"And thus, everything comes to an end, as all things must,"
Dawn once again falls upon the manor, that unholy graveyard of a building, sunlight cutting through the finally dissipating storm-clouds that have been a seemingly endless background symphony over these few horrible days of death and despair. Yet not even the beautiful light of the morning sun can cut through the melancholy miasma that lingers within the grand foyer where the surviving guests have gathered together for the final time, to see whether they will live...or join their late companions in the afterlife, a cruel possibility that all are trying to avoid speaking about or even thinking about, but remains stubbornly at the forefront of their thoughts, no matter how hard they try to push it back.
Each of them stares at the others, eyes flicking away when caught staring only to flick back once the object of their scrutiny looked away, each of them thinking the exact same thoughts: Who had the vials, either through theft or through searching? Would they share them with the two who would be left behind otherwise? Or would they selfishly leave that unfortunate pair to die in this horrible place? Nobody knows, nobody wants to bring it up, but all of them are thinking it. At least, thinking it up until three sharp raps from the balcony above ceases all of their inner monologues as they look up at their hosts, the ones who trapped them here, the ones responsible for this whole tragedy.
The trio of hosts stare down at them, expressions almost as widely varied as those beneath are horribly similar: Kamaina smirks coldly as she looks down on them, eyes alight with wicked mirth as she leans casually on the railing above. On the other side, Bifrost yawns as they look down at them impassively, expression of boredom betrayed by the anticipation in their eyes. And finally, the puppeteer himself, Charon stands in the middle of them, wings extended slightly to wrap around his co-hosts, his own expression set into a grim smile as he watches his victims closely, smile only widening when each of them meet his gaze and react differently: Erika stares back, all steel and determination. Sintri can't even meet his gaze, looking away and chewing at their lip when his eyes find them. Poyraz folds his arms and huffs, glaring at the wicked host. And Alex...Alex grins and flips him the bird, which actually earns a small, almost appreciative chuckle from Charon.
"So. The game reaches it's final hour, and our players are assembled for their final bow. But the question remains: Which of you get to walk away from here, back to the lives you left behind when you cam here, and which of you will never leave this place...?
He steps up, onto the railing...then steps off, dropping to the ground with barely a whisper of a thump, wings contracting back to rest against his back as he steps through the group, smirking as he reaches the grand doors, the only way in and now the only way out, before spinning on his heel with a flourished sweep of the arms, grinning wide and cruel as Kamaina and Bifrost come down the steps to join him. The guests can only watch as he reaches into his jacket pocket...and eyes widen with horror and shock when he pulls out two small glass vials.
"Oh, you thought I hid the REAL vials? And risk one of you drinking them before the game ended?" Charon chuckles as he balances the delicate glass containers on his fingertips, "Don't be stupid. There was no way I was going to let anyone try to bypass the rules.
Isn't that right, Poyraz? You thought you could outsmart me, try to play me at my own game, try to break the rules I had laid out for you. And what did it get you, hmm? Your wife is still dead, your son is nowhere to be found, and you? You're nothing.
Or what about you, Erika? So arrogant, so assured of your methods being right. Such a pity you completely forgot that you were working with living people, who are, by their very nature, unpredictable, and all your plans fell by the wayside.
And Sintri, poor, pitiful, pathetic Sintri. You decided that the best way out of here was to hope that one of these people would show mercy in you, that they would share their vial with you. Hope, hehe. What a joke, and the joke's on you.
Then....Alex. Our littler interloper, a riddle wrapped in an enigma. A thorn in our side, yet one of the most reliable of those here, one of those that the others could so genuinely trust because you did your best to catch the murderers...and now?
Now lets see who gets to win,"
Before anyone can react, Charon taps upwards on the vials, causing them to float upwards, dancing in the air as they gently glide to the group. Or more specifically...one member of the group.
Alex.
The rest of the group stare, mixed reactions of anger and disbelief as Alex takes the vials out of the air and...grins at the group, opening both vials and tossing back the contents before any of them can do anything to stop him. Erika curses and tries to get at him, ready to kill, only to be knocked across the room by the sweep of a blackened wing, Charon smirking as he steps back away. Poyraz starts to laugh, wandering away as his insane laughter echoes through the room. Sintri collapses to the floor, consumed with shock as they watch Alex step away from the group and up to the door where the three hosts are stood. Charon smirks at him.
"Once a bastard, always a bastard,"
With that, he steps to the side, waving at the grand doors as they open up and let sunshine spill in. Alex steps up to the threshold, half expecting the rainbow void that consumed Veronica to appear, but when it doesn't, he steps through, stopping to look back at the condemned guests as the door slams shut. What happens inside...nobody would ever know, but as Alex walks along the lonely mountain road back to the village, the forest is rocked by a vast shockwave, accompanied with a terrifying roar, and he looks back in time to see the roaring flames reach high, high into the sky behind him from where the manor once was...now all that remains is a roaring fireball.
In several months time, Alex will be sat in cafe, enjoying his newfound life, when his eyes alight on a newspaper...the headline talking about a horrific discovery, of the bodies found in a dilapidated manor believe to be ground zero for a horrific wildfire, and it will bring to mind again what happened there, of what he did to survive, and he will shiver as he sips his drink and wonders what became of the trio that trapped them there, lifting his drink in a strange show of solidarity with the woman at the bar...Veronica, who makes a point of ignoring him in favour of serving the shivering woman sat at the bar, a woman by the name of Amelia Noctua. Seems even a bloodthirsty god has some sense of compassion...
But that is yet to happen, and as Alex watches the flames spread, the ashes dance on the wind, he feels only grateful,
For he will live.
For he has survived.
Mallory Graves
The Ultimate Chef
Played by: SheridanCharon
Killed by a trap set by Alex the First
Alex the First
The Ultimate Lucky Person
Played by: Ezradekezra
Executed for Mallory's murder
Jordan Tani
The Ultimate Game Developer
Played by: itsmedash2
Poisoned with pesticide by Engei Kojo
Engei Kojo
The Ultimate Gardener
Played by: Dolphina
Executed for Jordan's murder
Chem Chem
The Ultimate Stalker
Played by: ejjinami
Strangled to death by Veronica
I. Steel
The Ultimate Pickpocket
Played by: Cheezepie
Wrongfully executed for Chem's murder
Amelia Noctua
The Ultimate Playwright
Played by: Chemist1422
Chosen as collateral damage. Ultimately survived.
Poyraz Karayel
The Ultimate Veteran Cop
Played by: UzayAltay
Failed the final game, presumed to have died in the fire
Sintri Phane
The Ultimate Observer
Played by: cob709
Failed the final game, presumed to have died in the fire
Erika Furudo
The Ultimate Detective
Played by: TheGreatFurudoErika
Failed the final game, presumed to have died in the fire
Veronica
The Ultimate Bartender
Played by: Alicitzen
Survived the killing game
Alex the Second
The Ultimate Unknown
Played by: Ezradekezra
Survived the killing game
Meanwhile....in another place and another time....
Lights of a place long abandoned flicker back into life....
Machines, rides, awaken from a decade long slumber...
The sweet scent of sugar and the tang of smoke fill the air...
A place of fun and laughter, reborn for a new nightmare...
The Wonderland Theme Park Will Soon Open!
Do You Dare Step Inside...?
THE END!
THANK YOU ALL FOR PLAYING!