Prologue (Part 4)
It was weird and honestly a little unsettling seeing so many stars and so much darkness, but I guess the area we're currently in doesn't get affected by light pollution as much as other parts of the world.
"If only I had a camera." Azure sighed, shaking his head with a slight smile on his face.
Merigold also smiled. "I agree! This reminds me of the night sky in Spain..."
Huh, I guess I can see the beauty of being surrounded by stars. It was definitely a lot better and dreamier than being surrounded by neon signs, billboards, and street lamps. Heh, maybe I'm better off living in space or something since there's nothing of the sort there...Eh, then again, maybe not. The thought of living in the great unknown is super unsettling.
Azure, Merigold, and I chatted a little more about the beauty of stars, but than it was time for me and Azure to head out and keep looking for a way out of here. Merigold said she was going to keep looking at the books in here, trying to find anything about the situation we're in. I didn't have a whole lot of faith in her book-related investigation, but I wished her luck.
"See you guys," She waved as we approached the door. "Anyeong!" I could only guess that that meant 'good bye'.
"Whaddya think," Azure said after we exited the room and he turned to look at the showers. "Is our way out of here in one of the shower rooms?" He asked in a joking tone.
I chuckled. "I, unfortunately, doubt it, but we can't not look, y'know?"
Azure nodded understandingly and volunteered to look inside the girls showers.
I opened the door of the boy's showers and saw pretty much what I expected. On the left were fifteen white lockers, and on the right were three standard showers. No windows or anything else was in sight.
There was, however, a tall boy looking through the lockers.
He's quite a bit taller than me, probably standing at around the intimidating height of 6'6". He has bright white hair and equally bright golden eyes that look friendly and welcoming.
He wears a dark grey suit coat, a white dress shirt with a green tie, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.
"Hey," I called. The boy instantly turned around and met me with a warm smile. He looked rather imposing given his height, but it was hard to be scared of him when his face was lit up with a smile. Even his eyes looked like they were smiling...
"Why hello, my good man." He waved, walking over to me. "You are also one of the kidnapped, yes?"
I nodded and introduced myself. His eyes lit up at the mention of my Ultimate talent.
"Ah, excellent! Than you must have heard or seen of me once or twice," He claimed. "My codename here is Silver, a shade of grey, and I'm the Ultimate Television Host!"
Name: ?
Codename: Silver
Ultimate Talent: TV Host
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Yeah, no. Just like with Diamond, I have no idea who Silver is.
"Uh, sorry, but my memory escapes me." I apologized. I hope I don't offend the guy.
Silver nodded. "Ah, so you're like the rest then. Not to sound cocky, but not one person here remembers me, and I host one of the most popular game shows in Japan! I am the host with the most, who sends teams of two out into dangerous obstacle courses all for a prize of a couple of thousand bucks."
"Maybe I'll remember your show once the stress from this situation alleviates," I suggested, trying to stay positive. Hey, maybe this whole situation is some sort of TV show, perhaps hosted by Silver? It'd mean that we weren't in any danger! Highly unlikely, but a boy can dream...
"Perhaps." Silver nodded. "Well, don't stress yourself out too hard trying to remember. It'll come to you when it comes to you."
I nodded. "True. Anyways, anything of importance in here?" I doubted that the locker room would hold the mystery of our captivity, or provide a way to escape, but hey, you never know.
Silver glanced around and shook his head. "Doesn't look like it. I searched every locker and didn't find anything. And of course, the showers also led me nowhere."
"Figures," I sighed. "Didn't expect a shower room to be of much help to us."
"True," Silver chuckled. "But, just a thought: maybe staying here wouldn't be so bad."
I raised a brow in surprise. Does Mr. TV Host want to stay kidnapped forever? "What makes you say that? Wouldn't you rather go back home to your friends and family?" Not to mention your most likely high paying TV host gig?
"Ah, friends and family is something I'll definitely miss," Silver started. "But, we have everything we need here: food, shelter, entertainment, all without having to put in any labor or pay any bills. Isn't that the definition of a utopia?"
I frowned. "I don't think paradise involves being kidnapped against your will."
"Hm, yes, there is that little detail..." Silver muttered, rubbing his chin in thought. "Well, I'm sure we'll find out what's going on in due time. Perhaps all we have to do is wait." Yeah, no...
"I'm going to keep looking around," I protested. "You should too. The more people that're investigating, the faster we'll get out of this place."
Silver claimed he'd continue investigating after his 'little break', but I wasn't so sure.
For some reason, this guy seems like he isn't too bothered by our current predicament. Maybe everything's not OK at home and he'd rather escape his troubles, even if it involves staying in this place. To each his own, I guess, but I'm getting out of here one way or another...
I left the boy's shower room with little more knowledge than I had before, except for the surprising fact that some kidnappees don't mind staying kidnapped.
I walked back into the hallway to find Azure conversing, or at least trying to converse with a rather meek-looking girl.
She has rather messy black hair that reaches her shoulders, with a red bow tied around the left side, and amber-colored eyes.
She wears what appears to be a beige dress shirt under a gray apron with the designs of bolts and screws on it. She also wears a plaid skirt, grey mid-calf length socks and black boots. On her hands are black gloves. She wears what looks like a pouch around her left shoulder. Lastly, she wears a pair of goggles around her neck.
"Ah, this is the guy I was telling you about," Azure said, pointing to me.
The girl nodded, not offering a smile or any words of introduction.
I smiled and waved to her.
She nodded again. Guess she isn't much of a talker.
"I'm Crimson, the Ultimate Actor." I introduced. "It's nice to meet you."
"...My codename here name is Lava, a shade of grey...It's nice to meet you..." She said.
"Uh, do you have an Ultimate Talent?" I asked.
"Oh, that's right...I'm also the Ultimate Tinkerer. Sorry." She said.
Name: ?
Codename: Lava
Ultimate Talent: Tinkerer
Tinkerer, huh? That explains the gloves and the goggles. Heh, she kinda reminds me of that one fairy from that one cartoon.
"Lava here is a little on the quieter side. I found her in the girl's shower room," Azure explained, sheepishly looking downwards. "She was, uh, a little surprised to see a guy in there, but I explained how we were looking around for an escape."
I chuckled at the picture of Azure scaring poor Lava by entering the girl's shower room. "So, is there anything interesting in the girls' shower room?" I asked Lava.
Lava shook her head. "Nope. Just a normal shower room."
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...
Yeah, she definitely isn't much of a talker.
I explained what I had found and my interaction with Silver, to which Lava seemed to perk up.
"That Silver guy...he asked me if I wanted to talk with him instead of looking around..." She revealed. Damn Silver, he's really trying to get some instead of investigating?
"And you declined, I'm guessing?" I asked.
Lava nodded. "Yeah...I didn't really see a point in talking to him..." Hm, pretty blunt, I appreciate it.
And with that, the conversation was pretty much over. Lava said she was going to head back to the dining room to do some writing in a journal. I watched as she slowly walked through the door, looking rather relaxed.
"Well, she's nice isn't she?" Azure smiled, turning towards me.
"Sure." I nodded. She seemed to just prefer to be alone, which I could understand.
"Unfortunately, there wasn't anything in the boys; or girls' shower rooms," Azure said. "Or, uh, any of the rooms recently." He looked genuinely upset for the first time since I've met him.
"Oh God, I feel like I forgot to look somewhere! Or maybe I wasn't looking hard enough? I hope you don't hate-"
"Azure," I interrupted. putting my hands on his shoulder. "Calm down. You've done plenty in looking around and we've both done the best we can to find a way out. We haven't yet, but that's neither of our faults. Let's continue looking around, OK?"
He calmed down as soon as I started talking. "Yeah, you're right," He smiled. Then, with a completely serious tone, he said, "I'm going to hug you and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
And true to his words, he embraced me in a hug. It was a little weird and unexpected, but I guess kinda comforting. It made me realize how much I missed my family, who'd always greet me with a hug after I walked through the door...
After our unexpected hug, I playfully punched him in the shoulder and kept moving. There was another door at the end of this hallway. It was a single, steel one that looked like it should lead to a freezer or something.
I looked at Azure, observing his expression as I reached for the doorknob. He nodded with his usual smile on his face, signaling he was OK now. It was probably just a minor panic attack brought on by this bizarre situation. Not to brag or anything, but I've already had a few myself!
I opened the door.
The room was...interesting, to say the least. It was made of all metal, with lockers on the left side and another door on the opposite end of the one we entered through. There was also a large window next to the door that revealed a staircase leading to another room.
This time, we were greeted by a whopping group of four, all messing with the door.
"I r-really don't think it's going to open, Mauve..." A timid girl said, watching a boy turning the door knob over and over again.
The boy in question, I guess whose codename is 'Mauve' is about my height, and is decently built. His black hair, with purple highlights, is styled into a short undercut style. His eyes are almond-shaped and purple. A scar goes over his right eye.
He wears a purple dress shirt with a purple bowtie, underneath a black vest. He also wears blacks slacks with black dress shoes, and lastly, black gloves.
"Well then, we're at a dead end." Mauve said, looking a little frustrated (an emotion which I've felt the entire time I've been stuck in this place).
The timid girl had a sad frown on her face as she and Mauve dejectedly moved away from the door.
The girl is also around my height and has a rather lanky frame, oddly thin and tall, almost like a flamingo. Her black hair reaches all the way to her thighs, and her eyes are blue. Her skin's a little on the paler side, and she bears a few faint, soot marks scattered across her body.
Her outfit definitely gives me Russia vibes. She wears a fur lined dress with a furry hat that's probably an ushanka. She completes her rather warm wearing outfit with matching fur lined boots and gloves.
Ah, and when I saw her talking before, I noticed she has braces.
Suddenly, a pretty looking girl laughed.
"Oh my God, you guys can't actually be serious?" She asked, I guess directed towards Mauve and 'the timid girl'. "If you give up that easily, the fans won't think very highly of you!"
Well, I have no idea what the hell she's talking about.
She, like Mauve and 'timid girl', is around my height. She has a skinny, but healthy, build.
She has curly dark ginger hair that falls down to her lower back. Her skin is clean and light, and she has bright blue eyes.
She wears a navy sailor school uniform, underneath a yellow fur coat. Lastly, she wears black platform boots (that made the 5'11 girl look more like 6'1") and two gold bangles on her right wrist.
Mauve, 'timid girl', and another boy in the room all looked at her with a face of disbelief as she began to look and, uh, talk to a wall.
"Heyyyy! I know there's probably a camera hidden in there, so I just wanted to take the time and say hi to my fans!" She smirked, flashing a pose.
The other boy shook his head as he watched her.
He's a little on the shorter side, and has a rather skinny build.
He has a classic combination of curly light blond hair with blue eyes (that honestly makes me a little jealous...Damn you, genetics!). He wears a white shirt underneath a black vest, underneath a green coat. He also wears brown shorts and a pair of brown shoes with white socks.
He wears a brown satchel full of ~mysterious~ contents.
"There's no camera in there," Mauve claimed. 'Pretty girl' turned and glared at him.
"What do you know? Have you ever participated in a hidden-camera reality TV show with Junko Enoshima?" She asked, presumably rhetorically.
Mauve didn't answer.
"Thought so," She smirked, turning her head and noticing me and Azure. "Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in, guys!"
Everyone else in the room turned to look at Azure and I, blowing our 'hidden cover'.
"Uh, hi." I waved, a little intimidated by all the prying eyes. "My codename's Crimson, and I'm the Ultimate Acto-"
Before I could finish, 'pretty girl' suddenly hurried over to me and put her hand in mine. "Actor! Oh my gosh, I totally remember you! We worked on a movie together, remember?"
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No, no I didn't. And there's no way I'd forget meeting someone like her.
"No, no I don't." I replied, slowly retracting my hand from hers.
"Oh, well, if I could tell you my name I'm sure you would," She laughed, looking unbothered. "My codename on this show is Royal, a shade of blue. And I am, of course, the one and only Ultimate Runway Model!"
Name: ?
Codename: Royal
Ultimate Talent: Runway Model
Ah, her talent explains her personality: she's a model!
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...
Kidding, of course! Most of the models I've met are, thankfully, nothing like Ms. Full-of-herself over here. She certainly seems to think she's hot stuff, but I really have never seen her before.
"Royal here thinks this whole situation's a TV show," Mauve spoke up, looking vaguely annoyed.
"Because it so obviously is," Royal rolled her eyes. "Crimson's presence here basically confirms it." She turned to me with a sly smile. "You're probably like the mole or something, right?"
"Um, no, sadly," I replied. "Look, I kinda really doubt this is a TV show. We woke up locked in a room, remember?"
Royal shrugged. "Whatever. All I know is that this director better cut out all of that footage of me when I woke up. My makeup was not on point..."
Wow, she really does believe herself. I'm sure there'll be something to snap her out of this daydream, though. Hopefully, it's not anything too scarring, like a death or something...
I introduced Royal to Azure, forcing myself away from a conversation with her, and went to properly introduce myself to Mauve.
He held out a hand when he saw me turning toward him. I shook it.
"Codename's Mauve, a shade of purple. I'm the Ultimate Dealer." He said.
Name: ?
Codename: Mauve
Ultimate Talent: Dealer
Dealer?! Maybe he can hook me up! I could definitely use something right now...
But on closer inspection of his style, I, unfortunately, realized what he meant by dealer.
"You've probably been to Las Vegas, right?" I asked. Any good card dealer has to have been to Sin City.
"Born and raised," He revealed. "I've worked in the family business for as long as I can remember."
"You probably know how to play a good game of poker," I chuckled. "You'll have to play with me sometime."
"Only if you could spread the word of my family's casinos to your friends," Mauve said with a serious tone.
I nodded. "Sure, why not."
Mauve held out his hand again. "Then we have ourselves a deal." I shook it, and he nodded, satisfied.
I bid adieu to Mauve, and moved on to 'timid girl'. She was standing away from everyone else, looking rather lonely.
"Hey," I called. "What's your name? Er, um, your codename."
She looked up with a bit of a startle but smiled upon seeing me. "Oh, my codename's Indigo, a shade of purple. My talent is, uh, the Ultimate Daredevil..."
Name: ?
Codename: Indigo
Ultimate Talent: Daredevil
Daredevil?! As in, doing crazy stunts over lines of cars, walking over hot coals, doing a flip in the air with a motorcycle, shooting yourself out of a cannon?! I couldn't imagine any teen doing any of that, let alone a shy girl like Indigo seems to be. Geez, I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover...
"...Isn't that, like, dangerous?" I asked, genuinely concerned for her well being. She's probably the same age as me, and its crazy to imagine myself doing any crazy stunts, or even being allowed to.
"Um, I've been in a coma once or twice. But I always bounce back," Indigo smiled with an innocent tone in her voice. "I love what I do and know how to stay safe, for the most part."
"I see..." I slowly nodded. "And you just do your stunts- not questions asked by the government or anything?"
"Oh, the government in Russia is not as strict as other places with these sorts of things," She explained. Ah, I knew she had some sort of accent! "And my parents' work allowed me to perform stunts from a young age."
"Huh, you're pretty tall." I remarked, looking her over once again. I was shorter than her, but not dramatically so. "How do you fit into cannons and stuff?"
She blushed. "It is a little difficult for me than other daredevils, but my sister actually designs custom cannons for me, so I can fit in them."
I nodded along as she talked but I still was in disbelief. She's braver than I'll ever be, that's for sure.
I moved on to the boy who was quietly in the corner.
"Hey," I called. He looked at me with a faint smile.
"Oh, I suppose it is time for introductions." The boy said, with an air of formality about him. "My codename is Sage, a shade of green. I'm the Ultimate Illustrator."
Name: ?
Codename: Sage
Ultimate Talent: Illustrator
So jealous. I've always been terrible at drawing, no matter how hard I've tried. It's like I was cursed to always draw like a 6-year-old...
"Oh, cool, you've probably worked on dozens of books, right?" I asked.
"Yes." He answered. "If I could tell you my name, you would most likely recognize it."
"Well, once we get out of here, I'll be sure to check you out," I said.
Sage nodded, and then suddenly pulled a notebook out of his satchel...and just started drawing. Like, right in front of me.
I was a little shocked, and slowly backed away. He showed no reaction whatsoever, almost like he was entirely invested in his drawing.
A little rude, but they do say that artists need to draw something at least once a day in order to keep breathing.
Once introductions were over, I asked the question I'd been thinking about the moment I entered the room.
"So, what is this room?" I asked.
Mauve, Indigo, Royal, and Sage all looked at me, unable to answer.
"No clue." Mauve finally said. "We've been trying to get this door open, but it won't budge."
"And that means that we're at a dead end!" Royal sighed, crossing her arms.
I realized she was surprisingly right. This was the only door left in this hallway, and if it wouldn't open, then we have no choice but to turn back around.
"There's always the other door in the dining room!" Azure suggested.
Mauve shook his head. "There's barely anything there." He revealed. "Just one or two rooms, and then a blocked-off staircase."
I could feel my heart beating faster. If there are no more rooms left, then...
"There really is no way out..." Indigo mumbled, looking rather anxious. I felt the same.
I imagined spending the rest of my life in this weird, creepy, unusually cold building. Or, the alternative, breaking one of the windows and jumping out. We might end up with a few broken bones, but at least we'd be out of this place.
Although, even then, there's no telling where the outside world leads to. We might be stuck in the middle of nowhere; an endless forest, a desert, hell, maybe even outer space.
I could see the looks on everyone's faces as they made the same realization as Indigo. No escape.
Some handled it better than others, however.
"C'mon then." Azure smiled. "Let's head back."
"For what?" Royal huffed. "We checked everywhere, there's no stone left unturned. Doing any further exploring would be totally pointless."
"To regroup," Azure answered. "Let's meet up with everyone and see if there's any new information."
"And if not?" I asked, a little frustrated by his happy-go-lucky attitude. I understand the importance of positivity, but the facts are pretty clear: we're stuck here.
Azure didn't have an answer but gave me a look that told me everything I needed to know. We'd handle it once we got to it...
Sage and Indigo silently agreed to Azure's plan, while Royal reluctantly went along. Mauve was in favor, as he figured that we'd do no good just standing around.
We left the locked-door room in silence and made our way through the various hallways towards the dining room.
I saw no one else in the hallways as we went along, figuring that they too might have come to the realization of there being no escape.
We entered the dining room full of empty emotions. Not an ounce of hope in any of us, even the positive Azure, who I could tell was also as freaked out as the rest of us.
Little did we know at the time, but once we left, we'd be full of nothing but despair...
A/N: Sorry for the wait guys! At the pace that I'm going right now, it's safe to assume you can expect a new chapter every month, unless otherwise stated.
November has been a busy month, but I'm finally on Thanksgiving break (and next month I have Winter break, so I might be able to put out two new chapters in December...)! I finally got the time to polish up this chapter, and publish it.
We have two more characters left to introduce: Scarlet and Emerald. Sorry to their creators for their absence in this chapter, but I didn't want to cram too many characters in here so that you guys wouldn't be able to remember everyone. Please let me know what you think of the characters introduced in this chapter, as well as any theories you may currently have.
Expect something shocking to happen in the next chapter (a little callback to a previous Danganronpa game), which is part of the reason this chapter took so long. You'll understand as soon as the next chapter comes out!
Thank you guys for your support, and I'm looking forward to going on this journey of a story with you guys.