Great Dragon narrows his eyes at Max. "Are you kidding me? Trying to make a sale while everything's being serious right now? You must be out of your mind if you're willing to do that!" The wrestler objected in response to the salesman.

“Gettin’ awfully defensive now, huh? Sorry for callin’ into question your fragile sense of humanity.”

Jenny leers at Ace skeptically. “I’m afraid that still don’t cut it though. There could just be like red fluid installed in your arm in case of a scenario like this.”

“Maybe stick that knife real deep in your heart instead. Then I think we could be absolutely certain.”

---

After Ace finished his explanation and rant, the room fell silent as the marching of footsteps could be heard in the distance.

“Huh? What’s that?” Ryleigh asked.

“Could it be…?” Max wondered.

At that moment, the doors to the Bingo Room flew open, and standing in the opening was none other than Cups, the bartending robot.

“Cups!” some of the contestants cheered. Jenny looked like she didn’t care, honestly.

“Who the fuck let that guy in here?!” King asked. He was hit over the head by Queen shortly after. “What the hell? This is spousal abuse! Someone call the cops!”

“Shut up already! If the cops aren’t helping these guys, they sure ain’t helping your pathetic ass!” Queen shouted at him.

“Cups, are you here to rescue us?!” asked Luke.

“No, I’m not here for you,” Cups buzzed.

“W-who are you h-here for, then?” Tsubasa asked, trying to hide behind Ryleigh.

“Him,” Cups said while pointing at Hugh, who was still bleeding out on the floor. It seemed like he was going to pass out soon.

Great Dragon raised an eyebrow, though it could not be seen through his mask. “You are here for Mr. Stakes? Why?”

“C-Cups, my dear boy!” Hugh said with tears in his eyes. “If you help me, I-I’ll give you a year’s worth of paid vacation days!”

“That is a tempting offer,” Cups said, picking up Hugh in a princess carry. The two left the room, presumably to go to the infirmary where Cups could give Hugh proper treatment.

“They’re gone…” Ruby muttered.

“Well, isn’t that just dandy!” Ace said with a grin. “I suppose with that out of the way, I’ll be leaving you all to start killing each other, now.”

“We aren’t gonna do that, you green asshole!” Devin spat. “This is so stupid! I could make a list of things about this entire situation that are stupid! Number one, Ace. Number two, a killing game, I mean, that’s just ridiculous!”

“Someone shut her up, please?” King muttered.

“Listen, jackass,” Roxie spat. “We’re not playing your stupid game, and that’s final.”

“Yeah! What they said!” Ramon added, saying nothing of substance.

“Sure, sure,” Ace said as he began walking out the doorway. “I’m sure that, from the moment I started speaking, some of you already began concocting plans. Anyway, I’ll see you around!”

And with that, Ace was gone.

“Oh, shit! Queen, we’re supposed to follow him!” King said as he began running after Ace.

“What? Fuck!” Queen screeched as she followed King. Before long, both robots were gone.

“Good God, they’re so…” Roxie began saying.

“Stupid?” Devin asked.

“That’s the word.”

The contestants and Jenny all got silent and it was kind of awkward, not gonna lie. A killing game? Really? How stupid! And surely, none of them would kill, right? They all looked at each other, before turning to Lucy. She was still standing there, with a big ol’ grin on her face.

“Lucy… I still don’t understand…” Myrion muttered.

“Yeah, Lucy… I don’t get it…” Adel said. “Why’d you lie to us? I thought you were our friend…”

“Now, now, calm down everyone!” Lucy smiled. Her form still flickered every now and again. “I’m still your friend, I promise! The Twilight Strip is just under new ownership, so… gotta change to match the standards of the new company policy!”

Deirdre pinched the bridge of her nose. “That doesn’t make me feel comfortable at all, to be honest.”

“What a shame! Well, I’ve got something that should make you all feel better…”

Max sauntered up to the hologram and tried putting an arm around her shoulder, but it unfortunately just went right through her. “What is it? Are you going to buy my wares in exchange for my freedom? Come on, I’ll even give you a discount -- 1% off! Come on, it’s a steal!”

“Hmm… nope! Sorry, not interested! But, I’ve got something better: you all get another go at the slots! Isn’t that fun?”

“Oh great… more chances for people to lose money,” Sam said, rolling his eyes.

“More like, more chances to get cursed!” Ramon added.

“Think of the slots what you will, but they’re all you’ve got right now! Make money, or don’t! It’s up to you!” Lucy said.

"So, uh... slots, huh?" Max wiped the sweat off his brow. He looked very very nervous still but seemed a little more collected now that the evil nerds had gone. "So, uh... what say y'all to some more slots, huh? ...Pity we couldn't play that game of bingo in the end, but what can ya do?" He shrugged. "Now, I know that this might be a bit worryin', so if ya ever need a shoulder to talk to about this, feel free to hit me up! Not literally, anyway!" He added with a serious tone.

---

"...Yeah, we need more money to survive, right?" Adel asked, finally calming down. "So let's make sure we have enough money to last for a long time."

He paused for a moment. "We aren't gonna kill each other...uh, right?"

"No way am I touching those slots after the last time I tried them..." Woody says, shaking his head.

"Also, can we stop calling Ace a 'green asshole'? It's kind of a hurtful comment to green people, like me..."

"...Oh my God!!" Adel shrieked, covering his mouth in shock. "He's so green..! I didn't even notice..!"

"Okay, fine." Roxie said. "He can be the green asshole, and you can be the green dumbass. How's that sound?"

"Yes, but him being green isn't what makes him bad! Green as a color is something associated with life, joy, and hope. Ace, however, does not represent these values, as we have seen."



"How does that sound? That doesn't sound very nice, actually...Um, I'd like you to take that back, please. I am neither dumb nor 'ass'."

Jenny watched Cups leave, irritated.

"At least someone is gettin' things done around here."



"Oh, sorry, kid. I didn't mean to offend you like that," Jenny replied, "How 'bout we all just call 'im 'Acehole' instead? That's good enough for me."

---

"Hm, Acehole is fine. I can work with that." Woody replies to Jenny.

"So...what's the plan then, guys? How are we going to get ourselves out of here?"

Luke has been pacing around the room with his arms crossed, evidently really stressed. He looks up towards Woody as he walks, saying, "Do you think we have any options other than playing along? For real. What the fuck else could we even do here?"

"Maybe there's a hole in the barrier somehow? We could all try to look around, this place is big enough to find some kind of exit, right...?" Woody exhales. "No one is dead yet, right? Maybe there's hope..."

"I'm not sure if we should even try." Deirdre added, lounging around and smoking on a sofa that I'm like 30% sure exists in this room somewhere. "If we get too uppity, he might get those robots involved. Or increase the weekly cost..."

"Well, that escalated quickly..." Great Dragon muttered, though. "Although, something's bothering Great Dragon about what that bastard said..."



"What does he mean by that? Does that mean someone else is responsible for cutting off our contact with the outside world? If so, who could have done it?" Great Dragon asked the others. "... Ugh, now isn't the time for thinking. What happened pretty much have all of us shaken up."

The wrestler lets out a sigh before making his way out of the bingo room.

"I don't know about you, but I really don't wanna get shot today. Also, that's a slim fucking chance. Like a really slim fucking chance."

"Y-yeah! We all just have to stay calm! Especially if this is just some prank show thing, we don't wanna be freaking out all the time over nothing!"

“I don’t see any way out of this but to kill the bastard,” Jenny said, “Obviously there’s a couple issues with that which would need to be worked around, but it’s certainly more likely to succeed than waitin’ around till someone gets whacked.”

---

"H-How the heck will we do that, though?" Ruby asked, crossing her arms with a small huff. "I mean, he did say that if he died, the robots would kill us all..."

"Well obviously the first thing we need to do is hack the system!" Ramon said. "Luke, you're a mechanic, right? Deirdre, chess is like logic and stuff, you could probably do programming if you put your mind to it!" He gave the pair a thumbs up.

"Dont'cha think Ace can just, like... hack it again, or something? If I had to guess, he already did that or something..." Ruby uncertainly replied, now pacing back and forth around the room. "I-I mean, it's worth a shot, yeah, but-- but what if he does that and decides to punish us or something? I..."

She shook her head and cleared her throat.

"D-Darn it, this is all probably just some stupid prank; I know what those are like... No need to get so worked up..."

"Well that's why we have two hackers on our side!" Ramon explained patiently. "Two hackers means we have more hacking power than Ace does by himself. No matter what he tries, Luke and Deirdre can counter it! And then they can take control of the robots and chase Ace off. See guys, I told you we'd be fine!"

"U-um... I-I don't know anything about h-hacking..." Tsubasa added helpfully as she took her phone out again. "B-but I can always look it up on...

"...oh. ...n-nevermind..." she mumbled, shoulders slumped in defeat.

---

"Me? Ah, well... My creator has a backup from before I came here, that's the most recent one. Guess that's a way to keep me 'alive' in case anything happens."

"Also...I don't think hacking the entire system impossible but it does sound complicated. We have to find out where the system to control the robots is or something...and since there are cameras everywhere, Ace might be watching us."

"Controversial opinion here, but I feel like a hostage situation is a little bit much for a prank show." Deirdre said, trying her hardest to tune out Ramon. "Though 'little bit much' can cover a lot of what happened these last two days, so it'd at least check out."

"But it doesn't matter in the end. Prank or not, when someone pulls a gun on you, you do what they say." she laid down on the definitely real couch, looking pretty serene all things considered. "All this talk of hacking and escaping is pointless, we just need to wait for either rescue or for Hugh to pop out from behind a curtain and yell 'gotcha'."

"Myrion, you're made of programming, you'll figure something out," Ramon said wisely. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have some slots to play. I can't die here, let me tell you! I need to earn some more income to pay Ace's taxes..."

He tottered off towards the main hall, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck like some kind of badass. "Satan, I no longer fear you!" he proclaimed, taking a seat at one of the machines. "I got triple 6 once already, there's no way it'll happen a second time!"

He pulled the lever eagerly, only to be disappointed when he lost twice in a row. "Well, one more chance!" He pulled the lever again, ready to receive what he deserved.

6-6-6.

Ramon's expression remained entirely unchanged. He took the news well. He tipped over slowly in his seat before crashing onto the floor behind him, the confident grin still plastered over his face. Perhaps he died.

Ryleigh places a hopefully reassuring hand on Tsubasa's shoulder, forcing a smile. "Hey, things'll be fine, even if we don't have the internet, or our phones!" There was a hint of doubt in her voice, and she was trying to convince herself of what she was saying just as much as anyone else. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going, right?"

"...Wow, you're pretty unlucky," Adel said. "When I did the slots again, I made a lot of money. Like, I have a ton, now.

He clapped his hands together briefly to celebrate. "But it's okay, I have an idea. If we all surround Ramon, and make sure nothing can reach him, the curse will stay away. Strength in a lot of people. That's the saying, right?"

Great Dragon happens to look away from the slot machine he just finished playing... He doesn't look happy. "Dios mío... Lost some cash. This isn't Great Dragon's day, is it?"

Then he see Ramon laying there on the floor. "Ramon, are you okay?" Great Dragon asked, completely oblivious to the fact that Ramon have been cursed.

Tsubasa swallowed and weakly smiled back. "U-uh, y-yeah... I-I think I heard that saying s-somewhere before... p-probably... I t-think..."

Her shoulder was clearly shaking, as was the rest of her.

---

"Hm?" Concern joins the fear and confusion present in bright green eyes. "Tsubasa, you're-" Ryleigh stops herself, shaking her head rapidly as she takes a step forward, gently wrapping her arms around the gamer girl.

"You're scared, right? Hugs always help me when I'm scared. I bet everyone here could really use a hug right now..."

"I-I-I'm not scared!" Tsubasa blurted in a shrill yelp. "D-definitely not s-scared...! E-everyone hear that...?"

After a moment of awkward silence, her incredibly tense body leaned into Ryleigh slightly. "...b-but... I-I'll take a hug... I g-guess..." she mumbled.

---

Sometime during all the commotion, Roxie snuck out to play the slots. Her first bet was a loser, but she won on the following three.

"Hell yeah!" She cheered. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Looks like Rocky won too," Adel said, getting Roxie's name wrong. "Congrats, Rocky!"

"Thanks, Captain Dumbass!" Roxie responded. "I'm in such a good mood I'll save your ass kicking for later!"

Myrion also left to try his luck at slots.

"Ah...no good. At least I got a little more than what I started with..."

Then he looked over to the collapsed Ramon.

"And I didn't get cursed again..." he let out a sigh of relief.

"W-What did I say..?" Adel cried, retreating a bit.

Ramon was unresponsive. Presumably he'd passed out.

"Oh yeah, baby! A net profit!" Max declared from nearby. "Y'know, even with those hundred bucks that I got stolen from me, I still managed to get more than double my money! Now I've gotta say, this sorta stuff doesn't happen on a dai-" He paused, suddenly noticing Ramon perhaps dead on the floor. He approached him slowly, poking him with his finger. "Hey kid, you alright there?" He asked, a little uncertain.

---

Great Dragon raised an eyebrow, though it cannot be seen through his mask.

"Why isn't he saying a single word?" Great Dragon asked no one in particular as he walks over to where Ramon is. He crouched down and then he started shaking Ramon in an attempt to stir up some sort of response from the cashier. "Ramon! Hey! Say something!"