Monokuma began laughing which was no surprise at all. Probably because of how stunned we all were at this trial's results. "Bwahahahahahahaha! Who'd have thought you kids would get it right four times in a row! But indeed you are correct! The killer of the Ultimate DJ, Damian Eaves, was none other than Thomas Fenster!"
Tommy was pale in his face as he tried to compose himself by breathing slowly but his body shook and the tears showed no signs of stopping. Not only for him but for the rest of us who found ourselves crying.
Soon Shana spoke up. "Tommy… you idiot… Why did this happen? WHY!? WHY DID IT COME TO THIS!?"
"Shana… please try to understand…" Tommy tried to reach out to her only to have his hand slapped away by the Ultimate Miner.
"Understand what!? The fact you killed poor Damian or the fact you didn't just confess your crime when this all happened?! I can't believe you let the suspicion fall on me like that instead of taking the fall yourself! I thought you cared about me!" Shana bawled out.
"Shana, everything I did was for you! To protect you!" Tommy clamored.
"What?" Shana asked, mystified.
"Of course, I was wanting to protect you all as well," Tommy suddenly confessed.
I blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"See all my actions were mainly driven to protect Shana by any means necessary," Tommy started.
Ollie looked down. "Then the motive found on Damian's body was yours, wasn't it?"
Tommy nodded as he continued, "I didn't want to believe it but after the way Willie and Shana were at each other's throats when we got our motives, I was scared my motive would become a fact and as a result of all that anxiety I couldn't sleep at all. So I did the only thing I could do, I began scouring the school grounds to see if anyone was trying to set up a trap or something."
"Then the reason you were in the botanical garden was that you thought Shana would be killed there. She did mention how she loves to go inside so it would be natural for her to let her guard down once inside," Luca guessed.
"Yes but what I wasn't prepared for was to see Ollie of all people come in with a picnic basket and set up a romantic picnic right there in front of me. I was confused about why she would use this as a trap for Shana but when you arrived Luca, I knew I was in the wrong with my initial assumption. So I left before you could see me," Tommy explained.
"So then what happened?" Luca asked him.
Tommy sniffled a bit before he spoke, "I just kept aimlessly wandering around until I stumbled upon Damian in the Nurse's office. He seemed woozy and dizzy like he was drunk but then I noticed the pill bottle in his hand. I slowly approached him and was shocked by what I saw…"
"Instead of boring words telling this story, how about we let some exhilarating visuals tell this tragic tale?" Monokuma interrupted Tommy before hollering, "I, Monokuma, am proud to present the fourth installment of "The Victim's Final Moments"! Enjoy!" Once again, our attention went to the big monitor as it turned on and began playing the footage caught on tape in the Nurse's office.
"Damian! What the hell are you doing?! You look awful!" Tommy cried out in horror.
Damian looked at Tommy with red eyes and with such a pale face you may have thought he was white. "Frizz… I didn't think anyone else would be awake right now. Sorry, you have to see me like this, buddy."
"Why are you downing so many pills!? That's beyond dangerous! You're gonna suffer an overdose!" Tommy warned him.
"..."
"Here… let's go back to the dormitories. You need to sleep this off." Tommy said gently to him as he reached out for the pill bottle. However, just before he could grab it, Damian yanked his hand away from Tommy's.
"No! It's not that simple! I can't sleep this off! I… I have to survive by any means necessary. You wouldn't understand," Damian had shouted before his voice sank into a whisper.
"Then tell me so I can understand! You're freaking me out, man. You're acting like you're going to die or something," Tommy replied as he stepped forward again to grab the bottle. "Please, just hand that over, and let's talk. I want to help you."
Damian looked away as his voice began rising in a crescendo. "I can't do that! This is my only chance of surviving this! Just go away!"
"I will not abandon you! Just give me those pills now!" Tommy began shouting back as he swiped at the bottle.
But Damian dodged and screeched out, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" He then swung his elbow back and struck Tommy in the gut, sending him back reeling and sputtering in pain. Tommy gasped for air and slowly looked up with an expression of shock. But suddenly his shock turned sour and angry.
Without warning, Tommy lunged back at Damian and grappled him. The two struggled against each other as Tommy and Damian lashed around like a mechanical bull ride as they crashed into the desk and against the floor. Tommy had soon gotten ahold of the bottle without losing his hold on Damian as he began prying it out of his hand. But before he could, Damian bit into his wrist suddenly making Tommy cry out as Damian slammed him back against the desk, knocking Tommy's head against the metal surface. This caused Tommy to become lightheaded as he lost his grip on Damian who quickly broke free and scrambled up to his feet.
Tommy shook his head as his blow led to some double vision as he looked up, feeling groggy. Damian quickly took the cap off and poured a big pile of Benzodiazepine pills into his palm and instantly threw it all into his mouth and all Tommy could do was helplessly watch as he tried to regain his composure. Damian looked absolutely relieved when he saw Tommy wasn't able to intervene but soon his eyes went rigid and dilated as he began clutching at his chest and was now gasping for air harshly.
As he began panicking, he quickly turned around and opened the cabinet door and reached for a bottle with a needle next to it. But as soon as he grabbed them, his legs buckled and he fell to the ground in a heap. Tommy was soon able to stand and only slightly lose his balance as he stumbled to his feet and over to Damian's side. He grabbed onto Damian and rolled him into his back as fear began to take control.
"Damian! No, please! Please, don't die, Damian! H-Hang in there! Damian!" Tommy wailed out as he held onto the sides of Damian's spasming head. Slowly Damian raised a shaky arm and weakly pointed to the desk. Tommy followed it and soon saw the needle and Evzio Damian tried to grab and Tommy immediately took action. He grabbed the needle and inserted it into the hole already in the lid and extracted a full needle's worth of Evzio before he threw the bottle back on the desk, settled back down alongside Damian, took aim at Damian's thigh, and quickly slammed the needle into the hilt as he injected Damian with the Evzio.
At first, it seemed like it did nothing and with how long it was taking, Tommy began freaking out more. He figured he didn't give Damian a big enough dose so he stepped up to get more but as soon as he did he stepped on Damian's ankle and slipped forward. His face collided with the desk as his glasses cracked on the impact and he fell back. He cried out in pain as his glasses then sailed in an upward arch off his face and fell back to Earth, shattering upon impact. The vibrations from his crash against the desk shook the medicine cabinet as a bottle of arsenic bane poison rolled out and landed perfectly straight up as if it was just set there.
Tommy blinked, soon realizing he was blind as he felt his way forward, brushing his hand across Damian's ankle and the reaching up to Damian's chest, feeling his chest weakly rise. "You're not dying on me!" Tommy growled with determination before his hand brushed away from Damian's chest, leaving the dirt mark behind in its place.
Tommy soon felt around for the needle and Evzio but grabbed the poison bottle instead as he then jammed the needle through the lid, creating the hole that wasn't there in the first place. He soon filled the needle again and found the thigh he injected before as he quickly stabbed it in and injected the contents in. Soon Damian began breathing a lot better as Tommy sat him up against the desk.
Tommy sighed out in relief before hugging Damian. "You had me scared. I thought you were gonna die."
Damian blinked as he felt funny and a slight burn in his leg. "What… did… you do…?"
"I injected that medicine you tried grabbing into you, twice. I don't think I gave you enough the first time and despite losing my glasses the second time it looks like I got the second injection in well."
Before Tommy realized it, his face was suddenly splattered and he recoiled in horror as he saw something pink now in front of him. Damian had begun throwing up blood. "Oh, God! Damian! What did I do?!" Tommy cried out as he grabbed the bottle and put it right up to his eyes and barely made out the label as he began trembling.
"Oh my fucking God! What have I done!? Th-There must be a vaccination for the poison! Damian, I'll save you! I promise!" He panicked as he tried to stand only for him to be stopped by Damian, grabbing his hand. "No… please. Will you take me to a bed?" Damian weakly pleaded him. At first, Tommy made no movement at first but complied after a slow nod as he soon dragged Damian over to the bed and lifted him up into it. He then raised the bed's end up so Damian was sitting up like in a hospital bed.
Tommy whimpered as he fell to his knees, grabbing onto Damian's leg as he began bawling uncontrollably. "I-I accidentally poisoned you when I tried to help you. I ki-*hic*-killed you… I'm sorry! Damian, I'm so sorry! I don't expect… you to f-forgive me for this!"
Tommy would feel a warm hand glide over his own as Tommy looked up and soon turned his hand around as they held each other's hands with Damian smiling at him. With a gravelly voice, Damian croaked out, "Of course, I forgive you. I'm sorry for being so much trouble. Can you forgive me?"
Tommy immediately replied, "Already done! But… *sob* please… don't go… I'll do anything… just please don't die… I can't lose another friend…"
"I can't… but if you would…" Damian soon pulled his hand away from Tommy's leaving his motive paper in his hand before he whispered, "Please... don't let the others know about my... my weakness… goodbye… broth… broth-ther…" As he tried to say his farewell, Damian suddenly began convulsing as his eyes rolled back and he once again was vomiting blood all over himself. It felt like it was lasting for eternity but then out of nowhere, all movement ceased and the life in the room perished.
…
…
…
The life in the trial grounds had also been extinguished having witnessed Damian's death firsthand as I again felt my legs give in and collapse from underneath me. "Damian…" I sobbed.
"Then you didn't take Damian's motive for malicious reasons, you did it as his final request," said Ollie.
"It was easy to do considering all our motives this time were not labeled with our names. But even I don't know what this weakness Damian mentioned about was," Tommy admitted.
"So then you weren't the one who took the page out of his medical records?" asked Luca.
Tommy shook his head. "That was Damian himself, most likely." He then noticed Shana was lightly trembling, completely silent. "Shana?"
"That was… horrible! I can't believe what I just saw! Tommy! What was that promise he asked of you about hiding his weakness? Is that why you never told us you did it?" Shana shouted with mixed emotions running through her voice.
"No! Believe me, I wanted nothing more than to just sit and wait for you all to find me and what I did but Monokuma threatened to hurt everyone, especially you if I didn't cover up the murder and keep quiet!" Tommy told her.
"W-What!?" Shana whispered out loudly.
"Well, of course, I did! What kind of class trial would this have been had everyone discovered the killer right off the bat? I'll tell you what! A boring one!" Monokuma called out.
I felt a rush of hatred fill me up and explode out like a volcano. "You're sick… YOU'RE SICK AS FUCK, MONOKUMA!"
"I may be sick but I'm still alive, not like your friend. Puhuhuhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma giggled in delight.
"What do you mean by that?" Willie asked him.
"Check out what Mr. Eaves' motive was," Monokuma told us as he held it up.
Tommy patted his vest down. "How did you…?"
"A true magician never reveals his secrets but… I stole it!" Monokuma shouted as he handed it to Shana.
Shana blinked in confusion as she read the paper out loud, "Your battle is almost over but unfortunately you won't win this time. What kind of motive is this?!"
"Allow me to explain the tragic past of Damian Eaves, the story Damian just couldn't bring to share with his brothers and sisters," began Monokuma.
"That will be explained in a bit but first you must all know about the legend of Damian Eaves: A Family Versus A Dream!" Monokuma soon spoke in a narrator's voice as he began his story, "Damian was raised in a big family and was the oldest of six brothers and sisters. His father worked hard as a doctor as his main job and their church's pastor on the weekends while the mother was always home to take care of the kids. However, there was one other sibling in their life. Damian's other half, his strawberry to his chocolate, the heads of his tails, in other words, his twin sister, Delaney Eaves."
"Damian has a twin sister? Who'd have thought," Luca replied in surprise.
"When Damian and Delaney were born, the two parents were beyond thrilled to have their first child be two children. That way one would always have a companion that would help and watch out for each other when the adults got busy with life. However, while the father didn't have any major expectations for the brother-sister duo, the mother had all the biggest hopes for her eldest twins. So she began piling up her expectations on Damian and Delaney, with the soon-to-be man of the two having most of the pressure to follow his father's footsteps."
"Despite his best efforts, his fear of blood and love of the DJ world dealt a heavy blow to him and would leave his mother in a fit as she scolded him. But Delaney was always there to immediately consolidate him and comfort him. One day, she even told him she would take the burden off him and take Damian's place so that he may follow his dream. But that's when tragedy struck. The next thing Delaney knew was she was being hospitalized and shortly after Damian joined her. Turns out they quite suddenly developed acute lymphocytic leukemia out of nowhere."
"Wait… so then Damian had cancer!?" I shouted in horror.
Monokuma chuckled, darkly. "Indeed, though Damian never grew hair so you guys wouldn't have known anyways since he had none to lose. But anyway back to the story!"
"It was revealed that Delaney was the first to get cancer and it's a known fact that another sibling can develop it afterward. Especially a twin such as Damian. Although their first time around with it, Damian went into his chemotherapy quite fast; his sister wasn't as blessed as him."
"A year passed and now 11-year-old Delaney was saying her goodbyes to her family. She spent her final moments of life, holding her dear twin brother close as she whispered her parting words. "I know Mama will try to force her expectations on you once I've gone back to Heavenly Father but as long as you live, I want you to live your dream. Become the best damn DJ the world has ever seen. I'll be watching over you, Damian." With her last words giving him the strength he needed he began pursuing his career as a DJ immediately but when his mother found out, he was beyond scolded by the time she let up."
"But Damian refused to back down and as a result, his relationship with his mother began teetering and was now lopsided. All her aspirations and hopes for the twins were now shattered and she blamed Damian's corrupted mind for letting "devil music" consume him and his sister for thinking it was okay for him to do so. She accused him of losing his way, becoming the devil's plaything, and even suggested that he was the reason why Delaney, the good example of the oldest kids, died even though they know she developed it first."
"Even though Damian was never swayed by his mother's harsh word attacks, the pain of them grew heavy on his heart that soon he truly believed he was the reason for his beloved sister to leave the earth much too soon. Then Damian learned his battle with cancer wasn't over as it kept coming back. Then as he was in the final stages of his current chemotherapy, he was soon scouted to attend Hope's Peak as the Ultimate DJ. The doctors sent him away with chemo medication so he could attend with his father's permission. Yet the mother had some words to say before Damian left. She told him if you go to that place as you are, you are no longer family. But even then he would not stop until his promise to his sister was realized. Little did he know he would abandon his family for no reason since he found himself trapped with the rest of you twerps! And that is the tragic end of Damian Eaves!" Monokuma finished with a bow.
I looked down with wide eyes filled with bewilderment. "I can't believe it. He had cancer and that same cancer took his sister away and his mom blamed it all on him just because he wanted to be a DJ and not a doctor and pastor. That was the weakness he didn't want us to know about. Wait, then that night after the third trial…"
"Listen! Can't you work something out? What you promised me isn't enough! You know I can't stay here much longer!" Damian had shouted at Monokuma.
"Damian was complaining to you because of the medications he was taking for his chemotherapy, wasn't it?" I interrogated the bear.
"Very perceptive of you, Kai! Indeed, Damian approached me one day and informed me of his condition, which I already knew about. He told me about how long it would be until he would need to get his medication refilled and I reassured him, the game would be over by then," Monokuma explained.
"But this game isn't over yet! Your promise was completely empty!" I shouted at him.
Monokuma went red in the face as he threw his arms up at me. "Hey! It's not my fault you weren't killing each other faster!"
"Why did you not just fill up his medications for him? You do that for all the ones in the Nurse's office, right?" questioned Luca.
"Because I can't get the prescription for a single student. I only have access to the medications that anyone can buy over the counter! Honestly, I still regret not making him do anything for me after making him that deal," Monokuma grumbled.
Paul then glared at Monokuma. "What did you just say?"
Monokuma covered his mouth with both paws. "Oops. Did I do that?"
"Wait, you made a one-sided deal with Damian? But if that's the case…" Shana started as Ollie soon finished her sentence. "Then it means Damian never did anything for Monokuma! In other words, Damian was not the traitor after all!"
"That's impossible! My theory behind the freak show and the traitor's involvement made it one hundred percent certain that Damian was the only possibility! It had to have been him!" Paul screamed, furiously.
Monokuma laughed. "Well then, guess you hacker geniuses aren't all that smart since Damian was telling the truth! The accomplice in the last case did somehow sabotage Damian's controls so he could not power down his equipment!"
"But if he wasn't the traitor, then that means they are still alive!" Melinda growled.
"Yep! And I will say that with the exception of the current blackened, they are still among you all!" Monokuma announced.
'The traitor wasn't Damian which makes me beyond happy but then that means besides Tommy, someone left is still working for Monokuma to make our lives miserable and causing chaos for us. But who could it possibly be and why are they doing this to us?!' I shouted in my mind.
"Well, that's enough about that! I think it's about time to get to the most thrilling climax! Are you ready, Tommy boy!?" Monokuma squealed in pure childlike ecstasy.
Shana's face went purple as she shook her head. "No… no, don't execute him! Please! It was his bad luck that killed him, not Tommy! He doesn't deserve this!"
"Oh yes, he does! He just killed the only black character in this horror movie and that is most definitely punishable! And here I thought the black guy dying trope would end but you had to go and ruin that!" Monokuma shouted back.
"Then let me take his place! Execute me instead! I'll volunteer as tribute! Whatever you want me to say, I'll do it! Just please for the love of God, don't kill Tommy!" Shana wailed out.
"No…" Willie growled out as he stepped forward.
Shana looked at him and sneered. "Fuck you… I don't care what bullshit you're gonna pull, you're not going to do anything!"
When Willie got up to her, he lifted his head and Shana gasped seeing the cowboy was crying just as badly as she was. "A lady like you doesn't deserve to die. However… someone like me does," he then turned to Monokuma and began hollering, "Punish me instead, Monokuma! If anyone is a scumbag that deserves death, then it should be me! Let Tommy stay with Shana!"
Shana was taken aback far beyond comprehension. "W-Willie?"
Monokuma looked thoughtful. 'Is he actually considering it?' I thought.
"Well, since you asked so forcefully… of course I won't! Tommy is the blackened, not you! Unless all three of you want to die then I can happily do that for you! If not then I suggest you shut up and let me do my duties as headmaster!" Monokuma screamed at them.
"But…!" Willie started but Tommy grabbed at him.
"Willie, don't! This is my punishment, not yours! You did nothing wrong like what I did. You did some questionable things that can't be denied but that's only because your father isolated you from knowing better. I blame him, not you for having difficulty fitting in with the world. Don't get yourself killed for someone like me who does deserve this." He explained to Willie, whose head drooped down and slowly nodded before Tommy looked back at Shana. "That goes for you too, Shana. Don't waste your life to save a murderer like me."
Shana's lip quivered as Tommy turned to me. "I'm sorry things turned out this way, Kai. I really wished I killed myself instead of Damian, but at least I'll be reprimanded for what I've done soon enough."
"Tommy… it wasn't your fault," I told him.
"Unfortunately, it is. But hopefully, you'll remember me. Here. Take this with you. Maybe that can help you remember the guy I was before I murdered a brother," Tommy then tossed me his magnifying glass which I soon realized the handle was shaped like an old fossil bone and the metal ring around the glass had dinosaur tracks imprinted all around it.
"I'll never forget you, Tommy! And I'll never regret knowing you!" I reassured him.
Tommy nodded to me before looking back towards Shana whose nose was running and eyes were overflowing. "It's time."
"No, you can't leave me. I can't survive this without you," Shana whimpered out.
"But you can. You're the strongest person I met," Tommy told her.
Shana shook her head as it hung low. "I'm only strong because you make me strong! I have only been able to survive because I had you by my side! You're there for me when I'm confused, when I'm angry, and when the despair is just too much! No one has ever made me feel like I mattered until you came into my life! I can't live if you're not with me. I… *sob* I l-love you, Tommy… *hic*..."
Tommy smiled sweetly at her. "I love you too, Shana and I always will. The thing is I know you can win this because I know you will keep living on for me. You will fight for me and survive for me. I'm counting on it. You are the only girl I can ever love but I know you will find another guy. Someone who is strong, fearless, and just as stubborn as you are."
I then noticed Tommy's eyes shift as he stared directly at Willie who sucked in a breath when he said that as if he was also talking to him before his gaze was fixated back on Shana who now broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Tommy then reached in his shirt and removed his prized velociraptor claw from around his neck and slipped it onto Shana's before lifting her head up, making her sea-soaked eyes stare deep into his.
The two got lost in space and time as the world seemed to slow around them. It was like the cosmos was giving them a moment of eternity to just be together with no other distraction to ruin their final moment as lovers. They soon closed the gap between themselves as their embrace tightened and their lips slowly made contact with tears now cascading from Tommy's closed eyes. A calm yet passionate kiss was unfolding in front of us as the scene made my heart shatter as I realized the most perfect couple I had ever seen with my own eyes was being destroyed forever. It was like watching the sad separation of the couple in a romantic comedy but this ending will not have a happy reunion after the conflict is dealt with and that reality made me weep.
"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Thomas Fenster, the Ultimate Paleontologist!" Monokuma cheered out, causing the lover's world to return to reality as they split enough to look into each other's eyes again before hugging each other before Tommy began to reluctantly back away from Shana as he kept his fingers on her for as long as possible as he slid them down her arms, over her palms, and having her fingers hook into his before he broke them apart.
"Goodbye, everyone. I'll never forget any of the brothers and sisters I made here and I just know you'll all survive this. I know Damian feels the same," Tommy told us all, making my heart skip a beat as my tears just kept running down my face.
"Let's give it everything we got! IIIIIIT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" Monokuma screamed to the heavens!
Tommy smiled big as his tears finally stopped. "And Shana… thank you. It's all because of you that, for once in my life, having the most perfect girl love me, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world."
With that said, Monokuma grabbed his gavel and spun it like a baton as the red button ascended before his red eye glinted. He bounced up into a front flip and slammed the button down with the gavel, lighting up the screen with a pixel Tommy standing there. Soon the pixel Monokuma came in and began dragging the panicking Tommy sprite away.
"Thomas has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!"
(youtu. be/PyAm-V2yt5E)
Tommy was next seen standing alone as a rocky desert landscape was being built up around him. But then suddenly the world around him seemed to spin with clock hands spinning backward as if indicating he was going back in time. Then the world around him slowed as he was now standing in an exotic forest full of extinct wildlife and flora like he was transported back to the Mesozoic period.
Jurassic Extinction
Suddenly the earth began to rumble at the sound of giant footsteps began to rumble as the earth quaked with each step. Tommy looked over to a nearby pond and saw the water ripple every step before it just became an earthquake that now just shook continuously making Tommy stumble a bit to keep his balance. Before long, from out of the ground, a fossil of a stegosaurus erupted out with a roar that made Tommy go pale in the face as the dinosaur made entirely of bone glared at Tommy and began charging at him.
Tommy immediately tried to run to the side but was caught by the tail as it swung to the side as it struck Tommy's side, making a piercing squelch as it punctured his flesh and knocked him down. Tommy quickly scrambled up to try and flee only to find a fossilized triceratops now charging at him much faster with no time to react as the bony frill of its head slammed into him and reeled its head up as Tommy was knocked high up into the air.
That's when a pterodactyl fossil swooped in and sank its talons into Tommy's leg making him cry out in pain as he dangled like a fish out of the water as he was carried through the air before he was suddenly dropped and fell through the treetops. As he plummeted, he was getting scratched up and beaten to hell before he collapsed onto the ground, gasping deeply as he grasped his chest in sudden pain, most likely from his ribs breaking from the crash.
Then a whole pack of household cat-sized velociraptors suddenly rushed him and jumped onto him as they began buying and taking chunks of skins off from all over his body. Tommy scrambled and threw them off as fast as he could before another quake started and sent the small velociraptors running away in fear.
Tommy immediately knew what was coming next as the king of the dinosaurs made his grand appearance in fossilized form. With Monokuma riding on top of its head, the tyrannosaurus rex read its head up and roared its iconic roar making Tommy stand up and stumble back only to trip and fall onto a random toilet which confused even him. The bony t-rex growled and quickly caught Tommy's attention as it towered over him with a powerful, menacing presence as the rest of the fossil dinosaurs surrounded Tommy and awaited his death. Before Tommy could even scream, the t-rex went in for the kill but stopped just before the teeth could tear Tommy into shreds as it looked into the sky.
Tommy looked up in confusion as the sky turned red and the clouds turned to fire as a humongous meteor was seen falling from the ablaze sky as all the fossils began to run away from Tommy except the t-rex, which roared unflinching from the approaching meteor. Tommy was frozen in place and before he could do anything, the meteor struck the earth as it sent a devastating wave of destruction that burned everything into ash and everything went black.
The next thing we knew was Monokuma on his hands and knees, excavating near a battered up and old toilet with the t-rex skull buried in the ground nearby. The area was once again the rocky terrain Tommy started in, indicating we were back in the "present time". Monokuma soon pulled out a chunk of rock and laughed at the image engraved on it. We saw a human skull fossilized inside and we knew full well it was Tommy, forever fossilized and forever departed.
After witnessing what was possibly the most brutal execution yet, I felt my heart drop at the state Tommy was reduced into. My eyes darted over to Shana and as I expected she was beyond frozen having seen her first love killed off like that. Then the courtroom exploded into maniacal convulsions of laughter.
"Puhuhuhuhu! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOW THAT WAS TOO COOL! I think I amazed even myself with such a brilliant concept for a punishment!" Monokuma bellowed out.
I heard whimpers coming from Shana as her voice cracked, "T-Tommy… no… n-no it can't… why... him… TOOOOMMMMYYYYYYYY!" Shana screeched out as she collapsed to the floor with her dad's mining helmet falling off in a clatter as she clutched her head, wailing in despair for Tommy's death.
The atmosphere was at its absolute limit as it brimmed with the despair of it all that even the emotionally collected Ollie was in tears as she ran to Luca and hugged him close, crying into his chest and Luca held her as he silently wept as well. All I could do was just hold myself as I felt my body warp as the worst chills in my life hit me like a blizzard. This despair overwhelmed us. It was as if we were in a void, deprived of feeling solid footing beneath us and a sickening twist inside our bodies as we floated in the gut-wrenching pain that engulfed us all. That's when a voice broke through even the pained cries Shana emitted.
"THAT'S ENOUGH! I CAN'T BELIEVE Y'ALL!" Willie screamed out, knocking us out of the illusion we felt trapped in. He paced around us, shaking his head in disappointment. "He called us all brothers and sisters because he thought of us like that! He even believed that we will survive and here y'all are showin' weakness when Tommy put his faith in us! How can ya taint his trust like that?!" I felt my head lower at his words as did Luca and Ollie.
He then turned all his attention at the mewling miner. "You especially! Tommy wants ya, out of all of us, to live on for him and how do you repay his sacrifice? By crying like a lil' girl on the floor."
Shana was sniveling as she looked up with fire and tears pouring out of her eyes. "*hic hic* I just lost my first... and only love... How can I not mourn him?! He was my strength. My resolve. My only reason to live! I lost everything and you dare call me a lil' girl, you extremist motherfucker!"
"Right now, you are a tiny girl with how you're actin' but that's not the Shana I know!" Willie shouted back.
Shana blinked in surprise. "H-Huh?"
Willie's fist trembled as he spoke. "The Shana I met the first day 'ere wasn't afraid to speak her mind! She didn't give two shits about what people thought of her and she wouldn't cry as a weakling would! She was too strong to let that cloud her vision! I don't expect ya to not mourn for Tommy but dammit I ain't gonna let ya become someone I know ya aren't! I want that strong, proud woman back and not some snivelin' lil' girl!"
Everyone was struck silent, even Paul and Melinda looked caught off guard by Willie of all people trying to comfort the one he had fought with beyond explanation. Shana looked like the words took their time to sink in as her eyebrows pressed together in a frow. I also caught a hint of a blush streak across her cheeks. "I… I don't understand. Why… are you consoling me? I thought you despised me."
"I thought I did but… this trial was eye-openin' fur me. All the ways of life I was taught and all the times I believed Pa to be the most intelligent person ever… they haven't been helping out 'ere in the big world. Pa told me that everything he told me would git me through any situation I would encounter but that has been far from the truth. My lack of education and understanding of the world put me in a terrible position alongside y'all."
"Good people like Helen, Jayden, Sienna, and now Tommy are all dead yet I'm still alive? I… I don't know why. I can't understand why someone like me wasn't killed instead! Why didn't Evelyn hypnotize me to kill myself!? Why didn't Brenda find a way to subdue me!? Why didn't Marcel kill a worthless bully like me!? And even now… I don't see why Tommy's bad luck killed a man like Damian and not a boy like me!" Willie began howling out as for the first time ever, he began to cry with actual tears of regret, I think.
He sank to his hands and feet and soon began crumbling into a heap as he wept. He soon spoke up, "I'm sorry, Melinda and Ollie. You're both strong and independent women and I can see why you both survived so long. I'm sorry for all the girls who died. Y'all were also strong. Strong enough to try to fight for yur survival and strong enough to try and deceive friends for yur own survival. But Shana … I hurt ya the most out of everyone else and I don't expect you to ever forgive me. It's like ya said… I'm a pig. I'm a worthless pig and there's only one place a pig like me deserves to go. This pig needs to go to the slaughterhouse. Everyone… please… if there's another murder…" Suddenly he whipped up and began screaming into the air, "MAKE ME THE NEXT VICTIM! AFTER ALL THE DAMAGE I'VE CAUSED, I SHOULD BE SLAUGHTERED LIKE A PIG!"
*SLAP*
A sudden sound echoed throughout the trial grounds as Willie was silenced by a powerful slap across his cheek as he looked towards Shana whose palm was now red. "Just stop. Begging for death is so unbecoming of someone. What's your problem? Come on, I thought you had more pride than that. It's like you said, we need to be strong and not cry like little girls and here you are now doing exactly what I was. Man up already! So what if you were in the wrong because of your father? Don't suffer for his mistakes, instead take the knowledge you have and learn from it! Become a citizen the USA will be proud of! Besides… you're proving to us you can change for the better by trying to help me. So first, I need to thank you," Shana knelt down and hugged him around his neck and held on for dear life. She brought herself back a bit and then said, "Next, I need to apologize to you." She leaned in and kissed the red spot on his cheek where she slapped him, making the cowboy turn even redder. "Now, let me help you and in return, you'll help me through this. Let us do what we should have done long ago and maintain each other as we survive this."
Willie soon smiled as he nodded to her. Shana stood up and offered her hand to him. At first, Willie reached up to take it but showed hesitation before he immediately demolished that hesitation and took her by the hand and was helped up to his feet. The two then made eye contact and smiled, their hands showing no signs of releasing the other. It seemed like their faces were gravitating to each other but then they realized we were still watching them and they were quick to release each other as Willie silently grabbed Shana's helmet and held it to her without looking. Shana, also without looking at him, grabbed her helmet back and put it on.
I couldn't help but let out a light chortle at their awkward exchange. "Well, at least the drama is finally over."
That's when it went downhill as Paul spoke up, "I'm not sure all our problems have been resolved."
He and Melinda stepped forward to Ollie and Luca, whom Ollie was still clinging to. Luca stepped forward in a protective manner but Ollie pulled him back and stepped forward by herself. The three now faced each other and the revived happy air was quickly choked out by their tense expressions towards the other.
"You were in clear violation of the rules you swore to! Explain yourself immediately!" Paul demanded.
Melinda barked out, "How could you betray us like this!? How could you betray our Great Protector after he swore to keep you alive through this killing game!?"
"Glad to know eating breakfast is considered treason. If it's that big of a deal, I'll just starve myself so I don't get your panties wedged up your asses!" Ollie growled at them.
"Oh don't even try to dance around the real issue! You were restricted from interacting with anyone other than us and Kai!" Paul shouted at her.
"What gives you the right to talk to her like that?! She's not your slave! And why am I an exception to that rule of yours? I'm not part of your group and I never will be so none of you should be talking with me about anything!" I shouted back, feeling my fists tremble as I walked and stood next to Ollie's side.
Luca stepped up and in front of her again. "She has her own agency and can choose whatever she wants. If she wants to have me for a picnic then she has that right!"
"No. She does not. See, when we made this agreement, everyone there swore to stay under my watch until we survived this. It is an unbelievable contract of words which they all signed," Paul told us.
"But words are meaningless and promises can't be expected to be kept if they aren't written down! You can't expect everyone to bend over and backward to your whim if they later change their minds. Ollie only did it in the first place because we didn't know each other and now she's had a change of heart and you are talking to her like she's some dog or property you own! Your arguments are useless here!"
"I may not have written contracts but I do however have video contracts," Paul admitted.
Ollie looked shocked by this revelation. "What… do you mean?"
"Oh, I suppose the three of you don't know since I never told you but I recorded you swearing yourselves to me," Paul smiled and giggled to himself.
"You did what?!" Willie hollered at him
"Ugh… Here, I'll just show you!" Paul groaned out as he opened his laptop and opened up a video and showed us a recording of Melinda and Marcel but he fast forwarded it to Ollie, sitting in front of the laptop in a desk most likely in one of the classrooms.
"Do you swear to obey me so that I may see you through this killing game unharmed and safe so that you may leave this place?" Paul asked, offscreen.
Ollie blinked for a moment before she looked up, "... I do."
The video ended there, now paused on her as Paul grinned at us, looking very sadistic. "You see? She is my property for the remainder of our time here within the school and she will obey me. If she refuses, I will need to take more drastic measures." He then turned to Melinda and ordered, "Grab her."
Melinda swooped in between us and grabbed her wrist, making Ollie yelp as she was yanked on. "Let her go!" I screamed as I grabbed onto Melinda who shoved me off as Shana and Willie quickly jumped her and fought with her as Ollie struggled to get free.
"You are under contract with me! There is no point in resistance!" Paul spoke sternly as his presence seemed to tower over us. But suddenly the tower toppled as Luca charged at him and punched him in the jaw, sending the hacker reeling back and dropping his laptop as he lost his footing and fell.
Melinda immediately shoved everyone away including Ollie as she rushed to Paul. "Paul! Are you alright?!" She called out as she quickly helped him back up..
Paul shook off the daze only to see Luca pick up his laptop and begin to do something on it. "Get your worthless hands off my pride!"
Luca then hit a button as we heard a ding sound from it. Luca then walked up and held his now closed laptop to Paul with a glare in his eye. "I just deleted Ollie's "contract". Now you can't hold her against her will anymore." He growled out as Paul immediately opened his laptop and began searching frantically before he froze and growled out at Luca.
"You have no reason to be controlling her like a mindless puppet! It's bad enough that we have one dictator in this killing game, we really don't need two. Besides, there's no reason to try and force people with different opinions to follow you against their will. We all have our own free wills to act for ourselves or are you so quick to forget Marcel is a prime example that you are not someone who can demand whatever you want from us?" I sternly told him off, knowing that bringing up Marcel would enrage him. Soon the four of us stood in a line, separating Ollie from Paul and Melinda.
Melinda stepped towards us with her Bowie knife now unscathed before Monokuma popped in. "Don't any of you think about it! The class trial may be over but you don't get to attack each other in my trial grounds! If you wanna kill each other, I suggest you go back up
Paul's breathing got ragged as his wild eyes stared at us. "You… will regret this. I promise you that." With nothing else to do Paul turned and began walking to the elevator with Melinda close behind as she looked back and sneered at us.
They soon left the five of us alone as Ollie looked over each of us. "Thank you. All of you. Because of you, I can freely be around whoever I want."
"No one should be treated like a prisoner, especially considering the fact we already are prisoners," Shana commented with a light chuckle.
"Besides, those two are in the wrong! I know with who we got left, we ain't gonna kill each other. Even if Monokuma throws another motive at us, we will be strong and surpass this killin' game!" Willie said with confidence.
"We got this. And with you on our side, Ollie, I know we can do it," Luca added as he rubbed her shoulder. Ollie beamed at him before she jumped up to her tippy toes before she planted a kiss on Luca's cheek, making the Ultimate Traceur blush.
We all smiled at this as we heard the elevator come back down to retrieve us. We all went up together and spent what was left of the day together. We went up to the Nurse's office and once again found the mess and Damian's body was cleaned up like it never happened. Even all the poisons were removed like they were never there. As much as not having rotting corpses everywhere was a good thing, I hated how it feels like when these murders are wiped away, it's like they were never here to begin with. But the thing is I know they were. After all I'm carrying a piece of them with me at all times. Helen's unpublished book, Jayden's sunglasses, Evelyn's pendant, Sienna's gold medal, Brenda's pin collection vest, Mikayla's paw print stethoscope, Marcel's hibiscus jewel, Damian's record-like headphones, and Tommy's dinosaur magnifying glass.
Hopefully these are all the momentums I will have to take with me. After all, with who we have left there's no chance a murder will happen, right? I think that, but if Monokuma finds a weakness he can exploit in someone, I know he will take advantage of it. But I should let that cloud my sight. I need to focus on resting myself because I have a feeling the nightmares will only get worse after two more of my dear friends' deaths.
I got back to my room earlier than when nighttime was supposed to start and just laid in my bed, staring up at the ceiling.
My thoughts began to invade my empty mind. 'So far, it feels like all we've been getting are mysteries with no answers anywhere in the school. The class going missing, the staff massacred, why the police hasn't gotten us out yet, what happened to our loved ones, the conversations between our mastermind and their supporter, the sleeping subjects, the Despair Experiment, all of these mysteries are piled up but we don't have the slightest clue how they are connected to us or why we haven't uncovered the truth behind them. Why?'?
Before my mind could think about things any further, I heard my phone buzz on the table. Probably just another Twitter notification about some celebrity gossip or…
"WAIT WHAT!?" I screamed out in realization as I rushed over to my desk and found the cell phone I received from the perk that allowed me to contact Manako only once. I assumed the phone was useless after that so I had just tossed it aside. But looking at it now, I got so many video messages from an unknown number. 'Is it someone from the outside trying to contact me?!' I wondered with high hopes in my heart.
I quickly opened the old flip phone and began scrolling through the video messages that pulled inside the inbox. Once I reached the oldest message in the inbox, I clicked the enter button as the small screen went black and an image appeared. Soon the video began playing and an all too familiar voice resonated from the low quality speaker of the phone. I knew it too well as I saw her face appear. "M-Manako?" I whispered.
"… Hey MoonFans… I… Don't know if this Vlog or any further vlogs will reach you all, nor do I know if I will be able to keep this recording… But I feel like I need to make this recording… that you all need to know what is happening here…" Manako started as she gripped her left arm.
"… Me and the other Ultimates are trapped in some sick killing game like in The Hunger Games or something and are being forced to kill one another in order to escape… And not only that, but my best friend in the world, one you guys know as Saikawa Mariko… Was executed as an example… She was killed by the one keeping us here… I recorded footage of the execution, but… I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be YouTube-friendly, so I'd have to not monetize this video for sure-"
"Gotta love that new YouTube, huh?" a familiar voice chirped, interrupting her.
Sure enough, Monokuma appeared right beside her on the couch, making her jump a bit.
"What the hell?!" Manako shouted, "What are you doing here?!"
"The better question is what are you doing?" Monokuma asked, tilting his head as he looked her laptop over. "What is this even?" he asked, standing right in front of the webcam camera view, "Is this like a white people thing?"
"I'm vlogging, I'll have you know!" Manako shouted, most definitely annoyed.
"Vlogging, eh?" Monokuma mused, "Well, good luck uploading while there's a signal jammer in effect in this building!"
"Signal Jammer?" She repeated, getting out her phone.
"Buuuuuuut…" Monokuma said, his red eye glinting, "Since I think you're a beary trustworthy person, I'll allow you to use your 'vlogging' as a personal video log of your time in this killing seminar."
"Well, don't I feel special…" muttered Manako, sarcastically.
"Hey! None of the sass, lady!" Monokuma shouted, baring his claws, "I'm being nice to you! You should feel honored!" She then sighed out, leaning back in her seat.
"Anyways…" Monokuma said, "The real reason I came here is on business." He cleared his throat, then said, "There's a traitor among your group."
Manako sat back up as her interest was piqued. "… Come again?" She asked.
"Yup!" Monokuma said, "There's a traitor among your group that is secretly working for Despair!"
"… I see…" said Manako. She seemed unsure what to make of this new information.
"I'll leave it up to you to figure out who the traitor is, toots." Monokuma said, laughing as he then disappeared in his typical fashion.
Manako blinked, then glanced back at her laptop, which was still recording footage.
That's when the video cut out.
My heart sank seeing that as I scrolled back up and selected a random video message which soon began playing.
"Hey MoonFans…" Manako said her usual greeting. Yet despite the bright, glossy hot pink lipstick, pale pink eyeshadow, and black mascara she applied on, she still was looking a bit out of it. "Um… I know I probably look a bit prettier than usual, but I had that mindset where I told myself that if I'm going to be murdered in this Mutual Killing Seminar, I may as well look pretty…"
She paused a moment, then continued, "I know that probably sounded like I skipped a few steps in the grief process, but I just feel very out of it today… I prettied myself up on impulse, and that's never good… Still, despite me knowing full well now that it's highly unlikely this video will reach you all, again, I feel like I just need to keep making these update videos so that everyone knows what happened here... So that if something happens to me… then everyone will know what occurred leading up to my demise… So that if help eventually does come… Then there will be evidence to convict these guys…"
Again, she paused a little more as I saw her trying to recompose herself, then said, "… Alright… I'm going to get going… But stay strong MoonFans… I'll… I'll find a way out of here without killing anyone… I swear it… Oh, and uh… If Sienna Donnely or her mother ends up watching this… Then just know that your friend Daniel Grievky cares about you guys a lot, and that he would move both heaven and earth for you…"
I blinked in shock. 'Sienna? But I know when I spoke to her for the perk, Manako mentioned she saw Brenda kill Sienna. Then… that means this video was recorded before I spoke to her.' I thought before I skipped the rest and clicked on the newest video message I just received a moment ago. This time, Manako looked terrible! She looked like she hadn't got any sleep and didn't even try to pretty herself up which was not like her.
"... Heya MoonFans…" Manako said into the webcam, "... It's been several days since this killing game of mine started, and honestly, I think I'm starting to feel completely jaded from it…"
She looked down a moment, then looked back at the camera as she went on. "I have thus far seen six of the other attendees of this seminar killed either through murder or through brutal executions… And yet, somehow, I don't even know if people are wondering where we all are, or if they're calling for help or anything like that…"
Manako then looked back at the camera, a pleading expression on her face. "That's why if these videos somehow make it out of here, I want you all to call for help! Call someone, the police, the FBI, the National Guard, someone, please! I… I don't want to die here..." Tears began streaming down her face as she began sobbing on camera. "Please… Help me… I don't want to die…" She broke down and sobbed for what seemed like an hour, occasionally screaming in anguish in between sobs.
Suddenly, the cries got louder as it played but I soon realized it was my cries that began mixing with hers. Manako was suffering. She feared for her life and I can't do anything for her! I opened the phone and tried calling her, having her personal number memorized. But the phone didn't work as I began screaming at it to work, desperately trying to contact Manako and tell her I was there for her. But as my cries of anger and anguish left my cracked and soon destroyed voice, I knew all my efforts would be in vain. Even if I managed to contact her, the fact I can't be there for her killed me and left me a shattered mess as her cries made me cry out even worse into the nighttime hours.
Chapter 4: Fragile Line of Trust In Ruin
END
Deceased Students: 9
Surviving Students: 7
…
…
…
"It's time. Time to kick this killing game into the big stage. I am certain that they will figure me out soon. Then again, I have survived four class trials and still they don't suspect me. But why I'm not surprised is obvious. They would never suspect me of doing all this traitor work. After all, they don't even know my true nature yet. Well, it won't matter. What I have schemed next will surely be the most delicious plan so far and she is the key that will topple them all into the worst despair of their lives!"
Chapter 5: The Fate of All for One Name
And with that Chapter 4 is complete and we move on to Chapter 5! We're so close to the end but I'm beyond thrilled for what is to come! So we got every answer behind the case, Damian's motive and past explained, Tommy's execution, some drama, some resolution, a bit of despair, and to top it all off, it seems our traitor may be hiding more about themselves from the rest of the cast as they plot away. Now I'm curious what you thought about the end of the chapter. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts and reactions to it. Honestly, I get my biggest motivation to write from reading them and seeing how much you guys are enjoying my take on the DR universe. But until next time, have a despairful day (or night depending on when you are)! See ya later! Puhuhuhu~