(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
(A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
1. Accuse Tyler
2. Keep denying
I can't die here...
I can't let MonoWither get what they want...
I can't let CODIE's sacrifice be in vain...
I... must survive... for everyone else's sake...
Even if I have to sacrifice... him...
"...Tyler..."
"Y-Yeah?" Tyler asked, confused.
"...It was you, wasn't it?" Seto asked, forcing himself to look at Tyler directly.
Tyler flinched and looked around. "Wh-What? What was me?"
"You used the invisibility potion I gave you... Right...?"
"What invisibility potion?" Bonks asked, her eyes widening.
"The day after the potion room opened... I made Tyler an invisibility potion as a gift..." Seto murmured.
"I- I didn't use it-!" Tyler stammered frantically. "I promise-! I still have it-!"
"Then can you show us?" Annie asked.
"Y-Yeah- Here- Here it is-!" Tyler fumbled for awhile before finally pulling out the flask from his pocket. "See, I didn't use it!"
"Why is it only half full?" Seto asked, forcing his voice to remain steady.
"Wh-?" Tyler glanced at it briefly before turning back. "It was already like that!"
"No, it wasn't. I filled it up to the top. So that means you used some of it..."
"Tyler, is this true?" Bodil asked, his voice trembling.
"No of course not- I- I-!" Tyler stared at Seto, terrified, before realization dawned on his face.
"Seto... I promise I'll always trust you, no matter what..."
Tyler gulped down his objection and went silent.
"Oh my god... Don't tell me..." Bonks whispered. "Tyler...?"
"Seto... are you suggesting that Tyler used the Invisibility Potion to sneak in and kill Jason?" Annie asked, stunned.
"I... I am..."
"Then what about Tyler's alibi?" Annie asked. "Tyler, didn't you tell us that you were struck with a Potion of Weakness by the masked person?"
"It's true that that happened... But a Potion of Weakness wouldn't have lasted that long," Seto lied.
"It wouldn't?" Bodil asked.
"Yeah... I thought it was strange at first, but I just... chose to ignore it..." It took all of Seto's willpower to keep going. He was doing the right thing, he was thinking about the safety of everyone! He couldn't let MonoWither win, of course a sacrifice had to be made!
"But how did Tyler kill Jason like that?" Bonks asked. "Didn't we agree that the killer had to have superhuman strength?"
"Yeah, I don't think Tyler is able to do all that!" Bodil declared.
"Normally he wouldn't. But if he had a Potion of Strength, he could," Seto said.
Annie narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Seto, are you seriously going to go this far? I don't believe you one bit! Why would Tyler break Jason's neck? He could have just used any weapon and it would have been much easier! And why would he do all that to Jason's body?!"
"He didn't just want to break Jason's neck or hang him on the hooks. He also wanted to frame me and make it seem very obvious that Slotty did it. After all, if Slotty had done it, why would MonoWither not tell him to hide the evidence as much as possible? Why would Slotty implicate himself and become an obvious killer? I doubt that's something MonoWither would want..."
Annie was actually taken aback. "Are you... are you actually telling the truth...?"
Seto couldn't bring himself to look at anyone anymore, but he could practically feel Tyler's eyes boring into him as Tyler stared at him with shock and confusion.
"Tyler, what do you have to say for yourself?" Annie asked, turning to him desperately.
"I- I-! I don't know, I-!"
"Tyler, please say something!" Bonks begged.
"I can't believe you're the killer!" Bodil shouted.
"Hey come on, weren't we suspecting Seto just now?!" Tyler suddenly shrieked. "Why are you all suspecting me?! Are you all stupid?! How could I be the killer when Seto clearly looks more guilty than me!"
"Weren't you defending him just now?!" Annie said, shocked.
"Well I didn't go through all this goddamn trouble just to get accused of being the killer!"
"The trouble... of what?" Annie asked, her tone turning icy as her suspicion raised.
Tyler's eyes widened as he covered his mouth, appearing like he had just made a horrible mistake.
"T-Tyler?" Bonks stuttered, horrified.
Bodil looked sick to his stomach. "No... It can't be..."
Tyler looked like he desperately wanted to object legitimately, but he was holding back. Despite everything, Tyler was actually making himself look suspicious for Seto's sake. Why would Tyler trust him so much? Seto couldn't figure it out, but he knew that he couldn't question it. He had hoped Tyler would stay true to his word, and sure he enough, he was...
Tyler bit his lip, glancing at Seto nervously. "I... I didn't do it..." he mouthed so that no one else could hear. "You know that, right...?"
Was he having doubts about his trust? Or was he afraid that Seto genuinely thought he was the killer? Whatever it was, Seto didn't reply. Instead, a dark look crossed Seto's face. "I... I didn't want to accuse him at all... I actually considered staying silent so he could live... I trusted him so much, but he took advantage of my trust... I think with all the lies Tyler has told so far, the answer is clear."
"S-Seto?" Tyler asked desperately, reeling with shock and disbelief. "Seto, I didn't-! You know I didn't-! I wouldn't kill Jason! Seto!"
Seto ignored him as he gripped the lever and selected Tyler's name. He was doing this for everyone, he was doing the right thing overall! This was the right choice!
"Seto, please! I didn't do it!" Tyler begged, looking around and realizing with horror that everyone was voting as well. "No no no! Stop!"
Suddenly, the familiar golden slot machine emerged from the center and its three spots spun wildly before stopping at Tyler's face. Confetti burst from the machine as the words "GUILTY" flashed on top of the machine.
"No- No way..." Tyler whispered, shaking his head slowly, reeling from shock and disbelief. "You guys... You all..."
No one could look Tyler in the face or say a single word. After all, none of them had been certain about their impulsive and forced decision.
"Congratulations!" MonoWither whooped, spinning around. "You've done it again! Fifth time in a row!"
"What?!" Tyler shrieked. "No no no, this is all wrong- No! I didn't kill Jason!"
"I'm sorry Tyler," Seto murmured, finally unable to stop his voice from shaking. "I'm... I'm so sorry... This is all my fault... You have no one to blame but me, and I don't expect you to ever forgive me..."
"What are you talking about?" Tyler whispered, absolutely stunned. "Seto, I don't understand what's going on!"
"I'm sorry Tyler... I didn't know how else to save everyone..."
"But-!"
"Yadda yadda, boo hoo, betrayal is great but we're just delaying the best part! You've been a long-time surviving character in this show, Tyler, but unfortunately it's time for you to say bye-bye to everyone!"
"Wait! We still don't know why he did it!" Annie demanded.
"There are too many holes! I don't understand anything!" Bodil wailed.
"Please, at least let us hear from him!" Bonks begged.
"No! We're getting all of this out before the commercial break!" MonoWither snarled before composing themselves. "Ahem. Now then, we've prepared a very special punishment for Tyler, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Drama Actor! What do you have to say to that, Tyler, any last words for the viewers?!"
To everyone's surprise, Tyler smiled as he turned to Seto. "It's all right. After all..."
"...I promised I'd trust you, right?"
Seto couldn't reply as he stared back at him in shock. Those words, those last six simple words, they had brutally torn a hole in his heart that he was certain he could never repair.
"We'll see if you keep smiling like that during the punishment!" MonoWither laughed cruelly before slamming a wooden gavel on the red button.
Tyler grinned widely, laughing a little, as he looked around with bulging eyes. The sweat on his face and the way he was trembling betrayed his fear, however. Seto's face paled as he unconsciously raised his hand towards him, as though to touch him one last time...
(A/N: Execution music: watch?v=c6aQlGLPG4Q)
SHOW'S OVER: TYLER HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!
Suddenly, a metal claw emerged behind Tyler, latched around his neck, and pulled him back. Tyler shrieked as he reached his arm out desperately before he was dragged through the dark hallway, his body skidding across the floor. The door slid shut, blocking him from view.
For awhile, there was silence as the TV screen remained off. Then everyone backed up as it finally turned on, showing red curtains with golden linings. Crimson roses were thrown at the curtains before they spread apart to reveal a table sitting on a tall platform. This platform was right above the center of a huge, seemingly bottomless pit. Suddenly, multiple spotlights flashed on to focus on what looked like there was a certain someone cuffed to the table in a spread-eagled position.
The Actor's Super Duper Grand Finale
The camera view changed to show a bird's eye view. Tyler was still smiling slightly, although he struggled against the metal cuffs on his wrists and ankles to no avail. Then, a horrible whirring sound filled the air and shifted from left to right. Tyler's eyes bulged even further as a shadow appeared on his body and moved in the same horizontal oscillation as that of the sound. The camera slowly panned upward before speeding up and turning around to show a long metal pole with a large, razor-sharp, spinning saw blade attached to the end swinging down towards Tyler. The saw blade was painted in a black-and-white hypnotic swirl as it spun wildly, cutting through the air as easily as a hot knife through butter.
The pendulum descended at a rapid pace as drums started to pound to the same rhythm as everyone's heartbeats. The camera shifted back to show a bird's eye view of Tyler, whose grin widened as his eyes fixated on the rapidly approaching buzz saw. The sounds were deafening, only heightening the anxious tension. Tyler's chest started to heave faster and faster, and his pale face turned a dark shade of red before purpling.
The buzz saw was so much closer now, so close that the poor man's hair and clothes were blown side-to-side by the wind. Tyler started to giggle as he continued squirming on the table and straining at the immovable cuffs. Seto had never seen someone smile like this before meeting their inevitable doom, but he recognized the familiar look in Tyler's eyes of someone who was utterly terrified of dying.
During the last possible moments, Tyler shut his eyes tightly as two tear tracks leaked out and streamed down his smiling face...
Everyone looked away instead of Seto, but they could all still hear the terrible, terrible sound of metal ripping through flesh and Tyler's agonized screams that lasted far too long before they finally died off. The buzz saw audibly slowed down before finally coming to a halt.
There was a stock sound of uproarious applause as screen faded to black and the word Fin appeared. A few credits scrolled up, all but one crediting MonoWither for various parts of the production...
Starring:
Tyler Christie- as himself
His whole face emotionless and his mind numb with shock, Seto collapsed to his knees, his eyes still fixated on the black screen. Tears streamed down his face, but he just felt empty and lifeless, for that hole in his heart that Tyler had left in him was still there...
"TYLER!" Bonks shrieked, sobbing in anguish.
"He- He didn't deserve that!" Bodil shouted, also crying. "That was horrible!"
"That was just overkill..." Annie whispered, visibly shaken by the whole ordeal.
"No it wasn't, it was perfect for the Drama Actor! We will admit, he indeed kept smiling, but we wonder what those final tears meant! Still, we'd say it was an Oscar-worthy performance, but unfortunately, it would have to be given posthumously... Wait a minute, if this is a show, wouldn't it be an Emmy Award?"
Bonks continued to wail inconsolably and Annie and Bodil rushed to comfort her.
"Oh come on, no need to cry! You should be glad! You all survived the fifth and final trial of this wonderful show!" MonoWither exclaimed.
The shock was enough to make Bonks quiet somewhat as the three of them turned to face MonoWither.
"Wh-What did you say?" Bodil asked, almost unwilling to believe it.
"You heard us! This is the final trial! Well, to be more specific, we're putting a stop to our enforcement of the killing part of this show! Therefore, there will be no more motives! All of you can live peacefully without having to think about killing ever again! Unfortunately, you'll all have to stay here forever, but it's not so bad! We have so many great things here, right?"
"That's... that's too good to be true..." Annie murmured. "We can really live in peace?"
"No more killing? No more deaths?" Bodil asked faintly.
"Yep! Congratulations, everyone! You've all achieved victory!" Tons of confetti spewed out from the walls. "We think killing's getting old, so it's time for a new direction for this show!"
"This is what we've wanted this whole time..." Annie whispered.
"We're finally free... free of despair..." Bodil said, still in disbelief.
Bonks finally sniffled and wiped her tears. "It- It feels so, so wrong to be saying this after what just happened... but I'm glad..."
Seto continued to stare at the screen emptily. The way the saw had just torn through Tyler's body... The blood... The scream...
Seto felt an overwhelming, painful sensation swell inside of him and build up against his throat. The feeling forced Seto to bow forward and collapse, pressing his arms and forehead against the ground.
"I promised I'd trust you, right?"
Seto couldn't hold back the flood anymore. There was no reason for restraint. There was no reason for anything anymore. Whatever sense of dignity, strength, and hope in Seto had died with Tyler in that execution, and he didn't care whether he got it back or not. After all, he was never getting him back...
The dam burst as Seto clenched his hands into fists and screamed. The raw scream that tore through his throat was primal, tormented, and agonized. It seemed to last forever. When his throat finally couldn't take it anymore and the scream died down, Seto shut his eyes tightly as he sobbed hysterically, unable to do anything but just kneel there and wail in anguish, letting his cries shake his entire body.
His three remaining friends slowly approached him, kneeling down beside him. Bonks rested a gentle hand on his shoulder while Annie and Bodil told him comforting things that his shattered mind couldn't register.
Finally, Seto's wails faded into low, ragged gasps for air. All of his emotions were gone, they had spilled from that hole in his heart, and only icy numbness was left inside of him. He was too weak to move, too weak to feel, too weak to do anything but just kneel there submissively under the television screen. The hot tears staining his face started to cool.
I... I told you, Tyler... I told you it was to save everyone... and that's exactly what I did... I did the right thing... You... were right to trust me... I didn't... betray you... in the end...
TWELVE YEARS LATER
"Daddy, wake up!"
Seto jolted awake and sat up, breathing heavily as he searched in the darkness, dimly aware that two figures were sitting on each side of him. "Who's there?! Show yourselves!"
"It's just us, Daddy..." a little girl whimpered.
"S-Sorry for waking you up..." a little boy muttered.
Realization swept though Seto like a flash of lightning. "Oh!" Seto quickly turned on the light and saw that he was between two small children. They were clearly the same age and a bit too short, but the girl had bright pink eyes, short russet hair, and very faint freckles on her cheeks while the boy looked more like a humanoid orchid mantis with doleful brown eyes and brown hair.
Seto smiled at them as he spread his arms. The kids immediately cuddled up on each side, letting Seto hold them tightly. "Good morning..." he murmured, kissing them each on the forehead. "What time is it?"
The girl giggled. "It's noon!"
Seto's eyes widened. "What? Skylar, are you serious? I slept that late?"
"Mmhmm..." Skylar nuzzled into her father's shoulder affectionately. "Auntie Annie told us to let you sleep in, but you missed Uncle Bodil's breakfast! He made really good scrambled eggs!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry I missed those..."
Seto turned to face the boy, who was leaning against Seto's shoulder but lost in thought. "Svenn?" he asked. "Is something bothering you?"
"N-No..." Svenn mumbled, staring down into space.
"He's been like this all day!" Skylar said. "It's all because of what MonoWither said to him!"
"I told you not to tell Daddy!" Svenn shouted.
"Daddy said no keeping secrets!" Skylar retorted.
"But you pinkie-promised!"
"I crossed my fingers!"
Seto sighed. "Please, don't fight. You are seven years old, you're big kids now, and big kids don't fight. Skylar, do not make a promise you aren't planning to keep, even if you cross your fingers. Svenn, apologize for yelling at your sister."
Svenn already looked regretful. "Sorry..."
"Now, what is this about MonoWither?" Seto asked.
"They're really mean!" Skylar shouted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"They're always mean, that's why you shouldn't listen to them," Seto said. "What did they say?"
"They said-"
Seto raised a hand. "No, let Svenn speak."
Svenn shifted nervously.
"It's okay. Whatever they said, it's not true-"
"Who's Tyler?" Svenn asked.
Seto's breath hitched as his whole body stiffened at the mention of that name.
"Svenn, Auntie Annie and Uncle Bodil told us not to ask Daddy!" Skylar scolded.
"But Daddy was talking about him in his sleep, too! I just wanna know!"
Seto somehow managed to recollect himself. "Settle down," he murmured. "Tyler was a... a friend I once had. Why?"
Svenn stared down at his lap again. "MonoWither... said that you killed him... and a lot of other people..."
"M-MonoWither's a l-liar!" Skylar insisted shakily. "Daddy would n-never kill anyone! Bad people kill and Daddy isn't a bad person!"
Seto closed his eyes. "What else did they say?"
Svenn suddenly looked away, his body shaking as he started to sniffle.
"S-Svenn?!" Seto cried out, letting go of Skylar and gripping his son's shoulders. "Oh no, don't cry!" he begged, wiping some of the tears away with his thumbs. "It's okay, everything's going to be okay-"
"I'm- I'm sorry for killing Mommy-!" Svenn sobbed. "Please don't kill us!"
Seto flinched and his face paled. "What?" he whispered.
"W-We didn't kill Mommy!" Skylar shrieked, also crying. "Right, Daddy?!"
"Oh god, of course you didn't..." Seto said, magically reaching for a nearby tissue box and wiping their faces. "No, don't you ever think it was your fault, you didn't kill her..."
"But- But she died because she had us!" Svenn wailed. "So it is all our fault! The wrong person lived!"
"No, no, listen to me you two..." Seto hugged them both tightly. "Listen to Daddy, you didn't kill Mommy. Sometimes, these things happen to mothers, but that doesn't mean it's your fault. Why, the same thing happened to my mother, your grandmother, when she had me. I'm sure that wherever Mommy is, she still loves you and doesn't blame you."
"But you loved her, right Daddy?" Svenn asked.
"Of course, more than anything else."
"And- And because of us, she died..." Svenn's voice dropped to a low whisper. "Do you think about killing us because you hate us?"
"No!" Seto cried out. "Of course not! I love you two, you mean everything to me, I would never hurt you!"
"But MonoWither said you loved Tyler too, but you killed him anyway!"
Seto breathed heavily, trying to stay level-headed. That name... He didn't want to hear it ever again. He already hadn't for so many years...
"It's true..." he murmured softly. "I did kill him."
Skylar gasped. "What?!"
"But please, please understand I didn't want to do it. I only did it because I had to. He had to die so I, your mother, and your aunt and uncle could live. And if we weren't alive, we would never have had you. Sometimes... we do wrong things for the right reasons. Do you get it?"
"I don't get it," Svenn admitted.
"...I think I do?" Skylar said confusedly.
"I'll explain more when you're older," Seto replied. "But for now, please promise me..." Seto kissed them again. "Don't listen to MonoWither again, okay? I would never let anything hurt you. I love you so much, and you didn't do anything wrong."
"We promise..." the two children murmured, hugging him back.
"Good."
There were a few moments of silence before Svenn broke it.
"Why can't we just kill MonoWither?"
Seto felt his skin crawl. "What?"
"Yeah, there's... five of us and one of them! So we have four more people than they do!" Skylar exclaimed.
"We could easily beat them up!" Svenn boasted. "Our magic is getting stronger every day!"
Seto could almost hear Annie sarcastically say, "Oh really, I didn't notice..." as she cleaned up a mess they had accidentally made.
"No, we can't kill MonoWither. It's too dangerous, we've said this before. We could all get seriously hurt," Seto chided.
"But they're so mean!" Svenn complained.
"And they keep us safe," Seto reminded them. "You don't bite the hand that feeds you."
"But you're wrong, MonoWither doesn't have hands!" Skylar pointed out.
"It's a metaphor, sweetie. Anyway, let's not talk about MonoWither anymore, shall we? Let's talk about something else! What else did you two do this morning?"
"Oh! Oh! Show him the drawing!" Skylar said, shaking Svenn's shoulder excitedly.
Seto smiled. "What did you draw this time?"
Svenn cringed. "It's really bad..."
"No it's not!" Skylar yelled.
"I'd like to see it, I love your art," Seto said.
Svenn blushed before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. "Um... I was gonna throw it away..."
Seto carefully uncrumpled the paper and smoothed it out before looking at it. "...It's a lovely drawing!" he said, grinning as he pointed at six figures holding hands. "That looks so much like us!"
"Th-Thank you..."
"And you've drawn the flowers and the grass so well, is that why you were in the greenhouse so much yesterday?"
"Yeah..."
Then Seto's grin wavered slightly. "Um... What are these?" he asked, pointing at a row of three thick brown blocks with tiny circles of green on top of them.
"They're trees!" Skylar answered for Svenn.
"I know they're supposed to be brown with green leaves..." Svenn said slowly. "Do they look that bad?"
"No, no, it's just... Maybe more leaves next time?"
"But won't too many leaves make the tree fall down? I thought that's why the trees you can see outside the greenhouse were fake!"
Seto chuckled slightly. "No, it won't. Now, what's this?" He pointed at a tall pink rectangle that towered above everything else.
"That's our home!" Svenn said. "It's a bit smaller than this one, but I think it's small enough!"
"I want our home to be pink! Pink is the best color!"
"I like pink too, but... What does this all mean?"
Svenn's face fell slightly. "I... I just wondered what it would be like to live outside..."
Seto stared at the drawing, unable to look away.
"I know you said we can't, but... I really want to..."
"It would be really cool..." Skylar said, sighing in yearning.
A tear slid down Seto's cheek, but he quickly wiped it away before they could see. "Oh... Don't think about what it's like outside... Everything here is so much better, you know? Outside, we'd never be able to eat your uncle's food! No microwave or oven!"
"No!" both children cried out.
"And you wouldn't like trees, they're filled with those gross bugs you hate!"
"Ew, disgusting!" Skylar shrieked.
"I can handle bugs!" Svenn boasted.
"Well, there are dangerous, scary monsters... Monsters that come out at night and can hurt you very badly... One kind will even kill you with their sharp claws and teeth if you look at them in the eyes, even if it's an accident."
Svenn shivered, suddenly not so brave anymore. "R-Really?"
"Yes, really. So don't think about going outside, because here you can be safe and live happily..."
To Seto's surprise, the two twins hugged him without further protest.
"Okay, Daddy..." Svenn said finally. "We promise we won't think about going outside..."
"If you say the outside is bad, then it's bad!" Skylar said. "We trust you, Daddy! We trust you because we love you!"
Seto found himself unable to speak as he let go of the drawing, slowly wrapped his arms around them, and pulled them close, staring forward blankly.
"...Daddy, why are you crying?"
PART 05- BLEW DOWN THE DOORS / and boxed us in
END
STILL ALIVE: 6 - 3 = 3 PARTICIPANTS
ITEM GET! You acquired the present "Son's Drawing"
(It appears you chose the bad ending. Oops! Maybe the first option isn't always the best! But don't worry, it's not too late. Would you like to see the True Ending? If so, proceed to Option 2... (aka the next chapter))
(...unless you actually like this ending. Or you're tired of this story and just wanted to reach the earliest possible ending. Then I guess you don't have to see Option 2... It's all your choice! Is this really the ending you want, though?)
