Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You wake up in a field. The sun's warmth still kisses your skin, so night hasn't fallen yet. With how strange the sky has looked lately, sometimes that's the best way to tell.

For a moment, you open your eye. Above, like usual, the sky is that weird shade. Cracks stretch across it, like someone dropped a bowl but not hard enough for it to break. Tiny stars sparkle through the shade, as if they too are confused by the sky. And, strangest of all, a lumpy, misshapen circle of almost-normal sky, surrounded by the shade and cracks running through some of its edges. You think you can see a cloud drift past, only to vanish once it reaches the shade.

It's weird, and at first it made you uncomfortable, but by now it almost passes for "normal". It would almost be more alarming for the sky to suddenly look like it used to, especially before your party finishes their quest. So your eye flutters shut again. Some more sleep sounds nice.

In the distance, someone calls your name. They don't sound scared or upset, so it's probably okay for you to keep laying here and napping.

The voice comes closer, enough for you to recognize it. It's Mirabelle! There's some gentle rustling in the grass as she walks closer.

Her shadow falls over you, blocking some of the sun's warmth. "... Siffrin?"

Hm. Now she does sound a little worried. You crack your eye open again and look up at her.

Her eyebrows are drawn and a small frown is on her face, but as soon as she notices your eye open that expression shifts to a relaxed smile. "Hi, Siffrin! Had a nice nap?"

You return the smile and nod. You wouldn't complain about going back to sleep, but it would be a little rude to fall asleep mid-conversation.

Her smile brightens. "I'm glad to hear it!" She giggles, behind a hand. "Though, there are beds at the clocktower, so you don't need to sleep on the ground."

But the sun is warm and the grass is soft, what more could you want from a napping spot? Despite yourself, you yawn, your jaw popping as you do. Oops.

Mirabelle barely stifles another giggle. "Alright, alright, I'll let you get back to sleep. Just try to be awake by dinner, okay?"

You nod, your eye already sliding closed again. Mirabelle reaches down and pets your hair with a soft "sleep well, Siffrin", before she gets up and leaves. You smile. Mirabelle's really nice. You're happy to be in the party with her.

You're starting to fall back asleep when the grass rustles with more footsteps. They're too big to be Mirabelle or Odile or Bonnie, so it must be-

Isa chuckles. "Hey, Sif." You smile, even though your nap has now been interrupted twice.

Unlike Mirabelle, Isa doesn't stand over you while you lay on the ground. Instead, he flops down into the grass next to you, one of his hands coming to rest on one of yours. It's warm, and maybe a little sweaty, but by now you're used to it.

Isa chuckles. "Found yourself a nice napping spot, huh?"

You hum. Anywhere can be a nice napping spot if you're tired enough. But also yes, this one is comfy.

You can hear the smile in his voice. "A nap does sound kinda nice. You mind if I-"

Before he can finish his question, you snuggle closer to him so you're laying your head on his chest. He huffs out a small laugh, resting an arm across your back. "Guess that answers that."

Having Isa here easily makes the napping spot five times better. There's something comforting about the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes, the thump-thump of his heart beating. It's like, even if the sky is weird and the world is scary, if Isa is by your side then you'll be okay.

It doesn't take long for Isa to start snoring softly, and you finally fall back asleep.

You're woken up, hours later, by someone poking you in the cheek. "C'mon, Frin, wake up! Or I'm gonna eat all your food!" Your eye cracks open to Bonnie very unconvincingly pouting down at you.

Isa, ever the light sleeper, is already awake. He's standing up, grinning at the two of you. "You heard the preteen, Sif. It's dinnertime!"

You yawn, your eye glancing up at the sky. The misshapen blob in the center has grown darker, with the brave first stars shining from the darkness. If it wasn't for the weird shade, it would almost blend in with the cracked sky around it.

Oops. So much for not oversleeping.

Your stomach growls at the thought of missing out on dinner, and Bonnie grins. "See? You gotta get up!"

You laugh, sitting up and grabbing your hat from where it had been sitting next to you. As nice and comfortable as your hat is, you also like feeling the sun on your face when you're taking a midday nap.

Some starbugs have started their nightly dance, twinkling as they fly over the grass and trees. They're not as bright as their cousins in the sky, but they're still every bit as beautiful. It's one of your favorite things about summer.

The three of you walk north into Dormont. It's already a pretty quiet village, but at night it's even quieter. Even the nighttime bugs are too scared to make any sounds, so close to the Director.

The Director. The evil god who appeared a year ago, creating the Theater Curse that threatens to spread across Vaugarde. They had attacked Dormont, destroying the House of Change and replacing it with the Labyrinth Theater. The labyrinth burrows underground where the House once stood, though Mirabelle hopes that the god-killing weapon she'll get from the Change God will kill the Director so you all won't have to go too far down into the labyrinth.

You and Isa were the first to join Mirabelle on her quest, after stumbling across her while avoiding a town that had recently been hit by the Theater Curse. She'd said the Change God had chosen her to stop the Director. She had been putting on a brave face, but you and Isa could both see how anxious she was. So the two of you offered to accompany her, and with that the party formed.

You still have nightmares sometimes, about the wooden puppets the people had been turned into.

Odile had been next to join. She'd taken one look at the three of you and said there was no way she'd be able to sleep at night if she left a handful of children to take on an evil god. Besides, she couldn't very well continue on her research if all of Vaugarde was reduced to a showing.

You and Isa still aren't sure what she's researching. But she's a bit less intimidating now, after traveling with her for a few months.

You'd all found Bonnie half-starved in the woods. At first the plan had been to bring them to the nearest safe town, but that plan had been abandoned pretty quickly. They'd made themselves a valued member of the team, between their cooking skills and their infectious optimism.

The sight of the clocktower knocks you out of your thoughts. It looms overhead, the hands still from years of abandonment. Mirabelle said the clocktower is really old, maybe even one of the oldest buildings in Dormont. Staring up at it, with everything illuminated in the weird shade, you almost feel like the tower is staring back down at you. At least, if it is, it's not a furious glare like the Change God statues. Those make your skin crawl.

Bonnie runs ahead into the clocktower, not bothering to close the door behind them. You and Isa grin to each other, before walking inside. Almost immediately you're greeted by the smell of-

"Malanga fritters!" The words leap out of your mouth before you can stop yourself.

There's a big plate of them at the center of the table, steam rising and wafting into the air. They're still warm! You blink and you're already at the table, grabbing a plate for yourself.

You have to stop yourself from piling all of the fritters onto your plate. That wouldn't be fair, you need to save some for Isa and the others. But stars, you're just so happy!

Bonbon grins at you as they grab some fritters and plop them onto their plate. "I followed a recipe in a book Dile helped me find!"

Odile walks down the stairs, a smirk on her face. "I see Siffrin and Isabeau have decided to join us." Your face warms. The sunny grass was comfy! Especially once Isa had joined you!

She takes in a deep breath, smiling at Bonnie as she plates some malanga fritters for herself. "This smells heavenly."

The five of you sit down at the table. You sit next to Isa, like always, while Mirabelle and Odile sit to your right and Bonnie sits to Isa's left. That's been the seating arrangement since you and Isa joined Mirabelle on her quest.

You take a fritter from your plate. It smells wonderful, you can't wait to take a bite!

As soon as you do, you can't help but swing and kick your feet under the chair. It's so good! The outside is nice and crunchy, the inside is really soft, and it's really tasty! It's so so so good and before you know it that first fritter is gone.

Bonnie giggles. "Didja like it, Frin?" You nod, your hat falling off of your head and into your lap. They cheer and grab a fritter from their plate.

Mirabelle is the next to try a fritter. She nibbles at the edge, before widening her eyes with a soft "oh!" and taking a larger bite. You wonder what she had been expecting it to taste like.

Isa's next. He picks up a fritter, glancing at Bonnie. "So what's in these fritters? Nothing spicy, right?" Ooh, spicy malanga fritters sounds even better!

Bonnie swallows down the food in their mouth and shakes their head. "Nope, nothing spicy!" They grin. "I know you don't like spicy stuff, Za!" Isa blushes, and Bonnie sticks their tongue out at him. "It's fried malanga and giraumon! Malanga's some kinda root, and giraumon is kinda like a pumpkin."

Now that you're thinking about it, it does feel a little weird that the malanga fritters aren't spicy. You know it's for Isa's sake. But you miss the little kick a spicy fritter could have. You didn't get to have them often, too much spicy food could give you a tummyache. They were a sometimes food, which made them all the yummier.

Still, Bonnie did a great job with these fritters! You allow yourself a happy little hum as you savor the taste of another. It's nice having some tasty food while you're with friends.

Eventually your plate is empty, but you think you could have one more malanga fritter. Isa's plate just so happens to have one left. You must not be as sneaky as you thought, because he grins as he picks it up. "You want to share the last fritter, Sif?"

You nod, sliding your plate over so it's right next to Isa's. "Yes please."

Isa does his best to tear the fritter into even halves, but the piece he gives you ends up being a little larger than the piece he takes for himself. Through delicious tasty crumbs, you say something that hopefully sounds close enough to "thank you".

Bonnie sticks their tongue out and wrinkles their nose. "That's gross, Frin. You're not s'posed to talk with your mouth full."

You'd stick your tongue out too, but then some of the fritter would fall out. You hope the look on your face is enough for Bonnie to understand. From the way they giggle, it seems like it.

Mirabelle's smile falls. "So, about tomorrow..." Everyone at the table tenses as they turn to look at her. "The Theater Labyrinth is probably going to be full of showings, all the way down. But as soon as we find the Director, I should be able to kill them right then and there." You really hope that'll be the case. "I... I want to thank you all. Isabeau, Siffrin, Madame Odile, Bonnie... You've helped me so much on this quest, a-and that means so much to me."

She sucks in a breath. "But, if any of you want to stay back here... The Change God will protect me, but if something happened to you guys..."

Odile scoffs. "We've come this far, I think we'll be able to protect ourselves."

Isa nods. "And we're not gonna abandon you after everything. We've come this far, we're gonna see it through together."

Bonnie cheers. "Yeah! We're with you, Belle!"

You look at her, with what you hope is an encouraging expression. "We'll be here until the end, Mira."

Mirabelle's smile comes back, tears in her eyes. "Thank you, everyone."

Isa chuckles. "Looks like it's time for a group hug."

Like usual, you're pulled in with the group hug, while Odile stands off to the side. She's not as keen on touch as the others, and they're always careful to respect that boundary. Still, the feeling of being held is really nice. Even if at first, you were unfamiliar with being touched, over time you got to warm up to it.

You're happy to be here, with Isa and Mirabelle and Odile and Bonnie.

After the dishes are cleaned, everyone gets ready to head to sleep. Tomorrow's a big day, and you'll all need to be well-rested. If you're all really lucky, Mira will get a super powerful weapon to defeat the Director. If not, you'll all need to be prepared to descend the Theater Labyrinth. Even Mirabelle isn't sure what the inside will be like.

You and Isa share a bed like always, Mirabelle and Bonnie share a second bed, and Odile has a bed of her own. She's always said she gets a bed of her own because "I'm old and my back doesn't work like it used to", but those reasons mysteriously vanish whenever she needs to fight a Sadness. It's not that you can fault her for it, though. Having a bed to yourself can be nice, sometimes.

Like usual, it doesn't take you long to fall asleep once Isa is snoring next to you.

Chapter Text

Morning comes before it feels like it should have. You're groggy and your vision is a little blurry, but there's sunlight streaming in through a window and today is too important to let yourself sleep in-

Oh, stars. You forgot to make a wish yesterday! With how important it is for today to go right? That's bad luck!

You jump up from the bed, and sprint out of the clocktower and back into Dormont. It's a small village and pretty far from the coast, so you probably won't find anything like a proper Wish Pond. But as long as there's something.

You let the Universe guide your feet as you run through the town. It's early enough in the morning that most people are still inside their homes. One of the villagers, jogging in a circle around the Change God statues, gives you a small nod as you dash past.

Past the western side of Dormont, you find yourself in a small clearing. There's a faint remnant of a path here, as if people used to come here but stopped a while ago. And there, in front of you, is a pile of rocks.

The pile is large, a little taller than you. Near the top of the pile, a slow stream of water flows out. It forms a wide pool near the base of the rocks that looks shallow enough that your heels wouldn't get wet if you were to step into it. But you know better. Your reflection peers back up at you from the pool, bonding earring and eyepatch and all.

This rock pile should do. Now you need to think of a wish.

There's probably been a lot of people wishing for the Director to be stopped. They're going to end the world, after all. With all those wishes being made, it feels a little rude to add another onto the pile. So you should think of something different.

You'll also have to think of something to give the Universe, as payment for your wish. It's just good manners to give something back when you're asking a favor. You don't have much, or at least not much that you'd be willing to sacrifice as payment. You don't think the others would appreciate you tossing any important defeating-the-Director supplies into the water.

Your wish is supposed to be important to you. The Universe won't grant a wish if it doesn't matter to the person asking. That would be a waste of energy. So it should be something you want. Something you want badly enough to sacrifice something of yours.

All that comes to mind is how happy you are to have your party. Isa, your amazing wonderful funny buff husband. Mirabelle, the party's leader and one of the kindest people you've ever met. Odile, the oldest of the party and one of the smartest people you've ever met. And Bonnie, the party's chef and a ball of infectious optimism. Even if you've only known Mirabelle and Odile and Bonnie for less than a year, they've already become really important to you.

After the Director is defeated, it would be nice to spend more time with them.

As for payment… There is one thing that comes to mind.

Your silver coin. You've had it for a while now, as change from buying something while on the road. It feels a little silly, that it's become so important to you. It's just a silver coin, there's probably hundreds all across Vaugarde. And yet.

You bring it out of one of your pockets, studying it. It's small and shiny, with circles within circles etched into both faces. You run a finger along those markings, tracing the circles one by one.

With your wish in mind and payment in hand, all that's left is to make your wish. You circle the rock pile - once, twice, three times, four, then five - to get the Universe's attention. To make a wish, you need to make sure the Universe has time to listen in. It's rude to make a request of someone before you've even said hello.

Once the conversation is started, you hold out your silver coin. It looks so small, next to the rock pile. A tiny speck, with a sea of other tiny specks swimming around it. You have to hope it will be enough.

You hold the coin close to you, breathing your wish into it. The coin needs to hold onto your wish for you, so it can bring it to the Universe. Making a wish without something to hold onto it means the wish could get lost.

Finally, you hold out your hands and drop your coin into the pool of water. Ploop! You watch as it sinks, deeper and deeper, until you can't see it anymore.

There's no taking it back now. Once a wish is made, you can't un-make it. It's why you have to be absolutely sure that you wanted what you asked for. It's really, really rude to ask someone to do something and then say "nevermind, undo everything you just did for me". The Universe doesn't do refunds.

You sigh and step away from the rock pile. Now you can go have breakfast!

Everyone's looking at you, when you come back to the clocktower. They all have different degrees of worry on their faces. Oops.

Isa walks over to you, his earrings softly going ding-ding with each step. "Hey, Sif. Are you okay?" He puts a hand on your cheek. You can't help but smile and lean into the touch.

Odile smiles briefly, before her frown comes back. "You were in quite the rush when you left earlier. Was something wrong?"

Your face warms. "I uh… forgot to do something yesterday." Talking to the others is still a little awkward. You've known Isa basically since you got to Vaugarde. The rest of the party aren't complete strangers, but you definitely don't know them as well.

Odile raises an eyebrow. For a moment, you think she's going to ask what you forgot to do. And you're not sure how to explain since wishing isn't a Vaugardian or Ka Buan thing, but she'll definitely want some kind of explanation since that's the kind of person she is-

Bonnie runs into the room and tackles you into a hug, both their hat and yours sent flying to the floor. "Frin! You crab! I woke up and you were gone!"

Mirabelle chides Bonnie for swearing, despite that being a losing battle. Then she turns to look at you. "But yes, we were worried, Siffrin." She clasps her hands together, by her chest. "We didn't know where you'd gone, o-or if something was wrong."

Well now you feel a bit like a black hole. You pull your hat down, over your face. "Sorry for worrying you guys."

Isa smiles. "I'm just glad you're okay." He reaches down and ruffles Bonnie's hair. "Now we can have some breakfast, huh, Bonbon?"

Bonnie leaps off of you with a cheer. "Yeah! Belle helped me get some good eggs and bread yesterday!"

Mm, eggs and toast does sound good. Your stomach growls its agreement. Bonnie grins at you before they run into the kitchen.

North of Dormont, where the town's House used to stand, lurks a gaping chasm in the ground. The weird shade glows from the hole, as if someone trapped the sun within the labyrinth. Everything else around it is stained lightless. Signs are scattered around the edge of the hole, most of which with arrows pointing towards it. One of the signs, however, reads "Theatre Labyrinth", with an eye in that same weird shade at the top. Perched on top of the eye is a second sign, in the shape of an arrow, that reads "Go here to die". Despite never having been here before, the handwriting looks… familiar.

You decide to think about something else.

Isa's holding your hand, which is how you can feel him shudder. "Whew… it's a lot bigger than I expected."

You nod. You'd seen a couple Houses while you were traveling with Mirabelle. But whatever you were expecting the labyrinth to look like, this wasn't it. It almost feels like, if you're not careful, the crater will swallow you whole. Because what else could a hole this big be, but the result of something crashing down from the skies?

Bonnie doesn't seem to be scared. "We can do it!"

Odile hums. "So long as we get that god-killing weapon, anyway."

Mirabelle pulls her crest out of a pocket. "This whole adventure… This whole journey…" She sets her jaw. "It's all come to this!"

Everyone else brings their crests out. They're small and shiny, and they look a little bit like stars. They also have circles within circles at the center. You wonder if it means anything.

Bonnie cheers. "Let's save the whole crabbing world!"

Odile nods at Mirabelle. "Mirabelle, go ahead and do your… 'savior', thing."

Mirabelle nods, turning to face away from the rest of you. She kneels to pray, when suddenly-

Her body goes slack and falls forward. Then, just as quickly as she'd fallen, she stands up and turns to face everyone, arms outstretched and a strange expression on her face. Her irises have been replaced with more circles within circles. Seems like the Change God has decided to pay another visit.

The Change God, now controlling Mirabelle's body, giggles and smiles at you all. "You made it! Great job guys!" Even knowing what's going on, the way Mirabelle's voice sounds when the Change God does this is still unsettling. The hairs on your arms stand on edge, under your shirt's sleeves.

Their smile widens. "Hi Odile! So nice to see you again!"

Odile raises an eyebrow, before she blinks and nods. "… Ah. Hello, oh Change God."

Bonnie gasps. "Mirabelle became the Change God! Holy crab!" That's right, Bonnie hadn't been in the party yet either, the last time the Change God had appeared like this.

The Change God giggles.

You clear your throat. "Um… Was there something you wanted to tell us…?" Gods don't generally do things like this just to say hello.

The Change God looks at you, a flash of… some kind of expression… passing over their face but disappearing before you could catch it. "Umm, okay…" They smile. "I don't wanna talk to you."

Uh. Okay…?

Bonnie gasps. "Frin! What'd you do?"

Your chest is tight. "I don't know?" You don't remember doing anything that'd make the blinding Change God mad! But you must have done something? Apparently?

The Change God is silent for a few moments, before pouting. "Okay that was a little mean sorgy (soggy sorry)!" You, uh. Forgive them? You guess? They grin. "Anyway yeah I'm here to make my: god-killing weapon."

Isa nods. "Thank you, Change God." His voice is reverent, like every time he's spoken with Them. You suppose it makes sense. If the Universe ever saw fit to greet you, you'd probably feel the same.

The Change God giggles. "You're welcome!" They clap Mirabelle's hands. "Let's do this!"

The crests float out of everyone's hands, collecting in front of Mirabelle's body. In a bright flash of light, they're replaced with… something. Whatever it is, it floats down into Mirabelle's hands, where the Change God holds onto it.

The Change God grins. "I kinda lied a little bit, this isn't the 'kill god weapon'. This is actually the KAG: a 'kill anyone gun'." Okay? You're not sure what a 'gun' is. But if it can kill the Director that's good enough for you.

Their grin shifts immediately to a frown with upturned eyebrows. "I'm about to say something really important so please listen up okay? I'm leaving the KAG's manual with my lovely housemaiden Mirabelle, you all gotta follow the rules." A little bundle of papers falls down next to Mirabelle's side, which Odile picks up and begins thumbing through.

Isa nods. His expression's still a little stunned. "We won't let you down."

The Change God makes another odd expression, before They grin again. "Alright good luck with that, bye I love you guys!" Mirabelle's eyes go blank, the circles within circles gone, her arms still outstretched.

Then she clasps her hands, sparkles forming in her eyes. "That was amazing!"

You let out a sigh. It's good to have her back.

Mirabelle holds up the KAG. "I love my new KAG! I can't wait to kill the Director with this!"

Odile jolts. "Mirabelle, stop! The first thing the manual says is not to point it at anyone!"

Mirabelle jumps. "Oh, Change! I'm sorry, Siffrin!" She'd been pointing it at you?!

You blink. "It's fine, I'm okay."

Odile pinches the bridge of her nose. "You should read the manual, Mirabelle. Since you're the one with the KAG." She steps over and hands the manual to Mirabelle.

Mirabelle nods, sitting on the ground to study the manual. It's probably going to take some time. Which is good, from how scared Odile looked when Mirabelle had been (apparently?) pointing the KAG at you.

Though, speaking of Odile… You walk over to her. "That was… weird."

Odile nods. "Yes, it was. It does line up with what you two have mentioned in the past. I suppose it comes with the territory of being the chosen one." Most of it was the same, yes.

But… "They'd said 'again', when they said hi to you." That doesn't make sense, Odile's never met Them before.

Odile nods again. "Yes, I noticed that too. Very strange…" She crosses her arms.

She's probably going to be thinking about that for a while. You should let her be.

So you walk over to Isa and lean against him. "I think the Change God doesn't like me." Which is weird to think about. Did you do something to make them mad and just forget? You think you'd remember making a god angry.

Isa shrugs. "The Change God's weird sometimes. I don't think you should take it too personally." He puts an arm around you. "And if the Change God doesn't like you? I guess that's something They're wrong about."

Your face warms. Isa can be quite the flirt, when he wants to be.

Bonnie makes an exaggerated gagging noise. "Beellle, when are you gonna be done reading? Za and Frin are being gross again!"

You and Isa laugh together.

After a few more minutes, Mirabelle closes the KAG's manual and stuffs it into one of her pockets. "I got it! I know how the KAG works now!"

Isa pulls his arm away, and you quietly miss the contact. "That's great, Mira."

She nods. "The KAG is incredibly powerful! It beats rock, paper, and scissors!"

Woah! That is powerful.

Mirabelle bites at her lip. "It can kill instantly. The Change God said all I have to do is step in and shoot them on sight, and it'll be done." That would be nice and easy. No worrying about the labyrinth necessary!

Odile hums. "That's a little anticlimactic, isn't it?"

Mirabelle shrugs. "I guess so!"

Something ripples through the air, almost seeming to ripple through you. A Craft wave. You shiver.

Isa puts a hand on your shoulder again. "Everyone alright?"

A handful of "yeah"s answer him.

Odile frowns at the entrance to the labyrinth. "The deeper we go, the more frequent those Craft waves will be. They should be mostly harmless, as long as nobody gets Cursed."

Mirabelle leads the way, as the five of you descend into the Theater Labyrinth.

Chapter Text

The stairs lead down into a small lightless room. There's pillars standing off to either side, framing what almost looks like a small stage. In front of the stage is a hole in the wooden flooring.

Mirabelle looks around, biting at her lip. "There's… nowhere to go?"

Odile hums. "Let's look around. But be careful."

Mirabelle walks over to one of the pillars on the right side of the room, staring intently at it. Odile follows, and the two begin feeling along the side.

You take a wary step towards the hole. What if the floor gives out, and you all fall?

Isa follows you, while Bonnie studies the pillar next to Odile and Mirabelle. "Whatcha looking at, Sif?"

You shrug. "Looks like a hole."

He grins. "Hole yeah it is." The two of you giggle together-

Before anyone can groan at the pun, someone descends from the ceiling above the stage. Laughing echoes in the room. "Hee hee, ho ho! My, my, do you have your tickets ready?" Your hand darts to your dagger, on instinct.

Mirabelle brings out the KAG, and several explosions ring out of it. She keeps going until the KAG stops functioning.

The figure - the Director, you assume - lies motionless on the stage. Was that it? Is the Director dead?

Mirabelle takes slow, shaky steps towards the figure. Then she gasps and staggers back, her hands over her mouth. "It's a puppet?!"

Before you can react, the room goes dark as another figure descends. This figure, however, has a spotlight on them. Their outfit is covered in the weird shade.

The Director - because this has to be them this time - laughs. "Hoho! What's a villain without a dramatic entrance?!"

Mirabelle aims the KAG at the Director, but only a small click comes out of the weapon. "Ah! I'm out of ammo?"

The Director grins. "Don't worry your cute little head just yet! How about we all introduce ourselves?"

The room goes dark, and when the light returns Mirabelle is on the stage with a spotlight on her. She yelps. "Where is everyone? I can't see you!"

The Director's voice echoes in the strange, lightless space. "Our hero! Our savior! Our blessed Housemaiden!"

When the light vanishes and returns, Mirabelle has been replaced with Isa. "I'm over here! Keep talking, I'll find you!"

The Director ooohs. "And here's our Fighter! Such a tough guy!"

Isa gets replaced with Odile, who is pinching the bridge of her nose. "Gems alive, everyone, stay calm."

The Director laughs. "And next, our lovely Researcher! My, you look extra studious today!"

Bonnie replaces Odile, scrambling like they're trying to jump at the source of the spotlight. "Quit messing with the lights you big weirdo!"

The Director laughs again. "Ah, the plucky, happy-go-lucky Kid!" They sigh. "What a wonderful cast! You all fit your roles perfectly!"

Bonnie frowns. "What about Siffrin?"

Whuh oh.

You blink, and now you're on the weird stage with the spotlight shining in your eye. Ow.

The Director's voice echoes around you. "… Ah, yes, the meat for the meat grinder. That's the walking punchline, the Tragedy!" Rude?? "Welcome, one and all, to Overkill: The Encore of Vaugarde, a Theatrical Production of Infinitesimal Proportions!"

What? "Overkill?" What is the Director blinding talking about?

The Director laughs. Suddenly it's them in the spotlight, instead of you. "Yes, it's the show where I kill you over and over!" Their laughter becomes manic as they… act like they're trying to choke themselves?? Somehow that answered nothing and gave you more questions.

A unicycle appears under the Director, and they begin riding it around the stage. "And I am the Director! My pronouns are the royal we we weeeee!"

You scrunch your nose. "That doesn't make any sense."

They giggle. "Okay. My pronouns are all of them. Like this: they/them/he/him/she/her/it/its-" They keep listing out pronouns like that for. A while. Including some you hadn't heard before. Fae really weren't kidding about "all of them", huh?

It starts… talking, to nobody in particular. Which is a bit unsettling. Maybe, while she's distracted, you can leave?

You slip away through the darkness. In the distance, familiar voices. The others!

Isa is the first to see you, like always. He lets out a relieved sigh. "Sif, there you are, thank Change. Are you okay?"

You nod. "Weirded out, but I'm okay otherwise." If only the KAG hadn't stopped working! "Are you guys all okay?"

The others confirm that they're also unhurt, just uncomfortable.

You all stand in the darkness for a bit. What can you do, now that the KAG isn't working?

Actually… Mirabelle read the manual, maybe she knows what's wrong. "Say, Mira, what's going on with the KAG?"

She frowns, you can hear it in her voice. "The gun's out of ammo… It can't fire without more bullets. What are we going to do?"

Before you can think of a possible answer, the room is flooded with more blinding light. The five of you are crammed onto the tiny stage, and the wooden floor has been replaced with alternating light gray and lightless squares. A little like a checkerboard.

Mirabelle yelps. "The lights are back?!"

Above you, the Director's voice laughs. "Housemaiden, fear not! I play my games fairly!" You scoff. "I'll give you more ammo if you can complete my labyrinth. Then you can perform the climax to your heart's desire!" They giggle. "I hope it's one that'll click for you! Good luck~!"

A light, moving from square to square. It goes across one row of the floor and then moves to another, until it gets to the stairs you'd all walked down earlier. After a few moments, it appears again, in the same pattern.

Odile groans. "… Let's just do this stupid puzzle."

This one, at least, feels obvious. You can do this. You wait until the light is in front of you, and step onto the tile. It clicks, and-

Your stomach drops as you plummet through the floor, the Director's voice laughing above you. You land roughly onto a stony slide, your breath coming quicker. You can't die yet! You just got to the end!

The slide ends, and you land on a wooden floor. Ow. What a weird-

You, very briefly, have the novel experience of your body being crushed by a giant rock. And then,

You feel a tug on your stomach