Orange eyes blinked at the new screen they've just recently managed to opened.

From: CitrineeyedObserver [Abrv.: {CO}]
To: ObsidianThief [Abrv.: {OT}]
Time Sent:  4:13 AM

CO: Sid? Are you there? I've had such a hard time tracking you.... :|

OT: nnnnnyyyeeeeerrrrrgh........ =^=

OT: do u hv any f***ing idea wat time it is???? (/>A<)/

OT: do ya? do yaaaaaa????? ( =A=# )

CO: Ah...so you must've been asleep and ignored me. σ(^_^; )

CO: I'm really sorry, but I had to tell you that the GAME has started.

OT: .... (OAO)

OT: welp, sh**. ( ÕAÓ )

OT: i'm flippin' every single table in my freakin' house. >:O

CO: Before you go into your little rage fit, please tell me how Ivory is doing. (O_O)

OT: iv? li'l sh**'s fine. asleep like usual. =_=

CO: Ah. I see.... (^u^)

OT: so wat. r u sendin' us in or somthin'? (ÒAŌ)

CO: Well...I was planning to....if that's okay with you guys. :/

OT: of course it is ya li'l retard. here, let me wake iv up so the li'l sh** can say hello to ya. >:]

Orange eyes blinked in idle surprise.

Suddenly, a different screen made a beeping noise.

The mysterious figure turned their attention to that screen.

From: IvoryMirror [Abrv.: {IM}]
To: CitrineeyedObservor [Abrv.: {CO}]
Time Sent: 4:20 AM

IM: Tttttttrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. =u=

CO: Good morning. ^_^

IM: GOOOOOoOOOOoOOOoD moOOoRnIiiIIing! =ω=

CO: Ah.  I'm sorry if I've bothered you. :(

IM: Naw.  Naw.  Naaaaaaaaaåàåäãw. =u=

IM: I'mma awaaaaaakskksksndnksisjsjßuuuwidjsjsissjdmxjsizkkksi

CO: ...Ivory...? (<_< ; )

IM: keh.  li'l sh**'s asleep again. >:/

CO: Oh dear....please log Ivory out then... (^_^ ; )

IM: yeah, yeah. bossy. >:)

'Ivory''s window closed.

The figure's eyes turned to the screen they opened earlier.

OT: so we're goin' in? |:/

CO: Yes.  So please be prepared. :)

OT: the shadows?  wat about the other a**holes?

CO: Do you mean....the Gougers....?

OT: >:|

OT: yeah.  those f***ers.

CO: ....

CO: I have not seen them. 

OT: d**n.

OT: i really would've wanted 2 kick their a**es.

CO: You must have patience. Plus, Ivory needs you. :)

OT: .....tch.

OT: of course. iv can never do much w/o me. >:T

CO: :)

CO: Now go on and get ready. :D

OT: yeah, yeah, sir, lady, wateva gender ya r. Ô_Ó

The unknown person smiled fondly before closing up the window.

~~
<<(With Kiyon & Co.)>>

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch....

A blonde eyebrow twitched.

The sun was getting pretty low. Orange tainted the sky.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crun--

Aven snapped his head towards a certain brunet and shouted at the other.

"W'uld ya' stop that r'diculous crunching, ya' dimwit?!"

Nnoroc sent a slightly surprised look at the blonde, stopping his eating. He had his right hand stuck in a bag of Lays sour cream n' onion chips. The four paused in their walk.

"....But I'm hungry...."

Nnoroc grinned.

"Are you hungry too?" The brunet unzipped his bag and showed the contents to Aven. "I have cheeto puffs, lollipops, other hard candy, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate..."

Aven sighed exasperatedly as Nnoroc continued. Kiyon, who was still on the blonde's back, laughed nervously.

"C'mon, Aven. Calm down."

Macie skipped next to Nnoroc and started to bounce on the balls of her feet...much like a baby bird.

Nnoroc lifted a curious eyebrow down at the little girl and grinned, stopping his rant.

"Want some?"

Macie merely opened her mouth and pointed at it.

Nnoroc barked out a laugh.

"I guess you do!"

As Nnoroc fed Macie a few chips, Aven rolled his eyes slightly, muttering to himself.

"Traitor."

Aven then nearly stumbled when Kiyon moved on his back.

"Hey, hey! Whut are ya' doin', Kiyon!?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Aven saw Kiyon looking off to the side.

"They're coming....."

Aven blinked in idle surprise at Kiyon's voice.

It sounded....slightly deeper...less nervous...and more confident.

"Kiyon...?"

Aven tried to turn his head a bit more and saw a glimpse of Kiyon's eyes.

They were glowing slightly. And they were narrowed in concentration.

Kiyon suddenly blinked, and the glow from his eyes disappeared.

"Um, er, what happened? Did I just fall asleep?"

Aven stared for a while.

'What the--?'

Aven widened his eyes when he suddenly felt the multiple presences surrounding them. Nnoroc's grin shrunk slightly as he darted his gaze around; he raised his right hand up to his face slightly.

"Oh boy...."

Misty figures drifted out of the tree line. The forest grew darker with the sun setting.

Aven turned around slightly and gritted his teeth.

'Shit....there's a lot more than usual....'

"A, go and stick with K and M."

Aven blinked in surprise and looked over at Nnoroc; the brunet grinned and showed his right palm to the blonde, stowing his bag of chips away.

The green gem dangling on his palm glimmered slightly in the dim lighting. Nnoroc sent a small grin to Aven; his green eyes glowed slightly.

"I got this, A."

Nnoroc rolled his right shoulder and shook his wrist out.

A green glow appeared in his right hand.

The Shadows hissed and backed up slightly.

Nnoroc grinned as the light died down.

He shouldered his weapon: a silver baseball bat.

"Baaaaaatteeeeeeerrrrr up!"

The Shadows quickly rushed forward.

Nnoroc widened his grin and shifted into a familiar batting stance; he imitated a baseball-commentator as he narrated the events before him.

"The 'ball' is moving at an average 76 mph!"

The brunet drew his bat back as a few Shadows approached.

"Nnoroc's pulling back! Looks like Nnoroc's getting ready to send the 'ball' out of the park!"

He shifted to the side to dodge a swipe from one of the Shadows before sending a swing right into the misty figure's face; the Shadow was sent flying into the air.

"AAAAAAAAND~it's out of the paaaaaaarrrrrk~!"

Nnoroc grinned as he then turned his gaze to the other shadows.

He smashed his bat into the heads or their guts, dispelling them.

Soon, a large group of shadows started to swarm Nnoroc.

The brunet darted his gaze around, but he kept his grin up.

A green glow surrounded his body.....

He burst through the group.

"Up here!"

Brown wings flapped as they lifted Nnoroc into the air; The Shadows screetched and darted up towards him.

He folded his wings in as he darted down towards the Shadows below, bat raised over his head.

Nnoroc actually cut through a few Shadows from the force of his fall and momentum.

Nnoroc landed on the ground and his wings disappeared; he snapped his left arm to the side.

Soon, a green glow surrounded it.

Aven, Kiyon and Macie watched in surprise as it grew slightly.

The light disappeared...and what was left was a large, beastly arm covered in brown fur.

Nnoroc sent a wolfish grin to the Shadows around him as he flexed the fingers of his new arm. His left eye had a slitted pupil now. The moon shone above.

Black, sharpened nails glimmered in the dim light; Nnoroc crouched down, ready to pounce like an animal.

He launched himself at one of the Shadows, his left arm clawed through it; Nnoroc sent a swing of his bat to the temple of another Shadow.

After a few more minutes of slashing or beating, Nnoroc stumbled in his footsteps slightly and his left arm faded back into a normal, human one.

Nnoroc grinned weakly as a bead of sweat ran down the temple of his head.

"Heh, ran out a juice...."

The brunet gripped his bat with both hands and slowly glanced around himself.

The numbers of the Shadows had certainly diminished....but there were still too many.

"Oh boy..."

"Hey, Nnoroc, let's switch."

The brunet glanced over his shoulder and saw that Aven had his sniper gun out.

Nnoroc grinned, but he slowly shook his head.

"Buddy, you still haven't recharged from using your own magic, right?"

Aven flinched and glowered at Nnoroc.

"Ah' can still fight, ya' doof."

Nnoroc chuckled and gazed wearily at the Shadows that were drifting around them, a grim smile on his lips.

'....A and me are both running low on juice. K is injured and M doesn't have any magic powers. Plus, to recharge, I would just need to eat something, but the Shadows won't allow me the time to do that. A could stall, but his long-range style of fighting will give him a disadvantage if the Shadows were to get too close to him. What to do......'

Suddenly, a Shadow darted towards Nnoroc; the brunet grunted and lifted up his bat to block the attack.

Already tired from his use of Green magic, Nnoroc was shoved back, slamming into a tree.  The brunet was knocked out; blood dripped from the side of his temple.

Aven spared a worried glance to the brunet before turning a narrowed gaze to the approaching Shadows; he shot down a few dozen before swarms of the Shadows came too close to him.

A shadowy, clawed hand swiped at his face; Aven widened his eyes and stepped back. His cheek received a scratch, but he managed to avoid injuring his entire face.

However, the Shadow followed up and dived towards Aven's gut, knocking the air out of the blonde and sending him smashing onto the grass.

Aven quickly sat up, clutching his stomach, but the Shadow was already above him, clawed hands raised.

Aven narrowed his golden eyes in frustration as they were brought down towards him.

'Sh*--!'

"Stop."

The Shadow froze, clawed hands a millimeter away from Aven's chest, above where the blonde's heart should be.

Aven shifted to look past the Shadow and was able to see.....Kiyon...!?

The ravenet was standing on his own.

But....

His eyes....

His red, red eyes....

Were glowing again.

Kiyon's face was devoid of emotion and his eyes were narrowed sharply.

"Step away from my friend."

Aven felt a slight chill up his spine; the voice was a lot more...distorted...

'That...that was the expression he had b'fore the Shadows attacked us....!'

Kiyon took a step towards the Shadow.

"Are you deaf....?"

Aven turned his gaze to the Shadow above him.....it was.....shaking?

In fear?

The Shadow made distressed, clicking noises.

'What the f*--?'

Kiyon raised a hand towards the Shadow; the wind suddenly kicked up around them.

"I...said...step away...from...my friend...."

The other Shadows in the area also made distressed noises.

Kiyon's red eyes blazed.

"This is your last warning."

The wind swirled violently around them.

The Shadow seemed to bring a clawed hand closer to Aven's heart; Kiyon's eyes narrowed at the misty figure's choice.

"Very well."

Black dyed the white surrounding red irises.

"You have chosen the wrong answer."

A red aura surrounded him.

But before anything could happen, a blue flash cut through the clearing.

Kiyon suddenly seemed to snap out of whatever happened; the black faded and his eyes stopped glowing. The pain of his old wound caused him to fall to his knees. The wind stopped billowing.

"Wh-Wha--?"

When the light died down....a staff was present in the forest ground.

A figure darted into the scene and yanked the staff out of the ground.

"Huh, what a commotion."

A ravenet, with bandages over his eyes, 'looked' around.

He directed his 'gaze' to the Shadows; he twirled his staff.

"Time to do what I promised to do."

The newcomer lifted a hand to his bandages....before dropping his hand back down, doing nothing to them.

Suddenly....all of the Shadows disappeared in large clouds of black smoke.

Aven looked up in surprise.

'...They...retreated.....? Naw....they were.....defeated....!?'

Aven turned his gaze to the newcomer, who strapped his staff to his back.

'Who is this guy? Whut the 'e** did he just do?'

The ravenet turned his gaze to Kiyon, who had a dazed, tired look on his face.

"You."

Kiyon jolted and sent a tentative look to the newcomer.

"Er....hi...?"

The stranger tilted his head.

"......You're injured...."

Kiyon gave a sheepishly laugh.

"I...uh...."

Aven quickly got up to his feet and looked at the other with narrowed eyes.

"....Who are ya'....?"

The ravenet newcomer turned to 'look' at Aven and inclined his head; the stranger muttered to himself.

"....A Yellow magic user....are you.....GoldenTechboss by any chance?" 

Aven blinked in surprise.

"....Blue....?"

The newcomer dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Although that is not my true name....it is a nice to finally meet you...."

"Aven.  Aven C. Shiromiya."

The newcomer smiled slightly.

"Nice to meet you, Shiromiya.  My name is Reogge E. Enssei."

A groan was heard behind Aven; the blonde quickly turned to look and saw that Nnoroc was gaining consciousness.

"Nnoroc?"

Aven quickly jogged over and sat the other up; the brunet lifted a hand to his head and chuckled wearily.

"Don't worry, buddy, my head's as hard as a diamond."

Aven sighed exasperatedly.

"Not with it bleedin' like that, ya' goof."

Suddenly, a white circle appeared above the group.

They all looked up at it with slight surprise.

A figure darted through and--

"OOF!"

--landed directly onto Reogge, who faceplanted the ground beneath him.

A strawberry blonde glanced around the area, her indigo eyes were wide with amazement.

"Woooooooow!  We made it into the GAME!  We're in the GAME, right!?  Incroyable!" (Amazing!)

Reogge grumbled into the ground.

"Get.  Off.  Of.  Me.  You little--GAH!"

Another portal had opened up above them and a figure darted through, landing on top of Reogge.

Violet eyes darted around the forest.

"Blimey!  I didn't think I would find myself in some sort of forest...."

The platinum-blonde glanced down and yelped slight in surprise and scrambled off of Reogge.

"Oh bl**dy he**!  I'm sorry, chap!  Are you alright!?"

The strawberry-blonde also seemed to realize Reogge's presence and blinked in surprise.

"Woah!  Sorry dude!  Let me get off."

The platinum-blonde looked around a bit more and found more people; she noticed their eye color and grinned widely.

"Well blimey!  It looks like I've found my dear, new chaps!"

She saluted the group before taking a bow.

"My names Raulen G. Griffon!  It's a great honor to meet you lot!"

The strawberry-blonde glanced around and grinned widely.

"Yay~!  New friends!  I see, I see!  Well~my name is Raylot F. Gunch.  It's nice to meet you all."

Reogge lifted his face from the ground and 'glowered' at the two.

"I hate you both already."

Raulen laughed brightly and looked down at the other.

"Sorry, ol' chap!  You know I didn't mean to fall from the sky!"

Raylot giggled.

"Yep!  Neither did I."

Reogge groaned.

Aven, Nnoroc, Kiyon and Macie merely stared at their new companions.

'Wow....three new friends out of the blue....'

~~
<<(???)>>

The stranger turned their attention to one more screen.

From: CitrineeyedObservor [Abrv.: {CO}]
To:  RougeShield [Abrv.: {RS}]
Time Sent: 4:34 AM

CO: Rogue....? :)

CO: Hello? :/

CO: Are you al

??: kOK!JiJ?'hyu(b5f;;d/4(gz;DrFdD;5((^))))>)~(:8h

Orange eyes widened in the dimly lit room.

CO: Oh no.

??: O h

??: Y e s

??: = )

CO: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

??: T e m p e r ,   t e m p e r . . .

??: D o   n o t   f r o w n

CO: Where is Rogue

??: H m m m m m . . . . . .

??: W h o   k n o w s ?

CO: I swear, if you

??: Y o u ' l l   d o   w h a t ?

CO: ....

??: E x a c t l y .

??: Y o u   a r e   m e r e l y . . . .

??: T h e   C u r s e d   O v e r s e e r .

Fingers curled up into a tight fist.

Already pale knuckles turned whiter.

CO: Silence.

CO: You've done something to Rou

??: Y o u ' v e   b r o k e n   t o o   m a n y   r u l e s .

??: T h e   H e a d   i s   v e r y

??: V e r y

??: V e r y . . . .

??: M a a a a a a a a d . . . .

CO: .....I have never cared about the Head.  You and I both know that.  Their emotions....I no longer care for.  For now, I am set on defeating them with my friends.

??: . . . . .

??: = )

??: H e e h e e h e e

??: Heeheehee

??: Heehahahaha

??: HahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

??: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

??: ....

??: T h e   H e a d . . . .

??: S e e s   e v e r y o n e . . .

??: H e a r s   e v e r y o n e . . .

??: S m e l l s   e v e r y o n e

??: . . .

??: Y o u   c a n n o t   r u n

??: Y o u   c a n n o t   h i d e

??: . . .

??: D e s p a i r,   C u r s e d   O v e r s e e r .

CO: Not in a million turns, b*****d.

??: . . .

??: =)

??: I   k n e w   y o u   w o u l d   s a y   t h a t .

??: T h e   H e a d   i s   a l s o   p l e a s e d .

??: E n t e r t a i n   t h e m   o n c e   m o r e .

??: S e e   y o u   s o o n . . .

??: JkOank&**?76^€5^!7^?())yhuhgGy5;(h$^<~!^

RS: Um...hello?

RS: Is that really you, Citrine?

Fingers slowly unclench.

CO: Hahaha...yep, it's me.

RS: You're not using your emoticons. What's wrong? :(

CO: Heh, you and Gift always seem to notice that first...

CO: To be honest....I'm not having such a good day....

RS: That's terrible! D:

RS: Are you sleeping enough!? >:/

RS: Nuuuuuu! D,:<

RS: That's terrible, Citrine!  You should know to sleep and eat properly! >:C

CO: Pffft, hahaha! XD

CO: Calm down, Rogue, it's not so bad. :)

RS: ...

RS: You know...you can always count on me.

CO: Ah, I know....but even with my skills with technology aren't enough to keep safe lines with anyone.

RS: Yeah....alright.

RS: So, why did you text me?

CO: I am sorry to inform you, but the GAME has just started.

RS: ....... (OдO)

RS: Well, sh**********************t.

RS: And everyone else was informed already!?

CO: You were hard to reach for some reason. (ㅎ_ㅎ)

RS: How strange... (<_<)

RS: I was on the entire time... (òΛó)

A single pale finger tapped lightly on the side of the mysterious person's head.

It was a habit....that they could never let go of.

Orange eyes cut through the darkness as they glanced over their shoulder.

....

Voices....?

Their eyes narrowed sharply.

CO: I'm going to open a portal for you. I'm sorry for being so abrupt, but please pack your things.

CO: Now.

RS: Woah! Okay!

RS: What's wrong!?

CO: I've apparently broke too many 'rules'.

CO: The Judges have found me.

RS: THE JUDGES!?

RS: THEN GET OUT OF THERE

RS: OMG I THOUGHT YOU TOLD ME THOSE GUYS WERE TOUGH

RS: GET OUT OF WHEREVER YOU ARE

CO: ....

The voices are getting closer; eerie chanting is getting louder.

Slowly.....a smile crossed their lips.

CO: Don't worry, Rouge.  Everything...is under control.

CO: Just get ready to leave.

RS: ....

RS: Alright.

The owner of the orange eyes flicked their wrist and smiled.

<<(Magadan, Russia)>>

"Oi, li'l sh**, wake up."

A ravenet with obsidian-black eyes looked down at a small girl with ash-blonde hair, who was snoozing softly. 

Some of his hair had streaks of gray in them.  Two large gashes ran across his face--from the top left to the bottom right.  His gray jeans were slightly ripped, and his black hoodie was sleeveless.

Slowly...white eyes opened up and gazed blearily at the other; the girl was wearing an oversized, cream-white sweater with a light blue t-shirt underneath.  She wore pale-blue shorts that were about an inch above her knees.

"Hmmmmmm.....?"

The ravenet sighed and poked the other's forehead.

"We're headin' into the GAME.  Just lettin' you know, twerp."

The small girl smiled lazily.

"Ooookaaaaaaayyyyy........"

She made grabby motions towards the ravenet.

The taller and older sighed exasperatedly; the features of his scarred face softened slightly as he bent down to gather the small girl into his arms.  She quickly fell asleep once more.

"Let's go, ya' li'l sh**."

A white portal opened up next to the ravenet.

Shifting the girl into one hand, the ravenet picked up their backpack of supplies and walked through the portal.

<<(Tromso, Norway)>>

The crash of the surf was soothing to the ears.....but the dark-haired brunette residing within the beach house nearby was anything but calm.

The brunette darted her rogue-pink eyes to her computer for a moment before sighing; she pulled her dark-blue jacket closer around herself.  The brunette's hair was also in a slight mess--although it was her usual, bed-head style.

Thump.

She blinked in surprise when she felt something nudge her foot; she looked down.

"Ludal...?"

Ludal, her gray bunny-partner, looked up at her as he nibbled on her shoe.

She smiled down at the other.

"What's up?"

The bunny tilted his head at her; her eyes glowed briefly and she frowned.

"'I want to go with you'?  It's too dangerous...."

The Holland Lop bunny tilted his head cutely; the brunette cringed and placed her face in her hands.

"Noooo, not the I'm-sad-why-do-you-want-to-leave-me look!  Ludal!"

The bunny huffed and placed his head on her shoe; his ears flopped down even further.

After a few seconds of sad, sad looks and crumbling denial, the brunette finally caved in.

"Alright, you cutie.  You're comin' along..."

The bunny perked up and bounced around her legs.

She chuckled before glancing at her screen.

"....I really hope you're alright, Citrine...."

A white portal opened up.

She let Ludal hop onto her shoulder and into her hood.  She then grabbed her bag before stepping through the portal.

"Alrighty...."

<<(???)>>

The orange-eyed figure sighed softly.

"They're all in...."

Soon...they heard....knocking.....on their door.

They sighed and tapped the side of their head, shutting their eyes.

"Perfect timing....I suppose...."

"J u d g e m e n t . . . . J u d g e m e n t . . . ."

They heard chanting.

The slowly opened their eyes before snapping their fingers.

Any lights in the room were killed off.

SLAM!

The door was torn off its hinges and sent flying into the room.

Figures cloaked in black entered the room.

They drifted across the floor.

The group looked around.

". . . . . W h e r e   a r e   t h e y . . . . . ?"

"R u l e   b r e a k e r. . . . ."

"C r i m i n a l . . . ."

"M u s t   b e   p u n i s h e d . . . ."

"I must say, you all are creepy as he**."

The cloaked figures jerked their heads to the door.

The stranger's face was shadowed greatly from the light in the hall while the room was pitch black.

The unknown person grinned at them.

"Greetings...Judges....."

The cloaked figures suddenly materialized scythes out into the open.

The mysterious guide chuckled softly; their oranges flickered around to each Judge.

"....Sorry.  The place is rigged with bombs...so..."

Multiple red lights filled the room the Judges were in.

The stranger waved over their shoulder as they shut the door behind themself.

"Good luck finding me again, ya' douches."

Explosion rang out through the unknown area.

The stranger wander the halls.

They found a ladder and grabbed onto one of the rungs.

They climbed up for roughly two minutes until they met a metal door.

They fumbled with it for a moment before opening it.

The stranger pulled themself out and huffed; their breath came out as a wisp of white.

They zipped up the pale-gray jacket they were wearing and threw up their hood.

Stars surrounded them as they stood on an unmoving asteroid.

They glanced around; their orange eyes cut through the darkness.

The stranger stuffed their hands into their jacket pockets and grinned.

"Welp.  I guess I better make my move then."