Prologue: Entrance Into Despair

When I first saw the letter, I thought it was a joke, like it was something Maxie found on his dad's computer and thought it would be funny to see my reaction to it. Then Peanut saw it, got excited, and ripped it open, nearly ripping it in half.

Then he started reading it, and I thought it was an even bigger scam.

You can't blame me, though. If you know me, you would realize how understandable it is.

... And I just realized you might not know me. My name is Grape Jelly Sandwich, odd until you realize I'm a cat and my dad likes punny names. I'm purple and white (The reason I'm named Grape), my eyes are yellow, I have a blue collar with a fish tag, I am the average height, weight, and other stuff for a cat, and, since some people didn't realize it before, I am a female. Shocker, I know. Peanut is a dog that lives with me, kinda making him like a brother, and if I had to describe him, I would say that he's an innocent goofball that isn't the brightest of bulbs. He is a light shade of brown and tan, his eyes are blue, he has a red collar with a bone tag and is also the average stuff for a dog, I think. He has also been carrying around a grey messenger bag recently. Better storage than our collars, I guess.

Now you're probably wondering, "What's so special about the letter Peanut almost ripped in half?" Well, according to what the front of the letter says, Peanut and I have been accepted to Reach The Stars Animal Academy.

In case you've been living under a rock for the past few years, Reach The Stars is a school for all animals, and it's ment for the most talented pets in America, not letting in anybody that wasn't the best at a certain talent. The pets are usually called Ultimates or Super Animal School Levels, or SASL's for short. Supposedly, once you go there, you are set for life in that talent, so you can imagine how popular it is. Not even millionaires could get their untalented pets in. They usually have people scour the pets out, but apparently one of them came here this year, thought there was a bunch of talent, and made it so most of the students this year would be from Babylon Gardens. The only ones that weren't assured were the SASL Good Luck, which is chosen by a lottery that has the names of every pet in America, and another talent that one of the scouters found.

I didn't think any of it was a big deal, since I thought the chances of me getting in weren't that likely, since I don't have a really noticeable talent.

I didn't think that, until Peanut squealed like puppy that got a new chew toy.

"Grape! We're in! We got in!" he said, with a huge grin on his face.

"Wha-Let me see that!" I said, swiping it from his hands. My eyes skimmed over it, expecting to see something that proved it was a fake, but I didn't find any. Instead, I found out our titles.

Peanut Butter Sandwich: SASL Reader

This was understandable, since Peanut could read the entire Pridelands series in a day. Then there was me.

Grape Jelly Sandwich: SASL Good Luck

My first thoughts, luck? Really? I'm the SASL Good Luck? I may as well have been named SASL Normal Pet. Then I realized, who cares? I'm getting in!

"Oh… my… gosh… We're in!" I said, a silly grin on my face as well.

We immediately went to Mom and Dad, who got excited too. They had us start packing our things quickly, since the letter said to get to the airport for a plane as soon as possible. While packing, I wondered who else got accepted. The letter only said me and Peanut were accepted, but it didn't mention anybody else. I asked Peanut what he thought, and he said he could ask Tarot, but Dad said there wasn't enough time.

The rest is kind of blurry. I remember a car ride, tearful goodbyes shared at the airport, a LONG plane ride, then…

"Wow. We're actually here." Peanut says, eyes wide as we're standing in front of the school.

I have to agree with him. The school looks pretty amazing. Intimidating as well. But even so, knowing Peanut would be here with me, it feels a little less scary.

"Yeah. We better get inside, though, before they start thinking we got kidnapped or something." I say, breaking my gaze away to look at Peanut. "You ready?" I ask him.

"I think." he says, still staring at the school.

"Well then, let's go!" I say as I go through the gates and-

Oh god, I think I'm gonna vomit. And the world's getting all blurry. What's going?!

"Peanut…"

"Grape!"

Sadly, the last thing I'm seeing is my best friend looking like he is going to pass out as well.

God, I still feel like I'm gonna throw up. Wait, where am I?!

I lift my head to see that I'm in what seems to be a nurse's, er, vet's office, with everything being completely white, from the ceiling and the cabinets that I have no hope of reaching, to the polished tiled floor and the counters that are about my height. The only things that are off are the monitor and camera in one corner of the ceiling. I'm on one of those metal tables with thin paper separating me from the actual table. Thank goodness. Someone else must've seen Peanut and I and took us here. I'll be sure to thank them after I wake up…

That's not Peanut in the rolly bed. I think it's one of the Mr. Bigglesworths, a group of blue-eyed siamese cats that share the same name thanks to an owner that can't tell them apart. My theory is proven correct when I spot their brown collar with a silver B as the tag. I think this one's a female, but it's always so hard to tell.

Well, I may as well wake them up. I give a little shake, to see if it helps. "Come on," I say,"Wakey, Wak-"

"Get your paws off me, Biggles!" They say as the quickly get up and grab my paws. "Wait, you're not one of my brothers…"

"Yeah, and I'm sure that's not your bed. Want to say anything else that's obvious before you let go of my hands?" I ask, a little irritated. They let's go as they let rub the back of their head awkwardly.

"Sorry, but with brothers like mine, a girl's gotta keep one eye open when she sleeps." Ok, good to know she's a girl.

"So, I can tell you're a Bigglesworth, but I have to ask, how did you get in the school?" I ask, just slightly curious.

"Well, I don't blame you for not knowing my trade, so I'll spare you a lecture. This Bigglesworth was named the SASL Go-Cart Racer. She also prefers to just be called B, thank you."

Mr. Bigglesworth: SASL Go-Cart Racer

Right, I think I have heard of her. She's usually out the neighborhood, practicing at places that have a good track, and even going against some humans, and they say she's never lost a race. For some reason, her siblings all call her "Mysterious Racer B", like they have no idea she's one of them. At least, that's what Maxie says, and his information isn't always the best.

"So, since I haven't seen you at any of the tracks, who are you?"

"Oh, right! My name's Grape Sandwich, the SASL Good Luck." I say putting out my hand to shake. She takes it and- Wow, that is a strong grip!

"The SASL Good Luck? Well, what are the chances of that title going to some pet in Babylon Gardens?" she asks, a seeming to not think it was the weirder of talents.

"I'd love to figure out, but I think we should first figure out what's going on. I don't suppose you know?" I ask, slightly hopeful.

"I was hoping you had the answer, to be honest. I just know I that I passed out after stepping through the school gates."

"What? But that's what happened to me and Pean-! Frick, where's Peanut?!" I say as I start frantically searching around the room while B just stands there, looking slightly confused.

"Who's Peanut?"

"The dog that I live with. I came here with him, then I passed out, and now I have no clue where he is, and it doesn't help that it looked like was going to pass out as well, and I just have no idea what to do!" I practically yell out of frustration. B then walks over to one of the counters and picks up a paper I ignored.

"Maybe he's in the gym?" she asks after a few seconds.

"Why do you say that?" I ask, looking over her shoulder at the paper.

"Because the paper you ignored says everyone needs to meet in the gym by 8:00." she says, handing me the paper, "Along with… other things…"

What is that suppose… well, someone is very vulgar. Also, I never thought I would see curse words written in crayon.

"So, should we get going?" I ask, setting the paper back down.

"I don't really have anything better to do, so sure." She says as she looks up at one of the walls. "But I hope you don't want us to be on time. According to that clock, we're 10 minutes late."

"What?!" I look at the clock. Frick, we are 10 minutes late! "Then we gotta hurry!" I say as grab her paw and run out the door into the hall. It's very… unique, with very ornate white columns that look like they're made out of marble and black and white tiles, the white ones turned bright orange thanks to colored lights on the ceiling.

"Hey, just because you're not one of my brothers, doesn't mean you can take my paw like that!" B snaps as she takes said paw back.

"Sorry, but we need to hurry!" I say, still freaking out. I start checking some of the doors in the hallway, only finding a couple classrooms and an AV room. "Where is this stupid gym?!"

"You're not the best under stress, are you?" B asks as she points toward the a pair of red double doors that say… well, I feel like an idiot.

"Let's just go in now and forget that happened." I say, a blush already creeping onto my face. She opens the door, revealing smooth wooden floors, wooden bleachers that are pushed up against the pure white wall, and a very high ceiling, even for humans. It also shows quite a few familiar faces. Including…

"Peanut!"

"Grape!"

I run and hug him, not even caring about the other the others watching.

"I was so worried!" I say, clinging to him.

"So was I." he says, doing the same.

"Now," I move my hands to his shoulders, "Where the frick were you?!" I yell as I shake him.

"Hey, hey! Now, now is not the time for that!" a tan dog with dark brown ears and a brown spot on his right eye says as he separates me from Peanut. With the police vest, sunglasses hiding orange eyes, and the 'F' on the collar's tag, both the collar and tag being green, it's obvious that he's Fido Byron. It's also obvious how he got here, with the police vest.

Fido Byron: SASL K-9 Officer

"Well, I'm sorry, but when you leave the vet's office and don't leave a note for your passed out best friend, they tend to get a little angry!" I yell, giving Peanut a few dirty looks while doing so.

"Well, I wasn't lucky enough to wake up in this vet's office!" Peanut says, a frown prominent on his face.

"What? But according to Grape, you two passed out in front of the school like I did. Why wouldn't you have been in there with us?" B asks, now curious.

"How about the fact that most of us either woke up in a desk or on the floor of the hallway?" says a British accent. My eyes find a blue-eyed female saluki with a bright yellow collar and the British pound symbol being the tag. She's the only one that I don't recognize. Wait…

"Are you implying that everyone here passed out at the front gate?" I ask, kinda getting nervous.

"Oh, yay! You figured something out right after I gave you the main clue for it! Bravo!" she says mockingly. Isn't she pleasant?

"Hey, if we wanted to be insulted by a stuck up dog, we could've gone to a dog show." B says in my defense.

"Even if the stuck up part were true, if you knew my title, you would know that you would just see me there anyway." She says haughtily, "After all, I am Duchess, the SASL Dog Pageant Queen!"

Duchess: SASL Dog Pageant Queen

Right, I think I actually have heard of her. I believe she is Bino's girlfriend, and is the reason why that dog King doesn't go near Bino's house any more, even for the G.O.D. Club. Other than that, I have heard nothing about her.

"Yeah! Watch your mouth, you mangy cat!" says the dog next to Duchess. His fur is mostly tan, other than his tail and ears, which are a dark brown. His collar is as green as his eyes and his tag is a diamond with a 'B' on it. Speak of the Devil and he will appear, I guess. Bino is basically one of the most annoying dogs in Babylon Gardens, with an extreme hatred, or at least dislike, of cats and a need to be in charge of all the dogs in the neighborhood. Considering how well his club, The Good Old Dogs Club, is going, I think I can guess how he got here.

Bino Costner: SASL Club Leader

"I'm pretty sure that we shouldn't fight at the moment… I think…" says a white and brown dog with pink eyes. She has weird heart in her fur and one piercing in her right ear, and a pink collar holding a pink heart tag. Like Fido, Sasha here is easy to recognize, especially since she had a very long on and off relationship with Bino, and considering the fact that I keep seeing her in movies and on TV now, I can tell she probably got here from acting.

Sasha: SASL Actress

"She's right. We need to know what's going on. We are supposed to meet here, right?" Fido asks.

"No, we were supposed to meet on the roof. Of course we meet here, you dolt!" Duchess yells.

"Yes, because fighting is the best answer at the moment." says a black cat. Her collar and ankh tag match her yellow eyes. So, Sabrina got accepted as well. I think I can guess what for, considering how well she was able to talk with that ghost that one Halloween.

Sabrina: SASL Medium

"Um, I th-think I agree. I d-don't think we should be fighting right now…" says a timid voice that seems kinda familiar, but I haven't heard it in a while. Wait!

"Res?" I ask, looking in the direction of the voice.

"O-oh! Grape!" he says, obviously surprised. The yellow-eyed grey cat with the pale yellow collar and maple leaf tag starts walking towards me as he states, "I didn't think you would be here."

"I think I could actually say the same. Unless Ms. Auburn told the school about the truth about you-know-what, I have to ask, how did you get in?"

"Well…" Res says as he rubs his head sheepishly. No way…

"She actually admitted it?!" I yell, completely shocked.

"Y-yeah. Now I'm here, as the SASL Author…"

Res Auburn: SASL Author

In case you haven't heard, and I know you haven't, this is Res Auburn, the real author of The Pridelands series. Though Ms. Auburn's name is on the cover, the only reason it's there is because Res is kinda shy and wanted her to take the credit for writing it.

"Who admitted what?" Sasha asks, confused as usual.

I look at Res for a sign of approval, and when he responds with a slight nod, I say, "This is Res Auburn, the true author of The Pridelands series!" while I put an arm around his shoulders.

Suddenly, I'm thrown to the side by two off-white blurs, one tan blur, and a black blur. When I manage to get my face off the floor, I see that the blurs were three cats and a dog.

"Is that true? Is that seriously true?! You're the real author of the books?!" B asks with wide eyes, her face showing complete shock.

"It has to be true! Grape wouldn't lie about that, she's a big fan, too! That means… OH MY GOSH!" gushes a grey-eyed, off-white cat with a couple of light brown spots. Even though we don't talk much, Fiddler wasn't hard to recognize, especially with her black collar with a violin tag. You can probably tell what her talent is.

Fiddler: SASL Violinist

"You… you are seriously my favorite author ever! N-no one else could even compare themselves to you!" bellows the black cat with grey eyes and a white collar, a couple of piano keys hanging from it to form the tag. Similar to Fiddler, I haven't seen Keys in a while, but I did kind of expect both of them, given their musical talents. It was nice to see that both halves of the couple had gotten in.

Keys: SASL Pianist

"I knew it! I always knew it! There was no way that a human could write through the eyes of a cat so well! It had to be a cat!" exclaims the only dog in the group. With a fur pattern matching Fido's, except the spot being on the left eye, he was a bit smaller than the cats surrounding Res, and didn't seem to mind that he was the only canine in the group. From his light blue collar hangs a green diamond with a 'J' on it, and on his forehead lies a pair of light blue goggles that match with his light blue eyes. Joey is a weirdo that I can recognize, as he has been a part of several over our pretend sessions. Why he is here, I have only one guess.

Joey: SASL Roleplayer

"G-grape?" Res whimpers weakly.

I have to make a face at him in response, "Sorry, but I'm not crazy enough to get in the way of rabid fanboys and fangirls." While Res is getting carried away by the small mob, I decide to try and apologize to Peanut for earlier. While walking, I see that there are three other canines with him. One is Tarot, a golden-furred pomeranian with yellow eyes, a red collar, and a green tarot card as the tag. It's obvious that she has gotten in thanks to her psychic abilities, even if they've been weakened or whatever it was.

Tarot: SASL: Psychic

The other two canines with Peanut are the tallest animals in the room, understandable since they're both grey-furred wolves. Their blue eyes are a similar shade, but their body types help tell the difference between them, one have a slightly slimmer, more feminine body, along with piercings on both ears and a necklace of pearls. Lucretia I can recognize, even though I haven't seen her in a while, but I can't tell who the other one is. I had only met Lucretia and her husband, Miles, and their cubs a few times, and I never really thought there were many others with them, other than that corgi King and his wife Bailey.

"Hey, Peanut," I say, grabbing his attention.

"Grape!" Peanut happily yells, running over with what seems to be a death grip on the wolves. Tarot followed behind at a slower pace. "I know you met Lucretia," Peanut continues as he lets go of Lucretia," But did you meet Elaine?" He lets go of the other wolf.

"Can't say I have," I reply, shaking the Elaine's now outstretched paw. Though it was a nice gesture, her face seemed to suggest she was frustrated to be here. Considering she's not looking at me though, I don't think she's upset at me. I try to grab her attention by saying "So how exactly did you two get in this school?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm a midwife." Elaine states when her eyes lock on me, her expression softening.

Elaine Milton: SASL Midwife

Wait, what?

"Um, sorry, but what's a midwife?" I inquire, hoping that I'm not blushing. I feel like I've heard the term before, but I just can't put my finger on it.

"I help deliver babies." Elaine says nonchalantly. Ah, that's it. So, I guess... she's really good at her job? I don't know, I can't make comments on all of them.

"As for myself," Lucretia says to make my attention shift to her, "I am here as a 'Feral Pioneer'. Supposedly it has something to do with our family living in a house rather than in the wild."

Lucretia Milton: SASL Feral Pioneer

I guess that one makes sense. According to what I've heard, their family is the only one where ferals are able to live like humans. Well, the only one that wasn't arrested or anything. Apparently a bunch of feral families have tried to integrate into society before, but thanks to the fact that they were only doing it so they could get in touch with human criminal life easier, they were forced to face the consequences of their actions.

There's only one thing that bothers me though, "Sorry, but why did you get accepted? It was Miles who tried to get you guys your current life and ended up running into one of the Milton ferrets, so wouldn't it be him here instead?"

"According to the letter, it was thanks to the baby shower I had planned. It had just put me above Miles in the area of integrating with human life." Lucretia answers with a smile. I don't mention the fact that my mom was at that party and told Peanut and I how it went. Long story short, the vomiting was not morning sickness.

"Well, I'm glad it was Lucretia. She's a fiercer bodyguard, in my opinion." says a feminine voice from behind me. I turn and see four ferrets walking our way, three males and one female. The girl has white head fur and yellowish whitish body with yellow eyes and a pink collar. One of the boys is pure white fur and collar wise, with pink eyes covered by yellow star-shaped sunglasses. He also seems to have a jacket made entirely out of diamonds.

Turning my attention two the other two, I see that one of them has whitish blue fur on his head and paws, dark greyish blue for the upper part of his chest, and light greyish blue for the rest of his body. Along with his green collar, he has on a red baseball cap. The final ferret is mostly brown with his head being a very light tan, except around his grey eyes, which are hidden by a large pair of sunglasses. The area is brown as well. They all share a similar tag, that being a pill like thing.

"Well, you know what they say about a woman's scorn," Lana says in response to our stares. "Anyway, my name's Lana Milton, SASL Spokeswoman. Nice to meet you."

Lana Milton: SASL Spokeswoman

"I know who you are," I say in response as I cross my arms. "I live in Babylon Gardens, after all."

"Well sorry, but we can't remember every pet who lives there," Keene says while adjusting his sunglasses. "And if you were wondering," he points to Rock, "Director," to Pit, "Radio Host," at himself, "Eccentric."

Rock Milton: SASL Director

Pit Milton: SASL Radio Host

Keene Milton: SASL Eccentric

Everyone and their grandmother has heard of these ferrets. The Milton ferrets are the only animals in the world that own a company that is worth billions and billions of dollars thanks to their dad leaving it to them in his will. I can believe the first three since they're the only ones who could have those talents, but one of them confuses me. "Eccentric? What is that supposed to mean?"

"That I'm rich and I do 'crazy' stuff with my money." Keene answers almost automatically. He then grumbles, "I don't really see how trying to liberate animals and make them all equal is crazy, though…"

"I think it's more your methods of getting that, Keene." Lana states bluntly.

"Or everything else you spend money on." Rock continues.

"Yes, because I'm the only one that buys ridiculous things on a whim." Keene replys as he throws a glare their way. Well, I assume he does. It's hard tell with those big sunglasses.

"Point is, Darling," Pit says as pushes past his siblings. "We are trying to get to know a bit more on the others here, and you're one of the last few animals we need to properly meet. Well, you and that black cat behind you." he finishes as he points behind me. Wait, what?!

"You just had to ruin my fun, didn't you?" Despite the impromptu warning from Pit, the voice manages to make me jump jump a foot or two. When I land, I turn to see a male black cat with a grey underside and aquamarine blue eyes. The blue collar with a yellow bell tag and the noticeable chunk taken out of his right ear make him easy to identify. Especially since if I forgot Maxie, my own boyfriend, I think I could be labeled as an amnesiac and not be upset. I can also tell how he got here, at least considering the new light blue button on his collar that says 'The True Party Master'.

Maxwell Costner: SASL Party Planner

"Maxie!" I yell at him, not even bothering to try and keep my voice low. "We've already talked about this! No sneaking up on anyone! Well, not everyone of course, but at least not me!"

"Sorry, but it was the perfect opportunity! It's not like I get to see you caught off guard that often." he says as he grabs and plays with my tail.

I do the same in response and make a devilish grin as I say, "Fine, but I now suggest you watch your back and sleep with one eye open. You won't know when I'll pounce, but I will."

He gulps as nervousness becomes apparent on his face. "O-okay, s-sorry." he says, definitely regretting his decision. He coughs and tries to regain his cool and confident demeanor as he asks, "So, how did you get accepted, Sweetheart?"

Ah, the dreaded question that was bound to come sooner or later. Tentatively, I answer, "I… got picked in the lottery. SASL Good Luck." Unsurprisingly, there's at least a little laughter. Quite a bit from Bino, who must have overheard the conversation, and a chuckle came from Maxie. "You do realize how big of a hole you're digging for yourself, right?" I question. It gets him to shut up, at least. Bino on the other hand…

"Are you serious?! Oh my dog, this is one of the best days of my life!" he wheezed out. "So you're basically the SASL Unimportant Pet, right?! This is pri-hurk!" He would've finished that sentence, if not for the blueish dark grey hand of a husky that had grabbed his collar. Her stomach, outer part of her tail, and inner part of her ears are a blueish white and her eyes are a shade lighter than the blue bandana around her neck. I don't notice this immediately though, considering what she's doing at the moment.

"For pete's sake, I thought King was kidding when he said how bad you were." she says as she shakes her head, possibly disappointed. "I usually don't don't like making first impressions like this, but if you keep that up I might sew your mouth shut. Understand?" Bino nodded rapidly in response. "Good," she says as she drops him. He scrambles behind Duchess, visibly shaking. "By the way, the name's Bailey. I got accepted as the SASL Canine Shepard."

Bailey Milton: SASL Canine Shepard

I remember her a bit. She's the only dog in Babylon Gardens is married. Me and a bunch of other pets got to be at the wedding thanks to it being sponsored by the Miltons. They would've invited people that were closer to the bride and groom, but then the only pets from Babylon Gardens that would be there would have been Sasha and Fox. Again, I guess she's the best at this talent? I have no idea.

"Grape Sandwich, and thanks for taking care of Bino." I say in response. "He can be a real prick sometimes."

"Yeah, I've heard. I hoped he wasn't as bad as I was told, though. Instead he's worse." she said with a sigh. "Oh well. No use crying over spilled milk, I guess."

"Especially when the milk is as rotten as Bino." Max says, trying to jump back into the conversation. "He is seriously the worst sometimes."

"Well, he's not that bad," says a new voice, hopefully the last animal that I have to meet. He's a rabbit, and the only one in the room. His fur is grey with a white underside and his eyes are a bright green that matches his collar. His tag is a simple purple circle with a 'Z' in it. Like Lucretia, I haven't really seen or gotten to know Zach that much, but I can still recognize him. Taking in the fact that most, if not all, the animals in the forest worship him as 'The Opener Of Ways' I can guess pretty well how he got here.

Zachary Arbelt: SASL Prophet

"And what exactly makes you say that?" Max asks, slight annoyance visible in his tone of voice.

"Well, considering he isn't the one that nearly made my heart stop on two different Halloweens, I think he's a bit nicer than you." Zach says, his tone of voice showing annoyance as well.

"Oh come on, it was funny!" Max says. "It's not like you got hurt. Not to mention you agreed to go in the haunted house the second time!"

"Anyways," I interrupt, trying to turn the subject to one of relevance. "I think I'm going to be the one here who asks the question on everyone's minds; what is going on here?!"

"I'd be happy to answer, Sweetcheeks!" says a comically high and squeaky voice from the stage on the other side of the gym. Who could that be? Wait, Sweetcheeks?!

Suddenly, from behind the podium on the stage a… stuffed animal pops up. It's a bear with the right side being white and the left side being black. The white seems nice, with a regular tiny black eye and a normal face. The black side, however, looks to be filled with cruelty and malice, having a long and toothy grin and a red scar for an eye.

"I-is that a t-t-teddy bear?" surprisingly, Res is the first one to speak.

"I am NOT a teddy bear!" the bear screeches.

"D-d-did that thing just talk?!" Keys understandably shrieks.

"C-calm down. There's probably a speaker i-inside of this pup's toy." Bino says while walking towards the stage.

"I am NOT a toy! Do I have to say that a million times?!" the bear says as he lurches in Bino's direction. How did it just-?!

"Th-that thing moved! That thing d-definitely moved!" Fiddler cries as she points toward the bear.

"I'm not a 'thing' either! I am Monokuma! Your headmaster! Or, I guess you Americans would say principal." the bear, Monokuma, says as he waves a paw at himself.

"Puh-lease. Like any of us would believe that." Duchess says, a look of contempt on her face.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Monokuma asks, raising a paw to his face, possibly looking confused. Hard to tell when it's mostly stuck the way it is.

"I mean, it's not like any of us can believe this is anything other than a prank." Duchess continues, crossing her arms.

"She has a point." Elaine says, contempt visible on her face as well. "Considering the students that come to this school, it is not an unbelievable idea that some of the students had set this up."

"Yeah!" Fido says, anger quite noticeable in his tone of voice. "If you're our principal, show us some proof!"

"Proof? You want some proof?" Monokuma asks in a pitying tone. "Is my word really not proof enough? What else could I tell you to convince you? That I scrambled the school staff like eggs and put myself in charge?" He let out a laugh at this statement. "I may be cruel, but I wouldn't say something like that outright!"

"L-listen, Monobear," Joey said, trying to sound confident but failing. "Wh-what's going on here?! We want answers!"

"Right! Thanks for getting me back on point, dork!" Monokuma says in response to Joey's question. "Also, while Monobear is my name in English, I prefer Monokuma."

"Dork?!" Joey shouts, clearly enraged. "Who are you calling-"

"Shut it! I need to give an explanation!" Monokuma says. After Joey calms down a bit, he clears his throat and says, "As you all know, you all are the biggest hopes for the world of animals. The cream of the crop! So, in order to protect you super stars from the corruption of the outside world," Monokuma waved his arms around at that statement, "I have decided to have you all live in this school for the rest of your lives!"

"WHAT?!" Is the word the rings through the gym.

"You heard me!" Monokuma shouts. "This is your new forever home! No place else! You're stuck here!"

"B-but do you really think we can j-just accept this?! Th-that we can just l-live here forever?!" Zach screams.

"Well, there is technically one way for you to leave." Monokuma says, his grin possibly widening.

"Alright! What is it, then?" Bailey shouts at him.

"Kill someone!" Monokuma exclaims. The sentence manages to shut everyone up. K-kill someone? What kind of joke is this?!

"Ok, that is enough." I hear from Lucretia not that far away. When I look in her direction, I only see a gray blur going towards the stage. A second later, Monokuma screeches as he is picked up by Lucretia. "This joke has gone far enough, and I would prefer that it ends now."

"Aaah!" Monokuma yells. "V-violence against the headmaster is strictly forbidden!" After saying this, he starts beeping.

Lucretia loosens her grip on him as confusion enters her face. "What the-"

"Throw it!" Tarot bellows, finally breaking her silence.

More confusion gets plastered onto Lucretia's face. "Wh-what is he-"

"Just throw it!" Tarot screams. Lucretia finally does as she says, chucking Monokuma across the gym. While in the air, Monokuma explodes, bathing the room in red and orange light and knocking all of us onto our butts. Did that- how did- he just- WHAT?!

"H-he's dead, right?" Rock asks meekly. "H-he just exploded. Th-there's no w-way he could've survived, r-right?"

"Wrong!" Monokuma says as he pops up from behind the podium again. "Do you really think that there is only one of me at this school? Upupupupupupupupu!" he giggled out. "Well, at least it gave me a good way to show you that this isn't a prank or anything!"

"Wh-what the howl was that?!" Sasha screeches, an understandably shocked look on her muzzle. "You could have killed her!"

"The point was to kill her, captain brain power." Monokuma says. "Like I said though, this ain't no prank. This is what's really happening. To get out of here, you have to kill someone! Strangulation, blunt force trauma, poison, stabbing, burning, drowning, etc. I don't care about the method, it just has to get someone dead! But I guess you can read all about it, in your new," at this statement, he pulls out a half black half white canvas bag, and pulls out a couple what looks like IPhones. "Electronic Handbooks! Or E-Handbooks for short!" He then starts handing out the handbooks. "They have profiles on every student here, all the rules for your new lives, a map of this floor, a camera, and a recorder! Also, they're pretty much indestructible, so don't worry about breaking them!"

When I get mine, I immediately turn on the thing by pressing the one button on it. I'm greeted to the words 'Welcome Grape Jelly Sandwich' being plastered to the front of the screen. When it disappears, I see that it does have all the things he described, with the recorder being on the front side and the camera on the back. I quickly check what the rules are.

Rule 1: Violence against yours truly is completely forbidden. Destruction of any surveillance equipment is also strictly prohibited.

Rule 2: There will be a designated 'Night Time' from 10pm to 7am. During this time, certain rooms will be out of bounds to students and the water supply will be shut off.

Rule 3: Students must sleep in the designated sleeping areas provided. Anyone found sleeping elsewhere will be punished accordingly.

Rule 4: You can investigate whenever you want, wherever you want, but none of the locked doors may be broken into. All rooms will, however, be unlocked during investigation time.

Rule 5: If one of the students kills another student (or students), will be able to "graduate" only if they are able to convince the other students that they're not the blackened and get through the class trial. If the blackened succeeds, they will be free to go to the outside world, while the rest of the students are punished, but if the blackened fails, they alone will be punished.

Rule 6: At most, only two people can be killed per trial so nobody can win by mass murder.

Rule 7: A 'Body Discovery Announcement' will be made after a corpse is found by three students that did not commit the deed, followed by the release of a 'Monokuma File'.

Rule 8: The act of loaning and/or borrowing Electro IDs is strictly forbidden and both parties will be punished if caught.

Rule 9: Additional rules may be added at any time.

I quickly turn the thing off. I don't want to hear about this murdering rule at all. But one question about it rolls into my mind; what is a class trial?

"Anyway, that's about it!" Monokuma says when he finishes passing out the handbooks. He then runs back to the podium, and before he jumps behind it again, he says, "Seeya later! Happy killing!" And like that, he's gone.

I almost can't believe what just happened. If it weren't for the heat from the explosion and the kick back of it, I would've been convinced that I'd gone crazy. Bonkers. That I had been hit on the head with something and got a concussion. But it was real. It was terrifyingly real.

"H-he's not serious, right?" I hear Res whimper. "Th-this is some big, c-c-convoluted prank, right?"

"Sadly, that's not what is important right now." Tarot says as she gets up from sitting. Only then that I realize that most of us were still on the ground from the explosion. Myself and all the others scramble to get up as she continues, "What matters is that if anyone took it seriously."

I realize that she is right. I may know most of the people here, but not all of them I know well. Some of them could be planning a murder and I wouldn't even know it. For a while, we're all frozen there. Everyone suspecting each other, doubting one another, wondering if their friend was going to stay loyal, or betray them in the worst way.

Prologue: Entrance Into Despair: End

Pets Left: 22

(A.N.: Wow, this was nerve wracking! I hope you guys like this. Now, the important part. At this point in a Dangan Ronpa game, there would be Free Time Events, where the main character gets to know the other characters, and at one point a Special Event, where a bunch of the characters get together and do something. I'll deal with the Special Event later, now we have to talk about the Free Time Events, or FTE's for short. Since this isn't a video game, I need you guys to vote for who you want Grape to spend time with. You can post the votes as reviews or you can PM them to me, I'm good either way, just please make sure you vote if you want to. I will tally up the votes after a week, and the one with the most votes will get the first FTE, the second most will get the second most, and so on. There will be four FTE's total. That's all for now, and again, I really hope you guys liked this. Oh, and if you have any comments or criticisms, please PM them to me. Happy voting!)