(A/N: 2018 is coming very very soon (or it may already be here depending on when you read this), so I'd just like to thank you all for sticking with this story and I hope 2018 is great for you all! Btw don't expect any new chapters soon; after this I have to finish Part 06 altogether before I start posting anything.)

There was a frenzied massacre being filmed on-stage.

Tyler gasped in horror as his friends brutally attacked each other with all sorts of weapons. But they weren't props, they were real! And they were spilling blood everywhere, real crimson blood that ran thick and smelled like copper.

"Stop! STOP!!!" he cried out from backstage as he desperately ran over, but suddenly somebody grabbed him from behind by the shoulders. With their firm grip, they paralyzed him in an instant. But even though he couldn't move a muscle, he knew he was in the clutches of the masked person, and he was totally powerless...

No! Let go of me! I have to stop them!

He couldn't even scream. All Tyler could do was watch silently as one by one, his friends collapsed to the floor in bloody heaps. And for each person that died--for Seth, Jade, Sky, Jerome, Mitch, Ryan, Husky, Ashley, Jordan, Steven, Bart, Dave, and Jason--the masked person carved a deep, agonizing slice in Tyler's face.

It hurt. It hurt so much. It stung. It felt too warm and too wet. It was suffocating.

Tyler was crying tears of anguish, but for some reason he started to grin. He didn't even know why he was smiling; he didn't want to smile at all! Why was he smiling?! Everything hurt!

And then Tyler started to laugh uncontrollably.

Stop laughing! Stop laughing!

The rest of the people still alive on the stage turned around to face him.

"What's wrong with you?!" they all asked, staring at him with disgust. "How can you be happy at a time like this?! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Their scornful questions only made Tyler cry and laugh harder. It hurt his chest and gut.

No! You don't understand! I don't want this! How can I be happy?! It hurts too much!

"Tyler, why aren't you helping us?!" everyone suddenly asked. "Why are you just standing there?! Help us! Something's controlling us, and we're being forced to kill each other!!!"

Tyler wanted to respond so badly. He felt like he was screaming at the top of his lungs, but only laughter was coming out.

Yes! I want to help! I want to do something, but I can't move! Can't you see that?!

"Tyler, help me!" Seto suddenly cried out. "I need your help! Please, do something! Do anything! Just help me!!!" To Tyler's horror, a metal claw emerged behind Seto, latched around his neck, and pulled him back. Seto shrieked as he reached his arm out desperately towards Tyler before he was dragged off the stage and out of sight.

Tyler heard the deafening sound of a saw blade swinging through the air and spinning wildly and knew that once it got to them, they'd all be torn apart. He had to do something to stop it! But no matter what, even as the sounds got louder and louder, he still couldn't move. They were all going to die!!!

~~~

Tyler yelled as pain suddenly exploded all over the right side of his body. He woke up with a start and his eyes shot open.

What- What the hell just-?

He then realized that he had fallen off the chest he'd been sitting on and hit the ground hard. Had he fallen asleep somehow?

Groaning, Tyler picked himself up from the floor and rubbed his aching limbs. This may or may not leave a bruise on his elbow and shoulder...

That was when he realized that the mattress was empty.

"Seto?! Slotty?!" he cried out as he scanned the room, only to see that he was all alone. His backpack of supplies was gone too.

No no no no no- Where did they go?!

Tyler fled the room and opened the door, only to see a familiar figure leaning against the wall and struggling to climb the steps, wearing the backpack.

"Ah! Hey! Wait for me!" Tyler yelled as he ran up the stairs two steps at a time. He couldn't tell whether it was Seto or Slotty, though he guessed that it was the latter since the hood was down.

Slotty glanced back at him with alarm before trying to move even faster. However, Tyler quickly caught up with him.

"Oh geez..." Tyler gasped out as he hunched over, gripping his knees. "I am so out of shape... But at least I caught up with you, huh?"

When he didn't get a response, Tyler glanced up and noticed that Slotty's eyes were closed tightly as he cowered in fear.

"...You're Slotty, right?"

Slotty flinched and glanced at him before wincing. "S-Sorry..." he mumbled.

"Nah, it's fine. It would have been nice if you had woken me up instead of just leaving me there, but that's fine."

"No, that's not what I was..." Slotty shook his head. "Never mind." He gripped the straps of the backpack as he continued slowly wobbling up the stairs.

"Hey, let me carry that," Tyler said, grabbing the backpack and tugging it slightly.

Slotty shrieked and tried to shake him off. "N-No! I can carry it!"

"Slotty, it's way too heavy for you. You don't have the strength right now."

"But I-!"

"No buts. I'm carrying it."

Slotty hesitated before reluctantly taking off the backpack. Tyler put it on with a smile. "See? Isn't that much better?"

Slotty crossed his arms over his chest, looking away from him.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Tyler asked with a sigh.

The boy skittishly glanced at him before taking a deep breath. "I really thought Seto would be back by now... But he's still resting..."

"...Are you worried about him?"

Slotty scoffed. "Of course not. I couldn't care less. I just..." His face fell again. "...Sorry."

"What are you saying sorry for?"

"I- I don't have to tell you! You know why!"

Tyler laughed in confusion. "I really don't."

"Well you should have listened to Master and bought a Taser! Then you could have Seto instead of me!"

"Is that what you're sorry for? The fact that you're still here instead of Seto?"

Slotty yelped like he had been caught red-handed doing something very wrong. "I- I don't know why Seto is taking so long, but he should be back soon-"

"Slotty, relax. I don't mind having you around."

"How can you not mind?!"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't want me to be your temporary servant, you hate my master, you're angry at me because I killed Jason-"

"Maybe those are all true, but please trust me when I say that I don't hate you and I don't plan on hurting you unless you hurt me."

"H-Hurting you can mean lots of different things-"

"Hurting me physically."

Slotty stared at him in utter disbelief before shaking his head. "Master's the only one in this world I trust. Trusting another person would mean my trust in Master would be worthless. So no, I won't trust you."

Tyler bit back his retort of "Well your master tried getting you killed for no good reason!!!" and instead just sighed again. "It's possible to give 100 percent of your trust to multiple people, you know that? Trust isn't something that can be divided up among others."

"Don't think I'll fall for your lies," Slotty muttered. "You just want me to join your side and betray Master, don't you? That's why you're just pretending to be nice to me."

"What?! Of course not!"

Slotty scoffed as he continued to walk up the stairs again, though he still had to lean against the wall for support.

"Also, where are you going?" Tyler asked, staying by his side.

Slotty tensed up in apprehension but kept moving.

"I guess you just left me there because you were afraid of how I'd react to you when I woke up, but I still don't know where you're going. You know if MonoWither sees you, you'll just be executed again, right?"

Slotty clenched his teeth and turned away. "N-No..."

"What?"

"...I'm sure I can convince Master if I can prove I'm sorry..." Slotty said softly.

Tyler's eyes widened. "Convince your-? No! It's too risky! What if they don't accept your apology?!"

Slotty stopped walking and whirled to face him. "Shut up! I'm Master's friend! I know them better than you do! I- I saved myself because I wanted to keep serving and helping the one I love! Yeah, that's why! They'll understand, I know they're... nice... and forgiving..." Slotty trailed off before his breathing quickened in a matter of seconds and he slowly reached up to grip the sides of his head.

Tyler knew what all of that meant by now. "Slotty, calm down. Let's just talk this through-"

"Wh-What's wrong with me?" Slotty whispered in horror, clutching his hair tighter and trembling. "Why would I take advantage of Master's kindness?"

"Slotty, stop. You're going to panic again-"

"This is why I'm a horrible friend!" Slotty cried out. "I- I disobeyed orders and now I have the nerve to ask for forgiveness?! I have no right!"

"It's not your fault, Slotty," Tyler said hurriedly. "Please, just listen to me-"

"I should- I should die just for even thinking that!!!" Slotty wailed, slamming the side of his body against the wall forcefully.

"Stop that!" Tyler said, grabbing Slotty and pulling him away from the wall. He hated touching him without his permission when he was panicking, but at the same time, he couldn't just let Slotty keep hurting himself.

Slotty shrieked and struggled for a few moments before suddenly going limp in his arms. "They'll never forgive me at this point..." Slotty whimpered in realization. "They probably hate me so much... I really am just w-worthless trash to them now..."

"Here, let's sit down," Tyler murmured, guiding the unusually-pliant Slotty to the floor. "We can talk this out, can't we?"

"What if they already forgot about me?" Slotty asked softly.

"Forgot about you? Slotty, that's not possible-"

"If they forgot about me, that means... they don't hate me right? So... Maybe it's for the best... I'm such a failure, I'm not worthy enough to be remembered by Master anyway... Master has more important things they have to remember, I probably shouldn't have wasted their memory so much..."

Slotty's wide red eyes were distant and unfocused, and he was clearly talking to no one in particular. It unsettled Tyler.

"Slotty, that's not true," Tyler whispered sympathetically. "You... did everything you could."

Slotty laughed bitterly under his breath, not acknowledging Tyler. "Actually, I was never worthy. Master was just being nice when they said all those things. Now I'm back to having no master. I'm useless again. A total waste of space. I had my second chance and I lost it cuz I'm just that horrible at meeting expectations..."

"Slotty, they basically told you to kill someone and then yourself. That's ridiculous to expect-"

Slotty's voice choked up as tears sprung to his eyes. "All I had to do was just do nothing. Just... nothing. Don't use any magic. Don't move a muscle. Just lie down for a few minutes. And I failed such a simple task. It was literally just doing nothing, how could I fail that?"

"No, it wasn't just nothing. You were going to die. Of course your survival instincts kicked in."

Slotty shook his head slightly. "I should have just ignored them. Like a good servant would. For the sake of my master."

"Are you even listening to yourself? You can't ignore survival instincts like they're nothing! That's why they're instincts. It's your body telling you that something is wrong and forcing you to do something about it."

"This isn't even my body, though... Even though it should be... If I was better, the experiment that created me would have been a complete success..."

Tyler mentally cursed himself for not thinking that through. "Well anyone would have done the same thing in your situation."

"But I'm supposed to be the best servant, not just anyone, and Master only deserves the best of the best. Nothing short of perfect. Anything less is just worthless trash." Slotty practically spat out the last word before staring glumly downward. "Well, I guess that's all I am now..."

"You're not trash at all," Tyler insisted. "You're worth more than that."

"Stop saying the same things Master used to say!" Slotty retorted, a tinge of anger in his voice. However, he seemed too defeated to really be angry. "At least I know for sure you're just lying to trick me. You hate me."

"I don't hate you. I actually think you're extremely selfless... to a fault."

A pretty big fault if you ask me...

"But a truly selfless person doesn't disobey orders just because they're going to die... People are supposed to sacrifice themselves without a second thought for the ones they love... Master's command is always the top priority, that's the basic rule. And I even screwed that up... because I'm a coward who's afraid of dying of all things... even dying for Master who did everything for me... I'm so s-selfish..." Slotty choked up again and hiked his knees up to his chest, hugging them.

His logic was absolute madness to Tyler, and it also hurt to hear. He knew that it would take a long time to help Slotty realize this, though.

"So what are you going to do now?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know..." Slotty said glumly. "I just... don't care anymore..."

Tyler bit his lip. "Okay, um... You probably know about our plan to hide Seto, right?"

"It won't work," Slotty mumbled. "Master knows I'm still alive. They'll find out where I am soon enough."

"Ah... yeah... Well maybe I could pretend you died somehow-"

"Master wouldn't believe you."

"...Okay... I guess that's off the list, then..." Tyler conceded nervously. "Hmm, what else?"

There was silence for a few moments.

"If... If you really want Master to tolerate Seto being alive..." Slotty began hesitantly before trailing off.

Tyler's eyes widened. "Yeah?"

Slotty paused before continuing. "...If you can convince Master that letting Seto live will be more entertaining for the show, then there's a really small chance they'll let him stay..."

"...You really think it's possible?" Tyler asked, his voice starting to get excited.

Slotty glanced away. "I don't know. It won't be easy. I'm 95 percent sure it won't work."

More entertaining, huh?

...

...I could convince them that letting me take Seto's place would spice the show up...

"But a chance is a chance!" Tyler exclaimed. "In fact, I think I know what could convince them!"

Slotty stared at him. "You sound too sure about yourself. What did you come up with?"

"Oh, um..." Tyler laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "I guess you'll find out eventually!"

"What?"

"We should get going!" Tyler said, standing up and offering his hand. "Come on, we can't stay here all day. I don't have that much food left in my backpack, after all."

Slotty stared at Tyler's hand, trembling a little with fear, before grabbing it and letting Tyler pull him up.

"All right, let's get moving! These stairs aren't easy at all!" Tyler started to walk up the steps while still holding Slotty's hand, but he looked back when Slotty didn't move. "What's wrong?"

"...Did I disobey Master again by telling you that?" Slotty asked in a numb voice.

"Um, no, I don't think so. It's not like you were actively telling me to change their mind. And like you said, it probably won't work right?"

Slotty stared down at his feet with uncertainty before walking up the steps to Tyler's side. His footing was still a little uneven, however, due to how weak his body still was.

"Do you need help?" Tyler asked, gentling his tone so that he didn't offend Slotty.

"...No," Slotty replied quietly.

"Okay then. If you do, just ask. I won't mind either way."

Slotty merely nodded before the two of them walked together up the stairs, an unspoken but mutual understanding between them that could almost be called trust.

~~~

The masked person was wearing one of the old flower crowns from the secret room; the one with yellow dandelions, red poppies, and a large oxeye daisy all woven neatly together. The other one, which had red, white, and orange tulips messily arranged together, was just sitting on the desk. The masked person leaned back in their chair and sipped a can of soda with a straw, watching all the security camera feeds with absolute boredom. There was no movement at all.

Annie, Bonks, and Bodil had gone to the potions room, which had no camera, but the masked person knew what they were planning. Tyler wasn't there, but the masked person knew full well where he was.

No, the masked person wasn't concerned about their scheming. In fact, it was all pretty amusing if you asked them.

The masked person finished their can of soda, slurped a little more, before dumping it in the trash. They sat up, pressing their fingers together under their chin. Now seemed to be a good time, right? Or should they wait a bit more?

...Nah, just start the fun now. This time skip is just boring the audience anyway. They want to get back to Seto and Tyler like the shippers they are!

The mask's grin shone in the glaring light as the figure pressed a few buttons on the control panel before them.

~~~

The two of them had taken many breaks at Tyler's insistence. Slotty had eventually needed to lean on Tyler's shoulder for support, much to the former's embarrassment. However, they had made great progress in the past hour or so. In fact, they were near the top now.

"We're almost there!" Tyler said, trying to hide his nervousness.

Slotty suddenly stopped and Tyler had to stop as well.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Slotty's face was pale in fear as his eyes darted around. "Um- Um-"

"Slotty, I know you're scared. But you have to face your master someday-"

"D-Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Tyler went silent as he strained to listen. Very faintly, he could hear something... tapping.

"Something's coming!" Slotty hissed, rushing behind Tyler and clinging to his shoulders.

Tyler pulled out the crowbar, but as the sound got closer, he realized that it was actually coming from behind them...

Slotty realized the same thing and pushed Tyler forward. "Agh! Run!"

Tyler grabbed Slotty's hand and pulled him up the stairs, rushing to the top. The top of the stairs had a large, empty area before two wide doors that led to the hidden passageway. They rushed to the doors, but to their horror, they were locked.

"Why won't they open?!" Tyler shrieked as he kicked the doors to no avail. He could only push them back slightly, but Tyler could see through the crack that there was a latch keeping them shut on the other side. He tried to fit the crowbar between the doors to push the latch up, but it wouldn't fit.

Slotty whimpered as he rose his hands in front of him, trying desperately to summon some magic, but nothing happened. Meanwhile, the noises got louder and louder.

"Slotty, get behind me!" Tyler yelled, grabbing Slotty and pulling him back.

A few seconds later, a giant swarm of Junk MonoWithers reached the top of the stairs and stood there, hissing and baring their fangs.

Tyler clenched his jaw and held the crowbar in front of himself defensively, but the Junk MonoWithers stayed near the stairs for some reason and didn't approach further.

"I'm sorry!" Slotty cried out, clutching Tyler's left arm and burying his face in his shoulder.

"Sorry, huh?"

Tyler gasped and Slotty cringed at the familiar voice. They heard something open the latch and pull open the doors. The two whirled around to see MonoWither hovering in the hallway above another swarm of Junk MonoWithers. But behind that swarm were three people they recognized...

"Tyler!!!" Annie, Bodil, and Bonks shouted in horror, lowering their weapons slightly.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Tyler asked, shocked.

Instead of replying, Annie noticed Slotty cowering behind him and gasped before raising her bow again. Bodil and Bonks followed her line of vision and raised their swords.

Slotty whimpered and grabbed Tyler's arm again.

"Oh, there you are, Tyler! We were wondering where you ran off to! Your friends were so worried, they tried to form a rescue party!" MonoWither said.

Tyler and the other three locked eyes. Since they were separated by the swarm, there was no way they could reach each other, and attacking that many machines at once would be a suicide mission.

"And we see you have with you..." MonoWither shifted their gaze to Slotty and frowned. "Huh? Who the hell are you?"

Slotty's eyes widened in shock before he bowed his head. "Oh... So you did forget about me..." he mumbled.

MonoWither cackled. "Pfft! As if, Slotty! We were just joking around! How could we ever forget our dearest friend!"

Slotty looked up in disbelief. "D-Dearest friend?"

"Yeah, aren't we still friends?"

"Of- Of course we are!" Slotty stammered frantically. "Sorry, I just wasn't sure-"

"No, you aren't!" Tyler yelled without thinking.

"Tyler!" Slotty said, horrified.

Tyler glared at MonoWither. "You have no right to call yourself his friend after everything you did to him."

MonoWither went silent.

"Shut up!" Slotty shrieked. "M-Master, don't listen to him! I swear, we're still friends-"

"WAAAHHH!!!" MonoWither suddenly wailed like a baby, closing their eyes and throwing their heads back. "T-Tyler's right! We were so horrible to you! How could we ever think of killing you?! You were our best friend and did everything for us and we repaid you with something so awful! We're so, so sorry! We're the worst friends in the world!"

Slotty looked like his world had crashed down before him. "No! Master, please don't cry! None of that is true! You just wanted to get rid of Seto because he was spying too much! It's not your fault, please don't be sad!"

MonoWither shook their heads, sniffling. "Oh Slotty, you're too kind. But Tyler is right. We have no right to call ourselves your friend. You deserve better than this. We can never make up for what we've done. We were so hypocritical, blaming the participants for killing their own friends when we tried to do the same thing..."

Tyler was stunned. They had just taken his words and thrown them back in the worst way possible! He had no idea what else he could say without MonoWither further manipulating Slotty.

Slotty shook his head. "It's not your fault at all, but I promise I forgive you! Just don't blame yourself anymore!"

"We don't deserve your forgiveness," MonoWither replied glumly. "Even after we realized our mistake, we tried to kill you again just so we wouldn't have to face you. Go on, be Tyler's friend now. He's probably a better friend for you. He probably treated you better than we ever did..."

"No! Master, please stop! There's no one else I'd rather have as a friend than you!" Slotty was actually crying now. "You- You made me so much happier! You gave me a reason to live again! You treated me better than anyone else in this world, so I'm the one who should be sorry! I disobeyed you and tried to escape the execution!"

Bonks gasped, surprised her theory had been right.

"But anyone would have done that," MonoWither replied. "That's not your fault. Your natural instincts took over. Meanwhile, we were just being cowards... We were so afraid of that mean Seto, we sacrificed you just so he couldn't hurt us..."

"Master, please just let me take the blame!" Slotty begged. "I was the real coward! You shouldn't have to insult yourself like this!"

"But... But we can't fix this!" MonoWither shrieked. "You're the blackened, and the rules say you have to be executed! What have we done?! We can't break our own rules; the audience would call us hypocrites!"

"Who cares about your rules anyway?!" Bodil cried out before squeaking in terror when MonoWither whirled to face him.

"You don't understand! Without the rules, the show would lose its meaning! But now, my own rules are forcing me to execute my friend!"

"N-No they're not!" Bonks shouted. "You're just using the rules as an excuse to get Seto killed!"

Slotty bit his lip, whimpering a little. "I- I'm sorry, Master- I ruined the execution because I wanted to keep helping you, and I was also a coward too afraid to die, but in the end I just hurt you even more..." He collapsed to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground, bowing in front of MonoWither. "I won't run away anymore! I... I accept this punishment!"

"Slotty, no!" Tyler shrieked, kneeling beside him and trying to pull him up. "You can't do this! Please, listen to me-"

"You really accept it?" MonoWither asked, tilting their heads. Their voice was sad, but Slotty couldn't see their sadistic grins above him.

"Yes, yes I do! A-Anything for you, Master!"

"Slotty, they're lying!" Annie snapped. "They're not sorry at all!"

"She's right!" Tyler said. "They want you to accept this! They want you to die without resisting!"

"So what?!" Slotty snapped back tearfully. "I can't disobey Master again! If this is what Master wants, I have no right to question it!"

"If they were really sorry, they'd change the rules to let you live! Wouldn't they? I'm sure that's in their control," Tyler said, glaring at MonoWither.

"...Control?" MonoWither echoed.

"I don't trust you guys at all! You don't care if I live or not!" Slotty countered. "You just want Seto to live! That's the only reason why you're defending me! Well, I see through your lies! I've known Master longer than I've known you, and I know Master is honest and kind! That's why I'll gladly die for Master!"

"...That won't be necessary," MonoWither suddenly said.

"Huh?" Slotty asked, daring to look up.

"Hmm, we were looking back at the official Show Rules, and we noticed something interesting. Somehow, we completely forgot to put all of the rules of the show trial in them! Yes, all of them, including the rule about how the blackened will be executed if they are voted as the culprit!"

"What, are you serious?!" Bodil shrieked.

"Yeah! Don't believe us? Just check your e-Handbooks! We never put any of the rules about the trials in there! So that means... they aren't official rules, huh?"

"So that means you don't have to execute him!" Bonks declared.

"Exactly! So relax, Slotty, you're spared!"

Slotty pushed himself up so that he was kneeling, his eyes full of disbelief and hope. "I am?! I can live?!"

"Well... Only on one condition."

Everyone's relief vanished with that one statement.

"M-Master?" Slotty asked hesitantly.

"What kind of show would this be if no one died at the end of a murder trial? We can't allow that, no matter what! That would disappoint the audience!" MonoWither shouted. "So Slotty, would you please do us a favor?"

"Y-Yes! Anything you wish for!" Slotty beamed.

MonoWither's red eyes shone dangerously.

"Kill Tyler."

Tyler jerked to his feet and backed away from Slotty, holding his hands out. "Slotty, we can talk about this-"

"...Okay, Master," Slotty replied softly, a shadow crossing his face as he pulled out the yin-and-yang dagger from his pocket and stood up.

"Slotty, no!" Bodil shrieked in horror. "Don't do it, please!"

"He won't," Annie hissed as she raised her bow, nocked the arrow, and drew it to aim at Slotty. "Drop your knife or I'll kill you! I'm not joking around!"

"Stop! You'll kill Seto if you do that!" Bonks cried out.

The SDML Archer's aim wavered for a moment before she gritted her teeth. "Seto would understand. He wouldn't want Tyler to die either, and I'm not taking any more chances."

"But you'll probably get executed yourself!" Bodil said, horrified.

"Yeah, MonoWither will just execute you!" Bonks said.

"And if that's what it takes to protect everyone from Slotty, I'll do it!" Annie snapped back. "Slotty, I'll kill you the moment you use that knife!"

Slotty ignored them as he approached Tyler, who continued to back away until he hit the wall.

"Slotty, calm down. You don't have to listen to MonoWither," Tyler murmured, his hands trembling as he lowered them to his thighs.

"Shut up!" Slotty yelled, readjusting the knife so that it was in a stabbing position. "This is for Master! For my friend, who I love! I can't fail them again! It doesn't matter if you were nice to me or not. I'll kill you in an instant! Just like I did with Jason!"

"...I didn't want to do this," Tyler said in reply as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Taser.

Slotty's eyes widened in shock. "...You had one all along?"

"Of course I did."

"But then... why didn't you use it earlier?"

"I said it already, didn't I? You didn't hurt me, so I didn't want to hurt you."

"But didn't you hate me? Why wouldn't you use the Taser the moment you saw me? Then you could have had Seto! I don't get it! Why would you want to deal with someone you hate if you had another choice?!"

"Remember what I said? I don't hate you. Even after everything you did, I don't hate you."

Slotty stared at the Taser, unable to say a word.

Tyler gave him a sad, sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Slotty. You can blame me for this one." Without giving Slotty a chance to respond, he aimed and fired the gun.

Slotty cried out, his muscles seizing up as the electrical darts struck him, before he dropped the dagger and collapsed to the floor.

Tyler rushed over to the unconscious boy and checked his pulse, sighing in relief when he felt it. But his problems weren't over yet...

"Ah! So that's how it ended!" MonoWither said with a cackle. "Gosh Slotty, for all your boasts and claims, you sure hesitated to kill Tyler! But we weren't surprised at all! Unfortunately, this is also pretty bad. Someone needs to take the fall! Come on, any volunteers?"

"N-No one needs to take the fall!" Bonks stammered.

"Yeah! Can't we just agree to drop this whole thing?!" Bodil asked.

"Of course not! But at least we're giving you a choice to get rid of whoever you hate the most! So come on, someone better make a suggestion or we'll execute everyone!"

Everyone looked around, terrified.

Tyler paused for a moment, staring down at Seto. He was asleep, so he looked relaxed again. Relaxed and peaceful... Before Tyler knew it, he was thinking about the good times he had had with his friends, the friends he had never expected he would lose so horribly. He longed for those good times, but they were over. Fate had cruelly wrenched them away from Tyler's life and sent him plunging into a downward spiral. But even still, despite all the despair... he thought of everyone's smiles. Everyone's smiles, including the smiles of those he would never see again...

Without really thinking about it, he leaned over and embraced Seto, feeling his steady heartbeat.

...I'm sorry, Seto, but I made my decision already. You can save the others and get them out of here, okay? I know you can do it. Don't blame yourself for this. I... I needed to do something for everyone eventually...

"...Fine. I'll do it," Annie murmured.

"No!" Bodil shrieked, grabbing her shoulder.

"Annie, you can't!" Bonks pleaded.

"No, I'll be the volunteer," Tyler said, letting go of Seto and standing up.

"Tyler!!!" everyone cried out.

Behind him, Tyler could barely hear Seto mumble, "Tyler...?"

Tyler smiled tearfully, the fond memories of his friends welling up inside of him. "...The funny thing is, I figured I'd have to take Seto's place eventually. So I was already prepared for it."

"N-No!" Annie shouted. "Jason was my responsibility, so I should-"

"I've already made my decision. MonoWither, get it over with."

"Roger that!" MonoWither replied gleefully.

Bonks let out an awful wail and Bodil and Annie just stared at him, paralyzed with shock.

"...Tyler...?" Seto murmured, shifting slightly as he rose to consciousness. "What's... happening...?"

Tyler's heart dropped. If Seto found out what was going on, he would-

"Oh Seto, you're just in time for Tyler's dramatic sacrifice!" MonoWither declared.

Seto gasped as he jerked awake. "What?"

Tyler shut his eyes tightly. "MonoWither, just do it now!"

"Wait- No no no- What's going on?! Tyler?!" Seto stammered frantically. Tyler heard him trying to get up, but he was still too weak.

"Aww, Seto, it's too late! Tyler already volunteered, so you have front-row seats to his execution! But don't worry, he's doing it all for you! Your sin will be forgiven after he takes the fall!"

"No!" Seto cried out in anguish. "Tyler, you can't do this! I killed Jason, I should be the one-"

"Ohhh, but this will definitely spice things up!" MonoWither gloated. "What a brutal plot twist! How will Seto, the flawed and broken protagonist, carry on after his romantic interest sacrifices himself for his sake? There's no way we're passing up a chance to give this show more entertainment!"

"Entertainment, entertainment! It's always about your personal entertainment! More entertainment for your damn show! That's all you want, right?!" Seto shouted. Tyler actually flinched at the sharp anger in his voice.

"Hmm, other than total world domination, yeah pretty much!" MonoWither admitted.

"Well if that's the case, I have an even better idea," Seto said.

Tyler felt his whole body tense up. Seto, what are you doing?

"Oh? Do tell?"

"...The best part of a mystery story is the big reveal, right? The ending where everything comes together for the explanation! That's the best conclusion, right?!"

"Yeah, that's true! So what?"

"Since you agree, I have a proposal. A challenge, actually. We should have one last trial where we-"

"You mean, a thrilling and climactic challenge for you to solve all the mysteries of this place, right?!" MonoWither asked excitedly. "A final showdown between the current survivors and the Puppetmaster that will end depending on if the survivors manage to uncover our identity?!"

Seto stared at them with wide eyes, stunned.

"Why do you sound like that's what you wanted this whole time?!" Annie demanded.

"That's a brilliant idea, Seto! Way better than going the angst route! Yes, yes! This is perfect! We accept your suggestion! Guess you're spared for now, Tyler!"

Tyler released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Hold on. A challenge needs rules, right?" Seto asked. "We need to decide what happens to the winners and the losers. Otherwise, you could make anything up."

"Yeah, definitely! So... Here's what we're thinking! If you guys solve all the mysteries, you win and we lose! But if you make too many mistakes, we win and you lose! If you win, you all get to leave! But if you don't, well... that leads to our next point! For the unfortunate souls on the losing side, whoever that may be, we think it would be fitting to have one last execution!"

"E-Execution?!" Bodil shrieked.

"What, it's the final trial! Either all of you die or we die! Unless, of course, you don't want a final trial and want Tyler or Seto to get executed. Then you could just choose to disagree with Seto's challenge, and we'll execute one of them!"

"I- I don't want them to die! I just..." Bodil trailed off, his face going pale.

"...We could all die if we agree to this..." Bonks said softly. "But at the same time, this is probably the only chance we have to survive together, right? If that's the case, then... I can accept it."

"I agree," Annie muttered. "After all, I swore I'd kill the Puppetmaster. This is my way of fulfilling this promise. Even if I have to risk my life, I will do everything I can to avenge everyone's deaths."

Bodil didn't say a word as he glanced down at the floor. "...Ashley didn't want to die either, but... I feel like she would still agree to do this... Living here forever isn't really survival, is it?"

"Everyone, you all..." Seto trailed off, stunned.

Tyler couldn't help but feel proud of all of them. Finally, the five of them were all united against the true enemy!

"So you all agree! That's wonderful! We're so thrilled to see you all working together! However..." MonoWither suddenly grinned. "We think this challenge should be more fair. Therefore, we're giving you a hint."

"A hint?" Seto said skeptically.

"Yep! Here it is!" MonoWither cleared their throats. "So as you all know, this show started with 16 participants. But excluding Slotty and the Hope Organization members of course, the only people who have entered this building since the killing game started are those 16 participants!"

There was a long pause. Seto's breath hitched as he suddenly realized what they were implying...

"Uh... Okay then...?" Tyler asked, laughing a little.

"What kind of hint was that?!" Annie snapped.

Bonks shook her head. "MonoWither's just messing with us."

"Yeah, they would never give us a real hint," Bodil admitted.

"How rude!" MonoWither shouted. "We were so generous and you dare accuse our hint of being fake?! Fine! We're leaving! You guys can figure out the rest yourselves!"

MonoWither flew away and Tyler whirled around to help Seto stand up. At the same time, all of the Junk MonoWithers scuttled down the steps until they were out of sight.

"Seto!" Annie, Bonks, and Bodil yelled as they ran over to him. The latter two dropped their weapons in the process.

Seto's eyes widened and he had no time to react before Bonks suddenly hugged him tightly, almost knocking him back. "I'm so, so glad you're alive!" she cried out. "You have no idea how worried I was!"

"Really?" Seto asked in a faint, shocked voice.

Tyler, who was still holding one of Seto's hands, couldn't help but laugh. "I told you they were worried! And you didn't believe me!"

"I'm so sorry for voting for you!" Bodil wailed, grabbing Seto's shoulder and burying his face in it. "I didn't want you to get executed, I just didn't know what else to do! Please forgive me!"

"Of- Of course I forgive you... Calm down..." Seto said dazedly, looking back and forth between Bonks, Tyler, and Bodil. The confused, bewildered expression on his face made Tyler laugh again.

Still wearing her bow and quiver, Annie stood a few feet away from them with her arms crossed, unable to meet Seto's eyes.  Seto noticed this and his face fell.

Annie glanced at him before looking away again. "I'm glad you're okay," she mumbled finally.

"We all are!" Bonks yelled tearfully.

"I'm so sorry for voting for you!" Bodil repeated.

Seto was stunned into silence. "You guys..." 

Annie sighed. "...I won't apologize for voting for you, but... I blame Slotty and MonoWither, not you. You were just trying to live."

"Actually, Slotty confirmed that Seto didn't know what happened!" Tyler said almost proudly.

Annie's eyes widened. "He did?"

"...Slotty?" Seto asked, confused.

"Yeah, I asked him if you remembered and he said he made sure you didn't-"

"Wh-When did you get the chance to talk to Slotty? I don't remember him showing up at all..."

Bonks and Bodil actually let go of Seto as they all stared at him in shock.

"You don't remember anything?!" Bonks asked.

"No?"

Bodil gasped. "Not even when Slotty almost k-?!" Tyler's quick warning glance stopped him.

"No, I just remember Tyler finding me and then I went to sleep by the mob grinder. The next thing I knew, I was here on the floor and MonoWither was going to execute Tyler..."

Annie covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widening in horror. "S-So, when you said you didn't know anything, you were... telling the truth?"

"Of course I was! I..." Seto looked at Tyler, his face pale. "What's going on? What's everyone talking about?"

Tyler laughed nervously. "Um, after you went to sleep, MonoWither sent these machines to kill you. The golems and I managed to rescue you, but they got destroyed in the process. When I went to you, it turned out Slotty was there instead. Slotty said that it might have been because you were so weak from using up all that magic. Eventually, we got all the way up here but then MonoWither stopped us. And I guess that's all you missed."

"Do you really not remember?!" Annie demanded.

Seto swallowed nervously before shaking his head slowly.

"...I don't remember Slotty doing any of that..."

PART 5.5- SO FIGHT THE PAST / take back the night 

END

STILL ALIVE: 5 PARTICIPANTS

ITEM GET! You acquired the present "Jar of Warm Soup"