Chapter 4: Sins of the Forsaken (Deadly Life #3)
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!
(Security Office)
Zuri widened her eyes.
She couldn't believe what she was watching. She had just turned on the Grinder and Minecart System shortly as Holland and her arrived. Originally, they had planned to do exactly what Mimi wanted to do: look for Jared via the Security Cameras. But somewhere in between, Zuri thought it was a good idea to turn on the Grinder and Minecart System.
The Minecart was missing.
And the Grinder?
She thought the Grinder was hiding Jared's body.
…
She never did see that Minecart toss Jared's body into the Grinder's chute like that, however. As soon as she stepped out and glanced over to the Grinder with her peripheral vision, she saw blue.
And that was where she was now.
She stood there, watching.
Jared was on his way to the Grinder.
She couldn't move.
Oh God.
What had she done?
What had she…?
"...Zuri, you alright?" Holland stepped out of the Security Office. "I'm not sure why you decided to go ahead and turn everything on but…"
Zuri quickly held onto Holland's hand.
"Z-Zuri?" Holland's face turned pink.
"L-Let's go, Holland," Zuri told him.
"W-What?" Holland blinked. "...But we just got here…"
"I know but I doubt we'll find him here anytime soon!" Zuri exclaimed. "So, let's just go! We might be running out of time!"
Hurriedly, she dragged him down the stairs away from the Security Office and away from the Mineshaft. She was scared. If she was the one who sent Jared to his death… If he had his… Her heart beated faster.
No.
She urgently led Holland away from Cell Block S in general.
…
Never realizing that one Ultimate Revolutionary saw them leaving while everyone else had argued amongst themselves…
TRIAL RECONVENE
"A Locked Room Mystery?" Zuri widened her eyes.
The third Security Footage had been revealed and Arthur Kingston had just made the damning statement that the case they were to solve now was none other than a classic Locked Room Mystery.
Goddamn it.
What has the world come to?
"Simply put," Arthur folded his arms as he began to explain. "Jared and his killer found themselves locked inside the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell. And based on the footage that Cassandra provided, we know that Jared was fighting his killer inside that same Cell. Furthermore, the door to the Cell can only be unlocked from the outside. The question remains, how exactly did Jared and his killer leave the Cell undetected from the three of us directly outside the Cell?"
"Maybe they didn't look hard enough or were just blind," Cassandra scoffed.
"But Mimi said that both she and Ina did a search of the entire Cell," Abigail frowned. "Maybe if it would be possible for one person but for two people? Even you know that's unlikely."
"With those two, probably not," Cassandra taunted.
Putting aside Cassandra's mean-spirited comments, this case has now officially become a Locked Room Mystery. Since the door was closed and could only be opened from the outside, there was no way Jared, and his killer could've just left the Cell undetected.
Could they?
…
Leave it to one person to raise doubts about this Locked Room debacle.
"Are we so sure the door was really closed at the time of the struggle?" Holland questioned.
"Well of course it had to be," Arthur frowned. "When Mimi got to the scene of the crime, the door was already closed. Furthermore, the button to the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell was unlit, meaning it had to have been active for more than 5 minutes."
"And when the door was finally reopened, Jared and his killer disappeared like magic!" Mimi exclaimed.
"...But there's something wrong with all of this," Holland noted. "I just… can't put my finger on it."
"Of course, there is something wrong with this," Arthur sighed. "It is a Locked Room Mystery after all."
"But even so, are we sure there are not any alternative exits inside the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell?" Ina asked.
"No," Haruto shook his head. "Abby, Mimi, and I checked the Cell during our Investigation. There were no alternative routes that either of us could find. So, the likelihood that both Jared and the killer left the room somehow other than the door is a big fat zero."
"But then, this case just becomes impossible," Zuri frowned. "There's no way a possible dead corpse and a possible killer can just disappear like that in a locked room."
"Well, I'm going back to my original theory of saying that the witch and Kingston #2 are just fucking blind, and the killer was hiding with Jared's body in plain sight," Cassandra shook her head.
"And that theory is just plain stupid," Abigail frowned.
"But at least it's more fucking possible than two physical bodies just up and disappearing like that," Cassandra argued.
As they argued, Holland continued to think about this conundrum. Assuming that Jared was in fact killed in the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell, there had to be an answer as to how the killer left the room with Jared.
And the answer…
…He knew it had to be in the new Security Footage that Cassandra had provided them.
But where…?
Holland thought back carefully to the footage he had watched. He thought back to the sights. The visuals. The actions. The sounds…
Then, he opened his eyes.
He had an idea.
"...I thought of something…" Holland rubbed his chin.
"You did?" Zuri blinked. "Did you figure out how the killer and Jared disappeared from the locked room?"
If he said this, he was for sure going to get some backlash. But that was part of making theories. And at least with this theory, he had something that backed him up.
"...Yeah, I think I figured it out," Holland said.
"Well, this should be interesting," Arthur smirked. "Tell us then, Holland. How did the killer and Jared disappear from the locked room…?"
If Holland was right about this, then this would totally help move the Trial along into a different direction. He gave it some thought.
"Well, in order to figure that out first, we have to know where the possible killer and Jared could've left the locked room," Holland nodded. That was a good first approach to this supposed Locked Room Mystery. "The killer and Jared left the locked room through…
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…
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...
...
...
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…the Cell's entrance."
"The Cell's entrance?" Mimi blinked. "What? Like they just passed through it? Like ghosts? I'm confused…"
"I'm going to explain…" Holland shook his head. "For starters, we know there are no other alternative routes to exit the room according to Haruto, Abigail, and Mimi. So, the entrance to Maggie's Cell is the only way the killer and Jared could've left."
"But that makes no sense," Ina was unconvinced. "Remember, the door was closed at the time and the only way to open it was from the outside. Other than that, there was no way for any of them to leave."
"That's correct…" Holland nodded. "But that's only if the door was closed at the time…"
"W-What?" Arthur blinked, realizing what Holland was hinting at. "A-Are you saying the door was… open?! Th-That's preposterous!"
"...But that would be the only way for them to leave," Holland continued.
"Are you delusional?" Arthur narrowed his eyes, coldly. "This is a Locked Room Mystery. I was there at the time of the discovery. Mimi, Ina and I have all testified that the door was closed at the time of the struggle. The door was closed when Mimi arrived at the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell… and the button to the Supermodel Cell door was unlit, meaning it was closed for at least five minutes time. You must be mistaken!"
"...No, I know I'm on the right track here," Holland shook his head. "And I have evidence that can help me prove my case…"
"Oh?" Arthur folded his arms, looking at Holland as if he was ready for the challenge. "Then present your evidence."
Holland nodded.
He knew exactly what evidence he needed to present here.
"In order to prove my case," Holland began. "We need to take a look at…
…
…
…
…
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…Maggie's Ultimate Cell's Security Footage."
"The Security Footage to the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "And what about it?"
"My stance is that the door was still open at the time of Jared's fight with his killer," Holland began. "And there is one detail in the Security Footage that proves it…
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…the loud slamming noise."
"The loud slamming noise?" Zuri looked surprised.
Then, there was a sudden silence. Nothing much happened for a while, but the footage also didn't fast-forward either, meaning something was going to pop out soon.
Then a loud sound of a slam could be heard.
Moments later, the loud hissing noise could be heard as well.
"Ah, now that you mention it, I did hear something like that!" Mimi nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, but couldn't that have just been the chairs," Abigail folded her arms in disbelief. "I mean, Haruto, Mimi, and I saw chairs all staggered around in the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell. Maybe the killer and Jared's struggle knocked some more over."
"...No, it couldn't," Holland shook his head. "Remember, there was a moment of silence between Jared's fight and the loud slamming noise. Not only that, but we've also seen and heard chairs being tossed around in the footage. None of them sounded like a loud slam…"
"So, you're proposing the loud slamming noise…" Arthur seemed to understand. "...Was actually the sound of the Cell door closing."
"...That's exactly it," Holland nodded. "Which means that the door had to have been open throughout the entire fight."
"I'll rip that statement apart!" Cassandra interjected, pointing her middle finger as she got ready to engage in a battle of wits against the game designer. "No dumbass, did you already forget what was said? The witch, Kingston #2, and asshole found the door closed. And not only that, but the witch also made mention that the button to the door was unlit. That means the door had been shut for at least 5 minutes."
"I hate to agree with Cassandra, but…" Mimi nodded. "Yeah. GC 1 was unlit at the time. And what you saw on the Security Footage was pretty much what I saw when we looked through the monitors. I went to the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell immediately and the door was closed!"
"Holland, are you sure you're not mistaken?" Zuri blinked. "I mean, maybe the loud slamming noise was something else?"
Holland shook his head.
No.
He had to be right about this. It was the only way this Locked Room Mystery made sense. It was the only way the killer and Jared could just disappear from the room. That door was the only way out and the only way they could leave through the door was if the door was open.
The loud slamming noise had to be the moment the door closed.
He was sure of it!
He thought back to what Abigail and Cassandra had said. He thought back to the testimony of Abigail and Zuri. Yes.
There was something off with it.
"...I know for a fact the loud slamming heard in the footage is actually the door closing," Holland began. "Because what Mimi and Cassandra have said contains a contradiction to the facts…"
"A fucking what?" Cassandra flinched.
"A contradiction?" Mimi blinked. "Where?"
"...Let me repeat your entire testimony," Holland flipped over his hoodie. "Mimi. You went into the Security Office to search for Jared on the Security Cameras. While doing so, you noticed that the button to GC 1 was unlit. There was no timer, which means the door had been closed for at least 5 minutes. It was around that time that you saw the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell Security Footage."
"Yeah… what about it?" Mimi was confused.
"...Remember exactly what you said," Holland continued.
"I hate to agree with Cassandra, but…" Mimi nodded. "Yeah. GC 1 was unlit at the time. And what you saw on the Security Footage was pretty much what I saw when we looked through the monitors. I went to the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell immediately and the door was closed!"
"I don't see where this dumbass is going with this," Cassandra grumbled.
"If what Cassandra provided for us to watch was exactly what Abigail and Zuri saw at the time of the fight," Holland continued. "And the loud slamming was without a doubt the door closing, then the problem lies here…
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…the timing."
"Th-The timing?!" Abigail jumped back.
"W-What the fuck are you talking about?!" Cassandra flinched.
"Wait, I don't get it!" Mimi tried to follow along. "Explain please!"
"...Put yourself in Mimi's shoes at the moment she saw the footage," Holland began. "The button to GC 1 was unlit. There was no timer."
"Yeah, so the door was closed for more than five minutes," Haruto seemed confused as well. "That's how the camera system works."
"A–Aghhhhh!" Arthur felt a harsh cold wind blow across his face.
"H-Half-brother, what's wrong?" Ina turned to Arthur, curiously.
"Th-The contradiction… I finally understand it…" Arthur gritted his teeth.
"Well, don't just get staggered like that and fucking tell us," Cassandra glared at the snowboarder. "What's the contradiction?"
"...Tch, the contradiction lies within the door itself," Arthur answered.
"W-What, the door?" Cassandra blinked.
"...Remember, GC 1 was unlit at the time," Holland continued. "Not only that, but the timer was off too. We've concluded that means that the door to Maggie's Cell had been closed for more than five minutes. But if Mimi saw the footage and left immediately after seeing it... what would've also played in the Footage that Mimi saw?"
"The loud slamming noise," Abigail concluded.
"Agh!" Zuri gasped. "And if that's the sound of the door closing…"
"...Exactly," Holland nodded. "That's where the contradiction is. The door had already been closed for more than five minutes and yet Mimi had witnessed a moment before the door had just closed."
"But wait… what does that mean?" Mimi blinked.
"...Simple," Holland was really confident with this now. "The culprit pulled off a trick to throw everyone off track. And they did it by doing one easy thing…
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…they delayed the camera footage!"
"D-Delayed the camera footage?!" Mimi gasped.
"Agh!" Abigail stepped back.
"Aghhh!" Zuri covered her ears.
"Wh-What the fuck!" Cassandra felt herself get slapped across the face.
Of course! The culprit had to have delayed the camera footage! That's the only way that this made any sense! That's why the testimonies that were given felt off. Mimi wasn't lying or mistaken. She was just under the influence of a trick established by the culprit of this case…
"Hold on," Ina folded her arms. "If the camera footage was delayed, what exactly does that change? This is still a Locked Room Mystery, is it not?"
"...This changes plenty," Holland rubbed his chin. "Before, everyone was a little uncertain whether the loud slamming could be the sound of the door. But now that we can undoubtedly say that it is the door, we should have a better understanding on trying to solve this mystery."
"We do?" Zuri blinked.
"...For starters," Holland nodded. "We know that the struggle took place a while before Mimi saw anything at the Security Office. So, knowing that there was a huge time gap in between the actual crime and you opening the Cell door, anything could've happened to Jared and the killer."
"Like, maybe the culprit killed Jared, carried him off to the Mineshaft, and then closed the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell," Mimi blinked.
"Or maybe they were set free by an accomplice," Ina theorized. "And then reclosed the Cell door."
"...Maybe," Holland wasn't sure about any of those options. "But the point is, we can at least say that Mimi's testimonies can't be relied on to solve this Locked Room Mystery."
"O-Oh, I see," Mimi looked down, sadly.
"...Ah, I didn't mean it… in a bad way," Holland rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm just saying that it's not important for this specific mystery we're trying to figure out."
"Yes, because even though we know that the camera footage has been delayed in order to fool anyone from watching the monitor," Arthur folded his arms. "That still does not solve the Locked Room Mystery."
"Eh?" Mimi groaned. "It doesn't?"
"Yeah, of course it wouldn't," Haruto sighed. "There's still the fact that Jared did still fight with his killer and not only that, but the door could be heard closing too. Both Jared and the killer would have still been locked inside Maggie's Cell. So, we still have the issue on how they got out."
"...The only way they could get out was through the door," Holland reiterated. "After all, there were no alternative exit routes. Which means, Jared and the killer must've left by the time the door closed."
"But that's a little strange, don't you think?" Abigail jumped in. "If I was the killer, I would've just left Jared in the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell for someone to find. But instead, the killer left with Jared's body to I guess, hide him behind the walls or something."
"Not only that, but Jared's body would've been a little hard for anyone to carry around," Zuri pointed out. "Do you really think they could've left with Jared's body in between the time everything going quiet and then the door closing."
"And also, there's something weird with what goes on between the fight and the door closing..." Mimi added.
"What do you mean?" Ina turned to Mimi.
Mimi gave her a small look of disapproval before continuing.
"...Well, we saw Jared fighting someone and after that, there was a small moment of silence, right?" Mimi asked.
Not much happened in the first two minutes until the sounds of a struggle was heard. There was grunting and what seemed to be chairs being tossed around off-screen. That was when Jared in his police hat and uniform, was thrown into the frame. It definitely seemed like he was fighting an unknown assailant because the moment he caught his breath, he charged back into the camera's blind spot.
Then, there was a sudden silence. Nothing much happened for a while, but the footage also didn't fast-forward either, meaning something was going to pop out soon.
Then a loud sound of a slam could be heard.
"It was after that silence that the door closed," Mimi continued. "I don't know about you, but if I was on camera duty, I would've closed the door as soon as I saw Jared fighting the killer. Because, then I can trap the killer in the room, and it would instantly help solve the mystery!"
"But instead, the door closed after everything had gone quiet," Ina rubbed her chin before nodding at Mimi in approval. "That is a great catch, Mimi. Good job."
"I don't need praises from you," Mimi deadpanned.
Nevertheless, Mimi made a good point of deduction.
The timing of the silence and the door closing was certainly unnatural. The door only closed directly after the room got silent. As if the door had only decided to close after Jared was killed. But how? How was that even possible? And also... why?
…
It seemed only Arthur seemed to have a possible idea. He folded his arms with a sly smirk as he thought about this riddle especially carefully. And ultimately, that careful thought consideration aided him in what he was about to say next.
"Perhaps the door closing was planned," Arthur smirked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Cassandra cut in. "You're telling me the killer planned for the door to close?"
"Precisely," Arthur nodded.
"How?" Cassandra squinted her eyes toward Arthur as if he were an idiot. "The only way the killer could plan for the door to close, is if they knew when the button to GC 1 was going to be pressed in… y'know, the Security Office. Some place that was far away from the scene in the footage?"
"Was the killer a wizard?" Mimi blinked. "Because the only way that could be pulled off is if they were psychic."
"There is no magic required for the trick the killer pulled off to escape this locked room," Arthur smirked. "After all, the door only closed after the fighting had stopped."
"Half-brother, you figured out how the killer and Jared left the room?" Ina questioned.
"I have an idea," Arthur nodded. "But first, in order to reach the conclusion, we need to ask, if the killer was able to plan the door closing, who would've been the one to close the door in the first place?"
If the killer knew the door was going to close… If the killer knew exactly when the door was going to close… If the killer somehow predicted when the door was going to close… Well, that would make them psychic. But Arthur insisted that there was no magic involved. So, if that's the case, then who would have undoubtedly closed the door?
"Urgh, I'm not exactly sure..." Zuri tapped her chin.
"The answer should be obvious…" Arthur smirked. "After all, could the person who closed the door in the first place not be…
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…Jared himself?"
"Eh?" Mimi blankly stared at Arthur. "Jared himself? But… why?"
"Ah, I see where this is going," Haruto crossed his arms. "It makes sense given what that bastard did to me in Zuri's Cell."
"So, you think that this Locked Room Mystery idea was planned by Jared himself?" Abigail blinked.
"Precisely," Arthur nodded. "After all, Jared was looking to kill an Innocent in order to leave. Why couldn't he have lured an Innocent into the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell and fought them there…"
"But that doesn't even explain how he planned the door to close," Cassandra pointed out. "Did he just make some sort of fucking contraption to hit the button at a specific time? Hey, Haruto! Think of what contraption that would be!"
"Bitch, no one mentioned anything that would relate to a contraption!" Haruto growled.
"If there was no contraption, then Kingston is just shitting out of his mouth!" Cassandra yelled. "The door could only be opened from the outside. And once opened, that's it. You have to close it again. And in order to close it again, you'd have to be at the Security Office and do it yourself. And double that, the door closed after a certain amount of time. The distance from between the Security Office and Maggie's Cell is once again, super fucking far away. So, unless Jared could be in two places at once, I still don't see how Jared could've been the one to plan for the door to close… especially if he's the one who died in the fucking Ultimate Supermodel's Cell."
"That's because you lack creativity, Cassandra," Arthur smirked. "There is a way for the door to be closed and for Jared and his killer to be able to enter and exit the room without going to the Security Office after."
"Big words," Cassandra challenged. "Then explain. How did Jared and his killer get out of a locked room without opening the door?"
Remember.
Jared was caught on camera in the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell fighting an unknown assailant. Shortly after the scene went quiet, the door closed. Arthur claims that the door closing was planned and not only that, but Jared was the one who closed it in the first place.
However, in order to close it, Jared would've had to walk all the way to the Security Room to do so and given the amount of time in the video and the fact that he probably died at that moment, that was impossible. So how exactly did Jared and his killer leave the room and close the door rather quickly?
"Jared could've only planned for the door to close," Arthur began. "And he could've done so if he did one simple trick…
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…lodge something in between the door and the doorframe."
"H-He… lodged something?" Cassandra widened her eyes.
"The set-up is rather simple," Arthur folded his arms. "All you need to do is place an object at the door frame. Then you go to the Security Office and press the button to the specific door frame. In our case, it was the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell. What would happen to the door then?"
"The door… wouldn't be able to close all the way," Abigail blinked.
"...So, in actuality," Holland rubbed his chin. "The door was both open and closed at the same time..."
"Exactly," Arthur nodded. "Once the button to GC 1 was pressed, the door would've closed but it wouldn't have closed all the way. The door would've been registered as closed and cause the button to be unlit. After all, the door being closed isn't the only way for the button to unlight like that..."
"Wait, so, what are the other doors that are closed?" Arthur blinked. "There are two currently closed doors are there not? That is what the unlit buttons mean, correct?"
"...Well, no," Monohebi shook her head. "It doesn't necessarily mean the door is closed. It could just mean the door is currently not functioning correctly. Just like the doors to GC 2 and GC 4."
"I see," Arthur rubbed his chin.
"Of course," Ina nodded. "Technically, the door would not be functioning correctly, which would have prompted the light to remain unlit. And if there truly was something lodged between the door and the doorframe, there would have been a gap big enough for Jared and his killer to fit through. Unfortunately for Jared, he lost his fight against his killer…"
"...Which left the killer to pick up the remaining piece to Jared's plan," Holland followed Arthur's train of thought. "All they needed to do was simply carry Jared's body and leave through the gap. Then, take away whatever had been lodged between the door and the doorframe."
"Once the item was removed, the door would automatically shut and seal itself," Arthur nodded. "And because the door was technically closed for a while, the timer would've already exceeded five minutes."
"So, is that truly the secret behind the Locked Room Mystery?" Ina widened her eyes. "Is that how the bodies truly disappeared?"
"It has to be," Arthur nodded. "After all, it is the only way the door could've been planned to close. The timing of the door closing in the video proves this."
"Hang on!" Cassandra barked. "This logic is fucking stupid. You say that an object was lodged between the door and the door frame? Where's your evidence?! Did you guys even find anything that could've been lodged? Because I sure as hell didn't hear anyone speak up about it!"
Cassandra was right and Arthur knew that. He didn't have evidence, but he was confident that his deduction was correct. This was the only way the Locked Room Mystery could've been pulled off. But who had the evidence for that…?
"Ah!" Zuri widened her eyes in disbelief. "Of course! So that would explain…"
"...I think I know what you're referring to, Zuri," Holland nodded toward the bassist.
"W-What, you two actually have evidence of this?" Cassandra glared at the two. "Why the fuck didn't you two say anything in the first place?"
"...That's… a little hypocritical of you to say," Holland deadpanned.
"Well, at the time, we didn't know what it meant, but yeah, we do have evidence," Zuri nodded, remembering that specific piece of evidence. "More specifically, we have the object that was used to lodge the door...
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…my bass guitar!"
"Y-Your, bass guitar?" Cassandra blinked.
On the side of the bass guitar's body was a line mark trailing down. Whatever happened to it looked deep enough that it was able to expose the wood behind the green plastic decorations.
"...Huh, I wonder what happened to it," Holland blinked. "Could this be a result of…"
"There's another mark?!" Zuri gasped as she stared at the other side of the instrument.
"...A-Another one?" Holland blankly stared at Zuri.
He examined where Zuri had seen the mark. This was… literally on the opposite side of the previous mark. The previous mark was on the left side of the guitar's body. Now this was on the right side.
It was the same kind of mark as well. A line that trailed down that was carved in big enough to expose the wood components of the guitar and completely remove the green plastic decor of the instrument.
Holland checked both line marks curiously.
"...Well, what's strange about these line marks is that they seem to match up symmetrically…" Holland noted.
"Symmetrically?" Zuri blinked.
"...Yeah," Holland nodded. "If you trail your finger from one side of the line mark to the other, your finger should move in a straight line to directly match… Er… Zuri?"
"There were marks on the sides of my bass guitar," Zuri pointed out. "At first, we didn't know what it was. But now that this theory about lodging the door with an item was brought up…"
"...It's possible that the object used to lodge the door was Zuri's bass guitar," Holland nodded. "After all, the marks could've only been formed by the force of the door pushing itself against the guitar to the door frame. It could also explain how the marks were symmetrical as well, because the guitar was placed directly in the middle of the door and the doorframe..."
"Agh!" Cassandra felt the wind slap her across the cheek. She rubbed the side of her cheek, angrily. "Then… The door was really…"
"No doubt about it now," Haruto nodded. "That is how the Locked Room Mystery was pulled off. Jared lodged the door with a bass guitar with full intent on killing his killer. Jared and the killer squeeze through the gap. Jared fucking dies. Killer leaves with Jared and removes the bass guitar, which closes the door all the way through."
What a way to create a Locked Room Mystery!
"But if that's the case, then there's something that doesn't make sense," Mimi tapped her chin. "If Jared was the one who lodged the door… then why did the killer follow him inside? I mean, it had to be obvious that that was a trap to lure the killer into the room, right?"
"Maybe that was the original intention," Abigail theorized.
"Original intention?" Mimi blinked.
"Well, remember," Abigail played with her purple locks. "Jared's main goal was to kill an Innocent. And if we're still in the Trial, his killer would have to be a Traitor. My guess is that the killer probably saw what Jared was planning during the hunt for him. That was when the fight broke out and in the ensuing struggle, the killer… killed Jared."
"So, in other words, the killer stopped Jared from trying to kill someone in order to leave," Zuri concluded. "I…"
Zuri frowned bitterly to herself.
She had made so much progress with Jared. They went from enemies at the start of this Chapter to rivals. And it only hurt her more to hear that he had reverted back to his crazy ways. However, this time, it seemed like he was willing to sacrifice someone for it to end…
…
But for some reason, that narrative didn't make sense. In fact, it hardly made any sense to Cassandra in the beginning. After all, she was the one who Jared interacted with the most. And she remembered a detail that Jared would often keep pointing out, especially from that moment where Monohebi had pretty much exposed her actions to him.
"The reason why I do what I do is to save lives," Jared started to yell. "There are still people here that need to be saved and I'm not going to abandon them so easily like you would! So, for once in your life, can you stop being so selfish?!"
Cassandra glanced down as her voice shook slightly. Though, she tried to keep it steady in hopes that she could keep that iron wall of hers up.
"...Those same people you refer to don't want your help," Cassandra tried to argue.
"So, what if they don't?" Jared folded his arms. "I've said this countless times. I don't care what happens to me as long as people are saved. That's what it means to be a police officer. That's what it means to care about other people's wellbeing…"
"...No, that doesn't make any fucking sense," Cassandra shook her head, slightly aching from that dreadful memory. "Jared killed someone just to leave. It's… not like him at all."
"Oh?" Arthur raised an eyebrow before smirking. "I didn't expect to hear that from Cassandra of all people."
"Besides, there is a lot of shit that Jared did that we could consider 'not like him at all'," Haruto deadpanned.
"Yeah, but the thing is, Jared was someone who wanted to save lives right?" Cassandra frowned. "I mean, the only person he would ever want to kill was White Collar. And all of a sudden, he wants to go and kill one of us? That makes no fucking sense."
"That is true," Zuri nodded. "Jared always stressed how much he would make sure people would live even if it cost his own life."
"So, why did Jared start going around trying to kill someone?" Mimi asked, curiously.
"Well, maybe he didn't," Cassandra tried to argue. "Maybe… this is just some shit narrative spun by the real killer to make us think that he was fucking crazy."
"Nonsense," Arthur shook his head with a smirk.
"You're smirking," Abigail narrowed her eyes. "What exactly do you have?"
"Simple," Arthur shrugged. "I have evidence that Jared would have every right to try to kill someone in order to leave."
"W-What?" Cassandra widened her eyes.
What would have made someone like Jared change his own philosophy so hard like that? He was always so serious about being a police officer and a defender of human life. So why? What was this…?
"Ah of course," Ina nodded. "The evidence that Jared would have desired to kill a Traitor to leave was…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
…his Disadvantage."
"His Disadvantage?" Mimi blinked.
"Think back to the last Minigame round we played," Arthur helped to explain. "What was the result of the Minigame?"
Pair A: Abigail [TRUST] vs. Zuri [TRUST]
Pair B: Arthur and Ina [DISTRUST] vs. Jared [TRUST]
Pair C: Cassandra [DISTRUST] vs. Haruto [DISTRUST]
Pair D: Holland [TRUST] vs. Mimi [TRUST]
"You picked Distrust over his Trust," Abigail pointed out. "Like the scumbag you are."
"Th-That's not the point," Arthur scoffed. "The point is, Jared lost his Minigame and thus he received a Disadvantage."
"Okay, then which Disadvantage did you choose that would've made him go nuts like that?" Haruto glared.
"The Loved Ones Disadvantage," Ina answered.
"You… Are you two fucking insane?!" Cassandra yelled. "That Disadvantage is a fucking death sentence to anyone!"
"Oh?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "And why are you so angry at me? I believe you should share the blame as well."
"W-What the fuck are you talking about?" Cassandra gritted her teeth.
"According to Monohebi…" Ina folded her arms, closing her arms, similar to how her half-brother would do.
"Similarly, Mister Caertas had already received the Hated Ones Disadvantage thanks to Miss Mura," Monohebi explained. "It was already in effect since the end of the first Round of Guess Who, meaning he can't have another Hated One Disadvantage. That would make no sense. And because you two had no bounty to give him, that only really meant one other Disadvantage he could have received…"
"The Loved Ones Disadvantage," Ina clenched her fist.
"...the Loved Ones Disadvantage was the only Disadvantage that could've been given to Jared," Ina explained. "Arthur and I had no bounty on our heads, so the Bounty Disadvantage could not be administered. Similarly, Jared had already received the Hated One Disadvantage. And according to Monohebi, one person cannot receive the same Disadvantage twice."
"S-So, it's your guys' fault that Jared went crazy," Cassandra glared at the two hatefully.
"Oh?" Arthur raised an eyebrow again. "Don't forget, because you gave Jared the Hated Ones Disadvantage which prompted him to receive the Loved Ones Disadvantage in the first place."
Cassandra gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.
There's no way.
She was partly to blame for his...?
"But still, it's only natural for the Kingstons to be the cause of every problem here," Mimi folded her arms, unimpressed.
"...Regardless, we know that because of his Disadvantage, Jared plotted to kill someone in order to leave," Holland noted. "Because we know that he was a Traitor, we also know that whoever killed him had to also have been a Traitor…"
"And it's not like we can reveal our statuses so easily," Haruto grumbled. "Monohebi's rule prevents that. Otherwise, narrowing down the list of suspects would be hell of a lot easier…"
"I still don't believe that Jared would've been the type to just betray his code like that," Cassandra folded her arms. "There has to be more to this. There has to be…"
"...Unfortunately, this fits exactly to what I heard before I closed the door to Zuri's Ultimate Cell," Holland shook his head. "...Which actually reminds me. Why haven't you shown the Security Footage to Zuri's Ultimate Cell yet?"
"H-Huh?" Cassandra blinked.
"Hey, yeah, you showed the other three Security Footages," Abigail nodded. "What happened to the last one? The one for Zuri's Cell?"
Cassandra began to sweat.
If they heard what she heard, then they would immediately double-down on what she refused to believe. She knew Jared. And even though they left off on a bad note, Cassandra didn't… Cassandra didn't want that image of Jared left in her brain. She just didn't want to.
But she had to...
Cassandra grimaced.
She reached into her pockets, tightening her grip on the last USB drive she had yet to showcase. There was no way out of this now. No matter what her opinion of Jared may have been, this was the truth…
Everything recorded down, had to have been the truth…
"F-Fine," Cassandra glanced away. "If you guys want it so badly, then here it fucking is!"
She took the drive to the Ultimate Bassist's Cell Security Footage and held it up in the air. With a nod of satisfaction, Arthur turned to Monohebi.
"If you please," he urged.
"Very well then," Monohebi nodded before slithering toward Cassandra, snatching the USB drive out of the scam artist's hands, and then inserting it into the projecting.
Then, the video that was originally given to Cassandra played for everyone in the room…
It was the Ultimate Bassist's Security Footage!
Unlike the previous three footages, the Ultimate Bassist's Cell Security Footage started out with a black screen with white words on the bottom declaring: "Audio Recording Only". As such, visuals were useless and the only thing they could really hear from the video was just the audio itself. As if that wasn't obvious from "Audio Recording Only".
The audio began with a voice that was most clearly Jared himself:
"I… I hate to do this. But someone has to die. If it means that I can protect her, then I have no choice. This is what I have to do. I'm sorry…"
A loud slam could be heard.
Then, Haruto's voice came in.
"W-What the–"
A loud pounding could be heard.
Then the footage fast forwarded. Though there were some sped up voices in between the fast forwarding, but because it was sped up, no one would be able to tell who was speaking. After five minutes, the footage resumed at its normal speed as Haruto's voice came through...
"Shit, the door can only be-"
A loud hissing noise followed after.
The sound of an ensuing scuffle occurred. A cough could be audibly heard and suddenly the room went quiet. There wasn't a notable sound to be heard shortly after.
Then, just like its predecessors, the security footage ended with a replay button for anyone examining it to press in case they wanted to watch it again. But that was pretty much all that was recorded and edited for Investigations sake in the Ultimate Bassist's Cell Security Footage.
"Yeah, this moment was the moment Jared fucking attacked me," Haruto grumbled. "You guys heard that scuffle? That was when the bastard fucking punched me into the Sound Booth. When I came to, the bastard was already gone, and I was fucking locked in."
"Huh?" Zuri perked her head. "But that doesn't make much sense. I mean, there was that same loud slam noise from Maggie's Cell. Doesn't that mean that the door to the Ultimate Bassist's Cell was closed?"
"Yes, it does," Arthur smirked. "Meaning, Haruto should've been trapped with Jared."
"Yeah, should've," Haruto nodded. "But I didn't even fucking see Jared after. The bastard went ahead and disappeared on my ass after punching me in the face."
"Could it be possible that Jared used the same 'lodge the door' method he used with Maggie's Cell?" Zuri blinked. "Maybe that's how he escaped and left Haruto locked in!"
Could it be possible that Jared used the same method?
Well, the bass guitars were much closer than in the Bassist's Cell than it was at Maggie's Cell. Theoretically, the same method could've been pulled off. But the possibility was up for the prisoners to decide.
Yes or no?
Could it be possible that Jared used the same method?
"...No," Holland shook his head. He picked a response to my question. "I… actually never listened to the full footage until now but now I have, I think for sure, Jared could not have used the same method…"
"Oh really?" Mimi blinked. "Why do you say that?"
"...There is one moment in the video that proves that Jared couldn't have lodged the door and left," Holland stated. "And that moment is…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
…the loud slam."
"The loud slam?" Zuri blinked. "You mean when the door closes, right?"
"...Think back to when exactly the door actually closes," Holland noted. "Keep note of Haruto's reaction to this as well…"
The audio began with a voice that was most clearly Jared himself:
"I… I hate to do this. But someone has to die. If it means that I can protect her, then I have no choice. This is what I have to do. I'm sorry…"
A loud slam could be heard.
Then, Haruto's voice came in.
"W-What the–"
"He sounds… surprised," Abigail surmised.
"For Maggie's Cell, we know that the door closing was planned because the loud slam noise occurs shortly after the sound of fighting stops," Holland explained. "But here, the loud slam noise occurs before the struggle even starts."
"And if Haruto was surprised by this, that means he never really counted on the door to close to begin with," Zuri blinked.
"But why did he not?" Ina asked. "He should have expected someone would have listened to his rambles, yes?"
"No, he wouldn't have," Arthur shook his head. "Have you forgotten that piece of evidence already, sister?"
Arthur had some evidence that Jared could not have expected the door to close to begin with.
"The evidence that Jared couldn't have expected the door to close…" Arthur began. "This proves why…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
...
...
…the Security Office note!"
"A-Agh!" Zuri widened her eyes. "R-Really?"
"What is this note?" Mimi blinked. "Could someone explain?"
"...Well, for context, Zuri, Jared, and I were assigned shifts," Holland began to explain. "Each shift went like this: 1st shift from Morning to Evening. 2nd shift from Evening to Afternoon. And 3rd shift from Afternoon to Night. Zuri was to take the 1st, I was the 2nd, and Jared was the 3rd."
"And that note was made yesterday, when I asked Holland to switch shifts with me," Zuri looked down.
"And did you?" Arthur smirked.
Holland glanced away.
Zuri looked nervous.
"...Y-Yeah," Zuri nervously responded.
"The fuck?!" Haruto growled. "And after all that fucking hard work, I did!"
"All you did was assign them shifts because you got tired of their arguing," Abigail reminded.
Holland and Zuri glanced at each other worriedly. Never did they think that doing such a simple and seemingly harmless thing would come biting them in their asses like this. They remembered the conversation they had yesterday about their shift…
"Oh, I see," Zuri looked down sadly before looking back up slightly determined. "Ah, but I still would like to switch shifts if you don't mind!"
"...Switch shifts without telling Jared?" Holland asked.
"No, we'll still tell him but not directly," Zuri smiled. "So that when he feels better after Haruto checks up on him, he won't feel the need to fight!"
"...Not directly…" Holland rubbed his chin.
"I'll put a note right here," Zuri grabbed a note from who knows where… probably from one of the cabinets in the Security Office and taped it to the window of the Security Office. On it, she had written:
'TO JARED:
HOLLAND AND I DECIDED TO SWITCH SHIFTS. JUST A HEADS UP FOR YOU IF YOU END UP SEEING ME INSTEAD OF HOLLAND!
- ZURI'
"There," Zuri smiled proudly. "Now, he shouldn't have much to complain about, right?"
"Okay, okay," Zuri admitted, twiddling her fingers together. "It was only because I felt like Holland could've done a better job for morning shifts than I did. After all, I kept wasting a lot of time sleeping…"
"...And I was more of a morning person anyway…" Holland rubbed the back of his neck. "So, it made sense at the time. Neither of us knew something like this was going to happen…"
"Was Jared made aware of this?" Abigail asked, curiously.
"Well, we kind of hoped he was..." Zuri frowned. "We made sure to tell him on that note, but we never told him outright. Only because we kind of had a feeling it would lead into another argument. Especially with how moody he was that morning. But I made the note anyway to reflect that Holland and I did switch…"
"Wait a minute, but..." Haruto blinked. "Jared wouldn't have been aware of it! Remember what I said earlier? Jared passed up on heading to his shift that night!"
"And if he believed that you were on the original shift, then that proves that Jared wouldn't have expected the door to close," Arthur explained.
"B-Because…" Mimi remembered a point of contention within Zuri and Jared's arguments.
At least you got something right," Jared sighed, tipping his hat down. "You know, you're kind of bad at this leadership surveillance duty. Should've just left everything to me. I mean, you missed both of your shifts?"
"I– I– I'm sorry," Zuri looked ashamed. "I didn't mean to! I just found myself so much more tired than usual!"
"Because Zuri was always late to her shifts," Mimi realized. "If he still thought that Zuri was on her original shift, he would probably think that Zuri wasn't going to make it today."
"Hence, why the door closing was such a big surprise too," Arthur nodded. "Perhaps that was also why Jared chose to meet with Haruto there and perhaps it also meant that Jared would've been locked in with Haruto at the time."
"In the footage, Haruto did in fact seem to say that the only way to open the door was from the outside," Cassandra nodded. "After, y'know, five minutes of the footage fast-forwarding."
"So… we're dealing with yet another Locked Room Mystery here," Abigail blinked. "Namely, how the hell did Jared escape Zuri's Cell if he was locked in with Haruto?"
"Yeah, that's the big question that I don't fucking get," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck.
Holland thought about this closely. He and Zuri were the ones who investigated the Ultimate Bassist's Cell, so naturally, it was them who had to come up with an answer to this second mystery.
Jared and Haruto were locked in together. Jared punches and knocks out Haruto. And then once Haruto wakes up, Jared is long gone and still locked in the room. How was this possible…?
It didn't take long till Holland reached a conclusion.
The answer had become painfully obvious.
How did Jared escape the Ultimate Bassist Locked Room?
"...I know how Jared escaped the Locked Room," Holland voiced.
"Y-You do?" Zuri asked, surprised. "How did he escape the Locked Room then? Remember Holland, the only way out through my Cell is through the main entrance, just like Maggie's Cell! So, knowing that… how did he do it?"
"...It's really simple actually," Holland rubbed his chin as he took a deep breath. "The way that Jared was able to escape…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
…He never did."
"Huh?" Zuri blinked.
"W-What the fuck are you talking about?" Haruto blinked, confused before looking irritated. "The bastard was gone when I woke up. If he never left the Cell, then where the fuck was he?"
Holland frowned to himself.
He's figured it out.
The answer was so simple.
All they needed was this specific video and the knowledge on what the loud slamming noise was to figure everything out.
"...Why don't you tell us yourself…?" Holland directed his eyes toward someone. "After all, you're the only one who can be the culprit behind this case…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
...
...
…isn't that right, Haruto?"
"H-Huh?!" Mimi gasped.
"W-What?!" Zuri exclaimed.
Abigail looked away.
"You bastard," Cassandra glared at Haruto. "You're the one who killed Jared?!"
Haruto blinked for a moment before sighing. The heat against him just came out of nowhere, but it seemed like he expected this accusation from the very beginning.
"Yeah, I expected that, honestly," Haruto sighed. "When the video was shown, I knew I was going to be the main suspect one way or the other. But I'm telling you, once I got my bearings all cleared up, I didn't see Jared. That's the truth!"
"If that's what Haruto says, then it has to be true right?" Abigail folded her arms, nervously. "I mean, maybe there was another way Jared would have escaped…"
"Oh, shut up Abbygail!" Cassandra looked seriously pissed off. "You're just saying that because you suck his dick!"
"N-No I don't!" Abigail glared at Cassandra, her face blushing. "You're just mad because you never got a chance to do that with Jared!"
"The fuck you say?!" Cassandra was even more pissed off by that comment. "I'll fucking kill you!"
"Abby, Assandra," Haruto swooped in, not wanting the Trial to be talking about sucking dicks. "Knock it off. The heat is on me, remember? Besides, I know I can't prove it but you just gotta trust me on this. I'm not the fucking culprit! I really didn't know where he was. So, it's just like Abby said, he had to have escaped through another way!"
"...But there was no other way to escape unless someone opened the door from the other side," Holland frowned.
"Then that must've been what happened!" Haruto tried to argue. "Maybe when you closed the door, a third party came along and opened the door. Someone with the eHandbook advantage! Jared would've taken this chance to lock me in the Sound Booth to go on his killing spree. After that, maybe Jared was the one who closed the door again!"
"...That can't be it," Holland shook his head. "The door can only be opened with an eHandbook after five minutes have passed. Not only that, but you have to wait five extra minutes just for the doors to reboot. Gathering as many people as I could to hopefully restrain Jared didn't take at least 10 minutes. Your scenario takes 20!"
"Then, you should also still believe me, because the only time the door was opened was when you were all gathered…" Haruto tried to argue. "And none of you found Jared either!"
"He's right!" Zuri turned to Holland. "Are you sure you're not mistaken, Holland? None of us saw Jared in my Cell by the time it opened. So how could Jared still have been inside? Where could he have been?"
Where could Jared have been?
Holland knew he was on the right track with this. He had to be! Jared and Haruto were locked in Zuri's Cell. The only way out was through the door. Meaning, by the time everyone had gathered and found Haruto, Jared still had to be inside! But where?
Where?
Holland closed his eyes to think before opening them a minute of consideration later. He knew the answer to this.
"There was only one place Jared could've been," Holland stated. "Jared couldn't have escaped. Because Jared was actually…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
…in the Sound Booth with Haruto!"
"Th-The Sound Booth?!" Mimi exclaimed.
"A-Agh… Agh…" Haruto widened his eyes. "A-AGHHHHHHHH!"
He felt himself getting punched in the gut. Once he recoiled from the pain of what that invisible force was, he covered his stomach, his eyes twitching slightly.
"H-He was in the Sound Booth that entire time?!" Zuri blinked. "But then, how did we not notice him before?!"
"...Because we never actually saw what was inside the Sound Booth," Holland explained, simply.
From the looks of it, it seems the door was barricaded with one of the chairs by the bass guitars. Easily, she shoved the chair aside and opened the door. Once she did, Haruto bursted out of the door before she could even enter the Sound Booth with a visibly ticked off expression on his face.
And as if him being pissed off wasn't enough, he had stopped trying to contain his nosebleed, letting it spill down his lips.
"H-Haruto?!" Abigail widened her eyes. "A-Are you oka–"
"Jared was inside the Sound Booth," Holland reiterated. "The reason no one saw him was because Haruto distracted everyone with a story that Jared was off to kill an Innocent. And everyone left in order to track him down. Not once did anyone ever think that Jared would've been in the Sound Booth with him."
"S-So that means…" Cassandra bit her finger. "Jared really… wasn't trying to kill anyone?"
"...From the sounds of it," Arthur folded his arms. "It seems that was merely a lie to send everyone on a wild goose chase."
"Y-You fucking bastard!" Cassandra glared at Haruto.
"H-Hang on just a minute!" Haruto's calm demeanor suddenly changed to a desperate form of anger. "W-Where's your proof, huh?! Y-You got any proof that Jared was in the Sound Booth with me? Because if you don't have proof, your logic is shit! That's the norm of these damn Trials, isn't it?!"
Holland rubbed his chin.
Did he have proof that Jared was in the Sound Booth with Haruto?
It didn't take long for Holland to know the answer to that question. He merely nodded. He leaned forward, hell-bent on sending it on Haruto. He has to be the culprit behind this case!
"...Of course, I have proof," Holland dictated. "Evidence that proves that Jared had to have been in the Sound Booth with Haruto is…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
...
...
…the blood inside the Sound Booth!"
"B-Blood?!" Haruto recoiled in shock.
"Hey, I found something," Zuri blinked as she inched close to the ground.
She specifically looked at the ground at the far right of the room. It was… a small bloodstain?
"Is this blood?" Zuri blinked. "Where would it have come from?"
"Yeah, Holland's right," Zuri nodded. "There was a small bloodstain on the floor of the Sound Booth. We initially thought it was Haruto's because he had a nosebleed by the time, we found him. But how exactly does..."
"...The blood was located at the far right of the room, away from the door, wasn't it?" Holland asked. "If that's the case, then that blood could've belonged to Jared instead of Haruto."
"Oh my God!" Zuri gasped. "Then, no doubt, Haruto had been lying to us from the very beginning. H-Haruto, you didn't kill Jared, did you?"
"I… I…" Haruto was starting to sweat.
Suddenly, the attention was on him. The Trial was getting heated, and he had no way out of this. Right? He noticed Abigail's glance of concern. He clenched his fist tightly.
"I…" Haruto tried to say something but it was Cassandra who responded.
"Can't say anything, huh, Haruto?" Cassandra glared at Haruto. "Did it feel good? Knowing you were the fucker who killed someone like Jared?"
"Sh-Shut the fuck up," Haruto tried to muster up a response. Any response. But he was too tongue-tied to do anything.
This couldn't be the end for Haruto…
Could it?
…
"E-Enough," came the voice of Abigail, who looked dangerously protective at this point.
"W-What, A-Abby?" Haruto blinked.
"There's no way Haruto's the killer," Abigail shook her head. "I refuse to believe it."
"Who would've guessed that Abbygail would've come to the rescue of her boyfriend," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Fuck this. Let's just vote Haruto and get this over with."
"You never do change, do you Assandra?" Abigail coldly stared at the scam artist bitch.
"Quit calling me that!" Cassandra's bitchy overtones turned to swift anger as she pounded her fist on the podium.
"...Cassandra, be quiet," Holland found himself a little annoyed by Cassandra's constant bickering. "Abigail, what would it take for you to admit that Haruto could very well be the killer, without a doubt?"
"The blood that you found in the Sound Booth," Abigail turned to answer Holland. "It's not definitive proof that Haruto was hiding Jared in the Sound Booth. Maybe that bloodstain really did come from Haruto himself!"
"Yes, but then you would also be proposing that Jared left a Locked Room by some other means," Arthur folded his arms. "Jared's body being hidden by Haruto in the Sound Booth makes the most logical sense!"
"O-Okay, but if Jared really was locked in with Haruto in the Sound Booth, explain how they got locked in the Sound Booth," Abigail stated. "Remember, what happened when we found Haruto locked inside?"
From the looks of it, it seems the door was barricaded with one of the chairs by the bass guitars. Easily, she shoved the chair aside and opened the door. Once she did, Haruto bursted out of the door before she could even enter the Sound Booth with a visibly ticked off expression on his face.
"It was barricaded with a chair," Zuri realized.
"Yeah, and logically, you can't barricade the door with a chair unless you're outside the Sound Booth," Abigail argued. "Which is exactly what happened with Jared and Haruto. Jared really did lock Haruto in the Sound Booth after punching him and barricaded the door with the chair."
"The chair was really heavy, so it probably was hard for even Haruto to try to escape," Zuri noted.
"You see?" Abigail sighed in relief. "It's impossible for two people to just lock themselves in the Sound Booth without one person being outside of the room. That person, being Jared!"
Holland shook his head.
"...Improbable but not impossible," Holland stated, rather confidently.
"W-What?" Abigail widened her eyes.
"...There is a way for two people to lock themselves in the Sound Booth," Holland said. "And this evidence proves it...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...the chair itself!"
"W-What?!" Abigail recoiled in shock. "H-How?!"
Snapping out of that mental note, he glanced at where Zuri had placed the chair. From the looks of it, it was originally close to the door to the Sound Booth.
"Well, does this tell you anything?" Zuri asked with a smile.
She let go of the chair which prompted the chair to tilt slightly to its left.
"Ah, wow, this must be a very insecure chair," Zuri blinked.
"...One of the legs is broken," Holland noticed. "So, while the chair is heavy, I think it's pretty easy for it to just tip over with a tap of your finger…"
"...The chair itself is insecure," Holland answered. "It may be heavy, but it's actually really easy to tip over. And since it was originally close to the door to the Sound Booth, we can easily assume what might have happened."
"Of course," Arthur nodded. "The struggle between Jared and Haruto may have caused the door to fall over and lock both of them. Which means that Jared would have most likely died in the Sound Booth itself."
"So, it's still possible that Jared could have been dead in the Sound Booth!" Zuri declared.
"O-Okay, then what about the Security Footage to Maggie's Ultimate Cell," Abigail continued to argue out of desperation. "If Haruto killed Jared at Zuri's Ultimate Cell, then how come we see Jared fighting his killer in Maggie's Ultimate Cell?"
"Was the video not already proven to be delayed?" Ina blinked. "It could have happened way before Jared's official death…"
"Unfortunately, that's unlikely," Arthur shook his head. "For two reasons."
Arthur glanced up, acknowledging the fair point that Abigail made.
"For starters, the timing of the incident would not match up correctly," Arthur shook his head. "Jared fighting someone and then meeting with Haruto right after and then getting killed? It would be a strange narrative to even think about."
"And the second reason?" Ina questioned.
"...The door to the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell was not closed at the time we discovered Haruto in the Bassist's Cell," Arthur merely answered.
When Abigail, Arthur, Ina, and Zuri successfully followed behind Holland to Cell Block S, they found themselves standing outside the only currently closed door of the Ultimate Bassist's Cell. Zuri's Cell. With a pant, Holland wiped his brow.
And the first thing someone had to say was…
"E-Eh?" Zuri widened her eyes. "W-Why is the door to my Ultimate Cell closed?"
"A-Ah, you're right!" Zuri gasped. "So then does that mean the fight in the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell came… after whatever happened in my Ultimate Cell?"
"...That would be the case, yes," Holland nodded. "Because the Supermodel's Cell door had to be closed and we know it was only closed after the fighting inside the Supermodel's Cell had stopped."
"See?" Haruto thrusted his fist into the front of the podium. "I fucking told you Jared just upped and disappeared on my ass after knocking me out! Maggie's Cell's Security Footage proves it!"
Haruto turned to Abigail.
"E-Er, thanks for that save, by the way, Abby," Haruto lightly blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Whew, don't mention it," Abigail sighed in relief.
"I don't think it's wise to be relieved when the battle has yet to end," Arthur preached to the equestrian. "After all, I think we can figure out what exactly might be happening here if we think about things logically."
"But it's just as Haruto said," Mimi pouted. "Jared was caught on camera in Maggie's Cell! If he really was dead and being hidden by Haruto in the Sound Booth, there's no way he would be up and about after we all left Haruto!"
Mimi stopped for a moment before tapping her chin.
"Unless someone here was secretly the Ultimate Necromancer," Mimi realized. "Then maybe this could be possible."
"But no one here is a Necromancer, you fuck nugget," Cassandra spitefully stated. "Quit talking about Dungeons and Dragons and focus on the Trial, goddamn it!"
The question at hand became considered.
Jared had to have died in the Ultimate Bassist's Cell. There was no question about it. Haruto hiding the body in the Sound Booth with him made absolute sense as there was no other way for anybody to leave the room when it was locked.
But then, if that's the case, what was the deal with Jared fighting someone in Maggie's Ultimate Cell? He was clearly shown fighting someone right? Couldn't that be his death right then and there? Couldn't that be the real moment he died? Not only that, without a doubt, that occurrence had to have happened after Haruto was found… After the door to Zuri's Cell was open…
So, what happened…?
…
"...What if we were wrong?" Holland spoke up. "Or rather, what if we had fallen directly into the culprit's trap?"
"The culprit's trap…?" Mimi slowly asked.
"...The culprit's trap," Holland folded his arms as he prepared to reveal a theory that held strong in his head for a while. "The Security Footage for Maggie's Cell. If Jared really did die in Zuri's Cell, then that must mean that everything that happened in Maggie's Cell's Security Footage…
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…was faked."
"F-Faked?!" Mimi gasped.
"W-Wait, what?" Zuri blinked.
"H-Huh?" Abigail's face fell.
Everything that happened in the Ultimate Supermodel's Security Footage was faked. Yes. This had to be the answer. This had to be the solution to the Jared conundrum they were having. This made the most logical sense!
"...Everything we saw in the Ultimate Supermodel's Security Footage was fake," Holland repeated. "It was all an elaborate trick, set up to make us think the real crime scene took place there, when in actuality, it took place in Zuri's Cell."
"B-But that doesn't make any sense!" Haruto exclaimed. "Jared is in the fucking footage! Mimi saw him. I saw him. You saw him. We all watched the damn footage together! He's there!"
"...No…" Holland shook his head. "That's not Jared. That's…
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…you, Haruto. It was you disguised as Jared!"
"H-Huh?!" Haruto recoiled from shock.
"Mimi, what exactly did you see that made you think it was Jared?" Holland asked.
Not much happened in the first two minutes until the sounds of a struggle was heard. There was grunting and what seemed to be chairs being tossed around off-screen. That was when Jared in his police hat and uniform, was thrown into the frame. It definitely seemed like he was fighting an unknown assailant because the moment he caught his breath, he charged back into the camera's blind spot.
"I saw… his police hat and uniform," Mimi breathlessly stated.
"But never, did you or any of us ever see his face," Arthur nodded, following Holland's logic. "And since the audio quality isn't exactly what I would call pristine, it wouldn't have been easy to tell whether the grunting noises were from either Jared or Haruto…"
"I… H-Haruto…" Abigail turned to Haruto, slightly heartbroken.
"...So, there you have it Haruto," Holland glanced away. "You're free to say whatever you want but knowing all of this now proves that Jared couldn't have died in Maggie's Cell. He died in Zuri's Cell, locked in, with you…"
Haruto said nothing in that regard.
"H-Haruto, please, say something," Abigail clenched her fist. She held to the hope... "Please tell them it's not true. Y-You didn't… Y-You didn't kill him…"
"Big Bro Haruto…?" Mimi was feeling a little heartbroken. Not again. She couldn't lose someone else like this again…
Was the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell really just a fake out crime scene?
Was Jared really killed in the Ultimate Bassist's Cell?
Was the killer really… Haruto?
…
"I… I…" Haruto clenched his fist. He didn't know what to do. Give up now or keep on fighting…? No. He was Haruto fucking Walker. He never gave up no matter what. He was going to prove these fuckers wrong. He was going to… "You guys are wrong. You guys are all fucking wrong! Jared died in Maggie's fucking Cell! You can't keep denying that!"
"W-What?" Arthur was taken aback by the former basketball player's prowess.
"...Y-You have more to say?" Holland blinked. He should've expected that taking down Haruto wouldn't have been easy like that.
Abigail and Mimi on the other hand looked a little bit more hopeful about everything. Hopeful that Haruto could prove his innocence.
And almost out of nowhere, Haruto took out a basketball from out of nowhere, dribbling it around as if that was his Truth Bullet… Truth Blade… Truth Ball? Truth Ball. We'll go with Truth Ball. Then once he stopped dribbling, he tossed it and caught it with his index finger, allowing it to spin around. He gave a more confident grin now.
This was his fight now.
"W-Where the fuck did he get a basketball from?" Cassandra blinked.
"I'm gonna say this once again," Haruto continued to spin the basketball around his index finger. "Jared could've only died in Maggie's Cell. You guys made some shit about how the crime scene was faked, and that the Jared in the Footage was me that entire time. But if that was me, then who the fuck was I fighting in the Footage?"
"Who were you fighting?" Zuri blinked. "Oh! You're referring to the unknown assailant we saw Jared struggle against in the video!"
"Exactly!" Haruto stopped spinning his basketball, caught it with his bare hands and tossed it toward Holland for him to catch.
Needless to say, Holland was not expecting that, allowing the basketball to hit him square in the chest and letting it bounce back into Haruto's hands.
"A-Agh, oof," Holland clutched his chest. His chest also didn't expect it to get hit by a basketball of all things today either.
"You're supposed to catch the fucking ball, doofus," Haruto grumbled before clearing his throat. "Anyway, if I was Jared in that video, then who the fuck was I fighting? Can't think of anyone, huh? That's why it makes more fucking sense for Jared to have been fighting the real killer in the footage. Which by the way, isn't me..."
"Could it be an accomplice then?" Ina suggested, because of course she of all people would suggest that idea.
"What, and get Abby or Mimi involved with my supposed plan?" Haruto countered. "Not fucking likely. Pass."
Haruto tossed the basketball toward Ina.
Needless to say, Ina wasn't expecting that either, but she was able to narrowly dodge the basketball from hitting her. The basketball hit the wall and landed right back into Haruto's hands.
"Y-You almost hit me!" Ina exclaimed, taken aback.
"Guys, it's basketball, not fucking dodgeball," Haruto grumbled. "Jesus Christ."
"But if it's not an accomplice or anyone then… maybe the crime scene really did take place at Maggie's Ultimate Cell!" Mimi beamed. "Alright Haruto! You're Innocent! I'm open! I'm open!"
Mimi raised her hands in the air as Haruto tossed the ball over to her. She was able to catch it and hug it with excitement. Clearly, they've forgotten that this was a Prison Trial instead of a basketball game.
Throughout the excitement of the basketball game though, Holland had to think to himself about Haruto's counters. They were pretty solid, not going to lie. Jared in the video was clearly fighting someone. That someone would be the killer. But if Jared was actually Haruto, then who was he fighting…?
Holland grimaced slightly.
He never investigated the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell. If he did, he would've figured this out so much sooner. The evidence of whatever the fight took place after all, had to be found in the Supermodel's Cell…
And the people who investigated the Supermodel's Cell were…
He glanced toward Abigail.
Judging from her face, it seemed like she had something figured out. Of course, she would. She already knew the evidence that could counter Haruto's counterargument. And the only reason she wasn't speaking up was because…
"...Abigail," Holland spoke up. "You know something, don't you? Deep down, you know the culprit has to be Haruto, right?"
Abigail shifted uncomfortably.
"Your life is at stake here too," Arthur argued. "If you don't speak up, you along with the rest of us will die for the sake of Haruto's crime."
"I… I…" Abigail glanced away.
She felt eyes staring directly at her.
If she opened her mouth, it was over. Haruto would become blackened. And he would die. And it would be all her fault. It would be all her fault again…
"Oi…" Haruto's soft voice caught Abigail's attention.
Turning into slight surprise, she noticed that Mimi had long passed the ball toward Haruto and now, he was getting ready to pass the ball to her.
"...Catch…" Haruto stated seriously. "You're in charge of the game now. So go and say what's on your mind…"
He lightly tossed the ball, allowing her to catch it easily. She gripped the ball tightly. Then, biting her lip, she thought back to the evidence she was going to present.
"...I'm sorry Haruto," Abigail tightened her grip even further. "But everything up to now makes perfect sense. You have to be the Jared we see in the Security Footage. And I know who you were fighting. In fact, this is the only thing that you could've been fighting…
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…the mannequin."
She passed the ball back to Haruto with pain in her eyes. Haruto caught the ball, his gaze only looking down.
"A… A mannequin?" Cassandra widened her eyes in bewilderment. "Wait, so the unknown assailant in the video was actually a fucking mannequin?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"
"How do you know this?" Ina asked Abigail.
"Because when investigating Maggie's Cell," Abigail bitterly stated as she glanced away.
Abigail, meanwhile, walked toward the mannequin on the floor. She picked it up, but the moment she did, the mannequin unnaturally bent backwards. In surprise, Abigail yelped and quickly tossed the mannequin aside.
"W-What the–" she widened her eyes.
"Oi, what the hell happened?" Haruto rushed to Abigail, holding her by the arms. "Abby! You alright?"
"Y-Yeah," Abigail sighed in relief. "I'm just fine…"
Abigail and Haruto stared at each other for a moment.
"Um… y-you can let go of my arms now," Abigail cleared her throat, her face turning pink.
"H-Huh?" Haruto blinked, his face similarly changing colors. "O-Oh, you're right…"
Mimi smiled at this exchange and went to examine the mannequin herself. When she picked it up, the mannequin's back continued to bend backwards. No matter how much she tried to straighten it, the mannequin's back continued to bend.
"It's alright Big Sis Abby," Mimi giggled. "This mannequin's just broken."
"...There was a mannequin by a pile of chairs," Abigail explained. "It was broken but after hearing Haruto's counter, I just knew instantly what really happened. Haruto… disguised as Jared… fought a mannequin to make it look like Jared was fighting against his killer…"
"Then, all this time, the real culprit behind the fake Locked Room Mystery in Maggie's Cell was Haruto?" Mimi blinked, looking disheartened after learning that he was back in suspect territory.
"That's the only person who it could be," Arthur nodded. "After all, everything that occurred in Maggie's Cell was done by one person."
"...And if we go by sequence of events, everything makes sense…" Holland nodded. "Haruto kills Jared in Zuri's Cell. Once we open the door, he makes sure no one discovers Jared's body by sending everyone on a wild goose chase. Using this chaos to his advantage, Haruto would first grab a bass guitar and place it at Maggie's Cell's door frame. Next, he carried Jared's body toward the Mineshaft and hid the body inside the Minecart He made sure to keep the uniform and police hat before hiding him though. After that, Haruto went to the Security Office where he hid the Minecart using the Minecart System. He also pressed the GC 1 button to close the door to Maggie's Cell door and delayed the video footage to the Cell as well. Then, he went back to the Cell and squeezed through the gap created by the bass guitar lodging itself between the door and the doorframe. Once he was in, he got to work and created a fake crime scene, making it seem like Jared was killed in a struggle against his killer. Then, once he finished, he squeezed through the gap once again, and removed the bass guitar, effectively creating a fake Locked Room Mystery."
"A lot of work for a cripple, don't you think?" Cassandra grumbled.
"Nonsense," Arthur shook his head. "For Haruto, it would most certainly be possible for him to pull off this crime if he had the motivation for it..."
"I got you Abigail!" Haruto had breathlessly exclaimed as he struggled to climb the steps up to Cell Block C. Desperation had formed on his face. "Come on… Come on… Don't go. I got you, alright? So just…"
Abigail's breathing was slightly hitched. It was clear that her body was very weak at the moment. But that was all the more reason Haruto was pushing himself so hard to get Abigail to the Infirmary.
Pushing himself… Despite the fact that…
"AGH!" Haruto felt pain in his broken leg. He was pushing himself too hard. "Fuck! My leg! Agh!"
"...If he did it once, he can do it again," Arthur smirked.
"So, are you ready to admit it now, Haruto?" Ina questioned. "You are the killer of Jared Caertas, are you not?"
Haruto nervously dribbled the ball around after listening to this extensive logic from his peers. He continued to bounce it once, then twice, and then caught it with his bare hands.
"...Admit it?" Haruto asked. "Why would I when you guys haven't even figured out the most important part?"
"What important–" Arthur saw a basketball being thrown his way. The basketball missed, hitting Arthur's podium and bouncing back into Haruto's hands. "W-Will you please stop that?!"
"I'm talking about disposing evidence, asshole," Haruto growled. "Remember, according to your scenario, I would've had Jared's uniform and hat in order to fucking cosplay him. But then, what happened to it?"
"Well, they were returned to Jared, right?" Zuri blinked.
"Not likely," Haruto shook his head as he plopped the ball on his index finger and spun it again. He gave a more confident look. "Remember where Jared would've been at the time of my performance?"
"He would've been behind the walls," Abigail glanced away.
"And there's no way for him to just bring Jared's Minecart back to give back the police clothing," Mimi realized. "Because the Minecart System goes only in one direction and one continuous loop!"
"And by the time Holland and I came along and turned everything on, the Minecart would've still been behind the walls," Zuri realized.
"Exactly, so there was no way I could've just given the clothing away to Jared like that," Haruto said before grasping the basketball with both hands. "So, if you don't have an answer, then clearly, that entire scenario of me being dressed like Jared can't be true. Because I would still need a way to dispose of his clothing!"
It was time to think now.
Where would Haruto have disposed of the clothing?
No, actually, they found his clothing, didn't they?
Yeah…
Where?
…
"Actually, did we not find the hat and uniform on the rock pile at the end of the Grinder?" Ina blinked, glancing toward Arthur.
"We did, but..." Arthur sighed as he tried to think.
Wait.
He opened his eyes in realization.
That's it!
That was the clue!
The clue… to finally conclude the currently correct scenario of declaring Haruto as the true killer of the crime!
"...Actually, I think I understand things now..." Arthur began to smirk in realization. "Undoubtedly, Haruto only had one place to dispose of the police uniform and hat. That place was...
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…in the Grinder."
"Well, of course it does," Haruto shrugged, swirling his basketball on his finger once again. "The clothing pieces were grinded up. You see it in the Mineshaft Security Footage moving along the conveyor belt. But I don't see how those points to me as the culprit. Try again."
Haruto tossed the basketball toward Arthur, but this time, the snowboarder expected it. As soon as Haruto passed the ball toward Arthur, he caught it with a confident smirk to add to his prestige.
"It doesn't just tell us where the hat and uniform were disposed of," Arthur began. "It also tells us another important thing…
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…When the clothing pieces were disposed of."
Arthur passed the basketball back toward Haruto. Haruto, taken by surprise by his deductions, let the basketball fly and hit him on his head.
"G-GAH!" Haruto rubbed his head. "M-Motherfucker!"
"When the clothing pieces were disposed of?" Zuri blinked. "What do you mean Arthur?"
"Remember, the clothing pieces were found on the rock pile," Arthur explained before turning to everyone else. "Please remember the Mineshaft Security Footage..."
Then, there was something. And the first thing to note was what remained of Jared's police hat and uniform being transported directly to the rock pile. Then, Mimi walked into the frame toward the end of the Grinder. It seemed like she was pretty curious about what was going on. However, the next moment, Jared's body slowly came out of the grinder in his terrible mangled state.
"What came out first?" Arthur continued, with a smirk.
"The police uniform and police hat," Ina nodded in understanding.
"Which means?" Mimi asked.
"That should be simple, no?" Arthur smirked. "The police uniform and police hat coming out the Grinder first can only mean that the uniform and hat...
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...were disposed of first."
"...I see, if they were disposed of first... that meant they had to have been disposed of before Jared's body was even dumped into the Grinder," Holland nodded. "Which is clear evidence that Jared's uniform was taken off of him before his body was even hidden."
"O-Okay, but if that's the case, then how the fuck did I do it?" Haruto was starting to dribble his basketball like crazy. "How the fuck did I manage to get the uniform into the grinder chute before Jared's body was sent into the Grinder? I mean, I would've needed to use the Minecart right? Oh but…"
Haruto spun his basketball on his index finger again.
"...If I did that, Jared's body would've been sent in first, and that's not what happened is it?" Haruto argued. "And there's only one Minecart anyway so..."
"Hmph, you didn't need to use the Minecart in the first place" Arthur smirked, deciding to take it from here. "After all, there is only one way for you to send the uniform first without one…"
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…your Ultimate talent."
"G-Gah!" Haruto felt the ball spin a little too fast and launch itself toward his head. "O-Ow! M-Motherfucker!"
"Of course," Ina nodded in realization. "That would explain why the police hat and uniform were how they were at the time we discovered it!"
"The police hat was noticeably less torn than the uniform itself," Ina continued. "And we found it nearly covered up by what remains of the uniform. Not only that, but there is a bloodstain inside the hat as well…"
Ina rubbed her chin.
"That seems to be everything we know of this," Arthur stated. He noticed Ina was slightly hesitant on that conclusion. "What is it, dear sister?"
"...Why does something still feel off about this?" Ina questioned.
"As the Ultimate Basketball Player, you simply wrapped the uniform over the hat and balled them up before tossing them directly into the Grinder's chute," Ina deduced. "Turning both items into a makeshift basketball."
"Excellent deduction, sister!" Arthur smirked.
"Half," Ina reiterated.
"Y-Yeah, but don't you remember?" Haruto tried to argue. He gestured to his legs. "Even if I did do that, my legs kinda don't work so I can't fucking play basketball anymore."
"...I may not know too much about basketball, but I don't think you need proper working legs to make a free throw, do you, Haruto?" Holland glanced at Haruto with a slight frown.
"U-Ugh!" Haruto felt the basketball bounce up and hit him in the face again. "A-Agh! I didn't even d-dribble the fucking ball that time!"
"...So, I think we solved everything here," Holland pointed in a direct look toward Haruto. "You're the culprit, aren't you Haruto?"
"...Your talent as the Ultimate Basketball Player helps confirm that only you were capable of throwing the clothing pieces into the Grinder without using a Minecart," Arthur pointed his finger toward Haruto.
"W-Wait… no, there's still one more problem," Haruto tried to reason as he dribbled his basketball faster and faster. "I… I… That's right! I told you guys before! I'm fucking Innocent, aren't I? R-Remember?"
"Nah, I'm definitely an Innocent," Haruto folded his arms with a miffed look. "Jared never knew that because I had a partner in Abigail during the round we Trusted each other."
"If I'm Innocent and Jared is a Traitor, then I can't be the culprit!" Haruto explained but was immediately countered by the hurt voice of who else…?
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"...No Haruto," Abigail glanced away, her eyes slowly tearing up. "Quit fighting and just tell the truth already."
"A-Abby?" Haruto blinked.
"...Y-You're not Innocent," Abigail folded her arms as she quickly wiped her runny eyes. "I… Mimi and I both know you're not."
Mimi tried to hide her face in her witch's hat.
Haruto only continued to dribble needlessly.
"I see… so all this time, they knew he was lying from the beginning," Arthur folded his arms. "They had their suspicions. But I suppose they didn't want to act upon those suspicions. Tch, a little barbaric if you ask me..."
"So really..." Zuri trailed off. "All this time Haruto was actually…
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…a Traitor."
Haruto continued to dribble his basketball. It was clear from the look on his face that he had lost the fight. He looked pained. He was the killer, was he? Of course, he was. He knew it from the get-go. His face said it all. The face of guilt.
"I'm… the Traitor…" Haruto mumbled. "I'm the killer… I killed Jared… I… I…"
"It was…" Haruto softly spoke before he yelled out, "MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
He started to dribble at incredible speeds that even the average NBA player couldn't compete with until finally the basketball launched itself into the air. Once swirling around in the air, as if the ball had a mind of its own, the basketball toppled down and bounced on Haruto's head, as if it were dribbling him instead.
"A-Agh, f-fuck, o-ow, AGhhhhhhhh!" Haruto felt the final smack on his face and slowly he crumbled to the ground, with the basketball lightly skipping back into a stationary place next to Haruto's hands.
Last inning for Haruto ain't it?
…
By the time Haruto got back up, he had already placed his hands on his hips. He looked ready to give in. The fight that he had in his spirit had been replaced with defeat. He sighed as he reminisced the moments that led up to this particular time of day.
"...I never meant to kill him," Haruto sighed. "Even now, I don't even know how I killed him. But everything happened all so quickly."
"What exactly happened, Haruto?" Abigail folded her arms with hesitation.
"...I'm not even sure," Haruto frowned, glancing away.
"P-Please, just go into detail," Abigail frowned bitterly. She couldn't believe this was happening. All so fast. All too quickly. No… "How… How did…"
"...It all started in the morning," Haruto seriously stated. "Jared called me over to Zuri's Ultimate Cell for a small chat. What you guys heard on Zuri's Ultimate Cell's Security Footage was pretty much what he was talking to me about and even now, I still don't understand what the fuck he was talking about either."
"I… I hate to do this. But someone has to die. If it means that I can protect her, then I have no choice. This is what I have to do. I'm sorry…"
Haruto folded his arms.
"I probably would've understood a little better had he had more time to explain, but… then…" Haruto rubbed the back of his neck.
"The door closed," Arthur finished his sentence.
"Yeah, and then we were locked in," Haruto nodded. "We both tried to find an alternative way out, but it was no use. As you all already know, the only way in or out is through the door. And the only way to open the closed door is from the outside."
"And then what happened?" Zuri asked.
"Well, Jared… started to panic," Haruto blinked.
"He started to panic?" Mimi perked her head.
"Yeah," Haruto nodded. "I don't even know what the fuck happened but all of sudden, the room started to hiss, and Jared just went crazy. He shoved his hat into my face and punched me into the Sound Booth. I… I thought he was actually going to try and kill me."
"Ah, so that would explain..." Ina blinked, realizing that other piece of evidence.
"Ah, here we go," Arthur noted, showing Ina what he had discovered. "Ask and you shall receive."
Despite the hat being somewhat torn but not as torn as the uniform itself, Ina could still see clear as day as to what exactly was inside the hat: a bloodstain.
"A bloodstain, inside Jared's hat?" Ina blinked. "Could this be evidence of blunt force trauma?"
"That bloodstain... was from your nosebleed," Ina deduced.
"Yeah..." Haruto sighed. "Bastard shoved it in and punched me... I got... taken so off guard by that..."
"So naturally, you fought back," Arthur deduced.
"Yeah, I fought back, but since I couldn't see shit from his hat, I didn't even know what I was hitting half the time," Haruto grumbled. "I guess it was probably the walls, since everything I hit felt super soft but… still…"
Haruto paused for a moment then continued.
"The moment I took that hat off my face, Jared was…" Haruto glanced away. "Jared was dead on the floor. After that, it was my turn to fucking panic. So I did whatever I could to try to hide it. Even lie about my own status and fake a whole different crime scene."
Haruto gritted his teeth.
"God… I'm such a pansy," Haruto cursed. "I… I betrayed you guys by letting this happen on my watch. Not only that, but like a coward, I tried to hide it from everyone. Including…"
Haruto avoided looking at Abigail.
"...Fuck me," Haruto didn't even want to look at anyone in the eye at the moment. "I'm… I'm sorry guys…"
Haruto clenched his fist and continued to avoid looking at everyone. This was really it wasn't it? He was found out for the cruel murderer that he was… the killer of Jared Caertas…
…
With Haruto's confession about the turn of events, the case started to look much clearer than usual. In fact, that was always the case when Monohebi's patience finally ran out enough to ask the question that she's been meaning to ask for a while now:
"Are you all done yet?" Monohebi asked. "Is it time to vote?"
"Yeah, about time," Cassandra folded her arms. "We finally got the bastard who killed Jared…"
"Did you really?" Monohebi asked carefully. "The usual norm for you all is that you all are rather quick to skip to a vote and then someone has to interrupt me to stop it in order to continue the Trial. So, to prevent that from happening… Are you all sure you are ready to vote?"
"Yeah, we are," Cassandra stated.
"You don't speak for everyone here," Abigail said, clear pain in her eyes.
She didn't want to vote. In fact, she was one of two who really didn't want to vote for Haruto here. Folding her arms, she just couldn't believe that Haruto was the culprit. She… didn't want to believe that Haruto would be gone so soon…
"So, I take it everyone, but Miss Ellsworth is ready then?" Monohebi asked before nodding her head. "Very well, I shall now–"
"Wait just a moment."
"-I hate my job sometimes," Monohebi sighed.
Yet again, she was interrupted, but surprisingly, it wasn't from Holland or Arthur, who were kinda the main carries of this Trial. It was from Ina, who still seemed rather unconvinced by this turn of events.
"There are still some things that do not make sense," Ina shook her head. "Some mysteries that need clearing up before we can reach a proper conclusion."
"Oh?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "How so, dear sister?"
"Half," Ina corrected before continuing. "There has been something bothering me throughout these Trial Debates. And now that Haruto has been deemed the killer, it is still boggling my mind at the moment."
"Quit trying to sound smart and spell it out already," Cassandra impatiently stated. The quicker Jared's case finds justice, the quicker she could try to move on from it already.
"Well… even with Haruto's tale in mind," Ina rubbed her chin. "We… never found out what exactly killed Jared, have we?"
"Huh?" Mimi blinked.
"Hey, you're right!" Zuri exclaimed. "The Autopsy Report doesn't tell us what the Cause of Death is. And it was well-hidden by what the Grinder did to the body!"
"...I see, even in Haruto's testimony, there was no clear cause of death mentioned…" Holland rubbed his chin.
"Haruto, by any chance, how do you think you killed Jared?" Zuri asked him.
"Huh?" Haruto blinked. "I… I dunno. I beat him to death maybe? H-How should I know? I was fucking blind the whole time with his stinkin hat in my face."
Abigail perked her ears at this. There was a slight tingling in her heart. Was it hope? Relief? She didn't know but from what it sounds like, there was a chance that Haruto…
…
…May not actually be the culprit of this case!
"So, if Haruto isn't sure how he even killed Jared, then what the fuck are we supposed to do now?" Cassandra grumbled. "Couldn't even make this easy, huh, could you Ina?"
"I do not have to apologize for trying to reach the correct conclusion here," Ina deadpanned. "The mistake to vote would have cost all of our lives."
"I don't mean to disagree with you sister, but could it not be possible that maybe Haruto was keeping out certain details in his story?" Arthur asked.
"And why would he do that?" Ina rubbed her chin. "He would have been a dead man anyway. There would be no purpose to lie."
"Y-Yeah, I never told a lie throughout my confession," Haruto folded his arms. "If you don't trust me, which I don't expect you too, at least trust that."
"...Then that means throughout this entire case, we're still missing one important thing," Holland tried to think about this conundrum.
"Yeah, the Cause of Death, right?" Mimi blinked.
"...Two things," Holland corrected, as he tried to think a little harder. "We're still missing two important things. Cause of Death is one thing, but every death has to have a Cause. And every death has to have one specific thing. And we've never had a clue what that thing could be…"
"What's the thing?" Mimi blinked.
"...We're missing a piece of evidence," Holland stated. "Because we never found…
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…the murder weapon."
"Oh, that's right!" Mimi exclaimed.
"The murder weapon, huh?" Zuri rubbed her chin in thought. "But what could have been the murder weapon?"
What could've been the murder weapon? That was a really good question! But how do you answer a question if you've never even found the answer to that question? Or rather, never found the answer to that question until someone remembered a specific detail…
"W-Wait…" Ina widened her eyes. "A-Ah… A-Ahhh, wait a minute! I think I have an idea!"
"Ina?" Zuri glanced toward Ina.
"You do?" Abigail blinked, hopeful.
"I think… I think…" Ina rubbed her chin. "Could the murder weapon have anything to do with…
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…the brown shards my half-brother found on Jared's leg?"
"B-Brown shards?" Zuri blinked.
"Ah, yes, that," Arthur smirked in thought.
"Well, hello there," Arthur smirked. "What is this?"
"You have found something?" Ina blinked, hopeful. "Something relevant to the Investigation?"
"Yes," Arthur nodded. "There are what seems to be brown glass shards lodged in… I assume that used to be Jared's leg…"
"Brown glass shards?" Ina blinked.
"There were brown shards on Jared's leg," Arthur nodded. "I thought perhaps it was a result of some of the debris in the Grinder but what if it used to be... perhaps the actual murder weapon itself!"
Could that be possible?
Well, what was brown, made of glass, and a possible murder weapon? That was the question at hand. And one person figured it out faster than everybody…
"Sh-Shit, no way," Cassandra widened her eyes. "Are you telling me that the murder weapon was…
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…the bottle of poison from that Ogre's Evidence Box?!"
"Chem C-9," Zuri gasped.
"P-Poison?" Holland blinked. "Chem C-9?"
Oh right. Holland was absent during that Evidence Box discovery, so he couldn't have known about it. So, the mere mention of a specific poison was pretty much a shock to someone like him.
"That was the murder weapon?" Haruto widened his eyes. "But then, wouldn't that mean the real cause of death was poison? And if he had it at the time then…
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…did he poison himself?!"
"P-Poison himself?!" Mimi gasped.
"D-Did you just say that Jared killed himself?!" Zuri widened her eyes. No, he said he poisoned himself.
"N-No!" Cassandra looked much more pissed than usual. "Th-That can't be right! That makes no fucking sense! Where's the evidence that happened?!"
"...If he had the bottle of poison on him at the time of the grinding, then no doubt, the bottle would've broken into shards where he last kept it…" Holland noted. "...His leg. Where his pockets would've been. And since Haruto never actually saw how Jared died…"
"It's highly possible that perhaps Jared did kill himself while Haruto was blinded," Arthur said.
"But why?!" Cassandra yelled. "Why the fuck would he do something like that?! This is Jared we're talking about! He… He wouldn't just go and kill himself for no fucking reason! No! It makes more sense if this Michael Jordan wannabe went ahead and killed Jared, himself! Jared wouldn't… Jared wouldn't…"
It was clear that Cassandra was throwing herself into a fit. Why over Jared, not many of the prisoners knew but they had their suspicions. And also, it was none of their concern at the moment because now they had a bigger problem.
"G-Give me a reason why Jared would kill himself!" Cassandra exclaimed. "Why would he… kill himself and not let anyone know about it?! I mean, if he killed himself, that makes him the blackened and that would also mean risking everyone's lives over his death!"
Cassandra made a strong point.
Jared was someone who valued saving as many lives as he could rather than taking them. He was willing to go so far to kill White Collar to save the lives of his allies. He was willing to sacrifice his own life for his peers. In this instance, that poison was his sacrifice. So, the question is… why would he want to sacrifice himself? What was he trying to sacrifice himself for?
"Could it be the Disadvantage?" Arthur frowned. "Seeing as Jared wasn't the type to kill his own peers, perhaps he killed himself to save his Loved One."
"But even if that is the case, I hate to say it, but Cassandra has a point," Abigail said. "If he did do that, he would've let us know about it. By forcing us into a Prison Trial, he'd be risking our lives even in death. That's not what Jared would've wanted. There had to be another reason. Another reason that would've fit who Jared really was as a person..."
What was that other reason?
Why would Jared kill himself and not let anyone know about it…?
Abigail was the one to consider these questions. She thought carefully about everything they knew now. The Security Footages. Haruto's confession. The poison Jared had on him. Jared's true cause of death. She had to think like Holland for a moment. Think about how they were all connected by one missing puzzle piece.
What was that puzzle piece?
She had to be the one to do this. Because only she had the key. She didn't know it herself, but the answer was going to be easy to figure out once she tried to remember everything she had learned over the course of the Chapter.
"...As you may have probably figured out," Monohebi began. "Cell Block S is supposed to be a solitary block. A place where the truly worst of the worst criminals would be forced to pay for their crimes. Solitary confinement. Execution. And of course, convict leasing. Or rather, penal labor."
"GC?" Abigail blinked. "What do those even stand for?"
"Group Chat maybe," Haruto joked.
"Okay, but what's the point with the reboot?" Abigail asked. "Doesn't sound like that's used for these accident-prone security guards."
"Well, this is a solitary block after all," Monohebi stated. "Extra security and all that. Guards have to make sure that whatever comes out of those doors isn't getting ready to ambush anyone. So, they often used that five minutes to prepare…"
Monohebi trailed off slightly. There was probably more story behind why the doors needed to reboot but the snake had moved on to something they have yet to check out: the camera monitors themselves.
"Shit, the door can only be opened from the out–"
A loud hissing noise followed after.
A brief moment of silence and suddenly…
The sound of an ensuing scuffle occurred. A cough could be audibly heard and suddenly the room went quiet. There wasn't a notable sound in sight shortly after.
"Well, Jared… started to panic," Haruto blinked.
"He started to panic?" Mimi perked her head.
"Yeah," Haruto nodded. "I don't even know what the fuck happened but all of sudden, the room started to hiss, and Jared just went crazy. He shoved his hat into my face and punched me into the Sound Booth. I… I thought he was actually going to try and kill me."
Abigail opened her eyes.
N-No way.
This couldn't be!
Was that really why Jared killed himself?!
She began to shake. And of course, Haruto was the first to notice this.
"Y-Yo, Abby, you alright?" Haruto widened his eyes.
"I… I understand why Jared killed himself," Abigail shook. All eyes were on her now. The truth she was about to reveal would change everything now. "He killed himself because…
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…he had to."
"H-He had to?" Cassandra blinked before looking irritated. "D-Damn it, Abbygail! What the fuck are you talking about?! What do you mean he had to kill himself?!"
"Because he was going to die anyway," Abigail said. "And he didn't have time to explain to Haruto what was happening."
"W-What?" Cassandra remained confused.
"Remember what Haruto said?" Abigail asked. "Jared suddenly went crazy."
"Yeah, because he did," Haruto nodded. "Where are you going with this?"
"Why do you think Jared went crazy in the first place?" Abigail rubbed her arms. "If he was trying to kill himself, it makes no sense why he would attack Haruto unless you consider a different perspective…
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…Jared was trying to protect Haruto."
"H-He was what?" Haruto blinked. "Y-You call shoving a hat in my face and punching me into the Sound Booth as protection?"
"...Ah, I understand where Abigail's getting at right now," Holland widened his eyes. "There was another thing about those Security Footages that we never quite explored."
"The hissing noise," Abigail nodded. "And I think... I figured out what that hissing noise actually is..."
"Jared was trying to protect Haruto and now something about a hissing noise," Cassandra looked peeved. "Stop talking in riddles and give us the answer! What the fuck is going on?! What would Jared be trying to protect Haruto from?!"
Abigail glanced at Holland. The two had figured it out but this time, it was Abigail's turn to take the stage.
"Jared wanted to protect Haruto especially when he heard the hissing noise," Abigail said. "Because Jared wanted to protect Haruto from…
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…a gas leak."
"A-A- W-What?!" Cassandra widened her eyes.
"A gas leak?!" Zuri exclaimed.
"W-Where did that come from?!" Mimi yelled in surprise.
"I… H-Huh?!" Arthur widened his eyes as well in bewilderment. Even he didn't see this coming.
"Th-That's impossible!" Cassandra yelled. "There has never been any mention of a gas leak until now! This is bullshit!"
"...No, there has been," Holland flipped his hoodie over his head. "...Does everyone remember what was mentioned back when the rest of Cell Block S was opened?"
"But wait, how does this relate to Cell #66 being dangerous?" Mimi asked. In fact, lately she's been asking the real good questions!
"Glad you asked, Miss La Vega," White Collar bowed his head. "In the process of moving those boulders, there was a little accident that resulted in a gas leak inside Cell #66. Until the air is cleared inside, we cannot permit anyone to use Cell #66 for anything. And, to prevent anyone from leaking the gas back into Cell Block S, I will have to ask Mister Caertas for the Cell #66 key back… please."
"So, I take it back then, the way you contained the gas leak was by blocking the rest of Cell Block S off completely," Arthur deduced. "I suppose that's how Cell #66 ended up infected."
"Hydrogen sulfide," White Collar shook his head. "Such an annoyance to the momentum of this Killing Game."
"N-No way," Haruto was especially shocked. "S-So all this time, Jared was protecting me from… How did he…? What kind of gas was it anyway?!"
"Hydrogen sulfide," Monohebi intervened with a nod. "It's… a very deadly, poisonous gas with a foul smell of rotten eggs… Very common in underground caves and mineshafts."
"D-Did you say rotten eggs?!" Ina looked dumbstruck.
"What a foul odor," Arthur grumbled as he found himself staring at the body. "It smells like… rotten eggs."
"Rotten eggs?" Ina widened her eyes.
She kept her distance. She wasn't sure if she could even handle being near a body like that, so she'll just have to rely on her half-brother to find the necessary clues. But the first clue that Arthur mentioned… rotten eggs. Was that what rotting corpses usually smelled like?
And why did it smell so familiar?
"Th-That was how badly the body smelt," Ina widened her eyes. "If that was the case, then that must have been proof that Jared was in fact gassed with hydrogen sulfide and... A-Ah!"
She remembered now.
Why did it smell so familiar back then?
Because...
"I… I don't believe this," Cassandra glared. "H-How did a gas leak happen in the Ultimate Bassist's Cell of all places?!"
"...Because that's the true function of the GC doors," Holland looked spooked to learn what he and Zuri had really been hanging out in. "In fact, GC itself, might actually stand for…
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…Gas Chamber."
"G-Gas Chamber?!" Cassandra exclaimed.
"Fuck, of course!" Haruto yelled. "Cell Block S was for the worst of the worst criminals. And Monohebi even mentioned that they were executed here too. No doubt…"
"They were executed in the Ultimate Cells," Abigail crossed her arms. "Back when they were originally Gas Chambers."
"...That's why there was a five-minute timer for the Ultimate Cell doors," Holland explained. "Because after five minutes, the door would seal shut, and the gas would leak into the room. Not only that, but it also explains why there had to be a reboot as well…"
"So, the room could clear away the gas…" Zuri said in understanding.
"And that was why..." Ina understood. "Jared's body smelled familiar to me..."
But instead, Ina and Abigail ran inside the room and glanced around, awaiting for any sign of Jared to pop up. But all they heard was silence. Jared wasn't even in sight. Was Holland… mistaken? Or lying?
"Jared's… not here," Ina frowned. She smelled something. "Hm? What is this...?"
"No one was in the Dressing Room," Ina shook her head "I checked every inch. There is no place for anyone to hide either."
She sniffed the air.
"Huh, it's-" Ina found herself interrupted by a completely bewildered Mimi.
"...Because the room would still have that faint odor of rotten eggs," Ina widened her eyes. "Which is evidence that the Ultimate Cells had to have been Gas Chambers utilizing hydrogen sulfide!"
"And that's why Jared had to kill himself," Abigail said. "As soon the hissing noise is gas leaking in. Jared must've quickly realized what it was based on the smell and did the first thing he thought to do…"
"He placed his hat over Haruto's face in order to prevent him from breathing the air," Ina deduced. "But because he did that…"
"...He breathed in the air himself," Holland nodded. "Which is why he had no choice. He had to kill himself."
"W-What why?" Cassandra couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Because he knew that if he died to the gas, the person who closed the door would've been his killer," Arthur folded his arms. "Regardless of status, if there was even a chance that the one who closed the door was a Traitor, Jared knew that it would lead to risking more lives. That was the last thing Jared would want to happen. By killing himself, he protected the one who closed the door. Because if he didn't…"
"They would be the blackened… and later get executed," Holland glanced away. "Because the person who closed the door in the first place was me…"
"Before we go off and find him, I just have one more fucking question," Haruto looked slightly peeved. He glanced at the five. "Which one of you fuckers closed the damn door to this Cell?"
Holland slightly gulped.
"...Er that would… be me," Holland slowly raised his hand.
"N-No, I still don't believe this!" Cassandra exclaimed in desperation. She didn't want to believe that this was the real reason Jared died. "J-Jared wouldn't kill himself! H-He wouldn't! H-He wouldn't do something so stupid! H-How about the Supermodel's Cell?! That would've been a Gas Chamber too, right? And if the hissing noise was the sound of gas leaking in, then why did the gas leak in faster for the Supermodel's Cell than it did for the Bassist's Cell?!"
"That's simple," Arthur said. "My guess is that the gas only leaks in after the door is sealed shut. The door for the Supermodel's Cell was lodged open, so no gas was allowed to leak in until it fully closed."
"Can we confirm this as fact, Monohebi?" Ina turned to the snake. "Is that how the Gas Chamber truly works?"
Monohebi flicked her tongue out, pondering whether to answer the question or not.
Then with a sigh, she nodded.
"Yes, it is," Monohebi stated. "The gassing process only occurs after a door is completely closed and the timer reaches zero. Those are the two basic requirements for wardens to execute the worst of the worst."
"...So, this must also be why you kept changing topics and trailing off whenever we asked more about why the doors functioned the way they did," Holland noted. "Because you wanted to hide the fact that these Ultimate Cells were actually..."
"Correct," Monohebi nodded. "Made for quite a show, didn't it? But it should've been obvious. After all, what did you think the ventilations were for..."
Cassandra couldn't believe this. She couldn't believe that this was the truth behind Jared's death. She couldn't believe that the real reason Jared died was because of…
"J-Jared…" Cassandra hugged herself.
"...I never thought I'd say this but…" Zuri looked at Cassandra sympathetically. "I'm sorry Cassandra. But the truth is, Jared killed himself in order to save lives. Because that was who Jared truly was."
Cassandra didn't want to believe it. But she knew Zuri was right. Because Jared said so many times himself…
"So, what if they don't?" Jared folded his arms. "I've said this countless times. I don't care what happens to me as long as people are saved. That's what it means to be a police officer. That's what it means to care about other people's wellbeing…"
"I… Jared… you… you…" Cassandra clenched her fist as she pounded it on the podium.
No.
This wasn't over.
Not until she said it was over.
"...Fuck you..." Cassandra glared. "Fuck all of you! No! The real killer is Haruto! Haruto killed Jared! Jared didn't get fucking gassed! He didn't fucking kill himself! He didn't... fucking leave me all alone with the rest of you shitheads!"
"You still wish to argue?" Arthur asked. "Even after Monohebi confirmed the status of these Ultimate Cells?"
"You bet I do!" Cassandra yelled, her emotions running wild. "Because how do you know for a fact Jared really did poison himself, huh? After all, the bottle of poison he had with him...? That doesn't prove that he actually drank shit from it! He could've been carrying the bottle for sure, but you don't really know if he actually did take it! You don't have concrete proof that he killed himself in that fucking Sound Booth!"
"...No, there is proof that he killed himself," Holland spoke up.
"W-What?" Cassandra widened her eyes.
It was time for one last evidence.
One last evidence to declare that Jared truly did kill himself to save lives.
One last evidence...
"...Jared had to have died in the Sound Booth," Holland stated. "And Haruto couldn't have been his killer. And what proves that is...
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...the Body Discovery Announcement."
"H-Huh?!" Cassandra looked flabbergasted.
"...What is the general rule for Body Discovery Announcements?" Holland asked, looking serious.
"It has a three-person criteria, right?" Mimi recalled. "Once three people discover the body, the Body Discovery Announcement plays!"
"...Exactly, so let's count it off, Cassandra," Holland folded his arms. "You and me... Who was the person who initiated the actual announcement itself?"
Then, there was something. And the first thing to note was what remained of Jared's police hat and uniform being transported directly to the rock pile. Then, Mimi walked into the frame toward the end of the Grinder. It seemed like she was pretty curious about what was going on. However, the next moment, Jared's body slowly came out of the grinder in his terrible mangled state.
Mimi instantly screamed, which was also caught on the camera's audio and jumped back in fright. Soon after…
The Body Discovery Announcement sounded.
"...M-Mimi," Cassandra hugged herself.
"Who saw Jared's corpse being sent toward the Grinder?" Holland continued.
Naturally, I thought maybe it had to do with Jared's disappearance," Zuri nodded, hugging herself. "So, I turned it On and by the time I came out to check, I saw Jared..."
"You what?" Arthur blinked.
"You saw Jared?" Ina asked.
"I saw Jared and he was heading straight toward the Grinder," Zuri testified.
"...Z-Zuri," Cassandra gritted her teeth.
"And finally, who was the one who hid Jared's body in the first place?" Holland asked. "Who was the one who found themselves trapped inside the Sound Booth with him? Who was the one who was able to take Jared's uniform and hat and use it to fake a crime scene?"
"H-Haruto..." Cassandra gasped.
"...Yeah," Holland nodded. "I don't know about you, but I counted three people. Three people who all discovered the body in their own way. Haruto at the Sound Booth. Zuri by the Security Office balcony. Mimi by the Grinder. That is why the killer can't be Haruto. Because he was the first person to initiate the Body Discovery criteria. And the only way he could do that...
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...is if Jared, the victim, was the true culprit of this entire case."
"N-No... N-No..." Cassandra shook her head.
Why does this always happen to her?
Why do people always leave her?
Just once...
Why couldn't she have someone just be with her...?
"J-Jared..." Cassandra hugged herself. "N-N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE
Act 1: The case began at approximately 11:30 AM. The culprit of the case had asked Haruto to meet them at the Ultimate Bassist's Cell. Currently, no one knows why the culprit wanted to do so, but regardless, the two did in fact meet as promised in the Cell.
Act 2: However, the culprit never accounted for one person: Holland. Holland and Zuri had switched Security Shifts the day before because of Zuri's lack of punctuality and because of that, Holland would've been on Security duty, listening in on their conversation.
Act 3: Because the Ultimate Bassist's Cell Security Cameras only capture audio, Holland had little context to what the culprit and Haruto would be discussing. It was because of this that sealed the culprit's fate. The culprit mentioned murdering someone, and without hesitation, Holland took action. He closed the Ultimate Bassist's Cell Door, in an effort to trap the culprit and prevent them from escaping.
Act 4: However, because Holland never got to listen to the entire audio recording, Holland didn't realize that the culprit was with Haruto. He couldn't have known that Haruto was with the culprit since he closed the door immediately. And as a result, both Haruto and the culprit were trapped inside the Ultimate Bassist's Cell.
Act 5: However, to make matters worse, the Ultimate Cells in Cell Block S have a secret function that no one knew about. They were actually Gas Chambers, and once the timer to reopen the door runs out, the room they were in would instantly seep in a deadly form of hydrogen sulfide.
Act 6: This was exactly what happened when both the culprit and Haruto were trapped inside. With one smell of the gas's odor, culprit knew exactly what was being sprayed inside their Cell and knew they had to act quickly. So, without warning, the culprit punched Haruto into the Sound Booth and locked themselves inside. According to Haruto, the culprit made sure to use their hat to cover his face in order to prevent him from breathing in the air.
Act 7: During the ensuing scuffle, the chair by the Sound Booth was knocked over, affectively trapping both the culprit and Haruto inside the Sound Booth. By this time, however, the culprit already knew it was too late for them. They had already breathed in too much of the gas and knew their time was running out. They knew that if they died then and there, whoever had shut the door on them would've been their killer. Even though the culprit probably would've figured it was Zuri, who was an Innocent, they didn't want to risk anything. So, when Haruto wasn't looking, the culprit did the unthinkable…
Act 8: Using the bottle of Chem C-9 that was provided to them by the Sakura Ogami Evidence Box, the culprit ingested it and died. This bottle of poison was the true murder weapon.
Act 9: The case didn't end there, however. The culprit's sudden demise threw Haruto into a panic. In his eyes, Haruto had thought he killed the culprit. Because he was a Traitor and he knew that Jared was a Traitor, he thought that he was the blackened of the case. So, when the door finally reopened, Haruto made up a story that Jared was out to kill a Traitor, while lying that he himself was an Innocent. He made sure to block anyone from entering the Sound Booth, so no one would've discovered Jared's body inside.
Act 10: Once everyone went around to search for Jared, Haruto threw his plan into action. He carried Jared to the Mineshaft and dumped his body into the Minecart, but not before taking Jared's uniform and his hat.
Act 11: Then, in order to hide the body, Haruto headed up to the Security Office and turned on the Minecart System. Once the Minecart entered through the tunnel, Haruto turned off the Minecart System. That was how the culprit's body remained hidden for a long time and because of the heat conditions of the cave, the body's Time of Death would also be heavily altered.
Act 12: Once the body was hidden away, Haruto moved to the next phase of his plan: creating a fake crime scene. Knowing everyone, the question of where the culprit was killed would be put into motion, so Haruto sought to make the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell the scene of the crime.
Act 13: This was why before Haruto had gone to hide the body, he made sure to put a bass guitar in the middle of the Ultimate Supermodel Cell's door frame. Then, once he was at the Security Office, all he needed to do was press GC 1 in order to close the door. This was to prevent the door from closing all the way through. Then, he rewinded the Security Footage, in order to delay what was going to be seen on the monitor.
Act 14: Once he had everything set up, Haruto made his way to the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell and squeezed through the gap in order to enter the Cell. Then, he paved the way for his next act.
Act 15: Haruto put on the culprit's uniform and hat and obtained a mannequin from the dressing room and acted as if the culprit themselves were being attacked by an unknown assailant, making full use of the camera's blind spots to pull off this trick. He must've gotten a little too into his acting, because by the end of it, the mannequin he used ended up broken.
Act 16: Once Haruto finished his charade, all he needed to do was leave the Cell and remove the bass guitar. Once he did, the door closed all the way through. Because it had been technically 'closed' for more than five minutes, the door would've only been able to have been manually opened by an eHandbook instead of through the GC 1 button in the Security Office. This was how Haruto effectively created a fake Locked Room Mystery.
Act 17: However, by doing this, the door left behind evidence in the form of marks on the bass guitar due to the force of having to be lodged at the door frame. Haruto probably didn't notice them and simply placed it back inside the Ultimate Bassist's Cell for Zuri and Holland to find during the Investigation.
Act 18: The last thing Haruto needed to do was dispose of the uniform. This was rather simple. All Haruto really needed to do now was walk up to the stairs of the Mineshaft and with his Ultimate talent, he balled up the uniform and hat into a makeshift ball and threw them into the grinder's chute, perfectly. That was when Haruto finished everything he needed to do, and he regrouped with Mimi and Abigail shortly after.
Act 19: As according to plan, once Mimi left to investigate the Security Office, she attempted to use the Security Footage to find the missing Jared. That was when she witnessed the delayed Security Footage Haruto had planted. As a result, she raced off to search the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell with Ina and Arthur, and as expected, now became under the impression that Jared and his killer had simply disappeared.
Act 20: Now that the pieces have been put together, that left one more important thing to mention: The discovery of the body. Zuri and Holland had gone to the Mineshaft to do their own Investigation. However, she noticed that the Minecart was missing and turned on the Grinder and the Minecart System to investigate this. However, this would have sent the Jared's corpse directly into the grinder. This act threw her into a panic, and she ran off, dragging Holland behind in fear of what she had done.
Act 21: Finally, the Mineshaft's mechanisms did their thing. By the time Mimi arrived, the hat and uniform would've already been shredded up. As for the culprit, their body would come in last for Mimi to discover. And because three people had fulfilled the expected criteria, the Body Discovery Announcement sounded. Those three people were Haruto, in the Sound Booth, Zuri at the Security Office, and Mimi in the Mineshaft.
And because the blackened cannot initiate a Body Discovery Announcement from someone they killed themselves, that only leaves the sad truth behind who the true culprit of Jared's death really is. After all, it was Jared Caertas, himself, the Ultimate Police Officer.
And there you have it! The conclusion and the answers you have been seeking! The true culprit was Jared himself! This was a suicide!... Which was called out by some people. Others thought it was gonna be Monohebi for some reason XE But goddamn, I have one regret and it's a little too late to change it now and that is everything regarding Zuri and Holland's discovery of stuff. I honestly could've made it be that Holland was the one who freaked out because he thought Zuri might've sent Jared to his death or something and then it'd make things seem smoother.
I might just do that in a "Patch Update 1.8" or something.
Other than that, I'm really happy with how this Trial came out after... a whole bunch of editing... and editing... and editing... and editing... and rewrites... and editing... I had so much trouble with this Trial but now I think it has a stronger ending, and I hope the Gas Chamber revelation doesn't piss people off. I worried over how much I could hint to it and how little I actually was hinting to it. You guys can let me know but if you guys really like it, then I can be happy with that Plot Twist :D
Either case, this Chapter isn't over yet!
We have one more!
Chapter 4's Epilogue!
So, let me know what you thought of the Trial overall and as always, I hope you enjoy it! See you all in the final part of Chapter 4 ;D
Prisoners Remaining: 8
Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular) [1,000,000]
Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7) [0]
Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate Scam Artist (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]
Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan) [0]
Zuri Auraline - The Ultimate Bassist (CandleFire45) [1,000,000]