AN: Welp, it has been far too long, but here it is, time to finally continue!

I've been holding onto this chapter for awhile now, and have waited for A New Luck to get going before I really start to ramp this story back up, which I'm happy to report is now, even if this chapter is on the shorter end! Enjoy, and thank you for your patience, I'm really excited about the new AU and what it will bring!

5:36 PM

Floor 1

Central Garden

A long, dread filled silence passed over the Perfects as Hoshasenkuma's declaration seeped in. One by one the gravity of their situation took hold of them, looks of horror and dismay appearing on their faces.

"W-Wait, what do you mean a killing game? I don't think I understand!" Hermit cried out, her eyes wide.

Leo chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Well, I suppose things are getting interesting now." He smirked, earning him incredulous looks from almost everyone else.

"This isn't funny…" Miranda responded, shooting Leo an exasperated look. The Geneticist turned to look back at Hoshasenkuma, a pleading look in her eyes. "Mr. Seriozha, if this is a joke I ask that you please cease this at once!"

The green eyed bear tilted his head at her quizzically, raising a paw to his mouth as if confused. "I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree, missy. There's been an… unfortunate change in command here. But that doesn't really matter… after all, this isn't about me, but all of you. And unfortunately…" Hoshasenkuma waddled to the edge of the stage, peering down at the Perfects with a large grin. "I'm certainly not joking. You all thought these walls were safe from the outside world that was suffering, and now you all are paying the price for such arrogance. You all hold the title of 'Perfects', and I wish to see just how true such a lofty title holds up."

"So, despair has wormed its way even into these walls. Hate to break it to ya pal, we ain't gonna kill each other so easily!" Iris snapped, glaring at the bear with an intense hatred. "This isn't gonna go the way ya think it is, ya hear?"

"That's exactly right." Kazu agreed. "I'm not sure what your goal is but-"

"But nothing!" The kuma barked with fury, slamming a pawed hand down on the podium. "Humans are all the same, no matter their age, gender, religion, social status… It makes no difference. So don't go thinking that just because some old fart from Russia thought you were special, that you actually are."

Tomoe frowned, her eyebrows scrunching up as she continued to observe their captor. "By that statement, I can deduce that you are a person who does not have a very lofty view of humanity. Even more so us. Are we being punished for something?"

"Not too shabby an assessment, sweetheart." Hoshasenkuma praised, clapping his paws in mock praise. "Listen to me, and listen well. I am indeed here to pass judgement, and I am here to cleanse this place of the unworthy, however… I am only here for one of you specifically. I don't really give a damn about the rest of you."

"Only… one of us? So you're saying that someone here specifically has earned your wrath?" Kline inquired curiously, his hand tapping on his chin in thought. "What could this one person have possibly done to warrant you dragging everyone here into this situation?"

Fuka gritted her teeth in silent fury, glaring at the bear. "So, what this asshole is saying is this so called killing game is his way of snuffing out this person. We're just collateral damage."

Everyone looked at the Virologist in confusion, before Kazu's eyes widened with realization and horror. "Fuka, are you saying even the bear here is unaware of who he's after?"

Fuka's gaze was unwavering. "Am I correct or not?"

The yellow bear stared blankly at the blue haired woman, before suddenly throwing back his head and bursting out into a fit of laughter. "Well done, truly! Nothing gets past you lot, now does it? That's correct, I don't yet know the identity of this despicable individual. Which is why I'm here."

"So we're all being punished as a result of one individual among us because they did something horrible?" Ikouze summed up, looking between his colleagues with visible worry. "Did I get that right?"

"Collective punishment." Song mused quietly. "The selfish acts of one causes the misery of many."

"Hm, almost." Hoshasenkuma mused. "This person… is not being seeked out by me because of what they did do, but because of what they PLAN to do in the future. If you think I'm the bad guy here, you lot are sorely mistaken. I want to save the human race, and I'll do anything to make that happen. Even if that means having to pile up the bodies of innocents to do so. Is that clear enough?"

"Sure is! Thank you!" Ysandro replied cheerfully, good naturedly rubbing the back of his head.

"Fucking idiot." Ranze muttered, shaking his head.

"And I'm guessing this person among us won't be willing to give themselves up for our sakes?" Leo asked hopefully, a small smile on his face. Upon being met with silence, he shrugged. "Well, it was worth a shot."

"Hehe, so someone among us was, or still is, concocting something that would threaten humanity, and was planning on using the Institute to carry it out?" Kagemaru giggled, a wide smirk on his face. "Things just keep getting more interesting by the minute! Though this whole ordeal is quite mundane and tedious. Tell me bear, will you end the game once you catch the person you seek? And why go through all this trouble, surely there must be an easier way? Or maybe-"

"Jesus Christ, will you shut the hell up? You're making my ears bleed!" The automaton complained, its left eye seeming to glow a furious yellow. "If you all will please pipe down for a minute, I'll explain how this little show of ours will run. But first, I have a gift for you fine folks, so be grateful!"

Hoshasenkuma grunted, waddling as he reached under his podium and pulling out a large box. "I believe you all have been looking for these?" He chuckled, plopping the box down on the edge of the stage.

Everyone hesitated, before Emil took the initiative, reaching into the box, his eyes widening as he pulled out his ID badge and his Genesis Pad. "Hm, why do I have a feeling that these are not the same as when you took them from us?"

Everyone began pulling out their missing possessions, Hermit gulping as she warily inspected her tablet. "I don't like where this is going…"

Kline scowled, his hands typing quickly as he began shifting through his device. "Your guess is correct Emil, this horrid bear purged and encrypted many of the files and applications on these things. Whoever they are, they knew what they were doing."

"Mmm, well at least we have the ID badges back?" Shadya offered optimistically, Azra nodding in agreement. "We can unlock the locked doors-"

"Not gonna happen." Ikouze interjected, having hooked up his badge to his tablet. "Our captor also took away our administration privileges we get from the badges, so they can't open all the doors within this place anymore. Hell, we can't even access the elevator!"

"Hm, maybe you can hack it?" Akuji yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Isn't that, like, your job?"

Before Kline and Ikouze could reply, Hoshasenkuma burst out into laughter, the bear clutching its sides. "Yeah, that ain't gonna happen. Tampering with electronics and doors is strictly against the rules, after all!"

"So we do have some sort of rules? I assume it has to do with this new application on our tablets?" Song inquired, eyeing the black and red icon on her screen.

"Ding ding ding! Got it in one!" The kuma confirmed, giving them a thumbs up. "If you all will be so kind as to open said app, I'll go over just how fun this little game of ours is gonna be!"

One by one, the Perfects began to read the rules with disdain.

The Codex

1. Attacking the Director in any way will result in immediate termination of the Perfects life.

2. Breaking down locked doors, messing with any equipment or electronics, and accessing restricted areas without the Director's approval will result in immediate termination of the Perfects life.

3. "Nighttime" is from 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM. During this time, Perfects are allowed to roam the Institute as they please, however all dormitory water services will be shut off, and the dining hall will be locked. The kitchen, however, may still be accessed.

4. Murder of a fellow Perfect is not only allowed, but encouraged. Perfects are allowed to kill a maximum of 2 people per motive.

5. When a Perfect kills another Perfect, the killer will then become an "Imperfect", and the victim a "Fallen".

6. Once 2 other Perfects discover a Fallen, an investigation period of 1 hour will be triggered. An autopsy report will then be distributed via the Genesis Pads.

7. After the investigation, a Crucible will then take place, where Perfects will have to discover the Imperfect among them.

8. If the Perfects successfully identify the Imperfect, the Imperfect shall be executed and the game shall continue.

9. However, if an Imperfect is successfully able to deceive their fellow Perfects, they shall be given a choice between two rewards:

9A. The first option is the Imperfect may choose to leave the Institute immediately. However, in exchange, the Imperfect must choose another Perfect to die in their place.

9B. The second option is the granting of the Imperfects greatest desire. However, in exchange, they must stay within the Institute and continue the game, and must kill again to escape. However, they may remain anonymous of their crime.

10. After every Crucible, a new floor within the Institute will become available.

11. Perfects are also encouraged to seek out the one amongst them who threatens humanity. If over half of the remaining Perfects are in agreement about who the individual is and possess sufficient evidence, they may call for a final Crucible and bring them to justice. If the Director agrees with the general consensus, the threat against humanity will be executed, and the killing game will cease immediately.

12. Additional rules may be added at the Director's discretion.

"What the actual hell? Imperfects? Crucibles? Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?" Ranze growled, his hands clutching his tablet tightly.

"Hmm, Mr. Bear, I have a question!" Azra piped up, raising her hand enthusiastically. "What do you mean by our greatest desires?"

"An excellent question, sweetheart!" Hoshasenkuma replied a smirk, readjusting his gas mask. "So… how do I put this into words… to make things more interesting, I plan on manipulating your greatest desires! I happen to be able to make anything you could possibly want, happen. You want revenge on someone who wronged you? Done. You want power, wealth, women, or maybe all of those above? Done! Or maybe..." The kuma smiled deviously, glancing down at the dead silent group below him. "...maybe you want something that transcends the imagination, like immortality, or reviving a dead loved one."

The Perfects remained dead silent, and the kuma began to giggle as he eyed them and the gears that were turning in their brains. "I see that's getting your creative juices flowing! Like I said, humans are all the same."

"Oi, hold on just a second!" Iris replied, the girl's hands gripped to the side of her wheelchair tightly. "You trying to me that you can bring back the dead? That's literally impossible!"

"Can… can you really do all that?" A shaking Ranze added.

"Well, duh. I'm not someone who is full of hot air. I happen to be in possession of a certain something that can make the impossible, possible. I am, after all, the God here that resides in Eden. I'd also take a gander that some of you don't even know what you might want. Don't worry about that, we'll figure it out soon enough." Hoshasenkuma added, glancing at the tree with golden apples. "And oh yeah, don't eat these. Not yet anyways, they're for future use. Failure to comply will be considered breaking the rules. Are there any other questions?"

Upon his question being met with silence, the kuma clapped his paws together with a giggle. "Ahaha! Excellent! I'll leave you fine folks be to get acclimated to your new situation. Do note that sometime tomorrow I'll be kickstarting the first motive! See ya later!"

The bear climbed off his podium, waddling to the elevator in the center of the garden and disappearing inside.

After a few moments of silence, Miranda took a deep breath. "Well, this is bad."

"No shit sherlock. We're balls deep in the belly of the beast." Iris snorted, running a hand through her hair. "So, any bright ideas on what we should do first?"

"Well, we need to remain calm first off. Then assess our situation. Unneeded panic and worry will only exacerbate our situation." Tomoe added, attempting to keep the peace. "Our captor said that they were only after someone specific."

Emil took off his glasses, cleaning them as he let out a loud sigh. "Yes, well, the mastermind is willing to walk over all of our corpses if it means they can eliminate this person they see as a threat."

"And supposedly this dangerous person is one of us…" Ayeka squeaked out, glancing around at her colleagues with wariness in her eyes. "I don't want to suspect any of you, but…"

"Hmph, well it can really be any of us. I don't trust any of you. And don't think that because you have a wheelchair that I'll let my guard down around you." Ranze growled, straightening his suit.

Ayeka recoiled, and Iris growled, shaking a fist at the prosthetist. "Oi, you little shit!"

"C'mon, don't be like that," Kazu replied, stepping in front of Ranze in an attempt to be diplomatic. "Besides, remember only one of us is this massive threat. And who knows, the bear may be lying just to rile us up against one another."

"Doesn't matter. We all saw how the Hope's Peak game went! All the good intentions in the world won't be able to stop the bodies from dropping when the motives come into play. I'm just being a realist," Ranze looked around Kazu at Ayeka. "And the Steven Hawking wannabe certainly doesn't get a pass."

The wheelchair bound Epidemiologist trembled, turning her face away to shield the small tears that began forming in her eyes.

Kazu's brows furrowed, the taller man clearly losing patience as he towered over the shorter man. "Ranze, there's no need to make her cry like that. It's completely uncalled for." He warned calmly.

"If that's supposed to be a threat, it's not working." Ranze's body, however, shook as he glared back up at the much taller Number Theorist. "Don't think you can use your thug like looks to scare me."

"I'm not trying to scare anyone. I'm simply saying that I won't tolerate you scaring the little lady here based on her disabilities," Kazu countered lowly, squinting his eyes in warning. "So, I suggest you calm down and stop throwing out baseless accusations and insults."

Everyone held their breath as the two continued their standoff, before Ranze relented with a growl. "This is ridiculous. Just don't come crying to me when things go south."

The Perfect Prosthetist marched away to the dormitories, muttering under his breath.

"Jesus Christ, we're screwed." Fuka sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration.

Miranda gave the blue haired woman a small, sympathetic smile, resting a soft hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry luv, we just need to give time for everyone to gather their bearings." The Geneticist turned back to Kazu, giving him a grateful look. "Thank you for that. I'm not one to condone threats, but the peace needed to be kept."

The larger man nodded simply in response, turning to regard the shaking Epidemiologist. "Are you ok, Ayeka?"

The frail girl nodded, wiping the spare tears from her face. "Yes, thank you. I've heard worse catcalls in my lifetime, it is nothing I'm not already used to."

Iris gave her friend a small pat on the head. "Hey, why don't we go back to your room and freshen up? Your eyes are red and puffy."

Ayeka nodded, and the Mycologist gave the rest of the group a strained smile. "Don't worry about us, we'll catch up with you all later."

As the two strolled away, Shadya yawned. "Can we take a nap break please?"

"I second that." Akuji piped up, rubbing his eyes.

Ikouze gave the two an incredulous look. "You cannot be serious. Sleeping is the last thing any of us should be doing right now!"

"Hm, actually, I think it's a great idea!" Azra offered. "A little nap never hurt anyone!"

"As do I." Song agreed, resting a hand on her chin. "Ikouze, I know you want to get down to business and help set up some working rules, but several others here have already been mentally strained, and it's getting quite late. Those of us who want to take a break can, and the rest of us can meet in the dining hall. Does that sound agreeable to everyone?"

As everyone nodded in agreement, Song clapped her hands. "Very well, then those who want to discuss our predicament can meet in the dining hall. The rest of you may take a break and gather your bearings, but please be sure to catch up with one of us who is going to the dining hall later."

6:14 PM

Floor 1

Dining Hall

"So, this seems to be everyone who's coming. I like this group that we have assembled!" Ikouze started optimistically.

"In other words, we have the most responsible of us here. No need to mince words," Kazu replied, resting his head on his shoulder. "We can use this chance to calm down and rationally think through our situation."

Song hummed in thought. "So, let's start with our options. We're stuck on the first floor with no means of getting to the exit, and we cannot contact the outside world. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to play along. We've been outmatched, clearly. Anyone have any idea who's behind this? Perhaps Ultimate Despair, or an enemy of the Director? Or maybe… well, I hate to suggest it, but maybe it is Director Seriozha himself?"

"No! That can't be possible!" Miranda piped up adamantly, shaking her head. "Mr. Seriozha is a kind man, he'd never do something like this! He must have been kidnapped, or as much as I hate the thought, killed."

"I agree with Miranda, but not for the ridiculous reason she gave," Fuka countered, folding her arms. "No offense, Doctor Bailey, but you don't know Seriozha like I do. You only know the side of him he presented to you over video chats, it's almost all a facade. In reality, he is an ambitious, manipulative, and borderline obsessive man. I have no doubt that he'd not hesitate to do something like this, however…" The Virologist paused, glancing at her colleagues seriously. "The Chernobyl Institute is his pride and joy. He's invested billions of American dollars and over half a decade of work into this, so he'd never bring it all crashing down just for his own amusement. If anything, this is most likely just a terrorist attack by Ultimate Despair."

"And the last memory all of us have, besides Miranda, is those strange people begging to be let in with Professor Idabashi. I believe one of them said she was a former Hope's Peak student. She said she had important information on stuff that was going to happen outside. And from what I could tell, she was serious," Tomoe added confidently, furrowing her brows in thought. "Besides, them coming in would not account for us instantly being knocked out. Thus, Miranda's claim is true and our memories have been altered."

"That is even more troubling. Assuming the group or individuals responsible have the ability to mess with our memories, there's no telling how much time has passed, and what things we've forgotten," Kline pointed out. "And of course, there's the fact that supposedly one of us is not who they say they are."

"But we can't think about that!" Hermit argued. "It'll just make things worse if we keep suspecting each other."

"Right, indeed. I'd suggest we start establishing some sort of rules, and maybe even elect a person or two we can all get behind to lead us, but… well, we should probably save that until the morning when everyone has calmed down and we're all here." Song suggested.

"Well, it looks like we should convene here for the evening," Emil interejected, speaking up for the first time. "By the way, can any of us really cook? We had Curie cook all our food for us, but now that she's offline, we're on our own."

"I would not mind," Miranda offered with a bright smile. "I used to cook all the time for my children, and I'm not too bad if I say so myself!"

"Ah, and I'll help out, why not? I usually wake up early anyways. I'll do my best to assist you Ms. Bailey." Kline added, much to the shock of everyone else.

Hermit looked at Kline with newfound respect. "Wow, I have to say, I didn't expect you to be one to cook!"

Kline gave her a slight smile in response. "You'd be surprised. While I can't promise to be as skilled as Miranda is, I do believe I can suffice in whipping up a decent breakfast."

"Then it's settled. We'll all meet here for breakfast tomorrow after the Dining Hall opens." Kazu concluded, slowly rising from his chair. "Let's take tonight to get some rest and gather our bearings."

6:23 PM

Floor 1

Female Dormitories (Ayeka's Room)

"Aye, here ya go sweetheart." Iris sighed, handing a sniffling Ayeka a few tissues. "Don't let that asshole get to you, ya hear?"

The black haired girl sniffed, adjusting her scarf as she rapidly typed her thoughts down on her keyboard. "I'm sorry Iris, I didn't mean to waste your time. I appreciate you looking out for me, especially since you probably wanted to go to the meeting…"

The brown eyed girl chuckled, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she rolled her wheelchair next to Ayeka's. "Eh, don't worry about it. We wheelchair buddies gotta stick together, yeah?"

"Hehe, thank you!" Ayeka replied gratefully, wiping some stray tears from her eyes. "Iris, can I ask you a question?"

"Aye, of course!"

The pink eyed girl hesitated, before relenting and typing her question down. "Do you really think that the mastermind can grant our any desire? I mean, that's impossible, right?" Ayeka paused, for a moment, before continuing. "Is it bad that I feel just a tad bit tempted to see if what this mastermind says is true?"

The Mycologist sighed, smoothing her skirt as she rolled her wheelchair forward a bit, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Of course not. We're all human, which means that deep down, we're flawed and self serving beings. After all, it's why people that are truly selfless like Mother Teresa are so famous. No matter how good a person is, chances are they have at least one selfish desire that they'd do almost anything to have come true. And our captor knows this, too."

Ayeka considered Iris' response, before nodding in agreement. "You're right, as usual. That's part of why I'm so scared, I suppose." She paused, releasing a small yawn and rubbing her eyes. "Ah, I'm getting tired. Iris, will you stay with me for the evening? I'm scared I won't get any sleep otherwise…"

Iris smiled, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Aye, say no more. I think it'll be beneficial to us both."

7:01 PM

Floor 1

Rec Room

"I doubt this is going to work, but it's certainly worth a try!" Leo mused, eyeing the vent with intrigue.

"Mwhaha, thanks to Corvo, we may be getting out of here sooner than our captor wants us to!" Kagemaru boasted, hoisting open the vent grate. "In the final days before we were knocked unconscious, I discovered that this vent connects to the Director's Office up on the 4th floor! If I can get Corvo up there, we may be able to see who's behind this!"

"Right, that's a fine idea and all, but have you considered how we'll be able to see? All you have is a walkie talkie." The Statistician pointed out, folding his arms over his chest. "Can we get a camera or something?"

"I wouldn't worry about that. In fact, I have a better solution than you having to use your precious bird."

The two turned around in surprise to see Ranze, holding a strange looking machine.

"The hell is that? Looks like a metal crab…" Leo chuckled.

Ranze gave a small smirk. "Well, it's something like that. I constructed this awhile back, in conjunction with Kline and Ikouze. It's a small remote control automation with a camera that syncs a feed up to my Genesis Pad. Thankfully, any tampering done to our pads by the mastermind has not affected that function. Thus, we can use this and you do not have to risk your pets life."

Leo and Kagemaru stared at him in stunned silence for a moment, before the former whistled. "Wow, that's surprisingly generous of you. Are you sure you're the same Ranze that dissed a wheelchair bound girl earlier?"

The Prostheticist visibly winced, clearly bothered. "I… yes, that wasn't my brightest moment, I admit. I plan to apologize first thing tomorrow morning. Regardless, that's not the point now. So, what do you say, bird boy?"

Kagemaru shot him a toothy grin, lowering Corvo away from the vent. "By all means. Better your creation than my friend."

"Very well then. Allow me to demonstrate some of the best that the Ikeru knowledge has to offer!" Ranze boasted, setting the robot into the vent and taking out his Genesis Pad. After a minute of fiddling, he turned to show his two companions how it worked. "As you can see, the camera on it is crystal clear. Now, Kagemaru, simply give me the direction to go in." He instructed, using the controls to guide the robot through the vent.

After a few minutes of instructing and guiding Ranze through the vents, Kagemaru smirked. "Hehe, take a right here, and then we'll be at the Director's Office."

"Huh. I would have expected the mastermind to have taken precautions. How sloppy of them!" Leo chuckled.

Ranze snorted. "Don't celebrate just yet. There's no telling what we'll find in the Director's Office."

As the small robot sauntered forward, slowly approaching the light at the end of the vent, a small beeping became audible, before a small explosion erupted, cutting off the camera feed.

After a small moment of silence, Leo chuckled. "Well, good thing we didn't use the bird, right?"

Before Kagemaru or Ranze could muster a response, the tv mounted on the wall turning on and revealing a clearly annoyed Hoshasenkuma.

"Seriously, did you lot truly think that would work? Give me a break, I wasn't born yesterday!" The Kuma growled. "Consider this a warning, as you technically breached Rule #2. But I'm a very benevolent God, just make sure you don't pull a stunt like that again!"

The tv then shut off, leaving the trio to stir over what just happened.

"Well, better that dumb robot than my best buddy!" Kagemaru chuckled, watching Ranze sigh and place his head on his hand, and Leo shoot him a look. "What?"

"Not the time for that, buddy." Leo chided, resting a hand on Ranze's shoulder. "He worked hard on that robot."

Ranze slowly stood up, shrugging off Leo's hand. "Thank you, but this is what helpful purpose machines are supposed to serve. Now if you two will excuse me, I'll be retiring for the evening."

The two watched the Prosthetist leave, Kagemaru not seeming to care as he petted Corvo. "Eh, he'll get over it."

Leo frowned with worry, glancing back up at the pitch black monitor. 'I have a feeling he's less worried about the robot, and more about the fact that we're imprisoned here by someone truly intelligent who has covered all their bases…'