"Rise and shine YouTube Dead group!" Hans spoke as the lights flashed on once more.

"What did you just call us?" Mark scowled as he woke up, Chica still sound asleep on top of his feet.

"Ready for the season finale?" Hans ignored Mark, his tone full of excitement. Jack could imagine the goofy smile on his face right now.

"I'd rather not thanks." PJ chimed in. Jack was glad to see that he had gained more confidence to speak up after being here for only a couple of days.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Hans promised them eagerly.

"What are we doing?" Jack asked warily.

"It's a surprise!" Hans giggled creepily before going silent, leaving the group to wonder what they would be facing as they ate steaks from the fridge.

"Hans is a sick son of a bitch, tearing people apart, turning one of them into a zombie, then throwing them into this hell of a competition." Arin spoke through a mouthful of food.

"Hans purposefully turns people into zombies for this?" Felix blurted.

"That's what he did to me. He went backstage and knocked me out. When I woke up, I was here, and I was like this." Nate sighed, gesturing at himself.

"You look pretty good for a zombie." Matt interjected, attempting to be helpful.

"You're not so bad yourself." Nate countered with a small smirk.

"Everyone come on up, it's showtime!" Hans announced.

"Hey Jack?"

Jack turned around to face Felix.

"Good luck Irish potato." Felix held his fist out towards Jack.

"You too Swedish meatball." Jack chuckled as he bumped Felix's fist with his own before taking a deep breath and reluctantly stepping onto the elevator that would take him up one last time.

Everything was pitch black and silent, which set Jack on edge. There must be something big going on.

Jack jumped in surprise when suddenly a bright spotlight shone down on him and his friends, illuminating the edges of the black arena behind and beside them. No one could see what was ahead

"Welcome to the season finale of Rundead, YouTube edition!" Hans stepped out of the shadows. The fans cheered in response, the sound echoing through the spacious room.

"On this side, we have the one, the only, YOUTUBE DEAD GROUP!" Hans yelled, gesturing to Jack and the others gathered to the right.

"And on the other side, we have a few YouTube stars that didn't quite make the cut for the big league. But give it up to Muyskerm, Crankgameplays, Lordminion777, Team Edge, and Rhett from the Good Mythical Morning Show!" Hans yelled.

The lights on the other side flashed on, shining on the new competitors Hans called out.

Jack could feel everyone, including himself, stiffen as they looked at their friends.

They were all zombies.

Every.

Single.

One.

Of.

Them.

Most looked like they had been literally risen from the dead, some people missing limbs or had red cuts that marred their bodies.

"I'm going to fucking murder him." Mark growled, his eyes burning with deep hatred and his fists clenched at his side as he stormed towards Hans.

Just as he reached for Hans, he was prevented from laying a finger on him when Hans jabbed him in the side with a taser.

Mark let out a cry of pain as he fell to his knees, his body convulsing with each electric shock that pulsed through his veins, the pain like liquid fire until he finally passed out.

"Anyone else wanna try?" Hans sneered, waving the weapon in his hand as Mark groaned in pain.

Wordlessly, Jack cautiously walked over to Mark and carried him back over to their side bridal style.

"The one that wins gets to escape with five people and their companions. Lose, and you'll be stuck here for another season." Hans grinned maniacally, sending chills down Jack's spine.

"What are we doing?" Nate spoke up hesitantly.

"Glad you asked." Hans retrieved a black box with a red button out of his pocket and pressed the button while he walked away from the center.

The arena floor split in half, a giant mechanical clown torso with a head rise up out of the floor with black eyes and saws for hands, blades lining its arms and large sharp shards of metal for teeth that glinted menacingly in the spotlight.

The clown let out an eerie high pitched giggle as its eyes lit up a blood red.

"Good luck." Hans waved as he left the arena.

The clown instantly raised one of its hands and swiped at Rhett with surprising speed. Rhett barely dodged it by dropping to the floor, the saw barely skimming over his dirty blonde hair.

"What the hell is going on?" Mark winced as he woke up, clutching his head with one hand as he sat up. He immediately froze when he saw the clown in the center of the room.

"This is a fucked up show." Mark sighed as he managed to push himself up off of the floor.

"Is that news to you?" Jack teased, despite the competitive and fearful tension that hung thick in the air like a fog.

"How the hell do we beat this?!? The clown's giant, fast, and extremely sharp!" PJ yelled in anger as he rolled underneath a saw.

"Guys, we need to work together!" Ethan yelped, his leg getting knocked by a saw before he backflipped over it.

"Agreed!" Bob chimed in, his vibrant purple hair glittering with sweat as he scanned the mechanical clown for any obvious weaknesses he could exploit.

"But how do we stop it?" Wade interjected worriedly.

"It's like a Mario game." Arin's eyes widened in realization as he managed to get onto the arm of the clown, crawling to avoid the blades.

"What is he talking about?" Bryan frowned in confusion.

"We need to bounce on its head to defeat it." Jack explained as he ran towards the clown, vaulting over the saw and barely missing a blade that swung at his legs.

Arin was almost there when the clown suddenly spun around in a quick circle that startled Arin, causing him to fall down to the ground. Jack somehow managed to hold on as he forced himself upwards, despite the fact that he hated heights.

Jack used the clown's red hair to help him up the rest of the way. It didn't take long to find a large red button that missed under his weight once he stepped on it.

The clown shuddered, but didn't stop.

Before Jack could press the button again, he was thrown off to the floor.

"Son of a bitch!" Jack yelled in frustration, massaging his most likely broken right arm as he stood up.

"Two more times." Felix grimaced.

Suddenly the clown froze, its eyes powering down as it collapsed onto the floor, almost smashing everyone below.

"And here I thought my bioengineering skills I got in college would be pointless." Mark chuckled from where he was clutching a fistful of wires in his hand. The back of the clown's neck was sparking, the red and blue wires severed in half.

"While it was distracted with you guys, I scaled its back and made it use its own saw to remove the metal from the back of its neck, which allowed me to take the wires out and power it down." Mark explained proudly, tossing the wires aside with a triumphant grin.

"So now you choose the five people you want to leave with."

Hans seemed to appear out of nowhere, a wide grin plastered on his face. Behind him was a sea of cages that held their friends captive. Among them were Amy, Signe, Marzia, Molly, and Mandy. Jack could also spy Link's raven black hair, as well as Kevin's.

"Can I exclude myself?" Mark asked quietly.

"Mark no!" Amy pleaded, desperately reaching towards him through the bars of her cage.

"Very well." Hans nodded, seeming more than glad to oblige.

"Keep in mind, whoever you save, you save their friend too." Hans reminded him.

"Why do I have to choose? Just let them all go!" Mark demanded.

"Would you rather I choose for you?" Hans snorted in amusement.

"How about this. You stay here forever, no matter what, and I'll let them all go." Hans negotiated.

"Deal." Mark shook Hans' hand, dealing his fate. Everyone caged up was set free, allowing them to go to their friend's side while Mark was taken away by Hans.

Before they could leave the arena, the clown twitched, its eyes sparking back to life as it slowly sat back up and sawed through Hans, nearly killing Mark in the process.

"What the hell?!?" Mark exclaimed in shock as he wiped Hans' blood off of his face, watching as the clown started attacking everyone.

"The wires must've only shut the clown down!" Rhett realized.

They still had to reach its head two more times.

Matt and J-Fred distracted the clown while Bryan managed to clamber up its arm, pressing the button on the top of its head once more. The demonic machine shook, causing an arm to fall off.

"It's all up to you bro." Felix told Jack, using his hands to boost Jack up onto the remaining arm. Jack felt his heart pounding in his ears as he nimbly leapt over a blade without falling off. Jack was about to jump over the next one when he got a great idea.

He had to use his head.

Jack tore his head off and tossed it at the button, pressing it down and causing the mechanical clown to sink back down to where it came from.

Jack let out a sigh of relief as he reattached his head to his body.

"Sean!" Jack heard Signe cry out. He found her and held her close in his arms, relishing every second that passed by now that Signe was back.

"Hey Woosh." Jack smiled.

Once everyone was reunited with their loved one, they all found the backstage door that allowed them to finally go outside.

This game really is about survival of the fittest, Jack thought as he glanced at his friends that stood around him, relishing the cool breeze and bright sunlight that caressed their faces.

It wasn't about physical strength. It was about willing to do anything for the people you cared about. All of them were incredibly strong, and Jack hoped they would stay that way as everyone went their separate ways back home.