Art by stormy_aozora71

Darkness.

All she saw was darkness. She tried to move around only to be met with a cold hard surface.

Metal...?

She started to aggressively bang her fist on whatever this metal object was. It swung wide open and hit the wall next to it with a loud crash. A girl with long brown hair casually stepped out of the locker and looked around. The metal object that she was banging on was actually a rusty locker and she realized that she was in a classroom that was overgrown with vines and leaves. It looked like a greenhouse, but a lot messier and unkept. She scanned the room again to see a person with purple hair in a black gakuran, sitting at a desk, staring at her with wide eyes.

She stared at him blankly. "Are you the one that kidnapped me?"

He instantly tensed up and frantically shook his head. "N-No! I swear I'm not. I was kidnapped too and I have no idea what's happening!"

The girl nodded. Then suddenly, the locker that was next to the girls started to shake and sway in all kinds of directions. The boy flinched back and the girl narrowed her eyes at the locker. Soon, another boy, who had white hair and who was also in a black gakuran fell out. He took one look at the purple-haired boy and brown-haired girl and instantly moved back, getting into a defensive stance.

"Who are you two? Are you with the ones who kidnapped me?" He asked in an accusatory tone.

The girl shook her head. "Calm down, we're just as confused as you are. Apparently, we were both kidnapped as well."

The boy hummed in acknowledgement but remained on guard. "Who are you two?" He asked.

"Well, I'm-" The girl got cut off by a loud crash outside. The three of them stared at the door in bewilderment. The girl quickly strode to the door, slid it open, and looked out in the hallway but found nothing there. She stepped out into the hallway and found that it was just as messy and overgrown as the classroom she was just in. The two boys closely followed behind her.

"It's empty here..." The purple-haired boy whispered. "What could have made that noise?"

His question was quickly answered when around the corner, loud thumping rang throughout the halls. Soon, a gigantic, yellow robot came around the corner and blocked the hallway.

"There youse bastards are!"

The purple boy let out a squeal. "W-What on Earth is that!?"

"I-I don't know!"

"Run." The girl signalled the two boys to follow her and they ran the opposite direction.

"Oi! Where you bastards going!? Wait!" They ignored it's cries and kept running.

The hallways they ran through were all filled from head to toe in vegetation. There were even trees and flowers growing. They kept running until they got to a green door and the girl kicked it open. They frantically dived inside and slammed the door shut behind them. They proceeded to look up and came face to face with twelve other people. They all looked just as surprised and scared as they did. Later, two other students, a boy and a girl, came bursting into the room.

"Ohhh... More people have arrived." A white-haired girl with pigtails said.

"Did you all get chased by that monster too?" A guy with spikey, magenta hair asked.

"O-Oh, yeah..." The blonde girl who just came through the door responded.

"What... are they? What do they want from us?" A really short boy mumbled.

"Do you want me to check on what's happening?" The purple-haired boy offered.

"Don't. It's too dangerous with those things wandering around." The brown-haired girl replied.

"It's likely that monster still lurks nearby..." A boy with a black mask covering half his face added.

"W-Wait!" The blonde girl waved her arms around frantically. "Who are you guys? And why am I here-"

"And that makes seventeen." A green-haired guy interrupted her.

"What?"

"I'm talking about us. There are seventeen of us- all high schoolers. What do you think that means? Oh, right. Didn't answer your question. I can give you my name. It's Amami Rantarou. Let's leave it at that for now."

"Huh? Um... okay."

"Anyway, why does it matter if there are seventeen of us? There might be more coming." The magenta haired guys spoke up.

"Nah, I think this is all of us. If this is what I think it is, anyway." Rantarou crossed his arms, a perplexed expression forming on his face. "Strange that there's seventeen of us though..."

"...If this is what you think it is?" A girl with long brown twin tails repeated.

"What, you some kinda fuckin' know-it-all? If you know somethin', spit it out!" A girl with strawberry blonde hair barked.

"Okayyyyyyy, quiet everyone! Shimmy down, shimmy down!" An unknown voice suddenly echoed throughout the gym.

"No, no, no. It's simmer down."

"Huh? Who's that? Where are they?" A girl with long blue locks looked around the room in a panic.

Then, five of the giant robots that chased the students down the hallways popped out of nowhere and surrounded all of the teenagers.

"Kyahahahahahaha! Thanks for bearing with us!"

The girl with blue locks screamed at the top of her lungs and the magenta haired boy looked at each robot, sweating nervously.

"Damn it!" He clenched his fist. "There are more monsters! We're surrounded!"

"These aren't monsters. They're Exisals."

"They're highly mobile, bipedal weapons platform."

"Weapons!?" A boy with navy blue hair and a hat exclaimed.

An obnoxious voice came from the blue Exisal. "Should we take these for a spin by killin' one of 'em!?"

"Gyaaaaahhhhh!!! Wait a minute! It wouldn't be any fun picking on plain, good-for-nothing commoners!" A girl with a black headband and long green-haired shrieked.

"You're right. We should at least think of an interesting way to kill you. Maybe I'll pick ya up and squeeze ya till your guts come gushin' out like toothpaste."

"P-Please! Not like toothpaste!"

"Urgh... I just imagined it. I can't handle gore." The pink Exisal whined.

"Then what if... we start peelin' off their limbs one by one, like string cheese?" The orange one suggested.

"Please, not like string cheese either!" The gree haired girl screamed in terror.

"Wait! We can't kill them with the Exisals! According to schedule, the Exisals aren't supposed to show up till later!" The red Exisal piped up.

"But... we're in the Exisals right now."

"Oh! So we are!"

"We screwed up. We're not supposed to be in the Exisals for our first appearance."

"I told ya we shoulda read the script!"

"Well... why don't we get out of these mechs? It shouldn't be too late for that."

"Y-Yeah! Let's do that! Okay, readyyyyy!" The lids of the machines popped open, and out of each machine, a small bear hopped out. A red one, a pink one, a green one, an orange one, and a blue one.

"Rise and shine ursine!" They all chirped in perfect harmony. "With our powers combined, we are the Monokubs!" The five bears all stood in front of the teenagers, each posing a different pose. Every single student was completely and utterly speechless.

"See? We're out of the Exisals. Now we're not scary anymore, right? Right? Right!?" The red bear named Monotaro squeaked.

"His desperation is strangely terrifying..." The pink bear named Monophaine mumbled.

"You punkasses better brace yourselves!" The blue one named Monokid screamed.

"And he's just outright terrifying!"

"I'm a messenger from hell from the depths of hell, here to drag ya down to hell!"

"No, no, Monokid. You're saying "hell" too much. It's ruining the hellish impact." The orange one named Monosuke scolded.

Monotaro tilted his head. "Eh? What's hellish mean?"

The magenta guy sweated. "H-Hey... what's up with these stuffed animals? How are they moving?"

"I-I have no idea." The blue girl responded.

"Moving stuffed animals..." The girl with twin tails mumbled.

"On top of that, it seems they're calling themselves the Monokubs." The short boy said.

"Wait! You guys call yourself the Monokubs!?" The blonde girl repeated.

"..." The green one named Monodam stayed silent.

"He only talks to close friends." Monotaro explained. "The years of abuse have really done a number on his heart. Isn't that right, Monodam?"

"..."

"M-Monodam! You won't even open your heart... to me!?"

The green-haired boy stared at the cubs for a bit before sighing. "...Looks like I was right. This is exactly what I thought it was. But whos behind all this? Why the ridiculous theatrics-"

"Gahhh! Shut up, you!" Monokid demanded. "All o' you are reactin' way too normally to this! It's boring!"

"Actually... don't their clothes seem kinda boring too?" Monotaro chimed in.

Monosuke pushed his glasses up. "Wait a minute... ya think maybe they haven't been given their first memory yet?"

"Huh? That shoulda happened before they woke up..."

"Hey, answer my questioned!" The blonde girl shouted. "If you guys are the Monokubs, then-"

"Hey! Who the hell are you punks!?" Monokid interrupted.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?" A girl with pale green hair and green eyes spoke up.

"We're just wondering, do youse guys have Ultimate talents or anything like that?"

"I... don't have one." The blonde girl looked down at the ground. "I have a skill I devote myself to... but I wouldn't call it an Ultimate talent..."

"M-Me either... I-I don't... have anything like that..." The boy in the black cap added.

"Y-Yeah... same here." The magenta-haired boy continued.

"I knew it!" Monokid screamed. "They haven't gotten their first memory yet!"

"Monophaine... weren't you in charge of that?"

"..." Monophaine stopped moving. "zzzzz..."

"She's sleeping? Did she seem really tired to you guys?"

"She's obviously fakin' it."

"Zzzzzzzzz..."

"Even if she's faking, she looks so peaceful. Let's whisper so we don't wake her."

"Hmph! If you say so!"

The blonde-haired girl gulped. "A-Anyway... if you guys really are the Monokubs, then-" She got cut off yet again by Monosuke.

"Don't worry about us. The real issue is youse bastards. Well, the issue is putting it mildly... This is actually a huge problem. Youse all have forgotten all your talents and become generic high school students."

"See, according to the backstory, there's this Ultimate Hunt goin' on. You've lost all your memories and become different people cuz of the Ultimate Hunt."

"Umm... what are you talking about?" The blue-haired girl shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, in your current state, it's pretty much pointless to talk to you guys about this." Monosuke sighed.

"The first thing we need you guys to do is remember your true selves," Monotaro explained.

"Yeah! You need to reclaim your sealed talents by regaining your memories!" Monophaine added.

Monosuke stumbled back in surprise. "What the-!? Are you awake already?"

The purple-haired boy tilted his head. "I don't get it... what are these sealed talents you're talking about?"

How are we supposed to talk when you keep askin' so many friggin' questions!?" Monotaro barked.

"Yeah! We're not some swift-footed singer whos landed another future ex-boyfriend!"

"Let's do this already. No one wants to watch a bunch of generic high school whiners."

"First, we'll update your wardrobe so you guys look all cute and spiffy!" The Exisals started to power up again. Their arms went up in the air and out flew a bunch of different outfits. Each student had a major change of clothing and soon enough, they all wore something bright and flashy instead of their boring school uniforms.

"H-Huh? Wh-What am I wearing?" The blonde girl was checking out her new clothes.

"Mm-hm! Looking good! Now you look more like Ultimates!" Monophaine chirped.

"Ultimates...?" The boy with the cap repeated. "Really?"

"Next up, the memory youse have been waiting for."

"Hell yeah! Get ready! Once the seal is broken, we'll be in the domain of the killing game!"

"Now then, after the flashback light helps you remember your amazing talents. This amazing story will begin for real this time!" The Monokubs proceeded to pull out a flashlight and switched it on.

Darkness.

All she saw was darkness. She tried to move around only to be met with a cold hard surface.

Metal...?

She started to aggressively bang her fist on whatever this metal object was, only for it to swing wide open and hit the wall next to it with a loud crash and for her to fall down on the cold hard floor.

"Oh, muffins above, why me..." She grumbled.

A girl with brown hair slowly got up, rubbing her head and looked around. The metal object she was banging on was actually a locker and she realized that she was in a classroom that was overgrown with vines and leaves. It looked like a greenhouse but, a lot messier and unkept. She scanned the room again to see a mop of purple hair on a desk. She cautiously walked over and found out that it was actually a person. They had fully white clothing and a checkered scarf. She raised a finger, ready to poke them to see if they were awake when-

"HEY, NICE FALL!!!"

"OH GOD-"

The girl stumbled back and hit a desk in the process, tumbling back down onto the floor. The previous pain from her head returned when obnoxious laughter rang throughout the room. She looked up and saw that the person was standing over her and pointing at her.

"Oh man, you should have seen your face! It was priceless haha!" The boy continued laughing obnoxiously.

The girl puffed her cheeks out and glared at him. "Geez! Don't scare people like that you stupid chicken nugget!" He continued giggling like a child, clearly happy with her response.

"Uh, hello? Is anyone there?" A voice came out in the locker next to the one the girl was in. The girl ran over to the locker and said-

"Hello, yes! Are you stuck?"

"Yes! Can you please help me out?"

"Ok, just hang tight!" The girl grabbed the handle of the locker and pulled as hard as she could, and the door then flung open and out fell what seemed to be some kind of machine. The machine stood up and brushed himself off.

"Ah, thank you for helping me!" It exclaimed.

The purple-haired boy suddenly gasped. "Woah! What are you!? Are you a military device or something!?"

"WHAT? NO! I am a robot, and I do not approve of war or violence!"

"Rise and shine, ursine!"

The three teenagers all stumbled back at the sudden voices that came from the ground and looked down, only to be met with a bewildering sight.

"Woah! Talking teddy bears!?" The boy with purple hair regained his posture and pointed at the bears.

"Uh, no. They look more like a bunch of carebear rejects..." The girl said slowly, rubbing her eyes and squinting at the bears suspiciously.

"What!? No! We are the Monokubs, not some lame teddy bear and we are much better than those darn care bears!" A red bear shouted, waving his ninja star around angrily.

"Hell yeah! We aren't Monokubs! We are the teddy bears!" A blue one screamed while strumming his guitar.

"Psst, Monokid, you're saying your lines backwards." A yellow bear on with glasses whispered.

"STUFFED NO ANIMALS, MONOKUBS ARE WE!"

"God, now it's worse..."

The girl sharply inhaled, placing her hands together in a praying motion up to her lips before throwing them down and pointing them at the bears. "Ok, who are you and where the muffins are, we?"

"Muffins? That's so cute!" The pink one piped up.

"Hey! It's not cute you-" She huffed in annoyance and puffed her cheeks out. "Just answer the question!"

The red one spoke again. "Okie-Dokie, your wish is my command! This place is called the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles!"

"But I've never heard of the school before..." The robot hadn't moved and was still very tense. His eyes were narrowed suspiciously at the creatures.

"But of course! This school was created for the seventeen of you cretins!" The pink one explained.

"Wait, seventeen...?"

"Yup! There are seventeen of your Ultimates all gathered here in this school together!"

"Woah, really?" The girl stood up properly and looked at the two in front of her.

"Uh-huh, now go and introduce yourselves to each other! Until next time, so long, bear well!" The red one finished, and the Monokubs disappeared.

"Wait, so you two are Ultimates too?" The boy with purple hair turned to the robot and brown-haired girl with a look of interest.

"Yeah, I am!" The girl nodded energetically. "We never got to do a proper introduction, did we? So anyway, I'm Akiyama Ichika, the Ultimate Parkourist! Who might you guys be?"

Well, I'm K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot! But, please, address me as Kiibo! Nice to meet you Akiyama-san." He put his hand out to shake.

"Nice to meet you too, Kiibo-san! Also, just call me Aki." Ichika shook his hand enthusiastically.

"Heeeyyyy, don't forget about me!" The boy whined as he waved his hand in between Ichika and Kiibo to get their attention.

"Oh, sorry about that." Ichika tilted her head. "Who may you be?"

"Nee-heehee, I'm Ouma Kokichi, the Ultimate Supreme Leader!" Kokichi announced proudly, putting his hands on his hips.

"Wait, a supreme leader-"

"But are you, like, a real robot!?" Kokichi interrupted Ichika and gave Kiibo a curious look. "Can I touch your body!?"

"What the-!? No! Absolutely not!" Despite Kiibo's protests, Kokichi proceeded to run up and try and touch Kiibo, who instantly started to run away. Kokichi followed pursuit and Ichika ran after Kokichi and tried to grab him to stop him from getting closer to Kiibo.

***

"In here, Saihara-kun!" A girl with blonde hair named Akamatsu Kaede chirped as she reached for the door.

The boy named Saihara Shuichi merely nodded. Kaede flung the door open and was met with a bewildering sight.

"Heeey! Wait for meee!" A boy with purple hair exclaimed happily.

"Please stop! Don't come any closer!" A sliver-haired boy cried trying to shield himself.

"He said to not touch him, you chicken nugget!" A small girl with long brown hair shouted.

"...!" Kaede stared at the scene in front of her, completely bewildered.

"C'moooon! Wait up! Lemme touch your body a little! I've always wanted to be friends with a robot!" The small boy chirped

"What? A robot?" Kaede said abruptly. The three Ultimates stopped dead in their track and looked at the girl.

"What is it?" The robot glared at the girl. "Are you another robophobe? I have a recording function. If you make any robophobic remarks, I will see you in court."

"Pfft- You can't send people to court over a comment." The small girl snickered.

"Y-You can't!?"

"Wait..." Kaede looked like she was still processing everything. She stared at the robot with wide eyes. "You're a robot!? Are you, for reals, a robot!?"

Shuichi's eyes went wide as he gawked at the robot. "A-Are you... one of the Monokubs-"

"Do not compare me to those toys! I am not just any old robot. I am K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot! But please, address me as Kiibo."

"Ultimate Robot..." Kaede nodded nervously.