Chapter 9: Doldrums Part 1

7:37 A.M. Day Four

First Floor

Dining Hall

Everyone had split off for the most part after exploring the outside, only reconvening for a silent dinner before heading to bed. Thus far, breakfast was starting to look like it would go down the same path.

Finally though, Victoria spoke up. "So, does anyone-"

"Stopping you right there," Shawn interrupted, looking vaguely irritated as usual, "no, no one has a plan or idea for how to escape, and they probably won't come up with anything any time soon, so how's about you don't bother asking. Okay?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to-"

"No one cares, okay?! It's not helping and we're clearly not getting out of here anytime soon. So how about you-"

"GUYS!" Eric called out, slapping the table with both hands and standing up slightly from his seat, "can we just … not, please? We're only four days into this mess, and we've already had three people die. Getting at each others throats won't do anything to help that." Sighing, he sat back down, looking over everyone. "Can we just take an hour, forget about the damn killing game, and just relax or something? Please?" The pleading tone in his voice was unmistakable.

There was a moment of silence as everyone took in the Cryptozoologist's words, unsure how to respond to the outburst.

"… My favorite film as a kid was The Little Mermaid." Everyone turned to the speaker, Brooke. She was looking around the table, a small smile growing on her face as she continued talking. "I'm kinda a fan of mermaids, and Under the Sea was my favorite song after Poor Unfortunate Souls. It's just really catchy and creative." She gazed expectantly at the others, waiting for anyone to respond.

"Honestly, I was always a fan of Tangled, m'self." Kelley spoke up, smiling as she leaned forward in her seat. "That song'o'ers when she finally leaves the tower? Beau'iful." She hugged herself a little on that last point - clearly, the short but sweet reprise was a favorite of hers.

The next to speak up was, oddly, Clarisse. "I always enjoyed Oliver and Company, to be honest." She smiled at the memory if the film. "I can appreciate someone surviving and escaping from the streets."

"I grew up with The Emperors' New Groove on repeat on the TV a lot." Alexis brought up, a genuinely friendly(looking) smirk playing on her face as she spoke. "An underrated classic, in my oh so humble opinion."

Smiling, Eric spoke next. "I always preferred Aladdin actually. Admittedly, less for the music, and more for how funny that genie was." Everyone shared a laugh at the reminder.

"To buck the trend here," Adrien took his turn, "I was actually a fan of the Phantom of the Opera musical." He gestured to his mask. "Unsurprisingly, I'm sure. The films were okay too, I guess, but nothing can beat Broadway."

"John and I grew up on Jurassic Park, actually." Elle commented from the arm of her boyfriend's chair. "It was one of the first things we found we had in common when we first met."

Sabishī threw her piece out next, "I actually liked Sherlock Holmes, whenever I got the chance to see anything about him." Unnoticed by the others (besides a certain cryptozoologist), her happy expression seemed to falter for a split second, before she refocused her attention on the rest of the group.

"I always liked Hercules, but I really liked Monsters, Inc., surprisingly enough." Teresa shared, opting to not spoil the mood by pointing out that Shawn had snuck out earlier as things got more 'happy-go-lucky'.

Gary sheepishly ran a hand through his hair before speaking up. "Honestly, I was always more a reader than a watcher, but I really enjoyed The Jungle Book growing up."

Finally, everyone turned to the hitherto silent Victoria, who, oddly, was looking down at the table, a hint of an embarrassed blush upon her face. She remained silent for a moment longer, before mumbling out, "….n….".

"What?" Sabishī asked.

"B…..nn…..n," More mumbling.

"Still having trouble hearing-"

"Batman and Robin, okay!? That's my favorite film from when I was a kid!" The Mummy finally blurted out, cheeks flaming.

"…" Everyone was silent and a bit stunned as they processed that statement. "… Like … the cheesy Schumacher film?" Gary asked. "I thought no one liked that."

Her face was crimson as she nodded slightly, continuing to stare at the table. "… It's a guilty pleasure, alrigh'?" She muttered quietly.

The others continued to look at the girl, still surprised and mildly confused. Then, Kelley let out a slight giggle (more of a snort, really) before stopping herself. Ignoring the sudden attention, she whispered something to Brooke, who also had to suddenly reign in a surprised laugh. Looking to the still-blushing but now also confused Victoria, the American explained (trying to keep her giggles and laughs under control), "Kelley's a little too embarrassed to share what she just thought up, but..." She took a few deep breaths, calming herself, before finally continuing, "'I guess rubber nipples is what does it for ya, huh?'"

There was silence and dropped jaws, particularly from the Mummy, as they processed both the joke and that Kelley, of all people, came up with it. Finally, Victoria responded ... with a peel of laughter as she doubled over in her seat. The rest of the table soon joined in the laughing.

"HAHAHAhahaha; y-you, you," Victoria laughed out, ineffectually slapping at Brooke and the leaning-away Kelley. Around them, everyone was continuing to joke around, keeping the mood going. Sabishī eagerly listened to Eric discuss a Sherlock Holmes animated film starring a mouse. Gary shared a dinosaur joke that the paleo couple actually hadn't heard before; Elle laughed, while John eventually managed to reign in his own humor and settled for smiling while he hugged his girlfriend. Adrien seemed to be having trouble breathing; apparently, the bat-nipples joke had really hit him hard. Even Alexis, of all people, seemed to be having fun with the proceedings. Clarisse and Teresa settled for just smiling contently at the rest of the table.

"Hey, hey!" Eric called out, getting everyone's attention. "Anyone who liked The Lion King give a 'heck yeah'!" He thrust a fist in the air.

"HECK YEAH!" The whole group called out, punctuated with a collective fist pump as well, before they continued laughing and talking amongst themselves.

For the moment at least, they could forget the killing game and enjoy themselves. They needed it.

8:57 A.M. Day Four

Outside

Graveyard

Sabishī walked through the graveyard, alone. For some reason, she felt the need to check the area again, just on her own. Maybe it was her comfort around the dead, maybe it was some subconscious thing tied into her talent, either way she found herself walking among the headstones towards the site of the buried Ultimates, carrying a shovel she'd found leaned against the gate (somehow she'd missed that yesterday). She looked over the expanse, unable to fathom how many dead lay buried on this one island. Even if a battle had been fought here, still...

"Oh, there ya are!" A voice called out behind her. Turning, she spotted Kuuma approaching her, with Teresa following after him. "I was actually hoping to speak with you, miss pasty face."

"w-What?" Sabishī asked, concerned that the homunculus had come to find her specifically (and choosing to ignore the comment concerning her complexion). "w-What do you w-want? And why is t-Teresa here?"

"Honestly, I was just wanting to explore the grounds some more." The Sphinx explained, surprisingly calm near one of the staff members. "This one came by and insisted that I be 'escorted' by him given how dangerous the outside can be."

"Hey, don't make light." The dual-toned boy lightly chided, wagging a finger in her direction. "There's plenty of dangerous shit out there."

"Yeah, you brought some of that up the other day." Teresa dryly pointed out, arms crossing over her ample chest.

"And that was just the very tip of the iceberg, toots." Kuuma countered. "I never even mentioned the Silent Hill business."

"What?" Both girls asked.

"Anyways," the homunculus continued, "I have something for the young grave keeper." Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a large ornate key hanging from a chain. He casually tossed it to the Undertaker, who just barely managed to catch the unexpected throw. "That is the key to the Mausoleum the trial room is located in; from now on you shall all travel to it above ground since the general Surgeon doesn't like people going near his lab; you, miss Ultimate Undertaker, are now officially in charge of the key, and by extension opening the Mausoleum for trials. Don't ask why, Doctor's orders, apparently."

Sabishī just stared in shock at the sudden responsibility being thrust upon her. "w-What?! W-Why am I ..."

"Hey, I just said don't question it, didn't I?" The boy interrupted. "And before you think of it, refusal to open the Mausoleum will result in a decidedly undesired punishment, so don't try it, okay?"

Sabishī was unsure of how to respond to any of this. So instead, she'd decided to bring up a question that had occurred to her sometime after leaving the graveyard yesterday. "Why isn't here a gravestone for Harris here?" She asked, gesturing to the (thankfully close by) section where the departed participants were located.

Kuuma, actually looking slightly surprised by the question, looked in the direction she was pointing (as did the Sphinx girl that had yet to look around this area). "... Oooh, yeah, right, the Bad Luck Boy." the homunculus realized. "... Honestly forgot about him. Huh."

"You forgot?!" Teresa called out, surprised and incredulous. "How could you just forget!?"

"Well I'm sorry, okay, he just wasn't particularly memorable to me, no matter how funny his accidental chandelier-based suicide was." The Homunculus defended. "We had some short-lived minions cart the bodies off during the trial, and just forgot to bury the pancake afterwards. It happens sometimes."

"He's the only one you would've had to bury!" Sabishī (somewhat angrily) pointed out.

"Actually, what did happen to the Gargoyle?" The Sphinx questioned. "Harris you deposited elsewhere and Logan ... was likely unsalvageable by the end, but what of Ryan?"

The Ultimate Homunculus said nothing, merely directed his gaze towards the Gargoyle's gravestone. A gravestone made of dark rock that, on reflection, actually looked incredibly close to the Gargoyle's 'skin tone'.

"... Eh, not important. Well, I think that's everything I had to cover, I'll take my leave now. Toodles!" Having said that, the dual-toned boy turned around back towards the entrance, before looking back at the girls briefly. "Oh, and just a heads up? Nothing is ever really necessarily 'at rest' around this graveyard, especially not at night. So, try not to die out here, okay?" With that, he departed.

Leaving the two young women who hadn't interacted much thus far to stand in an awkward silence as the contemplated what to do next.

"... Soooooo, you like beach volleyball, by any chance?" Teresa asked curiously.

"Not particularly, no. Sorry." Sabishī (somewhat dryly) answered. "Never was a very 'sporty' kinda girl. Or one who lived very close to any actual beaches."

"Yeah, that-that's fair." The Sphinx agreed.

More awkward silence.

"... Do you like Detective Novels?" The Undertaker asked hopefully. "Or any films? Or shows?!" Teresa could swear there were anime stars in her eyes. Was that an actual thing with the Japanese?

"n-No, sorry, I was never particularly a fan of the detective genre."

The fourteen-year-old all but visibly deflated. "Oh. Sorry for asking then."

"h-Hey, it's fine, really."

And still more of the awkward silence.

This would go on for quite awhile.

9:43 A.M. Day Four

First Floor

Library

After breakfast, Victoria and Clarisse opted to head to the library for something extremely important.

"Hah! And that's a King Me!" Victoria called out (quietly, because Library), having gotten one of her pieces to the opposite end of the board.

"Maybe so, but I'd like to see you try to move without getting it captured." Clarisse responded, confident in her strategy.

They'd been playing checkers for the last ten minutes (Victoria having been quite excited to hear the markswoman mention her enjoyment of the game during breakfast, and there was thankfully a set in one corner of the library for them to use), and neither had managed to get much of a lead on the other. So far, they'd ended up with more ties then wins one way or another (impressive, considering both thought it wasn't possible to have a tie in checkers, but they'd found a way).

And they were honestly enjoying every minute of it.

"Aaaaaaand, there!" Clarisse announced, bringing a piece forward. "Now there's no possible move forward that doesn't end with you losing a piece. Try and match that, little miss limey!"

Victoria frowned a little. "First: 'little'? We're like the same height, and you're in heels. Second: 'limey'? You got a problem with the English?"

At that, Clarisse flinched a little. "n-No. Sorry."

Victoria waved the apology off, before continuing. "Third: I was actually born in the States, my mother just refused to lose her accent and I managed to pick it up. And finally, Fourth:" she moved a piece of her own, "AHA! Now your precious 'little' piece is set to be caught with no way to counter attack. Of course, you could try moving it forward..."

"And get caught by another piece you have waiting all on its lonesome right next to that spot." Clarisse finished the point. "Well played, I suppose. That was the main piece I'd bet on winning with. However," she raised an index finger, "Now none of our pieces are close enough that they could move without getting captured, and neither of us is willing to make a move without anything to gain. Which means..."

Victoria ran the facts through her head. "... It makes this a tie again." She groaned, head in her hands in the face of this no-win scenario. "... Heck with it. Blitzkrieg!"

Acting quickly, both girls moved rapidly across the board, focused only on trying to take the others pieces with no mind for anything resembling strategy. Before Clarisse could get one piece to catch a king from the side, however, Victoria had managed to get close to a piece without her knowing. From there, the rest were lined up just right enough to catch them all in one continuous go. In the end, Victoria only had one piece left on the board, but it was the only piece left on the board.

"And that's my win!" Victoria announced triumphantly. Clarisse let out a disappointed sigh, but nodded her head, conceding the loss.

"Fair enough. I think I've had my fill of the game for today." The Markswoman stated, drumming her fingers on the table. She looked to the other girl. "So, if you don't mind my asking, what's your 'story', so to speak?"

Victoria seemed surprised by the sudden question. "What makes you want to know?"

The other girl shrugged. "Just thought it would be nice to get to know the people here with me, and since we're hanging out right now, well..." She trailed off, likely thinking (correctly) that no further explanation was required.

"Fair enough." The Mummy said, before adjusting herself in her seat, crossing her legs, and speaking. "In all honesty, my 'story' is fairly unexciting, I feel. Cairo-born father, London-born mother, moved to New York - the state, not the city - shortly before I was born. For most of my life, I stayed in the well-off suburbs my house and school were in, though I did visit my parents home countries at least once a year."

"I'm not hearing much that sounds 'unexciting' right now." The Markswoman commented, a slightly annoyed look on her face. She wouldn't call yearly visits to foreign countries 'unexciting', she never even left the borders of New York (the actual city, in her case).

"Well, that might just be my view, I'll admit, but when you go to the same places for years since childhood, you stop really seeing them as very impressive." Victoria explained. "In any case, I had a happy childhood, though I never really had many friends." She looked down at the amber piece on her necklace, before continuing in a more subdued tone. "Actually, it's more accurate to say I had no friends, really. Just my parents, which honestly, I'd thought was enough." She paused, seeming to think on something. Then, she looked over at Clarisse. "If you don't mind my asking, what happened to you during the Tragedy?"

Clarisse shifted, surprised at the sudden raising of a rather sensitive topic. "Um, I was in New York - City, actually, born and bred - when we first heard about the riots erupting in Japan. Honestly, we didn't think much about it, until the effects started spreading. I was lucky, honestly - I managed to get out into the countryside before the Despairs hit the city. Must've hiked clear into Canada and back before I found a small town in Northern Vermont to bunker down in. Thankfully, they had working cable there, so I was able to catch when the Hope's Peak Game ended and things started to sorta calm down." She kept details vague, they both knew it, and neither was going to say anything on the matter. "So, is this where you share your experience?"

"Well, sadly we also delayed on leaving our neighborhood until NYC got attacked. Fortunately, mother had relatives that lived through the London Blitz; they'd insisted we establish a bunker out in the woods near our home in case of a crisis. We managed to avoid being spotted by anyone when we left and essentially hid away for the next year or so, before the Hope's Peak Game resolved." Victoria turned her gaze down to her lap, looking downcast. "Is it, wrong that I feel, sorta guilty?"

The Markswoman looked surprised. "For what, not dying horrifically?"

"For getting to just hide in a comfortable hole while people outside had to suffer far worse." The Mummy girl looked back up, holding Clarisse's gaze. "While some people had to hike into and out of other countries just to survive, possibly losing loved ones along the way, I got to stay with my family in a well-stocked bunker. Even the Hope's Peak survivors had to leave their families behind, and that was before being forced to murder each other. Me? I just had to deal with restricted leg room and not much else." She stopped, looking back at the table and catching her breath. "... Should I feel bad for getting to basically sit the whole mess out? Is it dumb to feel bad for surviving relatively unscathed when few people could? I mean, I'm glad my parents and I survived, don't get me wrong, but then I think about how many people had to work just to get by with even a fraction of that and -" she stopped herself, before rubbing her face with her sleeve and meeting Clarisse's gaze once more. "I realize we only met three nights ago, but even so, could you enlighten me on your opinion on this, please?"

Clarisse was silent for a few moments, working her jaw silently as she contemplated what the girl across from her had said. "... I ... honestly don't know what to say, exactly." She responded finally. "I mean, I'm glad to hear you got through it okay, no one should've had to go through the Tragedy if they didn't have to. Part of me, I guess, is kinda annoyed, in a stupidly petty way, that you got to hide in relative luxury while I had to camp in trees to survive, but even so, I ... I realize that's stupid to think. So..." she trailed off, searching for anything else to say. "... I don't think you should feel guilty, but don't forget that most people had it far worse than you did."

Victoria actually looked relieved to hear the other girl's response, some tension visibly leaving her form. "That's ... that's good to hear, I think." She rubbed her hands against her eyes. "A-anyways, after the Tragedy abated, I felt like I should try and help others recover. When I heard of the AUP, I thought I could become an 'Ultimate Doctor' or something of the like, and signed up. The rest, I should think," she gestured around at the room of the mansion they were in, "is self-explanatory."

"Fair enough." Clarisse commented, nodding her head slightly. "So, in all honesty, not that 'unexciting' a story, I have to say."

"Well, I might've been biased. I already knew it, after all."

"Point taken." The Markswoman leaned forward in her seat. "Well, how about we start another game, and I can share my own history. Sound fun?" Her question was punctuated with a smirk.

Victoria answered with a smirk of her own. "Well, if you're not worried about the distraction costing you the game, then go right ahead."

Chuckling, the two developing friends moved to begin their game again.

At the front desk, Saino stayed focused on her cataloguing. Her friends would let her know if anything important came up.

10:15 A.M. Day Four

First Floor

Billiards Room

Brooke was at the pool table, practicing hitting the billiard balls correctly, when Eric wandered in. "Oh, hey. Here to play a round?" she asked.

"Honestly, was more exploring than anything." He responded, looking over the area. "Though I'll admit, for some reason I expected more than just one table in here."

"Yeah, place isn't really accommodating for multiple games to happen simultaneously, huh?" The Floridian girl agreed. "Surprised to see you not with Sabishī for once. You two seem to hang out a lot."

The Cryptozoologist rubbed the back of his head, chuckling slightly. "Yeah, I guess we have been together a lot since we woke up." He shrugged. "She's a good friend."

Brooke looked him over, a calculating gaze in her eyes. "Oh, just friends, is it? You sure about that?"

The boy held his hands up defensively, blushing slightly. "h-Hey now, we only met a few days ago. Yeah, she's c-cute, and she's like the only girl here besides the creepy painter on the staff that's not taller than me - no offense, but I've never really been that, er, into girls that had the height advantage - but I'm not sure Sabi and I are any closer than 'friends' yet."

Brooke smiled, choosing to ignore the comment's concerning height. "Well, give things time, I say." She jokingly jabbed a finger at him. "And don't get you or her killed, capeesh?"

He jolted a bit. "Don't even joke about that, seriously." He said somewhat sternly.

Brooke's gaze turned downward, chastised by the boy's reaction. "r-Right, sorry," her eyes turned back to him. "but you get my point."

Eric waved her apology off. "I shall take your 'advice' under, well, advisement, yes." He finally walked over to the table. "But for now, lets talk about something else." He picked up a pool cue of his own.

She beat his obvious line of questioning to the punch. "Okay, what's your story then, Mr. Cryptozoologist?" She questioned, smirking slightly as she leaned against the table.

He looked slightly put out at not getting to ask that himself, but he responded nonetheless. "Well, I grew up traveling pretty much constantly around North America from a young age, even lived around Canada and Alaska for awhile. The earliest I can remember, we were living somewhere around Minnesota, checking Bigfoot sightings."

"Oh, were they cryptozoologists too?" She asked, curious.

He waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, mainly just Bigfoot enthusiasts, but they did check on other, similar cryptids from time to time. Like one time, we were looking for these 'otter people' up in Alaska-" he cut himself off, before waving his hands in front of himself again, "actually, never mind, that one was just weird; but anyways, yeah, travelled a lot, managed to rough it in the Canadian wilderness during the Tragedy, had my interests expanded to include cryptids besides Sasquatch, and decided to sign up for this AUP thing in late 2019 to become a full-fledged Ultimate Cryptozoologist." He gazed around the room they were in. "Don't recall the 'mandatory killing game participation' clause, but I guess that's why you shouldn't skip through paperwork."

Brooke chuckled slightly at the boy's joke. "Yeah, that does seem important. Fine print and all that."

The boy looked back at the Floridian. "So, at the risk of asking something sensitive-"

"My folks and I just hid in a small bunker for the duration of The Tragedy," she interrupted, realizing what he was planning to ask. "Not much actually happened, thankfully, but I think the neighbors ate from my 1000-strong exotic fish collection. Either them or the gators, they kinda got more active after the human population started shrinking. Might be petty considering the circumstances, I know, but I'm honestly still kinda bitter about that."

He blinked a bit, processing the giant fish collection belonging to someone who, by his guess, would've only been a high school freshman at the Tragedy's beginning (and yet apparently hadn't qualified for Ultimate status on her own?). "... Well that sucks. Did any of the fish survive?"

"Thankfully, yes, but still! Some of the things were endangered even before the Tragedy! And they were all so beautiful..." the wannabe ichthyologist trailed off there, an odd look in her eyes, before shaking herself and refocusing on the boy. "Well, anyway, sure you don't want to play a game?"

Deciding to not question what might've been going through his fellow American's head, Eric nodded and smiled. "Y'know what, sure, I guess a round won't hurt."

10:59 A.M. Day Four

First Floor

Dining Hall

Adrien was currently in the Dining Hall alone, on his hands and knees under the table for reasons known only to him. It was a good reason (he thought so, anyway), but still, an odd sight to see. If anyone was around to see, that is.

"Well, it's not everyday that the man is the one on his knees," a seductive voice spoke out. Apparently, someone had seen.

Looking up and behind him, Adrien saw a pair of shapely legs (a favorite sight of his, to be honest), clad in tall hiking boots, draped over the table, left leg crossed over the right and both swinging slightly. There was only one girl here who wore that specific attire.

"Hello Alexis." He called, crawling out from under the table (eyes never leaving the legs). "What brings you here?"

"You're staring at them." She said coquettishly, eyes never leaving her well-maintained nails (even as her legs started swinging more energetically, toned muscles flexing all the way), "Why were you under a table?"

"I was just looking for something." He explained, standing up fully (and finally turning his eyes to her actual face). "I think I dropped it during breakfast today."

"Oh? And what might this 'something' be, may I ask?" She asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity as she turned away from her nails.

"A lucky rabbit's foot, actually." He elaborated. "It was a gift from my grandmother when I first started high school. Something of a good luck charm, I guess you could say."

"Mmm. You didn't strike me as the type to own such things." She commented, sliding off the table and uncrossing her legs. "But I suppose the sentimental value is the relevant factor here, sim?"

"Got it in one, yeah." He noted, chuckling slightly. Then he raised an eyebrow of his own. "So, what are you doing here, exactly?"

She shrugged, fiddling with the ruby on her necklace. "I decided to take a walk around the mansion grounds, see what anyone else was doing, found an Italian man in a mask shifting around under a table for some reason. Figured I'd see if anything interesting was happening, maybe rest my legs without going to the trouble of moving a chair."

"Ah, well," he rubbed the back of his head, "sorry to disappoint in regards to there being anything of interest."

"That remains to be seen, I think." She smirked once more, a suggestive look in her eyes.

Adrien started feeling a bit flustered from that look. He cleared his throat before speaking. "S-So, if you don't mind my asking, how did you get into your, uh, 'field of expertise'?"

She shrugged once more, chuckling a bit while glancing back down to her necklace. "I guess it comes from having archaeologists for parents. We traveled all across South America, researching the ancient sites. I found the mythology behind the structures to be the more fascinating topic, honestly." She looked back up at the Italian. "So, do you have much knowledge of the subject?"

He shook his head. "Not really, no, but I did play a video game based on the mythology once. It was called Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death. Have you heard of-"

THUNK

He was cut off as Alexis - suddenly brandishing a knife - abruptly threw him up against a wall. She looked him dead in the eyes, a killing intent radiating from hers. "If you even think of bringing up that pedaço de merda while in my presence, or while we are both still on this mortal coil together, ever again, then you'll discover exactly what sort of things I know how to do with a knife. Compreendo!?"

Genuinely terrified, he nodded. She smiled, killing intent gone. "Good. Glad we understand each other." She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Well then, I think I'll take my leave now, apodreça no submundo." Turning, she walked away, hips swaying probably more than they needed to.

Adrien remained motionless for a moment longer, still trying to process what had happened. Eventually, he regained enough control of his limbs to make his way back to his room. Maybe he'd dropped the charm in there.

11:27 A.M. Day Four

First Floor

Library - Second Level

Kelley climbed up the ladder to the top shelf, eager to check on the books that might help her. She needed to know everything about the banshee, not just what her Ma had told her, so that she could be prepared for anything else her new 'state of being' might have hidden. Hopefully, the books here might at least give her an idea of what to potentially expect going forward.

She just needed to get ahold of those books first. Easier said than done, considering how far the books were from the nearest available (tragically unmovable) ladder.

Adjusting her grip on said ladder, she stretched out, finding the closest book just barely within reach. Stretching further, she just barely managed to latch onto the top of the edge. Pulling back, she steadied herself once again. The real problem with these ladders was that the rungs were little more than smooth metal cylinders. The surface was keeping her boots from finding any traction.

Stretching out once again, her other hand holding the ladder as tightly as possible, Kelley leaned as far forward as she could reach, barely noticing one foot raising off the ladder as she did so. Finally, she just barely managed to get an actual grip on the book-

-and her foot slipped. With a surprised yelp, she fell backwards ... into the waiting arms of a tall butler.

"Apologies for the unannounced arrival, Miss Devlyn." Sebastian announced, unaffected at all by the girl's weight. "I happened through and I saw your attempt, and so thought that I should remain on hand in case you lost your balance." He gently set the girl down on her feet. "As an aside, I'd suggest trying to clean off the grime that seems stuck to your boots; better for keeping surroundings clean, and what not."

Kelley took a moment to catch her breath, then tuned to look up at the Butler. "Well, thank ya fer th'save, sir." She gave a polite and grateful smile to the man.

"No thanks are necessary, miss, even if they are welcome." Striding forward, Sebastian reached upward and pulled the desired books down off the shelf. "I am simply fulfilling my role as a butler."

Kelley happily accepted the offered books. "Well, all th'same, thanks." She adjusted her grip on the stack as she looked curiously over the Butler. "So, if ya don' min'me askin', why are ya here? On th'staff, I mean? Did the Mast'rmind decide he needed a butler an' threaten'd ya ov'r it, or..."

"Not quite, actually." The butler corrected. "Though, something similar I'll admit." He looked around the library, noting the Dragon's attention (seemingly) preoccupied by whatever book she was currently reading. He continued in a notably lower tone, "I doubt I can say much, but suffice it to say, I had prior history with this place, and people close to me were threatened to ensure I'd come here."

Kelley's hand went to her mouth on that last point. "I-I'm sorry t'here that, sir. Hon'stly." She looked around herself, also noting the supposedly distracted Librarian. "I-Is there anyting ya can do?" She asked in her own quiet tone. "O-or that we could do? Some way t'get ou' o'here? That ya could help with?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Devlyn." Sebastian responded, looking honestly saddened. "Even if those I love weren't at risk, I'm not entirely sure how to escape without issue. This island, especially now, is not a place that one departs from with ease."

The Banshee had expected an answer like that, but looked downcast all the same. "Ah. Well, I hope you an' yours stay safe, at least."

The Butler smiled at that. "Thank you for your concern, Miss Devlyn." He started moving away. "Now, if you have all the books you desired, I can recommend a very comfortable chair on the ground floor if you're interested."

Nodding, Kelley followed after him. Whatever else, she did still have reading to do.

Saino, having of course heard the entire conversation, opted to remain silent. Nothing potentially troublesome seemed to be brewing, and as long as her own work was unbothered, she didn't particularly care. Besides, she was just getting to the good part.

12:00 P.M. Day Four

First Floor

Shawn's Room

Shawn sat in his room, stewing in his own thoughts.

He wasn't bitter that no one even seemed to notice he was leaving the dining hall, wasn't ticked off that no one had noticed at all that he was missing.

It's not like he cared about these people, they were all just going to die or get themselves killed anyway.

Assuming they didn't try to kill him first.

They were planning it, he knew it, someone obviously was, who wouldn't want to target the flimsy, easy-to-kill scarecrow, huh?

All they'd need was some fire, that wasn't hard to find or make.

He was a target, plain and simple.

It's why he didn't bother drinking their kool-aid, pretending to get along and be friendly and trying to act like they were anything other than enemies.

Who would try to be nice to an enemy?

And since he couldn't do jack squat to fight back or attack anyone himself(straw arms and all that BS), he did the only thing he could; barricade himself in his room(well, try to, still couldn't move much with straw arms, but still).

Honestly, he didn't know why he'd ever leave, it's not like he needed anything from outside; couldn't eat, barely actually slept, didn't need to talk to anyone out there, they'd just try and plant a knife in his chest or back or something, scarecrow or no that might actually do something to him.

Sure, the mastermind might do something to make him leave, but until then, he might as well just stay here.

Honestly, sounded kinda appealing.

As long as he wasn't forced to leave, why go out to begin with and risk someone inevitably killing him as a simple target, right?

Yes, good plan, sounds like; good plan indeed.

He still didn't know how to leave the island, but maybe all the 'normal' students would get axed off and they'd let the monster ones go free and get cured.

Heck, maybe all the others would die out while he was safely ensconced away.

That ... sounded nice, if he was being entirely honest.

Quite nice.

1:42 P.M. Day Four

First Floor

Kitchen

Gary strode into the Kitchen, looking for something to drink, and was surprised to find the local Paleontologist, unescorted for once, also there, chewing on a bread roll.

"Oh, hey Elle." The Egyptologist waved. "What are you doing here?"

She held up her bread roll. "Still felt a little peckish after lunch, decided to grab myself a snack."

"Fair enough." Gary agreed, rubbing his hands slightly as he looked around the room. "I'll be honest, I'm a little surprised John isn't here. Can't recall seeing you two apart since we got here."

"He wasn't hungry, so he decided to stay in his room." She commented, shrugging one shoulder. "Just because we're together doesn't mean we're stuck together at the hip or whatever." She added before taking a bite out of the roll.

"Right, right, fair enough." Gary made his way to one of the fridges, surprised to find an assortment of small drink bottles in the collection of beverages. This place didn't seem like the type for it. "So, out of curiosity, how did you two meet?"

"Oh, we've been friends since elementary school." Elle explained, seeming happy to share her and John's history. "And we started dating around middle school." She gained a grim look to her face. "Kinda had a limited bordering non-existent high school experience, unfortunately."

"Let me guess: interrupted by sudden worldwide Tragedy too?" Gary asked sympathetically; he'd gone through much the same when Spain had been hit.

She nodded silently, taking another bite before continuing. "We ... we both lost our families in the Tragedy. We spent pretty much the entire time on the run. Even after things abated following the first Killing Game, we were more often than not living on the streets. All either of us had was each other. It was actually around that time that-" she cut herself off, cheeks reddening, "that we, uh, took things up a level."

Gary politely looked back into the fridge at that, not needing any more elaboration on anyone's love life. Taking a small bottle of apple juice, he focused on opening it whilst asking his next line of questions. "And at elementary age you two were already watching something like Jurassic Park?"

She smiled again, blush abating (slightly) at the reminder of her statement at breakfast. "Yeah well, our parents trusted us on that sort of thing. And we didn't actually have any Land Before Time films at the time. (never mind how scientifically inaccurate any of those are, I mean seriously)" The last part was muttered under her breath, though still loudly enough for Gary to hear it.

"Uh huh." The Egyptologist commented. "So, did you guys like dinosaurs before or after watching a lawyer get eaten?"

She chuckled at that. "Before, though that scene was oddly funny in a morbid sense. John was actually the first to discover that different plants existed at the same time as dinosaurs. Heh, you couldn't get him to shut up about cycadeoideas and zamites." Before Gary could question what either of those plants were, he noticed Elle looking downcast once again. "He still talks to me, of course, but he seems to have really quieted down since the Tragedy began. I mean, even before he wasn't much of a talker, but now?" She shrugged. "You've seen how little he talks."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure he hasn't talked at all that I've seen since we got here."

"Exactly!" She threw her arms up in frustration. "I'd hoped he'd at least say 'hi' when we all introducing ourselves the first night. He has an amazing voice, I'll have you know." She took another bite from her roll, before adding (mouth still full), "Admittedly, I might be slightly biased there."

"w-Well, I'm sure he'll come around before too long. Unless we manage to actually escape before then, I mean." He said reassuringly (he wasn't sure what else to say to that).

She hummed on that, before shaking her head and directing her attention back to him. "Well, enough about me and John, what about you?"

"Huh? What about me?" He asked, confused.

She gave him a knowing look. "Girls have a powerful intuition, didn't you know? And mine is telling me you might have some interest in a certain someone. Maybe a girl with a lovely British accent?"

Aaaaaaannd cue the sudden reddening of the cheeks. "h-Hey now, what d'you mean by that?" He demanded, scratching at his cheeks. "We're just friends, at best. We've only known each other for a couple days now."

"And that's plenty of time for a guy to at least start crushing on a cute girl." Elle countered primly.

"w-Will you shut up please?!" Gary demanded, looking around to make sure they were alone.

"Relax, alright?" She stated, her tone moving from teasing to reassuring. "Take it from a girl who's (obviously) familiar with relationships: I think you've actually got a chance."

His eyes remained on the ground, though he did glance up on the last comment. "... y-You actually think so? Even with our," he gestured around at the kitchen in the creepy mansion on an isolated island where death and monsters were common, "current circumstances?"

"Surprisingly, yes," she shook her remaining piece of bread roll at him, "provided you're not just after a night of fun before moving on, buster."

"Hey, what kinda guy do you take me for?!" He demanded, looking genuinely angry at the insinuation.

Elle smiled, a satisfied look on her face. "An honest one, apparently. That's good. Girls like that more often than not." She finally ate her last piece of bread. "Well, I'm heading back to the dorms. See ya at dinner!"

"Uh, yeah, see ya." Gary called as the Paleontologist departed. Turning back to his drink, he reflected on what was said. And how to proceed from there.

2:23 P.M. Day Four

First Floor

Library - Second Level

Kinsei was nestled in a corner on the second level of the library, going over a book on alchemy. He already knew all there was on this matter of course, but he enjoyed finding inaccuracies in the published works. Already he'd seen a complete falsehood on the matter of homunculus creation, and a total inaccuracy on the usefulness of human blood as an exchange rate. A rather successful search thus far, all things considered.

"Hello again, Mister Momota." A sultry, accented voice called out. Looking up from his book, the Alchemist saw a certain Brazilian woman, leaning against a bookshelf, legs crossed and hands on her hips. A mildly seductive smile currently graced her lips.

"Hello to you as well, Miss Gold," Kinsei answered back, "though 'Mister Momota' would be my father, or possibly my a-hole of an uncle (though he insists on Doctor Momota, as though dad hasn't already taken that, humph). I prefer to just be called 'Kinsei' in normal conversation."

"Good to know," the woman responded, uncrossing her legs and moving off of the wall, "I'll answer that courtesy if you pay it in turn, please."

"Fair enough, 'Alexis'," the man acquiesced, setting aside his book and standing up. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Well, as it happens, I have something of a proposition for you." The Latin-American Mythologist explained, a sinister-looking smirk growing upon her face.

"Hmm, color me interested." The Ultimate Alchemist commented, a smirk of his own developing. "What, pray tell, do you have in mind?"

[13 participants remain]

A/N: Is it too obvious that I don't know much about playing checkers with others? In any case, No, there were no 'Killing Game Participation' clauses in whatever paperwork the participants had to sign that they all just managed to skip over (unless everyone finds the idea too hilarious to ignore, in which case let's say there was and they missed it). Otter people, however, are actually a thing (Kushtaka, check Wikipedia).

And if you have no idea what Marlow Briggs is, look it up, you might be surprised.

Until next chapter!