Game of Fate

**Game of Fate** (デスゲームデスよ編 *desu gēmu desu yo hen*) is a stage in *World's End Club* in which the Go-Getters Club plays the titular Game of Fate. The eleven students are trapped in an abandoned underwater theme park called World's End Land, and are forced by Pielope to participate in the game if they want to escape back to the surface.

## Game Rules

The devices on your arms... They're called "Wristbands".On the Wristbands are "Tasks" or missions that you have to do.But those aren't your own Tasks. They're other peoples' Tasks...And the person wearing a Wristband with your task is called your "Taskmate".The first person to complete their Task is the sole winner.The winner will be rewarded with a "Magic Key".The time limit is 1 hour.If there's no winner when time is up, everyone loses.
The "Magic Key" is a single-use master key capable of opening any lock, including the door which leads back to the surface. The students are able to team up with their Taskmate to find out their own task and make a deal, however Pielope says the easiest way is to find your Taskmate and "get rid of them" (kill them). Those who lose the game will be "processed" - fed to Pielope's giant robot, called Sludgebot.

## Summary

The members of the Go-Getters Club awoke in pods in an underwater theme park. As they exchanged theories on what happened to them, they were greeted by Pielope, who explained that they were to play a Game of Fate. Each of them had a wristband with an objective another player needed to complete to win the game, and the winner's prize was a Magic Key that could open any lock once. Reycho looked at his wristband and saw Vanilla's Task: [Eat a marshmallow]. Pielope demonstrated what would happen to anyone who failed to complete their Task by putting a doll into the "Sludgebot," a machine that turned its contents to sludge.

With a one hour time limit, the group began to split off. Reycho stayed behind to talk to Aniki, who offered to cooperate if they showed each other their wristbands. However, Aniki's intention was to trick him, so Reycho left him behind. In the hallway, Nyoro suggested everyone cooperate and share information, and asked Tattsun to show his wristband. Tattsun saw his Task on Nyoro's wristband: [Don't show your wristband until 6 minutes before the time limit], and was eliminated from the game, having failed his Task. Pochi picked up Tattsun's wristband after it fell. Aniki entered the hallway and told everyone he knew that Reycho's Task was to touch someone on the back. Kansai, Mowchan, Jennu, and Chuko began to chase after Reycho, hoping to take him out before he could complete his Task.

Reycho eventually got away, and met up with Vanilla and Pochi. Pochi asked Reycho to touch his back, proving that Aniki lied. Pochi also observed that the others were not themselves, possibly as a result of brainwashing. However, the three of them appeared to be thinking clearly, so Pochi suggested they all show their wristbands and cooperate. He revealed Aniki's Task, [eliminate everyone besides yourself], on his own wristband, and Kansai's Task, [don't bleed until 7 minutes before the time limit], on Tattsun's wristband. Reycho and Vanilla both refused to show their wristbands, and Vanilla ran off on her own. Reycho teamed up with Pochi to stop the others from completing their Tasks.

Reycho and Pochi encountered Chuko and Nyoro working together, but the pair ran away. Eventually, they discovered Kansai fighting with Mowchan. Kansai was attempting to stop Mowchan from completing his Task, [ride the Ferris wheel one time in the red gondola]. Reycho and Pochi shut off the Ferris wheel's power, preventing Mowchan from completing his Task and eliminating him. Kansai ran away, and Pochi took Mowchan's wristband to learn that Chuko's Task was to [protect the park's facilities until 8 minutes before the time limit], so shutting down the Ferris wheel caused her elimination.

Reycho and Pochi continued on to discover that Pai had teamed up with Aniki, and overheard them talking about Chuko and Nyoro. Aniki revealed that he picked up Chuko's wristband, and that Nyoro's task was to [go down the slide with Chuko], so Chuko's elimination had made her fail her Task. Aniki then mentioned a "Plan B," and the pair ran off. Reycho and Pochi followed after them and ran into Jennu, who said that she had been attacked by Pai and Aniki, and Pai was close to completing her Task. She offered to team up with them, and together they chased down Pai in the adventure playground.

When they reached the exit, Jennu and Pai revealed it was a trap. Jennu hit Reycho and Pochi with a pipe and revealed Pai's true Task: [don't let Jennu be eliminated until 9 minutes before time runs out]. As Jennu explained that she and Pai were working with Aniki, Kansai entered. Pai told him to run, worried that Jennu would complete her own Task: [take Reycho and Kansai's hats]. Reycho pushed Kansai out of the way before Jennu could strike, but in doing so, Kansai scratched his arm. He was bleeding, so he was eliminated, causing Jennu and Pai to be eliminated as well. To Pochi's surprise, he was eliminated after all three of them, leaving Reycho alone.

Reycho picked up Pai's wristband, with his true Task on it: [hug one of the boys by 10 minutes before the time limit]. On his way to confront Aniki, Pielope appeared to taunt Reycho, and explained that Pochi was eliminated because his Task was to [ride the dolphin bicycle together with Pai]. Reycho met up with Vanilla, and they watched as earthquakes began to crack the glass around the park. When Aniki arrived, Reycho revealed that he had learned his Task. Aniki ran off, hoping to outrun Reycho until 10 minutes remained, but Reycho trapped him by raising the drawbridge and hugged him, eliminating Aniki from the game.

Pielope announced that Reycho had won the game, and gave him the Magic Key as his prize. Before he could escape, Vanilla appeared and pointed out that the Sludgebot's belly had a keyhole, meaning the key would work on it. Vanilla believed their classmates were still alive inside its belly, and implored Reycho to free them. Despite Pielope's insistence, Reycho opened the Sludgebot, revealing that everyone was safe. They all seemed to be back to normal, and Aniki apologized to Reycho for not acting like himself. Pielope revealed that brainwashing would wear off under life-threatening conditions, and began to announce a "Round 2" of the game, since Reycho had chosen not to escape.

Pai interrupted Pielope with a kick, and announced that the game was cancelled, according to its mastermind. Before she could reveal the mastermind's identity, however, another earthquake shook the park, causing a large diver's helmet to fall onto her. Aniki pushed her out of the way, but she was still knocked unconscious. Another earthquake cracked more of the glass walls. As the group panicked, Reycho stepped forward and unleashed his powerful throwing ability, throwing the helmet to knock down a submarine hanging from the ceiling. He guided everyone into the submarine and they successfully escaped the flooding theme park. When everyone made it aboveground, they landed on the beach, where they saw floating X-shaped objects in the sky.