The Quindecim Game
A Zero Escape Story
All characters are the property of Kotaru Uchikoshi (打越鋼太郎) and in no way are we making money off of this, nor do we own most of this story. The plotline is heavily influenced by the Danganronpa series made by Spike Chunsoft. Anything expressed in this story that doesn't belong to either of those is ours.
FULL SUMMARY :: Hope's Peak University is a famous private school known for its extremely selective acceptance of only the best of the best, or the "Ultimate" students in their respective fields. They take on students of all professions, including Ultimate Leaders, Gamblers, Empaths, and many more. Sigma Klim, however, gets in without some any notable profession or talent other than the fact that he was lucky enough to win a lottery. His luck takes a turn for the worse when he walks onto the campus only to be caught up in a murder game where his only way out is to graduate. . . by killing one of his classmates?
Rated T for intense situations, violence, murder, suicide, murder, death, and sexual humor.
This is a collaboration between Shikola Krasno and Melody Canta once again! Much like Luna Obscura (our Sailor Moon/Fatal Frame crossover!), we'll be dividing this one into parts. Shikola will be doing the prologue, first two trials and the fifth trial, and Melody will be coming back for the third and fourth trials and the final one.
There will be spoilers for all of the Zero Escape series! Seriously, if you haven't played/watched Virtue's Last Reward yet, do that first! We're trying as hard as possible to keep this canon, and if you're curious, well, you'll just have to read more!
And, commence! The prologue awaits!
Prologue :: Welcome to Despair University
Hope's Peak University. The school for the best of the best. Each year, the mysterious campus would open its doors for a select few students—students who were called "Ultimates," because they were nothing less than the ultimate masters of their respective fields—and those students always emerged even greater than when they came in.
This year's pick-of-the-litter included people like the Field siblings, "Santa", and Gentarou Hongou.
Clover Field's face was plastered on the cover of almost every fashion magazine around the world, and anything she wore immediately became the newest trend. If she wasn't impressive enough, her brother was just as if not even more incredible. Though he was completely blind, Light was supposedly able to pick up on anything and work it like a prodigy. He could play any instrument and operate any machine so well that you would never know that he couldn't see.
There were the more affluent types too, such as "Santa." His real name was a mystery, but he was still famous for taking the stock market by storm and becoming a millionaire in no time at all. Then there was Gentarou Hongou; the man who ran a pharmaceutical company. He was just as rich as Santa, but he earned his fortune through hard work.
There were also rumors about the Ultimate Leader, Ultimate Gambler, Ultimate Mediator, and quite a few others whom I was excited to meet.
That's right. I, Sigma Klim, received a letter of acceptance in the mail last month from Hope's Peak University.
I didn't apply, of course. I mean, there's absolutely nothing extraordinary about me. But the letter explained that, every year, there was a lottery done where everyone on earth is entered in and one name gets drawn. That one person is then automatically accepted into the school as the Ultimate Lucky student. This year it just happened to be me. It's an honor that I never anticipated because, honestly, what are the chances? There was no reason to turn it down, though. After all, not only was it acceptance into the world's most successful university, it also came with a full scholarship.
So there I was, looking up at the university's massive gates, ready to embark on the greatest adventure of my life. I took a deep breath and kept my eyes on the prize. This was it. Everything that I knew before would be behind me. For the next four years I was going to be surrounded by nothing but the best of the best.
I placed my hands on the gates and pushed them open, then took my first few steps on the campus grounds. . .
. . . and the world started to spin into a mass of swirling colors. It was unreal. I'm not even sure if I was standing or if I had collapsed and was just stuck in a dream. It just kept on going for what felt like forever, then it stopped abruptly and I was left in total darkness.
I lifted my head and found that the darkness was nothing more than my arms blocking my vision. My head had been down of a desk that I didn't recognize, and I'd left and embarrassing pool of drool, which was starting to soak the edges of a pamphlet.
I fished the pamphlet out of the mess of saliva to look it over and was shocked at how sloppily it was made. For starters: it was drawn in crayon. There was a scribbled version of Hope's Peak University's logo along with the words: "Welcome to Hope's Peak University! The only way out is to graduate! Enjoy your stay!"
That couldn't be right. What kind of school held its students hostage until graduation? That was ridiculous. I mean, what if someone chose to drop out or something?
I got up from the desk to get a better look around the classroom and find out just how abnormal it was. The windows were bolted in place by thick slabs of metal and impossibly large screws, there was a television monitor up above the door, and right at the front of the room was an actual security camera hanging from the ceiling. Why would anyone have to monitor a classroom like that? Could it be that the students of Hope's Peak were untrustworthy? Or maybe the teachers? Things just didn't add up.
PING PONG DING DONG!
"All new students, please report to the gymnasium for orientation. All new students, please report to the gymnasium for orientation. That is all."
The PA message at least got me back on the right track. Whatever had happened at the entrance was strange, but this school was supposed to be a whole new world sort of experience for me. Maybe this was just what typical big-shots had to go through. This was my first look at how the other side really lived, so it was possible that my preconceptions couldn't even begin to fathom things. Still, I didn't want to miss out on orientation and end up as the odd one out on day one.
Just outside of the classroom was a completely empty hallway. I didn't expect there to be many students, considering how selective the school was, but where the heck was everybody? Being on my own in a place like this was more than a little unnerving. I ended up wandering a bit until I realized that I didn't even have a clue as to where the gym was. Thankfully, just when I was about to give up, I could hear mingling voices coming from a nearby room. Inside was a mob of people from varying age ranges, all talking among themselves.
It didn't take long for me to notice the pink hair in the crowd. It was Clover's signature thing. She was busy arguing with the princely guy who had to be her older brother, Light. When I saw them I just couldn't help myself. "You! You're the Field siblings, right? You're actually here! I'm actually talking to you!"
"Hey, calm down! We're just people, you know." Clover told me awkwardly. Clover, the Ultimate Fashionista, was being awkward. It was undeniably disappointing to see that she was normal. "I'm not even entirely sure how I got here. One minute I'm just reaching campus, and the next I'm waking up in some weird classroom. This sucks. If I'd known this school was going to be more like a prison I would have never come. Why does this kind of thing always happen to me?" So this sort of inexplicably thing really was a part of a celebrity's regular life. . .
"Don't mind my sister. She can be a little over-dramatic." Light extended his right hand out to me and brought up, "I don't think we ever got your name." He easily lived up to my regal expectations—wearing a small jacket befitting of royalty. It was incredible that, though he couldn't see anything, he knew exactly where I was.
"Um. I'm Sigma." It was a miracle that my voice didn't crack as I moved to shake his hand. I actually got to shake a real celebrity's hand! The excitement almost made me forget to ask, "So you guys woke up in a classroom too, huh? I wonder what that was about."
"It wasn't just them. It seems like we all woke up in weird places around this school." The guy who butted in was dressed flamboyantly in what looked like circus garb. He looked at me curiously and sized me up before approaching. He kept one hand on his hip as tipped his hat slightly with the other. "Name's Dio. Nice to make your acquaintance."
This guy looked really out of place, so I couldn't help but wonder what great skill had gotten him into the university. Asking outright seemed kind of obnoxious, so I casually said, "I'm Sigma." That seemed like introduction enough. We had more important things to discuss. "So you went through the same thing, huh?"
Dio gave me a smug look and said, "Yeah. I reached the gates and then the next thing I knew I was in an empty classroom." He seemed nice enough, but his eyes kept running over me like he was searching for something. His scrutinizing made me uncomfortable.
"See something you like?" I finally blurted out, desperate to get his eyes off of me.
Completely ignoring my question, he kept sizing me up as he asked, "Forgive me for prying, but just what is your talent? I thought that I might be able to guess, but I honestly can't get a read off of you."
"I just happen to be the Ultimate Lucky student!" I boasted without thinking. I really couldn't figure out what it was about this guy that made me so nervous. He was just curious. Weren't we all? "Why are you here? Are you the Ultimate Circus Ringleader or something?" I may have sounded a little rude, but if we were judging by appearances then that was all that I could come up with for this guy.
He grinned slightly and told me, "I'm the Ultimate Manipulator. You'd do well not to forget that."
A slender hand caught my wrist and pulled me away before I could get into any more trouble with the guy and I stumbled a bit as I followed the girl it was attached to. "Trust me, you do not want to get mixed up with him."
The girl finally stopped pulling me away and I got a good look at her only to realize that I knew her. This girl was Akane Kurashiki. We had almost identical schedules at my old college. Of course, I never really got the chance to meet her. She was always surrounded by people. But I never expected to see her in a place like this. "Um, thanks for the save, but he didn't really seem that bad," I mumbled, trying not to meet her gaze.
She looked right at me and for a second I thought that she might have actually recognized me. But she gave no hint of that as she said, "Just trust me. I've got a sort of sixth sense for stuff like that." She tilted her head slightly and winked, like she knew a juicy secret, and added, "Some people even say that I'm psychic!" Her gleeful expression made me feel just a bit safer in this strange situation, but it faded quickly as she looked at me longer. "Hey, you look a little like-"
A foot suddenly drove into my back and Akane just barely managed to get out of the way as I stumbled around and fell to the ground. "Oy oy! The fuck do you think you're doing? Show a little more composure around the ladies, asshole!"
I recovered and looked back to find an almost ghostly looking guy standing around with his hands wedged deep in his pockets. His snowy white hair was held back with a black headband that might make anyone else look more effeminate, but somehow made him seem all the more bad-ass.
"What the hell? I was just talking to her!" I tried to sound tough by yelling but, truth is, I'd never really been in a fight before. And while this guy didn't seem all that big, he had a violent air about him that was making me nervous.
"Santa, calm down! We really were just talking!" Akane piped.
"Wait. . ." Could it be? "Santa? The Santa?" I was caught off guard by that one. I expected someone with his talents to be older and more formal at least. This guy didn't seem like he knew a thing about the stock market!
"What's it to you?" He looked at me like I was no bigger than a bug, and I was taller than him!
"Erk. I was just wondering if you really wanted to go by Santa," I said, desperate to stifle the hostility that seemed to emanate from him.
His eyes softened and he scratched the back of his head as he told me, "Honestly, it's just easier that way."
"Well then, Santa," yet another guy brushed past me to confront him and say, "you can drop the tough guy act and try to get along with people! That's how we'll get through this! Only as a team! Now, let's work together to-"
"Jumpy! Is that really you?" Akane seemed ecstatic to see this guy.
"What? My name is Junpei, not-" He looked at her and it was like he noticed her for the first time. "You're here too? I mean, um, it's been a while, Akane." All of his confidence from just seconds earlier evaporated and he was reduced to a babbling idiot. "What are you, then? I got accepted as the Ultimate Leader!" he proclaimed proudly. He didn't seem to mind that he whole room was listening to him boast.
Akane just smiled and said, "I'm the Ultimate Psychic. . . Just kidding!" She giggled and that seemed to be the only answer he needed. They went about talking to each other, leaving Santa and I behind.
"Ahh to be young and lively." An older man with a few prominent streaks of gray in his otherwise brown hair, put an arm around Santa's shoulder. The snowy haired boy tensed up and brushed the old man off quickly. "Hey, no need to be so cold. I've just been dying to meet the man behind Santa. I'm Gentarou Hongou, ace businessman. I could use a financial asset like you."
"Not interested," Santa said stiffly, not even trying to hide his hatred for the guy.
Mister Hongou wasn't even a little deterred as he watched Santa walk off to be on his own. Instead, he looked to me and smiled. "How would you like a job in marketing?"
"Ugh, is that guy trying to rope you into some slimy business plan?" A woman's arms wrapped around my right arm and pulled me aside. I froze up when I noticed just what was pressing against my arm. The woman was wearing a belly shirt that seemed a few sizes too small for her breasts, which were pressed firmly against my arm. "You shouldn't trust a guy like that." She let got of my arm after dragging me aside, then put a hand on her hip and smiled. Her long black hair shifted against her pale skin, making me swallow hard.
I must have died and gone to heaven. "The name's Klim. Sigma Klim. I'm here because I'm the luckiest guy in the world. How about you, gorgeous?"
The woman smirked in what I only assume was a flirtatious manner, and told me, "I'm a world class hacker. You can call me by my handle: Lotus. So tell me, Sigma. What does luck bring you?"
"Hopefully closer to a catch like you."
Suddenly a large arm draped over my shoulder and said, "Careful, Hugh Hefner. She's older than she looks."
Lotus huffed and yelled, "Who the hell asked you anyways?" The big guy started laughing, further enraging her. "Seriously, who the hell do you think you are?"
When the big guy caught his breath he held out his beefy hand to her. "I'm the world's best tracker. Due to my occupation, I can't really give you my name, but you can just call me Seven."
Lotus flat out refused to even touch his hand, but she still chose to ask, "Why Seven?"
The big guy stared at me blankly for a while before saying, "Well, why not?"
"What do you mean, why not? That's no explanation!" Lotus' anger boiled over so fast that even the mountain of a man was thrown off. It was starting to look like they would start throwing fists soon, which would hardly be fair with their size difference. But getting between them seemed like a bad idea. One had claws and the other looked like he could squish me under his foot!
"That is enough." A soft-spoken woman with orange hair and a very conservative purple outfit got between them, effectively shutting them up. "This is not time to be arguing. We should be socializing and getting to know one another."
A little blonde kid with a strange looking hat followed close behind the woman and and smiled up at us. "You guys act like a married couple!" he noted while pointing to both Seven and Lotus.
"What? We most certainly do not!" Lotus snapped. The sweet woman who had been hanging onto my arm just moments earlier was completely gone.
The soft-spoken woman stood in front of the kid and told us, "Please excuse his manners. Quark is young and doesn't truly understand what he's saying."
Seven smirked and whispered to me, "As opposed to the old hag who tried to bite his head off."
"UGH!" Lotus was practically frothing at the mouth at that point. She stamped her foot down on Seven's and stormed off.
"Ow! What? Is that really how you solve your problems?" To the nice woman's dismay, Seven followed after Lotus, still trying to argue with her.
The orange haired woman sighed, then looked at me. "Please allow me to introduce myself," the woman said with a polite bow of her head. "I am Luna. I'm here because of my unparalleled ability as a mediator. I have taken it upon myself to look after this boy because he's so much younger than the rest of us."
"Uh, pleasure's all mine," I said awkwardly. Her formal mannerisms were making me feel very inadequate. . . And at second glance, she was pretty cute in her own right; not as flashy as Clover and yet not flashing everybody as much as Lotus. "Oh! I'm Sigma. Probably should have said that sooner." I really was making a complete fool of myself in front of her.
"And I'm Quark! I'm the Ultimate Empath!" He stopped talking for a moment to look at me, then he rolled his eyes and added, "That means I can tell exactly what you're feeling, so don't get any weird ideas, okay?"
I laughed awkwardly, making a mental note to watch what I was thinking around the kid, but then I noticed someone who made my jaw drop.
"Uh, sir?" Quark's face went red and he couldn't look me in the eyes, no doubt because he recognized what I was feeling at that moment.
"If you'll excuse me for just a second." I hated to cut our introduction short, but there was someone who simply demanded my attention. I made my way over to the corner of the room where a woman who looked like nothing less than an Egyptian queen stood. She actually had less coverage than Lotus; wearing nothing but a large necklace over her chest, which left little to the imagination. "H-h-hello," I said, unable to hide the amazement in my voice.
She barely spared me a sideways glance before scoffing. "I'm not interested in fraternizing. If your curiosity won't allow you to leave me alone, my name is Alice and I'm the Ultimate Gambler."
She was intimidating too, but alluring nonetheless. "I'm Sig-"
"I know. You've only announced it to nearly everyone here. Now why don't you leave me alone and go bother that weird statue or something? I'm trying to get a better feel for our classmates."
By not talking to them? She certainly seemed like an interesting person. But, I supposed that being the Ultimate Gambler required quite a bit of quiet calculations. I'd just have to admire her from afar.
It took me a minute to even stop and wonder what she meant about talking to a statue, though. I looked around the room, curious as to what the heck she had meant, and my eyes landed on what looked like a large robotic suit of armor. The room itself was a little strange, but it certainly didn't seem like the sort of place that would have strange decorations like that.
Then it moved.
I flinched at first, but found myself drawn to it after that. I looked at it closely and its head turned to look right back at me. "Holy crap, is there a person in there?" I couldn't help but exclaim.
To my surprise, it responded with a polite bow. "Hello! Excuse me for not introducing myself to you like the others. I'm afraid I don't remember who I am, though." It sounded like there was a man inside. I really wanted to take off the robotic-looking helmet, but decided against it. "In fact, I don't really know where I am or how I got into this weird suit. I can't seem to get it off either." He tried to take off the helmet and it wouldn't budge. That kind of left me feeling disappointed.
"Wow." I probably should have said something else, but my vocabulary seemed to be very limited in his presence. "I'm sorry but. . . This is just too weird."
The armored man moved to scratch the back of his head, but metal rubbed against metal, making him stop and look at his covered hand. "You're telling me."
"Classic case of amnesia." I nearly jumped out of my skin when the mystery girl spoke up behind me. Her short hair that was just as white as Santa's, but her pale skin made her seem even more ghostly. I might not have noticed her at all if she hasn't said something. Was she really among us the entire time? "I guess it's only natural after such a weird experience," she went on. "It's a miracle we're not all suffering from amnesia." She shot me a quick glance before muttering, "Phi."
"What?" I couldn't make sense of what she was trying to tell me.
"All new students please report to the gym now. Seriously, hurry your butts up! That is all."
"Well that sure sounded professional," I mumbled, breaking the silence that followed the PA announcement. "Does anybody actually know where the gym is?"
"I came across it while trying to get to know the area," Junpei stated. "Just follow me."
We all filed out of the room after Junpei and made our way through the halls. I took the time to think about all of the people that I'd met so suddenly.
Clover and Light were pretty cool, but they seemed content to just keep to themselves. Of course, that might have also been due to Clover's prickly nature and Light's need for a guide.
Everyone else seemed nice enough. . . except for maybe Santa. It seemed like it might be difficult to stay on his good side. Even now, with him walking along with the rest of us, he still gave off a "devil-may-care" attitude that kept people at a distance.
Hongou also worried me a little, but I figured that most big-shot businessmen gave off a similar vibe, so I couldn't really blame him.
Dio still looked hopelessly out of place, but his use of formalities at least seemed to suggest that he had manners. Kind of made me wonder what Akane had been worried about. Now he was just following along at his own place with a content smile on his face.
I wasn't overly fond of Junpei, but I'm pretty sure that was just due to some form of jealousy over the attention that Akane gave him. I was secretly hoping that I'd her and I would be the only two here with some past connection, so he really rained on my parade. I probably shouldn't have even been concerned about the whole thing. It wasn't like she recognized me anyways.
Seven and Lotus both seemed like good people, but something told me that they would always be bickering with each other, and that wasn't something that I wanted to get caught in the middle of again. In fact, they stayed together as we wandered the halls, still arguing like they had known each other forever.
Luna seemed like the sort of level headed, voice-of-reason that we needed with a weird crowd like this, and Quark was a nice kid, but I'd have to be very careful around him.
Alice had the looks of a goddess, but she was as cold as ice. I'd love to get more time alone with her, but she hardly seemed like she'd even give me a second glance.
Then there was the armored man and the mystery girl.
We'd been cut off by the PA announcement before I could really figure out anything about them, and according to Alice, no one else really took the time to meet them either. The armored guy was almost as formal as Luna, but how was anybody expected to get used to a presence like that? Even then in the hall, his footsteps sounded so much louder than everyone else's.
And I didn't even get the girl's name. She didn't look particularly bothered by anything that she had seen, hell, she didn't even bat an eye at the man in armor. That didn't seem right. I slowed down to the back of the group where she was, and tried to get a real introduction.
"I never caught your name."
She looked at me with her brow furrowed and said, "I told you. I'm Phi."
I vaguely recalled her saying that earlier, but it seemed a little unlikely that someone else would have a Greek letter for a name. "Right. Sorry. I'm—"
"Sigma. I know." She didn't give me anymore of an answer than that, so I figured she was just as observant as Alice was.
"Okay. . . So what do you make of things?"
She looked forward and gave a slight shrug. "Something's not right, that's for sure. But I can't really say anything yet."
She had a point. While I expected Hope's Peak to be a different experience, this was starting to feel a little shady. I couldn't have known just what we were in for at that point, though.
We finally reached a huge gym where a single pedestal stood right in the middle. Everyone fell silent when we stepped inside, except for Seven, who asked the question was on everybody's mind. "So now what?"
Before anyone could guess, a strange bunny in Chinese clothing hopped up onto the pedestal and actually started to speak. "Welcome to class ORIEN-TATION! I am Zero the Third, your super cute. . . HEAD-MASTER!"
It was completely ridiculous. A talking bunny shouldn't exist, let alone handle a school. This had to be some kind of dumb prank, and we were all too old for this (except for maybe Quark. He hardly looked like he could be older than ten).
"I see that my boundless cuteness has struck you all speechless! Good! That'll make this easier for me." The bunny even moved like it was alive, but it had to be a robot. There was no other explanation. "So, welcome to the NONAR— Oops. Hang on. That's not right. . ." The bunny pointed its paw at us, as if it was counting, then restated, "THE QUINDECIM GAAAAAAAME. . . HOPE'S PEAK UNIVERSITY EDITIOOOOOON! Most of you will quite likely be spending the rest of your lives right here in this building! Of course, those lives might be relatively short."
"Quindecim?" I found myself wondering out loud. Seriously, of all the things to be concerned about, why was it that I was curious about the name of whatever the hell the weird rabbit was talking about?
"It means 'fifteen' in Latin," Phi said flatly. "I think it's just referring to how many of us are here." Oh sure. Why would it be surprising for a girl to know Latin?
"Okay. I've got to ask," Santa grumbled. He rushed over to the bunny and picked it up by its ears to yell, "What the fuck is this shit? You think I'm going to take orders from some stupid toy? Where's the fucker that's controlling you? I'll rip them a new asshole!" Maybe I could sound tough if I swore as much as Santa. . .
"Bad move," the bunny warned with a dark grin.
Suddenly I could hear a quiet ticking sound. Apparently Lotus heard it too, because she screamed, "Throw it away while you still can!"
Santa hastily obeyed and sent the bunny flying straight up into the air. When it reached its highest point, it exploded with enough force to send a small shock-wave through the entire gym. "Holy shit!" Santa actually trembled with fear, and who could blame him? If he'd held onto that thing any longer he'd have been fried!
"This place is nuts!" Clover screeched. "I want out of here right now!"
"Yeah, that's not going to happen, Pinky!" Like an endless nightmare, another bunny, identical to the one before, hopped up from behind the podium."You didn't know the rules yet, so that was just a warning. But try to ruin my beautiful self again and you'll be in for a much harsher punishment. Got it?"
"What rules?" The Phi questioned. She was frighteningly calm for such a weird situation.
The bunny put a paw over its mouth playfully and growled, "I was just about to tell you, Phido. Sheesh! Learn some patience!" It cleared its throat like it was actually breathing, and went on to explain, "If you'd all please approach the podium, I'll hand out your personalized student handbooks." No one was overly anxious to get close to that thing again, which only seemed to piss it off. "No need to by shy, my cute little students! I only bite when I'm really upset!"
Phi was the first person to approach it. The bunny proceeded to hand her what looked like an electronic tablet. She accepted it without a word and turned it on. Then she ran her finger over something. "It requires a fingerprint?"
"That's right, Phido! Each handbook is personalized to its specific user. Only the user can unlock their own handbook. Now, who's next?"
I figured that it would be easier to get this over with quickly, so I retrieved mine after her. While everyone else worked up the courage to get theirs, I opened the file that said: "Rulebook," and flipped through it.
Rule #1: Any abuse dealt to Zero III will result in severe punishment, which will be determined by Zero III.
Rule #2: Sleeping anywhere but in the dorm rooms is a no no and will result in severe punishment, which will be determined by Zero III.
Rule #3: 9pm marks the end of the day. At that time the cafeteria doors will be closed and locked until 6am the following morning. Try not to get stuck.
Rule #4: In order to graduate, a student has to become blackened and get away with it.
Rule #5: All students will be given time to investigate and try to discover their blackened classmate before a class trial will commence.
Rule #6: All students must participate in all class trials. Failure to do so will result in severe punishment, which will be determined by Zero III.
Rule #7: If the class is unable to uncover the blackened one among them, they will all be faced with severe punishment and the blackened student will graduate and be allowed to leave. However, if the blackened is discovered, they will face punishment instead and classes will then resume as usual until someone else gets blackened.
Rule #8: More rules may be added to the rulebook as necessary.
The whole thing was cryptic and bizarre, but if the bunny would explode over Santa picking it up, I hated to think of what other punishments it had in store.
"Yo, Bunny," Dio called out.
The bunny spat angrily and reminded him, "My name is Zero the Third! Get it right, BO!" Where was this bunny was getting all of these weird nicknames?
Dio grimaced, obviously taking offense to the nickname he had been given. "It's Dio, you little freak," he grumbled. The statement seemed a bit rough compared to how he had been earlier, but who wouldn't be upset at a time like this? "What does it mean to be blackened?" It was a pretty good question. I mean, being blackened could mean getting out of this hell hole.
"Very good question, BO!" Zero III snickered when Dio groaned. Then it told us, "To be blackened, you have to kill one of your classmates."
That changed everything. We had to kill each other to get out of here? That was insane! "Why the hell would we do that?" I exclaimed, unable to contain myself.
"Becaaaauuuuuuse, if you don't, you'll be trapped here. . . FOR-EVEEEEER!" After giving its over dramatic answer, Zero III put on a neutral expression and casually explained, "Of course, this facility is well equipped, so you should all be able to live here comfortably for the next 30 years at least."
"And what exactly is the punishment for being caught after you're blackened?" Alice looked to confirm. Of course I couldn't imagine why she needed to confirm it. If we didn't kill each other then there would be no need for any punishments.
"Well, Alas, punishment is. . . EX-E-CUTIOOOOOOON! And same goes for the classmates who are unable to uncover the blackened student! So it's kill-and-or-be-killed! Fun, right?"
"What? No!" The big guy in the armor started acting up more than any of us. Some of the things he said, though, struck me as strange. "I never agreed to participate in that kind of trial! That's not a part of the plan! I won't take part in this!"
Part of what plan? Clearly none of us had agreed to be a part of this mess, but what choice did we really have? Our lives were on the line here.
"That's not an hoption, pal!" Zero III exclaimed as it hopped towards the guy. An armored hand quickly swatted the bunny, knocking it to the floor, and an armored foot slammed down on it to really drive his point home.
"I won't be a part of this, you hear me?" he yelled as he put more weight on the bunny. Part of me was really rooting for him. The other part was flaring up with red lights. Don't touch the bunny. The rules clearly stated that. The punishment wasn't really set in stone, but most other punishments seemed to spell out a death sentence.
"Bad move," Zero III said darkly. "HUNDRED SPEAR HELL!"
It was like the bunny was announcing an attack straight out of a comic book, but this wasn't comical. Countless spikes started to shoot out at the armored man from every direction. They pierced right through his armor before he could even attempt to get out of the way. I could barely even grasp the situation. The armor made the man look like nothing more than a robot, but a horrible gurgling sound echoed from inside of the helmet, proving otherwise. When the spears drew back, the man collapsed to the floor and blood spilled out from the holes where he had been punctured.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the guy. The suit of armor prevented me from really thinking of him as a human being, but the sounds were too real.
Sounds. Actually, I could hear a faint voice coming from the armor. I went over to it and knelt down to hear him better, and could just barely hear, "Why? Why? Th-this wasn't supposed to. . ."
"AAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE!"
Clover's shrill cry shocked me back to reality. I was right next to a dead guy. Blood was spilling from the holes in his armor, getting steadily closer to me. I backed away and felt my stomach churn. There were 15 of us just a moment ago, and now one of us was gone. Just like that. I had never seen a corpse before and, thankfully, the armor hid this one, but the terror was still smothering. I could hardly breathe.
"Why? You're just a robot, right? Why did you have to do that?" Lotus asked, rather shaken up by the unwarranted display of extreme violence. "He wasn't hurting anything!" Seven put a hand on her shoulder to calm her and she didn't even bother to shake him off as she trembled.
Zero III just brushed itself off and reminded us, "The rules clearly say that you 'carrot' mess with my fluffy little self. The rules are absolute! But go ahead. Attack me again. I dare you." We all stayed silent, so the bunny seemed satisfied. "Well then! Go ahead and have fun getting to know the school! I'll see you guys around!" With a hop, Zero III fell into a hole in the floor that closed up as soon as it appeared.
"D-don't freak out," Junpei said with a shaky voice. "The last thing that we need to do is turn on each other."
Dio actually started laughing at that, making me flinch. "Why the hell wouldn't we turn on each other?" he asked, his face contorted into an unnatural smile. It was like his personality had done a sudden 180. "We're not classmates anymore. We're all potential victims now. The real question is, who will strike first?"
"You don't really think that we'd kill each other?" Quark muttered. He clung to Luna's hand like she was a security blanket.
Dio scoffed and touched the brim of his hat as he looked down on the kid. "We don't know each other. Who's to say we wouldn't?"
I hated to agree with him, but he was right and it made me sick. That stupid rabbit had effectively given all of us reason to look over our shoulders. Was it really just a matter of time until someone actually caved and tried to graduate?
"God fucking damn it!" Santa snapped, breaking the silence between us. "Who does that bunny think he is? When I find the bastard behind this-"
"You can't solve everything with violence!" Junpei yelled. "If we just calm down and work together—"
"Calm down? Fuck off, pussy! I'll fucking calm down when I'm fucking dead!"
Recognizing that a fight was about to break out, Luna moved to break them up. She may have been the Ultimate Mediator, but there was no way that I was going to let a pretty girl get involved in matters like that, so I chose to take control of the situation. "Hey! Fighting with each other will get us nowhere. We need to slow down for a second and think."
"Think about this, dip-shit!"
I didn't even have a second to really process what had happened. Santa threw a punch right at my stomach and I figured I'd get the wind knocked out of me. It did a lot more than that, though. He hit me with so much force that my body was actually thrown backwards! My head crashed into something and I fell to the floor like a sack of bricks. I tried to cling to consciousness, but there was no chance of that. In a matter of seconds, my mind gave up and the world faded into darkness.
Prologue :: Welcome To Despair Academy - END
Current Survivors: 14/15
TO BE CONTINUED. . .
*ITEM GET!* - You have acquired the present: "Suit of Armor"!
:: Character Chart ::
Sigma Klim - Ultimate Lucky Student
Clover - Ultimate Fashionista
Light (AKA Snake) - Ultimate Prodigy
Santa - Ultimate Stock Market Investor
Gentarou Hongou (AKA Ace) - Ultimate Businessman
Dio - Ultimate Manipulator
Akane - Ultimate Psychic (not kidding)
Junpei - Ultimate Leader
Alice - Ultimate Gambler
Lotus - Ultimate Programmer
Seven - Ultimate Tracker
Quark - Ultimate Empath
Luna - Ultimate Mediator
Armored Guy - Ultimate ?
Phi - Ultimate Mystery
:: A/N ::
Shikola Krasno ::
And here's the start of yet another story!
The Zero Escape games are lesser known, but if you've chosen to read this I'm guessing you've at least heard of them. If you haven't I HIGHLY recommend them!
To explain the bold print at the bottom (above the character chart), that's just simulating the Dangan Ronpa game. Once you've reached this point, you've completed a whole chapter! At the end of each full arc that sort of thing will be at the bottom. It will just help to keep you updated on how many people are left with the survivor count (hopefully giving you a sense of dread). As for the "Item get" thing, sadly we can't actually give you any physical items. But the items awarded at the end of each arc in Dangan Ronpa had that sort of feeling to them as well in that they were completely useless and pretty much just cruel reminders of what had happened. So just imagine that our non-existent item is a sort of welcome to the new story! They'll all be ironic things related to certain characters, so heads up!
For those of you who know of them, I hope all of the characters were clear enough. I had an interesting time trying to figure out what to call everyone. After all, they all go by code names in 999. So in the cases of Snake and Ace, I went with their real names. No need for fake names here, right? But as for Seven, Lotus, and Santa, what else could I call them? Santa and Lotus are tech savvy enough (Santa moreso for the sake of this story) that going by a web handle might not seem too strange, but Seven? Even I laughed when trying to explain that one. That guy really needed a name. As for Clover, well, in 999 she goes by the code name: Clover. But in VLR, when there aren't code names, she's still Clover. Apparently her name really is: Clover Field. Melody and I like to imagine that, when she gave her actual name as a fake name in 999, Snake had to be thinking: "Really? Really?"
Anywho, all of you Dangan Ronpa (Trigger Happy Havoc, whatever) fans must already be eagerly guessing at who's who! The way that Melody and I write, if you can piece together which Zero Escape character matches to which Dangan Ronpa character, you can already guess who is going to do what. I won't outright tell you who is who, though, aside from the fact that clearly Sigma is Makoto (Ultimate Lucky stayed as Ultimate Lucky), and Zero III is, without a doubt, Monokuma. Situations will be different, though, because character personalities are clearly clashing here. Motivation, murder methods, and executions will vary as well. So if you're worried that this will be too predictable, don't! I'm sure we'll surprise you.
Melody Canta ::
I'm going to be writing this later, much like Shikola's doing with Luna Obscura, but I'll be popping in during A/Ns to sort of give my thoughts and opinions and just be generally annoying and take up space, ne?
This chapter's big on characterization, but if you don't remember all of the characters yet, don't worry! They're all coming back next chapter (well, not the armored guy, but . . . oops), so hopefully you'll learn their names if you don't know them yet.
And yes, Clover is Clover because Clover. Seriously, what I wouldn't have given to have seen Snake's face in that moment.
If you know Dangan Ronpa, and you know Zero Escape, and you know us, you should know that you're in for a wild ride. Shikola and I are working together to make the best story we can think of.
If you haven't looked at it before, and you liked the Ace Attorney series or Hudson Soft's Calling, go check out The Fatal Turnabout!
If you like Sailor Moon or Fatal Frame, I'm working on Luna Obscura right now, which is running concurrent to this!
Be patient with our updates; Shikola and I are currently living halfway across the world from one another, and while we miss each other, Skype isn't quite the same as texting each other at all hours of the day with random ideas and fixes. We'll try to get them done ASAP, but quality will always come first.
Anyways, we hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and continue reading for more fun!