The room is dim, lit by flickering torchlight. Tension presses against your chest like a physical weight. B3IIatrix stands before you, her twisted smile gleaming in the firelight.

"El!m!nation Round," she announces, her voice slicing through the heavy silence. "You choose one and el!m!inate the other. Family or friends... older brothers... or Luna."

Her words hang in the air like a curse.

Tom's voice cuts through the silence, steady and calm. "Well..."

"Well, what?" you snap, disbelief tightening your throat.

Mattheo’s eyes blaze. "We are not actually going to discuss this, are we?"

Tom sighs. "I'm sorry, Luna. You are a fine friend to all of us."

Luna stands serene, her gaze soft despite the cruelty unfolding around her.

"Come on," Tom presses. "Do it."

Mattheo shakes his head. "There's no questioning who has to continue from here. It's us. The three of us."

You look between your two brothers, torn between loyalty and defiance.

Tom's voice is cool, mocking. "I should have expected this... you always were the slow one."

"Please, just stop it."

"Why?" Tom demands.

"Even Mattheo's excuse for no homework was more convincing."

Luna stands apart, ignoring the venom in your words. Her kindness cuts deeper than any insult.

"She's kind," you whisper, your voice raw. "Trying to make it easy... which is why this is going to be so much harder."

Mattheo speaks suddenly. "Father."

Your head snaps toward him. "Father?"

"Five minutes' conversation. Unsupervised," Tom adds grimly.

"It took her just five minutes to do all of this to us?" you say, anger hardening your resolve. "Well... not on my watch."

B3IIatrix’s smirk twists into suspicion. "What are you doing?"