Part 72: One Becomes Two

The thread heavily agreed that confessing here was a bad move, considering when Monkey does it she ends up tied to a chair. (Tiger doesn't, because, well, she's Tiger. Duh.)

[BGM: Silence]


Everyone, quiet!

If your personality is clever or dumb, please speak up right now. Obviously, no one is going to blame you. We just want to come to an agreement.

However, if you don't speak up now, we'll have no choice but to treat you as an enemy. So please, think carefully about how you want to proceed.

With those words, a plague of silence came over the room. No one even dared cough. Of course. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was the correct choice. I didn't belong in this punishment game. I was a young girl with a promising life ahead of me. I had plenty of loved ones waiting for me, dreams to accomplish, and I had never done anything wrong. If Brian executed the others because of his stupid rules, I wasn't committing murder, he was.

[BGM: Hear No Evil]


And, if you really wanted to get down to it, not making the correct choice because I'd feel guilt is stupid when doing the incorrect choice will get you killed. Confess, and certainly die. Stay silent, survive, and I'd live with the guilt for the rest of my life, sure. But I'd also get to live the rest of my life. Looking at it objectively, this is the right answer.

Everyone... actually remembers their personalities, right? It wouldn't be too odd for someone to forget such a seemingly useless detail.

It's possible that the dumb and clever personalities don't even know it themselves.

Actually... I'm not super sure about what mine is. I mean, I think I remember correctly, but I'm not certain certain, you know? Maybe I should go and check.

Like hell you don't remember! It didn't happen that long ago.



But Dragon, what's the harm with letting people go check? Better safe than sorry, right?

I think letting anyone retreat at this stage would be unwise. The flaws are twofold.

First, it allows time for those with secrets to hide to compose themselves. At the moment, they're likely still flustered, and more likely to slip up. Additionally, letting them walk away and think by themselves will give them time for justification.

Oh, come off it, Snake. I'd like to think most people here are fairly moral people.

I had to struggle to keep my voice straight.

You'd expect one person to put the group over themselves? I think the fact that nobody's confessed suggests some people might've forgotten their personality. Hell, I'm not even certain on what mine was.

It takes zero effort to let people check, so why not?



… I suppose we could allow it.

Allow it? Who made you acting dictator? Last I checked, we're all adults with rights.

Fine, fine, do what you want.

Okay then, just to be sure, let's all split up and check our personalities.

I want the people with the dumb and clever personalities to think carefully about what the right thing to do is. This is your last chance to be on our side. You don't have any excuses after this.

[BGM: Silence]


Sorry Ox, but it's too late for that. I'm already not on your side.

Everyone split up, making their way to separate classrooms. Standing in that classroom, I closed my eyes. Last chance, me. Do I really want to be a sinner? ...Wrong question, me. I should be asking 'do I really want to be a corpse?' The sinners are all around me. Think about my mom. Think about my friends. Think about my plans for the future.

[BGM: Final Squeal]


Could I throw all that away for a clear conscience? ...I couldn't. No one could.

In that lonely room, I re-affirmed my determination. I wouldn't die here. I was surrounded by enemies, people who wanted me to die, but I wouldn't succumb. I would fight. And I would survive. I remembered my personality just fine, but just in case, I checked out the information tablet. Oddly enough, I noticed something. The word CLEVER was now written in green text. I guess that signified my new role? Not like it mattered.

I made my way back to the group. This time, filled with a determination to live. I looked all around the room, stared into all their eyes. Every one of them was an enemy. ...Well, that's not strictly true, is it? The person with the DUMB personality should, theoretically, be willing to work with me. The fact that they haven't spoken up yet means they're thinking along the same lines as me. But that only matters if I could contact them. As is, I have no idea who they are. And there's no way to contact them. Unless...



So, traitors, last chance. Speak now, or forever hold your peace.

Please, please just confess! F-for all our sakes...

Forget it. This was pointless. Nobody here would sacrifice themselves for the group.

We don't know that!

Then why aren't they speaking out? Or, what, are you going to argue that even after checking their tablets again, they still don't know that they're the traitor?

No, that's probably impossible. I'd imagine that the tablet makes that clear now. Like, the affected personalities would be glowing green or something.

Subtle.

Isn't green good? Why would it be glowing green?

It was an example, Pig. They could have a skull sign, or particle effects, or something.



My point is, the traitors know who they are. And they're not coming forwards. But we have an advantage over them.

An a-advantage?

They don't know each other. So right now, it's a 10 v 1 v 1. We'd be in trouble if they could contact each other, but as it is now, that's impossible.

Mouse is right. Honestly, we don't really need to adjust our plans much at all.

Once we have all the Minor Trinkets, we move as a group. It's not possible for one individual to break that up. So we should still prioritize our search for Minor Trinkets.

People nodded, and Ox talked, and everyone eventually agreed on splitting up and searching the school for Minor Trinkets. That's fine. That's the expected outcome, that's what I figured would happen.

[BGM: Silence]


When people started splitting off, I made my way over to the kitchen. And I waited. Now was the time to see if it happened. ...There were a lot of risks to this plan. The other traitor might not have their personality changed to the same color. The other traitor might not have enough trust to reach out to me. The other traitor might not have even noticed. But if they caught what I did there... If I could have just one person that I could work with...

And then, somebody walked into the kitchen with me.



Ah, Mouse. I thought I saw you walk over here.

Rooster. What are you doing here?

Well, I saw what you did over there. I just wanted you to know I caught it.

Oh? The thing with the color?

The thing that only us two should know.

Right... just the two of us.

… ...You're the CLEVER personality, right?

You're the DUMB personality, right?

We stared at each other for a couple of seconds, our unease slowly dying down. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief.

[BGM: Mourning Crow]


I had found the other damned soul. ...Unfortunately, it was Rooster, who probably wouldn't be the most useful. Still, just having one person on my side meant the world.

So... you've also decided on what to do.

It's not an easy choice, I'm afraid.

But I'm on a course to the stars. I'll become an icon that the people cheer for. I decided a long time ago that I'd fight for all I was worth to reach my dreams.

I guess this is just the natural conclusion of that resolve.

But... to let the others die...

And it'd be preferable for us to die? Look, the way I see it, Brian has put us in a horribly unfair game. He's the one who's responsible for what happened here. But now that we're in this situation, all we can do is play our best.



If I didn't have this personality, and someone else did, I wouldn't fault them for attempting to kill me. They all will play their best. And we should play our best.

...You're right. It's tragic, barbaric, gruesome, but I don't plan on dying here. Even if it means becoming a monster... I'm going to fight my way out of this.

Ooh, I love that! You're really hitting me with some strong 'tragic heroine' vibes- you've got a good aura around you.

Rooster... please. Not now.

Jeez, tough crowd, huh?

Okay then, so what's the plan? We've established that we're willing to kill to survive, so what's the next step?

Well, with our abilities, I don't think we can disrupt Ox's plan naturally. We could look for a Major Trinket to turn the tables, but... that's a risky gambit. We don't know what we'll find, or when we'll find it.



So that leaves... actual murder.

I thought as much. A tragedy, but the difference between carrying out such an act with our hands and through our actions is negligible.

… A-Anyways, I've been thinking about it, and it seems very possible that some Major Trinket will allow the group to somehow verify or check somebody's personalities.

Wait, why would that be a thing?

When you think about it, this is sort of like a social deduction game.

Social deduction game?

Like werewolf, or mafia. If Brian was taking inspiration from that, we would be the two 'hidden roles'. And in those games, there's usually some way to verify people's innocence or lack thereof.

When viewed from that perspective, a Major Trinket would be the perfect way to facilitate something like that. It's a mechanic tied to the game that doesn't necessarily revolve around movement. If someone finds something like that, we're really screwed.



After all, it's not like we can take on the whole group. Heck, there are individual members of that group I don't think we could take 2 v 1.

So from what I'm hearing, it sounds like we're gonna have to kill pretty much everybody by ourselves.

… I'm saying... that it would be our best strategic chance for survival.

And we made our choice to survive, right?

Right.

Okay then. So I ask again, how do we get started?

Let me think for a second.

[BGM: Silence]


I paced for a couple of seconds. Don't think about this like I'm murdering people. Think about it like I'm writing a murder mystery. If I was a culprit in one of those novels, what move would I want to make?

It'd be best to put suspicion on somebody else to start with. If the group thought they had caught a traitor, they'd likely imprison that person, which is like taking a piece for free. So what sort of trick could I use? Anything too obvious, and one of the sharper members in the crowd would catch it. But if I counted on people's deductive skills...

[BGM: Slithering]


Okay. I know what we need to do. We're going to use a 'False Disguise' ruse.

Ooh, we've got names going, I love it! That's the sort of winning energy we need.

Please be less enthusiastic about our murder plot. For now, grab a weapon. Uh, a kitchen knife will work just fine.

Rooster complied, grabbing one from nearby.

Good. This plan is going to leave us with two victims. Our first target should be... ...Snake would work the best.

You know, I'll trust you for the think-y things, I'll be the talent. You say Snake needs to die, he'll die.

I saw him heading down that hallway to the left, he's actually pretty close to the cafeteria. The two of us searched a part of that hallway earlier, I think he's just making his way through there.

Okay, this can work.

I took a deep breath in, and another out. Turn off that fear switch. Detach from the situation. There is no other option here. You were forced into this game. You need to play it. Think about the alternative – the tightness in your throat, the pain in your chest, and all the people you'd never get to see again. Death was something too horrible for anyone to simply accept. Everyone should try to be as good a person as they can, but allowing yourself to die is a price too great. Nobody could be expected to pay it. Everyone has a right to try to survive – it's your one and only, most precious life.

Now, to keep my own existence, I'd cast out somebody else's.



Ah, Mouse. How goes it? Are you also searching around this area?

Uh, yeah – actually, I think I found something, but I'm not sure what it means.

You're stumped on one of Brian's riddles?

I never said I was stumped! ...Just, you know, a second pair of eyes wouldn't hurt.

Very well, I shall lend you my aid. Where's the riddle?

This way.

[BGM: Silence]


I led Snake into the nearby art classroom.

You found something in here?

Y-yeah.

Odd. I already searched this area, and didn't find anything.

I guess you just didn't search well enough.

I suppose I didn't.

Look, the riddle starts over here.

I walked over to a nearby closet. I heard Snake follow behind me. When I reached the closet, I put my hand on its handle. But I didn't open it. I just stopped and closed my eyes.

[BGM: Mousetrap]


Because I knew what was about to happen.

Mouse, I thi-

Hey, what are you do-

*shlick!*

I heard the sound of a knife finding its target. I heard the sound of Snake collapsing onto the nearby table. And I heard the sound of life leaving Snake's body. …I might've hallucinated that last bit, but it certainly felt audible.



You can look now. It's over.

I know. I don't want to.

Well, you're going to have to at some point.

I know, I'm just... preparing myself.

By doing what?

Look, I'll turn around in three seconds. 3... 2... 1...

Without thinking about it anymore, I turned around. Sure enough, the sight I was met with was far from pleasant. Snake had completely collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from his stomach. His eyes were wide open in a haunting manner. I would definitely need to book more sessions with Monkey after all of this. … Book more sessions with my new therapist, that is.

One thing was for sure – I wouldn't be forgetting this image anytime soon.