Chapter 33 - Despair-Syndrome - Class Trial B

Holy moly is this thing huge. I finally finished typing this monster down and I feel liberated! Please, enjoy the conclusion to the third class trial!

CLASS TRIAL RESUMED

Jack's POV

Confused. If there was one way to describe how I felt, that would be it.

I didn't have a clear understanding of the case to begin with due to my forced absence, but after Hic's revelation...? Man, now I clearly had no idea of what was going on.

The Twins... had murdered someone, and in turn, someone else had killed them. So we had a pair of Blackeneds and a True Blackened, huh? I'm not doubting Hic's conclusions, but it really seems far-fetched. And judging by the looks of the others, I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

"I can't believe that the Twins killed someone...", mumbled Tooth.

"And here I thought that once we found the Blackened, we would be finished with the Trial, too...", said Flynn, his eyes closed, a scowl in his face. "But no, it looks like we still have ways to go."

"Yeah...", agreed Merida, "We have to figure out WHO killed the Twins and why did all of this happen... Man, I'm feelin' a lil' daunted..."

No kidding. This had to be the toughest case so far, because of all the complications. But we had to keep going. I didn't want to die here! And also... I don't want to let the bastard who killed my friends go scot free. So we have to keep going.

"It is a little daunting...", said Fishlegs, looking nervous all of a sudden, "That is... if we assume everything Hiccup said is true."

At that, Hic lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Fishlegs...?"

Goddammit, more interruptions?! Well... I couldn't fault Fish for that; we had to debate fully every possible scenario so that there is no doubt left... but there's something about the fact that no one trusts Hic's theories enough that makes me mad. But I wasn't going to speak up... just yet.

"Well... I will admit that the icicle theory must be true... as far murder weapons go."

Hic nodded. "That's the only thing that explains why the Freezer was messed with deliberately and why there was an icicle missing. It's... an unusual weapon, I'm aware, but..."

Fish nodded and continued, "True... It's the only one that makes sense and matches the evidence... or lack of it, but...", the blonde boy bit his lip. "Are we sure the Twins actually killed someone...?"

At the stunned silence of everyone, Fish hurried his explanation up. "I mean...! I agree that there is definitely a True Blackened behind all of this... but I don't think the Twins committed any crimes at all!"

"Why... do you say that?", asked Pitch, his gaze intense. Predictably, the Ultimate Encyclopedia gave a yelp.

"Well! I-I just find it very hard to believe that the Twins would kill someone, is all! N-not to spit on the dead, but I can't see the Twins as being capable of such an elaborate scheme... and on top of that, we are to believe that someone coincidentally learned of their murder plans and plotted to murder them? Isn't that kind of coincidence... sort of very impossible?"

"B-but...!", stammered Hic, "The Twins were the only ones capable of getting the icicle to the scene of the crime! Isn't... isn't that enough? I mean, the proof is in the Loan Registry!"

Fish shook his head. "That... kind of falls apart if the Twins were killed first than the other victims.", at Hic's shocked silence, the blonde boy elaborated, "I... I mean... your theory that incriminate the Twins as the murderers of Anna and Elsa revolves around the idea that Anna and Elsa died first, and the Twins last, but... there is no proof of that, is there?"

"D-does the killing order really matter, though?", I said, hurriedly, "I mean...! The Loan Registry casts enough suspicion on them and they even had eHandbooks on them! S-So... Hic must be right!"

Again, the Ultimate Encyclpedia shook his head. "N-not really... sure, the Loan Registry incriminates the Twins... but it also names another possible suspect:"

Monobuff Gym eHandbook Loan Registry:

- THE Snotlout - Heavy Lifting Room

-Elsa - Combat Room

-TUFF - Olympic Pool Room

-RUFF - Combat Room

-Anna Arendelle - Olympic Pool Room

-REA - VIP

"See that last entry there...?", asked Fish, "Whoever this REA person is had access to the VIP eHandbook... the one that allows entry to any and all rooms in the Gym. Don't you guys think... that this REA person is far m-more suspicious than the Twins?"

I grunted, obviously stumped. Hic wasn't looking too hot either. Well, he was, but not in that way...! He was biting his thumb and he looked at a loss for words.

"Now that you mention it...", mumbled Flynn, looking as if he were seriously considering Fish's words.

"For real?! Are we doubting the fishbone's theory AGAIN?! I thought we had settled this already!", complained Snot.

"But Fishlegs' words ring true," defended Punzie, looking at Hic apologetically, "As long as those problems with Hiccup's theory persist... can we truly be sure its the truth?"

"God damn it... and here I thought we had made some fucking progress but we actually took a step back!", continued Snot, whining even more.

"Heeey! If you guys keep wasting time and jumping all over the place without a consensus, I'm going to cut this trial short! Some of us have a life here, yknow?!", chimed in Monobear, not helping at all.

The tension we were feeling before rose tenfold.

We thought we had unraveled a mystery, but there are even more problems now. We thought we were closer to the truth, but in reality, we hadn't even moved towards it that much. But whining isn't going to get us anywhere. We have to keep hacking at these problems until the tendrils of despair are cut apart. We must keep going.

I must look at the evidence once again and tackle the problems with Hic's theory.

Those problems being:

The order of death. If the Twins died first, then there's no way for them to be the killers of Anna and Elsa.

The existence of this... REA person. Since they hold the VIP eHandbook, they are far more suspicious than the Twins because they had access to all the rooms and thus, access to all the victims.

...I don't think... I can tackle the second problem just yet. I can't disprove it; the possibility of this REA person being the only killer is very real. In fact, it would be easier for me to just accept that and move on with this Class Trial. It would... definitely be less painful too... because it would mean the Twins were innocent. But... I believe in Hic's assertions. His theory makes so much sense... and besides, what kind of b-boyfriend would I be if I didn't trust him?

So I must tackle the first problem instead.

As Fish said, there is no evidence that shows the real order of the murders. But... is this the only way we can approach this? I mean... I guess... if I take a look at this from another angle... is there evidence that proves the Twins had a definite hand in the killings? If I had evidence of that... I wouldn't need to establish an order of death; as long as I could prove that the Twins killed someone, that would be enough!

...But is such a convenient piece of evidence real? I mean, if Hic, Pitch and Fish didn't find anything... then it must not exi-

...!

As I scroll through the evidence list on my ElectroID with those thoughts in mind, I stop on one evidence entry that I found very strange. And as I read the notes on it, I can feel it. A feeling of elation, of breakthrough.

Of disbelief. Of joyous disbelief. I... I can't believe...!

"I GOT IT!", I can't help it. A shout of joy, a whoop, a jump and a fistpump follow soon after the revelation I reached. "I GOT IT! I FIGURED OUT! YES! YESSSS!"

"What did you figure out, Jack?", asked Tooth, and I didn't miss the tone of concern in her voice behind her smile, but I was too happy with myself to care.

"I figured out! I found a piece of evidence that shows that the Twins definitely killed someone!", I said, sticking out my chest with pride instinctively.

"R-really?!", asked Hic, his face glowing with hope. I loved that expression of his. I reassured him with a nod and a smile.

"Then stop flirting and tell us already, you weirdo!", demanded Snot, ruining the moment, much to my chagrin. But he had a point... again. Man, was he on a roll.

"Well... as Fish said, one of the problems with Hic's theory was the fact that there was no way to prove that the Twins had died last.", I began, aware that everyone was looking at me expectantly, "I mean, if they had died first, then there was no way for them to be capable of murdering Anna and Elsa."

"BUT! During the investigation, Hic, Pitch and Mer found a strange piece of evidence.", as I said their names, the eyebrows of those people rose, and Hic immediately dived into his ElectroID to review the evidence, his eyes scanning the object with intensity and swiftness.

"And that piece of evidence... that proves that the Twins had a hand in the killings... were a pair of notes!", I finished.

Mer immediately spoke up. "Ooooh! That's right! I even told Hiccup about it! We definitely found some weird notes on the scene of the crime, right?!"

Hic immediately picked up on that, and nodded, realization dawning on his face. "Oh yeah! T-there was definitely some notes there, alright! And those notes had this... written on it:" said the little Viking as he recounted the contents of the notes.

First Note:

-Get rid of target

-Deliver goods to CR

-Wait on lobby for more instructions.

Second Note:

Please come to the Olympic Pool Room at 4 AM. We have to talk about something, make sure no one follows you.

"You're right Jack, those are some weird notes... but what does that prove?", asked Fish, his gaze unsure as he looked at the evidence.

"Well... first, let's begin by figuring out who these notes are addressed to.", I said, leading the Ultimate Encyclopedia around.

"Well, they must be directed to the victims, right?", supplied Punzie, "I mean, if they were found at the scene of the crime, then that makes sense."

"But there are two notes here...", said Snot, scratching his head. "Were both of them for the same person or...?"

"Obviously not.", rebutted Pitch. "The notes conflict with themselves: They obviously are addressed to different people."

"And... one of them must be Anna.", spoke up Hic, his eyes shining with understanding. He looked at me, as if asking for permission to go on, and I nodded encouragingly. "I mean... the second note specifically asks for the recipient to go to the Olympic Pool Room... and Anna was killed there. So it must be her."

"Right.", I continued. Man, this feeling is great! "Which leaves the first note's recipient as the Twins."

"Wh-? Why do you say that, Jack?", asked Flynn, not following.

"Because, my dear Rider," I answered in a mocking posh tone, earning me a glare, "The first note matches the movements of the Twins! Not only the note asks for the recipient to go to the CR..."

"The Combat Room!", interjected Punzie, happily.

"It also asks the reader to wait in the Lobby! And that... is the place where the Twins were murdered.", I finished.

"That's good and all, but that doesn't prove that the Twins killed anyone.", defended Fish stubbornly. Man, I never knew he had a side like that.

"But it does.", I insisted. No way I'm letting up on this. "Because this note... or rather, this set of instructions makes one thing very clear: the recipient was going to kill someone. All you have to do is read the first line: Get rid of target."

"And since the note was directed to the Twins...", said Snot, surprisingly following this back and forth.

"Then this means... the Twins most definitely killed someone!", summarized Hic.

"Which also means... that at the very least, Anna died first.", I added. "After all, it can't be a coincidence. A note asks one of the victims to meet on a specific place... while another note hints at the murder of a victim. They must... no, they are related!"

"Indubitably!", interjects Punzie, looking proud of herself.

"This also supports the theory of the kid.", said Flynn as he looked at Hic. "I mean, think about it... he said the Twins had murdered Anna and Elsa, right? Well, these notes prove that; the Thorstons were on a mission to get rid of a target."

"And...", added Tooth, "It also supports the fact that a True Blackened was pulling the strings of this whole act. These notes... I doubt the Twins wrote them... so they must have been given to the recipients by someone else... and when all was said and done... the True Blackened killed the Tuff and Ruff."

Yeah... even I... had to admit it. Even if I was the one who had pointed out the evidence that proved this fact, I still found it hard to swallow; I had befriended those two muttonheads and though they had a meaner pranking streak than me, I always knew they weren't fully malicious. It was still hard to believe that they had taken a life... willingly or otherwise. But in the light of this evidence, even Fish had to admit-

"T-that's still not enough!"

...I guess not. The sigh that left the my lips was very audible. What more proof did this guy need?! A signed "I killed them all" note from the dead?!

"I-I agree that the note in itself is very incriminating", stuttered the blonde chubby boy, painfully aware of the glares he was receiving. "B-but that doesn't really mean they did it! I mean, what if they didn't even follow the note? The Twins were notoriously unruly, after all. Not really the most strict rule-followers."

"Well, Fish here does have a point," conceded Mer, "Ain't ever seen more wild folk than those two, and I live with three brothers of mine who are like miniature versions of them."

All of a sudden, I found myself wanting to know these brothers of hers. But this isn't the time for that, I guess.

"But it has to be them.", offered Hic, his green eyes alight with determination. "There's no other explanation. In fact, it's the only explanation that, well, explains... the surrounding circumstances behind the discovery of Anna's body."

"What do you mean by that, Hiccup?", asks Rapunzel, well, asking the same question I had in mind.

"I meant,", said Hiccup, suddenly realizing that he had gone ahead of us in his train of deduction. Despite how serious he was looking while he expounded on his point, I could see a faint blush on his cheeks. Classic Hic. "Don't you find it kind of strange? I mean, Snotlout triggered the Body Discovery Announcement, but doesn't that happen only when the a third person, counting the killer, finds the body? So... who were the two people who found it before?"

"Are you suggesting... that the two people who found Anna's body before Snotlout... were the Twins?", asked Pitch, his eyebrow rising with doubt.

"Well... it wouldn't be weird.", defended Tooth, "After all... the Twins were almost always together. If Hiccup is right and the Twins were actually together after they got the icicle when Tuffnut killed Anna... then that would make them the two people who found the body before Snotlout...", Tooth clapped her hands excitedly, "Then that would definitely prove that they were on the scene of the crime, indubitably!"

"...Can we stop using that word?", begged Flynn.

"B-but..!", insisted Fishlegs, "That only applies if the Twins are counted as a two different people instead of one student!"

"And, guess what? They do!", interrupted Monobear, looking giddy, "Didn't I tell you? Though Hope's Peak Academy considered the Nutty Twins as a single student, here, in this little camp of mine, they were their own, individual people with individual wills!"

"... *gasp*! Did I give away a hint?! Why, I'm such an adorable klutz, you can't help but to fall in love with me~"

...No, I'll never ever think like that about you. The only feeling I have for the Headmaster is utter hate. But he... well, just confirmed it. With this piece of data...

Yep, one look at Fish's face and it looks like all the fight left him. His continued silence seems to seal the deal. Finally, I don't know what else we could throw at him to make him accept Hic's theory.

...The theory that they... actually killed someone.

"So... does this really mean those halfwits actually offed Anna and Elsa?", asked Mer, her voice oddly small.

"It does seem that way, yes...", supplied Pitch. "We shouldn't have the need to spend so much time clearing up this immutable fact. It was obvious, really..."

"But why would Tuffnut and Ruffnut kill someone?", asked Punzie, her face puzzled. "I mean, yes, they were kind of mischievous but I never thought they were malicious!"

"Me neither... and something tells me they weren't doing this fully aware of the consequences,", said Flynn as he looked on his eHandbook. "I mean, just look at the note the kid and Merida found! Those were clearly instructions to follow. Instructions written by someone pulling the strings!"

...The True Blackened... huh? So we come back to that in the end...

"But still. Why would those idiots even follow those instructions! I mean, even I know the rules of this place! I wouldn't just follow what some note said to me so easily!", wondered Snot.

"Well... they couldn't exactly help it.", spoke up Hic. "After all, the Twins were under the influence of something that clouded their judgement."

"Oh!", I said, realizing what he meant. "That's right! That stupid Despair-Syndrome disease! Which one did they have again...? The Gullible Disease, right?"

Hic nodded. "Yeah... they were willing enough to follow orders and believe anything that they were told. It... certainly made them the perfect pair of unwilling accomplices for the True Blackened." Judging by how Hic was tightening his grip on the booth he was holding into, I could tell this did not make him happy.

"So... the True Blackened took advantage of the illness to make them do their dirty work... and then betrayed them?", asked Tooth, looking appalled.

"And in such a-a... cruel way too. They were done in with one hit... they probably didn't even know that this was going to happen to them...", added Fish.

"Rgggh! I'm so mad! I hate people who take advantage of others like this!", yelled Merida, her fiery hair looking like a fire storm, "Who is the craven who did this?! Who is the True Blackened?!"

The true culprit... so far, that person has been eluding us, taunting us with their identity and the deeds. And through the entire Class Trial, we still don't have any idea of who that person is... All we have is...

"The only clue we have to the True Blackened's identity is... the last entry in the Loan Registry. This REA person...", I pointed out.

"REA, huh?", commented Flynn, "what does that even mean?"

"There's no one in this dumb place named REA, that much I know.", said Snot, not really adding anything to the conversation.

"That is because REA is not a name, you imbecile. It probably stands for the True Blackened's identity. After all, Monobear said you can get an eHandbook as long as the thing jotted down in the Loan Registry can be associated with you."

"So REA could really mean anything, then?", asked Punzie, "How are we supposed to figure out anything from that?"

"It could take us hours to try and go through all the possibilities and to deduce that...", mumbled Fish. Sadly, Monobear heard him just fine, and instantly jumped on that.

"Hey! What did I say at the beginning of this Class Trial?! If you take too much time, I'll end this right here, right now! I don't want to become an ice dessert!"

"...Then let us try to figure out the True Blackened's identity through another angle.", proposed Hic.

"What angle do you propose, Haddock?", queried Pitch, looking expectant.

The lil Viking rubbed his arm nervously. "W-well... how about this one? Aside from the killings, what other suspicious thing did the True Blackened do?"

Punzie eagerly raised her hand. "Oh! Ohh! Are you talking about Elsa's disappearing act?"

"That's true...", followed up Flynn, rubbing his chin, "We still never did find Elsa's corpse, didn't we? It was taken away by someone right after we discovered it."

"That, I still don't get.", said Mer, scratching her top of the head. "Why would anyone go to the trouble of movin' a body?"

"The only thing I can think of is... well, maybe the body had some inconvenient clues on it. And if that's the case, then the only one who would have something to gain from hiding it would be the True Blackened.", said Fish.

Yeah, of all the possibilities, that's what I came up with too. There's no reason to hide a corpse aside from trying to destroy evidence. So that's most likely what happened.

"Yeah... And I think we can use that to figure out who the mastermind behind this case is.",said Hic with a nod to himself. "All we have to do is... figure out who took the body... and that will point us towards the real killer!"

"What? Really?! We just have to do that one easy thing?!", asked Snot.

"Except it's not gonna be easy...", mumbled Fish, sounding grumpy.

"I heard that! Why do you say that?! How come its not gonna be easy?!", said the Ultimate Heavy Lifter, grating on my nerves. "All we have to do is figure out who had a chance to take the body and we're golden!"

"Hmm..., the only available time frame when the body could have be moved was...", said Tooth, her eyes closed as she thought this through. "After we found the body... and before the time we all came back to show the body to Merida and Jack."

"...Hold on, isn't that wrong?", asked Flynn, "I mean, if that's really the only time, then it would be impossible for the body to be moved!"

...What?

"What are you sayin', Rider?!", confronted Merida.

"Think about it!", continued Flynn, looking grave, "During that time frame, what were we all doing?"

"We were... just after finding the body, we were all...", said Hic before trailing off and gasping with realization. Oh no... this won't be good... I don't like that expression. Not one bit. "We were all gathered in the lobby. All of us.", said Hic as he looked at everyone in the room.

Oh.

...! Ohhhhh!

Oh damn. Yeah... this IS bad.

"I don't get it.", said Snot, predictably. "What does that have to do with moving the body being impossible?"

I sighed with exasperation and then proceeded to explain this to him. "Because, Snot, all of us, and I do mean all of us, were gathered in the lobby. Well, all of us who were alive. Which means... all of us have an alibi."

"Ohhh gods, he's right.", added Fish, "Since all of us were together and we were all looking at each other, then no one could have slinked away and stolen the body. All of us being together in the lobby after Elsa's body was found is our airtight alibi."

"And, during that time, I'm sure no one left or behaved suspiciously.", added Tooth, biting her nail.

"Which... which means... no one could have moved the body. It's impossible.", concluded Flynn. "Believe me, even a thief like me couldn't have stolen anything under those circumstances."

Shit... he was right.

"But it had to be possible!", argued Merida, "I mean, the body did end up vanishin', didn't it? So it was obviously moved by someone!"

"And how do you think that happened?", asked Flynn, "The body couldn't have be moved before we found it because, well, obviously we saw it! And the body couldn't have be moved after we went to show it to Jack and Merida because, well, it was missing by that time! The only timeframe available for moving the body was inbetween those two points, and as Fish and the kid have pointed out, none of us could have done it! We were all together! So how, pray tell, did the body get moved?!"

"I-I dunno! But it obviously did! So don't get all angry at me, Rider! I'm just sayin' what we all saw!", stammered Mer, looking flustered.

"So... an impossible move was made possible. Hmm hmm, quite a fascinating murder this is.", chuckled Pitch, "Alas, we do not have time to bask in the genius of this plan; we have to figure out the trick behind this disappearing act or we are all done for."

Damn... nice way to put on the pressure. But he's right. We have to figure this out! ...Somehow. But just like Flynn said, it does seem kind of impossible. No... it definitely sounds impossible. And yet, against all odds and evidence, Elsa's body still moved... But how? Are we missing something?

"M-maybe we just missed it?", offered Fish weakly.

"Don't be stupid! There's no way we would miss a fucking corpse!", rebutted Snot, "It was right there and besides, WE looked EVERYWHERE for the body! And it never once turned up!"

"Yeah... Flynn's right. The only odd thing we found was that Monobear Bracelet at the Obstacle Course Room, but aside from that, we didn't find Elsa's body anywhere...", said Punzie, dejectedly.

Hic instantly perked up at that. "Say... Now that you mention it... That bracelet being there is pretty weird...", he closed his eyes, deep in thought, before staring intently at the Ultimate Thief. "You said this was Elsa's bracelet, didn't you Flynn? Why do you think that, again?"

Flynn looked like he had been caught off guard, but he quickly recovered. "Well, it has to be, no? I mean, all of us still have it on-"

"Wrong!", yelled Mer, showing off her bare wrist. "Mine fell already!"

"Mine did too, by the way.", I added. Flynn didn't look like he was amused, and with an annoyed huff, he continued to speak.

"Anyways... most of us still have them on, and the only other bracelets that were on the Gym were Anna's and the Twins', right? But those bracelets are still with them... And yet, this one wasn't near any of them... and since Elsa's body had disappeared along with her bracelet... well, it's only natural to think that, no?", explained Flynn.

And he did have a point... according to Hic and the others, the only Monobear Bracelet that was missing from all the victims was Elsa's. So this had to be it, right? But still, that didn't exactly solve the main problem:

"What the hell was that bracelet doing there?"

No one had an answer to my question. Well, at least not a concrete one.

"The only thing I can think of is... maybe the killer dropped it when moving Elsa's body?", suggested Fish.

"But why would the killer bother with moving the bracelet?", asked Tooth, confusion showing on her face. "I mean, we all knew Elsa was dead by that point, so there was no reason to take it..."

"...Unless... the bracelet had to be taken.", said Pitch all of a sudden, his gaze sharp. "That is most likely the reason why it had to be taken with the body."

"So... you're saying the bracelet is a clue?", asked Punzie, suddenly perking up.

"Then...! We should look at that damn thing right now!", said Snot in what was his speaking voice, shouting at full volume. "Maybe the answers to everything are there!"

"Then, I shall now present...!", spoke up Monobear, who then proceeded to jump into the middle of the room, right in the space in the middle of the circular space left by the booths. "As always, it is up to me to bring up evidence for you guys. You're welcome!" and after finishing his gloating, the Headmaster unceremoniously dropped all the bracelets involved in the murders on the floor.

I immediately jumped over my booth and kneeled down to look at them, shivering a little when my knee made contact with the frozen over floor. I could feel the coldness through the fabric of my jeans. Ignoring the cold, I decided to focus on the bracelets in front of me and... almost instantly, I noticed something... off. I gingerly picked up the bracelet that I assumed Flynn was talking about and showed it to him. "Yo, Flynn... is this the one you guys found?"

Punzie and the Ultimate Thief nodded instantly. "Yup, no doubt about it. That's the one."

"Yeah, we found it as soon as we all separated and Monobear unlocked the doors. It was just there lying on the floor... no one else was in the room and no one else came in while we were there aside from Hiccup and Peter...", commented the Ultimate Painter offhandedly.

So... it had to be dropped there by the killer and no one else. Still, that isn't what is concerning me. I could feel everyone's gazes as I studied the bracelet in my hand. No matter how you slice it, there's something very weird about this bracelet, especially if we compare it to the crime scene it supposedly belongs to. I may be wrong about this, but... here goes nothing!

"Hey, guys... don't you think this bracelet is weird?", I asked, hoping to start a discussion.

"Dude, everything that comes from Monobear is weird.", said Snot with a roll of his eyes.

I'l... ignore that, thank you very much Snotlout. I gave him a deadpan glare and then moved on.

"What I was trying to point out is... isn't this bracelet, Elsa's bracelet... a little too bloody?"

Punzie tilted her head. "Why is that weird? I mean... that thing was... n-near a crime scene with blood and everything, right? So its totally fine for it to be smeared with blood."

I shook my head. "But, if you look at the place where Elsa died... you'll notice its the least bloody of all the scenes. Hell, if you compare to the Twins' scene, its much less bloody! And they died similarly!"

"So? What are you suggesting here, Overland?", asked Pitch curtly, his eyes intent on me. "Are you suggesting this is not Elsa's bracelet?"

The silence that followed was one of affirmation from my part and one of expectation from the others, waiting for my answer. As soon as I nodded, a lot of things happened. Hic carefully climbed over his booth and joined me in the center of the room and started to examine the bracelets in the floor, while the rest of the group exploded into confused outrage.

"Are ya daft, Jack?!", asked Merida, "I mean, whose bracelet could it be possibly be?! Haven't you been hearin'? All the others are where they belong! This one has to be Elsa's! No doubt!"

"But Jack is right.", spoke up Hic, earning everyone's attention. He was holding another bracelet in his hand, his eyes scanning it carefully. It was Anna's bracelet. "It's just too weird... Elsa's bracelet is too dirty for such a low amount of blood drawn, and...", the green eyed teen trailed off as he stood up and showed Anna's bracelet to everyone, his face serious. "It's not the only bracelet that is weird... Anna's bracelet is also too clean..."

Pitch's eyes narrowed. "The amount of blood in the Pool Room was quite substantial... Hmm, I see... yes, I get what you are trying to point out.", he nodded mostly to himself. "I agree with Haddock... and Overland. These discrepancies merit some looking into."

"What discrepancies?!", argued Flynn, "Look, you guys are just looking for things that aren't there! What the fuck does "too clean" and "too dirty" even mean?! Why is that important?"

"Come on, Flynn, don't you see?", I said as I shook the bracelet in my hand in front of him, "If these bracelets were really found in the places they were, they should match the state of those rooms! And yet, it's not like that at all!"

"So... does that mean, the bracelets... have been switched?", asked Tooth, looking unsure.

...Does it mean that? It's odd, if you think about it, but its the only way to explain these weird circumstances. I nodded at the Ultimate Dentist, who looked legitimately shocked by this revelation, like everyone else did. But I really don't think anyone can deny th-

"Hold on a minute!"

...Of course Flynn would freaking object.

"All of this you're saying doesn't mean anything! Sure, it's a little odd that the bracelets don't exactly match the circumstances of the places they were found...! But still, that doesn't mean they were switched or something!"

"Uh... for the record, there's nothing wrong with the Twins' bracelets.", interjected Hic, "T-the only bracelets were doubting and that we think were switched are Anna's and Elsa's-"

"But like I was saying", interrupted Flynn and I suddenly wanted to chuck something at him. "You don't have any conclusive proof of that! You're just saying that on an assumption!"

Hic looked deep in thought as he lowered his gaze back to the bracelet in his hand. And then... a grin appeared on his freckled face. I couldn't help but to smile too. Had he... figured something out?

"But I have conclusive proof."

"You... you do...?"

I had to laugh. The way Flynn sputtered and fell silent was too funny. Even Punzie snickered a little. Man, that got to hurt his pride a lot. I kind of feel bad now... No, not really.

Hic nodded earnestly before showing off the bracelet in his hand once again... or rather, the inside of the bracelet this time. And then, I could see what he was trying to say. But I didn't... quite get what he was pointing out, so I let him do the talking. "The needles in Anna's bracelet are the proof that this one doesn't belong to her and that it was switched."

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who was confused by this. Judging by the looks he was getting, most of us weren't following Hic's findings at all.

"I don't get it. Why are the needles proof?", asked Snot as he scratched his head.

Hic brought the bracelet near to his face as he studied the needles with interest. "Do you guys remember how these things work? What are they used for?"

Fish nodded. "According to the Headmaster, the Monobear Bracelets have these needles built into them that can pop out at any moment's notice to inject us with the Despair-Syndrome and the cure for it."

"Yeah, and when they inject you they leave these nasty little marks on your wrists.", I added, showing off my wrist and the marks that looked like snake bites. Hic looked like he was in pain for an instant as he looked at my wrist but the look disappeared as he proceeded on to explain.

"Right. So it stands to reason that the needles on the bracelet stay out even after it falls off..."

Mer nodded. "Yah, I remember that when my bracelet fell off, those darn needles were still out. Gave me a fright when I first saw 'em..."

"So...", interrupted Pitch, "What is your point, Haddock?"

Hic looked ready to oblige. "My point... is this... why are the needles of Anna's bracelet out? She never had the Despair-Syndrome and she obviously was never cured... so why is her bracelet like this?"

...Oh.

...What?! Wait, hold on... what does that-?

"What are you saying, kid?", asked Flynn, looking flustered. "I don't exactly follow... are you saying that this bracelet doesn't belong to Anna, simply because it has its needles out?!"

"No, wait, it makes sense.", interrupted Tooth, her mind gears obviously working in overdrive, "What Hiccup is saying is true! Anna was completely healthy and was never afflicted with the disease so there should be no reason for her bracelet to have the needles out! This can't be Anna's bracelet!"

"B-but what if Anna had been infected and we didn't know? I mean, no one saw her after we dispersed from the gym...", suggested Fishlegs.

"No, I don't think so.", argued Hic. "When I checked her body, she didn't have any marks on her wrist. The Twins, obviously, had them... so we can assume that all people with the disease had the marks on their wrists."

"So... if Anna was never infected... then why the fuck are the needles on her bracelet out?", asked Snotlout.

"It's because... this isn't Anna's bracelet at all. This must be someone else's...", I said, getting a little tired from explaining this to him.

"The state of the bracelets... are too disparaging. We must accept that these bracelets have indeed been switched. What we thought was Elsa's bracelet, the one that is too dirty and was found in the Obstacle Course room, is actually Anna's bracelet... and the one we thought was Anna's bracelet, the one that was too clean, had its needles out and was found in the Pool Room... is actually Elsa's.", said Pitch with such conviction that left no room for doubt.

"But what if it's the Twins'?!", asked Flynn, still not giving up. "I mean, their bracelets had needles out too, right? So what if we just mixed them up?!"

Hic immediately shook his head. "Counting the Twins' bracelets, there are three with their needles out. There's no way all three of them belonged to Tuff and Ruff. There is no denying it."

"But do you realize what this implies?", challenged the Ultimate Thief, jabbing a pointing finger at the smaller teen. "If what you're saying is true and the bracelet with its needles out does belong to Elsa... you're saying she had the Despair-Syndrome?!"

It's true... if you connect all the facts... that's what it appears to be.

"Well, we never did find Elsa's body to check if she had the marks like the rest of the infected...", commented Tooth.

"But why?!", demanded to know Flynn, looking on edge. "I still don't get it! Why is there so much contrived crap into this?! Why hide Elsa's body?! Why even switch the bracelets?! I don't understand why the Blackened is doing all of this! What are they trying to hide...?!"

"Hmm..." I hummed, trying to make a sense of all this. It was as Flynn said: Too much was put into this scheme, and almost none of it made sense. Was that the Blackened's goal? To confuse us? "Well... the bracelets were switched... so we wouldn't find out that Elsa had the Despair-Syndrome... that's what I think."

"And Elsa's body was also moved so that we wouldn't find that out... and so that we wouldn't find out more clues that might led to her killer...", added Tooth.

"I cannot believe we are even spending time spelling this out.", huffed Pitch as he glared at Flynn. "It should be obvious to you that the Blackened did all of this to throw us off. The moving of Elsa's body and the switching of the bracelets prove this. What we should be doing instead of wasting time on this inane fit of yours, Rider, is try to figure out how the body was moved and by who."

Pitch had a point there. We had already explained off a lot of things but it all came back to this. The core issue: the disappearance of Elsa's body. Even yet, I still had no idea how to explain that. We had been debating so long about other aspects of the crime in hopes that doing so would reveal a hint, an answer to this particular one. And yet, nothing. Judging by the silence, none of us had anything to explain that mystery.

A body that we all saw. A body that was moved while all of us who were alive were together in the same room. A body that managed to disappear under these seemingly impossible circumstances.

"So... we still don't have nothin'?", asked Mer, looking at all of us expectantly.

"Nope. Nothing here.", seriously, Snotlout, can't you be more worried about this?

"Well... what if we throw around ideas and suggestions, then?", said Tooth, "Maybe one of them will be on the mark?"

That seemed like a good idea. It's better than what we have right now... which is nothing.

"Then I'll start!", shouted Snot suddenly. "What if it got abducted by aliens!"... No, I'm pretty sure that one is wrong. I'm starting to have second thoughts about this idea.

"Hmm... maybe the body was hid in the Freezer?", suggested Punzie. I think that's a very nice idea! But according to Hic, that thing was frozen shut and it was kept like that during the investigation. There's no way the culprit could have melted the ice, put in Elsa's body and then freeze it over like that in such a short amount of time.

"Maybe the body is hidden outside the gym!", proposed Tooth. I think that's the most likely scenario... but the problem is... all of us were together. No one could have moved the body as long as that problem persists.

All of these ideas, save Snot's, sounded pretty good but none of them addressed the main issue: how could the body have been moved without any of us intervening? Well... the only way I can think of is...that. But its too stupid! The whole notion is extremely idiotic and though I don't mind making a fool out of myself for the laughter of everyone, this is a little bit more serious! Still, we're supposed to be saying whatever comes to mind... so might as well, no?

"This is just a thought, but...", I instinctively started to scratch the top of my head, "what if the body... moved itself? I mean, that's the only way I could see this pulled off..." I said, trying to laugh at the absurdity of my proposal.

Naturally, no one else laughed. The silence that followed my proposal was like a tight vice-grip, tense and empty. It was Flynn's voice who finally cut the silence, thankfully. Unfortunately... he didn't seem too happy about my suggestion.

"Jack, do you even hear what you're saying?! How in the devil fucking dickens is a body supposed to move itself? Are you saying Elsa turned into a zombie or something?"

The nervous smile that I gave him only seemed to infuriate him more. And yep, the shrug I gave also made him flare his nostrils. But what can I say? It's the only thing that made sense to me. Of course, it was going to be wrong bu-

"Hold... Hold on.", as soon as Hic spoke up, I stared intently at him. Well, all of us did. Judging by the odd look in his face, the Ultimate Lucky Student seemed to be thinking about something really hard. All of a sudden, Hic had to lean on his booth, a hand on his forehead. He looked... conflicted? What was going on in that mind of his?

Letting strands of auburn hair fall over his forehead as he removed his hand, he looked at all of us before resting his gaze on me. I could see it in those emerald greens of his; Hic had an idea. With trembling lips, the fishbone viking began to speak:

"I don't think... Jack is wrong. In fact... I think he's spot on: The only way the body could have been moved is... if the body moved by itself."

"SO YOU'RE SAYING WE HAVE A ZOMBIE IN OUR MIDST?!", screeched Fish, rupturing some eardrums, for sure.

"I-If we have a zombie, then I propose we sacrifice Fishlegs! That oughta keep the Elsombie occupied!", yelled out Snotlout.

"No, you utter buffoons.", chastised Pitch, "What Haddock and Overland are saying is that there was never a body to begin with; Elsa was very much alive and pretended to be dead when we first found her... is that correct?", he asked, his gaze lingering on both of us. Well... I wasn't actually thinking that far... but judging by Hiccup's firm nod, I guess he thought that? Well, good for me, I guess!

"B-but that's ridiculous!", continued on Flynn, "I mean, we saw her dead body! Elsa was undoubtedly dead!"

"Weeelll...", interjected Fish, "It's true that we saw her dead body... but we never really confirmed that she was dead because her corpse disappeared so-"

"That doesn't matter!", interrupted Flynn, "I mean, we don't really need to confirm it! Monobear confirmed it for us! He played the Body Discovery Announcement for her body!"

"Yeah, I mean... Don't get me wrong guys...", began Tooth as she cast a doubtful look towards Hic and I. "I know the problem we're facing right now seems impossible, but that doesn't mean its OK to just blurt out ridiculous stuff and play along with it..."

...Hey! You didn't say anything when Snot proposed his dumb theory!

"But its not ridiculous.", insisted Hic, "In fact, I think I can prove it...", he said, stuttering and looking unsure before shaking his head. "No, I definitely can prove it.", the auburn haired teen stared at Flynn as he spoke. "And the proof is... in the Body Discovery Announcements."

"Try to remember.", he began as he chewed on the nail on his thumb, his face a weird mix of concentration and realization; if I didn't know Hic I'd think he was winging it as he went. "The number of Body Discovery Announcements... There was one back when Snotlout discovered Anna's body... and there was another one when we discovered the Twins' body... but...we didn't hear one when Elsa's body was found."

Well... I don't exactly remember that, owing to the fact that I wasn't entirely lucid during those events but... judging by everyone's faces... it seems Hic is right.

"B-but that can easily be explained by the fact that maybe w-we just found Elsa's body and the Twins' at the same time. M-maybe Monobear simply fused the two announcements into one because of that?", argued Flynn, looking very unsure about his theory.

"HEY! Don't you dare insinuate that I'm the kind of lazy bear who does things half-assed!", yelled Monobear, his sharp claws out and looking ready to maul someone. "What kind of rude bear do you think I am? Sure, I may only make announcements when the body of a student is found, but each of my students are precious and I make an announcement whenever you find a dead student, no exceptions!"

Monobear paused before blushing, a paw going to the back of his head in a bashful display. "Oops! Man, that's the third hint I give in this Class Trial unintentionally. I guess that's part of my character! I heard clumsy helpful characters are in hot demand these days!"

...Ignoring Monobear's rambling... "Looks like that confirms it.", I said, giving Flynn my best condescending smile. "We're really missing one Body Discovery Announcement... and that was Elsa's."

The Ultimate Thief had no rebuttals. Punzie, however, looked like she had at least one.

"But even if the lack of a Body Discovery Announcement is suspect... how do we explain the bracelet? I mean... if I recall correctly:"

"Here's how this will work!", continues the Headmaster, no doubt enjoying our shared shock, "At random intervals of time which I will not disclose, these bracelets' needles will pop out and inject you guys with the disease! This will continue to happen until someone kills! But don't worry... the bracelets will inject the infected with the cure once a killing happens, and then they will harmlessly pop off from everyone!"

"Other than that, there's no way to remove the bracelets. Well... they will also drop off if your heart stops... but really, who would kill themselves to get rid of it when you can do it as easily by offing someone else? Puhuhuhu..."

"...That's how Monobear explained the working behind the bracelets right? I remember Elsa's bracelet being off when we found her body so... how do we explain that? If she isn't really dead, then why did the bracelet fall off?", finished Punzie.

Hic closes his eyes to think but before the Ultimate Lucky Student can offer an explanation, Tooth cuts in eagerly.

"Wait... I think I know how she have removed that bracelet!"

Snotlout lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? Really? And what is this magical and secret way to remove it that none of us know about?"

The Ultimate Dentist pouted. "But I did tell Hiccup and Peter how to remove it. It's really simple. All you need to do to remove the bracelet is to block the electric signals sent from your heart so that it can't reach the bracelet."

"OK, was I the only one who didn't follow that? Because I didn't get it.", said Flynn with an annoyed glare. I... I also didn't get it, but I'm not admitting to it.

Tooth huffed. "Look, this is all speculation on my part, but allow me to explain. You guys know how the bracelet is supposed to fall off when your heart stops beating, right?", we all nod in answer. "Well, I think the way the bracelet works is like this: When our heart beats, it sends electric signals through our body, they're faint but they exist. The bracelet detects them and that's how it knows when to fall off; if it can't detect any signals, it falls off."

"Ooh! Like one of those heart rate monitor thingies from the medical dramas my mum watches!", says Mer excitedly.

"So, you're saying Elsa somehow figured that out and found a way to block those signals to fake her death?", asked Flynn, "C'mon, how long are you going to insist on this crazy theory of yours, kid?"

Hic, however, didn't back down at Flynn's comment. In fact, he seemed to be spurred on further. "It's not a crazy theory! Well... OK, yeah, it seems pretty unreal to all of us that Elsa is still alive... but that only goes to show that she planned this very well! She fooled us all into believing that she was dead! And... she even fooled the bracelet using the aluminum foil we found in the Combat Room!"

...Aluminum foil?

"That thing?", asked Flynn, unimpressed, "Isn't that just trash? That's your evidence?"

Before I could tell Flynn to put a sock in it, Fishlegs intervened. "No, actually... that makes perfect sense! Aluminum foil has the ability to bounce back signals to their source, effectively preventing them from reaching the thing they're wrapping... it's a very good reflector."

"Yeah! That's why they tell you to never put aluminum foil in the microwave, right?", said Mer, to which Fish nodded.

"And this was found in the crime scene, right Hiccup?", continued the Ultimate Encyclopedia and when Hic confirmed it, along with the fact that it had been found in the same place where Elsa's body had been, Fish nodded to himself. "Then... I think the theory that Elsa was very much alive and used this to take off her bracelet to make us believe she was dead is pretty much confirmed..."

I didn't exactly understand all the things Fish said, but I got the gist of it. All Elsa had to do was wrap her bracelet with this aluminum thing and the electric signals the bracelet needed to work would not reach it, and it would fall off. Yeah, that seems right.

And yet, its so surreal. I... I don't know how to feel about this. The evidence is here; We have enough reason to believe that Elsa faked her death. And yet... I actually felt sad about this! I didn't exactly like Elsa for being mean to Hic, but dying like this...? I wouldn't ever wish this on anyone! And yet she went and not only toyed with out emotions... but she went and toyed with the lives of others... of her own sister!

That's... that's what I'm feeling. Anger and betrayal. How could she do all of this...?! How could she do this to her own sister?!

Pitch sighs. "I understand if some of you are still refusing to believe the fact that Elsa is indeed still alive. To be honest, I too had a hard time believing this... but the evidence is in front of us. Denying it any longer would be foolish. This makes her the most likely suspect too."

"Oh yeah...", said Mer as she brought a hand to her chin, rubbing it thoughtfully, "Since she was pretendin' to be dead, that means she was actually alive all along and she was the one who switched the bracelets!"

"But that doesn't make her the killer, though...", said Tooth. "I mean, sure, I think she's very suspicious... but is there really any proof that makes her the mastermind in this case? She could have been just a lucky survivor..."

That is true... but something inside of me tells me that that's not all there is to it. Why would she remain hidden? Why would she mess with the evidence? No, she's definitely more than an innocent survivor... And judging by the harsh look on Hic's face and Pitch's furrowed brow, I'm not alone on this.

"No, she's definitely more than a lucky survivor." began Hic. "Especially if you start to think... how did she vanish from the crime scene?"

"Well... we were all in the lobby and we obviously didn't see her come out from the Combat Room at all...", began Fish.

"Oh! I got it! All the rooms in this gym have doors that lead to the neighboring rooms, right? So she could have used those doors and made her way around the gym! I'm pretty sure the side doors in the Pool Room and the Obstacle Course lead to the hallway that leads outside the gym!", explained Punzie eagerly.

"There is a catch, though.", interjected Tooth. "Those doors work like the rest of the doors in the Gym... meaning you can only open the doors in those rooms with the given eHandbook. Could Elsa really have escaped like that? According to the Loan Registry, she would only have access to the Combat Room eHandbook..."

For what I feel like its the hundredth time, I consult my ElectroID and look at the Loan Registry, just to verify that my memory isn't failing me:

Monobuff Gym eHandbook Loan Registry:

- THE Snotlout - Heavy Lifting Room

-Elsa - Combat Room

-TUFF - Olympic Pool Room

-RUFF - Combat Room

-Anna Arendelle - Olympic Pool Room

-REA - VIP

...And it's true. Elsa only had access to the Combat Room. Tooth raised a valid point. However, upon looking at this Registry once more... I feel like I finally have an idea of what happened... Yeah!

"Waaait a minute.", I start, "Sure, this Loan Registry shows us that Elsa only had the Combat Room eHandbook... but what if she also had the VIP eHandbook... Guys, what if she's this REA person?!"

The shocked expression on everyone's faces feels so good. Hic snaps out of it quickly, and then grins at me. "Of course! That would be the only way she could have hidden from us, anyway! She would have needed an eHandbook that allowed her to elude us completely and the only one that could possibly do that is the VIP eHandbook!"

"But didn't Monobear over there said that we could only borrow one eHandbook per person?", asked Flynn.

"Well... he did say that... but... he never specified whether that applied to the normal eHandbooks only... or if it applied to both the normal and VIP eHandbooks.", mumbled Fish.

"And I must GASP! Geez... I can't believe you guys just noticed that intentional loophole just now! Even the Blackened noticed it preeeetty quickly, y'know?", teased the Headmaster, a paw behind his head, that odious grin of his at full force.

"So... this confirms it. A person can both hold a normal and the VIP eHandbook at the same time. Minute by minute, the evidence and suspicion against Elsa keeps mounting.", said Pitch with a confident smile.

"But I don't get it! Why are you guys saying this REA person and Elsa are the same?! I mean, REA isn't even close to that chick's name!", said Snot, obviously some steps behind. Punzie seemed eager to explain however, so she fielded this one.

"Oh, Snotlout! Don't you see? REA is an acronym for Elsa's name!", explained the blonde with a patient smile. Seeing how the Ultimate Heavy Lifter still held a confused look, the Ultimate Painter kept talking. "An acronym is usually a sequence of letters formed by the initials of a phrase or sentence. It's used a lot in names for organizations and things like that! REA, for example, is an acronym for Elsa's name; specifically her initials!"

Punzie enthusiastically brought out a piece of paper from her pocket and wrote down the acronym clearly for all of us to see. "See, I didn't instantly see it because she used a very weird way to write the acronym but once Jack spoke up I remembered the various rules I read about them!"

REA

Elsa of Arendelle

REA

Elsa of ARendelle

EAR

REA

"This is what REA really stands for!", finished Punzie enthusiastically. Judging by Snotlout's expression, he didn't seem to really get it but at least he seems convinced.

"That was a very clever way to hide her identity.", mused Fish, "As long as it was related to our name... yeah, it follows Monobear's rule."

"And just like Fishlegs said before... the most suspicious person was the one who held the VIP eHandbook... Hmm...", trailed off Flynn.

"Does this mean... does this mean we've got it?", said Mer, her eyes wide with disbelief, "Have we cornered the real murderer this time around? The one awful person who orchestrated this whole darn thing?"

No one dared to answer. I understood why, though. There was this intense pressure in this moment. It all seemed so final and yet daring to take that last step... to take responsibility for the entire thing. What if we were actually wrong despite how convinced we were that we were in the right? That's why no one dared to speak up.

...

"Once... Once I go over the entire sequence of this crime... I...", said Hic, his eyes alight with an unearthly confidence, one that had decided to take charge and responsibility for everything that happened and that would happen. "I'll make everything clear and leave no trace of doubt that... she was the true mastermind behind these events! I'll prove it!"

Everything falls into place...

Hiccup's POV

"It's really hard to imagine that all of this was planned by one person. This complicated web of happenings and murders... they really were set into motion by the True Blackened. My guess is that it all started back when Snotlout announced that he was going to work out at the Gym on the night the murders happened. That gave the Blackened someone to pin the blame of their crimes. And I also think it gave them their basis for their plan. A plan that would utilize anyone and anything available for them.

First, the culprit needed to lure in the actors needed for her plan to succeed. At first, I wondered why the Blackened had to bring forth so many people, but now I understand. She needed to bring at least three more people so that they could gain access to the VIP eHandbook. After all, Monobear said he wouldn't give it away unless the five normal eHandbooks had been loaned first. Snotlout and the Blackened had already borrowed one each, therefore, they needed three more people at the scene. Those three extras would be Anna, and the Twins: Tuff and Ruff.

The Blackened lured Anna with a note. I think the reason Anna even did as the note said was because... she had received it from someone she trusted. However, she didn't know that she was being lured in towards her death and got an eHandbook for the Pool Room and did as the note told her. But the Blackened wasn't going to be the one to dirty their hands with her blood. Though the culprit had orchestrated her death by luring her to a specific place, the Pool Room, the culprit was going to dealt death using... someone else.

Due to their strain of Despair-Syndrome, the Gullible Disease, the Twins were liable to do as they were told as long as they were given an excuse. That excuse... came in the shape of a note written to them by the Blackened, in which they were ordered to kill Anna using the icicle the True Blackened had set up for them in the Combat Room's Freezer. Having gotten two eHandbooks for the very purpose of pulling off this killing, the Twins... murdered Anna as they had been instructed. Since this portion of the plan was too complex and it wasn't described on the note, I'm guessing the Blackened and the Twins planned to discuss this. Most likely after the Blackened took them from the hospital for this murder plan.

Having killed Anna... the Blackened moved on to the next step of their plan. In order to secure their way out and to further jumble up the events of this Class Trial, the Blackened betrayed the Twins and killed them with their own metal bat, but not after receiving the goods from them: what I now believe to be the aluminum foil. The Twins... probably died without knowing they'd be betrayed. The Blackened probably killed them to cover their tracks as well; someone with the Gullible Disease would surely babble under pressure.

Having finished their murder, the True Blackened moved on to the final steps of her plan: securing an alibi. And to do that, they put on a sordid performance: faking their own death. By making us see a "murder scene" where they themselves were the victim, they managed to secure a tight alibi that would have shifted all suspicions away from them. However, this secure alibi would also prove to be their downfall, because once the investigation started... we would find out that she had never died all along. We would have found out that she had removed her bracelet using the aluminum foil. For this very reason, the Blackened had to "disappear her own corpse", she had to hide the evidence. All evidence of her involvement in this crime. This is why she also switched the bracelets, to hide all clues that pointed towards them suspiciously.

I still don't know the reasons behind all of their actions, their motivations, and why it was so important for them to switch the bracelets... but there's only one person who fits all the characteristics... only one person who would benefit from this hiding of evidence and involvement, only one person who Anna would trust enough to do as she was told... only one person who could have moved a seemingly impossible to move corpse... and the only one person who was there, that night, who could have pulled this off... is the True Blackened, the Ultimate Figure Skater, Elsa Arendelle!"

I took a deep breath after finishing that speech. It was over. With this, the Class Trial would be finished. And yet, I felt antsy. Unsure. Everything fit... the evidence didn't lie, and yet, I was still unsure. Because like I had told everyone else, I didn't understand the motivations behind this murder, this plot. I couldn't even begin to understand what transpired through Elsa's mind that pushed her to do this. In past cases, I could see why the Blackeneds... our friends, acted like this. But in this one? I couldn't associate the motive with the Blackened. I couldn't.

Apparently, the feeling was general. A rather still silence filled the court room. It was over, right? So... why did it feel like it hadn't? What did we need to do for this to conclude satisfactorily, if it could even end like that?

Flynn scratched his neck, his brow furrowed with an unsure expression, "So uh... what are we supposed to do now?"

"Should we... start votin' or somethin'?", asked Merida with reluctance written on her factions.

"Yep! That's riiiight! I mean, Hiccy even went and gave his little spiel that no one in their right mind would ever bother to hear, so its time for the Ballot Time, puhuhuhu!", said Monobear with a gleeful and distasteful laugh.

"But can we even vote for a person that isn't here?", asked Fishlegs as he eyed his booth unsure, the touch pad installed on them lighting up and showing again the list of names, ready to accept our inputs for the Ballot Time.

"Offfff course! Everyone has to answer to their crimes eventually! No matter how much one runs away from your sins, you must one day face them! How about that? Pretty cool and zen sounding, huh?", explained or rather rambled Monobear, a paw behind his back. "Now then, who will be chosen as the Blackened? Will you guys make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrooooong one? Puhuhuhu! Such heart-pounding excitement!"

There wasn't anything remotely close to excitement as we cast our votes. I couldn't deny the fact that my heart was pounding with nervousness as the final vote was cast and the usual fanfare occurred, the slot machine that would decide our fates spinning and spinning its slots until eventually they stopped. With a cheering crowd and confetti and applause, the contraption revealed that our answer had indeed been correct; Elsa had been the Blackened, the one behind all of this, before receding back into the floor, leaving no trace of ever there being a machine in the room. And just like always, the cheerful and jovial atmosphere it forced into the room made us all feel uncomfortable. It was as if someone had decided to throw a party at a funeral.

"Man, three on a row?! You guys are on a roll! Hahahaha, I bet you guys are pretty glad about that, huh? Not that you guys had much of a choice... You pretty much had to get it right! Nyahahahaha!"

Monobear's comments were also always out of place. Thankfully... no one paid attention to that. Some of us were still processing the fact that we had been correct. I couldn't blame it for them. It all felt so unbelievable. We were so dazed by the fact that we were correct that we didn't even comment on the fact that the rest of the Monobear Bracelets had fallen off from the ones who still had them.

"So everything the freakshows and Hiccup were saying... was actually right?!", exclaimed Snotlout breathlessly. "Elsa... she really was behind everything?! She was the Blackened?!"

"I can't believe this! She lied to us!", yelled Merida, angry and quivering with rage, "She made us think she was dead and all just to fool us and get us killed!"

"Quite honestly, that is not what is the most upsetting to me.", mused Peter before staring at the Headmaster with pure scorn. "It really is quite worrying, that our captor is willing to break the rules of their own game."

Monobear jolted. "Moi? Break the rules? Why, what could you possibly be talking about, Pitchy?"

The Ultimate Fear Expert didn't break eye contact with the plush who was pretending to act all innocent. "I am talking about the fact that you intervened in this case. You said you were not going to help anyone in their murder plans, that you were going to be an impartial judge. Yet you deliberately helped the Blackened in this case. And there is evidence of that."

"Oh yeah... for one, Elsa is not here!", said Tooth, joining Peter on his assault. "The rules of the Camp say that everyone still alive needs to be in the Class Trial! But Elsa was not here at all, even though she is still alive!"

"...All to hide that fact. Monobear was covering for her!", finished Rapunzel.

...But now that I think about it... that wasn't the only thing that was off about this Class Trial.

"There was... also something else that strikes me as odd...", I said as I flipped through the pages of evidence stored in my ElectroID. "The Monobear File this time around was weird... I mean, when you read the entry related to Anna and the Twins... you will notice they are pretty gruesome and fatal wounds. But... when you read Elsa's wounds... I can't be the only one who thinks that a simple bruise to the head isn't enough to kill someone, right?"

"Now that you mention it...!", said Fishlegs as his eyes widened.

"But then, why the fuck was Elsa even included in the file if she didn't really die?!", asked Snotlout in an expected outburst of confusion.

"To make us assume that Elsa had indeed been killed.", answered Peter. "Monobear deliberately inserted her on the Monobear File to confuse us. He knew Elsa wasn't really dead and he still included her on it. He gave us false information to aid the Blackened... a clear violation of the rules."

Under the pressure and stares, Monobear actually began to squirm a little. "H-Hey...! Don't you guys get tired of jumping to conclusions?! I-I mean... what was I supposed to do, huh? This was the first time in the history of all the Class Trials ever held where a Blackened decided to play with the structure of the Class Trial like this! There was no way I wasn't going to lend a helping paw to make things more interesting! I-It's kind of like when you see a fire and you just have the urge to throw flammable stuff at it, y'know?! Don't you get me?!"

No... I don't think I "get" you, but this basically confirms Peter's claims. Monobear really DID break his own rules this time. I... don't know how to feel about this. Monobear following his own rules was our only guarantee in this godsforsaken land of murder and deceit and now that was being thrown into the wind? On a whim?

"Beeeesides... I didn't really break the rules, see?", defended Monobear with a pouty face and crossed arms. "Like... sure, I included Elsy's name in the Monobear File along with the other dead bozos... but like Hiccy pointed out, I never really said in the file that she was dead! See, it isn't my fault if you guys assumed that! If you bastards had read the file more closely, you would have figured out that she wasn't dead! So its not my fault!"

"What, so its our fault?!", said Merida with outrage.

"Like hell it is! Don't try to pin the blame on us you motherfucker!", shouted the Ultimate Heavy Lifter.

Monobear as usual ignored him and continued speaking. "A-and Toothy said that I had broken the rule of mandatory attendance to the Class Trial just to hide the fact that Elsy was alive... but you see, while the rule says all alive students must attend the Class Trial... the rule doesn't say that the person must be in the courtroom itself! So...! See? No rules broken! Just a lil' good ol' bending of them but not full blown breaking! See?! I'm still as innocent as the pure white cotton inside me!"

"That's got to be the most weaksauce excuse I've ever heard.", said Flynn, clearly unimpressed. I shared that sentiment. And I was feeling uneasy by these claims. Monobear was starting to act weird. This motive and the bending of the rules... were unnatural. For someone who had decided to not be that involved... he was sure pushing our hand more and more and playing a bigger part on each case. But why? What had made Monobear act like this, now?

"Wait a second... what did you mean by... "the rule doesn't say that the person must be in the courtroom?", asked Rapunzel, latching on to the Headmaster's words.

"Are you saying... that Elsa is here, right now?", asked Jack, his icy blue eyes staring at the Headmaster with a cold intensity.

"Ayup! She is! She has been on a neighboring room this whole time, watching this entire Class Trial, hearing you guys debate and drone on and on about everything! She was "present" in the Class Trial... but she wasn't really participating, so to speak!", said Monobear as he nodded to himself, as if the entire thing made sense for him. "But I'm afraid it's time for some... Puhuhu... Class Participation!

The Headmaster stood up and at the same time, a button similar to the one he pressed to carry out his demented executions rose from the floor. "Yes, she has been merely observing but I think its high time the Blackened, the little star of this little drama circle, showed up for all of us! So, please, give her a round of applause! For Elsa Arendelle, the Ultimate Figure Skater and the Blackened that almost had you all fooled! Let's make this a memorable welcome!"

My heartbeat accelerated as the Headmaster pressed the button with gleeful abandon. Soon enough, a door behind Monobear's throne opened slowly. A maw of darkness. That sight made me nervous, and I didn't understood why. There was nothing to be afraid of. I already knew what was going to come out from there, and still my heart wouldn't slow down. Was this... dread? Anticipation...? I pondered those thoughts even as I heard the clacking of heels that came from that door. Even as I saw that familiar blue dress. Even as I recognized the face of Elsa Arendelle as she walked into the courtroom with complete confidence.

But no matter how much I mulled these feelings of fear and anticipation that were swirling on my chest, I couldn't make any sense of it.

We had solved every mystery in this murder case. We had unveiled the Blackened's identity. We should be at ease, at even so... I couldn't even begin to understand anything. Not even the person who was responsible for all of this.

I didn't understand this at all.

bifurcate POV_HJ [Hiccup_POV, Jack_POV];

It was as if she had been revived. Her beautiful light blue dress and her silver hair were stained with blood, but she was very much alive.

Despite the fact that I had been the one that said it, I couldn't quite process the fact that Elsa Arendelle was walking towards us, taking her place on the booth that was normally assigned to her.

"I can't believe it... the fishbone was right once again!", exclaimed Snotlout, his sight pinned on the smirking Ultimate Figure Skater.

"So... she really was alive all the time?! And she was the Blackened for real?!", said Rapunzel, looking perturbed.

In that shared shocked silence, a quiet laugh rang. It took me a while to realize that Elsa was laughing at us, eyes closed, laughing away in such a carefree manner that was disturbing. It only lasted a few seconds, but it had sent shivers down my spine.

"It has been a while since I last saw you, hasn't it?", said Elsa as she regarded us with a cold smile, "It is nice to see that you haven't changed much. It seems you still are the same foolish lot who is incapable of believing what its in front of them."

Her own sigh interrupted her soliloquy.

"Though I suppose I should give you some credit. You did manage to uncover my plot and succeeded in weeding me out. So yes... congratulations, you lot." She curtsied towards us, though I could tell it wasn't sincere. "You have succeeded in besting me and now, it is time for the loser to leave the stage.", she then turned to face the Headmaster with a calm smile. "Now then... Monobear, if you would do the honors... Puhuhu..."

"How...?!"

Jack's voice stopped her from moving. It was a voice charged with restrained anger. I turned to see the Ultimate Mystery and he was quivering, his fists shaking at his sides. His head was cast down-ward, but in once swift movement he raised his gaze and glared at Elsa, small tears gathering on the corner of his eyes. "How?! How can you be so calm?! How can you be so... glad about all this?! You...! You killed your sister! How can you... how could you do that?! How?! Why?!"

That's right... the only thing Jack had a memory of when he awoke in that room was... that he had a sister that he loved dearly. Of course... something like this, something that goes against the very principle of what it means to be siblings... would shake Jack.

Elsa, however, didn't seem perturbed at all. That unnerving smile of hers, calm and collected, never left her lips as she faced the Ultimate Mystery. "Kill? Oh yes... the thing you are all accusing me of...", another chuckle escaped her lips and she closed her eyes with a content smile. "But you see, Overland... I didn't really kill my sister of anyone here... I was merely saving them!"

And as she said those last words, she opened her eyes and what I saw made my heart skip a beat. In her eyes... there was an emptiness that was like no other. Devoid of emotion, of any light. Accompanied by that smile of hers, carefree and wide, it gave her face a deranged expression; one of despair.

Her words made no sense to me... W-what did she mean by saved...?!

"What the fuck... are you talking about?!", said Flynn as he parroted my thoughts.

Suddenly, Elsa began to laugh, a crazy laugh that escalated in intensity until it was a full blown cackle, completely at odds with the Elsa we knew. She only stopped for breath before staring at us again with that same gaze, her eyes wide. "What? Waaaas I not clear...? I said I saved them all today! Those idiots Tuffnut and Ruffnut... and my sweet, dear, precious Anna... I saved them all!"

"H-Has this broad lost it...?!", said Snotlout as he backed away a little from the Ultimate Figure Skater.

"I... I don't understand... how is killing people 'saving' them...?", asked Rapunzel, confused and scared as we were. "What is there to save them from...?"

Elsa immediately seized on that, and spun around to face the blonde girl in an erratic way. "I... I saved them... I liberated them from this horrible situation... this horrible, future-less world... and I gave them the salvation of death... of despair...!"

And that was when I noticed it. On her wrist were two small dots... So that proved it... and suddenly I understood.

Elsa had been under the effects of the Despair-Syndrome... and she had not been cured. Because she removed her bracelet for the plan. But why would she do that...? She had to have known that removing her bracelet would also cost her the cure... so why?

And why was she... talking about despair just like Monobear...?

I hadn't been the only who had noticed it, apparently, because soon enough Peter brought up the subject.

"So, my suspicions were correct all along. You were indeed under the effects of the Despair-Syndrome."

Everyone looked at Peter and then towards Elsa's wrist. The Ultimate Figure Skater noticed and showed off her marked wrist so that everyone could see. "Thaaaat's right, Mr. Black. It was thanks to this beautiful disease that I was awakened to the truth! The truth of this world that I had long forgotten... yes, I am forever grateful for the Remembering Disease I got! Because... Because because because... it was thanks to it that I remembered my true calling... to save the one I love the most on this Earth from the horrible hope that is life!"

"What is she even talkin' about?! Did she go nuts or somethin'?!", asked Merida, clearly unnerved. I... I don't really get what she is talking about either... but there is something that caught my attention. With a gulp, I spoke up.

"D-Did... did you say Remembering Disease...?"

Elsa's stare turned hateful once she heard me speak, but the one that answered was Monobear.

"You heard right, Hiccy! Elsy here really lucked out! For you see... she got the Remembering strain!"

"...W-what did she remember?", asked Tooth.

"Yeah, what the hell does this Remembering Disease even do?", followed up Flynn. "Is that why she's spouting nonsense?! Did your stupid illness make her lose her mind?!"

Monobear giggled, and his red eye flashed brightly. This wasn't going to be good. "Hey, settle down there, bucko! All the Remembering Disease did was return Elsy's memories to the way they were before all of this started! If she's acting all weird, it's not because I did something to her or whatever. She's acting like this because she now remembers everything and how she used to be! Nothing more... nothing less!"

...What? Wait... is he saying that...?!

"Are you saying that Elsa... remembers her years in Hope's Peak Academy?!", said Rapunzel, looking shocked.

"But if th-that's the case... then why? W-why is she acting like this...?! Has she really remembered... was she actually like this during Hope's Peak Academy...?!", asked Fishlegs to the silver haired girl.

She chuckled lowly before answering. "Ahh... Hope's Peak Academy... I have to say, the first few years there were such a bore...", and as she trailed off she shot a scathing look at me, brief but noticeable. "...But those last years I spent there? They changed me into who I am today, and I loved it! I've... never felt more alive than when I became a member of Ultimate Despair!"

...! What in the-?!

"Did... did I hear that right?", asked Peter, clearly surprised. "You... you are a member of Ultimate Despair...?"

"So you're the one behind all of this?! You're the mastermind?! Or maybe... you are the traitor?!", asked Jack, getting visibly more angry with each passing second.

Elsa, however, laughed coolly at the whitette and shook her head. "Really, what a one track mind... I cannot believe you caught me with that stupid line of thinking. No, of course I am not the mastermind or the traitor. I didn't even know I was a member of Ultimate Despair until I got infected, so it was impossible for me to be all of those things.", another chuckle, "Don't you lot remember? Ultimate Despair is an organization. I'm only but one of their many members."

"But... but Ultimate Despair was disbanded a long time ago according to these documents...!", interjected Fishlegs, clearly panicking. "So how-"

"WHO THE FUCK CARES ABOUT THAT?!', interrupted Snotlout before looking at Elsa. "You! You are a member of the sickos who put us here, right?! Then you must know everything! Why the fuck are we here?! What's the mastermind's plan?! Who is the one behind Monobear?! Answer me, god damn it!"

Elsa closed her eyes before shaking her head. "I don't know."

"Don't l-lie! You are a member of Ultimate Despair! You have to know what the hell is going on here!' stammered Flynn, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"But I'm not lying.", said Elsa as she stared at the Ultimate Thief with wide eyes. "You are assuming a lot of things about how Ultimate Despair works! I am not even sure if the mastermind behind this is the same person as the one that leads the organization, and even if it were... I wouldn't know who that is! The leader of Ultimate Despair works in the shadows and their identity isn't known to everyone! Too many enemies to flaunt their identity to all, y'know?"

"As for what is Ultimate Despair's goal in this hideous camp... I don't know either! I told you, I was kidnapped like all of you and got my own memory erased by the mastermind! I have no idea what the hell is going on here, and quite frankly, I don't care." A dreamy smile appeared on Elsa's face as her thoughts wandered somewhere else. "All I cared about was... saving my little sister... nothing more and nothing less."

So... even though we discovered something about the horrid organization behind this... we are still too far away from the truth. We didn't learn anything. I wanted to press her for more details but...

"You keep saying you saved Anna or whatever, but that's just an excuse!", spat out Jack, "There's no way killing someone... that isn't saving at all!"

"But I did save her.", insisted Elsa, her iron mask on her face once more. "I saved her from the horrible reality of this world. Really... all this bilge of surviving together and befriending each other... and wanting to escape to that wretched world behind the walls... What utter nonsense."

Elsa's mask broke into a demented smile. "What good is living in this future-less world? Really, to continue existing in such a putrid, backstabbing world? There doesn't exist anything behind those walls, and there's nothing good inside them either... Thus, the only way to escape from this worthless existence is through the despairful salvation of death."

For the umpthient time today, I found myself unable to understand. No matter how much Elsa rambled on, I couldn't understand her motivation, her philosophy.

"S-so... you did all of this just because you thought the world sucked so much that you'd rather die?!", tried to summarize Jack, clearly outraged.

"That is right.", answered Elsa, the emptiness on her eyes flickering. "From the moment you are born, you are thrust into this world where you are truly alone, where everyone is against you, where to survive you must hurt and must be hurt by others, betrayed at every turn. How can you say in all honestly that to live is to believe in hope? If that is hope to the world, then I will deny it with all my might! I'd rather chose despair than to continue existing on such a shitty world!"

Something flared up in my chest. "N-no! You're wrong Elsa!", I couldn't let her just say that. Not after what Aster said... not after what he did so that we wouldn't give up on life like this. "T-The world is not like that...! Sure, there is pain and suffering, but we aren't alone! All you have to do is trust each other and-"

But my speech was cut short with a loud snort. I blinked and saw that Elsa was trying to contain her laughter. But it wasn't an amused laugh at all, it was one with scorn. Calming herself down, the Ultimate Figure Skater gave me a "really?" look, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "Listen, Mr. Haddo- no, you know what? You're not even worthy of being addressed like that, Hiccup. Don't try to get all holier-than-thou with me, squirt. It's reaaaaally unbecoming! Especially since all that happened... you were an instigator, a moving force behind the events that transpired tonight!"

With each passing second, Elsa's demeanor was changing from the one we knew to one more unhinged. Was this... how she really was? Had she always hated me this much? I knew I wasn't her favorite but... to accuse me of being responsible for this?

"W-what are you talking... a-about?", I hated that my voice was wavering, but I wasn't sure how to react.

"All I'm saying, Hiccup, is that you're just another person in this world that hurts other people while complaining that everything on their life sucks! Oh, how much you whined about how your Dad was so worried about your well being, or how weird it was to have living parents! How much you complained about the nightmare that it was to have a family! And how much you played the victim when all you did was hurt others, hurt my sister."

Elsa's smile disappeared. "Of all the people in the world, I think the one I truly despise the most is you. Your entire existence makes me sick and it's honestly a shame that I didn't kill you tonight."

It was as if I had hit with a mace. I had never felt such hatred from someone. I was... I was shocked and rendered mute by such animosity. Sweat started to form in my brow and hands and I had to blink a few times just to make sure I was still here and what I was hearing was real. And it definitely was, that person standing in front of me was definitely glaring at me and wishing me to disappear from this Earth in the most painful way possible. But... Why?!

"W-Why...?! What are you talking a-about?!", was she referring about the memories she had recovered, was she talking about the years we had lost in Hope's Peak Academy?, "Hurt others...?! Hurt Anna?! Are you-?", Was she talking about...?

"Hmph. It wasn't enough to hurt her once, but twice? Hiccup, you are truly a horrible person. And then you have the gall of acting like a victim when the one that was suffering was Anna? If you hadn't been so careless, so tactless... maybe she would still be alive. And the Twins too. But you never thought of that, didn't you? All you cared about was making out with that faker over there.", said Elsa, no mercy in her accusations.

I felt my chest constrict. "N-no, you are wrong, I-I... I didn't mean to-! H-How is this my fault?! W-what was I supposed to do-? This is... this is not my fault! You did all of this! I-it's not my-"

"It is your fault, Hiccup. It's what you do, what you really are. You are always the one who messes everything up, aren't you? The one who can never do anything right! The Useless, you said.", continued Elsa, pushing the knife in deeper.

Voices, whispers from suppressed moments and memories from the villagers of Berk surfaced in my mind and seized me up in a swirl of emotions that threatened to choke me. I was... I wanted to refute what she was saying, to deny it with all my might but...

"Ugh, that's the fifth house on fire this week thanks to Hiccup the Useless and his weird inventions!"

"Isn't that the weird kid that stays all day in his room making useless machines and talking to dragons?"

"Why hasn't Stoick banished that runt? He really doesn't do anything for the village at all"

But... But Elsa was right... Everything was always my fault... everything...!

Was... was this my fault too? Yeah... Yeah this was my fault... it had to be... it was my fault that so many people died... huh...

"LEAVE HIM THE FUCK ALONE!"

I couldn't take anymore. I had let this... this bitch hurl abuse at Hic for no reason for too long about things that weren't true and that he wasn't responsible for and I'd had it. Who did she think she was, trying to place the blame on Hic?!

"Why are you trying to pin this whole thing on Hic?! He's not the one who planned this whole murder out! He's not the one who manipulated two sick people into murdering someone and then killed those two people off! He's not the bastard that did all this just to escape! It was you, all of this was your fault!"

Elsa was caught offguard by my outburst, but then laughed waaay too cheery for my liking. With her hand under her chin, she steadied herself and then stared coldly at me. I gladly returned it with a glare of my own. "Mhmmm... yes, you are correct "Overland"... I was just messing with him one last time... but indeed, all of this was my doing and I'm solely to blame... but! You are wrong on one thing! My intention was never to escape!"

"What... then... then why did you do all of this?!", asked Tooth, speaking up all of a sudden, as if she had awoken from a daze.

"Like I said, there's nothing outside for me to want to escape so badly... all I cared about was giving salvation to Anna...", explained Elsa with a sick grin. "Honestly, the outcome of the trial didn't really matter to me! Whether you all died or I died... it was inconsequential. In fact... That's the reason I killed the Twins too! All I cared about was Anna and no one else. If it hadn't been my Monobear's rule, I would probably have killed more of you off." And as she said that, she gave Hic a brief look, and in that moment I wanted to smash her head in myself. "But alas... in the end, it seems the outcome I desired the least happened... but it's not so bad... After all, I get to experience the despair of death! The biggest privilege of of all... a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... Puhuhuhu... I can't wait!"

I couldn't wait either. I... I had enough of her. I didn't like her before that much but I didn't think she was bad, but now? I was tired of her. I couldn't understand her and her twisted ideology and I was tired of how little she valued everyone else to the point that she killed two innocent people just because they were vulnerable. I... I just wanted this to end.

"So... that's it? That's your excuse...?", began Punzie, her shoulders trembling, "You... you did all of this without remorse? Without regrets? You murdered two of our friends just because they were useful to you and you killed off your own sister... and you aren't even sad about it?", a single tear rolled down her cheek, "They... we were all friends! How could you just do this... without even caring?! What about all the moments we shared?! Was that nothing to you?! I don't understand...!"

Elsa's answer was... nothing. She decidedly ignored Punzie's plea, that smile of hers not even moving an inch. She didn't even open her eyes, acting as if she was all alone in this courtroom.

"You don't understand because people are incapable of understanding each other to begin with!", interjected Monobear, his dark side facing us with one paw raised. "Honestly, humans are so silly! You claim you understand each other but you just go through life pretending that you do! That's why you're unable to understand Elsy's motivation! I don't have that problem, though, because I'm a bear!"

A familiar mechanical noise stirred from under the floor and that red button rose up in front of Monobear, gavel in hand and ready to deliver judgement. "Aaaaanywaaaays... we could stay all day here and debate human nature, but I'm a busy bear so let's get this show on the road! Elsy's guilt is obvious by now so... drum roll please!"

Absolutely no did as Monobear said, some of us not even looking at the Blackened who was smiling despite her imminent death. No matter how rotten she had turned out to be... this was still going to be a horrible experience. Seeing someone die... is never easy, no matter how much you hate them...

"Now then! I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Figure Skater turned Ultimate Despair, Elsa of Arendelle!", yelled out Monobear as he spun the gavel on his hand skillfully.

A sigh made me look at the silver-haired girl. Elsa... was crying. And speaking to herself. Through closed eyes, a melancholic tone of voice floated around the courtroom, her final words clear. "Ahh... at last it ends... I've been so tired... of existing... of being alone for so long...far too long. I'm sorry for leaving your side however briefly, dear sister... but I'll be by your side soon enough. I hope you will forgive me as I die with the hope of seeing you again in my heart..."

"Leeeeeet's give it everything we got! It's PUNIIIIIIIIISHMENT TIME!"

And with that last shrill shout, Monobear pressed the button. 8-bit music and a fanfare playing as another metallic claw descended from a hatch on the ceiling, taking away the latest victim of Monobear's game, that calm smile of hers never disappearing.

Punishment: How to Let Go by Elsa Arendelle

The giant TV screen Monobear had prepared for us so we could see the Blackened's punishment descended from the ceiling and turned on, showing us a new landscape quite unlike the other ones we had seen.

A wintry forest was the setting, but the camera was giving us an overview of a clearing where a frozen over lake could be seen. A serene snowfall could be seen, constant but not enough to drown everything in snow, the pine trees showing off a coating of the icy substance already, the snow glistening under the moonlight. It would be a beautiful scene... if only someone wasn't going to die here soon. That someone... Elsa, was standing in the middle of the lake, wearing ice skates and showing off a calm demeanor, as if ready to perform.

All of a sudden, she struck a pose, elegant, and one that I had seen on one of the books that talked about skating in the library. But there was something... off. A closer look revealed that there was something stuck to her limbs... it looked like string. As if the camera had read my mind, the scene shifted from point of view to a point high above Elsa. In the sky was Monobear, standing on a weird, floating contraption, holding on his paws a pair of paddle controls similar to those used to move marionettes.

As soon as I processed what was going, a whistle sounded off and multiple roars could be heard in the horizon. The camera panned out once again and this time focused on the forest, where silhouettes could be seen moving towards the clearing at alarming speed. It didn't take long for the silhouettes to reveal themselves as they ran towards Elsa with intent to kill.

They... they were dragons, no doubt about it. Standing on two power legs, covered in green scales and possessing red eyes and a crest on their head, along with a long tail equipped with a stinger... These were Speedstingers, the ones Hic had told me about once when we first met. These dragons were pack hunters and they used their speed, numbers and paralyzing stinger to hunt and overcome prey.

A ball of lead started to form on my stomach as I saw the alpha Speedstinger, signaled by the red crest and stripes, order the pack of ten dragons to move out and strike. Cold sweat ran down my face as the dragons advanced on the Ultimate Figure Skater...!

She avoided the first strike, but something was wrong with her movements. It was as if she was moving involuntarily. To prove my suspicions, the camera panned up towards Monobear, who was frantically moving the paddle controls to direct Elsa's dodges. I had to give it to her grudgingly, even though she was being controlled against her will... her movements were breath taking.

However, that beauty, that entrancement... didn't last long. No matter how much Monobear tried to outfox the Speedstingers, their superior numbers were too much. One of them managed to sting Elsa on her right arm and that part went limp, hanging uselessly and slowing down the involuntary movements. Soon after came another sting, this time to her leg and another and another until Elsa was entirely paralyzed, her body being dragged around the icy surface of the lake before... before the whole pack of Speedstingers jumped her, surrounding her entirely.

The last we saw of her was the gruesome spectacle of her death as she was consumed by the dragons quickly and efficiently, the crushing of bones and ripping of limbs and skin haunting us as the lake's frozen over surface was painted crimson. Up above, Monobear simply dropped the paddle controls with a shrug, and with that, the screen shut off, the bloody event seared into our minds.

And with that, it was over.

The Class Trial... the THIRD Class Trial... was over. And yet, though we were left feeling horrified like in previous Class Trials... there was something different hanging in the air. Quite unlike Aster's and Astrid's Trials', which left us with a sense of sadness and pain... no, the thing that was different in the ambiance was...

Malice.

Elsa's pure, unadulterated malice was all she left behind. Aster and Astrid urged us towards hope, but Elsa kept hating us until the very end, leaving behind a trace of malice that wasn't easy to ignore or dismiss. With the others, we could at least have the consolation that we could use this to move forward, somehow. But with Elsa...? All we got was cold scorn and an empty feeling. Hic was looking incredibly down as well, shaking a little as he embraced himself, his face obscured by his bangs of messy brown hair. I wanted to go to his side and reassure him that all the stupid shit Elsa said about him was wrong, when Monobear's cackling stopped me.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MAN THAT WAS SO EXTREEEEEMEEEE!", said the Headmaster as he spun on the tip of his feet. "Did you get a good load of all that?! Man, it felt so great to have that crazy bimbo under my control! AND YOUR FACES! HAH! TOTALLY WORTH THE PRODUCTION COST!", Monobear then calmed down and crossed his arms, pondering something. "But this is not enough... yes, I can still up the ante! I won't stop until you bastards can't even hope for despair! You haven't even seen the worst I can do! Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu...!"

"S-So you're really going to keep this up...?", asked Flynn, his face gaunt and tired, his voice lacking any of its usual force.

"I-I don't want to do this anymore!", complained Fishlegs, close to breaking down.

"Me neither! I'd rather just die right now! Just fucking kill me!", said Snotlout with an angry expression clouded by tears on the corners of his eyes.

Monobear brought a paw to his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully, "Hmm... Y'know... that's not a bad idea!", at that Snotlout flinched and stepped back, but Monobear simply laughed at him. "But where would the fun be in that? It would be too easy and besides, it's not like I care about the outcome of these trials and how many people die! I really am tired of saying this, but all I care about is covering you all with irrevocable despair with nary a chance for hope to blossom in your hearts!"

...What does that mean? He doesn't care... about who dies? But then, why isn't he killing us all? Why even put that rule in the first place if he doesn't care about victims at all?

"In any case", said Monobear as he turned his back on us. "I really hope you guys got the futility of your situation through that thick skull! There is no escape from here, there is no use in looking for an alternate way. No room for comrads, no reason to fight back or resist! All you must do to escape is succumb to your primal instincts and kill kill kill until you can't even understand the true meaning of the word! Puhuhu!"

"Y-You're wrong..."

At that trembling voice, Monobear stopped moving and talking. Turning his head slightly so only his black side and red eye were showing, the Headmaster looked for the source of the objection. I didn't have to look; I knew that voice... Hic's voice was unmistakable.

The Ultimate Lucky Student's eyes were red as he stared defiantly at the Headmaster, a trickle of snot freezing slightly as it ran down his face. Hic was standing firmly despite all of this, and he was facing the plush toy head on. "Y-You're wrong. There is a reason to fight back and resist! There is room for comrades! All of this... All of this happened because we didn't understand Elsa! Because we weren't friends! If she hadn't felt so alone... she wouldn't have fallen into despair!"

Hic cleaned the snot on his face with his sleeve. "So... we aren't going to stop... trying to resist you! All we have to do to win against you is trust each other! If we manage to erase every trace of doubt in our hearts, you have no power against us! Which is why... we'll never stop resisting you... no matter what you throw at us!"

Everyone stood there wide-eyed, all of them impressed by the brashness that Hic had shown. Slowly, those expressions full of despair began to gave away to more positive ones, as they processed the truth behind Hic's words. I couldn't help but to feel proud that Hic... that my boyfriend of all people had stood up to the Headmaster. I made my way to his side and took my place, holding his hand for support. I had the vague feeling that everyone else was starting to stir and stand behind us, but all I could focus was on Hic's face, that adorable sun-kissed skin of his turning red at the sudden contact, his eyes wide with surprise. But he soon calmed down, understanding my actions, a wide smile, bright and cheery illuminating his gloomy face.

Hic had been right. He was absolutely right. In this horrible reality we were forced to face, giving up to despair and distrusting each other was the worst thing we could do. It was going to be hard, but we had to give it our all and stand strong against Monobear's threats. We had to trust each other... completely. Like me and Hic.

Monobear didn't even move as he took a look at us, our unified front. I was beginning to hope that the Headmaster was intimidated into silence but soon enough he spun quickly to face us, his face bright red with anger, his white fist flailing around in a fit of rage.

"Uuuuugh! How do you even say all that stuff without barfing?! Seriously, that's gotta be the most naive and stupid pep talk I'v ever heard! You think that hope is enough to crush me? To deter me? Weak! Weakweakweakweakweak stuff for babies that poop their pants! That didn't even reduce a single Hit Point! Barely a scratch!"

The Headmaster was huffing as he finished his rant, but he took a deep breath before continuing his rambling. "You're all soooo stupid! Time after time you keep falling into this "we trust each other completely and we wont kill anymore" crap, and time after time you keep getting betrayed by someone! Seriously, doesn't it get old to be so naive? Saying stupid stuff like, "we trust each other completely"... when you guys don't even know each other fully? It's the peak of stupidity!"

Monobear jabbed a finger at us, not stopping. "Didn't you learn your lesson yet? Humans can't understand each other! No matter how much you believe that, you'll never truly know a person fully! And to trust a person you don't even know... that's why you guys keep getting betrayed! I mean...",Monobear's eye flashed red. "You guys were swayed by Hiccy's discourse, and you chose to trust him blindly, but... did it ever cross your mind that Hiccy could be the next one who betrays you? After all..."

Monobear's grin grew wide. "How can you claim to find Hiccy trustworthy... when he's hiding vital info from you all?"

At that, Hic flinched.

But why? T... there's no way Monobear is telling the truth... right?

I took a look at Hic's face and what I saw made my heart shake a little and made my smile drop. He was looking nervous, his eyes moving from here and there.

"Errr... Hiccup... what is Monobear talking about?", asked Punzie, but before the Ultimate Lucky Student could answer, Monobear spoke up.

"Remember that time when Hiccy participated in the Final Dead Room, and because of that, he got info that pointed towards the Blackened in North's Trial?", asked Monobear, a white paw behind his head. "Well, that's not all Hiccy got from that adventure! He got a little bonus he still refuses to share with you!"

"Is that true, Hiccup?", asked Tooth, her gaze worried as she scanned the little Viking's face for a tell, as if she were a mother trying to catch a kid on a lie.

"What kind of info is this?", asked Peter, his gaze focused on Monobear.

"Oh... nothing big, really... just info from the outside world!", announced the Headmaster joyfully.

My heart skipped a beat. You could hear a pin drop in the stunned silence of the courtroom, a silence only broken by Monobear's boisterous voice.

"Now... why would you think he would that? I mean... you are all supposed to be friends who trust each other and that want out, so why would he hide such info from you?", asked the Headmaster in a sing song voice.

"Oi, Haddock!", shouted Snotlout, pushing me and Hic away as he seized the thin boy by the arms. "Is that bastard telling the truth?! Then out with it! What did you find out?!"

"And why haven't you told us all?", asked Flynn, suspicion clear on his face.

Hic looked frantically between the crowd that was pinning him with stares, before stammering out an explanation. "I-I wasn't trying to hide it! Honest! It's just... a lot of stuff happened and I never had the time to tell you so-!"

"BZZZT! Wrong! That's not it at all!", said Monobear as he waggled his finger disapprovingly. "Hiccy didn't reveal those secrets, that info he found on, because I told him not to!"

...

...What...?

Did he really say... no, I must have heard wrong...

As I gazed around the courtroom, everyone had stopped moving. The looks on their faces... made me realize they had also heard the Headmaster's confession.

This... this has to be a lie, right...?

"Oi... Monobear... are you sayin'?", began Mer, but the Headmaster interrupted her, an innocent look on his face.

"Hmm? Yes, you heard that right! Hiccy didn't divulge that information to you because I ordered him not to. Becaaaaause... he's working with me! He's the traitor working behind your backs!"

Instantly, the mood turned tense. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This... this is a joke, right? It has to be a joke! There's no way... there's no way this is true.

"W-what?! NO! I'm...", shouts the Ultimate Lucky Student as he processes what Monobear is saying, "I'm not the traitor! R-really! Come on guys... don't believe him just like that! He is lying!"

That snapped me out of my daze. That panicked expression, the shaking voice as he tried his best to explain himself and as he started to back away from the accusatory glances... it made me speak up.

"He's right guys! Come on, how can we trust Monobear's words just like that? We all know better by now! Monobear is just a lying sack of fleas."

"How rude!", interjected Monobear, "I'm just trying to help you guys and weed out the traitor... you don't need to be so mean! I mean... I even brought the info Hiccy dutifully hid from you..."

At that, everyone snapped up. Snot threw Hic aside and walked towards the Headmaster, who was holding out a file. The Ultimate Heavy Lifter seized it in one hand and feverishly started to read it, his eyes not missing a single line.

"What the... riots? Monobear robots...? Gas masks...?!... What the fuck is this shit?!", said the burly teen as he scrunched up the edges of the file, which turned out to be a newspaper article. Suddenly, Snotlout opened his eyes fully, shock and disbelief clear in his face. "What the hell... "List of Victims...?"... What the fuck is going on here...?!"

At that, everyone surrounded Snotlout, trying to get a peek of the file. I stood behind and helped Hic up, but he didn't even notice me. His eyes were focused on the rest of us, fear clear on those forest greens which now were a duller shade.

"That's the state of the outside world you so want to return to!", said Monobear jovially, "Hiccy was supposed to keep this info secret until the very end, and he was to reveal it to you to crush your hope! But he tried to go against me, so I retaliated and outed him to you all! That's the punishment you get for being a bad lackey, Hiccy! Puhuhuhuhu!"

No matter what Hiccup said, it didn't matter anymore. The seed of doubt in everyone's hearts had already sprouted; it could be seen in the eyes of the others as they stared at Hic with distrust after they finished reading the file Monobear had brought. And... the Ultimate Lucky Student seemed to realize that. All he could do was stare at the rest of the students, unable to utter words that would fall on deaf ears.

I wanted to take Hic away from this place. Away from all the judging glances. But my train of thought was interrupted when Tooth called my name.

"Jack... Jack... there is something here... that is related to you..."

Her voice was distant, but I heard everything and I hated how my curiosity was piqued. I turned around to give Hic a reassuring smile, but I might as well not exist to him right now. So, with a hard gulp, I walked over to where everyone was huddled and took a look at the file.

"The Tragedy" Claims Even More Victims. Missing People's Whereabouts Still Unknown.

Authorities are still on the lookout of the missing students and civilians on the outbreak of The Tragedy. Though the army is on full-alert and fully deployed in order to suppress the riots and to find any of the reported missing people, it is highly suspected that these missing people have joined the ever-growing list of victims.

Today's victims, as reported by Hope's Peak Academy, are as follows:

-Spitelout Jorgenson

-Finn Hofferson

-Tadashi Hamada

-Manuel I. Moony

-Fergus DunBronch

-Stoick Haddock

-Jack Overland

-Gobber the Belch (sic)

-Jamie Benett

-Emma Overland

Among the many missing people, the following were reported:

-Valka Haddock

-Hiro Hamada

-Elinor DunBronch

-Jackson Overland

It is advised to the general population to not wander the streets alone. Gas masks should always be worn on excursions though going outside the shelters is not advised as your safety is not guaranteed. As there is no known weapon better suited to combat the Monobear riot-robots, authorities suggest that no civilians should confront the robots. These machines are programmed to kill on sight.

Hope's Peak Academy and the Future Foundation haven't given any estimates on how long these riots will continue, but have promised that they will deal will the Monobears soon enough.

Time seemed to stop as I read every line, every paragraph and letter. What I was reading... was so unbelievable... so ridiculous... it seemed to come out from one of those ridiculous comic books I had found in the library. And yet, in the midst of the unbelievable description of riots, Monobear bots and shelters, something jumped out to me that made me start to believe. And at the same time... it filled me with confusion.

According to this article... Emma was dead.

My dear little sister... the one who had believed in me despite her teasing... the one that trusted me enough to protect her, who looked up to me... even though she was every bit as brilliant and funny as me, and perhaps even more.

She... she was dead. And I couldn't do anything to deny that possibility. That reality. And worse of all, I had... I had forgotten this. I didn't even know...! Until now...! That she... that she was dead...!

The images from that DVD that Monobear gave us rose to my brain and I started to breathe heavily. She was... she was dead... she had died... along with me... and my whole family.

I am all alone... I am nothing, a blank slate with no past or future... and now, I have nothing. Absolutely nothing left...! Nothing to look forward to! There is no... no home for me anymore!

And he... Hic knew all along. And he didn't tell me...!

Anger flared up in my chest as I advanced on the dazed Ultimate Lucky Student.

I couldn't even start to process what was going on. Somehow... everything... everyone had been turned against me. Monobear's accusations had made all of them doubt me, and... and there was nothing I could do. I couldn't prove... that Monobear was lying, I couldn't refute his claims.

All I could do was stare without really looking, replay every event on my mind, and view how everything had gone to hell.

All of a sudden, someone seized me by the arms once again, this time strong enough to make me wince. I blinked and focused my view and all of a sudden I was looking at a furious Jack.

That made my heart accelerate. I tried to move away but he was holding onto my arms strongly... that was sure to leave a bruise. I... I was afraid, I realized. Why...? Why was Jack mad at me...!?

"Hiccup, why didn't you tell me?!"

I winced as Jack shook me by the arms, demanding answers. "Why didn't you tell me that Emma was dead?! You... you knew how important she is to me... and yet... you didn't tell me!"

My throat clenched up as I saw Jack's eyes water. Through an enormous effort, I found my voice and I tried to explain myself. "I-I'm sorry Jack, honestly! I-I didn't mean to hide this! I really wanted to tell you... I wanted to tell you all about this but...!"

"But you couldn't... because those were your orders... right?"

Jack's question... no... accusation, stopped me dead on my tracks. All I could do was stare incredulously at the whitette; look at those blue eyes of his in hope of finding trust and understanding. All I found was two cold sapphires, harsh and unforgiving and full of doubt.

"You... You really think I'm...?", I couldn't believe this. It felt like I was being stabbed in the chest mercilessly.

"That's why you didn't tell me... I see now.", Jack let go of me and backed away, his eyes judging me harshly. "I thought... I really believed that you were trustworthy... that you would never betray me! But I was wrong... you were deceiving me since the beginning, weren't you?! "

No... no, this-

"Was everything a lie, Hiccup?! Was everything an inside work, all you did?! Was our relationship part of the plan?! Huh?!"

Every accusation felt like death delivered straight to me. "No! Jack, honestly! I'm telling you! Believe me, I'm not the traitor! I just- No... I do love you! And I do trust you, so please-!"

"But you didn't trust me enough to tell me...", he interrupted, his glare turning even harsher, "I should have known... Monobear was right... I shouldn't have trusted someone who I don't even know fully."

That... made something inside of me snap. Why?! Why wouldn't he let me explain myself?! Why was he so ready to cast me aside?!

Against my better judgement, I began to speak, anger fueling every word I spoke. "How can you even say that to me?! You don't think I'm trustworthy?!"

No, Haddock, stop. Before you say something you regret...!

"How can you claim I'm not trustworthy Jack?! Look at you! You don't even know who you are!"

I really want to stop but...!

"It's funny how you chose to ignore on purpose what that newspaper said about you. That you are dead! And yet, you are here, alive! How is that even not the slightest suspicious to you?! You say I can't be trusted because you don't know the real me, but you don't even know who you are to begin with!"

Someone... someone shut me up.

"If Monobear was right about something... it was the fact that I shouldn't have trusted a nobody like you! I shouldn't have fallen for someone like you!"

Jack looked as if he had been struck and the instant my words left my mouth, I regretted everything. But I couldn't help it... I had said things I didn't want to say but that I felt. And now the damage was done. The whitette lowered his gaze, not staring at me, and then he mumbled something to me.

"Then maybe we shouldn't be together. Can't very well be together if we don't trust each other, huh?"

I hated my pride on that instant, and how it refused me the ability to back down from an argument. I knew I was right. I wasn't the traitor. And I wasn't going to let anyone think that or step all over me.

I really hated myself right there as I spoke. I too lowered my gaze, not wanting to see the reaction that my words would cause.

"Maybe we shouldn't."

The silence that followed my answer was soul crushing. The courtroom felt charged with an immense pressure that I couldn't stand. I had said something I couldn't take back now. And I couldn't stand this anymore.

Without thinking, I bailed out from the courtroom, not looking back. I didn't want to see anything anymore. I felt numb as I rode the elevator back to the Camp, the recent events playing over and over in my head, the mistakes and things I said haunting me all the way back to my cottage.

I didn't even notice how I got back to my room. I didn't even notice that I was lying on my bed.

All I could focus on was... how horrible everything was.

Everything... I had lost everything. I had lost my friends. I had lost my family and my home. I had lost my best friend. And now... I had lost Jack.

And everything... everything was my fault. Somehow, I had lost everything that mattered to me, in the blink of an eye.

And I hadn't noticed. Just like how I didn't notice when I fell asleep. All I could focus on was the pain in my chest that wouldn't leave no matter how much I sobbed and cried and begged for everything to stop leaving me.

The ride back to the Camp was awkward and silent. The elevator was charged with the stench of doubt and distrust as everyone stood far away from each other, not even bothering to look at me or the others.

That was fine with me. I wanted to be alone now. I didn't want anyone to talk to me.

Because if they did... I was afraid I was going to break down.

I lost everything today. I found out that I had lost my sister, and now I didn't even know who I was. No identity, no home. All of these things had been taken from me.

But I had lost something else today, and I couldn't blame this on anyone else but me. I had been so angry, so confused and hurt and frustrated with everything that surrounded me that I had lashed out against someone I held dear.

I couldn't stop the hurricane of emotions that swirled inside me as I tore apart the only meaningful link I had formed here. There was no doubt... that Hic-, that Hiccup really trusted me no matter what, and yet something inside me snapped on that moment and I lashed out.

I hated myself so much right now. How could I... How could I have said those things?

And now... and now I'm truly alone in this place.

My frustration and confusion ate me up as I reached my dorm until I couldn't hold it up anymore. It was as if a dam had burst, and I couldn't stop it. Sobs shook me and rocked me as I leaned on the wall of my room and slid slowly to the floor, curling up in an effort to stop myself from rocking.

But no matter how much I cried, how much I wailed and shouted the name of my sister and Hic... no matter how much I asked for forgiveness to no one that could hear me... it did nothing to alleviate my pain.

All I could do was exhaust myself with grief, and I welcomed sleep as one last whine left my lips, giving into the comfort of darkness.

null _POV;

From the darkness of the room littered with monitors, Monobear observed the fruit of his works with gleeful abandon. As he checked on the students who were sleeping, trying to sleep or that lay awake, the Headmaster couldn't help but to hoot with reckless abandon, spinning his own chair with delight. He had done it, he had outdone himself this time.

"The plan is back on track and it's all going so well!', said Monobear, though that person didn't know if the Headmaster was talking to him or not, "And all it took was one crazy bimbo and one dark little lie! Man, talk about a lucky break!"

That person is intrigued... what did Monobear mean by "lucky break?". That person already knew that Monobear had lied about the traitor's identity. After all, that person was most definitely not Hiccup Horrendous Haddock.

"Well, I'm just saying...", began Monobear as he spun his chair around to get a better look at that person, "It was just my luck that the motive this time around worked in my favor! I mean, that the former Ultimate Despair member ended up getting the Remembering Disease, of all the strains I had prepared? Yep yep, I'm definitely beary lucky! But thanks to Elsy's condition, I was able to give those suckers a full dosage of despair!"

Monobear turned his back on that person and stared intently at the monitors that showed Hiccup and Jackson Overland. A sick grin played on the plush's snout. "The plan is entering the final stages. All I need to do is give these bastards one final push... one little shove... and I'll have them trapped all in an inescapable sand trap of despair!"

That person noticed the monitor that Monobear was looking at and questioned the Headmaster. Why had he lied about the traitor's identity? Monobear didn't need to put Haddock on the spot like that; all he had to do was reveal the new info to all of them and the effect would have been the same. So why...?

Monobear turned his chair around and faced that person with a tilted head. "Oh my... did you finally notice?"

At that, that person nodded slowly. That person had been getting this weird suspicion ever since he started monitoring everyone... somehow, the motives set by the Headmaster seemed to revolve around one person... and now that Monobear had pretty much admitted to it right now, that person could only wonder out loud...

Why... was the Headmaster targeting Hiccup Horrendous Haddock...?

Monobear pondered the question for a quiet moment before giggling. "Puhuhuhu! Looks like the bear's out of the bag! You're really sharp!"

The bear returned his gaze to the monitor that was showing off the Ultimate Lucky Student. "I don't really have to tell you WHY I am targeting Hiccy, but let me correct you on something; you are kind of wrong! Like I said since the very beginning, all I care about is filling the world with despair! So when I unleash my motives on these flaky Symbols of Hope, I do it with everyone in mind, even you!"

That person waited for Monobear to continue, and so the Headmaster did, "But as for why it seems like I'm targeting Hiccy more than the others... I guess I can say this!", with that dramatic pause, the Headmaster turned his chair and faced that person with that flashing red eye of his, "In order to bring despair to all... I guess you could say I'm going to use Hiccy to achieve that goal! Or something like that! Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu!"

As that person heard the cryptic message of the Headmaster, that person couldn't help but to express his dissatisfaction with the bear's goals. That person was very against the idea of using Hiccup or anyone else to spread despair. That person's objections, however, were interrupted by a loud explosion to their right that knocked them to their feet. From behind the Headmaster came a blast of purple fire that nearly obliterated that person.

A smell of something burning assaulted that person's nostrils, the sound of the blast, similar to lightning, still ringing on that person's ears. As he looked at the Headmaster and the direction from where the blast came from, he saw something slitter from under the desk of the monitors, their shape obscured in the darkness, their identity hard to discern. All he could make out was... a pair of green acidic eyes with slit-like pupils staring at him.

Monobear cleared his throat and that person stared at the Headmaster, who looked rather smug. "Heeeey... you aren't thinking of going against my orders, right? If you try to rebel, you know what is waiting for you... and for them. So you better learn your place!"

There was nothing that person could do but to comply. Dying on a place like this would be a waste. Sensing the obedience of that person, Monobear smiled and the presence behind him left the room quietly. The Headmaster cleared his throat before speaking to that person. "In any case, keep observing those guys with a watchful eye! And keep looking for Sanderson's Dairy! We can't let that book fall on the hands of these bastards! I need it to finish up the Despair Restoration Plan too! We're keeping a good pace, but don't dilly-dally!"

With that, that person was dismissed. Much to that person's distaste, he bowed to the Headmaster and left.

As soon as he was alone, Monobear looked at the screen that was monitoring the Meeting Spot, his eyes trained on the countdown.

Yep... everything was going smoothly. Right now, life was good for the Headmaster. And things would only escalate from here on.

DAYS LEFT: 13

STUDENTS STILL ALIVE: 9

CHAPTER 3 - DESPAIR-SYNDROME - END

And that's the end of this arc! Man, we are past the middle point of this story and I can't wait for you guys to see the rest of it! Big things are coming!

Speaking of which, I have kind of an announcement to make. As of this chapter, I think I'm going to play around with the structure of the story. One of the things I'm doing away with is Free Time Events. I think I'm going to play with points of view too.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was soul crushing to write it once, and it was soul crushing to write it twice, so I really hope it does the same to your heart! As usual, review and commentate if you so wish!

See you all in the next arc!