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Post by ĸara вelova★ on Sept 22, 2009 18:27:12 GMT -5
Stage II had begun. Eiji 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.
"Eiji, 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. Eiji 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..."
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Post by Eiji Almasy. on Sept 25, 2009 10:56:22 GMT -5
The producers hadn't said anything about swimming. It wasn't even the moisture that was the problem; it was all the crap that seemed to be filling the pool. Eiji took one look at it and backed up real quick, aware that there were camera crews everywhere and not particularly caring.
"Whoa, are you kidding me!" he exclaimed, his expression very close to horror. He'd been thrown into a giant arena the previous stage, with three 'challenging' guards and the odds against him, but he'd take fifty if it meant that he wouldn't have to even break sweat.
"I'm not touching that shit!"
The guide looked unsure and one of the assistants off to the side waved him off. Eiji stood a good distance away from the pool with a look of disgust on his face, thinking that the only thing that was almost as bad as getting all that muck in his hair, would be facing his friends afterward.
'Quitter,' Andrew had been nice to say, after, 'is he dead yet,' when he had called him and Draco after the first stage. Naturally, they hadn't stuck around, and Draco's suspicions that it would suck were confirmed when he found out that Eiji didn't even bleed, bruise or vomit.
He asked himself if pride was really worth it, but he was already walking slowly toward the edge of the pool. Eiji stared down into the water, not looking pleased at all. He touched his hair, not self-conscious but probably on the verge of a small bitch-fit. He could not believe he was actually going to do this. Stepping back, he toed his shoes off, and stood on a foot at a time to tug off his socks. Removing his shirt, not the Monster issued one, wasn't even something he had to think about; it joined the small pile on the floor right after.
Approaching the pool again, he didn't look any better, or even resigned, just kind of..irate, but he got up on the ledge and dived in anyway, before he could change his mind.
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Post by Kirien Melantha on Sept 28, 2009 17:06:48 GMT -5
Countless preteen girls clad in Eiji Almasy t-shirts would gasp in horror as their hero recoiled from the pool of nasty, whispering amongst each other worriedly. "He's not afraid of drowning, is he?!" They might say as they stared desperately at their television screens. "Ohmygosh, what if he can't swim?!" Others squealed.
The older male demographic, however, would not be impressed. They might have heard tales from their wives about how the young socialite might as well have won the competition already, but when they saw him freak out at the start of stage II, they'd smirk. "Not so tough, is he? He's afraid to get his dainty little hands dirty!" They'd grumble to each other whilst sipping their beers. "This show is made for little girls! Where are the busty young ladies in bikinis?!"
The MC, being a bikini-and-beer-loving man himself, couldn't help but chuckle a little at Eiji's antics, realizing just a little too late that he still had his mic on. He turned his chuckle into an unusual cough and smacked the off button until his 'coughs' had subsided. "What's the matter, Eiji?" He jeered when he switched the mic back on. "Have you got Stage Fright?"
But Eiji toughened up right when the MC finished his "Fright," no doubt to the relief of the concerned preteen girls glued to their screens at home. When he entered the murky pool of grossness, a number of slithering, snakelike creatures scattered to make room for him. The closest key was 5 feet behind him, with another 10 feet ahead and slightly to his right. The water-dwelling creatures seemed to keep away from him and close to the keys he was after, almost as if they knew where he was headed.
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Post by Eiji Almasy. on Oct 7, 2009 7:43:56 GMT -5
There were a lot of things that ran through Eiji's head the moment he broke the surface of the murky pool. The first was, thank God I wasn't allowed to bring my phone, because he usually had it in his pants pocket but he'd forgotten to check before his dive. The second was, why the fuck aren't there any goggles, which was followed by a dry acknowledgment that sponsors and management alike, probably wanted to put he and the rest of the contenders through hell. The most obvious thought was last, after all the nonsensical ones, when he couldn't ignore it any longer; oh, gross!
To say the water was dirty was an understatement. It took an extreme amount of will and control to not let his mouth budge, to not accidentally inhale slime. He could feel the flecks of whatever brush the skin of his back and stomach, and his hands every time he made the motions of breaststroke under water. Despite the nauseous quality of the second Stage, Eiji had a plan.
The very first thing he did was swim down in an attempt to judge how deep the pool was; he'd already seen the length of it, and now needed to know about the amount of oxygen he could survive with every time he went under. The further he swam, hands searching always so he wouldn't collide face first with the bottom of the pool, the more distinct a light became. He determined that the pool must have been lit from the bottom, and as soon as his hands knocked against the tiles, he moved himself upright and kicked off from the bed, legs moving as swift as they can (goddamn those jeans!).
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Post by Kirien Melantha on Nov 8, 2009 10:22:32 GMT -5
In his search, Eiji drew nearer and nearer to the 10-foot-away key, until it was only a 5-foot-away key, glowing invitingly from it's position at the grossest, slimiest part of the pool. A number of the snakelike pool-inhabitants swam out of the way as he studied his surroundings, but they seemed to show little interest in him.
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