Zero Escape: Chambers of Nightmares

"Uh, Gallus?" I look over at Cozy Glow. "Why... Nevermind."

I look at Ocellus. She seems perfectly normal. For some reason, I feel like I need to watch out for her.

"So, who's going where?"

"Yak want door 7!"

"I'd like door 7 as well." Huh? It feels like Ocellus just said something... strange.

"I'd like door 2." Rain holds up her bracelet.

"Door 2. Door 2. Door 2. Fine." Pfft. Smolder definitely said something strange.

We talk it out a bit more. Bramble, Sandbar, and Cozy Glow team up, and Gallus and I team up.

"Which way, Silver?"

"Door 7."

"Alright. Let's get going." Yona, Ocellus, Gallus, and I scan into the RED for door 7. Once through the door, we quickly scan into the DEAD for the room.

"Well, no time to waste."

"Yeah. Let's get looking."

TIME TO SEARCH!

Wait. Didn't I-

*CRUNCH*

...

......

............

"Uh, Gallus?" I look over at Cozy Glow. "Why... Nevermind."

I look at Ocellus. She seems perfectly normal. For some reason, I feel like I need to watch out for her.

"So, who's going where?"

"Yak want door 7!"

"I'd like door 7 as well." Huh? It feels like Ocellus just said something... strange.

"I'd like door 2." Rain holds up her bracelet.

"Door 2. Door 2. Door 2. Fine." Pfft. Smolder definitely said something strange.

We talk it out a bit more. Bramble, Sandbar, and Cozy Glow team up, and Gallus and I team up.

"Which way, Silver?"

I look at Ocellus. "Door 2."

"Alright. Let's get going."

I move towards the door, only for Ocellus to catch my wrist. "You're trying to avoid me, aren't you?"

"Uh, I-"

"I don't blame you. In fact..." Uuuuaaaaahhhh! "I think you made a good choice."

Getting away from her RIGHT NOW! I rush over to Gallus.

"Uh, are you alright?"

I give a smile. A very fake smile. "I'm fine!"

Ocellus is giggling. "I think she's just worried about what's through that door."

Gallus pets my head. "Well, that's fair. Don't worry. I'm here for you."

"That's comforting." My smile is still as fake as possible.

I scan the RED quickly and pull the lever.

*Bzzt*

"Silver! Wait for us!" Oops. I thought they scanned in.

I scan in and let the others do the same. Smolder pulls the lever and we head through.

As soon as we scan the DEAD, Gallus looks right at me, looking very pale. "Did Ocellus really make that face?"

"So I'm not seeing things!" I hug Gallus. "I think she wants to kill me!"

"Do you two... need some time?" Smolder is rubbing the back of her head. "We can handle this room if you do."

"Yeah, g-go ahead and solve the puzzle." Gallus turns back to me. "I'm really worried about what she's going to do. It terrifies me."

"I think..." I bite my beak. "I think she killed me in another timeline."

His eyes shoot wide, then he smiles. "So you're adapting to using- No! Bad Gallus! Not the time! The thing is, she actually killed you in two other timelines. The first one, she offed most of the group, leaving only me, her, and Sandbar. Then Sandbar killed himself to get away from her, leaving us stuck. She killed me in frustration."

What the fuck, Ocellus?

"The second timeline, Yona killed her, but not before she got half of us. Zero finished the rest of us off."

"Zero?"

Gallus nods. "He just showed up and started stabbing us. I don't even know why. It's almost like he wasn't happy with how we were doing."

That makes me wonder something, but there's a more pressing issue right now. "So how do we deal with Ocellus?"

He sighs. "I'm not sure. It seems like she's also using the Morphogenetic field, so I doubt there's a place to imprison her that she doesn't know about already."

Wait... "Do you really think she's doing the same thing we are?"

He nods. "Her snapping was way too sudden and didn't happen in most of the other timelines I've been to. It had to have been caused by something from the last timeline she went to before she went wild."

I rub my head. I wish I knew how to access my other memories more easily. "There's not something that could make using my powers more easy that you aren't telling me about, is there?"

His eyes go wide, then he looks away, scratching his cheek. "I haven't lied to you at all. Now's not the time to worry about our powers. Not while Ocellus is on the offensive."

He's right. I'll have to grill him later. "So if we can't imprison her, how do we deal with her?"

He shrugs. "Kill her? She'll probably get someone else before we meet her again, but it's best if we minimize our casualties."

"I don't know if Zero will let us."

Gallus tilts his head. "What-"

*CLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANG*

... What was I doing? I got distracted by my EARS BEING TORN APART!

"You guys ready? We are!"

Gallus leers at Smolder. "No! We aren't ready!"

"Whatever it is, it can wait." Rain jumps into the hatch leading down, followed by Smolder.

Gallus and I share a look. We are not ready to face Ocellus right now, but we aren't being given much choice. We reluctantly follow.

We all head down the hallway to the end, where the infirmary awaits. We step inside. The other team isn't here yet. I head over to door 1.

"Oh, hey guys." Oh, shit. "You guys beat us here, huh?"

"Yeah, we solved..."

I turn around. Smolder is looking at the other group. Ocellus has a freakish smile on her face, while the three creatures behind her look like they witnessed a murder. To be fair, they probably did.

"Where's Cozy Glow?"

"It's okay. I have her bracelet right here." And she lifts it up as if there's nothing weird about her having that.

Rain's eye is twitching. "What? Did she die?"

Bramble nods. "Ocellus took a weight and crushed her head in."

Smolder grabs the bracelet away from Ocellus. "What the fuck, Ocellus?"

"What's wrong?" Is she really that far gone?

"You killed Cozy Glow! You can't just do that kind of shit!"

"Hehehehehe." ? "Hahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Smolder steps away from that... thing. "What's so funny?"

"You think I was wrong for doing that?" Oh, sweet Juno. The only thing wider than her eyes is her smile. "Cozy Glow was a problem. Problems need to be solved."

No one looks comfortable around her. I feel lucky I'm by door 1 and not next to her.

"There are certain creatures in this world that aren't worth keeping around. They won't do anything but cause trouble. And that's very unacceptable."

Oh, dear. She's very gone by now.

"How are they supposed to be handled? We can chuck them into Tartarus, but that just means they get to live until they can cause trouble again. They're better off dead."

I look at the door behind me.

"But you're going to try and tell me that Cozy did nothing wrong. She did. You may not remember it, but she did."

I crumble up a post-it note on a desk near me and toss it at Yona.

"And that thing she did was horrible. So vile. So evil! Hehehehehe."

Yona looks at me. I nod to the door behind me.

"So it was only a matter of time until she did something worse. And then what? Do we shrug and say we didn't see it coming, even though we did?"

Yona looks up, then nods.

"I'd rather take care of a problem before it gets too bad, rather than let the problem become something we can't handle."

Yona moves into position.

"But now she's in the past. No longer a problem. And we need to keep moving forward."

I scan my bracelet into the RED for door 1. "I agree with that much."

Ocellus looks at me. "Wha-"

Yona rams into her and smashes her into door 1. I quickly grab Ocellus' hoof and scan in the bracelet. Yona follows suit.

"Sorry, guys. We'll see you later!" I pull the lever and follow Yona as she drags Ocellus into the room.

"What are you-"

Yona throws Ocellus into the DEAD. Her bracelet scanned into it somehow. Yona rushes over, scans in, and picks Ocellus up. I scan the DEAD and pull the lever, deactivating our bracelets.

I look at Yona just in time for her to chuck Ocellus into a metal tube and slide it shut.

Ocellus wastes no time banging on the walls of her prison. "What are you doing? Let me out!"

I slam the top of the tube. "Not until you stop acting like a psychopath!"

"What are you talking about? I'm not acting any differently than normal!"

Oh, sweet Pluto. "Yona, one of us needs to talk her down. Do you want to handle the puzzle in the room? Or should I?"

"Yak will handle puzzle."

"Because you don't want to deal with the crazy?"

She puts her hoof on my shoulder. "Because if anyone can talk her down, it's you."

... I smile and nod. I have something important to do.

"I can hear you out there! DON'T CALL ME CRAZY!"

Ho, boy. I've got an uphill battle. I give the tube another good smack. "We're calling you crazy because you're crazy!" Ow. I think I hit the tube too hard.

"Shut up! You selfish brat! Don't act like you're better than me!"

Selfish brat? "I don't kill others for no reason!"

"I did have a reason! You didn't!"

Where did that come from? "Then tell me your reason!"

"You know my reason!"

"No, I don't! I wouldn't be asking if I did know!"

"Quit lying! We both know you know!"

I need to sit down. "Does it really justify killing her?"

"It does and you know it does!"

Why am I playing along with this? "Could you at least leave everyone else alive?"

"You're already getting in the way of our escape!"

Our? "You and who else?"

"YOU KNOW!"

"Sandbar." Yona knew. And, to be honest, I should have pieced that together.

Maybe she'll realize that I don't know everything if I act like I don't know anything. "So you think you can get you and your friend out by killing everyone?"

"That's how the game works! It's a killing game! You kill everyone else, and you get your freedom back!"

... It looks like Yona's not sure what she's saying either. "I don't think that's right, but if it is, wouldn't that mean only one of you two can escape?"

"Oh, I don't plan on leaving. I'll kill everyone for my precious, and then I'll kill myself so he can leave!"

THE FUCK? "Ocellus, Zero only said that we need to find door 9! He didn't say we had to kill each other to get out!"

... That is not a comforting laugh. "Even better! I can kill everyone else, and then get out with him! He'll be mine forever! FOREVER! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I bite my beak. Yona has three of the keys, but she put them down on the panel next to the tube. We really don't want to let her out. Not like this, at least.

*DING DING*

Not the time! Thank Vulcanus that my life isn't divided into chapters, because that's where the chapter would end.