Eniola was back with her team in the playing pit, surrounded by the best players from each country. She pretended not to feel intimidated. These weren't rookie teams. These were masters of SCOPE, and it would be significantly harder to get a win. Eniola calmed her beating heart.

Eunji floated in the middle on a hover and this time she was in a slinky, glittery black dress with a neckline that plunged super low. The slit in her dress revealed fishnet tights and chunky boots. Her outfit was oddly satisfying and so bold that Eniola couldn't look away.

"For the international games, we will introduce 3 new worlds," Eunji announced. Eniola smiled. At least there was variety this time. "Atlantis is the first world you've never encountered in the SCOPEverse, and is played in the underwater kingdom; that comprises mermaids, tritons, and sea royalty."

The holo-screens that floated above the arena transitioned to show a shimmery aqua underground kingdom. Alluring mermaids and pearl castles set the scene. It was beautiful. But Eniola was here to play, not marvel at the scenery.

"The international rounds work differently. Instead of being placed in the same playing field, players must unlock 2 levels before you can even see the disk," Eunji explained.

Eniola gulped.

An image of the international disk materialized right beside Eunji. It was bright gold with a glyphic image of a yeon embedded in it. It turned around, and with each new angle, it shifted into another shade. The audience 'oohed' and 'awed'.

"I wish you all the best of luck," Eunji announced before the landscape swirled and Eunji suddenly vanished. "And remember to swim."

Eniola raised an eyebrow. Of course, they had to swim in the water.

Eniola floated into the air easily, and her eyes flit to the ocean landscape with marvel in her eyes. Eniola swam through the virtual water easily, before she stretched back into a backflip. A coy laugh came from her, and she swam back again before she collided with something.

Jay turned around immediately. "Woah!"

Eniola sighed. "I thought you were the threat."

"Come on, I'm not that big," Jay laughed, before taking her by the arm and swimming her in the water like a dance.

"To me you are," Eniola mentioned.

"This world is really nice," Iris complimented, swimming with some glowing fish that passed by her, then through a wall of arched ruins.

"We should prepare ourselves," Theo reminded. "Stay at the base."

"Loosen up," Lucia said, as she suddenly grabbed his shoulder. Theo turned back to look at her with bright eyes "Game doesn't start for another 30 seconds."

Eniola observed in the distance, and she could see the faint outline of a city. Was the disk there? No, it wasn't. She couldn't even see it until they beat the additional levels.

Eniola thought something would change, but it stayed the same, but that doesn't mean she wasn't alert. She took out the starter weapon for every player in the world of Atlantis, which was a huge sea triton they were all equipped with.

A snarling roar tore through the air and launched Eniola back through the war with a roll. Eniola snapped open her eyes again, to see a swinging bundle of scaley tentacles that whipped through the air.

"What?" Eniola breathed as the creature rose through the shadows.

It was an octopus that looked like it only came from the deepest caverns of your nightmares. And then someone found it and then put it on steroids. It was purple and red with jagged scales that led up to its pitch-black eyes and snarling mouth dripping with yellow spit.

How would 5 tritons combat that?

"Um," Theo began, changing from his usually certain demeanour. "Don't die?"

"I was actually planning to walk forward and fist-fight it, so thank you," Jay said sarcastically. "But seriously, what do we do?"

"This is only the first level," Theo groaned. "So maybe we should continue to fight it and see what its weaknesses are. I want Lucia and Jay to join me while fighting it straight. Iris and Eniola try to find a weakness or something."

"Ok," Lucia confirmed. "And we should probably start now, if we want to be first, or at least close to it."

Lucia ran at it in one swift motion and swam up to swing her triton up to it. The defensive line followed back at them, and in the way, Lucia went. That was until a tentacle slapped Lucia, who flew into the air with a surprised scream. Eniola stifled a laugh.

Eniola and Iris dove away from their hellish vision before she swam up and around the steroid octopus. That was until it turned its ugly head around and pitched-black eyes met hers. Eniola gulped. Quickly, she dove under as another thick lash of its tentacle swung in the air and hit someone. Eniola looked up to see Iris and Jay flying through the water. Eniola looked down again.

Lucia and Theo came back again, but soon the tentacles looped around them and prepared to swing them back, but Lucia jumped forward and stuck her triton onto its colossal head. It lashed out in another scream before it shook her off. Lucia didn't fly this time. Eniola already moved before she plunged her triton into the skin.

Its flesh dissolved at the contact and didn't regenerate like Eniola thought it would. She did it again, but this time its eyes were straight on her. Eniola swam back before it could do anything and hid behind a sea rock.

"Guys," Eniola began. "I figured out the weakness."

"Hurry!" Lucia shouted.

"Look," Eniola said, pointing to it. "It can only look one way, and when it's not focused, it gets hurt."

"So, someone needs to be a distraction," Theo concluded.

"I'm great at that," Lucia said before she swam again in front of the octopus and did backflips around it. She gracefully dodged its tentacles this time. Eniola took her cue and plunged it into its flesh. A loud scream rang out from behind it. The flesh was disappearing.

"It's working!" Eniola exclaimed, before repeatedly doing it. Lucia had been swimming everywhere, distracting it as its eyes went on a wondrous journey to find her. Like shovels, everyone plunged their tritons into it as the octopus dissolved. It seemed arbitrary, but it worked.

Then it exploded. Eniola swam around it in joy, feeling the yeons come.

"Theo, we didn't die!" Jay exclaimed as they exchanged smiles.

"Level 2," a voice came out from somewhere.

The same message appeared on a holo-screen in front of them. The landscape swirled again, and this time a glorious palace stood front and center. An entrance that imitated tentacles led into thick gold doors. The place was made of a purple-tinted solid pearl. The tops were rose gold spires that peaked at the top of the surface.

And by the looks of it, they weren't the only teams there. Eniola couldn't say how many, but from an inaccurate eyeball, she guessed 10 teams. So, they figured out the weakness earlier. Maybe they weren't fast.

"Let's go," Theo instructed, as they swam stealthily to the palace.

Eniola quickly dipped down from the crowd in one swoop before she clicked on the 'O' in her game screen, and selected an invisibility power-up she bought before. Eniola vanished at once and swam into the crowd where the castle was on the rock. She swam further and faster until she was almost nestled at the bottom.

"Someone needs to come down here with me and someone needs to battle on the floor," Eniola said. Now it was time to play with her strengths.

Eniola scissored herself into the air before she grabbed onto the bottom rock and connected her feet. At that moment, her avatar flashed. She was visible again. Eniola pressed herself up again, just in case someone could see her.

Then a triton came for Eniola. She released herself at once and swam further again.

"Chill," Iris's voice came to her.

Eniola sighed in relief. "Next time you want to come to help me, try to be less threatening."

"Noted," Iris said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to find an entry point," Eniola explained.

"Through the rocks?" Iris asked.

"You always have to look where no one is willing," Eniola told her. "Now hide. We don't want anyone to see us."

And it was at that moment that Eniola turned around, and a swinging triton came from her direction. Eniola collapsed from the rock and plunged deeper into the ocean. Eniola barely looked up and caught one girl from Sweden. Before she could react, a grip tightened against her foot and pulled her out.

"Eni!" Iris screamed.

Eniola turned to face another Swedish teammate, who smirked before he threw her away by her ankle. Eniola collided with another body. This time she prayed it wasn't another member of the Swedish team here to play pinball with her.

Eniola turned around and sighed in relief when Theo appeared behind her, triton gripped in his hand. He moved forward and collided with the Swedish. He called for backup on the microphone. Eniola grabbed her triton and swam through the clamour again.

This time, a swarm of muscled merman filled her path like bees. Eniola stepped back. They all had their tritons in one hand and held them out in defence. Eniola swung around the triton and soon the crowd dispersed into yeons. Eniola moved further before Theo came around her.

They created shimmery yeons that Eniola collected as she swam back down to the bottom with Theo. The mountain peaked at the bottom, especially with the tallest spire being out. It looked odd against the landscape.

"We should go back," Theo suggested. "We can't hide here."

"Or maybe we can," Eniola said before she swam down to the rock and onto the irregular spire. Theo and Iris followed her again.

"What's that?" he asked.

"We're about to find out," Eniola said before swimming down and circling around the spire. It was slightly used. Her gaze went around the place, just in case, another ambush came on them.

"Everyone," Eniola said. "I think the entrance is at the bottom. Come and see."

"And be quick and stealthy," Theo instructed. "We can't risk being followed."

"All right," Lucia replied.

Soon, two out-of-breath avatars swam up to them underneath the ocean mass. Jay and Lucia were here now.

"We got here," Jay huffed.

"But it was hard," Lucia replied. "These teams are out for blood. And not the virtual kind. What did you find?"

"I think there's an opening, and I wanted us to all go in," Eniola explained. "It looks big. Maybe if we all go on different sides, we can get it open and enter the palace."

"I like your thinking," Jay complimented.

"That's not the only thing," Iris mumbled.

They eventually all swam around the unusual spire before reaching for it at the same time. It slowly began shifting until the thing slid off below onto the ocean floor. Eniola looked up and saw a jagged hole.

"I think we just found our way into the castle," Jay said, also gawking up like everyone else. They swam above it, and Lucia got into the hole first before Eniola did and everyone else followed.

Eniola squeezed herself up effortlessly, following Lucia behind. A narrow tunnel ran up above as they continued to push themselves upwards. Thick slime and ooze ran down the tunnels and Eniola tried not to gag. Suddenly, she lost her footing before she slid down. She yelped.

"Argh," Iris groaned before she slipped down. "Keep your balance."

"I have an idea," Eniola said before the triton flashed into her hands. Eniola leaned back before getting out her triton, which seemed elongated in the hall. She pushed herself onto the other side of the narrow hall before she stuck her triton into the side. She released it, then plunged it again. At least she wasn't falling.

"Use your triton," Eniola told them. "It will stick to the slime. It's going to balance you."

"Alright," Lucia grunted.

Eniola led the way and pushed herself up against the oozing slime. Eniola could even feel it oozing on her clothes in a weird texture. It smelled a little weird. She hoped no one would come to attack them. There was nowhere to run at this point.

Eniola pushed herself up again, but this time her head hit a surface. She pulled back again. There was a door. The problem was that Eniola had to get past it.

"Why did we stop?" Jay asked.

"Because we're blocked," Eniola said. "We have to open it. Everyone looks at my team view."

Eniola looked up again. It looked dusty underneath the water. Eniola brushed it away to reveal an engraving on the door. It said "password".

"So, does anyone have an idea for a password?" Eniola asked. "I have nothing."

"Atlantis?" Jay shouted. The door didn't budge. Of course, it didn't.

"Maybe this is a rhetorical question," Lucia added. "What about 'password'?"

Nothing.

"SCOPE?" Theo added.

Nothing again.

"How would we know a password?" Jay asked. "No one said anything to us."

"Maybe they did," Iris said. "Remember what Eunji said?"

"She said a lot of things," Lucia replied.

"She said swim," Iris said.

The door rumbled from up above Eniola vicariously. Suddenly it popped off into the air, revealing a bright interior of colours. Eniola hoisted herself up one more time before she hit the cool pearl floors. She slid out further. Soon, Lucia came up and joined her, and the rest of her team followed in a line.

"Level 3," the automated voice said again. Eniola smirked. Maybe this time they were the first people here.

This time, they were in the pearly interiors of the palace. The walls were a shimmery pink rock that led down into green tiled floors. Tentacles lined the walls made of hard rock, then led into dark hallways.

"Let's get crackin'," Jay said.

"Really?" Lucia replied. "No one says that anymore."

"Well, I do," Jay said.

"I love banter, but now is not the time," Theo said. "Let's try to find the disk. It's in the palace."

Eniola rose and everyone walked down the hallways and through them again to see more tentacled rooms. Nothing really stood out to Eniola, but she could never be sure. It was the same pearly walls again. Nothing special. But the air was serene like the 5 of them were the only people who existed at that moment. Eniola raised an eyebrow.

"This is too peaceful," Eniola mumbled. "Something must be wrong."

"I think we're used to being in constant danger," Jay said. "We're like adrenaline junkies. We look for danger."

"Speak for yourself," Theo emphasized. "Do you think it's right for us to split up?"

"We always do," Lucia said.

Like the castle listened to them, at that moment, five diverging paths that led into dark hallways appeared in front of them. Five openings for five teammates. Eniola stepped into one singular one and away from her teammates. The hallways were still chillingly serene. It was odd.

Where was the disk?

"Hello?" Eniola yelled out. "Is there anyone here?"

Then a swarm of mermen filled her path in one shout. Eniola stood on guard with her triton before she dove headfirst into the army. She ran across the side of the wall before she ran down and swung her triton into the thick crowd. They turned into yeons Eniola happily took.

At least it wasn't peaceful anymore. The danger had revealed itself, and Eniola was going to conquer it.

Eniola wished she could've taken her bike here. But they never played with those in international games. Instead, she had to think right. She took advantage of the open crowd before she dove for the floor, and somersaulted away through the crowd, feeling the wet fishtails slap onto her. Eniola rolled out and took off running.

Then she stopped.

Maybe they weren't just here to cause chaos. Maybe they were a diversion because something needed protecting. She stood back again. They all came from the left side. Maybe something was on the left side.

"I think we may have a lead," Eniola said. "Look through my view and try to follow me."

"That would be easy, but teams have shown up," Theo said. "We'll try to hold them off. But try looking for the disk. We'll meet you where you are soon."

"Okay," Eniola replied, quickly, before she took off into a sprint and turned into a new wide hallway. Eniola could see the disk from right where she stood. Only it was way high above, next to multiple windows. Like way high above. The ceilings were vast.

"Try to get to my location," Eniola said with stress in her voice. "I've found the disk."

"Then get it!" Lucia exclaimed.

"I can't," Eniola said. "It's too high for me. It's like way up into the ceiling. That's why I need your help."

"Okay," Theo replied.

Eniola simply stood there and stared at the disk. How would she reach the ceiling?

A thick push forced Eniola to the ground. She turned around to see the same guy from Sweden standing over her. They just had a knack for violence, did they?

He said something in his microphone, probably in Swedish, because they were, of course, the team from Sweden. Eniola couldn't understand what he was saying. The translators they wore didn't work while they played SCOPE, meaning she couldn't listen in on game strategy from other teams. But Eniola guessed he was telling them he'd found the disk and just body-checked the tiny girl from the US.

Eniola scurried away just as tons of voices filled the room. The other teams had found this place, and they all looked equally confused when they saw the disk up high. All least confusion translated across the countries.

Eniola tried to scan the crowd for Rogue, but she couldn't find anything. For now, this had to be a challenge for herself. Eniola looked up again at the windows, then raised an eyebrow. Then she looked back at the doors. They had the same shape. That was interesting.

Before Eniola could comprehend, she bolted right out of the throne room. Footsteps followed her. She turned back to see teams chasing her. They didn't even know what she was doing. Maybe she looked too eager.

"Guys," Eniola quickly whispered. "I just had a realization moment."

"Ooh," Jay said, interested. "Don't come to the room I was just in. This is because the other paths lead to the door. We have to figure them out."

"Are you sure?" Iris asked.

"Every time she has one of these, it's usually right," Lucia replied. "I think."

Eniola took another dip down a hallway, and sure enough, the people followed her. She ran faster before she popped into a divot in the hallways and shoved herself inside. The teams ran past her in a blur. Eniola sighed. At least they didn't follow her.

Eniola almost went out, but then she turned around. The divot didn't just close. It had another path. She squeezed herself through it, only to end up in another hallway. Once she did, a smile crept onto her face.

A huge staircase curled and spiralled up for what looked like days. Eniola didn't even think to be exhausted because maybe it might've led into the disk.

"I'm at the new location, and I'm actually sure this is the place," Eniola said. "If you find the great big room, run down the hallway and you'll find a divot. I'm in that divot."

No one replied to her, but Eniola guessed they got the memo. The only thing to do was to climb, and climb, and climb. Eniola didn't get tired, as she walked up the spiral staircases, but it was time-consuming. Five minutes had passed and Eniola still hadn't even got halfway through.

Then, once again, the merman came out of nowhere, somehow swimming on dry ground. Eniola jumped back and slid down the steps raggedly. She made eyes with railings before she ran over there and swung herself around it and launched her triton down on them.

Eniola fell over to the side again and her legs dangled from the steps and to the floor in a gaping distance. Eniola grit her teeth and swung herself back up so now the railing was in between her legs. Quickly, she scooted herself up. She couldn't wield her weapon and climb, so she had to be quick and stealthy.

Where were the power-ups? Where were all the obvious-but-not obvious hints? Eniola lamented the lack of power-ups and hints that were so common in their earlier competitions,

To make things even peachier for Eniola, more teams were running up the stairs in a wave. Quickly, she swung back down and gripped the railing as she dangled. It was time to hide again. The teams rushed past her.

"Where are we?" Eniola asked.

"On the stairs running for our lives," Jay hastily said. "Where are you?"

"Hanging onto the stair railing for my life," Eniola replied. "Crazy how things work. Go to the entrance and I'll meet you there."

Once they cleared, Eniola swung herself back up again and dashed up the stairs. Another five minutes passed, and Eniola finally reached the top of the stairs, where a doorway took place. Eniola went through a crowd. She paused.

Everyone stood around a thin border that faced the disk in the air. However, between them was a gaping distance down from the floor. There was no way to get there. Eniola sighed. No one would be stupid enough to just take a jump. There had to be a path. Maybe something could make a path.

Like a secret password.

Eniola smirked. "I guess we can't swim here."

Then at once, the path materialized and linked towards the disk. Eniola made a run for it, amid shocked voices. Eniola didn't care. Adrenaline rushed through her in joyful bliss and her hands went higher. The disk was right with her.

Then a powerful force pushed her, and Eniola fell over the side with a scream and into the empty air. The distance was wide, and it made Eniola paralyzed with fear. Almost as paralyzed as she felt when she landed hard on the ground. A groan escaped her. Not out of pain, but annoyance.

Then the world swirled back into the arena, and Eniola peeled herself off the ground. Someone must've got the disk. Eniola sighed once again.

At least this time, there were no weird visions to plague her.