Mine found herself atop the metal platform on the other side of the gymnasium. Considering the fact that it was the same one they'd seen Hoshi killed on, it was all too clear what was going to happen. Most of the gymnasium was dark, and yet a light from above inexplicably lit up a good portion of the platform. However, it was a fairly large platform, so much of it still couldn't be seen, and from where Mine couldn't see, figures began to approach.

Turns out, it was a small group of droids. They stepped into the light one by one, and from different directions all around her as well. There were only a few of them, most of which didn't have anything particularly odd about them. One of them, however, was a bit different, as it was wielding a pipe wrench in its hands. Odd as that might have been, it made what was happening as clear as if it'd been flat-out stated. Those droids were already trying to close in on her. As soon as one got close to her, it dropped its relaxed gait and took a swing at her with one of its robotic arms.

Mine must've figured out what they were going to do beforehand, because she didn't skip a beat. She jumped to the side, out of the way of the droid's arm, before retaliating with a standing kick to the thing's side. The droid didn't seem damaged, per say, but the kick definitely affected it, as the thing almost fell over then and there. That was Mine's cue to get moving. She tried to distance herself from the approaching droids, backing away from the center of the illuminated space and into the darkness, keeping her eyes on the droids that were coming after her. Of course, that meant that she didn't see it coming when something mighty struck her in the back, sending her toppling.

That something stepped forward into the light. It was the IMONO Brute, that tall robot that'd shown up in previous executions. It wasn't following after her, but simply watched as she got up, only to have to immediately dodge out of the way when the droid with the wrench tried to hit her with it.

What was happening was clear for all to see. The droids were trying to straight up attack Mine, and the Brute seemed to be pacing around her to keep her from escaping the circle of light. Some part of Mine seemed to want her to live, so she didn't stop there. She expertly dodged or sidestepped any of the wild swings directed her way, and retaliated with hard kicks. They were by no means powerful enough to destroy them entirely, but they were enough to stagger them. After a while, it looked like one or two of them had even sustained some real damage, even if they were still coming after her.

That was kind of an issue, though. They were all still moving around okay, even if a couple of them looked beat up. Once it got to that point, it'd been a while, and Mine was starting to look tired. She couldn't keep it up forever. That was when she took a chance. She turned away from the droids and attempted to run out of the circle and off the platform. However, as she attempted to do so, something extraordinary happened. The IMONO Brute, despite being over 8 feet of metallic bulk, was able to chase after her in a dead sprint. It dove towards Mine and grabbed her by the waist before she could even make it out of the light, landing on the ground with a mighty crash and pinning her to the ground in the process.

As if in retaliation to her attempt to flee, the Brute held onto her, even as it got up onto its feet. In its large, clawed hands, it picked her up and slammed her into the ground again and again. It even dug its claws into her flesh for good measure, dashing any hope one might have that the execution would at least be a bloodless affair. After slamming her on the ground multiple times, it just held her there. Mine was bleeding heavily, and was helpless as the firm grip of the Brute left her unable to move. That was when the four droids closed in on her.

The first three were the unarmed ones. As they got close enough, they began to crowd around her, punching and kicking her all over while she desperately tried to retaliate, or even just break out of the Brute's hold. Then the one with the wrench approached, and the other droids backed away as it peered over Mine's head, raising the wrench over its own.

One strike, then two. Then three. Then several more times until her head was caved in and she stopped moving. The droids and the Brute all backed off for a moment to leave what was left of her on full display. It hardly mattered, though. Everything that had just transpired was positioned just right for the captive audience to view it in all its detail.

All the lights came back on in the gymnasium as the execution was completed and the droids began to unceremoniously clean up the mess that remained. Naoko took the earliest opportunity he could to look away from the platform without risking IMONO bearing down on him. Unfortunately, the only other things of note he could even look at were his peers. All of them were some combination of disturbed, fearful, or sorrowful, which he fully expected, yet still didn't like seeing. He didn't exactly think there was much he could say or do to make any of them feel better, especially when he was right alongside them in regards to his emotional state.

Of course, making them all feel better didn't seem to be on everyone's mind. After all, the first person to actually speak up just so happened to be the worst possible person to do so.

"That wasn't nearly as bloodless as I was hoping it would be," Bankei sighed. "And now Mine is gone from us. Oh well. What's done is done."

"Fuck you!"

Naoko and many others were actually startled by how sudden that exclamation was. It came from Eryu, which didn't surprise Naoko per say, but definitely made him worry about how things would pan out from then on.

Bankei was as startled as Naoko was, and looked rather irritated on top of it. "Well, that was…impulsive. Did you really have to be so loud about it? Keep yelling that loudly and you'll damage our hearing."

"Shut up!" Eryu yelled at her. "I can't believe you! Even after all this, you still don't care?! We just watched one of our friends die!"

"That's happened twice before, you know," Bankei pointed out.

"Well, we didn't have anyone to blame then, did we?!" Eryu argued.

"I can't say that that's correct. After all, I believe IMONO has always been the one to blame here, really," Bankei reasoned. "It's clear enough that that thing is the true mastermind behind all of our suffering."

"I AM SORRY, BUT I REFUSE TO ACCEPT BLAME FOR WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED BETWEEN ALL OF YOU. I FIND IT RATHER RIDICULOUS FOR SOMEONE SUCH AS YOURSELF, BANKEI, TO BLAME OTHERS."

"IMONO's right," Mariko said. "Well, for the part about Bankei, at least."

"I APPRECIATE THAT, MARIKO. YES, I AM CORRECT."

"Oh, geez," Kimi cringed. "Now we're feeding the ego of a disembodied robot voice. And that's on top of this crazy sociopath shit with Bankei. This is the worst."

"IT IS NOT A MATTER OF EGO, KIMI. IT IS CORRECT. BANKEI CAN BE CONSIDERED QUITE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR RECENT STRING OF DEATHS. WITH THIS LATEST TRIAL, SHE IS MORE RESPONSIBLE THAN EVER."

"If that's the case, then some measure should, by all accounts, be completely appropriate," Yori pointed out. "IMONO, you mentioned an interest in punishing her in some way, didn't you?"

"YES, I DID. WHAT SHE HAS DONE IN THIS CASE IS FAR BEYOND WHAT THE RULES REGARDING MURDER WERE CRAFTED TO PREVENT. HOWEVER, THAT ASIDE, IF YOU ARE ALL INTERESTED, THEN I MAY HAVE TO CONCOCT A FORM OF PUNISHMENT FOR HER. SOMETHING TO DISCOURAGE THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOR."

"That would be rather inconvenient for me, wouldn't it?" Bankei said.

"That's the entire point!" Eryu snapped.

"Of course I already know that," Bankei replied annoyedly. "I'm not an idiot."

"You should've been punished a long time ago," Takeshi interjected. "You've already done so many awful things, and now this…I'm sorry, I just can't stomach letting someone like you just walk around free after what you've done."

"I wouldn't say what I did prior to this was awful," Bankei replied skeptically. "What did I do before this? Lie a bit, here and there? Write a letter?"

"Write a letter?" Naoko asked. "You mean that love confession letter that made Yasuo kill Sasa?"

"W-wait, wait!" Mariko interjected. "So Hoshi was right?!"

"Oh…Well, yes, actually," Bankei said, a bit awkwardly. "I figured that would have to be addressed at some point. Honestly, so much has happened, and there's so much that I've yet to talk about. Even in that trial just now, there were things I expected to come up, but didn't, or didn't come up the way I wanted them to. It was frustrating. I'm just glad that the grand revelation turned out well enough."

"Things you wanted to come up? You mean in the way of evidence?" Yori asked.

"Of course," Bankei replied, speaking almost casually. "I would go into it here and now, but…well, like I said, there's a lot that still needs to be addressed. I'd hate to dig up details about what happened last night at this point. Not when it's just finished. I'll allow you to simply dwell on the matter, at least for the time being."

"No," Eryu said sternly, glaring at her as she looked back unflappably. "That's not going to happen. Not this time. You're going to tell us everything. Right now!"

"Eh-heh," Bankei chuckled. "Aren't you quite the hypocrite."

Eryu didn't seem like he understood that remark at all. "Excuse me?!"

"I said what I said," Bankei replied. "But, well, if you want an explanation for that remark, I can provide it. Like I said, there's much I have yet to touch upon. We've spoken about the murder itself, and Mine's motive in carrying it out, but as for my motive, I've hardly told the whole truth."

"Hang on a second. We know you wanted Haru and Kimi gone," Naoko said. "Also, you wanted this trial to happen so that you could have your 'moment'. What else is there?"

"I know what it is," someone spoke up. It was Ishi. She came to Naoko's side and stared down Bankei with him. She was teary-eyed, and yet it was clear to see that she was about as bitter and angry as Eryu was. "You…You hated her, didn't you? You didn't like that she wasn't acting the way you wanted her to, so you wanted her to die! I'm right, aren't I?!"

Bankei didn't look impressed. "...No. I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Yes, I was disappointed in her, but that didn't mean I wanted her to die because of it. She was still a useful asset to me. A tool, if you will. Then again, she always was a tool, wasn't she? Just…not always one that worked in my favor."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ishi exclaimed. "You're saying you never thought that she was just a friend?!"

"That's a decent conclusion, if you ignore the very last thing that I said," Bankei answered condescendingly. "Let me rephrase that: Mine was always a tool. However, I wasn't always the one that used her. Do you understand now?"

Naoko had an idea of what she was trying to allude to. The problem was, that was something that they actively kept her unaware of. If she was referring to what Naoko was thinking of, she must've figured it out anyway. And based on the rather knowing way she was looking at him, he was probably right.

"How long have you known?" Naoko asked.

"Oh, I always had my suspicions," Bankei explained. "She went up to me, out of the blue, and expressed an interest in spending time with me? That seemed rather out of character for someone such as herself. She didn't ask much at first, but she still seemed interested in being around me after that point. It was strange. It was almost as if…she were trying to keep an eye on me."

"I had a feeling you'd figure it out eventually," Yori freely admitted. "But…you're saying you had your suspicions from the start."

"Who wouldn't, in my position?" Bankei asked rhetorically. "It was very clear that you were using her to keep me in check. Because you didn't trust me enough to keep me informed on any of your own matters."

"Now hang on a minute!" Eryu said. "We weren't using her! She agreed to keep an eye on you! We never manipulated her to do what we wanted like you did!"

"True," Bankei conceded, "but if she 'agreed', then she didn't exactly volunteer, did she?"

"She agreed to do it because she wanted to help us!" Ishi argued. "Because we all knew you were weird and creepy!"

"Eh-heh. Eloquent as always," Bankei replied sarcastically. "Still, suffice to say, it was never a proper friendship, was it?"

"Not to you, clearly," Mareo commented. "Still, Mine seemed like, after some time, she started to legitimately consider you a friend."

"She said as much herself, yeah," Naoko agreed.

"Well, I made sure to entertain her," Bankei supposed. "I was generous and conversational, and I gave her no shortage of kind words. Say the right things at the right time, and people such as Mine can very easily forget themselves."

"Are you gonna call her stupid again?!" Ishi snapped.

"That's not quite what I had in mind, no," Bankei replied. "I mean, she was able to do her job effectively, was she not? She probed me for information well enough, and kept her mouth shut in regards to whatever ideas or plans you've been throwing around behind my back. I can't say the same for some of you, so that certainly must account for something."

Yori grimaced. "So, you've caught onto that as well. We must not have given you enough credit."

"Yori, don't compliment her!" Ishi admonished her.

"My intent isn't to compliment her," Yori explained. "To be frank, Bankei, I don't consider you to be praiseworthy in any way. However, it's clear that our attempts to conceal the truth from you have been fruitless."

"Indeed they have been," Bankei said, smiling. "I watched and listened, and quite a few things that I noticed suggested that I've been kept in the dark about some things. What would those things be, exactly?"

"You say that as if you think you're entitled to know that in any way," Mareo commented.

"Is it not fair to share such things with me, as a member of your quaint little group?" Bankei challenged.

"You're not considered a member of our 'group' anymore, actually," Yori informed her.

"Ay, there's the rub," Bankei replied understandingly. "Well, I can guess, based on a few things. One of the main points of contention is probably IMONO, the mysterious disembodied voice. Perhaps the thing isn't artificial intelligence as it claims to be. Is that accurate?"

"BANKEI, YOU'RE ALREADY IN AN UNFAVORABLE POSITION. THERE IS NO NEED TO MAKE THINGS WORSE BY PUTTING WORDS INTO PEOPLE'S MOUTHS."

"Am I?" Bankei responded, unconvinced. "I think by their reactions that there's at least a grain of truth to my inquiry."

Naoko realized he didn't do a very good job of hiding his surprise. At least he wasn't alone, since quite a few others seemed to perk up in response to what she'd said. Yori, who herself seemed to have made a similar observation, let out a weary sigh.

"I indeed posited the idea," she admitted. "It seemed plausible, since I hadn't noticed anything specific that would suggest otherwise. Even now, I don't have anything that I would call definitive to point to the idea being true or false. All things considered, I'm not sure if I want to stick to the idea. Perhaps it's irrational, but I've recently found the concept of an actual, human-level artificial intelligence to be more palatable by the day."

"IS THAT ALL TRUE, YORI?"

"More or less," Yori replied. "Is that a problem, IMONO? I personally wouldn't consider it strange to have such thoughts. After all, it's not as though I was the only one that doubted the claims you made about yourself."

"YES, I UNDERSTAND THAT. HOWEVER, I WOULD HAVE TO ASSUME THAT YOU'VE GONE TO SOME LENGTH TO HIDE THIS THINKING FROM ME. WHY?"

"What do you expect?!" Eryu asked rhetorically. "For all we know, us discussing an idea like that out in the open would make you fly off the handle!"

"WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU THINK THAT?"

"The fact that you've personally killed three of us so far may have something to do with it," Mareo interjected bluntly.

"THOSE WERE COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED, I ASSURE YOU. I WOULD NOT KILL ANY OF YOU FOR DOUBTING ME. HOWEVER, I MUST ADMIT, I DON'T CARE MUCH FOR YOU KEEPING INFORMATION FROM ME. THOSE MEETINGS WHERE NAOKO, ERYU, AND YORI GATHER TOGETHER IN A ROOM AND WRITE TO EACH OTHER HAVE BEEN BOTHERING ME TO NO END."

"What do you three converse about when you do that?" Bankei inquired. "More theories? Or perhaps you're formulating an escape plan."

"We don't have any sort of escape plan we're working on," Yori said. She wasn't wrong, technically, since they didn't have a singular idea or anything.

"Well, that doesn't disprove the idea that you want to," Bankei pointed out.

"YOU ALL DON'T ACTUALLY PLAN ON ESCAPING, DO YOU? I WAS HOPING THAT SORT OF TALK HAS SIMPLY BEEN THE RESULT OF SOME SORT OF A PASSING PHASE."

"Why the fuck do you think we'd want to live here?!" Kimi retorted.

"I WOULD HOPE THAT YOU WOULD ADAPT TO THE LIFESTYLE. WITHIN TIME, I WOULD EVEN HOPE YOU WOULD ALL FIND A WAY TO FORGIVE EACH OTHER FOR WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED BETWEEN YOU ALL, AND ALLOW YOUR MUTUAL LOVE TO CREATE A SENSE OF PERFECT PEACE AND PROSPERITY THROUGHOUT THIS FACILITY."

Kimi groaned. "Oh, for fuck's sake. Are you even listening to yourself right now? Why don't you just cut the 'Facility' bullshit and call this place 'Love Town, Population: Decreasing'?"

"Uh…we're not actually calling this place Love Town, right?" Mariko asked apprehensively.

"No, I was being sarcastic," Kimi replied annoyedly.

"THAT ASIDE, I MUST SAY, IT DOESN'T BODE WELL TO KNOW THAT YOU FEEL THE NEED TO KEEP SUCH THINGS BEHIND MY METAPHORICAL BACK. WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN SPEAKING ABOUT?"

"I don't think that telling you would be very beneficial," Yori replied.

"PERHAPS NOT TO YOU. IF THAT'S INDEED THE CASE, THEN I MUST SAY, THE WAY YOU ALL HAVE BEEN USING YOUR PRIVACY HAS BEEN VERY OBJECTIONABLE. I'M AFRAID I WILL HAVE TO LIMIT WHAT YOU KEEP OUT OF SIGHT OF THE CAMERAS, STARTING WITH PROHIBITING SUCH SECRETIVE MEETINGS."

"Hang on a minute!" Naoko objected. "You're really going to take away even more of our privacy for this?"

"YES. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO USE SUCH A METHOD TO HAVE EXTENDED CONVERSATIONS WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE, I'M AFRAID I WILL HAVE TO SEND IN ONE OF MY DROIDS TO BREAK IT UP. IT'S MORE INVOLVEMENT THAN I WOULD NORMALLY WISH TO HAVE, BUT IF ANY OF YOU STILL HAVE THE DESIRE TO BE SECRETIVE, AND HIDE THINGS FROM ME, THEN I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT."

"You won't stand for that?" Mariko asked, looking like she was struggling to wrap her head around what IMONO was saying. "But…If you don't want us doing that, then-"

"I'M VERY SORRY MARIKO, BUT I'M AFRAID I MUST PUT MY METAPHORICAL FOOT DOWN ON THIS ISSUE. THE TRIAL IS NOW OVER. I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU DISPERSE. THERE'S MUCH CLEANING HERE THAT STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND I'M SURE YOU WOULD RATHER HAVE TIME TO YOURSELVES."

It didn't matter how much they tried to press the issue. IMONO refused to budge. Eventually, they did indeed leave. Naoko had a terrible feeling about what that meant for them. They now had even less privacy, what with IMONO prohibiting them from conversing with each other discreetly. What was next? Keeping them from hiding other activities from the camera? Going through their stuff? If the latter occurred, then…well, last time he checked, those tools Haru made before he died were still in Eryu's room. Naoko didn't like to consider the idea that IMONO could find out about that. If it did, then…

Naoko shook his head. He couldn't dwell on it too much. There was still the problem of what had just transpired between them. Bankei had revealed a lot, and it seemed like she still had more she could've said. However, when the topic shifted to IMONO's new ruling, she must have lost interest not long after. She was actually the first to leave the gymnasium. It bothered Naoko to no end. Because of her, three more people were dead, and everyone else had been put on edge by her flippant behavior. And she decided to slip out at the first opportunity? That only made Naoko more agitated. Still, he didn't want to act too rashly. He grouped up with Yori and Eryu in the hall outside the gymnasium.

"This is awful," Naoko said.

"Oh, absolutely," Yori agreed wholeheartedly. "I had a feeling that IMONO would clamp down on our meetings at some point. Still, having it happen now is by no means good news. Especially since it seems as though IMONO is willing to change the rules by which we live in order to do so."

"I can't believe this is actually happening!" Eryu complained. "IMONO is okay with intervening in secret meetings, but not in murder plots?! That's just completely backwards!"

"It is," Yori agreed. "It seems like something that I may need to…consider. But as for right now, I'd rather not give bad advice again. Now is the time to be active. Naoko, do you have anything you wish to do?"

"I was thinking of talking to Bankei further about some of the things she talked about," Naoko explained.

"Good. Go do that, and tell us what she tells you," Eryu replied.

"Sure. The problem is, I don't know where she is," Naoko said.

"She might be in the medical room," Yori suggested. "I would check there."

Naoko opened the door to the medical room, and saw that Yori was right. Bankei was relaxing on a nearby bed, looking like she was…reflecting? He couldn't actually tell from the half-second before she shifted her attention to him.

"Naoko, eh?" Bankei said. "Just the man I was hoping to speak with."

"You wanted to see me?" Naoko asked confusedly.

"Well, to be fully honest, I was hoping I could speak to Mareo as well," Bankei admitted. "I was thinking of contacting him on my transceiver. Maybe he could bring me a nice beverage to soothe my poor, overworked throat."

Naoko furrowed his eyebrows out of utter vexation. "I can not see him agreeing to do something like that for you. Not after what just happened."

"Really?" Bankei replied curiously. "He is the 'doctor' of the group, is he not? He's supposed to take care of me still, isn't he?"

"At this point, I don't think he's obliged to help you," Naoko countered. "Besides, like we just went over, you're not a part of our group."

"Since when?" Bankei asked. "If that ruling was from before I was injured, I hardly think that point matters."

Considering the fact that that decision was from the tail end of the very first day they found themselves stuck in the Facility, Naoko couldn't really refute that, which bothered him to no end. At the same time, though, he knew he couldn't let her get to him. He needed to keep the conversation going.

"None of that matters right now," he said. "I want to talk to you about what happened with you and Mine. There's obviously a lot you still haven't told us."

"You're right. I'm glad you and I are on the same page," Bankei replied with a smile. "So, where should I start?"