doubt academy omega

FEELINGS JAM UNDER THE CUT I'M CRYING LIKE A BABY

Monomi gasps loudly and covers her mouth, a look of terror and shock forming on her face. Something was seriously wrong with her, and she knew it. But just what was it?

“̶̧̛͍̥͍̞̹̈́͗̾̓̄Wh̷̬͔̠̱̻̻̆͑̐͑̒̔-̷̬̫̩̹̫͔͐̒̈́̈́͌̚w̸̙̩͎̙̹̟̆͒̏̐̀̕hat’s ̴̧͎̬̘̠̥̇̉̃͑̽̂g̶̨̥͕̬̼̭̾̈́̎̃͐͝oÌ̸̪̘͓̦̲̺̈́̉͋̀n̵̢̬̖̦͕̭͐͊̊͋̌̾g̵̢̪̫̗̜̼̈͊̉̇̚͝ ̴̮̠̣͖̭̟̍͋̍̋̽̄oN̶̢̯̳̗͔͎̒̈́̈̾́̚?̸̧̢͙̞̳̰͂͆̐̓̃͝”̸̱͓̼̞̼̺̐͐̈́̔͒͠

Before anyone can move to help her, or before she can say anything, Monomi begins to glitch rapidly. In a few moments, she disappears entirely with a high pitched scream that continues even after she’s gone. You quickly cover your ears, trying to block out the screeching noise. It helps dull the sound a little bit, but not much, unfortunately. The skies begin to flicker from black to blue to green in rapid succession, followed by the trees, the flowers, and soon, even the ground. It’s almost as if the entire area is glitching out - did Monomi not program the area properly?

There’s no time to think about it, though - the moment the ground disappears, you find yourself free-falling through nothingness.

You open your eyes, expecting some sort of camp site, but instead, what you see is a beautiful trail that leads off into the distance. It’s nighttime - just like the destination’s name had said - and somehow, the rocks on the gravel trail are glowing… Luminescent pebbles guide your way down the path. There are trees nearby, and wild flowers sway in the cool breeze that flows through the area. It’s absolutely serene, and for a split second, you forget about the terrors you’ve experienced inside Tartarus. All that is in front of you now is what matters; even if it’s momentary, the ease you feel inside is something you desperately needed. You silently thank Monomi - she must have known just what everyone needed, and her promises… Well, they didn’t disappoint.

The rest of the group appears into the area, and shares the same fascinated awe that you had upon opening your eyes. After a few minutes, you see Monomi dash towards the group down the trail, a large grin on her face. She waves at everyone, and though you resist the urge to wave back at her, you can’t help but feel a smile start to form on your lips.

“I’m so gwad you’re all hewe! Thank you for giving me a chance, weally.”

“I worked weally, weally hard to make it absowutewy perfect for toṊ̵̳̻̬̠̝̃͐́́̀̓ǐ̸̡̧̡̬̪̠̀̉͂͌͝G̴̢͙̖̻͉̮̓͊̌̾͊̍Ḧ̵̰̘̹͖̰̬́̀̃̽̓͘t̵͔̱̦̘̣̲̒̽̍̓̍͘'̴̬̭̮͔̖̗͋̋͋̓̅̊s̴̰̮̺͍͚͚͐́̂̀̐͠ ̸͚̯̳̱̦̹̆̾͗̒̕͝f̶͚̰̭̼̮̼̃͐̈́͑̇̒Ê̷̢̧̛̲̹͚̯̽͛̚̚s̴̨͎̙͉̖͔̋̂̏͊̀̾t̶̡͖̗͔̻̂̋͐͜͝͝͝ỉ̵̧̧̻̙̮̭̔̌̓̇̀V̶̢̦̗̳̥͚͐̈́̎́̇͌Ĩ̴̺͔̝͎͓͙̓͆̾̒͝T̶̗̟͓̩̝̦͂̅̊͋̿͠ỉ̷͈̘̹̠̪̳̊̿̊̀͠Ȩ̷̡̛̰̜̘̺̌̂͊̐̕ṣ̴͉̰͇̱̤̑̑̑͘͘͝!̷̛̦̦̳͖̫͖̍́̚͠͝"̴̣̻͖͓̘̱͐͑̉̔̉͊

Monomi disappears through the portal in a flash. Now would be a perfect time to leave, while she’s not staring at you… But others seem to already be following instructions, moving up to the portal one by one. Well… There can’t be any harm in it.

Everyone in the group takes turns moving up to the keypad and going through the portal. Swiping your keycard next to the buttons, you take a look at which destination you’re headed towards… but the name isn’t something you recognize. Nighttime Campground? Was this a new Animus location? Surely, it had to be. Otherwise, it would have been listed here previously. Someone would have known about it, and yet… everyone wore the same look of confusion. Within moments of stepping onto the portal, you feel the familiar tickle of teleportation, and when you open your eyes, it’s like you’re in a whole new world.

There are a few groans from some people in the group - obviously, it wasn’t the most thrilling of ideas. Honestly, the thought of spending a night with the entire group in an attempt to ‘increase your bonds,’ or whatever it was Monomi said… It sounded more like a hassle than anything. Throw in the fact that there was still one confirmed murderer among you, and the idea just felt worse and worse with each passing second. A few people nearby turn to leave, but are stopped by Monomi’s pleading voice.

“Wait! Pwease!”

“Pwease, you guys. Give it a chance. Give me a chance! I worked weally hard on all this to make it absowutewy perfect and fun for evewyone here!”

“Just… At weast spend a wittle time?”

Monomi looks absolutely crestfallen. … Maybe an hour or two wouldn’t hurt. One single trust game, and that’s it.

The rest of the group seems to quietly come to the same conclusion, and when Monomi realizes they’re not leaving, her eyes light up. She hops in place a few times, then runs over to a nearby portal and swipes her keycard.

Soon, the entire group is gathered in the Animus general area - all sixteen of you, each confused by the invitation, but curious about what would happen. It doesn’t take long to get your answer, though. Seemingly out of nowhere, Monomi shows up in her human form and waves her arms around wildly to gather the attention of the group.

“Evewyone, good evening! I know it’s a wittle wate to call you all out hewe, but I thought after the vewy stwessful week we’ve had wecentwy, we could use a bweak! As a gwoup!”

“You see, I was thinking - just what could we all do together that would be fun, but give us a chance to incwease the bonds we have with one another? And you know what I thought of?”

“A camping twip! Doesn’t that sound gweat!”

Turning over the pink card in your hand, it’s hard to imagine you’re even willing to listen to its instructions. Monomi had apparently slipped the invitation under your door in the middle of the day, and now that you had returned for the evening, here it was in plain view. Something about a slumber party - a trust exercise of some sort, so that everyone could be closer and maybe… you know, not kill one another. Whether it would really work or not would be a different story entirely, but was there anything better to do? After confirming with the others on your floor that this wasn’t just some sort of lure note from a potential murderer, you set off with a small group towards the Animus. If everyone else was going, you might as well make it a point to show up, too.

Besides, a change of pace couldn’t be too bad. Murder was too much, for the obvious reasons. But even as nice as Tartarus was in terms of location and amenities, well…

Wakana had averted her eyes the moment Monobear had whipped out Akira's head like some morbid playground toy, her face growing pale at the display of callous disrespect for the dead. Stabbing a corpse's neck or poking around in their guts was one thing, at least those moments had been to solve the truth of their owner's deaths! Not... not as some spectacle! Before she could realize what was going on, she was once again in the main body of Tartarus, quietly staring down into the fountain at her rippled reflection.

What... what should she do now...? Somehow, she felt... empty. Her mind didn't make the connection to her actual physical emptiness, dismissing the hollow in her stomach almost without regard as she instead searched her own face for something she couldn't quite name.

She... could explore the newly opened area, perhaps. Or maybe it'd be better to allow the others to search it? She wasn't very talented at searching, to tell the truth... instead... maybe...

Wakana hardly realized how far she had wandered until she had arrived at the shopping block. She had been prepared to go into the pet store and play with the various cats for sale, but a sound from one of the other stores drew her attention, her bells ringing out gently as she peeked her head in, looking about.

It wasn't like she could see anyone there, amidst the clothes... but... she had this sensation, like she could sense their prescence.

 Momoko’s eyes wandered about the shelves as she navigated through the many rows of books. Before, she hadn’t even paid attention the library, so its size easily overwhelmed her. The girl felt so small in comparison to the bookshelves and floors, wondering if she’d get lost. What was a sukeban like herself doing in a library? Momoko wasn’t quite sure. Still, she scanned the books in hope that something would look vaguely interesting. Her index finger trailed over the book’s spines as she quietly read the titles aloud. If this was her idea of staying entertained, it was lame.

When she finally came to a stop, her finger had landed on a particular section. Ah, yes. Languages she didn’t understand. Momoko sorted through the books; every once in a while, taking one. She had mentally decided to make herself useful. There wouldn’t be a repeat of the last trial. Nicanor would not be executed for a silly mistake. Momo could help him. Right? English couldn’t be too difficult.

Momoko wrapped her arms around her newly made stack. It was a satisfactory stack.  However, its weight caused her to lean over to the side. Perhaps she went a little overboard-… but how could anyone expect her to choose just one?

She sighed, blowing a few strands of hair out of her face. What am I even doing? He’ll probably hate this. Momo slumped her shoulders, beginning to support the books on her knee. Tough luck, I guess. I’d imagine this is what a good girlfriend would do-…Who am I kidding…? Good? Hah, dear lord,help me.

The sight of Koharu suddenly caught her eye. She habitually held the books closely to her chest, taking a step back. She didn’t know Koharu was the type to hang out in libraries-… well, she didn’t know Koharu to be entirely fair. Momoko silently contemplated saying hello or just walking around her.

“Uhm-…” She opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it. Nope, nope. I have no idea what to say. 

For hours, Koyomi lay on the floor of his room, stewing in his own toxic thoughts. Had he overreacted? Was he behaving irrationally? He knew it was very unlikely that whatever ideas he had managed to cook up were correct, but he really wanted to believe that things were as black and white as "you are a murderer if you do this" and "you are not". Life isn't that easy, especially not in his current situation, but he wished so very hard that it was.

Deep down, he knew that what he said was unnecessary and untrue, and the worst possible thing to be doing right now was to alienate himself and make enemies. He knew this, and yet his impulsive ways, his inability to keep his fucking mouth shut caused him to lash out and make a nuisance of himself. 

He just wanted to be anywhere but here, really.

Would making amends be possible? Unlikely, when despite everything, he was still terrified of those certain few people who were willing to kill someone who might be innocent. He would just have to pick up his game and work harder during investigations and trials. It was the least he could do.

With a mighty groan, Koyomi picked himself up off of his dorm floor and forced himself to leave his room. He needed to get out more. For a while, he simply wandered Tartarus with no destination in mind - A bite to eat here, a bathroom break there. Just wandering with nothing on the agenda was calming, although he did do his best to avoid the office block, likely to be fairly populated due to the newly opened areas as it was. No thanks.

His epic journey across time and space finally came to an end when he reached the courtyard, a familiar face and a familiar bush of brown hair greeting him.

The bear’s display of immaturity that ended in Akira’s head apparently being flung across the room did nothing for him, unsurprisingly. He’d taken that thing down from its perch, had investigated it closely, so it wasn't something that actually bothered him anymore. Was it pleasant to hear the ‘thud!’ it landed with? Of course not, but he wasn't disturbed by it, so there wasn't a single emotion that flickered across his face.

He didn’t validate the toxicity of the others with another response; he’d said what needed to be said, and it wasn't necessary for him to join in the verbal fights in the courtroom. All he did in reply was give the group a short shake of his head, disagreeing completely with Koyomi’s statements but not agreeing with Tamaki’s shouts either, before slowly dragging himself to the elevator. None of them were “disgusting,” none of them were “gross,” besides the person who’d killed Akira Saeki. Those who had voted for who they thought were a culprit were just abiding by the terrible rules that were thrust upon them.

They’d been told that voting for a suicide would result in a random execution, so why wouldn't they think that voting for a dead murderer would end in the same conclusion? He understood why people had been reluctant to vote for someone, as they’d had no definite suspects, but those who had voted for Nicanor had thought that he was suspicious and some were willing to take that risk.

Even Rune himself wasn't convinced that Nicanor’s slip up had been a “simple mistake,” but he didn’t have the guts to vote for something he wasn't completely sure on. The atmosphere in the elevator was even more oppressive than usual, the reality that someone among them had killed weighing down heavily, and he plugged in a headphone to hear about the maps to distract himself from the feeling. The new areas were interesting, but he knew that someone else who was more useful would most definitely get there before him, so he didn’t think he was needed in either room.

It wasn't as if he was particularly useful anyway, right?

Stifling a sound akin to a sigh, he shuffled away from the elevator as it came to its destination, not having a particular sense of purpose to his movements. He wanted to leave the courtroom and stay away from areas relating to the previous case for now, and the fact that such a train of thought separated him from his dear music studio - with it being so close to the green room - didn’t really matter to him. He lingered in the portal block for a moment before finally wandering away to the plaza block.

He hadn’t been there in a long time, not since that day when he’d argued with Hikaru in front of everyone, and that seemed like ages ago. Back then, nearly everyone had still been alive, and the true threat of this game hadn’t fully sunk in. At that time, they were still just kids who didn’t know what they’d gotten wrapped up in, weren't they?

They were just pawns, now. Game pieces used to blindly eliminate each other unless they managed to round up some motivation and the ability to work together well to figure out some clues to what was actually happening here. Judging from how the last trial had ended, it wasn't particularly likely, as he expected that everyone would be even more apprehensive towards each other after this.

Feeling a clenching sensation bubbling up in his chest, grabbing and tugging at his heartstrings, he ducked into the clothing store. It wasn't the same feeling of nostalgia that the music studio prompted, but there was still a sense of comfort that it emitted inside. Clothes were his sister’s territory, and his sister was familiar; she was someone who never failed to soothe him back when he could still talk to her whenever he needed it.

Back then, before now...had it really been so long that such terms were the usual?

A sting he recognized as something similar to tears threatened to creep up at him, his resolve weakening upon being left to his own devices again without an objective. With investigations, he could bury all his troubles under the immediate need to try helping out the group, but when he was alone and didn’t have something to occupy himself with, it left room for his worries to erupt under his calm facade again.

His small frame wearily settled beside a particularly fluffy feeling rack of clothes, feeling thankful for the silence for once. His thoughts pounded against the inside of his skull, and he allowed himself to duck his head, wanting to simply get up and wander back to his room to sleep but not wishing to encounter his fearful thoughts while he was resting. He’d rather deal with those while he was awake, so he could understand what was real and what wasn't.

Finally letting a deep sigh escape him, his chest hurting in a way he didn’t understand, the fact that someone could easily kill him right then and there while he was sulking alone didn’t bother him at all. It would be bound to happen sooner or later, with a murderer on the loose, so it almost wasn't worth worrying about it. People like him weren't meant to survive these sorts of situations, so it was only a matter of time, wasn't it?

After all, as long as the people he cared about were okay and would continue to be alright, his life wasn't needed. All he’d ever wanted was to have a few friends who he could support in whatever way possible, and if he couldn't even do that right for those who had shown him kindness, then he had no use. So, it was better to just accept how things were and not allow himself to get too worked up, since that would only make him an even bigger burden than what he already was, right?

His eyes closed a little as the realization cemented itself inside him, the comforting words Wakana had given him disappearing as his opinion on himself took root once again. 

She pulled herself onto her feet, wiping away any stray tears. Geez... Momoko quickly glanced in Aqua's direction as she awkwardly adjusted her clothes, unsure of what to say. It appeared that her moment with Nicanor had been brought to an abrupt halt. And now, it was her cue to leave. Figures. 

Perhaps it would be best if she did go. After all, the trial room was beginning to make her feel restless. Seeing Akira's head once again, definitely did her no favors either. Going elsewhere didn't seem like such a bad idea, and she could easily find a way to waste her time. Hopefully.

"Au revoir."

Momoko raised her arm, giving a light wave to Nicanor and then narrowed her eyes at Aqua. Play nice. She would not tolerate a repeat of last time. 

----

The girl rode the elevator alone, her mind reeling with thoughts. Momoko leaned against the wall, lifting her head to stare upwards. What would she do now? It was strange being without Nicanor. She'd grown so used to his company that, now, she felt oddly unsettled. How ridiculous. 

"Get it together..." She murmured, letting out a sigh.

Momoko shook her head as she exited, doing her best to brush away the weird feelings. Though it seemed innocent, it wasn't good to think that way. And it certainly wouldn't help her there. 

Verbal abuse was flying from everyone who seemed to have a mouth connected to their brain in some fashion. Even Koyomi, whom Imogen herself had branded as an infallible sweet heart, had toxic words to share. Tamaki's enraged screaming rang out through the courtroom like the remnants of an airborne poison. Undoubtedly, the architect would even find himself on the defensive, seeing as he had been coerced into revealing what could turn out to be a major weakness.

So much for her pipe dream of the group managing to put on their big kid pants and work together for the sake of their goddamn lives. The weight of the uzi seemed to burn on her back as she lifted her hand to massage her temples, a migraine undoubtedly looming on her horizons. The very idea that she had to visibly carry such a weapon around was sickening to her, and proof that the group, regardless of whatever morals they claimed to boast, had still fallen into this atrocious game of life and death.

Then the bear threw Akira's head and everything went even more to shit.

Despite her growing anger and the desire to wallop a big "fuck you" in just about everyone's direction, she knew that someone leaving this room had to at least attempt to be the bigger person. As such, the healer's lips remained sealed, regardless of the deep seated disgust that threatened to rebel against her better judgement. With measured grace and carefulness, Imogen left her podium without a word, and took a stand in the elevator. Her arms, like unforgiving iron bars, had been crossed over her chest. Should anyone have spoken to her in this situation, they would merely receive the most icy of stares and not even be graced with a verbal reply.

For the first time since she awoke in this hellish simulation, Imogen just wanted to be alone, to permit herself to fester in the negative emotions she had been trying and failing to suppress these last few weeks. And as such, as the elevator reached the peak of it's assent, Imogen found herself headed on a beeline for the courtyard.

It occurred to her, as she stepped into the area, the fragrant grass waving in a light breeze as though to welcome her, that the last time she had been there was that midnight walk with Alphonse. Temporarily, the flames of her rage were quelled by an aching sadness in her heart. The girl's pace was slow as she navigated her way upstream and attempted to steady her breathing into a calm, even rhythm. Upon reaching the lake, Imogen swept her skirt out from under her before sitting down -- a white skirt with grass stains was not what she wanted to deal with today -- and allowed her tired brown eyes to sweep over the peaceful expanse of the water. Perhaps some meditation was in order. With how the weeks had progressed at such a shotgun pace, Imogen hadn't had the chance to peacefully collect her thoughts. As such, her eyes slowly closed and the thick black lashes that framed them delicately came in contact with her skin.

Ahhhh~ What a shame. Nobody was executed... She didn't really cheer, nor did she feel any sense of apprehension or fear at the fact that they had let a killer escape. She wasn't too terribly worried about it honestly. She didn't feel too threatened by the prospect. She would be perfectly fine! She didn't see what everyone was all worked up about, seeing as it was a 1 in... 15 now was it? Chance that someone would get killed! What problem was there in that? Obviously, someone getting killed, but that wasn't too important to the Mahjong-bu. After all, weren't they in a virtual world? What harm could this possibly bring to their real bodies?..

And so she left. She wasn't too amused by the kicking of Akira's head into the courtroom, after all, what did it even accomplish? It wasn't like it was dripping blood by this point, but seeing how much fun Monobear seemed to have with it, she wouldn't be surprised if the next time they ended up in there instead of a portrait it was his head in a jar at his podium. That seemed like the kind of thing the bear would enjoy... And they would end up there again. There was no doubt in her mind someone would kill, no reason to fool herself either.

------

"What to do now~"

She muttered to herself. She could go investigate the new areas, but she didn't really have an interest in computers anyway. Maybe there was something more interesting to look into... She did receive that paper from the monomachine a while back, maybe she could do some independent research on it... They did have a library after all. What was on that paper again? The more she thought about it the blurrier it was.

"Reeds? Crumpets? Zoos?"

She thought out loud. There wasn't anything she could remember. She just. Didn't find it interesting at the time, but the machine had spat it out, right? That meant it must be important and must be worth her time. So she would just have to go back up to her room and collect it first so she knew what she was looking for.

------

Now in the library, Koharu began browsing the shelves. She was looking for books on the topics pertaining to the paper in her hands. While she had been in her room, she had decided to grab a couple of more things from her drawer. Specifically other items from the machine that she could fit into her hoodie pockets fairly easily. If she ran into somebody, perhaps she could bribe them into helping her reach high shelves with gifts of fake shark teeth. Yes, that was brilliant and genius and there was no way that could possibly go wrong at all ever...

Between Minako trying to challenge him to a fight and confetti flying everywhere to congratulate their victory, Aqua had seen quite enough excitement for one day.  He had his choice words for certain people, but as most people were filtering out, his need to make some sort of grand proclamation seemed minimal at best. 

He knew at least two people would end up with bloody-noses for their stupid decision.

If it was up to him though, he'd punch every person who voted for Akira too if so many god-damn people didn't vote for him.  As far as Aqua saw it, there was a simply formula:  someone gets killed, they find the murderer, they all vote for the murderer, and they die.  Perhaps it was the double murder, the first anomaly, that would spark this.  Either way, Aqua feared someone not dying more so than someone dying.

Their killer was still at large and that jeopardized his and Naoki's safety.  Ultimately, and begrudgingly so, he agreed with Curtains and the dictionary.  This was no time to celebrate.  He checked up on his arguably three closest allies with a quick scan and as they appeared quite alright, he figured he would take his leave for parts unknown.

A part of him almost didn't want to leave by himself and his eyes lingered on Naoki a little longer than usual.

But before he went running off, he had a few things to say to a certain suspect who had narrowly escape the guillotine.