Round 1

Immediately, Ian felt something was wrong. He knew it like a sixth sense, like he could feel pain or smell a house burning.

Forcing his heavy eyelids up, Ian squinted through blurry vision. "Sister?"

"Right, you were the twin, huh?" An unfamiliar voice responded back—or maybe slightly familiar, but not someone he cared about. Not Katie. "It's just the three of us."

Ian forced his bleary eyes to focus, taking in his surroundings. He was in a room with bold purple walls, smaller than the banquet hall and dressed up like a regular hotel room. There were two beds, some dressers, a window on the wall—none of this was worth his attention.

Across the room, sitting in front of a TV and smiling at him, was the panda girl; next to him, slowly blinking her own eyes open, was the songbird.

Both unimportant. Niether his sister. "Why isn't she here?"

"Looks like you two are on different teams."

Teams? What teams? Panic chasing the last of his drowsiness away, Ian lumbered to his feet and ran to the big screen Viscera was sat in front of. There on the display was a column of text:

Pink Team 

Aaron-Ramato 

Katie

Miki

Purple Team 

Ian

Viscera

Lavinia

Blue Team 

Intravenous

Post-Op

Matthias

Grey Team 

Zeon

Himel 

Suture

 White Team 

Odile

Bon

Joanie

Ian stared at the list, eyes wide and breathing shallow. "Aaron-Ramato… wasn't he that big, horrible lion?"

Viscera opened her mouth to answer, but Ian had already moved to start pounding on the screen."Show me my sister!!" he screamed, barely noticing the panda grabbing him by the shoulders and attempting to drag him away. "Let me see her!!!!"

Kako was so grateful she'd woken up with the nice girl who had tried to talk to her before. She was especially grateful the cub had assented when Katie had reached out to grasp her paw, and now the two were silently holding hands as they stared at the huge cat lounging comfortably on the bed opposite theirs.

"Now now children, I don't bite." The lion repositioned his broad shoulders, mane shifting around him with the movement. When he smiled, it was with all his teeth flashing. "Not unless I'm hungry, anyway."

Post-Op would have been nervous waking up with a puma, had he been paying any attention at all to her or the crane. But ever since she'd woken up he'd only been staring out the window of their little blue hotel room, entirely unconcerned with the fact that they they'd been taken somewhere new.

"Can you tell anything about our location?" Intravenous asked, not trembling in fear like Post-Op but not dripping in apathy like the puma either. They simply looked focused, eyes sharp on their otherwise muted face.

Matthias shook his head at their question. "It's not real. They just put a window frame over a monitor." Matthias lifted a paw up to the fake window, watching the image warp beneath the press of his claw. He dragged it down, so, so, slowly, and the wriggling, warping effect followed.

For some reason, watching the digital display squirm beneath his claw made Post-Op feel ill. 

"You!!!"

Himel had jumped to his feet as soon as he'd caught sight of Zeon, although he stumbled a bit on the way up. Ignoring the lingering heaviness of his body, he quickly took in the small grey hotel room they found themselves in before turning back to the rabbit. "Why am I trapped in a room with you, of all people?!"

"And me!" the rhino woman added cheerfully, lazy smile entirely unaffected by the tension. Himel spared her a single nod before returning his attention to the rabbit; he had no problems with her, Suture seemed like a nice enough woman. This guy, though…

Zeon met his glare with a shrug, seeming almost bored despite the situation they found themselves in. "Bad luck, maybe?"

Odile was having the worst luck.

The greyhound and the hedgehog had woken up a little bit ago, and it hadn't taken them long to spot the monitor listing out all the teams. A second's investigation had prompted them both to turn and face Odile, both smiling but neither looking particularly impressed.

"How curious, Richie." Joanie's voice was warm with amusement, little eyes crinkling behind her glasses. "It looks like they got your name wrong."

"Wasn't 'Odile' what Himel called you?" Bon asked, head tilting in a false display of curiosity. "You know, the man you claimed you'd never seen in your life?"

Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit.

The display changed then, but it wasn't to a feed of Ian's sister. Instead Orchid the ferret was back in front of the camera, eyes squinted into a cheery smile.

"Welcome to round one!" Orchid greeted, not having any reaction to Ian's hissing, flailing tantrum. If Viscera had to guess, she'd say this video was probably pre-recorded. "It's time you all learn the rules to the game you're playing! Be sure to pay attention, because you'll only be hearing this once!"

Like last time, Orchid's camera feed was covered up by a plain screen of text. Clamping  a paw around Ian's mouth and muffling him with her palm, Viscera continued grappling the kid as she read the monitor and listened to the paraphrased voiceover.

The Rules

"Each round of the game is made up of a Task and a Vote, in that order. 

The Task will be provided at the beginning of each round, along with an explanation of the task's rules and any necessary materials. Successful completion of the task earns Points for your team, while failure incurs a Penalty."

Aaron-Ramato hummed in thought, a smile on his face, before glancing idly over his shoulder. The girls had finally seen fit to chance proximity, both of them now off the bed and steadily creeping toward the computer desk he was sat at.

Pushing his chair  out so he was angled out and to the side, he beckoned the children closer. "Don't worry young ones, as long as we're in this game we're a team. And I'm very good at winning games."

"Once every team has finished attempting their task, the Vote starts. I'll explain how voting works when we get there, but it's another opportunity to gain points.

Points are used to purchase things in the Points Menu, which you can access via this computer. There's tons of goodies in there, but you're ultimately aiming for the big budget item: Escape!

Escape costs 100 points, and releases your entire team from the game! That's your win condition!"

"One hundred?!" Himel exclaimed, gripping the back of the chair Zeon was standing on. "That's crazy!"

"Matters how hard it is to gain points," Zeon muttered, close enough to the screen that the text was reflected on his eyes. 

"Other than that, you can buy penalties for other teams, food, medical supplies… bullets…"

"We need to use our points for food?" Intravenous murmured, brow creasing slightly. Matthias, who had come to stand at their side, let out a little huff.

"Makes sense. He already gave us a whole buffet for free."

"I believe you were the only one who actually ate anything, though…"

Sitting between them, Post-Op stared fixatedly at the text on the screen. "No," she whispered, "I knew it, I knew it!"

"Anyway! Right now you're in teams of three, but some of you are going to die. When you do, I'll be randomly combining teams!

Specifically, any team that ends a round with two or less animals will be starting the next round with a new group of friends. And a portion of their points will be coming with them!

If you somehow end up with only one team left in the game, we'll get rid of the votes and go with Task-only rounds until you've earned enough points to Escape."

Lavinia watched Ian finally settle, the fight draining out of him. She couldn't help but look over the boy from the corner of her eye, still within the paw of Viscera's vigilant hold—did the fear get to him? Is that why he'd steadily gone limp, taking Orchid's words in with an unreadable question?

How cruel, to put a child in a situation like this. He was too young to have to face the threat of death, or witness violence.

The thought made her scars and her heart ache. Placing the stub of her wing on top of Viscera's arm, she met the panda's eyes.

Hesitantly, like she didn't fully believe she should, Viscera let the possum go. He didn't look away from the screen. He didn't move at all.

"Other than that, the only rules are… oh, don't break the computer! You need it to play the game, and you can't escape without it. Destroying anything or anyone else is fine, but damaging this thing is a no-go. Automatic penalty!

Other than that, just remember to have fun and be yourself! Oh, and maybe fiddle around with the computer before it's Task time. I'll give you a few minutes, so go take a peek!"

Just like that the slideshow ended, text and ferret both replaced with a sparse computer desktop. The only things on it were a Point Counter in the corner that simply read 0, and two tabs to click.

Immediately Odile grabbed for the mouse, only for Bon to slap his paw away. "Very optimistic of you to think you'd be trusted with computer privileges."

"Okay, sure, I lied about my name. Can you blame me?" Odile watched Joanie place her paw over the mouse, clicking the tab that said Rules. It had the exact text from the slideshow written out, plus the rules of the upcoming Vote. "I wake up with a bunch of strangers, freshly kidnapped, with no idea who I can trust. Sorry I wasn't exactly forthcoming with my personal information."

"That doesn't explain why you pretended not to know Himel. Do you have reason not to trust him?"

"Nah, he just doesn't like me. I didn't want him defining my first impression for everyone." Joanie closed the rules tab, navigating instead to the Points Menu. Her teammates followed along with their eyes, their conversation temporarily paused as they read the new information.

Points Menu

• Escape (100 points)
• Team Transfer (30 points)
• Medical Supplies (20 points)
• Penalty Assignment (15 points)
• Revolver Bullets(2) (10 points)
• Meal (1) (2 points)

[Medical supplies = first aid kit unless otherwise specified]

[Specific meal orders can be placed if desired]

[Physical purchases will be delivered via the Locked Cabinet]

"Locked cabinet?" Breaking away from where his team was huddled around the computer, Himel looked over the room and located a cabinet he hadn't paid mind to before. 

A few steps took him to where it was, and soon he was pulling the handles only to find they didn't budge. "Think I found it."

"Want me to try my hand at it?" Suture asked, stepping away from the computer desk. "The rules said breaking the furniture is fair game."

"You can try, but I don't think it'll be any use. This looks like the same material the doors were made of back in the banquet hall." Giving the room yet another once over, Himel frowned at the doors and window. "My guess is we're just as trapped here as we were before."

"I'm going to die in here," Post-Op despaired, head in her hands. "A game designed around danger and death? There's no way I'm making it. Foals like me have a hard enough time surviving daily life."

"I won't let anything happen to you," Intravenous promised, wrapping a wing around her shoulders. Their face was one of grim determination, stern and focused. "None of us are going to die."

Matthias had turned away, digging for the cigarettes in his pocket. His paws wrapped around a familiar box, and a distant part of him wondered this pack it might be his last.

"…I'm sorry," Ian eked out, after a few minutes of what Viscera could only guess was shock. "I was just so worried about my sister. We haven't been apart since we were born, and I'm supposed to keep her safe."

"Well, look! We can buy team transfers !" Swiveling back around in the chair, she opened the Point Menu and excitedly hovered the cursor over the item. "30 points, and we can move your sister here with us!"

Ian's responding smile was complicated, sad and grateful and still a bit afraid. "I just hope it can happen soon. Who knows how dangerous these tasks will be in the meantime?"

As if summoned by the words, the computer screen suddenly switched to a feed of Orchid. "That was enough time for you to get your bearings, yea? You're all good?" He rotated a bit in his seat, so his face was closer to the bottom of the screen while his feet grazed the top. "Because I'm giving you your task now."

Like before, the feed of Orchid was replaced with plain slides of text. With the ferret still speaking beneath it, the computer read out:

Task One: The Gunplay Game

"In just a second, the locked cabinet in your room is going to temporarily unlock. Inside, you'll find a revolver with two bullets."

A quiet click echoed through the room then; Aaron-Ramato rose from the chair he'd been lounging in, ambling to the cabinet and opening it up. There, placed inside like it had always been there, was a single silver revolver.

Picking it up, Aaron-Ramato showed it to his teammates. "You girls know how to shoot a gun?"

"Each team needs to designate one person to be the target. The other two will be the shooters, both taking turns with the gun.

One by one, you need to point the revolver at your target and pull the trigger—and don't keep the safety on. 

You may not remove the bullets, but you can spin the cylinder any way you want."

"Isn't that a little too easy then?" Joanie was inspecting their gun, slowly rotating the cylinder. Like Orchid had described, only two of the six chambers had bullets. "Both shooters can just fire an empty round."

"There might be a trick," Bon suggested, walking over to help look over the gun. Odile plopped themself down in the desk chair, wearing a wry smirk.

"Or it's a trust exercise. Lucky us, huh?"

"Failure to complete the task results in a penalty. Shooting anywhere but at a team member will result in a penalty. Removing the bullets in any way but firing them results in a penalty.

And that's it! Fire away!"

Zeon spun the cylinder to where the bullets were and immediately fired both rounds into the room's door. 

"Why the hell did you do that?!" Himel shouted, fur standing as he whipped around to face the rabbit. "He just said that was against the rules!" 

"I was getting rid of those bullets… and I want to find out what the penalty is," Zeon answered, flexing his wrist a little before offering the empty gun to his teammates. "I don't like not knowing things."

"I vote we shoot Odile."

"Oh, wow! Thanks SO much!" Odile threw their arms up in outrage, smile strained. "What happened to democracy?! What happened to rock-paper-scissors?!"

Bon shot an unimpressed look at their theatrics. "You're not even trusted with computer privileges, and you think we're going to let you point a gun at us?"

Frowning deeply, Odile stared at the two of them before throwing a paw onto the computer mouse and swiping it wildly across the desk. 

When they had no response other than blank stares, Odile begrudgingly paused their chaos. "This is transphobic."

"I'm literally trans," Joanie said, raising a pierced eyebrow. 

Bon looked at both of them slowly, the condescension that usually accompanied all of his expressions temporarily replaced with hesitant openness. "...all of us are?"

Seeing his expression, Joanie and Odile shared a look. "...okay, the puppy can't be a target. His cool new queer elders will protect him."

"Specifically the raccoon."

"FINE, specifically the raccoon. Just be sure to aim at my hand or something, so I won't die when you inevitably betray me."

"I don't think we should comply to our kidnapper's demands, even when they're relatively low risk."

Intravenous faced their two teammates, one smoking with his back to them while the other sat in the computer chair. Her head was down, as it had been throughout the task directions, staring at her hands as she tugged them through the wavy hair of her mane again and again.

None of them had touched the cabinet yet.

"What about the penalty?" Matthias eventually asked, smoke rising lazily from his maw. "Got a plan to get around it?"

"…no, not yet."

Post-Op continued pulling through her mane, seeming resigned to her fate. Matthias, on the other hand, seemed resigned to inaction, not seeming to care what it was they did. Neither looked like they were willing to make a decision.

Intravenous needed to step up. "…then, until we understand how to end this game, we will cooperate. But I will be the target."

Miki did not, in fact, know how to shoot a gun. And surely that would be true for Katie, too.

"I've held a gun, at least," Katie said, immediately making Miki turn in surprise, "but I wasn't allowed to shoot it. I was also pretty young then, so I don't remember too much."

Aaron-Ramato huffed a little laugh at that (why?), but his smile seemed a few degrees fonder than it had been before. And Katie seemed to have already gotten over her fear of him, because she asked, "Are you going to teach us??"

Her eyes were glittering with excitement, and it made Miki feel a little uncertain if she should still be afraid of Aaron-Ramato. Why did no one ever seem to have the same reactions to things that she did? Miki wasn't wrong to be cautious, was she?

The big, scary lion with a gun in his hand continued to look at them with amusement. "That's right. I'll make you masters of gun safety before you know it."

Katie immediately scrambled over, while Miki followed less enthusiastically. Soon they were both standing in front of him, only coming up to his navel.

Aaron-Ramato studied them for a second. "...you're both too short. Let me try something."

Reaching back to put the revolver aside, he brought his other hand forward and grabbed Katie around the middle. With a shriek she was in the air, Aaron-Ramato easily hefting her up with one arm and depositing her on his shoulder.

She clung to his head, little claws gripping his mane, as he grabbed Miki with his other arm and placed her on the opposite shoulder. She was probably heavier by a fair deal, but he lifted them both like it was nothing.

"Feeling stable?" he asked.

"Why did you do that!?" Katie squeaked, still clinging tight. Miki, on the other hand, didn't know whether she was really allowed to hold on or not. Instead she dug the heels of her feet into his pec, doing her best to stay balanced.

"So you could see better. Look." Hands free once more, Aaron-Ramato grabbed the gun up again and slowly spun the cylinder for them. "You're both going to be firing these empty chambers. I'll walk you through it step-by-step."

"You're holding it wrong. Here, let me show you."

Joanie jumped onto the bed for some extra height, beckoning Bon closer so she could show him how to wield the revolver. Odile sat on the room's other bed, kicking their feet and waiting patiently like an obedient target.

"You know how to use a gun?" they asked, watching Joanie demonstrate the proper paw placement.

"A girl's gotta know how to protect herself. Especially where I live." Turning back to Bon, she said, "it's a little gun, but you still gotta use both hands. Otherwise the recoil can mess up your shot or hurt your wrists."

"But there's not going to be recoil, or a bullet to mess up the aim of," Odile interjected. "Right?"

"Right. I still want to teach him the right way to use it, though."

Bon took the gun back from Joanie before copying what he'd seen, grasping the grip with both hands. "Is this better?"

"Much better."

"I gotta tell ya," Odile chimed in once again, "I am not having fun watching this. Like, I thought the actual shooting wouldn't be the scary bit since you promised no bullets, but seeing you two hold that thing all serious-like? It does NOT feel good!"

"I'm not going to shoot you," Bon said, double-checking that the bullets weren't capable of firing. "You'll be fine."

"Uh huh, now tell that to my flight-or-fight. If this bed weren't under me, I swear I wouldn't be supporting my own weight right now."

Having gotten the okay from Joanie, Bon crossed the short distance between the two beds. Now that he was closer, he could see that Odile was trembling a little… and honestly, his own nerves weren't unaffected either.

Part of him was anxious that he'd manage to screw this up somehow. The bullet wouldn't be where he thought it was, or something would go wrong—he wasn't even sure of what, but it's not like he knew anything about guns.

"Why don't we start with Joanie?" Odile asked, saving Bon the trouble. "Ladies first, you know?"

"This must be how nurses feel when they give kids their shots." Making her way over, Joanie hopped up beside Odile and let Bon pass her the revolver. Checking the cylinder again just in case, she found it satisfactory and turned off the safety. "Put your hand out for me."

Smiling out a breath through grit teeth, Odile laid his hand on the bed. "If you shoot me I'm actually going to flip out, I hope you know that."

"I'm not going to shoot you." Placing the muzzle to the top of their hand, Joanie pulled the trigger.

Click.

"Whew!" Slumping back a bit, Odile let out a breathy little laugh. "Okay puppy, take your turn before my shriveled little heart gives out."

Feeling a little better for having seen it done, Bon took the gun and checked it one last time before hovering it over the same hand. Click.

"That should be it."

"Oh thank god. Let's never do that again."

Intravenous had sat themself on the bed, staring forward at nothing as Post-Op and Matthias finished inspecting the gun. She'd already taught them both how to use it, and now there was nothing to do but wait.

Matthias was going first, so Post-Op could work herself up to it. Pointing a gun at someone wasn't exactly easy for a nurse, empty or not.

The puma didn't suffer from the same hesitation, although he certainly didn't look like he was enjoying himself as he pointed the gun. "You sure about this?"

"I'm sure."

Click.

Intravenous didn't twitch. But their feathers were shivering, betraying the tremors that had started running through them, and their heart was racing like it wanted to get away.

Still, Intravenous kept sitting. 

Post-Op took the gun next, stepping a little closer than Matthias had been. Slowly, she lifted the gun up. "…I don't think I can do this."

"It's okay. You won't be hurt on that side of the gun." Intravenous tried to smile, but they weren't sure if they succeeded. "You're not in danger."

"But you're scared."

Yes, they were, but that felt more like their body's response than their own. It wouldn't keep Intravenous from doing this. "I'm fine."

"You're shaking!" Post-Op's voice was suddenly loud, upset filling her tone. "I can't point a gun at you when you look like that! I won't!"

Part of Intravenous felt like she had failed. But another part of her, the little animal of her nervous system, was honestly relieved. "Then we won't do the task."

They couldn't possibly point a gun at Post-Op when she was so convinced she would be killed, and the poor girl would likely have the same problem now with Matthias as the target. So it was simple: they wouldn't finish the task.

"I'm fine with that," Matthias offered, his face as neutral as ever. "Having things pushed on me isn't something I'm a fan of, anyway."

"But…" Post-Op almost argued, but quickly gave it up. As nervous as she was about the penalty, she knew she wouldn't be changing her mind. "…is it really okay?"

This time, smiling came easy. "We'll get through this," Intravenous promised, her heart still beating in her throat. "Our own way."

"So, how did a young you find yourself with a gun?" Aaron-Ramato asked, sitting himself down on the floor. Katie held the revolver just like he taught her, matching his conversational smile with her own.

"Oh, my dad let me hold his. He was a detective." She pointed the revolver at Aaron-Ramato's head, right between the eyes, and clicked the safety off. "He died when I was really little though, and my mom died in childbirth. Ian and I were the only members of our litter who survived, too—that's why it's always been the two of us."

Click.

"Oh!! Did you see that, Miki?? I shot a gun!!" Excitement sparkled in her eyes again, no traces of the earlier conversation's seriousness having stuck. "I did it!"

"You sure did," Aaron-Ramato praised, reaching up to muss the little lady's fur. Her head bowed a little under his paw, but she was still grinning proudly.

"Thanks, Mr. Ramato."

"Don't shorten it, princess, it's Aaron-Ramato or nothing." After giving one last little push on her head, he lifted his paw. "Now let the bear cub have her turn."

"Here you go, Miki!" Katie passed over the revolver, and the cub hesitantly took it into her paws before adjusting her grip. Then she begrudgingly stepped into the spot Katie vacated, standing directly in front of Aaron-Ramato.

"Isn't it thrilling?" Katie asked, still hyped up from her successful trigger pull. "I've always dreamed of learning cool stuff like this. Ian never lets me do anything."

Miki's expression creased at that, but she did her best to focus on the task at hand. And it certainly took all her focus, because her paws were trembling.

Aaron-Ramato gazed at her from behind the barrel. "Are you doubting yourself?"

"It's not that your teaching wasn't good," Miki rushed out, despite him not implying anything of the sort. "It's just… scary. And I keep imagining how it might go wrong, and I feel sick, and—"

"You might not trust yourself, but I trust you." He smirked, all confidence, before lowering his head to the gun she had half-raised. Eyes locked with hers, he slowly dropped his jaw…

"Mister?!" Katie squeaked, watching in horror as Aaron-Ramato closed his mouth over the barrel. The corners of his lips were still smiling.

"Mm?" He gave the horrified Miki a wink, looking like he couldn't be more comfortable. Honestly, it was scary. Miki was scared.

But if Aaron-Ramato really believed in her this much, she had to meet his expectations. Clenching her eyes tight, she gave into panic and squeezed the trigger.

Click!

Aaron-Ramato eased the barrel out of his mouth, still grinning proudly. "See? You couldn't possibly hurt me."

Clicking the safety back on, Miki hurriedly shoved the revolver into Aaron-Ramato's chest. "Y-you really scared me, though!"

"But nothing bad happened, right?" Katie jumped back to Miki's side, hugging around the other girl's arm. "See? There was nothing to be afraid of!"

Forcing out a breath, Miki soaked in Katie's smile. "Well… I guess you're right." Hesitantly turning to Aaron-Ramato, she gave him a grateful smile too. "Thanks, mister."

"I still don't see the point," Himel complained, taking the empty gun and pointing it at Zeon. When he pulled the trigger, there was nothing but an empty click.

Zeon's ears didn't even twitch. "None of us have reason to trust each other. Asking anyone here to risk getting shot would be stupid."

"Like you said, it was only a risk. But purposely breaking the rules is a guaranteed penalty." Passing the gun to Suture, Himel watched her take the gun and point it at Zeon. Click. "And now all of us are going to be punished for it."

"Supposedly." Zeon watched Suture try to place the revolver back where they'd found it, following the movement with his eyes. The cabinet doors wouldn't open. "But whatever penalty we get might be preferable to a bullet."

"What sense would it even make for anyone to shoot their teammate?" Himel spat, frustration texturing his voice with growl. "Most of us are strangers, and we're all dealing with this shitty game together; why would there be a motivation to kill?"

Gun in his paws, Ian did one final check of the bullets before adjusting the cylinder and pointing the barrel at Viscera's head. "Whoops."

A shot rang out, speckled with the sounds of shattering bone and exploding grey matter. Lavinia covered her ears as best she could with the stubs of her arms, eyes clenched tight as if to squeeze out the lingering sight of Viscera's murder.

When she opened them again, Ian had turned back to look at her. He was smiling, the smoking gun still in his hand, Viscera's blood dotting the white fur of his face.

"Thanks for letting me go second," Ian said, the words almost lost in the ringing of Lavinia's ears. "And for volunteering to shoot at all; this is much more convenient for me."

Lavinia was shaking, feathers fluffed up and trembling around her. Originally the idea had been for Lavinia be the target, since she would struggle to hold the gun without hands… but she'd been too afraid, so resistant to being at the mercy of strangers that she'd immediately shook her head no. So the panda had taken her place instead, smiling fearlessly and helping Lavinia put the gun to her own furry head, Lavinia supporting the gun's weight while Viscera pulled the trigger.

And it had been fine. But then it had been Ian's turn, and… and…

"Here's what we're going to do," Ian said, spinning the cylinder of the gun. "I'm going to keep you alive so I don't look suspicious to our new team, and you are going to do what you do best and not say anything." Making it stop with a slap of his hand, he pointed the barrel toward Lavinia with a merry grin. "If you even think about stepping out of line, just remember I have a bullet left just for you! Do we have an understanding?"

Tears running down her face, Lavinia nodded. There was nothing else she could do but agree. The gorey remains of Viscera were enough to make that clear.

Despite everything, she still wanted to survive. Lord, forgive her.

Having finished their task within minutes of the instructions being given, Grey Team had ample time as they waited for the other teams to finish.

Zeon went to inspect the door he'd shot, hoping for holes he could peek out of. Instead he found both bullets flattened against it's surface, the door's face barely dented.

He clicked his tongue. 

Suture, meanwhile, was at the computer again. Ignoring the PENALTY message in the corner next to their 10 points, she leaned over the desk and opened the Points Menu tab. "Hey guys, I want to run something by you. Mind coming over here?"

"What's up?" Himel stood at her side, following her gaze to the screen. Zeon silently joined them, climbing up onto the empty chair.

"I was thinking about the best way to get everyone out of here," Suture said,  "and I think the biggest danger right now is the fact that we're all pit against each other. So long as there are opportunities to sabotage and compete, the risk of people dying instead of cooperating is going to be higher."

"But teams only combine if people die, right?" Himel stared at the screen, frowning at the Penalty Assignment option. But then his eyes traveled upward. "Wait…"

"If everyone transfers to one team, then we can all work together," Suture finished, hovering their cursor on the Team Transfer option. "It's expensive, but if just one person from each team transferred to the same place, the rest of the teams would start combining anyway from falling under the 3-animal minimum."

"And no one would have to die for it!" Himel added, grin spreading on his face. "And if we do all manage to eventually join the same team, everyone would get to escape together at the end!"

"But pulling it off would require getting everyone on the same page," Zeon said, ears pulling back against his head. "And we don't have a way to communicate with other teams."

"We'll find one," Suture decided. "Maybe whatever this Vote is coming up can help us. Let's look at what's written about it in the Rules tab and try to come up with a plan from there."

"Do you know how hard it is to get by when you're not old enough to own property or hold a job?" Ian was sitting in front of the computer now, gun in one hand as the other scrolled through the game rules. Lavinia (such a good listener, by no choice of her own) was pressed up against the furthest wall she could find from him, feathers still trembling. "To get us food, shelter, and any measure of security, I did all kinds of unconventional work. I did horrible, unspeakable things. And I will continue to, as many times as it takes, to protect my sister."

Clicking out of the rules tab, he opened the Points Menu again. "If we're lucky, we're transferring to Pink Team next round. And if we're not, I'll cause as many 'accidents' as it takes to get to get there." His cursor froze then, the computer stalling for a second before a video of Orchid took over the screen. "Now let's get some more points to bring to my dear sister."

Vote One

"The first task is officially over! Everyone who completed the task should see ten points in the corner of their screen.

Quick note: all rules relating to the revolvers no longer apply—now you can do whatever you want with them! They're my special gift to you 🌸

Anyway, it's time for the Vote! Like I mentioned before, this is another way to gain points. But beware, you can lose them, too.

The structure of the vote depends on how many teams we have in the game. Right now we have five teams, which means we're going by Odd Number Rules.

When the Vote begins, each team will choose an opposing team to decide the fate of. Once you have selected a team, you'll have three options to vote from: Shield, Sword, and Self.

Voting Shield allows  you to protect the selected team from Sword. If another team attacks them, the team you shield is unaffected and you gain five points. You cannot use Shield on yourself.

Voting Sword allows you to attack the selected team. You gain 10 points if they aren't protected.

Voting Self ignores the selected team and allows you to protect yourself. Any attacks against you are ineffective, but you gain 0 points. Being shielded by other teams has no added effect.

If you aren't protected and other teams attack you, every attack loses you 10 points. Any penalties your team incurred worsen your outcomes when attacked.

By the way, if you destroy your computer before a vote your team will be left open to attack without taking an action. Also, penalties stack!

Okay, that was a lot of words and numbers, so review the Rules if you get confused. It's pretty simple once you jump in, though. 

Have fun with my deadly social deduction puzzle!"

The footage ended, and the usual desktop appeared to replace it. A new Voting tab had been added beside the other two, and Zeon immediately went to click it.

The three animals were then shown the teams they could select: Pink Team, Purple Team, Blue Team, or White Team.

"Which should we pick?" Himel asked, looking at their choices. "We still got points despite Zeon taking all the danger out of the task and getting us that penalty, so we can afford to be cautious. Suture, you wanna give a shield to the team your girlfriend is on?"

"She doesn't need me looking out for her," Suture replied with a smile, meeting his eye. "IV might not be the leadership type, but she keeps a cool head and always looks at things logically. Sometimes, a little too logically…" she chuckled. "Anyway, she doesn't need me protecting her to win this game, and I don't think she expects me to. She knows how much I believe in her."

Turning back to the screen, Suture gently took the mouse from Zeon and closed out of the voting tab. Back on the desktop, the list of teams and their members filed down the middle in a column, as they had since the round had started.

"Right now we need points, but we don't want to take anyone else's points away. Everyone needs to keep saving up so we can start transferring together. Voting Shield is our best plan of action." Scrutinizing the list of names, Suture considered the options. "…it's hard to know who specifically will be attacked, though, with most of us being strangers. How do we pick someone?"

"White Team," Zeon said, taking back the mouse. "Odile lied during the meet-and-greet, and because of Himel everyone knows it. Anyone attracting negative attention is likely to be targeted."

"Wait, you're saying we should protect Odile?" Himel asked, clearly not happy with the idea.

"Shield only gives us points if the one we protect is attacked. This is our best bet at guessing right."

Zeon didn't wait for an answer to start enacting the plan, though he got a huffed "fine" as he clicked back onto the voting tab. Selecting White Team from the list of options, the tab presented them with three buttons and a silent camera feed.

Immediately Zeon's ears perked up. "We get to see the room of whatever team we select. Which means the others could potentially see us." Leaping off the chair, Zeon pulled his notepad and pen from his pockets and hurriedly started writing. "You two, try to find where our room's camera is. This might be how we can tell everyone our plan."

"We're voting Self," Odile declared, barely waiting for Orchid to finish his last line of explanation. "Himel's definitely going to aim for me if his team attacks."

"As might anyone else, since you made yourself so suspicious." Bon smiled his usual mocking smile before turning back to the computer. "So I agree."

"It doesn't really matter which team we choose then, does it?" Joanie stared at the list of teams, a little crease in her pierced brow. "Why even give us the option? Shouldn't the Self button be here instead?"

"Maybe it's bad game design." Swiping the mouse, Odile rapidly wiggled the cursor around the team names before clicking at random. Next thing they knew they were faced with three buttons, and one peek into Blue Team. "Oh look, it's my nonbiney buddy!"

"We should attack," Intravenous decided, staring at the voting tab. "We need points to escape."

"But won't that leave us open to attack?" Post-Op asked, frowning a little.

"Our points are at zero," Matthias responded. "We have nothing to lose."

"But we have a penalty! Didn't he say that attacking has worse reprecussions for penalized teams?"

"Do we know what that means yet?" Matthias asked, lighting up another cigarette. Intravenous switched to the Rules tab and started scrolling.

"…no, it's been left vague."

"What do you think might happen?" Post-Op asked, clearly fearing the worst. She looked on the edge of catastrophizing. "What do you think our penalty does?"

"…make you lose more points than usual?" Matthias guessed. He wasn't very creative.

Niether was Intravenous. "…since penalties don't seem to have any impact until the Vote, they most likely relate to voting mechanics." That made sense, didn't it? "Maybe being penalized negates the effect of a shield, or increases losses like Matthias said. It might also disable some of our options."

Post-Op hesitantly nodded, not entirely assuaged of her worries but finding the answers reasonable. "…whatever risk we're taking, we're also risking for anyone we attack. The computer isn't telling us who has penalties."

"We already decided to accept the risks when we didn't complete the task. I want to believe it won't harm us." Resolve firm, Intravenous met Post-Op's eyes. "That means I believe it won't harm anyone else, either."

Watching Post-Op's hesitant nod from the corner of his eye, Matthias reached over and dragged the mouse back to the voting tab. "So, who do we attack?"

"Not Grey Team," Intravenous answered immediately. If there was a risk of unknown consequences, they didn't want to target Suture.

"I wouldn't feel right attacking Pink either," Post-Op added. "They have the most kids on their team."

That left Purple Team and White Team. The three animals stared at the names under each one, trying to make a decision.

"…Oh," Post-Op realized, "isn't Lavinia the songbird? I don't want to do anything to her."

"Wasn't Odile the name that raccoon denied having?" Matthias said soon after. Intravenous clicked the option for White Team.

"If anyone remembers my introduction, they'll have to assume I'll protect my sister." It honestly hurt not to click on her team and immediately shield her, just to be absolutely certain she would be safe, but Ian needed points. He had to play smart. "We're attacking someone."

Lavinia didn't respond—she hadn't left her corner, and was only half-listening to what the possum was saying. Her eyes kept travelling back to the corpse of Viscera, despite her best efforts not to. The smell of blood kept pulling her into flashbacks. 

Memories re-mapped themselves across her body, throbbing in scars and phantom limbs and places she tried not to think about. In short, she was distracted.

"Hmm… oh, wasn't Himel that big brute who kept interrogating my sister? He'll do." Selecting Grey Team, Ian hardly waited for the buttons to load in before voting Sword. The handwritten memo held in front of the camera feed, outlining a plan for everyone to get out alive together, did not interest him.

"…so we should give the shield to my brother," Katie finished, sitting on one of Aaron-Ramato's knees. She'd scrambled onto it as soon as he'd sat to hear the voting instructions, and he'd immediately chuckled at the boldness before scooching back to give her more space.

Miki had sat herself down on his other knee afterwards, trying to fall into the same trust Katie had. "Are you sure? You didn't seem very comfortable with him."

"Well, he is a little… overbearing. Honestly, it's been really nice being apart from him. But I feel bad enjoying myself at a time like this—"

"No, it makes sense you feel that way! You look so much happier now than you did when your brother was around, that just shows how badly you needed your freedom! You don't need to feel bad!"

"Maybe… I've never really gotten the chance to be my own person before. Ian is always—" Katie stopped abruptly, catching sight of the screen. "Mister, what are you doing?"

While the girls were talking, Aaron-Ramato had navigated to the voting tab and read through the options. His attention had eventually settled on Blue Team, and he'd made the selection when Katie had finally noticed.

"Didn't I tell you?" Aaron-Ramato purred, voting Sword. "I'm good at games."

ROUND ONE VOTING RESULTS:

• White Team protected itself (Self)
• Grey Team protected White Team (Shield)
  • Protection was successful! +5 pts
• Blue Team attacked White Team (Sword)
  • Attack was blocked!
• Purple Team attacked Grey Team (Sword)
  • Attack was successful! +10 pts
• Pink Team attacked Blue Team(Sword)
  • Attack was successful! +10 pts

Grey Team and Blue Team were attacked! -10 pts

Grey Team was attacked while penalized!

Blue team was attacked while penalized!

Due to the Death Penalty, one random animal from Grey Team and Blue Team will be killed.