During Shuttle's rest, visions more horrifying than anything played in his head like a broken record. They were unexplainable. Gore was everywhere, blood splattered on the walls... It was a sight so unbearable.
It was all caused by one person.
But before Shuttle could even make out who, he jolted up out of his sleep to hear aggressive knocking and the morning announcement playing.
"This is an official announcement from Ultimate Hope High! It is now 8 A.M., which is morning time! Take care of yourselves today, 'cause I have a special present for you! Well, it's more like multiple presents." Monokuma announced before the monitor in Shuttle's room turned off. The knocking persisted and Shuttle eventually got up to answer it.
"What do you want? I just woke up." Shuttle groaned, opening the door to see Elio.
"Come on." He immediately grabbed Shuttle's wrist and started dragging him to the dining hall. "The present Monokuma got us is even better than a vacation from here."
"What is it?" Shuttle yawned, not keeping up with Elio's speed.
"You'll see when we get there!" Elio exclaimed as they arrived at the dining hall.
"What took so long?! We sent you over a minute ago!" Gehenna yelled.
"Well it ain't easy being an alarm clock!" Elio yelled back.
"Calm down, students!" Monokuma randomly appeared. "I have the physical version of your first, dearest present! It's also your new motive!" He handed one singular book out with the title "The Arcanum of the Revenant."
"Oh, come on. The book cover looks boring. There should have been a secret little image on the front." Kora groaned disappointedly.
"Well, that doesn't matter. Since our friend Shuttle is a bit late, I shall go over what this book is for again!" Monokuma cheered. "It's quite simple. You can revive anyone using the book's instructions."
"Is that even possible?" Shuttle asked, squinting his eyes at Monokuma.
"Course it is. I killed this plant and used a copy to revive it. Everyone saw it but you." Monokuma blankly said with a smile. "Anyways, here's your second batch of presents!"
A patch of fabric, a weirdly shaped key, a plastic heart, and a magnifying glass.
"Originally, there was supposed to be a bat and black paint, but that's not important. Enjoy!" Monokuma beamed as he disappeared.
"As a class, we need to decide who we should revive. I mean, seven people are dead. We have so many choices to choose between from." Kora announced, clasping her hands together on the table. "I vote Neru! He seemed to never completely finish the machine. Plus, who knows what might come after he finishes it?"
"Well, I vote that we resurrect Renory. He was very helpful, and I know one of us, not pointing fingers, misses him quite a tremendous amount." Ali contributed.
"I... I agree." Ron nodded.
"But I think we should resurrect Bob. He died way too early and didn't deserve such a death!" Sahara complained. The four looked at each other and began arguing over whom to resurrect.
"Come on. Let's get out of here before they start throwing things." Cele looked at Shuttle and ran out the door as a plate crashed into it. Shuttle followed along quickly, dodging a flying book.
"Oh god..." Shuttle panted. "So... what now?"
"Did you forget? We're going to analyze Bob's board." Cele reminded him.
"Ah. Yeah, right." Shuttle replied. "Can't believe I nearly forgot." Cele chuckled and led Shuttle to Bob's Ultimate Lab.
"By the way, what'd you do with that vase? I saw you walking with it."
"All I did was take it to Ron. I think Bob left a note asking for someone to take the vase to him."
"Well, that's just heartwarming. Was it in his usual handwriting, or was it all... Fancy?"
"Sort of both. His signature was all elegant."
"Haha. That's nice. Let's get to analyzing everything."
The two ran through all they could think of. From the largest issues to the smallest ones. Cele and I got closer today. Shuttle thought to himself.
"You know, I feel like we should resurrect Bob. He knows more than us, and he's been helping us learn more about everything in and out of this school." Cele wondered.
"You're right. He could tell us straight from himself instead of on paper. It'd be so much easier to understand everything." Shuttle agreed, nodding his head.
"That is true, but then how would we get the information? Spirits can go through just about anything, right? So then how could he go?" Cele asked.
Shuttle paused what he was doing to process the information. "You're right. I... Don't know."
"I guess Bob's off the list. Sorry." Cele apologized, looking around the room. In a way, Shuttle felt like Bob was saying "It's okay."
"Meri's another possibility." Shuttle wondered. "But she's annoying and clingy, and the way she is just won't help Ron with how he is now."
"So Meri is also off the list. How about Jodie?" Cele asked. "She may be pretty blunt, but she'd make a good bodyguard. She could protect anyone that dared hurt anyone if she had a good enough character arc."
"That is true, but then she could have a Renory situation. She could kill when protecting." Shuttle observed. "Maybe Neru?"
"But if he finishes the machine, all we can hope is that it isn't something that's going to kill us. And who knows what he was building? Bonus points, he won't spill a single drop about what the machine might be for." Cele countered.
"Oh. Well, then we have Eliyen as a choice." Shuttle suggested. "But she's probably going to rant about Cairo staying dead and all. They were good friends, after all."
"Cairo's the next choice then," Cele said. "But, he doesn't speak for... Whatever reasons, and probably rant about Eliyen being dead. Neither of them will help us."
"Lastly, we have Renory." Shuttle nodded, hoping for approval. "He can probably do protecting without killing the next time because he'd learn from that mistake. And I'm pretty sure that'd practically cure Ron."
"I can't come up with any counters to that. Maybe we should resurrect Renory." Cele nodded her head, trying to find a counter.
"Why are you saying "should" like that? Of course, we should resurrect Renory! He's the Ultimate Guardian!" Shuttle sarcastically exclaimed.
"I get where you're at, but what would everyone else say? They're in the middle of an argument." Cele asked.
"Oh." Shuttle dumbfoundedly gasped. "Maybe we should present our arguments like we're in a Class Trial?"
"No, that's going to get chaotic, and someone's gonna die. Figuratively, not literally." Cele started leaning against a wall. She sighed and shook her head. Moments later, both of them could distantly hear stomping down the hall.
"Shuttle! Cele! Are you here–" Gehenna yelled as she peeked into the room. "There you are! Help!"
"What do you need help with?" Cele asked, crossing her arms.
"You know the debate they're having in the dining hall, right? The one about who to resurrect? Well they've started trying to kill each other, and even Monokuma can't stop them!" Gehenna frantically panicked, wavering her arms around.
"I'm not gonna be involved in it." Cele shifted her gaze to the opposite direction of Gehenna.
"Well then, you're coming with me!" Gehenna exclaimed as she grabbed Shuttle's wrist and dragged him across the floor.
"Agh– Why me?!" Shuttle questioned, trying to get up from the ground.
"Because no one else can stop it! I'm gonna need your help since you've such a strong voice, alright?" Gehenna asked.
"What?!" Shuttle yelled.
"I'll take that as a yes! Come on!" She picked up her speed and dashed through the hallways to the dining hall and slammed the door open.
"If you're gonna pick a fight with me, I'll take that chance!" Sahara yelled as she dragged her mallet into the room.
"Whoa, Sahara! No!" Gehenna held back Sahara's mallet, only to be hit on the head with it. She was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. Shuttle quickly backed away and watched the argument go down in the corner.
"You can't sympathize for a man who's lost someone very important?!" Ali shouted, slamming his fist on the table.
"Not like Renory's gonna know anything about how we're here and why! We should resurrect Neru, he could finish the machine and use it for its purpose!" Kora yelled back, pointing at Ali.
"Bob's decently strong, Ron's memories even proves that! He could be the one protecting instead of that loser Renory! Plus, considering Shuttle and Cele's random knowledge of how the entire school works, he's probably included in that somehow!" Sahara screamed as she threw her mallet against the wall.
"Hey, Renory is not a loser." Ron sternly argued. "Sure, they might be dead, and Bob may know a little more, but we should still revive Renory. He's practically the Ultimate Guardian, he can protect and learn from his... mistake."
"Kora, Neru probably wants to kill us all and get away with it by making that machine. There's no way we're going to waste our chance on Neru!" Ali raised his arms to prove his point.
"You shut your mouth, Ali! You too, Ron and Sahara! Neru isn't the kind of guy to kill right after learning he'll get killed for killing! Ron, Ali, Renory's just gonna kill people again when he's protecting someone! Sahara, Bob doesn't know crap!" Kora screamed, throwing a book in a random direction. "I'm done with you all! You're all dumb and stupid and have small brains!" Kora stormed out of the room angrily.
"I'm going to stand by my opinion until I die! Which will be when I'm all old and ready to crinkle like a raisin!" Sahara shouted, swinging her mallet and hitting the ground. A few tea cups went flying and shattered as they crashed onto the floor. "We needa resurrect Bob, not Renory! Ain't nobody care about some guardian loser!"
"I'm getting out of here. Your idiocy is making my head hurt!" Ron slammed his hand on the table before leaving. Cele peeked her head into the room, looking around for Shuttle.
"Shuttle!" She whispered after finding him. He turned his head around and saw Cele beckoning Shuttle to leave the room, and he did. Just as he left, a book hit the dining hall door, slamming it shut.
"Good thing I pulled you out here in time. Who knows what else could have happened?" Cele sighed as another item hit the door, startling both of them. "Anyways, we have these items. Want to go exploring?"
"Of course I do! Any of the rooms we'll find might have more information on everything!" Shuttle exclaimed as he smiled. Cele nodded and headed out for the location of the first item.
"Y'know, I don't really believe in the whole resurrecting thing. There's no way we can." Cele wondered. "Monokuma probably just replaced the plant at light speed."
"At least I'm not the only one who's sane." Shuttle chuckled. They kept walking around and found another wall that needed an item.
"I think... This weird key goes with the wall..." Cele began trying to put the key in. "Somehow." She tried from multiple angles but failed on all attempts. Eventually, she put it in. The wall crumbled to ruins, leaving a trail of smoke roaming in the hallways.
"I hate it every single time the walls just decide to fall apart... My eyes can't handle it anymore." Shuttle groaned as he wiped his eyes.
"Well, we can't just stand around. Let's go hunting for places!" Cele beamed as she ran off.
"H-Hey, wait!" Shuttle exclaimed, running after her. He bumped into Cele, who was facing a door that led to what looked like a cosmetics shop. "Cele, I think the fabric goes here." He pointed to a mannequin that was missing a patch of fabric on the displayed skirt.
"I know. But how am I going to put it on there? I don't have a sewing kit on me." Cele turned her head around to face Shuttle.
"Have you tried just slapping it on there?" Shuttle questioned. Cele shook her head and immediately slapped the piece of fabric onto the hole of the mannequin's skirt. The door started to crack and revealed a walk-in shop with all the latest trends inside.
"Woah. This has got to be Kora's Ultimate Lab." Cele gasped in amazement. "It's got almost all the aesthetics. From goth lolita to autumn outfits. Yeah, this is definitely her's."
"Damn right it is!" Kora strutted inside the room like she owned the world. "This room is indeed my Ultimate Lab!"
"How do you know?" Shuttle asked, startled by Kora's sudden presence.
"I don't know either. Maybe it's that this Ultimate Lab makes me feel like I'm at home?" Kora guessed, tilting her head in confusion. Home... Shuttle thought. He shook off the feeling. "Anyways, move the fuck over! I must see all these at once!" She shoved Shuttle and Cele to the side and began feasting her eyes in her Ultimate Lab.
"Come on, we should leave her be." Cele invited. Shuttle nodded his head and left. "Let's just look for the rest of the places." They walked around the fourth floor hunting down for a place. They stumbled across a door that seemed childish.
"Dear god. Maybe the plastic heart goes here." Shuttle groaned. "Hurry up please, I'm getting an eyesore." But before Cele could place the heart, Monokuma popped up out of nowhere.
"Hold it! You cannot enter this place!" He blocked the door to the room.
"Why not?" Cele asked.
"Because the student holding this Ultimate Lab is dead! If a student is not present the moment their Ultimate Lab can be discovered, it is locked up tight! No trespassing this place!" Monokuma informed. Shuttle sighed and looked at the ground.
"Well, thanks for saving us from a seizure." He began walking away. Cele grabbed the back of his collar before he could leave.
"No, Shuttle. We're going to get in." She confidently said before looking back at Monokuma. She aimed the plastic heart and threw it in the door's opening.
"Hey!" Monokuma exclaimed, jumping up to try and block it but failed. The door broke and revealed what looked like a torture room.
"What the fuck?" Shuttle asked, squinting his eyes in disbelief.
"Oh." Cele gasped. "Well this is a bit disappointing. What even is this?"
"This, my dear Cele, is the Ultimate Stalker's lab!" Monokuma beamed, waving his arms around in glee. The Ultimate Stalker? Who... Shuttle began thinking before realization hit his head like a baseball bat.
"You mean... This is Meri's Ultimate Lab?" He shuddered.
"Ya bet!" Monokuma cheered.
"I regret wanting to even know what's behind this door. I'm sorry, Shuttle. Let's leave." Cele hung her head, grabbed Shuttle's wrist, and left.
"The final item is that magnifying glass. Well, it's obviously gotta be yours, right?" Shuttle asked.
"Mhm. It probably is." Cele replied as she looked up at a gigantic door. "Man, how does this school manage to make these?"
"Doesn't matter! Look, the magnifying glass fits here," Shuttle pointed at a slight dent in a displayed desk. The dent fit the magnifying glass perfectly. Cele put it in and as soon as she did, the enormous door opened slowly to reveal a room with hi-tech gadgets. In one section of the room, it had a communication center, but none of the radios worked. In another section of the room, it had nothing but cabinets filled with files of countless crimes documented. In a separate room connected to the Lab, it had all the evidence of the world of other crimes and the murders that happened in the school.
"Oh. My gosh." Cele gasped in amazement. "This... This is a heaven. The evidence in here is even real."
"They are? I thought they were exact copies." Shuttle observed one of the pieces of evidence in a bag. "How can you tell these are even real?"
"It's hard to explain, but these are the real ones. It's like the builders of this just stole these from other detective's rooms." Cele kept looking around. She encountered a room they haven't looked inside of and peeked in. Amazed, she quickly ran in. Man, she's excited. This is something new for her. Shuttle thought. He followed Cele into the room she ran into and peeked in as well.
"They put everything I loved in this room. It's like they just read my brain and put in everything it found positive." Cele closed her eyes as she lay her head on the desk she sat at. A warm lamp, a neatly sorted cabinet, and a vase of Asters were on the desk.
"You're really excited about this, aren't you?" Shuttle sarcastically asked with a slick smile.
"Of course I am. This is my Ultimate Lab, after all!" Cele beamed from her desk.
"Heh. Well, you have fun here. I'll go spend some time somehow." Shuttle chuckled before leaving the room and getting one last look. Cele was invested in a book from the back of what seemed like her personal workspace and didn't seem to want to get out of her trance. He walked back to his room peacefully and sat on the edge of his bed. I have some free time left. He thought.
And with that, free time started.
Perhaps I should check on the argument? Maybe they calmed down. Shuttle thought to himself. He debated against himself but ended up going. Another plate crashed against the dining hall door. Damn, they're still going? Shuttle opened the door and quickly dodged a flying chair. The chair cluttered against the end of the hallway and eventually broke.
"For the last time, he isn't useless!" Ron angrily yelled, throwing a butterknife in Sahara's direction, only missing by a few inches and impaling itself into the wall.
"Hell yes he is!" Sahara shouted. "We don't need Renory to make the same mistake after learning from it! He'll do it again!" She smashed her mallet in Ron's direction, only to miss and break the dining table.
"Calm down, you two!" Shuttle yelled over them. They stopped bickering and faced Shuttle.
"What?" Sahara irritatedly asked.
"This argument has gone on way too long! It's been going on since morning!" He replied, holding out his arms.
"Who cares? We still need to decide who we're going to resurrect! If we just pass this opportunity, we're gonna keep losing people!" Ron shouted.
"Yeah, and you aren't listening!" Sahara complained. Shuttle, annoyed by the bickering, picked the two up by the back of their shirts.
"Hey!" Ron exclaimed, desperately trying to get down.
"Now will you stop?" Shuttle asked. Sahara began wiggling and flinging herself around to be set free in protest. "I'm not letting go until you two shut up."
"Fine. But it isn't a promise!" Sahara admitted defeat. "Damn being short..." She grumbled under her breath.
"Alright, I'll quit! Just... Put me down." Ron crossed his arms. Shuttle smiled and dropped them. Sahara brushed herself off while Ron walked out of the dining hall.
"Never pick me up like that again." Sahara scowled.
"Yeah, I got that." Shuttle chuckled nervously and backed away before running out. He headed back to his room and sat on the floor. I still have some free time left. He thought.
And with that, free time started.
I should probably check on Cele. Maybe she wore herself out and is just... In her Ultimate Lab. Shuttle thought. Before he even knew it, he was on the move to Cele's Ultimate Lab.
"Cele? Are you here?" Shuttle called out, peeking into her lab.
"Yeah." She answered from her personal workspace. She's still in there? I'm impressed.
"You're still amazed about your lab?" Shuttle asked as he walked into her workspace.
"Of course I am. It's got everything I love, real evidence from their sources, and so much more!" Cele praised.
"Well, if you're happy about it, then I guess I am too."
They spent the rest of the day hanging out in Cele's Lab, talking about anything that came across their minds. Cele and I got closer today. Shuttle thought.
"Hey, Shuttle." Cele called.
"Hm?"
"I've always wondered this. Little's a dad, right? So he's most likely older than everyone here, right?"
"Yeah? Wait, what are you getting on?"
"How the hell is Little a high schooler if he's around his late twenties?"
"Ah, he dropped out. I think, considering Monokuma's thinking, he's still a high schooler because he never completed a year there."
"That doesn't make sense, but at the same time, it does. I don't know how, but I guess it just does and doesn't," Cele said.
"Even I agree." Shuttle chuckled.
"Whatever Monokuma's thinking, it never makes sense... I guess it's best if we don't question it. We might just give ourselves brain damage." Cele joked, looking up at Shuttle from her desk.
"Mhm." Shuttle nodded. They spent some time complaining about Monokuma's idiocy, but eventually parted ways after a while.
A melodic chime filled the school and Shuttle's room.
"This is an official announcement from the Ultimate Hope High! It is now nighttime! Killers, now is your time to strike! Victims, you have my condolences. Will you sleep like a baby tonight? Or will you sleep with the fishes? Either way, sweet dreams everyone!" Monokuma announced before the monitor in Shuttle's room turned off. He sighed and lay on his bed.
"Is he really telling the truth when he said we can resurrect someone?" He asked himself. "I mean... It seems impossible."
Slowly, he fell asleep.
He reached out his arm. Someone familiar turned around and was pulled up, then dropped down as a corpse. Their right arm was cut in half, and their left leg was too. They were decapitated, and darkness engulfed Shuttle. Thin string fell from wherever it came from and a kind smile came from the darkness that swallowed him. The smile quickly turned sinister and its eyes looked insane.
Shuttle woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around frantically for a sign of time but found nothing. Right... Monokuma never really put clocks in our rooms. He remembered. Did I sleep through the announcement? Or did I wake up earlier than the rest...? He walked out of his room and went outside. The sun was beginning to rise, and the sky was a beautiful gradient of scarlet, gold, and dark cerulean. The light of the sky illuminated the ground in a bewitching and gorgeous shine.
"Maybe I shouldn't be that paranoid." He mumbled to himself. Shuttle sauntered his way to the courtyard and sat on the gravel. He sighed and looked up at the sunrise.
"You're up early too?" Someone abruptly asked. Shuttle quickly turned around and saw Little.
"Yeah."
"That's new. Normally, you're awake the moment the announcement plays." He teased.
"Oh, shut up. Before we got here, you'd wake up at like, 9 in the morning." Shuttle taunted back. Both of them chuckled and looked ahead at the sunrise. "Y'know, I'm concerned for Ron. Right after the last class trial, he was just a sad emotional mess, and the last time I saw him, he was furious."
"You don't have to. I got him under control, he'll be fine." Little assured. "Hopefully."
"Hopefully" is correct. I don't know if the guy's gonna be all right." Shuttle sighed.
"I know he will be. Just trust me on this."
"If you say so..."
In the distance, a tuneful melody submerged the school campus.
"This is an official announcement from Ultimate Hope High! It is now 8 A.M., which is morning time! Touch some grass, pick some flowers, get some of that morning dew on you! Get up!" Monokuma announced on the monitor before it turned off.
"That's my cue. See you later." Little walked off into the school. What does he mean by "his cue?" Whatever. A few students flooded out of the dormitory all at once. Some were chatting with each other and some were silently walking to the dining hall. Gehenna, one of the students, reached down and laid her hand on the grass.
"What are you doing?" Sahara asked, unsettled at the sight of Gehenna.
"Touching grass like Monokuma said!" Gehenna beamed as she put her other hand on the grass.
"You're weird..." Sahara walked away slowly, a face of disgust taking over her. Gehenna rolled her eyes and noticed Shuttle in the middle of it.
"Oh, hi, Shuttle!" She waved her arm. Shuttle waved back and smiled. Gehenna ran up to Shuttle but tripped the moment she came into contact with the gravel.
"Are you okay?!" Shuttle frantically questioned.
"Yep!" Gehenna exclaimed, smiling as she looked up at Shuttle. "Kora's planning to style my hair today since she thinks it's so messy. Is it?" Shuttle observed Gehenna's hair and stared at her dead in the eyes like a moving, split in half cockroach.
"It's even messier than a nest. Do you even brush it?" He asked, freaked out about her hair.
"What?! Of course I do!" Gehenna answered in disbelief.
"Well, Kora better style it right now, cause I cannot handle it!" Shuttle panicked. Gehenna gasped and stormed off angrily. Cele, a bypasser, walked up to Shuttle.
"What was all that about?" She questioned.
"Gehenna told me that Kora was going to style her hair, asked me for my personal opinion on her hair, I said it looked freakish and... yeah." Shuttle recapped.
"Oh. Well that makes sense for someone like her. She's always overreacting, and it's odd."
"I just don't question it at this point. I mean, she's her."
The two continued chatting together and decided to head to the dining hall after a while.
"Shut up about the whole resurrecting thing already!" Little yelled. "No one cares about it! It's just a sham! It's not even possible!"
"Yes it is! Didn't you see the plant?" Kora angrily asked. "It's real! We can totally revive someone!"
"Yeah, and none of you agree! We should resurrect Renory!" Ron argued.
"Ron is correct. He will learn from his killing mistake and properly guard us!" Ali confidently declared.
"Shut up!" Sahara yelled.
"Let's just get our breakfast and get the hell out of here." Cele groaned as she looked at Shuttle, who nodded in agreement. They quickly got their meals and ate outside the dining hall. Cele and I got closer today... Shuttle thought.
"They really need to learn to get along. I cannot handle hearing them yell at all, even a mile away." Shuttle held his fingers to his temple.
"You said it. If they throw any more stuff, I'm pretty sure Monokuma's going to get enraged at the amount of destruction." Cele nodded.
"I already got angry at them! Wait, they're still not listening?" Monokuma asked as he randomly spawned.
"Eek!" Cele yelped in horror. "Okay, that's getting terrifying!"
"I'm not sorry!" Monokuma sang in a cheery tone. "Anyways, they aren't listening to my orders?"
"Apparently not. just stick your head in there and you can see they aren't." Shuttle confirmed. Monokuma huffed and creaked the door open only for it to be slammed shut by a flying plate that shattered.
"Oh, those students! I'll punish them!" He angrily crossed his arms.
"No, don't just kill them!" Cele yelled out. "The least you can do is just trap them in a room or something! Just anything but killing them!"
"That's a really good idea. Thanks, Cele! You're my favorite student now!" Monokuma beamed as he slammed the dining hall door open and dragged the four outside to wherever he was going. Cele and Shuttle sat in silence.
"What was that all about?" Shuttle fearfully and slowly asked.
"I have no idea." Cele replied. "Should we follow him?"
"Yeah." Shuttle quickly got up and started running in the direction Monokuma went. Cele followed along, and the two found the four stuck in a comically large cage.
"When you students learn to behave, I'll let you all out!" Monokuma cackled.
"Let us the fuck out!" Kora yelled.
"Not while you're so disobedient! Upupupu!" Monokuma giggled before vanishing. As he disappeared, the trapped noticed Shuttle and Cele.
"Help us! Please!" Sahara begged.
"What are you waiting for? Get us outta here! I don't like this cramped space!" Kora started hitting the cage's bars.
"May you assist on freeing us? We would appreciate your help." Ali asked.
"I'm fine staying here as long as they don't murder me..." Ron mumbled as he sat on the ground. Cele and Shuttle looked at each other and then back at the cage.
"You expect us to help you when Monokuma, out of all people, is the one responsible for trapping you there?" Cele asked.
"Yes!" Ali, Kora, and Sahara yelled in unison.
"Wrong answer!" Cele yelled back. "If we defy that bear's rules, we're going to die. So it's your guys' fault for not following him in the first place."
"Oh, so it's our fault now?" Kora asked with sass. "It's Monokuma's in the first place for letting us have the chance to resurrect someone!" Ron covered his ears and looked between the cage bars. He stuck his arm through it and then squeezed between the bars.
"Um, guys? You can just slide through them." Ron quietly informed.
"Shut it, che—" Sahara began but paused when she saw him outside the cage. She slipped through the bars as well. "He's right!"
Ali went between them as well. "Kora, come on. What are you waiting for?"
"I am not going through there. It's going to make me look like an idiot." Kora crossed her arms stubbornly. Ali rolled his eyes and punched the bars with all his might, denting them enough to fit Kora through. He left everyone shocked by such an act.
"Did you, a stick, just easily punch metal?!" Sahara screamed.
"Yes? I did." Ali cluelessly answered. "Now since you're the Ultimate Stylist, why don't you walk out the cage now with style? Do a twirl, maybe." Kora gasped like she was offended and walked out normally. She hurried out of the hallway and ran to wherever she was going.
"You got her good!" Sahara laughed as she walked away. Ron was already gone, doing whatever business he had. Ali smiled, but it quickly faded as he turned to Shuttle.
"Shuttle? I would like to talk to you in private." Ali tenderly looked at Shuttle.
"Ah. I can leave if you want to talk to him here." Cele offered.
"That would be great, thank you."Ali nodded as Cele sauntered away. "Anyways, Shuttle. Remember when I told you that you must keep your guard up?" Shuttle froze. It felt like a lump was in his throat, but he swallowed it down.
"Yes... I remember that." He nervously replied.
"Well, they're planning to strike today. Please let yourself stay accompanied by someone. You will know when it's the killer when you have a terrible premonition." Ali bowed. Shuttle felt like millions of eyes were on him, their visions stabbing him right in the heart.
"Got it." Shuttle nodded shakily. Ali chuckled and smiled.
"Do not worry. You have Cele and I. I'm pretty sure neither of us will let you get killed." He assured. Shuttle sighed and looked back up at Ali.
"You're right. I shouldn't be so paranoid about that." Shuttle averted his eyes to his left. "I do have you and Cele."
"There you go. Now, if you don't mind, I have to..." Ali paused to look down the hallway they were in. "Hold a meeting with someone. Farewell, Shuttle." He waved like it was the end of his life right there and walked off. Cele came back in after Ali disappeared, smiled, and beckoned her head for Shuttle to come over.
"Is he planning to kill you or something?" Cele asked as she cracked her knuckles. "I'll make sure he won't. No worries."
"No, Cele!" Shuttle snickered. "He isn't... He just told me that some person is planning to get me. Although I should be fine as long as someone's with me."
"That's even better! I won't have to feel guilty about beating someone up!" Cele smiled more.
"Oh my god..." Shuttle shook his head. They chatted about Ali's warning, occasionally making jokes to enlighten the mood. They spent the day talking about whatever they could think of. Cele and I got closer today. Shuttle thought in his head with a smile.
"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if you never died." Cele wondered. "Because, like, you have me and Ali to protect you. We're both decently strong."
"I know. I mean, we all just witnessed Ali easily move metal bars with a few simple punches." Shuttle chuckled.
"And I can snap necks pretty easily."
"You can what now?" Shuttle asked, wide-eyed. Cele started giggling.
"Yeah, I can snap necks! I'm the Ultimate Detective, I know almost all methods of murder that people could do! Why do you think I'd solve cases in the first place?" She confidently declared. They heard some cluttering noises from a distance a few minutes later.
"What do you think that was?" Cele asked, which was quickly followed by a shrill scream.
"Okay, maybe we can find out when we check out what it is!" Shuttle quickly picked himself up and ran up to the fourth floor after searching through the other ones.
"Thank you, Kora! I look so cute!" Gehenna squealed as she looked in a mirror.
"No problem, Gehenna! Still can't believe the last time you brushed it was two days ago..." Kora beamed, then mumbled under her breath. Cele slowly followed Shuttle, panting.
"Shuttle... How are you not tired... At all?" Cele panted. "You just ran through four entire floors... Teach me!"
"Oops. Sorry, Cele!" Shuttle apologized nervously.
"So... what was the scream about?"
"It was just me! Kora did my hair like she said she would and I got really excited when I looked at it!" Gehenna giggled. "Really, thank you, Kora! It means so much to me!"
"You're welcome! Did you want me to put some accessories in?" Kora offered.
"Do I? Of course I do! Accessorize me!" Gehenna fell back into the chair she was sitting in. Kora nodded and picked up a box full of hair products. What possibly could be the box dropping and a high-pitched scream followed echoed through the entire school. Gehenna, Cele, and Shuttle rushed in the direction the scream came from and encountered a terrible scene.
Ali's dead, chopped-up body left in Elio's Ultimate Lab.