Days and days pass in the underground bunker. It’s hard to tell how many when the sun doesn’t even greet you. The mental wear and tear begins to nag at you, claw at your mind. There’s very little to do down here. Everything’s so... regimented. Your food changes, only a little. Everything is on a strict schedule, the boredom begins to tear at you and slowly, you begin to feel number and number.
Maybe it’s almost a welcome sight when you spot LISE there in the front room, glowing that usual blue light.
“Good morning. Evening. Afternoon. Night. I am searching_for_mood... pleased to inform you all that your stay here might be over soon as the threats have almost been extinguished. But I will have to ask that you continue to stay down here until it is 100% Condition Green. But do not worry. It is in my programming that humans get bored easily. The underground must be weighing on you. So I have brought you an offer. Something with which to occupy your minds.“
The words appear on your devices and LISE’s soft words sound in your ears. Soon, there’s another new tab on your devices under the name: TRUTH OR ULTIMATUM.
“It should have finished downloading by now. This is entertainment I have created for you. It is split into Major and Minor. Each person will either have a Major Ultimatum and a Minor Truth or a Major Truth and Minor Ultimatum. I suppose what you choose to do with your truths is up to you. But if you do not complete the ultimatums given, you should expect a punishment in turn. This is how this game works, after all. Feel free to speak about your truths and ultimatums. But I wonder if everyone is better knowing those or not. It is your decision at the end of the day. You are the only one with the right and responsibility. Well then. There is more work to do. Process. Complete. Good morning. Evening. Afternoon. Night.”
And just like that, LISE fizzles out before your eyes once again. Your new tab on the device is bouncing. In the case of one Chuichi Genda, a replacement card has been sent to his room. It definitely looks shoddier than everyone else’s but it still works... generally speaking. It seems to cut out and stop working on occasion.
You could always not check your card at all. Perhaps that’s the safe pick. But the curiosity will always nag you...
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After a lot of communiocation problems and static, Asao’s device finally fizzles back to life. It seems like Renri’s been trying to contact him for a while. Something that seems even clearer when she sighs with open relief upon seeing his face.
Though... speaking of faces... hers has seen better days. Her skin somehow seems paler, dark circles are under her eyes and a little trickle of bloodcan be seen from her noise.
“Asao-kun! Thank goodness... I kept trying to contact you but it was just static! I was so, so worried...“
“Renri-chan, your face! What happened...?“
She seems to notice too late what he’s referring to and wipes her face with an arm casually, offering him a worn smile.
“It’s okay! I’m okay, don’t worry. It’s just... been stressful.”
She pauses.
“To be honest... I’ve felt so hopeless as of late. It seems like, no matter what I do, it doesn’t help anyone. I can’t help my friends here or... you guys over there. But the way you’ve kept at it, all by yourself makes me think, it’s not so bad. And that I can try a little harder. So let’s just say I’m powering myself up!”
Renri offers a little laugh but her expression soon turns grave once again.
“... More importantly, Asao-kun, about you... you’re the one I’m worried about. See, I... did whatever I could to find out more information about the island. In the time I couldn’t reach you, I did everything I could. Searched through files, computer docs, eavesdropped and... you’re in danger. No, not just you. All of you are in really, really big trouble.”
[♫♫♫♫]
It’s probably something Asao could’ve guessed himself given the rampant AI and murders but something about Renri’s tone makes him sure that there’s something else at play.
She volunteers the information without being prompted.
“Do you... remember the technical difficulties we were having? That... wasn’t an accident. Something directly intefered with the communications. There was a panic over here for a little while. That’s when I heard it. You’re... you’re not alone on that island anymore. That island was designed originally for the eighteen of you and a handful of staff. Most of the other staff members were located elsewhere, to preserve their safety, with only the bravest staying behind... the Restoration Project was designed to rehabilitate those who’d fallen under Chiya Sakuno’s influence. In order to do that... volunteers from Hope’s Peak who were rescued from the wreckage willingly agreed to partner up with former Despairs. In order to try and reform them, several tests and challenges were devised. Ones to inspire you all to work together. It was... experimental, sure, but... that’s why it was so secret. There are a lot of people who still don’t know about it. That’s why... there was a safety measure implemented.“
She pauses after speaking for so long, that concern still visible.
“A way to destroy the whole island, all the technology, and everyone on it if a certain passcode was sent to the right system. Asao-kun... you’re... you’re on a ticking time bomb. And I... oveheard it.“
She clenches her eyes shut and releases a heavy breath.
“They’re debating whether or not to pull the plug right now. I said you weren’t alone on the island anymore, right? ... Well... according to what I heard... the people who landed on that island are members of Super High School Level Despair. They came here to reclaim their own... and kill everyone else who remains. They want nothing short of genocide. The higher-ups seem to think this is a good way to eliminate a whole bunch of them... solve the whole problem. But Midou-sensei and a couple of others are trying to convince them otherwise. It’ll be a wonderful thing if we show the public people who fall under such influence can still be saved. That there’s hope, something worth saving! But others... aren’t so sure.”
She frowns.
“... I know there’s no realistic way to do this yet but... Asao-kun, you need to get off that island. I don’t know how much time the others can buy you. I’ll... look on my end, too. For a helicopter, for a boat, for anything. I don’t... know if you want to tell everyone, but... I’ll leave that to you. Because I trust you.”
She finally offers a smile once more, even if it seems uncertain.
“I’m sorry, okay? I wish... there was more I could do. Maybe if I could somehow log myself into the data banks you have other there... I might ask... you for a few favours down the line. I know what I’m doing might be dangerous, but... I’m getting smarter. Stronger. There are things I think I can do now. So, I’ll work hard. Let’s do our best together, okay? Together we can do it. I’ll be counting on you but... you can count on me, too.”
She logs off rather hurriedly, not giving Asao much of a chance to reply to all this new information, leaving nothing but an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. It seems like she’ll be busy for a bit but... maybe she’ll be available again later. For now, it seems like he’ll have to process this on his own.
Their heart is thumping with adrenaline. With feelings they can’t quite understand nor put into words settling into their heart, their steps are almost careless. Kou walks over to the diamond and accepts their fate. There’s nothing more to do, after all, nothing left to say. They’ve never been one for flights of fancy. Maybe that’s why they couldn’t lie if they tried. No excuse would ever have any imagination nor believability to it. The elevator goes down and takes Kou away to their demise. Their mother, if she was still out there, would never see her child again.
You have no choice but to accept that they’re gone.
And watch, if you have the heart.
CULPRIT: KOU TSUKINO, SHSL TATTOO ARTIST. [♫♫]
For a moment, you can’t see anything. The dim orange lights barely illuminate anything and would make anyone feel at least a little claustrophobic. Within the dancing lights, you can spot gravel-y walls and long wooden floorboards, a web of narrow passage-ways. Kou’s face comes into view, no real expression on their face. If they’re supposed to be scared, it doesn’t show. They just get to their feet, placing a hand on the wall for support and begin to walk.
Walk... where?
Forward, they suppose. There’s nowhere else to go. Their senses feel trapped in this place, with so few sounds, in this much gloom.
Long black kanji strokes are painted onto the walls, a fact that becomes clearer as Kou moves. The light seems to move with them. Those characters all read as emotions.
Happiness.
Sadness.
Regret.
Anger.
Fear.
All the things Kou Tsukino never understood.
As they walk past the character of anger, they feel a burning sensation on their skin and they freeze, confused. On their wrist, the character begins to write itself there, burning itself into place. They wince at the pain, blood surging out of the fresh marking. They continue on, undeterred. With each character they pass, yet another tattoo is burned into their skin. It’s a stupid time to feel, but feel things they do. The regret from killing Ayaka. The worry they might never see home again. The odd sort of happiness that comes from finally understanding. And...
The fear that their time might be up for good.
Mark affter mark, burned into place. On their fingers, on their legs, around the neck and all over their face. The pain brings tears to their eyes as blood pours out of every fresh tattoo. Their footsteps become dizzy and their vision blurred as they walk down endlessly narrow corridors, each one looking like the last, their mind buzzing.
Just up ahead, finally, there’s something different up ahead. A figure, clad in a snow-white kimono, wrapped in a purple robe. They open their arms, beckoning them into their safe arms.
What... is this... feeling? Relief? Warmth?
Kou stumbles towards the figure, their head light from blood loss and crumple to their knees before they can make it. The figure approaches, their sandals echoing through the corridor as they wrap their arms round the wounded child. They pull them into a hug.
Their skin is clearly fake, cold like plastic. And yet, there’s a sense of familiarity in this hug. A sense of home. Kou’s eyes gently close... and then shoot wide open when a new sensation takes over their aching body. A cold pain, right in the back.
They shakily turn their head back to try and piece it together and the pain hits them again. Blood, pouring onto the floor. Oh... that was it. They were being stabbed. Stabbed in the back. They try to form some words but it only comes out a sharp gasp.
Pain.
It’s real pain.
Their fingers clench into fists as they look down at a pool of their own blood. So many expressions you’ve never seen on their face before. Tears pour down their tired face, marred with scruffy tattoos. They fall to the ground, blood splattering all over their face.
The explosion of the Camellia Guesthouse has left many of you shaken. Two bodies becoming one body and the mysteries of this island have some of you utterly baffled. But things still need to be done and so work you must. You do so until LISE’s voice can be heard, beckoning you over to the facility, as they are wont to do.
“Good morning. Evening. Afternoon. Night. Are you suitably prepared for your changed living conditions? You should be. You do not have a choice in the matter, after all. This is the reality of your situation. Even if you dislike it. Even if you would rather not. This is something you must accept, if you are ever going to get anywhere in life.“
A pause and LISE fizzles a bit, as if something is interfering with them before fizzling back to their perfect square shape.
“If you have anything to deposit, please place it on the . Only solid, non-living items will count. Do not think about trying to escape the proceedings. It is easier when you comply. When you are done, please enter the elevator so we begin. Do you not want justice? This is, after all, what society says is ‘correct’. Therefore, we must.“
There’s nothing else to say. Any of you that wish to bring items with you down to your apparent ‘new life’ have the option of sending it down a little ventiliation shaft pointed out to you by LISE. For the rest of you, the elevator beckons. One by one, you all enter the elevator and can’t help but notice the emptier spaces that much more...
You are led down a corridor, to another sleek room, this one a bit dimmer than the last one. Beyond that, it’s near impossible to tell the difference. All of these corridors and rooms begin to look the same. You all step by your podiums and prepare yourself for what’s coming next...
Yet something might enter your mind.
Is this... right?
Can murder and execution be considered any kind of justice?
An uncomfortable air settles in as thick plumes of grey begin to devour the white clouds above. And yet, there’s no sign of any autopsy reports. And there’s... no sign of LISE in general. There’s just this sharp silence that almost stops you from moving as a whole. As if you’re waiting for something.
After a small pause, LISE flickers to life in front of those around the Guesthouse. Or... what used to be the Guesthouse, anyway, as smouldering pieces of wood continue to sizzle and blacken away into nothing.
“I must spare you the usual morning, evening, afternoon and night. There have been some... complications. If we are to obtain truthful results, what we are doing cannot be interfered with. Every outside force contaminates the validity of what we are doing here. I cannot risk my data being corrupted. So the threats that have now suffered must be taken care of.”
The words LISE share are repeated in your IDs. That means no matter who you are or where you are, you see what is written.
"Unfortunately, due to my energy being diverted, I have delayed on giving you the necessary information to solve this particular matter. One of you, once again, did what was natural to you. You murdered. As calculated. If you do not want to die getting it wrong, then, no matter the outside circumstances, you must investigate.”
A pause.
“However.”
LISE flashes crimson. Although their tone is as neutral as ever, you feel the subject has become more ground.
“You may also wish to keep your eyes open. Because these grounds are now contaminated, you will have to live a bit... differently from here on out. Do not panic. Although this is not a part of the procedure, I have no reason to doubt it will provide enough until the problem is solved. As such, on top of investigating, you might want to prepare some items and goodbyes as, until I have properly eliminated the disturbance, you will not return to this place. You may also be in danger whilst investigating. Of course, this is all moot if you all die. There will only be one of you to assist, in that case. Will you succeed? I wish both parties the best of luck. I will update my files to give you the data you require as soon as I can.“
With those vague and ominous words, LISE flickers back out of existence and leaves all of you with an empty feeling of dread. What threat? Where are you going? You barely have time to consider it when there are two bodies you need to investigate...
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It took a while for Matias to stop coughing. In his weakened state, the incredibly thick smoke was doing anything but wonders for him. Before any of them can consider Lotus and Madoka, they’re forced to find Chuichi, who’d been thrown back by the explosion. There was... no way he was alright. He had landed with such a strange, loud sound.
Ryoka, Satoko and Matias all approach the far-off, unmoving body of Chuichi Genda... but the closer they come, the colder they all feel. Sometimes, no matter how grim it is... you have to accept the truth. And accept what you’re seeing is real...
Chuichi Genda is lying there, not moving.
Until!
Just for a second, his lids flutter open, catching something out of the corner of his eye... as one last memory passes through his head before his head tilts away from you all, unresponsive once more, unable to even get a word out before his life seems to fade away.
... Yet for some reason... your IDs aren’t updating. There are two dead bodies, unbeknownst to some of you, but there’s no notification out of a jingle you heard a while back...
One bright, silent day disappears into another. Lost memories surface for some. Others get a more painful reminder of the world they've been trapped in. A world where, seemingly, anything can happen, as great mechanical beasts roam and grand locations house a variety of dangers.
And a world where you either kill or get killed.
But this day isn’t like the others, somehow. Perhaps you felt it subconsciously. In your bones. Or perhaps you swore you could hear something in the wind. Maybe for you it really was just another day. It’s easy to ignore the small things. That prickling feeling on your skin. The strange electronic sound you can barely parse. If you stay here long enough, as you have done, it’s easy for many things to vanish in the world of white...
"...llo... h... we... ends...”
The crackling sound in the wind begins to sound like words. For those of you who can hear, you can barely pick out syallbles and form them into what makes some sense.
The words gradually become clearer as they’re heard all across the land. You look up to the sky, curious about the sounds. It doesn’t sound like LISE... despite all the interference... it sounds... human. Does that mean someone else is here? Or that someone else is contacting you? Could it be... has help arrived? Your mind races with a million thoughts. And suddenly, the next few words are louder and clearer than any of the words before.
“Return them or die. This is your last warning.“
Return them... that must’ve been them. Someone was here for them.
Those words are clearly heard in the Camellia Guesthouse in those early morning hours. But it doesn’t seem to phase Chuichi Genda much as he snoops around the Camellia Guesthouse. There’s something that’s been bothered him. As he left his house in the Chalk Woods, left a sleeping Asao behind, he notices something glinting in the snow. He crouches down on all fours, resulting in a comedic image, the only thing missing being him literally trying to sniff something out as he nears the anomaly, only vaguely listening to what’s being broadcast. More robotic propaganda from LISE, no doubt. The blue menace to society.
But as he nears the object, something begins to glow red... and he begins to notice, it’s not just one thing glowing... it’s several.
[♫♫♫♫]
Satoko Ihara and Ryoka Umehara exit the Guesthouse together and more things glint red and a beeping can be heard. In one sudden motion, Satoko wrenches Ryoka’s wrist and runs away from the Guesthouse but Chuichi remains where he is, eyebrows furrowed.
“Genda-san!”
Ryoka’s voice calls out. She’s not quite sure what there is to worry about, but Satoko seems rattled. It’s enough of a reason.
Beep. Beep. Beep...
And...
The Camellia Guesthouse goes up in the a flurry of blazing orange flames, Chuichi hurtling through the sky and landing a ways away, with a sickening sound. Metallic clangs sound across the plains as debris flies every which way. The girls gasp at the image before remembering... Madoka, Lotus and Matias were also staying there.
Seconds later, another explosion can be heard, further in the distance, as a plume of smoke billows into the bright crystal sky and something, somewhere crashes to the ground with a horrifying clatter. Something big... maybe a building? It’s nothing you can see.
Matias, coughing, drags himself from the Guesthouse’s rattling, shambling remains in confusion and horror. When asked about Lotus and Madoka, he has no answer. He was the only one in there.
Home Sweet H̶̡̭̞͙͔̫̀́̑͆̈́͛͛̂͒̕͢o̺̟̘͇̼͇̫̅͊͋̐͢͝m̛̩̺͉̟͈͌̀̂͘͡e̶̤̜̟̞͇̳̽͒̄̏̐̚͡͡
Your IDs rumble in your pocket with unexpected activity. Curious about this, you bring it out and see a pop-up covering the whole thing. A half-transparent black screen with icy purple text on it and a square blue button.
“Do You Want To Go Home?“ is what you can read. The words are in kanji, flicking to basic katakana, to English, to a whole variety of other languages, skipping at timed five or so second intervals.
There’s something that pulls you to the button. On that button, is a circle and the word ‘Go’. The screen flickers to black as you push it and you wait to see what is is you’ve done...
You see a house... and as it zooms in, you begin to peer into the rooms and get a closer look inside. You remember this. Before your acceptance letter, as you hustled and bustled your belongings for Hope’s Peak, you stayed here. Perhaps you hadn’t always lived here, but, the memories were pretty fresh. So fresh, you feel a little strange about forgetting.
You can see some vague familiar faces. Family members, perhaps. Those who saw their family members on TV can see their faces clearly - those who didn’t are still left feeling a little dazed as their faces seem blurry still, somehow. But there’s still a sense of comfort and familiarity...
And then.
Noise.
The screen flashes white and then shows the same house, ruined. You see your carpets burnt with marks and cabinets tipped over. Heirlooms smashed on the floor and glass from cracked windows on the floor. You see red, in places, a red you’ve seen before. You know the shade of blood at this point.
The people who were there are gone now. Perhaps long gone. On some walls you see grafitti, a little too hard to read from this distance. Deep scratches are in some of the walls, as if someone took a knife to them.
Your sweet home is empty. And everything is lost.
It fades back to the original pop-up and new text appears.
“Think Of Them. Their Name. Blood For Blood. Eye For An Eye. Their Name Has A Number. One Death For Solace. If You Kill, We Will Properly Give You The Number Of Your Loved One.
This Is Not A Trick.
You Can Hear Them.
You Can Protect Them.
It Is Not Too Late.
IT IS NOT TOO LATE. YET.“
After some time, the pop-up disappears, as if it was never there, and leaves you feeling even emptier than you had before.
