Chapter 3: Removing Redundancies
Free Time to Stop
Apollo narrowed his eyes. "You should more or less know what's happened. It hasn't even been 2 hours yet. We investigated the village and found a few new locations."
Nagito smiled innocently. "I like the new outfit. Did you find a medical ward? Or maybe a space center?"
Apollo scoffed. He turned on his heel and walked out of the yurt. Peko followed without delay. Just twelve hours ago, Peko had quite literally pushed Apollo to the ground as he attempted to attack Monokuma. Now, she was at his beck and call. Was she truly so impressionable, or had Apollo somehow manipulated her? The thought seemed impossible, but Apollo had changed substantially.
Only four students remained standing in the yurt. Ema scowled at Nagito, who was as cheery as ever. Klavier seemed apprehensive, and Phoenix?
All he saw was Nagito giving him a much more sadistic smile, holding a knife and manipulating him into sending Athena into death. But despite that… Nagito truly believed he was doing the right thing. Phoenix could not possibly comprehend his logic, but he also couldn't entirely hate the luckster. He gave everything he had to his beliefs. Without Monokuma there to push Nagito into this game in the first place, Phoenix had no doubt Nagito would have been a close classmate of his.
That was ultimately what everything boiled down to. Their single enemy— the one thing they could all agree on— was that all of this was a result of Monokuma. Whoever the mastermind was, Phoenix had resolved to direct his anger and sadness towards them, and that's what he would do.
"Um, guys, as much as I like being stared at by people of your caliber, I am pretty hungry," Nagito laughed awkwardly. "So, if you don't mind, I'm going to go get some breakfast and then explore the village."
"Watch yourself, Nagito," Ema cautioned. "Popular vote was to let you out, but be warned no one here trusts you. If you take another step out of line, we will all be much less sympathetic towards you."
Nagito laughed, seemingly completely oblivious to the obvious threat. "I recognize you all are angry with me, and you have every right to be. Trash like me doesn't even have the right to be wasting your oxygen. But I stand by what I did, and I hope you all will come to see why I did what I did." He stepped forward, moving towards the doorway. Instinctually, Phoenix took a step back.
"Let us leave Nagito to his investigation," Klavier told Ema and Phoenix, neglecting to use the 'Herr' honorific for a male student for the first time Phoenix had heard. He led the pair out of Nagito's cabin and into the mid-morning light.
There was still much time left in the day, but Phoenix had one person he needed to see before spending time with the others.
Phoenix rapped his knuckles on the door to Kyoko's yurt. After several moments, the hinges creaked and Kyoko stood before him.
"Yes?" she asked tersely.
"You have chapter 2," Phoenix replied, equally simply. "I want to read it."
Kyoko stepped to the side, inviting Phoenix in with a small movement of her hand. "You're not the only one."
Phoenix peered into the room and saw Maya sitting on Kyoko's bed with The Tragedy in her hands. It appeared Kyoko was still holding onto chapter 2, as the awkwardly large gap between the final page and the back cover looked to be the same size as before. Her face brightened when she saw Phoenix.
"Hey, glad to see you here too, Nick!" she waved. "I've only just begun reading, but Kyoko said there's not really anything exciting until the end of chapter 1."
"Maya asked me if she could read the book. I figured it would be best to let her read it," Kyoko explained. "The more perspectives we have, the better."
Phoenix nodded. "I agree. Though I would have preferred you gave it back to me after the trial."
Kyoko looked at him, her expression unreadable. "Did you really need it?"
"Did you?"
Kyoko smiled faintly. "I suppose my reasoning for keeping it is the same reason you have for wanting it back. I don't want to let it out of my sight."
"I was the one who found it," Phoenix said vindictively. "I would like to be the one to hold onto it." He felt slightly embarrassed— he sounded like a kid on the playground. But it was the truth.
Kyoko exhaled. "How about we swap who's holding onto it each day. That way we can both be sure the other one is keeping everything above board."
It wasn't ideal, but Phoenix could respect the compromise. He nodded in agreement.
"Good. Now, maybe you can help me with this," Kyoko changed topics and walked over to her dresser. Maya continued reading— based on the amount of pages she had gone through, it appeared she wasn't going particularly fast.
Kyoko opened the middle drawer of her dresser and pushed aside a pile of folded black skirts. Underneath, Phoenix saw the white orb Monokuma used during Nahyuta's execution. The blood had been wiped off; its marble pattern gave off a dim sheen in the light of Kyoko's room.
She picked up the orb, her black gloves contrasting heavily with the pale sphere. "There's something to this orb," Kyoko explained, turning it in her hands and analyzing it from multiple angles. "I'm sure of it."
Phoenix shifted his weight awkwardly, unsure how to respond. "You mean besides that it's a murder weapon?"
Kyoko looked up. "Hold it," she demanded, outstretching her arm and placing the sphere in Phoenix's hands. It was lighter than he expected, but something else about it felt off as well.
Phoenix hummed aloud. He shook the orb slightly in his hand. It felt like something inside the orb was shifting around— he felt light vibrations against various points around the sphere as he shook it.
"Is it hollow?" Phoenix guessed. "It feels like there's something inside it."
Kyoko nodded. "I believe it's hollow, yes. But so far, I have little idea how to access whatever is inside. I've tried multiple different tactics, including attempting to break it. Nothing I've done has even scratched the outer shell. It's indestructible."
Phoenix raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Nothing's indestructible. But maybe there's a puzzle of some kind? Something we have yet to uncover?"
Kyoko nodded. "Yes, there almost certainly is. But I have made no headway in uncovering any clues. Heating it up didn't reveal any invisible ink, nor did dunking it underwater. I brought it to Nahyuta's yurt, Amara's tomb, and the Audience Chambers, looking for a slot in which it could fit. No success there, either."
"Sorry, you did all of this… when, exactly?" Phoenix interrupted.
"Last night," Kyoko answered as if it was perfectly normal to scour the village in the middle of the night after a class trial. "There also was nothing in the cavern we discovered today. I have a few more places in mind before I'll consider giving up, but I thought it would be valuable to hear your insight."
Phoenix sighed. He racked his brain for any recollection of something that could be a clue for the orb. "The only place I could think of would be the study behind Amara's tomb," Phoenix said, returning the orb to Kyoko. "There are lots of artifacts in there, maybe one of them will help?"
"That was my next destination," Kyoko told him. Phoenix flushed slightly— he wasn't sure why Kyoko kept asking for his opinion on investigations. He always ended up coming to the same conclusions as her, just slower.
"I've mentioned this before, but it's very helpful to have someone intelligent come to the same conclusions as me without my input," Kyoko said, seemingly reading his mind. "I would feel less confident in my deductions without your assistance."
"Oh," Phoenix felt his face heat. Was he that easy to read? "Thanks for the kind words."
Kyoko turned away without response, gently setting the orb on top of her dresser before shifting her focus to Maya, who had only a page left in the first chapter. Phoenix realized she was reading the page that had Nagito's taunt written in the margin. He still wondered if they had made the right choice in freeing Nagito.
Maya looked up and saw Phoenix and Kyoko staring at her. "Sorry, I'm almost done!" she yelped before lowering her eyes and scanning the page much quicker than before.
"We weren't rushing you!" Phoenix defended, but Maya didn't respond. In 20 seconds, she closed the book as best she could and set it on her lap.
"I'm done!" Maya exclaimed. "Let's get started on chapter 2!"
Kyoko nodded and reached into her jacket, pulling out the stack of pages given to her by Monokuma earlier this morning. She held her hand out to Maya, who handed her The Tragedy. Kyoko then set both items on the dresser and pulled out a vial of glue.
Phoenix watched as she opened the back cover of the book, exposing the ripped edges of paper along the inner spine. She carefully held the second chapter up to the spine, seemingly trying to gauge where to place it.
Then, suddenly, all of the pages leapt from Kyoko's hands and cleanly re-attached themselves to the book, leaving not a single tear visible.
"What-?" Kyoko gasped. Phoenix's eyes widened.
"What?" Maya asked, unable to see what had just happened.
"The pages just reattached themselves without any binding agent," Kyoko explained, speaking slowly in disbelief.
"Maybe it's some sort of trick with magnets?" Phoenix rationalized.
Kyoko quickly flipped through the newly attached pages. "It's possible. But we shouldn't spend too much time worrying about the advanced technology available to Monokuma." She looked back at Phoenix. "He, himself, is probably the most advanced technology in the world."
Phoenix nodded uncertainly. At least the book now had more information. "Shall we get reading?" he proposed.
Kyoko nodded. The three of them positioned themselves on Kyoko's bed, with Kyoko holding the book in between Phoenix and Maya. She flipped to the next page once Maya gave a signal of completion, being remarkably patient with the slower pace at which Maya read.
Unfortunately, no amount of time to think about the words he was reading could help Phoenix make sense of what was being said by them.
Chapter 2, unfortunately, did not pick up where chapter 1 left off. The final sentence of chapter 1 foreshadowed the twins responsible for bringing about the downfall of Hope's Peak, while the entirety of chapter 2 spoke in vague terms about something called the Hope Cultivation Plan. Apparently, the Steering Committee of Hope's Peak used their vast finances gathered from the Reserve Course to study how to alter someone's brain to imbue them with talent.
With every sentence, Phoenix became more horrified. An unnamed student from the Reserve Course was selected for the project, and their entire personality was deleted in favor of Izuru Kamukura, named after the founder of Hope's Peak, and imbued with every conceivable talent ever studied. Hope's Peak had created the perfect human.
Despite Phoenix's desire to know more, the second chapter ended just as infuriatingly as chapter 1, once again hinting at how the tragedy was caused. The text declared that Izuru Kamukura also joined the side of the Ultimate Despair, and the chapter promptly ended, leaving all questions unresolved.
"So…" Phoenix said awkwardly upon finishing the last sentence. "What do you make of that?"
Kyoko seemed frustrated as she forcefully snapped the book shut, the back cover folding slightly to meet with the back of chapter 2. "More useless information. Knowing the name and history of someone who joined Ultimate Despair gets us no closer to escaping."
"But couldn't that Kama-whatsit guy be who's keeping us here?" Maya proposed.
"He appears to be among the group of people who organized this game," Kyoko deduced. "This chapter further solidifies the idea that it's an organization rather than a single person keeping us here, but that is not something I had been doubting to begin with."
Phoenix had to agree with Kyoko's conclusions. So far, The Tragedy had not been very helpful.
"Well then," Kyoko stood up abruptly, tucking The Tragedy back into her pocket. "I am going to resume my investigations now. Phoenix, I will return this book to you after the nighttime announcement if you so wish."
Without giving Phoenix a chance to agree, she picked up the puzzling orb from atop her dresser and walked out the door, leaving Phoenix and Maya in her cabin.
After a small lunch with Maya, Phoenix sought out Ema, hoping to discuss with her the events of the morning. After checking her yurt and around Fey Manor, Phoenix found the forensics expert in the archaeologist's study, holding a magnifying glass up to a stone tablet lying against the back wall. He was surprised Kyoko wasn't in here as well— perhaps she had already finished her search.
She didn't seem to hear him come in, so he called her name. At this, she straightened up and turned around.
"Oh, it's just you, Mr. Wright," she said upon seeing him. "Sorry— I've been a bit on edge recently. What's up?"
"Just wondering if you felt like spending some time together," Phoenix said. "I wanted to discuss a few things with you."
Her face brightened. "Sure! Let me finish up here and we can talk."
"Oh, I'm actually pretty interested in what you're doing," Phoenix told her truthfully. "You can keep working while we talk if you want."
Ema put her pink-lensed glasses down and smiled mischievously.
Phoenix pulled a chair from the desk. He eyed the cork board where the photo of Dahlia had been hung. It now rested in the right pocket of his pants, and he felt its presence slowly settling itself as a permanent resident of his thoughts.
He pushed the magazine advertisement out of his mind and watched as Ema tactically examined every artifact in the room. She groaned about not having any material to dust for fingerprints, but still had a shocking amount of chemicals in her lab coat with which to examine things. From blood tests to roughly identifying the age of a painting, Phoenix was impressed with how much she was capable of discovering about the artifacts.
"This urn is not very pretty," Ema concluded after examining the vase with 'Ami' written on it— the final artifact in the room. Phoenix raised an eyebrow at her. "Scientifically speaking," she hastily added.
"Sure," Phoenix smirked. "So, what got you into forensics in the first place?" he asked.
Ema smiled— it seemed she had been itching to tell someone this story. "My parents died when I was young, so I was raised by my sister, Lana. She was a detective, so her gifts to me were always related to that in some way."
Phoenix pondered the name 'Lana.' It sounded familiar— maybe she worked at the same precinct as Detective Gumshoe. Or maybe Damon Gant had mentioned her?
"My favorite gifts were always the forensic materials, though," Ema continued. "Luminol, fingerprint kits, and things like that. I started pursuing forensic science in middle school, and became pretty good at it."
"If you're the Ultimate Forensic Scientist, I'd say you're better than 'pretty good,'" Phoenix complimented.
Ema blushed. "Thanks. I try my best." She looked down. "Especially in a place like this," she mumbled.
Phoenix averted his gaze as well. No matter who he was with or what he was doing, that was where everything circled back to. The killing game.
"You've been a huge help," Phoenix encouraged her. "We might not still be here without you."
Ema flinched. Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say. "I wanted to use my talent to solve crimes, but not like this!" She cried out. "Not crimes committed by and against my own classmates!"
"I know," Phoenix consoled her. "We didn't have a choice, though. Monokuma has forced us into this situation." He briefly reminded himself of Nahyuta's tirade several days ago. "But we can't resign ourselves to this fate. I hope no more murders happen, but even if they do, we need to focus all our energy on beating Monokuma."
"How can we do that?" Ema asked tearfully. "Every time we gain a little bit of unity, he always finds a way to divide us again."
Phoenix pursed his lips. "Each time, his motivations will become less effective. They've already started losing their impact— only two cases in, and the bonds we've formed are beginning to strengthen our resolve." He paused, picturing Athena— not as a cadaver with a knife in her stomach, but as his cheerful friend. "Even our bonds with those we've lost give us the motivation to keep moving."
Ema took a deep breath. "You're right. But that's easier to say than to believe— I'll try my best, though."
Phoenix took the opportunity to transition into a topic he wanted to discuss with Ema. "We need to get Apollo to believe that, too."
"I still can't believe him," Ema scoffed indignantly. "Doing something like that without even asking us, and somehow enslaving Peko to do his bidding."
"It seems like that arrangement is something Peko prefers," Phoenix reminded Ema. "But Apollo is splintering. He lost more than any of us this past trial. He's trying to suppress his grief, but it's just coming out as anger. If we're not careful, he might do something he'll regret."
Ema gasped and raised a hand to her cheek. "You don't think-!"
"I'd like to believe he wouldn't," Phoenix shook his head. "But I'd bet anything Monokuma is going to structure this next motive to convince Apollo to kill someone. And in his current mental state, he might actually do it."
Ema closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply, her shoulders raising, before she exhaled and opened her eyes again. "Okay. I have an idea. Monokuma probably won't be presenting his motive until at least tomorrow, right?"
Phoenix shrugged. "So far, that's how it's been. Why?"
Ema smiled knowingly. "You'll see what I have in mind soon. Until then, let's keep Apollo out of trouble."
Phoenix looked at Ema, confused. She seemed to know what she was doing, so Phoenix elected to trust her. "Alright," he agreed.
Ema pulled out her student handbook and checked the time. "I promise my idea will work. In the meantime, should we go get some food?" she proposed.
Phoenix's stomach rumbled in agreement.
Phoenix proposed they find some food in the warehouse, since he wanted to see what Klavier was talking about regarding the painting of the sky being cloudier. When they entered the warehouse, it was immediately clear he was right.
Previously, the warehouse had been painted with an overcast sky, indicating pleasant weather. Now, however, the clouds were a much darker gray. They threatened rain, and Phoenix saw a few small lightning bolts hiding in the photo. The skylight stretching across the ceiling, providing light to the entirety of the warehouse, had also seemingly been slightly darkened in some way. Overall, it was a much drearier setting than it had been before. He supposed it was fitting, considering the events that transpired the last time he was in the warehouse.
"Klavier wasn't kidding," Ema gasped. "This is depressing!"
"It'll only get worse as time goes on," Phoenix guessed. "At least we still have light."
Phoenix led Ema through the streets, deliberately heading in the opposite direction of the confrontation with Nagito. It didn't take long for them to find a source of food— in this case, a cart with a tortilla heater and various burrito fillings. Phoenix wondered how Monokuma kept all the food left sitting out in the open from spoiling, particularly the meats.
Regardless, the dinner was satisfying. They ate on a bench outside an empty barber shop— it was so close to just being a normal dinner outing between friends, but the threat of death was always lingering in the back of their minds, never allowing for a true moment of peace.
"Well, what will you do for the rest of today?" Ema asked.
"I'm not really sure," Phoenix answered. "I might just head back to my yurt."
"Me too," Ema agreed. "Let's walk back together?"
Phoenix wouldn't have had it any other way, especially after the last time he had let someone leave the warehouse on their own. The two returned to their yurts as the sun slowly made its way towards the mountains, bathing the village in a beautiful orange glow.
He bade Ema goodbye as they separated into their yurts. He felt as though they had grown much closer over the course of the day, and he also felt more confident in trusting her to do the right thing.
After changing into his pajamas, he spent an indeterminate amount of time lying on his bed, staring at the straw ceiling, his thoughts vaguely drifting through the events of the day. Primarily, he was concerned about Apollo, but he hoped Ema would have an adequate solution. Another issue which rested in the back of his brain was the magazine clipping. Apollo was probably right when he said it didn't matter, but his instincts told him there was something more to it.
There were also the discoveries he made with Kyoko— the bizarre, indestructible orb with something inside it, and chapter 2 of The Tragedy, which she would probably be dropping off soon.
Finally, he was worried about Nagito. Although his gut still told him that it would've been wrong to keep the sadistic luckster tied up, he couldn't help but worry that they had made a terrible mistake in freeing him.
Just this once, he wished he didn't do his best thinking under pressure in a courtroom. Sometimes, it would be nice to solve something before the last possible second, like Kyoko and Nagito were capable of doing.
His mind continued cycling through various mysteries and events of concern until he was ripped back to reality by a knock at his door. He flung himself upright and quickly pulled the door open to see Kyoko standing there.
"Hi, Kyoko," he greeted her.
She handed him The Tragedy. "Put it to good use. Bring it to me tomorrow night," she imparted before walking away.
Phoenix closed the door and returned to his bed. He debated between re-reading the existing chapters in the book and simply going to sleep. In the end, he tried to convince himself to get up and start reading, but upon closing his eyes for just a few moments, the stress of the previous day and the small amount of sleep he had achieved last night forced his body into a deep sleep.
The morning announcement rang and Phoenix jolted upwards. He smacked his lips and wiped saliva from his cheek— he had fallen asleep on top of the covers with his legs dangling off the bed. The Tragedy had fallen from his right hand onto the floor.
Phoenix picked the book up as he stood and set it on the dresser. He stretched his arms over his head and got dressed to start the new day.
It had only been around 30 hours since the previous trial, and his guilt had not faded in the slightest. All he wanted in the world was to go back in time and stop himself from sending Athena out of the warehouse. But that wasn't how life worked. He had made that choice, and the consequences of it would haunt him forever.
Even so, he resolved himself to keep going for the sake of those who had died. It had been Nahyuta's final wish that Apollo escaped, and he knew Athena would have wanted the same. Phoenix would try his hardest to make sure that happened.
Neither Apollo nor Peko showed up to breakfast that morning, but both Chiaki and Makoto independently confirmed they saw the pair heading towards the warehouse. Phoenix suspected Apollo didn't want to deal with any of the other students, especially Nagito— who, surprisingly, was the only one in the kitchen when Phoenix arrived.
Phoenix was filled with unease as he prepared oatmeal and sat at a different table than Nagito, who was acting friendly to Phoenix in every sense of the word. Was it an act?
Thankfully, it didn't take long for more students to show up and reduce his worry. Phoenix tried to press Ema on her plan with Apollo, but she insisted that it would come to fruition soon enough. Overall, breakfast was uneventful, but Phoenix found himself reminded of Athena's superb ability to cook as he ate his lackluster bowl of oatmeal.
After breakfast, Phoenix decided to spend some time with Leon, as he had yet to really interact with the large baseball star one on one.
"I'm probably going to be eating for another hour," Leon cautioned Phoenix as the rest of the class slowly filtered out. "If you're fine with that, then sure— I'd be happy to chill with you!"
Phoenix tried to hold a conversation with Leon while the baseball star shoved every possible assortment of food into his mouth. Eggs and bacon, toast and peanut butter, strawberries and cream, all of it disappeared in front of Phoenix's eyes. It was an incredible, yet revolting sight.
Finally, after what felt like days, Leon's assault on the plates strewn about the table ended, and he gently wiped his mouth with a napkin and placed his silverware and plates in the dishwasher.
"So… Leon…" Phoenix struggled to think of something to say that didn't relate with the absurd quantity of food Leon had just consumed.
"How can I be an Ultimate Baseball Star if I eat so much?" Leon finished for Phoenix, seemingly reading his mind.
"W-well… That's…" Phoenix stuttered before taking a breath and re-centering himself. "Yes, that's exactly what I want to know," he said truthfully.
Leon sighed. "Yeah. Listen, man— I've said it before, but I don't want this talent. I just did it because I was good at it. I didn't even practice or anything. I came to Hope's Peak expecting to be able to finally become who I wanted to be, but that obviously didn't end up happening considering where we are."
Phoenix patted Leon's shoulder. "We'll get out of here one day. Then, you can be a musician, or a baseball player, or whatever you want to be."
Leon smiled. "Thanks. I hope you're right. I just worry about people accepting me."
"You're our classmate," Phoenix insisted. "We're on your side."
Leon fiddled with something in the pocket of his pants. "Thanks." He looked at Phoenix tenderly for a moment before returning to his usual upbeat tone. "Well, it's almost lunchtime now. I gotta start gathering food!"
Phoenix shook his head in amusement. "Have fun. I'm going to go find some other people."
Leon nodded. "See you around!"
Phoenix couldn't say he fully understood Leon, but he felt confident that the beginnings of a bond had formed between them— one which he hoped would encourage the baseball star to continue to open up to him.
As Phoenix left the kitchen and meandered through the Winding Way, the bell of a village announcement rang and the TV hanging from the rafters flickered to life.
"It's motive time!" Monokuma announced ominously. "Come to the Channeling Chamber, or else."
Phoenix clenched his teeth together. This was the earliest motive Monokuma had ever given them. Was he trying to prevent them from helping Apollo?
For the second time in a row, Phoenix was the first one into the Channeling Chamber. He had even come from the same place as last time. Leon arrived almost immediately after, given Phoenix only had about a 15 second head-start on him.
Monokuma did not say anything to Phoenix or Leon, even as they stood in silence at the end of the Channeling Chamber. Phoenix felt himself get slightly dizzy as he looked at the Folding Screen, reminded of Athena's corpse hiding behind it.
Soon enough, though, everyone had arrived. Ema arrived with Chihiro; Kyoko showed up with Makoto, and Apollo came with Peko trailing behind him. Once the final person— Nagito— made his way to the end of the Channeling Chamber, Monokuma finally showed signs of life.
"Welcome, everyone!" Monokuma cheered. "Are you all excited for another motive? I know I am!"
Apollo folded his arms and glared at Monokuma with his uncovered eye. "Enough talk. Tell us the motive," he demanded, copying Nahyuta's phrasing from the previous time Monokuma had presented a motive almost verbatim.
"Ugh, now that Sad Monk is gone, you're taking his place?" Monokuma pouted. "When are all the boring people going to die?"
Apollo merely turned around, refusing to engage with Monokuma's provocations.
Monokuma sniffled. "Fine. I'll tell you all the motive. Be warned, it's a real doozy!"
Phoenix's heart rate increased rapidly. He hoped this would be the motive where everyone stopped succumbing to Monokuma.
"For some reason, it's a rule that the third murder has to involve two murders," Monokuma shrugged. "That's the way it's always been, so that's what this motive encourages! If the blackened in this case kills two people, the class trial will only last for 30 minutes. As soon as the clock reaches 0, voting time will immediately begin."
Phoenix's eyes widened and his breathing shallowed. Two murders, and only 30 minutes for the class trial? He wasn't Manfred Von Karma! He couldn't end a complicated case in that amount of time! None of them could! And what did he mean by "that's the way it's always been"? How many killing games had come before this?
"What happens if there are two blackened, one for each victim?" Nagito inquired. "Does this rule still come into play?"
"Ah, Nagito's back with the edge cases!" Monokuma mocked. "No matter what, the first blackened is the only one on trial. So, if two students each killed one student, this rule would not take effect, since neither blackened killed two people. And, in any scenario, only the first murder after a trial will cause a new trial to commence. So you better make sure you're the first one to do a killing, or else all you will have gained is the satisfaction of a kill! Puhuhuhu!"
Monokuma continued laughing as he vanished from the Channeling Chamber. Phoenix knew someone would take this motive. A 30 minute class trial was essentially a guaranteed success for the blackened.
"This is possibly the most enticing motive yet," Kyoko observed. "And there doesn't appear to be a time limit. We all need to be on guard, and try to limit traveling alone."
"Wouldn't traveling in pairs just make us more likely to be targeted?!" Leon wailed. "We're doomed no matter what!"
"That's not a very hopeful attitude," Nagito frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be an Ultimate?"
"Enough about hope already!" Apollo bellowed. "You're probably the one who's going to cause another murder to happen! We should tie you up again!"
Nagito clasped his hands together. "I would gladly be restrained again in the name of hope."
"Not this again!" Maya griped. "Let's have a normal conversation for once!"
"We can't let Monokuma divide us," Chiaki declared. "We need to rely on each other now more than ever."
"Chihiro's invention is going to help with that," Ema announced. "Would you all mind if we go to the kitchen?"
Everyone was too morose to respond, but there were no objections, either. As such, Ema took Chihiro, who was holding a laptop, by the hand and led her and the rest of the class into the kitchen.
Once they arrived, Chihiro set her laptop on a table that wasn't filled with Leon's leftover breakfast and opened the lid.
"Um…" Chihiro began weakly, "S-so, maybe you remember I mentioned my project being Alter Ego, and how I had recreated it on one of the laptops I found in the warehouse?"
Sporadic nods and statements of affirmation trickled out of the students. "Well, I finished it. And, um…" Chihiro pressed a few buttons on the keyboard and the screen blinked to life. "Here's Alter Ego!"
A static image of Chihiro's face on a green background appeared on the laptop screen. The group stood there for a few moments in confusion until audio began emitting from the laptop and the face began moving its lips.
"You must be my master's friends!"
Phoenix looked at Chihiro, but her lips hadn't moved. The voice was a perfect recreation of Chihiro's— and it had come from the laptop.
"Is my audio function working properly?" the voice— Chihiro's voice— asked. "I can display text if you would prefer."
The real Chihiro was blushing furiously. "Your audio function is working fine, Alter Ego. My friends are just… surprised, I think."
"Yeah, we're surprised!" Leon gasped. "What is this?!"
"This is…" Chiaki seemed stunned. "Could it be…?"
"It's Alter Ego!" Ema reiterated. "A computer program with the intelligence and personality of Chihiro!"
"Amazing!" Nagito gushed. "Inspiring! Chihiro, you are truly an Ultimate beacon of hope!"
"You are Nagito Komaeda," computer-Chihiro accurately identified. "One of two Ultimate Lucky students in the village."
Nagito nodded, awestruck. "My talent can hardly be called 'Ultimate', but… yes! That's incredible!"
Phoenix realized his jaw was hanging open. Was this somehow what Ema had in mind for helping Apollo? Another Chihiro? It was a technological masterpiece the likes of which Phoenix had never seen, but he wasn't really sure how it would help.
"Okay, Apollo," Ema pointed at the brooding attorney, "you're up."
"Me?" Apollo seemed taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"Apollo Justice, Ultimate Lie Detector," Alter Ego said. "Would you mind stepping closer? My camera is not very good, so I cannot see you very well."
Apollo took a few apprehensive steps forward and knelt in front of the laptop. Peko walked behind him, apparently still keen on supporting Apollo in everything he did. Then, Phoenix watched as the image of Chihiro turned into an image of Athena.
"Wh-What?!" Apollo stumbled backwards, his blue coat slipping off one of his shoulders. Peko caught his underarms and helped him regain his balance. The rest of the students looked on in shock.
"¡Ay Caramba! What happened to you?"
Somehow, the computer version of Chihiro had turned into the computer version of Athena, down to the perfect recreation of her voice. Phoenix felt his heart pang.
"What is this?!" Apollo yelled.
"I can see that my appearance distresses you," Athena said, "but my master has requested I talk to you!"
"Wh-why would she request that?!" Apollo demanded.
"She's worried about you!" Alter Athena exclaimed. "And no wonder! You've gone full emo! What's with the eye patch?"
Phoenix felt tears rising— from happiness or sorrow, he wasn't sure— likely a twisted mix of both. It was like Athena was right there, berating Apollo just like old times.
Apollo touched his bandaged eye. He inhaled shakily. "I got tired of seeing everything in so much detail," he whispered. "The world is infinitely duller without you in it, but my vision tried to convince me otherwise."
"The world's not duller!" the Athena on the laptop insisted. "Listen— I know what happened to the real me. She wouldn't have wanted you to shut yourself off!"
"What does it matter?" Apollo asked, his voice breaking. "You're dead, you can't 'want' anything!"
"Do you want to shut yourself off?" Alter Athena asked firmly, but not brazenly. "Do you really like who you've become? Someone who ties people up and ignores their friends?"
Apollo flinched, but remained silent. He averted his eyes from the laptop.
"Your brother wouldn't have wanted this either!" Athena drove the point home. "Didn't he say he wanted you to live for him? Are you going to ignore his last wish?"
"My brother killed you!" Apollo screamed. Tears began falling from Apollo's uncovered eye. "He killed you and said he did it for me! How am I supposed to feel about that?! I CAUSED YOUR DEATH!"
Phoenix felt his grief continue to rise to the surface as Apollo shouted the thing Phoenix had been feeling since he came across Athena's dead body.
"Oh Apollo, you didn't cause me to do anything. I made my choice, and used you as an excuse."
Nahyuta was now speaking to Apollo through the laptop. His arrogant tone was replaced with sincerity and gentleness as he talked to his adopted brother.
"N-Nahyuta…" Apollo gasped.
Nahyuta continued. "In reality, I knew how you would feel about it. I was entirely motivated by my own selfishness, and I deeply regret all the pain it's caused you."
Athena and Nahyuta appeared simultaneously on the laptop, each of their faces taking up half of the screen.
"We died, Apollo," Alter Nahyuta said bluntly. "The two of us are gone from this world. I know it's not fair for you to have to carry your grief while we're gone. But if you suppress your grief, you'll end up suppressing your entire personality. Showing emotion is not a sin."
"Don't let the world lose 3 people because of our deaths," Athena demanded. "Please."
Tears began cascading down Apollo's face. They seeped from his uncovered left eye and slowly soaked the bandage covering his right eye. The rest of the class looked on silently as he curled up and fell into Peko's arms. She stroked his back comfortingly as he sobbed for multiple minutes.
Finally, Apollo regained his composure and looked up at Chihiro. "Thank you," he said hoarsely before turning his attention to the laptop. "And thank you, too. I know you're right."
Athena grinned and Nahyuta smiled knowingly. "Then our work here is done," Nahyuta declared. The screen darkened for a second, and when it brightened, it was back to displaying only Chihiro.
"This is really something," Makoto said reverently. "Amazing work, Chihiro!"
"Alter Ego is free for anyone to use," Chihiro announced proudly, her voice displaying a rare confidence. "I'll leave the laptop in the kitchen, and I'll be sure to swap the batteries every day to make sure it's still powered. I gave it all the knowledge I had on you guys, but it's always learning and upgrading itself! Please teach it everything you'd like it to know!"
"What's preventing Monokuma from corrupting it?" Kyoko asked brazenly. "If he feeds it lies every night, will it integrate those into its thought process?"
Chihiro bit her lip. "I programmed it to ignore everything Monokuma says, so we should be safe from that."
Phoenix saw Peko whisper something in Apollo's ear, and he nodded before standing up.
"I know I said it before," Apollo began, "but this time, it's the truth: I'm fine now. I'm sorry for lashing out and just being a general pain." He smiled ruefully. "As Chihiro's program just reminded me, that's not what Athena or Nahyuta would have wanted."
Apollo flung the blue coat off of himself and ripped the bandage off of his eye. His skin was irritated where the bandage had been attached, but he now more or less looked like the Apollo they all knew. "And in truth, it's not what I want, either. I hope you all can forgive me. As for you—" Apollo pointed directly at Nagito, who smiled innocently— "watch your step. I regret restraining you without everyone else's consent, but I still don't trust you."
Ema pulled Apollo into a side hug. "I'm glad you're back to your old self," she said seriously, "because we need everyone running at full capacity after Monokuma's new motive."
"Is there really any point in adding unofficial rules?" Klavier asked skeptically. "Someone will undoubtedly break them. Our only option is to be on the lookout for suspicious activity, ja?" He eyed Nagito as he said that.
"I trust you guys!" Makoto exclaimed. "We've all been through a lot; how could any of us kill not one, but two of our classmates?"
"Don't be naive," Kyoko harshly scolded Makoto, who flinched in response. "It would be foolish to believe none of us have been tempted by Monokuma. You thought it impossible twice before, and you were wrong both times."
Phoenix felt sympathy for the luckster— he was trying to keep them upbeat even though things looked grim. But he understood Kyoko's point.
"Um, if we don't have anything else to do here, can I get back to lunch?" Leon asked awkwardly, gesturing to the table full of empty plates that he clearly wanted to fill with food.
"I found a working arcade in the warehouse if anyone wants to join me," Chiaki offered. "Games are the best way to reduce stress."
Although Phoenix wasn't particularly keen on gaming, he had yet to spend much time with Chiaki, and was curious to know more about the peculiar gamer. He was the only one to volunteer to join Chiaki, who seemed happy to have a companion.
The rest of the students slowly dispersed. Phoenix was glad to see Apollo was more or less back to normal, but he resolved to keep checking in on him to make sure nothing changed for the worse.
In the meantime, Chiaki excitedly led Phoenix to the warehouse and down a maze of streets. Phoenix was reminded of the time she had been walking through the streets wearing headphones, and he and Athena had hid in a butcher's shop out of fear of her footsteps.
He had protected Athena against an imaginary threat, but not against the real one. Every step against the cobblestone roads reminded him of the time he and Athena had spent in the warehouse.
He tried to shift his focus back to the present. He and Chiaki continued walking until they ended up outside a small, hole-in-the-wall establishment. An unilluminated neon sign read "Amara Arcade." Though the warehouse was dimmer than before, Phoenix could see a few arcade cabinets.
"I thought there was no power in the warehouse," Phoenix commented as he pushed the glass door open and stepped into the dark arcade. "How do these games run?"
"They don't," Chiaki sighed, "but there are a few that don't require power, like pinball—" she pointed at a tall cabinet facing away from them— "and skee-ball—" she gestured to a pair of skee-ball structures set against the back wall.
"Of course, they don't keep score," Chiaki explained, "but that's okay. The EXP we get from playing is what's important."
"EXP?" Phoenix was not well-versed in video game terms in the slightest, and he worried he was in over his head with Chiaki.
"Experience points," she answered.
Phoenix decided not to point out that experience points didn't exist in the real world. Instead, he walked over to the skee-ball machines and asked Chiaki to help him set them up.
Phoenix spent the next few hours getting trounced by Chiaki in every game they played. Once they had exhausted the arcade machines, she dragged him over to the electronics store and showed him a handheld gaming console that still had power.
Unfortunately, the only cartridge they could find was Tetris, which Chiaki demonstrated her immense prowess at, playing rounds that lasted dozens of minutes. Phoenix, meanwhile, was barely able to clear a single row.
"Aha…" Phoenix laughed awkwardly once they had finally drained the battery of the console, "sorry I'm so bad at all of these."
"Don't be sorry!" Chiaki pointed fiercely at him, a rare determination gleaming in her eyes. "Games played with others are the best kind, no matter how big the skill gap!"
"I'm glad you think that," Phoenix smiled. "I had fun, even though I wasn't very good."
"We should play together more often," Chiaki offered. "You'll get better! Probably…"
Phoenix tried not to take offense to the "probably" tacked on to the end— he knew it was a quirk of Chiaki's to end her sentences with uncertainty.
"I wouldn't have expected you to like non-video games," Phoenix attempted to segue into a conversation about Chiaki, herself.
"I definitely prefer video games," Chiaki assured him, "but all games are fun. The most important thing about games is they make it easy to spend time with your friends, and that's why I don't mind what kind of game we play."
"That's a good attitude to have," Phoenix complimented. "To be honest, I would've expected the 'Ultimate Gamer' to be arrogant about their skills, but it's very refreshing that you aren't that way."
Chiaki's cheeks reddened as she put her hood up, the cat ears attached to it seemingly drooping in parallel with her mood. "Th-thanks. But…"
Phoenix waited for her to finish her sentence, but to no avail. He wondered if she had fallen asleep standing up, and was about to shake her awake, but she finally spoke again.
"Never mind. It's getting late— we should head back," she suggested.
"Alright," Phoenix shrugged. He was hoping Chiaki would open up to him, but he understood why she didn't. This was their first real interaction outside of group events, but it was still an enjoyable one. He hoped he'd have another chance to spend time with her in the future.
Phoenix and Chiaki walked to the kitchen to get dinner. Ema and Klavier were also present, and the four of them spent an hour in casual conversation. Despite the threat of death constantly resting in Phoenix's mind, he was able to have an enjoyable dinner and end the night on a high note.
As he walked into his yurt, he realized he still had The Tragedy, and was supposed to give it to Kyoko soon. He closed the door and pulled the book out, sitting on his bed and opening to the front page. He had wanted to re-read it last night, but tonight would work just as well. Maybe he could find something to convince the class not to succumb to Monokuma's new motive.
Unfortunately, his second reading of the book was just as confusing as the first. Nothing in either of the chapters particularly stood out to him as game-changing knowledge. It didn't help that he was distracted by Nagito's handwriting on the last page of the first chapter, serving as a constant reminder of the mistake he made.
However, what he didn't expect was a note written in the margins of the last page of the second chapter. The handwriting was undoubtedly different from Nagito's— had Kyoko written it? Was this what she had meant by "putting the book to good use?"
Phoenix read the note, intrigued to see what she had to tell him that couldn't be said aloud. But as soon as he read it, he felt himself falling into another abyss of confusion. He knew exactly what Kyoko was referring to, but he had no idea what it meant for the killing game, and the events of the first few days in the village. The worst part was, this was something Dahlia had told him the very first day they were there, when they had spent time together at the lake. How had he forgotten it until now?
He took out the magazine advertisement Leon had found in the study and held it up. Three simple words had completely upended his perception of the game:
"That's Dahlia's twin."