Chloroform roulette

As Iori finished putting her clothes back on, She decided to look around for Mimoko and check in on Okisato. However, she was quickly pulled aside by Myrtle Foat of the Australian team.

"Y- You're Iori-chan, right? I'm Myrtle. Myrtle from Down under dares. I was wondering if-"

"Collab?"

"Yes."

"Hell yeah! So what and when?"

"We'll discuss things in our room with Francie. Please come now."

Iori wanted to remain at the venue for a bit longer, but there was no way she was going to miss a chance to collab with Down under dares, the raunchiest group of content creators south of the equator.

The two made their way to the bus, and rode it back to the hotel. Once there, Myrtle led Iori into one of the lounge areas where they were greeted by Francie, who was leaning back in a chair with her feet propped up on the rectangular coffee table.

On said table were four neatly folded rags, though what got Iori's senses tingling was the smell in the air.

"Smells like chloro."

"Damn right. Iori-chan, yes? Francie Derring. So you want some long-winded speech, or you just wanna jump straight into the video?"

"Tell me about the rags."

Francie smiled and stood up, gesturing towards the four rags. "Welcome to chloro roulette, or the chloro lottery if you think that sounds catchier. This shit isn't live, so we'll just edit in the catchier title later. So here's how it works. We've got four rags here, but only one isn't completely drenched in chloroform. Basically, you get one shot to pick the right one, but if you do..."

Smack!

"200 smackeroo euros."

"Easy money. So when can I pick?"

"Oh no. See, you can just point to the one, and I'll grab it and shove it in your face. If you so much as touch a rag, you'll instantly be able to tell if it's chloroed or not. So take your pick."

Iori pouted, but still decided to chance it. "Rag number 4."

Francie smirked and grabbed the selected rag as Myrtle stood behind Iori and clamped her hands down on her shoulders, ensuring she wouldn't run off.

"And you chose..."

"MMPH!?"

"Poorly. But it was all rigged from the start. All the rags were laced with chloroform, just different amounts. Though you did pick the one laced with the least amount, so guess you do win... the ability to wake up a bit earlier than usual," Francie sneered as Iori lost consciousness and fell to the ground with a thud.

...

"Ngh... Mmph.... MMPH!?"

Iori awoke to find herself bound and gagged on what appeared to be the floor of a hotel room.

Next to her was Mimoko, also bound and gagged, along with a bound and gagged Ina Kirikawa.

"Are you awake? My apologies, but it seems they've dragged you into this in an attempt to try and rattle me. Fear not, I've still got plenty of energy left," Daria stated.

Iori directed her gaze towards the direction of Daria's voice, and was shocked at what she saw. In the middle of the room stood a circular table, with various people sitting at it. And there in the center stood Daria.

"Please, you're running out of steam. I got the rundown that you've been facing fairies non-stop since the round began. And the commonwealth's still got many more waves coming. You'll never finish by the time the ole queen gets back," Francie sneered.

Iori managed to rise to her feet, and angrily glared towards Francie, shouting muffled obscenities at her for her betrayal.

"Oh, you're up. Look, I'm in the middle of a game here, so the explanation can wait. No actually, it's because you're a piece of shit. Look, me and my girls do raunchy shit, but that raunchiness ain't who we are behind the camera. We're civilized women. But you, you're pure degenerate on and off camera. So be proud you're seen as valuable enough to be taken hostage instead of just disposed in the trash where you belong."

"Yeah, fuck you, Iori! This is your long overdue cancellation!" Myrtle gloated as she jabbed a needle into Iori's neck, sending her tumbling to the ground like a ragdoll.

"MMPH NGH MMPH NGH [WHAT DID YOU DO]!?"

"Immobilization serum. Oh, and Miss Maestro. You now have to deal with me," Myrtle sang as she waltzed over to the table.

As soon as she sat down, Mimoko woke up and was taken aback by what was happening before her.

"And hostage number 2 is up. Gwen, you take this one," Francie snarled.

"Nah, leave her in the dark," Gwen maliciously snickered.

Daria let out a sigh before smiling. "Sorry about this, Mimoko. Seems the Fairies actually had a massive ace up their sleeve. Now I'm stuck in simul chess trying to beat them all. I didn't think they'd take you or Iori hostage, but don't worry, I win, ALL hostages are to go free. And so far, I've almost cleared everyone."

"But the thing is, you can only go free once ALL fairies have been beaten, and if a new one shows up, you'll have to face them. Though it seems your mother is a true beast as her title suggests," Sorcha giggled as she sat down next to Mimoko, causing Mimoko to let out a muffled shriek as she tried to scuttle away. "Ara ara, no need to be scared. No shaving is on the table today. In fact, I'm already out. So, curious to know how all this started?"

"If you want to tell her, go ahead. It'll allow me to focus on beating the rest of your friends," Daria shrugged.

"In that case, DON'T tell her shit," Francie snarled.

"Sorry, Francie. They both need to know. They are my friends after all, so I owe it to tell them what's going on. Though I can't untie you or peel that sticky tape off your mouths, so don't hate me for that," Sorcha giggled as she planted a kiss on the tape covering Mimoko's mouth, causing poor Mimoko to freak out.

The kiss slightly irritated Daria, but not enough to mess up her psych or focus on her task at hand. Though for Iori, the kiss ended up easing her hostility towards Sorcha, even relaxing her muscles and squinting her eyes in amusement at Mimoko getting flustered.

"Figured that would calm you down, Iori-chan. Now, listen to my tale. It all started back when the 7th round was about to begin. Or perhaps, I should go back a bit further. Hmm... We'll start from the 7th round, though with some quick background as to who your fellow hostage is."

Iori raised an eyebrow and turned to face Ina. "This girl... Looks familiar. Reminds me of the arbiter and one of the Frenchies, but I'm getting the gut feeling there's more familiarity between us," she thought.

"That's Ina Kirikawa. Before departing to Budapest, we managed to capture her. Not only is she a WWCF official, but also the twin sister to arbiter, Miga Kirikawa. So-"

"MMPH [KIRIKAWA]!?"

"Hmm? Why are you looking so frantic?"

"Um, because if she and that arbiter are Kirikawas, that means I'm technically related to them!" Iori thought.