Now it's time for our Climax Inference and it comes in the form of a flashbaaack! How special is that?

Um…also I feel the need to say…this execution is not for the faint of heart. I don't know if I should say it's rated M or not, but some descriptions might make you cringe. You've been warned. Make sure to leave a review because I'm off to a nerd convention this weekend (I'm cosplaying Touko!) and I'd love to come home to some feedback! ^^

It was going to be a long night.

Asui refused to immerse herself in the party. She clutched a bright red cup in her hand, but she only pretended to sip from it. Nothing would impair her tonight. Her mind was clear as she located Libra's position among the partiers. She was easy to spot, with that obnoxiously large camera of hers.

It would be a pleasure to kill her. If not her, then perhaps Reeta…or Grant. Grant was a big threat if she was going to get out of here alive. And of course, Teresa. But she wasn't sure if she could do it. Even if their friendship broke apart, the pleasant memories that came before were still there...like an irksome fly.

"Save the whales!" Noah shouted so loudly that Asui gave a small jump. He turned to her, grinning, "Hey, did you know I run a charity that saves endangered animals in the arctic? Will you donate?"

"I know you do." Asui said, forcing a laugh. "You told me. And I already said no."

Noah's eyes narrowed accusingly. "I thought you cared about the environment."

"I do!"

"No you don't." Noah mumbled, turning and stumbling away, "No one cares as much as I do!"

Asui rolled her eyes. Boy, was he asking for it. Truthfully…every last person in this room was asking for it. They were all a bunch of idiots; college kids out to ruin their lives or their health in any way that they could. Society may have labeled them as special, but they weren't.

When she first came here, Asui had hoped she would be accepted and liked by everyone. But after listening to Monobear, she decided that wasn't important. She wanted to kill someone. It was the ultimate opportunity to commit a murder and face zero repercussions—if you could get away with it. Who wouldn't take the chance? Who wouldn't want to take out their aggressions on humanity? …Well, probably not that Bible-pusher…but she'd have to face reality sooner or later. This was definitely real. No one was coming to rescue them.

Asui ran a hand over her covered arms. They concealed scars…the sight of blood was comforting. Seeing other people's blood was even better than her own. It was the perfect shade of red. If it were legal, she would paint her greatest works of art with this beautiful fluid.

"Um…Asui?"

A quiet voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Elaine standing before her, her expression shy. Asui realized she had been smirking and quickly transformed it into a smile that mirrored Elaine's. "Oh. Hello. Enjoying the party?"

Elaine looked downcast. "Not really. I was going to go back to the dorm, but Karah is having too much fun…um…would you mind walking back with me?"

Asui hesitated to answer. Her eyes flicked to where her potential victims were socializing.

Elaine noticed the movement and said quickly, "It's no problem if you're having fun! I can ask someone else—"

"No!" Asui cut her off, trying to appear relaxed. However, her heart was beginning to pound with excitement. "I'd be happy to walk back with you. Mind if I go grab a drink before we leave?"

Elaine nodded. Then she went to stand by the door and wait for her. Asui was grateful she didn't accompany her to the beer cooler. As she grabbed a frosty bottle, she looked all around. Everyone seemed to be distracted. Libra wasn't aiming the camera in her direction. But that could change within a second.

Quickly, Asui slunk to the exit and slipped out with Elaine by her side. Elaine couldn't have looked more relieved…but Asui was distracted. A new opportunity had suddenly presented itself. She was alone with the psychologist. She realized with a thrill that killing Elaine would be a good idea. If left alive, she would try to get into the culprit's mind. She might have already realized Asui's depression. But if she had…she didn't say anything. Some psychologist, Asui snorted inwardly.

"Um…so I take it you're not the party type?" Elaine asked nervously as they walked back together.

Asui shook her head. "No. I just felt obligated to hang around."

Elaine sighed. "I know what you mean! I feel like everyone's judging me since I walked out early."

"I'm sure they're not." Asui replied dully, "They don't care about anyone but themselves, anyways."

There was a surprised silence. Elaine frowned, probably thinking that was a little harsh. But she didn't argue. Only when they arrived back at her room, did she finally thank Asui for coming with her.

"No problem!" Asui said politely.

There was an awkward silence. Asui just stood there, wondering if Elaine would invite her to hang out. She seemed to be thinking it.

Finally, she smiled and asked, "Would you like to try and salvage the night with me? It's our second night at college. We should be having fun…good, clean fun."

Asui grinned mischievously. "I know just the thing!" She rushed off, leaving Elaine alone in her room. Minutes later, she was back with a huge roll of paper and a couple of pointed pencils. "Sketching party!"

"Ohh, no!" Elaine laughed lightly, "I don't have an artistic bone in my body."

"So what? I'm the Super College Level Artist, not you. You're not expected to be multi-talented."

Unwilling to argue, Elaine took the roll of paper and began helping Asui spread it on the common room floor. "Karah would love this," She murmured, "She really respects you, you know. She always wanted to be an artist."

Asui blinked. Really? Because she hasn't talked to me too much. "I'd enjoy getting to know her better." She lied. Too bad everyone's going to be dead after the School Life of Mutual Killing is over.

Elaine lay on her stomach, took a graphite pencil, and began to sketch.

Asui sat back, sipping her beer. It was bitter compared to champagne, but unique. She began to sort through Elaine's DVDs, deciding they might as well watch a movie while they're here. She had a lot of dopey, animated flicks. Asui picked out one with cuddly bunnies on the cover. Watership Down, it was called. After popping it in, she looked to Elaine. "What are you drawing?"

"Umm…us, I guess! And our classmates." Elaine said happily, "I can't think of what else to draw. This is going to look really bad, by the way."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Asui said, "And we can color it when you're done. I have all sorts of materials…paint, colored pencils, pastels…it's your call."

"Pastels! I love pastels." Elaine's eyes shone with joy. She let out a long sigh. "This is more fun than observing people."

"You only think it's fun because you don't do it for a living." Asui said dryly.

Nonetheless, she joined Elaine and began sketching as well, putting her doodles to shame. While Elaine scrawled goofy portraits of each of their classmates, Asui drew a realistic portrait of Monobear, making him look much fiercer than he was. When she finished with that, she just sketched a number of designs, weaving in skulls and flowers. As she did so, she listened to the rabbits on the TV screen converse.

"Where are you going?"

"Away, to the hills."

"By yourself, alone? You'll die!"

"You're closer to death than I am."

An hour passed. Asui, who was half-watching the movie, soon discovered it was probably the worst kids' movie ever. There was a great deal of disturbing imagery and the "cuddly bunnies" were having their blood spattered everywhere. It was better than she had expected.

Soon. Asui thought, casually swirling her drink. There was only a trace amount of beer left in the bottle. She had drunk it slowly so that it had very little effect on her. Though she did feel a little bit more relaxed than usual…but that was a good thing, at this point.

She almost didn't notice Elaine observing her with a psychologist's eye. "Asui," She spoke quietly, "You're enjoying the movie."

Asui blinked back to reality. "Yes, I suppose so. I assume you like it if it was in your DVD collection."

"My parents bought it because I like bunnies, but it's a little too gory for me." Elaine responded, avoiding looking at the TV. "…Hey, Asui, are you…okay?"

Asui hid her surprise. She thought Elaine was going to ask her if she believed in the School Life of Mutual Killing. This would have been her second guess. "I'm fine," She lied, "Let me see what you've drawn."

Elaine studied her for a moment, unresponsive. "If you have anything you need to share, you can always come talk to me." She said, sounding almost motherly, "I'd like to get to know you more. Karah, too."

Asui held back a derisive laugh. "That sounds great." She said, tilting her head and smiling. "Now can I please see what you've drawn?"

Bottle in hand, Asui rose up and paced around to stand at Elaine's shoulder. Smiling fondly, Elaine pointed to each doodle she had made. "There's you and there's me. I-I'm sorry if you think it looks bad, I'm really not that talented…!"

"You don't seem to have a very good self-image." Asui said, bending down and pointing to Elaine's self-portrait. "You're not that fat."

Elaine's cheeks burned. She had nothing to say to that.

"Hmph. Well, I know how it feels so I don't blame you for it." Asui stood back up, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Hey, but y'know…I think this picture is missing something."

Elaine's eyes widened and she scanned the page. "What?" She wondered innocently.

Summoning all of the strength in her body, Asui brought the bottle forward, smashing it into the back of Elaine's head. The sound of shattering glass filled the air and Elaine pitched forward, collapsing onto the white canvas. It was over in a second.

Asui stood there, watching the blood stain the work of art they had created together. It moved slowly, pooling around Elaine's head. Her eyes were open, filled with shock. She did not appear to be breathing. It had been a direct hit.

A wry smile unfolded on Asui's lips. She looked at the TV, which was still playing. "Aww…I guess I'm going to have to miss the climax." She said lightly. "Elaine, do you mind if I turn it off?"

No response. She was really dead.

Power flooded through Asui's veins. What a rush! It was almost too easy. Even easier than taking tests on math and other subjects she would never use again. Who would have thought? But now was not the time to celebrate. She had to move the crime scene. She was already plotting to move it before she even committed the murder. Placing the crime scene somewhere else would make the crime seem more ambiguous. And it would make it easier to frame a certain someone.

Asui had already pickpocketed Blake's ID off of him at the party. Again, it was far too simple. He was completely smashed and thought she was trying to fondle his butt or something. He had just laughed while she smiled and tucked the ID card into a pocket on her cargo pants. It was large and bulged out the top, but no one had noticed. And if Elaine had…well, not like she could tell anyone now, right?

Locking the door behind her, Asui hurried off to get a trolley from downstairs. They had been provided to haul luggage on move-in day. How far away that day seemed…she wondered what her parents would say if they knew what she did to graduate. Honestly, she didn't care too much.

Asui hurried down to the first floor. She had to be fast. Hopefully, the trolleys would be at the bottom of the steps, as they were yesterday.

Thankfully, they were. She snatched a green one and began to push it along. She turned the corner, taking quick steps towards the elevator.

Then she froze. Here came Carter, meandering down the corridor towards her. Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest at the sight of him. Why was he roaming the halls so late? Asui shook off her fear and drew from the power she felt after killing Elaine. She straightened up and walked past Carter, giving him a casual nod.

"Hey Asui." He greeted politely.

She wished she had something to kill him with. But she had left the beer bottle back in her room, and it was shattered anyways. Oh, no, no, no. This could ruin everything.

Biting back her frustration, Asui rode the elevator up to the second floor with it. She contemplated hunting down Carter and killing him, but he was probably already safe in his room. She wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all.

Then she had an idea. She stopped by her room, dragging the trolley in with her. She filled it with art supplies. If she passed anyone on the way down to the basement, her chosen crime scene, she would just say something about how she needed more space for her stuff. And if they smelled the blood, she could pretend she spilled some paint. Yes, it was a long shot. But she was an expert liar and there was nothing else she could do.

She was just about to head out when she heard a door slam. Someone had come upstairs. They were giggling. She waited to see if they would pass by her room, but they didn't. That could only mean one thing: it was Karah.

Everything was going wrong.

With no other options, Asui grabbed a large scalpel and inched out of the room. The door creaked slightly and she flinched, but Karah did not look up from fumbling with her keys. She was obviously drunk.

As soon as she opened the door, Asui moved from her hiding place. She flew down the hall, as silent and deadly as a big cat. The scalpel flashed in her hand.

Karah stepped into the room. There was an intake of breath. Adrenaline flooded through Asui's body in the same instant.

Then the scalpel was cutting into Karah's skin, silencing her scream. A gurgle died in her throat. A crazed laugh nearly escaped Asui's lips. Another easy kill! Who knew it was so simple to take a human life?

But as Karah's body fell limp in her hands, she realized that this had just gotten twice as hard. At a loss, she lowered Karah onto the white paper so that she could bleed out there. Two roommates dead. Two people that wanted to get to know her…if they had, they wouldn't have liked what they found.

A new idea dawned on Asui. Instead of going to the trouble of setting up the fake crime scene, she could keep it confined here and make it look like they killed one another. Asui pulled out the scalpel and began cutting holes into Elaine's body, to make it look like the two had fought. They would think Elaine killed Karah first, and then bled out due to multiple wounds.

Asui turned to go, nearly forgetting about a crucial piece of evidence: the paper. That was a dead giveaway that the Super College Level Artist had been here last night. She had practically put her signature on the crime scene.

With an annoyed grunt, Asui worked the paper out from under the two bodies. It was completely soaked with blood, but the thick material had not allowed it to bleed through to the carpet. She rolled it up, wondering what to do with it.

Just throwing it in a random trashcan would be stupid. She couldn't think of anywhere to burn it. She had to think of somewhere no one would ever look…

It clicked in her head instantly. Hurriedly, Asui jammed the scalpel into her pocket with the ID card, hid the bloody paper in the trolley, and escaped the crime scene. But not before propping Karah against the wall and leaving Elaine's body curled on the ground.

It was time-consuming work, returning the art supplies to her room and putting the trolley back on the first floor. But she was full of energy. After returning everything to its place, Asui went into the basement and located the janitor's closet. Inside were the tools she was looking for. She rushed to grab a screwdriver and left before someone could come by, on their way to the lounge or vending machines.

She couldn't have been more thankful that she didn't run into anyone else that night. Hopefully, Carter would think nothing of the encounter. If he did…she would lie her way through it.

Frowning, Asui retrieved the bloodied paper from her room and brought it to the bathroom. Ugh. Why did it smell like wet dog in here? Whatever it was, it was probably Libra's fault.

Asui proceeded to use the screwdriver to pry open the shower drain. Then she rolled up the blood-soaked paper and stuffed it inside. It was a perfect fit. She stuck it down low, as far as she could reach. Then she checked to make sure she hadn't dripped it anywhere on her way over, but there were only a few red drops inside the shower, and she easily washed those away. Then she replaced the drain.

Perfect. Was there anything left to do?

…Ah. She needed an alibi. Well, that would be an easy one.

She went back to the party. No one even seemed to notice she had been gone. She jumped right in and pretended that she had drunk a little bit too much. She saw Libra angling the camera her way during a loud conversation with Noah and refrained from sneering at her. She would be dead soon enough, anyways.

At 4 AM, everyone finally headed out. Asui left without a backwards glance, feeling triumphant. Then she remembered that she was supposed to be incapacitated. She waited outside while everyone came filing out, corralled by Libra. Teresa staggered by, her eyes glazed.

Asui smirked. "Hello."

Teresa turned to look at her former best friend. A huge grin stretched across her face. Without a word, she reached forward and patted Asui's head. Then Charlie came over and grabbed her by the arm, tugging her away.

What a strange exchange. Asui let loose a stream of nonsensical giggling; trying to play it off like it was nothing. But she still didn't trust Teresa, even when she was drunk. She was probably laughing about her, making nasty comments to Charlie as they walked on ahead.

Libra brought up the caboose, looking disheveled. She was yelling for order, as if they were actors in a film of hers. Gustav was running around like a madman, everywhere at once. He slung his arm around one of Libra's shoulders and hung there, an impressive feat considering she was taller than him. Noah got on her other side with his usual easy smile and hung off her as well. He muttered something about her chilling out and the two began to drag her along with them.

"Let go of me!" Libra demanded shrilly. "Watch the camera!" She held it up, attempting to save it from crashing to the ground.

"Oh, Libra, you're so drunk! Don't worry, we'll take you home!" Gustav laughed, completely red in the face.

Libra noticed Asui looking her direction. "Asui, help me!" She begged desperately, straining to escape the grip of the boys.

Asui nearly refused, but she knew she shouldn't act like herself under the influence. "Okay guys, fun's over. It's time to go home and go to bed." She helped Libra get them off, nearly keeling over as Gustav threw his bodyweight onto hers. Ouch.

But that wasn't the last of their troubles. Outside, Charlie set upon a young tree and began strangling it by the trunk. He shook it so viciously the branches swayed.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Noah cried out, latching onto Charlie's arm and pulling him away.

"That tree looked at me funny." Charlie said in a tough voice, glaring at the poor tree.

Noah wound up for a punch, but then Libra was restraining him, yelping, "Stop it! No fighting!"

Once again, Asui was there to help pry the drunkards apart. She showed Noah the tree was okay and he instantly calmed down.

"Thanks for that, Asui," Libra sighed, trying to adjust her pigtails. Then she gave her a genuine smile. For the briefest moment, Asui wondered if she had misjudged her roommate. But then the smile turned back into a scowl and she scoffed, "I can't believe I have to babysit these freaks! Seriously, this is so gay."

Asui's chest clenched with rage. Bigot! She nearly snarled, I should have killed you instead of Elaine!

Instead, she just smiled extra pretty for the camera and laughed.

Soon, she kept telling herself…

Soon.

The story ended. A hush had descended over the courtroom. All were looking at Asui, waiting for her to say something. Her head was bowed and her bangs shielded her face from view. But her hands were clenching the railing before her, her knuckles turning white…

Gustav fidgeted uncomfortably in the silence. "Asui—" He began.

"You shut the hell up!" She snapped, looking up fiercely, "God, you're all so annoying! I'm sick of it!"

Teresa felt the need to say something. Calmly, she stated, "It would seem you have nothing to say in your defense. And considering this has sealed up all of the loose ends..."

Asui purposely ignored Teresa, refusing to acknowledge her former friend.

Libra spoke up. "I'm amazed you managed to lie your way through everything. I bet your name isn't even Asui, is it?"

"As a matter of fact, it is." Asui hissed, looking directly at Libra, "And you'd better watch your attitude. That kind of behavior will get you killed, eventually. Too bad I won't be around to see it." Her eyes glittered dangerously and Libra shrunk away.

"So you admit you did it." Kirby said sullenly. She opened her Bible to a marked page and traced a verse with her finger. She whispered, "'for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.'"

Asui scowled. "My only regret…" She said slowly, straining to keep her voice steady, "Is that I didn't wait longer. I was too quick to jump at the opportunity."

"Karah and Elaine were kind people." Reeta said tearfully, "Don't speak of them as if they were nothing! They had families, friends, and bright futures! They had a life and you so willingly ripped that away from both of them."

But Asui was without remorse for her victims. "Don't you act so high and mighty. Pretty soon, you'll all be chomping at the bit to kill someone. Here, there are no restraints…no authorities…you'll come to realize that eventually."

"That's right!" Monobear said cheerfully, "It's Lord of the Flies time, now! And it's also voting time…so if you would be so kind as to place your vote on the switch in front of you."

"We already know who did it…" Grant mumbled, casting his vote.

Asui shot him a sideways glance. "Are you sure about that?"

He swallowed nervously and didn't reply.

When all the votes were in, the TV screen lit up, containing the image of a large, colorful wheel. It was divided into sixteen equal slices. Each one had a student's face on it. An arrow appeared and began spinning as the wheel lit up in all different colors.

"Round and round she goes!" Monobear laughed, clapping his paws, "Where she stops…well, I guess we already know, don't we?"

Sure enough, the arrow began to slow. Each picture lit up bright yellow as it passed over. Finally, it came to rest on Asui's. Bright red letters appeared, spelling out, GUILTY. Confetti showered down from above and Monobear began jumping all around, cheering.

"You got it! You got it!"

"Monobear."

Much to everyone's surprise, Asui had spoken. Her expression was blank, though her eyes contained her defeat. She closed them and took a deep breath.

"Can I make one last request?"

Monobear stopped dancing and faced her. "If this is about your execution—"

"It's not." She interrupted, "It's about what follows. I want you to take the paper out of the shower drain and put my final masterpiece on display."

"Masterpiece?" Robin hissed, narrowing his eyes.

Asui smiled, but it was an empty smile. Her face no longer flickered with rage or grief. Not even the light of insanity sparked in her eyes, but that made it all the more disturbing.

Monobear thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Sure thing. And I have the perfect place to put it! Upupu!"

Asui suddenly slouched and emotion returned to her face. She seemed absolutely devastated. "Okay. I'm ready to go." She sighed deeply.

Monobear's red eye flashed and his grin stretched just a little wider. "Are you sure you're not ready to…Gogh?"

Asui opened her mouth to ask what the heck he meant, but then something cold closed around her throat and jerked her back. She hit the floor, hard. The screams of the others filled her ears, but then they were falling away, out of sight, as she was pulled roughly along the ground.

She gasped for air. The pain was excruciating. She could feel her spine scraping concrete, peeling away skin. Her vision went dark as she was yanked into some sort of tunnel. Before her eyes could even adjust, she was pulled upright. The back of her head collided with what she thought was a wall.

For a moment, she blacked out. Every part of her body throbbed with pain. Cold bit into her wrists and ankles. But fear of the unknown gave her the strength she needed to open her eyes. She blinked hard, trying to focus on her surroundings.

Cold, metal clasps held her arms and legs in place, along with the one at her throat. She was pinned upright, spread-eagled, against a stark white wall.

No…it was a giant easel.

Her head whipped up, alarm coursing through her.

Before her, the other students stood in a line behind a protective barrier. Their pale faces wavered in the gloom. Her face instinctively hardened into a glare. Her heart thundered against her chest, as if trying to escape the peril. She strained against her bonds. But it was no use.

Suddenly, a spotlight came on. The faces of her peers were lost among the shadows. Asui squinted against the bright light, still fighting to free her arms and legs.

She had thought the method of execution would be simple. Now she realized Monobear had prepared something so much more elaborate…

Monobear Execution #1: Time to Van Gogh

Something that sounded like a cannon fired. Warm, wet fluids splattered Asui's skin, soaking her shirt. In the harsh lighting, she realized it was red. It was blood.

She thrashed desperately to escape, letting out a hopeless cry. Another cannon fired. This time, the blood spattered her face. As soon as she tasted it, she realized it wasn't blood. It was paint.

Asui forced herself to calm down. Paint was harmless. But this particular paint smelled awful. It clogged her lungs and seemed to suffocate every pore in her body. Her chest heaved as she fought for breath, coughing out a mouthful of the horrid stuff.

Monobear fired a few more rounds—mixing in other colors such as blue and yellow. They all began to run together. They blended with the spots on Asui's vision, becoming a swirling, disorienting mass. She tore her eyes away from it and lifted her head, struggling to make out a familiar face past the spotlight. She forced a high-pitched laugh.

"Is this all you've—"

The sound of another cannon cut her off.

This one was followed by a burning sensation on her torso.

Asui screamed, convinced she was on fire. Steam rose up all around her and the sound of sizzling filled the air. This was not paint or even fire…this was far, far worse.

Acid disintegrated Asui's clothes and went straight to her skin. She could feel wounds opening up on her body as it easily burned through and reached the flesh underneath. With each agonizing second that passed, tissue was being destroyed. Right down to the bone. Her flesh was transforming into a thick, dark sludge that dripped down her legs and pooled into a sizzling puddle at the base of the easel.

She threw back her head, shrieking until she could no longer recognize the sound of her own voice. All she heard was the cries of a tortured animal. The sound of the next cannon did not reach her ears.

The acid landed a direct hit on Asui's face this time. She was blinded in an instant. The fragile tissue in her sensitive eyes and ears were no match for the acid. Pure agony blazed through them, nearly causing her to have a seizure.

The pain was too much to bear. Asui could no longer remain conscious. Her screams cut off abruptly and she slumped in her bonds. The acid continued to burn her, transforming her until she was no longer recognizable.

The other students were forced to watch until the acid had stopped bubbling.

Natalie and Gustav were both on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Blake had taken Reeta in his arms to comfort her, but he was unable to tear his eyes away from the scene before him. Libra's camera lay discarded on the floor as she crouched in a corner, shaking. Robin couldn't even feel thankful at this point—he couldn't feel anything. He could only watch.

Teresa, as well. She wanted Asui to pay for what she had done. For the longest time, that's all she wanted.

But not like this. Never like this. This was not the sort of punishment any criminal in the real world had to face. It was inhumane.

Finally, the execution drew to an end. The Asui they knew had ceased to exist. All that remained was a smoldering heap of bones.

The students were herded back into the courtroom on shaky legs. The double doors were open, beckoning them towards the elevator… and freedom.

But there was no sense of relief. They could only feel horror at what they just witnessed. Monobear appeared to break the silence.

"Don't forget!" He said cheerfully, as if nothing happened, "Tomorrow's Monday!"

Alistair appeared to be the only one that heard him. He glared at the little bear and muttered, "So?"

"So you have to show up for your classes!" Monobear said, as if it were plainly obvious. "You can find your schedules back in your rooms. I slipped them under your doors."

"Classes?!" Reeta said shrilly, "Even after all of this, you expect us to attend class?!"

Monobear laughed, "It's what you paid for, isn't it? Besides, bad kiddies who play hooky are punished. You've seen what I'm capable of. Make sure you're there!" With another chuckle, he disappeared from the courtroom.

The teenagers barely noticed—they were still in shock. Many had tears streaming down their faces. Without speaking, they all made their way to the elevator. Not even Kirby offered a helping hand to comfort her friends. She just kept shaking her head and sobbing silently.

Reeta felt determination blaze through her as the elevator began to ascend. White hot rage burned in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to wring Monobear's filthy little neck. But she knew that was impossible. She couldn't stop Monobear from his course of action—but she could still bring words of hope to her classmates.

"Today sucked!" She declared loudly, her voice ringing off the barren walls. "But whatever! Let's just make tomorrow better!"

Everyone looked at her with dull eyes, saying nothing. The elevator rattled to a halt and the doors opened. One by one, everyone left Reeta standing there.

Alistair was one of the last ones to leave. Before stepping out, he looked over his shoulder at her. Even he was stricken by the manner of Asui's death, his eyes betraying all sorts of emotion. "Don't you see?" He said softly, "It's all hopeless." He turned to leave.

Reeta followed him out, grabbing his arm to stop him. "No." She said firmly, offering him a smile, "It isn't."

With those final words, she pushed past him and rushed off. No matter what Monobear had planned for tomorrow, she would face it with a smile.

Thus ends Case 1! I might have actually made it too complicated with all that evidence. O_o At least the culprit's name wasn't on the wall. So I'm proud of it. Anyways, I would like to thank all of my college experiences that contributed to this arc. I had a drunken friend that tried to strangle a tree. We also lived in a dorm with a leaky shower drain that brought despair to the boys living below us. Incorporating this stuff into the story was a blast. :) I wonder what inspiration next semester will bring? Now for obituaries!

Elaine: Out of these three, I think Elaine was my favorite. Of course I love every character, but her personality and the fascinating subject of psychology were a fun combination to write about. Sorry she had to go so early! I still hope you enjoyed her for the screen time she had. I felt super sad when I reread her death. She was so sweet!

Karah: Karah was cool and unique. I know I didn't work the whole "linguist" thing in well, but her background was more separate from it and I like that. People shouldn't be defined by their careers. Again, I'm sorry she died early but I wanted the first arc to be rather shocking. I hope you were shocked!

Asui: I was on the fence about accepting Asui, but she wound up working her way into the story because she made a perfect first culprit. Her personality was a big mix of things so a lot of aspects didn't come shining through (such as how she acts around friends), and I actually changed her secret from killing her best friend to stabbing her best friend's eye out. Sorry about that, but I couldn't pass by the opportunity to connect her and Teresa in order to dramatize this first case even more.

Now to end with the poll results. Who was the first culprit?! I'm happy to say you guys (kinda) got it right, so you get to survive this round! ^_^

1st Asui and Kirby with 4 votes

2nd Alistair, Libra, and Natalie with 3 votes

3rd Noah and Carter with 2 votes

4th Blake, Gustav, Charlie, and Grant with 1 vote

Everyone else with 0 votes. Keep an eye out for future polls!