Quantum Suicide Battle Royale

I woke up early, my stomach heavy with a mixture of lingering horror from yesterday's execution and growing dread of today's new Deletion Game.

No matter how many rounds I went through, the waiting never got any easier.

Knowing I wouldn't be getting back to sleep, I turned the lights on and checked the time readout on the wall.

Perhaps it wasn't as early as I thought. Any minute now, DAI would be-

DAI: Already up? You're no fun.

PROTAGONIST: Gah!

DAI: Awwww, you don't look happy to see me.

PROTAGONIST: Can we just get this over with?

DAI: Okay, grumpy-pants. I've got a very special surprise for you today...

PROTAGONIST: Oh boy. I can't wait.

DAI: Come along now, there's no time to waste!

...

PROTAGONIST: DAI, why are we in the Engineering Bay? Where's everyone else?

DAI: Surprise! You get a free pass this round!

PROTAGONIST: Wait, seriously?

DAI: That's right! You get to watch the other players compete from the safety of this room!

DAI swept her arm around, indicating the collection of holographic screens all over the room.

Each screen showed a different room or hallway of the ship. I spotted one displaying the Dining Hall, where the other crew members had already gathered.

My feelings of apprehension growing, I stepped back to the door of the Engineering Bay, but sure enough, it was locked.

PROTAGONIST: DAI, what are you...

DAI: Well, time to go reveal today's game to the lucky participants! Toodle-oo!

PROTAGONIST: DAI, get back here and tell me what's going on!

It was no use. DAI had already vanished.

I walked over to the screen showing the Dining Hall, which now contained DAI and several crew members... too many crew members, in fact.

Could this be true? It didn't make sense. What was going on?

DAI: I'm sure everyone's noticed by now, but I thought I'd make this round a little more interesting by restoring the players eliminated in earlier rounds.

Everyone was there. Even the victims of the previous Deletion Games. The ones whose executions I had been forced to watch. How could they be alive again?

NIKOLAS: What do you mean, "restore"? How is this possible?

DAI: You can't expect me to reveal all my secrets, can you? Now stop interrupting.

DAI: Anyway, after your rather disappointing performances in the last few rounds, I've decided to step things up a bit.

DAI: I've noticed a certain... fondness... towards a certain member of our happy little family recently.

DAI: So for today's very special round of the Deletion Game, I'm giving you a chance to show how much you care.

DAI: The rules are very simple: Last one breathing gets to have their way with [Protagonist]!

PROTAGONIST: WHAT!?

ALL: WHAT!?

PROTAGONIST: This is crazy! I didn't agree to this! Nobody else is going to agree to this! ...Right?

KIMIKO: This time you've gone too far, DAI! Executing single crew members was horrible enough, but now you're trying to kill us all at once!?

DAI: Well, technically, two of you would survive.

KIMIKO: That doesn't matter! Nobody's going to play this round. Nobody's getting killed!

DAI: Oh, silly me! I forgot to mention - if more than one of you is still alive in eight hours' time, [Protagonist] gets executed.

KIMIKO: Th-that doesn't change anything! No matter who it is, a single crew member's life is not worth the-

The Captain suddenly stopped talking. Even through the holographic screen, I could see a line of blood trickle from her mouth.

YOSHIKI: I'm sorry, Captain.

Yoshiki stepped back, tugging a screwdriver out of the Captain's neck.

YOSHIKI: I can't let [Protagonist] die, not when I haven't even confessed my feelings yet!

Captain Kimiko Yukimori's lifeless body crumpled slowly to the floor.

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then the Dining Hall erupted into chaos, everyone scrambling for the door.

Katashi ran straight for the kitchen, rummaging quickly through the utensils and selecting the most dangerous-looking ones.

But his choice of destination was too predictable. On another screen, I noticed a diminutive figure edging towards the kitchen door.

I shouted warnings at the screen, but I knew nobody would hear me. There was nothing I could do but watch.

As soon as Katashi opened the door, a unicorn-shaped backpack slammed into his face, knocking him to the floor.

SHIZUKA: [Protagonist] is mine! You hear me? ALL MINE!

Shizuka stabbed the horn of her unicorn backpack into Katashi's chest over and over. I turned away and covered my ears, but I could still hear the screams.

...

The next couple of hours were a nightmarish blur.

Vladimir drowning Shizuka... [Corrupt] strangling Yoshiki... Dr. Andreas pushing Vladimir into the matter recycler...

Before long, the only ones left were the Vogel twins.

NIKOLAS: I'm sorry, Beatrix. You know how much I love you... But I love [Protagonist] more.

BEATRIX: I understand, Nikolas. Believe me, I understand.

Before I could tell what had happened, Nikolas had plunged a syringe into Beatrix's neck.

He embraced her, crying, as the strength slowly drained from her body.

BEATRIX: But if I can't have [Protagonist], neither can you.

NIKOLAS: Wh...!?

Nikolas staggered backwards, his eyes widening in disbelief, and a scalpel protruding from his throat.

He bumped into a trolley and fell with a crash, medical instruments scattering around him. It looked as though he was trying to speak, but no words came.

As I sank to my knees in disbelief, DAI flickered into existence behind me.

DAI: Well, would you look at that? I guess I'm the winner!

I didn't hear her. I couldn't move, couldn't think.

I couldn't save them. They were all gone. Everyone I had ever known was gone.

...No. Not quite everyone.

DAI: Oh, I just can't wait to-

Without any warning, all the lights in the room went out. The video screens vanished, and DAI's sudden silence informed me that she too had disappeared.

In the dying glow of the power cells, I could just make out a tiny figure crawling out of a maintenance hatch, gripping a bundle of severed wires.

MELODY: I did it! I won the game!

With the ship's power gone, the oxygen was starting to drain from the room, but I didn't care. I just wanted it all to be over.

MELODY: Now we can be together forever!

MELODY: Ahaha... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

...

I snapped awake, sitting bolt upright. What a dreadful nightmare... As if I didn't have enough to worry about today...