Chapter 3: Removing Redundancies
Aimless Resolve
Choosing to focus on determination instead of despair proved to be difficult as the night progressed. Once the elevator doors opened and the 12 surviving students stepped off, they had walked like zombies through the Channeling Chamber— the room where Phoenix had discovered Athena's corpse just a few short hours ago; through the foyer— the scene of Athena's murder at Nahyuta's hands; and down the dirt path back towards their collection of huts. Maya had taken Phoenix's hand on the elevator ride up, acting as an anchor to keep him mentally present. She had not let go until she had guided him into his yurt.
"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Phoenix offered hoarsely. He hoped he wouldn't come off as creepy— he had no intention of doing anything with Maya— but if he was left alone with his thoughts tonight, he was pretty sure he would fade away into nothingness.
Maya nodded. "Let me go get ready," she said before stepping out.
Phoenix was pretty sure no one was bold enough to commit a murder right after a class trial, but seeing Maya step into the night by herself sent a pang of anxiety through his stomach. He tried to push it away as he stepped into his bathroom and prepared for bed. He expected to feel The Tragedy was in his suit pocket as he changed into his pajamas, but he realized he had never gotten it back from Kyoko.
He considered going to her hut and asking for it back, but it was late and he trusted Kyoko with the book. Plus, he had no desire to see Nagito's handwriting again. Which brought up another point: how had Nagito anticipated the night's events so precisely? Why even bother giving Phoenix a handwriting sample of his in the first place? The more Nagito did, the less Phoenix understood him. One thing was for sure, though: he was dangerous.
After he changed and brushed his teeth, he heard Maya open the door. He stepped out and saw she had let her dark hair down from its normal topknot, and was wearing a much simpler outfit than normal.
Their beds were not made for two people, so Phoenix decided to let Maya use his bed while he took a blanket for himself on the floor. The straw mat on which he lay was not very comfortable, but there was no way he would make Maya sleep on the floor when he had been the one to ask her to stay. She had given him an inquisitive look, as if wondering why they didn't both take the bed.
She didn't press the issue, though. He cared deeply for Maya, but asking himself whether or not he cared about her… in that way was going to lead only to heartbreak— Dahlia was proof enough of that. He could worry about romantic feelings once he was out of here. For now, he would settle with preventing another killing in whatever way he could.
Maya's gentle breathing kept him awake for at least an hour— not because she was loud enough to distract him, but because every exhale was a reminder that she was still there. Still alive.
After Dahlia died, he had focused on finding her killer. When Franziska was executed shortly thereafter, investigating the village and finding its secrets took the spotlight. Athena's death was similar to Dahlia's— he wanted to find her killer before he allowed himself to suffer. But Nahyuta's execution could scarcely be called a victory. While the zealot had been downright rude to everyone in the village on multiple occasions, his iron will and high intelligence made him someone Phoenix had expected to see last much longer.
And when Nahyuta had refused to confess, what had Phoenix done? Used the most slimy, underhanded tactic he could imagine to force the zealot into confessing. He did not want to become a lawyer who believed the ends justified the means. Not only that, but Phoenix, personally, had sent Athena away. He had basically killed her.
He killed Athena.
The image of her body slumped against the folding screen flared into his mind every time his eyes closed.
Now, it seemed Nagito would be the antagonistic force in the village. But Phoenix wasn't sure the luckster was even trying to be malicious— he merely had a twisted worldview which he had never grown out of.
I killed Athena. I killed Nahyuta.
These thoughts kept him awake for long after Maya had fallen asleep. When he finally did drift off, his dreams were a never-ending replay of all the mistakes he had made in the previous 6 hours.
The morning announcement seemed to play mere moments after his eyes finally shut. Monokuma's grating voice broadcast throughout the village and woke a reluctant Phoenix from his slumber. At the same moment, he heard Maya groan as she pushed herself to a sitting position. He slowly stood up and put the blanket he used last night behind Maya. She smiled weakly at him. Her hair looked rather tangled from a night of restless sleep.
Maya was not going to die. He had failed Athena, and one failure was enough. If Maya died…
Well, he wasn't sure what he would do. But it wouldn't be good.
"Hello? Earth to Nick?" Phoenix realized he had been staring blankly at Maya, who was waving her hand in front of his face. "You there?"
"O-Oh! Sorry," Phoenix stammered, "I guess I was lost in thought."
"What else is new?" she poked his stomach. "I'm gonna go back to my yurt to get ready for the morning, okay?"
"Want me to walk you back?" Phoenix offered.
"It's like 20 feet, Nick!" Maya groaned. "You should get ready yourself. I'll see you at breakfast," she said as she departed.
Phoenix wished there was a window facing the path, but the only window in his hut faced towards the edge of the village. He knew he was being overbearing— he trusted Maya; there was no need to get in her way.
"Huh," Phoenix involuntarily said aloud as he looked out the window. Maybe it was his imagination, but it felt like the scenery outside had changed. The distance between him and the fence now felt much larger; the empty fields of unmown grass seemed more expansive than the last time he had looked. had Monokuma expanded the boundary at some point? It was certainly not out of the question.
After brushing his teeth and changing into his daywear, he stepped outside to greet the new day. He was both physically and mentally drained, but he knew he couldn't rest. Chances were, Monokuma had opened up new portions of the village for them to explore. Last time, he had given them a veritable treasure trove in the warehouse— maybe they would get another building which could give them more hints about the situation they were in.
He was the third one to breakfast that morning— Ema and Kyoko had beaten him to the kitchen. "Morning," Phoenix greeted them. He couldn't bring himself to call it a good morning.
Ema waved halfheartedly and Kyoko nodded serenely, not bothering to look up from her notepad. Phoenix grabbed a plate and began preparing himself fried eggs.
"So, Kyoko, Mr. Wright," Ema's voice rose above the sizzling of the pan. "Do you think we'll have more places to investigate today?"
"It's highly likely," Kyoko affirmed. "I wouldn't expect Monokuma to break his pattern only 2 trials into our time here."
"Yep," Phoenix added, "that's about what I concluded."
At that point, the door to the kitchen opened again and Chihiro, Makoto, and Maya stepped through. For half a second, Phoenix perked up as he thought Athena might step through, too, since she was often seen in the company of Chihiro.
But, no. Of course that wasn't possible. Athena was dead, and it was Phoenix's fault.
Phoenix clenched his jaw as he plated his eggs and sat across from Kyoko, who was still looking intently at her notepad. She pursed her lips and appeared to scratch something out with her pen. He noticed The Tragedy sitting open on the table in front of her.
He knew better than to ask her what she was writing, but the temptation was still there. Perhaps she had discovered something new?
"By the way," Kyoko broke the silence, never taking her eyes off her notepad. "I checked the list of rules last night. The rule about getting to take a second person out has been removed."
Phoenix wasn't sure how to respond to that. He wasn't surprised, but he didn't think they really needed to be reminded of the motive that had caused Nahyuta to kill Athena. It seemed no one else wanted to bring it up, either, as Kyoko's statement was simply met with blank stares.
Maya joined Phoenix and Kyoko after reheating an enormous bowl of egg fried rice. Her eating was as unrestrained as ever, but he didn't tease her about it. Personally, he was barely able to stomach a few bites.
By the time Maya had finished her bowl, only three students were missing: Apollo, Nagito, and Peko. Phoenix suspected Peko was out looking for more places to investigate, just as she had after the last trial.
If Nahyuta were still alive, he would be, too.
Nagito may have been doing the same as Peko— but could they really afford to let him be left unattended?
As for Apollo's absence— Phoenix knew the trial had broken him. He had lost the two people he was closest with in the span of one trial. How would he respond now that he had had some time to internalize it?
Phoenix flinched as the sliding door to the kitchen slammed open, the opaque white glass and wooden frame trembling as they hit the door stopper. Phoenix did a double take— Peko was walking in with someone he hadn't seen before. Their scowling face had a white medical bandage wrapped around it, serving as an eyepatch for their right eye, and their red suit was obscured by an enormous dark blue coat.
Except, he had seen this person before. After analyzing the newcomer, the two brown hair spikes sticking vertically from his forehead revealed who this stranger was.
It was Apollo.
"Cool outfit, Apollo," Leon complimented, seemingly oblivious to the obvious reason behind Apollo's wardrobe change.
Apollo nodded, his expression seemingly one of frustration.
"Are you feeling alright, Herr Fo— Justice?" Klavier asked, catching himself before he called Apollo "Herr Forehead."
"I'm fine, Klavier," Apollo answered as he walked to the white cabinet nearest to the fridge and pulled out a glass. "Things in this village will be a lot better now," he declared, filling his cup with filtered water from the fridge door. "I'm sure of it."
Phoenix exchanged a glance with Maya. Was he in denial?
"What makes you say that?" Phoenix inquired.
Apollo glanced over his shoulder at Phoenix with his uncovered left eye, a smug smirk on his face. "Let's just say we won't have to deal with our biggest threat anymore."
Ema gasped. "Don't tell me you guys took on Monokuma?!"
Peko sighed and shook her head. "Not him. We should just tell them what we've done, Apollo."
"Why?" Apollo asked. "They don't need to know."
"They'll realize he's missing sooner or later," Peko countered. Phoenix felt his chest tighten— they hadn't killed anyone, had they? Then again, the only person missing was…
"What have you done with Nagito?" Kyoko sighed. "I assume you haven't killed him, otherwise you would not be nearly so nonchalant about it."
Apollo turned around to face Kyoko. "He's alive and unharmed. But he's restrained."
"You tied him up?!" Chihiro exclaimed, her voice much louder than usual.
Apollo shrugged. "It had to be done."
"What did you tie him up with?" Chiaki asked.
"The warehouse has a model police station replete with handcuffs," Peko answered simply. "Additionally, there are several ropes in the storage room of this manor."
"And you did not think to consult us before doing this?" Klavier incensed. "This is unlike you."
"Plus," Makoto (who was sitting across from Kyoko) added, "we really shouldn't be tying anyone up. We don't need to become more divided."
Apollo chuckled darkly. "Now that Nagito is out of the way, we won't be divided anymore. He won't be able to deceive us again."
A high-pitched voice accompanied by a cartoonish squeal interrupted the debate. "Aw, but Komaeda is so fun! He gets this game, unlike you all!"
Phoenix clenched his jaw as Monokuma hopped onto one of the tall, circular tables. What was he here for now?
"I must say, I'm quite sad you guys haven't begun exploring all the new places I've unlocked for you," the two-toned bear pouted. "I put so much work into unlocking all those doors. It was back-breaking labor, I tell ya!"
"Is that the only reason you're here?" Kyoko demanded. "To inform us that there is more to investigate?"
Monokuma leapt from the round table on which he was standing onto the rectangular table with Kyoko, Makoto, Maya, and Phoenix. Normally, Phoenix would've been surprised at the distance the bear covered in a single jump, but he had seen Monokuma do far more impressive feats.
Monokuma waddled forward on the table until he was face to face with Kyoko, their eyes at the same level for once. "I also came to give you this! We're two murders in, it's time for some lore reveals!" Monokuma opened his mouth and reached his black paw down his throat before pulling out a small stack of papers. "It's… Chapter 2!" he exclaimed, setting the stack on top of the open book in front of Kyoko while keeping his gaze on her. "With the sad monk being gone, there's no way you guys will identify any of the remaining structures in the village. I figured I should throw you a bone! Figuratively, of course. Although I could give you one of his bones if you want! Puhuhuhu!"
Phoenix looked at Apollo, who was still leaning against the countertop, watching the exchange with muted interest. Phoenix expected some reaction from the fiery defense attorney at hearing Monokuma's taunts, but Apollo scarcely blinked. He really had repressed himself.
And Athena's not even here to help him work through his emotions, Phoenix winced.
"Is that all?" Kyoko asked, not breaking eye contact with the bear. If she was intimidated, she didn't show it.
Monokuma gave a toothy grin and leaned closer to Kyoko. Phoenix briefly panicked, expecting Monokuma to literally bite her head off.
Then, the bear ended the staring contest and jumped off the table. "Yep! Happy reading! Happy exploring! Happy deaths!" he rattled off before vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Kyoko grabbed the loose stack of papers and neatly arranged them between the existing pages and the back cover of The Tragedy before closing the book and tucking it into her jacket. "Same plan as usual," she announced. "Let's split into groups and comb the village. Meet back here in an hour."
"This conversation about Nagito isn't over," Ema pointed at Apollo, who simply turned and walked out of the kitchen.
"Perhaps I should go with him," Klavier offered before chasing after Apollo. Phoenix hoped the rockstar could talk some sense into Apollo, but he didn't think it was very likely.
If only I hadn't let Athena die…
Phoenix hung his head. The thought was never going to leave him, as long as he lived. If he had just kept Athena in the warehouse instead of sending her away, she would still be alive.
Peko walked over to Chihiro and extended her hand, which the petite programmer took gratefully. Ema joined Chiaki and Makoto who, as usual, went with Kyoko.
The only three people left were Phoenix, Maya, and Leon, who walked awkwardly to Phoenix and Maya's table. "So… investigation buddies?" he smiled uncomfortably.
Phoenix shrugged. "Sure. Where should we start?"
"Did either of you notice something weird about the fence?" Leon pondered, stroking his chin.
Phoenix blinked twice in surprise. "Y-yes, actually. It looked further away. How did you notice?"
Leon shrugged. "I've gotten pretty good at mentally measuring distances thanks to my career choice."
"Musician?" Maya perked up, stating Leon's pipe dream of a goal. He looked at her with a neutral expression until she realized— "O-oh. Baseball player. Right."
Leon sighed. "Yes, I'd really like to change my career and finally become someone real. But that will have to wait until we're out of here."
Phoenix couldn't help but feel Leon was taking this whole situation much more seriously now that two murders had occured. His reactions were much more subdued, and he seemed to have a heavy heart.
Then again, there was a lot of that going around.
"Let's get going, guys!" Maya exclaimed. "We only have 55 minutes left!"
Leon's eyes widened. "Let's go to the fence! Hurry!" He bolted out of the room, his wide body knocking over a chair on the way out. Phoenix was once again left wondering how someone of his size and stature could be a good baseball player.
Maya stood up and dashed after Leon, while Phoenix walked over to the chair, set it right, and lightly jogged after the pair. It did not take them long to catch up to Leon, who was somehow panting from running at a leisurely pace for a few seconds.
"Should… have… eaten more… for breakfast!" Leon gasped as they kicked up dirt, running past the yurts and onto the dewy grass field towards the mountains. Had they not been kept there against their will, it would have made for an enjoyable jogging route.
Athena enjoyed jogging, Phoenix remembered. He clenched his jaw— these intrusive thoughts were going to stick with him for a while, it seemed. He tried to remain positive, admonishing himself to solve the mystery of this village and escape for Athena. But at the moment, escape seemed out of reach.
As they continued towards the fence, Phoenix saw the metallic trapdoor found by Nahyuta and Peko a few dozen feet away. He had yet to examine it for himself— other things had been occupying his mind. Yet, under that trapdoor, only a few feet away, lay the mastermind's lair.
Or rather, that's what they were assuming. Truthfully, Phoenix thought it might just be another ploy by Monokuma. It would be pretty obvious if one of the students was sneaking into the trapdoor every few hours, and there would be no need for a third party to even be in the village if Monokuma could be controlled remotely.
As hypotheticals whirled through Phoenix's mind, the trio finally arrived at the wooden fence keeping them trapped in the village. Phoenix desperately wanted to keep running and bound over the barrier, but he knew that was out of the question.
"We… made… it…" Leon rasped, barely able to articulate anything through his heavy breaths.
"Now what?" Maya asked. "Is it further away or not?"
"It definitely is," Phoenix concluded. "Remember, Nahyuta and Peko said that they noticed a section of the fence had been knocked down, and they discovered the trapdoor on the very edge of the village. Now, the trapdoor is a few hundred feet away from the fence."
Maya nodded and opened her mouth, but before she managed to speak, Phoenix heard the grating noise of Monokuma's appearance.
"Observant!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Fence! Mountains! Noticed!" Apparently, he was in the mood to yell single words.
Phoenix sighed. "Why did you move the fence?"
"Border! Bigger! Fun!" Monokuma danced around, performing a new pose with each word he shouted.
"Is he broken?" Leon whispered.
Monokuma crossed his arms. "No!" He stood on one leg and performed a tree pose. "Enlightened."
Phoenix resisted the urge to kick the two-foot bear. He was pretty sure he would be able to send Monokuma flying over the fence.
As satisfying as that would be, it was not worth his life. Instead, he simply used his words, something Monokuma seemingly did not feel up to.
"What do you want?" Phoenix demanded. "Are you just here to annoy us?"
"Me?" Monokuma gasped, bringing both paws up to his mouth. "Never!" He brought a paw to his forehead and fainted dramatically. "Advice!" He exclaimed from the ground.
"Advice," Phoenix repeated skeptically. "Give it to us and get out of our way!"
"Get through two more trials and you'll see why this fence has been expanded!" Monokuma finally spoke in a full sentence as he stood up and looked at Phoenix. "Until then, you might want to check that building," he raised his white paw and pointed at a field of grass between the yurts and Fey Manor. There was definitely no building there.
"There's nothing there! Is it a ghost building?" Leon gasped.
Monokuma looked where he was pointing. "Whoops, silly me! Just a second!" He reached behind his back and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He pulled at the edges to unfurl it, and Phoenix saw a crude map of Kurain village drawn in black marker. After examining the map for a second, Monokuma adjusted his arm to point to a fairly small two-story building next to the manor, behind the temple containing Ami Fey's tomb. "Over there! And make it quick! You only have 45 minutes!"
"Umm, that's a lot of time," Leon pointed out.
"Don't talk back to your headmaster!" Monokuma wailed. "Kids these days, so rude. Can't even show their superiors proper respect. I tell ya, back in my day…" His mumbled complaints continued until he abruptly disappeared without warning.
Phoenix exchanged glances with Leon and Maya. Why was Monokuma encouraging them away from the fence? Was he hiding something, or did he want them to find something that everyone else had missed?
"What should we do, Nick?" Maya asked. "Is there anything else we should look at here?"
Phoenix considered their options. "I think we're good here. We should check out the trapdoor on our way back, but other than that, we can probably go to the building."
Hearing no objections, Phoenix walked over to the trapdoor lying hidden in the grass. It was fairly nondescript— aside from hinges attached to a steel frame, and a single wide handle opposite the hinges, it was nothing more than a flat, silver square.
Phoenix bent down and wrapped his hands around the handle before trying to heave the door upwards. Unfortunately, he lost his grip and all he succeeded in doing was falling on his back, covering his suit in wet grass.
He heard Maya cough, failing to suppress a giggle. "Are you alright, Nick?"
"Fine," he grumbled as he grabbed Leon's outstretched hand and stood back up. "Let's go to that new building."
"Maybe you should change?" Maya proposed. "You've got a bit of grass… Everywhere."
Phoenix shook his head. "That can wait. Let's go check out this building."
As they walked closer to the structure, Phoenix realized how out-of-place it looked next to Amara's temple. The style was much more modern— a white brick exterior accentuated by pillars and floor-to-ceiling windows which revealed a chic interior. Bookshelves lined the walls and Phoenix could see some sort of statue obscuring part of the window. There was no path to this building, but Phoenix saw the door facing Amara's tomb.
They ascended a short staircase onto the white patio filled with potted plants and pushed the wooden door open. Inside was a surprising sight— it looked as though they had just walked into a museum. A golden statue of a robed woman holding a complicated sword stood in the room next to a cracked lavender vase with the word "Ami" inscribed in dark purple paint. Phoenix could now see the frontside of the statue blocking the window— it was some sort of robot with disproportionate arms and a steampunk aesthetic. A broken, illegible stone tablet leaned against the wall underneath a hanging scroll. Countless other artifacts and symbols littered the room— it was certainly the most interesting place in the village so far.
Immediately, Maya rushed over to the statue of the robed woman. She knelt down and picked up the vase.
"This… half of the stuff in here is dedicated to Mystic Ami," she whispered reverently. "They should be in a sacred place, not strewn about some random house!"
"Whose house is it?" Phoenix wondered as he scanned the room. He saw a metallic spiral staircase leading up to a balcony which served as the second story. From what he could see, there was only a single door up there.
"Buff!" a high-pitched voice squealed. It seemed Monokuma did not want to leave them alone today. "Dr. Armie Buff. Or was it Archie? Oh, who cares! They're irrelevant!"
Phoenix looked to the source of Monokuma's voice and found him sitting on top of a golden model plane hanging from the ceiling.
"Welcome to the study!" Monokuma clapped before dropping off of the plane and landing at Phoenix's feet. "Here we have all sorts of mystical relics from Kurain Village. It's a shame there's only one resident here to appreciate it!"
"Where did you get all these?" Maya asked, her hands shaking. Phoenix worried she was going to drop the vase onto the floor.
For a brief moment, an image of a young Mia helping baby Maya repair the vase flashed into his mind. It was something he definitely could see Maya doing, and he had no doubt Mia would have helped cover for her sister. But why did he imagine both of them as children?
"I did my research before bringing you here, missy!" Monokuma cackled. "I know where all the sacred relics to your religion are!"
Maya paled. "You mean…"
"Yep, that statue is the one from Hazakurain! Such a lovely mountainous little temple. Shame so many terrible things happened there!" Monokuma taunted.
"Hey, what are you going on about?" Leon demanded, shaking his fist at the bear. "Leave us alone already!"
Monokuma pouted. "Everyone's ganging up on me, huh? Poor old Monokuma, can't catch a break!" He looked at Phoenix. "What happened to us, Nicky boy? Twelve hours ago you were more than happy to send me against your enemies like it was nothing!"
Phoenix crossed his arms and tapped his bicep with his forefinger. It was a move he had seen Edgeworth do, and it helped himself calm down. "Twelve hours ago we were in a fight for our lives. I regret using you as a threat against Nahyuta, but I don't regret solving Athena's murder. Get out of here if you don't have anything else useful to say."
"Man, you guys are really unappreciative today!" Monokuma sighed. "Alright, I'll go bother someone else."
Before Phoenix could tell Monokuma not to bother anyone, the bear was gone once again.
"Maya," he asked, "what was that whole exchange about Hazakurain?"
Maya set the vase down. "This statue," she gestured at the golden figurine, "is of Ami Fey, the founder of the Kurain channeling technique. It normally is in Hazakurain, a sort of branch of Kurain village. But they're really small— I have no idea how Monokuma discovered them."
"Could he have looked at this?" Leon asked. He was standing at a desk nestled in between a pair of bookshelves.
Phoenix and Maya walked over to the desk to see to what Leon was referring. He pointed at a cork board on the back of the desk. Attached to the board via a thumbtack was a magazine advertisement of some kind, and on the advertisement was a photo of…
"Dahlia?!" Phoenix yelped. The photo was in blank and white, but it was unmistakably her. She was wearing a set of robes similar to Maya's and was giving the camera a gentle smile. A much shorter and more portly woman, her face caked with poorly applied makeup, stood in front of Dahlia, winking at the camera.
"Wait, I didn't even notice!" Leon gasped. "That's totally Dolly! What's she doing there?!"
Phoenix analyzed the advertisement more. It originated from the "Oh! Cult" Magazine, and was promoting the Hazakurain temple of channeling.
"I didn't know Dahlia had any relation to the Fey clan," Maya said. "Then again, I've only ever been to Hazakurain once."
"Does that mean she could channel spirits, too?" Leon wondered. "Maybe her real talent was similar to yours, Maya! Only, she used her powers for evil, like some sort of twisted version of you. You uncovered her backstory, and then, in the final act, you two would battle each other with your spiritual superpowers!"
Phoenix resisted the urge to smack his forehead. Was Leon seriously pitching a superhero movie with Maya and Dahlia as the leads?
"Anyways…" Phoenix awkwardly transitioned. "I guess this explains how Monokuma discovered Hazakurain's existence."
Maya whimpered. "Do you think he k-killed everyone there?"
Phoenix couldn't deny the possibility. But that was definitely not what Maya needed to hear. "He probably just snuck in and stole the statue," Phoenix guessed. "It seems like that's the only thing he took— there would be no reason to kill everyone there just to burgle them."
Maya looked down. "If you say so…"
Phoenix's heart ached for Maya. This whole village seemed designed specifically to torment her, specifically. Although, he imagined Nahyuta and Dahlia were both impacted by it as well.
Or rather, Dahlia would have been, if she was still alive.
"Let's keep looking around," Phoenix suggested, hoping to keep his and Maya's minds moving— sitting idle would only lead to dark thoughts. "We'll show this clipping to everyone else."
Phoenix walked over to the spiral staircase and began ascending it. But as he climbed more stairs, he became more aware of just how high up the second story was— it felt like every step doubled the distance to the ground. He made the mistake of looking down and nearly toppled over.
"Um… You know what, I think I'm going to stick to the first floor," Phoenix stammered.
Maya, who had gone back to analyzing the many artifacts of Ami Fey, looked up at him. "Don't tell me you're afraid of heights, Nick!"
"Ah…" Phoenix couldn't answer. He was clinging onto the thin railing between him and the open air.
"Don't worry about it," Leon waved his hand. "Come on down, let one of us handle the second floor."
Phoenix carefully descended the staircase, his legs wobbly until they finally reunited with the floor.
"Sorry," Phoenix blushed. "They usually don't get to me like that. But that staircase is narrow! It felt like I was going to fall off!"
Leon walked over and tested his weight on the first step— the staircase held firm. "I'll go look upstairs. It doesn't look like there's much up there, anyways."
Leon worked his way up the stairs, his wide body barely fitting in between the railing and the pole supporting the helix. Phoenix decided to begin combing through the bookshelves, hoping to find something interesting.
He ran his finger along rows of books of varying heights, analyzing each title. Most had to do with either archaeology or history, though none of them specifically pertained to Kurain village.
He saw Maya peering at him in the corner of his vision. He looked at her expectantly— did she need something?
"You doing alright, Nick?" she asked softly.
"As well as I can be, I suppose," Phoenix answered, resuming his search of the bookshelves. "Are any of us really 'alright?'"
Maya looked down. "I guess not. Just…" she bit her lip, mulling over her next words. "Don't go down Apollo's route. Talk to me, or somebody, about how you feel if it becomes too much."
Phoenix smiled at Maya. "Thank you, Maya. I mean it. Of course, the same goes to you."
Maya nodded poignantly. "Found anything interesting yet?"
Phoenix shook his head. "No, and I don't think I will, either. There's got to be tens of thousands of books in this village— probably a few hundred in this building alone. There's no way all of them will be useful. Plus—" he felt for his jacket pocket, only to remember he still hadn't retrieved the book from Kyoko— "it seems unlikely Monokuma would give us two important books. I'm not sure how I got lucky enough to stumble upon the first one, but I bet it's the only one in the village that'll tell us about this situation."
Maya furrowed her brow. "Speaking of, I want to read that book you found, especially now that Monokuma has given us chapter 2."
"I'll talk to Kyoko; we can probably arrange that," Phoenix told her.
Their conversation died down after Phoenix's most recent statement. He abandoned the bookshelves in favor of searching the desk, but found nothing interesting besides the magazine advertisement featuring Dahlia. A few minutes later, Phoenix heard a door open from above him, and saw Leon emerging from the only room on the second floor.
"You guys find anything?" Leon called as he walked back down to the first floor. "The only room up here is a bedroom. I found a cool drone, but that's about it."
"Similar situation here," Phoenix replied. "The only thing interesting here is that advertisement."
Leon sighed, making the final step down and walking over to Phoenix. "Should we call it? I'm tired of moving and looking around. Investigating takes so much energy!"
Phoenix continued to be baffled by Leon's paradoxical existence, but he agreed that there was nothing left to be found in the building. He pulled the thumbtack out of the cork board and pocketed the magazine photo. "Let's head back," he declared.
The single picture of Dahlia felt like a ball and chain, tethering his mental energy from more productive thoughts. Why was there a photo of her at Hazakurain? Could she really have been a spirit medium? So many questions, and yet… she was dead. She couldn't answer them. If they were outside of the village, maybe Maya could channel her, but Monokuma had explicitly prohibited it.
Hypotheticals whirled through his mind as they returned to the kitchen. They were the first ones there, so Phoenix returned to his original seat while Maya and Leon prepared themselves more food.
Phoenix pulled out the magazine advertisement. It was rather simple— just a black an white photo of two acolyte women in front of a large magatama. The text underneath read "Hazakurain Temple, Eagle Mountain," and the sidebar read "Oh! Cult Special."
Just six square inches of paper, and all the turmoil Phoenix had tried to subdue rose to the surface. He had trusted Dahlia, and she had almost framed him for murder, even from beyond the grave. He hadn't necessarily trusted Nahyuta, but he trusted him not to commit murder, and that backfired too. Who in the village could he trust not to succumb, when the chips were down?
He had repeated this mental song and dance more times than he could count. The simple truth was, only one thing would truly placate him: unveiling the mastermind and putting an end to the killing game. Monokuma insisted there was no mastermind, but there was no way to explain his existence otherwise.
He had failed Athena. He was likely to fail others in the future. But one thing he would not fail at was uncovering the truth. Whether it was in court, in a class trial, or somewhere in between, the truth was always going to be his end goal.
Kyoko and Makoto entered the kitchen, with Ema and Chiaki following close behind them. Kyoko and Makoto returned to Phoenix's table; Makoto smiled at Phoenix, while Kyoko immediately pulled out her notepad and began writing.
It did not take long for the remainder of the students to return, at which point Kyoko requested the summaries of each investigation.
Apollo loudly declared he and Klavier would go first. Klavier looked uncomfortable at Apollo's attitude— it seemed he was not very successful in getting through to Apollo.
"Klavier and I went through the buildings we had already explored before to see if there was anything new," Apollo explained. "We found nothing noteworthy in the manor, Amara's tomb, or the Audience Chamber."
"Did you find any common sense?" Ema muttered under her breath. If Apollo heard her, he didn't respond.
"We then stepped into the warehouse," Klavier picked up where Apollo stopped, "and saw that the clouds in the painting of the overcast mountain range had become noticeably darker. It seems there is a metaphorical storm brewing in this village."
"How did Monokuma repaint an entire warehouse in a single night?" Makoto asked.
Kyoko crossed her arms. "It's possible that the warehouse has many pre-painted layers, and the top one has merely been peeled off. It would be difficult to do so quickly, but we've seen more impressive things from Monokuma before."
"Kyoko is right," Apollo agreed. "No need to overthink this. Anyways, that's all from us."
"I think Chihiro should speak next," Peko put forward. "She has been working on something quite spectacular."
All eyes in the room turned towards Chihiro, who had become red as a tomato. "U-um.. Right…" she stammered. "W-well, you might remember I said I was going to check the warehouse for laptop batteries." Her voice was shaky, and she paused before continuing. "I found a laptop with an actual power supply, a-and… I've been re-creating the project that made me an Ultimate on it."
"That's awesome, Chihiro!" Maya pumped her fist encouragingly. "What project is this?"
"It's called Alter Ego," Chihiro answered, her eyes shining. "It's an advanced artificial intelligence nearly indistinguishable from a human. And I'm almost done— I should have it fully trained by tomorrow!"
Phoenix barely comprehended what Chihiro had just said, but he was impressed nonetheless. If he was understanding it correctly, Alter Ego was basically another person they would have on their side. That could be crucial, especially if it had the mental capabilities of a computer.
"That sounds incredible, Chihiro!" Leon applauded. "Man, I wish I was an Ultimate Programmer…"
Peko folded her arms. "Anyways, that's about all we have. She showed me her progress and I gave some pointers. I apologize that this doesn't further the investigation much."
"Apologize by untying Nagito," Ema grumbled. Peko gave her a side-eye, but did not respond. It was clear Ema had no intention of letting the Nagito conversation slip under the radar. Truthfully, Phoenix respected her for it. He had similar feelings.
"That leaves our group and you guys," Makoto said, gesturing towards Leon, Maya, and Phoenix.
Phoenix felt for his pocket. He wanted to save the discussion about the photo of Dahlia until after Makoto's group reported, so he asked, "Is it okay if your group goes first?"
Makoto nodded. "The four of us found a small cavern at the most isolated edge of the village. Or, I should say, Kyoko found it."
Kyoko nodded. "I also believe I understand how new structures are continually being revealed at the edge of the village, despite Leon and Makoto's investigation. It's because…"
"The fence is getting further away!" Leon interjected proudly. Kyoko looked at him with a neutral expression on her face— she might have been annoyed, or perhaps bemused.
"Yes, that's right," Kyoko confirmed. "The border of this village is undoubtedly bigger than it was when we arrived."
"But that's another task Monokuma has to do without any of us noticing," Chiaki said quietly. "How is he manipulating the village so easily?"
"Trying to figure out how Monokuma does something is impossible," Ema told Chiaki. "He's basically magic. Anyways, in the cavern, we found a pretty small room with what looked like a dungeon on the other side. It was held shut by a chain with a red lock on it, but the lock didn't have a keyhole."
"Oh, that's a Kurain trick lock!" Maya chirped. "They have a special sequence of steps you have to do to unlock them."
"Do you know the sequence?" Kyoko inquired.
"Oh…" Maya looked down. "No, I don't. Each lock is unique, so I don't think I could unlock it. Sorry."
"It's alright," Makoto reassured her. "I'm sure we'll figure out a way past it soon. We spent most of our time trying to unlock the dungeon, so that's all we have."
"That just leaves Mr. Wright," Apollo recapped.
"Yes," Phoenix began. "Well, before we get to our main discovery, I'll say that we went to the edge of the village to see if the fence had been moved. Monokuma showed up and confirmed that it had been." He shuddered, remembering Monokuma's incessant one-word ramblings. "Then, Monokuma directed us to the building behind Amara's tomb. It was a study of some kind. It was filled with archaeology books and artifacts from Kurain culture. Upstairs was a mostly empty bedroom."
"Were any of the books of note?" Kyoko probed. Phoenix was once again reminded that she still had the book he found— he really needed to read the second chapter before the day ended.
He shook his head in response. "The only interesting thing we found was this." Everyone looked at him in anticipation as he dug around in his pockets and pulled out the magazine advertisement.
"Is that Dahlia?" Makoto gasped.
Phoenix nodded. "It is. And it makes me realize we know basically nothing about her. We don't know her true talent. From this photo, it looks like she might have been spiritually capable in some way, too."
Apollo scoffed. "No offense, Mr. Wright, but who cares?"
Phoenix recoiled instinctively at Apollo's brash tone.
"What do you mean?" Maya asked, her tone disapproving.
"Dahlia is dead. Her past doesn't matter to us. This advertisement was probably just there to mess with her if she had survived this long— it wouldn't be the first time Monokuma had done something to mess with one of us."
Phoenix blanched slightly. He realized Apollo was right. Did it really matter what Dahlia was, or what she had done before coming to Hope's Peak? She was dead.
"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Kyoko put a gloved finger on her temple. "Dahlia's past may wind up being important, and this photo might prove it."
"How do you know?" Apollo challenged.
Kyoko smirked. "I don't. But as a lawyer, you should know never to throw away evidence that may come in handy later."
Apollo sneered back. "Fine. Is that everyone's report?" He quickly changed the subject.
After a moment of silence, Apollo clapped his hands. "Great. See you later."
"HOLD IT!" Phoenix shouted. Chihiro covered her ears, but Phoenix needed to get through to Apollo. "We still need to discuss what we're going to do with Nagito."
Apollo sighed. "Why, Mr. Wright? Don't you see I made the right choice?"
Phoenix shook his head. "Forcefully detaining someone is not right."
"WE DIDN-!" Apollo bellowed before cutting himself off. He awkwardly cleared his throat. "We didn't forcefully detain him. He consented."
"Are you comfortable saying Nagito is sane enough to know what he's saying?" Ema asked.
"Nagito may be insane," Kyoko agreed, "but he has self awareness. We should consider that he somehow wanted to be detained to further his goals."
Ema shook her head. "Haven't you heard anything he's said? All he cares about is helping us 'further our hope' or something like that. If we told him to jump off a bridge for hope's sake, he would."
"Even with Nagito's consent, who gives us the right to dole punishments on others as we see fit?" Klavier added. "We should avoid stooping to Monokuma's level."
Apollo clenched his fists. "I'm nothing like Monokuma, you hear me? NOTHING!" Phoenix saw the glassware on the tables shake at Apollo's roar. "Why aren't you guys giving Peko any grief over this, huh? She's the one who actually restrained him!"
"I did it because I was asked to," Peko said, "not because I thought it was right. You gave me a job, and I performed it."
"You're not absolved of guilt in this," Phoenix countered. "Sure, you weren't the one who came up with the plan, but you were complicit."
"Guys…"
"I am a weapon to be used," Peko declared. "I use my skill set to serve my master's needs. Apollo has claimed me as his, and I shall do what he asked. What will you do in response? Will you take action, or smite me merely with your words?"
Phoenix found Peko's claim baffling. She truly believed herself to be nothing more than a weapon? And Apollo was perpetuating that belief?
"We are using our words to discuss what course of action to take," Kyoko simmered. "Something you should have done beforehand."
"Hey, um… I have something to say…"
"It feels like I'm the only one seeing things clearly here!" Apollo bellowed. "If we leave Nagito on the loose, there's sure to be another murder. Did you all forget he helped Nahyuta kill Athena?! We can't kill him ourselves without risking everything, so this is the best option!"
"HEY! Let me speak!"
Everyone silenced themselves at Leon's interruption. He stared down at everyone disapprovingly.
"Don't you see this is what Nagito wanted?" Leon demanded. "He's trying to make us doubt each other! That's why he agreed to be tied up, so we would be at each other's throats like this!"
After Leon's outburst, everyone quieted down for a pregnant moment. Phoenix agreed with Leon's conclusion, and was surprised he hadn't come to it himself.
Maya was the first to speak. "Leon's right. We should decide what to do, but we shouldn't argue like this."
"If we put it to a vote, will everyone be satisfied?" Apollo threw his hands up. "Frankly, if popular opinion is to set him free, then we deserve whatever he brings upon us."
Monokuma popped up behind Apollo. "Did someone say 'a vote'?! Are my students split on an issue? Let Monokuma handle it!"
Half of the class groaned. The last thing that would solve the tension in the room was Monokuma's appearance.
"Hey, before you get all mopey," Monokuma chastised as he walked to the center of the kitchen, "listen to what I have to say!"
Monokuma opened his mouth wider than looked physically possible. He made a few retching sounds. Suddenly, a large top hat, 11 notecards, and 11 pens fell out of his mouth.
"Makoto!" Monokuma yelled. "Distribute these!"
"They just came out of your mouth!" Makoto protested.
"My mouth is clean! I sanitize it twice a day!"
"But…"
"Just do it! Don't make me mad!"
Makoto reluctantly stood up and picked up the scattered pens and notecards. He inspected them for a moment before walking around the room and handing one to each student, then taking his seat.
"Now," Monokuma explained, "just write 'Koma-yay-da' or 'No-maeda' on your notecard to cast your vote! 'Koma-yay-da' means you want to set him free, while 'No-maeda' means you want to keep him locked up! Once you've written your vote, put it in the hat!"
"No way!" Ema exclaimed. "You've probably rigged the vote somehow!"
Monokuma gasped. "Listen here! If there's one thing I don't do, it's rig votes. I always let the students vote for what they believe in!"
"Can we vote to stop playing this game?" Chiaki sighed.
"No!" Monokuma growled. "The voting issues are up to me, not to you. In this case, you'll be voting on Nagito's freedom! Now write down your answer! Make sure it's in the format I specified, or it won't count!"
Apollo, Ema, and Peko placed their votes in the hat within seconds of Monokuma finishing. Phoenix knew how each of them had voted— but what would he choose? He tapped his chin with his pen and looked at his blank notecard. What was the right call? On the one hand, he did understand Apollo's point. Having Nagito under wraps would definitely be safer for them. But, on the other hand, Nagito's intelligence had come in handy multiple times. Plus, it was morally dubious at best to keep him locked up.
Nagito had actively encouraged and worked with Nahyuta. His plan was what led to Athena's murder and Nahyuta's execution. For that, Phoenix would never forgive him. Even so…
He clicked the pen and wrote "Koma-yay-da" on his notecard. It was ridiculous, but it was how Monokuma had told them to vote. He folded the notecard and walked over to the top hat lying on the ground next to Monokuma. The bear winked as Phoenix placed his vote in the hat.
Klavier was last to place his vote. Once he had settled back into his seat, Monokuma pulled the votes out of the hat. After several seconds of tense anticipation, Monokuma finally spoke.
"And the results are…"
Phoenix bounced his leg in anticipation.
"Nagito will be freed, seven to four!"
Immediately after declaring the results, Monokuma vanished to let the inevitable confrontation break out.
However, contrary to what Phoenix expected, Apollo merely scoffed and walked out of the kitchen, Peko following close behind.
"Wait a second!" Makoto called out. "If we're freeing him, we need to know where he's being kept!"
"That's where we're going!" Apollo yelled in response, his voice carrying through the open door. "Come to his yurt if you want to see him!"
Phoenix didn't want to let Nagito off scot-free, so he followed the pair along with Ema, Klavier, and Kyoko.
The walk to Nagito's yurt was uncomfortable, to say the least. Phoenix could feel Apollo's bottled-up rage seeping out of him. Phoenix was astride Ema and Klavier, but none of them said anything. And Peko… Phoenix really wondered what was going on in her mind.
After what felt like hours, the five of them made it to Nagito's yurt. Phoenix braced himself for the scene inside as Apollo opened the door, but he was not ready for what lay beyond the threshold.
Nagito was lying prone on his bed, a demented grin on his face. His hands were cuffed behind his back, and his legs were lashed tightly together with a thick strand of rope.
"Wow, so many Ultimates visiting me at once!" Nagito gushed. "It must be my lucky day!"
"We're letting you go," Apollo growled. "I, for one, think it's a terrible idea, but it's not up to me."
"So be it," Nagito smiled. "I'll be sure to use my newfound freedom to be the perfect stepping stone for you Ultimates."
Apollo looked at Peko and jerked his head towards Nagito. She produced a key and forced Nagito onto his stomach so she could access the handcuffs. Phoenix heard a quiet click as the handcuffs fell off his wrists. Peko then sliced the ropes off Nagito's legs with a blade Phoenix didn't even glimpse. She was definitely dangerous, but he believed her when she said she thought herself to be a weapon for others. If Apollo didn't tell Peko to kill someone, she probably wouldn't.
"Ah, freedom of movement," Nagito sighed happily as he stood up. He stretched his arms over his head. "So—" he looked directly at Phoenix— "what did I miss?"