Disclaimer: There will be some minor explicit descriptions of gore, blood and violence in this chapter. If you plan to read it to the end, but are uncomfortable with any of these topics, please view at your own discretion, you have been warned OwO.


I felt the warm, dimly lit lighting embrace my fair skin, as I opened my eyes slowly to greet the sight of our whimsically designed tent in the early hours of the morning. I had hoped that the entire situation pertaining to Monojoker, the entire carnival being one giant appropriately themed human trap and the other Ultimates here having larger than life personalities, was all one big dream. It felt so surreal as if I were lucidly dreaming all of it.

I pinched my left arm tightly, making sure I was not half asleep, and cried out in pain, feeling the sharp sting and red bruising on my arm.

"I guess it was too good to be true…." I sighed sleepily, hovering my right arm over my tired baggy eyes, "Oh well…time to brace for more trouble…hopefully nothing too hectic will occur."

I spent a few more precious minutes, reeling my mind awake as I lunged my body forward and yawned so loudly, that the next door tents could almost hear me from a mile away. I stretched out to the sky, hearing a few of my joints pop and crack as I tossed my blanket to the side and swished my body to the edge of the flimsy wooden bed frame.

I had forgotten that I was wearing these new pajamas on my person and nearly walked out of the tent, half asleep and my hair looking like a blonde tumbleweed went through a clothes dryer. I also remembered that Monojoker didn't provide us with personal bathrooms, so having to go outside of the tent just to freshen up was a menial, if not necessary task.

"Yikes, I look like trash...gosh what is wrong with me today…" I groaned, slinking sluggishly around the room, rubbing my pussed filled eyes, "Ugh, I smell awful too….when are those bathrooms going to be finished renovating…just my crappy luck."

I grumpily scratched the back of my head, postulating that I might never get a decent shower in this wretched place and searched for the nearby wet wipes I took from the bathroom the other day. After a few minutes of aimless searching and sleepless wandering, I ended up giving up out of sheer annoyance and headed over to my sister's side of the tent, hoping to see if she was awake or not.

"Hey Cherry, you up already?" I sleepily asked, pushing aside the curtain partition and entering her room, "Sis? Are you there?"

I looked inside of her tent, noticing that the faded light only highlighted how dark and shaded her side was, and sauntered inside casually. I noticed her bed was left in a messy state; her mattress cover left crinkled and untucked, her blanket smushed up into a soft, silky fabric ball nudged in the corners of her bed frame and her pillows strewn across the floor with some buried inside the edges of the comforter and mattress frame.

"That's weird…..maybe someone else woke her up instead," I blinked a few times, shrugging it off due to grogginess, since I knew she liked to toss and turn in her sleep, and headed back to my side of the tent, "Did I miss a morning announcement or something?"

Thinking on it further, I walked over to my armoire closet, grabbed a fresh clean set of clothes from inside and carried them with me as I headed out to use the outdoor shower rooms. Despite knowing that the showers were still out of order, I decided to improvise and utilize the functioning sinks instead as a means of cleaning myself.

As unsanitary and somewhat unconventional as it was, I thought it was a better solution than not doing anything at all and smelling like I just went dumpster diving or something. With that in mind, I proceeded to exit the tent and lazily greeted the early morning sunrise with a half cocked smile and twitching set of eyes being blinded by the change in atmosphere.

I gazed at the sky above, taking note of the milky blues and tangy oranges that colored the transparent morning dawn ahead. The clouds drifted slowly along as a faint warm breeze brushed against my skin and sent a cold shiver spider walking up my bony spine. I noticed how oddly silent the abandoned carnival was, more so than usual, and was slightly creeped out by the hideous, rotten toys that sat slumped over in each desolate game booth.

The plethora of termites and cockroaches that lingered around, gnawed on the festering cotton, with the flies and worms munching on the fuzz and the sandy brownish green mold left behind covering the edges and bannisters of the wooden booth, made me break out into a cold sweat.

"Keep your head on, Ekichirou," I tried reassuring myself, turning my head away from the ghastly sight of it all, "Out of sight, out of mind."

I eventually made my way to the brick shower outhouse and was about to go inside, before my eyes caught a glimpse of something in the far distance. Somewhere near the center of the carnival plaza, where Monojoker had introduced to us the first motive or whatever he called it, I saw a large crowd of people gathered around and huddled up in a large circle as if they were convening for some kind of secret meeting unknown to me.

"What's going on?" I wondered curiously, squinting at the large group in the distance. "Did Monojoker ask for an audience or something while I was sleeping? Did I seriously miss the morning announcement or what?" I asked myself, getting frustrated by my own questions, "Gosh, I've been here for a few days and I'm already losing my mind, just perfect."

Pondering on it further, I realized that Monojoker didn't make his morning announcement like he did previously the other two days, if I remember correctly. If what the bear said was true, he was a stickler for the rules and from what I could tell, he'd adhere to them and use us as examples if need be. If anything, it felt almost out of character for him, but I ignored that thought and decided to head over to where the others were and investigate what they were doing.

My feet crunched against the soft, grainy sand on the ground, as a few of the others seemed to have heard me approaching, with some of them turning to face me and were almost shocked by my presence, as if I had done something wrong. Everyone was there, everyone but my sister.

From what I could see, even though I had just woken up, the looks on the others' faces were very expressive, and not the good kind if you asked me; all of their faces were filled with some uneasy sense of dread and some were too tongue tied to even bade me a good morning or anything similar. Something was off and the tension was awkwardly unnerving.

"Aw shit.." Itsuki clicked his tongue, crossing his arms and shaking his head agitated, "Here we go…."

"Oh! Uh, Ekichirou!" Shion remarked, her voice shaky and slightly worried, "What are you doing up so early?"

"Hey? I uh.. could ask you guys the same thing. Good morning to you too," I furrowed my eyebrows, a little bewildered by their reactions, "Are you guys alright? Did something happen while I was asleep?"

"Something rather...unfortunate if you will," Genki commented, looking almost cross with himself and the others, judging from the passive yet upset expression on his countenance, "Something unprecedented at that."

"A bit of a long winded answer…don't you think," Jun replied, towering over everyone and sounding somewhat monotone, yet freaked out, "Unfortunately…*yawns*..yes."

"Argh, fuck it all! You bitches better fucking tell him!" Chihaya groaned, watching the group with a disgruntled glare etched on her pale face, "Honestly, I couldn't care less what his reaction would be. I'm just surprised that one of you bitches caved into the motive like the little limpdick coward you were."

"C-Chihaya, how could y-you say that?!" Aki protested, baffled by the clown's abrupt words, "This is not something to be t-taken lightly, whatsoever!"

"Spare me the lecture, goody two shoes," she snorted at the scientist, upturning her nose at the others, "In my opinion, I can't trust anyone here, so save your fucking breath."

Even though they were all talking about something, I was still very confused as to what it was they were keeping from me. Was it some kind of inside joke or prank I wasn't aware of or something? To say I was perplexed, was an understatement.

"Whoever was the bastard that did it, they're getting their comeuppance soon," Shannon gritted her teeth, gnashing them together in irritation, "And here I thought this was all one big joke gone too far, hmph so much for that theory!"

"I don't think now is the time to be discussing whether or not you were right or wrong, Shannon." Hibiki added, giving the runner a side eyed sarcastic look, "What are we supposed to tell him, is what I want to know."

"Everyone please, let's not be rash about this, alright," Shion reproached the two, trying her best to keep the peace within the eclectic group of Ultimates, "You see Ekichirou...umm.."

"Seriously guys, what's wrong? What are you hiding from me?" I asked again, getting even more impatient by their back and forth chatter, before I eventually put two and two together, "Did.. s-someone...die?"

Nothing but awkward silence.

No one wanted to answer that question, some of the others were too stumped for words while others refused to look at me whilst talking amongst themselves. It's as if everyone was colluding to keep something secret from me or something. I perused the scene once more, after my eyes adjusted to the morning light and noticed that my sister wasn't around nor was she present amongst the others in the group. This alone, made me ten times as anxious, seeing as how everyone but her was present.

"Well...uh...you s-see…" Gabe stuttered, looking ghostly pale and sickly from his nervous body language, "It's u-uh...about Che-"

"Right you are, Kichi bean," Shiho interjected cutting the garbologist off, giggling inanely as she hopped right in front of me like a curious rabbit, "It seems that someone got a little too excited and fell victim to Monojoker's motive, you silly goose, hehehe."

"Ms. M-Mukai….you s-shouldn't be j-joking about something l-like this!?" Asahi mumbled out, hesitating to talk almost as if he were tongue tied, "H-How did this even happen…."

"Probably while we were still asleep…" Tsukae yawned loudly, rubbing her baggy black eyes, "Have to admit...they were clever, catching us off guard..."

"If I hadn't pulled an all nighter the previous night," Norio gripped his fists, mumbling to himself, "I might have been able to prevent this. Whoever you are, I'm coming for you!"

"Dude, don't beat yourself up about it," Ayano tried to comfort the vigilante, afraid to touch him as she nervously put her hand on his shoulder, "No one could have predicted this would happen, it's not your fault."

"Well it fucking looks that way," Itsuki snidely added, slightly put off by Ayano's remark, "You people are so dumb, how stupid do you have to be to do shit like that!"

"None of us are mind readers, Itsuki," Daiko stared at the grumpy EMT, rolling his eyes at the display in front of him, "Still this is...upsetting."

"Bite your tongue knave!" Galiana barked back, "The villain who did this is lurking amongst us, smiling evilly as we flounder around like guppies!"

"I don't know what that has to do with this," Hotaru smirked, shrugging indifferently, "But kudos to whoever snapped, you sure know how to leave a display!"

"Why are you celebrating what they did, you complete sociopath?" Shannon winced in frustration.

"What's not to love exactly, hehe~" the arsonist snickered, giddily fiddling with her fingers anxiously, "I do love the culprit's flair for the dramatic!"

"I was too late to save her….goddamnit!" Chris yelled out, alerting the others in the group, "If I'd been more vigilant….curses!"

"No seriously guys, what the heck happened!?" I shouted, gaining their attention, "Why won't anyone tell me anything? This is freaking me out!"

Confused by their incessant chatter, I pushed through the crowd and headed to the center of what it was they were looking at. I didn't know who was dead, but I feared for the worst and prayed that nothing bad happened.

As I arrived at the epicenter of the crowd, where a few of the others tried to block my view of the spectacle, I walked over and what I saw, made me drop what was in my hands and fall down to my knees in complete and utter despair.

In the center of the circle, there was a body, lying flat on the ground, with a white cloth covering their face. I noticed it was a girl that died, and her entire body had been mutilated and almost beaten to a pure, red pulp. Her body lay in a dripping crimson pool of blood, with a sharp metal knife sticking into her stomach as it gleaned against the incandescent dawn lighting.

She was covered in multiple slash marks, with her neck slit open like a baked potato and dried up, dark ruby, red blood streaming out of her neck and caked up along the sides of her red and black pajamas.

"No…." I gasped, horrified and hobbled over to unveil the identity of the body as I lifted up the white cloth slowly, "C-Cherry…."

Once the cloth was unraveled, I was beyond mortified by what I saw.

My sister's corpse, resting on the earthy ground as she lay there, with her entire body covered in slashes and bruises. Her face was what scared me the most, she was terrified, her bloodshot eyes almost bulging out of her sockets and her mouth agape as she seemed to have been screaming before death.

There were prominent bluish purple bruise marks around her arms and torso, her skin turned deathly pale and she was decorated with thin, dark red lines that dripped out even more blood and pooled underneath her body on the sandy brown dirt underneath her cold corpse.

I didn't know what to do at that moment. My entire life came crashing down on me in an instant. I couldn't help but break down into tears, as I pulled the knife out of my sister's stomach half heartedly, with my hands soaked in her warm blood.

Norio and Chris tried pulling me off her body as I started retaliating against them and screaming at the top of my lungs like a psychotic madman.

"GET OFF OF ME!" I screamed at them, struggling to break from their grasp as tears stained my face, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Kichi…." Ayano looked on, watching me frantically stumble around as she did her best to remain calm, "I'm sorry for your loss…"

"I swear to you on my prosecutor's badge," Galiana added, a fixed disappointed expression painted her face, "I will find whoever slayed your sister and bring them to just-"

"FUCK OFF! I HATE ALL OF YOU!" I retorted, lunging out of their grasp and kneeling back to my sister's side, "You all….stood there...and watched this happen?! YOU STOOD THERE AND WATCHED HER BLEED!"

"N-No…." Tsukae watched on, pale skinned and shocked by my sudden out of character response, "We just found her like this…"

"I tried to help…." the EMT revealed his dirty hands covered in my sister's blood, "I couldn't do anything….shit luck on my part."

"I had a feeling you'd react like that," Daiko looked on, keeping a level head amongst the chaos, "I will do my best to find the killer as well in the upcoming class trial. You have my word, Ekichirou."

"BULLSHIT! ONE OF YOU LIARS DID IT!" I growled at everyone, my hands bathed in her blood and my face smeared red from wiping my blood stained tears from my cheeks, "WHO THE HELL DID IT!? SHOW YOURSELF!"

"H-Hey...calm down, Kichi," Hibiki anxiously replied, sweating nervously and scared of what I'd do, "We're here for you, we'll find her killer together."

"Ya say that, but the kid's not in any shape to do any investigating himself," Norio chimed in, grimacing at the scene and staring down at my sister's body, whilst keeping me at bay, "He looks like a goddamn killer right now."

"C-Cherry…." Banri approached my sister's body, the ever present smile on his face disappeared briefly, in the place of a curious frown, "A-Are you...okay?" he then started poking the side of her blood stained cheek to see if she'd respond.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!" I screamed at him, almost at the top of my lungs.

"O-Oh…." the mysterious talented boy backed away dejectedly, "I was just…..checking on her."

"Of course she's not okay, you complete idiot," Hotaru snickered, holding back laughter at Banri's childish remark, "She's been murdered, like a slaughtered pig made to be eaten and turned into crispy bacon!"

"H-Hotaru!" Shion turned her gaze at the arsonist, "Now is not the time to be making such callous comments like that, please be respectful and sensitive."

"Y-Yeah..let's all just take a deep breath in…let's pause for a moment and keep calm," Ayano suggested, sighing nervously.

"I think staying calm…..might not be the best right now," Jun noted, watching the entire scene with a placid look on her face, "We still *yawns*...have a killer amongst us."

"Time for me to do an autopsy report," Itsuki walked over to the body, kneeling next to me, "Let me handle this green bean, I'm an expert with this sort of-"

"BACK OFF!"

Everyone then turned to me, all with looks of hopelessness on their faces as I closed my sister's eyes and covered her face with the cloth. The pent up rage that filled me, clouded my judgement as I gripped the sharp metal knife from her body and pointed it at the others, like a wild tiger about to pounce on an unsuspecting zebra.

"Now now, let's all gather around," the risk analyst suggested, keeping his cool the entire time, "Let's all collectively calm down and-"

"Calm down?" I manically chuckled at those two words, "How the fuck can you all be so calm after what just happened!" the knife glinted in the light as the others slowly backed away from me, the handle firmly gripped in the palm of my hand, "You people have no fucking right to act calm after what one of you just did!"

"Sir Ekichirou," the tragic knight looked at me worriedly, "Please let us help you solve this heinous misdeed."

"L-Look...it's going to be okay…" Asahi anxiously said, putting his arms out in front of him.

"SAVE ME THE LOUSY ANTICS!" my voice bellowed out, my lungs strained and my voice cracking, "ONE OF YOU MOTHERFUCKERS KILLED MY SISTER! I suggest you come out of hiding, admit your guilt and face me now!"

"Oh my goodness. I never expected this sort of reaction from someone like him," Genki surmised, acting rational but looking upset with himself in the process, "It seems my calculations were off a bit, in that regard."

"No shit sherlock," Chihaya sneered, slightly freaked out by my sudden bloodlust, "The fucking leprechaun is about to fucking murder us next," she backed away quickly, "I'm outta here!"

As the clown belted out from the group, a few of the did the same as well, with Hibiki, Shannon and Gabriel running for cover and a few of the others trying to dissuade me from doing anything stupid and rash.

"Stand back, some malcontent demon hath possessed, the sibling of fortune," Galiana cried out, extending her arm out as to shield the others, "Keep him restrained at all costs gentleman!"

"All of you….are dead to me!" I lunged forward, the knife pointed at the prosecutor as someone knocked me over and I dropped it on the ground.

"This is for your own good!" Norio coldly announced, clocking me in the face with a hard knockout punch, "Sorry kid."

The force from his attack sent me flying as I blacked out almost instantly. My head was throbbing and my face was swollen from the punch, as I flew back and hit the back of my head against a nearby metal pole. In a sudden hot flash of sweltering adrenaline, my life had changed and soon I would come to realize that reality is a cold and harsh mistress indeed.


"…."

"Kichi..w-wake up.." a soft, faint voice called out to me, "Kichi?"

"Uhhh…." I groaned out, my eyes squinting in the dimly lit tent, "Whaa?!" I lunged forward in a nervous cold sweat.

"Wha!" the person fell backwards in fright, "D-Don't scare me...like that."

I breathed heavily, sucking in copious amounts of oxygen as I shivered in my bed. I blinked slowly, feeling my body still wrapped up inside my blanket as I rested in the sweaty bed covers. I shivered from how cold it was as I turned my head to the side to see someone standing up from their momentary fall.

Almost immediately, I looked at them and saw an all too familiar face looking at me as I felt my skin crawl with contentment and ease. I had never felt a rollercoaster of emotions until that very moment. I was just happy to see my fears were allayed when I saw her face.

"Are you a-alright?" Cherika asked me, staring at me with her quivering blue tired eyes.

"Never been better…" I sleepily yawned out, a small smile formed on my face as I sighed a breath of relief, "D-Did I wake you?"

"Y-Yeah you kinda did," she nervously replied, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "You started y-yelling suddenly in your sleep...I uh..panicked a little and k-kept close."

Without thinking of it, I immediately tossed my blanket to the side and greeted her with a warm smile and sleepy baggy eyes. It looked dark outside, but it was hard to tell if it was early morning or if the sun was still rising.

"Ughh..what time is it?" I yawned loudly, "Did we wake up before the morning announcement?"

"Umm I uh...am not sure about t-that," she said, musing over my response, "Monojoker hadn't appeared on the s-screen yet and we don't have any c-clocks to tell the time either…"

Is it part of the game that we lose a sense of time as well as our bearings of what is going on? I mean what's the point in obfuscating the time of day to begin with? Again, I think I need to mentally shut my brain off, because trying to understand the bear's logic will only give me another seething headache.

"Did you uh...have a nightmare?" she asked, with concerned eyes fixated on my sweaty armpits and dripping forehead.

"Was it that obvious, heh," I chuckled nervously, grossed out and embarrassed she saw me like that, "I'm just stressing over this entire situation, even a good night's sleep is escaping me…"

"Do you w-want to, uh...talk about it?" she added, sitting down next to me on my bed.

"Nah, we have enough stuff to worry about as is," I shook my head defiantly, not wanting to scare her with what I imagined, "For now we should at least-"

Before I could finish my sentence, a screeching static noise blared through the intercom system linked to the TV. A jolt of energy surged through my system as I glanced up at the oddly bright screen and saw the image of Monojoker in his chair sipping his drink as usual.

DING DONG DING DONG

The same annoying bell rang through my clogged ears as if someone were belting out at me through a bullhorn. I covered them, but still heard the TV announcement soon afterwards.

"Rise and shine everyone, it's 8 AM," he announced, sipping his fruity cocktail, "Good morning, good morning~ Hope y'all have a wonderful day, lets get it started!"

Another flicker and the TV turned itself off. Even though we'd been here for about two or three days, hearing that bear's squeaky voice was already grating to my ears. It was probably from that rude awakening earlier, but it doesn't matter now.

"You heard him, Cherry…" I sighed deeply, "Let's just get ready…"

"Y-Yeah…." she nodded off sleepily, heading over to her side of the tent.

I sniffed my dirty clothes and honestly I smelt horrible. If it weren't for the fact that the showers weren't working as they should have been, then I wouldn't have complained even more. Although, knowing what I do now, it just made trudging through the day that more degrading and embarrassing, like a weird sense of deja vu.

"Hey Cherry…" I removed my pajama shirt, "You still have those wipes on you?"

"Huh? Oh yeah I do…" she scrambled to her side of the tent, a few seconds later, she reappeared with the packet, "I used them myself….uh there's not m-much left."

"It'll have to do…." I yawned sleepily, taking them from her and wiping my body as clean as I could get it, "Did you see the others yet?"

"N-No…." she shook her head, "I just g-got up so…."

I guess that made sense, we've always done things together and I guess she didn't want to break from routine I suppose. I noticed that she was dressed in the same clothes as she wore the other day, the same top, pants, shoes and wearing the same accessories as before. I suppose this is a fresh new change of clothes, judging from the lack of wrinkles in the fabric.

"Doesn't it creep you out that that bear knows exactly what you wear and what size your clothes are?" I asked, putting on my shirt first and hiding behind the armoire to put on fresh underwear.

"Y-Yeah….." she nervously fiddled with her jacket sleeves, "Is M-Monojoker stalking us?"

"Ugh that's the last thing we need…." I cringed mentally, "He's already watching us with cameras, why bother changing that formula?"

"Y-You're right...makes sense," she thought it over, judging from the look on her face.

I finished zipping up my pants, putting on my shoes and dusted myself off. I still felt a bit grimy inside, but since the plumbing wasn't working, it was a total crapshoot situation.

"I'm starving," my stomach howled loudly, "I wonder what's on the menu for today?"

"P-Probably cotton c-candy and c-cheese fries…" my sister mumbled out, giggling at her own joke.

"Ugh gross, but beggars can't be choosers, let's go Cherry."

"Alright, right behind you."

We both left our tents, pushing back the curtain flap as we noticed the early morning sunrise. A shimmering golden orange beam of light soared beyond the horizon as the clashing dark blues from the fleeting dusk trickled away ever so slowly. The black clouds formed a dark shadow that overcast over the carnival, possibly another alarming sign something crazy was going to happen.

"Do you t-think Monojoker would…" Cherry paused, fretting over the motive from the other day, fiddling with her bedhead strands, "K-Kill again?"

"Honestly, that could have been faked, but…" I trailed for a brief moment, "I wouldn't put anything past that bear, he's nothing but trouble wrapped up in a devilishly childish package."

"Did someone mention moi?" an unwelcome, but familiar, voice chimed in, "Do you two really miss me that badly?"

My sister and I came face to face once more with the colorful bear, eyeing us with an almost sickening grin. The more time that passed as we were trapped here, the more nauseating it was to look at the demented mascot with a straight face and not crave a sense of karma.

"No, we don't," I tiredly said, cutting to the chase, "Do you have anything for us, or are you just here to peddle more of your sick lies?"

"K-Kichi…." Cherry worriedly tugged at my shirt sleeve, anxious about upsetting the bear.

"Ouch, I am so hurt by your candid words, my precious lucky student," he feigned surprise, putting his stained paw over his chest, "I just came to simply tell you all that the next wheel roulette will be spun right before breakfast!"

"O-Oh no…" my sister looked like she was about to vomit her non-existent lunch from her system.

"Oh yes!" Monojoker evilly cackled, "Pro tip, I wouldn't watch it on a full stomach if I were you, hehehehe!"

With those parting words, Monojoker disappeared into whatever ether he came from and left us feeling even more uneasy than before. This coupled with my nightmare, it almost felt too surreal and horrific to be real life. I shivered in place, the bone tingling sensation crept up my spine as I noticed my sister, tugging at my shirt sleeve like a child clinging on to their parents in a crowded area.

"We b-better go ahead…" she insisted, seeming both frightened and curious at the same time.

"Y-Yeah…" I nodded reluctantly, trying to collect myself at that moment.

After a few small deep breaths, we both made our way to the plaza square, anticipating the worst as we saw the others eventually arrive soon after us. With the party preparations and the motive as a whole, I couldn't help but get mixed signals altogether. A sense of dread and nihilism washed over me like an ocean wave crashing on the dusty shores and the atmosphere was palpable to say the least.

"Valorous morning, siblings of fate!" we turned to hear the voice of one Christopher O'Donnell jogging over to us in his armor, with some white wrap bandages around his right fingers, "How are you two coping today?" He seemed a bit too happy if anything.

"Good morning C-Chris…" Cherry acknowledged him with a half tired nod.

"Morning," I waved to him, a bit confused but trying to maintain a positive front, "What has you in such high spirits, dude?"

"Why the party of course!" he smiled brightly, his arms akimbo in a proud stance, "Such good tidings bare such prosperous fruit and despite mine injury, I'm all but content and jovial."

"T-That's good…" she sleepily smiled at him, "Are you f-f-feeling any better?"

"Oh it's nothing but a mere flesh wound," he cheerfully waved off our concern with a gloved hand, "I've faced worse and this will heal in time, eventually…"

I don't know if someone like him would put up a calm and hearty front when faced with a situation like this. Is that his form of a coping mechanism? It is his job to help maintain order and peace, so I guess this would just be another Wednesday for him, or whatever day it was.

We continued chatting about other things before the other sleepy stragglers poured in, some of the others both hesitant and wary from exhaustion after yesterday's rollercoaster of emotions.

Nashi was the next to arrive, clad in his cloak and wearing his iconic eye mask, he approached us with a placid smile and a general sense of mystery to him. It almost made me worry every time I interacted with him, you can never read what he's thinking due to his hidden facial expressions and general nondescript demeanor.

"Greetings," he softly said, "I take it Monojoker wants us to witness another dastardly motive?"

"Right on the nose, Nash," I sighed, not surprised he already knew what was going on, "I guess we're just waiting for the others to show up first, before it can get rolling."

"I see. My visions have been quite elusive lately," he mentions bluntly, frowning as he says it, "This normally never occurs, something is quite amiss."

"You r-really..think s-so?" Cherry wondered, even more anxious as she fiddled with her coat sleeves.

"The stars may tell us one sorrow tragedy," he eloquently remarked, quoting another riddlish statement, "But fate can be a fickle mistress whose fingers grasp the clutches of our mortal folly."

"I concur as well," the tragic knight nodded approvingly, somehow deciphering the soothsayer's words, "Do not fear though, I may not be combat prepared, but I will help in any way I can!"

The four of us continued to banter for a short while before the rest of the others finally arrived at the plaza square. It felt like ages, but it was good to know that nobody had died or been killed. Hopefully it can stay that way for a while, even if the reprieve is only for a few more quiet minutes.

Gabriel skittishly walked towards the square, with Hotaru trailing behind him like a mischievous cat. From the looks of it, the garbologist seemed frightened of what the arsonist was scheming, as she impishly fiddled with another box of matches, waving the flame around like a magic wand as he kept his distance. Poor guy.

Tsukae, Shion, Jun and Norio soon followed, all four of them sharing mixed expressions amongst each other. Tsukae sleepily hobbled over to the plaza, but due to her rather lethargic state, she kept falling in and out of sleep as she walked. Norio observed the charmer from a distance, eyeing her movements almost hawklike, similar to a helicopter parent watching their newborn's first steps.

Shion calmly walked alongside the others, looking as though she was trying to convince herself that everything was going to be alright. The songwriter fiddled with her thumbs as she and Jun both made their way over here. The digital artist looked dazed like the rest of us, except she seemed to have her head in the clouds from how zoned out she looked.

Shannon, Aki, Daiko and Asahi were the next set to arrive, this time seeming less agitated and more casual.

Shannon and Aki both engaged in a small chat, two of the most unlikely people to strike up a conversation given their clashing personalities. The runner and the research scientist bantered back and forth as if they were old friends reuniting after a few years. From the looks of it, the runner was in a good mood and the scientist was just happy for the company.

Daiko smoothly made his entrance and leaned up against another tall wooden pole, completely cool and uncaring as ever. While he did look even more displeased by the early morning call, he didn't seem to budge or show any inclination of fear whatsoever. He maintained a somewhat cool, level headed presence that radiated a firm sense of formality.

Asahi on the other hand was a hot mess in comparison. The normally poised tea brewer was clutching his pearls, adjusting his bowtie multiple times, his brown hair still ruffled from sleep and he looked rather homesick, from how pale he looked and how jittery he was.

Itsuki grumpily followed suit, crossing his arms as he walked over to the plaza as if someone just told him some really bad news. Meanwhile, Banri, who seemed to be lurking behind the EMT, playfully watched him as Itsuki looked weirded out by the mystery talented boy's presence.

It was then that the EMT tripped over his shoe lacings and Banri watched in childish delight, hopping over Itsuki in a leapfrog stance as he clapped his arms together manically. Spitting dust and bits of stone from his mouth, Itsuki angrily mumbled something and glared icy daggers at Banri the entire time, while the other boy seemed engaged by something else, but it was hard to make out what he was thinking, due to his shifting expressions.

The last six; Hibiki, Galiana, Shiho, Chihaya, Genki and surprisingly Ayano, all arrived last to the square. Each one of them had various reactions to the news, while others seemed unusually unphased by everything.

Shiho, speaking of the devil, was a clear contrast to the rest of the group, expressing a rather chipper and effervescent persona that seemed almost unnatural at that. She skipped her way to the plaza as she slid past Chihaya, nearly pushing her to the ground. The clown looked extremely peeved by this as she grumpily walked towards the survivalist, seemingly about to give the wild girl a piece of her mind.

Hibiki coolly walked by himself, somewhat nervous judging from how sweaty he looked, but other than that, he still remained somewhat confident. The jpop idol was one of the few who tried to look unintimidated by the motive, but it was clear to anyone that he was holding back his true feelings about another potential death.

Genki and Galiana both conversed with each other, most likely discussing a plan of attack on how to delegate with Monojoker this time around. The risk analyst kept his rather placid expressions muted, whereas his eccentric counterpart, the prosecutor seemed to be almost too spirited and raring to go. Her cape flowed behind her as Genki was busy writing down more notes, looking as though he were her assistant trying to keep up with her brisk pace.

"Yo, morning guys," Ayano approached us, looking both shaken as well as calm and collected, "You all doing okay?"

"Somewhat heh," I chuckled, unsure of my nightmare from last night, "I was going to ask the same thing, how are you holding up?"

"Good, I guess," she shrugged her shoulders, "Honestly I've had time to think about it, I don't buy this motive for a second either, that bear is just trying to create even more hysteria." She shook her head and massaged both of her temples. "I feel like a sucker for falling for it the first time."

"Verily said lady Ayano!" Chris vigorously nodded his head at the notion, "I will admit I was rather hasty in determining the situation, but there's nothing he can do to break this knight's ironclad will!"

"Hehe…" Cherry giggled at his optimistic comment.

As we talked some more, Nashi looked at us with a forlorn frown. Did he see through my half truth earlier when I said I was alright? Even if he did, what's the harm in telling him or the others, I mean this isn't the first time I've had nightmares, everyone has them at some point.

Although, that one in particular, felt so foreboding, as if it actually happened. Was it really a bad dream? Or was it something more?

"Pupupupu, lovely of you disgusting rejects to finally wake up and join me!" the annoying voice of one Monojoker disrupted the momentary peace in the crowd, "Sleep well?"

"Fuck you," Chihaya barked out, gnashing her teeth as the angry look on her face accentuated her tired eyes, "Let's just get this shit over and done with!"

"My my, someone woke up on the wrong side of the circus tent this morning," the bear snickered maliciously, "What? You forgot to take your clown makeup off?"

"Why you son of a bitch!" the clown stomped over to the bear, before getting hauled back by Norio, who seemed to restrain her without much difficulty.

"Be quick about it, bear" the vigilante bluntly said, looking just as grave as ever.

"God you all are such terrible morning people," Monojoker sighed, looking down at his feet despondently, "Couldn't hurt to say good morning at least, to your gracious host?"

"Monojoker," Daiko signaled, keeping a careful distance between himself and the bear, "If you want to cause us despair so badly, you might as well get this nonsense over and done with, my time is money after all."

"Yeah..*yawn*...can we speed this up…." Tsukae sleepily yawned mid sentence, "I'm hungry…"

"How can you even think of eating at a time like this?" Itsuki clicked his tongue, "But why do I even bother to care?"

"There's no need to play coy with us Monojoker," Genki simply stated, "Please, if you insist on halting the motive we might be here forever, so out with it."

"Alright fine!" the bear agitatedly sputtered out, "Fucking brats…all of you."

"We heard you," Shannon smirked, a bit too pleased with the bear's annoyance, "Might wanna tone down the volume, your voice is like nails on a chalkboard as is."

"For once I agree with her," Itsuki snickered to himself, crossing his arms.

"Umm...I don't think we should be laughing so casually about this," Aki worriedly pleaded, fiddling with her lab coat, "We did kinda see what he's capable of yesterday."

"It's all just a bunch of hot air, Aki dear," Hibiki playfully said, putting his hands in his pockets, "That little troll wouldn't dare try and scare us again with such a flimsy motive!"

"Wanna bet?" Monojoker evilly smiled at us, spinning the wheel from the other day with a hearty spin, "SPIN THAT WHEEL!"

The mild panic filled the square with a cold tingling sensation that made me quiver in place. The arrow clattering at the top flitted against the metal spokes near each pixel icon, as the ensuing gravity of this moment drew nearer and nearer.

"Who will Lady Luck smile on today?" the bear giddily danced in place, spinning around like a ballerina across the stage as the wheel kept going, "I'm just DYING to know!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick.." Gabe mumbled out, covering his mouth from disgusted fear as he eyed a nearby trash can.

"I'm sure nothing too awful will happen," Shion remarked, trying to convince everyone of it, despite its ineffective connotation, "It's not real after all…"

"Y-Yeah…" Cherry mumbled meekly, her face pale with fear.

"Boo, hurry it up!" Hotaru impatiently hollered out, "On with the torture already! I'm bored!"

"Ms. Ikeru please…" Asahi nervously chided the arsonist, "Now isn't the time for your dark jokes, this is serious!"

"Huh?" she snidely remarked, "How lame, you're all just a bunch of killjoys," she shook her head disappointedly, "What'd I kill for some good entertainment around here…"

"Kill, where's the target?" Banri instinctively reacted, hopping in place almost eager to prove himself, "Show me the target! I wanna beat something up"

"Now hold on, Ban Ban," Shiho quelled the mystery talented boy's excitement, "One must be patient as a reactionary, only then can you act as the kami would say!"

"What in the flying fuck are you even talking about?" Chihaya, who was now free from Norio's grasp, snarkily added, "Ah screw it, not worth the headache…."

As the wheel began to peeter out and slow down, the rising fear building up in my system was about ready to burst. The entire group was like one giant powder keg of unstable emotions, anything could happen and one wrong move could become the catalyst for something we could never undo.

"Ohoho...it's stopping!" the bear eyed the wheel, bobbing from side to side in anticipation, "Who is the unlucky shitsack today!"

The wheel's momentum came to a slow halt, as it finally landed on a pixel icon that was all too familiar to us. What we didn't expect next was the outrageous reaction to what was just witnessed. It was a cry that was so raw that it made me pale and sickly.

"This is completely unbelievable!" a voice shouted angrily from the crowd, "Explain yourself at once!"

The tragic knight marched towards the stage, looking at the bear with a sharp intense stare that made everyone quake in their shoes. As I looked up at the wheel, it pointed at Chris' icon, with the bear holding back his contained laughter as the knight readied himself over his sword hilt, ready to slice the bear to pieces.

"What's there to explain, Chrissy," the bear continued to taunt him, even in his enraged state, "You drew the short end of the stick, so suck it up. Now please, everyone pull out your Monopads and see for yourself if you think I'm bluffing."

Without much hesitation, I pulled out my Monopad and saw a video that appeared on screen, another live video feed. This time instead of it being shot in a house or residential setting, this time it was shot in some dark and obscure dungeon like room, similar to one from a fantasy story.

Like last time with Ayano's family, there were three people present in the room from what I could see. They were bound by tight restraints, from what I could tell, they were plain black zip ties. The people bound were two men and one woman, also similar to Ayano's situation in a strange sense.

"Mother...F-Father…" Chris sputtered out, both angry and shocked, "M-Master Everstone!?"

"Hehehe now that's more like it," the bear evilly smiled, "That's the heart wrenching reaction I love to see! None of that optimistic bullshit, it's so boring!"

"You foul demon!" Galiana shouted proudly, "What have you done this time!?"

"Oh nothing really…." his impish smile spreading across his painted cheeks, "I don't do this on a whim, I just like to be prepared beforehand. Meaning I kidnapped everyone's family, so no one is excluded, how fun~"

"Everyone look!" Shion grabbed everyone's attention, pointing to her Monopad, "The lights are on!"

As if on cue, the darkened room illuminated with a flash of light, revealing an entire torture room filled with medieval European equipment. The grungy dungeon-like aesthetic pervaded throughout the entire room, the ceilings and walls were lined with a dark brown mossy brick, the floor covered in a metallic hardwood, stained with smears of streaked red blood, dried from the looks of how dark it was.

To match the room's grim and hostile atmosphere, the walls were lined with an assortment of medieval weaponry; maces, flails, battleaxes, crossbows, spears, caltrops, longbows, scimitars you name it, it was most likely there. However the absolutely terrifying presence in that room was that there were people wearing the same large Monokuma head masks, but instead of swat uniforms, they were dressed like knights, similar to Chris, but every part of their bodies were covered from neck to toe in silvery dark armor.

"Are they...in some kind of castle?" Jun asked, squinting at the Monopad, "How medieval…"

"Yeah no shit," Shannon scoffed, "Why are you doing this to us, Monojoker? What did we ever do to you?"

"Oh wouldn't you like to know, you stupid bitch," the bear snidely responded, "But enough of the subtleties, on with the next execution!"

It was then that the camera feeding us the video, directed our gaze to a large guillotine in the center of the room atop a wooden podium. The glint of the silver blade rested snugly at the top, sharp and durable, as a snickering Monojoker knight held the rope taut in their iron grip.

"Demon! Monster!" the tragic knight chanted out, pulling his sword out almost viciously, "You'll pay for this!"

The knight charged headfirst at the bear, fury painted his expression as wet tears and snot dribbled from his face. Before he could land a single blow on the bear, he was forced back by a strong punch to the chest. The impact sent him flying back a few feet as he fell backwards and landed on his back.

"Chris!" I ran over to him, kneeling down and looking worriedly at him, "Are you alright? What were you thinking!?"

A few of the others gathered around him, namely my sister, Asahi, Aki and Galiana. The prosecutor and tea brewer both assisted him to his feet and the research scientist observed his armor and glanced at him for any physical wounds.

"He's not hurt too badly…" Aki observed him closely, "But Itsuki will have to take a look at him later…I'm not medically proficient in this field.."

"Shit man," Ayano's eyes widened in shock, "That was like a one hit KO right there...damn."

"By god's name…." Chris mustered out weakly, "What on earth…"

"Oh whoopsie daisy," Monojoker playfully chuckled, covering his mouth to mask his wide smile, "I forgot to mention that I bought myself a personal security team….for measures like this."

"By the gods, that was lightning fast," Galiana knelt in awe, seeing how the punch dented Chris' chest plate armor, leaving a noticeable dent in the frame, "Whoever did this is surely not human! This is almost godlike in nature."

"Kinda obvious…." Tsukae rolled her eyes unimpressed, "That was a stupid move…"

"Geez man," I sighed, looking at the injured knight, "Don't scare us like that…"

"Enough about him, lookie at the screens on your devices!" the bear insisted needlessly, "I'm sure you all will love what comes next~"

Tired of hearing his badgering, I turned my gaze back at the live video feed, now the camera was positioned on the three people tied up and bound like wounded animals. Their mouths were gagged by some kind of black rag around their lips and they all looked equally freaked out by what was going on.

The sole woman was terrified out of her wits, but she struggled less compared to the other two tied up men. She was a frail, almost dainty woman with dirty blonde medium length hair and pale white skin, her green eyes dripping profuse tears and her flushed red cheeks painted in clear wet tear drops. She wore a simple yellow flowery printed dress with a cinched in brown belt and flat shoes on her feet and her outfit seemed almost torn to shreds as if someone ran it through a giant paper shredder.

The man next to her was a complete contrast if anything. He was a strong bodied man, a very lean and muscular build gashed with multiple red slashes and black marks strewn across his lightly tanned body, face and legs. His brown hair was messily scattered, obscuring his green eyes similar to the women next to him. He wore a comfortable dark grey polo shirt and plain blue jeans with gashes and tears in the fabric, with both of his shoes missing and one sock on his left foot. Out of the three, he seemed to have taken quite the beating from all the red marks present on his skin.

The last bound hostage was the second man in the room. He was a stout looking specimen, almost rotund in appearance with a hefty body. His grey hair was distorted in all directions, his slightly wrinkled face and blue eyes showed the age in his complexion, with a grey goatee hanging from his chin, almost like a short wizard's beard. He wore what looked to be blacksmith's attire; a long sleeved white peasant shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black smithing gloves covered in blood from the attack, dirty brown pants smeared in mud and scratches and plain brown work boots, loosely tied on his feet.

"I demand you release them at once!" Chris weakly shouted at the bear, wincing in pain from the blow to his chest, "D-Demon…"

"Awww how precious, you think I should halt the fun just to satiate your snowflake feelings…." he snickered, then turning his smile into a creepy frown, "Not...gonna...happen. You boys know what to do!"

As if on cue, the knights started laughing evilly, their voices muffled by the masks on their heads, but it was almost maniacal and demonic sounding. It was like the cackling of imps from the gates of some underworld hell, the laughs ceased all tension in the room as the knights motioned over to one of the hostages.

"M-M-Mom!" Chris cried out, reeling from his pain in agony, "Stop!"

One of the thuggish knights grabbed a hold of Chris' mother, restraining her tightly as they led her to the guillotine to face her fate. She was struggling helplessly, muffled cries filled the room as she flailed around like a fish on dry land.

But before the minion could kill her, the stout blacksmith lunged suddenly at the knight, tackling him to the side and freeing her from his soulless clutches. He managed to wrestle her away as she fell backwards near her husband.

"You bastards!" the older man gritted his teeth angrily, "You're all going to hell for this!"

The static noise coming from my screen made his heart wrenching voice even more painful to watch. He managed to save one life, only for himself to get pinned down by other minions and held in a vice grip by two thugs.

"Oh gosh…" Gabe's face turned a sickly green color, "I can't bear to watch anymore..where's the trash can!"

"Over there!" Shiho pointed to a nearby one, next to a game booth, "Don't lose your appetite."

"No! Master Everstone!" Chris' unanswered cries fell on deaf ears, he tried to move, but he kept falling on his arms and knees even more from the blowback.

"Don't strain yourself!" Aki instructed, helping him up to his knees, "C-Can you stand up?"

"Well duh, of course he can't," Hotaru chimed in, eyeing the scene with a displeased stare, "Oh my, it's sure getting interesting now! Looky!"

I looked at my screen once more, seeing more of the brutal horror before us as two knights began punching and beating Chris' mentor senseless in the face with armored punches, his face bruised to the point of bleeding and swelling. It was then those same knights dragged him helplessly to the guillotine, slamming his head into the wooden hole and latching the top part shut in place with a metal lock.

"P-Please I beg you!" his cries grew weaker and weaker, as he gasped in pain, "Not h-him…"

"Too late for apologies now…" Monojoker giggled, the devilish smile on his face sent everyone into a place of fear and weakness, "Let her rip boys!"

"Any parting words?" one of the thugs asked Chris' mentor.

"May god have mercy on all of us…" Everstone weakly said.

"DAMN YOU BEAR! DAMN YOU TO HELL!" one more cry from Chris before it was too late.

The knight holding the rope in place let it loose, the unsuspecting blacksmith cried a single brave tear on his bloody beaten face as the blade fell down to the bottom with a single fell swoop.

Another ghastly image, forever to haunt my mind for as long as I live, thinking it was all some insane lucid dream. It was going to be etched forever, like a stitched sewing on a couch cousin.

The tragic knight's mentor's head was sliced almost clean off from the neckline, the blood slushed out of his severed neck like a river of crimson liquid and the spinal protrusions stuck out of his neck as bits of bone plopped into the deep red river. The blood trail dripped towards his parents, the blood splatter sprayed along their faces and bodies as their muffled screams sent chills down my spine.

The knight who stood near the guillotine cackled once more, grabbing the severed head from the bloodied basket underneath. He gripped the older man's head with ease from his grey hair and raised it high above his masked head, the camera panning to him as we got a close up of his disembodied head.

His skin and goatee were drenched in blood, his face was bruised purple and black, accentuated by the exposed flesh and bone from the cuts in his cheeks. His eyes were rolled up to his eyelids and his tongue almost cleanly bitten off, most likely from him clenching his teeth before his demise.

"FANTASTIC JOB BOYS!" Monojoker laughed proudly, like the devil himself, he jumped for joy at the sight of this gruesome live image, "A job well done as usual!"

"You fucking weirdo!" the clown reacted almost erratically at the sight of this, "Why did you show us that! You absolute fucking sadist."

"I think it's quite evident," Daiko shook his head, gulping deeply, "Monojoker is egging us on further, to drive us all mad, if I'm correct."

"And Bingo was his name-o!" The colorful bear seemed a bit too elated with his fresh latest kill, "Double points for our so brilliant defense attorney!"

"Such foul sociopathy…." Galiana gripped her monopad tightly, "Bear, mark my words you will pay dearly for this!"

"Holy fucking shit!" Shannon said aloud, her eyes almost bulging out in fright, "He's not lying this time…..that was so graphic."

"That cut was too clean…" Itsuki gritted his teeth, almost more annoyed, "I can't fathom any of this garbage."

"I've seen my fair share of murder," Norio commented further, "This is nothing to shy away from, that was pure torture."

"Wow such stellar observations!" Chihaya sarcastically snorted, "What's next, you're gonna say that he's dead or some shit."

"This is...too bizarre," Asahi grimaced, looking like a scared puppy, "I don't...wanna be next."

"Me either…" Shion agreed with the tea brewer, "This is so….overwhelming."

"So now do you all see the gravity of this situation," Genki pointed out, seemingly jotting more notes down, "If we don't act now, then this bear wins, we need to maintain a calm disposition."

"Easy for you to say," Hibiki raised an eyebrow at the comment, "Your friend's head isn't currently being paraded around like a fucking trophy!"

"Woah…" Banri looked on, almost in some scary trance, "Just like in the lab…"

"Look away Ban Ban," Shiho covered the mystery talented boy's eyes, closing her eyes as well, "If we don't look at it, then it will all go away!"

"This is freaky…" Jun shivered like a leaf, she was like a tall shaking tree, noticeable and frantic in movement, "What's going to happen now?"

"It's as I feared…" Nashi mumbled to himself, "It will only get worse from here…"

"W-Worse…" my sister blubbered, her face panicked and her stance shaky, "K-Kichi I'm scared…"

"I am too," my breath shaky and my hands trembling from fear and anxiety, I steeled myself for one question alone, "Monojoker, what is your endgame?"

"My endgame?" The bear almost seemed puzzled by that question, "Oh wouldn't you love to know~ I'm not one to spoil any of my secrets so early on, in time you will understand."

"Understand what?" Aki looked on in fear, her eyes expressive with nervousness and her stance wobbly, "Please, tell us why we are here!"

"Yeah….you owe us that…" Gabe wiped his mouth with his arm, probably from puking earlier.

"Oh alright, one little hint couldn't hurt," he bobbed his head from side to side eagerly, "If you insist on knowing more, my goal is complete and total despair, a worthy price to pay for all of your sins!"

"Sins?!" Chris sputtered out, "You speak in false tongues you monstrous ursine!" he stood up valiantly, if not weakly, "You have committed the greatest sin of them all, and you dare lecture us about morality, what a lousy joke peddled by a foolish knave such as yourself!"

"Yawn, are you gonna point your dildo sword at me again?" the bear appeared bored, almost unamused, "Don't even bother, I've upped the ante and even acquired my very own personal bodyguards." He gestured to the side, "Without further ado, I'd love for you hapless rejects to meet your new co-overseers!"

The bear snapped his fingers twice, as solid footsteps entered our ears, invading our already scattered thoughts. Five figures lined up in front of the stage the bear stood atop of, their appearance reminiscent of humans, but their expressions almost dead and motionless.

What stood in front of us didn't resemble any robot, but android-like creations meant to look human; three men and two women to be exact. They were all very descriptive in terms of looks and dress. I was very distraught for Chris, but still soaked in their gaudy presence, each one similarly dressed to some kind of carnie you'd see from any carnival setting.

One of the guys on the far right stood out the most compared to the other four. He was dressed like a clown bathed in a fiery hellish aura of red spiky, unkempt hair, bright yellow eyes glowing in the mid morning light, an orange and yellow clown suit with red pom pom buttons along the center of the suit, red clown shoes tied messily with black shoe lacings, white face paint covering his entire face from his ears to his neck and finally a red clown nose and white crinkled gloves, the whole works of any demented children's entertainer. His outfit was covered in slight tears, rips and splattered blood lined his clothes and gloves as if he had just finished killing someone. A pale orange club symbol was painted on his right cheek next to his clown nose.

The girl next to him, was a whole different beast entirely. She was dressed like a pop idol almost similar to the former pop sensation herself. Her midnight purple hair flowed behind her like a curly wiry cape with curled ends as if she just came straight from the hair salon, her pastel pink eyes were bright and expressive like an anime character and she was dressed in the most frilly tiered purple and pink lolita idol dress I've ever seen, alongside purple glitter stockings and pink ribbon high heels. Her face was painted white too, except she wore dark purple lipstick and her left eye had a purple heart stamp on the front to complete her bubblegum pop aesthetic.

The last girl of the group, standing on the left side in between the last two guys, was embraced in dark black garments. Her short raven bobbed hair bounced against her demure shoulders, her painted white face contrasted heavily with her black lipstick and black eyeshadow on her lids over her dull grey eyes.

She was clad in a gothic long sleeved black nightgown that fell to the floor, a white belt with black spiderweb print cinched into her waist, a black gothic choker necklace snugly wrapped around her neck with a ruby cameo pendant resting on her ample chest, her fingernails were painted black with white stripes on each nail, white bird feathers were fashioned into her hair and around her left wrist was a small green and black scaled snake with glowing red eyes. A ruby red diamond painted stamp was over her right eye.

The second guy, standing on the far left next to the goth girl, was dressed like some kind of bodybuilder. His muscular torso was exposed to all, revealing his defined abs and bulging muscles for all to see. His long muted green hair was haphazardly strewn across his magnificent frame, some longer strands rested atop his forehead, some resting against his godly frame and swooped around his rich brown eyes.

He wore a very ripped thin bearskin coat that only covered the edges of his upper body, dark grey and green striped baggy pants tucked into ugly, worn dark brown combat boots and there were bloodied white wrap bandages around both of his veiny arms. Unlike the rest of the group, his skin was a tanned brown color, so he didn't wear white face paint but had a white spade symbol embellished on his left cheek instead.

The last guy of the robotic quintet, located in the center, looked to be the leader of this motley group. He wore an over the top ringleader costume, consisting of a bright blue coattail jacket with cartoonishly long tail ends, a white underdress shirt with bright red bowtie fastened around his collar, dark blue pressed silk dress pants, pointed black dress shoes, a blue and red top hat above his mess of dark blonde hair and his painted white face sported a wide bloody red smile like Monojoker that highlighted his red eyes even more, alongside a creepy smiling black joker face tattooed on the side of his neck.

"Oh great…." Tsukae furrowed her gaze at the five figures, "More things to worry about…"

"I doubt they are friendly," Nashi interjected, frowning once more at this display in front of him, "I may not be able to see, but their auras are so…..soulless and empty."

"Ooh new people!" Shiho ecstatically smiled, "They look like so much fun, especially the girl with the cute snake!"

"I wouldn't be so earnest if I were you…" Norio trained his eyes on the five figures carefully, readying a defensive stance.

"As you idiots can see," Monojoker interrupted everyone's thoughts on the sudden arrival of these five people, "This is my private carnival security staff, here to keep an eye on you brats in the likely event something happens while I'm gone."

"So they're a bunch of glorified fucking babysitters…" Itsuki scoffed, letting out a brief laugh, "Could have fooled me, they look more like freakshows if anything."

"I'd highly advise against taunting them, Itsuki," Genki looked at the EMT blankly, "If the punch to Christopher came from them, who's to say what they are really capable of."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, lobster boy," the bear playfully sauntered about the stage, "Now that you all are properly riled up, I expect another murder to occur shortly after! Toodles~"

"W-What do we do now?" Asahi wondered, slightly freaked out by the presence of the five robots."

"I don't know…" Ayano looked on, having stayed silent for most of this ordeal, now speaking up as she breathed anxiously, keeping a steady poker face.

Once again, the bear vanished without a single trace, leaving us alone with these creepy human-like androids. As soon as he left, the five of them all reacted at once, their faces twitching sporadically as the blue ringleader in the center walked in front of the group.

"No need to fear, you're all in good hands!" his voice was like a teen's, deep but still on the verge of almost hitting puberty, "I doubt your gracious host would be so uncouth to leave you all flopping around like wet blankets!"

"Speak for yourself," the pink idol spoke next, her voice was like diabetes, high pitched and quirky, "These poor bastards are probably too wrapped up in their own selfish needs to really cooperate with Monojoker." Her cold words were a stark difference to her cheerful presence.

"Oh don't be such a negative nancy, Carol" the goth girl spoke next, her voice almost welcoming and graceful like a mother's words, "I'm sure if we all embraced these wonderful children with tender loving care, they will fall head over heels in love with us in no time." She hugged her shoulders feverishly as she caressed each one with her hands.

"What the fuck…" Chihaya cocked her head to the side, baffled by what she was listening to.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Norio crossed his arms, unshaken but bewildered by the five oddly dressed androids in front of him.

"If I may," Shion cleared her throat, "But who are you guys exactly? Are you all some kind of android or robot?"

"Yoooo what a lame ass question!" the tall green haired muscle man hollered out, his voice deep and tough sounding like a comic book superhero, "Listen up bitch, we're second in command in this motherfucking joint, you have a problem, you take it up with yours truly!" He flexed a large bicep, a means of intimidation.

"Wow dude, do you kiss your mother with that potty mouth?" Hibiki was shocked by his response, "Who am I kidding, you probably don't have any respect for women to begin with, meathead."

"Da fuck you say to me, pretty boy!" The large man stomped towards the jpop idol, but his action was stopped by the clown.

The brightly colored clown simply shook his head, not speaking a single word as he put his hand on the muscle man's chest, warning him almost of his rash decision.

"Typical JJ," the ringleader smirked, hopping over to the two and resting his hand on the clown's shoulder, "Always there to ruin the fun of others, but who cares, what a pleasure to meet you all!"

"Explain yourselves at once," Galiana asked forcefully, bravely facing the five of them in front of the entire group, "Give us your names! No trickery, no deceit!"

"Monojoker was right, you sure are a bunch of buzzkills," he snickered smugly, fixing his tophat, "No matter, that will change in time."

"I know right," Hotaru jumped into the mix, a bit too agreeable at that, "Everyone keeps stopping all my antics! It's getting so boring to play with any of them."

"Save us the rant, Hotaru," Daiko interrupted the arsonist's bratty whining, "Your names please."

"Gotcha chief! I'll go first!" the blue ringleader hopped to the center, "Name's Theodore Forrest the III! Teddy for short, Happy to meet so many eccentric characters in one setting! I'm gonna have so much fun getting to mess with you all!"

The idol girl went next, strutting to the front of the group as if she owned the place and pushed Teddy to the side as if he were some obstacle in her way, "Carolina Saint Claire, just to let you losers know, I am the real leader of this group, not the boy in blue over here."

"Aww Carrie, no need to be so uptight about taking second place," the impish ringleader snickered, "Maybe we can-"

"Shut up you ponce," she huffed out, heading back to the group, her prissy demeanor reflected in her curt response.

"I'll go next!" The vampire-like goth girl with her pet snake went next, "Lovely to meet you all, I'm Ysabelle Emberline, but you adorable pets can call me Belle if you want. And this is my pet snake, Scales, he says hi."

"S-She looks kinda f-friendly…" my sister remarked meekly, nervously eyeing the group but easing at the sight of Ysabelle.

"I don't think that's the best thing to take from this situation though," Ayano looked at my sister with a perplexed look.

"O-Oh...right sorry," she apologized quickly, anxiously tugging at a loose strand of her hair.

"Move out of the way dickheads, it's my turn!" the bodybuilder shoved the clown to the side, imposingly flexing his arms and puffing out his chest to the group like a lion trying to attract a future mate, "I am the Great Barnabus Hamilton! Fear my name worthless maggots!"

"Oh boy…." Ayano looked both confused and intimidated at the same time, "He's practically a fucking giant…."

"That's right lil lady!" Barnabus shouted proudly, his arms akimbo, "You kids better know your goddamn place, you wouldn't want to get on my bad side now would ya?"

"Man child…" the clown mumbled out, keeping that same placid countenance on his painted face.

"You want a piece of me, you little shit!?" he roared out, overhearing his clown cohort's words.

The muscleman glared at the clown clenching his fists tightly into a fist as he almost came close to launching it in his face before Teddy intervened. His punch was halted immediately as the smaller ringleader stood in the center as a brief mediator.

"No need to fight so foolishly Barney, you know how JJ gets, just leave him be," he said, giving the name of the quiet, yet observant clown, "Wouldn't want to leave a bad impression of yourself towards the others now."

"Tch, fuck this noise…" he grumbled under his breath, "Where's the bloody respect…"

"Anyhoo, don't you silly gators think of leaving this carnival now," Teddy grinned from ear to ear, "Besides, you all are light in the tummies. You wouldn't want to kill each other on an empty stomach now."

"This is fucking moronic," Shannon adamantly shook her head, "I must be still half asleep, none of this stupidity is real." She began walking away, both upset and tired.

"Agreed…" Tsukae yawned sleepily, shaking from what she saw in the video, "I'm going to the cafeteria…"

"I'll join you…" Jun lazily responded, having been half awake the entire time from the groggy look on her face, "That was….grotesque."

"I second that notion," Daiko said, his voice cracking slightly, joined as well standing up with his hands in his pockets and walking away from the square.

The charmer, digital artist, runner and attorney all left the square, while they were a few of the more calmer ones in the group, some of them shared some level of discomfort from how shifty their movements were and how their voices pitch changed.

"Aye, where the fuck y'all headed?" Barnabus shouted out, a visible vein of anger protruded from his forehead, "We're not done here!"

"Screw y'all," Chihaya gave the androids two middle fingers, "I'm leaving, later dorks." The clown soon followed the others.

"Such a sharp tongued girl," Ysabelle glared lustfully at the clown, placing her hand to her cheek, "She needs to learn some manners~"

"I wouldn't bother with the riff raff now Izzy," Carolina smirked, "They're too busy licking their wounds to fight back, it's not going to be much of a challenge."

"Challenge, ooh sounds like fun!" Banri lit up like a bulb at the word, "Come on fight me!" he jumped around manically, his hands flailing around randomly.

"Oh ho ho a feisty one this is!" Barnabus smiled confidently, "I'm game, although this might be over before you know, that wouldn't be fair." He smugly smiled.

"I wouldn't waste my energy on them Banri," Genki shook his head, standing at the mystery talented boy's side, "Let us leave for now, and then you can eat whatever you want."

"Okay!" he nodded his head frantically, "DAHAHAHAHAHA!" he screamed as she bounced all over the place towards the cafeteria.

"Freak…." JJ mumbled out, crossing his arms and staring coldly at the rest of us from behind his four friends.

"I must depart as well…" Nashi softly said, "I've been feeling quite faint with all these visions lately…"

"I'll go with you…" Aki anxiously added, "I'm not really in the mood to eat at the moment…"

The research scientist accompanied the soothsayer, the two of them leaving with empty stomachs and fearful spirits. I'd be scared too if I witnessed another murder and had no way to stop it. I then turned to Chris to see how he was holding up and saw the look of complete despair in him.

The tragic knight's armor was dented from whoever had punched him, he was stifling tears as snot and drool dripped from his heated red face and he was on his hands and knees. He had just lost someone he was close to and watched it live, no way to help or save the day. He just watched it unfold before his eyes, like some twisted car accident he knew he couldn't stop.

"Pay…..they'll pay…" he sadly groaned out, shaking around as he got to his knees.

"Woah there, back down cowboy," Itsuki reproached him, "We don't need you doing anything reckless, get to my tent and I'll examine your injuries."

"If you want I can kiss it until it feels better," Ysabelle puckered her raven lips in a kissy face and blew an air kiss, "I don't bite~"

"I think he's fine on his own, dude," Ayano cringed, shaking a little from how tense the atmosphere was, "This is so crazy….it's like we're in hell."

"Just help me carry his ass to my tent," the EMT rolled his eyes at that comment, "He's going to give us a sad story and I'd rather he be unconscious before that."

"Whatever you say dude…" the eSports pro shrugged her shoulders, "Catch you two later."

"Yeah later…." I waved to her as they helped carry the knight away, "You alright Cherry?"

"Mhm…." she weakly nodded her head, "I feel so b-bad for Chris….I feel a little s-sick."

"Me too…" I sighed deeply, "We should leave…."

"Aww where are you two going?" Teddy hopped over to us and jumped on both of our shoulders, "I was just getting hyped up to meet everyone and they're all walking away like sourpusses…"

"Ummm I think they have a good reason for being that way," I furrowed my brow at the ringleader, "Not that you or your friends would understand."

"Kichi…." Cherry looked at me worriedly, afraid I might piss off the android even more, "C-Can you let us g-go please…"

Teddy looked at my sister with a displeased frown, but let go of us as I felt his iron grip leave a minor bruise on my shoulder, he walked back to the other four not so cheerily. So I guess their strength was not a joke either, it's best to keep that in mind for future encounters.

"Hey you two," Shion walked over to us, "Are you alright?"

"As good as things can get..." I gave a half truth answer, "How about you, Shion?"

"To be honest, this is quite frightening," she pushed back some of her hair behind her ear, "I don't want anyone else to die….but the other option."

"Y-Yeah….." Cherry twiddled her fingers, "Umm….breakfast?"

"Hmmm maybe later, Gabe is feeling quite sick and I offered to help him find something to drink," the songwriter answered plainly.

"Oh alright, well see you later then," I acknowledged her as she went over to the garbologist who was currently hovering over a nearby trash can as if he was looking for a lost item hidden inside.

"Never fear everyone," Galiana proudly proclaimed, "I will make sure that these dastardly fiends never lay a finger on us!"

"Well the rules also apply to us as well," Carolina huffed, flipping back her long hair, "So unless you brats get any smart ideas, don't come crying when you get caught."

"Hahaha! Is that a challenge?" the prosecutor smiled proudly, "We'll have to let fate herself decide that, come wildling and firefly!" she pointed to Hotaru and Shiho, "Let us formulate a plan of attack!"

"If the kami wills it, so be it, yay!" the survivalist jumped up excitedly, "May I suggest some jungle vines?"

"I'll bring the gasoline and matches!" Hotaru snickered, rushing over to her tent as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Norio, if I could borrow you for a few minutes to discuss security details for the party?" Genki approached the vigilante, jotting down some notes on a clipboard.

"Whatever kid," he grunted tiredly, "Make it quick."

The risk analyst and vigilante both left as well, probably formulating their own plan as Genki said something I couldn't quite overhear. I guess now that Monojoker has upped the ante, this means more precautions are needed, oh boy.

"Asahi, do you have any more of that lovely tea from yesterday?" Hibiki tugged at the tea brewer's sleeve, "I'm quite parched and I need something to take the edge off."

"Why of course Mr. Miyamoto," Asahi politely nodded, "I might brew myself a pot as well, please follow me."

Everyone had left the square, leaving my sister and I alone with the five androids, all of whom looked at us with a curious gaze. Even though they appeared human, I could sense a cold, metallic uneasiness from them that gave me the chills. Teddy's mischievous childishness, Carolina's pompous attitude, Barnabus' foul mouth and intimidating frame, Ysabelle's creepily sexual undertones and JJ's stoic silence, nothing about them screamed anything good.

"The fuck you looking at boy," Barnabus cracked his knucles together, almost trying to scare us, "You want a piece of me!?"

"N-No sir…" I backed down for now, fearful of what they'd do to me and my sister, "We were just leaving."

"Don't be so afraid you two," Ysabelle smiled endearingly, which only made me even more uncomfortable, "I'll make sure these four stay in line, hehehehe."

"I don't really feel reassured by that…" I sweatdropped at her statement.

"Tough luck goody two shoes," Carolina clicked her tongue, "Suck it up and stop acting like such a whiny brat."

"D-Don't be so rude…" Cherry whimpered out.

"Oh someone has guts huh," Carolina sneered at my sister, who was inching away from them as she hid behind me, "Talk to me when you actually put up a better rebuttal, sweetheart."

"Heh…" JJ creepily laughed, walking away from the group in a different direction.

"Wait a damn minute you clown," Barnabus stomped over to JJ, "I need to settle a score with you, get the fuck back here!" the muscleman soon followed closely behind.

"Boys will be boys," Ysabelle playfully responded, "I'll go make sure they don't rip each other's heads off, bye you two!" the snake girl winked at us, waving sensually at that.

"I'll be sure to keep an eye on you both," Teddy snickered like a preschooler, "Bye for now," he merrily skipped off into another direction, Carolina followed after him, as she smiled impishly like a smug cat.

"K-Kichi...I'm scared," my sister responded, hugging my left shoulder, "I want to g-go home…"

"Me too sis…" I stared into the morning sky, the once bright colors faded as some semblance of day peered in, "I for one, need to channel my frustration into eating, how about you?"

"Okay!" she smiled happily, blushing nervously as she let go of me, "Last one t-there is a rotten e-egg…"

"You're on!" I chuckled, racing her there as the two of us both escaped the dreadful plaza.

The nightmare was slowly beginning, two hostages had died so far and we didn't know what else to expect. Was it going to be this way for each day we didn't cave in to the motive? We didn't lay a finger on Ayano's dad or Chris' mentor and yet, why do I feel responsible for their deaths?

I don't want to feel the same pain as they have, the same pressure and fear, I don't want it to ever eat me up…...never again.


A/N: Hiya there everyone! Yes this story is actually still alive, contrary to popular belief. I'm sorry for leaving for over a year and not updating for a hot minute, I can explain. For those who know me, you get the idea, but for those not in my Discord or know me personally, I have been extremely busy with classes, moving and mental health issues.

I was in a dark place for a few months and had to take a mental break away from writing to recuperate and after moving and some family drama, I'm a lot better now than I was before. I started taking my own mental health seriously and am working on it slowly, so writing had to be put off for a while as well as to accomodate for my Fall and Spring classes.

That being said, I apologize for keeping you all waiting for over a year for the next update, those still around. I hope you are all well, especially during this time of year and I wish you all the best out there.

I've also rebooted my first story to fit with my new writing style and I'm currently seeking OC submissions for my fourth story, so be sure to check them out.

Danganronpa: The Hopeful Lies We Tell (Deadline Late June)

Danganronpa: Remnants Of My Heart (Deadline Late July-Mid August)

I hope you all liked this chapter, a long one to make up for the long absence and yeah, that's all I have to say really. I hope you all are well, stay healthy, wash your hands and keep on doing you. Happy reading my fellow readers, authors, otaku alike, I love you all for supporting my stories and I will see you all next time

Bye bye!