Survival of the Fittest- Flashpoint

| One |

The plane crash felt like a distant memory, a dream if you will, when Tidal was fully rebooted. He sat up, slightly groggy with a mild headache. Though, he didn't find himself in his house on the comfort of his couch or bed. It was far too grassy and rough to be a cushion or mattress, and the smell that poisoned the air wasn't something left to burn in the oven.
Tidal checked to see if everything was intact: limbs in place, power-source unharmed, joints still functionable, and all cables plugged in. He didn't want to suddenly power off again like he had only moments ago during the crash, nor did he want to stiffen out of the blue and lose his able to move all because his power-source had been damaged or a joint was either crushed or out of place. Yet, he did find a small dent in his head, but as if that would be a problem. He probably hit his head on something during the crash. Tidal was just fine.
He stood up to get a better view of his surroundings. It wasnt hard to find the crashed plane, though; its tail appeared to be towering over him. Tidal took a few steps back. From the looks of the plane's condition, he didn't want to take any chances incase it decided to collapse. The plane was no longer glossy and white; it was quite dirty with a trail of dirt mounds behind it where it most likely skidded to a stop. Many of the windows were cracked and shattered, an entire wing had been brutally torn free and the other stuck up slanted in the air with the plane sagging on its side. The engine on the remaining wing was smashed on its lower half and, when Tidal came to the front where he and Emburn had been, it didn't look like the cockpit was part of the plane anymore. It either ended up like the missing wing or it folded in on itself. Tidal guessed the seat belt tore which caused him to fall out before the pilot's compartment ended up like that. If that didn't happen in the first place, well, let's just say he wouldn't only have a dent; the picture of a tin can run over by a truck gave him the shivers. There were many survivors scattered around the plane, some still waking up from the traumatic event and he found a few fires here and there, but there was one shade of red he looked for.
And there was Emburn, only a few paces aside from the crash, stepping away from a slab of what was once part of the plane's side which she was probably stuck under for a bit. She was dusting off the dirt and grass that was clotting her fur. The only sign of injury was a tear in her left ear, just like the only thing that happened to Tidal was the small dent, even if it only portrayed a slight ache from his nerve core.
"You good?" Emburn was the first to speak when the two regrouped.
Tidal nodded. "Perfectly fine. You?"
"Nothing but a gash," Emburn told him. "Looks like you got one, too."
Tidal reached up to run his fingers over the sore dent. "I guess."
Emburn tilted her head and gave him a look saying really?. "You're lucky you don't bleed."
"I leak oil if you count that at bleeding," Tidal pointed out, folding his arms casually. "But the plane. It's totalled."
"You can't fix it?" Emburn asked.
Tidal simply shook his head. "If it were a computer, sure."
"Dang," Emburn looked up at the plane. "That really sucks."
"Agreed," Tidal and Emburn turned to the new speaker; a hooded figure with pale hands, the only feature noticeable under the shadow of the hood was a single glinting, silver eye.
Suspicious, Tidal thought.
Other curious survivors came up to get a look at the newcomer. 16, including Tidal and Emburn, was counted. The crash removed 8 exactly from the scene.
"Welcome, welcome!" Despite being the shady figure they were, they certainly seemed quite excited to see them all. "Glad you all survived the first bit."
"'First bit'?" Someone from the 16 of them echoed.
"Why yes," the hooded figure confirmed. "I can't wait to see which of you is the last to stand."
Murmurs of confusion followed their words. Even Tidal and Emburn exchanged a glance. He didn't like how mysterious this stranger was.
"Welcome to Survival Games, friends!" They said. "You have all been chosen at random to participate in this little competition. Look around you; find your team. Teams of two, if you please. There is no need to gang up on others." They chuckled at that.
The 14 other members of this so-called "competition" began to shuffle among themselves, searching for a partner. Tidal and Emburn, however, stayed put. It took a while, but everyone eventually stood still, they're partners found. Good thing, too; Tidal was ready to hear more from this stranger.
"Excellent!" They spoke up moments after. "Now, the rules are simple: Survive. If you don't, well, the outcome is obvious. However, murder won't be the only way to die. Complain, you die. Argue, you die. Try to escape, you die. And cheat," they turned to look directly at Tidal. "You die. I'm going to need you to unplug your- upgrades."
"What?" Tidal questioned, almost bewildered. He knew exactly what the newcomer was talking about, even if he did question it. His night and heat vision, scanning abilities, GPS, identity tracker, and unlimited intelligence; such as Google.
"Well?" The hooded figure spoke impatiently.
"Whatever," Tidal said, pulling free the one out of three cords on the back of his head that disconnected those abilities until the cord is reconnected. If his nerve core was connected to the cord, it would've felt like hair being ripped from someone's head. He would be fine without those abilities, though. At least, that's what he thought.
"Right, then," the figure moved on from the subject.
"Wait, how is that cheating if they're part of him?" Emburn interrupted. "You say that like we all have to get our brains removed."
"Heed the warnings," was all the figure said, a hint of a caution in their voice.
Emburn looked as if she were going to argue further but she shut her mouth anyways, her ears folded back on her head.
"As I was saying," they went on. "There are chests around you, all over the island. And what do you know? There's a few around the plane! They have some things you may need for your success. And, to really motivate you, there's a very special reward for the top three teams. Great gosh! Would you look at the time?" Though their face was hidden by shadows from their hood, they seemed to smirk. "The games have already begun."