Tucker Rally (Deceased)

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?"

You suggest tossing them off a cliff and living here together.

"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?"

"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 managed to turn your touch pad on.



"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 you, 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 you as a kid, 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 yesterday when you watched Vicky, Spy, and Amelia. "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...Holy shit, this is your manifesto. "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 your 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.

...You spend a moment staring at the screen, unsure what to do.

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.

You manage to keep from crying and explain that since everyone saw your video, they can throw the rest away.

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 Axel and Aki over to the pier so they can start guard duty as well.

Tucker will head to his room and see if anyone comes to him.

Hmmm...

Head out and find Vivian.

Tucker will walk up to Vivian.

"Hey, thanks for trying to comfort me earlier."