*ding dong, bing bong*
"Rise and shine, ursine!" The Monokubs shouted on the TV below me. Before they could continue with their usual morning announcement, Sunset groaned loudly and threw a pillow at it. "What is wrong with those little psychopaths...?!" she growled.
"What isn't wrong with them...?" I mumbled, rubbing my bleary eyes. Flashes of shades of red exploded behind my eyelids... at once reminding me of last night's events. I gasped quietly as my eyes shot open.
"You okay?" Sunset asked as I blinked rapidly.
"Yea, just... sweet Celestia, did last night really happen?" I droned, my heart feeling heavy. Remembering Juniper's body beside the hot spring, or what was left of it... the revelation that Mountain Lucky had been partially responsible for a horrible poisoning... her own brother's sacrifice to prevent her execution...
He was innocent, but Monokuma did nothing to stop his death...
Against all my hopes at the beginning of this ordeal, four of us were already dead, and it hadn't even been a week. What was going to happen to us next? Would one of us kill again, despite our reaffirmations to work together? How long until Sunset, or Flash, or... myself... was next?
"'Fraid so. This... this really isn't looking good for us so far, huh?" Sunset sighed, her gaze meeting the floor.
"What are we gonna do?" I looked up at her. "This isn't something I've ever had to deal with back home, even against our worst enemies. I... I'm not sure what to do next."
"Right... and now we've got an actual killer among us," Sunset frowned. "How is that gonna change things? I know I'm not going to kill anyone, but I don't know if I can say the same about the others."
"Yea..." That was something else to consider. While I could see that most of the others would be terrified of Mountain now, I could also see that some might be considering revenge, which could lead to even more chaos... or even a "justified" killing in an attempt to leave.
"Well, I'm gonna go shower before breakfast. Guess I'll see ya there?" Sunset stretched her arms over her head.
"Sounds good to me," I nodded, closing and locking the door after her. I decided to do the same, though I felt decidedly less clean putting my one set of clothes back on. Tomorrow would definitely be laundry day.
The little bit of snow that had fallen crunched under my feet as I made my way to the Dining Hall. Sunset was just about to head inside, but held the door open as I jogged to meet her. The mood inside the dining hall was somber - there was very little conversation, and most of them didn't even lift their heads when we entered. We grabbed some food and sat next to Flash, who also seemed quite glum, and ate in silence.
I never wished for the inane drone of conversation more than this moment. The memories of yesterday swarmed my mind - where everyone had been sitting before the three of us had gone out to find Juniper, the discovery of her remains, the trial, the execution... and then it would repeat. At one point I remembered the taste of what I had thrown up shortly after finding Juniper, and my own breakfast suddenly seemed so much less appetizing.
Then heavy, dragging footsteps and the knock of wood on wood interrupted my thoughts; everyone's heads swiveled around towards the entrance to the dining hall. Mountain stood there, supporting herself with a walking stick, her cheeks and downcast eyes a raw, violent red. Around the room I heard grumbles and growls of disdain.
"Ugh, the audacity of this bitch..." Sugarcoat hissed under her breath.
"She has some nerve showing up here with the rest of us," Indigo snorted in agreement.
Mountain was careful not to look anyone in the eyes as she limped over towards the buffet line. Her leg had been cleaned and bandaged, and her pant leg had been sewn back together as best as possible. In fact, she must've washed her clothes during the night, as there were only a few drops of bloodstains left on her orange vest. She stared motionlessly at the food and drinks for a few moments, trying to work up the desire to eat.
"She looks terrible..." Sunset frowned sympathetically. Next to her, Flash pressed his lips into a flat line and glowered at his pancakes silently. Eventually, Mountain took her food and hobbled over to a table as far away from everyone else as possible - despite this, those sitting closest to her scooted their chairs away from her as she sat down.
It would've been perfectly normal of me to feel just as repulsed by her as the others were... but in my heart, I could only feel pity. I knew what it was like to have someone so important to her ripped away, what it was like to balance such a weight of lies and deceit, what felt like total control of the world on her shoulders... and what it felt like to have that world utterly destroyed.
*boing!*
Suddenly, Monokuma spontaneously appeared by dropping out of a vent in the ceiling. "Oh, I don't need everyone's reactions this morning," he waved casually. Still, most of us jumped from the surprise.
"...You gotta stop doing that," Soarin' coughed, having choked on his coffee.
"God DAMN it, bear, what the fuck you want now?!" roared Indigo.
"I just said I don't need your usual reactions!" Monokuma yelled before relaxing. "It's almost half time, so the stats should be out soon for everyone to obsess over... and since you guys overcame the trial, I figured I'd give you all a wonderful prize!"
He paused for a few moments, as if waiting for something. I wondered what he was getting at... it couldn't be good.
"...I said, I figured I'd give you all a wonderful prize...!" Monokuma repeated, louder and angrier than before. Still, nothing happened for another few moments. "...Huh? My adorable little cubs aren't coming? That's strange..."
*Rise and Shine, Ursine!*
But just as Monokuma began looking around, the Monokubs finally slid out of the ceiling vent and plopped down onto the ground. While most of the Kubs looked as malicious and cruel as ever, Monophanie was noticeably more subdued, staring at Mountain with a pensive look.
"They're finally here! Yay!" Monokuma hopped with joy. "You're so cute today, it's practically obscene!"
"Sorry we're late, Papa Kuma!" shouted Monokid.
"Lil' sis here didn't wanna wake up, so we had to dump a bucket of ice water on her!" Monotaro beamed. I glanced over to Monophanie... she didn't seem wet.
"Just... wow. You guys are seriously cute. Have you always been this cute?" gushed Monokuma. Apparently he didn't seem to care about Monophanie's sleeping habits or her current mood. "...Anyway, how's about you kids give these bastards their wonderful prize?"
"Sure thing, Pops!" Monosuke nodded. "Alright youse bastards, time to give you... this!" A few seconds passed until Monophanie seemed to snap out of her thoughts.
"...U-Um... Let's see what the prize is this time..." she stammered. "U-Uh... it's a new area to explore!"
"Ooh! What kind of new area?" Sonata chirped.
"The center of industry for our little camp... our pristine and gorgeous Lake Despair!" said Monosuke.
"The gate has already been unlocked for you bastards," added Monotaro.
"Have fuuuuun..." Monokuma grinned. The tone of his voice sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't help but wonder what horrors awaited us.
*So long, bear well!*
The five bears scuttled away and out of sight, leaving us to our own devices.
"Well, that didn't sound ominous at all," Sunburst scoffed before putting his hand to his chin. "Still... the center of industry for this camp? I wonder what that could be."
"Yea, isn't running a camp a business in itself?" asked Soarin'.
"You don't think... if it's the camp's center of industry, there might be other people there...?" Silver asked hopefully.
"I wouldn't think so," replied Sunset. "I mean, if there were people there, then surely they would've seen something by now and come to investigate."
"Maybe... they also could've been told not to come here, this is a 'campground', after all," Memento frowned as she made air quotes.
"What kind of campground is surrounded by spiked fences and guns?!" gaped Flash. Then, from the corner of the room...
"Maybe they know about the killing game? They might be hostile to us..." Mountain quietly mumbled, still staring down at her food rather than looking at us. The mood instantly soured as everyone's attention turned to her, as if a thick, oppressive fog had suddenly rolled in.
"Oh? I guess it takes a killer to know what other killers are thinking," Sugarcoat huffed, glaring straight at her. "Did we even ask for your opinion?"
"No..." Indigo seethed, gripping her fork and butter knife so hard her knuckles were turning white. "You shut your bitch mouth. You don't get to speak to us." Mountain flinched at her words, but said nothing more.
"...I mean, she maaaaay have killed one of us, and her brother is kinda dead because of her, but she could be right..." Sonata tilted her head.
"WELL, WE'LL JUST HAVE TO CROSS THAT BRIDGE IF WE GET TO IT," Kotenage slammed his fist into his palm. "PREPARE FOR THE WORST, BUT HOPE FOR THE BEST!"
"R-Right. We'll definitely have to check it out," nodded Sunburst. "To be safe, however, we should all go in groups. Just in case."
"Good idea," I smiled, already getting nods of approval from Sunset and Flash. It took little time for the others to begin asking around the table and setting up their groups.
...Well, except for one.
"Don't you even think about walking around with us," Sugarcoat snarled at Mountain. She winced, but remained silent.
"Er... her being on her own isn't exactly a good idea, either," Memento's lips thinned.
"Better than having her hang around us," Indigo spat. "At least I can see her coming, rather than walking next to her and suddenly finding a knife in my back." Memento blinked a couple of times, opened her mouth as if to say something, but seemed to drop it as she closed it again.
"THEN IT'S SETTLED. LET'S FINISH EATING UP AND THEN HEAD ON OUT," said Kotenage. We hurriedly gulped down our last bites of food, put the dishes away and made our way out of the dining hall. I followed right behind Flash and Sunset, but movement in the corner of my eye stopped me for a moment.
Mountain was still sitting at her table, her head bowed, but she was gripping her upright walking stick. Part of me wanted to invite her to our group so she wouldn't be left out, but before I could ask I'd noticed that Flash and Sunset had already left the building. I glanced back at Mountain, who hadn't moved, then back towards the exit.
Should I invite her? Or would she rather be given some space? Ultimately, I chose the latter and ran after my friends.
~
After a quick detour to my cottage so I could grab my backpack, Flash, Sunset and I walked around the perimeter of the campgrounds, eventually finding that the gate leading to the southwest was open. As we started down the gravel path through the forest, Memento shouted from the distance and ran to catch up to us, having been farther down the road.
"Ah, there you guys are!" she panted as she caught her breath. "I've been going around to everyone asking if they're okay after yesterday... so, you guys traumatized? Need someone to talk to, who isn't a bitchy anti-therapist?"
"How could we not be, after yesterday?!" Flash frowned. Sunset nodded in agreement, her face a jumble of emotions. I thought for a moment about my own feelings, then remembered what I'd seen before leaving the trial room last night.
"How's Mountain doing?" I asked quietly. "I saw that you stayed with her after everyone else left." Memento's gaze traveled down the path and far away, and she was silent for a few moments.
"...It was a while before she stopped screaming and crying, so we could get on the elevator," she sighed. "I helped her back to her cottage and encouraged her to take a hot bath or shower. While she did that, I laundered her clothes, grabbed the sewing kit and some first aid supplies and waited for her to finish. Then I did my best to disinfect and stitch her wounds, and mend her pants. I offered to stay over the rest of the night, but she wanted some time alone, so that was that."
"Ow," Flash winced sympathetically.
"Yea... needles for living patients are way smaller than dead ones," Memento nodded. "But it should heal just fine... I think. I mean, I'm not a doctor, but I know some medical stuff."
"That was really nice of you," I smiled.
"Yea... we should've helped," Sunset looked at the ground guiltily. Memento held up her hand.
"Hey, that was a rough situation for everyone. There's no right or wrong reaction to something like that," she replied. "Just wanting to get the hell out of there is totally normal."
"True..." Sunset conceded uneasily. Another uncomfortable lassitude passed as we walked, the wind rustling through the pine branches the only sound. It allowed me to reflect on what had already been said... and that it might be a good idea to reciprocate.
"...How are you feeling, Memento?" I asked slowly, after a while. She paused for a moment before answering.
"Alright as I can be, I guess. I've seen some real shit in my career... bodies in all kinds of awful conditions, their friends and relatives wailing and gnashing their teeth... though I can't say I've ever seen people I know get brutally murdered in front of me before," she grimaced. "Hits way harder than random gory videos on the internet."
I nodded, and we continued walking in silence. All the while, I couldn't help but feel like there was more I could do, more I could say, but the actions and words just weren't there. What was I supposed to do? I had never been through something like this before... hell, I can't imagine anyone ever had.
And I was apparently supposed to be the Ultimate Leader... but in this situation, I have no idea how to lead.
Eventually, the path widened and the trees gave way to a clearing. I saw tall cliffs in front of me, along with a roaring waterfall cascading down from above to the right. Just at the end of the path, Mountain was standing with her back to us, taking in the sight. We came to a stop and just watched her for a moment, then Memento shifted her body and hummed.
"If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna keep an eye on Emmy while we're here," she said.
"Why?" Flash recoiled. Memento's expression grew serious, more somber.
"...It's my duty to help the bereaved grieve healthily," she spoke softly. "Make sure she's okay, doesn't do anything rash... Besides, after yesterday, she's got a huge target on her back. The last thing we need now is for someone to kill her out of revenge and start this whole process over again."
"O-Oh... good point," he bit his lip and glanced at the ground.
"Do you want us to come with you?" I asked.
"No, it's okay," Memento waved her hand. "I'll see if she wants company, but I think too many people would make her uncomfortable."
"Good point," said Sunset. We watched as Memento walked over to Mountain and chatted with her for a moment, then slowly wandered off together. I couldn't help but smile... at least some of us were willing to forgive her.
"Well, let's see what this new area is like," I nudged, walking forward.
Once we finally reached the end of the path, my jaw dropped at the sight of such natural beauty. We were at the top of a hill, with rugged cliffs surrounding us to the right and in front. The waterfall crashing down from above formed a raging river, bordered by the cliffs as if a giant had dug a trench between it and the riverbank. Down the hill about two-thirds of the way was a large wooden building with a water wheel sticking out and spinning in the flow, and at the base of the hill was a small cluster of three buildings close together. Just past that was a good-sized lake that the river flowed into, its shores bordered by a thin band of forest before being encircled by more cliffs.
"Wow..." Flash mused in awe.
"Hey, train tracks!" Sunset pointed. I followed her gaze and found the abrupt end of one set of railroad tracks to my left a few yards away, leading into a segment of wooden fencing. "Of course, no way would there be a train out of here."
"They look like they lead to those buildings by the lake," said Flash. "Maybe it's a train station?"
"Let's follow them. They lead right past that other building, too," I nodded. We began down the hill, being careful of our footing. About halfway down the hill a handcart sat on the railroad tracks, held in place by a large wooden beam wedged in front of the wheels. Just past that was the large wooden building, its water wheel spinning rapidly. Walking closer, I saw that the building had no walls; there was a large stack of logs beside a conveyor belt, upon which sat a particularly big log. A huge vertical saw stretching from the floor to the ceiling sat at one end of the conveyor belt, while a metal control panel sat at the other. The serrated edges gleamed silver - it was in perfect working order.
"Looks like it's some kind of sawmill," said Sunset. "A very simple one, but with enough equipment to get the job done."
"Think it works?" I asked.
"Everything seems clean and oiled," said Flash, "so probably. Just press the big red button. Can't think of how that'd help us, though."
We looked around for a while longer, finding only a small, wooden rowboat lying on the riverbank at the lower end of the sawmill. Nothing was inside it, not even any oars. After that we continued down the hill to the lake and the group of buildings beside it. Flash was right - it turned out to be a small, rudimentary train station. One building made to look like two separate ones put together stood on top of a large wooden platform, and a water tank stood between it and the delta of the river. The building on the platform was the closest to the lake and was split into two areas: a well-stocked coal shed, its door facing the lake; and the station's office, entirely empty and devoid of decorations except for some benches and a barren ticket counter. The train tracks looped around the platform, from the loading/unloading zone on the right in front of the office to another zone facing the lake that allowed easy access to the coal. A turntable for train cars was embedded into the ground, carving a semicircle into the platform. The tracks came to an end behind the train station just before the water tank - a lone caboose was occupying the space.
Looking inside the caboose, it seemed to have been converted into a small living space. There was a dining nook that could be converted into a bed, next to a tiny kitchen. The counter held a small sink and a two-burner stove, and the cabinets above had a couple of rusty pots and pans inside. The drawers held a set of cutlery for one person, including a chef's knife so covered in rust it might've crumbled if anyone touched it. The cushions for the dining nook were slightly damp to the touch, and the faded curtains bordering the windows above the nook and stove smelled of mildew.
"Eww... no one's used this thing in ages," muttered Sunset. "Too bad, this might've been kind of nice to ride in."
"Even the utensils are trashed," said Flash. "That knife's useless."
"I think I got tetanus by just looking at it," I grimaced. "Let's leave it. If someone wanted to use a knife, they'd get one from the kitchen back in the dining hall."
We stepped out of the caboose, the fresh air a welcome scent. The lake sat before us; I estimated it was maybe a couple hundred feet from one end to the other, give or take. Veering off to the left was another, smaller stream that broke away from the lake and into a steep, rocky gulch, which then flowed through a metal fence that stretched from beneath the riverbed to the tops of the cliffs. All lined with spikes and automated rail guns, of course.
"Sheesh. I figured there'd be no way out down this path either, but really?" Flash groaned.
"The more effort I see that Monokuma or whoever has put into keeping us here, the more impressed and disturbed I am," I sighed, slumping in discouragement.
"Yea, this is frighteningly excessive," Sunset agreed. Seeing no other options, we turned around and went back.
On our way back out of the gulch we saw that Mountain was standing on the lake's shore, gazing out into the distance, with Memento just behind her. We quietly approached, not wanting to disturb their moment.
"...Ocean would've loved this," Mountain mumbled, sighing sadly. "Even if there aren't any fish, he always loved the beauty and peace of a body of water."
"It is lovely, isn't it?" Memento nodded in sympathy. Her eyes drifted over to us, and she jerked her head to invite us closer. Mountain flinched when we caught her eye, her lips thinning.
"Hey, it's okay," I spoke softly, holding my hands up.
"Yea, we're, uh... just sorry for your loss," Flash coughed, emotions conflicting in his voice as he looked at a tuft of grass. It seemed to be enough reassurance for Mountain, however, and her posture relaxed.
"Oh... thank you," she bowed her head. "Although I don't expect your forgiveness, of course... not after what I did."
"It was an accident!" Sunset protested weakly, but Mountain shook her head.
"It still happened... it never should have happened. And now... he's gone... b-because of m-me..."
Tears fell from Mountain's face, melting the patchy snow where they dripped. Memento pulled out a travel pack of tissues from one of her scrub pockets and offered it to her while Sunset and I came closer. She took a tissue and loudly blew her nose while Sunset placed an arm around her back. Mountain wept for a few moments before shakily inhaling.
"I... I-I don't deserve your kindness..."
"Yes, you do," Sunset gently affirmed. "None of this was your fault... Monokuma's the one who put us all in this situation."
"None of us would be dead... if it weren't for him," Flash agreed. "Him and his stupid Kubs."
"Um..."
The sudden noise caused us to whip our heads towards its source. Monophanie was standing about ten feet away from us, her paws nervously held up towards her mouth. At first I recoiled inwardly and was about to yell at her to leave us alone, but then I remembered how she had acted after the trial last night. She had seemed almost... sympathetic.
Flash, however, had no such qualms. "What do you want?!" he glowered. Monophanie flinched at being addressed.
"Oh! Uh... I... just wanted to tell Mountain... I'm sorry... about what happened," she fidgeted. While Flash scoffed, the rest of us pulled back in confusion.
"That's... oddly nice of you," I blinked.
"It... it just reminded me..." Despite her being a relatively emotionless robot, I could almost swear Monophanie was on the verge of tears.
"What did it remind you of?" asked Memento.
"Something... s-similar... happened to me," Monophanie explained hesitantly. Sunset and I let out a quiet gasp.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I-I... I can't...!" Monophanie's paws clapped over her mouth as she shook her head. "I... sorry!" And before we could ask her anything else she turned around and ran away, disappearing into the forest.
"...What was that about?" grumbled Flash.
"Something similar happened to her...?" Memento hummed, a finger on her lips as she thought. "What could that possibly mean?"
She might be our enemy, but I hate to think something like this has happened more than once...
"Hard to say," Sunset chewed her lower lip. "But it seems to me she might be starting to think differently about this whole killing game..."
"Or, it could be a trap," Flash replied, eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"How?" asked Memento.
"I'm... uncertain," said Mountain. "...But until I see more evidence to the contrary from that bear, I will not trust a word it says."
"That... seems wise," I nodded. "As much as I want to believe we might finally have some help, it does sound too good to be true." The others nodded in agreement.
A few moments passed in silence. Mountain grimaced and bent down to rub at her wound.
"You okay?" asked Memento.
"Yea... just hurts, and it's starting to itch."
"That means it's healing," said Sunset. Mountain reached into her pockets for a bag full of brick red pills and a small bottle of water.
"I have Memento to thank for that... I wasn't looking forward to having to suture the wound myself," Mountain sighed as she placed a pair of pills into her mouth and washed them down. "Thank you, again."
"Of course," Memento shrugged, smiling.
"I will be a moment, if the three of you wish to head back. It's getting close to dinner time," said Mountain, leaning on her walking stick, glancing at its shadow.
"We have been out here for a while, huh?" remarked Flash, squinting at the setting sun. "Time to go over what we've all seen."
"We'll be okay," Memento waved us on. Flash, Sunset and I started back towards the train station, on the other side of the lake. We walked in silence for a while until just reaching it, when we spotted another pair gazing out over the water. Indigo was sitting on the platform, her legs dangling over the empty train turntable, while Sugarcoat was standing behind her, arms crossed and grumpy as always.
"Man... I bet Ocean would've liked to see this," Indigo sighed. "Would've been cool lookin' around the lake and everywhere."
"This is a pathetic lake," Sugarcoat huffed. "More like a large pond, full of algae and scum and other disgusting stuff."
"He was right... the sounds water makes in nature is pretty peaceful," Indigo continued to muse. "...Wonder if there's any fish in there?"
"Doubt it. I haven't even seen so much as a tick since we came here, why the fuck would there be fish?" scoffed her companion.
"...Never did ask him what his favorite fish was. Hmm... he liked just watching the wildlife while waiting for a bite, did I tell ya? Some dragonflies zipping around, and I could definitely see that, too."
"No... not that I particularly care about what some redneck thinks is beautiful," Sugarcoat rolled her eyes.
"Ey yo, I'm tryin' to mourn here, do you mind?!" Indigo finally turned around to glare at her former classmate.
"Why? We both know it wasn't going to last," Sugarcoat squinted an eye in disgust. "He was a moron. I totally figured he was going to die here, anyway."
"We were bros! We were, like, kindred spirits or some shit!" Indigo threw her hands into the air. "Guh... why'd we have to meet here...?"
"Oh, you'll find someone else," Sugarcoat groaned out a sigh. "There's plenty of... ugh... 'fish in the sea' out there. But first off, we need to focus on getting out of this hellscape alive."
They ignored us as we walked past and began up the hill, towards the path back to camp.
"Is it physically possible for Sugarcoat to ever be nice...?" Flash asked once we were out of earshot.
"Actually, so far I'd say this is an improvement from back in high school," muttered Sunset. I elected to bite my tongue.
Sheesh... some friend.
~
Kotenage had already gotten dinner started when we arrived at the dining hall. We chatted with Soarin' and Sonata as the others returned as well, with Mountain arriving last. Kotenage eyed Mountain with suspicion as he scooped her serving of rice and chankonabe into a bowl and handed it to her, but that was the extent of his apparent dislike towards her. Nevertheless, Mountain hobbled over to a table in the corner and kept her distance.
"Well, this new area seems alright," Sunburst mentioned after we'd all spent a few minutes eating and warming up. "Not much of a center of industry, though."
"For real. Not a single person around!" nodded Soarin'. "The whole place looks like no one's been there in months!"
"Not exactly," said Flash. "Did you see the sawmill? Every part in there is clean and freshly oiled."
"Even the spinny saw-y parts?" Sonata asked worriedly.
"Uh... yea, even the spinny saw-y parts," Flash raised an eyebrow.
"I can imagine that the logs for the sawmill must come from the river uphill, past the waterfall," said Memento. "But then to transport the lumber, all they have is that useless train station. The tracks don't even go anywhere."
"Yea, that was weird," Silver concurred. "And there's a caboose and a handcart, but no engine to pull them."
"THE CABOOSE THAT WAS THERE WAS IN SORRY CONDITION, AS WELL," said Kotenage. "PERHAPS BACK WHEN IT WAS NEW, IT WOULD'VE BEEN FIT FOR RIKISHI TO TRAVEL IN."
"How about the lake itself? Was anything helpful there?" asked Indigo.
"Someone wouldn't stop being melodramatic, so we didn't check the whole way around," Sugarcoat grumbled.
"There's a small gorge where the water from the lake drains out, but that's totally surrounded," sighed Sunset. "You know... guns, spiked fences, threats of death... the usual."
"Ah, figures," Sunburst's head dropped into his hands. "Well, at any rate, that empty train station would serve as a perfect laboratory to conduct experiments on those glowing stones."
"Stones?" I asked, before quickly remembering. "Oh, yea! The gems from the cave! It's... been a few days, hasn't it?"
"Precisely. And I have yet to discern anything different about any of us, much less those who touched the thing," he nodded.
"So it's safe, then?" Sugarcoat asked. "Very well... Kotenage, you may turn over that tackle box to Sunburst."
"HAI," Kotenage nodded before reaching into one of the sleeves of his robe. A moment later the tackle box was on the table. "WAS WONDERING WHEN I COULD STOP CARRYING THIS THING AROUND."
"You've carried it around with you all this time?" Sunburst asked as he reached for the box.
"YES. YUKATA SLEEVES MAKE EXCELLENT POCKETS," he grinned. Sunburst hummed as he opened the box and gently rolled the lead fishing weights around.
"E-Er..."
"Something wrong?" I asked, trying to peek inside the box.
"It... ah... would appear that the gem in question has... disappeared," Sunburst stammered.
"What?!" Sugarcoat shouted, yanking the box from Sunburst's grip and dumping its contents out on the table. Fishing weights rolled around everyone's bowls and onto the floor, but the glowing gem was nowhere to be found.
"N-NANI?!" Kotenage gasped.
"Someone took it?" Silver asked, shocked. Sugarcoat's expression rapidly changed from angry confusion to just plain anger, and she hurled a finger at Sunset.
"I don't know how you did it, but fess up! Where the fuck is that gem?!" she shouted angrily.
"I... don't have it?" Sunset shrank back apprehensively.
"Bullshit! Hand it over, this instant!"
"I don't have it," Sunset repeated more assertively. "I was ultimately fine with you taking it for your experiment, don't you remember?"
"I DON'T REMEMBER EVER SEEING HER ACTING SUSPICIOUS AROUND ME," Kotenage raised an eyebrow as he looked to the ceiling in thought. "NOT ONCE DID SHE EVER ATTEMPT TO REACH UP MY SLEEVES OR BREAK INTO MY COTTAGE."
"It was supposed to be magic, right? For all we know, the thing might've just vanished or disintegrated or something after being out of the cave so long," Soarin' offered.
"You can look through my cottage if you want... but you'll just be wasting your time," Sunset groused, tired annoyance on her face as she stared at Sugarcoat, who glared right back. "Honestly, you blaming me for everything that goes wrong here is starting to get on my nerves."
"Good! Maybe then you'll crack and admit to everyone here that this entire killing game is your fucking doing!" Sugarcoat nearly screamed in rage. On the other side of the table, Sonata made a noise like a furious cat.
Ugh... not this again...
"No, it is starting to get kinda old," Memento sighed and spoke up. "If you had any actual proof I'd listen, but so far all your arguments have amounted to wild accusations. Sunset's been a solid help to us all since this whole thing started."
"Oh, but that's what she wants you to think!" she snarled back, pointing her finger at Memento now. "I bet she's lulling you all into a false sense of security!"
"Sheesh, and I thought I was paranoid," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head.
"You certainly are a paranoid one, aren't you?" Mountain droned from her corner.
"No one asked you!" Indigo roared at Mountain before turning her attention to Sugarcoat. "Shug, you are kinda starting to worry me."
"Rrrgh... You just wait... All of you just wait..." Sugarcoat seethed, nearly shivering with rage - I could almost see steam wafting from her ears. While Indigo did her best to placate her, Sunburst swallowed nervously.
"Goodness... I, uh... can just retrieve another gemstone from the cave tomorrow."
~
The rest of the evening was uneventful. It wasn't until right before I got into bed that I realized I'd never mentioned something that, in hindsight, seemed rather important.
"Ah, damn it."
Monophanie's recent interactions with us had been strange. Was she becoming sympathetic to our plight? Was it a cunning plan to sow even more mistrust and despair between us? I wanted to believe that that bear was beginning to grow a conscience... could robot bears even grow a conscience?
I made a mental note to bring it up tomorrow, barring something unexpected happening.
...Like Sugarcoat's rage going nuclear and blowing up the entire campsite.
The thought made me chuckle as I closed my eyes.