Chapter Text
The lobby disappeared.
Again.
The sudden transition left all twenty players standing in darkness for less than a second before the ship assembled around them.
Metal walls.
Cold white lights.
The low mechanical hum beneath their feet.
A familiar layout.
A familiar feeling.
The same game.
A different chance.
The screen above them flashed.
GAME TWO
Then—
TWENTY PLAYERS
And finally:
THREE IMPOSTORS
Nobody spoke.
Not immediately.
The first game had taught them enough.
They knew what happened when you stayed too close to one person.
They knew what happened when you trusted one voice.
They knew what happened when someone sounded certain.
Most importantly—
they knew they could be wrong.
The timer appeared.
10
Players started moving.
9
“I'm not staying with anybody,” Mapicc announced.
Jumper immediately nodded.
“Agreed.”
They will go in opposite directions.
8
Clown grabbed Ferre by the shoulder.
“Electrical.”
Ferre looked at him.
“We are NOT doing this again.”
“Doing what?”
“Being suspicious together.”
Clown grinned.
“Fine.”
They will go separate ways.
7
Parrot looked at Theo.
“Cafeteria?”
“Sure.”
They will stay together.
6
Eggchan glanced at Jaden.
“Where?”
“Weapons.”
“Same.”
They will go together.
5
MinuteTech looked at Saparata.
“Communications.”
Saparata nodded.
“For now.”
4
Spoke glanced sideways.
Ashswag was there.
Neither said anything.
Spoke eventually spoke.
“Don't make me regret this.”
Ashswag smiled.
“I'll try.”
Spoke snorted.
They will walk away together.
3
PrinceZam will move alone.
Wifies will move alone.
Boosfer will move alone.
Yungy will wander toward MedBay.
Jumper will disappear down a different corridor than Mapicc.
Lomedy stood still for one second.
He looked toward Flame.
Flame looked back.
Then Flame turned away.
2
Lomedy's expression changed.
He will head toward Cafeteria.
1
Wemmbu will move in the opposite direction from almost everyone.
ManePear will disappear around another corner.
The timer hit zero.
BEGIN.
The doors opened.
Twenty players became twenty separate stories.
Lomedy
Lomedy had learned something from Game One.
Being dead was annoying.
Being dead because people thought you were suspicious was worse.
Being dead because Flame had been acting weird around you and everybody had noticed was somehow worse than both.
So this time, Lomedy had one simple goal.
Tasks.
No drama.
No accusations.
No friendships.
No emotional nonsense.
He made it six steps.
Then he saw Flame.
Lomedy slowed.
Flame was standing at a task panel.
Alone.
Lomedy hesitated.
“Hey.”
Flame glanced over.
“Hey.”
That was it.
Lomedy waited for the joke.
Nothing.
“So…”
Flame returned to his task.
“I've got work.”
Lomedy's mouth tightened.
“Right.”
He walked away.
He looked back once.
Flame was already facing the panel again.
Lomedy turned forward.
He hated that.
He hated that more than he wanted to admit.
They had been friends.
They had spent so much time arguing that the arguments themselves had become normal.
Now Flame was barely speaking to him.
Maybe it was because of the game.
Maybe it wasn't.
Lomedy didn't know.
And he didn't like not knowing.
He entered Cafeteria.
He completed his first task.
Then another.
A player rushed past him.
Brown.
Ferre.
“Morning,” Ferre said without slowing.
“Morning.”
Ferre disappeared.
Lomedy stared after him.
That interaction meant absolutely nothing.
Probably.
He continued.
Ferre
Ferre hated the new game already.
Not because somebody could kill him.
Because somebody had apparently decided to make him—
brown.
Again.
He looked down at his outfit.
Brown.
He pointed accusingly at the ceiling.
“This is personal.”
Nobody answered.
Ferre continued down the corridor.
He entered Electrical.
A panel waited for him.
He started his task.
Someone passed the doorway.
Jumper.
She didn't stop.
Ferre didn't stop.
He finished.
Then another player entered.
Clown.
Ferre immediately narrowed his eyes.
“No.”
Clown looked at him.
“No what?”
“We're not teaming.”
“I wasn't asking.”
“You were going to.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
Clown walked toward another panel.
Ferre pointed at him.
“I know what you're like.”
Clown laughed.
“Good.”
They worked in silence.
The silence lasted exactly four seconds.
“You're doing that wrong.”
“I'm not.”
“You are.”
“Go away.”
“You're on the wrong side.”
Ferre turned.
“Clown.”
“Yes?”
“Shut up.”
Clown grinned.
“I am only shutting up because I want to.”
They both continued their tasks.
For a while.
Clown
Clown left Electrical alone.
He had promised Ferre.
More or less.
He headed toward Storage.
At the corner, somebody came toward him.
MinuteTech.
Clown raised a hand.
“Yo.”
MinuteTech nodded.
“Clown.”
“How's it going?”
“Fine.”
They passed.
Neither stopped.
Clown kept walking.
He entered Storage.
No one there.
He started his task.
A moment later, he heard footsteps.
Lomedy appeared.
Clown nodded.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
Lomedy walked past.
Clown returned to his task.
Neither of them had any reason to care about the other.
Neither had any reason to remember the encounter.
Which was exactly why Clown would.
MinuteTech
MinuteTech was not interested in guessing.
Not yet.
He had learned enough from Game One to know that early certainty was dangerous.
He entered Communications.
Saparata was already inside.
“You made it.”
“Barely.”
MinuteTech began a task.
Saparata moved to the panel beside him.
“You staying?”
“For this task.”
“Same.”
They worked.
No arguments.
No jokes.
No dramatic statements.
Just tasks.
The calm lasted until Saparata spoke.
“You know what bothered me last game?”
MinuteTech looked over.
“What?”
“Everybody remembered movement differently.”
MinuteTech nodded.
“That is because people don't pay attention.”
“I pay attention.”
“I know.”
Saparata smiled.
“That's why I found you.”
They finished.
They stepped into the hallway together.
A figure came around the corner.
Wemmbu.
MinuteTech nodded.
“Hey.”
Wemmbu raised a hand.
He kept walking.
Saparata watched him go.
“Didn't expect to see him here.”
MinuteTech shrugged.
“It's a ship.”
“Fair.”
They split at the intersection.
Not far.
Just enough.
Saparata
Saparata headed toward Storage.
Halfway there, he crossed Yungy.
Yungy stopped.
“You.”
Saparata frowned.
“Me.”
“You seem calmer.”
“I'm trying something new.”
“What?”
“Not dying.”
Yungy laughed.
“Good plan.”
They passed.
Saparata kept walking.
A door opened behind him.
He turned.
Nobody.
He continued.
At Storage, he saw Boosfer.
Boosfer was carrying on with a task.
Saparata stopped.
“Where are you headed after this?”
Boosfer looked up.
“Navigation.”
Saparata nodded.
“Okay.”
Boosfer returned to his task.
Saparata continued.
A few seconds later, PrinceZam crossed behind him.
“Hey.”
Saparata turned.
“Zam.”
PrinceZam raised a hand.
“What's up?”
“Nothing.”
“Good.”
He continued.
Saparata watched him disappear.
Then looked down the corridor.
Something about the ship already felt busy.
That was probably good.
A crowded ship was a safer ship.
At least, it should have been.
Eggchan
Eggchan had no interest in dying again.
He and Jaden walked toward Weapons.
“You know,” Eggchan said, “I'm pretty sure this is where I died last time.”
Jaden frowned.
“You sure?”
“No.”
“Helpful.”
“I've been dead before. Everything blends together.”
Jaden laughed.
They entered Weapons.
Eggchan started his task.
Jaden stood nearby.
For a few seconds, neither said anything.
Then Eggchan asked,
“Do you think Wemmbu's okay?”
Jaden glanced toward the door.
“Probably.”
“He's always weird after stuff like this.”
“He's weird normally.”
“True.”
A figure ran past the doorway.
Wemmbu.
Eggchan noticed.
He lifted a hand.
Wemmbu was already gone.
Eggchan lowered it.
“See?”
Jaden smiled.
“You worry too much.”
“Someone has to.”
They finished their tasks.
Jaden
Jaden and Eggchan left Weapons.
They were still together.
Not because they thought it was the perfect strategy.
Because they were comfortable.
And comfort was difficult to abandon.
They entered Cafeteria.
Parrot and Theo were there.
Theo raised a hand.
“Egg!”
Eggchan smiled.
“Hey.”
Parrot laughed.
“You two are actually sticking together?”
Jaden shrugged.
“For now.”
Theo pointed at Parrot.
“We should do the same.”
Parrot nodded.
“Yeah.”
The four crossed paths in the middle of the room.
Then split into their own routes.
Jaden watched Parrot and Theo leave together.
Eggchan watched them too.
“That'll probably last.”
“Probably,” Jaden said.
He didn't know how wrong that was.
Parrot
Parrot and Theo were heading toward Communications.
Theo was talking.
Parrot was only half listening.
“You know what I think?”
“No.”
“I didn't even say it.”
“I know you.”
Theo laughed.
“I think we're actually going to survive this one.”
Parrot looked at him.
“That's bold.”
“We learned.”
“Did we?”
“Yes.”
They entered Communications.
Theo went toward the first panel.
Parrot moved to another.
They worked.
A few seconds later, Parrot looked up.
Theo was still there.
Good.
The game was strangely peaceful.
For now.
Parrot returned to his task.
Outside the room, somebody passed.
Mapicc.
Parrot barely noticed.
He only saw the red color disappear down the hallway.
It meant nothing.
He kept working.
Theo
Theo finished.
“Done.”
Parrot nodded.
“Already?”
“Yep.”
Theo waited.
Parrot finished a second later.
“Come on.”
They left.
At the next intersection, Theo stopped.
“Jumper.”
Jumper was approaching from the opposite direction.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.”
Theo pointed toward Parrot.
“We're going up.”
Jumper nodded.
“I'm going the other way.”
Parrot waved.
“Good luck.”
“Same.”
They passed.
Theo and Parrot continued.
That was it.
No accusation.
No suspicion.
Just three seconds of people crossing paths.
Jumper
Jumper went alone.
She'd learned her lesson.
Not because Mapicc had been an Impostor last game.
Because Mapicc had been innocent when he died, and she had been part of the chain that got him there.
She wasn't doing that again.
She entered Storage.
A task panel waited.
She started.
Footsteps approached.
Wifies.
Jumper looked up.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You doing Storage?”
“Yep.”
“I'm heading out.”
Wifies nodded.
She finished.
She walked into the hall.
At the next intersection, she saw Mapicc.
They passed without stopping.
Mapicc glanced back.
Jumper did too.
Neither turned around.
Good.
They were learning.
Hopefully.
Mapicc
Mapicc wanted absolutely nothing to do with the old strategy.
Last game had taught him that.
He would not cling to one person.
He would not assume friendship meant innocence.
And he would definitely not stand beside someone for an entire game and call that an alibi.
He entered Upper Hall.
Boosfer was there.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
Mapicc started a task.
Boosfer did another.
Neither spoke.
Then Boosfer finished.
“I'm going Storage.”
Mapicc nodded.
“Alright.”
Boosfer left.
Mapicc continued.
A few moments later, he heard footsteps in the hallway.
ManePear.
Mapicc watched him pass.
“Orange.”
Mane stopped.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Mane smiled.
“Okay.”
He kept walking.
Mapicc returned to his task.
He didn't know why he had called him orange.
That was probably irrelevant.
Wifies
Wifies was alone again.
He liked the quiet.
Mostly.
He entered Navigation.
PrinceZam was leaving as Wifies entered.
They stopped.
“Again?” PrinceZam asked.
“Apparently.”
“Do you follow me?”
“No.”
“Shame.”
Wifies laughed.
Zam left.
Wifies started his task.
He had barely begun when he heard footsteps outside.
Lomedy.
Then Flame.
Wifies couldn't hear what they said.
He only caught the end.
“…fine.”
Flame walked away.
Lomedy followed a few seconds later.
Wifies frowned.
Interesting.
He finished his task.
He stepped into the corridor.
Lomedy was gone.
Flame was gone.
Nothing.
Wifies shrugged.
The first game had taught him not to invent clues where there weren't any.
So he kept walking.
PrinceZam
PrinceZam had started counting.
Not players.
Rooms.
Rooms told you where people were.
People told you where they wanted you to think they were.
He passed Navigation.
Weapons.
Upper Hall.
At one point he saw Wemmbu again.
This time, Wemmbu was coming from Storage.
PrinceZam stopped.
“Where've you been?”
“Storage.”
Zam stared at him.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
Wemmbu nodded.
He moved past.
PrinceZam waited.
Wemmbu disappeared around the corner.
Zam looked toward Storage.
Then toward the direction Wemmbu had gone.
Nothing.
He didn't accuse.
Not yet.
He simply remembered.
Wemmbu
Wemmbu kept moving.
He crossed Cafeteria.
Then Reactor.
Then the lower hall.
Flame appeared at the far end of the corridor.
Wemmbu stopped.
Flame stopped.
They stared at one another.
ManePear came around the opposite corner.
Now all three were in the same hallway.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then Flame said,
“You done?”
Wemmbu nodded.
“Mostly.”
Mane looked toward the other corridor.
“I'm going.”
Flame nodded.
“Same.”
They split.
Wemmbu walked away.
Flame went another direction.
Mane disappeared through the third corridor.
Ashswag
Ashswag was with Spoke.
Again.
Spoke didn't look particularly happy about it.
“You know,” Spoke said, “this is temporary.”
Ash nodded.
“Sure.”
“I'm serious.”
“Okay.”
“You did betray me.”
“I know.”
“And I'm still annoyed.”
“I know.”
Spoke stopped walking.
Ashswag stopped too.
Spoke stared at him.
“You're taking this very well.”
Ash shrugged.
“It's a game.”
Spoke shook his head.
“Whatever.”
They continued.
They entered Electrical.
Spoke started a task.
Ash did another.
A few seconds later, Ash stepped away.
“I'll be back.”
Spoke looked up.
“Where?”
“Storage.”
Spoke frowned.
“Why?”
“Task.”
“Fine.”
Ash left.
Spoke returned to his panel.
He didn't follow.
He didn't trust Ash completely anymore.
But he trusted him enough to wait.
And that was already more than Ash needed.
Yungy
Yungy had gone to MedBay.
Alone.
He started the task.
The room was unusually quiet.
He glanced through the glass.
Someone passed.
Scarlet.
Flame.
Yungy stared.
Flame did not stop.
Yungy returned to the task.
A few seconds later, another person passed.
Lavender.
Wemmbu.
He did not stop either.
Yungy smiled faintly.
Everyone was in a hurry.
He finished.
He stepped into the corridor.
A player came toward him.
Saparata.
“Done?”
“Yep.”
“Good.”
They passed.
Yungy turned once.
Saparata was already gone.
Yungy continued toward Lower Hall.
Boosfer
Boosfer had already done three tasks.
He was beginning to think the game was going suspiciously well.
He entered Storage.
Clown was leaving.
They passed.
Clown said,
“Hey.”
Boosfer nodded.
“Hey.”
Clown continued.
Boosfer started his task.
A few seconds later, Wifies entered.
Boosfer stepped aside.
Wifies worked.
Nobody spoke.
Boosfer left.
He entered the next corridor.
PrinceZam was there.
They both stopped.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You alone?”
“Yeah.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“Okay.”
Boosfer continued.
Behind him, PrinceZam waited for a second before walking the other direction.
Neither thought much of it.
Flame
Flame entered Electrical.
Empty.
He started his task.
A few seconds later, he heard footsteps.
Lomedy.
Lomedy stopped outside.
Flame looked up.
Lomedy looked at him.
“Still avoiding me?”
Flame's expression changed.
“I'm not avoiding you.”
“You've barely talked to me.”
“I've been doing tasks.”
“You could've said something.”
Flame turned back toward the panel.
“I've said it now.”
Lomedy stared.
“Right.”
He walked away.
Flame remained at the task.
Outside the room, Lomedy stopped.
He looked back once.
Then continued.
He was hurt.
That much was obvious.
But he didn't know why.
Eggchan
Eggchan and Jaden had separated.
Not because they didn't trust each other.
Because they had finally decided they couldn't keep assuming that sticking together would save them.
Eggchan entered Navigation.
Jaden went toward Cafeteria.
Eggchan finished a task.
Then another.
When he left, he crossed Spoke.
“Hey.”
Spoke nodded.
“Hey.”
“Where's Ash?”
“Other room.”
Eggchan shrugged.
“Okay.”
He continued.
Spoke
Spoke finished his task.
Ash still hadn't returned.
He waited.
He told himself he wasn't worried.
He was.
Not because he thought Ash was guilty.
Because after the last game, every unexplained thirty seconds felt suspicious.
Then footsteps.
Ash appeared.
“Sorry.”
“Where were you?”
“Storage.”
Spoke stared.
“Again?”
“Yeah.”
“Were you actually doing a task?”
Ash nodded.
“Yep.”
Spoke exhaled.
“Fine.”
They started walking.
Neither noticed someone at the end of the corridor.
Saparata.
He was watching them.
Not suspiciously.
Just because they were the only people nearby.
The ship was filling with tiny observations.
None of them meant much yet.
Saparata
Saparata turned away.
He had seen Spoke and Ash.
That was all.
He entered Communications.
The room was empty.
Good.
He started his task.
He was halfway through when the lights flickered.
Not sabotage.
Just a brief interruption.
Saparata stopped.
The lights stabilized.
He continued.
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
He finished his task.
He stepped into the hall.
Nobody.
He continued.
At the next intersection, he saw Flame.
They crossed.
Neither spoke.
Saparata turned down one corridor.
Flame took another.
Saparata walked farther.
He entered Storage.
No one.
He checked his task list.
One more.
Communications again.
Then he could move on.
He turned around.
The hallway was still empty.
For a moment.
Then—
ManePear walked past.
Saparata nodded.
Mane nodded back.
A completely normal encounter.
Then Mane disappeared around the corner.
Saparata entered Communications.
The Ship
Twenty players.
Twenty routes.
Some together.
Some alone.
Some changing directions.
Some remembering everything.
Some remembering nothing.
A door opened in one hall.
A player passed another without speaking.
Two people disagreed over which room they had just left.
Someone laughed.
Someone swore at a task.
Someone stopped because they thought they heard footsteps.
Someone else kept walking.
And somewhere among all of them—
three players were playing a different game.
Wemmbu passed through Storage.
Flame crossed Lower Hall.
ManePear entered Reactor.
None of the three stayed anywhere long enough to become a pattern.
At least, not yet.
Saparata
Saparata finished his final task.
He stepped away from the panel.
The ship hummed.
He looked toward the doorway.
Nothing.
He walked into the hall.
At the far end, someone appeared.
Amber.
Lomedy.
Lomedy stopped.
Saparata raised a hand.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You done?”
“Almost.”
Saparata nodded.
“Good.”
They passed.
Saparata continued.
He reached the next intersection.
There was another figure there.
Yungy.
Saparata frowned.
“Again?”
Yungy laughed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
They passed.
Saparata kept walking.
He entered the lower corridor.
Then stopped.
A shadow moved behind him.
He turned.
Nothing.
Saparata waited.
Silence.
Then a voice from the doorway.
“Hey.”
Saparata turned.
The room was empty.
He stepped forward.
The door shut behind him.
Saparata looked back.
Nobody.
He reached for the panel.
And the lights went out.
The ship plunged into darkness.
A sabotage alarm screamed.
Saparata turned toward the door.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
A pair of footsteps approached.
He stepped backward.
The door opened.
A figure entered.
Saparata barely had time to react.
MinuteTech
MinuteTech was halfway through Communications when the lights died.
He immediately stepped away from the panel.
Sabotage.
Again.
He waited for the emergency lights.
They came on.
Dim.
MinuteTech checked the corridor.
Empty.
He walked toward Storage.
Maybe someone else would be there.
The hallway was deserted.
He continued.
At the far end, he saw Spoke.
Spoke was moving quickly.
“Spoke.”
Spoke turned.
“Yeah?”
“You seen Saparata?”
“No.”
MinuteTech frowned.
“He was heading this way.”
Spoke glanced down the corridor.
“I haven't seen him.”
MinuteTech nodded.
“Okay.”
He continued.
As MinuteTech entred communications, he looked down.
Saparata was lying on the ground dead.
The report alarm sounded.
A name appeared on the screen.
BODY REPORTED.
He didn't know who killed him.
He didn't need to.
Well, he did, but he will figure it out.
The doors to the meeting room were already opening.
One by one, all across the ship, players began being pulled toward them.
The game had officially started.
The meeting room doors slammed shut.
Twenty players appeared around the table.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then everyone noticed the empty seat.
Saparata.
MinuteTech was staring at it.
“I reported him.”
The room went silent.
Wemmbu looked at the screen.
“Already?”
MinuteTech nodded.
“He was in Communications.”
Saparata's name disappeared from the player list.
SAPARATA — DEAD
Eggchan leaned toward Jaden.
“That's fast.”
Jaden nodded.
“Too fast.”
Lomedy crossed his arms.
“We've been here five minutes.”
“Less,” Wifies said.
“Exactly.”
Flame sat across the table.
“We should just do alibis.”
Parrot nodded.
“Agreed.”
Wemmbu leaned back.
“Everyone?”
“Everyone,” PrinceZam said.
That immediately made the room louder.
Clown pointed at him.
“You're actually volunteering?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
“Why?”
“Because you usually don't.”
PrinceZam smiled faintly.
“Game One changed me.”
Clown snorted.
“Sure.”
Jumper raised a hand.
“Can we just start?”
Nobody objected.
Jumper looked toward MinuteTech.
“You reported.”
MinuteTech nodded.
“Communications.”
“Who was there before you?”
MinuteTech thought.
“Saparata.”
“Anyone else?”
“No.”
“Where were you before that?”
“Navigation.”
Wifies looked up.
“When?”
“Earlier.”
“Who did you see?”
MinuteTech answered honestly.
“Clown.”
Clown immediately nodded.
“That happened.”
“What else?”
“I passed Boosfer.”
Boosfer raised a hand.
“Correct.”
MinuteTech continued.
“Then I went Communications.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“And you found Saparata?”
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
MinuteTech clarified.
“I didn't find him immediately.”
He pointed toward the map.
“I saw the room he'd entered earlier. I continued through the hallway. Later, after the sabotage, I came back.”
Saparata's empty seat seemed to grow larger.
“You came back?”
“Yes.”
“He was there?”
“No.”
“So when did you find him?”
“After the lights came back.”
MinuteTech's voice remained steady.
“He was already dead.”
The first silence came.
Not the awkward kind.
The serious kind.
Jumper nodded.
“Alright.”
She looked toward Saparata's usual chair again.
“Next.”
Wifies
Wifies leaned forward.
“I was in Navigation.”
PrinceZam glanced at him.
“You were?”
“Yes.”
“Before or after Minute?”
“I don't know.”
MinuteTech nodded.
“That matches.”
Wifies continued.
“I did two tasks.”
He paused.
“Then I crossed PrinceZam.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“True.”
“Then Lomedy came through.”
Lomedy immediately looked over.
“I did.”
“And Flame was behind him.”
Flame nodded.
“Yeah.”
Lomedy frowned.
“You make it sound like we were following each other.”
“You were walking the same direction.”
“That doesn't mean anything.”
“I didn't say it did.”
Wifies sat back.
“That's all.”
Lomedy
Jumper looked toward him.
“Your turn.”
Lomedy sighed.
“Fine.”
He looked at the map.
“Started Cafeteria.”
Theo nodded immediately.
“I saw him.”
Lomedy pointed.
“Thank you.”
Parrot added,
“Me too.”
Lomedy continued.
“Then Storage.”
“By yourself?” PrinceZam asked.
“Yes.”
“Anyone see you?”
Lomedy thought.
“Clown.”
Clown nodded.
“Yeah.”
Ferre immediately said,
“And I saw him after.”
Lomedy frowned.
“You did?”
Ferre nodded.
“Near Storage.”
Lomedy looked around.
“So?”
Flame spoke.
“When did you see Yungy?”
Lomedy looked at him.
“In MedBay.”
The room shifted.
“When?” Wemmbu asked.
“Earlier.”
“Before or after you went to Storage?”
“Before.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“Okay.”
Lomedy continued.
“Then I saw Flame.”
Flame confirmed it.
“And after that?”
“Navigation.”
Wifies nodded.
“That matches.”
Lomedy looked relieved.
“Good.”
Then ManePear spoke.
“I saw him too.”
Lomedy turned.
“When?”
“Same hallway.”
Lomedy frowned.
“That doesn't help.”
Mane shrugged.
“I didn't say it would.”
The room moved on.
Flame
Flame leaned forward.
“I started Electrical.”
Ferre nodded.
“I saw him there.”
Clown added,
“So did I.”
Flame continued.
“Then I went through Storage.”
Lomedy looked over.
“That's when I saw you.”
“Yeah.”
“Then you went where?”
“Navigation.”
Wifies nodded.
“That's when I saw him.”
Flame looked toward Wifies.
“Exactly.”
Wemmbu asked,
“Anyone else?”
Flame shook his head.
“Not after that.”
Mane spoke.
“I crossed him.”
Flame nodded.
“Yeah.”
Lomedy looked at Flame.
“You keep confirming everyone.”
Flame looked back.
“I'm answering questions.”
Lomedy scoffed.
“Right.”
ManePear
Jumper turned.
“Mane.”
Mane leaned forward.
“I went to Reactor.”
Clown looked at him.
“Early?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“Anyone see you?”
“Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“He passed me.”
“Did you talk?”
“Briefly.”
Jaden asked,
“What did you talk about?”
“Tasks.”
“That's it?”
“That was it.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“Yeah.”
Mane continued.
“Then I went through the lower hallway.”
He paused.
“I saw Saparata.”
MinuteTech looked up.
“When?”
“Before the sabotage.”
Saparata was already dead by the time the room was discussing it.
MinuteTech frowned.
“I didn't see you.”
“You weren't there yet.”
MinuteTech considered that.
Possible.
Not helpful.
Mane finished.
“Then I went toward Reactor again.”
Nobody immediately challenged him.
Lomedy did.
“You were near me.”
Mane looked toward him.
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“Earlier.”
“That doesn't sound like a timeline.”
“It's not.”
Lomedy shook his head.
“Great.”
Eggchan
Eggchan leaned forward.
“I was with Jaden in Weapons.”
Jaden nodded.
“Yep.”
“We did two tasks.”
“Then split.”
Eggchan added.
“Yeah.”
Parrot looked over.
“When?”
“After Weapons.”
“Did anyone see you?”
Eggchan smiled.
“Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“I passed them.”
Parrot frowned.
“So you three crossed paths?”
“Yes.”
Theo laughed.
“It's a small ship.”
Eggchan continued.
“I went to Navigation after.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“I saw him there too.”
That was a clean alibi.
Jaden
Jaden sat back.
“My alibi matches Egg's.”
Eggchan nodded.
“We were together until Navigation.”
“Then I went Cafeteria.”
Parrot immediately raised his hand.
“I saw him.”
Jaden pointed.
“See?”
Parrot laughed.
“Congratulations.”
Jaden continued.
“I stayed there for a bit.”
Then he looked toward Flame.
“I saw him pass.”
Flame nodded.
“That happened.”
Jaden frowned.
“How many people did you pass?”
Flame shrugged.
“A few.”
Jaden leaned back.
“Helpful.”
Parrot
Parrot tapped the table.
“I was with Theo.”
Theo nodded.
“Most of the time.”
Parrot looked at him.
“Don't phrase it like that.”
“You literally said 'most of the time.'”
“I meant—”
Theo laughed.
“We split for one task.”
Parrot sighed.
“Fine.”
“When?”
“Communications.”
Wifies nodded.
“I saw you there.”
Parrot pointed.
“Thank you.”
Wifies continued.
“You were with Theo when I saw you.”
“Yes.”
Theo added,
“Then I went toward Cafeteria.”
Parrot nodded.
“I followed him later.”
Flame asked,
“Did either of you see Saparata?”
Parrot shook his head.
“No.”
Theo shrugged.
“No.”
That was another clean alibi.
Theo
Theo leaned forward.
“My route's pretty much Parrot's.”
He glanced toward Wifies.
“Except I did pass him.”
Wifies nodded.
“Yeah.”
“And I saw Mapicc.”
Mapicc looked up.
“When?”
“Hallway.”
“Which one?”
Theo thought.
“Upper.”
Mapicc nodded.
“That was probably me.”
“Probably?”
“I've been everywhere.”
Theo shook his head.
“That is the least reassuring answer you could've given.”
Mapicc laughed.
“Fair.”
Mapicc
Mapicc crossed his arms.
“I was deliberately alone.”
Jumper smiled faintly.
“So was I.”
Mapicc pointed at her.
“Good.”
They looked at each other for a second.
Then both laughed.
It was the first light moment of the meeting.
Mapicc continued.
“Upper Hall.”
“Then?”
“Storage.”
“Anyone?”
“Boosfer.”
Boosfer nodded.
“Yep.”
“And after?”
“Electrical.”
Jumper nodded.
“I saw him there.”
Mapicc looked at her.
“See?”
“You were alone, technically.”
Mapicc shrugged.
“That's the point.”
Jumper
Jumper looked at the table.
“I started Storage.”
Ferre raised a hand.
“I passed her.”
Jumper nodded.
“True.”
“Then?”
“Upper Hall.”
Mapicc nodded.
“We passed each other.”
“Then?”
“Electrical.”
Clown looked over.
“Not with us.”
“No.”
“After?”
“Alone.”
Wemmbu leaned forward.
“Did you see Saparata?”
“No.”
“MinuteTech?”
“No.”
“Anyone suspicious?”
Jumper shook her head.
“No.”
Clown
Clown sat forward.
“My route was Electrical.”
Ferre groaned.
“Obviously.”
Clown ignored him.
“I saw Ferre.”
Ferre nodded.
“We argued.”
“About a task,” Clown added.
“About him being an idiot,” Ferre corrected.
“That too.”
The room laughed.
Even Flame smiled.
Clown continued.
“I left.”
“Alone?” Saparata would have asked.
Nobody could.
Clown answered anyway.
“Yeah.”
“Then Storage.”
“MinuteTech passed me.”
MinuteTech nodded.
“Correct.”
“Then Lomedy.”
Lomedy nodded.
“Correct.”
Clown finished.
“Then I went back.”
“Back where?”
“Electrical.”
Wifies frowned.
“Why?”
“Another task.”
“Again?”
Clown shrugged.
“Apparently the ship wants me there.”
Ferre
Ferre leaned forward.
“My route matches Clown's for most of it.”
Clown pointed.
“See?”
Ferre continued.
“Then we split.”
“When?” Jumper asked.
“Storage.”
Clown nodded.
“I went toward Electrical.”
Ferre shrugged.
“I went toward Reactor.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“Anyone see you?”
He thought.
“Lomedy.”
Lomedy nodded.
“I did.”
Ferre looked at him.
“See?”
Lomedy nodded.
“Yeah.”
Ferre sat back.
Then he looked down at himself.
“This color is still fucking brown, by the way.”
Clown laughed.
“It isn't relevant.”
“It is always relevant.”
Spoke
Spoke had been quiet.
Now he leaned forward.
“I was with Ash.”
Ashswag nodded.
“Yep.”
“We started Electrical.”
Jumper nodded.
“I saw them.”
Spoke continued.
“Then Ash left for Storage.”
Ash nodded.
“Task.”
“I stayed in Electrical.”
Spoke looked toward him.
“How long were you gone?”
Ashswag shrugged.
“Thirty seconds.”
“Maybe less,” Spoke added.
Wifies looked at him.
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Spoke continued.
“He came back.”
“Then?”
“We went lower.”
Flame nodded.
“I saw them.”
Spoke pointed.
“Exactly.”
“Then we separated?”
Ash answered.
“Briefly.”
Spoke nodded.
“Then found each other again.”
Wifies frowned.
“That's a lot of separating.”
Spoke looked irritated.
“It's thirty seconds.”
“Still.”
Spoke leaned back.
“Ash is clear.”
Jumper looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I was with him.”
Jumper shook her head.
“That doesn't clear him.”
Spoke stared.
“It does for me.”
Ashswag
Everyone looked at Ash.
He shrugged.
“My route matches Spoke's.”
“Except for the split,” PrinceZam said.
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
“Storage.”
“What task?”
“Download.”
Spoke nodded.
“That was the panel.”
“Then lower hallway.”
“Yes.”
“And Saparata?”
Ashswag shook his head.
“Didn't see him.”
MinuteTech looked at him.
“I saw you earlier.”
Ash nodded.
“Where?”
“Lower hall.”
“Then that's probably when.”
MinuteTech frowned.
“When what?”
“When I crossed.”
MinuteTech nodded.
“Possible.”
PrinceZam
PrinceZam finally spoke.
“I was alone.”
Boosfer immediately called:
“Mostly.”
PrinceZam glanced at him.
“Yes.”
“Because you saw me.”
“Earlier.”
Wemmbu raised an eyebrow.
“Where?”
“Upper hall.”
“That's not what I remember.”
PrinceZam looked at him.
“Really?”
“No.”
“Okay.”
Wemmbu's expression changed slightly.
“You know I was in Storage.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“I know.”
“But you said Upper.”
“I saw you after.”
Wemmbu frowned.
That was the first contradiction that seemed to matter.
Jaden noticed.
“You're saying you saw Wemmbu twice?”
PrinceZam nodded.
“Yes.”
Wemmbu crossed his arms.
“I don't remember.”
PrinceZam shrugged.
“Okay.”
That one word made Wemmbu more annoyed than a direct accusation would have.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Say it.”
“I'm not accusing you.”
“Sounds like it.”
PrinceZam smiled.
“If I were accusing you, you'd know.”
Boosfer
Boosfer leaned forward.
“My route was Navigation, Storage, then Upper Hall.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“I saw you.”
“Yep.”
MinuteTech added,
“You were near Navigation too.”
Boosfer nodded.
“Yeah.”
Wifies looked at him.
“That's a lot of locations.”
“I had tasks.”
“What tasks?”
“Several.”
“Which?”
Boosfer sighed.
“Why?”
“Because we're giving alibis.”
“Fine.”
He started listing them.
“Navigation. Download. Storage. Wiring.”
Wifies nodded.
“Okay.”
Then Boosfer looked toward Lomedy.
“You said you were near Storage.”
“Yes.”
“And then Communications?”
Lomedy nodded.
“Eventually.”
Boosfer leaned back.
“Interesting.”
Lomedy frowned.
“What's interesting?”
“Nothing.”
“Then stop saying that.”
Yungy
Yungy had been unusually quiet.
He finally leaned forward.
“I was in MedBay.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Then lower hall.”
“Anyone?”
“Saparata.”
MinuteTech nodded.
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“Earlier.”
Lomedy shifted in his seat.
Yungy noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You look annoyed.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Because you keep looking at me.”
Yungy laughed.
“I haven't.”
“You have.”
“Okay.”
Wemmbu interrupted.
“Can we focus?”
Yungy nodded.
“Fine.”
He continued.
“After Saparata, I saw Flame.”
Flame nodded.
“Yep.”
“Then Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“Yeah.”
“You two didn't stop?”
“No.”
Yungy shrugged.
“Neither did I.”
That gave them a small shared point in the timeline.
Wemmbu
Wemmbu leaned forward.
“My route was Storage.”
PrinceZam's eyes immediately moved toward him.
“Then Communications.”
He paused.
“Then Reactor.”
Flame nodded.
“I saw him.”
Wemmbu pointed.
“See?”
PrinceZam spoke.
“I also saw you.”
Wemmbu sighed.
“We already did this.”
“I know.”
“Then what?”
“Nothing.”
Wemmbu looked frustrated.
“Exactly.”
Mane finally spoke.
“I crossed Wemmbu too.”
PrinceZam looked at Mane.
“When?”
“Lower hall.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“That happened.”
Wifies asked,
“Were you two together?”
“No,” Wemmbu said.
Mane shook his head.
“Just passed.”
That was enough.
Twenty people had spoken.
One was dead.
Nineteen alibis existed.
And somehow, there were still more questions than answers.
Jumper looked around the table.
“Okay.”
She pointed toward the screen.
“Saparata's dead.”
Nobody contradicted her.
“We need to figure out who actually had a route that could reach Communications.”
MinuteTech spoke.
“Anyone who crossed Storage could.”
“That's half the ship.”
“Exactly.”
Parrot leaned forward.
“Who saw Saparata last?”
Yungy raised his hand.
“I did.”
MinuteTech shook his head.
“I'm the one who found him.”
“Alive,” Yungy said.
“Before that.”
Flame added,
“I saw him later.”
Wemmbu looked toward him.
“When?”
“Lower hall.”
Mane nodded.
“I did too.”
Now everyone was paying attention.
Lomedy crossed his arms.
“I saw him.”
Wifies nodded.
“So did I.”
PrinceZam added,
“I saw Lomedy near the area.”
Boosfer nodded.
“Same.”
Lomedy stared.
“Why are you two suddenly talking about me?”
PrinceZam shrugged.
“Because you were there.”
“So were you.”
“I know.”
“Then why me?”
Boosfer leaned forward.
“You've got the weirdest timeline.”
Lomedy's expression hardened.
“No, I don't.”
“You went Cafeteria.”
“Yeah.”
“Storage.”
“Yeah.”
“MedBay.”
“Yeah.”
“Navigation.”
“Yes.”
“And Communications.”
Lomedy paused.
“I passed through.”
“When?”
He hesitated.
“After.”
“After what?”
“After Storage.”
Wifies frowned.
“You didn't mention Communications earlier.”
“I forgot.”
The room shifted.
Lomedy immediately realized how bad that sounded.
“I forgot one hallway!”
Flame leaned forward.
“Not a hallway.”
“What?”
“Communications.”
“You just said it.”
“And you forgot it.”
Lomedy looked at him.
“You've been acting weird since the game started.”
Flame stared.
“So have you.”
There it was.
The first real argument.
Lomedy pushed his chair back.
“What is your problem with me?”
Flame's expression hardened.
“I don't have a problem with you.”
“You've barely spoken to me.”
“Because we're playing a game.”
“You were cold before the game.”
Flame paused.
Nobody knew why.
Lomedy looked around.
“See?”
Mane finally spoke.
“That's a strange thing to bring up during a murder investigation.”
Lomedy turned.
“Are you defending him?”
“No.”
“Then why say anything?”
“Because it's irrelevant.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“It is.”
Boosfer added,
“Very.”
Lomedy stared around the table.
“Fantastic.”
Jumper raised a hand.
“We're getting distracted.”
“No,” Wifies said.
“We're getting somewhere.”
Everyone looked at him.
Wifies continued.
“Lomedy said he forgot Communications.”
Lomedy shook his head.
“I passed through.”
“When?”
“After Storage.”
“But Flame says he was with you.”
“Yes.”
Flame nodded.
“Then you went toward Navigation.”
“Yes.”
Wifies looked around.
“That means Lomedy is the only person we've established in that chain.”
Lomedy's expression changed.
“Only person?”
“You were seen near Saparata.”
“I saw him alive!”
“And then you went away.”
“So?”
“And then he's dead.”
Lomedy looked at the others.
“That's it?”
No one answered.
Parrot folded his arms.
“It sounds bad.”
“Of course it sounds bad.”
Lomedy looked toward Flame.
“You knew exactly where I was.”
Flame frowned.
“What?”
“You keep giving them pieces.”
Flame shook his head.
“I'm answering questions.”
“Convenient.”
“You're making yourself look worse.”
“Fuck you.”
“See?”
Wemmbu spoke.
“Lomedy.”
Lomedy turned.
“What?”
“You need to calm down.”
Lomedy stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because you're making it easy.”
“For who?”
Nobody answered.
The timer appeared.
VOTING WILL BEGIN
The room erupted.
“Wait,” Jaden said.
Everyone quieted.
“We don't actually have proof.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“Correct.”
Wifies agreed.
“Not enough.”
Parrot shook his head.
“He's still my strongest suspect.”
Jumper looked toward Parrot.
“You don't know that.”
“I know what I saw.”
“What did you see?”
Parrot hesitated.
Again.
That hesitation was becoming familiar.
Clown finally spoke.
“We shouldn't vote without evidence.”
Ferre nodded.
“Exactly.”
Lomedy looked relieved.
“Thank you.”
Then Ferre added,
“But your timeline is still shit.”
Lomedy groaned.
“Oh, come on.”
Clown laughed.
The tension broke for half a second.
Then Flame spoke.
“I think Lomedy is the safest vote.”
Lomedy stared at him.
“You've got to be kidding.”
Wemmbu looked toward Flame.
“Why?”
Flame answered calmly.
“Because his route overlaps with the body.”
Mane nodded.
“And he changed his timeline.”
Boosfer added,
“And forgot Communications.”
Three different reasons.
Three separate voices.
No one said vote Lomedy.
They didn't need to.
The room was already moving that way.
Lomedy looked around.
He knew.
He could feel it.
“You're all making a mistake.”
PrinceZam said nothing.
Wifies said nothing.
Jumper looked uncertain.
Clown looked uncomfortable.
Spoke glanced toward Ashswag.
Ashswag was watching the room.
Flame sat still.
Mane sat still.
Wemmbu didn't move.
The timer reached zero.
Votes appeared.
LOMEDY.
LOMEDY.
LOMEDY.
LOMEDY.
One for Flame.
One for PrinceZam.
Then another.
LOMEDY.
Lomedy stared at the screen.
“You're fucking serious?”
Nobody answered.
The final vote landed.
LOMEDY.
The result appeared.
LOMEDY WAS EJECTED.
His character disappeared.
The screen paused.
Then—
LOMEDY WAS NOT AN IMPOSTOR.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Clown leaned back.
“Oh, shit.”
Ferre muttered,
“Again?”
Jumper stared at the result.
“We did it again.”
Parrot looked down.
“I was wrong.”
Wifies shook his head.
“We all were.”
Flame didn't move.
Mane said nothing.
Wemmbu stared at Lomedy's empty space.
Then the next message appeared.
18 PLAYERS REMAINING
The ship doors opened.
Nobody moved.
Lomedy was gone.
Saparata was dead.
The message remained on the screen for another second.
18 PLAYERS REMAINING.
Then it vanished.
The doors opened.
Nobody moved.
For several seconds, the entire group stood exactly where the meeting had left them, staring at the empty place where Lomedy had been.
It was strange.
They had done this before.
That was the problem.
They had already gone through the horrible realization once.
They had already watched an innocent player disappear because everyone had convinced themselves that a bad route was enough.
And now they had done it again.
Clown broke the silence.
“Well.”
Nobody answered.
Clown looked around.
“Anyone want to admit that was a terrible idea?”
Ferre raised a hand.
“Several people should.”
Parrot groaned.
“I already said I was wrong.”
“Yeah,” Ferre said. “That doesn't make him less dead.”
Parrot glared at him.
Ferre shrugged.
“I didn't say it was your fault.”
“You kind of did.”
“I really didn't.”
“Can we stop?”
Jumper rubbed her forehead.
“We need to move.”
Nobody disagreed.
The ship opened around them again.
The lights were bright.
The corridors were ordinary.
The tasks were still there.
But something had changed.
Nobody wanted to be alone.
And, somehow, nobody trusted being with someone either.
After the vote
Wemmbu stepped into the hallway.
He stopped.
Behind him, everyone else began scattering.
Not together.
Not exactly.
Groups started forming, dissolving, reforming.
Theo caught up with Parrot.
“You're coming with me.”
Parrot looked at him.
“Where?”
“Cafeteria.”
“Why?”
“Task.”
Parrot sighed.
“Fine.”
They started walking.
A few steps behind them, Eggchan and Jaden emerged.
Eggchan looked at the others.
“Should we stay together?”
Jaden considered it.
“Probably.”
Eggchan smiled.
“That's what I was thinking.”
They turned toward Weapons.
Across the hall, Spoke looked at Ashswag.
“You're not going to disappear again.”
Ash lifted an eyebrow.
“I went to one room.”
“You went without telling me.”
“I told you.”
“You said task.”
“That is telling you.”
Spoke stared at him.
Ash stared back.
Then Spoke sighed.
“Whatever.”
They walked toward the upper hallway.
Mapicc immediately went the opposite direction.
Jumper noticed.
“So we're still doing this?”
Mapicc looked over his shoulder.
“Yes.”
“You're seriously not teaming with anyone?”
“No.”
Jumper nodded.
“Same.”
They walked away from each other again.
Clown watched them disappear.
“That is the weirdest friendship I've ever seen.”
Ferre pointed at him.
“Don't encourage them.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
“I was observing.”
“You were encouraging.”
“Whatever.”
Cafeteria
Parrot and Theo reached Cafeteria.
Theo stopped near the table.
“I have this.”
Parrot moved toward another panel.
“Then do it.”
Theo frowned.
“You could sound less annoyed.”
“I'm not annoyed.”
“You are.”
“No.”
“You absolutely are.”
Parrot turned.
“I'm annoyed because we just voted someone out and he wasn't an Impostor.”
Theo nodded.
“Yes.”
“And everyone's about to start acting like they know exactly what happened.”
“Yes.”
“And we're going to spend the next fifteen minutes arguing about routes.”
Theo paused.
“Probably.”
Parrot exhaled.
“Exactly.”
Theo started the task.
For a few seconds, the room was quiet.
Then Theo said,
“You know you don't have to stay beside me.”
Parrot glanced at him.
“What?”
“You keep following me.”
“Because we're safer together.”
Theo shrugged.
“Are we?”
Parrot stared.
Theo smiled.
“I'm joking.”
“You're terrible at jokes.”
“I've been told.”
Parrot finished his panel.
“I've got one in Navigation.”
Theo nodded.
“I have another here.”
Parrot waited.
Theo looked up.
“Go ahead.”
Parrot frowned.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“You're not going to follow?”
“No.”
“Fine.”
Parrot turned.
“Meet in Navigation.”
Theo nodded.
“I'll be there.”
Parrot walked away.
Theo remained at the panel.
That was the first time they had split since the meeting.
No one commented on it.
No one saw it.
At least—
not yet.
Weapons
Eggchan was working through his task when Jaden suddenly spoke.
“Wait.”
Eggchan looked over.
“What?”
“Did Parrot just leave Theo?”
Eggchan glanced toward the doorway.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Tasks.”
Jaden frowned.
“They were together.”
“They don't have to be.”
“I know.”
Eggchan returned to his task.
Jaden stayed quiet.
Then—
“Do you think he's suspicious?”
Eggchan turned.
“Parrot?”
“Yeah.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because he's Parrot.”
Jaden stared.
“That is not an argument.”
“It is for him.”
Jaden laughed.
“Fair.”
Eggchan finished.
“Let's go.”
They left together.
Upper Hall
Spoke and Ashswag passed the intersection toward Cafeteria.
Spoke slowed.
“Did you see Parrot?”
Ash shook his head.
“No.”
“Okay.”
They kept moving.
At the next junction, they almost crossed Wifies.
“Hey.”
Spoke stopped.
Wifies looked at them.
“You two together again?”
Spoke nodded.
“Yes.”
Wifies tilted his head.
“For the whole game?”
Spoke frowned.
“What kind of question is that?”
“Just asking.”
Ash shrugged.
“Mostly.”
Spoke looked toward him.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“It means mostly.”
Wifies smiled faintly.
“Right.”
He walked away.
Spoke watched him.
“He's weird.”
Ash nodded.
“Very.”
Navigation
PrinceZam was already there.
He was halfway through a task when Parrot entered.
Zam looked over.
“Where's Theo?”
“Cafeteria.”
“Thought you two were together.”
“We split.”
PrinceZam said nothing.
Parrot stopped.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're doing the thing.”
“What thing?”
“The staring thing.”
Zam smiled.
“I do that?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
Parrot rolled his eyes.
“Whatever.”
He started his task.
PrinceZam returned to his own.
Then Wifies entered.
He stopped when he saw them.
“Three people.”
Parrot looked over.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Wifies started his task.
PrinceZam glanced at him.
“You're counting people now?”
“No.”
“You said three.”
“I can count.”
Parrot laughed.
Wifies ignored him.
He finished his task.
Then looked at the hallway.
“You know what's strange?”
Nobody answered.
Wifies continued anyway.
“Everyone's routes are starting to overlap.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“They always do.”
“Not like this.”
“How do you mean?”
Wifies frowned.
“I don't know.”
Parrot shook his head.
“You're making things weird again.”
Wifies smiled.
“Probably.”
He left.
PrinceZam watched him go.
Parrot noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're doing it too.”
“Doing what?”
“Thinking.”
Zam laughed.
“That's illegal now?”
“In this game? Maybe.”
Reactor
ManePear entered alone.
A few seconds later, Flame appeared from the opposite side.
They both stopped.
Flame looked at Mane.
“You done?”
“Almost.”
Flame nodded.
“Same.”
There was no further conversation.
Wemmbu appeared from the lower corridor.
He saw them.
“Hey.”
Mane nodded.
Flame glanced at him.
“Where are you going?”
“Upper.”
“Task?”
“Yes.”
Flame nodded.
Wemmbu walked past.
Mane waited.
Flame waited.
Then both left in different directions.
A moment later, Wifies crossed the same hallway.
He slowed.
He looked at the empty corridor.
Then at the three directions people had taken.
He said nothing.
He continued walking.
MedBay
Yungy entered alone.
He started his task.
A few seconds later, Mapicc came through.
Yungy looked up.
“Still solo?”
“Obviously.”
“You're committed.”
“Very.”
Mapicc stopped.
“Where's Jumper?”
“Probably doing a task.”
Mapicc nodded.
“Good.”
Yungy looked at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Mapicc left.
Yungy stared after him.
“Everyone's acting strange.”
There was no answer.
Storage
Clown and Ferre crossed paths again.
Clown looked at him.
“Still brown.”
Ferre pointed at himself.
“Always.”
“That's impressive.”
“It isn't.”
“Technically it is.”
Ferre sighed.
“You're obsessed.”
Clown laughed.
They walked together for a few steps.
Then Ferre stopped.
“I've got Reactor.”
Clown nodded.
“I'm going Storage.”
Ferre looked toward the opposite corridor.
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
They split.
Another pair separated.
Nobody thought much of it.
The first warning
The lights flickered.
Everyone stopped.
Then—
SABOTAGE.
The ship went dark.
The reaction was immediate.
Doors slammed.
Players moved through the ship with only their outlines visible.
Parrot cursed somewhere down the hall.
Jaden shouted,
“Where are you?”
Eggchan yelled back,
“Weapons!”
“I'm coming!”
Spoke said something to Ash that disappeared into the darkness.
Flame's footsteps moved quickly across the floor.
Wemmbu passed through a doorway.
Mane went the opposite way.
PrinceZam moved toward the sabotage.
Wifies stopped.
Listened.
Then kept walking.
Cafeteria
Theo was alone.
The lights had gone out just as he finished his task.
He looked toward the hallway.
“Parrot?”
No answer.
Theo stepped forward.
The ship was almost completely silent.
He moved toward Navigation.
He passed an empty intersection.
Nothing.
Then—
footsteps.
Theo stopped.
Someone was approaching.
A silhouette appeared through the darkness.
Theo backed up slightly.
“Hey.”
The figure stopped.
For one second, neither moved.
Then the lights flickered.
Theo turned.
The corridor was empty.
The lights went out again.
He walked away.
Electrical
Spoke and Ash were working their way through the room.
“Door.”
Ash pushed past.
Spoke followed.
“Where's the sabotage?”
“Lights.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
Spoke sighed.
“Whatever.”
They moved out.
At the entrance, they nearly collided with Flame.
Flame stopped.
“You two?”
Spoke nodded.
“Yeah.”
Flame looked past them.
“Anyone else?”
“No.”
Flame nodded.
He continued toward the room.
Spoke watched him.
Ash noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Reactor
Parrot arrived.
He looked around.
“Theo?”
Nothing.
He checked the upper hallway.
No Theo.
He checked the junction.
Still nothing.
The lights finally returned.
Parrot blinked.
The ship became visible again.
He turned.
He saw the floor.
He froze.
Theo was there.
Not moving.
For a second, Parrot didn't react.
Then—
“No.”
He sprinted toward the body.
“Theo!”
Nothing.
Parrot stood over him.
Then the report alarm sounded.
The entire ship froze.
MEETING
Everyone appeared again.
Empty space where Theo should have been.
Parrot was standing at the center.
He looked furious.
Jumper spoke first.
“You reported?”
Parrot nodded.
“Theo.”
Silence.
Spoke looked down.
Ashswag said nothing.
Eggchan stared at the empty space.
Jaden clenched his fists.
PrinceZam leaned back.
“Where?”
“Reactor.”
“When?”
“Just after lights.”
Jumper nodded.
“Who was with him?”
Parrot looked around.
“No one.”
Wifies spoke.
“You were.”
“I left.”
“When?”
“Before the lights.”
“Why?”
“Tasks.”
Wifies nodded.
“Okay.”
Parrot looked at him.
“Don't.”
“Don't what?”
“Start.”
“I asked one question.”
“You're already doing it.”
Wifies leaned back.
“I'm trying to reconstruct the route.”
Parrot pointed.
“I found Theo.”
“I know.”
“I reported immediately.”
“I know.”
“Then don't make me defend myself.”
Wifies stared at him for a moment.
“I didn't.”
Parrot looked away.
Jumper raised her hand.
“Everyone give alibis.”
Nobody argued.
Eggchan
“I was with Jaden.”
Jaden nodded.
“Weapons.”
“Did you leave?”
“After the sabotage started.”
“To?”
“Upper hall.”
Jaden added,
“We crossed nobody.”
Eggchan shook his head.
“Not that I remember.”
Spoke
“Me and Ash were Electrical.”
Ash nodded.
“Then upper hall.”
“Anyone?”
“Flame.”
Flame nodded.
“That happened.”
Spoke continued.
“We didn't see Theo.”
Ash nodded.
“No.”
Flame
“I was in Reactor.”
Parrot immediately looked at him.
“You were?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“During sabotage.”
Parrot's expression hardened.
“And you didn't see him?”
“No.”
“Not at all?”
“No.”
“Convenient.”
Flame stared.
“I was in the other part of Reactor.”
Parrot shook his head.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
Mane spoke.
“I saw Flame.”
Parrot turned.
“When?”
“Before the sabotage.”
Flame nodded.
“Correct.”
Parrot looked between them.
“You two keep confirming each other.”
Mane shrugged.
“Because we crossed.”
“That doesn't mean—”
“I know.”
The room went quiet.
Wifies watched them.
He said nothing.
ManePear
“I was lower hall.”
“Anyone?” Jumper asked.
“Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“Reactor.”
Flame nodded.
“I saw him.”
Parrot laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Mane looked at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Wemmbu
“Storage.”
PrinceZam immediately looked up.
Wemmbu stopped.
“Then Upper.”
Zam tilted his head.
“You said Communications last time.”
Wemmbu frowned.
“For this game?”
“Yes.”
“No. I said Storage.”
“You said Storage, Communications, Reactor.”
Wemmbu looked irritated.
“That was before.”
“I know.”
“Then why bring it up?”
“Because you keep changing where you're going.”
Wemmbu stared.
“I told you where I was.”
Zam nodded.
“Eventually.”
Jumper interrupted.
“Focus.”
PrinceZam leaned back.
“Fine.”
Wemmbu continued.
“After Storage, Upper Hall.”
“Anyone?”
“I crossed Eggchan and Jaden earlier.”
Eggchan nodded.
“That happened.”
Wemmbu looked at him.
“I also crossed Flame and Mane.”
Mane nodded.
Parrot stared.
“Again?”
Wemmbu frowned.
“What?”
“You three are everywhere.”
“It is a small map.”
“Yes.”
Parrot's voice was getting sharper.
“And somehow every time something happens, one of you is nearby.”
Wemmbu said nothing.
PrinceZam
Zam sat forward.
“My route was Navigation.”
Wifies nodded.
“I was there.”
“Then Upper Hall.”
“Anyone?”
“Boosfer earlier.”
Boosfer raised his hand.
“Yes.”
“Then Reactor direction.”
Parrot looked at him.
“You were near the body?”
“Nearby.”
“How nearby?”
“Not close enough to see Theo.”
Parrot frowned.
“That's vague.”
“I wasn't in the room.”
“Then where?”
“Hallway.”
“Which hallway?”
“The one outside.”
Parrot's expression darkened.
“You saw him.”
“No.”
“You heard something?”
“No.”
PrinceZam leaned back.
“I didn't see Theo alive.”
Boosfer
“My route's mostly Navigation and Storage.”
Jumper asked,
“Anyone?”
“PrinceZam.”
Zam nodded.
“Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“And Wifies.”
Wifies nodded.
Boosfer paused.
“That was before the sabotage.”
“After?”
“Storage.”
“Anyone?”
“No.”
Parrot asked,
“Why were you in Storage?”
“Task.”
“Which?”
“Wiring.”
Parrot sighed.
“Everyone's got a task.”
“That's generally how the game works.”
Wifies
Wifies had barely sat down before everyone looked at him.
He noticed.
“My route was Navigation, Upper Hall, then Reactor.”
Parrot looked up.
“You were near Theo.”
“Yes.”
“Did you see him?”
“No.”
“When?”
“Before the sabotage.”
“What did you see?”
Wifies paused.
“PrinceZam.”
Zam nodded.
“Correct.”
“Then Boosfer.”
Boosfer nodded.
“Correct.”
“Then I crossed Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“Yeah.”
“And Flame.”
Flame nodded.
“Then Mane.”
Mane nodded.
Parrot leaned forward.
“And you're saying none of them saw Theo?”
Wifies shook his head.
“I'm saying I didn't see Theo.”
Parrot stared.
Wifies continued.
“That's different.”
Silence.
Jumper looked at him.
“What are you getting at?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Yet?”
Wifies nodded.
“Yet.”
Clown
“Storage.”
Ferre nodded.
“Reactor.”
Ferre looked at him.
“Then Electrical.”
“Alone?”
“Mostly.”
Ferre snorted.
“That's vague.”
Clown looked at him.
“I crossed you.”
“Yes.”
“Then I left.”
“Toward Storage.”
“Yes.”
Clown paused.
“I didn't see Theo.”
Ferre
Ferre nodded.
“Clown's route is correct.”
“Then?”
“Reactor.”
“Anyone?”
“No.”
“Parrot?”
Ferre thought.
“Not before the sabotage.”
Parrot stared.
“What?”
“I didn't see you.”
“I know.”
“Then why ask?”
“Because we're building a timeline.”
Ferre shrugged.
“Fine.”
Yungy
“MedBay.”
Jumper waited.
“Upper Hall.”
“Anyone?”
“Mapicc.”
Mapicc nodded.
“Then?”
“Alone.”
“Did you see Theo?”
“No.”
Mapicc
“MedBay.”
Yungy looked up.
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“That was probably me.”
“Then Upper.”
“Anyone?”
“Jumper.”
Jumper nodded.
“That happened.”
“No Theo.”
Jumper
“Storage.”
She looked around.
“Then Upper Hall.”
“Mapicc.”
He nodded.
“Then Electrical.”
Spoke frowned.
“Didn't see you.”
“I wasn't there long.”
Spoke nodded.
“Fair.”
“No Theo.”
Ashswag
Ash leaned back.
“My route matches Spoke.”
Spoke nodded.
“Mostly.”
Ash looked at him.
“Mostly.”
Spoke frowned.
“When did we split?”
“Upper Hall.”
“Oh.”
“You went left.”
“And you went right.”
“Yes.”
Spoke looked annoyed.
“Forgot.”
Ash shrugged.
“It was brief.”
Parrot watched them.
“You've split a lot.”
Spoke immediately answered.
“We've already talked about this.”
Parrot lifted his hands.
“Fine.”
Ash said nothing.
The argument
The meeting grew louder.
Not because anyone had found the killer.
Because everyone was beginning to realize how little they actually knew.
Parrot slammed his hand onto the table.
“We had Theo with me.”
“You left him,” Wifies said.
Parrot turned.
“I know!”
“That doesn't mean—”
“Then stop saying it!”
Jaden stepped in.
“Guys.”
Parrot pointed toward Wifies.
“He keeps doing this.”
Wifies frowned.
“Doing what?”
“Putting things together like he's got a secret answer.”
“I don't.”
“Then why are you acting like it?”
“Because someone's killing people.”
Parrot laughed without humor.
“Brilliant observation.”
Wifies looked at him.
“You're angry.”
“Yes.”
“That's understandable.”
“Don't patronize me.”
“I wasn't.”
“Then stop.”
Wifies leaned back.
“Okay.”
Jumper raised her voice.
“Enough!”
Everyone stopped.
She looked around.
“We have one dead player.”
“Two,” PrinceZam corrected.
“Saparata and Theo.”
“Right.”
She exhaled.
“We have no confirmed Impostor.”
Nobody spoke.
“We have several people with overlapping routes.”
Still nothing.
“And we're already accusing each other based on tiny timing differences.”
Clown nodded.
“That's what happened with Lomedy.”
The room went quiet.
Nobody liked hearing the name.
Clown continued.
“We just threw him out because his route sounded weird.”
Ferre grimaced.
“And he was innocent.”
“Exactly.”
Parrot looked down.
“So what?”
Clown looked at him.
“So maybe we don't do it again.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“I agree.”
Wemmbu looked over.
“Then what?”
“Skip.”
Mane spoke.
“That's risky.”
“So is ejecting an innocent.”
Flame nodded.
“True.”
Parrot looked between them.
“You all agree quickly.”
Mane stared.
“About skipping?”
“Yes.”
“Because it's obvious.”
Wifies looked at the trio.
All three had spoken.
All three had disagreed at different points.
Now all three were suddenly aligned again.
He said nothing.
Yet.
The timer appeared.
VOTING WILL BEGIN
Jumper looked around.
“No evidence.”
Clown nodded.
“Skip.”
Ferre raised his hand.
“Skip.”
Eggchan nodded.
“Skip.”
Jaden followed.
“Skip.”
Spoke shrugged.
“Skip.”
Ashswag nodded.
“Skip.”
Wifies looked at the timer.
“Skip.”
Parrot hesitated.
He looked at Theo's empty place.
Then at the others.
“Skip.”
PrinceZam spoke last.
“Skip.”
The votes appeared.
SKIP.
SKIP.
SKIP.
Almost everyone.
One vote appeared for FLAMEFRAGS.
The room went silent.
Flame looked around.
“Really?”
No one said anything.
Another vote.
PARROT.
Parrot's head snapped up.
“What?”
Jumper frowned.
“Who voted Parrot?”
No one answered.
The final votes appeared.
SKIP.
SKIP.
SKIP.
The result filled the screen.
NO ONE WAS EJECTED.
The doors opened.
Nobody moved immediately.
Parrot stared at the floor.
Flame stared across the room.
Wemmbu remained silent.
Mane leaned back.
PrinceZam looked at the vote screen.
Wifies looked at everyone.
Two things stood out.
One vote for Flame.
One vote for Parrot.
Neither made sense.
At least not yet.
After the meeting
They spilled into the corridors again.
Nobody paired up immediately.
That was worse.
Parrot walked alone.
He ignored everyone.
Eggchan and Jaden stayed together.
Spoke and Ash moved in the same direction.
Clown and Ferre rejoined briefly.
Mapicc and Jumper deliberately went opposite ways again.
Yungy entered MedBay.
Boosfer went toward Storage.
PrinceZam went to Navigation.
Wifies stopped in the hallway.
He pulled out his map.
He stared at it.
Then he started speaking quietly.
“Lomedy. Saparata. Theo.”
He traced the routes with his finger.
“Storage.”
“Communications.”
“Reactor.”
“Navigation.”
“Upper.”
He stopped.
There were too many overlaps.
Way too many.
And yet—
three players appeared near almost every important transition.
Wemmbu.
Flame.
Mane.
Sometimes together.
Sometimes separately.
Sometimes crossing another player.
Sometimes confirming each other's sightings.
It could mean nothing.
It could mean everything.
Wifies folded the map away.
He looked down the corridor.
Then left.
Elsewhere
Parrot reached Cafeteria.
He stopped at Theo's old task panel.
Nothing remained there.
He stood silently for a while.
Then he whispered,
“I shouldn't have left.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Parrot spun around.
Nobody.
He walked toward the doorway.
Still nobody.
He looked back at the panel.
Then he heard footsteps behind him.
Parrot turned again.
This time, someone was there.
They stared at each other.
Parrot's grip tightened.
“Where were you?”
The other player answered.
“Doing tasks.”
Parrot didn't move.
“During the sabotage?”
“Yes.”
“In that area?”
“Yes.”
Parrot's eyes narrowed.
“Interesting.”
The other player walked past.
Parrot watched them leave.
Then he looked back toward the Cafeteria.
The ship seemed bigger when everyone was alive.
Now it seemed smaller.
Much smaller.
Navigation
PrinceZam finished his task.
He turned.
Wemmbu stood in the doorway.
Zam looked at him.
“You again.”
Wemmbu raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you keep asking.”
Wemmbu leaned against the wall.
“Are you accusing me?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
PrinceZam thought for a second.
“I'm remembering.”
Wemmbu frowned.
“Remembering what?”
“Your routes.”
“Why?”
“Because somebody should.”
Wemmbu stared at him.
Then he walked away.
PrinceZam waited.
He didn't follow.
Lower Hall
Mane and Flame crossed paths again.
Mane stopped.
“Where's Wemmbu?”
Flame looked at him.
“I don't know.”
Mane nodded.
“Okay.”
They walked in opposite directions.
A few seconds later, Wemmbu emerged from the corner.
He stopped when he saw Flame.
“You two?”
Flame looked back.
“No.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“Okay.”
He kept walking.
Flame watched him go.
Mane had already disappeared.
One more thing
Wifies reached Reactor.
The room was empty.
Theo's death had happened here.
He stood where Parrot had reported the body.
He looked at the corridor.
Then the doorway.
Then the junction beyond.
He retraced the route.
One direction.
Then another.
He stopped.
There was something he hadn't mentioned in the meeting.
Not because he was hiding it.
Because he hadn't been sure.
But now he was.
When the lights had gone out, he had heard footsteps.
Three different sets.
One had gone toward Reactor.
One had gone away.
And one—
had stopped.
Wifies looked toward the hallway.
He couldn't tell whose footsteps they had been.
He couldn't even prove they were related.
But he remembered something else.
Theo had said he was going to meet Parrot in Navigation.
Yet Theo had been found in Reactor.
That meant Theo hadn't gone straight there.
Someone else had crossed his route.
Someone who had not been named.
Wifies slowly looked back at the corridor.
“Okay.”
He folded his arms.
“Now this is interesting.”
Behind him, a door shut.
Wifies turned.
Nobody was there.
The door remained closed.
The ship hummed quietly.
And somewhere else, another task began.
The game continued.
Eighteen had become seventeen.
And for the first time, the survivors weren't just trying to find the Impostor.
They were trying to remember every single person they had passed.
Because now they were starting to understand something.
The important clue might not be the person beside the body.
It might be the person who was supposed to be somewhere else.
Seventeen.
That was the number everyone kept thinking about.
Not saying.
Just thinking.
17 PLAYERS REMAINING.
And the moment the meeting ended, the ship seemed to become twice as dangerous.
Nobody wanted to be the first person alone.
Nobody wanted to be the second person alone either.
So they did what people always did when they were scared.
They made rules.
“Stay where people can see you.”
“Don't split up.”
“Actually, splitting up is safer.”
“No, it isn't.”
“Then stay together.”
“But then one person could kill everyone.”
“Then don't let one person control the group.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Nothing makes sense!”
The arguments followed them into the corridors.
Then the doors closed.
And everyone scattered anyway.
Wifies
Wifies moved quickly.
He wasn't trying to finish tasks anymore.
He was trying to reconstruct the game.
He had started keeping mental notes.
Who crossed whom.
Who claimed which hallway.
Who had changed their route.
Who had conveniently forgotten something.
And three names kept appearing.
Wemmbu.
Flame.
Mane.
He didn't know why.
He didn't even know whether it meant anything.
So he kept looking.
He entered Storage.
Empty.
Upper Hall.
Empty.
He turned toward Navigation.
Someone was already there.
Mane.
Wifies stopped.
“You.”
Mane looked over.
“Me.”
“Where are you going?”
“Navigation.”
“Why?”
“Task.”
Wifies stared at him.
Mane stared back.
Then Mane walked past.
Wifies waited a few seconds before following.
By the time he entered Navigation, Mane was already gone.
Wifies frowned.
He looked at the task panel.
Then at the doorway.
Then—
the lights went out.
Again.
“Oh, come on.”
Blackness
Doors slammed around the ship.
Players shouted.
Footsteps crossed in every direction.
Someone yelled from Cafeteria.
Someone else answered from Storage.
Jaden shouted for Eggchan.
Eggchan shouted back.
Spoke and Ashswag moved together.
Mapicc continued alone.
Jumper did the same.
Parrot ran toward the sabotage.
PrinceZam went the other direction.
And Wifies—
was still in Navigation.
He heard footsteps.
One.
Two.
A pause.
Then another.
He turned toward the doorway.
A silhouette passed.
Wifies stepped forward.
“Hey.”
The silhouette stopped.
The lights flickered.
For less than a second, Wifies could see who it was.
Then darkness again.
The footsteps moved away.
Wifies followed.
He turned the corner.
Nothing.
He took one more step.
Then—
The report alarm sounded.
Jumper stared around the room.
“Who reported?”
Mapicc raised his hand.
“Me.”
“Where?”
“Navigation.”
A collective groan.
Parrot closed his eyes.
“Wifies?”
Mapicc nodded.
“Wifies.”
The empty space beside them was becoming impossible to ignore.
Flame leaned back.
“That's fast.”
Mapicc turned.
“Yeah.”
“When did you find him?”
“After lights.”
“Anyone around?”
“No.”
Wemmbu spoke.
“Who did you see before?”
Mapicc thought.
“Wifies.”
“When?”
“Before sabotage.”
Mane asked,
“Anyone else?”
Mapicc shook his head.
“No.”
Jumper looked around.
“Everyone. Again.”
Parrot groaned.
“Again?”
“Yes.”
“No skipping?”
“Not until we know something.”
The shrinking list
This time, the alibis were shorter.
Eggchan and Jaden were in Weapons.
Spoke and Ash had been in Electrical.
PrinceZam had been in Cafeteria.
Parrot had been moving between Storage and Reactor.
Clown and Ferre had split.
Yungy had been in MedBay.
Jumper had been in Upper Hall.
Mapicc had been in Navigation.
Boosfer had been in Storage.
Wemmbu had crossed Reactor.
Flame had crossed Upper Hall.
Mane had been near Navigation.
Nobody had seen Wifies die.
Nobody had seen the killer.
And then—
PrinceZam spoke.
“I saw Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu looked over.
“When?”
“During the lights.”
Wemmbu frowned.
“I wasn't in Cafeteria.”
“I didn't say you were.”
“Then where?”
“Upper Hall.”
Wemmbu paused.
“Oh.”
PrinceZam smiled.
“You remember that?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
Flame interrupted.
“Can we stop doing this?”
PrinceZam looked at him.
“What?”
“The Wemmbu thing.”
“Why?”
“Because we've already been through it.”
“No.”
Flame frowned.
“No?”
“We've been through him having weird routes.”
Wemmbu's expression hardened.
“My routes aren't weird.”
PrinceZam looked at him.
“You went to Storage.”
“Yes.”
“Communications.”
“Yes.”
“Reactor.”
“Yes.”
“Upper Hall.”
Wemmbu paused.
“That was later.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“Exactly.”
Wemmbu stared at him.
Nobody spoke.
Then Clown broke it.
“Guys.”
Everyone looked over.
“We're doing the Lomedy thing again.”
Silence.
Clown continued.
“We're building a suspect out of nothing.”
PrinceZam leaned back.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Maybe I'm wrong.”
Jumper nodded.
“Then stop.”
PrinceZam did.
For the moment.
The voting timer appeared.
Nobody wanted to vote.
Nobody wanted to skip.
Parrot stared at the screen.
“I'm skipping.”
Jaden nodded.
“Same.”
Eggchan agreed.
“Same.”
Spoke looked at Ash.
“Skip.”
Ash nodded.
Mapicc folded his arms.
“Skip.”
Jumper did the same.
“Skip.”
One by one.
The votes appeared.
SKIP.
SKIP.
SKIP.
Then—
WEMMBU.
Wemmbu looked up.
“What?”
Another vote.
WEMMBU.
Silence.
Then another.
SKIP.
Then another.
WEMMBU.
The room erupted.
“WHO IS VOTING FOR ME?”
Nobody answered.
Wemmbu stood.
“You've got to be kidding me!”
Jaden looked at the screen.
“Three votes.”
“Three?”
PrinceZam stared.
“Interesting.”
Wemmbu turned.
“Don't.”
PrinceZam held up his hands.
“I didn't say anything.”
The final votes landed.
SKIP.
SKIP.
SKIP.
The majority remained skip.
NO ONE WAS EJECTED.
Wemmbu exhaled sharply.
“Three votes.”
Jumper looked around.
“Three people thought he was suspicious.”
“Or three people wanted to scare him,” Wifies would have said.
Except Wifies was dead.
Nobody could say it.
The doors opened.
Then Clown disappeared.
Nobody noticed immediately.
That was the problem.
The group had gotten used to checking for bodies.
They had forgotten to check for absences.
Clown had gone toward Electrical.
Ferre had gone toward Storage.
Five minutes later, Ferre came back.
Clown didn't.
Ferre looked around.
“Where's Clown?”
Nobody knew.
“Did he go with anyone?”
“No.”
Ferre's expression changed.
“Fuck.”
He turned around.
“Clown!”
No answer.
He checked Electrical.
Empty.
Storage.
Empty.
Lower Hall.
Empty.
Then—
he saw him.
Ferre stopped dead.
“Clown.”
The report button appeared.
Ferre hit it instantly.
MEETING
Seventeen became—
Sixteen.
Jumper stared at the screen.
“Clown.”
Ferre nodded.
“Electrical.”
Again.
Always Electrical.
Spoke stared at the table.
“That's three bodies in rooms people keep visiting.”
PrinceZam shook his head.
“Four.”
“What?”
“People.”
He pointed at the roster.
“Four missing.”
Parrot looked.
“Wifies.”
“Lomedy.”
“Saparata.”
“And Clown.”
The room went silent.
They had become so focused on finding killers that they had forgotten to count the dead.
Jaden whispered,
“There are only sixteen.”
Nobody corrected him.
The new problem was that...
Ferre gave his alibi.
He had been in Storage.
Then Upper Hall.
Then back.
He'd found Clown.
No one had seen him.
Mapicc had been in MedBay.
Jumper had been in Communications.
Parrot had been in Cafeteria.
Eggchan and Jaden had been together.
Spoke and Ash had been together.
Boosfer had crossed PrinceZam.
Yungy had been in MedBay.
Wemmbu had been alone.
Flame had been alone.
Mane had been alone.
And that—
was the problem.
Three people.
Three separate stories.
Three people who had almost no one to verify them.
Jumper looked around.
“We need pair assignments.”
Wemmbu frowned.
“What?”
“Buddy system.”
Mapicc immediately said,
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't want somebody following me.”
Jumper sighed.
“Then stay alone.”
“Fine.”
Parrot looked toward Flame.
“You.”
Flame looked back.
“What?”
“You've been alone a lot.”
“So have you.”
“I've been with Theo.”
Theo was dead.
Parrot stopped.
The silence that followed was brutal.
Flame looked away.
“Right.”
PrinceZam spoke.
“We're getting nowhere.”
Then—
Mane spoke.
“What about the votes?”
Everyone looked at him.
“The Wemmbu votes.”
Wemmbu frowned.
“What about them?”
“Three people voted for you.”
“So?”
“So someone thinks you're suspicious.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“That's true.”
Wemmbu looked at him.
“You sound pleased.”
“I'm not.”
“You really do.”
PrinceZam shrugged.
“I'm just stating it.”
Jumper interrupted.
“Stop.”
Mane leaned back.
“Fine.”
He said nothing else.
The vote
This time, nobody even tried to pretend certainty.
The arguments were too messy.
The routes too broken.
The deaths too fast.
The voting screen appeared.
WEMMBU.
FLAMEFRAGS.
MANEPEAR.
Then—
SKIP.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The meeting ended in another skip.
No ejection.
Sixteen alive.
The ship opened.
Nobody celebrated.
MinuteTech
MinuteTech walked alone.
He had stopped trying to convince people.
He just wanted to finish his tasks.
He entered Communications.
Empty.
He started the panel.
Then someone entered.
MinuteTech looked up.
Mane.
“You?”
Mane nodded.
“Task.”
MinuteTech moved aside.
Mane started his own.
Neither spoke.
Then Mane left.
MinuteTech watched him disappear.
He finished.
He turned toward the hallway.
And saw someone else.
Wemmbu.
MinuteTech smiled faintly.
“Busy ship.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“Yeah.”
“You've been everywhere.”
“So has everyone.”
MinuteTech chuckled.
“Fair.”
He walked away.
Wemmbu remained.
For a moment.
Then left in the opposite direction.
Upper Hall
PrinceZam found Flame.
Flame stopped.
Zam spoke first.
“You've been lucky.”
Flame frowned.
“About what?”
“Everyone keeps confirming somebody else.”
Flame crossed his arms.
“That's how the game works.”
“Is it?”
“What are you getting at?”
“Nothing.”
Flame stared at him.
“You sound like Wifies.”
PrinceZam's expression changed for half a second.
“Maybe.”
Then he walked away.
Flame watched him.
He didn't follow.
Reactor
MinuteTech reached Reactor.
The room was quiet.
He checked his task.
Then—
the lights went out.
Again.
MinuteTech sighed.
“Of course.”
Footsteps.
He stopped.
Listened.
One set.
Then another.
He moved toward the sabotage.
A door opened somewhere nearby.
MinuteTech turned.
Nobody.
Then footsteps behind him.
He started walking faster.
The report alarm never came.
The ship stayed dark.
And when the lights returned—
MinuteTech was gone.
Nobody found him immediately.
That made the next meeting impossible.
There wasn't one.
Instead, the surviving players slowly noticed something was wrong.
Jaden noticed first.
“Where's Minute?”
Eggchan looked around.
“I don't know.”
Spoke stopped walking.
“Minute?”
No answer.
PrinceZam checked Communications.
Nothing.
Parrot checked Reactor.
Nothing.
Jumper checked Upper Hall.
Nothing.
Then Yungy said,
“We've lost another one.”
Everyone froze.
There was no body.
No meeting.
No announcement.
Just another empty place in the group.
The remaining players stared at each other.
Fifteen.
No—
they couldn't even be sure.
Jumper pulled up the roster.
Her face fell.
“Fifteen.”
Mapicc swore.
“We need to find the body.”
They spread out.
Against every instinct they had developed.
And five minutes later—
Parrot found it.
Reactor.
MinuteTech.
He slammed report.
MEETING
The room filled.
Another empty chair.
Another silence.
Parrot spoke.
“MinuteTech.”
Jumper closed her eyes.
“That makes five dead.”
PrinceZam corrected her.
“Six.”
Nobody answered.
PrinceZam looked at the roster.
“Saparata.”
“Theo.”
“Wifies.”
“Clown.”
“MinuteTech.”
He paused.
“And Lomedy.”
The room went still.
Six names.
Six gone.
Four had died without the group understanding exactly when.
Jaden spoke quietly.
“That's fourteen alive.”
Eggchan corrected him.
“Fifteen.”
Jaden looked at the roster.
“Right.”
Nobody laughed.
They were too tired.
Too frightened.
Too confused.
And for the first time all game, the numbers were beginning to matter.
Fifteen players.
Three Impostors.
Six dead.
One innocent ejected.
And nobody had a confirmed killer.
Jumper looked at everyone.
“No more random votes.”
Parrot nodded.
“No more.”
PrinceZam leaned forward.
“Then we need to actually reconstruct this.”
Wifies wasn't there to do it.
Lomedy wasn't there to argue.
MinuteTech wasn't there to stabilize the room.
Clown wasn't there to break the tension.
Theo wasn't there to keep Parrot calm.
Saparata wasn't there to remember everyone's routes.
The people who had made the game feel manageable were disappearing one by one.
And the people left behind—
were the ones nobody trusted.
Jumper looked toward the trio of routes that had appeared over and over again.
Wemmbu.
Flame.
Mane.
This time, she didn't say anything.
Neither did anyone else.
Because now everyone had noticed.
Fourteen.
That was the actual number.
Jumper checked the roster twice.
“Fourteen alive.”
Nobody argued.
They had finally stopped trusting the numbers on the meeting screen.
They were counting themselves.
It was the only thing they could control.
For about thirty seconds.
Then the lights went out.
Again.
Parrot swore.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
Doors slammed.
The ship vanished into blackness.
And this time, the reactions were different.
Nobody shouted random directions.
Nobody ran blindly.
They had learned.
“Reactor!”
“I'm going!”
“Stay together!”
“Where's Egg?”
“Here!”
“Jaden?”
“Behind you!”
Footsteps crashed through the corridors.
The sabotage timer ticked down.
Eggchan and Jaden were together.
Again.
They had decided, after MinuteTech's death, that they were done splitting unnecessarily.
Jaden reached the panel first.
“Do yours.”
“I am.”
“Then hurry.”
“I know!”
The lights were still out.
Eggchan looked toward the doorway.
A shadow crossed it.
“Jaden.”
“What?”
“Someone's there.”
Jaden turned.
Nobody.
“Probably Spoke.”
Eggchan frowned.
“Probably?”
Then the emergency lights flickered.
For one moment, the hallway became visible.
Empty.
Jaden exhaled.
“See?”
Eggchan went back to the panel.
The lights returned.
Nothing seemed wrong.
Then Jaden looked at Eggchan.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“Where's your task bar?”
Eggchan stared.
“Why?”
“It didn't move.”
“So?”
“So you've been standing there for ages.”
“I was doing the task.”
Jaden laughed.
“You're awful at this.”
Eggchan shoved him.
“Shut up.”
They left together.
Upper Hall
Parrot was already there.
He ran straight into PrinceZam.
“Where were you?”
“Storage.”
“Before the sabotage?”
“Yes.”
“And now?”
“Upper.”
Parrot nodded.
“Okay.”
PrinceZam looked at him.
“You're checking everyone now?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Parrot frowned.
“Why'd you say it like that?”
“Because you should.”
“That's suspicious.”
PrinceZam laughed.
“Everything's suspicious.”
They continued.
Then—
DOORS LOCKED.
Parrot stopped.
“Oh, fuck.”
The door between Upper Hall and Cafeteria slammed shut.
PrinceZam looked toward the other side.
“Someone's trapped.”
“Who?”
He pointed.
“Boosfer.”
Boosfer was visible through the glass.
He waved.
“HELP?”
Parrot hit the door.
“Hang on!”
PrinceZam tried another panel.
Nothing.
Boosfer laughed nervously.
“This is fine!”
“No, it isn't!”
The timer kept counting.
29
28
27
Then—
the doors opened.
Boosfer ran through.
“Never doing that again.”
Parrot looked down the hallway.
“Where's everyone?”
“Don't know.”
PrinceZam stared toward Reactor.
Then toward Storage.
“That's the problem.”
The alarm didn't sound.
There wasn't one.
Instead, Boosfer slowed near the intersection.
“Wait.”
Parrot turned.
“What?”
Boosfer was looking at the floor.
PrinceZam immediately understood.
“No.”
Parrot ran.
Boosfer was dead.
The body was near the doorway.
PrinceZam hit report.
MEETING
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Boosfer was gone.
Again.
Another empty space.
Parrot looked furious.
“Who was in Upper?”
PrinceZam answered.
“Me.”
Parrot nodded.
“I was with him.”
Jumper turned toward them.
“Anyone else?”
“Eggchan and Jaden were Weapons.”
Eggchan nodded.
“Yeah.”
Spoke raised his hand.
“Ash and I were Lower.”
Ash nodded.
“Correct.”
Mapicc said,
“I was MedBay.”
Yungy nodded.
“I saw him.”
Ferre looked up.
“Reactor.”
Jumper asked,
“With Clown?”
Ferre's face fell.
“No.”
The room went silent.
Jumper caught herself.
“Right.”
Ferre looked away.
“I was alone.”
Parrot stared at him.
“When?”
“Before the sabotage.”
“Then after?”
“Storage.”
“Anyone?”
“No.”
Parrot leaned back.
“Great.”
Jumper looked around.
“We keep saying the same thing.”
“What?” Jaden asked.
“We're giving locations.”
“That's what we're supposed to do.”
“No.”
Jumper shook her head.
“We're giving locations without timelines.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“She has a point.”
Mapicc folded his arms.
“Then start with the body.”
“Boosfer was last with me,” Parrot said.
PrinceZam corrected him.
“He was last visible with us.”
Parrot frowned.
“What?”
“He crossed the door.”
“Yes.”
“And then we lost sight of him.”
“For maybe twenty seconds.”
“Exactly.”
Parrot looked at the room.
“So who could have reached him?”
Nobody answered.
Mane spoke.
“Everyone.”
Jumper looked at him.
“Helpful.”
“It's true.”
Parrot turned toward him.
“You keep saying things like that.”
Mane raised an eyebrow.
“Like what?”
“Like you're trying not to say anything.”
Mane laughed.
“You're angry.”
“Yes.”
“That's not my fault.”
“Maybe.”
The room went quiet again.
Then Spoke spoke.
“Parrot.”
Parrot looked at him.
“What?”
“You're going after Mane because he was there.”
“No.”
“You are.”
Parrot stared.
“And you're defending him.”
Spoke frowned.
“I'm saying your reasoning sucks.”
Ash immediately said,
“He's not defending anyone.”
Spoke turned.
“I didn't ask you.”
Ash looked at him.
“You didn't have to.”
The tension snapped.
Jaden looked between them.
“Guys.”
Spoke stood.
“You've been doing that all game.”
“Doing what?” Ash asked.
“Correcting me.”
“Because you're wrong.”
“Sometimes.”
“More than sometimes.”
Spoke stared at him.
Ash stared back.
Then Spoke looked away.
“Whatever.”
Jumper slammed her hand down.
“ENOUGH.”
Silence.
She pointed around the table.
“That's exactly what the Impostors want.”
Nobody moved.
“They want us fighting each other.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“Then let's not.”
He turned toward the screen.
“No vote.”
Parrot looked unconvinced.
“But we don't have—”
“No vote.”
The timer appeared.
Everyone hesitated.
Then—
SKIP.
SKIP.
SKIP.
Almost unanimously.
One vote landed on ManePear.
One on Parrot.
Nobody spoke.
NO ONE WAS EJECTED.
The doors opened.
Mane looked toward Parrot.
Parrot looked back.
Neither said anything.
Reactor
Ferre moved quickly.
He had stopped trying to finish tasks.
He wanted people near him.
Unfortunately, nobody was.
He opened the Reactor door.
Empty.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
He started the panel.
Then the ship lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Ferre stopped.
“That's not normal.”
The lights went out.
He swore.
Footsteps.
He turned.
Nothing.
Then—
a door slammed.
Ferre ran.
The corridor ahead was blocked.
He spun around.
Another door.
Locked.
“Are you fucking serious?”
The lights came back.
Ferre looked around.
Nobody.
He took one step.
Then another.
A figure appeared behind him.
The lights flickered.
Ferre turned—
And the ship went dark.
Cafeteria
Jumper was finishing a task when the sabotage ended.
She looked around.
“Ferre?”
No response.
Mapicc entered.
“What's wrong?”
“Have you seen Ferre?”
“No.”
Jumper frowned.
“He was at Reactor.”
Mapicc looked toward the hallway.
“Let's check.”
They ran.
Reactor was empty.
Lower Hall—
empty.
Storage—
empty.
Then Mapicc saw the body.
“Fuck.”
Jumper stopped.
Ferre.
Report.
MEETING
Jumper didn't sit down.
“We're not doing another stupid vote.”
Parrot nodded.
“Agreed.”
“Ferre was at Reactor.”
Mapicc added,
“Then Lower Hall.”
“Who was near him?”
Jumper looked around.
Wemmbu raised a hand.
“I was Upper.”
Flame:
“Cafeteria.”
Mane:
“Navigation.”
Eggchan and Jaden:
“Weapons.”
Spoke and Ash:
“Electrical.”
Yungy:
“MedBay.”
PrinceZam:
“Storage.”
Parrot:
“Cafeteria.”
Jumper:
“Upper.”
Mapicc:
“Found him.”
Nobody had a direct alibi.
Again.
PrinceZam leaned forward.
“Then we're missing something.”
Jaden nodded.
“There's too much empty space.”
“What does that mean?” Eggchan asked.
“It means somebody is disappearing between rooms.”
Wemmbu looked toward him.
“That's the game.”
“No.”
Jaden shook his head.
“Not like this.”
He pointed at the map.
“Every body is showing up after a sabotage.”
Nobody spoke.
“That isn't coincidence anymore.”
Mapicc nodded.
“I agree.”
Parrot looked toward Flame.
“You're quiet.”
“So?”
“You always have something to say.”
Flame shrugged.
“Not this time.”
Parrot stared.
Then—
“Okay.”
He turned away.
Wemmbu looked at Flame.
Flame looked back.
Neither said anything.
Mane leaned back.
Jumper watched all three.
The timer appeared.
No one argued this time.
SKIP.
SKIP.
SKIP.
The votes passed.
No ejection.
Again.
Seventeen seconds
The ship doors opened.
The second everyone left the meeting room—
LIGHTS OUT.
The sabotage hit instantly.
Someone cursed.
Someone laughed.
Someone shouted,
“SERIOUSLY?!”
Nobody answered.
This time the chaos spread immediately.
Jaden ran toward Reactor.
Eggchan went with him.
Mapicc went alone.
Jumper followed Parrot.
Yungy ran toward MedBay.
PrinceZam disappeared into Storage.
Spoke and Ash moved together.
Wemmbu vanished into the upper halls.
Flame crossed Electrical.
Mane crossed the lower corridor.
Three completely separate paths.
Three different directions.
MedBay
Yungy reached the panel.
The lights flickered.
He worked faster.
Then someone entered.
“Hey.”
Yungy turned.
Wemmbu.
“You?”
“Task.”
Yungy nodded.
“Fine.”
They worked in silence.
Then Wemmbu left.
Yungy finished.
He stepped into the hall.
The door closed behind him.
He took two steps.
Stopped.
Looked back.
Nothing.
Then—
he heard a voice.
“Yungy.”
He turned.
The hall was empty.
“Hello?”
No answer.
He walked toward the sound.
The lights came back.
Yungy was alone.
He frowned.
Then—
someone crossed behind him.
Yungy turned.
Too late.
MEETING
Jaden looked around.
“Yungy?”
Nobody answered.
Jumper checked the roster.
“That's another one.”
Parrot slammed his hands down.
“We're losing them too fast.”
PrinceZam looked at the screen.
“That's four.”
“What?”
“Four deaths since the last solid vote.”
Jaden stared.
“Boosfer.”
“Ferre.”
“Yungy.”
“And MinuteTech.”
Silence.
“Eight crew gone,” PrinceZam said.
Jumper corrected him.
“Seven.”
PrinceZam looked at the roster.
He counted.
Then again.
“Right.”
Nobody laughed.
The numbers were becoming impossible.
Three killers.
Seven crew gone.
Ten alive.
They were running out of people.
The new argument
Parrot looked around.
“I'm done.”
Jumper frowned.
“With what?”
“Skipping.”
Nobody answered.
“We keep skipping.”
“Yes.”
“And people keep dying.”
“Yes.”
“So I'm voting someone.”
“Who?” Eggchan asked.
Parrot stood.
He looked around.
Then pointed.
“Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu stared.
“What?”
“Your routes.”
“We already did this.”
“And you keep surviving.”
“So do you.”
“Because I'm not killing anyone.”
“How do you know?”
The room exploded.
Parrot stepped forward.
“Because I found bodies!”
“And?”
“And that means—”
“It means you found bodies.”
“Exactly.”
“That doesn't make you innocent.”
Parrot stared.
Jaden cut in.
“Guys!”
Nobody listened.
Spoke stood.
“Back off.”
Parrot spun.
“You too?”
“I think you're making a mistake.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because you're accusing him without proof.”
“Again!”
Spoke's face tightened.
“Yes.”
Ashswag spoke quietly.
“Spoke.”
Spoke turned.
“What?”
“Sit down.”
Spoke stared at him.
Then slowly sat.
Parrot looked around.
“Fine.”
He pointed toward the screen.
“Then let's actually vote.”
Jumper took a breath.
“Everyone vote based on evidence.”
The timer appeared.
Votes appeared.
WEMMBU.
WEMMBU.
SKIP.
WEMMBU.
SKIP.
SKIP.
WEMMBU.
Wemmbu stared.
“Four?”
PrinceZam leaned forward.
“Four.”
“Who?”
“No idea.”
The final votes appeared.
SKIP.
The majority—
by one—
was SKIP.
Wemmbu remained.
He exhaled.
Parrot looked furious.
“Fine.”
The doors opened.
Ten
Ten players remained.
Eggchan.
Spoke.
Mapicc.
Parrot.
Jaden.
Jumper.
PrinceZam.
Wemmbu.
Flame.
Mane.
Only ten.
No Wifies.
No Saparata.
No Lomedy.
No Theo.
No Clown.
No MinuteTech.
No Boosfer.
No Ferre.
No Yungy.
The ship felt empty.
Too empty.
And that was when the remaining players began moving differently.
They stopped spreading out.
They started traveling in threes.
Then fours.
Nobody wanted to enter a room alone.
Nobody trusted hallways.
Nobody trusted doors.
Nobody trusted silence.
Cafeteria
Parrot, Jaden, and Eggchan moved together.
Jumper and Mapicc crossed paths.
PrinceZam followed behind.
Spoke and Ash were gone—
No.
Spoke stopped.
Ash was beside him.
Then—
Ash stopped.
Something moved behind them.
Spoke turned.
Nothing.
“Did you see that?”
Ash nodded.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Ash didn't answer.
Then the lights went out.
Again.
The entire ship screamed.
SABOTAGE.
This time, nobody scattered.
They all ran for Reactor.
Everyone.
Almost everyone.
Reactor
Jumper reached the first panel.
Mapicc reached the other.
PrinceZam came through the door.
Parrot arrived.
Jaden.
Eggchan.
Spoke.
Ash.
Flame.
Mane.
Everyone.
Ten people.
For a moment, they were all in one room.
Jumper looked around.
“Count.”
“Ten,” PrinceZam said.
“Good.”
“Stay together.”
Nobody moved.
The sabotage timer ticked down.
8
7
6
Jumper hit the panel.
5
Mapicc hit his.
4
The lights returned.
Everyone exhaled.
Parrot laughed.
“See?”
Jaden smiled.
“We're fine.”
Then PrinceZam frowned.
“Wait.”
“What?”
He counted again.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
He stopped.
“Where's Eggchan?”
Jaden's smile disappeared.
“Egg?”
Nobody answered.
Parrot looked toward the doorway.
“Eggchan?”
Nothing.
Jumper ran.
They found him in the hallway.
Dead.
The report alarm sounded.
MEETING
Nobody sat.
Jaden was shaking.
“Eggchan.”
He stared at the empty place.
“He was with us.”
“Yes,” PrinceZam said.
“He was right there.”
“Yes.”
“Then how?”
Nobody had an answer.
Parrot looked around.
“Someone left Reactor.”
Jumper shook her head.
“No one left.”
“I saw everyone.”
“Then someone never entered.”
Silence.
Mapicc looked around.
“Who?”
Nobody answered.
Then PrinceZam looked toward the roster.
“Three.”
Jaden looked at him.
“What?”
“We're down to nine.”
Parrot corrected him.
“Ten.”
PrinceZam shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed.
“Count again.”
Jaden looked.
Ten names.
He started counting.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
He stopped.
There it was.
He had counted wrong.
Eggchan's name was gone.
Nine.
Three impostors.
Six crew.
The room went dead silent.
Jumper's voice came out barely above a whisper.
“There are six of us.”
Nobody moved.
Six crew.
Three impostors.
Nine alive.
And for the first time—
the game had reached the point where one or two more mistakes could end everything.
PrinceZam looked around the room.
“No more skips without a plan.”
Parrot nodded.
“Agreed.”
Mapicc looked toward the others.
“Then we find one.”
But now—
everyone was looking at everyone.
Because nine people remained.
And somewhere among them—
three people only needed three more deaths.
Jaden stared at the center of the table.
“And we have to be right.”
Nobody answered.
Because that was the part nobody could guarantee.
PrinceZam leaned forward.
“We've got three impostors.”
He pointed at the roster.
“There are nine of us.”
“Six crew,” Jumper said.
“Exactly.”
“And if one more crew member dies…”
PrinceZam finished it.
“Five.”
Silence.
“And then?”
Mapicc answered.
“Three against five.”
Jaden shook his head.
“That doesn't sound so bad.”
PrinceZam looked at him.
“Three impostors can kill quickly.”
Parrot nodded.
“And if they get another three…”
Jumper stared at the table.
“We lose.”
Nobody needed the rest explained.
The room suddenly felt much smaller.
The fight starts again
Parrot stood.
“Then let's stop pretending this is about everyone.”
Jumper looked at him.
“What?”
“We know the important suspects.”
He pointed across the table.
“Wemmbu.”
“Flame.”
“Mane.”
The three names sat there.
Wemmbu leaned back.
“Here we go.”
Flame crossed his arms.
“You've accused all three of us at some point.”
“Yes.”
“So?”
“So I think one of you is an impostor.”
Mane laughed.
“One.”
Parrot looked at him.
“Yeah.”
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Stop saying that.”
Mane shrugged.
“It's become a habit.”
Mapicc spoke.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
“I think there could be more than one.”
Silence.
Jumper frowned.
“You think two?”
“Maybe.”
“Three?”
Mapicc stared at the three.
“I don't know.”
Wemmbu smiled.
“Now that's funny.”
Mapicc pointed at him.
“Don't.”
“What?”
“You know exactly what you're doing.”
Wemmbu laughed.
“Apparently I do.”
Jaden looked between them.
“Can we focus?”
Mapicc nodded.
“Fine.”
He sat down.
PrinceZam remembers
PrinceZam pushed his chair back.
“I want to go through this properly.”
Parrot nodded.
“Do it.”
PrinceZam looked at the map.
“Every death.”
Jumper frowned.
“Every one?”
“Yes.”
“That's a lot.”
“Then we'll do it quickly.”
He pointed.
“Saparata.”
“Communications.”
“Who was near him?”
Mane answered.
“I was.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“Exactly.”
Mane raised an eyebrow.
“That's not suspicious by itself.”
“No.”
PrinceZam pointed again.
“Then Theo.”
“Reactor.”
Parrot answered.
“I found him.”
“And who was nearby?”
Flame spoke.
“I was in Reactor.”
Parrot immediately turned.
“There.”
Flame sighed.
“I've already said this.”
“You were there.”
“I was nowhere near Theo.”
“You said that.”
“Because it's true.”
PrinceZam continued.
“Wifies.”
“Navigation.”
Mapicc said.
“I found him.”
“Who had been there?”
Mane spoke again.
“Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu looked over.
“I passed through.”
“And Flame?”
Flame shook his head.
“Not there.”
PrinceZam looked at him.
“Interesting.”
Flame laughed.
“You're doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Collecting coincidences.”
PrinceZam nodded.
“Yes.”
“That's not evidence.”
“No.”
PrinceZam looked around.
“It's a pattern.”
Jaden leaned forward.
“There's another issue.”
“What?” Jumper asked.
“Everyone already knows everyone.”
Parrot nodded.
“And?”
“That makes this harder.”
Mapicc leaned back.
“Explain.”
Jaden looked toward Wemmbu.
“Somebody can act suspicious because they know how another player thinks.”
Then toward Flame.
“Someone can defend someone because they're rivals and don't want the other person getting credit for anything.”
Then Mane.
“Someone else can stay quiet because that's what they normally do.”
Parrot nodded slowly.
“That's true.”
Jaden continued.
“We've got years of server history between some of these people.”
PrinceZam smiled faintly.
“Years of grudges.”
Flame laughed.
“That's one way to put it.”
Wemmbu muttered,
“It's accurate.”
Mapicc looked toward them.
“That's why I don't trust behavior alone.”
Parrot scoffed.
“What else are we supposed to use?”
“Timing.”
“Routes.”
“Votes.”
Jumper nodded.
“All of it.”
Wemmbu smiled.
“Finally.”
Parrot looked at him.
“What?”
“You're agreeing with me.”
“No.”
“Sounds like it.”
“I'm saying the game is complicated.”
“Exactly.”
“Don't get excited.”
Parrot rolled his eyes.
Spoke had been quiet for almost the entire meeting.
Now he leaned forward.
“I have something.”
Everyone looked at him.
Spoke pointed toward the center.
“We're forgetting something from Game One.”
Ashswag wasn't alive anymore.
The reminder was obvious.
Spoke continued anyway.
“We all kept assuming people had to be working together.”
Mapicc nodded.
“Because the impostors were.”
“Maybe.”
Spoke looked toward the others.
“But if people know each other well enough, they don't have to coordinate openly.”
Jumper frowned.
“What are you saying?”
“Someone can defend a suspicious person without actually being on their team.”
Parrot nodded.
“True.”
“Someone can accuse their own teammate.”
PrinceZam said quietly.
“Also true.”
Spoke looked around.
“So stop looking for obvious cooperation.”
He glanced toward Wemmbu, Flame, and Mane.
“Look for whoever benefits when our arguments get louder.”
Silence.
Nobody answered.
Mane broke it.
“That's actually a good point.”
Spoke looked at him.
“Thanks.”
Mane nodded.
“Don't sound so surprised.”
Spoke laughed once.
“Fair.”
The argument gets personal.
Parrot stood again.
“I still think Flame.”
Flame sighed.
“You said that already.”
“And I'll keep saying it.”
“Why?”
“Because you're acting like none of this matters.”
Flame stared at him.
“You know me.”
“I do.”
“Then you know I don't panic.”
“No.”
Parrot pointed.
“I know you don't give people what they want.”
Flame smiled.
“Also true.”
“That makes you dangerous.”
“Does it?”
“Yes.”
Flame leaned forward.
“So because I'm calm, I'm guilty?”
“No.”
“Then?”
Parrot paused.
“Because you're too good at knowing what everyone expects from you.”
Flame looked toward PrinceZam.
“That's almost a compliment.”
“Don't make it one.”
Jumper interrupted.
“Parrot, evidence.”
Parrot exhaled.
“I don't have enough.”
“Then don't force it.”
“I don't think we have the luxury.”
Flame leaned back.
“Good argument.”
Parrot glared.
“Stop being smug.”
“Can't help it.”
Mapicc suddenly stood.
“I think it's Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu looked at him.
“Obviously.”
“Your route makes no sense.”
“It made sense to me.”
“You moved through half the ship.”
“I had tasks.”
“You were everywhere.”
“So was Prince.”
PrinceZam raised a hand.
“Actually, I wasn't.”
Wemmbu laughed.
“Thanks.”
Mapicc continued.
“You keep being around every important route.”
Wemmbu shook his head.
“And you keep saying that without proving anything.”
Mapicc stepped closer.
“You want proof?”
“Yes.”
“I have it.”
The room went still.
Mapicc pointed toward the map.
“Saparata.”
“Your route crosses his.”
Theo.
“Again.”
Wifies.
“Again.”
MinuteTech.
“Again.”
Boosfer.
“Again.”
Eggchan.
“Again.”
“That's not proof,” Wemmbu said.
Mapicc nodded.
“No.”
He smiled.
“It's worse.”
Wemmbu narrowed his eyes.
“What?”
“It's consistency.”
Wemmbu laughed.
“That's bullshit.”
“Maybe.”
“Definitely.”
PrinceZam looked thoughtful.
“Maybe.”
Everyone looked at him.
PrinceZam continued.
“The problem is that the same logic applies to almost everybody.”
Mapicc frowned.
“So?”
“So if we vote Wemmbu purely because he's around, we could repeat Lomedy.”
That stopped the room.
Parrot looked down.
Jumper sighed.
“That is exactly what I'm afraid of.”
Jaden pointed toward PrinceZam.
“You.”
Zam looked at him.
“What?”
“You've been trying to stop every accusation.”
PrinceZam blinked.
“Because most of them aren't enough.”
“Or you're protecting somebody.”
PrinceZam laughed.
“Who?”
Jaden looked around.
“I don't know.”
“That helps.”
Parrot muttered,
“We're all doing this now.”
Jumper nodded.
“We're all exhausted.”
Mapicc said,
“Good.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Good?”
“Yeah.”
Mapicc leaned back.
“Because now we're finally saying what we actually think.”
Jumper frowned.
“And what do you think?”
Mapicc looked around.
“I think Prince is too cautious.”
PrinceZam smiled faintly.
“Fair.”
“I think Parrot gets emotional.”
Parrot snapped,
“Fuck you.”
“And I think Jaden trusts people too easily.”
Jaden stared.
“That's not true.”
“It is.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Give me one example.”
“Lomedy.”
Jaden went quiet.
Mapicc continued.
“I think Jumper wants everyone to agree with her.”
Jumper sighed.
“Maybe.”
“And I think—”
He stopped.
Everyone waited.
Mapicc looked at the three suspected players.
“I think one of them is laughing at us.”
Wemmbu smiled.
Flame said nothing.
Mane looked down.
Parrot pointed.
“There!”
“What?” Mane asked.
“You just looked away.”
Mane laughed.
“Because I'm bored.”
“That's suspicious.”
“Everything is suspicious.”
“Exactly!”
The voting timer appeared.
VOTING WILL BEGIN.
Jumper looked around.
“This is it.”
Nobody moved.
“We have to pick somebody.”
Parrot looked toward Flame.
“Flame.”
Jaden nodded.
“Flame.”
Spoke:
“Flame.”
Mapicc:
“Wemmbu.”
Jumper hesitated.
“Wemmbu.”
PrinceZam stared at the screen.
He looked exhausted.
He looked at Wemmbu.
Then Flame.
Then Mane.
Then everyone else.
“I don't know.”
Parrot snapped,
“Prince.”
“I know.”
“You have to pick.”
“I know.”
The timer ticked.
10
9
8
PrinceZam closed his eyes.
Then opened them.
“Fine.”
He pointed.
“Jaden.”
Everyone froze.
Jaden stared.
“What?”
PrinceZam looked exhausted.
“You're too certain.”
Jaden laughed.
“That's your reason?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
PrinceZam shook his head.
“I don't have one.”
Jaden stared.
“That is insane.”
“Maybe.”
Parrot turned.
“You can't seriously be doing this.”
PrinceZam said nothing.
Jumper looked between them.
The final seconds disappeared.
VOTE NOW.
Names began appearing.
FLAME.
FLAME.
FLAME.
Three.
Then—
JADEN.
PrinceZam.
Another—
JADEN.
Wemmbu.
Parrot's face fell.
“Wait.”
Jaden looked toward PrinceZam.
“You voted me?”
“I said I was uncertain.”
“That is not the same thing!”
Mapicc stared at the screen.
“Jaden, are you serious?”
“What?”
“You didn't even know Prince suspected you.”
“Neither did I!”
The last votes appeared.
FLAME.
JADEN.
The count settled.
JADEN — 3
FLAME — 3
A tie.
The room froze.
No ejection.
Jaden looked relieved.
Parrot exhaled.
Mapicc shook his head.
“Damn.”
Then the screen gave another instruction.
REVOTE.
Everyone stared.
Nobody had expected it.
Jumper spoke first.
“No.”
Parrot looked at her.
“What?”
“We don't have time.”
The timer began again.
15
14
13
PrinceZam stared at the screen.
Jaden looked furious.
“You cannot be serious.”
Mapicc spoke.
“Pick somebody.”
Jumper looked toward the group.
Then—
she pointed.
“PrinceZam.”
Silence.
PrinceZam's eyes widened.
“What?”
Jumper's voice was shaking.
“You've been everywhere.”
PrinceZam stared.
“You're voting me because I asked questions?”
“Because you don't commit.”
“That isn't evidence.”
“I know.”
Jaden looked at Jumper.
“You just said we needed evidence!”
“I know!”
Parrot shouted,
“Then why him?!”
“I DON'T KNOW!”
The room erupted.
Everyone shouted at once.
Wemmbu's voice disappeared beneath them.
Flame's disappeared too.
Mane said almost nothing.
The timer reached zero.
Votes appeared.
PRINCEZAM.
PRINCEZAM.
PRINCEZAM.
Jumper.
Mapicc.
Parrot.
Another.
PRINCEZAM.
And then—
JADEN.
Spoke.
PRINCEZAM.
Wemmbu.
The result was immediate.
PRINCEZAM — 5
PrinceZam stared at the screen.
He laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because he genuinely couldn't believe it.
“You've got to be kidding me.”
Jaden looked horrified.
“Wait.”
Parrot whispered,
“No.”
Jumper closed her eyes.
“Prince…”
The ejection screen appeared.
PrinceZam disappeared.
The room went silent.
Then—
PRINCEZAM WAS NOT AN IMPOSTOR.
Nobody moved.
Jaden stared at the empty space.
“I—”
Parrot interrupted.
“We just threw out Zam.”
Mapicc slammed the table.
“FUCK!”
Jumper looked sick.
“We had one chance.”
Spoke stared at the result.
“That's another crewmate.”
The roster updated.
5 CREWMATES REMAINING.
Eight players remained.
Five crew.
Three impostors.
The room was still silent.
Then someone laughed.
A nervous laugh.
Another person laughed.
The tension suddenly broke.
Parrot looked around.
“Wait.”
Jaden blinked.
“We did it.”
Mapicc looked at him.
“Did what?”
“We still have five.”
Jumper nodded slowly.
“Five.”
Parrot stared at the roster.
“Five crew.”
Spoke exhaled.
“And three impostors.”
“But they're the ones panicking now,” Jaden said.
Mapicc laughed.
“We finally got someone.”
Jumper nodded.
“One wrong vote, but we're still alive.”
Ash smiled despite himself.
“We can do this.”
For the first time all game—
the five remaining crew celebrated.
They had made a terrible mistake.
They didn't know that.
They genuinely believed they had just survived the most important vote of the game.
Somewhere else
The meeting doors opened.
The eight surviving players returned to the corridors.
Five moved together.
Three did not.
No names.
No obvious pattern.
Just three different figures disappearing into different parts of the ship.
The lights stayed on.
For a few seconds.
Then—
SABOTAGE.
Darkness.
The five crew immediately ran.
“Stay together!”
“We're here!”
“Left!”
“Left!”
“No, other panel!”
The ship filled with footsteps.
One crewmate reached the first sabotage panel.
Another reached the second.
The others crowded around them.
“Come on!”
“Almost!”
“Got it!”
The lights flickered.
Then returned.
Everyone looked around.
Five—
No.
Four.
Someone was missing.
Parrot turned.
“Jumper?”
No answer.
“Jumper!”
Nothing.
They ran.
A body.
No time to think.
The report button appeared.
MEETING
Four crew.
Three impostors.
No.
They didn't know that.
The roster still showed eight.
Jumper was gone.
Seven remained.
Parrot looked around.
“Where the hell did she go?”
Mapicc stared at the roster.
“She's dead.”
Jaden's voice cracked.
“They killed her while we were all together.”
Spoke shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“We weren't all together.”
“What do you mean?”
“There was a split.”
Mapicc frowned.
“For how long?”
“Seconds.”
Parrot slammed the table.
“Enough.”
The room went quiet.
Then—
SABOTAGE.
The meeting screen disappeared.
“WHAT?”
The ship went dark.
Again.
“Stay together!”
They ran.
Four.
Then—
another body.
Jaden.
Parrot froze.
“No.”
Mapicc shouted,
“RUN!”
But there was nowhere to run.
Another body appeared.
Mapicc.
Then—
Parrot.
Three deaths.
Three seconds.
The game stopped.
Three impostors.
No vote.
No discussion.
No chance to recover.
The screen flashed red.
IMPOSTORS WIN.
The ship disappeared.
GAME TWO — COMPLETE
The lobby returned.
All twenty players appeared again.
For several seconds, nobody said anything.
Then PrinceZam shouted.
“WAIT.”
Everyone turned.
“You voted me.”
Jumper looked horrified.
“I know.”
“You voted me!”
“I KNOW!”
“You thought I was an impostor!”
“I was wrong!”
Parrot threw his hands up.
“We were all wrong!”
Mapicc pointed toward PrinceZam.
“I told you not to vote him!”
PrinceZam stared.
“You voted for me too!”
Mapicc paused.
“…Right.”
PrinceZam looked at him.
“Exactly.”
Jaden pointed toward Jumper.
“You started it!”
Jumper snapped,
“You voted for Flame!”
Jaden froze.
“Okay.”
Parrot looked around.
“We had three people we were suspicious of.”
“Yep,” Spoke said.
“And somehow we voted Prince.”
“Yes.”
“And then the three remaining crew got wiped.”
“Yes.”
Parrot stared at the ceiling.
“This game hates us.”
Clown laughed from across the lobby.
“You've learned nothing.”
“WE LEARNED PLENTY!”
“No.”
Clown grinned.
“You learned to be wrong faster.”
Ferre pointed at the ceiling.
“And I'm still brown.”
Nobody listened.
Because PrinceZam was still arguing.
“I want to know who voted me.”
Wemmbu raised his hand.
“I did.”
PrinceZam stared.
“You?”
“Yep.”
“You were one of the people accusing me before!”
Wemmbu laughed.
“Exactly.”
PrinceZam looked furious.
“You are impossible.”
Spoke suddenly looked toward Flame.
“Wait.”
Flame turned.
“What?”
Spoke narrowed his eyes.
“You disappeared right before the final three kills.”
Flame shrugged.
“So did everyone.”
Spoke looked around.
Then Mane.
“Where were you?”
Mane smiled.
“Somewhere.”
Spoke stared.
“That is the worst answer.”
Mane laughed.
“Probably.”
Mapicc looked between the three.
Wemmbu.
Flame.
Mane.
Something about it bothered him.
He couldn't explain why.
Then the system finally spoke.
The lobby went silent.
GAME TWO IMPOSTORS:
WEMMBU.
FLAMEFRAGS.
MANEPEAR.
The room exploded.
“NO!”
“ALL THREE?!”
“WE HAD ALL THREE!”
PrinceZam's jaw dropped.
“You!”
He pointed at Wemmbu.
“You were one!”
Wemmbu grinned.
“Yep.”
PrinceZam turned to Flame.
“And you!”
Flame laughed.
“Yep.”
Then Mane.
“You too?!”
Mane shrugged.
“Yep.”
Jaden threw both hands into the air.
“We accused all three!”
Parrot shouted,
“FOR THE ENTIRE GAME!”
Flame smiled.
“And?”
“We still lost!”
“That was the idea.”
Mapicc stared.
“You were working together.”
Mane nodded.
“Obviously.”
Spoke looked at Wemmbu.
“And the final kills?”
Wemmbu grinned.
“Needed three.”
PrinceZam groaned.
“Because there were three of you.”
Flame nodded.
“And two crew left.”
Silence.
Jumper slowly put a hand over her face.
“We literally gave you the exact win condition.”
Wemmbu smiled.
“Yep.”
Parrot groaned.
“I hate this game.”
Clown laughed.
“You all got played.”
Mapicc pointed at Wemmbu.
“You got yourself almost voted in every meeting!”
“Almost.”
“And nobody could vote you out.”
Wemmbu grinned wider.
“Correct.”
PrinceZam stared.
“So all those votes…”
“Didn't matter.”
Jaden looked at Flame.
“And you could've been voted out too?”
Flame nodded.
“Wouldn't have happened.”
“What?”
“The game doesn't let the impostors be ejected.”
The lobby went dead silent.
Then everyone started shouting at once.
“WHAT?!”
“THAT WAS A RULE?!”
“WHY DIDN'T WE KNOW?!”
“YOU COULD HAVE TOLD US!”
Flame laughed.
“Why would we?”
Parrot threw his hands up.
“I'M DONE!”
Mane looked at him.
“You said that three meetings ago.”
“I MEAN IT THIS TIME!”
Spoke was staring at all three impostors.
“So you were never actually in danger.”
Wemmbu nodded.
“No.”
PrinceZam groaned.
“That's disgusting.”
Wemmbu smiled.
“Thank you.”
“That wasn't praise!”
“I know.”
The lobby erupted again.
And above all twenty players—
the system displayed a single message.
GAME THREE PREPARATION BEGINNING.
Ferre slowly looked down at himself.
Brown.
He stared at the ceiling.
Then pointed.
“No.”
Clown immediately started laughing.
Ferre's voice rose.
“I AM NOT GOING THROUGH THIS AGAIN.”
The lobby dissolved into chaos.
And somewhere in the middle of twenty shouting players—
Wemmbu, Flame, and Mane were still laughing.