Admin 6 watched the screens, tempted to suggest the Admins go down and join the party.

“So… What do we do?” Admin 4 asked. “We can't force them to end the cycle. The Director’s doing absolutely nothing about it. It’s up to us to do something, but what?”

“Let’s come up with a solution so insipid she has to do something else,” Admin 2 suggested.

“Like what? Kill everyone?” Admin 3 asked. “Respawn them all to Floor 55 and have them go back down properly.”

“No, that would be too harsh,” Admin 5 told him. “They’re just enjoying themselves.”

“Should we reward them somehow?” Admin 1 suggested. “Give them… Hell, I don't know, a puppy?”

Admin 6 smiled at that idea.

“A puppy pet or a puppy that can die from neglect?” Admin 5 asked. “It’s an important distinction.”

“We should give them all a win,” Admin 6 said softly.

They looked at him.

“That’s certainly an insipid solution,” Admin 2 agreed.

Admin 4 shook his head. “We can't have a cycle where sixty people win. That’s too insipid.”

“So claim it counts for multiple cycles,” Admin 3 shrugged. “Eight wins per cycle would mean… seven and a half cycles.”

“How do you propose we accomplish the half-cycle?” Admin 2 asked.

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“Cycle 15 could count for half a cycle,” Admin 5 said, stretching her arms.

“No,” Admin 1 decided. “We say ten people win for six cycles, and advance the timeline into Cycle 19.”

The group considered it.

“Yeah, that sounds like a bare minimum of reasonableness,” Admin 4 said. “Who wants to propose it?”

“Not it,” Admin 6 said. “I could have the most perfect idea in the history of perfect ideas and she’d still reject it on the basis that it was my idea.”

“Excellent point,” Admin 1 said. “6, go ahead and suggest literally anything to her, then when she denies it we’ll send the ‘give everyone a win’ idea. Hopefully that will annoy her enough she’ll do something reasonable.”

“Ok,” Admin 6 shrugged. “I'll ask if we can go down and join the party.”

For a few seconds there was dead silence as he typed.

“Well… Could we?” Admin 5 asked.

Admin 3 checked a few screens. “It is physically possible. But we couldn't go down looking like Admins.”

Admin 6 glanced over, surprised to find everyone seriously considering it. He hesitated, then cleared his throat. “We’d just need disguises. No one’s ever seen us as fairies, so that’s almost enough. Fade the gold to passably yellow magic and no one would suspect us. We’d just be a group of random lightning users.”

Admin 1 watched him. “Did anyone in your dungeon ever suspect you?”

“Two people,” Admin 6 admitted. “But they’re both insanely smart and had met me before when I pulled them to the Void to yell at them.”

Again, silence.

“I…” Admin 2 said slowly, “would like to go to a party.”

“Same,” Admin 4 decided.

“Just for a little bit,” Admin 5 said. “Like an hour or two. We’ve been working very hard, and deserve a break.”

Admin 3 nodded. “Yeah. I've been sitting here so long I don't know if my legs still work. Let’s go.”

“She can't punish all of us,” Admin 1 said thoughtfully. “We agree as a group to go, so the Watchers would side with us should she throw a fit and we complain.”

“Exactly,” Admin 2 said. “We’ll go down for a few hours, have some food, alcohol, dance a bit, then come back when we’re tired. And then send the Director a message suggesting everyone get a win.”

Admin 6 grinned, erasing his half-written message. “Ok. Let’s go.”