Hey, all! I'm back again! Time to finish up the exploration of the third floor! I don't have anything else I can think of to say here, so...enjoy~! Thanks again to Candle and Sempi for betating!

Chiasa observed the scene before her, unsure of just what to say.

A long table stood in the center of the field she, Yoshi and Fuwari had found while exploring the third floor. Around the field were tall trees, sycamore she thought, which left the entire area in a dead end, but that was hardly as eye catching as what was on the table itself.

The table was filled with all sorts of sweets, from cakes to cupcakes and more in between that Chiasa couldn't identify, and twenty places were available with each one having a plate and a tea cup in front of it. A trio of tea pots were in the center, steam rising from the spouts. At the two heads of the table were two masked servants, one dressed in bright blue and green with a lopsided hat on their head while the other was dressed in warm brown and gold with floppy rabbit ears. Butterflies were flying around and music curled through the air…literally, Chiasa could see music notes dancing around the table.

"Oh!" Fuwari gasped, her eyes wide in awe as she looked at everything around them. "It's the Mad Hatter's tea party! I hoped there would be something like this here!"

She stepped closer to the table, but Chiasa gently grabbed her arm, holding her back. Fuwari looked back at her, looking confused.

"It's better if we go together," Chiasa explained. She stepped forward, guiding Fuwari behind her, feeling the knife she always kept at her side and her mini-bow hidden up her sleeve. "The previous floors might not have been inherently deadly, but this one is different."

"I agree." Yoshi nodded, stepping forward on Fuwari's other side. "Alice in Wonderland is known for being dangerous for the heroine. There is the chance that this floor matches the story."

Fuwari slowly nodded in agreement, coughing just a bit into her hand as she let Chiasa lead the way.

Once the three approached the table, the Mad Hatter waved brightly at them while the Hare jumped excitedly, approaching them with a scroll in hand, already unrolled. Tentatively, Chiasa took the scroll from him and began to read it aloud.

"Welcome to our Tea Party, where we celebrate all unbirthdays! Queen Monored may forbid our fun, but for her, the roses are more important! The Mad Candle makes the best tea in all of the Palace, certified by the nameless prince himself! Join us and celebrate your own unbirthday!"

"That doesn't seem too bad," Fuwari said, her voice hesitant despite her optimistic words. "But, um…what does it mean by the 'best tea'?"

The Mad Hatter—no, Mad Candle raised a finger to where their mouth should be, miming a shushing motion.

"It's a secret?" Chiasa asked in a deadpan tone of voice. Mad Candle nodded frantically at that while the Hare tried to usher them all to have a seat. "I don't think so."

"I agree. Considering the note we found in the sitting room earlier, it's unwise to trust any sustenance on this floor," Yoshi stated firmly, crossing his arms as he glared at the two servants. "Now, if you have nothing else for us, we'll be taking our leave."

Both Mad Candle and the Hare deflated at that, their bodies practically bent in half as if they were puppets with their strings cut. Chiasa, if she were anyone else, might have found the sight amusing. But because she was herself, she instead guided Fuwari and Yoshi towards the sycamores, keeping an eye on the two servants as she did so.

They remained exactly where they were, as if a movie screen had been paused and they would only come to life when the audience pressed play. Even for someone with Chiasa's experiences, it was a creep scene to watch.

Once they were amongst the trees, Chiasa turned and took point again, leading Fuwari and Yoshi further in. As they walked, Chiasa making note of every turn they made, she felt Fuwari's arm slip just a bit free from her grasp until the indie filmmaker's hand was held in hers.

It was a touch which Chiasa was still growing used to, considering how tactile a person Fuwari was. And yet at the same time, it felt familiar and soothed an ache she hadn't even been aware of in her soul. The only other time she felt such reassurance was with her wolves or when Yoshi stood at her side, trusting her implicitly.

It was all far, far too much and most certainly not something she should be thinking about right now, so Chiasa shoved those thoughts far into the back of her mind and instead focused on guiding her companions through the trees.

When they emerged to the other side, Chiasa found herself almost wishing they hadn't.

Though the area itself was beautiful, with a large pool designed to look like a river filled with lily pads and a pair of dolphins supplying the water in the center, off to the side of the pool was someone Chiasa had truly hoped to avoid during the exploration of this floor.

Satou and Jordan stood on the path a bit away from the pool, examining two doors which were next to each other, one with a bird emblem and the other with ribbons surrounding a person. The path itself led further through the sycamores, though it seemed to be the correct way to have reached this area rather than the haphazard one Chiasa had led them through in order to leave the tea party behind.

Satou turned just a bit at the sound of their footsteps and a bright smile formed on her face.

"Fae! You're here!" she grinned, running forward to pull on Fuwari's free hand, causing the filmmaker to stumble out of Chiasa's grasp. "I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't see you and it just wouldn't be fun to explore this part on my own!"

"W-What part is that?" Fuwari asked, unsure in the same way she'd been since the revelation they'd all had in the first trial. Chiasa couldn't blame her, considering she was fighting the ridiculous urge to rip Fuwari from the executive producer's grasp. The only reasons she didn't was because Yoshi was at her back and for some inexplicable reason, she knew it meant to wait.

"Why, our rooms of course!" Satou beamed. Her eyes lit up and if she were anyone else, Chiasa would find her adorable. "Jordie thought we should wait too, anyway. Right, Jordie?"

"Yeah…" Jordan agreed, scratching sheepishly at his cheek. "Safety in numbers and all that, right?"

"A logical decision, Jordan. I have to say that I approve," Yoshi stated. He stepped forward, clapping Jordan on the shoulder. Jordan smiled a bit shakily and Chiasa narrowed her eyes as she observed him. Though, it wasn't too surprising, considering the terrible murders they'd seen so far. That would make anyone shaky. "Now then, where shall we investigate first?"

"My room! Come on!" Satou declared, tugging Fuwari and Jordan to the door to the left marked with what Chiasa assumed was meant to be her fairy tale.

Chiasa couldn't help but wonder just how strong Satou had to be in order to so easily pull both Jordan and Fuwari along with her. Though Fuwari was frail in appearance, Jordan was the exact opposite in terms of his frame. It was possible he was simply going along with Satou's shenanigans, but Chiasa wasn't sure even Jordan's kind nature went that far.

A gentle touch to her elbow startled Chiasa from her thoughts, but unlike with anyone else, her body didn't react by suddenly tossing Yoshi into the nearest wall, or in this case sycamore but whatever. Instead, it was as if her body knew that it was him, even when she wasn't paying attention. It was unlike anything else Chiasa had ever experienced with another person, as if even when her mind couldn't recall a single prior interaction, her body knew she trusted him intrinsically.

"Shall we join them?" Yoshi suggested, tilting his head slightly.

"I suppose we should," Chiasa agreed. She didn't like the idea of leaving Fuwari with Satou for too long so, with Yoshi at her side, she entered the new room.

The first thing Chiasa noted upon stepping inside the room was just how overwhelmingly pink it was. The walls, the floor, even the ceiling were all various shades of the color, all of them just slightly different enough that it didn't all blend together. There was even a fuzzy pink carpet that was just slightly darker than the floor near an office desk, allowing the person using the desk to curl their toes into the soft carpet.

Covering the walls were various posters, some showing Monokuma in various familiar encouraging poses such as him hanging from a tree branch with the words 'Hang in there!' sprawled in cursive along the top while others showed various TV shows that Chiasa didn't recognize, though she assumed they were connected to Satou in some way, given the way the characters for her last name were plastered on each one.

The office desk itself was set up with a computer and various documents, but none of what they talked about made sense to Chiasa. Near the center of the room was a coffee table and couches, littered with toy guns, candy dispensers and ribbons similar to those which were on Satou's formal wear. The rest of the room had various filing cabinets, shelves full of DVDs, a green screen to capture animation, a sound booth and even a scene drawing board. Bright pop music filled the air, giving the feeling of a bright personality.

Satou let out a high pitched squeal as she ran in, examining the DVDs before she moved on to all the technology in the room.

"Fae! Jordie! Look, look! Ohmigod, do you know how expensive this is?!" Satou gasped as she examined the animation equipment. "Fae! Have you ever used this before?"

"N-No." Fuwari shook her head, her eyes wide in awe. Her fingers trembled as she trailed them across the scene drawing board. "I'm just an indie filmmakers, I couldn't afford anything like this."

"And you're still an Ultimate, that's really impressive," Jordan complimented, smiling slightly.

"Do you use all of this, Satou?" Chiasa questioned, unable to deny her own curiosity. It all seemed so expensive and extravagant, but she didn't really know much about what Satou's talent entailed.

"Personally? No, I just tell my crew what to do," Satou corrected, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "But they use all of this to make everything come to life beautifully! They capture my vision perfectly!"

"And are these part of your creative process as well?" Yoshi asked blandly. Chiasa turned towards him, finding him in what she assumed was the office break area. Satou followed her gaze, skipping over easily.

"Yep! Everyone needs a break sometimes!" she smiled, stopping at his side. Bending down, Satou picked up one of the ribbons which laid on the table, showing the weight it was tied to. "This is new though…maybe leftovers from my costume?"

"Your costume doesn't involve weights though," Jordan protested, crossing his arms as he joined them. His gaze flickered to Chiasa. "Could they be used as weapons?"

Chiasa lifted the weight, comparing it to the other weights she's held over the years. It didn't feel too heavy that she needed more than one hand to hold it, but it most certainly wasn't light by any means.

"Certainly." She nodded. "For example, if I were to throw this at a person, at best it would leave them unconscious."

"And at worst?" Yoshi wondered.

"Dead in seconds," Chiasa stated bluntly. "Before you ask, I'd say we remove all of them, along with these guns."

"What? But they're just toys! I play with them on my breaks all the time!" Satou protested, a whine in her voice.

"And how can we guarantee they're just toys?" Chiasa proposed, narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms. "All of the rooms so far have had weapons that seem innocent at first glance. If we leave them, especially obvious weapons like these, then we're just inviting more deaths."

"I agree." Yoshi nodded, already scooping up the various guns and ribbons which Satou had left sitting around. "I was too lax with the previous rooms, I'm not going to continue to let this pattern repeat. As the leader, I will help Chiasa seal these weapons away."

"And why does she get them, hmm?" Satou demanded, her hands on her hips.

"Because I don't intend on using any of them," Chiasa stated firmly. She took the weapons from Yoshi with a nod as her fingertips brushed his. "I'll be taking these to my room to secure them. You can go on without me."

"Are you sure?" Fuwari asked, turning her focus from the various equipment at last. Chiasa smiled slightly. It was cute to see how lost she got in all the equipment here, no doubt her mind filled with ideas of all the movies she could make with access to this level of technology.

"Yes. I'll be fine, Fuwari," Chiasa reassured. "Besides, there's another room here that I know you'll want to explore."

"Too true." Yoshi nodded with a smile of his own. He walked over to Fuwari's side and squeezed her shoulder. "Let us trust Chiasa with the weapons while we overlook your own room next door."

"Oh! We'll join you, won't we, Jordie?" Satou beamed, grabbing on Jordan's wrist and pulling him over.

"I admit, I am curious as to what your room has," Jordan smiled good-naturedly. "If you don't mind, of course."

"N-Not at all!" Fuwari stuttered, her eyes wide and cheeks pink. "I-If you're all certain…"

"It's right next door, after all. Chiasa, we'll meet up later in the dining hall," Yoshi stated. Chiasa nodded in agreement before she turned back towards the door, leaving the too pink room behind.

The entire Wonderland themed floor was about as headache inducing as Satou's Talent Room had been, but Chiasa navigated it all well enough. Once she reached her own room on the first floor, she made her way to the back of the 'cottage', where the door to the backyard waited.

Once she stepped back, Chiasa looked around at the various straw dummies and targets set up at various distances in the forested backyard, with no ceiling as the trees stretched up into the sky. If she looked hard enough, she could just barely see snatches of blue from the too perfect sky. The forests stretched back as far as the eye could see, giving Chiasa multiple opportunities to practice her traps and weapons.

It reminded Chiasa almost uncomfortably of her home, but she brushed it off as she focused on the task at hand.

She made her way further into the forest until she deemed herself to be far enough away from the rest of her room that nobody would notice this location at a glance. Stopping at a tree, Chiasa knelt down and piled all the weapons into the net she'd grabbed before making her way into the trees, tying it up before she threw it around her shoulder. Once she felt ready, she climbed up the tree until she reached the higher branches, where the brush was thick enough to hide her from sight.

And if she couldn't be seen, then neither could the weapons.

Reassured, Chiasa got to work.

Yoshi had come to expect many things of the Talent Rooms throughout the palace, but an entire film studio was certainly a new one.

Fuwari's Talent Room was exactly that, filled with every camera he could imagine and quite probably more than he would ever think of, with various computers lining the walls and shelves with old cartoons and films. Yoshi found himself humming in appreciation at the sight of films he recognized, classic movies that he often enjoyed alongside a cup of tea on a stormy night. There was also a TV which, given how brightly Fuwari flushed at the sight of it, was playing her own movie on it.

And in the center of the room was a large tree, stretching up high to the ceiling and far above the lights of the film set, with half a brilliant green and full of fruit with birds fluttering amongst the branches while the other half was dried and dead, bare branches extending into sharp points.

Birdsong danced in the air, interspaced with wind instruments that gave the illusion of wind and nature.

The contrast between Fuwari's room and Satou's was like night and day. If asked, Yoshi would admit he preferred Fuwari's room, but he'd never say if he wasn't asked. Part of being a leader meant being impartial after all.

"Wow, Fuwari, this is really cool," Jordan complimented as he glanced around, his hands in his pockets. "You use this equipment in your own films?"

"Yes, it took a while to get enough funds," Fuwari admitted, coughing slightly into her elbow. "But I certainly don't o-own this many cameras."

"If we could use this to make a film, it'd sell out just for the set alone!" Satou gushed as she examined the cameras and the set they pointed to. "Fae, honey, it's amazing! I could create some really awesome stuff with this and the Mike name would definitely give it the recognition it deserved!"

"Maybe you can discuss this later," Jordan gently said, smiling a little crookedly. "I'm still working on costumes, after all, and I'm…unsure if logistics would work here."

"Y-Yeah," Fuwari stuttered, latching onto that answer instantly, her eyes wide. "I-I mean, we're…we don't know if…um…"

"We're in too precarious a situation to know if any genuine work we do here would make any difference once we leave," Yoshi explained. Fuwari relaxed as he made his way to her. Once he was close enough, she leaned into his side in relief.

"Oh, you mean because none of this is real?" Satou questioned, a strange smile on her face. Chills ran down Yoshi's spine as he stared at her. "After all, what could a virtual reality do to the reality beyond it?"

"S-Satou!" Fuwari stuttered in surprise, a series of coughs escaping her. She bent over from the force of them and Yoshi grabbed on to her, possibly the only thing keeping her standing. It took a few minutes but, eventually, Fuwari caught her breath again. "You shouldn't say—"

"The truth?" Satou cut in. Her smile was still there, stretched almost unnaturally across her face. "And why not? I'm not scared. I know that I'm gonna be just fine once we're out of here. My lovely fans are far too loyal for anything to change on the outside, no matter what memories I'm missing say. I'm just being honest, after all."

"Honest, huh…" Yoshi scoffed, sarcastically. "If you were truly being honest, you would be assisting us in preventing any further deaths, not sowing further discord."

"Me? I have no idea what you're talking about!" Satou gasped, raising a hand to her mouth. "I'm simply trying to make friends and connections that will benefit me on the outside. Aren't you doing the same? After all, you're practically attached to the hip to the best weapon in this whole place! You're practically guaranteed to get out if you use her properly, after all!"

"You're referring to Chiasa," Yoshi frowned, his glare sharpening.

"Who else? After all, none of the rest of us are nearly as strong as she is," Satou pointed out. She placed a finger against her cheek as her smile widened further. "I'm just being honest, after all. You like honesty, don't you?"

"Satou…" Fuwari trailed off, trembling just a bit in Yoshi's arms. He tightened his grip around her, hoping to reassure her.

"I'm done!" Satou declared, stretching her arms above her head as she turned to Jordan with a more natural looking smile. "Jordie, what do you say to us getting some lunch? I'm hungry."

"Sure," Jordan agreed, his eyes darting up to Yoshi and Fuwari in an almost apologetic manner. "I wanted to check on some of the others before we head back anyways."

"Perfect! I wanted to talk to Iri too!" Satou clapped her hands excitedly. "Come on, let's get going then!"

Without another word or even a glance back, she grabbed Jordan's wrist and pulled him back into the hallway. As soon as they were alone, Yoshi turned back to Fuwari and gently squeezed her arms.

"Don't listen to her," he whispered. "She was just trying to get under our skin."

"But she's right," Fuwari argued, looking up at him with wide eyes. They didn't look scared though. If anything, she had a determined look in her eyes, one that left Yoshi's heart twisting uncomfortably in his chest. "We all know where we are, but we don't talk about it. That's…That's how Monokuma keeps power over us. I-If we're scared of it, then he can use it to c-c-control us. If we talk about it…maybe it won't be so scary."

Yoshi had so many things he wanted to say to her, but he didn't get any choice in the matter as a sledgehammer suddenly slammed into his head, sending him to his knees.

"Yo…no tim…can you h…"

"Yoshi! Yoshi, what's going on?!"

"Chi…why…im…"

"Ha…y som…unn…of…"

Static, so much static, even his vision was filling with it as the woman and man's voices rang in his mind. Or was it outside of his mind? It was so hard to tell, nothing made sense.

"No! Come back to me! Yoshi!"

His vision was blurring and the words the voices were saying became even more difficult to understand. What language were they even speaking? It was all gibberish to him at this point.

"No, no, no! Yoshi! Wake up!"

He was lying on his back. No…he was kneeling on the ground, wasn't he? Then why was he suddenly staring at a ceiling which was too far away? He wanted to reach out, to judge the distance, but he couldn't move his body, it was so heavy.

For just a brief moment, he could see something through the static that overwhelmed his vision, but it surely must have been his imagination.

After all, why would he even see a woman with sleepy pink eyes staring down at him through a pane of glass?

Everything cut off then in a painful blast of static and for a single moment, he thought he was dead.

"I'm sorry, but how do you expect us to trust them?" he asked, staring the woman before him down. Her expression was inscrutable, giving away no hint of what she thought of the situation or his questioning of it. "I understand the situation is dire, but for the sake of my class, I need to know that we are going to be safe."

"You know I can't guarantee that," she said, her voice apologetic without being condescending. "For all that I can calculate the outcome, the situation is too unpredictable to rely on those numbers."

"But they're—"

"I am well aware of who they are," she cut him off firmly. "But I also know that many years have passed since and they haven't been seen in the public eye in all that time. Are you truly so prejudiced as to rely on outdated data? To not trust those who put you in their care?"

"No, I suppose not," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was already in disarray, stress leaving him careless in how he looked. All he could think about, all he could afford to think about, was the endless number of possibilities that awaited them. None of them led to a good outcome by his estimation.

And history was not kind to people in their situation, even with the odds in their favor.

"Tell me this then: how likely are they to fight to keep us safe?" he asked.

"Extremely." She didn't hesitate for a second. "The two of them are just as determined as I am to keep all of you safe. After all, you are not the only targets."

"And who are the others, if I may ask?" he questioned, curious to see what answer she would give.

"Our son."

And there we are! So first things first, the music in Satou's room is actually the instrumental of The First Flight from the Light Princess Musical (another thing I did not know existed) while Fuwari's is more generic, but I think suits her well. And yes, you finally have confirmation of the situation, I've danced around it for long enough! Hope you all enjoyed this little reveal/confirmation since I know many of you suspected it already.

I don't know when the next chapter will be coming out, but remember to vote in the poll regardless if you want any say in this Chapter's FTEs. Also, happy birthday, Extra! :)

I hope you all enjoyed, see you!