"Why does this place have so many stairs?" I groaned as I finally made it to the creepy 4th floor. I was all by myself now, with the others having gone ahead of me. I was still taking a few deep breaths, and my legs still hurt a little from the trek back down the hellish spiral staircase. At least coming up to the 4th floor wasn't so bad. Either way, I was here, and I could see that Shuichi had already taken care of the hanging scrolls since they were now replaced with a new staircase. The 5th floor. From the map on Rantaro's Survivor Perk, this is the last floor to explore now that the 6th floor is opened up. I wonder what's up there. So, after having caught my breath, I walked up the stairs, and once again, I was greeted with a completely different atmosphere compared to every other floor.
"Is this supposed to be…a chapel of some kind? I guess 'cathedral' would be the better description." I noted as I looked around. The entire floor was large and designed like the inside of a massive church, with a stained glass window greeting me the moment I arrived. Further adding to the church theme were two statues of Monokuma, one with 6 angel wings that moved slightly like he was a Seraph, and one with demon wings. "...The realm of demons and angels, was it?" I muttered as I stared at the statues. Another nod to the secret message. What could it all mean?
"Hey, Rin. Did you just arrive?" Keebo asked me as he walked over to me.
"Yeah. Just got here from the 6th floor that we opened up. Kaito's lab was up there." I told him.
"Really? Interesting." Keebo nodded. "A few areas are on this floor, as well. However, we can only access one of them."
"One of them? What do you mean?" I asked him. He only frowned in response to the question.
"Well, one of the doors is locked for some reason, and the other one…well…" He then pointed to a door that had mannequins, sewing kits, and clothing painted on the door. I felt my heart sink the moment I saw it, and I understood exactly what Keebo was telling me.
"Oh…" I managed to say as I stared at the door. "I see… So that's where Tsumugi's lab was."
"Yes. And just like Kirumi's lab before, it is locked. We cannot enter." Keebo sighed sadly. "It is unfortunate. We might have found more clues about the killing game and our situation, or even about Tsumugi herself within her lab."
"Yeah… It's a shame, but we can't do anything about it." I grimaced, finally pulling my eyes off the door. "So what else is here?"
"Shuichi and Kaede went to investigate the other room that's over there." Keebo replied as he motioned to an opening that was on the floor. "However, Gonta and Rantaro seem to be investigating something else on this floor."
"Really? Maybe I'll go check up on them before I go see Shuichi and Kaede. What about you?"
"I was examining this area." He replied. "Those statues are strange, as well as the large stained glass window here. And with the atmosphere of this floor, it makes it all the more suspicious."
"That's what I was thinking." I nodded as I looked back at the statues. "Tell me if you find anything strange. This place is getting weirder and weirder, so who knows what to expect. Keep your eyes peeled."
"Indeed. I will do just that." Keebo told me as I walked off to where I saw Rantaro and Gonta.
"Hey, Rin." Rantaro greeted me.
"Yo, Rantaro." I replied as I raised my hand. "What are you two doing over here?"
"Gonta said he saw something, and I'm helping him look." Rantaro explained.
"Saw something? What exactly?"
"Tiny bug!" Gonta told me excitedly. "No mistake this time! It definitely fly by Gonta's eyes!" Gonta then cupped his mouth and called out loudly: "Heeeeeeey bug! Come out agaaaain! Gonta just wanna taaaalk!"
"Again with the tiny bugs?" I muttered as I put a hand on my chin. He's claimed to see these things before, and as the Ultimate Entomologist, I'm sure he's curious about them. However… "Hey, Gonta. What did these bugs look like?"
"Gonta not sure. Bug really small. Smaller than any other bug Gonta see before." He told me, which did not help with my suspicions. Gonta told us he had ridiculously good eyesight, despite having glasses. And if these things are as small as he claims…could they be the hidden camera? Cameras so small we can't see them, and they're all around us flying around. That would explain how there's 20 in my room alone. But the thought that those are what's been used to spy on us…it gives me chills.
"Don't worry. We'll keep looking. Who knows? These tiny bugs might be important to us." Rantaro told me in a relaxed voice, which helped me keep my own composure.
"Right…" I gave a small nod before turning to him. "By the way, here. This does belong to you, not me, so you should have it back." I said as I handed him his special Monopad.
"Oh. Thanks." Rantaro told me as he put it in his pocket. "Good to know you took care of this when I couldn't."
"Yeah. It wasn't a problem for me." I told him. "Well, I'm gonna go check on Shuichi and Kaede. Good luck with your search." I waved goodbye as I headed towards the next part of the floor. Just as Keebo said, it was a large open area with two doors at the far end of it. One of the doors was a large stone one with a keyhole, but no handles. I guess that's the one that's locked off to us. The other one however was where Kaede and Shuichi were. They were standing outside it, giving it a curious look. I couldn't help but do the same. The design of this door looked like it was the door to some office that was in a high class apartment, if that makes sense. It gave off a classy vibe, similar to Kirumi's lab, though more direct this time. "Is this an Ultimate Lab?" I asked as I walked over to the pair.
"Seems like it." Kaede nodded. "But I don't know who it could be."
"Hmm…" Shuichi hummed thoughtfully as he examined the door. "This floor is the strangest one so far, so I can only imagine what's inside."
"Definitely. This church aesthetic is creeping me out." I shuddered. "First this place crushes any hope that there might be a god in this place, but then it forces this on us. I bet it's all just Monokuma's sick sense of humor."
"He would do something like that." Kaede grimaced. "And there's not much we can access on this floor. Tsumugi's lab is locked because of the rules, and there's no way to open that door next to this lab. It's a little disappointing."
"Still…We got Kaito's lab, as well as this one. We shouldn't complain too much." I said as I stole another glance at the door. That's when I noticed something. "Is that a magnifying glass icon above the door?"
"Huh?" The two of them looked up when I pointed it out. It's small, small enough to not notice right away, but it was there.
"If there's a magnifying glass icon above this door, do you think…" Kaede began as she looked over to Shuichi.
"...Let's head inside." Shuichi said as he opened the door. The moment we entered, my suspicions about the lab's owner were confirmed.
"This is the Ultimate Detective's Lab." I stated.
"Yeah, without a doubt." Kaede agreed as we looked around the lab. It looked like how a movie would depict a detective's office, so much so it was hard to not think of detectives when you were inside the room. The decor and furniture matched the noir drama setting, and there was even a fireplace with a clockwork design in the room as well. There were multiple shelves full of records and what seemed to be chemicals, and there was a chemical testing set on a desk.
"So…this is my lab?" Shuichi asked as he looked around. "If that's the case, why do I have a bad feeling about this place?"
"Now that you mention it, I feel the same." Kaede said. "This place is…off putting."
"Yeah, but that's usually how it is with a detective's office. They investigate crimes, after all. It makes sense if their place of abode has the same gloomy feel to it." I said, not feeling bothered by the dreariness at all.
"But doesn't it give you the creeps?" Kaede asked me.
"Not as much as the slap-in-the-face the church theme of the floor was giving me. Creepy offices aren't something that bug me anymore." I responded as I walked over to the hat rack that was in the room. Seeing an opportunity to lighten the mood, I took one of those Holme's hats (You know the ones) and put it on my head before snapping my fingers and making a pose the Great Detective himself might make. "Come, my dear Akamatsu and Saihara, The game is afoot!"
"Uh…What are you doing?" Kaede asked, chuckling slightly at my antics.
"You know my methods, Miss Kaede." I replied, quoting Holmes one again before giving the two a wide grin. "Why let the atmosphere bother us when there is work to be done. No matter what we may find or face, we will continue dancing this deadly dance on the stage of lies, truths, and deductions until we finally reach the finale. If that's the case, then let us dance as proudly as we can, letting nothing deter us from our mission." The two of them stared at me before they seemed to relax, smiling back at me as they did.
"You do have a point." Shuichi gave a small chuckle.
"Elementary." I told him before taking the hat off and placing it back on the rack. "But seriously, don't let something as drab as the gloomy feel of this place get you down. No matter what, we'll make it through together. We can't let anything stop us."
"Right! Let's see what we can find!" Kaede cheered with her usual energetic expression.
"Right!" Shuichi nodded, getting back his own confident look as Kaede cheered. I smiled more as I saw the two of them get pumped up. Good. I like them a lot more when they're happy. So, we began investigating Shuichi's lab. The first thing that I took a look at was the shelf full of chemicals. Bottles lined the shelves behind the glass screen, however, upon getting a closer look at the bottles, I saw that they weren't normal chemicals.
"These are…poisons." I muttered.
"So you think so too, huh?" Shuichi noted as he took a look at the bottles as well.
"Well, it's not like this stuff can be medicine. That wouldn't make sense given the lab's theme." I said. "Poisons being here…makes sense, actually."
"It makes sense?" Kaede asked me.
"Well, the line between 'detective' and 'criminal' is a fine one. One wrong move, and detectives could be the villain in their line of work. I mean, it's a detective's job to know everything about crimes. That makes it easy for them to manipulate or even create crime scenes, whether for just a model to use to solve a real case, or for their own crime." I explained. "In fact, a few deadly poisons help make up certain tools that detectives use to help in their investigation."
"Is that so…?" Kaede asked, seemingly put off by what I just said.
"In any case, we should probably dispose of all this. We don't want anyone to-"
"I doubt that'll work." I shook my head, interrupting Shuichi. "If we get rid of them, Monokuma will probably just restock it all afterwards."
"You're right. Getting rid of the poison would only be a temporary solution. We need to find a permanent way to get rid of this stuff." Kaede nodded.
"Still, there's so many here, it's a little shocking." I noted as I examined the bottles. "So many different poisons. Ones for instant deaths, ones for slow acting poison, and even some that inflict various symptoms. This stuff could make any case a lot harder to figure out depending on how they're used and what gimmicks they could create."
"This place really is bad news for us." Kaede shook her head, before turning to Shuichi. "No offense, Shuichi."
"Oh, no. It doesn't bother me. This is Monokuma's doing, so I don't care." Shuichi told her as he made his way to the other shelf that was in the room. "There are a bunch of files all lined up on this shelf. There seems to be about 50 or so of them."
"The question is what are these files for." I said as Kaede took a file off the shelf and looked at its contents. As soon as she opened up the file she took, her eyes widened.
"This is…!" She muttered before showing us.
"These have photos of murder scenes, as well as reports on the tricks the culprit used." Shuichi grimaced. He quickly took a few more files off the shelf and looked through them briefly before nodding. "These files have the same thing inside them., though some have pictures of the murders, while others are drawings."
"A record of murder cases and the tricks that the killers used…" I muttered, looking at the shelf with a bit of hatred. "I guess Monokuma wants us to have easy access to some 'inspiration' if we want to play this killing game."
"But did these murders actually happen?" Kaede asked.
"I can't be sure. There are pictures for some of them, and all these cases seem feasible." Shuichi explained.
"I doubt anyone here would be stupid enough to use these as their own murder trick, though." I told her. "If they were to do that, we could just look up the file they used and solve the whole crime within seconds. These will only be used for slight inspiration if any at the most."
"That doesn't make me feel any better." Kaede told me with a deadpan look. "But still, why do some of the files have drawings instead of pictures?"
"It seems like only the older ones have drawings, while the newer ones have photos." I stated.
"Could the old ones be just fictional?" Shuichi questioned with a thoughtful look.
"Perhaps there isn't a reason. Who knows?" I sighed as I took another file out of the shelf and opened it up. The moment I saw what was in it though, I dropped the file subconsciously as I began to pale.
"Huh? Rin, is something wrong?" Kaede asked me when she saw that I dropped the file. I quickly moved to pick it up while flashing her a reassuring smile.
"Y-Yeah, just accidentally let this file slip out of my hand." I told her as I scanned over the contents once again. This is… I gulped, suppressing the urge to vomit as I slid the file back onto the shelf. "I think we're done here. That's all the things of interest within this lab, I believe." I told the two of them, pushing what I saw out of my head as I did.
"Yeah." Kaede said as she held her arms slightly with a sad gaze. "This whole place is surrounded by death."
"That's usually the job of a detective, especially in a killing game like this." I told her.
"But it's just surprising to see it so clearly like this. Shuichi always helps people, but this place makes it seem like he's a murderous fiend." Kaede grimaced while glaring at the room.
"Well, I can only use my talent after someone dies…" Shuichi responded with a downtrodden look. "A detective can't save anyone. I'm only useful after it's too late."
"What are you talking about? You've saved plenty of people already." I told him with a stern voice, like I was lecturing him. "What do you think would have happened to all of us if you didn't use your talent to help with the class trials? All of us except the killer would have died. We would have died 3 times by now if you hadn't helped us, especially the last case. You've saved plenty of people Shuichi. Be a bit prouder of what you've done. You're going to make me upset if you don't."
"Rin…" Shuichi said with a small smile.
"Although, since you're so helpful, that means you also have to be more careful." I told him.
"What do you mean?" Kaede asked me.
"I think I have an idea why Angie tried to kill me." I told her. "It's because I was a threat to her in the trial."
"Ah-!" Kaede gasped when I told her that. "You mean she wanted to kill you so she would have an easier time in the class trial?"
"That's the only thing I can think of why she targeted me." I nodded. "That means that Shuichi and I could be targets for the next murder. Future culprits will be wary of us." That's when I gave my usual smirk before running my hand through my hair. "Of course, I won't let that happen. Shuichi and I are going to survive till the end and save everyone, don't worry about that!"
"Heh…you really are something." Shuichi told me with a small laugh. "You're a lot like Kaito when you say things like that."
"What are you talking about? I'm nowhere near his level of motivation." I shrugged the compliment off.
"I'd beg to differ. You're really inspiring, Rin." Kaede shook her head at what I said.
"I don't know about that, but I'll just nod my head so that we don't stay here for the rest of the day arguing about me." I gave a dry chuckle. "Still, I wonder where that Flashback Light is. We haven't seen it at all yet."
"Actually, I found it just now." We all turned our heads and saw Keebo walk into the lab.
"Keebo! You said you found the Flashback Light?" Kaede asked him.
"Yes. I found it. It was behind the Monokuma statues on this floor." He told us as he showed us the device. "I have already informed the others. We should gather in the dining room so we can discuss what the Flashback Light will show us."
"Yes. Let's head down." I nodded as the three of us followed Keebo down to the dining room. Once we were there, I saw that everyone was waiting for us, just like Keebo said.
"All right! Looks like everyone is here!" Kaito exclaimed as he pushed his fists together with a smile.
"Then let's get started." Rantaro said.
"Well then, I'll leave it to you guys. I'll be outside." I told them as I closed the door behind me as I left. Nope. Still not gonna let that thing give me that extreme level of nausea again. I waited outside the dining room a bit as I heard Kokichi egg on Kaito and Keebo about using the Flashback Light. After hearing the both of them shout at him, it went quiet for a few minutes before the door opened up.
"R-Rin…" Kaede greeted me with a pale face. "You should…come in." Immediately I was worried and quickly entered the dining room, and I was greeted with the group's panic.
"Ah! The meteorites!" Shuichi shouted. "What happened with the meteorites!?"
"Meteorites?" I repeated as I looked around at everyone. Most of them had horrified looks on their face, and the people who didn't still looked put off by what they had remembered.
"I remember…TV news and the Internet talking non-stop about those meteorites!" Keebo told me.
"I remember a few of those things landing near my home! There was a lot of damage everywhere!" Tenko shouted.
"Same here. I remember people began to say things like 'it's only a matter of time'..." Rantaro grimaced.
"A researcher said that, too. Similar meteorite impacts happened millions of years ago…" Maki began. "All living organisms on Earth were annihilated."
"W-What!?" I shouted in a panic. From what I could gather from them, they remembered meteorites? Meteorites that began landing on Earth, creating unspeakable damages all around? That sounds…like what the Gofer Project mentioned. 'A disaster raining down from space'.
"There were also a bunch of weird groups that started to show up in the streets." Kaito added. "As the meteorites got worse, more people started saying it was the end of the world…"
"Gonta hear that, too! Unless someone does something, world will end!" Gonta nodded.
"Those people…I remember they were everywhere, growing larger by the day." Kaede shuddered. "They were always handing out flyers on street corners…"
"I saw flyers all over the city, too. I remember a few saying things like 'mankind deserves damnation'." Kirumi said before she rubbed her forehead. "So that was a Flashback Light…What an awful memory to recall."
"Mankind…deserves damnation?" I repeated. "That sounds like something a cult would spread around."
"That's the thing…I can't recall what the group was." Shuichi said with a concerned look.
"And…the meteorites! What ended up happening with the meteorites!?" Kaito shouted.
"We haven't seen any since we got here. Maybe they died down…" Keebo suggested.
"But then…how long have we been here?" Rantaro questioned.
"Not only that, but what happened to that plan?" Tenko asked. "Y'know! The one to save the world from the meteorites!"
"It was called…the Gofer Project." Kaede said before her eyes landed on me. Sweat began to form on my head as I ignored her gaze for now, choosing to focus on what they remembered before attempting to explain myself.
"The Gofer Project… A plan that all the countries of the world came up with to save humanity…" Rantaro summarized.
"I remember that, too… But the Gofer Project… Didn't it fail?" Kokichi asked.
"Is that really true?" Kirumi questioned.
"That's what I heard too, but I can't remember why." Maki added.
"So that's where the memory ends, is it?" I asked.
"Seems so, however, we still have more to talk about." Kaito said. "We found that Gofer Project file in my lab, remember? If the project failed, what's that file doing here?"
"That's a good question. And the project was supposed to be about us, was it not? It mentioned boys and girls of exceptional talent, at the very least." Kirumi stated.
"But what it all mean?" Gonta asked.
"There's one more thing that bears mentioning." Shuichi said as he looked at me. "Rin, you mentioned the Gofer Project the day after Kirumi and Tsumugi's case. Do you know anything about this?" And just like that, everyone's eyes fell to me. Great…
"In truth, I only remembered it when we were in Gonta's lab and we talked about Noah's Ark. The phrase sort of just…popped into my mind. I guess it's not too different from how Rantaro remembered the Ultimate Hunt before all of you, though he only remembered the name. Sorry, but I can't tell you anything about this project."
"I see…" Shuichi muttered as he thought about what I said.
"Still, the fact that you recalled it might mean something." Kaede said.
"The Ultimate Hunt…Our joint funerals, and now this stuff about meteorites and cults." Tenko grimaced. "This is so much, but how is any of it related to us and this killing game?"
"That is the question…" Maki sighed.
"It'll be okay, you guys. Just a little more…" Kokichi told us. "I'm sure it'll all make sense after we get one or two more Flashback Lights. That's usually how things go in games and stories like this, right?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked him with a skeptical look.
"Well, it's just a thought. I might be wrong." He told me with a sly smile. "But I don't think I'd be surprised by the outcome of this situation. Like…if that funeral wasn't fake and we're all actually dead, and that this was the afterlife."
"The afterlife?" Shuichi repeated.
"Wh-Why you…Quit saying stupid crap like that!" Kaito yelled.
"It's not stupid. If meteorites can happen, then anything else can happen, too." Kokichi responded. "C'mon, you're an astronaut, aren't ya? Space is full of mysteries that we can't even fathom. That's why, if meteorites really did fall on us, anything could've happened. A mysterious virus could've spread, or some weird technology, or even an unknown substance brought to Earth that could've bent time and space-"
"Don't talk about such ridiculous things!" Tenko shouted at him.
"That's more science fiction than anything that could happen in reality." Keebo grimaced.
"It sounds like something from a show or a game." I muttered.
"Do you think I'm making this up?" Kokichi asked with a bored look on his face. "But then how would you explain the Flashback Lights, Exisals, and even Monokuma? We may be used to it now, but that kind of stuff goes against common sense, y'know?"
"He has a point." Rantaro stated. "If all of this stuff is real, then it's not too farfetched if any of the things Kokichi mentioned actually happened. At least, the first two, anyway."
"No way that's what's going on!" Kaito argued before glaring at Kokichi. "And by the way, I'm the only one here who gets to talk about space!"
"Oh, you're right. Sorry, my bad." Kokichi chuckled teasingly.
"Well, everyone seems…very tired." Keebo said as he sighed a little.
"We should disperse for the time being. Talking about this subject any further will only worsen our state of mind." Kirumi suggested.
"I agree with Mom!" Kokichi shouted, causing Kirumi's eyebrow to twitch a little.
"I believe I have told you this before, Kokichi, but do not refer to me as that." She told him sternly.
"Yeah yeah." Kokichi said dismissively before looking at Keebo. "I'm surprised though, Keeboy! You've finally learned to read the air! Nice job, robot!"
"I'm…learning everyday." Keebo shot back.
"Oh, before we go, Gonta put manhole cover back how it was." Gonta told me. "Rin can go investigate tunnel if you need to."
"Good. Thanks big guy." I told him with a smile. "I'll get right on that, actually."
"Are you really sure you want to go through with this?" Kaede asked me once again.
"Yep. Any info is good info for us." I told her. "Don't worry about it. Best case scenario, we get out of this place. Worst case, we get to go inside that hidden room in the library. I can't imagine how this can be a motive for murder, and even if it is, I'll be fine. I have no desire to leave you guys." I then turned to them and gave them a wave. "I'll be off now. Wish me luck." And with that, I left the dining room and took a deep breath. Only one thing left to do now. "Alright. The game is afoot." I muttered as I headed towards my destination.
