Mists of Penjar

by The Kobold Necromancer

Graduated students of Hope's Peak Academy want to know how Despair was able to spread so fast and ruin so many lives. In an abandoned town known as Penjar, where windless mist creeps down old streets, they have come to find the answers. But Despair, and its Kubs, still have plans even in this seemingly forgotten place. [Part 1 Spin-Off of Crit Fail's Legacy of Despair Series.]

24. Chapter 3-7: Case 3 Trial, Conclusion

Chapter 3-7

The Surge of a Purge

---

Everyone was deathly silent in the trial room, staring at Emanuel. The Bête Noir was standing at his podium, holding the two vials of Red explosive in his hand, staring at them intensively. They were trying to discern what he was thinking, what he was going to do.

"You know," Odelios said as he folded his arms and huffed, "maybe we consider frisking people before these trials. This really seems like a reoccurring problem."

"Shut up, clown," Emanuel snapped, his eyes never leaving the explosives in his hand.

"Don't antagonize him," Pyrrha pleaded to Odelios.

"Right, you're right, shutting up," the clown replied, covering his mouth with both hands.

With Odelios closing his mouth, the trial room went back to tense silence again. No one dared to ask what Emanuel was thinking, though eventually someone did dare to speak.

"So, are you, like," Monokuma called out, "gonna do anything with that, my Deviant Tourist? Or you gonna stare at how pretty it is?"

"I could always throw them at you, Monokuma," the Bête Noir replied.

"I don't know how you managed to miss this by now, chief, but it doesn't exactly stick."

"But it would kill your kids."

The four Monokubs all reacted in shock, even Monodam, flinching and posing in fright. Monokuma tilted his head to the side, and responded, "You can try, but the punishment will increase tenfold with no chance of survival if you do."

"I'm ready to die, you son of a bitch bear," Emanuel said, glancing over at Monokuma. "But you might want to hold off on punishment, because I may just see who I can kill here before I die."

The detective grinned maliciously at Fiora, as he held up the Red explosives closer to her. "You want to know just what would happen if I let go of these? Oh, and don't," he glanced over at Yejoon, who was moving his hand into his jacket, "throw anything at me, Mr. Murderer. If I drop it, the fall from my hand is more than enough to make it explode, and the blast radius is about twenty feet.

"You will be picking up pieces of this bitch all over this damn room, so don't try me."

Yejoon held his hands up in surrender, and said, "Very well. Just please, do not harm anyone."

Emanuel snickered, as his eyes seemed to bore holes into Fiora. The movie maker swallowed nervously, but stared back.

"Wait, please," Drake called out, reaching out to the Bête Noir, "please don't do this, Emanuel! This isn't you, I know that!"

"Hate to break it to you, kid, but I haven't got anything to lose. Monokuma's said that if you survive the execution, you become part of Despair, 'worthy' of his cause. I'd sooner die a long, painful death, gargling on my blood and pissing myself, than EVER let Despair win."

He glared at Fiora, and added, "I know this bitch is part of Despair, she has to be. And even if I'm somehow wrong, well, the world is better off without trash like her."

"Why do you hate her so much?" the cartoonist asked, clenching his sketchpad as he started to approach them. "Please, please just talk to me-"

"STAND BACK!"

Emanuel's bellowing startled Drake, and he scurried back. The next words from Emanuel came out more ragged. "Do not get close to us, that's an order. You can keep talking to me, but don't you get within the blast radius."

"Okay, okay, I'm listening to you, just please talk to me," Drake pleaded. "Please, just hear me out, okay?"

"I'm listening, kid."

"I remember you telling me about your classmates at Hope's Peak, how you lost all of them; but that's not Fiora's fault. You made her your source of frustration and ire, someone to blame over all that loss.

"Can't you see that? If you try to hurt her or kill her, then you've really let Despair win, because that's what it is: violence to resolve whatever turmoil is brewing in them!"

The cartoonist braved a step forward, and Ignatia grabbed his shoulder to hold him back. Emanuel glanced at him, noticing her as well. He let out a humorless laugh, and said, "Every single one of my classmates died over the time of the Tragedy. None of them were ever showed mercy, some of them fell into despair and killed themselves in the process. You wouldn't believe how many times I considered it too.

"But I just kept telling myself, after all these years, ever since I was kid and left my piece of shit home, that I could find something worth it. Hope's Peak gave that to me, gave me people I could care about, a purpose…

"And then the damn Tragedy took it all away from me. Everything that Goddamn bear represents," he glared at Monokuma for a moment, "destroyed my world, my life. All of my classmates and friends gone, civilization ruined, and so much horror and savagery that I end up with a drinking habit."

Emanuel let out a frustrated sigh, before staring at Fiora as he spoke. "You think she's innocent, Drake? That I'm projecting all of my hatred and history of pain onto her? Well I cannot trust her; she even worked with Shinobu on that fucking plan!"

Drake flinched, but that was when Hara spoke up. "You helped Shinobu on that plan, Emanuel. You knew she wasn't the violent type, so what did you think she was going to do?"

"You know she overheard you when you had that conversation with me yesterday," Futaba said, crossing her arms as she stared at him. "She heard you lamenting that no one listened to you to make a stand against Despair. That's why she asked you for help."

"Why did you leave her to die?" Drake asked desperately. "I'm begging you, please talk to us!"

Emanuel's eyes darted around the room, then he sighed and muttered. "Oh, I had no intention of killing her, believe it or not. I just lost it when I heard what she said."

---

Emanuel finished with the extra batches of Red explosive, and marveled at how simple they were to make. He knew he was supposed to have given the upstairs team that kind of explosive; however, he just didn't see the point in using Red when Blue would blow this evil place to hell.

The first explosion that rocked the entire building was unnerving, but he figured that one of the team members knew what they were doing. This wasn't exactly a mission that Shinobu would ask someone who couldn't be trusted to handle explosives, right?

He was starting to feel uneasy, and was considering going to see what exactly had happened. At the very least, the others would be wakening up to the sound of an explosion.

The Bête Noir took a piece of cloth from his pocket, curtsey of the tailor shop, and bundled the two vials of Red explosive up nice and tight. So long as they were wrapped like that, the jostling of basic movement wouldn't set them off.

After he tucked them back into his pocket, he decided now would be a good time to leave the rest to Shinobu and her team. Just as he was about to leave the chemistry lab, the building shook even more violently with another explosion.

He almost cursed out loud, having almost been knocked off of his feet. If he had fallen at that angle, he would have landed on the explosives, and that would definitely set them off!

"What the fuck!" he thought furiously, as he left the chemistry lab. He glanced around the lobby, and then started to the other side of the Science Lab, to the containment tank area.

Before he was there, he could see a horrible amount of destruction inside of that room. There was also someone sprawled out in the hallway, face down, with a small puddle of blood already forming at their head. Emanuel started to move over to help them, but then he noticed who it was.

His blood felt like it was instantly boiling as he observed the unconscious Fiora. "Shinobu asked HER for help? HER?! What the fuck was she thinking!? What-"

A pitiful, pained cry came from the containment tank room, snapping Emanuel out of his outrage. He made his way into the room, his feet treading on the wet floor. That's when he saw Shinobu, impaled on a piece of rebar that was protruding from her chest. In her arms was Monokid, who was standing on her legs.

"Hey there, big guy," Monokid said with a wave. "You kind of caught me in a bad situation here."

"H-help," Shinobu said, straining to lift her head up to who was there. "E-Emanuel? Help…"

There was a sharp, alarm-like noise from the overhead speakers. Emanuel realized that the doors were all locked now, and he felt dread over the possibility of being caught. "Monokid, any chance you can turn off the security systems?"

"Sure thing, buddy, anything for you! Just pick me up and throw me over to the hallway, I don't want to get wet; water's not my thing. Don't worry, it won't count as attacking me."

Emanuel picked the blue Kub, and chucked him over to the hallway. Monokid cheered all the way, except for when he landed on his face. The detective then observed Shinobu, who was hacking and coughing, the mists collection around her.

Wait, the mists? The Bête Noir turned towards the far wall, noticing that as the dust was clearing, there had been a hole blown through, and a shelf had fallen down in front of it. He felt stupid for having asked Monokid that favor now, but no use crying over spilled milk.

"Okay, Shinobu, do you think it'll be safe to pull you off that?" he asked, inspecting the wound. "Wouldn't that make you bleed out faster?"

"I'm… not sure," she admitted. "I'm not bleeding that hard, am I?"

"I cannot really tell…"

"Look, just make sure the others are okay, please?" she pleaded, staring up at him. She was definitely being brave, despite the fear and dread in her eyes. "I don't want any of you getting in trouble if we're caught."

"You aren't going to convince me of that when you're bleeding to death, chica. Besides, I'm not leaving you to save Fiora."

"G-give her a chance, please, Emanuel. She wanted to help me, especially," she hacked and coughed, the mist getting in her face, "when I told her how I felt about Taro."

Emanuel felt something masterless seize him, like if his body and mind locked up at hear those words. He stared down at the historian, and spoke with a calm fury, "What."

Shinobu let out a weak chuckle, and stared up at him. "We're here to help the Kubs from being enslaved, you know? I just was a little biased, but I didn't want to admit it to you since I thought-"

"YOU BITCH," Emanuel screamed. He kicked at the water, splashing her. "You stupid, fucking puta, you did this all for a boyfriend of Despair?"

"He's not a member of Despair, he's a victim of it!"

"Oh, screw you. I'm not taking the fall for you, or Fiora, or anyone who's going to help Despair! Let someone else more gullible help you off of that, puta."

Emanuel walked over to the hole in the wall, and studied how to get around the shelf blocking the way. Squeezing under it with his stature would soak his clothing, and he couldn't have that.

"I'm trying to help people from being controlled by Despair, Emanuel," Shinobu called out to him, as she watched his attempt at escape. "I thought that was what you believed in too."

"Fuck you, I don't have to listen to you. Just go to hell."

Emanuel lifted himself up on the shelf, and moved towards the hole in the wall. He didn't hear Shinobu's last words, as she dropped her voice.

"I'm trying to help people… maybe that's why a beast doesn't understand."

The Bête Noir stepped on the zip tie as he moved to the other side of the shelf, and then pushed off. Unbeknownst to him, his boot sole twisted right on the tie, snapping the weakened plastic. The power strip fell down into the water, and the awful snap of electricity unloading into the water was audible to Emanuel.

He turned around, peering into the lab. It was pitch black for a moment, then the emergency lights came on. He could see Shinobu twitch once, and slump lifelessly on the rebar she was impaled on. There was no doubt that she was dead.

The coldest of chills coursed through Emanuel. He wasn't entirely sure if that had been his doing, it could have been coincidence. All the more reason, he thought to himself, why he'll need to cover up he was there.

---

The graduates, bears, and Taro were all silent as they heard Emanuel explain himself. The first sound to follow was Hara, who covered her face as she sobbed.

"Shinobu, oh that poor woman," she cried out. "How could you? How could you do something so awful?"

Taro was also sobbing, covering his face as he tried to hide it but failing with the noise he was making. The Bête Noir glared at him, despite him not being able to see it.

"She would have been dead either way," Emanuel snapped. "It was an accident!"

"You left her to die to save your own ass," Saiko hollered. "There's no excuse for that!"

Emanuel snorted, then glared at Fiora. "This puta knew too, that Shinobu was doing it just so she could get a boyfriend. It's something Despair would do, ruin others' lives to make theirs own better. It's one of the many reasons why I hate you so much."

"Wait, Emanuel, please," Drake begged. "Why are you so sure that Shinobu was doing it just for a relationship? Hasn't it been proven that people infected by Despair can be cured? She was trying to help save the Kubs from such a fate."

"Kid, the Kubs were born into it, made by it, and were given a human body for a couple days. The sooner you learn that some people are only in it for themselves, the better."

"Oh, you're claiming Shinobu was purely selfish?" Hikari shouted, glaring at Emanuel. "Where do you come off saying that? After everything you've done here, after all the false claims and aggressive actions, you've been nothing but selfish!"

Emanuel glanced over at the steampunk model, and rolled his eyes. "Please, I gave years of my life trying to stop Despair, and in the end, when things were most dire, no one fucking listened to me. Everyone thought they were so much more important than the truth, so I just had to make someone listen."

"Shinobu listened to you," Futaba grumbled. "If she was only in it for herself, why would she take a chance on asking you of all people for help? She obviously trusted you enough that she made her plan more complex just to add you."

"She asked Fiora and Ishiku, two people who were in it all for themselves! Shinobu just wanted to use me!"

"How could she have just used you when she wanted you on her team that bad?" the anthropologist replied. "She wanted to trust you, she wanted to! God damn it, that woman survived the Tragedy in Paris, fighting off against people in life-or-death conflicts…

"When it came to who to trust when your life depended on it, that was something she had to consider amongst all of us. Out of all of us, she choose you! And you killed her…"

Futaba slammed her walking cane's tip down on the floor, spitting out the sentence again. "You killed her."

Emanuel snarled angrily, and said, "She was the problem, she… no wait, you all are. We are in this God-forsaken town, this evil place of Despair, and what do you all do? What do you do?!

"You spend more time on your relationships and fucking! You play around and have parties, fondling a porn star and goofing around with clowns! I never should have stayed in this town, with how all of you fuckers waste your time instead of trying to solve the problems of this place!"

There was a pause in the conversation, as Emanuel's words sunk in to everyone. No one knew what to say, especially since they were worried about antagonizing him. Though when Isaac spoke, he didn't appear as concerned.

"I always wondered why you called yourself the Bête Noir, Emanuel. It's French, but I haven't heard you speak it ever. You do know what Bête Noir means, because I cannot imagine you'd ask to be called that title otherwise."

Isaac crossed his arms and continued. "Bête Noir refers to a person or something that one particularly despises. You picked that title for a reason, and I've always wondered why. Is it because you want us to hate you, or that you hate yourself? Both?

"Which is it?" the reporter slammed his hand on his podium and leaned forward. "Is that who you really want to be? Someone who continuously has to make himself an awful person so people will hate him?"

Emanuel froze up, his eyes glancing around the trial room. He was visibly sweating now, as if his racing mind was causing him physical strain.

"Please, Emanuel," Taro spoke up, staring pleadingly at the detective. "I'll do anything to prove to you that I'm not the monster you think I am. I'm determined to show you I was worth Shinobu's sacrifice, that I'm a good human."

"It's not too late to make a stand against Despair, but the right way," Anzu said, clasping her hands together. "You don't have to hurt anyone."

"Think about why you've been fighting all this time," Souma pleaded. "Think about your family, your friends, all the reasons you became a Hope's Peak graduate."

"You don't want to do this, Emanuel," Drake implored. "Please, I know you're a better person than this."

"You knoo', I never did hate you," Fiora said, as Emanuel's wild eyes rounded on her. He was panting, gripping his head with his free hand. "I knoo' you hate me, but I never felt the same, because you've seen a lot, haven't you? You probably saw so many versions of Killing Games, like the one I went through.

"I can only imagine the strain it puts on your soul, but don't lose yours. You can beat Despair, Emanuel, I believe you can…"

Emanuel wiped his brow, as he stuttered, "D-Despair… that fucking awful disease… that…"

He heaved as he leaned against his podium, and reached down to his waistline. The ring of keys that he kept there, he snatched them off of his belt line and stared at it. The keys jingled around, and then he glanced up at Drake.

"Hey, kid, take this for me, will you?"

He tossed that keyring to the cartoonist, who managed to catch them with one hand. "What… what exactly are these for?"

"Oh, hell if I know, kid. I collected them for years, because I felt that at one point in my life, every locked door could be opened. I started when I was the Ultimate Private Investigator, something I was very proud of then. Thanks, all of you, for reminding me of everything, for who I was, who I am, the one who stood against Despair…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Because I don't fucking care about anything except Despair now."

The spirals of despair appeared in Emanuel, as he burst out laughing. He took one of the vials of Red, and chucked it at the bears' podium.

The Kubs had scattered the moment the laughter started from the fallen detective. Monokuma could only scream as the Red explosive impacted that rise, and turned him and his throne into shredded cloth, metal, and stuffing.

Emanuel moved with a kind of demonic speed, his eyes glaring with those spirals as he rounded on the object of his ire: Fiora. Her eyes were wide with terror, and she tried to move back, while he swung at her.

The blow glanced her face, knocking her to the floor. Emanuel raised his arm, showcasing he was about to throw the last explosive down at her, point-blank range of him.

"Now you will finally DIE, puta!"

He started to swing downwards, but someone had made it over to them before he hurl it down. A pair of hands clasped around Emanuel's hand, keeping it closed. The Bête Noir struggled, but the other person was determined to stop him.

"You," Taro growled as he kept Emanuel's hand closed, "aren't going to hurt anyone else!"

Emanuel swung his free hand, punching at Taro's face. Blood spurted from the young man's nose and lip, but he didn't let go. The others moved to help…

Though before anyone else could reach the fight, a metal clamp lashed out and clenched around Emanuel's neck. The Bête Noir strained, but managed to resist the cable's pull.

"Someone stop him," Monophanie shrieked, standing on the floor nearby Ishiku. She had a scrap of white 'n black on her head. "We need Daddy to get the execution going!"

"Gah! I'm doing what I can," Monosuke hollered, rummaging through the remains of the throne. "Youse try to find complicated machinery in complicated wreckage!"

Emanuel struggled harder against the clamp around his neck, the sound of the metal straining. Shuuya sprinted towards him, eyes focused on the hand that had the vial clutched inside.

There was an inhuman scream, as the Bête Noir's spiraling eyes flared up and he yanked his head forward. The metal cable snapped, lashing out like the most lethal of bullwhips.

Shuuya had less than a second to react, and he moved back as fast as he could. The sound of metal whiplash striking skin and muscle could be heard, as blood shot out from his face. He cried out in pain, yet tried to move in towards Emanuel and Taro.

The Despair-addled detective swung his head around, and the broken cable that was still part of the clamp around his neck whipped like a violent snake. Shuuya couldn't get close, no one could.

"Look at my buddy go," Monokid said with a laugh, dining on popcorn. "Careful there, buddy, they're closing in on you!"

Monodam was one of those, who came running in, jumping through the air and slamming into Emanuel's side. Straining, the Bête Noir grabbed at the clamp and pried it open. He swung it around frenetically, fending off Shuuya and swatting Monodam.

"OW."

Yejoon hurled one of his daggers at Emanuel, but whether it was by luck or skill, it imbedded in the clamp the Bête Noir was swinging around. In the split second he noticed how deadly it was, he lashed it towards Taro.

The dagger stabbed into Taro's shoulder, and he screamed in pain; however, not even this would get him to let go of Emanuel's hand.

Monodam started slugging at Emanuel's legs, and Shuuya moved in to grab at the Bête Noir's other arm. The furious heaving from Emanuel sounded like a raging animal.

"Okay, that's enough fun!"

Another metal clamp shot out, clipping Shuuya's shoulder and knocking him away from the intended target. The clamp wrapped around Emanuel, as he struggled and heaved.

Monokuma stood on the wreckage of his throne, as well as bits of his previous body. He was rubbing his chin, chuckling deviously as he said, "I must thank you all for bringing him over to my side, which I didn't even think was possible with how stubborn he was! Now then…"

Emanuel punted Monodam away from him, and reached out with his free hand to grab at Taro's jacket. "If I go," he snarled, the spirals of despair flickering on and off in his eyes, "I'm taking one of you with me!"

"I've prepared a VERY special punishment for Emanuel Salmuera, the Ultimate Bête Noir," Monokuma declared. "Let's give it everything we've got…

"IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

The cable attached to the clamp collar, thicker and stronger, pulled at Emanuel. He fought back, but he was no match against this one. He was being pulled off of his feet, and had a very grasp on Taro's clothing to take him with him.

In one desperate moment, Fiora moved up to grab Taro, and pull back on him. However, whether it was Emanuel's grip on Taro, or Taro's grip on Emanuel, or both, she wasn't anywhere near strong enough.

Emanuel was yanked through the air, Taro in tow, and pulled through a gap made in the wall. Fiora reached out and screamed for Taro, but the gap closed before she could reach it.

---

Monokuma, still standing over the wreckage of his formally regal podium, pulled a primitive gavel from out of nowhere, as a screen with a rusty bell atop of it popped up in front of him. He leapt up and swung horizontally, clanging the bell with that old-school sound. The moment he struck the bell, the screen lit up.

An 8-bit ghost town showed up on the screen, with black bars at the top or bottom. Emanuel's pixel art version was standing in the center, as a pixel version of Monokuma came walking up.

EMANUEL HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY

Emanuel was hoisted above Monokuma, and started walking off with the fretting pixel-art detective. All five Monokubs followed behind him, celebratory animations from them.

TIME FOR PUNISHMENT!

Inside of the trial room, five large screens came down from the ceiling, so that everyone from any point in the circle could see what was being broadcasted on the screens.

---

There was a rushing of movement, as Emanuel and Taro slid into a dirty, disgusting arena of sorts. It appeared to be a circular, concrete building, with a ceiling consisting of overbearing floodlights. They showcased the dirty floor of the arena, at the unwashed bloodstains all over the place.

There was a wire fence blocking the area from the stands, the latter of which had an audience of Monokuma and the Monokubs. Monokid still had popcorn, and Monosuke had a hot dog.

Whatever entrance Emanuel and Taro had been dragged in through was closed off now. The floodlights tuned down, as the Bête Noir stood up, gripping at his forehead. The spirals in his eyes flickered once again, as he growled and strained.

There were TV screens hanging in the middle of the area, much like a basketball stadium. They too flickered, as a slight tremor that ran through the building, and then a message was broadcast:

Ultimate Bête Noir

Emanuel Salmuera's

Execution: Commenced

The True Black Beast Contest

Monokuma lifted a microphone to his mouth, and cleared his throat loudly. "Ahem! Hey son, you okay down there?"

Taro struggled up to his feet, as he placed a hand on his bloodied shoulder. "I'm fine, I think," he called out.

"Oh, I didn't actually mean you, I meant Emanuel. Looks like he's still fighting that sweet, sweet feeling of true despair! Come on, let it all in!"

Emanuel fell to one knee, heaving and gasping. He still had the Red explosive in one hand, but he was more focused on whatever war was raging inside of his head. "Nnnngh… grrrrgh… I'll… I won't… let you… win…"

Taro stared at him, then up at Monokuma. "Father, wait, can I make a request?"

"If it's about getting out of our cage match, forget it, Taro; you kind of brought it upon yourself!"

"I'm not afraid of any punishment or execution," the young man shouted back. "I don't want that kind of favor from you!"

"My my my, where did this determination come from? But you know, we really don't want to spend the entire punishment time talking, do we?"

Taro huffed, while at the same time he noticed that at the opposite side of the arena were iron bars. Something was behind those bars, something growling, something fierce…

"Anyway, what was that favor about, real quick?"

"Oh, um," Taro glanced around the arena, as if searching for anyone else. When he didn't spy any others, he smiled and said, "It looks like it's fine. Thanks anyway!"

"What's he talking about?" Monokid grumbled, glancing at his siblings.

"Anyone who messed with the Science Lab would go in the cage too," Monosuke explained. "Guess Pops figured it was superfluous."

"Or maybe," Monophanie whimpered, "he just wants to punish Taro."

Monokuma chuckled deviously, and then went back to talking. "So, Emanuel, you like to call yourself the Bête Noir, or the Black Beast? Well, I'm half black and full beast, but I kind of have a request from you…"

The arena shook with a tremor again, and now Taro and Emanuel could see what was causing it. Something within the darkness of the hallway that was behind those iron bars was slamming up against the walls. Something big, something heavy…

With claws that catch and jaws that bite…

What appeared to be a panther walked towards the light, right up against the bars. This panther was the size of a lion, and it was half-black, split down the middle in color with the other side being white.

This massive cat clawed at the bars, even biting at them, in an attempt to get through. There was blood around its muzzle.

"That Science Lab of mine wasn't just for making bodies and explosives, and weapon testing," Monokuma boasted. "That is what is known as a displacer beast, according to the fantasy and D&D nerds out there."

"Huh?" Monosuke remarked. "It looks like a big cat…"

That was when something started striking at the iron bars, and it wasn't the cat's jaws and claws. As it moved in closer, one could see that there were tendrils coming from its back, four of them to be precise.

At the end of each tendril was a set of long, vicious spikes, like a flaying whip of the worst kind. The cat was slapping at the bars with these violent tendrils, trying to break through.

"The displacer beast is one of our experiments to make the perfect attack beasts for Despair! Phuhuhuhu! Sadly, it seems that not only is feeding them so very pricy, but they tend to flay anyone who dares try to tame them.

"I went through so many bodies to try and tame this one beast! This Mono-Displacer Beast is such a letdown, but it still could be useful.

"In about a half of a minute, I'm going to unleash the Mono-Displacer Beast from its cage. Then in another half-minute, I will open the bars back up as a means of escape. Your goal is to survive for half of a minute with this beast coming at you!"

"Pops, that's not fair," Monosuke shouted. "He's still got that Red explosive!"

The bears stared down at Emanuel, who also glanced down at his weapon. Monokuma tapped his chin with his claw, and muttered, "Oh, oh yeah. Well, sadly, the rules were made with everything set, so there's nothing I can do. Let's just see what happens…"

Emanuel regarded Monokuma, his explosion, and the displacer beast clawing at the iron bars. It truly looked like the stuff of nightmares, with the bloody drool dripping from its maw. The Bête Noir felt sweat running down his forehead.

He heard nervous breathing nearby, and he turned to stare at Taro. The young man noticed this, and they made eye contact. Taro was regarding the beast and Emanuel, clasping his hands together.

"This… this is your fault," Emanuel spat out, glaring at Taro. "The whole plan… was just for you. If you hadn't been involved, Shinobu wouldn't have done something so stupid!"

"Shinobu did what she felt was right," Taro asserted, frowning at him. "And if there is a good man in you still, you should be able to fight against Despair, like you keep saying you do!"

Emanuel stared back at him, then was startled by a roar from the beast. The detective took deep breaths, realizing his time was limited.

There was a choice to be made, but was it by Emanuel Salmuera, or the Bête Noir? The displacer beast roared again, fighting against the bars, increasing the tension. Taro watched hopefully, as a beeping noise came from the speakers around the TV screens.

Emanuel took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. "I guess what I want more than anything, at this particular point…"

…

…

…

…

…

"… is to see everything that Shinobu died for perish as well!"

Emanuel's eyes opened with the violent swirls of despair in them. He raised his arm, and intentionally waited a few seconds so he could savor Taro fleeing for his life. With a most malicious laugh, he chucked the Red explosive at Taro.

There wasn't much room for Taro to get away when the liquid explosive hit the arena floor. The ground itself was carved into by the explosive, sending grounded concrete into the air.

Taro fell to the floor, blood seeping from several terrible wounds on his chest, arms, and legs. He struggled to stand up, one of his hamstrings had been severed.

Emanuel laughed, shrieking with sadistic pride and joy. He didn't even notice when the bars blocking the monster from the arena started to raise. The displacer beast clawed underneath the moving bars, struggling to get in as soon as possible.

When the Mono-Displacer Beast managed to crawl into the arena, the cackling madman turned to face it. There was a moment of silence as they sized each other up, and then both lunged.

The displacer beast bit and clawed, while Emanuel punched and kicked. The spiked tendrils lashed out at him, tearing at his skin and clothing. Pain and blood didn't deter Emanuel, he was attacking like a feral beast as well.

Emanuel, bleeding from a great many slashes and claw wounds, grappled the monster's head and pounded it down into the ground. With unbridled fury and energy, he punched at the beast's head, over and over and over and over.

He stopped after he lost feeling in his fist. The Mono-Displacer Beast lay twitching on the ground, blood covering its face. Emanuel stood up and backed off, then started to kick at its body.

"Whoa whoa whoa, enough fun there, champ!" Monokuma declared. Emanuel glanced up to the stands, where the bear was. Monokid was wearing a flag stating "Bête Noir" on it, cheering loudly. "You passed, you just have to do one last thing!"

The despair bear pointed at the iron bars, where the beast had come from, and said, "There's actually a switch inside there that you can press to lift up the bars. Just go over there, and flip it to get out of that there arena!"

Emanuel chuckled, and limped over to the iron bars. He saw the switch upon the wall, and flipped it. The bars shot upwards, much faster than before, which startled the Bête Noir for a second; however, he didn't feel much regard for it, and walked into the hallway.

It was then that he heard noise coming from behind him. He turned to see that the displacer beast was slowly but surely getting back up. Emanuel had damaged its eye and, so it was off-balance in several ways, but there was a primal, almost diabolical way to its movement.

Emanuel could recognize it, it was revenge. This beast may be a scientific monstrosity, but it was beyond normal animal instincts. It wanted to harm who harmed it, or whoever was in the way.

That was when Emanuel noticed Taro limping slowly to the hallway. He hadn't given up, but with blood leaking from his wounds, and a leg that wasn't working properly, he wasn't getting very far fast.

Emanuel grinned maliciously at Taro, and then moved over to the switch. When he flicked it down, the bars slammed down in an instant. Taro winced, and moved over the bars, straining through the agony.

"P-please," he said, staring pitifully at Emanuel. "I… I don't want to die here."

"Well, that's too bad for you," Emanuel said, reaching through the bars and grabbing Taro's jacket, yanking him up against the bars. "Because that's exactly what's going to happen to you. And you want to know what else is going to happen?"

Emanuel's despair-infected eyes were practically burning with venom. "I'm going to leave Penjar, and I'm going to find out everyone that Shinobu survived the Tragedy with, and kill them. Then I'm going to spark a new wave of Despair in France, in Japan, in America, everywhere I can!

"Every place in the world is going to feel like where I came from, everyone is going to feel that helplessness that I felt when I tried to help people. And when they ask why this is happening…

"I will make sure to let them know that it was because of Shinobu Takahashi. The historian will go down in history as the reason for the second coming. How's THAT for honoring her?"

Taro shook in fear, struggling but failing to get out of his grasp. The Bête Noir chuckled as he clutched Taro's clothing, noticing over the young man's shoulder that the displacer beast was getting back to its feet.

"And you'll be my first victim, you pathetic piece of shit. How's that for being human, you'll get to feel what it is like to truly die."

Taro took a deep breath, and he composed himself. He could hear the thudding footsteps of the displacer beast stalking towards him.

"I've felt so much determination since I became human, I no longer suffer from forgetfulness," he said, as a pained smirk came to his face. "What does it means to be human? Shinobu told me, it means that I have to make hard choices, to feel the consequences. She made such choices, and now I'll follow in her footsteps…

"For you, Shinobu."

Everything that happened took place in a manner of seconds. The displacer beast reared back and then lunged, sighed as Taro moved his hand towards the switch behind the bars. He flipped it, and the bars shot up, right as the beast pounced.

Emanuel was knocked onto his back, and he hit the ground rather hard. Dazed, he pulled himself up, and saw the Mono-Displacer Beast had Taro's neck in its mouth. The beast viciously shook him, the blood and savagery a horrendous sight.

The Mono-Displacer Beast stopped shaking its limp prey, and then eyed up Emanuel. It snarled, and started to step forward. Dragging Taro's body, the recognition was in its one good eye.

Emanuel scrambled to get to his feet, stammering in fear as the sight of death unnerved him. He managed to get back to his feet, and he started sprinting down the hallway.

The displacer beast dragged Taro's body, before dropping and thus trampling it. The two ran into the darkness, where Emanuel had no way of knowing where to go…

The displacer beast, being part cat, had nocturnal vision.

Inside of the arena, the Monokubs nervously peered into the hallway. They gathered at the edge, peering into the darkness. They exchanged glances, wondering what was happening.

Then there were blood-curdling shrieks, ones of agony and desperation. The Kubs flinched, as saw Taro's body at the very edge of the darkness.

Monodam, Monophanie, and Monosuke rushed over to try and grab his body. They were pulling him back, when they felt a menacing presence loom over them. They glanced up…

To see the displacer beast, with Emanuel's head, clutched in its maw. It opened up its mouth, dropping the horrendously mauled noggin, and roared. The Kubs shrieked in terror, Monokid ate more popcorn…

A shot rang out around the arena, and the displacer beast earned a bloody hole in its head. Slumping over, dead before it hit the floor, the Mono-Displacer Beast had killed its last.

Monodam checked for Taro's pulse, desperate, hoping. Back in the arena, Monokuma, wearing an outdoors hat and holding a smoking hunting rifle, chuckled at a job well done.

---

The TV screens in the trial room blinked off, and retracted back into the ceiling. The graduates stood, thunderstruck in horror. No one said anything, until Monokuma came bouncing back on his ravaged podium.

"BOOM, HEADSHOT!" Monokuma whooped as he twirled his hat around in one paw, and lifted his hunting rifle in delight. "Now how was that for extreme, ladies and gentlemen! No one survived, so you got all of the blood and death you could have wanted from a cage match! How's that for a twist!"

Several sobs came from the graduates. Fiora was crying as she stood up, covering her eyes. "Taro," she sobbed, "no… no, why? He saved my life. I couldn't save him."

"You killed your son," Ken bellowed in outrage, pointing at Monokuma as he shook in fury. "You claimed the Kubs are your children, and you allowed your son to die! For no reason!"

"For no purpose," Hikari shrieked, then she placed her hand on her face. "Oh my God, that poor boy… he…"

"Shuuya, please hold still," Pyrrha pleaded, as she was trying to inspect his face.

"I'm fine, really."

"You're not fine! That metal wire cut your face!"

"It didn't hit my eye, so it's fine."

"You'll probably need stitches…"

As the graduates spoke, some of them hollering accusations and verbal lashings at Monokuma, the Monokubs showed up again. They all appeared very morbid, and Monodam had blood on his paws.

"Fannie?" Ishiku said, approaching the pink bear cub. "Is… is he really…"

Monophanie sobbed, covering her face. Though there were no tears, the action was just the same. Monosuke hung his head, uncharacteristically quiet. Monodam stared down at the floor.

"Motherfucker's dead kitty chow, haw haw haw!"

Monokid shouted as he raised his guitar into the air, and slammed it down onto the floor, bashing it to pieces. "That's how it should be! That bastard totally betrayed us, and ruined everything! We finally had a new ally, and he destroyed that chance!

"Word of Penjar could have spread across the country, the world! Fuck that betrayer, we don't need him!"

"Well said, my handsome son, my very best oldest son," Monokuma said, tipping his hat towards Monokid. "Never forget that Taro ruined everything, and Emanuel was not given a fair execution! But it was fun, now wasn't it?"

He stared at his Kubs, and the red glare of his eye intensified. "Right, my adorable widdle precious Kubs?!"

"Yep, youse said it," Monosuke said, pulling out a wad of cash to fan himself.

"We'll be able to move on and have more chances," Monophanie said, clasping her paws together.

"MAYBE-NOW-WITHOUT-SUCH-HOSTILITY," Monodam said, "WE-CAN-ALL-GET-ALONG."

The graduates stared incredulously at the bears, and Blake spoke up angrily. "So that's it then, that's who Shinobu tried to save. A bunch of fanatics who change their opinions in the blink of an eye. What a waste."

"What a tragic loss of life," Souma said, shaking his head. "I feel like we should get out of here now, this place just feels… cold and awful right now."

"Yeah," Anzu said, her voice ragged from all the emotion. "I just want to go to bed."

"It's probably only the middle of the afternoon," Yitro commented, crossing his arms as he glared one more time at the Kubs.

"Let's just go," Isaac said, taking Hara's hand. "I think after what we just experienced, we don't need to be here any more."

The twenty-two humans moved towards the elevator, most of them not even looking back. Monokid was smashing the rest of his guitar, Monosuke fanning himself as he discussed ideas with his brother.

Monophanie and Monodam stared down at the ground, unable to think about what to say or do. They knew what they were supposed to, they knew how they had to feel about this.

And yet, there was no denying that all of their feelings weren't entirely what they were meant to feel.

"Taro," Monophanie whispered.

"THIS," Monodam muttered, "FEELS-LIKE-MY-FAULT."

---

Day 10, 3:11 PM

Main Plaza

The graduates were mostly silent as they rode back up the elevator. The walk through the town hall building was equally quiet, and when they stepped outside, Penjar was the same condition as they left it.

"Weird," Odelios said as he stared up at the overcast sky.

"What's weird?" Ishiku asked him.

"Oh, just that, I look at this place, and think it's the norm now. I've grown so adjusted to this stupid town, going outside feels like a breath of fresh air."

"Anywhere is better than in the trial room," Anzu remarked.

"Yeah, I second that," Ishiku said, shaking his head. "Especially after that one, it was… awful, in so many ways."

"You need to talk about it, bro?" Odelios asked him.

As the clown and magician began to speak quietly to each other, Isaac and Hara were having a conversation between each other. He was hugging her, saying, "You were amazing, you saved the day down there."

"I… I didn't do all that much," she protested.

"Oh come on, Hara," Saiko said, approaching the two. "I'll be tasting crow for a long time, after what you just served us."

"Saiko…"

"I'm not gonna hide the fact that I was no help, I was actually a deterrent," the forensic investigator said. "I should really learn by now, huh?"

"You have a career, a life that relies on leading with the facts," Hara said, "with the obvious conclusion. This place, it just isn't like that at all."

Saiko shook her head, as she tried to collect herself. Thus she ended up staring at Drake and Ignatia. The cartoonist was staring at the key ring that Emanuel had given him, wordlessly examining it as Ignatia watched with concern on her face.

"You think the kid's going to be okay?" Saiko asked her friends.

"It's hard to say," Isaac said. "For whatever reason, he trusted Emanuel, and that betrayal stung in a lot of directions. As much of a bastard he could be, even I didn't see him turning to Despair."

"It was so shocking," Hara said, nodding. "Maybe it was the guilt of accidentally killing Shinobu, maybe it was how much he felt betrayed. I just wish… we could have done something different."

Hara sighed in regret, and Isaac pulled her back into a hug. Saiko stared at her big-hearted friend, wondering how someone could be so kind and forgiving.

The touching moment was interrupted when Ishiku started yelling furiously. "I heard that, you bitch," the magician was pointed at Aka, who stared back at him with contempt. "You're still intend to slander me?"

"Oh, please, it doesn't matter if you weren't guilty of Shinobu's death," the skier retorted, "we all know you followed her plan simply to get laid."

"Is this necessary?" Eisei spoke up, staring at the arguing duo. "Haven't we all been through enough after that trial?"

"No, I'm sorry," Ishiku barked out, glaring furiously at Aka. "I'm not going to just going to be labeled like that! It's not only insulting to me, but to Shinobu! We didn't do it just for sex!"

"Of course you did it for that," Aka replied. "You're a guy."

"You're going to use that stereotype?"

Kimiko stomped over to Aka, getting right up in her face. "You've bin all over Hikari since we got here, and you keep bragging a'boot it! You have no room to judge Ishiku!"

"I can judge whoever I want, especially after the shit I saw," Aka shouted. "That jackass turning to Despair, the secret plan Shinobu pulled off behind our back, the Kubs getting over one of their own's death in a heartbeat… this town is fucked up, and so are most of you! At least I'm honest about what I want."

"What you should want," Kimiko said with a snarl, "is someone to hold me back before I flatten you, bitch!"

Kimiko went for Aka, but Hikari and Crystal came in-between the two tomboys before anyone could hit anyone else. Ishiku stood there fuming, Odelios staying close to his friend.

"Oh let them slug it out a little," Blake suggested. "It might be good to see you all vent some of that heat."

"Fighting amongst ourselves," Souma said to him, "is the last thing we need right now. Things are more dire than ever."

"Man, all I see is a bunch of idiots lining up to die, but at least this last trial wasn't a total loss," the pyro said with a lazy shrug and smile. "I mean, did any of us like Emanuel? Are any of us going to miss Taro except his dead girlfriend?"

Anzu sniffed, then spat at Blake. He managed to dodge it, and laughed at the actress. "Guess we know you don't swallow then?"

"Oh go to hell, you're such an awful person," she replied, instead turning towards the fighting that was being prevented by Crystal and Hikari. Aka and Kimiko were being held back, glaring daggers at each other.

"Please, for the love of God," Hikari begged, "calm down, both of you! After everything we just went through, we don't need any more fighting!"

"Do you need me to order you two?" Crystal barked, glancing between the two of them. "Do I have to have people follow you around to make sure you won't do anything? Because I will, at this point, I won't have any more fighting."

Aka scoffed, and brushed herself off before glancing at Hikari. "You really seem to like this bossy bitch, honey. I mean, why did you wake up early to see her anyway?"

"Getting on her case about that too?" Kimiko grumbled, but Hikari desperately motioned for her to shush.

"You know, I really don't need to justify myself," Crystal said with a shake of her head. "After this trial, we've seen how dangerous it is for us to keep such hostile emotions. If we're going to stay in this town, we'd best not tear each other apart!"

Aka rolled her eyes, then said, "Yeah, well, you didn't exactly lead the trial in the right direction, so maybe I don't want you or those I care about hanging out with you!"

Crystal glared at her, then noticed Hikari's pleading look for peace. It was hard to deny the beautiful model, and so the military advisor let out a defeated sigh. "I admit, I haven't been at my best, but I'll trust Hikari. She has been a reliable person, even after this frustrating morning…"

The military adviser froze up, and stared at the steampunk model. "Wait, what we were talking about this morning, before all of the chaos, remember what we were discussing?"

Hikari swallowed nervously, then noticed a lot of the graduates were staring at them. She stared pleadingly at Crystal, and whispered, "You should tell them what happened."

Crystal sighed, and braced herself. She turned to face everyone, and brought their attention to her. "Everyone, I had Samson's gun at my place since his death, but ever since this morning, it's gone missing."

"What?!" Isaac declared. "Why weren't we told about this?"

"Mostly because Shinobu's death was so sudden and awful," Crystal said, "and yes, maybe I should have told you all, but I was distracted and forgot about it."

Yitro stepped forward, and said, "But isn't that curious? If anyone was going to steal it, it surely would have been Emanuel."

"Or one of the Kubs," Ken remarked. "But none of them had it."

"So did someone randomly steal the gun?" Souma inquired. "That's not good, but if we conduct a search, we might find out who took it."

…

…

…

…

…

…

Ca-click.

The graduates froze, and turned slowly to the sound of the gun cocking. They were shocked to see who it was, but that shock and horror didn't diminish the violent, determined look in their eyes.

"Little flower," Yejoon started to say.

"Back off, Yeou," Fiora snarled, glancing over at him for a second. "Don't get in my way, or I will shoot you too."

The movie maker stared at the group, and spat out as she clenched both of her hands around the gun, "No one else needs to get hurt. Just get Blake to step forward, now!"

The pyro flinched, but stepped forward. "What the fuck is going on, Fiora? What do you want from me?"

"Figures you woo'dent knoo', you craven murderer."

"What?! Did you miss the entire trial or something? Emanuel was the killer, not me!"

"I overheard you, when you were talking to Futaba yesterday," Fiora said, taking deep breaths as she stared him down.

---

There was silence in the area. Futaba had been gripping her pencil and pad, but dropped them when she heard this. When she knelt down to pick them up, she kept her eyes firmly on Blake, thinking he might lunge at her to silence her after overhearing this.

"You," she stammered slightly, gripping her pad and reaching for her pencil. There was a wooden snapping sound, and she gave up on trying to find it. "You caused that horrible fire?"

Unbeknownst to the two, that was not a pencil breaking, but a twig that Fiora had stepped on when she inched closer to overhear the conversation.

---

"You were responsible for the Melbourne's Great Fire!"

Blake took a deep breath, feeling the glares and stunned stares from everyone else on him for a moment. He crossed his arms, and said, "It wasn't entirely my fault, but what's that got to do with any of this?"

"What does… what does it…"

Fiora shivered in outrage, then shrieked at him…

"YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!"

The movie maker had advanced closer to the pyro, the gun leveled at his head. Her furious heaving was picking up, as if trying to reach a pitch.

Blake, startled and afraid for his life, was so confused that he started stammering. "Wh-wh-what? I… I don't… wait, what the hell are you talking about? You're Canadian! That fire was in Australia! How could it have killed your parents?"

Fiora was breathing so hard that she couldn't answer, so Yejoon did for her. "Fiora's family traveled a lot when she was younger," the artist explained. "She told me about the places they had been, but she never told me of the last place they traveled to…"

---

"Oh… they were very nice, a little strict, but passionate about their pastimes. Dad didn't think I should go into the movies, he kept saying that it wasn't a place for a girl like me, even if I wasn't an actress. Mom was okay with it, especially because I would film when we traveled…"

She sighed, as she reminisced. "We traveled a lot, they loved seeing other countries. I think that's supposed to be stereotypical of Canadians, but they didn't care. I loved it, and I saw so many amazing places with them. They died doing what they loved."

Fiora adjusted her fedora, and muttered, "They, um, they died on one of our vacations. It's just one of those things, it cannot be helped. I got into Hope's Peak Academy shortly after that, so I still had drive to continue after they were gone."

---

"That last place," Fiora said, most bitterly, "was Australia. My parents were at a nice hotel for the day, as I went on a tour alone. The Melbourne's Great Fire consumed that hotel, the people inside had no chance of getting 'oot…

"I never got to say good-bye. I never… got…"

Fiora sobbed, but the tears rolling down her face didn't deter her from what she was doing. Her hands were still tightly clenching the pistol, finger at the trigger.

"And you don't care. You don't care at all that you took them from me."

"Wait, Fiora," Futaba said, walking slowly up to her, "you don't know that. You heard him during that conversation, he wasn't happy about it! And it wasn't his fault, someone else started that fire."

"He provided all the necessary materials to make that fire possible, all for an experiment!" Fiora hollered. "I could have forgiven that, if it wasn't for what else he said…"

---

"So… yeah, I'm responsible for Melbourne's Great Fire, in a way. I don't like to say it, because I don't think those deaths were entirely on me. But maybe I don't like admitting to everyone that happened."

Futaba rubbed her forehead, and then let out a long, heavy sigh. "Well, you did your time, and you're trying to help us. I guess I shouldn't try to shame you."

"Shame don't work on me. I'm going to do what I can to get us closer to the truth."

---

"You don't care! You won't admit to it unless it's dragged out of you, and you think the end justifies the means! All those people who died, my… my parents…"

"They died just so you could conduct experiments! And you got into fucking Hope's Peak because of it?!"

Fiora was now only a few feet from Blake, and she closed the distance faster than anyone could follow. She had the barrel of the gun pressed against Blake's forehead, as the pyro shivered in fear.

"Why should someone like you be rewarded for your awful crimes? Why should you live?! YOU'RE NOT EVEN SOO'RY!"

She clutched his shirt, and stared into his eyes as she pressed that barrel against him harder. "Go on, try to lie to me that you're soo'ry. Because I knoo' you're not, you casually dismissed the blame and went right on talking a'boot how you wanted to screw Fannie."

Blake sucked in several deep breaths, as he contemplated his possibilities. "You know what? I won't lie then," he said, as he took what he felt like could be his last breath. "I'm not sorry. My successful experiments helped saved lives, many more, down the line.

"You want to kill me? It'll just get you killed too, Fiora. But it won't bring your parents back, and it won't do anyone any good; I'm not a murderer, I don't want to kill anyone."

"So you say," Fiora snarled.

There was a tense moment, then she pulled the gun away from his head…

Only to jam it up against his chest, right up against his heart.

"Want to know what it feels like to truly have your heart broken, then? Want to feel that kind of pain that a monster like you probably cannot feel?!"

Blake closed his eyes, bracing himself. Fiora stared at him, as her hand shook slightly, her finger resting on the trigger but not pulling just yet.

"Fiora, please!"

Anzu took a step forward, holding her hands up to signal surrender. "I… I know you're mad, sweetheart, but if you kill him, it won't make you feel better. And you'll just have to be executed by Monokuma."

"I doo'nt care anymore," she admitted. "What else have I got to live fur?"

"But you've been one of the most positive people when it comes to the future," Eisei spoke up. "You have your career, your passions, and nothing has ever diminished that."

Fiora said nothing, she controlled her breathing as she stared down Blake. The pyro didn't dare speak again, he could just feel his heart hammering up against the gun's barrel.

"Fiora, I beg you," Yitro said, speaking as he stepped forward, getting a little closer to her. "Don't do this. You don't have to turn into a murderer because you're angry and confused. Trust me when I say, there's so much more for you to look forward to."

"Like what?" she replied, her tone much calmer, but still carrying a bitter aftertaste. "I thought I could be a better person when I wanted to help Shinobu. She was doing the right thing, and she trusted me…

"And I got her killed," Fiora sobbed, but managed to keep her grasp on the gun and Blake's shirt firm. "She's dead because of me!"

"How do you figure that?" Kimiko asked. "It was Emanuel's doing, it was Monokid's fault, it was because of them, not you!"

"Shinobu asked me to help her, and the whole plan got fucked up. It's as simple as that, everything I get involved in just fails, my movies, my friends, everything…

"If I hadn't bin part of that mission, Emanuel wouldn't have bin so furious, felt like he had bin betrayed. My very involvement turned him a'geenst Shinobu! I even tried to help him after the trial, but what happened? I spoke to him, and then he turned to Despair!

"So how is that not my fault?" Fiora cried out. "Shinobu's dead, Emanuel's dead, Taro's dead… and it all could have bin avoided if I had joo'st left it all alone! The only thing I can do right… is to kill this bastard who took my family away from me!"

She pressed the gun up against Blake's chest harder, and he flinched. Time seemed to freeze for everyone there.

Shuuya stepped forward, with blood slowly leaking from the whiplash cut on his cheek. "You don't want to do it, Fiora. Please, just give me the gun."

"What? You, of all people, are telling me not to do it?" she asked, glancing at him incredulously for a second. "You kill people for a living! Your whole livelihood is to kill the killers! What's the difference between you and me, eh?"

"It's true, as an assassin, I excel at killing people. But the difference here is, I do not throw my life away when I do it, like you are doing.

"Blake may appear like a monster to you, but if he truly was, if you truly had the same mentality as me, you wouldn't do it like this. You wouldn't have us around when you decided to kill him. And I think that's because you want one of us to stop you."

Fiora scoffed. "Maybe I joo'st want you all to know what a monster he is befur I pull the trigger."

"If you were going to do it, you would have done it by now."

The movie maker glared at him for one more second, then focused on Blake. Her hand on the gun was shaking now, and she was sweating as much as he was.

"Little flower."

Yejoon walked over to her side, undaunted by the strained feeling in the air. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "If it will help, I will leave you alone after today. You won't ever have to worry about me again."

"H-huh?"

"Is that why you're content to throw your life away? Because you dread my continued interaction with you, the only thing you perceive as your future? Revenge, murder, killing, these are not things you should delve into, and I speak from great experience…

"Though you should not listen to me. Do you notice how many people want you to stay alive here? You have people who care, and yet you haven't noticed, because of me."

Fiora shook a little more, and glanced around. So many of the others were staring at her, but most of them appeared concerned and worried. She stammered out as she stared at Yejoon, "You… you promise? Tomoo'row, you will leave me alone? B-but, how can I trust you?"

"Haven't I told you before that I only find death beautiful if it is done perfectly?"

Yejoon reached down to her hand, and pulled the gun from her trembling hands. Handing it over to Shuuya, who expertly disabled the prepared shot, the artist placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're already beautiful, without blood on your hands."

Fiora let out a defeated sob, and pounded on his chest in frustration. He pulled her close into a hug, in which she continued to cry but stopped hitting him eventually. The others all let out sighs of relief, except for Blake, who quickly stepped away from the scene.

"Fucking fuck," the pyro cursed, and back away from everyone before he made a beeline to the housing area.

Shuuya put the safety back on the pistol, then held it towards Crystal. "Would you like it back?" he asked.

"Sure, I think I know where to store it where it won't be stolen again," she said as she took the gun. Glaring at Yejoon, who continued to comfort Fiora, she asked, "I thought you said you searched her!"

"I did, I just left out the fact that she had the gun in that hidden pocket those jackets had," the artist replied simply.

"You knew, all this time, that she was considering murdering Blake. You…"

Crystal, fed up with all that had gone on, stormed off. A lot of the graduates departed at this point, wanting to find something, anything, to distract them from all of the hell they had just been through.

Yitro, Kimiko, Eisei, and Anzu stayed around for a little bit longer, offering what comfort they could to the distraught Fiora. Futaba watched from a short distance, her interest growing as she observed all that was happening.

She was going to need some time, and even though none of them liked having to leave her with Yejoon, it appeared that he would be best for her in the last day he promised to spend with her.

---

Day 10, 3:59 PM

Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill

The Bar

Ishiku slumped at the counter, trying hard to finish the shot he had in front of him. Putting it to his lips, he prepared to pull it upwards and send the drink down his throat, but his lips refused to open. His body was betraying him, not allowing any more alcohol into his system.

"I didn't think you were the kind to drink."

Odelios had walked into the tavern, staring at his friend with concern. The magician shrugged, and muttered, "It's only my second; though it seems my body refuses to play along."

"Yeah, that's what happens when non-drinkers try to drink their problems away. Or maybe not, I thought I'd try to sound thoughtful and smart."

Ishiku let out a humorless laugh, and rubbed his forehead. "Thanks, buddy, but I don't think I got a lot of room for humor right now."

Odelios walked behind the bar, and stood as if he were the bartender. What he was offering was obvious to Ishiku, who sighed and muttered, "You don't need to hear me whine about my problems, dude."

"Not talking is what is causing a lot of problems here. Let it out."

The magician stared at the bartender clown, and sighed heavily. "It's just that, I still kind of feel bad for Emanuel, despite what a violent son of a bitch he was. He lost his country, his home, and all of his friends. The Tragedy ripped everything away from him, and it left him that resentful guy he was… am I stupid for pitying him?"

"I think it proves you're a good guy. It's not like pitying him is going to harm anyone or anything. In fact, let's toast one for him…"

Odelios grabbed one of the bottles of liquor, just one that looked gross to him. "To you, Emanuel, may you rest in peace after all the hell you went through, and may the shots go down smooth."

The clown then tossed the bottle across the building, it shattering and splashing all over the dance floor. "He would have wanted it that way," the clown said with the utmost sincerity, "and the Kubs will clean it up."

"The Kubs, yeah," Ishiku muttered. "Yeah, it's nice to know everyone but you thinks I tried to save the Kubs for sex. Shinobu gets remembered as a hero, I get people talking about what a pervert I am."

"Hey, you destroyed Taro's robotic body, you stopped him from being turned back! If he hadn't sacrificed himself," Odelios paused, considering where that was going, and shifted the conversation abruptly. "You gave Taro a chance to be human, to do the right thing, and he did.

"So what if Aka and some of the others think you're a pervert? You're a guy, we're guys! We're always considered perverts by some people! We just gotta bear that stigma and find someone who doesn't think like that!"

Odelios grabbed another shot glass, and poured himself a drink. He knocked it back, gasped horribly, then rubbed his temples. "Oh, that one was Shinobu. I figured she deserved a more respectful toast, as one of the more respectful people we've known."

Ishiku sighed, and muttered, "I still remember when she thought I was the killer during the second trial, but at least she had good reason. I am going to miss her."

---

Day 10, 4:09 PM

Penjar's Public Cafeteria

Pyrrha walked over to Shuuya, and placed a first-aid kit down on the table in front of him. "Now we're going to properly bandage that wound, or you'll pick at it until you make what you think is a handsome scar."

"Historically, scars have been a prominent source of pride, unless they were earned dishonorably," Eisei said, as he prepared plastic gloves on his hands (they were rather big for his small mitts). "I believe you should be honored that you did the right thing to earn this scar."

"I aim to not get scars, thank you very much," Shuuya said. "And why is the medical treatment coming from the dentist?"

"Because the Ultimate Doctor and Ultimate Triage Nurse didn't want to come to Penjar," Pyrrha snarked, giggling as she sat across the table to observe.

"Very well, but at the risk of upsetting my current doctor, there is something I wanted to ask you, Eisei," Shuuya said, as the dentist cleaned the area around the wound.

"And that would be?"

"You really seemed to be affected when Mahiru was brought up during the trial. Is there something about her that you know that you're not telling us?"

Eisei paused for a second, then replied, "No. Just curious why everyone else has seen her besides me. Maybe she only visits females in this vision world that we seem to experiencing."

Pyrrha drummed her fingers on the table, as he glanced around in thought. "Kimiko, Anzu, and now Fiora have had visions, and they all saw Mahiru. We might want to ask them more when we have a chance… poor Fiora, she's been through so damn much."

Shuuya was about to comment, then Eisei gently pushed a lollipop into his mouth. "Quiet, no more talking while I take care of your face wound," the dentist chided him. "Just be grateful I'm giving you before the operation is done."

Shuuya Yukimura, a bounty hunter and assassin, slayer of serial killers and human traffickers and drug lords, had to endure having a candy placed in his mouth as a way to shush him. It was the most difficult task he had ever been assigned. He tried to keep busy by glancing around the cafeteria at the others there.

Isaac, Hara, and Saiko were having a light, early dinner, trying to discuss what they could think of. Isaac was still congratulating Hara on a job well done, her blushing returning every time he did so.

Drake and Ignatia were seated together, and the cartoonist was trying to get the mime to open up. She appeared to be rather distant again, barely using his sketchpad or her phone to communicate. Shuuya theorized she was embarrassed over being used by Emanuel, that her pride at having to admit she wasn't helping but pretending she was had been damaged.

Ken and Souma were having a conversation as well, both of them appearing to want to keep it relatively private. Futaba sat relatively near them, but not close enough to overhear what they were saying.

The calm that was in the cafeteria was broken when Blake walked in. He stormed into the kitchen, grabbing a bunch of snacks, and then marched right out. Souma called out to him, and then followed after.

When the public speaker went outside, the pyro turned abruptly and shouted, "What! What do you want?"

"Listen, Blake, there's something we need to discuss," Souma implored.

"I don't gotta explain shit, mate. I've had enough for one fucking day, I'm done."

He was about to leave, when Futaba exited the cafeteria and walked up to them. "Blake," she said, approaching him with a narrowed stare, "we're not going to play the avoiding game. You either talk to us, or you leave Penjar."

"Oh, so suddenly you guys are in control now?" Blake said with an angry scoff. "I didn't realize that we had rules set."

"Listen, no one wants you to leave Penjar, we want to find the answers to this place," Souma insisted, "and now more than ever. You do realize that this place might be where the agents of Despair learned how to create clones?"

"Oh, please, that shit probably happened at Hope's Peak. That's where all of this shit started, isn't it?"

Futaba raised an eyebrow at him. "How do you figure that?"

"It was where the first Killing Game ever took place, it was where the wave of Despair that washed over the world begun, it was Ground Zero for everything! How do we know that all this Despair shit didn't begin there?"

Souma rubbed his forehead, and muttered, "As a member of the Future Foundation, I am going to tell you here and now, that's just a wild theory. Whatever started the Tragedy, Hope's Peak wasn't the cause."

"Really now? Because after all I've fucking seen, I'd say differently. And I'm sure you, Miss Anthropologist, would agree with me after all we've seen from the Killing Games, and this place!"

Futaba rubbed her chin, and said, "Is this a case of a 'takes one to know one,' Blake?"

"Yeah, listen, I know I'm a bastard, maybe Fiora was justified in taking my damn head off. But I'm a bastard with purpose, and I want to know just what caused the Tragedy, that wave of Despair that killed my brother, and I know it had to have started at Hope's Peak."

Souma sighed, and asked, "And how do you figure that?"

"Have you seen their track record of late? How many murderers, killers, assassins, and freaks that have been accepted or part of Hope's Peak?"

He glanced at Futaba, and the anthropologist nodded, whilst saying, "Shinobu might have been better to note all of this, but consider the following: Toko Fukawa, serial murderer; Korekiyo Shinguji, serial murderer; Maki Harukawa, assassin; Shuuya Yukimura, assassin…

"Dolly Dewitt, mastermind of the Kuma-Kuma Land Killing Game; Giselly Lutzen, global threat level hacker; Dylan Rufheiser, serial killer with diplomatic access…"

"Not to mention the brother and sister psycho killers we have here, the soldier who burned a woman for Chaos, and," Blake paused as he cast an unfriendly glance at Souma, "what about those rumors that one of the leading members of the Future Foundation went on such a murderous crusade that he had to be arrested by his own men?"

Souma frowned as he crossed his arms. "And you think this proves something?"

"If I am any indication, I think it proves that Hope's Peak was up to no good," Blake responded. "Maybe one bad apple in a barrel is to be expected, maybe you lock up any group of people some of them will kill each other, but a whole history of murdering psychopaths and more on the way?"

"We're not asking you to lose faith in your Foundation, Souma," Futaba remarked. "And Blake, we're not going to lock you up or treat you badly, but the group here is going to want your cooperation. Both of you, mine included, because I think Penjar is connected to Hope's Peak.

"I believe we're dealing with an extension of it, because, as you brought up apples, Blake, they don't fall far from the tree. And now we're seeing everything that went on at Hope's Peak, and then some, along with this cloning madness and mysterious visions.

"If this is not the past coming to haunt us, it may be the future if we are not careful. So stay alert."

---

Day 10, 4:34 PM

Ye Olde Tailor Shop

"Are you still going to be avoiding me?" Aka asked Hikari, as the steampunk model was looking at the jackets left behind. They weren't the only ones in the store, but Kimiko and Ken were giving them some distance.

"Aka, I don't think you understand, I still think you're just after me for sex," the model said, glancing at her before inspecting one of the Monotaro jackets. "And after everything that happened today, I don't want to go through any more feelings of betrayal."

"I never betrayed you! I thought we had a good thing going," Aka said. "Look, you want to know about me? Want me to lay it out? I'm a simple girl, I don't mind being open about it!"

Hikari sighed, and turned towards the skier. "Okay, what makes you so simple?"

"I love thrills. I love them. I started skiing before I was ten, and I found out how much I loved the rush. You see, my parents owned a cabin up on a snowy mountain, so I had ski slopes for days… but when the kids' slopes weren't good enough, I went behind their back and went down the more dangerous ones.

"I started to feel alive when I was rushing down a hill, going so fast that a crash into a tree would be the end. I wanted that thrill, so freaking bad, that I kept going on the most dangerous slopes there were.

"Then, one day, there was an avalanche on the mountain my parents' cabin was on. They were snowed in, and the rescue crew was going to take too long. So I managed to hike up that mountain, and then I skied down to my parents!"

Aka pumped her fists, as her eyes buzzed with energy at recalling that day. "I dug at that snow until I couldn't feel my hands, and I got my parents out! Hehe, now I'm a thrill seeking adrenaline junkie, and I fucking love it! But it did teach me one thing, Hikari…

"And that is that risking your life for a thrill is only good if your life is worth living! So I'm making sure my life is worth it every time I do something stupid-crazy-fun! As I am an adventurous lezbo-bitch too, I want to have sex with beautiful women, which, yes, is why I hit on you.

"But this place, Penjar, it's fucking dangerous too. It's a thrill, every day could be our last, and that excites me. That's why I like being with you, because you make it all worth it, you make the fear of death worth it. As the Ultimate Skier, you are the mountain slopes that make me what I am."

Hikari stared at her for a few seconds, then dryly chuckled. "Comparing a woman to a mountain isn't exactly romantic, Aka."

"I'm not romantic, I don't know how to do it. But I do know physical, and thrills, and I know you know that. So I'm asking you, why ruin the good thing we're having? If you want me to leave you alone, just say so, I'll do it. But wishy-washy sleep with me one day and be ashamed about it the next is driving me crazy."

The steampunk model sighed, and muttered, "It's strange, I've always wanted to have beautiful women flirt back with me. I wondered what I was doing wrong all this time."

"My guess is you may have hit on too many straight chicks?"

Hikari let out a chuckle, and said, "Okay, Aka, I'll give you more of a chance."

In the background, Kimiko's jaw dropped. She had to grab ahold of something, as her hands were trembling emotionally. Hikari didn't notice this, because she was saying to Aka, "Why don't we go somewhere else, more private, where we can talk about this?"

"Sounds fine to me!"

The two left the shop, leaving Ken and Kimiko there alone. The cavalryman pretended not to overheard most of that, and checked out a leather jacket that had Monokid's design on it.

"No, definitely not him," he said as he put it back. "As much as I hate to admit it, I would rather have one of those Monotaro jackets, to honor his sacrifice. What do you think, Kimi-"

CRASH!

Ken turned around to see Kimiko had violently kicked over a few displays, sending the clothes scattering on the floor. She lifted her foot and stomped on the bear-themed clothing, ruining the fabric. After a few seconds, she stopped, and let out a long, heavy growl.

"Something bothering you?" Ken dared to ask.

"Oh, it's nothing much, handsome," she responded. "It's just that another good person is dead, we haven't got a clue what's going on in this fucking town, we cannot work together as a group worth shit, one of the most energetic and friendly girls I've met almost blew someone's brains out an hour ago, and to top it all off…

"My stupid fucking mind keeps thinking a'boot why Hikari is interested in that slut, and how I just lost Angelique only a few days ago. I doo'nt knoo' what I'm supposed to do!"

She unleashed one more stomp on the clothing, and sighed heavily. "And I cannot even blame PMS on this shit, because it's not that time of the month yet! I'm actually wishing I was on my fucking period so I would have an excuse to knock shit over and scream!"

Kimiko crossed her arms and sighed. There were a few tense seconds, then there was a very loud slicing sound behind her. She turned to see a great deal of the Monokid jackets had been cut in half, ruined with a perfect blade swing.

Ken sheathed his sword, and said to her, "I do not have a period, but as you can see, I didn't need that excuse either."

The biker gang leader blinked in astonishment, then grinned. "Wanna get Yitro and carve some of this shit up?"

"I'm up with that, yo."

---

Day 10, 9:21 PM

Housing District

When the evening started to come around, the graduates were more than willing to call it an early day. They hadn't seen the Kubs or Monokuma all day, and it was starting to feel like they weren't going to get any more information. Most of them had been scattered throughout Penjar for most of the day, so they were returning home at random points.

Crystal made it to her place, and opened the door, only to discover Anzu lying on her bed! The military advisor stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"I've heard through the grapevine you have been seduced to the other side as well," the actress purred. "And you seem so stressed out after that trial. Would you like a little help de-stressing?"

"I'm not the kind of person who has sex to distract myself," Crystal responded. "Anzu, that's not appropriate."

"Well, maybe you can talk about your problems and such to me then. I've heard people tend to blurt that stuff to prostitutes, and you don't have to pay me."

"That's even less appropriate!"

"I'm not an appropriate girl."

"Anzu, please…"

"Listen, we've all had a ton of stress in our lives, especially all the shit going on with that trial. So you need to destress, at the very least."

Crystal crossed her arms, and said, "And you think I should just trust what is on my mind to anyone, after all the betrayal going on?"

Anzu smirked, and splayed out on the bed, signaling she wasn't taking "no" for an answer. "It's that or you yell at your video game console some more for another evening."

"Okay, let me lay it all on you then…"

"Ooo~"

"Stop that! What I was going to say is that I am trying to find out the truth behind this Penjar, and there are a lot of people trusting me to find out what is going on. You have no idea how devastating Despair has been to America, how we lost Las Vegas when trying to stop that floating island…"

She squeezed her hands into fists, and cried out, "And somehow, every time we've been going to trial, I've gotten everything wrong! I couldn't see Jin for the killer she was, I trusted Samson, I honestly thought Fiora was guilty, so what kind of military advisor am I?

"What have I done? Oh, that's right, go down the wrong path multiple times, explore my sexual preferences, and made death threats at someone over a Goddamn video game! I haven't found out anything!"

She heaved in frustration, and caressed her ring in an effort to calm down. "I even lost my jacket, and I'm wearing something that was made by one of those Kubs. Who was a human at one point, and now they're back to… normal?

"So now you can see how trying to get laid is the last thing on my mind. I cannot let the Lions down, my country, or… or any of you. Especially after… what I did… this trial…"

Anzu listened intensively, then she stood up and walked over to Crystal. She curled one of her blue bangs around her fingers, then she leaned in to whisper to the lady. "See, I didn't know a lot of that, but I'll bet it was good to get off of your shoulders. I actually had one theory, and it still may be true."

"And what would that be?"

Anzu leaned against the front door's frame, popping her foot up as she spoke. "I saw Fiora kissing you during the trial when she was in that post-concussion goofy state. You kind of went after her fast when Emanuel pointed to her as the culprit. Then you find out she was the one who stole your gun, but it was because of someone who I have seen you give the stink eye since we got here…

"Fiora has, quite unintentionally, put you through a roller coaster, and you have no control over any of it. And as a military adviser, you really don't like things being out of your control. So maybe it's time you take a step back, and focus on the big picture tomorrow, when things haven't been so awful."

Crystal heard her out, and then let out a big sigh. "I suppose I should. I… still think one thing we need to do is pay service to Shinobu, and her loss. And, quite possibly, Taro as well, it is what she would have wanted."

"There you go, you got a heart in there after all, don't cha~?"

As they spoke, the familiar trio of Isaac, Hara, and Saiko came walking through the housing area, heading to their respective homes. They stopped to say good night to Yitro, who was turning in early for the night. The swordsman congratulated Hara on her incredible deductions in the trial, which made the explorer blush and slightly hide behind her tall fiancé.

"She's still not the most social of people," Saiko commented, as Yitro chuckled.

"You can be the world's biggest introvert, but that doesn't stop you from being a good person. Helping us out has been highly beneficial, and I would never ask someone to change."

As he said this, Yejoon and Fiora walked in through the opposite side of the housing district. The artist was leading the movie maker to her house, and the others were trying hard not to stare.

"Even if," Yitro said quietly to the others, "they are a terrible person, if they're doing something right… I have to respect that. I just hate to admit it."

"Hard to believe we keep relying on the serial killer," Isaac grumbled, with quite the bitter tone, "to help us out here."

Yejoon led Fiora to her house, which was next to Crystal's; the military adviser had begun to turn to see who was there, but Anzu distracted her in a way. The artist turned to Fiora, and said, "Thank you for keeping this side of the bargain, little flower. You won't have to deal with me after tonight."

"Al… alright," she said, staring down at the floor. The movie maker appeared deflated, with that energy and gusto she was known for gone. She reached up and pulled her fedora off, caressing her ahoge, which appeared wilted. "Hey, Yejoon…"

"Yes?"

"If… if I talk to you in the future, you and I can talk. But only if I approach, okay?"

"Very well, that sounds fair."

He bowed respectively, then pulled his mask down over his face. Yejoon started to walk away, then he paused. "By the way, Fiora, may I ask you something?"
"Um, sure, I got nothing more to hide."

"When you were waking up at the trial, you said the name 'Junko.' Who is this Junko?"

Fiora's eyes went wide, and then placed her hat back on her head. She took a deep breath, and her tired state instantly returned. "Joo'st… someone I saw in that damn vision, but it's not really important. She didn't have anything helpful to tell me, joo'st another person who appeared to have gone insane during some fictional Killing Game, eh."

"I see," Yejoon said, though he tapped his chin. "Very well, have a good night, little flower."

Fiora nodded, then walked into her house. She closed the door, and Yejoon watched her go. Then he turned to the four people in the street who were watching.

"Perfect," he said, as he swiftly approached them. Isaac protectively stood in front of Hara, and Yitro gripped his sword in preparation. "I need you all to think back, this may be of vital importance."

"What do you want?" Saiko asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I am afraid that I do not remember where exactly, but I do recall the name of Junko being mentioned by someone in Penjar. Can any of you recall when it was said?"

The five of them exchanged confused glances. Crystal and Anzu, still in the doorway to the former's place, had listened in and were also trying to remember when the name was said. Before any of them could speak up, the TV in Crystal's place turned on.

---

(Day 10 is over~)

(Monokuma Theater)

*Monokuma is standing in front of the Science Lab, adopting a prominent pose. He is still wearing his hunting cap, and holding a hunting rifle.*

Monokuma - "You know, sometimes it is difficult to maintain a neat and clean lifestyle when you have to deal with destructive tourists, rebellious children, and collapsing buildings. My beloved Science Lab back there is such a shining example of how things should be neater and cleaner. To give you an example of neat and clean, I present my lovely daughter…"

*He gestures to the side, where Monophanie is standing and clasping her hands together.*

Monophanie - "Aw, thank you, Daddy!"

Monokuma - "As an example of how to do everything wrong!"

Monophanie - "Wait, what?"

Monokuma - "It's summer in Penjar, or at least I think it is, it's hard to tell. Anyway! Filthy, shameful whatever-season, and you're wearing a bikini! How could you be shameful, you aren't dressed appropriately!"

Monophanie - "I like how I look…"

Monokuma - "You aren't being a proper example of how to look neat and clean! No one wants to grope you, and paw at you, when you go trollop'ing yourself like that! Look the part! Pick up a rifle! Or a pickaxe!"

*Monokuma reaches to the side, and hurls a pickaxe into the air towards Monophanie. She shrieks in horror and dodges, narrowing avoiding the deadly tool.*

Monokuma - "Why are you dressed like a proper bear, my favorite daughter?! You're disappointing my like my late favorite oldest son! Didn't you used to have skin? Well, skin sucks! Go metal! Metal lifestyle!"

Monophanie - *rather distraught now* "This isn't fun, I'm leaving."

Monokuma - *yelling at her* "Go on and leave, just like my now least favorite oldest late son did! You're just like your mother, whoever she was!"

*Monophanie walks off, and Monokuma tips his hat to the camera, before he starts to head towards the front doors of the Science Lab.*

Monokuma - "I think I may have digressed from the point, but you all had to see that happen. If you don't rear your children properly, teach them how to live a proper life that is neat and clean, they could end up disappointing you and make you want to leave to be professional gold diggers! And the same goes for dogs!

"Anyway, I have things to do, things to fix, and preparations to make for tomorrow. You're all going to like the new expansions to our lovely town here in Penjar. Call it home now, phuhuhuhuh~"

*Monokuma walks up to the front doors, and pushes them open.*

---

…

…

…

…

BA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The entire ground shook as if there was a powerful earthquake. A shockwave raced through the city, shattering many windows as well as damaging and knocking over many objects, even those set in stone; the Monokuma statue in the Eastern Plaza was obliterated.

The shockwave and vibrations traveled to the housing district, and was strong enough to knock people off of their feet. Everyone fell down, practically thrown from their feet. Ears were ringing, hearts were pounding, minds were racing.

Only Yejoon managed to stay standing, his footing firm on the ground, as he glanced to the east. "What the hell was that?" he asked calmly.

Isaac helped Hara and Saiko up, as Yitro quickly got to his feet. No one was talking, they were all very baffled, and definitely worried. Some of the graduates raced out of their houses, shouting questions about what that was.

It was at this moment that Yejoon heard a thunking sound come from inside Fiora's house. There was a slight creak as well, nothing that sounded out of the ordinary. Though when the artist heard them, something made him tense up.

He raced over to Fiora's house, and tried to open the door. It was locked. Yejoon knocked on it, and called out, "Fiora? Fiora, open the door. Little flower, open this door!"

"Hey, what are you doing?" Isaac demanded to know.

"Something's wrong, Fiora's not answering the door!"

"There was a gigantic explosion in the city," Crystal shouted as she stepped out from her house. "Whatever that was, we should investigate. You should leave her-"

Yejoon kicked at the door, trying to force it open. He did it once, twice, and then hobbled back after a third time. Straining, the artist growled as he declared, "I'm not leaving until I find out she's okay!"

Isaac glanced down at Yejoon, regarded the door, and then he too started to get a sense of dread. The larger man walked towards the door to Fiora's house, and bashed his shoulder up against it.

The wood splintered as Isaac cleared through into the house. He took a moment to balance himself, then peered inside.

…

…

…

…

…

…

Fiora R. Stenton was swinging, and hanging, from a rope tied around the ceiling fan, a chair tilted over underneath her.

---

"I gotta say, this is such an honor, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I had always thought my stubbornness would get me killed or in jail, not graduating from a prestigious academy like Hope's Peak. I'm not the crying type, but I'm not so proud that I won't show my gratitude.

"When I leave Hope's Peak, I hope to do what this academy has always been doing: encouraging the future to be a better place. I foresee a lot of work for me in the future, and I might even take up the job offering of being a scout for Hope's Peak in a few years. I'd love to investigate who else out there deserves a shot at a better life.

"So that's my goal, and hopefully the goal of everyone leaving this academy, to make the world a better place for others in the future. The world is going to hear our voices, so let's go out there and make a difference, putas!"

-Emanuel Salmuera's, the Ultimate Private Investigator, graduation speech

---

Chapter 3, The Growth of Penjar, is now over.

…

The Entity of Chaos strengthens in Penjar.

The Seed of Despair grows in Penjar.

There is a trapped soul within Penjar…

There is an evil presence within Penjar…

…

Monotaro, the Ultimate Determination/Forgetfulness, has died.

…

? Graduates remain in Penjar.

…

TO BE CONTINUED.