So, let's start the next arc, shall we?
A foreword, you say? Fineee, I guess we can have one. Nothing much to say though. The only thing I'll say is... that this is a very long and exposition-heavy chapter. Also! This chapter contains heavy Danganronpa 1 AND Danganronpa Zero/Danganronpa 2 spoilers. Be warned! With that said... enjoy!
Hiccup's POV
The vast, open, blue sky spreads before my very eyes, dotted with enormous and fluffy white clouds, extending far beyond where I can see. A familiar feeling of freedom surges through my body as a current of wind caresses my face. Sudden movement below me catches my attention, and I find myself riding on my bud Toothless, who is looking at me with that gummy smile of his. I return the gesture happily with one of my own. Looking below me I can see the wide ocean raging below us.
But I am not afraid.
That's right... this kind of routine, our normal, everyday morning flights... me and my bud are used to this kind of activity.
"So, what do you say bud?", I ask the Night Fury. "Should we do the usual loops and free falls?". Toothless answers with a growl and a nod and before I know it, we are diving directly towards the raging blue below us at an alarming speed. Even so, I couldn't help but to yell with excitement as I grabbed ahold of the Night Fury's saddle, enjoying every second of the descent before we rose into the air with a sharp turn, a shout of victory escaping my lips as we rose higher and higher into the air, Toothless spinning occasionally as we left the waters and even some clouds below.
This feeling of exhilaration and freedom... with nothing holding me back, no village, no expectations, no duties... I loved it. Out here in the open sky with my bud, I felt really like myself, not putting a facade for anyone. If I could, I would make this moment last forever.
All of a sudden, the vivid, blue sky around me darkens, storm clouds instantly replacing the peaceful ones. Before I know it, I suddenly find myself alone in the air, with Toothless nowhere in sight. I start to panic; I can't find my bud at all no matter where I look.
And soon after, I start to fall.
I can't do anything but flail around uselessly as I plunge towards the earth, gradually gaining speed as I break through the clouds and I get closer and closer to the sea's surface. No matter much I scream or try to slow my fall, the waters below me get nearer and nearer. I close my eyes, ready to accept my fate, but still scared and confused. I plunge into the dark waters and I'm completely submerged in them, sinking deeper and deeper, the darkness around me threatening to engulf me.
I awake with a scream.
Tears are falling from my eyes nonstop along with my terrified screams. I can't stop shaking as I cry and scream myself hoarse, trying to escape from the darkness around me, to try to chase it away. It takes me some time to realize the shaking isn't coming all from me and to really hear what is going around me.
"Hic... Hiccup! Hey!"
I blink through my tears and I spot a familiar head full of white hair. Little by little, I start to recognize the facial structure of a very worried-looking Jack, who is holding me firmly. Ah... yeah, I... I was in sleeping in Jack's room. Yeah, I remember now... I decided to spend the night with him because I didn't want to be alon-
Suddenly, my chest feels like its being stabbed.
That's right.
I was going to spend the night alone had Jack not offered his company... because...
...Because Toothless was... dead...
N-No... I promised I wouldn't cry... I promised myself I'd be strong. "I promised...!", without meaning to, I blurted out those words. I closed my eyes, tears falling from them both because of the pain of loss and embarrassment. I was making a fool of myself in front of Jack! Stupid, weak, Haddock. You can't even be strong when it matters the most...! I wasn't the only one who lost someone important and yet...!
Jack's hug comes surprisingly tender and gentle, and I hate myself for letting it get to me like this. I feel so stupid, so weak, wanting this... "I-I'm sorry... J-Jack... I...", I manage to say through sobs.
"Hic... it's alright.", he says in a soothing voice, hesitating a bit before patting my head. "Y-you... you don't have to pretend you're strong... I won't judge you, you know that. And I don't mind if you cry... I-I understand... so if you want to, I won't think badly of you..."
Why?
Why can't I stop crying?! Why can't I, for once, be strong?! It's not fair...! There's nothing special about me, everything is so messed up, and I can't even throw away my weakness! It isn't fair! This... and the fact that Toothless is gone...! It's incredibly unfair! I...
"I miss him so much... I miss him, Jack.", I say, as another sob threatens to escape me. Jack just keeps running his hand through my hair, listening silently to me. "I... I miss Toothless so much it hurts..."
That's... why I can't stop crying. I was just fooling myself back there in the Class Trial. I was trying to shut my heart off from my true feelings. Of course Toothless' death had destroyed me. I was just... trying to act like it hadn't. I had hardened my heart, but now a crack had appeared on it and now there was no going back.
So instead of trying to hold it back in, I just let it all out. All the grieving I should have done... I did so in this morning, in the arms of this whitette, who didn't complain nor let go of me as I cried my heart out to him.
I didn't know when I finally stopped crying, but after doing so, I fell asleep once more, tired from all that emotional discharge.
...
...
It wouldn't be until much later in the morning that I would wake up again, still wrapped in Jack's arms. Apparently I had slept through Monobear's morning announcement. My stirring made Jack look down, a tired smile on his face; I wondered if he even got some sleep after my outburst and I couldn't help but feel bad.
"Morning, sleepy beauty."
Without meaning too, I rolled my eyes at his greeting, and before I could even stop myself, I answered him. "Really...? Are you reusing content?"
...Stupid! He's being so nice to you and you go and make a sarcastic comment! Please give me the Jerk Award! Or rather nominate me for Dick of the Century!
The whitette's honest laugh snaps me from my self-deprecating tirade.
"I take it you're feeling better, then?"
At that, my chest constricts, the painful memories returning. Jack looks like he regrets what he says because he's instantly apologizing but I reassure him that its alright. "I-I'll be OK, don't worry Jack... I-I swear..."
And although I'm far too comfortable in this position than I ought to, I manage to disentangle myself from Jack's hold. The Ultimate Mystery reluctantly lets me go but he seems to understand; I just need some time to... fully absorb this. Without making any comment, Jack walks up and takes out a change of clothes from a small chest he brought from the supermarket and goes to the bathroom to change.
I sit up from Jack's bed. The bed that we were sharing.
...Oh gods I was sharing a bed with Jack what is wrong with me?! Oh Thor... Oh Thor...!
I seriously need to get a grip! It was nothing big or it didn't mean anything more! Jack was just doing what a friend does in these situations... I guess? I mean, our situation is pretty unique but I think this is a rather normal course of action to take between friends, right?!
...Why am I even hesitating?! I said... I decided back then in the resort that I would... I would do it! And right now it's the perfect time! Monobear isn't around, we're alone... I definitely need to seize this chance!
"You know, Hic... Fish actually messaged us all this morning not long ago before you awoke..."
I was too invested in my train on thought that Jack's return went unnoticed by me. Of course, the only way I could react was by yelping like... uh... something unmanly. The whitette merely looked at me from the doorway of the bathroom with an arched eyebrow, before breaking into a slight chuckle.
The heat in my cheeks was both because of how great Jack looked in that light blue tank-top and dark green shorts, and because of my embarrassment. Trying to steer away from that dangerous train of thought, I spoke. "O-oh? Really? What did he say?"
Jack shrugged a few seconds after staring at me blankly. "I dunno. He just said it was very important and that we should all meet at the restaurant right away."
That caught my interest. What did Fishlegs find? Scooting off from bed, I put on my shoes before nodding to Jack. "Well, we can't leave them hanging... shall we go?"
Jack nodded back. Using Jack's bathroom to at least try to cover up the fact that I've been crying, I washed my face thoroughly and set off with the smiling whitette towards the restaurant. I couldn't help but to look towards my cottage's roof; as I expected, no black dragon was waiting there. Still, that didn't make it any less painful. The fact that he was gone was... something I wasn't used to yet.
It was a beautiful morning in the camp yet again, completely at odds with the horrors that had occurred yesterday. As usual, time marched on, not stopping despite the horrible things we had gone through. Completely ignoring the pain I was experiencing right now. And that scared me. Time will not stop for anyone... and neither will our captor, who is no doubt planning something more to torture us once again.
And yet, even if Monobear is plotting something... I will not falter. I've already decided... I'm through with losing people. I'm through with being pushed around. This time... we'll counterattack. Some way. Somehow. That... is the hope I have earned.
Hoping that Fishlegs' summoning will have something to do with a plan to fight back, I pick up the pace, forcing Jack to speed up in order to keep up with me as we walk down the familiar camp grounds, where everyone is waiting.
Chapter 3: Despair-Syndrome - Daily Lives A
The scene unfolding before me as Jack and I arrive into the restaurant is... not what I was expecting, to be honest.
"H-hey, Snotlout, please, don't use my notes as material for your paperplan-...! Tuffnut, Ruffnut! Put that fire out! That's important research mater-! Flynn, anything but spitballs, please!"
Fishlegs was running around the table we used for our breakfast meetings, trying to put a stop to the antics of the less serious students. In the middle of the table was a pile of old books and what appeared to be research notes. What caught my attention, however, was the fact that most of them had the Hope's Peak logo on them. Had Fishlegs found something else?
"We'll settle down once you tell us why you gathered us here, Fish!", shouted Snotlout as he slammed a sheet of paper he was holding on the table.
The Ultimate Encyclopedia snatched the sheet away and gently put it down with the ones in the middle before he jabbed a chubby finger with a reprimanding expression at the Ultimate Heavy Lifter. "Not yet! Not until everyone gets here! This is important, guys!"
Tooth, who had been standing next to Fishlegs as she oversaw the chaos, saw us standing by the door and smiled at us, beckoning us to sit down. It was a tired smile, and I could definitely see bags under her eyes; she was taking the loss hard too, but even so I could tell she was trying her best to move on.
I exchanged a glance with Jack and we proceeded to take a seat next to Merida and Rapunzel, who had saved us a seat. Not like there was a shortage of seats or anything... and that only reminded me that we had lost four of our friends already. The Ultimate Archer and Ultimate Painter gave us their best cheery smiles and well, I couldn't help but to smile back.
"About time you showed up, Haddock!", complained Snotlout as he crossed his arms with clear annoyance in his face.
"Yeah! Where were you guys?", asked Flynn as he put down his straw, a spitball on it still lodged in the thing.
Remembering where I was... yeah, hoping that my blush wouldn't betray me, I answered the Ultimate Thief. "O-oh... um... about that, yeah... I just had... trouble! Sleeping, you know...?"
"Of course we know!", said Anna with annoyance tainting her words as she glared at the Ultimate Thief. "I mean, really, after all you went through, we don't blame you for being a little late! Duh, think before you speak, Flynn!"
The Ultimate Thief's face goes from confusion to understanding before looking at me with an apologetic expression. Before he could apologize, I reassured him I was fine. I... was trying to put that behind me, after all. Instead of dwelling on this, I turned to face the Ultimate Encyclopedia, who looked eager to start. "So, uh, what's this about Fishlegs?"
"Yeah, you only told us it was important but you never told us why." said Merida as she eyed the pile of papers in the middle of the table.
"If this is a waste of time, I'll leave a little surprise under your bed later!", threatened Ruff with a playful smile. Fishlegs yelped a little and backed off, but Tooth put a hand on the chubby boy's shoulder and encouraged him to speak. With some difficulty, the blonde teen took a deep breath to calm himself down and after a few seconds of silence, he spoke.
"OK, how many of you are acquainted with the 'Neo World Order Theory'?"
A natural sense of confusion rose from all of us. I had read a lot of books back at Berk and I was in the known about a lot of the theories that thrived in the scientific community, but this was the first time I had heard of it.
Or... was it? Somehow, I felt like I had heard the term not long ago... or rather... I had read it somewhere.
A hand shot up in the silent room. It was Rapunzel, who looked extremely giddy as she shook her hand in the air to catch Fishlegs attention. The Ultimate Encyclopedia gave her a right to speak with a smile, and the blonde girl stood up in order to speak. "I have! I read about it in a book not long ago!" Rapunzel pursed her lips as she tried to remember what she had read.
"If I remember correctly... the theory basically states that our world and our current history... isn't the only one that has existed. Before our era, there existed a civilization as advanced or even more advanced than us, before a cataclysm brought it to an end... and that our current world has only existed for about 300 years, and that we managed to rebuild our society using the remains of our past ancestors."
...Now that was hard to believe!
"There were people before us 300 years ago...?", began Flynn.
"But that's bullshit! Everyone knows humankind is only 300 years old!", exclaimed Snotlout.
"And what makes you so sure?", asked Peter, eyeing the Ultimate Heavy Lifter with curiosity.
"Cuz... because... our school books said so, yeah!", answered Snotlout, as if that were enough proof. And yet, even I remember distinctly that our elementary books said so. Humanity just up and appeared 300 years ago and we built our civilization just like that.
And yet, when you really think about it...
"But doesn't that seem odd?", said Elsa. "If you think about it and compare our society's development... we're not advancing fast enough in our technology to have invented all the mechanisms we have today."
"It's also weird for me too", said Rapunzel. "All the art styles and techniques I've learned weren't invented by my teachers or any of our current artists... and yet, no matter how much I search, I can't find information about the first painters."
"And that's precisely the main fuel behind the Neo World Order Theory.", interjected Fishlegs. "It is true: A lot of the things we have now just seem to have popped out of nowhere, with no clear origin. And yet, no matter how much someone digs, no information exists about the far past, as if all that information had been destroyed."
"If all the information about the past is gone, then why should we care?", asked Tuff.
"Yeah, like, you told us this was going to be important, but it seems stupid to me.", said Ruff, looking bored.
Fishlegs deadpanned at the Twins' complain before taking one of the files in the middle of the table. "The reason I told you guys about the Neo World Theory is because I found this:"
And as he spoke, he showed us all the cover of the the file he was holding: Encased in blue leather, the words "The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history and The School Life of Mutual Killing: A Report." could be seen in gold lettering. Hope's Peak Academy's seal adorned the cover, and a name tag reading "Tadashi Hamada", most likely the author, could be seen on the lower right edge of the file.
"What the hell is that?", asked Flynn as soon as he saw the booklet. Fishlegs looked nervous before answering. "T-This... do you guys remember the folder North found in the Great Hall, the one that said that Monobear had already effectuated this plan before?"
We all nodded. Fishlegs gulped before he continued speaking.
"W-well... this file... and all the others...", he gestured to the pile of papers, "say what actually happened in Hope's Peak Academy."
...
"What?!"
"Why didn't you say so?"
"And you were wasting our time with this Neo World Order Theory bullshit when you could have told us this?!"
The rancorous reaction from our group was to be expected. Even I was a little surprised. Because really, this was important! This file could have information about our current situation and on the identity of the Mastermind! Fishlegs had literally thrown a piece of meat into a cage full of starved lions.
"Will you guys be quiet?!", shouted Fishlegs, managing to calm everyone down. "The reason I had to open with the Neo World Order stuff was because it relates to this!", the Ultimate Encyclopedia opened the file and eyed the contents before speaking. "This file... is a report based on events that happened 300 years ago, on the year 2009."
"Uh, Earth to Fish.", interrupted Merida. "Wouldn't that have happened in the year, uh...1709 if it was 300 years ago?"
"That's why I had to introduce the Neo World Order theory," answered Fish as he rolled his eyes. "Because this document talks about events that happened in the year 2009 BEFORE our era."
"Wait.", said Jack, looking a bit lost. "You're saying that there's two 2009s? As in, the... uh, Beta 2009, the year this document depicts, and the Alpha 2009, the one we're all familiar with?"
Well, wasn't that a doozy. Fishlegs nodded. "Right. So basically, this file proves the Neo World Order Theory correct. There WAS an era before the one we knew and... something ended it... and this file...", Fishlegs hesitated a little before speaking. "tells us what that 'cataclysm' was."
A sense of dread and curiosity filled me. All of this... all I was hearing, was absolutely unbelievable. And yet... Could this file be it? Could this be the thing that will shed light on our current situation.
Every single one of us was probably thinking about the same thing I was, as no one spoke, their faces pensive. Seeing that none was planning on interrupting him anymore, Fishlegs cleared his throat. "O-OK... I'm going to read to you all what is in this files... It's going to be a long read, so..." and after closing his eyes and sighing, the Ultimate Encyclopedia focused on the file on his hands and started to read, loud and clear.
"To the Future Foundation HQ
"Tadashi Hamada, Ultimate Robotics Engineer and Future Foundation 6th Division Leader, reporting with my proposal for a solution of The Tragedy our society is currently facing. After much digging, I have managed to recover records from an isolated and forgotten server from the Old Hope's Peak Academy school system. It is my deep belief that we shouldn't bury the past and pretend it didn't exist; rather, we should study it and learn from it.
I have included my findings in this file. With this, hopefully you will come to see that The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history of old never came to end and that the disaster we're facing right now is because of our negligence. Look over it, analyze it, and understand it. It is only after doing so that I came to believe that our only shot at a bright future is to implement the Hope Restoration Program. I will rush to complete it while you guys at HQ read the file. We must act fast and yet carefully; We cannot make our actions known to Ultimate Despair nor we can let them do as they please.
I hope you reconsider.
Everything is for the sake of a hope-filled future.
Tadashi Hamada."
"Who is that guy?", interrupted Tuffnut.
"Sounds like a student from Hope's Peak Academy...", muttered Peter.
Fishlegs nodded. "He is. He's actually our senior by two years. He was in Hope's Peak's Academy student record when I checked."
"But it says he's a Future Foundation guy too...", pointed out Jack.
"From the context of the file... it seems Hope's Peak and the Future Foundation are affiliated.", added Elsa.
"So does that mean that they're not the ones that put us here?", asked Anna.
"I... dunno.", said Rapunzel, looking unsure. "If Monobear really turns out to be affiliated with Hope's Peak... then that means the Future Foundation are the bad guys."
"I don't think so.", I spoke up. "See the end of the letter? He said... "For the sake of a hope-filled future"...that doesn't sound like Monobear at all.
Everyone nodded at that. By now it was impossible to deny that Monobear was enamored with despair. It clearly went against the Headmaster's beliefs, this Future Foundation.
"So I guess this makes the Future Foundation the good guys.", concluded Snotlout.
"What is this Tragedy stuff, though?", asked Merida.
"And this... Ultimate Despair... Do they have anything to do with Hope's Peak Academy?", asked Tooth.
"Allow me to continue, and you'll see.", said Fishlegs with a finger raised, and after clearing his throat, he continued to read.
"On the subject of The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history:
As many proponents of the Neo World Order Theory know, myself included, humanity has existed for far more longer than the general populace knows. Indeed, our beginnings are far more humble and ancient and our current culture only came to exist after literal hundreds and billions of years passed. However, this civilization of yore came to an end due to a certain cataclysm.
This cataclysm was known in the ancient world as The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history.
It's hard to believe that a whole civilization came to an end, especially in such a world-wide scale. While it is not unusual for small towns or islands to be devastated by natural disasters, to think that a calamity engulfed the entire world and destroyed past human civilization like so is... bone-chilling.
It's even more baffling when one takes into account the fact that this calamity was man-made. But perhaps the most baffling of all is the origin of this calamity; Old Hope's Peak Academy.
"Wait, what?", interrupted Flynn. "C'mon, Fish... you can't expect me to believe that the world almost ended because of a school?!"
"But this isn't just any school.", reprimanded Peter. "This is Hope's Peak Academy we're talking about."
"Certainly, Hope's Peak Academy is an important institution, and we all know that a lot of important figureheads in our world graduated from there... so it isn't an exaggeration when one says that Hope's Peak Academy is the root of our world's hope...",said Elsa, looking pensive.
"But, still! In the end its just a school!", argued Snotlout. "How can a school end the world?"
"I was getting there.", said Fishlegs, looking annoyed. "Don't interrupt me, please."
"Yes, I can see how ridiculous that sounds, especially when one takes into consideration our Hope's Peak Academy. The school, along with our very own Future Foundation, has been striving to better the world's future, producing new technology, leaders and bright minds in order to lead society to a hope-filled tomorrow.
In truth, the Old Hope's Peak Academy once held the very same ideals as us, but they had a distinct difference.
While our very own Hope's Peak Academy values all talent, even those from the Reserve Course Students, the old Hope's Peak Academy did not.
And it was that difference... that single, small difference would be the trigger of The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in Hope's Peak Academy and the catalyst for the The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history."
"They... Hope's Peak Academy actually values the Reserve Course riffraff?", said Peter, looking shocked.
Merida looked at him with a disapproving glance. "Of course they did. They're still students."
"Talent or no talent... it doesn't matter in the end." I told him, drawing his attention. "They're still people; they still have dreams, hopes, they still work hard and they still have lives.", and as I said that, I could sense Jack looking at me. "If Hope's Peak Academy can understand that and you can't... can you really say you're an Ultimate?"
I... may have gone a bit overboard there... but thankfully Peter didn't snap back. Instead, the teen stayed silent as he processed this information.
Fishlegs nodded once he saw no one was going to keep talking and continued:
"On origin of The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in Hope's Peak Academy:
The root of the incident started on the Old Hope's Peak Academy Reserve Course.
Much like our current school, Old Hope's Peak Academy was heavily dedicated on its pursuit of and studying of talent. However, the Old Hope's Peak Academy was founded on a different belief. The original Headmaster and founder, Izuru Kamukura, deeply believed that talent was hope itself. Thus, Hope's Peak Academy was established in order to study talent. This studying and nurturing of talent wasn't without a goal, though. It was Headmaster Kamukura's dream to create a super genius who possessed many talents. This genius, this student, was to lead humanity to a better, hope-filled future. This drive to create the Ultimate Hope was the sole reason beyond Old Hope's Peak Academy's creation.
However, despite the fact that Old Hope's Peak Academy was funded by the government, it was soon apparent that the current funds at the school's disposition weren't enough to reach this goal. Desperate to get more funds to furnish their project, named the Izuru Kamukura Project after the founder, the Committee at Hope's Peak Academy established the Reserve Course.
By the time the course was established, Hope's Peak Academy's brand name was well-known and many students desired to enter the school, even if they didn't have an Ultimate talent. The school knowingly exploited this desire and allowed normal students to attend the school if the students payed exorbitant amounts of money.
However, unlike our current reserve course, the old Hope's Peak Academy didn't offer the same benefits to their own Reserve Course Students. Instead, they were delegated with second-rate classes, lessons and teachers. They were also constantly mocked by the main branch of the school.
It is safe to say that the discontent in the Reserve Course was a ticking bomb. A threat that went unacknowledged by the arrogance of the Old Hope's Peak Academy Committee. And a threat... recognized by Ultimate Despair."
Fishlegs closed the file he was handling and grabbed another. "Sorry... the original file was too thick so it was apparently separated in different parts."
"Where did you find all this?", asked Anna.
"Oh, um...", Fishlegs suddenly looked very nervous. "I... I found it in the MiM Library. A-after the Class Trial, I couldn't sleep so I decided to investigate a bit and read and... I found this behind a shelf."
"S-shall I continue?", asked the Ultimate Encyclopedia as he opened up the next part of the file, one enclosed in green leather.
"Ultimate Despair and their Involvement in The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in Hope's Peak Academy:
Unbeknownst to the Committee, among the student body of Old Hope's Peak Academy existed one girl different from her Ultimate peers. This student, operating under the alias of Ultimate Fashionista, had only one motivation and belief in life: Despair and the spreading of despair itself."
"The name of this student was Junko Enoshima, who referred to herself as the Ultimate Despair."
"T-that...!"
Upon hearing Fishlegs speak, I immediately shouted and stood up from my seat. "That sounds exactly like Monobear!"
"Hic is right.", said Jack, his jaw tense and his knuckles white due to the strain as he clenched his fists. "That... definitely sounds like Monobear. Does this mean...?"
"Is that girl... the cause of everything?!", asked Tooth, looking livid.
The Ultimate Encyclopedia yelped and backed off, before regaining his composure. "W-Will you guys let me finish reading?! If you do, you'll have your answers, so settle down, OK?!"
I sat down, a bit embarrassed. Fishlegs was right, I should stop interrupting. The Ultimate Encyclopedia cleared his throat and looked down at the file again.
"Based on the information I found about Enoshima, she was apparently a very charismatic girl, capable of manipulating and convincing people into her dogma. Enoshima claimed that she never yearned for hope or for a future or anything aside from despair. Despair defined her and she only yearned to spread this emotion to everyone.
Using her wits and charisma and manipulative ways, Enoshima lured an unknown number of Ultimate students into a group created by her called Ultimate Despair; a group dedicated to spread despair to all mankind under Enoshima's command.
This group... eventually set their eyes on the Ultimate Hope Project, also known as the Izuru Kamukura Project.
On the Izuru Kamukura Project:
Old Hope's Peak Academy eventually succeeded in the creation of their perfect genius. Using the Reserve Course Students as lab rats, the Committee eventually settled in using one of the drop outs of the course due to their unnatural love and loyalty to the Academy. This student, Hajime Hinata, eventually was transformed into Izuru Kamukura after a countless number of inhumane experiments and brain surgeries. Hope's Peak Academy deliberately destroyed any kind of hobby or memory that would interfere with the acquisition of talent, essentially erasing Hajime Hinata from existence."
"T-that's... that's horrible..."muttered Rapunzel.
"Yeah... wh-what gives them the right...?", agreed Jack.
I could hardly believe... that the Old Hope's Peak Academy could go to such extremes. They were only trying to help mankind, sure, but this? This was too much... Fishlegs continued reading.
"The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy:
Unfortunately, Hope's Peak Academy never got to enjoy their success, because soon after, Enoshima and Ultimate Despair made their move. After kidnapping Kamukura and the fifteen members of Hope's Peak Academy Student Council, Enoshima and Ultimate Despair organized the prototype for the School Life of Mutual Killing.
In the end, Kamukura ended up murdering the entire Student Council, and succumbed to Ultimate Despair. Hope's Peak Academy was distraught. Their perfect genius, their Ultimate Hope... had done something unforgivable. All their years of toiling away, all their efforts, all the money put into this... it was likely because of those feelings that the Committee hid Kamukura's actions and the incident.
Enoshima used that action to further her plan.
Unknown to Hope's Peak Academy, Ultimate Despair had broadcasted the entire thing to the Reserve Course Students. To say that they were outraged beyond belief was an understatement. After all, this had only happened because Hope's Peak had used all their money to create Kamukura. And now they were trying to hide a murdered in order to protect their image. And they were still exploiting the Reserve Course students despite all this.
Ultimate Despair willingly riled up the Reserve Course to protest against Hope's Peak Academy. The protests evolved to revolts as Ultimate Despair manipulated the student body behind the scenes. The Reserve Course's rebellion turned into an uprising so large, Hope's Peak Academy was forced to shut down its doors due to the increased violence, destruction and death toll within its walls.
And thus came the end of the Old Hope's Peak Academy. But that was only the beginning."
...
"Th-this... has to be a sick joke...!", said Peter in a strained voice. "T-there is no way... Hope's Peak Academy was destroyed."
Suddenly, I remembered Jack's dream. Surely, his dream had nothing to do with the destruction of Old Hope's Peak Academy. After all, that was more than 300 years ago. But the fact that it was eerily similar...
The whitette was visibly shaking, no doubt put off because he had made the connection.
Fishlegs continued, looking a bit pale.
"The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history:
At first, it was optimistically thought that everything would calm down soon, as it was customary of peaceful protests, but the situation worsened and quickened its pace. The incident moved on to the Internet, and formed a community of its own.
Soon, not just students were involved. It came to include people of various races and nationalities in its development and spread off the internet and into real life.
At the beginning of the incident, it involved demonstrations regarding social issues, but as it spread through the world, its abnormality began to show. At some point in time, the motives and modus operandi changed, and left behind only meaningless destruction and violence.
Strong people killed weak people...
Weak people murdered even weaker people...
Weak people formed factions and lynched strong people
As the violence and death spread, people became desensitized. As if time had gone backwards, people took death to become a certainty. The media reports overflowed with death, and people ate as they watched. By the time the world had noticed the abnormality, it was already too late.
The overpowering "despair" became a huge wave that swallowed up the world in the blink of one's eye...
Soon, terrorists and coup d'etats sprang up and caused the despair that is war. It wasn't war that happened due to the clash of ideals, religion or profits…It was just war.
Pure war.
Therefore, no way to solve the problem was found. Naturally, this change on the nature of the revolts in Hope's Peak Academy came to be because of... the existence of "a certain group of people".
Ultimate Despair.
Their talents, recognized by Hope's Peak Academy, were used not "for the sake of causing hope for humanity"... They used their talents "for the sake of causing despair for humanity". Those tainted by Junko Enoshima joined her cause, even those who weren't students at Hope's Peak anymore, but still held positions of power in the real world. Those who held great power brainwashed ordinary citizens to spread despair...
Those who had talent with computers created software to spread despair...
Those who had great influence over people created new ideals to spread despair.
Those who had talent with bio weapons created new diseases to spread despair.
Those who had expertise in weaponry and war waged destruction against the world to spread despair.
Using Hope's Peak influence, students and ex-students against them, Enoshima managed to spread her despair to the entire world.
This is how the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history was produced."
...
...
No one spoke. What... could we say? What we were hearing... was completely and utterly crazy. Unbelievable. How had a single girl...? Well, not really a single girl but... but no matter how one looks at it, it sounds ridiculous, and yet...
And yet...
Fishlegs put down the file and picked up the last one, bound in red leather.
"Th-this is a prank from Monobear, right?", asked Anna, looking pale. "I mean... this just sounds so... unbelievable."
"S-seriously... a single girl ended the world on a whim...?", said Flynn as he laughed nervously, running a hand through his brown locks. "I mean, who would buy into this whole 'despair' bullshit?!"
"Many of... our current leaders, both political and religious, can influence large numbers of people with their ideology if they're charismatic enough. When you see it in that light... it certainly seems more plausible.", added Elsa, looking perturbed.
"B-but I don't want it to be plausible!", shouted Merida. "I mean... don't ya get it? The world ended because of that girl! And now... and now Monobear... is spouting the same crap as 'er! And I-I..."
"Calm down, Merida.", said Rapunzel as she put a placating hand on the red-head's very own. "Can't you see how our Headmaster acts? There is no way he can convince anyone to follow his doctrine, he isn't charismatic enough."
Somehow, that simple way of seeing things lightened my mood a little. But to say that this hadn't set some alarms in my head would be a lie.
Junko Enoshima...
Monobear...
What is the connection?
Fishlegs continues his reading, his face clearly perturbed despite the fact that he had read this before, and I couldn't blame him for that reaction.
"School Life of Mutual Killing:
Due to the continuous war and death, the world entered a dark age. Hope's Peak Academy, concerned about its surviving students, closed its doors as a teaching institution and became a shelter for the survivors of the Tragedy at Hope's Peak Academy. Their intent was to protect the last of mankind's hope and wait for the incident raging outside to calm down. Thus, 16 students and the Headmaster at the time, Jin Kirigiri, started their work on fortifying the school building.
Unfortunately for Jin Kirigiri, he had unknowingly "rescued" two members of Ultimate Despair.
Those two turned out to be Junko Enoshima herself and Mukuro Ikusaba, Enoshima's younger sister. That was the interesting thing about Ultimate Despair. Unlike some organizations, Ultimate Despair had no public leader. In fact, Hope's Peak Academy probably never knew that the organizer of The Tragedy was in reality the Ultimate Fashionista. By manipulating her underlings in the shadows, Enoshima steered all suspicion away from her and sneaked into the school.
Once the students had secured themselves inside the school, Enoshima's plan was put on effect. Using technology from the Ultimate Neurologist she stole, Enoshima erased the memories of the other 14 students, effectively wiping out their whole school lives up until the point before they entered Hope's Peak Academy. As the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history had occurred the same year they had started their school life, the students didn't know why they were trapped in Hope's Peak Academy to begin with.
Enoshima then executed the Headmaster and using Monobear, she instated the School Life of Mutual Killing, a game where only a student who kills another gets to leave the Academy, with Mukuro as one of the participants.
Enoshima used Monobear to goad the students to kill each other, using their desire to leave as a catalyst, and much like the prototype, she broadcasted the entire thing to the outside world in order to crush the remainders of the resistance by showing them that even mankind's hope would succumb to despair just to survive.
In the end, the last surviving 6 students banded against her and despite learning about the state of the outside world, decided to leave the school. Unable to inflict despair on the survivors of the School Life of Mutual Killing, she executed herself in order to experience the biggest despair of all; death.
And thus, the School Life of Mutual Killing came to an end, and so did Enoshima's deranged plan. The survivors of Hope's Peak Academy then went on to join the resistance, the Future Foundation in order to assist them with their goal; Ending the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history and rebuild the ruined world."
...
"I see...", I muttered. "So... Junko Enoshima IS dead."
"Well... that bitch would HAVE to be dead, Haddock.", said Snotlout, looking a bit relieved. "I mean, this shit happened a long time ago... "
"So I guess we can say that she is not behind this at all, then?", asked Tooth in a quiet voice.
"I guess...", added Jack as he nervously scratched his head. "But then that would mean... that some unknown person is behind Monobear this time."
"But who could that be?", asked Anna, "I mean... could it really be Ultimate Despair again? Like... if we take the info on these files... wouldn't the fact that we have a new, peaceful era right now mean that the Future Foundation succeeded in their goal?"
"Oh yeah, if they did end up rebuilding the world or whatever, they had to have gotten rid of Ultimate Despair, no?", said Tuff, surprising me. I didn't think he had followed the entire thing.
"Still, the similarities between the School Life of Mutual Killing and our own Camp Trip of Mutual Killing go beyond the name; it is almost the same thing.", commented Elsa.
"In addition to that, didn't that Tadashi fellow mention at the beginning of the file something about "the current Tragedy our society is facing?", said Flynn.
"What does that even mean?", said Ruffnut, confused.
The small spot of dread that had sprouted in my stomach started to grew as I remembered the article I had found in the Final Dead Room. And then, I remembered the writing on the walls of that room... It definitely said "The Tragedy" and "Neo World Order" in the walls...
Fishlegs cleared his throat as he grabbed the single piece of paper that he had retrieved from Snotlout. "There's... one last thing." At that, everyone paid close attention; maybe that last sheet of paper had the answers we were looking for?
The Ultimate Encyclopedia began to read:
"As you can see, humanity has toiled away to erase the scars of the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history. In fact, our current world leaders have put every effort in order to erase the past by deliberately destroying historical records and manipulating the general populace's mind through some unknown they hope to seal away the dangers of Ultimate Despair so that the Tragedy never repeats?
It is my belief that this is not the way to go. Averting our eyes to the problem will not erase it, as we're all aware now. Instead, we must face the adversity head-on, which is why we must enact the Hope Restoration Program immediately before it is too late. Underestimating our enemies will surely be our downfall; we cannot allow a repeat from the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history. We must find a cure to the Despair-Syndrome and protect our future. We must save the Remnants of Hope and protect the Ultimate-"
"And... the file ends there.", finishes Fishlegs, looking tired.
That... raised even more questions than answers.
But there's something clear to us right now.
"Something... something big is happening outside the walls of this camp.", I muttered, and that snapped everyone out of their contemplative daze.
"W-what do you mean, "something big"?!" asked, Snotlout.
"Surely you aren't suggesting that the world has ended or something, right, kiddo?", said Flynn, looking nervous.
"No, I...",I said as I pointed to the files in the middle of the table. "I mean... surely you guys got that from the things we just heard, right? There's a reason why that Tadashi guy wrote these files, no?"
"What if they're just a prank from the Headmaster?", asked Tooth. "I mean, what if that Tadashi isn't even real?"
I shook my head. "No, I believe he does exist. After all, I found proof of his existence in the Final Dead Room."
"Oh? This is the first I've heard of that.", said Elsa through narrowed eyes. "And when were you planning to share this information with us?"
"I... uh,was planning to do so today, honest.", I said as I put my palms up as if I were swearing an oath.
"What is this 'proof', you speak of, Haddock?", asked Peter, looking interested.
"As a reward of sorts for beating the Final Dead Room.", I said as I made air quotes with my hands, "Monobear gave me a newspaper article that looked old.". I gulped as I recalled the contents of the newspaper. "The newspaper... makes mention of The Tragedy this Tadashi is talking about... and something about riots and Monobears?"
The silence that followed was broken by Tuffnut's incredulous laugh. "OK, Ok... you're trying to scare us, I get it... now can you tell us what the newspaper really said?"
... I gave Tuffnut my most serious stare, and the Ultimate Demolition student's expectant smile vanished as he registered how serious I was being.
"B-but... can we be sure of the veracity of these documents?", asked Anna, looking scared.
"Regardless of the accuracy of this report and Haddock's article about the status of the outside world...", began Elsa, "There is something that is clear: This Camp Trip of Mutual Killing... is certainly linked to the School Life of Mutual Killing."
"But how can that be?!", shouted Snotlout. "I mean... Ultimate Despair is gone, no?! That is why we were able to live peacefully, according to that Tadashi, no?! So why? Why the fuck are we going through this?!"
"I dunno about Ultimate Despair bein' truly gone..." said Merida as she eyed the paper in Fishlegs' hand. "I mean, that Tadashi bloke talked about 'em as if they were still kickin' and messin' stuff up."
"Apparently, its because of them that the Future Foundation is trying to enact the Hope Restoration Program...?", said Rapunzel as she trailed off. "I wonder what that is...?"
"And this whole business about finding a cure for the Despair-Syndrome...", said Tooth as she closed her eyes. "Could that be a disease?"
"Ain't any disease I ever heard of, and believe me, I've traveled enough of the world so I know my share of weird diseases.", said Flynn, sounding very confident.
"So, in the end...", began Jack as he scratched the top of his head. "We learned that..." the whitette suddenly brought up his right hand, and started to list things off.
"Our world has actually two timelines... the Beta and Alpha ones... and we've learned that this split happened because of The Tragedy that happened in the Beta 2009."
"This Tragedy came to pass because of a group of students named Ultimate Despair."
"Their leader, Junko Enoshima, engineered the first Mutual Killing Game, and she died."
"And... now, someone is doing the same thing as her, and something may be happening in the outside world?", finished Jack, looking still confused.
"M-more or less...", I said, nodding to the whitette.
"H-hey! that last part... the outside world is definitely OK!", argued Snotlout.
"Still, I find it hard to believe...", began Rapunzel. "I mean.. even if something is happening in the outside world... shouldn't we have heard about it? I mean, I never heard about this Despair-Syndrome and... even if we're trapped inside these walls, we should have heard or at least gotten infected by the disease no?"
"Please don't say such ominous things...", pleaded Anna.
"But Solaris is correct.", interjected Peter. "Though we are unable to verify the accuracy of this whole 'Neo World Order' nonsense, we can at least conclude that this Despair-Syndrome rubbish is false. All of us are healthy and certainly not infected with any diseases."
"Agh! Who cares about that?!", shouted Snotlout. "We should be focusing on the bastard who is putting us through this! I mean... that bitch Junko is dead, no?! Then who is the Mastermind this time?"
"I still think the traitor is our most likely suspect.", said Peter as he zeroed in on Jack again. Ugh, not again. "And now that we know the origin of this whole Killing Game... I'd say the most suspicious among us is the Reserve Course Student, no? After all... it gives him a motive."
OK, I had enough. I know Jack didn't want this to come to light, but I... I-I can't let this keep going!
"For your information, Peter,", I said, without stuttering for once, "You are way off-base. Jack is not a Reserve Course Student."
The Ultimate Fear Expert's face was... conflicted to say the least. "What are you talking about, Haddock? You saw it in his file... he is most definitely a Reserve Course Studen-"
"And that's where you're wrong.", I argued back. "Because Jack is actually an Ultimate. His DVD, the one Monobear gave us, says so."
Immediately, the eerily yellow eyes of Peter focused on Jack. "Overland. Is this true?!"
The whitette, who until now was taking the abuse with a clenched jaw, jumped a bit, before speaking. "Y-yeah... I...", he sighed. "You know that file you found Pitch? The one that had that picture of me with brown hair? That's actually my little brother... He... he is the one from the Reserve Course... I...", his blue eyes seemed to exude courage as he looked at the Ultimate Fear Expert with defiance. "I was chosen by Hope's Peak Academy."
The expression on Peter's face was priceless.
"That's... ludicrous... a twin brother?! Why, that is the most-"
"The most cliched of all cliches, I know... but what can I say? I mean, this IS a mystery story, after all. Cliches are bound to exist! I mean, heck, we have the amnesiac and the twin brother in one package! It's an extra concentrated bag of cliche for the price of one!"
Monobear's sudden interruption... made a lot of us scream. No, not just me. I swear, I wasn't the only one.
"You... what are you doing here?!", spit Tooth, looking extremely angry at the Headmaster. Of course, the plush toy ignored her and continued talking jovially.
"Geez, I always hated History Class. Learning about the past and such... it's extremely boring and a pain in the ass, don't you think?", the Headmaster put his paws on his snout to cover up a snicker. "I mean, you start to learn about the true nature of the world and then your whole point of view changes... Really, learning that you were oblivious to the truth sucks! No wonder they say that ignorance is bliss!"
"So... you're saying that the contents of those files... are the truth?", said Elsa, her voice slightly giving away the fact that she was aghast.
"Yup yup. Only the truth for my favorite students.", said Monobear as he patted his belly with a proud smile.
"Never mind that.", said Peter, looking beyond himself. "I... need to know. What Jack is saying... is that the truth?! No, he must be lying... he must be! He has to be the traitor that is controlling you, right?!"
Monobear looked at Peter with indifference, smirking all of a sudden as if he found the raven-haired teen's confusion funny. "Huh? Of course Jackie is telling the truth! I mean, really, did you think I was going to let a Reserve Course Student here again? I'm through with repeating plot twists! Of course that guy isn't controlling me either! He's too dumb for that!"
"Touche...", murmured Ruffnut.
Peter... looked like he had been hit by a Grunkle. He looked seriously perturbed by this revelation. Hopefully... that will make him leave Jack alone. I can't stand people who look down on others...
"Anywho...", said Monobear as he looked at us with a tilted head. "What are you bozos doing reading here? It's a pretty nice day outside, and you're wasting it reading like nerds?"
"I thought you wanted us to study...", mumbled Flynn.
"Yes yes... exercising the brain is nice, but what about the body?", asked Monobear. "I worry about your health, you know... which is why I came to inform you guys about a new area I've opened up for you!"
"A new... area?", prodded Jack.
"Yes! The Drill Grounds have been unlocked!", proclaimed Monobear as he lifted a paw in the air triumphantly. "Go and use the installations there! Break a sweat! Tone those muscles! It's a veritable area to fortify your body and soul! I'll be waiting for you there! You'll soon see why I am the self-proclaimed King of the Jungle Gym! Nyohohoho!"
And as usual, Monobear disappeared after his spiel of nonsense was finished, leaving us mentally exhausted.
But... a new area, huh?
"Man, I'm pooped.", complained Ruffnut.
"Yeah, totally. I hate studying and reading.", agreed Tuffnut.
"...I was the one who read all of that, you know...", corrected Fishlegs as he collapsed on a chair.
"So in the end, even though we learned a lot of stuff, we also didn't get any answers? I'd say this day was a waste.", said Flynn as he reclined on his chair.
"Yeah, no kiddin'," agreed Merida. "I wanna check out the new area but I ain't in the mood. How 'bout we check it tomorrow?"
"I have no objections.", said Elsa, "To be honest, I'd rather spend this day... by myself. I'm still not fully recovered from yesterday..."
At that, no one spoke. It was true. We were trying our best to not let it show, but the fact that we had lost two people recently was heavy in our minds.
Especially for me...
"Well, if it's OK with everyone, we'll end the meeting today.", said Tooth, "We'll reconvene tomorrow and then we'll explore the new area together, OK?"
A mumbled sense of agreement could be heard from our group. We finished our meals in silence, and before long, we all went our separate ways.
I immediately set off to my cottage. I had... a lot to think about. All the information I heard today was still hard to swallow. And yet... Monobear claimed it to be the truth. It's funny, really, how much my view of the world has changed since I came here. Apparently, this was the norm in this camp. I wondered how much more was my view of the world going to change?
...
It... had changed enough... when Toothless died. Suddenly, tears started to form in my eyes as I remembered the dream I had this morning. When this started, Toothless and I were antsy to get back to the skies. We wanted it so much, that I even started to construct a new tail fin for him... and yet...!
And yet now...! I couldn't even finish it...!
And now, I'll never be able to fly with him again. Never be able to share that special, private moment with him...!
Because... because he's gone...
I thankfully reached my cottage before anyone could see me as I started to tear up. I wanted to... be alone for a moment. Or for a while. Or for a long time. I...
I had been trying to act tough all this time, but I couldn't keep up that farce anymore. It was evident in my screams that left my throat sore. It was obvious in my violent sobbing and my never-ending tears. I missed Toothless a lot. My companion, my confidant, my supporter... my friend. I had been a fool, trying to make myself think I didn't miss him that much. How could I even think like that?! He... he was... my best friend! How could I even begin to think that I wouldn't miss him if he died?!
I truly am a horrible person and a terrible friend...!
So, without trying to fool myself anymore. Without telling myself lies. Without trying to sidestep my emotions, I wept. For how long, I don't know. And I didn't care. Not when the sun started to set. And not when the darkness of the night covered the camp.
I didn't care about any of that at all. I grieved the loss of my friend... until I felt asleep. And even then, I'm sure... I've wept for him too, while I dreamed.
Jack's POV
I saw Hiccup lock himself in his cottage, but I didn't follow him. Somehow, I knew... he wanted some time alone. The little Viking had been trying to put on a strong front, but it was obvious he was still shocked about the death of Toothless. So... even though I wanted to be by his side right now, trying to console him, I refrained.
He... needed this.
I didn't do much for the rest of the day. I just wandered around the Camp, greeting the other guys. It was interesting, really, how the attitudes of most of them had changed. Aside from Mer, Hic and Punzie, everyone had always looked at me with distrust. But thanks to Hic, everyone had started to greet me in a less guarded manner. I was thankful, really. I didn't like to be shunned and being able to play around with everyone again like this... was such a weight off my shoulders.
Pitch avoided me today, much to my surprise. He usually... insulted me whenever he saw me. And yet, it seems Hic's revelation affected him quite a bit. Not that I was complaining; I was getting tired of his constant grudge against me. Looking back, it was silly of me to have kept that DVD a secret; I guess I didn't think any of the others would believe me? Thankfully, Hic spoke up for me, and it seems that now this whole issue has been resolved.
...That leaves our whole situation pending, though. We learned a lot about the origins of our situation. And yet, the circumstances surrounding our Camp Trip of Mutual Killing still were a mystery. Who was behind this? Why were they doing this? Those things still have no answers.
As I returned to my cottage after a whole day of wandering about, I passed Hic's cottage. As I looked at the building, its rustic exterior being bathed in the dusky evening, I felt a sense of resolve. Hic... had been hurt a lot by this whole thing. He had lost someone incredibly important to him. And I... couldn't forgive that. I couldn't forgive the one who was responsible behind this.
A lot of lives were being torn apart because of the Headmaster's will. And I... there was no way I was going to let that bear off the hook.
I... don't know who I really am. Maybe I am not that special. I may be not that smart, nor that strong compared to the other guys. But I'm going to do my best. I'm going to believe... in the "Jack" that Hic believes in. He probably... doesn't love me... like I do, but I'm not going to let that stop me. Starting tomorrow... I'll do my best to win him over. I don't have any experience on 'dating' or anything, but...
Those moments where I held him while he cried himself to sleep were precious to me; that's when I realized how important the well being of that little viking was to me. So... I will do my very best to keep him safe. And I want to do so by staying by his side.
It is with that resolution that I enter my cottage and I prepare to go to bed.
It's going to be hard. It's going to be difficult. In the end, I'm not even guaranteed success. In fact, I may end up hurting myself. But... I at least want Hic to know how much he means to me.
So I'll just believe... that if I do it, things will turn out OK.
- MONOBEAR THEATER -
"Lately, I've been thinking... wouldn't the world be much better if we started to put all those unemployed bozos in factories? It would truly end unemployment!"
"Whuzzat? What are we going to do with the current employees? Why, if we run out of positions for jobs in the factories, we can always give the current employees some nice vacations, they deserve it!"
"Huh? You're saying that would make the current employees 'unemployed bozos' too?"
"..."
"Ah well, what do I care anyway? I'm a popular videogame mascot! Like I have to worry about unemployment, n-no sir! I was just saying!"
"(please send work to studlymonochromebear11307 at zetsubou dot com)"
I... I really hope I didn't confuse you guys with this chapter. I know it was a long one with a lot of new concepts but please bear with me as we dive deep into these new mysteries.
As usual, Free Time Events are open! Please do sound off in your reviews which 3 characters you want to hang out with.
That's all I'm gonna say for now. See ya next time!
(now i should probably work on my other fics but uh...)