Part 36: A Mutual Act

This is the final choice of the route, and the thread collectively voted that nobody deserves to die here. Let's see how that plays out...

[BGM: Bullfighter]


Hey, here's a hot take: maybe we shouldn't be killing anyone right now!

Hm?

Huh?

Are you seriously both looking at me confused? Look, Rooster, I know you saw Dragon kill your parents. Dragon, I know Rooster here has already killed 3 people. But let's calmly look at the situation right now.

We are currently in a death game with our very lives at stake. And, since Rooster wasn't the traitor, there's still one unknown enemy out there. Frankly, we can settle everything else once we take off our collars.



But for now, while all our asses are on the line, how about we refrain from passing judgment and just get our shit together? Can you both do that for me?

Rooster and Dragon both went silent. They didn't quite know how to respond to that. I wasn't quite sure what came over me just there, but it felt good.

I mean, I'm not the one tryin' to kill anyone. If Rooster lowers his gun, we ain't gonna have any problems.

…

Very well. I have already gotten 3/4ths of my revenge. That will simply have to suffice. You're right, we now have to face the game together.

With that, Rooster lowered his gun.

Good. Now, very calmly, let's all just make our way to the cafeteria. We'll discuss what to do next there as a group.

[BGM: Silence]


Slowly, Dragon made her way to her feet. We all began to make our way to the door.

[BGM: Fire Breath]


Just as I turned around to start walking to the cafeteria, however, Dragon made her move. Apparently, she was just bluffing about the ceasefire. She grabbed a nearby pen and immediately tried to stab Rooster through the neck with it. This was an endeavor she succeeded in, but not without a cost. See, Rooster hadn't completely let go of the gun.

Right as Dragon stabbed through him, he had the sense to pull the pistol out and shoot her through the chest. Dragon's body collapsed onto Rooster's, and the two began to bleed out together, one on top of each other. It was a truly grotesque sight. But it was almost poignant in a way.

In the end, the two had taken each other out in a mutual act of hatred and petty revenge. Tragic.

[BGM: Silence]


When the group caught up to me, they saw me staring at the bodies with a blank look on my face. I'm not sure how long I had stood there, looking at the scene. But it was long enough that the image, and the lesson, would forever be seared in my brain.

…

[BGM: Weak Pig]


Well, it seems it's finally over. All's well that ends well, right?

How exactly is 'all well'?

I guess that's not right.

But you know. We're not dead. That's something.

That's something alright.

After the incident with Rooster, things had been going smoothly. We had gathered enough Minor Trinkets, and we were now using them to get to the end of the board incredibly quickly. If all went as planned, this would be the last round.

You know what sucks about this the most? We can't even blame this one on Brian. If someone with one of the fucked up personalities did something, it would be lame, but at least we could throw blame elsewhere. But here, this was nothing more than human malice.



Five people had to die because of something so petty!

You call Rooster's story petty?

I had already let the others in on what Rooster had said.

I guess that's not the right word for it. If it's true, then that might be the most fucked up part of all of this. But still... for things to culminate in a mass murder?

For things to have panned out like this. To drive Rooster into murdering those four...



I guess this is the price the sin of Sloth takes.

Huh?

Forget it. What's done is done. If Rooster has taught us anything, it's to let the past lie in the past.

We can only walk forwards, after all.

Was that the lesson to take from this? Should you just forgive and forget? Is revenge always a pointless task? Was Rooster nothing more than a senseless murderer? The questions weren't easy to answer. Luckily for me, I'd have plenty of time to answer them.

[BGM: Silence]


In the end, everyone alive crossed the finish line together. Monkey was executed, as was one other person. The one with the desperate personality trait. Even in the end, they didn't admit it. They let their collar confess for them. But they also never took any action against the group. They just did their part, then died in the end. As to why they did it, it's not hard to guess.

But why linger in the past?

In the end, only 5 of us got out of the school alive. And from here, that survivor count could only go down, not up.



Ending – Jack of Spades

There's a path where Rooster's desire for revenge will awaken. Nothing good can come of it. While he's far cleverer than most would notice, his act could only take him so far.

In all likelihood, Mouse would eventually catch him, resulting in inevitable mutual bloodshed. Ultimately, the simple answer is to just not let him indulge himself like that.

Revenge is messy. The true path should be clean.