"Well, well, well, what a startling turn of events this was!" MonoWither said, giggling. "It appears that you've all reached an agreement as to who the real killer is! That was a close one! Seto, you're lucky you were there to save all of them!"

Seto didn't feel "lucky" at all...

"Well then, we guess it's finally time for the true ending of the second Show Trial! Please use the lever in front of you and cast your vote! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?!"

Once again, there was hesitation. Mitch was clearly remorseful, and it was hard to believe he'd actually killed Jerome on purpose. Was this the right thing to do? If they voted, then Mitch would be horribly executed just like Sky was. They'd essentially be killing another friend of theirs, an idea that no one wanted to think about even if said friend had killed another...

"What are you guys waiting for?" Mitch demanded, making everyone flinch. "Hurry up and finish it already!"

Ryan's face was as white as a ghost. "But- But Mitch-"

"I said 'finish it'!" Mitch yelled. "Stop wasting time and hurry up!"

One by one, everyone cast their vote. Once the final vote was in, a golden slot machine on a platform rose up in the center of the court circle. The three slots spun wildly, and Seto was only able to catch faint glimpses of the participants' pixelated faces. He noticed that now Sky and Jerome's faces were grayed-out as well. Finally, the slots came to a halt and stopped on Mitch's image. Confetti burst from the machine as the words "GUILTY" flashed on top of the machine.

"Well, this was certainly an unexpected outcome, but good job everyone! You voted correctly!" MonoWither said happily. "Yes indeed, the one who killed Jerome was his best friend Mitch, the Super Duper Hunger Games Champion, and not Ryan!"

Mitch wiped his eyes and stared down at the floor.

"I- I-" Ryan stammered, tears running down his face. "I'm sorry, Mitch..."

"Ryan, enough already," Mitch murmured, closing his eyes. "I've already given up."

"But... why? Why would you kill Jerome?" Husky asked quietly, echoing everyone's thoughts.

"You two were so close..." Bonks remarked, still numb with shock.

Bodil nodded sadly. "You guys never left each other's side... So why would you kill him?"

"Don't tell me it was because you took advantage of the fact that he trusted you!" Annie shouted.

Mitch crossed his arms over his chest and released a long sigh. "I'd rather not say why; it doesn't matter anyway. Let's just get this over with. MonoWither, start the execution."

"No, Mitch!" Ryan yelled desperately, slamming his fists against the podium stand. "I still need to understand why you did it! Why did you kill Jerome?!"

"You don't know either?" Ashley asked, confused. "I thought you were there when the murder occurred..."

"I- I was, but even still..." Ryan turned to Mitch, a look of anguish on his face. "Why did you stab him like that?!"

Mitch grit his teeth and dug his fingernails into the sleeves of his checkered hoodie. "You want to know the reason why I killed Jerome? Huh? You want to know? It's because I'm a lying, cheating piece of shit who never deserved to be his friend in the first place!!!" His voice echoed throughout the courtroom, silencing everyone. Mitch swallowed and looked away, his face consumed with shame.

MonoWither cut in. "Since Mitch here is really awful at explaining stuff, we're going to explain it for you! This once again all had to do with the motive we gave you!"

"Motive? You mean the secrets?" Jason asked.

"Correct! You see, Mitch here has a terrible secret that he's never revealed to anybody! It was so horrible in his eyes that he didn't dare tell a soul. Nope, he didn't even tell Jerome, his closest friend! Why? Because if his secret was ever found out somehow, he'd lose everything! He'd lose all his fans, his reputation, and every single one of his friendships-- even his friendship with Jerome!"

"It- It's that bad?" Steven asked, horrified.

Seto looked at Mitch, who was still refusing to meet their eyes.

"Well, we'll let you be the judge of that!" MonoWither replied. "Back to the story! Mitch hid this secret for years, hoping that he could keep it hidden forever, but then he signed up to participate in this exciting show and eventually realized that everything he cared about was at stake! Now, during the first motive he almost tried to end the show because of the people he saw in his video, but he didn't do it because of two people: Jerome and Ryan! If he ended the show, he'd have to sacrifice them in the process!

"But then along came the hateful and lovable MonoWither, who decided to dig deep into your pasts and find your darkest, most scandalous secrets! And when Mitch looked at his slip of paper, he was horrified to see that we'd hit the jackpot! You want to know what was written on there that was so awful? Well, here it is!"

"Mitch uses strength, endurance, and sensory enhancement potions to illegally win the Hunger Games."

Mitch visibly flinched as though he'd been punched in the stomach. His face turned sickly pale with guilt and he clenched his fists tightly.

"Wh- What?" Tyler asked, bewildered. "That's your secret?"

"So... all those matches Mitch won..." Bonks said, trailing off.

"He cheated in all of them!" MonoWither replied cheerily. "None of them were actual victories!"

"Mitch, you used enhancement drugs and never got caught?" Jordan asked. "You went that far?"

Mitch hesitated before nodding reluctantly. "Yes," he said faintly. "I suppose... I should tell you everything..."

~~~

"I started the first time Jerome and I played in a Hunger Games that wasn't local. It was a regional championship thing. I wanted to win so badly, but I didn't know how. The other tributes were so much stronger and better trained. And plus we were just 16 years old, although we'd managed to get into the championship somehow, just barely...

"Then some man approached us when no one was looking and said that he was selling something that would ensure one of us the title. Jerome said no, of course. I said no too, but the man gave us his business card anyway. Jerome went home and threw his in the trash. But... I didn't throw out mine...

"That night, I went out to meet the man. He was part of this secret group of... people. Some were sorcerers, and some were not. I don't even know the group's name. They created all sorts of weird potions, not just enhancement drugs, along with lots of magic stuff which I only know vaguely about. They sold them for lots of money on the black market..."

Seto's eyes dilated in horror when he heard this.

"A... secret group of people who sold magic potions?" Ashley asked, a strange look crossing her face. "Is that what you said?"

"Yeah... Anyway, they made me sign a contract and everything. I agreed pay them a percentage of my earnings per Hunger Games match. I didn't think much of it. I was young and stupid back then. Then they gave me the drugs and told me when to use them and how. They said that it would pass the drug tests, and they were right. I didn't even expect the potions to work so well, but as you all know, I ended up winning the thing. Everyone called me an underdog who managed to rise to the top. They didn't suspect anything illegal was going on, not even Jerome..." Mitch paused. "Jerome should have won that match, he managed to get second place without cheating at all. I ended up beating him at deathmatch..."

Ryan was staring at Mitch, stunned into silence.

"We started getting into more important Hunger Games matches after that, started becoming more famous. But I felt really bad. I thought about telling the truth sometimes, but..." Mitch swallowed. "If I did, I'd lose everything. No one would trust me anymore. My family would be ashamed of me. Jess would break up with me. All of you guys, you'd all avoid me. And Jerome would never ever speak to me again. After all, he was usually supposed to be the rightful victor in the Games...

"At one point I thought about quitting the Hunger Games, claiming that I was focusing on other things, and break the deal off. But then..." Mitch started gasping shakily. "But then I was afraid the group would reveal everything to the media, and I'd look even worse now that people knew I'd lied to cover up. P-Plus... I was afraid they would try to exact revenge somehow... I've heard rumors about what groups like that do to people who stop paying... But even still, it's quite cowardly how I couldn't just accept the consequences of my actions, isn't it?"

Seto hunched over his podium, sick nausea broiling in his stomach.

"So I continued. I never told anyone about it until today, but I know MonoWither's showing this to the public somehow. And if those videos aren't real, then my family and Jess are probably watching this too..." Mitch closed his eyes in deep remorse. "Well, that's the story of how Mitchell Hughes fucked up, lied, and cheated to get to where he was today. The end."

No one knew what to say. There was just too much despair...

"But... Why would you kill Jerome over something like that?" Ryan demanded. "The more I hear this, the more I don't understand, Mitch!!!"

Mitch looked anguished. "I didn't mean to kill him... I just didn't want him to know... I didn't want him to hate me... I panicked..."

"Wait, we're not done with the story!" MonoWither yelled. "Ahem! Anyway, Mitch was horrified when he realized that his secret wouldn't be a secret any longer if he didn't act fast! But he couldn't sacrifice his two best friends, despite the pressing motive. That was when he realized that there was a loophole in our rules! You see, we never mentioned how many killers were allowed! So, after a little encouragement from yours truly..." MonoWither winked and giggled, making Seto grit his teeth in anger. "...Mitch, out of pure desperation, came up with a plan!"

"I wanted the three of us to kill one person each," Mitch admitted quietly. "I bought swords and then told them I had something I wanted to say to them that night. It was a stupid idea, I don't know what I was thinking. It's not like Jerome or Ryan would have ever gone through with it..."

"Well we're announcing it right now: only one person can end the show and leave!" MonoWither declared. "Should multiple killers survive the trial, they will remain alive while the others perish, but the killing game will still continue with the few that are left! Also, one person can only kill up to two people, so don't try slaughtering everyone else so that you can avoid the trial! Anyway, Mitch told his two best friends his plan, but then... Ooh, why don't you see for yourself?"

The screen on the wall turned on to show a video recording with Mitch, Jerome, and Ryan.

~~~

"Wait, Mitch, what the hell are you saying?" Jerome asked, horrified and stunned.

"You want us to kill someone?!" Ryan questioned with equal dismay.

Mitch nodded. "If we each kill someone, then we can all get out of here."

"But we'd sacrifice the others!" Ryan yelled. "We can't do that!"

Mitch looked away, pain flashing across his face, before his amber eyes hardened. "We have to."

Jerome burst into nervous laughter. "Come on biggums, what's gotten into you? Why are you talking about killing the others all of a sudden?"

"It doesn't have anything to do with that motive MonoWither gave us, right?" Ryan asked.

Mitch's silence answered his question.

"Oh Mitch, I'm sure your secret's not that bad!" Jerome said reassuringly.

"Yeah, just tell us! Everything will be fine!" Ryan added.

The two of them started walking towards Mitch, who quickly backed away from the two, shaking his head frantically. "You don't understand- I can't tell anyone-"

Ryan faltered, looking slightly hurt. "Don't you trust us?"

Mitch's amber eyes darted back and forth between the two. "Of course I do!"

"Then just tell us!" Jerome said, continuing to approach Mitch. "Come on biggums, it's probably not as bad as you think!"

Mitch backed into the wall, right next to the nightstand. "No, no I can't..." he whispered, looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Why not?" Ryan asked from behind Jerome.

Mitch felt his mind swirl around in a jumbled mess. He was so nauseous, it was a struggle not to throw up and pass out right then and there. "I'll- I'll lose everything- I'll lose all of you-"

Jerome grinned at him. "Come on, stop over-exaggerating! We're best friends! I've known you since fourth grade! There's no way you could have done something that bad-"

Mitch felt something in his mind snap at that statement. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!!!" Mitch shrieked, pushing Jerome a few steps back.

Jerome's eyes widened in shock. "...Biggums?"

"Mitch, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Ryan asked, disturbed.

"SHUT UP!!! JUST GO AWAY!!! GET OUT!!!"

Jerome tried to calm him down. He stepped forward, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "Hell no, I'm not leaving you like this. Come on Mitch, you can tell me anything-"

"JUST GET OUT!!!"

Mitch didn't know what he was thinking. He could feel his heart pound in his chest like the ominous beating of a drum. He was consumed with panic and dread. He couldn't let Jerome know about his secret. He couldn't let anyone know no matter what...

Mitch felt as though he was falling down a dark chasm. There was an overwhelming sense of blind terror that only consumed him further as he plummeted closer and closer to the very bottom. Jerome's voice sounded very distant for some reason.

Jerome touched Mitch's shoulder comfortingly, squeezing it a little. "I promise I won't get mad..." Jerome murmured. "Everything will be fine, Mitch."

everything will be fine

Mitch's stomach suddenly twisted into a tight knot and his mind went utterly blank.

everything will be fine

He didn't even register his left hand grabbing the sword lying on the nightstand.

everything will be fine

everything will be fine

everything will be fine

When Mitch returned to his senses a few seconds later, the first thing he saw was Jerome staring at him with stunned betrayal. Jerome was trying to speak, but instead of coherent words, only rivulets of blood spilled from his lips. Mitch looked at Jerome with confusion, wondering what was wrong with him, before his eyes trailed down and noticed the sword that was plunged straight through the bacca's chest.

With a sickening jolt, Mitch realized that he was the one holding the sword. He gasped and let go of the sword's hilt as though he'd been burned. Unable to steady himself, Jerome fell backwards and hit the floor.

Ryan screamed in absolute horror and took several steps back when he saw the blade still embedded in Jerome's chest. "OH MY GOD!!!"

Mitch covered his mouth with his hands. "Oh- Oh god-" He rushed to Jerome's side, kneeling down next to him. "Jerome- Jerome I'm so sorry-"

Jerome coughed violently, sending more blood spilling from his mouth. "M- M- Mitch..." he spluttered, his dark eyes colored with disbelief and pain.

Mitch grabbed a nearby blanket and pressed it against the wound, taking great care not to push the blade further into Jerome. "Just- Just stay calm!" Mitch exclaimed frantically, choking out an anguished sob. "We can save you, just stay calm! I can fix this, you're going to be fine..."

"S-Stay here!" Ryan ordered, doing his best not to panic. "I'll go get healing potions in the infirmary!" He immediately rushed out of the room.

Jerome struggled to speak. "Wh- Why... did... you..."

"I'm sorry- I'm so sorry Jerome-" Mitch said tearfully, apologetic words spewing from his lips. But all the apologies in the world wouldn't take back what he'd done... "I didn't mean to- I'm so sorry- I should have just told you- I'm so sorry..."

Jerome blinked sluggishly and Mitch could feel the bacca's heartbeat slow down. "No no no no!" Mitch cried out in alarm, grabbing Jerome's paw like a lifeline. Jerome squeezed back with what little strength he had remaining. "Don't leave me! Please! I need you!" Mitch begged desperately. "You have to hang in there! Ryan's coming back soon, and he's going to save you! Just hang on for a few more minutes!"

Jerome's breaths had reduced to sharp gasps of pain. His eyes fixated on Mitch's rapidly blurring face. He tried to focus on Mitch's anguished words, but he was so very tired...

He smiled weakly. "B... Biggums..." he whispered, his voice rattling in his chest.

"Yeah?" Mitch said, sniffling as he wiped the tears away.

Jerome didn't have the strength to say anything more. His black eyes continued to stare at Mitch's face. They never left it for one second, not even when his body went limp and he took one last shuddering breath. His eyes widened as the life faded from them.

Mitch felt Jerome's grip on his hand loosen. "No please..." Mitch whispered, shaking Jerome's unresponsive shoulder. "Jerome... Jerome please..." Mitch lowered his head and pressed his ear against his chest, straining to hear a pulse. There was only a cold empty silence.

Mitch slowly removed the sword from Jerome's chest and placed it to the side. He took deep breaths, praying that this was just some stupid dream, but it wasn't. The reality was that Jerome, his best friend since childhood, was dead. And it was all his fault.

"Come back!" he pleaded. "Come back Jerome!" Mitch wailed in pure anguish and hugged Jerome's body, not caring about the blood. It wasn't like it mattered anyway, he already had blood stained on his clothes after he stabbed him. "Don't go! Don't leave me! I'm sorry!!!" He sobbed irrevocably, clinging onto Jerome as though his life depended on it.

Ryan returned with no healing potions whatsoever. He took one look at Jerome and knew. "So... MonoWither was right... It was too late..." he whispered in horror. "Wh- Why Mitch? Why did you do that to Jerome?"

Mitch didn't answer. His sobs had subsided, but he was still pressing his face in Jerome's fur.

"ANSWER ME GODDAMN IT!!!" Ryan shrieked, running to Mitch and pulling him from Jerome. "WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?!" Mitch, still kneeling by the bacca, merely stared up at him with a vacant expression. "TELL ME!!!" Ryan said, shaking him. The young man remained completely unresponsive.

"Shit. Shit this is bad," Ryan cursed shakily, running his hand through his hair. "This is a murder... This is a murder... Oh god, Mitch what are we going to do?! If the others find out, then you'll- you'll be-" He couldn't bring himself to say the word.

Mitch still didn't respond. His face was now completely vacant and his whole mind was numb with shock.

Ryan looked around, trying to keep his breathing steady. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Okay. Okay I think I know what to do. We're going to make sure no one finds out about this. You hear me?"

Silence.

"I'm going to take that as a yes. Let- Let's move Jerome to the pool first..."

~~~

The clip ended at that point.

"I... I snapped," Mitch said, sniffling as he struggled not to break down into sobs. "I snapped and Jerome paid for it. Oh god, I wish I could take back everything..."

"Mitch..." Annie said in shock, not knowing what else to say.

Mitch wiped his eyes and his face darkened. "I... I don't want your pity," Mitch said coldly. "I don't want anyone's pity. All of this was my fault, and my fault alone. There's only way I can atone for my sins. MonoWither, let's get this execution started."

"Roger that!" MonoWither replied, grinning with anticipation.

"No!!!" Ryan cried out. "Mitch please! Don't leave us!"

"JUST SHUT UP!!!" Mitch screamed. "THIS IS WHAT I WANT, OKAY?! I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE!!!" Ryan's eyes widened and his face paled. Mitch stared at Ryan before shutting his eyes tightly, horrified by his sudden outburst. "I... I'm sorry Ryan... I appreciate you trying to save me, but... just get out of here without murdering someone. The same goes for the rest of you. If you must, then live here forever... But please don't let any more deaths happen..." Mitch looked around at everyone, his eyebrows raising when he saw the sympathy and sadness in everyone's expressions. "Come on, guys. Why on earth would you feel bad for me?"

"Because it's all MonoWither's fault!" Jason yelled.

"What? Not this nonsense again!" MonoWither complained. "Mitch stabbed Jerome because of his secret! Did we force him to stab Jerome? No!"

"Mitch wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for you!" Husky shouted angrily.

"Are you kidding us? We just led him in the right direction!"

Mitch bowed his head. "This isn't like Sky, everyone. I... I killed Jerome for an utterly selfish reason. It was an accident, but I killed Jerome only because I didn't want anyone to know my secret. I was too prideful, and... maybe I was jealous of him. Yes, MonoWither's motive was what lead me to do it, but... I didn't have to listen to them. I should have just told everyone my secret. I should have just faced the consequences for all the lies I've told, all the immoral things I've done. There's no one to blame but me."

"Upupu! Mitch has got it right! He's nailed it right on the head!" MonoWither said.

The sad thing was that no one could refute Mitch nor MonoWither, and yet none of them wanted Mitch to die. Mitch hadn't killed Jerome intentionally. He felt remorse for his actions. He had wanted to change, but was held back by his fear of losing his reputation, his pride, not to mention that mysterious group, and now he was going to pay the price with his death...

Bonks started to wail. "Why are you so cruel?! Why do you keep doing this to us?!"

"Because it's entertaining!" MonoWither explained. "The public just eats up all this drama! Now stop interrupting the execution! It's gonna happen anyway, whether you like it or not!"

Everyone glared at MonoWither with hatred and fear. Once again, they were helpless to stop the execution of their friend...

"No... No please... Don't leave me here..." Ryan whispered. "Please don't kill Mitch... Let me take his place... I'd give my life to trade places with him-"

"No can do, Ryan! Don't you remember what I said when Tyler tried to do the same thing! You tried to frame yourself and you failed! Now suffer the consequences!"

Ryan suddenly burst into hopeless sobs and looked away. It was the first time Seto had ever seen Ryan have an emotional outburst as strong as this. Mitch stared at him sadly. "Ryan, it'll be okay. It's not your fault. I don't even know why you tried to save me in the first place, but I couldn't live with myself if you all died instead of me. So don't blame yourself, all right? Just live, and don't lose hope."

"Now then, we've prepared a very special punishment for Mitch-"

"N-No, wait Mitch!" Ryan cried out, reaching his hand out to his friend. "I still need to tell you..."

"Tell me what?" Mitch asked, confused.

Panic and desperation flashed across Ryan's face. "My- My secret- it has to do with you-"

"Oh who cares about that, Ryan?" MonoWither snapped. "Mitch has more important things on his mind than what your little secret is! Come on, do you really think he wants to know?"

"Of course I do," Mitch said, bewildered. "Ryan, what do you want to tell me?"

But Ryan, taking MonoWither's statement to heart, merely shook his head in resignation as his sobs of anguish echoed throughout the courtroom. Seto watched him, filled with sympathy for him and hatred for MonoWither...

"Okay, are we done with the interruptions? Finally! Now then, as we were saying before, we've prepared a very special punishment for Mitch, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Hunger Games Champion! But, well, we guess that title's a lie, huh? Maybe a more fitting one would be 'Super Duper Minecrafter Level Hunger Games Cheater, eh? Well you know how the saying goes..." MonoWither grinned devilishly as a red button rose up in front of them and a claw by the wall lifted a gavel into the air. "Cheaters never prosper."

Mitch turned around to see a door swing open, revealing a hallway entrance that was still blocked by a gate. With remarkable calmness, he walked over to it. "Tell us Mitch, are you ready to face Jerome in the afterlife?" MonoWither asked tauntingly. "We're sure he's got a lot to say to you! Have you rehearsed your lines? Have you prepared yourself for the hatred and anger you're sure to receive from him?"

Mitch stopped and turned around, a sad smile on his face. "Oh, that's not going to happen. Jerome's gone to heaven. I'm afraid I'm going the other way."

"Hahaha! Good answer!" MonoWither cackled heartily, their red eyes gleaming as they swung the gavel down on the red button. Seto watched as the gate opened and Mitch walked onwards to his fate.

~~~

https://youtu.be/9fltyMA4IgM

SHOW'S OVER: MITCH HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!

The camera showed Mitch standing in a dark tube. The only source of light was from the hole above him as his platform slowly rose up through the ground. When it reached the surface, Mitch had to shield his eyes to adjust to the sunlight. He blinked rapidly and squinted before lowering his hand.

Mitch was standing in an arena-- a Hunger Games arena, to be exact-- which was surrounded by a forest. Mitch looked around, noticing that the other tributes were automatons. Some of them were masculine in appearance, had brown "skin", and wore turquoise shirts and indigo pants. Others were more feminine in appearance with orange "hair" that wore green shirts and brown pants. All of them were fanged, had sharp claws, and had red left eyes that looked similar to the ones on MonoWither.

Some of the tributes were blocked from Mitch's sight by a giant Cornucopia in the center. Inside the Cornucopia sat a bunch of chests, their contents unknown. Seto assumed that they had deadly weapons that they would actually draw blood, unlike the Hunger Games that Mitch and Jerome normally participated in.

This was an execution, after all.

A counter on top of the Cornucopia flashed the number 10.

10... 9... 8...

Mitch began to hyperventilate noticeably. His amber eyes filled with fear and his muscles tensed as he processed the situation. Although he'd been wholly accepting of his death, the fact that he was going to die still terrified him...

7... 6... 5...

Seto briefly wondered if Jerome was watching Mitch right now. If he was, did he want Mitch to survive? Or was he angry at Mitch and just waiting for him to meet his deserved fate?

4...

No, Jerome wouldn't think that. He was too good-natured. Too forgiving.

3...

Mitch appeared to swallow down his fear and poised on the plate, preparing to run as fast as possible. The 23 other lifeless automatons did the same.

Ryan, watching the screen with rapt attention, started to whimper loudly.

2...

Mitch stared at the Cornucopia and licked his dry lips. As he focused on his destination, he suddenly felt a familiar presence. It sent chills racing up his spine, but at the same time he felt reassured. Determination swelled up inside of him. If he was going down, he wasn't going down without a fight.

1...

The remaining 11 participants watched with abated breath, all wondering if somehow this execution would turn out differently...

0.

Immediately, Mitch leapt off his plate and sprinted to the Cornucopia. The other tributes did the same, but Mitch got there first. He opened the nearest chest and pulled out a diamond sword before turning to the left and stabbing an automaton, who had been lunging at him with its sharp claws. Mitch kicked the automaton off his sword and immediately sliced off the head of another one, who also had a diamond sword.

It occurred to Seto that every weapon in the Cornucopia was probably crafted with diamonds. A normal Hunger Games match lasted for hours, but MonoWither wouldn't want this execution to last for that long.

Spurred on by an unfounded motivation, Mitch grabbed the fallen automaton's sword in his other hand, stepped on top of a chest, and jumped off of it, stabbing two unsuspecting automatons in their backs. As his feet hit the floor, he ducked to avoid the horizontal slice of an axe, which would have hit his abdomen had he not reacted fast enough. Mitch pulled his left sword out of the automaton's body and stabbed the axe-wielder in the chest, which went limp and dropped the axe.

Mitch flinched for a moment, his previous action bringing back a terrible memory, before he snapped out of it. The sword still impaled in the axe-wielder's chest, he lifted the body slightly to block a volley of arrows from an archer in the distance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tribute rush towards him with a sword. Still blocking the arrows, Mitch pulled out his right sword and parried the blow before thrusting the blade into the automaton.

The archer, who probably had the intelligence of a skeleton, quickly ran out of arrows. Mitch, noticing this, dropped the automaton, pulled his sword out, and threw it at the archer. It impaled the automaton straight through its head.

Seto realized that despite Mitch's secret to his numerous victories, his title of Super Duper Minecrafter Level Hunger Games Champion wasn't totally inaccurate. In just a matter of 30 seconds, Mitch had already taken out seven tributes. Maybe, if he hadn't felt the need to cheat all those years ago...

Maybe it's all your fault, Seto.

Seto forced that thought out of his mind and continued focusing on the screen, praying that Mitch would make it somehow, against all the odds against his favor.

Unfortunately, fourteen tributes suddenly decided to team up (probably at MonoWither's command) and all charged towards Mitch from one side. Mitch, who had the sense to see that defending himself would be pointless, quickly turned around and fled. He switched the sword in his right hand to his left as he ran through the forest, adrenaline coursing through his veins. The automatons followed behind him in hot pursuit.

One of the pursuers had a fishing rod and cast the line, managing to hook onto Mitch's right shoulder. Fishing rods in actual Hunger Games matches were specially made to only slow people down. This one was a real fishing rod. Mitch let out a strangulated cry as he was pulled down onto the floor, the snagged hook continuing to dig into his flesh. Tears of agony filled Mitch's eyes as he grabbed onto the hook and tore it from his shoulder, which started to bleed profusely. He gasped raggedly as he picked himself up, grabbed his sword, and continued to run, although at a slower pace.

Mitch realized that the fourteen tributes were trying to form a circle around him. It was almost like they were trying to herd him to a certain destination. This compelled him to run even faster despite the pain shooting from his shoulder. He tried not to look at the gaping wound.

A tribute suddenly appeared right in front of him and Mitch veered away as fast as he could. They were really trying to steer him somewhere...

Mitch burst through a clearing and immediately came to a halt. Time seemed to slow as the breath faded from his lungs. Standing off to the side was a familiar bacca, although his back turned to him. Mitch's lips formed Jerome's name as he stared in disbelief.

That was when he saw an archer on the other side of the clearing, raising a bow and aiming an arrow straight at the bacca.

He couldn't lose Jerome again... Not again...

Without a second thought, Mitch ran forward and leapt in front of the arrow. His vision went red as the arrow pierced the right side of his chest.

When Mitch came to a few seconds later, he was lying flat on the ground. He weakly turned his head to the side and saw the bacca, who was facing him now. The bacca, or automaton to be exact, was wearing a MonoWither mask.

Mitch's amber eyes widened in shock before he laughed quietly under his breath, a watery smile forming on his bloodstained lips. It was a smile consumed with pain, remorse, and utter despair.

The automaton raised its diamond axe as it approached the fallen SDML Hunger Games Champion, its joints creaking as it walked towards its prey. Shiny tears trickled from Mitch's eyes as they fixated on the bacca's masked face, never leaving it for one second, not even when the bacca swung the axe down in a deadly arch.

Crimson blood splattered the grass as a cannon boomed in the distance, echoing throughout the arena.

~~~

"Oh, how tragic!" MonoWither exclaimed with glee. "Wouldn't you agree?"

No one spoke. Not even Ryan. What could be said after watching all that?

"Oh poo, stop being so boring now! After all your deliciously despair-filled reactions to the killer's story, you seriously have nothing to say? The audience wants to know what you all think!"

"You want to know what I think?" Ryan asked through his teeth.

MonoWither flew close to Ryan's face. "We're listening!"

Ryan suddenly tried to punch MonoWither, who immediately flew backwards to avoid the blow. "Woah, what was that for?!" MonoWither asked.

"That was for killing Mitch and Jerome!!!" Ryan yelled, tears of anger filling his eyes.

"Violence against your show's hosts is strictly prohibited!" MonoWither cried out.

"Yeah, I know," Ryan hissed. "Do your worst."

"Ryan, no!" Husky shouted. "He's going to kill you!"

"Shut up! I don't care anymore! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ANYMORE!!!" Ryan shrieked, his voice tearing through his throat as he broke down into heartrending sobs.

"Oh dear, are you planning to tell Mitch that little secret of yours in the afterlife? How pathetic, never even have the guts to tell him when he was alive, even when it was your last chance..." Ryan visibly flinched at that statement. "Well, we guess that since you missed, you technically didn't break the rule..." MonoWither mused. "We guess we can let this go for now..."

Something about that statement was a contradiction that confused Seto, but he didn't mention it. After all, if MonoWither changed their minds, then Ryan would die...

He'd had enough of all this.

"How much longer are you going to do this?" Seto demanded.

"Whatever do you mean, Seto? Are you already getting bored?"

"How many more of us do you plan on killing?"

"For the last time, we didn't kill anyone other than Seth! And even then, that was his fault for breaking the rule!"

"Just answer my goddamn question, Henri Rennet!" Seto demanded.

"Okay, okay, geez! That's all up to you guys! If you don't kill anyone, then the show lasts until we die of old age or boredom!"

"But what's in it for you?" Seto asked.

"Hey, you gonna keep asking meaningless questions? You know, since you tried to kill Bonks and utterly failed, we could tell everyone your secret right now..." Seto's eyes widened in horror. "Ahem, listen up everyone! Seto's secret is that half-"

"Stop!" Seto cried out desperately. "Please don't!"

MonoWither grinned. "Fine, we'll let you off the hook this time."

Seto trembled as he stood there, unable to feel relieved without feeling so very guilty...

"Anyway, that concludes the second trial of 'Super Duper Minecrafters'! We hope you've enjoyed the exciting drama so far! Now that the queerplatonic ship of Merome is dead, what other ships will be broken? The answer to that is in a later episode! Stay tuned for more!"

Ryan glared at MonoWither with seething hatred. Everyone else was lost in thought, reflecting on all that had just happened. To see two close friends torn apart in such a cruel manner... To see Mitch kill Jerome and die as a result... To see Ryan, the one who'd faced despair with determination, rendered hopeless...

Seto stared at Jerome's portrait before finally looking over at Sky's, which was to the left of Jade's. Sky's had two pink tentacles crossed over the face. Seto then looked over to the empty spot to the right of Jade's where Mitch had been standing just minutes ago, and had an awful feeling that he would eventually return to the courtroom one day and see his portrait standing there...

MonoWither was right, Seto thought to himself. This was truly a place devoid of any hope. Everyone was capable of killing someone else. If Mitch could kill Jerome of all people, even unintentionally, it had to be true.

No one was safe from the clutches of despair.

And being someone fully acquainted with despair, Seto began to wonder if there was really no way he would be able to save his friends from themselves, if not from himself.

PART 02 - I'D GIVE MY LIFE / to trade places with you

END

STILL ALIVE: 13 - 2 = 11 PARTICIPANTS

ITEM GET! You acquired the present "Proposal Ring".