"Oh my goodness, this sure is a landslide revelation!" Monojoker snickered as he rose from his throne, "Upupupupu, I mean I already knew the results beforehand, but to see this turn of events? It sends chills up this poor bear's metallic spine!"

"Can robots even feel cold? Would we die from not being able to feel the cold?" Teddy thought aloud, his thoughts just seemed to annoy everyone, "Do you think we should test this out if we found a walk-in-freezer?" he put a finger to his chin, "I'm sure there's one around here somewhere. Should we check later for it, JJ?"

"..." the clown android didn't respond back, just stared blankly into space.

"I'll take that as a yes!" The ringleader android was over the moon, "I wonder if we'll survive the night alone inside one~"

"Shit I'd take you up on that bet!" Barnabus chuckled, confident in his physical prowess as he flexed his muscles, "I can out sweat or out cold you bitches any day of the week, hehe! I doubt a little freezer can beat me!"

"Ahem!" The multicolored bear cleared his throat very loudly, but it seemed his helpers weren't paying him any attention.

"Oh you boys and your silly little games of manly competence," Ysabelle cooed, petting her snake as it hisses, "Do you think we can rendezvous later for a girls night, Carolina? I would love to paint your nails later!"

"Maybe another time. I need a mental detox after the complete idiocy I've had to sit through this evening," the idol android yawned into her hand, "But first we should-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

Without a single warning, Monojoker lost his patience and shouted at the top of his voice, jolting his helpers and even us out of our dazes. Hearing him shout that loudly, I wanted to curl up into a ball and huddle into the nearest corner. I could still feel the shivering anxiety wrap my body into a cold blanket of fear, as the mixed feelings swamped the entire courtroom.

"That's much better! You fools need to learn your fucking place," the bear reprimanded his minions, "Except you JJ, you're a good little android who does what he's told and never questions a single thing, just like a good little soldier!" the bear started doting on him as if he were his newborn child.

"Hey! Why does he-" Barnabus wanted to argue with his master, but the bear returned his aggression with a red devilish glare that sent shivers down my spine, "Y-Yes boss…."

"Oi vey, you lot are lucky that there's no better help around here," he slipped his party hat back atop his head as it almost slid off his bare head, "But pardon the delay, rejects! I am pleased to announce that you've all guessed right!" he playfully danced in his seat, "The one who murdered Ayano Akatsuka, was none other than the blank slate goody two shoes himself, Ekichirou Yoshirenku!"

His words were lined with venomous pleasure despite the fixed look on his bare face, Monojoker's grin always felt unnerving, like the monster hiding in your closet kind of creepy. For a brief moment, no one knew how to react to the news, I knew I was the most conflicted out of everyone here, although who can really say how the others were really feeling.

I still couldn't believe it…..my brother was the killer? This was just….this was completely insane.

I wanted this to be a dream so desperately and to escape this realization, but a part of me knew that avoiding this issue would just lead to more messy results. All I could do was look down at the floor, well up with tears and start crying. The waterworks spilled out like a running faucet and there didn't seem to be anything to stop my overflowing emotions.

"C-Cherry…..it's alright," I felt a hand on my shoulder, looking up to see his face, "I'm….I'm s-sorry….I didn't mean to put you and everyone else in danger...please don't feel bad for me."

How was I supposed to respond to him admitting his guilt so casually? He acted as though he was ripping off a band-aid from a small cut, how could he be so calm and level headed about this!?

"K-Kichi, y-y-you big fat meanie!" I wiped some tears from my eyes, flustered beyond all reason, "W-What were you thinking!?" I flailed and started punching his chest, "P-Please say something…I n-need to know why.""

He didn't respond, just looked at me with a disappointed frown on his face as he tried to stay strong. His eyes were bloodshot red as well, holding back his tears as I could feel his hand shaking with a fearful expression on his face. Despite that, he seemed oddly….content with his fate.

"J-Just...how could you…" loud sniffles masked my cries as I couldn't bring myself to question him further.

He sighed deeply, letting go of my shoulder as he stood back from everyone, "I...I did what I t-thought was…" he paused for a moment, his cheeks pressed in from all the gnashing he did, "I c-can't really explain what came over me…..I just...had to d-do it."

What is he even talking about? What is he even saying!? Why is he acting like this is his life long mission!? Answer me please, stop pretending that you're fine with this!

"Ekichirou, w-what happened up there? W-Why did you kill Ayano?" Shion asked my brother directly. She was distraught as well, "W-Was it because of the m-motive?"

"Did you do it for your p-parents sake?" Aki wondered about it too, "I d-don't think you w-were-"

"No….nothing like that," he responded to the research scientist bluntly, "T-To be honest with you all, I….our parents I should say….t-they weren't," he tried, but the fear in his voice almost got the best of him, "They were never kind to us….I didn't care for their well being whatsoever…."

"I see," Genki jotted something down on his board, "So there doesn't seem to be any mutual feelings towards them whatsoever…"

"It's...complicated," two words so vague you could probably infer a lot from them.

"Woooow, that's pretty cold of you," Hotaru slightly giggled, "They raised you two since day one and this is how you repay their love. That's pretty heartless of you and Norio's hit the quota for edginess already." This remark flew over the vigilante's head.

"Shut up!" he snapped back immediately at the arsonist, "Y-You don't know a damn thing about us, Hotaru! Those monsters….they…" it pained him to say more, Hotaru had opened up a wound that he'd wanted to keep under wraps.

"I'm waiting~" the orange haired girl had her hands on her chin as she leaned over in her seat with a big fat smirk on her face, "Don't spare any of the details on our behalf! Gush away little clover! Spill your juicy secrets!"

"Ms. Ikeru! You shouldn't pry into others' personal lives so tactlessly," Asahi reproached the mischievous arsonist, "Mr. Yoshirenku, my apologies but...what w-was your reason for doing... a-all of this exactly?" he asked as politely as he could, but he went pale anticipating the answer.

"Isn't it obvious, hehehe," an anxious chuckled escaped his mouth, "To protect the one person in my life who was always there for me through thick and thin." He looked at me, but then swiftly looked down at his feet in shame, "I….I overheard Ayano mumbling to h-herself after we v-visited her tent….I knew she had planned something behind our backs."

"That's totally not shocking…" Tsukae looked listless, but the concern was there, "Then again...we didn't really know each other all that well so…"

"If that's the case, then why didn't you fucking tell us anything, moron?" Itsuki was even more callous when responding, "We could've put a stop to this crap earlier had you not been so goddamn reckless!"

"I think….I know what he's going to say next," Daiko interrupted me before I could speak my side, "Even if we did stop her, who's to say she won't try something more underhanded next time? Maybe we could've restrained her, but that's not gonna stop Monojoker from executing someone else's relative or friend if no one was found dead by that point."

"He was always two steps ahead of us..." Norio gripped his fists tightly.

"Right you are, Daiko boy!" Monojoker confirmed the defense attorney's suspicions, "Even if you were able to put her under arrest, I'd still go through with the motive and kill all your precious loved ones! What's another day of pointless procrastination when I can take delightful pleasure in murdering another innocent life!"

"You absolutely heinous beast!" Chris drew his long sword, ready to duel the bear, "I would've stopped you in your tracks regardless!"

"You seem to forget about the five murderous androids all staring at us right now," Hibiki sweated, feeling the tension in the room, "They would just incapacitate you again like last time or worse for that matter."

"Grrr…" Chris kept a hard grip on his sword handle, "Curse this dreadful carnival and everything inside it!" He sheathed his sword back inside the sheath.

"S-So we were….gonna lose either way?" Gabe lost all the color in his skin "A-Are we really doomed? D-Do we really have to do this again?"

"Do not fear everyone! I'm sure that the kami will send us a sign and help will come to save us eventually!" Shiho was as chipper as ever, but I could see her forcing a smile, "I'm abso-positively-sure about it!"

"Oh shut the fuck up!" Chihaya shouted back at the survivalist, "Is your all powerful kami really all that he's cracked up to be, or is he just some made up delusion that you've convinced yourself is real, huh freak!"

"Waaaaah? You shouldn't doubt the kami's wisdom like that!" the short survivalist got up in the clown's face, "You will receive bad karma in the afterlife if you insult him so openly!"

"Who gives a flying fuck, get out of my face weirdo!" The clown tried to push her away.

"That's enough for you two!" Galiana stepped in to deter the argument, keeping herself between the two girls, "We're not here to argue with each other. Rather we've proven who the real killer is and arrived at the truth, now we must deliberate as to what to do with the sibling of fortune!"

"Oh ho ho, about that~" Monojoker smiled from ear to ear, "You lovely rejects can leave that to me! I have a super duper special punishment in store for him!"

"Are you referring to what happens when we guess the correct blackened?" Genki was listening in, but now spoke up, "Do we even get a say in the matter? Since we voted for him, it's only fair that we get to decide what happens to him now that he's confirmed as the murderer."

The way he phrased that was off putting, but compared to what Monojoker had in store, both were equally scary notions to think of.

"Hmmm let me think uh….no!" The bear giggled evilly, hugging his bear tummy, "Minions, go and prepare the special punishment for our little lucky student here! Afterwards go and check the outer perimeter of the carnival for pesky rodents!"

"Alright boss!" Teddy hopped out of his seat, "Come on gang, let's get this show on the road!"

"Fuck yeah, Imma race you guys there!" Barnabus rushed out of his seat, causing Carolina to fall over in hers, "Smell ya later nerds!"

"Hey, watch where you're going, you big mammoth!" Her anger seemed justified in the moment, "I just did my hair today, and you ruined it! Come back here!" She got back up and chased after him with a violent look on her face.

"You all are so adorable when you're mad," Ysabelle hummed, taking JJ's hand, "Come now dear, let's go make sure none of them kill each other!" The clown nodded his head, following them to somewhere in the back hidden by a large red curtain.

"Hehehe, this is gonna be fun!" Monojoker rubbed his paws together, "I've been waiting for this moment since you all arrived here!"

"W-What's going to happen now?" Jun asked, the worry on her face was apparent, "D-Did we make the wrong decision?"

"Considering that he said we got it right, I don't think so…" Tsukae was unphased, but I could hear a hint of fear in her voice, "But it doesn't sound pleasant either."

"..." Nashi was very quiet, "Oh my goodness…..this is unfathomable!"

"W-What is it, Nashi?" Aki gulped, "D-Did you get another vision? Is it...bad?"

"It's f-far worse than I could imagine, it's…." the soothsayer was having trouble finding the right words, "Oh dear…."

"Cherry, listen to me," Kichi pulled me in for a hug, I was a little surprised but welcomed it and wrapped my arms around his back, "It's g-gonna be alright….you need to s-stay strong….I know you'll be fine without me." His words were laced with sad tears running down his cheeks.

"P-Please stop talking like t-that!" I refused to believe that he had malicious intent, "J-Just why….Ayano she….I know she was doing it f-for her family b-but…"

"I wish there was an easier way to explain it…." he let go of me, the room felt cold as he backed away from me, "But there isn't much time, I'm….sorry Cherika."

My heart was pulsing a million beats per second and I could feel the redness painted on my cheeks getting warmer. It was hard to see through the rest of my tears, but when I took another look at my brother, all I saw was a scared expression on his face as a few tears dripped down from the sides of his cheeks, his overall demeanor was shaky but above it all….he still kept that dumb smile of his.

"So is….Ekichirou," Banri looked around the room, confused as everyone else, "Is he...the enemy?" the strange look on his face, it was a cross between amusement and perplexion, "Does this mean we have to fight him? Get rid of the target?"

"N-No Banri," Shion was quick to correct him, "It's a very….complicated situation, p-please don't do anything d-drastic!"

"But...what am I supposed to do?" the mysterious talented boy asked back, "I'm both confused and sad…I don't know why."

"It's alright Banban," Shiho patted her friend on the top of his head, "You don't need to fuss too much, I'm sure whatever the bear has in store for him, it could never hurt us as a unit!"

"Wanna bet?" Monojoker jumped in like the god of irony he was, "Are we ready everyone? I've prepared a very special punishment for our dear lucky student! It's gonna be a creative experiment! One for the history books!"

"You still haven't told us what this punishment is," Norio grew colder in tone, "Spill it or I'll force it out of you!"

"Alright geez...have you never heard of building up suspense before, gosh!" The bear backed off, feeling the vigilante's cold looks from a mile away, "If you must know, the punishment for killing your fellow classmate and getting caught during a class trial is….." he drummed up the suspense even more and finally said, "Execution!"

The complete silence in the room after he said that single word was deafening, almost irrevocably so. Everyone's attitudes soon started to change when the thought came into their minds.

"E-E-Execution!?" I sputtered out, wiping away some tears, "N-No! Y-You can't do this!"

"Oh but I can~" the bear smiled eagerly, "You see, this carnival runs by the mantra of an eye for an eye! So if you disrupt the peace in a vain attempt to escape this place, then you will have to suffer the same consequences as a result! The class trials follow that same principle."

"Preposterous!" Galiana stepped forward amongst everyone, "I won't allow this farce of a courtroom to dictate the fates of the innocent or the accused!" She was heroic in her stance, looking as confident but worried as the rest of us, "What he did was abominable, no one is questioning that...but he needs to face proper judgement, not this draconian martial law!"

"I will stand by my honor as a knight and fight you with all my might to prevent it!" Chris readied his sword once more, gripping on it tight, "Prepare to face your maker, fiend!"

Norio didn't say anything, just went ahead and removed the hood from his head and looked ready to pounce at any moment's notice. Cracking his knuckles and neck and posing in a fierce stance, either ready to fight or he really needs to see a masseuse.

"Ooh fight fight!" Banri hopped out of his seat suddenly and jumped in place, "Are we gonna fight now!? I'm ready when you are!" He looked dead serious about it judging from the smirk on his face.

"Y-You guys uh…." Gabe was about ready to high tail it out of here from the way he watched the exit, "W-What about the androids?"

"What fresh hell is this…" Daiko sighed deeply, "I admire the bravery but….I don't think this is very wise. You know, killer bear and all."

"They're either really brave...or just have the biggest death wishes imaginable," Chihaya was about ready to call it quits, "But if they're gonna spar with the crazy bear, better them than me."

"Oh? What's this?" the bear feigned shock when he witnessed the display of rebellion, "Suddenly you all have spines that are working and upright? How adorably naive of you all to think you can change my plans! After all…."

The bear then laughed at the top of his lungs, one so loud that it almost shook the entire room and his sole jagged red eye glared bright scarlet.

"Resistance is futile! Take it away fellas!"

Before any of us could respond, a loud whooshing sound was heard from somewhere and above us I saw a metal chain swinging around the courtroom. It snaked around with such fierce speed, like a cobra scoping out its prey and swerved through the crowd.

"H-How on earth?!" Asahi's eyes almost bulged out of the sockets.

"W-Woah!" Jun backed away a few inches.

"Holy shit!" Itsuki jumped out of the way, almost grazing the collar's chain, "What the fuck!"

In that split moment, the collar appeared behind my brother and clamped around his neck. The sudden pain he felt when it clenched into his skin, I felt it as well. He tried to free himself from it but there was no use.

"S-Someone get it off of him!" Shannon shouted out, slightly panicked.

With little time to react, Chris swung his sword with all his might at the chain, but it reverberated back and he was pushed back with some force, falling to the ground.

"H-How can this be!?" he was completely flabbergasted, analyzing his sword, "I just sharpened my blade fairly recently!"

"Shit! This won't come off!" Norio tried to wrestle with the collar around Ekichirou's neck, "Fuck!" it seemed he was zapped when he tried to pry it open.

"T-This is…" Aki was awestruck, "No way…"

"Didn't I say it was pointless to fight back?" Monojoker laughed at their efforts, "Nice try though, on with the show!"

"W-Wha-" he was then whisked away with a sharp pull, "AAAAAAAAA!"

"KICHI!" I extended my hand out to his, but it was all for nothing.

"Let's give it everything we got!" the bear then continued, pushing a bright red button, "It's punishment time!"

GAME OVER!

Ekichirou Yoshirenku has been found guilty.

EXECUTION START!

An Unlucky Turn of Events

As Ekichirou was whisked away like a rocket in the air, the scenery drastically changed around us. It was as if a grim scene was waiting to unfold as a spotlight tracked my brother as he was flying through the air like a trapeze artist with no control of his movements. After a few seconds, the chain released him from it's grip and he fell on some kind of stony sidewalk.

He groaned in pain, feeling like a ragdoll as he looked around, searching for a way out. He stood up, venturing out into the darkness as more light illuminated his path and in front of him were two doors, marked four and nine in red blood splatter. He observed each door with a skeptic look on his face, possibly thinking that the fourth door led to disaster, so he opened up the numbered nine door and was greeted by an unwelcome surprise.

It was pouring rain inside the room, thunder and lightning could be heard as there was an exit at the end of the room. An umbrella floated in front of him as he snatched it and rushed towards it, water rushing through the room as it almost swept him away. He nearly dodged a lightning bolt as it touched the metal tip of the umbrella and shocked him, singing part of his clothes, leaving skin exposed. He tossed it aside and left the room, gasping for air.

Upon reaching the next pair of doors, they were marked with the numbers seven and six respectively. Thinking that he nearly dodged certain danger, he rushed through the number seven door and was greeted by a bunch of black cats, ravens and rabbits. At first, he was relieved, but then the animals saw him enter and started to attack him viciously. Fearing for his safety, he bolted through without stopping, tripping over his wet clothes as the cats scratched and clawed his skin, the crows pecked at him from all directions and the bunnies started biting his arms and wouldn't let go until they bit off his skin.

Despite the immense pain he received, he managed to escape the wild animals' clutches and hobbled out the room, only to be met with the final pair of doors, this time marked one and three, almost like a deadly omen with an open ladder underneath the one door. Taking a leap of faith, he chose the number three door and closed his eyes, fearing for the worst.

A shadowy figure then tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to turn around and he was pushed aggressively against a wooden wall, which lit up to reveal a circular painted white and red board. He tried to get back up, but metal latches secured his arms and legs in place and another spotlight shone on a different figure in the room, Monojoker.

The painted bear snickered inaudibly, standing on top a wooden crate in front of a long table with a bunch of miscellaneous weapons in front of him. Sweat trickled down my brother's face as he wriggled around to break free, but he couldn't escape as the wheel started to spin around like a wheel of roulette. The dizziness overcame him as some of the open wounds dripped blood on the floor and caused him to feel faint.

Monojoker wrapped a blindfold around his eyes, hovering his paws over various sharp items that ranged from daggers to knives to short swords and even buzzsaws as well. He grabbed one of the daggers and launched it at Ekichirou it stuck into the board, just only grazing the side of his left cheek as a little blood dripped off the side. Another dagger went flying and grazed his left leg, then another at his right arm, cutting some fabric from his shirt and it escalated to the more dangerous weapons where the bear tossed a sharpened knife at the board and it landed on my brother's right forearm.

He yelped out a painful cry, soon another knife followed and landed in his left leg. The wheel started to go faster and faster until Monojoker decided to pepper my brother with a barrage of weapons all at once, all of it somehow missing his entire body and leaving a daggered metal outline framing his figure.

Finally came the big one, a giant axe that Monojoker lugged on the table, causing a loud thud sound. The wheel then stopped and the bear had a clear aim of my brother's midsection. Ekichirou closed his eyes, a faint smile appeared on his face as the bear heaved and launched the metal axe at my brother, it flew straight at him until it landed in his chest. Blood was spewing out from everywhere, even his mouth. It gushed like a hellish blood fountain as the light from his eyes drained and he slowly but surely…..died from the blood loss.

With the carnage over and done with, his body disappeared down below into an unknown hatch in the floor. The subtle tension in the air dragged on as we all witnessed this from the confines of a small courtroom and the visible monitor turning to fuzzy static after it was said and done.

"K-Kichi…." the first words to come out of my mouth after that, "I-I-I…"

"Wowie! Now that was cathartic!" Monojoker sprang up back to his throne, "Sometimes it's the simpler executions that are the most classic and satisfying"

"Y-You absolute, dreadful…" Chris fell down to his knees, his face wrought with tears, "You...You.."

"Oh my w-w-word…" Asahi gulped, "Umm I…."

"Oh g-gosh…" Jun was shaking, upset and breathing heavily.

"What was that!?" Shannon shouted out, "Y-You just killed him!? What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Tch! Everyone's a fucking critic," the bear sighed deeply, "I wanted that one to be suspenseful and dramatic, but noooooo the hard work I put into this crap is all downplayed by the ethics of it all!" The bear did air quotes with his paws, "Y'all are no fun!"

"W-Well excuse us for not taking your sick and twisted jokes lightly," Hibiki looked ready to throw up, "I'm sorry I need a minute…" he looked about ready to faint.

"So brutal…" Tsukae was shocked beyond belief, "That j-just happened…"

"How droll, is this the fate that awaits anyone who loses your so-called class trials?" Daiko kept a calm demeanor despite what he saw, "Seems to me that you're just doing this for kicks, can't say that I'm amused."

"Same here~" Hotaru chimed in, "I was kinda bored with it halfway through, so anticlimactic you know? It could have used some fire to really shake things up!"

"T-That's just….fucked up," Gabe covered his mouth, "But h-he's really….he's dead..oh fuck-" he looked ready to lose his lunch.

"I want to get the fuck out of here!" Itsuki panicked, something that came out of nowhere, "I don't want to freaking die here!" He started breathing heavily, "Let me out! Let me out!"

"It's g-gonna be alright, Itsuki…" Shion rushed over to his side, "J-Just breathe…umm.."

"W-Why….why is this happening to us?" Aki fell to her knees and stared weeping, "I want to go home!"

"Scary…" Banri mumbled to himself, "Enemy? Dead?"

"I can't believe this," Nashi put his hand over his mouth, sweating profusely, "My visions were- Dear god!"

"This is beyond messed up! This is cruel…" Shannon gritted her teeth.

"Geez, all of you are such drama queens," the bear scoffed, "You all voted for him as the culprit, watched him die and now you're getting cold feet? How freaking pathetic."

"The only pathetic one here is you, bear!" Galiana pointed her finger at him, "You robbed him of his life, his chance at redemption and you so callously try to paint us as the horrible ones! I swear to you on the Al Earnestine name, that I will defeat you, even if it's the last thing I do!"

"Oooooh I'm soooo scared," the bear mocked the prosecutor, "You idiot rejects seem to forget I have all the authority here, not you! Next time you want to disobey me or give me back talk, I'll discipline you real good until you see how much despair you're in for! Ahahahahahaha."

"Damn…." Chihaya looked on, unbothered and slightly agitated, "He had no chance.."

"If it kills me, I will end you," Norio said with a dark devilish look on his face.

"Booooring, spare me your righteous grandstanding," the bear faked a yawn, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get some beauty sleep~" an evil smile appeared on his face, "Sleep well my little rejects, I expect you all to have learned your lesson about respect and what it means to take this game for granted! Sayonara~"

Just like that, the bear left the courtroom, leaving all of us to stand there and stew in our fears. I was still mentally wrapping my head around what happened, but all I could do was break down.

"KIIIIIICHHHHI!" I screamed out, falling to the floor and shaking, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Cherika!?" a faint voice cried out, but it was hard to make out whose it was.

I layed there on the floor, baring my broken heart out for everyone and crying my eyes out until there was nothing left. Everyone's footsteps all grew louder and louder as they approached me and I could feel their presence overwhelming me as they hovered over, watching me like a wounded animal.

I wriggled around, shoving away their hands in heated desperation, "G-Go away…..I…..Kichi….I…" I heaved a deep breath, gasping for air as I couldn't stop.

"She's... having….panic" their voices were faint, "Take...to..."

In that moment, nothing mattered but the sweet silence of darkness. There was no hope for me….my brother was gone….and it's all my fault. He should've been the one to live, not me.

I….don't want to live anymore. I want to…..die.

Razan

"I'm sorry Yua, I...have some urgent business to take care of," lying to her has never gotten any easier, "I'm gonna be gone for a while, sorry for missing dinner."

"It's alright Razzy," her pet name for me was annoying, but I didn't feel the need to correct her, "I was planning to marathon the newest season of "Seduce Me Sweetly" anyway, so it's no hassle."

"Heh alright," I never understood her love for cheesy rom coms, "Tell Kenta that Daddy wishes him good night."

"Will do honeybun! Mwah, love you!" she mimicked kissing noises over the phone, "Good luck, drive safely now!"

I hung the phone before she did, resting the phone down on my lap and looked out my car door window. I drove for what seemed like endless hours down an empty long stretch of road. There were no cars in sight and I approached the walled off compound near the front gate.

It was a large entrance to some children's carnival, something I hadn't seen before in any hostage situation. The doors were wide and wooden, similar to something out of a fairytale book, the walls were decorated with faded painted clowns, animals, carnival decorations and other such childish motifs. The rusted metal edges indicated the doors hadn't been opened in quite some time and judging from the looks of the exterior, it seemed to be deserted.

"I've reached the location of where the students are being held," I pulled my recorder out of my jacket pocket, "There's a large gate in my way, but I've fared worse. Time to scope out the area and assess the situation."

I exited my car and grabbed a special metal briefcase I carried around on all my former assignments. It was specially handcrafted for each spy and custom tailored to their special skill sets, if things went south, it paid to be best prepared for the worst

The oppressive desert heat briskly blew sand particles into my face, even though it was the evening time and the sky grew dark with grey clouds passing by. I placed the briefcase on the hood of my car and examined my cache. Most movies would have you believe that all spies carry around fancy, hi-tech gadgets, but I opted for a more classical approach that was straight to the point and effective.

I equipped myself with a bunch of special tools and pulled out a grappling gun that had saved me on numerous overseas escapades. After intense preparation, I dumped the briefcase into my car, locked it and began my search around the walls of the carnival's exterior.

The walls were made of cement and brick and painted a dark grey color, it could be destroyed with explosives but who knew what alarm would have been set off to alert the kidnappers. Picking the lock to the front entrance would be too easy and any enemy would expect someone to just do that, so that's out of the question.

After a few minutes of meandering the perimeter of the walled off carnival, the only logical way to enter would be to scale the walls, as it would arouse less suspicion and allow for easier access.

"Here goes nothing," I aimed my grapple gun at the edge of the wall, pulling the trigger as the wire shot into the air like an arrow from a bow and hooked on the top edge, "I still got it."

I tugged on the string to make sure it was secure and let go of the trigger as it pulled me up with a swift motion. The brush of friction with the residual sandy air was nothing compared to the magma of a tropical volcano or the frigid temperatures of the arctic ocean, so the rush of action was almost nostalgic.

I reached close to the edge of the wall and looked back to see how far up I was, a nearly fifty feet drop that if not prepared for, could have led to serious injury or death. Training for this stuff was common for any good spy, but the nerves were still there, even if this should have been second nature to me.

Gripping the edges of the wall, I pulled myself up, only to be greeted with something that I should have expected to see.

"Yo, you looking for something jackass?!" in front of me was a rather tall and overly muscular man wearing little clothing and donning a smug grin on his face, "I'm pretty fucking sure you're sticking yer nose where it shouldn't be!"

He tried to pull me up, but on instinct I jumped up and uppercutted his chin. I landed away from him on some hard surface. It appeared that the top of the wall had a walkway similar to the Great Wall of China. Evading the large man's first attack, he looked like someone out of a comic book with how intimidating he was as he gripped his fists tightly and laughed to himself like a supervillain.

"Heh, the boss said there should be no unwanted visitors," the large man cracked his knuckles, "And you ain't on the guest list bub!"

Light on my feet, the large man rushed at me only to miss as I swerved around him, grabbing my knife from the holster and slashing him in the back. I expected him to bleed or flinch, but what was surprising was that he didn't have flesh or bone, instead he had metal parts!?

Figures that I'd be dealing with robotic androids! They never make it easy...

"Hah, that tickled old man," he chuckled, swiftly turning to punch me as I ducked and gashed at his knees, "Why so defensive, bud? Afraid I'll crush your bones to dust? Fucking fight me face to face like a man!"

As he ranted, I hid behind a stretch of brick wall that obfuscated my body, observing as the tall man searched for me intensely. He kept laughing uproariously, very proud of himself as he punched a nearby piece of the wall, the brick and cement just came right off. He didn't even feel pain, it was nothing to him as he dusted himself off.

"We can do this the easy way or my personal favorite," he flexed his fingers, "The hard way!"

"Think fast Razan..." I perused the gadgets in my arsenal and came up with an idea, "If attacking him head on is pointless, then it's a good time for the hit and run tactic."

Psyching myself for another confrontation, I readied myself but was interrupted when the behemoth punched right through the wall I was hiding behind, "Did you miss me? Nobody can escape the almighty Barnabus! Hahahaha!"

I rushed out from cover, my knife in my left hand trained on him and my other hand inside my jacket pocket, "I see you're all bark but no bite. I see you're just another third rate thug for hire."

"The fuck you say to me, bitch!?" This seemed to have angered the large man named Barnabus, "You fucking want some! I'll give you hell old man!" I'm not that old, am I? It's the silver hair isn't it...note to self to dye it later.

The brute then lunged at me once more, this time I was prepared to counter him. I evaded his assault effortlessly, letting him trip over some thin wire I placed down in a rush and pulled out one of the two pistols I'd been carrying with me, equipped with a silencer to keep my presence on the down low.

"Heh, you think you're so freaking smart," he got back up, brushing off the damage like a sponge, "Oh? So you're gonna use a silly gun like a little coward instead of fighting me mano y mano."

Instead of humoring him, a small confident smirk formed on my face as I aimed the gun away from him to the right corner and pointed it at a flashbang, directing his attention to it as it blew up and blinded him. He was dazed for a few moments, angered by this and started swinging aimlessly in all directions.

"Heh, cheap ass tactic," he clicked his tongue, "But that won't stop me!"

"Good, because that's not what I had planned," I mocked him so that he'd lose his confidence, people like him were always easy to one up, all muscle but no brain.

"What!?" he roared out.

I took the opportunity to shoot him multiple times in the chest and back, hoping to weaken him as he felt the jolt rattle his large body. Surprisingly, he pushed through the pain, approaching me slowly as I peppered him with a torrent of bullets.

"Y-You don't get it...heh," he limped through the hailfire of bullets, "I'm indestructible! I'm the top of the fucking food chain! I'm not gonna let some punk ass wannabe snoop do me in! I-"

"I wouldn't bet on that," he looked up to realize I placed my gun into his mouth, shooting an explosive bullet round during his self aggrandizing monologue, "Who's almighty now?"

I sprinted away, the explosive ticking inside him as he burst out laughing like a deranged hyena, "Heh, good one dude, looks like you got me! Looks like I didn't die without putting up a good fight! Fuck yeah!" A few odd minutes later, the bomb loudly chimed and the explosive did him in.

I watched this all from another hiding spot, one that helped me avoid any damage or debris as I saw the robot once named Barnabus' top half completely torn open revealing the springs, wires and cross beams sticking out from his waist. His limbs flew off his body and sprawled all over the floor, drenched in some oily like substance and his formerly human-like head's skin was burnt off to reveal his true robotic face.

Thank goodness those Exterminator movies prepared me for this exact moment!

With one less obstacle successfully eliminated, I could further scope out the inner workings of the carnival walls. The fight had distracted me from noticing anything unusual and I saw coiled wire and electric rods positioned around the inner edges of the wall, most likely to keep people inside from getting out.

From the little I could see, I saw the desolate carnival down below, and the lights were still on, meaning the kidnappers were still here.

"So much for this being a swift and sneaky operation," a loud sigh later and I was back to square one, "I wonder what shit show I've gotten into now. These kids better be worth it, Ichigo."

Chapter One: Fate's A Cruel Mistress

-END-

Remaining Students: 20

Death Toll: 2

Trophies Acquired: Gaming Earbuds & Blue Newspaper Boy Hat

Danganronpa…

Start Chapter Two: Harrowing Horrors

[YES] / NO

A/N: Well then that was indeed a wild chapter now wasn't it heh? I didn't really know how to end this chapter properly without a proper bang, so I decided to write an action scene towards the end to really sink in the level of danger and mystery surrounding this story. I hope this was satisfactory, I'm not the best at writing action scenes, so hopefully this was a good try. Also happy pride guys!

Now that the first chapter is over and done with, I can finally move on to Chapter 2 after so long of not giving this story much attention, it's long overdue, but trust me when I say it just gets even wilder from here on out with the future cases, this first one was a little ragged in terms of planning, but I hope the future ones will be good when we get to them, I plan to utilize the carnival to its fullest potential and see how it became the desolate wasteland it is now.

I know most of you were expecting Cherika to be the new protagonist, so here it is, her brother is dead, but that doesn't mean the story is over for her. I have so many good ideas for this story, it's a passion project of mine and despite the fact I'm juggling so many stories, I promise that this one will be as good as the others, I plan to take my own liberties with the plot here and there, so keep on the edge of your seats everyone!

I've had a lot more free time to write lately, but you know the usual excuses, depression, summer school work, parental pressure to get my life rolling and future educational prospects and all that adulting jazz. These stories keep me sane and I'm so proud of how far I've made with them and I can't wait for you all to continue this journey with me through my saga of stories.

Enough rambling, what did you think of the end of Chapter one? Did you like the execution? Trying to come up with one for a lucky student was a bit tricky, but hopefully this one was interesting enough. What do you think of Cherika being the new protagonist? Leave your thoughts in the reviews below, I love reading them.

But yeah that's all I have to say really, I hope you all enjoyed this episode and I look forward to seeing you all in the next update or whenever I decide to post next. I will be planning to alternate between stories so they don't get dust and feel underappreciated, so for now I hope this chapter satiated your cravings everyone :3

Happy reading my fellow readers, authors and otaku alike, thank you all so much for the support you've given me, and I hope you have a wonderful day, night, holiday or whatever it is you are celebrating and hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Bye bye!