Okay, so, it appears I did not describe Albert's appearance in the last chapter. Oops. I guess it slipped my mind.
I mentioned he wore a lab coat with the Hope's Peak insignia on the chest pocket. That's really it. To be fair, my mind is a little more focused on how Albert fits into the story. As such, I didn't really think about his appearance that much, as it doesn't really impact the story in a significant way. I'm assuming most people would imagine him as some sort of nerdy-looking guy, maybe with glasses, because of his whole "Ultimate Physicist" persona. Pack a few pounds of chub onto that, and it's not really too far off from my appearance. It should also be worth noting that Albert is from our reality, and would probably look very bland when he stands next to a class of Anime characters (I know being average is Makoto's thing, but still).
That's enough of that, though. In this chapter, class 78th will meet their new headmaster. Most of it is just me writing the in-game dialogue, with Albert adding a new phrase here or there. I can't wait for free-time and stuff, so that Albert isn't just being part of a cutscene. Either way, I hope you enjoy the read.
Chapter 1
Passing through the trophy room, I found myself in the gym. Taking up the rear, I stood at the back-center of the group, so everyone, including the stage, was in my sight. There were brilliant decorations set up for our arrival. Despite the fact that there were chairs in front of the stage, nobody dared to sit down.
"Oh. It really does just look like an entrance ceremony..." Makoto observed.
"See? Told ya!" Hiro said proudly. "It's totally normal entrance ceremony stuff."
That's when the voice from the announcement earlier returned. "Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!" That's when he finally showed his face. That's when... Monokuma appeared.
The visage of a teddy bear, one half black, the other white, leaped up from behind the lectern. His white half looked like a typical bear, while the black half had a slasher-smile and that creepy red eye of his. Honestly, after playing Danganronpa 1 and 2, it was kinda like seeing an old friend. The kind of friend you just hate to have around. Everyone stood in stunned silence for a moment.
"Huh? A... teddy bear?" Chihiro hesitated.
"I'm not a teddy bear." Monokuma's squeaky voice had a dangerous edge to it. "I... am... Monokuma! And I am this school's headmaster!" He cheered. "Nice to meet you all!"
"Wh-? Waaaaaah! That teddy bear can talk!" Hifumi cried in shock.
"Calm down! I'm sure there's just a speaker inside it." Taka assured.
"I told you already, I'm not a teddy bear..." The bear warned. "I'm Monokuma! And I'm your headmaster!"
"Waaaaah! It moved!" Hifumi cried again. Doesn't take a lot to set him off, I guess.
"Seriously man, calm down!" Mondo scolded. "It's prolly just a remote control toy or somethin'."
Monokuma looked at his feet. "How dare you compare me to a child's plaything! You've cut me deep. Deeper than the Mariana Trench..." He looked up at us. "My remote control system is so complex, even the folks at NASA can't recreate or even comprehend it!"
"I mean, I'm pretty sure NASA uses more automatic machinery." I muttered. "Just sayin'." Kyoko and Celeste were really the only one's close enough to here me. They didn't react.
Monokuma continued. "Ah, but don't make me say stuff that might destroy NASA's dreams. I just couldn't BEAR that!" I face-palmed.
""Bear" that? Really? You are... unfortunate." Celeste sighed.
"Now then, moving on! We really must hurry and get started..." Monokuma announced.
"Giving up already?" Junko tested. "No other stupid bear puns?"
"Don't encourage him." I groaned.
"Quiet down now, quiet down." Monokuma ordered. "Ah, okay, so...!"
"He has abandoned the gag..." Sakura noted.
"Everyone, stand at attention and bow! And... good morning!" He called.
Taka's voice cut through the room. "Good morning!"
"Y-You don't have to s-say it back..." Toko told him.
Monokuma took back the crowd. "Now then, let us commence with the most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony! First, let's talk a bit about what your school life here will be like. Now, ah, make no mistake-you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world. And to protect such splendid hope..."
Here it comes. "...You will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school. Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school. Ah, now then... regarding the end date for this communal life... There isn't one! In other words, you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you've been assigned."
"Wh-What did he just say? Until the day we d-die?" Toko stammered.
"Oh, but fear not!" Monokuma assured. "We have quite an abundant budget, so you won't lack for all the common conveniences."
"That's the least of our worries right now!" Sayaka blurted.
"Yeah, what the hell?" Junko whined. "You're saying I have to live here forever? You're screwing with us, right?"
Monokuma snapped. "I am not screwing with you! I am no liar, of that you can be 100% sure. Ah, and just for your information... you're completely cut off from the outside world. So you don't have to worry about that dirty dirty land beyond these walls ever again!"
"Cut off...?" Mokoto said softly. "So all those metal plates all over the school... They're there to keep us trapped in here?"
"That's exactly what they're there for." Monokuma confirmed. "No matter how much you may yell and scream for help... help will not come. So with all of that in mind, feel free to live out your life here with reckless abandon!"
"Well, shit." I said. My voice was drowned out by the other students complaints.
"Come on, what the hell is this?" Leon pressed. "I don't care if the school or whoever else is behind it all, this is just a really bad joke."
"Yeah!" Mondo fumed. "Cut this shit out! It isn't funny anymore!"
Monokuma shook his head. Or, about as much as a teddy bear could shake it's head. "You keep saying this is a lie, or a joke. A bunch of skeptics, all of you. But I guess you can't help it, huh? You all grew up in an age where you're taught to doubt your neighbour... Well, you'll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true. And when that time comes, you'll see with your own eyeballs that I speak the undeniable truth."
Celeste, of course, looked less surprised, and more just... disappointed. "Having to live here forever would be... quite the problem."
"Come now, what's the problem with all of you?" Monokuma's voice feigned concern. "You decided of your own free will to attend Hope's Peak Academy, didn't you? And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you've already decided you want to leave? Oh, but you know..."
In order to keep up my guise of a regular student, I decided to let out a "What is it now?"
He giggled to himself for a second. "I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There is one way for you to leave the school..."
"R-Really?" Toko's voice was hopeful.
But, as is Monokuma's nature, he would quickly rip that hope away. "As headmaster, I've crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it... the Graduation Clause!"
"Gee, how long did it take you to come up with that one." I muttered.
He continued, either ignoring me or not hearing me. "Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule. As I've mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school. That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!"
Byakuya finally decided to say something. "What do you mean by "disrupt the harmony"?
"Puhuhu... Well, you know..." Monokuma said slowly. "If a student were to murder another."
"M-Murder!?" Makoto and several others expressed their shock.
Monokuma continued in an almost sing-song. "Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter. You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible."
Well, we will achieve the best outcome. As long as Makoto's here. We can beat this killing school game. With many sacrifices. Okay, psyching myself up isn't working. I notice that, while I'm trying to stay determined, everyone else is equally unhinged. Even Kyoko, despite hiding it well, has a darkened expression.
"Puhuhu. I bet that got your brain juices flowing!" The twisted bear laughed. "Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh? Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world. But you know... Taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair. And I just find that so... darn... exciting!"
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Leon exclaimed. "To kill each other is... it's...!"
"To kill each other is to kill each other." Monokuma said flatly. "I'm sure there's a dictionary here somewhere if you need it."
"We know what it means, that's not the problem!" Hina cried. "Why do we have to kill each other!?"
"Yeah!" Hifumi shouted. "Stop blabbering on with all this nonsense! Just let us go home already!"
"...Blabbering?" Monokuma had that dangerous edge in his voice again. "Blabbering, blabbering, what do you mean blabbering!? Stop blabbering on about blabbering on! You guys just don't get it, do you? "Let us go, let us go!" You keep on saying the same thing over and over and over and over...! Listen. From this moment on, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it? And you can kill as much as you wanna kill! So go ahead, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!" Yeah, until you make the rule about only being able to kill two people.
"Alright, come on... how long are you gonna keep this up." Hiro sniffed.
"Eh?"
"You got us, okay? You scared the hell out of us. So you can go ahead and reveal the trick now."
"Reveal the trick...?"
I spoke up. "I think what he means is, he doesn't believe you."
Mondo basically shoved me. "Dude, shut the hell up and get outta my way." His voice was booming. "Listen up, asshole! This shit's gone way too far! What the hell kinda joke is this!?"
"Joke?" Monokuma asked. "What, you mean like your hair?
"FFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-!" Mondo kicked off the ground. He flew at Monokuma, not unlike a superhero, or anime character. He grabbed the stuffed bear by the neck. "Gotcha, you little piece of shit! I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever the hell! Either way, I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds!"
Monokuma flailed his stubby hands around. "Waah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!"
"Shut the fuck up! Let me outta here, or I swear to Christ..." He stopped. The bear didn't respond, instead emitting a low beeping. "What, no smartass comeback this time!?" Again, no response. "Stop that goddamn beeping and SAY SOMETHING!"
"Look out!" I warned, expecting what's to come.
"Huh...?" Mondo hesitated.
"Hurry up and throw it!" Kyoko commanded, the first line she said after entering the gym. Following her direction, he threw Monokuma high into the air, where the plush toy exploded, leaving no trace of it's existence. Everyone was holding their ears, temporarily deafened by the blast.
"The hell!?" Mondo swore after recovering. "Th-That sure as shit wasn't a joke. It blew the hell up..."
After a moment, Chihiro's face lit up. "But you know... this means that teddy bear's been destroyed, right?"
"I told you, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!" The voice was back. I let out a groan as another model popped up out of nowhere.
"Uwah!" Leon jumped. "There's another one...?"
"You son of a bitch!" Mondo stomped forward. "You seriously tried to kill me just now!"
"Well, yes. I was serious about trying to kill you." Monokuma explained slowly. "You did violate one of the school regulations, after all. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you'd better be careful from now on. Any naughty boy or girl who violates my rules won't get off with just a little swat on the butt."
"H-Hey..." Junko asked carefully. "So does this mean there's like, a bunch more of you around somewhere?"
"Monokumas have been placed all throughout the school, yes." He confirmed. "Plus, don't forget the surveillance cameras installed everywhere. And if you're caught breaking any rules, well... you all just saw what happened, right? Puhuhu... And I won't be so forgiving with my punishment next time. So don't let it happen again!"
Hina stuttered. "Th-That's not even punishment. That's just... wrong..."
"Now then, lastly... to commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you..." Monokuma reached into his... pocket? Does he even have pockets? Whatever. "This is our official student handbook! Pretty cool, huh? As you can see, it's fully digital. So naturally, we call it... The e-Handbook!" He gave a moment of silence, as if expecting applause. There were not any. "Ahem. Yes, well, moving on..."
I decided to stop paying attention to him. As he talked about the handbooks, he began waddling around, handing them out to their new owners. When he got to me, I don't know what I was expecting, but he handed me a handbook, without so much as a second glance. I booted up the I-phone sized tablet, and sure enough, my full name, Albert Wright, appeared on the screen. The fact that Monokuma accepted my presence was weird. The fact that he was prepared for it was even weirder. I was sure something would happen and I wouldn't be able to stay here, or something. I slipped the e-Handbook into my pocket.
"Okay, well... that brings our entrance ceremony to a close!" Monokuma cheered. "Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life! And... see ya!" With that, he was gone. I'm serious, I blinked and he was gone. Wacky.
Taka was the first to recover. "So, guys... How would you define what we just experienced?"
"How...? Why...?" Leon was paralyzed. "I don't understand any of this..."
Toko was gripping her head. "We have to l-live here forever...? Or... k-kill? Wh-What...? What just happened!?"
"Everyone, we need to just calm down." Kyoko eased. "First, let's just take a second to summarize everything we just heard. Based on what Monokuma said, we essentially have two choices." She began pacing. "Choice number one is that we each stay here, living a "communal life" together until the day we die. And the other choice is..."
"If we want to get out of here alive, we have to kill someone. Right?" Celeste confirmed.
"But... killing someone... That's..." Chihiro whimpered.
Hifumi quivered in place. "We were abducted out of nowhere and stuffed into this place meant to look like a school. And now we're supposed to start killing each other? This is... This is... this is just...! What is this!?"
"A lie, is what it is." Taka declared. "All these ridiculous things we've heard... This all has to be fake!"
Byakuya simply rolled his eyes at everyone. "Right now it doesn't really matter if it's real or fake. What matters is... Is there anyone here who's seriously considering all of this...?"
Everyone was backed away from each other. They tried to read each others thoughts. From my spot in the back of the crowd, I had a vantage point over everyone. Knowing how the game plays out, I glanced at Sayaka, then to Leon. It was clear no one was actually thinking of killing yet, but Monokuma had managed to plant the worries of betrayal in even my mind.
We stood like that for a stressfully long time before Kyoko broke the silence. "So? What are you going to do now? Just stand around glaring at each other?"
I sighed. "She's right, this is exactly what that bear wants."
"R-Right... They're right!" Taka shouted. "Sometimes, even if you're nervous or afraid, you just have to step forward! To forget such a simple fact... I can't forgive myself. I'm so ashamed! Please, someone hit me! I can't forgive myself! Somebody hit me! Punish me!"
"Jesus." Mondo grunted. "If you have time to yell about it, you have time to do something about it."
"Perhaps, but... what is the mission, exactly?" Hifumi asked.
"Idiot!" Leon scolded. "To look for a way out, duh!"
Junko added "And we totally need to find whoever was controlling that stupid bear and beat the hell out of 'em."
Chihiro shifted on her feet. "...B-But before we do all that, maybe we should take a look at the handbook... It's probably best to check out the school regulations Monokuma mentioned before doing anything else."
"True." Celeste admitted. "If we stumble around with no clue what the rules are, something like that might happen again..."
"Shit..." Mondo shook his head.
"Fine." Junko conceded. "Then let's hurry up and check out the stupid rules already."
Everyone booted up their handbooks. I noticed the different apps on it. There was the school map, the truth bullets, which was currently inaccessible, the report card, and finally, the school regulations. I skimmed over the regulations, occasionally nodding my head or going "Ah" for dramatic effect. I looked up, and everyone else seemed pretty upset.
"This is bullshit!" Mondo exclaimed. "What the hell kinda rules are these!? I'm not gonna let them control ME!"
"Well then," Celeste said. "why don't you wander around the school without a care in the world and see what happens? Personally, I would love to see what happens when someone breaks one of the rules."
Hifumi shook his head. "But if he got punished like what we saw before, I don't think there'd be a respawn waiting for him..."
Mondo was silent for a moment. "I... Ever since I was a kid, I grew up with my older brother pounding this into my head... When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it, even if it kills him."
"...So what?" Junko asked.
"I've made a ton of promises that I still have to keep, that's "so what"! So I can't afford to die in here!"
"None of that made much sense to me," Celeste admitted. "but you are saying you will follow the regulations, is that it?"
"Huh? Oh, well... yeah, I guess you're right."
"Hey, um... I have a question." Sayaka said carefully. "For regulation number six... what do you think it means exactly?"
Makoto glanced at his handbook. "You're talking about the second half, right? Where it says "unless they are discovered"? I was wondering about that myself."
"It's saying that if you want to graduate, you have to kill someone without anyone finding out it was you." Byakuya clarified.
"B-But why...?" Toko pled. "Why do we h-have to do that?"
"I don't see any reason to worry about it." He said with a shrug. "Just worry about following the rules as they've been explained to us. Frankly, I don't want to hear anything from someone who waits for others to decide what to do for them."
She blushed and turned away. "D-Don't jab at me..."
"More like a full-on stab..." Leon joked.
"Well, for now, let's forget all that silly junk about murderers or whatever." Hina said. "Now that we know the rules, let's start exploring the school!"
"True." Taka agreed. "We need to find out where exactly we are. Is there any way out? What about food and supplies? There are a ton of questions we need to answer!"
"Damn straight!" Leon shouted. "Okay, then let's all start looking around!"
"...I'll be going alone." Byakuya stated.
"That is literally the most stupid thing you could be doing right now." I told him.
"Someone here might already have started thinking about murdering one of us." He clarified. "Are you saying we should stand around with them in our midst and make it that much easier for them?"
"W-Wait, hold on a second." Sayaka defended. "That would never-"
"Don't bother saying it couldn't happen. You can't deny the possibility. That's why you all seized up with fear when that graduation rule was made clear to you. Am I wrong?"
"B-But..."
"So, I'm simply acting in accordance with what I think is best for me."
"Hold on!" Mondo stepped in front of him. "Like hell I'm gonna let you run off and do whatever you want!"
"Out of my way, plankton." The billionaire said. It took everything I had to not shout "Spongebob reference."
"Wh-!?" The biker was speechless. "The fuck's that supposed to mean!?"
"One tiny bit of plankton, drifting across the sea. So miniscule, so insignificant, they couldn't possibly have any kind of influence over the boundless ocean."
"I'm gonna kick your ass!" Was the only thing Mondo could respond with.
"S-Stop it! We shouldn't fight!" Makoto begged.
Mondo turned to him. "The fuck you just say? You some kinda goody-goody little bitch? Who do you think you are, talking to me like that? You think you're my fuckin' dad or something!?"
I tried to step in. "Uh, hey, guys, maybe we should cool it a bit." I was, of course, ignored. I should probably work on asserting my presence, like Kyoko and Byakuya do.
Makoto backed up a bit. "N-No, I wasn't-!"
"Fuck you!" Mondo reeled back his fist, and brought it into Makoto's face, as quick and forceful as a gunshot. Makoto flew back. Like, literally, he was in the air for a second, before hitting the bleachers on the side of the room, and crumbling to the floor. Everyone stood in silence for a moment, with Mondo's frustrated breathing being the only sound.
"Nice job, retard." I finally said. "You almost just killed him for no reason." Upon hearing my choice of words, several of the others moved closer, to make sure Makoto was okay.
"Hey, fuck you, man!" Mondo burst, though he was not as fierce as he was before.
I shook my head, and brought my gaze over to Makoto. "Alright, well, there's an area on the school map that looks like a dorm. Someone should probably take him to his room."
"I'll do it." Sayaka said, and she began trying to lift Makoto into a bridal carry. She is definitely stronger than she looks, but she did stumble a bit.
Taka caught her, and took some of Makoto's weight himself. "Allow me to help, too." And with that, the three head out, toward the dorms.
Byakuya went out after them. "Truly, this has been fun, but I'm afraid I'll be leaving." Slowly, everyone else trickled out, grouping together to search the school. Kyoko left almost as quickly as Byakuya. Leon, Hiro, Junko, and Chihiro went off together. Hina, Sakura, and Mondo were also grouped up. Celeste, Toko, and Hifumi all sat in the gym. As much as I would love to sit down and do nothing, I would feel like a missive dick. I didn't want to go on my own, as I'm not sure what I would get done. Everyone else kinda covered every base in the game.
I approached Hina, Sakura, and Mondo, seeing as they were the smallest group doing something. "You guys mind if I tag along with you?"
"Nah, c'mon!" Hina cheered.
I expected Mondo to still be hostile, but he just shrugged. "Whatever."
Sakura nodded to me. "I don't mind."
Alright, so, the students of class 78th weren't completely friendly, but they were the only allies I had to work with against the mastermind. Here's hoping I can actually become friends with some of them. I'm afraid of spending too much time with any of the victim characters, though. I don't want to grow attached to them, knowing they're going to die, and be ripped away from me...
And that's how my school life at Hope's Peak academy began. I was here for less than an hour, in some dimension that was not my own, given an Ultimate Title that I never earned, and forced into a killing game where I knew who was going to die, wondering whether I should save them, or if doing so would lead to me being a victim myself.
Fuck.
Whew. Yeah, transcribing dialogue is tiring, but I didn't want to just skip this part. It is kinda important, what with everyone meeting the main antagonist for the first time. Besides, writing my own dialogue, like in some parts of the prologue, is more exhausting, since I have to try to keep everyone as in-character as possible. It shouldn't be too hard, since I know some of these characters like the back of my hand, but I'll still have to be cautious. I don't want to upset a die-hard fan. That never works out well, for either party involved.
Either way, in the next chapter, we'll... talk about what everyone found around the school. Just like they did in game. Yippee. Although, we'll probably also have time for more story stuff. (My story stuff, not the original game's story stuff.)
