traces of everyone on our team, it didn't take long for them to track someone down. It only took a couple of hallways, dead ends, and a while of running in circles for them to come to a stop and sit upright, staring into the upcoming tunnel as the sound of soft footsteps bounced off the echoing walls. Seeing that they weren't growling, it was someone that we were familiar with. Poland extended a glowing wing forward to shed some light up ahead.
A long shadow of a tall figure rounded the corner first and my breath hitched in my chest as the person came into view. Two startling, vermillion eyes peered down from within the dark, like twin blood moons in the dead of a starless night. It was a sight straight out of one of my childhood bedtime stories, but those fictional ghouls of the night didn't usually have curly red hair charmed with autumn maples, or forest green hoodies that were scrunched around raised arms of fright.
"Oh, hey guys," Canada blurted out in surprise before squinting from the sudden beam of light that was aimed at him. "You guys startled me."
"We should be the ones saying that," Poland quipped as he smoothed his fluffed-up feathers and deactivated his Awakening, seeing there wasn't much cause for concern. "I didn't know your eyes looked like that in the dark. It gave me goosebumps."
His eyes widened as a hint of panic slipped into his expression before immediately laughing it off, "Oh, pfft sorry about that. People do say that they look more red in dim lighting."
I couldn't quite tell if it was also just the dark, but Canada seemed a little out of it. His expression was sullen and his usual smile didn't seem to reach those unnerving eyes of his. He just looked... terribly restless. I guess the game wasn't able to completely take his mind off of his worries after all. I suppressed my questions, seeing that he wasn't willing to answer.
Canada explained that after the game started, all the supports, including himself, just randomly wandered out from the center in different directions. They were technically supposed to stay in the area but apparently, no one cared enough to follow through.
"None of us really talked to each other so it was a little awkward anyway," he admitted with a sheepish smile. "What about you guys? Any luck so far?"
"We're trying to find Russia but navigating around here is such a pain," I sighed before glancing back at our little group. "We also picked up these two along the way since they didn't mind tagging along."
"Wanna join?" said Poland, who refused to miss this opportunity and I nodded in agreement. Having a support on our side was probably a good idea and since Canada had yet to join a team, this was the perfect moment. Poland's objective was to convert a neutral player after all.
"Ally with the blue team?" he echoed uncertainly as he tilted his head in contemplation. "Well, to be honest, I was planning on finding Ame and picking whichever team he was on but... fine. I'd be happy to support my friends."
With that, Canada's screen flickered into view temporarily, changing from pale grey to the familiar azure blue. A chime from Poland's objective screen followed as it glittered away upon completion. The tally on the overhead display that showed the number of completed tasks was also bumped up by one.
"Yessss!" Poland cheered as he fluttered off the ground a little, which he often did when he was elated. "That's one more down! We have a few more to go!" I held up my hands for him to deliver a mighty high ten before turning to Canada.
"Oh yeah, what exactly is your objective, now that you've joined our side?" I asked and he just shrugged.
"Supports aren't given very specific objectives since we didn't participate in the first game. We just have to pick a side and help whichever side we choose to win," he explained as he pulled up his new screen. "Our requirements are a little different too. We have our own scoring system designed by Red Cross and Crescent to gauge how effective we are as helpers."
"Hm, that does make sense I suppose," I muttered. It would be unfair to the supporting players otherwise.
From what I knew, the support category was also a new addition to the Tournament, along with the team aspect. In past years, while UN oversaw the quadrennial Ranking Tournament to crown combative Superpowers, Nurse WHO held smaller events to classify those who provided more assistive roles.
Perhaps with the whole uncertainty of the current situation, they decided to combine the events.
In any case, I was glad to have Canada with us and he seemed to have no problem introducing himself to the two others, who were also pretty stoked to have a support on our team.
"Wait, you can transfer energy between people? That's so useful," Pakistan noted with a hint of astonishment as our eyes all darted to Venezuela for a brief second.
Colombia had said that despite his lazy personality, he had a massive energy basin like Russia and Canada, and she was not lying. For the past hour or so, Venezuela had yet to deactivate his Awakening. This kind of endurance was rare.
"What? What are you all looking at me for?"
"Nothing."
Canada proved to also be a decent guide since he had been mentally mapping out the area near the center for the entire first hour. A column of dying orange rays from the center skylight also helped as a homing beacon for us as we trekked toward the center of the labyrinth. We had a better chance of running into new players there.
"I know my ins and outs enough to not run into too many dead ends, at least," he admitted as he directed us through the increasingly compact pathways but as we got closer to the center, the more noticeable the clamor became. There were definitely people nearby.
At last, Canada announced that we were here and stepped aside to let us through first. The walls of the dark, gloomy tunnel suddenly opened up into a spacious, circular chamber, riddled with arched doorways that led away into the maze in all directions. Right above us was the softly tinted skylight that allowed colorful rays to flood onto the floor like a spotlight. It felt as if we were entering a whole different world as we stepped out of the shadows, like night and day.
Another great bonus was that the tremors didn't seem to reach here, since, according to Canada, he hadn't known about the tremors until walking out of the middle. It was nice to know we didn't have to worry about being clocked on the head by any more piles of dirt.
A group of familiar people had already convened ahead and seemed to be deep in discussion. We were just late to the party. Mexico was the first in the group to notice us and waved for us to join in.
"Blue objectives, right?" he teased as we were ushered into the group.
From what I could tell, we had already gathered a pretty sizable group of players with blue objectives. Other than a select few, basically everyone was here now.
"South is here, and so is our support, Israel, over there in the back," Pakistan muttered as she scanned across the small crowd. "I don't see China or India though."
"We're missing two as well," Venezuela noted as he squinted to find a certain, colorful girl, but to no avail. Mexico and Peru walked over and shook their heads, "Yeah, we haven't found Colombia and Chile yet. We were hoping that they were with you."
Peru tilted her head to the side to address us but with a slight hesitation in her eyes, specifically directed at Poland. It seems that she had yet to forget about the last-minute barrage he had unleashed to get our box back.
"You three are from the Central Branch, right?" She motioned to us and rested her finger on her chin. "So you're still missing two. Oh yeah, your big scary pair isn't here."
I nodded as an unsettling feeling began to rise in my stomach, like a shaken soda bottle, just waiting to burst. It had been there for a while now but only after Peru had mentioned it was I able to put it into words.
"Say Canada, do you know where America went?" I pondered after a while of silent worrying. He turned back to stare at me as if saying, 'This is kinda random,' but slowly, his confusion also morphed into concern.
Considering that the Superpower was usually a huge showoff, and blew up a chunk of the forest in the first ten minutes of the first game, he was being oddly quiet in the second. Not just quiet; he was entirely off the radar. No one had yet to see any glimpse of him yet.
No wonder the games felt so peaceful until now but this was worrisome.
"America is like a showman," I explained to the others to keep them up to speed, "He's the one who would cause the biggest commotion..."
"... But he's nowhere to be seen," they finished off my sentence for me and did a collective 'ohhhhhh' of realization.
"But isn't that a good thing for us?" Mexico frowned as he tapped his lip thoughtfully. "Things have been going smoothly so far, even without him."
"Yes, and no." I began to pace back and forth as the gears in my brain began to spin. "In terms of individual objectives, yes. Keeping the peace is very important for things to get done smoothly and civilly but at the end of the challenge, it will come down to alliance strengths and points. Canada, what was it that you said about America?"
"That he's a huge showoff?"
"No, way before. When we asked you to join us," I exclaimed as the unsettling feeling finally fell into place. Since the beginning of the game, I had thought that this game would be testing individual negotiating and peaceful diplomacy. After all, upholding world order also required these things but I had lost sight of the fact that we weren't all on equal grounds.
Some players were bound to be more influential than others.
Switzerland had explained that we were all assigned Alliance Points, which were predetermined by the Awakening tests we had to do at the beginning. Poland and I had compared our Alliance points earlier and found that that was indeed the case. If someone like me is valued at 1100 points, one could imagine how many points the three top-rankers are worth.
If the Tournament was made to crown the Superpower, wouldn't we have to understand what a Superpower was in the first place?
"You said that you were going to join whichever side Ame was on," I repeated for everyone. "Now whether or not that was simply based on familial reasons or something else, I think you're onto something there."
Canada shrugged, completely giving up on trying to understand what I was putting out but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. At this point, all countries nearby had caught wind of our conversation and had moved in closer to hear what we were saying.
"What I'm trying to get at is, we should prioritize finding America as soon as possible," I summarized, finally reminding myself to internalize my thoughts, instead of thinking out loud like I had been doing for the past hour. "Russia and China as well. If there's anyone we need to worry about, it's the three of them. Especially America, since I'd wager he's worth the most Alliance points."
"Oh, I see what you are trying to say," an unfamiliar, but pleasant voice rose from the back and the crowd turned to see who had spoken. It was the support player from the Eastern Branch, Israel, who had been leaning silently on the wall in the back. "From how things are going so far, as long as we have the support of the Superpower or any of the other two, we will win. Is that it?"
I couldn't help but stare as I watched him rip the stray thoughts straight out of my head and put them into words. "Well, theoretically speaking, yes, I guess so but that wasn't exactly what I was aiming for. You make a very good point though."
Israel smiled back with his hands in his pockets but there was something else behind those placid eyes of his. I wasn't able to catch it in time but I could have sworn that he had been using his Awakening a moment ago.
"I'm not sure. I don't really talk to him but he has a very valuable ability," Pakistan admitted softly when I asked her about Israel's abilities. "Every time we did training activities in teams, Israel would be highly sought after. I don't think anyone knows more than what is written on his official files though and I've never seen him talking about it to anyone else."
"What if he's not though?" South Korea interrupted, bringing my attention back to the previous matter. If we were unlucky enough to be forced against the top three, especially America, this game would essentially be over. Even if the game wasn't testing us on combative strength, it still was a decisive factor when it came to a country's worth. I struggled to suppress a sigh. I didn't want to think about such an outcome and gave a false chuckle instead.
"Well, it'll just be a little more challenging then," I lied through my teeth. Israel closed his eyes and smiled before walking away without another word.
This discussion was a good start to our modest little blue alliance but the longer we stayed the more restless some members became. After a short discussion, we agreed to split into two small teams; those who had already completed their objectives and those who hadn't. Since there was no merit to staying in the middle of the labyrinth any longer for those who still needed to get something done, they would travel around in a team. Meanwhile, those who had completed their tasks, which was more than I had thought, would stay in the middle in case any new players showed up.
I, for one, didn't believe in sitting around and waiting for Russia, or somehow finding all six missing people and confirming which ones were on the blue team. Pakistan also didn't want to wait around so she joined as well. She had been hugely disappointed to see that none of the box holders were present at the meeting and were still out there somewhere.
Though Poland was originally adamant about coming with us, I somehow managed to convince him to stay and hold down the fort with South Korea and Venezuela. After all, if something did end up happening while we were gone, we would need a messenger of sorts.
"Here, keep Ker with you," I insisted as a pool of smoke rose from the cracks in the stone floor, morphing into one of my hounds. "If anything happens, just send a message with her. She'll find me."
Canada also finished discussing with Israel and the other had no objections to Canada going with us while he stayed with the waiting group.
"If you need to complete your objectives, follow me," Mexico hollered as Venezuela helped hoist him over the crowd a little. Since his objective basically needed him to lead the blue alliance, we appointed him and Peru as temporary leaders of our little expedition group.
Not long after, the five of us set out back into the dark and mysterious maze. As soon as I stepped back under one of the archways, the temperature turned frigid and it only continued to drop as we moved away from the middle.
"Guys, do you hear that?" A good 10 minutes had passed before Pakistan noticed a noise and we all stopped to listen. At first, I could only hear silence and nothing else, but the more I strained, the more clear the speckles of a nearby conversation became. "There are people over there. Let's go!"
Only after stumbling through countless dead ends and wrong turns did we find the source of the voices. I wasn't exaggerating when I said the temperature dropped, this part of the maze had gotten so cold that our breaths came out in little white puffs and fog muddled my glasses. The others seemed to be putting up tough fronts but were clearly shivering as well but once we stepped out of the tunnels and out into the open, the air became much more pleasant. In a small clearing ahead was Russia, stuck in the middle of a semi-heated argument with a new player that I had never seen before.
My first impression of her was simply, bold. At first glance, she seemed dainty but there was definitely enough muscle to punt a person into a wall, though the loose, oversized, bizarrely shaped jacket draped over her shoulders hid it well. Her short, jagged hair also seemed to match this oddness, framing her otherwise gentle features in a cruel, hard light.
It was quite a domineering look but perhaps it would have been more effective if she wasn't standing next to Russia. It paled in the face of the sheer height difference and the fact that Russia was the definition of intimidating.
"Wait, is that Chile?" Peru poked her head out from around the corner and whistled softly, "It's been a while since I've seen her this worked up over something."
The same goes for our big guy. His usual stone-cold face was now knit into a lopsided scowl, which I thought was only something Ame could bring out. I guess not but once they spotted us approaching, both of their faces melted back into expressions of sheer boredom, as if we hadn't just watched them scream at each other for the past five minutes.
"Hey, guys! Where have you been? We've been looking for you forever," Mexico smiled as we walked out from the corner. Chile folded her arms and relaxed but her stare was still ice-cold, like she wasn't very pleased to see them. I didn't have time to question it and turned my attention to Russia while the Southern Branch team had their own reunion.
"The dice?" he repeated after we explained what we needed from him and he pulled out the box. Once Pakistan laid her eyes on the dice, a chime echoed from her screen, and her objective was completed. Russia flinched at the sudden noise but said nothing about it.
"Finally. I'm done," Pakistan smiled softly to herself as we gave her a round of applause. "One step closer to getting that bonus."
"Are you guys not done yet?" Chile implored her Branchmates. "How many more objectives do you need?" Everyone shrugged in unison because until all of our members were found, we had no idea.
"You're a support player which means you are neutral, right?" I asked and she nodded, declaring that she didn't have a reason to pledge allegiance to anyone yet.
"I was traveling with Russia for the most part and at first, I was thinking of just joining whichever side he was on," she explained in a rather passive-aggressive tone, "But he decided to be all mysterious and closed off so that offer is gone."
Russia bit his tongue to keep himself from retorting with something nasty but Chile had a point. We all stared at him, waiting for him to say his objective.
"I... ugh, cut that out," he grimaced as he turned his face away. " Fine. I'm on the blue team and I just have to make sure the team wins. Happy?"
"Well, why didn't you just say so!" Mexico beamed brightly while Chile scoffed.
Since everyone here had blue objectives, Chile didn't really have a choice but to join the blue alliance. With that, all three supports were accounted for.
Despite that, there was still something that irked me– something that didn't feel right. I glanced at my unchanging screen, expecting that completion chime after every new meeting but it was still there, telling me that I wasn't done. At this point, including myself and the supports, we had amassed 11 members now, which was already more than half of the total 15.
Sure, it was never said that the teams were going to be split evenly but... this was getting awfully suspicious.
"It's actually not that surprising, Germany." I nearly jumped out of my shoes when Russia spoke up and held up his dice. I clasped my hand over my mouth and sighed, forgetting that I didn't have to think aloud anymore.
He tossed the dice into the air and gave the command, watching as the dice turned blue. Both sixes lit up, which meant that there were 12 blue objectives out there. There was only one member left to find. That was good news!
"12? Seriously?! How in the world is this a fair game?" Peru whistled amusingly, "But who am I to complain? It just makes things easier for us."
I felt the same way but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a little pitiful of whoever had a red objective. With one of the top three (Russia) on our side, the Blue Alliance was set to take the game so there wasn't much the Red Alliance could do at this point.
It seemed that Russia pitied them as well.
We continued to scour every inch of the underground arena for the last few, unaccounted players but no luck. Nearly another hour of fruitless searching flew by before we all decided it was time to give up and return to the other group. Seriously, there had been no trace of America or anyone else that even Russia had to comment.
"Has no one found that dumbass yet?" he asked, clearly perplexed when I shook my head. "You don't think he fell asleep somewhere and forgot to wake up, right?"
"No. We're talking about America, not you," I teased half-heartedly as we ducked out of the dark corridor and back into the blinding light that illuminated the center of the maze, though it had dimmed a bit with the setting sun. The other group ushered us in toward the little resting area that they had set up and to our surprise, there was a new person.
"You guys found Colombia," Mexico exclaimed happily and the colorful country gave an embarrassed sigh.
"Sorry it took so long, I'm rather terrible at mazes like this. Up is down and left is right, y'know?" She laughed to pass it off as a joke but we could all tell that she was being serious. She looked like she was completely done with this challenge and I honestly seconded that feeling.
Another noteworthy change was the piles of debris littering the once-clean ground, which a few members were cleaning up. Had the tremors finally reached the center?
"Yeah, they just came out of nowhere," Venezuela sighed as he hauled a sizable chunk out of the way. "Thankfully, Israel saw them coming in time for the rest of us to deal with it. No injuries." I nodded, relieved to hear that as I locked eyes with Poland, who was perched on the top of the wall with tremor-lookout duty. He smiled and gave a thumbs up, assuring that everything was fine. I reciprocated with a nervous smile but as time ticked on, I found myself growing more and more restless, my eyes darting toward my screen every other second, waiting for an update.
But what I waited for, never came.
(NOBODY POV)
"... seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven..." Germany turned around slowly to face the dead-silent crowd. "That's twelve. We should all be here.
He had asked for everyone's attention to do a head count, and though everyone was a little confused, they complied. There were twelve people present; 9 regular members and 3 supports. It matched what the blue dice had displayed a while ago but Germany's screen still refused to chime. His objective was still incomplete.
"There's something wrong with your objective?" Israel echoed with uncertainty as Mexico and Peru also stepped forward to peer at Germany's revealed screen. "Is it a system malfunction?"
"Perhaps –" Germany scratched his head as he did re-count after re-count but every round produced the same result– "but I don't want to assume that just yet. There may be something else I'm missing here."
Mexico nodded nervously before glancing at the countdown, noting that they only had around 30 minutes left to figure everything out. "I can't complete my objective until everyone else here does anyway so if you need some help, just say the word," he offered. Germany nodded and expressed his appreciation but he knew that there wasn't much anyone could do at the moment.
He paced around with fervor, running his hands through his hair like a man gone mad, but his brain continued returning to the one conclusion he wanted to deny. Murmurs from the crowd muddled together into masses of squealing white noise, which made thinking 10 times harder than usual, and his fatigue was certainly not helping. Germany groaned as he removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose to quell the incoming headache.
"There's that face again," Poland called as he swooped down from his perch, like a falcon gliding upon the wind. He had watched Germany slowly fall apart, and though he had an important job to do, he couldn't help but check up on his teammate. If the mindless pacing wasn't a big enough hint, he could practically see the white hairs springing up like summer dandelions. "You have something on your mind but you're afraid to say it. C'mon, up you go." He effortlessly hauled the German to his feet and dragged him away from the crowd to a spot in the back.
Mexico and Peru watched as the smaller country hauled the other into an empty tunnel, away from everyone else but decided not to question it. Instead, they plopped down in front of Chile, who was absentmindedly spinning the spinner that she had been given. Chile had been the Southern Branch member to receive the box.
"What? What do you guys want?" she implored with a completely uninterested face and Peru pointed at her relic. They had been brainstorming on what other ways they could solve the problem. After all, Germany wasn't the only one who needed to finish an objective. The relics seemed to be a good place to start.
"Maybe that can help us? What does it do?" Chile scowled and edged away from the poking fingers and curious eyes but explained that it could forcefully reveal a person's objective.
"It's a one-use thing though so I've been saving it," she shrugged as the other ogled at it. "Why? Do you have someone in mind?"
Germany's head swiveled from side to side like a spooked owl, and did a full 360 check for any eavesdroppers before letting out a stressed-out sigh, "I've been running this through my mind for a while but a previous suspicion has come back. I didn't want to say it out loud to everyone but... I don't think everyone here actually has a blue objective."
Poland's encouraging nods immediately halted to a stop when he realized what Germany meant. They hadn't known it at the time but as the game continued, they had grown lax with suspicion. Other than them and the ones who had completed their objectives, there were still a handful that hadn't revealed their objectives yet. If there were members of the Red Alliance present, then the count would be misleading. There were probably still blue members out there.
"Who are we missing right now?" Germany snapped his fingers and a plume of magenta smoke hovered in the air, slowly forming a list of names. He found that making visual markers helped him sort out his thoughts better when he was drained like this. Starting with themselves, he swatted the plumes away, one by one until three were left. "India and China from the Eastern Branch still haven't shown up, nor has America."
There were less than 30 minutes left, which was not enough for any reasonably-sized search so it had turned into a waiting game.
"What about flares?" Poland eventually suggested, and they tried, but every attempt was smothered by something unseen. Perhaps the barrier above them didn't allow anything to pass through, who knew?
The temperature around Russia settled back to normal as he lowered his hand to dust off the bits of frost that had begun to form. Thankfully, that little act of sabotage didn't require too much energy.
He sat down, allowing his ice-grey eyes to scan over the rather sizable group, milling about the middle of the labyrinth but the longer he stayed, the more dejected he became. Though he was holding out for now, he just couldn't imagine an ending where he could win. Not on his own at least.
For the first time in the past three hours, he allowed his despair finally overwhelm him and slumped against the wall. His head felt so heavy in his own arms, knowing that he was the problem Germany was worrying about, not that anyone knew yet.
Part of him wanted to continue on, to stand up and resume this silly little charade until the very last moment. Perhaps he would have thought of a viable plan by then.
On the other hand, he was just sick and tired of this ridiculously rigged game. If he lost now, he still had his 1550 points. He may not be in second place anymore but he probably wouldn't be eliminated. Knowing that everyone else would win and gain points made him feel a bit better about himself as well, twisting the situation like a balloon animal until it felt like a worthy act of sacrifice.
"Even Ame could benefit from that, wherever he is..."
Unbeknownst to him, these brooding thoughts flourished like plumes of malice in the eyes of one, an observing country who stood silently in the corner. Israel had been keeping an eye on the other from the moment he had arrived, realizing that something felt wrong but now he was sure. Russia was lying.
Germany and Poland had given up at this point and they hung their heads in frustration.
"Should we go consult the dice again? Russia could tell us how many red objectives we should look out for," Poland proposed but just as they were about to make their way over, they noticed the group shuffle closer to gather in front of a single figure, sitting against the wall.
Israel stood at the front and activated his Awakening, dousing his silhouette with a pure white veil that only partially exposed the left side of his face. Germany remembered barely catching it the last time but just as he had thought, Israel did use his abilities back then. Exactly what those abilities were, he had no clue but it seemed like they were about to find out.
He turned to face the Russian and smiled though his eyes remained closed, knowing that everyone was watching now.
"Now that things have come to an impasse, and as a supporter of the Alliance, I guess I should help give them a hint. No hard feelings." Israel shrugged, placing his fingers against his temple, though they casted no shadow over the veil. "You see, my Awakening allows me to define truth, see what is untrue and the animosity it brings. I witness these revelations."
He spread his arms and a faint trace of a six-pointed star rose into the air, spanning the entire glass skylight. Just like how dust becomes visible, shimmering golden haze in direct sunlight, these "revelations" also became visible, twisting into existence briefly.
They formed like little clouds. Some were small and happy while others were turbulent and dark. Even though they quickly disappeared, everyone was able to catch a glimpse of the massive storm-like "revelation" that twisted around Russia. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant.
Israel was a valuable supportive power, thanks to this, nearly prophetic ability that could guarantee the most ideal of situations. Every intention, every truth, and every lie would not go unnoticed in his eyes. You might even say he could guide the course of fate or read another's mind.
As soon as Russia's ice-grey eyes met the other's soul-piercing blue ones, a startling chill raced up his spine, telling him that the jig was up. It was as if he was carved open by that omniscient gaze, on the spot, and all his lies spilled out onto the floor for the rest to see. He watched as people slowly realized what Israel was implying and horrified faces turned against him until a huge rift had appeared between them.
'I don't like this feeling,' he decided as his heartbeat pounded in his ears, pushing hot blood through his head and making the world spin. Russia stared, the soft golden lighting suddenly turning into harsh blurs and his ears became ignorant of the accusations being thrown at him. All he could focus on, at the moment, was his own little revelation.
For the past few years, he thought he had grown used to the notion of being the only one on his own side but Russia hadn't realized how quickly he had become attached to the "team" he had become part of. Now stripped of that, he was... honestly terrified.
'Shut up, no I'm not,' Russia scolded himself as he closed his eyes and calmed himself down, returning to the present moment. He reminded himself that he was no stranger to fighting alone and if this was how the game ends, so be it. He also decided to take a page out of America's book and crammed his overbearing emotions away. The crowd went silent as he exhaled, freezing the atmosphere with a single, apathetic glance as he rose to his full height. His mask was just as well-crafted and time-tested as America's, but it certainly inspired far more fear than the other.
"Well? Is there something you'd like to say, Russia?" Germany repeated though he looked far more dejected than angry for being tricked. "Tell me this is all just a misunderstanding."
Russia held his gaze with a sort of unfeeling cruelty as he shook his head slowly, "I'm sorry, but it's not."
They had gotten their answer. Though it wasn't the one that they had hoped for, everyone was now certain of what would come next. The wall of the Blue Alliance stared back at him, waiting for him to make his next move.
Author's Notes:
Holy UN on a stick I updated. It's an extra long chapter too :'D
So yeah, the 2nd event has reached its boiling point. Not too much fluff going on this chapter, sorry guys this is serious bizz U_U (also can't really have Rusame with Rus but no Ame amirite? It's funny how ppl only start worrying about him when he's not there.)
Find out how it all goes down next chapter ig. Perhaps Russia will whoop ass, or perhaps he won't. Or maybe something else happens, like a crow may die and never update again, who knows.
Before I forget, here are some rough concepts for 2 new characters: Israel and Chile. I posted this on Threads a while ago.
My little spiel about them:
Israel's concept is mostly taken from belief and prophecy, namely prophets and false prophets. I read a little about that a while ago and thought it was really cool so I wanted to incorporate that into his overall design. I also wanted the sense of something divine, protected and also mysterious and detached but gentle and patient at the same time.
Modern, abstract, bold, wild, contrasting. Those are the keywords I focused on for Chile's design. I dunno how I came to the conclusion of "raging street fashion and art" but... hopefully it works? Her overall appearance is also supposed to contrast a more muted and quiet personality that can still be harsh around the edges.
Other Notes: Some of you may have noticed that I changed a couple details from last chapter because clearly, I don't know simple multiplication. It's 3 teams of 5, not 4 teams of 5 holy f***
Sorry if that was a bit confusing :'D
Anyway, thanks for being here and I'll see you next time ;>
whenever that is