SAHFJHAKHKFJGDKSDLKHDJSFKLAHFDK OMG OMG! The Dangan Ronpa anime comes out this week, I don't really know when, but I'm so excited! ;A; So let's celebrate with a chapter! While we're at it, let's check out the poll results. I was pleasantly surprised at the verdict and I'm kind of wondering everyone's reasoning. I wonder who got it right…? Anyways, the next poll is up: who is the first culprit? If you get it wrong, you get executed. Just kidding! I wouldn't execute any of you! Just your characters! ^_^

1st Alistair and Blake with 3 votes (and Wiley...but he's not important)

2nd Elaine, Libra, Asui, Grant, and Karah with 2 votes

3rd Noah, Kirby, Robin, Carter, Natalie, Teresa, and Reeta with 1 vote

4th Gustav and Charlie with 0 votes

So that's who you think is gonna cake the bucket first. Yes...cake. Mmm. Enjoy this chapter! :)

"New-fangled form of hazing." Yeah right.

Charlie knew that wasn't true. He had only said it to calm the others—panic would get them nowhere. But he knew what they were up against. He was 99.314% sure that the terrorists had to be behind this. Besides, how would you explain all of the hauntingly familiar technology that surrounded them…?

BANG!

Charlie flinched as something crashed into his door. He stopped pacing the length of his room and stood absolutely still, convinced someone was outside, plotting to murder him. But it was far too soon. Who would actually fall for Monobear's request? And why would they target him of all people?

He was preparing to think up reasons to convince his killer he was too valuable to off. But then a familiar voice whined, "Ow, I hit my head! Mr. Engineer, why would you lock your door? The School Life of Mutual Killing hasn't even started yet! Or has it?" A loud cackle filled the room.

Grimacing, Charlie opened the door and came face to face with Monobear. The little robot had on his usual wide grin, but there was a dent on his smooth forehead. He rubbed the back of his head with a paw, embarrassed.

"I hurt my head and it's all your fault!" Monobear accused, turning away dramatically.

"Whatever," Charlie rolled his eyes, "Why are you out and about running around anyways? And how did you know I was here?"

"The camera in your room, of course!" Monobear giggled. "And I just wanted to drop by to say thank you! But now I want an apology because the vision component of this thing could have much better quality."

Charlie cringed slightly and cast an uncertain glance at Noah's door. It appeared to be dark and unoccupied. Still, he didn't want Monobear bringing this up now.

"Just get out of here!" Charlie said quickly, glaring at Monobear, "I don't want anything to do with you and don't start thanking me in front of the others, you corrupt little heap of wires!"

"How rude!" Monobear growled, looking steamed, "I'm a state-of-the-art piece of technology and you know it!"

But Charlie had already slammed the door in his face.

Monobear remained outside for another minute, whining about how that was no way to treat the Dean. He taunted him as well, laughing, "You sure are a good actor, Charlie. 'Just what are you? Some kind of puppet?' Maybe you and Mr. Evernott should both be Super College Level Actors."

As much as it pained him to do so, Charlie remained silent. Monobear was a creepy little troll and would not harm his ego. He was better than him. He would not respond to his jibes.

Eventually, Monobear gave up and went away. Only then did Charlie let out a sigh of relief.

Teresa wasn't quite sure what to believe.

Part of her scoffed at Monobear's words. Something like this just wasn't possible. But what college would send their students through such an awful initiation sequence? Did St. Fortuna's feel justified in doing so, since it was such a prestigious school? Surely no adult would ever allow for such a thing…

This is what led her to believe it, deep down. When the others formed a small group to go check out the wall, she didn't accompany them. Instead, she decided to seek out Asui. She hadn't gotten a chance to properly talk with her yet. And given the situation, she would have liked to reacquaint with her now more than ever.

She found Asui outside the dorms in the grassy quad. She sat on a bench with Noah as he strummed on a ukulele.

"I wrote this next song myself," Noah bragged, like he was some sort of badass rockstar. He began plucking the strings with fervor as Asui half-heartedly listened.

She was watching the explorer group, who were walking alongside the wall not far off. Reeta had practically begged her and Noah to join them, but they declined. Asui wasn't a huge fan of hers. She was probably just wearing that short skirt to get the attention of men. What a warped society… Asui thought, annoyed, Women who only aim to please men set the feminist movement back a hundred years. Hmph.

"Hi Asui!" Teresa interrupted, coming right over to the two of them. "Hi Mr. Environmentalist."

Noah cut off his song and looked at Teresa coolly. "Hey." He said, not bothering to hide the fact he was annoyed.

Asui, however, was quick to point it out. "You interrupted him." She said bluntly.

"Sorry," Teresa apologized quickly, "I just wanted to talk to you. Can we go over there?"

"No. Stay here and say what you have to say." Asui decided.

"…Do you two know each other?" Noah asked with a yawn, providing the three of them with a soft, easy-going soundtrack.

Teresa merely smiled. When Asui didn't say anything, she provided the details for Noah. "Growing up, we were very close, but I suppose we drifted apart over the years as many people are apt to do. We had a rather explosive end to our friendship that we could never mend, due to the fact that my family moved."

Asui cringed, careful not to look towards Teresa's eyes, which were forever concealed by those pink sunglasses. She waited for her to delve into the gritty details, but she didn't.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry that happened and I forgive you." Teresa said solemnly, much to her surprise. "I don't want things to be awkward between us from here on out."

Asui looked up, feeling strangely suspicious. She clung tightly to grudges—that was just the sort of person she was. And she would never forget the way their friendship deteriorated after reaching middle school. She got into her art and music; she clearly remembered Teresa calling her new interests "emo" and gossiping about her. It was a rough time for her.

Despite feeling this way, she kept it all to herself and muttered an acknowledgement. Teresa waited for an apology or perhaps more forgiveness, but it never came. So she said a quick goodbye to each of them and wandered off.

"What was that all about?" Noah wondered, looking rather bored.

"Nothing." Asui replied, suppressing a scowl, "I'm going to grab my guitar. Do you want to play a duet?"

Noah grinned lazily. "Let's do it."

Alistair, Blake, Gustav, Grant, and Reeta formed a small group to walk around campus. Most of the others were either antisocial or wanted to remain indoors the rest of the day, thoroughly disturbed by their welcoming. Ignorance was bliss, after all. But they couldn't remain ignorant for long, and this group was well aware of it.

As Alistair walked around the outer perimeter, he constantly kept a hand on the wall, as if searching for a weak spot or a hidden escape route. Grant had already attempted to scale the wall, but the barbed wire all along the top put him off. The stretch of wire ended at the barred front gate, which their parents had driven through upon arrival. But now, it was closed and towered over them, preventing escape.

"It's locked." Alistair stated, pushing firmly on the gate. On the outside stood two strange contraptions. They appeared to be very high-tech and were trained towards the group.

"Are those...machine guns?" Gustav gasped dramatically.

Reeta gave a choked cry and clapped her hands to her mouth. "No way! Those are just decorations, right? Teresa said something about those being there to protect us!"

"If you'll recall Monobear's little speech, you'd know the true purpose of those is to keep us in." Alistair stated, observing the guns through the bars calmly.

"Eh. I still think it's a sham!" Grant drawled.

Reeta turned to Blake for his opinion. He appeared completely befuddled by everything that was happening. Before he could say what was on his mind, a black and white shape came hurtling out of nowhere.

"Hey!" Monobear yapped, pushing himself right into their ranks, "You bastards aren't thinking about escaping, are you?!"

"Stop calling us that!" Reeta snapped, firing up at the sight of the little bear, "Do you even know what that word means?"

Monobear turned to Reeta and said in an emotionless voice, "Of course I do. I'm the Dean of St. Fortuna's. I think I know what bastard means, you little bastard."

Reeta trembled furiously. "Yanno, if you weren't an adorable stuffed bear, I would punch your cute cotton face in!"

"I still say he's the mascot." Gustav said, bounding forward to try and poke Monobear.

He growled and waved him away with a paw.

Blake finally spoke up in his deep voice. "So…you're not letting us leave?"

"We already established that!" Monobear snarled impatiently, "But I suppose now is the time to give you the full tour: what you have here are my automatic machine guns. They're positioned all along the outside of the walls, ready to detect the presence of any escapees and shoot them down!"

"But what if our parents drive in for a visit?" Blake asked.

"Let me finish! If you somehow manage to make it past the barbed wire and out of range of the machine guns, I've got some mines planted in the ground. I kind of forgot where I put them, so I would appreciate anyone who helps me locate them!"

"Really?" Blake cut in again, his eyes hopeful, "If we locate the mines for you, will you let us leave?"

A long silence stretched between the six of them. Monobear just stared at them wordlessly. Finally he growled, "I'm leaving. Mr. Scientist!" He rounded on said student.

Grant flinched. "Me?"

"Yes you! Your first assignment is to explain the concept of sarcasm to Mr. Football Star. Got it?"

"Got it." Grant mumbled. The five of them watched Monobear flounce away, each wondering where he was off to now. Only when he was out of sight did Alistair speak up.

"Joke or not…" He said solemnly, once again reaching forward to test the gate, "I don't think we'll be leaving here anytime soon."

"But you're a magician!" Gustav said, his eyes wide, "Can't you just wave your arms and poof us to freedom?"

Alistair gave Gustav a withering look, wondering if his roommate was serious. When he didn't say otherwise, he responded gravely, "If only life were that simple. But no…I cannot. In the end, magic is only a trick of the eyes; a fantastic product of our imagination."

Grave silence followed his words. He was right: real or not real, it didn't matter. For the time being, they were trapped and there was no way to get in contact with the outside world.

"Hey!" Blake said, speaking up suddenly with an excited grin, "So who's ready to party tonight?"

The rest of the day passed by quickly. Night fell and conifer trees cast their long shadows on dimly-lit sidewalks. Almost every building was shrouded in darkness, except for the tiny corner of the campus that contained the dorms and the Dining Commons. All was quiet, but the air buzzed with anticipation as time ticked by.

Robin and Blake were the first ones to arrive to the party that night, a little bit before 9 PM. They scaled the steps and found Monobear waiting outside the ballroom in a ridiculous blue suit and red tie, ready to serve as bouncer. Robin stopped in his tracks at the sight of him.

"That creepy thing's still running around?" He asked warily.

"Yup." Blake said, walking up with no hesitation. "Hey, can we go in?"

Monobear stood completely still for a long moment, that permanent sneer etched on his face. He did not respond.

Robin felt a chill creep up his spine. Perhaps the person controlling him had stepped out for a coffee break? If he was controlled by someone at all. Before Robin could ponder what he was any further, Monobear sprang back to life.

"You're early!" He chastised.

"We're hungry." Robin replied evenly, glaring at Monobear. He didn't bother acting polite; there was no way this ridiculous bear was the Dean of this school.

Monobear sighed. "Fine, fine. IDs?"

Both Blake and Robin had remembered to bring their IDs and showed them to the bear-bouncer. He studied them for a long moment and even brought up the notion that they might be fake.

Robin looked at him incredulously. "You're joking."

"Yup! I am!" Monobear said cheerily, "You can go on in."

Without another word, Robin and Blake entered. Inside they found a spacious room complete with a dance floor, a lounge, and buffet tables that resembled those in the cafeteria. Once again, they were free to serve themselves. Blake headed right on over to the punch table and found a large cooler that had a frosty mist surrounding it. He took a deep whiff, drinking in the smell of cold beer.

"Aw yeah!" Blake cheered, bobbing his head from side to side, "I found the good stuff!"

Robin opened up the cooler and grimaced at its contents. "More like the cheap stuff. Is this the best they could afford?"

Nevertheless, the two boys snatched up a few bottles of beer. Then they made themselves comfortable in the lounge area and watched the others start to arrive. Somehow, they got on the topic of girls and began criticizing every female that walked in.

Blake said the same thing about every single one: "She's cute."

Each time, Robin shot the girl down by nitpicking something about her appearance: Reeta's outfit is too revealing, Kirby's is too matronly, Teresa is too pale, Karah has braces…

"What about her?" Blake said, nodding towards Libra as she wandered in.

"Her arms are too long," Robin replied instantly, "If she were hairier, I might mistake her for a gorilla."

"Ouch. That's rough." Blake sighed, but a good-natured smile remained on his face, "You know, you're never gonna land a girl if you keep being so picky."

Robin's mouth pressed into a thin line. "Hmph." Blake added something else after that, but Robin quickly became distracted as he noticed Libra had a large, black bag strapped around her shoulder. Suspicion welled up from within. What did she bring to the party?

Blake suddenly slapped him on the back, causing him to flinch. "Welp, I'll see ya later little buddy!" He said gruffly, beginning to head off towards the buffet where everyone was gathering. "I'm gonna go get to know some of the girls you dissed."

"Do you mean 'get to know them' or y'know…get to know them?" Robin asked with narrowed eyes, thinking Blake's intentions to be dirty.

But Blake only stared at him, confused. "…Is there a difference?" He asked, his expression clear of guile.

Robin shook his head. "No, never mind what I said. Have a good time, my friend!"

"I will!" Blake said happily, marching right up to Reeta and starting a conversation with her.

The last one to arrive to the party was Grant, who Monobear had decided to give a hard time. Grant was desperate to get in, enviously eyeing the hot plates of food and jovial conversations shared over a cool beer. "Come on, let me in already!" He demanded, his voice rising. "I have my ID!"

"You have to be twenty-one to drink." Monobear said flatly. "And they're serving alcohol at this party."

"None of them are twenty-one!" Grant argued.

Monobear quickly thought up another excuse. "Well, it's a taco party in there. I need more sausage, more sausage!"

Grant just gaped at the mischievous little bear. "Are you kidding? I'm the definition of sausage! I…okay, that sounded wrong."

"I think this conversation is taking a turn for the PG-13." Monobear explained slowly, as if he were talking to a child, "Please cut it out or I'll have to ask you to leave."

"I'm eighteen!" Grant nearly exploded with frustration. Just when he seemed like he was about to give up and go home, Monobear let him in. He descended on the buffet hungrily, shoving past anyone who got in his way. Monobear mysteriously vanished after that, leaving the entryway empty, but no one noticed. They were all too busy eating.

"Let's leave as soon as we're done." Kirby reminded Natalie, "We're not going to play along with this sick game of Monobear's!"

Natalie nodded, only too happy to comply.

"You guys are leaving?" Carter asked, "Mind if I come with? I only came here for the food anyways…otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered to show." He would have much rather spent the night with a good book and a cup of cocoa.

"Of course you can come." Kirby replied, raising a finger in lecture. "Don't feel like you have to give into peer pressure! You're free to leave the party whenever you please."

Elaine and Karah were sitting nearby and overheard the conversation. "Should we leave with them?" Elaine asked her roommate quietly, hoping she would say yes. She knew Karah was stressing about what Monobear had said. Maybe she would enjoy a quiet evening back in the dorm.

But Karah was feeling exactly the opposite. The party was exactly what she needed at the moment; the alcohol would take the edge off her worries. "Sorry, Elaine, but I think I'm gonna stay a while. You should stay too! Come out of your shell and get to know everyone a little more."

"I…I…" Elaine nearly argued, but she realized Karah was right. She was a psychologist and therefore, she should be a people person. Her parents were always telling her to socialize a little bit more. With a heavy sigh she said, "Okay. I'll try."

Right after dinner, Kirby, Natalie, and Carter headed on out. A few people said goodbye to them, but remained at the party. Once dinner had been cleaned up, the lights dimmed and music began to pump out of the speakers. Some teenagers drank heavily, becoming more spirited as they welcomed alcohol into their systems. Others didn't drink at all or only had a single cup they sipped delicately at.

Libra was one of the kids that chose to remain sober. When she noticed the college students around her were starting to get rowdy, she zipped open her bag and pulled out her expensive-looking camera.

Robin noticed her fiddling with it. Uh-oh. Time to leave, He thought, gathering up a few bottles of beer to take back to his room. He was about to slink away, but then he thought, No. No more keeping quiet. I'm going to say something!

He walked right up to Libra and tapped her on the shoulder. "Yeah?" She whipped around, angling the camera right at him.

His eyes widened as he realized she was filming him. A little red light told him so. "Stop that!" He snapped, forcing the lens away from him, "Don't you know you shouldn't have your camera in such a setting? You could ruin everyone's professional reputation!"

A huge grin stretched across Libra's face. "That's the point." Then she leveled the camera up to her eyes and began filming a drunken group of her peers, smiling all the while.

So much for that. Robin gave up and walked away, glancing at his watch as he went. He was leaving the party a little earlier than he liked, but he didn't want his reputation being spoiled by some fiendish little girl.

Libra remained where she was, turning the camera on at random intervals. Blake, Charlie, Grant, Teresa, and Reeta seemed to be participating in some sort of race to see who could get smashed the fastest. When Gustav saw Libra wielding the camera, he approached her with a wide grin.

She groaned inwardly as he made his way over. Lugging around a large camera was always a risk for attention, but it was one she had to take. She fingered the record button, wondering if Gustav would be worth it. But once he reached her, he struck a pose and declared, "Make sure you get my good side!"

Suddenly, Libra felt determined not to film at all. She let the camera fall limp by her side. "I'm not filming right now." She lied blatantly.

"Oh wait!" Gustav giggled, completely ignoring her, "Both sides are my good sides! Right, Lumey?"

"How many times have I told you?" Libra said, her patience already wearing thin, "Call me Libra. Please."

A quiet awe suddenly descended over Gustav. He inched closer to Libra and grabbed her hand, saying in a hushed voice, "But you're not really a Libra, are you?" Before she could respond, Gustav turned to the others and screamed, "Hey everyone! Libra's not really a Libra! She's a Virgo!"

Most of the others didn't look over. Karah did and giggled, "Oh no, Libra is a lie!"

"I think you've had enough to drink." Libra mumbled, looking away from the others.

Gustav squeezed her gloved hand tightly, his face flushed red. "I'm gonna throw you the best party ever, when it's your birthday. Hey! Why do you only wear one glove?"

So I don't have to get your disgusting germs all over my hand. "It makes handling the camera easier…among other things."

Gustav didn't respond and began bugging Libra to film him. She obediently aimed the camera in his direction, but didn't press record and Gustav didn't notice the lens cap was on. Only after he bounced away did Libra return to business.

Asui knew exactly what her roommate was trying to achieve and kept careful watch on her, always making sure she was out of the shot. She stayed with Noah, each clutching a plastic cup filled with cheap beer. Noah was a bright cherry red and kept shouting random things such as, "Save the whales!" Asui just rolled her eyes and humored him.

Meanwhile, Grant had descended on the dance floor, dragging a group of girls out there with him. Karah and Reeta kept up a continuous stream of giggling. Elaine, who had sipped the beer once and disliked it immediately, couldn't understand what was so funny. They began to dance alongside her, staggering to stay upright. Elaine tried to smile and move with them, but she was finding the task impossible. Being sober was no fun.

Elaine glanced over to the lounge area, thinking she would head over there. Charlie and Teresa were occupying one sofa, practically on top of one another in a heavy make out session. Libra was sitting in an armchair across from Blake, taping him as he pumped his fist and shouted, "Future Superbowl MVP right here! What what!"

On second thought, remaining on the dance floor seemed a better option. Suddenly, Grant knocked into Karah and sent her crashing into Elaine. The poor girl let out a yelp as she sprawled onto the floor.

"Lainey!" Karah squawked, clambering to her feet and helping her friend up. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." Elaine said quickly, looking to Grant for an apology. But he was distracted by Reeta, trying to get up in her grill. For some reason, Elaine found her eyes welling up with tears. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fit in. She bit her lip and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I think I'm gonna go." She told Karah.

Karah searched Elaine's expression, understanding immediately. "Okay. Iffit's what you want," She said, her voice mildly slurred.

"Umm…" Elaine searched for words. She desperately wanted to ask Karah to accompany her back to the dorms. It was a short walk, but it was late, dark, and creepy outside. Especially with that Monobear running around. "Um, how late were you planning on staying?"

Karah's eyes roved over to where Grant was dancing with Reeta. "Mmm...A little longer," She decided. "D'you mind waiting?"

Elaine hesitated to answer. She wanted to leave now.

"I know!" Karah said, snapping her fingers, "Ask around and see if anyone else is leaving. You can walk back with them."

Elaine nodded awkwardly. "Okay."

"And make sure it's someone dependable, okay?" Karah said, grabbing Elaine's shoulder a little too roughly. She shot a suspicious glance in Charlie's direction. He was still kissing Teresa passionately, as if they had a longtime relationship under their belt. "I don't want anyone taking advantage of you!"

Considering she wasn't the one incapacitated by alcohol, Elaine didn't think she had much to worry about. And...she didn't think any of the boys would want her like that anyways. She forced a smile and said, "All right. You stay safe too, okay?"

"Sure." Karah grinned, but she seemed distracted. As soon as Elaine walked off, she jumped right back in and started dancing again. The night wore on and Karah continued to drink and dance. She hadn't ever consumed so much alcohol before and had the joy of discovering the fact that she was a lightweight. Different parts of the night became blank spaces in her mind. One moment, she'd be enjoying her new friends' company, the next she was keeled over in front of a toilet. As the hours flew by, the crowd of college kids seemed to thin slightly. It was past midnight when she finally decided enough was enough. It was time to go home.

By this time, the soberest people at the party were Libra and Alistair, who had managed to find each other. Alistair had carried around the same cup all night, sipping a little bit at a time, and retained all of his mental capabilities.

"I guess that means it's up to us to get everyone back to the dorm, hm?" Alistair sighed, letting his gaze drift towards the newfound alcoholics. "Or maybe we should just leave them here. There's a lesson to be learned from their lack of restraint."

Libra was inwardly squealing that she had found a guy as judgmental as herself. But she tried to remain calm and cool. "They don't deserve our help," She yawned, arching her back in a stretch, "Then again, we could work together to help them and then they would owe us!"

A small smirk wove its way across Alistair's face. "And how would they do that? They won't remember it tomorrow."

"I'll make them remember!" Libra declared, trying to appear tough. She smiled at Alistair hopefully, waiting for him to laugh or make another comment. But his attention was suddenly diverted.

Karah came lurching up to the two of them, blushing heavily. "Um, hi," She chattered, nervously running a hand through her disheveled hair, "Are you busy? Because I was thinking I wanted to go home now, but everyone's totally wasted except you and Glovegirl here so if it's not too much to ask do you think we could walk back together…? But if not, that's totally cool, I'll find someone else y'know, or I don't mind staying a little longer…" She rambled on for a full minute.

Alistair remained silent, waiting for her to finish. Libra just stared at Karah blankly, trying to understand her jumble of words. When she finally ran out of air, Alistair offered to take her home. Karah uttered a thank you and practically fell into his arms. He propped her up and began to lead her to the exit.

"…You're leaving?" Libra asked softly, watching them go.

Alistair paused. "I can't allow her to walk home by herself. Good luck with putting the others in your debt."

"But…I have to lug all of this equipment home and all of the drunkards?" Libra mumbled, fidgeting and avoiding his gaze.

Alistair didn't bother pointing out that she brought this upon herself, by hanging around with that camera so long. But he didn't have to. Libra seemed to realize it, said a hasty goodbye, and walked off.

As Karah took shaky steps toward the door, she glanced over her shoulder to see Libra sending a death glare her way. But only for a split second. The next moment, Libra was adjusting something on her camera, looking downcast. Karah quickly forgot the occurrence and focused on remaining upright with Alistair's guidance.

For some reason, Karah felt regret crash over her. I'm such a failure! She wailed inwardly.

Alistair cocked his head slightly to look at her. "Why do you think that?" He asked, eyebrows knitted with concern.

Karah gaped at him. "Did you just read my mind?"

"Excuse me?"

After a moment of thinking, Karah realized she had accidentally wailed, 'I'm such a failure!' out loud rather than to herself. She turned even redder than she already was and started giggling madly. But the giggling randomly turned to sobbing and tears flooded her eyes.

"Are you all right?" Alistair asked, wondering what on earth was happening to this girl.

As they stepped outside, Karah jolted to a halt. Alistair stopped with her. She stood there shakily with his arm around her, leaning over and letting tears drip down her face. "I think I'm gonna throw up again." She mumbled.

Alistair cringed, horrified. Vomit on his clothes? No thank you. "Let's sit down!" He suggested all too quickly, lowering Karah onto the ground. She let go of him and curled into a pathetic little ball on the sidewalk.

"I want to kill myself."

Alistair looked at Karah in astonishment, wondering how to respond to such a thing. For a long moment, he didn't.

Karah let out a sniffle. "I've tried to commit suicide before, you know. But it never took."

"…Why would you do such a thing?" Alistair asked softly, trying to sound sympathetic. He pondered if he should reach out and comfort her, but his hands were frozen where they were. Karah reminded him of a delicate china doll that would break at his touch. So he remained still and listened to her reply.

"My parents…they're never around…always working…" Karah sobbed, her story coming out in distorted chunks, "My brother raised me…never got to live his own life…all my fault…" She trailed off and remained silent for a long minute, snuffling quietly.

Alistair chose his words carefully. He was fairly certain the alcohol was talking for Karah, but it was a very fragile subject nonetheless. "Your brother must really care about you," He spoke softly, "You shouldn't throw away everything he's given you."

Karah didn't appear to have heard Alistair's advice. She murmured something about hating her Super College Level and failing to achieve her start at a brand new life. She worried that everyone would judge her and be a jerk to her for getting so drunk at the party.

Alistair didn't bother mentioning that he was one of the judgmental jerks. Instead, he brought up a different topic altogether. "I can relate, you know…" He sighed, "My parents and I aren't close at all. But for different reasons."

Karah lifted her head from the ground to look at Alistair. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was grimy. "…Huh?"

"My parents have never supported my interests and wish my focus only to remain on my grades. Not even when my illusions and fame got me into this school could they appreciate my talent." Alistair murmured, feeling rather ridiculous for sharing this with a stranger.

Karah only stared at him, uncomprehending.

"What I'm trying to say is that you're not alone," Alistair said quickly, trying to summon some sort of motivational message, "It's your life and sometimes you need to put yourself first."

Karah nodded.

"So no more talk of suicide, all right?"

Karah just kept nodding, but her eyes were glossed over.

Alistair sighed. "…Are you even listening anymore?"

Karah just grinned. "This makes my brain go all wobbly." She giggled weakly.

Alistair refrained from rolling his eyes and helped Karah back to her feet. "Let's get you home. You're drunk as a skunk."

This simile sent Karah into raucous fits of laughter. It was hard to believe she had been crying about her family life a minute ago. As they walked up to the dorm together, she asked over and over if skunks could really get drunk. Alistair didn't bother responding and opened the door with his ID card.

Once they were inside, he offered to walk her the short distance up the steps to her room. Karah waved her hand. "Nah, I got it from here!" She said jovially, smiling at Alistair, "You can go back to your room."

"Are you sure?" Alistair said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It might not be safe—you never know what could be hiding in the shadows."

Karah felt butterflies battering at her stomach. Wow, that sounded so mysterious! You're so hot…I kind of want to kiss you on the cheek as thanks, but I won't…

"Please don't." Alistair said simply. Then he turned and calmly walked in the direction of his room.

Karah clapped her hands over her mouth with a muffled squeal. "Oops! I said that out loud again." She giggled, completely embarrassed. Still laughing, she lurched up the stairs to the second floor and made her way to her room.

For a full minute, she fumbled with her ID, clumsily trying to unlock the door. Everything seemed hysterical and she couldn't stop laughing. Finally, she forced herself to calm down enough to get the key in the slot. Then she opened the door.

As soon as she did, a metallic smell hit her nose and her eyes fell upon what lay in front of her. Blood. Dark red blood, pooling around Elaine's body, her eyes wide and sightless, staring straight into Karah's…

Karah opened her mouth to scream.

Before she could make a sound, a cold hand grasped her shoulder.

A searing pain cut across her throat.

Then nothing.