[centre]
[h2][colour=azure]Hail Archer[/colour][/h2]
[/centre]
[hr]No more passengers were streaming into the stadium. Whether that meant everyone was accounted for or not, Hail wasn't quite sure. Either way, now that the holographic displays were finally cut off, in a manner not too dissimilar to the opening ceremony, people weren't panicking quite as much anymore. That was fortunate. All they had to do now was wait for the captain to–

Hail paused, brows furrowing as he stared up at the judges' panel and the three masked people standing there.

What the...?

[colour=purple]“Hello, darlings, this is your captain speaking again, yoo-hoo. For once, can you all just be quiet? My goodness, every time we do this…’[/colour]

[colour=orange]"What the captain means to say is, you are safe, remain calm."[/colour]

Did they honestly believe anyone would fall for that act? If the fact that neither of them even sounded like the captain wasn't enough to make it clear they weren't who they pretended to be, the masks should be the clincher. They were clearly not supposed to be here and were likely responsible for the ship's trembling from before. Even without Ghast's description, that was easy to tell. He vaguely recognised the masks, though he couldn't put a name to them. It certainly wasn't any of the usual suspects, but he knew their type well.

Their exact motive, on the other hand, was more difficult to determine than their intent. It could have been any number of things. They were on a ship packed to the brim with celebrities and potential up-and-comers, after all.

Well, whatever. He could find out after dealing with them.

With a single well-practised motion and a flash of light, Tank rose. He stood tall and proud behind Hail, awaiting his command. Hail didn't waste any time.

[colour=lightcyan]"Tank, you–"[/colour]

Before he could finish his sentence, the ship shook [i]violently[/i] and he lost his balance. His back slammed into the Tyranitar's chest and his vision went white for a few seconds. When his vision cleared, the judges' panel was empty.

[i]Dammit.[/i]

[colour=forestgreen]"Ty?"[/colour]

Hail groaned and hoisted himself back to his feet, [colour=lightcyan]"I'm fine."[/colour]

He blinked the spots out of his eyes and straightened his jacket. What was–

Time seemed to freeze for a moment as his mind processed what he was seeing.

The sun was shining on his face. At night.

.... What the hell?