Chapter 4: the most horrific, malevolent, most despair-inducing malefaction in the history of Raikukkon begins!
"Stay still... And don't talk!"
Alicia had opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again at the second line. Flash snapped at the duct tape with a pair scissors, cutting off the appropriate length of tape. He then carefully covered her mouth with it so she wouldn't be able to get sounds out.
"Thank goodness they left all these items in the houses, or else you'd have violated your forbidden action long ago," Flash sighed in relief.
Her mouth taped shut, Alicia could only nod in response. Behind them, Alexis examined Monica's body.
"Bruh... I can't make heads or tails of it," Alexis sighed. "It's up to you, Flash."
"Right," Flash nodded.
He looked over the scene of the crime for a solid fifteen minutes. Alexis began to get impatient.
"Well?!" She demanded.
"This bears similarities to Birgus's body," Flash replied. "Most specifically..."
He pointed to the 2 that had been drawn in blood near the body.
"There was a one near Birgus's..."
"I see! So the attacker is counting their victims, Birgus with a one, and Monica with a two!" Alexis exclaimed.
"Yeah... They are..." Flash frowned, something bothering him about that statement.
"And?!"
Alexis's impatience snapped him out of his train of thought.
"And?"
"What else?!"
"O- oh... There was more than one blow to the body, seemingly to make it more brutal... And the murder weapons were left behind," Flash replied.
"But... Monica was also stabbed... That I don't understand."
"You can't stab a crab," Alexis pointed out.
"Yeah..." Flash murmured. "Well, I can't figure out anything else, so we might as well high tail it."
He stood and dusted himself off.
"We have to find Colette this time."
Alexis and Alicia nodded, determined looks on her face.
-xxx-
Colette stirred from her sleep. She got up and checked herself, relieved she was unharmed. Then she looked up.
"Last time it was Birgus... This time, it could've been captain..."
She looked around worriedly.
"He could be all alone... Looking for me... What if that psychopath finds him, and...?"
She clenched her fists and stood.
"...what should I do?"
-xxx-
"Time to bag us a Flash!"
Ban, Darky, Mary, and Dream were headed away from the strange building. Darky hummed cheerfully.
"Master, can't I go alone?" Ban said uneasily. "Master shouldn't have to..."
"Then you can't protect me," Darky reminded. "You insisted we stick together so you could protect me."
"Yes, but... Cat can go do it..."
"Mary might be in danger then, and I'd be sad if Mary died."
"Cat is stinky. Okay if dies."
"Don't say that about the mother of your child!" Mary whined.
Dream listened to these conversations while clinging to Mary's back. He couldn't understand his newfound comrades. First, they were nice and accepting. Then, they callously talked about not caring if people died and tossed around life and death as if they had little consequences. Then, they didn't even care about each other's lives, then they all loved each other to death... Dream didn't understand at all! And the more he listened, the less he understood.
"What if Flash died during the time we were all asleep?" Mary wondered.
"That would be bothersome, so we'll ignore it as a possibility," Darky responded cheerfully.
"How will we even find him?" Mary groaned.
"We wait for the explosions to start up again!"
"Master will be in danger if we go toward the explosions."
"Shut up, Ban-Kun! Darky will be in danger no matter what until we solve this mystery!"
"Don't be mean to Ban, Mary."
"Master agrees that cat is stinky."
"She does not! And you're a grown man, stop acting like a five year old!"
Dream sighed again. He decided he would probably never understand...
"A- anno... If I could interject..."
"Hm?" Mary and Darky said, listening to Dream.
"Why is it so imperative that we locate Flash, anyway...?" He mumbled.
"Flash lives in this city normally, so he can tell us about that suspicious building," Darky explained.
"O- oh! I see!" Dream nodded.
"Why would Raikukkon build a magic-resistant building? And it's so different from everywhere else... And it's locked... Everything about it screams suspicious," Darky said.
"We must find Flash at all costs."
-xxx-
"We must find Colette at all costs!"
"It's easy to say that, but other people might be trying to kill our asses!"
"Colette!"
Flash, Alexis, and Alicia were searching through the city once again. Alicia had finally calmed down and removed her duct tape. She was screaming for her intern at the top of her lungs.
"It doesn't matter. Colette is in danger, and as her captain and boss, I'm responsible for her life," Flash said firmly.
"Don't you worry... I'm not like Monica," Alexis smirked. "But we should be ready, you know?"
"Trust me, I'm ready for a fight this time," Flash responded.
"Colette!" Alicia continued to scream.
"But, Monica... Do you think she's right about my forbidden action? That the killer is using it to track me and kill people? Is that why she died this time?" Flash asked in frustration.
"There seem to be less of you after each time limit."
The trio whipped around to see Mirai standing atop a building nearby.
"Found you."
"We wouldn't kill each other! Leave us the fuck alone!" Alexis yelled.
"Like I said before, your friendship means nothing in this game," Mirai scoffed. "Unless you've found new evidence since we last met?"
"Forget it, Alexis," Flash sighed. "He's right, in a way..."
"What's curious is, why has the attacker continued to target your group?" Mirai wondered. "Perhaps it's just easiest for them to attack someone sleeping nearby them?"
Flash grit his teeth, then suddenly hurled a keyblade at Mirai. Mirai blinked in surprise, summoning a sword to deflect. The trio had already taken off running.
"We don't have to fear confrontation now that Monica is dead, but we can't worry about something like that as long as Colette is alone!" Flash growled to the twins.
"Bruh. Of course," Alexis agreed.
"Surprising. You're much more aggressive this time, but it won't save you!"
Flash glanced back, seeing Mirai once again with wings. He was flying straight at them, wielding a sword.
"Heh!"
Flash stopped short, changing to angel soul: fire. Fire concentrated around his wings as he prepared a massive magical assault.
"That won't work again!"
Swords and fire exploded up into their air as both men unleashed their attacks.
-xxx-
"I'd guess he's that way," Kyra murmured, pointing to the explosions.
Kisuke nodded. He started walking in the direction, looking uneasy.
"Worried about a fight, huh...? But... We don't have a choice, if we want to solve this killing game..." Kyra murmured.
Kisuke kept walking.
"I promise it'll be okay."
Kyra kissed his cheek.
"We'll survive this..."
-xxx-
"That would be where Flash is," Darky deadpanned, looking toward the explosions.
"Danger for master," Ban huffed.
"We'll move in and observe. Find a good moment to get Flash out of there," Darky replied.
"Send in stinky cat to save," Ban said.
"Shut up," Mary grumbled. "Let's go already..."
-xxx-
"H- how...?" Flash murmured.
The sky pirate was splayed out across the street in his normal form. Behind him, Alicia and Alexis had been thrown to the ground and were lightly cut up.
"After seeing it just once before, he was able to figure out he could stop my angel soul by attacking the wings...? What is this guy...?" Flash murmured.
"Like I said, that won't work again."
Mirai had gotten grazed by the fire in a few places, but was much better off than the trio. He was walking toward them, sword raised.
"This is the end of the line for you. My apologies, but I will sacrifice as many people as necessary to end this killing game," Mirai said, striking downward at Flash to strike his heart.
Then, a keyblade spun down and hit Mirai in the back.
"Gack!"
The keyblade did a little twist and landed in Flash's hand. Flash kicked Mirai hard in the gut and leapt to his feet. Mirai crashed a few feet away.
"Alicia! Alexis! Look alive!" Flash called, jumping up.
"Right!" The twins shouted in unison.
Alicia quickly taped her mouth closed again and summoned her keyblades. Alexis looked around.
"Impressive... Back when you attacked with your keyblade, this was your purpose," Mirai mused.
He stood and took note of Alicia's makeshift gag.
"Call it a fail safe," Flash replied before shooting a blast of darkness at him.
Mirai flew up to dodge, but Alicia extended her own keyblades and blasted him with lightning.
"You can't take all of us at once!" Alexis taunted.
"Fortunately for me, lightning is my forte," Mirai retorted.
He raised his arms quickly and the lightning redirected, striking the trio hard and knocking them to the ground.
"What?!" Flash yelped.
Mirai gripped his sword tightly and flew at Alicia. He raised it over his head and slashed downwards, but Alexis managed to grab a piece of rubble and hurl it at his arm. The blow was diverted enough to just scratch Alicia's cheek, and she kicked him off of her.
"Again?!" Mirai growled in annoyance.
Flash then blasted him in the back with fire from his keyblade, making Mirai yell out in pain.
Mirai crashed to the ground while the other three leapt to their feet.
"Feh. Perhaps fighting all three of you at once was a mistake after all," Mirai muttered.
Alicia and Flash sent a combined blizzard and fire at him as he slowly stood up.
"...or I could just up my game."
Mirai smashed his fist into the ground. Swords shot out of the ground in front of the trio, forcing them to dodge. Flash and Alicia easily jumped out of the way, however-
"Kya!"
They both turned their heads to see Alexis get slashed by one of the swords. Her eyes were clamped tightly shut. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones to notice...
Mirai flew straight at Alexis at top speed, brandishing his blade. Flash quickly leapt in front of him and clashed with his keyblade.
"Alicia!" Flash yelled.
Alicia quickly raced over to Alexis and grabbed her hand. She took off running, dragging Alexis behind her. Alicia tugged off the duct tape with her free hand.
"Sis, you can open your eyes now!"
"Can she?" Mirai said coldly.
He managed to trap Flash's arms with one hand and thrust another toward Flash's face. Flash ducked out of the way, but the swords that spawned from Mirai's hand created a cut along the keyblade master's cheek. The sword hurtled through the air and nearly hit the twins, causing them to scream.
"Isn't her forbidden action something to do with that?" Mirai said coldly.
"Dammit..." Flash muttered.
"And furthermore..."
Mirai kicked Flash's legs out from under him and kneed his face as he fell.
"Alicia Simone Davis's forbidden action restricts her speech," Mirai said.
Flash froze up and was hit by the attacks in quick succession. Mirai successful sent him sprawling.
"Not like it matters that much, but it sure got you to let your guard down!" Mirai laughed.
"Dammit... Dammit... Dammit...!" Flash muttered, struggling to get to his feet.
Unfortunately, the keyblade master was too slow. Mirai's foot came down on his back, pinning him to the ground. Mirai raised his sword over his head, preparing to swing.
"You have the wrong... Guy..." Flash panted. "Do you really want murder of an innocent on your hands?"
Mirai just stared down at him solemnly.
"Groveling won't save you from me."
"I- I'm not groveling! Just think about it! Why would I-"
"Why would you kill them? I'd like to know that too. Goodbye. This is the end."
"Shit!"
Time slowed down for Flash as Mirai swung down. The sword was impossibly fast. Flash glanced around at his surroundings, but couldn't identify anything that could save him.
"Is this really... The end...?"
At that moment, Mary kicked Mirai across the face, sending him flying backward. His sword clattered across the ground.
"Why do I get all these troublesome jobs?" Mary sighed.
"Mary?" Flash muttered in surprise.
"More showed up... Such a pain, but there's always another way to do things, you know?"
Mirai shot into the air, flying right over Flash and Mary.
"Because you're bound to keep fighting if I target these two girls, right?" Mirai called.
"Dammit!" Flash yelled, jumping up. "Mary! Please help me save Alicia and Alexis!"
"Can't Alicia handle herself?" Darky said.
Darky, Ban, and Dream walked over to them, having left their hiding place.
"What are you talking about?! Alicia is in serious trouble! That guy is strong!" Flash yelled.
"We have important things to do, like discovering the killer. We need your help, and the quicker the better," Darky said coldly.
"Unbelievable! You're unbelievable!" Flash yelled angrily. "I won't help you until Alicia and Alexis are safe! Understand me?!"
He tried to shove himself up toward Darky, but Ban knocked him down again. Darky's eyes narrowed.
"...fine," she finally said. "Let's go."
-xxx-
"Alright, Alexis, I think we're safe!" Alicia said.
"Are you sure?" Alexis whispered. "You weren't right last time..."
"Well, I mean..."
Alicia glanced behind her, just in time to see a sword slam into the ground.
"Bruh. We ain't safe."
The twins were running through a new section of the city where the buildings were primarily with glass walls. Mirai was just on their tail, summoning swords up and hurling them.
"What the..." Alicia began, then shook her head. "Bruh... I have to think... Where the- where is Flash?!"
Alicia looked back to where she was running, only to notice a building looming up ahead of her. She bit her tongue hard in order to stop herself from cursing.
"What... What do... I do...?" Alicia muttered.
"Something wrong, sis?" Alexis asked anxiously.
Alexis's question was promptly answered when the ground gave way underneath them. Thousands of swords shot out from the hole, though their edges were all blunt. Alicia and Alexis screamed in pain as they were battered and hurled high up in the air. Mirai smirked.
"Now's the time! Vulpic cutter!"
Magic energy gathered in the air, and a handle formed in Mirai's hands. A weapon branched off from the handle, slowly becoming bigger the farther away it was from him. Soon, a massive sword had formed, probably big enough to slice through an entire building...
And indeed it did.
Mirai swung the massive blade, narrowly missing the twins. It vertically bisected the massive building ahead of them, sending shattered glass everywhere and sending the building toppling to the ground in pieces.
"Kamikaze!"
Mirai generated a massive gust of wind that blew Alicia and Alexis into the crashed building. Alicia desperately fended off pieces of the building with her keyblade, but then heard Alexis cry out. Alexis, still with her eyes clamped tightly shut, was getting stabbed by stray pieces of glass. Alicia bit her tongue hard and reached out for Alexis.
"Sis...!"
Then, the pieces all hit the ground.
-xxx-
"What... What WAS that?!"
Colette stared up, unnerved at the sight of the crumbling building.
"Such amazing power... No, I have to be strong right now. For the boss."
She began nervously approaching the building once again.
-xxx-
"Alicia!" Flash yelled.
"Don't be stupid!" Darky said sharply.
The group was making its way towards the fallen structure, Mary carrying Dream.
"Alicia and Alexis are in danger! Serious danger!" Flash exclaimed.
"No shit," Mary grumbled.
"Yes, but look at those spells that were used... He's wasting massive amounts of magic power, so it's likely he's getting more desperate. In addition, he didn't bother to confront us, meaning he's not willing to face too many strong opponents at once. It shouldn't be hard to outmaneuver him," Darky explained. "But we have to be stealthy, quiet, and careful. Understand me, Flash?"
Flash sighed.
"Let's just hurry..."
-xxx-
"This is definitely where he is..." Kyra murmured.
Kisuke began walking again carefully, Kyra clutching tight around his shoulders.
-xxx-
As everyone converged around the building, Mirai descended. He glanced back at his wings, then sighed.
"This is so troublesome."
Alicia and Alexis lay in the rubble of the building, badly damaged. A piece of rubble had landed on Alicia's legs, trapping her on the ground. Alicia bit her tongue hard as she struggled to move, but couldn't. Alexis had her eyes clamped shut.
"Seems I've won, though. I won't mince my words. Goodbye, Alicia and Alexis Davis."
"Alicia?!" Alexis called desperately. "Alicia, what's going on?! Alicia?!"
Alexis rolled over and opened her eyes just as Mirai stabbed. The blade landed directly in front of her face.
As all the remaining participants arrived within seeing distance of the fight, they heard a strange musical sound. It was out of place, so cheerful, so normal...
Then they saw what it meant.
Alexis's bangle was flashing red, her forbidden action clearly displayed on it. She had gone completely still, and her skin was unnaturally white.
"Huh. Not even painfully? She just went to sleep? A pity. Such a boring way to die, if you violate your forbidden action," Mirai said boredly.
He walked over to the now sobbing Alicia and raised his sword.
"Die."
As Mirai swung downward, a sole figure charged across the rubble and slammed a fist into his chest. Mirai was once again thrown back. The figure quickly lifted the rubble trapping Alicia's legs and pulled Alicia to her feet. Alicia blinked in surprise.
"Colette?! What are you doing here?!"
"No time, boss! I'm glad I arrived to at least save you!" Colette exclaimed.
She quickly pulled Alicia's arm over her shoulder and took off running. Mirai hissed in frustration and prepared to run after them when a sword shot at his back. Mirai deflected it and turned. Kisuke stared him down, animosity in his eyes.
"Hey, you," Kisuke growled lowly. "You..."
He summoned up more swords and sent them straight at Mirai, who countered them with his own conjured swords.
"I don't have time for this," Mirai growled in annoyance.
"Let's go! Quick!"
Mirai noticed Darky's group hurrying after the two fleeing girls and groaned. He turned to glare at Kisuke.
"Why are you getting in my way? Do you not want to protect your wife?"
Kisuke glared in return. Mirai sighed and suddenly took off flying toward the tower, forcing Kisuke to give chase on foot.
-xxx-
"This is the building," Darky announced, stopping before the strange metal building.
"What? What are you talking about? We have to catch up to Alicia and Colette!" Flash growled.
Ban suddenly grabbed Flash by the collar of his shirt and lugged him over to the building.
"Mirai didn't follow. Your girlfriend is fine," Darky deadpanned. "We need to find out about this building. Now."
"You're as cold as ever!" Flash said angrily.
"The building!"
"I heard you!"
Flash stared at the building long and hard, then knelt down to look at the bottom of the door.
"This building didn't exist, last I checked. Something was being built in this spot... But it wasn't finished, as far as I know."
"Then it likely has something to do with the game," Darky decided.
"It definitely does," Flash replied.
"Hm? Why so sure?"
"Check this out."
Darky blinked curiously and tried to walk over, but Ban cut in front of her and knelt down by Flash. A message had been carved into the metal.
'The traitor and the mastermind are different people.'
"What is this...?" Ban murmured.
"It's a clue, that's what it is," Flash replied.
"A clue left by whoever made this building," Darky said.
"Hm?" It was Flash's turn to be surprised.
"This building can't be damaged, not even by magical means. We tried it already. Besides, it's the only building that's locked in the city... Why would that be? I'd guess the builder would know how to dent this metal, so it stands to reason that the builder is who carved this in," Darky said.
"Why would someone who built something for the game give us a clue about it?" Dream wondered.
"That's a good question," Flash sighed.
"It's possible the mastermind wants us to know... To deepen our despair or whatever," Darky grumbled.
"But that's not what you think, right?" Flash said, looking at Darky.
"Hm?"
"I can tell you don't believe in that theory. You think it's something else."
Flash stood up.
"Not that I care. I have a girlfriend to save."
"Thanks for your help, Flash," Darky said coolly.
"No problem," Flash muttered. "Listen, Darky..."
"Aye?"
"Whoever figures out the traitor first, you or me... Let's tell the other and kill them together. They'll pay for what they did to Birgus."
"...aye."
They nodded at each other, then Flash took off running. Darky checked her bangle.
"We should probably get to a house..."
-xxx-
After about fifteen minutes, Flash found Alicia and Colette leaned against a building wall. Colette seemed to have been bandaging Alicia using duct tape.
"Is that really a good idea?" Flash called as he approached.
"Bae! You took so long!" Alicia called.
She hurled the roll of duct tape at him.
"Now put some of that over your mouth!"
"Huh?"
"Just do it!"
Flash grumbled, but obliged his girlfriend. Alicia did the same to herself with her gag. She nodded to Colette, who took a deep breath.
"Boss... I'm so sorry I ran away from you earlier... I just... I didn't think I had a choice... I was wrong, and selfish... I thought of my life before yours, because I was scared. I won't hide any longer..."
Colette raised her right arm and tapped the screen.
FOLLOW AN ORDER.
Flash's eyes widened in surprise.
"You can remove the duct tape now," Colette sighed.
Flash removed his duct tape gag.
"Colette, I... I didn't know... I'm so sorry, I... I'll watch what I say from now on, and..."
"Boss, don't worry about it," Colette laughed. "I won't run off again. I want to be with you two, to survive with you two... I want to figure out who this traitor is, and give them a big punch in the gut for Birgus! So... Let's keep going, alright? No matter what happens, we'll make it through. I just know it!"
Flash smiled a little, though it quickly turned sour. He looked at Alicia, who had obviously been crying.
"Alicia..."
Alicia shook her head and removed her gag.
"Bae. Alexis and I... Barely got along anyway..."
"Alicia, it's okay to-"
"I already did," Alicia said. She looked up at him with fire in her eyes. "If I get my hand on that... That guy, or the traitor... They're dead. So let's keep going."
Flash smiled.
"Thanks to Darky, I have a good clue, but... We're out of time."
He showed his bangle.
"It would be a good idea to get settled in the place we'll be sleeping."
-xxx-
Darky's group had gotten set up in a house. Like before, Ban and Mary were in one room and Darky in another. Dream was propped up against a wall.
"Are you sure you'll be comfortable like that?" Mary worried. "Don't you prefer something else?"
"I don't remember what I prefer," Dream replied bitterly.
"Right..." Mary mumbled awkwardly.
"Hey, Mary, Ban? I'd really like it if we could all survive," Dream mumbled, smiling a little. "I'd like it... I really like you guys, so..."
"If we all survive, one of the others will die," Ban said bluntly.
Mary leaned over and smacked Ban's head.
"Let's just... Hope for the best." She said.
The timer then went off.
-zzz-
Flash watched Alicia and Colette fall fast asleep on the floor of the building. His own eyes fluttering, he could get out one last thought.
"I promise... I'll... Figure this out."
Then he too fell to the drug.
-zzz-
Kisuke slumped down against a building, holding Kyra in his arms. He looked sadly as his eyelids drooped.
"We didn't catch him, but it's okay," Kyra assured. "We'll try again... I know I won't die when I'm with you."
She leaned up and kissed him. She then rested her head against his shoulder, asleep. Kisuke's head lulled down as his eyes closed.
-zzz-
"Oh attaaaaaaaaacker! Do you know who the victim is? I think you dooooooooooooooo!" Monokuma hummed.
Per usual, the attacker had moved to look at the screen. They were smiling brightly.
"Ah, ah! What a despair-inducing expression you have, attacker! I know exactly what that means! The murder will be good this time! Get right on it, attacker!"
The attacker left...
-zzz-
The first thing to be seen by the awakening companions was the bloodied iron dumbbell. It was a good distance from the body and completely soaked in blood.
Between the body and the dumbbell was, written in blood, a 3. The body was affixed strangely to the wall. The cords of the lamps in the house had been ripped off and used to tie the arms of the body above the head. The body itself had been battered badly, blood leaking all over the place.
Flash would agree Colette's body was almost unrecognizable from the brutality of the murder.
But instead, he just screamed.
Participants remaining: 9 of 16.
A/N: I'm unsure if this was a long or short chapter. Whatever the case, I hope it's the correct length for whoever is reading! Why did Alexis die? Um... I realized it would be stupid if no one knew what happened when you violated your forbidden action, so I set it up so everyone would see it happen. I also wanted to feature more than one character this chapter, so... Yeah! Her forbidden action is one of the hardest to survive, IMO, so it just makes sense for it to happen. Sorry! Thoughts, reactions, comments, to anything in the chapter? Review~!
Next chapter: Super High School Level Fucked Over.
