Danganronpa: Rebels of Paradise Chapter 5: Prologue - The Sixteen Lives to Eden - 1, a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Hello all! Been a while!

(more like a fuckton but that's not important)

Anyways, AN at the end explaining things, I'm excited/enjoy seeing the comments, and have fun with this first part!

Enjoy!

DANGANRONPA: REBELS OF PARADISE

Prologue - The Sixteen Lives to Eden

Part 1

… … … Tick tock. Tick tock. That was the sound that could be heard as something appeared from the darkness. A strange grandfather clock… one with two hands permanent pointing upwards and two sides on the clock face. The first side was a bright and sunny orange while the other side was a dark and mysterious purple.

Suddenly, the clock face started to shift and turn. The hands stood still as the face rotated clockwise… until the top half was the orange side. A loud bell from the clock rang out as the clock disappeared into the darkness once more.

…

Section 1-G – Room #1

…

…Silence. Silence is what rang out as a figure rested on a bed. The bed was a bunk bed with the figure on the top bunk as darkness surrounded them. The darkness had overtaken the entire room, showing not a hair of what rested within. All the while, the figure was peacefully there… silent… resting…

…When suddenly every single light turned on. A flashbang to the eyes as the figure was blinded awake and rolled to the side accidentally. "Whagh- AHHHHHHHHH!" WHAM! The person landed face first onto the floor as she groaned out in pain. "…owwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…" She held her head and tried to breathe. "Nngh… my head… my eyes… why did- …Wait." She slowly lifted her head and looked around to see an unfamiliar room.

Standing up from her fallen down position, she looked to the side and noticed a large full body mirror as they saw their reflection. She had fairly skinny and thin form with an average height, a light complexion with freckles dotted across the bridge of her nose and crystal turquoise eyes. She had chocolate brown hair in a fishtail braid over her left shoulder which hung around chest level, other sections being plaited and connected at the back of her head in a smaller braid, her fringe hanging in the middle of her forehead, and two longer strands scraped to the sides. As well, she had a pair of small dark grey googles sitting on the top of her head.

Her outfit consisted of a simple black strap vest under a red shawl adorned in a plaid patter of varying shades & tied off in the middle while hanging to her wait-line, a pair of pale blue shorts stopping at her mid-thigh, a pair of black tights adorned in a pattern of silver clock cogs & trinkets of various sizes, and a pair of dark tan lace up platform shoes with a small gizmo charm attached to each shoe. She also had a long green scarf decorated in various clock faces of different sizes, a tan coloured belt with storage pockets containing a variety of tools, a small pocket journal, dangling hourglass earrings, a silver infinity brooch securing her shawl, a tan wristwatch with three separate faces on her right wrist, loops of silver chain on her left wrist, and a pocket watch on a bronze chain beneath her scarf.

PROFILE ADDED-

NAME: Chiyo Hisakawa
TALENT: Horologist
AGE: 22
HEIGHT: 5'6ft
WEIGHT: 134lbs
LIKES: Tofu, Iced coffee, History, Stargazing, and Sudokus
DISLIKES: Manga, Poetry, Tardiness, Broken Clocks, and Cats

Checking her person once more, she noticed something different from her normal appearance… a strange crimson red mechanical watch on her left wrist. Attempting to take it off was a no go as she blinked and looked around once more at the room. The room was filled head to tow with clocks of various kinds. The room did hold a bunch of necessities like a dresser, a desk, a small kitchenette with a fridge and cupboards, a TV… it felt like a college dorm room in a way. However, there were no windows and the only door to the room appeared locked behind an electronic lock. She slowly started to look nervous.

"This isn't… why am I? …Oh. Is this where we're meant to play that game? The one where- nngh…" She slowly shook her head as she closed her eyes. She then started to breathe in and out. "Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock…" With an exhale, she smiled and opened her eyes. "Okay… I'm good. I'm good. …Time to check this place out. Maybe I'll be able to find a way out of here… and possible find someone else who can help me."

The screen shifted around to the various parts of the room as the camera faded to black. A light beat could be heard as the scene reappeared to show the horologist's eye. It then opened as the scene flashed in a burst of light.

ESCAPE TIME – BEGIN!

Moving towards the door, she noticed the electronic lock had a four-digit combination that seemed to present itself as "red, blue, yellow, green". Not only that, but there was also a little note next to the lock as well. "Heya heya! To find the code is the key! And no trying to brute force your way in. You fail the combination three times? We pump in toxic gas into your room! So keep that hand up high! -Kit" …which caused her to turn her head to the vents above… "Okay… no guessing! Got it! Yessir!" And with that, she slowly walked away.

Moving around the room, she found that most of the room was the same, only the walls were designed to fit her. Cogs and clocks lined the walls… which caught her attention as she noticed the cogs slowly lining the wall in a pattern… one where they all connect. Looking over to where they connected, the cogs connected to the TV in her room as well as four unmoving clocks… each clock being a different colour.

Approaching the TV, she realized that it was an old fashion TV with a turn dial. Turning it resulted in… … nothing. Looking at the TV confused, she turned her attention to the clocks on the wall and noticed that the red clock was stuck at 4:28. Turning back to the TV dial, she noticed that each slot was a number from zero to nine. Gaining a feeling in her gut, she slowly moved the dial to the number four… then two… and then eight.

All of a sudden, the TV turned on to show an old school styled dancing cartoon boy marching with a bunch of robots following him. As the cartoon played, the cogs on the wall slowly started to turn and move as the turning reached the red clock. Suddenly the red clock shot out a cuckoo clock bird shot out while holding a red zero.

Moving over to the other clocks, she started to look at the times before heading back to the TV dial. The blue clock was 3:39, so she hit the number three, did a full rotation, and then moved it to the number nine. The TV changed once more to show another old timey cartoon. Only this time it was a cartoon boy marching with a grin followed by living puzzle pieces. The blue cuckoo rang out, revealing a blue five.

Following that was the yellow clock showing 7:10. Punching in the numbers, another cartoon would play of a cartoon girl walking forward with a bunch of what appeared to be clock soldiers holding hammers, ready to ring a bell. The cogs turned once more, and the yellow cuckoo rang out with a yellow zero. Finally, the green clock showed 12:34… so simply moving the dial over to one… two… three… four… and the last cartoon played to show the cartoon boys and girl rushing towards one another as a smoke cloud appeared with the word BOOM! The cogs turned once more, revealing the green cuckoo with a green eight.

Chiyo was unsure what the cartoons were all about and why it was designed like this… but the girl now knew her combination as she rushed to the door. Reaching the electronic lock, she entered the code given to her.

Red…

Blue…

Yellow…

Then Green…

0508

…

BEEP!

…

A click could be heard… the door unlocked.

ESCAPE TIME – COMPLETE!

With the door now unlocked and slowly opened as Chiyo smiled lightly. "…There's always an answer to every puzzle." And with that, with the now opened door, she exited her room.

Section 1-G – Main Area

Upon leaving the strange dorm room she found herself in, Chiyo would now find herself in a large lounge style room. The room had a design that seemed to make a daycare like room with suns and smiley faces over the walls with rainbows as the room was filled with things like bean bag chairs, a pool table, those maze toys you would find in a dentist's office, a large set of speakers, what appeared to be a whiteboard that was covered by a sheet behind said speakers, a couple couches, and a pair of large double doors that seemed to be locked. As well as some basic health and safety features like a couple fire extinguishers, an Automated external defibrillator and so on.

Turning to the walls, she would see her room with a sign saying "Room #1" on top as seven more doors with similar titles seemed to rest there. There then appeared to be two different rooms with a male and female sign over it with a scanner at the doorway. Seems to be a pair of bathrooms. Overall, the room looked like a fever dream of a dorm lounge. And she stood there confused as her room door closed behind her with a clicking lock sound… seems there was the same electrical lock on this side.

However, she would then notice that she was not the only one out as another person was sitting down on one of the couches with a notebook in hand. It was a slender but fit girl with a light skin tone. She had heterochromia with her right eye being yellow& her left eye being dark blue, as well as dark circles under her eyes and a burn scar over almost the entire right side of her face. She had was messy waist-length black hair with white and blonde dyed hair mixed within with a big strand in front of her.

Her outfit consisted of a white unzipped hoodie with dark blue cuffs and a yellow hood which had a symbol of a yellow diamond inside with a dark yellow question mark inside the diamond, a black short sleeved mini dress with small ruffles at the bottom, a dark blue shoe on her right foot, a yellow shoe on her left foot, white knee socks, elbow length dark blue fingerless arm warmers, and a small dark blue satchel with a small camera and blank notepad with pens inside. She also had a pair of question mark silver earrings with gray studs.

Looking up from her notebook, the girl would notice the horologist before smiling and waving. Standing up, she walked over to Chiyo and held out a hand. "Hey! Nice to meet ya!" She then chuckled a little bit before sighing. "Dear god, it's nice to see another face in this strange place…" She shook her head as she carefully looked around "Don't know why, but this place gives me the creep… Maybe it's the smiley faces? … Don't know. But I guess this is what I get for getting myself into this mess" She chuckled nervously "But other than that, let me introduce myself! The name's Alethea Richter! Ultimate Travel Vlogger! Or… well… I guess you can consider me as a Former Ultimate Travel Vlogger now…"

PROFILE ADDED-

NAME: Alethea Richter
TALENT: Travel Vlogger
AGE: 20
HEIGHT: 5'6ft
WEIGHT: 131lbs
LIKES: Justice, Parkour, Homemade Snacks, Puzzles, and Humanity
DISLIKES: Failing/Disappointing Others, Confrontation, Fire, Unreliable Information, and Cults/Religion

Chiyo smiled at the girl as she breathed a sigh of relief herself.

"Ah, that's okay. Really, I was just relieved that I wasn't just stuck here on my own." She then took the travel vlogger's hand and shook it before blinking. "…Oh? You're a former Ultimate as well? Hmm…then that probably means you're here for the game as well. Well...even though we'll probably be partaking against each other, it's nice to meet you." She then let go of the travel vloggers hand before noticing the curious expression of Alethea. "...Hm? ...Oh, me? Sorry, my bad. I'm Chiyo. Chiyo Hisakawa. Ultimate Horologist - well, former ultimate, I guess... let's not dwell on the past. I'm sure we'll have a great time here."

However, before the conversation could continue, a loud bang could be heard as the two girls turned to see another door swing open. Following the opening door was what the noise of smoke detectors and smoke as a large man rushed out of the room and towards one of the fire extinguishers and then rushing back to his room where the sound of the fire extinguisher being used could be heard.

Slowly walking out of the room once more was a muscular man with lightly tanned ivory skin. He had a strong jawline, hazel-coloured eyes, defined muscles and strong arms & legs with an overall powerful physique. His had short raven black hair that was slicked back with multiple strands of loose hair sticking out perched on his forehead in a cool and stylish way.

His outfit consisted of a very form fitting dark gray turtleneck long sleeve sweater, navy blue jeans with a dark brown belt that had a large silver ornate belt buckle with a bull's face & gold trim along the edges, a pair of black socks, and a pair of auburn brown cowboy boots with his pant legs going over the boots. He also had a silver wristwatch on his left wrist, a silver necklace with a diamond cross pendant around his neck, and a chain wallet in his right jean pocket.

The man had an annoyed expression however as he placed the fire extinguisher down. "That was awful… why on earth they'd have to make the way to escape my room such a fire hazard?" Turning his head and blinking for a moment, he would straighten himself out and move over to the two girls as he towered over them with a sheepish smile. "Hey there partners. Sorry about that. Meeting like this ain't the most opportune way… but better now than never I say!"

He relaxed a bit and gave a grin. "Name's Jason Dominic Callahan, but call me JD for short, everyone does. I'm the Ult-" However, he stopped himself before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "…oh… right. Forget that. I'm just a firefighter, nothing special about it."

PROFILE ADDED-

NAME: Jason Dominic "JD" Callahan
TALENT: Firefighter
AGE: 26
HEIGHT: 6'5ft
WEIGHT: 258lbs
LIKES: Rainy days, Comic Book Characters, Smores, Rock music & Honesty
DISLIKES: Alcohol/Drugs, Foster Care system, Strawberries, Heat Waves & Country Music

The next door then opened as a tall, lean young man with a decently athletic build walked out. He had olive skin, mischievous looking brown (nearly hazel) eyes, between short and medium length dark purple hair that was pushed back by a thin and small yellow headband, and a toothy grin showing his pearly whites.

His outfit consisted of a bright yellow long sleeve shirt, a brown hooded unzipped sleeveless jacket over top, dark purple jeans with the shirt tucked in, a white belt with a silver buckle designed to look like a little ghost, and a pair of bright yellow high tops with brown laces. Also, his knuckles appeared to be slightly bruised.

He was grinning ear to ear as the door closed behind him as he approached the three. "Real interesting to have an escape room in our rooms. Now, while some may be bemused… I was amused." He chuckled a bit before giving a wink and finger guns to the group. "Hey! My name's Senji Kagami, the former Ultimate Reporter. You may recognize me from me web show, Kagami Chronicles! Say… have you seen a guy who looks like me?" Receiving a shake of the head for no, he frowns. "Damn… well if you see him, tell him his brother's looking for him."

PROFILE ADDED-

NAME: Senji Kagami
TALENT: Reporter
AGE: 20
HEIGHT: 6'0ft
WEIGHT: 158lbs
LIKES: His brother, Technology, Tropical fruit, MeTube and Comedy shows
DISLIKES: Chinese food, Stormy weather, Bullies, Doctors, and Bad internet

JD smiled and patted Senji on the shoulder. "No worries! We'll let him know if we see him." That brought a smile to the reporter's face as another door opened up.

Entering next was a fair young lady who walked out of her room with poise and grace. She had medium length brown hair that was in a ponytail and dark but determined eyes. She held a stance of elegance with her chin up high and a pair of white pearl earrings hanging from her earlobes.

Her outfit consisted of a navy dressage tailcoat with golden buttons on the chest, back, & wrists, a long-sleeved white shirt, a yellow vest, a blue-golden paisley tie, a pair of white riding gloves, light brown breeches, long white socks, and a pair of tall black riding boots with spurs. On her head rested a black top hat with a white bow.

"Bonjour là-bas, my name is Marie-Eve Charlotte II, or Charlie for short. I was formally known as Ultimate Dressage Rider." She then gave a curtsy and a smile.

PROFILE ADDED-

NAME: Marie-Eve Charlotte II
TALENT: Dressage Rider
AGE: 23
HEIGHT: 5'4ft
WEIGHT: 110lbs
LIKES: Sweet Tea, Classical Music, Boots with heels, Soufflé, and Horses
DISLIKES: Coffee, Rock Music, Boots without heels, Crêpe Suzette, and Boars

Alethea looked at her for a moment and blinked. "Well… didn't expect to hear some French today. Québécois or born and raised in France?" Marie smiled and clapped her hands together lightly. "Wow! Très intelligente de ta part. But yes… I am, as you said, born and raised." However, they were then cut off as another door opened up.

Exiting the room was a rather slim man. He had olive skin, light blue eyes, and medium length wavy purple hair that fell over his eyes a bit. He stood there with a smile and a welcoming hand and a couple of cards in his hand. As well, circling around him was multiple different kinds of tarot cards.

His outfit consisted of a purple turtleneck shirt, a black vest overtop, a matching suit jacket, dark red pants, a leather belt, and black shoes. He also had a pair of glasses with jeweled chains coming off of them that clipped to his suit jacket as well as a deck of tarot cards sticking out of his pocket.

Blinking, the man slowly approached the group. "Ah, hello there." He gave a small smile and wave as he shuffled a bit. "I'm Kirito Tsurugi, the Ulti- Ah. Sorry… Former Ultimate Diviner. Pleased to meet you."

PROFILE ADDED-

NAME: Kirito Tsurugi
TALENT: Diviner
AGE: 22
HEIGHT: 5'10ft
WEIGHT: 128lbs
LIKES: Strawberries, Magic, Horoscopes, Tea, and Purple
DISLIKES: Sour Candies, Skeptics, Bullying, Littering, and Spring

Senji raised a brow. "Diviner? You mean like magic? You believe in that?" Kirito nodded a little bashfully. "Yeah… please don't laugh at my interest. I know it's a dying thing to believe in magic… but still." He said that as he pulled out a deck of tarot card with a smile. But before he could do anything, the sound of a door opening would cut him off.

Appearing from said open door was a man with physically fit appearance, similar to marathon runner. He had fair skin, aquamarine eyes, a pearly white smile, short stylish yet unkempt black hair that reached chin length before going into a long and thinner ponytail that reached his mid-back as well as a stubble and a cross tattoo on the left side of his neck.

He wore a black peak lapel suit with a white dress shirt, a red tie, and a pair of black dress shoes. He also had what appeared to be a silver pocked watch in his lapel suit jacket pocket, a pair of onyx black ring earrings, and a gold ring on his left-hand ring finger.

Noticing the group, he had a calm and smile as he gave a bow similar to one a butler would. "Well hello my friends. A pleasure to meet all of you. I am Ryo Katsuragi. You may call me Ryo or 'Spade' if you stop by 'Joker's Wild'." Standing back up, he had scratched the back of his head a bit. "Now… I can't say I'm an Ultimate anymore. I am now just a simple Bartender."

PROFILE ADDED-

NAME: Ryo Katsuragi
TALENT: Bartender
AGE: 29
HEIGHT: 6'1ft
WEIGHT: 166lbs
LIKES: His family, Whisky, Cooking, Calm nights, and Jazz music
DISLIKES: Cheap alcohol, Bad customers, Shakespeare, Pineapple, and Guns

"Bartender? Are you good at only alcohol or perhaps other drinks, non?" It was Marie asking this question as the bartender chuckled. "Don't go mixing me with a mixologist. I just happen to make drinks people want. That's all. So… while bourbon on the rocks is my normal wheelhouse… I'd be happy to offer different drinks to all." But before he could continue, the final door would open up.

From the room emerged a woman. She had a taller and slim stature with a fairly lean build. She had wavy dark blue-green hair that extended down to her upper back that was tired into a side bun with side swept bangs that cover most of her forehead and a slim long strand extending over her left eye. She had reddish orange eyes with faint eyebags and a small mole near the left eye.

Her outfit consisted of a blue gray dress shirt with the top button undone, simple black pants, a maroon jacket with light brown faux fur lining, a pair of dark red closed toe shoes with maroon flats, a pair of silver framed glasses with circular lenses, simple gold studs ear piercings, and a pair of dark gray fingerless gloves.

Stepping out of her room, she noticed the group and blinked before approaching. "Ah. Hello. It's good to meet you all… though I wish we could've met under better circumstances." She would place her hands in her pockets as she continued. "My name is Hitomi Kondo. Forensic Accountant."

PROFILE ADDED-

NAME: Hitomi Kondo
TALENT: Forensic Accountant
AGE: 26
HEIGHT: 5'9ft
WEIGHT: 151lbs
LIKES: Puzzles, FPS games, Manju, Cycling, and Fall
DISLIKES: Corporations, Stalkers, Driving, Fried food, and Outdated technology

Ryo would rub his chin and ponder. "Oh? If I remember, that means you investigate financial misconduct, right?" Hitomi looked at him and nodded. "That's correct. Not many know about this job." Ryo would shrug with a smile. "The bar I work for had someone stealing funds. Had a forensic accountant come in." That answer seemed to satisfy her as she moved to the couches.

Realizing that no more doors would open, and all eight rooms had their person exit, they gathered around the couches and started to discuss. Surprisingly, Chiyo found herself starting the conversation. "S-So… we a-all got that letter f-from this 'Herald'… right?" A response of nods occurred as Alethea continued it. "And if what I've gathered is true… than we're all expelled Ultimates."

This caused an air of silence as everyone looked uneasy. Kirito would laugh weakly and nod. "Y-Yeah… I was expelled from Hope's Peak." Senji nodded with crossed arms. "Same here. We were expelled as well." A chorus of agreement would echo through the group as Hitomi frowned. "So… wait… if we're all expelled ultimates… then we're all looking for some prize that is important to us. But… how would our talents be a part of that? How would Hope's Peak accept it?" This brought about another bought of silence as they group pondered over Hitomi's words.

However, as the eight former ultimates theorised about the situation they were in, a hole in the wall appeared as a large horn popped out and rang out. Suddenly, one of the couches seemed to move on a conveyor as the floor opened up in between them all. It slowly rose up to reveal… a small train track? As they looked at it confused, a small hole at the bottom of the wall opened as a small train traveled the track with a strange looking fox at the helm. The fox was half red and orange, with the red side having white suns plastered all over. The eye on the red side also looked like crazy spiral like sun and overall looked like an actual fox but plush. It even walked on all four.

As the train passed by and moved around near another small hole by the speakers, the fox jumped off the train as it left. Landing on the speakers, the fox with shake and right himself before facing the group with a wild grin. "WHAT'S UP FUCKERS!? How is all our participants!? Kitaiyo is in the house! And… welcome, Team Crimson Alpha… to the ESCAPE ROOM BANANZA IN THE SKY!"

PROFILE ADDED-

NAME: Kitaiyo
TALENT: Crimson Mascot "The BEST Mascot!"
AGE: "Wouldn't you like to know, water-boy?"
HEIGHT: "TALL ENOUGH!"
WEIGHT: "What? Calling me fat? RUDE!"
LIKES: Shiny Things, Music, Magnets, Tricks and Candy
DISLIKES: Chili Peppers, Killjoys, Whistles, Squirt guns and Tennis balls

Looking up at the fox confused, Kitaiyo would blink before sighing. "Righttttttt… need to explain." The fox would flop down, limps spread out, as he frowned and groaned. "But that's so boringggggggggg… … but boss and boss would be upset… fineeeeee." Standing back up, he looked at the group. "So, quiz time, I guess. Question 1: What is something that connects to all of you?"

Everyone was silent, unsure of they should answer the fox, before Marie and spoke up. "Si je ne me trompe pas… we're all former Ultimates, oui?" Kitaiyo rapidly nodded at that with a grin. "Yep! And not just that… you were all expelled from Hope's Peak! …Which is still a dumb school name… like seriously? Hope's Peak? Talk about overachieving. If you go that far… why not just go with 'Extreme Uber Super Duper School of Ultimateness HD addition with Knuckle'?"

The fox then blinked and looked back at the former ultimates. "Whoops. Got sidetracked. Question 2: What did you do that brought you here?" This time, Ryo would answer. "Hmm… I assume it was that we all agreed to the invitation given to all of us." This brought another amount of rapid nodding from the fox. "Yepyep! You all agreed to come here! Of course you were knocked out so you could see the boss and boss… but yeah! You chose to come to this place!" The hyperactive fox then gained a serious expression. "Now… Question 3: What are you in right now?"

The room grew quiet before Alethea spoke up. "…It's a killing game… isn't it?" The air grew tense and quiet as the fox's face was unreadable… before he looked up at them. "…Ehhhhhh… kinda?"

This made the room stop before Chiyo looked at the fox confused. "…erm, excuse me? … But… W-What do you mean by 'kinda?' …Is… What could you mean by that?" The other former ultimates shared a confused expression as the fox sighed. "And that's what we're going over today. The rules of the game!" Suddenly, the fox grabbed sheet covering the whiteboard and revealed… a very kiddy whiteboard with a list of rules and a doodle of Kitaiyo in the corner.

"So! The rules of the 'Escape Room Bananza in the Sky' as I'm calling it… or the boring name of the Heli-carrier Escape Game." The fox then pulled out a pointer stick from behind the speakers and pointed to the first rule listed. "Rule number 1: This game takes place over the entire heli-carrier!" He then pointed to a small map which showed multiple floors and rooms. "Each room is unique and different, and you're not limited to each one. However! Not each room is built equal!"

"The rooms are split into two categories. The first are 'minor rooms', which can be classified as your dorm rooms and such. They have a single solution and once you solve them, you can go back and forth easily without having to solve it again. Think basic escape room and all that." The fox then chuckled a bit as he looked at them. "And trust me… those dorm room puzzles? You haven't seen ANYTHING yet."

Senji nodded at this and approached the fox a bit while gaining a bit of a curious expression. "Interesting! And from what you stated, there most likely 'major rooms'? What secrets do they hold?" The fox looked at him with a deadpan expression. "…Okay. I've decided. I don't like the paparazzi, reporter boy. But you're right. The second type is 'major rooms'. And buckle up… cause this is gonna be a lot."

"So! Major Rooms are like… imagine a section. It's not one room but multiple rooms in a single area, including minor rooms! That's let this dorm room area. It's a major room where minor rooms reside in! But then there's rooms like the bathrooms over there which, don't worry, are not escape rooms. That would be uncomfortable… having to solve puzzles just so you can bring the morning thunder." The fox chuckled at that before returning it's focus.

"Another key aspect of major rooms is that once you enter a major room? You can't leave until it is completed and escaped. Hell, your first one is over there. To enter any major room, you'll need to scan in every living member of your team before the door will open." Kitaiyo pointed with his pointer stick to the large double doors that seemed to block them from leaving. "Now escaping is not just "Solving all the minor rooms". There's more to it. Each major room has a different key to escape. And trust me, you want to leave the major rooms as soon as you can. Because of motives."

Kitaiyo then moved down to the next rule listed. "Rule number 2: Each major room will have it's own motive! And before you ask, no. They do not follow you outside of the major room. Once you solve that major room, you say bye-bye to motive!" The participants nodded at this as Kirito looked at Kitaiyo with a hopeful expression. "Well… can you tell us what the motive in that major room will be?" The fox turned to him… and laughed… and laughed… and laughed some more. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man… that was a good one! …No. I won't be telling you the motive. Nor any motive going forward."

Chiyo blinked at that and looked confused. "So wait… are… we not going to know the motive?" JD nodded at that. "Yeah. What in tarnation are we supposed to do? Never know the motive?" Kitaiyo just shook his head. "No? It's up to you to figure it out. Clues to the motive can be found all over the major rooms and require searching. If you find out and tell me, I can confirm it… then you can choose to tell the others or just keep it to yourself. Of course, come with me with too many random guesses and I'll play tricks on you."

The fox then frowned and decided to pick up the pace a bit. "Okay! Lightning round! Rule number 3: The participants are split into two teams! Rule number 4: Teams are active between 9 and 9 until connected! And Rule number 5: Each participant has a partner in the other team!" As if on cue, he then pointed to a list of names, some being names that they didn't recognize… except… "Wait! Shinpei is on that list!" Sure enough, across from Senji's name was the name 'Shinpei Kagami'… As well…

"Wait… Hironori is on the list as well?" This time, it was Hitomi who spoke up as she noticed the name 'Hironori Kondo' on the list. Chiyo would turn to the two with a curious expression. "Do you… know them?" The reporter and forensic accountant nodded as Senji spoke first. "He's my twin brother. The one I was asking about." Then it was Hitomi. "…Hironori is my younger brother…"

Kitaiyo nodded and grinned. "Bingo! You really think that a ship like this will only host eight ultimates? Nah… they're stuck with miss stick in her butt… but yeah! They're "Azure Beta". The sister team to yours! Each one of you has a partner you can communicate via your 'Crimson Watch'! … … the… the watches you have stuck on you." Their eyes moved to the strange wrist watches as they nodded before Chiyo looked at the rules once more. "…Wait… B-By nine to nine… do you mean AM or PM?" The fox just chuckled at that. "Leave it to the time nerd to ask that question! Put simply? It's nine AM to nine PM for you eight. And at nine PM to nine AM… it's the other team's time to shine!"

Ryo nodded and scratched his chin for a moment. "But then… how does that work exactly? Are we forced to stop when nine PM hits?" Kitaiyo waved his tail at then in nonchalance. "Nahhhh… you just get injected with a sleeping agent from your Crimson Watch." …Silence occurred after that as JD spoke up. "…I'm sorry partner… I think we misheard ya. Did ya say… sleeping agent?" "Nope. You heard me right fireboy. This ain't my first rodeo." The fox had a grin on his face. "Your watches have internal timers that once the time hits nine PM… it'll knock you out for exactly twelve hours. Then when nine AM… you'll find yourselves waking up."

"Now don't worry… you'll be moved to the previous sleeping area once injected. No one is dying cause of bad timing." The fox then frowned and sighed. "But of course… the agent will fail to work if a murder has occurred… which leads to the part of the 'kinda'." As if on cue, he moved towards a section of the board that was sectioned off from the others. "Rule number 6: Murder is not mandatory… but if a murder occurs, then an investigation and trial will occur, and all sleeping agents will be delayed! … So yeah… You could all literally go through this entire thing murder free. It all depends on you all."

…This should have calmed down the fear from the game. However, all it did was create an aura of unease over the eight. All it took to change this into a killing game was one person… but they couldn't focus on that now. For the fox wasn't finished. "To go along that… another lighting round. Rule number 7: Participants cannot kill more than two other participants! Kill any more and you deal with the wrath of the bosses. You're not despair driven monsters for fuck sakes… Rule number 8: If the blackened gets away with the murder, they win the motive/wishes! They are, however, executed if discovered! It's the stuff you know and love. If you kill… try and hide it well enough to escape."

"Now onto the newer stuff. Rule number 9: Murder in a major room automatically completes the room after the trial (if blackened is discovered), no questions asked! If you do solve the murder, you probably would want to leave the major room right away. So we'll unlock the door and get ya to skedaddle right on out of there." The fox then stopped for a moment and sighed. "God… listing the rules sucks… but it needs to be said. Anyways… the last rule!"

"Rule number 10: The game is complete when the truth is discovered!" The fox then stopped and put away the pointer stick. "Welp. That's all from me. See ya!" And before anyone could say anything, the fox jumped behind the speakers and seemed to disappear.

Chiyo would stand there… feeling nervous about the whole interaction… before she was uncertain but now? She would look around to see an equal fear in everyone. This was a game. A game that on the drop of a hat can be a killing game. And they had no one to blame but themselves.

Alethea would look at the others with a frown. "…So. We have two options." This caused the others to turn to the vlogger as she placed her hands behind her head and continued. "We either fall into greed, despair, or whatever the hell and someone kills… or we figure out what that fox means with rule ten." Turning to the final rule… the looming question remained.

What did they mean by the truth? What truth holds this game in motion?

All around, the eight members of the first team, Crimson Alpha, would gain a serious look. They all had their own agendas, their own goals… each with their own reason for being here. And now… trust was needed.

So, they approached the exit of the room together. Looking around at one another, no one seemed to be stepping forward to open the door. If what Kitaiyo said was true… then the first real 'Major Room' would be behind these doors. So, gathering her courage, Chiyo stepped forward.

Seeing as no one was stopping her, she would reach for the door. Chiyo would grab the door handle with her left hand… before feeling a slight stinging sensation in wrist. Looking at her hand for a second, she shook her head as she turned to the others… before facing and pushing the door open.

Suddenly, the world started to grow dark and spin as Chiyo watched everyone fall to the ground one by one. All the while, a feeling of heat brushed across her face as she fell forward towards a large soft yet grainy surface.

All around her was darkness as the faint sound of her watch beeping could be heard.

…

Suddenly, the clock face started to shift and turn. The hands stood still as the face rotated clockwise… until the top half was now the purple side. A loud bell from the clock rang out as the clock disappeared into the darkness once more.

…

-TO BE CONTINUED-

16/16 REMAINING

Hello everyone! VoidRebirth here!

Sorry it took so long… Like... a month? Holy fuck.

But truth be told? Been getting used to a new job. It's a big job so it's been my priority. Plus, on some days off… I just didn't have the creative energy or physical energy to write. If I feel like writing, I will... but I won't force myself to write since it'll make a worse product for you to enjoy that I won't be happy with.

Combined with having to get the rules prepared for this part? OH BOY was it a lot!

But here it is! And don't expect a ton of parts soon. I'm fully committing to this inconsistent schedule cause… I'm gonna write when I have the creative energy to. Because if I wrote whenever I could without the drive… it would fall flat, right?

Anyways… For those who didn't understand… here are the rules of the game!

1. This game takes place over the entire heli-carrier!
[The location is the heli-carrier and if one wanted to… they could travel the entire ship with ease. However… escape rooms litter the ship. Enter one and it has to be completed. Rooms themselves are split into two parts.
Major Rooms: Where the motives reside and basically the 'new areas' of the game.
Minor Rooms: Basic escape rooms that reside in major rooms and all around.]

2. Each major room will have it's own motive!
[Motives are based on what major room the group/participants are in. Once they are in the major room, they are affected by the motive. Once they leave, the motive is gone for good. Also… motives will not be stated to anyone and must be figured out on their own.

This also means I won't be saying the motive to you all and you'll have to try and figure it out yourselves as well :) So have fun with that!]

3. The participants is split into two teams!
[As shown with the cast reveal… I've split the cast of 16 into two groups of 8. Now, I plan for them to connect up later on… but this allows the characters to shine more in their specific groups. The two teams are "Crimson Alpha" and "Azure Beta". …And no. I won't list the full cast again. Check up the last part or my profile page to see.]

4. Teams are active between 9 and 9 until connected!
[What this means is that each team has a time frame of 12 hours per day.

Crimson Alpha has 9am to 9pm while Azure Beta has 9pm to 9am. When the time frame ends, the awake team will be injected with a sleeping agent and moved to their sleeping area while the other team wakes up.

Of course, I don't plan for them to be split up the entire time. So when the two teams connect, this rule will be deactivated.

The only other time this sleeping agent will fail to work is if a murder has occurred and one needs to find said murder.]

5. Each participant has a partner in the other team!
[Not all connection is split between the two groups. Each member of the cast has a partner in the other team they can message/leave notes for. For the partners, I introduced them together but here's the list for you just in case.

Chiyo Hisakawa – Minato Tamura
Senji Kagami – Shinpei Kagami
Ryo Katsuragi – Noemi Renée
Hitomi Kondo – Hironori Kondo
Kirito Tsurugi – Azuna Komatsuzaki
Marie-Eve Charlotte II – Annabel Darby
JD Callahan – Masahiko Arashiyama
Alethea Richter – Kame Bohr

So yeah… memorize this or write it down cause I'm not gonna repeat it.]

6. Murder is not mandatory… but if a murder occurs, than an investigation and trial will occur, and all sleeping agents will be delayed!
[Can't have Danganronpa without an old fashioned murdered. And we can't have you sleeping while the body is stinking the place up.]

7. Participants cannot kill more than two other participants!
[This is a standard rule where one can commit two acts of murder… but any attempt for more will be stopped immediately. Failure to adhere by this rule leads to execution.]

8. If the blackened gets away with the murder, they win the motive/wishes! They are, however, executed if discovered!
[So some motives work with murder and overall, everyone wants their wishes. But either you wait till the game is over… or some get impatient and kill. It all depends.

This is the basic shit ya know?]

9. Murder in a major room automatically completes the room after the trial (if blackened is discovered), no questions asked!
[I mean… why stay in a room if the murder already happened? So yeah… out of the room you go upon the trial's conclusion.]

10. The game is complete when the truth is discovered!
[When the truth behind this game is discovered, then the game ends.

That is all the details I will give for this rule.]

But… that's all for now! Until next time! See you all later!

VoidRebirth signing out!