#singanronpa

[twilightprince101]

Singanronpa Ch. 1: What is True Friendship? (Class Trial)

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WOOO! Finally I was able to get this done! I hope y’all are ready for some thrills, chills and kills! I know I sure am, because this chapter took MUCH longer than I thought it would! However, let me just give a warning to everyone right now. Once this is up and posted, I won’t be posting Singanronpa stuff for a while. I wanted to get the entire first chapter out so people could just have a taste of it because I still have a lot of other writing projects to get done, not to mention I’m going to be going into a dual enrollment program for schools soon. So until I finish my main story and get back onto Some Moral Support, I won’t be posting anything for this. With that said, I hope this chapter can entertain you for until that time comes. Enjoy everybody!

ATTENTION!!! Danganronpa is home to lots of graphic content, particularly violence, death and graphic depictions of that death. If you are sensitive to any of these things and several other mature themes, DANGANRONPA IS NOT FOR YOU!!! You have been warned.

All of the animals present in the moment stand at their respective podiums, looking between each other with wary looks on their faces. A heavy feeling of tension lingers in the air as Monokuma restates what is spoken before every class trial.

Monokuma: Now then, let’s begin with a simple explanation of the class trial. During the class trial, you will present your arguments for who the killer is, and then vote for “whodunnit.” If you vote correctly, then only the blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong person… I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will gain the right to leave the theater and escape to the outside world!

Riley, calling the robobear out, says that the trial won’t take too long so he won’t have time to enjoy it, since Meena already confessed to the murder. Mike mumbles to himself, saying that the fact is debatable, to which the actor lets the statement slide for the time being.

To begin the trial officially, Meena apologizes to everyone present, saying that what she has done was unforgivable and she is aware of that fact. Rosita tries to comfort to soprano, but she pushes her away and continues to talk, saying that she isn’t asking for forgiveness, but instead confirmation that Johnny will be safe.

But before anyone can confirm this fact, the hamster stops the elephant from continuing and orders her to stop lying to everyone. Since they found her clothes hidden away in the bathroom, she says “it’s obvious that you’re trying to cover for that edgy punk rock wannabe.”

This immediately sparks an argument between everyone, similar to the intensity back in the lobby with everyone present adding to the noise. The rocker continues to state that she doesn’t know how her things got in the bathroom in the first place, since she didn’t even leave her room since around 9:30 PM. When Ember asks the porcupine for proof of her claim and none is presented, the rapper tells everyone that “In class trials, evidence is everything!”

Buster sides with Ember this time, saying that he did see her peeking out of her room at around 10 PM. Ash once again tells Buster to stop pinning the blame on her, demanding that he stops lying, but a few animals from all sides ask for the details. The rocker begins to panic slightly from the amount of people siding against her.

Matt asks Buster if he thinks that Ash did it, but he still states that he is unsure. He may have seen Ash poke her head out of her room, but that isn’t exactly definitive proof that she was the killer. Gunter even says that, in a way, Ash was telling the truth since she didn’t exactly LEAVE her room. David bounces off of that, saying that paranoia is natural in these circumstances, he should know.

Gunter: Um... are you okay?

David: Define “okay.”

Ember, still persisting in her case, says that Ash is still the prime suspect because of her clothes being found in the bathroom. It doesn’t help that Ash doesn’t have any evidence proving that she stayed in her room the entire time. But the porcupine doubles down, saying that Buster doesn’t have any proof that he saw her too, so nobody can say anything.

Mike is about to say that double negatives like that don’t work, since once again, two pieces of evidence point to her being the culprit. However Nancy tells everyone that Ash does have a point. Buster may have seen Ash looking out into the hall, but the clothes and quills could have been put there by someone else, like the true culprit.

Jude asks once again that Nancy uses her talent to find the culprit, but once again she heavily denies this offer, with her volume increasing slightly while she says this. Riley once again states that, since Meena was the only one able to use the murder weapon, she is the only one that could’ve done the deed.

When Matt puts up the claim that Johnny could have used the bed leg as well, Riley points out again that Meena would have ZERO gain for helping him, and to that extent Ash, cover up the crime. Mike chuckles a bit and says “Who knows? They do say nowadays that young love is a force to be reckoned with.” Riley squeezes the sides of his podium and yells at him to shut up in response to this, saying that those arguments are useless in Danganronpa, once again prompting an argument.

Buster tries to wave the two down and offers everyone the simpler alternative of going through the facts one at a time to get everything straight. Both scoff at him for this and use their suspicion of him as a crutch to ignore the claim. Rosita, however, speaks up and says that it might be for the best. “With the tension being so high,” she says reasonably, “nobody will get anywhere with just arguing back and forth.”

Meena squeezes her shoulders, asking if they really have to do so. Her voice has a pained tint to it, as if just speaking hurts her internally. Ember tells Meena that, if she really is the culprit, then going through everything will help confirm it to everyone. With members from all three sides agreeing with each other, Meena sighs and agrees to go over everything.

To begin, everyone starts with the basics to get everything out of the way. Going over the crime scene, mostly everyone agrees that Meena’s room is the place of interest. Eddie, however, states the possibility of Steph being killed somewhere else, then being brought to Meena’s room.

Ash then retaliates and scolds the servant, telling him to use his eyes. Eddie flinches and apologizes, but then Nancy begins to understand what the rocker meant, since the room was so messy. Buster rebounds off of this, calling attention to the pools of blood around the room. David offers the possibility of some way to transfer the blood, such as a plastic mat, but Ember states that the splatters seemed too natural for it to be staged. Not to mention that nobody could find anything like this in the theater.

They use the splatters as a segway to the murder weapon. Playing the devil’s advocate just to be safe, Gunter asks if there was anything else that could have been used as a weapon instead of the bed leg. Julee suggests Ash’s quills, as if they were bundled up together to whack somebody with, to which the porcupine lets out a long groan of frustration at how everyone is continuously trying to pin the crime on her.

After a heated argument between the hamster and porcupine, Ash pinches off one of her quills and looks directly to Julee, then snaps the quill in half with ease. The voice actor tries to play the victim card and get others to protect her, but Jude lets out an “oh!” and tells the hamster that Ash actually gave a valid explanation.

With the help of Buster, the street performer explains that Ash’s quills, while they are sharp, must be fragile for her to snap in half like that. So if she did try to use the quills as a bat or something, then it would have snapped and cause more of a headache than anything.

Julee: O-oh. Oh yeah, I got that too, of course that’s what she meant; her quills being breakable, not wanting to break me like a twig, of course!

Ash: You know, I did hear that hamsters are naturally fragile animals too.

Julee: SHUT IT!!!

While on the subject of the Monokuma file, Mike states that something has been bugging him about it; specifically the censored time of death. Eddie did explain that it would make things less interesting if it was known from the get go, but that would mean that the time itself is damning evidence for the culprit. So all they gotta do is figure out the time and they should be good to go!

Meena, still in her pained voice, speaks up and says that she does not want the trail to go on for any longer either way, and tells everyone that she believes she had killed Stephanie around 11:00 PM.

Mike believes that, with that said and done, they could figure out the crime easily. But when Riley asks if he was keeping track of the time at all last night, the crooner’s look of excitement fades.

Riley: Nobody really knew that there would be a murder last night, so who would bother to keep track of the time?

With a gigantic grin on their face, Jude slowly raises their paw.

The jaguar then goes on to explain their night watch; what they did, how long they did it for and how they had to go to the bathroom at the end, along with David joining them. Ash complains to the bear that they seriously need to get some healthier food, to which Monokuma says they might get some if they survive.

While Riley becomes flustered about being proved wrong, Nancy decides to talk for him and ask if David or Jude had seen anything while going to the bathroom, as both of their excursions were close to Meena’s estimated murder time. While Jude admits that they didn’t see anything, David does say that he thinks he heard the sound of a door closing while walking down to the bathroom.

Rosita guesses that it might have something to do with the crime, like Johnny going into Meena’s room, but Buster says that it very well could’ve been someone like himself, paranoid that somebody might try to come into their room. Deciding that they can answer the question later, they begin to listen to Jude’s nightwatch report.

Jude first tells everyone about Buster sprinting to his office when Jude stepped out into the hallway. The showman is visibly embarrassed when the jaguar brings this up, but lets them continue how they saw Buster run to his office.

The showman is sent questioning glances by Eddie, Ash and Ember, but can only say that he stayed in the office until the murder. He is questioned by the servant, asking why exactly he did so. His tone sounds hopeful in a way, like he is silently praying that Buster didn’t do it, considering how he was one of the only people willing to trust him.

Worried that suspicion will fall to him as the culprit, he hesitantly explains that his office is, in itself, like his bedroom. One of the drawers is a bed he made for himself, and since he’s been working there his entire life, he almost feels exposed when he goes out for anything else, as if he’s standing in the middle of a crowd with just his undies.

Ember: Well, there’s an image that will never be able to leave my mind.

Buster, cautiously, also brings up how he saw Ash when he was about to make a run for the office, just in case. Ash once again retaliates, accusing him of trying to pin the blame on her.

Ash: What’s your agenda Buster?!

Buster: Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I’m barely even able to organize my office, how could I organize some sort of plot?

However, the jaguar does state that, when they just opened their door, they think they heard the sound of a door closing. The other members of the Ash Killed side jump at this opportunity, saying that it could’ve been the rocker herself. The rocker begins to fiddle with the pins on her shirt, stuttering out once again that she was in her room the entire night. With how often Ash has heard this explanation, a part of him becomes slightly unsure.

With no other evidence pointing to Ash actually leaving her room and committing the murder, Jude continues their report, explaining how they saw Meena leave her room to try and deliver a note. The elephant explains that, with all of the tension, she couldn’t sleep and needed somebody to talk to.

Gunter: Well, that lines up with the letter we found.

Rosita assumes that Meena slipped the note underneath Johnny’s door, considering what she had said in her confession. But as the soprano is about to confirm this, Jude cuts in and says that she slipped the note underneath Stephanie’s door.

After a bit of initial freakout and members from all sides trying to calm people down (Rosita, Riley, Nancy, Buster, Jude), Matt calls for everyone’s attention with a BANG on his stand, declaring “THAT’S IT!!!”

Buster and Matt begin to butt heads, with Buster trying to say that it was just a misunderstanding, but Matt going much farther with the given information.

Matt: Julee was right after all, Meena was hiding something! We all thought that it was either Meena or Ash killing Stephanie, plain and simple. But with the given information, an entirely new idea comes to the table; Meena MANIPULATING others to defend her and framing Ash!

Buster: But this is only one piece of evidence, and it very well could be a mistake. How on earth could this one thing be a detail that closes the case?!

Matt: Listen, here’s what went down! First, Meena invited Stephanie over to her room, then killed her so she could escape. Then right after that, she invited Johnny and knocked him out to make it look like an accident. Then finally, she stole Ash’s clothes and quills from downstairs and planted them in the toilet herself. That way we could TRY to defend her and prove her innocence, and shift the blame over to Ash since we found her clothes! It all makes sense, the evidence fits!!!

Buster stops Matt before he can continue, spotting a glaring contradiction in his theory; the invitation letter that they found. Despite them finding the letter in Stephanie’s room, it didn’t say who it was from or to. Meena even admits that she and Stephanie barely ever talked, and David says that he barely saw her talk to anyone, so the odds of her trusting the elephant are slim to none, especially considering the motive letters.

Riley, Ember and Rosita all scold Matt for his conspiracy theory, to which he apologizes profusely, saying that he really thought that he was onto something for a moment. He even bows over and puts his paws together above his head.

After taking a deep breath, Meena stops squeezing her stand and tells Matt that it’s okay, as it is only natural when everyone is so confused. She had assumed that she slipped the note under Johnny’s door, since he came to her room a little later. David offers the possibility of Johnny trying to go to Meena’s room in the first place, considering how close the two have gotten in such small time. The elephant agrees with this statement, but gives a quick glance over to the gorilla himself.

Julee says that, considering how close Johnny and Stephanie’s rooms are to each other, it’s only natural that she made that mistake. However, Buster pipes up in a small voice, admitting that he hasn’t exactly been paying attention to the room layout.

Mike criticizes the koala, saying something like that is one of the basic things to remember in the killing games. Ember agrees with this, even going as far to say that it was his own theater and he didn’t bother to remember these things. The koala begins to shrink down in embarrassment, silently wishing that he never said anything.

Eddie sympathies with the koala, however, and offers to draw up a diagram of sorts for him, if he had a pen and paper. Monokuma, butting in like it’s his business, says that he has it covered and yells to the wind “PEN AND PAPER!!!”

Suddenly, a canon-like sound fills the room, and the lights over head cast a shadow over everyone. Looking up, everyone spots a notepad and a pencil flying overhead. After a bit of clamoring, Matt steps up onto his podium and, with the help of Rosita boosting him up, manages to catch the supplies in mid-air. However with his trajectory, he crashes back down onto the floor with a groan.

Matt: T-take that dad, those stuntman classes WERE worth it!

The hedgehog hobbles over and passes the supplies over to the servant, and after a quick thanks, Eddie gets to work on his small diagram. He does have to flip to the other side of the paper though, as his drawing skills aren’t exactly perfect and he is working with a pen. When all is said and done, he rips out the paper and hands it to the showman so he can get a look.

                                               DORM ROOM LAYOUT ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------               Julee | Johnny | Stephanie | Buster | Mike | Eddie | David | Matt     [STAIRS]                                                                                 [GIRL’S       [OFFICE]                                                                                RESTROOM]                Ash | Gunter | Riley | Meena | Rosita | Ember | Jude | Nancy               ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buster thanks Eddie initially as he is handed the diagram. After a quick glance at the paper the koala is about to put it in his pocket, but then something clicks for him and he goes back to take a more thorough look. Rosita asks if something is wrong and Ember complains about wanting to continue.

The showman gives a quick apology for wasting everyone’s time, but asks Eddie quickly if the layout is correct. Because when he saw Ash looking out into the hallway, she was to the immediate right of him.

All of the animals’ eyes widen, and Ember swipes the diagram from his hands to inspect it herself, pointing a claw at each individual room placement. She thinks to herself for a moment while handing the paper back to Buster, saying that the diagram is 100% accurate.

Ash talks about how his statement makes no sense, considering how far apart their rooms are for each other, and Mike says that he feels like something is going on, but he can’t put his finger on it. The koala thinks long and hard about this new info, staring at the paper while blocking out everyone’s white noise so he can think.

Buster: ‘Both Eddie and Ember said that the diagram is accurate, and yet I saw Ash at the room right next to me, despite her being at the end of the hall. I don’t think I was mistaken, even Jude admitted that they heard a door close and I left mine wide open. Not to mention that I had to run past her to get to the office. Maybe Ash went over to Stephanie’s room then? But David said that she barely talked to anyone. So does this mean that Ash was telling the truth? But if she was, then who’-

Buster freezes as the rest of the world becomes unmuted to him.

Nancy and Eddie are checking to see if Buster is okay

Mike, Ash and Riley are trying to talk down Matt as he begins to openly voice another theory of his.

Meena, Rosita and Gunter are trying to calm everyone down so they can get on with the trail. Meena is looking more anxious than usual.

Ember, Jude and David are all lost in thought, trying to process the information.

As the servant and negotiator try to see if Buster is having a mental breakdown, Buster mumbles something inaudible to the two. As Eddie is about to ask him to repeat what he said, the koala slams his hands on the stand and yells “THAT’S IT!!!”

Everyone is cut off by Buster’s triumphant yell, and a few of the smaller animals almost fall off of their respective podiums in surprise. Meena’s ears almost slap her face, Julee hides behind the steps to her stand and Monokuma complains about him wrecking his ears from the scream.

Before anyone can ask what Buster is so worked up about, he points to Gunter and asks “Do you remember what makeup tools were used up in Stephanie’s room?!” After putting his hands up in defense from shock, the dancer closes his eyes for a moment and says that the darker shaded contour were completely used up.

The showman shifts to Nancy and speaks with urgency “Nancy, the stains on the towel we found, what were they?!” After thinking for a moment, her eyes go wide and she says in a dawned upon tone “Brown. They were brown!”

Everyone else looks between each other and tries to ask Buster what’s going on. Riley and Mike are hoping that he isn’t going to state a conspiracy theory like Matt was.

Matt: They’re not CONSPIRACY theories!

But after thinking for a few more moments, the expression on Buster’s face was teeming with confidence and determination.

Buster: This entire time I was under the assumption that it was Ash I saw when I peeked out my door. She didn’t talk, but was the spitting image of the rocker herself. But when Gunter, Matt, Mike and I were looking through Stephanie-the Ultimate Makeup Artist’s-room, we found makeup supplies that were entirely used up. Not only that, but the room’s mess was made to hide the different things that we found. So that’s it; it wasn’t Ash I saw! It was Stephanie in disguise!!!

Julee stops Buster before he can continue with his explanation, saying that he sounds even crazier than Matt was when he “stole her idea.” Buster makes an effort to explain his claim, but once again she cuts him off, saying “What’s the use listening to a madman if all he’s saying is nonsense?!”

In an effort to continue with his explanation, Buster butts heads with Julee before she can discredit him any more.

Julee: Just stop and listen to yourself before you continue on with your stupid conspiracy theory! It’s clear as day that Ash is the real culprit here. Are you honestly trying to defend anyone that becomes suspected of being the culprit? Both who just so happen to be young girls? Well congrats, I hope you love running in a circle all day, CREEP!

Buster: P-pushing that creep comment aside; I looked over the evidence and came to my conclusion. If you take a moment to simply listen instead of critique me, then maybe you’ll understand!

Julee: Fine then, let’s hear your stupid theory then! You’re saying that Stephanie disguised herself as Ash, right? Then why does she look like STEPHANIE now?! Did she undress while she was in Meena’s room? Did she think dressing up as an antisocial prick would help her gain the trust of one of the most antisocial animals in this KILLING GAME? 

Buster: Right now I’m not focused on WHY she did it. What I’m worried about right now is if Stephanie actually DID do it!

Julee: But again, what would be the point?! Fine then! Let’s actually use our brains for a moment; rare for you I know! So you found makeup supplies in the Makeup Artist’s room; So what?! So you found a wet towel in a bathroom; SO WHAT?! If you’re actually basing your theory only by the fact that a makeup artist has makeup, then I’m surprised YOU weren’t the first to go!

Finally putting his foot down against the voice actor, Buster tells Julee that, when he saw Stephanie disguised as Ash, she was picking at the fur on her upper arms. Everyone was a witness to this habit back when everyone was scrambling to get out after the motive letters; Stephanie was scratching her upper arms.

When Julee says that it also could’ve been Ash picking at her arms, Nancy explains that she has already witnessed everyone’s nervous habits, as it’s a part of her talent. Matt taps his fingers on different surfaces to create a beat, Julee tries to use voice exercises to calm herself, and Ash picks at the pins on her shirt. The rocker reflexively goes for said pins, but realizes her slip up and stops.

David also recalls the Monokuma File, restating that Stephanie had several other injuries across his body, including rashes on her arms. Not only that, but Ash also rolls up her sleeves and reveals that her arms, in fact, are devoid of any rashes.

Eddie also adds on that the theory makes sense, since the quills he had thrown away earlier had vanished from the trash can. After a bit of silence, Riley, Mike, Ash, Ember, Jude, Nancy and Julee ask collectively why he didn’t mention this before. While looking away and trying to loosen up the collar, he says he thought that it was some sort of “Killing game magic” or whatever, since he doesn’t really know much about what’s going on in the theater.

Monokuma: Nah, in the killing games we have less “movie magic” and more “murder magic!”

Mike: BOOO!! YOU STINK!!!!

So now with several pieces of evidence pointing to Buster’s theory being correct, Buster declares that Ash now has a valid alibi!

Ash takes a long sigh of relief and yells “IT’S ABOUT TIME!!!” After a harsh scolding to everyone on the “Ash Killed” side, the four begrudgingly accept the fact that they were wrong and apologize.

Rosita grieves for a moment, thinking about how the fox was willing to frame Ash for her attempted crime. Ember says that, it was most likely the usual story in the killing games; the motive letters.

Buster recalls the fact that Stephanie and her mother were very close to the point of being inseparable, despite the makeup artist’s own insecurities. Matt laments that, in a way, she was the most confident in herself during her final moments. Using her talent on herself to try and save her mother.

Matt: It’s a cruel sense of irony in a way.

Meena: Um… don’t you mean a “cruel twist of fate?”

Matt: ...so anyways-

With the mystery of Ash’s involvement seemingly solved, Meena asks everyone if they can continue on with the trial and go on to voting time. The murder weapon, place and circumstances were all solved, so she sees no need to continue any more. Jude, Ember and Rosita agree while others are silent. Whether they are thinking about the case or Stephanie, it is impossible to tell.

However, Mike speaks up as the four try to continue on to voting time, holding everyone back from continuing. He noticed that, as she was saying that, she was squeezing her stand a little tightly. The elephant reflexively lets go of her podium after being called out, but then asks what he means when he said that. 

After looking the soprano up and down, he tells Nancy that he’s played quite a few games of poker and he also has a clue of other people’s habits. Before anyone can ask what he’s doing, the crooner directs his attention to Julee, saying that she actually did have a good point when she was debating with Buster.

Riley asks if he suddenly believes that Ash is the killer after it was proven, but he gets a little peeved and tells the stage actor to “shut his trap.” After a bit of recollection, he restates a claim said in the voice actor’s argument.

Mike: “If Stephanie disguised herself as Ash, then why does she look like STEPHANIE now?”

Everyone goes silent as a brick of tension falls upon the class trial room. It was so thick that it couldn’t even be cut by a knife; it would just break it. When everyone turns to Meena, she squeezes her stand and says that she doesn’t know why she looks like that. However with the possibility of Stephanie disguising herself being proven, the spotlight is centered on her.

Ember: But wait, if you’re saying that she wasn’t disguised as Ash, then why did you just let us argue about if she was or not?

Meena: I thought that it would just lead everyone to seeing that she didn’t!

Nancy: But the evidence clearly shows that she did; are you saying that she only disguised herself when she went out to the hall?

Meena: Maybe? I don’t know, maybe she disguised herself when she went to grab the quills. She just showed up to the door as herself!

Eddie looks to Buster, who is currently pinching his forehead while trying to think. When asking if he has thought of something, the koala nods and says “I already have an idea. But I’m just trying to think about how to present it to everyone.”

In his head, the showman looks over all of the pieces of evidence that they found. Testimonies, the crime scene, the bathroom and Stephanie’s room as well. He knows what he’s going to say, but he knows that as soon as he speaks, half of the animals will be on him because of how outlandish it seems. So he’s trying to think of a way to immediately prove that he is right.

Eddie puts a hoof on Buster’s shoulder, stating that he already knows what he’s thinking about, and will help him try to explain. They both give each other a comforting nod, then direct their attention to everyone. Speaking clearly, Buster grabs Meena’s attention from everyone else.

Buster: Meena. I’m going to ask you something, and I want you to look me in the eyes when you answer, alright? And as for everyone else, hear me out on this until the end.

Meena: …….

Buster: Meena… did you tamper with the crime scene?

Rosita: That’s quite enough Buster!!!

Cutting the elephant off before she can give her answer, Rosita slaps her hoofs on her stand. Buster and Eddie expected this outcome, but it coming from Rosita was a little worrying, considering that they’ve never seen her angry before. Speaking calmly to Meena, she says that she’ll stop the two from discrediting her any more.

The duo butts heads with the mother, and despite it being two against one, they still can’t help but tremble in the presence of the mother’s wrath.

Rosita: You two should be ashamed of yourselves! Meena has already confessed to her crime, and you want to make her seem like a villain as well?! Shame on you!!! The entire incident was just that; an incident! Besides, even if you two are confident in what you’re saying, then that circumstance would just be improbable!

Eddie: But Mrs. Rosita, I know what it sounds like, but we’re not trying to make Meena seem like a villain! What we’re doing is trying to figure out what is going on!

Rosita: How can you say that when your very first thought is to try to discredit the victim in this situation?! There very well could have been some third party or another logical explanation, and yet the first thing you attempt to do is blame the victim? How DARE you?! Can’t you see that she is already in pain?!

Buster: Rosita, you need to listen to us! We know our claim sounds crazy, but we do have evidence to back it up!

Rosita: But what evidence could there be?! Everyone did their own search of the crime scene, but could only find evidence pointing to the same conclusion; that Meena killed Stephanie out of self defense. You and the other four went to search Stephanie’s room as well, are you saying that she was the one that caused the mess?! We have seen all of the evidence there is in this case, so your point is absolutely ludicrous! So for the last time, all of this was just Meena’s mistake! My motherly intuition is never wrong!

Before they can face the full force of the mother’s wrath, the two present the evidence that they found in Meena’s bathroom; the wet towel. Ash says that he and Nancy had mentioned it earlier, but they didn’t fully understand what they had meant. The negotiator then explains that, when she found it in the bathroom, it was filled with brown and red stains all on one side, seemingly hidden away from view.

Adding onto the explanation, Eddie explains that they also found several large puddles around Meena’s sink, and when they looked into the drain, they found bits of fur that were brown-ish, but had an orange tint. Rosita is looking back and forth between the three and Meena, who is doing the same.

Putting the final piece of the puzzle into place, Buster forces everyone to recall Eddie examining the body; he had said that her fur was slightly damp, as if she had just been dried off. So with all of these pieces of evidence together, the sheep and koala reveal to everyone that Meena had taken off Stephanie’s disguise herself!

Meena winces and looks between everyone else for their reactions. Ash, Matt and Ember all agree that it does make sense, along with the evidence already presented. If the theory were to be true, then Ash’s clothes being in Meena’s toilet would finally have a reason towards it; she would be trying to hide it like everything else!

Buster also adds on that, when he was about to leave to investigate Stephanie’s room, he saw a strange bloodstain around the top of Meena’s door. He wasn’t sure what it was at first, but he bets that if they tried to match Meena’s hoof with the bloodstain, it would be a perfect fit. David understands what he’s trying to say, and says that it was put onto the door when she closed the door as he exited his room to go to the bathroom. If somebody saw Meena’s door open, then they would’ve immediately come to check.

A few participants still on Meena’s side (Rosita, Riley, Julee, Jude, Ember, Mike, Gunter) look to Meena for an answer to why these things were there. The rapper says that, since she was an eyewitness to the crime, she could easily discredit their arguments if they’re wrong. The elephant looks between everyone visibly anxious, before squeezing her eyes shut and screaming out “ALRIGHT, I DID IT!!!”

Silence washes over the class trial room as attention is directed to her. After taking a few deep, shaky breaths, Meena tries to explain her actions by saying that she did in fact tamper with the crime scene, but only so that Ash could avoid suspicion. She did find out that it was actually Stephanie under the disguise, but she knew that it would cause a lot of confusion. So she closed the door and washed all of the makeup off and used her key to snatch some clothes from her room, despite it already being messy.

Gunter and Ash state that the plan basically backfired in the end and Riley even tells her that she should’ve came clean from the beginning, and Meena states that she knew this, but thought that she could just get the class trial over with. She didn’t want anyone else to suffer through the pain of suspecting others, and she was guilty about the lie herself.

The rest of the participants look between each other with uneasy looks on their faces.

Jude, Mike and Nancy begin to question themselves with how hard they were persisting to figure out the truth.

David, Riley and Ash think that they should all probably try to stop and get on with voting time.

Even Buster begins to question his actions, adjusting his collar to allow a bit to loosen the grip he feels around his neck.

But before everyone can collectively begin voting time through majority vote, Eddie speaks up and calls attention to himself, snapping everyone out of their guilt party. He says that, before everyone votes, there is something that has still been bothering him.

This, however, sparks a bit of debate between the two sides. The ones that have stayed silent think that they should try to look over everything once more just to be sure, while those who want to get on with voting time say that they should just end the trial right then and there, since there doesn’t seem to be any more mysteries left to solve.

Eddie, however, points out that there are still two things that nobody has covered yet; the specifics of the murder weapon, and Johnny. Matt says that they did already talk about how the pipe was the murder weapon, but Eddie explains that they only talked about how the bed leg was the murder weapon, not how the bed leg was found.

Seeing her chance to help explain, Ember explains the specifics of the murder weapon: how the pipe had two significant indents on each side, how one half was spotless, and how said spotless half was chilly like a metal water bottle sitting in a cold fridge.

Turning to the soprano, the servant tries to ask about why exactly it was like that and, being upfront, Meena explains that when she first hit Johnny accidentally, she dropped the bed leg in shock. So when Stephanie came charging at her, she accidentally picked it up from the bloody side. She saw the pipe issue as just as confusing as the disguise, so she washed off one side to make it seem like she was holding it the entire time.

Once again the other participants scold the soprano for taking such unnecessary measures, but the elephant tries to say that she wasn’t thinking straight; she DID just kill somebody after all. While the animals are scolding her, Eddie tries to talk with Buster to figure out what was going on. Ever since the pipe was mentioned again he had been deep in thought.

However, Buster cannot hear him. He has muted out everything else so he can concentrate once more. He had completely disregarded the pipe before due to his guilt, but now he was fully absorbed into his mind.

Buster: ‘I don’t understand. This entire time, it seems like Meena has taken completely pointless steps in order to prove herself as the culprit. Was there a reason for doing so? Maybe I’m missing some sort of evidence that I’m forgetting about. Or maybe I’m thinking about this the wrong way. Maybe instead of trying to fit the evidence to fit why she CHOSE to take those seemingly pointless steps and think about why she HAD TO make those seemingly pointless steps. But if I were to think this way, then which piece of evidence did we not even remotely address? I think the one thing I forgot to mention was’-

As the final thought clicks into place, he suddenly becomes aware of Eddie’s existence. The servant himself, upon witnessing Buster snap back to reality, finds an expression that he had never seen on the koala before, even after finding the body; pure dread.

Buster: Eddie… do you remember what I saw when I looked at Johnny’s hands?

After thinking for a moment and closing his eyes, Eddie took a quick guess and said that  “They… they were clean, right?” To which the koala mouths back, “spotless.” After exchanging a desperate look with the servant, the thought finally clicks into his mind.

It was at this point Buster realized that the entire class trial room had gone silent, and they were all staring right at the duo, expecting some sort of response for breaking the silence. Gunter and Matt try to ask for an answer as to what’s going on in his head. Taking a large gulp to prepare himself for the oncoming storm, Buster looks directly at Meena and asks as bare bones as he can.

Buster: Meena. Johnny killed Stephanie, didn’t he?

The entire class trial room goes absolutely insane right after letting out a deafening, collective “WHAT?!?!”

Riley, Rosita, Jude, Julee and Ash begin questioning Buster’s sanity

David, Ember, Eddie and Matt look back and forth between Meena and Buster

Mike, Nancy and Gunter look between each other, trying to think about how Buster came to that conclusion by frantically looking over the evidence.

Despite all of the clamor and Ultimates practically screaming in his face, Buster doesn’t stop looking away from the elephant. Meena, meanwhile, had her eyes widen to the size of bowling balls (elephant sized) and had caused a crack to appear on her stand.

Jude and Julee ask Buster what’s going on, and since he didn’t get a response, he began to explain his thought process to the rest of the participants.

Buster: “Meena had taken so many seemingly unnecessary steps that, when you step back and look at the scale of it all, it doesn’t appear to be a spur of the moment decision. After trying to figure out why she chose to do these things, I thought about why she had no choice but to make these decisions, and then it all clicked. From the start she had been trying to rush the trial and pin herself as the culprit, saying that she did these things to show that she was guilty. But if we were to try and think through the lens of Meena trying to actually PROTECT somebody, so much more makes sense!”

Finally breaking out of her trance, the timid elephant screeches for everyone to stop with a deafening “NO!!!”

Meena: Do you even realize what you’re implying Buster?! Are you actually saying that Johnny was the killer this whole time, and I’ve been lying to you all?! That’s absolutely INSANE!!! Why would I even want to do that; it would get me killed too!!! How many times do I have to say it?! I killed Stephanie!

Those that are on Meena’s side recoil a bit from Meena’s reaction, surprised that the elephant could speak with such intensity. Although admitting that he does sound crazy, Ash asks for the showman’s reasoning behind his claim, and he does give it despite Meena continuing to protest.

Buster goes through his list of suspicions, starting with Johnny’s paws. When he and Eddie were investigating, the koala had a look at the greaser’s paws because he thought he suspected something strange, and in the end he found it, or rather, the lack of it. Despite lying in a pool of blood and going into the fight with Stephanie, the gorilla’s paws are completely clean.

Eddie does admit that he saw that little fact, but is clueless to its relevance to the case. Using this as a crutch to continue, he brings everyone’s attention back to the bed leg. Ember is confused, thinking that the mystery behind it was cleared up. However, there are a few things that Buster wishes to account for.

The first fact being that Meena didn’t mention the side switch in her original testimony. The soprano calls Buster out on this though, saying that she didn’t think the detail was important at the time since, once again, she wanted to get the class trial over with. Riley agrees with this statement, saying that Buster trying to use such a small detail against them is pointless in the end. Even a few of the other participants (Julee, Matt, Rosita) agree that it seems pointless.

Matt: You did kinda say yourself that using small details wouldn’t help.

While the showman does agree that him using that detail would be trivial, he poses a theory to everyone: Meena washed the pipe on one side to erase suspicion from Johnny. Mike asks how that makes any sense, thinking that Buster truly is launching into a conspiracy theory.

Ignoring the comment and continuing onwards, the showman explains that, if Johnny did in fact kill Stephanie, then using the pipe would give a proper explanation to why no blood were on his palms, while also giving a reason for Meena washing the pipe.

Interjecting once again, Meena asks why she would even want to wash the pipe, “If Johnny was theoretically the killer.” The elephant says she sees no point to washing it off, as nobody even has access to fingerprint powder in the theater.

Ember: Which really needs to be fixed some time soon!

But Buster says that they wouldn’t need fingerprint powder, because if Johnny did use the bed leg, then they could identify that fact by aligning the bloodstains on the paws and pipe. But since that would be too much of a tell, Meena could have used the sink to get rid of any evidence pointing to Johnny!

Riley stops Buster before he can go any farther, saying that he sounds absolutely insane. Although admitting that he does have a point from a logistical standpoint, the theory doesn’t make a lick of sense applying it to a real life standpoint.

Pulling out the pamphlet for the killing game, Riley points out the exact location of a certain rule so everyone can read it. “In the case of the blackened gaining an accomplice to their crimes, only the killer, the one that has ended the victim’s life, will be permitted to graduate and escape to the outside world.”

He then goes on to read another rule, also stating the location. “If the blackened is exposed during the trial, then they alone will receive punishment. If not, then all of the spotless-AKA everyone else-will receive punishment and the blackened will be permitted to return to the outside world.”

Starting to feel the pressure, Riley ALSO points out that if all of the participants die, then their loved ones would die as well! So if Meena really was covering for Johnny, then dozens of innocent people would die! Suddenly for both sides of the argument, the tension rises swiftly. Even though they already knew that fact, Buster wasn’t considering that he’s essentially accusing somebody of being a mass murder.

Acting as if they’re a sort of tag team, Meena goes off of Riley’s claims and also adds on evidence relating to the crime, since Buster was focusing on those points. Meena states that, for the entirety of the crime, Johnny had been knocked out by accident, so there’s no way he could have even tried to commit the murder.

With all of the pressure from the raccoon and elephant duo, Buster and Eddie can feel the pressure that is centered around them. A few more of the other Ultimates (Gunter, Nancy, Matt, Mike), though wary because of Meena’s sudden outburst, begin to question their stances as well. After taking a deep breath, Meena has appeared to calm down and once again wishes for everyone to move along to voting time, still squeezing her stand tight.

With now a majority of the Ultimates against him, Buster and Eddie frantically go through all of the evidence they can find. He is certain that Meena is not the culprit, and while he doesn’t want to pin somebody else and send them to their deaths, if they don’t find the truth then everyone will die. But after going through all of the evidence that was found, they could not find anything showing signs of another killer.

So instead, Buster once again goes over anything that he might have overlooked. He first thinks about all of the evidence found at the crime scene, but cannot recall anything that has already been brought up. Doing the same for the bathroom yields the same results, so he tries to remember testimonies, looking for any small contradiction.

That’s when he finds what he’s looking for.

Standing his ground, the koala says that they cannot end the trial just yet. Riley groans in frustration, angrily spitting a “What now?!” out at him. Meena visibly tenses up as if she’s waiting for some sort of flu shot while everyone not on Meena’s side gives a wary look to the koala.

Buster tells everyone that there actually is one thing linking the crime to somebody else. Despite nobody saying anything, Buster can sense the situation; if he doesn’t convince everyone right away, then it would all be over. They would discredit him without a second thought. Eddie asks Buster if he’s sure that he has something, but even the koala admits that it might be a long shot.

Riley demands to hear an answer right away so they don’t have to waste any more time. Even though they “saw everything they could at the crime scene,” as the raccoon says. However Buster does not back down, saying that the last piece of evidence was not seen, but rather heard by everyone in the theater.

Meena: Stop. Just, stop.

Interrupting the explanation before anyone can process his words, Meena is squeezing her stand once again with her head down. With a shaky voice, Meena asks if Buster has some sort of vendetta against her. Not even waiting for an answer, Meena looks back up at the koala, with tears staining her determined stare.

Riley, after looking between the koala and elephant, tries to ask Meena if she’s okay and tries to calm her down, only getting ignorance in response. Meena then asks if Buster wants everyone here to die, since “it does seem like that’s what he’s aiming for.”

Those on Meena’s side back away from her, almost terrified seeing the timid teen suddenly gain a fiery look in her eyes. Buster tells Meena that he just wants to find the truth, but that’s when she snaps and creates yet another crack in her stand.

Meena: This entire trial, all you’ve been saying is that you’re trying to find the truth. But is that honestly your goal? Because this entire time, it only seems like you WANT everyone else to suffer! So how can you say that you care about everyone else when all you’ve been doing is making things worse?! I understand that what I did is wrong, and I get that I deserve to be punished for it! But all you’re doing is dragging everyone else into this! I already admitted it, I killed Stephanie! I’m sorry for tampering with the crime scene, I just wanted this trial to be over with! So please, let’s just get on with it! I’m guilty, I deserve to be punished!! Do you still not believe me?! How many times do I have to say it?! I killed her, I killed her! I killed her! I KILLED STEPHANIE!!! DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO DIE?! DO YOU WANT ME TO SUFFER?! THERE WAS NOBODY ELSE THAT COULD’VE DONE IT! ASH WAS IN HER ROOM THE ENTIRE TIME! JUDE SAW NOBODY ELSE! JOHNNY WAS KNOCKED OUT THE ENTIRE TIME!!! I just want this all to end! So for the last time, I! KILLED! STEPHANIE!

With the rest of the Ultimates practically hiding behind their stands from hearing Meena argue as if she’s pleading for her life, Buster still stands his ground. He listened to the entirety of Meena’s rant until she was done, making sure that it wouldn’t lead to any more chaos. Despite his legs wobbling underneath him-which he tries to smack to make them stop-he doesn’t back down and begins his counterattack.

Buster: Meena, I don’t know what you’re going through, but you need to understand that covering for Johnny won’t do anything! You’re saying that, since the beginning, Johnny had been unconscious because you accidentally hit him while defending yourself. But I know for a fact that, at the time, Johnny was wide awake, and the Body Discovery Announcement proves that!!!

Visibly flinching, Meena’s eyes go wide as her determined expression fades into the timid one from before. Those still on Meena’s side look to her for answers to why she suddenly froze instead of fighting back, but nothing comes out of the soprano’s wide, gaping mouth.

Julee and Eddie ask about the body discovery announcement, and do admit that they forgot about its existence in the spur of the chaos of the class trial. So after pulling out the pamphlet and directing everyone to its location, Buster reads the rule of interest: “The body discovery announcement will play when three or more animals discover a body, prompting limited time for an investigation to take place before a class trial.”

Already sensing where the koala is going, Riley says that maybe Meena could’ve counted in the announcement prerequisite. Before this can be used as a valid debate topic, however, Monokuma states that he forgot to list it in the pamphlets and announces that the blackened themselves do not count to the witness tally when the body discovery announcement is played.

Monokuma: Believe me, there were FAR too many class trials that ended in failure because of that one single rule. Like, I know that that’s pretty much what we’re hoping for, but after the twentieth time, it just gets annoying. Not to mention that it’s absolutely terrible for views!

Matt and Rosita ask what the context is for the debate between Buster and Riley, but before he can explain he asks Rosita about Johnny’s head injury, since she did say she went to medical school before. Specifically if Johnny could have been conscious at all before blacking out. After trying to recall the specifics about the injury, Rosita confirms that due to the location of the injury, Johnny could not have been conscious immediately after the blow was struck.

Meena is beginning to go back into her anxious state when everyone first found her, although it almost seems to be more genuine this time. A majority of the participants are now listening to Buster while a small handful are trying to comfort the elephant.

To end off his frontal assault, Buster asks Jude about their nightwatch; specifically when they found the crime scene and when the announcement played. Starting to catch on, the jaguar restates that after both themself and David saw the crime scene, the Body Discovery Announcement played.

Buster: Now I fully understand. After the murder had been committed, the only ones in Meena’s room were the soprano herself and Johnny. This entire time, Meena had been saying that Johnny had been knocked out, but that just doesn’t add up. Meena herself couldn’t have triggered the announcement, and it wouldn’t make sense for her to knock Johnny out afterwards either. So if only Jude and David triggered the alarm, then both Meena AND Johnny had to be fully awake at the time of the crime!!!

The entire class trial room goes insane as everyone is scrambling to try and figure out what is going on.

Meena is hyperventilating while Rosita, Riley and David try to ask her about what’s going on.

Ash, Jude, Eddie, Ember, Julee and Matt all are freaking out at how everything was twisted.

Gunter, Nancy and Mike all need to sit down for a moment to think.

But amidst the chaos, a weak and strained groan is released throughout the room, making a few animals go silent. After looking between each other for a moment to try and figure out who did the groan, a familiar voice speaks among the silent room.

“Thank ‘ya, Mister Moon… You saved me the trouble of explainin’ everything.”

Putting a bloodied, crusty paw on his stand, the previously comatose teenager manages to heave himself up to a standing position. It takes a few moments for him to do so, as the injury on his head makes the process all the more painful. The entire time, the other participants are staring in slack jawed awe, while Meena has her hooves over her mouth while tears trickle down her cheeks. Then finally, standing hunched over his stand with an elbow supporting him, Johnny gently waves his hand to everyone else, keeping one eye closed to prevent the blood leaking from his head to fall in.

Johnny: Sorry… that I’m late everyone.

With how loud and chaotic the class trial room had been earlier, the silence felt almost more unnatural. Trying to keep up his cheerful facade, Johnny congratulates everyone for figuring out what had happened without him, admitting that he’s impressed. Though he supposes that it wasn’t easy, considering that Meena was trying to protect him. He gives a sad chuckle before groaning again and holding his head.

Eddie and Rosita offer to try to help the gorilla with his injury. The servant had stuffed some medical supplies into his pockets in case of Johnny waking up, and Rosita says that she can fix him up. But Johnny denies the help, saying that “the supplies would... just go to waste.”

A moment of realization washes over everyone as they realize the meaning behind the greaser’s words. Trying to force down his trembling hands, Riley asks Johnny if it really was true: everything that Buster had said. Ashamed to look anyone in the eye, the teen looks down at his hands and nods his head without a word.

Unable to hold back the tears any longer, Meena breaks down crying, apologizing to Johnny over and over again while wailing out loud. Rosita and David try to cheer her up, but she continues either way, saying that what had happened was her fault; that if she had just defended herself, then none of this would even be happening.

Johnny, trying to reach over and put a paw on her back, says that none of it was her fault. “If you had done it… then you would’ve been the killer. No way in ‘ell I was gonna let a friend… go through with that.”

Upon hearing the word “friend,” Meena simply begins to wail louder, blocking out everything else in the room. Julee is shocked, because everyone thought that Johnny had said that in an attempt to console Meena for killing Stephanie. Johnny shakes his head once again.

After a few more moments of silence, Johnny turns to Buster and asks if he can try to recap everything that happened during the night, since he’s sure that a few animals probably still don’t believe the words coming out his mouth. The koala is about to reject the offer, but after looking around and seeing some of the participants’ blank faces (Riley, Mike, Rosita), he decides that it might be for the best and begins the recap.

“Yesterday morning, all of us were called down to the main showing area of the theater. Due to nobody willing to make a move to escape for the first few days, Monokuma decided to give us a bit of an incentive, or rather, a motive. In individual letters, it was revealed that all of our loved ones were captured, and the only way to ensure their safety was to escape the theater with their respective participant’s life. Most of us were able to resist this temptation, but there was unfortunately one that was unable to do so: the victim, Stephanie Hornbaker. So after our brief meeting and going our separate ways for the day, she began to hatch a plan to kill the easiest victim in her eyes: Meena Jones, the Ultimate Soprano.

However, Stephanie was aware that rushing in blindly would be foolish, since she would be spotted easily. So after stealing Ash’s lost quills, she began work on disguising herself as the guitarist herself in an attempt to frame her for the murder. It may have seemed impossible for others, but since she was the Ultimate Makeup Artist, the task wouldn’t even take a sweat. So using the quills, makeup supplies and a bit of her makeup magic, she had the perfect disguise.

Later that night at around 9:30 PM, we all went to our rooms to meet along with the curfew. But a little while later at around 10:00 PM, Stephanie attempted to make her move while fully disguised. However despite being practically an exact replica of the porcupine, there was one thing that differentiated her from the original: her nervous habit of picking at her upper arms. Since, at the time, I was trying to head to my office, I managed to spot this while the fake Ash was peeking out the door. I was lucky; if I hadn’t seen this, then we probably never would have figured out what happened.

Then at around 10:00 PM, Jude came out of their dorm to begin a nightwatch, also witnessing me do my… less than graceful escape to my office. So hiding near the stairs, they stayed for as long as they could. In this nightwatch, they witnessed Meena trying to deliver a note to her friend to meet up with her, but due to the street performer interrogating her, she accidentally slipped the note underneath Stephanie’s door before running back to her room. If Stephanie didn’t know who her target was, she certainly decided it then.

At 10:49 PM, all of our… less than average meals took a toll on the jaguar, and they rushed to the men’s bathroom downstairs. Then, whether he had been planning to beforehand or went out then by coincidence, somebody took this opportunity to visit their friend. This person, though not realizing it, would be the future killer in this case.

After meeting up, the killer and Meena talked to each other for a while, comforting each other about their motive letters. Then a little before 11:00 PM, there was a knock at the door, and right outside was Ash Spinosa, or rather, Stephanie Hornbaker in disguise. Most likely due to his kind nature, the killer opened the door to let her in. That was when the tragedy began.

It is unclear whether Stephanie anticipated another participant in Meena’s room, but despite the circumstances, Stephanie began her attack and stabbed her soon to be murderer in the leg using one of Ash’s quills. With the door open and her goal in sight, Stephanie sprinted towards Meena in an attempt to kill her. But fighting back, Meena’s friend tried to protect her, resulting in a scuffle. Then, becoming desperate, the killer tore off one of Meena’s bed legs and, using it like a bat, brought it down on Stephanie’s skull, ending her life.

Once the deed had been done, I’d assume that the two remained there for a moment in shock. After all, one had just been a witness to the other’s murder. But then, something happened that none of us expected. Meena picked back up the bed leg and brought it down on her friend’s head, knocking him unconscious. She did not intend to kill him, though; it was quite the opposite. Meena had attacked the killer in an attempt to save him. After all, it was revealed in her invitation letter that he was the only one that Meena had grown close to during their time in the theater.

With not that much time and so much to do, Meena got to work on doing the unthinkable: framing herself for the murder. She closed the door to her room first, causing the strange bloodstain to appear on the door. At this time, another unfortunate animal made a mad dash to the bathroom: David Flowerson. When he walked by the soprano’s room, he witnessed the door closing, but thought nothing of it as he left to get downstairs. After this, she tampered with the crime scene to shift all of the blame to herself. She took off Stephanie’s disguise, got replacement clothes from her room, flushed Ash’s clothes down the toilet, and washed the bed leg of any trace of another animal using it. Little did she know that this attempt to frame herself would cause everyone to believe that Ash was the true culprit all along.

Once everything was set into place, Meena opened her door a crack and let out a scream, alerting Jude and David downstairs that something had happened. Rushing from their stalls, the two hurried upstairs in a futile attempt to stop a murder from occuring. When the two got to Meena’s room and discovered the crime scene, the Body Discovery Announcement played, setting the soprano’s trap into motion. Though in a way, the one thing that set everything into motion was Meena’s greatest downfall. If it weren’t for David joining Jude in the stall, then none of us could have came to the truth in this class trial.

So then… Do you confess? It it true that you are the real culprit, Johnny Serafinowicz, the Ultimate Greaser?”

When the entire recap is finished, the room is quiet once again, save for a few sniffles from Meena. Johnny is looking down, contemplating something silently while everyone stares at him, waiting for a response. Then, looking up with a pitiful smile, he chuckles once again and thanks him. “You certainly explained it… better than I eva’ could’ve.”

Meena begins sobbing once again while everyone else is just staring in disbelief. Riley is looking at nothing in particular as he puts both paws to his head in an attempt to process what was just said. “Why?” he says, “why did this have to happen?”

Johnny, admitting that he’d love to explain why, requests for it to be saved for after voting time. He wants the pain of the class trial to be over for everyone. So by his request, the robobear starts up the clock and has everyone vote via a small panel that pops up on everyone’s stand. There are sixteen buttons, each one having the icon of each Ultimate being covered by the respective animal’s face in pixelated form.

Once the final vote has been cast, a screen descends from above Monokuma’s throne, lighting up as the lights in the room go dim. On the screen it shows sixteen rows, each having the pixelated faces from before. Fourteen red tally marks fill up Johnny’s row, while a singular tally mark falls on Meena’s row.

After an unnecessary drum roll sound effect, the phrase “A WINNER IS YOU!!!” appears flashing on screen with a golden tint surrounding it, confirming once and for all that Johnny was indeed the culprit of the case. Multicolored confetti falls from the ceiling as MonoCult members appear in the audience seating with the cameras, cheering and whooping as if they were watching a football game after the underdog scores the final point. Then with one gavel pound on his throne arm, everything goes back to normal and the animals are free to leave their podiums.

Once everyone is allowed to get up, Meena runs over to Johnny and hugs him tight, repeating “I’m sorry” over and over while crying into his arm. Gunter comments that, despite Johnny doing the deed, it seems like Meena actually does believe that she caused Stephanie’s death.

Johnny, while trying to comfort Meena, makes an attempt to explain what had happened to everyone else. He applauds him for getting most of the details right, but there was one part that he couldn’t have known. When he had killed Stephanie, he was planning on going to everyone to confess.

Johnny: I knew that the trials were painful. Sometimes… my pa’ would make me watch the channel so he could… get some ideas for his own jobs. That’s why I… wanted to tell all of ya’. But, that’s when...

Trying to find some way to understand, Eddie walks over to the two in order to ask why. But as soon as he places a hoof on Meena’s back, she spins around and slaps it away, revealing her enraged, tear soaked expression. Johnny is left back at his stand, only able to watch as the soprano lashes out at everyone.

Meena: HOW COULD YOU?! All of you, ALL OF YOU ARE MONSTERS!!! Johnny was my only friend and now you’re taking him away from me!!! Do you know what it’s like?! Growing up your entire life only to be neglected or manipulated purely because you’re an Ultimate?! Every person I met, PURELY because of my Ultimate status, could never treat me like a REAL PERSON! They all just tried to USE me or HATED me because of my talent! I WAS JUST A THING FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE!!! My family all tried to put up an act, but I could see; they were all OBLIGATED to say I was good because I was their daughter! For my entire life, NOBODY genuinely cared for me except for Johnny, AND NOW YOU’RE ALL TAKING HIM AWAY!!! YOU’RE ALL KILLERS!!! MONSTERS!!! MURDERERS!!!

While the others are looking away in guilt or still in shock, Ember, Ash and Mike fight back, saying that if she had tried to make friends with everyone else in the beginning instead of waiting for others to come to her, then she would actually HAVE more friends. But the elephant continues to snap at them, while Johnny tries to reach out to her.

Buster tries to come in and sympathise with the teen, saying that he has been through something similar. A lot of people that he had met before were hard for him to trust, since he had lived practically his entire life shut in so nobody could treat him with respect. But Meena rejects his sympathy, saying that he shouldn’t speak as if he had known her all his life. Instead of trying to defend himself, Buster slinks back in fear, leaving Meena be.

After yelling at Buster some more, Meena suddenly drops to her knees and begins to wail again, repeating over and over that it was her fault. None of the other spotless make an attempt to comfort and support her after outburst. Some out of guilt, some out of fear, others anger.

Johnny tries to stand up to walk over to her, but collapses upon taking a single step. He groans and lifts himself up to his knees while Meena tries to help him up, apologizing even more with each passing second but after listening her for almost a full minute, the gorilla yells at her to stop.

Johnny: Meena, please… you need to understand. You, you didn’t kill me, you… you saved me! I was like you, growin’ up. Had no friends of my own. My fatha’ kept me close due ta’ our “family business,” and when I came of age, I was just anotha’ member. I did so many horrible things, and even after I ratted ‘em out, I still felt like I was nothin’ more than a criminal. But you-you gave me a chance to prove myself. When I protected ya’, I didn’t feel like a criminal; some, lackey to Big Daddy. I felt like me, like I was doin’ it because I wanted ta’! After all these years, I finally felt like I was worth a damn! I know it seems cruel, but you really did help me. So please don’t apologize, you gave me more freedom than any stolen buck ever could’ve done!

Unable to process the gravity of his words, Meena continues to cry into his shoulder while Johnny holds her close. Everyone else simply looks on, not moving an inch. They simply didn’t know what to do.

But then, interrupting the touching moment between the two, Monokuma slams his gavel again and calls attention to himself. Despite saying that he does like the drama that comes afterwards, it can get really annoying when it becomes dragged out, so he’s just gonna cut it off before that happens.

Everyone’s faces suddenly become grim; they know what’s going to happen next. Holding Johnny even closer than before, Meena pleads to the bear for more time to talk with the killer, but he just shoots it down in an instant.

Speaking to the cameras in the audience along with some straggling MonoCult members, Monokuma declares that he has “a VERY special punishment for Johnny what’s his name, the Ultimate Greaser!” The animals in the audience are pounding on their seats and banging their feet like they’re about to watch a football player do the first kickoff of the championship.

Knowing that his time is running out, Johnny gives Meena one final strong hug and pulls back. Meena is hyperventilating once again, but Johnny wears a somber smile as he tells her to not hold a grudge against everyone, as they were trying to survive.

As a large red button slowly rises from the floor in front of him, Monokuma tries to play the hype man role and takes out his gavel, swinging it like a baton twirler would right before pointing it to the sky.

Monokuma: Let’s give it EVERYTHING we got! You all know the words, so even those back home say it along with me!

MonoCult: IIIIIIIIIIIIT’S PUNISHMENT TIME!!!!!!!

As Monokuma slams his gavel on the button, an alarm sounds as MonoCult members from the metal doors come flying out, running past the other participants and directly to Meena and Johnny. Meena is begging them to not take Johnny, but they don’t listen, grabbing onto her as if she was a giant doll.

Right before the two are pulled apart, Johnny plants a gentle kiss on Meena’s cheek and, choking back tears, looks the elephant in the eyes and speaks to her one last time.

Johnny: I’ll, n-never forget y-you, Meena.

As the two are separated and Johnny is pulled to the center of the class trial stands, Meena makes one last attempt to pull away. But the animals holding her back are too strong. The gorilla looks at her one last time before letting the tears flow and closing his eyes. So, with no other options, Meena does the only thing she can do.

Meena: DON’T GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

WARNING!!! If you have never played/watched a Danganronpa game, then you should know that the next upcoming part is the execution, and it get VERY intense! If you are sensitive to blood, gore and all around brutality, it is HIGHLY recommended that you skip this. I’m going to make the entire execution bolded, so if you want to enjoy the story but have a sensitive stomach, skip to the point where the bullet points begin once again. I’ll have a summary segment for you to read so you can get a gist of what happened. For those who ARE interested in this, however, I hope you enjoy~

As the other participants look on in horror, Johnny kneels down in the center of the circle of stands, while the alarm sounding similar to the one made for hockey goals blairs into everyone’s ears. Popping out from behind one of the stands, a larger animal comes out holding a ball and chain, with Monokuma’s face painted over it, attached to a leg brace. Skipping over as if it were a child about to draw on the pavement, the animal latches the brace onto Johnny’s leg, then leaps out of the way. Meena is still wailing and reaching out to the gorilla, but the alarms make her screams inaudible. Johnny doesn’t look back.

Suddenly, the floor underneath him opens up like a trap door and, after getting a playful wave goodbye by the MonoCult members, Johnny is pulled down into the hole by the large iron ball, whizzing past the countless, colorful floors of the theater as he descends further and further down the hole. The other animals, meanwhile, are ushered into the elevator with minimal force as it drops down like an amusement park ride down to the bottom floor.

As everyone exits the wild ride, they find themselves in a big city alleyway, with trash cans and fire escapes alike. The main road is blocked off by a large chain link fence, and on the other side of the road sits a truck with an open sunroof resting near a bank. The large buildings stretch to the ceiling itself, and despite it all being several stories underground, the town looks unnaturally real, even though there are no other animals walking up and down the street. A painted skyline reveals that it is meant to be a cloudy afternoon, with grey fluorescent lights illuminating the underground expanse.

Then, from the ceiling, the gorilla falls down into the sunroof of the truck, placing him square into the driver’s seat and the iron ball preventing him from going anywhere else. He inspects the car with what little time he has, and after gripping the steering wheel, the realization dawns upon him. Meena clangs against the fence, shaking it to try and break it in order to get to the other side. But due to the sturdiness of it all, nothing can be done.

Before Johnny can get his bearings, another alarm rings out. But it sounds less like one used for celebration and more like one used to alert others of danger. Then, bursting out of the bank’s front door comes look alikes of Johnny’s gang, “Prey Gone Wild” In essence, they seem exactly the same. The only difference being that the masks that they wear are replaced from the bunny masks to Monokuma masks, with an eerie smile to boot.

The look alikes hop in and, without saying a word, point forwards aggressively. Not long after, police cars make chase, with the police officers also wearing the Monokuma masks. In Johnny’s eyes is both a look of sadness, but acceptance. Getting the signal, Johnny slams his foot on the gas, speeding the car down the street, leaving a lost newspaper to be caught along the wind and blow up against the chain-link fence, revealing the headline to Meena. “COPS AND ROBBERS.” 

The police squad and preyed predators go in circles, both figuratively and literally, as they continuously go around the same few blocks multiple times. The mimic gang pulls out some guns and opens fire on the cops, but Johnny assumes that they’re firing blanks, as nothing changes about their situation; that is, until, some smoke begins to leak out of the front of the truck. The greaser can hear the engine spit and sputter, and despite trying all of the tricks he knows, nothing works. Then popping out of the hood comes a small MonoCult member, holding a sort of crowbar and wrench in hand before leaping out of the way.

Unable to control the car, Johnny fiddles with the controls in an attempt to find anything that might save the situation. The rest of Prey Gone Wild leaps out of the car as Johnny slams into a wall of the bank, utterly destroying the truck itself and letting loose a bunch more smoke. When it all finally clears up, Johnny is revealed to be lying down nearby in a heap of rubble, unable to move.

Not being able to take any more, Meena begins to climb the chain-link fence, despite everyone else trying to pull her back down. While she does this, shadows fall upon Johnny’s body. When he looks up, he finds both the mimic gang and the police, standing over him with weapons in hand. Having an idea of what comes next, Johnny closes his eyes and prepares for the worst as a police officer lifts up their nightstick for the first strike.

But it doesn’t come. Despite hearing the noises of weapons whizzing through the air, no pain comes to the gorilla. When he opens his eyes a crack to see what’s going on, they suddenly go wide like saucers as pecks of blood drip down onto his jacket. Directly above him and taking the brunt of the impact, was Meena herself. Her face was clenched in pain as she winces with each blow, letting another teardrop fall. Tasers, clubs, knifes, guns, nightsticks; anything goes. Meena was being mauled, all the while hovering directly over Johnny with her arms out wide in an attempt to protect him.

With one final gunshot to the chest, Meena lets out a bloodcurdling cry of agony as blood splatters all over Johnny’s face. With trembling arms, Meena takes one last look at Johnny with a pained, somewhat forced smile on her face as she flops over to the side. With what little strength he has left, Johnny picks himself up and holds Meena in his arms. Her body is unmoving in his hands. He tries to shake her awake; there is no response. She was gone.

Hunched over her body, Johnny could do nothing but stare blankly while cradling her in his arms. His breath steadily accelerates to the speed Meena has when hyperventilating while steady streams of salty tears wash away the fresh blood on himself. Meanwhile, the shadows of the two sides of the law loom over him. He is unable to even look at them and acknowledge their presence. As the shadows lift their weapons above their head, only one thing occupies the gorilla’s mind: despair.

All the rest of the participants can see from this point forwards is criminals and police collectively swinging their weapons at the remains of the Ultimate Greaser. Liquid crimson leaks from the rubble and flows down into the sewer grate below as all of the animals simply watch in absolute horror as, right in front of them, yet another life is taken from their small group. The grey fluorescent lights flicker off, leaving only the golden light of a streetlamp to show the goal they all worked for come to fruition.

SUMMARY: Johnny was pulled into a reenactment of one of his gang’s crimes. There were troubles with the car, causing it to crash, and both the mimic police and gang were ready to beat Johnny to death. But Meena, unable to stand by and watch, jumps in between them and takes the brunt of the entire attack to the point of falling unconscious from pain. Filled with despair, Johnny was next, and after what felt like ages, his life was taken.

Upon the ending of the execution, a heavy sense of dread fills the air. Similarly to when everyone had found the crime scene, nobody dared to speak, feeling like if they did, the MonoCult members would target them next. But just like last time, one scream was all it took to shatter the silence.

Riley: GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Buster, Matt, Mike, Jude, Julee and Ash are less than successful at holding back their lunch.

Eddie and Gunter just stare forward blankly

Rosita, Riley, Nancy, David and Ember simply scream and/or cry.

Buster, beginning to feel lightheaded, clings onto the chain-link fence for leverage. But since that only makes him face the now motionless bodies of Meena and Johnny, that only made things worse for him and he choked back some chips.

But as he is about to turn away, the koala spots something moving at the corner of his eye. As much as it pained him, he faced the horrific scene once more and focused his attention to find the source of the movement. He could see it clearly; Johnny was dead, there was no doubt about it.

But looking at what he had assumed was Meena’s corpse, he could spot the slightest hint of movement: breathing.

It takes a moment for him to realize what he was looking at. But when he finally sees what’s going on, he yells to everyone as fast as possible. “MEENA IS ALIVE!!!”

The other participants rushed to the fence, peering through the holes between to look at Meena, coughing up blood and struggling to breathe. Trying desperately to find some way over to the other side, Buster tries to climb the fence just like Meena had. But sadly, no progress could be made for the climb. He had very little, if not any, upper body strength due to being shut in for his entire life.

He turns to the others for help, wanting some way past the fence to make sure that Meena stays alive. But as much as he pleads, everyone else looks away from the scene. Not even a single participant is willing to look over to him.

However, there is at least one person willing to help and, using his hooves, takes Buster by his shoulders and lifts him up. After panicking for a moment, he realizes that it’s actually Eddie. He has the same frantic look on his face, and just as willing to help Meena.

After lowering him back and crouching down, Eddie heaves Buster up as high as he can up to the alleyway fire escape, leaving him dangling from the railing. After kicking himself up and a struggle of upper body strength, he manages to get himself up.

Buster sprints up the fire escape until he’s just high enough to get over the fence, then maneuvers himself to the other side and climbs down, rushing over to Meena’s side. Despite a stabbing feeling in his gut upon taking just the slightest glance at Johnny’s mangled body, he continues onwards to make sure that she’s okay.

Despite taking a brutal beating to protect Johnny, the elephant was still breathing. Her sweater was soaked crimson and a hint of red was escaping her mouth, but the slight up and down movement of breathing and a slight tremble proved that she was still hanging on. But with how rough the wounds were, Buster doubted that he had much time.

Turning around to ask Eddie for the medical supplies, he is stopped when Eddie yells up into the darkness for Monokuma’s attention. A small screen appears within the alleyway, revealing the bear’s face up close to the camera, letting out an eerie “yeeeeees?~”

Eddie, still trembling, demands that he sends MonoCult members to help Meena. With a playful tone and dangling upside down from his throne, the bear asks why he should. Before Eddie can explain why and reach into his pocket, Monokuma revises his question and asks why Eddie wants him to save Meena.

Monokuma: Look at yourselves! It’s clear as day that you all feel betrayed! Meena had manipulated you all for her own selfish desires; she was willing to leave you all in the dust for some boy toy! So tell me, why should I help her?

The duo looks to the rest of the participants, who are taking interest in literally anything else while they plead with Monokuma to save the killing game’s third victim. They can understand why they would feel betrayed, but all of them waiting around to just let Meena die was sickening to them.

Still trembling at the idea of what might happen to him, Eddie pulls out the pamphlet given to him, fumbling with it for a bit, and presents the page to the screen, saying with as much confidence as he can muster “Yo-your own rules!”

The robobear raises a nonexistent eyebrow.

Eddie: I-it says in your own rules that, that if the blackened is exposed in the t-trial, then only they will be killed! If you l-let Meena die here, then you’d be breaking your own rules. I don’t think the au-the audi-the viewers would want that!

Grumbling and showing some teeth, the bear presses a button on the other arm of his throne and, just like last time, his collar begins to beep and flash red.

Buster and Eddie both gasp and the other participants back away in fear. Despite shaking as if he was standing on a paint mixer, the servant looks at the screen and stands his ground. The look on his face makes it seem like he’d bolt at any moment, but he refused to move.

With an aggravated groan, Monokuma presses the button again, making the beeping stop. Eddie’s legs give out from under him and he collapses to the ground, breathing heavily from the adrenaline. Buster gives a large sigh of relief for his friend.

After yelling something off screen and clapping his paws, an ambulance suddenly appears down the road in the basement and stops right in front of the two bodies. Buster has to leap out of the way from becoming roadkill, but seeing help actually come does make himself feel slightly better.

Coming bursting out of the back of the ambulance, two larger MonoCult members come out with a single stretcher and heaves Meena onboard, with little regard for her safety. The duo winces at this, but stand back and let them do their thing.

After picking her up and throwing her in the ambulance, they drive off into a passageway that had not been there before, closing right behind them. They didn’t even give a glance to Johnny’s corpse.

Monokuma turns back to his servant and, in the tone of an annoyed mother giving a whining child what he wanted, asks if he’s satisfied yet. When he asks hesitantly about why they didn’t take Johnny with them, he receives a “You gotta be kidding me” look from the bear.

Monokuma: What do you expect me to do?! I can’t bring Johnny back from the dead! And besides, he got what he deserved! He broke the rules and received punishment; all is now right in the world! But just know this, EDDIE!

Monokuma leans in closer to the camera, making the servant scoot back to the wall.

Monokuma: I may have been willing to comply this time, but don’t you think that I’ll be so helpful next time. I only did this because we can’t afford any more budget cuts; we’re low enough on funds right now as is! So if you decide to cross me again, then I’ll be having SHEEP STEW for dinner! And as for the rest of you…

He turns his attention to the other participants, cowering in fear of the bear’s presence.

Monokuma: Congratulations on completing your very first class trial. It was certainly entertaining with how you were all scrambling around for the truth, so I’m sure that this will bring in more profits for the game! But let this be a lesson for anyone who violates the natural order of this game. If you are as sloppy as Stephanie had been today, then none of you will ever see the light of day again! I hope you all now learned now that in this world, MY world, only the powerful may survive! Puhu, puhuhu, pahahahah! AAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!!

As the bear’s malevolent laugh echoed through the basement of the theater, everyone realized that, in the end, they did learn something: there was no longer any hope for them in the world of the living. Buster now knew that, in this place he used to call home, the happy memories were no longer welcome.

The only thing left for them all was an overwhelming feeling of despair.

CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS TRUE FRIENDSHIP-END TO BE CONTINUED 14 left

OC Credits

Ember Gibson and Matt Pine belong to @elceetheporcupine Stephanie Hornbaker belongs to @mediasploshion Jude Therna belongs to @twilightprince101 (hey that’s me!) Jackson Riley belongs to ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated) David Flowerson and Julee Hartford belong to @superlevelup-reviews

Writing and editing

@twilightprince101 and ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated)

#danganronpa #singanronpa #spike chunsoft #team danganronpa #elceetheporcupine #mediasploshion #twilightprince101 #ismellofstardustanderasers #superlevelup-reviews #ember gibson #matt pine #stephanie hornbaker #jude therna #jackson riley #david flowerson #julee hartford #sing #sing movie #sing movie 2016 #sing 2016 #sing buster #sing buster moon #buster moon #sing eddie #sing eddie noodleman #eddie noodleman #sing rosita #sing johnny #sing meena #sing ash

[twilightprince101]

I drew some thumbnail sketches for the Singanronpa cast! I tried to make them similar to the ones we see in the main games, and I hope that I got the same effect here as well!

#((if needed I can post each individually zoomed in)) #((posted again since I wasn’t lazy and actually tagged stuff)) #Singanronpa #crossover #danganronpa au #danganronpa #dangan ronpa #spike chunsoft #sing #sing movie #sing 2016 #sing movie 2016 #illumination #illumination studios #sing Rosita #sing Gunter #sing Nancy #sing mike #sing Johnny #sing Meena #sing ash #sing buster #sing buster moon #buster moon #Eddie noodleman #sing eddie noodleman #sing Eddie #sing oc #oc #Jude therna

[twilightprince101]

Hey dude! In the recent Singanronpa post, how did Johnny, Meena, and the attacker end up at Meena's room. Both Meena and Johnny were last seen in his room. Silly question, but I'm curious 😁

This is just a slight misconception. Because of the self-imposed curfew, everyone had to go back to their own rooms when the night time announcement came along.

As for how they all got into Meena’s room, well…

No spoilers ; )

#singanronpa

[twilightprince101]

Singanronpa: What is True Friendship? (Curtain Call)

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Finally able to get this out there, coming to the second most important thing about Danganronpa; the investigations! Lemme just say that I’m really excited for how this turned out, and although it was a long time coming (exams and family stuff happened, my bad), we can finally get back on this train! However let me just say that, while in traditional Danganronpa games, you were able to see what was concrete evidence via truth bullets, I think I might be best to take a more Phoenix Wright route and leave everything up to interpretation. However if you manage to correctly guess what exactly happens before it is revealed, then kudos to you! (if you’d like I could even do a shout out once the full chapter is over) The main thing I’ll retain from the original game is the point and click style format; you’ll know it when you see it. But enough talk, let’s get to it!

ATTENTION!!! Danganronpa is home to lots of graphic content, particularly violence, death and graphic depictions of that death. If you are sensitive to any of these things and several other mature themes, DANGANRONPA IS NOT FOR YOU!!! You have been warned.

For what seems like an eternity, time stands still as all of the animals stare at the scene in front of them. Nobody knows how to react while looking down at the motionless bodies of Johnny and Stephanie. Meena is pressed up against the far wall, eyes staring at nothing while her breathing is as fast as a speeding train’s beat. Buster even refuses to believe it at first. But then-

Mike: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!?!

Chaos unfolds and everyone freaks out.

Gunter, Nancy, David and Rosita scream in terror.

Ember, Jude, Matt, Ash and Mike all begin cursing up a storm and try to wake themselves up from the nightmare they’re in.

Buster and Julee try to hold back their dinner. Julee fails and sprints for the trash can.

Eddie and Riley go still from shock and are still frozen in place

Meena is now curling up and pressing her ears against her face.

While everyone is still freaking out, Monokuma appears, satisfied with the despair everyone is feeling. Although everyone keeps panicking and doesn’t acknowledge his presence, so the bear pulls out an air horn and honks it to catch everyone’s attention.

After tossing the horn, the bear comments on how the scene before them is a sight to behold at how the first murder happened so quick, yet so sloppily. However, he admits that he’s seen worse, and simply laughs, prompting a yell of denial from Mike.

Mike: IS THIS SOME SORT OF SICK GAME TO YOU?! TWO PEOPLE ARE DEAD!!!

Monokuma: Well, I literally called this the “Killing Game,” so…

The bear then prompts everyone that any questions about the oncoming investigation will refer to the black section of the pamphlets they were all given earlier. He also gives them a red folder with a black number 1 circled in white with the outline of the bear’s head, explaining that it is the Monokuma File, and “Gives all the juicy details on any murder that takes place here!”

Monokuma: We used to have a really cool digital version instead of paper but… well some budget cuts happened and now we’re here.

After wishing everyone (including the culprit) good luck, the bear vanishes once more, leaving everyone slack-jawed from their presented task. Riley is the first to speak up after the bear leaves, asking “Why… why did Johnny have to… how did this happen?”

Julee speaks up as well, stating that she had a slight feeling from the start that the quietest one would be the first to act. “It is the most common in these scenarios after all,” she says. “if there’s one thing I know, it’s that everyone has a dark side.”

But Buster immediately tries to counter this, saying that he’s researched everyone’s history, and Meena was one of the kindest people he scouted out, even going as far to list different charitable things she’s done like work at a soup kitchen. However, Ash and Gunter dismiss this statement as creepy, not taking it seriously. Rosita does jumps in, saying that she knows how certain people behave since she’s been around her kids for so long.

Rosita: I can say for a fact that Meena could not have done this on purpose. I’ve been around a lot of children throughout my life and I can always tell what exactly they’re like after being around them. My motherly intuition is never wrong!

This sparks a bit of debate between Rosita, Mike, Julee and Nancy while everyone else is still freaking out. Buster tries to think of any possible explanation for this situation, still denying in his mind that any of this was happening.

But once Meena begins to mutter “I didn’t mean to” over and over again, everyone stops and rushes to her side, asking her what exactly happened. The elephant is pulling her ears as close together as possible while streaks of tears wash away a bit of the blood splattered on her cheeks. Through a shaky breath, Meena begins to explain the events that had transpired in the room.

“Johnny and I… we were together in here, talking about the notes. Th-there was a knock at the door and, and Johnny opened it and-and she rushed in with one of Ash’s quills. She was trying to kill me I-I had to-... Johnny tried to protect me, but h-he was getting hurt and-and I tried to help but I hit him and then, Steph ran at m-me and… And I…..” She suddenly burst out sobbing again.

The room is silent once again. Everyone present is agape at the Soprano’s confession and doesn’t know exactly how to process what was just said. Even though it seemed like the most logical answer to some, they still couldn’t believe it.

Rosita and David try to comfort Meena, trying to calm her down while Matt sits down and chuckles in shock, trying to find some sort of humor in the situation.

Matt: The first murder of the killing game and it’s an accident. Haha… this isn’t even funny.

Mike then speaks up, saying that while it is shocking, he was silently expecting it due to Meena’s timid nature. “She was meek and quiet, it’s only natural for this to happen. It’s as they say though, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Buster, however, still states that something feels off about the situation, and all of the attention is turned towards him. Mostly everyone-save for Nancy, Eddie, Gunter and Ember-say that Meena had already confessed to the crime and question his morals.

David: Can’t you see she’s grieving right now man?

Ash: Figures, the morals align with the creeper’s actions.

Jude: What would even be the point of her lying right now if it would get us killed?!

After taking a moment of consideration from hearing Jude’s words, Nancy asks for what would happen if there was an accomplice involved and reaches for her pamphlet, reading the desired segment aloud. “In the case of the blackened gaining an accomplice to their crimes, only the killer, the one that has done the deed, will be permitted to graduate and escape to the outside world.”

While the other Ultimates become more sure than ever that Meena was telling the truth, Buster admits that he is still uncertain and asks Meena if she was certain that her entire confession was true. Perhaps she was mistaken at some point.

After jumping slightly, she stutters out a yes and states that she was absolutely sure. While this does cause more angered glances in Buster’s direction, the showman states that something else still could’ve happened. Gunter begins to catch on and states that, perhaps, Meena didn’t kill Stephanie and that she only THINKS she did so.

At this point, there are three groups;

Meena killed: Rosita, Meena, David, Riley, Ash, Jude, Julee

Something else happened: Nancy

Uncertain: Gunter, Mike, Ember, Matt, Buster, Eddie

After sides are taken, Buster requests that he takes a look around, since he assumes that these games typically include the investigations as well. Nancy confirms this, and also tells everyone siding with Meena that if they are way too hasty, then they’ll end up like Killing Game #14. Everyone in the room is sent a jolt of fear, and then after considering for a bit, Rosita reluctantly allows them their investigation.

Eddie, currently waiting in the hall due to concerns of being attacked, pipes up and says that he wants to help as well. Many are suspicious of him and are hesitant to this idea though.

Mike: Um, yeah, who ask you exactly?

Rosita: I mean… you don’t have to if you don’t want to, you could just leave it to us.

Ember: Yeah, I’m pretty sure we can handle it by ourselves.

Buster waves everyone down and asks that they listen to what he has to say. After giving a confirming nod to Eddie-who is visibly sweating from stress-the servant begins to explain himself.

Eddie: When Monokuma introduced me, he said I- he said I was supposed to obey him, but that I could be a p-player as well. A-and he also likes it when class trials are ex-exciti-cool, right? So maybe if I could-I mean, play too then, it would… be…. Alright?

The entire time he is saying this, he is staring at his collar, as if he’s preparing himself for the alarm to sound and to apologize. Everyone else feels his hesitation as well when they catch on to his worries. But then, the light on the collar turns green and emits a sound similar a the seat belt sign on an airplane, and the sheep gives a sigh of relief, followed by everyone else.

Those insisting that Meena is the killer grumble and go back to what they’re doing. Buster applauds Eddie for his bravery who, in response, blushes slightly and admits that he was scared to death the entire time he was saying that. But after a small talk, the two agree to investigate together, since both of them are the ones attracting the most suspicious glances.

Right before they begin, Buster remembers Crawley’s letter and tries to draw even the slightest bit of courage from it. He recalls Crawley telling him to not be afraid so he can end the killing games and lead everyone to freedom. So with a desire to prove himself to the Ultimates, the duo’s resolve strengthens.

-----INVESTIGATION START----

Monokuma File #1

To begin, Buster and Eddie read the Monokuma file aloud so everyone else can hear them. It contains a single laminated paper with a picture of Stephanie’s corpse, a grayscale photo of Stephanie with bits of pink highlights on her fur, and a list of notes. The following is a summarized version of the file:

“The victim is Stephanie Hornbaker, the Ultimate Makeup Artist. The victim's body was discovered in Meena Jones, the Ultimate Soprano’s room. The established time of death is [REDACTED]. The victim was subject to blunt force trauma to the back of the skull, resulting in cranial fractures and immediate death. Several miscellaneous injuries accompany the body as well, including significant lacerations along the torso and irritation on the upper arms.”

The two immediately take notice of how the time of death has been blacked out, despite all of the other details being so specific. To erase confusion, Ember states that different details in murders tend to be cut out in killing games, as they would be defining evidence to the Blackened. “It makes sense,” says Eddie, “since he also wants to make these games interesting for the animals watching.”

Mike is disgusted at how the bear treats the murder as some sick show and not-so-silently curses at the bear.

Matt then asks for what Johnny’s file says and the koala takes out the paper to look for the next but, to his surprise, he finds no such paper. The duo look around to see if the paper dropped anywhere, but once again find nothing. A bit of confusion is passed around to the animals, but then Riley gasps, realizing something that they don’t.

Riley: W-wait… does that mean…?!

A low groan of pain is emitted and everyone stops dead in their tracks. They look between each other for a moment, then once another groan is let loose, everyone looks to the floor to find Johnny struggling to get up. Johnny was alive!

Everyone scrambles around Johnny, Meena and Riley especially. He is still bleeding heavily and the metallic drops of red soak his fur. Rosita looks around the room and yells for “any medical supplies at all” so she can help him. Buster says that there’s some in his room and Eddie runs to go get it while the koala yells to him the details of its location.

The greaser flops to his back and everyone gets in his face, barraging him with a mini-gun's worth of questions.

Ember: What happened?! Did Meena really kill Stephanie?!

Riley: Please, please please, don’t go! You’re not gonna die too, right?!

David: Johnny, what happened here?! Are you alright?!

Amidst all of the animals clamoring to get an answer out of the gorilla, Johnny was only able to look at the soprano, who is currently leaking tears and gripping his paw while apologizing profusely. When he began to open his mouth, everyone went quiet once again. Right before he closed his eyes once again, Johnny spoke to Meena “It’s… n-not your… fault…..”

As the room goes silent once again, Eddie returns with the entire first aid kit. Rosita immediately gets to work, with nearly everyone working along with her. Meena, with a blank look in her eyes, goes back to where she was and begins to sob once more.

Once Johnny is patched up, the mother explains that Johnny will survive. He lost a lot of blood though, so it’s likely that he won’t wake up for a good while. But on the topic of the greaser, the participants talk about Johnny’s last words. Riley says that, along with Meena’s confession, it’s clear now what exactly happened.

This, however, sparks a bit of a debate between the Ultimates, with some saying that it didn’t clear up any suspicion while others say it’s the final nail in the coffin for the soprano. Riley, in an offended tone, accuses those not on Meena’s side for trying to drag out the elephant’s suffering, and tells the Ultimate that he’ll help her out. Meena says nothing in response to this, she simply looks at the stage actor, then looks back down to the floor.

Before the debate gets out of hand, Nancy and Ember calm everyone down and convinces everyone to get back to the actual investigation. Riley goes to Meena’s side to try and talk to her and see what he can do to prove her guilt while the rest of the Ultimates go back to what they were originally doing.

Stephanie’s body

Knowing that they should get it out of the way, the koala approaches the victim’s corpse, suppressing the urge to vomit. Buster looks at the Monokuma file once again and lists the different places that Stephanie was injured so he can inspect them, dreading the thought of even getting close to the body.

However as he’s about to put the file away, he spots Eddie approaching the body to inspect it without a smidgen of hesitation. The showman is astonished by this skill, but before he can say anything about it, Eddie explains the different details of Stephanie’s wounds.

Eddie: Everything in the Monokuma file does match. Bludgeoning to the head, lacerations across the body, significant rashes on the arms. But the one thing I don’t get is why the fur is wet-

Buster waves him to stop before he can continue, asking how he could have been able to just walk up to a corpse like that like it was nothing. A few of the Ultimates are also looking at the servant with a mix of shock and disgust. Eddie doesn’t understand why they’re shocked, but still apologizes.

Deciding it would be best to ask about it later, the showman asks about what he was going to say. Eddie then states that Stephanie’s entire body is damp, like a thoroughly ringed out towel. After trying to think of possible reasons for her fur to be damp, they consider asking Meena about it to clear the suspicion. But since Riley is still interrogating her, they save it for the trial.

Johnny Serafinowicz and Rosita Brown

The duo approaches Rosita, who is still trying to make sure that Johnny is safe and healing. The showman thanks her for her medical skills, saying that if she hadn’t been there, then Johnny most likely would have also went down with Stephanie. Rosita thanks them, but doesn’t think much of her skills, saying that it was just another thing that she needed to know to help her several children.

Rosita: Then again, I suppose that night school for my medical degree wasn’t all for nothing, so that’s nice.

When Eddie asks how long Johnny will be out for, Rosita admits that she isn’t exactly sure. The worst case scenario is that he’d be unconscious for the entire class trial, leaving the group without a key witness. However she still states with certainty that Meena’s actions were simply an accident, saying that the soprano would never do something so selfish willingly.

Rosita: I know for certain; my motherly intuition is never wrong!

The mother allows the two to check Johnny’s body, as long as they’re careful. After the two do a quick inspection, they find that many of the gorilla’s injuries are similar to those listed in Stephanie’s Monokuma file: cuts and bruises along the body and a blow to the head-the only thing missing is the rashes on the arms.

However in place of the irritation, Buster notices something about Johnny’s hands while the sheep and mother are talking about the injuries. He flips over the currently palm-down arm, much to Rosita’s disapproval, to find that the paw is completely clean. He flips over the other one as well, getting similar results. But due to Rosita heavily insisting him to leave Johnny alone to recover, the koala steps away and is unable to fully process what this could mean. He then leaves with Eddie to look for something else.

Ash Spinosa and Julee Hartford

Since he saw Ash right before he ran to his office, Buster tries to talk to the rocker and figure out what she might have seen or heard. The rocker is currently standing guard on the wall with Julee, making sure that nobody tampers with the crime scene in any way, while also talking about possible clues that could be useful during the trial.

When the duo approaches, the two are visibly disgusted by their presence and openly state this as well.

Ash: Ah look, the stalker and the creeper working together in arms. I honestly don’t know why I expected less.

Julee: Heh, to be honest I think they’re practically made for each other considering their hobbies.

The two pretend not to hear those comments and request that they ask the two some questions. Both of them clench their teeth in response to this, but since both of them know the gravity of their current situation, they allow the two to do their thing.

However when Buster explains what exactly he saw and asks the rocker about it, Ash has no idea what she’s talking about and thinks that the koala is spouting nonsense. When going deeper into detail about what he saw and what happened, Ash assumes that he’s crazy, as their rooms aren’t even remotely close to each other like he described.

Julee offers up the idea of Buster trying to pin the blame on her and Ash states that she wouldn’t put it past him. When Eddie tries to defend him by saying that it would only get him killed, the two say that they don’t really know what’s going on in the koala’s head so he can’t exactly say that. Deciding it would be useless to press any further, the koala leaves the two alone and investigates elsewhere.

Severed bed leg and Ember Gibson

In between Stephanie’s body and Meena, the giant bed leg laid on the ground just outside of the small pools of blood. Ember is currently inspecting the weapon herself as well, making sure not to touch it. The bed leg is half bloody and half clean and, due to Meena’s giant height, the bed leg was about as tall as the servant himself. Buster tries to lighten the mood by saying that it only helps with the investigation since he could crawl inside of it for clues.

Ember: You sound a little too enthusiastic to do that.

Buster: ...I like cramped spaces…

The rapper comments that she has finished her own inspection of the bed leg itself and shares her findings with the duo:

“The bed leg itself is the most likely candidate for the murder weapon according to Meena’s confession, the amount of blood covering the surface, and the indents aligning with the two head injuries. The indents themselves are strange though, as they’re both on opposite ends of the pole, even the clean part. It might be due to how tight Meena gripping the pole though; she’s naturally strong after all. However the most confusing thing is the heat of the pole. You would expect the clean part to at least be lukewarm, since Meena was gripping it while attacking. But it’s actually ice cold, like if it was left out during a snowstorm. *sigh* If I had some fingerprint powder this investigation would be done so much faster.”

Buster thanks Ember for the quick briefing and Eddie comments on Ember’s desire for fingerprint powder, saying that she sounds like a detective from an old school movie. The badger puts on a lax, smug expression, saying that before he came to the theater she was actually a pretty famous detective. But when Buster calls her out, saying that she didn’t work for the police, she begins to stumble over her words.

Ember: W-well, I, uh… I mean I still freakgigbph… why don’t you go investigate somewhere th-not here?

Jude Therna, Meena Jones, Jackson Riley, and David Flowerson

The showman and servant approach Jude and David, who are together comforting Meena while Riley asks her questions. When they spot the duo, they whisper something to the racoon and elephant, then get up to step in between the four.

David says that it would be best to leave the soprano alone for the time being, since she’s already on the verge of a breakdown because of Riley questioning her. He isn’t exactly being aggressive, but everything is a sensitive subject to her for obvious reasons.

Respecting their wishes, Buster decides to ask a few questions to the two, starting with who found the crime scene first. Jude freely states that they did, leaving the duo in slight shock. But before they can continue, the jaguar stops any suspicion towards them before it starts, saying that they have an alibi.

The entire night since 10:00 PM, they did a night watch to make sure that nobody tried anything. Although they do openly state their sorrow for not being able to prevent the crime in the end, David tries to comfort the street performer by saying there was nothing they could have done. Jude just shakes their head as if to shake away their doubts, then tells the three about the details of the night watch:

10:00 PM: Nightwatch begins. Buster is spotted running to his office, leaving his door open behind him. They checked his room for anything suspicious, but found nothing.

Buster looks away red cheeked at how obvious he must have seemed while he was “sneaking away.”

10:13 PM: Meena leaves her room while holding a letter in her hands, looking around as if she was trying to sneak somewhere. As she crossed the hall Jude intercepted her and began to ask where exactly she was going, startling her in the process. She then slips their note underneath Stephanie’s door and runs back to her room. Jude tries to knock on the door to see what the note had on it, but there was no answer.

10:59 PM: Jude does not go into too much detail about what happens, simply stating that they had stomach troubles and went to the downstairs men’s bathroom.

Jude: I swear we need more healthy things to eat in this stupid place.

Around 11:06 PM: David joins the jaguar in their bathroom suffering session.

11:13 PM: As the jaguar left the bathroom, a scream rang out, most likely Meena’s. They ran back up to her room, with David close behind, and then saw the crime already committed. Once the two had seen the scene, the Body Discovery Announcement played.

When asked by Eddie why the two went to the downstairs bathroom instead of their own, Jude states that their room was at the other end of the hall and they took watch by the stairs, as it was a better hiding spot. As for David, he simply states that his bad luck struck once again and leaves it at that. Buster guiltily admits that he hasn’t really been paying attention to the room layout.

When Jude complains about the lack of actual meals in the theater, saying that they could really go for a peanut butter-banana sandwich, Buster shamefully admits that he is used to eating the way he does.

Mike Maximus, Matt Pine and Gunter Schwartz

Over to the side, the Crooner, Drummer and Dancer are all talking together about something. From a distance, Buster can hear them saying something about Stephanie and the dorms, but once they spot the two listening in, they back off and don’t resume talking until the two leave.

Inside the bathroom

Deciding that there is nothing else in the main room to investigate, the two look inside of the bathroom for any more clues. Nancy is already in there by herself, climbing up one of the ginormous hand towels that’s the size of a refrigerator for her. When the duo comment on why exactly she was in there alone, she tells them that since everyone else is focused on the crime scene itself, nobody is looking for clues in other possible locations. She also states that her efforts weren’t fruitless, as she has already found something.

Nancy Addams

When the two join Nancy to try and figure out what she found, she climbs to the top of the rack holding the hand towel and shoves it off to the floor, sprawling it out for them all to see. It drops to the floor with an audible SCHLOP, getting a few drops of water on the two larger animals.

When the towel itself is laid flat, the trio finds that not only is the towel wet, it has a few faint red and brown spots sprawled across it. When trying to guess what exactly the spots could be and what the towel is used for, none of them can get a general conscientious. However Nancy does state that all of the spots were on the inside of the towel while it was on the rack. And because of how damp it is, the negotiator states that the towel was used recently, and it was also deliberately hidden from sight.

Eddie thanks Nancy for finding the towel, guessing that it is a very important clue. Nancy accepts the praise, saying that she had a sneaking suspicion that something else was happening. When asked by the koala HOW she knew, she looks away and rubs her shoulder, saying that she’s “had experience with liars before.” However she isn’t willing to go into more detail beyond this.

Messy sink

Spotting some puddles over by the sink, Buster walks over to investigate. There are several wet spots scattered about, with a few drops leaking from the sink itself. But because of the height, it takes the efforts of both Buster and Eddie to see what’s up top.

After being lifted up by the servant, Buster finds that the sink itself is empty, but very wet and slick. Upon closer inspection, the koala spots a tiny bit of fur near the drain and turns on the faucet to investigate, letting the clear water flow. Then, coming flowing out via murky brown water, several strands of small, brown fur come into view.

After being let back down, Buster (regretfully) takes a handful of the fur and tries to take a closer look. Due to the color of the water it appeared brown, but after being dried off by the bottom of Buster’s shirt, the three are able to spot a slight orange tint. However, none of the animals can think of who it belongs to or how it got there.

Exiting the bathroom

Finding everything they could in the bathroom, the three prepare to exit, but are interrupted by Eddie suddenly doubling over and clutching his stomach. Nancy and Buster can audibly hear his stomach gurgling as he winces from the pain.

Asking as nicely but desperately as possible, Eddie requests that the two leave him alone in the bathroom, deciding not to state the obvious. Nancy asks if the servant is okay, but Buster just decides to lead her out of the room for his friend’s sake, making sure to close the door behind them.

Spotting Mike, Gunter and Matt from earlier huddling around each other, the two decide to investigate and figure out what they’re up to. Once again they aren’t willing to talk to Buster, but with Nancy present, Mike suddenly grows a heart. The duo look at each other with the look.

Deciding it would be no use to argue, Gunter presents a small key chain that only contains a silver key and a plastic tag with a cosmetics kit logo on both sides. The dancer explains that, after inspecting Stephanie’s body, they found the key in one of her pockets. Matt also comments that they figured out that it was Stephanie’s room key, and were going to go to investigate.

The crooner then invites the negotiator to go with them and she says yes, but also offers that Buster goes with them. The three show hesitation at this offer and say that it might be best if not much of a big group goes at once, but then Nancy tells them about Buster finding the fur in the sink, stating that Buster is pretty skilled at finding small details.

Reluctantly, they agree. As they leave for the door, Buster feels like he should wait for Eddie to finish so he could come along as well. However considering the fact that they were already annoyed with him coming along and how long it took Jude and David to finish their “sessions,” he decided that it was for the best to just leave.

As the group heads for the door, with Buster being at the tail’s end, the showman suddenly stops and looks back to the door itself. It had a blood splatter along the bottom, most likely due to Stephanie slashing at the gorilla’s leg. 

Going along with a hunch, the koala backtracks and closes the door slightly to peek at the other side. Then, not being sure if he should feel accomplished or anxious, Buster spots a bloodstain around the top of the door with a strange shape. It does not seem like it got there naturally from the fight from earlier.

As much as Buster wants to bring it up, something in his gut tells the koala he should leave it be until the Class Trial, and he runs to catch up with the others.

Inside Stephanie’s room

After unlocking the door and opening up the makeup artist’s room, the five enter to find a cluttered mess. Clothes are scattered around everywhere with no sense of order, a vanity nearby is covered with makeup supplies for different features, varying from fur to nails, and any previous ideas of a clean, orderly room were thrown out of the window.

Mike comments on how unexpected it was for somebody with an Ultimate talent designed to make things look pretty would have a bedroom belonging to a slob. However Matt states that it might be like this so Stephanie could hide something. Right before Mike can scoff at the idea for sounding childish, Gunter says that it might be a good idea to search through the stuff to find any clues.

The group then splits up for the time being, with each animal looking in different places for clues.

Stephanie’s Bed

After cleaning out a bunch of junk from on top of the bed and making sure that everything was tidy, the showman was not able to find any clues. However after looking under the bed, he finds a crumpled up piece of paper that he can’t reach. The two mice, however, help roll it out for them to inspect.

After flattening it out on the mattress, the group reads the hastily written note aloud.

“I can’t sleep at all, I can’t stop thinking about my family. I’m scared that someone might kill me. So far in this theater, you’ve been the only friend I’ve had and the only one I can trust. Please come to my room, I need somebody to talk to. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand being alone.”

The note itself had no signature saying who it was from, nor a name stating who it was addressed to. The group discusses to figure out where it came from, but only Buster manages to figure out that it came from Meena, as Jude stated earlier that she slipped the note underneath the makeup artist’s door. However due to underlying suspicion, he cannot bring himself to tell the others and saves that fact for the class trial.

Gunter Schwartz

After some more searching, the dancer calls everyone over to the vanity to show his findings: a large, thoroughly used set of makeup tools and cosmetics. The brushes had been frayed and worn down, and nearly all of the cosmetics were used to the last pinch of powder.

Mike thinks of this as strange, as he has never exactly seen her with any sort of makeup. However Buster suggests that the fox might have always had makeup on, and they didn’t even know it.

To prove the point, Nancy asks Mike if she’s wearing any makeup, expecting it to be a tough question. But then the crooner tries to pull a fast one and says that, either way, she’s still the most beautiful woman he’s seen. Everyone is taken aback by the suddenness of the comment; Matt whistles and says “smooth.” Nancy goes back to investigating her side of the room while power walking.

Matt Pine

After LOTS of cleaning later, Matt finds a bunch of garbage that he tries to shoot into the wastebasket like a basketball. He’s almost dunked everything, but as he gets to a crumbled up envelope, he stops to take a look inside. After he does so, he calls everyone over so they can all look at the evidence.

The envelope was the one Stephanie had gotten for her respective motive letter. The contents within were similar as well: a news article showing that Stephanie’s loved ones had been kidnapped and a letter from Stephanie’s mother herself. The contents of the letter goes as follows:

“Stephanie,      Please, you need to help me. I’ve been kidnapped and I don’t know where I am or what’s going on. I’m scared and I want to go home, to see you again. I know that this may seem undignified for your mother to say, but I’m terrified. I’m not even sure if you’re safe, these men told us to write notes to you. Please be safe dear, oh god please be safe.      My little munchkin, I love you. I love you so, so, so, so much. So please, you need to get me out of here. I’m not sure what these animals want; if it’s money, get the savings for my student loans from the safe, you already know where it is. Don’t even bother with the code, break it open and give them the money. I want to hold you in my arms again sweetie; I want to feel your warmth again and play bad board games like we used to. I’m sorry for always putting so much pressure on you, just please, help your mother and get me out of here.      I love you my little munchkin. Always and forever. Your loving mother.

After a moment of silence, the five about the letter itself, with Nancy commenting on how sad it was. Matt says that he knows it’s supposed to be a motive letter, but that just seemed outright depressing.

Buster decides to explain to the others why it was written this way. The mother and daughter were always very close, as the father was emotionally distant while she grew up. She was supposed to inherit the family beauty parlor and walked in her mother’s footsteps, although it always caused her a great deal of anxiety to do so. In the end, though, it helped in a way, as that was her driving force to become an Ultimate.

Once again the Ultimates around him comment on how it was creepy he knew these things, but he shushes them and continues anyway.

Right as Buster is about to go into detail at how it caused Stephanie stress and what habits came because of it, a noise comes from the monitor up on the wall, showing Monokuma sipping martini from a fancy glass, despite him being a robot.

He tells everyone that he’s grown bored while the investigation has dragged on, so he’s gonna start the class trial right away, so all of the participants should meet at the front entrance of the theater.

Monokuma: I hope this turns out to be another thrilling, bone chilling, despair filling class trial for the ages! Puhuhuhuhu!

Despite having a lingering feeling of dread and a hint of there being something they didn’t get to in Stephanie’s room, the five head towards the front entrance after gathering all of the evidence that they found. Mike is relieved, as he was getting very tired with trying to clean garbage that was more than twice his size.

Moon Theater Lobby

When the group joins up with everyone else, they find the Ultimates loudly arguing amongst each other with no real side to the matter. Julee, David and Riley, however, are all talking to Ash, with all of them seeming downright furious.

Ash: So what are you saying I did?! Killed Stephanie, took a bath in Meena’s sink, dried off then walked back to my room naked?

Julee: I’m not saying it’s impossible!

Ash: AND I AM SAYING YOU’RE INSANE!!!

Stepping in to stop the fighting, the group asks what is happening to cause all of the commotion. Jude steps forward and points at the rocker, shouting that the porcupine had killed Stephanie. Ash yells back that they’re insane but Buster stops the fighting once again, asking Jude for proof.

The jaguar says fine in an aggravated tone, calling over Eddie, who is off to the side and holding something in his arms, looking deep in thought. The showman asks the servant what exactly is going on, to which the sheep steps forward and reveals what he was holding:

A wet set of Ash’s clothes and a bundle of porcupine quills.

Eddie explains that, right before he went to the bathroom, he flushed the toilet to make sure that it wasn’t clogged. “Just my luck it was…” but to his surprise, after he unclogged it, he found Ash’s clothes stuck in the toilet. It was clear that they were meant to be flushed away and hidden from view.

Ash butts in and tries to give her side of the story, which is simply “I don’t know how those got there, that sheep is trying to frame me!” which, sadly, isn’t much of a good argument in the killing games. As the group begins to argue once more, it becomes clear who is siding with who.

Meena Killed: Rosita, Meena, Riley, David

Ash Killed: Julee, Jude, Ember, Eddie

Something else happened: Buster, Mike, Nancy, Gunter, Matt, Ash

Eddie apologizes to Buster, saying that he can’t side with him this time. With the fur and clothes being in the bathroom and the hand towel being Ash’s height, he believes that the current evidence is leaning towards Ash being the killer. Buster does feel slightly hurt, but knows that he doesn’t mean it personally and focuses on finding the truth.

Johnny, meanwhile, is lying face up on a stretcher colored black, white and red. Rosita explains that, since it would be difficult carrying Johnny to the Class Trial, the MonoCult provided them with a stretcher. Unfortunately, Johnny has shown no signs of recovery, so it’s likely that they’ll have to do the class trial without him.

As the sides continue to argue, the iron plates on the front door begin to hiss and slowly open up, letting out a bit of steam for theatrical effect in the process. Once the steam clears, the hopes of the doors leading to their freedom is dashed, as on the other side is a rustic group elevator.

Feeling the tension lingering in the air, the participants are hesitant to step inside, as the bear obviously wants them to. However with the fact in mind that they are all at Monokuma and the MonoCult’s mercy, they all walk in, with Gunter and Meena holding the different sides of Johnny’s stretcher.

As the iron gate closes in front of them, the elevator begins to ascend higher and higher, making a few of the animals need to pop their ears due to the sudden change in pressure. Everyone is silent; the only noise is the clanking of the elevator as it rises higher and higher.

Ash, trying to not attract any attention to herself, nudges Buster and whispers to him if he believes that she killed Meena as well. Her wide eyes and shaky voice suggests that she is truly terrified, which is shocking considering how she tried to keep a calm demeanor the entire time she was in the theater.

Buster says that, even after looking over all of the evidence, he can not be certain as to what exactly happened. All he can truly say is that, no matter what happened and who is the killer, he’s going to try to find the truth. Ash does not know how to respond to this and steps away, going quiet once again.

Once the elevator screeches to a halt, the iron gate in front of them opens up wide to reveal the class trial room. Black and white checkered tiles on the floor accompany a red circle of carpet, lying underneath sixteen podiums similar to a witness stand in court. One of the podiums has a black and white portrait of the victim of the case, Stephanie, crossed off in red eyeliner and brushes painted over. David openly hopes that the red isn’t blood, but the bear simply chuckles in response.

Set aside from them all is a sort of throne designed for a small animal, and of course, Monokuma is sitting in it, drinking his martini.

Along the walls, blue wallpaper stood alongside golden pillars that reached to the high up ceiling, which stretched until one had to lie on their back to see the top. Along with the wallpaper, crimson curtains stood tall, hiding whatever could be underneath with an element of mystique.

Each of the podiums in the center were the same height, but a few had steps or ladders that allowed smaller animals to look over the stands. Along with being the same height, each stand had a brass symbol bearing logos that were similar to the ones on their key tags. The logos themselves were colored black, red and white. Buster begins to catch up on the theme of everything.

Buster: Two top hats and a cane Eddie: The iron collar he was forced to wear Meena: A treble clef Johnny: Their gang’s getaway truck Ash: Sheet music Gunter: Tap dance shoes Rosita: Plates and a soapy sponge Mike: A bass clef Nancy: A speech bubble Ember: Papers covered with lyrics and a magnifying glass Matt: Drums Riley: Comedy and Tragedy stage play masks Jude: A watch being held in a paw David: A stage light Julee: A microphone used for recording Stephanie: A cosmetics kit

Along the top walls are stadium-like seats, each filled with a different camera used for filming TV shows. When Riley asks what the purpose of them all is, Monokuma states that they’re used for broadcasting the killing game to their respective channels across the world. He wants to get the excitement at all angles, so he can get that sweet despair in HD.

Johnny, after being brought over to his stand, sat down by Meena in a folding chair. His body slides downwards awkwardly, and after a few attempts to sit him upright, she gives up. As the stretcher is set down and Gunter walks to his stand, Meena turns back to Johnny, gives him a hug, then walks over to her stand without saying a word.

With the tension lingering in the air, everyone can feel the stakes of the trail at hand; Buster especially. He thinks about how Stephanie’s death could have been avoided, and what he could have done to prevent it. But after grieving for a moment, he shakes it away, and focuses on the present.

“Somebody in this room killed Stephanie. Whoever had done it… I will find them. I’ll lead everyone to victory, and help everyone live on another day without fear. I’ll face this class trial head on, I won’t back down. This lingering dread, this despair… IT ALL ENDS TONIGHT!!!”

Ch. 1: What is True Friendship (Curtain Call) END

OC Credits

Ember Gibson and Matt Pine belong to @elceetheporcupine Stephanie Hornbaker belongs to @mediasploshion Jude Therna belongs to @twilightprince101 (hey that’s me!) Jackson Riley belongs to ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated) David Flowerson and Julee Hartford belong to @superlevelup-reviews

Writing and editing

@twilightprince101 and ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated)

#danganronpa #danganronpa 2 #danganronpa v3 #spike chunsoft #dr1 #dr2 #drv3 #illumination #illumination studios #illumination sing #sing #sing movie #sing 2016 #sing movie 2016 #buster moon #eddie noodleman #jude therna #matt pine #ember gibson #julee hartford #jackson riley #stephanie hornbaker #david flowerson #oc #ocs #my oc #not my oc #elceetheporcupine #superlevelup-reviews #singaling

[twilightprince101]

Singanronpa Ch. 1: What is True Friendship? (Class Act)

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I’m glad that I was able to get this done so quickly! I gotta say I’m really enjoying how these are turning out, and I CERTAINLY can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction to this part! So without further ado, enjoy!

ATTENTION!!! Danganronpa is home to lots of graphic content, particularly violence, death and graphic depictions of that death. If you are sensitive to any of these things and several other mature themes, DANGANRONPA IS NOT FOR YOU!!! You have been warned.

After the metal monstrosity announces that everyone is trapped within the killing game, the doors to the lobby onward are unlocked and the mask-wearing audience members disappear. Upon this happening, everyone runs to hide somewhere throughout their new prison.

Buster has retreated to his office desk drawer-which doubled as his personal bed, as he was particularly fond of small, cramped spaces. However that past comfort does nothing to help his anxieties. His thoughts about how the Ultimates could immediately resort to a slaughter caused his breathing to increase in pace. A part of him wanted to believe that they wouldn’t resort to that, but his alarm blaring mind spoke otherwise.

Buster mutters to himself about how he wishes they could have done his play instead, as that would be much less violent. “All I wanted was to just relax and have a nice play with everyone, is that too much to ask?!” Buster then hears some sort of sound and he tenses up, going quiet instantly.

When the thought of somebody approaching his office with a weapon in hand crossed his mind, he decides to try to find a new hiding place and exits his drawer as quietly as possible. Buster takes another look around his office and his heart sinks even more at everything that had changed. Posters from his best shows had been replaced-or possibly even expertly defaced-with Monokuma variations. Heavy iron plates also covered where the windows should have been, preventing any natural air flow from entering the room. He already wishes that he could go back to his dad.

Buster makes his way to the hidden passage behind the poster he was going to use earlier, before he was knocked out.  But as he touches the frame, his door creaks open and two animals enter, advancing towards him after catching him in the act. The koala jumps back and presses his back against a wall littered with junk, pleading for the two animals to spare his life without even getting a good look at them; his entire body was shaking as if he was stuck in an earthquake.

A more matured voice is able to calm him down, saying that they weren’t going to try and hurt him, as long as he doesn’t try to hurt them. As Buster wipes the tears from his eyes, he looks up and finds both Ember Gibson and Nancy Addams standing next to each other, still by the door. The rapper scolds the showman for not taking charge since they were stuck in his theater, but Nancy tells the teen that it wasn’t nice to say that to him; the badger simply shrugs.

Once the koala calms down, Ember explains that everyone was meeting up at the main stage to talk and form some sort of alliance between each other, also adding on that Buster should come. Although her request sounded more like a demand, Nancy stated that he can come whenever he calms down. The two then leaves without saying a word, talking to one another about Buster’s reaction and whether they should trust him or not.

Buster considers for a moment whether their offer is a trap or not, and that the rest of the Ultimates could be waiting to attack him once he steps into the main theater. Figuring that there was only one way to check for himself, he approaches the hidden passageway and sneaks through, treading along the rafters and being careful not to make a sound.

Below he can hear and see a few of the Ultimates talking to one another on stage. Ember and Nancy have not returned just yet, but other than that everyone else was waiting and talking to one another about the situation, clearly panicking and trying to comfort one another about what was happening.

Meena, David, Stephanie, Mike, Riley and Rosita were sobbing to themselves for various reasons, such as wanting to see their family and possible reasons they deserved their fate.

Gunter, Johnny and Matt were trying to calm those that were panicking down.

Julee, Jude, and Ash were staying away from the others for their own personal reasons.

The sound of doors rings through the main hall along with Nancy and Ember’s voices, catching everyone’s attention. They explain what had just happened with their interaction with Buster and that it might take him a bit to calm and come down. Julee yells that they’re stupid to trust him, since he was most likely the one to trap them.

Buster: ‘Well, we are stuck in my theater after all, so she is justified to say that.’

Riley and Gunter say that they don’t know if he’s the one that brought them there, but Ember does point out that he did in a way, inviting them all there for the play. She states that it likely could have been a cover up for kidnapping them. Buster wishes that he could go down and argue against that, but he still isn’t sure if it’s safe.

Stephanie states that either way, she’s not going to kill anyone, so the rest better not either! Julee mumbles, saying that “that’s what she says now…” but then the two begin to fight, saying that there was no way she would ever resort to something like that! The rest of the Ultimates begin arguing quickly; the tension of the situation quickly pushing them to argue and take sides out of stress and fear.

Buster turns back around to return through his passageway, deciding that it would be best to wait it out for the time being. But as he goes along, he nudges a loose board down from his platform and it clatters to the stage floor. Buster freezes as the entire room goes silent; he can’t see everyone’s faces now since they’ve moved, but he’s sure they’re all looking in his direction.

The koala can hear slight whispering as he forces his legs to move, but as he takes another step forward, something cold and shiny comes from the main floor and whacks Buster’s head, making him lose balance and fall from the upper rafters down to the stage

As he is about to his the ground, Johnny manages to catch the koala like a baseball player diving for an out-of-reach ball. The koala rolls to the ground as Johnny drops him, noticing that Matt’s metal drumstick was lying next to him as well. Matt compliments Jude on the shot, and the jaguar simply says that it’s all in the wrist.

The Ultimates rush up to Buster and hold him down, preventing him from running and forcing him to endure interrogation to figure out what was going on.

Rosita: Where’s the exit?? I need to get to my family!!!

Ember: Who the hell are you working for?!

Mike: If you don’t start talking, I’m gonna use my cane and make sure you won’t see us leave!

Buster, still struggling to escape, tries to save himself and says that he doesn’t know what’s going on either; he doesn’t even know what the heck that bear was! Ember slams her paw on Buster’s chest, knocking the wind out of him while pointing a claw in his face and calling BS on his words, explaining that everyone around the world knew Monokuma’s face for years!

Buster continues to explain that he’s been keeping himself locked up for years, working on the Ultimate play so he could bring his theater back. Once again, Ember calls BS and demands a straight answer as the rest of the Ultimates scream over each other about the plan of action. Some argue that they should force an answer out of the koala, while others consider the possibility of him actually telling the truth.

Johnny asks Nancy if she could use her persuasion talent to get Buster to tell the truth, but as soon as he suggests this the mouse heavily objects and goes wide-eyed from the thought.

Everyone continues to argue as Buster’s brain goes into overdrive, but as the sound of a door opening echoes through the hall, everything falls silent. Everyone’s gazes move towards the entrance, where they find the sheep that had woken them up earlier holding a box and approaching with legs as shaky as his arms. The closer he got, the more nervous he became.

As he reached the front row seats, Julee yells “GRAB HIM!!!!!” and several of the Ultimates (Jude, Matt, Mike, Julee, Ash and Gunter) leap off the stage and pin the sheep down, similarly to how they did with Buster. The animals on stage meanwhile, focus their attention on the servant and let Buster go to join the rest of them.

Buster contemplates the thought of running away and hiding, but he decides that this will make him seem even more suspicious, so he goes along with everyone else.

The Ultimates then interrogate the sheep the same way they did to Buster, all the while the servant struggles to break free and begins to hyperventilate. 

Jude: I have claws and I’m not afraid to use them!

Julee: You should know that I know how to imitate the most painful noises and you’ll hear them soon if you don’t START TALKING!

Mike: I can easily use my cane right here and give you grounds to get an eye patch, understand sheepie?!

On the sheep’s collar, a red LED light and buzzing noise catches everyone’s attention, but they still hold the sheep down. The servant, however, goes wide-eyed and tips on the verge of a full-on panic attack. He struggles even harder to escape as his breathing accelerates at the rate of a high-speed roller coaster. When the buzzing sound gets notably louder, the sheep shuts his eyes and screams.

“I DON’T KNOW WHO THE MASTERMIND IS AND I DON’T KNOW WHERE I AM AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!!!!!!”

As the Ultimates go quiet from recoil, the collar light blinks off and the buzzing goes quiet. The Ultimates, startled by his sudden response, loosen their grip on the sheep. Taking this chance, the sheep gets up and sprints out the way he came. Mike, Matt, Gunter, Jude, Julee and Ember all give chase, screaming for the sheep to stop.

Everyone else talks about what just happened, discussing whether the servant was lying or not. Everyone is skeptical, but mostly everyone thinks that something strange was going on with the animal and his collar. Nobody could tell who exactly he was and he hadn’t said his name either, so nobody had a clue if he was dangerous.

Stephanie, meanwhile, investigates the box that the sheep was bringing to them. Around it laid several different copper keys with different symbols engraved onto each, but no names could be seen. There were 15 keys in total though, so everyone assumed that there was one for each animal. There was also a flash card in the box written with shaky handwriting-most likely the sheep’s.

The note read that since everyone was going to be staying inside of the theater for the rest of their lives, they would obviously need a place to sleep. Because of this, the Moon Theater has been modified so that the second floor would contain bedrooms for everyone. There were also other modifications, but those would be shown at a later date. Buster mutters that he felt offended about others tampering with his theater. Additionally, they can get meals and eating utensils twice per day at the concession stand in the lobby.

Riley says that there’s no way they’re all gonna be trapped together forever, and like hell there’ll be any deaths in there! “I’m not letting Monokuma has his way, I’m finding a way out of here!” Rosita, Gunter, Ash, Stephanie and Riley all start heading for the door, but Meena speaks up and says that she actually is pretty tired. Johnny, Nancy, David and Buster are by her side.

Ash is amazed at how they would rather sleep than find a way out, but Buster points out the fact that it’s already 11:30 PM, as he shows with his watch. The rest speak up and say that finding a way out is still more important, but they decide that it would be a waste of time to argue. The animals all take their keys and head their separate ways.

Walking out to the lobby, Buster notices a few more differences. To the left of the main hall door, a metal shutter with a small platform replaces the right-most staircase. There are also large doors to the left and right walls that have the male and female symbols on them. Buster deduces that these are most likely bathrooms. There is also a large metal door surrounding the exit to the outside world, similar to the windows he saw earlier. The koala, after pausing for a moment to look at these changes, joins the others and walks up the left staircase.

On the second floor, instead of a hall for balcony seating, there rests a hall with purple carpeting and scarlet red wallpaper. Along each wall were several doors with similar symbols to the keys and another female restroom at the end of the hall. There was another steel door to the left of the staircase they came from and another door labeled “office” to the right-Buster’s office.

Everyone with Buster currently tries to console him, saying that they believe that he’s telling the truth just from his reaction. Nancy admits that she has her doubts, but she’s seen a lot of liars in her life, so she had a feeling Buster was telling the truth from how he was panicking before. Buster thanks them all as they head to their respective rooms, but power walks away when they’re not looking. As much as he wants to trust them, his brain was in overdrive from the chaos from earlier.

Buster walks into his room and locks the door behind him, taking a large sigh of relief after doing so, then takes a look around him. The flooring was covered with several tiles shaded blue that contrasted the scarlet and pink patterns on the walls. Two more large metal plates covered the windows right above a desk filled to the brim with the exact same outfit he was wearing. To the left of the entryway there was a table and trash can, and to the right was a door and monitor on the wall. Through the door was a gray scale bathroom, complete with a toilet, sink and shower. The last thing he notices is a large, government-looking surveillance camera stationed right above his bed.

Buster admits that even though he hates the situation he’s in, the bedrooms do look nice.

After finishing his search of the room, Buster takes off his shoes and hops into bed, cringing at how the sheets seemed to crinkle with their age. He prefers his desk drawer much more than the bed, but he felt it was too late to go out and bring it back, or just to simply sneak out to his office to sleep there for the night. So accepting the conditions he was in, the koala drifts off to sleep, simply hoping that he doesn’t have any nightmares.

Waking up the next day, the showman is hesitant to leave his own room or even get out of his own bed, purely because of the thought of somebody being right outside of his door and what might happen if he leaves. But because of the gentle persuasion of his stomach, he willed himself to get up, put on a fresh version of his outfit and sneak out the door.

In the hall, the five Ultimates that chased after the sheep were unlocking and going into each of the Ultimates’ rooms to search for the servant. But still fearing the thought of getting hurt, he tries to sneak away, only to be stopped by Gunter, asking if he can look inside of his room with a startlingly stern expression. The koala simply nods and waves him inside, but as soon as he’s out of sight, he scampers away and down the stairs.

The koala stops by the concession stand to grab some breakfast, which is unsettling to say the least. The shutter opens wide in less than a second, revealing a relatively tall animal wearing a Monokuma mask with a glowing red eye. Without Buster asking, the animal pushes a school lunch tray with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, regular potato chips and a cookie. The koala takes the tray as the shutter slams shut, and he power walks into the main hall without so much as a peep.

He spots the rest of the Ultimates on stage, sitting around in a circle and eating together. But due to his cowardice, he slides into the far-back isle and sits between the rear and front seats, hiding from the view of the main stage. To ease his mile-a-minute heartbeat, the koala picks up the chocolate-chip cookie to take a bite, but not before noticing a tuft of wool by his shoe.

The koala drops his tray and scoots away from the servant, who is currently hiding underneath the seating. When he spots the showman running away in a panic, he pleads with him to stay quiet since he doesn’t want to face everyone just yet. Feeling a twinge of sympathy and an upcoming chance to receive answers, Buster does as he’s told and tries his hardest to stay quiet.

The servant explains that he’s been hiding underneath the chairs all night, since the others couldn’t be bothered to check under every single one. But after Buster gathers up enough courage to ask what he knows about their situation, the buzzer on the sheep’s collar once again begins to go off. The sheep quickly uses a part of his rags to cover it up and muffle it before the other Ultimates hear it.

Buster then realizes that the sheep actually had a reason for running away now, aside from the obvious reason of the others being so aggressive. The buzzer served as a warning to the sheep to stay quiet whenever somebody asked him too many questions. That was why it went off last time as well, since everybody was interrogating him at once.

After the collar is silenced, Eddie explains what he had said the day before; he didn’t know where he was either. He woke up on the stage by himself with all of the animals in the seats knocked out and a collar around his neck. He had no memory before he woke up as well, and he had to obey whoever was controlling the entire situation or else he would be killed. To prove it, he shows the koala another flash card with more elegant handwriting.

“Attention; you are now the servant of Monokuma’s killing game. Your life is forfeit to despair, but if you wish to elongate your lifespan and suspend your death, do as you are told. Don’t answer questions that would jeopardize the game and obey every command you are given by your master. To begin, use the smelling salts in your breast pocket and wake the fifteen animals in the audience within ten minutes.”

The card also had a sketch of the robot bear’s red eye as a sort of signature. Buster says that it looks convincing enough as the sheep continues with his story. He says that he had no idea where he is, who he is and what’s going on and simply wishes to get out and go home, wherever it may be. Buster apologizes for his actions the day before, despite him not exactly doing much but stand by and watch the event take place. So after giving a formal introduction of himself, the sheep follows suit as well.

“I’m Eddie. Thanks again for not exposing me to the others; I really needed somebody to talk to that wasn’t trying to kill me.”

Johnny calls out from the stage for Buster, saying that he could see his perked up ears over the seating. Buster freezes up, but responds that he was trying to eat his breakfast without bothering anyone. Ash says that they wanted to ask him a few questions, and Rosita promises that they won’t try to pressure him into doing so this time. Feeling obligated to do so with all of the eyes on him, Buster got up to leave, but not before only taking the cookie from his tray and nudging the rest to the sheep.

When he gets on stage, he faces parallel with everyone else. After a significant amount of silence, Buster notices that the guitarist porcupine has lost a significant number of her quills, leaving her with several bald spots. Before the koala can even ask, Ash explains with an embarrassed expression that she has a medical condition where, whenever she gets stressed or scared, her quills shoot out and drop to the floor. Buster is surprised that he didn’t have that fact in his file, but Ash reverts the conversation back to the original topic before she became the main focus.

To begin, Riley asks what exactly Buster was doing in the rafters the day before, since nobody had a clue on how he got up there in the first place.

Rosita: Were you spying on us Mr. Moon?

Ash: Freaking creeper.

The showman, shoving past some stutters, explains that there was a hidden passage in his office behind some posters that led right to the rafters. When Ember and Nancy invited him to join the rest, he wanted to make sure that the others weren’t plotting to ambush and kill him. Johnny admits that he does have a point there, since everyone was suspicious of him because of how everything was set up beforehand.

But Stephanie says that was the exact reason everyone was suspicious of him. The way everyone showed up at the theater and was kidnapped right away felt staged. Not only that, but they’re all trapped in Buster’s theater which is heavily fortified AND modified. “There’s no way ALL of this was set up under his nose!”

However, the koala states that, since he’s been working on his play for a long time, he’s mainly been staying away from news outlets and whatnot, he hasn’t seen much of what was going on in the world. Not to mention that his guardian was extremely picky about what exactly he should see on TV. Stephanie says that it sounds a little too convenient, but the koala insists that it was the truth.

Meena asks Buster why exactly the play meant so much to him, so he replies saying that his theater was in a rough place financhially. His father had managed to get him his theater after working hard for it for so long, so it really meant a lot to him. He felt like if the theater went under, it would mean failing his father and letting him down.

At that point, the five Ultimates that were searching for Eddie walk back in and join the rest, saying that they couldn’t find the servant or any sort of exit. Jude feels wary about them questioning Buster without holding him down, but once the situation is explained, they all agree to let the koala stay the way he is.

Buster remembers the interrogation the day before, and turns to Ember to ask about Monokuma and what she said about him. The badger is dumbfounded for a moment at how he doesn’t know about the game, along with everyone else. Julee is mainly offended that he never listened to her podcasts, but after simply sighing, the rapper and voice actor begin to explain.

“Way back when, when there were several Ultimates roaming the world, those without talents were toxic. Ultimates were slowly starting to outnumber the normal people, and because they were seen as the best of the best, other animals began to grow a grudge against anybody that was better than them.”

“Then came along Monokuma and his weird-ass cult, and everything changed. They brought to the table a messed up game purely for the people’s enjoyment; a killing game they called Danganronpa. Every single year, for the past 30 years, the cult would put together this messed up killing game that was hosted by them, but played by Ultimates. They would hijack TV and radio stations to broadcast it to the entire world for any sick freak to enjoy.”

“The broadcast also serves another purpose; to receive funding for the game and to recruit new members to the group. When the game started thirty years ago, they didn’t have much to work with, along with not that many followers. But since animals were seeing the object of their hate being tortured on TV, it wouldn’t take long for them to receive a following. The group almost seemed to double every single year, but then again, nobody really knows how large the group is.”

“Whenever a killing game is about to begin, Ultimates would be selected and sent a sort of calling card in the form of vandalizing something in their lives with the robot bear’s weird, red eye. Whether it was spray painting it onto the side of a wall, sending it through regular mail or some person with a tattoo, the chosen Ultimates would always find a way to see it. And when they did, they knew that their life was over.”

Mike interjects, saying that he doesn’t remember seeing the eye at all before he came to the theater, and the rest think back and realize this too. Jude tries to take a guess and states that the entire game this time was slightly rushed. They could have only just noticed the large gathering of Ultimates and acted on impulse, since the amount of Ultimates was becoming less and less each year. Ember agrees with this as she continues her story.

“That does make sense. Usually whenever Danganronpa starts up, all of the Ultimates are taken to an unknown location so that nobody would interfere. Detectives have tried for years to find the location, but nobody could figure it out. Some guess that the location changes each time, while others presume the opposite and that it’s simply in a well-disguised area.”

“And people HAVE tried to stop it before! Sometimes when an Ultimate sees the calling card, they do everything they can to keep themselves from being kidnapped. Some hide in bunkers, some try to throw themselves into high security prison cells, and others go to the army for the protection. But every single time, the organization wins and leaves a giant trace of destruction in their wake. Both the Ultimate and their family is kidnapped. The organization is way too strong and despite it probably being the size of the entirety of Calatonia itself, they’re practically untouchable.”

“And that’s exactly right!!!”

Suddenly, Monokuma appears out of nowhere, giving everyone a scare and causing a few to fall off of the stage. The robot thanks the two for their monologue, as it saves him the trouble of having to explain the entire thing himself. He gives the two another cookie for their help, but Ember just chucks it away, not wanting to give the bear the satisfaction. However, the bear states, he came to everyone to give them a little something else, since he couldn’t trust the two to explain everything with 100% accuracy.

So after a clap of the paws, a large stack of black, white and red pamphlets held together by a rubber band drops from the rafters via a mono-cult member, landing directly on the bear’s head. He yells up to the animal as it scurries away, cursing and waving a fist at it.

“GOD DANGIT BRENSON I’M NOT PAYING YOU FOR THIS!!!”

The pamphlets are passed out to everyone and after a quick look inside, everyone figures out that it contains a list of the main killing game rules. The bear explains that usually they get a small phone/device that would do the same thing, however, budget cuts had to be made. The pamphlet rules go as follows:

The Ultimates trapped within the theater shall spend the rest of their lives within the domain of the killing game.

At 8:00 AM and 9:30 PM, a morning and night time announcement will respectively play to serve as both a reminder of the time.

Once a murder takes place, all surviving animals must participate in a class trial, in which their main goal is to expose the blackened-AKA, the killer.

If the blackened is exposed during the trial, then they alone will receive punishment. If not, then all of the spotless-AKA everyone else-will receive punishment and the blackened will be permitted to return to the outside world.

The killing game will continue until only a single animal remains.

Animals are permitted two meals a day and can receive them at any time from the concession stand in the lobby.

Violence against Monokuma is strictly prohibited.

Monokuma and other killing game associates will never be directly involved in a murder.

The body discovery announcement will play when three or more animals discover a body, prompting limited time for an investigation to take place before a class trial.

Monokuma is permitted to add any new regulations to these rules at any time.

If any rules are broken, then the culprit is viable for immediate punishment.

Once everyone is finished reading the pamphlets, Buster asks what exactly the “punishment” that the pamphlet refers to is. To give an example, the bear claps his paws once again, causing a panel to open up near Meena and send a spear shooting out and up into a wall, leaving her sandwich dangling off of the end. The elephant’s ears practically slap her face as she scoots backwards into Johnny, who steps in front of her to defend them. Everyone immediately gets the point.

Suddenly, Buster realizes something and hesitantly asks Monokuma if Julee was completely right, mainly about both the Ultimates and their families being kidnapped. All of the Ultimates around him get the message as well and they freeze in place. The bear, however, keeps his answer vague and simply states that time would tell. He is about to ask once again, but the robot continues to the next subject.

Lastly, the bear calls for Eddie, pointing out that he was hiding in the back row. With shaking legs, the sheep walks to the stage as the five that were searching for him scowl in disgust. Once Eddie reaches the stage, Monokuma officially introduces him as his servant. He is to carry out his orders and do what he says, but he is still technically part of the 16 animal participants in the killing game. “So you’re all free to use him in any way you see fit, whether it’s for a shoulder to cry on or a back to stab!”

After the servant is introduced, the bear falls through a panel in the stage and vanishes with a finger gun, leaving everyone to their worries. Rosita, Riley, Stephanie, David, Meena and Matt worry about their loved ones and what might be happening to them. Mike, Jude, Ember and Julee debate on what to do with Eddie while Johnny, Ash, Nancy and Gunter interrogate the servant once again, who is very tempted to run away once again.

But before he can run, Buster steps in and tells everyone what Eddie told him, about being in the same situation as everyone else. He tries to convince everyone to trust him. And even if he did know something, he couldn’t say anything because of the collar. When Jude asks why they should trust both of them, the koala admits that he is justified for suspicions, but Eddie isn’t.

“I understand if you don’t trust me, but just don’t be the same with Eddie, okay? He’s in the same boat as us.”

After a bit of silence, Meena, Johnny, Nancy and Stephanie side with the two, while the rest are still left with several doubts. When Riley asks why exactly they can trust the two so easily, Nancy once again states that she’s had experience with liars, so she could tell if they were stretching the truth or not. There is moderate tension in the air, but everyone just leaves the conversation as that for the time being. Buster is simply relieved for the amount of people that joined his side.

When he turns back to see how Eddie feels, he finds that he is sprinting towards the door once again to run away. Buster gives him a look of disappointment, but can understand why he did what he did. The koala is just glad that a few animals now trusted the servant.

FREE TIME SPLIT

Free Time in Danganronpa games involves doing activities with the other characters to get to know them better. Jazz is currently working on these at the moment; they will post them separately from these main outlines, as they are optional in the main game as well. Whenever Free Time would be inserted into this story, there will be a FREE TIME SPLIT, so keep this in mind when reading for the full experience; maybe you could take a break from the suspense and relax with some lighthearted fun with the other characters! If not, then you can simply return to the story right away. I hope you’re enjoying the story!

Early the next morning, Monokuma makes a morning announcement to wake everyone up so they can all meet in the main hall. Presence is also mandatory so they can’t slack off and be even a second late. Everyone heads there with the thought of their families and loved ones lingering over their heads. Once everyone-save for Eddie-arrives and takes a seat in the front row as asked, the bear shows up once again with style and flair like the first time.

This attempt he used fog machines and strobe lights and party lasers, along with amped-up party music. David did have to say he was impressed at how they pulled it off, but went quiet once again after seeing that nobody else was really focused on that.

Once everything is cleaned up, the bear announces that it’s time for the all important and exciting motive letters, and the mono-cult audience cheers with joy. Everyone except Buster’s heart stops. The robot claps his paws once again and Eddie runs into the room with his collar buzzing, holding a bundle of envelopes. He trips in the process and scrambles to pick them all up, but manages to get on stage next to Monokuma before anything bad can happen. Monokuma laughs at his clumsiness and gives his rags a new tear with his claws as punishment.

When Buster asks what’s going on, Gunter tells him that the motive letters were also part of Danganronpa. Whenever the game is at a stand still and no tension is in the air, motive letters are passed out. Before he can explain what they are, Monokuma congratulates the dancer and gives him his letter first as a reward. One by one, everyone takes their respective envelope and opens to read the contents inside. There is no letter for Eddie.

Inside of the envelope were two items; a newspaper clipping and a letter written in shaky handwriting. The clipping read that there had been a commotion late at night at the home of Miss Karen Crawley. Some of her neighbors in the suburbs heard there being a ruckus early in the morning, but when some went to go investigate, they found that nobody was in the house at all. Everyone else let out noises of distress as they read their respective articles. The letter reads as follows.

“Buster Before I say this, you must promise that you won’t worry about this old lizard. You and I already know that I am already close to my expiration date, so there is no need for any distress. Now if these animals are telling me the truth, then you should already know what is happening. I have been kidnapped. Please, do not be alarmed though, I am already aware of the situation you are in. Buster, please know that even now, I believe that you will do the right thing. I am confident that in the game you and your friends are trapped in, you will be able to lead everyone to freedom and put an end to Danganronpa. And I know for a fact that you will continue to make others smile, as you have always done for your entire life. So please, don’t worry about this old, dying lizard. You simply focus on staying alive. I believe in you my little showman. -With love, Karen Crawley.

The theater is so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Despite this, the tension begins to rise like a rocket shooting through the stratosphere, and several of the animals begin to mutter and panic. It is only when Buster lets out a scream of terror that all chaos breaks loose. Everything turns into a blur as everyone begins rushing towards the front entrance and pounds on the large, metal doors. They pound, scrape and ram themselves against the door in an attempt to break out while Monokuma can be heard cackling maniacally in the background.

Meena, Ash, Jude, Stephanie, Julee, Johnny, Matt, Rosita, David and Riley plead along with Buster to be let out and to let their families go. The futility of it all doesn’t even cross the Ultimates’ minds; all they want to do is try and get to their families and make sure that they’re okay. The pleading and panic is just like when they all first arrived, but the intensity was much higher than before.

Mike, Nancy, Gunter, Ember and Eddie all scream at the group to stop, resorting to getting in front of them all and quite literally smacking some sense into them. Everyone stops their panic, but Meena and Riley try to say that they need to get to their families and make sure that they’re okay. In their chaotic state they scream at the five for trying to calm them down.

Mike scolds them right back, saying that at the first sign of something bad happening they’re all resorting to acting like savages. “The next thing you know you’ll all be rushing for the closest weapon!” he says. Rosita, with tear filled eyes, says that she absolutely needs to get to her family; that they need her. David even brings up the thought of the group resorting to torture if they don’t do anything.

Nancy: SO YOU’RE ALL JUST GOING TO KILL EACH OTHER THEN?! IS THAT IT?!?!!

The room goes silent as Nancy screams this. Those that were banging at the door look between each other in fear of somebody about to pounce on them. The five sigh, nervous about the possible futility of their own efforts. They manage to convince everyone to stay where they were and try to work out some sort of truce to prevent any deaths. However due to the motive letters, everyone is on edge and can’t think straight.

Meena, Matt and Riley are crying for their loved ones (with the soprano crying on the greaser’s shoulder), while the rest of the eleven are still in shock from the letters, staring at nothing and lost in their own heads. A few are even doing some nervous habits; Stephanie is scratching at her arms, Julee is going through some voice exercises to calm herself and Matt is drumming his fingers on the ground, trying to form some sort of beat. 

The only thing that the group can agree on is that they should put a self-imposed curfew into effect to decrease the chance of a murder. Everyone had to be in their rooms ten minutes after the nighttime announcement and should only leave their rooms once the morning announcement plays.

After a bit more time passes, Meena and Johnny excuse themselves to leave, as they both need time alone to calm down and think. Everyone else uses this as a way of leaving as well and each of them go their separate ways to try to find a place to hide. They all leave on a sour note, leaving Buster with a bad feeling in his gut. Only Buster, Jude, Eddie, Gunter and Ember remain in the lobby.

As the koala turns to leave, Jude also takes notice of how the meeting ends and tells the five that they’ve felt a similar type of tension before. One time when a member of The Misfits accidentally messed up a particularly dangerous stunt, the audience was waiting for some sort of punch line or fake out. Once everyone realized that the performer was actually injured and in serious pain, everyone freaked out. When Ember asks what the point of the story is, Jude cuts right to the chase.

“I’ve felt this tension before. Something bad is definitely going to happen, and soon. I’m sure of it”

Later in his room, Buster looks over his letter from Crawley once again for the eighth time. He had looked it over several times searching for anything that stood out, but couldn’t find a single inconsistency in it; it truly did look like it came from Crawley herself. The showman laughs in despair at the situation he’s in and how everything is going downhill fast. He remembers Jude’s words from earlier, and as much as he hates to admit it, he’s starting to believe those words.

Deciding that he needs some time away from the note, he leaves the envelope on his desk and walks out the door and down the hall. The hallway is barren; everyone else most likely went to go and hide. As he heads to the stairs to go and get a meal, he hears crying as he passes by Johnny’s room. The door is open just a crack and, passing by, he spots Meena and Johnny sitting together on the bed.

Peeking through while trying to not draw attention, he spots Meena crying her eyes out while Johnny holds her close and tries to comfort her in any way he knows how. Hugs, calming words and anything else he can muster. The elephant is crying about her family, who is most likely in a situation so bad she can only imagine the severity. Johnny admits that it’s only natural, but he still feels bad that he can’t exactly feel the same way, as his family was less than ideal.

Meena says that maybe if she had noticed sooner that becoming an Ultimate was a bad idea, then she could have avoided this and her family would be okay. But Johnny strikes down this thought immediately and tells the soprano that none of what happened was because of her, since Monokuma would most likely have still kidnapped her. Meena chokes out a sob and Johnny swiftly tries to apologize for his mistake.

After a little bit, Johnny tries to get Meena to promise to never think that any of this was her fault. When she can’t come to go along with the promise, the greaser tells Meena that he will try his best to make sure that nothing bad happens to her. After some silence, Meena asks why exactly he’s saying all of this to her.

Johnny: Well, we’re friends, aren’t we? That’s what friends do for each other.

There’s a long silence, and then Meena begins to cry once again, leaving Johnny scrambling for some sort of apology. But then, Meena pulls Johnny in close for a tight hug, thanking him for his words. Buster, meanwhile, feels sad for those two. He thinks that, maybe if he had done more, these two wouldn’t be feeling the grief that they’re feeling. He simply decides to step away and head downstairs.

But right as he’s about to do so, he finds Mike staring up at him with crossed arms. He asks why he was spying on the two and doesn’t even give the koala time to answer before he growls at him, stating that it was the showman’s fault for him being in the game. When Buster tries to say that he didn’t intend for this to happen, Mike says that it doesn’t matter.

Mike: Whether you planned this or let this slip by or had no idea of this whatsoever, ALL of this is YOUR FAULT, so you better GET US OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW OR ELSE!

Johnny opens the door and stops the two from fighting. He tells Mike that, even if it was an accident, the situation would be the same either way. Everyone at the theater was an Ultimate, so whether they wanted it or not, they would have ended up in the same scene in the end. With no good comebacks, Mike simply curses him off and storms back to his room.

Buster thanks the gorilla for his help, but then noticed that Johnny wasn’t feeling grateful for doing what he just did. Buster then apologizes for spying on the two, fumbling over his words for an answer, but the gorilla cuts him off. He simply asks for him to leave the two alone, and Buster nods his head in response.

But right before Johnny closes the door, Buster asks if he believes what Mike said or not, about him possibly being the one controlling everything. Without turning to face him, Johnny says that he’s sorry, but he doesn’t know what to feel at the moment. He then closes the door, leaving Buster out by himself.

FREE TIME SPLIT

Later that night, Buster returned to his room, going along with the curfew plan that everyone had organized earlier. Once again, he was rereading the entire motive letter to check for any inconsistencies, and once again finding none. It is then that he begins to think about his imprisonment in the theater and how long it might last. He felt that help wasn’t going to be able to come soon and it would take a while before somebody figured out the mastermind’s identity, so as it stood, he didn’t have much confidence.

As his anxieties returned to him, he began to feel exposed sitting in his room. He felt he was wide open for some sort of killer to pounce on him in his sleep and he would be the first victim of the killing game. To try and get rid of these thoughts, he thought of good memories from back when he wasn’t involved with the killing game. When he reached his breaking point, he remembered that his office was at the end of the hall. So taking the motive letter with him, he sprinted to the door and began his mission to reach his office.

The koala slowly opened the door, making sure that it didn’t creak in the slightest as he peeked out into the hallway. There was nobody there, but as he opened it farther, he spotted Ash to his left, staring down the hall in the direction of the girl’s bathroom. She was biting her arm slightly, which seemed strange to Buster, but then he heard the sound of a door opening to his left that threw that thought out of his head.

Acting on impulse, the showman sprinted in the direction of his office, hearing a door slam shut behind him as another door creaked open like one would in a horror movie. Without looking back, Buster opened to the door to his office, leapt inside and slammed it shut behind him, locking it in the process. He let out a large sigh of relief as he waited for a few moments in case anybody was right behind him. But the door he had his back to did not bang in the slightest, so he assumed that the coast was clear.

Looking around his office, feeling at home once again with his surroundings. He looks at the posters on his wall in hopes of recalling some comforting memories, but since they were all Monokuma variations, the anxiety only came back to him. He decided to do a bit of cleaning instead to distract himself, since he left his office as a mess. He organized some letters, folders and props and put everything back in its intended place, gaining a slight feeling of control.

When the nighttime announcement rang, he decided it would be best to head to bed. Walking over to his desk, he opened the largest drawer to reveal a small bed, perfectly his size. Not bothering to take off his clothes, he hopped in and closed the drawer from the inside, finding comfort in the confined space as drifting off to sleep.

In his dreams, he went back to a time when he was playing with Karen Crawley. He was putting on a show about an alien invasion and trying to fend them off, while playing every single role. Crawley was cracking up at his enthusiasm, but the young koala mistook it for her laughing at him. When he got grumpy, the lizard knelt down and pulled him into a hug.

Crawley: My little muffin, you know I would never laugh at you. Every single day I see you, you never fail to make me smile. I always love the little shows you put on just for me and I wouldn’t have this any other way.

Buster: ...Do… do you really mean that, Auntie Crawley?

Crawley: Of course Buster. You may not think it, but in my eyes, you are the Ultimate Showman. I’m so, so proud of you and I always will be. Never forget that there will always be people there supporting you, okay?

Buster: ... yeah. Yeah I will! I promise!

As young Buster begins to giggle in his dreams and thank the lizard, a loud cry jolts him awake. He couldn’t recognize it since it was so muffled, but he was on high alert as soon as he heard it. The showman shoved the drawer open and looked around the office to see if anything was happening. But nothing in the office had changed.

The koala stepped out of the drawer, looking for anything to defend himself with in case somebody came barging in. He spotted a rubber sword behind an assortment of different props that he had organized earlier. Shoving them all out of the way, he grabbed them and aimed it at the door. He felt like he was prepared, but he knew deep down that he had no experience with sword.

When time passed and nothing came, he thought that he was overreacting and had just imagined the scream. But then, the monitor on his wall lit up and revealed Monokuma.

“A body has been discovered! Everyone please report to Meena Jones, the Ultimate Soprano’s room at once! If not, then you will receive heavy punishment on the spot!”

As the screen went dark, Buster’s heart sank and his blood ran cold. He felt as if his heart stopped as he tried to process the words that were just spoken. Dropping the rubber sword, he walked, then slowly accelerated into a sprint towards the door and ran out into the hall. Over and over again he repeated the phrase

“This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening!”

All of the Ultimates were huddled around Meena’s door at the end of the hall. He sprinted past them, shoving a few out of the way as he began to repeat the phrase out loud. When he reached the front and looked into Meena’s room, his mind and voice went silent. Because right then and there, he truly realized just how doomed they all were in his prison of a theater.

He processed everything in random bursts; pools of blood, the room in utter disarray, a bloody and dented bed leg, a red-covered Meena pressing herself against the wall with eyes as wide as spotlights, but worst of all;

Johnny and Stephanie’s motionless bodies lying face-down in the puddles of red.

OC Credits

Ember Gibson and Matt Pine belong to @elceetheporcupine Stephanie Hornbaker belongs to @mediasploshion Jude Therna belongs to @twilightprince101 (hey that’s me!) Jackson Riley belongs to ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated) David Flowerson and Julee Hartford belong to @superlevelup-reviews

Writing and editing

@twilightprince101 and ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated)

#singanronpa #danganronpa #sing #sing movie #sing 2016 #sing movie 2016 #crossover #au #spike chunsoft #illumination #illumination studios #dangan ronpa #illumination sing #buster moon #sing buster #sing buster moon #sing eddie #sing eddie noodleman #sing mike #sing nancy #sing meena #sing ash #sing johnny #sing gunter #sing rosita #elceetheporcupine #ismellofstardustanderasers #mediasploshion #superlevelup-reviews #oc

[twilightprince101]

Singanronpa Outline-Prologue: The Ultimate Show

[Next]

Finally got around to starting this! My apologies to everyone who was kept waiting for this, a bunch of other things came up and I never got around to writing this, my bad! Either way, I’m finally here with the Prologue of Singanronpa! As per the status quo, this chapter will mainly be about introducing characters and the background of the story. I tried my best to write each introduction with a good amount of quality, so I hope this meets up with your expectations! Enjoy!

ATTENTION!!! Danganronpa is home to lots of graphic content, particularly violence, death and graphic depictions of that death. If you are sensitive to any of these things and several other mature themes, DANGANRONPA IS NOT FOR YOU!!! You have been warned.

Scene begins with Buster in the Moon Theater by himself, pacing back and forth in his office to the point of wearing down the floorboards. A warm summer sun is shining through the windows while a breeze wipes away dust littered across scattered props.

Doing the traditional Dangan Protag introduction, Buster introduces himself to the readers as “Buster Moon, the Ultimate Showman.” A quick summary is told about his past

He was proclaimed as an Ultimate because of all the smiles he brought out from others and was given the theater because of it to do shows. For a while, it was a place where dreams became reality.

However due to people losing interest in theater, the place was slowly losing funds. Staff left, patrons pulled away and regulars to his theater bid him farewell. He was in tough times, and he was unsure whether he could call himself an ultimate.

But after working tirelessly for months, he had finally devised a plan to bring himself back into the spotlight. He had everything planned out and the proper materials have been bought. All that was left was the final gears in the machine.

After checking his watch for the umpteenth time, several vehicles are heard pulling up at the front of the building. The koala peeked out his window to see several cars, taxis and buses pull to a stop with a multitude of animals stepping out and entering the theater.

‘There are those final core parts now!!!’

After brief panic and adjusting his appearance in the mirror (a blue suit with a red bow tie) he begins to run out the door, but not before stopping and turning around to hop up onto his desk. He wipes away a stack of taxes and bills to grab a blue three ringed binder filled with names and files. He then sprints downstairs, leaving a pile of papers flying in his wake.

In the main hall, a handful of other animals are talking to each other as they wait after letting themselves in. After taking a breather to compose himself, Buster slams open some doors he was hiding behind and gives himself a fabulous (and extra) introduction to the current animals. A few are startled while others remain calm, but Buster allows them all to recover before he continues.

He then notices that while a few animals he invited to the theater have arrived, others were nowhere to be found. After a snap of anxiety, he reassures himself that the others will probably take a bit longer; after all it is earlier than the time he gave them.

A timid looking sheep with its wool in a bun and a red sweatshirt steps forward, asking if the theater was the right place. Before he can clarify what “the right place” was, Buster interrupts and says that it indeed is The Moon Theater. However, since all of the Ultimates haven’t arrived, he told them all that the explanation would have to wait. Until then, everyone could talk among themselves in the lobby.

In no particular order, Buster greets the following in the first group.

A tall, talkative gorilla

First walking up to a teenage gorilla wearing a leather, well, everything and slicked back fur up top, the koala thanks the boy for coming. He was talking to a raccoon and a pig, but upon seeing him approach he waved them away to talk to him privately. The boy, with an English accent, thanks him in return, but then asks if he had made a mistake. After asking him in a joking and diffusing way if he is who he thinks he is, the gorilla introduces himself.

“Name’s Johnny Serafinowicz, I’m the Ultimate Greaser. Although no offense, but are you sure you invited the right person?”

Buster reassures Johnny that he was indeed invited intentionally. But when the gorilla asks why, adding that he must have known what he’s done, the two go quiet. After looking to the other animals who were distracted, Buster leans in and tells him that he does know.

Referring back to the file, Buster explains that Johnny used to be a part of his father’s gang, “Prey Gone Wild.” They were notorious for robbing banks and pulling off startlingly dangerous heists that always risked the lives of the innocent. Johnny was their getaway driver for a majority of his life and constantly tried to make sure that nobody was killed in the escapes.

But after the gang was forced to come out bloody in one of their heists, Johnny had blown the whistle on their gang to the police and had them turned in, allowing him to get off Scot-free. From then on he worked at his family’s former hideout-a car mechanic shop-where he worked tirelessly to distract himself. With his history of fixing vehicles and making them better than they started as, he was provided his title of Ultimate Greaser.

Johnny states that he knew just as well as him that he shouldn’t be there after what he had done. However, Buster comforts him, saying that his gang activity shouldn’t be all that he was known for. He wanted to give him a second chance and that was why he was given an invitation. Before Johnny can argue any more, Buster tells him that he has to go introduce himself to the others and walks away, leaving Johnny with a conflicted mind.

The timid sheep from earlier

The woolly boy is standing away from the others, holding his phone in his hand and pretending to look at it whenever somebody glances in his direction. As Buster walks up to him, he becomes startled and accidentally drops his phone, letting it clatter to the red rug under him. The koala uses him bending down to pick it up as a way to say hello to his face, but this only causes him to jump back and accidentally hit his head on one of the supporting poles he was standing by.

Something goes rolling to the ground to Buster’s feet and, after being careful picking it up, he hands it to the sheep who is currently sitting and rubbing the back of his head to ease the pain. When the item is offered, the sheep opens both of his eyelids to reveal that he actually has an eye missing! After patting the empty socket, the sheep sighs in defeat and takes his glass eye from Buster’s hands.

While the boy cleans the glass eye with cleaning drops and a cloth, he thanks Buster and says that he was surprised that he didn’t jump back in a panic, as most usually do when seeing his artificial eye. The koala admits that he’s had experience with glass eyes in the past, so he’s grown used to these types of incidents. After Buster begins to guess who exactly he is and the sheep puts his eye back in, the boy introduces himself.

“Yeah, I’m David Flowerson, U-Ultimate Stage Mechanic. Although if you want, you can just call me a stage mechanic, I won’t mind.”

The koala refers back to the file and recites a bit of David’s history. He had grown up with a relatively normal life; good family, okay house, average grades. However there was one thing that set him apart from the rest: he was dangerously unlucky. Several times, he had been in life-threatening accidents that quite literally costed him an arm and a leg-or in this case, two legs and an eye. And to top it all off, all of these happened on his birthday! They had been replaced with prosthetics of course, but he still couldn’t help but always be cautious for any window washing platforms dangling overhead.

In terms of his talent, he had gotten into being a stagehand and stage mechanic for theaters across the country and it seemed to be the only part of his life that went untouched by his unlucky streak. So taking refuge in his job, he perfected his craft and became a well known stage mechanic all across the country, earning him the right to gain the title of Ultimate Stage Mechanic.

Buster Moon personally introduces himself and shakes his hoof, to which he pulls back and asks why exactly Buster invited him to the theater along with other well-known Ultimates. He even points out that “Even the flash mob legend Gunter is here!!!” He quickly quiets himself though after seeing the pig talking with the gorilla and raccoon turn his head in his direction.

Buster tells David that yes, legends such as “The flash mob legend” were there, but also states that the legendary stage mechanic David Flowerson was there as well! David interjects, saying that he was not a legend, even pulling up his pant legs to show his prosthetic legs as proof. But the koala keeps pressing, saying that those accidents happened outside of him using his talent.

David opens his mouth to correct him on something, but Buster continues and doesn’t let him bash on himself anymore. He tells the sheep that he will do great work for what he has planned. When David asks what exactly it is he has planned, Buster says that he’ll have to wait until everyone shows up, intentionally leaving an air of mystery around them.

Giving him one last word of motivation, Buster leaves to introduce himself to everyone else. David simply sighs and rubs his head once again to soothe the pain. He picks up his phone, which sadly has gained a small crack from the tumble, then stands back up once again. He then resumes the process he was repeating earlier; pretending to check his phone while surveying all of the other fellow Ultimates.

A porcupine girl practicing guitar chords

A fair distance away from the other animals, a teenage porcupine girl with black and red clothes to match her guitar was playing music to herself with her back to the others. She strummed on a few chords and mumbled some lyrics to herself, but is cut short by Buster stepping up behind her and spurting out a greeting that came out a little louder than expected. A few of her quills shoot out, but they just barely graze by Buster’s head and shoot up the stairs, puncturing the red rug that enveloped them.

The porcupine becomes flustered and spins around, telling Buster that it was rude to sneak up behind her like that. The koala admits that it was his mistake and apologizes, but then compliments her on her guitar skills. The guitarist sighs and asks what she’s doing here because she got “some stupid card,” but Buster tells her that it’ll wait for everyone else to arrive. After quiet grumbling from the teen, the koala pulls out his file binder and flips through a few pages, saying that “since the girl was a porcupine and playing guitar she was”- The girl interrupts him and does the introduction herself.

“I’m Ash Spinosa, the Ultimate Guitarist. Anyways could you please tell me why I’m here? I need to get to work on some new songs.”

Looking back at the file, the theater owner lists a little bit of Ash’s past. It was a classic teenage rebellion story at first; girl was in a band and in love with a boy, parents didn’t approve, girl ran away with boy’s band. She wrote the songs and played guitar alongside him, but he kept stealing the credit for her songs. The two weren’t exactly a  functional couple and eventually, Ash and the boy-who’s name was Lance-ended up splitting once the songwriter realized she was meant for more in the world.

After going independent and releasing her own songs to a record company, her songs became well known throughout the globe. She gained several humongous venues for her shows, even going as far as getting a previously used Olympic arena for a concert! She had became more popular than her ex’s band a hundred-fold.

However, since there was already an Ultimate Songwriter in existence-that and Ash didn’t want to steal other animals’ ideas like a certain somebody-she accepted the next best thing and gained the title of Ultimate Guitarist.

Closing the file, Buster tells Ash that he knows that she had some important gig coming up soon or something, but promises that if she accepts the position then she’ll be getting enough money that’ll match five of her concert profits. Ash isn’t particularly worried about the money, but is instead worried about her time being wasted. She states that she’s been through situations like this before: theaters in the slums calling themselves big shots and asking her to work for just the promise of big money and nothing else.

Buster flinches a little, but regains his posture and reassures Ash that she’ll be able to enjoy this production to the fullest and she has his word on it! But when Ash points out that she’s heard that one before as well, the koala simply decides to wait and let Ash see it for herself. After waving her goodbye he walks off to see the other Ultimates, letting the porcupine resume her quiet guitar playing.

The energetic, peppy pig

Buster begins to walk towards a relatively chubby pig that’s wearing a glittering gold tracksuit, who was currently talking to a gorilla and raccoon about something while casually raising his elbows up high. As the koala walks toward him, he notices that the pig has a slight German accent and is talking quite passionately about something.

But just before he gets the pig’s attention, the raccoon pulls out his phone and puts on a song that would fit well for break-dancing, which the pig begins to do after everyone gives him some space. He begins to move his feet back and forth in a rhythmic, almost hypnotic manor while having his upper body sway and bob every which way. After a bit of time, the pig does a back-flip and lands on his hands, doing a helicopter spin and finishing of in a freeze frame with his legs crossed in the air as the beat fades out into an echo.

All of the animals present give him applause-with the sheep near the pole clapping a little louder than the rest-as the pig stands back up and stretches. Finally getting a chance to step forward, the showman introduces himself to the pig as the others let the two talk. The pig claps his hands together and thanks Buster for inviting him to whatever this was. Then following Buster’s example, the pig introduces himself as well.

“Yo yo yo! I’m Gunter Schwartz, and I’m the Ultimate Dancer! But you could probably already tell from my show back there anyways, haha!”

After ruffling through the file, lore is given on Gunter’s past. He began on his lonesome, simply starting as an average joe in subways and malls dancing for spare change. Over the years he slowly improved, even perfecting dance moves that were too dangerous for others to even attempt! He went from subways to concerts as a backup dancer, and from there he became a one-pig show! He also organized a variety of flash mobs in places where morale seemed low and was a great motivational speaker to boot. Little is known about his past beyond dancing though, as he didn’t talk about it much to any news outlets.

After thanking Gunter for coming, Buster compliments the dancer on his performance earlier, as it certainly made sure that he was the real deal. The pig smiles and rubs the back of his neck, visibly flattered by his words.

The dancer then comments on how it seems really interesting at how Buster is gathering all of these prodigies together in one place. “Whatever this is, it must be super important to have this many Ultimates!” Buster nods, but makes sure to keep the “event” ambiguous.

However as Buster leaves to go greet the others, Gunter tells him in a startlingly serious voice to ‘be careful,’ not saying any more beyond that. Not exactly sure what he means by that but also feeling like he’s missing context, Buster simply goes along with it and says that he’ll be extra careful. Gunter gives the koala one last worried glance before putting his happy face back on and joining back up with the other two. Buster walks away feeling slightly uneasy, which he was not expecting after talking to an animal like him.

A curious, casually dressed raccoon

Talking to the gorilla and pig was a raccoon wearing a light, grassy-green jacket along with slightly worn jeans and a light blue t-shirt that read “Calatonia 2018” in white. He had his paws in the jacket pockets while laughing with the gorilla about something, but stopped when he saw the koala approaching. He waved to the two and said he’d be back in a bit, then asked if the koala was Buster Moon, to which he confirms.

The raccoon looks around the lobby with awe about just how polished and intricate everything was, saying that he was really impressed at Buster’s theater and how he maintained it. Buster gives a cliche response-hard work and dedication-while a slight pang of guilt goes through him after lying. But he shakes his head while the boy isn’t looking to get rid of the thought. When Buster asks for his name, the boy introduces himself.

“My name’s Jackson Riley, and people call me the Ultimate Stage Actor. If you’d like though, you can just call me Riley. And if I’m right, I’m guessing you want me to use my talent for a show?”

Buster’s mind goes back to the file as he remembers Riley’s history. He had grown up with a love for theater with his best friend Annette. Their main love was for musicals, but they enjoyed regular play dramas as well. Growing up, Annette became like a sister to Riley, since the living conditions at their respective homes were less than satisfactory. So when they were in school or out on the town, they would find places to act, such as the drama club or the local theater so they could perfect their skills and try to get a scholarship to get into a school for theater.

However one day Riley’s skills were put to the test. Annette’s household was becoming too toxic to live in anymore, so she was planning on running away. However her plan demanded a lot of time to be put into it, such as finding a place far enough from her home to hide and earning enough money to get there. But there was one saving grace to it all; Annette’s family was nearsighted, and neither could afford glasses. So to help out his friend, the raccoon put on her clothes and used his acting skills to pretend to be Annette for one week while she got her preparations ready. After countless close calls, Riley managed to hold out for one entire week and after the seventh day, Annette managed to hop on a plane and leave her home for good.

It took some time, but the two’s story came out a few months later and the police had Annette’s family arrested for their abuse. The two still keep in touch via video chatting and are still planning to go to a college together, but both still had a long ways to go. Thankfully though, Riley’s deed got out to local theaters and the like, prompting them to reach out and hire him for various shows. After his good deed, he wholesomely accepted the title of Ultimate Stage Actor.

Buster agrees that Riley’s talent is needed for a show, but says that it won’t be like any of the other invitations he’s gotten before. The actor says he could already tell, especially from the invitation that he got. He pulls out the envelope for the invitation that has an intricate white and silver design along with a unique wax seal hanging from the tip of the flap. Riley also adds on that since a bunch of different Ultimates are here too, this is bound to be interesting.

Once again, Buster confirms the raccoon’s statement and says that his skills are required. However the details will wait for everyone else, as he only wants to explain everything when all of the people that were invited arrive. Jackson looks at the invitation card again and states that it shouldn’t be too long since the time listed is coming up soon. Buster adds on “well to be honest, I’m simply hoping that everyone I invited shows up, so I don’t really care about the time.”

Riley reassures the koala, saying that he’s sure that everyone will come. With how fancy the invitation was, he was sure that people would show. Buster laughs away his doubts and states that he hopes so as well. After a short awkward silence, Buster says that he’s going to go and talk with the others and Riley agrees right away. After a brief goodbye, the two separate and Riley goes back to talking with the two from before.

After talking with all five of the present Ultimates, Buster flipped through his binder once more to a small checklist. There, several Ultimate titles are listed with boxes beside them in dark red. All of the titles are visible, but none of the names are. On the page, Buster checks off “Dancer, Stage Tech, Guitarist, Stage Actor and Greaser (Piano).”

The koala checks his watch once more, with the hands slowly ticking towards 5:00 PM from 4:47 PM. He then surveys the current Ultimates that have shown up and thinks to himself about what would happen if not everyone showed up. He had already planned out the show in its entirety, but he was also banking on all of the Ultimates showing up; he didn’t have a backup plan.

As he begins to think about possibilities of what he could do with just these few Ultimates, he spots a bus driving by and another handful of animals walking through the doors. Without taking a moment to tell who exactly they were, Buster rushes to the doors and lets the animals in. However all of them were at a separate pair of doors, so most of them had already walked in. However a fox and an elephant move over to his side after seeing his enthusiasm. Buster’s eye twitches.

After giving the same greeting as last time and telling them to be patient, the five animals all merge in with the current crowd. Buster is comforted by more Ultimates showing up and crosses his fingers that the rest will come soon, then once again greets the new animals (in no particular order)

An elephant wearing a blue flower dress

An elephant seemingly 100 times bigger than Buster had merged in with Johnny, Riley and Gunter’s conversation group. She appeared pleased to talk with the others, but at the same time slightly anxious.

 As the koala got closer he became intimidated at the girl’s height, but the girl didn’t seem to notice him. It took some calling up and a singular tug to her white dress with blue flowers to grab her attention.

When the girl saw the showman, she jumped slightly from surprise as her large ears closed around her face. But after seeing that it was the same man from earlier, she opened them back up, allowing Buster to give an introduction and a compliment to her dress. The elephant thanks him, saying that it was a gift from her grandma.

The way Buster had to crane his neck to talk to the girl was starting to annoy him, so having her follow him, he ran to the nearby steps and hopped up onto the railing, managing to get at a good eye level with the elephant. After a quick apology, the koala asked the girl for her name. The girl panics for a bit, but then looks to her hoof, where Buster can see a hastily drawn script.

“U-uh, I’m Meena Jones and, and I’m the Ultimate Soprano. It is nice to meet you sir, I can’t wait to work with you.”

The koala thinks back to the files once again, recalling Meena’s history. The story was simple, but a heart warmer. The elephant had grown up bearing an amazing voice, causing her to be constantly being pestered by her family to try and make it big. She declined, however, as being in the spotlight had always made her feel anxious. She was living with her mother and grandparents, since her father passed away when she was young.

She had lived a normal teenage life and had only recently graduated from high school. However even though her family told her not to worry about the money, she could tell that her loved ones were desperately trying to scrape together whatever they could to afford college classes. So taking it upon herself to relieve her family’s stress, she entered into several singing competitions on TV without telling her family, going to them all behind their backs and managing to win the people over every time.

So with the money she had gained, Meena paid the college enough money to pay for four whole years of classes without a single penny of debt. Her family told her story and how talented she was which earned her the title of “Ultimate Soprano.” Not only that but she had gained her title just recently; only about a month or two ago. Despite this, she was an inspiration to animals everywhere about how much family can mean to people.

The koala, not having the heart to say anything about the hand writing, thanked Meena for showing up. After reading her expression, Buster said he could tell that she was confused, since she didn’t know why exactly she was there. She looked away as her trunk curled upwards, nodding.

Buster then explained that, because of her story coming out, she would be going into college soon and that wherever she was going she was going to need money, which meant in turn she was going to need a job. The elephant nods once again. But if everything goes well, she would be set for the four years onward and not have to work a day in her school life! She could hang out with her friends as much as she’d like.

Meena quietly says that the thought does sound nice, still looking away and over to the others. Buster tells the elephant that he’d tell the details of what’s happening later, but makes sure to comfort her and say that she doesn’t have to take the offer if she doesn’t want to. All of it is her choice, and he could tell that she was being subjected to peer pressure a little. The trunk curls up farther.

Trying once more to comfort her, he pats Meena’s shoulder and tells her to take as long as she needs. After Buster hops down and heads to the next animal, Meena looks down at the hoof writing once more as her trunk uncurls. Letting her ears open up, she went back to the group of animals she was talking with earlier.

A childlike fox girl

Talking with David near the support poles, a fox wearing a pink skirt and a vertical black and white striped top was sitting and kicking her legs over the side of the platform. She spoke to David about something Buster couldn’t pick up over the talking everywhere else, but he could tell that David was growing increasingly uncomfortable. To his relief, Buster walked over and called Stephanie out to talk to her, allowing David a moment of silence.

As Buster shares a greeting with the fox, she throws a barrage of questions his way about the theater, such as “how much did this cost?” “When was this place made?” “Are you rich, because this place looks like a million bucks!” and so much more. Buster at first tries to answer all of the questions thrown his way, but after too many the koala simply returns a question and asks her who exactly she is. The fox apologizes and then gives him a greeting.

“The name’s Stephanie Hornbaker, Steph for short! And if you haven’t already heard of me, I’m the Ultimate Makeup Artist!”

Within Buster’s files, Stephanie’s past was listed as a heartwarming story. She was the daughter to a prestigious beauty parlor owner that was running for many long years, and through tradition she was next in line to inherit it. She went through training of how to use and apply makeup, tattoos, body paint, fur dye and much more, all from her mother. As she began to work as an employee at the beauty parlor, she became a customer favorite just at age 13.

However despite her record breaking progress of improvement, Stephanie had constant doubts about being compared to her mother. She never truly felt as if she was improving whenever she saw her mother’s work, and even felt as if she was looking down at her at times. So to prove her skills to her mother and herself she took a job at a movie company, in which she expertly managed to transform actors into entirely different species and even creatures in mere minutes! It was there she received her title as “Ultimate Makeup Artist,” both proving her own skills to herself and clearing up the doubt between her and her mother, letting the two become a happy family once again.

Back in the present, Buster tries to answer all of Stephanie’s rapid fire questions which actually takes her by surprise, since most typically try and deflect the topics and move on with other things. The koala says that it’s only natural, since the invitation that was sent to everyone was pretty mysterious. He however could not answer any questions about what they would be doing in regards to the invitation, causing Steph to do a puffy face.

Buster says, however, that any remaining questions that Steph has will be answered later once everyone arrives. Once that happens he will get back to the questions that were asked earlier. Stephanie says that she can’t wait, as she’s dying to try out some new makeup ideas she had. She even reveals in the purse that she was holding that it was entirely filled to the brim with high quality makeup supplies, some even imported from different countries!

Buster says that he is impressed at the quality of everything she has, along with how there’s practically a pocket for everything. Stephanie closes the purse and confidently says that if there’s any makeup challenges in her way she always has to be ready, no matter the situation! Buster laughs and says he likes her enthusiasm and looks forward to working with her. After a strong handshake, Buster goes to the other animals while Steph goes back to David, talking about whatever it is they were talking about before.

An annoyed, intimidating badger

Buster begins to approach one of the new animals, an American Badger with a denim jacket covering a brown undershirt that matched her fur, along with dark black pants. She was leaning against a wall while talking to Ash and listening to her music, paws in the pockets of her jacket. They both appeared to be speaking casually about the current events.

As Buster approached, Ash spotted him and stopped playing so she could point to him and say something to Ember. The koala stopped, as the two seemed annoyed with his presence, and considered coming back to introduce himself later. But as he was about to leave, Ember walked over to him while Ash resumed with her music.

The badger says that Ash said he would introduce himself to her, as he’s been doing that with everybody else. As Buster is about to confirm it and introduce himself, Ember continues to talk, saying that it’s kinda rude since he could see that the two were having a conversation earlier. Buster becomes flustered and tries to apologize but the badger says that she wants to “Make this quick,” so the showman lets her talk.

“Let’s make this quick; Ember Gibson, Ultimate Rapper. If you’ve seen the news at least once this past month, then you’ve probably already seen my work.”

Buster’s mind goes back to Ember’s file after hearing her introduction and he recalls her story. Ember the badger grew up with an appreciation for two things; detectives and rappers. Detectives because of their investigations and how they manage to dig deep and reveal the truth, and rappers for how they manage to improvise lyrics on the spot and the depth behind their lyrics.

She fixated on these two things growing up, as her parents were neglectful and often pretended that she never existed. They never beat her or scolded her, but their reluctance to interact with her had a similar impact on its own. The only time they actually pretended to care about her was when company was over; they cared more about their reputation as parents than actually being good parents.

Growing up, Ember wrote her frustrations in a journal every day, using it as a sort of refuge and somebody to talk to. She didn’t try to tell anybody about her parents because the acts that they put on were all too convincing. So, using the two things she admired most, she turned her journal entries into rap lyrics and created a song about bad parenting, which gained her an almost cult following immediately.

Her passion and mission was writing about topics that she felt needed attention and justice then turning them into rap songs to raise awareness about them. She made songs about bad parenting, discrimination, abusive animals and much more that received worldwide gaining her the title of “Ultimate Rapper.”

Buster, becoming embarrassed once again, admits that he’s been focusing on his work so much that he hasn’t really been watching the news lately. After a half surprised-half concerned look and asking if Buster was a workaholic, Ember gives a quick rundown of her latest success.

A real estate company was being aggressive with their business, since they were taking land by force and forcing shockingly high taxes on the people who lived on their property. If dues weren’t met, they would hire mafia members to “remind them” that their money was needed. They also knew though that Ember would try to report on it, since she wasn’t an official detective and was given more freedom than others. They attempted to bribe her so she could leave them alone, and she took it.

One week later, Ember’s latest rap was the top trending song and the real estate company bosses were being carted off in police cars.

Buster applauds Ember’s accomplishments (figuratively and literally) but she just shrugs it off as another job well done. The badger admits that she doesn’t have plans to expose any other corrupt companies at the moment so she’s fine with being at the theater, but she hopes that this isn’t a waste of time.

Buster promises that it won’t and she’ll love it, once again not giving details, and offers to shake her paw. Ember smirks and takes out her paw to do so, but when she does, extremely long claws wrap around Buster’s sleeve, freaking him out a bit and causing him to jump back in surprise. Ember snorts, mumbling that “it never gets old,” then goes back to Ash to resume the conversation. After shaking off the shock, Buster walks over to one of the other animals to talk to them.

An impatient white mouse

Sitting by himself on one of the platforms for support poles, a mouse dressed with a red and white-striped tuxedo and hat mumbled to himself, silently criticizing the crowd of Ultimates before him. He was holding a short black cane about the size of a nail while staring at Buster, mumbling something under his breath, until the koala spotted him and approached to say hello, to which his demeanor stopped and was replaced with a smirk.

Buster introduced himself to the mouse like before, but the mouse didn’t do the same and instead asked why he had invited so many people to the theater. He asked if he was holding some sort of competition or whatever, about who is the best ultimate or whatever and if there would be a grand prize. Because if there was, he might as well just get it now.

The koala says that there is no competition, but there would instead be something where everyone would be cooperating together. Mike complains about it, saying that it sounds really cliche and that he works better alone, adding on that he doesn’t want to work together with “these other chumps.” Buster says that his words weren’t very kind, getting an “and?” in response. The koala sighs and asks for the mouse’s name.

“Listen well pops, the name’s Mike Maximus and I’m the Ultimate Crooner. You best not forget it, ‘cause when I show that I’m the greatest Ultimate among these punks, you’re gonna be sorry!”

Thinking back to Mike’s file, Buster feels that his story could be a motivational one, if it weren’t for his attitude. Mike grew up only living with his father on the streets, learning how to con people to make money so he could survive. Whether it was cheating at street games or selling phony products, Mike learned all the ways of the con. As for his father, he felt more of a mentor-like relationship to him than a parental one, so when he passed away from old age, he did not grieve.

Secretly, Mike hated conning purely because it was something his father had taught him. He learned to sing in the times when he wasn’t conning or learning to con, but his father scolded him, saying that it would get him nowhere in life. So when he was on his own, Mike pursued a singing career and strived to become the best singer in the world purely out of spite, and he did.

He started simply singing in subways for money, then escalated to parties, then to clubs then finally to concerts. Often times, he even was able to accidentally sing an entire audience to sleep because of his soothing voice, gaining him the title of “Ultimate Crooner.” He soaked in his popularity and despised anybody that looked down upon him because of how he was looked down upon by his dad in the past.

Buster tells Mike that it’s nice to meet him, but repeats that there is no competition, to which Mike chuckles and says “sure.” Buster sighs, but regains his positive attitude and says that it was an honor for Mike to be here and that he couldn’t wait to work with him. The mouse, however, stands up straight and asks flatly what Buster is doing since he needs to practice for a concert that he needs to perform for tomorrow.

Buster repeats once again that he can’t give the details, since he’s waiting for everyone else to arrive first. The mouse grumbles, then points his cane to the koala, saying that this better not be a waste of time, or else he’d be hearing from Mike’s lawyers tomorrow. Buster puts his hands up defensively and, with a nervous smile, says that he promises that it won’t be.

Mike sits back down and checks his phone for important business updates and starts a call with one of his advisers. Sensing that he should go away, Buster power walks away from the crooner, hesitant for what might happen later.

An anxious, motherly pig

Speaking into her cell phone by the front doors, a pig woman wearing a pink button-up shirt and jeans along with a blue and white checkered apron paced back and forth. Through the commotion of everyone else talking he could not pick up what was on the phone, but as he got closer he could make out the woman saying a few things like “are you sure you can handle them?” “I know but you’re always at work, are you sure that-” “alright, but call me if anything comes up, alright?” “Okay, goodbye honey, I love you too.”

As the woman put her phone back into her pocket, Buster asked if everything was alright. The woman jumped from surprise, but then admitted that she was slightly anxious. Her husband was taking care of their children for the day so she could come here and they tend to get a little rowdy at times. It was the first time in a while her husband got a day off from work as well, and spending it looking after the kids alone wasn’t exactly the ideal way to spend it.

The koala-while internally screaming at her to not go-reassures her that, if needed, she can leave and return home since family is important. Gripping her arm, she says that she was sure that Norman could handle it. However, she says it in a way that makes it seem like she was trying to convince herself that.

The motherly woman’s ears perk up and she lets out an “oh!” as she realizes that she didn’t introduce herself yet, and jokes about not having any manners.

“My name is Rosita Brown, and others like to call me the Ultimate Housewife. It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Moon!”

Buster’s mind falls into her file as he hears her name and the mother’s story is told. Rosita grew up in an above-average household with plenty of opportunities at hand. Ever since childhood, she had a knack for inventing different contraptions that would make daily life easier, such as a machine that automatically cleans plates after a meal. So she tried to pursue a career in engineering so she could make the world a better place with her inventions.

However as it seemed like she was going to make it big one day, she suddenly stopped inventing things. Nobody knew why but there were a few rumors and speculations, none of which could be deemed true nor false. She retired to working as a housewife with her husband Norman and her 25 piglets. She still invented contraptions that helped her job though and managed to take care of each child with ease, despite their rowdiness.

Naturally, her children spread the word about her abilities and inventions, causing her to get invitations for several interviews for TV shows and magazines. Once the world knew of her abilities she was given the title of “Ultimate Housewife,” though she really only sees that as a title and nothing else.

Buster returns the greeting and reassures Rosita that he’s sure her husband can handle them. However the mother states that Norman is rarely home since he works an overabundance of overtime so he can pay for family expenses, such as food and taxes. He still loves the family, but he’s rarely home because of that.

Buster once again tells her that it’ll be okay. She told him to call in case something happened, so if he did then she was absolutely allowed to rush back home. This comforts Rosita somewhat, but she is still anxious. She asks if this meeting will take long and Buster replies saying that this is purely a meeting right now. He does have something planned, but the meeting was held mainly for informational purposes. If she’s interested in the project and wants to join it, she will have to come back.

Rosita is once again unsure and states that it might not be possible then. The koala is scared for a moment but the mother says that she’ll stick around just in case. However she feels the need to call Norman once again out of worry, so Buster leaves her be and lets her talk to her husband as he goes to speak with other animals.

Stepping away from the crowd once again, Buster checks off more names from the list. “Crooner, Soprano, Makeup, Rapper and Mother (Engineer).” He feels more optimistic about his odds now, as only four animals were now missing. He felt like if the last four didn’t show, he could make do with what he had.

Hoping that the last four would come in just like the others, Buster checked his watch once again. It was now 5:03 PM, just a little past the meet up time. The koala pondered if he should wait a little longer or start the meeting right then, since the Ultimates were most likely becoming impatient now. He looked to the double doors that led to the main stage with slight anxiety of things still not going to plan.

Suddenly a new voice called out, catching everyone’s attention. Looking back to the front doors, there was now a jaguar, a hamster, another mouse and a hedgehog along with everyone else. The mouse speaks up and apologizes, revealing that she was the one that had talked earlier.

Buster ran up to them all and said that it was no problem at all, since they would be starting soon. Johnny asks if everyone was present now, but the showman responds by saying he has to make sure first, so everyone could talk for a little bit longer. A few groan (Mike and Ash) as the four spread out to the different groups.

Buster forces his confidence to return since, according to his list, the final four were here and the plan can go accordingly now. After closing his binder and giving himself a deep breath of preparation, Buster goes to greet the final four (once again, in no particular order).

A sleepy Jaguar

Over by the staircase, a jaguar wearing a large black overcoat leaned against the wall, sleeping soundly. They appeared to have fallen asleep right as they laid down. Buster only noticed this right as he was up close to the jaguar, so he was conflicted to whether he should wake them or not.

He decided it would be best to leave them alone for now and turned to leave, but he accidentally tripped and dropped his binder on the ground. The rings kept the documents in the binder but the clatter and the yelp from the koala made a few heads turn.

Buster apologized and turned to go and talk to somebody else, but the jaguar spoke up to ask if he was okay, making the showman freeze in place. He turned to face the jaguar who spoke with perfect clarity, as if they never fell asleep in the first place. Buster wonders if they even actually did.

Buster introduces himself and apologizes for waking the jaguar up. The jaguar however is unphased, saying that they should’ve went to sleep earlier last night. However, they had a bunch of work to plan out with their friends, so it couldn’t have been helped. After realizing that they didn’t introduce themselves yet either, the jaguar raises up a paw and gives a slight wave.

“Jude Therna. Others call me the Ultimate Street Performer.”

After the lackluster introduction, Buster remembers the file on Jude. Not much was known about their past except for the core basics. They went by they/them pronouns, they were a jaguar and they grew up with a love of street performing. So they grew up training in the tricks of the trade and slowly improved until they achieved mastery.

Jude also worked together with a small group of other street performers, calling themselves the “Band of Misfits.” They all did their own separate events on the street for cash, but every so often they got together at a random venue for a small show. Despite performing solely on the street for cash, they all lived in a reasonably sized apartment together off of the money that they earn. It was quite impressive in Buster’s eyes.

Jude compliments Buster’s theater, saying that just being in the main lobby they could tell that it was impressive and that he must hold a lot of shows. Buster laughs meekly and looks away, but Jude can see right through him and goes “guess not huh?” The koala flinches, but the jaguar continues to talk.

Jude says that whatever they were invited to the theater for, they can’t wait to see. They admit that the Band of Misfits were becoming a little tired from the constant shows so it would be cool to take a slight break. Buster couldn’t be happier to hear those words and tells Jude that they’ll love it, and offers to shake their paw, to which Jude does.

As Buster leaves, Jude stops him for a second and asks for the time. As Buster looks down to his watch to respond, he notices that it wasn’t there. He checks his pockets and the folder for it, but then Jude whistles to grab his attention and reveals his watch, dangling from their fingers. Jude tosses it over to him and gives a sly finger gun and a wink. As Buster walks away, he feels a slight mix of confusion and respect.

An over-excited hedgehog

Back over by Ash and Ember, a hedgehog with a black t-shirt (bearing a picture combining “Vitruvian Animal” and a drummer) and intentionally torn jeans was asking questions as fast as a machine gun fires bullets. The two girls were confused and wide-eyed from his excitement, as it seemed that he was a fan of the two, but he was talking too fast to be understood.

Buster, reminded of Stephanie’s demeanor earlier, decided to take the fall once again and asked to talk to the hedgehog. After a brief tap on the shoulder and guiding him away from the two, the porcupine and badger both mouthed “thank you!” to the koala. Without looking back, he gave the two a thumbs up.

As the hedgehog was about to send a million questions Buster’s way as well, he stopped him and says that it would be rude not to introduce themselves to each other first. The hedgehog laughs and nonchalantly slaps his head, apologizing for his actions. He then takes out a metal, retractable drumming stick, using it like a pointer.

“Matt Pine, Ultimate Drummer is here, and he is ready and willing! Oh and just to get it out of the way, I’m a hedgehog, not a porcupine, know the difference!”

Thinking back to the files, the koala remembers Matt’s backstory. In his childhood, Matt always tended to be a little hyper and always had to be moving in some way, shape or form. His parents were always overwhelmed by his mannerisms, and when suppressing it failed, they gave him a drum set (along with a soundproof room) that would help him direct the hyperactivity to something helpful. Within a matter of days, he had already mastered the basics and a few styles as well.

One day though when he had nothing better to do and a desire to get moving, Matt decided to try and beat the longest-drumming solo record which stood at 143 hours and 3 minutes. After setting up a camera to record his attempt and a couple friends to give him water and food and a bucket, he then began a record-breaking solo that stood at a whopping 179 hours and 42 minutes, earning him the title of “Ultimate Drummer” right then and there!

From then on, he was hired to play for legendary bands as a guest drummer, often having his talent bought for over thousands of dollars a night! He still managed to complete high school despite his popularity, but by the time he graduated he was practically a millionaire! With his funds he bought a highly advanced and complicated drum set, a pair of retractable metal drumsticks for everyday use and a fidget cube to help curb his hyperactivity in public. The rest of the money he simply gave to his parents, since he saw no use in going to college, along with the fact that they hadn’t paid off their student loans either.

Once Matt was finished pointing, he noticed that Buster was looking at them in awe. Matt showed them to him and explained that they were custom made, metal retractable drumsticks. They costed a little over a hundred dollars, but it was worth it since he could put them in his pocket and start drumming at any time.

Buster admits that they were impressive and that he has a bunch of backup ones just in case he loses any. The koala feels slightly jealous, since he had so much money just from playing on the drums. He was tempted to ask if he had an extra thousand to spare, but he felt like he would be rude.

Buster tells Matt that it was an honor to see him and that he was impressed with his skills. Matt offers him an example and flicks out his second drumstick, running for the nearby metal poles, but Buster stops him before he breaks the record once again. He simply thanks him for coming and tells him that he needs to go talk with some other animals. Matt thanks Buster for inviting him and goes back to the duo from before, granting the koala glares sharp enough to sever the theater. Buster mouths “I’m sorry!” to the two as he goes to talk to one of the other new Ultimates.

A lonely looking mouse lady

Sitting and talking with David and Stephanie, a mouse woman wearing burgundy pants with a light peach-colored jacket appeared to be very formal and pleased while holding a conversation with the two. Buster approached as usual, causing the mouse to get a debrief from David and Buster to get a wave from Stephanie.

The stage tech and makeup artist give the two some room to talk as the koala had to sit down to get to an appropriate talking-height. Buster thanked the woman for showing up like usual and she said “no problem”, but then an awkward silence stood between the two. The koala is usually used to being asked too many questions at this point, so he wasn’t expecting the mouse to stay silent.

Buster tried to break the ice by asking for the mouse’s name, to which he got an astonished expression. The woman asked if he really didn’t know who she was, to which Buster shook his head. The lady rubbed her shoulder and looked around nervously, then spoke up clearly to introduce herself.

“It might be best for you not to know but… I’m Nancy Addams, the Ultimate Negotiator.”

Nancy’s file flashed in Buster’s mind. Nancy grew up in a wealthy family that ran the most successful real estate company in the state, “Addams Real Estate.” Their net worth was in the billions and her parents were masters of negotiation, always managing to get what they wanted in the end. Since the company was the family business, they trained Nancy the art of negotiation as well, providing all of the best classes so she could be an excellent heir.

She was a fast learner and rose through the ranks quickly, learning the art of negotiation in a flash. Her parents couldn’t wait any longer and gave their daughter a position in the company that allowed her to use her talent to sell houses to people. Nancy managed to sell hundreds without a single fail, earning her the right to be called “The Ultimate Negotiator.” Little else is known about Nancy’s past, as that story is all her parents are willing to disclose about it.

Buster continues his formal greeting, causing him to get even more confused looks from the mouse. The showman asks if she is okay and Nancy just says that she wasn’t expecting his response, though she doesn’t explain why. The koala thanks her for coming and tells her that he hopes what he has planned will meet her expectations. Nancy stays silent, still unsure what exactly to say.

As Buster stands up to leave, Nancy asks Buster if he meant to invite her, to which he jokes casually, saying that it was her name on the invitation card. The mouse opens her mouth to say something, but then closes it and apologizes to Buster for her questions. Still feeling an air of unease, Buster leaves Nancy alone to talk to the other animals.

An attention-seeking hamster

Speaking with Johnny, Rosita, Riley and the rest in the group, a golden hamster wearing a highlighter yellow sweater along with a sky blue skirt that went down below her knees was yelling at anybody that wasn’t paying attention to her as she talked. She was speaking about some sort of story and, because of the volume, Buster was able to make out that it was about an experience at one of the nearby Starbuck cafes.

As Buster approached he could tell that the other animals did not like her presence and the reason why was clear. So, deciding to complete two tasks at once, Buster tapped the hamster to grab her attention. As soon as he did, the hamster girl whipped around with a hardcore glare and a loud “WHAT?!”

When the girl found out who it was though, her rage-filled face morphed into an open, welcoming smile. The girl apologized and thanked Buster for “inviting a hamster such as moi to this wonderful establishment!” The other animals used this opportunity to sneak away and talk somewhere else. Deciding to try and be kind so he wouldn’t get on her bad side, Buster introduced himself, having the hamster follow suit.

“My name is Julee Hartford, and I am known as the Ultimate Voice Actor! But please sir, there’s no need for formalities, so just call me Jules!”

Thinking back to the file, Buster recalls Julee’s past. She had grown up with a wealthy family that gave her whatever she wanted, but made sure she had to work for it first. These tasks would be simple chores around the house, but the reward would be something totally unfitting, like a trip to a rented-out water park.

Julee always had an admiration for cartoons and everything that went into them; the main factor being the voice actors for the characters. So when Julee told her parents she wanted to be a voice actor, they hired the best V.A.s to give her lessons. Over time she managed to hone her skills and after many years of practice (added along with a few surgeries and implants), Julee was now able to impersonate almost any voice!

However when she was finally old enough, Julee realized that she didn’t like cartoons anymore, so she had no desire to do voice acting for them. Instead, she went for the second thing she liked the most: podcasts. She talked about the latest news stories (involving her) and also did call-ins for fans that needed advice. However they were not always morally sound.

One day though, a rival podcast group spoke badly about Julee in a broadcast, fuelling her rage against them. So one day she was able to hijack the show and, with her voice acting talent, defame the group by speaking about slanderous and scandalous things that they never did. It was revealed that Julee did it, but with the power of money she managed to silence the cops and get off Scot free. The listeners, however, thought that all of that was staged and now knew of her talent. Thus, she received the title of “Ultimate Voice Actor.”

Buster, clearly not convinced by Julee’s act, thanked her for the greeting and showing up. She pretended to be flattered and asked Buster if her talent was needed for something, and if he did, she would be glad to do it for him (if he has the cash). Buster pretends to not hear that last part and says that he just needs to make sure everyone has arrived, then he can explain what’s going on.

Julee, still smiling, thanks Buster once again and gives him her “business card,” which is less of an actual business card and more of a glitter-covered, bedazzled “Hi, I’m ___” sticker. Buster thanks Julee for the card and then turns to go talk with some other animals, sticking the sticker into Julee’s file. He could hear the hamster give a sigh of relief after holding the smile for so long.

Taking a deep breath to relax himself, the koala flipped open the binder and checked off the final four boxes that were listed “Street Performer, V.Actor, Drummer and Negotiator.” Buster went down the list to double check it, then triple check it just to be sure, and then stared astonished at the fully-checked list. Everyone had arrived; Buster could now begin his plan and gain his fighting chance to save his theater.

He snapped the binder shut and announced to everyone in the lobby that everyone had arrived, so “could everybody follow me to the main hall please!” Buster opened the double doors (making sure to put in the doorstops for both) and then jogged down to the main stage. He could hear everyone behind him marvel in awe at the main hall’s intricate decorum and couldn’t help but be reminded of when he first did so as well.

The koala hopped up onto the stage after telling everyone to take a seat; everyone sat in the front row, but the smaller animals had to ask for help from others like Matt, Stephanie and Meena. Once his throat was cleared, he spoke with a loud, attention grabbing voice that would sound fit for a circus ringleader addressing their crowd.

Once more thanking all of the animals for coming, Buster speaks to the Ultimates that he has gathered all of these Ultimates together in his theater for one specific purpose, and if everything works out well in the end then everyone can benefit and profit from it.

Ember: Nothing shady I hope!

David: Did he really mean to invite me then?

Mike: Get on with it, what’s the competition?!

Buster turns to Mike and tells him once more that this is not any sort of competition. Nobody is going to be fighting each other, but instead they’ll all be working together to create something wonderful! “For you see, I have invited you all to partake in a show that will end all shows! The grandest play of all!!!”

Meena: A play? What’s it about?

Riley: OH HECK YEAH! THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!

Ash: Could you maybe not scream in my ear?

Riley: Sorry, my bad.

Meena asks what play they’ll be doing, and if it’ll be based off of an already existing play. Riley whispers to Johnny that he hopes it’ll be a musical and Johnny says that he hopes so too, since he really likes singing. Buster tells everyone that it will not be based off of something that already exists, but it’ll instead be one of his own original works!

Stephanie: Oh, you’re a playwright? That’s really cool!

Jude: Are we talking an original work or an “original work?”

Rosita: I’ve never been in a play before…

Buster reassures everyone that his play is entirely, 100% original and if they’d like, they can read the script a little later after he’s done addressing everyone. A few are content with this but others will be the judge of his words. The koala then states that he has been working on the play for years, planning each little detail to make sure that it would be perfect!

Johnny: Three years? Seriously???

Matt: Even I couldn’t drum for that long! At least, I don’t think so...

Rosita: But that can’t be true, can it? The planning I mean, not the drumming.

Nancy: No, I can tell that he’s telling the truth.

Mike speaks up and asks what would be in it for them, since they haven’t exactly gotten that detail down yet, to which Buster begins to explain. He had called each Ultimate here because they would each play a key role in his show. He points to David “Lighting and Sound Effects” he points to Rosita “Technical Expert” he points to Riley “Professional Acting” and says that “each and every one of you are the best of the best at something, and a show done entirely with Ultimates had never been done before.

Ember: Wait, seriously? It hasn’t?

Riley: Yeah he’s right, there hasn’t, and it’s honestly kind of surprising.

Rosita: Technical Expert??

Mike: Get on with it!

Johnny: He is, shush!

The showman says that if everyone agrees and everything turns out well, then the sales would be unimaginable! It would reach up to the millions mark at least! So whoever in the audience takes part will get 5% of the total profits!

Julee: Five? That doesn’t sound like a lot!

Ember: Of a million at least, use your head!

Gunter: Ten, twenty, twenty five… hang on, I’ll pull up my calculator!

Jude: It’s $50,000.

The Ultimates all chat and murmur among each other after Jude lists the price, helping Buster gain a glimmer of hope. Sure his estimate may have been a bluff now, but in the future it could be a drastic understatement! Everything would work out in due time.

Ash speaks up through the noise, questioning Buster’s statement. If Buster really would give everyone 5% then Buster would only get 30% in the end. She doubts that he would want to get less than everyone else in the end, so she asks what he has planned. “This seems too good to be true.”

Buster casually tells the porcupine that he’s been planning this for years so he knows that he’d get less than what he’s giving. He begins to explain why exactly he planned this and opens his binder, but stops himself after flipping through the files. He grumbles and slaps his head, muttering a small curse.

The showman says that he forgot something in his office and he’ll be right back, then sprints stage right to the stairs. He can hear the Ultimates talk to each other about his mistake, causing him to lose that glimmer he had earlier and gain a touch of anxiety in its place. “So much for a good first impression!”

The koala makes it to his office and searches through the countless papers that littered his desk. It didn’t help that the window next to him was letting in a strong gust, blowing everything this way and that; he had to close it so he could collect himself. He searched through the mountain of papers, gaining a few cuts in the process, when he finally found what he was looking for: a red three ringed binder filled with the details of the play plan.

As the koala ran back to the door, an idea hit him. There was a secret passage behind one of his countless play posters that led to the rafters above the main stage, so he could surprise them and show how much theater magic he had in store by descending from a stage prop. He smiled at the plan, giggling at the surprised looks he predicted they would have, and headed to the poster.

However right as he touched it, sounds of commotion could be heard back through the door that made him stop in his tracks. He turned to the door and strained his ears, since they sounded faint, but it sounded like he could hear the Ultimates panicking, a few even screaming. With Buster’s anxiety kicking back into full gear he headed for the door, forgetting about the shortcut.

But as soon as he turned his back on the poster, the poster was knocked away from the wall, sending glass flying everywhere and once again stopping Buster in his tracks. He turned back around to see what was happening, but before he could grasp what was happening something larger than him tackled the koala, holding him down and pressing something against his face.

Buster kicked and slammed his fist on the floor to signal for help, but it was about the same as an infant trying to fight a fully-developed adult. Not only that but the more he did it, the more strength was being sapped away. He slowly lost consciousness and right as the commotion downstairs was silenced, everything went black.

After an unknown amount of time, Buster wakes up with a long gasp for air and then immediately coughs due to the heavy oxygen intake. To his side somebody puts a hand on his back to support him and regulate his breathing as his eyes adjust to the world around him. He can faintly hear the sound of arguing.

Once his coughing fit fades his senses come back to him, and he is able to make out his surroundings. He was back in the main hall with the other Ultimates, who were arguing about something he couldn’t make out since everyone was speaking at once. Rosita was by his side supporting him.

However there was another person next to him that he didn’t expect, and once he saw him he jumped back in surprise. Next to the mother and showman and putting something back into his chest pocket was a middle-aged sheep, wearing a tattered mustard jacket and orange shorts that were faded from years of neglect. His wool was unkempt and frayed and there were enough bags under his eyes he wouldn’t be able to let them through the airport without paying a fine.

Around the sheep’s neck was some sort of heavily advanced metal collar with red LED lights surrounding it. It was tight around the sheep’s throat and it seemed as if he was in pain at every moment. It looked as if it was straight out of those “PAW” horror movies. The sheep himself looked just as anxious and scared as him and Buster would understand why, if he knew exactly who he was.

As the sheep walks away without a word, Rosita calls out to the others that Buster is awake, calling over a few of the Ultimates that weren’t fighting, but still looked pretty angry (Ash, Johnny, Gunter, Ember). All at once they barrage him with questions that overlap into white noise, but they sound angry, confused and scared, just like him.

Buster cuts them off and asks what the heck is going on, but Johnny says “That’s what we were going to ask!”

Gunter: Was this your plan? Is this some sort of prank?! It’s NOT FUNNY!!!

Ember: You better start talking geezer, or else I’ll shove my claws right up-

Rosita: Ember stop, he’s confused too!

Ash: I knew I shouldn’t have came here, why didn’t I listen to myself?!

Buster asks once again, with emphasis, what the heck is going on. Rosita explains that when Buster went up to his office, a bunch of other animals wearing strange masks jumped out from hiding places and drugged them. They were all woken up by the sheep person but they weren’t able to get any answers out of him, and they’ve tried for a while. He woke up Buster last.

Buster is still confused though, as it appeared everyone was still inside the theater, so what exactly was happening? “Has anyone called the cops or went outside yet?” Ash says that they couldn’t get outside if they wanted too, since all of the doors in the room were locked. As Buster is about to ask another question, the sound system turns on with full volume, causing everyone to stop and cover their ears from the pain.

As the volume fades away, a strange, non-animal voice begins to hum a tune that sounded like a classical song Buster liked, but because of the current situation, the koala couldn’t help but shiver. It had a mechanic tint to it, but other than that it was indescribable. A CHUNK came from the stage and everyone turned to it.

Slowly descending from the top of the stage, a large, jagged, devilish, red eye cardboard cutout was being lowered from a rope. Everyone around Buster suddenly stopped breathing and didn’t dare move, while Buster looked around even more confused and panicked than before. As the song reached its conclusion, a small, mechanical, black and white bear leaped from within the eye and rolled onto the stage, striking a dramatic finishing pose while holding a microphone. Suddenly from the seats behind them, a surplus of animals wearing a mask similar to the bear’s head stood up and gave a deafening applause.

On the white half of it, the bear appeared to be normal, but the other black half had the eye from earlier, along with a devilish smile. Buster’s anxiety shot through the roof as all of these strangers with cult-like clothes cheered like normal people.

The bear, addressing the crowd, spoke to the audience, greeting them and thanking them for “Coming out tonight, or tuning in if you’re all at home! If you haven’t figured it out from my pristine smile or soothing voice yet, then I’ll tell you right now!” The bear now speaks in a wrestler announcer voice.

“He’s the one that makes people scream from his presence, if you meet his gaze you find yourself stuck in your tracks and if you hear his laugh it’s already too late, it’s the one! The only! Monokumaaaaaaa!!!”

The crowd cheers once again as Buster looks around, becoming increasingly panicked by the second. He looks to the Ultimates; they’ve all gone pale, but he has no idea what’s going on. Monokuma begins talking once again.

“Now welcome back to our despairful show with a brand new season! As you can no doubt see right now we have an AMAZING new set of participants standing before us, all looking very healthy and young; at least, save for the hamster.” Julee says nothing at this, and somehow that terrifies Buster even more. “Anyways let’s hear it new participants, how are you all feeling tonight, huh?!” He points the microphone in the Ultimates’ direction.

For a moment, all of the Ultimates stay still, frozen in fear while looking at the situation before them. The other audience members go quiet as well. Then all at once, the fourteen Ultimates let out a blood-curdling scream and sprint for the exit, pounding on it with all of their might and pleading for somebody to let them out and save them. Some are even crying for their parents and hurting themselves to get out. Buster meanwhile, stays frozen in the isle, staring aghast at the Ultimate’s actions. Monokuma is pleased by their fear and laughs.

“Puhuhuhuhu! I gotta say that has to be the best one yet folks! Not only did they all let out that tasty scream, but they all did it at once, as if this was planned! And you all know here that NONE of this is planned in advance, there’s only live, RAW action here in these ki”- the bear stops, having made eye contact with Buster. “Oh my, this is quite rare!”

The bear hops down from the stage and waddles over to Buster, who slowly begins to retreat from the stage and join the others, but right as he turns around, Monokuma catches up to him and wraps his black arm around his shoulder. The koala’s face begins to conform to the other’s as the color drains away. Monokuma states into the microphone that they had somebody who stood their ground. “Whether it was out of fear, courage or stupidity we may never know!”

Buster tries to pull away but the bear’s claws dig into his arm, prompting him to stay. The Ultimates are still pounding at the door while Buster doesn’t dare to move. He asks who the bear is and what exactly is going on. The bear stops laughing and simply stares at him with an astonished expression, along with the rest of the audience.

Monokuma: You… you’re serious? You don’t know what’s going on?

Buster: *Shaking his head, eyes still wide from fear.*

The bear lets out a chuckle, then a giggle, then a full on belly laugh at the top of its speech box that revealed his razor sharp teeth. The rest of the audience follows suit, making Buster feel as if he needs to fake a laugh or else he’ll be killed. The Ultimates are banging on the door even harder now, but it does not seem like it would break down soon. Once the laughing fades, the bear states that “this is priceless, this truly is a rare one!”

Buster asks once again what’s going on and the bear prevents himself from going into a laughing fit once more. So as he ramps up the anticipation (You… are…. in…..) he does a spin on his mechanical toes, then stops while pointing to the sky as a red spotlight points down on him.

“THE MUTUAL KILLING GAME!!!”

The audience lets out another deafening cheer as Buster attempts to soak on what he just said. The Ultimates are crying more than trying to break down the door now. Buster’s heart feels like it’s going to explode from the panic and his internal alarms were blaring louder than the cheers. After a few moments of doing nothing, the koala yells “THE WHAT?!”

The bear then explains the rules of the killing game lightning fast since “everyone at home already knows, so let’s make this quick!” The spotlight from before points to the Ultimates banging on the door. A few keep banging as hard as they can, but others press their backs against the wall in fear. Monokuma, while walking in circles around Buster, begins to talk.

He explains that all of the Ultimates, including him, are locked and trapped inside the theater. There is no hope for escape, as all of the exits have been secured tighter than the skeleton’s in the viewers’ closets. They will be trapped within the theater for all eternity until they die from old age if they wish, “but there is one way to get out.” Buster doesn’t ask what this way is but Monokuma keeps going as if he did.

“If you want to get out, you’re going to need to throw away your morals and innocence, as the task requires flawless execution! For you see, if you desire freedom, you must pick up a weapon, use your wits, and kill one of your new prison-mates!” Buster’s blood runs cold. He feels as if he’s going to throw up.

Monokuma explains that “Of course, it won’t be that easy. After all, this is a game about lies, betrayal, deceit!!!  If you wanna leave this place, you gotta kill one of these people and get away with it! Make the perfect murder and prevent others from finding out! That’s the excitement of the killing game!!!” The audience is going wild, screaming with joy. The Ultimates are crying, screaming with fear. Buster feels sick.

The koala then asks out of desperation if this was some sort of joke or prank, or even some sort of dream. He doesn’t want to believe this is real and is very tempted to join the others pounding and pleading at the door. The bear, after a quick laugh, digs his claws deeper into Buster’s sleeve, tearing it slightly and letting in an overwhelming feeling of despair.

“Trust me you geezer, this isn’t a dream. You’ve just set foot into a collective nightmare! Now then everyone at once now you know what to do!” All of the audience members stand up as Monokuma steps away from them. But he fails to run and trips over himself, so he flips over to his back and begins to scoot away in fear. Monokuma brings both of his arms inwards as he stands straight up, and the rest of the audience members follow suit. Then all at once, they lean backwards and spread out their arms, letting out a cheer that would remain with the Ultimates until the end of days.

“WELCOME ONE AND ALL, TO THE GLORIOUS KILLING GAME!!!”

Prologue: The Ultimate Show-END

OC Credits

Ember Gibson and Matt Pine belong to @elceetheporcupine Stephanie Hornbaker belongs to @mediasploshion Jude Therna belongs to @twilightprince101 (hey that’s me!) Jackson Riley belongs to ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated) David Flowerson and Julee Hartford belong to @superlevelup-reviews

Writing and editing

@twilightprince101 and ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated)

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