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The Fifth Academy For Heroes In Training



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Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:01 pm
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cheeb says...



Image
Luigi Lounge Restaurant

“G’me… Gimme another one.”
“I think you should slow down, Miss. You’re starting to -”
“Don’t you tell me to slow down ya big-butt I’ll tell you about when I’ve had en- *hic* had en-*hic* had en-*hic* had en-*hic* done,” Bea slurred, throwing her empty can of Baconade at the waiter’s head. It missed by several inches and sailed out the rear window; outside, a cat let out a piercing yowl.
“Miss, I’m afraid it’s closing time anyway. So I couldn’t continue to serve you even if I did think you’d survive that level of bacon intake.”
Bea muttered something treacherous-sounding to herself, failed to comprehend a word of it and decided the waiter might have a point. She climbed halfway up the first flight of stairs to the dorms, then halfway up again, and was just going for a third attempt when a hand landed gently on her shoulder.

“Dood! What happened to you?” Bubbles shouted.
“Baconade, I should think,” Mia said, wrinkling her nose. “And way too much of it. Her breath reeks of pig, and just look at tonight’s pizza box house.” She pointed at the front window, through which they could see a dilapidated cottage made of pizza boxes; as they watched, a large chunk of the roof collapsed. Mia turned Bea around until the two were facing one another. “Am I right?”
“Y'might be, y'know,” Bea admitted, pausing to put a hand over her mouth as her stomach heaved. “My head feels like it's splittin’ open... and I’m seein’ giant penguins."
Mia crouched to match Bea’s eye level. “Why’d you drink all that, anyway?”
Bea looked directly into Mia’s eyes, and struggled to sober up as she answered.

“I mean, first of all, we lost the whole Sh... She... She-rocko game… which kinda sucked. But not too badly. ‘Cause we all put everythin’ into it. The A-Team just wanted it more. It’s an honour to even be nominated. An’ like seven other clichés that I don’t wanna think of right now. That whole thing is nothin’, k?

“But Evatt’s still missin’, an’ it’s been like a whole day. An’ Trixter’s gone mad - well, more’n before, anyway. An’ then someone tells me he’s up an’ vanished. Uh, an’ there’re still people in our team that I don’t even get, but I have to give ‘em directions an’ still sound like I know what I’m doin’. An’ Mia I think the team's fallin' apart an’ I don't think there's anythin' I can do to stop it."

“Beaby…” Mia said sadly. Then her horns perked up. “You know, if it helps, people are saying Evatt’s somewhere on the outskirts of the Academy. With what’s-his-or-her-face… Dyre-man.”
A drunken smile grew on Bea’s face. “D’you know what a Dyre-man is, Mia? Do ya? It’s like a man, but… but Dyre.” She began giggling.

“You’re right, though,” said Mia thoughtfully. “Team Bea isn’t a team. Not yet. It’s going to take some gumption to get us into shape. And any other demon would leave it for someone else, or do whatever they could to make the situation worse… but not Mia, the Queen of Delinquents!”
“The Delinqueen!” Bea shouted, the enthusiasm in her voice growing.
“The - yeah! Sure, why not?” Mia exclaimed. “And you and I together will take Team Bea to the top! Team Bea-Plus! Bea-Positive! Bea-Grade! … wait, no, not that last one. And that -” she set one foot up on a stool, “- is my inspirational speech!
“I’M INSPIRED!” Bea squealed, bouncing into the air and landing on the table in front of Mia’s stool. Then she stumbled and put a hand over her mouth as her stomach rumbled again. “Oop. Nope. Wrong time to jump aroun’.”
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TinkerTwaggy says...



Lamya Subaris

"Sit down. I know you may be shocked, but I need you to tell me exactly what happened."
Lamya took a deep breath and tried to forget that the rather old woman in front of her looked like nothing she had ever seen in her world, except maybe fairies. Yes, she looked a lot like Fairies. Only... Not as slender. And taller, too.
"Alright. So, um... My name is Lamya Subaris, and I'm a Knaaren, the most feared creature in my world. I..."
"No, Lamya," she interrupted patiently. "I just want to know how in the world did you manage to warp here. We have enough information about your world to know what it is and what your species is. Although I am surprised that you're not..."
"...Uglier-looking?" suggested Lamya with a grin.
"I was going to say more frightening, but I suppose that works too," said Wonder Woman with a frank smile.
The old woman couldn't help but disgustingly gaze at the picture of a Knaaren.
Image
No wonder it was considered as a fierce, monstrous and senseless being.
"You're too kind", said Lamya in a sarcastic tone. "Anyway... While I was ... um...borrowing one of Teensie Highway, I tried to shape a road on my own. Long story short, I fell and found myself in this world."
"It confirms what you wrote in your admission papers. And it also confirms that your case is a bit... special, as we weren't awaiting anymore student this weekend. But it looks like you have a lot to learn, and that's enough for us to welcome you with open arms... But maybe not with open rooms."
"Oh. What do you mean?"
"You see, with your profile, I believe you would perfectly fit in Luigi's Hall for Young Heroes, but... Let's say we didn't prepare a room for a surprise student."
"Oh! Then I don't think you should worry too much about it. Say, you don't have any big underground installation, right?"
"No, we don't."
Lamya took a quick look at the papers the Headmistress mechanically gave to her and smiled.
"So, no room 106, huh? Let's fix that, shall we?"

Beneath Luigi's Hall, "room 106"
"Home, sweet home!"
One magic trick and several hours later, Lamya had managed to shape a comfortable cave with everything she needed: a bed - mattress with it -, a wooden and rocky wardrobe, a desk, chairs, and even a little bit of lighting thanks to the lums she had brought with her. She even had the time to set up a puzzle and booby-trapped door in case someone wanted to enter without her permission. THe next person who'll fail to resolve the puzzle or try to force the door would get involved with rock-falling, big spiders and lots of dust.
She probably needed to make another room to add a bathtub somewhere, but that'll come later. She knew how to keep herself clean.
"Welp, let's go exploring! But first, I need to eat somethin'..."
"I really should stop talking to myself... I've been way too much on my own lately"
With that thought on her mind, the Knaaren girl opened her door, climbed up a series of stairs, opened another door and made her way through the empty corridors. She finally found the Pizza Lounge she had seen on her map and delightfully started eating like four.
Last edited by TinkerTwaggy on Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Is there a limit to how much living I can live with my life? How will I know if I've gone too far?
And why did I spend my life savings on sunglasses for a whale?
I shall find the answers... to these questions."





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Wed Aug 06, 2014 8:38 pm
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kayfortnight says...



Raven Lebeau

First weekend at my new school, and I have around six weeks worth of work to catch up on. I’m going to be spending a lot of time in the library. At least I’m not the only one. Four of us came in this Friday. Gareth, Jasper, Lamya, and I. They’re all at least three years older than me, but I’ve always had older friends. Comes with hanging out with superheroes, who don’t really have children often.

We decided to study together, since we share a lot of classes; we’re all in Overcoming Loss and Anti-Villainy Education, and we’re split half and half for the first two classes of the day. Plus, I just didn’t want to be studying in the library alone. Bad things tend to happen when I hang out completely alone. Bad things like those that led to me getting put in Anti-Villainy Education instead of Spanish.

I groan as I set a load of textbooks, notebooks, and worksheets on the table. The others seem to have around the same amount. But I start working, although the sound of scribbling of pencils on paper is occasionally interrupted by discussions about our work.

We’re arguing about exactly how easy it it to tell who’s a villain pretty soon. Jasper is on the side that it is always incredibly obvious and every villain cackles and wears all black. I think he got that idea from TV, ‘cause none of us who’ve actually met villains think it’s quite that easy. Gareth is also on the side of it being relatively easy, but he allows for the fact that some villains are tricksters. Lamya’s more on my side than theirs and pointed out how a lot of people find her kind to be villainous on first sight, no matter whether they are or not. And me? Well, I think that one needs some really obvious clues before being able to tell, since from my own universe we have telepaths capable of twisting the truth and men like Magneto, whose words have truth to them. Then again, my perception of villainy is probably more ambiguous than most, considering Ma was raised by Mystique and was a villain for part of her life, and Da grew up as a thief and had to make a deal with Mister Sinister because otherwise his powers could of destroyed the world. Not to mention all the times I’ve accidentally helped someone who turned out to be a villain.

We hear a buzzing sound overhead and all look up. There’s a piece of paper fluttering slowly down, but whatever dropped it is long gone. I shrug and reach out in the air to grab it. It’s folded over, and on the exterior, it says Jasper Flick, so I hand it to him.

He unfolds it and starts reading, and his face whitens. In a shaky voice, he reads it aloud. “Jasper Flick. I have your fathers. Come to the place in the woods where students go to practice their powers without harming anyone, and one will be released safely. Your companions know where. Do not tell anyone except those currently in the room with you, or your parents will die. I promise you, I am watching right now. You should listen to that girl, Raven. Villains are less obvious than you think.” I flinch at the mention of my name.

He takes a deep breath and continues. “But you’re most likely wondering why I said I’d release only one of your fathers safely. That’s if only you come. If you can convince Gareth Gray, Lamya Subaris, and Raven Lebeau to come with you, both will be released and live. I’m sure they’ll want to play the self-sacrificing heroes.”

All four of us are quiet for a long moment before Jasper says, “I have to go. I...I understand if you guys don’t want to come too.”

I shake my head. “Of course Ah’m going. You would do the same for me.” He raises an eyebrow. “My parents might be less likely to get captured but it is possible. Depowerings do happen, after all. Besides, you said you don’t have any powers or training? You need someone to protect you.”

Lamya said, “I’m coming. I can kick butt and keep you two safe.”

We all turn to Gareth, and he simply nods his acquiescence. “Well,” Jasper says, “Let’s go rescue my parents.”

****************************************************************
The place where we go to practice our powers is a large clearing in the woods. The trees here are of some weird material that doesn’t burn-useful when some of your students are fire users. There’s a small creek flowing through the center. Friday night, I was up here working with my kinetic energy powers, holding pebbles and trying not to charge them up so they exploded. Working on my control. I didn’t do too well.

But the clearing is empty right now. I glance at the others as we walk. We know this is probably a trap, but hopefully we can protect ourselves. I slide my gloves off into my pockets and pick a pebble off the ground. I charge it for light, struggling to keep it from going all the way and exploding. Purple light flickers across our faces.

Lamya yells, “Down!” and grabs me and Gareth by the arms, pulling us to the ground. I lose my concentration and toss the pebble away as far as I can, but it still explodes in the air and I feel a fragment slice my cheek. Warm blood seeps out.

A zapping noise overhead, and Jasper falls to the ground with a thump. I crawl over and check his pulse and breathing. “Stunned. They have stun guns.”

“Maybe real guns, too, if we prove too troublesome,” Gareth mutters.

“Lamya, be careful grabbing me like that,” I murmur. “One of my powers involves skin to skin contact and it’d be really bad for both of us if it activated right now. You were lucky you got my sleeve.”

“Got it,” she responds. “We need to get Jasper out of here and figure out where his dads are.” She starts to stand up, and a flash of bright light blossoms into existence.

Lamya screams. I try to blink away the darkness, but have no luck, and from the muttered curses next to me, I doubt Gareth is having better luck. Light grenade or something. Lamya mutters over and over again, “Ow ow ow ow...and here I thought sunlight was painful the first time.”

Someone laughs softly. “My, my. Aren’t you quite the stupid children? Jasper’s dads are happily at home, thinking their beloved son is having plenty of fun at school. I cannot believe you children are in training to be superheroes. Then again, their kind doesn’t always make the smart decisions, either. Meet yours truly, MusterMod.”

“Now, I know Raven there definitely has powers, because I saw her use them. I’m seen Jasper’s record, and he has powers, although he doesn’t know it. And nothing that looks like that Knaaren there can possibly be powerless. But Gareth, my dear, I have read about your powers, and I simply must confirm they are what your file says.” And a gunshot goes off.

I scream and Lamya pulls me toward her, away from the sound, as if she can protect me from it, even though I know she has to be just as afraid. My vision is still spotty, but I can just make out Gareth on the ground, bleeding from a head wound. But a moment later, he sits up and says, in a voice that’s almost sad, “I’m okay, guys. That’s my power. I’m invulnerable.”

“Exactly,” says MusterMod. “Now, time to go to sleep, children.” And he fires his stun gun and I fall backwards into unconsciousness.
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Thu Aug 07, 2014 7:45 am
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cheeb says...



Image
Stumbling about near the Academy entrance

"This sunlight is too much!" Bea moaned. "It's worse than Ariant, and Ariant has a permanent lens flare effect wherever you look!"
"You need fresh air after last night!" Mia insisted. "Give it an hour or so and you'll feel better."

Bea groaned again as she saw two blurry spots of colour zip through her line of sight and race towards the Academy gates. "Can I at least close my eyes? I keep seeing spots."
"Those weren't spots, silly," Mia said with a smirk. "Come on, this way." She took Bea's arm and led the still-queasy girl in the direction the blurs had gone, with Bubbles waddling along after them. They only had to go a short way before they reached the gates themselves, and were not at all surprised to find Wade West and Zeke the Hedgehog standing there.

"That has to be the shortest and lamest race we've ever had, roadhog," West was saying, with a confused look at Zeke.
"That wasn't a race," Zeke smirked. "You saw me run past and instinctively followed me."
West shrugged. "Same thing. Why here, then?"
"A visitor's supposed to show up soon," Zeke said, peering through the metal bars of the gates. "A former student, Nolan Lehnsherr. Graduated the same year as me."
"Friend of yours?"
"No. But Ms Prince decided I should be the welcome wagon 'cause I'm the only one who was a student here when he was." Zeke rolled his eyes. "Should've brought a book. Twenty years of being a speedster and I still forget my travel time is about one-tenth of everyone else's." He turned and noticed Mia and Bea for the first time; his relaxed expression immediately became more forced at the sight of Bea, and he nervously nodded at her before turning back to the gate. West, on the other hand, grinned and waved.

Soon, the sound of a motor came rumbling from outside, and a long, sleek hovering vehicle, not unlike a limousine, came to a stop at the gates. Zeke unlatched the gates and pulled them open; the limo glided through and slowly descended to the ground. The back door swung open and a man stepped out. He was wearing a graduation robe with the Academy's crest on the front; under that was a neat suit. If he had any enthusiasm about visiting his old campus it didn't show. His sullen eyes immediately fell on Zeke, and narrowed.
"Hello, Ezekiel," he said in monotone.
"'Sup, Nolan," Zeke grinned. "What's new?"
"Nothing to write home about. These must be friends of yours?"
"Oh, yeah. Wade West, he's a speedster too -"
"Wonderful," Nolan muttered, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"- uh, Bea, she's like... a ninja. But also a knight, somehow. I don't really get it, but she's all stealthy and stuff. And this is... Experiment something?"
"Mia. Call me Mia."
Nolan took a low bow. "It's an honour to meet you all."
"And I'm Bubbles, dood!" came a voice from behind the students.
Nolan stared at its source. "... Of course you are."

His eyes met West's bandaged leg. "Wade, did you injure yourself?"
"West. And yeah." West went on to describe the Scirocco challenge and how he'd almost taken a sword to the knee. Nolan glared at him.
"Are you sure your name isn't Bart?" he insisted. Then he turned to Bea. "And what's the matter with you?"
Bea winced. "Indulged too much last night," she muttered. "Payin' the price now."
"Hung over," Mia explained. Nolan glanced at Zeke, then looked back at Bea.

"Oh, you're not hung over," he said, his eyes flashing slightly as he spoke. "You're absolutely fine."
Bea's eyes popped open, and a smile spread across her face. "Hey, you're right! What was I complaining about before? Mia!" she snapped, suddenly stern. "Why were you letting me carry on like that, when there was nothing wrong with me?"
Mia pouted and opened her mouth to reply. Zeke beat her to the punch.

"Anyway," he said, "I should go let Ms Prince know you've showed up. Hey, West, race you to the office, via the fountain!"
"What? Oh, you are ON!" West shouted, and they both vanished into blurs and smoky trails. The rest of the group was now coated in light brown dust that the duo had kicked up on their exit. Nolan brushed some off the front of his robe with a sour look on his face.
"Speedsters," he muttered. "I hate speedsters."

Spoiler! :
This takes place sometime before kayfortnight's post above, in order for Nolan to be a plausible suspect for the disappearance of that group.
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Lumi says...



Image

"My entire point is this."

Vogel retrieved a small luminous seed from his cloth pack and placed it with care beneath the soil. A small, warm glow radiated from beneath the ground before a winding stem sprouted, blooming with luminescent purple petals.

"If your people are so concerned with removing forests for cities, why not place trees atop your...what is the word? Sky...reapers?"

"Scrapers."

"Yes, then. Atop your skyscrapers. Why not...I suppose reforestate? I'm sure it's no huge revelation that the world exists best in balance. Right and wrong, sun and moon, and I suppose in your modernment situation the balance would be between the living and unliving."

Vogel's companion whispered an incantation beneath her breath, causing the water pail hovering behind her to tip over and sprinkle Vogel's fresh blooms. "I'd like to think that someone who comes from a world of war would already have a grasp on living versus unliving." She removed her hood and shook her head. "It's a concept that's been a concept since Day One."

Vogel pulled a weed from against the stone wall of the Luigi building and placed a seed in its stead. "You're completely right, Miss Roth. I'm unsure why I did not see that."

Roth shook her head and swept her hand across the grimy, neglected walls. "Dove. Or at least not Miss Roth. Not even my mom is 'Miss Roth'. And not Rachel, either, if only to keep Wayne and I straight." She took a look down the wall of the building, admiring their work. "And you say these emit an energy that...?"

"Heals. Albeit their power is minor, together they should keep the school in...harmony, I suppose. That's a nice word in your language. Remind me what its basic meaning is?"

"I suppose," mused Dove, "that it appropriately means the same thing as you were nudging at earlier. Balance between two different things. Everything in peace."

Vogel grinned and stood up straight, stretching his shoulders to relieve tension. "In Tyria, the phrase is Seere im Palurine." He closed his bag and watched the small particles of light spreading from the flowers like pollen, like strands of daffodil in a quick breeze. "I prefer the sound of your word, but ours literally means peace between worlds."

Dove looked to the watering pail and whispered another incantation--and the pail floated away back towards the tool shed. "I knew you had war lingo." She cocked her head to the side. "But if you're from a world that trains for war, why are you at The Academy?"

He raised a hand to the back of his head and scratched a non-itch in his leaf-hair. "Basically, my mentors had given up on me." He took a glance across the rolling green of the courtyard and sighed. "I was born to heal, but my powers won't respond correctly. It's why I carry so many of these seeds with me, really. I'm constantly afraid that if I don't have a contingency plan, then my allies--my loved ones and friends--they'll suffer because of me. The battle against Scirocco was a bold reminder of how far I have to go before I can confidently protect those around me. Maybe I didn't come to the Academy for the same reasons as the other students--because most of them came for power. I can see it in their eyes when they study their class notes, when they duel in the gym, even when they talk alone. Constantly, in the backs of their minds, they crave to be a higher level of themselves."

Vogel shook his head and retrieved a seed, glowing green in the palm of his hand. "But me? I simply want to know if I have the potential to bloom."

"I'm certain," Dove mumbled, "that eventually, you'll get your chance." Her eyes closed, face solemn. "A couple of years ago, my Mission Squad had to rescue me from a parallel universe filled by my powers. Think of it as all my dreams come to life as a way to comfort me from my nightmares." She shook her head. "It took both teams active at the time to stand a chance, and even then they were all in the infirmary ward for weeks after. All because I hadn't been able to keep hold on my emotions." A small smile returned to her face. "Thankfully one of my friends—my oldest, actually—was able to keep me occupied as the others beat my powers into submission and get me back. I still wonder—maybe every day if things are rough—if I'll lose control again. And that's why I'm still here. One thing to remember is, no matter who comes through the Academy's gate, everyone here accepts them as one of us because we all know there's something we can learn."

Dove turned and pulled her hood over her head. "I have a meeting with my recon team soon. If you're curious about the incident, ask Doctor Banner to show you the file on Chaos Theory." She lifted off the ground silently. "If nothing else, it's a good read."
I am a forest fire and an ocean, and I will burn you just as much
as I will drown everything you have inside.
-Shinji Moon


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TinkerTwaggy says...



Lamya Subaris - Unknown factory

Lamya had tried everything. Destroying the walls with her bare hands, trying to get her lums get through it, shoot them down - her weapons were still with her for some reason -, find a possible hidden passage, but nothing had worked. On top of that, there was no sign of Jasper and Gareth, and the only company she had in the metallic cell she had been thrown in was an unconscious Raven on the floor. The Knaaren hadn't try to wake her up yet, as it would involve physical contact, which, according to Raven herself, was really dangerous.
A sudden buzz resounded in the air. The 5 Black Lums Lamya has set free earlier came back to her.
"Nothin' aroun' those corners!" said the first one.
"Yeah," added a second one. "We checked every detail of those walls. They're just super clean."
"I'm not surprised, actually," sighed Lamya. "Don't worry about it guys, you did a good job. Come on, get some rest."
The Lums happily obliged and flew back to one of the small bags attached to the Knaaren's belt.
"La...Lamya...?"
The Knaaren turned back and saw her friend slowly getting up.
"Take it easy, Raven," said Lamya. "That Muster Mod dude shot you about four or five times after you passed out, and all that just to make me surrender. Seriously, what a sadistic bastard..."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. But where are are we? And where are the boys?"
"I tried to figure out out where we are, but my only guess is some sort of prison. Or a factory. I do know it's impossible to get out, though. As for Jasper and Gareth, I don't know, sorry."
Raven sighed. "I don't like this at all."
A sudden ring resounded above the two girls, surprising them both.
"Attention all captives!" said a cheerful voice. "I am your dear and caring host, Dreadjoy! But you can call me DJ."
"Silly", commented Raven.
"Ridiculous", added Lamya.
"...I am humbly welcoming each of you in our wonderful TestPets Factory! As you've most certainly noticed, you're trapped in very uncomfortable rooms, but this is about to change! How, you ask? Simple! How about you lot play a little game?"
As Dreadjoy finished his sentence, the front wall opened like a door, astonishing Raven and Lamya.
"The rules are simple!" continued Dreadjoy with his happy voice. "you will all be thrown in a labyrinth with lots of traps to avoid and creatures to defeat!"
"Hahaaaa, now we're talkin'!"
Raven gave a shocked stare to her friend.
"What?" said the latter. "I love destroying stuff!"
"...And you'll also have the chance to meet other competitors, so stay alert! You wouldn't like to accidentally kill a friend of yours, now would you? Oh! I forgot to mention that you'll have a series of 3 mazes to clear, each one being longer and more difficult than the previous one. The time limit is adapted to the size of the labyrinth. Now, enough talking! Let the experience... Begin!"
"You heard the man, Raven! Let's do this!"
"Wait, are you crazy? We're doing exactly what he wants!"
"Do we have a choice? How are we supposed to find Gareth and Jasper if we stay here? C'mon!"
Lamya ran out of the cage, followed by a reluctant Raven. A few mintues later, a group of giant, demonic-looking rats in front of them.
"Look out!" Raven pulled out a staff hanged across her back, but Lamya was speedier.
"Hehahaha! Rats?! Come on, that's cliché!!"
The Knaaren rushed and grabbed one of the rat's head.
"CRUSH!!!"
She violently bashed the head on the floor, breaking it in the process. But although the noise of broken skull disgusted Raven, it only excited the Knaaren"s lust to battle even more. Two other rats joined the first one on the floor, and the last one was defeated by Raven.
"Uhh... Lamya? Are you sure you're not a recovering villain?"
"Nah!" she answered. "I get excited in a fight because I'm a Knaaren. It's my nature to break skulls and spill blood. But you know, I read that notorious human heroes did the same things in their timelines."
"I...Guess you have a point..."
The girls continued their way accross the metallic maze, carefully avoiding traps and defeating any new enemies. Unfortunately, the walls were as high as the ceilling, which meant it was impossible for Lamya's lums to help them by flying above the labyrinth. They could only follow their instinct and small hints that each defeated enemy or avoided trap would sometimes deliver.
"Alright," said Raven, who had discovered the trick. "According to this paper, we have 3 more intersections. We take left, and then we..."
A sudden girly scream resounded in the maze, followed by a big sound.
"Let's check it out Lamya, quick!"
"More skull crushin'!"
The two girls stopped at the sight of a peculiar scene. Jasper had his hands in front of his face in a protective gesture. But in frotn of him, a couple of animals and monsters were flattened against the labyrinth's wall.
And Jasper was certainly the culprit.
"Wow, dude!" exclaimed Lamya. "And there I thought I was the brutal one. What the heck happened here?"
"I didn't do this..." murmured Jasper. "I didn't do this... I didn't do this..."
"Yeah, he keeps repeating that since the... event happened," said a calm Gareth. "But I can assure you It wasn't me, and there were only us and those monsters you can see on the wall."
"Let's worry about this later!" intervened Raven. "I don't know how much time we have left, but now that we're reunited, we should hurry and find the exit."
She approached Jasper. "Time to go. Whatever happened, we'll talk about it later. Let's hurry up."
The boy nodded and followed the rest of the group to the next intersection. Fortunately, the exit was in sight, in the form of a vast metallic room. The door was wide open, and the four classmates reached the room with ease.
"Time's up!" said Dreadjoy's voice ten minutes later. Well well, looks like our four new recruits managed to work as a team and find the exit of the first labyrinth. What a relief! But remember, each new maze is harder than the previous ones! Watch out for the new traps coming next time! Missiles, new beasts, and much more! But for now, please enjoy your well-deserved break time!"
"Wait a second... Missiles...?" murmured Lamya.
"What? You want to crush those too?"
"No Raven, it's not that! I mean, I do want to tear more stuff apart, but... I think I have a plan to get us out! But I need you guys to collect parts for me."
"Parts?" asked Gareth and Jasper at the same time.
"Yeah," she confirmed with a big smile on her face. "Parts. 'Cause we're gonna build a giant rocket and blow this place to bits."
"Is there a limit to how much living I can live with my life? How will I know if I've gone too far?
And why did I spend my life savings on sunglasses for a whale?
I shall find the answers... to these questions."








No one achieves anything alone.
— Leslie Knope