Crow's Thread

Dennis scratches his mask, but you get the feeling he should be scratching his head. "I mean you people do realize that a pyrotechnic isn't some sort of demolitions expert, right? We use chemical reactions, mostly explosions, to create, not to destroy." He continues along on this tangent you don't really follow. "Luckily, you have the Ultimate Pyro, so I could do it. But with the supplies I have, it'd be far too dangerous. It'd make much more sense to burn away part of the tree. If I have some prep time I could probably do it, but...Why do you want me to do this?"

"Hmmm. So you pose that because it is odd, it is important? I'm not sure if that line of thinking works here, but..." Dennis shrugs. "...Well I'm not doing much anyway, so even if we find nothing, it'll be less a waste of time than what I'm up to."

You head with Dennis down to the Ultimate Pyrotechnics Lab as he gathers the necessary materials. He sifts through multiple firestarting materials, picking out his favorites or...something. Maybe you should make conversation...?

"Interesting. I never really thought about the link between cosmology and chemistry, but it's certainly there." Dennis continues to sift through the barrels and boxes, setting aside tools and materials that will be useful. "Though that just makes your line of thinking more reductive. I prefer to think of it like this." He stares at you for a moment, doing and saying nothing. It's really weird. He then continues to look through the crates of explosives and fire making materials. "What Erika does with her tool set is pure science. What you do is pure art. What I do is a little of both."

Dennis finishes gathering the necessary materials and you lead him over to the giant tree in the garden. You notice Leanne and Sato walking to the dorms together on your way. It's almost night...

Regardless, Dennis sets everything up and stands back at a safe enough distance before starting the fire. It takes a minute and seems as if nothing happens, but...BAM! A huge wall of flames erupts in front of the tree and begins to burn brightly! Dennis stares at the glowing fire in a really weird way. Almost like...he admires it. Is this what he meant by art...?

As the flames subside, you notice the tree has received no damage. What the heck!? It's not even a little burned!?

*BING BONG DING DONG*

Nekoshi's voice sounds throughout the island. "Greetings, everyone! This is your lovely headmaster, Nekoshi! It is now 10:00 PM and officially night time! The Dining Hall and the Pool are now off limits! Goodnight, and sleep with one eye open! You never know who might be plotting against you...NYAHAHAHAHA!" Nekoshi's laughter cuts out.



Being unable to burn away the tree bark, Dennis parts ways with you. He seemed a little disappointed, but you still feel like you understand him better...

You've received a Friendship Shard!

...So, it's night already? Sounds like you need a tutorial on how Night works!

At night, you can head out and attempt to perform extra actions, exploring the school or deepening your friendships with your classmates. Sometimes you will even hear the doorbell ring, meaning a classmate wishes to speak with you or might find a mysterious note asking you to meet somewhere. These could be perfectly innocent, but...keep in mind it's dangerous at night.

You place planty the guard plant next to the door and head to bed, thinking of ways to get into that tree tomorrow.

Maybe it leads to a way out...

...

...You eventually fall into a thoughtful sleep.

You wake up in the morning to Nekoshi's annoying voice.

*BING BONG DING DONG*

"Goooooooood morning, everyone! Listen to this! I've got a very special gift for you all, so you better meet up in the Dining Hall or else!" His voice cuts out and you get the feeling the or else is not a good thing. And by that I mean he'll probably kill you if you don't go.

You head over to the Dining Hall, deciding that death probably isn't worth it. Everyone shows up and you notice Erika is notably sitting at another table with an annoyed expression. She was probably dragged here by Nekoshi.

Speaking of which, that demon of a cat is currently standing on top of the table you're all crowded around. "Aww, thanks! It looks like you all came here. I'm flattered."

"It's not like you gave us much of a choice..." Axel mumbles to himself.

Nekoshi glares at him before continuing, pulling out what looks like...some kind of touch pad. "Well I was thinking you guys were feeling a little lonely, soooooooo maybe you'd like to know what's going on in the outside world."

Hearing this, Vicky looks up at Nekoshi. "Wait...the outside world?"

"Yep, yep, yep. I have a very special video of all the people you're closest to."

Amelia's attention is caught as well. "Ze people...closest to...?"

"Yep, yep, yep, yep. I have one for each of you, so I'll hand them out one at a ti-"

"I don't think so." Claus interrupts. "There's no doubt there's something sketchy going on with those videos."

"Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. Wait, what. I mean no. Don't question my motives!"

"On the contrary, that's exactly what we should be doing." He turns to the rest of you to explain instead of argue with Nekoshi. "Think about it. Nothing has happened in the past two days we've been captured here. It makes sense Nekoshi would try to give us a motive. A reason to try and escape. A reason to kill."

"Yep, nope, yep, maybe, certainly, incorrect! What's wrong with egging you all on? I'm just trying to be supportive! Don't you want to see your friends and family?"

Claus shakes his head. "This is clearly a trick. We cannot trust you. So I suggest you all allow me to take your motives."

Ashley interrupts. "Hold it right there!" It's almost like a dramatic reveal of events in a trial! Which is a weird and irrelevant comparison to make at this time. "How can we be sure you won't watch your own video and kill one of us?"

"You have my word."

"And you think that's enough?"

It looks like...there's some disagreement as to what to do with the motive videos.

Dennis shrugs, clearly unphased by this turn of events. "While I certainly don't think anyone important to me is weak enough to be threatened by a plush cat, I agree with Claus. Anything given to us by it should be treated with utmost suspicion." With that, he gingerly turns his pad over to Claus and takes a seat.

"Yes, but you're missing the point!" Ashley grips her fan hard enough to snap it again. "He might look at his own video and murder us because of it!"

Spy interrupts with a sarcastic remark. "So. You expect these videos of our loved ones will get us to murder? Yeah, I'll totally murder just for that."

"Why is everyone fighting over magic box? Can't we all see our friends with magic box and share?" Sato clearly doesn't understand how any of this works.

"I agree with Sato! Well, sort of." Vivian laughs a little nervously. "We shouldn't be fighting like this. We need to work together, remember?"

"I say we take them all and throw them off the island. I mean, this isn't the worst environment in the world. We have free food, water, shelter, friends, and entertainment. Nobody has to kill anyone." Tucker says this while confidently sitting up straight.

"Are you suggesting zat we stay 'ere forever!?" Amelia looks horrified.

"I-I don't want to stay here forever!" Axel looks like he's about to panic.

Leanne speaks up. "Please, stay calm. I don't want to stay here either, but what Tucker is saying may be worth considering. If we simply dispose of the videos, there won't be any videos to argue over and there won't be any motive for murder."

"But...Those videos might be our only way out. I think we should look at them first, but all together at the same time. Maybe then we won't all be so scared." Vicky seems like she really wants to use those pads. "Besides, these might be the only way we can contact the outside world."

Claus nods. "That is correct. These may contain useful information that we will need. It may even be possible to remodel them to communicate with. That is why we cannot just dispose of them."

Aki thinks carefully before responding. "Hm, perhaps it's best if we store them all somewhere and have two guards there at all times. We could switch out guards regularly."

James sighs. "Do we really need to guard them so carefully...? This seems like a lot of work to go through just for some videos."

Erika walks over and places her pad into Claus' hands. "Do whatever you want with it. I don't care." She then walks out of the dining hall, leaving you all to discuss what you should do with the pads.

Claus keeps a neat pile of pads in front of him. His, Dennis', and Erika's sit there. "Perhaps having guards is the best solution. Is anyone against this?"