After getting a couple more questions via evil_bean on AO3 and King_Chronos on Wattpad, I'll answer them right now. To answer the former's comment, this chapter will be focusing on almost everyone learning the backstories of their companions in the city. And to answer King_Chronos, well since Trunks was shown to be able to turn super and fire ki blasts, Miles still has his web shooters, Spidey Sense, and wall crawling, and Killua himself can run up walls, you can guess that Killua still use Godspeed. Although you have to wait and see if it comes into play, or if it is as strong as it is in HunterXHunter. Anyways on with the show!

Chapter 3: The Manipulator's Malice Part 3 (Daily Life)

"Ah! Gundham! Your hamster is back!"

Aoi called the Ultimate Breeder over to vent they found before and Maga-Z hopped out of it, approaching them.

"He is called Maga-Z, I entrust you not to forget that name. Use that hand ritual again to recall it if you must." Gundham told her as she did just that.

"Gotcha! So what did they say?" Asahina asked him as he unfolded the letter.

To Mr. Tanaka, Supreme Overlord of Ice, (Gundham smirked as he read that part, clearly glad someone recognized his title)

We really would appreciate all the help you could give us, so that we are able to escape from this city. There were originally 17 of us, but now 13 of us are left. Two people were murdered, while the other two were executed. Seeing them all die has made this an excruciating experience, almost hopeless. However, your letter has managed to give us some hope in escaping from here, well, if we can trust you at least. We have not seen your face or any signs of who you might be as a person, aside from your letter. Please be truthful to us if you really want to help the rest of us escape. If you do, we will be sure to give you something nice in return. Thank you, hope Maga-Z and the letter can get to you safely.

Bernadetta von Varley

"Four of them are dead already… we have to help them immediately! Before any more of them are lost!" Aoi says as Gundham finishes reading.

"We need to formulate a plan that guarantees success, there is none if we simply charge in without one. Two class trials must have taken place already, which means that soon a new motive will be introduced. The mastermind's pattern is predictable, yet there could be things we may not foresee…"

"True… maybe we should send them another message tomorrow morning. Just let them know we're on their side, and that they should keep us updated on what happens." Aoi suggests as Gundham nods.

"That looks to be the only choice for now, let us be patient then. I'll be sure to contact the other Remnants, a few of their powers may prove useful in the future…" Gundham turns away and begins to walk off.

"Yeah, especially, uh… Kamakura? Was that his name? Oh yeah, it was!" Asahina slaps her fist down to her palm as she figures it out.

Gundham then begins to think aloud to himself, "Hm… 'something nice in return', eh? I am sure those mortals managed to find something truly useful, perhaps it is something I could use to gain more power…"

Ai's POV

"YOU TOLD HIM WE WOULD GIVE HIM SOMETHING?!"

Gold yelled as Bernadetta covered her ears.

"Keep your voice down, please." I told him, irritated at his noise.

"We can't afford having Monokuma… or Aoba hear what we're doing." Trunks scolded him.

"Do we even have anything to give him? We also need to know we can trust this dude too." Ryuji pointed out.

"Still, we gotta give the guy something if he's helping us out. Especially if it's something as weird as this." Miles said as I looked through what gifts I had on me.

"Hm… all I have is this 23 movie box set…" I picked up the large Infinity Saga dvd set I got from the MonoMono Machine.

"I guess? I was gonna suggest sending him some snacks or something, but whatever. It's not like we had time to watch all those movies anyways." Gold responded as he scratched his cheek.

"Hopefully he likes those kinds of movies, his way of writing was… weird to say the least so maybe he'll like that kind of stuff." Killua said.

"So let's wait until his next response, maybe explore what we have left of the new area before meeting up at the Hope-tel lobby?" I suggested and everyone was in favor of that idea.

As each of us exited Bernadetta's room, I thought to myself about those three individuals. Aoba, Alice, and Sucy. The latter two really were not comfortable with me taking the lead during that last conversation, it makes me worry over if I am truly capable. This group could implode from the inside if we're not too careful, so it's a good thing I have others like Trunks and Emma to lead as well.

However, Aoba is unpredictable since he knows my secret. I have no idea how any of my companions will react if that is revealed, and the fact that he managed to get Shantae to poison Marty incidentally already makes him a large threat. I looked around to see if he was around, not a trace of him. Just what was going on inside that head of his….

Later that evening...

"So nobody could get into that building?" Espio asked, and the rest of us shook our heads, "(Sighs) Why keep that one specific section of the area locked?"

"More than likely holds something we shouldn't know, that damn bear is clever not to give us everything." Killua scoffs.

We all spotted one building that stood out among the rest in the Times Square portion of the city. Large brown tower with an iron gate in front of it. I attempted to climb above the gates, being careful not to have my arms pop off, but it was too high so I gave up. It seemed that despite a few people making it over the gate, the building was still locked from the inside.

"When I tried to break through the windows, they all had solid metal behind them. It doesn't sound like much to someone as strong as me, but I couldn't get past them." Miles informed us.

"Does anyone have any sort of firepower that can melt through 'em? I'd do it myself, if I had Exbo…" Gold raised a question as he patted Pibu on the head.

"I used to blast through, but nothing could affect them. Damn it, am I getting weaker, or is the architecture immune to everything we throw at it? If so, how is that possible?" Trunks slammed his fist on the table, I remembered our conversation about this a while ago. All that power to even push me away from the sheer force, and he couldn't break us out of here.

"Y'know… with all this talk about powers has gotten me curious…"

We turned and saw Alice walking towards us, waving.

"So you've decided to join us, huh?" Ishigami spoke up after hours had passed.

"Well it was starting to get dull on my own, so I might as well join in on the camaraderie. As I was saying, I'm curious on what kind of worlds could produce you all. How about we take the time to learn more about each other? We haven't discussed this topic that often…"

That is true, learning more about what kind of worlds we live in and how we became who we are would be a great way to bond. Since the party failed, a much more calm atmosphere could be better for us.

Group Free Time Start

I decided to start first, although I have to remove all the zombie related elements from my story. I told them about how me and the rest of Franchouchou formed, our manager Kotaro Tatsumi, his "normal" dog, Romero, and that we performed in the Saga Prefecture in Japan.

"Wait, you were formed to 'save' Saga, right? From what?" Ryuji asked and I just sighed and shrugged.

"Tatsumi hasn't told us that yet, and at this point, I doubt he ever will."

"Pretty normal all things considered, lame." Oh Gold, if only you knew, "Anyways, I'll go next! I'm the hero from New Bark Town who saved the Johto region!" Gold rubbed his finger under his nose with pride.

He explained that he came from a world filled with creatures called Pokémon. They live alongside humans and they assist each other in their daily lives, and in his case battling. Gold alongside other "Pokédex holders" helped save their world on multiple occasions. His most notable achievement was defeating a villain named the Mask of Ice, who almost took over the Johto region with the help of a Pokémon called Celebi. Sounds quite exciting, especially after meeting Gold's adorable Pichu.

Next was Ryuji, he talked about how he and his group of friends sought out to change the hearts of corrupt individuals. They were called The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and they stole "treasures" from these evil people in order to make them change their ways. He also talked about summoning his inner self, a "Persona" that he would use to fight creatures found within dark twisted minds. I wonder if they could help make Tatsumi less irritating.

Alice was a student at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, and apparently she is one of their best. Taking the 6th seat on the "Elite Ten Council", she specializes in molecular gastronomy, unsurprisingly. Despite seeming relatively normal, the school she goes to holds competitions called Shokugekis, where two students duel through cooking well made dishes. With how delicious her food is, she must be quite skilled in those duels.

"I'm just the student council treasurer at Shuchi'in Academy." Ishigami bluntly states. Well given how often I see him on his laptop, he must have some good experience for his duties.

"Okay, let's do this one last time…" Miles then stood up.

"Um, do what?" Bernadetta tilted her head.

"My name is Miles Morales, I was bitten by a radioactive spider. And for the past… hm… two months, I've been my universe's one and only Spider-Man. I go to Visions Academy in Brooklyn, New York. I've got electric powers that I call venom, which I can use to shock bad guys. And I can turn invisible, both on command." He says as he disappears right in front of us.

"Oooooo…" Emma lets out.

Miles then reappears, "Pretty cool, huh? So I actually had another experience kinda similar to this one, where I had to stop this big guy called the Kingpin. He wanted to open gateways to other dimensions, which could destroy Brooklyn, and I ended up meeting alternate universe Spider-People. With their help, I took him down and realized my potential, avenging the death of the previous Spider-Man, Peter Parker." He finished as he sat back down.

A handful of us gave applause, myself included at how he told his story. Now just five of us left.

Espio revealed that he works for the Chaotix Detective Agency alongside his partners, Vector and Charmy. On his world there are anthropomorphic animals trying to live out their lives. They try to solve cases, although they barely get any work. They do sometimes show up to help save their world from an evil scientist named Dr. Eggman (not the strangest name I've heard), though I imagine that doesn't pay very much. Their recent adventure had them fighting a liquid metal zombie virus, which gives me a reason not to reveal my secret unless I want a shuriken in my forehead.

Trunks reveals his heritage of being half human and half of an elite warrior race known as saiyans. He had to live in a future where many of his world's protectors had fallen to two androids. Eventually he managed to go back in time to prevent this event from happening in another timeline, fighting alongside those same people who died. After taking care of that threat, he faced more threats like a wizard trying to summon a genie, to a twisted god bent on exterminating mortals. A lot to take in, but I understood it the more he talked about it.

"Hey Bernie, do you want to go next, or should I?" Emma asked her.

"Well, um… alright I'll go." Was her response.

Her story was quite a saddening one at the start. She was the daughter of Count Varley in Fódlan, and she was groomed to be the perfect wife to a wealthy nobleman. She told us that her father tied her to a chair to try and be quiet and obedient, yet she despised doing this to the point of kicking and screaming. She was then sent to the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery against her will and was forced to enroll into the Black Eagles House.

"That bastard… who does that to their kid?! Oh wait, I know his type well…" Ryuji gritted his teeth, and the rest of us tried to hold in our anger towards Bernadetta's father.

She tried to calm us down before talking about someone she encountered during one semester. They were a new professor who just came to the monastery, they knocked on her door and talked to her daily. They even helped her out with getting used to going outside her room, cooked meals with her, and ate in the dining hall. She said that them being so quiet, yet understanding is what drew her to them. That professor must be a truly intriguing individual, I wish I could meet them (cough cough Three Houses Saga cough)

"Yo, uh, Silver-Haired Kid? You want a shot at this?" Gold asked Killua.

"Nah, I'm good for now, I'm just feeling too tired. Yawn…" He denied the request to go. He must have some other reason not to talk about things on his world.

"Alright, I guess I'm the last one. I'll make this quick." Emma breathed in before revealing everything.

"I was raised in a house called Grace Field, where our 'mother' Isabella had taken care of me and my fellow children. We all had good meals and had fun playing outside, we were taken care of well…" She paused for a moment, before shaking her head and began again, "That all changed when me and my friend Norman discovered we lived on a farm. Raised up to be served as meals for demons."

… What. The. Hell.

Everyone's faces after hearing that were just shocked.

"Ha ha, I knew that would be the reaction I'd get. Anyways, we formulated a plan to escape, which we had, although without Norman or any of the younger children. Me and my other close friend, Ray, look after the family we have brought with us, until we find a way to get to the human world. Getting to live in peace is hard for us, especially with all the demons, but we try our best to survive."

"Damn, that's just about as bad as the situation we're in right now!" Ryuji's eyes were wide.

"That's horrible… I'm so sorry…" Bernadetta shivered.

"It's alright, after so much has happened, I have hope that we'll be alright. Well, if we manage to get out of here and save them…" Emma bowed her head and that's when I remembered.

Our loved ones are most likely still under Ultimate Despair, tearing down the worlds we all wish to return to. I have not fully forgotten that, it just has not been my focus lately after the murders and trials. We can't give up yet on getting back to our homes, we just need more time.

"Oh, good evening folks, I'm just headed back to my room for the night. Farewell."

There's also the case of Aoba, as he walked past us…

"Tch… we need to keep an eye on him, actually we need a lot of eyes on him." Gold sneered.

"Oh, he's probably not planning much. He most likely won't until the next motive is shown to us." Alice said, although she said it in an oddly calm manner and smiled.

"Whatever the case, do not let your guards down around him, everyone." Espio told us.

"Well, I'm off to bed as well! Good night!" Alice walked towards the elevator and pressed the up button.

"Guess I'll turn in too, let me know if that Gun Ham guy answers, ok?" Gold yawned as he joined her.

Killua then told us good night, before leaving with Ryuji. The rest of us waited for an hour until it was 9:40 pm, and that's when those of us remaining went up to Bernadetta's room. The hamster was already waiting there for us with a new letter.

I quickly read over it, basically he stated that he was willing to work with us, although a plan needed to be formed first. We need to give him as much information as we can about the city, then he and his "forces" can find a way through. He also said, and I quote, "That tribute you mentioned, will it be of any use to me? It better not be a waste of my time…", he's… quite a character.

Without much of anything else to give him, I attached the box set to our response and saw "Maga-Z" carry it away. Hope the poor thing isn't exhausted after carrying messages back and forth, and a large box set as well? After that we all decided to turn in for the night, and that we needed to gather all the information we can for our next message.

Will his help be what we need to escape? It can't hurt to try it out.

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MONOKUMA THEATER

"It's been a long chapter hasn't it, and it isn't even a trial chapter!"

"This is what you get when an author has too many ideas in their head. It probably feels like it's dragging on, huh?"

"Well too bad! There's still plenty of chapter left to go! Consider this an early Christmas gift!"

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"Hajime? You've really done a lot for us and we owe you so much, especially after you managed to use Kamakura's power to bring us all back. You're like a hero to us, and… to me especially. So I… was wondering if… we can…"

The redness on Mahiru's face was intense, as she approached Hajime slowly and nervously.

"W-we can what?!" Hajime was turning a similar color.

The photographer came closer, to the point where the two of them were inches away. Mahiru leaned her head forward, Hajime slowly doing the same.

"Hey guys, we need youuuuuu."

Nagito Komaeda entered the room just as their lips touched.

"Oh wow Mahiru, I didn't expect an Ultimate like you to be interested in reserve course trash." He stated.

"Shut up Nagito." Hajime responded.

"Ha ha ha, my apologies, I was only kidding. Anyways, Gundham has managed to contact us, we should go respond now." The luckster rubbed the back of his head.

"We'll uh, talk more later, alright?" Hajime said to Mahiru who nodded as the three of them exited the room.

"So what did you tell the others?" Hina asked Gundham.

"Simply that I have arrived at the location, met up with your organization, and that I may need assistance from a few of them when able. Nothing more, nothing less." He says, as his scarf blows in the wind.

"Oh brother, this one is the one the Remnants sent? The 'lord of darkness' breeder? We could have even been better off with that annoying gymnast…"

Hina turns around and sees Byakuya Togami arriving, alongside three people she does not know.

"Silence, lowly cur." Gundham stated as he stared down the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.

"Hmph, I'd have two nickels for how many times I've been called that. No matter, you might as well assist in this operation alongside these three." Byakuya gestured towards the people he brought.

"R-right. Okay first off, you should have told me you were coming, and secondly who are they?" Aoi asked him and the dark blue haired boy raised his hand slowly.

"It's a lot to explain, so you might want to sit down first. Rest assured we'll try our best to help in whatever way we can. My name is Shuichi Saihara, and… I guess for now you can call me another Ultimate Detective."

"I'm Maki Harukawa, Ultimate… Assassin." The girl in red with pigtails spoke up.

"I am Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Mage! Or… Magician." The small redhead with the witch hat said.

"Mage you say… another master of the mystic arts, hm? Fascinating… may you show me what power you hold in that small form of yours?" Gundham was intrigued.

"Uh… sure! Prepare to be amazed by my maaaaaagiiiiic." The girl prepared to use some kind of trick, but then was interrupted by Byakuya.

"Can you two cut it out. Have you all made contact with the members of that killing game yet?" And on cue, Maga-Z came out of the vent, holding the letter and the Infinity Saga box set.

"Indeed we have, now let us see what the Crimson Steel Elephant has bro—hm?" Gundham picks up the box set and stares at it intensely, "... I must formulate my response while observing this… collection of films. Come now young mage, show me more spells while we wait."

"Nyeh?" Was Himiko's reaction.

Everyone else was exasperated as they went to go pick up the letter.

Ai's POV, finally

*Ding, dong, bing, bong!*

"Gooooooood morning Monocity! It is now 7 a.m., and the weather today is a wonderfully cloudless blue sky! Remember to follow the law, but have fun! Also meet up by the large brown building immediately for a special surprise!"

That does not sound pleasant.

We were not able to hold that info gathering meeting, we'll probably be able to hold it later on.

One by one, all of us showed up to the gates of the building that we failed to get into yesterday. A couple of glares were shot in Aoba's direction, and I saw Sucy blankly staring at me. Eventually we heard that boing sound as Monokuma popped up from the ground.

"Good morning everyone, you're all probably curious about what's inside this place, aren't 'cha?"

"You're keeping something important in there, huh? Just tell us already!" Emma demanded.

"Alright alright, orange antenna, I won't tell you, but allow me to open it up for you all!" The bear stated as the gates lowered and the doors to the building opened.

Something did not feel right, so I took my time when walking over to the building. As I entered, it was… a school of some sorts? Like a modern-looking private school, that only allows certain individuals. I went to go up the stairs to check out more of the place but then…

"GUYS WE NEED TO GET OUT NOW!"

That was Miles, he must have sensed something. I quickly ran outside to join him, Trunks, Bernadetta, Gold, & Espio… seven of us are missing.

"Aw dang it, guess I'll have to make due with half of them." Monokuma said as the doors were closed again, along with solid metal barricading them.

"Wh-what?!" I let out.

"This motive is an oldie, but it'll have to do. If nobody is murdered while the seven of them are trapped in there, then they'll starve to death!"

Emma, Ryuji, Ishigami, Alice, Sucy, Killua, and Aoba… They're all in there, and we have no way of getting in after trying it out yesterday. This is the next motive… a kill or be killed scenario inside of this school…

Next time on Danganronpa: Fictional Nexus… Emma takes the lead. Sorry for the length of this one, the other ones will be much easier to take in. Also happy late birthdays to Bernadetta and Gundham!