JER's Tournament/Seventh Act: Interview Day

Remember, since there are so many Tributes, I will have to highlight only the main points for each interview period.

As Vell Welmwood
As the alarm clock (again, good design) woke me up for today, I realize that we have our Interviews tonight. However, there must be a different system that the Gamemakers will implement, since there are so many Tributes.

After getting prepared for my day, I looked through the Tournament website to find information about how the Interviews will be managed. It turns out that they will be on television, but on one condensed timeframe (since it would take at least 18 hours and 40 minutes to view them all). Also, they will displayed on the Tournament website to anyone who wants to see them on their own time, and it will be useful. Also, since the timeframe provided will extend through the night well into the Games, it will re-premiere after the Bloodbath, and also as commercials throughout the Games.

As for the significant lack of Claudius Templesmiths, that will be addressed soon enough. For now, I had to meet with the other Yukon Tributes in the main room.

"Okay," Yukon Mentor told us four Tributes, "instead of us being given one day to practice for Interviews and the next for the Interviews themselves, we apparently have to practice for the Interviews from now until 2:00 PM, then after lunch, get prepared for the Interviews."

"Only this morning?" Regel asks. "They didn't decide to add a second day?"

"Apparently not," he confirmed.

"This is ridiculous!" my sister Aldia proclaimed. "Why were we given less time than the time given to the Hunger Games that I actually read about?"

"We don't know, but we have better finish breakfast so we can finish this sooner," he decided. We rushed through that morning.

-more details to be added later-

Interview Day, 9:00 AM-2:00 PM
-more details to be added later-

Interview Day, 2:00 PM-6:00 PM
-more details to be added later-

Interview Day, After 6:00 PM
After the Interviews...

As Alex Johnson
As we left the Interviews, I could just imagine how long the public would stay up to watch all of the collective Interviews. However, I had to force that thought out of my head for a while since I found out about the Rivalry Battles tonight:


 * Anon... vs RueRose
 * Katniss Everdeen vs Dark Matter
 * Thresh Delin vs Regel Torrance vs Resen Havar vs Bob Nixon vs Ashley Rose Jefferson vs Peeta Mellark
 * Stronton Melich vs Gale Hawthorne
 * Primrose1444 vs Sedra Alsypse
 * Kelia Wann vs TheDarkness7
 * Marlony Darde vs Jedwas Fintrel
 * Alex Johnson vs Will Baker vs Hannah Rice
 * Utiah Fakan vs Bodiay Durien
 * Tributes of California vs Tributes of New York vs Tributes of Texas

Now... most of these matches are just random. Anon... thinks it's crazy for Bob Nixon to face Ashley Rose Jefferson, when most of these matches were set up by the Gamemakers themselves, and the Tributes had no choice but to enter. However, all six of them are primed and ready for the bout.

Katniss Everdeen has no idea who Dark Matter is, so she decided to challenge her to a Battle, which she agreed to. Anon... and RueRose were in tensions with each other since yesterday, so they decided to settle this tonight...

Also, when they announced that Stronton Melich and Gale Hawthorne will have a match against each other, not only did the battle against each other rage massively and create a new rivalry to be concerned about, but also spark controversy since they have no relation to each other, and also to the fact that Bob Nixon will face Ashley Rose Jefferson.

I could explain the rest, but since they all were set up by the Gamemakers, I should skip to the battle between the three states. JERealize declared this battle a few days ago as the very last Battle before the Tournament, and New York and Texas accepted. However, there have been rumors of New York cancelling everything since New York's point average was ranked among the Top 10, while California received a 60.5 and Texas received a 55.5. This rumor, though, has been cast away, and will still be the main event.

There will be one stipulation, though. Each team must add one extra Tribute to their team, as long as they accept. So far, TDR97 has joined the New York side (thus reducing them from 75.5 to 74.4), and SK999 joined the Texas team (thus pushing them up to 58.8), but it is unknown at this time as to who will side with California.

For now, I should just focus on the Battles, especially since I want to impress RueRose...

Nightly Rivalry Battles
--will be written later--

As an omniscient character
After the Salvation Crusaders had confirmed the location of the site of the Empartia Project the day before, they have already set up for the venture to the mysterious flying fortress which might have stored away clues to where the hostages are. However, they might not expect what is to come...

"Okay, we're almost over the fortress," Ioda Yelsen reminded while she and the other four agents were flying in a military-grade jet. "As of now, the fortress is over Trenton, New Jersey, and since we can't land the jet on the airstrip below on risk of getting detected, we will have to parachute down to the complex. We were also provided a second parachute to jump from the complex to solid ground, and important gear needed to keep in touch and dismantle the organization. We can't expect to stop this threat now, but if we have succumbed to a tragic fate, I just want you to know... I have never had a team so dedicated to their jobs."

With that, all five of them began their freefall and pulled their parachutes at the right moment. Once they have landed, they took off their parachutes and split in different directions. What they didn't know was that they landed in the Training Center complex.

Alsee Feratt entered the Central Training Area and took note of all the training equipment found around the building. She looked through all the floors and found that there was something amiss when she found what the layout of the fourth floor looked like.

"It looks like some sort of lounge room for the masses," she reported over the five-way radio. "I wonder what anyone is running up here."

Sacren Delania and Esral Harst entered the Exclusive Center to find that it's empty. "What do they have planned here?" Esral Harst asked himself, hoping he can figure this whole mess out before anyone else does.

"I found something," Sacren Delania pointed out to Esral. It was a steel door with a very complex locking mechanism. It looked to be based to a server computer, but Esral was not sure if he could crack the code.

"It seems like we'll need more than an expert hacker," he concluded to Sacren. "Do you have your electronic safe-cracking unit?"

"Here it is," she answered with a mechanism. Esral plants it into a USB port and gets to work unlocking the door.

As for Elkan Seltan, he had arrived inside the Remake Center and studied everything. He was astounded by what he found.

"It seems like they're recreating the hostages' images so no one would recognize them," he hypothesized. "Have any of you gathered more information yet?"

Esral Harst answered. "We're still trying to find some answers, but we'll contact you once we have something. How about you, Ioda?"

Ioda was currently scaling the side of the Tributes Suite during this time. "I'm still looking," she reported. She had just cut through a window and entered into the main room of that floor. She was able to unlock one of the doors to a suite and found some astounding things.

"There's no way that they are using the children for child labor," she concluded. "They can't make money if they waste it on luxury like this."

"There has to be another motive," Sacren suggested. "Did you find anything noticeable besides the luxury items?"

"I saw four doors in this room," she remembered. "I'll check them out. Is everyone at their stations?" Sacren, Esral, and Alsee confirmed that they are still there. The only thing is, Elkan didn't respond.

"Are you there, Elkan?" she asked. After trying again and again to contact him, she concluded, "We lost him."

Meanwhile, Esral Harst had finally found the password to enter through the steel door in the Exclusive Center, and once he entered, he shone a flashlight on a few peculiar objects... and found himself a wall map of Los Angeles with a pushpin placed right where Pasadena is located. A black line was drawn to circle the metropolitan area. He had no idea what that means, since it seemed too oddly marked to be anything instantly recognizable, but he knew that it somehow meant something...

"Sacren, do you see this?" he asked Sacren, but when he heard no response, he turned to find that Sacren, too, was missing in action.

"So, we lost Elkan and Sacren," Ioda announced to Esral and Alsee. "There's nothing that we can do but keep ourselves within contact at all times." Everyone agreed, so they had to keep searching for anything that had anything to do with the Empartia Project. However, Ioda was still worried about the two missing agents, since they could be captured and tortured for any information that the Empartia Project could use against them.

Alsee was currently on the first floor of the Central Training Area, and she had discovered a flyer for an event happening the next day. However, Ioda and Esral tried to contact her right after Alsee told them about her discovery when...

"We lost Alsee, too." Ioda reported. "Esral, keep your radio on at all times. I need to know if you're in danger."

"Okay," he agreed. "As for the room I'm in, I found another door. I was able to open it and find a server computer. I've currently scanned through some of the files and might have established the project's motive."

"What was that?" Ioda asked. However, Esral couldn't respond at all. Ioda, currently in what is actually the main room of the Sonora Suite, was out of contact with her group, and thus, all alone.

She had decided to open one of the doors, but found Yesare Dernes just on the other side, expecting her. "Sorry I have to do this, but..." Yesare warned.

Ioda was injected with a sleep-inducing serum and passes out.

* * *

Once Ioda woke up, she found herself inside a metal orb, alone, as it was before she was drugged. There was no way to escape the orb, and no light anywhere... that is, no light anywhere until a panel of metal lit up opposite of Ioda. Ioda met Yesare once again.

"You just had to intrude on me..." Yesare started. "Well, I'm not letting you or the other four I've captured out of here anytime soon." She then asked an odd question: "Would you like some coffee?" Just then, the orb started taking in gallons of the stuff, and even though, Ioda knew not to panic, she somehow broke a sweat, thus giving away to Yesare that she was about to break.

The screen moved to the very top of the orb, and Yesare replied with confidence, "Sorry, friend. We only have..." she checked her watch. "...twelve hours and sixteen seconds until the Tournament is started. We can't let you mess it up. You only have eleven seconds until the coffee meets with the screen and fries you." She then gave her her parting word. "Welcome to the junkyard."

The screen then showed a clock counting down Ioda's last seconds. Ioda was running out of air and time. She only had time to look up and count her last seconds.

Three... two... one.

The entire orb was electrified.

End of Act Seven