The week went by rather quickly. It was now an usually cloudy and cooler Saturday morning. Melissa laid on her bed, looking up at the ceiling, with her fingers interlocked behind her head.

As this was the day she would normally play with her captives, she pondered in her head what activity she could do today. Of course, no matter what she chose, the end result would be the same for several of her "contestants."

She closed her eyes, and mentally went over which "game" to choose. So many ideas... yet, she did not want anything that would force her to move too much. It seems that the overcast outside was having a bit of an effect on her.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

She sat up from the bed, and looked around. Then, she stood up and walked out of the room.

She had to make the necessary preparations.

Sheryl laid on the cloths that Reeve had set down days before. She knew that it had been days, going by the cycles of Melissa bringing the captives in this closet food. In those days, she had become accustomed to this make-shift cot. Not only that, but Reeve had also had his way with her a few more times since he first raped her.

As Reeve said, he had pretty much forced her to be his advisor, after she tried to turn him down. The others were unhappy at his choice, he assured them that he would not listen to any "radical" suggestions that she may have. Or, in his words, "Any heretic ramblings will be met with a swift, but strong, backhand to the face." At that point, those uncertainties transformed into cheers, some even wanting her to make a "stupid suggestion."

She sighed. As much as it bothered her to do so, she would have to go along with his ruling.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. She sat up and looked towards the direction they were coming from. She exhaled softly as she saw Reeve walking towards her. She stood up, and faced towards him.

"You're back, Master Reeve," Sheryl said. She his her scowl as she did so. It disgusted her that he had forced her to call him that.

"Every time I hear that," Reeve said with a smile, "I feel a little better about myself."

Sheryl rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, your friend has been taken care of."

"'Friend'? Who?"

"That Black guy who was serving you."

"Marcus? I wouldn't say that he was serving me- Wait, what do you mean 'taken care of'?"

"He had to pay for backing your idiotic ideals. Since he's a guy, we didn't have to hold back with him."

Sheryl started to become angry. "What did you do to him?!"

"We gave him quite a stomping."

"What?!" Sheryl was shocked at what she heard.

Reeve folded his arms, and tilted his head. "It was the weirdest thing, though. Some of the others were really into it. They spat on him, and call him a 'Nigger'. Products of their generations, no doubt."

Suddenly, Sheryl reached out and grabbed Reeve by his collar.

"How could you do that to him?!" Sheryl asked, now enraged.

Reeve smirked. "It's your fault. If you had kept your mouth shut, none of this would have happened. Also..." He shoved her away from him, pushing her down to the cot. "Don't ever put your hands on me, or you'll be sorry. Consider that a warning."

"Damn you," Sheryl said, looking up at the man with contempt. "You son of a bitch..."

"Yeah, my mom is a bitch," Reeve said with a laugh. "It's her fault I even ended up on the streets. But none of that matters now."

"You..."

Reeve reached down and grabbed Sheryl by her collar. He then pulled her face close to his.

"Listen," Reeve whispered. "If you don't want your pretty face bruised, you better do as I say without question, and follow my every word."

"Y-you can't treat a woman like that!" said Sheryl, eyes wide and shaking in fright.

"I can treat a woman any way I want. Especially a woman like you." Reeve released her from his grip, dropping her back down on the cot. "You wait right here, and I'll return shortly, cutie. Is that okay with you?"

Sheryl stared at him for a few seconds, and let out a sigh. "Yes."

Reeve pointed his right ear towards her, and made a half-cup with his right hand over it. "'Yes' what?"

Sheryl sighed again. "Yes, Master Reeve."

"Now, that's more like it!" Reeve then turned around, and left the lonely area.

Sheryl laid back down on the cloths. She did not want to serve under this man. Not at all. But what other choice did she have? Actually, there was one other choice, but she did not want to go though with it.

At least, not yet.

~~~

This was the first Saturday Thomas was spending with Sayuko. He sat near the edge of the giant desk, holding a single honey-nut Cherrio in his hands as he ate on it. There were two more pieces of Cherrios beside him, as well as his "drinking bowl," as he called it, which was filled with milk, and a small piece of paper towel.

Sayuko, sitting with her legs crossed on her bed, was eating a breakfast bar while watching the television. Thomas could not see what kind of breakfast bar it was, its packaging having been peeled off before he could read it. Though he could not stop looking at her, her hair in pigtails, and her usual white T-shirt and pink pajama pants. She was indeed a cute-

"Thoma-kun," Sayuko called.

Thomas perked up from his thoughts. "Yeah?"

"Do you think someone answered my posting?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. It's just a matter of chance."

The two had exhausted their Google search results earlier in the week. They moved onto Yahoo, and then Ask Jeeves, but came up with nothing. Thomas then suggested that Sayuko create an account on "Yahoo! Answers" and make a post about "The Researcher and Inventor Edgar Cruz." She did so, though in the previous two days after making the post, no one had answered.

"I'll check in a few minutes," Sayuko said.

"Alright."

Thomas turned towards the TV. The channel was set on Cartoon Network, and the Pokemon anime was on. Thomas had a bit of a disdain for the show, for distorting the image of one of his favorite game franchises. However, for some reason, Sayuko actually liked the show. Thomas could not fathom how even a 10-year-old child could like it, let alone a full-grown adult.

"So... You like Pokemon?' Thomas suddenly asked.

"Kinda," Sayuko answered. "It was one of my favorite cartoons when I was younger... Back in Japan, that is."

"Of course. So... what about the games?"

"Hm?"

"Do you play any video games?"

"No... Well, one of my friends in Japan had a Wii, and I played that a few times."

"Oh, really? What games?"

"Just this one called... Wii Sports, I believe."

"Oh..."

Sayuko took a bite from her already half-eaten breakfast bar. "What about you?"

"Do I play any games?"

"Yes. Do you?"

Thomas laughed. "I'm like the biggest gaming geek at the school. ...Or, was."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I have a Wii back at home, too. I also have a DS, and a PS2. And a gaming quality PC. I have like a whole cabinet full of games and stuff."

"Wow... I'm sure you want to play them all again, don't you?"

"Well, yeah. I'm going into withdrawal," Thomas said in a jokingly tone. "If I don't get my fix, I might go crazy."

Sayuko laughed. Thomas smiled. He thought that it was nice that Sayuko was slowly coming out of her shell. He had not seen her laugh much in the time that he's known her.

Sayuko finished her breakfast bar and then laid down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. "I wonder what Melissa is doing..."

"Today is Saturday, right?" Thomas responded. "She must be playing one of her 'games'."

"'Games'?" Sayuko turned her heard towards Thomas. "You mean, with those poor people?" Her tone became more worried.

"Yeah. Some of my friends have been captured... recaptured by her. I'm worried about them."

"Is that so?" Sayuko quickly sat back up on the bed. "I hope we're able to rescue them soon."

"I hope so, too."

Sayuko then stood from her bed, and walked towards her computer. Once there, she pulled out the seat, and sat down in it. Placing her right hand on the mouse, she moved it around, causing the monitor to flash back on.

As Thomas finished off the Cherrio in his hands, he heard Sayuko's fingers typing on the keyboard, and a few clicks. After a minute or so, he heard a sigh.

"Nothing..." Sayuko said, before standing from the chair, and walking to Thomas' desk. He could see the disappointed look on her face. "No one responded yet."

"Don't give up," Thomas said. "Someone will reply eventually."

"I know... But I want to save Taro as soon as possible. Oh, and your friends, too."

"Of course. ...Speaking of your brother... Are you going over to Melissa's house tomorrow?"

"I don't have a choice."

"What does he think about what you're doing? Your brother, I mean."

Sayuko took a deep breath, and then exhaled it out. "He wants me to leave him."

Thomas' eyes widened. "What?"

"He thinks that what I'm doing is bad for my... mental state. But he's could be right. He's always right..."

"You don't want to kill those people."

"O-of course not!" Sayuko exhaled again. "But... I can't live without him. He's all I have. My only family."

"Really? You don't have any other relatives?"

Sayuko sighed. "None I can really trust."

"Oh... Anyway, it may sound crazy, but... maybe Taro is looking out for you."

"What?"

"Isn't it the job for the older brother to protect his younger sister?"

"Yes, but I don't want to abandon him."

Thomas picked up the bowl, and took a small sip from it. "What if... he's made peace with his situation?"

Sayuko moved closer to the desk. "Are you saying that he's content with the way things are?!"

"It's possible. I mean, if he's telling you to forget about him, then you could use the time for school, and wait for a lead to Mr. Cruz. Then we can contact him and put an end to all of this."

The two were silent for a minute or so. Thomas sipped more of the milk inside of his bowl, before, Sayuko spoke again.

"Thoma-kun..." she said, kneeling down so that her face was at Thomas' level. "I don't want to leave my brother. I love him too much for that. Even if I have to..." Sayuko gulped. "Even if I have to kill the entire town."

Thomas nearly coughed up the milk he was drinking. "What did you just say?! Sayu... ko! What-"

"Believe me!" Sayuko interrupted, now emotional. "I don't want to do it! I really don't! But if I don't do it, Taro's going to be killed!! And it'll all be my fault!!"

Thomas stood up. "Sayuko, listen to yourself. He may be your family, but even if you get him back, what cost would it be? You can't be so rash."

"Thomas-"

"Plus, it wouldn't be your fault if Taro's killed. It would be Melissa's. She's the one who's doing all of this stuff."

Sayuko stood back up. "But if I don't play my part, she'll kill him..."

Thomas sighed. "I know... You said that already."

"So... Until we can get Mr. Cruz, I don't have a choice."

Thomas walked closer to Sayuko. "I guess I can't stop you, can I?"

"I wish there was another way," Sayuko said. "But there isn't..."

"...I just hope that Melissa doesn't force you to kill any of my friends. I mean, killing anyone is wrong, period, but still..."

"...I don't think you have to worry about that, Thoma-kun. She mostly forces me to kill those... dirty people. 'Homeless,' as you said your friends called them."

Thomas sat down on the desk. "Yeah... But Melissa can be pretty unpredictable..."

"Yes, I know..."

~~~

Melissa walked into her closet, moving her hanging clothes aside, and into the area where her many small captives were contained. They all stopped what they were doing and began to look at her. She returned their stares with a smile.

"Gooood morning, Bugmen!" she happily greeted. "It's a cloudy day out there, so I'll be staying in all day. But today is Saturday, so you know what that means!"

She looked around, and could see some of the closer people start to shudder.

"That's right! It's time for you to play the game I have set up for you!" She walked closer to the glass cages. "Now... I need some volunteers..." She looked into each of the cages, scanning through the people that she could see, before stopping at the one a bit further back.

"I need two of you from in there." She scanned through that cage. "Where's my lil' foot man?"

She saw the tiny people inside look among each other, before the one-armed man she was asking for walked forward.

"Excellent!" Melissa said. "Now, I need another guy."

She scanned through the cage, and saw who she wanted: a tall (compared to the rest) man with short brown hair and a vest that she could not make out the color of.

"You," she said. "Vest-boy."

The man gasped, and tried moving back into the darkness. However, she reached inside, and pulled him, as well as the one-armed man, out of the cage. She looked at both of them in her palm, before stuffinf them in her pocket.

"Now... I need two of you street bugs."

She walked to the farthest cage on the right, the one that she had nearly emptied and massacred earlier that week. She reached inside and plucked out two of the only five remaining people inside.

"There!" With her players in hand, she turned around and began to walk out of the closet.

~~~

Shawn and Jenna watched Melissa walk out of the closet, and saw the light from the bedroom outside fade as the door shut.

"Dawson again?" Shawn asked himself. "Why?"

"Well," Jenna said, "if he loses, he'll get his wish and be squished like he so desperately wants to."

"True... But we can't really afford to lose any more people."

"He's right," Beatrix said as she walked up to the duo. "If Dawson and Matt are killed, and not counting Bruce, and Thomas and Gloria, wherever they are, that only leaves 12 of us. Four girls, and eight guys."

"Yeah," Jenna said. "We're in a bad spot. What if Melissa makes us fight the Homeless? They'd outnumber us something fierce!"

"C'mon..." Shawn said, shaking his head. "Melissa wouldn't make us fight each other. She'd rather kill us herself, than to let us kill each other."

Beatrix nodded. "...I guess you're right."

~~~

Dawson looked around himself. He, Matt, and the two Homeless men had been placed in the middle of a foam ring that was set down on the floor. Behind him was Melissa, who as sitting on the bed, with her legs crossed. As of his nature, he found himself constantly watching her black flip-flop dangle from her toes by its thong.

"Okay," Melissa said. "I have a special game for you four today. You four are going to be split into teams: Foot-man and Vest-boy will be paired up, and the dirty street bugs will be paired up."

Dawson looked at Matt, and then back at Melissa. "What for?"

Melissa laughed. "I'm getting to that. First, some background. ...In some cultures, people train up beetles and other bugs, and pit them in fights against rival bugs. So, today, you all are going to fight each other."

"What?!" Matt yelled out. "Are you serious?!"

"I'm very serious," Melissa responded. "The winning team will get to live. The losers will have to face this." She extended her leg towards the men, giving them a view of the sole of her sandal.

Dawson felt his pants tighten, though he quickly fought his arousement to focus more on the matter at hand.

"Now, before you start," Melissa said. "I want you all to introduce yourselves. You know... Honor and all that bullshit."

The four men looked amongst themselves, before Matt spoke up.

"I'm Matt Anderson," he said.

"You don't have to say your last name," Dawson grunted.

"I don't know, it sounds cooler if I does say it."

Dawson sighed. "Anyway, I'm Dawson."

"Isaac," said the grey-bearded Homeless man.

"Garet," said the other man, with greying brown hair.

"Good," Melissa said. "I'll give you a minute to discuss some tactics or whatever, before we start."

Matt walked towards Dawson, and placed his hand on his shoulder. He then leaned in closer to his face.

"Hey," Matt whispered. "This is our chance. We can finally show those Homeless geezers who's boss."

"Yeah, you're right." Dawson looked towards the older men, who were whispering amongst themselves.

"They're so frail and old. We have this in the bag, don'tcha think?"

"Of course. ...I kinda feel sorry for them, but this is survival of the fittest. We can't let the others down."

"Okay!!" Melissa called out. "Time's up! Are you all ready?"

All four nodded. Dawson could have sworn that he heard a gulp from one of the Homeless men across from him. He looked to his left, and watched as Matt took a stance of readiness, as if he would bolt towards the two older men as soon as Melissa started this game.

"...And GO!!" Melissa clapped.

Just as Dawson suspected, Matt dashed towards his two opponents at breakneck speed. His sudden burst even took Isaac and Garet by surprise, as they seemed like they had no idea as to what to do about the charging man. As soon as Matt was within distance, he pulled his right arm back and struck Isaac's face with his fist. The older man had no chance. Blood spewed from his nose as he fell on the floor, but Matt was not done. He sat on the man's chest, and began to pummel his face with more punches.

"Oh shit..." Dawson said, stunned at his partner's brutality.

Garet grabbed onto Matt's shoulders, and started to pull him off of Isaac body. As soon as Matt turned his face around to look at the man, he was met with a fist to his own face. Matt recoiled, covering his cheek with his hand, as Garet briefly tended to Isaac, who was covering his bloodied and bruised face. Garet then turned to Matt, and rushed towards him. Matt tried to avoid the charging man, but could not dodge the bum-rush that Garet executed on him.

Dawson dashed towards Matt, and kicked Garet on the side of his chest. He held his aching abdomen for a few seconds, before charging towards Dawson.

"Oh, you're dead!" Dawson said. He spun around and extended his leg. His booted foot collided with Garet's face as the result of his spin kick.

Now with a cut lip, the man was knocked on the floor, and tried to stand back up. However, Dawson placed his foot on the man's chest, pinning him on the floor. Garet grabbed onto his leg, and tried to remove it from his body. However, Matt rushed towards the two, and delivered a hard stomp onto Garet's head. His hands unwrapped from around Dawson's leg, and fell flat on the floor. As Matt removed his foot from the man's face, he and Dawson saw that his nose was broken, and his eyes were closed; knocked out.

Dawson removed his foot from Garet's chest and looked towards Isaac. He was still laying on the floor, covering his face and moaning. He did not seem able to continue with this fight.

This battle was over.

"Is that all?" Melissa asked. "Aww... Oh well... You two are the winners!" She started to clap. "Of course, I wouldn't have expected any less from my prize toys!"

Dawson let out a sigh. It was a brutal showing, especially on Matt's part, but this was survival of the fittest, as he said earlier. They were literally fighting for their lives.

"Good job," Matt said, placing his hand on Dawson's shoulder. "We showed those dirty slobs who's the best!"

"You moreso than me." Dawson chuckled.

"Hell yeah!"

"Vest-boy. Foot-man." Melissa called. "Come over here for a minute."

The two looked at each other, before walking towards the giant woman, who was smiling down at the both of them.

As they stopped in front of her, Melissa removed the flip-flop from her right foot, and stretched her leg towards Dawson. He soon found her massive big toe rubbing in his face. Needless to say, he became very aroused by this, so much so that he lost his footing, and fell back on his buttocks. As he panted, he looked from the receeding foot, to Matt, who was looking down on him with a look of disgust and pity.

"You like that?" Melissa laughed. "I think you need a bit more motivation. You weren't as fiery as your friend here. If you work harder, I may even let you lick them."

Dawson gasped as his pants became even more tight.

"But first," Melissa said as she stood up, and slid her foot back into its sandal. "Those two lost, so they have to die. Rules are rules, huh?"

She walked over Dawson and Matt, and towards the two fallen Homeless men. Holding her hands on her hips, she examined both of them as they laid on the floor. Garet was still motionless, while Isaac struggled to his feet, the blood having been wiped around his face by his hands.

Melissa prodded Garet with her foot. "This guy is just out. You probably gave him a concussion, Vest-boy."

She then lifted the same foot, and dropped onto the man. As he was at floor level, Dawson could see the man's body compress underneath her sole as she applied more pressure to her foot.

"That was no fun," Melissa said with a sigh. "He was out cold. He had no idea what just happened to him." She turned to the other man. "You, however..."

The man shrieked, and started to run away from the giantess. He did not get anywhere near far, as Melissa walked towards him, stepping onto the man. She then twisted her foot on the spot, grinding the formerly alive man into a flattened mess of blood and organs on the floor.

"That's more like it," Melissa said. "I love it when they try to run."

She then turned back to Dawson and Matt, and walked towards them. "Did you enjoy that, Foot-man?" She asked as she looked down on Dawson. "I know you loved that stuff on that message board we were on."

Dawson merely nodded.

Melissa reached down, and picked both of the men up from the floor. "Well, you both get to live. ...For now. If you fuck up, then that will happen to you." Melissa turned them towards the bloody, flattened bodies that were plastered on the floor behind her.

"Anyway, let's get you back in there with your friends."

Melissa then walked towards the closet, and opened the door. She walked inside, into the glass cage space, and placed the two men back into their cage. Their comrades surrounded them as Melissa's hand receded from inside of the cage.

"They won, so feel free to celebrate," Melissa said, before turning her attention to the Homeless in the other cages. "You all have to do better. It's a fight to live, and you all are losing!" Melissa laughed. "Anyway, I'll see you all later. Ciao!"

With that, she walked away from the area, sliding her clothes back into place. Dawson could hear the closet's door close, though it was a bit muffled from the combination of the glass wall in front of him, and the hanging clothes.

"That was fast," Carlos said as he approached the two. "What did she make you do?"

"You're not going to believe it!" Matt excitedly exclaimed. "She made us fight those geezers!"

A sound of amazement filled the area.

"What?!" said a male.

"That's right! I pummeled this guy, and when the other guy grabbed me, Dawson here did a karate kick on him!!"

"It was just a kick," Dawson said.

"Quit being modest!" Matt nudged Dawson with his elbow. "Anyway, I ended up stomping the man's face, and it knocked him out! The other guy was too beat up to move. We won!"

"Wow..." Beatrix said, mesmerized. "We were just saying that Melissa wouldn't make us fight each other. Guess we were wrong."

"Damn straight! In fact, I hope she lets us do it again! That's one game I'd love to play!"

"Me too!" said a male.

"And me!!" shouted another.

Dawson nodded. "Yeah, it was kinda fun. Though she said that I needed to work harder."

"Oh, and he got a face full of toe," Matt said.

Dawson blushed as some of the Refugees around him chuckled.

~~~

Reeve looked towards the Refugees' cage as he sat on his cloths. "They're being awfully loud, dont'cha think?"

He looked down at Sheryl, whom he was holding against his chest. She was looking away from him, trying to avoid his face.

"Yes, they are," Sheryl answered.

"I wondered what that woman did with them... Not that it matters. Our people lost. I didn't get a good look at who she picked out from my ex-home, but I think one of them looked like... Garet. Ah, well... I never liked him anyway."

Sheryl grunted.

"We have plenty of men. Way more than those cocky bastards. We can afford to lose two of them. They'll get their's soon enough."

He then grabbed Sheryl's chin, and turned it towards his face.

"Just like you'll get your's."

Sheryl's eyes widened. "What-"

Before she could finish, Reeve pressed his lips against her's, effectively silencing her.

~~~

Now in the kitchen, Melissa opened up her refrigerator door and pulled out a bottle of iced tea. She twisted off the cap, and brought the open end to her lips, and started to chug the contents inside.

Today's game was rather entertaining. Though she was a bit disappointed that it was shorter than she'd hoped. She wished that those homeless men had put up a better fight than they did. No matter... she has a whole closet full of them. No doubt that some of them can hold their own in a fight to the death, maybe even win against her more youthful captives.

Suddenly, she had an idea. It would require a bit of planning, and some thinning out of some numbers, but it may give her the entertainment she wants from her captives. After all, in a few months, she would have no more use for them.

But first, she had to clean up the mess left behind by today's losers.

"Such is the life of a Bugman Squasher," Melissa said to herself as she grabbed a roll of paper towel, and walked out of the kitchen.