BETRAYAL AT THE HOUSE ON THE GAME TOWER - END

[idolpro]

Who: Traitors and Survivors, Exael
Where: The Game Tower, and leaving it
When: Day 25, morning-- it appears that game lasted the bulk of day 24 into the night.

[ Abruptly, the nightmare ends.

You, in the rooms you kept restarting in, awoke. Before you can even panic, before even despair, the elevator doors were open in front of you to take you downstairs again. It could be a trap, sure, but your head is quiet— those fucking ghosts are gone. You also appear to be wet like someone dumped, perhaps, a bucket of holy water on you while you were asleep. All your wounds are gone, and you have been left bereft of any physical damage from your ordeal.

Unless you choose to take some with you. Nothing prevents you from taking any of your spoils downstairs with you, if you wish it, though all revolvers will have no ammo.

On the screens as you descend back to the lobby, Exael is clapping on screen, broadcast showing her in the mansion's entrance hall. "And so close the gates to this forbidden garden, and so closes this chapter of our story! Just as—" her hologram flickers as she doesn't seem to notice, chattering still to the cameras, "so too will—" fzzt, fzzt. Static, flickering, and then back into focus, "So give them all a hand! Everyone, you've done well! You stand before us still, ready to present us all with more marvels after having survived such grisly wonders with—" "—in the balance!"

As she speaks, she doesn't notice a figure approaching behind her. He's in a slick suit with both hands in his pockets, and you've seen him before— his portrait is in the foyer. His shoes are utterly silent as he walks across the marble floor, till he's right at her back.

"Audience and actors alike, we've been blessed with—" Her hologram doesn't flicker this time, but she stops speaking. Her eyebrows furrow as she tries to figure out what's amiss, and only belatedly begins to slowly look over her shoulder.

"Exael," he says with a friendly hand on her solidifying hologram shoulder, the effect spreading beneath his touch, "We need to have a chat about your requisitions paperwork."

She tilts her head, eyes wide with a finger tapping against her cheek as she thinks, "I didn't do any!"

"Yes," he agrees, smiling with all his teeth. "I know."

The broadcast cuts. The doors open to let you leave. ]

Comments

[maxxximumeffort]

Uhh, I mean, I was in the room. Kind of a dick move. I woulda chipped in but, uh, there was a knife lick, which was hot and all, but boy was that a bad vibe.

[forthetainted]

Yeah... I guess every team had a different effect for going crazy...? Ours was being so hungry you wanted to eat people.

[maxxximumeffort]

Eeehheww. Ugh. Been there before. So gross.

[forthetainted]

... Really?

[maxxximumeffort]

Well not today. Barf.

[forthetainted]

That's the weird part...

[maxxximumeffort]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaanyhoo, our ghost apparently turned my pigeon son into a yandere psychopath. So I think you're right, everyone got somethin' fighty.

[forthetainted]

They want us to kill each other, and they don't really care what the reasons are.

[Just. Shrugs]

[maxxximumeffort]

[sssiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH]

Welp. Let's sleep that the fuck off. And our teams should like, hang out or something. Do a brat grill.

[forthetainted]

What if someone on my team hurt someone on yours?

[forthetainted]

What if someone on my team hurt someone on yours?

[maxxximumeffort]

I guess we'll fuckin' work that out then? We're AlcheME! The wizards. The minstrels, the bards. Fuck the system, make love and and smoke weed, win the catfights, not the bloodbaths.

[forthetainted]

[unsure]

Uh. As long as you're alright with the fact that wild city will always try to win the bloodbaths.

[maxxximumeffort]

Ugh, really? You already have an Always Win clause? Fuckin'... I guess you got pretty pounded too.

I'm gonna do what my kids can live with. Though if you wanna make an honerable pound town pact, that sounds pretty sick.

[forthetainted]

I just got killed by the only unit we had a pact with.

[more dry than anything]

I'm not making any deals right now. Our policy so far has been to not start fights but finish them without mercy.

That second part hasn't really been needed yet, but even I'm not stupid enough to think it'll stay that way.

[maxxximumeffort]

Eeehh... metal enough. I can dig it. No for-funsies vivisections is all I need.

[forthetainted]

If that happens, definitely let me know about it and I'll have words with my teammates.

[is he joking? he's probably joking]

What's your name?

[maxxximumeffort]

Aw! Jokes! Fuck! Nobody jokes with me after filthy murder games. I'm Double Down. You?

[forthetainted]

Aries, nice to meet you.

Do you ever stop joking?

[maxxximumeffort]

Well they can't all be zingers. That just flattens me out. I got layers. Like a stripper.

[forthetainted]

Isn't that... the opposite of what strippers have?

[maxxximumeffort]

What, no! What would they strip! Then that's just a sex worker. Ooh, I'm also like a sex worker.

[forthetainted]

[what]

I think... you might need to rest.

[maxxximumeffort]

Lil' bit. Let's literally all go to bed. Like for eighteen hours.

[forthetainted]

After drinking.