Welcome.

So, the purpose of this story: this is a concept that has been around my mind for the last two months or so. During this time I have been planning this story carefully, and I have everything planned, every single detail, so now it is time to write it! I'll complete it, no matter how long it takes, although it'll take a while, as I'm also writing a different story in another fandom.

This story happens after the events of Dangan Ronpa 1. Otherwise, nothing else is specified in the timeline.

Canon elements? Besides Monobear, the mention of Hope's Peak, and the elements this story has, in terms of the whole (ab)normal days-abnormal days-investigation-trial dichotomy, there are none, besides mentions to canon characters. Everybody else are original characters created for the purpose of being part of this story.

As it is expected, there are spoilers. I'm not going into detail with them, but they're pretty major ones.

Now that the presentation has been done, it is time to start. Feel free to review or comment anything.

Note that in the first paragraphs, some 'it' are referencing to the person exploring the ruins. It is pretty hard to keep it gender-neutral, eh?

The abandoned building of Hope's Peak. It wasn't long since that group of fifteen students got locked into a game of mutual killing. Enoshima was truly wretched, and the person exploring the academy doubted there would ever be somebody like her again. Oh, the explorer really loathed Enoshima, although it couldn't avoid being thankful for some of the consequences of her work.

The world outside was truly a haven for the explorer. It had any liberties to do whatever it wanted, so not everything was bad.

The explorer entered the elevator behind the red door. It was a new element, the explorer was sure it wasn't there during the time the explorer attended the academy.

At the end of the descent, the explorer found some sort of round courtroom, with sixteen stands. It had several pictures of people the explorer had seen before in a file, but it had no idea about the names of those people. And it didn't care, either. They were dead.

The explorer then saw something it hadn't expected to see. There was a strange teddy bear in middle of the circle formed by the stands, down on the floor. The explorer picked it up, and observed the finding. It recognized the bear instantly. The very same bear that filled the world out there with despair. The explorer fought the urge to destroy it, and went back to the elevator along with the bear.

That person continued checking every room inside the building, looking for anything useful. There wasn't anything remarkable, until it found the controlling room. The explorer sat on the chair, and contemplated the computer terminal in front of it. It managed to turn the computer on, and soon learned that it was what controlled the bear. Just for fun, the explorer made the bear walk and say very bad puns. So that is how Enoshima controlled Monobear. It had to admit that the leader of SHSL was clever.

Then a horrible idea crossed the explorer's mind. Maybe…just maybe…Monobear could be useful for the plans it had formed a while ago. Now that the explorer had found the mascot of the despair, it had a way to kickstart its own fun.

The person turned off the controls and meditated, planning each phase of its ideas. It wasn't going to be hard to start everything, and once it was in motion, it would have no way to be stopped, not even for the person itself, but if it worked, it would bring great benefits for its mastermind.

The explorer smirked. Why not? It was all or nothing.

-ooooo-

Among the remains of the most recent abandoned grocery store in the area, a lone figure searches between the boxes in the back. The woman crouches and pulls several food items, putting them inside a shopping cart she had taken from the front. Once she was satisfied with what she found, she decided to call it a day.

She hated to feel like a vulture looking for carrion, but that is how things were in those days. The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident had changed everything, and now ransacking had turned into a way to live.

Akane Ogata pushed her shopping cart outside, and cautiously looked around the street she was in. She wanted to avoid any confrontations with other survivors, or with any of those people who fell into despair. Those people with the bear masks. She still had bruises from her last encounter with them, she was lucky to have survived.

How did things get like this? When she graduated from Hope's Peak four years ago, she had been promised she would have success in life. And it was true for those four years. A very famous pharmaceutical company had hired her, thanks to her ability as the Super High School Level Chemist. It was a very important job, and the salary was simply awesome. Being graduated from Hope's Peak really meant having the whole life solved.

At least until everything turned into a whole mess, with humanity struggling to survive. Civilization came to an end, in most of the senses. The company she worked for managed to continue functioning for six months, and then it fell apart when its owner and most of the administrative board were murdered. Everybody in the company had to abandon the jobs, and the odds of finding another one were practically zero.

Akane had a lot of money stored, but now money didn't mean as much as before. Besides, with the situation, it could be possible that being rich would turn her into a target for those who were desperate enough.

How many times had she avoided death until now? She had lost count, and she had no idea how longer she would be able to resist.

Soon she arrived to the apartment building she lived in. The building seemed like it would fall in any moment, but for her it was the best hideout there was. Akane pushed the cart through the main door, until she reached her apartment. Before she opened the door, she heard a voice behind her.

-"Akane-chan? Are you home? Ah, yes. How did it go?"-

A frail old lady welcomed here, from one of the other apartments. Akane smiled. –"It went pretty good. I found enough food for another week or so. Want some?"- she said, trying to give the old woman a jar of honey. The old woman took it, muttering how grateful she was.

-"There is also something else for you, Akane-chan. It seems to be a letter"- she said, passing the ex-chemist a letter. Akane took it, and after some small talk more, she entered her apartment with her shopping cart.

Akane sat on her old couch, and opened the letter. It had a highly striking logo on top. -"Future Foundation"- she read aloud. She had vaguely heard about that foundation before. They were supposedly a group of people working to stop The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident. Why would they send her a letter?

Mistress Akane Ogata, Super High School Level Chemist.

You have been selected to be part of an important project called 'Renovation'. You'll be gathered along with other Hope's Peak graduates, and along with us, the Future Foundation, we'll set the world straight once again.

If you choose to collaborate with us, you may meet us on Tuesday, April 20th, on the Downtown Subway Station. You'll find a door marked with our logo. That is the door to our underground shelter, especially tailored to meet any necessities you and your partners will have.

If you choose not to collaborate with us, you may continue with your daily life.

Thank you for your attention.

Masamune Toyotomi, Committee for a Better Tomorrow, Future Foundation.

To say Akane was surprised was an understatement. She had been summoned by the Future Foundation! And they also had information from her, as well. They knew where she lived, who she was, and who knows what else.

The letter made her uncomfortable. The meeting was supposed to be the next day. It was in an underground shelter, in a subway station. It was sketchy and weird beyond all thought, why would she choose to accept? With a dismissive gesture, she threw the letter on the floor.

But the thought that she could help to change the world back stayed in her mind. She could return things to normality. No more having to search for food in abandoned stores. No more avoiding people on the streets. No more fear of waking up to see a maniac to her side, holding a knife to her throat, to steal everything she owned. No more despair.

The next day, she found herself staring down the dark entrance of the subway station. Akane took the flashlight she borrowed from that old lady, and started descending. It was abandoned, as expected. Graffitis filled the walls, most of them having that damned bear scribbled. She was already starting to dread coming there. Where was that door?

Ah, there it was. Indeed, it had the Future Foundation logo engraved in there. She opened it for a bit, and peeked through the hole. It was dark inside. Akane entered the room, and shone the flashlight around.

The dizzy feeling came in that moment. It felt as if she had been chloroformed.

"I shouldn't have come in here" was her last thought before vanishing.

-ooooo-

Akane rubbed her eyes, before waking up. She opened them.

She was in some kind of bedroom. She looked around, scared yet intrigued. The room was the last thing she had expected to see. It was a perfect imitation of what had been her room in Hope's Peak. It even had a few lab coats. It had been a long time since she had used one. Akane took one.

She gasped. How the hell had she gotten in there? Hope's Peak had been destroyed, hadn't it? That was the rumor. Then how was she in the room?

Akane stood, and walked to one of the two doors. She tried to open it, but it didn't work. There was an odd contraption on the side, attached to the wall. It seemed made to insert some kind of really thin object. She turned her attention to the other door. It opened easily. There was a hall. From her position, she could hear voices coming from some location at the end of the hallway.

She walked towards there, anxious to see somebody. While she walked, she noticed several differences that pointed her that she definitely wasn't in Hope's Peak. She remembered that at the end of the bedroom hallway, there was a gate to the cafeteria, another to the public bath, one door to the storage, and the gate that led to the school section of the building. In the place she was in, there was only one gate. But the voices didn't come from behind it. They came from what would have led to the school.

Akane entered what was at the end of the tunnel. It was some kind of meeting room, and there were other fifteen people already in there. Several were already talking, as if they weren't in big trouble.

The Chemist walked to the front row, doubting what she should say. She waited until somebody noticed her.

-"Here is the last person! About time!"- a young woman with a red leather coat shouted aloud, making everybody look at Akane. The Chemist recoiled, due to the sudden surge of attention.

-"I counted sixteen bedrooms, so now we're all finally together"- another one, with a highly decorated robe, remarked.

-"What's going on?"- Akane asked, trying to look as calm as possible. She didn't want to seem all panicky.

-"I heard the voices here, and followed them. We're meeting each other. We're going to change the world, so we may as well get along!"- a third woman, with sunglasses, said. That sparked something in Akane's memory. The letter. She had been called into an underground shelter, but as much as she tried, she couldn't remember who had called her in there.

-"So this is the shelter. Who had called us here? I don't remember"- Akane asked. A very robust man had approached, bringing other people with him.

-"That is the funny thing. I don't remember, but that may be because I have pretty bad memory"-

-"I can't remember either, nor I can find the letter itself"- another young guy commented, then looking at somebody who was identical to him –"Yukio, where did you leave the letters?"- His twin shrugged.

-"I can't be the only one who finds that pretty worrisome"- the young lady with the square glasses said, looking pensive.

-"Well, until we find sense in that, why don't we greet the new teammate?"- the robust one said with a carefree tone –"Let me start. Nice to meet you! I'm Saburou Hikasa. I was known as Super High School Level Weightlifter"- he extended a hand. Akane's own hand ached, after the greeting. –"Go ahead, talk with others"- The Chemist nodded, and couldn't avoid remembering hearing about Hikasa.

Saburou Hikasa, SHSL Weightlifter, 30 years old. The Hercules of Japan. Despite his age when he was in school, he was said to have upper body strength matching those in the Olympic team.

-"Besides, it can't be bad for us to be here, right? We were called to save the world"- Hikasa said.

Akane was more skeptical. -"I'd be more calmed if I could remember who called us here"-

-"Don't worry, we'll meet him or her shortly. The podium is set, see?"- Hikasa pointed at the podium. Akane couldn't avoid thinking there was something odd about it. -"Now go and meet the rest. Forget about the letter"- and with those words, Hikasa sat.

How can you be so calmed?

Everybody else had sit down, still talking with each other. Akane decided to start meeting them in the order they were sitting.

The closest graduate to her was a young man with glasses, talking animatedly with one of the twins. Akane interrupted softly.

-"Ah! Nice to meet you. I'm Kaiji Kudo"- he greeted with great enthusiasm.

Kaiji Kudo, SHSL Philanthropist, 29 years old. A very considerate man who grew in a rough neighborhood, who selflessly took care of the well-being of his whole neighborhood, especially in times of great peril.

-"Don't worry, Ogata-kun. Everything will be okay, I'm sure of it"-. It was as if Kudo had felt her inner worry about her situation. She felt somewhat comforted by his words, even if they were vague.

-"H-How nice of you"-

-'It's just being polite. Nothing too remarkable"-

-"Politeness isn't mankind's main trait right now"- Akane muttered. Kudo laughed, as if Akane hadn't said the ugly truth.

-"I was always told to help others. Being kind can be a good help at times. If you ever need something, just come to me. I'll gladly listen to any problems you have."-

At least he seems reliable.

It was now the twins' turn. Both stood at the same time. They were identical, down to the way they dressed. The only difference she could notice were those thin ribbons on their necks. The one with the red ribbon talked first. –"Greetings. My name is Reiji Ohmoto, the widely renowned Super High School Level Law Master"- he introduced himself pompously. Akane couldn't avoid feeling annoyance at him. Reiji signaled his brother. As if in cue, the twin with the green ribbon, talked.

-"O-O-Oh. I'm Yukio. I'm his assistant"-

The Ohmoto twins…Reiji Ohmoto, SHSL Law Master. It was said he could work by himself with almost any case, in any court, but he is never alone. Yukio Ohmoto is the SHSL Law Assistant. A timid young man who helps him with everything. The malicious rumors used to say that Reiji couldn't even dress himself without Yukio's help. That is an exaggeration, right?

Both are 25 years old.

-"It must be nice to be here with your brother"- Akane said, trying to break the ice.

-"It's fine. I'd rather to be out of here, though. The problems of the world aren't really my concern"- Reiji said, coldly.

-"If the world doesn't stop being so despairing, then there won't be any work for you"- Yukio whispered. Reiji looked as if he had been revealed the secrets of the universe.

-"Oh...then I'll do my best. I'm tired of living in that gas station"-

Akane smiled, uncomfortable. Tell me that the first impression won't last forever

Reiji continued talking with Kudo. Yukio sighed. -"Sorry for his behavior. He can be a real pain in the ass at times"- he whispered before sitting back to listen.

The other twin doesn't seem to be a bad person. By the look of things, it looks like the rumors are true to an extent.

The twins sat down, and Reiji continued talking to Kudo. Yukio just stared forward.

Next to them was…a teenager. Akane wasn't expecting to see such a young person in the shelter. He was trying to listen to Reiji and Kudo.-"Uuuuh…excuse me? Hello?"- Akane tried to get him to pay attention to her. The teenager looked up.

-"What?"-

Akane stayed silent. The teenager seemed to catch up. –"Ah, yes. I'm Masaru Miyata. Is that all? I'm trying to join the conversation"- then he continued with what he was doing.

Seems more like snooping to me.

Masaru Miyata, SHSL CEO. 17 years old. A teenager with great influence, who reached High School at an early age. During a summer, he created a temporal company of bike painting in his garage, as some sort of project, but he managed to make it so successful that it turned into an official company, giving job to a at least a dozen people, and expanding it to car and buses painting and repairing. All because of his remarkable administrative abilities and his outstanding marketing plans.

-"You're still here"- the CEO was exasperated.

-"It was just a minute of your time! There was no need to be rude"-

-"There was also no need for a presentation. I already know who you are, and it'd be outrageous if you didn't know who I am"- and with those words, he ignored anything else Akane tried to say. The Chemist was getting frustrated.

Who the hell does he think he is?

Once it was clear he wouldn't talk to her again, she stepped forward to the next seat, but she hadn't noticed that a person had walked to her. They collided. Akane stumbled back. –"I'm really sorry!"- she apologized hurriedly.

The woman in the military uniform groaned. –"It is okay. I just came to say hi. I'm Tomoe Chiba, SHSL Strategist"-

Once Akane had made sure that Chiba was okay, the Strategist took a militar stance. She was smiling, as if she had accomplished something.

Tomoe Chiba, SHSL Strategist, 28 years old. A very analytical woman. It is unknown how she managed to make her abilities known, but she has helped the military and the police several times, triumphing each time. It was expected from her to be the next Chief of Police, at least until the whole…end of civilization thing happened.

-"Listen, I think that after whatever presentation there is soon, we should all reunite at the cafeteria, at the very least to discuss what we all can do to help the world, keeping in mind whatever we'll be told. Are you fine with it?"-

-"Sure"- Akane replied. Chiba grinned.

-"Good, soldier. You may be dismissed"- and then Chiba went to talk to Miyata.

I sense some very serious leader vibes from her. Having a SHSL Strategist as leader of the team actually sounds like a good idea

Akane now turned to the person she was going to greet before Chiba had interrupted her path. The person in front of the Chemist was clearly a foreigner. For a moment Akane wondered if he could speak Japanese, but the foreigner started the conversation.

-"Hi there! I'm Ian Curtis"-

Akane introduced herself, but she felt uncomfortable. Mainly because she had never heard of Ian Curtis before. It is possible it was because he came from a different country. –"What's your talent, Curtis-san?"-

-"Ah? I'm a painter. Not very impressive, eh?"- Curtis seemed almost embarrassed.

Ian Curtis…SHSL Painter. I don't know anything else about him. Seems to be 29 years old.

-"Why have I never heard of you before?"- Akane asked.

Curtis shrugged. -"I arrived to the country a week ago"-

-"That doesn't answer anything. But you did graduate from Hope's Peak, didn't you?"-

-"Of course I did"-

-"Then why is this the first time I see your name related to Hope's Peak?"-

-"They're not really proud of me. My grades were really mediocre, you know"- Curtis was blushing, due to the embarrassment.

That sounds plausible. It was a school for the elite, after all. A bad student would make it look bad

Curtis sat, mumbling something about bad memories. Akane decided to leave him alone, after she unintentionally made him feel bad.

The lady with the square glasses was next. She was immersed in a book, and Akane needed several attempts before she looked up.

-"Hello. I'm Chihiro Toriumi"- she said, uninterested, and continued reading, but Akane wasn't going to go away yet.

-"Toriumi-san! Don't you remember me?"-Akane said, somewhat hurt. Toriumi again looked at Akane. -"Ogata, the Chemist, remember?"-

Chihiro Toriumi, SHSL Private Tutor. Now 24 years old. A gifted girl, academically. She was said to be able to dispel any doubts one had about anything. Even if she originally didn't know about the topic, a glance to some information would be enough to orientate her.

Toriumi took off her glasses, with a more human expression on her face. -"The one who knew jackshit about literature?"-

-"That wasn't how I expected you to remember me..."-Akane was hurt by Toriumi's words. The Tutor smiled warmly.

-"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's great to see somebody familiar here. We'll make a great team"-

After some short talk more, Akane went to talk to the next one, feeling better. A familiar face, even if it is Toriumi, was enough to make her feel like she fit in the group.

The man was almost asleep. Akane hesitated if she should wake him up, when he yawned and opened his eyes.

-"Aaaaah...yes?"- he stammered.

-"Hi! I'm Akane Ogata, SHSL Chemist"-

-"Nice! The name is Takeshi Toyogushi, the stunts are my business"- he extended his hand.

Takeshi Toyogushi, SHSL Stuntsman. 31 years old. In the time the world wasn't a despair mess, this man was world famous due to his daring stunts, especially when it involved his motorcycle.

Toyogushi yawned again. -"Sorry. I get sleepy when I'm not moving. Physical activity is my turf, after all"-

-"There will be time for sleeping later"-

-"I know. But that thing..."- he pointed at the podium -"...better start soon. If I don't sleep, I become all fidgety. How longer will I last..."-

He seems okay. At least he may be useful later

Akane didn't even move from where she was standing, when another of her new teammates approached.

-"Hello! May you give me a minute of your time?"-

Akane smiled politely, and waited for what she expected would be a quick presentation. Instead, the guy started a long spiel about several products she could be interested in, and saying she should go to his room to check them. The Chemist didn't resist anymore.

-"Cut that out!"-

The guy stopped, and rubbed his hands sheepily. -"Sorry ma'am. I got carried away. Selling stuff was my way to live, you know. Hoshio Saitou, at your service"-

Hoshio Saitou, SHSL Salesman. 24 years old. There was a saying about him: 'If you have a hard time selling anything, give it to Saitou and he'll do it for you. Guaranteed'. Novelty stores really adored the Salesman's abilities.

-"It's nice to meet somebody who is obviously a very talented person"- Saitou now was shamelessly complimenting Akane. She managed to get away of him saying she needed to meet the rest

God, I hope that he doesn't continue the asskissing. Are those his selling techniques? Still, she had to admit that a couple products he had mentioned were lingering in her mind.

The next person in line was busy playing with a handheld console. -"Hey, dear. I'm Masashi Sakurai. What's your talent?"-

-"I'm a Chemist!"- Akane replied, proudly. Sakurai nodded.

-"Nice! I got into Hope's Peak due to sheer luck, so there is nothing else to say about me"-

Ah! A SHSL Good Luck! 23 years old. There isn't a lot to say about him.

-"But you got called to change the world! That shows you do have something to offer"- Akane said, trying to make him open up. Sakurai sighed theatrically.

-"We'll see"-

It is a bit odd that a SHSL Good Luck got summoned here. Maybe whoever sent the letters saw something special in him

The next in the group was the lady with the overly-decorated robe. She had some sort of mystical aura around her.

-"Hi, I'm Akane Ogata"-

-"Aya Sawashiro, the Medium from Osaka"- she looked at Akane's hairline. Later Akane would notice that Sawashiro never looked at anybody else to the eyes.

Aya Sawashiro, SHSL Medium. 24 years old. It is said she has the ability to summon the dead, and communicate with what is beyond. A lot of people has paid her to contact their defunct loved ones, and it is said she has provided peace to the living and the dead.

-"I suppose that you, as a science woman, don't believe in ghosts"- Sawashiro remarked.

-"I do believe in them, but how did you know I'm into the science field?"-

-"The dead told me"- Sawashiro said grimly, but few seconds later she started laughing. -"Hahahaha, I'm kidding! I heard you telling others that you were a chemist. Besides, the lab coat is practically a neon sign about your affiliation"-

Ah, true. She was still wearing that. Akane laughed too, and left Sawashiro there.

She isn't the overly mystical person I imagined she would be. It should be nice to work with her

The last male person Akane hadn't met yet was sitting just behind Sawashiro. He tipped his hat towards the Chemist, as a greeting.

-"I'm Mishio Matsukaze. Have you heard about me?"-

Akane indeed had heard about Matsukaze.

Mishio Matsukaze, SHSL Detective. 30 years old. A man who is said to have the greatest investigative mind of the century. Very few have seen him working, but it is said he can solve any mystery, no matter how complicated it is.

-"It is nice to meet you, lady. If you ever need anything, then don't hesitate to contact me"- Matsukaze offered. Akane now had two people to talk with if there were something troubling her. She replied how grateful she was. Matsukaze once again tipped his hat, this time as a farewell.

Don't swoon, Akane. You're in public.

There were only two more graduates left. The next one was the first woman who talked to Akane, the one with the red leather coat.

-"Look who finally came to greet me! Leaving me for almost last…some gall you have!"- she said, in a playful tone. Akane hoped that she wasn't mad.

-"I'm Akane Ogata"-

-"Mika Yamaguchi. I'm a fashion designer, don't ever forget that"- she said, winking.

Mika Yamaguchi, SHSL Fashion Designer. 23 years old. She was said to be Junko Enoshima's student, despite having graduated much before her, giving her mentor all her creations. And now, after it was revealed that Enoshima was the one behind The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident …I can only hope Yamaguchi won't follow her steps in that, as well.

-"Is there something wrong, Ogata-kun?"- Yamaguchi asked, tilting her head. Akane assured her that it was nothing. Yamaguchi didn't seem convinced.

-"You know, I like you! Maybe we could be friends" – Yamaguchi left behind Akane's behavior, and continued. The Chemist felt flattered to hear such a straightforward statement. She stammered a 'sure', and left Yamaguchi.

The last teammate was the woman with the sunglasses. She had been looking at Akane, as if she were judging how good of a person she would be.

-"Nice to meet you, miss Ogata. I'm Ginchiyo. No last name, just Ginchiyo. I'm a film maker-

The Legendary Ginchiyo, SHSL Film Maker. 30 years old. She is said to have created the most critically acclaimed short movie made by anybody in Japan, EVER, The Flight of the Red Crane. She went into history as the best student that ever studied in Hope's Peak.

-"It is such a honor to meet you!"- Akane said with a lot of enthusiasm. Ginchiyo put her sunglasses on her forehead and smiled.

-"You're not going to cut a strand of my hair while I sleep so you can brag about meeting me, will you?"-

Akane almost choked. It was a ridiculous question. -"What? No!"-

-"Then we'll get along just fine. See you! And, for the record: it has happened to me before"- and with those words, she walked to the other side of the room.

I can't wait to meet her better!

Akane had now met the rest of the people in the room. They were a relatively interesting bunch. She liked some, and disliked others, but at the end, they still were part of the team. The Chemist went to the front and sat down. The only thing left was to wait for whoever called them to make some sort of speech. Some people were getting impatient, though.

-"How much longer will this take? I have been here for an hour!"- Curtis groaned.

-"Maybe he or she forgot about us"- Matsukaze said. His words caused more groans and complaints. -"Coming here was a waste of time. I'm going out of here"- the Detective stood, and walked towards the exit of the room.

-"D-D-D-Do you even know how to get out of the underground shelter?"- Yukio asked. Matsukaze stopped instantly.

-"We should wait a bit longer. This is our chance of a lifetime. Let's not waste it until we're sure it is useless"- Kudo said, putting a hand on Matsukaze's shoulder. The Detective sighed, but returned to his seat.

-"It better not take much longer"- Akane mumbled. Several others agreed with her, but the patience in the group didn't last much longer. Five minutes later, Ginchiyo was arguing as to why everybody should leave, while Chiba supported staying. The Film Maker was about to push Chiba aside, when a new voice reverberated in the room.

-"Why are you all in a hurry? It isn't like anybody outside is waiting for you!"- The voice said, clearly trying to taunt several of the teammates. Everybody looked around, looking for whoever had said that. Then Sawashiro saw him. -"Over there!"- She pointed at the podium. It wasn't empty anymore. There was now a bear that everybody in the room knew too well. They had avoided its corrupting influence, but now there was no way to avoid it. The doors of the conference room closed, leaving everybody trapped.

No...not him...no, please, don't let it be Monobear!