Bonnie Clyde's Story

---

"My name is Eriko Zamora," the girl greeted, bowing. "Or Iko, if you like."

Faussin waved to her, cautiously. He'd thought finding more people would help his nerves (though looking back on it, he wasn't sure why), but these two new characters were only making him more nervous. They felt too calm.

Eriko clapped her hands together, looking over the group one more time. After a moment, she smiled. "You all seem fun. Some more than others, I'll admit, but that I expected. Does anyone know why we're here? Or where 'here' is?"

He shook his head. "No. We all--"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by static. Fairly obvious speakers that he somehow hadn't seen before broadcasted an announcement, ordering that all students report to the gym. Faussin stood for a moment, staring at the speakers in disbelief.

"Bozos in the gym," Eriko repeated, seeming completely unaffected. "I suppose that means there are even more of us. Shall we go greet them in the gym? Assuming you folks know where the gym actually is, because I don't."

A gym? How big is this place? Faussin tucked his hands under his jacket, eyes straying to the camera in the corner of the room. He met its gaze, but only for a second--it was as if he could feel someone staring right back at him. "Uh, I-I think I saw a sign in the other room about a sports center. Maybe the gym is over there."

Eriko smiled. "Perfect. In what direction is the 'other room'?"

Faussin gestured to the lobby door. Not looking back to see if they were following, Eriko headed toward the door and the supposed direction of the gym. Faussin followed, and when they stepped into the lobby, he realized there was a camera there as well.

"A-are there cameras in every room?" Faussin mumbled, mostly to himself.

Sure enough, there were. As the group made their way to the gym (other students joining them along the way, all seeming just as lost as everyone else), Faussin spotted a camera and speaker in every room they passed. He rubbed his arms nervously, unable to shake the feeling of eyes constantly staring him down.

Faussin and several other students made their way into the gym. A tall girl with a pair of glasses and an authoritative stance took a headcount, then pursed her lips and looked back toward the door. "There are fifteen of us here, but sixteen in a class. Where's the last person?"

"Uh." A voice came from outside the door. It opened, slightly, then closed on itself. "Hold on a second, I just need to--okay, I think I've got it."

The door opened again, and a young man hauling a chair began to ease his way in. He maneuvered carefully, apparently trying very hard not to hurt his chair in any way.

"Do you, uh. Do you need some help with that?" Someone called.

"I'm fine, don't worry," the boy assured them. A few moments later, he somehow got his chair through the doorway and triumphantly set it down, sitting on it as if it were a throne. He sighed wistfully. "Yes, I knew it. I love my chair."

Another person coughed. "Weirdo."

Madoka swallowed, subconsciously reaching out to grab Clair's hand. She smiled assuringly at him, calming him just enough to resume a more confident posture.

"WHO DARED SUMMON THE GREAT DEMON QUEEN, KURANO ONI?! MY LEGIONS OF FOLLOWERS SHALL DEVOUR YOUR FLESH!" a particularly loud girl yelled, her multicolored hair swirling around her in a swath of black and gold.

"Does anyone know what the purpose of our being here is?" a man in a suit called.

"Why, I haven't the slightest idea, my dear!" a girl in a white dress called, looking around worriedly. "What manner of mysterious scenario is this, pray tell?"

Madoka took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "M-maybe we can--I mean, I just think that there's a--um..."

There goes his shot at a first impression.

"Upupu...upupupu...."

Madoka jumped, squeezing Clair's hand. Clair stepped closer to him.

Suddenly, a tile in the ground popped open and from the hole sprang a two-toned teddy bear. The bear waved sporadically, a hideous grin painted onto the black side of its body and its eerie red eye leering at the group.

"Welcome to your nightmares!" the bear exclaimed. "Good, all you bunch o' crazies made it! Welcome to orientation!"

"What the heck kinda 'orientation' involves drugging us and dragging us to a--wherever this is?!" the girl in the white dress demanded. Madoka shuddered--her abrupt change was unexpected, to say the least.

"Shut up when your headmaster's talking!" the bear ordered, brandishing sharp-looking claws. Madoka yelped, trembling. As the group quieted down, the bear began to speak once more. "In case you losers haven't noticed yet, you're all trapped here. No escape, no goin' home to your mommies, no nothin'! Capiche?!"

The loud girl shrieked. "YOU DARE TEL LTHE GREAT DEMON QUEEN THAT SHE IS TRAPPED?! NONSENSE! MY UNDERLINGS SHALL SWARM YOU AND TEAR YOUR TEDDY EARS OFF!"

"Hey!" The bear glared at her, pointing its claws. "Monokuma is no 'teddy'! Now can it, weeb, I'm talkin' here! Or do you want to be our example of what happens when you break the rules?!"

Before the loud girl could interject, Madoka raised his voice and addressed the bear. "I-is it okay to ask what's going on?"

The bear looked pleased. "Wellllll, I guess I can enlighten you twerps. Alright! We've covered the whole 'you're stuck here forever' thing, I gave you losers my name..."

Forever? That was worth speaking up again. "W-what do you mean...'forever'?"

"Forever means forever, pipsqueak! Although there is one way to escape."

"Wait, y-you mean we really can't get out?!" Madoka clutched Clair's arm, shaking. Clair stiffened, but seemed oddly relaxed; she maintained a slight smile.

---

Faussin shrieked. "Wh-what? But that's--this isn't real, right?! It's all some sort of sick joke!"

A girl with long tassel earrings and lilac-colored eyes spoke, her voice shaking. "This seems far too extreme for a joke. I-It's starting to scare me..."

"Really? It's just some talking toy," a redhaired girl murmured, her arms crossed. "What did it call itself? Mono-something?"

"I am Monokuma, and I am no toy! My design is so complex that not even the brightest of engineers could understand it!" The bear--Monokuma, apparently--declared.

Faussin shrunk behind Clair and the others, trembling. He had never wished so strongly to be home with his brother, huddled up in a blanket where everything was okay.

"Can I try?" A young man with messy black hair and glasses asked.

"If you're going to ask the bear questions, ask it something useful," another voice said. "We don't know how many it'll answer, after all."

Eriko hummed, seeming to be thinking. "Here's a useful question. You said there was a way to escape, Mr. Monokuma. What is it, if I may so bold as to ask outright?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked!" Monokuma cooed. "Well, you're all here to live a nice and harmonious life until the day you die. But for those who want to get out, there's a special exception."

"I don't like where this is going," someone muttered under their breath.

"If someone disturbs the peace, then they and they alone will be able to leave," Monokuma explained.

The glasses-wearing girl narrowed her eyes. "And what counts as 'disturbing the peace'?"

"Upupupu... why, murder, of course."

Murder.

Madoka's throat closed up, his stomach knotting. Everything seemed to slow--he was only vaguely aware of the girl in the white dress screaming something, a redheaded boy taking a threatening stance, and his own hand closing around Clair's. She squeezed back, smiling calmly at both Madoka and Fauss.

"So, let me confirm this," Clair began, her voice surprisingly level. Madoka had never been more glad to have the unflappable makeup artist beside him. "We just have to live here forever? And if we kill someone, we get to escape."

"Bingo!" Monokuma said. "Easy peasy, right? Oh yeah, and here--student handbooks! So you can see the other school rules."

From out of seemingly nowhere, Monokuma pulled out an armful of strange, electronic tablets. He tossed them in the group's general direction; Clair whipped her hand out of Madoka's to catch two. A third smacked into Madoka's forehead, but he barely noticed--there was far too much going on. Noticing, Clair passed one handbook to Fauss and scooped Madoka's off the floor.

He took it from her, observing it. Clair glanced at hers beside him. Madoka heard a slight gasp emit from her, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Clair hurriedly stuff her handbook in her pocket, suddenly pale.

Madoka flipped through his handbook, droning out Monokuma's voice to focus on what it contained.

Student ID...school rules...we should go over those.

"And that's that!" Monokuma exclaimed. "And don't even think about breaking any of those rules! I'm a fair bear, okay? No rule-breakers! Oh yeah, and don't worry about those handbooks. They can take one h*ll of a beating!"

"This is bullsh*t!" the redheaded boy shouted.

"Sucks to be you!" Monokuma pulled open the panel in the floor again, waving. "Well, you kiddos have fun with that! And before you ask, no Chuck Norris-ing your way outta this with brute force or whatever. See ya later! Upupupu~"

And with that, the bear dropped into the floor. Madoka stared at his handbook, swallowing.

What luck.

---

Faussin stared at where Monokuma had disappeared, suddenly more aware of everyone else in the room. He coughed, pulling on the collar of his shirt--he could hardly breathe. He was choking on his disbelief. Nauseous, he looked down at his hands, then at Madoka and Clair.

Clair. She was calmer than Faussin could ever hope to be. Grating his nails against his arms, he began to take slow, deep breaths. Though, as calm as he tried to be, nothing stopped that suffocating feeling.

"What an interesting concept," Eriko spoke, breaking the silence that had briefly washed over the group. "If not somewhat disturbing. What should we do now?"

He barely heard what she was saying, counting to ten in his head to try and get a better hold of himself.

The glasses-wearing boy seemed far more wary of the glasses-wearing girl now, stepping away from her slowly. The girl herself was standing, shocked. After a moment, she brushed herself off and took a deep breath, addressing everyone. "Well. I'd like to think we're all mature enough to not kill each other as we look for an alternate way out?"

Eriko smiled mysteriously. "You underestimate how easy it is for some to kill another. But perhaps cooperation is our best strategy, at least for now. Why don't we all introduce ourselves to each other?"

A young blonde girl nodded. "That... seems like a good idea. I'll start. My name is Amelia, and I'm the Ultimate Botanist."

"Wonderful," Eriko cooed. "I am Eriko, Ultimate Puzzle Solver."

The glasses-wearing girl cleared her throat. "Vivara Vernon, Ultimate Librarian."

"Finnian," piped the glasses-wearing boy. "Ultimate Scientist."

A girl with red hair and a steely look spoke next. Like Clair, she was calm and confident, though somehow her aura wasn't as comforting. "Mercy Crocker, Ultimate Hunter."

"I am Ysabel Cross," spoke another girl. She too had red hair, though her voice was far more gentle. There was a brief pause during when she was supposed to announce her Ultimate. "I-I'm afraid I don't remember my Ultimate."

Vivara narrowed her eyes. "Perhaps it's a symptom of whatever drug they used to bring us here?"

"Perhaps," Ysabel replied.

Eriko poked Faussin, who yelped. She gave him a look. "You have to introduce yourself."

He stared at her for a moment. "Oh. Haha. D-don't do that, you scared me. I'm Faussin, Ultimate Illusionist. I prefer Fauss, though."

The guy who'd dragged a chair into the room crossed his legs. "I'm Graham. Ultimate none-of-your-business."

Clair couldn't say she was disappointed in this turn of events. It was such an easy solution--just live in the hotel. It wasn't like anyone could get lonely with fifteen other people around, there were bedrooms and a dining hall, and there was so much to do that they'd never get bored. She could attribute her eerie sense of calm to that simple fact--there was no reason to kill each other.

She focused back on the group, deciding getting to know each other was a great first step.

"Eriko has the right idea," Clair murmured. She waved, smiling. "Nice to meet you all! I'm Clair LaBelle, the Ultimate Makeup Artist."

Madoka shifted next to her, seemingly choked. Clair patted his back. Relaxing somewhat, he cleared his throat and announced, "I-I'm Madoka Himura. Th-the Ultimate Lucky Student. Clearly I'm not really that lucky, because this..."

He trailed off, whimpering. Clair rubbed his back.

Xhevona dipped her head, seeming slightly agitated but oddly serene. "My name is Xhevona Abera, or Vona for short. I am the Ultimate Surgeon."

The girl in the white dress gestured wildly, curtsying low. "Nice to meet you all! I'm Bonnie Clyde, the Ultimate Shakespearian Actress. These are indeed difficult times, but as Shakespeare once said, 'To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first.'"

Clearing his throat, Faqir stepped forwards, raising his hand. "I just want to begin by saying I totally called this."

Clair chuckled. He wasn't wrong--his comments during their meeting of Vona were right on the money.

"Anyways, name's Faqir Nawabi. Ultimate Psychic."

Madoka sighed. "F-Faqir, please..."

"Alright, you got me. Ultimate Jeweler."

"LISTEN UP, MORTAL SWINE!" the multicolor-haired girl screamed, pointing her finger to the sky. "THE GREAT DEMON QUEEN KURANO ONI HAS CHOSEN TO GRACE YOU WITH HER PRESENCE! YOU MAY ALL BOW DOWN TO THE MIGHT OF THE ULTIMATE EXORCIST!"

Clair hesitated a moment. "So wait, is it Kurano or Oni?"

"YOU MAY CALL ME HER EMPRESS, MORTAL."

"I'll...settle on Kura."

The man in the suit bowed low. "My name is Romano Pselli. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am deemed the Ultimate Butler, and it is my duty to serve you in whatever manner you please."

"So does that mean I could get a handjob?" Faqir asked.

Clair twitched, the tone striking something within her. "I think it's important we focus on something other than manipulating poor butlers into doing you a sexual favor."

Faqir shrugged. "Worth an ask."

Romano seemed agitated, but maintained his blank stare. "With all do respect, sir, I can think of at least sixteen more productive things to do with my hands."

"Ouch. Harsh, man."

The redheaded boy chuckled. "Y'all are crazy. Not that I've got any room to judge. Braeden Carmichael, Ultimate Yankee. 'Cause apparently that's a talent."

Clair surveyed the crowd. "Well, I suppose we've all met now. What should we do now?"

---

Vivara's gaze lingered on Graham for a moment, as she tried to recall what his Ultimate was. Though, the more she thought, the more she began to remember how little information on him there was online. She pursed her lips. He must've erased all trace of himself from the internet.

She took a deep breath. "We should familiarize ourselves with the building, and look for any kind of exit. If we're expected to be here...forever...then I should hope there are places for us to sleep and food for us to eat."

"There are," Eriko confirmed. "When I was looking around, I stumbled across a cafeteria and several bedrooms labeled with our names. I looked through my room already, though I couldn't seem to get into anyone else's."

Vivara relaxed slightly. If anyone was going to die, at least it wasn't going to be by starvation. "Alright. That's good news, at least. I still move that we look around. And considering what Monokuma just said, I... perhaps it would be better if we were to all stay together. Wandering around alone seems dangerous in this situation."

Ysabel nodded. "I agree."

"Does anyone disagree?" Amelia asked, looking around.

There were no objections. Vivara, satisfied, began orchestrating their exploration of the building. Like Eriko said, there was a cafeteria with lots of food as well as two different hallways of bedrooms, each one assigned to a single person. The boys' bedrooms were connected to one hallway while the girls' were connected to the one next to it. They also found an arcade, a laundry room, a nurse's office and security office. Perhaps predictably, the two offices were locked.

A few days passed. The students settled in as well as anyone could, considering the situation. Holding a bagel in her hand, Vivara made her way to the conference room, where most of them had agreed to meet every morning. She was early, as she always was.

Opening the door, she took a bite of her bagel and examined the empty room. Cautiously, she checked underneath the table, just to make sure there wasn't someone waiting there to kill her. When she saw that no one was there, she quickly stood back up, sighing in relief.

As much as she wanted to believe no one among them planned to kill another, she knew better. Desperation brought out the worst in people, and this situation was no exception.

Taking a deep breath, she took a seat at the far end of the table. Vivara sat in wait of everyone else, mulling over what to do as she began munching on her breakfast.

---

Eriko absorbed the information, nodding slowly. She watched as Faqir carefully took Bonnie's body out of the washing machine. Knowing the time of death would help narrow down suspects, and the best person to determine such a thing was most certainly the Ultimate Surgeon. She'd have to ask Vona for help once she arrived.

She glanced over her shoulder as Amelia walked in, silent.

"Thank you for the information, Clair," Eriko muttered as she thought about what to do. Of course, she'd have to confirm everything Clair just said with someone else--Vivara, most likely, since she was supposedly the first to arrive.

"Oh!" Monokuma's voice suddenly exclaimed. Eriko whirled around, the bear having appeared behind her with a black folder in his paw. "I almost forgot to mention: here's the Monokuma file!"

Eriko took a step back, wary of his claws. "What does it contain?"

Faussin tentatively looked inside the room, apparently having been outside in the hallway.

"The Monokuma file contains the details of the death. You can use it to help you in your search for the blackened!" Monokuma said. He handed the file to Eriko, who took it carefully.

"What is the 'blackened'?" Amelia asked.

"The killer, of course!" He replied as if it were obvious. "Now hurry up and start investigating. You only have twenty-nine more minutes until the class trial, yanno!"

"And what is the class trial?" Eriko asked, looking up from the Monokuma file. But by the time she finished her sentence, he had already disappeared back under the tiles. She huffed.

Amelia stared at where he had left. "He... he doesn't expect us to find the killer, does he?"

Eriko flipped open the newly obtained file, narrowing her eyes. "I believe he does. This file will prove quite useful in that endeavor, assuming it's accurate."

She read it aloud so everyone could hear:

"The time of death was around 9:36. The body was found in the laundry room, inside of the washing machine. The cause of death is a small incision to the heart made by a small sharp object. Other than that, there are marks that suggest a blow to the head."

---

"What it means," Mercy began evenly, her calm eyes falling upon Xhevona, "is that Miss Vona here is growing more and more suspicious by the minute. Both Bonnie and Xhevona had papers marked with the time 9:30. According to the Monokuma file, Bonnie died around 9:36, which is only six minutes after the recorded time. Coincidence? I think not."

She placed her arms on the front of her stand, now locked on Xhevona, "and Clair deduced that the note was most likely referring to a scene Bonnie was going to rehearse with someone. Assuming they were going to rehearse this scene in her room, it would be easy for the killer to knock Bonnie out and steal the needle from her kit to finish her off. To finish her off, might I mention, the only way a person with advanced medical knowledge would know how to."

"Are you accusing Vona?" Vivara asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm only pointing out things that occur to me," Mercy replied. "And though there is a chance Vona is being framed, I find it unlikely. All Monokuma had told us at the point of Bonnie's death was that killing someone meant escaping. There was no talk of trials or investigation, meaning there was no reason to frame anyone."

Vivara nodded. "Very well. Clair, Faqir, did you find anything else in Vona's room that could be considered incriminating?"