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Four YouTubers sit in a tight circle of couches in the lounge, their hearts in their throats for the seventh time tonight. It's been twelve minutes since Joey and Matt reunited with Safiya and Rosanna, and now, they wait for the final survivor of Willy's bloody game.Pink or green, thinks Safiya solemnly. Look for pink or green. If she focuses on logic, perhaps she can ignore the blood on her hands.Rosanna's head is in her hands. She cries quietly, in a way that makes it obvious that she doesn't want the others to notice her tears, but Safiya notices them anyway. "Ro," she asks, "what's wrong?"What's wrong? Ha. As if you don't already know what's wrong, you two-faced, backstabbing, murderous—"Manny 'n' Nikita..." Rosanna sniffles, her grieving words almost a jumbled mess."I know." Since they're sitting on the same couch, Safiya has room to reach over and pull the little Jet Setter into a hug. "I know."Matt, who's sitting on Safiya's other side, notices the despair on both girls' faces. "It's not your fault," he tells them. "You had to choose someone. If anything, it's Willy's fault for putting you guys in that position.""No." Rosanna shakes her head. Her voice grows clearer with every word she speaks. "You don't understand. They're alone, Matt. They're all alone out there."Joey shifts in his seat. "They're not—""They are. I wasn't alone when I went out with Teala. Calliope and Mortimer were with me. They were with Nikita, too, when she was up against Roi. Teala had them and Matt and Saf, and everyone was there when..." She trails off when she sees the pained look in Matt's eyes. "...you know. But Manny and Nikita don't have anyone but each other, and one of them's gonna..." Another round of tears spills out of her eyes before she can finish her sentence.Safiya's mind finishes it for her. One of them will die. The other will be left alone. All because of me.She's not used to feeling guilty. The truth has haunted her footsteps like a ghostly dog with blood-matted fur, and no matter how much she tries to pretend that it's not there, it continues to follow her up and down Everlock's streets. She has a laundry list of facts running through her head at all times; not harmless facts, like two times two is four, our first president was George Washington, or even my name is Safiya Nygaard, but awful, devastating, heartbreaking facts that rock her to her core.
I saved Teala, which killed Jc, and then I voted Teala to her death.
I helped Joey kill Colleen. I closed the door on her.
I sent Manny and Nikita to the Funhouse, where one of them will die.
She feels like she's a plot twist away from falling apart."Come to think of it," remarks Matt, "Ro does have a point. Everyone else who's won a challenge has had some kind of support afterwards, but Manny and Nikita are in the Funhouse by themselves." He bites his lip. "Knowing how close they are, whoever wins is gonna need all the support they can get."Rosanna wriggles out of Safiya's arms and rises to her feet. "I can go to them," she suggests. "I'll wait outside the Funhouse, and when they're—""Ro, don't," pleads Matt. "It's too dangerous. We don't know what Willy's capable of.""Besides, I don't think Manny and Nikita will want to see either of us at the moment," Safiya sighs, shrinking into the couch at the thought of the vengeful wrath that's guaranteed to come her way once all of this is over.Calliope, of course, has been listening to the entire conversation. "I will go." She's halfway out the door before any of the YouTubers can say otherwise."Calliope, wait!" Matt stands up. "I'll go with you."Rosanna frowns. "Matt—""It's for the best. There's strength in numbers, so if Willy attacks us, we stand more of a chance. Plus, Nikita and Manny don't have anything against me." The Detective wrinkles his nose. "At least, I don't think they do."A counterargument dies on Rosanna's lips. "Okay," she murmurs, flopping back onto the couch next to Safiya. "Just be careful. I don't wanna lose you again.""You won't," declares Matt. "I promise."As Matt and Calliope leave the lounge, Safiya tries to think of something to say to the Detective, but somehow, none of her sentences sound right. It's too soon for I love you, too late for I'm glad you're back, and good luck just doesn't seem appropriate for the situation. In the end, she settles for a stoic nod of the head. Matt notices, smiles, and salutes her and Rosanna before disappearing into Everlock."He'll be okay, right, Safiya?" worries Rosanna, her hands clenched together as if she's praying.Safiya shrugs. To be honest, Matt and Calliope's safety is not completely guaranteed, but a good chance is better than no chance at all. "I think so."
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Matt feels like he and Calliope are walking into the lions' den. There's an insane Funhouse Man with a split personality on the loose, and here they are, completely unarmed, approaching the front door of his headquarters. What if they have to watch their friend die in front of them? Or worse—what if Willy decides to kill them just for showing up?It's a small risk, his heart tells his mind. Besides, like Ro said, whoever survives the Funhouse needs someone to be there for them.The Funhouse is just as bright and creepy as it was when he left it. The spiral-eyed cat stares down at him as if it wants to brainwash him and then eat him for dinner, and the colorful lights seem to be conspiring to give him a migraine. It wouldn't be the first time his head hurt tonight."Manny?" he calls gently towards the door. "Nikita?"Echoes of Manny and Nikita are the only answer he receives.Calliope frowns. "They are probably still in the Funhouse. It would be best for us to stand outside and wait for...them." The word "them" sounds like wishful thinking on her tongue.Matt pulls his jacket close to his chest in an effort to ward off the winter chill. To be honest, he has no idea who he wants to survive the Funhouse. Manny and Nikita are both his friends, even if he isn't as close to them as he is to Rosanna and (more recently) Safiya, and they've both proven themselves several times over. The thought of either of them dying at Willy's hands, especially in front of their best friend, seems oddly wrong, and he wishes that there was a way to save them.It could've been worse. He thinks of Rosanna and Safiya, his two best friends in Everlock, who are thankfully safe back at the lounge. It could've been them against each other, or one of them against me. Thank God that they were smart enough not to let it come to that."Willy's in the Funhouse, too, I assume," he remarks dryly."Yes," sighs Calliope. "A man like him would want to see the chaos he created."As he wanders closer to the Funhouse entrance, Matt mentally debates what he's going to say to the Funhouse survivor. "I'm sorry for your loss?" No, that sounds too cheesy, like something written on a Hallmark card. "Are you okay?" No, of course they won't be okay. "I'm sorry." Yeah, that's good. A simple, sincere "I'm sorry," and then, if they want one, a hug. It won't be enough to fix things, but it'll be a step in the right direction.There's a tiny box hanging by a string outside the door, along with a note. Matt knows that the note is meant to be read by Manny or Nikita, but for some reason, he wants to take a peek at what it says. Maybe it's the Detective side of him. "Is it okay if I look at this?" he asks Calliope.Calliope cocks her head. "I don't see why not."So Matt adjusts his sunglasses, repositions the box so that he can see the note properly, and reads it aloud.
The sad news is, you both get to live.
Matt nearly drops the box along with his jaw. "Holy..." He wasn't expecting this. Every previous death challenge has always ended with the death of its loser. The revelation that Manny and Nikita will both survive the Funhouse fills his heart with an unexpected sort of fluffy joy. "You're gonna live!" he hollers triumphantly at the Funhouse. "You're both safe, guys! You're gonna be okay!"The Funhouse does not respond. Matt hopes that Manny and Nikita heard him, but he's fairly certain that they didn't.Wait. There's more. There's a catch. There must be a catch.
Breaks my heart. It really does. The very good news, however, is that the person who voted the winner into the challenge is getting their guts torn open right now.
Messy penmanship swims through Matt's field of vision. Voted...person who voted... The truth hits him like a lightning strike. It's Ro or Safiya. He's gonna kill Ro or Safiya. They were the only ones who voted. It's gotta be one of them.His two best friends...No! They can't die! Especially not like this!He drops the note and runs for the lounge as fast as his legs can carry him.
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The wait is killing me.
Safiya's not usually an impatient person, and she's been able to cope with the challenge-induced wait times fairly well up until now, but this time is different. This time, Matt and Calliope are going to come back with a single member of the Manny-and-Nikita friendship, and the other member will most likely end up as a corpse on the Funhouse floor, all because of Safiya's deadly choice. Well, also because of Rosanna, but Safiya knows that she is the one who is mostly at fault in this situation.Not only that, but whoever comes back is going to come back with a vengeance.Manny might be salvageable. He puts on a nice act, but Safiya remembers the urgent worry in his voice when he was trying to save her and Rosanna from the jail cell. Plus, he likes Matt and Calliope (in slightly different ways), so if he's the survivor, they might be able to talk him down from going on a murderous rampage in Nikita's name. But if they can't...well, he wasn't christened the strongest one in the group for nothing. That sassy-yet-sweet Record Producer might turn out to be a surprisingly dangerous foe.Then there's Nikita. If she survives, there's no hope of cooling her down. The Troublemaker will do her best to burn everyone and everything who was even remotely involved in Manny's downfall, and Safiya Nygaard will be Target Number One. In that situation, their only hope is for Safiya to take all the blame, so that at least Rosanna might be spared from Hurricane Dragun. Sure, Safiya will get screamed at, and they'll probably throw her into the next death challenge, but she's good at challenges, and she can deal with screaming. She'll be okay. Hopefully.As long as Ro doesn't get hurt, she thinks, her fists balled against the arms of her chair, everything is going to be fine.All of a sudden, Matt bursts through the door, white as a sheet. "Ro!" he screams. "Safiya!" He skids to a stop upon seeing the girls. "Whew. Okay. You're fine. He's not here yet.""Who's not here?" Rosanna is first to her feet. "Matt, what's going on?"Matt's words come out in puffs of air. "Willy. He's coming. Here. For you. I found a note...outside the Funhouse...it was s'posed to be for Manny 'n' Nikita, but I got to it first...it says..." He can't bring himself to say what it says.Calliope appears. She wordlessly brandishes a crumpled-up piece of paper in her right hand. Safiya takes it from her and reads it aloud.
The sad news is, you both get to live. Breaks my heart. It really does. The very good news, however, is that the person who voted the winner into the challenge is getting their guts torn open right now. Take the bulb and go, before I kill you too.
"Wait, what?" mutters Joey.Rosanna, unlike Joey, understands the message instantly. "The person who voted...Safiya, one of us is gonna die!"One of us is gonna die. The message pulses through Safiya's head, giving her a headache in the process. I didn't doom Manny or Nikita after all. I doomed myself or Ro. She shivers. She doesn't want to go out like this, but the thought of watching Rosanna die is too much for her to bear."He can't do that!" Joey stands with a scowl. "That's not how this works! That's not how any of this works!""What do we do?" Safiya asks quietly, even though she's not sure if they can do anything against a homicidal Funhouse Man with multiple personality disorder.Calliope frowns. "Our only hope to save the girls is if they hide." Her voice fades into a whisper almost automatically. "Put them in the room where we found the Statue of Era, at least until the artifact is cleansed."Matt jumps into action immediately. "Joey, help me with this," he grunts, and together, the boys reopen the hole in the wall."But what about you guys?" Rosanna frets. "What if he hurts you instead?""We'll be fine, just please go hide, we'll come get you when he's gone," stammers Matt, taking his small friend by the hand and guiding her into the Statue of Era's room. Safiya, who knows better than to argue with a desperate Matthew Patrick, follows Ro into hiding.Once the girls are safely inside the room, Matt steps back out, and he and Joey prepare to shut them inside. "Don't make a sound," advises Joey. "Just stay here while we take care of this.""I love you!" shouts Rosanna.Matt looks like he's about to cry. "I love you too."Before Safiya knows it, the door is closed, and she's alone in a dark room with Rosanna Pansino. The little Jet Setter immediately begins to tremble, and Safiya pulls her close to calm her down. "Don't worry, Ro," she whispers, her breath tickling Rosanna's brown hair. "We're gonna be fine. You just gotta stay quiet, okay?""I know," whimpers Rosanna. "I'm not worried for us. I'm worried for them. I don't want Willy to—""He won't," Safiya assures her, but she's not sure if she believes herself.
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The pacifism in Matt hopes that Manny and Nikita can make it back to the lounge before Willy arrives, but the rational part of him acknowledges that such a hope is unrealistic. After all, Willy probably planned this out beforehand. The bastard. His hands curl around the flashlight he borrowed from the closet. The batshit crazy bastard. How dare he. How fucking dare he.(When Matthew "MatPat" Patrick is swearing in his head, that's an obvious signal that the world is at its worst.)"You remember the plan, right?" he asks Joey, who's clutching an identical flashlight."Stall him." Joey rattles off his instructions like a terrified robot. "Direct him away from here, if we can. If not, keep him talking until the artifact is cleansed. Only attack if necessary."Matt smiles. "Good."All of a sudden, Angry Willy waltzes into the lounge, his fishhook at the ready. Matt's blood chills. This is it."You," snarls Joey.Willy stops in his tracks when he realizes that the girls aren't here. "Dammit." He points his hook at Matt. "Red Sweater. Where is she?"So it's Safiya he wants. "I don't know what you're talking about.""Don't play games with me, Sunglasses." Willy quickly transitions to his happy self, which only unsettles Matt even more. "You've got nothing to worry about. I just need to find the girl, and then I'll be on my way.""I think she went outside for, um, some air?" is Joey's trembling reply.Oh, no. Matt tries not to facepalm. Joey, that's the flimsiest excuse I've ever heard!Willy's back to his angry self in a flash. "That's a lie. If she was outside, I would've seen her on the way over here." He switches to his sad self. "She's hiding from me! How could she be so cruel?"Something inside Matt snaps. "She's not here," he growls at Willy. "She doesn't want to talk to you. Why don't you go away?"Almost instantly, Angry Willy is bearing down on Matt. "You tell me where she is right now, boy, or else you get the hook instead of her!""Stay back!" Matt brandishes his flashlight. "I have a weapon, and I know how to use it!""You think your puny flashlight can stand against—"Willy is interrupted by the sudden reappearance of Manny and Nikita. "We're alive," gasps Nikita as she takes in the scene in front of her. "What the hell is going on?""Where are Ro and Safiya?" Manny wants to know."I'll tell you later," hisses Matt. "You guys got the lightbulb?""Right here," Nikita replies, showing off the bulb in question."Good. Bring it over here. We gotta cleanse—""Not so fast!" Willy blocks Manny and Nikita's path to the Psychedelic Swirl, his eyes still on Matt. "Last chance, Sunglasses! Tell me where Red Sweater is! Now!"He's gonna kill me, thinks Matt. I'm gonna die again. But at least Safiya and Ro will be safe. "Never!""Fine, then," sneers Willy. "Have it your way. I guess I'll just go back to the original plan.""Original plan?" Manny gulps.Poor Joey looks like he's about to have a coronary. "How come I never know what's going on?"Willy turns his back on Matt and marches towards Manny and Nikita, his fishhook at the ready. "Sorry, Mister Mascara," he snickers. "Looks like you gotta help Sunglasses pay for his mistake."Nikita puts herself between Willy and Manny, a try-it-bitch expression on her face. Manny screams Nikita's name and runs forward to protect her.One thought passes through Matt's mind: Never turn your back on the enemy.The next thing he knows, he's bringing his flashlight down as hard as he can against the back of Willy's oversized head.
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Matt's flashlight connects with Willy's head, and the Funhouse Man crumples, his multi-faced head coming to rest at the feet of Manny and Nikita. Joey gasps. He didn't know that Matt had it in him to straight-up wallop someone in the head with a freakin' flashlight. Then again, this is Matt they're talking about; he's the kind of guy who would do anything for a friend. Joey truly admires that about him."Lightbulb," Matt hisses to Nikita. "Cleanse it. Now. Before he wakes up."Nikia snaps out of her shock, hurries over to the Psychedelic Swirl, and places the lightbulb at its center. It glows creepily. Willy's unconscious body collapses into glowing dust."We did it," breathes Joey, relieved.Manny runs to Matt and throws his arms around him, chattering a rapid series of thank-yous that Joey can barely comprehend. Nikita, meanwhile, glances around the room suspiciously, as if she suspects that another Willy will come barging into the lounge. "Seriously, guys," she asks, "what just happened? Where are Ro and Safiya? Why did Willy..." She clamps her hands over her mouth to hold back what could be either a laugh or a sob."We'll explain in a second, I promise," says Joey. "Matt, Manny, could you two help me get the Statue of Era's room back open?"They do so.Rosanna and Safiya come stumbling out into the lounge, holding hands, looking like a pair of rescued prisoners. Rosanna shrieks in relief at the sight of her boys unharmed, and she runs to hug first Matt, then Joey. "You did it!" she keeps saying throughout her whirlwind of joy. "You saved her! You saved all of us!"Safiya offers a small smile to Matt and Joey. "Thank you," she murmurs."No problem." Matt offers a hand to her. "That's what friends are for."She hesitates, then accepts Matt's hand, and he pulls her into a brief but meaningful embrace.Once all the hugging has concluded, Nikita places her hands on her hips and frowns at the assembly. "Explain," she says. "Please."Joey figures that it might as well be him who clarifies things. So he explains the planned assassination of Safiya Nygaard, and how Joey, Matt, and Rosanna worked together to save her. As the story is told, Matt places one arm around Rosanna and his other arm around Safiya, and Joey can't help but crack a smile at how strong their bond has become."Omigod." Manny's green eyes grow wide. "Safiya...""It's okay, don't worry about it, I'm fine," says Safiya.But from the way the Troublemaker squints at the Investigative Reporter, it seems as if Nikita trying to decide whether or not to commit first-degree murder. "Yeah, about that...bitch, why the hell did you vote me and Manny into that house? You could've killed us!""I know, and I'm sorry." Safiya's expression indicates that she was expecting something like this to happen. "We had to vote for someone. Joey's the lynchpin, and Matt just came back..."Rosanna holds out her hands. "Please, let's not fight about this right now. We're all alive, right? So there shouldn't be a problem.""I agree with Ro," Joey hears himself saying. "This town is trying to turn us against each other. We need to come together. Otherwise, we're not gonna get out of here." He looks from face to face to face, and much to his surprise, he finds at best agreement and at worst resignation. "Let's focus on finding the next artifact for now, and we'll work things out along the way."Matt and Rosanna nod in agreement. Safiya seems relieved, as does (oddly enough) Manny. Nikita considers Joey's words for a moment before sighing and saying "All right. Let's move on for now. But I got my eye on you, Safiya.""Fair enough," replies Safiya with a chuckle.And so, the six surviving YouTubers turn together to face the rest of the night. They don't know what the future holds, or who will make it out alive, but they know this: at least they have each other.