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"Please! Miley, stop this! I'll do anything!" Sara cried out. Her voice was cracking as she spoke, barely able to contain the emotions overwhelming her. Not ten seconds ago she had been screaming her lungs out at the sight of Joe's body being pierced, blood slowly pumping out of her still-struggling friend. "I'll do anything!" she begged, grasping at the front of the doll's dress as tears welled in her eyes. Anger, sorrow, utter defeat, all played across her features.
"How cuuute, Sara!" Miley's head tilted to one side as she looked down at the shorter girl, her face a mask of mockery. One of her hands grabbed at Sara's wrist, jerking her to one side. "Well, why not? I can give you a chance!"
"Eh...?" Sara blinked at the device that had been effortlessly slipped into her hand - a simple metal cylinder, small enough to fit in her palm. One end was almost entirely taken up by the proverbial (and literal) big red button. It put her in mind of a detonator for a bomb, and even in the horror of one of her best friends bleeding out before her eyes that possibility was gut-wrenching - was Miley about to tell her to blow someone else apart to save Joe?
...And would she be able to refuse?
Her vacant stare at the device she had been gifted was broken only when one of Sue Miley's gloved fingers tapped the bottom of her chin, tilting it upwards so she was staring directly at the Laughing Doll's smile.
"Eheehee! This button can undo everything that's happened since you've arrived here. Every little mistake that led to Joe Tazuna's death becoming inevitable."
"Undo...?" Sara's heart skipped a beat.
"Ahaha! It's a time machine! Surprised it's so small?" Miley raised one of her hands, merrily waving it through the air as she explained. "It sends your consciousness back to an earlier point in time, haha! You keep all the knowledge, but your body is just how it was, oh, a few hours ago? The last time you woke up, of course, so you better not have taken a nap since you got here!"
Sara's anger boiled over. This was... this was plain evil. How could anyone believe something so stupid? "Stop lying to me!" she replied, accusingly. "How could... how could that be real?"
Those last words came out as little more than a sob.
Miley leaned in close to her ear, giving her a conspiratorial whisper. "Oh, it's real. But you're not going to like it."
She put her hands on Sara's shoulders, whirling her around past the other horrified participants to stare right at Joe. Joe, pale and limply grasping at the machines. Joe, slumping forward with every passing second.
Those... things were pumping him dry. In a matter of moments, there wouldn't be anything left of him but a hollow husk of a body.
"If you don't believe me, just don't press it!" The doll nudged her side with an elbow. "But then again, what do you have to lose? Eheehee! Just mash that button, and maybe you can save him!"
Closing her eyes tightly, Sara pushed down on the button with all her might.
"Sara! Are you there?"
That voice beside her... She couldn't even bring herself to open her eyes and confirm Miley's utterly incredulous claim was a lie. "Joe... Is that you? You're alive?"
"Alive? Yeah, of course! Just tied up!"
Tied up...? That was an odd way to put his heard being pierced, his arteries being drained, his body...
"Can't you do something?"
Her eyes remained closed. This wasn't despair, it was fear. Fear that the Joe she might open her eyes to would be a spectre, a phantom of her own grief. Her own uselessness manifested in the shape of her friend, twisted and rotting away even in the span of seconds that had occured since she shut herself off from the sight of his suffering.
But of all things, why was his phone ringing again?
"Joe... That's your phone, isn't it?" she asked, trying to push down the awful feeling of deja vu. Trying to quell the fear of this being nothing more than a flashback, brought on by the trauma of this Death Game finally causing her brain to snap.
"Huh? Yeah, you're right!" She heard the sound of her friend fumbling in the dark. "Hello? Whoever you are, help us!"
The help came. At least, some kind of help. The phone spat out that same automated guidance she had heard mere hours ago. Had she memorised it all? Or maybe her brain was filling in the blanks and she didn't notice.
But as the recorded voice talked of keys and restraints, she couldn't help but notice her own hand was balled in a fist, a death grip on a small metal cylinder topped with a singular red button...
Joe yelled in fear. "Whadd're we gonna do?!"
"Joe, I need you to listen to me very carefully."
Sandpaper on key. Combination on lock. It wasn't hard to remember. Joe had been a little confused that she had told him that with her eyes still scrunched up. She was afraid to open them and see that this was nothing but her mind feverishly denying that her friend's body had been emptied of all blood, laying limply on the floor.
But after Joe released her from the restraints he immediately pulled her into a long, comforting hug. She returned it, eventually, her friend's warmth and some muttered words about getting through this together enough for her to put her arms around him too.
"I'm sorry, Joe... It's all my fault... I'm the one who got you killed..." she sobbed, eyes at least open enough to see her friend through her tears.
"Sara... hey, Sara! Ya need to snap out of it, okay? You're all shook up from this whole thing, but we're both alive and that's all that matters, right? We'll get somewhere safe then we'll... I don't know, talk it out!"
Of course... If even a single word Miley had said was true, this wasn't the same Joe.
But... Joe was Joe, right? This was a chance to save one of her friends, to undo everything that led to him holding the Sacrifice card and Kai... she hadn't even seen what became of Kai after that vote. Maybe she'd get some answers from him when they met.
Speaking of, she needed to explain this to everyone. She knew they would all meet up soon enough, therefore...
"Just how did you know that was a doll's head?"
"Why are you so familiar with this building's layout?"
"Remind me again, how come the two of you know each other?"
"You're working with them, aren't you!?!"
"She's one of the kidnappers!"
...That hadn't gone as planned. She needed to explain it differently next time.
Next time… was she already resigning herself to starting again?
"Time travel?!? What kind of made-up sci-fi story is that?!?" demanded Q-taro.
"Now now, there's no need to argue over this!" Mishima adjusted his glasses. "She's been through some traumatic ordeals, aha. It'd do her some good to rest."
The bulky red-haired man turned to him. "What, you think she's delusional? Whacked her head or something?"
"Ah, I can attest that Miss Sara is right about my employment by her father, though I cannot ascertain how," mused Kai.
Convincing everyone she wasn't suffering from an extended mental break was an ordeal in itself, but eventually she reasserted everyone's trust in her. Well, most of them, enough for things to mostly go as they did the first time.
Things went better this time. She calmly, patiently, explained to Kanna that things weren't her fault no matter what any hypothetical mean doll lady might say, garnering more sympathy from the young girl due to her own apparent plight - Joe had mentioned she had had her own breakdown in the First Trial.
Except somehow, she had misplaced the device. Somewhere, somewhen, she had set it down for a second. And it didn't take long for the thief to confront her, quite justifiably suspicious of everything he had been told.
"You've been carrying this around, keeping it secret from all of us! All while you feed us this story about time travel!" Sou was holding the cylinder, gesturing wildly with his other hand. "What does this button do?!? What are you so scared of us finding out?!?"
"Don't press-!"
He pressed it.
To her surprise, Sara was back in the first trial again, the tiny time machine still a comforting weight in her palm. So it didn't matter who pressed it...
"Joe, this is going to sound weird, but please just trust me..."
"I've come back in time and I need your help." She tried explaining her story to the only person other than Joe she knew she could get isolated before the others all met, hoping against hope that maybe it'd get through to him.
"Tch! At least make up something believable!" said Alice, before throwing a punch.
Mercifully, Sara managed to press the button before fully losing consciousness.
"Q-taro, I know you're placing those cards..."
For his part, Q-taro had been reasonable. The others... hadn't. The conversation quickly took on the tenor of a lynchmob.
When a knife had been produced from somewhere, it was time to try over from the start.
Finally, finally, she had corralled everyone together without a fight breaking out. It had taken her a few dozen attempts, enough that she lost count.
Before they could place the head on the neck stump of the inert doll, Sara stood in front of it, waiting for the eyes of the assembled participants to all be on her. "Everyone... I've done everything I can to prove I'm on your side, so please, I'm begging you, trust me. Just this once."
Sou opened his mouth, possibly to object, but a withering glance from Reko put him in his place.
"There's a message on the back of the door. When this doll comes to life - yes, I know - we're going to vote, and whoever has the most votes dies." That went as well as could be expected. This time it was Q-taro ready to interrupt, but he clearly thought better of it. "I want everyone to vote for themselves. Like the message says, we can all live through this."
"And the tally is in! Everyone has one vote!" Miley had looked momentarily annoyed before announcing the result, like she had heard the first few notes of a beloved song before a mediocre 90s rapper had begun working his craft over the remainder of the tune. Nevertheless, she quickly resumed a placid and pleasant expression, clapping her hands together. "Well! I guess that means this is a draw! Wow, it's almost like you've played this game before!"
On cue, Sara stepped forwards. "Please. I need to know... how does this work? What... why is all this happening?"
"The Death Game?" asked the doll.
Sara silently showed her the switch. Somehow that button had came back with her every time, even if only her memories seemed to come with it.
The doll tilted her head to one side, just a little. It felt almost strange to consider that moments ago it hadn't even been attached. "Oh, that one's simple! It's like saving in a videogame, eheheh!" answered Miley. "Whenever you sleep, that's your save point! You're really lucky to have that on your first day of the Death Game - after all, it'd be pretty useless to relive only a tiny part of the Second Game over and over!"
Her smug expression made it perfectly clear just how useless she considered it even in a game that afforded no opportunity for rest.
"Ahahaha! But I can't believe I gave you that!" Miley gave a wicked grin, and Sara was unsure if she was just imagining prominent fangs in that nightmarish smile. "So who snuffed it? Who were you crying over so much that I just had to mess with you?"
She twirled over to Keiji, her skirts flaring out wildly. One hand was swiftly on the small of his back, her arm firmly around his waist, while the other found its way into that of the blonde. He was too surprised to resist being pulled into the motions of a dance. "Was it Mister Policeman's sob story? Did he tell you how he always regretted murdering that suspect, or maybe how he just wished he could wash his hands of leaving his boss to die!"
Before Keiji could bring any force to bear on the doll woman she had already shoved him to the floor, whirling around to pinch Kanna's cheek, calling to mind a distant relative who couldn't believe just how much she had grown. "Or dear sweet sister-killer Kanna? Did the sight of a little girl blooming like a bloody flower make you cry so much you begged for my help? Eheheh!"
"Stop it! I didn't... I didn't..." sobbed the green-haired girl.
"No... No." Miley was beaming in delight. "It's your adoring puppy of a boyfriend, isn't it!" Sara's facial expression was enough for her to be sure, already striding across the room towards Joe. "I'll make sure he suffers so much if you don't press it again, ahaha!"
She was weak. She couldn't stay in that timeline. Not with Joe's collar heating up. There hadn't even been a vote! She hadn't even...
She hadn't told him about her journey through time, not this time around. Telling him always, always led to his horrible death. Sometimes at the clutches of Miley, sometimes in the line of protecting her, sometimes a cold-blooded murder of opportunity.
Sara hadn't even known who did it that time. She just saw the still body laying in a pool of his own blood and pressed the button, in a blind panic. Was that before or after Miley had began the process that would leave his neck a charred stump?
...Was it before or after his execution at the end of the Main Game?
Things were blurring. Not about the Death Game - she was sure she knew more about the people she was trapped with than she'd ever care to, and she knew every detail of the rooms she could access - but about the order of things.
Something had become... unstuck. The second hand of a clock with a dying battery clicking in place, making noise but no real progress.
How many times had she panicked and restarted the whole Death Game over? Why... Why did it feel like she was losing track?
This time, Sara assembled the doll herself. With her foreknowledge it was disturbingly easy to mislead everyone else into exploring elsewhere. She needed answers, and as much as she hated Miley, she was the only true connection to the organization that had imprisoned her.
Well, save for Meister, but the talking portrait had only grinned when confronted. It wasn't like unloading the three bullets she was capable of finding on this floor into his smug face would achieve anything other than making the rest of them assume she had snapped.
She held the button in her hand as Miley stood up, staring her down with determination in her eyes. Even so, her voice faltered, just a little. "You... Another you said it was like saving a game."
Miley's eyes flicked to the red circle. She looked absolutely delighted. "Ohoho! That's a good analogy! Of course I came up with it!" She leaned in closer to Sara. "Do games still have memory cards? Ahaha, that's more Hiyori's interest, so I'm not sure if you'll understand what happens if I say..."
"What if you ran out of space in your memory card?"
Sara stared silently at her hands, the device still clutched desperately in her fingers.
"Eheehee! You delete whatever's least important!" said Miley, as if unable to contain the punchline to her own bad joke.
When had Sara's hands started shaking?
She balled them up into fists, dulling the unwanted movements. "But I'm making progress! I can solve all your puzzles myself, I know where Q-taro puts all the cards, I can get to the Main Game with everyone alive!" Sara frowned, her eyes flicking to the side. Why was it so hard to focus on anything now, of all times? "I'm getting closer every time. I know I'll figure out a way everyone can escape."
But when her eyes fell on Miley's face again, the doll was looking in the same direction her own gaze had drifted. To... nothing in particular, really. It had been like her brain was sliding off her own thoughts, only letting her stay standing to argue with Sue Miley out of sheer determination.
Miley's red and yellow eyes rolled back in line with hers. Her smile was eerily subdued for once. Somehow, that felt worse than her usual monstrous grin.
"The human brain needs sleep, did you know that?" she asked, her voice as casual as if she was discussing an episode of a popular TV show with co-workers at the water cooler. "REM sleep is one of those things that still stumps scientists all over the world, but it turns out if you don't get any of it for three days or so, well, some funny things start happening, ahaha! Most humans can't even stay conscious anywhere near that long without stimulants! Their bodies just give out!"
The Laughing Doll's smile became teasing, taunting, like she had been discussing blends of tea before casually mentioning which ones best hid the taste of poison. She bent her knees and picked up one of the plush purple rabbits that sat on the floor of the pink room. Funny, Sara didn't recall anyone so much as touching them any other time.
"Your body's getting refreshed every time you press that button, but your mind isn't. If you keep jumping back then one time? You'll just collapse."
She held out the toy, and released her grip on it, watching it flop face-down on the floor.
"What'll happen then, hmm? How long do you think you'd need to sleep?"
Sara... Sara didn't know. How could she know? How could anyone know how much time had passed when their clock was constantly being wound back?
She felt creeping dread, now uncannily certain this was the longest she had ever been awake in her life.
Miley's eyes were closed, her hands clasped together in glee. "Feeling tired, Sara Chidouin? Ahaha, ahahahaha!"
If she fell asleep... that would be time she could never get back. The device wouldn't take her back to the First Trial any more. That past would be set in stone, as much as the rest of her life beforehand had been.
Worse still, there was only the space of mere hours between the First Trial and the Main Game. If she fell asleep, if she had to sleep off days worth of mental exhaustion and could take no part in it, would she wake up to countless deaths?
Would she wake up at all?
Visions flooded her mind, each worse than the last.
Joe, unable to shake the sheer suspicion of dragging an unconscious friend with him everywhere he went, unable to even prove their connection.
Sou Hiyori slipping the Sacrifice card into the pockets of a sleeping girl.
Miley leaning over her in the Main Game, slumped over against a podium, guiding her hand to vote for someone's death. Whoever she wanted to die, really.
"N... No!"
"Better make this one count!" teased Miley. "Oh hey everyone! You'll never guess what we've been talking about, eheehee!"
Sara whirled around to see the others at the entrance to the room, wide-eyed with horror. No... Miley was going to tell them everything!
Well, knowing Miley, she was going to tell them whatever got somebody killed.
It felt like her neck was still burning. That was... That was a new outcome.
Miley had told them just enough to make them all suspicious of a girl who knew how to solve every room ahead of time, to shuffle everyone else aside, to hold a secret conversation with one of her supposed captors.
And then she had announced the Majority Vote.
Naturally Sara had received a resounding majority, and even her quick press of the button had left her feeling uncomfortably like she had been branded with a hot iron. Worse still, she could feel she was approaching her limit.
However long she had been awake, it was too long.
She played the fool. She kept quiet about some things she could have said, only really stepping in to save the level-headed Mishima from an early death (one she had even more sympathy for than before). Even knowing who had the Sacrifice card ahead of time made her so much of a target, no matter how she played it.
She did everything she could. She performed perfectly, in that her imperfections masked her uncanny future knowledge. Everything was going as well as it could. It had to. She had lived through it so many times. She was sure that this time, some way, somehow, she could make everything right.
Until Sara collapsed at the podium, just as the Main Game began.
Exactly as Miley had said - it wasn't her body that gave out, but her mind...
> RUNTIME ERROR AT /SIM/PARTICIPANTS/SARACHIDOUIN
> RECURSION ERROR
> MAXIMUM RECURSION DEPTH EXCEEDED
> _
>
> _
>
> _
The cursor blinked in the terminal window, perpetually awaiting input.
"Should we reboot it?"
"That's as much data as we're going to get from this one. Just file it away."