The six survivors looked around, surveying their surroundings. Enoshima hadn't been kidding when she said it was a war zone outside. It was hard for them to take in, especially after what they had all just learned. That they had all known each other for 2 years, and that those 2 years' worth of memories were taken from them. That the apocalypse was happening for over a year already. That they had willingly locked themselves inside their old alma matter to protect themselves.
"M-Maybe we can still go back inside…" One of them said. The Ultimate Clairvoyant looked nervous and scared. "I have a feeling we'll be shot if we stay out here."
"Y-Yeah. Hagakure might be right." Asahina, the Ultimate Swimming Pro, agreed, unsure whether they should risk going further away from the school. "We're still at the gates. It's not too late to turn back… Is it?"
"Unfortunately, it is. Enoshima did say that her death would turn off the air purifier, making it impossible to stay inside the academy." The Ultimate Detective reminded her.
"Yeah, and think of what we went through to get here. Actually, don't." The Ultimate Lucky Student, now the Ultimate Hope, said, backing up Kirigiri. "Whatever happens now, we have to remain hopeful that we will survive and see a better world."
A nod from the blonde Ultimate Heir and the Ultimate Writing Prodigy came in response to Naegi's words, and the purple-haired girl spoke again. "We will have to be prepared for anything. I suggest we all set roles. Some of us can handle fighting off threats if we must, some of us to gather supplies, and the rest to potentially find any help we can." These words were met with nods from the group. It was their only option anyway.
A while later, everyone had settled roles. For now, however, since there were no threats thus far, everyone had to pitch in to find food and shelter for the night. Well, whenever night was now. The red sky made it hard to tell. Thankfully, they were able to find some bread which they were about to eat when they saw a girl lying on the ground, not far from some other corpses. When they got a little closer and saw her, they were filled was horror and pity. She was still alive, but barely. She was just a child and looked no older than 10. As Fukawa would later note, she looked like a skeleton as she slowly died.
Naegi went to her and saw her eyes. They were barely open, and what could be seen in them was despair. "Hello… Are you alright?" He asked her, wondering if they could help. The girl sat up weakly and looked at him with fear, as if thinking he was going to kill her. Her fears were quickly proven unfounded when one by one, the other young adults went to her with the same intentions of helping her.
Despite their efforts, such as letting her have some of their food and allowing her to sleep with Naegi's hoodie over her like a blanket, when the game's survivors woke the next morning, the little child had passed away in her sleep. They allowed themselves a bit of time to think about what she had gone through and took a bit of hope in realizing that they had helped a victim of the Tragedy in the last hours of her life.
The six survivors had spent majority of the days after that one travelling through what was left of the city. They moved about, looking out for one another and talking about anything. Anything to get their minds off what was currently happening around them. They all snapped out of their best attempts to remain calm and collected when a bullet came flying, seemingly out of nowhere, near them, almost hitting Asahina.
"HIDE!" No one knew who yelled, but they didn't need to be told twice. The six of them dove under anything that could cover them, from large mounds of rubble to somehow-still standing walls. The sound of bullets came whizzing through the air, filling the ex-students' ears.
They waited for what seemed like forever before the sounds of flying bullets stopped. Only after another five minutes that still felt like eternity did they risk a look. It seemed safe.
Too safe, as it turned out. Hagakure heard the sound of a gun prepare to fire behind him and he turned around. The others followed suit to find they were surrounded by people wearing helmets that resembled Monokuma's head, nice, crisp suits, and holding guns, all pointed at them. They all looked around, trying desperately to find some way they could make a run for it. But all they saw behind the figures were dead people on the ground, bleeding out, and no way to escape. A figure, shorter than all of them were, stepped out from behind the figures ready to fire. It was the end for them.
He pointed at the six, and all of them shut their eyes to await their ends. Two hands held onto each other, one gloved and the other bare. The sound of a gun rang out… But none of the six felt the bullet pierce their forms.
The sounds of the brainwashed people's screams of pain echoed as more gunfire came. Unlike before, it ended as quickly as it had stared. The Ultimates opened their eyes to find none of them dead. Instead, what they found were several dead bodies, a considerable amount of dropped guns, and a new group of unknown people looking at them. Unlike the other group, these people were not wearing the helmets.
"Looks like some of them escaped." One of them spoke. He wore a nice, clean white suit and his voice held authority in it.
"You're telling me." A second voice, also male. Unlike the first one, he wore a dark long coat and his hair was slightly longer.
"Are you all alright?" A third voice asked. This one was female. Her long hair was tied back and her white coat was pristine, much like the first person's. She seemed to stay close to his side. Getting nods from all six, she walked to them carefully, wanting to tell them they were safe. Silent recognition ran through them as they recognized her as their upperclassmen's homeroom teacher.
"You must be the kids from Class 78. Thank goodness you're safe! Let's go. You'll be safe back at Future Foundation's Headquarters."
