Avi walked slowly from the diner to the inn, wondering what he'd done to upset Nikki. She'd barely spoken to him since her meeting with the Admin. She hadn't even told him what the meeting had been about.

Suddenly his vision filled with gold, and he found himself in an endless grey void. He turned, seeing Samantha next to him, and finally noticed the third person.

The Admin stood behind a floating screen, looking grim and tired. His gold eyes flicked to Avi, and he waved the screen away.

Avi flinched. "I'm sorry."

The Admin gave an annoyed sigh. "Seriously?"

Samantha nudged Avi's elbow encouragingly, then looked at the Admin. "Hi. What do you need us for?"

"I need to discuss which of you will be going on to the next dungeon," the Admin said. "I would prefer to send Samantha. The girls would rather I send Avi. What are your opinions?"

"You mean, which of us will leave here?" Samantha asked. "What will happen to the one who stays?"

"You'll be in charge of Floor 93. All the doors will be open, so players and non-players can wander where they like," he said, sounding bored.

"Will we see the people who leave again?" she asked.

"At the end of that dungeon's cycles, yes."

"How many cycles?" Avi asked.

"Thirty."

"Will we be able to communicate?" Samantha asked. "Like, send emails or something?"

The Admin quickly summoned and dismissed a screen, checking. "Yes, the message system will work between dungeons.”

Avi looked at Samantha. She glanced back at him, thoughtful.

"I wouldn't mind staying," she decided. "Sometimes I feel like I never really left the hive mind. Spending a while away from the twins would be good for me."

"I kinda want to go," Avi said. "I want to stay with- with my friends."

The Admin pulled up a screen, then looked at Samantha. "Ok. Do you want to be officially in charge of the shop or the inn?"

"I'll take the shop," she shrugged.

"Set," he said, typing. "Avi, before I let you go, you have to fight. You have to at least help kill."

Avi looked at his hands, nervously picking at a fingernail. “But I'm a-”

"I can change that," the Admin said flatly.

Avi froze. "W- what?"

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The Admin sighed again. "I'm the Admin. I control everything in my dungeon. If I wanted you to be a bloodthirsty murderhobo, that's what you would become. I can find every trace of pacifism in your soul and switch it to the opposite end of the spectrum. However, doing so would be rude. So I'm giving you a chance. You have two cycles to change yourself and make peace with harming other creatures, or I'll change you myself."

Avi felt himself shrinking as he stared into the Admin's cold eyes. The Admin blinked deliberately and turned to Samantha.

"Unless you'd like to go instead," he told her.

She hesitated. "Can you really change people like that?"

“It’s as easy as making you feel like you can’t tell anyone your last name or how you died, or that players can’t find out you have a life. I made two hundred kobolds want to stand in formation and get slaughtered time and time again. I can make anyone in my dungeon want to do anything I need them to do. I don’t particularly like to, but some things are necessary.” The Admin looked back at Avi. “For this I need a killer. Sending a pacifist would put the entire group in danger. And not in danger from me; I'd be in danger as well.”

Avi took a deep breath. "I can try to change. I- I can try. If I can't, erm…"

"If he can't, I'll go," Samantha said.

Avi gave her a grateful look.

The Admin nodded, typing. He finished and pushed the screen away. "Like I said, you have two cycles. I'll be watching."

He waved his hand, and Avi found himself back on Floor 60.

Avi ran to the inn, and stopped halfway up the stairs to the rooms. He wanted to talk to Nikki, to hold her and figure out what to do next. But she didn't want to talk to him. She wasn't even staying in the same room as him. She'd been almost avoiding him since…

In a flash he understood.

She knew he didn't like fighting.

She didn't want him to go with her to the next dungeon.

Avi stood on the stairs, frozen, almost hyperventilating.

His vision blurred and sounds were drowned out by the pounding of his heart.

Nikki didn't want him to stay with her.

"Avi, dude!" Kimi slapped him across the face.

"Wha?"

She grabbed his wrists and pulled him to the corridor. "Halfway up a flight of stairs is not a proper place for a panic attack. Now that you're on flat ground you may continue." She let go and crossed her arms.

Y came up behind them, looking concerned. "Or, rather than panic again, you could tell us what's wrong…"

Avi leaned back against the wall and looked at his shoes. "The- The next dungeon. To get there I have to kill. And Nikki doesn't want me to go."

There was a pause, then Kimi put her hand on his shoulder.

"Avi, Nikki just about died when the Admin said he wanted to leave you behind. Trust me, she wants you with her."

"You don't necessarily have to kill," Y said. "You just have to be a contributing member of a party that does. Causing distractions and healing fighters is equally as useful as stabbing a spider with a spear."

Instead of responding, Avi slowly slid to the floor.

Kimi gently kicked his ankle. "Come on, dude, let's go find Nikki and figure out what we're gonna do."

Avi didn't move.

"Would you prefer we leave you alone?" Y asked.

Avi continued not moving.

"I'm not leaving you alone," Kimi said, dragging Avi to his feet. "Where's Nikki?"

Extremely reluctantly, Avi pointed to a door.