Chapter 2: The Dinner, Let the Games Begin

From of the big oak doors stepped out a woman. She had long blonde hair in a long ponytail, blue eyes, and wore a pale pink dress with white heels. She looked very gorgeous. Rin wondered how this woman knew them. She had never seen this woman before in her life. How does this woman know us? I doubt any of us know her...? Has she wronged us somehow? Maybe...? Either way, she looks amazing...

"I'm glad to see most of you here tonight..." The woman sat at the very end of the table, "My name is Sweet Ann. Why do you think you are all here tonight at my Manor?"

"...Prizes?" Lui guessed, although hesitantly.

"No." Sweet Ann smiled at his guess, "For me to apologize to you." Everyone looked confused at her, "My father and mother have done horrible things to you, and your friends, and family." Sweet Ann spoke, "I never could imagine how horrible someone you love could be to innocent Vocaloids as yourselves. And so, this little stay at my Manor is all in your honor..." Sweet Ann brought her glass to her lips and sipped it before saying, "Enjoy!"

So she's the REAL daughter of Prima and that man...It's nice she's trying to make up for their wrongs and mistakes. She doesn't really look like them though, but what do I know about genetics? Well, at least I don't have to cook for a week! Plus, she's paying us while we take time off of work so that's nice too. I wonder how she has so much money...Perhaps a good job or inheritance money. ...This is really good food...I don't know why Len was so leery about this place...It's perfect...

After dinner, Lily had arrived from the hospital and gone to her room to rest. Everyone else returned to their room to get some sleep shortly after as well. However, Len couldn't sleep. He kept tossing and turning. And, because of it, he kept Rin awake as well. Something couldn't let him sleep...like...as if...something was very wrong here.
"...I'm going to get something to drink."

"Maybe that's why you can't sleep..." Rin murmured. She was tired from the taxi ride and had a full stomach. Len got out of bed silently and left the room.

"...Gumi..." Mikuo sat up in bed. He had heard a noise, and was already on edge.
He and Gumi could sense something evil in this mansion, but Mikuo was the one on the edge, not Gumi.

"Huh?" Gumi sat up, propped up by her elbow. She wasn't really tired, but she wanted a nap.

"...I heard something. I'll check it out, you stay in here." Mikuo headed for the door before he stopped, "On second thought, its better if we stay together, c'mon." He opened the door as Gumi got out of the bed, wearing her orange night gown, "...Maybe you should stay in here to stay safe."

"Dammit Mikuo-kun, I'm coming with you." Gumi was fed up with his paranoia, "Let's check out the noise." Mikuo sighed. Yeah, she was headstrong and stubborn.

The two left the room, closing the door silently behind them. They looked around, wondering if the noise came from downstairs or from the hallway. They heard it again: downstairs. They cautiously went down the stairs, careful to make little to no sounds as they did. Mikuo looked towards the dining room, and motioned Gumi to follow. They opened the doors, ready to flee: Len.

"...Len!" Mikuo said in a hushed voice, "What the hell!"

"...I needed a water." Len replied with a whisper, "What are you doing here?"

"Mikuo-kun heard a noise." Gumi replied with the same quiet tone, "It must've been you."

"Sorry." Len apologized, "...Are you on edge too?" Mikuo and Gumi nodded.

"So, how have you and Rin been?" Mikuo asked him.

"Good. We're not irresponsible like you." Len bluntly said.

"I used protection." "I'm proud of you." *CRASH!* "What was that?"

The three looked around upon hearing the noise. It sounded as if glass or dishes had fallen to the ground. It came from the kitchen. Gumi went ahead of the boys, and into the kitchen. She tried to flick on the lights: they were dead. Gumi checked to see if a light bulb burst, but she saw no glass. She didn't see any proof that something had been broken. She went near the pantry, and saw a shadow. Holding a knife.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gumi ran out of the kitchen, hugging Mikuo and trembling. Mikuo held onto her, looking confused.

"What's wrong Gumi?" He asked her, but she wasn't making any sense. She was starting to cry.

"Something must've spooked her. Take her back to the room." Len suggested to him, "I'll see what's going on."

"Okay. Be careful." Mikuo warned him before helping Gumi to their room, leaving Len to head into the kitchen.
Len stepped into the kitchen, ready for anything. He quickly grabbed a knife that was in a drawer, now truly ready for anything to spring out at him. Len cautiously stepped around the kitchen, looking everywhere as he did. He saw nothing during that time, and heard nothing. So, after ten minutes of looking around, he left the kitchen with the knife. Just in case. Just in case anything were to happen.

"Where is he...?" Rin sat in bed, alone and cold. Len was like her personal heater she could snuggle with and couldn't get burned by, "I'm starting to get worried..." Rin heard an odd noise from upstairs and looked at the ceiling: it was bulging, "The hell?" Rin got off the bed, freaked out.
Why is the ceiling bulging? And why is it turning red? The ceiling collapsed on the floor, spreading dust throughout the room. Rin coughed and covered her eyes until the dust settled. And then she screamed.
"Rin!" Everyone except Sweet Ann and Avanna ran to the room, Len being the first there as he had sprinted up the stairs and down the hall like a maniac.
Rin stood at the doorway, shaking and trembling frantically. Len held onto her frame, worried about her. She was pointing at the rubble in the room. Meiko, Luka, and Lily slid by her to see what she was so scared of: a dead human corpse, freshly killed. And. A note.

"...A note..." Luka picked it up carefully.

"Ew...smells horrible..." Lily covered her nose and stepped over to Rin. She had a sensitive sense of smell now from an accident with a nose piercing.

"...It says..." Luka read the note a few times, as if in disbelief, "Now that you're well fed, time for the game to begin. Every night, fight for your life, or end up like the humans in the house." Everyone looked like fear had been repainted on their face.
After escaping one hell, they had entered another. It was as if fate was one cruel bitch that wanted to torment them once again. It was horrible, and some even felt sick to their stomachs thinking about it. Well, Lily was about to from the smell.
"...There's more!" Meiko saw on the back of it, and read it aloud, "whoever lives to the end of the week, will know why you're truly here...'The Shadow'"

Yeah. Fate is one cruel bitch. Who is the Shadow you ask? You're allowed to guess. I won't say who's right or wrong. Because I already know who it is. And Lily did try to get a nose piercing, and it ended badly...very badly. Who will die? Who will live? Who's orchestrating this? Find out next time! ~KingdomMitsumi