Neopolis Academy Mods (neopolis) wrote in neopolis_ooc, @ 2010-01-08 08:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | !plot: neopocalypse |
Update #4 - Emily & Ryan
Guess who's got an early Ryan/Emily update for you all today? Emily's updates are only for today, but the rest will come later tonight!
MISSION SEVEN: THE LAND OF FAERIE
MOD: Emily
VILLAIN: Dead Bowie & fairy consort, Remella Grimvine
PARTICIPANTS: Wendelin, Agnes, Cal, Braden, Alvin, Emily, Teddy, Jamie, Allegra, Beatrix, Clarence
UPDATE: They've defeated the hobgoblin, which means they're free to traverse Faerie without worrying about losing their lives to the irate Grimvines, but there's very little to celebrate: Jamie and Clarence ran screaming into the night, and Beatrix and Teddy are still under the thrall of the fairy-food they consumed. But it's not all bad! For one, Jamie is a fox, so he is unlikely to attract bad attention! (Of course, he is also a fox, and that will make finding him problematic. It is likely more a matter of Jamie finding everyone else.) For another, when Clarence ran out into the night, he ran into the orb again! And though he still achingly wanted to go elsewhere, he knew the orb was important -- and maybe, just maybe, he convinced himself, the orb would lead him to where he wanted to go.
The orb lead him into the forest. Hopefully he'll have the presence of mind to alert his teammates, so they can try to follow him and the will'o'the'wisp.
January 9th: Reunited with Clarence, the group found themselves taking a detour last night when their classmates sent out a cry for help. Under the direction of Doctor Odd via the PDAs, and with Emily bringing everyone together to work as a team, the kids magicked a way to open a portal and send through magical reinforcements to the spy mission group, who otherwise would have died in the cold.
Unfortunately, that meant they had to stop following the will'o'the'wisp, and it left them totally exhausted. Camping that night in the forest, they bound the wander-lusting and took turns sleeping off their fatigue until morning.
Luckily, where they left off the trail, Jamie the Fox picked it up! Still stuck in his shapeshifting form, he followed the trail through the forest... and around midday, happened upon some dryads that took an interest in him. They saw through his disguise and changed him back... but wanted some sexual reciprocation in return. Sleeping with fae can't be a good idea, and besides, that orb is still on the move... and he's still separated from the group!
Meanwhile, the rest of the group is searching through the forest for both Jamie and the will'o'the'wisp, and they're becoming fully aware that this forest is unlike any other they've ever been in. Why, it feels like the very trees are watching them... better be careful. They already have enough problems, as the effects of the faerie food only seem to be getting stronger... good thing those restraints are so strong.
January 10th: By now, everyone has reunited... and the forest is giving off some pretty unhappy vibes. This is what happens when you take a boy toy away from a bunch of sex-hungry dryads. Paths start showing up where before, there were none. And - of course - the will'o'the'wisp has disappeared again. Perhaps it's disappeared because the paths lead to Sidhe, though?
No such luck. The path leads to a dead end, blocked by a tangle of bramble. Another path leads to the same, and down another path... the trees start reaching out at the kids. At first, it just seems like they get caught on branches a lot more often... but then the trees start outright attacking them. They'll have to fight off the tree limbs and run... but Brad, Agnes, Cal and Allegra get caught up by the trees. It doesn't help that Teddy, Jamie, Clarence and Beatrix still desperately want to disappear into Faerie to find their hearts' longing. It will be up to the fairies and the fairy-addled to stick around and get them down. Poor Emily. After trying and failing several times, some dryads reappear... and some naiads, curious about all the commotion.
A turf war starts up between the two factions of nymphs -- the kids end up siding with the water nymphs, and after a battle filled with curses, hexes, furious plants and frenzied water spouts, the naiads win! The dryads retreat, trees dropping the hostages to the ground, and the naiads invite them back to their riverside abode. There, they have the opportunity to bathe, rest, and eat -- without the threat of enchantment, as the nymphs are very grateful for their help, and also not nasty like those goblins.
January 11th: In the morning, some of the kids get a bright idea -- can the naiads help them with their enchanted friends? They can!! ...for a price. It turns out being part of an all-female race makes these nymph-types pretty intent on milking the men they meet for all they're worth. Naiads are not - unlike dryads - renowned for disposing of their mates afterward, so... what happens in Faerie stays in Faerie?
When the river nymphs are, ah, satisfied, the group is enchantment-free and ready to keep going... and luckily, the will'o'the'wisp has shown up again in the distance, following the course of the river. The forest - foreboding and angry - stays ever to their right, but they should be able to avoid it... for now.
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MISSION TEN: MYSTICAL MOUNTAIN
MOD: Emily
VILLAIN: Alba Abomina
PARTICIPANTS: Jackie, Jimmy, Matty, Toni, Billy, Theresa, Lance, Erik, Reggie, Violet
UPDATE: With some advice from Doctor Odd (and, frustratingly, no further leads on the 'back way' into the temple), the group decides that the best way to get into the temple is to pretend innocence, and an interest in magic. Who better to lead them through the drifts and up to the door than Violet Broome, Magic RA and right-hand woman of Doctor Odd? It'll be up to Violet to sweet-talk the reticent, suspicious monks into believing that they are pilgrims come to bask in the serenity of the temple... which means that Toni and Theresa are going to have to do their very best nun impressions.
The monks let them in, but on one condition: that they remain absolutely silent in the halls, so as not to disturb their prayer and meditation. They are given warm robes, good food, and individual beds (separated boys and girls). And being quiet shouldn't be that hard, right? It will only make it exceedingly difficult to find out information about the layout of the temple, and the power of the talisman...
January 9th: In the morning, the students are invited to join in their meditation and prayer. It lasts for an obscenely long time - starting at the crack of dawn, a break for a homely (but filling) breakfast, and then some more meditation. Unfortunately, due to the fun of timezones, Jackie Frost disappeared mid-cleansing exhale... and the monks suddenly ratcheted up their suspicion about 100%. Immediately afterwards, they are all taken to Master Mu, the leader of the monks at the Temple of Mu, and mythical figurehead of their cultish ways. He questions them thoroughly - why did she disappear? Where did they come from? What is their intent? On the one hand -- hey, no more silence! On the other hand, they'll have to be incredibly great at lying. Then again, it's a fantastic opportunity to try and charm their way into more information about the temple and its defenses...
At the end of the interrogations (which end when Jackie finally returns and goes through her stint in the question chair), the monks decide that they should all stay in their rooms until they further decide what their stance is on them. Who said what? Did anyone give anything away? Were there feats of hilarious distraction techniques?
January 10th: While being questioned, they managed to get some information about the talisman they need to destroy -- both from clues wrangled during questioning, and peeking down hallways as they were escorted to and from Master Mu's office. Some scrying by Matty and a few fuzzy visions from Violet confirm their hunches: it's time to get this over with.
Devising a plan to sneak out of their rooms and into the heart of the temple, they are all given their roles: Toni and Lance are on distraction duty; Theresa is going to make the weather outside frightful again, so the monks go running to batten the hatches, as it were. Everyone else splits up to try and find a way to the talisman: Jackie & Jimmy form one team, Violet & Reggie another, and Matty, Erik, and Billy in the last. Communicating via their PDAs, they all manage to find the room with the talisman -- a holy shrine in the bottom floors of the temple, protected by powerful magic -- and are about to attack when...
Legions of monks appear behind them, looking very unhappy, and ready to kick butt. Although the kids put up a good fight, they ultimately don't stand a chance: they're all thrown unceremoniously out of the temple, back into the cold, snowy mountainside. Well, crap.
January 11th: It's back to trekking around the mountain -- and back to the drawing board. Matty and Violet revisit the 'back door' option, and finally figure out that it's through a CAVE. Great! Now they have some purpose to their wandering and searching! Unfortunately, Alba Abomina knows about their failure inside the temple... and she's none too pleased. Just as the sun is getting low in the sky and the kids are starting to set up their igloo for the night, over the horizon come some hulking, white-furred figures... ABOMINAble Snowmen, created by the mad magic Alba was famous for in Neopolis. Time for another fight guys -- and it won't be as easy as the werebears, for the ABOMINAble Snowmen have some magic protecting them.
They do, eventually, vanquish the Snowmen to the point where they roar in disgust and teleport away with a last warning: Alba is watching. Conquer the temple in the next five days or suffer the consequences.
And so they're left to their igloo, and their wounds -- mostly scratches, bites, and heavy bruises -- a fractured rib here or there.
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MISSION ELEVEN: THE ISLE OF SIN
MOD: Ryan
VILLAIN: Dr. Genghis Sin
PARTICIPANTS: Johnny, Jack, Queenie, Nate, Tony, Janelle, Drake, Holly, Dominique, Aviva
UPDATE: With Queenie filling the role of local demigod, the group have time to settle in to the creature comforts of being her entourage. Then again, there aren't too many members of the group who will think sleeping on the ground in huts and some fresh fruit are much by way of comforts. Still, the locals pamper and worship to the best of their ability, and explain their tale of woe; they are the indigenous population of the island, and they have been oppressed and exploited by Sin since he took up shop in the volcano. Many tearjerking stories ensue.
January 9th: Unsurprisingly, Sin is unimpressed with all this playing nice; in a pique of rage he sends a half dozen arachnobots to wreak havoc on the camp. The group fight as best they can, but the droids are tough cookies, and shoot lasers from their eyes! Thanks to some distracting illusions from Holly and a tip from their tribal friends, the crew escape into an underground tunnel that burrows into the mountain.
January 10th: Trying to find another exit from the underground tunnels (luckily they have so much light on hand!), the group find themselves pushing deeper and deeper into the volcano. Unsurprisingly, things begin to heat up. The presence of some wires and consoles built into the rock suggest that the tunnels are connected to Sin's headquarters, and Jack and Tony manage to hack some basic architectural plans from the system. Resting is uncomfortable, but at least it's warm - sometimes too warm, as the occasional crease of lava appears.
January 11th: Some group members begin to hear noises in the darkness, at first dismissed as superstition. Then there are beady, white eyes in the shadows. Jack identifies the strange creatures as terroids, a subterranean race often used by Sin as easy labour. They're small, afraid of light and no real danger unless in large numbers. Holly, Drake and Aviva keep them at bay pretty easily - till they show up en masse. The group have no choice but to flee further, into more open and perilous underground lava fields.
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MISSION TWELVE: STORMING OLYMPUS
MOD: Ryan
VILLAIN: Atë, Greek Goddess of Rash Action and Reckless Impulse
PARTICIPANTS: Nardo, Lucas, Ragnar, Sandals, Katrina, Phoebus, Arden, Odie, Twitch, Brendan
UPDATE: After a good night's rest, Medusa feeds the group and provides those in need (or desire) with new attire; mainly leather and bronze armour from other warriors to have fallen in the labyrinth. Thus equipped she takes them to an exit, which unfortunately does not lead outside, but to a much grander underground tunnel. The gorgon explains that the route leads to Hades and is the only means to get back to the surface; she gives instructions on how to get to the Gates of Hades and sends them off, with much cooing and fawning over her descendant.
January 9th: Following the path as instructed, the troupe come to a pitch black river. There seems to be no way across, till a small boat appears through the gloom, rowed by a skeletal figure. The ferryman introduces himself as Charon, and expresses considerable shock at finding living souls in the underworld. Still, he refuses to take anyone back across the river, which he identifies as the Styx, insisting his ferry is one-way only... Until he hears a plea from Katrina. The grizzled figure seems awestruck at the sight of her, and bows, promising to provide passage for an avatar of life and death such as herself.
January 10th: After a long, slow ferry ride to the far shore, the end is in sight. They approach the towering Gates of Hades, but have one last obstacle to overcome: Cerberus, the Guardian of the Gates. The giant and ferocious beast attacks the group, and the battle is epic; nothing seems to slow the indomitable beast. Nothing, that is, until Twitch decides to test a theory, and at a command the triple-headed canine obediently sits. Apparently having control over dead things counts for undead creatures, and suddenly Cerberus is as docile as a pup fresh out of obedience school. After a few games of fetch and some belly rubs, the group pass through back to the bright world above, and a quick orientation shows they've covered a good deal of the distance to Olympus!
January 11th: A day of recuperation for the group, to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, and some fresh olives and water. New attempts are made to summon help from the deities, and while there's still no answer from Zeus or any big names, Sandals does manage a visit from a Muse from which he descended. Unfortunately, she does little else than wail and dramatize, proving that histrionics are truly divine. Odie's cell phone proves more helpful, as he calls from ancient Greek heroes grow more frequent, and the likes of Theseus, Odysseus and Jason are all happy to pitch in ideas on navigating the upcoming terrain.
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MISSION THIRTEEN: NEW YORK NOIR
MOD: Ryan
VILLAIN: The Jester
PARTICIPANTS: Simon, Vera, William, Mandy, Kai, Sasha, Marcus, Tibby, Eddie, Annie
UPDATE: The big date arrives; Marcus meets the femme fatale with the rest of the team positioned at the ready in neighbouring rooms using Tibby's bugs, and with Eddy watching innocuously from the television (communicating via Bogie, of course, because what else would Marcus be watching except Casablanca?). Things start to get steamy pretty quickly, but moral Mr. Sexsmith keeps things strictly business. Unfortunately the lady isn't taking no for an answer, and things start getting aggressive - real aggressive. The gal pops a pair of fangs and goes in for a binaural snack, but Sasha is on that before you can say OH HELL NO. The two tear up the room something fierce, but the others manage to restrain the slayer before any staking can happen; they still need info from their prisoner.
January 9th: The vampire vixen is tied up with Sasha's silver, but still refuses to do any talking. She appears immune to hypnotism and binaurals, so a new solution is needed. After some speculation Annie is convinced to try something new; transforming a glass of water into blood. She surprises everyone - including herself - by succeeding, and after William's serum is slipped into the mix, the cocktail is passed to the famished vamp. An undead constitution is shown to be no match for the frog tonic, and soon she's spilling all, mainly that the gang is actually a vampire sect! They get an address for the gang's hideout and some inside info on how to best get the jump. Unfortunately Annie's blood is as good as her beer, and thus strengthened the seductress bursts free, making straight for the window and a swift escape.
January 10th: At Sasha's instruction, the group set about arming themselves for their new foes. Stakes, silver, garlic, etc - the sort of materials Vera's family armoury doesn't include. Some pop culture research probably wouldn't hurt either, but the group is generally free to do their 'Blade getting ready to kick some ass' montage. Unfortunately their 'informant' never told them where the gang sleeps during the day, only where they chill at night, so they need to bide their time.
January 11th: Armed and ready to go, the team set out for the vampire nest. They're just going over their strategy for attack when they're hit by a pre-emptive strike; warned by the femme fatale the gang was ready, and they're taking the fight to the Neopolis Noir Team! It's all out back-alley combat in the moonlight, but the vampires have the element of surprise, and soon enough the whole group is subdued, brought back to the abandoned-meat-packing-house HQ, and locked in a large, ominous cage...
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MISSION FOURTEEN: BIG IN JAPAN
MOD: Ryan
VILLAIN: Hell O'Kitty
PARTICIPANTS: Yoshimi, Kaori, Mason, Chloe, Harvey, Anderson, Marco, Rob, Quintella, Jonathan
UPDATE: After celebrating Chloe's win with the bosozuko gangs, the group are given unrestricted access to the entertainment complex; and soon enough they've found the entrance to Mr. Roboto's underground lab. The lab is actually an expansive underground complex, bright and shiny and sterile. It appears to be entirely automated, with motion-sensitive doorways leading through laboratory after laboratory. Many hold half-completed robot projects or dormant mechanical bodies, and the atmosphere is altogether pretty creepy.
January 9th: Eventually, the group come upon a large room filled with rows and rows of inert, blue humanoid robots. The bots seem inert at first, but once the kids have all moved into the room, they activate - and they don't appear friendly. The robot army begins to attack, primarily with wrist-mounted blasters, and chaos ensues. The Neo-Team have firepower of their own, but the robots are working as a hive mind, and their numbers seem limitless.
January 10th: The team are backed into an adjacent lab, and begin to set up a barrier defense. Mason and Harvey find a mecha suit, and after some quick jury-rigging, get it combat-ready with one of Harvey's special engines. Thusly equipped, Mecha-Mason became the heavy hitter, keeping the robots at bay. Still the standoff continued, and there was still no sign of Mr. Roboto.
January 11th: Growing desperate, the group decides on a plan - Anderson will try to interface with the robot army's hive minds, in the hopes that his programming will be able to dominate theirs rather than being rewritten. A droid body is captured from the attacking swarm and dismantled, and Anderson goes in. His 'interface' takes the digital form of a negotiation, or conversation, with a very simple - and logical - form of AI. The AI is difficult to sway from its basic programming, but Anderson's explanations of free will manage to coerce the AI to divert from its core function. The army stands down and Anderson 'reawakens', his identity intact. What's more, the newly docile robots agree to lead the group to Mr. Roboto's core lab...
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GROUP FIFTEEN: FACULTY
MOD: Emily
VILLAIN: Caesar
PARTICIPANTS: All Faculty.
UPDATE: Caesar was so pleased with Kimberly's performance as co-consort yesterday, that Sandy no longer has any choice in the matter. They are both to dote on him from here on out. Meanwhile in the harem, the henchmen are getting uppity. One presents Theodora with flowers, stuttering out something about liking her "ink"; another sneaks June some chocolates from Caesar's stash. Others, sadly, are not so sweet, and merely make lewd comments and suggestions. The male faculty members assigned to the harem will surely have their hands full.
While the men are out guarding (or cleaning), they fall privy to gossip. Harold overhears one henchwoman complaining about how she has to take care of the brat just because she is a woman. How unjust! And there is something not right about that baby, she attests, she can feel it. Surely Nora will be happy to hear that Margot is making the minions uncomfortable.
In happier news, the teachers no longer seem to be required to pull names out of a hat... but they are forced to spin a wheel that chooses the punishment of the victim meant to motivate the gladiators. Today, it is George Murray -- and there is no refusing, for the lady offering a spin is particularly persuasive with her eyes. Damn it Neopolis, with all your hypnotists and telepaths.
January 9th: Things aren't going too well for the faculty. Those still stuck in menial tasks are... well, still stuck in menial tasks. Those who have invited the ire of Caesar and his henchmen -- either through defying him, or reacting poorly to the treatment of the women -- are battered and sore. Those in the harem are either being wooed by socially awkward ELE rejects, or humiliated at every turn. And they are almost completely helpless, reduced to mere advice-givers on the network and forced to only watch as the students they taught this past year struggle through the hoops VILLAIN has set up for them.
It's more of the same. Sandy is required to dote upon Caesar, Kim is her companion (though she is often given jolts through her collar because she will not shut up about Doctor Horrible), the cleaning and repairing is pure drudgery, and the harem life is utterly mind-numbing.
But it's about to get more exciting. Mr. Broadway -- the plague of the school play -- has been set free, and he's joined Caesar in his palace. His agenda? Gloat in front of Mycroft and Odd. Feast on a meal prepared by Mathilde and Master Li (what? he likes fusion). And force the harem and the male teachers to perform a song and dance production for the entertainment of Caesar and the rest of VILLAIN on Monday. Oh joy.
January 10th: While Mr. Broadway is putting the guards and harem women through the paces of a self-written play extolling the glory of VILLAIN, the lucky few that haven't been cast -- namely Ivan, Harold, the Janitor and Atticus -- are continuing to complete drudgework in the palace. Or rather, Harold is fixing the plumbing, Atticus is helping, and Ivan is making sure it all goes according to Caesar's wishes. As such, they start to explore more and more... and henchmen are starting to let things slip around Ivan. As they go down the hall, an armory is mentioned (oops). In the bathroom, henchmen watch video feeds of the students struggling, and laugh and take bets about how they 'stand no chance' and 'will never find out', amidst judging their technique, body, and likelihood of actually joining VILLAIN.
Dora and June - and Mathilde, too, with the arrival of a new bouquet of some wilted daisies - keep working at their "suitors", and discover that the henchmen are much happier when their shift brings them to the harem. All the parents and siblings and whatnot in the other wing are just SO annoying to deal with. Especially that weird baby that keeps giving them the evil eye.
January 11th: Today, they perform! Or whoever is still able and willing, anyway. Henchmen fill in for those that have outright refused, or feigned injury/illness, and it's a regular dog and pony show up in the palace. Caesar, Sandy, Kim and some attendant VILLAINs are all terribly amused (or mortified, depending) by the performance, for sure. Mr. Broadway is equal parts beside himself with glee, and outraged that it didn't go all according to his plan.
Afterwards, there is cheese and grapes for all, in a rare fit of benevolence. They are free to hobknob with the henchmen, but they won't be terribly forthcoming. One in particular - the henchwoman Harold overheard complaining about Margot Curie-Capet - looks somewhat grumpy and distinctly singed and frazzled.
That evening, after everyone has dispersed and she is alone with Caesar in his chambers again, Sandy has a particularly useful epiphany.
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GLADIATORS
GROUP: Jackie Frost, Amy Andreatta, Aviva Yadin, Arden Harding
At the appointed time, five students disappear, much to the dismay of their classmates around the globe. They convene in one spot -- two per arena, two battles, two lives on the brink.
There is another race course, but this time when Caesar appears to Amy Andreatta and Jackie Frost - loyal supporters of their respective sides, though famous for crossing boundaries (for entirely different reasons, of course) - he calls it a gauntlet.
And it is harrowing. After seeing their respective stakes -- for Amy, her mother, her last family member, tied up in her living room; for Jackie, her best friend Dani Storm, bound and gagged in a room filled with torture devices -- the third year Capes girls barely looked at each other as they took off.
At first, Jackie had the lead -- by a considerable lot. Her powers made crossing the moat easy; Amy had to swim. Jackie's cheerleading skills made the next course - a hellish jungle gym - easy, as she swung gracefully from bar to bar, avoiding the ones painted black to denote a spell that would magically burn them.
Then came the rope wall, where they had to pull themselves up by a rope, and rappel down. Here, Amy's strengths prevailed -- her endurance was much better than Jackie's, and her arm strength much greater. Amy caught up, overcoming her fear of heights again on the way down. All the while, Jackie tried to maintain a game face... but it all fell apart at the next obstacle. A firing range: half a mile of posts set up with cameras and guns. The minute she stepped in, the cameras tracked her motions... and the guns shot rubber bullets.
Amy could go invisible. Amy didn't get shot at. Jackie did -- her lead was lost, and, it looked like, any hope of regaining it lost if she couldn't see her opponent.
After the firing range, it was simply miles of dirt path. A race.
They ran, both of them. They ran beyond the means of their bodies, they ran because their loved ones' depended on it, and in the end...
In the end, Jackie Frost made treacherous use of her powers and iced Amy's path... and then her feet. Amy was down, and Jackie flung herself across the finish line.
The other battle for the day was between Aviva Yadin and Arden Harding -- two girls renowned for the things they could do with their eyes. The task they were given was seemingly simple: play Jenga.
Of course, this was somewhat complicated by the fact that the Jenga pieces were about half as big as they were (but lightweight, thankfully). Caesar appeared to them, in holograph:
"Well, here you go girls! A nice little game. We heard your classmates liked Jenga... and who are we to deny you?"
Then, of course, the requisite threats: for Aviva, her father. For Arden, her uncle and her dog, Linus.
Sick to their stomachs, but unwilling to attack each other, Aviva and Arden quietly went about building their towers, carefully sliding out the blocks and placing them strategically atop each other. Eventually, Aviva noticed that Arden's tower was looking pretty sturdy, and desperation struck -- she blasted through the top layer of the other girl's tower with her lasers. Seething, Arden did nothing, but kept working, utilizing her hair to keep her tower stable.
Aviva's desperation only grew... she kept working on her tower, but soon used her powers again... this time to blind and disorient Arden. But the medusa's hair did its job well, and it looked like it was going to be impossible for Aviva to keep her tower from toppling before Arden's. So she turned, ready to bite the bullet and do some serious sabotage... and made eye contact.
Arden didn't think twice about using her powers to hypnotize Aviva -- after all, she hadn't been playing dirty! The other girl fell under her thrall, and within seconds, the blocks came tumbling down.
After the battles were done, and the students all sent back to their groups, the winners were announced and the videos shown:
WINNERS: COLD SNAP & MISS MEDUSA
LOSERS: GONE GIRL & BRIGHT EYES
Not long after that, Amy and Aviva received confirmation of their failure. Amy was shown a video of her home: the camera started with her mother, still in the living room, then panned out to show her house... and the projectiles that suddenly slammed into it, turning it into rubble within seconds. Aviva got a video of her father, repeatedly submerged in a tank until near drowning... over, and over, and over. It cut off after about a dozen submersions - the implication being that it went on for quite a while after that.