Q: Tell me about your parents, please.
EV: I'm very close with my mother. She's been so wonderful and supportive my whole life.
Q: Including your scientific pursuits?
EV: Oh, particularly that! She'd listen to me ramble for hours. She never had a mind for maths, but she always did her best to understand what I was talking about.
Q: Was your father the same way?
EV: Ah. He... did have a mind for maths? I think I'm very much like him. That's why... well. I've always accepted my mum's influence. One can't simply pick and choose one's parents. But... one can choose to accept only the good lessons. That's what I've always tried to do.

It was strange. The sight was so terrible, the thought of brilliant, wonderful Emily denied a future so ghastly, the expression of agony on her face so overwhelming... something in my mind just snapped. I went cold. I just breathed.

Ashley had a hand over her mouth, nearly swooning from her obvious nausea. I idly wondered if I should steady her, but before I could move, I heard a sound behind me.

I turned. Standing in the door was Lucina, mouth and eyes open in horror. She dropped to her hands and knees like a puppet whose strings had been cut, silently howling.

I went to her. I put my hand on her shoulder, and without a moment's pause, she reached up and grabbed me tightly, weeping with her head buried in my chest.

I looked up at Ashley. "We need to investigate," I said. "The drunk people will only get in the way. What can we do?"

She gaped at me for a moment, then appeared to come to her senses. "Yes. Rodrigo can wrangle them. He's probably too sensitive to be any good here."

I nodded. "Can you tell everyone?"

"I can. Can you investigate here?"

I nodded. She tilted her head slightly towards Lucina, frowning. I knew what she was saying. 'She was the only other person who wasn't at the party.' I nodded back, ignoring the feeling in my stomach.

"Very well." Ashley breathed in deeply. "I will go inform everyone of what's happened. Afterwards, I'll attempt to interrogate Juliet."

"Send Bepi over," I said, then paused. "Well, not if he's really drunk. If he is, just... just send whoever's lucid." She nodded and ran out the door.

I held Lucina in my arms for maybe a minute as she shuddered and hitched. I wanted some time before I would have to look at the body.

Finally, I took a deep breath and leaned back, looking Lucina in the face. "I have to investigate," I said. "And at the trial, I might do what I did before. Is it..."

She pushed me away, shocking me, and she grabbed a pad of paper and pencil from her pocket. She scribbled for a moment and held out, Justice for her, whatever it takes.

I nodded, relieved. "Will you stay with me? You don't have to look at anything, but it makes me feel safer."

She nodded back. And then my procrastination had reached an end; I ran out of excuses. I stood up and walked towards Emily's body.

But before I could get there, a loud buzz startled me, and I nearly fell to the ground. My tablet was vibrating in my pocket. Suddenly, a shrill voice yelped from the door, "Excellent, excellent!"

I turned and glared at Monokuma, who was rubbing his paws together in glee. "I'm here to say I sent you a Monomail about this fantastic murder!" he announced. "It's so wonderful to see the results of a student's hard work. Do you see what can be accomplished when you just follow the rules like you're supposed to?"

The thought of even acknowledging he had spoken made me feel sick. I just pulled out my tablet and turned it on, reading the new email:

Body Discovery Report!
The victim is Emily Voss. The body was discovered at 12:17 a.m. in the music engineering studio in the performing arts center. The victim suffered a stab wound to the heart, resulting in instantaneous death. The victim also suffered numerous non-lethal wounds. No poison or drugs were found in her system.

Monokuma just giggled. "Ignore me all you want, little detectives, but you'd better follow the rules yourself if you want to survive the night! Spoiled children can't be given a choice in these things; they'll give themselves over to chaos." And with a goofy sproing sound, he disappeared.

I looked at Lucina, still sitting on the floor. She didn't seem to notice or care Monokuma was ever here. With a calming breath, I turned and finally went to examine Emily's body.

She was in a wooden chair that I recognized from a nearby orchestra room. Her ankles were duct-taped to the front legs of the chair, and her wrists were duct-taped to the seat of the chair, next to her thighs. She looked angelic; her hair drifted past her shoulders instead of in its usual ponytail, and I realized she was wearing soft, subtle make-up.

FACT 1: EMILY'S APPEARANCE
Emily recently had her hair and make-up done.

But that wasn't what really drew my eyes. Beyond even the dagger sticking out of her chest, what I really noticed were the cuts and wounds all over her arms, legs, and face. Shallow, precise slits criss-crossed all over her skin, dripping blood. There were larger gashes with dark stains leading out of them. But oddest of all, several places on her body were actually bandaged up, large clots of dried blood sticking the bandage to her skin.

FACT 2: EMILY'S WOUNDS. Emily's body is covered with wounds of various sizes which all look to have been made with a blade of some kind. Some of the larger wounds were carefully bandaged.

A yelp startled me. I turned back to see Rocky backing into the corner of the studio, a horrified expression on his face. "Oh, christ," he whispered. Lucina stood and put her hand on his shoulder.

I swallowed down my jealousy and looked Rocky right in the face. "Did Ashley send you?"

He stared at me blankly before finally nodding. "I'm the only one who was sober. It's a fucking mess over there, but... christ, I didn't think..."

"I need your help," I said plainly. "You're the only one who can help us investigate."

He blinked, licking his lips anxiously. "Um. Right. Okay. The... the body?"

"Take a minute if you need to." Without waiting, I turned around to examine the body again, this time forcing myself to look at the dagger. It was definitely the one from the creepy room in the frat house, and it was embedded almost up to the hilt in Emily's chest; she had been stabbed with a large amount of force.

Her blouse was pinned to her chest by the dagger. Looking closer at her blouse, I noticed something very strange: there were two short lengths of duct tape attached to the front of it, forming an X. The knife stuck out at the exact point where the lines met.

FACT 3: STAB WOUND
Emily was killed by the dagger from the Tomb in the frat house. There was an X pattern in duct tape on the front of her blouse, and she was stabbed right in the center of it.

"Jesus," Rocky's shaky voice said over my shoulder. "This is..." He trailed off. "How could someone do this to Emily of all people?"

"They're evil," I answered shortly. I pointed at Emily's torso. "The middle of that X must be right where her heart is. See?"

I looked closer; her blouse was billowy, but it was tight against the front of her chest. I looked around at the blouse in back, around her nape. It was bunched up and crinkled.

I indicated it to Rocky. "What do you make of this?"

He nauseatedly leaned over and examined the back of her blouse. "Um. Maybe someone was grabbing onto it and pulling back?"

"That's what I thought, too." I stood on her side and simulated holding the back of her blouse tight in one hand, and stabbing forward toward her chest with the other hand. "The blouse hangs loose. So if the X targets her heart, the killer would have to pull it tight to line it up right."

FACT 3: STAB WOUND (revised).
Emily was killed by the dagger from the Tomb in the frat house. There was an X pattern in duct tape on the front of her blouse, and she was stabbed right in the center of it. The blouse was bunched up in the back, indicating someone was grabbing it and pulling it tight when she was stabbed.

I heard a light tapping sound, so I looked over to the corner of the room, where Lucina was huddled over a trashcan, waving to us. Having got our attention, she walked over with a packet of paper in her hand, which she showed to us.

It looked like an old printout, like something that had been photocopied a bunch of times and then printed in the 1980s and then left to sit somewhere ever since. It has spatters of blood on it. At the top of the first page, in large but faded letters, it said:

CHI CHI CHI RITUAL FOR WELL-BEING AND SECURITY 33FB

CLASSIFIED: FOR CHAPTER LEADERS AND ***** ALUMNI ONLY

Ritual 33FB is the second-oldest ceremony in Chi Chi Chi history: Its first recorded performance was only two years after the chapter had been certified, in 1865. Its effectiveness is undeniable. However, for obvious reasons, it must be conducted in total secrecy, and its existence must be kept from public knowledge.

The ritual requires:

2 Ceremonial daggers (1 bladed; 1 imitation)
1 Scapegoat (virgin preferred)
1 Witness
1 Human Simulacrum

The purpose of Ritual 33FB is to protect Chi Chi Chi members from calamitous harm.

Rocky shuddered next to me. "What's a..." he tried to sound it out, "Sim-u-la-crum?"

"It's... like a fake person, I think," I replied. I flipped over to the next page and we skimmed it.

The ritual involves transferring the Felicity (Good Luck; see Ritual Q77) from the Scapegoat into the Simulacrum.

First, it is necessary to create a slit in the chest of the Simulacrum by stabbing it with the bladed dagger. Then, place the imitation dagger into the wound. The Scapegoat must later be killed with the bladed dagger by piercing the heart. Therefore, at the end of the ritual, the Simulacrum and Scapegoat will have matching wounds: a real dagger in a real chest, and an imitation dagger in an imitation chest.

The heart of the Scapegoat must be purified before death. This is accomplished via torture (any form of torture may be used). The Bad Luck "leaks" from the Scapegoat via the experience of pain. The purpose of The Witness is to absorb this Bad Luck and therefore must be on hand during this full process! The Bad Luck manifests in the Witness as distress; choosing an emotionally sensitive Witness is thus recommended.

NOTE: Although this is not universally endorsed, many Chi Chi Chi leaders strongly suggest recording some aspect of the torture and killing of the Scapegoat, as the recording will absorb any leftover ambient Bad Luck.

Regarding specific techniques for use in Ritual 33FB, we recommend...

The rest of the document appeared to be detailed descriptions for methods of torture, and I could not bring myself to read it.

The three of us looked at one another. "Fuck," Rocky said.

"Pretty much my reaction, too," I agreed.

FACT 4: OLD DOCUMENT
At the scene of the murder, there was an old printout describing the process of committing a ritual murder. This ritual is associated with JP's fraternity: Chi Chi Chi.

"So, is this just open and shut, or..." Rocky began, but I cut him off.

"I think the best thing to do is just see what we can find without jumping to any conclusions." He nodded, still looking overwhelmed and sick.

Lucina tugged my sleeve to get my attention and handed me another, newer-looking piece of paper. She pointed to the trash can in the corner.

I nodded to her and examined the paper. There was scribbled writing on it, jutting and ugly. It said, Choose. Who should die? You? or Her?

FACT 5: CRIME SCENE NOTE
There was a piece of paper in the trash can directing someone to choose which of two people will die.

I caught Lucina's eye; she looked afraid. I did my best to give her a reassuring smile and I turned back to Rocky. "You know this room better than we do. Is there anything small here that's different from when you left it?"

Rocky scratched his head and looked around. "Um, well, someone turned a beat on. There wasn't anything playing when I left, I'm sure."

"Really?"

"Yeah. See?" He walked to the large control board and pointed to one of the screens, an LED display of increasing numbers. It currently read 3001. "That counts each bar; every four beats. Its just been left on."

I rubbed my chin in thought. "Hm, how many beats would you say this is in a minute?"

He listened to the repetitive drum beat for a moment and replied, "About 130."

"Okay. And the number goes up every four beats, so let's just say 132, meaning 33 in a minute, so it's been... a little over an hour and a half, right?"

"Uh, I'll take your word for it."

I frowned. "That's after the party started, right?"

FACT 6: DRUM MACHINE
The drum machine in Rocky's studio has been on for about an hour and a half. He insists it was off when he left before the party.

Looking down at the control panel, I noticed something odd. One of the wires leading off of it onto the floor was strange, thicker than the others. I picked it up and saw that it was actually three or four individual wires all tightly wound together. It was thicker around than my thumb.

I held it up to Rocky. "Did you do this?"

"No, that'd totally fuck them up. Wait..." He looked a little further down the wire and saw two indentations. "Are those... teeth marks?"

I looked. Yes, it did look like teeth marks, like someone had bitten down hard on the wires with both sets of molars.

FACT 7: WIRES
There were several wires bound together tightly to produce a fairly thick cord. There were teeth marks on the cord.

I sighed, gathering up the wires to take with me as evidence.. "Okay. Rocky, I think I really need to go see if there's any important evidence at the frat house. But I need you to do something here at the same time, okay? That horrible document mentions... recordings. Can you look around and see if you find anything like that?"

Rocky literally looked like he was about to throw up. "Guh. Yes. Okay."

"Thanks." I nodded to Lucina and we left Rocky... and Emily's body... behind.

NORTH QUAD

When we stepped out into the night, I heard Lucina tearing a piece of paper. I looked over, and it said, He could destroy evidence. Aren't you worried about leaving him alone at the crime scene?

"Yes, I'm very worried about it," I replied. "But it's a risk I think we have to take. Most of us are wasted." I stopped walking and looked her square on. "Lucina." Rip it off, like a bandaid. "You know I have to ask, right? What you were doing tonight?"

She hesitated a moment, then determinedly wrote something down and showed me: Conducting alone in the theater. I didn't hear or see anyone, and I don't think anyone saw me.

I took a deep breath. "Okay." I chuckled humorlessly. "My impulse here is to lie for you, but I think that's the kind of thing you didn't like last time."

She nodded. She held out a new message: I didn't do it. She quickly wrote another note and showed me: But if I did, you take me down.

"I will." We just regarded each other a moment, then I pointed over to one of the light poles that lined the path. "One more thing?" We walked over to the light, and she stood still while I examined her clothes and skin. I didn't find any blood anywhere on her shirt, arms, head, or jeans.

FACT 8: LUCINA'S TESTIMONY
Lucina says she was in the theater all night and didn't hear or see anyone. There are no bloodstains on her body or clothes.

We reached the frat house, which was the site of complete chaos. Katy was sitting against the outside of the house, bawling. Jane was talking to nobody. Ashley stood outside the side entrance glaring at JP, who fretted next to her. She beckoned us over when she saw us.

"Saya!" JP yelped. "Make her let me go in! That's not just a crime scene, it's basically my house!"

"No one goes in but me!" Ashley snapped, then she looked at me. "Juliet's being an idiot. I'm giving her a break."

"Saya," JP nearly implored. "Is Emily really dead? Ashley wouldn't give us any details, but this has to be a mix-up, right?"

"She's dead," I replied, simply.

I realized Jane wasn't talking, she was... rapping. "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore. Realizing this was very distracting. "Has anyone figured out what's wrong with her?"

"Dude, she's tripping or something," JP said. "Been acting totally crazy. And, uh... you can't really see it in the dark, but... she's striped."

I gaped at him. "What?"

"I don't know how else to say it! She's striped."

I walked up to Jane hesitantly. "Passin up on these moccasins someone else has been walkin in..."

"Jane?"

She swiveled on me as fast as a snake, staring me in the face. She was, indeed, striped. There were thin, vertical, black lines running down her body; they went across her skin, hair, and eyes smoothly. It was truly strange to look at.

"Yes?!" she asked cheerfully.

"Uh, I just... wanted to ask you about the ghost you saw earlier," I said.

"Ghost!" She looked delighted. "It was outside. Had a white face, white, like the moon. It had something big in its arms, like a body. It was alone. Ghosts are scary."

FACT 9: JANE'S CONDITION
Jane has been acting bizarrely, and she now has stripes. She again mentioned seeing a ghost, but she also is likely hallucinating.

When I returned to the side door, Ashley was shaking her head angrily. "Useless. Everyone's just useless."

I tried my best to look submissive and harmless. "Have you searched the rooms yet?" I glanced at JP, wringing his hands anxiously. "He might be useful to have along. He'll know what's out of place."

"Yeah!" JP argued. "And I have a way high tolerance, I'm not super wasted! I can help!"

Ashley grunted. "Fine, whatever. But don't scare Juliet!" She turned and threw open the side door and marched in. We followed more cautiously.

FRAT HOUSE: LIVING AREA

Ashley's sudden, aggressive entrance clearly scared Juliet, who squeezed tightly to Rodrigo, shivering uncontrollably. She had smeared the blood all over his robes; they both looked horrifying.

"Awww shiiiit," JP moaned as he looked around. "This is... aw fuck, what happened?"

Ashley marched up to Juliet, her hands on her hips. "It's very important that you stop being upset and speak!" she barked. Ashley cowered more, prompting a glare from Ashley. "I said stop being upset! Stop it! Stop it!"

I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Maybe... maybe let's ease back a little?"

As the sound of my voice, Juliet hesitantly looked back, a single blue eye peering through streams of long, bloody hair. "...Saya?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Did... did you find her?"

"...Yeah."

"It's my fault." Juliet's voice was raspy and wavering. "They asked me who, and..." She let out almost a caterwaul of pain. "And I said Emily! She was so much smarter and better than me and I knew it but I still said to kill her!"

Ashley took a step forward, thankfully not too forcefully. "Who was it?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" Juliet sniffled. "They... they wore that horrible, horrible mask and they never said anything! They just had that dagger and just... just cut her over and over forever and ever!"

"Did they capture you?" I asked.

"...Yes? I don't know!" Her body was shaking. "We... we were walking to the party from the dorm, and I saw Emily fall, and I didn't know why, but then something hit my knees from behind and I fell too! And then I couldn't breathe and... and I woke up in that room, and my arms and legs were taped together and I had something in my mouth..."

FACT 10: JULIET'S TESTIMONY
Juliet says she and Emily were waylaid on the way to the party. The assailant then incapacitated them with duct tape. The assailant wore the gremlin costume the whole time and never spoke.

"The thing in your mouth," I said, holding up the wires from the studio. "Was it this?"

Juliet gasped and buried her face back in Rodrigo's neck. "Yes! Yes yes, oh god. It was wrapped around behind me, I couldn't..." She sobbed again. "They only took it off to ask me who should die. Then they put it back in. Oh god..."

FACT 7: WIRES (revised)
There were several wires bound together tightly to produce a fairly thick cord, a little bigger around than my thumb. There were teeth marks on the cord. Juliet says they were used to gag her.

"Okay," I said. "Just one more question, okay? When did you and Emily leave the dorm?"

"Um," she sniffled, "Eleven. It was around eleven. I remember because... because I said all the boys would see her and know she's an eleven out of ten. She... she blushed, but she smiled too."

FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT. The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15.

"Oh goddamn it," JP's voice groaned behind me. "What the fuck even is this?" He had picked up the poncho and mask and was holding it up to examine it. Juliet saw it again, screeched, and cowered.

I was done with Juliet for the moment anyway, so I gave as sympathetic a look to Rodrigo as I could and walked over to JP.

I looked closer at the costume. It was a large, flowing, black poncho duct-taped to a green, floppy, full-head gremlin mask to create ghoulish kind of cloak. The inside of the mask was white, so the empty eye holes looked like horrible, iris-less eyeballs staring at me.

In distaste, he thrust the poncho out to Lucina, who, after a moment of confusion, took it. She held it at arms length by the shoulders, so it draped down. It was wide and billowy, reaching down to Lucina's knees; she was the tallest of my classmates, so it would easily cover most other people completely. "Goddamn it," JP said. "This thing is covered in blood! It got blood all over my floor!"

I reached out and touched the poncho; it was indeed caked with spongy, drying blood. Curious, I reached under and felt the inside of the poncho; it was clean.

FACT 12: GREMLIN COSTUME
Someone duct-taped a Halloween gremlin mask to a rain poncho to make a billowing, full-body costume. The outside of the costume was spattered with blood, but the inside was clean.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. Lucina pointed back to the hallway, the one that led to the Tomb, and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. That was not a room I particularly wanted to go into, but deep down, I had to admit that part of me knew it would be involved with a murder somehow.

FRAT HOUSE: THE TOMB

One of the mannequins from the film set was lying on top of the stone altar, and it was the fucking most terrifying thing I had ever seen. The imitation dagger stuck out of its chest, where the heart would be. I realized: this was just like the simulacrum described in the ritual document.

FACT 13: MANNEQUIN
One of the mannequins from the film set was left on top of the altar in The Tomb. The fake dagger was stabbed into its chest.

"Oh, goddamn it!" JP swore, taking in the sight before him. "Why is all this creepy shit happening to me?" He walked up to the mannequin and just waved his arms at it. "This is... who the fuck would do this?!" He grabbed the imitation dagger by the blade, bracing against the hilt, and yanked it out of the mannequin's chest; it made an awful squicking sound as it emerged.

"You're the one with an ancient altar right down the hall from your bedroom," I remarked.

"Grauugh," he moaned, not even listening to me. He dropped the fake dagger on the ground and stomped around. "Goddamn it, this is... 'Hey, I just murdered someone, let me drag a fucking life-sized dummy and leave it somewhere just to be creepy as shit!'"

I was not particularly interested in using my precious investigation time to calm him down, so I nudged Lucina and we slid out of the room.

FRAT HOUSE: BEDROOM

I decided to check out the secret passage, so we headed to JP's bedroom to open it up. I walked towards the chest of drawers to turn the handle to open the passage, but when I got close, I noticed something weird. The drawer next to the passage lever was ajar, and there was a very small, dark stain on the outside.

I opened the drawer and peered in. There were a couple of white socks inside, and on top of them was a large roll of duct tape and a small set of unused bandages. Both had blood spatters on them.

FACT 14: DUCT TAPE AND BANDAGES
A drawer in JP's frat house room contained a blood-spattered roll of duct tape and set of bandages.

Lucina and I shared a look. I turned the handle and opened up the secret passage, and then we went through.

FRAT HOUSE: KITCHEN

When we emerged in the kitchen, I found Giuseppe there, leaning against the counter with one hand, pressing his other hand against his forehead. He turned to look at us from the sound of us coming in. He did not look very steady on his feet.

"Saya. Lucina. Are you, uh, able to think right now? Because I am not. Able to think. At the moment. Yes."

"We're fine," I said. "Um, aren't you surprised to see us come out of a secret passage in the wall?"

He laughed. "Uh, dude, everyone knows about that. JP showed everyone like yesterday. He's super proud of it."

I frowned. "Really?"

"I mean... I don't know he showed everybody. But he showed me and a bunch of other people, too. I know Rocky and Earl and Jane knew, at least."

FACT 15: SECRET PASSAGE
According to Bepi, most people knew about the secret passage leading from the kitchen to the bedroom. He's not sure exactly who JP told, but at a minimum it was Bepi, Earl, Rocky, and Jane.

"That's really helpful," I said. "Thanks."

"I'll celebrate by sitting down," he announced, and he dropped to the floor, leaning his head back against a cabinet.

Hoping he would be okay, I went on to the freezer; I had a feeling there might be evidence there.

FRAT HOUSE: WALK-IN FREEZER

In a room full of silver and white, a wad of color stood out like a sore thumb. I walked over to the small, multicolored thing on the floor and examined it closely. It was a set of sticky-pads, all stuck and folded together. On each one there was a name: "Earl," "Jane," JP," and so forth. I glanced over at the pony kegs and saw none were labeled, they just stood there, blank and steel-colored.

FACT 16: PONY KEGS
Someone removed all the name labels from each of the pony kegs.

I looked closer at the kegs. They stood in their bunch in the middle of the floor, just like before, but one of them had been tipped over onto its side. I hesitantly pushed at one of the standing ones; it did not move easily.

"I don't think this could have fallen by accident," I said. I squatted down over the upset one and looked at the base. That label was still there. It had some German words I didn't understand and then "Non-alcoholic pale ale. Guaranteed high quality!"

I furrowed my brow. Non-alcoholic. It was Jane's.

FACT 16: PONY KEGS (revised)
Someone removed all the name labels from each of the pony kegs. Jane's keg was tipped over onto its side.

Lucina tapped my arm and pointed at the floor nearby. "Uh... what is it?" She rolled her eyes slightly and pointed more fervently.

I leaned over to where she was pointing and bent down. Very difficult to see, on the floor, were two scraps of torn, white paper. They were kind of frozen to the floor, and so no matter how careful I was, I couldn't pull them up without damaging them more. Eventually, I got them up, and there was a little bit of text on each one. The first said SIC STUD and the second said LIET and then a heart symbol.

FACT 17: PAPERS IN FREEZER
There were pieces of torn paper in the freezer, saying SIC STUD and LIET.

"Wow," I said to Lucina. "You have a really good eye." She nodded proudly, which perhaps was the first expression of self-esteem I'd ever seen from her. It looked nice.

"I FOUND THEM!" Giuseppe bellowed, bursting into the freezer. "Hey! Hey, in the freezer!"

"Christ, Bepi, you terrified me!" I squeaked.

"Sorry." He lowered his voice to a whisper and called again, "I found them!"

Rocky came in, looking extremely addled. "Oh thank god," he said. "This place is nuts. I found some stuff you gotta see."

I involuntarily clenched my chest. "Is it... bad?"

His eyes were hollow. "It's the fucking worst."

I sighed. "Okay." I turned to Bepi. "One question, though. Was the keg knocked over the last time you came in here?"

Giuseppe cast his bleary eyes over the kegs. "No, shit, this is new. I was in and out of here all night, and they were all standing up."

FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT (revised)
The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15. Jane's pony keg was knocked over sometime close to the end of the night.

"Thanks," I said. "Listen, if you can, try to ask people about when they were on the dance floor and when they weren't, okay?"

He nodded blearily. "I'll try. But... you know, after the lights got turned off, it was dark and everyone was drinking and... yeah. Most people were dancing most of the time, and I think someone would have noticed if a person was gone like for a long time. But like specific people at specific times? Anyone could have been anywhere." He rubbed his forehead.

I nodded. That's what I remembered, too: before JP turned the lights off, we were pretty on top of things. But when he did that, it was just impossible to tell who was where.

FACT 18: PARTY EVENTS
Most of the party participants were dancing most of the night. Before JP turned the lights off, it was impossible for anyone to leave for long. But after the lights were out, it would be much easier for someone to sneak away, at least for a few minutes.

I gave him a solid smile, and Rocky, Lucina and I headed back out towards the arts center.

NORTH QUAD

As we walked, I noticed Lucina was close, next to me. Almost like it was magnetized, my hand moved over to find hers. When I touched her, she grasped my hand solidly. Her skin was so smooth.

Trying not to focus too much on any of this, I looked over at Rocky. "Just so I can keep it straight," I said, "the party started around 10:30, right?"

"Um, yeah." His voice was hoarse; whatever he saw must have really shaken him.

"Okay. And do you know when JP turned the lights off? That's when we really started to lose control, in there."

He scratched his head. "Um... I think it was a little before eleven. I'm pretty sure."

I didn't understand how he could be so sure, but that matched up with my estimate pretty well.

FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT (revised)
The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. JP turned off the lights for the party a little before 11:00. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15. Jane's pony keg was knocked over sometime close to the end of the night.

"One more thing," I said. "You were helping set up right before the party, right? While me and Ashley and Rodrigo were getting ready to chaperone?"

"Yeah, I was in that party room most of the night."

"Okay. Um, was there anyone else around, then?"

He squinted in thought. "Well, JP was there the whole time. Oh, and Juliet came in like at 10:00 to check what beer Emily would be drinking. She said she needed to know to 'accessorize.' Um, and Ashley and Earl were there for a few minutes... they were talking all weird and secretive."

FACT 19: PRE-PARTY EVENTS
In the time just before the party, Rocky was setting his equipment up. JP, Ashley, Juliet, and Earl were also there for at least a few minutes.

ARTS CENTER: VISUAL ART COMPUTER LAB

Rocky led us not into the music section, but rather to the computer lab. When we got there, he stood stiffly near the door, looking about as uncomfortable as anyone I've ever seen. "I found a USB stick in Emily's sock," he said. "And there was a digital camera under the control board with a USB port."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Did they really..."

He interrupted me. "The stick's in that computer there. You should watch it, but I have to leave. I can't... I can't be around that again." He stiffly walked out of the computer lab.

Lucina gave me a very uncertain look. "You don't have to watch," I said, as kindly as I could. She hesitated.

"I promise, you can trust me," I said. "I have a dark side I know came out in the last trial. I can... turn off my feelings, I think, and that makes me not really care when I'm doing something wrong. But, it also means I'm going to be able to watch these videos."

I shrugged. "But you can keep me honest, right? And once I turn my feelings back on... I think I'm going to need you."

She looked extremely unsure, but eventually she just sighed. She gave me a soft gaze and squeezed my hand. Then she stepped out of the computer lab.

Without even thinking about it, I turned and sat down in front of the computer Rocky had indicated. A window was open with two icons in it, both mpeg files. The first one was called THE FUN. The second one was called THE DEATH.

FACT 20: VIDEOS
Rocky found a USB stick in Emily's sock which contained two video files, which appear to have been recorded on a digital camera tonight.

I opened THE FUN.

The file opened to show the blank wall of the recording studio. Emily and Juliet's voices rang out, loud and cacophonous. The camera jerkily turned around. It came to rest on the green, gremlin mask; someone was holding the camera at arms-length and pointing it at themselves. Their eyes, the only visible part of their body, were closed.

The camera slowly panned around and came to rest on Emily, duct-taped to the chair and alive, staring up in terror. The camera was placed down on the floor, showing Emily's legs and the bottom of the chair she was sitting in.

"Please," she whimpered. "I don't... understand, but please don't..."

The bottom of the black poncho, obscuring even the slightest glimpse of the wearer's feet, walked into the camera range, standing in front of her. The ceremonial dagger dangled down from the top of the screen, flashing in the light.

"Stop it!" Juliet's voice rang out, clear and horrified. "Let us go, let us go!"

Emily didn't yell anything as the dagger was raised out of the frame. But she did screech a second later. A spurt of blood landed on the floor next to her.

The video went on for five more minutes. I watched it all. Juliet kept yelling, "Let us go!" and Emily kept yelping in pain. When it ended, I felt more than numb; I felt like I was literally hollow.

FACT 19: VIDEOS (revised)
Rocky found a USB stick in Emily's sock which contained two video files, which appear to have been recorded on a digital camera tonight. The first video appears to have been recorded by the killer, and it mostly consists of them torturing Emily.

Curious, I opened the video again to watch the part before the horrible part, to see if I could make out any details about the person behind the mask. Unfortunately, there was nothing; the camera was too shaky to figure out how tall they were or anything.

But, as the image panned over away from the mask to show Emily, I noticed something. As it turned, it moved across Rocky's control panel, and, although it took me a couple of tries, I paused it at the right moment. There was a clear image of the bar counter. It read 344. Doing some quick math, that was about 10 minutes.

FACT 6: DRUM MACHINE (revised)
The drum machine in Rocky's studio has been on for about an hour and a half. He insists it was off when he left before the party. The first video shows the killer torturing Emily around 10 minutes after the drum machine was turned on.

FACT 11: TIMING OF THE NIGHT (revised)
The party started around 10:30. Juliet says she and Emily left the dorm at around 11:00, and were attacked on their way through the quad. Rocky's drum machine was turned on around 10:45, and the video showed Emily being tortured around ten minutes later. JP turned off the lights for the party a little before 11:00. Juliet was found at around 12:10, and Emily was found at around 12:15. Jane's pony keg was knocked over sometime close to the end of the night.

I closed the first video and just sat in front of the computer for a couple of moments. Then, without letting myself think about it, I opened THE DEATH.

The video opened up showing a corner of the studio where nothing was happening; the camera was on the floor and pointed away from Emily. But I could hear her, crying. Juliet blubbered and moaned wordlessly.

I heard a footstep, and Emily's voice hitched. "P-please..." she stammered. "I-I don't ex-ex-exactly understand w-what you want, but please..." She sniffled and bawled. "I-I'm ex-ex-extremely afraid, please. Please d-don't. P-please." There was a pause. "I promise... I-I promise I w-won't ex-ex-expose y-you. I promise! Just please d-don't. D..." And then there was the sudden sound of running footsteps, a wet crunch, and a very short shriek. A moment later, Juliet's voice screamed, fading out into a moan. More footsteps, and the video abruptly ended.

FACT 20: VIDEOS (revised)
Rocky found a USB stick in Emily's sock which contained two video files, which appear to have been recorded on a digital camera tonight. The first video appears to have been recorded by the killer, and it mostly consists of them torturing Emily. The second video shows nothing, but there is audio of Emily pleading for her life before, apparently, she is killed.

In my heart somewhere, I was wailing; I could hear it. A furious, screaming pain was just flowing in my body. I reached up and touched my cheek, expecting tears. It was totally dry.

A burst of static, and Monokuma's voice suddenly barked from the hidden speakers: "Your time for investigation has ended, you worthless drunks! Report immediately to the main quad to proceed to the trial!"

MAIN QUAD

I don't completely remember leaving the computer lab and walking over to the main quad; I have flashes of Lucina and Rocky pulling me along. I was talking normally and acting normally, I think, but those moments just aren't in my head anymore.

Instead, I remember a fantasy I was having. It was ten years later. Emily and I sat in a tea shop in a big city; she excitedly told me of her new gravitational model and blushingly admitted it had received praise from the top professors in her field. A diamond engagement ring sparkled on her finger.

On a total whim, I told her, "I had a huge crush on you when we first met." She blushed and squeaked, and I continued, "I've been over it for years, but I couldn't help it at first; you were just so cute and brilliant." She said, "Please don't mention that in your toast," and we both laughed.

I blinked and suddenly found myself standing in the main quad in front of the hideous sculpture. Lucina and Rocky were with me, and the quad slowly filled up with straggling, stumbling suspects.

I felt a hand on my arm, and I turned. Juliet stood there, still holding tight to Rodrigo. "Saya," she said. "Are you going to save us again?"

I didn't know what to say. "Please save us again," she implored. "Please."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another investigation! Once again, I put a lot of effort into making the mystery difficult but solvable at this point. WHODUNNIT?

With the help of some readers, I also created a discord server; it's the ideal place to try to work out the mystery and discuss the story and characters in general. The link is on my profile! (Just remove the spaces.) Stop on by!