... Nothing.

It's all dark.

What's happening?

*Ding ding ding ding ding*

Was that the hour five chime? It sounds dull and distant.

Is someone talking? I can't see anything. It's hard to make out what they're saying.

"Hello?"

...

*BANG* "Quiet!"

Uh, that's Yona. I don't think I want to mess with her.

Wait. Did Gallus blame me for this? Was that his plan? That would be very low.

Where the heck am I? I reach a claw out. It almost immediately touches something metallic... Am I in that metal tube Bramble was in?

I hear more voices. I put my ear to the metal.

"Yak go with Deer!"

"In that case, you should probably go with me through door 4. Your only other option is to go with Gallus, and I don't think you'd want that."

So they don't trust him? I guess they knocked us both out.

"I'm going with Gallus and Rain. That should add up to 6, right?"

"That means we're going with Silver. Do you really think we can handle her?"

I am trained in-

"She's a wimp. Anyone remotely close to her size can handle her."

... Dicks.

"I say we go in a certain order. Yona, Bramble, and Ocellus go first so that Bramble is away from Gallus and Silver. We count to twenty, then we let Gallus out and Smolder and Rain take him to door 6. That way we have more creatures here if he tries anything. Finally, Sandbar and I let Silver out and take her to door 8."

"That sounds good. Let's go, Bramble."

There's silence for a while.

"Let's let him out."

...

"Huh? He's not awake yet?"

!!! He's claustrophobic!

"No. His face is pale. I think he woke up and panicked so much he passed out."

Oh, Gallus! You poor thing!

"Well, that makes it easier to move him."

I have to get out! I have to see him!

"Huh? What was that?"

"I think Silver's awake."

Please! Please!

"Well, you two might want to keep that in mind. We're off."

... No... Gallus, please be okay...

*Click*

? What was that- What- GAH! SO BRIGHT!... I slowly reopen my eyes so they can adjust to the light. As I do, someone is silhouetted above me.

"Silver."

Cozy Glow?

"That stunt... That was Gallus' idea, right?"

"Well, he suggested it, but-"

"Then it was his idea." She looks... worried? "Right?"

"... Right." I really don't want to throw Gallus under the bus like this.

I sit up. I'm still in the exam room. I look to my right. The other metal tubes are there, completely open. I guess they put Gallus in that far one.

"Are you okay, Silver?"

I look at the filly. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just... worried."

"Don't be. Let's go." That was rather blunt for Sandbar.

Cozy puts her hoof on my shoulder. "Why did you go with it?"

I bite my beak. Do I tell her about the Morphogenetic Field? Will she believe me? Will she call me crazy? What do I tell her?

"Silver?"

"I... wasn't really thinking. I just went with it." That's the best I can come up with. And it's a complete lie playing off the lie she wants to believe.

"... I understand."

"Come on, you two!" Sandbar's really getting impatient. "We're not getting out of here by standing around!"

Well, he's right. I get up and follow him and Cozy out of the room and through a few hallways. Eventually, we reach a door with an 8 painted on the front. We scan our bracelets into the RED, pull the lever, and go through the door. The DEAD is... right next to the door. Are they trying to hide any of these? We scan into it, pull the lever, and look around.

That's a lot of boxes! That is not a small amount of boxes! They're all over the place! Mostly on shelves, but still!

Cozy floats over to some of the boxes. "So, all of the boxes, the layout of this place-"

"It's a storage room, you idiot!"

!?!?!? "Sandbar! What is wrong with you?"

"I just want to get through."

I grab him by the shoulders. "That's not what I mean! You're usually kind and patient! All of a sudden, you're being blunt and aggressive! That's not the Sandbar I know!"

He rolls his eyes. "Well, maybe you don't know me that well."

I start shaking him. "WE SPENT TWO YEARS AT THE SAME SCHOOL! YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT WAS ALL A LIE! ESPECIALLY ONE YOU WOULD DROP FOR THE HECK OF IT!"

Cozy grabs my legs, forcing me to stop shaking Sandbar. "Now Silver, I'm sure he's just tired." She turns to the colt. "Why don't you just find somewhere to rest, and we can handle the puzzle."

"... Yeah. Sure." He heads through a door off to the side.

I look at Cozy. "What just happened?"

"I have no idea."

TIME TO SEARCH

First thing's first, what the heck is on that table? I head over to it. There's a sign that says "collect" with a baggie below it.

There's a buzzing right next to me. "Collect? What does that mean?"

I pick up the baggie by the bottom and lift it up. About five small cubes fall out. "I guess we have to collect those cubes."

"First of all, don't do that. That could have had something dangerous in it. Secondly, do we know how many cubes there are?"

I look around. There doesn't seem to be anything to indicate how many cubes there are. Or what we would need them for. "Let's just collect as many as we can. If all we have to do is look for these cubes, this room might just be a cakewalk." Why do I get the sinking feeling it won't be?

"Alright. Let's get looking. You cover that half of the room, I'll cover this half."

I stick the cubes back in the baggie. Well, this is going to be boring. I've got to look everywhere you'd expect to find a wagon wheel, everywhere you wouldn't expect to find a wagon wheel, check the wagon in case the wheel is already on it... I just thought of something.

I move towards the doorway Sandbar went through. "Hey, Sandy? Could you look for some small cubes or baggies?"

"There's nowhere to hide them in here."

"Okay, thanks!" That wasted a second, but it's peace of mind.

This is going to get boring really fast. I look inside the boxes. I look under the boxes. I look under the shelves. I look at the tops of the shelves. I look in every nook and cranny... "Hey, Cozy?"

"I knew you couldn't keep quiet for long."

"Have you heard of the Morphogenetic Field?"

"I have, but I don't think it's a real thing."

I pick up a baggie and put it on the table with the rest. "Because it's so unbelievable?"

"Well... sure. Let's go with that."

"Well, that just screams no to me."

"I do have other reasons, but I don't want to go into details."

I'll let her believe what she wants to believe. After all, what else could explain me having memories from another timeline?

"May I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you trust Bramble?"

"Well, yeah. We went to school with him. Why do you ask?" I put another baggie on the table.

Cozy puts a baggie down at the same time. "Then why did you kidnap him? Even if it wasn't your plan, you still assisted with it by kidnapping him."

"Well, I didn't realize Gallus would knock Smolder out. I thought we would either sneak by her or talk to her about it. I guess I panicked when I saw her unconscious."

"And dragged him through door 1? I'll take that answer."

Uh, I think she knows I'm lying.

"Well, that's my half of the room done. How much have you got left?"

"Two boxes." This one's empty.

"I'll check on Sandbar."

And this one has a baggie in it. I grab it, toss it on the table, and follow Cozy... THAT DOES NOT LOOK NICE! "What the heck is that thing?"

"It's a crushing machine." Sandbar is sitting in a corner. "You throw junk in it, and it crushes the junk down so it can be more easily reused or removed."

He doesn't sound much happier. "How are you feeling?"

"Depends. How many of those baggies did you find?"

"How did you-"

Sandbar points at a panel on the rail keeping us from mindlessly wandering into the obvious death trap.

"I'll grab the ones we found." I head back to the main room, grab the baggies, and head right back. Wait. Do I have to count these out?

"One. Two. Three." Cozy's counting it out. This is still going to be boring.

...

"Forty-six. Forty-seven. Forty-eight. Forty-nine. That makes fifty with that one in the case over there."

"Case?" I look where Cozy is pointing. "How did I not see that earlier?"

"It also has a key in it, so we need to open it in order to leave this room."

"So how do we open it."

Sandbar points past me. I turn around. At the other end of the walkway we're on is a cage. It's so small, only one of us can fit in it. There's a chain attached to the top of the cage. I follow the chain up. It's attached to a track of some kind, leading over to the crusher.

"One of us has to get in that?"

"I'm not getting in it."

Cozy is scowling. "You haven't done anything at all! You could at least do this!"

"Then make me."

He's still not back to normal. "Then how about you solve the puzzle and one of us get in the cage."

"Only if Cozy Glow gets in. Otherwise, she's doing the puzzle."

Cozy Glow? Not me? Why? I'm the one they're supposed to be suspicious of right now! What is going through his mind?

"Ugh... Fine. But only because you'd probably throw me in there if I didn't." Cozy buzzes over to the cage and closes the door.

There's a loud buzz, then some mechanical sounds as the cage lifts into the air. I look at the case. It's op- NO! I kick off of Sandbar to try and grab the bag before- URK! "LET GO OF ME!"

"SANDBAR! YOU ASSHOLE! YOU PILE OF SHIT!"

I look at the colt. He has a smug grin. As if throwing the bag into the crushing machine was the right thing to do.

I fly over to the cage Cozy is in. She's rattling the door, hitting it over and over. I try to lift the cage even a little.

It's too heavy. I can't get any slack on the chain at all.

"Silver." I look at the helpless filly. "Let go."

... I can't do anything. I let go.

*BUZZZZZZZ*

The cage falls. I cover my ears. I can still hear her screams of pain though. I close my eyes. That last sad look she gave me is still there...

It's done.

I couldn't do anything.

...

*DING DING DING DING DING DING*

...

"You coming or not?"

I look at Sandbar. At that murderer. I fly over but stay out of reach. "Why? Why did you kill her?"

"Let's just say, I had a bad feeling about her."

... "Stay away from me."

He shrugs. "Have it your way." He turns around and leaves the room.

I land back on the walkway. I look over at the panel. I look at the bags on the ground. What did he mean by a "bad feeling"? I head out of this room.

I head back through the door with the 8 painted on it. I head back to the waiting room.

"I know that! At least she didn't kill someone!"

?

"Sandbar? Did you actually..."

"She had it coming."

"SANDBAR!"

"Sandbar, you..."

I step into the doorway. Sandbar has his back to me. Ocellus, Bramble, and Yona are looking at him in shock and terror.

"Come on." That killer steps towards the others. "I did what-"

Yona stomps her hoof down. "Stay back!"

... I'm going to check on Gallus. I leave to look for door 6.

It doesn't take too long to find it, but...

"Vacant?"

I look to my side. Either the others followed me, or I was staring at that for longer than I thought.

Bramble hides behind Yona. "Can I stay with Yona?"

Ocellus looks at me. "Did you grab Cozy's bracelet?"

I shake my head. "She was crushed to death. Even if I could reach it, it would have been destroyed."

She lets out a sigh. "In that case, there's only one group that can go through. Me, Sandbar, and Bramble."

I can see Yona and Bramble's hearts break.

Sandbar shrugs. "Okay, we just go in and finish what the other group started. I already killed the only one I wanted to."

"Don't say that so casually." Ocellus moves over to Bramble. "I'll stay between you and him. There's nothing to worry about."

Bramble nods. They head over to the RED and scan their bracelets in. I stay back as they go through, leaving me with Yona.

"Yona..."

"Hmph!" She stomps off.

... I just wanted a hug.

I can't get it out of my head. That screaming. It might stay with me until the day I die. It was so heartbreaking. Seeing her face. I'm not sure if I'll ever move past it. I'm not... I'm...

Vacant?

When did it switch to vacant?

Was I sitting here that long?

"YONA!" I start running through the halls! I have to find Yona! Or at least something I can do!

! That was her! I grab the doorframe to slow myself down, then move just outside of the room! "Yona! We-"

My heart stops. Yona is lying in a pool of blood.

And a hooded figure is standing over her.

They turn to me.

I have to run!

*WHAM!*

A wall? When did this... I'm trapped. There are walls in the hallway that weren't there before. The figure steps out of the room, and the door disappears. I'm in a room with a killer, and there's no way out. I look at the hooded figure.

"Zero."

Ending 8

Helpless

Author's Note

Yeah, in case you didn't notice, I edited "Hour Six: Reality" to include a name for that outcome. The number of each outcome based on which character is most associated with that ending. This one being the only exception.