AN: The second part of this chapter, after the first "ooo", is very graphic! Feel free to skip if it would be uncomfortable or upsetting to read!

Miiko started sniffling and whimpering all over again, unable to hold in her guilty, terrified sobs. She shook, her entire body going numb. She gasped, but the air wasn't enough to bring feeling back into her fingers and knees. Oh, no… Oh, no! Miyu, Haruna… I'm so, so sorry! Everyone… I… I… I never meant to… Her teary green gaze settled on Haruna. D'you think someone like God would… ever be able to… forgive me? I have a feeling that Nagisa would, but… Miiko doesn't think that she ever will…

Seriously, how could she have been so stupid?! How could she have messed up so badly?! Mistakes were normal, but one of her caliber? For better or worse, though, there was no other conclusion to come to. No matter how Kurumi tried to twist words and narratives, Miiko was the culprit, and there was no doubt about it.

I wonder if I'll ever get a chance to say sorry to Nagisa. I wonder where I'll end up… Miiko bit her lip, tears falling even faster somehow.

"Well, well, well! Since it looks like Little Miss Linguist has no last words, we can cut to the chase and jump right into the moment you've all been waiting for!" Monochio cried. Say it with now…" It pulled a gavel from behind its couch and raised it high above the big red button on the table beside it. Naturally, the entire class protested, Kurumi clinging to Miiko the hardest while Miiko stared at the floor, sobbing.

Monochio shouted over the delightful, despairful cacophony of the class. "Iiiiiiiiiiiit's… PUNISHMENT TIIIIIME!"

GAME OVER

Miiko Takeshita has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!

"Happy Adventure Queen!'s Last Hike"

ooo

Electronic music filled the trial room as Monochio remixed its despairful harmony with some of Miiko's favorite Lyrilily songs.

Reach for the stars, reach so high…! This was her final bow, her last hike, the first execution.

Before anyone could even blink, Monochio's tail shot out, whipping around Miiko's neck. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She clawed at her neck instinctively, but all Monochio needed to do was flick its tail to rip her out of Kurumi's grasp and send her flying out of the trial room, out of the academy. She sailed through the air before hitting the ground and rolling for several yards.

Once Miiko finally skidded to a stop, struggling to sit up and see through the blur and the stars spinning around her head, she realized that she was no longer anywhere near the academy. Wherever Monochio threw her, she was on a runway with a plane looming behind her. Her execution title card flashed on the three flatscreens hanging above the 24 podiums for all the surviving students to see, watching her death livestreamed.

Reach for the stars, reach so high…! As Monochio's execution music revved up, so too did the plane's engines and propellers.

Miiko was on her feet in a flash, sprinting down the runway as the plane roared to life after her. Its side read: Volée Airlines Flight 180.

With every step Miiko took, the plane got louder and closer. Finally, she reached the edge of the runway. With nowhere else to go, she was forced to jump into the stormy sea. For a moment, the world went silent, then Monochio's execution remix started up again, muffled through the water.

Miiko opened an eye just a crack, and through the darkness, she saw something massive swimming right for her. Both of her eyes shot open, and she scrambled to swim away as fast as she could. Of course, she didn't get very far before the object—was it a shark, a submarine?—slammed into her, sending her flying back out of the water. The next time she landed, she was flat on her back in a forest. She was quickly surrounded on all sides by every type of forest animal imaginable.

Without warning, their skin began to wither and rot, the animals zombifying right before Miiko's very eyes. Fur fell from bone, exposing shriveled organs and peeling muscle. Eyes popped from sockets, some rolling away while others hung on by threads. Beaks, teeth, fangs, claws, antlers, hooves, and talons were chipped and dirty. Tails and limbs were missing or mangled. Some pelts hung off bodies, the flesh peeling off slowly. It was like something out of a nightmare, the mutated monsters slowly closing in on the helpless, battered, bruised, bloody, broken Miiko.

Miiko held her breath as the creatures started down their dripping, deformed muzzles at her, tongues and teeth exposed as lips and beaks hung open, hungry and broken. They struck without warning, digging into the prone and vulnerable girl, quickly muffling her cries of pain and terror with their hungry, rabid growls and cries. Blood and skin flew everywhere, some from the animals, and some from their shrieking victim.

Fangs ripped and tore at flesh and meat, pulling her apart limb from limb while she was still alive and screaming herself to death almost as fast as she bled. There was a cacophony of cawing, crowing, chirping, squeaking, hissing, barking, roaring, squawking, and screeching as the beasts gnawed at Miiko, eating their fill of her. By the time they were done, all that remained was a small pile of shiny white bones gleaming in the sun.

ooo

The 22 survivors froze in place, eyes glued to the three flatscreens hanging above the 24 podiums, even as the livestream died and cut to black. Rinku and Muni embraced one another and wept. Rei and Maho were nearly catatonic with shock. Kyoko lowered the brim of her cap over her eyes, gritting her teeth as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. Shinobu was also gritting her teeth, barely holding in a scream. She clenched her fists so hard that her hands trembled. Esora could only stare blankly at the screens while Yuka buried her face in her hands, shaking and sobbing.

Saki could feel Noa clinging to her, and Ibuki resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. They were the only things keeping her grounded, tethered to reality—whatever that was anymore, after a horror scene like that… Towa was also nestled in Noa and Ibuki's arms, gasping sobs bursting from her chest as she mourned.

Rika was another student gazing dazedly at the blank execution screens. Marika, like Yuka, buried her face in her hands and wept quietly. Saori was shaking her head in shock and denial. Dalia tried her best to comfort all of them, resting her hands on them in a subtle display of protectiveness. She wasn't the only one either.

One of Aoi's long arms wrapped protectively around Tsubaki's waist while the other held Hiiro's hand. Tsubaki wept into Aoi's shoulder while Hiiro squeezed Aoi's hand tightly, clenching her teeth as tears flowed silently down her face. She uttered a silent prayer for Miiko's soul, selfishly relieved that Nagisa's death hadn't been even half so agonizing, graphic, or drawn-out.

Unsurprisingly, Lyrilily was taking it worst of all. Both of Miyu's hands covered her mouth, her pink eyes wide and full of tears. Haruna pulled her into an embrace, but Miyu was too shellshocked to respond. Bits of the Lord's Prayer swirled around her brain, but none of it brought her any comfort. Kurumi fell to her knees, dry heaving. After long enough, Haruna knelt beside her, lowering Miyu down with them.

"No, no, nononono!" the Ultimate Prankster muttered, teeth chattering as she shook her head. It couldn't be… It just couldn't be! "MIIKO! MIIKOOOO!" she howled, but Miiko would never answer her cries ever again.

"Oooh! Despair! Despair! Despair! Despair!" Monochio sang, rubbing its body against its majestic, regal couch. "That was truly exhilarating, and your reactions are even more heartrendingly precious! I wonder, doesn't it just kill you inside to know that you got exactly what you wanted, but ultimately only made it even worse?! You see, you were all soooo convinced that none of you would ever want to kill anyone else!" Monochio said in a mock-sympathetic tone. "And you were 100% correct! Poor little Miiko never wanted to hurt even a fly! And yet…"

"Oh, shut up! Just shut up already. SHUT UP!" Without thinking, Kurumi hopped up and grabbed her PheFo from her podium stand. She flung it at Monochio as hard as she could, and while the PheFo didn't even scratch, the eye that Kurumi struck shattered. Now, half of Monochio's face had a hole in it, giant and jagged, and the eye—or what little was left of it—glowed a bright, violent red.

"Kurumi! No!" Haruna lunged at the Ultimate Prankster, tackling her to the ground, shielding her from Monochio's wrath. Miyu reached out, crying for both of them. Kurumi had just broken Rule #1 of Monochio's academy…

"Harming the Headcatster is again the rules!" It hissed, voice glitching as it extended its claws. But when Haruna jumped on top of Kurumi in attempt to shield her with her own body, Monochio paused. To the amazement of everyone, it lowered its paw and sheathed its claws.

"Nyahahaha, how swe-we-wee-weee-eet!" It screeched, voice glitching even harder. "You know what? Fine. I'm in a go-go-good mood tod-d-dd-ay! After the first execution went so swim-wim-wim-mingly, I'll be nice just this once! You should th-th-th-ank m-m-me-me me me!" Monochio was not going to ruin the high of the first execution, or waste a perfectly good life, over something so trivial so early on. There was plenty of time for much more exciting, excruciating retaliation later.

Besides, if I give into that little shit's provocations, I'll only be giving her what she wants! Can't have that, now can we?! I'll give 'em a few days, then we'll move on! A shit-eating grin split across Monochio's shattered face as its long tail curled around the broken piece of its facial plate. It stalked out of the trial room, and some of the students closer to it managed to catch a glimpse of the logo on the facial plate. Towa Conglomerate.

Haruna looked up in amazement, still crouched protectively over Kurumi. I can't believe… that worked… she thought dazedly.

Kurumi was motionless, all the fight completely gone out of her. Haruna… tried to protect me… Why…? Why?! Why couldn't it have been Miiko?!

Miyu raced over to them, collapsing beside them, sobbing. She'd come so close to losing all three of them in that one class trial alone! Don't! Please don't! I don't think my poor heart can take it!

The class was left to dismiss itself, everyone exiting in a haze. The only thing Saki remembered was Shinobu.

"By the way, 'm sorry for what I said in the trial," she muttered, eyes glued to her sneakers.

"O-oh, it's all right!" Saki nodded, dazed. She could still feel Ibuki and Noa resting their hands protectively on her shoulders.

"Nah, shouldn't've taken it out on you," Shinobu continued, then she nodded once before gliding past Saki after the rest of Peaky. Once the final student was out, the lights shut off and the trial door locked again. Stage I of the Killing School Transfer was complete.

ooo

"And just what were you thinking?!" Monochio snapped. Contrast to the voice the students had come to know and despise over the past few days, this one was much younger and more feminine. It was also angrier and higher-pitched. Completing the Headcatster's seething expression, the red eye that now graced the cracked half of its face was glowing with irritation.

"Oh, don't you take that tone of voice with me!" The student to whom Monochio was talking to rolled her eyes. Monochio bristled.

"No excuses! You are a Mastermind first and foremost—Number One, no less!—So I expect you to be beholden to me! You swore your fealty!"

As MM1 diagnosed, Kurumi's attack didn't just damage Monochio's face, but its personality, switching from one setting to another. This new one was all the short-tempered whininess of the old one and none of the gallows humor.

"Yes, yes, yes! I know, Monochio, I know!" MM1 said, waving a dismissive hand at her large, robotic boss.

"Then why is Rinku still alive?! She is the only reason we were commanded to have this Killing Game! She should've been the first to die!"

"That was an … unforeseen consequence," MM1 smirked dryly. "I wanted her to be this chapter's killer, not Miiko. But perhaps I did us a service either way, for Miiko was dangerous in her own right. Don't you remember what we modified about her?"

"You aren't getting out of any trouble!" Monochio interrupted MM1. "Every Stage you delay or derail is another Stage you risk falling behind! I already have a new target for you anyway, that Ultimate Astronomer!" It gestured to the wall of monitors before it and MM1. Saki was asleep in her bed while her unit-mates sat in the living room outside, discussing in whispers.

"She wasn't supposed to have her Synesthesia yet! But alas, it is too late to erase her memories and start over. So instead, she'll just have to be… eliminated from the Killing School Transfer. Given your track record with that task so far, though…"

"I'm sure I could easily trick her into breaking a rule," MM1 interrupted balefully. "Dispose of her early, and that'll leave enough time to go after Rinku!" she said, and despite itself, Monochio paused. It hated to admit it, but that wasn't the worst idea it ever heard.

"Keep in mind, Monochio," MM1smiled dryly, "I am 1/6 of you. You ought to have a little more faith in me than just that."

Monochio was a perfect example of a whole greater than the sum of its parts. MM1 was just one of those parts, but as she said, her role was not undeserved, and she took it very seriously. Monochio would do well to remember that. It was an AI supercomputer, so it could do things they could only dream of, but behind every great AI supercomputer was an even greater human programmer.

"By the by, you shall receive a new partner for Stage II," Monochio said as it lumbered towards the exit of the security room. "I will wake her up, then I will send her to you once I am done. She is to aid you in the creation and execution of whatever motive you choose for Stage II. Do not fail or disappoint me again," it warned, swishing its long, red, black, and white tail one last time.

"Very well," MM1 bowed her head, not even bothering to ask which other Mastermind Monochio was waking. She would find out soon enough.

I'd rather work on the next motive. I already have an idea for that. A blast from the past, perhaps? Everyone loves a good crossover! And there are so many memories that were stolen from everyone, not just about the academy, but their past, and past relationships.

The possibilities were endless, and perhaps it was enough to compel their shy, but budding, young protagonist to break the rules. Just how far would she go to solve the mystery of the Fourth Academy…?

A dark smile spread across MM1's face. It's time to take a little fieldtrip… to Hope's Peak. Now, where did Monochio hide that stash of Implememor-Es?

Stage I: A Scary Surprise: Complete.

Stage II: One Eye on the Past, One on the Present, None on the Future

AN: I imagine the execution music to be a mashup of Teruteru's theme, and Lyrilily's "Adventure King!"