Main Event Monokuma's Awakening

[Yun Lee]

(This event was hosted by @Atomic Knight and can be found here.)

PROLOGUE
"Taken by the Heart-Throbbing School Bus!"

The dreams are vivid and confusing.

Hurtling through space, strange images and colors swiftly pass by. Like a kaleidoscope being directly broadcast into one's brain, these visions are rapid and mystifying, overlapping over each other to strike at every sense. A vision of rain dances across your eyes, accompanied by the pungent smells of musk and mold. Laughing can be heard off in the distance, but on your tongue is the taste of salt water. Your hands feel hot, as if they are holding mugs of hot coffee, and yet your entire body feels cold, as if you've been dumped in water.

Light dances across your vision, flashing new and wild images. The rain gives way to a raging tornado that towers over you, threatening to tear you apart.

The next moment, it's a calm night sky. A lighthouse stands off in the distance, like a sole beacon of hope in the sea of overwhelming darkness.

These visions are so sudden, that you can't quite keep up with them all. It soon becomes overwhelming, your body beginning to experience sensory overload. Speaking, moving, breathing-- no matter what, you find your body frozen in place, unable speak, unable to move, unable to even think. It feels like your drowning, and you begin to feel yourself choking on air--

Then, you finally awaken.

Sunlight touches at your eyes. It takes a moment to fully grasp the reality of the situation. Sitting up, you find yourself on a school bus traveling along a rural country road.

Soft rays of sunlight drift in from the windows, bathing the inside of the bus in a morning orange glow. Looking outside, one would see a bleak and dreary forest stretching as far as one could imagine. Even if one was feeling groggy from their nap, they would be able to tell that something felt entirely off about all this, as if a gnawing sense of abnormality has grown in the pit their stomach. You can't remember how you got here or where here even is. The atmosphere plays tricks on your mind, making strange shapes and people appear to pop out of the wooded landscape. It is deadly quiet, and you find that any items you had on you before is not with you now.

On this bus, you are not alone.

People (Not all even entirely human) of all kinds are crammed into the bus, taking up every seat and waking up in various states of confusion. Looking toward the back, you would find it modified with a higher roof to fit a hulking individual made of snow. Those with special powers found themselves suddenly incredibly mundane, while those without such abilities still felt off, almost as if they were in a dreamlike state.

If one was to approach the front, they wouldn't be able to tell who was sitting in the driver's seat until they were standing right beside the driver. An impossible sight awaited whoever would take a glance, for it was a bright pink rabbit sitting in the driver's seat, staring at the blank road stretching out for miles. She was dressed in a frilly outfit with angel wings on the back. The seat was modified and pushed forward so that the rabbit's stubby arms could reach the driving wheel, while sticks attached to her feet touched at the pedals.

From the front seat came a large mass of a boy, pushing through the aisle to get a good look at the rabbit bus driver. He had to shove his large frame against the bus' front dash just to get a look at the creature.

"What are you?" the boy cried, sounding more angry than anything. "What is the meaning of this?"

The rabbit giggled before turning to him. "One second!" The rabbit then turned, taking her stick feet off the pedal and her hands off the wheel. Somehow, the bus drove on without interruption. The rabbit then shook off the sticks, dropping down from off the driver's seat and taking out a staff of some kind.

"It's Magical Miracle Girl Usami! ... A.K.A. Usami! As surprising as it may be, I am your teacher chaperone for this school trip!"

The boy staring at her practically shook as he sneered at the rabbit. "That's-- That's not what I meant!"

The rabbit tilted her head to the side slightly in confusion. "Then what did you mean...? Do you know what a rabbit is? It is a very lovable animal!"

"No," said the boy, sounding as if he'd managed to collect himself somewhat. "I understand what I am looking at, but it doesn't matter. Why are we here on this school bus? What do you mean, school trip?"

"Oh..." The rabbit nodded and clasped her hands together. "Right! It's only the biggest event of the school year! We're on our way to Bright Falls, where soon our hearts will be one with nature while we go camping at a National Park! This is a vacation, everyone, so I just want you all to forget about everything and enjoy yourselves!"

"That doesn't... That wasn't a real answer."

"Oh, well! I can answer more once we get to our destination! Please, keep your hands and feet inside the bus at all times and try not to cause a ruckus!" The rabbit then climbed back into her seat and took hold of the wheel. She didn't bother to attach the sticks to her feet again. "Remember, a map of our destination is provided under each of your seats!"

Usami was telling the truth, for a look under the seats would reveal maps of a town called Bright Falls.

Anyone who tried to leave the bus would find that the doors and windows would not budge, no matter the amount of pressure placed on them. Also, for whatever reason, everyone had name tags attached to the front of their clothing. On the tags were titles, whatever those meant...

Continued here.

Twilight Update - DEAD END

Chapter One - Twilight Update - DEAD END

Chapter Two - Twilight Update - DEAD END

Chapter Three - Twilight Update - DEAD END

Chapter Four - Twilight Update

Final Chapter

Epilogue

***

CAST LIST
@Blacksmith as Ada Bartholdi "Ultimate Architect" [American Gods/Hidden World]
@C.T. as Arya Stark "Ultimate Killer" [Game of Thrones]
@Yang Lee as Bolin "Ultimate Earthbender" [The Legend Of Korra]
@Atomic Knight as Byakuya Togami "Ultimate Affluent Progeny" [Danganronpa]
@Kaykay as Chikage Kushinada "Ultimate Jujutsuka" [History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi]
@T.O.M. as Catbug "Ultimate Cutie" [Bravest Warriors]
@GlassTrinity as Citizen Snow "Ultimate Snowman" [Original Character]
@Minerva as Corrin "Ultimate Protector" [Fire Emblem]
@DapperDogman as Darv "Ultimate Saltborn" [Salt & Sanctuary]
@Yun Lee as Edmond Honda "Ultimate Sumo Wrestler" [Street Fighter]
@BarrenThin as Genji Shimada "Ultimate Forgiveness" [Overwatch]
@Krieg as Isaac "Felix" Gates "Ultimate Bounty Hunter" [Red VS Blue]
@Khan of the Mardu as Jack "Ultimate Samurai" [Samurai Jack]
@York as Jack Frost "Ultimate Funhouse" [Rise of the Guardians]
@Ver as Kyoko Kirigiri "Ultimate ???" [Danganronpa]
@Gummi Bunnies as "Lapis Lazuli" "Ultimate Crystal" [Original Character]
@Lucky as M. "Stiles" Stilinski"Ultimate Sarcasm" [Teen Wolf]
@Crow as Morikubo Nono "Ultimate Wallflower" [THE iDOLM@STER]
@Jeremi as Poison "Ultimate Manager" [Street Fighter]
@Josh as Scarlet Witch "Ultimate Witch" [Marvel Comics]
@Crimson Spartan as Seamus "Sledge" Cowden "Ultimate Breaching Charge" [Rainbow Six: Siege]
@Pretentious Pineapple as Tarlotte "Ultimate Tantrum" [Kyoshiro to Town no Sora]
@CrunchyCHEEZIT as Tekhartha Zenyatta"Ultimate Teacher" [Overwatch]
@DBZ7 as Tharja "Ultimate Hextress" [Fire Emblem]
@Nater Taters as Tomoko Kuroki "Ultimate Loser" [WataMote]
@A Tiny Fool as Victoria Maribeth Chase"Ultimate Bitch" [Life is Strange]
@Takumi as Yurick "Ultimate Arcanist" [The Last Story]
@Neko Shogun as Zinnia "Ultimate Lorekeeper" [Pokemon]​

 

[Yun Lee]

The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round
Round and round
The wheels on the bus went round and round

"Did daddy sign me up for this? I'd rather stay at home and..."

Young Morikubo Nono found herself on a bus, near the brink of tears as usual. However did she end up here?

"PRODUCER, MIREI, SOMEBODY SAVE ME!!!!!!"



Earlier today, Nono was in quite a predicament...

"I can't... no..."

"As I promised, Nono, I- no- we will find you no matter how well you hide."


"Nono, I've been calm with you ever since I met you. I think it's time for you to see how tough love looks like."

"Fuhihi... you all shouldn't be too rough on Bonono..."

As the search party closes in, Nono continues to cower under her cozy desk spot - her worry-free zone where she would hide from all her realmly problems.

That was when whispers emerged from these underdesks.

"Who's there- AAAAHHHH!"

Meanwhile, our search crew would be most shocked.

"Anyone heard that noise? It's coming from Nono's usual hiding spot!"

"My hat is flying in the direction of the screams!

"Why did you even bring that cowboy hat? Plot convenience?"

"It's no ordinary hat, it's a lucky charm!"

When they arrived to the supposed scene, Nono and the hat were gone.

"What... happened?"

"You damn well know what happened... MURDER! BLOODY MURDER! BLOODY MARY BLOODY MARY BLOODY MARY!!!! AHAAAHAAA!!!"

"Don't worry Mirei, she isn't talking about literal Murder. She is talking about a fate worse than death...

... remember the Rapture incident, Mirei? Remember the Fall of Elliot, Shouko? I can sense the same aura from those incidents... right where Nono disappeared... I fear that I... I cannot fulfil my promise..."



Cue the end of the flashback as Nono's mind returns to the sickly wilderness that the bus ventured through.

"I want to go home... I'd rather meet mom than be on this trip... I... I'm feeling very sick... what if I... no, there won't be a what-if... Usamin-sensei, please call my Daddy... I'm not feeling too good..."

As Nono feels great despair within her, her face gets buried in the bosom of... someone.

"Producer... I kind of wished that the rumours about you being a woman were false. N- not that I mind though, y- you're still the nice man I met that day... Turns out they were true, but at least you found me as promised... Never mind how you went through ridiculously late puberty in less than a day and grew more than ten centime-"

Wait a fucking second.

These breasts do not belong to a legitimate businessman!

Not any legitimate businessman she knew anyways.

"WHAAAAA-! Yo- yo- yo- you're not Producer! Wh- who are you?"

A taller woman, donning a ponytail and gloves, was sitting beside Nono. The lighting of the bus gave the illusion that her skin was a very light purple, much like snip snap snipy from Overput.

The noise that Nono's mouth made might have disturbed a certain petite lass in miko garbs sitting right behind the purple woman and Nono.

Her artstyle and face was ominous, but her aura was cold yet gentle, like a fine sundae on a good summer evening.​

 

[Yun Lee]

Kyoko Kirigiri: Prologue - Despair

Darkness.

For as far as she could see, Kyoko Kirigiri felt like she was practically surrounded by darkness.

It was like she was floating in endless, black space. Lost forever, isolated from everything, completely alone.

Falling, falling, falling.

Falling towards nothing.

And she was content with that solitude.

Yeah, that seemed about right anyway. Or... Well, it would have been a little while ago. Because once upon a time, way back then really, there was a time where she would have been comforted by this kind of situation; being alone, that is. But ever since meeting a certain Ultimate Lucky Student (revamped to Ultimate Lucky), her perspective had changed quite a bit. Now, there were things, people even, that she... didn't mind. In her own way, she had grown a little from the experience. For all the bad that had happened during the event in which she met that boy back then, if there was anything good that came out of it, she could only describe it as a glimmer of hope that came to rise in the face of despair, tired as those two words have practically become to her.

The boy, along with a few others who had survived the incident Kyoko had gone through in the past, helped her discover something that no amount of reading up on murder cases or even general psychology books could help her anticipate so readily.

The ability to put one's trust and faith in another.

Even after what she had been through in her life, including betrayals that nearly cost the girl her hands, hence the reason why she always wore gloves, and betrayals that would have shaken her if she hadn't already been desensitized to them before, even after all that, for all the people and things she had suspected, the one thing Kyoko Kirigiri never would have suspected was that she would be able to trust another person again.

Time and time again, that boy tested her, whether or not he even meant to, and when she decided to play that game with him, she found that they had both learned something from each other. A nice experience, though the others would be hard pressed to get her to admit that. Even if she had warmed up a bit, she still had to maintain the image of what others perceived to be “ice queen,” though she personally preferred something less abrasive sounding like "person who takes charge in the face of despair."

... Hmm, doesn't really roll off the tongue very well though. Guess that's why they used the word "leader." Like the kind that she once was, with the trusty boy at his side like a helpless pup. Or an unshakably loyal friend.

That all being said though, she really would have liked to spend more time with that boy, before...

Well, how she ended up here didn't matter now, though one thing she could ask herself... Where was she anyway?

Opening her eyes, the young woman found herself on a strange bus, surrounded by a number of other people. Strange people. Some of whom weren't even human. Though her vision was blurry, she could tell from their body language and movements, if not facial expressions, that they were in a predicament like her.

Complete bewilderment.

Kyoko's eyes narrowed briefly as she would look around the place, her head moving about before she even realized it, like it was just plain instinct. Then again, it wasn't like this was even the first time she was in a situation like this before, right?

Because the moment her mind came to, she realized exactly what she had inadvertently gotten herself into.

And she wasn't going to like it.

Still, before she could act on her intuition, bogged down a little by her temporarily dulled senses, she would take notice of a rather large young man with a familiar face and voice, talking to... another familiar figure. It was hard to exactly ascertain initially due to her blurry vision, but after a brief shaking of the head, forcing herself back to her senses, she would manage to identify the two voices, which would come as a surprise to her. She had practically neglected to even notice Nono and how the girl had woken up on her chest, as well as her yelling, like it was white noise.

Again, it was practically routine for her at this point.

"You..." Kyoko murmured in a soft voice that was too weak to be heard by the large boy or the rabbit named Usami. A place called... Bright Falls... Hmm, the place sounded unfamiliar to her, so it mattered little, but even so... Even if this wasn't the first (or even second) time she had found herself in this sort of sudden, discombobulating situation, there wasn't any time to dilly-dally. Hell, it was precisely that she had been in these kinds of pickles before that she get over her shock and try to get answers for her internal questions rather than let them consume her and cause her to panic. That is, if her emotions were sorted like most other people.

May as well sort out all the questions by herself while she forced herself to get up.

However, unexpectedly so, when she would attempt to get up, taking little note of the girl beside her, Kyoko found that her legs were surprisingly weak, perhaps a side effect of however she got here. Hopefully not from that portal back in Columbia. That said, ignoring the tag on her clothes, she would use the seat in front of her to help, but added with the bus that was moving over what felt like rough terrain, her momentary disorientation was not exactly going to let getting up and talking to the large boy and Usami be an easy task.

She was probably gonna need some help though.

Having previously ignored Nono, Kyoko would finally decide to direct her attention to the younger girl, an almost stonecold, practically deadpan face on her features."Hey... Could you help me up?"

Maybe she should just go back to sitting down for now.​

 

[Yun Lee]

-Rinato Dormi & Catbug Prologue-
"Intertwined Truths and Lies ~ A New Friend"
Continued From Here

Once the light dimmed down to reveal that their surroundings had turned into a purple void. There goes her chance of calling for more help in this encounter. But either way, no one would get to see her beat up this Institute member to the ground!

"YOU'RE AS GOOD AS DEAD!"

Shoving him off of her, Lapis pulled out her pistol and took aim for his head this time around. Of course, the man took advantage of those strange runes again, throwing himself away from her aim in a moment's instance. What was this guy's deal with her? He said something about a tradeoff, went to protect her from something that was a part of their warp, and now brought her to a place that could very be her burial place if she were to perish here.

"H-Hey! That was a mistake... accidentally cutting off that portion of your hair like that..."

Her anger not exactly simmered down, Lapis sprinted towards the man, crafting all sorts of crystal fixtures on the ground to keep him from moving so much as she swung her sword at him countless times.

"Can't we... just... talk... it... out!"

With every swing, the man seemed to know how to parry it at the right moments, effectively holding her off in terms of attacks. It infuriated the former Institute member further.

"Hell no! We're not going to talk it out! I made a goal for myself to tear down everything related to the Institute, so I'm going to stick by that goal and fulfill part of it by kicking the shit out of you until your dead ass falls to the ground!!!"

Even now, her anger wouldn't exactly calm down as she crafted a crystal spear, and threw it towards the man's chest. However, before it could do any real damage, Lapis felt herself immediately blacking out, a purple flash taking over her sight and senses...

~*~*~*~

A terrible ringing pounded in her head, forcing her to awaken from being so unconscious. What the hell happened back there? Sure, she was about to beat the crap out of this Institute member she found while investigating the strange demon phenomenon... but she didn't see the man try anything that would result with her suddenly passing out. Was there another member present that she failed to notice? Lapis wasn't so sure, but now she had to get herself up and awake. Who knows what they sent her to? Maybe leading her towards the actual Institute headquarters, because that would be a real treat.

However, she didn't expect herself to appear here out of all places.

For some reason, she resulted in this living room of some sort, and surely enough this wasn't the Institute headquarters. She had been working with those Institute bastards for a loooong time before defecting, and the bounty hunter was well aware of how this wasn't the place she was thinking of. Well, thankfully she just appeared in some random living quarters. It felt like someone had this idea of a dream treehouse and actually pulled through it, but nevertheless, Lapis had the full intentions of moving out and figuring out how she was going to regroup with her ally. She did kinda disappear on poor Neo.

"C'mon... c'mon... I need a signal now..."

Fiddling with her phone, Lapis practically wandered around in the living room, trying to get a signal in order to get a hold of her ally. Hopefully she can get a message out to her, and then move out of wherever this is supposed to be. It's not like there was someone around in this quiet building, right?

Little did Lapis know that she wasn't just lurking around in some strange treehouse! But the headquarters of a group of superheros for hire: The Bravest Warriors! Luckily for her, they just so happened to be out on a mission at the moment. But they weren't so foolish as to leave their base unguarded while they had other matters to attend to.

They left it in the hands of one of the most capable beings in the universe!

Er, perhaps cutest would have been more fitting in this situation.

Lapis could have heard something skittering across the floor. As if it were some kind of bug! But this place looked far too clean to have anything like that going on right? Well, sometimes there was more to things than what you could see.

Which is why the skittering grew louder and louder before a shadowed figure leaped out from behind the couch at Lapis! As the figure jumped into the light however, it clung to Lapis's waist and looked up at the bounty hunter with i's two pointy ears standing at attention and a smile on it's face.

"Hi! I'm Catbug! Are you a new friend?"
...
​

... you... have got to be kidding me.​

As soon as she felt something latch onto her waist, Lapis flinching a bit from the sudden action that she almost dropped her phone in the process. Her eyes drifting over to where she would see a peculiar bug... that also looked like a cat... Well, you don't see that every day.

"... mind getting off? We can't be friends, and I got important stuff to do. Important dangerous stuff, you got that?"

That was probably the simplest way of telling someone off without resorting to violence, trying to pry the catbug thing off of her with one hand as she still held her phone. She had the urgency to regroup with Neo, and this wasn't the greatest time for some weird animal hybrid trying to become friends with her!

"Can't be friends?? WHHHHHHHHYYYYY??" Catbug whined as he was pried off without much fuss. Only to to hop up and down on his feet like a petluant child who was throwing a temper tantrum. "Wait...Dangerous stuff? OH!"Catbug's expression resumed the joyful one he had just moments before.

"You're a superhero! Oh boy oh boy! You gotta stay here! I have friends who are heroes too and they'd love to meet another hero! C'mon staaaaay!" Catbug pleaded as he flew up to Lapis's face and left a smooch on her face. "PLEASE WITH A CHERRY ON TOP? : 3"

Despite all that Catbug was trying to do, Lapis simply said in response.

"No."

With her own personal war against the Institute, Lapis didn't really see the need to get involved with anybody else. It wasn't like their business was hers to ponder around with anyways. Even with her whole relationship with Abel, she still retained this "lone wolf" attitude when it came to working on her own issues.

Gently pushing Catbug out of her view, Lapis focused on getting a hold of her ally, this time trying to get a call in despite the apparent lack of a signal. Though, she expected the creature to try and get her attention again, and seeing that he was so eager about the littlest of things...

"How about you focus on this and not me?"

With a frustrated sigh, the hunter tapped into her special power, using her free hand to manifest a small crystal gem. Having it form in her hands, she immediately tapped out of this power, tossing the gem from over her shoulder and behind her. Surely a sparkly gem will keep Catbug at bay from her, she needed little to no distractions when it came to get some form of communication working on her phone.

Catbug wasn't one to be deterred so easily! As he was gently pushed aside, he was rearing to go back and try once more. That was until a gem plonked him right on the head. Quickly grabbing it between his hands, Catbug floated down and looked it over. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before! For one it was shiny and glowy and had sparklies all over it!

"Oooh! Hhehehe!"

Rolling around on his tummy, Catbug got an idea as he flew back behind the couch.

"I have a new friend I want to show you, Mr. Jeffers!"

Floating back out from behind the couch with gem and stick in hand, Catbug shook the stick which just so happened to have googly eyes stuck to it.

"This is Mr. Shiny, Mr. Jeffers!"

Adopting a 'gentleman's voice' which given how childish his voice sounded was quite adorable, Catbug pressed the stick and gem together.
​

"Hello Mr Shiny, Catbug has spoken quite highly of you!"​

"Why of course he has! Who wouldn't with all my sparklies and stuff!"​

As Catbug was distracted by her manifested crystal gem, Lapis immediately went to work on getting her phone a good signal in order to call for some help. Certainly she couldn't be missing in action for too long, who knows what had happened while she was gone? She'll get back onto track, and she won't be thrown off into more detours. Whether these detours come from the Institute members or this Catbug.

"Aha... a good signal, finally."

Lapis cheered to herself as she was ready to give Neo a phone call. What she didn't realize was that there was a subtle but noticeable beeping noise coming from her... as if a bomb was starting to tick down... towards its detonation.

"MARRY ME, MR. SHINY!"​

"NEVER, SIR JEFFERS! MY SHININESS IS FAR TOO MUCH FOR YOU!"​

"Wait do you guys hear that ticking?"

Dropping the 'toys' for one second, Catbug glanced around. His time with the Bravest Warriors showed that either beeping/ticking meant a bomb which meant a HUGE explosion which could hurt a lot! So he had to normally duck and cover for those kinds of things! Or hide behind Danny so he'd take more of the impact! :3

But a beeping also meant a microwave was done cooking it's food which Catbug loved! Those were always good! Glancing back at Lapis, Catbug picked up Sir Jeffers and flew over to Lapis as he landed on her shoulder."Are you gonna blow up, ms hero lady? Or do you have a microwave on you? :O"

Poor naive Catbug

Just as she thought she was getting a good signal for a phone call, Lapis immediately took notice that Catbug was back again. How many times should she tell him no?!

"Didn't I already tell you that I don't need your company right now? Besides, I'm no hero anywa-... wait, blow... up?"

Ignoring the fact that Catbug was on her shoulder, Lapis looked for the ticking noise that she now noticed. Not too long until she saw a strange metal device latched onto her leg. Oh no, did that Institute bastard latch this onto her when he tackled her before that first warp?!

"G-Get off! Now! BEFORE IT GOES OF-"

But Lapis was too late. Both of them were caught in the blast radius of the mysterious device exploded, but it didn't exactly let out a normal explosion. Instead, a purple vortex opened up and immediately pulled the both of them in, leaving no trace of them in the Invisible Hideout.

~*~*~*~

Lapis felt the strange need to sleep, which was strange in itself since originally she didn't need to sleep due to her Half-Alive status. However, even if she had opened her eyes for a bit, she immediately fell asleep again, being half asleep from the random warps and whatnot. She was too tired to even notice that she had fell asleep in a new environment, the Half-Alive felt more tired than she needed to be...​

 

[Yun Lee]

With a tired sigh, the samurai awoke to the sight of the interior of the bus. A familiar sight, as he remembered the last time he rode in one of these vehicles was not so long ago at the end of the incident of mass killing he was a part of. An incident where he had been an investigator of the various murders, seeking for those who had been slain. However, that incident, where he had with his traveling companion Zinnia, was in the past, the journey back to his world already passed. Why they had awoken upon this bus?

The samurai was not certain, but he could not shake the feeling that another incident was to begin soon.

"Zinnia, it is time to awake," A gentle hand shook the Dragon Master to awareness as the bus continued down the road to their destination. Now where is our destination...?As the rabbit driving the bus (an absurd idea, though given their current situation, seemingly normal) explained that each rider had been given a map, Jack's eyebrow raised in curiosity at the strangeness of it all before reaching down for the map that was mentioned. His eyes widened in shock at the name of the location.

Bright Falls... So we are a part of another one of those games?

They would need to be ready, prepared more so than they were before. While they thankfully had some experience with these disasters, it seemed that once again his sword was missing (most likely taken as part of the game) and that hinted that perhaps something precious of Zinnia's had been taken. They would need to be on their guard the entire game as they attempted to survive once again.​

 

[Yun Lee]

The cold expression on Kyoko's face had frightened Nono's soul. It was no different from the arctic blaze as far as Nono could tell. It was so cold, I could write a whole paragraph about it but I will not.

"H- huh?" Nono then proceeds to stand up as the bus starts to rock from...

Just look at everyone on the bus. Of courseit'll rock like hell.

"I can't... can I?"

She was afraid, but she had to do the right thing.

Nono slings her shoulders over Kyoko, and slings Kyoko's shoulders over her neck. She feels a chill down her nape, but not just any chill, IT WAS JOE CHILL, AND HE HAS COME TO KILL NONO'S PARENTS it was a chill that emerged from Kyoko's long sleeves, from her body heat.

Nono's feet started to jitter, clear evidence that she could not support Kyoko for too long.

"Wh- what's Bright Falls? I- it's dangerous, isn't it? The outdoors are... not my thing..."​

 

[Yun Lee]

The dream, if that was indeed what it was, was disorienting. The feeling of rain, every wet drop hitting with a quiet pitter-patter. A rancid smell worse than the worst of cow droppings. Faint echoes of laughter, the taste of salty water, simultaneous sensations of hot and cold. The sky shifts from a raging tornado to a picturesque night sky. With each passing second, a new scene.

Disorienting. Confusing. But above all else, annoying.

There she had been, mere feet from him. The sniveling, conniving weasel of a man. Walder Frey. So close. And then...nothing. Salty water that would give an Ironborn pause. The visions, too. Work of some twisted god?

Her eyes flitted open, bright yellow sunlight assaulting her eyes. She was in some...thing. Forest rushing past...no. She was rushing past it. A road. And...

...That eyesore. Some fat rabbit in a frilly skirt and a ribbon. Seven hells.

Decidedly not the work of a god.

"..."

No.

Arya swept up and out of her seat, making a beeline directly for the driver's seat. "I don't know what you think you're playing at, but I didn't ask for a merry little picnic. I want no part of this whatsoever. If you are the one who brought me here, I demand you return me at once. I was in the middle of something."​

 

[Yun Lee]

Turning in the driver's seat, Usami looked back to spot Nono looking rather distressed. The rabbit girl squirmed, suddenly feeling mighty distressed herself to see a young girl in such a state. She hopped down from the driver's seat and made her way past the large girth of the boy who was still angrily glaring at her to stand next to the seat Nono was occupying. Putting her hands on her hand, Usami looked downright depressed.

"I'm sorry," she said in a low voice. "I can't let you make any calls. We're going camping in the authentic outdoors, so there can't be any electronics! Please, don't be upset though! Usami is your teacher and she's here to look out for you... she'll do everything she can to make you happy!"

"How about taking us home?"

Usami turned in surprise to find a young girl towering over her. The girl leaned in so that she was staring straight down at Usami, who was forced to crane her head all the way up.

"I think that's something that'll make me happy." The look in the girl's eyes suggested she held disdain for this rabbit already. Perhaps that was her natural look, for when she lifted her head to look at the others sitting nearby, she seemed to look down on the rest of them as well. On her chest was a name tag that said "Ultimate Strong-Willed Leader."

The rabbit shrunk away from the girl, looking a tad frightened now. "I-I can't... Usami is very sorry! I think you should get to know your fellow classmates and start developing close bonds with each other! Friends can wash away all hardships that you may have, I promise!"

"Huh, right..." Placing her hands on her hips, the auburn-haired girl looked momentarily confused. She shot a glance toward the fat boy at the front of the bus, but quickly shook her head and looked back toward Kyoko. "Guess the rabbit has a point. You got a name? I'm..." There was a moment of hesitation on the girl's end before she eventually settled on, "Diana."​

 

[Yun Lee]

Prologue: E. Honda

"WOAH!!!!"

Heart racing, a man near the back of the bus jolted awake, hand clutching his chest as he caught his breath.

"Hah...hah..." That dream-no, that nightmare, had been absolutely terrifying! All that imagery, and it had felt so real, as if he had been right there as it happened! No more chanko stew before bed, that was for sure!

And now...he was on a bus? And a boy (who, might Honda add, had the body of a proper sumo himself!) was arguing with whatever was driving him...them. Yes, them, as Edmond realized there were others around too! Some looking kinda weird, but considering how he himself looked, he fit right in!

Chuckling at that revelation Edmond noticed a little nametag. E. Honda, Ultimate Sumo Wrestler. Damn straight! It was actually rather flattering, to be considered the best at what he did. Ganryu, eat your heart out!

Suddenly, Edmond realized he was surrounded by complete strangers. No, he knew someone here! Well...kinda. He had met Poison before, in sundry fights here and there, but they'd not done much more than that.

"POISON! MISS POISON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Funnily enough, Edmond didn't seem to realize there was someone sitting beside him. Hope he wouldn't wake up :/​

 

[Yun Lee]

The boy who had accosted the rabbit earlier met Arya at the front of the bus. He watched as she went to lay into the rabbit herself, but he stepped in once the rabbit left to see to one of the kids on the verge of tears.

"Don't waste your breath. The rabbit is frustratingly obtuse." Crossing his arms, the boy looked to unattended driver's seat. After a moment of thought, he reach out to tug at the wheel, but found it wouldn't budge for him. "What the--" Letting out an exasperated noise, the boy strained against the wheel. "There's no stopping this damn thing...! Hmph." Taking his hand off the wheel, Arya would see the boy look momentarily embarassed.

"The door. The windows. The rabbit's not going to let us out, so we should try to break out ourselves."

What they would do after that with the vehicle still moving, the boy didn't say.​

 

[Yun Lee]

​

"...So...Sleeepy...Zzz.."​

Those were the last words Catbug got out as he was engulfed in some kind of blinding light from the hero he met! So it hadn't been a bomb or a microwave at all! But something else that Catbug didn't quite understand! He had ended up laying his head on Lapis's lap gently purring away as the bus continued on it's ride. But as the rabbit and big boy started to talk, Catbug's eyes slowly fluttered as he hopped up to his feet and began to bounce up and down! This was becoming such a en exciting day! He ran into a hero, got caught in a light, and he was on a bus with said hero!

Not only that but Sir Jeffers had come along too!

"This...Is...The BEST DAY EVER! YES! HEY MS HERO WAKE UP! WE'RE ON A BUS! "

But noticing how angry the fat boy seemed to get with the rabbit, Catbug frowned. Wasn't this going to be a fun trip? Why did he seem so upset? If this was a trip than they were probably going somewhere that was going to be a lot of fun! Catbug even got a name tag that said:
​

ULTIMATE CUTIE​

Things were looking pretty good! Turning towards Lapis, Catbug began to shake her in an attempt to try and wake her up.

"Their's so many people here, Ms. Hero! We got a big round boy, a wabbit, and a girl with purple hair! Let's go say hiiiiii!"

As it didn't seem like Lapis was going to be stirring anytime soon, Catbug decided he'd let her sleep. After all, she'd need to be all rested up when she did eventually wake up and start hanging out with the other friends on here! Hopping into the middle of the aisle, Catbug watched as both a girl named Diana and a shorter girl all seemed to want to go home!

"Don't worry you guys! I think we're going to be just fine! I trust the wabbit lady!"

But who would be his friend now? Looking around at those assorted among the crowd, Catbug flew over to a girl-one who seemed around um...Eleven? Twelve? Catbug wasn't sure he could count much higher than that so she had to be one of those! But however old she was didn't matter, what did matter was that they became friends and they all had fun on this new and exciting school trip.

"Hi! I'm Catbug!"

Oh! How could he have been so rude?! He had completely forgotten about his old and trusted companion! Opening up his wings, Catbug pulled out a stick that had googly eyes glued to it as he held it up proudly.

"This is Sir Jeffers! We're both weally happy to meet you!"​

 

[Yun Lee]

...

Well that was one way to wake up. So much for trying to catch some sleep. On a seat. In a bus. With a rabbit as the driver.

Actually, Chikage Kushinada didn't remember doing that at all.

The view didn't reveal anything familiar to her. Also, what was this about a school trip? Sure she might have been the right age for it, but she'd only ever gone to school for a short while, and she'd certainly never heard of Bright Falls. What then? She didn't have enough information to figure anything out. Not that she was sure she could ever make sense of a talking, driving rabbit.

A very fat rabbit at that. Almost as fat as the boy interrogating her.

Well if she couldn't figure out anything herself, might as well use the people around her to find out, right?

Noticing the screaming girl from earlier seemed to be failing to hold up some girl with lavender hair, Chikage quickly moved to try to support the girl in blue so as to not have some dramatic collapse befall the group already. Looking at the name tags, it seemed the weak one was named Nono while the one who needed help was named Kyoko. And they had some weird titles too.

Ah. She had one too. Ultimate Jujutsuka? She was still a disciple, but perhaps among normal people she could be considered pretty good.

No, more importantly, how did whoever put this on her know her name? Figuring her for a martial artist was simple enough, but her name?

"The outdoors aren't that dangerous. But I don't know what Bright Falls is, so it'd be ill-advised to walk about it carelessly."

As a strange creature seemed to greet her, she decided to grab it and pick it up. Well, its name tag read Catbug so that was this...thing's name for real apparently.

Not very original as she quickly saw why that might be its name.

"A talking animal?"

"Hey." Chikage called out to the rabbit with a serious, cold look on her features. "What classmates? I know none of these people go to my school, at least."​

 

[Yun Lee]

Curled up on the seat of the bus, entranced by a blissful slumber, lied Zinnia. She wasn't the prettiest of sights to behold as she slept with her mouth hung open and drool dripping down her chin. A snoring sound even erupted from her lips, only interrupted when Jack's hand shook her to wake her up. The lorekeeper opened one eye and lifted her head up, yawning loudly before she opened both eyes and sat up straight.

"Huuuuh, Jack, am I dreaming right now? This looks like the bus we left Gravity Falls on... I thought we went to your world," she mumbled, stretching her arms straight up.

In her sleepy, half-awakened state, Zinnia had yet to realize something precious of her's wasn't with her any longer...​