Sitting in his chair, Mr. Brody looked at everyone as they sat in their spots with Alfred pouring drinks in the glasses, the fire crackling in the fireplace as the flames fluttered.
"Game?" Professor Rose eyed Mr. Brody with confusion as he and the other guests murmured while looking at their host.
Slowly nodding, Mr. Brody affirmed that it's a game and asked once again if anyone's interested in playing it.
Colonel Kraft asked what game and Mr. Brody told him that it's a game like no other, a game of chance. Scarlet crossed her bare arms as she inquired that they're playing charades.
Smiling, Mr. Brody tells them that this game of a different sort and it's exciting, more than charade's ever been.
"So, what do we do?" Theodore asked Mr. Brody as he shifted in his spot, lifting his other leg over the other.
Mr. Brody didn't tell him exactly, but instead asked how he and the guests liked the soup, they'd at least took a couple of sips, surely.
Raising a brow, Theodore said he liked it, but of course his father and uncle made it for him and his siblings. Not that they suffered from bouts of anemia, oh no, worry not, they're healthy. They made the soup for them to show bits of history and show it's not as bad as people take it.
It's not bad if you make it right, it's easier going down than liverwurst and onions, and Theodore's willing to make it himself if anyone wants a taste.
Though, Lila's never taking him up on that offer and if he even attempted to offer the chance in trying his family's liver soup recipe as a joke, he feared that Lila would've thrown something at him.
"Well, good, at least someone does," Mr. Brody smiles as he looked at Theodore. "Made sure to follow his recipe, strange how one little step makes all the difference."
Curious, Theodore inquired who gave Mr. Brody the recipe and heard that a man gave him the recipe, but wouldn't answer who exactly, and judging from his manner, Theodore doesn't think it's someone who knew his father.
Very few people knew the recipe and the secrets in making a successful liver soup.
Less people even knew what liver soup even is!
"What does it have to do with the game?" Professor Rose roused as he wanted answers regarding the reason Mr. Brody brought it up and there's a strange smile on Mr. Brody's face that looked off the more, he showed it.
Grabbing a present from the pile next to his chair, Mr. Brody asked for Alfred to give them out and he dutifully did.
The only one who didn't get a present's Lila and Mr. Brody noticed this and he asked who is she. She replied her name and he asked who brought her to the party, as she wasn't invited.
Mr. Brody's extremely prompt and knows every guest coming, Lila wasn't anyone he knew, and she informed him that she came by extension to the Doctor.
It surprised Mr. Brody hearing that she's with the Doctor, more, the Doctor's here, and that's confusing her since, well, he invited him.
Must be the whole "new face, same person" that's part of the whole ruse, considering the Doctor he encountered look far different than the giant who ate two bowls of liver soup without so much a thought that he's eating liver soup in the first place.
"You're the Doctor?" Mr. Brody raised his brow at Theodore.
Nodding, Theodore affirmed and Professor Rose mused that he certainly looks like one.
Man's clothing choices aren't exactly helping, either, and only can Theodore wear something straight from the 1800s and make himself look dated without even trying!
... Really hard to get the man to wear something that isn't Edward Victorian, but he's stubborn as his dad and going by his brother, it's genetic.
Lila would've loved to tell Professor Rose otherwise, but that's for another time, because she sees Mr. Brody looking odd, like he didn't expect the Doctor of all people, and that's strange considering, but more on that later.
His attention switched to the other guests who pressed him on what the presents were and he then prodded them to open the presents.
Everyone but Lila pulled off the neatly tied velvet bow over the black boxes and pulled the lids off, inside white paper, and something inside.
Each contained a different item, a weapon.
Professor Rose obtained a revolver with six bullets and one in the chamber.
Colonel Kraft obtained a rusted monkey wrench with teeth that still loosened when prodded.
Scarlet obtained a dagger with gold grips and a black onyx handle.
Theodore obtained a obtained thick rope tied with a noose at the end, carefully wrapped.
"What's this?" Theodore stared with his icy blue eyes widened as he looked at the weapon in his large hand while the other guests gave similar looks to theirs.
Mr. Brody explained that he wanted a game with an interesting premise and one that'd they'll all play without issue.
He said with glee in his voice, "In each of your hands, is a weapon, and tonight, you're going to use them."
Everyone eyed him with confusion until he added that noncompliance results in their crimes exposed.
Lila raised her hand sheepishly as she tells him, "What crimes?"
That escalated rather darkly...
Mr. Brody said nothing more, but he said that the guests knew what they done and they'll have to decide what's better, die willfully ignorant or confess, their choices.
"Hold on, here, skippy, what'd the Doctor, do to you?" Lila didn't hesitate to chew Mr. Brody out as she stood up with anger in her eyes.
There's no chance the Doctor could've done something scandalous and much less without warning the Doctors thereafter of it, Mr. Brody's just twisted!
"At the moment, nothing, but if you may, I'd like to continue, if you don't mind, miss," Mr. Brody ordered her to stand down and she's forced to sit as Theodore chided her before they heard Mr. Brody explain that there was something in the soup.
"The thing about livers, they're terrible to taste, you'd have to bury them under everything under the sun to try to keep the taste away, so I added something special to the soup just for you and the guests," Mr. Brody informed them as he settled in his chair with his hands together as he studied the reactions the guests conveyed as they understood him in a variety of ways.
Professor Rose demanded answers and Colonel Kraft stood up as he demanded them, too, Scarlet got angry, and Theodore kept Lila seated next to him while the others shouted at Mr. Brody.
Calming them, Mr. Brody finally told them what he wanted out this game of his.
"I forgot to mention something about the secret ingredient, sometimes I have to add more or less for it to work, and it's a hit or miss, who'll taste it," Mr. Brody began as he eyed the guests furious with him toying with their emotions. "One of you had more of the secret ingredient than the others. Maybe two of you, I forget easily, you know how it is."
In not so many words, Mr. Brody inferred the worse, and the realization hit the guests, causing them panic as they learnt what Mr. Brody done.
Poison.
One of them's poisoned, worst case there's two, and Mr. Brody revealed that if they win his game, they'll get the antidote, if they live long enough to take it, that is.
"You bastard!" Colonel Kraft's prepared to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Brody, but he raised his voice over the older Colonel Kraft and said that they'll get their revenge on him soon enough, if they're willing to get their hands dirty.
He said a crime's committed and if they don't want the word getting out on what they done, they'll have to play by his rules, meaning they'll play this game.
"Kill my butler and you will get the antidote," Mr. Brody challenged his guests in the game of killing his butler, Alfred, who looked mortified as he stood anxiously away from the guests and his master.
His tone serious, the guests shared a look before Lila called attention and asked, "What if we don't?"
Mr. Brody told her that if no one kills his butler, they'll have to play more games until he gets the results he wanted.
"I don't understand something, if we committed a crime like you said we did, why didn't you report us to the proper authorities?" Professor Rose questioned Mr. Brody as he's confused on what reason his former patient wanted nothing more than to torment them in a game.
Mr. Brody replied with, "Blackmailing didn't interest me, Professor, besides, people always notice money missing, especially theirs, wouldn't you say?"
That subtle jab's enough to deflate the professor as he sat down with his teeth digging into his pipe while Theodore tried to defuse the situation.
He watched as the host stood up and walked over to the light switch near the door. In a low voice, he told everyone to ready their weapons, because when he turns of the light, he expects someone to kill Alfred.
"And believe me, I made sure my secret ingredient's not going to kill you so soon," he warned them about the poison he might've put in their soups. It's not quick, only slow-acting, and when it hits, it'll be too late for the antidote. So, the guests must play, if they want to live. Of course, that wouldn't be so fun, if they're able to get the antidote easily.
Mr. Brody decided it'll be fun, if the guests decide who gets the antidote, more, if they're willing to kill for it, because once the poison takes, it'll be too late, and he only has enough antidote for one person. No splitting hairs, either, antidote doesn't work unless it's the full amount.
Those crimes he mentioned that nobody seems to understand what he's talking about?
Noncompliance resulted in the remaining participants becoming the culprits of the heinous crimes committed under the roof of the mansion.
Mr. Brody fully intends on making sure they take the fall for the deaths of their fellow party guests, if they don't follow his rules.
"If we play your damn game and stick with the rules, what then?" Lila demanded answers as Theodore held a distressed look on his face as he realized that this madman's not exactly someone the Doctor would've encountered on friendly terms.
It's shocking that nobody mentioned that Theodore should've avoided the invitation to this party and failed to mention that Mr. Brody's insane, either, considering how asinine this all sounded.
Worse, Mr. Brody's serious about it. He wants everyone to play this game or else, well, he'll kill them all, and that wouldn't be very fun, would it?
"If you play by my rules, miss, you'll live, maybe," Mr. Brody informed her what happens if they complied. However, the answer didn't satiate the intrepid Lila as she pointed out that he's lying to them, because there's no way he'll let them all go if they succeed, on the account that he'll have everything needed to blackmail them.
There's no way he'll let them walk away without some repercussion, even if they played his tune exactly. He knows they'll talk to someone, the police, anyone, and he'll end up imprisoned.
Smiling, Mr. Brody mused that Lila's not as green as she looked and she retorts that he's not as bright as he looked, either, on the account this' insane, and he needs more help than a Loony Toons cartoon!
"Hm, you interest me, if you're still alive, I might use you," Mr. Brody eyes her before his hand moved towards the switch as he told the guests to prepare their weapons. The door behind him closed and nowhere else to go, they must kill Alfred.
Once they do, Mr. Brody intends on giving them instructions for the next part, they'll have to kill for the antidote.
Scarlet spoke up finally after becoming agitated by all the talking and demanded answers about the poison, someone should've started showing symptoms by now, and Mr. Brody told her that it won't start taking affect until two hours.
Plenty of time.
Something else bothered the guests and they demanded to know how Mr. Brody poisoned them when none of them ate the soup completely, except for the pale skinned Theodore who wished he stopped at the first spoonful, and Mr. Brody said that the poison's effective, even with one spoonful.
Something he picked up somewhere he went before coming back here.
"Wha-what if we kill you an-and look for the antidote that way?" Colonel Kraft asked about the idea that the guests just turn on Mr. Brody instead and he smiled as he warned the colonel that he planned for everything.
They're not able to leave this mansion until the conclusion of the game, either dead or alive, and he'll make sure they play their parts.
The game set, Mr. Brody flipped the switch off, plunging the room into darkness, and there's panicked screaming, squabbling, and a gun shot rang through the study.