Margarita Cruz

Margarita Cruz is one of the ten main protagonists in Ata Hāpara.

Appearance
Margarita has olive skin and medium-length black hair that she wears loose. She has dark brown eyes and wears no makeup other than glossy lip balm. During the retreat, her nails are painted red.

She has what Noah describes as a "light complexion for a Manileñoa", but resents when she is thought of as Korean or even sometimes Caucasian.

As a basketballer, Margarita is well built. Due to her small stature, she plays Point Guard. However, it is noted that she is a strong climber, able to make gravity-defying jumps while scaling multiple obstacles, so it is possible she is a highly versatile player. She is athletic and muscular, and the third strongest character in the Book.

From [1|Chapter 1] to [2|Chapter 2], she wears a white long-sleeved shirt, a khaki jacket with a fur hood, black track pants with the HMC Logo on them and tan Ugg boots with a white trim. She also wears a black beanie with the letters "PHL" on the rim, patterned like the Philippines flag.

Later on, she is clad in only a dark purple robe and white slides, as the [Psycho|Psycho] had taken her clothes while she was bathing. When found by Jacob, she finds Keiko's backpack and changes into a white-to-grey merino hoodie, Keiko's basketball singlet, black leggings, and sneakers. The singlet is described as light blue with dark blue stripes down the side and yellow seams. It is a number 6 and has the name "Li" on the back in bold, dark blue lettering.

She later retrieves her jacket and boots from her room, but trades the boots for Tori's black running shoes when forced to climb in order to escape the ruins.

Personality
Margarita is described in-game as diligent, considerate, and adventurous. She seems to be the most level-headed and friendly member of the group, easily interacting with the various cliques, and is rarely the cause of drama, even though she can be spunky and have somewhat of a strong personality.

Margarita is a warm individual who cares deeply about everyone and their feelings. She is shown to still be emotional when she thinks back to losing her friend Keiko, and is deeply concerned when she suspects Laila is more upset than she apperas. She loves and genuinely cares about animals and nature, and her dream job is to work for DOC. In addition, she was described as not being afraid to be herself and not be bothered by being made fun of.

She is a pacifist with a disdain for violence and conflict, but will not shy away from fighting in order to save herself and her friends. Highly resourceful and resilient, Margarita demonstrates remarkable calmness and decisiveness when under pressure. She is brave and strong-willed and will not let fear take control of her and change her in any way.

Biography
Nature-loving Margarita is a warm and caring individual. The others might find her a little quirky, but she's comfortable in her own skin, something which endears her to almost everyone in the prefect group. She is strong willed and doesn't scare easily. The retreat is a chance for Margarita to catch up with friends, strengthen her relationships with the other prefects, and enjoy the mountain air.

Born and raised in bustling Manila, Margarita was never one to shy away from the crowd. She grew up extraverted and confident, always looking for her next best friend and her next big adventure. Moving to New Zealand, she quickly established herself as a kind and generous soul, something which endeared her to her teachers and set her up for leadership roles throughout her academic career.

With a strong focus on academics, she has been appointed Academic Prefect for Holy Mary College alongside Ari Parata. Her free spirit and adventurous soul has led her to pursue a career in environmental engineering, a degree which she hopes will allow her to pursue her dream of working for DOC.

One Year Ago
In the opening cinematic, Sam is shown gently discouraging [|Jessica] and the others about the plan to play a prank on [|Hannah]. While they head off to take their places in the guest room, Sam heads upstairs to Hannah's wing of the [Lodge|house]. Her further involvement in the prank is deliberately left ambiguous. In one interpretation, Sam caves to peer pressure and is heading up to tell Hannah that Mike is waiting for her. In the opposite interpretation, she tries to find Hannah and warn her, but reaches her too late, right after the others have played their prank on her.

Regardless of her involvement with the prank, she's distressed at how out of hand the situation has gotten and attempts to comfort her friend. She tries to talk to her, but Hannah runs away without listening. As [|Beth] runs after her sister, Sam discourages [|Mike] from pursuing them as he would be the last person Hannah would want to see.

[1|Chapter 1]
A year after Keiko and Isabelle go missing, Margarita is part of the prefect group that returns to Mount Aoraki for their retreat. Margarita is seen on a bus and listening to a radio report about the anniversary of the girl's disappearance, and then later watches a video of Laila welcoming them all to the lodge. She is shown to be emotional, but optimistic. After she gets off the bus, she goes to the gondola station. She soon nears a gate. On the bars is a note from Noah that says "the gate's busted, climb over!".

She tries to open the gate, but is unsuccessful. Margarita then walks to the wall on the left and climbs the wall. After climbing over the wall, Margarita drops down and starts walking to the station again. On the way, she sees a kea and gives it a museli bar.

She then arrives at the station and sees Noah's bag with his buzzing phone sticking out of it. She looks at his phone and sees a text from Sara, who she doesn't immediately recognise as Isabelle's mother.

Noah then tells her that he found something kinda amazing and takes her to the back of the station. On the way, she sees a Wanted Poster and is amused by Noah's comment about Sam Lake. Noah shows her a shooting range and asks her if she wants to try shooting. She declines and watches Noah practice. They then walk to and enter the cable car when it comes. During the ride, she learns of how Noah and Laila became friends.

The duo then meet Jian at the top, where they learn of her new relationship with Jacob. As Jian insists on waiting for Jacob, they head towards the lodge where they meet Laila, Kiri, and Ari.

[2|Chapter 2]
Sam is shown to be aware of Chris' crush on Ashley as she often teases him about it. Along with Matt and Ashley, she will wait outside for Chris to open the lodge door. Inside, as things escalate between Mike, Matt, Jess and Emily, Sam opts to stay out of it along with Chris and Ashley, and when they leave the lodge, she decides to take a bath. After Sam finds out there's no hot water, she can look for clues in the rooms before going downstairs to tell Josh.

She then goes downstairs to tell Josh about the hot water. He then grabs a [|flashlight] and says that Chris and Ashley could use some "alone time". She could be flattering or mocking about their relationship.

She then follows Josh down the basement. Once they get there, he tells Sam he is grateful everyone has come and thanks her personally for coming. She can either reassure him or feel uneasy about coming back. Josh then opens a cupboard in the basement for the boiler. Sam then discovers a [Bat|baseball bat] resting against it, which could be of use for later.

Josh then puts down the baseball bat in a box. He then tells her to shine the flashlight in the boiler so he can see what he's doing.

Josh then tells her to increase the water pressure before starting the boiler. The player must go near the control panel, turn the red knob and press the button once the light turns on. If this task is failed twice, Josh tells her how to do it. Once it's done, Sam can high-five Josh with a QTE. After completing their task, they are both scared and chased by an individual later revealed to be Chris playing a prank. Sam gets annoyed while Josh jokes about her reaction. When meeting up with Ashley again, Sam decides not to get involved in the Ouija board affair and to finally take a warm bath.

[3|Chapter 3]
Sam is mentioned very briefly in this chapter by Chris, when he tells Ashley about he and Sam finding the Wanted Poster at the cable car station in order to piece together the clues of the "criminal on the mountain".

[4|Chapter 4]
Sam does not physically appear in this chapter, but she is mentioned a few times. After Chris tells Matt and Emily where he thinks Sam is located (in the lodge), the couples decide that Chris and Ashley should look for Sam, while Matt and Emily go and get help.

[5|Chapter 5]
Sam is later listening to classical music in the bath, and the Psycho is seen standing behind her, looking at her. She hears him close the bathroom door. As she dries herself, she notices that her clothes have gone missing. She gets annoyed, thinking that her friends are tricking her, and wraps herself in a towel before looking for them. In the lodge, she follows balloons with arrows on them that lead her to a room before the door violently slams behind her. The Psycho starts talking to her and shows her a video he recorded of her taking her bath, and the video of Josh being sawed in half. The Psycho then gives her ten seconds (though he only counts to 3) then comes in the room and starts chasing her. Sam escapes = Sam will only escape if she makes the following choices (in order of occurrence): However, it is possible for Sam to make all the correct choices and still be captured. If she was attacked by the raven in Chapter 1, the wound on her head will reopen during her fall, causing her to leave droplets of blood that alert the Psycho to her final hiding spot in the dumbwaiter. The player will not be prompted to turn off the flashlight or stay still if this is the case. |-|Sam is captured = Sam is captured if she makes any of the following choices:
 * She runs OR throws the vase, then immediately picks run after she encounters the bed, or kicks the Psycho when hiding.
 * After she runs down the stairs, she runs straight to the next hallway OR hides, turns off her light, stays still, then runs and hits the Psycho with a baseball bat. Note that even if you fail to stay still, you can still hit the Psycho with a bat once he's caught you and escape.
 * Sam will walk towards the camera down a long hallway. She will then have to choose between running and hiding. She must choose to hide in the dumbwaiter, then turn off her light and stay still.
 * She stays under the bed, chooses to grab the bed, or fails to kick the Psycho when prompted.
 * Failing the "Don't Move" prompt in the wine cellar, or failing to turn off the flashlight.
 * Hiding in the wine cellar for too long, or failing to defend herself if she has the baseball bat within her reach.
 * She goes through the door to the left of her after passing through the door with no handle.
 * Failing the "Don't Move" prompt in the dumbwaiter, or failing to turn off the flashlight. These prompts will automatically be failed if Sam was attacked by the raven in Chapter 1.
 * She runs further down the hallway instead of hiding in the dumbwaiter.
 * Unable to make a choice when it comes.

[6|Chapter 6]
Sam is also mentioned in this chapter several times by Chris and Ashley, worried about her whereabouts and wellbeing. If Sam was caught, she will be found unconscious in a chair by Chris and Ashley. Otherwise, a [in Sam's Clothes|dummy] will be wearing her clothes and will be in the chair instead.

[7|Chapter 7]
If Sam was caught by the Psycho, she will be awoken by Mike, who will free her from her binds and ask her to find a way for him to enter the basement. If Sam was not caught, she will snoop around the basement and see the Psycho messing around with some controls. Here she can find multiple clues leading to the true identity of the Psycho, such as the [Report|Psychiatric Report].

After reuniting with Mike, Sam will put on new clothes and will find Chris and Ashley strapped into a trap the Psycho has set for them. As they approach, the Psycho pulls off his mask to reveal that he is actually, to their shock and horror, Josh. Josh reveals that he played a prank on all of them, like the prank they played on Hannah, but this time his games were not lethal. Sam listened to Josh's explanation of how he faked his own death. When Chris and Mike take Josh away, Sam stays behind in the lodge with Ashley.

[8|Chapter 8]
Sam will next be seen if [|Emily] returns to the lodge. She will comfort Emily, and then [Stranger|a mysterious man] will appear. Doing as instructed by the Stranger, Sam heads down to the basement with the group.

If Chris perishes while looking for Josh, she will next be seen comforting Ashley. The group, consisting of Sam, Mike, Ashley, and potentially Emily and Chris, then looks through the Stranger's belongings. When Ashley finds out that Emily had been bitten, Sam is the sole person in the group that pleads for Mike not to shoot her.

After Ashley looks through the Stranger's journal, the group finds new information about the [Wendigos|Wendigos]. The group decides to warn Mike (presumably about the fact that there are many Wendigos imprisoned in the [Sanatorium|Sanatorium], which Mike did not know) and leave the lodge to travel to the Sanatorium.

[9|Chapter 9]
While venturing to the Sanatorium, the lodge survivors realize that Mike locked the doors behind him. Ashley suggests traveling through the mines instead and is supported by the rest of the group.

The group almost reaches the Sanatorium, when they find a large rock wall blocking their path. The other survivors tell Sam that they are unable to climb the wall, so Sam proceeds by herself. After climbing the wall, Sam will stumble upon Mike in one of two situations. If Mike failed to blow up the large barrels of gasoline during the dual-wendigo pursuit in the Sanatorium basement, Sam will find him there, holding off a Wendigo. If Mike successfully blew up the basement, a single Wendigo will have survived and Sam will find Mike bursting through a door in the mines, a burned up Wendigo in pursuit.

Regardless, Sam will use whatever weapon she has available (a pipe or a shovel, depending on which route you took) to beat the Wendigo off of Mike. If the Wendigo was burned, she will decapitate it. If it was not, and thus she and Mike are still in the Sanatorium, she will beat it back into the gasoline barrels and Mike will proceed to shoot them with his shotgun, blowing up the basement and causing them both to flee the building before heading back down to the mines together.

[10|Chapter 10]
Mike and Sam begin to look for Josh in order to retrieve the cable car keys that he had stolen. On their way to the Wendigo's lair, she and Mike can discover the truth about what happened to Hannah and Beth one year ago. They find a grave with Beth's watch in it and Hannah's diary, which details her thirty-three days of starvation. Sam deduces that Hannah buried Beth, who died from falling into the mines, but later dug her up to eat her body when she was starving. Soon afterwards, Sam and Mike find Josh talking to himself in a cave. If Sam learned the truth about Hannah, she will attempt to tell him before being cut off by Mike. Since Josh was not physically or mentally prepared to climb out of the mines, Sam leaves by herself while Mike escorts Josh through the sewers.

Sam climbs out of the mines and runs back to the lodge. When she gets to the lodge, she pleads with the other survivors, if there are any, to let her back in, but gets no response. Mike, having just escaped from the mines as well, appears behind her and tells her that they need to get into the lodge, causing Sam to break through the window with a rock. They travel to the basement to see if there are any survivors and are instantly greeted by either Ashley, (and/or) Emily, and(/or) Chris (if they survive, depending on the player's decisions) fleeing upstairs from Wendigos in the basement. If the other survivors are all dead, Mike would spot the approaching Wendigos and flee with her out of the basement upstairs.Sam runs upstairs and finds everyone else frozen in their tracks. She looks up and sees that a multitude of Wendigos, including Hannah, have broken into the lodge. If she moves at all, Hannah will pounce at the remaining survivors, injuring Mike in the process. The Wendigos then began fighting each other, causing a gas leak in the process.

Mike and Sam notice the leak and non-verbally coordinate a plan to incinerate the lodge by switching on a broken light bulb to ignite the gas. After Mike breaks the lightbulb, any remaining survivors will flee the lodge one at a time, with Mike being the last person to escape. Sam can run to the light switch at any time, but doing so before Mike and any other survivor(s) flee the lodge will result in their deaths. To save Mike, she must yell to attract Hannah's attention as it patrolled near him. Throughout the sequence, failing to stay still at critical moments will result in Sam's death by impalement in the stomach. Regardless of the player's actions, Sam will always survive until the very end and can only die from Hannah in the lodge. As Sam runs to the switch (should this happen), a slow-motion sequence shows Hannah pouncing at another Wendigo who is lunging at Sam.

After the lodge explodes, the rangers that Emily radioed will arrive and pick up any remaining survivors on Blackwood Mountain.

[|Credits]
The resulting cabin explosion pinpoints rangers Kyra radioed earlier from the [Tower|radio tower] to their location, and takes them away to safety. Margarita, along with the others, are questioned by the police about their experiences throughout the night.
 * In her first interview tape, she will admit how she feels betrayed by Tobias, believing that they had been friends, but her tone still pities him. She also rebukes the interviewer's effort to get her to open up about it.


 * She then tells the police that they should launch an investigation at the Aoraki Mines, stating that the horrors she witnessed would make her "give anything to unsee it."

Killed Victims

 * None

Isabelle and Yijun
Margarita was Yijun's basketball teammate and attended all the vigils for the girls. She says she "didn't know them as well as [Noah]", but is still evidently distressed when reminded of how they went missing. She shows the greatest concern for Keiko after the girls return, though this is likely because it is evident she was in the most distress. best friend before her disappearance and attempted to warn Hannah about the prank set up by her friends. Sam was angered when she was too late to intervene, chastising her friends for the antic. Despite the close friendship, after turning into a Wendigo, Hannah is merciless and will brutally kill Sam by impaling her in the abdomen if given the chance.

According to Beth's relationship menu, Sam and Beth were good friends. Sam is listed as Beth's third highest relationship and highest non-familial relationship.

Kiri
Margarita and Kiri are not seen interacting much, but It is implied that they are good friends. She appears to think Kiri and Noah would make a good couple, but this is likely because she knows about Noah's ongoing crush on Isabelle and wants to help him get over it. When Kyra is bitten, Jacob doesn't shoot her and Kiri reveals the bites are actually harmless, Margarita defends Kiri's actions to a furious Kyra, stating that she was just scared and didn't intend for Kyra to be harmed. When Kyra returns from the Sanatorium tunnel, Margarita is visibly relieved to see her safe and sound.

Noah
Margarita and Noah are practically siblings, having a comfortable relationship and having a nice conversation and riding up to the lodge together. She is seen affectionately punching him on the shoulder, and later, Noah is worried about her when he and Kiri are looking for her. Their shared Filipino heritage is a key point in their relationship, and they frequently make references to each other about cultural experiences. Margarita also appears to be aware of Noah's crush on Isabelle, but not that he was in contact with the family. They also appear to be comfortable enough to banter with eachother, though Noah appears genuinely angered when Margarita snoops through his bag.

Kyra
Margarita and Kyra appear to be good friends. Although critical of Kyra's behaviour during the crisis of last year (leaving the site as opposed to helping look for the girls, not attending the vigils, and beginning a relationship with Ari just over three months later) the two seem to have a good relationship. In the beginning of the game, Kyra tells Ariki that she needs to go find Magdalena. After Kyra makes it back from the mines, Magdalena will listen to her story, and will defend her by urging against Jacob shooting her. She later assures her that she'll be fine after Kiri reveals the truth.

Harper
Harper starts out as barely an acquaintance of Margarita. Margarita clashes with her largely due to her irreverence for what happened last year, and her dismissive attitude towards her cousin, Keiko. When Margarita and Noah are stuck in a cable car station, Margarita asks for Harper's help on getting out. Harper responds with "are you guys having a really weird stroke?" before complying and opening the door for them. However, Margarita asks Jacob about Harper after he returns from the Sanatorium, indicating she cares about her well-being.

Laila
Margarita and Laila appear to be close, having both played on the basketball team with Yijun. The two appear to have bonded further over this event, as they are significantly more comfortable around eachother than most of the other prefects. They are also both in Rutherford House and so share a cameraderie. It is also suggested that they attended the same primary school, and so have known eachother for a long time. Margarita is frequently concerned for the older girl's mental health, consistently making sure she's ok and helping her deal with the pressure of looking after all the prefects.

Tobias
Tobias was Margarita's maths tutor in the past. She mentions that they stayed in contact for occasional one-off sessions, textbook purchases, and general chatter. After what happened last year, she says they started talking more frequently and that she wanted to help him overcome his guilt. After finding out what he'd done, Margarita is shocked and disgusted, but still clearly pities him. In an interview with police officers, Margarita admits to feeling betrayed by him, saying that she thought they had a strong connection, implying she assumed they were closer than they really were when she says that "I thought we had a connection."

Ari
Margarita and Ari are not seen interacting at all during the entire book, and can only be seen together at the start of Chapter 2, where they possibly talk out of Noah's earshot when they walk in the opposite direction to Noah and Laila. It is assumed, however, that they are good friends, as Margarita is concerned when they go missing in the mines, and appears uncomfortable when they fight with Harper.

Jacob
Jacob and Margarita have markedly different personalities that put them at odds with each other at the beginning of the book. However, their trust and support for each other gradually increase as the situation becomes increasingly grim, forcing both of them to take action and eventually depend on each other for survival. When they are reunited after being separated they are happy to see each other alive. Regardless of Jacob's and Margarita's differences in personality, their survival skills and resourcefulness allowed them to rely on each other and develop a strong mutual trust for each other towards the end.

Trivia

 * She appears in 8 chapters.


 * Margarita is tied with Kyra for finding the third most necklaces out of all protagonists, with four.


 * Margarita's dream job is to work with DOC.
 * She loves animals and hates violence.
 * She is voted most likely to tie herself to a tree for Greenpeace.
 * In ten years, she sees herself making a difference to people.
 * Margarita's favourite quote is by her hero, Lucy Lawless: "We live at the edge of the world, so we live on the edge. Kiwis will always sacrifice money and security for adventure and challenge."
 * Margarita has a fear of the supernatural, according to Dr. Hill, more specifically the Aswang.


 * Margarita is the only protagonist that doesn't have a doll to represent her in the [|dollhouse] during Chapter 6. This may be due to the fact that Tobias still on some level cares about her, and would prefer not to sacrifice her to the Taniwha.

Quotes

 * "Nice shootin' Tex."
 * "Well actually the towel didn't turn out to be the best outfit for fighting off killer maniacs, you know?"
 * "Let's put this thing to bed."
 * "HEY! Fatty, over here!"
 * "I 've seen whats dwn and I' d give anything to unsee it."''