KH-Vids Royale III

Eyyyyy tale's got a shotgun! That's a good weapon lol

I wonder who's on me and Misty's team... And oof I knew we'd be pitted against each other, but five teams of five? Didn't expect that, nor did I expect Capture the Flag! Super excited for the next installment, go blue whales lol and as for all you other teams here's a glimpse of your future:

 

It took more time than expected to figure out the teams, and due to some other commitments this evening, I won't be posting the next chapter today. So as a little treat to everyone checking in, here are the team lists. Obvious spoilers ahead:

Spoiler: Team Lists

Green Monkeys
Sara
Tamale
C
Rosey
Aelin

Blue Whales
Misty
Lauriam
Inasuma
Trigger
Kitty

Red Birds
Mish
Cin
NRA
Cia
libregkd

Yellow Giraffes
Calxiyn
Deathspank
Boris the Blade
Hissora
Jinx

Brown Dogs
Darkandroid
Yozora
Amaury
Risk
Explode

 

Yeeaaaah I got a super cool team! :D

Though seeing some of the people I'll be opposing like big yikes there XD forgive me, friends, for what I must do

 

021​

The yellow giraffes sat together on the volcano’s peak, listening to Roxas’s announcement. “The third challenge is… capture the flag!”
Boris groaned. “Great,” he said. “First we play who’s the rotten egg, now this? The **** is going on here?”
“I’m sensing a theme,” his teammate Jinx chimed in, sitting on a boulder. “All these games are rather rudimentary, aren’t they?”
“Children’s games,” nodded Hissora. She sat next to Jinx, playing in the dirt with a frayed stick. “Games he knows we’ll know.”
“We’ve played them before. So I guess no one has an inherent advantage,” Deathspank said. “And this whole live stream thing going on? Must be fun to watch a bunch of adults run around playing kids games. ****ing sickos! I hope it’ll be us giraffes capturing the most flags...”
They’d all found a yellow giraffe in their bags and met at the top of the volcano at the coordinate on its back - ‘M-6.’ Boris looked over his teammates. Deathspank and Jinx looked strong and Hissora seemed wise. Calxiyn, the fifth member, seemed troubled by the nature of the game. But this is fine. It’s still a team I can work with… and truthfully, it could have been worse.
He glanced at his phone, where Sara’s avatar appeared back toward the beach where they entered the game. Don’t die on me while we’re apart now, babes. Would hate to have to spend all that money myself.
“Look!”
It was the first thing Calxiyn had said since they’d met at M-6. Boris looked the way she pointed, and saw five helicopters flying toward the island.
Hissora stood. “Could it be a rescue? Quick, make a smoke signal!”
Roxas’s voice came back in over the loudspeakers to snub out Hissora’s dreams.
“Five helicopters are currently on route to the island,” he began to explain. “And when they arrive, they will drop crates that contain the flags you need to capture. Once those boxes hit the ground the challenge begins. Where are they being dropped? At each of the five coordinates found on the backs of your cards. That’s the whole home base thing I mentioned earlier.”
The helicopters were closing in on the island, and one broke off, headed for the volcano.
“Each crate will have flags stapled to it. All you need to do is run up and rip one off, then return to home base and add it to your own crate… at the end of the game, the team who has the most flags taken and least flags stolen will be eliminated.”
I was waiting for that bit. Of course one team is going to go.
“You can only carry one enemy team’s flag at a time, got it? It’s an important rule. We’ll be watching you, so if you try to handle more than one at a time, that microchip is going off.”
Arbitrary rules. Great.
“So what will you do? Go out into the island to steal flags, leaving your crate undefended? Or stay back and hope you can stop anyone from reaching your crate?”
The helicopter flew over the volcano and Boris watched it release a crate above them. A yellow parachute broke from its top and the crate sailed smoothly down to the peak. After it gently touched down a few meters away, canisters began to let out plumes of yellow smoke. Soon they billowed in the air, forming a pillar.
From atop the volcano, the yellow giraffes watched the helicopters dropping crates across the island. A green one fell near the village by the beach. A red one glided into the city ruins. By the dunes fell a blue box. Boris watched the last helicopter drop a crate into the center of the island. He looked at his map. Perhaps F-6, he wondered. That’s the dead center of the place according to this. A plume of brown mist rose into the air. Before them, pillars of smoke marked the location of each crate.
“The last crate is down,” Roxas said. “The challenge has begun. And of course, players, don’t forget that the regular rules of the game apply. You may kill as many people as you want during the course of the challenge.”
“When’s it over?” Jinx asked no one in particular. “How long does this go on for?”
But Roxas’s announcement was over, and all they had to go on was what he’d just told them.
“Who knows,” Deathspank answered. “Maybe it ends when one team has all its flags taken.”
“W-what do we do?” Calxiyn stuttered.
“We need a strategy,” Hissora explained casually. “Duh.”
“Then who’s staying and who’s defending?” asked Jinx.
“Wait, do we really want to send people out there?”
“Shut up, everyone,” Boris shouted. He was sick of listening to them. “I know what we need to do. Everyone else will be freaking out right now. Roxas only just announced the challenge and people are still processing everything he said. We strike now and steal at least one flag. Then, we defend.”
“I like that,” Jinx agreed. “Particularly the defending part. Let them come to us, right? We have the high ground.”
“Exactly,” Boris smiled. At least one person was getting it.
“And who are we going after?” Deathspank asked. Boris studied the island before him. The brown team’s crate seemed like a lost cause. They were in the dead center of the island and the easiest to get to from the four other locations. It would make sense that most teams would go there first, looking for a quick flag. Chaos would ensue. The blue team’s flags were also out of the question, as they were in the dunes on the other side of the island. That meant that the red team in the ruins to the north and the green team on the beach to the south were their best options. Of course, they could also just as easily be targeted by either of those two teams if they were to correctly deduce not to go for the brown team at the center of the island. But since they had such a high position, no one would attack the volcano… would they?
“The red team,” Boris said. “In the ruins. I was there before, and I know the area.”
“You were there?” Calxiyn asked. “We heard gunfire from there, you know… And then Roxas announced the dead. W-was that…?”
“Let’s put the first challenge behind us,” Boris told her. “We’re a team now. And teams stick together. They leave the past in the past.”
Calxiyn swallowed.
“The red team at the city ruins, then,” Deathspank nodded, rubbing his chin and looking at the deteriorated buildings in the distance. “You’ll need someone to go with you, right? How about me?”
“I’m okay with that,” answered Boris. Either Deathspank or Jinx was fine with him. He holstered his rifle. “I’ve got this. You?”
“Uh,” Deathspank stammered. “My weapon was… toy darts.”
Boris winced. He hadn’t even thought to ask what weapons his teammates had received.
“A plastic hammer,” Calxiyn shrugged.
“I got a Glock 19,” Jinx said. “The law enforcement special.”
“That’s a bit more useful,” Boris smiled. “And you?” Hissora looked up from her drawing in the dirt.
“I think they’re mines,” she said. “I have no clue how to use them.” She pointed to her bag by a burned log. Boris walked over and unzipped it.
“My god,” he whispered. “They are land mines.”
“Yeah,” Hissora said. “Thought they were something like that.”
“This is perfect,” he announced. “We bury these in front of the crate and you three hide. Deathspank and I will take the weapons and head for the red team. We should only be a couple hours.”
He quickly buried the mines. It wasn’t his first time. When he stood, Jinx handed him the pistol.
“Be fast,” he told Boris. “We’ll need you back here if things get hairy.”
Boris grabbed both guns and beckoned Deathspank to follow. They made their way down the slope.
“This isn’t good for us,” Boris told him. “Our team is good, but our weapons are terrible. Let's hope our strategy works, beca-"
Bang! Bang!
There were two gunshots from the center of the island. He and Deathspank crouched, looking toward the brown team's plume of smoke.
“But hey,” he added, as they heard screams in the distance. “At least we aren’t them.”

25 players remaining

 

tfw Deathspank and Boris are heading straight for ya

 

022​

Bark and twigs flew through the air as bullets tore through the treetops. Risk’s eyes were closed, his breaths heavy. He heard screams and cries, the fierce metallic ripping of the firing gun, and the sound of leaves being ripped to pieces. Bits of debris smacked against his face and chest as carnage exploded about him. The gunfire stopped. He opened his eyes delicately. Bullets had torn into their crate and even blown up one of the smoke canisters. His team - the brown dogs - had barely even gathered at their home base together before the challenge had begun.
The ****ing center of the island, he grimaced. Of. ****ing. Course. We’ll be lucky if the other three teams don’t pop up and merc us right now. ****ing brown dogs my ass.
He glanced to his right. Behind another trunk was Darkandroid, his fellow team member. In his hands was the sickle he’d gotten as his random weapon, which, in Risk’s opinion, wasn’t exactly helpful right now.
In his own hands was a pistol of his own; a semi-automatic Sauer. Not that he’d ever used one before, but at least he didn’t have to charge the machine gun wielding player if he wanted a chance at taking them out. Darkandroid needs to stay back. So does Yozora. The poor man got a paper fan for his weapon.
Hiding behind a giant tree on the left were Amaury and Explode. Explode had been grazed with machine gun fire and Amaury was wrapping his left forearm up for him using a piece of ripped tracksuit. They both had good weapons as well - Amaury, a Smith & Wesson; Explode, a basic Glock 04A.
The shots started again and the trees were torn to shreds. Risk had no idea where Yozora had gone, and the noise and mess made it too difficult to discern anything. He saw Darkandroid move as if he was going to charge, but Risk held up a hand.
“Hold tight,” he called. “Let them come.”
They heard a pair of footsteps in the leaves and a single word was screamed. “Attack!”
Yozora dropped from the trees and landed in front of Risk. “It’s No Reality,” he shouted. “He’s coming for us!”
“Is he the one with the gun?”
“He’s not the only one.”
"****," Risk cussed. Then he heard it again: “Attack!”
Gunfire erupted and wood chips flew everywhere. Darkandroid and Yozora dived to the ground and covered their heads and ears. Risk knew the one with the machine gun had closed in and must have been only a few meters away now. He turned to warn Amaury, but he stammered when he saw who stood behind him and Explode. No Reality waited, something strapped to his waist, a hose in his hands.
“Amaury!” screamed Risk. “Explode!” But Amaury had been caught in the fire while working on Explode’s arm, and Explode’s Glock had fallen out of his hands in the panic of the attack. Risk aimed his Sauer at No Reality and pulled the trigger three times, but the bullets flew through the leaves and scattered into the evening sky. No Reality took that extra second to pull the trigger on his weapon.
Risk watched Amaury roll out of the way as the fire erupted from the hose, but for Explode, who lay injured on the forest floor, it was too late. The flame thrower roared louder than the machine gun as the fire ripped out of the tube and began to roast Explode’s face. Risk saw his mouth screaming in agony, his face and eyes in pain - but he couldn’t hear anything over the noise of the fire, and soon he couldn’t make out any eyes or face at all. Explode’s upper body turned the consistency of wax and the microchip implanted in his neck triggered, giving off a small explosion that blew the melted mound of flesh that remained to pieces.
“Nooooooo!” It was Amaury. As the flame finished pouring over Explode’s body, he grabbed his Smith & Wesson that had fallen away when he rolled. His hands fumbled but he caught himself, held it up in front of him and pointed it at No Reality.
“Gotcha."
Amaury pulled the trigger and the bullet went right through No Reality’s forehead. He stumbled backward, his eyes looking about in confusion. The flamethrower's hose fell to the ground as he teetered back and forth before the weight of the gas canister on his waist forced him to collapse.
For the first time in minutes, it was quiet. Risk listened as the natural sounds of the forest returned to his ears - the chirping of bugs in the forest and the distant sound of waves crashing off of rocks. He heard twigs crush underfoot as someone moved through the brush. The hiss of the gas canisters on the crate filled the air with a light ambience. Everything he’d just witnessed replayed slowly in his head. There was no doubt in his mind that Explode and No Reality were dead. But had others perished with them?
Yozora got up, coughing. “Who’s here?” he asked. “Brown dogs - roll call.”
“I’m here,” Risk replied.
“Me, too,” Darkandroid called from the other tree.
Risk looked to Amaury. The man was physically unharmed, but he was curled up crying next to the corpses of Explode and NRA.
This is terrible. So terrible.
The team waited for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, Risk decided to peer from behind the tree to where the machine gun had been firing from. He leaned his head out from the trunk and glanced into the twilit trees. There was no one there.
“I think we’re good,” Yozora said. He got up and ran over to Amaury, who was still sobbing.
“I couldn’t save him,” Amaury said. “I couldn’t…”
“None of us could,” Yozora said, patting his back. “It’s not your fault.”
Amaury continued to sob, and Risk had to look away. It was too heart-wrenching.
Rest in peace, Explode, he thought to himself. And you, too, No Reality.
He didn’t want his friends to die, even if they were technically out to kill him.
Yozora went over to No Reality’s body and removed the flamethrower. “At least I can fight now.”
“Be careful with that,” Darkandroid offered. “If you saw what it did, then… well…” They all looked away from the puddle of Explode that stained the ground.
"Maybe I'll just use this, then," Yozora sighed, picking up Explode's old Glock.
Risk sat down and exhaled. What a ****ing mess.
That’s when he caught it out of the corner of his eye. He looked to the crate which spilled brown smoke into the air.
****.
“Team,” he began, gulping. “We haven't just lost a teammate. We’ve lost a flag.”

23 players remaining

 

Nooooooo not Explode! :O

 

023​

Libregkd emerged from the treeline, charging toward the city ruins where the rest of the red birds waited. He had both good news and bad. In his hand was the good news - a flag from the brown dogs’ crate, but on the other hand, they’d lost No Reality. He didn’t know how his team would react. He had no idea how close they were with him.
Regardless, their plan had worked. Libre had to ignore the knot in his stomach that burned every time he thought of NRA. During the middle of the announcement of the capture the flag challenge, Cin told them to head for the center of the island. They ran south from the city ruins and were already a quarter of the way there by the time the brown dogs’ crate dropped.
But it was horrible, Libre thought to himself, afraid to remember what happened. He’d sprayed bullets into the trees and prayed no one died. His friends… what had he done to them? What was the point of NRA dying?
He wanted to mourn and grieve but he was too far gone. Separating himself from his emotions, even if only momentarily, was the only way he could function.
Libre reached the end of a grassy plain and walked onto the ruined city’s first road. At the end of the three to four block downtown area was a cliff, and a plume of red smoke billowed into the air from his team’s crate which overlooked the ocean. He saw several figures standing near t, and realized it must be Mish, Cin and Cia.
What’ll they say? When they hear about NRA?
He looked back at the forest where he’d just stolen the brown dogs’ hopes and dreams of staying alive. Two figures caught his eye in the brush as they darted back toward the trees when he turned.
…No.
Libre put his PKM into the air and fired off three rounds into the sky. The warning shots were to both deter the invaders and warn his own team that someone was coming. Get down, red birds. And arm up.
Bang!
A return shot was fired back and barely missed Libre, shattering the windshield of a nearby car. He pulled the trigger and rattled a few more shots off toward the trees as he dropped to the ground. There was silence as both parties lay waiting.
Cin’ll know who they are, Libre realized. The forum legend's weapon had been extremely intriguing - a QR code. When Cin had used his phone to scan it, it downloaded an app that tracked the location of everyone on the island. Now, everyone’s avatars appeared on his map as if he’d exchanged location data with all of them.
I need that tracker eventually, Libre thought. If Cin keeps that thing to himself, I’ll never win.
He glanced back, but cars and debris blocked his view of his teammates. The only thing he could see was the great pillar of smoke being blown out from the crate. Whoever was attacking them was some ways away and he had time to carefully crawl back to his team’s position. Libre began the trek, wary of footsteps or potential flash attacks. He knew of at least two attackers, but who knew who else might be coming through the trees.
They’ll regret it. Our weapons are insane.
With the tracker, Cia’s Uzi, Mish’s Glock, his PKM and No Reality’s flamethrower, they seemed unstoppable. But now the flamethrower was lost, claimed by another team who might come for revenge. Yet they had no clue it was the red birds who had attacked. If they were lucky, the dogs would **** off somewhere else. Anyone who came to the city ruins was asking for trouble.
Bang!
Pop!
And if trouble is what they want, it’s trouble they’ll get. Libre heard Cia’s Uzi go off in retaliation and bullets sizzled over his head like rockets from Donald’s Flare Force. An intense firefight broke out and he half-crawled, half-galloped along the ground to get back to his team as fast as possible. Finally the road ended and he saw that no one was near the crate. They had hid behind the last building on the left, and when he noticed them, Cin beckoned him over. Libre sprinted the small gap between them and heard a couple shots before he dived and landed on the ground in front of the red birds.
“NRA... What happened to him?” Mish asked. Libre brushed himself off and sat up.
“A gunshot to the head.”
The team went quiet.
“But, I got this.” He pulled out the brown dogs’ flag.
“Boris and Deathspank are here,” Cin said, moving the subject along. “It sounds like they have single fire weapons. Our plan is to wait here and draw them in, then overwhelm them in a pincer movement.”
“A pincer?”
“Look,” Cin said, handing the tracker to Libre. Libre trembled as he held it, its power overwhelming. He saw three people moving from the dunes toward the ruins. It was Misty, Kitty, and Inasuma. Libre looked up toward the dunes and saw blue smoke.
“The blue team is coming,” he realized aloud. “Boris will be trapped between us.”
“Mish and Misty shared location data, so it makes sense she’d come here,” Cin explained. “Now we wait.”
Libre looked back at the tracker. Boris and Deathspank had moved deeper into the city.
“We may have to fight,” he mentioned. “They’re getting closer.”
“If we have to hold out, we will,” Cia grinned, holding her uzi.
“Jesus,” Libre chuckled. “You weren’t so gung-ho when we set out earlier.”
“It’s the adrenaline, Libre. And the confidence of having these guns, I guess.”
“The flamethrower,” Mish interrupted. “Is it lost?”
Libre looked down and frowned. “Gone,” he answered. “In one of the brown dogs’ hands’ now, most likely.”
“It’s fine,” Cin butt in. “We have a flag, and that’s more important. The brown dogs are heading to the beach, anyway - not here.” He pointed at the tracker, and Libre followed. Avatars of Darkandroid and Risk were moving south toward the southern coast, where the green smoke was. It was all playing out live on Cin’s tracker.
“This thing’s ****ing broken,” Libre said. “This was seriously your weapon!?”
“Well, yeah,” Cin replied. “I spent the whole first game avoiding you all. It was easy with this thing.”
Libre knew he had to get the tracker. But for now, he had to play it cool.
“Heads up,” Cin said. “They’re nearly here. You two have automatics, so you should get the jump on them.”
Libre and Cia looked at each other and walked to the edge of the wall.
“I’m gonna count to three,” Cin said. “Then lean out and shoot.”
Libre steadied. He felt Cia grab his arm.
“We’ve got this,” she said.
“Three,” Cin began.
Libre trembled.
“Two.”
He heard the crunch of grass around the wall. Boris and Deathspank were right there. He heard Cia’s breaths and felt a bead of sweat fall off his chin.
“...One.”
Libre popped out from behind the wall and pointed his PKM at Deathspank.
Bang!

23 players remaining

 

024​

Deathspank ducked as Libre popped out from behind the building in front of him. The first bullet shredded his tracksuit and tore through the skin on the top of his shoulder, but the following bullets missed as Boris tackled him behind an old newspaper stand. The ringing of metal was ear-splitting as Cia and Libre unloaded their automatic weapons. Bits of cement and metal flew everywhere and Deathspank covered his ears. His right shoulder stung but he didn’t dare glance at the wound. He was able to lift his arm now, and that was enough.
“Wait for the gunfire to stop, then run for that store,” Boris pointed. Deathspank saw an abandoned pharmacy on the other side of the road. “I’ll cover you, okay? But you need to run.”
Deathspank nodded. He hardly had a choice.
The gunfire let up, and Boris shoved Deathspank away. He fell forward a bit, then straightened his core and looked back toward the red team’s location. Cia and Libre had retreated behind the building but he still fired a shot in their direction before he sprinted toward the pharmacy. He turned his head and focused on his destination; the door. The loud pop of Boris’s rifle echoed down the eerie, cracked street, reverberating on the hoods of cars that had been abandoned, seemingly left in traffic when this island had been deserted. Deathspank used the moment of cover to throw open the pharmacy’s door and dive inside. Sunlight streamed into a room full of dust, and Deathspank’s body left imprints in the ground as he rolled to a stop.
It was quiet. He coughed as the old air filled his lungs and felt sick when he saw cobwebs draped in the ceiling’s corners. ****, I can’t breathe in this shithole.
Old muck filled his shoulder wound and he lifted his fingertips to it, gently touching the blood-soaked tracksuit and pulling back the plastic that stuck to his skin. Pain rippled down into the bones of his fingers and he let out a sharp sigh as he peeled his clothes open.
Thank ****.
The wound wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t life-threatening, either. He quickly glanced around the room, looking for an old gauze wrap or rubbing alcohol. There was nothing that caught his eye, so he went to the pharmacy’s counter and pilfered the computer stand for receipt paper. He unraveled it and began to wrap his upper arm and shoulder within. It was still quiet, but he listened for footsteps or voices, wondering how long he actually had to do first aid. As he was finishing up he heard a conversation begin outside, so he approached the door with his gun in his hand. The wound still throbbed but was otherwise manageable.
From a dark corner of the room, he could see through the door. Boris, Cia and Libre were at a standstill. Deathspank gasped.
Boris needs me. What am I doing?
Deathspank edged forward, the voices more audible as he neared the pharmacy door. He was closer now and had a better look at the action. It wasn’t a standstill at all - Boris had his hands up, his rifle on his back. He listened, craning his neck. The group was talking.
“Let me join you,” Boris said.
“I don’t think it works like that,” Cia replied. “We said to drop your rifle.”
“I’m sure Roxas can bend the rules. Surely teams can take in new allies?”
“Drop the damn rifle, Boris,” Libre shouted, holding his PKM with panic in his eyes. “Don’t make me do this. Please.”
He needs me, Deathspank thought. He covered me first, right? It’s my turn.
With vigor in his heart, Deathspank stepped out from the pharmacy with confidence. He’d barely walked two steps when Mish’s Glock smacked him across the face, knocking him unconscious.

---​

“Deathspank down!” Mish called, and Boris turned his head in terror. His partner was unconscious on the ground, and Cin was hovering over his body. He picked up Deathspank’s pistol which had clattered to the pavement.
Oh, ****, Boris realized. I might be clever, but how am I getting out of this?
Cia walked closer to him, the uzi pointed at his face. Boris imagined what it would feel like if she pulled the trigger that close. He prayed - even though he didn’t believe in God - that it would be an instant, painless death.
“If you think this’ll be quick, you’re wrong,” Cia said. He gulped.
“Back up, Cia,” Libre warned. “Let’s not get crazy, here.”
She stepped back but kept the gun pointed at him.
“Well, I regret coming here already,” Boris tried. “If you’re not gonna let me join you, maybe you’ll let me go?”
“Give us the rifle and we’ll talk about it.”
“But-”
“The rifle - now!”
Boris conceded and put the rifle on the ground. He took his time standing up, both hands in the air. I should have gone south, to Sara. Big mistake, buddy.
He remembered he could see her avatar on his map. If he could get his hands on his phone, and just see if she was on her way…
Libre grabbed the rifle and threw it backward. Mish and Cin approached.
“They’re nearly here,” Cin said, looking at his phone. “About a minute away.”
Huh? Boris wondered what Cin was on about. ‘They.’ How many people had he exchanged location data with?
“And they’re not the only ones on their way anymore, either.” Cin showed something to Mish. A shocked look crossed her face.
There’s something about that phone, Boris noted to himself. He noticed Cin didn’t have a weapon, either - just Jinx’s Glock he’d stolen off of Deathspank. Boris looked at his partner, who they’d carried back from outside the pharmacy. He was still lifeless. Mish had wrapped a bandage around his forehead and between his shoulder and face, Deathspank was starting to look mummified.
“Did you share location data with anyone?” Cin asked. Boris wasn’t sure what to say. Yes, he had - but did he want Cin to know that? “Because it looks like she’s on her way here," he continued. “Assuming it was Sara.”
Boris laughed. He finally realized what Cin had. “A tracker, huh?” he chuckled. “Of course. You have all these guns, these smart people, and a god damn tracker to top it all off. We never stood a chance.”
But Sara was on the way. She didn’t know what she was walking into, but Boris would find a way to help her help him.
“And don’t think she has enough firepower to stop us,” Cin said, reading his mind. “Especially with our reinforcements on the way.”
“Reinforcements?”
But Cin didn’t need to answer his question. Boris heard the crunch of gravel behind him and turned his head to see who it was.
Misty. Kitty. And Inasuma.
“Well lookie here,” Kitty smiled. “Looks like we’ve managed to catch our first fish.”
Boris was stumped. This wasn’t at all how he’d seen this playing out.
“So, are you going to kill me?” he asked. “If so, then do it.”
“Not yet,” Cin replied. “We need to use you as bait.”
He held his phone up toward Boris, and Boris saw the avatars of Sara, C and Aelin moving through the forest, nearly at the edge of the city ruins.
“Thanks,” Cin added. “You made this really easy for us.”

23 players remaining

 

oh **** i'm a badass

 

Boris the *****

 

oh **** oh **** not C and Gabi lol noooooo (and Sara too though I don't know them very well BUT STILL)

 

025​

From the top of the volcano, Hissora had a spectacular view of the island as the sun began to drop over the western horizon. She’d listened to the chaos at the center of the forest and the gunshots that had popped from the ruins to the north. Hopefully those shots were from Boris and Deathspank and not toward them. Whatever was going on out there, no one was dead yet - somehow.
The trumpets came in. Doo-doo-dah! She was getting sick of that little melody.
“Player number eight - no_reality_allowed - has left the game. Player number nineteen - Explode - has left the game. Twenty-three players remaining.”
Nevermind, she thought. I guess we’re down to twenty-three. Neither player was a part of the yellow giraffes, and that’s all that mattered. She hardly knew the others and didn’t feel remorse when their names were announced. You’re just a husk, a shell, a passing entity. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism. These were people she’d known for almost fifteen years, now. Keep drawing.
She forced herself to think of something else while she doodled in the dirt.
Jinx and Calxiyn were hiding behind nearby boulders. She watched the rocks’ shadows stretch up the slope as the sun dropped lower and lower, almost halfway below the sea. She had no clue what the night would bring, but the darkness didn’t scare her. In fact, it’s where she thrived. The gothic art she made didn’t hit the same when she worked on it during the day. Even now, the skull she’d drawn in the ground seemed to twist into a more sinister look as the last light of the sun faded away.
“I don’t like how dark it is,” Calxiyn said to no one in particular. “We can't scan the slope now."
“At least we have an advantage to worry about in the first place,” Jinx said. “No one wants to hike up this bloody thing - light or no light.”
“We’ll be better hidden,” reassured Hissora. “Sure, they might still see the smoke from the crate, but they won’t see us.”
A loud siren blasted over the island. Bwaaaaaaahhhh!!!
There was a mechanical thud as a beacon of yellow light shot from the top of the crate and into the star-filled sky. More thuds followed as each crate's spotlight activated. The siren’s wail decreased in pitch and volume until it petered out. The island was illuminated with five great pillars of colorful light that marked each teams’ home base.
“Better hidden my ass,” Jinx muttered. The yellow light made their hiding spots behind the boulders irrelevant. It was practically daytime with how bright it was. “This is ridiculous.”
“At least we have more visibility ourselves,” Hissora offered. “Look, it’s pretty easy to see down the slopes again.” She pointed down the hill where she’d made her ascent on her way to meet the team. “You can practically see the end of the treeline over there. This isn’t too bad.”
Calxiyn was still troubled. “We still don’t have any weapons!”
She was right - they were sitting ducks.
“****!” she exclaimed, realizing something crucial. “Why didn’t we share location data with Boris and Deathspank before they left? What are we doing?”
“Damn,” Jinx said, sounding slightly defeated. “We’re amateurs.”
“Let’s do what we can, then. Move away from the light. The landmines will do their job if anyone closes in.”
The yellow giraffes followed each other further up the volcano’s slope. They neared the utmost peak and its cavern opened up. There was no lava swirling about inside, much to Hissora’s dismay. The volcano was more of a large hill than a mountain anyway, and only took about ten minutes to reach the crate from its base. She studied the formations on the edges of the bowl until Jinx caught her attention with a hurried tap on the shoulder.
“What?” She turned, but Jinx had his finger up to his mouth as if to tell her to ‘shh.’
Her eyes scanned below, immediately aware of a potential threat. She followed Jinx’s eyes and saw someone moving up the side of the mountain alone. The giraffes jumped into the volcano’s bowl and looked over the edge.
“It’s Rosey!” Calxiyn whispered. “No, Rosey - turn back!”
Calxiyn stood as if to warn Rosey, but Jinx grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.
“Don’t,” he said. “She’s not on our team, right?”
“But-!”
“We have to let the game play out,” interrupted Hissora. “Even if they're our friends.”
“You don’t want to die, do you?” Jinx asked Calxiyn. “You know what happens to the team that loses, right?” He jabbed his finger into his neck. “These go boom. All of us.”
Calxiyn gulped. “I get it,” she said. “Fine.”
Hissora watched Rosey dart behind boulders as she neared the crate. Perhaps she’ll think things are suspicious and retreat. An unguarded crate? It’s just too easy, right?
But Rosey pushed on.
“Look away, Calxiyn,” warned Jinx.
Rosey was unarmed. She crested the peak and glanced about, ducking behind an old, burned tree trunk. There were only six or seven meters between her and the crate now. Hissora knew where Boris had buried the landmine. It was only a matter of steps.
She held her breath and waited for the explosion.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The earth trembled and she grabbed Jinx to keep herself from tumbling backward. Dust and dirt filled the air where the mine had gone off. Red goo rained down and Hissora watched an intact leg, split at the thigh, land on the ground a few meters away from them. Calxiyn turned and vomited and Jinx’s mouth hung open, stunned. It seemed like the whole island might have felt the explosion with how powerful it had been. If this was a film, Hissora imagined the yellow giraffes would have cheered and celebrated their successful defense plan. But as the bits and pieces of their old friend sprinkled their faces and the volcano’s barren, lifeless slope, she only felt pain.
“I’ll go check it out,” Jinx said when the dust and debris had settled.
“No,” Hissora said. “Let me.” She wanted to see how grim the damage was. After all, if she could survive this game, who knows how well it would inspire her future art.
Jinx and Calxiyn watched her as she leaped out of the volcano’s bowl and hopped over Rosey’s leg on her way down to the crate. Hissora made sure to stay right and avoid one of the other landmines that had been buried there. She reached the crate and saw a blackened, scarred crater where the mine had gone off. The yellow spotlight gave the carnage a sepia tone.
This is incredible, she thought. This is inspiration!
She lifted her hands in joy. All their flags were there.
“Hissora!” shouted Jinx. “Look!”
She turned to her teammate and smiled. “Come down, Jinx!” she called. “It’s ever so beautiful!”
But Jinx was waving at her with fear in his eyes. “Look out!”
Hissora turned around, the end of a shotgun held up to her face.
“I’m sorry, Hissora,” Tamale sighed. “I don’t want to do this, but I need your flag.”
Thankfully, the shotgun shell was so wide she never felt a thing; she only heard buckshot before it all went black. Hissora died the way she wanted to - in a glorious, gory fashion.

21 players remaining

 

cold as ****ing ice tale

 

At least the yellow giraffes still have that plastic hammer up their sleeve, maybe they'll be alright

 

026​

Boris was pinned between a bunch of people who seemed pissed off to see him. Yeah, this really sucks. How’d I get into this situation…
An explosion rocked the ground and Misty pivoted to the east. Boris gulped. That was where his team’s crate was located, and that’s where he’d also buried the landmines.
His tactics seemed airtight - but no, his partner had been bludgeoned and he had six guns pointed at him by players from two different teams. This was more than a strategic misstep. It was a complete **** up.
The tense air was broken by an announcement on the island's loudspeakers.
“Player number fourteen - Rosey - has left the game.”
That’s a good sign. The landmines must have worked.
“Player number twenty - Hissora - has left the game.”
Boris felt his heart drop, but he didn’t show it on his face. The people surrounding him had no idea who was on his team beside Deathspank. If he played it cool, he’d keep them guessing. His captors didn’t intend to shoot him and he assumed they were also okay to wait for Sara’s arrival. Was this all some kind of trap? Or something else he’d yet to see?
Don’t even think about it. It’s not like you can ****ing do anything, anyway.
No - he’d have to wait for Sara to arrive. It was his best shot.
“The green team is taking their sweet ass time,” Cin said, watching his tracker. “Let’s take better cover. Mish, Inasuma, Misty; follow me toward the crate. Libre, Cia, Kitty; take Boris and Deathspank behind that building and keep an eye on them. I know no one else is coming, but it’s still foolish to stand in the middle of the road like this.”
They all nodded and did what Cin said. Boris was led by Cia and Libre behind the building where they’d jumped out and ambushed Deathspank. There was a small patch of grass for them to sit on and farther north a cliff gave way to the ocean. The moon’s reflection rippled in the waves so many miles away. A wooden bench sat at the base of the building, set next to an old vending machine overgrown with vines. They lay Deathspank there, propping his head on one of their duffel bags. Boris glanced at the vending machine. The Cokes only cost 5 cents. Where the hell are we? The thought shook him - he was so caught up in the game, he hadn’t stopped to take in his surroundings.
“Keep moving.”
He turned and saw Kitty, holding his own rifle in her hands. A massive axe was slung across her back. Better not mess with her. Better not mess with anyone.
He’d have to be smarter. Abandoning his teammates had gotten Hissora killed and himself captured. And now here he was, surrounded and useless.
“Sit right there.”
Boris sat quickly, not trying to engage. Kitty and Libre had him under the gun while Cia tended to Deathspank. He saw Cin and the others gathered behind the building on the other side of the road, discussing something. That damn tracker. It’s ridiculous. Boris spat. He’d thought the rifle was insane, but how good were other peoples’ weapons? Even now he stared down the barrel of a PKM, and an uzi was being casually wielded a few meters away. He was utterly ****ed.
“That tracker’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” he asked. “And all I got was a rifle.”
“Shut up,” Kitty said. “You can’t talk right now.”
It was silent, but only for a moment.
“He’s right though, isn’t he? It is kind of dumb,” Libre chuckled. “Have you ever read the original Battle Royale? The guy who had the tracker in that one made it pretty close to the end, and he didn’t even have a weapon. That's all you need to get through the Royale while the rest of us pick each other off.”
“Would be nice to have, wouldn’t it?” Boris muttered. “Lucky git.”
Kitty rocked the rifle. “Shut it. We all got our random weapons, and that’s the game. Deal with it.”
“Funny,” Boris laughed mockingly. “That you’d say that while holding my weapon. If ‘that’s the game,’ then give it back to me.”
Kitty stared at Boris, then set his rifle on the ground. She pulled the axe off her back, its blade gleaming in the waxing gibbous. With intimidating ease, she placed it a centimeter from Boris’s neck. He said nothing.
“I have no problem using my own weapon, too,” she said. “I just don’t think I can guarantee a clean kill with this one.”
“W-what’s going on?”
Over on the bench, Deathspank was stirring. Cia stood and grabbed the uzi with both hands, pointing it at him. He lifted his head and looked about, confused.
“You’re under arrest!” Cia said. “Just kidding. You are technically a prisoner-of-war, though.”
“A POW?” Deathspank asked no one in particular. It looked like he couldn’t see straight. “Mommy?”
Boris sighed. The man was about as useless as he was.
“I’m just saying,” Libre continued. “What do we do once this game is over and Cin’s back on his own? We can never win without that tracker.”
“Stop talking about the damn tracker,” Kitty said. “What are you saying - you’re gonna go over there and take it from him?”
Libre didn’t respond.
There was a whistle from the other side of the road. Mish had her weapon ready.
“I’ll be back,” Kitty told them. She walked to the edge of the building.
Sara and the others, he realized. They must be close.
“This is terrible,” Boris began. “We can never beat that tracker.”
“Right,” Libre nodded. “How do we win against someone who can track our every move?”
“If we could get rid of it, this game would be a lot more fun,” Boris suggested. “But what do I know? I’m just a prisoner…”
“Fun? Like, easier?”
“Well, think about it,” Boris whispered. “What do you think he’s gonna do when this challenge is over, huh? When we go back to flying solo? You think Cin’s gonna meet back up with his old friends from the capture the flag days and help them out?”
“N-no, I guess not.”
“And do you think he’s interested in using that thing for the greater good, when there’s so much money on the line? Yeah, right…”
“I’ve been thinking that this whole time, thinking I’m crazy. But I need that tracker.” Libre looked toward Cin.
Boris grinned, but only for a moment. Kitty was walking back to ruin the fun.
“Boris,” she called. “Get up. You’ve got a visitor.”
He stood with his hands behind his head. She beckoned him with the end of the gun.
Are they here?
He was led around the building and brought out to the street. There, underneath the traffic lights, stood his wife, Sara. She was with C and Aelin, both of them armed.
Cin approached him. “Boris,” he said. “Thank you for leading Sara to me. I need to speak with her about something. Of course, I won’t get in the way of you two, so go ahead and chat first, or whatever.” He looked at Sara. “Sara, come see me by the crate when you’re done.”
Cin and his posse of Mish, Misty and Inasuma walked back to the crate. Boris was sick of getting bossed around by the guy with all the power in his hands. This was his chance to do something about it.
He turned, and felt something press against his face. It was Sara’s lips. He embraced her and then pulled back to whisper in her ear:
“Sara,” he said. “I need you to do something for me. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when exactly, but it has to be soon if you want me to live.”
“W-what is it?” Sara’s voice trembled. "I'll do anything, babe. Anything."
“Kill Cin, Sara. And rip that phone off his dead corpse.”

21 players remaining