The Future Foundation had fallen, the remnants had returned to take the blame and society was still struggling to adjust to the loss of the group they considered heroes against despair. Or that's how everyone remembered things. A familiar unease sat in the bit of Makoto's stomach. A twinge in the back of his mind, telling him that his memories weren't lining up correctly. His mind could no longer provide accurate information through the confused haze in his memories. His mind had been altered once again, but how? The last thing he remembered was setting up operations at Hope's Peak Academy. Though the world was struggling to comprehend what had happened at the Future Foundation, Makoto and his friends were adamant about reopening the school under their control. This way they could do what Kirigiri's father had failed to do, they would never let such a tragedy happen again.
Slowly he opened his eyes, sitting up and taking in the unfamiliar atmosphere. The bedroom was nicely designed, being vaguely reminiscent of a small cottage atmosphere. A bright yellow rug opened the space, and from the window a gentle breeze carried the spotless white curtains. The more they floated in the breeze, the ghostlier it felt. Makoto apprehensively got to his feet. He was still in the same suit he remembered wearing during work, that hadn't changed at least. The room was beautiful, a place he would absolutely love to attend. Yet whenever he saw such pleasant surroundings he immediately knew that something was wrong. It was too perfect, too warming, too comforting. He felt he could hear the ghost of Enoshima's laugh echoing in the wind.
Gathering his nerves and thoughts together he opened the door and stepped outside. He was not surprised to see other similar cottages arranged together, what he was surprised by was the location. He was in what resembled a small village. He frowned deeply. There was no chance they were in the Neo World Programme, he'd ensured to shut it down once the former remnants had successfully managed to enter their bodies and return their friends and memories. This place could not possibly exist, there were no traces of graffiti or destruction of even the smallest degree. He decided to check the doors of the cottages, if this situation was what he feared it was then he'd find the pictures of the others trapped here too. Shockingly he noticed, not just the faces of his surviving classmates, but pictures of the former remnants of despair and Mitarai. He gulped and rushed away from the cottages in search of another person.
As he ran he became aware of the high voltage gates that stretched high and surrounded the town, electricity humming mockingly to remind him of his imprisonment. Eventually he could hear talking and ended up coming face to face with a large group of people. They were gathered around a small water fountain. The town was riddled with small steps branching off to different paths, and so some were sitting while others remained standing.
"It's about time, honestly." Byakuya huffed. Well at least something about this situation was still the same. "It seems that whenever something goes wrong, you must always be late." His irritation was painfully clear.
"Well I guess some things stay the same, huh, big brother?" Makoto did not want to hear the voice of his little sister, not in this situation.
"K-Komaru?" He breathed, worry etched into his words. Komaru was standing beside Toko, she waved with a nervous expression. "Are you okay?" He asked before he could process anything else. His little sister smiled uneasily but still nodded. The last he remembered of her was a video call where he was telling her about reusing Hope's Peak. She'd still been in Towa City with Toko at the time. But… how could they both be here now if that were true?
"I-I'm fine too, thanks for asking." Toko frowned, looking away. Komaru giggled and clung onto her arm, making Toko sigh. Makoto noted how Toko didn't pull away much when Komaru did that. He knew they must have gotten along in Towa city but… he hadn't imagined how strong their friendship was.
"S-Sorry, Fukawa-san." Makoto corrected, holding his hands up defensively.
"It's good to see you again, Naegi Makoto-kun." Nagito said with a friendly smile, waving his bionic hand at him. Makoto looked over and gave him a weary smile. This was all so strange. The former remnants still wore the clothes they had upon leaving the programme. Imposter seemed to be pretending to be Byakuya again, much to the real Byakuya's irritation. "I am guessing you also don't know how we got here?" He said it as a statement but the questioning nature of it hung in the air. He looked to his classmates again, they all bore their uniform. However, he noticed that Komaru and Toko were no longer wearing school uniforms. Toko wore a long black skirt with a white shirt and dark purple cardigan. Komaru, on the other hand, wore a knee length black dress with white flowers. That must mean that memories relating to their changes must be lost in the haze of confusion.
"This is the work of a demonic force who mocks us beyond the grave. The steel demon hides within the shadows of his prey, harnessing his power." Gundam Tanaka said suddenly. His deep voice cutting through the awkward atmosphere. Silence followed before someone spoke again.
"Seriously, man, what the hell are you talking about?" Kazuichi exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. Gundam closed his eyes for a moment and frowned at him in disapproval.
"He is saying that against all odds Monokuma must be back, watching us and waiting for the perfect time to strike." Sonia declared, clenching her hands into fists as her eyes scanned the area.
"What foolish cattle, your inability to grasp the aura of this cursed place caps you at a lowly one. Pathetic." Gundam supplied again.
"That means that you are foolish for not realising." Sonia translated with conviction.
"A-Ah, that… that wasn't necessary, Sonia-san." Kazuichi said, sinking to his knees as disappointment washed over him in waves.
"I agree, this definitely seems to be the work of Monokuma. I already searched around the town and discovered a large electric fence. Even if the fence was not active it would be no good anyway." Kyoko said, crossing her arms. "There are glass walls beyond the gate. Opaque glass walls, most likely bullet proof." Makoto looked up. He couldn't see glass. In fact, he could see the sun and birds clearly. Noticing this, Kyoko continued speaking. "The glass only surrounds the outside of the gates, but as you can see," She gestured to the sky. "It does not connect at the top. Meaning we are not in a dome."
"It would seem that we have once again found ourselves in a killing game." Peko said, gripping the strap of her sword bag tightly.
"N-No, not again!" Cried out a voice. Makoto looked over and noticed Hiyoko gripping her head, tears glistening in her eyes. He could not imagine the anguish that must be felt by those who were murdered in the programme. They had faced death, it had been real for them in every possible way. Now they were alive again, only to be placed right back in the situation that caused them to lose their lives. Those who had died probably were more scared. After all, they now knew it was very likely they could die no matter how prepared they were. "No more, not again!" Hiyoko was shaking now.
"I-I'm s-sorry, Saionji-san!" Mikan stuttered with a guilty expression, rushing towards the distressed girl. Hiyoko, however, shoved Mikan when she got too close. Mikan let out a squeal and fell backwards in a rather undignified manner.
"D-Don't get near me you nasty, trashy pig shit!" Hiyoko yelled, shaking with a mixture of emotions bumbling inside of her. Peko and Imposter wordlessly helped Mikan to her feet.
"Hiyoko-chan!" Mahiru gasped as she rushed over to her friend. She put her hands on her shoulders, forcing the girl to look at her. In seconds the anger left Hiyoko's face and she pulled Mahiru into a tight hug. Everyone knew she was crying. Makoto looked around at the former remnants. Fuyuhiko was looking down with an angered expression, clenching his fists. Peko had her hand on his shoulder, her eyes closed. Sonia had her hands to her chest, her expression strong and determined even as the tears shined in her eyes. Hajime was sitting on the water fountain, his head in his hands to hide his expression. Kazuichi watched Sonia with pride, but his eyes slowly travelled to Hiyoko. Despite not getting along with the girl, he did feel empathetic towards her. Imposter seemed to mirror Sonia's protective determination as he watched over the classmates he was unable to save. Ibuki, who had been standing behind Imposter, walked over to sit beside Hajime. She put her hand on his back and whispered, what Makoto assumed were, comforting words. Akane looked furious, like she might run off in search of Monokuma right there and then. However, Nekomaru made sure to keep a firm hand on her shoulder. Mikan hid slightly behind Imposter, guilt and shame written across her face as she refused to meet anyone's eyes. Teruteru sat on the steps nearby, anxiously twiddling his thumbs in uncertainty. Gundam remained stoic and quiet at Sonia's side. Despite the fact that they weren't looking at each other, Makoto could tell by how close they stood that they understood each other quite well. There was an unspoken respect and strength between the two. Gundam's deep scowl was partially hidden by his scarf. Nagito was watching the scene unfold, his bionic hand curling into a fist as he frowned angrily. Most likely becoming angered by the despair forced on them again. It was different now. Knowing what horrid things they had done in the past, Nagito could not help but be angered by being forced into a situation similar. He didn't want to risk becoming a remnant of despair again. Perhaps that was what he thought as he slowly backed away from the class. Ryota gulped and sat on the stairs in front of Imposter. His eyes alight with fear, though not quite yet had he fallen to despair.
"Pull yourselves together." Byakuya frowned, looking down his nose at them. Just before Makoto could reprimand him for his cruelty, someone else beat him to it.
"Aw, come on, man." Yasuhiro patted Byakuya heavily on the back. Makoto hid a laugh behind his hand as Byakuya was so surprised with the contact that he nearly stumbled, his glasses slipping slightly down his nose. "Give them a break, huh?"
"Maybe we should go look for signs of Monokuma." Aoi suggested. "Give them some space."
"Phuhuhuhu!" The familiar laugh echoed through the area. Makoto felt a familiar shiver crawl up his spine as he heard it. Everyone was immediately alert, eyes searching for any sign of the bear. Eventually Monokuma sprung from out of nowhere, landing on the roof of the small building just behind the fountain. "Oh, it's so good to see you all again, I've missed you all so much I might just cry!" The carefree, joyful voice was eerily out of place. Just like it was every time.
"No way…" Aoi breathed. Clearly she wanted to believe it wasn't true. "This can't be Enoshima, she's dead!"
"She is." Said Nagito firmly, his eyes never leaving Monokuma. "When we came to help you all Mitarai-kun told us that the chairman was behind Monokuma that time."
"So what? It can't be the chairman again, he's dead now!" Yasuhiro exclaimed, completely frazzled.
"He's saying it could be anyone!" Fuyuhiko barked, trying to contain his anger at the sight of the white and black bear.
"Ooo I've just arrived and already everyone is on edge!" Monokuma raised his arms in the air, his energy a complete one hundred and eighty compared to the others. "Perhaps this time a killing will happen sooner!"
"Uh-uh, no way!" Ibuki declared, laughing. "Like any of us are going to kill anyone here after everything." Despite Ibuki's words, Monokuma seemed as enthusiastic as normal.
"I don't suppose you brought another of those fancy weapons?" Komaru asked, looking towards Byakuya. He fixed her with a disapproving scowl.
"If I had, do you not think I would have used it already? Do think before opening your mouth." Makoto frowned.
"Don't talk to her like that, Togami-kun." He ordered. Byakuya was, admittedly, surprised at being reprimanded so confidently by Makoto. Before the smug ultimate could reply he was cut off by Toko.
"Don't talk so casually to Master!" She exclaimed. Komaru merely looked at Toko, giving her a little shrug. "Ugh, honestly." Toko groaned. Kyoko was remaining silent as her eyes narrowed on Monokuma. She was determined to find a way out of this.
"Anyway!" Monokuma announced. "You all know each other, that makes this game even more fun!" He laughed.
"No-one here is going to kill each other!" Aoi said firmly, stomping her foot in irritation.
"Oh?" Monokuma retorted. "Well you say that but some people here have killed their friends before, right?" It was at that moment that all eyes turned to Teruteru, Peko, Mikan and Gundam. Said students each had different reactions. Teruteru looked as though he'd been shot, his face was pale and all he could do was stare with a mask of horror. Peko remained stoic but did glance at Mahiru apologetically. Mikan squeaked and covered her face, spluttering out apologies over and over. Gundam turned his eyes away and crossed his arms, keeping most of his expression hidden by his scarf. He didn't even react as his hamsters patted his cheeks from within the scarf, trying to get his attention.
"Well no more, Monokuma!" Hajime finally spoke up. He got to his feet and moved to stand beside Makoto. "See the thing is they were all forced to some degree."
"Huh?" Monokuma tilted his head. "How do you figure?"
"We didn't know we knew each other when we met in the programme. When Komaeda told Hanamura that he was going to kill someone, even if he was stopped… Hanamura tried to stop it. It was wrong, but his hand was forced."
"Y-Yeah, th-that's right!" Teruteru piped up, clearly, he had not yet forgiven himself.
"Pekoyama she…" Hajime glanced back at her. She locked eyes with him and turned to Monokuma.
"I was fulfilling my duty to my Master, or so I believed, the fault of that incident is my own." Her voice was strong, there was no countering her on that.
"Well, what about that trashy bitch over there?" Hiyoko growled, pulling away from Mahiru to point an accusing finger at the stuttering ultimate nurse.
"Monokuma created a virus, Tsumiki was trying to help but…" He looked down. He found it truly tragic, especially now that he knew that could have happened to any one of them. "She regained her memories prior to the programme. She fell back into despair, went back to being a remnant of despair." At that Hiyoko shut her mouth and looked away, trying to comprehend this information. "And Tanaka-"
"Do not try to assume my intentions as though you know them." Gundam said, cutting across Hajime's words. "I still took a life."
"Yeah but you did it to save us. We were all going to die anyway… You didn't want that to happen." Gundam said nothing in response. He was right. Gundam wanted to save everyone. But he had a very specific reputation, for him to do or say something to shake the villainous persona he had would have been… bothersome.
"Oh, don't worry!" Monokuma laughed, his carefree voice singing joyfully. "I believe in my remnants, you'll all fall to your despairingly delightful ways eventually!" Makoto clenched his fists and let his eyes drift over the students who had previously fallen to despair. He noticed specifically how furious Nagito looked, his hands clenching so tight that his knuckles paled from the strain.
"No that's wrong!" Makoto exclaimed firmly, forcing all eyes onto him. "Hope got us out before, hope will do it again!"
"Phuhuhu!" Monokuma responded. "You say that, but you can't deny a lot of death has to happen before that. So even if you DO escape… is that really hope if you had to give in to despair to do it?" Makoto paused at that. A chill travelled up his spine. Of course, hope carried them to find the truth and avenge their friends but… every time death still came before hope. When no-one offered a response, Monokuma waved animatedly and left them all alone. As much as Makoto hated to face the cruel reality of their situation once again, he had no choice but to acknowledge the way that the others exchanged looks. It was curious though, they had with them their memories right up to the planned re-opening of Hope's Peak under their own leadership. Why did their memories now stop there? For what reason would Monokuma remove those memories and not just remove the memories they had of each other? Was it because it had been done? That it was too predictable? Perhaps. Although, it was most likely because whoever was the mastermind behind this new killing was not Enoshima. First it had been her, next it had been her AI. The killing game at the Future Foundation had been orchestrated by the chairman, who had been subjected to the despair video. This time, however, things were different. Makoto had no clues for who the mastermind may be. With an exchanged glance with Kyoko a silent agreement was made. They were all going to have to work together to ensure this mystery was solved before a killing took place, or before Monokuma pressed them into action with threats or a motive. Knowing this mastermind was different was dangerous, their movements would be difficult to predict. They had to be prepared for anything.