Part 49: Their Own Majority

[BGM: Mousetrap]


I heard Pig nervously pacing in circles.

Pig, are you alright?

Oh, me? Just fine, super fine, only having a mental breakdown over here, nothing to worry about.

Seriously, what the HELL was that about?!



For the record, Tiger wasn't my designated vote. Dog?

Wasn't mine.

Are you saying that both traitors voted her independently? How likely is that?

Very much not so. In all likelihood, this means the two have somehow managed to contact each other. If they can vote together, this plan is essentially dead in the water.

No... This is all my fault!

That's not true!

It was a good plan. Just not good enough.

[BGM: A Bite That Persists]


So what are we to do now? We've spent all this time talking about what we must do, but on both occasions we've utterly failed to counter the traitors.

Gotta say guys, this is a real D plus effort right now.

Shut the hell up! God, you're so annoying, things are always better when you're silent.

Rooster, you've contributed the least here, so you've little ground to stand on.

Uh, my lack of speech is a contribution. Dragon herself just said that things are better when I'm silent. So you're welcome.

…



Rooster's right, we need a new plan.

So, uh, the new plan is, um, right, no plan.

Huh?

Plans suck! Plans aren't useful at all! Plans are what killed Tiger and Ox. If we just sit around and say exactly what we're going to do, the traitors will be able to completely read our moves! And, all this time, we haven't found any Trinkets whatsoever!

So now our plan is to not have a plan.

Okay but what does that mean?



I don't know. Vote no one. Vote someone random. Find a partner and both of you vote the same person. Be completely random, untrackable. Then maybe, I mean may be, we'll stumble into a tie vote.

This sounds like a horrible idea.

Nah, let's do this.

Pig's right. This obsession with plans has completely killed our searches, and they've been seen through twice. Everyone, split up and don't be predictable!

Dragon shouted this and immediately stormed off in a random direction. Pig followed suit, and before I knew it, the group was mostly split up. I was sort of with Snake. Just completely abandoning logic and leaving things to chance seemed like a really bad idea. But the die was already cast, as it were. It was best to accept things and look for Trinkets.

I went into a nearby classroom and did the typical search. At this point, I was starting to feel like a professional school inspector. ...A school inspector who didnt end up with a lot of results. Even though I was able to search through it relatively quickly, no Trinkets were found in the room I looked in.

[BGM: Silence]


I started to look for another room, but as I went down the hallway, I saw something suspicious. Snake was eagerly explaining something to Pig, who was nodding. A bit farther down the hallway, Horse was leading Sheep into the library.

Hey, what are you guys doing?

Both Snake and Pig looked startled when I called out to them, and Snake hurriedly brought Pig into the library.

Wait, wait, wait, what the hell is this?!

[BGM: Rabid Rabbit]


I rushed over to the library door and tried to open it, but Horse held the door closed. Looking in, I saw that Bunny, Horse, Pig, Sheep, and Snake were in the same room.

What's going on here?

Don't look at me like that!

Ignore her.

What on earth?

Apologies, Mouse, but being weak-willed will lead to the worst possible results.



To avoid that... drastic measures are needed.

In an instant, I realized what was happening. They had decided that the only way to ensure they weren't voted to execution was to form their own majority and vote away everyone else. I cried out as loud as I could.

EVERYBODY! GET OVER HERE! THIS GROUP IS TRYING TO KILL THE REST OF US!!

Before long, Dragon, Monkey, Rooster, and Dog had ran over to my location.

What the hell is this, you assholes?!

Dragon yanked on the door handle, but Horse held steady.

Get out here! Pig, you traitorous bitch, I thought you said not to make a plan!



If I didn't join, they'd get someone else!

You know you're going to have to come out sometime! You can't be in the same room when you use your tablet.

The library actually has a small separate room inside. Hence why we chose it as a base.

Shit!

Damn. That was a total of two cycles before we went full Lord of the Flies.

I was expecting one cycle, though, so I guess well done us.



Dragon slammed on the door again.

Everyone, I would propose our first target should be Dragon. She stands a chance of breaking into our sanctuary.

No she doesn't.

Guys, quickly. Let's all vote Snake.

Mouse?

It's now us versus them. We don't have the luxury to be soft. We need to focus our votes all on him.

Say no more! I am on it.



It's distressing, but if we don't, we may die.

Why not?

Yeah, I'll show that asshole!

We had agreed to vote for Snake, so we split up and went to different rooms. After voting for Snake, I returned to outside the library.

You better watch yourself Snake! Don't think we're going down without a fight!

[BGM: Silence]


Did everyone vote Snake?

Of course we did! Why wouldn't we?

Like clockwork, an announcement played on our tablets.

The prayers of the group are conflicted, and so the great Draconic Gods will stay out of it.

So, what, does that mean it was a tie?

It must be.

I guess this isn't too much of a surprise. All five of us voted for Snake, and the five of them voted for Dragon.

Tch. They really tried to kill me, eh?

Dragon started banging on the door again.



Try it, bastards, and see what happens!

Horse held the door firm.

My, how interesting. Unintentionally, we have stumbled across the solution we were searching for.

What do you mean?

By ensuring destruction upon a loss, we have put the traitors in a situation where they can't veer away from a tie.

We are currently operating on the very real assumption that if either of our groups gains a 5 to 4 majority, the majority will systematically vote out the minority.

With that in mind, no matter which side either traitor is on, not voting for who they said they would will result in their death.

[BGM: Dance of the Snakes]


We have achieved an actually stable equilibrium.

So... What you're saying is that everything's good now?

To put it simply, yes.

Once we became willing to murder innocents, our bargaining leverage greatly increased. I wonder...

If this was the outcome Snake foresaw, then I must commend his foresight.

Don't give that asshole that much credit. He tried to save his own skin, and it just-so-happened to end up working out.

So while they hold themselves up in there, we've gotta handle the legwork of finding trinkets? Hardly seems fair.



But if it's what's needed of me, I guess I'll be off.

Dog started to walk away, but before he left, he turned back to us.

Vote Snake again.

Will do!

And like that, he was off.

Watch, I'm gonna find a Trinket in no time flat!

I'll also join the search.

I'll look around here.



Eh, I'm gonna stay guard outside here. I don't like the idea of these creeps going off to do whatever they want.

Uh, I think that's unnecessary , but whatever you want.

Just like that, we broke off again. I looked all around a nearby classroom. I was determined to find a Trinket. We just needed 4 more. 4 more. If I could find one, it'd be a huge help. Unfortunately, time passed, and hints evaded me. I realized the prayer cycle was coming to an end, so I took out my tablet and voted for Snake. For once, I felt confident in how this'd turn out. ...But just in case, I decided to check back in on Dragon and the other group.



Dog had the same idea as me.

Hey Mouse. Any luck finding trinkets?

I wish.

Heh, loser.

What, did you find one?

Dog took a token out of his pocket and displayed it proudly.

Right on!

I guess I've got a nose for this sort of stuff.



It's incredibly infuriating that you can find this stuff while seemingly not trying.

Why, jealous?

A little. Anyways, anything happen with those five, Dragon?

Nah. Far as I can tell, these chumps are content holing themselves up like that and voting as a group. I doubt this cycle's result will be much different than last cycle's.

As if spurred on by her words, our tablets had another announcement.

[BGM: Fire Breath]


With a total of 7 prayers, the great Draconic Gods have heeded the group's wishes and strike down Snake.

What?!

The hell?

That's... unexpected.

I raced over to the library's door, and through the window, I saw a cursing Snake lashing out. Sure enough, he was dying. Despite keeping out Dragon before, the group inside the library rushed out in a panic. I guess they didn't want to stay with a dying man. Rooster and Monkey also ran back over here, confused by the announcement.



What the hell?!

We had such a good thing going, why would anyone vote against Snake??

Seriously, who did it? Don't you understand all four of us are done for now??

Not me.

M-me either!

Well it had to be one of you fucks!

But that doesn't make much sense. The traitors would know they were signing their own death warrant.

7 prayers?



Why would the number be 7 prayers? Were both traitors inside that group? No, even that wouldn't explain it. If you were going to betray that group, you wouldn't actively vote against Snake, you'd just vote for someone other than the group. We should've heard '5 prayers'. But there were two extra.

...Two extra? Suddenly, it all clicked.

We're morons.

Agreed, but elaborate.

Instead of answering, I ran back into the cafeteria. I checked Ox and Tiger's bodies.



Sure enough their tablets were missing.

Fucking goddamn it.

What's wrong, Mouse?

The traitor stole the goddamn tablets.