Normally water and gas/grease fires should never mix, water can make them worse. However, the same isn't true if you can completely suffocate the flames with the water.
I waited until holding my breath started to hurt, then I rose from the water and also released Kyle.
Both our heads broke the surface and our eyes met. His alluring ones gleamed in the low light, I coughed slightly before looking away. Stupid pretty guy.
"Well that was fun, let's not do it again." I started scrubbing my skin in the water.
Noah was examining the far wall.
"Are they expecting us to now somehow climb up that?" he tapped the wall with a fist. "This isn't going to be possible."
Kyle got out of the pool and joined him with examining the wall.
Lilly rose to her feet and came over to the pool and jumped in. Guess it's a girl thing, we both wanted to get the grim off of us.
A few minutes later Noah came over and dipped into the pool.
"At least they know how to provide a bath." Noah grumbled. "Watch us all fail because the goal was not to like water or something."
A proper cat joke for sure.
"Or maybe the goal is to prove we can tolerate water, given the sharks earlier and all. This one by choice?" I frowned and dove under the water to look at the bottom of the pool.
It seemed normal enough. The bottom was actually tiled, since when do these cats care about aesthetics?
Kyle dove back into the pool and was walking along the walls of it. He glanced over at me silently asking if I'd found anything. I shrugged back and continued looking.
"How boring." Lilly muttered "After all that they are just going to leave us here."
I swam back to the middle where a small grate rested on the bottom of the pool but no water was being pulled or filtered through it. Noah was looking down on it and Lilly was next to him still cleaning her fingernails.
"Still nothing?" Kyle swam over to the middle to join us.
"Yeah we might need to put our thinking cats on." Noah smirked "cause you know hats but cats, think like a cat-"
"Please do not let the bad space cat puns become a thing." Kyle groaned.
"Why not?" I smirked not missing the chance to annoy him, "I think they are paws-ativly purrrfect."
"Really Seeker? I know you hate cats." Kyle gave me a deadpan look.
"True, but a good pun should never be wasted." I replied.
He glared at the both of us and Noah opened his mouth probably to say another pun but froze as the edges of the pool glowed. We were all in the middle of the pool, which seemed to be the unlocking feature.
"Uh what?" Noah was cut off as the floor gave out below us and we fell down yet another slide along with the pool of water.
This one didn't drop us into a lake, or lava, or not lava. I sighed as I stood up looking around a normal room with an elevator door at the far side. I gave it a skeptical look. What kind of demonic elevator challenge would be next? Also when's lunch?
A tiny square in the floor opened and up rose a small pillar, sitting on it was the cat from earlier. Right now he looked like a perfectly normal house cat with the tiger stripe pattern and orange fur.
"Greetings contestants, you did a pawsativly great job!" the cat purred.
I liked puns, but when they made one it was terrible, like they were breaking a fundamental law of the universe. Maybe I should start hating cat puns.
"Now then, I wasn't expecting so many people to be first. These challenges were made to have one survivor per group. I guess I should of made the shark part only let the first person through. Oh well good thing I had a backup plan." His beady little eyes studied us. "Now then what to do with the rest of you, I think I'll have to remove you from the equation."
He jumped off his little platform and walked over to us and paused by me.
"Can't be you, you clearly want to murder me." He walked to Lilly, "Or you, I'm supposed to be a savoir cat for this game and you don't match the quota."
He paused by Noah and Kyle, "You two though, are both purrfect choices. A pity about the secret identities."
"Pick either of us, but the others have to live." Kyle growled, "You wanted a teammate right? We can't team with someone we can't trust."
"Earlier they said they could just control us." I frowned at the cat, "I think our only option is to kill it instead."
"Tusk, such a cat-itude." He fluffed up his tail and glared at me. "You do want your planet to survive right?"
"No not really." I replied glaring back. "You're proof that other habitable planets exist, maybe I'll just commandeer one or your ships instead."
He purred like a maniac for a second as if laughing.
"Fine tell you what, its pawsible to let you all live. But I'll need all your resources for the savior team. Isn't that right, what are your little groups called again? FBI CIA, we should change their names, I'm thinking fur ball international and cat institute academy, your thoughts?" he turned to glare at me again, "Oh and no more hacking our system 221130228, don't think we didn't notice the code getting changed. Clever really, if you hadn't hacked the cameras earlier I would have never connected the two. Or I guess I should say no more hacking without my guidance first. You might manage to make yourself a little useful."
I continued to glare at the cat, it almost felt like a strange compliment? All the more reason to hate it. What had I missed that led him to be able to trace me? A weird grin crawled up my lips. Bring it on kitty, I'd love nothing more than to use you for some practice until I completely own your systems.
The cat turned to Lilly, "She will be our collateral, either of the rest of you try anything and she dies." He purred like a maniac again. "Ah so perfect, you all care about her living and she couldn't care less! Well except maybe you." He glanced at me, "I'm sure I'll find some collateral on you though."
"Go ahead and try fur face!" I hissed back. "I've already lost everything that meant something to me long ago, so good luck!"
"Okay so which of us did you want to partner with?" Asked Kyle clearly trying to break up whatever argument the cat and I were having.
"Shut up Winters!" I growled.
"I'll be taking that one." He pointed his tail at Noah. "The rest of you are dismissed and may take the elevator."
"Why me? And why do I have to stay?" Noah asked.
"You found the orb." The cat purred, "I dropped it while setting things up, honestly either of you would of worked, but you did me a favor so now I'm returning it."
"Uh huh." Ryan looked at Kyle and Kyle shrugged back.
Suddenly a little collar around the cat's neck beeped. "Stripe I've got an issue can-"
The cat raised a paw cutting off the transmission, "Hold up Night, I'm with a group of potential humans. Let me call you back in ten." He turned to glare at the rest of us, "Leave already plebeians."