Danganronpa: Algorithmic Alteration Chapter 23: Misalignment in the Stars (Part 3), a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Chapter 3: Misalignment in the Stars (Daily Life Part 3)

Warning: This is a Danganronpa fic. Things can be pretty bad, especially regarding gore and the foul language used. Although, if you've made it this far, I don't think that kind of stuff bothers you anyways, sooooo…

It was like any normal day for the Hoshi orphanage. The kids were all moving around the main room, playing with various toys.

In fact, the person we would be focusing on was doing just that.

Sitting off in the corner, with a toy in hand, was a rather young girl.

The reason she had moved over towards the corner was simply because most of the other kids always picked on her, so she found it best to move over where she would be left alone.

Of course, that never seemed to work out quite the way she wanted it to.

"Hey Seira." A rather familiar voice called out.

Wincing at the thought of what was going to happen, Seira glanced over to look at who had called out to her.

A group of kids, about her age, if not a year older had gathered to look down at her. "Playing alone again?"

"Um…" Seira clutched onto the doll, given that nobody would come help her in this situation. "P-Please… g-go away…"

They never did.

It's been like this for so long that Seira had mostly gotten used to it. Unlike some of the other kids, she had been given up for adoption at such a young age. While most were here due to unforeseen circumstances… The other kids would always point out that nobody even wanted her as a baby.

Getting up, Seira quickly moved away from the kids, trying to retreat towards a more quiet place.

It's what she had to do everyday here…

The one place she could easily retreat to was the library, given most of the other kids didn't even bother coming here, and if they did, the rules would prevent them from being too loud.

Because of this, this meant Seira spent most of her time in the library, away from any of the toys the other kids would play around with.

When she arrived here, she quickly darted to hide amongst the bookshelves, giving herself a small hug…

Being here was awful, and despite not wanting them to, their words always seemed to bother her every time they spoke them.

Now that she was here, however, she could at least find solace in the books around her. This time, she found herself in the small astrology section.

Seira had read most of the books in other sections, mostly just to pass the time. Slowly, pulling out one of the various books on stars, she moved over to sit somewhere more comfortably.

While some of the words she didn't understand quite yet, the words she did understand really caught her attention, as well as the images provided.

"Woah…" Seira hummed out, looking at some pictures of the night sky.

Since she wasn't able to go out at night, Seira was never able to witness lovely skies such as this.

Not like it would be the most feasible anyways, given the location she was in. Even if she was allowed outside, the light pollution would hide a decent amount of stars.

Not that she knew that.

For the next several hours, Seira sat neatly in the corner of the library, looking through the various pictures in the book, occasionally reading the small paragraphs associated with each picture.

…

Today was just like any other day; Seira woke up and got ready for a normal day…

However, instead of going to the main room, she made a beeline directly towards the library. Not only would nobody bother her while she was there, but now she had found something that interested her more than she could have ever thought possible.

Finding the astrology section, Seira looked around, trying to locate a book she hadn't read yet.

When her eyes finally landed on one, Seira pulled it out of the bookshelf. "Here…" She mumbled out, moving over towards one of the multiple chairs.

This one was a bit different. It was still about constellations, but this one went into more details about twelve specific constellations.

The zodiac signs, to be precise.

It was an interesting topic. There exist twelve constellations that could help describe a person based solely on when they were born.

Of course, knowing this, Seira began to look for the zodiac sign that best fit her. It didn't take long for her to find it.

"Gemini…" Seira mumbled out, almost completely absorbed in the book.

The description that caught her interest the most was… "Intellectually curious…" Seira mumbled out, a small smile on her face. That was exactly what she was doing, after all. She had grown so curious about all these things, that she couldn't help but learn more and more.

Then… Did that mean that this applied for everyone?

Closing the book, Seira looked around, hoping to find someone… Most specifically the nice lady that was in charge of the library.

It was one of the few people that was nice to her, given that she spent all her time here.

Slowly making her way over to her, Seira spent a few seconds staring at the librarian, not saying anything.

Eventually, she would be noticed. "What is it, Seira?" The lady asked in a rather sweet tone.

"Um…" For a moment, Seira felt a little shy. "When is your birthday…?"

That was an odd question to appear out of the blue. That was until the librarian took a look at the book Seira was holding. "Ah, you found that book, didn't you?" Offering her a sweet smile. "I'll make things easier for you, I'm a Pisces."

Hearing this, Seira quickly opened her book, trying to find the right page. Reading off the words listed below, she eventually mumbled out one word. "Compassionate."

That fits in her book!

"It works!" Seira said happily, closing the book.

Zodiacs would basically tell her everything she needed to know about people. It was amazing. "Can I borrow this book for a few days?"

Despite them not being able to, none of the other kids around here really took an interest in reading, so the librarian obliged. "Yes, you can."

Not like this was an actual city library or anything. Just a library attached to the orphanage.

With glee in her eyes, Seira moved on, hoping to learn as much as she can with the help of this book.

It had worked on two people already, so it should work on everyone else as well.

And thus, this was the start of Seira's appreciation for the stars. With something like this, the stars would surely guide her down the right path.

They would tell her everything she needed to know about everyone she met. There's nothing she wouldn't be able to figure out with this book.

…

"Please, don't take me for a fool."

…

"You… You don't know what you're talking about."

…

"Ah… I see…"

…

Tearing his eyes away from Laki, Gennosuke began to focus back on Ian. "Haha…" He leaned his head down, finally understanding the full scope on this entire case.

"Stop… Laughing…" Ian narrowed his eyes, his eyes gripping onto the podium.

"Why should I?" Gennosuke removed the lollipop, that way he could examine it a bit. "In the end, I was right, weren't I? You aren't stupid enough to leave things up to fate."

Had he actually figured everything else out? Ian's face paled up slightly at the very thought. "Stop fucking around…" No… He was nothing but a fraud, and his words were empty.

Another chuckle from Gennosuke. "You know, everyone's always a doubter… But…" The smile faded away from his face.

"Your trick has been revealed."

"I swear, you're as bad as May." Gigi commented, pointing out the vagueness.

Ignoring her, Gennosuke continued. "With just looking at the two of you, I've figured out where my vote is going."

"You're just bluffing." Laki narrowed her eyes. For some reason, she saw the same look Ian always had when they played cards.

Gennosuke was enjoying this.

However, that smile quickly faded from his face. "There's no need to call me a liar… I think I'll let the votes do the talking." Slowly, his hand moved over towards the voting screen, pressing a button.

And…

Fate was sealed at the moment.

There was no changing the outcome.

Slowly, Ian closed his eyes, expecting the worst…

Laki on the other hand, kept her eyes fixated on the screen.

And finally… A single sound played out, to indicate the vote had been added.

After taking a deep breath, Ian opened his eyes, to take a look at the screen.

Only for his fears to become a reality as he looked at the result. "I…" Nonononono.

"Heh…" Gennosuke shook his head, amused. "Where's that fighting spirit? You seem to be lacking it now."

Slowly, Ian turned his head to face him. "You… You piece of shit…" A fire was lit in his eyes.

Gennosuke frowned at such a display. "How am I the piece of shit?" He raised an eyebrow before his smile returned. "I'm not the one who wanted to kill half the people here."

Quickly, Ian's eyes darted over to look at Laki, who just seemed a tad bit confused. Then, he glanced over at the monitor one last time to double check the votes…

…

Gennosuke had voted for Laki.

Everything…

Everything was falling apart.

"You…" Laki was confused. Was Gennosuke wrong? Or did Ian make her the killer on purpose?

Jumping at the opportunity, Monokawa flew up towards the group. "Well, now's as good a time as any to reveal the verdict, don't you think?" He raised a paw in the air, getting ready to lower the slot machine.

"Wait!" Ian called out, trying to stop him. "Don't do this-"

Floating over towards Ian, Monokawa gave him a sinister look. "Now… Since when did I take orders from someone like you?" He covered his mouth to hold back laughter. "Fate stops for nobody!"

Soon after saying that, the slot machine lowered itself about halfway. "Well! I think it's time for us to spin that wheel!"

Flying over towards it, he pulled down on the lever, allowing the three slots to begin spinning.

The first head… Landed on Laki…

The second head… Landed on Laki…

"Please…" Ian couldn't even look at what was going to happen.

He knew the answer…

Gennosuke had called him out correctly.

Lastly… the final head… Also landed on Laki, with the words guilty written right under it.

Floating over to everyone else, Monokawa raised his paws in the air. "Wow! You were right! After such a mess of a trial, you successfully figured out who the killer was."

"You… You didn't make yourself the killer?" Laki blinked a few times. Even with being the killer, she didn't seem concerned.

Even if Ian didn't see the results, he could sure as hell hear them.

He couldn't even stand to look at Laki right now…

Everything… Everything went wrong.

"I-Ian?" Laki wasn't sure how to feel. While an execution sounded like no problem, given her luck… It did make her feel uneasy.

"Haha…" Gennosuke shook his head, an amused look on his face. "After all that, your entire plan backfired, and now Laki is going to die…"

"I'm not going to die!" Laki shook her head. She had never felt anything close to death, so she had nothing to worry about…

Right…?

"No…" Ian clutched onto his podium. "You bastard…" He glanced over at Gennosuke, who couldn't even be bothered.

"You know…" Monokawa floated up to be in the center of the podiums. "We've already gone ahead and given out some backstory drops, so do we really need to drag this out any more than we need to?"

Hearing those words, Ian knew exactly what he meant. "No- Wait a fucking minute." Frustration apparent on his face.

Things were going wrong so quickly.

Still, Monokawa was going to ignore his pleas. "I've prepared a very special punishment for Lakshmi Krishna, the Ultimate Lucky Student!"

With each passing second, Laki began to look around, a bit more unsure… Just what had she been signed up for?

"Nononono…" Ian tried to move away from his podium, but Monokawa moved over to him, staring directly into his eyes. "Trying to go somewhere, are you?"

"Let's give it everything we've got!"

"Laki!" Ian turned to look back at her.

Slowly, Laki nodded her head. "I… Nothing bad ever happens to me. Remember all the stunts we've pulled? This will be nothing compared to those."

Nonononono… "Laki- You aren't thinking-" Ian knew these executions would be nothing like the things they've done in the past.

They couldn't even be compared…

The executions would be leagues worse.

Ian had to stop this… one way or another. "Monokawa… Stop this-"

"IIIIT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" The glee in Monokawa's voice was apparent as he slammed his little paw down onto a button.

"God… Goddammit…!" Ian's grip on his podium tightened, unable to move with the prospect of Laki being executed. "I refuse this… I… I-"

Growing tired of his excessive complaining, Monokawa floated over towards him. "Admit it, Ian. You lost." He called out as he held in a laugh.

Soon, Ian had to bear witness to a collar lowering itself from the ceiling at a rapid rate, before latching around Laki's neck.

Although, she didn't seem too concerned about the entire matter. "Weeee!" Laki called out as she got lifted into the air.

"Laki!" Ian tried to reach out for her, but she was too far.

"Oh, we have a very special guest today, as well!" Monokawa snickered at the very thought of it.
Before they could react, Ian felt something close around his ankle. "W-What the-?"

And suddenly, he felt herself getting pulled up by his leg.

"You get front row seats to Laki's execution!" Monokawa called out, watching him disappear into the elevator shaft.

…

Laki's Room

Quickly, Laki bolted up, awake, and… breathing heavily. Her eyes darted around the room, looking around for something, but never quite being able to find it.

In a hasty movement, Laki tried to get out of bed before getting tangled up in her blankets, and falling onto the ground.

With a slight pained groan, she slowly managed to get herself onto her feet.

The pain from falling was quickly replaced with a different pain entirely… Dizziness. Laki moved her hand over to her head, taking a few steps forward.

Was she hungry?

She hadn't eaten since before the trial, and it had already been two full days since then.

Walking over to her door, Laki opened it up with her watch, stepping outside.

It was quiet.

Taking a glance at the time, it was still five in the morning. Nobody else would be up.

She'd be alone.

Sure, she couldn't go down to the cafeteria due to the elevator, but at least it beat staying in her room.

Without any goal in mind… Laki began to walk further in the station.

To the point she wasn't even paying attention to where she was going…

Where…

Where was she going…?

…

Ultimate Gambler Station

Stepping into the station, Laki found herself stopping when the bright lights invaded her eyes.

She had spent so long in the darkness of her room that this really threw her off.

When Laki finally recovered, she took a few more steps forward, before stopping several feet away from the entrance.

Why here…?

Slowly, Laki turned to face the door, before looking up.

There it was…

The devil…

The devil that took Ian…

Suddenly, Laki would feel something trailing down her cheek, and when she went to stop it, she'd realise it was… a tear?

She had never cried before, so this was a new feeling.

Quickly wiping the tear away from the rest of her face, Laki turned to look further into the casino.

With each step, she examined the different things around her. It really reminded her of Ian's casino.

Laki had spent countless days there in the past…

The real thing. Not this cheap imitation.

Now. Empty.

Empty… Except for…

A clicking sound snapped her out of her trance, and she found herself looking at one of the poker tables.

Laki thought she'd be alone this early in the morning, but clearly she was wrong.

There, at the table, was Gennosuke, who was playing against one of the robots.

Slowly, and silently, Laki crept up in an attempt to see what he was doing. If he found out, he might tell the other-

"So." Gennosuke broke the silence, not bothering to look over at Laki. "Finally decided to come out of your room…?"

Freezing up, Laki was unsure what to even say. Why did he wait this long to say anything…? "Um…" Slowly, she moved closer, so that she was now in view of him. "What are you doing-"

"Same could be said for you." Gennosuke looked over his cards. "Brave of you to even be out of your room at this time." A grin appeared on his face. "Wouldn't want Hae-Won to find you, wouldn't you?"

Hae-Won… Laki looked around nervously, before sitting down at the same table. "It's early in the morning… She won't be out." Not that she was scared or anything.

She had never been scared before.

But hearing this coming from Gennosuke, it did put her at unease. "You didn't answer my question…"

"Nor did you answer mine." Gennosuke shrugged. But he didn't have a reason to not answer. "I get bored sometimes. It's nice to be out when the others won't bother me." Sometimes it was hard to be around others.

Well, since he answered her question, she felt some obligation to answer too now. "I…" Why was she so nervous to talk? She had never felt this feeling before, and yet it was one of the only things consuming my mind.

"I came here because of Ian…" Laki eventually mumbled out.

"Oh?" Gennosuke tilted his head over towards her. "Didn't you get him killed?"

"N-No! I…!" Laki looked away, instead choosing to focus on the ground. "I… I didn't do that…"

Even while saying that, she knew that she had switched over the poker clickers… Why…

Letting out a small hum, Gennosuke didn't even bother to look at her. "Had you not done anything, I would have voted you as the killer instead. And yet… You decided to doom Ian to such a horrible fate." Placing a bet, he finally turned to look at her. "And now, his blood is splattered all over the execution grounds."

Why… why… why… "Why did Ian do this…?"

That was a vague question, but Gennosuke understood the intent. "Why did he make it so you'd have the one that works?"

"Y-yeah…" Laki held her arm, looking away again. "That's… Unlike Ian. I thought he had just made a simple mistake, and switched them around."

Revealing his cards to the robot, and winning the pot, Gennosuke shrugged. "You'll have to be a bit more specific than that. You say it was unlike Ian… Why?"

"Ian… Ian loves winning. So I thought he'd want to win like this. Be the killer… Have everyone throw away their votes, and escape."

Growing tired of standing up, Laki took a seat next to Gennosuke. "So when I noticed the mistake, I switched them around so he'd get the winning one."

Letting out a small chuckle, Gennosuke knew exactly what went wrong. "Because… Ian's intent was never to escape…"

Leaning back in the chair, he couldn't help but grin.

"It was so you could escape."

For a few seconds, Laki didn't exactly register what he meant. "It was so I… Could… What?" No, that's not how Ian was at all. He always took the route to victory. The two of them had played poker so many times, she knew how he operated.

Letting out a small sigh, Gennosuke shook his head. "Judging by his reaction, to him, it didn't matter if he died or not, as long as he won the entire thing. It's clear Ian was planning to get you out of the game, no matter what it took."

No! That didn't make any sense. "I refuse…" Laki frowned slightly. "What reason would he have had-"

Deciding to not let her finish, Gennosuke continued. "Ian's very good when it comes to odds, given his talent. It's no doubt in my mind that he felt the odds of both of you getting out were higher if he stayed behind, over you."

Well… If Ian had left… Then… Laki wasn't sure exactly what she would have done. Hell, she's just so lost right now… "But… Why did Ian react the way he did when he got voted?"

Furrowing his brows slightly, Gennosuke wasn't in the habit of repeating statements, but he went ahead and did it anyway. "Ian's entire plan counted on you being the one to escape. Whether it be from us forfeiting our votes… Or… us voting wrong." Taking a lollipop out of his pocket and stuffing it into his mouth, he continued. "See, the best chance you had at survival was you being the killer. Because either you had a 100% live rate if we abstained, or there was a 50% chance you'd die if we decided to vote. The moment we all voted for Ian, he thought he had won."

"So…" Laki took a step back, realising just what she had done. "Because I switched it over…"

"Yup, because you switched it over… You're the reason Ian lost. He was a difficult opponent, but…" Gennosuke held himself back from saying the next part. He couldn't be too mean right now. "He was fated to lose anyways."

Laki let her head rest on the table, almost at a loss for words. "I…" So many different emotions were firing off in her mind, and they were all making her uncomfortable…

This wasn't the life she was used to… Everything her and Ian did came at no consequences.

They had gotten away with so much in the past… Why now of all times, did things go wrong?

"I…"

Now, Gennosuke could sit here and listen to her whine the entire time, it was really starting to get in his way of playing poker. "You can't change what happened. You're the reason Ian's dead. Plain and simple. Get over it."

She's… the reason… "Why did I…" He was supposed to win. He always wins… Why… Why did he have to lose this time? Why did she have to mess everything up?

While it was annoying to have Laki here, Gennosuke had been meaning to talk to her for a while. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Oh… Huh…" Laki had to think for a moment. "The day Benoit died…"

Wow, it has been a few days. "Then you should come downstairs to eat."

"But…" Laki wasn't stupid. "You said that Hae-Won would-"

"Who gives a shit what she thinks." Gennosuke shrugged, placing a higher bet. "She can't expect to starve you." He let out a small chuckle.

Checking the time, there was still a couple hours before the elevator opened up. "Just make yourself at home, and we'll go down when it opens up."

Make yourself at home… huh…? Taking another look around the place… Laki had already done that before… Now, it just felt hollow being here.

Ian was never coming back… And this place brought back bad memories.

"Hey." Gennosuke didn't bother to look at her. Instead, focusing on his hand. "If you're going to continue to mope around like that, I won't help you out."

Taking a deep sigh, Laki tried her best to force a smile, but the pain was starting to become unbearable.

She had hurt herself countless times in the past, physically, but she had never felt emotional pain before… "Right… Sorry…"

Without a single care in the world, Gennosuke continued to play his game of poker… To think the person he wanted to talk to would approach him first.

Perfect how things like this work out.

Seems that Laki and Gennosuke grew closer.

Cafeteria

Like always, there was going to be a cafeteria scene to start the day off nice and strong! The only difference was that this wasn't going to be any normal day.

"What." Hae-Won said flatly, looking over at the elevator. Quickly, she stood up.

Most of the others were a bit cautious, looking over towards the elevator sceptically.

Letting out a sigh, Gennosuke shook his head. "Really?" This is what they were making a fuss about this early in the morning?

"Gennosuke, why is she here?" Hae-Won narrowed her eyes slightly.

Glancing behind him, he looked over at Laki. "Oh. I didn't even notice her there." Gennosuke lied, flashing a smile. "Besides, what does it matter to you?"

It seemed like hostility was going to be the first thing that happened this morning.

Slowly, Seira stood up. "We should all calm down…" Although, she didn't want to see Laki so soon either.

For once, Gigi was going to stay out of this entire thing. She had her own thoughts, but she wanted to remain unbiased in this entire thing.

"Heh…" Hae-Won shook her head. "The others don't really feel safe with her around." Especially after what she put Benoit through.

Gennosuke let out an annoyed sigh. "What? Do you want me to keep her on a leash or something?"

"Oh! Oh! We found a cage!" Dolly called out, before being shushed by Tatiana.

Hae-Won frowned slightly. Just the sight of Laki pissed her off. "You're acting like she didn't do anything wrong. Is this why you wanted to guard her room?"

Gennosuke shrugged, choosing not to deny the accusation. "So what if it is? It doesn't change the fact she can't stay in her room the entire time."

This entire time, Laki uncharacteristically chose to remain silent. Instead, she opted to stand behind Gennosuke. She wasn't sure how everyone would react to what she had done. But based on how Hae-Won was acting, it didn't seem to be pleasant.

"Um…" Edison hummed out, adjusting his goggles. "Leaving someone in their room, forced to starve… Doesn't sound like a good idea."

"Doesn't Melody bring Michael food? Can't she just do the same?" Atlas suggested, also not really wanting to see Laki, given he was almost made a killer briefly.

Hae-Won nodded her head along. "You see, you're free to do that if you want."

That sounded like more work than it was worth, so Gennosuke had no choice but to refuse such an offer. "How about no. It's already been days since the trial happened. Can't we let bygones be bygones?"

Dae-Hyun shook his head. "There's not really any way to make it as if it never happened…"

Taking a deep breath, Gemini stood up, hoping to end this conflict. "Yes, there isn't any way to make it so it didn't happen. However, we also shouldn't restrict her freedom to only her room. That's no way to live."

Looking at everyone else, Hae-Won could see that this might be a losing fight, even if she wanted to fight her hardest to make sure it wasn't allowed. "Then someone has to actually keep an eye on her."

"Yup." Gennosuke grinned a bit. "You can trust m-"

No. She didn't. "Anyone else?" Hae-Won didn't even bother to look at him when she said that.

From the looks of it, there didn't seem to be any voluntee-

"I will." Melody lifted up her hand. She wasn't sure about this, but she also felt like she'd be the best person to watch her for the time being.

A visible frown appeared on Hae-Won's face, given she didn't actively want anyone to say anything. But if Melody was going to be the one, she didn't seem to have a problem. "Fine…"

Seemingly, everything changed back to normal, and Gemini was able to take a seat again.

"Thank you…" Seira mumbled out, looking over at him. He was much better at this than she was, so it was nice for him to stand up and take charge.

"..." Gemini spent a few seconds looking at his food. However, a smile soon formed on his face. "Don't mention it."

However, even with all of that, tensions still seemed to be high. With good reasons.

Nobody really knew what to do in this case, and nobody wanted to say anything out of the ordinary.

Growing tired of the silence, Seira glanced over at Gigi. Maybe something to take their minds off things would work better. "Hey… Gigi…"

Not expecting to be called upon, it took a few extra seconds for Gigi to register that someone was even calling for her. "Hmm?"

"I was wondering if we could continue that thing that we were playing the other game." Seira was always a fan of games, and while not much happened in their first session, it was still fun.

"You mean DnD?" Gigi tilted her head to the side, contemplating such a thing. Given how things had turned out so far, for once, she actually had a rather empty schedule. "Yes, I would be willing to have that happen."

That got a smile on Seira's face. "Good."

Looking over the other side of the table, Gigi spotted both May and Edison sitting together. "Did you hear that?"

"Hmm?" Edison wasn't paying attention to anything they were doing.

Letting out a small sigh, Gigi relayed the message anyways. "After we're done eating, we'll meet up in my station to continue our game."

"Oh! Yes, I can make that time." Edison turned to look at May, who had passed out. "I will let her know the message when she wakes up."

If she wakes up…

Girl can fucking SLEEP.

While everyone else had gone to normal, Laki found herself eating at a different table, away from everyone. Well… Away from everyone except Gennosuke, who seemed to have followed her here.

After noticing that he was being stared at, Gennosuke looked down at her. "What…?"

"Oh! Huh… Why are you doing this?" That was the most pressing question on Laki's mind.

Why would anyone even stick their neck out for her after what happened last time?

Letting out a small chuckle, Gennosuke shook his head. "Do I really need a reason? You don't seem like you'll cause any harm." At least not for a while. "You seem to have learned your lesson."

Did she really learn her lesson?

Well… Laki knew she definitely wasn't going to try anything else, but that was less because she learned her lesson, and more so because Ian wasn't around anymore.

Looking around, Laki eventually landed eyes with Hae-Won, who seemed to be looking at her rather judgmentally. "I…" God, being here was awkward as hell.

She should just head back to her room… It was comfortable there, and people didn't want her dead.

"Hey." Gennosuke called out, but he wasn't talking to Laki. Instead, he was looking directly at Hae-Won. "Are you going to stare the entire time?"

"..." Putting on a smile, Hae-Won closed her eyes. "Sorry, was lost in thought." Which was an obvious lie.

Frowning slightly, Gennosuke turned to look back at Laki, flashing a smile. "Just ignore them."

Easier said than done.

If Laki wasn't hungry, she wouldn't have been here right now…

With a deep sigh, she began to eat, trying her best to ignore the stares that she was receiving.

Ultimate Referee Station

Now that plans had been made, Gigi didn't have anything else going on today, so she made her way to her own station, hoping to wait for the others to arrive.

Not that it took very long, given all four people were mostly punctual. Well, Edison and Seira were, but the later managed to drag along Gemini.

And May was somehow already here, don't worry about it.

"It has been a few days." Gigi noted, but that was very normal when it came to DnD. Sometimes it would take weeks for another session to happen. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Haha!" Edison let out a laugh. "My memory isn't that bad." Long pause. "May soloed, and Seira didn't help."

"You had to have Gemini save you." Seira pouted, feeling like she did enough to help.

Adjusting his goggles, Edison shook his head. "Factually incorrect, I threw acid at someone."

"Isn't that… All you did?" May noted with a small hum.

"Gah! No! I! Huh… I helped Gemini." Edison looked over at him. Yeah! Gemini wouldn't let him down-

"Didn't I save you?" Gemini raised an eyebrow.

Everyone was turning against him! "Gigi!" He called out.

She didn't even bother saying anything. Insead, Gigi was busy setting up the game.

"Actually…" Gemini hummed out, going over to see what she was doing. "I guess this was last minute, wasn't it?"

"Oh, right… Sorry." Seira glanced the other way. She hadn't even considered the work that goes into these kinds of things.

"It's fine." Gigi didn't bother looking at either of them. "Truth is, I've been working on this session since the first one we did, so I have some things planned out."

Oh, that was a surprise to hear. "How much could you have planned?"

"When there's not much else to do, you'd be surprised with how much I can get down." Namely, she did some planning after Gemini left yesterday. And while the group went off to check out the repair ship again. She's honestly had a lot of free time on her hands.

"Just give me a couple more minutes, and I should be able to start." This mostly involved her rolling an alarming amount of dice.

Like…

An ALARMING amount of dice.

They'd be fine.

"Oh! Right!" Edison turned towards May to talk- She's sleeping.

How does she keep doing this?

Gemini let out a sigh. "You know, it feels weird getting back into our game after everything that's happened." Was it in poor spirit? It had only been three days, after all…

"That may be right, but I doubt Benoit would want us to spend the entire time mourning." Gigi said, not changing her facial expression.

Gemini hadn't really spoken to him much, so that might be true. "Heh…" A small smile appeared on his face.

Back to Edison.

Given that May had decided to go for a nap, he was growing rather impatient. "Are you almost done?"

"Edison, could you roll a d6 for me?" Gigi didn't even bother looking at him.

Eager, Edison picked up the dice, rolling it onto the table. "It's a four. What about it?"

"Your character suffers 4 psychic damage as soon as the game starts." Once again, Gigi didn't even bother to look at him while saying that.

Quickly, Edison took a step back, shocked. "GAH- How is that fair?"

Ignoring his reaction, Gigi finally stopped writing down some notes. "I think we're ready to begin now."

Hearing that, May finally woke up from her nap. Was she actually sleeping, or nearly pretending? The world may never know…

"Do you think you could provide us with a recap about what happened last time?" Not that Seira had forgotten everything, she just wanted a summary, given it's been several days since their first session.

Nodding her head, Gigi opened up part of her notes. "I normally give a recap. I don't expect people to remember everything."

Adjusting his goggles, Edison let out an irritating laugh. "But I remember exactly what happened."

Letting her head rest on the table, Seira was very obviously annoyed. "Yeah, yeah. You and your perfect memory or whatever."

Coughing a few times to get everyone's attention, Gigi began her narration.

…

Last time, your group had defeated a group that belonged to the thieves' guild. Armed with Gemini's knowledge, you were able to find out just exactly where the guild resided. In fact, getting there wasn't an issue at all.

The issue was trying to get in. With only one of you being a rogue, it would be pretty hard to sneak anyone else in there. Especially since May's character was easily recognizable.

Suddenly, my character screams out in pain, from having received four psychic damage.

Edison, I was joking about that.

Huh? You didn't make it seem like a joke.

I say he should keep the damage anyways…

"Alright, what's the plan guys?" I turned to look at the other three.

"Acid is always the answer."

My character lets out a sigh. "Acid is not the answer this time. We might have to use our wits."

I don't think he has any wits…

Hey!

"What do you suggest, then…? This is your speciality… isn't it…?" My character approaches him, inspecting him slightly…

Shaking my head, my character glanced off to the side. "I might be a thief, but getting in here might be difficult for the rest of you. I can easily disguise myself."

"Can't… We disguise ourselves?"

I ponder this for a moment before shaking my head. "We could try, but I doubt they would be believable."

Are you all going to try and disguise yourself?

Might as well.

Soon, with all the equipment you've gathered, mostly from Gemini, you manage to put on a disguise. Whether it works nor or not relies entirely on the guards blocking the entrance.

I'll go first…

Approaching the guards, they don't seem to have much of a problem with you, and you're free to be let in.

Me next!

For a moment, the guards look at you, a bit suspicious. Ultimately, they decided you are fine, and let you through.

May, do you want to go in together?

Sure…

As the two of you approach, the guards halt you for a moment. "State your business."

Huh…-

"What other business would we even have here…?" My character tries not to be intimidated by them… and hoping my confidence is enough…

… For a moment, they don't seem to budge, but you act like you belong here, so they don't seem to have a problem in letting the two of you through. "Very well…" The guard mumbles to himself as he steps out of the way.

Ah sweet.

As the four of you step in, the atmosphere it brings is much different than a bar would normally be. People are talking, but it becomes much more clearer that they are making deals, rather than catching up.

Some people turn to face you, given that you are new people, but most people seem to ignore you entirely. You aren't worth anything to them.

Are there any spots we can discuss further?

Yes, there is an area in the corner that nobody else is even near.

"Alright, good, let's go there."

Sitting down there, you were finally able to take a moment to relax, and take in the surrounding area around you. For such a hidden spot, there seemed to be a lot of people here. However, it makes sense if you consider just what kind of guild this is. Anyone is welcomed here, as long as they have been deemed to not be of the authorities.

Similar to how an inn would be, there was a bar near the back, where most of the patrons seemed to hang out, drinking their lives away, with a less than pleased bartender, who only seemed to be doing his job out of obligation.

"Alright… We are here… Now what?"

"You know, I didn't really think we'd get here." My character says this with absolute confidence.

Letting out a sigh, I shake my head. "We were sent on a mission to figure out what a group has been doing. A group that tends to hang out around here."

"Right! The group of people who attacked us." My character places his bag on the table.

"Quiet down, will you, you don't want them to hear us…" My character shakes his head, before taking a look around. Is there anyone here who is wearing anything similar to what we encountered?

Good question. At first, given the room a cursory glance, you don't seem to find anyone fitting the bill. That is, until you spot a single person sitting down alone at a table, wearing the same symbol that you had seen only an hour ago.

"There…" I make sure to point them out to everyone else.

"Should we just go talk to him?"

My character quickly shakes her head. "Please don't be stupid… If we do that, we run the risk of getting caught. It's a miracle we made it in."

Heh, my disguises are just that good.

Then what shouldwe do?

Wouldn't it just be easy, to have Gemini go spy on them…?

… "Hey, what if I just go spy on them?" My character suggested, with absolutely no outside forces.

… I will remember this, Gemini…

Sneaking away from your group, you're able to move over rather closely to the man. After getting close enough, you begin to hear him mumbling under his breath.

What's he saying?

… You aren't quite able to tell. But it is odd, given that there's nobody else around him.

Hmm… Alright, I'll return to the group.

Once I get back there, my character lets out a sigh. "Nothing… He's talking to someone, but I can't make out what he's saying."

"Was the person invisible…?" My character suggests…

"You know, I never bothered to check…"

"There's one sure fire way to check-"

My character isn't even giving you the time to finish that sentence. "Throwing acid at them isn't a valid method."

My character slumps back in his chair, mumbling something under his breath.

"So what's the game plan now? We probably won't be able to stay here for too long, so we should attempt to make a move soon."

"We should just go talk to them openly." My character suggests, standing up. "They don't know who we are, so we could act friendly."

Edison, this is a dumb idea-

Well, you didn't say it out loud, so my character is already gone-

…

"Edison…" Seira mumbled out, narrowing her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be smart? Why would you do something that so blatantly endangers us?"

"Haha!" Edison swirled around a flask, investigating the contents. "Because nothing was ever discovered by being safe. Hypothetically speaking, we won't learn anything if we don't make advances towards it."

Still, Seira knew that this would only end poorly. "One wrong move, and we have the entire guild against us."

Something Edison didn't seem to mind. "But we took out those other people quite easily, so I see no problem."

This rambling went on for a bit, with the trio of Gemini, Gigi, and May being forced to witness the entire thing.

Letting out a sigh, Gemini shook his head. "I'm sorry about this…"

"I've dealt with worse." Gigi didn't even bother to look up from her notes. Seems she was taking this time to figure out what would happen.

Oh and also roll dice.

She liked doing that.

"Shouldn't we just let… Edison do what he wants?" May hummed out, tilting her head to the side.

Hearing that, Edison had a bright smile on his face. "Exactly! Nothing will go wrong. I've done the calculations."

Seira narrowed her eyes. "What kind of calculations?"

"I don't know, but the answer was 39."

Talking with Edison was a losing battle, so Seira just decided to give in. "Fine…"

…

Edison, as you approach the man, he turns away from the spot he was looking at to stare directly at you. "... Can I help you?"

You know, I didn't actually think of a game plan.

EDISON!

Nonetheless, I shall make my way out of this with my life intact.

More like in pieces…

Hey! Ignoring all of that, my character puts on a bright smile. "Sorry, but you just seemed to look really cool with your attire. I couldn't help but admire you from a distance."

The man is a bit confused… But doesn't seem to be immediately hostile. "Is that so…?"

"Mind if I take a seat?" I point at the seat across from him.

"I would advise against that?" The man took a drink for his ale, shaking his head.

That's… oddly menacing. "Why would that be?"

Taking a long sip, the man eventually slammed his mug onto the table. "Because that seat is currently occupied…"

Oh… that makes sense… invisibility…

May, how much did you read before starting this?

The entire thing… I've learned all the spells…

Jesus…

"Oh! Wow!" I glanced over at the empty seat, impressed. "So that must be who you were talking to!"

Hearing this, the man grows sceptical. "And how would you know I was talking to someone. You've been sitting across the room for a while now."

"Yes! Well! You see!" Can I lie to them?

If you roll high enough.

Haha, I will roll very high!

…

Is a seven high?

No. No it is not.

Hmm… That's bad!

Edison… are you for real?

Slowly, the man stood up, his figure becoming more apparent now that he's standing up. This was not a man to mess with, given what looked like a fighter build. "Are you trying to lie to me…?" His voice was low, and intimidating.

"Huh… Clearly not! I am an awful liar." Don't worry guys, when it comes to situations like these, I'm a certified genius-

The man believes you are a terrible liar, given that he had just caught you in a lie. Suddenly, Edison, you see the chair next to you move, as if someone had just gotten off it.

"Sounds like he was eavesdropping on us…" The voice sounded more deranged than the man you were just talking to, but equally as intimidating.

Alright. Fear not, for I have a foolproof plan!

Oh boy…

And my plan is… To run back to the rest of my party!

Coward.

"Don't bring them here…" I mumble out, seeing Edison approach us.

"You want meto fight against that?" He wasn't about to be part of a losing battle.

Soon, the man approached your group. As soon as his eyes landed on Gemini, he squinted. "You…"

"Me?"

"You…"

"Yes, me."

Taking another step the man looked down at Gemini. "You were the one who was hanging around my table a few minutes ago."

He saw that?

He simply chose not to say anything.

That's fair.

We should try and avoid a fight… Especially here…

"Sorry, my party was being annoying, so I figured I'd get some distance from them." I'll attempt to lie my way out of this.

For a moment, he chooses to believe your lie, nodding his head. "Alright, I can see why, this one here is annoying." He jabbed a finger right into Edison.

Does it hurt?

… Roll a d4.

Why-

However, while the man believed you, a voice coming from someone invisible spoke up. "Boss, he's clearly lying to ya…" Seems not everyone was so easily fooled.

Thank you Edison… Now we have to fight in a place we really don't want to…

Haha! I am a nuisance!

…

Letting her head fall onto the table, Seira shook her head. "Why did you do something that would start combat?"

"Hmm…" Gigi hummed out, not bothering to look at anyone. "Normally that takes a few sessions for someone to start asking a question."

"I panicked!" Edison tried to defend himself. "Hypothetically speaking, Gigi won't do something that would result in us dying, right?"

Without saying any other words, Gigi slowly slid a new character sheet towards the center of the table. You know… Just in case. "No. Not at all."

"It's fine…" May didn't really seem to mind any of this. "We should be… fine…"

"I agree." Gemini flashed a smile, mischief behind his eyes.

Despite how close the two of them were, this did get a bit of concern from Seira. "Gemini… What are you plotting?"

"Haha, it's best if we get back to the game." Gemini grabbed one of his dice, ready to cause some mayhem.

…

Since we've got one of the people we're looking for, I think we should cause some chaos. My character quickly jumps onto the table. "May I have everyone's attention."

Gemini what are you-

And you say I cause problems!

Well… you do…

Gemini, with this stunt, the entire guild turns to face you. Most seemed annoyed that you are even trying to get their attention.

Heh… "Anyone thirsty?"

Upon saying that, you have a few people now interested in whatever cause you might be building up to.

The man narrowed his eyes as you, seeing you try to pull a fast one on him. "What do you think you're-"

I don't even give him time to answer. Instead, I lift my hand in the air. "Whoever takes this guy out gets a half dozen rounds of drinks on me."

No way this actually works.

Suddenly the guild is lively, with everyone standing up.

Ohmygod, it's going to work-

"You-" The man starts to call out, but soon, he feels like several blades have been turned against him.

So… How does this help out come what we've come for…?

No idea!

This doesn't seem like a very good plan.

As the chaos begins to unfold, I start to make my way out. "We might not have what it takes to take on anyone from this guild. At best, we should worry about our own survival first."

"Alright, I'll trust him. We should get out of here."

As your group makes for the exit, you find that things aren't as simple as they seem. Instead, Gemini, you run into something that isn't actually there.

"Forgetting something?" The invisible man says, a sinister tone to his voice.

"Nope, but it's much easier to fight a single person." I take a swing at him.

Due to the fact that he's invisible, you miss that hit. Roll initiative.

Haha, you can't hit someone that's invisible.

I can if I try hard enough.

Can't I just use magic missile?

Can you see the target?

Can we pretend I can…?

No.

Wait, what kind of invisibility is it? If it's just regular invisibility, doesn't he lose it after he attacks?

… I try to shoot a firebolt at him anyways.

With a roll like that… You miss him, catching something in the background on fire.

Eh…

What kind of lack of care is this?

Now that it's his turn, he appears as soon as he takes a swing at Gemini, connecting with a very serious hit.

Damn… That puts me below half.

That would have killed me…

Wait… Does he remain visible?

Yes.

… I eldritch blast him.

What was the plan here?

He's not very smart.

As you eldritch blast him, you manage to knock him ten feet back right into the nearest wall, knocking him off balance.

No really. What was his plan?

I told you. He's not very smart.

Whatever! Time for ol' reliable! Acid!

You missed.

Is… Is that it?

You also start melting something in the background, right next to the fire May started.

Ah! There it is!

Gemini, it's your turn again.

I'm… I'm just going to take him out of his misery. With a swift knife attack, I try to sink my blade into him.

You manage to dig your blade in pretty deep, but he's still holding on fo-

Magic missile…

OK. He's dead.

"Why was that so easy?"

Well, if you take a look at the turn economy-

I don't want a lesson like that.

…

"You know…" Edison adjusted his goggles. "That combat was rather easy!"

Gigi frowned slightly, looking at her notes. "It was meant to be more than just a four versus one scenario."

"Ah…" Now Seira felt bad about how the situation turned out.

"Don't worry." Gigi didn't seem disappointed. "That's the nature of a game like this, where the players can affect the outcome. Now, shouldn't you be worrying about the aftermath?"

…

"Alright, we should take our leave." I quickly moved out the door.

"Wait, but what about what we came for?" I wasn't ready to leave quite yet.

My character had a confident smile on his face as he looked back at the rest of the party. "We've gotten to see what the person we're after looks like. He had to be the one to have sent the other people after us. But I doubt we could fight him yet."

"This was the smartest play, I believe!" I follow Gemini outside the building. "We should go, before everyone realises what happened."

At first, my character was hesitant. She wants to stay to try and learn as much as possible. Especially with her patron forcing her onto this quest… But she relents.

My character has no issue leaving… She didn't feel like doing too much anyways…

As the four of you leave the guild, the sound of metal clattering slowly fades away as you increase the distance between yourselves and the building.

Eventually, you found yourself at a safe distance away…

"Who… Who was that man?" She can't help but wonder.

Someone terrifying. I didn't want to make it obvious I knew who that was, but he's the main reason I won't join the thieves' guild. We were lucky that most of the people in the guild today weren't people who had gone regularly."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"I guess you could say he's the boss. I had to do whatever I needed to avoid an actual fight with him." My character lets out a sigh, before looking the other way. "But after a stunt like that, they might be hunting us down."

"How is that any different from right now…?" My character didn't seem to care… that she was the only one being hunted…

"Don't they sort of run this part of the city?"

My character nods his head. "Exactly. It's why I hang around this part of town. It would probably be best to move to a different area." But my character wasn't one to quit. Which is why… "Or… We can stay here and see what fortune comes our way."

As much as my character absolutely doesn't want to stay… She has almost no choice in the matter. "Alright, I'll stay too."

"Do I have to…?" My character felt like the job description… No longer matched with this…

I'm just happy to be here. My character doesn't need a reason to join.

And thus, the four of you had definitely set something in motion. Was it what you wanted to set? Hard to tell, but you wouldn't be able to reverse fate anytime soon.

…

Now, back in reality, Gigi closed her book, taking a deep breath. "I think we've reached a rather good stopping point. We can probably call it for today."

Seira let out a sigh of relief. "Edison, you have to stop causing problems."

Adjusting his goggles, he shook his head. "Nonsense! We were able to learn all the information we needed to! I say this is a job well done."

Gemini let out a small laugh. "Honestly, I didn't mind. It's always fun to think of a way out of a sticky situation. I don't think I'd have as much fun if we did everything perfectly."

For once, Seira backed off, finding some good points from what Gemini was saying.

"I think it was fun…" May hummed out, laying her head down.

"It was certainly something…" Those words were from a DM who saw this going in any other direction but whatever this is. "However, it was nice to improvise." A very faint smile appeared on Gigi's face.

Standing up, Gemini responded with his own smile. "Glad to have to keep you on your toes." He glanced off towards the door. "I should be taking my leave now."

"As will I." Seira quickly stood up, almost as if she was going to follow Gemini.

But nah, she had other things to do.

I will give you a hint: It has to do with stars.

With the two of them gone, Gigi packed up her things. "Alright. I should be heading off now. We should hopefully do this much sooner again." She had nothing better to do than to pack.

Which meant…

…

"Ah! May." Edison was glad that she had stayed behind while the others had left the station.

"Hmm…?" May hummed out, a little drowsy. After having to stay up that long, she was getting ready for a nap. But from the looks of it, it would have to wait a bit longer than intended.

Adjusting his goggles, Edison sat down across from her. "I've been meaning to speak to you since yesterday, but you were taking a nap."

Yeah, that tracks.

"Is it able to wait…?" May mumbled out.

Well, it could! But Edison wasn't exactly sure when the next time he was going to be able to speak to her would be. "I'd rather do it now."

He wouldn't go away until after this conversation, huh? Letting out a small sigh, May nodded her head along. "Fine… Go ahead…"

Hearing her so eager to continue on with this conversation, Edison began to speak. "It's about the revelations."

Quickly, May glanced his way. "I thought we weren't supposed to talk about those."

"Oh! You were sleeping." Edison hummed to himself. "Well, that's what I thought too! But Monokawa mentioned that we were able to discuss previous motives, as long as we had the new secondary one."

"Oh…" Maybe May shouldn't have been sleeping for that. "Are you really going to trust his words…?"

Opening his watch, Edison had to double check the rules. "Well, technically speaking, it is no longer a motive! So I should be free to talk about it."

Edison was a smart person, so if he believed it would be fine, May had no problem in letting him talk, even if she felt like he really shouldn't. "Go ahead…"

"Right, right! You remember the other day when I mentioned that I wanted to be a teacher one day?"

"..." How did this have to do with revelation? If this was something that simple, she was going to put to shame the revelation he received. Letting out a small sigh, May nodded her head along. "Yeah… I remember…"

"Well…" Edison hummed out, trying to think of how to say this in the best way possible. "I…" HE crossed his arms. "I think I achieved my dream."

"..." It really was an underwhelming revelation… Which meant… There had to be something more to it. "Is that it…?"

Judging by Edison's facial expression. No… That wasn't it. She had it right on the money. "Well… The thing is…"

What was making Edison like this was that he couldn't even explain what he wanted to say. Now, things were getting a little more interesting. For once, May bothered to open both of her eyes to look at him. "What is it?"

"..." Edison began to frantically adjust his goggles. "That wasn't the only bit of information I was able to learn via the motive."

Now he was just stalling. Who does that?

Well besides May, who always does that.

"What else did you learn…?" Is this really what she forced upon others all the time? Maybe she should stop doing that so often.

"It's more so… What kind of teacher I was." Edison glanced the other way.

"Hmm…?" May tilted her head to the side. "What… Did you not become a chemistry teacher…?" If he didn't, that would be pretty odd.

Adjusting his goggles, Edison glanced down at the table. "I'll be honest, I'm not even sure, because it never mentioned what subject I taught. It only mentioned where I taught."

Yeah, alright, May was learning her lesson here. Be less vague because god was this infuriating… "Just… tell me what you mean…" She didn't want to have to jump through twenty different questions just to get the answer she wanted. Especially when she was trying to sleep after such a long DnD session.

"..." It wasn't that Edison didn't want to say it. It was more so that he didn't seem to believe what his motive had said. "I was a teacher at…"

…

"Hope's Peak…"

For once, that snapped May right out of any drowsiness she found herself in. "What…?" A teacher at Hope's Peak. Well… She knew that she had at least graduated from Hope's Peak… But this?

"Yeah." Edison adjusted his goggles. "My motive mentioned that I was a teacher there, but it didn't provide me any further details."

"Wait… wait…" May closed her eyes to get a moment to think. "You were a teacher at Hope's Peak… Why?"

"I don't really know why. I always thought I'd go teach somewhere presti- Oh wait, I guess Hope's Peak is…" Edison was unsure at first, but maybe teaching there was a great thing. Then, his mind started swirling with ideas. "Hypothetically speaking, I was probably a great help to all the science talents."

While Edison was far too busy to think of the implication, May was deep in thought. Twenty Ultimates… And one of them just happens to be a teacher at Hope's Peak? Yeah, there were far bigger things happening right now.

The more pressing matter on May's mind was… "Are you related to what is happening here at all?"

"Huh?" Edison had no idea where this accusation was coming from. He didn't begin to process why until a few seconds later, when his facial expression shifted to slight horror. "W-wait! No! I don't believe I have anything to do with this…"

Well, not like May actually thought that. If he did have something to do with this, he wouldn't openly admit to being part of Hope's Peak.

Still, it is such a weird thing to learn. "Hmm…" May hummed out, leaning her head back a bit. "Maybe it means something…" Especially since it was a motive for Edison. It meant that Hope's Peak really had something to do with this whole thing.

Lovely, now four of the five people from the DnD group knew something like this.

Haha, get fucked, Seira.

"Oh!" Edison glanced over at May. "You also got a revelation, did you not?"

Now that was something she didn't feel like answering. "I did… But I'd rather keep it a secret to myself. It would probably be knowledge best used by me…"

"O-Oh…" That did make Edison a bit disappointed, but he knew boundaries, so he wasn't going to pursue her to tell him. "You got it!" He smiled at her, before standing up from the table. "I was glad I at least got to tell you."

Thinking about it, that meant that Edison trusted May enough to tell her, so it was reassuring that someone could do that. "Maybe I'll tell you what mine is one of these days…" She yawned out, before resting her head on the table.

There was still hope? That was great! "Well, I won't rush you. Tell me any time you feel like it." Now he got what he wanted off his shoulders, so he was free to do whatever he wanted. "I'll see you around?"

"Mhm…" May already had her face buried in her arms, ready to doze off to sleep.

It seems May and Edison have grown closer.

Navigation

Scanning his watch against the scanner to navigation, Gemini stepped through the door, seeing exactly what he had expected to see. "Ah, there you are." He walked over to Seira, who seemed to be… drawing something? "What are you working on?"

Seira had remained mostly silent when Gemini stepped in, only offering a small nod. However, when he spoke about what she was doing, she proudly showed it off. "Working on a star chart… Of sorts."

Why did he expect anything else? Still, that got a smile on his face. "Really? What for?"

"Oh… Well…" Seira stumbled over her own words as she tried to figure out what to say. "Mostly just to pass the time… honestly." She glanced out the window, putting another dot on the paper. "But it would be helpful to have one on hand."

As Gemini took a closer look at the constellation she was drawing, a smile formed on his face. "Hey, that's me!"

Yup! Seira had been marking in the Gemini constellation. "Ah… Yeah." Quickly, a smile appeared. "What are the odds, huh?"

Glancing past her, Gemini was able to see the stars in the sky, and the Gemini constellation was almost dead center. "I've never had a moment to just stare out and appreciate the stars since getting here." Sure, he had a couple of times to look out, but there was always something else to worry about. "It's beautiful out there."

Seira walked over to him, glancing out the window. "I know… That's why I'm so passionate about space. It's… It's so fascinating out there." She held onto her necklace. "I kind of have my life to thank for astrology…"

"Hmm?" Gemini raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

Letting out a happy sigh, Seira shook her head. "I never really told you much about my past, huh?"

Nor did Gemini! But he didn't feel the need to bring that up. "No, why? The most you've mentioned was that because you read a lot about astrology, you became an Ultimate."

Seira couldn't help but find this humorous. "No, that's not at all where I was going with that when I mentioned it." Taking a deep breath. "When I told you about that, what I wanted to mention was that because of my passion for reading about astrology, I was able to be adopted."

Oh? That was the first he heard of that. "It helped you get adopted…?"

"I never really knew my parents." Seira let out a small sigh. "Probably for the better, honestly. I was set up for adoption not long after I was born."

While she spoke, Gemini chose to remain silent, only crossing his arms.

"Life wasn't the greatest there, some of the other kids were mean… You know, just how kids normally are." Parts of it were hard to remember, but still, the rest of it was fond memories.

"Because of that, I ended up staying in the library, away from everyone else. From there, I picked up a love for astrology from all the books I read." Now, a very visible smile was on Seira's face.

Nodding his head along, Gemini decided to speak. "And this love for astrology was what helped you get adopted?"

Seira nodded her head. "Yes. My family saw how I was, and saw my passion for astrology, and chose me over everyone else. From there, the rest was pretty much history…"

Slowly, Gemini shook his head, a bit of a laugh in his voice.

"W-what?" Seira looked over at him, a blush on her face. "What part of that story was funny?"

Shaking his head, Gemini was able to stifle his laugh. "I just didn't know we had so much in common."

"H-huh?" Now it was Gemini's turn to drop some knowledge that Seira didn't know. "You were also-"

"Though, not as long of a process as you." Gemini put a hand on his hip, looking out the window. "I also never really knew my parents… Instead, I was adopted a few days after birth. I never had to deal with an orphanage or anything like that."

So, while very similar, it was still different. "You too, huh…" Seira joined him in looking out the window. "How were your foster parents…?"

Soon, a smile appeared on his face. "The best. They were the type to give their life away to save a child of theirs…" With that sentence, Gemini let the silence linger.

Not knowing exactly what to say, Seira slowly turned to look at them. "They sound like really good people."

"Yeah, they w- They are good people." Gemini smiled, shaking his head.

Now was not the time to get sentimental. Instead, he let out a sigh.

Seeing that this was a topic that Gemini probably didn't want to talk about too long, Seira diverted it in a different direction. "Did you… Did you ever want to learn about who your true parents were?"

"No… Not really. As far as I'm concerned, the family that raised me is my real family. There's nothing I can hope to achieve by learning about my actual parents." A point that Gemini didn't seem like he'd move away from.

But that did beg the question… "What about you?" Gemini turned to look over at her.

Seira hadn't expected this to get turned on her like this. "Oh! Huh…" She quickly shook her head. "I… No… I've never been curious." She turned to look the other way.

Seira was as bad of a liar as he was, which only got him to shake his head. "Yeah, I get it…"

This conversation was starting to get depressing between the two, and Gemini would rather not have it be like this. "Despite our pasts, we still both became Ultimates, huh?" He had a smile on his face.

That seemed to put a smile on her face. "Yeah… Compared to how my early life was, this is such a stark contrast." Something she was really proud about. "You know, people always say that zodiac signs are meaningless, and it doesn't determine anything… But here we are, with the same zodiac signs, living similar experiences."

They were pretty similar. "Heh…" Gemini nodded his head along. "I don't get why other people don't believe in this stuff. From what I've seen, it's proven to be pretty accurate."

Stepping away from the window, Seira approached her star chart again. "To me, this stuff is real… I don't care what other people say." Looking at you, Edison.

Watching the stars for a few more seconds, Gemini eventually turned around to walk over to her. "Like I said, ignore what other people say." He moved over to look at what Seira was doing again. It was fun to watch her work away…

It seems Gemini and Seira have grown closer.

…

"So, are you going to be doing that for the next while?" Gemini was fine in providing her company.

"Well…" Seira hummed out, thinking for a moment. Making a star chart would take a while, given that the space station had to make a full rotation, and then she had to worry about the moon itself going around the Earth… Ugh, this would be a weird star chart to make, but it should be fine.

"It may take a while. You have no obligation to stay here if you don't want t-" Seira found herself pausing mid sentence, looking out the window. Slowly, she began to approach it.

"Hmm?" Gemini took a step forward, finding her behaviour to be odd. "Is something wrong?"

One by one, Seira counted some stars… "It's just that…" She narrowed her eyes. "I don't believe the Gemini constellation has that many stars…"

Honestly… It felt more like there was an extra star.

Scratching his neck, Gemini glanced off to the side. "How many stars are there supposed to be?"

"Eighty eight." Meaning Seira just counted all of those really quickly. "But there's only about seventeen stars that form the lines for the constellations."

However, right now, she saw an eighteenth star…

"Wait…" Something was really not up now.

Especially since the star was getting… bigger?

As soon as Seira saw that was increasing in size, it dawned on her much too quickly.

That wasn't a star.

"Gemini!" Seira turned to look at him, urgency in her voice.

He was quick at catching on too, but there wasn't much they could actively do with something flying towards the station. Grabbing her arm, he attempted to move towards the door.

However…

With a loud slam, the entire station shook, sending the two of them falling. Of course, Gemini made sure to take the brunt of the force when they landed on the ground…

…

After about a minute, Seira finally managed to stand up. "We're still… Alive?" She thought her life was over the moment she realised what it was.

Turning towards the window, the window seemed intact, but the object she had spotted was still in view…

"An asteroid…" Seira mumbled out.

Gemini got up a few seconds after her, clutching his head. "What the hell…?" They could have died. "What is happening?"

Seira had no idea. "I… I think that was a one off thin-"

However, a voice on the intercom caused her to freeze up. While it was normal for Monokawa to speak on it whenever he felt like it, it was something entirely different to have Nova speaking to everyone. "We are currently in a state of danger. Would all participants please gather in the cafeteria?" For once, it lacked the overly friendly nature she's had before. Instead, it was replaced by a rather strict tone.

Turning towards Gemini, Seira went to say something, but her voice got caught in her throat.

Reaching his hand over, Gemini grabbed onto her hand. "We should go. We're the only ones who saw what happened, so we'd be able to give an account on it." Given that they were in the only room with windows, she doubted anyone was actually in the repair ship.

"Yeah…" Gemini nodded his head along, moving over towards the door.

Just what the hell was going on…

Cafeteria

Most of the people were able to gather up in the cafeteria quickly, leaving Gemini and Seira as the only people who hadn't arrived yet.

"Nova, what is going on?" Gigi opened up the conversation. It almost felt as if something had hit the station.

Glancing around, Nova could spot everyone here, except for the aforementioned two. "It would be for the best if the last two were here as well. I believe they would aid in my explanation."

"Why the hell do we need to wait?" Atlas took a step forward. "I don't give a shit about those two, just-"

Suddenly, the elevator doors open, letting Seira and Gemini step out. Taking a glance around, they quickly noticed that they were the last two participants to join. "Nova…" Gemini took a few steps forward. "Is this about what just happened?"

"Yes, it is." Nova tilted her head, before looking upwards.

Momentarily, Monokawa descended from the ceiling. "Like I said, that was only the secondary motive! Now, it's time for the main motive."

With how little everyone knew, it was ominous.

"Wait." Seira called out, taking a step back. "That's the main motive?"

"Hmm?" Lorelei raised an eyebrow. "You act like you've seen it firsthand."

"We have." Gemini frowned slightly, placing his hands on his hips. "The space station was hit with an asteroid."

"W-what?" Edison mumbled out. "Are there any damages to the station?"

"None." Seira mumbled out. "The glass seemed to remain intact."

There was a sigh of relief amongst everyone gathered, before Monokawa decided to break it up. "Of course there's no damage! What kind of shit motive would it be if it broke the station in one hit!"

Nova nodded her head along. "The station was built with a significant amount of resilient material, so one asteroid should not damage the station as a whole. However…" That pause was ominous. "It's not made to take several hits. After a while, there's a chance that the station could break."

Narrowing their eyes, Lorelei shook her head. "What? Why would you do a motive like that with you on board?"

"Haha, I'm not too worried about myself." Nova's expression changed to one of joy.

Gigi frowned slightly. "Why would it not be a concern for you?"

"The why doesn't matter…" Nova shook her head. "The more important thing is how you can handle all of this."

Edison swirled around a flask. "It doesn't really matter, right? If the station is able to handle asteroids, what concern is there? This hardly seems like a motive."

Monokawa shrugged, letting out a small laugh. "While it might not be able to affect you inside the station, there are still things outside that you might want to worry about."

The first person to clue things in was May. "Is that why we have access to the repair ship…" She hummed out with a yawn.

Hae-Won narrowed eyes a bit. "Are you saying that soon we'll have to fix this station?"

Nova nodded her head along. "We made sure you have the means to repair things if the need arises."

"What the hell!" Atlas stomped his foot down. "This is your station! Why the hell do we need to fix things?"

Having mostly stayed off to the side, Michael finally spoke up. "Because… The things that break are going to be a hindrance for us…"

"Right right!" Nova cheered on. "There are a few things that you wouldn't want broken out there… It would make living here rather tedious."

Placing a hand on her hip, Gigi let out a sigh. "Are you able to provide an example.

Silence.

Rolling their eyes, Lorelei placed a hand on her hip. "As if they'd tell us anything. Use your brain next time."

"Um…" Seira raised her hand, just to get Nova's attention. When she was spotted, she began to speak. "But, are we allowed to know when these asteroids are appearing?"

"Why the fuck would we tell you that?" Monokawa zoomed over, stopping a few inches away from her face. "Were you born stupid or something?"

Not backing down, Seira continued on. "Because… If we need to repair something, wouldn't it be bad if we got hit by an asteroid."

For a moment, Nova contemplated this, before a green check mark appeared on her face. "Good point! I would be happy to provide a tracker for everyone."

"What!?" Now Monokawa was pissed. "And what? Just let them not worry about getting hit? That defeats the purpose!"

That was also true! Except this was Nova's game. "You have to remember, what I say goes."

Grumbling under his breath, Monokawa floated away, leaving the cafeteria entirely.

Turning to face the others, Nova shook her head. "My apologies… He just wants to see someone get obliterated by an asteroid."

"Don't we all?" Gennosuke let out a small chuckle before realising that he was getting a bunch of weird looks. "Have you never heard of a joke?" He frowned.

Deciding to ignore his antics, Nova continued. "Tomorrow, I will provide a machine in navigation for you all to use. It might be rather rudimentary, but it should still get the job done."

"Don't you have the technology to make something better?" Lorelei hadn't seen the machine, and she was already complaining. Classic Lorelei.

Letting out a small sigh, Nova shook her head. "I'm afraid that isn't possible, given I am being forced to make such a device with so little notice."

"Huh?" Edison blinked. "You mean you didn't have anything planned beforehand?"

With a giggle, Nova shook her head. "Nope. It wasn't until Seira pointed out some flaws that I saw the error. Like I said, I would be more than happy to rectify that."

Looking around, Winter decided that they might as well keep asking questions. "So… You said there are important parts located outside the station. Would you be able to clarify exactly what those parts are? It would be a shame if someone broke, and we didn't know what it was." She had to think about survival here.

Slowly, Nova shook her head. "While I would normally tell you, that's also part of the motive."

"Fucking finally!" Monokawa rolled his eyes, his body following a few seconds later as he spun around. "You were starting to aggravate me with how much you were willing to tell them."

Letting out a small laugh, Nova shook her head, looking over at him. "I only try to be fair with my motives." Back towards the participants. "Now, that is all the information I am willing to divulge. The rest must be learnt by you in the coming days."

As Nova began to walk away, she stopped for a brief moment, before turning her head towards all of them. However, her visor appeared to be blank, lacking a facial expression. "I advise you not to let this motive last for too long… However…"

With her gone, everyone felt a bit uneasy.

Of course, Gigi was the first one to speak up. "As soon as we get the machine from Nova, we should make sure to keep a careful eye on it."

"I'll do it!" Edison adjusted his goggles, a smile on his face. "I trust myself with it the most."

"But wouldn't it be best if I was the one who watched it?" Seira crossed her arms, frowning slightly. "I've been hanging out around navigation these last few days, so I would already be in the area."

Taking a step forward, Edison shook his head, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Nonono. See, I'm the science person, so it falls into my category."

Not wanting to let Edison win, Seira also took a step forward. "However, your science is only chemistry. My entire talent has to do with space itself."

Another step from Edison.

…

"Fake science."

That seemed to piss off Seira again. "Will you stop-"

"So." Lorelei was now standing between the two of them. "When do the two of you kiss?"

"W-what?" Seira narrowed her eyes, taking a step back.

Lorelei couldn't help but snicker at her reaction. "Sorry, you were starting to annoy me. Just fucking take turns or something, and shut up." They moved away from the group.

Gemini let out a small sigh, seeing this entire scene play out in front of him. "Yeah, work together, or I'll be the one to check up on things."

Seira remained silent for a few seconds, before glancing towards Edison.

"I guess we could work together."

God kill her now.

"So is that all solved?" Gigi wanted to have everything figured out now, as opposed to waiting until tomorrow."

"Seems like it." Gemini nodded his head with a confident smile on his face. "I'll probably tag along just to make sure that nothing goes wrong." The two wouldn't stop bickering. It was even like that during their DnD game.

Why couldn't they just be friends?

Standing up, Hae-Won let out a small sigh. "Well, if you have that covered." She wasn't going to get involved in any of that.

For now, it seemed like a dumb motive. So unless something drastic happened, she'd be paying it no mind.

Ultimate Knife Thrower Station

Despite the motive starting up today, the group had other plans in mind.

In fact, only one person seemed to be in direct opposition to this. "Are you three sure this is a good idea?" Dae-Hyun crossed his arms, watching the three of them from a distance.
Tatiana waved her hand dismissively. "Ha! Nonsense! Just because a motive has started, doesn't mean we should halt our show. We promised the people a show for tomorrow, and they'll get a show for tomorrow!"

Letting out a sigh, Dae-Hyun shook his head. "That's not what I mean… With a show like this, wouldn't it be dangerous to run your talent? If something goes wrong-"

"Nothing will go wrong." Tatiana reassured, looking away for a moment.

Still, Dae-Hyun was having some doubts, if the deep frown on his face was any indication. "Still… I expect a lot of caution going into your part of the show."

"Haha! Have a little bit more faith!" Tatiana twirled her knife around. "Did you not recall what Nova said? There shall be a tracker. Knowing when an asteroid would hit will be an immense help to our show! We will simply schedule it at a different time for no interference."

Remaining silent for a few seconds, Dae-Hyun crossed his arms. "..." She was right, but he still couldn't help but be cautious.

Still, he didn't want to bring the show to a stop. "Fine… You've got me there." He relented, looking the other way. "Now, what exactly do we need for the show?"

After a few seconds, Melody popped out from the back, having just returned from the storage area. "Everything should be in order." She nodded her head.

While everything for the main act was decided, there was still something nagging at Tatiana's mind. "Ah! Right!" She glanced up, looking above the stage. "I know what we're missing! Decorations!"

"Huh? Where are we supposed to get those?" Melody took a step back. There were none in the back, and none of the other rooms really provided what they needed.

Slowly, Tatiana glanced over at Dolly, who had been here the entire time.

"W-what?" Why was she being stared at with… so much intent?

"There's probably a ton of things we could grab from Dolly's station." Tatiana reasoned. We could hang some of the doll-"

"Master! Master! They think the dolls are witches!" Dolly began to panic.

Perhaps she had chosen the wrong set of words. "Suspend! Suspend the dolls! Yes! That is exactly what I meant." What a terrible blunder. "We could do that during Benjamin's show, and we could have appropriate decorations for all the shows."

Melody was all for the idea. "Yes, I'd get everything ya need." With that, she was gone.

"What would even be appropriate for your show?" Dae-Hyun raised an eyebrow… Not that anyone could see that.

Boy needed a haircut.

"Haha!" Tatiana laughed with such confidence, only for it to disappear almost immediately. "I do not know… I could suspend some of my boring knives." Twirling one around to make a point. "After all, I want to use my specialty knives for the show instead." She bounced off the stage to approach them.

"Woah!" Dolly called out, looking at them. "These are all yours?"

"Yes, they are marvellous as I am. Truly, fit for my usage only." Tatiana nodded her head along, before turning her focus back to Dae-Hyun. "We have until tomorrow to decide what to do. By then, the greatest show in space will be held."

Dolly slowly turned to look at her. "You know, I don't think that's very hard to beat."

"And beat it, it shall never be." The first and only show in space! Unless technology advances at a rapid rate-

Dae-Hyun crossed his arms, thinking for a moment. "You seem to want to put a lot of focus on this show, huh…"

"Yes! Well, it's nice to see the people smile for a change." Tatiana began to explain. Mostly because the people had done anything but that, it felt. And she wanted to help in any way she could.

Dae-Hyun could understand that sentiment. He was going to say something, but something moving to his left caught his attention.

"Hmm…" Melody hummed out, having just returned from the back. "We appear to be missing stuff."

Bringing his hand to his chin, Dae-Hyun spoke up. "And what would that be?"

"A ladder." Melody glanced upwards, seeing some of the stuff they'd need to fix.

Oh? Was that it? "There should be a ladder in Atlas' station." Dae-Hyun shrugged. He should know, he had to move it around a few times.

"Oh! Oh!" Dolly raised her hand up. "Let me go! Let me go! This sounds like a two person job."

Dae-Hyun was about to argue how Dolly didn't count as a person, but he also wasn't about to argue with a doll. "Sure." He answered shortly.

"Um…" Melody wanted to point it out, but the duo was already gone. "You just let them leave?"

"Eh…" Dae-Hyun got himself on stage. That's when he finally noticed the water tank. "Wait, why is that out?"

"Haha!" Tatiana offered no further explanation.

Given that Dae-Hyun was getting nowhere with her, he shifted his gaze over to Melody.

"Haha! I know from nothing." She was pretty confident when she said that.

Letting out a sigh, Dae-Hyun shook his head. None of the other people were ever this problematic.

However, it didn't take him long to realise something. "Wait, where is Laki?" Melody was supposed to be watching him.

"Her? She's in the back area." Melody hummed out, dancing her way over towards the area behind the stage.

Shaking his head, Dae-Hyun followed her. "If she's in the cage, this entire thing would have been pointless." Might as well just leave her locked up in her room.

Instead, no, she wasn't. Laki was just roaming around through the things.

After noticing the group entering into the room, Laki waved, although she attempted to avoid eye contact… Or saying anything, honestly. She knew most people still hated her, so there wasn't much she could do.

"See?" Melody saw no harm in how she was handling things. "She's still just right here."

"..." Turning to look at Melody, Dae-Hyun sighed. "The whole point of watching her is to make sure your eyes are always on her…"

Melody shrugged. "But she can't really leave the big house, so it's fine."

Another term he wouldn't be able to grasp, so Dae-Hyun didn't even bother. "Just watch her better… I don't want her on the loose…"

Why did these kinds of things always fall on him? Scratching his head, he turned to walk away from the back, to join back up with Tatiana. "After the decorations, what else do you need?"

"Consent." Wh- None of these people could speak normally.

Melody spoke like it was the 1920's.

Tatiana spoke as if she was always trying to appease a crowd.

And don't even get Dae-Hyun started on Benjamin-

"What." He stared blankly at her.

"Haha! What I mean, is I need a volunteer for one of the acts! All I need to do is find him." Tatiana struck a pose, glancing over at the door.

Which told Dae-Hyun that she was going to make a run for it, whether he wanted her to or not. "Whatever…" Managing these three was definitely a much different challenge than before.

Hell, this wasn't even his usual line of work.

Briefly, he turned to look at Melody, just to give Tatiana the opening she wanted.

So when he glanced back, she had vanished to who knows where. "God…"

"Aren't you excited?" Melody smiled his way. "Our own show, just in space."

Now he was going to start sounding like Monokawa, not getting paid enough for half of this stuff.

Instead, Dae-Hyun just let out a small sigh, shaking his head. "Ecstatic…" He replied sarcastically, before moving over towards the audience area.

Ultimate Soccer Player Station

With a mission in hand, Benjamin entered into the soccer field, only to find out that he wouldn't be alone.

Although, what else would be expected? Currently, Atlas was located inside, playing soccer to seemingly acquire more coins.

Watching him for a few seconds, Dolly spoke up. "We should go say hi!"

The duo walked over to Atlas, who hadn't noticed the two of them yet. With one swift kick, he got the last ball into the net, netting him more coins to add to his collection. "There we go…" He mumbled out.

Without giving him any warning, Dolly called out to him. "Good day, Atlas!"

Caught off guard, Atlas twisted his body around, attempting to deliver a swift kick, which just barely missed decapitating Dolly.

"Woah!" Dolly yelled out as Benjamin took a step back.

After a few seconds of registering what happened, Atlas furrowed his brows. "Tsk… Don't fucking sneak up on people, and this won't happen."

"Master wasn't trying to sneak up on you!" Dolly crossed her arms. "We were just trying to have a conversation!"

"Then you've come to the wrong place." Atlas moved over to the scanner. With a scan of the bracelet, he started another game. "Buzz off."

"What are we? A fly?" Dolly raised her hands in the air. "Master! This man is so mean! Everytime we try and talk to him-"

Slowly, Atlas tilted his head towards them, giving a dark look. "What part of going away, don't you understand?"

For a moment, Dolly shut up, only staring into his eyes.

"S-stop that… creepy fucking doll." Atlas turned his attention back towards the net. "Why even disturb me anyways?" Nobody really ever took the time to talk to him out of nowhere. And when they did, it was to annoy the fuck out of him like Gennosuke did.

"Well!" Dolly didn't really have a reason to. "You just seemed… lonely."

For a moment, Atlas stopped what his kick mid swing, frowning slightly. "So what if I'm lonely?" He completed the kick, sending the ball right into the net. "Sometimes, it's better this way."

Something Dolly couldn't agree with. "How would it be better to be lonely? Don't you want friends?"

"Never had them." Another kick into the net. "And I don't need them."

Not having friends… Dolly's arms plopped down to the side, before she turned to look at Benjamin. "Master! He's never had any friends! He's almost like-"

Being made to look back at Atlas, Dolly stammered a bit. "Everyone needs friends!"

"Tsk…" It didn't seem like Dolly was going to be leaving any time soon, so Atlas was just going to have to deal with this. "Nobody ever stopped to be my friend, so why care now?"

Such a lonely life… "Because something like that eats you up!"

"Not like anyone likes my company." Another kick into the net. And he didn't like the company of anyone here…

Well… Except for maybe one person, but they probably just tolerated him.

"I like your company." Dolly crossed her arms. Was it true? Hard to tell, but this was their second free time event together, so it had to mean SOMETHING. Nobody talks to Atlas this much unless they're named Gigi.

For a moment, Atlas stopped what he was doing, turning to look over at Dolly. "Why the hell would you enjoy talking to me?" Such a fucking lie.

Seeing that Atlas didn't believe her, it made her a bit sad. "Because… Because…" She didn't really have a valid reason. Was it because of what they spoke about last time?

"See? That's what I thought." Now that Atlas knew for sure it was a lie, he went back to kicking the ball into the net without any problem. "You can go away now."

No…

Dolly wasn't going to give up that easily. "Listen to me!" She lifted her hands up in the air.

For a moment, Atlas stopped, either to resist yelling, or just to contemplate what he should do now.

"Just because-" Dolly had begun to say, before being knocked away.

With a swift kick, Atlas had kicked Dolly right out of Benjamin's hands. "Do you now know how to listen…"

Somehow, despite that, Benjamin was perfectly able to recreate the Wilhelm scream as Dolly flew a few feet back.

When she landed on the ground, she was perfectly intact.

Quickly, Benjamin moved over to get her. Mostly because he didn't feel like he could talk without her.

Once Dolly was back in position, she wasted no time verbalising her frustration. "What was that for?" She raised her hands in the air. "You could have killed me!"

"You aren't a person. You're just a doll." Atlas wasn't looking at them. "I doubt Monokawa would call a trial for that."

Dolly grew quiet hearing that. Of course there wouldn't be a trial if she got destroyed.

"That's what I thoug-" Atlas had begun to say, before being cut off.

"Why do you do that?" For once, Dolly wasn't trying to sound happy and funny. Instead, it felt more like a serious moment.

Something that caused Atlas to hesitate for a moment.

However, it wasn't long before he spoke again. "Why would someone like you even want to be friends with someone like me? There's no merit to it."

Dolly wasn't too sure of the reason. Maybe it was because of past experience, or because she hated seeing Atlas like this… but… "Hey, I'm not going to stop trying, alright!" She raised her hands in the air.

Just the words Atlas hated to hear. "Do whatever you fucking want, I don't really care right now." Would it be so much to ask for one normal fucking day around here?

For now, Benjamin and Dolly had to call it quits. They needed to bring the ladder over to Tatiana and the others. "We will meet again!" She called out, looking back at him.

Atlas was very aware of how this place worked. He would have no choice but to see them again. "Yeah, yeah… Whatever…"

It seems Dolly and Atlas have grown closer.

Ultimate Gambler Station

Now that she had a bit more money, Winter made a stop towards the casino. She didn't remember the prices of some of the prizes, so she felt the need to stop and take a look for herself.

However, she wasn't the only person in this room at the moment. Glancing over towards the side, she noticed that Gemini was currently at the roulette table.

Then, an idea popped into her head. Humming out a bit, Winter approached the table to watch him gamble. "Are you winning anything big?"

Letting out a small sigh, Gemini shook his head. "I'm trying to."

"Really? How much have you gotten up to now?" Winter scooted over closer to get a better look.

Taking a glance at his watch, he let out a sigh. "Just barely cracked two thousand." Which meant he still had three thousand to go if he even wanted to purchase the map.

Shaking her head, Winter put on a smile. "I doubt you'd be able to reach a million coins like you want. Instead, you should use your coins on something worthwhile."

"I've given up on the escape key." Gemini shook his head. "Instead, I want to focus on getting the map keycard."

Well, that was the first Winter was hearing of this. "Oh? But why would you want a map keycard?"

Letting out a sigh, Gemini continued. "Because, it's the only thing I could reasonably afford. Besides, if it's hiding behind a price like that, it must mean… something." There had to be a secret to it, or some additional information.

To Winter, this felt like a waste of time. For the most part, she didn't see any use for a map, given that the station wasn't too big as of yet. "It looks like you should reach your goal soon." Which meant, she could likely get Gemini to aid her in her own quest.

"I spoke to Seira yesterday." She added.
For a moment, Gemini stopped what he was doing. "You did?"

Nodding her head along, Winter continued. "Yes. Since my station opened up two days ago, I've been wanting to use it for its intended purpose, so I offered her a session with me. It went well." But enough about the setup, time for the real reason she was talking to him right now. "In fact, my services are open if you want to try them."

That offer did seem to interest him. "Really?" Gemini glanced off to the side, deep in thought.

"Of course, it would cost you the same amount it did for Seira-"

Hearing that, Gemini shook his head. "Pass, then. I don't want to have to spend any money if I can avoid it."

"Oh…" Winter sounded a bit disappointed, but she quickly put a smile back on. "Very well. Sorry for disturbing you."

As she began to walk away, Gemini stopped her. "Why do you want the money so much anyways?"

Oh… She was not expecting to have to answer that. But there was also no point in lying. "I wish to purchase something from the shop. That's all…"

Well, nothing good came from the shop. "And what would that be?" Gemini crossed his arms.

"... I don't have to answer that question. Tee-hee." Winter played around with a strand of hair. "I'm just taking the necessary precautions to guarantee my safety."

Thinking for a moment extra, Gemini let out a sigh. Winter hadn't exactly done anything wrong yet, so he had no reason to be suspicious. "Alright, I believe you. Sorry that I can't help you out with money."

"No, don't be. We both have our own needs." Winter didn't seem to mind. "I wouldn't want to get in your way."

Still… She at least wanted to check the price of what she wanted, just to make sure.

Walking over towards the prize corner, Winter found that she wasn't the only one there either. "Oh, hello May."

Slowly, May turned to look at her. "Oh… Hello…" She was holding onto a large teddy bear.

Cute, of course she would purchase something like that. However, that's not what Winter was here to look at. Scanning the display of items, she eventually found what she wanted. A thousand coins… Taking a glance at her coin total, Winter couldn't help but frown as her total didn't even reach five hundred yet… She would actually need to gamble.

"Goodnight…" May yawned, stepping away from the counter. Slowly, she hugged the teddy bear. This would do nicely for her room.

Winter let out a small sigh. "Monokawa, there isn't any way to get a discount."

Quickly, he flew over towards the window. "Are you kidding me? Why the hell would I give you a discount?"

Humming to herself, Winter shrugged. "I see no logic in hiding some of these items behind a paywall."

Letting out a snarky laugh, Monokawa shook his head. "I have a business to run, and I'm not going to have you lecture me on how to do it." Floating away from the glass, he shook his head again. "Have a nice night!"

Damn… That left her with minimal options, it seemed. "Very well." Feigning politeness, Winter did a quick bow, before turning to walk away.

"Hmm?" A voice called out as she turned around. "Whatcha buying out here?" It was Lorelei.

Frowning slightly at her appearance, Winter glanced the other way. "Just trying to remember what some of the prices are." Winter lied, twirling a strand of hair with her finger. "After all, Ian bought a few things last time, so I was getting ready to be cautious."

Who did she think Lorelei was? Some dumb bitch? Ah, as if. "You're not going to be able to fool me. I know you wanted to buy something."

"What is it to you?" Winter kept up a smile, but her eyes told a different story. "You seem to be here too?"

"Ha, because I'm going to buy something. And unlike you, I don't lie about these sorts of things." Lorelei moved past her, standing at the counter.

"..." Winter said nothing, instead choosing to look directly at Lorelei the entire time.

Feeling the staring, Lorelei finally turned to look at her. "What?"

"How much money do you even have?" Winter tilted her head slightly, remembering that Lorelei never mentioned her coin total before.

Then again, with everything that's happened, it could be very different by now.

"Not that much, honestly…" Lorelei shook their head. "Only about five thousand coins right now."

"W-what?" Now that didn't make any sense… Winter had never seen Lorelei really hang out around the casino. Not that she herself was here often. "How did you get that much?"

"I like games. Simple as that." Now, Lorelei fully understood why Winter hadn't actually bought anything. "You know, if you're feeling low, you can always go get money from your boyfriend." They teased her, before walking away from the prize corner.

For a brief moment, Michael appeared in her head…

Before Winter quickly shook the idea out. "No, that would defeat the purpose."

Besides, with how things turned out, she had doubts Michael would even want to help her out in the first place…

With that, she left the casino, trying to think of other things.

Psi Sector

Here Michael was… Unable to sleep again. Although, maybe this feeling of isolation was becoming a bit too much for him. Despite isolating himself… He… He just hated being alone. Maybe he should move his room back soon with the others, or maybe…

What he hadn't expected was to hear such a loud sound…

…

BANG!

Freezing up slightly, he glanced around. He was heading towards the Omicron Sector… but the sound seemed to come from the other side of the Psi Sector, where the garden was. "What the…?"

Throwing caution to the wind, Michael moved down the corridor to see if he could find out who did this. "No… No…" Another murder? So quickly after the last one. This… This couldn't-

However, when he got to the end of the hallway… Nothing.

Not a single person was here.

"What…?" They couldn't have snuck past Michael, given that he was blocking off the path the entire time.

But it didn't take very long to figure out just what had happened. "..." Slowly, Michael approached the vacant room… Except it was no longer vacant…

Based on the colour of the display, Michael could tell that someone had claimed this room.

The only problem was that he couldn't read the display at all, on account to the bullet that was currently lodged right in the display.

From seeing this, it was very obvious where that person was currently hiding. "Come out…" Michael called out.

To no avail… Even if he knocked on the door, nothing.

"Dammit…" Michael took a step away. He was already tired, so he didn't want to have to deal with this right now.

If he fell asleep right outside their door, that'd do him no good.

So, he thought of the best course of action. All he had to do was check which name was missing from the vacant rooms, and he could figure out who it was.

It was a bit of a walk to reach there, but he soon arrived where everyone else was sleeping. In fact, nobody else was around, just him. "Let's see…" Michael mumbled out to himself, counting off each name as he passed by them.

"Wait…"

No… That didn't… That didn't make any sense…

…

No names were missing…

Which meant that the person who did that… couldn't have been one of them…

"I…" This was all getting very confusing for Michael.

Just when he was about to start knocking at doors, he heard an announcement play out.

"It is not nighttime! I advise everyone to return to their room, and please ignore any shaking you might feel in the night. That's just the motive in full force, baby! But trust me, soon enough, this motive will become… very dangerous…"

The announcement ended with laughter from Monokawa, which only served to make Michael shiver a bit more. "I…" He should bring this up with the others tomorrow…

Was it possible someone was setting up a murder like Ian had been? Well, that wasn't something he was just going to leave to chance…

With that, he scanned his watch on one of the empty rooms, and moved inside.

Oh boy! Motive time! Now, I know this definitely seems like a very different motive than anything else that's out there, but I really wanted to make use of the space location, and what better way than to pelt the participants with asteroids? Haha. Have fun with that. I'm sure these might start being a concern in a bit.

Also, hello! Nathan hear speaking to you from my new job :o I wasn't able to get the chapter done before I started, so I guess you're stuck with a later chapter than I had intended. How's work going so far? I have no clue, actually, I prewrite these author notes a few days before I post the chapter. I just have no confidence in myself that this will come out before I leave for work.

For reference I'm writing this author's note on the 1st, and I start work on the 3rd. Absolutely ZERO confidence. If somehow… This is out before then, well… Huh… SHIT.

Guess I'll keep this in.

Anyways, we already got some people doing stuff in the background. But it could be anyone! Welp! Guess we won't find out about that until later.

As for my plans now, my posting is going to slow down for sure, given that I will be working… 14 days in a row… At ten hours a day… But hey, I'll probably start writing bits and pieces of the trial, at the very least. That should help me when I come back. I only expect two other chapters to be posted this month, but that should get us almost to the body, so that's exciting!

With that, have a nice day, and hope you enjoyed the chapter. Nathan, out.

Participants Remaining: 16

Edison Thompton - The Ultimate Chemist [SilverMark16]

Seira Natsume - The Ultimate Astrologist [WolfieRed23]

Winter Hibiscus - The Ultimate Love Guru [Grandma Sue]

Giustina "Gigi" Giulio - The Ultimate Referee [Nekoja]

Gemini Strela - The Ultimate Escapist [secretnobody]

Benjamin Mason - The Ultimate Ventriloquist [NSPunny]

Lorelei Kaiser - The Ultimate Computer Security Specialist [CandleFire45]

Michael Astrophel - The Ultimate Cult Leader [Omakin]

Melody Eleanor Hopkins - The Ultimate Tap Dancer [Prince PokePersona]

Kim Dae-Hyun - The Ultimate Talent Manager [oddlyillregular]

Lakshmi "Laki" Krishna - The Ultimate Lucky Student [Sempi]

May Summers - The Ultimate Academic Prodigy [KadachiNova]

Tatiana Novak - The Ultimate Knife Thrower [ExtraMeme]

Atlas Constande - The Ultimate Soccer Player [ComplicatedYetSimple]

Gennosuke Yagami - The Ultimate Psychic [theotakureader101]

Kim Hae-Won - The Ultimate Tattoo Artist [Weekaro]