I'm back with yet again another chapter, and the end of the Prologue, hell yeah! That's exciting to me, haha, since that obviously means we can get into the meat of things. Getting through characters was quite a bit of work, especially since I like to give them time to shine and all that fancy jazz, but I'm still alive and kicking, so heck yeah! Well, I don't have much to say here, so let's get into the meat of the story here!

Ziggymia123: "Elodie's adorable, I really love her, haha. Aww, if only Elodie wasn't in a killing game, then we can just have happy times without suffering :D Haha, there's a lot of options, yeah!"

Glass-Lady-of-the-Opera: "Yeah, new chapter there, and new chapter here! Jian's such an edgy twerp, but I still love him, haha. Yessss, there's a lot of antagonistic people, and then we have beans! Killing games are scary :0 I'd definitely be scared XD"

Prince PokePersona: "Heck yeah, another chapter, and intros are finally done! Took ten years XD I love character interactions, and group dynamics are always fun, haha. Rebeka will be a great person who will make all the friends in the story, totes ;) Mayari definitely doesn't like it when people try to push her buttons or oppose her, oof. Haha, yup, sounds like Akira alright XD Riverdale makes me scream. Elodie's definitely precious and deserves some love! Haha, that's Gento alright, and I love his getup, it's much more different than what a lot of the other peeps here wear, haha. Heck yeah, peeps! Lmao, maybe, who knows ;)"

TheRoseShadow21: "Yeah, Elodie is such a bean! She's so cute :D And true, the beans balance out the assholes XD, and thanks as always :D!"

Looking ahead, Mayari wasn't the least bit pleased to see the people in front of her. She had recognized Ares, of course, the black-haired man behind the mask grunting and grumbling to himself. The epidemiologist had the urge to slap and mock him for his presence, but the instinct she was feeling, getting from the people next to Ares screamed at her to not dare try- if she were, she would expect herself to suffer, her gut screamed.

"I assume you are Mayari and Shura respectively, correct? Epidemiologist and armourer?"

Mayari frowned, the person who had spoken to them being the woman to the side. It was a woman with alluring dark pink eyes and blond hair, wavy and reaching down her back. Evenly swept bangs, the woman had a beautiful and attractive figure, though slightly gaudy with lipstick and eyeliner present on her blushing face. To the epidemiologist, the woman screamed to her as a wannabe makeup guru, but decided against vocalizing her thoughts.

Nonetheless, the woman wasn't wearing a mask like Ares was, though she had resorted to wearing a midnight black unbuttoned coat over a 50s styled black solid dress that reached to just halfway above her knees. Under her dress was her pair of peach colored stockings, and then her knee high pair of combat boots. It was a rather strange design, though Mayari took more focus on the crown over her head- the crown that was built from bones and skulls; that, and the strange voodoo skull staff she was holding around her left hand.

A lover of death… but I'm pretty damn sure Elodie wouldn't like her. The raven coughed silently to herself, forcing her body to calm as she asked as politely as possible, "Yeah, you're right. Why?"

"Lovely." The woman clapped her hands together, a warm smile on her lips. She turned to her acquaintances and chuckled. "It seems we've met the rats."

"Exactly, they're absolutely lovely," Ares replied, harshly sarcastic in tone. He pointed a finger at Mayari and Shura, eyebrows furrowed. "Any funny business you're planning, and I'll swiftly destroy you. I won't hesitate."

"Funny business?" The armourer was caught off guard, blinking a couple of times before pursing his lips downwards into a frown. "Can we assume you defiant evildoers are the ones who've trapped us here?"

His tone was harsh and obviously enraged, but from his movements, Mayari knew Shura wasn't planning to outright attack the lion masked man. That would be foolish, she knew, her lips tucked in, cheeks sucked inwards. She forced herself to not retort, to not immediately defy and cause a scene without judging her supposed opponents first.

"Evildoers?" Ares' voice increasingly became growly. "In your fantasy, yeah, you can consider that. In reality? We are far from it, you wannabe hero."

"Aish! There there, let's not scare the little rats." The blonde placed a hand on the man's shoulder, calming him down with a reassuring smile. "You're only going to make them fight against us if you try to hurt them."

The black-haired man grumbled, stepping back, "They wouldn't even be able to win anyways, you dunce."

"Hm. Of course not, but still." The woman chuckled to herself, bringing back locks of her hair as she stepped forward, smiling sweetly at the two teenagers. "Why don't we head inside? I'm sure your friends are wondering what is happening, right?"

"Ah, well, um…" Shura bit into his lips; he threw a worrisome look at Mayari. "I suppose so, right, milady?"

The raven only frowned in response, murmuring in an uneasy tone, "I guess so."

"Lovely, my dear rats. Let us not waste time now." The blonde immediately stepped forward, heading into the room. She had no care in the world, no worries when Mayari and Shura threw her uneasy, bothered looks.

And it branched out to Ares and his companion, the masked man grumbling and cussing angrily under his breath as he walked inside. That left the unknown man standing there, waiting for the supposed two 'rats' to enter into the room.

Well, not that they had any choice, the epidemiologist stepping forward with Shura taking a look at the unknown man suspiciously.

It didn't come as a surprise to Mayari when she saw the looks of utter confusion, shock, and horror on her companions' faces. Ares was a known figure to some, but if not, then it was obvious he wasn't an ally. The blond woman herself wasn't a huge threat at first glance, though her uncanny smile and decorations on herself made it obvious she wasn't an ally either.

And the epidemiologist knew the unknown third person wasn't an ally, he was an enemy. She pursed her lips and silently stepped to the side, near Silvana and now Shura who was putting a defensive stance in the front, seemingly protecting Keni who was unsure of what was happening, the redhead hugging his plushie.

"Um, excuse me," Hotaru was the first to respond, narrowing her gaze at the strange figures. "Who the fuck are you people?"

Nomi cleared her throat, gazing upon the masked man. "Well… the fellow lad over there is Ares, nya. Not sure about the other two."

"Can you shut the hell up?" Ares snapped, throwing a look at the pet detective who just put her hands up and stepped back. That didn't matter though, the raven grumbling underneath his breath before speaking loudly, stepping forward. "We're not here to play games, you hopeless cretins. Let's make it clear, okay? My name is Ares, and I'm here with the others to explain the situation which, well: yeah, you're fucking trapped in here, good job for putting two and two together."

"Trapped?" Akira couldn't help but frown, crossing his arms. "No way. Shouldn't there be a way to escape?"

"Pfft, you wish, dreamer." The masked man snorted. "Like I said, you are all stuck here. There is no way to escape, and I would advise you to not even dare try. You can't break through the walls. It's impossible, and even if you do escape…" He smirked. "Good luck with that."

"Aw, hell no!" Hotaru immediately stepped forward, eyebrows furrowed and voice growly. Her hands were clenched to fists, lips quivering. "So what? You're the assholes who've trapped us here? What the fuck are you planning?!"

Ares only crossed his arms. "Just about what you expect, fucker."

"Oh, hell no-"

"Honey, I'd advise you not to try hurting them." The blonde suddenly stepped forward, lips curled to a sweet and honeyed smile. She looked over at the stuntwoman and bowed her head down, polite as she spoke, "My name is Libitina, it is a pleasure to finally meet you rats."

Libitina

"Libitina…" Michi couldn't help but frown, tugging at their sleeves.

"Rats?" Mazen was not pleased with the title, biting into his lips. "Why are you calling us that, miss?"

Nobuyuki just heaved a cackle, grinning in amusement. He hopped over to Libitina who kept her smile plastered on and stepped back, the psychologist observing her every movement. "You guys are our guards, right? Did we do something wrong to warrant our stay here? Are we actually serial killers?!"

Umaru nervously glanced at the man. "I-I don't think it's a good idea to get so close to her…"

Though, the psychologist didn't care, just continuing to chatter at the woman who was silent now, eyes staring straight into his. "Maybe it's because we're crazy?! Deranged in the heads?! Whatcha think, Libitina?"

"Hmmm? What I think?" Libitina blinked. "Please step to the side, you rat. I do not want to feel your breath against my face, ever."

Nobuyuki was caught off guard, though that one second of pure ice frozen expression turned into amusement as he faux gasped, reeling his head back and swooning. "Woah! Feisty girl you are~ Alrighty then, princess."

And the blue-haired man stepped to the side, allowing Libitina to clear her throat and speak, "Well, with that out of the way, I'd like to explain what will be going on, rats." The blonde was distracted though, quickly turning her head to the back where the unknown third individual was. "Ah, before that, you should introduce yourself, Pax. Why are you still standing there?"

The individual, Pax, was a young man who looked to be in his late twenties, similarly to Libitina (if looks weren't to be deceiving). Ice cold blue eyes looked through a golden butterfly masquerade mask, the wing on the left side, styled with black glitter patterns and gems. For his hair, it was the color of garret, his slightly messy hair tied into a loose and braid that went down midway his back; for bangs, it was gelled back to create a slick style, however swept to the left and covering where his eyebrow would've been. Taller than Libitina and Ares, it came off as a surprise that his presence wasn't all too noticeable.

Clothing wise, Pax wasn't anything short of creative himself. Wearing a dark green dress shirt with black suspenders, the suspenders, while used to connect themselves to the black belt that hoisted Pax's dark brown pants (which were tucked under black ankle-high boots), held up a cape which had the printing of morpho butterfly wings, all the way to the bottom of the floor. The cape itself wasn't its usual shape, instead seemingly to be two separate parts which connected into one, looking like wings themselves. They seemed to be made out of soft fabric, Mayari judged, then noting the ankle-high boots which were splattered with prints of monarch and swallowtail butterflies.

"... Right." The braided man coughed, taking a small step forward. His eyes peered over to the captives, lips pursed. "My name is Pax. I'm also in charge of watching over you rats."

Pax

"Does every one of you call us rats?" Rekeba called out, eyebrows furrowed. She was clearly displeased, tapping her foot against the floor. "You are clearly trying to degrade us."

"More like dehumanize," Mikoto grumbled underneath her breath. Her eyes were averted to the side.

"It's because you guys are rats," Ares snapped, glaring angrily. "So shut your damn mouths."

Umaru couldn't help but shake his head, eyes staring at the man in a mixture of shock and worry. "I don't really think you should be so rude? I mean, it's just-"

"Ssh." Nao immediately shook her head, especially when she saw how Ares shot a look at the composer.

"With introductions out of the way, let us explain ourselves." Libitina looked over the group, dark pink eyes shining brightly. With the staff she held on her hand, she pounded it to the ground, tapping it a couple of times. "You rats are stuck in this place, whether you believe it just or not. In fact-" she smiled, "-you all signed up for this in the first place."

Ares held a finger up, silencing those who were obviously going to cry out in concern. "Even if you don't believe you signed up for this, the reality is you fucking did. You rats all signed up to be a part of this, just because of your innate selfishness. To become the Savior for the Holy Sanctuary? Yeah, I doubt any of you could become the Savior."

Mayari couldn't handle this. Nothing was making sense to her, yet she pieced a simple fact together- that they were trapped within this spacious, dark hospital. "The hell are you saying? Holy Sanctuary? Savior?"

"Terminology, don't you get it?" Ares rolled his eyes. "You sinful rats signed up for this game just so you can become a Lord, a dumb, fucking Savior. What's more to explain?"

The blonde turned to her friend, moving over to place a hand on his shoulder. Supposedly to calm him, her smile was as uncanny as ever. "Well, in my opinion, I find it cute that you all decided to sign up for this type of game. Being trapped here and forced to kill each other, it's cute, really."

"W-wait a second, please." Silvana couldn't help but speak, even when her face was pale and her voice was much more soft spoken than ever. "What do you mean, exactly?"

"Killing, of course." The woman chuckled. "You rats have signed up for a killing game."

"Is this a joke?" Jian spoke out, his eyes staring over at Libitina, shock all over his face. The small boy clenched his fists, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed. "You must be joking with us, aren't you?"

"Yeah…" Michi just laughed nervously, scratching the back of their head. This almost caused their cap to loosen and fall to the floor. "This must be some sort of sick prank, right?"

"Of course not." Libitina tilted her head, blinking a couple of times. "Ah, but the game will not be conducted in a battle royale type of fashion, darlings."

Ares just kept his calm now, arms crossed. The shoulder rubs the blonde was currently giving him seemed to comfort him perfectly well. "Nope, the experiment you dumbasses are partaking in will be much more difficult."

"But that's… no, a killing game?" Margaret's face was that of utter frustration. It was increasing more and more, her movements becoming more frantic as she placed a hand to her head. "There's… you lovely people are merely jesting!"

"Game…" Keni was silent in thought, having held onto the makeup historian's hand before paranoia took over her. His arms cuddling his plushie, the redhead kept his focus down at the floor. "Mmm…"

"Haha, very funny." Hotaru rolled her eyes, her chocolate-colored hair swaying about to her movements as she pumped her fists out. "You guys are spewing such bullshit right now! Killing game? Psssh! Besides, what could be harder than fucking going at each other's throats?"

"We have a set of rules you lovely rats have to follow," Libitina explained, indifferent to the frustration and anger emitting around the area. "Ah, but we won't tell them right now. Those are in the wristwatches we have made for you all individually."

Mayari was caught off guard. "Huh?"

Elodie crossed her arms, slowly stepping to the back, resting her own body against the wall. "Wristwatch?"

"They'll explain everything," the woman continued. "There is a wristwatch assigned to each of you in your wards. You can get them all later and mess around with them. There are multiple functions that will ensure you rats of both for necessity purposes and entertainment: a chat room where you can message just about anyone and everyone, a map of this place, a few games you can play, and some other stuff. The most important thing you should note when we release you all are the rules of the place."

Ares snorted, kicking his foot against the ground. "The killing game is the most important shit you should worry about. It's the entire reason you all signed up."

Akira just threw his hands over the back of his head, smiling rather mischievously at his captives, even if it was to either mask his worry or to mock them. "To become a Savior, you said? So, what? We all have to kill each other? But you said it's not a battle royale type of setting, so what's the mechanism here?"

"Trials, basically." The blonde twirled her staff around, as if it were a baton. "You kill someone, but you have to do it inconspicuously. If you are caught, then it's game over."

"There's no way you're being real with us right now, nyah." Nomi clenched her fists, heat rising to her face. "You're messing with us."

Ray placed his hand up, garnering the woman's attention. "Why would we kill though? You're giving us no reason to kill in that case."

"Oh, that's fucking easy." Ares snorted, amusement spread across his lips. "Becoming a Savior means you can get out of here, scot-free. Remember? This is a fucking experiment, and being a Savior gives you every right to do anything, even escape from this place and move to the Holy Sanctuary."

So being a Savior means you escaping? And Holy Sanctuary… is that the outside world? Mayari wasn't sure, thinking to herself. Her eyes slowly looked over to Shura, noting the man's worry and shock that was struck across his face.

"Why would you let us escape though?" the ice cream maker asked, staring at Ares suspiciously. "This is utterly unethical."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." The masked man placed his hands to his hips, head cocked to the side. "Remember? You all signed up for this, to fight to become Savior? Why would we be concerned if we freely let the Savior leave to freedom? This is completely ethical, a fucking experiment that goes under surveillance."

"Why would… there's no way." Elodie shook her head, biting into her bottom lip. "So, one of us kills, and then play a game of trial? Just to earn the title of Savior?"

"Yeah, that's how selfish you rats are." Ares laughed, entertained as he eyed the basketball player's frustration. "You only have yourselves to blame."

"There's no way this is ethical," Jian grumbled, shaking his head. "Even if it is, what purpose is there to murder? How does one get results from murder?"

"Not my fault you all signed up for this," the masked man snapped.

Mayari felt heat rising up to her head. Her veins were pumping, full of blood and adrenaline. She couldn't believe this. She just couldn't believe this. Was she hearing things correctly? Was she in reality?

Did that even matter at the moment? The epidemiologist was sure it did to others, but to her it didn't matter, not at all. Her head was aching. She clenched her fists and stepped forward, her green eyes shooting a glare straight at the older individuals, heart throbbing. That frustration which was building up inside her was overwhelming her, and even when she heard from multiple people in her past that she needed to calm herself down, how can she in such a situation? She couldn't, gritting her teeth.

"You guys are liars!" she snapped, pointing fingers at them. "Why would we kill? Why would we sign up for this? You guys are just trying to scare us, and I don't appreciate this! Making fun of us and trying to make us 'kill' each other? Are you crazy?!"

"M-Mayari…" Machi's voice was audible, but barely to the woman.

Mayari felt her hands clenching to fists, fingernails digging into her soft skin. She couldn't care less about the stinging pain or if she was going to bleed, her focus entirely directed to the individuals in front of her. "We're fucking teenagers! Why would it be ethical for teenagers to fucking kill each other and die?!"

"The fuck's with you, bitch?" Ares stepped forward, looking down on the woman. His voice was growly as always, fingers beginning to flex and move about from his sides. "You want to fight?"

The epidemiologist threw a look at him and smirked dryly. "My tiny ass can kick you're fucking dick in. Want to see me do it?"

The masked man clenched his fist in and swung. "Bitch!"

"L-Lady Mayari!" Shura quickly stepped forward and grabbed the woman's arm, pulling her back. She was forced out of the man's swing, only by a few hairs. "Careful! Don't aggravate them!"

"You utter buffoon," Rebeka can be heard sighing, shaking her head. She threw a harsh look at the epidemiologist before looking over to Ares. "Don't hurt us. You want us to murder each other, right? Not hurt you guys."

"Hmmm, don't know about that!" Nobuyuki chirped, clapping his hands together and stepping forward, now moving towards Ares' face. "You look like you actually wanna kill us or something~ Do you?"

"Nobuyuki!" Nomi shouted. Anger was clear on her face. "Stop that!"

"Yeah, because you don't see me as a threat?" Ares rolled his eyes, suddenly slipping a dagger from behind and pointing it close to the psychologist's neck. "Move closer and I'll make sure you can't fucking speak."

That only caused the psychologist to smile some more, nodding. "Oooh, please do~ I doubt you'd be that cruel."

"Hey!" Nao cried out, shaking her head. "Oh my god, seriously, just back off already!"

"Fucking hell. You're such a masochistic brainlet," Hotaru grumbled. She moved forward and instantly grabbed the tall man's collar, forcing him back with a shove.

Ares snorted and slung the dagger easily back to where it used to be, just now resorting to crossing his arms and eyeing the group of people. "Even if you do manage to hurt one of us, you insolent rats, you cannot escape."

The stuntwoman rolled her eyes, wavy hair swaying her to her careless movements as she flipped off the raven. "Alright, we get it, now stop spewing your bullshit."

"Jesus Christ," Mazen mumbled, nervously laughing.

"Please do not waste anymore of your energy," Libitina continued again, smiling sweetly. She tapped her staff against the floor, getting the supposed rats' undivided attention. "We will be running on a schedule, after all. It will be stated in your wristwatches, but please keep in mind that daytime will be 6 AM and nighttime will be 9 PM."

"You must be kidding me right now, nyah," the pet detective spewed, eyebrows furrowed. "This is just… it's outrageous!"

"Seriously?" Gento grunted. "Do we have to run on a schedule?"

"It will help keep you all on a routine and make you feel right at home," she mused. "While we want you all to partake in a killing game, we do want you all to feel at home. You rats are fighting to become Savior, and it will be unjust for us to not tend to our potential Savior's needs, correct?"

Nao gulped, rubbing her wrists and pacing about to herself, anxious. "That's... I suppose so…"

Ares cracked his knuckles. He stepped to the side, close to the doorway now. Pointing at the group, he spoke for one last time, "I would advise you rats to wear your watches before you forget. Your wards will have your nameplates there so you know where to go, how great. Pax fucking did the work," before leaving.

That caused Libitina's smile to further deepen (definitely serving to frighten Mayari more), and she moved over to eye Pax, the braided man just averting his gaze. She chuckled and turned to the group, bowing her head down. "It's almost nighttime. I'd advise you all to tuck yourselves in bed and sleep. It's been a long day, hm?"

"Doesn't mean we'll immediately go murder each other," Mayari snarked, frowning.

The blonde didn't say anything in return, just motioning for her friend to follow. With a knowing glance from the said man, the duo easily made their way out of the room, immediately leaving the group in their misery.

Even when the threats had left, the room was still ambivalent: a mixture of feelings that collided between trust and distrust; around the room were people that some were familiar to, others strangers or mere acquaintances to. Even if some were to believe that their wardens' words held truth to their harsh words, the damage had already been done. The seed of distrust was there, and the uncertainty was going to shine through, to unravel and spread throughout the rooms, into the hearts of those around.

"This is nothing but nonsense, don't worry about it, kiddos," Nomi began, immediately trying to break the tension, taking off her cap and toying with it, twirling it about. "I'm sure they're just saying this to scare us, nyah."

"Yeah, the fair lady is right!" Shura cried out, stepping forward and smiling. "There is no way they were being truthful to their words! This is nothing more than a ploy to scare us into submission!"

"Yeah, definitely." Mazen nodded in agreement. "Why would we kill each other anyways? We barely know each other that well."

Mikoto only grumbled, "Happy go lucky bastards."

"Ah, uhm, Big Brother Shura?" The clinical research participant tugged on the armourer's hand, looking up with his sparkly eyes.

The mentioned individual smiled sweetly. "Yeah, what do you need, young man?"

"How do we play this, erm, game? It sounds like fun!"

The room, once again, went silent.

"Oh, no, Keni." Margaret immediately walked over to the boy, patting his head. It seemed like she wasn't exactly sure what to say, only smiling nervously (and with blown out paranoia) at him.

Mazen averted his gaze. "Should we…? I don't know, should we really?"

"I mean…" Silvana wasn't exactly sure what to say either, her breaths shaky. "I'm not sure. Is it better if he doesn't know?"

"Oh my god, seriously? He's not that young," Jian grumbled, glaring at everyone who spoke. "Even toddlers have a better grasp at the word 'kill'."

"I mean, judging from what the lad said, he probably wasn't registering what the wards said fully," Gento murmured, dismissive to the situation.

Ray simply frowned, glancing over to the redhead. "Keni, do you know what the concept of killing entails? It's not a game, they said we're being forced to play a 'killing game'."

"Ah? Oh… Um…" He hugged his plushie tightly, thinking to himself. A couple of seconds passed before he smiled again, looking at the ice cream maker with an expectant expression. "That's not, erm, right. The 'killing' part is fake… why would they put game and killing together?"

Well, that was a relief to Mayari, the epidemiologist reassured with the knowledge that the redhead knew what the concept of killing meant. She forced a smile over at the boy, hands to her hips. "It's alright, they're just pulling a distasteful prank on us. No one here would kill, so don't worry about it!"

"Mmm… yeah! Besides, only bad people kill," the boy had mumbled, his hand reaching back to hold onto Shura's. "None of us are bad people."

"Yeah, you're right about that," Shura replied, smiling as comfortably as he could. "None of us would hurt one another. It's us versus them."

Rebeka just scoffed, brushing parts of hair back. "This is such a waste of my time. How aggravating."

"Don't worry about it," Nao began, stepping forward to the group. "No one is going to kill one another, and even if they say there's no way to escape, we can't just give up now. They're just trying to make us forfeit."

Umaru immediately bobbed his head, twirling a fake baton around. "Mhm~! So don't worry about it, Nao's absolutely right! We just need to find a way to get out of here."

"Mhm," Machi agreed, fiddling about with her fingers. "As long as we're safe…"

"It's obviously not a joke though, so I think we have to take this seriously, at least in regards to the wards," Akira began, shutting down the excitement with a slight frown. That frown, however, exchanged into a carefree smile, as if he was attempting to lighten both everyone's and his own mood. "Judging from some of the people here, I really don't think a lot of us are on the same wavelength."

Rebeka scoffed. "Concerning the foolish game of utter nonsense? That's a given."

The negotiator snapped a finger. "Exactly the point, Watson." He ignored the disgust that was present on the woman's face. "The idea of individuality and creativity aside, I doubt we're all thinking the same thing, or have the same idea."

The composer blinked, baffled as his nose wrinkled. "Ah, so you don't think we should escape?"

"Not what he's saying. In my opinion, the kiddo does have a point." Nomi pushed forward, slapping the cap back to her head. "I don't think it's wise for us to just mindlessly fight back and look for a way out. That Ares lad almost sliced Nobuyuki's neck open, nyah."

Hotaru snorted, rolling her eyes. "He's the one who initiated it, so you can't really use him as your example, cat lady."

"Nyeahaha! Really, why not?" Nobuyuki cackled, grinning widely. "If anything, I was doing you all a favor!"

"You're a literal gremlin," the stuntwoman snapped, eyebrows furrowed. "Can you shut the fuck up? You're not helping us here."

The psychologist gasped. "How cruel! What are you, the heroine?" He chortled and bounced mindlessly, reveling in the looks people threw at him. "Come on, we're literally doing the world a favor."

"The hell?" Jian's eyes had completely widened, his voice falling into a breathless gasp. Anxiety was running through his body, his lips pursed. "From killing? This is literally unethical!"

"Yeah, I know, you already said that, but it's not unethical! We signed up for this!" He smirked. "You're not even a researcher, just, what, a lowly physicist?"

The boy gritted his teeth. "You have no right to say that!"

"Hey, hey!" Nao pushed herself between the duo, forcing them back. Her eyes darted between the two Ultimates, though her harshness was obviously directed at the perpetrator. "Let's not do this right now, okay? Nobuyuki, what is wrong with you? Why are you saying all these things?"

"Oh my god, you're blaming me?" The indigo-haired man gasped once again. "How cruel! Are you triggered or something? Hmmm, are you?"

"W-what? No, seriously, stop messing around!" The basketball player frowned, eyebrows furrowed. "You're just trying to make us worry! Do you want us to play this 'killing game' or something?"

That caused the man to smile. "Oh! Yeah, I do."

"Please stop that nonsensical talk!" Shura cried out, pointing accusingly at the man. "It is not doing us any favor! This is serious!"

"Oooooh~! I can tell you're about to cry! What a loser!" Nobuyuki laughed, bouncing in place. "Geez, you're all so soft! Snowflakes, all of you!"

"I-I am not going to cry!" the armourer exclaimed, shocked by the insult. His breaths were shaky, but he continued, snapping at the psychologist, "Do not align yourself with the evildoers! We are all in this together, aren't we? To thwart this wicked plan?!"

Nobuyuki stopped bouncing, now wearing an indifferent expression. He threw his hands over the back of his head, rolling his eyes. "Not really. I'm here to play the game."

"What?" Mayari found herself fuming. "Are you fucking with us right now?"

"Nope, of course not!" The psychologist grinned, then turned to look at Nao, pointing straight at her face. "I mean, if anything, some of you look like you want to play the game too. To escape, or just for fun? Whatcha think?"

"Lay your hands off her, you brute!" Margaret finally took the courage to step forward, reaching for the short-haired woman's hand and dragging her to her side. "Can you please not disrupt the madames and gentlemen here with such talk? If your goal is to play Negative Nancy, I think it is best for you to curtsy your way out."

"Killjoy," the man grumbled, faking a yawn. That annoyance, however, turned into his usual amused grin as he skipped over to the door, waving. "Well then, my work is done here. See you losers later, or not! Depends if you're dead! Peace!"

With the man gone, everyone took the time to breathe.

Mikoto had simply stayed silent for most of the time, her expression that of pure distaste and suspiciousness. She stood in her corner, sighing. "Jesus Christ, there's seriously something wrong with him."

Jian rolled his eyes. "Can't refute you there."

"Hmmm, might gonna chase after him," Akira admitted out of the blue. He scratched the back of his head, smiling over at the group. "We're supposed to check out the wristwatches, right? The dude might steal them, so I'm gonna chase. Wanna come, Elodie?"

"Ah, yeah, sure." The thanatologist nodded, the worry present on her face.

And with that, people began to move.

It honestly wasn't a surprise, really. Even when Mayari wanted to believe in the idea of teamwork and that they could escape (having heard Nao, Umaru, and a couple others speaking confidently about defying the wards), she did believe that what Akira and Nomi said held truth- not everyone was going to agree to what one person said, and Nobuyuki was a prime, obvious example of that.

And, if not just him, then it were the people the epidemiologist knew were much more suspicious and distrustful of the others. She could see how Mikoto left without a second to spare, how Jian left and ignored those who called out for him, and Gento who simply grunted to himself before moving. Even Rebeka had left, though it wasn't a surprise to the woman, seeing as they didn't get along, and the ludologist was the type who wasn't going to open up to the idea of teamwork so easily.

Ah, this sucks. Mayari scratched her head, clicking her heels against the floor. She knew that the tensions were beginning to spread, far and beyond. Knowing that was deteriorating on her mental state, she figured, especially when she saw Margaret ushering Keni and Shura out, her motherly words, despite being soft spoken and quieted down, told the raven of the research participant and armourer's mental states.

"Mayari, are you, ah, alright?"

The epidemiologist turned to look at Machi, the taller woman eyeing her curiously. Mayari was caught off guard by the sudden attention, just awkwardly smiling and nodding her head. "Yeah, at least better than the others. Jesus fuck, Nobuyuki's such a bitch."

"I suppose…" It was obvious the biochemist didn't want to think about the man, just averting her gaze to the side. "Um, what are you going to do next, er, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Probably check my room and look for the wristwatch, not gonna lie." Even when the woman wanted to rebel and fight against Ares and the others, she figured she couldn't do it so abruptly, so carelessly. She needed to plan. "How about you?"

"Ah, same. Nao was thinking if we should all eat together and plan what to do from here, but, er, she's a bit hesitant now," she admitted, running her fingers down her featherly locks. "Umaru wants us to try at least."

Oh, okay. Mayari nodded to herself, glancing over at Nao's group, motioning them to her. She raised a brow over at them. "Are you all planning to talk to the others about this?"

"Well, I don't think we should do it suddenly," the basketball player admitted, rubbing her wrists. "I'm just… not going to lie, after what went down, it's going to be hard to get everyone together, I think, but we can try. I'm more than willing to try to get the others to cooperate."

"We can always ask the others," Mayari mused, gesturing to the rest of the Ultimates who were in the room. "I'm pretty damn sure Silvana and Mazen wouldn't mind helping out, Michi too."

Ray frowned. "I would hope so, we need to have some structure here." He pointed to Nao. "I told Nao we should appoint a leader who will help us be brought into success, and I believe I have the qualities which should befall onto me as leader."

The epidemiologist shrugged. "If you did that before, I'm pretty damn sure you'd have some people who're gonna argue with you on that."

"The killing game is nothing more than a preposterous idea," the ice cream maker continued, shaking his head dismissively. "I refuse to take any part in a 'game' as trivial as that. It will not come into play, hence we need to put our focus into escaping."

"Hmm…" Mayari began to think to herself. While she did like the idea that the game was fake, she couldn't help but worry. "Well, I honestly might just take a nap or something when I go to my dorm. You're not going to plan to do something today, right?"

"Nope!" Umaru chirped, doing his best to assure the woman. "Ray and Nao were talking about it, and we all agreed to do it sometime soon. We'll tell you when the time comes."

"I think Libitina mentioned the wristwatch has a text function?" Mayari watched the people around her nod, and she smiled. "Well, you can text me the details later then. I'm really curious about what the watches are about, and, well, what Akira said is making me want to run and get my watch before Nobuyuki just nabs them all like some one-star rated villain."

"Pfft, we're not here to stop you," Ray mused, crossing his arms, keeping his chin held high.

"Yeah, of course." Nao smiled as well, nodding her head. "We'll text you when the time comes, alright?"

Mayari nodded in return, waving to the group before leaving, making her way out. It was empty now that she was alone, noting how the hallways were stretched out, the darkness making her view obscured. It was creepy, honestly, the woman feeling like the walls would cave in, crushing her into nothing more than a broken doll.

Yup, better not think about that kind of shit. She shivered. Making her way down, it took a while before she reached the wards, finding how each of the wards' doors to the right had a nameplate, and a pixelated icon of its respective owner's face. She walked a couple of steps before she noticed her own room, seeing her nameplate that was in silver, and a picture of her pixelated face. It was to the left of Ray's, and to the right of Gento's.

Welp, as long as I don't share a room with any of the guys, I'm good. She snorted inwardly at her own, lame comment, grabbing the handle of the door and swinging it open.

In comparison to the room she had woken up in, the room she was now the owner of was much more cleaner. Of course, it was nothing more than another hospital bed, but it was slightly personalized, the pillows colored a royal red and the mattress being a dark brown color, matching the diamond-patterned black-and-red blankets. There were even a few plushies and smaller pillows to be seen, though it covered half of the bed, the soft objects those that looked like microbes.

Yup, typical type of plushies I'd want. She rolled her eyes playfully to herself, amused. She then took notice of the walls that were colored in gradients of purples and blacks, similar to the black night. She even had to take notice of the spots of whites and grays and much more pastel-like colors that made up a starry sky, or the ceiling that was painted to show an outline of the five stages of disease, cartoonish in a way.

There were even star-shaped fairy lights that were hung around the room, acting as the lights. Searching further, the epidemiologist found a couple of things: a small section/room that was her own shower and bathroom (she would've been pissed if she wasn't given this necessity), a cabinet that held some clothes (those she doesn't remember ever buying or wearing, but strangely they looked like they fitted her perfectly), a notebook with some pens, and then a couple of books on diseases and public health.

With all of these things, the only thought that escaped the woman's mind after a complete surveillance was: why the fuck are they spoiling me?

Her worries were amped up because of this, though she forced herself to dismiss it, digging through her plushies and bouncing on her bed, slipping off her heels. Kicking her feet about, she searched into the field of plushies and pillows before finally finding the wristwatch that her captors told her about.

It was similar to those tech-savvy watches, noting how it acted as a miniature phone. She slowly moved over to wear the wristwatch, a bit intrigued by how it seemed to fit her perfectly. Colored a dark brown color, it matched her dark type of palette well, the woman nodding before tapping the screen, the device booting up instantly without a second.

The wallpaper was nothing special, other than the gradients of blues, pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows- similar to a sunset, she figured. Seeing that the time on the watch was 8:47 PM, it relieved her to know that she would be able to tell the time in captivity. Time was essential to just about anyone, and being forced away from that knowledge was going to drive people insane, she believed.

Investigating through the watch now, Mayari saw a couple of things. Intrigued by the app that was titled 'Profiles', she had clicked onto it. This was the first thing she noticed; the app had contained the profiles on her and everyone else (sans the wards, all to her discontent), though information spread only to the basics. There, she found a picture of herself, smiling. It was uncanny, her body shuddering before she glanced at her information.

Everything was right, nothing vague- accurate, the information was accurate. That honestly caused her to gasp in disgust (in the slightest bit, from fear as well), and she quickly scrolled back and tapped to the homescreen.

The next thing she took notice of, of course, was the app titled 'Rules and Regulations'. There, she saw everything she was curious about, yet it left her with more questions.

Rules and Regulations

1. Subjects are allowed to reside within perimeters of the building. Leaving the designated area will result in consequences.

2. Nighttime will be from 9 PM to 6 AM. During this time, some areas are off-limits, so it is advised to travel/explore the perimeters with caution.

3. Sleeping anywhere but your own rooms will result in punishment.

4. You are allowed to explore the area as you wish, with minimal restrictions.

5. Violence against the wards is strictly prohibited, as is the destruction of property. Punishment will be given if this rule is broken.

6. Anyone who kills will be able to escape the premises of the building if they are able to win a trial and become 'Savior'.

7. Additional rules can be added later, and the rules above, as well, can change.

Are you kidding me? This literally explained nothing. Fucking hell. And these bitches can just add and change the rules? That's not a good sign at all. However, while the rules had struck her as odd (and to an extent, useless at the moment), Mayari found herself turning to the next page, her eyebrows furrowing upon the sight. Something that had baffled her further, making her stomach churn.

The Holy Sancutary's Clause

The subjects here have granted us the right to place them into this experiment which will contribute to the sustainability of Earth. Participating in this experiment, these subjects have agreed to partake in a killing game, accepting the consequences and risks that come with the task.

Strictly monitored for research, the subjects are individually responsible for what happens in the experiment. If the experiment were to fail, then it is the subjects' fault. The rate of success, as low as it currently is, will not hinder our duty to help sustain life on Earth. With the failures of other projects, both us and the subjects are fully prepared with what can happen.

Thus, any actions caused in the experiment will not lead to unwarranted surprise from us nor the subjects. This experiment is supported by a bountiful of organizations, and backed with support from the community.

And that screamed to Mayari was utter bullshit, her eyebrows furrowing. There was half a mind for her to take off her watch and trash it to the floor, but she didn't, only scowling at what she read.

A killing game, supported by people? We agreed to this? This type of shit? No! Fuck no we didn't! Mayari's heart was throbbing, her head beginning to ache from all the anger that had built up inside her. This wasn't possible, there was no way she could believe such a ridiculous thing.

The clause was fake, she told herself. Nothing more than a fabrication, a lie to trick her into a false sense of trust to the wards and to shove her into a state of Stockholm Syndrome.

Love for the wards, love for the killing game.

The minigames, the note app, any other extra, those didn't matter to her.

Even the text function didn't matter to her at the moment. What mattered to her was the fact that the wards were toying with her, with the Ultimates.

And that concerned her greatly.

With that, the Prologue part of the story is finally done, and we can get into the meat of things, or the Chapters! Hence, that means that we can get into the killing game, all them juicy interactions, etc... oh, and the investigations and trials, duh! Since the Prologue is over, I'd like to say that I actually do have a poll up on my profile for the FTEs for Chapter 1! Please go vote there if you haven't already!

Here are some SYOC recommendations, like always!

Danganronpa: Beyond Broken by LynnRowe

Danganronpa: Etch it Into my Heart by RioA (me, of course!)

Danganronpa: Fresh Meat by mandipokemon

Danganronpa: Lights, Camera, Murder! by DancingCactuar (Prince PokePersona is helping out too!)

Danganronpa: Remnants of My Heart by Prince PokePersona

Danganronpa: The Hopeful Lies We Tell by Prince PokePersona

Dead Zeppelin by Orlando Butler

For Whom the Rabbits Mourn by SanityRequiem

And with that, I think I am done for the day! I'll see you all next time when I update the next chapter! Hopefully when the next chapter comes, we won't have too much suffering... maybe! For now, have a great day and stay peachy!