Danganronpa: Corrupted Hope (SYOC)

by SilverMark16

Sixteen people wake up and find themselves in a large, abandoned prison facility with no answers as to why they're there. Instead, they're forced to play a dangerous game of Life and Death. A game known only as a Killing Game, hosted by a sinister man calling himself White Collar and his pet snake, Monohebi.

26. Sums For Our Fallen Grace (Part 6)

Chapter 3: Sums For Our Fallen Grace (Deadly Life #01)

---

Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, gore and blood, sexual innuendos (thanks Maggi- Wait. You're dead now. Meaning there are no sexual innuendos!... Maybe! Hooray!), and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series, most notably the first one. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there!

With that said, please enjoy!

---

Maggie never thought the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell would be the best place for some peace and quiet.

And yet, here she was, standing there as she thought of nothing but everything that had happened recently. That accursed Minigame. If that Minigame could get someone like Barracuda to Distrust her, then White Collar was right: There truly was no God here. Just him. Just him and his cruel punishments…

God.

It hurt so much.

Maggie placed a hand over her heart. She was a girl with needs. Urges. Things she found herself unable to control. Maggie let her mind run amuck before clearing it clean.

Perhaps she deserved her due punishment.

Perhaps she deserved it after breaking another man's heart.

Another man… who she truly really loved…

W-Was it really love, though?

Or was it lust?

Maggie wasn't sure. All she knew was that she fell for him instantly. At first, it was his body that attracted her. All the things she imagined that body could do… Then the personalities and innocence began to seep in. And suddenly…

…her perspective changed.

Lust into love into shame.

Shame.

That was the harsh reality of her world now. She was living in shame. Shame over these feelings she had for someone she could call a friend. Someone she… did… call a friend. Maggie bitterly stared at the wall. This was all her fault. For the first time ever, she recognized it clear as day.

What she did to Barracuda was wrong. What she thought about him. What she fantasized about him. It was all wrong.

Wrong.

Just like what she did to Harry.

It was Harry Harbreak all over again.

"..."

Maggie didn't move. Her mind snapped out of her weakened state. Well, she was still weakened emotionally, but she just chose not to move. She felt a presence. And she clenched her fist. This wasn't what she needed right now.

"So, you're finally here," Maggie frowned. She turned to face someone, her eyes slightly widening at who it was before glancing down. "...I... I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I know what you're here for, so why don't you just get it over with?"

---

CHAPTER 3: SUMS FOR OUR FALLEN GRACE (DEADLY LIFE)

---

"Attention all prisoners," Monohebi's voice once again echoed throughout the facility. "A body has been discovered. After a certain amount of time has passed, the Prison Trial will begin. That is all."

...

"B-Big Sis Maggie?"

Poor Mimi Kazoo could not catch a break. First Yuumi. Now Maggie. She had dropped onto her knees, tears slowly forming from her eyes as she mindlessly stared at both Maggie and Carter's corpses. Judging from how pale and lifeless the bodies were, it seemed like they had died quite a while ago.

So much could happen in those one and a half hours of searching for Ina…

"D-Did I hear the Body Discovery Announcement play twice–" Zuri barged in with Cassandra, Holland, and Arthur. The moment she saw the scene in front of her, she couldn't help but let out a loud, "E–EEEYAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"J-Jesus!" Cassandra looked taken aback by the gruesome double feature before her. "What the fuck?!"

"Two bodies," Arthur grimaced. "Like the two files from the Tragedy…"

"W-Why?!" Zuri covered her mouth in complete shock. "W-Why two?! Who would go and kill two people?!"

"...From the looks of it however, it seems more like they killed each other," Holland remarked.

"Maggie and Carter… killed each other?" Mimi mindlessly asked. A tear started to trickle down her eye. "Maggie and Carter killed each other. B-But why? Why would they do that? Why fight over something so… so…"

"H-Hey kid, calm down," Haruto tried to reassure Mimi. "Look, we'll figure this out. But for now–"

"S-Stop treating me like I'm a little girl Haruto!" Mimi yelled at the former basketball player, who found himself taken aback by her outburst. "I… I want to find who did this. I want to find who did this to Big Sis Maggie! And… And…"

Mimi remembered a face that she knew would instantly be crushed if he found out.

"...And someone needs to tell Barracuda about what happened," Mimi looked down. "Oh God, Barracuda is going to…"

"...One task at a time," Holland stoically stated.

Almost immediately after, Abigail ran into the crime scene with heavy breath. It seemed that she spent most of her time trying to gather up anyone she could to join her to where the body was. And in this case, the last person she could manage to find and bring was of course:

"Two bodies this time, huh?"

Jared walked in after Abigail, though something about him has noticeably changed. His eyes were a little darker. His more composed and leader type complexion was replaced with something more serious. His emotions filled with negativity and his eyes, filled with stress and frustrations.

"Any sign of Ina?" Arthur asked Abigail, worriedly.

"N-No," Abigail looked away. "Still nothing."

Arthur cursed to himself. If she hadn't been found yet then, where was she?!

As the Ultimate Snowboarder did that, Haruto stormed up to Jared, still a little pissed by his actions last night, even though he did supervise the Jared watch with Arthur as well.

"So come here to participate with the group, finally, huh?" Haruto raised an eyebrow. "You need the details to finally get your head back in the game?"

"No need, Abigail already filled me in on the details," Jared shook his head before his gaze darkened. "Someone stole the key to Cell #66 and freed her. Now she's running loose inside this facility and here we are. Two dead bodies and an attempted murder."

Jared turned to Zuri as he lowered his hat.

"Remember when you said I was free to take the leadership role again if I ever decide to return to the group?" Jared asked. "Yeah. I'll be taking that role back."

"H-Hey, wait, you can't just–" Zuri was about to say before Jared interrupted her.

"Can't just what?" Jared clenched his fist. "Look at this place. Two people were killed today. One got shot and is now stuck in the Infirmary. And not only that, you let a convicted attempted murderer escape under your watch!"

"I–" Zuri was about to say before she went quiet. He was right. This all happened under her watch. She was the new leader and yet she let this happen.

Maggie and Carter's deaths.

Barracuda's injury.

Ina's disappearance.

This was… This was all her fault…

Zuri didn't even know how to respond. Her eyes stared only at the ground, shamefully. It was all her fault. Her biggest role as the leader was to keep everyone safe and give them hope and yet all she could fulfill in the end was... failure.

"So, if you don't mind," Jared glared distastefully toward the mess of the crime scene he was staring at. "I'll be taking control of things now-"

"...No, that's not fair, Jared," Holland stepped forward, noticeably more outspoken than he usually was. "Two people died under your watch too. You could've honored their memory and tried to lead us better but instead, you know what you did?"

Jared tightened his fist.

"...You gave up," Holland stoically stared at the police officer. "You gave up and started trying to enact vigilante justice… alone. So much has happened but what did you do to even try to help?"

"I tried to end the Killing Game," Jared glared at Holland.

"...But you didn't," Holland responded.

"Because all of you stopped me from doing so!" Jared yelled. "I had the chance to kill the man who was pulling the fucking strings in this game and you guys just let him live! If I had succeeded, Maggie and Carter would still be alive!"

"...But what if you had failed?" Holland frowned. "...You can't very much say that you deserve to take back the leadership role when you're the one who gave up on that in the first place."

"Guys, guys," Cassandra stepped in, surprisingly. "This isn't helping us with the fact that we have rotting corpses and a missing convict running around this joint. Let's just take a breather and just get to trying to solve this mess."

"Miss Mura is correct."

Everyone turned to the source of that female voice. Who else would refer to each character so formally and have a female voice? Why our favorite MonoMascot snake of course! Monohebi slithered into the crime scene, examining the mess before shaking her head.

"This is no time to argue," Monohebi stated. "Two prisoners have been killed and the Investigation period is soon to begin."

"Then why don't you get this started with and hand us the Autopsy Reports?" Jared folded his arms, noticeably more impatient and determined to get this case all wrapped up.

"Not so fast, Mister Caertas," Monohebi shook her head. "You see, this next Trial will be a little special given the circumstances of the situation for two reasons."

"This is because of it being a double murder, isn't it?" Cassandra narrowed her eyes. "You must have some interesting new rules set in place for this."

"Of course," Monohebi nodded. "As this is your first Double Murder Trial, it is important to recognize the rules and what you should be preparing to discuss during said Trial."

Monohebi slithered around as she stared at Carter and Maggie's bodies.

"Your job in any Double Murder Trial is to discover who the blackened of the first victim is," Monohebi explained.

"The first victim?" Zuri blinked.

"Yes, the first victim," Monohebi nodded. "The victim who was discovered first. You must find the blackened of the first victim as they are technically the priority victim in this case. Finding the blackened of the second victim is entirely optional."

"O-Optional?!" Mimi widened her eyes. "But that's…"

"Those are the rules of the game," Monohebi stated. "I would think you would be happy with that. After all, you wouldn't want to see two prisoners get executed instead of the usual one."

She had a point. One execution was enough as it is. A second was just pushing it.

"And naturally, you won't tell us who the first or second victims are in any given case," Arthur clenched his fist, his mind still wandering to Ina's whereabouts.

"Of course not," Monohebi responded. "Two people here are dead and it is your responsibility to figure out who killed them… or who killed one of them."

"So there's a chance that there could still be only one killer in this case," Abigail noted, tiredly.

"B-But isn't it obvious from how it looks here?" Mimi looked down, specifically at Maggie's pale and lifeless body. "I mean. It looks like Carter and Maggie… killed each other."

"I can neither confirm nor deny those assumptions," Monohebi flicked out her tongue. "All I can say is, use your Investigation time wisely in this Trial. Try too hard to solve for the wrong victim and that just may be extremely detrimental to your case."

In short, Monohebi had explained the rules of this peculiar case. Their job was to find out who killed the first victim in this case. And to determine that, they had to figure out who was discovered first. And to determine that… well, Investigation. What else was there?

As such, this case was a lot more dangerous and riskier than the previous two cases. Shame. They were just getting used to the game mechanics of the Trial. Now there were some added concerning functions to this one.

"What about the other reason?" Jared asked, his face serious.

"Hm?" Monohebi perked her head slightly.

"You said this Trial was special for two reasons," Jared stated. "The new rules were the first reason. What was the second?"

"Ah, yes, of course," Monohebi coiled up near Carter's body. "There is still the matter of the reward. Would you like it now or would you like it–"

"Just give us the damn reward!" Jared glared.

"H-Hey, shouldn't we have considered discussing this before–" Zuri found herself being silenced by Jared's downright angered look. He was clearly not having a good day and with all this disruption in chaos going around, yeah. He was not having it.

"Very well," Monohebi nodded. "As you wish. Your reward will come in the form of Autopsy Reports."

"That's the reward?" Haruto deadpanned. "Just stuff you were going to give us anyway?"

"Actually, one of these Autopsy Reports is updated," Monohebi explained. "There was an error in determining the time of death for one of the victims, which I'm sure you all are very used to at this point. Fortunately for you, with this reward, that should solve one mystery out of the many mysteries you have to solve."

"Finally, a working time of death," Abigail sighed in relief. "For both victims no doubt, I bet."

"That does seem to be the case," Monohebi nodded her head before everyone's eHandbooks started to ping and vibrate.

The Autopsy Reports had already been sent to everyone, meaning it was time to start the–

"Wait, what about Ina?" Arthur stepped forward, looking slightly desperate. "Where is my sister?!"

"Half-sister, Mister Kingston," Monohebi corrected before shaking her head. "But yes, now that you mention it, I remembered something. Wherever she is, could you please relay the new rules to her? I hate repeating myself to others…"

"Th-That… Do you not know where–?" Arthur tried to say before Monohebi cut him off.

"Either case, I believe this the perfect time to announce," Monohebi began to say before announcing her signature Investigation announcement:

"Let the Investigation commence. Good luck Prisoners."

---

[INVESTIGATION BEGIN]

---

(Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell)

This was it.

The Investigation Period.

And this time, Jared took charge of the scene. Currently at the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell however, was him, Mimi, and Arthur. Jared for obvious reasons but it seemed that Arthur was a little distraught over where his sister could be. And Mimi? Well, Mimi was doing Mimi things and mourning someone she cared about.

Guess he was on his own to investigate the crime scene by himself.

So, to start, Jared checked the first thing he wanted to check. His eHandbook—

…Wait.

Fuck.

That's right.

He didn't have it. Abigail still had it and she had gone off with Haruto to investigate other areas of Cell Block C. Guess he was going in semi-blind. He turned to the nearest person: Mimi, whose eyes couldn't stray away from Maggie's body.

"Hey, Mimi, I'm going to need your eHandbook," Jared sighed.

Mimi blankly stared at Maggie for a bit.

"Mimi," Jared sternly called out, prompting Mimi to turn and gasp slightly.

"A-Ah!" Mimi yelped in shock. "S-Sorry. D-Did you need–"

"eHandbook," Jared held out his hand. "I need to borrow yours. Mine is still with Abigail's."

"O-Oh," Mimi looked down before reaching into her pockets and handing it back to the police officer. "H-Here. S-Sorry. I'm just sad that Big Sis Maggie was…"

"Killed?" Jared said with hardly any tact. "You know she would still be alive had I blown White Collar's dick to bits…"

Jared clenched his fist as he held onto Mimi's eHandbook.

"...But I guess it was my fault for hesitating," Jared mumbled to himself.

He was clearly still mad about last night. Couldn't blame him. He really thought he had a chance to dismantle the Killing Game. He was willing to die for it too. But now he was still…

Jared opened Mimi's eHandbook, bypassing the Isadora de la Vega information and heading straight toward the Autopsy Report application. Then, seeing two new Autopsy Report files, filed in alphabetical order. He selected the first one.

Victim: Carter Franklin

Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to the side of the head.

Time of Death: Estimated to be around 6:00 PM

Somewhat precise.

Definitely straightforward.

Nothing much he needed to check there.

Never once changing that gloomy yet determined expression on his face, Jared switched to the next new Autopsy Report file.

Immediately however, as soon as he did so, a prompt flashed across the screen:

[UPDATE COMPLETE]

Then the information:

Victim: Maggie LaDroubi

Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to the top of the head.

Time of Death: Estimated to be around 6:00 PM

Somewhat precise.

Definitely straightforward.

Almost the same.

Except, there were now two things on Jared's mind after reading the new Autopsy Reports. The cogs and wheels in his brain began to churn, allowing him to vocally speak out his inner thoughts.

"So Maggie and Carter died at the exact same time…" Jared noted. "Both at 6:00 PM. It also seems that Maggie was the one with the updated Time of Death. Thank God for the reward I guess."

"H-Hey, did you just say 6:00 PM?" Mimi's slightly intimidated voice popped into Jared's train of thought.

Turning to her, Jared gave her an uncaring stare.

"Yeah, what about it?" he asked.

"Well, that's kind of a crazy coincidence," Mimi noted. "Because before I went to go find the bodies, Barracuda told me something at the Infirmary…"

---

"My memory of whatever happened before I got shot is a little hazy," Barracuda rubbed his head. "I… I just remember all that pain. Even now, it still hurts. Hurts to move. Hurts to remember…"

"Hey hey, it's okay," Mimi assured him. "You don't have to push yourself. But is there at least anything you do remember besides, well, pain?"

Barracuda tried to think. He winced in pain before sighing.

"All I can remember is the time when I got shot," Barracuda rubbed his head. "It was around 6:00 PM, I would say. I must've seen the clock before I did…"

---

"Barracuda was attacked at… 6:00 PM as well?" Jared blinked, slightly confused. "Hm, and not only that but in an entirely different location too."

"What a crazy coincidence," Arthur remarked on the sidelines. He let his back rest against the wall as he let his worries for Ina run wild. "Two incidents. All happening at 6:00 PM. In two separate locations. The Therapy Room is also quite far from this Cell as well."

"Could it be that we're dealing with two murderers and an attempted murderer?" Mimi looked scared at the thought. "But that would mean three culprits in one Trial!"

"Or one murderer and an attempted murderer," Arthur listed. "Or two murderers and one of them happens to be a teleporting attempted murderer. Or–"

"Look, we get it," Jared pointed a stare toward Arthur. "You're worried about Ina. But if you're just going to confuse the heck out of us, then I suggest you leave and go annoy someone else."

"...Ina…" Arthur looked down, slightly miserable.

Jared had to admit. He'd never seen Arthur this down before. Not that he cared. The man was partly responsible for Yuumi's death so he supposed this is what he would call just desserts. In either case, Jared handed Mimi back her eHandbook and examined the bodies.

…

When Jared squatted down to check the bodies, he was reminded of how disgusted he felt with the previous two victims: Titus and Yuumi.

Seeing their lifeless bodies and realizing that someone among them had killed them. Realizing that as a police officer, he failed to do his duty and protect them. Realizing that the only way he could've protected them was to eliminate the one who placed them in this situation in the first place. That… maybe they would have still been alive had he had done that in the first place…

He clenched his fist, gritting his teeth slightly.

Jared won't rest until he finds every nook and cranny…

…So he started with the first body that he was next to: Carter's.

Carter's body was lying on the side. What was underneath him wasn't the mess that had belonged to the current state of Kane's Right Ultimate Cell (to which Kane in the afterlife can't complain about because he has a whole other Cell to himself), but rather a blue tarp. Blood was noticeably dried up on the side of his head and there was a hammer right next to body as well.

"The side of his head has blood on it," Mimi grimaced at the sight.

"Well, yeah, that's where he was hit on the head," Jared stated the obvious for her. "From what? I would say the hammer next to him."

"This hammer…" Mimi instinctively grabbed the hammer to examine it closer. In fact, the instinct was so fast that Jared had no time to announce that because this was the crime scene, no one should be touching anything due to contamination of the crime scene.

…

When Mimi examined the hammer closely however, there were two key details to note. The first was:

"Hey, this hammer says Justice Hammer #1!" Mimi exclaimed.

"Justice Hammer #1?" Jared blinked before trailing his eyes toward the wall where he remembered seeing hammers being displayed.

Sure enough, one of the display case hammers was missing!

"Yeah, this hammer must've come from that wall over there," Jared noted. "I remember coming here with Cassandra. If I'm not mistaken, there should be three hammers on that wall, labeled exclusively Justice Hammer #1, Justice Hammer #2, and Justice Hammer #3."

"But only Justice Hammer #1 was taken and used," Mimi surmised. "Which means, Carter was killed with the hammer in this room!"

"...Or maybe he used it himself," Jared's eyes slowly trailed back to Maggie's body as well as remembering what Mimi's assumptions were. Especially since Maggie had another hammer next to her body too. He was going to have to check that later.

"Well, I guess you could be right about that too," Mimi's skin chilled to the bone upon discovering what was on the head of the hammer.

A bloodstain.

And not the dried-up bloodstain like all the hammers both Cells had, but these ones were noticeably fresh.

"A fresh bloodstain," Jared noted in his head. "So maybe Carter really did use this to kill Maggie."

"W-Why Carter?" Mimi didn't want to believe that. She knew Carter was more of a lone wolf but for him to go and kill Maggie. If that was the case, then he truly did deserve it… "Why would you kill Maggie like that?"

"For the money, why else?" Jared answered bluntly. "As soon as the Minigame was played, I knew people would act. I just didn't know who. But… I guess we kinda know, now."

Mimi clutched onto the Justice Hammer she held. She was noticeably frustrated. If this was true, then she had yet another person to be disappointed in. To disapprove of their actions. To just be so… so angry… at…

…But she let her emotions get the best of her as the hammer slipped out of her hand and fell onto the ground, breaking into pieces.

"Ah!" Mimi gasped. "O-Oh no!"

"D-Did you just break the murder weapon?" Jared stared at the broken hammer on the ground, flabbergasted. Such unprofessionalism!

"I– I didn't mean to!" Mimi exclaimed. "I… I didn't even know hammers could break like that!"

"...They usually don't," Jared rubbed his chin in thought. "I wonder…"

Jared moved away from the bodies for a second, heading straight for the display cases of hammers in the back. He walked past the trolley that was noticeably there as well but focused more so on retrieving the other two hammers. Once he retrieved them, he did exactly as Mimi did and dropped them onto the ground.

And almost pathetically, both hammers shattered into puzzle like pieces on the ground.

"What the deuce are you doing?" Arthur jumped, staring at Jared in bewilderment. "Are you trying to create a larger mess than it already is?!"

"Just testing a theory," Jared noted. "It seems like these hammers are extremely fragile. One use with these and they break."

Jared sighed, shaking his head.

"Guess with that confirmation out of the way, think you can help me reassemble these hammers and put them back into the display case?" Jared asked.

"I can try!" Mimi nodded as she hurried to Jared's side and tried to put the pieces of the hammers together.

…

It took a long time and they had not been able to do so.

"I… Th-The pieces aren't fitting!" Mimi yelped.

"Maybe you're putting it together wrong," Jared frowned.

"Why don't you try putting it together then?!" Mimi frowned back.

"Almost like a bunch of children," Arthur sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You help too, Arthur!" Mimi ordered.

…

In the end, none of the hammers were able to be put back together. The hammers weren't just fragile. They were cheaply made. And they were clearly a one-time use object.

"There they go," Arthur sighed. "Three perfectly good objects, now riddled to pieces of… trash."

"I'm sorry about the first one but the other two were all Jared!" Mimi accused the police officer.

"You broke yours first," Jared folded his arms, looking unamused.

Just realizing this about the hammers made him think back to something he had already noticed with Cassandra back when they had first examined this room.

---

"Looks like a camera for 12-year old girls," Jared answered honestly. "And it's… 4000 dollars?! For a cheap-looking camera like that?!"

Cassandra tossed the camera down onto the ground. As soon as she did, the camera, along with the girl this belonged to's dreams, shattered into pieces.

"Yep, cheap," Cassandra muttered. "What a ripoff."

"Ripoff?" Jared frowned. "More like a scam if I'm being honest."

---

Every object in this room was fragile and cheap. So it was no surprise that the hammers were as well. But if that was the case, then what did this mean for the murder now? Jared wasn't sure but he continued on to examine Carter's body.

…

When Jared continued to examine the body, his attention was attuned to the blue tarp that Carter's body had been laying on. Or rather, it was kind of like a tarp. Maybe more of a cloth. Cotton-based material if he had to guess. But in either case, the tarp itself was larger than Carter. Maybe as tall as Arthur and probably as wide as the muscular Barracuda.

The police officer's eyes trailed to Mimi, who seemed to stare at it rather intently.

"Something wrong?" Jared raised an eyebrow.

"I… I don't know," Mimi blinked.

"What do you mean?" Jared asked.

"...I feel like I've seen this somewhere before," Mimi tapped her chin. "It's on the tip of my hat but it's just so familiar!"

She massaged the side of her forehead with her fingers as she closed her eyes, trying hard to manufacture any thought where she might've seen this blue tarp. Then all of a sudden, she yelled out:

"Memory Spell, Enchanted!" Mimi declared.

…Nothing happened.

"So, you remember anything yet?" Jared stared at her, unamused.

Mimi pouted.

"No," she answered.

"Let's get back to the Investigation," Jared merely said before glancing back at Carter's body.

Mimi mentioned that the blue tarp looked familiar. But he wasn't sure what Mimi might have been referring to. Perhaps she'll remember the more they investigate. Whatever the case was, Jared focused more on checking underneath the tarp… Which… he really didn't find much of anything.

Just the aftermath of debris of some of the objects Cassandra had destroyed when they had investigated this room. Like that cheap-looking pink camera thing. That was surprisingly still there underneath the tarp.

Tucking the blue tarp back onto the ground, Jared decided to move on to the next body…

…

…Maggie's body.

Maggie's body had rested near Carter's but there were some key differences between the two corpses. For starters and most simply put, Maggie's body was resting on the cold hard floor and not on the blue tarp like Carter was. However, most importantly though, she was… wet. Before you say, "That's what she said", I meant what I said.

Maggie was wet.

Her hair was wet, though drying, and the area surrounding her body had an unpatterned array of water puddles. Small yet visible. So in short, Maggie was wet. And not in the way you think…

Oh, and of course, she too had a hammer that was found right next to her body.

"There's a lot of water puddles where Maggie was killed," Mimi noted.

"Some are close to drying up, so they've obviously been there for a while," Jared nodded in agreement. "Same with her hair."

Jared peered over to her head as soon as he mentioned her hair. He remembered seeing the Autopsy Report mention where exactly the killing blow was: the top of her head. Peering over to that spot, there he saw it. A drying patch of blood on the top of her head.

"...Speaking of hair, that's the killing blow alright," Jared murmured before trying to think to himself.

His mind went back to why she was wet. After all, it was quite an odd thing to note from Maggie in particular. Why was she wet in the first place? It couldn't be the fact that she took a shower before her death or anything like that. Jared's eyes trailed around, attempting to think of any plausible theories, his eyes landing on the blue tarp. Scratching his head, the best thing he could come up with…

"Maybe that's why the blue tarp was used," he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Mimi blinked.

"Nothing, just rambling to myself," Jared sighed.

He noted just how much ghoulishly the deceased Maggie looked compared to Carter. He's seen dead bodies look just as ghoulishly before. And like all ghoulish dead bodies, Jared figured that maybe the body temperatures between both bodies might help decipher who may have died first.

So, he placed a finger onto Maggie's bare arm. For Investigation purposes of course!

She would've liked that.

As soon as he did though however, everything felt cold. What did he expect? Dead corpses usually are cold. At least that was what he thought… Jared scratched his head and then touched Carter's body for comparison.

"Er, what are you doing?" Mimi asked.

"Checking body temperatures," Jared stated. "Maggie's body is both a bit colder and stiffer than Carter's. And the water all over her might have been the reason why Maggie's Autopsy Report got that error that Monohebi mentioned."

"Ah, you mean Maggie's Autopsy was the one that got updated from the reward?" Mimi asked. Of course. She never did get to check to see herself. She was too distracted and her eHandbook was lent to Jared during that time.

"Yeah," Jared nodded. "The water might have also made her body a little more colder than it should've."

Jared paused to think for a moment.

"But that's just a working theory," Jared shrugged. "Can't be too sure on that just yet."

"Huh, but it sounds reasonable!" Mimi blinked.

"The only thing I'm stuck on is, why?" Jared grumbled. "Why the water? Where did the water come from?"

After a few moments of silence, Jared shook his head. He couldn't wrap his head around it. The facts that he knew for sure, remained though. Maggie's body was colder and stiffer than Carter's. Her body was coated and surrounded by small water puddles and droplets. And everything could easily relate to the situation regarding her Updated Autopsy Report.

…

The next thing that was examined was of course, the weapon that was situated next to Maggie. Like Carter, she too had another hammer by her side. But here was the conundrum now: if all three hammers from the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell were already here, where did this fourth one come from?

"Another hammer!" Mimi gasped, picking it up on instinct. "Was this used to kill Maggie?"

"Maybe, just be careful not to–" Jared was too late.

Mimi dropped the hammer in an effort to test to see if it was just as fragile as the other hammers. Spoiler: it was not. The hammer was dropped to the ground, even almost as far as nearly bouncing off of the floor from how hard Mimi tossed it down.

"...drop it," Jared sighed.

"I just wanted to see if this hammer was like the other hammers," Mimi pouted before looking down. "It was not."

"Of course," Jared nodded. "This Right Cell only had three hammers. All of which we proved were just as fragile as the other. This one here, though… It doesn't belong here."

This time, it was Jared's turn to pick up the hammer. Leaving it to the professionals was always a necessity after all. He examined every nook and cranny of the hammer, noting two important pieces of information.

"Justice Hammer #4…" Jared read out.

"Justice Hammer #4?" Mimi blinked. "Where could that have been found?"

Jared remembered hearing something about that since these rooms first opened up. It was something that was mentioned to him by…

---

"...Hey, did your version of the Ultimate Cell have hammers with blood on them?" Jared asked Zuri and Holland.

"Um, yeah it did!" Zuri nodded enthusiastically. "We had two hammers, in fact!"

"...One dubbed Justice #4 and the other a boring plain hammer," Holland told Jared.

"That's different too," Cassandra rubbed her chin in confusion. "We had three hammers. But they were labeled #1, #2, and #3."

---

"...The Left Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell," Jared rubbed his chin.

"Eh?!" Mimi gasped. "That's directly across from this Cell! How did that hammer end up here in the first place?!"

Mimi made a good point. A totally different hammer from a nearly different Ultimate Cell. Jared had to admit. This case really was a peculiar one. So many parallels. So many mirrors. Weapons appearing from different Cells. Two similar deaths in the same room. Plus, an attack occurring at the same time.

Jared had no idea how they were going to be able to solve any of this, but they've managed to achieve impossible feats of logic before right?

"I-Is there anything else on that hammer?" Mimi asked. "Like blood or anything like that?"

"Yeah," Jared nodded. "Though, the blood has dried up a bit compared to how fresh Carter's hammer was."

"I see," Mimi frowned. "Maybe if we found them sooner, that blood would be as fresh as the other hammer."

"...Maybe," Jared sighed as he set the hammer back down next to Maggie's body. He supposed that was all that was left to check of the bodies. It was best that he continued on to other things.

…

The next thing Jared decided to shift his focus on was the trolley that he had to brush past to get to the hammers. Why the trolley? Well, because the trolley itself was in a place where it wasn't supposed to be: the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell.

---

A purple, cracked urn on display on the right. That Pudgy Princess camera in the middle. The Robo Justice suit on the left. A broken laptop with an old telephone on the left near the entrance of this Cell! They were all there, but the only slight difference is the fact that each display had a price tag on them that ranged from 5000 to 10000 dollars in hard, cold cash.

Also different were the hammers hanging in the back of the room. For starters, instead of two hammers, there were three. And instead of one hammer being plain, all three hammers had the same look as Justice Hammer #4. Only these were respectively labeled as Justice Hammer #1, Justice Hammer #2, and Justice Hammer #3. Right below these displays was a lack of a trolley as well.

---

"This wasn't here before," Jared remarked.

"Eh, it wasn't?" Mimi blinked. "Then where was it originally–"

"The Left Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell," Arthur answered, still sitting on the ground as he listened in to the conversation. "I recall seeing it when we went to see if Kane really did have two Cells."

"But then, why would something from the Left Cell be moved to the Right Cell?" Mimi questioned.

That was the question indeed. And the only way to solve such a question was to do a little investigating. Jared took the liberty of examining the trolley. After all, he wasn't going to rest until he searched through every nook and cranny.

…

The first nook and cranny he found was on the handle of the trolley. Upon closer inspection, there was a bloody imprint on one of the sides of the handlebars. Though whatever pattern the imprint was, Jared couldn't tell.

"There's a bloody imprint here," Jared narrowed his eyes.

"What is that?" Mimi blinked. "What kind of imprint would leave like this… strange, oval, semi-circle mark?"

"No idea," Jared shook his head. "But you'd be surprised to see what patterns blood splatter can create."

"Huh?" Mimi blinked once again. "Are you saying that this was just a result of blood splatter? Even the great witch can't create art with just blood!... Wait. Maybe they can…"

"Regardless, this is an important clue," Jared stated. "Best we take note of it."

And so, Jared took note of it in his Court Record or Organizer or Truth Bullet– Whatever he would use. Probably Truth Bullet but whatever. Mimi on the other hand took the liberty of examining the trolley a little bit further and what she found was…

…

"Ah, there's more blood here!" Mimi gasped, as she laid on the ground, eyes pointed directly on the floor.

"W-Where?" Jared narrowed his eyes.

"The wheels!" Mimi exclaimed. "Look! See?"

Jared laid down, chest-down first, in order to see what Mimi was talking about. And sure enough, there was a dried-up bloodstain on the wheels of the trolley. But what could that possibly mean?

"Huh, blood on wheels," Jared rubbed his chin. "Usually, you see blood on wheels in hit and run cases."

"C-Could it be?" Mimi widened her eyes slightly. "The trolley was used to… run over the bodies?!"

"They both died from blunt force trauma," Jared frowned. "And pushing a trolley toward someone isn't enough to really kill someone. Are you really joking around in a time when we need to be serious?"

"I… I wasn't joking," Mimi looked down, ashamed.

She really thought the trolley had to be used to run over corpses?!

...

"Alright," Arthur sighed as he stood up. "I suppose we have already investigated everything here. Can we leave now?"

"We?" Jared raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about but it's really only me and Mimi who've been doing all the work here. What have you really done besides sit here throughout everything?"

Mimi slightly beamed at being recognized for her help. Especially since it came from Jared, who even though he was in a crappy mood, still found the need to compliment her efforts.

"You know the more important thing here right now is finding Ina," Arthur frowned. "She… She still hasn't been found. And while we're wasting away investigating a double murder, she could be…"

"How is that the most important thing right now?" Jared rolled his eyes.

"She's my bloody sister, you insensitive sheep," Arthur narrowed his eyes.

"Pot calling the kettle black," Jared glowered up toward him (cause y'know, Arthur is much taller). "If you're so worried, then why didn't you just go off to search for her yourself?

"Ughhhhh…."

"I needed someone to accompany me," Arthur frowned. "You two were the only available subjects at the time."

"Should've gone with one of the others that left, then," Jared lowered his hat.

Yeah, he's never liked Arthur. Always found him too suspicious. Too much like he's hiding something. Even if he has some sympathetic qualities now, he wasn't going to have it easy by a long shot. Criminals with sympathetic reasonings for what they did chose their path. Why should they be treated any differently?

"Ughhhh…."

"Um, did you guys hear…" Mimi slowly trailed off as she turned around.

"But I–" Arthur was about to argue before.

"EEEEEEEP!" Mimi let out a scream, alerting both the snowboarder and police officer to turn toward her.

Similarly, the two were taken aback by what they saw, though neither one screamed like Mimi did. All that was riding on their faces were shock and confusion. Because what they were hearing and seeing was of course, some shuffling occurring inside the Robo Justice suit.

"D-Did the Spirit of Lawson the Lamb climb into Robo Justice?!" Mimi exclaimed in fear.

"Why do we still feel the need to mention that accursed thing?" Arthur gritted teeth as he stood his ground. He wasn't going to let a silly thing like Robo Justice scare him! He was Arthur fucking Kingston. The eldest son of the Kingston family! He wasn't going to…

"Ughhhhhh…."

…Arthur continued to stand his ground as he folded his arms.

"Jared, go check it out," Arthur merely stated.

"Are you serious right now?" Jared turned to Arthur, abruptly. Bloody coward.

"As a police officer, you're supposed to isolate the situation," Arthur remarked. "Take charge. You wanted the leadership role from Zuri? Prove it."

"You're just spewing shit from your ass," Jared cursed under his breath as he did as he was told.

Regardless of whether he was following Arthur's orders or didn't want to, he did so anyway just to get this mystery over with. Whatever was inside the Robo Justice suit was struggling a little weakly as they made that same hoarse groan from their throat. If they even had a throat!

"Ughhhhhhhh…."

He wasn't going to lie.

Jared was experiencing some nervousness over what he might see hidden behind the Robo Justice suit. Inch by inch, Jared took a deep breath before he slowly took off the head of the Robo Justice suit, only to find…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"...I-It's- oof-" Jared was about to say before he was rudely shoved aside onto the ground.

"I-INA!" Arthur, the aforementioned shover, raced to hug his half-sister immediately.

Sure enough, Ina was inside, though a little dazed. She looked absolutely terrible. Her hair was a mess. Bags had begun to form under her eyes. Probably because she was just starting to experience insomnia like Abigail already had. But the most important thing now was that she was awake. Awake enough to feel the warm embrace of her otherwise cold half-brother.

"A-Arthur?" Ina weakly asked.

"D-Don't say anything," Arthur hugged her, even when she was still wearing the suit. "J-Just let me…"

Arthur grimaced slightly before his eyes started to tear up.

"I thought you were…" Arthur hugged her tighter. "I really thought I lost you, Ina. I really did. I held out to the hope that you were safe and sound. That you were…"

Arthur let a tear slide down his cheek.

"G-Guh," Arthur tried to hold it back. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't lose you. I just couldn't…"

"A-Arthur?" Ina blinked toward Arthur.

She was surprised that this was the first thing she would see when she awoke. Her half-brother… After all this time. After all this time of doubting him, it finally got into her head. But she was still confused. It finally got into her head, and she was still confused about it all. The half-brother she hated. The half-brother who shared the same face as her father.

He truly did… care about her?

"N-No, don't say anything," Arthur took a deep breath as he wiped away that stray tear. "Can you get out of the suit?"

"E-Er, no," Ina shook her head. "I… I cannot move in this suit. It is like a tomb. I suppose this suit is like a punishment for my…"

"Don't say that," Arthur shook his head. "No. Whoever did this to you will pay. They will pay for what they have done to the daughter of the Kingston family."

Ina glanced toward Arthur. Was he actually serious about this? Judging by his face, it really looked like he was. She bit her lip down and said nothing until it was Jared and Mimi's time to interrupt this happy reunion with a serious talk.

"J-Jared, M-Mimi?" Ina blinked. "I suppose it is time for me to return to…"

She trailed off. Jared looked more serious than he usually did. Of course, Ina had no idea what Jared tried to do. And Mimi looked more hateful than she usually did. This time, Ina did have an idea on what this was about… but not what she actually thought.

"How can you act all weak and innocent?" Mimi glared at Ina. "Don't you know what you did?!"

"...Y-Yes," Ina looked down. "And I am sorry. I am sorry for what happened to Yuumi. What you lost, what happened to Yuumi and Mayu. It is all my fault. I… I killed them…"

Mimi was slightly taken aback by her apology, but she stood firm and clenched her small, tiny fists.

"You didn't just kill them," Mimi started to heat up. "You killed Carter and Maggie too. You killed them didn't you–"

"Mimi, that's enough!" Arthur turned to coldly stare at the little fairytale son of a witch.

"W-What?" Ina widened her eyes. "C-Carter and M-Maggie?"

"You killed them!" Mimi accused. "You killed the two of them! You probably also attacked Barracuda as well! You evil, horrible person!"

"Jared, Ina doesn't need more stress put on her!" Arthur demanded. "Escort her away immediately!"

Jared stood over Ina, his eyes far from feeling any sort of remorse for whatever was going on between Arthur and Ina. Bastard daughter and the son who tried to escape his corrupt lifestyle. Criminals. The lot of them. He shook his head.

"Sorry Arthur," Jared said. "But Ina is under suspicion for the murder of Carter and Maggie."

"Y-You too?" Arthur widened his eyes. "Y-You know this is ludicrous. You're just siding with Mimi just to spite me!"

"Not really," Jared shook his head. "I'm siding with her because she's got a point. I mean, Ina was here at the scene of the crime in that Robo Justice suit. For all we know, she could've killed our two victims and hid herself inside the suit."

"Th-That's preposterous!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Maybe," Jared lowered his hat. "But hey, it's the only thing we got going for sure. An actual suspect."

"I-Ina doesn't have to hear this!" Arthur stood up. "C-Come on Ina. We're going to take you out of that suit and head straight toward the Infirmary!"

"Well, if you think she's innocent, why not give me the chance to ask her for some information?" Jared asked, perking his head slightly. "I mean, don't you want to know her side of the story."

"I'll hear her side of the story at the Infirmary," Arthur frowned before coldly glaring at Mimi and adding, "By myself."

"No can do," Jared shook his head. "We're doing it here. Now. And then Ina can go to the Infirmary. Wouldn't want you to change her testimony now, would we?"

"Why you–" Arthur clenched his fist.

The system was against him. Everything, all against him, a Kingston. Someone who was born with everything and should have everything, no matter how much he tried to escape from it. Somehow, this feeling. It felt… familiar…

"N-No, I will tell my side of the story," Ina looked down. "It is best if they know about it. After all, we are in the middle of an Investigation are we not?"

"That's right," Jared nodded.

Ina looked back toward Arthur. With no other choice, the older Kingston agreed to Ina's request and Jared's demands.

…

"My memory is still relatively hazy," Ina began to tell her side of the story. "But I remember it being like any other day inside Cell #66. I lost track of time, so I do not exactly remember when this was but the door to my Cell suddenly… opened."

Ina paused for a bit to recollect her thoughts.

"I suppose I had thought that it was Arthur who unlocked it, but no one was there greeting me," Ina stated. "So, I walked outside. And then that was when I felt a pinch against my neck…"

Ina instinctively touched her neck as she said that. She trailed off into mere silence. She shuddered slightly, clutching her head a bit.

"I… I am sorry," Ina looked down. "That is all I remember…"

Mimi scoffed, glancing away.

Jared seemed relatively unconvinced.

"She has to be telling the truth," Arthur frowned. "Zuri, Mimi, and I found the object that pinched her neck."

Arthur showed off the syringe that he had found with Zuri and Mimi back at Cell #66. Of course, Mimi recognized it, but Jared still remained skeptical. And it also seemed like Mimi wasn't going to change her stance anytime soon.

"So what?" Mimi pouted. "That's not going to prove her innocence. For all we know, it had nothing in it."

"But it did," Arthur gestured to the fact that the syringe literally had traces of some unknown substance. "You can see it inside here."

"Yeah, but maybe the stuff inside it spilled out or something," Mimi adamantly declared.

"Jared," Arthur turned to the police officer for assistance.

At this point, Arthur was begging for the cop to do something about these possible false accusations against his half-sister. But the evidence of her being at the crime scene outweighed more than her own story. It was clear that Jared was already going to side with Mimi on this.

"...Sorry," Jared sighed before shrugging. "Still not buying it. We'll discuss this more over the Trial, but until now, Ina is currently suspect number one in these incidents."

"Blasphemous!" Arthur cursed. "I'm not going to sit around and let her listen to this! Ina, come on, let's go to the Infirmary."

With some trouble, Arthur had to get her out of the Robo Justice suit, which she had little to no mobility in. However, once he had succeeded in getting her out, he immediately helped her weakened body out of the crime scene and in the direction of the Infirmary. Ina's legs had yet to wake up, so Arthur had to have the courtesy of carrying her himself, princess-style, leaving behind her two accusers.

…

And Mimi watched them leave, she huffed and turned to Jared, who she shouldn't really be talking to because the man's a little on the edgy side right now, but hey, witches like her go through phases too, so who was she to judge?

As she folded her arms, Mimi pouted.

"Who does Arthur think he is?" Mimi asked. "Protecting that murderer like that?"

Jared said nothing. Instead, he shifted his focus onto the Robo Justice that Ina was found in. He rubbed his chin in thought. If he had remembered correctly, what happened to the Robo Justice in the Right Ultimate Cell was…

---

"Hm, I wonder," Cassandra rubbed her chin curiously. She walked up to the Robo Justice suit and eyed it cautiously. At first glance, it looked pretty heavy. And not only that, the price tag suggested this be 10000 dollars.

Rolling her eyes, Cassandra pushed the Robo Justice in this Ultimate carbon copy Cell onto the side. Almost instantly, once it hit the ground, Robo Justice dismantled itself into nothing but cardboard and dried up glue.

"…10000 dollars my ass, they're all ripoffs," Cassandra narrowed her eyes.

---

"This Robo Justice suit is supposed to be broken," Jared hummed in thought. "So why…?"

Jared's eyes trailed down toward what the Robo Justice suit was laying on top of. That's when he understood it and grimaced to himself.

"I see," Jared murmured to himself.

"What do you see?" Mimi asked, curious. "Don't leave me out of it! I want to help investigate too!"

"You see what's on the ground, right?" Jared asked Mimi.

"It looks like…" Mimi squinted her eyes.

When it took a moment for Mimi to decipher what exactly Jared was referring to, the police officer figured that the Robo Justice suit had pretty much obscured her vision of recognition. So, he moved the suit away, toppling it to the side.

"A-Ah!" Mimi gasped. "Another Robo Justice suit! Only this one looks way cheaper than the one Ina was found in. It's broken too!... Wait…"

"Yeah, I imagine you saw it too when you investigated this Cell a few days ago," Jared nodded. "The one that Cassandra broke was a replica of this Robo Justice suit here."

"So then, does that mean that suit came from…" Mimi blinked.

"The Left Cell?" Jared finished Mimi's train of thought. "Maybe. Maybe we can also find a clue somewhere on the suit too though."

With no time to waste, the two decided to investigate the suit. Every nook and cranny was searched but instead, they had found nothing. In other words, the suit was clean. No traces of any DNA except maybe some from Ina, but that was inside the suit.

"No clue," Mimi looked down, disappointed.

"But Ina did mention that she couldn't move inside the suit," Jared said. "Why don't you go put it on and test out her claim?"

"Eh?!" Mimi looked bewildered by Jared's request. "Wear that thing?! But I'm too short for it!"

"Fine, I'll do it," Jared sighed.

He had no time to argue. He wanted to check other places and dressing up in the Robo Justice outfit was something that he needed to get done as soon as possible. So, without further ado, Jared worked to put on the suit, piece by piece.

…

"So, can you move?" Mimi asked as she watched him struggle to put the pieces of the suit on.

"I'm literally off-balance," Jared grunted. "You really can't move in a suit like this. Damn! What kind of idiot would design a suit that's entirely immobile?!"

"I guess maybe that's why the suit was stored in Kane's Ultimate Cells… or at least the Left one," Mimi pondered.

"Whatever, just help me take these pieces off…" Jared sighed as Mimi hurriedly rushed to help out the police officer.

…

With the theory tested and the bodies fully investigated, they had already investigated enough here but it wouldn't hurt to take another look. Except, it probably would cause they were on a time limit. Shaking his head, Jared and Mimi glanced toward each other in a small moment of silence.

"Now what?" Mimi broke the silence.

"We might have to check Kane's Left Cell for some clues," Jared answered. "If we still have time after that, then maybe the Therapy Room since I want a good look at where Barracuda was attacked."

"Sounds good," Mimi nodded.

Jared didn't say anything back. Instead, he turned to leave the crime scene, expecting Mimi to follow close behind him. But before he could officially leave, Mimi opened her mouth to speak.

"Er, Jared, can I ask you something?" Mimi asked.

"...What?" Jared lowered his hat.

"Are you… mad about last night?" Mimi looked away.

Stupid question.

"I'm not mad," Jared avoided eye contact. "Just really fucking furious."

His fists tightened.

"I– I'm sorry," Mimi stepped back. An angry Jared was a relatively scary one in Mimi's opinion.

"Nothing infuriated me more than seeing two people dead, another injured, and the guy who started this chain of events, still alive," Jared clenched his fist. "You guys should've never stopped me. I meant that. If you guys hadn't then…"

Jared didn't say anything else afterwards. Instead, he just scoffed and shook his head, lowering his hat as well in the process. Then he left the crime scene to head toward the Left Ultimate Cell.

And having been left behind, Mimi could only see the point that Jared had made. But at the same time, there was also the point that everything could've still happened even if Jared had succeeded or failed. That there would've been another body on their hands– Exactly what Zuri had told him.

Why was he so stubborn about this?

With no other thoughts left, Mimi meekly trailed behind the police officer to join him in investigating the Left Ultimate Cell as well.

---

(Infirmary)

"Barracuda. I'm sorry."

…

"She's dead."

…

Barracuda didn't speak for a long while. All he could do was blankly stare at the window. As Jared and Mimi had gone off to investigate the Left Pawnbroker's Cell, what Haruto and Abigail were doing were just as important. They were responsible for breaking the news to Barracuda. Or at least, Abigail was. And god was it the hardest thing in the world.

"B-Barracuda?" Abigail stepped up to call his name. "Y-You… alright?"

What was going on in Barracuda's mind?

Simple things. Questions. How did she die? When did she die? Was that why she never visited? Was this whole thing all his fault? Was…

"...H-How… W-When…?" Barracuda tried to say.

"...According to the Autopsy Report," Haruto sighed. He didn't want to be the one to break it to the big guy. "6:00 PM…"

"That's when…" Barracuda instinctively touched his chest. He grimaced. "That's when I…"

It really was his fault.

Once again, he failed.

A disappointment.

Barracuda's eyes started to tear up.

"It's all my fault," Barracuda stared at his blanket, gripping it ever-so-tightly. His eyes swelled up with tears as he couldn't stop letting them fall. "Maggie died because of me."

"H-Hey, you can't really–" Abigail was about to say before Barracuda started to yell.

"Why not?!" Barracuda yelled. "I was the one who placed that bounty on her head! She got targeted because of me! And what's worse… she was killed at the same time I got shot. If I hadn't gotten shot, maybe I could've… maybe I could've…"

"Hey man, if you want to blame someone here, blame the perp who shot you," Haruto jumped in. "Blame the killer or killers who killed Maggie and Carter. Blame White Collar for putting you in this situation. Look, none of this is your fault–"

"...No," Abigail shook her head. "The bounty on Maggie. That was your fault. Yeah, you're right."

"Abs!" Haruto turned to her in bewilderment.

She held up a hand to stop Haruto from talking.

"But even though you put the bounty on Maggie's head, you can't blame yourself for her death as well," Abigail looked away. "You set her up to die. But the one who actually killed her is the true culprit you should blame. Take responsibility for the bounty, but not for the actual deed."

Barracuda listened to Abigail's words as he kept his tight firm grip on his blanket.

"...I… I have to see her," Barracuda tried to get out of his Infirmary bed. But as soon as he did, he grunted in pain. The pain of having been shot and somewhat poorly sewn up was doing a number on his body.

"No, you have to stay in bed," Abigail tried to gently push him back onto his bed.

"Yeah man," Haruto helped the equestrian with the task. "Besides, I don't think you really want to see her like…"

"Grk!" Barracuda gritted his teeth. "I… I have to see her! I'm fine! But I just have to see her! I just have to see her so I can say sorry!"

"No Barracuda!" Abigail shook her head. "You're not going to!"

"G-God damn it!" Barracuda cursed before mumbling something under his breath in Russian. He hated this. Maggie was dead. He still blamed himself for it. And what's worse is that he couldn't see her.

Cruel world for a disappointment like him.

…

"So, you were shot at 6:00 PM," Abigail summarized what Barracuda had told her and Haruto. This was troubling as Haruto had just glanced up from checking the Autopsy Reports.

"Exactly the same time as when Maggie and Carter were killed," Haruto grumbled. "So, without a doubt, we're already dealing with at least two culprits. An attempted murderer and a killer."

"Or killers," Abigail emphasized. "So probably three culprits."

"Shit, how the fuck did it come to that?" Haruto furrowed his eyebrows, noticeably disturbed at how many culprits were potentially going to be responsible in this one case alone.

"How do you know there are two or three culprits?" Barracuda looked down, miserable. "For all we know, it could be one culprit who attacked me so I can't stop them from killing Maggie…"

"Yeah, okay," Haruto deadpanned. "So, the killer shoots you at 6:00 PM and then stops time in order to run toward the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell, let time play out and then kill Maggie and Carter? Good luck proving that."

"As much as you want to continue playing the blame game," Abigail sighed. "This is definitely not a one-person job."

Abigail stopped and sighed. How exactly were they going to solve this? Monohebi stated that the important thing was finding out who killed the first victim. But that was going to be tough when both victims died literally in the same room and at the same time too.

"Is there anything else you can remember?" Haruto asked Barracuda.

"...N-No," Barracuda tried hard to remember but no matter how hard he tried, his mind remained blank. God. He hated feeling so useless.

"I see," Abigail sighed. "Then I guess you should probably go and get some rest."

"W-Wait," Barracuda looked up, slightly surprised. "B-But what about the Trial?"

"In your condition?" Abigail asked. "Hopefully Monohebi gives you a pass because there is no way you're going to be able to reach the Trial room without passing out from the pain."

"B-But I have to figure out who killed Maggie!" Barracuda urged. "I… I just have to!"

"And we'll figure it out," Haruto assured him. "But right now, ya gotta listen to the doc. She's a professional."

"Like hell I am," Abigail glanced at Haruto with slight tiredness in her eyes but also a hint of bashfulness. It was nice to be complimented by someone she'd been spending a lot of time with recently.

"I… I…" Barracuda was stuck in a very painful dilemma.

After all, this was everything he feared. Everything he didn't want to happen. He didn't want to feel worthless. Be a disappointment. He's done enough of that! He doesn't want to be a disappointment to anyone! Least of all to Maggie!

"P-Please let me…" Barracuda tried to step out of bed. Immediately, his chest began to hurt the moment he tried to move. "Grk! I– I'm fine! I gotta do this! I owe M-Maggie at least…"

"Get back to bed, Barracuda," Haruto helped the larger male back onto the bed. "Don't make me knock you out the hard way."

"Yeah, seriously," Abigail sighed. "I know she's gone but I also know that Maggie would want you to stop stressing yourself out and start focusing on healing, alright?"

"Grk!" Barracuda clenched his fist.

Disappointment.

Disappointment.

He couldn't even get out of bed without being a thorn in his friends' sides.

…

With Barracuda back in bed, Haruto and Abigail glanced at each other as they stepped away from the rather sorrowful Barracuda. Man would still blame himself for failing his closest friend and rightfully so, since there was literally nothing he could do to contribute to this case besides give his testimony on what had happened.

But even then, all that was a blank canvas.

Turning to each other, Haruto was the first to speak to Abigail.

"Alright, what are we going to do now?" Haruto asked. "Where are we going to investigate?"

"Well, there was the matter with Jared's eHandbook I wanted to check out," Abigail rubbed her chin. "We know that the speargun was used to shoot Barracuda. And the only way the culprit could've gotten the speargun…"

"...Was in Jared's Evidence Room," Haruto nodded. "Yeah, that's right, because if I'm not mistaken…"

---

"Be careful though," Maggie leaned against the table. "Yuumi's Cell is also a bit dangerous as well. White Collar planted a speargun that's easily accessible to anyone. Shoots a spear that can be reused thanks to the chain on it. Which is why I advocate for the speargun to get locked up immediately."

"Yeah, good idea," Jared tipped his hat down slightly. "I'll go get on that."

---

"Jared would've definitely locked it up before he went AWOL," Abigail nodded in agreement. "So, that's why I wanted to check it out. See if, y'know, someone did go there."

"Sweet," Haruto nodded. "Then I guess we can go straight there, then."

With firm nods, the two began to leave the Infirmary, but something made them stop. That something was Haruto tossing a piece of tissue paper down into the nearby trash can before noticing something peculiar.

"Jesus Christ," Haruto mused.

"What?" Abigail turned back, confused.

"Who the fuck would get rid of perfectly good water?" Haruto began digging through the trash can, which was admittedly really disgusting to watch.

"Ew, Haruto, don't dig through trash," Abigail blankly stared at Haruto in slight disgust. "What are you, a raccoon? If you're thinking about touching me later, wash your hands."

"Who the fuck says I'm gonna touch any part of you later?" Haruto raised an eyebrow toward Abigail as he held out some notable pieces of trash.

"I– Nevermind," Abigail glanced away.

What the fuck did she say and why the fuck did she say it out loud?

"Anyway, take a look at these," Haruto tossed the pieces of trash on the ground for Abigail to see.

The pieces of trash looked to be important pieces of evidence. After all, there were multiple, as Haruto put it, 'perfectly good water' in the form of water packets. And not just one, but a whole bunch, all varying temperatures but all containing clear water.

"Oh wow, someone threw away water packets," Abigail rolled her eyes. "Big deal."

"Okay, but that's not all," Haruto shook his head before gesturing to the much more peculiar piece of evidence. "Take a look at that packet."

This peculiar packet was unlike the others for multiple reasons. One, there was only one such packet. Two, this packet was empty. And three, whatever was once inside this packet wasn't water.

It was blood.

"An empty… blood packet?" Abigail blinked. "Why is that here?"

"You mean, you didn't use it to treat my injury or something?" Haruto raised an eyebrow.

"First off, do I look like I can do blood transfusions?" Abigail deadpanned. "Second off, a broken leg doesn't need blood transfusions. And three, I've never touched any of those blood packets before."

"Well, someone did," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, someone," Abigail tried to think about any theories on what this empty blood packet may have been used for.

"Ha!" Haruto started to laugh. "Maybe someone is secretly a vampire and wants to drink some blood!"

"Yeah right," Abigail rolled her eyes. "Vampires don't exist, idiot."

"Hey, the fuck did you call me?!" Haruto glanced at her with a more playful glare.

Abigail said nothing. Instead, she shook her head, also playfully as she headed down to the Ultimate Police Officer's Cell in Cell Block A, with Haruto tagging along. Though, as she did so, she couldn't help but question what importance those trash packets may have had to the overall case.

Water packets that weren't open?

A single blood packet that was?

Strange.

All of it was so, so strange…

...

Once Abigail and Haruto had left, Arthur entered the Infirmary with Ina, setting her onto the bed. Of course, Arthur paid no heed to the heavily confused Barracuda on the side. Only for the fact that his mind was directed entirely onto Ina and just Ina. The Ultimate Revolutionary was beginning to see just how much she truly meant to Arthur and for once, she was beginning to tolerate his presence.

His unusual kindness.

"Y-You found Ina?" Barracuda widened his eyes slightly. "W-Where was she?"

Arthur didn't say anything. He just kept Ina down on the bed with a heavy pant. He had to carry her for a while, but it was well worth it for the sake of her well-being. Ina also didn't say anything, at least for a little bit. She rubbed her head.

"W-What happened to you Barracuda?" Ina asked Barracuda.

"...Attacked," Barracuda looked down. "D-Did you see Maggie? D-Did..."

"Don't speak to her," Arthur coldly stared at Barracuda before giving a warmer glance toward Ina, handing her a cup of water from the sink. "Here. Water. Rest up. You've been through a lot."

Barracuda did as he was told and turned away as Ina concentrated only on Arthur.

With her questions being denied any answers thanks to Arthur, her only questions were now of Arthur's character. She had to know. Was this truly all real or just a farce? Did he really see her as...

"...You truly do care about me," Ina concluded. "Is that right?"

"I already told you," Arthur sighed. "I do. Now please, rest. I'll stay by your side."

"...But the Investigation," Ina spoke up.

"Let the others investigate," Arthur gestured toward the door. "Right now, you need to rest."

When Barracuda overheard that, he was reminded of his own condition. How he imagined how Ina probably would've felt hearing that. Useless. Disappointed. He grimaced and clung onto his blanket tightly before Ina responded.

"...I suppose you are correct," Ina sighed. "I would not be much help anyway given my condition."

"We'll be filled in during the Trial," Arthur nodded. "So take as much time as you need. Until the Trial begins, I'll stay with you."

Ina meekly nodded toward her older half-brother.

Barracuda, on the other hand, was surprised. How could she not feel so useless despite everything?! That was... That was... Maybe it was because she had someone by her side to help her through this.

While he had just lost his...

...

"...Thank you, Arthur," Ina tried to avoid looking at him.

This all felt so strange. Her complimenting the half-brother she had envied and hated so much. Her growing to see him not as an enemy but... a sibling?

So strange...

---

(Therapy Room)

Holland knew this wasn't the time to do this, but he really did want to talk to Zuri.

Unfortunately for him, it seems like everyone had been getting in the way of that. First Haruto, then a little bit of Arthur which was the fifth thing on his mind, and now Cassandra. Yeah, that's right. Cassandra, Holland, and Zuri were the ones who ended up investigating this room. Holland had hoped that by pairing up with Zuri, he could probably apologize for what they almost did yesterday.

Zuri on the other hand was absolutely glad that Cassandra was with them. Something she never thought she would feel but hey, times have changed. With Cassandra here, there was no way she could be distracted. Two of their friends were by someone or someone's… She wasn't sure but whatever the case was, she needed to be on her A-Game today!

"So, we're here to investigate Barracuda's attack?" Cassandra asked, making Zuri jump. "Why? Wasn't the most important thing to figure out who killed Carter or Maggie?"

So much for A-Game. Zuri had been so lost in thought that she found herself vulnerable for anyone to jumpscare her.

"Th-That's right, but Barracuda's attack might also have something to do with the murders as well!" Zuri nodded. "Like maybe Barracuda tried to stop the killer but he was shot in the chest because of that!"

If Zuri had known about what time Barracuda was truly attacked, then she would've never stated this theory.

Cassandra remained unconvinced, narrowing her eyes slightly before relaxing them and shrugging.

"Whatever," Cassandra sighed. "It's your choice what you want to do in this Investigation period. Guess I'll help out too."

"...Since when do you help out with anything?" Holland stared at Cassandra.

"Since I found that big buffoon half-dead?" Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Obviously, I want to know what happened to him."

Holland stayed quiet as he examined Cassandra closely before glancing back toward Zuri.

"...Then let's investigate," Holland bluntly stated.

…

The first thing to note was that the Therapy Room was pretty much the same as they left it. Nothing out of place except the fact that one, Barracuda, had been hauled off to the Infirmary, leaving behind a nasty drying pool of blood on the ground. Aside from that, there really wasn't much of anything to check.

"I can't believe that Barracuda got…" Zuri looked down.

"...Hey, don't worry," Holland glanced toward Zuri. "He's still alive…"

"I– I know that," Zuri turned away from Holland. She was finding it hard to speak to him now. "But I just… maybe what Jared said was right. Maybe I really am a lousy leader…"

"...Zuri, you're just letting Jared voice out your insecurities," Holland shook his head. "No one can lead perfectly. Stuff like this takes time. Besides… None of this is your fault. Everything falls on the culprit that did this. Or culprits."

"You two better not be flirting while I'm the only one doing some investigation here," Cassandra rolled her eyes as she glanced closer at the pool of blood.

"F-F-F-F-F-F-F-Flirting?!" Zuri evaporated into a blush.

"...I was comforting her," Holland stoically corrected.

How was this man not embarrassed?!

"Yeah yeah yeah," Cassandra stood back up. "That's what they all say."

There was an abrupt silence between Cassandra's response and what Holland was to say next. After all, he did see what she was trying to investigate, and he could only slightly raise an eyebrow to that.

"...Well?" Holland asked.

"Well, what?" Cassandra scoffed.

"...Aren't you going to tell us anything about that blood pile?" Holland asked.

"What and do your work for you?" Cassandra crossed her arms. "If you want to check it out, check it out yourself. I'm keeping an arsenal of evidence for myself and myself only."

"...Amazing, thanks for the 'help', then," Holland blankly stated as he felt Zuri watching their back-and-forth.

…

Because Cassandra was being absolutely useless (to them not to herself), Holland decided to examine what Cassandra examined. Knowing her, she was the type to find something and only share it during the Trial after everyone's revealed their cards. He had to admit, it was a clever way to play but probably not the best thing if they wanted to win. So, imitating what Cassandra had been doing earlier, Holland tried to examine the floor for any—

"Clue!" Zuri pointed toward the ground. "Look, there are skid marks on the ground."

Holland blinked.

He glanced over to where Zuri was pointing. Sure enough, there they were:

Bloody skid marks on the floor that seemed to disappear after a while. Such a trail went from the pool of blood, to outside the Therapy Room, and disappeared off past the Infirmary. Now why would there be such a trail like that here?

"I didn't see why you had to be on the ground to see those," Zuri giggled slightly. "I mean, you can see them perfectly fine when standing."

"...A-Ah," Holland looked a little embarrassed behind his emotionless mask. "I guess it's my fault for trying to copy Cassandra."

"That sounded more like an insult than a compliment," Cassandra narrowed her eyes from the side.

"Okay, but about those skid marks, what do you think they could be?" Zuri asked.

"Obviously, someone was pushing a shopping cart out of the Therapy Room," Cassandra gave a smirk.

"...There are no shopping carts in the Therapy Room," Holland bluntly stated.

"It was sarcasm, you fucking dolt," Cassandra flatly stated.

"...Yeah, I know, but the point still stands," Holland stoically responded to her insult.

Skid marks on the floor that lead out of the Therapy Room? Holland didn't know what that meant but as much as he didn't like to admit it, Cassandra's shopping cart theory was a little sound. The only problem was when they gathered to find Barracuda…

---

…The Therapy Room was… clean. Not too messy. Nothing really out of the ordinary. That is, until the smell of blood drifted into the air. The smell of blood radiating from a body that Cassandra was currently tending to at the doorway of the Therapy Room. In fact, this was the first thing anyone should have seen when they stumbled through the Therapy Room's doorway:

The sight of Cassandra tending to a fallen Barracuda. There was blood seeping from his chest. The palm of his hands was also coated with blood as he groaned and coughed out blood. And most horrifying of all was the weapon that was used.

---

…There was nothing resembling anything like the shopping cart at the scene. Nor were there any shopping carts in this entire facility period! So where could those marks have come from?

...

Something was wrong.

Something was definitely missing from the scene of the crime, but what?

Holland looked lost in thought to the other girls as he tried to figure out what was troubling him so much. There was the blood. There was the body. But something was missing. Something... Something was...

"You alright Holland?" Zuri asked, curiously.

Holland remained silent for a moment.

"...Yeah," Holland sighed, slightly disappointed. "But it just feels like something is missing..."

"Missing?" Zuri blinked.

"What could be missing from the crime scene except for the fish's body?" Cassandra asked. "Maybe things feel off because you're not used to seeing a scene of a crime without a body. Working shit theory but a theory nonetheless."

It really was a theory.

But Holland wasn't sure.

Something felt off.

Something they forgot.

Something that should've been there at the crime scene but wasn't.

What could that even be?

...

Before Holland, Zuri, and Cassandra (specifically Holland) can ponder this more, a voice they heard forced them to realize something horrible.

"Attention all prisoners," came Monohebi's voice. "It is time for the Prison Trial. Please cease all investigations and report to the Auditorium immediately. Attendance is mandatory. That is all."

They were out of time.

"What?!" Cassandra glared at the ceiling, trying to find where the intercom was in the Therapy Room. "That felt so much faster than how much time you usually give! We can't be out of time already!"

Because Monohebi's announcement was probably prerecorded, the intercom never responded to Cassandra's complaint. Instead, the trio were forced to come to the unsettling decision to adhere to Monohebi's commands.

"We barely found anything though," Zuri looked down.

"...Yeah, here's hoping the others had better luck than we did," Holland's face remained emotionless but this time, he looked hella nervous.

These three were practically unprepared for the Prison Trial. They've survived two Prison Trials and now the fear of death was shadowing upon them. Could they even be ready for this?

---

(Auditorium)

Ten prisoners left.

Currently in this Auditorium, only nine. As promised, Ina was helped to the Auditorium by Arthur, still feeling slightly dazed but a little more functional now that she got that rest she needed. Barracuda, on the other hand, still remained in the Infirmary and that went noticed by Monohebi no doubt. She perked her head curiously on the grand stage as she repeated her head count on how many were in the room.

"We are missing one," Monohebi mused. "Where is Mister Marakovich?"

"Mister who?" Haruto narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Mister Marakovich," Monohebi repeated. "Victor Marakovich. Where is he?"

"Who the fuck is–"

"He's in the Infirmary," Mimi pointed out, looking down. "He suffered an injury and well, I don't think he can even get out of bed."

Monohebi paused as she thought about what Mimi had revealed to her. Or rather, told her, because there was no way she wouldn't have known about what happened to Barracuda, right? Abigail stepped forward, her eyes still relatively tired from everything, but understanding who Victor Marakovich was at that point.

"I know you said attendance is mandatory, but can't you just let this slide, just this once?" Abigail asked. "He was shot by a speargun. It's miraculous that he's even alive but he's still in a lot of pain."

Monohebi pondered this for a moment. Then without much to argue, she sighed and relented with a firm nod.

"Very well," Monohebi stated. "I suppose I can excuse Mister Marakovich's absence just this once. You kids and your tendencies to get injured out of commission. At least it wasn't me who had to patch one of you up again this time."

Abigail and Mimi noticeably sighed in relief.

Barracuda didn't have to go to the Trial, even if he wanted nothing more than to go just to figure out who killed Maggie.

However, before Monohebi could direct everyone to head into the Voting Chamber/Elevators down to the Trial Room, Cassandra stepped forward, noticeably much more annoyed than she normally was.

"Okay, now that we got that out of the way, I wanted to ask you one thing, snake," Cassandra folded her arms. "What the actual fuck?"

"Why the vulgarity?" Monohebi perked her head, slightly confused.

"That Investigation period felt like nothing!" Cassandra glared. "Why was that so short?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Monohebi shook her head. "We've given you ample enough time to investigate. If you feel like you have not investigated enough, you have only yourself to blame."

"But–" Cassandra began to argue before Zuri placed a hand on her shoulder.

"H-Hey, let's calm down and leave it alright?" Zuri urged the feisty bitch. "It's our own fault that we didn't investigate as much as we could've."

"The supposed leader didn't investigate as much, huh?" Jared raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "Typical."

"I–" Zuri was taken aback by Jared's snide remark before looking away, ashamed. Holland could only give the police officer a blank and stoic stare. He was definitely not happy about how much of an ass Jared was becoming.

"Enough," Monohebi shook her head. "It is time for you all to head down onto Trial grounds. If you do not remember, please head inside your Voting Chambers and use your eHandbooks to access them."

Jared turned toward Abigail immediately after Monohebi instructed them all to do so. He held out his hand, his face notably more serious than he's ever been.

"I think you have something of mine," Jared lowered his police hat.

Abigail bit her lip. Just like many others, she too wasn't liking the fact that the once honorable and kindhearted Jared was becoming more and more like an asshole. Taking out his eHandbook, she roughly shoved it into her hands, exchanging a small glare toward him.

"Why are you like this?" Abigail questioned. "Asshole."

Jared said nothing before taking his eHandbook and heading to a Voting Chamber in order to access it.

Abigail did the same thing.

And shortly, everyone else followed. Once everyone was inside, the last thing they heard before they descended was Monohebi's voice:

"Please keep all hands and legs inside the Voting Chambers and wait patiently for the Chamber doors to reopen. That is all…"

---

Just like most elevator rides, they were always so quiet, especially when they were alone in their own respective elevator. But every time they entered one of these, the elevator ride also felt longer and longer with each passing minute.

They were to partake in their third Prison Trial.

But all of them had similar thoughts plaguing their minds. The same questionable looks and thoughts…

Were they really ready for the third Prison Trial?

Could this Prison Trial really be their… last?

Then the doors opened up, allowing the nine prisoners to exit their Voting Chambers.

…

The first Trial Room was a dungeon. The second, a cave. The third…

…

…The catacombs.

The Trial Grounds this time was a corrupted take on the Parisian catacombs. Along the walls were skeletal remains, hopefully fake, all shoved and cemented neatly in a unique skeletal pattern. It was like wallpaper. A twisted and grotesque form of wallpaper. There were also skeletons chained to the walls as well, and heck, for good measure, there were even bones and sand scattered across the floor as well.

"Why does this place get so much worse every time we come here?" Mimi looked a little frightened by the skeletons on the wall.

"Those aren't real skeletons, are they?" Zuri asked, preparing for a rather scary answer.

"Real skeletons?" Monohebi blinked behind her glowing red eyes. "Oh heavens no. All props for decoration. If these were real, we would've been arrested for serial killings years ago."

"...They do look lifelike," Arthur remarked.

"A rather fascinating Halloween store if I do say so myself," Monohebi looked rather content as she curled up on that big red throne.

As she did so, she felt the curious and watchful eyes of the prisoners as they noted the new added changes to the Trial podiums themselves. For starters, the order always remained the same but the changes this time revolved around the portraits:

Abigail, Arthur, Barracuda (which was just empty), a portrait of Carter, Cassandra, Haruto, Holland, Ina, Jared, a portrait of Kane, a portrait of Maggie, a portrait Mayu, Mimi, a portrait of Titus, a portrait of Yuumi, Zuri, and the throne seated by Monohebi between Zuri and Abigail.

"Now then, if everyone can please situate themselves toward their assigned podiums," Monohebi ordered as everyone did as they were told.

Everyone was mostly nervous for this one.

Their population took a hit, meaning there were less heads to solve this case.

It was their third Prison Trial and the same question kept coming up.

Were they ready for this?

Each of them had their own expression for that question.

…

Abigail looked absolutely exhausted. But even exhaustion couldn't save her from feeling a tad bit nervous for what was to come.

Arthur gave an icy look of determination. He wasn't nervous. He wanted answers. Answers to who the culprit who dared touch his half-sister really was.

Barracuda was too lazy to get out of bed, so he doesn't deserve an expression.

Carter was too dead, so he doesn't deserve one either.

Cassandra was notably more irritated about all this. Who wouldn't be? An attack and two deaths. That was enough to piss anyone off… Unless it was about something else to Cassandra then otherwise, who the fuck knew?

Haruto cracked his knuckles. He looked ready to figure out who the culprit/culprits were. And once he helped find that out, that culprit/culprits were going to have to get ready for a major ass-whooping.

Holland remained as stoic as ever. But deep inside, he knew his group didn't investigate as much as they could've, so he was a little nervous. But he was still going to try his best.

Ina was still a little bit dazed. She needed someone to lean against. At the moment, the only thing she could lean against was her podium as she gripped her forehead, feeling the burning stares of her suspecting peers. She needed her head in the game if she was to clear her name...

Jared was still as serious as ever. There was no doubt he was going all-out for this Trial. And as far as evidence went, as much as an asshole he was becoming, eventually they'll have to admit that they need him to do what was necessary…

Kane. Who the fuck is Kane?

Maggie was too dead to even give us a sexual innuendo or two.

Mayu was also too dead to give us anything.

Mimi looked a little determined but still visibly upset by the events that had happened. As far as podiums go, she was a little disturbed to be seated between two dead people.

Titus. Speaking of dead people, Titus was too dead to give an expression as well.

Yuumi was also too dead to even give support to Mimi. But she would always be by Mimi's side in the form of Sailor Penguin.

And finally, Zuri, who looked noticeably determined but also troubled. If she was to be a good leader, she needed to do everything she can during the Trial right? Right?

Yes.

All of them needed to do their absolute best.

There were nine prisoners in this Trial room, two dead people, and an injured beefcake back at the Infirmary.

They had to do their best.

They just had to!

…

"Let the Prison Trial commence..." Monohebi flicked her tongue.

---

DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE

---

And there you have it, the Investigation! The Trials are now underway :D

I do have to say, the Investigation does feel a little weaker compared to past Investigations but hey, that's a matter of opinion and maybe it's just fine to the rest of y'all! Though, I am nervous about what y'all might think of my Chapter 3 Trial so hopefully everything works out!

Trials still need to be edited. Part 2 might not be beta tested but will still be published. But other than that, everything is all set! Chapter 3 is definitely coming to an end by the end of October! Oooh! So excited :D

As always, I love to hear your theories! Who or whom did it? How did they do it? What the hell is going on in this case? Only I know and the rest of you only got clues :D

But other than that, let the Prison Trial commence :D

---

Prisoners Remaining: 10

---

Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular) [0]

Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7) [1,000,000]

Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate ? (ExtraMeme) [500,000]

Haruto Walker - The Ultimate Former Basketball Player (theotakureader101) [0]

Holland Delaney - The Ultimate Game Designer (Sempi) [1,000,000]

Ina (Hamamura) Kingston - The Ultimate Revolutionary (VividIsSleeping) [0]

Jared Ceartas - The Ultimate Police Officer (Otterplay) [500,000]

Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan) [0]

Victor "Barracuda" Marakovich - The Ultimate Personal Trainer (Weekaro) [0]

Zuri Auraline - The Ultimate Bassist (CandleFire45) [1,000,000]