Hello everyone! See, I told you it'd take me a bit longer to get this chapter out, haha! This chapter took a bit more of planning to try and place everyone, figure out who would get a POV and make sure the Monokuma scene went just right. Still unsure if it turned out as best it could, but I hope it meets your expectations! The one good thing about me setting this in the canon universe is that most of these guys know about the killing game, so I don't have to do the long song and dance of denial. Fun!

Also, I think this is the longest chapter yet in terms of word count...or pretty close at least, and that's without counting the ANs. I think that says a lot about how much was put into this chapter.

And yes, the long awaited fairy tale reveals have come!

Okay, no more talking from me. Enjoy!

If there was one thing Maria could say about these servants, it was that they moved fast.

Before she knew what was happening, she was back in her room and the servants had released her. She was just able to notice that the floor of the room had been replaced with a green carpet that looked like a meadow full of flowers before she was being grabbed again and thrown towards her coffin shaped bed and she was awash in cloth.

When she came up for air, she was barely given a second before she was whisked over to the vanity and the servants silently began to put makeup on her and style her hair.

Now, Maria had been a dancer for a while. She had done quick changes before, changing from one costume to another off stage when she had a performance back-to-back.

But this? This was unlike everything she'd ever experienced before.

By the time she surfaced and the servants left, she was left gaping at the person she saw in the mirror.

Because there was no way in hell that girl was her.

The girl staring back at her wore an ankle length white dress, which had a dark red lining around her waist and her collar, which showed her shoulders. The sleeves were puffy and short, with a sheer fabric that fell from the end of them to cover her elbows. She also wore a white veil that fell to her waist, which was kept in place by a white rose hair comb. The look was complete with white ballet slippers and makeup that made her look like Snow White.

Skin as white as snow…

Hair as black as ebony…

Lips as red as blood…

She looked like a fairy tale princess come to life and surrounded by these walls, by this room, that only made the dread curling in her stomach even worse.

A sudden knock on her door startled her.

"C-coming!" Maria called out. A second after, however, she flushed bright red (not that you could tell through all the makeup that still made her as white as snow) when she realized she'd yelled out in Russian. God, that was embarrassing.

Hoping to salvage her fumble, she ran over to open the door.

"Well, Swan Lake, they sure did dress you up nice." A girl that Maria didn't recognize, though she certainly looked familiar, greeted her with a smile.

She was tall, the tallest person in this castle by far, with silver, shoulder length hair that looked as if it were made of chain link and hazel eyes. She wore a mint green beaded floor length gown that had a left hand side slit on the skirt and a breast window to show her breasts underneath. She also wore a shoulder length opera glove on her left arm that was coated in silver armor pieces, with pointed green stones on the fingertips to look like nails, silver ankle strap stiletto heels, a high necked rhinestone choker with a chain of big emeralds dangling on the bottom and green stoned earrings. As for her makeup, she wore silver eyeshadow and a dark green lipstick, with a beauty mark near the right side of her top lip.

"I'm sorry…who-" She started to ask only to be interrupted.

"Retha, hurry up!" Satou suddenly shot forward and wrapped her arms around the girl's right hand, a beaming smile on her face. "If you wanna show off, the best place to do that is at the ball!"

"Now little producer, you know I can't shock everyone like that. I'm representing the Iman Dynasty, after all." The girl smiled down at Satou before she turned back to Maria. "Sorry, Swan Lake. I've been going around, making sure nobody make any comments that'll send 'em to Hell. Name's Aretha Iman. Now, I may be representing the Iman Dynasty at this establishment, but screw etiquette. Just wave and say 'Hey, Miss. Aretha'. I'm the Ultimate Drag Artist."

Aretha Iman

Ultimate Drag Artist

"Oh, Jordan! I-I mean, Aretha, s-sorry." Maria felt her face heat up. Suddenly, she could see the similarity to the boy she'd met earlier, as if Aretha was his older sister. On top of that, when she looked closely, it was even more obvious that the beauty mark and even the drag artist's eyebrows were drawn on, and her breasts didn't look real.

"Don't worry, Swan Lake, you're fine." Aretha winked at her.

"Wow, you're so pretty." Maria couldn't help, but whisper.

"Oh sure, as pretty as one of us girls! Right, Sugar Plum Princess?" Satou smiled brightly, giving a twirl to emphasize her point.

Satou wore a light white satin dress with a tulle heavy skirt that went down to her midcalf, a Dior New Look style bubblegum pink buttoned formal jacket, ten separate four foot long matching ribbons that barely touch the floor around her waistline, pink pumps, a wide brimmed pink hat, rose quartz stud earrings and white lace gloves.

"Yes, we do." Maria tried to smile, the surprise of the visit settling back into a feeling of dread that was slowly becoming familiar. But she wasn't willing to let the others see it yet. "Do you think our outfits are based on our fairy tales?"

"Well, you certainly do, Swan Lake." Aretha smiled coyly. "And I think I saw the Little Thief dressed like Aladdin."

"So that means I'm the Light Princess?" Satou gasped, her eyes wide. "I love it! I think that fairy tale really suits me!"

"And what's your fairy tale, Aretha?" Maria asked, curious.

"Why, I am apparently Sir Dinadon." The drag artist explained, laying her green jeweled fingers against her cheek with a smirk. "He's from Arthurian legends, from what I remember."

"I see." Maria nodded as the three began to make their way towards the ballroom. "Did you meet everyone else already then?"

"Everyone except the King of Jewelry. I'm saving that one before he notices my jewels." Aretha explained, playing with her necklace as if to prove a point.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Retha, you really work that look." Satou winked as she flounced ahead of them.

"Why thank you, my darling little producer." Aretha smiled.

"Hey, wait for me!" Michi's voice yelled, causing the group of three to pause as the marine biologist ran towards them, dragging along Hibiki behind him.

Michi was wearing a white suit with a green undershirt, a purple tie and black shoes. His hair was still a wildly fluffy mess, but that only made him more adorable, though now he was shorter than Aretha, thanks to her heels.

Hibiki, on the other hand, was wearing a simple black suit with a brooch that reminded Maria of duck feathers, with blue and gold gems glittering against the white feathers, his earpiece and piercings still in place.

"Slow the fuck down, Jungle Gym." Hibiki huffed as Michi stopped in front of the three girls.

"Sorry, Hibiki-chan!" Michi beamed before he turned to the girls. "Look! Look! I'm the Little Mermaid, I can swim with the dolphins now!"

"Well not here, Little Red. But when you get home, go to town." Aretha smiled, reminding Maria of a mother.

"C'monnn! Let's hurry! I can't wait to see Fae all dressed up!" Satou encouraged them all.

"Chill the hell out, Bubblegum. We'll get there when we fucking get there." Hibiki scowled, but he fell into step beside Michi all the same, as the marine biologist bound forward excitedly.

"So what's your fairy tale then?" Maria asked, trying to keep her voice level. If Hibiki wasn't being rude, then there was no reason to start getting snappy with him.

"Ugly fucking Duckling." Hibiki ground out, looking extremely irritated. Maria winced sympathetically.

"Yeah, I feel that." She muttered under her breath. Dressed like Snow White, she couldn't help, but think the apples in her room seemed all the more ominous now.

"This better be fucking important. I'm missing my goddamn sleep for this shit." The dispatcher growled and yeah, Maria figured he definitely needed some sleep with the bags under his eyes.

"Now, now, Songbird, no need to be so mean to us girls." Aretha hushed. "We'll figure this all out and then blow this popsicle stand. Sound good?"

"Sounds great, Miss. Aretha-chan!" Michi yelled back at them, waving excitedly.

"Come onnnn! Everyone's going to beat us there!" Satou added, running forward to excitedly grab Maria and Aretha to pull them along. Michi, seeing her plan, grinned brightly and giggled as he grabbed on Hibiki and began to pull him too.

Maria found herself laughing at the antics of the executive producer and marine biologist, and even Aretha and Hibiki looked more relaxed in the face of the two's joy.

Maybe…maybe she could relax, just for now. Because once whatever the hell was going on was explained, she had a feeling she was going to need every brain cell working at full power to figure out what's going on and how to handle it.

Walking into the ballroom, after seeing it just earlier that same day, was like walking into a completely different room.

Somehow the room seemed to gleam even more than it had previously, with several of those masked and silent servants moving around, some with trays of food and drinks, others setting up musical instruments to perform, though Maria couldn't make sense of how they could manage that with full face masks.

There was also a lot of her classmates that managed to get there before her, but before she could so much as blink, there was Akihito, sweeping her into his arms, her veil and skirt spinning out so it probably looked as if she were dancing.

"Well, don't you look lovely, my dear Maria!" Akihito beamed as he stopped spinning her and pulled her close with his hands on her waist.

He wore a cream colored button up shirt with the last button undone, matching cream colored pants, a purple belt with a red buckle that had a genie lamp design, purple suspenders and brown loafers.

Maria just glowered up at him. Just because he was handsome did not mean she would give him an inch.

"Try and steal anything off me and I'll slap you." She warned, entirely serious.

"Now why would I ever do that?" The track and field star grinned.

"You better watch those fingers, Little Thief." Aretha warned as she sidestepped Akihito, holding a hand to the jewelry around her neck. "Besides these ain't your style, trust me."

"Aw, alright, Miss. Aretha." Akihito sighed before he turned back to Maria with sparkling eyes.

"What are you planning?" Maria demanded, her eyes narrowed.

"Oh nothing…nothing at all…" Akihito grinned. "Now, can I convince the lovely princess to dance with a lowly thief such as myself?" He released her from his grasp on her waist, only to bow pretty nicely at the waist, his sparkling eyes never leaving hers.

The ballet dancer could only sigh.

"Alright." She agreed, slipping her hand into his. Akihito beamed as he straightened up and led her to the dance floor that Maria had been craving to dance on since she first saw this room. But she didn't let herself get distracted, not yet. "Now what was it you saw in the armory?" She whispered, barely moving her lips as she spoke.

Akihito's expression shifted in surprise as she turned to face him before he smiled again.

"Oh, just an armory like you'd expect in a castle. Swords, spears, knives, all sorts of stuff like that." He explained. "It was so realistic, I didn't want to touch them or I'd be cut!"

That wasn't good and Maria frowned deeply in concern.

"Hey, hey, no need to frown!" Akihito leaned closer to her. She didn't back away. "Maybe we're overreacting! Let's just have fun, yeah? Just for now!"

Maria stared into his eyes and if she looked close enough…she almost saw fear in his eyes. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she allowed a small smile to grow before she tightened her grip on Akihito's hands.

"Come on, let's dance then." She whispered.

The piano music swelled, surrounding the two of them and all the others dancing as well, separating them into a world where there was no fear of what could happen in the following hours. They were just a group of friends, enjoying this strange chance they had been given.

And in the middle of it all, Snow White and Aladdin danced together, eyes only on each other.

As Ren stood near the refreshment table, he watched his classmates as they grouped off, mentally going over what he knew of them all. He liked attempting to predict who his classmates would fit best with as a significant other in the future and observing them was required for that.

Arisu had organized a game of some sort with a lot of people who didn't want to dance or didn't have a partner. He could see Tori, Michi, Yoshi, Hibiki and Chiasa all playing.

Chia, Sayuri and Aretha were dancing, switching from dancing solo to dancing in a pair again and again, wide smiles on all of their faces. Robin stood near them, simply observing, until Aretha pulled him into a paired dance, leaving Sayuri to sweep Chia into their own pair.

"Come on, Snowflake, dance!" Aretha laughed as she swung Robin around.

"I-I'm trying…" Robin said, looking a bit uncomfortable as he tried to follow along. He wore a crisp white blouse with a folded back collar and ruffled sleeves, a navy colored waistcoat and smart matching trousers, white flat shoes polished to a shine and a light blue tie with an icicle pattern. His hair was also combed neatly, with silver flecks that looked like snow. Ren was pretty sure he was supposed to be Kai from the Snow Queen, given the door labels he'd spotted earlier.

"Aretha, I think you're scaring him a bit." Sayuri cut in gently. She wore a sparkling light pink ballgown with a scoop cut neckline, white bustle and white capped sleeves. The front of the dress bodice was embroidered with a white floral design, while the skirt had several layers of various shades of pink sheer and a delicate laced white petticoat underneath. Her hair was mostly down in a wavy style, with part of it styled into two braids that were tied back, a silver jeweled flower crown resting on top of her head. She also wore glass slippers adorned with silver roses. A perfect Cinderella to his Fairy Godmother. "Here, why don't you dance with Chia for a bit?"

"I-I don't mind. I'm happy to dance with whoever." Chia smiled. She wore a ruby fiery red silk dress, which fell to her ankles with a slight trail on the end of the gown, in a long sleeved Bardot style, decorated in silver and gold embroidered large flowers as a pattern, red flats and a jeweled choker. Her hair was worn in curled waves, held back by a simple flower clip. A Little Match Girl to be held.

"Well, then let's dance, Little Firework." Aretha grinned before she swept Chia into a dance that completely went against the admittedly slow music, but that the fire dancer fell into with a surprised laugh anyways.

Robin looked a lot more comfortable with Sayuri helping him dance, closer to a ballroom style in fact. Though his eyes occasionally darted over towards Chia before returning to Sayuri, determined not to mess up again.

Akihito and Maria were, of course, still dancing together near the three girls and one boy, seemingly lost in their own word.

Irusu and Rosamie were leaning against two separate walls, simply watching the festivities, but not participating.

Nat was circumventing the room, as if they were trying to make sure the group was the only ones in the room. Or maybe they were just observing everyone, like Ren.

And Satou and Fuwari…

"Fairy Boy!" Satou cheered as she ran towards him, pulling Fuwari behind her. "Tell Fae she shouldn't stand off to the side and have fun instead!"

"S-Satou, it's not like that…" Fuwari trailed off, her fingers playing in the skirt of her crème brown tea length formal dress, which had a blue sash around her waist. She also wore blue ribbon heels with black stockings, a cute gold flower necklace and the same flower bracelet around her left wrist. Her hair was neatly done in an updo, fashioned with a diamond bird shaped hair piece.

"Were you admiring everyone's outfits?" Ren asked kindly. "I know quite a lot of our classmates look cute together." He winked at the indie filmmaker, causing her to flush further in embarrassment.

Not that Ren didn't know everyone looked good. He wasn't blind, everyone in this ballroom was gorgeous in their own way. Hell, even he looked good in a tailored powder blue suit with golden buttons, a white tie, golden cufflinks shaped like stars and white dress shoes, as well as a simple black ribbon to tie his hair back.

"That is so true! Especially us girls, right, Fae?" Satou beamed, swaying her skirt back and forth happily. "Or should I call you Nightingale tonight?"

"N-no, Fae is fine!" Fuwari shook her head before a cough shook her body. Ren wrapped an arm around her shoulder, rubbing her shoulder to help her through the fit.

"Are you alright?" He asked, kindly.

"I'm fine." Fuwari smiled up at him.

"Well…if you're sure…" Ren trailed off, before his eyes returned to the dance floor and he smiled. "How do you girls feel about joining the others on the dance floor?"

"Yeah! That'll make you feel better, Fae! Good idea, Fairy Boy!" Satou beamed before she wrapped her hands around both his and Fuwari's wrists and pulled them both onto the ballroom floor.

The next thing Ren knew, he was trading partners as fast as he could and smiling genuinely as he did so. This…this was fun.

And he would hold onto this feeling for as long as he could in this strange castle.

Nat moved carefully through the ballroom, not talking to anyone and subtly rubbing at their forehead when they could.

God, this headache was killing them. It was almost like static was ringing in their ears, which was guaranteed to make them pissed off.

Thankfully, movement wasn't too difficult. Considering Nat was wearing tight black dress pants with black stilettos, a white long sleeved button down shirt, dark red waistcoat and a black silk tailcoat, with their hair braided back with crimson and gold ribbons to match the Arsene Lupin title they'd been given, it was the perfect outfit to blend into the background at this, frankly, ridiculous ball.

"You are in pain."

Unfortunately, apparently even here there were people with heightened senses of awareness.

"Me? Whatever could you mean? I am a picture of health, thank you very much!" Nat sniffed arrogantly as they turned towards Rosamie, who had spoken up from where she was standing near the wall.

Unlike Nat and some of their other classmates, all Rosamie wore was a simple black tuxedo, with black heels and no accessories, fitting of The Boy Who Couldn't Shudder. How boring…

"You are wincing at even increments." Rosamie reported, entirely emotionless as her eyes remained steady on Nat's own. "As a midwife, I am used to noticing pain."

"Do you ever express any emotions? God, it's like you're a robot. Aren't you ever, you know, happy or was that programed out of you?" The historian scoffed, placing a hand on the hip and leaning all their weight to that side.

For some reason, as they focused on Rosamie, the headache began to fade away.

"But what is a positive emotion? Is happiness itself pleasurable, or is our experience of happiness pleasurable? It seems as if it must be the latter: how can we feel something without experiencing it? But the problem with that is, it spirals forever. We have the experience of happiness. Then the experience of the experience of happiness. And then the experience of the experience of the experience of happiness. And so forth. Like Xeno's Paradox. This is what I mean when I say subjectivity must be an echo, but also it can't be an echo. What do you think?" Rosamie proposed, entirely serious the entire time.

And Nat froze.

"What the hell…you just spat more than a few words!" Nat cried, their eyes wide. Then a shark like grin grew on their face. "And I'm the one that brought it out. Hell yeah!"

"That does not answer my query." The midwife stated, almost looking…disappointed.

Now that was interesting.

"Happiness, huh…well, that's continuous. Because when something makes you happy, it lingers and you can't stop thinking about it. It's a rush, just like adrenaline." Nat tried to explain, thinking back to times that made them happy.

"It lingers…I hadn't thought of it that way before…" Rosamie trailed off, her eyes widening as she stared at Nat. It was the closest expression she had shown to awe since they'd met.

A wave of accomplishment rolled through Nat at the sight. Oh yeah, they were good!

"Would you two mind moving your little philosophy session? Preferably far, far away from me." Irusu snapped from where he stood a short distance away, leaning against another wall with tightly clenched fists and darting eyes.

He wore a black English trench coat with a top hat, which had a white trim and band. He also wore a white shirt with a black ties underneath the coat, black dress pants, white dress shoes, a white glove on his left hand and a black glove on his right hand, in which he also held a cane.

"Oh, so sorry, good Dr. Jekyll. We better move along before Mr. Hyde comes and murders us!" Nat drawled sarcastically before laughing. "Please, like we'd ever listen to you. We're just fine here, right, Rosamie?"

"Indeed." Rosamie nodded with confirmation.

"Urggggg, you people are insufferable!" Irusu spat before he marched away, parking himself at another wall.

"What a dick." The historian drawled. The midwife didn't say anything in response. But that was alright. Trying to get a response from Rosamie was just the start of the brand new game Nat was playing.

Maybe being with this bunch of idiots wouldn't be so bad. Maybe.

Arisu beamed happily as she looked over everyone playing the game she devised from a stack of cards.

It was pretty simple as far as games went, no more complicated then Cards Against Humanity (though Yoshi and Hibiki banned that because of Michi's presence, which boooooooo) or Bullshit. But it was still a game, and Arisu loved all games.

Especially since she was dressed up in her work uniform! The unbuttoned light blue suit jacket, the matching light blue shorts, the white button up adorned with a loose black tie, the knee length socks with an alternating black and red clover, diamond, spade and heart symbols, and the simple black dress shoes. Honestly, she has no idea how it got here, but she wasn't going to complain! It was better than wearing a hard to run in dress, if she had to match Alice in Wonderland.

Michi also seemed to be quite into the game they were playing.

"My turn!" He cheered as he set down his card.

"Excellent move from Player Michi! Can Player Tori combat this surprising strategy?" Arisu asked in her best game host voice.

Tori blushed as all eyes fell on her. She was pretty quiet, but Arisu liked her. They understood each other pretty well despite seeming so opposite. Plus Tori offered to play a game with her right after they met!

And she was pretty too, especially in her Rapunzel clothes. Her ball gown with its light purple corset top, laced with dark purple silk and sleeveless, the skirt the same shade as the ribbon and small golden suns embroidered into it, black silk flats and with her hair neatly braided and even longer than earlier!

"Um…this one, I think?" The painter played her card.

"What a fantastic counter! Alright, Player Yoshi, you are up to bat!" Arisu beamed.

"Of course. And as the leader here, I must lead by example." Yoshi nodded firmly. He wore a white suit jacket, a brown tie, white button up shirt, matching white suit pants and white dress shoes. It was actually a bit hard to look at him.

"Don't fucking crush their dreams, Chief." Hibiki groaned from where he sat beside Michi, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

"I have no idea what you could possibly mean." The jeweler scoffed. "I am not in the habit of crushing dreams."

"Then why won't Ms. Aretha-chan talk to you?" Michi asked innocently. Arisu barely managed to muffle the 'ohhhhhhhhh' that wanted to leave her lips.

"Hmph. I shall have a chat with her next then." Yoshi sniffed before he played his card.

"And a stunning maneuver from Player Yoshi! How will Player Chiasa counter this?" Arisu gasped.

"How demeaning…" Chiasa muttered, the exact same complaint she'd made when Arisu had complimented her amazing Little Red Riding Hood outfit. And it was! Chiasa wore an ornate black gown decorated with frills, which fell past her knees and was very full, puffed up with layers of petticoats, a white apron, which was accented with red, wrapped around the skirt and tied into a bow at the back, white stockings, red high heeled Mary Janes, a luxurious, floor length red hooded cloak, the edges of which were decorated with frills and lace, and tied with a bow at her collarbone. A wicker basket with a white lace cloth was at her side. Her hair was also properly straightened, draped over one shoulder, and she even had light makeup on.

Honestly, the servants outdid themselves.

Even still, despite her complaints, Chiasa still played along and Arisu couldn't stop the smile that grew on her face.

She liked these people. She liked them a lot. They were fun and they played her games!

She hoped they could stay like this…

Maria wasn't sure how long the ball had been going on when their little bubble was, ultimately, burst.

Trumpets sounded, causing the entire class to turn towards the entrance to the ballroom where a pair of servants held the trumpets aloft.

"How are they even playing? They're wearing masks." Akihito whispered under his breath.

"I'm not sure I really want to know." Maria muttered right back. To which the track and field star nodded a moment later.

When the trumpets finally silenced, the doors to the ballroom opened and a rather childish voice announced,

"Here ye, here ye! Presenting to the court of the Palace of Despair, please welcome your king, His Majesty Monokuma!"

And just like that, one of the greatest fears of Maria's childhood paraded down the aisle, straight to the throne to the silence that engulfed the ballroom.

Monokuma was just as she remembered from the TV all those years ago, a bear that was half white and half black. In addition, however, he now wore a gold crown on top of his head and a red cape that announced him as a king. He also held a gold scepter in his hand.

"Man, what a welcome! Hiya, everyone! Sorry it took me so long to come out!" Monokuma trilled, waving at them as if this were completely normal. "And, to our audience, our author hopes you enjoy this brand new tale of hope and despair, many years in the making!"

"Uh…who's the teddy bear talking to?" Michi's voice rang out throughout the room, so innocent. "He's cute, but who is he talking to? And why? Teddies don't talk."

"Just stay the fuck away from him." Hibiki scowled and when Maria turned, she could see he was holding both Michi and Chiasa back.

Chiasa, who held a bow and arrow in her hand.

"Chiasa, don't!" Maria screamed, feeling panic turn her veins to ice.

"You don't want to do that, Little Red Riding Hood, puhuhuhu!" Monokuma laughed. "After all, you all know the rules already! Anyone who harms King Monokuma will be punished!"

"Normally I would be against driving a species to extinction, but I would make an exception for that little black and white menace." Chiasa hissed as she finally packed her weapons back into her wicker basket.

"Wh-why are you here, Master Monokuma?" Chia stuttered from where she held onto Aretha. The drag artist returned the grip the fire dancer had, as if to protect her.

"Why, thank you for asking, Little Match Girl!" The bear happily jumped on the throne. "I am the one who brought all of you here and I think you know why as well!"

"You intend for us to kill each other?!" Yoshi demanded. "This has to be a joke! The Future Foundation took care of every member of Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima, Mukuro Ikusaba, the Remnants and the Warriors of Hope! There are none of you left!"

"Oh really…? And what would you say if I said…you're wrong, Oedipus Rex?" Monokuma chuckled.

"No…no way…" Akihito whispered at Maria's back, his hands squeezing her waist so tightly, she almost worried about his nails leaving marks.

But she couldn't focus on that right now. Her eyes couldn't leave Monokuma.

Their jailer. Their 'king'.

The Ultimate Despair.

"No…I'm not…I'm not going to deal with something like this…it's over! The Tragedy's over! L-Let me out of here! I'm done with your pitiful excuses!" Irusu shrieked, his eyes wide and frantic.

"Quit screaming before he takes it out on us!" Nat scowled darkly. Rosamie at their side was silent, simply observing with a neutral look on her face.

"What? But he's so cute and so kind to tell us what's going on. Why would he hurt us?" Satou gasped, fluttering her eyes towards Monokuma. Was she kissing up to him?

"Buttering me up won't work, Light Princess. Try honey next time! I can bearly say no to it! Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma laughed.

"Wh-what? No…what do we do?" Fuwari gasped, looking from Monokuma to the others around her before breaking into a coughing fit. Ren pulled her into his arms, where Sayuri already curled, both of them looking petrified. Robin stood behind them, looking just as lost and afloat.

"Simple! You kill each other!" Monokuma decreed. "Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter. All that matters is that if you don't want to spend the rest of your lives in this Palace of Despair, you kill one of your classmates and not get caught! Simple!"

"Geez, you're a terrible host. Why would anyone want to play a game like that with a host like you?" Arisu scoffed, crossing her arms and glaring at Monokuma. Tori, at her side, had turned white as a ghost and was practically clinging to the game host's arm.

"Oh you don't have to play. But I will be providing motives for you to do so, Alice." The bear declared. "And two more announcements before we finish this ball for the evening! The first is that starting tomorrow, the four Talent Rooms will be available for use! The second is that your MonoPads have now been updated with all the rules required for the killing game! Have fun and I look forward to your despair ever after! Puhuhuhuhu!"

With those final words, the bear jumped down from the throne and left the stifled ballroom behind.

The ballroom was quiet for a little while, only to be broken by Aretha.

"Well, if any of you try to kill me, the only black queen in this gig, you're goin' straight to Hell." She declared, though it was obvious she was simply trying to be snippy if her glare at the camera nearby was any indication.

"Nobody is killing anyone!" Yoshi cut in, stepping forward with a stern look on his face. "You all elected me as your leader and I plan to take that title responsibly. We have heard a lot of information, especially regarding this killing game that none of us will participate in. For now, I believe that we should all go to bed before the nighttime announcement plays and meet in the dining hall tomorrow for breakfast."

"And how do you know that nobody is gonna kill? Huh?!" Irusu burst out, his paranoia full on display. "You saw the first game! You saw the Future Foundation game! It always fails! There is no way to escape the game!"

"Except this time, the mastermind is not Junko Enoshima." Nat cut in. "So whoever they are, they could just be a lesser copycat."

"You don't know that!" The acoustic engineer roared.

"Just stop it!" Maria shouted before things could get any worse. Everyone looked at her. She didn't even care if she'd yelled in Russian or Japanese. They were listening and she wasn't going to stop now. "Fighting is what he wants, so stop it right now! If we work together and be honest, we won't die! There has to be a way to escape somehow!"

"There's always a way to escape." Nat nodded firmly.

"Some would say death itself is the escape." Rosamie mused.

"I don't think that's what Nat meant, Rosamie." Ren humbly corrected.

"F-for now…I think we should all go to bed." Sayuri reiterated. "It's been a long day…we need rest if we're going to make it through."

"That's right! And Tori and I are having a sleepover!" Arisu beamed as she hauled the painter up to her feet.

"W-we are?" Tori stuttered, her eyes wide.

"Yep! We'll play games until it's time for bed, with no bad dreams to await us!" The game host nodded firmly.

"I wanna sleep over too! Hibiki-chaaaaaaaan!" Michi pleaded, giving the dispatcher his puppy dog eyes.

"Ugh…fucking fine. Just stop crying, Jungle Gym." Hibiki sighed, causing the marine biologist to cheer.

And though it was on a rather light hearted note that the class left the ballroom behind, the ominous air of the killing game hung over them all.

As they walked back to their quarters, glances kept getting past from various members as they all couldn't help but wonder.

Who would break first?

Who would kill someone to escape?

Who would fall into Monokuma's trap?

Who would give in to despair?

They didn't have an answer and they wouldn't for quite some time.

Later that same night, deep in the dark gallery, the largest and centermost of the nineteen paintings glowed brightly.

When the light cleared away, the white that had previously filled the painting was gone.

Instead, there was a picture of King Monokuma, standing on his throne with his scepter in hand and the treasures fitting of a king at his feet. In his left paw, the one not holding the scepter, he lifted a red rose towards the sky.

The remaining eighteen paintings were still white.

And there we are at long last! Now first, quick list of all the fairy tale roles, just so everyone's up to speed.

Maria Kikumoto-Snow White

Sayuri Hoshina-Cinderella

Takemichi Goro-The Little Mermaid

Tori Keji-Rapunzel

Akihito Ban-Aladdin

Ren Sato-Fairy Godmother

Yoshi Iwada-Oedipus Rex (NOTE: NOT COMPLEX)

Fuwari Motozawa-the Nightingale

Nat Kazakiri-Arsene Lupin

Rosamie de Vera-the Boy Who Couldn't Shudder

Arisu Takara-Alice in Wonderland

Satou Mike-The Light Princess

Hibiki Yato-Ugly Duckling

Chia Amachi-The Little Match Girl

Jordan Franklin-Sir Dinadon

Irusu Shogani-Jekyll and Hyde

Chiasa Oigamori-Little Red Riding Hood

Robin Yukimura-Kai from the Snow Queen

And that is all of them! A lot of them were probably very obvious, but it's fun finally revealing them all. How many did you guys guess?

So a few notes! First the Monokuma scene. Yes, he will be calling all of the students by their fairy tale roles only. It's the aesthetic, haha. Second, was he in character? It's my first time writing Monokuma freely so I want to be sure. And as for the dancing scene, if you like putting music to the scene, I had two songs in mind when writing it: Lover's Oath from Genshin Impact or Yuri! on Ice (piano). Either one works, so take your pick!

Let's see what else...oh yeah! Updates! So from here on, I'm still planning stuff out. And, on top of that, I'm gonna be really busy for the next...month or so, cause school and vacations. So you won't be getting any updates for a while (hence my making sure this prologue was finished, so you have at least one complete chapter). But I will be planning as much as I can, so don't worry about me dropping this story!

Also at some point, I will be setting up a poll for FTEs. Probably tomorrow, so check back then to cast your vote. That will be open until I get to that point in writing the next chapter. For FTEs, we will probably do...four a chapter (and that's game chapter, by the way). So top four characters will get FTEs! Be sure to vote if you want to see your favorites!

Speaking of, who are your favorite characters so far? Any predictions on where the story will go? Tell me your thoughts!

That's it for me for now. I'll see you all when I get back! *cue Death or Lie* Bye!