Gundam shivers against the cold. A stiff breeze blows as the group runs, bare feet slapping against the stones and pavement of the island's pathways. Nobody speaks, for there's nothing to say. When they finally reach Jabberwock Park, a strange sight meets them. Usami is lacking her normal getup, instead wearing just a diaper and with different coloring. The six clothed students stand aggressively, with the exception of Nanami who looks blank, facing a new doll. It's a black and white bear with some sort of weird, jagged, red eye. It laughs maliciously and spins on one of its stubby feet. The students skid to a stop, and it's Hanamura of all people who voices everybody's opinion.
"Wuh wuh wuh wah?! What's this?! What's goin' on?" The bear just laughs again.
"You all look so despairingly cold there. I told you guys it would help set the mood!" It has the voice from the monitors, and it addresses the new arrivals. "It's a pleasure to meet you fine folks! You can call me Monobear! I'm Hope's Peak Academy's headmaster. And now I'm in charge of this field trip." Usami angrily takes a step towards 'Monobear'.
"No! These kids are my wesponsibility! I won't let you take them!" Monobear just cackles.
"Dear Monomi, do you really you can oppose your big brother like that?" Komaeda shoots a surprised look at Gundam.
"Big... brother?" Monobear puffs out its chest.
"Yup! And now that I'm here to do things right, it's time to start the real field trip!"
"What do you mean the real field trip?" Saionji clenches her fists and glares at Monobear.
"The Field Trip of Mutual Killing, of course! I mean, having tons of fun? Collecting 'Hope Shards'? Becoming friends? Yaaaaaaaawn. So boring, it's like I'm falling asleep just thinking about it. Mutual Killing it is! And the lucky participants are..." Monobear spins around slowly, directing a 'paw' at each kid frozen in fear and surprise. "All of you lucky bastards! Hooray!"
"M-m-m-mutual killing?" Tsumiki manages to stutter out before bursting into tears. Sonia and Koizumi move to comfort her.
"No! I wown't wet this happen!" Usami takes a step towards Monobear, only for the bear to smash her in the abdomen with a kick.
"Alright, Monomi, enough of that. Goodness, that girl doesn't know when to quit..."
"What... what do you mean by 'Mutual Killing'?" Pekoyama manages, before Monobear makes what appears to be an attempt at rolling his eyes.
"You bastards killing each other. Not sure how much clearer I can get."
"Ah, right. Killing each other..." Souda sighs, then suddenly bolts upright with a shriek. "K-K-K-KILLING EACH OTHER?!"
"Killing..." Komaeda stands still, shocked. Gundam feels himself shift into a defensive position. There was no way they would actually kill each other. He isn't even sure they could kill each other.
"Of course! It's so boring if you guys get to leave just because you made friends with some people. The epitome of boring! That's why I changed the rules!" It throws back its head in a fit of laughter. "Now all you have to do to leave is kill one of your 'friends' and make it through the following class trial. It's totally simple." Monobear goes on to explain the workings of this 'class trial'. Gundam can only stare in confusion. What is this... why is this happening? He's positive that this wasn't supposed to happen. So why?...
"What is this 'punishment' you keep talking about?" Nidai rumbles.
"Punishment? Oh, it'll just be a simple thing I come up with. Some sort of execution."
"E-execution?" Sonia stutters out, clutching her chest in horror. Monobear leans forward, red eye glinting menacingly. Gundam, despite himself, takes a step back. This isn't supposed to be happening. Murder? Execution? There's something terribly wrong here.
"Of course! An amazing punishment will follow each and every School Trial won by the innocent parties. And multiple punishments will be administered in the case of the guilty party winning." Monobear plops down onto his rear and waggles his feet in excitement. "Ooh I just can't wait to scheme up some despair inducing executions! Maybe they'll get hit by a bus or get spun into paste! Or maybe we'll just go for a good old-fashioned hanging!" Horrified gasps and a scream or two emerge from the crowd. "And I don't even care how any of you kill! Be it stabbing, head smashing, or poisoning. You're free to do whatever you want!"
"Y-you fuckin' bastard..." Kuzuryuu spits out at Monobear. "I'll kill you!"
"Ah ah ah Kuzuryuu-kun, hurting the headmaster is against the rules! You should know that." Monobear does a little jig and Kuzuryuu's face goes blue. The gangster shakes his fist at the doll, but does nothing else.
"I don't think anybody here would kill each other." Nanami says, staring blankly at Monobear. The monochrome doll speaks up, pressing a paw to his forehead and... sweating?
"Ooh, you wound me." Monobear straightens up with a strange 'snap'. "Just kidding. I'm a bear. It's not that easy to wound a bear. That's okay though. I'm not forcing you guys to murder each other. But you're going to regret it later, when you guys are in your thirties and still haven't killed anyone."
"I-I don't believe that... I won't... This is totally unbelievable..." Hanamura runs a hand through his still damp hair.
"A-are you saying nobody can leave if we don't kill each other?..." Koizumi hugs herself and rubs her bare arms with her hands. Monobear just shrugs.
"Dunno. I'll think about it."
"Now h-hold on! Why do we have to kill each other?!" Koizumi points at Monobear. It turns back to her with a look of confusion.
"Huh? I thought it was obvious. You bastards have a reason to, don't you?" Hinata chokes out an 'eh?' when Nidai steps up, cracking his knuckles. Gundam isn't sure him being in that miniscule swimsuit makes him more or less intimidating.
"That's enough! You are finished with your nonsense!" He points an accusing finger at Monobear. "I don't usually resort to direct violence, but sometimes it is the ONLY OPTION!" He seems to radiate a confident aura that Owari quickly picks up.
"Hell yeah! Lemme take this black and white guy out!" She clenches her fists and grins excitedly, while Pekoyama draws her wooden practice sword out of the sheath she still has on, for some reason. Her voice is steady.
"Anyone even thinking about murder will be stopped with force."
"Yeah! Our jocks won't let anything scary like that happen!" Mioda jams her middle finger up into the air in Monobear's direction, then double takes and switches to her index finger. Monobear just hangs his head and sighs, a blue tint appearing around his head. Gundam and Komaeda shift into an aggressive stance. Gundam points accusingly at the bear.
"Your outlandish sayings will not taint our spirit, monochrome one. We will unite against you. You can not possibly hope to even contemplate some foolish goal such as murder." Komaeda nods.
"You can't possibly hope to make us des- er uh... kill each other. Yeah. Our hope greatly outmatches whatever you can throw against us." He smiles and thumps his bare chest, which is somewhat underwhelming considering how pale and skinny the boy is. Gundam gets the idea though. Murmurs of agreement flow through the crowd. Monobear just sighs again and turns around, facing the strange statue in the middle of the park.
"I suppose this was inevitable... it is rather bothersome though..." He suddenly turns around, red eye glowing menacingly and claws Gundam didn't know he had bared. "If you're going to insist on using violence against your headmaster, I'll have to reply with some of my own!" The bear turns around again and raises his arms.
"Violence? What are you going to do?..." Usami, or Monomi as Monobear called her now, timidly asks. Said bear ignores her, beginning some divine chant. Gundam feels a chill down his spine as the words pour out. He stands his ground.
"O scions of the void between light and shadow, hear me! Fulfill thy ancient contract... Monobeasts, I bid thee rise!" Nothing happens for a moment. The kids look at each other in confusion. Gundam just throws back his head and laughs.
"Foolish bear, you have no power here! You are but a wisp of flame in the roaring ocean of our might! Perhaps you should abandon your futile attempts at summoning and deal us your mightiest blow head on! If you are really as powerful as you claim then begin the assault!" Monobear makes a sound that sounds like it's clicking its tongue.
"You kids really are stupid." The simpleness of its comment startles him. Monobear 'snaps', which is what the sound would have been, had the toy had fingers. A quiet rumble begins and Gundam glances around. The other kids do it too, looking for the source of the noise. Monobear just throws back its head and cackles. "Maybe now you'll see that I'm serious." A deafening crack resounds through the air and everyone glances toward the giant statue. Hairline fissures appear on its stone surface, rapidly spreading through the entirety of the statue. The stone falls off in sheets, smashing into rubble against the ground. Gundam feels bits of rock dash tiny cuts onto his exposed skin. The dust cloud produced by the rubble sends the majority of the group into a coughing fit and makes Gundam close his eyes. Audible gasps and a choked off scream force his eyes open. What he sees terrifies him. What used to be the five figures of the statue rest behind the monochrome doll as sinister machines. A soldier, a bird, a snake, a horse, and a tiger. They produce awful groaning sounds with each movement.
"E-eh... eh...?" Sonia lets out quiet gasp, clutching at her chest and covering her mouth, her face gone blue with surprise.
"Wh-why the fuck is that damn statue..." Kuzuryuu trails off, arms limp at his sides. Monobear screeches in delight.
"It's not a statue! It's the Monobeasts!"
Souda stumbles back with a scream, a real one this time. "M-M-M-MONSTEEEEEERS!"
"They're not monsters! They're the Monobeasts! Pay attention!" Monobear angrily yells at the mechanic. The boy pulls his beanie down over his eyes and whimpers pathetically.
"This isn't right... this isn't right..." Tsumiki clutches at her hair and sobs.
"What... the... HEEEEEEEEEEEELL?!" Nidai screams and raises his arms up defensively. Monobear just groans and glares at the kids.
"You guys are really annoying, you know that? Why is it so hard for you to accept this?" Monomi takes a step forward, putting herself in between the Monobeasts and the group.
"Don't wowwy kids... I'll pwotect you. Stand back! I'll pwotect you all if it kiws me..." Monobear chuckles evilly.
"Upupu... is that so? Well then..." He suddenly appears really angry, his red eye flaring light. "Let me take you up on that offer! If that's what you want, I'll make you an example." The bear casually strides over to the bird Monobeast, which dips its head down and lets the bear get on top of it. It then gently floats up, spreading out its wings. Monobear sticks up an arm and suddenly, gatling guns extend from compartments on the underside of the wings. Gundam pushes to the front of the group, along with Nidai, Owari, and (surprisingly) Hinata. The rest of the group bunches up behind the four. Monobear laughs at them.
"Alright kids, pay attention. This is how you kill someone." When the bear drops its hand, the bird lets loose, firing a spray of bullets that rapidly rip through the poor rabbit and tear her to shreds. Monobear continues to spray the area where Monomi stood moments ago, throwing up chunks of concrete and wood. As the barrage slows to a stop, the guns flick up, sending a few bullets in the direction of the students. Gundam feels a familiar searing pain on his side and drops to his knees. Hinata stumbles back, a hand cupping his face, and gasps in mortification when he pulls his hand away and sees it covered in blood. Owari grunts and clutches her upper arm. Nidai is, somehow, the only one not hit and rushes over to Owari. Tsumiki does the same to Gundam moving his grip away from the wound. She mutters quietly as she rips off part of the bandage on her arm, which is a lot longer than it looks, and starts wrapping Gundam's wound.
"It's not deep, it just grazed the skin, you're going to be fine, oh please don't die oh no..." Komaeda and Nanami run over to Hinata and Nanami presses a handkerchief to his face where the bullet grazed him. Behind him, Gundam hears Souda, Hanamura, and Mioda scream. Monobear jumps off of the Monobeast and does a little dance, evidently pleased with himself.
"Upupupupu! Ah, that's all you bastards needed. A good demonstration. I love the despair here!" The bear wipes at his face as though all his laughing had brought tears to his eyes. "Well then... it seems you bastards finally understand." Monobear takes the moment to glance at every student, making eye contact with them. And despite being a robot or doll or whatever, Gundam can feel the intensity of the bear's hate when it gazes at him. "You can't oppose me. You never will be able to. If you don't want to be drowned in the emptiness of my lack of compassion, then you sure as hell better follow the rules. I'm 'da boss' around here. What I say goes, capishe?" Monobear laughs again. "Oh and speaking of rules, I've updated your student handbooks. The 'Field Trip of Mutual Killing' rules are now there. Be sure to read them over carefully!" With a final wave, Monobear stalks away, the Monobeasts lumbering after him. Gundam feels himself slump forward. There's no way this should be happening. The park is silent, save for the somewhat distant sound of waves splashing against the shore. The sky darkens, and Gundam glances up. The clouds seem to have left, but night was approaching. It just adds to the somber mood.
"Ibuki... doesn't get it..." Mioda fidgets, playing with her hair.
"What is there to get?... None of this is real anyway..." Hanamura tugs at his collar.
"This wasn't supposed to happen." Saionji tries to state the obvious, but Gundam can hear the fear seeping into her voice.
"This is impossible... This can't happen... Why are impossible things happening?..." Souda keeps his hat pulled over his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks and dripping off of his chin.
A scoff cuts through the mood like a knife through butter. "Would you all quit it? Enough is enough. You lot should know well enough that this is entirely possible. All it would take is some robotics knowledge and a hefty sum of money." Togami adjusts his glasses, matter-of-factly shutting down almost every single sentence about to come out of everyone's mouths.
"You're saying someone is behind this?... Who would put us in a situation like this?" Pekoyama plays with her sword, running her fingers up and down the wooden blade.
"W-Why would someone even think about doing this?!" Koizumi bristles, but stays firmly planted where she stands.
"I'm telling you guys, none of this is real... I don't believe it... This is just a... dream that we'll all wake up from. Yeah." Hanamura wipes sweat off of his face, but it just keeps coming.
Togami grunts angrily. His shout startles Gundam. How could this person be mad at them at a time like this? "Did I not make my self clear enough to you simpletons? I said enough! It doesn't mater to me how much you cry or how you distract yourselves. There is only one thing that matters." He crosses his arms with some difficulty and closes his eyes. "That thing is that there is only one thing we need to be truly guarded against. It is not these Monomi and Monobear dolls, nor is it those ridiculous Monobeasts." He opens his eyes and looks at each student individually. Gundam gazes into Togami's steel eyes when he looks at him. The imposter's glare bores into his soul, and Gundam has never felt more lost. "No, the thing we need to be guarded against... is each other."
Upon his words, the crowd splits up, everybody putting a two or three feet of distance between them and anybody else. Gundam keeps his distance from Komaeda and Saionji, having to keep up appearances. It would be suspicious to stand near them now. Togami keeps talking. "We've been taken here, yanked from our previous lives without warning, and told to kill each other. This fear and despair in the atmosphere... our desire to escape from it... That is the true enemy." Gundam glances around at each face in the crowd. It's clear that everyone agrees with Togami. Hell, even he believed it. No, Gundam thinks, perhaps he is one of them that believes it the most. For he knows what these kids are truly capable of. And it scares him. "That is all." Togami stares down the others, daring them to say something, then briskly heads off back toward the hotel. Everyone else slowly trickles away until Gundam finds himself alone with three other students. Komaeda, Saionji, and Nanami. Once the coast is clear, the dancer immediately tears up, running over to Gundam and wrapping her arms around his waist. Gundam holds her as she begins sobbing.
"There there... do not fret..." He isn't sure what else to say. Komaeda comes over and leans against Gundam, and the three stay like that for a moment. Nanami sighs.
"Guys... I'm sorry... I don't know what's going on. This wasn't supposed to happen. There's something wrong..." Saionji wipes her eyes with her sleeve and sniffs angrily.
"You think?" Komaeda shushes her.
"Yeah, we could tell. Look, we'll... I don't know. Figure something out..." The gamer nods, then turns to leave.
"We'll fix this, guys... I think." She walks away, head hung, leaving the three to stand next to the empty pedestal. Komaeda sighs.
"We should change out of these swimsuits, Tanaka-kun. We'll... I dunno, catch a cold." Gundam just nods. When he tries to move, however, Saionji doesn't let go, just looking up at him with watery eyes. The animal breeder sighs, picking her up bridal style. She whimpers quietly and lays her head against his shoulder. The three head back to the hotel. Everybody is already in their cottages, all of the lights off except for the gentle bulbs at the bottom of the pool. Komaeda breaks off when they reach his house, heading inside and shutting the door after him. Gundam walks over to Saionji's house and tries to put her down, but she just shakes her head and wraps her arms around his neck. He sighs again.
"We can't. They'll know something is the matter."
"I don't care..." Gundam shakes his head, but heads over to his house with the girl in his arms anyway. He opens the door, happy at least to find it unlocked, and places the girl on his bed. He then heads into the bathroom and takes off his trunks, haphazardly throwing them into the bathtub. He pulls on his pants, not caring about anything else, and collapses onto the bed next to Saionji. She grabs his arm and nuzzles it.
Just as he begins to drift off, however, a knock at his door wakes him up. He knows who it is before opening it. Komaeda apparently knows what Gundam is going to do as well, because he steps past the animal breeder and walks over to the bed right as the door opens. Gundam quietly shuts the door and goes to lay down with the two. He pushes them over slightly, climbing into the space that's left, and then puts his arms over both of them. It reminds him of the night they spent in Hope's Peak, with Saionji in the middle and both boys on either side of her. And that's how they fall asleep, on top of the blanket and wrapped in each other's embrace. Gundam can tell this will be the first of many nights like this. And that thought hurts him.
End Prologue...
Remaining Students: 16