Atlas stayed quiet. He didn’t know what this vote was that the Red Fairy was talking about. In his last trip through the portal, none of this had ever happened. There were no highlight reels, and there were definitely no voting. ‘What was going on?‘ he thought. ‘Was there going to be so many changes because of the butterfly effect? Was all of my previous knowledge going to be wasted? I really hope nothing more changes.‘
The Red Fairy, hovering over the settlements, said in her mischievous voice, “All right, lovelies, here’s the time for the vote. But first, I’ve got to give you some gifts.”
Tablets magically appeared in the hands of every settlement leader. Atlas didn’t get one, though.
‘This is not going to be good, I’ve never seen her give one-sided gifts,‘ Atlas thought. The Red Fairy had previously dropped things on the heads of people, including him, like the previous mountain silverware. But it seemed she could have dropped them directly into their hands all along. She just chose not to. ‘Her whimsy, is just fucking hilarious,‘ he grumped, watching as she snapped her fingers again.
Little stuffed animals that looked like trolls dropped throughout the wasteland. Each settlement got two. Even the Portal Crushers got them. The toy trolls in the pink armor had little X eyes though, and the tongues were sticking out. The classic image of a dead creature.
“That’s right, everybody. The vote is going to be about the man eating trolls. Should we allow Atlas to keep the vicious trolls?” The Red Fairy focused again on the baby trolls, then shifted her the video projection toward a different section of the wasteland. There, a group of savage full grown trolls was tearing apart some adventurers who had been hiding behind demon wards. The trolls definitely weren’t cute and cuddly.
The portable demon wards worked perfectly—unless they were damaged. These particular ones had lost some of their inscriptions during the day, something the adventurers didn’t realize until they saw the trolls approaching.
Mad with hunger, the trolls grabbed the adventurers, killing and eating them swiftly. The screams of the adventurers rang through the projection.
The prerecorded voice of Atlas played again in the sky “AND WE ARE FORT BONE! TOGETHER WE WILL RAISE AN EMPIRE!”
‘‘‘
The Red Fairy floated above the crowd, her crimson wings shimmering as she spoke.
“Sooooo,” she began with a smirk, “the tablets in your hand allow you to vote. Should Atlas be allowed to keep the Baby Trolls? Click either yes or no—hurry up everyone, you’ve got 10 seconds.”
The settlers scrambled. Some hesitated, fingers hovering over the screens, while others jabbed their choice without a second thought. The atmosphere thickened with nervous energy as people knew their votes could have real consequences.
Mercy was rare in the wasteland but some people still possessed it. Oliver from the Belief settlement clicked “Yes. Let the baby trolls live.” The baby trolls had done nothing wrong, and as a good man with strong beliefs he didn’t think that Atlas would engage in a full on war, like the Red Faury was alluding to.
The Red Fairy, unbothered by the tension, slipped on a pair of scholarly-looking glasses that seemed entirely unnecessary, a tablet appearing in her hand. “Ooh, results are in! Thanks for being so quick. Let’s see…” She scanned the tablet, her smile growing wicked.
“Looks like… 75% of you voted ‘No. Kill the baby trolls‘.
“Poor Atlas doesn’t get to keep his baby trolls.”
Her eyes glowed a deep, menacing red as lightning crackled across her fingertips, the energy swelling with each second.
The baby trolls, unaware of the gravity of the situation, glanced around. Portilla blinked up at Atlas with wide eyes. "Daddy, what’s happening?"
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Crushir whimpered softly, clinging to his sister.
Atlas moved without thinking. He grabbed both trolls, pulling them close and shielding them with his body. His muscles tensed as the first sparks of lightning began to dance across the sky, growing more intense by the second. He braced for the strike, sweat already beading on his forehead.
But just as the first bolt was about to fly from the Red Fairy's fingers, twenty mini Red Fairies, identical but smaller versions of their towering mother, zoomed into the air, surrounding her in a protective cloud.
“Mom, don’t!” one of the mini fairies shouted. “These are our new siblings! Stop!”
The Red Fairy blinked, startled by their sudden defiance. The magic at her fingertips flickered, then slowly died down.
“Oh?” she said, arching a brow. “You want me to let Atlas keep them?”
“Yes, Mom!” the mini faeries chorused, fluttering around her. “They’re our little brother and sister!”
The Red Fairy's face softened, and her red eyes faded back to their normal bright, mischievous hue. She let out a laugh. “Well, that’s good enough for me! I guess Atlas gets to keep his two little man-eating trolls. Toodle-loo, bitches!”
With a dramatic flair, she started to vanish, her form growing more translucent by the second. But just before she fully disappeared, her image stabilized, and she smirked at Atlas, her tone smug.
“Oops! Almost forgot,” she said, voice teasing. “Atlas, you didn’t get to vote, but I’ve passed along the list of everyone who voted to kill your baby trolls to your settlement kiosk. Enjoy!”
Her laughter echoed as she finally disappeared completely, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.
Atlas stood there, still cradling the baby trolls, his mind spinning from the unexpected turn of events. He glanced down at the tiny creatures nestled in his arms, their eyes still wide with confusion and fear. His jaw tightened.
“I’m gonna find out who those fuckers are who wanted to kill my babies,” he muttered darkly, his voice low but filled with promise.
The Portal Crushers, who had all been holding their breath, finally exhaled in relief. Another week survived. Another encounter with the Red Fairy successfully passed..
But now, Atlas had a new mission. And he wasn’t going to let it slide.
‘‘‘
POV: FLASHBACK CELESTIAL WAGER
Lurox flitted around the zero-gravity bar, his wings humming as he darted from one holo-screen to the next, checking the betting stats on the baby trolls. “All bets are stacked against them, eh? Easy win,” he said, rubbing his hands together. Kroxar, sitting nearby with his tentacles coiled around a crystalline glass, let out a low, cynical laugh.
“You’re naive if you think it’s that simple. Shows like this are never what they seem,” Kroxar muttered, his sharp eyes narrowing. He'd seen this kind of thing before on other shows. But the bets were too juicy to resist.
Zeltrax, with his usual eerie calm, hovered near a display screen showing the polls. “The vote looks unanimous. Those little trolls are done for. They barely speak, and their cuteness won’t save them now.”
What none of them knew was that the entire game was rigged from the start. The Red Fairy, standing on the edge of the battlefield, looked up at the invisible camera drone and touched her earpiece discreetly, listening to the instructions being fed to her.
"Don't kill them. Draw it out. The more drama, the better. The longer they live, the more the bets roll in."
She didn’t care about the ethics of it; that was someone else’s problem. Just like the reality shows on Earth, where viewer voting meant nothing, the producers had the final say. And today, the drama would be spun for maximum impact.
The aliens, so engrossed in the spectacle, didn’t realize the full extent of their manipulation. They bet heavily, placing almost everything they had on the idea that the trolls would be massacred. The voting stats all pointed to it. They believed the odds were solid.
Gorvax, always the loudest, slammed down four of his mighty fists on the table. "I’ve wagered a fortune! No way those trolls survive. It’s a bloodbath waiting to happen!"
But Virelia, with her elegant tendrils flicking behind her, whispered softly, "Never trust the obvious. These shows aren’t just games—they’re stories." She smiled knowingly, watching the Red Fairy play her part.
As the baby trolls clung to each other, shivering, the Red Fairy hesitated, her hands hovering above them. She glanced toward the invisible camera again and turned her back on the defenceless creatures, sparing them from certain death when the mini faeries intervened. The votes on the screen blinked and flickered as the "poll" results were declared.
And just like that, the narrative shifted.
Gorvax’s four eyes widened, his jaw tightening. “What… What just happened? The vote said—”
Kroxar chuckled, savoring the moment. "Ah, you poor, simple fool. It was never about the vote." He tilted his head towards the betting screens, where the wagers were flooding in—now even more than before. “You think they care about the vote? It’s about keeping us hooked. About milking every last drop.”
Kroxar had lost a lot in his previous bets, and now was happily celebrating his win.
Lurox, his wings drooping, groaned, “I bet everything on that! The trolls were supposed to die!”
Virelia, still composed, simply sipped her drink and let out a quiet, knowing laugh.