Digi's Thread

"Hm...No, I believe this is the best way to go about this." Leanne confidently hands her pad over to Claus.

"Hmm...Having people on watch seems like our best path forward, but where to keep the devices...? It would have to be somewhere secure, but open enough that the guards aren't too isolated. The pierhouse maybe? Or somewhere more central?" Dennis shakes his head. "Not that it matters much to me. Just trying to make sure every angle is considered."

James nods. "The pierhouse seems like a good idea. It would be near impossible to sneak over there without being seen and since there's only once entrance to the pierhouse, it would be almost impossible to get in without at least one guard noticing."

Vicky looks at her pad. "Are you sure we shouldn't just watch them now...?"

Sam nervously toys with his pad. "The little bastard's implications are already pretty clear, the damage has already been done. I'm with Vicky, we may as well just watch them and get this over with."

"No, that's exactly what he wants!" Axel loudly protests. A bit too loud.

But everyone becomes silent as they hear something playing.

You turn to see Tucker's pad emitting light from its screen.



"Back by popular demand, it's the motive video! Nyaa~!" Nekoshi's voice emits from the speakers.

"Oh boy, I've been waiting for this episode!" The real Nekoshi plops next to Tucker, eating a bag of popcorn.

"Tucker Rally, the Ultimate Geopolitical Analyst! Who's the most important person in your life?"

...

Nekoshi stares at the screen in confusion. "Ohhhhhh? What's this? Nyahahaha! It looks like you don't have anyone! NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU!"

...

The video continues on, showing an image of what looks like a young Tucker writing in a notebook. "Tucker grew up with neglectful parents that didn't give a shit about him! Nyahaha! That's why he got so interested in politics, statistics, and analytics! Because nobody likes him! Poor, poor, Tucker. All he ever really wanted was a friend. BUT NOBODY LOVES HIM! Maybe that's why he wanted to go to Hope's Peak. So he could finally make some friends and have someone who DID care about him! But surprise, surprise, none of you want anything to do with him either! Just the other day he was trying to talk to a group of you and you didn't even notice him standing there!"

The video changes screens to show what looks like a surveillance cam video of Tucker standing to the side while Vicky, Spy, and Amelia are having a conversation by the docks. "But that's not all! Since we couldn't find any people you cared about, we decided to let you see the next best thing!"

The video changes to show a large book filled with writings, graphs, charts, and math. "This is Tucker Rally's manifesto! Surprisingly enough, someone without any friends got really good at predicting others' movements! In fact, he's predicted the next five years all in this book. And it looks like it's been true! Wow, I guess we don't call it "Ultimate" for nothing. Oh, but what's this...?"

It changes shots to what looks like Tucker's home...on fire...! A man in a suit, whose face you cannot see because of the camera angle, picks up the manifesto and begins to flip through the pages. "But when corrupt politicians steal and destroy Tucker's life's work, what will he do? Oh my, oh my! Just think about it. Every single day you spend in here is another day you spend unable to protect your precious predictions! Stay tuned to see how Tucker reacts to this horrible revelation!"

The video clicks off.

...Tucker stares at the screen blankly. You can't tell what he's feeling.

Spy takes a deep breath. "Everyone. Whatever is on these videos...Do not let them drive you to kill. These videos are most likely fake-"

Nekoshi bumps in and interrupts. "Nope! Totally wrong! These videos are one hundred percent, undeniably, totally truly legitimate. They weren't edited in any way at all. This is real. Completely real. This is your life now after all."

...The air feels...dark.

"Well, toodles!" Nekoshi runs off, leaving you all there to try and comprehend what just happened.

"...Tucker, are you okay?" Vivian looks like she's shaking.

"...That's gotta be fake." Axel crosses his arms and looks off to the side.

"...Well." Claus looks almost unfazed. "I believe my point has been made. Why we shouldn't watch those videos." He takes Tucker's pad and places it in his pile. "The rest of you...if you will?" Claus holds out his hand for the rest of the pads.

...Damn. Even if you wanted to keep yours...it looks like you're outnumbered. And running isn't an option.

Tucker is shaking and breathing heavily, trying to hold back tears. "C'mon Tucker, don't ruin more paths..." He straightens his posture and manages to hold back his tears. "N-now that e-e-everyone has seen m-my v-video, w-we can t-throw the rest away and use m-mine for experiments, r-right?" Tucker says in a shaky voice.

Leanne shakes her head. "I...don't think so. Even if we did have someone that was good enough with electronics to alter these, we couldn't rely on getting it perfect the next time. If we messed up once, we'd have nothing left. So...it's best if we just hold onto them for now."

Vivian heads over toward Tucker, giving her pad to Claus on the way. She tries to comfort him, but doesn't seem to know what to say.

Spy walks over and hands his pad to Claus, whispering something to him.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of looking at any of these."

Sam shrugs loudly and tosses his pad to Claus. "I see what you're saying, but for some people the fear of not even knowing what's on here could be worse. I don't really want to see mine, but...If someone wants to watch theirs, they should go ahead. Unless someone plans to try to take them by force?" He walks over to stand beside Vicky.

She stares down at her own pad for a bit before shaking her head and handing it over to Claus. "This is probably what's best. At least we aren't destroying them..."

One by one, the others all hand their motives over to Claus.

Dennis sighs. "Disturbing as that interruption was, there is still one more detail we need to nail down. How are we going to manage shifts? Hour by hour? Day by day? And how will the switch off go? Will we establish a strict rotating time schedule or just grab someone when your shifts over?" He seems almost annoyed.

Claus responds. "An excellent question. I've already spent some time filling out a sheet with the guards while we were watching Tucker's motive video." He pulls out what looks like a neatly mapped out piece of paper and places it down. "Your partner is listed here and your time is listed here..."

Sato scratches his head nervously before responding. "Um...I can't read."

"Hm...? Not a problem. I'll simply read the pairings out loud."

Claus clears his throat. "The first shift is Axel and Aki. Afterwards, you'll switch with Vivian and Spy. Next is James and Erika. I'll be spending my shift with Leanne. Sam and Sylvia will be guarding together after that. Tucker, your shift is with Dennis. Amelia and Vicky will be together afterwards. Then, finally, Ashley and Sato will take the last shift at night."

"Ugh...seriously?" Ashley seems annoyed she was given the shift in the middle of the night.

"Well then. I believe that is all." Claus hangs up the chart in the Dining Hall so everyone can look at it when they want.

"Wait." The room turns to look at Sylvia. "I think...we should all meet in the mornings. Here in the Dining Hall. It might help us share information and communicate. It's impossible to get out of here together if we don't all talk to each other."

Vivian nods. "I agree. We should all meet in the mornings so we can discuss anything new we find and generally keep each other informed."

Claus straightens his bowtie. "Very well. It's settled then. From now on, we will all meet at the Dining Hall in the mornings to discuss events and new strategies of escape."

With that settled, everyone begins to head off their separate ways. Claus takes you and Axel over to the pier so you can start guard duty as well.

Aki sighs. "I relaize this was my idea, but after what happened with Tucker I can't help but have this sinking feeling in my stomach..."


Aki looks at him. "I'm not sure if we should've just adhered to Claus' schedule without protest as well. I don't want to doubt him, but it's not wrong to be wary, right?"

Aki looks at him. She takes a deep breath and regains her composure.

"That's rude. You're not stupid. Maybe you're not a genius, but most people aren't. Besides", she takes his hand. "This academy in a way represents everyone's uniqueness. Everyone is different and is talented at different things. I bet those rude people couldn't beat you in a race, that's for sure."

She gives him a reassuring smile.

Digiplz

"Could we head up to your lab?" Sam asks. "I had an idea."

You follow Sam upstairs, tensing up. You're ready to dash off at any moment.

You both walk into the Ultimate Haiku Lab. Multiple haiku scrolls hang from the walls in Japanese text. The table in the center of the room looks like it's been used a few times. The stack of papers is a little disorganized and one of the brushes has dried ink on it. The pillows used for sitting on should be in a set of four, but one of them is gone. A tea set is sitting on the table that looks a little out of place. The golden dragon statue seems untouched, staring at you while holding its orb. The mini waterfall and bonsai tree help to make the environment feel relaxing as a good poetry room should.

Hm? There's a poem on the table.

"Oh my God this sucks
Seriously let me out
Damn it Nekoshi"

Sam makes a joking remark in response. "Really? It's pretty nice in here. I mean... I guess this whole place is surprisingly nice. Considering it's a stupid prison." Sam pauses. "Actually, it's weird they'd put so much work into this place, if they're just trying to make us- n-nevermind. Anyway. Why haven't you come to check this place out yet?"