Surprise!

Jessica and Jack had once again left the hub, this time in a direction completely unaware of what lay ahead, since it was an unfamiliar direction. The oil lamp that Jack had was still good on fuel, so there was no trouble there.

Jessica in particular was in a pretty tense state, while Jack was a tad bit excited, wanting to see what more there was, since so far things were pretty exciting for him. Although he was still a bit sad about not being able to see his father, it wasn't as though it was impossible, so he just planned on trying to find him.

Though, things didn't really turn out that exciting. For nearly an entire hour, the two were just aimlessly wandering around the caverns. Although Jessica was still afraid because of her very real experiences, she was beginning to find it hard to remain tensed up. Partly because nothing happened, and also because she was getting mentally exhausted.

This was actually how the experience went most of the time. The only reason it had been different before, was because Jessica had already grown familiar with those paths.

"Um, are we going the right way?"

Jack scratched the side of his head. Hearing that, Jessica smiled bitterly.

"Well, there isn't necessarily a right way, since we are just exploring."

Though he was a kid, he had a certain degree of patience, depending on the situation. After all, he had spent most of his life idling away in his room. However, that naturally also meant that his legs weren't the strongest, and all of this walking was taking his toll on him. A pout formed on his face as he kneeled down to rub his legs.

"But I'm tired..."

Jessica raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? But it hasn't been that long... It should be you that's outlasting me, don't kids have a ton of energy?"

Jack stopped walking and pouted, waving his arms around lazily.

"I don't feel like I have a lot of energy."

"Then it can't be helped, let's take a short break then."

Jessica sighed before sitting against the wall. Jack followed suit before letting out a long sigh. They remained there silently for a minute or so, their surroundings lit up only by the flickering flame of the oil lamp.

Out of nowhere, Jack suddenly spoke up.

"Do you hear that?"

Jessica tensed up after hearing him say that. She brought up a finger to her mouth and whispered.

"Hear what?"

Jack looked around, trying to search for it.

"That! Don't you hear it?"

Jessica narrowed her eyes. She put a hand up to her ear in an attempt to catch a sound, and after getting nothing she closed her eyes tightly. But the only thing she could hear was the slight flickering of flames coming from the lamp.

"What? I don't hear anyth-"

She cut herself off, as a strange humming came from the distance. A panicked expression formed on her face.

"We need to run away!"

Jack pursed his lips.

"But I'm tired!"

Jessica seemed on the verge of throwing a tantrum.

"There's no time for that!"

However, before she could even drag Jack up to take him away, the source of the sound revealed itself. Two red eyes were visible in the darkness where the oil lamp didn't reach. For a second, it went silent.

Then, loud sounds of cymbals crashing resounded throughout the cavern as a monkey clapping cymbals rushed towards them at unavoidable speeds. Jack was just observing it curiously, while Jessica saw her life flash before her eyes.

Then everything went dark.

[Welcome to a Surprise Game!]

Right after, everything suddenly lit up, revealing that they were now sitting down at chairs at a table.

[Our lucky contestants have just so happened to stumble into the Musical Monkey, which immediately sends you to this special game upon being found!]

At the table were three people. Jessica, Jack, and some random woman, also sitting at the table. The three of them were all a bit dazed as they looked around trying to take in their surroundings.

[This time, the surprise game will be Go Fish! For all the contestants that are unaware, cards will be dealt between you, and your goal will be to get four-of-a-kind, or a book. You will take turns asking for a card from another player, and if they have said card you take all of them.

However, if they do not, they will say "Go Fish", then the person in question will draw a card from the stock. The only special rule is that you can use your own cards to make the book! But keep in mind the book must all be made of different suits!]

Suddenly, lights further in the background snapped on with an ominous bang.

[But to make things more interesting, we will give you all a bit more excitement along with your search!]

Various plants with excessively large mouths and teeth made their presence known, letting out growls and waving around attached vines. From far away, they kind of looked like flowers, but looking at them up close made it clear that they were far more than that.

Thankfully, they were still far enough away to not be a threat. However, if they were to move too close, then that would be an entirely different thing.

[Say hello to these pretty flowers! Each of you has one that is particularly interested in your body, how lucky! But all of the flowers are hungry, and they will only eat a full book or four cards. If you feed them, then their hunger will be sated. If you give them some extra, then that'll make them extra happy! But if they don't get anything at all, then naturally you will have to be the substitute. Can't have them going hungry after all.]

The random woman put both hands over her head in distress.

"What? This can't be happening! I... I'm not prepared for this!"

[But here's the catch. Each and every time a person says, "Go Fish!", the flower behind them will be brought closer. And if they are brought closer two times... then they will be right next to you, so that you can say hi! Should any player be unable to continue playing for whatever reason, their cards will be added to the stock.]

[...When required to say Go Fish! A joker may be given to the person asking for the card instead.]

[Have fun!]

A deck of cards appeared in the air. First, all of the cards were laid face up on the table in a circle, revealing the cards. There was a full set of twos, threes, and fours, making a total of twelve cards.

Jess looked at the pile and let out a sigh of relief.

"It looks like this game isn't too punishing. They made it so that each of us can get a full set."

The woman put a hand to her forehead and took a deep breath.

"That's... a relief."

The cards all came together and were shuffled. Then, two cards were dealt to each person, while the remaining six remained in a pile at the center.

At first, they didn't have much of a reaction. But then, the woman began panicking.

"W-Wait, if there are six cards in the stock... doesn't that mean all of us would have to die before we draw them all?"

Jessica's eyebrow twitched. She laid one hand down on the table.

"...It's fine, we just have to use a few cards from our playing deck, then there shouldn't be any problems."

Jack had a big smile on his face.

"Yay! I've never played this game with more than two people before! I'm so excited!"

The woman looked at Jack as though he were a ghost, not understanding how he could take pleasure from this. Though that didn't bother him.

A blue light appeared under Jack, indicating that it was his turn. Then, he looked at the two cards that he was dealt.

2 of Hearts, 3 of Diamonds.

After looking between Jessica and the woman, his gaze fixated on the woman as a smile formed on his face.

"Hey, you! Do you have threes?"

The woman jumped.

"W-What? Why are you choosing me?"

Jessica sucked in a cold breath.

"Er... Jack, we should coordinate together to make sure that all of us can get a book, alright? Let's think about our decision here."

Jack tilted his head to the side.

"Eh? But that ruins the whole point of the game!"

Jessica was baffled, but she found it par for the course for how ridiculous he had been before.

"B-But it would be better if all of us survive, which shouldn't be too hard to coordinate!"

While they were speaking, a three of hearts flew out from the woman's hand and into Jack's. The blue light then appeared underneath the woman, who seemed to be a bit emotionally unstable. She pointed at Jack and called out.

"Do you have a four?"

Jack let out a hum before shaking his head.

"Go Fish!"

The plant monster behind him let out a rather large growl as it stepped up closer, nearly close enough to reach over and touch him with a vine. Along with that, one card flew out from the stock and landed next to the woman.

Jess got a bit distressed.

"What are you doing? Why are you following his example?"

The woman was shaking, along with bloodshot eyes. It was fairly clear that she had been through something not too long ago that agitated her greatly.

"What? I'm just taking revenge! He was the one that tried to take advantage of me first!"

Jess spent some time trying to calm down and convince both the woman and Jack, but they weren't budging. While she stepped back for a moment to think of something, a status message popped up.

[Please do not tarry while taking your turn. The plants themselves aren't bound, and if they are forced to wait for too long... then they may break the rules themselves.]

Jess grit her teeth and then turned to the woman.

"I'm sorry, but I can't ask the boy, as he can't say go fish a second time. Do you have a four?"

The woman pointed back and shouted hysterically.

"So you're going against me too? Don't think I'll just take this lying down!"