"Wake up, boys. It's time for the final game."

Gilbert slowly came back to his senses as he heard a low voice in his ears. What happened? They were going down under the lodge to get away from something upstairs. Yes, but then they had to hide because someone was there... Oh right, that someone knocked them all out cold when they... found Alfred! Right, Alfred was alive. But how? Nothing made sense... and the throbbing pain in the back of his head made it even harder to put things together.

"I said, wake up."

Gilbert felt a hand slap him across the face harshly, forcing him to fully wake up. He groaned, lifting his heavy head. Everything grew wonky in his ears and a heavy weight was felt being set on the top of his head. After a moment, he realized he was tied to a chair at both wrists and ankles. Blinking away his drowsiness, he saw Kiku sitting next to him in another chair, tied as well. The boy looked rather disheveled yet mentally more awake than he was before. He glared before him yet said nothing. To his other side, Gilbert saw Feliciano tied as well, eyes wide with fear. Like Kiku, he was staring forward. Reluctantly, Gilbert turned his attention forward as well, nearly jumping out of his skin. Inches away from his face was a bloody clown mask worn by the maniac.

"Y-You! You're the one that's been shitting around with us!" Gilbert yelled, anger boiling inside him. He quickly looked around again to see where they were. It was one of the rooms underground still but a bigger one than the kitchen. To the back, he saw Alfred curled in the corner with tape over his mouth and his hands alone tied. The blond was squirming hesitantly as if afraid of what would happen if he moved and what would happen if he didn't. Looking up, Gilbert saw two circular power saws- one above Feliciano's head and one above Kiku's head. Yet, there was nothing above him.

"No need for such a foul mouth." The maniac said calmly, fiddling with a remote in his hand. "You wouldn't want your temper to get one of your friends killed, would you?"

Gilbert frowned, jerking around in his seat to get free. But it was no use.

"What the hell do you mean?! What's you're deal with us?!" He demanded. "What the fuck is going on?!"

The maniac simply faced him, his hands never stopping when fiddling the remote. Gilbert didn't like that he couldn't see the man's face. It unnerved him that he couldn't see his expression. What the hell was going on?

After a moment's silence, the maniac clicked his tongue, finger hovering over the button on the remote.

"I told you to watch that temper." He said. His voice was extremely low, obviously masked by a voice changer. Who the hell was this guy?

Click

The power saws on both Kiku and Feliciano suddenly powered on, slowly descending down towards their heads. Feliciano let out a scream and started frantically thrashing in his seat to move away from the saw. Kiku did the same but in a shocked silence, his breathing quick. Gilbert felt his face pale.

"No! Wait stop! I'm sorry! Stop this, please!" Gilbert pleaded. The maniac clicked the button again, turning off the power saws. Kiku and Feliciano calmed down ever so slightly, both bodies shaking uncontrollably. Gilbert felt his heart race loudly, needing to bite down on his tongue to keep his anger in check.

"What... do you want?" Gilbert growled, frowning up at the masked man.

The maniac let out a chilling chuckle, pulling up a stool. He sat before the three, resting his elbows on his knees in a relaxed manner. For a good minute, he simply sat there, drumming his fingers on the chin of the mask. It was obvious that the man was relishing in all of their fear and confusion. It was almost like he was feeding off of it.

"I want to play a game." The maniac finally answered, sitting up straight. "Kiku, you remember this game, right? You had a lot of fun playing it back there."

Kiku's face paled at recalling what happened. For a split second, he almost forgot about the entire game. Kiku looked towards his best friend, his heart racing even faster. Alfred whimpered softly in the corner upon hearing the game too, shifting his gaze away from Kiku.

"Please... Whatever you want, you can have. Just, don't hurt us anymore. We have had enough." Kiku whispered in an attempt to speak up for them all. The maniac turned toward him, his shoulders bouncing from silent laughs.

"Didn't you hear me? What I want is to play a game, and a game is what I shall get."

The maniac hopped off the stool and knelt before Gilbert, tilting his head slightly to the left. Gilbert glared at the masked man before him, his cheeks burning with anger he didn't risk exclaiming verbally.

"Don't worry, Kiku," The man said, "I won't have you be the special contestant this time. Instead, I'll have Gilbert be the man with power! However, the rules are a bit different than last time." A monstrous chuckle emitted from him before he continued, "Instead of Gilbert making the decision to save one of you, he will have the chance to save or kill you both. All he has to do is answer my question correctly. If he gets it right, you both live. If he gets it wrong, oh dear."

Feliciano began to panic, pulling as hard as he could against the ropes binding him to the chair. His wrists began to turn red as he struggled, only feeding into the maniac's entertainment.

"What is your fucking question?" Gilbert spat, trying to keep himself together.

One question couldn't be that bad, right? It was only one. It wasn't like it was an entire packet worth of questions. Then again, if it is one that would mean it's all or nothing, which is exactly what it is. Nonetheless, Gilbert knew he was going to answer it correctly. He had to. There was no way he was going to have stupidity get the better of him and his friends' lives.

The maniac chuckled, standing up. "My question is simple."

He began to pace before the three of them, finger tapping on the remote in hand.

"Who... am I?"

Gilbert's eyes widened, terror striking him inside.

"Th-That's not even a fair question! How the hell am I supposed to know who you are?!" Gilbert yelled, his anger subsiding into fear. "I-I don't know who you are!"

The maniac clicked his tongue, "How pitiful." He pressed the button on the remote, the power saws continuing their descent down onto Kiku and Feliciano.

"You have 30 seconds before their heads are split in two. There's no limit to your guesses."

Feliciano cried out to the point where his voice cracked. He thrashed violently in his chair whilst screaming for someone to save them and pleading with the masked man to let them go. Kiku did the same but instead of screaming he just sobbed helplessly in his seat, his entire body shaking beyond belief.

Gilbert sat there frozen, completely lost on what to do. The screams of those he cared about echoed around him, pulling at his nerves. Their lives were on the line because he can't answer a simple yet completely unsolvable question. How would he know who the maniac is? There was no evidence as to who it could be! He never saw them without the mask or voice changer! This was a rigged set up from the very beginning.

The albino felt his hands tremble on the arm rests of the seat, his vision blurring with tears. No... No he needed to answer. Say random names! Maybe if he blurted out every name under the sun it would coincidentally be the name of the maniac and his friends would be free!

"20 seconds."

But there was no name. It was as if in the heat of the moment, every name he had ever known abandoned him at his time of need.

"15 seconds."

This would be his fault. Soon, blood will be spilt on the floor and it will all be on his hands for not knowing how to answer a single, three worded question. Even if it was impossible to answer, he knew it would still be his fault. It would be he to blame.

"10 seconds."

Feliciano... Gilbert glanced over at the terror struck Italian to his left. He watched the boy cry and scream as he pulled at the ropes till he could see blood smearing his bruised wrists. No, he promised he would take care of him. He promised this trip wouldn't be terrible and he would make sure he was safe and well kept. He promised to be there for him and make sure he didn't regret this. He promised to be there for him always. He promised.

"8 seconds."

He felt a sudden pain his chest as he recalled the day his brother died. Ludwig died on his watch. He wasn't fast enough to catch him before he fell from that tree. He was the big brother and he let his little brother die because he wasn't good enough to save him. It was all his fault. He was making the same mistakes now. This would be no different. Lives of those he cared about will be lost because he simply wasn't capable of saving them when the opportunity was there. It will be his fault. It will-

"5 second-"

"Stop! Stop this please! Stop! Don't do this! Don't do this!" Gilbert shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Let them go! Kill me! Don't kill them! Don't touch them; kill me! Saw me down the middle, shoot me a thousand times, throw me off this mountain— hurt me in whatever way j-just don't hurt them!"

The maniac stopped the power saws just as they were about the touch the two's heads, simply surprised at Gilbert's outburst. Gilbert hung his head as he sobbed, shoulders trembling. His hands shook where they were as he continued to spew out pleas and self sacrificial remarks. He choked on the words that overlapped and slurred together with his heartbreaking cries. For a long moment, the only sound emitting from anyone and anything in the room was Gilbert's broken sobs.

Feliciano looked over at Gilbert, ceasing his own cries. This was terrible... Not once did he see the other cry. Nonetheless, give in and completely give up to someone. He always fought back and kept strong, even if he was in pain and deep sadness. To see him weep and beg... that was painfully pitiful.

"Jesus Christ, Gilbert..." The maniac said with a little chuckle. "You didn't think I was actually going to kill them, did you?"

Gilbert's breathing hitched.

"...What?"

Kiku softened his cries to mere whimpers as he turned his head to the maniac. What the fuck was going on? He wasn't going to kill them? Then what was the deal with all of this?!

The maniac busted up laughing, setting down the remote on the stool. The three boys simply stared silently, perplexed.

"Killing someone would take things way too far." He reached behind his head to untie the string that kept the mask over his face. "Besides, all of this, was fake! A complete fake, little game! The ultimate prank!"

Slowly, the man removed the mask, grinning at the three before him. Feliciano gasped, confusion and disbelief painting his face. No... How could this be? This didn't make sense.

"M-Matthew?!" Feliciano exclaimed.

Matthew stood before all of them, holding the mask in his arms. A wicked smile was plastered on his face as he shifted his glances between his friends. Purple eyes gleamed with an emotion none of them could pinpoint. He appeared... satisfied with all that's been done as if he was so eager to get to the point where he revealed himself. With a laugh, the boy raised his hands up with a wide smile.

"Surprise! This was all a huge joke! And, oh man, I got you guys so good. You-You really saw none of this coming, didn't you?" Matthew snickered, going over to untie Kiku and slowly move down the three. "I mean, you all never really see anything I do coming, huh? Little Matthew, the one no one seems to take notice of. The boring step brother of the most beloved friend in the group. Ha! This entire time you all were trying to figure out who was doing all of this yet the person you were looking for was right here the whole time! It's quite- It's quite funny, really." His voice rose and fell every now and then, making him sound completely out of his mind. It was eerie and creepy and so unlike how he was. Everyone else got that vibe from him for they were all too shocked to even speak for a good minute or so.

Feliciano glanced over at Gilbert, seeing how the male still hung his head in defeat. Even after Matthew untied him, the albino hadn't moved. He simply sat there, tears continuing to wet his knees.

Alfred remained in the corner tied up and frightened, showing he was not a part of this "prank". Once untied, Kiku rushed over to Alfred and untied the boy, mind buzzing with questions and confusion with all that was revealed. Softly, Kiku whispered to Alfred, asking if he was okay or hurt. Alfred didn't respond nor look at Kiku.

"How did you..." Feliciano spoke up, at a loss for words to put together. Matthew let out a short laugh, raising his eyebrows.

"How did I do it?! Simple!" He jeered, pacing the floor before the two. "I implanted the ingenious idea of returning back here into Alfred, knowing full and well he would take the idea upon himself and make it his own. He always takes things from me so the light is always shined on him even when it's not his in the first place! Before you all got up here, I took the time to put in little joke devices around the lodge and outside. You know: the bloody pictures, moving objects that fall and break, firecrackers in the trees, pathetic Halloween scares, speakers in the bathroom, etc. All of it!" Matthew swiveled on his heels as he faced Kiku, beaming too happily. "It was very hard planning out the fake death of my brother, you know. I had to go to weird places to find a gas that would make him choke up and pass out. Plus, tying that fake bag of blood around him so when the ax came down that's what would spill was really difficult. His reaction made it perfect though! Thank God for the Placebo Effect*. Ha, whatever answer you chose, he still would've been the one to 'die'. I just didn't think you would actually choose him to die—"

"I didn't!" Kiku interjected, eyes narrowing with anger. "I chose to save Alfred!"

Matthew chuckled, giving a soft shrug. "That's not what I saw."

Feliciano stared at Matthew silently, still dazed to the entire situation. Matthew was the maniac? But... that made no sense. Was he really this upset with how he thought he stood in their friend group? Matthew was their friend and Feliciano always thought of him being equal to them all! He knew sometimes Matthew was left out or talked over but he couldn't believe all of that would make him act upon doing something like this. This was... psychotic! Who would've thought of pulling such a gruesome and strenuous pranks?! This wasn't even a prank! This all didn't add up. Feliciano furrowed his brows as his stomach churned uneasily. This was sickening. He didn't feel safe up here.

Hesitantly, Feliciano got up from his seat, slowly coming to terms that this was all fake and nothing would hurt him anymore. He rubbed his bruised wrists as he quickly shuffled his way over to Gilbert.

"Gil? Hey, Gil, are you okay?" The brunet questioned softly, tilting his head. Gilbert remained in his seat with his head hanging, the tears still quietly dripping from his eyes. He stared blankly at his legs as if in a trance. Feliciano put his hand on his, squeezing it gently to try and get his attention. "Gilbert?-"

"Jeez, Gil, lighten up. It wasn't real! None of it was real!" Matthew exclaimed, letting out a breath as he smiled wide. "Quit being a baby about it. Can't you take a joke-"

Suddenly, Gilbert pushed himself off his seat, startling Feliciano beside him. In an instant, he punched Matthew square in the face, causing him to collapse backwards.

"Gil!" Feliciano shouted, shocked as he watched his friend climb on top of Matthew and continuously throw punch after punch at the boy.

Gilbert didn't say anything. He simply swung his arms and fists around, bashing Matthew. Matthew whimpered, holding his hands to his face to block the other's constant blows. Unreadable eyes brimmed with tears glared down at the blond pinned down. No words exchanged. Just fists.

"Stop! Gilbert stop!" Feliciano screamed now, brows raised in disbelief.

Quickly, Gilbert stopped, blinking away his tears. Matthew lied beneath him, blood streaming from his nose as dark purple smudged his cheeks and lip. Feliciano expected Matthew to be whimpering and crying considering the surprise of Gilbert's attacks and the intensity of them. However, the boy wasn't doing any of the sort. Instead, he was smiling almost wickedly as he stared up at his attacker's broken face.

Surprising Feliciano even more, Gilbert spoke, his voice painfully quiet. "Shut up you sick psycho... shut the fuck up." He grabbed the front of Matthew's shirt, jerking him half way off the floor. Crimson eyes cracked with tears and anger and guilt glared harshly down into insensitively calm and pleased violet ones.

Matthew smirked up at Gilbert as he listened to him continue. "We called for help through a radio in the basement before all this... when the rescue team gets here, we're reporting you to the police."

An on-edge silence filled the room as everyone stared at Gilbert. Yes, this had all gone way too far... All of it. Feliciano knew whatever Matthew thought was right was not. As much as the other claimed it to be a simple joke, the effects of such actions were way too intense. This was psychologically scarring.

"Let's all go back upstairs." Kiku broke the silence, looking around at them. "Tie him up so he doesn't do anything rash. We'll talk about all this upstairs."

A bitter laugh came from Matthew as Feliciano shakily began to tie his hands behind his back. Gilbert pushed himself out of the way, standing up gingerly.

"You're all stupid. This was a perfect prank! Everything went so smoothly and your reactions were priceless! It was totally worth it. This was a long time coming. How come you guys can't take the-"

"This wasn't a prank, Matthew!" Kiku shouted, trying to help Alfred get up. "You made your brother believe he was dying and dead! You hurt Gilbert's back! You caused so much panic! We all thought we were done for up here! This has gone way farther than a simple prank! This... This was traumatizing!"

He spoke for them all, for they all agreed yet couldn't form words to say it properly. All of this was incredibly traumatizing, for some more than others.

With a scoff, Matthew dismissed Kiku's call out, furrowing his brows a bit as Feliciano tightened the ropes around his wrists.

"Can you stand up?" Kiku questioned gently to Alfred who was now free of his restraints. He held out his hand to help him but Alfred flinched nervously, shuffling away from his friend.

"Don't touch me." was all he mumbled softly before standing up on his own, turning away from Kiku and walking towards the exit in front of them all. Kiku looked after him, biting his lip uneasily. Did Alfred really believe he chose Matthew to save over him?

Once Matthew was completely tied up, Feliciano turned to Gilbert. He put his hand on his, holding it with care. "Let's go upstairs, okay?"

Gilbert nodded silently, taking in a shaky breath. His entire demeanor was off and unsteady yet he tried to hold together for a little bit. Feliciano took note of this, being mindful of how he approached him. Through out the entire trip Gilbert was there to calm him, make him feel better. Now he had to do the same with him.

Slowly, they all got up and began making their way back upstairs. As they walked, soft patters of footsteps from thudded against the floors above.

Francis and Arthur must be back, Feliciano thought. He wondered what end of Matthew's devious prank they fell into.

...

Is this what you wanted? This wasn't the reaction you expected, was it? You sick bastard.

Matthew smiled without any trace of guilt or regret, standing up straight as he stared at the man before him.

"This was exactly what I wanted. They deserve it."

...

A/N:

I apologize if this was kind of hard to follow or rushed. In the next few chapters I will focus more upon the effects of the prank. This was just to reveal who the maniac was and give a taste of the effects of it all. (I'll go into more on Gilbert and the tension between Alfred and Kiku. Also the shift in characterization with Feliciano and reasons with Matthew.)

But anyways, yeah :') here you go for those who still read this haha. Only like one or two people actually guessed it to be Matthew. Ha lots of you fell into my trap of making it think it was Alfred ;)
like I said,
It's not exactly like the game.

If this was confusing, please watch the reveal of the maniac on an Until Dawn playthrough. It will make much more sense with that. Just search on YouTube "Until Dawn Maniac Reveal" and stuff should pop up.

Please leave your feedback in the comments/reviews! I love to hear from you all! :)