#stephanie hornbaker

[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)

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