Author's Notes:

Okay, first start of the actual Game. Hope you enjoy it!

By the way, had some free-time on my hands and I was still feeling motivated, so that's why you get another bit of content.

Vinyl Scratch's traced her footsteps towards a set of stairs as she began her first puzzle. She walked up a flight, and then found herself going into a hallway. The hall itself was just as disgusting as everything else they saw. More peeled paint, dusty furniture, it was all the same.

"Okay, I'm in the right place... now what?"

Vinyl walked further down the hallway, looking for what else could be out there. She approached a set of double doors, and stopped. The doors had been marked with a fresh set of paint, in the shape of the electric note that she wore on her suit. This was the right place. But was it the right spot? Or was she about to fall straight into a trap?

Carefully, she pushed the doors open and walked through. She held her fiddle out, holding it like a weapon, ready to swing at any given moment.

Nothing.

Still standing on guard, she walked right into the room. Inside she could see it was set up just like any ordinary office, but there was some noticeable differences. Mounted on a stand was an old TV with knobs to adjust. And on the desk were three particular items. One was a violin, another was a piece of sheet music, and the last item was a small slip of paper, no bigger than a business card.

Before she could even react, the doors behind her slammed shut. She ran back to them and pushed and pulled on the handles, to no success. Now she was trapped in the room. She was all set to straight up panic, but--

"Welcome Miss Scratch."

Vinyl turned her head and looked over to the TV that flickered on. Just like before, only a visible question mark was shown, and no clues or indication given on who could be the mastermind. Carefully, Vinyl slowly walked towards the desk, and looked at the TV.

"I'm glad to see you surpassed the first riddle. I knew you were smart."

Vinyl gulped. "So... what's your puzzle?"

"Its rather simple, Miss Scratch. I told you girls that your first challenge would be easy. And this is no exception. With your intelligence, answer three questions correctly. Answer all three correctly, and you'll be moving on to your next riddle."

"W-What kind of questions?"

"You're about to find out. Look on the desk in front of you."

Vinyl did as she was told.

"The violin in front of you is an older violin, one belonging to a former employee who used to work here. I know you're a violinist yourself, but how much are you truly passionate about violin music? What is the date that violins were first made?"

Vinyl took a moment or two to think. She looked down at the brownish violin that was on the desk, and she could see a bit of some of the shiny coating that was put on the instrument. A few seconds later, a light-bulb appeared over her head.

"The first violins recorded to have been made date back as far as the early 16th century. Its said that the first ones made were created by Andrea Amati of Cremona, in 1542 and 1546." Vinyl answered with a calm demeanor.

She waited. She felt her heart pounding, expecting to hear a reply that said 'no'.

"That is correct."

Vinyl sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off her head.

"Here is your second question. The sheet music that lays in front of you. Identify the piece of that score."

Vinyl's eyes gazed down to the sheet music. Lifting it up, she looked at the notes that were displayed in front of her. Her eyes squinted, and she looked at the notes. And as she read, a somewhat small smile came to her face. She recognized these notes, and she knew she replicated the score before. She knew she did!

"Winter Wonderland," Vinyl answered.

"Correct again. Now here is your final question. Are you ready?"

Vinyl nodded.

"Good. Here is your last question. The very first day you met those sirens, you gave one of them something. Something that you believed they'd want... what did you give them?"

Vinyl just stood there unamused. She raised a brow, and rolled her eyes.

"I gave them their phone number."

"No, you are--wait. That is correct. My mistake, Miss Scratch."

Vinyl crossed her arms. "You're not sounding confident in your own skills, now are you?"

"Silence."

Vinyl stopped talking.

"You have passed the first challenge, and now you will move on to your next challenge. The door on your right has been unlocked, and you'll be allowed to pass through. And in addition, I will leave your next riddle behind."

The TV shut off on its own, allowing Vinyl to take in the situation. She couldn't help but feel a bit happy. First challenge, and already she passed. This wasn't going to be so bad after all... or was this only the start?

Lyra jumped from a wall, out into the outside of the mill. She made plenty of loud grunts and groans as she jumped, continuing to bounce around like a gazelle. She gripped her katana blades like they were glued to her, and she wasn't going to let them go for even a micro second. She didn't want to take any chances.

She made a step forward, and held her katana out. Would there be a foe ready to taste the cold steel of her sword? Or would there be cowards who would surrender?

Ever since she got her first clue, she had been wandering around the lot, trying to find the place she needed to go. Her clue was a bit vague, but she had somewhat of an idea of where she needed to go. Not 100% positive it was the right spot, but she would check it anyway.

Lyra walked through some more of the lot, looking at the big smoke stacks that towered above the building complexes and even more of the actual factories. So old and rusted, it looked like they could deteriorate right there and right now.

She looked above; was anyone spying on her from above? No. No one. Her eyes looked back down, looking at some more of the abandoned buildings in front of her. As she took another step, she felt her foot hit something hard. Looking down, she lifted her foot up and stepped back.

With its handle sticking up in the air, was a wooden sledgehammer. The hammer piece was metallic, and the handle was wooden, obviously, but she noticed something in particular about this sledge hammer. Near the bottom of the handle, there was a small gaping hole directly through the wood, cut perfectly. A perfect circular hole created. And directly at the bottom was a small metal band wrapped around it. And no engraving of initials, or any indication of who it belonged to.

"What kind of sledgehammer is this?" Lyra asked.

She picked it up, and examined it some more. Nothing else really out of the ordinary, outside of the metallic band and gaping hole.

About to set it down, she listened to the sound of crunching gravel coming from behind her. Her ears twitched and her eyes zoomed up in front of her. No one was in front of her. But the noise did come from behind. Carefully setting it back down, she reached for one of her weapons.

Then when she heard the crunch made, she instantly threw the shuriken and screamed. The throwing star hit something with a loud slam, and she heard a scream of terror.

"Easy!"

Lyra turned her head, looking to where she threw the star.

"Flash?" Lyra asked, raising a brow.

The throwing star punctured right through the jacket of Flash Sentry, thankfully nowhere near his skin. But the star did pin him right to the metal that was on the wall.

"Watch where you throw those things, someone could get hurt!"

Lyra dashed over to where she threw it, and yanked it out, allowing him to get out.

"Flash, what are you doing here?" Lyra asked.

Flash looked towards the ninja, a face just as confused.

"Lyra? Is that you?"

"A girl in a green ninja outfit, skilled with ninja weapons, and with green skin and yellow eyes is talking to you. Who else could it be!?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Sorry, I didn't expect you to be here."

"What are you even doing here?" Lyra asked.

"Oh me?"

Lyra nodded.

"Oh, I, uh, well..."

Lyra raised a brow and held her throwing star out.

"Careful Flash, you're treading thin ice right now..."

"I'm not doing anything wrong, I promise. I just, thought I'd hang out here..." Flash tried to say with as much confidence as he could. Lyra could tell this guy was pretty nervous right now.

"Oh really?" Lyra said, sounding unconvinced.

"I swear, I'm not doing anything."

"Sure... just stay right there for a second."

Flash was about to get up, but Lyra threw the throwing star back, puncturing his jacket again.

"Hey! The shurikens are not necessary!"

Lyra just ignored his cries. Moving as far as possible, she stood far as she could so he couldn't listen to her. This was an interesting development...

"Hey girls. If anyone's out there, I've got a heads up for you."

"What's up, Lyra?" Bon Bon asked through the walkie-talkie.

"We're not alone here. Flash Sentry's here. I swear that guy was sneaking up on me."

"Think he's the Markless?" Octavia asked.

"Not sure. But if he's got the hots for Adagio Dazzle, he could be crazy enough to kidnap her. But I think for the safety of all of us, I'm going to keep my eye on him for a bit, see if he's up to something. I'll report back to you when I have something new."

Lyra clocked out of the radio, and walked back to where Flash was still pinned. He struggled to get out, but to no avail. Only with Lyra yanking it out did he get free again.

"Okay seriously, how are you able to get those out? Those were like dug into that wall."

"I work out," Lyra shrugged. "So... mind telling me why you're here?"

"I suppose I should. Come on, let me show you where I've parked."

Lyra put her katana swords back in their holsters, but she still stayed ready and on stand-by. If Flash was gonna do something, she was gonna be ready. So the two walked out of the courtyard, and completely ignored the sledgehammer that was standing. They didn't even look back to see if it was still there. They didn't even realize that the sledgehammer was now gone...