[hr][hr]
"Woaaahh..."  Once Mercy walked inside the dining room, she was already admiring the nostalgic style it retained. She walked up and looked through the window that connected to the indoor beach,kind of like a curious child. The beach actually looked fairly real, if not looking closely enough to notice the walls, either way, it was nice to the doctor. Mercy then looked out the window to the music plaza, tapping the glass to get Alice's attention, lightly waving at the recon.

“Oh, hello Mercy!” Bliss was still eating breakfast. She probably would have said hello to Zachary, but he had started eating and seemed preocupied with his own thoughts and wasn't going to bother him. Bliss had been doing most of the talking during her meeting with Cyrus, so she still had plenty of her own food to eat. “So I guess Monokuma wasn't lying, everyone came back safe.”

One pathetic piece of toast would not hold off Zachary for long. Not while he had a drink! Despite its best efforts, the bread did very little to halt the march of his stomach, and became fuel for Ackerson in no time at all. Any food that stood in his way would inevitably perish before him. It was ordained. And now that that was finished, nothing could distract him from the important task at hand. 

"I dunno about that." Zachary had shifted to a table next to Bliss, but not the same one. It seemed he was intentionally keeping some distance from her. "I'm sure everybody involved with fighting the carnage sister might have some doubts about their mental stability after what happened. I know I do." he mentioned, then very quietly added "Especially recently", though it was unlikely Bliss would have heard that had she not been paying very close attention. It wasn't particularly important, anyhow. 

"I guess it depends on one's definition of 'safe', though." 

"Oh hey Bliss, Zachary!" Mercy turned around to properly greet the nanny and archer, taking a seat besides the two. "And yes, the night of carnage was sucessful, more or less. But not without a few wounds for some." She said, holding her bag.

“Oh um.” Bliss turned in her seat to face the other two infinites. “I suppose it would have been more correct to say that everyone came back alive. I think we all saw a darker part of ourselves yesterday. I didn't do any fighting, I can hardly believe I picked up a weapon. Even when I saw it resting in the corner of my room I could hardly believe I touched that dreadful thing.” She sighed. “I guess last night made me realize how seriously I took my survival. Our survival even.” Bliss looked away from everyone. “I wonder, would I have been able to attack if I needed to. I think I would have.”

"Hopefully." 

Zachary recalled the events of last night. Had he not been able to fire that arrow, would everybody have died? Yes, there was no doubt about it. If even one of them hesitated and could not pull through, the ambush would have failed and he wouldn't be here, talking to either of these Infinites. "There's no room for doubt here. At any given moment, it seems we hold more than just our own lives in our hands. I don't want to die. But I especially wouldn't want to die with that weighing me down. Hopefully, neither do you."

"Yeah, and besides, it's normal that you didnt fight." Mercy remarked. "I didnt fight Alexandria, myself. Just patched two of the others up in the aftermath."

“Hah!” Bliss smiled. “I guess that makes Zachary the soldier among us.” She folded her hands in her lap. “Have you ever had to defend yourself with your bow before?”

"...No, I have not." 

Zachary seemed to have a bit of difficulty answering that question as it took him a moment to answer and his hand found its way to the back of his neck. Perhaps he was not the best liar? "I haven't once used a bow to protect myself, before last night." he smiled. "I am certainly no soldier, I just don't want to let my father down, dying in a place like this. I'll do what it takes to see him again, or at least make it a pain for whoever locked us up here."  

"That's quite a noble settlement you got." Mercy said, getting up out of her seat to get some breakfast for herself. "In my opinion, your talent is probably gonna be a key to getting through this, combat wise really. So you should get used to using your weapon more, kinda think of what your shooting at as a target, and your trying to get a bullseye. Like a video game, or something." She advised zachary before heading inside the kitchen.

Bliss nodded to Mercy. “The eggs and bacon should still be warm, but you'll need to make your own toast if you want it.” the nanny called out as she left the room. “And.” She turned to face Zachary. “Well, do you have any plans for the rest of the day? I was thinking about going into the hospital wing later, but I find the hospital part of Axis Mundi to be kind of scary to walk through by yourself.”

"I'd feel weird training for such a reason, but maybe I should..." 

Zach faced Bliss. "Ahaha. I can certainly tag along if you want. Not a fan of hospitals either, as unfortunate as that happens to be right now."  

"I could guide you two through the hospital." Mercy spoke up as she walked out of the kitchen with her plate of eggs and bacon, and sat back down in her seat. "I looked around there after Alexandria was defeated, and the night was over, "defeated" being an understatement. But anyways, the new hospital wing's nice!"

“Well, I suppose if it means Aleecia can be saved, then that's good.” Bliss had managed to clean her plate this time. “Alright, I'll meet up with you two in a bit then. I spent most of my time preparing breakfast, so I'm going to take a look around the resort for a bit.” She took her paper plate and plastic utensils and dropped them in a garbage can. “I'll meet up with you two around noon, alright?” She stopped before going out the door. "Oh, and Mercy?" She turned to face the doctor. "Do you... Always wear that mask?"

"Uh...yeah.." Mercy was supprised at Bliss' question. No one else had mind her mask since she arrived. "I mostly wear my work clothes when im out. It's just comfortable for me.." She replied, one of her hands on the bird mask.

Zachary looked at Mercy and couldn't help but acknowledge the strength of character she must have. "You're a strong person, to not have taken that chance to reference Batman. I cannot say I would have done the same." 

He stood up. Food had given him the energy to keep himself awake. Going to sleep now might screw with his schedule so it was best to stay awake. Besides, he now had plans. "Anyway, I haven't really looked around on this floor at all so I'll probably be doing so. I wonder what lies up here besides this kitchen and a fake beach? Hmm." Picking up his glass and retrieving the plate he had used earlier, he set about putting them away.  

Bliss gave Zachary a momentary glance, raised an eyebrow, and then looked back at Mercy. “Well, I guess it would be rude to ask you to remove it then, if it makes you comfortable.” The nanny turned around. “We'll all meet up later then, okay?” Bliss opened the door to the resort and let herself out.

It took but a moment for Zachary to put everything away so he reappeared in the dining room just as Bliss had left. Seemed to be him and Mercy now.

"So, care to join me in walking around? I've done enough walking alone today that I would appreciate the company." he asked the other Infinite. "Of course, you can certainly finish your meal." 

"Sure, I havent seen the rest of the resort anyways." Mercy nodded, and discarded her plate and untensils into the garbage can. Dusting her hands off, she opened the door to the resort for Zachary. "After you."

Zach stopped at the door. "This had better not be the part where you say "ladies first", cus that's something only immature people do. Like myself." 

The Infinite Archer stepped outside the dining room and looked around. To one side, he noticed a smaller room. To the other, a very large room. He was split between these two things, as the resort did not particularly interest him since he saw a bit of it in the Dining Room. Torn between these two possibilities knowing they could impact the very fate of him and the entire group trapped here, he asked his new companion a very important question. 

"Small room or big room?"  

"Now why would I say that? Im not that childish.." Mercy said, closing the door behind her. She walked up next to Zachary and looked at the two other rooms that werent explored. "Hmm..I think we should check out the bigger room. It might have more to see than the small room."

There was a pause. 

Some silence. 

More silence. 

Zachary rubbed his temples, and finally spoke, his voice betraying conviction unlike anything before. "I believe... that you are correct. That means that objectively-speaking, the big room is the best place to go, assuming our goal is to discover more things in less time." Zachary punched the palm of his other hand, as if he were getting ready for something big, something hype-inducing. 

"Mercy, I believe we're onto something big. Let us indeed head for the big room. No other option could benefit us more." 

And so Zachary started towards the door to what was actually merely a dojo. 

Mercy followed suite and opened the door for the archer again, looking inside the dojo silently. "...This is it?" She spoke up. "Kinda anti-climactic, but also kinda fitting for ya." 

The Archer thanked Mercy before heading in himself and sighed at the sight. It was just some kind of dojo? There could be so much more in a room like this! What a disappointment! "Man, and I hyped it up and everything. Now I'm kinda sad." 

Zachary gave the room a quick glance again. "There's not really...." 

"...anything better and more convenient to have in this room for me, given our earlier discussion." His eyes lit up upon seeing the archery-related things in the room. "I guess this isn't a disappointment after all. Training for the final boss here should be easy as taking gold in every tournament I participate in! Eheheh..." 

Mercy smiled through her mask as she walked around the dojo. "Glad you found this place useful. Me, Im more for the hospital wing." She said sitting cross-legged on the floor."Is it okay if I watch you practice for a bit? 

"Ah, it's a bit embarrassing, but sure." 
[hr][hr]

Meanwhile, Alice had tried out the piano in the music plaza. She didnt know what else to do after, with the other rooms not interesting her. "Ugh, im bored.." she sighed, before faceplanting on the piano keys, emmiting a cluster of foul-sounding notes. Getting up from her seat, she made her way to the art plaza.

Geina was still in the art plaza, frustrated as ever. The center of the canvas was a black swirl, only giving way to white where the canvas bled through. The corners of the picture hadn't been colored as heavily, and still showed a lot of different colors. 

“Ah!” Geina lowered her brush. “I like how if you keep mixing colors together, my favorite eventually comes up.” She giggled. “Shit's so surreal, Picasso couldn't resist touching it.”

"Hm?" Alice curiously went over to Geina and took at look at the robot's artwork. "Nice consistency with the color mixing, but was there a thing in mind that you wanted to paint?" She asked, turning her atention over at the carnage sister.

Geina shrugged. “Real artists paint concepts like emotion and all that crap.” She lowered her brush into a glass jar that contained some water. It quickly grew cloudy as the paint from the brush mixed with the clean water. “So I just let my emotions guide my brush to where it had to go, and boom, instant master piece!” She stood behind Alice and placed her hands on her shoulder. “But art is all about interpretation or some crap, so how about you tell me what YOU see.”

"Humm..." Alice held her chin as she looked over the painting. "I see...hatred." she told Geina. "I assumed a participant in the night of carnage pissed you off?" She asked, looking over at the robot, a bit concerned.

“Nah man, all of you pissed me off!” She growled. “Well clearly we need to do some touch up to this, my hate isn't shining through strong enough.” She picked her brush up and, without dipping it in paint, started to go over the black circle some more. “The hell do you want anyway? You've been pretty close with my dad recently. You're not trying to become Ms. Killgood are you?”

"What? no." Alice said, shaking her head in confusion. "And frankly, I dont swing that away. Dr Killgood is just curious for a sociopath. You all are, really." The recon explained, grabbing her own canvas and paints. "And, im sorry about your sibling, it was necessary to ambush her so this floor could be unlocked, but I kinda feel..[i]guilty[/i]? For it?"

“Unlike Alexandria, I don't believe everything you plebs say. Like, I don't see how anyone can keep their hands off of daddy.” She chuckled. “Though I do like that you think we're all psychopaths.” The black spot looked like a black and white swirl now, as the water caused the canvas to bleed through more. It did create a few runs however. “But if you want to talk to a real psychopath, you'll talk to the sister in the study.”

"The study..?" Alice hadn't been in the study since she arrived, so the mention of a fifth carnage sister peaked her interest. "What do you mean?"

“I mean there's a fifth one of us, and she's batshit insane.” Geina turned to face Alice. “I mean I want to shoot the crap out of you patient types, but I have restraint. She'd even kill her fellow sisters and her dad if given the chance.”

"Curiouser and curiouser..." Alice told herself, before puting the canvas and paint back, and walking away to the first floor.

[hr]

The study appeared more like a library to Alice as she walked inside. She looked around for abnormalities, and any sign of a carnage sister. Before she decided to try and look around again the next day,  she found the vault at the end of the room. The recon slowed her walking speed as she approached it, looking inside the sliver opening. 

Nothing inside.

Moving away from the crack, she hesitantly knocked on the iron vault.

Nothing.

As soon as Alice turned around, she could hear a knock from the other side of the vault.

She quickly turned back around and knocked on the vault again, waiting longer for a response.

Alice didn't have to wait as long for a response. “Shaun, is that you?” The robot whispered.

[i]'Shaun? Wait..the web designer was here before me?'[/i] the recon though, before looking into the opening again to answer. "Um..im not Shaun..but are you a friend of his?"

“Oh, why didn't you speak sooner? Shaun introduced himself the same way.” Alice Masson didn't see much more than Shaun did when she looked through the crack. Just the glowing red eye of a carnage sister with curtained black hair. “My name is Alice Parker. I'm surprised he didn't tell any of the others about me.”

"Funny, we have the same name." Masson chuckled, before introducing herself. "Im Alice Masson, ive heard of a fifth carnage sister here and decided to investigate for myself." The recon said, a small smile on her face.

“I see.” Her fingers crept along the edge of the vault door. “I do not consider myself among their ranks. I do not even consider myself part of this 'game.' I simply wish to be free. And if you survivors keep on surviving, and killing, maybe there will be an end to the infinite killing game.”

"Thats what everyone else is hoping.." Masson sighed before looking back at Parker. "Your different from them. I can tell..Ill figure out how to get you out of there! Somehow.." she said with a quick nod.

“Oh, it's no mystery as to how to get me out of here.” Parker continued to reach through the gap until the tips of her fingers were past the edge of the door. “I just need five. Five inches. And I get an inch every time a blackened is executed. So if there are five murderers, and five executions, I get five inches.” Her eye glowed brighter. “Five-five-five. It's never happened before though.”

"Well, maybe this time could be different." Masson said, taking a small step to the side for Parker. "With more infinites arriving from time to time, five executions could be possible, and maybe then we can meet formally!" 

“You want to meet me without this door between us?” Parker retracted her hand back inside the vault. “I'm glad you're going to work hard to remove this barrier. I'd like to meet all of you. All of the survivors.” There was a brief, noticeable pause before she continued. “But why do you want to do that?”

Masson thought for a little bit, before answering back to the carnage sister. "It may just be my morbid curiosity. Or it could be the idiotic kindness I have, hahahah.." she told Parker, resting her head in one of her hands. "It could also be that you could be more human than machine? Or that..we both are different from the others..?" the recon said, crossing her arms with a tight grip.

Parker just stared out of the hole at Masson. Before long, she moved away from the opening. “This room is linked with the study for a reason. If you want to know something that isn't on that side of the door, I might be able to find it for you. I told Shaun just as much.” 

"Right..well, id best be going before my dissapearance becomes suspicious!" Masson said, before walking away from the vault. There was no response from the other side of the vault door, but she knew the robot had heard her. But just before she left, Alice turned around to say one more thing. "After every trial, ill come back to check on you." The recon said, then left the study.