Mondatta took one look behind him to see how many would be present, and sighed; he wished he was the only one who appeared, as he fully expected the homicidal maniac posing as an awardee of a doctoral degree to have another nefarious plan. The metallic man didn't flinch even as the spikes flew right before him, causing his robes to slightly flutter. Mary on the other hand barely kept herself from chewing on her fingernails out of the anxiety. She made a classical, if ear-damaging, response to the trap's activation, causing her to jump quite far into the air, giving the bear a sight that would be censored by television networks if this happened to be a TV show.

However, no TV show would be so gruesome as the one hosted by Monokuma, as the participants soon learned. Mary didn't take it well. 
[color=pink]"Wait, no, this is bad! Oh crap, this is super bad!"[/color] She quickly went behind Caora and lifted the poor crossdresser with a hug, obviously trying to calm down. 
[color=pink]"Oh crap crap crap crap crap-Wait, I think I..."[/color] Mary's eyebrows furrowed, and she dropped Caora; she had a feeling she might have seen something similar somewhere else, but she had trouble remembering it. 
[color=pink]"There was, like...a movie? No, game? No, that was puzzles...OH! Now I remember! Guys, vote for-"[/color] She managed to say before she heard the sound of someone voting and screamed in pure shock.

[color=pink]"NO, DAVIS!"[/color] Mary went right up to him and slapped the guy hard in the cheek. [color=pink]"You idiot!"[/color] The others were probably shocked, and Shona did ask her what she was so worked up about. Her fist still shaking, she responded: [color=pink]"I remembered how we could do this. See, I was doing a stream where fans sent me stuff and-Anyway, point is, there was a comic book where this exact stuff happened, and they solved it by voting themselves!"[/color] After seeing that the people weren't convinced, Mary continued: [color=pink]"That way nobody had a majority vote and died!"[/color] 

Mary yelped when something cold suddenly touched her, and she realized it was Mondatta, who placed his hand on her shoulder. 
[color=gray]"Miss Hanson, even if Mister Gallo didn't vote, any ties would be broken by Monokuma."[/color] Mary's lower lip trembled, and she put her hands to her chest. 
[color=pink]"W-Well, I know that, but still! It's better than voting for someone else, right? I mean, what choice do we have!"[/color] She clutched Mondatta's robes while burying her face in his cold chest, seemingly trying to hide the tears that were now coming out. Mondatta sighed. 
[color=gray]"So you would rather leave our lives in the hands of a malicious ursine?"[/color] The polished practitioner of Buddhism shook his head. [color=gray]"No, don't you see? This is what he wants."[/color] 

Mondatta first looked at his own handbook to see if the two-toned creature was right, and then took a look at the others; he only saw faces of fear, distrust, and something worse. 
[color=gray]"He wants us to feel like all hope is lost, that there is only despair. But I won't let him have this power over us."[/color] 
Mondatta lifted his handbook for everyone to see, and lifted a metallic finger towards the screen. It trembled a bit, but after a deep breath, he clicked his own name. 
[color=gray]"Vote for me, and believe in hope,"[/color] he spoke. Mary on the other hand realized time was about to run out, and secretly voted, afterwards sliding down on the floor with her ankles apart, where her gaze was locked, her spirit drained out of her. 
[color=pink]"Hope, huh..."[/color]