━━━━༻ ♦ ༺━━━━ exploit 00100000 ━━━━༻ ♦ ༺━━━━

Reese Grayson, Number 6, the Devil, has been killed. May Fortuna smile kindly on the rest of you.

A single line of text, small, holographic white letters on a techno-blue notification and that was all it took to break her down. Her vision narrowed, black spots appearing at the edges of her vision until all she could see was blurred underwater images. All she could hear is the drumming of her heart against her chest, the palpitations growing louder and louder. The concerned and angry voices of those around her and the telltale beeping of her heart monitor around her neck, as the blue line turned an angry red.

Her body felt too hot but too cold at the same time. Her hands were trembling as she tried to press them onto her chest to calm herself; she had no pills for her condition. No diagnosis, no treatment, nothing. Her only solution was to inhale and exhale, and hope that and a glass of water was enough to placate her heartbeat.

Her breaths came out sharp and shallow as her vision continued to darken and narrow until the faces around her blurred and warped into a kaleidoscope. There was a dizziness unlike anything she's felt before muddling her mind and making her stumble. Uncomfortable tingles ran over her skin and numbness spread across her hands that still felt like they were on fire and freezing at the same time. Tingles made as if from a whisper, a hushed and dark voice whispering in her head.

"He's dead," the voice seemed to say. "And everyone else is going to die too. And then you'll be alone. This is what living death feels like."

The choker was going off wildly now as her heartbeat only escalated. Nothing came out of her mouth as she seemed to choke on nothing. Her legs weakened and she fell, slowly, her eyes still open but unfocused.

"It's okay, it'll be okay," Jasper was saying as he helped her into a sitting position. "You'll be fine. We can do this. Breathe, (Y/n), breathe. Breathe with me. Can you hear me?"

Weakly, she managed to find the strength to nod. The navy blue-haired male looked relieved. "Good. Now let's breathe slowly. Inhale...exhale. Inhale...exhale. Count to ten. How are you feeling?" She only shook her head. "It's okay, let's try again. Concentrate on your breathing, okay?" And then to Keller, "She's having a panic attack. Can you grab a bottle of water somewhere?"

The brown-haired male, who had looked very worried for the girl, nodded and didn't waste a second as he went down the hall in search of a vending machine. Elijah was crouched beside her, concern written all over his face.

"You're her friend, right?" He was asking the boy. "Does this usually happen?" Jasper shook his head.

"I've never seen her like this before. She doesn't usually get scared or surprised by anything. Heck, I'm surprised she has any emotion other than boredom." Jasper combed his fingers through her hair soothingly. "(Y/n), how are you feeling now?"

She opened her mouth to speak, her voice coming out weaker than she'd like, making her cringe. "I'm better, I guess..."

"We'll take it slow, alright?" Jasper patted her back and hugged her. "Let's move into the classroom."

"Are you alright, honey?" Ms. Florence as worriedly as she and Jasper helped the (h/c)-haired girl to her feet. She brushed a lock of the girl's hair from her sweat-slicked forehead before taking out a handkerchief and wiping her face. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm good, thanks," (Y/n) managed to say. She stared hard down at her feet to banish the heartbreaking thoughts from her head. The device around her neck had stopped beeping and the red line turned yellow. She wasn't completely back to normal yet.

Keller returned with a bottle of water. "Here," he gave it to the girl. "Drink this to calm down."

Mr. Howards closed the door behind them. "Do you have any medicine, (Y/n)?" He asked. "I can get them for you if you do."

She swallowed the water and shook her head. "No meds. I'm fine now."

"No meds?" He frowned. "This sounds like it happens a lot. Does your family know about this?"

"W-well, yeah," she lied. "It's never usually this bad. But I mean..."

"Don't think too much about it," Jasper interrupted. "Just get some rest. Don't stress yourself over it."

"But Reese—"

"He might not be dead for all we know. The headmaster didn't specify how he died, did he? He could've made a mistake. Grayson's like a roach—okay, that was a bad comparison, but you know what I mean. He's hard to kill. And he's a smart guy, despite his melodramatic nature. He might've found a way to escape, knowing him. So don't worry, okay?"

If it were anyone else, (Y/n) wouldn't have believed them. But it was Jasper. He wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, even if it meant hurting himself in the process. Still, his soft-spoken words slowed her irregular heartbeat, and the line glowed blue once more.

"Okay..."

How desperately she wished—begged—for this all to be a bad dream. Another one of her nightmares, something dark and haunting but fleeting and almost trivial at the same time when she wants. She wanted to think of Fortuna Institute as elegant and ethereal on the surface and just another bratty rich kids' school on the interior, with its students having personalities as diverse as the jungle. Hallways clean, decorated finely, filled with the low hum of dulcet and euphonious conversation, something to be proud of. Gardens full of flowers and decorations that were in season, displaying nothing but the best of the best.

But never, ever anything more than that. Now the hallways were empty and dusty, uncared for. Blood splattered the walls and floors, occasionally in the classrooms as well. Where once upon a time a scavenger hunt in the large Fortuna Institute campus led to many exciting discoveries, all she found this time was gore.

If she could have her way, she never would've transferred into the school. She never would've subjected Reese to...whatever this was. Sure, she wouldn't have met the others—the idea of that happening broke her heart—but (Y/n) was no hero.

If her story was a fairy tale, she wasn't the princess in it. She was the side character, one of the many bystanders killed in the scuffle for the princess to have her happy ending.

But fairy tales never have a happy ending. Romeo and Juliet, two lovers who died for a fake love they held onto with all their hearts. Little Red Riding Hood, deceived and devoured alive. Lady Macbeth, death by suicide and her husband, Macbeth, killed in a fight to the death with Macduff. And Ariel, who was burdened with human legs that caused her nothing but pain and led to her suicide.

If her story wasn't going to be a happy one, (Y/n) was going to have a word or two with the publishers.

WINTER:HALL ━━━━━༻ ❀ ༺━━━━━ ℓαtєя

Day four was the worst day yet. Putting the useless food aside—ice cream and whatever innutritious Keller found in the overly fancy vending machine—the group found themselves crippled with a terrible sense of urgency and boredom. Well, maybe the last part was just her. Yeah, definitely just her.

If everyone in their group was who they said they were and Mr. Brooks was the Tuner, that meant the Seeker was still out there. Who could they be?

(Y/n) wanted to find Jaehyun and ask him, but the blond was nowhere to be seen. She could only hope he was fine; she doubted the headmaster would stand having a nonplayer intrude on the Game. Ignoring her worries and the others' hushed whispers, she started on the more important task on hand.

Completing the link to the security cameras.

The images showed up on her phone, footage from every single camera in the building. And she could even pick out which specific location she wanted to view! June truly outdid herself this time.

She sent a text to the girl thanking her and telling her it went well. June responded immediately, saying it was the least she could do. She then asked if she could get access to the cameras as well to aid her.

(Y/n) agreed.

The (h/c)-haired girl returned her attention to the footage. Most of them were empty, just as expected, but a few of them had people in it. And much to her relief, there was one of Isla and Lucinda together in a Summer Hall classroom. Carmen didn't appear to be with them. And with a few more taps, (Y/n) found the brunette in the Spring Hall cafeteria.

Figures. They look fine, she sighed in relief. Then what about Jason?

The cameras couldn't see everything, and she knew that. But she could try and hope the green-haired male wasn't in any blind spot. But knowing him, he probably did just that to hide from the Maker. She couldn't see him anywhere.

Aside from her friends and four other students she didn't recognize, (Y/n) saw no trace of the remaining two players. That means they are aware of the cameras' blind spots, she mused. One is Mr. Brooks and the other might be the girl that was talking to Mackenzie, whatever her name was. Would that make that girl a Face? But she could also be a Number hiding away. Then is it Mr. Wright? If the girl is in the Game, Mr. Wright can't be. There's only 17 people left.

All the possibilities made her head spin. This kind of work wasn't her forte; she'd leave that to Jasper.

Her hand froze over the screen of her device. Should I...? A small part of her wanted to check to see if Reese really was out of the game. But the more reasonable part of her said no. What if you trigger another attack?

"I'll go find the kid," Elijah suddenly said, voicing her biggest concerns. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about him, Hunter's youngest son isn't easy to take down. He'd annoy the killer with his Hamlet impressions anyway."

That brought a small smile to her face. "Yeah, you're right."

He stopped before he closed the door behind him. "I'll be right back." He was met with a chorus of "Stay safe!" and "Be careful" as he left. For some reason, the echoing click of the door only heightened her fears. She felt like something was going to go wrong. Very wrong.

The (h/c)-haired girl tried to shake the tingling sensation away as she started to show her phone to the rest of the group, before hesitating. Mr. Howards and Ms. Florence are great teachers and I love them and all...but is it smart to show them this now?

Her conscience said yes but the more logical part of her mind said no. She'd only show Jasper and Keller for now. At least, when they were safely away from the two teachers who were looking awfully close.

But ew, relationships. Why is it that all the romance stuff starts in perilous situations, whether it be in real life or the movies? She wrinkled her nose. Blergh.

"Are we just going to stay here?" Jasper spoke up. "The Seeker is near us, evident by the body. We should at least wait until Mr. Johnson returns, but what then?"

"I have a Chariot card," Mr. Howards offered. "For a classroom in Spring Hall. I chose my classroom since I'm the most comfortable with it. How about we stay there?"

Unease and doubt swam in the violet depths of the male's eyes. "That's quite far...I'm not sure how we're going to all make it there with the Seeker around."

"They probably won't jump such a big group," Keller said. "We have a rugby coach and me, a rugby player, so they'd think twice before targeting us. There's also Mr. Howards, another adult."

"Yeah, but to get to Spring Hall without leaving the building we need to pass through Autumn. And the Tuner's a physics teacher. Who knows if he's done anything to the chemistry labs during these four days."

"Mr. Brooks is a harsh teacher but that doesn't make him a bad person—"

"Yeah, but I'm not taking any risks here," Jasper hissed. "People turn on each other during the Game. You know that, Keller. Just look at the 25th Game. This year almost looks innocent compared to that one."

"Yes, but he's a Tuner. He won't target Numbers—"

"The 25th Tuner didn't think so."

Keller sighed in exasperation and raked a hand through his messy hair. "I don't want to argue with you, Jasper, but don't you think it would be beneficial if we team up with him?"

"Never has a Tuner worked with the Numbers without betraying them in the history of the Game," the other boy deadpanned. "Everyone wants to win alone and claim the wish for themselves. The headmaster is very powerful, after all."

As (Y/n) listened and processed their words, something came to mind. It was just an innocent thought, nothing special, but it didn't seem that way to everyone. "By the way..." she began slowly. "Is it possible to be in more than one Game?"

Jasper blinked in surprise. "I've never heard of that happening. No one's ever completely sure of each year's participants, after all."

"That's worth looking into," Keller agreed. "If there's a match between the two years, that person could very well be our Seeker."

Ms. Florence lit up and turned away from her conversation with Mr. Howards. "Oh, that's perfect!" She clapped her hands together. "I can finally be of some use. Even though I don't have much faculty power, I can still enter the archives. I'm sure there'll be something there."

"And that's in Autumn Hall," Keller mused. "What do you say, Jasper?"

The navy blue-haired male pondered over the idea, his brow furrowed in thought. Then he sighed. "What else can we do now?"

"Then that's decided." Mr. Howards rose to his feet and held out a hand for Ms. Florence to take. "Shall we?"

The Seeker isn't going to be very happy about this...Was her only thought as they left the drama room, the door closing ominously behind them.

Oh noodles, what about Elijah?

THE:ARCHIVES ━━━━━༻ ❀ ༺━━━━━ ℓαtєя

The archives were just as (Y/n) remembered them the first and last time she had come with Tristan. The same ancient, mausoleum-like look with the files and shelves kept clean and tidy, and the same Latin labels on each file holder.

Mr. Howards went to the shelf and ran his finger along the line of files. "Ah, here it is." He stopped a few shelves down. "This section's the student and faculty body five years ago. I highly doubt they'd keep records of the Game's players each year though."

"It's better than nothing," Jasper said. He pulled a file off the shelf after checking its label. "How likely do you think the Seeker was a teacher rather than a student?"

The male blinked in surprise. "What makes you say that?"

"I can only think of a handful of students capable of committing all these perfect crimes," he explained. "And four of those are exempt from participating due to their excellence."

"The P4..." Alicia murmured.

"Yes, precisely. I believe their first and last Game was the 24th one in middle school, which they cleared within the first day. Hence, the 24th Game is called the 'White Game' due to the lack of bloodshed."

"So you're calling the rest of us dumb?" Keller chuckled. "Not that I can say otherwise."

"I'm calling most of this year's players incapable of such crafty acts," Jasper corrected him. "Though a few still worry me..."

"Has Mr. Brooks played before?" (Y/n) asked. "Or is this his first time?"

Jasper flipped through the file. "I'm not sure...but he was teaching at the time." He opened to a page where the faculty was gathered for a graduation photograph. Alicia looked over thoughtfully.

"Is that before I came here?" She questioned curiously. "I think I started three years ago? Time feels quite strange here."

"I believe it was three years ago," Mr. Howards agreed. "I should also be in that photograph. I started at this school the same time Edward did. That photograph was my first year of teaching, I believe."

Double Oxford graduates...impressive. "Do you remember the Game during your first year, Mr. Howards?" She asked.

He shook his head solemnly. "I'm afraid not. New teachers aren't privy to such sensitive information. I was given a month's leave during the time the 25th Game was said to be going on. Only a year later was I informed on the reason behind so many of my students and colleagues' disappearances." A distressed look passed over his face and he looked away. "Excuse me for a second."

"Oh, Charles," Alicia patted his back soothingly. He gave her an appreciative smile.

(Y/n) had wandered off into another section of the archives as the others talked. She didn't want to be the third wheel in any of their conversations. Amid the rows of Latin scripture she didn't understand and identical file holders, something caught her eye. A set of numbers and the only numbers she recognized, the numbers of their current school year.

Curious, she pulled the file out. It was unsurprisingly new compared to all the others. There were profiles for each student, divided into their respective Halls. She pulled out Autumn Hall. There was no real reason she did so besides the fact that she, Reese, and Mr. Brooks were all situated in Autumn Hall.

Her file wasn't much different from the one she saw the last time she hacked into the school's databases. Her background, education history, and everything the school needed to know about her besides her primary school. It made sense, considering her "primary school" consisted of spending time locked up in a lab surrounded by other children her age.

Then she took out Reese's and Mr. Brooks' files simultaneously. They looked innocent enough; Reese's profile was nothing she didn't see before, especially since she'd grown up with him. Mr. Brooks' had his distinguished family background and his net worth—the numbers were longer than her life span, but that was a bad comparison—as well as his very affluent educational background.

She took out Mr. Howards' file to compare the two, mostly just out of curiosity. Well, what do you know? They went to different primary and middle schools, but after that, they went to the same institutes. Coincidence? I think not.

Mr. Howards had published a series of mystery/thriller books that rivaled even Agatha Christie's to this day. Mr. Brooks contributed a whole lot to research labs regarding medicine and physics. Their success and accomplishments made the (h/c)-haired girl want to curl up in her corner and rethink life.

Other than a whole essay on their shining futures, there was nothing out of the ordinary. The archives weren't as useful as she hoped they would be.

As she returned the files to their respective positions glumly, a single sheet of paper slipped out of them. (Y/n) caught herself before she could step on it. It's probably worth more than my head. Whew! She picked it up; it was a page from Reese's file, complete with lines of his family situation and his picture. But what really caught her attention was a little note nestled among countless other ones.

Reese Grayson, siblings: 2.

She didn't remember him having a second sibling.

"(Y/n)!" A shout startled her out of her thoughts and nearly made her drop the file. It was Jasper. "Where did you go?"

"Uh, coming!" She hastily stuffed the files back into the shelf, not before snapping a few pictures of them. She didn't know if photography was allowed in the archives, but who said she was a good model student? (Y/n) went back to where the rest of the group was. "Are we done?"

"Basically, yeah," the navy blue-haired male replied. "We've compiled a list of the so-called 'missing' students from the class five years ago, as well as people we suspect might've been in the game too."

She raised her hand. "I have a dumb question."

"There are no dumb questions in this household—well unless you're Carmen—but go ahead."

"If the nonplayers stay in their dorms while the game goes on, why can't they just ask each other to see who's playing and who's not?"

"You know how our signals are jammed?" He patted his pocket where the phone was. She nodded. "Yeah, everyone's signals on campus are jammed. And the staff are around making sure they don't leave the dorm. If they do, they could get killed. And getting the sons and daughters of major corporations killed isn't a scandal Fortuna likes to deal with."

I'd say. And getting us killed is okay? "I see."

"Can we go now?" Keller said cautiously as he eyed the archives with distrust. "This place gives me the heebie-jeebies—"

"Your face gives me heebie-jeebies."

"Jasper, I thought we had something going on!"

The three were the first to leave with the two teachers following close behind. Mr. Howards closed and locked the door behind them before turning to say, "A totally random question, but if you guys were to win, what would your wishes be?"

It was indeed a random question, a strange one out of the blue. The three shared a look. "I'd buy a lifetime supply of pillows," (Y/n) declared confidently.

"That translates to 'I'll put an end to this Game forever,'" Jasper stage-whispered.

"Okay, that too."

"Not sure," Keller looked deep in thought. "Maybe a recommendation or something so I can go professional in rugby?"

"I've never really thought about it," Jasper mused as he bit his lip. "Aside from the same thing as (Y/n), I don't really need much else..."

The (h/c)-haired girl was surprised. "You like collecting pillows too?"

"Oh yes, the more to smother you with, my dear. What about you, Mr. Howards, Ms. Florence?"

The hazel-haired woman clapped her hands together excitedly. "I'd open up my own art studio in London," she said. "I don't have the funds to do so now, but I would if I did."

"That's a nice dream," Mr. Howards commented. "Though I've always seen you as more of a coffee shop owner kind of person."

"Ooh, maybe I could combine the two. That would be so nice."

"How about you, Mr. Howards?" Jasper asked.

The blond teacher shifted his heterochromic eyes to the male. His smile did not change as he spoke. "I'd shut down the school."

Jasper looked shocked and to be fair, (Y/n) was too. He'd close down the school that hired him? Even Alicia looked taken aback.

Until he started laughing. "That was a joke, don't take it too seriously."

"O-oh," Jasper smiled awkwardly. "I apologize."

"Oh no, it's quite alright. In all seriousness, I suppose I'd kick the headmaster off the board. He's absolutely disgraceful for allowing such an atrocity to continue on."

"Who would you replace him with, Charles?" Alicia asked teasingly. "Yourself, perhaps?"

"No, that's too much work for me," he chuckled. "I'm sure vice headmaster Grayson would be a good fit, don't you agree?"

"Quite so."

As the two adults talked, Jasper cast a worried look at the (h/c)-haired girl, concerned that she wouldn't take the mention of the red-haired male's surname well. Contrary to his worries, she looked fine. He wasn't sure if he should be concerned or relieved about that. Like him, both of them weren't the type to open up easily and spill out all of their anxieties.

Anxiety was an understatement. He had to give her credit for now breaking down from the start.

The navy-blue haired male returned the files to the shelf. "Well, let's get going then. We'll go back to the classroom and hope Mr. Johnson waited there—" But just as he made his way to the exit tried to open the sliding door, it seemed to be stuck. Or more correctly, someone was holding it shut.

Whoever was holding it on the other side easily overpowered the male and the door was wrenched out of his hands and slid open with such impact the wall shook. There, standing with a pair of dark, soulless eyes filled with obsidian acid and his mouth drawn into a flat, hard line was the Devil himself, Mr. Brooks.

His eyes immediately fell on the sandy-haired teacher and his eyes darkened even more if that was possible. "Charles," he growled. "What are you doing here?" (Y/n) had to give it to him for retaining an elegant speech pattern despite his anger.

Mr. Howards looked unfazed. "Am I not allowed to be here? I'm not the one going around killing innocent students, Edward." Where the black-haired man's voice was dripping with poison, the blond male's remained as calm and amiable as always. "I'd ask you the same question; what are you doing here? Out to kill another one of my students?" His voice was steady, betraying his dark accusations.

Mr. Brooks wasn't taking any of it. He began laughing, shocking the group. Anger and annoyance was all they were accustomed to seeing from the male; never laughter. It was a low and dangerous sound, much unlike the uncontrollable laughter that comes from genuine enjoyment and happiness.

It wasn't a sound (Y/n) liked.

"Kill? Me?" The black-haired male shook his head, his face turning deadly serious. "You're one to talk, Charles, misleading all these students."

"I'm not the one with blood on my hands. My student here, (Y/n)"—he placed a hand on said girl's shoulder—"Saw you with her two eyes."

"Well, I mean," (Y/n) interjected awkwardly. "I only saw the dragging body part—"

"The world loses nothing with Mackenzie Taylor gone," the other man interrupted. "You are aware of her nature, but you defend her. Either because she's one of you so-called 'precious students' or"—his eyes narrowed—"You're the one behind all those things she's been doing lately."

The (h/c)-haired girl snuck a glance at Mr. Howards' face. He had the perfect combination of shock and incredulousness written all over his expression. Then she turned to Jasper and Keller; Keller was looking between the two men, as confused as she was, while Jasper had furrowed brows as he replayed their words in his head. You see what I mean about him being the detective slash momma bird?

"And what evidence do you have to back those accusations?" Mr. Howards replied without missing a beat. He placed his hand on his chest. "I am well aware Ms. Taylor's actions were...unsuitable, shall we say, for Fortuna's standards. Bullying students and blackmailing others, I never had any conclusive evidence so I could only warn her off—"

"Save the lies for someone who'd listen," Mr. Brooks snarled. "You say you're a Number and you make yourself out to be the perfect teacher. But you're not. You're the one who killed my best friend!"

Ohhh, sh*t just got real. (Y/n) stared wide-eyed at the two, not believing what she was hearing. She was more shocked about the fact Mr. Brooks had a friend than the killing part. But then those words were able to process properly in her head and she was taken aback. She caught Jasper's eyes, and he just shook his head, sending her a silent message to stay quiet and let the scene play out.

"Me? Kill your best friend?" Mr. Howards laughed bitterly. "Might I remind you that best friend was my girlfriend? She meant the whole world to me—I was utterly crushed by her death." A pained look flitted across his face and he almost seemed to stack to crumble before the male recomposed himself and coughed into a fist. "I know you blame me for Lauren's passing away, and I can't blame you. I should've seen the signs. I should've seen her depression. But I didn't, and she—"

He cut himself off, tears welling in his bluebell eyes as he looked away with a hand covering his eyes. Alicia gasped sympathetically and patted him on the back. "Oh, Charles..."

But Mr. Brooks didn't look impressed. "You're a teacher, not an actor," he deadpanned. "I said to cut the bullsh*t, excuse my profanity, with me, didn't I? You're a liar, Charles. A dirty, conniving liar. And my greatest mistake is falling for it. I will not let you off as I did five years ago. Even if you try to manipulate everyone against me again, I will drag you down no matter what, dead or alive."

"Manipulate?" Mr. Howards wiped the tears from his eyes and made an incredulous sound. "Manipulate? I did my best for Lauren to befriend you since you are her best friend. You were the one who betrayed my trust. You were the one who accused me of things I never did. Fell for my so-called 'lies,' you say? Not once did you even try to give our friendship a chance. If anyone's a liar here, it's you. You're the one killing off the students. Even if Ms. Taylor is not exactly a sparkling model student, she does not deserve to die for that."

"Hilarious coming from you, especially when you're the one making her do your dirty work and get punished in your stead."

"I'm not sure what's going on, man," Keller interjected awkwardly. "But there's gotta be some kind of mistake. Mr. Howards didn't order anyone to kill anyone. He was with us the whole time. Our phones are jammed anyway."

Mr. Brooks laughed bitterly. "You see? You've misled them with your vicious words. Not a manipulator, you say?"

"The last time I checked I was a Number," Mr. Howards shot back. "You are the Face here, the Tuner or the Seeker, out to kill us all. If this is your ploy to separate us so you can pick us off, it's not happening. You'll have to get through me if you want to harm any of my students and colleagues."

"Is that an invitation?" The other man flicked his wrist, a knife appearing in his hand. If not for the situation, (Y/n) would've gushed over how cool of a magic trick that was.

Mr. Howards' eyes were steady. "It's a promise."

━━━━━༻ ❀ ༺━━━━━

A/N: Who do you believe? Mr. Brooks or Mr. Howards? And hmm, Mr. Howards' girlfriend sounds awfully familiar...or maybe it's just me.

Wondering where's the P4? They're, uh, enjoying a nice vacation in the Bahamas right now. (Y/n) who? And on a scale of one to ten, how trustworthy is this "June?"