Active The Mach Games

[Colonel Thunder]

Day 4 Continues

6 tributes remaining

Scene 6/7

--

Druby walks through the forest in search of more supplies. He scans each area carefully before proceeding, wary of traps and the remaining tributes.

As the day begins to end, Druby notices a few dark droplets on the grass. He kneels down, and inspects the substance with his fingers.

"Oil?" says Druby. "Hm...someone must be near."

Druby hides himself in a nearby bush and scans the area with his sniper rifle. Soon, someone approaches. Tolvan appears from the woodwork. He had several bandages on his stomach, with little drops of oil leaking out of the wound. He had been crying.

"Is...is Tolvan actually a robot?" thinks Druby. "That actually explains a lot."

Druby lines up the shot just as Tolvan glances over at the bush.

The two make eye contact and stare at each other for several seconds.

"Just do it," says Tolvan. "You were right, at the beginning of the games. I'm too dangerous to be kept alive. I...I think it's better this way."

Druby puts his finger on the trigger but is unable to pull it. He lowers the gun slightly.

"Tolvan...I know what I said earlier," said Druby. "And I don't know what's going on with uh, with you. But maybe you're not the monster you think you are."

"I killed four men, four of our friends," says Tolvan. "For three of them, I wasn't even thinking about why I was doing it, I just...acted."

"I think I know how you feel," says Druby, looking down. "Yesterday I um, I accidentally killed Artist. I was scared and alone and - and he surprised me. Before I knew what was happening, he was bleeding out in front of me."

Tolvan does not respond.

"I'm not saying you're a shining beacon of morality," says Druby. "I sure know I'm not. But, maybe, the fact that you're even thinking about the consequences of your actions, and if they were right or wrong...I think that makes you better than anyone else in the arena."

"Maybe," says Tolvan reluctantly. "I bet Easy will know what right or wrong is. I should go find him and ask what I should do."

"I don't think that's a good idea," admits Druby. "Easy seems pretty determined on killing you."

"But aren't you on his side?" asks Tolvan. "Why won't you kill me?"

"I don't know if I want to be on anyone's side anymore," says Druby. "Not if it means more killing."

"Well...what do you think I should do?" asks Tolvan.

"I can't say that for you," shrugs Druby as he begins walking away. "I don't think you're just a machine. Only you can decide what to do."

Druby walks past Tolvan and continues his search for supplies.

Tolvan sits down and finds himself lost in thought.

--

Druby has become a saint!

The second half of this day has been nearly bloodless, booooooring.

Well, let's check in on our favourite woobie-turned-sociopath!

Isn't he dead?

Stay tuned!

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Day 4 Continues

6 tributes remaining

Scene 7/7

--
Coolpool hangs upside down, his leg caught in the snare from earlier.

Coolpool coughs and shoots the snare, his back hitting the ground with a thud.

Coolpool gets off and calmly pulls the two arrows out of his chest.

"Bulletproof vests do come in handy," says Coolpool, inspecting his bruises where the arrows had struck him. "Still hurt though."

Coolpool inspects his laser pistol.

"Just a quarter charge remaining?" says Coolpool. "Hmph. That will be more than enough to kill the remaining tributes."

--

Day 4 has ended.

Night 4 has begun.

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Getting towards the end.

 

[Requiem]

Wait wait wait, who voted for #teamreq? Don't do that. Vote anyone else!

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Night 4 Begins

6 tributes remaining

Scene 1/8

--

"Not too many people left," says Coolpool, putting down his backpack as the sun sets. "It shouldn't be too hard to kill them all. The games have really brought out my darker side."

Coolpool stares in a direction where he assumes a camera is facing him.

"You hear that, whoever you all are?" says Coolpool. "I'm not some stupid kid anymore. I'm a relentless killer, a murdering machine, and nothing will stop me fr-oh wait a second."

Coolpool looks at his watch.

"Oh."

Coolpool crawls inside his tent.

"Sorry," says Coolpool, zipping the tent flap closed. "My mom says I'm not supposed to be up past eight."

Coolpool soon begins to snore.

--

Good night, scary child.

May you dream of CYOAs that lat more than three posts.

Stay tuned!

 

[coolpool2]

I think most have made it to at least five.

 

[Walrus]

I was so scared when coolpool hit that snare trap. Glad to see that he's okay.

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Night 4 Begins

6 tributes remaining

Scene 2/8

--

"I can't believe I actually miss Req," says Jeroth, huddling himself for warmth. "He has half our supplies with him, including the blanket."

Jeroth gets up and walks around, unable to rest as the sun begins to set. His stomach growls.

"That's it," says Jeroth. "No more Mr. Nice Vet. I'm cold and hungry and thee games have gone on way too long. Like, way way too long."

Jeroth stares at the camera for that statement, as if he were talking to someone directly.

"I better just clean house, kill all the other tributes," says Jeroth, inspecting some fresh tracks from Druby. "Somebody has to."

Jeroth follows Druby's tracks.

Unbeknownst to Jeroth, a shadowy figure stalks him from behind.

--
Did Jeroth just break the fourth wall?

I think he was just leaning on it. You referencing the fourth wall though, I'm pretty sure that actually broke it.

Oh. Do you think the Administrator will be upset about that?

Maybe he won't notice.

Ha! Good one!

Stay tuned!

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Night 4 Begins

6 tributes remaining

Scene 3/8

--

Druby warms his hands by a tiny fire. He places large branches around it, in hopes of keeping the flames hidden by seeking eyes in the dark.

His sniper rifle is no use to him in the dark.

The sound of a branch rustling startles Druby.

"Wh-who's there!" he says, holding a hatchet out towards the noise.

There is a sponsor package stuck in the branches.

"Oh, please be what I'm looking for," says Druby, excitedly retrieving the package.

Druby removes the metal lid and peers inside.

"Oh, yes!" says Druby. "Thank you kind sponsors, whoever you are! I think I have a solid chance now!"

Druby keeps the contents of the package hidden, in order to use dramatic tension as a fill-in for good writing.

--

He's laying it on a little thick.

Shush. Just be happy there's updates.

Stay tuned!

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Night 4 Begins

6 tributes remaining

Scene 4/8

--

Tolvan cooks a can of beans over a small campfire.

He eats the beans, wondering if he truly even needs to eat, given that he's a robot.

Tolvan wipes his mouth.

"Tomorrow's the big day," says Tolvan. "I'm going to find Easy an make him see reason. Together, we'll find a way out of this arena."

Tolvan puts out his fire and falls asleep. It is his first peaceful rest in many nights.

--

Yawn.

I feel like the Tolvan plot has flat-lined.

Speaking of flat-lined, let's take a look at a contestant about to be murdered!

Ooh, let's!

Stay tuned!

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Night 4 Begins

6 tributes remaining

Scene 5/8

--

Druby wakes up to the sound of a branch cracking.

His fire has almost burnt out, making it hard to see through the darkness.

Druby reaches for his sniper rifle, but instead grabs a boot.

"Looking for this?" says Jeroth, aiming Druby's own rifle at him.

Druby glances over at his hatchet.

"I wouldn't go for that if I was you," says Jeroth. "Then I'd have to kill you. Well, I'm going to kill you anyways. So maybe you-"

Druby sees a shadow approaching Jeroth from behind. He immediately averts his gaze back to Jeroth, but Jeroth noticed the flicker in Druby's vision.

Jeroth grabs his hatchet and swings backward, spinning around and finding him face to face with the figure behind him.

Jeroth's hatchet swing is blocked by the handle of another hatchet.

"Req!" says Jeroth, pulling back his hatchet. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you too much, boo," says Req, holding back tears. "I can't handle this separation thing, it makes me all mopey and existential."

"I think that's just normal you, Req," says Druby.

"Shut up Druby!" says Req. "Anyways, I thought we could kill Druby together, for old times' sake. Then I'll go off and pretend to be on a separate team, I swear."

"Ohmygod you are so clingy," sighs Jeroth. "Fine. But only because your distraction allowed Druby to grab his hatchet."

Druby smiles at the two of them from several feet away, now holding his hatchet.

"No running this time Druby," says Jeroth. "The only way you have to run is up to that cliff edge."

"Ha!" says Req. "Let's do to him what we did to TC!"

"Good plan, partner!" says Jeroth.

Req smiles as the two of them assault Druby with their hatchets.

--

Go Team Druby!

Go Team Gaybies!

...

I mean uh, go Team Jerreq!

...

Haha stay tuned!

 

[Tirin]

"Ohmygod you are so clingy," sighs Jeroth. "Fine. But only because your distraction allowed Druby to grab his hatchet."

Tolvan smiles at the two of them from several feet away, now holding his hatchet.

"No running this time Tolvan," says Jeroth. "The only way you have to run is up to that cliff edge."

Smooth moves.

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Dammit.

Look I just wrote the Tolvan chapter gimme a break.

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Night 4 Continues

6 tributes remaining

Scene 6/8

--

Tolvan wakes up to a scary noise.

He immediately climbs a tree and tries to hide.

"Wait a second," says Tolvan, trying to pinpoint the noise. "That's not an animal. That sounds like snoring."


Tolvan gets down from the tree and walks over to a different campsite not far off. There's someone sleeping inside.

"Another tribute?" thinks Tolvan.

He quietly opens the tent flap and sees Coolpool inside, sound asleep.

"Oh man, Coolpool has been the worst," thinks Tolvan. "But...I don't want to kill anyone. Oh, I know."

Tolvan carefully retrieves Coolpool's laser pistol from its owners' arms. He messes with the settings on its light disperser.

"There," thinks Tolvan, putting the weapon back where he found it. "That should keep anybody from getting hurt."

Tolvan quietly closes the tent flap and returns to his own camp.

He falls asleep feeling he's done the right thing.

--

What exactly did he do the laser pistol?

He could have just taken it, that would have been easier.

Tolvan's logic has a lot of holes. Robots, amirite?

Haha yeah robots are so dumb totally haha..

...

Stay tuned!

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Night 4 Continues

6 Tributes Remaining

Scene 7/8

--

Easy slowly cooks a squirrel he had caught. There's not much for seasoning in the forest, but he does what he can.

Easy dwells on the past once more and doesn't finish his meal. Before long he drifts off to sleep, recalling once the past once more..

.........................................

"What are you going to do?" asks young Easy.

"I don't know," says Chocobo. "Definitely not staying in this shit hole."

Easy frowns.

The two of them stand in 0corn's workshop, awaiting his return.

It has been a dark day. The great politics and religion schism finally happened, and Chocobo's objections were met by Rob with mockery and derision. Rob told him he should quit, and Chocobo happily turned in his badge.

"You should come with me," says Chocobo.

"You serious?" asks Easy, not expecting such an offer.

"Yeah, you're a smart kid," says Chocobo. "I doubt there's anywhere we could go we wouldn't do well."

"I mean, I don't know," says Easy. "Could you give me a day or two to sleep on it?"

"Hey I understand if you'd rather stay here," says Chocobo. "0corn sees you as his trainee, I wouldn't want you to abandon your work with him."

"We...haven't done much recently," says Easy. "Beside, I'm not sure if this community will be around long enough to need me as a Defender."

"Heh. Yeah," says Chocobo. "Urealms has become a real shit hole."

"Wait a second!" says a voice from across the room.

Easy and Chocobo look across the workshop.

0corn's favorite project, the robotic skeleton he called "Tolvan" is reading a massive tome on forum history. He looks up at the pair.

"You're not supposed to say things like that in front of others," says Tolvan. "That's against rules. And we're supposed to follow those."

"Fuck your rules," says Chocobo. "I've spent longer distributing justice on this site than you've been alive. I won't be lectured by 0corn's metal bastard."

"Hey, you can't say that!" says Tolvan nervously. He walks over to Easy and Chocobo, looking sheepish and incomplete.

"Swearing is against the rules too," says Tolvan. "And we're not supposed to be mean to people, and you're being mean."

"Hey Easy," jokes Chocobo. "What's your favorite Twilight book?"

"That's breaking the sweet new rule!" gasps Tolvan. "No one's allowed to break the sweet new rule!"

Easy and Chocobo laugh at Tolvan's reaction. It was the first time 0corn's project had provided them with anything positive.

"You have broken lots of rules real quickly," says Tolvan. "According to forum policy, you must be suspended immediately and await trial."

"Give me a day to pack my things kid, I'm not coming back here," laughs Chocobo.

"He's like a tiny, stupid 13th," laughs Easy.

"That's not nice!" says Tolvan. "User Chocobo, you must leave now."

"Go sit down," gestures Chocobo.

"User Chocobo," says Tolvan. "Are you refusing to leave?"

"Yeah, and you're refusing to shut up," says Chocobo. "Man, 0corn has got to make this thing more obedi-"

"Then I shall help you leave," says Tolvan.

Tolvan grabs a long screwdriver from the workbench next to him and plunges it into Chocobo's heart.

"Nooo!" shouts Easy, tackling Tolvan to the ground.

Chocobo stumbles backwards and tries to support himself against the wall.

Easy rips Tolvan's arm off and sends it across the room.

"User Easy," says Tolvan. "That hurt really bad and you're obstructing justice. I'm just helping user Chocobo leave."

Easy tries to punch Tolvan in the face, but Tolvan dodges the blow and kicks Easy off of him. Easy hits the far wall with a thud and falls to the ground.

"User Chocobo," says Tolvan, standing by Chocobo. "Are you now able to leave?"

Chocobo gasps for air as his vision fades.

"User Chocobo," says Tolvan. "My scans are showing you are in need of medical attention. Should I call-"

Easy charges at Tolvan, but Tolvan ducks underneath him and throws him to the ground.

It was a move Easy had taught him just a month earlier.

"User Easy, you're really not being nice," says Tolvan. "I will deal with you after I finish with user Chocobo."

"Like hell you will!" says Easy, grabbing at Tolvan's metal chest.

Tolvan punches Easy in the temple repeatedly with an unprecedented amount of force. Easy gets a grip on Tolvan's metal chest and begins pulling it apart, stretching and breaking wires and circuits.

Easy endures several more punches before tearing Tolvan's ribcage asunder.

Tolvan collapses to the ground and begins muttering gibberish.

Easy falls beside him, in great pain and losing consciousness.

The last thing Easy sees before passing out is Chocobo staring at the ceiling, taking one last breath in a pool of his own blood.

--

I wonder why Easy hates Tolvan so much anyways.

I don't know, maybe they have some history together or something.

Anyways, that's enough of sleeping tributes. Back to the action!

Stay tuned!

 

[Easy]

And this, presumably, is where Tolvan's RP-killing behavior first started to reveal itself.

 

[coolpool2]

It's really convenient how Easy remembers specific moments of the past every time he falls asleep. I wish I could do that.

 

[Colonel Thunder]

It's really convenient how Easy remembers specific moments of the past every time he falls asleep. I wish I could do that.

Furthermore, I don't know why I decided to showcase the memories in the order 6,5,4,1,2,3

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Night 4 Continues

6 Tributes Remaining

Scene 8/8

--

Druby's recent gain in self-confidence proves to be invaluable.

Despite being assaulted with hatchets by two experienced veterans, Druby blocks blow after blow with his own hatchet - and occasionally serves one in return.

Metal crashes and sparks fly in the moonlit night.

However, the coordinated efforts of Req and Jeroth's onslaught see Druby losing ground. After several minutes of intense hatchet fencing, Druby finds himself at a cliff's edge, with Req and Jeroth branching out on either side of him.

"I could...do this all night," says Druby between rapid breaths.

"You're not too bad," says Jeroth, beginning to sweat. "I'm actually kind of proud of you."

"It's too bad," says Req. "You could have been a fantastic veteran someday."

Req and Jeroth lunge for their final attack.

Druby drops his hatchet to the ground and puts his hands in the air. Req and Jeroth stop their attack.

"I realize I'm no match for you guys," says Druby. "But please, before you kill me, grant me this last request."

"Really depends on the request," laughs Jeroth.

"I just want to eat some candy before I die," says Druby. "One last time."

"That's not bad," says Req. "Jeroth?"

"Uh sure, go ahead," says Jeroth.

Druby carefully reaches into his backpockets and pulls out two small packages of candy.

"Could I get your advice here?" asks Druby, revealing his candies. "I'm just not sure which one to eat. Twizzlers, or Sour Patch Kids?"

"Well, that's easy," says Req. "Twizzlers are the only way to go here. Right Jeroth?"

"What? No, you idiot," says Jeroth. "Obviously, the best choice is Sour Patch Kids."

"You're joking!" says Req. "I can't believe I fell in love with a dirty Sour Patch peasant!"

"Sorry if I enjoy candy that doesn't taste like rubber shit," says Jeroth. "Your candy is shit, and you have shit taste!"

"Sour Patch Kids leave your mouth feeling awful, they're the worst!" shouts Req.

"Well at least they don't give you autism and make you freaking crybaby!" shouts Jeroth.

Req takes a step back.

"Okay, maybe that was a bit far," says Jeroth. "I'm s-"

Req swings his hatchet into Jeroth's chest. Blood pours out.

The pain overwhelms Jeroth and he falls to his knees, Req's hatchet still buried inside him.

"Oh my god, no!" says Req, also dropping to his knees. "Jeroth baby, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-"

With the last of his breath, Jeroth swings his hatchet downwards, striking Req's chest and cleaving his heart in two.

Jeroth falls to the ground as does Req. Their blood begins to pool into a singular puddle.

"So we are together," says Req weakly. "Even in death."

Req crawls towards Jeroth and cuddles with him as he dies.

"Get...off me," says Jeroth, weakly shoving Req's corpse off of him before dying as well.

The moon passes behind a cloud, shrouding the two dead men in darkness.

Druby pays his respects, loots the bodies, and moves on.


END NIGHT 4

4 TRIBUTES REMAINING

 

[Colonel Thunder]