Act 1-3: Sixteen Little Murder Victims
Lunch passed rather quickly and uneventfully, aside from Tien giving everyone a short lecture about nutrition.
Oh, and Sasha moping over her completely plain vegetarian spaghetti, but at this point, her antics were becoming something of a running joke between the rest of us. I saw Eric pass what appeared to be a fistful of Euros under the table to Jackie beside me, who smirked.
Thinking nothing of it, I finished off my bowl of stew, and sighed happily. That really hit the spot. Pouring myself a glass of water from one of the pitchers on the table, I sipped my drink and listened in on the conversation that started.
"Okay, so, does anyone have anything to share?" Hideki piped up, "Any clue as to where we might be in the world and how we may have gotten here?
"Nothing on my end. I tried hacking into a satellite uplink and GPS us, but whoever built this airship was smart enough to mess with my computer's targeting system and-" Nico rambled on, as the rest of us chimed in with our own failed solutions.
"I tried to identify our whereabouts based on constellations, but the patterns didn't match anything I'd ever seen before," said Matthew.
Jackie dropped a pile of what I recognized were premium-quality handphones on the table. "No signal either."
"Did anyone attempt to ask Monokuma where we were?" JJ asked us all.
A twinge of annoyance masked Johan's face. "I- that is to say, Tien and I tried. He wouldn't tell us."
"Maybe I could have been investigating if someone didn't insist I needed medical attention," mumbled Sasha.
Hideki shot back, "It was for your own good."
"Plus, no internet." Nico concluded with a tone of finality.
In response, Sasha turned white. "Oh. I have to...leave."
She stepped out of the room and closed the door softly behind her. A moment later, a loud, anguished scream resounded. Sasha opened the door, returned her seat, and calmly said, "I'm fine."
"...So, we can't establish anything," Hideki sighed, and rubbed his good remaining eye, "Well, then, does anyone have any idea what to do now?"
"Todd thinks we should just wait it out. After all, that stupid bear can't influence Todd to kill anyone, nor can it influence any of you to kill the others, Todd hopes."
"While I agree with Todd that our best plan of action is to stall for time, and hope for some rescuers…" Ava muttered, "We should probably set some ground rules too. Make sure no one decides to get any smart ideas."
"Oui, and I suggest zhat the first idea be that students should travel around in pairs," Lucille proposed, "You know, for safety purposes."
Yeah...I really should get to talking to Lucille. Otherwise, Ava's life is going to get significantly more awkward.
"Okay," I agreed, "Well, then, Lucille, why don't you and I pair up for a while?"
Lucille paled, "W-well, I don't see why not."
Ava shot me a thankful look, before her face faded back into stone-cold seriousness.
"Xiang?" asked Sasha.
"Sure thing."
Throughout the room unlikely pairs - Hideki and Eric, Faen and Johan, Tien and Maya, Matthew and JJ, and so on and so forth began to form. It was somewhat strange to watch Nico link arms with Todd and go skipping around the room, but if they were happy, so were we.
"Well, shall we implement any other ideas?" Jackie, who had found herself with Ava, spoke up.
Before anyone else could respond, a certain monochromatic bear's voice echoed around the ballroom, probably through some hidden speakers.
"Hey, all you bastards, get to the damn Atrium right now! Lest I start dealing out detention so early! Upupupupupupupupupupu!"
Groaning, we got up. Seeing as there was no other option, we left our plates, finished or not, where they were, and proceeded back to where we knew Monokuma would be waiting for us.
As we stepped in, I noticed that the chandelier had, indeed, been reset. No longer was the chassis on the floor in a mangled heap of metal and glass - it had been restored to its perch above our heads, as if it had never fallen in the first place.
Tien asked the question hovering over everyone's heads. "How...did he get that fixed so quickly? It simply defies the laws of practicality!"
I nudged Nico, who was right beside me, "Did you see how Monokuma reinstalled the chandelier on your way back to get your charger?"
"No. I mean, when I got there, the chandelier was still in pieces on the ground…" she replied, still wide-eyed, "He must have fixed it while we were eating lunch."
"Upupupupupupupupupupu! Indeed I did!"
"Speak of the bloody devil." Eric muttered, as everyone's favourite black-and-white host showed up on the scene.
...That was an attempt at sarcasm.
"What do you want with us?" Ava began.
"The same thing I wanted for the rest of my students!" He twirled around in place, "For you all to murder each other!"
"Yeah. Like zhat's going to happen anytime soon." Jackie placed her arms at her hips. "You can't force any of us to start offing each other just because we want an express pass into Hope's Peak."
"Hear, hear." Xiang added, "The lives of our friends are worth much more than any scholarship in the world."
A chorus of agreement sounded from the rest of us, myself included. To this, Monokuma merely smirked, or, at least, performed the closest description of one that a robot could manage.
"Upupupupupupupu! I expected that...I mean, my last class went three days without murder because I forgot, but hey, at least I'm doing this on the first day now! So I'm totes going to implement a motive for ya!"
Silence fell across the room.
"Motive…?" JJ repeated hesitantly. "Um, but there needs to be a crime committed for a motive to be put in play-"
"Yeah, no, shut your trap." Monokuma interjected, cutting him off, "We're playing by my rules now, buster, so I'm gonna give you all a reason to murder your friends!"
"W-What?" asked Nico, clearly on the verge of tears, "Another reason, other than leaving?"
"Well, yeah. I know your type - agree on peace beforehand, so that you can stall for time. It's futile, but even though your efforts always fail it's quite boring to watch you live in peace!"
"Scheiße, how did he know?" Hideki swore under his breath.
"Clearly, someone's been reading some 1984," offered Sasha.
"So that's what's up with the security cameras…" mused Tien.
"You're not going to get away with this!" yelled JJ. "The authorities will find you, and stop you, and I will personally see to it you spend the rest of your short life in a maximum security prison!"
"Prison...how quaint. Would be a step up from living with you losers! Too bad no one's coming to save you, upupupupu!"
"You bastard! No one's above the law - not even you!" JJ pulled back his arm for a punch, but Faen stepped in to stop him.
"You saw what happened when Todd attacked him. Best not to die in a fit of anger." he cautioned.
JJ looked like he was about to argue some more, before he sighed. "You're right, Faen. I wasn't thinking straight."
"...So, that's all well and good, but what's the motive?" Maya, who had been silent throughout our complaints, piped up, "Whatever it is, you seem pretty confident that at least one of us will fall for it."
"But where would all the fun of that be?" his red, jagged eye glowed, "Telling you all the motive when no one's gonna appreciate it is just so despairing!"
"Just get to the damn point!" Sasha roared.
"Well, Comrade, the damn point is..."
Monokuma spread his arms open in a 'ta-da!' pose, "I've already set the motive in play!"
For a moment, all was silent again, before we all broke out into a choir of separate, yet similar enunciations of "Huuuuuuuuh?!"
"What do you mean, already in play?" Lucille was first to break out of our stupor.
"Exactly what you think it means, you bimbo!" he snickered, "One or more of you already know just exactly what I mean!"
Quickly, I scanned everyone's faces around the room. My eyes met Hideki's eye for a split-second, and I realized we were both checking for reactions. Moving on, I gave everyone a quick once-over, but my efforts were fruitless - no one else reacted with anything more than surprise, confusion, or attempting to discern others' reactions as well.
Whoever Monokuma was targeting, he clearly picked the right person.
"So what about the rest of us?" Johan asked.
"Well, hope that you don't become your friends' next target!" Monokuma guffawed, "Well, I gotta go, so I'll leave you pricks to work it out yourself! Upupupupupupupupu!"
And with that, he was gone.
"If anyone would like to speak up, now would be a good time." Xiang addressed us. "We promise not to judge you based on the motive Monokuma has given you, and will endeavour to maintain and uphold your protection and the safety of all others."
Everyone shifted slightly, but no one actually spoke.
"Todd thinks whoever it is, they should really share it now." Todd quipped, "Todd doesn't want the rest of us to live in paranoia..."
"Come on! Which one of you is it? Huh?" JJ began yelling.
"JJ, please calm d-"
"No! I will not calm down, Matthew! This is life or death, and it's important we figure out who's behind this so that we can maximize the number of survivors."
"Well, duh, it's Yukari Nishiyima, didn't I tell you guys?!" Sasha hollered, already annoyed - likely at how quickly our situation was falling to pieces.
"Well, then, how do you propose we catch her?" Hideki crossed his arms, "Because unless we can traverse this airship in its entirety, I highly doubt we can do so, let alone find her first."
"Monokuma said that the culprit was in the cockpit - so that's where we've got to go." said Sasha.
"Yes, but how are supposed to get there?" asked Faen.
"I-I can't answer that," muttered Sasha, staring at the floor. "God damn him - he's given us the key, but hidden the door. He's just getting our hopes up so that it hurts more when we fall into despair."
"I won't let any of you fall into despair," muttered Hideki. "I swear to God, no one's going to die on my watch."
"Agreed," said JJ.
"I-Isn't there something we're ignoring?" asked Matthew.
Xiang turned to him. "Yes, what is it?"
"W-well, it's getting fairly dark outside, so I dunno when nighttime is, but I would guess, uh, soon?"
I glanced outside, and to my amazement, the sky had indeed turned dark.
But we only just ate lunch a few hours ago...
"Well, that's a clue if I've ever seen any," Nico pointed out, "We must be somewhere in winter, otherwise the sky wouldn't get dark so soon. Trust me, it's in one of my song lyrics-"
"Wait, what month is it?" Eric cut in.
Well, of course it's...
It's...
Beat.
…
"It was June when we left," offered Sasha, "Meaning we must have crossed to the southern hemisphere."
"The constellations aren't anything in the southern hemisphere, though...in fact, they're nothing like any constellations I've ever seen or read about," offered Matthew.
"Curiouser and curiouser," muttered Todd, "In any case, Todd's not exactly feeling hungry...So what do we do now?"
"Well, if what ze ElectroID says is true, water shall be closed off at ten o'clock." Jackie explained, checking it as she spoke, "Shall we return to our rooms and wash up for ze time being? I don't know about you all, but I need at least an hour ev'ryday to keep myself looking glamorous."
"Fair enough," said Sasha, "You do that - I'll keep exploring the airship."
"Me too," Hideki nodded, "Everyone, feel free to explore the airship or retire to your own rooms. Please stay out of trouble, and if you see anyone acting suspiciously, so not hesitate to call for the rest of us."
In response to that, Maya simply just walked off, probably back to her own stateroom. "I hope mine has a bathtub."
Seeing that I still had a lot of drive left in me, I shrugged, "Guess I'll join you, Hideki."
Unfortunately, our search was fruitless. There were no hidden doors nor passageways or extra-large vents to be found, so we ended up gathering outside the door Maya came across earlier: the one with the comically oversized "DO NOT ENTER" police tape slapped onto it.
"...Any volunteers?" Eric asked uncertainly.
"I'd suggest against it, but if you want to die you can go right ahead. I'm not gonna stop you," said Sasha.
"Todd volunteers as tribute!"
"No. Todd, don't. No one's going to do something stupid and get themselves killed on my watch." Hideki stated.
"He's right. It's a dumb idea. I was just joking. I don't actually want anyone to die. Not even Eric."
"I'm not much a fan of your sense of humor, luv," muttered Eric, before a fist caught him across the face.
"On second thought, perhaps I wouldn't mind."
"I suppose that means we are unable to go any further." Faen admitted. "In that case, shall we return? It does appear to be getting rather late, after all."
"Fair enough." JJ harrumphed, "Everyone, let's go back."
The return to our staterooms was eerily silent, except for Eric's grumbles about how Sasha had ruined his immaculate nose.
"Don't call me 'luv' ever again," was her only reply.
The same thought was probably on everyone's mind, though: Monokuma had picked at least one of us to present an incentive to kill, and no one knew who, or how many there were. It was unsettling, to say the least.
Since our rooms were the closest to the front of the hallway, directly opposite each other, Hideki and I bade goodbye to the others, and entered them first. Immediately, I went for the bed - well, if you were going to live the rest of your near-future life in a constant state of fear and despair, you might as well enjoy the little things.
I tried to let my mind drift off into sleep, but a nagging thought in the back of my mind kept telling me I had forgotten to do something. It was then I had my epiphany.
I haven't taken a shower yet.
Quickly, I undressed, before rushing into the shower, turning on the water and lathering up my hair. The shampoo wasn't incredibly good quality, but it was at least decent.
I turned to wash the shampoo out of my hair. Strands of hair began drooping onto my face as I brushed my fingers through it, before-
The water shut off abruptly.
"The time is now ten o'clock! Night Time is now in effect! Please return to your rooms and go to bed! Also, the water supply is now cut off!"
Monokuma's voice projected from somewhere in my room, before shutting himself off, but at that point, I was beyond annoyed to care exactly where.
If I didn't get the shampoo out of my hair in time, it would turn it super-oily, and while I don't know about the rest of my classmates, I don't think I'd be able to show my face around them anymore…
And if it ever got leaked to the press- No, no time to panic.
Come on, think, where would there be any water...
Atrium
Passenger Cabins
Dining Area - Ballroom
Dining Area - Kitchen
Storage Room
Medical Room
Janitor's Closet
Casino and Bar
Luxury Sitting Room
Mysterious Door
Selected Area: Dining Area - Ballroom
Ashley: I can see the connection!
We never did clear those dinner plates, did we? In that case, there should still be some pitchers of water left on the tables.
Hopefully, those would be enough, but I guessed I would have to make do.
Stepping out of the shower, towel wrapped around both my hair and body, I went to the closet and opened the door for the first time - only to find the clothing I had packed for the long trip ahead, all hung up neatly.
Well, I guess they have good room service? Maybe? I didn't have the time to think straight.
Pulling on some new undergarments and a pair of my favourite pajamas, emblazoned with 'Big Bang' and their five-member silhouettes, I kept the towel around my hair as I left the safety of my room.
I was well aware that I was putting myself in danger, but I have skewed priorities. If I was really going to die, I was going to die looking good.
The tabloids would have a field day.
Carefully, I edged along the winding hallways, until I reached the Atrium. Turning into the next set of hallways, I carefully followed the map until I was just outside the ballroom.
I opened the door and walked inside. Tien and Johan, who were still cleaning dishes, nodded hello.
"Hey, guys, can I borrow a few pitchers of water?"
Tien gestured towards them. "Go right ahead. Assuming it has something to do with your hair, as evidenced by the towel, just remember to return the empty pitchers when you're done."
As I left the ballroom, I started to make my way back when I heard something faint in the distance.
"Whoo...ooooooooooooo…oooo...ooooooooooooooo...oooooooooooo…"
It sounded like the rushing of air, and it was coming from the opposite direction of the Atrium.
Shivering slightly, I hurried my pace, and in no time at all, I was back in the comfort of my warm room. Letting down the towel and undressing for the second time, I poured the first pitcher over my head, before I realized in that split-second, exactly why that was a colossally bad idea.
The water was cold.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" I screamed, as the freezing fluid washed over the pores of my hair and the rest of my body. But I couldn't afford to stop here, and it was better to get it over with quickly, so, with quivering hands, I picked up the next pitcher.
Minutes later, I was deep within the warm comforter and blanket of my bed, trying to bring my body temperature back up to its bare minimum. But at least my hair's clean.
Turning the lamp lights off, I lay my head on the pillows, and closed my eyes. Sleep didn't come so easily, but it came alright.
"Goooooooooood morning, students! It's seven in the morning, so get ready to greet another beeeeeautiful day! But seriously, get your asses up, you bastards!"
...Tell me we really won't have to wake up to that every morning. Please, tell me we-
"And because someone isn't being very accepting, I'm going to make this morning announcement permanent!"
OH COME ON, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS OUT LOUD.
...Sorry. I get really cranky in the morning sometimes.
My eyes cracked open. It was still dark in my room, but that made sense since there weren't any windows to the outside.
Flipping on the lights, I got off the bed, and stretched. My joints popped back into place with a satisfying 'crack', and I sighed in relief.
That was an actually peaceful sleep until Monokuma woke me up, in contrast to yesterday's nightmare...brr.
Since my dress and jeans from yesterday were still in good condition, I changed back into them. I guess today was any good a day as ever to dress up, so I forwent my usual pair of earrings for Jackie's gifts.
Which, I might say, actually looked better...Still, I felt kinda bad, because these things must have cost a fortune, even by her standards.
After a quick reinforcement of my dental hygiene, I headed out. The hallway was empty, so I went to the Ballroom; partly because we agreed on it being our designated meeting place in lieu of the Atrium, and partly because it was where I assumed breakfast was being served.
Stepping into the Ballroom, I was greeted by a wave of hands from the people sitting there, who, was basically everyone. Looks like I was the last to arrive.
Some of the people had yet to even change out of their pajamas. Tien was wearing a green T-shirt with what looked like manga panels on it and grey sweatpants, Sasha had neglected to put on her coat or sweater, and Nico was wearing a plain pair of pajamas and a comfortable-looking mpair of slippers.
Oddly enough, instead of the usually cheerful air that permeated the surroundings wherever we were, there was something different about the atmosphere. It seemed...
Almost apprehensive.
I sat down, and Nico promptly glomped me. "Good morning, Ashley! It's good to see you're safe and sound…"
"What do you mean?" I responded, perplexed by her choice of words, "I would have thought the annoyed yelling from my room would have clued you in."
"Rooms are almost entirely soundproof. The only person who could have heard you scream was Todd, and he doesn't...sleep in...his...room." Her speech slowed to a halt.
It was then I realized why she had done so. And judging by the expressions on the others' faces, they had all come to same conclusion.
I blanched, "Did something happen last night to...Todd?"
Nico turned to me, worry evident in her eyes. "He disappeared last night, without any indication. We have no idea where he is."
"Tien tells me you were out last night - did you see anything out of the ordinary?" Matthew asked warily.
"N-No…" I mentally screened through the recollection of last night's events, "Nothing out of the ordinary, I swear!"
"Well, then, we're back to square one!" JJ cursed, "Nobody knows what the hell has happened to the Acrobat!"
"Perhaps I may be of assistance?"
Sasha growled. "Nishiyima."
"I can't confirm or deny that claim, upupupu," giggled Monokuma, "But I can tell you what happened to the kid."
"Then get to the point." Maya scoffed, "What happened?"
The question didn't even have to be answered. After all, only one possible thing could have happened in such an environment as ours.
No...It can't be...
"That's bear-y simple…" Monokuma grinned. "He's dead. And the kicker? I'll bet one of you did him in!"
…
"Hey, get back here!"
…
"Todd has decided! Todd won't play by your rules!"
...
"Wait, what the-?"
…
"No, no, no, no, no, nononononononononononoonnononononononononononononono-"
…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-"
…
…
…
Act 1-3 FIN
15 Students Remaining
A/N:
So...Yeah. Apologies to Emosewa-13. We did like Todd, but I guess it was his time.
...Or was it? - SD
*X-Files theme plays* - Lime
In any case, we still have another FT to go next chapter, so don't worry too much. We won't be showcasing the possible grizzly remains for quite some time, so relax. Next up on the reservations, JJ, Lucille, Maya, and Nico, not necessarily in that order, so we'll be back sooner or later with it. Now, over to Lime with the review replies.
No, wait, actually, I'll take one of them first.
Fictioncritic: Well, we don't have to get you started on Sasha - if the rest of your review is of any indication, there really isn't much to get you started on. In all seriousness, though, you might want to check yourself before you wreck yourself - if you can explain to us why Ashley's a Mary Sue (and take it up with her submitter), why Nico's annoying (and I take solid offense to this one in particular), and/or why being weird is a bad thing for Todd (who was meant to be the epitome of weirdness in the first place), maybe we'd start caring.
Phew. Glad that's out of my system. In any case, over to Lime for the rest of the much more awesome review replies. Cheers. - SD
PowerPlayer: Glad you enjoyed it! I don't actually have much experience with FTs, but that's what I have SD as my workhorse for. (Sadly, that is true, and I don't even get minimum wage. ;-; Just kidding. ~SD)
Jackie is a very enigmatic character, we won't deny it. And perhaps she was pacing for a different reason and just came up with the excuse of Matthew on the spot? *gasps* But in any case, you'll have to dig deeper to find out.
All characters are only human, after all - Ava knows Lucille means no harm, and so does Ashley. It's easy enough to resolve it in a more benign way that to freak out over it, as shown. And I think I'd call it… Yeah, I got nothing else either, let's roll with HockeyStaff for the time being.
Well. Guess you were right on the money - or were you? But seriously, Todd is too angelic for this sinful game, so we had to get rid of his hope early, lest he infect the others...
Xiang is a nice guy, no doubt. We'd go into him more, but, well, *smirks*.
And yeah, we *love* Maya. Have you seen her design on DeviantArt? It's totes awesome.
A Dingus With Sweet Shades: Feel free to do anything sprite-related at any time-who am I to decline fanart?
LongTimeReader19: Thankie :)
AnonForAReason: Well, Sasha was meant to be mildly obnoxious. And I don't think you're the only one to dislike her by any means.
As for Nico's stage name, SD isn't a PJO fan. He chose the name because of the meaning. Nico of the Angels. But yeah, Nico di Angelo's also the name of a PJO character. (Sides, it'd work well both as a stage name and an actual name. ~SD)
Official Lapis Lazuli: Upupupu...how wrong you were.
HeroinOfDarkness: Haha, yeah. First-act love triangle - you'd think it's bad idea, but it worked out fairly well.
And gosh darn, Hothead is even better.
Khronovision: Upupupupu...you'll see.
Fictioncritic: Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. Could you elaborate on how Nico is annoying, Ashley is a Sue, and why you dislike Sasha? I'm not trying to be condescending - I genuinely want to know how to improve the story.
Although, Todd being weird is the whole point of his character.
(And for the record, I don't approve of SD's approach - I try to be as nice as possible, especially in response to criticism. However, I would really appreciate it if you were to elaborate on your criticism. Khronovision (Ashley's creator) and SD (Nico's creator), as well as me, have their PMs open. If you want to go in-depth, feel free to PM any or all of us to voice your complaints. I know I at least will be very happy to listen...although I'd watch myself around SD if I were you. You got him in one of his rare snarky moods.)
(Besides, someone's gotta call you out. I take genuine offense at any character, mine or not, being insulted for their characteristics, so you'll want to make it clear. It's a necessary evil. ~ SD)
(I'm sorry about this, anon. I hope you have a great day, assuming you're even reading this. Either way thanks for the feedback, as...limited as the scope of it was. -Lime)
That's pretty much it for the day. Ciao.
(once again, I'm sorry. I hope you guys all enjoyed the chapter regardless. -Lime)