The hooded figure kept their head lowered as they stepped over some of the bodies. They made their way closer to the camera and sat down on the floor in front of a kitchen counter. They leaned against the counter, breathing heavily from the exertion, before slowly taking off the hood to reveal their red eyes and utterly emotionless face.

Seto felt his heart stop.

It was Jade.

~~~

Jade... was part of the Order?

The very thought was so far-fetched to Seto, he wanted to dismiss the whole video right away. Perhaps he was just imagining things. Maybe it was just some other girl. After all, this girl, though closely resembling Jade, had red eyes, and her curly hair was cut shorter. And also, her face... it was so emotionless, unlike the Jade he'd known...

Plus, Jade wasn't a killer. There was no way that kind, unassuming girl could be the same person here who'd stabbed all those people to death with practiced ease. Hadn't Jade reacted with horror at the thought of people killing each other? Jade hadn't even been able to put up any sort of fight against Slotty in the previous video. 

This girl was involved with the Order, while a normal schoolgirl had no reason to be...

The girl tensed up as a woman wielding a bludgeon ran into the room behind her, hyperventilating as she stopped to rest. However, the woman couldn't see the girl from behind the counter.

Suddenly, a man with a sword rushed in. They both screamed upon seeing each other and raised their weapons, only to stop.

"C-Chloe?!" the man cried out.

"Shawn?!" Chloe yelped at the same time.

They stared at each other in horror before lowering their weapons.

"What the hell are you doing here-?!" Chloe asked.

"I should be asking you that!"

"Fuck- What's going on?!" Chloe was shaking violently. "Why are we being put through this- this- what did they call it, a killing game?! This is crazy! I had to swing this thing at someone to get them to stop attacking me! I could've died! People are dying!"

"...I think this has to do with them."

"Who's 'them'?!"

"I- I don't know about you, but..." Shawn lowered his voice. "I was getting my fix from this weird person who said he belonged to a group..."

Seto felt chills run up and down his spine. Why did it always come back to the Order?

Chloe's eyes widened. "Oh god- I was too, but- I was going to pay them back, I swear! I just- I ran into some problems and I had to dig into my savings. That's no reason to put us through this!"

"I know, but they're crazy..." Shawn looked at her. "Look, I don't know how many of us are left, but let's stick together, okay? We- We can get through this somehow, just... trust me..."

Chloe gulped and nodded. "Y-Yeah- Okay-! I'm just so glad you're someone I know!"

"...Yeah, me too. So I was thinking..."

As the two of them were distracted, the girl slowly put the hood back over her head and reached forward, tugging a bloodstained sword from what was probably a corpse off-camera. With her other hand, she reached into her pocket and braced herself.

"That's the plan," Shawn murmured. "Now-"

Suddenly, the girl leaped to her feet and hurled a flask at Chloe, which shattered all over her torso. She screamed and collapsed to the ground, convulsing as a terrible poison took effect. Shawn shrieked and stared at her in utter shock, too distracted to notice the girl rushing behind him with the sword. He gasped and coughed up blood as a sword blade emerged from his gut through his back.

She twisted the blade before dropping the body to the ground. She then stared at the camera, showing her very-familiar but eerily-blank face.

That can't be Jade. There's no way... That's a trained killer, not Jade...

A voice spoke through an intercom. "Well done. You completed the task perfectly, Jade."

Seto was so stunned, he barely recognized the voice as belonging to the middle-aged woman from the video where those Order members had been sawed in half. He guessed that she'd taken over as leader of the Order sometime after his uncle had died.

"...Is there anything else I need to do, Master Melinda?" Jade asked in a deadened voice.

"You will be taken back to the facility immediately. We'll call you out when we need you again."

~~~

Now Jade was in another killing game, this time seemingly taking place in some other house. She was swinging an axe at people, taking them down with practiced ease until only one person was left.

This person was staggering backward, shrieking in pure terror as Jade approached her with the axe. "Get back-!" she screamed, pointing her knife at Jade with shaking hands. "D-Don't come near me-!"

She cried out as she backed against the wall. Jade continued to get closer, but she had slowed down. The woman made desperate swipes of the knife at her as she shut her eyes tightly, cringing in anticipation.

Jade stopped, watching the woman. There was silence except for the woman's frantic breaths.

"...What... are you doing...?" Jade asked slowly, like someone who was very unused to speaking.

"H-Huh?!"

"You're... supposed to be attacking. Or running away. Why are you just... standing there?"

Melinda's voice came on the intercom.

"What are you doing?! Finish her off!"

"I will. I'm just curious."

"Sh-She's right-! Just do it already-!" the woman stammered. "I've given up!!!"

"...Given up...?" Jade asked, confused.

"Jade, that was an order! Kill her now!"

Jade tightened her grip on the axe and swung it down, ending her life. She didn't even flinch as the woman screamed and crumpled to the floor, convulsing as her life faded away.

"Why didn't you obey immediately?!" Melinda asked. "That was the first time you ever disobeyed an order!"

"...I wasn't disobeying. I was going to do it."

"Well why did you wait?! What use was asking her what she was doing?"

"I was just curious."

Melinda scoffed. "Curious-?! You weren't made to be curious, your only job is to participate in these killing games, understand?!"

Jade was silent for a few moments.

"...Yes, Master."

~~~

Another killing game was shown. Once again, Jade was standing among an expanse of corpses. One last person with a knife was swinging at her desperately, forcing her to back up. She raised her own blade in retaliation...

...and then tossed it aside.

The man stared at her in shock. "What the hell are you doing?!" he screamed, looking around. "Is- Is this a trick?! I saw you kill so many people, it has to be!!!"

Jade shook her head and removed the hood from her head before raising her hands. "It's not a trick. I'm just... giving up."

The man frowned, seeing how young she was, before shaking his head. "Like I'd ever believe that!!!"

"It's true. My Master only wants the one with the most XP, and if you kill me, you'll have it all. She must have her winner, and I... am tired."

He hesitated for a few moments, before crying out and rushing at her with the knife. Jade closed her eyes, but the blow never came. Instead, a gunshot rang out.

Jade flinched as some of the blood splattered across her face and she opened her eyes to see the man collapse to the floor, bleeding from his head.

"What were you THINKING?!" Melinda shrieked.

Jade blinked. "Why couldn't you just let me die?" she asked, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Melinda spluttered a bit, flustered. "D-Don't question your orders! How dare you do something like that?! You weren't ordered to do it! You almost wasted all of our research!!!"

"...I thought you just wanted more XP."

"Why do you even know about that?! And plus, it has to be you! You're our ultimate killing game survivor!!!"

Jade's eyes narrowed. "But why does it have to be me? Why am I-"

"Stop questioning your master! What's gotten into you?! Why have you been acting like this lately?!"

Jade was silent.

"Well?!"

"...I've done this before, haven't I?" Her voice was almost a low growl.

"Wh-What kind of question is that-? Of course you have-!"

"No... Even before all this..." She paused. "I... I believe I was once with other kids my age... And that we had to kill each other then, too..."

Seto thought back to her motive video. Was this why her classmates had been brutally killing each other? Had they been forced to by the Order?

...There weren't many other reasonable explanations for something as outrageous as classmates brutally slaughtering each other...

Jade stared down at her bloodstained hands. "I... must have won that one too, right? Which is why I'm here... But why didn't I remember this before-? Why don't I remember anything before my training here-? I must have had parents and... other family members... and perhaps those kids were also close to me-"

"SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!!!" Melinda shrieked.

Jade obeyed.

"...Unbelievable. Not only are your memories coming back, but you're actually starting to care. And to make things worse, you know about XP. This wasn't what we wanted. We altered your soul and increased your intuitive and analytical abilities so you could fight more effectively, not this."

"So have I become a faulty test subject?" Jade asked. "If so, perhaps I should be replaced-"

Melinda scoffed. "No, I see your little game. I won't play it. I won't let you get what you want. Instead... We shall wipe your memories between each killing game."

Jade tensed up. "Wipe my memories?"

"Why should you care? Won't this be better? Now you won't have to deal with those pesky memories and the feelings they cause. You can be the most effective test subject possible. You won't feel tired about killing over and over again, because you won't remember! Isn't this what you want?"

Although she was still barely reacting, she looked slightly unsettled as she bit her lip. "...But Master, I-"

"Shut up! You've said enough today. Get out of there; we're taking you back immediately so we can wipe your memories."

"But my memories- I don't know if you should-"

"SHUT UP AND OBEY THIS INSTANT!!!"

Jade's eyes glazed over in resignation as she looked down at the man's corpse.

"...Yes, Master."

~~~

The videos finally stopped and the screens went back to camera footage. Seto felt dizzy; he vaguely realized that he had been holding his breath for a long time.

What the hell did this all mean? Was Jade involved in this show because this was yet another one of the Order's killing games? But the Puppetmaster hated the Order and had already eliminated them with Slotty prior to this. So did this have to do with the supposed vendetta the Puppetmaster had against Jade? Jade had been a part of the Order, so the Puppetmaster must've wanted to eliminate her too...

But then why did Seto and his friends have to get roped in as well? Was it just for the Puppetmaster to taunt Jade?

Not to mention, Jade's memories had eventually been removed between each killing game she won. But had she remembered her time with the Order in the time he'd known her? Had she kept it all a secret, just like she'd pretended she'd been chosen from a lottery? Or... had the Puppetmaster done something similar to her like they'd done to Slotty, where they had removed all her memories before joining the Order? That would explain her behavior in the resort, where she had acted like she was still a normal schoolgirl.

That being said, if Jade really had been a trained killer and remembered it, why had she been so eager to trust Sky? How had she not noticed he was trying to kill her?

...Was it because she'd finally succeeded in giving up?

Seto shook his head. Unfortunately, whatever the answer was, Jade had taken it to her grave. He needed to stop theorizing and collect his thoughts. He needed to list out what he did know.

Jade's motive video with her classmates killing each other was probably orchestrated by the Order, which was why all evidence had been burned away and no one had been able to escape. No one, except for Jade. Somehow, she had won that killing game and had all her memories of her past life removed. The Order had trained her to be an efficient killer, even going as far as to alter her soul and enhance her intuition and analytical abilities. For whatever reason, perhaps to study XP, the Order put her in many other killing games and forced her to win. However, it seemed that she was capable of remembering things over time and grew tired of this, so they decided to wipe her memories between each killing game.

Sometime between these videos and now, the Puppetmaster had gotten Slotty to help them kill off the Order. Jade's master, who she'd referred to as Melinda, was one of the people who'd been killed by the Puppetmaster's giant sawblade in the video he'd seen before. And Jade, for whatever reason, had been kept in the resort; this time with her Order memories removed and her past memories intact. Why this was the case, Seto didn't know... But Jade had eventually died, murdered by Sky after she'd let him in her room.

And what was the Puppetmaster's motive for involving Jade in all this? For involving him and his friends? Seto couldn't figure it out. Perhaps it really was for a vendetta, after all. It made some sense.

Seto looked at CODIE.

"...Thank you for showing me this."

CODIE grinned. But then he suddenly... stopped.

"What the hell- Why am I back here again?!" MonoWither shrieked. They glared at Seto. "Hey! Explain this! It happened twice already, so it's not an accident!"

Seto tried to hide his dismay and glared back. "How am I supposed to know? I thought you were just on autopilot again."

MonoWither huffed. "Whatever. You guys are wearing our patience down. We've had it with all these frustrating interferences!" 

"What are you talking about?"

"Hey Seto, what was on that gaming device we crushed the other day? We know it was helping you and Steven spy on us. What was it, some kind of program? A communication device?"

"Why are you asking this now? It's gone anyway."

At least, that's what I thought...

"Well perhaps it would interest you to know that someone has been repeatedly trying to hack into the network. Is it Hope Organization again? Geez, they really don't know when to give up. It's not working, of course, but it's infuriating! We keep having to run around and make sure everything's in check! Would you care to explain what's going on?"

"...I really don't know anything about that."

And that was the truth. He could only assume that it really was CODIE's doing, though.

MonoWither rolled their eyes. "Yeah, right. You know what? Investigation's over!"

The last statement echoed as it played over the speakers.

Seto's eyes widened. "Already?!"

"We gave you more than enough time!" 

"N-No you didn't! I haven't even been able to explore everything-"

"Well too bad, so sad. Hopefully your friends were able to investigate for you. Speaking of your friends, shouldn't you be wondering what happened to Bonks? Or more accurately... what Bonks is doing right now?"

Seto's gut turned cold with dread. "Wh-What do you mean-?"

MonoWither cackled. "Hey, don't look at us! You have the cameras, don't you?!"

Seto scanned the screens for movement. Tyler and Bodil were still in the kitchen, talking to each other it seemed. But he couldn't see anything else out of the ordinary... 

MonoWither flew closer and the screens showed different cameras. Seto looked again, and his heart almost stopped. Bonks was on the VIP Floor in the resort, crouching on the floor. She was hunched over... something.

That something resembled a body.

Oh god. 

No.

"Hmm, wonder what's up with that!" MonoWither said, giggling.

Seto immediately stood up and rushed out of the room. He quickly found the portal room and ran through the numerous portals before he entered the resort, finding himself in the lobby. He couldn't stop to rest as he ran to the elevator and hammered his finger on the button to go up. It seemed to move at a snail's pace compared to how fast his heart was beating.

Please be okay please be okay please be okay-

Finally, the doors slid open.

"BONKS?!" Seto shouted as he hurried forward, only to stop in horror when he saw them.

Annie was lying on the floor, completely motionless. Bonks was hunched over Annie, frantically trying to give chest compressions. She looked up, tears in her eyes.

"HELP! ANNIE'S DEAD!" she shrieked.

No no no no no-

Seto ran over and grabbed Annie's wrist, feeling for a pulse.

"I- I couldn't feel a pulse- I don't think her heart's beating-!" Bonks sobbed out. "P-Please Seto- Please do something- Annie can't be dead, no no no- Annie, wake up!!!"

"Wait." Seto concentrated, trying not to mistake his own pulse for hers. It was so faint, he could barely feel it, but...

"She's alive," he murmured, his shoulders slumping in relief.

"Sh-She is-?!" Bonks asked in disbelief. "Are you sure?!"

"I can barely feel it, but her heart's beating. Hold on, it's getting stronger."

Annie let out a small groan.

"She's breathing now! Thank god- I thought she was dead-!" Bonks was now sobbing harder, but this time for a different reason. "I- I don't know CPR, but do you think that's why-?"

Seto cringed. "Er, no. You weren't doing it right."

"Oh." Bonks looked down at Annie, who was starting to twitch a little. "That's it Annie, wake up..."

Annie finally opened her eyes, blinking at them. "...Huh...?"

Bonks choked up. "YOU'RE OKAY!" she exclaimed as she hugged her.

"Woah!" Annie patted her on the back, confused. "What's this all about? Did I die or something?"

"I THOUGHT YOU DID!!!"

Annie looked at Seto, who was wiping tears from his eyes. "What?! You too?!"

Before Seto could respond, more footsteps entered the room.

"What happened?!" Bodil shrieked. He and Tyler rushed over to Annie, who was sitting up despite Bonks hugging her.

"Are you okay?!" Tyler asked.

"I mean- I guess these two thought I died or something?" Annie muttered. "Look, I was just trying to find Bonks when I got gassed for some reason. You know, the same gas the Puppetmaster always uses on us?"

"Ah," Seto mumbled. 

"Yeah. I don't really know why, but that's what happened..."

"Wait, you were gassed while you were looking for me?" Bonks asked, her body tensing up.

"Well, yeah! Where were you this whole time, anyway?"

"Um..." Bonks stared at the ground. "I- um- I might've gotten gassed, too..."

"No way!" Tyler exclaimed. "Both of you?!"

"I was- I was just walking here trying to see if there were any clues, but then the room filled up with gas..." Bonks trailed off for a bit. "Then I woke up and... saw Annie lying here. I panicked cuz I thought you died..."

"Well, that explains why you were gone so long," Seto murmured.

"But why did you wake up just now?" Bodil asked suspiciously. "I mean, Annie took a lot less time to wake up than you did! Plus, if you were here, wouldn't you have just gotten gassed again?!"

Bonks flinched. "I- I don't know-! M-Maybe it's because the investigation ended?!"

"What?! It ended?!" Annie yelped.

"That's probably it," Seto reasoned. "The Puppetmaster must've managed to reverse the gas's effects and wake you guys up somehow. That's probably why they woke up around the same time and Annie woke up so soon even though Bonks was out for most of the investigation."

"Makes sense," Tyler said.

Bodil crossed his arms over his chest. "I- I see. Sorry, I think I'm just... nervous."

Tyler patted him on the back. "Don't worry about it. We all are!"

"...Right..."

Seto looked around. "I don't know how long MonoWither's willing to wait for us, so we'd better head to the basement..."

There was a heavy silence as everyone processed what was about to happen.

To everyone's shock, Annie started to laugh softly. For once, her laugh wasn't harsh or bitter. It was... genuine.

"Annie?" Bonks asked, her eyes wide. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course I'm okay, I'm just... I'm just glad it's finally almost over." Annie smiled at them. "I don't know how this'll end, but if we finally have the chance to end this killing game once and for all... I can't help but feel a little excited. Don't you guys think so too?"

Seto bit his lip. While he understood the sentiment, there were a lot of truths that were going to be hard to accept. Especially for Annie...

"Yeah..." Tyler mumbled softly before grinning. "Yeah! We're almost at the end! We made it this far! Just one step further and this will all be over!"

Annie laughed again. "Exactly!"

Oh no, not you too...

Seto wasn't the only one feeling conflicted.

"H-How can you get excited at a time like this?!" Bodil yelped. "I'm so nervous I could puke!"

"I- I don't get it either..." Bonks mumbled. "All I can think of is all the bad things that could happen... I wish I could ignore it like you can..."

Bodil looked at her. "...Yeah."

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm nervous as hell," Annie replied. "But for some reason, I'm not processing that right now."

"It's probably too soon to say this, but... I actually feel some kind of hope for once..." Tyler admitted.

Seto looked back at Annie and Tyler. They had no idea about the horrible despair that was waiting for them. He dreaded seeing their anguished reactions. But moving past that...

The five of them had gotten this far together. They had survived through this hell together to reach here. And sure, this happy moment wouldn't last much longer, and it seemed like a foolish dream to wish for all of them to escape together, but... he was also tired of not knowing when this killing game would end.

"I guess nervousness and excitement aren't that far off from each other," he murmured, trying to pump himself up as well. "Let's go, then. To the last trial!"

~~~

Somewhere in the world...

"Any progress on breaking through the barrier?"

"No, it's still too strong for us to bypass. Not even CODIE is making much progress."

"Damn. We have to keep trying, though. For their sake."

"Of course we do, Tristan. But what if we never break through?"

"Then it's all up to them to defeat the Puppetmaster."

"Do you think they can do it? The Puppetmaster won't go down easily. What if the Puppetmaster's one of them?"

"...They've made it this far, haven't they? We just have to hope..."