A New Despair:
Chapter 1 Act 2:
Despair Beneath the Star Spangled Banner
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2021
Location: Classroom 1-A, Practical Arts Building [HHPA]
Time: 5:00 PM
Team: Screeching Eagles
It hadn't been long since meeting the "Host" of their little killing game. The group had, for all intents and purposes, been forced to split up into their teams. All teams had been issued a meeting room. Four the Screeching Eagles, that had been Class 63-A's former classroom, classroom 1-A. The group was one member down, since the Elimination Challenge had been waged, no one had seen Anton. Penny had reassured them that the Supreme Chosen One was safe in the hands of a capable nurse and would be returned to them as soon as possible. For now, he had been deemed 'Indisposed' and would be unable to participate in challenges until he had recovered. It was an imposed penalty on the Eagles, as no one had stopped him from challenging the hostess. Arguing with her had only angered her, and unless they wanted a more severe punishment, they had to accept things as they were.
So now, the nine students and one teacher had gathered in their former classroom, all silent as they let the reality of the situation sink in. Thanks to the Emergency System, all the windows in the school had been barred shut, with reinforced steel plates and iron bars. They didn't bother testing the windows, they wouldn't be escaping that way. After all of the past games that had been waged, they knew searching for an escape route was useless.
Nothing but silence and the sound of a ticking clock. Despite them all having a holographic clock in the corner of their eye thanks to their Augmas, they still watched the device that hung on the wall. No one dared speak a word, not after everything that had happened. Just mere feet outside those walls, lay the bodies of their former classmates, and would be instructors. All laying in pools of their own blood, dead or dying. The American Academy of Hope was now an Institute of Despair, and they all wondered if they would make it out alive.
"Erm… students."
Riyo's quiet voice suddenly filled the room. She had been pacing around her desk every so often, her tiny little feet clicking on the hardwood surface. The Former Supreme Auditor was trying to stay calm, but she was the one that was the most scared among them. After finding out HHPA had let the Mastermind take over, her entire world came crashing down. She didn't much care for her role as team leader, so for now she would continue being a teacher. That was what the school had hired her for, after all.
"Is something the matter, Miss Arioka?" Aaron asked, causing the others to look up from what they were doing. The Supreme Podcast Host stood up straight, brushing some strands of hair out of his eyes. "You aren't sick or anything are you?"
"Oh no dear, I am perfectly fine. Though I would prefer if you address me by name now, no use calling me Miss if we're in a killing game." she said, rubbing her neck in embarrassment. "You may call me Professor Riyo if you are too shy to use my real name."
"That would be for the best, at least until we all get used to this," Sasha replied, leaning back against the wall as she uncrossed her arms. "I gotta ask, were you aware of this? Did you know the Headmaster was a fraud?"
"What? I would never! Consorting with Ultimate Despair is something I would never ever do!"
"You didn't answer the question," Freyja said, twirling her parasol in her hands. She was sitting on top of her desk, kicking her feet, a pensive look on her face. "You see, I was one of the first ones to say HHPA was corrupt. I posted it on the public forums, and even on my website, but this academy took both down. They tried to silence me! Normally, people would say I'm a quack and be done with it. But to actively take my shit down… well, that starts to make sense when you consider what's happening,"
"I must concur with what Freyja is saying," Ezekiel said. Her stoic expression hardly changed as she stepped to the front of the room, with the poise and dignity of a Novoselician Royal. She stood before the instructor, her crimson eyes barely being visible through the slits of her butterfly themed mask. "There is only one reason for the academy to actively take down her post. Even if she's batshit insane, it was just a theory. Conspiracy theories have existed since the dawn of the Western World. So why would they bother deleting one thirteen year old girl's post?"
"I don't know… I was hired last year, I've only been around for that long. I'm not aware of the things going on within this academy. I know Mr. Burk… Tanzo, has suspected some of the staff members. But since they're all dead, we have no leads." the young woman said, sighing. "I'm sorry students… here I am, swearing to protect you and nurture you and I get put in charge of you in a killing game. I'm a useless teacher,"
"Miss Arioka, you aren't useless, not at all!" Joel said, giving the woman a grin. The frail looking boy walked up to the desk, ruffling her very fluffy hair. "You are doing the best with what you have been given. We just have to take it day by day."
"That's gonna be a bitter pill to swallow. All of us are on the chopping block… Christ, this reminds me of this girl I helped several months back. Daniela… I'm pretty sure she went missing not long before me and Sasha came to America. Pretty sure that dame is dead as hell, meaning we're all next." Nodoka said, placing her face in her hand. "It's hopeless… we're all 100 percent royally fucked,"
"Well when you say it like that, we may as well throw in the towel while we're ahead. Maybe the Mastermind will be nice and shoot us in the back of the head, execution style," Heather said, flicking some wooden shavings off her desk as she whittled away on her latest figurine. "Dying on live television doesn't sound so bad."
"Maybe for you, but I didn't come all the way from Japan to die in this academy. I wish to show the world the art of Kabuki, and I cannot do that if I am deceased," Yoshi said firmly.
"You all are going about this the wrong way," Peter said, from the back of the room. He had been staring at the map of the United States that had been pinned to the back of the wall. His eyes stared longingly at the State of Connecticut, his home state. He tipped his hat back as he turned to face his classmates. "You all see this as a no win situation, you have given up without even trying! How can one throw in the towel when one hasn't tried to fight back?"
"Tch… you actually wanna partake in this game?" Sasha asked, an incredulous look on her face. "I don't know about you, but the last guy that tried that last a fucking arm."
"I want my limbs to remain attached, thank you very much. How else would I slick to porn if I didn't have hands?"
"Ew gross! I shook your hand earlier!" Freyja cried, earning a giggle from the Supreme Japanese Idol.
"Perhaps we should listen to what he has to say," Ezekiel said, surprising both Peter and the rest of the group. Even she was impressed by her words. She didn't know why, but this man interested her. "After all, he was the one who challenged the Mastermind and talked back to her. That takes… as you would say, steel balls. And what lovely balls they must be,"
"Ehe… I'd rather you didn't talk about my genitals so openly, Zeke." the man said, holding back the urge to blush. "Now then… I propose something simple, let us go along with what the Mastermind is planning. All we have to do is win challenges in order to remain safe. Even if we lose, all we have to do to remain alive is win the elimination game. We could, hypothetically, make it out alive, all of us."
"Or all of us could get yeeted off the face of the globe. I dunno about you Mr. Circus man, but that is a pretty huge gamble, even I can't predict what the weather will be like in ten minutes," Freyja said, frowning.
"There's no harm in trying," Aaron added, rolling his shoulders as he looked around the room. He took a deep breath, exhaling through his nose. "I want to at least try to save my sister. This game is based off of popular American game shows right? That means all we have to do is not get voted off, make it to the merge, if you will."
"The merge? What are they merging?" Heather asked.
"The teams, if I were to bet." Yoshi said, glancing away from the barred window toward their team leader. "So Professor, do you have any relevant information you can share with us? Any little bit would help."
"We.. weren't given much, admittedly what we did get is pretty useless," the woman said, sighing. "You are correct about there being a merge. Once twelve students remain, the teams will be dissolved and it becomes a free-for-all competition. Only students can participate, if a staff member kills a student, nothing happens. But if a student kills one of us… well, the Mastermind promised a reward of some sort, I'm not sure of what it could be,"
"Why would you share that with us?" Ezekiel asked, tilting her head. Riyo gave the young woman a smile, flitting about on the desktop.
"Because I trust you silly, you are all my loving students after all. I know you wouldn't-" the woman froze in her tracks as the strawberry blonde drew a knife from her purse, twirling it around her hand with ease. "E-Ezekiel?"
"Telling us about the reward for your head was a foolish mistake. Anyone could kill you and take that reward, and believe me, I can overpower you. You may have the jumping abilities of a spider, and you might be speedy, but I can hunt you down, and I can kill you." the woman said, looking away from the teacher. "We will keep this to ourselves, it is information we can not risk exposing."
Everyone nodded, while Riyo sighed in relief. Nodoka on the other hand felt the need to say something, something that she had been thinking about since they had gotten there. "How the hell do we get access to the rest of the school? I didn't see a bathroom anywhere on the first floor and I got a deuce the size of a moose knocking on my back door."
"Jesus Christ, must you be so vulgar?" Freyja cried, glaring at the blonde idol. "The last thing I wanna know is when you are about to take a fat shit."
"Don't act like a saint you damned plum. I'm sure you clog your shitter every time you use it, seeing as you eat more ice cream then a Slaanesh Cultist."
"Ladies, ladies, calm yourselves. Now is not the time to think about… using the bathroom," Peter said, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. Nodoka brushed him off, but Freyja looked up at him, an almost starry look on her face. He gave her a smile. "Now, what are we going to do about this game of ours?"
"We're gonna win of course." Sasha said, balancing a film roll on her fingertip. She flicked it through the air, watching it spin around. She caught it in her hand, looking up at the others, a small smirk on her face. "If we have to go up against the others to ensure our survival, then we'll fight. We'll make sure to win every damn challenge thrown at us."
"But if we constantly win then… my sister could potentially die." the Podcast host said.
"Alivia will have to fight for her own life, Aaron… you can't keep holding her hand forever." Heather said. "I may have just met you, but judging by her reaction, I can tell she's an introvert. This game, this world… it doesn't have space for introverts, not anymore. We must band together and fight, or die trying. And believe me, I am not here to die… I've survived two killing games before, and I will survive this one."
"Maybe we can trade Anton for Alivia?" Joel suggested, looking up at Riyo. "Can we do a trade? I'd rather have Alivia on outside than Anton, especially if he's going to jump in head first and get himself and us potentially killed,"
"I gotta agree there, the idiot could have very well been the end of all of us. I wouldn't mind trading his sorry ass for Webtoon girl." Nodoka said.
"I like the idea of swapping team members… should we contact Penny?"
"Don't bother sweetcheeks, Penny is already here." a familiar voice said, causing them all to jump. The hostess of their little killing game entered the room, followed by a pair of augmented virtual cameras, which were recording their every movement. "Before you ask, no you can't swap members out. Fraid the Boss made that completely clear in the rules."
"Don't worry friend, I'm certain we can still save your sister," Yoshi said, giving Aaron a reassuring smile.
"Anyway, I'm here for some important shit. Just got back from visiting Stumpy, and man is the bastard loopy on droogs. I swear he was checking me out when he thought I wasn't looking, but sadly this ass is off the market," the cybernetic woman said, giggling. "Nurse Bianca is taking care of him and he'll be open to visitations later on, if you want to make sure he doesn't die that is. Please let him die, a class trial would really lift my spirits."
"Absolutely not! Young lady do not throw the notion of death so easily around my students. I shall keep watch over him until he recovers. I will still do my job and issue my children their challenge when they are issued. Is that alright?"
"Ugh, yes." Penny said, clearly not amused. "Just you wait, someone is going to be tempted, and when that happens, you'll wish we had gone easy on you."
"Hmm… say, who is this Bianca?" Peter asked, earning a glare from the hostess. He ignored it, a charming smile on his face. "Are they another cyborg like you?"
"Ha! She wishes… nah, Bianca is the daughter of the Headmaster. The Supreme Registered Nurse. She finished her nursing degree at the age of ten and spent her early teenage years as a resident in the local ER. The headmaster allowed her into the academy without an audition tape of all things. Funny how those silly things don't matter when family is involved,"
"So you are holding someone hostage here?" Ezekiel said, sighing. "How pedestrian,"
"Trust me Drills, it's best we have a medical professional on hand when shit starts going down. Since her father is being held hostage for our own means, she volunteered to stay behind. She isn't a participant, but she adheres to our rules. Feel free to chat her up if you want, that bitch is crazy, so unless you want a syringe in your neck, you'll leave her alone."
"Sounds like an interesting gal to me, I happen to love the little pinch of syringes. I think I'll take my chances!" Freyja said, about to march out the door when Sasha grabbed a hold of her wrist, preventing her from leaving.
"Ugh… can we get on with this shit? I got a tight schedule, if I don't finish this shit by 7, I'll miss Vampire Diaries. And you don't want me to miss my soaps because when I do, I get pissed!" Penny snapped, clearing her throat. "Right… as I was saying, since this is a game show, all of you will have some downtime between challenges. Each day will air a new "Episode" for the masses to eat up. Think of it like Survivor, except it's on every day instead of every week."
"Am I to assume we'll have an issued challenge every single day then?" Yoshi asked, arms crossed as he glanced at the hostess. "Because that would be foolish. Imagine if all of us failed our elimination challenges? You'd run out of people to kill in 33 days."
"Long enough in my opinion, but sadly that isn't how it works. While the cameras will be rolling daily to show the world what you are doing, the Motive that Nicky will give you will be in effect. However, every single Friday, I will be issuing the challenge. Should you make it to Friday without anyone dying, the current motive will end and the challenge will begin. Weekends will of course, be off. No challenges will be issued, and the Motive will be started on Monday. But feel free to kill each other if you'd like."
"I see… by making the motive on Monday and the challenge on Friday, you ensure your "Audience" is being entertained every single day. Especially if there is a risk of us being seduced by the motive. By doing that, you extend the life of this sick game of yours until we all die or you bastards get the desired result," Sasha said firmly.
"How sickening," Heather added, setting down the figurine she was making.
"It makes sense though… It allows the masses to keep watching our suffering. I'm certain my good will with Disney is going to tank, especially if I'm in a show while under contract,"
"Is that seriously what you are worried about? Your Disney channel career? Jesus Christ, everyone knows you'll turn into the next Miley Cyrus. You'll be shaking your chicken thigh lookin' ass in Times Square by the end of next year. Bet." Freyja snapped in annoyance.
"The squirt is right, worrying about the Mouse is not what you should be doing… even still, I doubt this killing game will cause the entire country to delve into Anarchy. America is stronger than that," Nodoka said, causing Penny to roll her eyes.
"If you say so, man you do not want to be out there right now. They'll be cleaning radiation from the capital for weeks. I hear their peeling the melted bodies off the ground with shovels!" she said excitedly.
"Thanks for the trauma, cunt," the idol said softly under her breath.
Aaron cleared his throat, grabbing the hostess' attention. "Anything else? I'd like to return to my room for my Podcast. I noticed our Augmas are still connected to the internet… may as well entertain myself,"
"Ah right! About that… you see, we were considering doing an entire shutdown of the school network. But these babies need to stay hooked up to the WI-FI if we want things to work properly. So you are all hooked up to a "Policed Network." meaning you can still go about your business on the internet. But all forms of social media are blocked, same with YouTube. We wouldn't want you to get crafty in the comment section. Then again, if you do ask for help no one is coming."
"Okay… what's the point of leaving us with access to the internet at that point? Why not just get rid of it entirely?"
"Because, my dear Showman… each one of your Augmas is special. It connects to a special recording station on our servers which will remain online day in and day out. We like to call it, the "Supreme Confessional". This is where you'll confess your dirtiest sins, your current thoughts and feelings and whatever pops in your mind. Simply tap the C app on your scroll and allow it to connect to your Augma. So yeah, have fun with those." she said, swiveling on her heel. "That about does it. Get some rest tonight fuckers, because tomorrow you will be easing onto a horse cock sized challenge, and it shan't be pretty. And before I go… all of you are under penalty… lose tomorrow, and one of you gets sacked, without an elimination game,"
With that, the hostess left, making the room fall into silence once more. The students said nothing as they let the words sink into their minds. They heard a sigh, causing them to look at their teacher.
"I'm sorry kids. I… wasn't expecting any of this,"
"It isn't your fault, Miss Riyo… we were dealt a shitty hand… but we must make do with what we've got. We've agreed to fight back yes? That means we need to be prepared for what may happen! If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then we have to walk it hand in hand. Don't fret… the Renegades will run the night, and they shall run it well!"
"Sheesh… if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were the Supreme Speechest, seeing as you make speeches and shit," Freyja said.
"Speechest isn't a word sweetie… not one I've ever heard of…" Sasha said, looking up at Peter. "But she's right… you've been keeping us together. I guess you are used to it, since you managed a circus and all,"
"Ah, but of course dear Sasha. Keeping a group of 11 calm is much easier than wrangling in over 150 people, and several hundred animals. And you wouldn't believe how hard it is to handle an elephant. Regardless, we should retreat to our quarters, make sure our things are in place. We can convene in the cafeteria for dinner after, sound like a plan?" he asked.
"It sounds good to me. We should be careful, sticking in pairs would be a good idea, it'll keep our backs watched at all times." Heather suggested, earning nods from the others.
"I'll stick with Sasha then, the two of us know each other well. We'll take a shower and meet ya at the cafeteria." Nodoka said, earning a nod from the green-haired photographer.
"Guess me and Aaron will stick together… may as well keep him calm. We'll make sure Alivia is safe and then meet you there," Yoshi said, earning a nod from the podcast host.
"I'll be fine on my own, I've got some… things to address."
"Oh no you don't, I'll go with you. We can't let a filly run around all on her own. Come on! We'll get to know each other, I can even help you design your cutie mark if you want! I got one on my flank that's super cute, I'll show you later!" Heather said, grabbing Freyja's arm. She turned to Peter, eyes wide as saucers.
"Help me."
"Sorry Freyja, you are on your own."
"You fucking filthy traitor!" she shouted, voice echoing down the hall. "I HATE YOU!"
"That leaves Joel, Peter and myself. Miss Arioka wished to visit Anton, perhaps Joel should go with her. I would like to get to know Peter on a personal level. There's something about him that intrigues me," Ezekiel said, causing the man to sputter.
"P-personal level? What are you implying?"
"Sitting down and having some tea of course. Though once we are finished with that, we can move on to sexual intercourse. Men of your age are quite the horndogs, and I can tell you are stressed. I wouldn't mind milking you in the privacy of your room. I'll let you use my breasts if that will help relieve said stress."
"NO!" the man cried, hiding his face behind his hat. "Jesus Christ, Zeke. Let's not say stuff like that in public. I don't particularly like overtly sexual jokes." he said, leading the woman out of the room.
"I… wasn't joking,"
"Ugh… those foolish children! Talking about sex so openly, I should chase them down and give them the talk! And condoms! Come along Joel, we shall first visit Anton, and then we will handle our wayward baby making factory."
"Oh um… o-okay," the Musical Star said, confused as to what had just taken place.
Location: A/V Room [HHPA Traditional Building 1st Floor]
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2021
Time: 5:30 PM
Team: Ghastly Ghouls
"So… now that we've been informed on how this game will run, how are we going to go about participating in it?" Lugh asked, glancing around the room. Several pairs of eyes locked with his, all wondering the same thing.
The Audio Visual room wasn't big, in fact it was much smaller than a normal classroom, but it sufficed. It was one of the older rooms, with a lot older computers than the ones on the 5th Floor eSports room. The A/V room was most likely going to be decommissioned, so that it could be revamped in the future. Of course, those plans had gone awry the moment the school had been taken over. It was a dark room, with only a few lights serving as illumination. There was a nearby cart filled with MacBooks that looked to be from 2005, along with some PCs that hadn't seen the light of day in years. There was even an Apple II in the back of the room, a piece of hardware no one was expecting to see. He heard the sound of tapping, and turned to his right, seeing the Supreme Mixed Martial Artist. He had a look of annoyance on her face as she tapped her foot on the ground.
"Something on your mind?" the green-haired lad asked.
"As a matter of fact, there is. Check it, the lot of us are stuck in this hellhole with those other idiots right?"
"Yes, that would be the case," Jamila said softly.
"Okay, and all of us are Supremes, the best of the best in our chosen fields,"
"Aye, get ta the point lass, ah ain't gonna keep beatin' around the damn bush," Ophelia snapped, causing Rin to growl.
"Okay, sheesh. What I'm getting at is why don't we team up and waste the bastards! I didn't become the World's Heavy Weight Champion to sit around with my fingers up my ass. I want to find my daddy and sitting around here isn't going to make that happen!"
"Tch… she's got spunk, I'll give her that." Briar said, from his spot at the other end of the room. Even sitting down he towered over the others. He was holding his axe tightly in his hands, running his thumb gently over the edge of the blade. "Sadly, I don't think this is a fight we can win with brute force,"
"Heh… if the Viking is saying that, then all hope is lost, real shame eh? I was gonna root for ya." Kevin said, as he checked his violin over for damage. He had managed to find it on the ground after the initial run the night before.
"Oh fuck off," Alessia said, looking up from her scroll. She had a frown on her face, but her eyes were shimmering like diamonds. "You don't care about any of us. Hell, I'm surprised you haven't taken the bait and killed someone off yet."
"And why would I do that you slimy stinky fish?" the raven-haired violinist asked, not bothering to look up from his instrument. "I don't have a death wish, but if you do then go ahead and kill someone, would do us all a favor if you prod the bear,"
"I believe the mascot is a cat this time around?" Naveen chirped, looking up from his puppets. He had a small hopeful smile on his face. "Never you fret, the Loa have vowed to protect all of us. We shall make it out of this game without much trouble, I guarantee it!"
Rin's eye twitched as she clenched her jaw, if one listened closely, they would have heard one of her teeth crack.
Supreme Confessional: Ghastly Ghouls
Rin sat in a chair in her bedroom, glaring at the augmented reality camera floating before her. She had her arms crossed, her knuckles white from how hard she was clenching her own arms.
"Okay, so I don't know how these fucking things work, and I don't care. That robot said we could use these to express ourselves, so here it is. That Naveen guy? Yeah, he annoys me. Twiddling his thumbs like no one's business playing with little dolls, and then he says the Loa are gonna help us? Are you kidding me?"
She huffed, looking away from the camera finally uncrossing her arms. She twirled a strand of her hair around her fingertip.
"Seriously, I was never one to care for magic. My older sister loved that crap, I didn't… I was more practical, all I cared about was finding a daddy. That isn't going to happen if I'm stuck in this hellhole. I would say the company isn't that bad, but I really really hate that guy. Wish I could shove his stupid little dolls up his ass,"
"Hmm… I didn't particularly care for the way Rin stared at me," Naveen said, as he leaned back in his stall. He was currently in the men's room, sitting on the commode with a frown on his face. His hands were glowing with a bit of magic, as he urged one of his little puppets to move. "Is she perhaps intimidated by me? I see no reason for her to be. I haven't done anything ill toward her, I don't think,"
He paused what he was doing, the puppet falling lifeless into his lap. He looked up at the camera, eyes staring directly at it. "Could it be… she doesn't appreciate my craft? Could she truly believe me to be an abhorrent puppeteer? I never saw her in the crowd when I did my Showcase… perhaps a little puppet show is in order."
He smiled, a toothy smile that extended from ear to ear. "Of course… with the game just starting, and us being under lockdown, I'll have loads of time to plan. This is going to be a wonderful show. May the Loa bless us all."
"You look like you are about to kill him, Rin. Everything alright over there?" Lugh asked, earning a huff from the young woman.
"A-are you going to say anything?" Alivia asked, looking up from her tablet at Tanzo. The Honorary Supreme Military Tactician was sitting near the back of the room, eyes closed as he thought. A small orange glow could be seen coming from the tip of his lit cigarette. He looked up, taking a drag from the stick, exhaling it with a sigh.
"What am I supposed to say? I am completely out of my element here."
"Tch, aren't you supposed to be an adviser or some shit?" Kevin asked, earning a nod from the man.
"I was… I was the military tactician of the Novoselician Royal Family. But when shit hit the fan, I couldn't act in time. I tried to save my homeland, but in the end it was for nothing. I don't pretend to know why I'm here, I'm sure there's a lot of reasons why,"
"Let's not focus on the why, at least not right now… what we need to do is focus on what we're going to do. Right now, I'm sure the other teams are planning. We may not know each other, but we have to work together, all of us. Even the undesirables," Alessia said, directing her glare at Kevin who just chuckled.
"Easy for you to say "Anchovy". The hell are we going to do once those games start? You gonna take one for the team?" Briar asked, sneering. "Dying would get in the way of you making a pretty penny eh?"
"No shit it would!" the brunette girl cried, turning to face the man. "I didn't come all the way from Italia to America so that I could die in some half-baked despair reality show. I am going to fight tooth and nail to make my dream come true!"
"U-um… perhaps we should be careful… these types of games are made to mess with your minds after all," Robin meekly said from the background. He swallowed the lump in his throat, forcing a smile onto his face. "We should try to be friends, work together as a team as it were."
"I'm okay with that," Opehelia added, wrapping an arm around the Glaciologist, a grin on her face. He shied back a bit when the scent of alcohol hit his nose. "If we're gonna survive this… then we gotta work together. I for one want to get outta here in one piece, I got weddings to plan."
"I-indeed… I too wish to get out… I'd rather not go back to Egypt, but it's better than being at risk of death, you know?" Jamila shyly asked, causing the others to give her looks of concern.
"You don't want to go home? What about your family? Your parents?" Lugh asked curiously. The Fire Dancer rubbed her arm, looking away from them all.
"Returning home would be nothing but a death sentence to me. At least here I have a chance to survive," she mumbled under her breath.
Supreme Confessional: Ghastly Ghouls
Jamila swallowed the lump in her throat, fidgeting in her seat. "Oh dear… I hope I didn't say too much. I'm honestly trying not to reveal a lot about myself. I don't want to make people worry, especially Robin… I can tell he has a lot of problems already."
She looked around the Ladies Room for a moment, smiling a bit. "I will admit, this is the cleanest ladies room I've seen in awhile."
"Won't be for much longer," another voice said, followed by the most ungodly sound the young woman had heard. A groan echoed through the room. "Oh God… those Enchiladas."
"Oh my ack… this is so gross!" the Fire Dancer cried, racing out of the stall, the video feed ended a moment later.
"Mr. Burckhard, did the Mastermind give you anything to work with? Perhaps we can glean something from that and make a favorable plan of action," Naveen asked, causing the man to shake his head.
"Sadly kid, the information we were given doesn't amount to shit. Penny already explained her deal to us. Motives on Mondays, Challenges on Fridays. Losing team sacks one of their own to an elimination game. Face it, the odds are stacked against us,"
"Hmm… I wouldn't be so sure." Lugh said, causing everyone to look at him. "It's like this… if this is a reality show, that means the rules are going to be like those cheesy shows on TV. The Rules state that there are immunity bobbles hidden in the academy. Should we find them, we'd likely be able to avoid sacking one of our own. It will take a lot of planning, but I think if we find them, we can be prepared,"
"It's a sound plan except… Well, what happens if we pick someone with a bobble and they have us vote for someone else? Someone will have to take the L and jump into the fray."
"If that's the case then I volunteer Alessia. Majority rules right? It would get rid of a greedy thorn in our side." the violinist said, chuckling.
"Vafanculo, I should fucking kick your-"
"Guys please, let's not start arguing again… this is a matter of life or death after all… Let's just chill," Robin said softly, unconsciously activating his powers. A soft mist filled the room, causing everyone to shiver slightly. Realizing what had happened, he quickly stopped, flushing. "S-sorry,"
"Look, I don't care what we do okay?I just don't want to see my brother die," Alivia said, as she continued sketching on her tablet. She didn't bother looking up, her eyes focused on the comic before her. "I'm not that sporty… hell I don't like being outdoors or near people, but I'm all for working together. Just as long as we don't become the losing team,"
"It isn't a bad idea really… sadly, your brother's team is down a player, and they're likely under penalty, for what's it's worth, I hope he isn't voted out. I got siblings too, and I would hate to see one of them die." Rin said, hastily looking away. "Whatever, I'll do my best. Not like I got a choice, I'm not doing this for anyone other than myself, humph."
"Aw how cute, we're bonding!" Kevin said, a grin on his face. "As long as we all become a tight-knit group, we'll beat everyone and everything before us!"
Supreme Confessional: Ghastly Ghouls
"Yuck… even saying that as a joke sickens me," Kevin sputtered, looking away from the camera. "Still… the playing field is very interesting. The big man is likely going to be athletic. He'll be a key player… Tsundere-Cunt is a fighter, so she'll probably stick it to the end, I have no faith in Drunkard or Doodles."
He shuddered a bit as he looked back at the camera, gritting his teeth. "I can smell that bitch… Anchovy… she disgusts me. There is nothing that displeases Kevin more than Alessia. Did you know that bitch ruined a little get together I had? She just strolled in all high and mighty and ruined my party… that bitch cost me so much money!"
He ran his fingers through his hair, growling. "I honestly thought I wouldn't run into her stupid face again, but here we are. Oh Fate, what a cruel mistress you are… still, she's tough. That lithe body of hers will be good for something other than tight fitting wetsuits. No idea how Edward Elric is gonna be of help, same with Firecracker and Elsa… building a team out of these chuckle fucks is going to be hard. But hey… as long as I'm on top, it doesn't matter…
No one beats Kevin…"
"You ever call me family again, and I'm going to make you eat that violin, capisce?" Alessia said, glaring at the raven haired man.
"Whatever the case may be, we can at least plan ahead. We don't know what kind of challenges we'll be facing, but as a Military Tactician, I'll take everything into consideration. I was meant to be a Physical Education teacher as well as a History Teacher here. For now, I'd like to see where you all place, and how physically healthy you are. That will help us a lot," Tanzo said, earning nods from the others.
"I'll take my leave then… I'm the healthiest one here. Gonna check out my new quarters, call me if you need me for anything important, but please, try not to need me." Kevin said, grabbing his violin. He swiftly left the room before anyone could stop him.
"Think I'll do the same. I could care less for tactics, I'll cut them all down with my axe." Briar added, forcing himself to his feet.
"Briar please… you shouldn't leave. We could use this time to get to know each other, and maybe, just maybe we can…"
"Stop right there kid." the man said, causing Lugh to stop talking. "I will make this abundantly clear. I do not care for you puny midgets. All of you will just get in my way. So unless something important is happening, do not contact me. I'm not here for that Kumbaya Friendship bullshit."
"B-But… Friendship is magic," Robin said softly. He took a step forward, standing before the giant man. "Please Briar… let's at least hang out for awhile. Just a little while, once we get things settled, we can all take a break. I… I don't want anyone to die,"
Briar looked down at the man, sighing before giving him a nod. "Fine, I'll stay here. But you carry my axe, got it?" he said, dropping the object in the smaller boy's arms, only for him to drop to the ground.
"Oof… this is… heavy."
"Tch… gotta get some muscle on you boy. It ain't that heavy," the man said, rolling his eyes. He looked up at Tanzo who had a look of disagreement on his face. "What? You wanted to talk plans, then let's talk plans. We'll give the little twig here a good regimen. I'll turn him into a man, or at least a boy."
"Right… let's begin by talking about sports and what you excel in, a detailed list will help us immensely," the tactician said, pulling out his Scroll. "We'll start with Alessia, seeing as she's a Diver. Don't leave out anything, got it?"
"You got it boss, I'll make sure to give you a comprehensive list of what I can do. I don't like saying this to people, but I am extremely flexible, I'm sure that'll come in handy." she said cheerfully.
"Flexible you say… just how flexible are you?" Naveen asked curiously. Alessia rolled her eyes, kicking her leg up. She rested it against the wall, doing a standing split, much to their surprise.
"Extremely… keep the saliva in your mouth, I don't want you to get dehydrated."
Supreme Confessional: Ghastly Ghouls
Alessia couldn't help but giggle as she sat on the countertop. She was inside HHPA's massive kitchen, a few pots steaming on the stovetop. "Honestly, I love being a Diver. After everything I've done, simple things like splits are fun to do. I had to train to become flexible, helps me glide in the water. Getting boys to drool is an added bonus."
"I must admit, even I'm impressed by Alessia's talents." Lugh said, arms crossed as he looked away. His room was a bit dark, hiding the slight flush on his cheeks. "Italian Girls… they're uh… quite nice,"
"Wow, that's pretty cool. It must have taken you forever to get that flexible huh?" Robin asked, earning a shrug from Alessia.
"Not really, just a lot of training and shit. I did a lot of sports growing up to stay fit, but not gymnastics. Guess I was just naturally flexible."
"It's still nice though," the Glaciologist said happily. He didn't even notice the hurt look Jamila was giving him. Tanzo shook his head, looking down at his Scroll.
"I'll be sure to add "Extremely Flexible" next to your name, Miss Conti. Now, let's have you put your leg down and start listing off your other exploits," Tanzo said, not at all impressed by what he had seen. It was going to be a long afternoon, he could already tell.
Date: Tuesday, April 21st 2021
Location: Nurse's Office [Traditional Building First Floor: HHPA]
Time: 6:00 PM
Waking up was different. The moment he did, memories of what had happened the day before flooded into his mind. He was reminded of the attack, how he was trapped in HHPA, in his own killing game. He was also reminded of the battle he had waged for everyone's freedom, and how he had failed to do much of anything.
Anton was disappointed. Not in himself, but in the situation.
He sat up slightly, looking around his temporary quarters. It was a white room, filled with what looked like medical equipment. He could see various machines set aside, along with curtains, typically found in Emergency Rooms. There was a counter behind him with a sink, along with a glass case filled with medicine. After his brief glance around the room, he concluded he was in some sort of hospital, or at the very least, the Nurse's Office.
Anton felt a slight bit of pain in his right arm, and looked down only to find stained bandages. Fresh pink blood was visibly seeping through one corner. His left arm had been propped at his side, two tubes hooked into his arm, one of Saline solution and the other being a blood packet. His frown deepened as he rose what was left of his arm. It had been cut off right before the elbow. His arm and his hand were completely gone. He closed his eyes, shaking his head.
"You fool… using Excalibur's power like that was only going to get you killed. I should have known better. I was strong enough to take her out without it, but I just had to show off, didn't I?"
"Oh good, you're awake," a monotone voice said, causing him to look up. He shuddered a bit when he met the young woman's firm gaze.
"Uh… hello."
"..."
This woman unnerved him, that was certain. She was a beautiful young lady, if he cared to admit. She had waist length pink hair, which cascaded down her back. Atop her head, sat a pink nurse's hat with a bright red cross on it. She was wearing a pink nurse's outfit, reaching down to her mid thigh. She was wearing a pair of mismatched stockings, the right being pink while the left was right. Her arms were covered in pink and blue band aids, and he briefly wondered if she had injuries beneath them. He cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze.
"Are… you the nurse here?"
"Bianca Xiao Long, Supreme Registered Nurse, or… rather former. I've been told to assist you and all game show participants until further notice. Please try not to get injured in the future, I don't like people."
He remained silent, watching as she walked across the room. She set the book she was holding down on the counter top, washing her hands with hot water. Once she had dried them off, she grabbed a pair of gloves, turning to face him. "You got lucky, you lost a lot of blood when you were being transferred here. Thankfully I have medical records of all current and future students, saving your life wasn't hard,"
"I humbly thank you then, Nurse Bianca. My life could have ended just as fast as it began, but you were kind enough to save me, and for that, I am eternally-"
"Shut up!" the woman hissed, making the man sputter.
"P-pardon? I was just giving thanks… you saved my life,"
"I do not care for your thanks. I only care about being by myself. I watched that battle you had with Penny. You call yourself a hero yet you can't hold a sword properly. I may not know anything about Excalibur but even I know using it like that was foolish," she said. She pulled one of the machines closer, grabbing a hold of a blue cuff. "Arm out, I need your blood pressure."
"I…" the man sighed, holding his arm out. She wrapped the cuff around it, making sure it wasn't too tight. She typed something on the machine and it whirled to life, as it started squeezing his arm. "You're right, Nurse Bianca. I was a bit foolish… but what was I supposed to do, my friend's lives hang in the… ack!"
The woman silenced him with the thermometer, keeping an eye on the machine as the numbers started ticking. While she did, she shoved his finger into a clamp, looking at his heartbeat. "A person who risks their well-being for the life of another is a fool nonetheless. You don't know these people, you owe them nothing, yet you choose to risk your life for theirs? Ridiculous."
Anton let out a yelp as she yanked the thermometer out of his mouth. "98.1, your heart rate is normal and your blood pressure is 124/58. A little above normal but given the fact you lost a limb, not unlikely."
She shut the machine off and took the cuff off, grabbing a hold of her clipboard. She sat down on a nearby rolling chair, writing things down on his chart. "On a scale of 1 to 10, what would you rate your pain with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the worst pain imaginable?"
"It's… not that bad, a four." the blond man said, earning a nod from the woman.
"Probably the narcotics I pumped into you earlier. Gonna hurt like a bitch when they wear off, but we'll get there when we get there. I took the liberty of giving you a physical while you were unconscious. You have an ingrown hair in your left testicle,"
"What?" the man cried.
"I should say had, I took care of it. Quite a lot pus in that one, I don't think I had seen anything like this before. I didn't appreciate you getting an erection mid procedure, but you were unconscious so there was nothing I could do."
"You saw my…" the man said, earning a nod from the woman.
"Indeed I did, you shouldn't be embarrassed. It's okay to have a small penis, in fact I hear some women prefer it small."
"It is not small!" the soldier cried, causing the woman to smack him with her clipboard. "Ow! What the hell kind of nurse are you?"
"One that doesn't like when people needlessly throw themselves into battle. I value life, but honestly, humans can be major idiots. If only Luna was here, she would likely smack you for being a dumb ass." she hissed, shaking her head. "Whatever the case may be, you are making a remarkable recovery, given the circumstances. Within the week, you'll have an arm back."
"An arm… I get my arm back?"
"I said an arm, not your arm. We couldn't save yours, so we're crafting a replacement in another facility." she said, grabbing some bandages and other tools. She pulled the steel table around the bed, placing everything on top of it. She grabbed a hold of his arm, pulling the tape off of it.
"Nurse Bianca… I'd like to apologize… If I did anything to anger you, then I-"
"Learn to value your life more. Throwing yourself into a fight you can't win is only going to put yourself and others at risk. Because of you, your team is down a player. Not only that, but Penny announced a penalty for them. If they lose tomorrow's challenge, one of their own will get executed, without a challenge. You might have condemned someone to die all because you had to prove your dick was immense."
Anton remained silent, bowing his head. "I… didn't think about it that way… what a fool I've been. It certainly hasn't been the best week for me, has it?"
"Oh grow up… you think I wanna be here? My father is being held hostage in some shithole outside of Philadelphia, if I don't do what Bitch one and her cat ask, he could die, or worse." she said, tossing the soiled bandages into the trash. "Pony up boy scout, shit's getting tougher from here on out."
He hissed as the woman peeled off the last bandage. His arm, or rather the stump, was a mangled mess. What remained of his flesh had been cut and evened out, used to stitch the wound shut. The area was swollen, and blood was seeping through the thick staples that held his skin together. He bit his lip as Bianca dipped his stump into a pan filled with water. It wasn't long after that she was gently scrubbing the dried blood off.
"Aw hell, this hurts like shit."
"I'm sure it does…" the woman replied, briefly looking up. Anton noticed her eyes were different than the ones he had seen, her eyes were bright pink while the pupils themselves were a deep blue color. He briefly wondered if they were contacts. "You've been in a war before right? See anything gnarly?"
"Gnarly? Absolutely not… war is not a fun thing to witness, Miss. It is outright horrible."
"Oh… shame… I was hoping someone stepped on a landmine and blew their leg off. Either that or a story about you having to pick up a friend's guts."
"Nurse Bianca, I refuse to keep talking about this. Continue cleaning my injury if you must, but do not speak to me about something so horrid,"
"Tch… baby." the woman mumbled, as she continued cleaning the wound. She remained silent as she put some medical balms on it, checking the sutures to make sure they were still in place. She grabbed a roll of gauze and started wrapping it back up. "This should be healed soon. This cream I'm using is made with some magical plants, should ease the pain a bit."
"T-thank you." Anton said, giving her a small smile. "Listen, I'm not mad at you okay? I just don't like talking about the cruelty of war… lost good men out there. All of them fighting to free the United Kingdom from the Tyranny of the New Queen. I'm certain the United States was in a similar situation?"
The woman nodded, standing up from her seat. She carried the bloodied water to the sink, sending it down the drain. "When the Tragedy started here in America, I was only 13. The President kept things together, for six months. Wasn't long before someone managed to track him down and blow him to smithereens. After that the Administration was killed off, one by one, until the Cabinet was vacant. Managed to get the Designated Survivor too,"
"Oh… that's horrible."
"Indeed… without the Federal Government, the States had to govern themselves. Things were going to hell in a hand-basket quick. It happened when California decided to leave the Union… they started calling themselves "The New California Republic." Gave themselves a second star on their flag and that was it. Texas followed shortly after, calling itself "The Republic of Texas." wasn't long after that Hawaii was bombarded, heard only a few thousand people survived,"
"I… heard about that, had a friend who was in Honolulu when that happened. The big island is coming back, managed to rebuild itself. But the Islands are never going to be the same… heard Guam was taken off the map,"
"For the most part, yes." Bianca said, sighing. "It kept happening, over and over again. The entire eastern seaboard became it's own country, calling itself "The True United States of America." Some mook 'conquered' Tornado alley, and made Topeka the capital of the Midwestern United States. Wasn't long before total anarchy had overtaken the country. But one woman managed to unite us under the Star Spangled Banner, President Melanie Hyles… she was the Governor of Virginia. She somehow managed to get delegates to DC, practically rebuilt the Federal Government herself. Funny how the patriarchy went to shit but a woman was able to pull it back together,"
"Well if that isn't the most feminist thing I've ever heard, I don't know what is." the blond man said.
"Relax, it was a joke. Seriously… if it wasn't for President Hyles, this country would be fucked… and now that she's likely dead, I fear a 3rd Civil War is around the corner. We barely won the last one… I doubt we'll win this one." Bianca said, shaking her head. She turned to fully face Anton, giving him a small smile. "I may be hard on my patients, but that's because I care. You've been cleared for the rest of the week. I'll have one of the maids fetch you a change of clothes so you can shower. Once you have your new arm, you'll have to join your team again."
"T-thank you… ah yes… my sword, what happened to my sword?" the man asked curiously. Bianca walked over to a nearby counter, pulling a blanket off of it. There it sat, the sword of the legendary hero king.
"A young brown haired woman brought it in earlier. She was quite fascinated by the large light above you. It was rather odd… I thought the sword of selection could only be held by those that are worthy of it."
"It is… but the sword has been known to act erratically from time to time. Perhaps she is worthy? I am not sure… I wish I had more information on it. I'd like to learn all I can, I have to if I want to free the U.K."
"Hmm… perhaps the Grand Library will have what you are looking for. Of course, that place is off limits until further notice. You'll have to wait until it is unlocked. For now, have some rest, I'll finish some paperwork and get you something to eat later." she said. She tugged on the sides of her dress, bowing her head slightly before heading toward the door. Anton sighed, a small smile on his face.
"She's kind of cute," he said, holding back the urge to chuckle. His eyes drifted back to the sword on the counter top, his smile shifting to a frown. "A brunette who was fascinated by the light above me… now how could someone like her be able to carry a sword like that? I guess I'll have to ask her some questions later on…"
xxx(End of Act 2)xxx
Surviving Students 29
Surviving Staff Members: 4
xxx(Omake)xxx
Supreme Confessional: Screeching Eagles
"Hello? Is this thing on?" Freyja cried, as she waved her hand around. She smiled as she saw her image on the nearby monitor. Since the game was going to be live, the confessionals could be seen whenever someone was streaming them. She cleared her throat, placing hands on her lap. "Greetings fellow Conspiracy Theorists, and welcome one and all to Japo… my show!"
She let out a giggle, spinning around in her chair, arms held up high. "Ah… how grand! These bastards tried to silence me, but here they are, letting me use this system for my own benefit. Oh… I predict a lot of rain in their future."
The camera wiggled a bit, causing her to sit up, clearing her throat. "Right… I'm certain you all know our current predicament. Supreme Students + Killing Game = Fucked. It isn't pretty, but right now I'm going to let you all know how it all came down to this!"
She shot out of her chair, racing toward her closet, which was out of the view of the camera. She dragged a white board with her, along with a pack of erasable markers. She pushed her chair out of the way, flipping the board over. She hastily wrote HHPA Killing Game on the top in bright red marker. She turned to the camera, panting a bit as she tapped the name with her marker.
"This is the title of our topic. HHPA's Killing Game and how it happened. See, the moment I brought up human experimentation, my shit was pulled off the forums. But why would it if it were just a theory? Hmm? Of course the only reason they would pull it is because it's true. They're trying to silence the minority by using their ban hammer! Poof! Gone!" she cried, slamming her fist into the board.
She grabbed the blue marker, uncapping it with her teeth, quickly jotting something down. She slapped a picture onto it, circling it with the marker. It was of course, a picture of Vice Headmaster Anderson. "See this man? He was the Vice Headmaster of this Academy. Don't you think it's rather odd that someone that important wasn't present during the Showcase?"
She grabbed a picture of Penny, slapping it onto the board. Grabbing a black marker, she drew a stick figure with a black fedora. She wrote the word "Milady" above it, with an arrow pointing to it. "Penny Anderson is the hostess of our little show… doesn't it bother you that her last name is the same as the Vice Headmaster? And of course we have our Mastermind, some salty cunt who's too much of a puss puss to show us her face. Probably ugly too but that's neither here nor there."
Grabbing the green marker, she started drawing lines between the Vice Headmaster, and the Mastermind, along with a large money symbol at the top. "Okay, so I'm going to be reaching for a bit, but for all good theories to work, there needs to be a healthy bit of guesswork…
Now then, checking the files, Anderson supposedly wrote a check to someone for nearly 4 billion dollars. That's a hefty lump-sum if you ask me. But what did all of that go to? The cameras! The cameras and the Augmented Reality crap. That is why all of us are wearing these fancy ass Augmas. But it doesn't end there, oh no no no! The cameras only cost 3.8 Billion dollars… what happened to the last 2?
I CAN TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist onto the board. A picture of Nicky was left behind as she did.
"BAM! Exhibit A! This cat thing… It was created here, but looking over the plans for Monokuma and the other Past mascots, it takes a lot less than 2 billion to make one unit. But when you factor in something else, then it makes sense. This isn't just some run of the mill mascot, ho ho ho! It's actually An Artificial Program!"
"But Freyja, we knew it was an AI, why are you bringing this up?" she asked in a gruff voice, looking away from the camera.
"A valid question… but I have the answer. The answer is simple… this mascot isn't your typical AI. It's actually an advanced artificial intelligence, the likes of which trace back to the original Hope's Peak Academy killing game. Someone from that game, some twisted fuck, decided to put their consciousness into the internet at some point… probably before the game actually began."
"And it makes sense!" she continued, once she took a drink of her Capri Sun Roarin' Waters. She practically drained the poor pack. "Considering this is the American Academy of Hope, it makes sense that there are some call backs to Hope's Peak Academy!"
She quickly erased a few things, hastily writing down a few others. How she kept her writing legible was beyond her. "Now, take this into account. There was someone who said that the Grand Showcase was a formality, I decided to look into it and realized they were making bank… if they used that money for something, it had to be the experiments!
But what, pray-tell, are these experiments about? Well, have you heard of… Izuru Kamukura?" the young woman asked, smirking.
"First Headmaster of HPA and it's founder, a man who brought talent to the world. The Kamukura Project was what lead to the Tragedy. With its exposure our pathetic asses were kicked hard, and they were kicked fast. All of us almost died, all because HPA wanted to make someone with all the talents in the world. And I can assure you, HHPA is doing the same…"
She took a deep breath, a cute sneeze leaving her lips. She brushed her nose with the back of her hand, causing juice to squirt from her pack onto the floor. "Whoo… damn allergies. Anyway… the Mastermind mentioned experiments as well, but why would she do that? Why not keep that card safely tucked away for later? I'll tell you why!"
She flipped the board over, showing off several pieces of paper all connected to each other with string. She slammed her fist against it, causing more juice to shoot out of her packet. "BAM!"
The camera zoomed in, showing pictures of all the current students, of Class 63-A.
"These mother fuckers want our talents… that's why they wanted blood samples, because our talents are ingrained in us. They want to make some sick amalgamation of all of us… it's so gross!"
She finished her juice, tossing it aside. "And this comes back to Nicky… why or why would an AI from someone in HPA be relevant here? Have you ever wondered if said AI could be an Ultimate Despair?
When you think about it, it makes sense… if there's an Ultimate Despair running our game, then that means they can make us feel it. The Mastermind is likely connected to this person too, she's a graduate perhaps, someone important, but someone who could get in under the radar, the size on those Volleyball Sized lady nuts… ah, I could harness the heat coming off of them… erm.. .anyway…"
"Nicky is the key here… she's an AI from someone who was loaded with all of these talents. She's a learning super computer, capable of changing the odds of winning for any challenge of any type. Not only does she possess the 48 talents from Classes 77, 78 and 79, but also all the talents collected here in HHPA. She's an Ultimate Hope!
Like… she's like Sonic the Hedgehog!"
She looked at the camera, eye twitching a bit. She sighed, fixing her hair as she took a deep breath. "Follow me for a second here guys… you see, originally, Sonic the Hedgehog wasn't even supposed to be named Sonic. His name was Sonny, and he lived somewhere in Nebraska! Or… well one of those states. But have you ever wondered how it is that he can run so fast? He supposedly runs at the speed of light, but if someone ran that fast, our planet would explode…"
She grinned, flipping the board over, once again having changed to something else. This time, a picture of Nicky and a picture of Sonic were visible. As well as a picture of Eggman, though one could clearly tell it was Jim Carrey. "Think about it like this… Sonic has so many powers in him, just like Nicky… they are soulmates in a way… Sonic can run at the speed of light, not only that, in his little bible, it is said that he can see the soul of his dead father…
Nicky is essentially that, a soul! The soul of a person trapped in a machine, and given new life by mechanics and shit. There are gears twisting around, imagine what it must be like to move around with those… imagine what it's like to crap… if a male cat mates with her, would the gears in her vagina sever it off? A question for another day!"
"Let's begin there! Vaginas… vaginas are soft little caverns, nice and wet, musky and of course, they bring us life. So in a way, that metal body that Nicky is using is like a vagina. It holds her new life! And Sonic can see souls, meaning that they share a common theme… the fact that they are both capable of seeing the dead…
So let's put it this way. Sonic can run super fast, and Nicky has the talents of over 100 people in her subroutines. I can only imagine what Penny has in her CPU. But when you think about it, Penny is just a ticking time bomb, because if Nicky puts her USB inside Penny's USB Port, then those little ones and zeros will swim up the motherboard toward the memory card where it will be written, a new life will be born!
And not just that, but if Nicky becomes human, then all of us are screwed. Much like Sonic, she will be able to do the things that the original Izuru Kamukura can do. That's why HPA worshiped the Ultimate Hope as some sort of deity… meaning one thing… HHPA is trying to create God!"
She shuddered a bit, turning the board once more.
"It… it all makes sense… this is exactly why I was booted off the forums… HHPA was wary that I was sniffing their plans out. And like a bloodhound, I was able to sniff HHPA's chocolate starfish, and was able to find the truth!
Oh ho… those motherfuckers! They're trying to make…
This makes so much sense, it's like with Sonic… Nicky has so many talents within her, talents from HHPA and HPA, from the classes that weren't even chosen. She's a new Ultimate Hope… one that can compete with the world… and if HHPA has cloning tech like HPA did then… oh my god… that's it… they want an army.
Folks this just got interesting!" she said, giggling. She reached for her bed, grabbing a pickle jar. She twisted the lid off and grabbed the fattest pickle from inside, taking a huge bite. It crunched loudly, a bit of juice dribbling down her chin.
"This is magnificent… Izuru Kamukura was hailed as a God… and if Nicky hosts all those talents and is going to give them to Penny… then she's the second coming of Christ… that's it… HHPA is… they're going to change the world.
But how… how would creating a god do that? No, it can't be possible… they're trying to pit her up against Sonic The Hedgehog… of course!
Sonic the Hedgehog can run at the speed of light, with so much momentum that it would kill us all, and yet it doesn't. These fucks… ohohoho! I got them, these blasphemous fucks… They're trying to create a new religion… that means… they must have put someone in our midst to start talking about this new deity…
Because we all know religions and cults are basically the same thing.
And in creating a new god, they create something new… like Scientology… or that cult that worships Spaghetti… this is what they're true plan is… they feel threatened by the awesomeness that is Sonic the Hedgehog.
Of course, this all makes sense…" Freyja said, mumbling a few incomprehensible words. She flipped the board over, showing the entirety of the Sonic Bible cut into tiny little slips, all perfectly positioned on the board.
"They feel challenged by him… it all makes sense. In the words of the greatest theorist ever, BDG "EITHER SONIC IS A GOD, OR COULD KILL GOD, AND I DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE!" yes… they took that as a challenge, and gathered us here. So that Penny could become a goddess… but why? Why would they do that?"
She took a deep breath, her Japoka hairpin was glowing slightly, causing her to put her hand on it… "Hmm… yes yes, sometimes correlation does equal causation… it makes sense… Penny is the Ultimate Supreme Hope… the Goddess of our destroyed world, HHPA wants to make her the ruling monarch, because if the whole world is united under one flag, then despair cannot reign supreme… especially when all of our hopes are… on her…"
She snapped her fingers, flipping her board one last time, this time showing a triangle. HHPA, HPA and Izuru Kamukura. "I just figured it all out. HHPA, HPA and Izuru Kamukura have three things in common, they all are things having to do with hope.
Hope is a 3 letter word, and translated into Spanish, the word is Paz… 3 letters, like a pyramid… Jamila is from Egypt, where the pyramids are located. Look behind me, three points, all connected by lines, a triangle… pyramids are made out of triangles with a square base… HHPA, four letters, four sides, pyramids have four sides, four plus three is nine. Nine, a four letter word…
When you divide that by 3.14, you get 0000000.45750375. Don't quote me, this is quik maffs… and if we take this, carry the two, subtract five, move that decimal… yes… I knew it."
She stepped away from the board, having drawn a perfect rendition of the All Seeing Eye… She had a catty grin on her face as she dropped the marker to the ground.
"The Mastermind, who set all of this up, is a member of the Illuminati… we were all kidnapped for their goal to turn us all into skinwalkers, so that the highly advanced race of predator aliens don't destroy humanity… it all makes perfect sense now."
She squeezed her juice pack, guzzling all the juice in a single go, uttering a small burp right after. She pat her stomach, licking her lips…
"My fellow Americans… this game just got interesting… This is your lovely Conspiracy Loving Meteorologist Freyja, singing off!"
A/N: Hello people of earth, I bring you the latest update in HHPA! It... has been a rough few days... but this story is going to keep going as planned. It may take awhile to get updates but my motivation is slowly returning and I am genuinely excited to bring you all this story. So I truly do hope you are having a good day, given the current circumstances. These are trying times for us all, but we'll all be fine. We'll get through this virus together! See you all soon!
