Location: Hidden

Agents: All

Section: 4

Novum took a deep breath, watching the agents file into the collesium in groups of three or four. She wasn't ready for yet another test, and the fact that everyone had come out to watch was scary to her.

"Novum, it's time for you to go out now." Said Ignis quietly in her ear, pushing her out of the darkened hallway and under the bright lights. "You'll be fine."

She shook her head and took a deep breath, walking the rest of the way to the dark gray table. The boy there turned to face her, not giving her even the slightest of smiles as he watched her.

"It appears everyone is ready to begin. Agent Sensus, you are free to begin the test." The classicus' voice echoed around again, and the boy opened his mouth to speak.

"It is a pleasure to make an aquaitance with you, Agent Novum. I am Agent Sensus, and I shall be giving your second test." He spoke with a quiet, muted voice, yet it held a detached air to it.

"It's nice to meet you as well." She replied, shifting in her chair. He sighed quietly, taking his pencil off of his chair and making a small note on the pad of paper.

"This is not a fighting test, nor is it a test of weaponry. I shall be testing your ability to deceive, lie, and tell when such things are being pulled on you." He spoke, turning around and motioning behind him. Two young agents came out, bring a chair each. They set them down at the table across from her as well, each giving her a smile. "These two agents here are going to say a few sentences. I want you to tell me which ones are false."

"So I have to determine when they're lying?" she asked, giving him a rather perplexed face. He nodded with a ghost of a smile, motioning for one of the two to begin. Novum sat up straight, focusing on his body language.

"I absolutely hate green beans." The first man said, a very visible shudder running through his body. His eyes stayed focused on hers, their clear blue orbs glinting the lights back. "My middle name is John." Here he gave a small smile, reaching up to run a hand through his already messy hair. Novum let out a small frown, her brows furrowing as she thought over his sentaces. He spoke only one more. "I have a twin brother." He smiled again, though this time his eyes seemed to tighten. Immediately she smiled in response, her eyes lighting up. She spoke quickly, interrupting the other man who was just about to speak.

"It's the third one." Agent Sensus raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes blank.

"Third one what?" he questioned in response, his voice flattening itself. She smiled even wider, practically vibrating in her seat. His hand flew across the page, his eyes flicking between the girl in front of him and his notes.

"The third one is the only one that is true. The first one he shuddered too much for it to be real, and the second time he ran a hand through his hair in a nervous movement as to take away from his statement. The third one was real because he smiled, yet his eyes tightened and showed a sort of forced smile to come out." She concluded. Agent Sensus nodded slowly, jotting down notes quickly as he continued to speak.

"Next, it's your turn to lie. My two agents here will assess you, as will I. You just need to say some lines about anything and we'll judge you on them." His voice was soft, monotone, and his eyes watched deep into Novum's. She blinked back, sitting back in her chair and beginning to speak.

"I am very tired. My horse at home is going to miss me now that I'm gone, and I have three brothers." Her voice went soft at the end, and she gave them a slow, lazy smile as she leaned forward. "Well? What's your judgement on that?"

"You're skilled at lying, I can give you that." Agreed Agent Sensus, his mouth slowly curling into a smile. "However, you copied our method and made only the first one true. It was relatively easy to tell."

"Am I done?" she interrupted him, her eyes sharp. "I'd rather this test be over with."

"You are dismissed." He said vaguely, his voice dropping again. "Dinner will be delivered to your room. Don't leave once you get in."

"Why not?" But agent Sensus and his friends stood, turning with their backs to her and walking away. "Why not? Hello!"

"Come on," a voice whispered in her ear, helping her stand. "I think that you should be grateful you have the evening off. You don't get many of these."

"Hm," grumbled Agent Sensus, her eyes on the ground as she left. "Ignis, why doesn't anyone answer my questions?"

He frowned at her, guided her along gray hallways as the lights flickered. He paused a moment before speaking, before answering in his slow way. "They don't want to become attached."

"Too attached?" she questioned in horror, her eyebrows raising. "Are your jobs so horrible that you wind up dying frequently?"

"No," he disagreed quickly, stopping outside of her plain, gray door. "No, it's not that at all. It's just that, well...if you don't pass initiation, it's very unlikely you'll remember this at all." He gave a sad smile, opening her door. "Don't forget, you can't leave once you go in. Dinner will be served to you."

"Of course." She grumbled, banging her door all the way open and stomping in. She gave him a soft smile and a quiet 'thank you', slamming her door shut just as loud.

Her room, fortunately or unfortunately, was completely gray. There were many bookshelves, including a removable wall for which she had found a switch earlier. Her walk in closet was completely full of colourful clothes for all occasions, and her bathroom was modern and updated. She flopped onto her bed, kicking off her shoes and groaning at the motion.

Bzz! Bzz! Something vibrated in the room, rousing Novum from her wallowing state. She looked around, her eyes scanning the room for anything that could possibly - "AHA!"

The counter next to her bed was plain gray (of course), with a lamp and an alarm clock with so many buttons that she dared not touch it. Buzzing itself almost off the table was a small glowing tablet, the screen lighting up repeatedly. Novum reached over from the bed, her chipped nails picking up the device hesitantly. The instant her hands fell on it it stopped vibrating, instead turning on.

"Hello." It spoke. Novum screamed, dropping it to the table.

"Oh my gosh," she panted, clutching her heart. She still wore her jacket and pants, sweat from the day drying and leaving her a walking salt mine. "It just spoke. IT actually spoke."

"I did. Can you stop making yourself panic now, Novum?" The screen created a hologram, the face staring back at her unamusedly. She slowed her breathing, staring at the alien face.

"Who, and what, are you?" she demanded, clutching a pillow. "I can chuck a pillow at you."

The computer graphic rolled his eyes. "My name is unimportant at the moment, we can get to that later. More importantly, I am your personal tourguide to the building and everything in it. Perhaps at some point we can meet in person, but that will be unlikely for a long while, seeing as you have much more initiation to go through."

Novum groaned, flopping backwards onto the other pillows as she shifted in pain again. "I hate this."

The computer hologram laughed. "That's what they all say. If you truly hated it, you wouldn't be here. Now, do you have some immediately pressing questions for me, or may I begin the explaination?"

"Just begin." Her voice came out muffled from the pillows, and she turned an ear to the hologram to hear what he was going to say.

"Alright then. This device is your new cellphone. It is equipped with all the latest updates and has many of the things you'll be needing within a couple buttons. Some of the new technologies include but are not limited to: a camera, a phone, a photo gallery, a video survelliance device, a recording device, an x-ray machine, a finger print scanner, a multitude of applications, a GPS, a laser, and an emergency signal beacon. A full list can be found in settings. Would you like to set up your new phone?" The hologram looked back up at Novum, who slowly sat up and stared at it.

"I have to set it up?" She was shocked, to say the least. "But I thought all cool equipment came pre-set and ready to use!"

"It is ready to use." Replied the computer sulkily, narrowing his eyes. "You just need to add in your fingerprints and facial recognition so that it can only be unlocked by you. That is for safety purposes."

"Oh." Replied Novum, glancing around the room. "So let's do it!"

"Alright." The hologram cleared his throat. "To set up your new phone: First pick up the device so the camera is at the top."

Novum rolled her eyes this time, snorting as she picked up the head and held the device. The hologram disappeared, the face reappearing in the upper right hand corner. "No duh, computer dude."

"Do not call me that. Second, go to settings and press the record new person button. A multitude of options should show up. You are to pick the third one, named facial and fingerprint recognition." Novum did so, allowing th device to scan her face and read her fingerprints to plug into the system.

"What about all the other options?" She scrolled down the list, leaning against her headboard as she played with the new technology. Her old group never had anything that cool.

"Do not touch those. The manual says you may use them only once you have specific clearances. Seeing as you aren't even initiated yet, I wouldn't attempt it." He growled out, manually shutting down her phone for her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, dropping the device. She put it back on the desk, where the screen lit up to show her it was charging. "Well, at least computer boy can't hear me anymore."

"Wrong." She screamed, again. His face appeared on the wall across from her bed, in between the doors to the bathroom and closet. He seemed angered, for his eyes were narrowed and his face set in a thin line. "May I continue? We have to go through your entire room."

"May I ask a question?" She interrupted, her voice mocking his. He rolled his eyes but nodded, and she let a small smile slip onto her face. "What about color? Can I change it?"

"Yes, you can. That is covered later in the instructions. I would continue, but it seems as if you have an incoming call. Should I put it through?" Novum raised an eyebrow. An incoming call? As in, facetime?

"Um, sure? Is it a video call?" Her answer was Conge's face appearing on the screen. The pale girl had a graceful smile on her face, her eyes bright as she looked towards Novum.

"Howdy Novum. Are you enjoying your new room?" She seemed to bounce, her eyes flicking between Novum and something else in the room.

"Yes. Your call interrupted my instructions to it." Novum replied, folding her legs as she sat forward.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I can call back at another time if it's more convienet." Her face fell, but she seemed to bow her head respectfully.

Novum waved her hands in a careless manner. "Nah, the computer dude was getting mad at me anyway. So you called me because...?"

At this Conge laughed. "Oh, I remember my initiation time so well! I was just like you. I called because I was wondering if you had heard anything more about initiation."

This peaked Novum's interest. She stood and walked so her face was closer to the computer, cocking an eyebrow. "No, I haven't. And is your room blue and white?"

"Yes," smiled Conge again; she seemed to be in an overly happy mood. She bounced in her chair and a smile never left her face, while her tone was peppy and upbeat. "I asked that because after you go through initiation, you have to choose an Agent to be your Dux. And I know that isn't important know, but I'm telling you to keep your eyes out for possibilities."

"But I haven't even passed initiation." She protested, sputtering a little. "Do you know something I don't?"

Conge laughed. "Well, obviously. I passed initiation and I've been an agent for a long time. I would expect myself to know some things you don't." she rolled her eyes. "And yes, I do know more about initiation. And you have a right to know. Once you set up your phone, you should get a testing schedule. It's jam packed, but don't worry yourself. There's no point in it."

Novum scratched her head, trying to peer around Conge, who sat close enough to the camera that the rest of the room was barely visible. "Can you tell me more about the rooms? When can I color it?"

"After initiation." Confimed Conge, nodding her head. "Most likely anything you want to do will be after initiation. It's standard rule, you see. I know the struggles. I went through it myself."

"Did everyone?" Conge's smile slowly dropped, and she looked past the screen again.

"After initiaton." She insisited, moving back a little. Her slim, pale hand hovered over the screen for a moment as she finished speaking, allowing her to finish the thought. "Look, I have to go. I'm sorry I interrupted your setting-up time. You should probably get back to that."

The screen then shut off. Novum let out a scream of frustration, moving to hit the screen before she realized it was a wall. She froze a centimeter from the wall, staring at her hand like it was an alien. "But how am I supposed to bring computer-dude back?" she complained, flopping back on her boring, gray bed. "I don't know how to do anything."

"I'm still here." He said quietly. She screamed again.

A/N: 2418 words