Off the Rails - Deadly Life 2
The elevator eventually stopped. The doors opened slowly, revealing the Trial Room in all its accursed glory. Monokuma and his Kubs watched from their seats as we quietly took our places. There was no real point in putting it off.
"Boy, they look really depressed," Monotaro whistled. "Must be 'cuz there's even less participants now."
"Wonder whose fault that is?" I heard Sunset mutter under her breath. I closed my eyes and sighed.
She was right, after all. This was all their fault. All Monokuma's fault, and all of his Monokubs' fault, too. As if he could read my mind, Monokuma chuckled.
"Puhuhu... as much as I'd love to keep hearing this adorable back-and-forth, let's hurry up and get this started!" he cried out in a sing-song voice.
So infuriating.
So disrespectful.
"At last... the class trial will begin! I hope you enjoy it to your heart's content!"
I tried my best to shut out his grating, shrill voice, but it simply pierced past my eardrums and infected my brain. I shook my head to clear it - the third trial was about to begin...
...It never should've come to this.
What happened to us trying to become friends and find a way out ourselves, without resorting to murder?
How many more of us were going to die?
Was I going to be next? I was damned if I'd let Sunset die, or Flash, or Memento, or anyone else.
...
No. I need to stop thinking about things like that... I need to focus. We need to get through this trial and find Soarin's and Indigo's killer... or that's it.
Neither of them deserved to die. Even if our lives weren't on the line, they both deserved justice for what had happened.
In order to survive... we must find the truth. And I will fight for it.
We all will.
*Class Trial! All Rise!*
"Ahem! Now then, let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial," Monokuma grinned. "During the trial you'll present your arguments for who the culprit is, and vote for 'whodunnit'. Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person? I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person may leave the campgrounds!"
"Also, refusin' to vote will result in yer death, so yous better vote for someone!" Monosuke chimed in.
"Now, smiles everyone!" Monokuma shouted, throwing his paws upwards as Monokid flailed on his guitar. "It's showtime! Let's get this crazy-awesome trial underway!" I looked up at Monophanie, who was sitting quietly on her cushion with an apprehensive expression... I wondered what she was thinking.
"Ugh... I had hoped we needn't go through this again," Sunburst shook his head. "But now two! Two people were murdered this time!"
"H-How are we supposed to get through this t-trial?" Silver sniffled. "P-Poor Soarin'... h-he was completely mangled!"
"The same way we've gotten through the other two," said Flash. "We'll just go through it one fact at a time."
"And as gruesome as it is... it's probably best to get Soarin' out of the way first," nodded Memento.
"Alright... well, he was discovered s-sawn in half in the Sawmill," swallowed Silver.
"Well, not quite in half... perhaps more like 3/5ths," Sunburst interrupted before quickly shaking his head. "Er, sorry... that probably doesn't matter."
"And yet, apparently that wasn't even the cause of death," said Mountain, staring at the floor past her lectern.
"He was strangled... with what looked like Indy's headphones!" cried Sonata.
"And then sawn in half... I can't say I ever liked the guy, but... that's a shitty way to go," said Sugarcoat.
...No, he wasn't strangled...!
"Wait, that's not right!" I called out. "While it does look like Soarin' was strangled, the autopsy revealed that there were no markings on his neck! He couldn't have been strangled!"
"That's right," Memento nodded. "That and the intact hyoid bone are proof of that. Whatever killed him, that ain't it, chief."
"H-He... wasn't strangled?" Silver blinked.
"Then how? Surely he wasn't sawn in half alive, was he?!" Sunburst yelled in alarm.
"Oh, no... can you imagine? Unless he was tied down, which there was no evidence for that, he could've just gotten up and run away... unless it was some kind of Mustang Lathe-kind of machine, in which Soarin' would've been obliterated in the blink of an eye," said Memento.
"...Uh... how the fuck do you-?"
"I've seen videos," Memento replied matter-of-factly to Sugarcoat. "But anyway, he wasn't alive for the sawing. If he were, there would've been blood absolutely everywhere."
"But... there was blood absolutely everywhere," Mountain protested.
"Not exactly," Flash chimed in. "If he were alive for this, well... I can only imagine how much that would've fuckin' hurt. He'd be desperately trying to get away, and the spray from his arteries would get blood everywhere. Instead, it was localized around his body."
"Yep! Blood fountains, spraying everywhere!" Memento raised her hands and shook them in a flourish. "You're learning good, lil' buddy!"
"...Oooookay," Sugarcoat glared in disgust. "So, if that's not how he died... then what killed him?"
"Well... I don't know," Memento shrugged. "I know a thing or two about dead people, but I'm not a medical examiner."
"Great," drawled Sugarcoat. "So that's a dead end."
"NOT NECESSARILY," said Kotenage. "IT WAS INDIGO'S HEADPHONES THAT WERE FOUND AROUND HIS NECK. THAT MUST MEAN SHE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT." Sugarcoat squeezed her eyes shut uncomfortably.
"N-No..." she argued. "...Indy wouldn't do something like that."
"You sure?" asked Sonata, swaying back and forth like a bored child. "You did make her pretty mad last night..."
"No..." Sugarcoat reaffirmed through gritted teeth. "She wouldn't..."
"Well, why else would they have been there?" asked Flash. "Why were they not on her body?"
"Speaking of which, we should go over that, too," said Memento. "Let's get the most uncomfortable parts about discussing them out of the way."
"Okay, well... she was unfortunately found in the rowboat that somehow got into the middle of the lake," sighed Sunset.
"We never would have discovered her if it weren't for Miss Starlight's demonstration of her magic," said Sunburst, looking at me in awe. I couldn't help but blush a little.
"Oh, uh... it was nothing," I tried to play it off cool.
"Not at all... that was amazing!" gushed Memento. "I wish I had magic... I mean, I do, apparently, but you know."
"Let's stay on topic," Sugarcoat groused before turning her glare upon me. "Although, we are gonna discuss this afterwards... assuming we survive."
"RIGHT... POOR INDIGO-CHAN WAS STABBED IN THE THROAT," Kotenage shook his head sadly.
"Even worse, it looked like a suicide," Flash added.
"You think she felt bad after killing poor Soary, and killed herself out of guilt?" asked Sonata.
...Hey, wait...
"Wait, that's not right!" I raised my hand. "Memento, you mentioned that you thought she was the one who was strangled."
"Right," she nodded. "There were definitive markings around her throat, and her hyoid bone was in pieces."
"Wait a minute," Sunburst straightened up. "The Monokuma File said that Soarin' died from strangulation, yet there's forensic evidence that that was not his cause of death. Now there's also forensic evidence that Indigo is the one who died from strangulation, yet the Monokuma File claimed it was suicide by stabbing her own throat."
"Ah, ah, ah," Monokuma wiggled a claw. "My Monokuma Files are never wrong!"
"What? But..." Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"But there's evidence that those weren't the ways they died! The fuck you mean your shitty files are never wrong?!" argued Sugarcoat.
We've figured out that the causes of death were not what was recorded in the Monokuma Files, yet Monokuma insists his Files were correct... how could this be?
...
...
...Oh! I know!
"Wait, guys," I interrupted. "I get it."
"WHAT IS IT?"
"We have to read the Monokuma Files carefully... see how it says 'cause of death appears to be strangulation'? 'Appears to be self-inflicted'?" I emphasized.
"...Oh, I see," Sunset rolled her eyes. "We made the A S S U M P T I O N that the Monokuma Files were right. If you read it more closely, then it's clear that those causes of death are just what it looks like, not necessarily how it happened."
"Tricky, tricky," Sonata hummed.
"And very fucking jerkish," Sugarcoat glared at Monokuma.
"Just making sure your reading comprehension is up to snuff!" the bear smirked.
"So, we've figured out that much," said Flash. "But in the grand scheme of things... that doesn't tell us all that much about what happened."
"R-Right... there's no way we can figure this out just by how they died," said Silver.
"There were other clues found, I assume," Mountain quipped.
"...HOW ABOUT THAT NOTE WE FOUND IN SOARIN'S HAND," suggested Kotenage. "PERHAPS THAT WILL MAKE THINGS A LITTLE MORE CLEAR."
"There was a note in Soary's hand?" Sonata asked, surprised.
"Yea... it was barely legible, though," I replied. "Practically all of it was smudged with some kind of black dust."
"All we could make out was 'From S', 'To S', 2am, and something about a way out of here," said Sunset. Mountain, Sugarcoat and Sunburst let out gasps of shock.
"Wait... there's a way out of this shithole?!" yelled Sugarcoat.
"I can't believe it..." Sunburst breathed.
"...I don't believe it," frowned Mountain.
"Did we ask for your opinion?" Sugarcoat grumbled.
"An escape from this place that even I did not find?" Mountain shook her head. "The wilderness is like my second home... there's no way whoever wrote this note found an escape route before I did."
Right... in fact...
"Yea, I can agree with that!" I nodded. "We've all been all over this campground how many times? There hasn't been a single place that looked like a possible escape route that wasn't guarded by cameras and automated guns."
"Indeed... The forests eventually end in sheer cliffs, the gulch where the lake water drains away is blocked, the cave by the hot springs leads to a dead end, the train tracks lead nowhere," Mountain continued. "There truly is no way out."
"Right. Whoever wrote that note... likely lied about finding an escape," I finished.
"Aww..." Silver deflated, slumping over her podium. "Don't give me hope like that..."
"But why? Why would they lie like that?" asked Sonata.
"Duh... they obviously wrote that note in order to lure someone somewhere in order to kill them!" growled Sugarcoat.
"BUT WHO?" asked Kotenage. "THERE ARE SEVEN OF US WHOSE NAME STARTS WITH AN 'S'."
"I have a pretty good fucking idea," Sugarcoat yelled angrily as she hurled a finger at Silver. "You! You told Kotenage and I that you were going somewhere at 2am!" Silver jumped at the accusation, trembling.
"A-Ah... I d-did tell you t-that," she agreed.
"And just where the fuck did you go at 2am?! And why was Soarin' dead by 2:10am?!"
"I... I-I..."
Wait, but... you really think Silver...?
"Quit stuttering and just admit it! You killed them! You killed them both!" Sugarcoat screamed.
"N-No! I...!"
"Silvy..." Sonata spoke quietly. "...Did you...?"
"No! Y-You know I didn't, S-Sonata! W-We were supposed to m-meet at the top of the hill, but I j-just couldn't d-do it!" Silver cried frantically. Sonata frowned.
"But... I asked you to go with me so we could find out who wrote it... On the way to the lake's entrance, I realized that the note was missing... and you never met up with me, so I ran back to my cottage and stayed inside for the rest of the night... But Soary and Indy, we found them dead there today..."
"I-I-I didn't go... I-I'm sorry! We could've... I could've prevented this!" Silver was beginning to hyperventilate.
"But then... why did Soarin' and Indigo die?" asked Sunburst. "What happened?"
"I found a note on the dining table yesterday," Sonata explained, calmly yet sorrowfully. "It said to meet at the Coal Shed at 2am. I told Silvy about it and asked her if she would meet me at the top of the hill by the lake before then, so we could find out who wrote it."
"But Silver never showed herself?" Sugarcoat glared. Sonata shook her head.
"And the note disappeared from my hoodie hood, where I kept it."
"Why would you put it there?" Mountain asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Hardly anyone realizes your hoodie hood can be used as another pocket," Sonata shrugged. "It can hold quite a lot."
"What makes you think Silver killed either of them?" Flash asked Sugarcoat incredulously. "You know she freaks out at the sight of dead people, right? There's no way she could actually do it herself."
"She didn't freak out when she saw Indy earlier!" yelled Sugarcoat, pointing again.
Wait... that's right...!
"Yea, I can agree with that!" I cut in, albeit reluctantly. "You've always been on the verge of throwing up and fainting when we discovered the others, Silver... I saw you staring at Indigo's body, too... you didn't gag. You didn't run."
"Because..." Silver sobbed, bowing her head, "...if I had j-just been brave and met with Sonata... m-maybe this wouldn't have happened. Maybe they wouldn't have d-died!"
"Well, wait a minute," Sunburst held up a hand. "Considering that the note was addressed to an 'S' and was from an 'S', then that could possibly mean that Miss Silver wrote the note to Soarin'... but..."
"But...?" Sugarcoat goaded, growling.
"...But do we really know if that note was meant for either of them? There are seven of us whose name starts with an 'S', myself included, but I've never heard of this note until now."
"NOT TO MENTION, THIS DOES NOT EXPLAIN HOW INDIGO MIGHT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED," added Kotenage.
"Wait... are you trying to suggest you might've had something to do with this?" Mountain asked apprehensively.
"I certainly didn't," he shook his head. "But what about the others that haven't spoken up about this yet? Miss Starlight? Miss Sunset?" At first I wasn't sure what he was getting at, but then I remembered our evidence from earlier.
"I had no idea this note existed until I found it during the investigation," I replied, looking over to Sunset.
"And I..." she breathed hard, "...well, I never saw the note until the investigation, but I think Indigo might've known about it."
"She did?" Sugarcoat blinked. "How do you know?"
"We talked by the fire pit last night for a while... the conversation wrapped up and I was going back to my cottage for the night. Just as I closed the door, I heard Indigo yell to me something about 2am. I didn't hear the rest - I opened my door again and tried to yell back at her, but she never responded."
"Why didn't you tell anyone about this?!" Sugarcoat shouted angrily, before her expression changed to a softer, sadder one. "...Why didn't she tell me...?"
"It was only a split second. Since she didn't stick around to make sure I'd understood her, I thought it wasn't important at the time," Sunset frowned, inhaling through her teeth.
"You... your incompetence got Indy killed!" Sugarcoat seethed, her expression changing rapidly, curling her fingers like she wanted to throttle her.
"Whoa, now that's not fair! How could she have known this would happen?!" Flash came to Sunset's defense.
"Because she should've told me!" She screamed in rage and frustration, her voice quickly morphing into a keening sob. As much as her temper tantrum annoyed me... I could feel nothing but pity for her. Sugarcoat would never have the chance to apologize to Indigo for her behavior now.
"So, if everyone's testimonies are to be believed... then Soarin', Silver, Sonata and Indigo had firsthand knowledge about the note's existence," Mountain mumbled to herself.
"Wait... how do we know Soary knew about the note?" Sonata tilted her head.
"I mean... he was found dead with the note in his hand. Only reason for that would be his name was one of the S's," said Memento.
"Oh! Duh, that's right," Sonata knocked herself in the head with a clumsy smile.
"But hold on," said Sunburst. "How do we know Mister Soarin' had anything to do with the note? There are seven of us with a name that begins with S... for all we know, his presence was simply a coincidence."
How do we know Soarin' was definitely involved with the note? ...I think we found some evidence to corroborate with that line of thought...
...
...
...Oh! I know!
"Memento's right," I broke in. "There's definite proof that Soarin' knew about the note... there was black dust on the back of his head."
"Black dust?" asked Sunburst.
"Yes... and that black dust could only come from one place: the Coal Shed."
"Riiiiight... that place is full of dust!" agreed Flash. "Enough to give anyone the black lung!"
"And the note did say to meet there at 2am," added Sugarcoat.
"B-But... then why was he killed at the saw mill?" asked Silver. "That's nowhere near the coal shed!"
"He wasn't," said Memento. "He wasn't strangled, and he wasn't sawed alive."
"DO YOU THINK HE WAS KILLED INSIDE THE COAL SHED?" suggested Kotenage. "OR PERHAPS HE WAS WOUNDED THERE, AND MADE HIS WAY TO THE SAW MILL BEFORE HE DIED."
...Wait, yes! That must've been what those were!
"Yea, I can agree with that!" I nodded. "Soarin' definitely wasn't killed in the saw mill, and there's actually a piece of evidence that points towards that... there were some footprints in the snow that had faint black streaks in them!"
"Ooh! There were?" Sonata gasped in surprise.
"They were faint, but they were there," said Sunset. "It looked like they led towards that handcart halfway down the hill."
"The handcart? Why would they lead there?" asked Sunburst.
"Soarin' most likely wasn't killed in the coal shed, and he was found dead in the saw mill... he must've tried to run from his attacker!" proposed Flash.
"You're on to something," Memento nodded. "Where the black dust on his head was, there was also a bruise. It definitely wasn't enough to kill him, though. I agree he would've tried to run after getting hit."
"But... even if someone were to use the handcart to move up the hill, surely running would be faster than that."
"It is possible his escape route simply took him beside it," Mountain looked over to Sunburst. "When panicked, the prey tends not to watch where its going." I looked over to see Memento moving her hand from her chin, snapping her fingers.
"I bet that's it!" she exclaimed. "We also saw what looked like drag marks from the handcart to the saw mill... so that must mean the handcart somehow killed him!"
"Now hold the fuck on!" Sugarcoat threw out her hand. "How would the handcart kill him?! Not to mention you need someone on it to make it move... are you honestly suggesting that Soarin's killer ran that far ahead of him, then ran him over with it?! That's fucking stupid!"
"I... well, when you put it like that," Memento frowned, scratching her head. But I saw where Memento was headed with this... it would completely change the narrative of the entire case so far, but it would also explain the drag marks towards the saw mill, as well as another piece of evidence.
"No, I think she's on to something," I broke in. "Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way... if Soarin' was running away from his attacker, then yes, what Memento's suggesting wouldn't work. But, if Soarin' was actually chasing someone else, with the intent to kill them..."
"Oh, so now Soarin's the attacker, here? Alright, I'll humor you," Sugarcoat snorted. "Fine, so say Soarin' was chasing someone up the hill from the coal shed. But if the tracks stop at the handcart, then how do you suggest the other person he was chasing killed him? Picked up the fucking handcart with their bare hands and threw it at him?!"
Ha! I've got you now!
"Because the handcart wasn't originally halfway down the hill," I stood up straight, confident in my logic.
"It... wasn't?" blinked Sugarcoat.
"No... it was definitely much further up the hill, ever since the first day we saw it," Memento nodded, smiling.
"If the person Soarin' was chasing ran up the hill by the railroad tracks the handcart was on, then it's possible that they knocked out that wooden beam that was holding it in place," I explained.
"I see! And then gravity... would have done the rest," Sunburst swallowed.
"Yes, yes... it makes sense! It makes perfect sense!" Sonata beamed. "He got squished by the handcart, went all 'Aaaargh! Ooooogh!' and died, then whoever he was chasing dragged him to the saw mill to be cut in half!"
"...YOU'RE AWFULLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS TURN OF EVENTS," Kotenage side-eyed her. Sonata shrugged.
"Well, it's good to figure out what happened to poor Soary... even if it sounds like he was the one trying to kill someone else, now. It's progress, right?"
"I... guess so," Sugarcoat sighed heavily. "...But that still doesn't explain why Indy was found dead in the area, or why her fucking headphones were around Soarin's neck!"
"Indigo somehow knew there was something to investigate at 2am, despite the note from earlier not being addressed to her," said Mountain.
"Right... she would've had to have known about the note from someone else," added Sunset.
"And guess who knew about that note...?" Sugarcoat glared darkly at Silver. She had recovered somewhat while the attention was off of her, but she withered anew under everyone's gaze.
"B-But I never told her about it!" Silver protested, tears spilling from her eyes again. "S-Sonata told me about it at d-dinner, then I-I told you and Kotenage! I never told Indigo about it!"
"I never told Indy about it," Sonata frowned, tilting her head. "And then on my way to the coal shed, I found out the note was missing from my hoodie hood... are you sure you didn't take it?"
"N-No! I didn't, I swear!" cried Silver. "Please, you g-guys, I would never! I didn't k-kill either of them!"
"Then how?!" Sugarcoat roared. "How the fuck did Indigo DIE?!"
...
...
...
"Well... she was apparently strangled," Sonata spoke up gormlessly. Sugarcoat keened.
Indigo is the key to this mystery... if we could just find out how she died, that would help out a lot...
I glanced around the room as if the answer was hidden somewhere in plain sight. Everyone else's faces were twisted deep in thought, trying to piece together our evidence and find the truth, just as I was. As Sugarcoat screamed and howled in anger and guilt, and Silver tried her best to pull herself together, I laced my fingers together and laid my chin on top of them on my podium.
There was something I was missing... I was sure of it. But what?
"It had to have been you! You didn't even flinch at the sight of Indy's dead body!" Sugarcoat spat out, her face a darker shade of purple than usual, her eyes clouded over with frenzy, her hands clawing at her lectern as though she were ready to leap over it and attack Silver.
Silver says Sonata told her about the note, then Silver told Sugarcoat and Kotenage about it, but she says she didn't go... let's assume that's correct.
"It w-wasn't m-me! I only knew about a m-meeting at 2am... I-I didn't know it would mean our f-friends were gonna d-die! I... Sonata and I could've s-stopped it if I sucked it up and met with her like we p-planned!" Silver begged.
Sonata says she told Silver about the note... she found out the note was missing from her person on the way to the coal shed... then Silver was too scared to meet with her, so she returned to the campgrounds... let's assume that's also correct.
"Then who, bitch?! If this isn't just a fucking act of yours, then who else did you tell about the fucking god-damned note?!" Sugarcoat was nearly frothing at the mouth and looked like she was going to pounce over her podium any second.
And Sunset says Indigo may have told her she was going somewhere at 2am... that much has been likely proven...
So, who... who else could have told her...?
"I know how you did it... you stole that fucking note from Sonata, then you lured Indy to that fucking coal shed with that fucking note, then you snuck your way over there long before your supposed meeting with Sonata at 2am, then you got jumped by Soarin' and killed him, and then you killed Indy! Yea, just fucking admit it! You're the fucking murderer!"
...!
I gasped loudly. I had remembered one thing from yesterday... something that hadn't even crossed my mind until just now.
But it was all too relevant. Too important not to mention.
Too damning.
"Wait a second," I swallowed, noticing everyone's - especially Sugarcoat's - eyes on me. "Silver's right... Indigo didn't learn about the note from her."
"What...?" Sugarcoat's voice was low, dangerous.
"How do you know that?" asked Sunburst, with much less vitriol.
"Because... someone else told her about the note." I looked over to the only person it could have been... one who had seemed so innocent, so harmless.
"Sonata... it was you, wasn't it?"
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Noooo~ the more I see stuff like this the more I get worried for my girl Sonata
First at the end of the 2nd trial and now this
*after reading the chapter*
NOOOOO! I knew it! I just wish I was wrong! I’m gonna have to watch my girl die
Well, that went in some pretty wild directions. Quite a few twists and turns in there, it seems.
11523483
like I had a VERY strong feeling about this and I HATE that I was right again about this in another danganronpa story.
Yeah, but I’m so upset
I love Sonata and hope she make it. But, from the past chapter’s and during the investigation.. I felt dread and sadness from the truth
Honestly, as someone who always seems to struggle to keep up with these stories (or maybe I'm just not trying hard enough) I wondered for a sec if Sunset might have done it towards the end.
So what’s the status of this fangan at the moment? I just started reading through some of the fimfiction fangans, and of course started with OHW/OHS, but since OHS is on hiatus decided to check these out, been a fun story so far, just wondering what the future looks like for it.
11773708
I'll finish it, I promise. The last part of this one is like half-done, and I have chapters 4 and 6 all planned out.
Yo.... No way. You just oofed 2 of my favorites this chapter alone.
Hey, are you still working on this, just wondering
11845471
I'm taking a bit of a break from pony-related stuff, but yes, I intend to finish this.
11845573
Why didn't you tell anyone about this though?
11845573
Totally understandable, take as much time as necessary, quality is preferable to quantity in a story