Manipulate This

[ĸara вelova★]

Stage II had begun. Leo was lead to the main hall, where a vast pool stretching from wall to wall awaited. The water was murky, and it was impossible to determine how deep it was. Something was moving about in it - many somethings - but the water was too cloudy to confess what lurked beneath the surface.

On the other side of the pool was a wall containing three black doors, clearly labeled with green, ominous numbers 1, 2, and 3. Nothing hinted at what could await within. Large, mechanical hinges promised that opening these doors would be a very difficult task indeed. However, in the center of each door was a keyhole.

"Leogare, welcome to Stage II! Right now you have three points under your belt! Somewhere in the water there are three keys, each with a number. These keys open the doors you see ahead. Each door leads to a challenging obstacle, and each of the obstacles are worth one point. Only the contestants with the top four scores will proceed to the final Stage. You were given a safety word before you arrived. Should you wish to abandon an obstacle, you must shout the word, and that point will be forfeited! You may start when you are ready!"

This time there was no audience, aside from the cameras positioned around the hall. Leo was alone, and the door behind them shut and locked.

"You can always back out now..." The disembodied voice suggested over the speakers, "...I wouldn't blame you if you have Stage Fright..."

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo looked at the dark pool...great...just great. He was never an all star swimmer, I mean he was decent, but it wasn't his forte. You were so slow in the water too, it made moving around a pain.

But he wasn't getting any younger standing here, and the creatures inside weren't getting any exercise either with him just standing here. Sighing he took a running jump, aiming to dive into the center of the pool. Maybe he'd get lucky and be close to a key as soon as he fell in? He was notorious for being lucky.

Something told him that his luck was out to lunch though.

[Kirien Melantha]

It was not Leo's lucky day. He dove into the center of the pool and straight into a number of the creepy crawlies that were drifting peacefully at the bottom. They might have been happy to see him if he was eatable, because they were feeling rather hungry, but it didn't take them long to realize he was too big and scary to be lunch. He could only be an intruder.

Four small eels swam about him, looking alarmed but doing nothing, as if calling their nearby cousins to come to their aid. And then there were six: the four eels, swimming around and being more of a nuisance than anything, with two slightly bigger, meaner-looking eels headed right for him.

To make matters worse, he was about 15 feet away from all three keys; one was to his left, one to his right, and one behind him. He wouldn't be able to see them unless he was nearly on top of them; the lake water was too murky to see much of anything, and even if he opened his eyes, they'd sting something fierce. If he was lucky enough to swim over one, however, a soft golden light would alert him of their presence.

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo was aware of something around him, swimming around him, but he didn't care as long as it wasn't eating him. Leo wasn't going to be afraid of some slimy little fish, it would take more then that.

He squinted his eyes and felt the tell tale signs of burning, so he shut them tightly, trying to feel his way around the base of the pool.

This is pointless...I can't search the entire pool...

As that thought was crossing his mind his hand ran over something. Not waiting he went to grab it, unaware what exactly it was. Maybe a key?

[Kirien Melantha]

Leo was heading in the right direction, but he was still too far from the keys to have grabbed one. What he did grab was the larger of the two disgruntled-looking eels. As if sensing that something very bad was about to happen, the other five eels quickly swam away, just as the eel-that-was-not-a-key released an electric shock.

Needless to say, the 'slimy little fish' weren't all as harmless as they seemed; electric eels were swimming amongst them. They weren't powerful enough to kill - having killer eels in the competition would serve little purpose - but the shock Leo just received would certainly keep him from trying to open doors with marine life.