Return to Series Page

CHAPTER 6

DAILY LIFE A	After the events of Chapter 5, everyone decides to visit the graveyard to bury Takotsu, pay their respects to the participants who didn't make it, and to reminisce on everything they had all been through that led them up to this point. Afterwards, they elect to visit Akio, Aoi, and Keiichi in the infirmary; Neither of the latter two had woken up yet. Everyone else leaves save for Nobuko, Kei, and Akio, who begin to talk about everything that'd happened, reassure eachother, and make plans to keep investigating sometime soon; For Keiichi and Aoi who were asleep, Akio and Trudy who had survived execution and lived below the dome for months, and for everybody who was not fortunate enough to be alive by this point. They plan to meet in the library of Town Hall, and after which, Akio gathers everyone in the garage of his dorm to plan; Kei comes up with the idea that if anybody needed to share sensitive information, that would be done so in the dorms due to lack of cameras. As well, everyone was encouraged to stay in groups rather than pairs, to deter killing. Nobuko goes on to share that her dorm has a vent leading into the catacombs Akio had been living in; They could investigate via that tunnel, to avoid detection from The Professor. Lastly Akio shares all areas that the tunnels lead to including the Big House and Trial Hall, though some places such as the Dance Hall, Movie Theater, and Diner may be monitored by cameras. With this plan in order, the now smaller group vows to end the game, no matter what The Professor throws at them. Over the course of the following month, they plan, investigate, and spend whatever freetime they can in eachothers' presence.
INVESTIGATION	The group goes into the Catacombs to investigate, as they had all previously planned in Akio's dorm garage. They visit the Big House, and find the following; A mint-colored wig, some makeup, clothes that looked similar to what Fuwa used to wear, as well as some surface-level info on a random girl named "Kyou" on her laptop. After this, they choose to carry on and investigate the trial hall; The Trial Hall is left the exact same as it had been, for Takotsu's trial. They keep going, and end up coming across the Communications Lab where they discover a mostly empty room, but also a small operating room and the cell The Professor had kept Akio in for a month after he'd watched Takotsu die. They choose to investigate the operating room, where they find the removed tracking chips of the deceased participants and Akio. Lastly, they continue to investigate the catacombs themselves until they find a previously unseen vent hidden behind some plywood; It led to a small room, which contained countless sensitive documents that The Professor must have collected from her home, the Archive in town hall, and her Communications lab and hidden away in case the participants decided to investigate. They take what they can and photograph the rest. Last of all, they find the gate leading to the escape elevator; However the gate is welded entirely shut. Akio comments that The Professor must have welded it shut to prevent him or Trudy from getting out, after Minoru and Kameko both escaped with his help. However now knowing where the exit gate is, they resolve that all they need to do is find some way to undo the welding on the gate and get it open. With that, they finish their investigation and return to Nobuko's dorm to hang out.
DAILY LIFE B	They finish the day with a sleepover party in Nobuko's dorm, where she comments that some of her piercings must have closed up after being in the dome so long; Something Kei offers, surprisingly, to amend. She reveals she'd done a close friend's piercings. They have a little piercing party after coming to the conclusion of "fuck it life's short and we're in a death game". After the sleepover, Kei and Kazumi take the catacombs to the workshop to search for something to unweld the gate, as the others decide to hang out with Koji in the art studio at the mall. They eventually find a blowtorch, some boltcutters, and a rasp, and return to the others. They celebrate that their escape is imminent now that they're able to unweld the gate, and so, they decide to throw a party while Nobuko and Trudy go down to actually undo the welding.
PARTY	The night before the party, Keiichi wakes up in the infirmary. The party goes smoothly; Everyone decides to catch up and actually get to know eachother, celebrating how for they've come, how they've all changed both for the better and for the worse, and promise to stay friends when they all escape. Kei and Kazumi talk about Fuwa, pondering if she was really the mastermind or The Professor all along, each questioning where Eva could be and if she was okay. Kazumi apologizes for not listening to her the night they were all kidnapped. She condemns Fuwa because even if she wasn't the mastermind, she was a huge jerk to her. The two promise to get to know eachother better, and stay friends on the outside. Nobuko and Trudy talk about their relationship, Nobuko confessing that she thinks meeting her and Akio has definitely made her a better person; She quit cigarettes since knowing them, and actually feels... Excited, to escape! Trudy remarks that her life with Tatsuya was hell before, but now she also feels excited to start her new, free life on the outside; Especially at her girlfriend Nobuko's side. Keiichi and Akio talk about everything that's happened, and how both of them and everyone else has suffered because of this game. They share the sentiment that yeah, while they both for once feel excited to rejoin the outside world, they're both more focused on somehow bringing The Professor to justice. They then talk about Aoi, who's still asleep, and they both hope that he will wake up soon; Either way, even if he never does, they make a pact that they will carry him back to the outside world so that his final resting place isn't in the dome. As for the other two; Koji remarks that he misses his mom, and has a new motivation for his cartoon. He reveals he had some friends on the outside he'd gotten into an argument with before he was kidnapped, and he hopes that he can offer them the apology he's realized he owes them. Mari remarks that she can't wait to see her business partners/best friends again, and hopes that her and Shuichi will be able to find the missing Shigeru. She reveals he was kidnapped not unlike her, about a month or two before she woke up in the dome. She and Kei both share the sentiment that with everything else, they just really miss being able to look up and see the sky, the sun and moon, and the stars.
DINNER	The very next day, they decide that it's finally time to leave; They spend all day packing and cooking, as they plan to hold one last dinner together before entering the catacombs via the vent in the kitchen. Keiichi goes to get Aoi, who is awake, but barely able to stay awake for long due to his injuries from the execution. When they all meet up, they eat and talk about the ones waiting for them on the outside; Akio talk about his missing sisters and friends, and his hopes to spend more time with Kei, his new friends, and his now-boyfriends. Keiichi talks about her father and her career. Kei discusses her mom, friend Emi, and her bunny. Nobuko talks about how she only had her cat before she met everyone; Now, she's excited to spend time with all of them without the threat of the experiment. Trudy talks about her aunt, and her favorite places she's performed at, hoping to bring her new friends next time. Kazumi talks about her mom and the cafe, vowing to create memorials and donate to the deceaseds' families. Koji talks about his mom and his excitement for his cartoon. Mari talks about the salon and her best friends she runs it with. They talk for a bit longer, before someone makes a comment about hearing a noise. Trudy and Akio start to open the vent grate in the kitchen to escape, before noticing several Cloaked Ladies waiting for them in the catacombs. Upon announcing this to the others, the door opens...
PRE-TRIAL REVEAL	The Professor, after having essentially abandoned the participants to their own devices for a month since Takotsu's death, enters the diner. She announces that she's collected all of the data she needed, and can now formally end the experiment; She expects all participants in the Trial Hall in an hour. She leaves them again, and they proceed to panic.
MASTERMIND	Akane Miyoshi, the Former Ultimate Human Behavioral Scientist, who had formerly been parading among the participants as "Fuwa Fuwakuma, the Ultimate Ursinologist"; A character inspired by her own daughter, whom she'd attempted to kill as a child before running off with the AoD.
TRIAL	She reveals the bit about Fuwa; Trudy and Kameko had been right all along about her. She applauds the girls on their intelligence, which had even led to Kameko being able to escape, stating it was *almost* on-par to her own Ultimate. The only thing they had failed to consider, according to her, was that she had faked her death, too. She welcomes the participants to what she claims is her and the mysterious 'Mother''s idea of a "compromise", and proceeds to have one of the Cloaked Ladies hand each participant, a card. After which, she explains to them one-by-one why they should join her and 'Mother''s organization, claiming that they were the only ones competent enough to survive this long. The Angels choose their tributes with such meticulous care, after all. Each participant declines despite their offer, except for one; After being misled by the card she was offered by The Professor, Kei accepts the offer in hopes of her friends survival despite their decisions. They are sent to their executions, despite Kei's efforts to stop it all from happening. She is kept behind by The Professor.
GROUP EXECUTION	Each participant is sent to the execution, and all of them survive. Nobuko and Aoi are sent to a mazelike haunted house as per Nobuko's Talent, chased through by a moving wall of fire. She carries him to the escape, through a hole in the wood-plank flooring. Next are Keiichi and Mari, who are forced through a twisted mechanically-controlled game of dress-up; For each wrong accessory combination, Mari is shocked, but through each correct one, Keiichi is wounded. They manage to escape, after Mari manages to swing the mechanical arm into the window she can view Keiichi from; She frees him, and the two meet up with Nobuko and Aoi, who woke up in the middle of Nobuko's part of the execution. After is Trudy, who's pulled through a set styled after a lovely suburban home, as a robotic 'rival' fires projectiles at her. She simply manages to break free on her own, and attacks the robot as the other 4 escapees manage to reach her in time to pull her off of it, and hurry to Kazumi. Kazumi is put through a "Diner Dash"-style objective in a pastel cafe; Robotic 'customers' and orders come in faster and faster, electrocuting her each time she messes up. When Nobuko and the others reach her, they each grab onto her as they work on freeing her, conducting the electricity amongst themselves to prevent it from electrocuting just Kazumi to death. They succeed, and proceed onward. Last is Akio, who's put through a Saw-style puzzle trap in what appeared to be an old and decrepit filming studio; The last 'level' of which, requiring him to run through a saw-bladed obstacle course; He makes it through, meeting his friends halfway. The participants then make their way to the catacombs, running from The Professor as she shot at them. They made it to the elevator room, shutting her out as she accepts her loss and leaves them be; They'd won fair and square, she she had honored Nobuko's own motive in the end.
END OF CHAPTER INFO	Kei is left behind. As for everyone else, they take the slow elevator to the surface, before being picked up by a cab and taken directly to the hospital.

INDIVIDUAL MOTIVE CARDS

*Note: Aoi & Keiichi still asleep/comatose by this point.

AOI	*ASLEEP DURING TRIAL*
AKIO	If Akio accepted the offer and joined the AoD, his sister would be returned to him and he would be able to take vengeance on the Ultimate Hope Branch, and everyone else who sat by when he was stuck with Taro.
TRUDY	&If Trudy accepted the offer and joined the AoD, she would live her ideal life; A life of stardom at Nobuko's side, while never being vulnerable enough again, to fall victim to people like Tatsuya.
KAZUMI	If Kazumi accepted the offer and joined the AoD, she would no longer have to fear leaving her cafe, as no matter where she decided to go, she would always be protected. She'd be placed on the path to inherit the cafe and become the wealthiest CEO in Japan, never having to worry about living on the streets again.
KOJI	If Koji accepted the offer and joined the AoD, he could finally do his part to fix the broken world that continuously worked to tear down him and his mother and take revenge on those that have hurt them.
KEIICHI	If Keiichi accepted the offer and joined the AoD, she would be returned to her father safely, while being given the platform and power necessary to expose and dismantle the corrupt industry both he, Akio, and countless other stars have been abused by for centuries.
MARI	If Mari accepted the offer and joined the AoD, Shuichi and Shigeru's lives would be spared and they would both be kept safe; As well, their salon would be promised success and security for as long as she cooperated.

KEI & NOBUKO'S MOTIVES

KEI'S CH5 MOTIVE LETTER	" "If you can successfully win any future trial with your life intact, not only will you be granted full and complete knowledge of the people who kidnapped you and your peers, but you may grant them the chance for survival that they otherwise will not have."
NOBUKO'S CHA5 MOTIVE LETTER	" "If you can be sent into execution at any point during the duration of this experiment and survive, you and all other participants will be released from this dome safely without fear of being recaptured; Including those who have already escaped."

Back Next