#apexplot

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#28)

Mahavir and Aidan have caught up by the time my fifth floor speedrun is through, and it doesn’t take long to catch them up with the current situation. 

“Mister Monochaperone! Am I to understand that the execution chamber is the place beyond the far door in the trial room?”

“Mmm-hmm, that’s right! Everyone may now enter freely...!”

“Or, um, you may have been able to enter freely before. You just would've been executed, too!”

“I would hardly consider that ‘freely’.”

While they debate the finer points of crime and punishment, I sidestep to Aidan.

“There's a working computer in the headmaster’s office. I wasn’t able to get to the Internet, but if you want to try anything...”

“It wouldn’t exactly be swift work in my current condition, I’m afraid.”

“It may be best to proceed to the last area we haven’t investigated. Better that than Mister Monochaperone cutting things off early should I start to get somewhere with the computer.”

“Fair point.”

The gang, Monochap included, crowds the elevator, and the doors shut soundly. 

My pulse throbs at my neck. We aren’t going to the trial yet. There’s still time to find something.

I still feel a little faint when the doors open to the trial room, but it’s easy enough to step swiftly to the other side. Monochap opens the door—was it even locked?—and we enter what I can only call a cavern.

It feels like some massive dump area for a couple of movie sets, but it smells like blood and rot and ashes. I have to cover my mouth and nose briefly before I can shake it off.

Things have certainly happened here. Can’t afford to dwell on the humanity of it. Just have to figure out the mechanics.

That’s all.

TALK

[Tsunyasha]

INVESTIGATE

[Backdrops] [Rice cooker] [Cameras] [Garage door] [Cliff] [Spheres]

[BACK] [NEXT]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#27)

That’s as much time as I can justify on a floor I’m not assigned to, so I guess it’s time to meet up on the top floor.

I’m a little slow going up the stairs. Am I tired, or does everything just feel like it’s getting too close? Almost at the end. Obviously I’ve wanted this to end—all of us victims have—but are we going about it the right way? Would it have been safer to just bide our time until rescue finally came?

No use thinking about it. No way to go but forward now.

Unsurprisingly, the boys haven’t caught up yet. Unless we’re counting Monochap.

“Got everything opened up?”

“I-I think so...!”

“Dude, if there’s anything left at this point, just let me bust it open, ‘kay?”

“I don’t think I could do that...!”

“You can’t do much of ANYTHING, can you?”

“Th-that’s not true!”

“The Headmaster’s Office as well as the execution chamber downstairs are open for investigation!”

“The...”

As concerning as that is, there’s not much point asking questions about a place I haven’t even seen in person yet.

“And the secretary’s office? Has everything been returned?”

“I’m not sure what you mean...”

Great, he’s the one playing dumb now. “I mean, if there was information relevant to identifying the young master, you’d have to put it back. Right?”

“Well...”

“Actually, as long as you can access the room it’s in, it could be anywhere!”

“......”

So I have how long to search the entire school for a couple of files? If they haven’t been destroyed already.

I can try another run if we get that far. For now, let’s check out what’s right in front of us.

TALK

[Kanagi Yuukei]

INVESTIGATE

[Filing cabinet] [Headmaster’s computer] [Headmaster’s desk] [Arcade] [Study Halls]

[BACK] [NEXT]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#24)

With that area as clear as it’s ever going to get, all we can do is move along. Wonder if there’s time to check the other floors ourselves.

“We’d better see if anyone’s waiting on the top floor already.”

I nod towards the stairwell.

“Oh, so you’re giving ORDERS now? I can’t BELIEVE this!”

I’ve had about enough of this Ichiriki phase.

“Believe it or don’t, just do it. Or are you trying to obstruct the investigation?”

He scoffs, tossing his hair as much as he can with it all spiked out like that.

“Bet you’d LOVE getting to BOSS AROUND that RIDICULOUS robot, too.”

“Is that supposed to be an accusation?”

“Well, SOMEONE has to be responsible, don’t they?”

“....”

Don’t they? Is there some way none of us has to be the young master? Could Monochap just be programmed to act like it?

But none of the network things make any sense if that’s the case. Only 16 devices, Monochap needing to hold onto our IDs to update non-public information...

“...”

Could we force something else like that? I’m not about to try splitting hairs updating whatever weights may have changed, but if it was something harder for Monochap to dismiss...

Like a name or talent?

If I can just time it right so we’re able to catch whoever of us is sending the update...

With a marching stride, I push past Ichiriki back to the art room.

“Go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”

He makes some horrendously offended objections to the treatment, but I plow straight into the art room, then the closet. I grab what I’m looking for and head back downstairs.

INVESTIGATE

[Tsunyasha’s study hall]

[BACK] [NEXT]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#28c)

Among all the pitfalls and set pieces are a few odd appliances.

“I guess it’s not so strange to have electricity down here, depending on what the academy used it for.”

I would guess some kind of shelter? Can’t really guess based on the contents. I have my doubts the industrial-size rice cooker was down here before.

“......”

Doesn’t matter.

There’s a few odd chargers that I suspect may be for Monochap, but tampering with them can’t be a good idea right now. Instead I step over to a plugged-in box the size of a decent closet. There’s a ladder on the side and a latch on the top.

“Not like I came here to leave stones unturned.”

Up I go, and it looks like the latch doesn’t even have a way to lock.

Seems like the whole box is radiating warmth. An incubator or something? Were they breeding superbugs for the next motive?

Nobody tell Aidan.

I hold my breath, undo the latch, and flip up the lid with less effort than expected. Cold, foul air hits my face before I get a good look inside.

Vaguely aligned in a pile are bodies. Haphazard bandages cover any massive wounds, but no other attempts have been made to wrap or cover them. The bandages didn’t even do the greatest job, considering the smears on some of the walls and other bodies.

“........”

At the very bottom of the pile, only Otoya’s size lets me see him at all. For the rest, it’s just whatever limb or hair sticks out enough from the rest of the mass. A rust-and-grey armwarmer. A blonde braid. A loose sleeve barely exposing fingertips. Something charred. A green sneaker.

The ones towards the top are easier to see. Kokoro, with no glasses to obscure desiccated eyes. Arthur, oddly small without his backpack. Yuki, still dotted with patches of rice. Kaichi, winning the contest for most bandages to keep him together.

I.... I’m not going further than this. Even refrigerated, they’ve... been here too long. I’m not going to get anything but nightmares by searching them.

“Yo, you find something?”

I flinch, nearly dropping the lid on my head before slamming it shut properly. I fumble with the latch until it’s on, too.

“You... don’t need to look in there.”

Especially with Kaichi right on top, I...

“.......”

I push past Kanagi without further explanation and keep walking.

KOTODAMA GET

Basement Cooler: A freestanding electric cooler in the basement appears to have all the dead students piled inside, with Otoya the farthest down and the latest two victims on top.

[BACK]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#20)

“......”

I’m not sure how long he stands there with the rest of us closing in. His gaze flits from person to person, like he’s searching for his master’s approval—or just afraid we’re gonna mob him. As if that’s ever been an option.

“Um, well, if it’s that belated, I might have to check to see if it’s really necessary.”

“The rules don’t have a timeframe, you know...! M-maybe I can open the investigation in a couple of months?”

“MONTHS?! How many MORE of us will be DEAD by then?!”

“Um, none, ‘cuz we’re totally not staying that long.”

She takes one big stomp towards Monochap.

“Just call the stupid body discovery already!”

“U-uwah! But...”

We’ve got him right here. Right at the edge. And with his master right in front of everyone else, there’s not much they can instruct him to do. If this comes down to his interpretation of the rules, he can judge it just about any way he wants. Even if that means pushing the mastermind investigation far past the point any of us would still be standing.

But if it’s up to his own judgment, I know exactly how to handle this. He’s our chaperone—his whole purpose is to make sure we’re playing the game that we’re supposed to be playing.

But, intentional or not, there’s more to him than that single purpose. And that’s what I can easily target.

I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this... But if it can tip the scales, I’ll do whatever I have to.

Several of the others are still clamoring over each other, so I slap my hands together in a sharp clap that startles at least some of them out of it. Enough for me to be heard.

“Monochap.”

“Um, yes?”

“Call the body discovery and start the investigation now. If you do that...”

“I’ll call you my waifu!”

“Gaspu!”

“....”

“....”

Yeah, okay. My trump card is ridiculous. But what here hasn’t been?

“R... Really?”

“Really.”

“Nothing more waifu-worthy than helping your—”

What the heck is the other half of that relationship called? Husbando? Also waifu in my case? 

Master?? O... Otaku???

“—someone who needs what only you can provide.”

“..........”

“Like, yeah, okay.”

“Bring the dude responsible for this crap to justice ‘r whatever, and you can totally be my waifu, too.”

“!!”

“Like, sad little binch waifu, but. Waifu.”

Well, it sounded helpful at first.

“I can also accept these terms, I believe.”

“If I’m, er, understanding the situation correctly...”

“It doesn’t obligate you to marry him if that’s what you mean.” I hope?? “More of a title than anything, I guess?”

“Titles I can handle.”

“I hope you lot don’t expect me to endorse your absurd little christening.”

“As though the holy one herself would designate such honor upon an abomination.”

Yeah, I wouldn’t have expected different.

“I don’t see why it would be necessary for everyone to accede. The fact of the matter is, Mister Monochaperone has no hope of any of us ever referring to him as our waifu if he doesn’t cooperate.” 

Aidan pauses, like he needs a moment to come to terms with the combination of words that just left his mouth. 

“But there’s a chance if I do...?”

“You have my word.”

“Mine as well.”

“Like, both of their words’re way fancier than mine, but same.”

Monochap looks hopefully to the only one who hasn’t spoken up on the matter.

“I...”

“...do NOT agree to call this WHACKADOODLE anything of the SORT!”

“...”

“But I won’t stop the REST of you morons, I GUESS.”

“I’m EVERY BIT as TIRED of this as YOU are.”

“Mmn...”

He’d probably be chewing on his lip if he had lips. Or teeth.

“Well?”

“W-well...”

“I... I’ll do it!”

“Seriously?”

“Heck yeah!”

“You will?”

I really shouldn’t be the most surprised when it was my idea.

“Mmm-hmm!”

“I-I guess I have a lot to get ready...”

“Please excuse me!”

He does about half a curtsy before speeding down the hallway. Upon hitting a dead end, he panics before turning around and speeding the other way until I can’t hear him anymore. I’m not convinced he didn’t just stop in the middle of the hallway once he was out of sight. Guess it’s not too important either way.

The awed silence in his wake doesn’t last long.

“Well. I rather think it’s high time that abomination called off its little game.”

Kanagi cuts off before she can loose a very visible whoop.

“Uhh, called off? But, like, he’s totally doing more of the game-y stuff?”

“But the trial is to locate... the young master.”

“.....”

“So the GAME should be OVER once they get SNIFFED OUT here! Do I have to spell it OUT more than THAT?”

“I think we get the picture, thank you.”

“I may ask for a more exact timetable for this investigation. Mobilizing the current investigators efficiently over so many floors will be, uh...”

“A little tricky.”

“I’ve never wanted to ask, because I feel like he’d give us less time than we’d have otherwise.”

“I suppose I wouldn’t be surprised either way.”

“Do we, like, even gotta get all the floors?”

“We’re totally just looking in the lab room or whatevs, right?”

Mahavir frowns and retrieves his student ID.

“My, you’d have difficulty organizing this lot to examine a single room?”

“Unsurprising, but still pathetic.”

“Wrangling this crowd is a feat no matter how many rooms are involved.”

“It ought to be more than Lab Room B regardless.”

“WHAT? How about you SPEAK UP! Unless you DON’T want anyone to hear you, then SHUT up!”

Mahavir glances between Ichiriki and Tsunyasha, who at least isn’t facing him. I casually step between those two.

“How so?”

His eyes go to his electroID screen.

“10. All rooms with relevant evidence will be accessible during murder investigations.”

“Thus...”

“...If it has to do with the killer’s identity, we should have access! Right?”

I look to the other smart person in the room.

“It’s a valid reading, certainly.”

I start to ask if there’s a less favorable valid reading, but on second thought, why give the young master any ideas they may not already have?

“Good. Let’s see what we can do.”

Is it wrong to be optimistic? Or maybe it’s been so long since I’ve felt that way that I’m completely misidentifying the feeling.

But this is really the end. Us versus the young master. Whoever outsmarts the other wins, and the game is over. And no one else even had to die.

Of course, if we get it wrong...

“..........”

But we won’t. Even if one person here is against us, there’s no way five Apex Academy students can’t win out.

Let’s finish this.

[BACK] [NEXT]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#22)

After our very enlightening tour of the girls’ side, we meet up with the boys. Apparently they wrapped up in Aidan’s room, because he’s still apologizing for its state of uncleanliness. 

“Oh, just ZIP it!”

He heaves an unreasonably long sigh before turning to the rest of us. 

“Are we DONE here? I’ve had about ENOUGH of this CLOWN CREW.”

Kanagi points at our trio with both thumbs. “You can totally join this clown crew!”

“UGH. Don’t REMIND me.”

“How about we move on.”

No objections this time.

“Does anyone believe another particular area would be a good idea to investigate, given what we have or haven’t found thus far?”

“Maybe the laundry room long after everything’s said and done. Otherwise, no.”

Before the others can offer suggestions—helpful or otherwise—another figure careens into the hall. Or maybe traipses. Some unholy medium between the two.

“O-okay, everyone...!”

“Both lab rooms are now open!”

“And the Headmaster’s Office?”

“What about the ART ROOM?”

“Or even your personal chambers or what-have-you beneath the trapdoor in the gym.”

“Wh-what about them?”

“Do they have any evidence relevant to the case?”

“U-um, none of the victims died anywhere near there...!”

Tsunyasha sighs wearily. “O that one’s impact should be so small as to fill but a single room...”

“She has a point.” Or at least one way to interpret that does. “This case concerns the identity of the young master who killed those people.”

Mahavir nods, not missing a beat this time.

“And any room containing relevant evidence must be accessible during the investigation.”

“...”

“That is the rule, isn’t it? Hmm...”

“Well, the Art Room should be easy enough, eheh.”

“Uhhh, ‘s, like, just as boarded up as the rest of them, isn’t it?”

“There’s also a giant hole through the wall.”

“......”

“Oh, I can just go ahead and declare the Art Room no longer off-limits, then...!”

“The rest... I-I’ll have to see how the young master feels about it.”

“But the rules are the rules.”

“Eheh, it’s kind of an odd case, though...”

“By all means, check in with the young master all you need.”

“We’ll keep investigating in the meantime.”

I can keep an eye out for anyone checking their tablets too much. Or should we allow a little privacy, just to make sure Monochap isn’t left with some default setting to keep things clammed up?

I’ll just be observant and do what I can. Same thing every investigation, I guess.

Aidan nods.

“Lab Room B is almost certain to form the basis of our entire investigation from this point, so everyone please scope it out thoroughly!”

“NO, I was ABSOLUTELY planning to just IGNORE it COMPLETELY.”

“What kind of MORON do you think I AM?”

“Don’t answer that.”

At least, not if we all want to make it to the lab room.

And we do.

Besides the nail holes and a few stray scraps of wood, it looks like any other unlocked door here.

“Open, says me!”

Instead of using the perfectly intact handle, Kanagi slams a kick into the door. Several people flinch at the sound. Better than just me? 

Thankfully, the latch isn’t much of an obstacle, so the door bounces open normally, if way too fast. Aidan flips the light switch without comment, though he’s clearly trying to keep an extra eye out as he does. We move inside, where it still smells stagnant and chemical.

Don’t know what to make of all this. Better get investigating.

TALK

[Aidan Doppler]

INVESTIGATE

[Cots] [Machinery] [Side door]

[BACK] [NEXT]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#30)

“Our profiles...”

I can tell at a glance that Tsunyasha isn’t offering all of the files. Doubtless hers is missing. But aside from that...

“Just one?”

“One apiece...”

“...though if you try my patience, it will swiftly become one in all.”

How many have I not seen? If we can organize and split those up, I can fill in any remaining blanks, and then together we’ll have about all the information available—

“Yoink.”

Kanagi swipes a folder with zero discussion.

...I should’ve given up at the word “organize.”

“You’re really taking my file right in front of me?”

“Did you want me to, like, warn you to close your eyes or what, dude.”

“...”

“Which one... will you take?”

“.....”

“I’d prefer to see if someone else chooses it first. If you all would make your own selections now, please?”

“What do I care which one I take? Which one ANYONE takes?! UGH!”

He swipes one, apparently at random—Otoya’s, if I glimpse the label I thought I did. Not like I suspected him of being the young master, anyway. Between searching his room myself, and just...

“.........”

Moving on.

Mahavir warily approaches the remaining spread, his hand hovering towards one file until he’s suddenly on the ground.

“—!”

With a high-pitched scoff, Tsunyasha drops a file on him that may or may not have been the one he was going for. Itsurou’s, I think.

“...Thank you.”

She doesn’t respond, instead turning to us stragglers.

“Come now, don’t keep me waiting.”

“Though infinite I may be, you lot are far from it.”

Yeah, I don’t think I’m about to wither up and die from standing around for another few minutes.

Aidan or Mahavir, though... Little harder to say.

I glance at the former to make sure he didn’t change his mind and go ahead, but he seems content to watch for the time being. Nothing in his gaze clearly indicates which folder he’s wondering about, either. Guess I’d better just go for it.

Okay. There’s no point taking a folder I’ve already read. That already narrows it down to Kokoro, Mahavir, Mary Jane, Tamiko, Tsunyasha, and Yuki. There’s no “Tsunyasha” file here—if I haven’t already, in fact, read hers—so that’s out. Mahavir and Yuki are near the bottom of my list of young master suspects, so I’ll take those out from the running, too.

Kokoro, Mary Jane, Tamiko.

These are, by all appearances, the files Apex Academy managed to put together of our lives before here, so I can’t expect to get any useful information they wouldn’t have. I think I’ve got a clear enough picture of Tamiko’s background as is.

Kokoro, Mary Jane.

“.............”

...Okay, I can’t bring myself to single out Mary Jane. She’s... I keep trying to say I can’t judge her capacity for organized evil by her general demeanor, but I just can’t make it work in my head. At all. If I’m somehow absolutely dead wrong, we’ll just have to figure that out in trial.

I’d rather not suspect Kokoro, either, but at least I know she had some brains.

Not to mention her file was next on the list when I left off, anyway. Feels like the right way to go.

I take the file and skim to make sure it’s as intact as I could hope for. Multiple papers, don’t seem to be about a different student. Checks out, then.

I side-eye Aidan, who doesn’t make his own choice immediately, but I don’t know if I should chalk that up to his file of interest being taken, his general fatigue, or Tsunyasha immediately playing a very mature game of keep-away with him. At least she deigns to hand over Ichiriki’s file before too long.

“Interesting... But very well.”

“Consider your fates sealed.”

She hurls the remaining files back into the abyss. 

“Ah—”

“...Should’ve seen that coming.”

Sure hope I picked the right file. If you can even say there is a right one. Could be that none of these have any clues about the young master’s identity, given their original purpose.

But I’ll check this out.

Just as I’m opening up the folder properly, a buzz interrupts.

“Attention, everyone! Um… I think you’ve had plenty of time now, so…! Please go to the elevator immediately! I-it’s getting kind of lonely in here…!”

...I’ll check this out quickly.

“Why do we need to go to the elevator when we’re already on the trial floor?”

“It’s OBVIOUSLY just a RECORDING!”

“But we do... need to follow its directions... to avoid punishment, yes?”

“I need to do no such thing, but perhaps it’s best for you worms to crawl along just so.”

“Totally not crawling, but, like, the elevator’s not far. 's just go for it?”

“The trial room’s between here and there, anyway. If Monochaperone wants to stop us early, he’ll get his chance.”

As for my chance, I stick with the group and read while I walk. Good thing we’re past the gaping chasm in the floor.

Nothing on the demographics writeup jumps out at me. Then...

“Title Considerations?”

Apparently there was some disagreement on what her official title should be. “Nurse” was apparently too broad, whereas “Pharmacologist” was too narrow.

Quite a jump there, isn’t it? All medical, sure, but...

“ ‘While wordier, “Care Facility Nurse” best encompasses the student’s abilities while leaving certain titles open, lest another student prove to better fit them with multiple qualifying factors’.” 

Sure, that was a clear explanation for outsiders. Granted, a folder in the secretary’s office probably isn’t meant for them, but. Still inconvenient.

I leaf through for better hints and find a very scientific-looking article on a specific substance’s various chemical properties. I’m sure I could parse more of it on a better day, but right now I’m just chalking it up as “science thing” and moving on.

Finally I get to a normal article aimed at normal people. Not that it leaves out all the jargon.

“Development of a volatile anesthetic that can safely and quickly subdue agitated patients.” A common enough issue with Alzheimer’s, isn’t it? And it’s been a while since it was smiled upon to just chloroform your patients.

“So that’s Kokoro’s big achievement, huh?” I can see how that wouldn’t be expected of any other high school student.

There are some documents on her junior volunteer work at the care facility, but nothing suspicious. I shut the file with a quiet clap.

Overall, nothing makes me think she’d want to make her classmates kill each other. Can’t say I’ve found reason to think that of anyone, really.

It was never going to be that easy. I’ll just have to work with whatever angles we do have.

KOTODAMA GET

Kokoro’s File: Kokoro was invited to Apex Academy for her nursing abilities as well as her development of a safe compound for subduing combative patients.

[BACK] [NEXT]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#19)

I don’t know where I expect to find him or if I should even move around to find him, but here I go, anyway.

“Monochap!!”

I turn the corner to the main hall before I find him.

“O-oh, Kakumi!”

“Were you calling for me...?”

I keep charging towards him.

“U-uwah?!”

“I need answers, and you're going to give them. Your ability to carry out your precious game hinges on it. Got it?”

“......”

“I don’t understand...”

“You will.”

“Um... Okay...?”

At some point the cafeteria doors must have opened again, because Aidan and Ichiriki have joined us at a distance. Neither has said anything, somehow. Maybe they can button it long enough for me to get this done.

“So. Let’s start with this: the bodies of the killers and victims were kept alive long enough for the fourth motive. All of them. Right?”

Monochap straightens up, like he hadn’t been expecting something he could actually answer.

“Oh, um! That’s correct, yes!”

“But you only gave that motive one chance, so when Aidan was selected, there was no need to keep the others alive.”

“I-I guess so?”

There’s enough murmuring going on to distract me now, but only for a second. Kanagi and Tsunyasha have stopped at the far side of the main hall, just past the dried paint splashes. I don’t quite make eye contact with them before locking onto Monochap again.

“Next point. Where were they being kept?”

“U-um... Where we needed them to be?”

“Be more specific.” 

“It’s somewhere on campus, right? No need to take unnecessary risks moving bodies around, and you can sure keep the electricity on here. Guessing your miracle machinery needs a lot of juice.”

“Probably, mm-hmm...”

Well. I can’t expect him to know all the technical details. Why program your robot with any knowledge it doesn’t need for its task?

“Were they in Lab Room B? That’s the only reason it would still be blocked off—that room specifically, for the entire time we’ve been here.”

“.........”

Fine, be that way. Guess I don’t need that specific an answer, anyway. 

“Let’s move on, then.”

Someone else peeks in through the dormitory doors but remains silent. I don’t look long enough to determine who it is. All eyes on Monochap.

“You’re not permitted to hurt anyone who hasn’t broken the rules—which the victims wouldn’t have broken just by dying. So if they were taken off their ‘life support,’ it had to have been the young master’s doing. Because you can’t break that rule.”

“U-um, I guess that would be right...”

“So then.”

“When the fourth motive was no longer in place, the young master ended the lives of some of their fellow students on the Apex Academy campus.”

“Isn’t that grounds for a class trial?”

The words hang in the air. I hear fabric shift somewhere, but I’m still tunnel-visioned on Monochap.

This is it. The logical conclusion. Maybe there are holes in my argument somewhere. A loose link, some loophole—but that doesn’t matter if we can settle this before someone points it out.

So what will Monochap do? If he’s programmed above all else to follow the rules of the game, he has no choice but to cooperate.

“E-eh?!”

“Could that really...”

“WHY are we all CLUSTERED here like GAPING PEONS?”

“Dude, you were here first.”

Monochap’s nervous shifting from foot to foot sends metal rattling.

“But, but...!”

“The investigation is supposed to start when a dead body has been discovered...”

Ah. I really should’ve reread the exact rules before starting this. “But...”

“But a dead body has been discovered!”

I blink and back up as Aidan approaches.

“Eh?! When?”

“Not long after their deaths.”

“It wasn’t for an excessive span of time, but I regained consciousness earlier than anticipated—isn’t that right?”

“A-are you sure?”

“Yes. The others hadn’t been removed yet—but they had already been killed a second time. Naturally, it would've been an immense waste of resources to keep them alive any longer than necessary.”

“......”

I don’t know if Aidan actually remembers this, or if he’s just making stuff up that no one can prove. I'm not turning down the help either way.

“Dude, you’re telling me we coulda had a trial, like... forever ago?”

Kanagi charges forward, and I’m tempted to stick a foot out in case she lunges at him. Wouldn’t end well for whatever ankle I hit, though.

“But, um...! You don’t really know if—!”

“Wasn’t all that, like, super forever ago? So we totally shoulda been hunting down the master-dude before Yuki ever pulled her crap?”

She hasn’t thrown any punches, but she leans in close to Monochap’s face.

“You owe us bad. You owe us this thing, and you—”

“You owe us Kaich back. Give ‘im.”

“A-ah, but, but! Kaichi was never put on the machine!”

“Especially by now, he’s, um, not really...”

Before Kanagi can think too hard about where that sentence is going, I attempt to step between them.

“Then you definitely owe us this investigation and trial.”

“It’s time to put an end to this.”

[BACK] [NEXT]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#29)

I don’t know how much time is left before the actual trial, but it can’t possibly be long enough to recover.

“........”

Did anyone ask to be let in this place? Was it just a ploy to shake us up right before the big showdown? Successful if so.

But I can’t afford to let it get the better of me.

Deep breaths aren’t doing much, so I might as well start gathering the others. Be productive, or something. At this point I don’t think I’ll cut off any useful investigations. If anything, I’ll be keeping people away from places they really don’t need to be.

Pink hair’s easiest to spot, so I flag down Kanagi first. She’s over by a broken defendant stand. I think it was already like that when we got here, but there are worse targets if she needed to blow off steam.

“Hey. About ready for the main event?”

“You’d know better than me, dude.”

“ ‘Less you just mean the, like, getting the bad dude part.”

“ ‘Cuz I am so ready for that.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

Next is the only one left who’s too tall for his own good. Makes it easy to see his head over the rice cooker.

“Yo, Ich! You ready to go?”

“FINALLY!”

“Did that STUPID robot call it TIME?”

“Because I didn’t even HEAR it! Ridiculous!”

I could correct him. But, like most conversation with Ichiriki, it just isn’t worth the effort.

“Let’s keep going.”

Aidan’s the shortest of all of us at the moment, but certainly not the quietest. I track him down on the other side of some scorched-looking bleachers.

“...so I believe—”

“Ah! Miss Kogamino!”

“And what are WE, chopped LIVER?”

“Or just slightly behind Miss Kogamino?”

He turns back to me.

“Something to report?”

I shake my head.

“Just feels like things are wrapping up.”

“It’s not exactly possible to search every crevice of this area for clues, is it? Not without a significant time extension and, er...”

“...a significant difference in manpower.”

His gaze flits over to who I realize he must have been talking to before. I don’t know why I expected him to be loudmouthing all to himself.

“.........”

Though I guess he might as well be.

“Iggy? You, like, gonna make it to the trial thing?”

“......”

“You SAY that like he has some kind of CHOICE.”

“Even so, a chance to rest properly before the trial would be ideal. Unfortunately I can’t imagine Mister Monochaperone giving the go-ahead on that one.”

“He’d need more than a half-hour nap, anyway.”

“And you?”

He blinks.

“I suppose we run into the same issue there, yes.”

“Yyyyeah, I’m totally not in the mood for napping, thanks. Iggy? Dude? You want me to carry you ‘r what?”

That at least gets him to stir.

“...I...”

He shakes his head.

“You’re gonna have to, like, get it in gear, then. Sucks but welcome to showbiz 'r whatever.”

“We still need to gather Miss Tsunyasha, I take it?”

Mahavir manages to wince.

“Or hope she comes to us.” Like some kind of stray cat...

“GREAT, we have to HUNT DOWN that AGGRAVATING spectre of a girl? She does NOTHING but HIDE!”

“ ‘r maybe you’re just, like, bad at noticing her?”

Ichiriki scoffs.

“Iunno, last time I saw her, she was, like, by the green room?”

“Green room?” Isn’t this whole place kind of a green room? But I can’t put aside the possibility there’s a more literal one among the backdrops somewhere.

“I don’t recall seeing any green rooms.”

“Uhh, ‘s totally obvious, though? Like, where the green things live?”

“The...” Living green things? F-frogs? Parrots??

“Dude! The place where MJ frickin’ died!”

“The......”

Oh.

“That’s a greenHOUSE, you MORON!”

“That’s, like, totally what I said!”

“It’s not.”

“But we’re about to have enough arguments here in a minute. Can we not right now? Let’s just head that way.”

Not without further objection from Ichiriki, we approach the charred remains of the greenhouse. But Tsunyasha isn’t conveniently sitting there in the ashes soliloquizing at a fern.

“We certainly could have missed her. About... how long ago did you see her, Miss Yuukei?”

“My dude, if there’s a clock in this place, I super never saw it.”

“Fair enough.”

“UGH! If we don’t have a PLAN, why can’t we just WAIT until she HAS to come?”

“Perhaps not the... least sound strategy... all things considered.”

“..........”

I guess getting what little rest we can is the best we can hope for.

Well, most of us getting rest. And Tsunyasha... wandering off somewhere in the ventilation system, probably.

Just as the persistent smell of ash threatens to push me elsewhere, I hear a chortle from behind.

“My, what a fruitless investigation you whelps seem to have had.”

“—!”

I whip around in time to see Tsunyasha flipping herself over the edge of the cliff—towards us, not down. In the hand not touching the ground are several mostly-aligned file folders.

Did she actually...?

“Surely it’s a bit difficult to judge just by giving us a once-over...”

“...but I take it you’ve been more successful, in your opinion?”

She harrumphs. “Opinion. As though the thoughts of the holy assassin herself could possibly be wrong.”

“But yes, I should think I’ve far more to show for it.”

“Well, WHOOP-DE-DOO! If you didn’t figure out the KILLER with it, then I DON’T care!”

“I do! Can I just...”

I manage to interpose myself between the two least agreeable members of the party, but Tsunyasha is swift to keep the folders out of my reach. Stupid taller people.

“Ah, ah, ah~!” she tuts.

“Okay, dude, are you, like, sharing or not?”

“I’ll ‘share’ in whatever way I very well please, fool.”

“And, despite your lot’s insufferable disposition...”

“...I suppose I simply feel merciful today.”

She holds up the handful of folders, unevenly fanned out like a poorly shuffled selection of playing cards.

“You may each select one.”

[BACK] [NEXT]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#28a)

Tsunyasha gallivants around the execution chamber like it’s no more intimidating than a bookstore. Guess that should track for an assassin. Still makes me wonder exactly how in touch she is with what’s going on in the real world. Sources say, not a whole lot.

...But she’s noticed me staring at her, hasn’t she.

“Oh? Has another worm been overwhelmed by my holy presence?”

Not quite the words I’d use to describe her presence, but. “Sure.”

“Found anything interesting so far?” 

“Well, you lot certainly don’t qualify.”

“I suppose the demonic catacombs were of some interest... But only fleetingly.”

“The...”

Now calculating statistical likelihood of this being A. completely made up, B. referencing something mundane and useless, or C. an actual clue. Maybe D. all of the above, somehow. I’m sure she could manage it.

“You don’t mean this chamber, do you?” Catacombs, dead things. Close enough.

“Hardly, though it’s likely connected.”

“I refer, of course, to the catacombs used by the demon itself.”

“Thus, ‘demonic catacombs.’ I had hoped it wouldn’t be so difficult to understand... But you are just a foolish whelp, after all.”

Ignoring the last part, as usual.

“Used by Monochap?”

Not a lot of things in this place Monochap doesn’t use, but...

“You mean those tunnels?”

“Of course I do.”

“You were able to get inside?”

“Through the trapdoor to the master’s office, yes. Quite simple for an assassin of my calibre.”

“In the... headmaster’s office?” I didn’t notice any trapdoor, but I guess that’s half the point of them.

And if I’m right about her talent, she’d be much more knowledgeable than I am.

“Have you nothing better to do than echo me?”

Have you nothing better to do than use phrases that need constant clarification?

“You’re right, there’s plenty to investigate here. Thanks.”

I swear I see the flash of a knife, but it’s gone before I can even figure out where.

“You’d do well to show your gratitude with a bit of conviction, whelp.”

“Sure, once I don’t have anything better to do.”

Let’s get out of here before this becomes another completely senseless war of words.

KOTODAMA GET

Headmaster’s Trapdoor: Tsunyasha discovered a trapdoor in the headmaster’s office that reportedly leads to the tunnels Monochap frequents.

[BACK]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#28b)

Discarded in random piles like this, it’s obvious most of these are two-dimensional cutouts, but I’m sure at the right angle they make convincing backgrounds. A saloon, glass panels, airplane seats, a giant target...

“..........”

So all this really tells us is the young master had resources. We knew that much already. 

I could strongarm it into a connection to theatre specifically, but then what about all the high-tech stuff? None of us meet the qualifications to be knee-deep in everything involved here. I shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions from any one aspect of it.

Just keep it in mind, I guess.

Better than keeping anything else about these in mind.

[BACK]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#28e)

There’s something like a massive garage door on the far side of the cavern, but it’s visibly and palpably locked up tight. No obvious emergency release buttons, either.

“Same pattern as the main entrance locks.”

Still no hints about the code to enter, though. Can’t say I’ve found anything promising elsewhere, either.

“....”

But it shouldn’t matter now, right? We’ll be cornering the young master soon. Whether they want to part with the code or not, they will.

Just have to find them first.

[BACK]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#28f)

The landscaping features a sizeable crevasse that isn’t hard to place.

Needless to say, it’s not exactly safe to hang around. Did the academy have this fenced off, or is it a new addition? The edges seem pretty sharp still. I’m sure the young master could swing for a few explosives, too.

“Maybe some are still lying around?” Not that I’d want to blast out of here before sussing out the mastermind, but it’s always nice to have options. Haven’t gotten too many of those lately.

I lower myself to look more cautiously over the edge.

Some rubble down there, along with an odd pale pile of something else.

“That...”

Not explosives—I hope?—but...

“Actually, as long as you can access the room it’s in, it could be anywhere!”

“Did... Did he literally just throw the files off a cliff??”

“Files, Miss Kogamino?”

I turn to see Mahavir wheeling Aidan this way. They come to a stop a bit farther back.

“The student files from the secretary’s office, I assume. Those went missing, and these at least look like them.”

“I see.”

“Rather, not literally, but...”

He reaches down to nudge his chair forward, just a touch.

Something cracks.

“—!”

I can just hear a pebble skittering away before Mahavir lunges, yanking Aidan’s chair back with an arm forming a makeshift seat belt. Aidan’s immediate response is a squawk that would put a very loud dying robotic macaw to shame. Mahavir flinches and pulls back. They’re at a pretty healthy distance from the edge now.

“Ah, I—Apologies—”

Aidan wheezes.

“No it’s fine I appreciate it I’m going to be over here for a minute thank you okay.”

He wheels himself aside and sits very stiffly in place. Mahavir manages to shrink back further.

“.....”

“Better than anyone else falling off a cliff.” Even if I can’t say nobody got hurt.

“There’s got to be some safe way to get down there, though.”

But to do it before Monochap decides to cut us off... Mm.

I’ll have to think this through. Best not to linger and draw attention to the spot while I’m working on it.

The immediate aftermath of the attack on Aidan is probably a good excuse to move on, too. Sorry, guys.

[BACK]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#28g)

Some of these props definitely haven’t been used in the executions so far, at least not that I can remember.

And they’re pretty hard to forget.

The “new” pieces I don’t recognize are a little dusty. Not all to the same degree, though I’m not sure what to make of that. Can at least say Monochap doesn’t waste his time cleaning this stuff. No reason to come in here if there’s no one to kill.

But there’s plenty to clean—a racecar, a gigantic backpack, beds, glasses, volleyballs...

I come to a stop, my reflection dim in the glass window. Nothing else inside but dark dyed liquid.

Assuming no one here was secretly a huge fan of discount fortune-telling, this execution would have to be...

“........”

Would I be forced and sealed inside while conscious? Or come to and start drowning before I can even place myself? What would the young master leave outside the glass, to taunt me with as I die? A picture of them?

“...............”

It doesn’t matter. I didn’t kill. This never happened. Never will.

Unless that’s what awaits us if we fail this trial.

But we won’t.

We won’t.

KOTODAMA GET

Execution Props: Props that haven’t been used in the killing game executions have gathered dust. For some reason a gurney and a large slab of concrete are slightly less dusty.

[BACK]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#17)

“.......”

“...”

“........”

It is... definitely too late to hide anyone from anyone here. This is happening. Now. Apparently.

I gingerly grip Mahavir’s shoulder. Feels like I’m taking sides I shouldn’t, but it’s not like Tsunyasha would let me do this. And she’s at less risk of falling over or fainting.

...Probably.

“E... Excuse me.”

He attempts to shuffle forward, but there’s still a whole room between him and the Nurse’s Office.

“Are you addressing me, whelp?”

“......”

I take a deep breath.

“He just needs to get to the Nurse’s Office. Did you have business there?”

“I need no business to go where I please.”

“Okay, then were you just going there?”

“Perhaps I shall. Would that suffice to drive you fools away?”

“.......”

I see his lips move, but whatever he says is beyond hearing.

“Mahavir?”

“.........”

Though he still has to move his head slowly, he looks up at her more properly. The hand that isn’t propping him against the wall clenches.

“...Will you?”

“...”

What, go to the Nurse’s Office?

“Will you... excuse me?”

“Will you ever...”

He doesn’t manage to finish, but he’s said enough.

Can he ever be excused for what he did? Not just in general, but by the very person he hurt? The only one who can really absolve him, whatever the rest of us may try to say.

“......”

She takes a slow step forward and stops there.

“Hmph. You think I would pardon a foolish whelp of anything?”

“I am she who passes holy judgment, sinner. None of you will be excused by my hand, except perhaps from this world.”

It’s all such standard Tsunyasha-speak. Does it even matter that Mahavir’s the one asking? Does she not want to think about what happened—what happened right here, in fact—or is it so aggressively blocked out that she doesn’t even know it happened?

But for a second, I know I saw...

...distress. And though she and Mahavir didn’t get along before this, she’s never had quite that reaction.

So...

Is this how she really feels?

“Well? Do you wish to grovel, worm? It may not change your fate, but it would be amusing.”

“.......”

I sure hope it’s intentional when he falls to his knees.

“Ah—”

I lose my grip on his shoulder, but maybe it’s for the best. This is between him and Tsunyasha, even if she acts completely unaffected. Should I be here at all?

Well. I shouldn’t be leaving my probably-not-concussed burn victim patient unattended, anyway, so not worth debating the ethics on that.

I avert my gaze, at least, but it’s still easy enough to picture their faces. Especially with Mahavir’s voice more gravelly by the minute.

“I have wronged you... terribly. If I truly cannot be forgiven, then... I... understand.”

“......”

He pauses, probably to un-grit his teeth.

“Likewise, if there is no way to atone... I understand.”

“But if there is anything... anything... that I could do to make things right... even the smallest bit...”

“Please...”

I dare a look at Tsunyasha.

“...”

“Hardly.”

“—!”

“Amusing though your pathetic display may be, you mortals can never hope to redeem yourselves from your fates.”

“I am not talking about some ambiguous ‘mortals’! I am talking about myself, and what I personally... am responsible for...!”

“...” 

I can’t tell if she’s thinking or waiting.

“About... what I did to you... right here. How I... hurt you...!”

“Silence.”

“...!”

“Men like you shall NOT tell me what did and did not happen.”

“As if you could lay a single hand on the Holy Assassin! Foolishness!”

She takes a silent step sideways, opposite the wall Mahavir slumps against.

“Perhaps you ought to stay on your knees for the rest of your short life. A posture befitting such an insignificant worm.”

She strides past us without another hitch.

...”Men,” huh? Was that just a synonym for “mortal,” or...

“.......” I’m overthinking this.

I finally turn to look at Mahavir instead. He isn’t in tears, but he did sound like it. Suppressed coughing, maybe.

“...........”

“...”

I give him a minute, but he can only calm down so much.

“...Mahavir.”

“.......”

“Are you able to get up? I still need to get you to the Nurse’s Office.”

“...........”

He can’t actually intend to stay there until Tsunyasha tells him otherwise, can he? That wasn’t a real olive branch she gave him, it was just...

I don’t know, exactly. It’s not like I’m in her head. I’m just suddenly afraid I might understand some part of her better than I thought. But I could be dead wrong. 

I sure hope so.

Mahavir stays silent long enough I crouch down to make sure he’s still with us. It takes a while, and a lot of pulling on my part, but I manage to coax him back to his feet. He still doesn’t say a word.

No one...

No one is happy with this. Not me, not him, and I know Tsunyasha can’t be, either. Not in any meaningful way, at least.

“...Mahavir.”

I speak as I slowly guide him forward. His footfalls are dull, ominous thuds.

“She’s not ready yet. That’s all.”

“...........”

“She may not be able to process what happened.”

“I don’t know how long it will take.” Don’t know if it will ever happen, but that’s not a helpful point right now.

“But... she might have a better answer for you someday. A real one.”

“No point trying to force it before then.”

I open the door, the faint lemon-cleaner-and-antiseptic smell wafting out.

“Let’s just make sure you can both make it to that point, okay?”

“..............”

He doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t fight me as I lower him onto a cot.

Guess he needs time to process, too.

...Don’t we all.

[BACK] [NEXT]

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#27a)

Right, part of Kanagi and Tsunyasha’s assignment was on this floor, wasn’t it? Unsurprising they beat the rest of us here.

...By a lot, apparently.

“ ‘Sup.”

“Doing my best. How’s your investigation been?”

“I don’t even know, dude. I’m just, like, going where they tell me to ‘til it’s time to start wailin’ on somebody.”

“I wouldn’t start wailing on anybody as long as Monochap’s still around.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“But, like, is he really gonna execute the masterdude if we figure this out or whatever? ‘Cuz they’re totally on the same team, right?”

“Definitely the same team, yeah.”

“Though he’s still allowing us to investigate all this. Which must mean the young master's fine with it... Seems weird.”

“Like, does it?”

“Yes? People would rather get away with their crimes than let someone catch them, right?”

“Uhhhh, haven’t done enough crimes on purpose to know. But sure?”

“But, like, Monochap’s been saying the whole time this is s’posed to be a game. And it’s not really a game if you just change the rules whenever.”

“Like, refs usually suck but they still kinda hafta be there, y’know?”

“I guess...” Don’t really play enough sports requiring referees. But if you just switched around what pool ruleset you’re using all the time... Yeah, she has a point.

“So the game is more important to the mastermind than getting away with murder? Wonder if that should tell us something about them.”

“Like, they’re totally weird?”

“You’re not wrong.”

Someone more interested in the game, huh... I mean, out of those of us remaining, I guess the most game-oriented would be me, Kanagi, and Aidan. But I can’t see it being any of those options, some for more obvious reasons than others.

Or if you consider it more about rules than games, Aidan or Mahavir... Maybe Tsunyasha if you count her weird act? Same with Ichiriki?

I don’t know. Just another little piece to keep in mind. I’m sure something will come together eventually.

Just gotta keep finding pieces.

[BACK]