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Chapter Text

Molly and Giovanni were in the kitchen, as they were hunting for any snacks they could find. Giovanni was particularly determined. That night wasn’t just a night; it was THE night. 

THE GAME NIGHT.

BEAR TRAP’S FIRST GAME NIGHT SPECIFICALLY! 

It was meant to be special and unique! So unique that Giovanni broke one of the biggest self-imposed taboos of game night: invite non-boys boys.

Other rules for the game night were: no peanuts, wear pajamas, refrain from discussing school, and avoid staying up all night, as maintaining a healthy sleep schedule was important.

Molly grabbed what she believed was the last pack of chips they had and was now checking the labels. “You guys sure did a lot of game nights.”

“AND NOT ONLY THAT! We have movie nights, video game nights, and baseball afternoons!!”

Molly tilted her head. “Baseball afternoons?”

“You try to ask the ball into the neighborhood’s gardens at the stroke of midnight!”

Molly smacked her lips. “Yeah, I can see it.” She passed the chips to Giovanni. “Here, these haven’t expired yet.”

Giovanni smiled as he ripped the tape that closed the bag. “Thanks, Bear Trap.”

He spilled the bag inside one of the plastic bowls as he darted to his number one minion. She seemed excited, maybe still anxious like usual, but still excited. So, it was a win.

Molly peeked in the living room, where the rest of the crew was completing another important task: setting up the mood and the games. They were as serious as Giovanni about it, looking over at the board games they bought from homes with an attention that Molly had only seen from her or her mother, which made her realize she needs to get more serious friends.

Crusher lifted a box. “Game of life?”

Dark Star mumbled. “Boring.”

“Cluedo?”

“Uhmm… it could work…”

“Put it in the list, we will get a verdict from Boss.”

“Alright.”

“Monopoly?”

“Do you remember rule five?”

“It was rule four.”

“Yeah, but the narration told that in an order which is the fifth.”
“Let’s go with rule five then.”

“Game of the goose?”

Spike raised her hands with a tone cold as ice. “Crusher, I know that you mean well, but after this week the only gooses I wanna see are dead ones.”

Crusher grabbed the box and showed it to it. “The box has eggs drawn on it. Just think that they are cooked ones.”

“Put it in the list then.”

“List it is.”

Ben opened his mouth, but Flametrowher shushed him. “If you ask to play Uno again, I won’t let my teammates call you ‘Jeerleader’ ever again.”

Ben nodded.

Crusher kept going. “Scotland Yard?”

Car Crash shook his head. “I don’t think it’s as fun with too many detectives.”

“Got it.”

Molly narrowed her eyes, whispering to GIovanni. “How many games do they have?”

Giovanni’s head waddled. “Heh. Like, twenty.”

Molly smacked her lips and then narrowed her eyes. She couldn't let her friends spend dozens of minutes just to pick the game. 

Time to use the braincell.

She walked to the rest with a cheery smile and a happy tone. “Hey, guys!” She fake gasped with all the childish wonders she still had from years of torture. “Are you setting up the games?”

The rest seemed to have bought it, as they smiled as well and greeted her in the group. Crusher was the first one to talk.

“Yep! Wanna join us?”

Molly beamed with joy. “Sure!”

They made space in the circle to let Bear Trap in the club. Molly clapped her hands, ready to save them a lot of time. 

She actually saw a few of them as she sold them to the toy store, even if most of the things were actually handmade toys Martin made instead of taking care of her. Half of them were either used game boards she had to sell when the toys weren’t enough, or game boards Martin bought with the money she had saved from selling her used game boards. So she had experiences and memories about it. 

A game in particular caught her eye.

“What is it?” She grabbed the box and read the title. “‘Play the peace’? Huh, I never saw this before.”

Flamethrower started talking. “Oh yeah, I saw it on the desk of a flea market and bought it.”

“Did… Did you read reviews or… Something?”

“Nah, the game was hand-made, I just found it rad as hell.” He then made himself small, a bit embarrassed. “And I felt bad that I accidentally yelled at him.”

Spike joined the conversation, almost insulted. “You yelled at a merchant on the street?”

Flamethrower spoke fast-paced, ashamed. “I KNOW IT SUCKS! THIS IS WHY I BOUGHT IT!” She then pulled out her phone with the expression of a beaten dog. “I EVEN GAVE HIM A TIP AND A GOOD REVIEW!!”

Everyone except Molly rubbed their forehead. 

Car Crash scoffed. “Classic Flamethrower.”

“Better getting angry rather than crashing cars as a personal gimmick.” Admitted Flamethrower rolling his eyes.

“THE ROAD WAS WIGGL-” Molly broke the two before they could even start.

“Guys, guys, please. Let’s just have fun and play.”

The duo let out a sigh.

“Yes, ma’am.” They murmured in unison.

Molly checked the box behind and read the instructions and introduction. It seemed to be a max-twelve-player Roll & Move game with gimmicks similar to ‘truth or dare’, with the player rolling a dice and having to face a challenge in exchange for various bonuses. Molly found that premise actually pretty interesting.

“Can we try this one?”

The rest smiled widely as they nodded. Molly got up. “Then you guys set it up, I am going to talk to Boss!”

An echo of “You got it, Bear Trap/Molly!” lifted her mood.

Giovanni, who was watching all of that, smiled at her. “You are playing them like a fiddle.”

“I know… I kinda feel bad about it??”

He patted her shoulders. “Heh, you should try and be more honest about it. But it’s a lecture I’ll give ya’ tomorrow, just have fun tonight.”

Molly smiled. “Thank you, Giovanni.”

“You are welcome, Bear Trap.”

A knock came to the door.

“Oh! I think it’s Rick!” Squeaked Molly. “I’ll get it.”

She walked and opened the door. 

There was Naven, instead, but it made sense. After the toy store fiasco, Rick started working at S.T.E.M. as Naven took care of him. 

He smiled as usual. “Good night, Miss Blyndeff! How were these last weeks?”

“Oh, they have been good! ‘Vincent’ has been taking care of me.”

He nodded. “I could not be more certain of this. During Lorelai’s kidnapping, he seemed to act as a valid guardian for you.”

Molly smiled as she tilted her head. “He is. How’s Rick?”

“He is outside, he is pretty excited about this ‘sleepover’, but he is now resting outside.” Moly could notice him being more uncomfortable as he spoke. “It turns out that he suffers from motion sickness, and my chauffeur might not have helped him.”

Molly looked away, a bit disgusted. “I get it… Wanna enter?”

“Oh, sure! I do not recall having met your co-workers yeeeet-”

The businessman sensed some eyes staring at him from the corner and raised his head toward them. All six minions were peeking from the living room, staring wide-eyed at freaking Naven Nuknuk walking through the door. Molly followed his look, but instantly tugged his shirt and whispered something to him. He nodded as they walked along beside each other, pretending they didn’t see the six. 

The Boys immediately dove into the couch like they never got up in the first place, trying to act casual, with, well… mixed results. To say that Molly and Naven were playing along was an understatement. 

Molly smiled at Naven, waving a hand to the boys’ figures. “Naven, they are my co-workers!” 

Naven then waited for them to say something, but instead, he looked upon those odd teenagers barely blinking at him in pure shock and confusion like a deer in the headlights.

Naven was a surprise to the boys, to say the least. 

Both Giovanni and Molly talked about him, but they still convinced themselves that the Naven Nuknuk they were talking about was not the same Naven Nuknuk that revolutionized an entire field while staying silently behind a screen, or the same Naven Nuknuk that picked up chicks left and right with a wave of his hand despite never talking to anyone, or the same Naven Nuknuk who would wake up the next day and decide to play with the economic future of Sweet Jazz City if he felt evil.

It was TOO much for their brain, merely built to be a supporting cast member, to handle.

Also, a few weeks ago, they trashed the museum he helped to fix, so they felt awkward and a bit bad about it.

Ben broke the silence, shaking his head and smacking his lips in a dry tone. “You are much shorter than you look.”

The rest looked at him, except that not in their usual “Ben shut up, you will get us in trouble!” way, like usual, but in the “I think that too, but where did you get the courage to say it out loud?!” way. Naven could feel that, and that kinda hurt him! He let out a polite snicker and wanted to die.

“I know, I have this effect on people.” Naven smiled at them as he clapped his hands, “I can only assume that you are Mr. Murder’s long-term minions. I can respect that.”

The gang suddenly raised their eyebrows.

“Your boss and co-worker talked a lot about you six. I heard that you are quite ‘ride-or-die’, even. I am glad that after everything Miss Blyndeff has to go through, she now has such supportive co-workers. Take care of her for me, misters.”

Both Molly and Naven could see stars in their eyes and sparkles around them, like they had just been blessed. Spike and Ben looked on the brink of tears. Naven couldn’t help but snicker, and Molly smiled.

She wrapped a silence bubble around them. 

She then snarked him. “Don’t use my skills for evil, you said.”

“Miss Bliyndeff, you pointed out that I never said that, only implied it.”

She then stared at them. “I knew that they were appreciation-starved, but... Geez...” 

“I only figured out it would help them relax knowing that I am on their side.”

Molly then noticed that they finally came back to their senses and broke the bubble.

“Uhm… Thank you, mister… Naven. Nuknuk.” Smiled Flamethrower a bit doubtful. “Hey, can I call you Naven??”

Naven nodded. “Sure thing! ‘Bear Trap’ told me you prefer nicknames, don't you?”

Flamethrower awkwardly got up and shook his hand. The rest did the same as they introduced with their nicknames.

“Uhm… Mister Blade?” Naven stammered as he was shaking Ben’s hand, “Your friends’ expressions tell me that it’s not how you are called.”

Ben turned his head behind, seeing every one of his friends with an annoyed expression and arms crossed. He rolled his eyes. “Augh… For once, I could get a cool nickname.”

“I am sure that you will get one.” Smiled Naven.

A slow clapping was heard from the corners of the room as everyone tilted their head.

“Well, well, well…” Giovanni spoke in a soft, but malicious tone. “If the C.E.O. is not already falling for my minions’ manipulations… Soon, you will join our side and fall into the darkness with us…” 

Naven smiled and capped his hands as he played along. “Mister Murder, I thought we already settled our much more hidden, sinister nature!”

He started to laugh. “AND YOU ARE SO DAMN RIGHT!!”

Giovanni walked to fist-bump the man, with Naven uncertainly doing his part. “Nice to see you again, man.”

“The feeling is quite mutual, but I just came here to give my greetings to your boys and leave you Mister Shades for the night.” 

“Right, forgot that you enslaved him!”

“I would say that I gave him a job and a home.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatevs. Where’s my friend?”

An explosion was heard outside as purple smoke sneaked under the door to the living room. The lights inside flickered as outside the windows, thunder flashed at an insane rhythm, with its booming found company within a wild clacking. The door broke down as a figure slammed it down with a kick. 

Crusher fainted as the figure walked in front of them and smiled.

“I bought a casserole!” Yelled the wizard.

The boys ran to him and tackled him in a group hug. “RICK!!!!”

They all exploded in laughter and snickering as they greeted each other. Naven instead acted as Crusher’s support, kneeling over him with a way too calm tone, as he was just being dramatic.

“Mister Crusher, are you feeling alright?”

“The repair for the door will cost my entire allowance.” Crusher then rolled over to a side. “Let me die here, Naven.”

Naven spoke clearly without skipping a beat. “Giovanni is covered in cake goo because he was the first to tackle Rick in the hug and now wants some paper to clean it.”

He instantly got up. “I AM ON IT.”

Naven got up as he saw Crusher walking into the kitchen and then stared at the rest. He smiled fondly as her student and his new intern finally looked really happy for once. 

“I guess that it’s my cue to leave.” Smiled Naven as he walked away. “Mister Shades, when the party is over, remember to call the S.T.E.M. reception. I already informed them about you! You will just need to say your name!”

Rick smiled, doing a soldier's salute. “You can count on me, Boss! YOU CAN COUNT ON YOUR FUTURE OFFICIAL FRIEND!!”

Naven smiled at him as he waved his hand and left. Rick let out a sigh at the door’s slam. 

Molly patted his shoulders. “He’s still refusing the pact?”

“Unfortunately. He says that it’s because ‘being friends is a long road and a two-way communication and not a contract’, which it’s weird because I signed a contract with him, so I am getting so many mixed messages about it!!” He then draped his arms and bust down, saddened about it. “I just wish to return to my ancient strengths, Molly… Is that wrong?”

Molly patted his head. “Aww, no… You two are both right, just take some time.”

Rick sniffed like he was about to cry. He then raised again with his usual ‘Booming showman voice. “ANYWAYS- I am here to play!!” He waved his fists excitedly. ”SO, what are we playing and what food do we win?”

Molly opened her mouth, but the door rang again. 

“I’M GONNA GET THAT!!!” Giovanni ran to the door and opened it with an ambiguously fake disappointed expression.  “Ah, it’s you.”

Trixie and Feenie were there, with Trixie smiling smugly. “No, this it’s Patrick.”

Giovanni acted even more smug-ishly than his cousin. ”Alright, then… If you are not Shortstack and Fluffy T.M., you might as well be uninvited to this special game night.” He clapped his hands. “Bodyguards!! Kick them out!!”

Dark Star stepped forward, but Trixie sprinted faster as her knives from her sleeves peeked out right under his chest. “Do another step and I’ll cut you up.”

Dark Star smacked his lips and pointed at Trixie as he looked into his boss's eyes. “Boss, I am sorry, but Patrick is making a fair point here.”

Giovanni nodded and clapped his hands unenthusiastically. “Bodyguards, let them go.”

Trixie’s knives slide inside her sleeves again, snickering. “Astro Boy, you are losing your charm. I thought that Stringbean’s husband-wanna-be was the funkie-junkie.”

Crusher poked his head from the kitchen. “WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?”

It was Feenie’s turn to act, and she used it to greet everyone. “Hello, dear misunderstood wrong-doers? Did any of you repent and wish to join me in my magical girl activities?”

“No.” They all echoed in unison, even Crusher, who was now walking to give Giovanni and Rick some tissues.

“It’s alright, I shall ask the next day!” She then smiled at Molly with a happy squeal. “Hi Molly!!

Molly smiled widely back as she lifted her arms. “Hey girls!”

The trio hugged.

Giovanni smiled fondly as he tilted his head, but after a few seconds, he clapped his hands. “Well, it seems like we're all full! Then LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!”

Chapter Text

The group sat in a circle around the kitchen table as Feenie, a professional game setter and rule abider in every context, sat in the middle, setting up the game and reading the rules.

"Soo..." She opened the instructions with a paper whip, speaking clearly with no stutters. "'Play the peace (TM)' contains: one board, two six-sided dice, and twelve colored checkers, twenty-four 'But-thou-must' cards, twenty-four 'But-thou-must-inflict', twelve 'Yeah, you can skip it' passes."

Molly, who sat next to her right, started to deliver them, much to the Boys' dismay because they all wanted the pink one, and proceeded to fight for it in a personalized game of 'rock, paper, and scissors' made for seven players. Giovanni somehow won.

Feenie kept going. "Preparation: The board must be put in the middle, and one 'Yeah, you can skip it' pass must be distributed to each player." Molly deployed the passes to each player. "Rules: each player, from the shortest to the tallest, must roll a dice and move on a square, and draw a 'But-thou-must' card. To stay in said position, you must do the task written on it. You can only skip it by using the single-use 'Yeah, you can skip it' pass, but only ONCE. The only way to regain it is by stealing it from another player or convincing a player to let it go. If you roll the same numbers on the two dice, you can draw a 'But-thou-must-inflict' card; a random penalty you can give to another player."

Everyone raised their eyebrows. Rick let out a mirthless laugh, shaking a little as he fidgeted with his fingers. "WOW!! What a funny way to break friendships!"

Despite Rick’s exaggerated reaction, they agreed.

Competitiveness wasn’t the close-knit criminal group’s biggest interest. Nor were the goody-two-shoes narc's, or the one of the girl who had had enough of people loving games more than family. Or the protective troublemaker’s. To not talk about the guy whose power set was friendship.

Giovanni took the initiative anyway. "Com'on, it's just a dumb game with boring Shakespeareism and broken rules! I'd say we give it a try, and if it's bad, we throw it out the window, move on with our lives and watch whatever movie Bear Trap wants because it’s her night!!"

He slammed his hands on the desk with a challenging grin. "IN. Or out?"

The boys nodded in determination as Molly stared at her girls. Feenie was shaking as her eyes were already getting soaked.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! What should I do?! The rule is asking me to be mean! I would love to break them in favor of being kind, but I would break them, turning me into a rulebreaker!!" She then looked at Molly and started to shake her by the shoulders. "This is a moral compromise, Molly!!"

Molly put Feenie's hands down and held them, hiding a bit of annoyance inside her closed eyes. "Feenie, it's just a game, it's not real."

Feenie let her go and stared at her, her index fingers bumping with the other. "But your sister liked to play games, and you hate her..."

Molly let out a sigh.

The situation was different. Very different. 

Rick noticed how Feenie's harmless comment hurt her, and acted. "Well, Feenie," He smiled goofily, like he was cracking a joke. "Unlike Lorelai, I don't remember any of you people stealing my heart... In any way but a platonic way, because you were my first surface friends!!"

Feenie gasped with stars in her eyes. "REALLY??"

Rick smiled widely in his usual "nine dentists recommend it" style as he nodded. Feenie was touched and blushed happily. Molly snickered a little at this.

She was glad that Odi got that.

Trixie raised an eyebrow and leaned toward the desk to see Molly instead of Feenie. "What the heck is he talking about??"

Molly smiled. "My sister was terrible."

Trixie hummed as she straightened her back, finding it a reasonable explanation. "Yeah, this explains."

Ben from the other side of the desk waved his hand. "Hey, Molly, are you done yet? We wanna play here." 

The Neo Trio and Rick gave their approval.

*

The game started.

Trixie rolled. A five. She grinned as she moved her blue-violet checker and picked a card.

“Declare another player your ‘eternal rival’. Mhh...” She narrowed her eyes, inquisitively glaring at each of her friends to the point that her icy stare genuinely horrified the boys and Rick. Crusher was literally shaking in fear. “Which one of you dingus-wingus has wronged me these days...”

She pointed a finger at Feenie.

"-YOU!"

Feenie gasped. "ME?! B-But-"

Trixie kept faking rage, despite sounding more like playful smugness. "This is for calling me a shortie."

"I am so sorry, dear! But the game required me to state objective facts, I don't actually think you are short!"

"Ah, so I am objectively short. Duly noted, titan freak! Plus, you sounded like you were saying 'Butt' earlier."

Feenie gasped as she looked at the floor in shame. "Curse you, phonetic transcription! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!! Also, because you are not physically real!!"

"Okay, found my eternal rival, I get to stay. Backpack." She handed the two dice to Molly. "Here."

"Thanks."

*

Molly rolled. A three. Giovanni, who sat after Feenie, pouted, but she didn't really mind going for this low. She moved her green checker and took a card.

"Show off your skills...? Huh." 

Giovanni, once again, was thumbing up to her with a dumb smile on his face, hyping her up. She moved her head to the other side. All his boys, with Rick taking Ben's place, were doing the same.

Molly, at this, decided to be a little showoff. "Do you want to see something I learned to do thanks to Boss and Sylvie?"

She held the two dice as a green aura expanded on her palm. 

"DUMB LUCK!"

She let go of the dice, getting a twenty. She then waved her hands as she winked. "Turns out you can make moves out of puns about your epithets, hehe!"

Everyone clapped as Molly playfully bowed.

*

Feenie's turn. She rolled a six, her dice showing two threes, and moved her yellow checker. 

"Nice to see you, Trixie!"

Dark Star snickered. "Dude, she just owed you!"

Trixie rolled their eyes. "No, she didn't."

Molly corrected him. "She just greets every checker her checker is close to."

"Ha."

Feenie picked a "Thou-must-inflict" card. "Mhh... Block a player for a turn. Oh my, this is such a mean thing! I-I... I... Hold on, allow me to-" She opened the instructions again, read it all in five seconds and gasped. "THERE'S NO WAY TO GIVE AWAY CARDS!? What games make you mean and force you to be mean!?"

Spike smirked. "I guess this one, sheep gal." Her scary smile widened as she spoke softly. "Com'oooon, join the dark side."

She grinned as she pulled something out of her pockets. Feenie started to shake and gulped at the horror her eyes laid upon. It was a pack of bubble gum.

Dark Star joined her in a sing-song tune,  waving his hands. "We got freshly stolen bubble gums~."

Feenie almost started sobbing. She stuttered as she glanced around her co-players.

"I... I... I..." She then let her decision out of her chest and throat. "I pick Trixie!"

Trixie started to laugh. Feenie still felt like she was the scum on Earth.

"I am so sorry, dear! This is part of the game! I resolved the moral conundrum by adopting the solution that I need to follow the rules of the game, just as I follow the rules of the real world!"

The boys at this pulled their tongue out in disgust. "Eww."

"And you are my rival!! So... Eat this!!" She passed the card to Trixie, covering her face like she was about to stab her and didn't want blood. Trixie kept laughing.

She smirked. "Ay, guess I earned that! But I won't show you mercy, Phoenica!!"

Feenie gasped as she slammed her fists and looked down at the desk. "NOT THE FIRST-NAME BASIS!! THIS MEANS THAT MY FRIENDSHIP IS RUINED FOREVER!!!!"

The game went on and on... It was honestly so odd.

*

Ben’s rule in his first turn was to dance, and he skipped and then spent almost every turn trying to steal the others’ passes. To say that he doomed himself to stay in the last places was an understatement.

*

Spike's turn. She grabbed a card and had to make a voice impression of one person at the table. People were expecting her to speak in a silly Giovanni impression, but instead she pulled off a scarily good Feenie-like voice and tone and held that for FIVE TURNS.

That freaked everyone out, even Spike herself.

She blinked cutely at Feenie."I guess that I shall hold this tone for a while, dear."

She then let out a cough as her throat sliced itself in half.

"Feenie, my beloved sheep gal, how can you even talk like that?"

Feenie shrugged as she smiled at nothing. "I got used to it as I grew up!"

Spike self-censored herself. "Sweet holy cheesecake on a bike."

Ben patted her shoulders. "Please just swear."

*

Flametrowher’s turn. He had to challenge someone in a fight. He, of course, picked the thing he was the best at and the adversary he thought was the worst at doing that.

So, Rick and he challenged each other to a posing duel! Molly ended up being the judge, again. Ben tried to steal Flametrowher’s pass in the meantime, but got dragged into the latter's performance. Molly gave Ben the victory. Everyone was actually happy about it, but Flamethrower might have planned revenge for a second, or for twenty minutes.

"I know that you saw me." Growled Ben in a whisper at her as Flamethrower was dragging him to bow with him, taking him far away from the passes.

Molly smiled, faking innocence. "Saw you doing what?"

"You." He pointed a shaking finger at Molly. "You are my eternal rival. For the rest of my life."

Molly's eyes playfully shone. "Aww!!"

It was like Lorelai all over again, but more pathetic. That surely wouldn't give her any feelings.

More turns passed as their shenanigans became increasingly more intense and stupid...

*

Crusher was forced to sing to keep his then-fifth place intact. He spent at least five minutes with his face on the desk as he was dying of embarrassment. 

*

Giovanni had to juggle to try to pass Car Crash's seventh place. Thankfully, he was using his epithet, so there was no property damage. Well, almost. 

"Darling, you'll clean this up tomorrow." Said Crusher in an unusual and disappointed tone as he stared at the ceiling, now dipped in tomato basil.

"Yeeaaahhh..." Giovanni looked away with a strained tone and avoided eye contact. "My bad, dude."

*

Rick's turn. His task was to eat something odd. The boys picked Crusher's cooking to make fun of both of them, but Rick immediately got up from his seat to finish the task as fast as he could. He did it by eating the first thing he saw.  The moment their heads turned to see Rick again gave them lots of emotions.

"Do ah hav' somthif on my face?" Asked Rick, his mouth full of plastic and metal, as everyone stared at him with wide eyes and open mouths.

"I am pretty sure it's my charger." Answered Car Crash with an oddly calm tone.

Everything turned out fine against all odds, but now Rick owed Fred five dollars.

*

The game became faster and faster halfway through. The competition was escalating minute by minute, with rolling dice, shouting words, stealing passes, and forming alliances... And betrayals.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Spike screamed as she punched her fists into the desk, growling at Dark Star.

"Don't take it too personally." He was smiling as smugly as he tried to be, waving a 'Thou-must-inflict' card that allowed him to switch places with someone. "I know you, you'd betray me the first moment you get."

She grabbed his shoulders, her face too close to him. "You idiot, we were working together-" She glared at Giovanni, foaming at her mouth like a rabid dog. "-TO TAKE HIM DOWN!"

In response, Giovanni hissed at her like a snake. Molly stared at him, pulling her neck away and raising an eyebrow.

Those three didn’t even place high in the final ranking. All three were standing low, Giovanni The Target being only in fifth place. They swore revenge because he froze them a few rounds ago, but they didn't get anything from that. Fred only moved one space ahead.

Molly quietly stared and then ignored them. She was doing well so far; she didn't want to ruin it. Her eyes were actually on Rick, acting uncharacteristically quiet. She glanced at him, observing that he stored a "Thou-must-inflict" in his sleeves. He must have hidden it so he could pass unobserved. 

*

It was time for Rick's turn.

Molly's eyes were locked on the target. There were a few spaces apart, split by Trixie and Flamethrower. Molly was ahead, and Rick was behind. But if she could be honest, she believed that the two were just a distraction. Rick was the real enemy. The rest were weak, and the third-placer and second-placer have just been lucky. 

Molly then heard Feenie's bells and followed the sound, turning her head. She was fine, but Molly saw that in the back of her head, a small piece of paper was swimming between her strands. Someone must have thrown it there. She carefully picked it and read it in secret.

"hey BT (Bear Trap) I saw you looking at Rick. Wanna ally to kick his butt? >:)"

The tips of Molly's lips curved in a hidden smile. She got up and slammed her hand on the desk.

"Boys, boys! BOYS!"

Spike and Dark Star' heads turned to her, their hands on the collars of each other's shirts ready to physically fight. Molly wagged a finger against the others.

"Bad boys! I want to play a nice game with you guys!!" Then her voice softened as she played with her hair cutely. "It's been a while since I enjoyed such a large game night. I never had so much fun since my father, my sister, my mother, and I played together as a happy family."

They blinked and then let each other go as they crossed their arms.

Spike scoffed. "I hate when she uses her tragic-girl-privileges." 

Dark Star scoffed as well. "Me too. She makes me feel like garbage, and I can't fight it."

Molly then grabbed the dice, got up, and handed them to Giovanni. They just needed to look in each other's eyes and knew already what would happen. They both smiled.

It was time to play for real.

*

Molly and Giovanni have already worked together. The museum shuffle and Lorelai's bubble were just the start. If it were for something mundane like baking cookies or for something mildly dangerous like exploring an abandoned building, they always had fun. Their dynamic wasn't "one was the brain, the other was the muscle"; it was more "one was the thought and the other was the impulse". 

Giovanni had the ideas; Molly went along with them. Giovanni laughed at the danger; Molly laughed alongside him, maybe nervously at first, but then they would get out, and Molly would find this amusing. Giovanni encouraged or played along with Molly's evil plans; Molly had plans. It was fun. It was nice.

And so it was that game.

Giovanni decided that the right way to cheat and strike his enemies down was by causing mischief. He would talk, yell, and cause scenes, grab people's attention, all of this while being sure that Molly would act better with no eyes on her. And he was right.

Molly quietly stayed back and did the cheating.

She stole passes, moved checkers, and changed the orders of the cards so she and Giovanni would have the best outcomes... The plan was working perfectly. Giovanni and Molly quickly moved forward, first and second place, respectively.

The end was slowly coming.

Last rolls of dice, last turns. Nobody got spared by Bear Trap's wits. Rick couldn't find his "Thou-must-inflict" card under his sleeves. Trixie started to point fingers at everyone around the tables because she couldn't find her passes. Many of the Boys were looking for an excuse to stop the round and start the game again, or at least plan something new next time.

Molly and Giovanni found themselves in the same position.

"Well..." Giovanni clapped his hands proudly. "It appears that we came to an end. I am glad that all of you joined me. Play with me. Fought against me. Tried to strike me down with something ridiculous, like the 'pOwEr oF FrIeiNdsHiP'... And I would like to give you my compliments-"

He then stood up slamming his fists on the table.

"-My compliments for being total losers who GOT PLAYED BY THE GREAT GIOVANNI POTAGE!!"

He started to laugh, pointing fingers to all his friends as they were staring at him like they were considering the idea of killing. He then sat down leaving out a sigh.

"It was an honor playing with you, Bear Trap."

Molly smiled. "Thank you, Boss!"

He passed his dice to Bear Trap nonchalantly, before his eyes popped out. "Hold u-"

She rolled her dice and got a twelve.

She raised her fists. "I WON!"

Everyone echoed her with a growl. "SHE WON?!"

Giovanni snapped, punching a fist on the desk as he looked at her. "MOLLY?! WHAT THE HECK?? Tell me you didn't use 'Dumb luck' against me!!"

Molly smiled proudly. "Sorry, Boss, we can't be both winners!"

"DID YOU REALLY BETRAY ME LIKE THAT?! After all we have been through!?"

Molly was about to shout, but then stopped. 

Okay, that was a bit rude. But it still felt good. Way too good. 

She stared at the gameboard, and then at Giovanni's way too disappointed face, and then at the game again. It felt weird. Her mind felt weird, all foggy and emotional... And over what? A game? Molly knew it wasn't a thing she would do.

She talked to Giovanni again, her tone flat and eyes tired. "I can't believe that we are grilling each other over a game."

Everyone gasped at her like she had just insulted their families.

Feenie spoke up. "But we are having so much fun!"

"What are you talking about, kid?" Asked Ben.

Molly defended herself. "I don't know about it, guys. A few turns ago, Dark Star and Spike were on each other's throats, and... I think that Feenie and Trixie are taking their rivalry too seriously...?"

"We still are!" Corrected Dark Star as he glared at Spike.

Flamethrower shouted. "I will beat all of you in a rematch!!"

Molly used it as a point. "See? What about we watch a movie instead?"

Crusher got up and ran to the couch. "DIBS ON THE REMOTE!!"

Ben's face twitched, and he got up as he chased him. "DIBS ON THE CHOOSING THE DVD!!"

"JOKE'S ON YOU, I DON'T HAVE ONE, BEN!"

That wasn't what Molly meant. She blinked. In a mix of panic, she ran to the couch as well.

"W-Wait me!!"

*

The gang sat cozily on the couch. Or at least they tried to. Molly was in the middle of a warzone, acting as trance for Feenie and Crusher because Trixie started tossing popcorns at them from the other side of the couch. Giovanni was barely giving attention to the minion at his left, mostly trying to turn on the TV without getting up and having his place stolen. Rick was sitting next to Giovanni, carefully glaring at him.

In the meantime, on the floor, Flametrowher and Spike were wrestling trying to steal each other's blanket. Car Crash and Dark Star were glaring at each other while trying to pull the snack bag between each other closer to the other. Ben was literally in the kitchen alone because he had enough of all of them.

Molly looked at them. Something was clearly wrong. But at least her eyes came back to shining as she saw a familiar silhouette in one of the covers of the collection of Crusher’s movies.

"OH! You have movies with bears?! Can we see them?" 

Giovanni waved a finger to her. "Nuh. nuh, nuh! You already got a win, Bear Trap. Don't want you to get greedier than me!"

Molly tilted her head. He promised her she would get to pick the movie. "But-"

"No BUTS, Molly. We are watching Transformers!!"

Molly looked at Giovanni as he was grabbing and pointing the remote at the TV like he was a stranger wearing her boss's skin. She fixed herself on her seat better, looking at each of her friends, busy bickering about what movies they had to watch. She started to really dislike it.

She activated a silent bubble for her own sake, darting to any people who still looked like themselves. The closest she could find was Trixie. She poked their shoulder, getting their attention.

"Trixie... Is it me, or are they all acting strange?"

"Whoa!" Trixie looked at the green aura around them almost offended, poking Molly's chest with a finger and a growl. "Tryin' to escape from the quarrel like that, Backpack?"

"I just don't like how loud we are being."

Trixie shrugged uncaring. "Heh. You dealt with worse."

Molly's jaw almost dropped. Those were words she could hear from Lorelai, or Martin, or from any adults who didn't care about kids, but she would NEVER hear from her best friend.

Molly scanned them with shaking eyes. "A... Are you okay?!"

Trixie stopped looking at her sassily, crossing her arms and legs. "I would've felt better if ya' didn't just go and cheat your way to victory."

Molly felt she needed to shake their shoulders and give them a wake-up call. Thankfully, that wasn't the first time, and she held herself back. Then Trixie immediately looked behind Molly's back with a gasp.

"Holy Toledo! They are fighting!!"

Molly's head immediately turned.

Giovanni was on the floor, his left cheek was red as Rick's stare.

"What the fuck is your problem?!"

Rick spoke in a tone nobody had heard him in before. "What did you just say to me?"

Molly froze. Nobody was being themselves that night.

Giovanni still smiled smugly. "Ahh... Heh!" He wiped a hand where it hurt. "What did it hurt the most? Me threatening you to toss you back in the pond they found you or me threatening you that I would to join your old friends who left you behind?!"

Molly's eyes widened. Terrible thing to say to a gladiator who almost died to escape. Even terrible when it came from the most considerate villain Molly knew. Molly jumped off the couch, holding back Rick's fist, already raised to strike another punch.

"ODI?!"

"Now WHAT?"

"That's not like you! That's not like anybody!"

"And then what?! I can make better friends than him!"

Giovanni added fuel to the fire. "You could?? You befriend people with demon deals! Nobody sane would want you!"

Molly was really close to slap him.

Rick shouted to him. "THE DEAL IS OFF!"

A booming thunder echoed across her bubble. Molly covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly as the volume and light kept her shaking and falling off balance. The thundering kept echoing until Odi was a powerless wizard all over again.

Molly froze for a second.

She slowly moved her head to her audience.

Everyone was so angry. Immature. Stupid. Molly didn't want to deal with them. Molly didn't want to fix their problems. Molly couldn't take it anymore. She inhaled, trying not to break into tears, and walked away to her room.

The truth was that if she had to deal with morons, she would have stayed at Martin's. She was sick. She wanted to be a kid again and wanted adults to act like adults. If a game tore them apart, Molly groaned at the moment they would face the real problems. 

She opened the door and closed it quietly, and then let herself fall apart, letting out an exasperated sigh as she slowly slid against the door. She stood up, immediately threw herself on the bed, and stared at the ceiling as a green aura slowly emerged from her short figure. It was a thing she did when she had enough time for a nap and not enough energy for a breakdown.

All her sensations became less and less until she felt drowning in a dense ocean. Her tired eyes, free from her frustrations, opened again as she stared at the ceiling, slowly falling asleep.