Danganronpa: Gold House (CLOSED SYOC)

by CandleFire45

The manor lies at the edge of the forest, allowing teeters of black pines to grind against its wall like sandpaper. Accompanied by the howling winds of thundering snow, the darkness is defending, the shining layers consuming all in its wake. But darkness cannot last forever, and in the midst of the chaos, a glint of shimmering gold and glowing blood can be seen.

15. Stained Peasant Skin (Chapter 1) (Daily)

Another year, another anniversary! Enjoy the chapter guys, and I apologize for another long wait! Hopefully it's pretty good!

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Our Sacrificial Waltz To Everlasting Memory

Chapter 1

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"Dirt smudged on this surface I call a body..."

"I claw at it, disgusted, ashamed."

"Why was I born at all?"

"...if only to suffer."

---

Stained Peasant Skin

---

Prince stepped out of the room, unsure of where they could even look for Omen. He seemed to appear at random so... tracking him down would be tough.

However, as he tried to figure out where they could go, he noticed Albion and Machi were already on the move. Something had caught their eye by the Art Gallery door further down the hall.

"Hey… isn't t-that…?" Kanna noticed it as well as he nervously fiddled with his hands. "We should follow them right?"

Prince agreed and hurried along to catch up with the duo. "Hey you guys? Aren't we supposed to be looking for Omen?"

"We know that, but…" Machi's words trailed off as she rubbed her arm, looking bewildered at whatever was in front of the Art Room. "Just take a look. This wasn't here before, right?"

Prince nervously stepped forward and found his eyes widened at the sight. In front of the Art Gallery door was a small white stand up sign, with botchy handwriting sprawled on it.

"What's up with this handwriting?" Albion blinked, unamused and unimpressed at the pathetic sign. "It looks like some melted gibberish."

"I-I can make it out," Kanna nervous mumbled as he narrowed his eyes, "I-It says…"

---

[GALLERY CLOSED! NO VISITORS]

---

"Looks like the Art Gallery peeps won't be able to explore it today," Machi hummed uneasily as she twirled with her red hair, "that's interesting. Hm, if the group happened upon the sign… they must be somewhere else."

"But why d-did it close?" Prince clutched his sweater in an attempt to soothe himself, unsure of what this meant, "wasn't it o-open yesterday?"

"Yeah it was open…" Kanna approached with a conflicted expression, attempting to piece the scene together, "maybe it has something to do with the announcement tomorrow? T-That's a possibility."

"Most likely," Albion grumbled, his eyes twitching faintly, "and if that's the case, this sigh is probably that cosplaying samurai weirdo's fault."

Kanna frowned timidly, "I k-know he's one of our captors b-but not everything is his fault is it?"

"WOULD YA STOP BOTHERIN' ME ABOUT THAT DAMN DOOR!"

…

"Well it sounds like it's his fault," Albion muttered as he turned to the source, "looks like we found him... let's see what this moron is doing."

"W-Wait Albion!" Kanna shook as he raced after the blacksmith, "it's dangerous to go talk to that guy alone!"

Prince agreed… any chance to avoid Omen was one he would gladly take. But with Machi grabbing his hand and dragging him to the scene… he knew this was not one of those chances.

"Machi… w-why?!" Prince gulped.

"He won't hurt you, I promise," Machi reassured, "we haven't broken rules so he can't do squat! And also, we need to figure out what's going on with the gallery and cameras right? He's our best source!"

Prince mumbled. She was right but…

"Wait... I just realized... isn't Empress our best s-source?" Prince blinked.

"Well-" Machi paused.

…

"That's for later!"

"Machi PLEASE-"

---

Despite the begging, Prince was dragged into the room where the loud argument was coming from, which shockingly turned out to be… the Demon Room. The Demon Room looked the same as ever, same bloody red walls, same sickly vines, same churning ink like water. Prince expected those things when he stepped inside the room.

What he didn't expect however was the amount of people in such a room.

Hagoromo, Fudo and Minnie, Tadatake, Stefano, and Aimi were all inside circling around someone… and that someone was… well…

"Oh that's just peachy, gatherin' an audience…" Omen grumbled as he crossed his beefy arms, "ya know ya kids need to stop botherin' with all yer stupid antics! It's drivin' me nuts!"

Prince tensed again. Why was this big guy always everywhere?

Fudo only frowned, unamused by Omen's intensity, "you know I think that's a fair trade considering you kidnapped us! Now you get a taste of your own medicine."

"F-Fudo, please don't antagonize him…" Aimi clutched Fudo's sleeve, her eyes uneasily gazing away from the large samurai as she tried to help Fudo step back.

"But if I don't stand up to the bully, who will?" Fudo turned red, frustrated.

Hagoromo slid into the frame with a smile.

Omen stiffened and growled seeing her. "If ya know what's good for ya, back off!"

Considering the situation was getting worse, Albion was about to step in with a frustrated look.

Thankfully, Machi stopped him and stepped up first, looking serious. "Woah guys... what's the problem here? We heard Omen shouting."

"You mean Omen's indoor voice?" Hagoromo teased.

Before Omen could shout at her, Stefano quickly took over with a sigh, "I'll explain the situation. As you know our group made a place to head to the art gallery to investigate. But when we got there... one of the art galleries' signs were up..."

"The signs...?" Prince nervously thought back, "oh yeah... we passed by one. It prohibited entry...?"

"That's what we saw as well, yes," Stefano reaffirmed as he crossed his arms, clearly annoyed, "and Omen had just finished putting it up."

"So... Omen was t-the one to put that sign up," Kanna anxiously glanced at the large warrior. "But why?"

"T-That's... why Fudo and Tadatake tried to ask him..." Aimi revealed, "but things got... a little heated so... the argument moved over into this room."

"Don't worry Shortcake, he won't lay a hand on any of us," Tadatake smirked with ease as he shot a look at the samurai, "Far as I know, we didn't break any rules, did we? So you can't shoo us out for just askin' a few questions metal dude!"

Omen grumbled. That did seem to be the case as he tried his best to keep his hands to himself. Though he did look to be itching for a fight. "Grrr. Fine! Maybe I can't do nothin', but don't think I won't take yer abuse! Badgerin' me with questions left and right… and to think I go outta my way to clean yer shit for ya around here!"

Prince narrowed his eyes nervously at that image, "you… cleaning?"

"I can't see it." Fudo deadpanned.

"I-I can clean!" Omen snorted, clearly agitated, "whoddya think keeps this place spotless!? That's right, ME!"

"Oh la la~" Hagoromo wriggled her eyebrows playfully, "of all the things I picture you being... hehe, you a maid? That idea is... frivolous~"

"SHADDUP!" The big guy did NOT sound happy, "if ya keep messin' with me I'll toss ya over this railing as fish bait for those chompers!"

Omen growled as he pointed at the fish circling around the water. For some reason they were drawn to the commotion, looking bloodthirsty for some food and baring… teeth?! Prince gulped at the sight… he definitely didn't want to get thrown in the water with them.

"As if we'd be scared of some little fish!" Fudo declared as he and Minnie pumped their fist. "we're not letting you go until you give us some more info!"

"And I'm tellin' ya to suck it up cause I won't!" Omen snapped back, "besides ya should be scared of those buggers! One bite from them and ya sorry lot will swell up like a disgusting purple balloon, makin' ya writhing and flailing in pain! So quit fussing already."

"Wait... swell up...?" Kanna narrowed his eyes uneasily at the description before Hagoromo laughed nearby.

"Psh, that's not even that scary," Hagoromo played off, "you're making it sound like we'll become mindless monsters if we get bitten by them... when all you have to do is chop off a limb to prevent infection, nice and easy~!"

"Chopping off a limb ain't the easy dude," Tadatake pointed out with a surprising amount of seriousness to his tone, "also, are you talking about zombies?"

"Oh yeah, that!" Hagoromo grinned, "the name slipped me. Omen here certainly looks like a zombie from those shows, wouldn't you say?"

"Enough!" Albion took charge right away, glowering at Hagoromo, "What do you think you're doing picking a fight with this nut case? Are you looking for an early morning visit to Kanon?"

Hagoromo didn't care for the lecture and ruffled her hair playfully. "It's funny making him all puffy and steamy! Just look at him~"

Tadatake on the other hand looked a bit more defensive as clenched his fist, "we're not looking to pick a fight!" He glanced at a whistling Hagoromo… "okay, not ALL of us are looking for a fight. We just wanted to know what this dude closes off the Art Gallery! We were supposed to investigate it and now-!"

"It's gonna stay that way for a good while!" Omen growled, "hope ya sorry lot got yer art fix from those cheap paintings, cause that place ain't openin' back up until tomorrow!"

Prince furrowed his eyebrows. Why would the Art Gallery be closed now? It felt like such a random room to close off… except for the fact the crown came from there. But since Alexander gave that crown to him… was there another reason?

"This act on its own is bizarre…" Stefano seemed to think similarly as he adjusted his gloves with a tempered glare. "The only rational reason for you to shut that place off is for that item you were guarding yesterday, correct? That crown we were going to investigate."

"T-Tch, don't remind me," Omen grumbled. "I made a mistake lettin' ya twerps get a peek of that crown, but that ain't the reason the gallery is closed today!"

Stefano looked perplexed. "So it's not related to our investigation on that object."

"How is it not related to that crown thingy?" Hagoromo smirked, "are you hiding something cooler than that? Or are you trying to hide away some shamefully spicy art in that room?"

"N-No, it's nothing like that!" Omen growled, though his face was bright red from the idea, "and I ain't gotta tell ya a reason. That information is only between me and boss!"

Hagoromo hummed in thought, looking intrigued before she raised her hands up, "okay, flirty cop didn't work. Anyone here wanna play bad cop? It might tip him off~!"

"More like tick him off…" Fudo rolled his eyes.

"Well, I might as well try!" Machi took a step forward, much to everyone's shock, "oh sorry, I meant try to ask a question... not play bad cop."

Machi's smile then transformed into a more focused frown as she crossed her arms, "I'm curious about something that me and MY team are investigating. We were looking around for some cameras in the house but... they're missing. Since they're mentioned to be important in Rule #2... I figured you might know something about that? After all... the only one who can take the cameras down is you, right?"

With how chipper Machi usually was… her more focused demeanor seemed to shock most of the others in the group. Although Prince had gotten a taste of what this side of her was like… that mode… mediator mode... it seems even if she wasn't "activating" it… she harbored those same traits in her day to day life.

"Wha…?" Omen blinked at all of this. Then suddenly he realized what was being said and punched his fist together. "Oh! OH! Those stupid cameras! Oh that's what yer talkin' about! Yeah… I was the guy who took that shit down. Totally slipped my mind."

"How did that s-slip your mind if… you were the one who dismantled them?" Aimi trembled.

"Because SOMEONE here distracted me," Omen snarled at Hagoromo, who waved innocently back. "But anyways, yeah that perp was me. I crushed those suckers and tossed em' away like the garbage they were!"

Kanna's eyes widened as he gripped the ends of his skirt nervously, "B-But that's destroying property! If you're claiming to be the enforcer of the rules… then why aren't you following them?"

"Yeah! What's the deal, jerk?!" Tadatake did not look happy with that information either.

"J-Jeez, calm down!" Omen looked flustered as he raised his hands, who knew being accused or rule breaking would make him sweat so much, "l-listen I was kidding… I didn't… destroy… them! Don't just paint me as an animal!"

"But… you were the one who said that you crushed them…" Fudo looked absolutely done with the samurai.

"S-Shut it!" Omen ordered as he stammered, "anyway… I just... packed em' away nice and easy. So I didn't break a single rule! And if you ever catch me breaking a rule a-at any point… uh… no you didn't! Ha, take that!"

He sounded REAL proud of coming up with that explanation.

"Given your personality I find that hard to believe," Albion muttered, "but anyway… what's the deal with that? Those things were designed to keep track of us. Why would you take it down if they were set up-"

"I don't gotta tell ya shit about what I do!" Omen grow led, growing antsy from the questions, "I just put em' away on boss's order! That's that!"

"So Alexander told you to take them down..." Albion deadpanned.

"W-Well-!" Omen went tight lipped after that, unwilling to speak anymore. But it was interesting that he was indeed the one who took down the cameras, and that Alexander ordered him to. So... that meant the mystery was partially solved... but...

"It's not a lot of information..." Prince mumbled, "we didn't really get a reason w-why the cameras were taken down."

"But this confirms they're gone!" Machi pointed out with a smile, "so at the VERY least we don't have them stalking us 24/7!"

"Don't celebrate to early," Albion rolled his eyes, "they most likely still have a means to track us. And just because the cameras are missing it didn't tell us anything other then this big guy will forever lick the dirt off of Alexander's boots. Tch, no wonder they're so polished."

"Y-Ya better take that back!" Omen turned red and glared down at the blacksmith.

"I can't take back what's not a lie," Albion shrugged as he turned his back on the samurai, "plus I'm wasting time by even entertaining you any longer. This camera search was clearly a bust, there's gotta be something else I can use here..."

"Wait... are you l-leaving then?" Kanna was startled as the blacksmith headed toward the door. "But we're still gathering info from-"

"He doesn't look to have anything else to give," Albion barely paid the group a glance as he opened the door, "wasting time on him is just going to produce a headache. If you know what's good for you, do the same."

And with that he was out, leaving the group to their own devices. Prince felt a little less safe without the blacksmith's tough aura present… but it didn't seem like the others minded his departure aside from Machi whose gaze followed Albion's exit.

"Wow, what a big help he was in getting us more info," Fudo this time deadpanned as he watched the blacksmith walk away.

"He's right ya know," Omen puffed out his chest with a proud grin toward the kid, "I'm not gonna tell ya brats anything else, so quit yer yellin' at me! Ya might as well scram like that blondie just did!"

"Well, if that's really it then..." Fudo suddenly looked fierce as he gripped his scarf, his eyes blazing, "I'm going to yell at you for a different reason, you big meanie!"

"W-Wha-?" Omen blinked in shock.

Prince and the others did to. Given the samurai's track record, the fact anyone would purposefully yell at him seemed like a death wish. And yet Fudo actually stepped up with a determined look on his face, uncaring of what the enforcer would do as he shouted at him.

"This entire time you've gone around causing problems for us without any inkling of an apology," Fudo snapped, furrowing his eyebrows, "in fact… Prince here has deserved one from you ever since you knocked him out! But you haven't said a single word to him. You call yourself a 'warrior' when all you really are is a big bully!"

Fudo grumbled, holding his hat fiercely in his hand. He did look a tiny bit nervous now that he was actually speaking, but Minnie was right by his side to keep him steady, squeaking up a storm in agreement that most likely was being censored for… such foul language.

With her encouragement though, Fudo continued, his voice louder then before. "So you better apologize for all the nasty things you did! I won't leave you alone until you do, meanie! If you thought we were pest before, I'll show you how annoying Minnie and I can get if you don't apologize at least once!"

When Fudo paused for breath, his voice caused an intense stillness in the Demon Room. There was so much fire behind it, it was almost like when Machi and Amaya stood up to Alexander back then. It was clear there was no way he was going to let Omen get away with everything he did... and on one hand for at least Prince... he definitely admired the young boy for his bravery.

But... at the same time, this was Omen they were talking about. And in true Omen fashion, he only blinked at the small boy...

…and let out a dark bellowing laugh. "GAHAHAHA! Oh man, this lil' shrimp is standin' up to me!? GAHAHAHA! Now that's a good joke! A great one even! I can't stop laughing! GAHAHAHAHA!"

"I don't think he's t-taking you seriously," Kanna murmured sheepishly to the magician.

"Yeah, I noticed." Fudo grumbled.

Tadatake stepped up, cracking his knuckles. "Well, maybe he just needs to hear it from someone his own size!"

Fudo grimaced with an annoyed look "You didn't have to come for my height Mister Take…"

"I mean it's true compared to Omen, right?" Tadatake tried to defend. Ignoring the fact that Omen was a whole foot taller than Tadatake anyway. "I-Ignoring that, you heard the man! He asked you to apologize to the others!"

Omen kept laughing uproariously as if that was the funniest thing he's ever heard. "And what if I don't, eh?"

"Well-!" Tadatake blanked. Nothing came to mind.

But Aimi spoke up from behind the group, her eyes nervous as she clung to Fudo's cape. "That's… not h-how a good person acts. So…w-we all will think you're a bad person if you don't?" She phrased it more as a question since she was clearly intimidated by the large warrior, but she wanted to show her support for Fudo regardless.

"Puny girl, I ain't even human!" Omen grinned, clearly amused by her attempt at guilt tripping him, "ya better come up with something better than that to make ME apologize in the future!"

"In... the future?" Prince had no idea what the samurai meant by that.

Thankfully, Omen explained. "Well, I appreciate a poor sucker who thinks they can stand up against me, so I'll give you more chances to convince me I SHOULD apologize! If ya find me, I'll even stop to hear you poor brats out. But here's a warnin'... I'm SUPER resilient and have never lost a competition!" (Hagoromo coughed in the background remembering their races) "So good luck gettin' those words outta my mouth, GAHAHAHA!"

"It's... not a contest though," Stefano muttered.

The large samurai didn't seem to hear Stefano's retort as with a mad huff he stormed off, clearly irritated. So much for an apology... or any more information from him. They'd have to go to Empress for the rest, Prince figured that at least. But that wasn't important...

...because he worriedly looked at Fudo, who was fixing his hat in annoyance, muttering things to Minnie, "yeah, I'll definitely make him apologize next time. No one just knocks people out and gets away with it."

"Y-You really don't have to do that..." Prince reassured, a little intimidated by how serious the kid looked, "I think the idea you tried at all is admirable-"

"But that's not fair to you or Lukas!" Fudo soured as he crossed his arms, "I just hate people like that, who think they can just poke fun at others and think they can get away with it. I've..." Fudo paused, as if he was considering his next words. But he seemed to upset to care so he spoke without thinking anyway, "I've dealt with meanies like him all the time before. But nothing gets done by being quiet about it, that's what my Ma said. So if I ever do see him, he's not getting away so easily!"

Prince stared in amazement at the boy. Seems he had experience calling out unsavory characters like that. "That's..." Prince started to say...

...before Tadatake gave the small boy a strong pat to the back, "that's right little man! Stand up to the power! That jerk thinks he can stomp around and order us what to do? Please! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind... just to make sure you don't have to do it alone, y'know?"

"Yeahhh… that's a given," Machi nervously laughed a single bead of sweat spawned in, "…no one should really go up to Omen alone… if you did, he probably would smash your skull in until blood started oozing out."

"T-That's... a little too d-descriptive..." Aimi shivered in fear. "But... I don't think we should antagonize h-him though... you two could get hurt..."

Tadatake noticed the worry in Aimi's eyes and instantly smiled in reassurance, patting her shoulder, "don't worry, I'm not gonna run up and start fighting him Shortcacke. I just wanna give a taste of the truth!"

Fudo agreed with a firm nod. "Right, we can't let him push us around, but we'll be careful. And hey... if he ever bothers you just come to us and we'll give him a stern lecture!"

Aimi was silent at the offer, but she timidly smiled. "O-Okay... thank you for offering that. B-But I should return the favor somehow for all y-you guys do for me..."

As the three made their little pact together, Prince watched on with a slight warmth in his heart. Most of their group was pretty well situated it seemed... even if there was an announcement tomorrow, a lot of them could get through it together.

Of course though they had to be realistic, and Stefano was there to give his own thoughts on the matter, "as nice as this all is… I don't think we should storm up to one of the enforcers of this game so bluntly. And if we were, our goal should mainly be to source out information from them, yes?"

"Well we learned a little bit!" Hagoromo smirked, "we learned that Omen is incredibly bad at his job~!"

"And… he only ever takes o-orders from Alexander, although I think… we already knew this, s-sorry for repeating such useless information…" Kanna mumbled with a nervous fiddle of his fingers. He seemed focused on something though…

Prince almost spoke up to ask what he was thinking before Stefano sighed and rubbed his eyes, "speculating like this is getting us nowhere," the exorcist said, a bit of irritation creeping in his tired tone, "we should split off to look for more clues like we agreed to this morning."

"O-Oh, yes, right!" Kanna nervously squeaked, snapping to focus, "but… where should we go now?"

Stefano thought for a moment before sighing, his eye twitching, "I'm going to investigate the theater and game room. Perhaps there's something I can use there…"

"…" Kanna narrowed his eyes at the exorcist. Prince wondered if the assistant was seeing the same thing as him… ever since this morning he's been strange. Kanna nervously appeared to reach out, "um… Stefano, are you…?"

But just like that Stefano hurried off once his intentions were stated.

"Oh…" Kanna quieted down. Prince felt his heart ache at the sight, so much for reaching out.

"Don't worry, that silly doll gets like this sometimes," Hagoromo suddenly spoke up with a giggle, clasping her pale fingers together playfully, "the poor lil' guy didn't get enough sleep last night, remember?"

Prince gave it some thought. It was true he did look tired… but was it really just… lack of sleep that was making Stefano this way? In fact, he started to think back on some things… but his mind was too foggy to properly make sense of it.

"As… l-long as he's okay…" Kanna sighed nervously nearby, "but someone should keep an eye out for him, right? Should it… be me?"

"Leave that to me!" Hagoromo self appointed herself for the task, "I'm the best when it comes to bothering him!"

Machi blinked with a smile. "Oh… that's not…" Too late, Hagoromo ran out. Machi sighed. "I should… probably go ahead and eye on her. I bet she's about to make Stefano's life a living hell…"

Minnie squeaked with some sort of eye roll, with Fudo translating. "Oh! Minnie gets it, because she's a demonologist or whatever so… ha! Making his life hell!"

"Yes, thank you for explaining," Machi chuckled before she glanced over at a slightly uneasy Prince, "does anyone else want to come with?"

She gestured to the group, but it seemed the question was more so pointed at Kanna as she glanced at the boy expectedly. Prince could understand why she did… the assistant usually needed a push from someone else to take action, so being offered to join allowed him the assurance to speak.

Which he did with a relieved sigh, "um… if it's okay with you… then yes!" He blushed as he clenched his fist. "I want to help…!"

"Perfect!" Machi smiled reassuringly at the boy before turning toward Prince, "how about it? Wanna join us again?"

Prince almost said "yes" instinctively, but before his mouth could form the words… he backpedaled. His worries bubbled a little and his brow furrowed. Could he really help Stefano as effectively as Machi and Kanna probably could…?

He… sort of doubted it. So, Prince gave a regretful sigh and stepped back. "Um… actually, I was going to go off and…" he took a breath again, "I'm not sure… maybe see how everyone else was doing?"

"Oh, so you're free?" Tadatake took notice of Prince's sudden availability and snatched him up like an open puck on the rink, "sweet! You should come with us then! We were going to circle back and report to String Queen what we found during our investigation anyway. Since you know about the doohickey camera stuff, it would be a big help if you could explain it to her!"

Prince would answer back to the hockey player… had he not been beyond flustered at the guy rustling his hair and his weird new nickname for… he had no idea. "I-I-I… uh- String Queen-?"

"Miss Amaya," Fudo explained with a resigned sigh, "strings for the dolls… and queen just because she recently became the leader too." Minnie squeaked something to Fudo's ear with a cringed expression. "Hey, we gotta be nice about what he picked at least-"

"What's wrong with that nickname?" Tadatake blinked as he pulled back with a frown, "a leader has gotta have a cool nickname!"

"Um… what you picked sounds close to s-string bean though…" Aimi pointed out with a nervous fluster. "N-Not that I think it's bad. It's just…"

"-goofy for Miss Amaya." Fudo grinned.

"First of all!" Tadatake stood tall, "string beans are healthy Shortcake, so I bet Amaya would love having a name sounding similar to that. Plus, that's not her nickname, so she won't think of it like that!"

Prince watched the exchange with a sheepish smile. Despite Tadatake's tendency to make up random nicknames on the spot, he seemed to have good intentions about it. "Hm… well I think she'll like it," he reassured the hockey player, "she's very open about a l-lot of things."

"All the more reason she makes a good leader," Fudo nodded in agreement as he crossed his arms, "which is why we wanted to report everything we found to her so the whole group would know."

Fudo this time was the one who reached his hand out to Prince, "so does that mean you wanna take Mister Take's offer?"

"Yeah, join us!" Tadatake grinned.

Aimi didn't say anything but it seemed she wouldn't mind the company as she nodded timidly.

Prince's heart spiked at the attention. But, at least he didn't have to think long about his choice, Fudo and the others made a good point to share info with Amaya. So he nervously took the kids hand and nodded.

"Yeah… o-okay I'm in," Prince smiled before glancing at Machi, "I'll explain to Amaya about the cameras then…"

"Perfect!" Machi looked happy about the outcome, "then I'll go after Stefano and Hagoromo with Kanna." She turned to the door with Kanna skittering beside her, "see you guys later for… um… let's meet back up at the dining hall, yeah?"

"You got it!" Tadatake gave a thumbs up to the mediator.

"See you Machi…" Prince gave a small wave to the girl.

She returned it in full sincerity as she turned to Kanna, "ready to head out?"

"O-One second… please," Kanna then nervously fiddled with something in his cardigan pocket, before pulling out that same Lunar note that had been plaguing the group since breakfast, "P-Prince, I apologize, do you mind taking this… w-with you?"

"Hm? The Lunar note?" Prince blinked as he uneasily took the note in his hands, reading over the confusing contents, "why?"

"W-Well…" Kanna looked down sheepishly, "it's just… I've been thinking about it for a while. We concluded this note was talking about L-Lunar magic… and Lunar magic… can be explained in the Angel Room, r-right? So… I was wondering… maybe… Amaya and the others would need the note… to help them?"

"Oh right!" Tadatake beamed as he nodded, "we did kinda conclude it was like a study guide… right?"

Kanna nodded, "exactly… s-so… if you guys can figure out the purpose… for this note in the Angel Room, maybe… j-just maybe it can help us…"

Prince's eyes widened. Was that what was on Kanna's mind the entire time. It seems… partly true, so Prince had no problems giving a reassuring smile and pocketing the note. "I'll deliver it… don't worry. If we find anything out about the note, I'll let you know."

Kanna almost gave a content purr at that before he sheepishly skittered after Machi, who reached out her hand for him to take as the two went on their way. With the note in Prince's possession, it was now up to him to figure out the purpose behind it.

Although admittedly… that seemed kind of impossible, but he would still try.

For now, looking off where the duo left from, that just left Prince nervously standing beside the talkative trio…

Or well, more so the talkative duo. Aimi was just as quiet as Prince, only speaking up with a nervous mumble. "So, shall we… um… perhaps go find Amaya now?" She suggested, "she said she'd be… investigating the magic here."

"Yep, that's right," Fudo beamed, "which means she's at that wacky Angel place. You've been there before, right Prince? Can you show us where it is?"

Prince stiffened at the attention before gradually relaxing. Seems like he'd be the tour guide for this small team, "of course… follow me guys."

"Alrighty then, follow your highness everyone!" Tadatake joked, making Prince stammer.

"It's- it's just Prince!" He blushed.

"Same thing ain't it?" The hockey player's confidence knew no bounds.

---

The journey to the Angel Room was a pretty long one.

Despite everything being confined into one floor, the mansion's long hallways made trekking to the Angel Room a tiring task for Prince. That, or he was just physically weak since Tadatake didn't seem to have a problem with it.

Fudo on the other hand, "I know it's on the entire other end of the house, but why is everything so big here?" The magician was not having a good day. "Wouldn't Alexander get tired of moseying around this place?!"

"W-Well… he can teleport," Aimi blushed, wanting to say something more after that, but then stopping herself.

Prince had to agree with Fudo though, the house was too big for its own good. "The place is fancy but… I think I'd get s-sick of walking around the halls pretty quickly."

"I already am…" Fudo sighed as he slogged his feet. "It's creepy to… so it doesn't help."

"Come on gang!" Tadatake clapped his hands in a rallying shout, trying to energize the group, "it's not that bad! You need a little cardio in your day to day life! Maybe this house was built with that in mind? Maybe Alexander is like… a gym rat!"

Minnie gave a stink eye to such words and squeaked. Fudo translated, "if he was one, Minnie has some choice words for him considering he built a gym. He did NOT need to make the hallways this long."

Tadatake, naturally, lit up at the reminder of there being a gym, "OH! That reminds me, I need to hit up the guys and see if they wanna be gym partners with me. Lukas would be a great candidate, but I missed my chance to ask him during breakfast… Amelie snagged him…"

"Most likely for the entire day," Fudo audibly groaned at the reminder of the rich bitc– hey who said that? "Kanna was lucky to get away from her when he could, she's horrible."

The irritation in Fudo's voice about the girl was pretty clear. Prince could only gulp in unease as he tried to shift the topic back to something friendly. "If um… you need a gym partner, maybe I could join?" Prince offered.

He paused, god what was he thinking? He could barely survive a trek through the manor without getting winded-

"Great idea!" Tadatake's aura sparkled as he gripped Prince's shoulder, "wake up early tomorrow and I'll help you train! We gotta get some muscle on you if you wanna stand up to Omen!

"W-Well-!" Prince blushed.

"Um… I don't want to ruin the fun but…" Aimi bit her lip, looking nervous, "isn't there an announcement of some kind tomorrow morning? I… I don't know if you'd be able to do your training… if that's happening…"

Prince deflated by remembering the announcement tomorrow. Aimi was right… could they really afford to mess around when Alexander was supposedly planning something for them?

"Right…" Tadatake similarly changed his tune before crossing his arms, "maybe we can't train, but we can make the most of our time to prepare for whatever these jerks have in store for us… and that includes training! …at a later date though… maybe… we just gotta focus on the positives before then, yeah?"

"..." Aimi was quiet as she hugged herself and looked down. Even with the reassurance from Tadatake, she seemed tense about what might happen tomorrow. Prince didn't blame her. That crippling anxiety for whatever that mad man was planning didn't bode well with him.

But before Tadatake could step up and reassure the two, it was Fudo who stepped up with a serious look on his face. "Whatever happens, we just have to handle it as best we can…" he nodded firmly as he walked alongside Aimi, "being afraid is like… admitting defeat to the bullies that dragged us here, right? So we gotta stay strong for now. And if you're still nervous then…" Fudo looked toward Minnie, who gave him the confidence to continue, "...then you should lean on me and Mister Take for strength, okay?"

Aimi gave a gentle smile at that. No matter what that boy said, it appeared to brighten her up right away. She made it quite obvious actually as she nodded timidly, "r-right… yeah, I'll… lean on you guys for strength."

"That's the spirit Shortcacke," Tadatake grinned before he pointed a look at Prince as well, "oh, and bro same goes for you, got it?"

"H-Huh?" Prince didn't expect to be included in such a close knit pack, "m-me?"

"Of course!" Tadatake affirmed, "we're all trying to get outta here, yeah? So we share that in common, like how a team usually unites under a common goal to win. So we need to be strong and work together! That's how we get our victory, y'know?"

"Oh… r-right…" Prince gave a soft nod to the idea. Despite his worries, everyone would be there for him. So… he couldn't let himself falter now, right? "Then… let's keep doing our best guys…"

Tadatake gave a thumbs up while Aimi showed a supportive smile, albeit a nervous one.

Fudo voiced his agreement with a shrug, "that's the idea. But if we wanna do our best, we have to be up to date on everything… which means whatever Miss Amaya found hopefully will give us some clues on the manor…" he thought for a moment, frowning deeply as he nibbled on his lip, "do you think they even found anything out about the badges?"

Badges? Prince's eyes widened recalling the morning breakfast, "oh yeah… Amaya did say she'd investigate that matter…" he wondered what the real reason behind the badges were, but before he could speculate… he realized he had led the group to the Angel Room.

"Oh snap, this is it dude!" Tadatake's eyes widened as he studied the door. Clearly its elegant appearance caught him off guard, like with every little thing in the manor, "you know… every time I see doors like this it makes me wonder… what the heck is the budget for this place?"

"It's a mansion Mister Take," Fudo pointed out, entertaining the question, "clearly that top hat weirdo doesn't care about his spending…"

"Yeah clearly," Tadatake shrugged as he took a step to the door and frowned, "only a rich person would install a knobless door inside their house… is it like an automatic door?"

"It worked like that last time, y-yeah," Prince nodded.

Tadatake pumped his fist, "sweet! So all I gotta do is walk toward it and the sensor will go off!"

He stumbled into the door as it didn't open.

Minnie put a paw to her mouth and squeaked. Fudo's eyes widened. "Well don't laugh at him!" He rushed to Tadatake, "you okay Mister Take?"

"I'm good…" Tadatake blinked, "yo Prince, is the door busted or something? Should I try again?"

"P-Please don't," Prince stifled a shameful chuckle. The visual of him trying again would've been a little funny, but he didn't wanna have Tadatake walking into doors for no reason, "I think… last time it took a bit for the door to open."

"It took… an automatic door some time to open?" Fudo blinked, clearly confused on… how that was possible. "What kinda doors are these…? Because clearly they're annoying ones."

Minnie squeaked roughly nearby, clearly agreeing.

"Hmph, sounds like a stubborn door…" Tadatake grinned as he knocked on its surface, "well I'm stubborn too! I'll wait here all day, I got time to kill, you hear me!?"

"Wait… are you talking… to the door Mister Take?" Fudo blinked, ignoring the fact he usually talks to a mouse.

As the two had their little conversation, Prince thought about it deeper. The Angel Room door did take a bit of time to open compared to the Demon Room… that door was usually automatic…

…what made the Angel Room different?

He decided to think on it for later as he noticed Aimi wasn't near the two boys. Instead she was positioned at another door that was near the Angel Room. The door was large, made entirely of gold with jewels swirling on its surface. Prince had seen it in passing when he initially came to the Angel Room… and given the announcement referencing how close it was to said room…

…Prince assumed that it was the ballroom that had been locked since they got here.

Aside from noticing that, he widened his eyes at Aimi trying to tug the door open, to no avail. "Y-Yep… locked…" she mumbled.

"Yeah, it's been locked for the past few days…" Prince spoke up nervously, eying the door, "were… you trying to see what was inside?"

Aimi gave a slight jump at being noticed, but then she relaxed and nodded, "y-yes… I was… thinking this door led into the ballroom? I think it's the ballroom door anyway… um… it's apparently a room close to the Angel Room…"

"Well, this is the only room near it…" Prince nodded uneasily, glancing at the frankly… hideously extravagant door. It was taking all his effort to not feel his eyes melt at the sight of how blinding it was. "I suppose it would have to be the place… but it's still locked. Were you… thinking it could lead to an escape?"

Aimi tugged at her chef hat, shrinking slightly under it. The sight tugged Prince's heart strings, but he let the small patissier speak as she murmured with a shy frown, "n-no… not exactly," she looked uneasy, as if contemplating sharing something. Something in her must've gave way though as she spoke, "...part of me thinks… it might have something to do with events, right?"

"E-Events?" Prince perked. "Like… um… dinners and stuff?"

"Yeah, or like… p-parties!" Aimi raising her chef hat in thought, "sometimes, ballrooms are used as big v-venue spaces for parties… or just about any event really. A dance… s-sometimes dinners like you said… announcements…"

Announcements… huh. "Like what Alexander is… p-planning tomorrow?" Prince recalled.

Aimi didn't give a verbal response, but her tense posture confirmed that was her suspicion.

Prince wanted to reassure her in some way, but this dreaded announcement was still seriously taking a toll on most of them, even with the countless reassurances they got.

So instead, he tried a different tactic… changing topics. "Um… it sounds like you've had experience with working in ballrooms."

"E-Experience?" Aimi widened her eyes before tipping her chef hat with a blush, "um… o-oh! Well… I've b-been to a few venues with ballrooms. U–Usually because I was commissioned to bake for events taking p-place there. L-Like I said… dinners… sometimes weddings… other parties. A lot of people attend e-events like those… so… I get ordered to bake a bunch of sweet treats because of the talent I have…"

"I would imagine so…" Prince smiled fondly. At least he was helping take her mind off the announcement. "You made a b-bunch of yummy treats for dinner yesterday. I-I don't think I got to thank you for your hard work then… it was really inspiring."

Prince really did mean that. Aimi was just another example of a grand student whose skills truly shined that night to make a successful dinner. But the praise caused Aimi to turn as red as a strawberry and avoid eye contact.

"It… I-It was… um… nothing, I… I was glad to help," she messed with her long pigtails, almost pulling them both over her eyes.

The endearing sight was enough to warm Prince's heart, but a part of him also couldn't help but chuckle too at how she was reacting. "I don't think it was nothing. You and Jun did so much back then… so… I think you two are amazing."

"Well-!" Aimi froze like a popsicle as words failed to come to her. All she could manage eventually was a timid, "t-thank you…"

Prince smirked a bit. Was this what it felt like to tease someone? He could kinda understand why Machi did it all the time now-

"Are you bullying Aimi?" Fudo deadpanned behind Prince, jumpscaring him.

Prince's eyes widened at the accusation, and also how seriously annoyed both Fudo and Minnie looked.

"N-No of course not!" He waved his hands frantically, "I was just-"

"W-Well… he did seem to be teasing me," Aimi mumbled, scratching her cheek with a poorly forced frown. In reality the corners of her lips were… slightly smiling. Clearly, she was getting her revenge.

"Teasing?" Fudo deadpanned, staring at Prince with a displeased look. "For shame. I'm cutting off all contact with you and taking Aimi away from here."

"Now w-wait a second-!" Prince didn't think his words would backfire this quickly. "Aimi, tell him I was praising you!"

"H-Hm…?" Aimi gave an innocent smile.

"A-AIMI-!"

"Finally!" Suddenly, Tadatake's voice entered the mix. But his attention had been focused solely on the Angel Room door, which opened to pour mist into the hall. "I won in the end! You can't outdo me, door!"

"And he's still talking to it…" Fudo blinked before shrugging, "eh, at least it's open! Let's see if Miss Amaya and the others are in there Aimi!"

Aimi gave a relieved smile and followed close behind the magician, mouthing a 'sorry' back to Prince. The boy could only stand there at the realization that she was teasing him back.

'I really need to take lessons from Machi about that…' Prince sighed in his own mind, if that were even possible as he followed them.

---

"Hm? Did the door just open now?"

"It appears it has… with more visitors as well, Jun."

"Sister Luna is correct! More of our brothers and sisters have arrived! Come! See this wondrous sight!"

Stepping inside, Prince's eyes widened at the sight before him… his jaw almost dropping. He had seen many bewildering things during his time here… but what was happening now…? It was nothing short of magical.

In front of him were Amaya, Jun, and Luna, gathered around a small table in the center of the Angel Room. Not that surprising to see this line up since they agreed to investigate the place together. However what was more intriguing was that on the table were a small collection of books with their pages turning on their own…

…but most shocking of all? Amaya's doll was no longer on her strings… rather… it was moving… on its own.

That same pine doll that Amaya carried around everywhere was walking around the desk as if it were a person… doing a small dance performance. It shimmied its legs around, waving its hands in the air like it just didn't care. It did a little twirl too.

All moves that a doll without strings would never be able to do.

"W-What-?!" Prince was stunned, stepping back in brief shock. He was so caught off guard he didn't even get to greet the others as he stared transfixed at the moving doll. "W-What is-? What is going on?! The doll is-"

"-MOVING?!" Tadatake and Fudo cut off Prince as they rushed over with wide eyes to see.

"Isn't it incredible!?" Amaya didn't seem disturbed at all by the act, in fact her eyes were sparkling with stars. "Masa is alive! He's alive! Oh praise the Natural Deities! Look upon this beautiful sight my brothers and sisters get to bear witness to! How marvelous… simply marvelous!"

Prince blinked. Amaya sounded really excited over the fact as she began rambling prayers with an enthusiastic smile. Almost… cultish in a way.

More so than the actual cult leader-

"Truly a splendid gift…" Luna suddenly joined in the prayer, her misty blue eyes now glowing as she gave a small smile, "gather around everyone… may this be a sign of the Eternal One's presence. Rejoice… witness this act of life before us!"

-nevermind.

As Prince gathered his bearings, he shifted his bewildered gaze to Jun, who was giving a supportive smile to the two girls as he was reading through some books. "J-Jun?" Prince spoke, pointing at the doll, "what in the world is happening here?"

"Y-Yeah… how is… Amaya's doll, moving!?" Aimi's eyes were similarly confused, though there was a trace of awe in them, an innocence that sparkled as she reached out to touch it.

"I'm gonna need a refresher here as well dude…" Tadatake scratched his chin, a little confused as he chuckled, "is it like… remote control that's happening?"

Fudo, who looked to be the only one actively paying attention and accepting of the trick, gave a deadpan stare to Tadatake. "We've been here for two days with magic and you don't believe what you're seeing is magic?"

"W-Well-!" Tadatake paused. "-I mean, I can believe it! I just… dunno what this is! Like… what are they using right now?"

"You guys sound just as confused as I was when I saw it," Jun revealed as he tilted his chin high in the air, gazing down at the duo with a smile, "I'd explain the specifics… but truthfully? I don't know the details. I just know it involves-"

"-the Puppeteering Spell~!"

Amaya blinked after she blurted that out while Jun was talking, and very quickly she bowed apologetically, "oh dear! I apologize Brother Jun! I was so excited earlier that I just blurted out what we were told!"

"It's all good," Jun waved away with a slight smirk, "you seem like you wanna explain though…?"

"That I do!" Amaya clapped happily, "especially since it involves Masa as an example!"

"Masa?" Tadatake this time uttered the name in confusion, "whose that?"

"The d-doll…" Prince explained as he glanced at the pined toy moving without a care in the world, startling Minnie who had left her scarfy abode to investigate.

"Minnie! Don't sniff it!" Fudo scooped up his partner clumsily as his gaze was fixed on the dolls movements. "You could get super hurt! Plus… I imagine it could ruin the trick if it's the Puppeteering Spell! That's what… uh… that girl, Miss Hania said before, yeah? This is one of those three spells she mentioned!"

"Correct!" Amaya clapped yet again, praising Fudo on the right answer, "wonderfully done! As Brother Jun was to explain earlier… what you see before you is the Puppeteering Spell in action! The one spell that allows inanimate objects to move around as they please!" She then brightened up as her fingers moved to gesture to Masa moving on the table. "Given our investigation of the magic, I offered Masa as an example to test its effects… and wouldn't you believe it…! There he went, jumping and dancing before my very eyes!"

Amaya grew exceptionally teary as she explained it, a cause for concern to everyone around, but she quickly wiped them away and bowed with a small giggle, "I-I apologize… I just… it's so wondrous seeing him like this! I… I wouldn't have expected this to bring me such joy but… there he is…! Laughing away… ah… Father Tsuki… thank you for this."

Even if her voice was dropping down to a concerning murmur as she beamed at the doll, Prince couldn't help but feel glad for her. She looked the happiest she's been since she's been stuck here… the least he could do was let her have this moment.

"That's SO cool!" Fudo was almost grinning at the sight, but hesitated to step to close, as if fearing to get in the doll's way. "You could make anything come to life than! I could finally make my action figures play around with Minnie during my shows!"

Aimi gazed sheepishly at the boy as he rambled, smiling as she gave her own input, "I… I could make cleaning supplies to help w-work around the kitchen once I'm done baking…" She then hesitated and nervously blushed, "although… t-they might get tired and demand for breaks. I… I wouldn't want to overwork them."

"Bro, you kidding? There's so much other stuff you could do with that, Shortcake!" Tadatake's eyes widened as he pointed to the air, "imagine a hockey puck that just waltzes over to a goal by itself! Pft, crazy, the team would never believe it!"

Tadatake seemed to be joking… before quickly tensing up, "not that I'd intentionally do that! That's almost like cheating!"

"It IS cheating," Fudo shook his head in slight amusement.

As the three rambled… Luna sighed nearby and tapped her staff on the ground three times, grabbing everyone's attention with how firm the sound was, "that's not… quite how it works," she mumbled aloud as a yawn escaped her, "Amaya's excitement is appreciated… but the Puppeteering Spell doesn't… bring things to life. Rather, it works much like how actual puppets… it's not alive… it's under someone else's control."

"Someone's control?" Prince repeated before realizing that… made sense. The name was a dead giveaway as to how the spell operates. "Oh… so… it's literally just puppeteering-" he glanced at an excited Amaya as she danced her fingers around, following Masa's movements. "-just like what Amaya does with her dolls."

"Oh…? That's wack then," Tadatake was impressed earlier… but now he stretched with a bored sigh, "then how is what... uh… the pine dude… is doing anything different than what String Queen does with him?"

"String Queen?" Lune opened her eyes, confused.

"I believe Brother Tadatake means me," Amaya smiled, lost in the sight of Masa moving.

"See?" Tadatake grinned at Fudo and Aimi, "she understood the nickname!"

Aimi timidly smiled at that.

Fudo on the other hand signed, "yeah yeah, I guess she got it, but Mister Take's right. The Puppeteering Spell just sounds like what Amaya already does."

"That's the thing, it is exactly like what Amaya does," Jun nodded, now finally having a chance to explain, "however, you're not limited to just dolls. Anything that isn't alive can be used with the spell… think of it like… invisible strings attaching to any object… and you control that object like a puppet."

"So that's what it's like…" Prince imagined multiple objects being contorted around in his head, but then his brain stopped at how weird the visual looked. "Wait… uh… the only reason dolls can even be c-controlled… is because they have joints and strings right? So how can any other object be used by the spell?"

"Well…" Jun started to speak before he scratched his chin, "huh… I guess it wouldn't work that well."

"But it's still… possible," Luna murmured as she tapped her staff on the floor, "the puppeteering spell seems to move objects in a way that's in line with their physical shape. For example, with my staff… the top and bottom part would act as the "joint"… that you could control and move. It wouldn't be as effective as a normal puppet, but you can still control it…"

"So the spell controls the "joints" of an object?" Fudo shuddered at the word play being used, but he went along with it, "I guess… ugh… the spell pinpoints a "joint" and controls that?"

"Precisely!" Amaya sparkled as she moved her fingers. "And that's why Masa is dancing before us! The joints are being magically controlled!"

Prince glanced at the magic doll… and realized… yeah, he didn't have any strings being used, so he really was moving by himself. But, looking around, no one else was seemingly moving. "S-So… who's controlling him?"

"Hm?" Amaya blinked.

"I… I mean… every spell has a caster, right?" Prince explained nervously, "and since it doesn't seem to be Amaya controlling him… who is it-?"

"Me…"

"GAH!" Prince almost fell on his butt as Empress entered the room, her dress and hair flowing through the wall as she phased into the room.

Prince shivered, both from the cold she brought in and her presence in general. Whenever she was in the room… it was a disturbing sight for sure, especially since last time he had been given some unnerving information about his memories.

Prince had bigger things to worry about though as the ghostly woman gazed around the room, tilting her head with a cold twitch as she spoke, "...have… you all found… everything to your… liking so far?"

No one spoke. Prince's throat was closed up. Glancing at the others, similar worries were painted on their faces, especially Aimi who hid behind a protective Tadatake.

The only ones that didn't seem to mind her presence were…

"Ah, and there she appears…" Jun nodded, rubbing his forehead from the cold, "you need to give a warning next time. The others didn't know you were in here."

"But… the announcement tells all… that I am always here…" Empress breathed out in a faded whisper, her movements slow yet smooth like water, "there should… be no surprises… over my presence…"

"Yeah, well you don't make it easy with how creepy you are…" Fudo muttered as he clutched on his hat. Unlike with Omen though, he didn't fully talk back to the ghostly woman as she floated down to the floor. He only chose to speak up once he stepped close to Tadatake's side, "a-anyway, what the heck do you mean by "me"? Are you the one controlling the puppet?"

Empress didn't even give a nod. All she did was raise her spindly fingers and twirl them around, causing the doll to spin below her hand as if it was waltzing on the cold desk.

"G-Guess that's a y-yes…" Aimi shivered weakly as she stepped back.

"Mhm, that's the case," Luna nodded, affirming the obvious answer. She then gently brushed through her cloudy-like hair as she explained. "When we wanted to see how the spell worked, Empress offered to show off how to cast it for us…"

"It's quite simple… to achieve…" Empress murmured as she lazily gazed down at the doll, "to cast the spell… one must do… two things. First… a sacrifice must be given…" The room went quiet as she mentioned that rule again, before she continued, "...then, a symbol must be drawn out… on the object you wish to control…"

"A s-symbol?" Prince blinked, this was news to him.

Empress tilted her head, a little confused, "but of course… I believe… you have already… seen examples… of using symbols… for the magic here… yes?"

At first… Prince had no idea what she was talking about… and from a look around… no one else seemed to know either.

…that was until he remembered… "o-oh right, there… have been symbols floating around, haven't there? Especially on some of the doors…" The Angel Room and Demon Room especially. "But… why?"

"...a symbol acts as a tether… between the physical world… and the Light Magic here…" Empress explained, "think of it… as a bird's journey… from point A… to point B. Point A is the world of Light Magic… the bird's home… while point B is the destination… it wishes to reach, or more accurately… its target. A sacrifice… is the energy a bird eats… that allows it to fly from both points… and land… on said target..."

"...okay then…" Prince muttered. The bird imagery was confusing, so he just tried to glance at someone else to see if they caught it.

Luna seemed to understand the fastest of them all, "Empress said this to us as well when we got here. Essentially… drawing out the symbol on the object activates the magic here… once it's activated, the object can be controlled…"

"We have to draw a symbol to do that?" Fudo slumped a little, "Mustache Head didn't have to draw any symbols during his demonstration! And plus… I always thought it would be something like… saying some magic words! That's what I always do!"

"T-That's true…" Aimi nodded nervously, "didn't um… Alexander use his staff during the Coronation for his demonstration?"

"Wait… does Mustache Head refer to… Alexander?" Jun blinked, "heh, Aimi how did you understand that?"

Aimi gave a small smile. "...y-you get used to how Fudo refers to people after a while."

"That is an… understandable… question…" Empress got them back on topic as she nodded, "with… a simple answer… Alexander's ability is… something one picks up… on after years of practice… soon, drawing symbols is as simple as… flicking a hand."

"Really? He's… done t-that?" Aimi mumbled as she rubbed her arm.

"We've seen floating symbols before… but…" Luna looked just as confused, "...I do not recall… Alexander using them."

Amaya tried her best to give her own input. "Perhaps… his experience is so vast compared to ours that we can't comprehend how he draws them out? He might have a certain affinity for the magic here."

"True…" Luna was thinking harder on something, but whatever it was, she didn't comment on it as she began to yawn and repeat what Empress said. "So… we can activate spells through drawing symbols… seems easy enough."

"You would think… but those are… for high level spells," Empress revealed as she sighed, "low level spells… requires the spoken… word… instead to activate. High level spells… meanwhile… require symbols. Both… Lunar… and Solar magic… have spells that are… activated these ways…"

"What…? How hard is it to draw a symbol?" Fudo blinked as he looked for a pen and paper, "I'm sure I could draw the symbols out right now if I wanted to."

"I don't think drawing the symbols themselves are hard," Jun rubbed his neck, looking conflicted, "more so… again… to cast it we need to sacrifice a piece of something…"

Fudo tensed up and looked down, disappointed, "oh right… never mind them." Tilting his hat down he began to mumble, "maybe there's more that goes into it."

"There is, I'm sure of it, please don't look so down," Amaya reassured as she spoke to the others, "perhaps we just need to study hard to do these spells without sacrificing anything!"

"I'm not sure that's how it works… but sure," Jun sighed as he adjusted his blazer, "but for now at least we know there's two ways to activate a spell… drawing a symbol… or speaking some sort of incantation… and drawing symbols are needed for higher level spells."

"Uh… this is starting to sound like a video game…" Tadatake muttered, "no wonder that glasses girl understood this so fast…"

"Y-You mean Hania?" Aimi translated nervously.

"Yeah, her!" Tadatake smiled.

"But even she seemed lost on some things…" Prince's eyes narrowed at this information, "wait… so if d-drawing symbols is a sign of a higher level spell… doesn't that mean the Puppeteering Spell… is a high level solar ability?"

"Solar…?" Aimi blinked.

"Oh! Like whatever that glasses girl was talking about during breakfast right?" Tatdatake jumped at this opportunity to share what he recalled, looking excited, "apparently Solar is like… the more physical class! So if Lil' Prince over here is saying this is a solar ability… that means it's… uh… physical manipulation right?"

"You're catching on…" Empress nodded as she glanced at the doll she was controlling with her fingers, "Solar… and Lunar magic are different… effects… but both have spells that can… be activated this way. Due to the… puppeteering spells… physical manipulation… it would classify as Solar…"

"And as you can see…" Luna glanced at Empress twirling her fingers around, moving the puppet, "that manipulation is basically… moving an object basically like how'd you move a puppet on strings… with your fingers."

"So… y-yeah… exactly like a puppet…" Prince felt his voice falter a little. The spell itself seemed… kinda basic. Maybe if tried on other things it would be a lot more impressive… but seeing as Empress was demonstrating with… well… a puppet… it felt more like the strings were just invisible then actual magic. "And has anyone else t-tried to cast it?"

"I have tried! But…" Amaya's words dripped away as she stood ashamed, "...I apologize brothers and sisters… I have yielded no results."

"I haven't tried it out yet," Jun shook his head, "And honestly… I kinda don't want to. It feels sort of dark to control things. Robs their autonomy… you know?"

"Can't the spell only work on objects?" Fudo deadpanned, "you wouldn't be able to control anything living anyway."

"True…" Jun sighed, "but it still feels weird, so I haven't tried it."

"Neither have I…" Luna chimed in as well. "Not for that exact reason. Rather… the process for doing so… is difficult."

"Why's that?" Fudo narrowed his eyes before his expression grew darker, "oh… is it because of the… sacrifice… thing?"

"But of course…" Empress nodded, her voice growing colder as she raised her fingers high to make the doll start to hover in the air, "you can't expect… a bird to fly without energy… same as how… you can't expect magic… to work without sacrifice. If you attempt it… without sacrifice…"

Empress's words crackled in the air before the doll twitched and fell back on the table with a limp body. "It… will simply fail…"

Everyone shared uneasy looks after that. The concept of sacrificing something both felt broad and admittedly scary to discuss.

Amaya scooped up her doll worriedly as she cast an uneasy glance toward the ghostly woman. "If that is the case… how exactly are you and Alexander capable of what you do?"

At first, Empress didn't speak. Perhaps because the answer itself was obvious when putting a little thought into it… and that shook the group to the very core. But suddenly, through her pale lips she uttered… "...with enough resolve… anything is possible…"

Empress's words tinged with a slight flicker of… something. Prince couldn't pinpoint it, but for the first time he felt as if he heard… sincere emotion from her words? It was faint… but it felt like it was there.

He didn't know how to feel about that, especially given its subject matter…

"Now then… is that all…?" Empress suddenly reverted to her normal composed voice as she sighed, "or do… you wish to partake in… the act of trying… the magic out…?"

Tadatake blinked and spoke up first. "Um… if it requires sacrificing someone? No thanks dude."

"But we don't necessarily have to do something so shameful, yes?" Amaya tried to speak up. She seemed deep in thought as she bit her lip in comfort, "Something of this nature could be studied to find… less harmful requirements?"

"That is impossible…" Empress quickly shut down, "every spell… requires sacrifice. That is the rule. The nature… if the sacrifice can change… though. For example… low level magic… requires little study… little sacrifice… like a petal being crushed underfoot. High level magic… can only be achieved through hours… of dedicated practice… or… by taking a life."

"So those s-spoken word spells require little study?" Aimi nervously scratched her chin, "if that's t-the case maybe… we should focus only on those…"

"Makes sense…" Jun nodded, "no one wants to sacrifice anybody for doing… what…? Puppet tricks? Perhaps we should focus on the other two spells. The Memory Spell… and the Morphing Spell, right? Do those require the spoken word…?"

"Correct…" Empress murmured as she raised a hand, "both the… Memory… and Morphing… spell… are low level spells… requiring specific words. An… incantation you could say. They usually are done… in a list-like manner… specific phrases trailing down…"

"List-Like?" Aimi repeated, glancing down in thought, "l-like a recipe? That kind of… feels familiar to me…"

Prince narrowed his eyes along with Aimi's… that was true. A list-like incantation… but unlike Aimi who recalled it like a recipe… his thoughts trailed back to another thing… something he had seen. He remembered this… where had he…?

…

..Prince felt around his pocket for that slip of paper, his eyes quickly widened. "Wait… wasn't there something… s-sort of listed like an incantation? Like this?"

Before anyone could question what Prince was doing… he nervously unfolded the note Kanna gave. With a timid breath he showed it off to Empress.

---

{ - Lunar (Gibberish) - }

Section 15B - Section 17B

- Starlight 2

- (Gibberish)

- Starlight 4

- (Gibberish)

- Dream 2

- Rolling Waves 1

- (Gibberish)

- (Gibberish)

- Black Spot 3

(Note - They can change remember, they always do, remember them well. Remember foreverandalwaysforeverandalwaysforeverandalwaysforeverandalways (Gibberish)

---

"Ah… I see you have found… it… one of the spells…" Empress nodded, giving a brief look over the contents before she handed it back, "yes… that is the basic… structure for a low level incantation… specifically…"

"W-What?" Prince gulped, uneasy hearing Empress talk in such a low voice. "So is this for the memory spell… or the morphing spell…?"

"It says Lunar so I imagine… memory?" Fudo murmured as he tapped his cheek. "If lunar relates to mind stuff… memories are a big part of our mind…"

"The child is correct…" Empress murmured, "this is… the incantation for a… a low level memory spell. It has the ability… to make one recall… replace… or take away… memories it is quite… an easy spell to activate once you have… the words…"

"Easy?" Aimi rubbed her hands nervously, "t-that sounds kinda scary if that's the case…"

Tadatake blinked as he tried to make sense of some of the words in the paper. "Um… if it's so easy… why can't we read all of it? It feels like it's gibberish here."

"You simply… can't… comprehend the entire spell… yet," Empress explained as she murmured something else, "you'll need to… look for other books… in the library… to make sense of the remaining words…"

So they couldn't make sense of the spell yet… interesting…

"Wait… then shouldn't looking for those books be our top priority?" Tadatake suddenly widened his eyes in thought as he crossed his arms, "it's obvious most of us can't remember how we got here. So if we find the words and use this spell… bada bing bada boom… we get our memories back!"

"…so… we'll be able to remember things we hadn't…" Prince caught on. If they could do that then he… he could really…

…

"Is it really that simple though?" Jun seemed to have some doubts. "We would still need to sacrifice something to activate the spell itself… not to mention… we don't know the consequences of performing magic like that."

"It's worth a try though… isn't it?" Luna raised a brow as she raised her staff, "the other two spells seem rather trivial to our plan for escape… perhaps we could make do with this…"

"Then it shall be done…" Amaya agreed, glancing over to see that far off… hopeful look in Prince's eye as she smiled. Perhaps she made the choice with him in mind. "We shall try to focus our search on finding the remaining words in the library!"

"Are you… positive, that's what… you want to focus on…?" Empress tilted her head, in an almost… eerie way as she frowned, "you could… easily find… the… other spell books in the library to learn. Are you sure you… want to focus on the memory spell…? After all… some memories can be… painful to revisit. Should you find… the words for the spell… brace yourself for the emotions… that come with those memories…"

Fudo just stared in disbelief at this woman. "Um… you're the reason we can't remember what's happening in the first place?! We're gonna figure out everything you're keeping us in the dark in!"

"Yeah!" Tadatake said louder than Fudo

"Y-Yes…! What he said!" Aimi said softer then both of them.

Empress frowned, glancing over at the other three, "and you…?"

"I've already made up my mind," Amaya nodded as she began to twirl Masa around, "if it helps the group recall their memories… and potentially leads to an escape… we must try."

"Well put…" Luna smiled softly to Amaya… clearly pleased with her reasoning.

With all eyes on Prince and Jun, the two boys glanced at one another. Prince though knew his answer the second they started to talk about the matter…

"O-Of course…" Prince nervously nodded. He had to hope…

As for Jun, he gave a faint look of consideration. "I guess if it's a low level spell… we don't have to worry about sacrificing something big just yet. Besides we're trying to just learn about the spell so… it couldn't hurt."

Empress gave a faint nod. It seemed she accepted them searching for it. "Then I shall say this… to perform a spoken word spell… when you do come across it… naturally… you simply repeat… the words provided."

Empress closed her thin mouth and then… uttered. "I will say… this… as well though. Whatever you're… hoping to find with this spell..."

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Don't get your hopes up…"

---

The group slowly shuffled away from the Angel Room after that unsettling scene. Empress has gotten pretty creepy toward the end there… especially with her ominous words.

Prince himself was especially unnerved…

…for her to say that… for them to not get their hopes up…?

…hope.

It was the only thing they had.

For someone as composed as Empress to say that… even if she was helping explain the magic. It was very clear.

They were not allies.

"…what d-do you think she meant by that?" Aimi shivered close to her two friends as they journeyed to the library. Fudo and Tadatake were close by as she asked the question. "I-I mean…" Aimi continued. "She warned us not to i-investigate the memory spell… s-so…"

"Who cares about her…" Fudo flared briefly, "both Bone Head and Band-Aid Lady are just crazy. They're trying to get us down…"

"I think it's more accurate to say… she's wearing bandages…" Luna clarified, much to the boy's annoyance. "But yes… while it is concerning what she said… I don't believe we should pay it any mind. If the memory spell is able to help us… we should pursue it."

"Precisely Sister Luna," Amaya smiled as she trailed ahead as the leader, "let's keep our heads held high everyone we shall find that spell…! And recall what had happened before."

Prince followed in line with their steps. This was nice… being fully involved with the group. And if things with this spell worked out… if it was possible… then maybe… maybe…

…he just hoped they could find that spell.

"Hang on, I'm curious about something dude," Tadatake then stopped briefly, causing the rest of the group to halt, "String Queen! Did you ever get to talk to that Empress lady about our badges…?"

"I'm String Queen… yes?" Amaya tilted her head before answering, "ah yes, but we did discuss that matter with her earlier… when we first met with her in fact."

Prince widened his eyes. "R-Really? What did she say about it…?"

"That's the thing unfortunately…" Amaya looked disappointed as she glanced away, "she didn't tell us their purpose."

What…?

Fudo looked baffled, so did Minnie, but Fudo could speak so he voiced their shock, "um… the informer who's supposed to answer our questions… didn't answer?"

"To be fair…" Luna chimed in as she tapped her staff to the ground, "she did explain to us she couldn't answer 'useless' questions. For example… we asked her about a possible escape but she didn't offer us anything of note…"

Prince did reveal Empress wouldn't answer useless questions… but… "h-how do our badges classify as that? We don't know anything about them. Aren't they important for the game?"

"They are supposedly," Jun gave a frown, "and worse yet, Empress said that 'it was a strict requirement to keep them on at all times'. But when we asked her why… she was silent and moved on to teaching us about the Puppeteering Spell."

"So the b-badges are important…" Aimi nervously as she rubbed her arms. She even touched it as she paled. "Maybe it's just best to not mess with them then…"

"Yeah, that was always going to be the plan," Jun nodded as he ran a hand through his hair, "question is… what's their purpose? We still don't really know."

Tadatake grumbled. "And we probably won't for awhile if Empress is tight-lipped about it…"

True… the badges would probably remain a bit of a mystery. Prince tugged at his nervously. He wondered why… were they important? So important that Empress was pretty silent about them and how they had to be kept on at all times.

"…well, for now we should focus on what we can figure out," Luna nodded, "which is the fact we're looking for the memory spell now."

"Hey, w-wait though…" Fudo murmured, "shouldn't we also worry about what the other spells can do?" Fudo pointed out as he uneasily looked back at the Angel Room, which was growing further away. "We know the Puppeteering Spell but-"

"Eh… I don't think it's anything to worry about," Tadatake shrugged as he gave a thumbs up, "as long as no one else goes to Empress about it, only we know about it!"

Fudo sighed. "But we're gonna tell everyone when we meet up for dinner later anyway… I'm not worried that it'll be used. I think we should at least know how it works… just to cover all bases…"

Prince frowned. Yeah, they didn't know the Morphing Spell that well. That could pose problems…

He rubbed his chin. "D-Didn't Empress say… um… weren't there other spells in the library we could f-find? Maybe if we find the P-Puppeteering Spell and Morphing Spell there… we can keep an eye out for how they're used."

Fudo seemed to lighten at that, "true! Maybe we should split up and cover all the bases then!" He outstretched his hand. "Who wants to join me and Mister Prince on that front?"

"U-Um…?!" Prince blinked.

Okay he agreed with Fudo but he didn't expect to be dragged to look into the other spells? If anything he wanted to look for the memory spell solely…

…but he didn't exactly have the guts to speak about that as Luna gave a soft nod. "I suppose I could join you. That isn't a problem, yes?"

It wasn't for Prince, who gave a tired nod. "S-Sure, that's fine."

Fudo on the other hand. He blankly stared at the tall girl… "s-sure, totally." He gave a faint nod. He glanced at the others as he held his scarf. Well, specifically Aimi and Tadatake.

But with Amaya taking charge and guiding the two, it seemed they'd be split up for once. "Of course then," Amaya smiled, "the rest will focus solely on the memory spell."

"We'll do our best!" Tadatake gave a wide grin. Aimi nervously nodded nearby.

Jun seemed hesitant, but eventually let out an easy smile. "Sure. It's the best thing for the group after all.

"Then I suppose we shall start the search now!" Amaya opened the large door to the library, her eyes lighting up in excitement.

Can't turn back now… but still… this would be worth it to investigate everything…

So… Prince let out a sigh as he followed behind Fudo and Luna to find the other spells.

---

Which… was huge as ever.

The overwhelming space made Prince's eyes spin. He'd only ever been here twice… and both times the grand size of the space made him feel impossibly small. At the very least… he was with a much bigger group this time… and he got to see their reactions to this place.

"W-Woah…" Aimi clearly was shaken up by how dominating the area was.

"Dude this place his huge…" Tadatake whistled, "I haven't stepped foot here in a hot second."

"It's as expansive as I remember…" Amaya gave a one over to the large area, her eyes sparkling a little as she twirled around with her doll, "with our efforts however, I'm sure we can comb over the space brothers and sisters!"

Jun glanced around, glancing at the end of the staircase that led up to the rest of the floors. Stepping forward he called out. "Alright then, if we're gonna spread out and do this, perhaps each of us should take a section. The paper was found in... Section... 15B through 17B, right?"

"Yeah... a-and that's located in..." Prince nervously stepped up with Jun, noticing the sign for the library floors and sections.

---

Floors

---

A - Floor 1

(Section: 1A - 14A)

B - Floor 2

(Section: 15B - 29B)

C - Floor 3

(Section: 30C - 44C)

D - Floor 4

(Section: 45D - 59D)

---

"...t-the second floor," Prince gulped as he glanced up to the imposing shelves, "if the rest of the m-memory spell is in the library, it should be there..."

"Then we have no time to lose," Tadatake pumped his fist, "let's do this! AAAAAAAAAA-!"

What the-? Tadatake sprinted up the stairs to the second floor, with Aimi squeaking and following in tow.

"Well he's pumped," Jun chuckled as he began to follow up the stairs, "if they take the first few sections... I can do the other sections alone."

"Nonsense, I shall accompany you Brother Jun," Amaya reassured as she bowed her doll, "shall we?"

Jun seemed to appreciate the company and the two gave a small wave to the rest as they ascended the stairs.

"That leaves us..." Prince flickered his gaze to Luna and Fudo, who lingered on the first floor looking through books. Joining them, he nervously took some off the shelf, but he found it to be some weird retelling of 'The Princess and the Frog'. "T-This might take us a long time..."

"Well, there's multiple pairs of hands," Fudo smiled as Minnie pushed a book from a higher shelf, "so it hopefully goes faster. Although..." he opened a book and frowned, "none of these are magic books?! This is just a parody of 'Beauty and the Beast'?" Fudo rolled his eyes and put the book away.

"I wonder if the first floor revolves around fairy tale books," Luna murmured in thought as she pulled out a book of her own, one about 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-'

"That is NOT a fairy tale book-" Fudo blinked.

"Maybe if you look at it a different w-way?" Prince sheepishly chuckled.

Fudo deadpanned. "IT STILL ISN'T-?"

"Whatever the case, I wonder if each floor is a theme...?" Luna spoke in thought as she put the book back to the highest shelf, "perhaps the first floor is normal stories. The second floor is... lunar magic..."

"Then the t-third floor might be solar magic?" Prince mumbled in realization as he looked away, "then what would the last floor be about?"

"Non-fiction maybe?" Fudo shrugged, "I dunno, this library seems like a mess. Maybe there's not an order..."

Prince watched as Fudo looked through the large sprawl of books available. He seemed deep in thought, watching Minnie pull through each book on the shelf. Honestly...? His eyes looked... familiar somehow? The way he focused... the way he...

"Hm? Is something the matter Mister Prince?" Fudo tilted his hat in surprise at Prince staring at him.

Oop- Prince nervously coughed and looked away. "S-Sorry it's nothing... I just... um..." Prince looked down as he pretended to read through another book, written by someone named Wolfie-

Luna's voice echoed. "You're pulling the 'pretending to look through a book' card to avoid talking to Fudo?"

"N-No?!" Yes. "I was... um... I just..." Well, he should just come out with it... shouldn't he? He glanced back at the boy, and then breathed in. "Fudo... are you-?"

"Mister Prince? Have we met before?"

Prince blinked.

Fudo's words...

...what did he just say?

---

Author's Note

Another year. Another chapter.

And... another cliffhanger. My bad! I hope this makes up for the lack of updates. (It doesn't) but hey I'm really happy with what I've written. Please let me know if I'm doing anything right or not! These characters are super fun and I still have a lot of things planned for them as well. For this chapter I really enjoyed writing a lot of the scenes, especially the magic explanation scene again. I do believe it might be hard to grasp at first, but hopefully it makes sense in the long run. Hopefully!

My best guess for what I'm getting to a murder...? I had... two planned chapters for sure after this. I know with my speed it's... pretty impossible to get something like that out so soon, but hey, we're getting there. I hope that helps! I really am excited to show you all who it is.

During this time, I'll use the chance to shoutout just ONE story. That's right! A special shout out toooo...

Danganronpa: Obscurity's Disgrace by ExtraMeme. Its such a wonderful story with a colorful cast of characters, MOST OF THEM FAMOUS. Yeah most, some are nobodies, what a shame. HELP ANYWAY. You should give it a read, he actually got to the first body recently so that's pretty fun!

Now with my special exclusive shout out done... heh, time for the others!

Danganronpa: Twisted Tragedy by SilverMark16

Danganronpa: Algorithmic Alteration by Otterplay

Danganronpa: Cold Blooded Revenge & Guilty as Charged by Sempi (You should read this! :D)

Danganronpa: Your False Words by PrincePoke Persona

Danganronpa: Happily Never After & Purgatorio by WolfieRed23

All these stories are written by such amazing authors! Please check out their words! I hope you enjoy them!

As for me, I'll see you all next time! And thank you with sticking with me!

Take Care

CandleFire45