Almost everyone was having lunch in the cafeteria. The mood was quite relaxed, as days had gone by now without anything happening.

“I never knew toast could go so well with noodles!” Althea exclaimed, hungrily devouring an abomination of a sandwich.

“Toast is a most versatile dish! Many underestimate it until they try some of mine,” Kyoya said proudly. He was apparently eating a meal too, judging by the sounds that could be heard coming from the speakers on his car.

Time passed pleasantly for a short while, before Evelyn came running into the room, a little breathless. “I have discovered something!” she announced, leaning over as she tried to catch her breath. “In the morgue!”

No-one bothered questioning why the Coroner had been in there. Quickly finishing the last of their meals, they followed after her as she led them to the staff-only area. Inside, they were met with a rather solemn sight.

“That’s…” Nana began, before trailing off.

“Vic’s corpse, yes,” Evelyn confirmed, standing next to the open door of one of the cold chambers. “Well preserved, too. This place is the real deal.” She sounded a bit too enthusiastic about that.

“Eve must have brought him here,” Nick said, more subdued than usual. “But what about…?”

“It looks like Eve cremated Siri,” Evelyn explained, indicating a jar on the other side of the room. “Her corpse was in no condition to carry back or preserve, after all.”

“Right. Right, of course…” Nick looked aside uncomfortably. It seemed as though he was about to say something, but he was cut off as a warning siren suddenly blared out. “Oh! I didn’t realise it was that time already. Everyone out!” he commanded, gesturing emphatically towards the door. “That alarm means the decontamination procedures are about to go off. It’s nothing dangerous, but you wouldn’t want to be caught up in it.”

The students all quickly filed out, and Nick shut the door on Vic’s cold chamber before leaving too. Nicos, however, stubbornly stayed behind, drawing his sword dramatically. “I won’t be defeated by some ‘procedure’!” he declared, posing in what he hoped was a noble manner. “What kind of man would I be if I ran here?”

Before anyone could retort, those nearest the door stumbled back as clouds of gas suddenly sprayed out, quickly filling the room inside. They heard coughing from Nicos, followed shortly by a thud as he collapsed. Nick held out an arm as a few students made to rush inside. “Wait for the gas to subside, or you’ll just end up the same as him,” he said, sighing. He didn’t seem too concerned.

A few minutes later the gas dissipated, revealing Nicos lying on the ground. He was still conscious, though he looked quite out of it. Everyone hurried over and tried to help him up, but he seemed too weak to support himself. “The effects will clear up in around… 15 minutes or so, I’d say,” Nick explained, pushing up his glasses. “It’s an automated procedure, designed to keep this place sterile. Every hour, at half past the hour, the morgue is filled with decontamination gas. Effective against anything biological, but it won’t cause any long-term damage, no need to worry.”

“Last one… standing… is the victor. I win…!” Nicos mumbled helplessly, as a few of the students worked together to carry him out, heading for the medical room.

“Still, that seems rather inconvenient,” Evelyn said, frowning. “Sometimes I like to work for hours at a time in my morgue back home…”

“Yes, that is unfortunate,” Nick nodded. “Actually, Alabaster staff can manually override the controls to skip decontaminations if they’re working on something important in there, but… well, only I have permission to do that. And I imagine Adam is no longer able to grant anyone else permissions, if Eve has as much control over the systems here as she seems to.”

“A shame…” Evelyn agreed, following along as everyone else left the area as well. “But on the bright side, I now have a corpse to perform autopsies on! The cause of death is clear, but with the proper tools there are all manner of interesting things I can find out! Just what I had been hoping for.”

Everyone was sleeping peacefully in their rooms. Well, almost everyone. The Ultimates were all collectively woken as a shrill scream rang out through the corridors, and they quickly rushed out to find the source of the disturbance in the recreation room.

Almost as though refusing to look at the sight, everyone’s eyes quickly darted to everything else first. Large, brash letters painted in red on the wall; Hoshiko, standing trembling nearby as she stared in horror; two arms suspended by ropes as though the body was crucified; and finally… Vic. As horrible as the scene was, everyone was collectively relieved to find that the corpse was only that of Vic, and not a new victim.

Now able to take in the scene more calmly, the Ultimates were struck anew by how strangely barbaric it was. Vic had been suspended with ropes by his arms, hanging him against the rear wall. A short, yet succinct, message was painted in red above him: “You’re next.” The question as to who this might be referring to was quickly answered, as the Ultimates noticed a single rose had been pushed through the wound in Vic’s chest, as though he’d been impaled by the flower’s stem.

Rose wrapped her arms around herself, shaking as she realised the messenger’s intent. “M-me? They’re after… me?” Nana ran over to hug her reassuringly, but despite relaxing a little she was still clearly terrified.

“It’s a prank. It must be,” Nick said, hoping to calm her down. “Not that I want to delve into the mind of a murderer, but, an advance warning can only have the opposite effect. We’ll all be on high alert now.”

“You’d better be! My life is in danger!” Rose shrieked, becoming angry in her agitation. “If any of you let me die now, it’ll be your fault! You hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” Nick replied, smiling gently before turning to Vic’s body. “Still, this is a terrible thing to do to a body… Utterly disrespectful. Actually, I was thinking about this yesterday, but, we should hold a funeral for the poor man. And Siri too, of course. They deserve proper burials… or at least as proper as we can give them here.”

He turned to face everyone again, addressing the group with practiced ease. “I propose we hold a funeral tomorrow. We can discuss the details after we’ve all had a good night’s rest, we all certainly need it after this. How does meeting in the gym to plan the details at 12:30 sound?”

“Hey! Before that… look, just, all the boys here, meet me in the first classroom beforehand, okay?” Rose pleaded. “10 o’clock, sharp. Someone might be out to kill me! I’m going to need bodyguards.”

Even if they didn’t like it, it was clear that there wasn’t much else they could do, so all the boys and Nick nodded. With that everything seemed to be sorted, so most of the group went back to their rooms to try and sleep. Nick stayed behind to take Vic’s body down and bring it back to the morgue for preservation, waving off any offers to help due to feeling responsible about everything that had happened.

“Looks like everyone is here. Excellent!” Nick said, standing on the stage in the gym. “I took the time beforehand to plan out how the event will go: we’re doing this properly, after all. It’s the least they deserve.”

He quickly went over how the funeral would work. It would start at 15:00 in the gym, though everyone should arrive 10 minutes early. Nick would bring the body and the urn; there were no coffins, so Vic’s body would be wrapped up in layers of cloth instead. He planned to go fetch the body at around 14:30 to give himself some time to prepare it. After a service in the gym, where everyone could pay their respects to the victims, there would be a procession as they were carried into the garden, to be buried in pre-dug graves.

“Would you like some assistance with Vic’s corpse?” Evelyn asked.

“Thank you for offering, but that won’t be necessary,” Nick said, smiling. “There’s more to my talent than meets the eye, you know, though I suppose after Vic it won’t seem so unusual. Ever since I was young, I had the ability to emulate the talents and skills of others around me; it’s how I became a teacher, as I am able to gain a decent understanding of any talents my students may possess that they want to hone. I… tried to make use of Siri’s after she died, to say the right thing, though I’m not sure I succeeded. There’s nothing quite like the original talent of the one who owns it, after all…

“Anyway, enough about that. In summary, I have a reasonable understanding of your talent, Evelyn. I will be fine handling the body. There are other roles we should organise now.”

“Yes, well, obviously you can leave decorating to me!” Rose said. She seemed a lot calmer now than she had last night, possibly reassured that people were willing to protect her. “I have an eye for that sort of thing, and anyone else would only get it wrong anyway.”

“Oooh, let me help, Miss Rose!” Nana cried, sticking her hand up as though in class. “I might not have your eye, but I have my own eyes!”

“Girl, I’d expect nothing less!” Rose replied, smiling. “We’ll need a few more to help do the grunt work though… Taylor, Honda, you’re up.” She glanced over at the two, who nodded.

“I guess there will be refreshments?” Hoshiko asked. She looked tired as usual, but last night’s shock seemed to have given her a temporary buzz that was keeping her awake now. “I do most of the cooking back home, so I’ll gladly make snacks!”

“Seconded! Sis is a great cook!” Nana added proudly.

“Um… I suppose I can help out with that?” Althea said, sounding uncertain even as she suggested it.

“Yeah, me too,” Nina spoke up, causing a few heads to turn to her in surprise. “What? I did kitchen work back in jail. Probably better than whatever other job you’d land me with.”

“I… suppose that’s sorted, then,” Nick nodded hesitantly. “Next, we’ll need flowers. Flowers for decorating the gym, and also for leaving by the grave afterwards. We can pick them from the garden. And while you’re at it, you can dig the two graves. Let’s see… Marshall, you’re well-suited to digging. And then… Evelyn, Skylar, you can be on flower duty.”

“I can help bring chairs for everyone to sit on,” Annabella suddenly announced. “If I leave it to anyone else, they probably won’t bring enough. Quite a few of my dolls will want to attend.”

“Right, of course, we’ll need furniture,” Nick agreed, glancing around at the remaining students. “Eli, Nicos, you can help bring chairs as well, and bring a few tables for the food too while you’re at it. That should be everything! Is everyone happy with their tasks?”

“Hey, if Kyoya’s allowed to slack off, can’t I?” Nina complained.

“Ah, yes…” Nick seemed to have forgotten about the Ultimate Toaster, whose presence in the room he’d overlooked when looking for manpower. “Erm… kitchen duties, I suppose?” he suggested a little helplessly.

“Worry not, for I have my own plans!” Kyoya announced dramatically. “We are at war, and while this funeral is important, it is not the only thing we have to be worrying about right now! Have you already forgotten about the Killer Messenger?”

“So long as everyone sticks together-”

“I will be working behind the scenes to ensure no-one can try any funny business!” Kyoya declared. “Think of me as ‘security detail’!”

“...yes, yes, alright,” Nick conceded. “With that sorted, I think that really is everything this time. Dismissed, everyone! I will continue organising the preparations, so expect me to check in on each of you as you’re working. Don’t think you’ll get a chance to play truant!”

The designated time for the funeral drew close. All of the students were seated in the gym, waiting for Nick to arrive with Vic’s body and Siri’s ashes.

3 o’clock came and went, and still he didn’t arrive. Some started getting restless, and the room was filled with nervous, hushed conversation.

At 10 past, Marshall stood up, a dark expression on his face. “We should go check on him.” The others nodded, glad someone had said it, and stood up as well to head for the morgue, the last place Nick had said he would be.

They went via the garden, but on the way Honda noticed something strange and ran over to the two graves that had been dug on the other side. He stumbled back in surprise with a yell as he looked inside the larger one, and everyone rushed over to see what he’d found. Bizarrely, Vic’s body lay sprawled at the bottom, not even wrapped up in cloth as had been planned. Now even more worried, everyone picked up the pace as they headed for the morgue upstairs.

Once there, Evelyn tried the door, but it seemed to be locked. “Strange, I don’t remember there being a lock on this door…” she muttered.

“Something must be blocking it. Move,” Marshall said grimly, before shoulder-barging it. The door swung open under the mighty impact, and the students could see a large box tumbling away on the other side. Presumably it had been pressed against the door to prevent it from opening.

Everyone poured into the room, which seemed empty at first. Skylar suddenly yelled and pointed at one of the cold chambers, the same Vic’s body had been stored in: there was a single rose slotted through the handle.

Taylor quickly ran up to it and opened the door to the chamber, dreading what he was likely about to see. Inside was a body, but it wasn’t Vic’s. He had a pained expression on his face, and though he seemed uninjured there was little doubt that he was dead, especially given the bottle of poison clenched tightly in one of his cold hands. Nick Anderson, the Ultimate Teacher, was dead.

“Attention! A body has been found! Please head to the morgue to have a look,” Eve announced cheerfully over the speakers, before showing up in-person a few moments later.

“Did you really need the announcement? We’re already all here,” Taylor said, wincing.

“Hey, I wasn’t here yet! Maybe the announcement was for me, did you consider that, jerk?” Eve retorted, before leaning over to have a look inside the cold chamber. The students couldn’t help but notice that she’d changed outfits for some reason, wearing something much too casual and girly for the situation. “Oooh yup, he’s dead alright! You know what that means!”

“Will we get a chance to investigate this time, at least?” Eli asked wearily.

“Sure, sure, go ahead! Let me tell ya, I think you’re going to need it this time!” Eve replied, before heading for the door. “Meet at the deadzone at the end of the classroom corridor in an hour, alright?”

Marshall sighed. He seemed upset, but he addressed the other students firmly. “We should split up, cover more ground quicker. But we’ll stay in groups of at least three, to make sure no-one tries anything funny.”

“I’ll be staying here,” Evelyn spoke up, already sliding the body out and carrying it to an examination table. “I’d hope you could trust me, but I don’t mind if a few people stay with me.”

“Er, I might be able to help examine the body! Maybe,” Althea volunteered. “With a second opinion no-one will need to doubt Evy’s autopsie, right?”

“When you’re done here you guys should search the bedrooms too, as they’re nearby,” Marshall said. “I can help with that, and Nicos too, I want to keep an eye on him,”

“I’ll… search the garden,” Rose volunteered. She looked pale, perhaps shocked that there had been a victim after all, but one that wasn’t her. “I need to clear my head…”

Marshall nodded. “Alright. Search the classrooms while you’re at it, too. Nana, Hoshiko, Eli, Taylor, you join her.”

“That leaves Annabella, Nina, Kyoya, Honda and Skylar to search the other rooms?” Eli listed off. “Sounds good. Let’s do this, then.”

Everyone nodded and headed to their respective destinations. A little less than an hour later, they met up by the deadzone Eve had specified, wondering what was going to happen.

At exactly one hour from when she’d said it, Eve threw open the deadzone doors and gestured inside. “This way, please, ladies and gentlemen! Your specially-curated trial grounds await!”

With a bit of trepidation, the students stepped through and into the surprisingly spacious room beyond. Despite their reservations, they couldn’t help but be taken aback as they took it all in. Gone was the usual Alabaster white, and instead the whole room was set up like some sort of colourful gameshow. A few giant monitors were placed around the walls, displaying random nonsense Eve must have come up with.

In the centre of the room were a circle of 17 pads. Three were currently lit up and projecting a cone of light above them, floating in which were holographic windows displaying grayscale, crossed-through pictures of Siri, Vic and Nick. Presumably the other pads were for the surviving students to stand on, and they slowly made their way over. Once in place, the remaining pads all lit up in the same way, and the students found themselves levitating off of the ground a short distance.

It all felt very excessive, not to mention a waste of what was probably valuable technology. Eve seemed entirely in her element here, perched behind a large stand off to one side of the room and beaming at the state of affairs. “Well, you all know how this goes now! Start with testimonies, just like before. It would be a good idea to take this chance to talk about whatever you found while investigating, too. I don’t have any testimony to give this time, and I’m sure Adam can confirm I was elsewhere the whole while.”

The students all looked at each other slowly, unable to hide their suspicion. Nick seemed to have had some difficulty fitting in with all the teenagers, but there was no doubt he’d always had their best interests in mind. He’d come here hoping to teach them, to make them better people than they were now, but this Killing Game had forever taken away his chance at doing so. And the person who’d played along with the game… was one of us.

Maps:





Evidence Doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Q&A QT: https://www.quicktopic.com/52/H/ZZQ2ktbtepmb

Lifelines
These are special actions you can take to help solve the case. Each lifeline can only be used once throughout the entire game, so use them wisely! Also, lifelines can’t be used to give an answer that would directly identify the culprit, or point too strongly at the culprit.

Hangman’s Gambit: All the characters jointly decide on a question to ask. The answer will be hidden, but each character gets to guess a letter. Two wrong guesses (or multiple, depending on the length of the answer) and the minigame ends. Order can be decided before minigame, but no discussion on which letters to guess can take place.

Rebuttal Showdown/Scrum Debate: Two (or multiple) characters can argue on a point, at the end it’ll be revealed which side was closer to the correct answer.

Climax Reasoning: One character is chosen to put together a numbered list of everything they know about the case (the number of items in the list is determined by the GMs). At the end, they’ll be told how many items were incorrect.

Logic Dive: One player is chosen to answer multiple choice questions about the case privately in a rapid fire manner. It ends when two incorrect answers have been given or the point of discussion for the dive has been resolved.