Danganronpa F6: Beneath the Surface- End

[CaptainPancakes]

"...I grow gravely concerned and what's to come," Ivan said with a glare. "There has been a strange pattern of sorts...following a new area and poem, we come across..."

Clenching his fist in anger and apprehension, he continued.

"...A dead body. Or bodies. I find it likely that we may find more citizens of Rattlewater as we continue. And there may be some in this area that we have not discovered yet..."

"...That's just a guess, of course..In any case, we should wait for Benjamin. I believe he may have realized something, based off his reaction."

[WinterCoat]

"Yeah, yeah... wait for Benjamin to figure somethin' else out..." Brandy said with disinterest.

[JesusMonroe]

Benjamin came back with a disappointed look on his face and a burn on his fingertips. He was holding the poem and held it out for no particular person to take from him.

"I tried to get one of the die again so we could find out Enola's weakness. I had forgotten that I could only take one." He had a sheepish look on his face as he said that. "Somebody else will have to try it."

[SaizotheSixth]

Having decided to join the party for this one, being tired of sitting around and doing nothing, Nail frowned deeply.

"I must agree with Miss Brandy. The fact that Sir Benjamin apparently has this much information and, more apparently, this much freedom to apply his knowledge without anyone being any the wiser does not sit well with me. I make it a point to know everything I can, but even I don't know everything. This makes me feel very uneasy..."

He didn't particularly mind if Ben heard him or not, he simply wanted to put his thoughts out there.

[WinterCoat]

Brandy took the poem back from Benjamin, looking indignant. "Findin' out Enola's weakness won't do us any good when she ain't even shown herself to us yet. Besides, if you read the poems, you'd know that she's obviously got some kinda burnin' hatred for the world and everyone 'round her. If anythin', her weakness is her own hate and passion for madness."

[KamiPanda]

"...I grow gravely concerned and what's to come," Ivan said with a glare. "There has been a strange pattern of sorts...following a new area and poem, we come across..."

Clenching his fist in anger and apprehension, he continued.

"...A dead body. Or bodies. I find it likely that we may find more citizens of Rattlewater as we continue. And there may be some in this area that we have not discovered yet..."

"...That's just a guess, of course..In any case, we should wait for Benjamin. I believe he may have realized something, based off his reaction."

"All the bodies we've found so far were dropped here by me," Seb said, not meeting anyone's gaze. "Including Mr Gardner's, he was another of Bennett's 'targets'. But I didn't know this place even existed until now, so I didn't leave anyone here. And I don't see any other way a body would have ended up in a place like this, it's sealed off other than that strange elevator."

He didn't have much to say about the poem, disdaining the concept as per usual.

[JesusMonroe]

"I must agree with Miss Brandy. The fact that Sir Benjamin apparently has this much information and, more apparently, this much freedom to apply his knowledge without anyone being any the wiser does not sit well with me. I make it a point to know everything I can, but even I don't know everything. This makes me feel very uneasy..."

He didn't particularly mind if Ben heard him or not, he simply wanted to put his thoughts out there.

"The die was information you had access to as well, was it not?"

Brandy took the poem back from Benjamin, looking indignant. "Findin' out Enola's weakness won't do us any good when she ain't even shown herself to us yet. Besides, if you read the poems, you'd know that she's obviously got some kinda burnin' hatred for the world and everyone 'round her. If anythin', her weakness is her own hate and passion for madness."

Benjamin frowned. "We're looking for a missing person. We need to accept that this mission is already a failure now that four people have died on this expedition." His words were completely cold, but said without any animosity. "Enola is still very much tied to all of this, and we still need to find her. That means finding as much as we can, even if the means are unpleasant. Even if we have an idea of what the answer 'might' be."

[SaizotheSixth]

"I must agree with Miss Brandy. The fact that Sir Benjamin apparently has this much information and, more apparently, this much freedom to apply his knowledge without anyone being any the wiser does not sit well with me. I make it a point to know everything I can, but even I don't know everything. This makes me feel very uneasy..."

He didn't particularly mind if Ben heard him or not, he simply wanted to put his thoughts out there.

"The die was information you had access to as well, was it not?"

"You could have also mentioned that you wished to use a die to the party at large instead of simply taking the poem and walking off to lands unknown." Nail raised a brow. "Or is that too complicated for you? I suppose it makes sense; very few of you here seem to even wish to work together, let alone have the skills to pull it off."

[WinterCoat]

"I am... very willin' to admit this whole damn thing is a failure," Brandy said through gritted teeth. "That ain't somethin' I need to be reminded of. I ain't lost sight of our goal, either."

She sighed. "Gimme the die, I'll do it. Though, don't we need one of her possessions? Or am I missin' somethin'?

[JesusMonroe]

"Right then." Benjamin nodded at her almost as if apologizing, but probably not. "And the poem should be good enough for the possession. I tried to carve her other ones out of the walls before but couldn't, and settled with the mayor's weakness."

[WinterCoat]

"Right, the poem," she said, forgetting that her grip on it had gotten tighter. "So, I jus'... roll the die? I don't really remember the rules to this."

[JesusMonroe]

"Just say 'Enola' and then cast the die while holding onto the poem." Benjamin elucidated.

[Cold52]

Matt Groaned.
"Just roll the damn die already, not like the damn die will bite you if you roll them the wrong damn way."

[WinterCoat]

Matt Groaned.
"Just roll the damn die already, not like the damn die will bite you if you roll them the wrong damn way."

"Shut up, you God damn oaf..." Brandy muttered.

"Just say 'Enola' and then cast the die while holding onto the poem." Benjamin elucidated.

"Right. Well, her goes nothin'," she said. She awkwardly held the poem and the die in the same hand, said the name of the girl they had been sent to find, and tossed the die onto the ground. Her eye followed its movements closely, not missing a single bounce.

[Doctor Nanjo]

The poem vanishes to dust.

Brandy reaches down and picks up the die with her now empty hand. It clicks open with strange energy.

Spoiler: Note

Trapped in her own world.

[WinterCoat]

"Trapped in her own world, huh? That only confirms my suspicions," Brandy stated. "That girl is trapped in her own head. A prisoner of her own mind. Are you satisfied, Benjamin?"

[JesusMonroe]

"I've never been 'satisfied'. But regarding the current matter, I believe it's resolved. Thank you for your help, Brandy." Benjamin politely smiled at his fellow invalid.

"I do find the message quite mysterious. I suppose you were right for the most part, but given the presence of magic in this world I can only hope that this message isn't meant to be taken literally. If that's the case, we'll never find her." He seemed to be joking. Probably.

[JesusMonroe]

“Anyway,” Benjamin began, changing the topic, “I think it’s odd that we found this poem at all. The door wasn’t here when we threw the amulet away so we must’ve just missed her. She’s no more than a few steps away... that’s strange to me.” He grumbled uncomfortably. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s even closer than we think, perhaps disguised as one of us. But at least I do in fact know better...” He trailed off awkwardly.

[KamiPanda]

"Maybe... she's the 'Great Witch'?" Seb suggested uncomfortably. "It would explain how we haven't found her: there's nowhere else to hide and there's no way out either."

[Collin1002]

"Maybe... she's the 'Great Witch'?" Seb suggested uncomfortably. "It would explain how we haven't found her: there's nowhere else to hide and there's no way out either."

"That... actually makes quite a bit of sense," Oliver conceded, crossing his arms. "I doubt Belphegor is this 'Great Witch' unless he's actually Enola in a mask and using a voice changer. But that's an absurd notion. And I can't see it being one of us, either... unless I'm wrong, of course."

He shrugged. "But yes, I believe Sebastian has a point. Unless the 'Freat Witch' is someone we've had no prior contact with... I can't see it being anyone else."

[Doctor Nanjo]

Two days pass, the group continues living as they are. Shizune doesn't get any better.

It is approaching midnight on the third day. The "sun" has already set. This time, the street lights haven't come on.

Instead, the light comes from a couple of lamps down the road. They begin to move closer. A bass drum beats in time, over and over again. The light moves closer with each hit.

Then, along time with the beat, voices begin to sing....

Spoiler: The Midnight Harvest Festival

Rolling down the street are several carts covered in multicolored lamps. Each one is laid with freshly-cooked cured meats or other street foods. There also seems to be a multitude of exotic multicolored drinks to choose from. They each begin to station themselves along the street, as if pulled by invisible hands. The music follows them but comes from no discernable source.

Rolling up in front of them on a cart is an array of masks, each one is similar to the one that Belphegor wears around, but some have different quirks. Under each mask is a robe, each one a different color. Underneath are multicolored robes, similar to the one Belphegor wears. Beside them is a note:

"Welcome to the traditional Rattlewater Harvest Festival. IT USED TO BE PERFORMED EVERY SUMMER IN RATTLEWATER A FEW HUNDRED YEARS AGO. THIS TRADITION WAS LOST IN THE GREAT DISAPPEARANCE OF RATTLEWATER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF CULTURE WENT ALONG WITH IT. In order to partake in this celebration, please put on a robe and mask. In a couple hours or so, the main guest will arrive. It is the same guest who graced many of these celebrations in Rattlewater. Please give them a very warm welcome."

After reading the note, two of the carts around them catch the eyes of the group.

1. Fortune Teller: A booth with beads hanging over it and a mysterious aura. Ask a question to the crystal ball about your future and you will be given an answer to the closest level of exactness possible.

2. Medium: A booth with incense burning in it and smoke hanging over it. Ask a question to a dead person of your choosing, and, provided they are truly dead, a response will be sent back through the crystal ball.

[Datamatt]

Daniel seems to, yet again, have just been woken up by the ruckus - his face looking like a rhinoceros, just like the usual. "Rattlewater disappearance? Fortune telling? This shit again? Satan just can't get enough today, can he? No clue what he means by all this shit but we're not gonna be swayed by it, unit."

His gaze wanders over to the meats. "Although , my muscles do need to be kept in form..." Immediately after saying that, Daniel walks over to the meats, taking a fork and knife with a plate, putting a steak on his plate and cutting it up. He begins dropping a few cut up slices into his mouth, clearly enjoying the food, at least.

[WinterCoat]

"I... I ain't wearin' no God damn robe," Brandy said nervously. "But, these carts do got me a lil' curious..."

She walked over to the fortune-telling booth, feeling slightly unsettled by the atmosphere it gave off. She became focused on the crystal ball, having seen a few before this adventure.

"I used to know how to read tarot cards, but I ain't never used one o' these before," she said. "Maybe I'll give this one a shot."

The treasure hunter paused for a moment to conjure a question. Eventually, she managed to come up with something.

"Say, Crystal Ball, will I ever fall for someone again? I'm jus' wonderin'... no spoilers, please! Also, I mean 'fall' as in 'fall in love,' not literally fall n' die, or somethin'."

[KamiPanda]

Seb, clearly freaked out by the disembodied singing and carts, kept well away from the festivities, observing from a distance with narrowed eyes. "This is really all getting to be too much..." he mumbled, taking out his mop as though he could use it as a weapon in case a ghost attacked him.

"Still, what's this 'Great Disappearing of Rattlewater'? You'd have thought that might be more common knowledge here, unless... maybe so much was lost that people weren't even aware that anything was lost in the first place? I don't like the implication that all the weird magic we've been finding here existed in the outside world in the past, though. Even if we've seen this magic for ourselves, somehow it felt like just another facet of these damn caves, not something that really existed in the Rattlewater we lived in..."

[Doctor Nanjo]

The crystal ball glows a cool green. Brandy stands in its glow. It speaks aloud:

"You'll only get to fall in love once more before you die."

Soon, the glow fades.

[CaptainPancakes]

"..."

Ivan walked up to the crystal ball.

"...Who amongst our group is next to die?"

[WinterCoat]

The crystal ball glows a cool green. Brandy stands in its glow. It speaks aloud:

"You'll only get to fall in love once more before you die."

Soon, the glow fades.

A chill ran down Brandy's spine and she could feel all the tiny hairs on her arm and the back of her neck standing on end. Goosebumps.

"Well, in that case, I hope I ain't fallin' in love with any o' you fellas. Not in here, anyway..." she muttered before moving slightly out of the way to spectate Ivan.

[Cold52]

Matt walked towards the medium.
matt stroked the back of his neck looking rather uncomfortable looking like he would ask a question but shook his head and walked to the different stalls and began stuffing his face with food and drinking a beer he had on hand.

[JesusMonroe]

"I'm skeptical but... we're never going to advance if we're too afraid to try and learn anything." Benjamin sighed and then put on a cloak, grabbing a plastic mask of a monkey.

He then turned to the medium. He thought for a while and then said, "I was wondering..." but his words deflated surprisingly quickly, as if he decided against speaking.

[Franzise Deauxnim]

Shizune shivered and hugged herself for a moment, then wheeled away from the cart of masks.

Code: Select all

Dear Stars,

I don't think I will be participating in whatever this festival is. I don't see anything good coming from it.

Regards,
Shizune Takata

[Joker]

Klifford puts on a robe and mask and makes his way over to the medium. Once he arrives, he looks hesitantly at it, as if he's unsure of what to say.

"There's no way this is really going to work, right...?" He asks no one in particular as he rubs the back of his neck.

[Lone]

Ciro goes to the medium cart crystal ball and asks:

"Hello Carrie. How is the afterlife like for you and the others?"

[Doctor Nanjo]

The candles flicker at Ciro's question.

"Carrie hurts."

The voice comes out weakly, like a coarse whisper. It sounds like Carrie.

[Lone]

"Alas, poor Carrie," Ciro bowed down briefly. "I hope that in the afterlife, you can finally find solace. Keep at it."

[SaizotheSixth]

Nail, conversely to nearly everyone else, looked perfectly at home in the current situation. If anything, he looked strangely invigorated by it all.

"Hm, yes, I believe I shall partake in the full course of the night's festivities," he grandstanded, swathing himself in one of the robes. The ones he picked out were black and gold, and with how swiftly he put it on, it clearly wasn't the first time he had worn similar attire. And with the mask, the ensemble was complete.

"I suggest the rest of you do the same," he said, though the echo out of the mask made his voice sound more feminine. "There's no telling when such a feast and celebration will be upon js again. Best to take the time while you can."

He approached one of the carts, layering a plate with small amounts of foodstuffs, before walking off.

[Doctor Nanjo]

When Ivan asks his question to the crystal ball, it blinks a little, stewing on the question. The response, when it comes, is cold,

"Death is approaching for Shizune Takata."

The glow blinks out.

[WinterCoat]

Brandy stood there, wide-eyed and surprised by the answer to Ivan’s question.

“I didn’t think it’d actually answer a question like that,” she said. “I figured it’d try to weasel out of answerin’ directly...”

[KamiPanda]

"What? S-seriously?" Seb stood, dumbstruck, as he heard the declaration. "But that's... And there's probably nothing we can even do about it," he said through clenched teeth and clenched fists. He turned to find Shizune with his eyes, needing to know what her reaction would be.

[Collin1002]

"Well, that's definitely not eerie at all," Oliver snarked as the carts were wheeled in. He had no plans to touch the robes or the food, as good as it looked.

When he heard the response to Ivan's question, he winced. "Somehow, I'm actually inclined to believe this bloody thing," he said, surprised as Brandy was about its straightforward answer.

He then approached it as well, grinding his teeth. "Right. I suppose I may as well ask... Is there any way to save Shizune Takata from her impending death?"

[Doctor Nanjo]

"Of course. You will fail to find it."

The red glow of the crystal fades.