I don't know, I don't know
That ringing in my ears
Was drawn into the sunset and disappeared

[a carrd archive for dv2 drabbles and alyssa's character developement throughout the game]
status: alive
alignment: hope

Student Profile

Name: Alyssa Myles
Series: OC (Faceclaim: IA from Vocaloid)
Age: 17
Height / Weight / Birthday: 5'6'' (167 cm) / 120lbs (54kg) / January 27th
Talent: SHSL/Ultimate Dancer
Likes: dancing, music, ice skating, pastels, cute things, sweets, skies, stars
Dislikes: rudeness, silence, bitter things, gloomy/dull colors
Voted Most Likely To: Pull someone into a dance at any given moment

Raised by her parents for all her life, Alyssa is the daughter of a fashion designer and a dancer, and much of her early life was a sheltered one. She grew up in the manor of her family and was homeschooled, along with taking music and dance lessons from a young age, though taking a shine more to dancing than music. Her parents were kind to her, treating her with care and respect, but she was alone. She wanted a life outside of the manor and asked her parents if she could attend public school (middle school to be specific) and agreed on the terms that she continued her music and dance lessons and she agreed.

The transition was...rough to say the least. With Alyssa being a bit too quiet at times, and with her almost too kind demeanor, she was an easy target for bullies due Some days she would come home tired and sometimes almost at the point of tears or in tears. For a while she just found herself being alone and wanting to make friends but it was hard with the bullies. However, when someone new came and became a target for the bullies as well, she found her voice to fight and stand up for them and herself.

After that point, she started making friends, helping those that needed help with whatever it was and continuing her lessons and improving in her music and dance skills. By the end of middle school and the start of high school, Alyssa had made several friends mostly from the music department (band/drama) and things were looking up.

A dance performance is what caught the eye of a scout for Hope's Peak, and shortly thereafter, she was sent an acceptance letter and the title of SHSL/Ultimate Dancer. She accepted it of course (along with her parents blessing) and off she was to one of the most prodigious schools in the nation.

Everything was fine when she arrived, but shortly after being accepted, something just didn't feel right and after some talks with her parents and therapist revealed her having signs of depression, anxiety and some perfectionist issues as well. It was hard to deal with that revelation, but it did explain a lot of things. These issues are kept a secret to her friends and most of her teachers, other than her dance coach and music teachers. Dance and music are an outlet for her, a way for her to express what she cannot in words. While it’s not enough to cure her mental health issues, it’s a way to control and learn to deal with them. Certain close friends eventually learn of this and she tries her best to deal with it along with her school life and social life.

Alyssa Myles: It's me. Honestly, this is all starting to become too much...Just how much more must we all suffer, both the living and the dead?
(status: dead, chapter 3 victim)

Ann Takamaki: Someone had to step up for everyone else, and I'm glad she's seemed to have done so. Please, do the best you can, it's all we can ask for after all.
(status: alive)

Caelum Selwyn: It's funny how we only just begin to talk and then well...that had to happen. But it doesn't mean I've given up looking over him; after all, I have a reason to, considering who I've been talking to.
(status: alive)

Carrie White: I don't hate her, even if I should. It was self-defense, and that's understandable. I only wish we could've talked more, maybe we could've been friends...
(status: dead, chapter 1 killer)

Cuphead: I told him I don't hate him, and it's true. He only wanted to protect his brother, and it's understandable, even if he went about it in the wrong way. Now let's hope he takes your last words to heart.
(status: dead, chapter 4 killer)

Eliza Lemieux: I still loved you, today too.
(status: alive)

Hiro Hamada: I should've said something to him, something, anything. But I guess I have to live with that, huh. You didn't deserve to be killed when you were just trying to help...
(status: dead, chapter 2 victim)

Hiroki Watanabe: Even now, I'm not sure what to think. He didn't even bother to resist, but is this a better fate for him? Only time will tell after all..
(status: dead, chapter 4 victim)

Honoka Kousaka: You might believe that you have made a mistake, but please, don't blame yourself...it does more harm than good...

...I would know after all....
(status: dead, chapter 5 victim)

Inuyasha Taisho: N/A
(status: alive)

Junpei Tenmyouji: Even if you're considered unlucky, can't you see the good that's happened here? Can't you believe that it's not your fault for this? Can't you see that we don't blame you?
(status: alive)

Manami Sangaku: ...Any words I have to say to you are not kind, and you know why. Will I ever forgive you? Will I ever stop hating you?

...Somehow I doubt it will ever stop.
(status: dead, my chapter 3 killer)

Michael Krane: He's such a fool...there was no reason for him to do what he did and yet...I guess for now the best thing to do is give him space.
(status: dead, killed by Oswald in chapter 5)

Mugman: I know you're hurting right now, but you need to stay strong Mugsy. You have friends right beside you, so don't forget that; whether you can see them or not.
(status: alive)

Neku Sakuraba: N/A
(status: alive)

Peter Pan: N/A
(status: alive)

Phonon: I can't say I'm glad she's dead, but I can't say I'm glad about her not being around. Really, she might have been cruel with her words, but no one deserves to be killed like that.
(status: dead, chapter 2 victim)

Rei Sakuma: You couldn't see my death and you couldn't see yours coming as well...it's ironic isn't it? But please, you don't have to blame yourself, it's not your fault this happened...I just want you to know that...
(status: dead, chapter 4 victim)

Robin Hood Rowan Blackmore: We always did try to talk, but it never ended up working, and then this had to happen...I guess we have all the time to talk now, huh? At least you're not alone here...
(status: dead, chapter 4 victim)

Rocky Road Osborne Parker: I...I'm worried about him...Even if we are getting closer, what he's told me, and with how he acted during the trial...I'm scarred of losing our friendship...I just...want to be able to understand...

Just what are you hiding from us?
(status: dead, chapter 1 victim)

Russel Seager: I didn't know you well, but you didn't deserve to die like that. Didn't deserve to be an example. Didn't deserve to be tortured like that.
(status: dead, killed by Oswald in chapter 3)

Ryo Asuka: I don't know how to feel about him. He killed two people and his death and words have only hurt us more. But I will not give into despair, no matter what he said.
(status: dead, chapter 2 killer)

Saturday Grimm: The saying goes, don't fear the reaper, right? There's no reason for us to fear you, for any of us to. If it's not Junpei's fault, then it's not yours, okay?
(status: alive)

Shuichi Minamino: I know losing her must be hard, but you can't give up, she wouldn't want you to. There's still people here that you can be with, so don't forget that.
(status alive)

Yogi: It must be hard to accept what happened, especially since you don't remember it, and with what all happened as well...Maybe you can come to terms with it here...along with whatever else you need to...
(status: dead, chapter 5 killer)

Yuuto Shinkai: I can only hope that you're okay, wherever you got taken to. Surely, it's better than still being stuck here after all...
(status: unknown as of chapter 5)

PRE-DV:
but it but it it makes me happy | cups and mugsy birthday

PROLOUGE:
N/A

CHAPTER 1:
it wasn't supposed to be this way | post body discovery
a lottery of love and hate (no matter what comes out, it won't reach) | post trial

CHAPTER 2:
it's almost like your trying to make up for all the mistakes you made | post body discovery
a frivolous empty heart, throbbing through your hate (oh wait that's just a silly dream) | post trial

CHAPTER 3:
the words you said to me as i said bye bye was that you loved me | post body discovery
the tears of a damaged girl, getting anxious it's no doubt (not good, not good) | post trial

CHAPTER 4:
the string between us is a mess, the stage we're on's in distress | post body discovery
it's okay if this love is fickle (but it, but it still hurts a little) | post trial

CHAPTER 5:
eyes shut with seeds so you don't need to lose them through tears | post body discovery
an upper hook that books your breath tight, and ever-leaking pipeline | post trial

CHAPTER 6:
'cause that key place is the key we keep, with one sheet stammering farther inside | free time/alignment reveal

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

Upon entering the kitchen, the scent of smoke is still there, considering what had happened earlier. At least Saturday was trying to do something nice… though it’s the thought that counts, right?

Oh well, it doesn’t hurt to try again.

Alyssa pulls her hair back into a ponytail, throws on an apron and then hands her phone to Sylvia, telling her not to do anything with it (it’s meaningless though, she’ll probably do so anyways) and gets a moving to do what she needs to do.

It’s been a while like she said, but it shouldn’t be too hard, she’s done this before after all. It should all come back to her as she does it.

First things first, oven gets preheated to 350 and then it’s time to get all the ingredients she needs.

Let’s see...flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, water, cooking oil and salt...that should be it right?

It better be, because she doesn’t want to mess this up. After all, it’s for a special reason.

And hopefully, her classmates won’t be too much of a distraction. They don’t want another cake to end up burnt after all.

“Can I get someone to crack and separate the eggs for me?” If her classmates are here, then they might as well help, right?

Thankfully, Ann and Honoka get up to help and get to doing so, along with mixing in the wet ingredients with the yokes (after she tells them what to add), while she gets to mixing the dry ingredients together.

“Oh, can someone beat the egg whites and then add the sugar to them?” And with that Neku comes up to help while she combined the wet and dry ingredients together.

Out of the corner of her eye she spies Sylvia on her phone laughing and she can only sigh. Maybe she shouldn’t have done that…

Oh well, she can’t do much harm right? At least she hopes she won’t.

Once Neku finished beating the egg whites, he brought them over and she folded them into the batter. Then the batter is poured into the cake pans and placed in the oven to cook.

“Alright, timer’s set for 35 minutes so we should get to cleaning. Also we need to get the fruit out and ready for decorations.” She gets nods and her classmates start cleaning up, and getting the fruit that she needed.

“Hey Alyssa,” she turns to see Sylvia smiling at her as she walks over. “It’s nice to see you out and interacting with your classmates for once.”

“It is?” A nod.

“Yeah, I mean, I talked with some of them last night while you were in the studio and they seem to care about you. You really need to open up to them a bit more, don’t you think?”

Alyssa looks off to the side, to where her classmates are: Ann, Honoka and Neku cleaning and getting the fruit, Rocky and Caelum sitting off to the side, along with Cups and Mugsy. Her classmates and friends, that meant the world to her…

“You know I can’t tell them everything, right?”

“I know that silly,” she feels a flick on her forehead. “But you can tell them harmless stuff, right? You could always start by telling them about that, right?”

“Depends.” A small smirk on her face. “Which that do you mean?”

“Well...you know, about you being half-”

Sylvia’s words are cut off by the timer going off, and Alyssa just flicks her on the forehead in return before pulling the cakes from the oven.

“Alright, while they’re cooling, can someone help me cut the oranges and limes into slices and making melon balls?” At that she gets nods and once she cuts the honeydew melon in after the girls start making the balls using a melon baller and Neku starts cutting the citrus fruits while she cuts the strawberries into slices.

Once all the fruit is cut, they set to assembling the cake (after Alyssa levels the cakes), places one cake and shingle the strawberry slices onto the top of the cut cake in circles. Then whipped creams is placed between the circles of strawberries and the whole cake, the second cake is placed on top and the rest of the cake is frosted.

“Okay, once we get the cake sliced and decorated with the fruit we’ll all be good!” After those words the cake is sliced into pieces (one for everyone in the room) and rosettes made of whipped cream along with the fruit is put onto the slices before being passed out to everyone.

“I hope it’s good...I haven’t done anything like this in a while…” Alyssa admits with a hand on her neck, a somewhat nervous expression on her face.

Though by the look on her classmate’s faces and the way they all say “it’s so good!”, she can say that it’s a success.

Happy birthday Cups and Mugsy…

and it shined, bright and as proud as could be ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

She leaves the gift shop, voices still loud enough to be heard yet quiet enough for her to tune out. Alyssa isn’t really sure of where she’s going, she just needs to get away from all this, away from…

She doesn’t say. She doesn’t need to finish that thought because anyone would know what she’s trying to get away from.

Away from the body of someone she considered a friend.

It hurts too much to think about, but it’s all she can think about. Even if she wishes she couldn’t think of it.

She sits down on a nearby bench and brings her legs up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, resting her head on her knees. She doesn’t care if anyone sees her right now, with how weak, emotional and vulnerable she feels.

Why did this have to happen?

Because of their situation, a vacation that turned into a killing game, curses straight out of fairytales, only to be broken when someone was killed. Someone had given in to this, and for whatever reason.

She doesn’t care, she didn’t want this to happen, she just wanted everyone to get along and be friends with everyone.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way!

Something wet drips down her face and ah, there are the tears. She’s surprised she was able to keep them in for so long. She nearly fainted when they all found the body (heck, she had screamed when they did) so she’s surprised it took this long for her to do so.

She doesn’t bother to hide her tears and sobs, let them see her. Everyone else seemed to be in a similar state anyways, even if they tried to hide it. This can’t be easy for any of them, they’re teenagers for crying out loud!

Alyssa wasn’t the closest person to Rocky, but she saw him in the chatroom almost all the time. He was loud and energetic, and while he didn’t always remember to eat, everyone else seemed to remind him to. Really, he was someone all of them liked.

And now he was dead, someone had bashed his head in and left him in the gift shop.

“I know we weren’t that close but...I saw you as a friend, and I still do. I see everyone here as my friend but…”

She sighs, eyes looking off to the side.

“But someone here killed you. Someone I see as friend. They betrayed us all, and broke an unspoken trust we all had.”

How is she supposed to live with that? Someone here killed him, and was lying to them all. Pretending to feel sorry when they had ended his life.

Maybe they were sorry, but didn’t want to admit it, she didn’t know. All she knew was, that they had to find them.

“I’ll...I’ll do it though. I’ll find them, along with everyone else. We have to do this, for you, and for ourselves.”

She looks up to the sky, dark but she might be able to see the stars if she looks closely enough. Was Rocky up there with them?

“I promise. From the bottom of my heart, I promise to find out who did this. I hope you can rest easily, knowing this.”

and it burned with determination and resolve ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

She’s not sure what time it is, but all she really knows it that’s it’s late. She’s not sure how long she spent in Eliza’s room, crying with the other girl there beside her, supporting and comforting her.

She briefly wonders how the actress is so strong, but part of her thinks it’s an act to keep others from worrying about her. Or maybe to hide her own suffering. Either way, she’s still thankful for the other girl.

Alyssa heads to her room but...she hesitates at the door. She knows she should go to sleep but...the images of what happened hours before are still stuck in her head. She’ll probably just end up dreaming about them all over again.

She knows it’s probably not the smartest thing to do, but she leaves the castle to clear her head. No one’s going to be doing anything reckless after seeing all of that...or at least she hopes so.

(Funny, in a bit she’ll hear what sounds like an explosion, and going into the chatroom confirms it to be Michael. He really could be so reckless…)

She’s not going anywhere near Main Street though...she’s been there more than she would like to be, and for all the wrong reasons.

She wanders until she finds herself in New Orlean Square. It’s peaceful, and despite the hour, there still seems to be music playing. Then again, the music never seems to stop.

The music only reminds her of what happened before, that horrible scene from before, the one that nearly made her faint.

She swore she would find Rocky’s killer, and she didn’t back away from it. She just never expected the truth to be this painful.

“He tried to attack me! He tried to kill me first!”

Carrie’s words keep ringing in her ears. She can only believe it to be the truth, and it’s a cruel truth indeed. If the opposite had happened, would it be any less painful? Would it still be painful to find Carrie dead and for Rocky to be executed?

A sad situation it would be if that happened. Everyone cared about Rocky, it probably would’ve hurt even more.

At least, to her it is. Or rather it would be.

We can’t go back in time and change the past, she thinks to herself, moving almost absentmindedly. We can only move on forward, and look forward to the future. We can learn from the past and change our situation in the present to make our future better.

Or at least, that’s what she wants.

Her moves are no longer without thought or hesitance. They are slow and thoughtful, as she counts the beats in her head. This is her way of expressing what her words cannot. This is her way of coping.

This is her way to show her grief and mourning for her two dead friends.

And like a star, she shines, radiating with what she energy she might have. If she doesn’t let this out now, she might just burst. She’s done crying though, tears won’t bring them back, and she’s done too much of it in the past few hours.

Rocky, Carrie...can you see this? Are my thoughts reaching you two? Can you see what I’m trying to tell you, with what words cannot?

A turn here, an arm extended out, then sweeping before being brought back to her chest and then raised up out in front of her.

We all miss you, and we never wanted things to be like this. Then again, the two of you probably thought the same way.

And then her hands drop to her sides, a serene expression on her face as she moves in slow, careful steps, before picking up tempo and quicking her steps, breaking out into something akin to a jazz run.

Rocky, you already know how much we’ve all been affected by this. You had to have seen how we reacted to seeing your dead body.

And Carrie...it was self defense, I can understand that. After all, we all act differently when our lives are in danger...but we never wanted you to die like that…

As her pace increases, she finds herself twirling and spinning, before launching into a long and powerful spin, her hair flying in every direction.

Maybe if we had more time, we could’ve been better friends...we’re a lot alike you and I...but it’s too late for that…

After all, she knows what it’s like to be alone and lonely. The lost girl in a classroom of students, being shunned by them and all alone, bullied and not wanted by anyone…

She never wants that to happen to anyone, never again.

But I will never forget either of you, ever. You’re dear to me, and everyone here. We’ll hold onto your memory, and while we may never get over it, we’ll carry it close to us, so that we never forget you.

And she finishes her spin, looking up to the sky, still dark, but with another star up there. Another one to join who they’ve lost.

I promise, I’ll never forget. I’ll carry your deaths with me forever. And I’ll grow from it.

This is a new starting point for all of us.

She looks over to one of the tables to see a bag sitting there, and going to inspect it reveals marbles.

A small smile crosses her face for the first time in hours.

and it jotted itself onto a new course among the stars ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

There’s an air of annoyance from really everyone as they’re forced out from the scene, and really, she’s not surprised by everyone’s reactions. She can only assume that Oswald is impatient, or that there’s something there that he doesn’t want them getting into.

Either way, they’re not getting back there, and honestly, that’s probably for the best.

After all, back there are two bodies of their classmates.

...She’s not sure if this hurts more than when they found Rocky’s body back in the gift shop those weeks ago (had it really been that long she thinks) but in some ways it does.

The first time this happens, you can just call it a mistake and hope that everyone learns from it and it doesn’t happen again. An accident that won’t happen again, that everything will be okay afterwards…

That thinking is proven wrong when another death happens, or in this case, two other deaths. And two people that don’t deserve it as well.

Alyssa sighs to herself, looking over where the others are, and then to the castle where Caelum and Saturday are, the latter being looked over by the former. At least only her wound had reopened...she was reckless wasn’t she? Trying to blow up the rides to stop them from attacking them...it was a good idea she had to admit. Even if she had gotten herself hurt while trying to do it, she had done it to protect Hiro…

...The same Hiro that was lying on the floor to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride dead, gunshot to the head.

...She’s not going to cry, she’s not. She feels the sting in the corner of her eyes and tries to blink it away.

She’s not allowed to cry until this is over, she’s not.

She remembers hearing the announcement, Eliza’s hand around hers as they ran, ran to find out what was going on and remembers the feeling of shock and something almost like disgust. Not one, but two of them were dead?

And it doesn’t help with the feelings she has towards the fallen. Hiro was someone she didn’t talk to, but she didn’t hate him or anything. She just feels regret towards him, they were roommates on the same floor, they were next to each other and she never said anything to him. She could’ve, she should’ve.

And then there’s Phonon, who she’s pretty sure everyone had mixed feelings about. She only had cruel words for them back during the first investigation and trial...and she had tried to talk to her afterwards but that had...done poorly for the lack of better words.

Maybe a small part of her was glad she was dead, maybe all of them were secretly glad, but even if she was glad, there’s still a part of her, a bigger part of her that knows she didn’t deserve it. Cut in half with one clean slice, it wasn’t a pleasant way to go surely.

Then again...whatever happens to the killer is certainly going to be much worse than that. Considering what had happened before...she’s probably right.

Another sigh, she looks up to the dark sky, brighter than it was a few weeks ago, and she thinks if she looks closely, she can see two new stars up there.

Funny, this is where she was after that, and it’s where another murder had happened. Fate has a twisted sense of humor, doesn’t it.

“I’m not going to pretend like I knew you two,” finally she says, up to the sky. “I never got to talk to you Hiro, and anything I said to Phonon was never nice. But…”

She trails off and sighs, yet again.

“But neither of you deserved this. Neither of you deserved to die, and certainly not like that…”

And yet again, someone is putting on a show of pretend, that they’re shocked and surprised by all this. They’re lying to them all, but maybe they are sorry, maybe they had good reasons.

She knows Carrie did what she did in self-defense. She doesn’t know if this is like that.

“But we’re going to find them because we have to. It’s either us or them and neither is favorable, but it’s our situation. So we’ll do it, and let you both rest easily.”

and it readied itself for a new ordeal ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

Her steps out of the courtroom are hesitant, the last few hours playing back in her mind, a somewhat downcast expression on her face, water bottle still in hand.

(She needs to thank Michael for that later, whenever she gets the chance to.)

After all, the events of the past few hours had been...a lot for all of them. The past hour is a bit of a blur in her mind, but she knows what happened.

Ryo Asuka (Satan, or whatever the hell he had called himself) had killed Hiro and Phonon, and Saturday had nearly killed him before he was executed.

She doesn’t dare to think about what his motives were or try to make sense of what his last words had meant, or even let her mind dwell on the words Oswald had left them with as well.

Honestly, her mind is a mess right now and she’s just wandering aimlessly through the park (though she doesn’t dare to go near New Orleans this time) yet she finds herself back on Main Street and slumps down against one of the shops, water bottle right next to her.

(She’ll throw it away later, she just wants to have her mind and thoughts calmed down first. Her head is a mess.)

A hand comes up to run through her hair, one knee bent as her other leg lays out. She just needs to focus and figure out what she’s supposed to do right now.

“I’m sure that despair is starting to sink in. Face the facts! No one is coming to save you!”

Give into despair? As if.

Alyssa knows that their situation is despair-filled. Rocky’s death and Carrie’s execution had started it all, and now it was continuing, with three more of their classmates joining them.

Are we supposed to just stand by and let ourselves be controlled by despair? Are we not allowed to stand up and rise above this?

She’s been in a bleak situation once, and she knows that she can’t ignore what she found out from that.

I didn’t give up then, and let those things rule my life. I didn’t give up when I was bullied back then...and I’m sure as hell not giving up now.

Are they being watched? Maybe. But that doesn’t mean they’re watching because they find this entertaining.

Or maybe they are and in that case it’s disgusting and Alyssa loathes the very idea that this is entertaining for someone. That this is all some sick game for everyone else, that they’re watching something that seems like it’s straight out of fiction, maybe even thinking that it’s that, but to them, it’s their cruel reality. A cruel reality that seems to have no light at the end of the tunnel in sight.

A reality that someone had decided for them, bringing them here and turning a once in a lifetime vacation into horrible situation, a cruel and twisted game, that people are watching and enjoying, while they’re here in pain and suffering all because someone wanted...what? Fun? Entertainment? Despair?

She doesn’t know and it infuriates her, but what infuriates her even more is that fact that her parents could be watching this, along with anyone else she knew.

Did they care? Were they trying to find her? Were people out there trying to find them?

She hopes and prays that somewhere out there, people are trying to find them and save them. If they’re going to survive this, they need to start working together.

A house divided will only fall in the end after all.

She refuses to give up though. Somehow they’ll find a way out, somehow they can work together and get as many of them out as possible.

A look up to the ever dark sky shows yet another light up there, for the one that had fallen today.

She pushes herself up from the ground and throws the water bottle into a nearby trash can before coming to a stop.

If people are watching, she needs to say something. Even if it’s not much, it might be enough to give someone else the hope she needs.

“If someone out there believes this to be the fate of us trapped here, you’re wrong. We never asked for this, and we’re going to prove something to the one behind this, and to everyone else out there.”

She turns around, a determined expression on her face, hands balled into fists by her sides.

“We will overcome this cruel reality we find ourselves in and survive. We will not submit and give into despair that easily.”

“And if you can, find a way to fight back and help those of us here, and keep that hope that we all need alive and burning.”

and shined, bright and fuller than before, with renewed strength ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

She wakes with a stir, eyes fluttering open as she looks around to try and figure out where she is.

Wait, wakes?

The collars!

Her hands immediately fly to her neck, trying to feel for the collar that had been latched around her neck for the past week and a half.

But all she can feel is her bare neck, the collar nowhere to be found.

She panics, if the collar isn't there, then someone had to have died. That's the only way they would've came off.

Then who? Who among them has died? And why does she feel like a part of her memory is gone?

The darkened state of the room makes it hard to tell where she is, but she does notice that the room is in a state of disrepair.

And there's a lot of blood as well.

Alyssa looks over to the door, slightly ajar and light pours in from the hallway in the castle. Well at least she knows where she is now.

The door opens more and she sees her classmates enter, all with various levels of distress on their faces. She doesn't need to guess why they look like that.

(But who? Who is it? Who can it be that's causing them such distress?)

She hears screams and then the tell tale bell ringing and she looks to the source of their screams, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and her eyes go wide as she thinks no…

“A body has been discovered!”

Only to be met with the sight of her own dead body.

There's a sharp pain in her leg and she lets out a ragged breath, only to be met with more pain in her legs and then her arms. She curls up into a ball, her legs tucked into her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her breaths are heavier now, the phantom sensations of pain still lingering.

Then there's a pain greater than before in her stomach and she screams.

The pain from dying returns all at once, and thankfully no one can hear her. After all, they’re all too focused on the investigation, but she feels like some of them aren’t focused on it as much has they had been in the past.

She knows that some of them cared about her, maybe even all of them to varying levels of attachment. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard for them to do this. It reminds her all too much of how it was when they found Rocky’s body all those months ago, only somehow it seems worse.

After all, Carrie had killed him in self-defense. But this time…

Her head shoots up as she remembers who had killed her. The memory’s still a bit hazy, but she can at least remember that.

Manami…

Alyssa looks around the room, trying to see if the mountain climber is here, but there’s no sign of him. Somehow she shouldn’t be surprised by that, considering he had to leave her room to complete his kill, but she half expected him to be here to investigate. The other killers had been there to do so, so it only made sense.

“It’s nothing personal, Alyssa-chan.”

He had said that but...

“Please don’t think I hate you, or anything. It’s just… this is inevitable, isn’t it?”

Unfortunately true but...

“Someone’s gotta die, someone’s gotta kill, and everyone needs to sleep, so… it has to be one of us.”

It didn’t have to be either of them! It could’ve been someone else, anyone else could’ve decided to kill, but of course it had to have happened this way.

“I’ll die. I’ll die and it’ll be great and I’ll feel alive again and— and I’ll get to leave. We’ll both get to leave.”

He had killed to feel alive again, despite the fact that he had sealed his fate by doing so. She feels a string of pain in her leg again as she recalls his words, and attempts to stand, albeit a bit shaky, considering there’s still the phantom pains from her injuries.

“You're lucky, Alyssa-chan,”

Lucky? Not in the slightest.

“I'll have to wait before I feel that pain. B-but you? You'll never feel this alive.”

Sure, being stabbed makes you feel more alive. In some roundabout way it makes sense.

“There's nothing like being on the verge of death to really appreciate and embrace living, h-huh? So embrace it while you can.”

Did she do so? Maybe, but it doesn’t help with what the last thing she thought about before she died was.

It takes a bit of time but she manages to make it to his room and she enters, and there he is, lying down on the bed, seeming oblivious to the events that are happening outside of his room.

Then again, he’s not entirely oblivious, considering he’s the reason for said events to be taking place.

She takes a deep breath and then opens her mouth to say something, anything to him, just whatever she can think of to get off her chest.

“You said you didn’t hate me and I believe that but...I can’t say it’s the same for me. I hate you, considering what you did. Even if it hadn’t been me that you killed, I would still hate you, considering how you did all this. You just had to take advantage of the one person that couldn’t move, did you?”

A pause, a breath.

“It doesn’t matter though, your fate is sealed, and has been since you choose to do this. Unless you really want to escape with the blood of everyone else on your hands, you best be prepared for whatever execution Oswald has planned for you.”

God, she doesn’t mean to sound so harsh and resentful, but it’s hard not to when your speaking to the person that caused your death.

“All I hope is that you give yourself up when the time comes, that you don’t resist. In a perfect world you’d confess right away, but somehow I don’t think you want that. Why should I even be thinking about what you want anyways?”

She looks at him directly, a determined look on her face.

“Regardless, the path you’re on is game and set. So if you’re not ready to deal with the consequences of your actions, then it’s too late to regret.”

and it flared up, ready to burst with what energy it had ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

The trial ends, along with Manami’s life, and Alyssa is left with a lot to take in.

After all, he had almost gotten away with it, had it not been for Rei, Saturday and Hiroki’s quick thinking. It had only taken them to get him to crack and to confess everything.

Still, paranoia huh? She can say she didn’t see that being his side effect, and she couldn’t have seen them almost accusing Peter of being her killer.

If only looks could kill...considering how often she was glaring at him during the trial, it might’ve worked.

To think he did all this to feel alive again...he didn’t even want to get away with it, and he almost did considering how confusing everything seemed.

She’s glad that Yogi and Yuuto were getting most of it right, when no one else could. If they put their thoughts together sooner, the trial would’ve been over much faster.

It doesn’t matter, Manami got what he wanted: to feel alive, to have all his classmates’ hatred and an execution. And now she was going to have to deal with him if he ever showed himself.

Oh joy.

She’s not sure if she could handle that. Considering she already had enough to deal with with Rocky…

Alyssa’s conflicted on how to feel. On the one hand, she’s glad to see the rockstar again, even if the circumstances aren’t the greatest. But on the other hand, there’s how he acted, and she’s not sure how she feels about that.

She had to both pinch and smack him after all.

Well, she can deal with that later, after all neither of them are going anywhere anytime soon. They’re dead after all.

Dead. Right.

It’s weird...Normally she’d be heading back to her room, along with the rest of them still alive but...she’s not allowed to do that anymore. She’s dead.

And then it hits her all at once.

She’s dead, gone, disappeared from their sides forever now.

Is anyone, anyone at all going to miss her presence?

She doesn’t know and that’s what terrifies her so much.

And it was all going to be her fault if no one felt that way.

(It’s my fault, my fault all this happen, my fault that everyone feels this way, my fault that everyone acted they way they did, my fault, my fault, my fault…)

And in the trial grounds, she cries, all alone.

After all, that’s what she is right now, dead and all alone. All of her friends are still alive, but she’s not with them and she’s like this and wishes, wishes with all that she can that it wasn’t like this.

But no one is there to hear her cries, and the damage is already done.

(Am I just going to end up being forgotten? Do I not matter to anyone now that I’m dead? Did I only matter when I was alive? Was I ever important to any of them?)

Her head snaps up on that last thought, she shouldn’t be thinking like this after all.

But it’s hard, so hard to not think like that, considering what’s happened.

She’s got to look on the bright side after all.

“Keep that hope that we all need alive and burning.”

That’s what she had said before, right? Maybe she should be listening to her own words, instead of what her thoughts tell her. Even if it’s hard, she has to try after all. Running away won’t solve anything after all.

She stands up, a bit shaky but at least she can manage to stand. Recalling her own words gives her something akin to hope, and an idea comes to her.

Even if it won’t mean anything, she wants to do it anyways. Trying is better than not trying after all.

She works her way out of the trial grounds, into the castle and into the rooms that she wants to. First, to the first floor, two people are there that she wants to say something to.

Yuuto first.

“I...I know you might not be able to hear this but...stay strong. Manami was your friend, so you must be taking this harder than anyone else...but you can’t give up. You have a lot more to look forward to so please…”

After that, it’s off to Ann’s room.

“I’m sorry...but you need to keep going. I want you to do so, you were one of my closest friends here, so please...After all, someone needs to work on keeping everyone’s spirits up, and I know you can do it.”

She skips the second floor for now, going to the third and enters Rei’s room.

“I think it’s better you couldn’t see my body...it wasn’t pretty that’s for sure...But you did all that you could, and I want you to know that. You managed to catch him, and that’s what matters. So keep holding everyone together, that’s what you do after all.”

There’s (thankfully) no one on the fourth floor she needs to say anything to. And on the fifth floor is the brothers, and she has someone to say to one of them. She slips into Mugman’s room.

“I...I know you cared for me, and even if you can hear this, I want you to know I did, do as well. You’re strong, and you can do this. I have faith in you.”

And finally, she makes her way back to the second floor, and makes her last stop in Eliza’s room.

“I’m sorry.”

“I...I know you lost your brother and now me...I really did care for you, and I still do...Maybe it’s enough to call it love I don’t know but…”

She sighs, before a small, sad smile graces her face.

“But I’ll be here, even if you can’t see it, I’m always right here by your side, no matter what. I’ll be right here if you ever need it, because that’s what you do for someone you love.”

“So stay strong for me, okay?”

and it illuminated the path for all of those to guide them in the coming times ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

A sigh is let out as she watches, because what else is there for her to do? It’s all she can do really, even if she tries to interact with her classmates, they can’t see her or know it’s her.

It’s not like there’s much to do when you’re dead anyways.

Still she’s been keeping as close of an eye on her classmates as possible, especially considering the motive they were given. Love ones as ransom for murder huh?

(She briefly wonders what her’s could’ve been, though she has a feeling she knows what it is anyways.)

Anyways, she had been watching, and that watching is what brought her to the water park that had opened up. A part of her wishes she didn’t have to die for them to receive access to it, but it would’ve meant someone else would’ve died in her place, and she doesn’t wish that on anyone else.

She can only watch as she sees what Cuphead of all people is doing and she has a downcasted look on her face. She can only imagine why he’s doing this, but she knows the answer, and all she can think is ‘poor Mugsy…’

Wait, Mugsy?

She’s...never called him by that at all. Not once since this vacation started. So why did she call him that now? Call him something so foreign to her, yet also something that sounds so familiar and just right.

She can worry about that later, what’s more important to her is what Cuphead is doing and well, she has a feeling she knows what his motive is, or rather, who he got as his photo of his loved one.

After all, he’s here on this vacation with him.

Alyssa briefly wonders what it’s like to have sibling, being the only child that she is, wondering what she would do if she was in his shoes. Would she kill someone to prevent her sibling from being hurt?

Her first thought is that yes, she would, but then she remembers what would happen if she did so. Could she have handled having the blood of one of her classmates on her hands, and escaping with the blood of all of them on them as well?

No, she couldn’t deal with that, even if it was someone she cared about at stake.

Voices catch her attention, pulling her out of her thoughts and towards the source of the sound and oh no, her mind goes. Cuphead’s voice is one of them, but the other two she feels her blood run cold at.

Rei and Robin are standing near him and talking, and she fears for the worst. Cuphead had to have done something, and that means that one of them, or even both, are going to get caught up in it. Even if she tries to yell at them to ‘go away, please, turn back, you shouldn’t be here and if you stay you’re going to die so please leave, leave’ it’s all in vain.

She doesn’t even listen to their conversation that much, but she sees Cuphead pushing Robin into one of the slide’s structures, the former running away as the structure begins to wobble dangerously and she only just manages to close her eyes in time, but not fast enough to see Rei be pushed away before she hears it all fall down.

She doesn’t dare to open her eyes, but she has to, and when she does, she sees a pile of rubble, and a shocked Rei. Robin is dead and the other looks just about as surprised as she is, the tears pricking the corners of her eyes. All she can do is watch Rei try to free Robin in vain, and even as she sees Cuphead head towards Rei with a drill in hand.

“Rei, watch out!” is screamed as loud as she can, but alas it’s all in vain as Cuphead stabs Rei with the drill and she closes her eyes, and even tries to cover her ears to not hear Rei’s screams, but it’s useless. She hears them regardless and the tears fall out.

She hears an intake of breath and what sounds like a swear and Alyssa opens her eyes to see Rocky beside her (when did he get there?) she briefly wonders, but she sees the rockstar about to launch at Cuphead, what looks like fury in his eyes.

“Rocky no!” she yells at him, and despite the fact of the other being a bit taller than her (and weighing a bit more than her as well), she pulls him back as best as she can, even if he might get mad at her to doing so.

“B-But I...And Rei, I h-have to…”

“I know! I know how you feel but...you know we can’t do anything, right?” And finally those tears fall over as she lets her hold on Rocky fall away, view downcasted.

“We’re powerless here, and damn it I hate it. We can’t do anything to keep them from dying, no matter how hard we try...heck, we can barely interact with them to begin with, you know that, right?” She doesn’t bother to try and wipe away her tears, she doesn’t care. Rocky’s seen her get emotional before, considering what happened at the trial, and during their conversation.

Really, what does she have to lose by doing this? It’s not like anyone else is around.

She feels something wipe her tears away and looks up, eyes widening ever so slightly a Rocky, wiping them away.

She’s both surprised and taken aback by this, especially considering how the rockstar had acted weeks before.

I guess people do really change… she thinks with a small smile and a nod towards him.

Though the moment between them is broken much like a spell, as she hears something that sounds like a thud, and they both turn at the source only to see Hiroki, with Cuphead on his back, stabbing him.

Well.

She glances over at Rocky, and they both seem to share the same look of shock. Two people dying is enough, but three? This was just a lot to take in, and she can only wonder how everyone else is going to take it.

Then again, they’ll find out in a matter of hours, won’t they?

---

And in a matter of hours they do.

She’s surprised at how little time it takes for them to find them all, and she’s not surprised at how they all react.

After all, three people dead? That’s a lot to take in.

She watches over them all, but pays the most attention to Cuphead and Mugsy. She knows that the truth is going to break him, that his brother is going to die because of this. All because he wanted to protect him.

She takes a breath and walks over to the brothers, staying a bit closer to Cuphead. Even if they can’t see or hear her, she has to say something.

“I..I know you know what’s going to happen to you. That you’re going to die, all because you wanted to protect him. I just...want you to not run away from it. I know you can't do that right away but please...don't put up a fight, just accept it with grace…”

She looks over at Mugsy now, her expression sorrowful.

“And I know it's going to break you, but please...I want you to stay as strong as you can. It'll be the hardest for you to accept but even though it's painful, don't look away from the truth. For me, Cuphead, Rei...all of us. Please.”

She hopes and prays as much as she can that he'll be strong, that all of them will…

Because this might be their greatest ordeal yet.

and it wished and hoped that they would all be strong for the coming ordeal ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

There’s a lot for her to think about, after the trial ends.

First, there was the fact that her classmates had been hiding their talents. She already knew about Rei’s, he had told them all in the chatroom about a month ago, if she hadn’t lost track of the time that had pasted.

Hiroki’s? Surprising, but she can see him having that talent. Rowan? Well, she didn’t expect there to be an assassin among them, but she can get why he hid it. After all, who would trust someone with a talent like that?

(Her of course, her naive self would, she thinks to herself.)

Junpei and Saturday had revealed theirs during the trial, quite emotionally on the former’s part if she does say so. Unlucky Student and Reaper…

She doesn’t hate them, and it’s not their faults. It’s neither of their faults this happened, after all, the reason for the trial was because of…

She doesn’t need to finish that thought.

Then there was the way Michael was acting during the trial, and it seemed like all of them were annoyed with him, both those alive and dead.

She has to wonder why he acted like that, and pray tell what he was trying to accomplish by acting the way he did.

(Then again, it’s not like I can know what everyone thinks at all available times...It’s impossible for us to know what anyone’s thinking to begin with…)

She’s beginning to think she shouldn’t waste her time thinking about that, there’s still a lot she needs to go over herself.

Even if Cuphead didn’t hear what she said during the investigation, it seems like he didn’t run away from it, but what she didn’t expect to happen was for Mugsy to try and take the blame himself, to cover for his brother, the (in his own words) biggest idiot he knew, but the only person he had left.

(That’s where you’re wrong Mugsy, she thinks with a somewhat sad smile on her face. You have people here that care about you, regardless of whether or not you think they don’t deserve to. In a situation like this, people can’t help but begin to care for one another, because it’s just human nature to do so…)

She knows it’s true, even if she cares for everyone, whether or not they deserve it, it’s because she does so anyways.

She can only hope that Mugsy will let the others try and comfort him, or something along those lines.

After all, bottling up all your feelings will only cause more harm than good in the long run.

(Ha, how long did it take for me to realize that myself? She thinks with a rueful smile on her face.)

And lastly there’s Rocky, no, Osborne. That’s what he told her to call him, near the end of the trial.

It’s funny, Alyssa thinks, of how much he’s changed since she got to see him again. The way he had acted during the last trial had been surprising, even if he was acting (as he said in his own words) an asshole.

Maybe it was due to him being dead for so long or something else, she doesn’t know.

All she can really say for sure, is that he cares about her. But she has to wonder why.

(Well, it could be for what I said before, or it could be something else I just don’t know. He clearly cares for me, but I wonder why? I mean, he cared about us all before but he seems to be caring more...and not that I’m complaining it just seems...strange. Maybe I’m just imagining things...or I’m overthinking this…)

Then again, she held him back before, so maybe he was just returning the favor as she broke? As she didn’t want to see or hear anything that was happening?

Alyssa doesn’t know, but she makes a mental note to talk to him again when she gets the chance to. After all, the day is still young, what with it being around noon that this all ended.

But perhaps that is best saved for another day, considering how tired and drained they all seemed, both those alive and dead.

(I don’t really need to rush things, do I? After all, we have all the time in the world…)

Though there is one thing she wants to do, and moving herself from where she was sitting before, it doesn’t take her long to find him, Mugsy.

Even if he can’t hear her, she wants to say this before she forgets to.

“I...I know it’s going to be hard for you, what with your brother gone but...stay strong, and live. That’s what he wanted you to do, right? Then take his final words to heart, and remember, you’re not alone, whether it be with those that are still alive around you, or those of us here, ever present and close to you when needed…”

She pauses, smiles, and then finishes her thought.

“So please...take care of yourself, and don’t lose hope, okay?”

and radiated it’s light, to those that would need it the most ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

It’s been worrying, the past few weeks.

The motive this time had only given them all paranoia, or something of the sort, especially with Yuuto’s disappearance as well.

The living weren’t the only ones that had to worry this time though; Alyssa knows that too well. She didn’t spend time trying to calm down a panicked Osborne for nothing after all.

They both had reasons to worry; bringing someone with you if you got away from murder, living or not. They both had someone they were concerned about falling for this motive, and it didn’t help that both of them had reasons to kill.

Maybe it’s concerning to love someone so much, so much that you worry about them, even when you’re not there with them.

Alyssa’s been watching all of their classmates carefully since the motive dropped, as this is one they all have reasons to kill for. It’s much like the last one, but somehow it’s even worse than before, considering it’s not just the living they’re killing for.

Even as she watches, she knows it’s just a matter of when, not if someone will kill.

At least no one seemed to be acting that out of the ordinary, but when she notices Yogi (or was it Yori? She had heard that name said to him) with weapons in his hands one day, she freezes in place.

It seems she’s found their killer for this time, and she’s not sure how to feel.

(At least it’s not her, at least it’s not him, it’s not either of them, we were worried for nothing...)

Her first thought is to tell Osborne, but then she realizes she only knows it’s Yogi that’s going to kill. She doesn’t know who he’ll kill.

So she’ll just have to wait; wait for him to make his move and see who he ends up deciding to kill.

---
And days later, she learns and yet again freezes in place.

Why, why, oh why is it her? Why Honoka of all people, their optimist, one of the people she didn’t want to give up, and just one of them that cared and was kind?

Maybe that’s the reason, or maybe it’s something else she doesn’t know and while she’ll probably figure it out during the trial, she can’t help but want to know.

So she follows them, her curiosity taking over, even if she knows it’s a bad idea.

After all, it’ll just end up with Honoka dead, won’t it?

She doesn’t get too close to them, even if they can’t tell she’s there, but close enough that she can hear them talk. Better safe than sorry after all.

Still she can only watch as they head into Spookyland, and right for the Zombie Apocalypse Ride-Through attraction, and she feels an increasing sense of dread.

That sense only gets stronger as they board the ride and when it gets to halfway, it stops and they leave it. Where would they be going she wonders, as she follows, and stops when she hears them talking.

She doesn’t hear all of it, but she hears enough to get the general idea. Yogi, or rather Yori, wants to get out with Michael. Somehow that doesn’t surprise her, considering what she’s seen of the two and he want to kill Honoka because of how she’s been acting.

She wants to scream, to try and tell Honoka not to do so, but it doesn’t matter, as she sees her pulled into a hug and then a knife stabbed right through her heart.

It hurts, and she doesn’t want to know how everyone else will react. But she knows she’ll see it regardless, and it’ll hurt them just as much as it does her. She can feel the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes but she tries to stay as strong as she can.

All she manages to see before she can’t take it anymore is Yori putting zombie make-up on Honoka’s face and placing her body within the attraction before bolting out of there. She needs to find someone, anyone, because it’s too much. How much longer will this go on for?

She doesn’t really pay attention to where she’s running, but she spots someone up ahead, Osborne, her mind goes and without really thinking has thrown herself at the other, arms wrapped around him in a hug.

“Alyssa, wha-”

“I-I’m sorry but...but I...I saw another...another one of our classmates die…” Her voice is choked with tears that have finally fallen.

“...Who?”

“H-Honoka. Yogi, Yori or whoever k-killed her…”

She feels arms wrap around her and looks at him, only to see something akin to sympathy in his expression.

“Shh...it’s okay, it’ll be okay…” She thinks if she listens closely enough, she can hear tears in his voice.

She loses track of how long they stay standing there, in silence with nothing but her sobs filling the air. But she does know when she regains her sense of time, he’s no longer there.

Maybe it was minutes, hours, days or something, but all she can think is how afraid she is for what’s to come for those alive.

---

Eventually, it’s time.

It takes a bit of time, and even though Rei and Rowan are there, it doesn’t help considering she knows what they’ll all find.

At least they’ll be there for Honoka, at least there’s that.

When they do find her, she looks to see Honoka, there with them, and it hurts just as much as seeing her die. All she can think to do is hug her, as does everyone else there.

(We’re right here with you Honoka, you’re not alone…)

She knows one thing for sure: she’s not going to leave the girl’s side until this is all over.

And all she can hope is that everyone will take what’s to happen well, even if it’s impossible for that to happen, but she can hope as much as she wants to.

and shined as warm and bright as possible, to guide those needed to the right path ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

It’s still dark when they exit the trial room and the castle by extension.

There’s no reason for them to stay around when they already know what the result is to be. None of them wanted to stay around for longer than they had to anyways.

After all, they didn’t expect for that to happen.

(He’s such a fool…) she thinks to herself. As soon as Michael did what he did, none of them wanted to see the rest.

It wouldn’t have mattered if they stayed, they knew what was to come. Soon enough Yogi, Yori, both of them would be joining them.

She’s pulled out of her thoughts by the arm that’s been around her shoulder leaves and she hears Osborne mention something about wanting to be alone.

Alyssa nods in response, it’s probably the best course of action for them right now. They both could use some time alone, what with the events of the trial still fresh on their minds.

She watches him leave and lets out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. The past few hours have been...rough to say the least. Emotional might be the best word to describe it now that she thinks about it.

Then again, when is anything that’s happened here not been emotional?

For now, Alyssa just finds herself wandering the lone streets of the park, her thoughts all swirling around inside her head. Where does she even begin to try and figure out what to do?

She knew that this trial was going to be emotional, just because of Honoka being the victim this time around, but she didn’t expect for it to be like that…

It hurt that Yogi didn’t know anything that was happening, or that had happened because of his alter. He was clueless, and that made it all so much harder to deal with. Having committed murder, but not being able to remember it because the two didn’t share the same memories…

In someway, it felt like they lost two people at the same time. That’s not even counting Michael’s actions that had lead to his end…

After that, she’s not sure what happened, but she unfortunately knows what had to have happened. Yogi was executed, and sure enough she’ll find him somewhere around here soon enough.

Probably not for a while though. She has a feeling he and Michael need some time alone anyways.

Alyssa find a place to sit down, leaning her back against the wall, legs bent up and her arms wrapped around them, head rested on her knees. How much longer is this going to go on for, and how much more do they all have to suffer? How much more can they all take of this?

She isn’t sure...but she’s reaching her breaking point it feels like. Her emotions have been running on high ever since she saw the murder happen and the events of the trial…

A tear runs down her cheek and soon enough, more fall as well and before she knows it she’s crying.

This is all too much, and somehow it’s much worse being dead than alive to deal with this all. Because she can see it all happen, but be powerless to do anything about it. She can barely communicate with the living anyways.

And then there’s what happened with those from Class 68...even now it’s still making her head spin, adding just more confusion to all of this. At least Osborne had told her this vacation wasn’t the first time all of them had met before, and one of them seemed to know her...it’s just too much to deal with right now.

Plus there’s what Osborne did as well, trying to attack Oswald (then again the rabbit had provoked him, so he had a reason to) and it was...scary to say the least. But then again, she’s seen him act...different before anyways.

What is she to do now? How is one supposed to deal with all this? There just doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel, there’s not end in sight…

If only she could just listen to her own words from before but...they just seem to ring hollow right now…

“My, my you seem to be in quite a predicament, don’t you?”

Her head shoots up at the voice, only to see someone standing in front of her, someone that seems familiar…

“You’re...from the display and that voice...You’re from Class 68, aren’t you?” A nod.

“Yes. I am Marie, the Ultimate Maid. You appear to be...tormented by something, are you not?”

“Guess I can’t hide anything huh? Y-Yeah I just...hate all this. This killing game, being unable to do anything to stop it, and well…” She pauses, trying to think how to word this.

“I...I was told we weren’t the first class to have dealt with this...that your class had to...that we’re not the only ghosts around here...It’s all so confusing but at the same time the proof that it’s true is right in front of my eyes and…”

“And it’s all too much...I can’t deal with all this, I’m so lost and I...I don’t know what to do anymore...Or what I even can do…”

Silence fills the air, before she hears Marie speak again.

“I...cannot help you as much as you would probably wish that I could however...you are not alone here. Besides your own classmates, mine are here as well. You do know that, yes?”

“Y-Yeah but-”

“But nothing. You have people to talk to if needed. It was you yourself that said you needed to keep hope burning and alive right?”

A nod.

“Then there’s your answer. Do not forget, we are here if needed and will try to take care of you the best we can.”

And with that she’s left alone again.

“You are not alone…”

She isn’t, and that’s what’s important. She should stop keeping things to herself, if her friends can help her. Because that’s what friends do right?

and it glowed, with what strength it had been given ☆ )

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

It’s been a lot, this past week.

Nothing seems to have changed, considering how most things end up being once a trial is over. There’s a new location in the park, but there’s something...different about how everyone’s been acting.

Perhaps it’s due to all of them beginning to recover their memories, both of those of them dead and alive.

Alyssa knows it’s been a lot for herself, having spent more time than she has been in the past dancing and trying to keep her mind off of it all. It works...for the most part. But it’s not a perfect distraction, far from it.

After all, there’s been one conversation in particular that’s been on her mind more than anything else.

A sigh is let out as she walks through the park aimlessly, coming to a stop in New Orleans, a place where she’s spent more time than anywhere else in the park. She still loves it here, despite everything that’s happened within the park.

Considering this park has been a killing game from almost the beginning, it’s a surprise she still has a place she’s okay being in.

Another sigh, she looks up to the evening sky, slowly becoming night.

"I was on th' other side of that war. Y'remember that now, right? Well, I wasn't on your side."

Yet even as she watches, that conversation keeps playing back in her mind. She thought it was impossible but...

"That's right. I was one of 'em. Th' despairs."

But it was the truth, and he had said so himself, much to her shock and disbelief.

(Rocky, Osborne whatever he wants to be called by was one of the Ultimate Despairs...Rei was on the side of hope and I…)

A sharp pain is felt in her head, a hand flying up to it, her expression somewhat pained. It’s right on the edge, she just needs to remember, she knows what she did during the war but before...before…

Before she had made up her mind, wanting to do something about all this.

It was worrying, the state the classroom was in.

Only about half the room was filled, if even that. Alyssa could tell that Rei, Honoka and Yogi were there, along with a few others, but it was still worrying for their class to be so small, considering how many of them were in their class.

Then again, only a few (outside of the ones currently there) had been showing up lately. Some of them weren’t anywhere on campus at all, like Rocky, who had gone off somewhere, and Caelum too…

Alyssa was worried, she couldn’t deny. She had heard from Cups that Mugsy wasn’t really wanting to come to class, and that worried her as well, considering how he usually was...and considering what had happened to their upperclassmen and…

Just what on Earth was happening?

A ring pulls her from her thoughts, as she pulls out her cellphone and looks at who’s calling her, her face concerned and moving out of the classroom to take this call.

“Sylvia? What is it?”

“You’ve… seen what’s been on TV lately, right?”

A downcasted expression, she knows exactly what her friend is referring to.

“Yeah...It’s still so much to believe...”

“Those people are...your upperclassmen, right? You’ve told me a bit about them before…”

A sigh, as she runs a hand through her hair.

“Yeah, that’s them alright. But it’s almost like they have no idea who they are...it’s so weird...I don’t understand, but they’re…”

“...They’re being forced to kill each other for a chance of freedom.”

Alyssa stays silent on her end, and lets Sylvia continue.

“I mean, that’s one thing but then, it’s being broadcasted and everyone's...so split back here. I don’t know how thing are there but here it’s just...chaos. People want to help, people are just eating it up and enjoying this all...it’s just so much…”

“...Yeah, it is. Nothing drastic has happened here but...there’s been talks of rallies and riots, and some of my classmates have gone missing, and some from the class below us as well...it’s starting to become a mess…”

“And that’s just at our schools...I don’t even want to think about how it is anywhere else but...if this keeps up…

...the world’s gonna go to hell in a handbasket, isn’t it?”

They’re both silent, knowing that what she says is the truth. It could already be happening for all they know.

“Hey Alyssa...what should we do? We have to do something, right?”

Have to do something, something, something…

She pulls herself out of that memory, hand falling back to her side. For a moment, her eyes seem to shine.

And then she moves, launching herself into a routine that while she’s never practiced it at all, feels so familiar and comforting…

“Alyssa?”

“Yeah, you’re right...we have to do something. We can’t just sit around here and do nothing after all.”

A turn, an outstretched arm, a leap…

“I think I might just have an idea of what we can do.”

“Really?! What is it?”

A spin, intense but also graceful…

“Can you, Elliot and everyone come up this weekend? I need to get all my stuff together that’s here. And make sure you have your instruments and Rose brings her sewing kit.”

“Of course! But...what are you going to do?”

“I’m…”

And when her spin finishes, she looks up to the sky, her eyes looking like their shining, the faintest silhouette of an outfit: a while sleeveless dress with a flowing and ruffled skirt, pink and blue accents along with a headband with stars on it, a golden necklace of a constellation, her face shimmering with glitter, freckles along her cheeks.

But her eyes remain the same, glowing and shining with something she hasn’t forgotten to hold close to her in all her time here: determination, resolve and hope.

A smile on her face, one of a girl that’s made up her mind.

“I’m going to show this world that there’s still hope to hold onto.”

and the warmth and hope it had thought it lost returned, with more force than before ☆ )

Text

☆ ( There was a star that danced…

It’s been an emotional past few hours.

Not like she expected it not to be, considering what they were dealing with. After all, they had been trying to find the traitor within their group, and it was going to hurt regardless of who it was that had betrayed them all.

Still, she didn’t expect it to be Junpei, of all people.

Somewhere in her mind, she had taken him off the list of suspects, solely because of how he reacted to seeing Mugsy’s body. After all, how could someone that reacted like that be a killer, and their traitor?

Acting, that’s how of course. Then again, she’d only half been paying attention to the trial, concerned about how her dead classmates were going to react.

Still, she had been...shocked by how Junpei acted when he was found out. At least it was all an act, but she, along with the rest of them, had been fooled.

He didn’t hate them, he cared for them, and he only did what he thought was best...or at least, that’s what she’s able to gather from everything that happened.

Or maybe it’s what she hopes.

Then again, everyone seemed to have taken this hard, especially Saturday. She and Junpei were close after all, so that must have hurt her more than anyone else.

At least Junpei was never in despair, so that was some comfort.

Though, it seemed like Junpei was hiding more than one talent from them, which surprised all of them. Esper, huh? Alyssa can only assume he had his reasons for not telling them, especially considering what he told them all before he was executed.

Having gone through another killing game before this huh? Well, not exactly a killing game and more a death game, but something similar anyways. She can vaguely remember what he talks about, that week when he was gone, being concerned about him.

Guess fate has a cruel sense of humor, huh.

As much as she knows she should hate him, she doesn’t Rationally, she should hate Junpei for betraying them all and having worked against them this whole time. But..she can’t bring herself to hate him.

Junpei said he didn’t care about hope and despair, and that’s how she feels about all this as well. It doesn’t matter to her, any of that. What side they were on with that war, that doesn’t matter.

All that matters is that they’re classmates and friends, before being hope or despair or whatever.

After all, she had said something similar to that person a week ago concerning this.

“...You're really bright. ..... But that ain't a bad thing.”

She was bright, wasn’t she? A girl that was bright and shining and wanted to show the world what hope there still was in the world.

Even so, she still wants to be that girl. Even if only her dead friends will be the only ones that really see it, it’s enough for her.

It’s enough that there’s still people she can show some form of hope to.

As the trial comes to an end, she doesn’t look away from the execution. She doesn’t feel like it’s right for her to look away.

She wants to greet Junpei as warmly as she can. She only feels that it’s the right thing to do.

Because she has a feeling that he’s going to need it.

And when he shows up, it seems like they all had the same idea.

(Well, not all of them, she notes as she sees Michael and Yorgi leave after Junpei shows up. Maybe she should check up on them later.)

It’s emotional, what with all of them not hating Junpei (and Mugsy kissing him, all of them supportive of them) but she thinks it’s for the best.

Even if there’s still a mastermind to catch, that’s for another day. For now, it’s to make sure Junpei knows none of them hate him, that he only tried his best and that’s what matters. That he never hated them and only did what he thought was right.

She’s a bit hesitant to say it was her that threw a pillow at him, but she admits it anyways. At least she seemed to help him realize they were all around, or something like that.

(You're still a bit of a bête though...but I wouldn’t have it any other way…)

After all, that’s what friends are for, right?

and it watched over them, light radiating with as much warmth as it could☆ )