Chapter 3
The descent was long. A few players tried to strike up conversations, but the atmosphere inside was tense. Finally, the elevator slowed to a halt and the doors opened up.
They found themselves in a rather sparse, white-walled, square-shaped room. The elevator occupied one corner of it, and two doors could be seen opposite. There was nothing else here.
Everyone poured out of the elevator and took a look around. They were alone again. It was extremely quiet.
"Maybe the Demon Lord is a diva, like Sissus?" Xhuli suggested brightly, bulldozing through the tension. "Making us wait so they can make a dramatic entrance."
Just as she was done saying that, a figure popped up right behind her and yelled.
[Monokuma's light theme:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELfxtdEakhk]"Excuse you! I was just busy finishing up preparations here. I built this place, by hand, all by myself, I'll have you know!"
The new arrival was... a black and white teddy bear. He was trying to loom angrily over Xhuli, but was too short and non-threatening for it to have any real impact.
[#spoiler=Monokuma]
[/spoiler]
"I take it you're the ruler of this realm?" Hawk asked, keeping his tone measured.
"Yup, that's me! Name's Monokuma," the bear replied, all of a sudden sunshine and rainbows. "I'm the Demon Lord of the Game Realm! I enjoy games, salmon and long walks on the beach. Mostly games! Especially... killing games." He grinned menacingly, or as menacingly as a teddy bear could. "Those are a particular favourite of mine. I'm like... a patron deity of them, or something! People in other dimensions keep making androids in my image to run their own killing games. Probably subconsciously, but I take it as a compliment!"
"Killing games... like the Contract Game, then?" Faye surmised wearily.
"Upupupupu... That's right! You can imagine my excitement when I heard they'd got a new batch of players in. I got so excited I went and built this entire facility, just for you! Just to get one thing straight: I'm a real old-school, hard-liquor kind of guy, you get me? None of this magic nonsense: this place is all electronics and mechanical parts! No magical tricks! Though... I can't really stop you guys from casting your spells. C'est la vie.
"Anyway, I did my research. What, I asked, would strain those frayed bonds of yours the most? What would ruin those friendships you hold so dear? Well, really, the answer was obvious. I didn't need to spend all that time rifling through my cupboard when I could just go with an old classic like this."
At that moment, a panel on the wall slid down, revealing a map of the facility. Caitlin pulled a face when she saw it.
"Oh, fuck off."
[Facility map:
i.imgur.com/RbExNOZ.png ]
The map, though rebranded, was obviously Monopoly. The players were currently standing in the room corresponding to GO, by the looks of it. "This room's the only way in or out of this facility for you guys, so don't get any funny ideas!" Monokuma informed them. "That elevator's the only exit. And it's currently disabled, obviously. Until one of you caves in and kills someone, you're stuck in here!" He laughed mockingly.
"First things first, the grand tour! Obviously there's a rule to this place. It
is Monokuly, after all.
You can only travel clockwise around the board. The doors are all one-way systems. Well, there's a few exceptions to the rule, but you'll see when we get to them. At least that makes this tour easy! Let's go!"
[#spoiler=GO and South Rooms]
GO: As they'd already discovered, GO was a sparse room with nothing of note. It was simply where they entered the facility from. They quickly moved on to the next room. The doorway turned out to be two separate doors, a little staggered, that worked similar to an airlock. The doors could only open one at a time, and only from one side.
Lousy Bedrooms: These certainly lived up to their name: six cubicles with crappy beds in them, only enough for half the players. In between two of the cubicles was a covered chute with "Heavy Disposal" written on it. Monokuma informed the players that they could throw away anything they liked here. The contents would be held until midnight, at which point they would be obliterated. Until then, items could be retrieved if someone was willing to sift through the trash.
There was also something like a fire alarm on the wall, next to a simplified diagram of the facility with small bulbs on every room. Monokuma said that every room had one. If someone discovered a body, they could ring the alarm to notify everyone else. The bulb corresponding to the room the alarm was rung in would light up, so everyone knew where to go.
South Rat Room: A strangely empty room. Most of it was blocked off by a wall with a rat logo on it. Monokuma cryptically explained that they would understand its purpose later.
Library: A fairly standard affair. One bookshelf had an obvious fake book in it: when pulled, the whole bookcase swung open. Behind this was a door labelled "Advance to Go". Nico went through, and indeed found himself sliding down a chute that took him back to GO. Complex mechanisms meant there was no way to go the other way and reach the Library. He quickly ran back through the other rooms to report his findings.
[/spoiler]
[#spoiler=Jail and West Rooms]
Jail: A narrow corridor skirted around a single large jail cell. Anyone sent to the Jail by the two routes seen on the map would be trapped inside for 36 hours. Technically, however, there was only one door to the cell, so as soon as one person's 36 hours were up, everyone inside could leave. The cell door was set to open automatically 36 hours after someone is jailed, after which it stays open for 30 seconds before closing and locking automatically. Monokuma proudly explained that everything in the facility was automated like this. A quick investigation confirmed that there was no other way to open the cell door, even from the outside.
Peeking through the bars, the players could see that the floor sloped downwards at the back of the cell, ending at something like an exercise mat. Presumably that's where people were dropped when they were jailed. The cell was otherwise quite bare, with just a few beds and basic facilities inside.
Outside the cell was the 'Just Visiting' corridor, which the players would pass through when traversing the board. It was quite narrow, but had enough room for a few uncomfortable, metal chairs for visitors to sit on.
Gym: Fairly high-tech, with all the equipment you'd expect from an expensive gym back in the human realm. A section off to one side housed the 'Power Room', inside which was a generator that apparently powered the entire facility.
West Rat Room:: This was the same as the last.
Workshop: Suited for making various things. There were many materials and tools, though all the power tools were tethered to their workstations and couldn't be taken outside the room. A conspicuous white-and-blue chest sat off to one side. When opened, the players saw a notice on the underside of the lid: "Go to Jail. Go directly to Jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect
M200." The chest was empty and bottomless, leading directly to a chute. Presumably this was a one-way ride to the Jail.
[/spoiler]
[#spoiler=Free Drinks and North Rooms]
Free Drinks: As expected, this was a bar. It was classy, with a big, mahogany counter, expensive-looking alcohol and plush seats.
Infirmary: Fairly standard, white and clinical. Of note was a strange person-sized cylinder that stood against one of the walls. It had FIXOTRON printed on it. Next to it was a sign that read "Make general repairs on all your body." Monokuma explained that you needed only step inside and medical robotics would perform a thorough medical checkup. The players were unsure if they wanted to risk it.
North Rat Room: Identical to the previous two.
Games Room: Full of various games: board games, cabinet games, tabletop games and video games. There were multiple games consoles, though they weren't a brand anyone recognised.
"DamCubes?" Felix read aloud as he picked up one of the lime-green and white, blocky consoles.
"I used to have kids. They'd play in here all the time," Monokuma revealed wistfully.
"
You have children?" Hella asked incredulously.
"Used to," Monokuma replied, with a satisfied expression on his innocent face.
A closed-off area to one side lead to the bathrooms. They appeared to be the only bathrooms in the entire facility.
[/spoiler]
[#spoiler=Go to Jail and East Rooms]
Go to Jail: The room was very similar to GO: empty and white-walled. The only thing of note was a large catflap-like panel on one wall, with a picture of a policeman blowing a whistle on it. People could be pushed through this to send them to Jail.
Dining Room: It reminded the players of the cafeteria in their school. There was a separate kitchen area too. Inside the kitchen was a strange device similar to a vending machine, next to which was a sign that read "Food bank error in your favour". Food and ingredients could be requested here, though the quality was a little lacking.
East Rat Room: Same as the others.
Fancy Bedrooms: As promised, these were much nicer than the 'lousy' ones, and properly furnished. There were only six of them, however. There was another disposal chute here, though this one was labelled "Light" and was for small objects only. It otherwise worked the same.
Caitlin noted that the privilege of these bedrooms went beyond their furnishings. There was another concealed door here, and this one led back to near the bathrooms. People in these beds had quick access, both to the bathrooms and the dining room, while anyone in the Lousy Bedrooms had to go halfway around the board, and then all the rest of the way just to get back to their bed again.
[/spoiler]
The next order of business was to decide who got which bedroom. Monokuma had clearly intended this to be another source of friction between the players, artificially creating a class divide.