"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma announced. "Everyone, please make your way to the main floor in the arcade!"

I couldn't believe my eyes. Right before my eyes, Arthur Pierce was dead and sticking out of the arcade machine. I glanced to Faith, and she seemed the most upset. In a matter of minutes, the rest of the Ultimates came and discovered the body with us.

"WHAT?!" Charlotte asked in shock.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Dan shouted.

"We just found him like this!" Owen shouted.

Suddenly, Monokuma appeared in front of us. "Here's a riddle: What do Arthur Pierce and Tom Wilson have in common? Answer: They only got to be in a class trial once! Now is your chance to be in a new trial!"

"This… This can't be happening!" I struggled to catch my breath. "Not again!"

At that moment, Faith knelt down and tears began streaming out of her eyes.

"Aw, no use crying over spilled blood, Faith." Monokuma said. "Hey, why don't you use this to catch his killer? Here you go." He then gave each of us a Monokuma File. "If you have any questions, just ask me and I'll try to answer the best I can without being biased." He left afterwards.

"Could… Could one of us really have murdered him?" Dan asked. "I mean, one is freaky, but two is unthinkable."

"None of us want to believe it," Stephen said, "But this is the truth. And if we don't find out who the blackened is, we're all going to the chopping block."

"Query: where do we even start?" Audrey asked.

"The Monokuma File was a good start last time." I said. "Let's take a look."

I opened up my Monokuma File and took a look at what was reported.

"The victim's name is Arthur Pierce, the Ultimate Engineer. The cause of death is a heart attack. The body was found inside of a Twilight Syndrome arcade game. The only notable change in his body appears to be a small insertion hole in his arm. Other than that, there are no other injuries in his entire body."

"That's it?" Sabrina asked. "Artie died of a heart attack! There's no way that he was murdered if it was that!"

"If Monokuma says that someone is a killer, we have no choice but to believe him and proceed with the trial." Ken said.

"But if no one's really the killer, how do we decide that?" Dan asked.

"Ooh! I know!" Adrian said. "Why don't we just not vote?"

"Not a good idea." The Mayor said as his logo appeared on a monitor. "If someone abstains from voting, they will receive punishment for not participating in the trial."

"No fair!" Vanessa shouted. "Then how do we show that there is no killer?"

"Rest assured, there is a murderer." The Mayor said. "That is no lie."

"That doesn't make any sense." Dan said. "He died of a heart attack."

"I'm not allowed to tell you any more." The Mayor said. "Just investigate."

So now, all I had to do was take a look around and take notes on what I see. Just like the last investigation, we all agreed to split into teams of two. I decided to go with Faith. I figured I'd keep an eye on her to see if she's okay.

I looked to see Arthur's body. It was exactly as Monokuma described, down to the hole in his arm. Though, there was one thing I couldn't find anywhere in this arcade. I looked around, and I found no trace of Arthur's wheelchair, not even any tiremarks on the floor. It made me wonder "how did Arthur get here?"

"Hey, Faith," I asked the little girl, "Are you okay?"

She stayed silent for a moment, but she then breathed in and out her mouth. "I will be. Once I find Arthur's killer, I'll feel a lot better."

"I'm starting to understand how much he meant to you." I said.

"You have no idea." Faith said. "Anyway, since we're partners here, I'd like to let you in on something. Follow me."

I went with her until we were both beside the vending machine. Faith knelt down and pointed at the screws on the side. When I asked her what was it about, she responded with, "There are fresh marks on them. Not to mention, one of them isn't screwed in all the way."

"How'd you see that?" I asked.

"While everyone else was questioning the Mayor about the heart attack being a murder weapon, I went over here to mourn my friend. This was the first thing I found."

"But to notice such a thing…" I said. Faith didn't respond. "Anyway, what does this mean?"

"Probably someone wanted this vending machine open." Faith said.

I glanced inside, and in one of the slots, I saw something behind one of the snacks. I pulled out whatever cash I could pull out and inserted enough for two snacks. I typed in "A3" and watched the two items fall. I reached into the slot and pulled out two things. One was a package of chips, which was actually normal in a vending machine. The second one was an empty syringe.

"Is that…" I asked.

"I believe it is." Faith said. "And look at the label. It reads 'property of the Hope City Hospital'."

"What was in it?" I asked.

"Hard to say." Faith said. "But I think I know where we can find out."


The two of us entered the hospital. It was only one story with only 16 rooms, so it wasn't long. Apparently, the first 15 rooms are for when any one of us citizens have to stay there and the last room is for emergencies complete with a circuit breaker, the thermostat, security cameras, and medical records. I managed to find my medical file, and this was thorough.

My file had my full name, "Jonathan Michael Conway", written on the top. It also had my picture, my birthday, my gender, my blood type, and even which hand I use. The only strange thing about it is the box underneath my basic info, which is labeled "Ultimate Talent". It was blank. My Ultimate Talent wasn't listed. If so, then how did I end up in this city?

Putting that away, I decided to learn more about the victim. It might be a bit disrespectful, but I might need it for the class trial. Yet, for some reason, no matter how much I scrolled through, I couldn't find Arthur's medical files. I then noticed that Faith's was missing as well. I scratched my head until Faith returned to me.

"Have you found anything?" I asked.

"Not really." Faith said. "I combed this entire place and didn't find squat that can help with the case. What did you find?"

"Well, our medical files." I said. "These sheets talk about all the citizens of Hope City. They have our basic info, our talents, and even our medical histories. I can't find Arthur's for some reason, or yours." Faith turned away from me. It looked like she was trying to hide something. I'd ask her about it, but I'm worried about wasting time, so I asked her a different question. "Can you tell me anything about Arthur? Anything that can help us with the investigation?"

"Well…" Faith said. "Obviously, you know about Arthur's paralysis. His birthday is April 5, he's right-handed, his blood type is B, and he has a heart condition."

"He does?" I asked.

"Certainly. I usually pack him some of his heart medications because he can't handle high-stress situations. I'm surprised he made it this long."

"So he could easily have a heart attack?" I asked.

"That's definitely his cause of death," Faith said, "But the Mayor insists that it was murder. It's also worth noting that Arthur is particularly cautious. Before he leaves, he usually writes down his plans and stuffs them in the cushion of his wheelchair."

I turned checked the emergency supplies, and found the syringes. They were lined up in rows, but when I found one of the syringe boxes, there was one missing. The box was labeled "adrenaline".

"Adrenaline?" I asked. I then began to remember the heart attack. "Could it be…"

"Where to now?" Faith asked.

"Hmm." I pondered. "Perhaps we should head to where Arthur slept. His and Owen's room should provide some clues. It did when we investigated Jaden and Tom's room."

"Okay." Faith said. "Let's go."


Faith and I checked out Arthur's room, and the two that were already there were Owen and Vanessa. We also found Arthur's wheelchair in front of the desk.

"You find anything?" I asked.

"Nothing." Owen said. "I can't find anything here that can link to the crime scene. Strange how we found Arthur's body in one part of the city and his wheelchair in another, right?"

"You can't even see the crime scene with this tree in the way." Vanessa said.

"Tree?" I asked.

"Yeah." Vanessa said. "There's a big tree right outside this window. Owen, how can you sleep with such a creepy sight?"

"Imagine when it winds." Owen said.

"Hey, Owen," I said, "When was the last time you saw Arthur?"

"It was right here this morning." Owen said. "When Adrian came to us with the idea to have an arcade trip, some of us went to check on our roommates. I came here to tell Owen, but for some reason, he had the door bolted. I peeked in and saw him writing something down on the desk. I told him he was invited, but all he said was 'busy'."

"That does seem strange." I said.

"More like rude." Owen said. "He didn't even turn around to tell me face to face. He just waved at me with his right hand and didn't stop writing."

"Didn't stop writing?" I thought to myself. "Then, could this mean the man Owen was talking to was…"

"Johnny!" Faith shouted from the hallway. "Your room!"

I went to my room to where Faith was calling from. When I arrived, I immediately found myself in a similar scene from the last case. The drawers were wide open, the vases were broken, the knight armor was taken apart, the bed was torn to shreds, and the walls and floor were ripped open.

"What the…" I asked. "Again?! Why is everyone after my room?! What is wrong with my room?!"

"What is going on?" Faith asked. "Johnny…"

"Don't ask me." I said. "It wasn't like this when I left this morning! Something's wrong."

Suddenly, everyone heard the ringing. The Mayor appeared on the monitor screen.

"Attention, citizens of Hope City, the investigation is hereby over. Everyone make your way to the courthouse to begin the trial."

We all made our way in front of the courthouse. We all glared at each other. When the doors opened, I felt a strong sense of worry, but I had no choice but to follow through or else we'd all die. Somebody killed Arthur Pierce, the Ultimate Engineer. And I am going to find out who.