The Final Exam

[lockdownmods]

Final Exam.

[One last time, you're all brought to the classroom to deliberate. Having lost Akira just yesterday, your numbers are even fewer than expected-- but it hasn't changed what's expected of you.

And Jim? Jim just looks so proud... of all of you. He's confident that this class? This class is going to be a complete success.]

Well? Are you ready? I saw that you were studying hard yesterday-- 8 hours was it? Impressive. That is true dedication to your studies.

But I knew we had some good students among us. Now it's time to become .... even.... better.

[did he have to think before he said gooder?

maybe.

welcome to the end.]

[The physical evidence tray sits in the middle of the circle of desks and you all have the Evidence app on your tablets to access photo evidence. ]

Examination START.

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Evidence

[lockdownmods]

[swordsinternally]

[ There are several photos here!

One of the trash, another of the tablet and wilted flowers as well. ]

[ososoi]

[ Osomatsu's got a whole bunch of photos. Including:

- The message from Han

- A message that was sent to Oswald

- The document of team-building activities, including some minor differences from how the actual activities played out

- Smoke grenades in the desk cabinet

...So yeah, there's a lot. ]

[whatsmytalentagain]

[Instead of photos, which Rantaro does not trust Jim with, there are handwritten transcripts of two IM sessions with Oswald and a printed note from "Megumi".

If anyone needs the photo with the indecipherable code, just ask Rantaro.]

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

[He puts down the tablet. It's opened up to the puzzle. He also puts down the note Tsukasa gave him containing the one password he tried already.]

[buriedearth]

[ Terra really doesn't need photos of the faculty office, but there is a password-locked laptop here in terms of trying to read the emails and so he's leaving that as is.

There's also some letters here. ]

[swordsinternally]

[ People will more than likely notice that Tsukasa's looking a little bit on edge, and for obvious reason. The person who's been by his side throughout all of these trials is gone, after all-- and it's easy to see the conflict in his slightly red eyes.

He has brought a cup of coffee - it's not usually his thing, but it seems that with his grief, he needs something to cope before they can properly end all of this, but other than that? He's fine. He's absolutely fine. Nobody can tell him otherwise. Don't worry, he's not going to overdo it.

What others will obviously notice is that he's brought a backpack-- he's opted to put it down next to his desk for the time being, along with swords on his belt and his bow and arrows on his back. He's awfully prepared and it's very telling.

He's also keeping a hand in his pocket as well, perhaps to keep himself from shooting the Administration that made them deal through all of this bullshit, because it's honestly so tempting, so easy to just grab his bow and arrow and shoot him dead right there and then.

Nevertheless, he can't falter here, so he eventually speaks up, his tone obviously serious but somehow he's killed all the emotion in it to the point where it seems near monotone. ]

Me, Poe, and Osomatsu were the ones who went to the teacher assistant's room, or so they called it. I'll tell you what I personally found, the others can share their findings as well.

Inside, the room was sparsely furnished-- there was only a desk, one chair, a side table and a trash can in the room.

I checked the trash first, and I didn't find much, outside of a bunch of empty coffee cups. On the side table, there was a tablet, along with four wilted flowers. The wilted flowers were a chrysanthemum, marigold, snapdragons and sweet alyssum flower. I'll get back to those after I explain everything else I found.

When I turned on the tablet, the first thing that showed up was a list full of names, one per line. From top to bottom, what it read was: Yoosung Kim, Henry, Viral, Maya Fey, Hank Anderson, Mike Yagoobian, Alexander, Connor, Rebecca Gales, Han Young, Waver Velvet, Ryota Mitarai, and Tess Rubikov. At a first glance, it looks like a list of everyone that's died, but... there's a few names missing. The connection you can make with the names that aren't on there is that almost all of them are names of the murderers that killed those who participated in the entrance exam.

After that, I closed the list, and I found two more things: the recycling bin and an unnamed folder. Inside the recycling bin, there was some sort of file with a bunch of numbers and letters. As for the folder... we couldn't open it. It's password locked. I did make an attempt at it, but the answer I came up with, 1X2HQTB3WU, didn't work. If anyone wants a crack at it, you guys can go ahead, but I don't think we should prioritize it.

That's all I found on my end, anyway.

I'll go back to the flowers, though. In many places, flowers have meanings and I was thinking that maybe if I shared the meaning behind the flowers that were found in the room, we might have a shot closer to who the spy is. I honestly don't care who they are. I just want to know why. I've said it multiple times, and I'll repeat it again, for everyone to hear: I'm not going to allow any more deaths.

[ It's only when he says those last few words that some semblance of emotion seems to crawl back into his voice. Like there's something akin to regret there. But it soon dies down again afterwards. ]

Anyway, I'll go over my general thoughts about the flowers-- since they were found before... [ His words trail off, as if a little conflicted. ] They might have been chosen to represent the deaths of each of the entrance exam members. Of course, this might be entirely off base, considering that they're wilted. But that's something to keep in mind.

Chrysanthemums are actually quite common in funerals. In Japan, they carry a symbolic meaning of lamentation and grief -- the white ones, anyway. In America they generally symbolize truth, and to help promote a cheerful atmosphere. It's also the flower of the month of November. And in general, the flower can signify life and rebirth in Asian countries, while in Europe it signifies an expression of sympathy. And in America it's looked as a flower that signifies respect and honor in America. Also... color matters, when it comes to meaning. Red ones are a symbol of love. Yellow ones signifies neglected lover or sorrow. And white ones can also represent truth.

Also in Japan, it's used a lot in Japanese culture-- it's the imperial family emblem, in fact.

Anyway, moving on. Marigolds symbolize cruelty, grief, and jealousy. It can also mean to show strong passion and being associated with the lion. Also, it can also be used in a desire for riches and plays a role in the Mexican Day of the Dead to guide the spirits to their alters.

Snapdragons can mean grace and strength. But it can also mean deviousness. Because snapdragons are symbols for both deception and graciousness, people can use it as a charm against falsehood. They also can symbolize grace under pressure or inner strength in trying circumstances. As for meanings based on color, a purple one is associated with spirituality and those who have learned about spiritual mysteries. Red represents, passion, love, and giving positive energy. Yellow means smiles happiness, and overall good luck, while white represents purity, grace, innocence and good magic.

Sweet Alyssums symbolize beauty and is also said to protect an individual from heated encounters. The name apparently also comes from the Greek meaning "without madness".

And I think I covered everything on my end with that.

[myliteratureclub]

You've really looked into this...

[It's a ton of information to take in, but she really does appreciate the information.]

[ososoi]

[ Osomatsu's not exactly looking good either, even if he didn't have the bandages. ]

...So they must've known about flowers a lot.

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

I'm glad to see you've come to the same conclusion as I did about the names on the list.

[He's a tiny bit miffed he didn't get to unveil that theory himself, but he's mostly proud Tsukasa was smart enough to notice it on his own.]

Seeing as all the names missing are those who intentionally murdered people who participated in the entrance exam.... I think it's not unreasonable to think that it's likely the spy is one of the people who participated in the entrance exam.

[He glances over at Akira's empty desk, Terra, and Max.]

I'm not willing to make accusations without solid evidence... but it's a possible way to interpret the list.

[unhalting]

[Orga looks slightly taken aback at all of the flower language stuff as he just blinks a little at Tsukasa.]

Huh. Didn't know they'd mean things like that. [He takes a hand out of a pocket and rubs the back of his neck.] But I don't know about sayin' they're all just for the entrance exam guys. The list has more names than that, so it doesn't make sense to pick favorites.

[buriedearth]

[ Terra's expression has just remained kind of neutral at that, but it's not really a full range of the emotions that are sweeping underneath. There is a hard look in his eyes, though.

He also has a backpack (sealed shut), a laptop and some letters with him. Terra places a javelin nearby, within grabbing reach for him but away from the evidence. Okay then. ]

Thanks for your efforts, Tsukasa.

[ ... ]

Max and I looked in the faculty office, and found Todd's laptop along with some letters. I looked over the ones from Jim, and the first one is just kind of nonsense. The second one's about how hijacking's similar to the flu.

More importantly on Todd's laptop, there were a lot of unread emails. The first three that caught my attention were titled "Change of Plans, Report on Fall Class, and Regarding the TA". I tried to look through them, but it was password locked.

I did see a preview of the third email that was short, since it was cut off. It said: "I've thought about your suggestion, but we wi--" and that's about all I could see.

[reshoot]

...You seem calm.

[whatsmytalentagain]

[Seems like Tsukasa isn't the only one who brought a lot of stuff today. The shoulder bag Rantaro has been lugging around for weeks seems a bit heavier than usual. He didn't want to show up empty handed, it seems...

He's also refusing to speak in front of Jim, just like he did the last trial. To compensate, he's writing stuff on a blank page in his notebook and showing it to Tsukasa, the person sitting next to him.]

(Tsukasa, you mind reading everything below the parenthesis to everyone? Thanks.)

I went to investigate Todd's office after the bus crash. The place was a mess, like a tornado hit it or something. I think Megumi moved some stuff out of there? She left a note.

Also found two IMs open on Todd's computer. One of them was him trying to apologize to Viv and offer help, which obviously didn't go well. The other one was a warning for Todd to leave. Now, these might be red herrings, but after hearing about Jim wanting to fire everyone here, I don't want to keep that info to myself.

As for the TA, you remember those posters I plastered all over the school the other day? I actually got a typed response on one of them saying "I KNOW." If anything, that little note on my message to them is saying they were manipulated into spying for the administration, likely through a hostage situation. Our TA has friends and family they want to protect... One more reason to go with Tsukasa's vow to end the violence.

[Rantaro might be smirking at Tsukasa when he reads that out loud.]

[swordsinternally]

[ Tsukasa definitely doesn't mind reading all of this aloud, which is exactly what he's going to do. ]

Wait. She was the one who moved stuff out of there?

[ Vivienne... ]

Anyway, I do agree that it's possible that they were blackmailed into all of this. There's a few options I can think about in this case. If the spy is someone from the entrance exam, the hostages they could have used... were those from the entrance exam that didn't make it here, but didn't die. Otherwise, it could have been a regular hostage situation, like you said.

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

I agree with you that it's likely they were forced into the role.... or regretted agreeing to spy later but weren't allowed to quit.

[He sighs.]

Which... makes this situation more terrible than it already was.

[He likes none of this.]

pinging mods but mostly michi

[swordsinternally]

Hey, Vivienne-- I have to ask you something. Is it true that Megumi moved things outside of [ god, I can't believe he's actually doing this, grimacing ] Oswald's office?

[newhire]

[Vivienne, who's stood by the student's desks this whole time, isn't far away.]

.......yes. It's true. It seems she assisted him with moving several things.

[ososoi]

[ Okay, so Osomatsu will show off his findings now. The photos are in the evidence app if someone wants to take a look themselves. ]

Okay, I'll try my best to explain some of this shit.

This spy got some kind of message from Han-kun. Mentionin' stuff like how 'they' are turning the students against them, how Han-kun was told to tell us that the spy existed at the beginning and how they're a better person than he thought. You can check the evidence thing on the tablet, it can probably explain things better.

Also at this point, I'm pretty sure the spy is also responsible for whatever the fuck happened on Thursday, because I found smoke grenades in the cabinet. And they sent some kind of message declaring they're going to be causing a commotion on Thursday. So yeah.

That and I found a document of all those bullshit team-building activities. They're all slightly different from how they actually happened though.

...So there's my evidence.

[ Oso holds a hand to his head to his face. Fuck, his face is sore. ]

[swordsinternally]

Speaking of the smoke grenades... I actually found a bunch on Thursday in the men's washroom, but none in the women's washroom.

[headjimster]

Why are you talking about the bus thing still?

[jim just. is very disappointed in you class.]

So what? It has nothing to do with why you're here. Was all that studying for nothing?

[ososoi]

How about you shut the fuck up, James?!

TABLET SEARCHES???

[swordsinternally]

[ Tsukasa whistles at everyone with his right hand to catch everyone's attention. ]

We're getting absolutely nowhere here. Maybe we should try something else. We found a tablet, right? Maybe whoever the spy is, they don't have a tablet on them right now, so we could search for that.

I'll even show mine.

[ Which he takes out from his backpack and places on the table. ]

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

Mine is right here.

[He pulls his out of the backpack actually full of his stuff and places it on his desk.]

[headjimster]

[hey someone's phone is ringing-- it's. It's jim's? And Jim just answers it cheerfully while everyone is chatting.]

Yes? Hello? This is Jim.

[a pause]

Oh wonderful. You caught the little scamp! Go ahead and bring him in for the exam. Any luck on Professor Hale yet?

[another pause.]

Oh. Well, that's too bad. You'll just have to keep trying then, won't you, mate? [curse that perfect australian accent.

at any rate, he hangs up the phone and looks quite cheerful.

but then a moment later, the door opens up and your missing classmate is tossed so hard, he hits the multitude of empty desks, which promptly collapse on top of him once he stops moving.

The door then closes abruptly.]

[covertizer]

[ OW?

Akira looks like he might have been awake for the past 24 hours nonstop, eye bags and all and he's staring at Jim with a cold look in his eyes.

But he's...

Definitely not in pieces, so there's that? ]

You look like you're having fun.

catch him up!

[covertizer]

[ Once he's uh. Not under like five desks and being yelled at from different directions, Akira'll be back at his desk, just like old times, huh? ]

So... uh. Where are we at? What have you found out?

Catch me up, and then at least I can help out...

[buriedearth]

There's honestly a lot to unpack.

I'll speak about what I found out on my end, though. First, when Max and I searched through the faculty office, we found Todd's laptop, which had more information on it than we thought when Vivi helped to unlock it.

[ He'll show the male this on the laptop. ]

There was some other information I looked through from Jim's letters but the first one was unimportant while the other just talked about the hijacking being some kind of flu.

[unhalting]

[It's been a long road, with piles of dead upon dead. Some of them had known each other longer than others, but in the end it was hard to deny the struggles and the memories they'd had together. It wasn't something he'd expected when he came into this, but isn't that how it always is? Bonds were always forged with the blood of those who had left them until they hardened like iron, joining them all together as one.

But it wasn't over yet. Not when they still had one last thing to do -- they were close, but they had yet to reach their destination.]

Hey. You guys've been through enough of this to know what you've got to do by now, right? Let's end this, once and for all.

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

That sounds excellent to me.... I think it's time to bring this particular story to a close.

[Or at least this particular chapter.]