Author's Note: Sorry Y'all but this will probably be the shortest chapter. There's just not a lot to put in it. I'm sorry once again. But think of it on the bright side: only one more chapter to go. Ok maybe you don't like that…I'm sorry. It's all I got, I'm spent. Ideas nil. But I still love you all!! I love you all so much I'll let you choose what ending you want, Tragedy, Positive, or a Tragedy that isn't… or perhaps a betrayal? I've got so many different ideas floatin around in my head its up to you!!

As of now there are six different chapter 5's, they each have epilogues, but one has another chapter; 4 have sequels but one has like 4 or 5 different epilogues….so I'll update them in order…like "5 version 1", "5 version 2," "5 version 1, epilogue 1" and so on. Or do you want to take a vote? …..screw democracy, I like my idea better. So ha! All heil fascism!! -cowers- please don't kill me..

"Speech" 'Thoughts'

Trials of Fortuity

Chapter Four – Red Cards and Warnings

Victor began walking through the deserted and filthy hallway, the wooden floorboards creaking loudly in protest to the sudden weight, however small it may be. Envy looked around, vaguely remembering a fictional story she once read about a girl who had grown up in an orphanage called "St. Sebastian's," the book had been ancient, from the early 2000's, it was now revered as prime school reading material about the indomitable human spirit. She stared at the walls, the dark green wallpaper having faded and long since peeled away, but it had stained the walls before its glue lost its strength and gave up its fight against gravity, the floors were rotted, and there were quite a few holes, most of the doorways were boarded over with rusted nails and more rotting wood. She sighed, she could only imagine how this place must have looked in its prime; sunlight streaming through the windows, children milling about the halls and playing on the stairs, the doors constantly opening an closing as the building was filled with life.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Victor began ascending the main staircase. She winced at the cracking sounds the floorboards made each time he either applied or removed even the faintest amount of pressure. He glanced back at her over his shoulder "Watch your step" No sooner had the words left his mouth did the step he was standing on collapse beneath him.

"KID!!! ….I mean Victor…ah.." Envy blushed and run to where the step had caved in and looked around, trying to see in the dark. "Victor?"

"What?"

She jumped as his voice came from right behind her, she spun around and ended up falling over backwards. "Are you alright?" He smiled and held out his hand, which she simply stared at, dazed. He pulled her up when she finally came back to reality and happily helped her over the broken step.

They slowly ascended the 8 flights of stairs, with only a few bruises, minimal blood, and nothing broken. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the antique staircase. Over the course of 5 minutes they had broken 17 stairs, cracked at least 20 and caused even more to simply fall apart.

Envy sat down on the landing at glanced down the long hallway they had come to. It had several doors, each with a unique number from 502 to 522, and there had to be several others around the corner. She looked up at Victor who was simply staring down at her. "Is there something wrong?"

"I just don't think I've ever had a stair attempt to eat my leg before.."

Victor smiled, "Indeed, I always thought they were rather docile inanimate objects."

"Are you always happy?"

"Isnt it better than always being depressed?"

"Not necessarily; when you're depressed you sleep, and sleep is good."

"But when you're sleeping, you aren't experiencing life!"

"By life you mean starving, freezing, struggling to find a decent place to spend a few days searching for food, and listening to the wail of unhappy children who never asked to be brought into such an unforgiving world?"

"You're extremely pessimistic…"

"I'm just a realist. You, are too naïve."

"…" Victor began walking down the hall, listening to her scrambling to get up and follow him. They continued their march down the hallway that seemed to never end, until at last it finally ended with a room marked "666."

Victor looked down as Envy snorted, "What?"

"How incredibly anticlimactic."

"You lost me.."

"666 – the number of the beast, the sign of the antichrist in the Christian religion."

"Oh…I see."

"You don't have a clue, right?"

"You're very good."

"I'm slow on the uptake, but once it clicks, its there."

"I'm lost again."

"I know." Envy laughed and tentatively twisted the handle and opened the door. A first glance said that the dark room appeared empty however, upon closer inspection, they discovered that there were about thirty people in the room, starring at them, blocking the light from coming in the windows.

Envy took a step back and bumped into Victor, mumbling an apology, she moved to the side, allowing him to enter.

The silence that ensued was deafening, so much so that when the door softly clicked shut, they both jumped. Envy backed against a wall and stared at them, Victor looking rather indifferent as he surveyed the surroundings. They watched as someone moved away from the windows, allowing a flood of light to spill into the room. It was in fact a she, a rather shapely 'she' too, her brown hair was piled on top of her head, she had small red-rimmed glasses that hung on the bridge of her nose, brown eyes, rosy cheeks, blood-red lips, lightly-tanned skin. She was wearing a very tight black, button-up, long-sleeved shirt and a very tight black mini skirt, along with matching gloves, silver stockings and ox-blood boots that ended just below her skirt. "Hello there."

She smiled, a dazzlingly white smile, teeth brushed and placed just right, she appeared flawless, except for a scar on her throat, just above the neck of her shirt.

Victor nodded as she looked the pair over, "Well aren't you two the oddest pair I've ever seen. Aren't you supposed to be on your own?"

Envy tensed slightly and looked the woman over "I don't believe there is a rule that states you cannot create a team."

The woman's smile widened "Ah yes, but it does state, Rule number three: Trust No One."

Envy smiled, relaxing and leaned up against the wall, "No one ever said I trusted him, I just happen to owe him my life."

"Hello, E."

"Long time no see, Junia."

"Still a mercenary, I see…"

"Still a pain in the ass. Glad you haven't changed. Although my occupation has drastically changed from a year ago, sweets."

"…Scrawny and sharp-tongued as ever. Who's your friend?"

"No one said he was my friend. And he's got a mouth, as well as ears, you can ask him yourself." Envy winked at Victor who simply stared at her before looking at Junia. "I hate to cut your adorable little reunion short, but I need to know how to leave this place."

Envy simply stared at him as his pupils shifted to look more cat-like and his eyes glowed, reflecting the sunlight. Junia just laughed and leaned back on a desk "Well, love, you get out only by going through me first." She looked down at him, her smile becoming less light-hearted and more malicious. She pulled off her gloves, revealing perfectly manicured, blood-red nails and smacked her gloves against the desk.

The others who had been in front of the windows stood and stepped forward, causing more light to spill forth from the windows. They seemed to be middle-school students, all in uniforms. The boys had white shirts, black ties, black pants and black, perfectly shined, shoes. While the girls had white shirts, pale green vests, green, red and white plaid skirts that stopped just above their knees, white knee-high socks and white sneakers.

Victor snorted and Envy simply raised an eyebrow, sending a 'point-being?' look towards Junia who smiled and fingered the scar on her throat, her nails slowly extending into six-inch long claws. She giggled and bit the tip of her nail before glancing at the teens around her, "Kill them."

They all pulled swords out from behind their backs and prepared to attack. Envy glanced towards Victor, only to find he was no longer present and swallowed, stepping back. She looked back towards her opponents only to see them falling face-down on the ground, blood spewing from various wounds. She smiled slightly and pulled off her yo-yo, extending the blades and throwing it out towards Junia, It wrapped around her neck, a blade sticking into her throat, in the exact place of the scar. Envy yanked on the string and the yo-yo spun back around, severing Junia's spinal chord. She collapsed, blood covering the floor. Envy caught the yo-yo and retracted the blades before rewrapping it around her arm.

She looked around, her hair falling into her eyes, "Victor?" She jumped as he appeared an inch in front of her. His hair and face were splattered with blood and his coat was simply covered in it; he reeked of the stench, and looked up at her, his eyes having not reverted back to their normal appearance. "Scared yet?"

"Only slightly disturbed."

"I don't understand you…"

"No one ever will. So, where do we head from here?"

"Do I look like a map to you?"

"No…you're easier to understand, I don't get paper cuts if I lose my grip on you, and you're better company."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." He moved away from her and began looking around the room for some sort of passage while she moved the bodies over to one corner. "Do you think its strange how no one has won yet or at least that no one has gotten this far?"

"Chances are that if someone passes, they just get a new group of people to fill in, or the next level must be hell." He moved a desk to the side, finding scratch marks on that part of the floor, but nowhere else. "I think I found something…"

Envy slid over to his side and grabbed his sword before slamming the blade down into a crack and using it like a lever to open up the panel. She handed it back to him and smiled, before kneeling down to stare down the dark passage.

"How did you…?"

"I'm talented." She flashed him a smug grin before moving behind him and giving him a light push with her hip. He tilted slightly and turned to yell at her, only to slip and end up going down the passage face-first. Envy giggled and jumped down after him, 'this should prove interesting.'

Authors Note: It wasn't so short after all!! YAY! It still sucks though. Please review!!

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