There wasn't much in the catacombs. We could enter the western section of them through the lodge, which was convenient. It was also super helpful to have Ruji in the group since he was the only one with a flashlight. He tried to suggest that Ahmya light a match or a torch, but she quickly rejected the idea, so we were all left relying on the small gift from Maikeru. 

I let Rantaro and Ruji lead the way, walking a few meters behind alongside Ahmya. I didn't want her to feel too lonely. Although, my presence was probably bothering her. Ruji kept glancing behind himself, just to make sure we were still there. I could see the worry in his eyes, but he didn't dare step back and join us. He and his flashlight had to stay in the front and keep the path lit. 

The walls were made of stone. It looked similar to that small underground area Rantaro brought Ruji and me to earlier, only these were far larger. Some areas of the tunnel were almost too short for Rantaro and Ruji to stand up straight while other areas were massive and open. I hoped Rantaro memorized where we had been, because I had no idea how to get back. The catacombs were filled with dozens of twists and turns, none of which I bothered to memorize. 

"Guys, there's a room up here!" Ruji chimed, looking back at us. 

He gave a brief smile, then turned his gaze forward again as he and Rantaro ran up to check it out. I felt my heart lift slightly with hope as they both rushed inside. 

"I just don't get it," Ahmya whispered from beside me, her voice soft.  

"Huh?" I asked, turning to look at her. She was fiddling with her hair, running her fingers through it and avoiding my gaze.

"How in the midst of all this suffering so much hope can still live."

I don't know why, but that reminded me of something Kichiro would say. But, different in a sense. He talked about despair a lot, but not much about hope. This felt like the opposite.

She let out a strained breath, then held up her hand, showing me her bracelet. 

Lighting fires.

I blinked a few times. Why was she showing me her forbidden action all of a sudden? Did this mean she trusted me? 

"I want to be friends," she whispered, her gaze low and avoiding mine. "I just... I'm bad at it."

She trembled slightly. When you hear that someone is the ultimate arsonist, you imagine them as the most daring, brave, and crazy individual in the world. But she wasn't like that. She never really acted like that. 

I held my hand out to her as well, allowing her to take a look at my bracelet. 

I watched her shoulders drop slightly. Oddly enough, both our forbidden actions were at least loosely related to our ultimates. 

"Guess what," I whispered, leaning close so only she could hear. "Ruji was bad at it too. But... I'm closer with him than I've ever been to anyone else."

She blinked a few times, then lowered her head slightly.

"I became the ultimate arsonist because I hated people," she breathed. "I still hate people. But.... never enough to kill them. I destroy property. It's different."

"I know," I said, even though I didn't know. Out of everyone left, she was the one I suspected would be most likely to kill next. 

But... what would she even kill for? Was there anyone outside waiting for her anymore?

"I don't want to die," she breathed. "But... I don't want any of you to die either. And... I know I'm the most expendable one left."

"You're not expendable," I said.

She gave me a tired look.

"Ultimate hero, ultimate adventurer, ultimate ghostbuster, each of you are important," she breathed. "You're all friends. Or, you're all at least somewhat close. Me? All I do is destroy stuff. The world doesn't need an ultimate arsonist."

"It doesn't need an ultimate daydreamer, either," I argued. 

"Yes, it does," she said. "In fact, I think your ultimate is the most important of all-"

"Guys, we found something," Rantaro said, unintentionally interrupting Ahmya. He poked his head out of the room he and Ruji had rushed into, a frantic expression in his leaf-green eyes. 

Something told me this wasn't going to be good. 

Ahmya and I quickly stopped our conversation and ran in to find Ruji reading through more files labeled "Project Reset." 

"What is it?!" I asked, rushing to his side and looking over his shoulder. 

Ruji remained silent, pressing one of his hands to his mouth. I found myself leaning down so I could read as well. The papers were dense, filled with thousands of words in a font so tiny I had to squint to read it.

"I can't tell if it's real," Rantaro said as I continued reading, my skin turning colder and colder by the second. I could hear my heart racing in my ears. Ahmya's breath hitched beside me, and Ruji remained petrified. 

"So.... that's it? The rest of the world is gone?" Ahmya whispered, her voice as small as ever. 

Rantaro shook his head, unsure. 

If what the papers were saying was true, then Project Reset was something put into motion by Hopes Peak Academy, an old school for ultimates or something. It repeated some of the things I had already learned, but now there were more details.

If what we were seeing was real, then my parents, my home, it was all gone. 

"Sixteen special students sent to live in isolation in order to rebuild the world from scratch," Ruji quietly read. "Far from society, these gifted students, eight girls and eight boys, will each work together to reset society, creating what will grow to be a safer world. Each student has gone through various tests and has willingly agreed to come. Measures will be taken to make sure no one else gets in, if anyone else is left by then after the biggest most tragic event in all of history."

I shook my head, my thoughts impossible to gather. What did this mean for the rest of the world? What did this mean for us? Why was Monokuma here?! Why were we being forced to kill each other if the goal had been to restart and rebuild?

Why would I willingly come here? Why would I leave my family behind?

Why didn't I remember anything?

"Someone or something had to let Monokuma in," Rantaro breathed. "Saikoro... he was saying the mastermind was one of us."

"It isn't," I snapped, bringing my gaze to his. "No one is that evil."

Clearly someone was, though. I just didn't want to believe it. 

I didn't know what to believe. I didn't know who to trust. Could I even trust myself?! My memories must have been tampered with. 

And what about what Ruji had said? It was days ago now, but he mentioned picking up signals of a spirit. A dangerous one, of that.

I just wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to a time when the world was safe. I wanted to run into my parents' arms and never let go. 

Rantaro's entire body was tense. His mind must have been spiraling as well. Did he really willingly give up the search for his sisters to come here and be a part of this project? Would he really abandon his family like that? Years of searching, all wasted.

And what about Ruji? He had a brother. And a dog! I doubted he would want to leave him and the rest of the world behind.

"We have to get out of here and tell Daiki," I whispered, trying and failing to keep my voice from shaking. 

"Daiki? Why Daiki?" Ahmya asked, tilting her head slightly. She seemed the least affected by this news, though I could still see the fear in her eyes. 

"He's been looking for answers this whole time," I said, no longer caring about keeping his little group secret. With how many of us were left, it was less important to keep secrets and more important to work together. I may have been making a mistake by telling her, but I wanted Ahmya to feel trusted. I wanted her to see that she was important too. 

"And you think this is it?" Ruji whispered, his voice muffled by his own hand. 

"I don't know what I think," I replied honestly. "He needs to see this, though. We need to find a way outside-"

"I can't go outside," Rantaro breathed, tapping his bracelet. He briefly glanced at me.

Looks like he trusted everyone in that room enough to tell us.

"Yours are harsh," Ahmya muttered, glancing at her bracelet. "Suki can't sleep."

She then cast me an apologetic glance, worried that I'd get mad at her for revealing my forbidden action. I didn't mind, though. It's not like anyone could use that against me. Besides, I trusted Ruji and Rantaro.

"No screaming," Ruji whispered, his voice still muffled as he tapped the bracelet. 

I nodded to myself, trying to sort through all the forbidden actions in my mind. 

I couldn't sleep, Yuuki couldn't talk, Kichiro couldn't be touched, Ahmya couldn't light fires, Rantaro couldn't go outside, and Ruji couldn't scream.

What did that leave Daiki with, then?

Did it matter? None of the forbidden actions seemed completely unmanageable. Rantaro's was fairly harsh because now there was no way for him to get back to his cabin, and mine certainly put a time limit over our heads, but if everyone else was cautious enough, things would probably turn out okay!

We still had time. 

We decided to take the files with us and head back. Ruji handed them all to me so he could be back to flashlight duty while Rantaro led us back. I was grateful for the fact that he memorized the way we came. As the ultimate adventurer, he was probably used to this kind of thing. 

It took us a while, but we were able to make it back to the lodge just before three. It made sense now why Rantaro wanted us to search the west side since the entrance was attached to the building. 

The other group wasn't waiting there for us, but I didn't expect them to be. After all, we were a few minutes early. I decided to take that spare time to read over the files again, though nothing changed from the last time I read them. They still said the same terrifying, horrible things. 

It couldn't be real, though. If it was, then why would we be here? As ultimates, I would think that we'd be out there, trying to save the world instead of abandoning it. 

Ruji kept his hand over his mouth, trembling. I wasn't sure what he was more afraid of, his forbidden action or what he read. I reached out to him, placing my hand on his shoulder in an attempt to be comforting, but instead, I made him flinch. He looked toward me with his wide golden eyes, still shaking. 

"Sorry," I whispered, drawing back slightly. 

He shook his head, turning his gaze away from me, opting to stare out into space instead. 

"It's not real, right?" he asked. "Please, tell me it's not real."

"It's not real," I said, unsure if I believed my own words. I wanted to, with all my heart, but with everything that had been happening, it was hard to know what anything was anymore. 

"I can't believe I just left him out there," Ruji whispered, thinking of his brother. 

"You didn't," I promised. This, I was certain of. "You wouldn't."

The papers couldn't be true. 

If they were, then maybe dying was the best option. What would winning even do? Send us out into a world of destruction? 

If only everyone else could have known. If we all saw this file before the games began, everything might have been different. 

Tora could still be here. 

Everyone could still be here. 

We went from sixteen to seven. How was that even possible? We've already lost nine people! It still didn't feel real. 

I wanted to see Sora's smile again while listening to him talk about flying away. I wanted to watch Maikeru's hard exterior slowly continue to melt away. Maybe all of us really could have been friends had we been born in another life. 

That would have been nice...

"Uh, Suki?" Rantaro said, his voice suddenly frantic. Ahmya, Ruji, and I all turned to face him as he stood just in front of the west entrance, checking his pockets frantically.

"What is it?" I asked, standing up and frowning. After another moment, he turned his gaze to mine, his eyes wide and terrified.

"I lost the VHS tape," he whispered.