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"Beetle!" Xiayu cried out as he was sent off into the trees of the jungle, but still turned to Wally, hearing him out. He was still convinced he had to fight and kill, but perhaps she could reason yet still. "Listen, I-"

In a moment, everything changed. There was a blur where he once stood, then her legs gave out, and she was at a disadvantage. Xiayu gasped, and in that moment, she realized she was about to die. She would be forgotten by everyone, with only Jianyu to mourn her...if Jianyu even survived at all. Honestly, Xiayu was terrified for her sister. Jianyu clung to her, depended on her, and if she were to die now, it would put Jianyu's own chances for survival at next to nothing. Even now, she could hear her within the dome.

"NO!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Jianyu was practically in a frenzy now, slamming the shield with her staff in the hopes of breaking it. But Xiayu couldn't waste time looking at her. This precious second Wally hesitated was her moment to act. In a desperate attempt to save her own life and that of her sister's, Xiayu shot her own arm up, hand bent back at a ninety-degree angle, and slammed the bottom of her palm up on the bottom of Wally's nose with as much strength as she could muster.

@Sark @Crow @Takumi @Atomic Knight @York
 
With Beetle out of range and within the Jungles, he helped himself up, his armaments folding back into the suit and red lights becoming yellow once more.

"I'll worry about you killing Wally when we get to it. We need to return now."

"Bzzz zzt!"

"He's going to kill the lady! I can't let that happen. Well, I'm doing this."

Beetle's jetpacks formed once more as he flew through the trees of the lush jungles at the greatest speeds he could muster.

"Hmmmm... if I go above these trees, I'll be a bit too easy to detect. Last thing I need when dealing with a speedster is anything slowing me down."

@Sark @Jungles




"L- let's e- e- exchange stories once we set the f- fire up. N- now th- th- then..."

Upon the request of a knife, Hnikar had an idea.

"I- I can use my sp- sp- spear... a- any blade is fine, r- right?"

Aforementioned giant spear, with its triangular end and a single wing-like appendage attached to it, sparked with lightning as he readies it.

@Crow @Takumi @Atomic Knight @Sark @RedTeam @Jeremi
 
"I think you're skipping a few steps here Wally. We can still work this o- woah-!"

YUxReD1.png

As he was pushed back, Blue Beetle's armour formed blasters on its back in retaliation to flash's strikes, launching blasts at the Speedster at full force.

"Scarab, I was-"

"Bzzt!"

"Yeah, fine, let's focus on keeping that head over my shoulders for now. I'll need to talk some sense into him."

Beetle continued to exchange blows with the Speedster, generating large hammers on his hands.

"Wally, everyone here has something to fight for, so if you're thinking of going at this, it won't be easy, for you or for anyone here."

Just then, Xiayu would restrain Kid Flash, hopefully successful thanks to Beetle distracting him with a fight.

"Careful, those won't contain a speedster for too long!"

@Yun Lee @Crow @Takumi @YellowTeam + @Sark




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"Well said, big sis," Hnikar responds to Alice, "we need to leave this centre area first, but... which way do we go?"

@Sark @Atomic Knight @Crow @Takumi @RedTeam + @Jeremi


"They'reKidsThatsWhatMakesThemMatterMoreYouDontUnderstandIHaveToKeepThemSafeIpromisedToKeepThemSafe!!" With the chain wrapped around his neck like a halter, frantically threw his head back on instinct, head-butting Xiayu with the back of his head.

CRA-CRA-CRACK

In a crackle of thunder he struck her three more times the same way striking her strongly in the nose each time.
"YouDontUnderstandThisIsImportantIhaveToWinThisWeHaveToWinThisTheresNoOtherWayIfHeHasThemItsAllOverIHaveToWinThisImSorry"

"ItsNotGonaBeEasyAndItsNotGonnaBeGoodOrRightButIveGotToDoItIHaveToFightForThemIDontWantToDoThisJaimeBut..."

As the Reach Hammers struck Wally's chest he groaned in pain, the force of the blow sending his body into overdrive. His instincts pushed him to faze out of the way of the following blow, slipping behind the Beetle and landing a might kick to his lower back, throwing him into Xiayu.

"INeverWantedThisImNotABadGuyItsForTheKidsPleaseUnderstandIveSpentMyWholeLifeFightingForWhatIBelieveAndRightNowINeedToFightWeAllNeedToFightTheresTooMuchOnTheLine!"


"But where do we go from here?" Terry muttered, his hand locked to his utility belt. He couldn't use any of his toys just yet; there was too much potential collateral, and he wasn't about to throw away his shot at escaping over a fruitless attack... besides, there seemed to be enough people in the fray as it was. Still, he stood vigilant, ready to intervene should the situation arise. "A team is great, but we're gonna need a lot of food, and water... and by the looks of things, medicine. We have some time before nightfall, but... we're eventually going to need shelter and heat. We have no idea how cold this Island is going to get overnight... or how cold Arcade is going to make it get..."

"We can exchange email's later, kid" Scott growled, blocking another of Eli's sword strikes with a low knee, sending the boy rolling backwards onto his weaker foot. Pushing his advantage, he lunged forward, closing the gap between the two fighters, and striking him in the chest a swift down-punch. "Right now we need to get somewhere safe-- somewhere far away from these nutjobs!"


"No!" Eli screamed, rolling back to his feet and preparing to brace himself for Scott's next blow. "Don't listen to her! She's trying to get us to lower our guard-- so she can kill us too!" Rolling past Summers' flying shin, Eli threw to quick jabs into the side of Cyclops' knees, cutting him down to the blonde boy's height. "She's playing the game too, just like us! Only she's playing the long game. Stop her before she can---"


"Get your hands off me!" Eli screamed, spitting in Alice's face. The fireball didn't scare him. She wouldn't kill her own teammate, would she? Eli knew that Alice had grown to hate him, and he had preemptively hated her, but resorting to murder? No. He stood by what he said- if they were a team, he'd save her to the end. In a world gone mad, he would have to rely on his team's safe harbour, at least occasionally. "We're wasting time! They're getting away!" His smaller arms writhed frantically within her grasp as two smaller globs of saliva came flying in her direction. "We can plan later- they need to die. They all do. We can't let them get away!"

"Listen to your mom, Kid" Scott muttered, climbing back to his feet and brushing the dirt from his suit. "Going after them is a death sentence. Sooner or later, they'll come to us, and when they do, we'll be ready. We'll have supplies. Food. Defences. We let them fight on our turf on our conditions, not theirs"

"No! The only
conditions we'll be fighting under are Arcade's! He's the one making the rules! He's the one who--"

"What the--" Terry tolled back against the wall of the bubble, his back slipping against its pink walls. Who'd have thought the the kid had these sorta powers in him? "This is... new... Guess we've got more than one powerhouse on our side. An Argonian and a... Bubble boy. Looks like me might be staying alive after all... So what that the plan, little guy? We gonna go it alone, or sit here like ducks?"

The moment chaotic magic filled the area, the equilibrium of the battle shifted again. Still under the influence of Arcade's reversal spell, Weapon Hex's Hexagon curse began to glow with a distorted green hue and crackled his a groaning hum. As the light erupted from her fingers, its blast radius dramatically, a tunnel of light consuming the clearing.

[BOOM [BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]

Caught in the centre of the blast, Eli, Hnikar, Hawkeye, Cyclops, Loa and Alice Swanson vanished from the clearing,.

Even with the Speed of Mercury on his side, Shazam couldn't save Scott in time, with the weight of the rest of his team slowing him down. By the time Billy reached Cyclops, he and those around him had already been snatched up and throw across the Island.

"Hex..." Terry muttered to himself "What the hell did you just do..."


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@Red Team + Loa and Cyclops

In a flicker of light, Eli, Alice, Scott, Hnikar, Kate and Loa found themselves in the middle of an endless white plain. The air carried with it such a chill any bare flesh seemed to burn and blister, forcing Eli to pull what was left of his jacket around himself as tightly as he could. Soon, he forgot all about killing Scott; back home, he had never felt air so cold.

"Now look what you've done, Alice. You've ruined e--e-everything!" Eli stammered, struggling to compose himself and desperately shaking off the grogginess of the shock he had experience upon hitting the snow. His arms, legs and face had turned bright red, dusted only by a coating of silver frozen sweat.

"S-Save your breath" Scott snapped back, his blue and gold environment suit dusted with snow. It had protected him from the brunt of the cold's cutting waves, but as the wind began to close, even he felt himself shiver. "No point in pointing fingers if we--c--can't find shelter. We n--eed to get out of this region. We'll all d--die unless we can get warm s-s-soon"

Eli opened his mouth to a make some meaningless comment. Probably something about wanting Scott and Alice to die. But nothing came out. He place his quivering tongue back in his head and hunched over.

"Alright. Right now we need to s---urvey the area. We n-need to get moving. S-stand around too long and we'll be snow-mutants..."

In the distance, the survivors could make out the base of a large mountain and several rows of carefully compacted trees, marking the mouth of the [FROZEN FOREST]. If they turned around, they could vaguely make out the peaks of the [GREAT RANGES] peaking out above the clouds. They were much too far away for them to have any hope of reaching them over night- especially not without heat and warm clothing- but it was enough to let them know whether they were moving closer to or further away from [ARCADE'S CLEARING].

"The Forest--- might g-give us some cover from all this w--ind. We might have a shot at getting some fire wood an---starting a real fire"

"But we--" Eli coughed frozen spit from his lips "We wont be the only ones h---heading in there. There'll be aa-nimals. We could get some f-furs if we're luck-y-- or get e-aten by a bb-ear or so-mething..."

@Jeremi @Crow @Takumi @Atomic Knight

-------------------------------
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Shazam's clifftop perch sat directly between the [JUNGLE], the [NORTHERN CLEARING] and [ARCADE'S CLEARING]. In the distance, he could see the [GREAT RANGES] and the endless wasteland of the [FROZEN PLAINS], although the fog of the settling snow preventing him from making out where the missing Champions were. He, like the Champions in [ARCADE'S CLEARING] did not know where the Missing Persons were.

If White Team chose to follow the cliff face north, they would find a waterfall that would lead them into the heart of the [NORTHERN CLEARING], a large valley region.
images

@Purple Team

If they chosen to head south towards the [DRYLANDS], they would find region of perilous deserts and cliffs just as dangerous as the Tundra. Yet at its heart, the team would just be able to make out what looked like an system of caves running throughout the region, possibly protecting them from the sun.

Even from their skytop retreat, they couldn't make out any significant secrets lurking within the [JUNGLE], its forested floors protected by a veil of green leaves.

@Lucky @dark @Alex Azure


Alice raised her fist, as if about to bring it down on Eli's head in response to spitting in her face and then blamimg her for what he started, but stopped with a frustrated grumble as she wiped what spit got on her face away.

"I can u-use my m-magic to s-s-tart a fire...w-well, I c-can try." She offered, also holding up her knife, before wrapping her free arm around herself. "I-I have th-th-this too." She muttered.

@Sark @Crow @Atomic Knight @Jeremi @Red Team + Loa

---

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As Xiayu defended herself, Nezumi would jump onto Wally's back, legs hooked around the man's torso and upper body leaning back slightly so he wouldn't possibly get his nose broken.

Shnk

Without hesitation, he plunged his knife into the place that connected the man's shoulder to his neck, then twisted it to the best of his abilities. Knowing that Blue Beetle was trying to refrain from killing Wally, Nezumi was willing to get yelled at for what he was doing later. Right now he was dealing with a threat.

tumblr_inline_pdbrf5m50H1sfrtcl_100.png


"Sorry, can't let you do that." He muttered, actually genuine about his apology for the most part. If that didn't work, then at least he had distracted the man from Xiayu.

"I'm sure your kids wouldn't want you killing people either." He added.

@Yun Lee @Crow @Sark @Yellow Team
 
"Because if I really wanted you dead-"

"You'd already be dead,"
She replied in a matter of fact tone. "I was bread to be a vessel and a tool to an unspeakable horror, but now I am beyond that. I have a life worth living for, a sister to protect a team that trusts me. I will not throw any of that away just because a fool in a suit tells me what I should do." Laura started to make her way towards the jungle. "If you wont believe me that's okay, because I know who I am."
"Oh, geez" Terry muttered to himself from the safety of his bubble shield. Oh, and how he thanked God for the bubble shield! A rhythmic tugging at his guy told him that it wasn't a good idea interrogating the mutant at all, let alone whilst outside the Bubble; she'd tried to banish Eli to God knows where for trying to play Arcade's game not half an hour ago; he could only imagine what he'd be on the receiving end of if he continued to pry. "Wait..." Terry called out just as Laura crossed over and into the mouth of the forest. "Didn't Arcade say that he had... insurance, on us all? He mentioned having some girl named Milagro to keep Beetle in line, and Wally seemed to think that his kids are in danger. I mean... How can we know its a bluff? He can we know that he hasn't got your sister or my dad or.... anyone locked away the same way he's got us trapped? I can't say that I trust you completely... but you seem to be the calmest person here; what's the bigger picture here? How do we fix this?"
"U-umm..." Loa looked a bit confused at Cyclops. "Don't you recognize me? You were the headmaster of the school and then you got in a fight with Wolverine and then you went crazy and then you...died." It was probably the cold talking because it seemed like Loa couldn't seem to shut up.​

Change subject to trees quickly. "Well I c-could probably get them down with my powers...b-but I don't know if I can help otherwise..."


@Crow @Takumi @Atomic Knight @Sark
"H-h-headmaster?" Scott scoffed "I can't see myself doing that anytime s--s-soon. I mean, I've got too much h-h-hair to take the p-p-professor's place... besides I can't imagine..." His words seemed to trail of slowly, getting lost in the cry of the wind. His pace began to slow, his eyes fixed on the trees in front of him, his expression blank. An even greater chill crawled down his back. "You're from my f-f-future right? T-t-that's ob-vious. I m-m-mean... no..." He muttered in disbelief "Its got to be some alternate t-t-time line or s-s-something. No u-u-use in d-d-dwelling on the f-f-future..." He released a brief laugh from his bluing lips, pushing such grim thoughts from his mind. If the real headmaster of the Xavier school had taught him anything, it was how to close off the parts of his brain he couldn't afford to listen to. To surrender one's self to a complete and all encompassing focus. "G-g-guess that f-f-future can't be r-r-real, t-then. O-or at l-l-least its n-not my f-f-future... b-because b-by the looks of t-things, we're g-gonna freeze to d-death... unless we start to f-focus again...unless w-w-e keep moving..."

View attachment 3661

The forest itself seemed to stretch on for half a dozen miles or so, with rows and rows of tall, lush pine trees barring the Red Team from seeing its end. The wall of wood did act as a wind barrier, however, helping to warm the Champions up for a heart beat, even if it was only be a degree or two.
"We're not out of the woods just yet" Scott muttered through a smile, kicking aside the shin deep snow. "We still wont make it to midday unless we can start a fire, or find some furs. We're going to see to find a place to rest... preferably something with some shelter. We could try our hands at building a shelter from these trees or push on a little further. We could find a cave, or at least some dryer land. We'll cast a vote as soon as we have a fire going... then we can split up and start looking for some food or furs... in the mean time, we'll need to bring down some more dry wood from these trees. Loa, do your worst"
@Red Team​
"L- let's e- e- exchange stories once we set the f- fire up. N- now th- th- then..."

Upon the request of a knife, Hnikar had an idea.

"I- I can use my sp- sp- spear... a- any blade is fine, r- right?"

Aforementioned giant spear, with its triangular end and a single wing-like appendage attached to it, sparked with lightning as he readies it.

@Crow @Takumi @Atomic Knight @Sark @RedTeam @Jeremi
"Perfect" Scott muttered, resting his back against a nearby tree to finally catch his breath. The cold had drained the entire party, and perhaps taken the greatest toll on Summers- having lead the caravan, he had been exposed to the brunt of the wind and now, both of which had began to resolve his resolve. He grew tired, but new he had to stay awake. He couldn't let the cold take him just yet. "As long as the thing doesn't mow down the whole forest, it'll do perfectly. Try to cut as much bark from the trees and you can. If you cut it off right, it should chip off in sheets. The smooth side should be perfect for burning, and any large sheets can be used to fight off this damn wind..."
Alice raised her fist, as if about to bring it down on Eli's head in response to spitting in her face and then blamimg her for what he started, but stopped with a frustrated grumble as she wiped what spit got on her face away.

"I can u-use my m-magic to s-s-tart a fire...w-well, I c-can try." She offered, also holding up her knife, before wrapping her free arm around herself. "I-I have th-th-this too." She muttered.
Scott closed his eyes and smiled, letting relief was over him. Looks like they might just make it out of the woods after all, literally and figuratively.

"Magic is exactly what we need right now, Alice" Scott cried, taking her knife with trembling hands. After tracing a half-meter-long messy oval into the facade of the tree with the blade, Scott used his fingers to pry free the sheet of bark from the pine tree he had been resting on, letting its edges crumble within his finger tips. Cyclops began to dig into the snow, grinding his teeth to fight of the sting of the cold that had pierced his gloves. Once he laid eyes on the sickly grass that lurked a boot deep into the snow, he threw the wood and whatever shaving she could on top of it, dry side up. "We'll give you whatever fuel we can. Give it a shot. If the wind's too strong, we'll have to find a way to block it out; do what you can, and we'll help in whatever way we can"

Pulling the knife back out of the tree, Scott turned his eyes towards another towering pine, taking his blade to his frozen skin in turn.

"Beetle!" Xiayu cried out as he was sent off into the trees of the jungle, but still turned to Wally, hearing him out. He was still convinced he had to fight and kill, but perhaps she could reason yet still. "Listen, I-"

In a moment, everything changed. There was a blur where he once stood, then her legs gave out, and she was at a disadvantage. Xiayu gasped, and in that moment, she realized she was about to die. She would be forgotten by everyone, with only Jianyu to mourn her...if Jianyu even survived at all. Honestly, Xiayu was terrified for her sister. Jianyu clung to her, depended on her, and if she were to die now, it would put Jianyu's own chances for survival at next to nothing. Even now, she could hear her within the dome.

"NO!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Jianyu was practically in a frenzy now, slamming the shield with her staff in the hopes of breaking it. But Xiayu couldn't waste time looking at her. This precious second Wally hesitated was her moment to act. In a desperate attempt to save her own life and that of her sister's, Xiayu shot her own arm up, hand bent back at a ninety-degree angle, and slammed the bottom of her palm up on the bottom of Wally's nose with as much strength as she could muster.

@Sark @Crow @Takumi @Atomic Knight @York
Crack!

The sudden blow to his nose sent knocked his blow of course, but the stored momentum of his punch dragged his blur of a fist back down towards Xiayu. Striking down with the force of a 50 yard run up, the Flash's fist struck the each beside the Doll, the edge of his knuckles crackling along the side of her right forearm. With a sudden crunch, he bone broke. The chilling sound of snapping bone and the stunning power of Xiayu's sucker punch left Wally recoiling, stumbling backwards inch by inch. A wave of crippling guilt washed over him. He could barely bring himself to harm let alone kill. He was less of a mess than a murder, his hesitation costing him. He had hoped that he could have killed her long before the gravity of his actions came tumbling down upon him. He stared down at her with childish fear in his eyes.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry" He covered his mouth with a bruised knuckle, still sting from the force of his blow. "I didn't... I had to--"

As Xiayu defended herself, Nezumi would jump onto Wally's back, legs hooked around the man's torso and upper body leaning back slightly so he wouldn't possibly get his nose broken.

Shnk

Without hesitation, he plunged his knife into the place that connected the man's shoulder to his neck, then twisted it to the best of his abilities. Knowing that Blue Beetle was trying to refrain from killing Wally, Nezumi was willing to get yelled at for what he was doing later. Right now he was dealing with a threat.

tumblr_inline_pdbrf5m50H1sfrtcl_100.png


"Sorry, can't let you do that." He muttered, actually genuine about his apology for the most part. If that didn't work, then at least he had distracted the man from Xiayu.

"I'm sure your kids wouldn't want you killing people either." He added.

@Yun Lee @Crow @Sark @Yellow Team
Ghuhj

Wally released a cry of muffled ago, his body reeling and blood pouring from his lips and back alike. With every breath, more blood seemed to escape him, forcing him to frantically guzzle short, wheezing bursts of air in order to out run his blood loss. Run. He had to run.

In a flicker of yellow and red, Wally threw himself across the clearing and into the mouth of the jungle, charging forward at a startling pace. With every frantic step he took, the numbness seemed to spread across his body, filling him with a strange sinking sensation. The freedom of the sprint, a sensation that had once filled him with such joy, now left him feeling cold and empty; he wasn't running to anything, he was running away, his assailant locked around his back. Soaring past a short cliff-face in the depths of the Jungle, the Flash rolled his body to the wall, grinding Nezumi across his stone facade until his grip finally gave away. As the stumbling, bleeding Titan fades into the green, a knife still in his back, Nezumi was left with a single word.

"Sorry"

View attachment 3662
Those lost in the Jungle would find a maze stretching out before them, with lush green plants of all shapes and sizes consuming every scrap of dirt. The little light that could break through the emerald canopy above them came through tainted by its hue, leaving the scene with an ethereal, almost dreamlike air. Those willing to listen could hear the calls of mysterious tropical songbirds overhead, ever illusive and invisible to the untrained eyes. All around the Champions, strange berries seemed to bloom, forcing their way to the tops of the shrubbery, and subtle dashed of color to the otherwise washed, green-brown scene.

To those not used to tracking, the only way one could navigate such a scene would be to follow the trail of blood left by the Flash either deeper into or out of the Jungle.

"If we're looking to establish a camp, we'll need to find a clearing. Something with as little plant life around it as possible. This area doesn't match any jungle I've ever studied... who knows what could hiding in the grass..."

Following his scuffle with Wally, Nezumi would find himself far deeper into the woods than his contemporaries. If he stuck to the blood path, he had the option to head back to the mouth of the Jungle and reunite with Beetle and the rest of his team, or press on alone to finish off the wounded Wally West.

@Crow @Takumi @Purple Team @Yellow Team @JungleCrew
 
"Guh!" Xiayu let out a cry as her arm snapped, the pain immense. But she was able to stop him from killing her, and able to keep him from dying, as well. Best of all, he seemed to regain his senses and morality. She winced as Nezumi stabbed him, and as she was sent back down to the ground when Wally escaped, but it was a relief to have everyone who was a possible threat gone for the time being. "...thank you," she said to her teammate, propping herself up with her left arm. "Beetle is...I don't know where he is, but...we need numbers." The pain was making it hard to give a more eloquent response. "The two of us alone, and my arm like this..." Xiayu nodded towards the bubble. "We need help."

@Takumi @Sark
 
Hyakkimaru didn't have a full idea on what transpired to this point, but it was obvious that this "game" had begun. The boy didn't have much to say, but since he had imprinted some familiarity with his team, he was loosely following Laura from her soul signatures alone.

@Jeremi @Sark


Well... that was some development. So much for a team. One gets warped to who knows where and the other just ups and vanishes on them. Honestly, he always saw himself as a solo runner, never needing a team to do what he had to do. So...

KJ0LHg1.png


❝ I'm going to go ahead. Tag along if you still want to survive, I don't care. As long as you don't get in my way, there shouldn't be any problems. ❞ He bluntly told Isabeau. If she tagged along, that meant he could somewhat make due with her help, but if she didn't follow, well... it wouldn't be so different. The masked boy started to walk north, which would land him in the northern portion of the Drylands.

@Minerva @Sark
 
"Oh, geez" Terry muttered to himself from the safety of his bubble shield. Oh, and how he thanked God for the bubble shield! A rhythmic tugging at his guy told him that it wasn't a good idea interrogating the mutant at all, let alone whilst outside the Bubble; she'd tried to banish Eli to God knows where for trying to play Arcade's game not half an hour ago; he could only imagine what he'd be on the receiving end of if he continued to pry. "Wait..." Terry called out just as Laura crossed over and into the mouth of the forest. "Didn't Arcade say that he had... insurance, on us all? He mentioned having some girl named Milagro to keep Beetle in line, and Wally seemed to think that his kids are in danger. I mean... How can we know its a bluff? He can we know that he hasn't got your sister or my dad or.... anyone locked away the same way he's got us trapped? I can't say that I trust you completely... but you seem to be the calmest person here; what's the bigger picture here? How do we fix this?"

"H-h-headmaster?" Scott scoffed "I can't see myself doing that anytime s--s-soon. I mean, I've got too much h-h-hair to take the p-p-professor's place... besides I can't imagine..." His words seemed to trail of slowly, getting lost in the cry of the wind. His pace began to slow, his eyes fixed on the trees in front of him, his expression blank. An even greater chill crawled down his back. "You're from my f-f-future right? T-t-that's ob-vious. I m-m-mean... no..." He muttered in disbelief "Its got to be some alternate t-t-time line or s-s-something. No u-u-use in d-d-dwelling on the f-f-future..." He released a brief laugh from his bluing lips, pushing such grim thoughts from his mind. If the real headmaster of the Xavier school had taught him anything, it was how to close off the parts of his brain he couldn't afford to listen to. To surrender one's self to a complete and all encompassing focus. "G-g-guess that f-f-future can't be r-r-real, t-then. O-or at l-l-least its n-not my f-f-future... b-because b-by the looks of t-things, we're g-gonna freeze to d-death... unless we start to f-focus again...unless w-w-e keep moving..."

View attachment 3661

The forest itself seemed to stretch on for half a dozen miles or so, with rows and rows of tall, lush pine trees barring the Red Team from seeing its end. The wall of wood did act as a wind barrier, however, helping to warm the Champions up for a heart beat, even if it was only be a degree or two.
"We're not out of the woods just yet" Scott muttered through a smile, kicking aside the shin deep snow. "We still wont make it to midday unless we can start a fire, or find some furs. We're going to see to find a place to rest... preferably something with some shelter. We could try our hands at building a shelter from these trees or push on a little further. We could find a cave, or at least some dryer land. We'll cast a vote as soon as we have a fire going... then we can split up and start looking for some food or furs... in the mean time, we'll need to bring down some more dry wood from these trees. Loa, do your worst"
@Red Team​

"Perfect" Scott muttered, resting his back against a nearby tree to finally catch his breath. The cold had drained the entire party, and perhaps taken the greatest toll on Summers- having lead the caravan, he had been exposed to the brunt of the wind and now, both of which had began to resolve his resolve. He grew tired, but new he had to stay awake. He couldn't let the cold take him just yet. "As long as the thing doesn't mow down the whole forest, it'll do perfectly. Try to cut as much bark from the trees and you can. If you cut it off right, it should chip off in sheets. The smooth side should be perfect for burning, and any large sheets can be used to fight off this damn wind..."

Scott closed his eyes and smiled, letting relief was over him. Looks like they might just make it out of the woods after all, literally and figuratively.

"Magic is exactly what we need right now, Alice" Scott cried, taking her knife with trembling hands. After tracing a half-meter-long messy oval into the facade of the tree with the blade, Scott used his fingers to pry free the sheet of bark from the pine tree he had been resting on, letting its edges crumble within his finger tips. Cyclops began to dig into the snow, grinding his teeth to fight of the sting of the cold that had pierced his gloves. Once he laid eyes on the sickly grass that lurked a boot deep into the snow, he threw the wood and whatever shaving she could on top of it, dry side up. "We'll give you whatever fuel we can. Give it a shot. If the wind's too strong, we'll have to find a way to block it out; do what you can, and we'll help in whatever way we can"

Pulling the knife back out of the tree, Scott turned his eyes towards another towering pine, taking his blade to his frozen skin in turn.


Crack!

The sudden blow to his nose sent knocked his blow of course, but the stored momentum of his punch dragged his blur of a fist back down towards Xiayu. Striking down with the force of a 50 yard run up, the Flash's fist struck the each beside the Doll, the edge of his knuckles crackling along the side of her right forearm. With a sudden crunch, he bone broke. The chilling sound of snapping bone and the stunning power of Xiayu's sucker punch left Wally recoiling, stumbling backwards inch by inch. A wave of crippling guilt washed over him. He could barely bring himself to harm let alone kill. He was less of a mess than a murder, his hesitation costing him. He had hoped that he could have killed her long before the gravity of his actions came tumbling down upon him. He stared down at her with childish fear in his eyes.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry" He covered his mouth with a bruised knuckle, still sting from the force of his blow. "I didn't... I had to--"


Ghuhj

Wally released a cry of muffled ago, his body reeling and blood pouring from his lips and back alike. With every breath, more blood seemed to escape him, forcing him to frantically guzzle short, wheezing bursts of air in order to out run his blood loss. Run. He had to run.

In a flicker of yellow and red, Wally threw himself across the clearing and into the mouth of the jungle, charging forward at a startling pace. With every frantic step he took, the numbness seemed to spread across his body, filling him with a strange sinking sensation. The freedom of the sprint, a sensation that had once filled him with such joy, now left him feeling cold and empty; he wasn't running to anything, he was running away, his assailant locked around his back. Soaring past a short cliff-face in the depths of the Jungle, the Flash rolled his body to the wall, grinding Nezumi across his stone facade until his grip finally gave away. As the stumbling, bleeding Titan fades into the green, a knife still in his back, Nezumi was left with a single word.

"Sorry"

View attachment 3662

Those lost in the Jungle would find a maze stretching out before them, with lush green plants of all shapes and sizes consuming every scrap of dirt. The little light that could break through the emerald canopy above them came through tainted by its hue, leaving the scene with an ethereal, almost dreamlike air. Those willing to listen could hear the calls of mysterious tropical songbirds overhead, ever illusive and invisible to the untrained eyes. All around the Champions, strange berries seemed to bloom, forcing their way to the tops of the shrubbery, and subtle dashed of color to the otherwise washed, green-brown scene.

To those not used to tracking, the only way one could navigate such a scene would be to follow the trail of blood left by the Flash either deeper into or out of the Jungle.

"If we're looking to establish a camp, we'll need to find a clearing. Something with as little plant life around it as possible. This area doesn't match any jungle I've ever studied... who knows what could hiding in the grass..."

Following his scuffle with Wally, Nezumi would find himself far deeper into the woods than his contemporaries. If he stuck to the blood path, he had the option to head back to the mouth of the Jungle and reunite with Beetle and the rest of his team, or press on alone to finish off the wounded Wally West.

@Crow @Takumi @Purple Team @Yellow Team @JungleCrew

Alice nodded, and held her hand out towards the firewood to focus, her hair moving from both the wind and the release of what magical energy she had, her brows furrowed as she concentrated hard on an incantation. It was like lighting a candle...something she wasn't good at at all when done with magic, but if she tried hard she might keep them all from dying. She summoned the ball of fire earlier, granted out of pure anger at Eli and their situation, but this was definitely different than a mere few minutes ago.

And-oh hey she did it! The flames that came from her was the size of a baseball at best, though seemed to grow and shrink with her wavering concentration, before stabilizing once she focused again. She was rather proud of herself in doing that without Will-o around. That is, if it'd work in her favor with the current weather, but she wasn't thinking too much on that, instead focused on keeping the flames going for now. Once the wood was lit she wouldn't even have to focus on keeping it warm with magic and let nature do the rest.

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"For a second I thought I was gonna screw that up." She spoke, definitely enjoying the fact that she could use what little magic she might have to help others even when she didnt think she needed it, before noticing the tree Scott was eyeing. "What are you thinking?" She asked then, gaze going to the tree in question for a moment, pleased grin turning into an inquisitive look.

@Sark @Crow @Atomic Knight @Jeremi @Red Team + Loa

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"Huh? What the fu-hgk?!" Suddenly being jerked back as he had caused Nezumi to cling onto Wally on instinct, stomach lurching uncomfortably before ultimately ending up on the ground dizzy, nauseous, and bruised and scrapped all over most likely. Not fun, not fun at all.

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"Sorry...my ass....you fucker..." He groaned to himself, rolling until he got to his hands and knees. Stopping himself from losing what little he ate before coming here to begin with, he took a moment to think. He lost his knife, which left him without a weapon currently. Even if Wally was injured, with how he got Nezumi off of his back there was a chance he got the blade lodged deeper into himself. Then again, Nezumi could still fight without a weapon, and could always find new ones later if given the chance.

"Injured animals either die of their wounds or get killed by some other animal. Either way he's a pain in my ass, damnit." He huffed softly to himself as he pushed himself to his feet. Retunring to his teammates by following the blood trail, Nezumi popped a few bones in his back.

"Guh!" Xiayu let out a cry as her arm snapped, the pain immense. But she was able to stop him from killing her, and able to keep him from dying, as well. Best of all, he seemed to regain his senses and morality. She winced as Nezumi stabbed him, and as she was sent back down to the ground when Wally escaped, but it was a relief to have everyone who was a possible threat gone for the time being. "...thank you," she said to her teammate, propping herself up with her left arm. "Beetle is...I don't know where he is, but...we need numbers." The pain was making it hard to give a more eloquent response. "The two of us alone, and my arm like this..." Xiayu nodded towards the bubble. "We need help."

@Takumi @Sark

"Yeah well, we already lost one team memeber, no need losing another so soon...besides right now it's safety in numbers....and you're welcome." He responded with a sigh. Glancing to those of Pink Team still in the bubble, he glanced back Xiayu before running a hand through his hair. "Did he just break your arm or completely destroy it?" He asked with a raised brow as he kneeled beside her.

@Sark @Yun Lee @Everyone too tired to tag
 
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"Regroup and look for Beetle...yeah, sounds good." The pain in her arm was by no means going to subside anytime soon unless aided by medication, and Xiayu highly doubted Arcade had left them any. But as to answer Nezumi's question, she looked down. Her right arm hung limp, completely out of commission. "Not completely shattered...but still a disadvantage for us." Taking time, with only her left arm, Xiayu got to her feet, walking to the dome where the Pink Team was currently stationed. She gave Hex a wary glance. Would this girl try to kill her, too? She hoped not. If she could have a conversation with those in the dome, then maybe Xiayu was safe for now. But for sure, the Pink Team seemed the most pacifistic, so their best bet at survival and vulnerability was with them. "Excuse me," she started. "I was wondering...could we join you for now? We lost a teammmate somewhere...and my right arm is broken."

@Takumi @Sark @Atomic Knight @York
 
"Oh, geez" Terry muttered to himself from the safety of his bubble shield. Oh, and how he thanked God for the bubble shield! A rhythmic tugging at his guy told him that it wasn't a good idea interrogating the mutant at all, let alone whilst outside the Bubble; she'd tried to banish Eli to God knows where for trying to play Arcade's game not half an hour ago; he could only imagine what he'd be on the receiving end of if he continued to pry. "Wait..." Terry called out just as Laura crossed over and into the mouth of the forest. "Didn't Arcade say that he had... insurance, on us all? He mentioned having some girl named Milagro to keep Beetle in line, and Wally seemed to think that his kids are in danger. I mean... How can we know its a bluff? He can we know that he hasn't got your sister or my dad or.... anyone locked away the same way he's got us trapped? I can't say that I trust you completely... but you seem to be the calmest person here; what's the bigger picture here? How do we fix this?"

"H-h-headmaster?" Scott scoffed "I can't see myself doing that anytime s--s-soon. I mean, I've got too much h-h-hair to take the p-p-professor's place... besides I can't imagine..." His words seemed to trail of slowly, getting lost in the cry of the wind. His pace began to slow, his eyes fixed on the trees in front of him, his expression blank. An even greater chill crawled down his back. "You're from my f-f-future right? T-t-that's ob-vious. I m-m-mean... no..." He muttered in disbelief "Its got to be some alternate t-t-time line or s-s-something. No u-u-use in d-d-dwelling on the f-f-future..." He released a brief laugh from his bluing lips, pushing such grim thoughts from his mind. If the real headmaster of the Xavier school had taught him anything, it was how to close off the parts of his brain he couldn't afford to listen to. To surrender one's self to a complete and all encompassing focus. "G-g-guess that f-f-future can't be r-r-real, t-then. O-or at l-l-least its n-not my f-f-future... b-because b-by the looks of t-things, we're g-gonna freeze to d-death... unless we start to f-focus again...unless w-w-e keep moving..."

View attachment 3661

The forest itself seemed to stretch on for half a dozen miles or so, with rows and rows of tall, lush pine trees barring the Red Team from seeing its end. The wall of wood did act as a wind barrier, however, helping to warm the Champions up for a heart beat, even if it was only be a degree or two.
"We're not out of the woods just yet" Scott muttered through a smile, kicking aside the shin deep snow. "We still wont make it to midday unless we can start a fire, or find some furs. We're going to see to find a place to rest... preferably something with some shelter. We could try our hands at building a shelter from these trees or push on a little further. We could find a cave, or at least some dryer land. We'll cast a vote as soon as we have a fire going... then we can split up and start looking for some food or furs... in the mean time, we'll need to bring down some more dry wood from these trees. Loa, do your worst"
@Red Team​

"Perfect" Scott muttered, resting his back against a nearby tree to finally catch his breath. The cold had drained the entire party, and perhaps taken the greatest toll on Summers- having lead the caravan, he had been exposed to the brunt of the wind and now, both of which had began to resolve his resolve. He grew tired, but new he had to stay awake. He couldn't let the cold take him just yet. "As long as the thing doesn't mow down the whole forest, it'll do perfectly. Try to cut as much bark from the trees and you can. If you cut it off right, it should chip off in sheets. The smooth side should be perfect for burning, and any large sheets can be used to fight off this damn wind..."

Scott closed his eyes and smiled, letting relief was over him. Looks like they might just make it out of the woods after all, literally and figuratively.

"Magic is exactly what we need right now, Alice" Scott cried, taking her knife with trembling hands. After tracing a half-meter-long messy oval into the facade of the tree with the blade, Scott used his fingers to pry free the sheet of bark from the pine tree he had been resting on, letting its edges crumble within his finger tips. Cyclops began to dig into the snow, grinding his teeth to fight of the sting of the cold that had pierced his gloves. Once he laid eyes on the sickly grass that lurked a boot deep into the snow, he threw the wood and whatever shaving she could on top of it, dry side up. "We'll give you whatever fuel we can. Give it a shot. If the wind's too strong, we'll have to find a way to block it out; do what you can, and we'll help in whatever way we can"

Pulling the knife back out of the tree, Scott turned his eyes towards another towering pine, taking his blade to his frozen skin in turn.


Crack!

The sudden blow to his nose sent knocked his blow of course, but the stored momentum of his punch dragged his blur of a fist back down towards Xiayu. Striking down with the force of a 50 yard run up, the Flash's fist struck the each beside the Doll, the edge of his knuckles crackling along the side of her right forearm. With a sudden crunch, he bone broke. The chilling sound of snapping bone and the stunning power of Xiayu's sucker punch left Wally recoiling, stumbling backwards inch by inch. A wave of crippling guilt washed over him. He could barely bring himself to harm let alone kill. He was less of a mess than a murder, his hesitation costing him. He had hoped that he could have killed her long before the gravity of his actions came tumbling down upon him. He stared down at her with childish fear in his eyes.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry" He covered his mouth with a bruised knuckle, still sting from the force of his blow. "I didn't... I had to--"


Ghuhj

Wally released a cry of muffled ago, his body reeling and blood pouring from his lips and back alike. With every breath, more blood seemed to escape him, forcing him to frantically guzzle short, wheezing bursts of air in order to out run his blood loss. Run. He had to run.

In a flicker of yellow and red, Wally threw himself across the clearing and into the mouth of the jungle, charging forward at a startling pace. With every frantic step he took, the numbness seemed to spread across his body, filling him with a strange sinking sensation. The freedom of the sprint, a sensation that had once filled him with such joy, now left him feeling cold and empty; he wasn't running to anything, he was running away, his assailant locked around his back. Soaring past a short cliff-face in the depths of the Jungle, the Flash rolled his body to the wall, grinding Nezumi across his stone facade until his grip finally gave away. As the stumbling, bleeding Titan fades into the green, a knife still in his back, Nezumi was left with a single word.

"Sorry"

View attachment 3662

Those lost in the Jungle would find a maze stretching out before them, with lush green plants of all shapes and sizes consuming every scrap of dirt. The little light that could break through the emerald canopy above them came through tainted by its hue, leaving the scene with an ethereal, almost dreamlike air. Those willing to listen could hear the calls of mysterious tropical songbirds overhead, ever illusive and invisible to the untrained eyes. All around the Champions, strange berries seemed to bloom, forcing their way to the tops of the shrubbery, and subtle dashed of color to the otherwise washed, green-brown scene.

To those not used to tracking, the only way one could navigate such a scene would be to follow the trail of blood left by the Flash either deeper into or out of the Jungle.

"If we're looking to establish a camp, we'll need to find a clearing. Something with as little plant life around it as possible. This area doesn't match any jungle I've ever studied... who knows what could hiding in the grass..."

Following his scuffle with Wally, Nezumi would find himself far deeper into the woods than his contemporaries. If he stuck to the blood path, he had the option to head back to the mouth of the Jungle and reunite with Beetle and the rest of his team, or press on alone to finish off the wounded Wally West.

@Crow @Takumi @Purple Team @Yellow Team @JungleCrew

Laura stopped when Terry brought up the potential of Arcade having prisoners. "If he really has my sister, then she would not want me to kill only for her to live. Also..." She turned to face Terry. "I trust her to do what's right as well. If he really has people close to use, do you think they will just allow him to have them as his puppets. I trust my sister and she trusts me. That is all we have right now. Trusts." With that she continued into the woods.

@Sark @everyone




Oh....that would explain it, even if time travel was a bit out there. Loa did remember seeing the costume he was wearing in an old actual godforbid photo. As they got into the Cyclops requested her to use her powers and Loa was happy to oblige. "S-Stay back, guys." Loa went to the closest tree and slid her arm through the trunk of the tree causing it to disintegrated where it passed and made it fall to the ground. "Just s-say the word and I'll do it again."

@Crow @Takumi @Atomic Knight @Sark @RedTeam
 
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Henry Hart/ Kid Danger

" So, we need to take a much different approach then everyone else. I know this is going to be a weird thing to say, but I think we should wait it out. It's not that I don't want to murder- but if we bid our time, they might have to kill each other. Though, there is something I think we need to address now. Arcade said only one of us is going to make it out of here alive, that must mean he plans on dissolving the teams at some point and turn this into a whole Hunger Games scenario. So, let's make a promise- we don't kill each other if this happens until we have no choice to," he said, looking around to see what the others thought.

@dark @Alex Azure @Sark @Purple Team

p
Shazam's clifftop perch sat directly between the [JUNGLE], the [NORTHERN CLEARING] and [ARCADE'S CLEARING]. In the distance, he could see the [GREAT RANGES] and the endless wasteland of the [FROZEN PLAINS], although the fog of the settling snow preventing him from making out where the missing Champions were. He, like the Champions in [ARCADE'S CLEARING] did not know where the Missing Persons were.

If White Team chose to follow the cliff face north, they would find a waterfall that would lead them into the heart of the [NORTHERN CLEARING], a large valley region.






Billy Batson/ Shazam

Billy hadn't gotten a chance to even answer anyone else, all of this conversation happening way too quickly for him to catch any of it. While everything went to hell, he had take a moment to fly up to guess a lay of the land. He would take a fast moment to fly and pick out a spot, noticing a small Cliffside. When he came back, he would see the fighting and decided the best approach was this. Run. He would try to quckly fly down and grab Goro, Jak and Scott before heading to the cliffs. Regardless of how successful he would, he would take whoever he could to the cliffs. When they arrived there, he would glare at Scott. " What the hell was that? We agreed we weren't killing each other, I don't like this mess. But regardless of that, we need a plan for later. He said that only one of us is making it out of here alive, that means these teams aren't forever," he admitted, not liking the idea of killing still.

@dark @Alex Azure @Sark @White Team

Jak/Mar- White Team

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Jak was cautious, observing Billy/Shazam's power of flying before nodding "I believe we should keep moving. Let's not make ourselves a sitting duck but I agree, we should hold off killing until we need to. As soon as he started to plan, Shazam picked all three of them up and flew them to the cliff area.

Jak was holding off on his powers unless he absolutely had to fight someone. However, didn't they start off with three members of their team? The guy named Scott had disappeared but where was the question?"

"Shazam, over there. I hear running water. Must be a source of water nearby."

"We can get some water to drink for the journey ahead."

@dark @Lucky @Alex Azure- White team/ / @Sark




 
Henry Hart/ Kid Danger

" So, we need to take a much different approach then everyone else. I know this is going to be a weird thing to say, but I think we should wait it out. It's not that I don't want to murder- but if we bid our time, they might have to kill each other. Though, there is something I think we need to address now. Arcade said only one of us is going to make it out of here alive, that must mean he plans on dissolving the teams at some point and turn this into a whole Hunger Games scenario. So, let's make a promise- we don't kill each other if this happens until we have no choice to," he said, looking around to see what the others thought.


Ratchet

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Ratchet looked over at Kid Danger "I agree. I don't like the idea but I'll help you protect our team until it's survival of the fittest then all bets are off."

"The caves seem like a safe bet for now."

@Lucky @dark @Alex Azure- Purple Team// Sark
 
Kate almost felt inclined to treat Cyclops as the guy in charge here but he wasn't exactly impressing her with his actions since all of this started. At the very least, she couldn't disagree with the idea of starting a fire, though perhaps finding shelter was a better starting point. Whatever worked, Kate supposed. She was just thankful no one here was at each other's throat.

Kate moved to join Loa, curious to see what the girl was pulling off. She put her hands on her hips and smiled.

sBMeEKs.png


"Pretty cool."

@Crow @Takumi @Sark @Jeremi



Steven let out a shuddering breath and dropped the bubble when it seemed things had calmed down a bit. He still felt a bit shellshocked and unsure what to think of all this. He just didn't want anyone else to fight, he knew that.

R9EEMFk.png


"... I might be able to fix your arm," Steven said after a moment. He went up to Xiayu with a sad smile on his face. "You might find it a little, uh... gross, but trust me, it works."

@Takumi @York @Yun Lee @Sark @Jeremi
 
Xiayu returned the smile, kneeling and tilting her right side towards Steven. "Gross or not...I'd definitely like to use my arm. Anything helps."

"..." Jianyu was silent, having cooled down her fury after it was clear Wally was gone. Still, she kept her staff ready, and an eye out for anyone who may still be here with them. She wasn't taking any chances with any of these rotten people. And if Wally ever showed his face again?

Well...Jai and Iris would be skipping Father's Day this year.

@Atomic Knight @Sark @Takumi @York
 
"Well..."

Steven obliged by spitting into the palm of his hand. He shrugged at Xiayu and gave her a look that conveyed 'this is just how it is.' He proceeded to rub his spit on her arm, going gentle so as to not cause her further pain. Thankfully for her, Steven's saliva was known to heal all kinds of things!

@Takumi @York @Yun Lee @Sark @Jeremi
 
Though it was unseen behind her mask, Xiayu smiled as Scarlet Spider mentioned working to take Arcade down. "I'm glad we're on the same page, then. I have no intention of killing anyone here." She'd done enough killing to last her a lifetime, really. "I go by Xiayu, as he said. I know how to use nunchaku and I'm trained in combat...well, I was. It's more like muscle reflex than anything else."

She cocked her head as Spider and Beetle talked. "You seem to know almost everyone here."

@Sark @Takumi @Crow

---

"Jianyu," the former Doll said, correcting Terry. "Not even my real name, but whatever. I just gotta get off this stupid island, then I'm never being called that again!"

As Kara called out, Jianyu couldn't help but smile a little. Ooh, she was fiery. Either they'd get along or be at each other's throats...but for Xiayu's sake, Jianyu would try for the former. "Hell no, I don't wanna kill people! It was bad enough that I had to do it while brainwashed, I don't wanna have to do it when I have control of my body!"

@York @Sark @Atomic Knight
Mainly about how lame it was, Loa thought to herself, it was probably not the best to say that out loud at a time like this. And that was the crux of all of this wasn't it? Arcade despite his whole thing was a joke, and he thinks his cred will get better by targeting kids and teens? As for the second part. Arcade was a villain and villains always lie, right? There's always another angle that much she'd learn but again she decided to keep her thoughts to herself.

"Gee 1:64, how generous." Instead she commented on the odds and a certain thing Arcade said to her teammate. "Well if everyone just charges each other, that's not really dynamic isn't? Shouldn't you try and get the excitement going longer to raise the stakes?" Loa wasn't really sure what she was doing but it seemed like the right thing to do. Lord...she didn't really want this to be her last days on this Earth.

@Minerva @Gummi Bunnies @Sark @Green Team




Laura meanwhile had a different approach.

BZ159vH.png


"If we are the lions , then you are a vulture."
She wasn't interested to hear anything this man had to sell. "If you are such a gracious game master that you imply then you shouldn't be hear whispering into our ears." As long as he was here he'd try to squirm his way into somebody's mind and Laura wasn't going to allow that to happen.​

@Gummi Bunnies @Hahli Nuva @York @blue Team
Well, he wasn't in any dire types of pain, so Hyakkimaru could only conclude that he was okay. To show that, he gave a slow nod as he lowered his hand from Laura's cheek. He then detected the other presence nearest to him, presumably another teammate that was grouped up with him.

Before he could do more, Hyakkimaru overheard their gamemaster leering at the other participants of this bloodbath, and then Laura sounding displeased on that note.

❝ Bad. ❞ He spoke and tensed up. Arcade's voice alone was enough to give Hyakkimaru the knowledge that he was not a pleasant person.

@Jeremi @Hahli Nuva @York
@BlueTeam


Nz7EinC.png


❝ Whatever. I figure that I would be doing most of the killing regardless. ❞ Vanitas made a dismissive statement. It wasn't like he would be convinced otherwise, but he wasn't forcing this mentality to his teammates. This type of thinking was only natural of him, letting his own darkness guide him. Just like he was taught by his master.

❝ Go ahead, chat away with the others if that's your game plan. Not like I'll help you on that one though. ❞ He shrugged, as if mingling with people he would end up fighting was not his cup of tea. On the other hand, when it came to their overly enthusiastic arena host...

❝ Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not entirely on board with this game. You just happened to pull me away before I could finish what I started, and honestly, it's only convenient for me that I have some poor saps to take my anger out on. ❞ The masked boy scoffed. It was true. He was in the middle of something important. Something that actually had meaning to his dark heart. It would've been a real treat if this competition had a familiar face in it. If only he could choke the life out of Ventus, the boy with the heart of pure light...

But for now, he would have to settle for this, maybe get a little stronger. Or maybe, if someone else fit that specific criteria...

@Jeremi @Minerva @Sark
@GreenTeam
Oh.

Hell.

No.

Kate wasn't standing for this Arcade death game nonsense. She could have sworn he had done this exact same plot not so long ago and she didn't recall that having the major success he had probably hoped for. She couldn't say she knew a good 94% of the people Arcade had summoned for this merry vacation, which made her pause a bit, but it wasn't like it would make a difference. People were ultimately good and no one would realistically agree to kill indiscriminately, blah blah blah. Children's books about battle royale were just that: books.

XTtq83L.png


"Hey, kids," Kate said, butting into the conversation between her so-called 'team.' "Can you chill out? No one's killing anybody, not if I have a say in it. I'm sure the Avengers or someone is on their way right now to put a stop to all this."

@Crow @Takumi @Sark



uIidlI9.png


"I'm definitely not okay with any of this!" Steven blurted out, inserting himself into Kara's and Jianyu's conversation. He clenched his fist and gave the two women a determined look. "But don't worry, guys, I'll protect you. We just need to figure out a way out of this! Besides, I'm sure my friends are looking for me as we speak, no matter what that guy says!"

@York @Yun Lee @Sark
"I can go talk to them. We'll cover more ground if we split up." And with that, the Doll moved over, just in time to overhear Steven.

"If it's a way out you want, maybe we can help you each other." Beside Jianyu, Xiayu appeared to the Pink Team, tone casual to prove her goodwill where her masked face couldn't.

latest


"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Xiayu, Jianyu's sister. Obviously, I'd never kill her, or anyone she considers an ally. In fact, I don't intend on killing anyone here, and neither do my teammates." Xiayu nodded over to the Yellow Team. "We're working to bring as many teams as possible into an alliance in order to keep casualties to a minimum until we can stop this game."

"Sis!" Jianyu perked up hearing her sister speak of an alliance, and she couldn't help but feel relief wash over her. This meant that they'd stick together through this whole thing now, right? She looked to the rest of the group. "You can trust Xiayu, I promise. She doesn't lie."

Xiayu looked over at Kara and Terry. "One of my teammates-the Blue Beetle-he says he knows of you two and would consider you all excellent allies. And you..." Xiayu looked down at Steven. "I wouldn't feel right leaving a child in mortal danger."

"Who else are you guys talking to, anyway? Because I don't think everyone will be on board..." Jianyu glanced at Vanitas as she said this. That was one creep she wanted to stay far away from.

@Crow @Sark @Takumi @Atomic Knight @York
"Knives, guns and bombs... alright then" Ben hummed, listing off his ally's skills. "Sounds like a practical set right? I mean, I can shoot, sure, but I was never a knife guy, you know? I'm more of a punching guy, occasionally a kicking guy... Mostly a webs guy... It makes more sense when you see me do it..."
@Takumi @Yun Lee @Crow @Yellow Team


"Fine" Eli growled. "You're not saying or trying anything I haven't seen or heard before. Just remember: when you start shooting, remember to save one last bullet for... well, I guess you can imagine what might happen to you on an island full of killers. Consider that a friendly warning..."

@Crow @Atomic Knight @Takumi @Red Team


"You're right, Schoolman..." Eli thinned his eyes and letting his machete swing loosely on his belt once again "We're a 'team', right?" He mimed quotation marks with his fingers "We'll have to look out for each other... and save the back stabbing until Day... it might give Alice something to look forward to..."
@Crow @Atomic Knight @Takumi @Red Team


"Ah, 'Make sure to call him Superboy'. I got it" Ben teased, tracing the Kryptonian's movements with his eyes. "Actually... if he's as strong as you say, maybe staying on his good side might be a good idea... or at least staying out of his way. I mean--"

"Hey, got a problem with me, hoodie?"

A voice called from across the clearing

"What? Why would I--"

"Can't seem to keep your eyes off me, pal. Hope you and Blue Bottle aren't plotting something nasty for me over there. Gonna roast me alive or something when you catch me?"

"What? No I--"

"I'm messing with you, dumbass"

"Ah, right"

"I mean, even if you wanted to, I doubt you could take me out; I'm stronger than Bluey says"

"How did you--?"

"Super hearing bud. I can pretty much hear you sweating right now pal. You though it was a good idea to wear the spandex and the hoodie this morning?"

"And you thought it was a good idea to wear the glasses and the jacket? One of the two says 'I'm an Edgelord', but the two of them together just scream 'Help! I got lost on my way back to the 1970s!'"

"What can I say, Scarlo? I like to push the boundaris of fashion--"
aHR0cDovL3d3dy5uZXdzYXJhbWEuY29tL2ltYWdlcy9pLzAwMC8yNDAvMjE5L2kwMi9SZWlnbm9mU3VwZXJtYW4uanBn

"--You can't pretend that the Old Superman did that, right Beets?"

@Yun Lee @Takumi @Crow @Yellow Team @Orange Team



latest

"HopingThere'sRoomForAFlashOnYourTeamTooRightBlue?" Wally stopped himself mid-verse, slowing his breathing and quashing his rushing thoughts. Smoke still pouring from his boots, he continued speaking in a calmer tone ."Oh, yeah. You're not my Beetle. Guess I ain't your Flash either, but... from what I've seen from the World's I've been to, there sorta seems to be a sorta rhyme... a pattern, when it comes to parallel worlds. The way I see it, a Titan is a titan. Whatever you're planning, I'm in"

@Yun Lee @Crow @Takumi @Yellow Team @Orange Team

"Oh, wow" Terry responded in a daze, a ghostly stare in his eyes "Kara? I haven't seen you since... well, my Kara since..." He rocked his head from side to side for a moment, forcing the confusion from his head "Time is complicated. What I'm trying to say is that..." You die horrible in my timeline. Very horribly. "Its nice to see a familiar face"
@Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @York @Pink Team

"Killing... is something that no-one should ever be 'okay' with... I mean... its a disease. Its an infection. It eats you up from the inside. Make you something you're not. Something new, strange, different... bad" He sighed, his thoughts turning to home and beyond. "But... there comes a time where fate's made up its mind: its says some's gotta die, and its either gonna be you or the guy with his hands around your throat... or the guy who's got his hands around hundreds of people's throats all at once. I mean.. Its never justified... its a last resort. But sometime's you've got to make sacrifices. So other people don't have to. You've gotta to what you've gotta do for the greater good... Not that there's any good here..."
@Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @York @Pink Team

"Ah, right. Jianyu" Terry went silent for a moment, collecting himself "If I'm crossing a line, let me know... but if you don't like the name, why not just... call yourself something else? Pick a new name or something?"
@York @Yun Lee @Atomic Knight @Pink Team


"Oh, don't worry. This thing isn't gonna be over in a heart-beat... well, it will end with one last heart-beat, but I'm sure you get what I mean..." Arcade's cheeks twisted into a sick smile.
View attachment 3641
"You know, you'd think this High School Splatter House thing would leave you skinning each other for pelts in the first 5 minutes, right?
But it never really goes that way. Its a slow burn. I'm going to push you. I'm going to push you until you snap then push some more. I'll break every single one of you.
Your moral codes wont save you. Your sense of mercy wont save you. Your parents.Your friends. None of them can keep you safe now.
By the end of the week, the little monsters inside you all will have come scurrying out.
By the end of the week, you'll be murders, and you'll find yourself thanking me for all the fun you've had. And when that time comes, it'll be worth the wait. Believe me, Loa. There will be excitement. I only hope you'll live long enough to see it"

@Minerva @Jeremi @Gummi Bunnies @Green Team

"Oh, no, you're not following. The Vulture is a different guy. Bald. Skinny. Robs banks with some giant green armpit wings? Ring a bell?"
Arcade's smile was unwavering, his eyes still glowing with a childish vanity.

"Believe me, Laura, I'm far more gracious that I used to be; this time, I'm giving you all a chance. I could have killed every last one of you whilst you were in stasis. It would have been easy. Boring, but easy. Instead, I'm letting you sing for your supper. I'm giving you hope, Weapon Hex. You of all people shouldn't be complaining; your odds are far better than say, Loa's. Lighten up. Let your hair down. Wouldn't kill you to smile now, would it?"
@Gummi Bunnies @Hahli Nuva @York @blue Team

"Oh, you sweet talker" Arcade cried through a beam "I knew I'd like at least one of you. Take out all your fury, Vanitus, and you might just get another shot at your vengeance, and you'll leave with a plethora of new ways to inflict hurt to boot. Keep that in mind once the killing starts; every other team here stands between you and your duty to kill that boy..."
@Jeremi @Minerva @Gummi Bunnies @Green Team



Terry's smile shine through his mask as he made his way towards the Yellow Team.
"I don't know if I have all the mojo had back in his day, but you can count me in on this whole Alliance thing you've got going over here. We've got a Kryptonian, an Argonian, a Speedster and a Reach. Throw Batson into the mix and we've got ourselves a Justice League. If we can get the other 20ish guys on board, we'd be looking at a Justice Legion. I don't see this Arcade stopping a coup like that"
@Yun Lee @Crow @Takumi @Crow @Lucky


"Orange Team's on board" Bucky muttered, clicking the safety off of his side-arm. Rolling a spare clip across the fingers of his vibranium arm, he placed himself along the edge of the coalition's ring. "I was never one for taking orders to begin with. I'm not about to dance to this guy's tune. My guess is that the Kid's in" He made a vague gesture in Superboy's direction. "And the Fast One already has his name on the guest list--"

"You in two, Wings?"

"Of course, Ben" Angel muttered, following in the Winter Solider's footsteps. "I can't bring myself to take another's life. I won't do it. If dying is what it takes to keep that, promise, so be it--"

"Alright, I guess. Bit of a downer way to join the club, but to each his own. Welcome to the Avengers, Warren!"

"We're not the--"

cyclops-scott-summers-marvel-vs-capcom-2-new-age-of-heroes-1.67.jpg

"The name's Summers, pal. Folks call me Scott" The X-Man extended a palm, not surprised by the boy's sudden transformation."I'm hardly thrilled to be here, but I'm sure there's gonna be a way out. Some kind of... loop hole. A bloodless solution. Us mutants... we've got to stick together. We've got to protect our name... and I don't see murder as being the smartest way to do that..."
@Alex Azure @dark @Lucky @White Team

View attachment 3643
"Shush. Thinking" Amadeus muttered, hammering his temples and letting his thoughts flow unhindered. "Wait. No. Sorry. I'm Cho. Amadues to those who like a mouthful. I'm not a killer, and hey, I got some smarts. Real smarts. Got anything that could help a guy out here? Like... powers? Or something to drown out the noise? Got a lotta info to take in... lotta factors..."
@Lucky @Alex Azure @dark @Purple Team

"You know? I've had enough of this whole 'let's not kill each other' thing. Its so... lame. If you want peace, go to a nunnery. I mean, I've gone through all this effort to set up this death match and you just don't seem to appreciate it. And you know what? I don't think you respect me, and that's real sad.. because everyone knows that respect is the foundation of any health relationship..."
View attachment 3642
"I think you all need a reminder of who's wearing the pants here... Me"

"You're not in Kansas anymore, kids! You're in my domain. I'm the one dealing the cards, and it appears as if you've forgotten that it's that House that always wins.

So you've forced my hand here. You could have just listened. You could have just played along. But no. What happens next is on you"

With a wave of his hand, a ribbon of light erupted from the earth at their feet, whipping up a towering column of dust and dirt in its wake. From wherever they stood in the clearing, they could all feel the heat of the blast on their skin.

"Einey...meenie... minie... mine"

A scream rippled across the island. Arcade's fingers lined up with the Scarlet Spider's forehead. The intensity of the screams increased as the snake of light writhed its way deeper into his forehead.

"We could have avoid all this mess. Ben here could have lived for another couple of days. His odds of surviving were... middling. I'd say he could have lived to day 3. He could have said his prayers. Though about his family some more. Righted some wrongs. Died for something that would make Uncle Ben proud..."

"Instead, he dies here and now. 6:15am on Day 1. Isn't that just boring?"
View attachment 3644
"So this is it, children! One agonizing death! The first drop in the flood! Who will take his place? Who will put him out of his misery? Who will simply watch and enjoy the spray that comes when his body finally explodes?"

@Atomic Knight @Crow @Takumi @Gummi Bunnies @Jeremi @Hahli Nuva @York @Minerva @Yun Lee @Lucky @Alex Azure @dark
"A new name, huh?" Why hadn't she thought of that? "Well, my REAL name is actually-"

Oh GOD.

Both sisters instinctively huddled closer together as Arcade made his attack. What was this?! Beetle had said he wasn't that much of a threat, and yet here he was, using such terrible power that it put even Bison to shame. They had survived Bison, yes, but it took more than just the two of them to do so. How many could they possibly need to survive this?

Xiayu was frozen in fear for a few precious moments, but a resolve burned within her that she refused to ignore. It wasn't going to end this way for her teammate, that was for sure. Not if she could help it. Xiayu pried herself away from Jianyu and ran to Scarlet Spider, forcing herself to withstand the intense heat as she grabbed for him to pull him away from the attack. Don't let me be too late, please don't let me be too late...

"Do you honestly expect us to kill each other if you decide to start killing on your own whimsy?!" Xiayu raised her voice, glaring at Arcade from behind her mask. "Don't you realize this display of animosity only makes us want to go after you more?"

@Sark @Takumi @Crow @Atomic Knight @York @Everyone​
"Oh, how cold and cruel of you, Miss Xiayu. So detached. So removed. I am certain the M.Bison would think of you so fondly, were he here. I suppose I'll just have to fill him in on your behavior the next time I visit your world..."
View attachment 3647
"Or did you forget I could do that? Maybe I'll set up shop there for a while, and maybe grab a few more toys for once I've broken all of you. Who doesn't love playing with a fresh set of Dolls every once in a while? Decapre and Juli seem like the obvious candidates for a Second Arena... or maybe I'll get too excited and just throw them in a good old death trap... or maybe I already have?"

Arcade broke out into another wave of sharp chuckles. He slowly twisted his finger, multiplying Ben's pain ten fold.

"I guess you'll have to take my word for it. Or take the risk that I'm lying... and what a risk it would be. I'm not sure if your sister would forgive you for killing 7 of her closest allies, Xianyu. Wouldn't it be easy to kill a few murderous strangers and be done with it? Save those you love..." Ben's screaming grew louder once more. "Slay... those who mean nothing"

@Yun Lee
"Why wouldn't I be?" Conner stretched out his arms and threw them behind his head. As his body rocked back he seemed to drift from the ground, floating backwards as if he were sitting in a hummock. "Who in their right mind would turn down a chance to have a full entourage of groupies?"
@Crow

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"Its starting to look like quite the crossover. Just sucks that whenever we all seem to get together like this, it always ends in some sorta Crisis. I mean, why can't we all hang out for a normal night on the town instead of fighting aliens or time traveling demons or... each other, I guess? When we get out of this we're gonna have to do some normal-people stuff to detox"

"Hey hey hey, you're in no position to make demands here! The Yellow Team will start with one less member if and when I say it starts with one less member. I mean, sure, having an extra player in the mix would keep the game going on for longer, but honestly? You're reactions to my little display have made out ratings jump. Distress gets the views, Jaime. Ever seen a soap opera? Same concept only with blood, and lots of it"

"Unless you're planning on jumping on the sword to safe little Reilly here, I suggest you get back in line. I doubt Paco and Brenda would be too happy dying just because you couldn't follow some simple instructions. And little Milagro... it would be a shame if you squandered to chance at earning her safety over someone as... weak as Reilly..."

"Quite the show, Hnikar! At last! Some fighting words! Someone has finally come to terms with the gravitas of the situation. It's time for smiting! I mean, you've only got about...oh, I'd say 2 and a half minutes before that bell goes and the kiddie gloves come off? So if anybody else has a smiting mode? I strongly recommend you get into it. Just think of what you're fighting for, right?"

"Ouch! Now that one really stung!" Arcade clutched his chest as if he had just been struck through the chest by a might arrow "Remind me to get a band aid on the way home... God sometimes sometimes I forget the demographic I'm dealing with..."

"More projected insults! If words could kill, you wouldn't need breaking in at all. Now I don't mean to sound like... I don't know, every parental figure you've ever disappointing, but if only you'd redirected your energy towards something a little more productive, such as, say, murder, I wouldn't have to--"

As Weapon Hex tried to undo the Island's attack on the Scarlet Spider, she would find herself overwhelmed by a sudden wave of dark magic, the force of which would send her shooting back from Reilly like a torpedo. Once she recovered, she would find that the effects of her spell had been reversed, engulfing Ben's body in a vivid crimson fire.

"Nice shot, sport, but you'll have to do better than that. Again, I don't want to sound like you Dad or anything, but I've got to say: 'Laura, you're just making things worse'. You're welcome to take another shot at healing the poor sod, but I wouldn't recommend it. Unless, of course, you'd rather end his suffering?"

"Don't----let---him---play-you-----Larua-----" Ben snarled like an animal, swallowing his screamed and forcing back his tears. "The---hairy---Cana---C---" A scream broke up his words into fractions, then fractions of fractions, until he could barely form full sentences without tearing apart his voice box. "Canadian---- guy----will----kill----me----if-you-get-----hurt-----------for----me"

"Oh, noble suffering. Adorable. Maybe you could try pulling a hankie or two from your sleeve, witch? Might do a better job at making him feel better that way"

"Go------to------"

"Ads? You want me to cut to the ads? Sorry pal, but our sponsors would much prefer we give an uninterrupted performance and plug their product in the final act. How about we zoom in on your face instead? A close shot for you Oscar performance?"

"---Hell---"

"Cute. Save me a spot, would you pal?"

@Everyone
Laura stopped when Terry brought up the potential of Arcade having prisoners. "If he really has my sister, then she would not want me to kill only for her to live. Also..." She turned to face Terry. "I trust her to do what's right as well. If he really has people close to use, do you think they will just allow him to have them as his puppets. I trust my sister and she trusts me. That is all we have right now. Trusts." With that she continued into the woods.

@Sark @everyone




Oh....that would explain it, even if time travel was a bit out there. Loa did remember seeing the costume he was wearing in an old actual godforbid photo. As they got into the Cyclops requested her to use her powers and Loa was happy to oblige. "S-Stay back, guys." Loa went to the closest tree and slid her arm through the trunk of the tree causing it to disintegrated where it passed and made it fall to the ground. "Just s-say the word and I'll do it again."

@Crow @Takumi @Atomic Knight @Sark @RedTeam
Kate almost felt inclined to treat Cyclops as the guy in charge here but he wasn't exactly impressing her with his actions since all of this started. At the very least, she couldn't disagree with the idea of starting a fire, though perhaps finding shelter was a better starting point. Whatever worked, Kate supposed. She was just thankful no one here was at each other's throat.

Kate moved to join Loa, curious to see what the girl was pulling off. She put her hands on her hips and smiled.

sBMeEKs.png


"Pretty cool."

@Crow @Takumi @Sark @Jeremi



Steven let out a shuddering breath and dropped the bubble when it seemed things had calmed down a bit. He still felt a bit shellshocked and unsure what to think of all this. He just didn't want anyone else to fight, he knew that.

R9EEMFk.png


"... I might be able to fix your arm," Steven said after a moment. He went up to Xiayu with a sad smile on his face. "You might find it a little, uh... gross, but trust me, it works."

@Takumi @York @Yun Lee @Sark @Jeremi
Xiayu returned the smile, kneeling and tilting her right side towards Steven. "Gross or not...I'd definitely like to use my arm. Anything helps."

"..." Jianyu was silent, having cooled down her fury after it was clear Wally was gone. Still, she kept her staff ready, and an eye out for anyone who may still be here with them. She wasn't taking any chances with any of these rotten people. And if Wally ever showed his face again?

Well...Jai and Iris would be skipping Father's Day this year.

@Atomic Knight @Sark @Takumi @York
"Well..."

Steven obliged by spitting into the palm of his hand. He shrugged at Xiayu and gave her a look that conveyed 'this is just how it is.' He proceeded to rub his spit on her arm, going gentle so as to not cause her further pain. Thankfully for her, Steven's saliva was known to heal all kinds of things!

@Takumi @York @Yun Lee @Sark @Jeremi
Kara In-Ze
@Takumi @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Others?

Terry's words gave her some reassurance; he didn't seem too different from the Batman she knew. Though, if he was willing to kill if he had to, then... There was something different about him. Something must have happened that made him change his mindset. Or maybe he wasn't quite like the original, but all the same, at least she knew he wasn't fond of the idea of killing someone else either.

She wasn't the only one looking for another way.

Though as at least one casualty occurred... And Kid Flash squared up against Beetle, causing the latter to flee into the Jungle as the former tried to kill Xiayu, but broke her arm instead, and realizing the gravity of the situation, suddenly dashed off into the trees.

For the time being, she stayed with Terry, behind the bubble shield, not so much for her own safety, but to try and form a plan. Terry and Laura's conversation did get her thinking too, and after a while, she broke her silence.

DBVM4d6.png


"She's right. All we have right now, is trust." She said, then she paused, looking into the Jungle where both Kid Flash and Beetle had run off into.

The former reminded her of a speedster that had raced with Superman once before in Metropolis, and the latter? She couldn't quite compare him to anyone she knew off the top of her head, but he had a good head on his shoulders too.

It was obvious Arcade needed a little... Leverage to get people motivated to kill each other. Though, even if he did have Clark himself hostage in some form, she knew he would still tell her to find another way. Even if it cost him his own life. In the end, he rarely ever let go of his ideals... But sometimes, in times of desperation, her adoptive cousin needed to be reminded not to lose himself to his own feelings.

4Vh8gso.png


Like that time he had faced Darkseid, and she herself had to rush to Apokolips to remind him not to become the very thing he was fighting against. To stop him from throwing away his ideals in favor of exacting revenge.

"We should move. I don't want to kill anyone, but... We have to do something about that Speedster. Before he hurts someone else... Or worse." She said after a moment of thinking.

Her gaze turned towards Xiayu, who was nursing a broken arm, something that wasn't going to fix itself.

"Besides. Maybe we'll find something that can help with pain in that jungle. Not that I'm an expert on plants or anything." She added.

Unlike Clark, she wasn't nearly as well versed in what plants might be used to treat injuries, or at least numb pain. Especially when it came to a broken arm, much less set broken bones. Though, maybe Terry knew a thing or two about it? Either way, it was going to hurt, so finding something to numb pain would certainly be beneficial to them.

Though she stopped as soon as she saw Steven, the boy who had been trying to protect them earlier try and fix Xiaoyu's arm, she halted, smiling a little as she did so.

"Hey! Good idea! I'll keep watch while you do that. Then we can head into the jungle... I think." She said, seeming a little uncertain about that last part now.

Although she did heed the warning that it might be a little gross, she was practically overjoyed when she realized someone on her team could potentially treat something like a broken arm.

However, that still didn't quite resolve what was happening with Kid Flash, and Kara wasn't one to just let such things solve themselves. That wasn't what being a superhero was all about, was it?

What Steven ended up doing did indeed make Kara recoil a little, but she couldn't exactly object; if it worked, it worked. She didn't have many other options after all.



Max Griffin
@Jeremi @Sark @Gummi Bunnies @Others?

Hearing Hyakkimaru call Arcade 'bad', Max has this eerie grin on his face as his stone suddenly flared with blue energy.

q0ygdM7.png


"Bad huh? The way I see it, the winner of this little deathmatch can't be good, can they?" He said, leering at the boy, as if he intended to fight his own team member.

Fortunately, that didn't happen, and the blue glow faded from his stone, returning to a more dim one. Perhaps he was just being a little facetious.

He returned to observing his competition, teammates or otherwise... Kid Flash in particular catching his interest. He had fled into the Jungle, after failing to finish what he started, thanks to what must have been cold feet.

"Pathetic. If you can't finish what you started. I guess I'll have to finish you..." He muttered quietly.

Without waiting for the others, he began to venture into the Jungle, his sword drawn and his stone flaring with blue light again. It seemed he was intending to hunt down Kid Flash.​
 
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"Oh, geez" Terry muttered to himself from the safety of his bubble shield. Oh, and how he thanked God for the bubble shield! A rhythmic tugging at his guy told him that it wasn't a good idea interrogating the mutant at all, let alone whilst outside the Bubble; she'd tried to banish Eli to God knows where for trying to play Arcade's game not half an hour ago; he could only imagine what he'd be on the receiving end of if he continued to pry. "Wait..." Terry called out just as Laura crossed over and into the mouth of the forest. "Didn't Arcade say that he had... insurance, on us all? He mentioned having some girl named Milagro to keep Beetle in line, and Wally seemed to think that his kids are in danger. I mean... How can we know its a bluff? He can we know that he hasn't got your sister or my dad or.... anyone locked away the same way he's got us trapped? I can't say that I trust you completely... but you seem to be the calmest person here; what's the bigger picture here? How do we fix this?"

"H-h-headmaster?" Scott scoffed "I can't see myself doing that anytime s--s-soon. I mean, I've got too much h-h-hair to take the p-p-professor's place... besides I can't imagine..." His words seemed to trail of slowly, getting lost in the cry of the wind. His pace began to slow, his eyes fixed on the trees in front of him, his expression blank. An even greater chill crawled down his back. "You're from my f-f-future right? T-t-that's ob-vious. I m-m-mean... no..." He muttered in disbelief "Its got to be some alternate t-t-time line or s-s-something. No u-u-use in d-d-dwelling on the f-f-future..." He released a brief laugh from his bluing lips, pushing such grim thoughts from his mind. If the real headmaster of the Xavier school had taught him anything, it was how to close off the parts of his brain he couldn't afford to listen to. To surrender one's self to a complete and all encompassing focus. "G-g-guess that f-f-future can't be r-r-real, t-then. O-or at l-l-least its n-not my f-f-future... b-because b-by the looks of t-things, we're g-gonna freeze to d-death... unless we start to f-focus again...unless w-w-e keep moving..."

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The forest itself seemed to stretch on for half a dozen miles or so, with rows and rows of tall, lush pine trees barring the Red Team from seeing its end. The wall of wood did act as a wind barrier, however, helping to warm the Champions up for a heart beat, even if it was only be a degree or two.
"We're not out of the woods just yet" Scott muttered through a smile, kicking aside the shin deep snow. "We still wont make it to midday unless we can start a fire, or find some furs. We're going to see to find a place to rest... preferably something with some shelter. We could try our hands at building a shelter from these trees or push on a little further. We could find a cave, or at least some dryer land. We'll cast a vote as soon as we have a fire going... then we can split up and start looking for some food or furs... in the mean time, we'll need to bring down some more dry wood from these trees. Loa, do your worst"
@Red Team​

"Perfect" Scott muttered, resting his back against a nearby tree to finally catch his breath. The cold had drained the entire party, and perhaps taken the greatest toll on Summers- having lead the caravan, he had been exposed to the brunt of the wind and now, both of which had began to resolve his resolve. He grew tired, but new he had to stay awake. He couldn't let the cold take him just yet. "As long as the thing doesn't mow down the whole forest, it'll do perfectly. Try to cut as much bark from the trees and you can. If you cut it off right, it should chip off in sheets. The smooth side should be perfect for burning, and any large sheets can be used to fight off this damn wind..."

Scott closed his eyes and smiled, letting relief was over him. Looks like they might just make it out of the woods after all, literally and figuratively.

"Magic is exactly what we need right now, Alice" Scott cried, taking her knife with trembling hands. After tracing a half-meter-long messy oval into the facade of the tree with the blade, Scott used his fingers to pry free the sheet of bark from the pine tree he had been resting on, letting its edges crumble within his finger tips. Cyclops began to dig into the snow, grinding his teeth to fight of the sting of the cold that had pierced his gloves. Once he laid eyes on the sickly grass that lurked a boot deep into the snow, he threw the wood and whatever shaving she could on top of it, dry side up. "We'll give you whatever fuel we can. Give it a shot. If the wind's too strong, we'll have to find a way to block it out; do what you can, and we'll help in whatever way we can"

Pulling the knife back out of the tree, Scott turned his eyes towards another towering pine, taking his blade to his frozen skin in turn.


Crack!

The sudden blow to his nose sent knocked his blow of course, but the stored momentum of his punch dragged his blur of a fist back down towards Xiayu. Striking down with the force of a 50 yard run up, the Flash's fist struck the each beside the Doll, the edge of his knuckles crackling along the side of her right forearm. With a sudden crunch, he bone broke. The chilling sound of snapping bone and the stunning power of Xiayu's sucker punch left Wally recoiling, stumbling backwards inch by inch. A wave of crippling guilt washed over him. He could barely bring himself to harm let alone kill. He was less of a mess than a murder, his hesitation costing him. He had hoped that he could have killed her long before the gravity of his actions came tumbling down upon him. He stared down at her with childish fear in his eyes.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry" He covered his mouth with a bruised knuckle, still sting from the force of his blow. "I didn't... I had to--"


Ghuhj

Wally released a cry of muffled ago, his body reeling and blood pouring from his lips and back alike. With every breath, more blood seemed to escape him, forcing him to frantically guzzle short, wheezing bursts of air in order to out run his blood loss. Run. He had to run.

In a flicker of yellow and red, Wally threw himself across the clearing and into the mouth of the jungle, charging forward at a startling pace. With every frantic step he took, the numbness seemed to spread across his body, filling him with a strange sinking sensation. The freedom of the sprint, a sensation that had once filled him with such joy, now left him feeling cold and empty; he wasn't running to anything, he was running away, his assailant locked around his back. Soaring past a short cliff-face in the depths of the Jungle, the Flash rolled his body to the wall, grinding Nezumi across his stone facade until his grip finally gave away. As the stumbling, bleeding Titan fades into the green, a knife still in his back, Nezumi was left with a single word.

"Sorry"

View attachment 3662

Those lost in the Jungle would find a maze stretching out before them, with lush green plants of all shapes and sizes consuming every scrap of dirt. The little light that could break through the emerald canopy above them came through tainted by its hue, leaving the scene with an ethereal, almost dreamlike air. Those willing to listen could hear the calls of mysterious tropical songbirds overhead, ever illusive and invisible to the untrained eyes. All around the Champions, strange berries seemed to bloom, forcing their way to the tops of the shrubbery, and subtle dashed of color to the otherwise washed, green-brown scene.

To those not used to tracking, the only way one could navigate such a scene would be to follow the trail of blood left by the Flash either deeper into or out of the Jungle.

"If we're looking to establish a camp, we'll need to find a clearing. Something with as little plant life around it as possible. This area doesn't match any jungle I've ever studied... who knows what could hiding in the grass..."

Following his scuffle with Wally, Nezumi would find himself far deeper into the woods than his contemporaries. If he stuck to the blood path, he had the option to head back to the mouth of the Jungle and reunite with Beetle and the rest of his team, or press on alone to finish off the wounded Wally West.

@Crow @Takumi @Purple Team @Yellow Team @JungleCrew

Hnikar did as told, swinging his great, powerful spear as he dug the dirt and soil of the trees away, revealing their roots as he swiftly cut at them to fully uproot their barky log bodies as they smacked onto the snow. Rinse and repeat for a bit about twenty times.

"How many trees do we need?"

@Takumi @Atomic Knight @Sark @Crow @RedTeam @Jeremi
 
Xiayu merely raised an eyebrow at what Steven did to help; definitely unconventional, but it was less gross than she had expected. Spit magic was a lot better than blood magic, honestly. Wincing at the contact at first, she waited patiently to see if Steven's spit really did the trick...

And it...did? Gradually, Xiayu felt no pain at all, and it was as if her arm had never been broken in the first place. Still careful in case it was tender somehow, Xiayu raised it, slowly testing her arm and hand out. "Amazing..." she whispered, in awe. "I've never seen anything like it." She looked to Steven. "I don't know how to thank you. You probably just saved my life."

Jianyu let out a sigh of relief. Man, she really hit the jackpot with this team, huh? No psychos, a kid who could heal...and Xiayu seemed to have a pretty solid team, too...even if it had just been split up. That Nezumi guy helped her sister out, so that was good. "Well, usually in the movies, they try to find drinking water first, right? So...I guess we should do that first?" Ugh, living on this island for a week was gonna suck. No creature comforts anywhere.

@Atomic Knight @Sark @Takumi @York
 
Kate almost felt inclined to treat Cyclops as the guy in charge here but he wasn't exactly impressing her with his actions since all of this started. At the very least, she couldn't disagree with the idea of starting a fire, though perhaps finding shelter was a better starting point. Whatever worked, Kate supposed. She was just thankful no one here was at each other's throat.

Kate moved to join Loa, curious to see what the girl was pulling off. She put her hands on her hips and smiled.

sBMeEKs.png


"Pretty cool."

@Crow @Takumi @Sark @Jeremi



Steven let out a shuddering breath and dropped the bubble when it seemed things had calmed down a bit. He still felt a bit shellshocked and unsure what to think of all this. He just didn't want anyone else to fight, he knew that.

R9EEMFk.png


"... I might be able to fix your arm," Steven said after a moment. He went up to Xiayu with a sad smile on his face. "You might find it a little, uh... gross, but trust me, it works."

@Takumi @York @Yun Lee @Sark @Jeremi

Loa looked over to the girl and smiled a hiding behind this smile so that she doesn't think about the cold smile. "Thanks, it's a real ice breaker." God, that was terrible. Quick change the subject. "So uh...you look kind of familiar. Are you one of the Hawkeye's? I don't really do much outside the X-Men so I don't really know anyone..." She rubbed her arms to keep a little warm, she hoped someone was going to get that fire going and fast.

@Crow @Takumi @Sark @Atomic Knight

Kara In-Ze
@Takumi @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Others?

Terry's words gave her some reassurance; he didn't seem too different from the Batman she knew. Though, if he was willing to kill if he had to, then... There was something different about him. Something must have happened that made him change his mindset. Or maybe he wasn't quite like the original, but all the same, at least she knew he wasn't fond of the idea of killing someone else either.

She wasn't the only one looking for another way.

Though as at least one casualty occurred... And Kid Flash squared up against Beetle, causing the latter to flee into the Jungle as the former tried to kill Xiayu, but broke her arm instead, and realizing the gravity of the situation, suddenly dashed off into the trees.

For the time being, she stayed with Terry, behind the bubble shield, not so much for her own safety, but to try and form a plan. Terry and Laura's conversation did get her thinking too, and after a while, she broke her silence.

DBVM4d6.png


"She's right. All we have right now, is trust." She said, then she paused, looking into the Jungle where both Kid Flash and Beetle had run off into.

The former reminded her of a speedster that had raced with Superman once before in Metropolis, and the latter? She couldn't quite compare him to anyone she knew off the top of her head, but he had a good head on his shoulders too.

It was obvious Arcade needed a little... Leverage to get people motivated to kill each other. Though, even if he did have Clark himself hostage in some form, she knew he would still tell her to find another way. Even if it cost him his own life. In the end, he rarely ever let go of his ideals... But sometimes, in times of desperation, her adoptive cousin needed to be reminded not to lose himself to his own feelings.

4Vh8gso.png


Like that time he had faced Darkseid, and she herself had to rush to Apokolips to remind him not to become the very thing he was fighting against. To stop him from throwing away his ideals in favor of exacting revenge.

"We should move. I don't want to kill anyone, but... We have to do something about that Speedster. Before he hurts someone else... Or worse." She said after a moment of thinking.

Her gaze turned towards Xiayu, who was nursing a broken arm, something that wasn't going to fix itself.

"Besides. Maybe we'll find something that can help with pain in that jungle. Not that I'm an expert on plants or anything." She added.

Unlike Clark, she wasn't nearly as well versed in what plants might be used to treat injuries, or at least numb pain. Especially when it came to a broken arm, much less set broken bones. Though, maybe Terry knew a thing or two about it? Either way, it was going to hurt, so finding something to numb pain would certainly be beneficial to them.

Though she stopped as soon as she saw Steven, the boy who had been trying to protect them earlier try and fix Xiaoyu's arm, she halted, smiling a little as she did so.

"Hey! Good idea! I'll keep watch while you do that. Then we can head into the jungle... I think." She said, seeming a little uncertain about that last part now.

Although she did heed the warning that it might be a little gross, she was practically overjoyed when she realized someone on her team could potentially treat something like a broken arm.

However, that still didn't quite resolve what was happening with Kid Flash, and Kara wasn't one to just let such things solve themselves. That wasn't what being a superhero was all about, was it?

What Steven ended up doing did indeed make Kara recoil a little, but she couldn't exactly object; if it worked, it worked. She didn't have many other options after all.



Max Griffin
@Jeremi @Sark @Gummi Bunnies @Others?

Hearing Hyakkimaru call Arcade 'bad', Max has this eerie grin on his face as his stone suddenly flared with blue energy.

q0ygdM7.png


"Bad huh? The way I see it, the winner of this little deathmatch can't be good, can they?" He said, leering at the boy, as if he intended to fight his own team member.

Fortunately, that didn't happen, and the blue glow faded from his stone, returning to a more dim one. Perhaps he was just being a little facetious.

He returned to observing his competition, teammates or otherwise... Kid Flash in particular catching his interest. He had fled into the Jungle, after failing to finish what he started, thanks to what must have been cold feet.

"Pathetic. If you can't finish what you started. I guess I'll have to finish you..." He muttered quietly.

Without waiting for the others, he began to venture into the Jungle, his sword drawn and his stone flaring with blue light again. It seemed he was intending to hunt down Kid Flash.​

Laura looked over to where Max was wandering off. She knew that look on his face well. To Kara she gave a nod reaffirming her stance. If the group couldn't trust each other then they would all be doomed before the week was done.

@York @Sark @Gummi Bunnies @Everyone
 
2ef286ffbb9c39435a80cb53e34fcc77.png

Well... that was some development. So much for a team. One gets warped to who knows where and the other just ups and vanishes on them. Honestly, he always saw himself as a solo runner, never needing a team to do what he had to do. So...

KJ0LHg1.png


❝ I'm going to go ahead. Tag along if you still want to survive, I don't care. As long as you don't get in my way, there shouldn't be any problems. ❞ He bluntly told Isabeau. If she tagged along, that meant he could somewhat make due with her help, but if she didn't follow, well... it wouldn't be so different. The masked boy started to walk north, which would land him in the northern portion of the Drylands.

@Minerva @Sark
View attachment 3663
@Drylands
As Vanitas crossed over into the Northern Drylands, he would start to feel the weight of the burning sun beat down on him. Everywhere he looked, the looked, sand and rocks filled his eyes, the brown plains broken only by small patches of dying grass and the occasional cactus. The heat from above was almost unbearable outside of the shade, burning any uncovered skin in mere minutes and roasting anything covered by metal or class. However, the Northern Wasteland could provide Vanitas with direct passage into the Northern Plains, a region filled with lush plantlife and, more importantly, water.
Should he choose take the time to explore the Drylands, he would discover a Network of Caves, which could help to provide him with shade and a place to lie low. Venturing into the caves would lead him to the last known location of the Purple Team, and an opportunity to eliminate a player. Climbing to the top of a nearby cliff face could provide Vanitas with a better lay of the land and possible reveal further details regarding the region.

@dark @Alex Azure @Gummi Bunnies @Lucky Drylands Team

"Huh? What the fu-hgk?!" Suddenly being jerked back as he had caused Nezumi to cling onto Wally on instinct, stomach lurching uncomfortably before ultimately ending up on the ground dizzy, nauseous, and bruised and scrapped all over most likely. Not fun, not fun at all.

"Sorry...my ass....you fucker..." He groaned to himself, rolling until he got to his hands and knees. Stopping himself from losing what little he ate before coming here to begin with, he took a moment to think. He lost his knife, which left him without a weapon currently. Even if Wally was injured, with how he got Nezumi off of his back there was a chance he got the blade lodged deeper into himself. Then again, Nezumi could still fight without a weapon, and could always find new ones later if given the chance.

"Injured animals either die of their wounds or get killed by some other animal. Either way he's a pain in my ass, damnit." He huffed softly to himself as he pushed himself to his feet. Retunring to his teammates by following the blood trail, Nezumi popped a few bones in his back.


"Yeah well, we already lost one team memeber, no need losing another so soon...besides right now it's safety in numbers....and you're welcome."
Xiayu merely raised an eyebrow at what Steven did to help; definitely unconventional, but it was less gross than she had expected. Spit magic was a lot better than blood magic, honestly. Wincing at the contact at first, she waited patiently to see if Steven's spit really did the trick...

And it...did? Gradually, Xiayu felt no pain at all, and it was as if her arm had never been broken in the first place. Still careful in case it was tender somehow, Xiayu raised it, slowly testing her arm and hand out. "Amazing..." she whispered, in awe. "I've never seen anything like it." She looked to Steven. "I don't know how to thank you. You probably just saved my life."

Jianyu let out a sigh of relief. Man, she really hit the jackpot with this team, huh? No psychos, a kid who could heal...and Xiayu seemed to have a pretty solid team, too...even if it had just been split up. That Nezumi guy helped her sister out, so that was good. "Well, usually in the movies, they try to find drinking water first, right? So...I guess we should do that first?" Ugh, living on this island for a week was gonna suck. No creature comforts anywhere.
Steven let out a shuddering breath and dropped the bubble when it seemed things had calmed down a bit. He still felt a bit shellshocked and unsure what to think of all this. He just didn't want anyone else to fight, he knew that.

R9EEMFk.png


"... I might be able to fix your arm," Steven said after a moment. He went up to Xiayu with a sad smile on his face. "You might find it a little, uh... gross, but trust me, it works."


View attachment 3664
@Water Team
As the Alliance ventured further and further into the Jungle, minutes seemed to melt into hours. Following the damp land would lead the party towards a slow moving river, stretching north as far as the eye could sea. Its flow seemed to wash small sticks and lily-pads southward and out of sight, down towards the [FLOODED PLAINS]. The water itself felt cool and refreshing touch, a pleasant change compared to the humidity of the rest of the Jungle.

"Thank God..." Terry groaned, peeling back his mask and kneeling by the river bank. Cupping his hands, he doused his face with water. He needed this. He really did. A chance to turn his brain off for a few seconds and just appreciate not being dead. Basking in the moment, he released a sign. "Ladies and gentlemen... we've got water..."

Splashing his face over and over without a second thought, Terry smiled a fleeting smile.

"Get a load of all this guys!" A greedily guzzled down a fistful of water. "This is incredible! Now this is the sorta water you don't find back in society! It tastes so... clean!"

@Atomic Knight @York @Yun Lee @Takumi
"Bad huh? The way I see it, the winner of this little deathmatch can't be good, can they?" He said, leering at the boy, as if he intended to fight his own team member.

Fortunately, that didn't happen, and the blue glow faded from his stone, returning to a more dim one. Perhaps he was just being a little facetious.

He returned to observing his competition, teammates or otherwise... Kid Flash in particular catching his interest. He had fled into the Jungle, after failing to finish what he started, thanks to what must have been cold feet.

"Pathetic. If you can't finish what you started. I guess I'll have to finish you..." He muttered quietly.

Without waiting for the others, he began to venture into the Jungle, his sword drawn and his stone flaring with blue light again. It seemed he was intending to hunt down Kid Flash.
With Beetle out of range and within the Jungles, he helped himself up, his armaments folding back into the suit and red lights becoming yellow once more.

"I'll worry about you killing Wally when we get to it. We need to return now."

"Bzzz zzt!"

"He's going to kill the lady! I can't let that happen. Well, I'm doing this."

Beetle's jetpacks formed once more as he flew through the trees of the lush jungles at the greatest speeds he could muster.

"Hmmmm... if I go above these trees, I'll be a bit too easy to detect. Last thing I need when dealing with a speedster is anything slowing me down."

View attachment 3665
@WallyKillCrew
As the two Champions searched for the Speedster in their own separate ways, they would eventually find they paths crossing. Beetle's aerial recon would have revealed a similar path through the Jungle as the blood trial did, with Wally and Nezumi's path of crushed plants eventually leading the survivors to small clearing void of trees. At its heart sat Nezumi's bloodied knife, and a large paths of dried blood much larger than anything else Max has discovered thus far. Yet this obvious murder scene lacked one integral piece of evidence- a body. All that remained of Wally seemed to be a pool of blood- there were no more footprints, no more burnt shrubs. It was as if he had vanished into fin air.

A close inspection of the bloodied knife would reveal a small ball of white fluff mangled in with the rest of the blood. Perhaps the time had come for the two to put their heads together and begin investigating.

@York @Crow @TheFlashKillCrew

Hnikar did as told, swinging his great, powerful spear as he dug the dirt and soil of the trees away, revealing their roots as he swiftly cut at them to fully uproot their barky log bodies as they smacked onto the snow. Rinse and repeat for a bit about twenty times.

"How many trees do we need?"

@Takumi @Atomic Knight @Sark @Crow @RedTeam @Jeremi
Alice nodded, and held her hand out towards the firewood to focus, her hair moving from both the wind and the release of what magical energy she had, her brows furrowed as she concentrated hard on an incantation. It was like lighting a candle...something she wasn't good at at all when done with magic, but if she tried hard she might keep them all from dying. She summoned the ball of fire earlier, granted out of pure anger at Eli and their situation, but this was definitely different than a mere few minutes ago.

And-oh hey she did it! The flames that came from her was the size of a baseball at best, though seemed to grow and shrink with her wavering concentration, before stabilizing once she focused again. She was rather proud of herself in doing that without Will-o around. That is, if it'd work in her favor with the current weather, but she wasn't thinking too much on that, instead focused on keeping the flames going for now. Once the wood was lit she wouldn't even have to focus on keeping it warm with magic and let nature do the rest.

tumblr_ppllkuj7Cc1tbqin0o2_100.jpg


"For a second I thought I was gonna screw that up." She spoke, definitely enjoying the fact that she could use what little magic she might have to help others even when she didnt think she needed it, before noticing the tree Scott was eyeing. "What are you thinking?" She asked then, gaze going to the tree in question for a moment, pleased grin turning into an inquisitive look.
@Snow Team
"This orta do it! This is more like it!" Scott cried, shaving the last sheet of bark from the base of his standing tree and throwing them onto Alice's growing fire, marveling at Loa and Hnikar's displays of power the whole time. With his hands on his hips, Scott took the time to smile in the light of the camp fire's glow. "Great work, Team. We've pulled it together, haven't we? Arcade's gonna have to try harder than this to break us"

Turning back to Alice, his lips beaming, he punched her playfully on the arm. "You pulled through. I knew you had it you, Alice. Thanks to you, we don't have to waste any more time rubbing sticks together and hoping for the best" He allowed himself to laugh for a moment, forcing all thoughts of the death game from his mind. Sitting along Hnikar's fallen tree, he finally let himself catch his breath and enjoy the moment. "We're going to make it, ladies and gentlemen. Hnikar and Loa just brought us enough wood to build a shelter, and he barely had to try; if we stick together- if we work together- we'll be able to have a shelter up and running by sundown"

Soon, Scott found himself taking on the role of the scoutmaster once again, diving out jobs and

"Hnikar, Kate and I can start stripping these trees of their branches with arrowheads, knives and spears. The rest of you can get on with the building. We're going to want to build a nice strong wall facing east to deal with the wind. Eli, you can hold it up whilst..."

Cyclops found himself trailing off. He knew it had been quiet. Too quiet. And there had been a suspicious lack of death threats muttered in the last half hour. It dawned on him. He jumped to his feet and briskly walked a lap of their 'camp'.

"Eli! Where's Eli? He wont last 15 minutes out there alone...The stupid kid... what he trying to prove?!"


Observing their surroundings, the Red Team and Loa would see a trail of footprints leading away from the camp and deeper into the forest, disappearing over a nearby snow dune. Laced in the the steps were flickers of black ash, spat from a flaming stick stolen from the camp.


@Takumi @Atomic Knight @Crow @Jeremi @Red Team
 
Last edited:
2ef286ffbb9c39435a80cb53e34fcc77.png


View attachment 3663
@Drylands
As Vanitas crossed over into the Northern Drylands, he would start to feel the weight of the burning sun beat down on him. Everywhere he looked, the looked, sand and rocks filled his eyes, the brown plains broken only by small patches of dying grass and the occasional cactus. The heat from above was almost unbearable outside of the shade, burning any uncovered skin in mere minutes and roasting anything covered by metal or class. However, the Northern Wasteland could provide Vanitas with direct passage into the Northern Plains, a region filled with lush plantlife and, more importantly, water.
Should he choose take the time to explore the Drylands, he would discover a Network of Caves, which could help to provide him with shade and a place to lie low. Venturing into the caves would lead him to the last known location of the Purple Team, and an opportunity to eliminate a player. Climbing to the top of a nearby cliff face could provide Vanitas with a better lay of the land and possible reveal further details regarding the region.

@dark @Alex Azure @Gummi Bunnies @Lucky Drylands Team






View attachment 3664
@Water Team
As the Alliance ventured further and further into the Jungle, minutes seemed to melt into hours. Following the damp land would lead the party towards a slow moving river, stretching north as far as the eye could sea. Its flow seemed to wash small sticks and lily-pads southward and out of sight, down towards the [FLOODED PLAINS]. The water itself felt cool and refreshing touch, a pleasant change compared to the humidity of the rest of the Jungle.

"Thank God..." Terry groaned, peeling back his mask and kneeling by the river bank. Cupping his hands, he doused his face with water. He needed this. He really did. A chance to turn his brain off for a few seconds and just appreciate not being dead. Basking in the moment, he released a sign. "Ladies and gentlemen... we've got water..."

Splashing his face over and over without a second thought, Terry smiled a fleeting smile.

"Get a load of all this guys!" A greedily guzzled down a fistful of water. "This is incredible! Now this is the sorta water you don't find back in society! It tastes so... clean!"

@Atomic Knight @York @Yun Lee @Takumi



View attachment 3665
@WallyKillCrew
As the two Champions searched for the Speedster in their own separate ways, they would eventually find they paths crossing. Beetle's aerial recon would have revealed a similar path through the Jungle as the blood trial did, with Wally and Nezumi's path of crushed plants eventually leading the survivors to small clearing void of trees. At its heart sat Nezumi's bloodied knife, and a large paths of dried blood much larger than anything else Max has discovered thus far. Yet this obvious murder scene lacked one integral piece of evidence- a body. All that remained of Wally seemed to be a pool of blood- there were no more footprints, no more burnt shrubs. It was as if he had vanished into fin air.

A close inspection of the bloodied knife would reveal a small ball of white fluff mangled in with the rest of the blood. Perhaps the time had come for the two to put their heads together and begin investigating.

@York @Crow @TheFlashKillCrew



@Snow Team
"This orta do it! This is more like it!" Scott cried, shaving the last sheet of bark from the base of his standing tree and throwing them onto Alice's growing fire, marveling at Loa and Hnikar's displays of power the whole time. With his hands on his hips, Scott took the time to smile in the light of the camp fire's glow. "Great work, Team. We've pulled it together, haven't we? Arcade's gonna have to try harder than this to break us"

Turning back to Alice, his lips beaming, he punched her playfully on the arm. "You pulled through. I knew you had it you, Alice. Thanks to you, we don't have to waste any more time rubbing sticks together and hoping for the best" He allowed himself to laugh for a moment, forcing all thoughts of the death game from his mind. Sitting along Hnikar's fallen tree, he finally let himself catch his breath and enjoy the moment. "We're going to make it, ladies and gentlemen. Hnikar and Loa just brought us enough wood to build a shelter, and he barely had to try; if we stick together- if we work together- we'll be able to have a shelter up and running by sundown"

Soon, Scott found himself taking on the role of the scoutmaster once again, diving out jobs and

"Hnikar, Kate and I can start stripping these trees of their branches with arrowheads, knives and spears. The rest of you can get on with the building. We're going to want to build a nice strong wall facing east to deal with the wind. Eli, you can hold it up whilst..."

Cyclops found himself trailing off. He knew it had been quiet. Too quiet. And there had been a suspicious lack of death threats muttered in the last half hour. It dawned on him. He jumped to his feet and briskly walked a lap of their 'camp'.

"Eli! Where's Eli? He wont last 15 minutes out there alone...The stupid kid... what he trying to prove?!"


Observing their surroundings, the Red Team and Loa would see a trail of footprints leading away from the camp and deeper into the forest, disappearing over a nearby snow dune. Laced in the the steps were flickers of black ash, spat from a flaming stick stolen from the camp.


@Takumi @Atomic Knight @Crow @Jeremi @Red Team

Face showing minor disgust as Steven healed Xiayu with his spit of all things, he shook his head and got to his feet. He's seen quite a few disgusting things in his lifetime, and hell he even climbed a pile of bodies, but this was new. He took it well at least, given that he was probably covered in dirt, dried blood, and whatever bits of rock and grime was on that cliff face he unfortunately had to be rubbed against not too long ago himself. He probably looked like hell, but oh well.

tumblr_inline_pepunn15Ch1sfrtcl_100.png


"I thought I've seen it all but I keep being proven wrong, heh. Not even the grossest thing I've seen yet it still makes my skin crawl." He joked lightly.

Deciding not to comment further on the whole spit thing, he went along with the others into the jungle on high alert, if the way his eyes scanned their surroundings was anything to go by, he didn't even speak, just walked with his hands at his sides and shoulders tense. To tell the truth, he still had a bit of adrenaline pumping through his veins even if he still felt like shit.

Nezumi went and took a drink once they finally found water, before sitting for a second to rest. However, he listened for anything they may have been headed towards them, such as any animals or people from other teams.

@Sark @Yun Lee @Atomic Knight @York @Yellow & Pink Teams

---

tumblr_ppllkuj7Cc1tbqin0o1_100.jpg


Alice chuckled as Scott playfully punched her in the arm, almost forgetting that she was stuck in a death game for a moment. Something felt a little off though, and she didn't know what it was until Cyclops brought it up once things seemed to have gone smoothly for the first time since ending up trapped here. Which should of been a red flag in itself.


"That kid's gonna get himself killed for sure." She sighed heavily, before making her own torch.

tumblr_ppllkuj7Cc1tbqin0o3_100.jpg


"I can drag him back, conscious or unconscious. Either way? I'm pummeling him when I see him." She grumbled. Is this how Renfred felt when he first took her in? Like a babysitter for an unruly brat? If she ever made it back she'd have to apologize-and not just for what happened to his face but just for everything.

Ugh, there she went comparing herself to that punk again. Despite not hating him enough to want him dead she still found it irritating.

@Crow @Atomic Knight @Sark @Jeremi @Red Team
 
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