Just like that, the Number 9 Door had closed shut, and with it, Clover's freedom.
Now she could only pray that K would return with help before things got out of hand.
"Well, that's that…" Phi lamented. "Looks like the game is over now."
"That fucking bastard!" Dio shouted. "Now we'll never make it out of here with our heads intact!"
Sigma silently glared at Dio, still seething over the destruction of the Axelavir.
Really, who could blame him? Without it, Quark could not be cured of Radical-6, and he risked trying to kill himself again once he woke back up.
"Umm… What are we going to do now…?" Luna asked.
"I'm… heading to the infirmary…" Sigma said. "Someone has to spill the beans to Tenmyouji. Might as well be me."
Luna and Phi both decided to come along with Sigma.
"You coming with me, Clover?" Sigma asked.
"Wha-? Oh… Yeah. I'm coming, Sigma," Clover responded.
Clover wanted to check up on Alice in the third AB room, but at the same time, she didn't want to hide herself from Tenmyouji like a coward, either.
"Don't worry about Alice, Clover. I'll make sure she's safe," Phi said.
"You… You promise?" Clover asked.
"Absolutely," Phi assured.
With that, all of them decided it would be best to group up in the infirmary and plan out their next course of action.
All except…
"Eh, you know, that last scene kinda bummed me out back there. I don't feel like heading into some place as unpleasant as that. I think I'll go kick back in the lounge and unwind for a bit," Dio callously remarked.
Sigma would have none of that, though. Dio's apathy reignited his fury.
"Oh no, you're not going anywhere, you bastard! I'm dragging you with me by force if I have to!" he shouted.
He grabbed Dio's arm tightly and dragged him in the direction of the yellow Chromatic Door.
"What the-!? Hey! Let go of me, you sick fuck!" Dio screamed. He was kicking and squirming the entire way to the infirmary.
"In that case, I'll go get Alice," Phi spoke. "Who knows what K did to her back there, but in any case, we should still get her to the infirmary as well if we can."
She headed to the third AB Room and brought Alice out to the infirmary.
Though she wanted to move, Clover felt paralyzed with a range of emotions and couldn't bring herself to follow along at first, but after a while, the yellow door opened, and Phi came back out.
"Clover! There you are! What the hell are you standing around for!?" Phi shouted.
"Wha-? Oh, sorry! I'm coming!" Clover blathered out. She followed Phi through the yellow door.
Luckily, Alice's injuries were nothing too serious, and she woke up before long.
"Grrr…" Alice groaned. "That bastard K! He punched me in the stomach!"
From the sound of things, K didn't want Alice to vote "ally", so he knocked her unconscious and brought his BP to 9 with "betray".
Sigma appeared to have already explained everything to Tenmyouji by the time Clover arrived.
While Sigma was still pointing death glares at Dio, Tenmyouji was just staring at the floor, not bothering to get upset now that there was nothing left to do.
"Welp, it's game over for us now," Dio remarked. "Might as well wait out the rest of our fucking days while we're still kicking."
Sigma didn't bother reprimanding Dio for his quip.
Noone was happy about the current situation, least of all Clover and Sigma. They wanted to seek a way out, regardless of whatever they had to do, but unfortunately, with the 9 Door permanently closed, there was nothing anyone could do other than rot away in wherever they were being held.
With that, everyone resigned to their fates, the only hope of escape being if K manages to get help back to the facility.
…
…
"Hey! Don't go getting all cozy now!" Phi suddenly objected. "There's still plenty we can do while we're here!"
"What do you mean?" Tenmyouji asked. "The 9 Door's never going to open again, so we're stuck here forever."
"Yes, here," Phi noted. "You did hear what the announcement said after the 9 Door closed, right?"
"As the game is over, all doors other than the Number 9 Door have been unlocked."
"In other words, we can go wherever we want in this facility," Phi addressed. "We should use this to the best of our ability. Who knows? Maybe we'll find something useful."
Tenmyouji thought for a moment, then finally said something. "Oh, I see. It's kinda like a jigsaw puzzle… The best way to finish it quickly is to do the border pieces first."
"Glad we're on the same page," Phi responded. "If we're really lucky, we might even find a different way to leave this place."
"In that case, we should get going. We won't find anything just sitting around in here," Tenmyouji motioned.
That did still raise one concern, however.
"But… What about Quark?" Sigma inquired.
"I-I'll… look after Quark…" Alice volunteered.
Something about her seemed… wobbly for some reason. Perhaps it was guilt for letting K escape?
"Hm? Why you?" Sigma asked.
"Consider it an apology for… letting K betray you, Tenmyouji" Alice explained, confirming Clover's suspicions.
"Are you… really alright with this?" Luna asked.
"Me? Oh, don't worry. I trust her just fine," Tenmyouji noted.
"Then it's settled," Phi said. "In that case, the rest of us should get going."
The six of them made their way to the elevator room, Sigma not loosening his grip on Dio for a moment.
"Sigma, could you go with me?" Tenmyouji asked.
"Ha! Go with you?" Dio asked. "I thought language like that was left to rot back in the 1950s!"
"Shut it, Dio," Sigma scorned.
"Hey, c'mon! I was only kidding! You do know what that is, right!?" Dio whined. "Or has your brain already gone senile, you old fuck?"
Sigma growled at the callous ringleader he was latching onto.
"Well, you're not going to find anything by bickering like children," Phi motioned. "Just get a move on already!"
"Yeah, what she said," Tenmyouji commented. "I don't care if you bring Dio along, let's get going."
Not wanting to upset Phi and Tenmyouji more, Sigma quietly walked towards the elevator to Floor B. Dio groaned as he was being dragged along.
With the three inside, the elevator closed and the noise of it going down could be heard.
Afterwards, Phi started speaking as well.
"Luna, while they're out, I'd also like for you to come with me," Phi spoke.
"Oh? What is it, Phi?" Luna asked back.
"There's something I'd like to talk to you about," Phi explained. "It's rather important, so I'd like to show you while it's just the two of us."
Clover, feeling left out, interjects at Phi's request out loud.
"Hey, what gives, Phi!?" she asked. "Going on a girl's night out without me? Am I not important enough, you jerk!?"
"Wh-What!? No, that's not what I-" Phi started. "Err… Tell you what. Once I've finished with Luna, I'll come and get you."
"Really…?" Clover asked.
"Of course," Phi reassured.
This did not completely please Clover, but she decided to go along anyways.
"Ugh, fine. Do whatever you want," Clover responded.
"Thanks, Clover," Phi said.
With that, Phi and Luna left the elevator room.
Seconds turned into minutes, which later felt like hours as time went on.
Time seemed to drag as Clover waited for the others to return.
"Ugh… They're so slow," she uttered to herself. "And what's keeping Phi and Luna?"
Suddenly, the elevator opened.
A single person stood there…
"Tenmyouji! I guess you're the first one back?"
It was only Tenmyouji inside. She didn't see the rest.
He looked at Clover, then slowly, purposefully, stepped out of the elevator.
The door closed behind him.
Tenmyouji was holding a massive battle axe whose blade was covered in red, with… oddly a few white patches as well. Though it gave him a somewhat intimidating appearance, Clover dismissed the weapon's appearance as merely cosmetic.
"Umm… Where are the other two…? Did something happen?" Clover asked.
Tenmyouji didn't answer.
Instead, his eyes swept the room, and then settled on Clover.
"Where are Phi and Luna…?" he asked.
"Hm? Oh, Phi said she wanted to speak with Luna about something, so they left for one of the rooms on Floor A," Clover responded. She explained what had happened.
"So they're not here right now? I see," Tenmyouji spoke.
His voice was crooked and frail.
"Yeah, looks like it," Clover said again. "What about Dio and Sigma? Why aren't they with you…?"
"You really wanna know…?" Tenmyouji asked. There was something wrong with his face as he said that, not helped by the weapon he was wielding.
"Y-Yeah…" Clover weakly responded.
"Okay… Sure…" Tenmyouji said. "Here, lemme show you…"
Tenmyouji pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it onto the floor at Clover's feet.
"Huh?" Clover uttered. She looked down.
On the floor in front of her…
Were 2 metal rings. Bracelets.
One bracelet had a 6 displayed in a seven-segment display. The other; a 1.
That was when it hit her.
"Oh… Oh no… Oh good god!"
Clover collapsed.
Her mind flashed back to Zero Jr.'s explanation about how to remove the game's bracelets.
"Here's an exciting fact: Your heart creates a bunch of faint electrical impulses."
"Your fancy little bracelets pick up on that. They're allllllways watching."
"Your heart stops, your bracelet comes off!"
From that, Clover's mind finally connected the dots.
Tenmyouji had murdered Dio and Sigma. From the looks of things, he was ready to murder Clover next.
Yet despite this, she put up no resistance. Clover merely stared in shock at the sight that lay in front of her.
"W-Why…?" she weakly asked. Clover's voice was flat and broken.
Tenmyouji's response was cold. "Revenge for Quark. Dio and Sigma fought over the Axelavir like toddlers, and now, thanks to their cruelty, my chance at saving him is completely gone. That's why I killed them."
Clover shook in terror at the murderer in front of her.
"Though, as I later learned, Dio had done more than just kill Quark," Tenmyouji added.
"W-What are you talking about…?" Clover inquired.
"I don't feel obligated to tell you that part," Tenmyouji dismissed. "It wouldn't do you or anyone else any good at this point if you knew."
Clover didn't feel much sympathy for Dio. After what he had done, Dio deserved no remorse over his demise, though that still did not make it any less horrifying.
Tenmyouji's other victim, on the other hand…
"But why!? Why did you kill Sigma!? He didn't have a choice!" Clover bewilderedly asked.
"He chose Betray in the AB Game… Even though Dio told him not to," Tenmyouji explained. "That makes him just as complacent. Now, thanks to Sigma's selfishness, Quark is going to die."
"No… No…!" Clover muttered. She shook her head, trying desperately to wake herself up from what had to be a nightmare. "This can't be real… It just can't!"
Tenmyouji edged closer to the distraught young girl. "Hey, Clover…"
Clover felt his hand on her shoulder.
His grin was wrong-horribly wrong.
It looked like a mask made from stretched human skin.
The smile that parted his lips did not extend to his eyes.
They were hollow and soulless.
The old man in front of Clover was no longer the Tenmyouji she knew. Was he even human anymore…?
"Why don't we get moving?" Tenmyouji asked Clover.
His hand reached out towards her.
"There's still plenty to explore here. Who knows how long K's help will take to arrive?" he noted.
"Wha… What are you even talking about…?" Clover questioned.
"K scurried out of the Number 9 Door all by himself without waiting for the rest of us to catch up. Something tells me he never planned on getting help to begin with," Tenmyouji explained. "If he did, why not wait for the rest of us to raise our BP as well? That way, we could all find help out of this galactic wasteland."
"I… Uhhh… Errr…" Clover stuttered. She had to admit, Tenmyouji did raise a good point, loath as she was to believe it.
"See…? So let's go!" Tenmyouji said again.
Clover did not respond.
"C'moooon! Hurry up!" Tenmyouji nudged. He shoved his hand out again.
Again, Clover didn't say a word. She merely looked up at Tenmyouji. He had the face of a beast.
But there was… something else. Something oddly… nostalgic about him.
He was both a wrathful demon, and a calm elder, filled with love…
"Clover…?" Tenmyouji softly asked.
His eyes weren't empty anymore. They were deep-so deep, Clover could feel herself falling into them.
She felt dizzy.
There was something oddly soothing about him. Clover's mind was beginning to crack, and her heart began to melt.
"Clover…?" Tenmyouji asked again.
The hand he was offering her… It looked so warm… So inviting…
"T-Tenmyouji…" Clover spoke.
She reached out with her own trembling hand, and closed it over his…
With that, Tenmyouji raised his weapon into the air…
And slammed it straight into Clover's body, landing a perfectly clean blow.
"Gah...Urk-guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Clover writhed in agony.
She shuddered and twitched, her body spasming as she went into shock.
She screamed until her throat was torn and bloody, then screamed more.
Her cries echoed across the room.
Eventually, her movements slowed, then faded.
There was no more strength left in Clover.
As she gasped for breath, she could feel her body going numb.
She could no longer feel pain.
She could not feel anything. Whatever Clover had been was gone.
The last remnants of her mind began to fade…
Even as her vision faded to nothingness, she saw Tenmyouji.
"Thanks for making my justice less of a hassle, Clover," Tenmyouji told the mutilated corpse.
"What, you really thought I was going to let you live after that stunt you pulled?" he asked her. "Ha. Pathetic."
Tenmyouji's smile was cold.
What was left of Clover's conscious mind drifted away.
All that was left was a broken, twisted corpse.
GAME OVER