Chapter Text
“Ohoho, where are my manners? To you brave souls, I am Sue Miley the Laughing Doll, and my master has instructed me to guide you.”
“Hahhh? What the hell?!”
“Ough… Oh dear.”
“Holy shit, I didn’t expect that it would talk!”
“I am a lady Miss Kizuchi,” Miley jeered at the teenager with a giggle, only serving to irritate Kugie. “An advanced piece of technology such as myself deserves much more respect, you know.”
“Why, you—” Kugie balled her fist, but eased slightly when Sara worriedly tugged at her sleeve.
“…So that’s what they meant by ‘revived’, huh?” Keiji kept a scrutinizing eye on the living doll.
“Ahaha, why of course! It would be wholly unfair to lie in your instructions,” Miley punctuated with a teasing smile, grateful that there was someone who could talk clearly.
“You proclaim that, yet hiding information behind doors is alright? Already, you seem to be following the letter, but not the spirit of fairness you appear to be preaching,” Gonbee remarked with impressive composure. Sara was sure her provocations would be enough to perturb him.
Miley gave him a curious look, waltzing over and ever so gently yanking him down to her level with a cackle, “Out of all our candidates, I’m surprised you’re the one to be concerned about lying, big boy…”
And with no further ado, she let go and danced away.
"Hey! Wh-Why you— Sue Miley!"
Ah, there it is. His belated confusion blended well with the unnerved bafflement present in the room.
“What do you mean lying?” Mishuku raised her head to meet Miley’s gaze, but was met with a flick on the nose.
“Ehehehe, you don’t need to worry about it, short stack. Now here, take this!” She passed her a tablet, before moving on to the rest of the gathered party. “It’s something good! You’re to take it for the rest of your trials.”
“Ah—wait, hold on!” Megumi interrupted, pointing at Miley. “How come you suddenly have gloves and shoes on? The doll's limbs were bare when we assembled it.”
“My my, you ask too many questions dearie! Just enjoy the game, ahaha!” Miley took Megumi’s outstretched hand and twirled her away, leaving the officer highly confused and mildly flustered. Miley continued her prance around the room, observing the participants like a carnivore on the prowl.
“Ya know, she probably got a hold of those during the smoke show,” Kugie whispered to Sara after being given their tablets, but she was busy fiddling with the technology. Pressing what she assumed to be the power button, the screen came to life and displayed portraits of everyone present for the trial.
“What the hell do you mean too many questions?!” Reko yelled at the doll as she made her way to the back of the room. “I want answers, damn it! Where is this place? What the hell are you?!”
“Considering her masters are likely the kidnappers, I doubt she’s on our side,” Kai answered in an ineffective attempt to quell some of Reko’s rage.
“Ohoho. Why, you two are so distrustful!” Miley cooed at Reko, changing course toward the rockstar, “Let me endear myself to you…”
“Stay away from me, you creepy ass puppet!” Reko backed away, but could only go so far before Miley caught up to her. She looked Reko in the eye as she leaned in to plant a delicate kiss on her collar, then spun away like a giggling schoolgirl. Reko stood abashedly, her face flushed red.
And then her collar started beeping.
“W… What the—” She brought her hands to her neck.
“What did you just do?!” Gonbee demanded. While the rest of the room started backing away, he was the only one who dared step toward what was unfolding.
“Aha, what indeed? Bad little girls deserve to learn a lesson!”
“You infernal—” Gonbee quickened his pace towards that corner before Miley pushed him back with great resistance.
“Oooh, no, no! Better back up! Better get away from her!” she jeered at the room's audience, playing up the crowd’s restlessness.
“W-What the hell? That sound—” Reko sputtered out in terror, blood suddenly draining from her recently flushed face. She braced for a horrific conclusion she wasn’t ready for.
And then, as suddenly as it had started, her collar stopped flashing
“Ahahaha! Don’t worry your pretty little head off! Your collar won’t explode.” Miley wrapped her arms around Reko's shaking shoulders in a phony attempt at comfort. “Do you trust I’m here to help now?”
Once Miley let go, Reko slumped herself against the wall for support, still gagging against the previously flashing collar.
“Ah, that makes sense… though the last person I kissed had a much more… heated reaction, aha!”
“Joe’s never gonna believe this…” Sara whispered to Kugie, who looked like she could barely believe the scene herself.
She handed off the last tablet to Q-taro before taking back her spot at the front of the room.
“Now! Are you brave souls ready to continue?”
“Brave souls?” Sara questioned, finding the wording peculiar.
“Well yes! The brave nine of you in here, as well as all the eleven cowards outside. Regardless of courage, I’m here to support the—soon to be dwindling—twenty of you!”
“So there's twenty of us in total…” Megumi mused, taking what information she could from the situation.
“Yes, yes! A nice even twenty! Soon you will all undergo a great trial in order to escape this facility. As it has been prior, the strong will live and the feeble will perish. The process for weeding out the weak is far from easy. Someone will surely die, decided entirely by yourselves.”
“...Yeah, we read the back of the door,” Mishuku commented, a little disappointed. “This isn't new information.”
“Oh! I suppose it isn’t…” Her ever-present grin faltered somewhat when she finally noticed the closed door. Clearly, she was having so much fun tormenting the participants that she didn’t notice that piece of set dressing.
“Huh… Well, it doesn’t change much! You all will still be voting for the most unnecessary, most hated, most acceptable to have die for the sake of the group.”
“Or, we could jus’ tie the vote and walk out of here unscathed,” Q-taro steadfastly countered.
“They always say that you know,” Miley burst out laughing, barely containing her amusement. “Do you really trust that these people will stick to their word? That they don’t have their own personal agenda? I highly, highly doubt that your little plan will go as you say it will.”
“What sort of monster would knowingly vote someone to their death? That’s horrible, we’ll never do that!!” Nao burst out.
“Well! If you want to starve down here, be my guest darling, but I’m sure your compatriots are much hungrier than you are,” she cooed at the artist with that sickly sweet tone she’s carried throughout.
The room was silent, filled with a very specific brand of uncertainty and woe. Sara could hardly believe the situation. The solution was right in front of them: if everyone voted for themselves, then the vote would draw and they’d be free to continue. And yet, if a single, selfish individual wanted to, they could condemn someone else to death with a single skewed vote.
“Ohoho, how quiet you’ve all become! Very well, then. Time to test the functionality of these tablets: vote for anyone you’d like, anyone at all! The votes are anonymous of course. Wouldn't want any unnecessary quarrels, you know. Let us see your lot’s resolve…”
Sara stared down at the tablet in her hands, with eight faces shining back. Nine, including herself, and her heart pounded. She could agree to vote for herself like they set upon, or…
She glanced at the self-proclaimed homemaker at the other end of the room, who was grimly looking at the tablet in his own hand. Sara considered, briefly but intensely, that she could vote for him. To finally be rid of that terrible looming sense of fear. To not remember that dread whenever she feels the cold weight of the revolver in her pocket.
But... she couldn't. After all, she couldn't be sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that's who he truly was. And even if she was correct... would she be able to live with herself? Being responsible for a man's death?
She took a deep breath, gripped her resolve, and pressed her own face.
KEIJI: 1 Vote
MEGUMI: 1 Vote
GONBEE: 1 Vote
REKO: 1 Vote
MISHUKU: 1 Vote
Q-TARO: 1 Vote
KAI: 1 Vote
KUGIE: 1 Vote
SARA: 1 Vote
RESULTS: Draw
The doll’s mouth twitched as their votes were counted. Each face showed up exactly once, but barely anyone could breathe with the length between them. With it done, some let out a sigh of relief, while others looked around with surprise that no one had died.
“That went… better than expected…” Keiji commented, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.
“So it has!” Megumi said pleasantly, despite her worried expression not fading yet.
“Ha! See Miley? We ain’t fallin’ to this scheme of yers!” Q-taro grinned, wiping away the sweat on his forehead.
“I wouldn’t call it just yet…” she started with a devious grin, as she looked over what Sara assumed were the non-anonymous results. “A handful of people didn’t vote for themselves. ‘Tis dumb luck that has carried you this far, and the Main Game won’t be so merciful!”
“W-What?!” Gonbee roared out. “Who did it? What buffoons would put lives at risk, and for what petty reasons?!”
“Ehehehe, oh, that I could say! Imagine the carnage if you knew exactly who to go after! Better to have a shroud of doubt though, hm? I couldn't betray them so easily, it's against the spirit of the game!”
“That's bullshit!” Kugie burst out, marching right up to the doll, “Complete and utter bullshit! You were so fucking disappointed that you didn’t get to blow anyone’s head off. If the game is that you want us to tear each other to shreds sooo badly, why wouldn’t you tell us who voted for who?!”
Sara was struck by Kugie’s boldness. Sure, she had blown up at people before—frequently, even—but appealing to this thing just to get the information she wanted? It was incredibly dangerous.
Miley looked down on her, nearly impressed, then stooped to her level and looked the girl dead in the eyes
“Oho, you don’t have the full picture, Miss Kizuchi. If you knew exactly who did what, that rage would burn bright but quick, like a fire made of tissue paper. Anonymity gives room for bickering, arguing, fighting! You’ll be at each other's throats for hours with no way of proving who's right or wrong!”
Kugie stuttered back an empty response before Sara jumped in. Something in her couldn’t just stand idly by. “B-But surely, we all know if we get the wrong person, all of our hands will get bloodied. Then, we wouldn’t have grounds to argue! We’d all be in the wrong.”
“Oh, but that's the best part!” Miley sneered, turning her attention to Sara. “With all your hands soaked in blood, the cycle begins anew! Again and again, you’ll cheat and lie and kill just to shift the blame to anyone but yourselves!”
She took a couple of taunting steps towards Sara, staring at her as she uttered the one thing she didn’t want to hear:
“Rest assured, the Main Game won’t be nearly as bloodless as your trials so far…”
Sara, horrified, stumbled back from the doll towering over her. This couldn’t be real, it just couldn't! Any response she could have dried in her throat as the hopelessness of the situation dawned on her.
“Get the hell away from Sara!” she heard Kugie growl. The doll stood up straight and looked back to her.
“Awww, what a wholesome bond you two have! Serves in stark contrast to the last woman you attempted to court,” she spat out with a sick sort of joy, putting emphasis on the last part of that statement.
“...How did you know that?” Kugie somehow managed to choke out, her face a mix of terror and rage.
“Ahaha, are you sure you want to ask? I know a lot about all of you…” She searched the rest of the room. “...For example—”
“That's enough, you malignant marionette!” Gonbee interrupted, drawing the doll’s attention away from the two girls. “We reassembled your wretched body, we voted in your blasted election, and we all survived! This trial should be over. No need to revel in the misery you hope to bring!”
Miley pouted as she gave her response, “Oh, but I’m just getting started, my dear—”
Clunk!
Sara could hardly believe her eyes. In almost an instant, the doll that had been taunting them had crumpled in on herself, clutching her head.
And above her, stood Kugie, shakily holding Kai’s bloodied frying pan and breathing heavily.
The room stood aghast at the situation. Sara looked over and saw Kai was standing much closer than she thought he was, the remainder of his cooking utensils dropped to the floor in shock.
“I—I didn’t know she could bleed!” Nao cried out, breaking the tension brought into the room.
“Oh… I can most certainly bleed. Just as much as you will in the Main Game!” she threatened one last time, departing with blood slipping through her fingers.
After a beat of silence, Gonbee spoke up. “Miss Kizuchi, are you alright? Do you need a moment?”
“I…” Kugie swayed, somewhat dazed. “I’m… gonna go sit down….”
The pan clattered onto the floor, and Kugie, on wobbly legs, left the pink room.
Once the door drifted shut, Gonbee turned his attention to Megumi.
“Megumi Sasahara, just what sort of officer of the law are you?!”
“W-What are you talking about?”
"When that accursed doll threatened to activate Reko's collar, you failed to intervene. And when she turned her attention to the teenagers you left here? You sat there like a lame duck!”
“Hm? Some great leader you got here…” Keiji observed, working to rub salt in the wound.
“I—I didn’t want to make the situation worse by getting involved!” Megumi insisted. “If I thought anyone was in actual danger, I would have done something!”
“Then, pray tell, why did you back away like a dastard when Reko’s collar was flashing?!”
"Ali—alright, look! Look, Gonbee, it's fine," Reko choked out, finding her bearings. "If it was real, I wouldn't wanna take people with me. I don't blame any of ya for backin' up."
“O-Okay! I—I was too scared to move, it just… everything was so…” Nao started to ramble, but could only trail off.
“Hey, like I said, it’s fine,” Reko reassured her. “We got bigger problems though. For starters: that… thing now being pretty upset at us.”
“That is certainly troubling…” Megumi joined in, trying to regain control of the situation. “Let's head back to the cafeteria. It would be a good idea to give the others a briefing on all that’s happened.”