TASK #5 TRICKSTER

Korso leaned back and enjoyed the excited rush he got every time he noticed the prisoners were about to wake up. The envelopes with their names on the outside and the rules of the game as well as their cards were lying neatly on a table in the middle of the room, together with the colored bonds to tie around their wrists.
For once he wouldn't have to say anything. The rules were all there in the envelope.
Noticing Sinclair stir on one of the monitors he grinned. This would ought to teach her a lesson she was soon to forget. He had started to almost like her disobedience. It made for some real fun at times like these.

Anya was the first to awake groaning softly as she was roused from her slumber to find herself surrounded by people.... some she even recognized. No wait.... she recognized all of them and even... a guard? well well well. Slowly she moved up and a sick little grin spread upon her face as she looked around at the unconscious bodies counting them softly "7.... 6 prisoners.... 1 guard" she muttered softly before giggling as she moved to stand over Helga's unconscious form for a moment "Mmmmm I told you he was naughty~" shaking her head before she spied the table that had the envelopes with all their names. Anastasia took a moment before she realized... something was on her neck careful not to touch it just in case. Though her eyes sparkled, oh dear... was he going to kill someone? the thought made her giddy. Oh... but what if it was her? oh no... that... that would be bad. Would it be over quick? or would he merely put her to sleep so he could torture her to death later? if she had to die she would prefer the later. Oh to be touched by the man who branded her again would be heaven. If it was the same man.... to be honest she had no clue.

But there was always a chance to dream... gently moving to take the envelope with her name on it and open it scanning over the rules of the game she simply smiled. Someone was going to die~ and with any luck it would not be her. She only gave the briefest look at her card before tucking it back inside and putting the envelope back. So... 3 pairs... one left over.... she simply waited by the table with the colored bands letting the mask slip unto her face.

Game time.

She blew a quick kiss to the camera before moving to stand next to the table with the bands on it, though she didn't look at them no she had her eyes downcast while her heart was on her chest looking relieved.

Mulan groans as she wakes up. Her head had already hurt from her scuffle with Sinbad, but now it was just a writhing pain. She sits up touching her head. As she lifts her head some of her hair parts from her face. She was seeing double for a moment. Another swap..? She thought as she saw Anastasia leaning against the table. Her heart beat fast in her chest. The torture chick? "What the fuck," She grumbles as she sees faces she recognizes; Pseudo, Kida, Eva... liar. 
She ignores Anastasia to reach for an envelope with her name on it as she had. Mulan frowns at the rules. "What the fuck." She repeats looking around. Look out for an X? And I need a partner? She could feel panic rising. I need a partner, She thought. She couldn't trust her lying ex cellmate she'd assumed, Sinbad would go for his girlfriend; She didn't know the blonde, or the brunette male. Which only left Kida. Ugh this is such a mess. "Wake up," She complains. "Someone be my partner."

Kida was one of the first to wake up, seeing a few faces that she recognized. She felt a sharp pain at the back of her head and instinctively reached for it, groaning. She immediately pulled away when one of her fingers felt something around her neck. Looking around, she saw everybody was wearing collars. "Shit," she groans to herself.

Grunting, Kida does a half-crawl to reach for the envelope with her name on it and scans the others with her as she opens it. She recognized most of them, but only really knew Mulan. There was the redhead and blonde duo from the Wet T-Shirt contest, Tall and Handsome and the smaller brunette duo from the other Wet T-shirt contest, and a blonde who she felt looked vaguely familiar. She looks back down to her envelope, reading the rules. She didn't like this. Eyeing the other prisoners in the room, she wondered if she could trust any of them.  Perhaps they would think the same of her. "Mulan," Kida said as she looked towards her. "Are you okay?" For some reason, that was the first thing that came to her mind. She was only 17, and although Kida knew she could probably protect herself, she wondered how her attitude had held up with other cellmates. She already knew she had fought her first one.

Eva woke up slowly, looking around the room uncertainly. Seeing the other prisoners, some still unconscious and some awake, she quickly deduced this was a 'game'. Frowning, she pulled herself up and walked towards the table. Opening her envelope, she read her card and nodded to herself. It was then she looked up and saw the red head from the wet t-shirt contest, her stomach did a flip. Well, this was going to be interesting.

All interest in the game quickly vanished as she spotted Helga, still lying on the floor in an orange jumpsuit. An orange jumpsuit? Her mind rushed and she was quick to understand what must have happened when Hels had gone to meet Korso.

"Fuck you," Eva rarely swore, but the word came out before she could stop herself. Wondering over to Helga, she placed her hand softly on her shoulder and flipped her over. "Hels?" She called, trying to make her stir. She wasn't worried for herself, this game was perfect for her. She was good at lying and analysing other people. It was her forte... but it wasn't Helga's.

Helga felt someone shaking her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes and briefly coughed a bit before she stood up. "Eva?" She asked dreamily, as if she was still asleep and this was only a fantasy. Her blurred vision soon turned to normal and she saw, along with herself, six other people. "Eva, what's going on?"

Helga sat up and held her throbbing head. She saw Eva give her a weak smile and it seemed as if all of her worries faded. She finally got to see her again. But her smile faded. She knew this was another one of Korso's tricks. She hoped that if there was any chance for her to survive she couldn't be seen happy with Eva. She knew what she had to do.

Helga threw herself up from the ground and shook the dirt off her jumpsuit. "Eva, now that I have you here." She said. She quickly scanned the room and bit her lip. "We can't be together." Helga nearly choked the words out, it hurt her so bad to say. "I can't be with you, I can't talk to you." She felt her hands shake as she sputtered out the words. She felt like an awful person but she know that was the only way to help her. And without another notice, Helga turned on her heel to walk away from Eva, ignoring anything she had to say.

Helga spotted a table in the center of the room and decided to walk over there. Another game from Korso, of course. Helga knew this game was different, she knew it was dangerous. She picked up an envelope and read the rules and card. She put it in her pocket and sighed. Of course he would do this to them. She analyzed the room for a partner and spotted Eva. No, you can't let Korso know you like her. She scanned the rest of the room and saw Mulan hovering over Anastasia. "I need a partner! Do you have a partner?" She asked, frantically.

Mulan's eyes slid over to Kida. She didn't mean for it to happen but she knew she was glaring as hard as she had at the envelope. So she softens her face and blinks a few times, relaxing her body and sighing. "I'm fine thanks," She grins at her self proclaimed friend. "Well if you consider the only two cellmates I've had being one room together; both of which had sex with someone who tortures people. Eerie right? I'm really excited to see how this love triangle plays out." Mulan frowns, realizing she got off track. "Right." She says, focusing her mind. She pulls at her collar, it was irritating her neck. "What about you? You okay?" Mulan requests as politely as she possibly could, hiding her irritation at the situation. "I need a partner." She grumbles in agreement to Helga's outburst.
She looks to Eva. "Hey Eva, petty theft huh?" Mulan challenges angrily.

Kida saw Mulan's glare and her mind immediately wondered why she had even asked in the first place. She remembered headbutting with her when they had first met and they would only start headbutting now. When she seemed to relax, Kida still felt somewhat frustrated. She wasn't in the mood for small talk anymore. "Peachy," Kida replied curtly. She glanced around the room, still assessing the situation, and then turned back to Mulan. She opened her mouth to ask her to be her partner but instead turned around when she heard a woman frantically asking for a partner. That was wrong move number one. This game pitted everyone against each other, and everybody would only think she has the X card now, due to her panic.

Kida looked at the woman over her shoulder and shot an icy glance towards her, hoping to mark her territory by Mulan. She wasn't sure if the question was aimed towards everyone or towards Mulan, but she needed to make sure she did all she could. Besides, she was talking to Mulan first anyway. "Need a partner? Let's be partners," she said in a demanding sort of way to Mulan. She didn't mean to be aggressive to either of them but the frustration from the situation kept building up gradually.

When Helga asked Eva the question about what is going on, she didn't even answer but simply forced a weak smile. Hels was clever enough to figure it out herself. It wouldn't take long. She saw it click mentally, just before she turned on her. The words she stated made Eva flinch backwards in surprise. She wasn't used to caring about someone, to letting people make her vulnerable... Frowning, she tried to hide the hurt that was now mounting inside of her.

"We never were together," Eva stated simply, she would never let anyone make her feel weak. "It was just a kiss." Her voice was steady, and her face masked, she had done this her whole life. Pretending. She was a hard robot again, with no feelings. Or so she said... perhaps it was bitterness and a need for revenge that drove her back in the direction of the red head, or perhaps it was a need for someone to distract her.

"Partners?" Eva looked up, lifting the red pair of bonds towards them both, the colour seemed rather apt for the occasion. The colour of blood, passion and anger.

Eva heard Mulan behind her, questioning the fact she had lied about only committing 'petty theft'. She decided to ignore her, as usual.

Helga rolled her eyes at the woman and folded her arms. "Really?" Helga said exhausted, under her breathe. She didn't understand how someone could honestly be so rude. All she wanted was to see if someone could be her partner, since who ever was left- was left to die. Maybe that was a sign. After all she could be the one with the X. Helga shook her head and turned away from the two. They were obviously friends before hand and neither of them seemed interested in her. She sighed. She needed to think strategically. These were criminals after all. She had to be aware of her surroundings, anyone of them could have the X. Any one of them could kill her or Eva.

Helga got a sinking feeling in her stomach. What if Eva was paired with the X? She tried to shake the thought from her head but it stuck like glue. She decided to walk over to someone else and try to wake them up. She walked over to Flynn who was still unconscious on the ground. "Hey," she said softly, shaking his body. "Wake up."

Anya stayed there watching all the players.... she had two guesses who held the X card from their actions. She wouldn't mind being left alone in any other circumstance but once again her life revolved around her blending in being normal. Of course watching the guard flounder around a bit for a partner was slightly amusing to her after all they were all players in this game, why should the guards think that they are any different?

Ah.... the blonde from the wet t-shirt competition.... Comming to her after the little discussion between her and the guard.... interesting. Ever so sweetly she looked sympathetically at Eva before nodding her head "Yes I will be your partner my dear, together again it seems? I had hoped you were not dead yet" her voice calm and reassuring "Lovely as I remember even in orange" Not giving a shit if Helga saw as she moved to embrace the woman around the waist "perhaps if we are very lucky we shall see one another again at the end of this... you know what they say if you meet someone three times by accident, that it was fate" gently taking the companion Red bond and putting it on "my fate is in your hands now"

Mulan noticed Sinbad hadn't woken up yet. She takes a step towards him before backing away. She felt like crying. She didn't want to leave him alone. But at the same time... What if he had the X though? Looking down her face hardens in sorrow. "I'll be your partner Kida." She accepts hesitantly.
Someone please, please, don't leave him. 

Eva nodded, not showing her small internal burst of relief as Anastasia agreed to be her partner. Although she was sure the relief would be short-lived. The chance of both Eva and Helga making it through this challenge seemed slim. There was only one set of bonds left, if Hels was left alone, she was dead. If she had a partner who had the X, she was dead. If Anastasia had the X, Eva was dead. She chewed the inside of her lip softly as she pondered the possibilities.

"Yes, together again," Eva turned away from the blonde guard to the red head. She was cursing herself for being so worried for her wellbeing despite everything. Despite the fact she had clearly admitted there was nothing between them. Forcing a smile, she decided to at least try and act like she wasn't allowing the game to get to her. Pretending always made her feel stronger.

"As I had hoped of you too," Eva laughed lightly, forcing a smile. It was true, though she still couldn't be sure how she felt about the experience with Anastasia, she knew she cared enough to hope she wasn't dead. At the added 'yet' to the red head's comment, she looked at her inquisitively for a moment, studying what she could mean by that before forcing a smile once more.

"Why thank you, I do try my best," Eva laughed and mockingly flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder. "You do too." She added without a sarcastic tone present in her voice. As Anastasia's arm swept around her waist, she felt herself get the familiar sensation of butterflies which seemed to be haunting her in this prison. She had never felt them before. As she seemed to grow weaker in the cells, she seemed to be more emotionally vulnerable.

Reaching her hand out, Eva attached one of the red bonds to her own wrist. "Hopefully we shall." She smiled then. From the sound of what she was saying, it didn't seem like Anastasia had the X, which only meant that at least the threat of her own death might have been removed. She couldn't say the same for Hels...

"As mine is yours," Eva allowed her own bonded hand to reach out for Anastasia's bonded hand, clasping it tightly.

Helga heard laughter across the room and she subtly turned her head to the direction in which it was coming from. She let out a small gasp to see her Eva and Anastasia arm in arm together with bands on their wrists. She shot her head in the other direction. She couldn't help but feel tears stinging her eyes. I'm doing this for you, Eva. I'm doing this for you and that's what I get? Of course Eva had no way of knowing that Helga was only trying to save her from what Korso might do in the future, but Helga knew. And she was heart broken. She didn't know Eva could flick a switch and turn to love someone else. Eva's words rang in her head. We never were together. It was just a kiss.

Helga bit her lip and covered her mouth with her hand. She held her breaths to contain the sobs wanting to escape her. She clenched her teeth and tried to pull herself together. She couldn't control Eva. It was her decision to move on. And besides, Eva thought that Helga already wasn't interested in her. Helga exhaled deeply and tried to relax. I'm going to die here. And I'm going to die alone.

Kida saw Mulan's expression change to something she never would have imagined her having. She knew exactly the kind of sorrow on her face. As she was faced the other way, Kida leaned forward slightly to see who she was looking at. It was Tall and Handsome itself. Sinbad, she remembered his name. Kida leaned back before Mulan turned around and spoke. She pursed her lips. "He must mean a lot to you, no?" she asked quietly. She had her eyes on him but now it meant nothing in their current situation. She didn't mind if Mulan had... Kida's thoughts thoughts trailed off, suddenly wondering if she was a bad person. She somewhat regretted shooting the icy glare to the blonde woman, who now looked extremely panicked. She couldn't help but feel bad for her. Had this of been a different situation she would've gone up to her and asked her if she would want to be her partner, but this was a game of chance. And the punishment... death. Kida couldn't take that risk... but if she didn't then had she made the right choice?

Mulan was surprised to see Kida ask her a question about Sinbad. "Pseudo?" She requests before looking down. "Yes. He's my friend." Mulan tilts her head forward before flipping her hair back. She sighs heavily, "But... it's okay. As long as he isn't alone... I'll be able to live with myself." Please wake up Sinny. Please just wake up.... And have a partner. Please Flynn, the guy fucked your ass please be his partner. 

Sinbad wakes slowly, an aching in his head that hadn't been there the day before. He keeps his eyes closed for a moment, hearing the murmuring of more than one person around him, deducing that no he isn't actually in his cell - unless Mulan was talking to herself.

He sits up, grumbling under his breath, and takes a look around. All of the women are awake, including Mulan and Anastasia while a man remains sleeping, and at a closer inspection, he realises that it's Flynn.

Swallowing, he gets to his feet and makes his way towards Mulan, who stands with a tall, dark skinned woman, who he nods at in greeting before focusing on Mulan. "Hey... what's going on here?"

Noticing an envelope with his name on, he picks it up and opens it, feeling panic rise up inside of him as he does.

He sighs, massaging the bridge of his nose. "I take it you're already partnered up?"

Mulan scowls widely. She bolts up and points to Helga. "She needs a partner!" Mulan shouts involuntarily. Her eyes widen when she realizes what's just happened. She slowly sinks back down next to Kida.

He almost laughs at her outburst. Almost.

God, he thinks, clam down, you've got this.

He looks at the woman - she's stern looking, but also desperate. There's a chance that she has the X, but he guessed it didn't really matter. If he didn't get to her before she got to Flynn, he'd end up dying anyway.

This really is a lose-lose scenario.

He sighs, making his way towards her, clearing his throat when he gets closer, trying to get her attention. "I hear you need a partner."

Helga stood up and turned towards the man. This must've been the "Sinbad" Mulan was talking about. "I do indeed," she said slowly. She was about to hesitate in case he was the one who had the X but she took a deep breathe and shook her head. Might as well try. "You must be Sinbad. I'm Helga." She said quickly. But there wasn't much time to make introductions. Helga pointed to the table. "Should I get a wristband for us?" She asked him.

Mulan could feel all sorts of relief rushing through her body. She'd never felt something like that before. When Helga mentioned the wristbands, she'd realized she and Kids didn't have ones. She swipes up the blue bands and gardens it around her left wrist. A habit since she was left handed, "Here." She shoved in Kida's face.

"Nice to meet you Helga." He replies, offering a charming smile that felt entirely out of place - he felt relief, just barely, and then he felt mildly bad about Flynn.

Poor guy.

"Go ahead." He says, hand waving out towards the wristbands.

Helga walked over and collected the matching color wristbands. She turned towards Flynn who was still out cold. She felt bad for him, but everyone for themselves. She sighed and walked back over to Sinbad. "Here," she said handing him a wristband as she put her own around her wrist. She sighed and looked over to Eva and Anastasia. She couldn't help but feel disgusted by the way they were acting. That should be her holding Eva, not Anastasia. She sighed and crossed her arms, hoping no one would notice her discomfort.

Sinbad followed her, taking the band when she offered it and trying it around his wrist, once again making his way towards Mulan.

"You okay, Kiddo?" He asks quietly.

Kida couldn't help but smile at their relationship. It was odd to look at, comparing the two, but it was the good kind of odd. She was watching Helga until she wrinkled her nose when she felt the blue band hit her face. "Hey," Kida whined in a childish voice. She raised an eyebrow at Mulan, unimpressed, and silently tied the blue band to her wrist. She didn't want to test her patience with her again. "Blue's my favorite color, so at least you got something right," she teased. Kida always felt like a child when she interacted with Mulan. Her head shot back up upon hearing Sinbad's voice. She saw him standing before them now. "Hello Yellow," she said nonchalantly as she looked to his wristband. "Kida," she introduced herself before changing her gaze back to her wrist as she continued tightening it, letting the odd pair speak to each other.