A/N: Okay, so I'm writing about YouTubers again. But this is different, okay, because the characters in Escape the Night are just inspired by the YouTubers who play them, so this is still a completely fictional universe.

I'm actually not really in the Escape the Night fandom, especially as I haven't even seen all the seasons, but I did see about 97% of Season 3, and the Ro and Mat brother/sister relationship kept me coming back every week. So here's what I think really happened when Ro died.

Ch. 21—One Last Person to Save

Ro has always been one of my best friends. We hit it off the moment we met. She's just so sweet and funny and pure, but she has a fire within that I think a lot of other YouTubers can't see in her. So even though they love her too, they don't get her the way I do. I've always felt like she was a little sister I have to protect, even though she's strong enough where she doesn't really need it. She's definitely the person I love collaborating with the most, even if it's usually on her channel more than mine. I wish there was more of an excuse for Ro to come on The Game Theorists, but even though I've been racking my brain for years, I usually just end up baking something fun on her channel. And if too many months go by without us seeing each other, I just get the itch to hear her laugh again.

So yeah, we've always been pretty close. That's why I was super excited when she was invited to come along to this carnival with the rest of us. I didn't know what we were letting ourselves in for, seeing how mysterious everything was, and the fact that no one had heard from Joey Graceffa in a very long time, and we literally had to perform some kind of demonic ritual in order to start our adventure. But I wasn't too scared, not at the beginning. I knew if Ro was by my side, we could get through anything.

When people started dying, however, I began to seriously start freaking out. Not for her, oddly enough. There was no doubt in my mind that she would get through the night alive. There was plenty of drama and secrets and betrayals going on in our little group of supposed friends, but everybody loved Ro. No one wanted to see her up for elimination, and even that one time when she was, she'd come out of it so much stronger and braver that I knew no one would vote for her again. And no one did. At least not that I saw. In any case, her name never got drawn again.

When I died, it was the scariest moment of my life, even though what happened afterwards was kind of a blur. But even though I was terrified, and I was legitimately fighting as hard as I could for my life, there was a tiny piece of me that was glad it wasn't her. That whether I died or Manny did in that round, at least she was safe for one more challenge. That was literally the only thing that comforted me as I took my last breath.

And then when I came back, and saw she was still there, it was the greatest feeling. I was super disoriented, and still scared because I had woken up still in the cursed town with demons going around killing everybody, but seeing her face comforted me, and grounded me, and I could focus on what my friends were telling me. She clung to me for quite a while after that, and I couldn't blame her. If dying was scary for me, it must have been just as bad for her to have to watch it happen, and now that she had me back, she wasn't going to let me go again.

I couldn't have dreamed that we'd both be put in the ring, along with Joey and Manny. And not because anyone voted for us, either. No, this was because we'd all been stupid enough to get cursed. Not that I'd call what Ro did stupid. She got cursed because she was rescuing another person. And she acted so unconcerned as well; she was just happy that she'd succeeded in her mission.

But I couldn't help wondering why I hadn't gone instead of her. I was already cursed, my fate was already sealed! Why did I let my best friend walk into the line of fire like that?

And even though I've already said I know she's strong, and she definitely proved herself to be to everyone else that night, I did absolutely fear for her in this challenge. I didn't yet know what it was, as the four of us solemnly walked towards it, but I knew she was up against three guys who'd I definitely say were the toughest in the group, and who would do absolutely anything to win. Manny was the one who defeated me. As much as I hated to say it, I knew that if I wasn't able to beat him, she wouldn't be able to either. And I had no intention of dying again, which left Joey. But Joey had already escaped death so many times, and even though our trust for him and gone up and down, I think the main reason for that was because all of us were Joey's friends. He'd picked us for that reason; he'd picked Ro for that reason. She had a very close bond with him as well, almost as close as with me. But not quite, obviously.

My mind was racing, trying to figure out a way to get her out of this. Maybe I wouldn't have to? Maybe it would be a baking competition, Ro would definitely trump us all in that. But I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Four competitors did increase her odds of winning, but it was also more people you had to beat. And after all she'd been through, I didn't know if she had the strength to even try at this point, though I knew of course she would try.

I saw the three witches in the distance, ominiously holding a knife each as they stood perfectly still. My heart sank. They would plunge those knives into the loser without a second thought, and I could have cried at the thought of my gentle best friend, who wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone a witch, having to go through that.

And then I saw it. Like a blue ray of hope, I saw a small stuffed dog lying on the side of the road. It was Ro's Blueberry, that she'd won at the beginning of the night and had thrown at a murderous clown almost immediately after. I casually walked over to it, picked it up as discreetly as I could, and thrust it at her.

"Mat, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Shh," I hissed. "Put it under your coat."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

She did, but she was looking at me in confusion.

"Look," I said. "I don't want any of us to die, but one of us has to, and I'd never forgive myself if it's you and I didn't try to save you."

"Mat…"

"The witches are gonna stab the victim, right? But if they just stab that, then you'll be fine."

She looked impressed at first, but then doubtful. "That could work, but what if they can tell that they just stabbed a stuffed animal, and not a person?"

"Just scream really loud."

"But there'll be no blood."

"Then just don't lose," I shrugged. "You're right, it's an absolute long shot, but maybe it'll only have to be a precaution, if you win the challenge. You've only gotta beat one of us."

"I'll try," she said, looking at me with fear in her eyes. "I really really will, Mat."

And I believe that she did. Like I said, she's a fighter, and I knew she was doubtful that the decoy would work, so I know she didn't give up on that alone. But, she did lose, she didn't even make it past the first stage, and she looked at me with the utmost defeat in her eyes.

"Ro," I said, making an attempt to smile. "You've been the best friend I could ask for."

She gave a sad laugh. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too, Ro," I said, desperately fighting tears. "I'll miss you."

I did see her subtly place a hand on her stomach and look at me as she was hauled away, but at that point she could barely stand, and offered no resistance as she was placed on the sacrificial table. That stuffed animal was now her only chance. She was completely exhausted, and could do nothing on her own anymore. I did hope she'd remember to scream, but I suddenly realized that she was right about the blood. The witches would definitely notice the absence of it. And they'd killed people before, surely they'd know the difference between stabbing a person and stabbing a cushion. But I was glad I'd tried. "Be brave, Ro!" I cried. "It's okay!" And as I was hustled onto the next chapter of our journey, I could only pray that it had worked. I had absolutely no way of knowing.

Not until the game was over, and Joey and Nikita and I were walking happily towards the exit. It had been a blur, and I'd almost forgotten that I had yet to find out if my friend was still alive.

"I'm gonna miss Manny," Nikita said.

"I'm gonna miss Ro," I answered, but I said it pretty breezily, because I still had hope. A small ray, a very small ray, but…"

Joey stopped suddenly, and said there was one thing he had left to do, so Nikita and I left without him, and eventually she and I parted ways as well.

I began walking back towards my car, when I suddenly stopped and squinted. I wasn't imagining it, was I? A tiny blur, all green and yellow…

"RO!" I screamed, and raced towards my car with a speed I didn't know I had.

"Mat!" she laughed, throwing her arms around me as I picked her up and swung her around. She had tears on her face and she looked completely exhausted, but she was here, she was alive, and she was still laughing heartily.

"Ro," I murmered, burying my face in her shoulder as I still held her up. "Ro, I was so worried…"

"It's okay Mat, I'm here, your plan worked," she said. "Well, not quite, but it did buy me time. It took them a minute to realize they hadn't actually killed me, and they were getting ready to stab me again when I guess you cleaned the artifact, and they disappeared. Then I just came over here…to wait for you." She looked up at him with shining eyes. "I just had to hope you'd be okay, too."

I smiled as big as a smile as my face would allow. "Come on, Ro," I said, opening the car door for her. "Let's go home."