Trial 1-3: You Should've Known Better
(This execution is pretty messed up, so, if you feel uncomfortable or triggered at any time, please stop reading and take care of yourself)
Beta Read by: Lupus Overkill (the best beta ever)
"Mom, can you tell me some bedtime stories?" I asked her. My speech was much too formal for that of a three-year-old, but I have always been one to mature quite quickly.
My biological mother, whoever she may be, should have never been this cheerful. My biological mother, whoever she used to be, should have known better. My biological mother, whoever she was before she was better off dead, should have never wasted time with lullabies and bedtime stories. I learned from her mistakes and never did the same.
"Of course! Hmm, should we go over Alice in Wonderland again? There's always the Jabberwocky. Maybe I should stop telling that to kids...why do you kids like it so much?" My mother fixed up her hair a little. No matter how much she tried, however, her hair would not listen to her.
There was the sound of screaming in the hallways. That sounded like Misoka. Minori should have stopped her.
"Let's ignore that, shall we?" My mother laughed with her smile strained.
The sound of something big being thrown against the wall and crying.
"Can I hear something else? What stories did your dad tell you?" I asked her. My mother stared at me and blinked. After that, she continued staring until the sound of more footsteps could be heard throughout the halls.
"Don't tell your father that I told you this story, right? I think it is how it goes. It's a folktale, I believe." Once again, the woman looks off into the distance before returning her attention to me.
"Formerly dogs could speak. Now they cannot. The reason is that a dog, belonging to a certain man a long time ago, inveighed his master into the forest under the pretext of showing him game, and there caused him to be devoured by a bear. Then the dog went home to his master's widow, and lied to her, saying: 'My master has been killed by a bear. But when he was dying he commanded me to tell you to marry me in his stead.' The widow knew that the dog was lying. But he kept on urging her to marry him. So at last, in her grief and rage, she threw a handful of dust into his open mouth. This made him unable to speak anymore, and therefore no dogs can speak even to this very day."
"But a dog wouldn't do that, mom!" I protested. Although it is foolish to ever seek out more, perhaps I should have asked for more stories.
"Well, that's because they learned their lesson..." My mother bit her lip. "Whenever somebody teaches you a lesson, learn it, or you'll be hurt as well. Only lie when you need to."
There was a gunshot. Of course, there was more screaming, but, at this point, it only caused a headache.
"Mom, can you tell me more about the other side of my family?" I followed my mom while she hurried us under the bed. The sound of somebody being dragged could have been heard outside.
"As long as you promise to stay quiet..."
"I will! I can be a good kid!" For whatever reason, I was smiling even with the chaos transpiring past those doors.
"I don't remember much actually..." My mother sighs. "My father was a massive supporter of Shiro Kayano. I still don't know how he's managed to survive this long against...wait, you're too young. I keep forgetting that."
"Shiro...Kayano? I like that name. Shiro, Shiro, Shiro...can I be called that instead? It's so much cooler than my other one." I pouted.
"Wow, you kids are something else. Sure...Shiro. Just don't tell your dad where you got it from. Say you heard it from one of your siblings. I'm sure there's another Shiro in this family somewhere." My mother grabbed my too little, weak hands.
"Okay...but why can't I?"
"You're full of questions today..." My mother answered. "Your father doesn't like us speaking about our Ainu heritage. The Committee doesn't want us to be here. So only tell people you trust, alright? And nobody with our last name."
"Aw..."
"Now let's talk about something else. You trust your mother, right? It's time to get out from underneath here!"
I closed my eyes for a moment. The next thing I know, the both of us are in a dark room, only days later, with there being no life in my mother's cold, dim eyes. Smiles and promises are worth nothing in this world.
This is why you never get close to anyone. No matter how much you believe that everything will last forever, everything made by human beings is destined to fall apart. It's simply our nature as selfish, greedy creatures. Nothing good ever lasts. Nothing bad ever truly goes away.
"..." Emilynn stares at Etsuko intently, with light missing from her dim eyes.
"That can't be true! Something like this hasn't happened before!" Osamu cries out. "Mononeko, you're more reasonable than Monokuma. That means Emilynn can't be the killer! She did nothing wrong!"
Ichiko bites onto one of her fingernails. Her mouth keeps on moving, but nothing but air comes out. The majority of the people here are still processing the truth, for it is their first time being exposed to the truth of the world. Justice never exists. If you believe in justice, you are nothing but a fool. The justice system only serves the people in power, in this case, whoever is controlling this game.
Everybody else is only their puppet, deluding themselves into thinking they have no strings, and not realizing that their nose grows whenever they lie.
"You know that's wrong, Osamu," Mononeko groans. "I have no power over this. You do. Vote for whoever you think is guilty. Or you can continue arguing. I might be able to buy you some more time. Just add more drama, I guess. They really like that."
"How are we so sure you're not acting this way just to fool us, Mononeko? Emilynn is a much bigger threat to your plans than Etsuko." Yuu questions. True, they could be doing whatever they can to get McKay out.
"I'm being so smart! Continue on, Yuu!" Yuki for once is not interrupted by Fubuki. Guess Fubuki finally has other things to worry about.
"I challenge this truth then! I refuse to let a tragedy happen like this when we're not in the realm of fantasy!" Seina shouts.
"Weren't you one of the people that got us here in the first place?" Choumi asks dead-panned.
"Couldn't it also be that Saitou is the killer?" Kitsu questions. "I don't understand everything, but it's about who triggered the trap. Saitou was there too. It could be a suicide?"
"Emilynn already admitted into Saitou pushing her into the wire. Except if you want to say that Etsuko is protecting Emilynn who is protecting Saitou who is already dead." Choumi crosses her arms.
"It's none of that! Focus your attention on the villain! Anybody with a brain would know I'm bad news! Let me analyze all your true selves before I go out in a blaze of glory!" Etsuko waves her arms around, but nobody is listening to her.
"..." Emilynn does not make eye contact.
"I know when somebody is lying, Etsuko," Ayumu warns her. "Stop it with this bullshit and reveal the truth."
"Emilynn, I know it's hard, but you're gonna have to tell us the truth," Seina carefully states. Having nice words and gestures would not allow somebody to allow themselves to die, however.
"If we're wrong about this, I'm going to force Fubuki to make a happy show to cheer you up!" Jun smiles. "You like video game stuff, right? I'm sure there's a play like that. I'll make sure Mononeko will give us the scripts we need."
"We won't need that since hope will shine through with Etsuko finally out of the picture," Fubuki rebuts. The two siblings begin to stare each other down.
"The class seems split again. Mononeko, I think we might need to do another scrum debate." Himura presses his thumb against his mouth.
"I'll see if they'll allow me..." Mononeko gets out a phone from the dark void of nowhere and starts whispering into it. Once again, the whole courtroom is left in silence.
Nobody dares to speak, only shifting their eyes and examining their classmates. The tension is thick and every second becomes even heavier. Not even Kobi, Pon-chan, or Ratscal dare to make a sound. All of the animals are tense, with all of their tails being raised as if in unison.
"This is too awkward! We should be discussing things while Mononeko is busy!" Yuki complains. She dramatically lays down on the small floor of her podium.
"You do realize that Mononeko can still see us, right?" Choumi responds.
"We should still try something!" The singer still protests, refusing to listen to reason. Nobody joins in with her cries. "There has to be a way to escape!"
"We're in space..." Leonie sighs. She starts going in the direction further away from Yuki.
"Only if there was some way to escape. We could have fun looking at the stars." Chika raises one of her hands in the air. With the glass being clear, it is almost like she is reaching and touching the stars.
"Doing something like hacking the mainframe of the computer system controlling all the tech won't work here because, um, space! Does anybody have any knowledge driving a car, let alone piloting a spaceship?" Fubuki points out.
The alternate reality game designer underestimates me like people usually do. Perhaps because I look so stereotypically feminine (I still do not understand why people so desperately cling onto gender roles, since they're so illogical) even though everything about me is a man. Whatever. I do actually have a license, my own car, and I am confident enough in my driving skills. Sometimes I even just sit in the car after work, put on the radio, and relax away from the rest of the world. It may be running away from my problems, but it is only for a couple of minutes.
"Um, I know how to drive a car in video games. Would that help?" Mei says. Somebody should help this poor child, her naivete is going to get somebody killed.
T̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶o̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶n̶a̶i̶v̶e̶.̶ ̶S̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶k̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶b̶o̶d̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶e̶a̶t̶.̶ ̶D̶o̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶e̶i̶v̶e̶d̶.̶ ̶M̶e̶i̶ ̶Y̶a̶m̶a̶z̶a̶k̶i̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶e̶a̶t̶.̶ ̶Y̶a̶m̶a̶z̶a̶k̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶u̶s̶t̶e̶d̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶s̶u̶f̶f̶e̶r̶.̶
⊥ɥǝ ʇɹnǝ Wǝı ⅄ɐɯɐzɐʞı onʇsɯɐɹʇs ns ɐll
"If only we actually had useful Ultimates here..." Yuu scoffs.
"Hey, there's me! I could make something that can be better than these despairs ever could dream of! I just need the right tools and Mononeko not breathing down my neck!" Tahlia complains. Even if Tahlia is overly arrogant, I do not doubt her ability to end everything if not under constant supervision.
"We could just discuss the case without the barriers of the trial system," Hanane points out. "It might be easier to solve without all of those flashy minigames. I have met amateurs that would organize a better system than this."
"People are too obsessed with the old way of doing things and not looking outside the box! Everything about this game needs to be updated," Fubuki nods her head.
"Uh, does anybody know the Jabberwock Killing Game. That may be the key here," Ichiko states. For once in this trial, she is not searching through all of her notes. Instead, she is playing with the cuffs of her sleeves.
"This case is already solved! Come on, guys, it's not that difficult! Everything about me screams that I'm the villain. I'm the person in every single one of these games that will backstab anyone that stands in the way of my goals and makes a nuisance of myself!" Etsuko tries to reason with everybody using her faulty logic.
Too many people are looking at this like it is a piece of fiction. Real people do not act like fictional ones. We will not fit nicely into tropes, or perform a circus for our audience. All human beings have their own self-interest as their motivator. Acting the role of the fool will easily get those who are too trusting to fall victim to your traps.
"The producers said we can do another one. Just don't make this become a habit!" Mononeko breaks everybody away from their own thoughts.
We barely have time to process information before our screens change once again. Now the two options are Seina and Etsuko. Seeking the truth, or believing the lies.
RESULTS IN:
TEAM SEINA: SEINA, ICHIKO, HIMURA, SHIRO, HANANE, LEONIE, CHOUMI, AYUMU, ASUKA, JUN, SACHIKO, MIZORE, CHIKA, KAIMARU, LEONIE, ROKURO, TAHLIA, FUBUKI
TEAM ETSUKO: ETSUKO, EMILYNN, OSAMU, NATSUKI, SUZUNAMI, YUU, YUKI, MEI, KITSU
"Since we already did this already, and there's still way too many of you, I'm only choosing three from each side. I want this trial to be over with already. Why couldn't you have pointed out the obvious killer from the start?" Mononeko yawns.
"The obvious killer being me!" Etsuko shouts. Ayumu does his best to not sigh.
"Your acting skills need to improve..." Kitsu groans. "When we're done, I can also teach you some acting! Maybe then your plans will succeed."
"Wait, didn't you agree with me?" The psychologist analyzes every inch of the commercial actor. Kitsu only grins at her.
"Whatever, you can have your own drama later! We've already wasted too much of this trial on teen angst. Why couldn't I be given a game with all older adults? They would've finished already...oh well, random generator." Mononeko tries to hop on Kobi's head, but the dog dodges out of the way.
Too bad Kobi forgot he is on the head of Keiji. Who then fails on the floor from the unexpected impact. It is almost like Mononeko wants Choumi to kill her after this game is over.
TEAM SEINA: AYUMU, LEONIE, ROKURO
TEAM ETSUKO: OSAMU, ETSUKO, EMILYNN
"Oh, it's my turn!...From what we know, Etsuko set up the trap. Emilynn triggered it though. In this society, the fair option doesn't get chosen by the elite," Ayumu explains.
"There are no rules stating who would be deemed guilty in this case! We can easily twist it so Emilynn doesn't get punished for something she didn't do!" Osamu shouts. It is refreshing to see him without Sachiko's influence, but the child has a lot more to learn.
"Didn't Ichiko say something about another game having a case like this? She is against your reasoning, so, even if it's not stated in the official manual, it is clear what the producers want," Leonie says. After her forced involvement in this debate, Leonie begins to fidget.
"Ichiko could easily make all of that stuff up. It's really not that hard," Etsuko shrugs. "All of you are really gullible. Plus, even if Ichiko is telling the truth, that's Monokuma, this is Mononeko. She'll make the right decision this time! After all, nobody here is a traitor."
"I hate to be the person to bring this up, but there have really been not many facts this conversation. Emilynn was who triggered the trap, thus causing Saitou's death. Now please get me out of this starting role. I'm not good in this amount of spotlight." Rokuro sighs.
"...I don't want to die. This is a repeat from last time..." Emilynn gulps. "I'm the killer."
"...Is this truly your answer?" Monokuma questions. Emilynn weakly nods her head.
FULL CONFESSION!
BREAK!
"I have to rely on my luck! Perhaps a computer program will come out of nowhere and stop my execution! Oh, and somebody cute comes to find me in the trash with ramen on my head. Even real-life follows its own tropes," Emilynn explains when all of the podiums come back down.
"So...it's Emilynn?" Mei asks. "Is there going to be a secret shot put ball here somewhere?" Emilynn, Etsuko, and Osamu glare at her.
"Something isn't right here. That aura still won't go away," Sachiko says. Pon-chan is still with her, staying near the miko's feet.
"Yes, because Emilynn isn't the killer! I keep telling you! I won't let any of you get away with this for much longer!" Etsuko refuses to let go of her useless arguments.
The psychologist slams her fist on her podium much like a child being refused a toy. This is going way longer than it should, thanks to Etsuko's outlandish ideas. If somebody is a killer, they may as well help everybody by making their trial less frustrating than this.
"I can confirm with my calculations that Emilynn is indeed who caused Saitou's death. My question is though...why did Saitou push her? No matter what idea I come up with, there are too many holes! I need something with at least fifty percent success rate!" Mizore completely ignores Etsuko's outburst.
"We need to find another way to do this. I refuse to think that sending an innocent person to their death is the only way!" Asuka demands. Once again, this whole group's intelligence is highly questionable.
Stop trying to save everybody. By trying to become the hero, you will only hurt more people by giving them a sense of hope in this messed-up situation. It is better to teach people to finally think for themselves and stop using childish ideals. If your worldview can be easily defined by one word, perhaps you need to analyze yourself and the world more.
Just stop trying. It hurts less to not do anything at all than to stand up and fail.
"Emilynn, please tell us what happened when you were alone in that hallway, okay? I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you." Seina continues to be one of the most annoying people here.
"I-"
"Don't say anything. I want them to figure out the truth! Come on, you cowards, does the obvious twist scare you so badly? Does everything have to be shocking for you to truly understand?" Etsuko questions. "Sometimes life is simple, sometimes difficult. So vote for me, finally, give me the answer of which I seek!"
"We're gonna have to do another repeat, then? Hurry up. You're nearly out of time. I can only give you ten more minutes max if you go further," Mononeko warns. "Hey, Shiro, you get stuff done quickly, please talk Etsuko down too. All this yelling is gonna make everything so much more difficult."
"What!? Why me?"
"Shiro, you're reliable. And I don't want to explain everything again. Do it!" Mononeko leads no more room for debate.
All I can see before me now is a twisted doctor that is still trying to keep their patient alive even after years of torture. Etsuko is another little girl, too small for her uniform but still trying to wear it proudly. There is no more plague doctor, for this is a matter far removed from any illness.
ARGUMENT ARMAMENT
"Finally somebody that has to listen to what I say! Simply I'm a villain and Emilynn is the hero. Everybody that actually knows what's going on would make that connection. After all, it was strange that little miss me could just walk away without any consequences. Well, there were consequences, but you don't need to know that right now."
BREAK!
"Even with this, you're ignoring me! I keep giving you more and more hints about what's going on! It's going to be so much fun watching your reactions from the grave! So sad I can't say more without being skewered. I want my execution, not one of those wimpy ass punishments."
BREAK!
"Now you're just being annoying! Listen to me! I'm the main bad guy of this entire show! Are you ignoring me because I'm not a Despair? News flash, not every asshole is a Despair! Some people can't fall into Despair no matter how hard anybody tries! The question is: can you fall into insanity, Shiro Amari? Maybe I can see you become the next me!"
BREAK!
"Come on, I'm doing full-on monologues here without anybody saying anything! Why won't any of you say something!? Anything! Is it because you're on your high horse that all of you are good people unlike me? You're not like Emilynn. You stand by and watch the world burn while people like me continue to take control! Because it's just simply too uncomfortable for you to see the truth and question your childish understanding!"
FINAL BLOW!
"This has gone on far too long! So I demand you to say something. Tell me, Shiro Amari, do you even know why I would commit such a horrid act? Since I'm nothing more than a monster with too much of a thirst for knowledge."
KILL | TRAITOR | A | TO
"Wait, Etsuko's trap was specifically placed where no participants should have known beforehand. There's no other reason than to put it where nobody should have ever found it. This line of logic concludes that Etsuko was trying to kill a traitor. Perhaps it was also to ensure that the body would never be found."
FINAL BREAK!
"Then how does Saitou hit into this? He's not the mastermind, otherwise, the game would be over," Asuka points out.
"A traitor perhaps? He did get brought into the game strangely," Leonie answers.
"That's what I just said..." I sigh.
"This confirms it. Never trust anybody willing to sing meme music-"
"We don't have enough evidence to continue theorizing about Saitou's role in this game. None of us knew him very well so we can't figure out the reasoning for anything," Mizore interrupts Yuki. "What I want to point out, however, is that Emilynn and Etsuko have both got three strikes and they're not out. Am I the only one here counting?"
Really? Even somebody like me was too caught up in the emotions of it all that I did not stop to do something as simple as counting. Even though Mizore is still too much of a wild card to be useful outside of trials, perhaps she will prove her usefulness in the simple art of counting.
"Emilynn didn't but I did-"
"Etsuko, stop it." Emilynn bites her lip.
"Two killers? What does this mean?" Instead of any of the students, I am shocked to see that Mononeko is the one asking that question. The cat quickly calls up her supervisors once again.
"Are they messing with us and working together to fool everybody?" Kitsu questions.
Although I am hardly one to vouch for somebody's character, they do not seem to be the type of people to do something like that. These idiots are being way too genuine with their emotions.
"You have a point, Kitsu. Only if we had more time..." Leonie murmurs.
"Excuse me, I don't need anybody to fulfill my evil plans! Emilynn wouldn't like doing something like this. Plus, I'm pretty sure that goes against the whole alibi thing unless you want to rewrite this entire trial again in ten or fewer minutes," Etsuko smirks.
"Even somebody like the great and powerful Tahlia needs a helping hand every now and then! Also, don't frame me again! You're jealous of my beauty, is that it?" Good news, Tahlia is back to her old self.
"Still, I think things would be clearer if Emilynn told us everything about what happened in there. Let's not interrupt this time again, okay? Otherwise, I'm going to have to start scolding people," Seina states.
"This is a bummer. Why can't I just show a flashback? This format is so limiting..." Emilynn clears her throat. "Saitou and I went in the hall together and left Ayumu, Sachiko, and Shiro behind. We walked and talked about random things. Then suddenly, he pushed me into the wire. You know all the rest already. Don't make me repeat it like an annoying NPC."
Even Emilynn's weak smile is strained. Is this all that happened though? There will be no way to tell for certain. Although I am sure that there are security cameras, I highly doubt they would allow us to view them. Plus, if they do not have night vision, then even the footage the cameras capture themselves would be not very helpful. Not to mention, if the producers decided to be cheap, there could not even be sound.
"That wasn't very helpful," Choumi scolds.
"Not everything has to have its purpose, you know. All of you really need to have a chill pill-"
"People are still dying, Kaimaru!" Rokuro frowns.
"We really don't need to be fighting. After all of this is over, we can figure more stuff out," Chika says.
"Alright, um, it seems to either of them can be considered the killer. Haha...yeah. Anyway, no more talking, they demand an answer right now," Mononeko explains. There is something seriously wrong going on.
None of us can talk until a familiar screen pops up and forces us the vote once again. We might have been taking forever, but I am pretty sure that somebody upstairs does not want a specific secret out. What could that be? I may be able to answer it with more research and prodding, though it is smart not to get too involved in the main plot. After all, they do seem to target those who they deem to be threats.
For a rare moment, true justice can be served by sending Etsuko to her death and saving Emilynn. This is way too good to be true. It is almost like they want us to spare Emilynn and not Etsuko. Could it be that Etsuko proved more dangerous to them than originally thought? Or is something else going on?
With only a few seconds remaining, I vote for Emilynn.
"Your votes have been counted for. Let's see the results." Mononeko has a lot less enthusiasm than before. If anything, she is more confused than the rest of us.
Etsuko Abe - Votes: 13
Emilynn McKay - Votes: 13
Time to leave it to the jury!
Seriously? Of all conclusions, we found a way to somehow tie it. This is all your fault, Renkou.
"This is...something. I already admitted that it's one of these two. I guess both of them are correct? What? Jury, just decide who you want to send to their death." Mononeko jumps onto the floor in front of the jury and begins to pace around.
"What? Can't we have both of them live? They managed to tie without thinking ahead. That should count for something!" Keiji reasons. Kobi weakly nods his head.
"Sorry, kid, but we need an execution. I can't flake out, so the decision is on you three," Mononeko explains. Her pacing quickens, almost to the point of jogging.
"Keiji, we have to do it..." Sora hangs his head.
"This isn't what love is supposed to be, but I'll do it!" Surprisingly, Aito slams onto his screen, already making his decision.
Keiji is next to insert his answer, only taking a second to fully consider his options. However, Sora takes longer, much like me. He enters his answer at the last possible second.
Votes In
Jury Decided
That...is not the same screen as before. Why isn't it showing us who they voted for? In fact, why did Mononeko tell us the three-strikes rule for the Jury if she is not deciding to use it? If that cat kept her mouth shut, the only person that would absolutely know would be Aito, and, for obvious reasons, people would not trust him.
"The Trial has been decided. Now please wait, we have to do the new procedures. They don't want you discussing after the Trial anymore..." Mononeko tells us.
"Don't make all of us useless, Mononeko! Because we aren't!" Choumi scolds the robotic cat. Mononeko does not pay attention to the courier.
"This...isn't how it's supposed to go..." Ichiko's eyes are dilated. "We're supposed to talk after the trial...that is how this works..."
"Let's just say that there were too many breakouts last time. And we aren't taking our chances here," Mononeko laughs. "You can discuss your feelings and explore your trauma in the after trials. The producers wanted all of you to do more stuff during those."
"You goddamn bastards! You're even worse than the Committee to act like people's lives are just for the sake of your entertainment-" Tahlia's speech is cut off by Mononeko sending her podium through her door, which now all of the doors are open.
"Sorry, but it's just business." Mononeko finally stops her pacing and faces all of us. Then she presses a button.
All of us proceed to leave the room except for Aito, Keiji, Sora, Emilynn, and Etsuko. If Mononeko gave us a moment more to think, I would not be surprised if some so-called genius would have tried attacking her.
Once again in the room before the trial, I see that the television shows us all those who remain in the courtroom. The food is still here, but it has gotten too cold by now to be enjoyed properly.
"Once again, so sorry about this! Turns out after having everybody escape and having to bring them back...two times, then having somebody force an execution to stop, and then having our plans get derailed because some idiot decided to execute what we worked so hard to achieve...ahem, things have been working horribly on our front with keeping everybody here," Mononeko explains. "Oh yeah, we had people try to throw a trial to save somebody who was going to die anyway and the other time somebody murdered one of their classmates!"
Wait, somebody really did try to leave during the Trials during these games? Not only once, but multiple times? Who would be stupid enough to do such a thing?
"I won't allow you to do this! Kobi, stay back!" Keiji proclaims. Oh yeah, that idiot is still there. Only if Choumi was around to make sure that he does not constantly almost die.
"I'll join you! Only I'm allowed to torture people!" Aito stands proudly next to the dog walker. Of course, Kobi has run off to a safe place, the throne.
"As much as I enjoy seeing you react like this, don't get yourself executed saving a witch like me!" Etsuko demands. So there is a heart hidden somewhere inside all that madness. She should have squashed it while she still had a chance.
Etsuko and Emilynn remain on their podiums that are still floating in the air. Both of the podiums are too high in the air for either of them to jump safely.
"I don't want to die so you can save this damsel in distress!" Emilynn's whole body is shaking.
"..." Unlike the other two men, Sora stays where he is, almost like he is frozen in time. It is good to see that somebody there at least has some survival instincts.
"We don't have time for this," Mononeko complains. Although she is around two feet, Mononeko's presence looms above them all.
Keiji and Aito, truly the two biggest fools in this spaceship besides Etsuko and that dead man, are then ambushed by copies of Mononeko that hold them down. She is not even considering the idea of potentially letting the two of them try anything to help the two girls. Sora, of course, remains untouched.
"Kobi, I change my mind, get them!" Keiji demands. Kobi lays down on the throne, finally getting truly comfortable. That seat is the only one fit to hold a king like that dog.
"Looks like it's just the two of us again," Etsuko smirks.
"Junie, just tell me the real reason behind all of this!" Emilynn demands much more forceful than I have ever heard from her. Also, what kind of nickname is Junie?
"...Emily, I wanted to kill Hope. She's here." Etsuko hides her face from the rest of us and Emilynn.
"Hope!?" Emilynn almost falls off her podium. "Does this mean the Future Foundation truly is involved!? Why do bastard villains find themselves involved in every plot point!?"
"What does all of this mean!?" Keiji cries out in confusion. For once, I agree with him.
"You don't want to know..." Sora, of all people, responds.
"Both of you are stupid idiots!" Aito shouts. "You promised me you would stay! That you wouldn't be like Reichiru and Utsuwa! Don't you dare betray BUN like this!"
"It's already too late, Aito. I think they'll understand," Etsuko sadly smiles.
"As emotional as this is, I'm being told we really have to get a move on. People have been waiting for death far too long," Mononeko's face does not change.
"I don't want to die! I don't want you to die either, Junie!" Emilynn begs. "There has to be another way out of this! In video games, there's always another way!"
"Don't worry about me, Emily. I don't fear death like you do. I'm thrilled everybody figured out what a monster I am!" Etsuko's smile becomes wider. "So let me embrace death with open arms!"
"GDI, Junie-"
"I can't believe I have to say these words with actual energy. Urgh. Let's give it everything we got! It's our first PUNISHMENT TIIMMMMMMMmmmeeeeeeee!" Mononeko ruins it by coughing right afterward. I notice that while I was not paying attention, Mononeko moved back to her throne, sharing the space with Kobi.
There is another seeming glitch effect in my vision. I really should get my vision checked after this.
t? ﾼﾥяＥ ?ￅﾟ Ａ Ｇ? ﾏ? Ⓦ?t? яＥ? ? ﾼﾡ? ﾏ Ⓦ?t? Ａ ᵇ?ￏﾃŇ? ﾼﾥ ⓕＡ? ﾝﾐﾢŇＧ ?ￏﾃⓌŇ şσ爪Ｅᵇσ? ﾝﾕﾪ Ⓦ?t? Ⓦ? ﾝﾐﾢtＥ ? ﾼﾡ? ﾏ. ᗝⓕ ?ￏﾃ? ﾏşＥ, t? ﾼﾥяＥ'ş Ａ?ￅﾟσ ＡŇ Ｅ? ﾽﾐ?ￏﾃş?ￏﾃŇ ＡŇ? tσσ 爪? ﾝﾓﾬ? ş? ﾏＥＡ爪?ￅﾇＧ tσ 爪Ａ? ﾼﾥ şＥŇşＥ σⓕ ＡŇ?t? ﾝﾐﾢŇＧ.
Emilynn reaches her hand out as far as she could to try to reach Etsuko, who only continues to smile.
INTERMISSION OVER
Etsuko and Emilynn have been found guilty by the court of Mononeko
TIME FOR PUNISHMENT!
Chains wrap around Etsuko and Emilynn's necks and drag them somewhere unknown, as the screen fades to black. Before that, however, Keiji and Aito try reaching out their hand to stop their demise, but they are still tied up by the Mononeko clones.
When the screen is lit up again, Etsuko and Emilynn are both in what looks like to be a therapist's office. Instead of the usual chairs, however, Etsuko and Emilynn are both tied down to hospital beds. One of the Mononeko clones comes out and only rolls Etsuko's bed out of the room.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Spaceship
Ultimate Psychologist Etsuko Abe's Penalty
In the hallway of the supposed mental hospital, a hoard of Mononeko clones swarm Etsuko's cot. The psychologist does not try to break free from her restraints and has a smile glued onto her face. The smile does not fade when Etsuko's head is connected to some sort of machine by small little patches. Even with the Mononeko clones still running down the hall, they administer the electroshock therapy, with one of the clones carrying the machine in her small little arms.
With every shock, Etsuko's body violently twists, but she still cannot break free because of the restraints. She still refuses not to smile. Even when it becomes so painful that Etsuko begins to scream. I did not know somebody like her could ever sound that distressed yet still be so carefree and happy.
Finally, the Mononekos stop the cruel so-called therapy when they stop at another door, which is at the other side of the hallway. All of the cat nurses open the door to reveal some sort of twisted surgery room. There is blood everywhere with the floor being littered with unclean needles.
Etsuko's bed is moved to the center. One of the Mononekos begins to search the room until she lifts up one of the dirty needles. Mononeko moves to Etsuko and is about to insert the needle into Etsuko's eye. At that moment, however, Etsuko's bindings break free and the psychologist makes a run for it. The Mononekos try to keep up with her, but they cannot match her speed.
Although Etsuko can barely keep herself straight and keeps tripping over her own feet, she continues to run to the other side of the hallway. In what only seems like seconds, Etsuko reaches where she started, not caring whether or not she is just continuing the cycle.
Etsuko opens the door. Instead of the therapist's office from before, the room now is a science lab with two tubes in the middle. Emilynn is in one of them, banging harshly and begging to be let out. The psychologist is about to do just that when the Mononekos come up, catching up to Etsuko thanks to her moment of indecisiveness. Thanks to this moment of hesitation, Etsuko is shoved in the other tube.
Etsuko bangs on her tube, catching Emilynn's attention. She mouths something like 'don't worry, no matter what, you'll always live.' Emilynn takes a step back and her pupils dilate.
Uncle Lovecraft's Fun Time Murder Hole
Ultimate Lucky Student Emilynn McKay's Execution
Without much of a warning, the two tubes fall quickly down a couple of floors. They both land harshly on the ground. Etsuko and Emilynn both fall from the impact, with Emilynn face smashing into the plexiglass. Her friend quickly comes to the lucky student's side, trying to calm her down in whatever way she can.
There is a moment of silence before the madness. Emilynn and Etsuko stare into each other's eyes. The lucky student reaches both of her arms out for the other.
Then there is a spear that comes from the top of Emilynn's cell. It pierces Emilynn's right arm. The lucky student screams in terror and Etsuko's face falls. Then there is another spear and Emilynn's other arm is impaled. Instead of Emilynn, the person screaming now is Etsuko.
Another spear, once again piercing through one of Emilynn's arms. Another one, missing the target, hits nothing. Emilynn tries to retract her arms, but they are stuck in their position thanks to the spears. Blood pools onto the ground, with Emilynn's already pale skin becoming paler.
Etsuko pounds on the glass. Another spear hits Emilynn in the arms.
The Master wins. She figured out how to kill the unkillable.
Before this torturous routine can continue, something unexpected happens. The bottom of Emilynn's tube opens up, revealing that there is nothing but space underneath. Of course, this has an obvious effect. Not even somebody like Emilynn can stop the forces of nature and science. She is pulled out into space.
Emilynn McKay, no matter what superhuman forces she possesses, cannot survive without air. It only takes a couple of seconds for her to stop struggling in the deep expanse of space. Her dead body slowly turns into ice.
Emilynn McKay, the Ultimate Lucky Student, has been executed.
Etsuko screams. She should have known this would happen.
Emilynn should be alive, but that is not how the world works. Even innocent children like her will be sacrificed for the greed of corrupted adults. She should have known that death comes for everyone, even those who are lucky. Death is the only thing all of us human beings share along with life.
Sorry for the really short chapter. Life has been chaotic (and really shit), and I didn't want to add anything to this chapter. So welp. Don't worry, the After Trial will explore all the trauma~
Y'all shouldn't trust my chapter ones. It's the theme that they're really sus and won't answer everything. I want to see if somebody can actually figure out what's going on. ;)
Thank you YellowtheWriter for sending me Emilynn McKay! She's my favorite character so of course, I made her the first "killer." She was a lot of fun but now she's dead. Her body is just now chilling in space. Welp.
Reviews~
Anonchan1-Mood. Time to stare for hours at the bouncing ball that is my ADHD. Shiro questions the decisions of the entire FoD cast because the FoD cast fucked him over. It's me being mean. And then there's Shiro, who would be surprised if people he cares for don't commit murder. Shiro: I might actually know that much. Mononeko is a Tsukiko fan and will write fix-it AUs for all eternity. Despair fanfic is like the dark side of AO3 we don't talk about. Pon-chan is gonna have even more moments to shine later. ;) Everybody is hiding things, even Suzunami. Suzunami is sus. Etsuko is indeed covering for Emilynn. Why? I'm not telling. What's the reason for everything here? Not telling. ;) Etsuko does have some morals, they're just very...uh, questionable. Well, it's up to you if it's Emilynn or Etsuko or not. This will extremely not go very well. Emilynn got yeeted into space.
But is it more or less suffering? :3 I feel sorry for anybody that works customer service in November or December. THEY DO AND I SURE AS HELL DONT GIVE THEM ANY HERE. Suzu and Kaimaru need each other but also get on each other's nerves kinda. They're sibling-like. I'm going to put everybody I can into the Mom Squad for the max amount of suffering. Shiro is not looking forward to talking to Ayumu after this trial. THIS IS MY STORY AND I CANT STOP MYSELF FROM MAKING EVERYBODY SUFFER. Master fight let's go. I mean, there are those old Committee vines I made on my old Youtube channel. Because there are already over seven stories in the Committee Saga and I'm only on three. So here's fear. Everybody friend-shaped will suffer. I mean, Etsuko ran, but that didn't go very well for her.