A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to a brand new act of Danganronpa Another Episode.

Last night's chapter featured Kotoko and Yukki climbing up Towa Tower. We got to see a bit more of Kotoko's past as she started opening up to Yukki. We also got to see a bit of how Yukki reacts to it. As this story moves along, we'll see Yukki start getting a bit protective of Kotoko, becoming an older sister of sorts. I love this pair a lot, honestly I like when Kotoko rips on Yukki, making fun of her big boobs and a bunch of other stuff. That's basically how Kotoko tries to make friends, since she isn't exactly a normal person. She's been keeping this act on for a long time now, so when her true emotions come out, they become a bit hard for her to handle. Which is also why she makes fucked up jokes too.

In this chapter, you get to see a bit more of this relationship, as well as the addition of Taichi Fujisaki into the group, for the short period of time that he will be in it. Also, if you've noticed...I don't really like writing the boss fights, so I will skip them when I can. The only one I will include is the one that belongs to Hoshiko, the Lil'Ultimate Science, since she's Kotoko's cousin and a brand new character. I felt the need to profile her fight. I might do Nagisa's fight, as well as Monaca's, since that one is sort of important.

Anyway, I shall leave you with this act...please leave me a review if you like it and if not...well too bad, so sad...peace!

Danganronpa Another Episode

Ultra Despair Sisters

Act 7

Towa Tower (Descent)

The pain was unbearable...but Yukki put on a brave face and dealt with it like a big girl. It was hard for her to move sometimes, as every time she moved, sent shock waves of pain flowing through her arm and leg. Taichi had been nice enough to have her lean her weight on him. He said she reminded him a lot of her little girl, who she had expressed wanted to meet. The two of them looked up, hearing the chanting of the kids cease followed by a loud explosion of a robot. It didn't take long for the gate keeping them out of the arena to open up. Kotoko walked out, a frown on her face as she held the mask of the defeated Jataro in her hands.

"Do you think I'm a messed up person?" she asked after a second, looking up at the two.

"Why would you think that sweetheart?" Taichi asked, his voice being gentle and fatherly.

"I just killed one of my friends, that's why." she said firmly. The man's eyes widened in shock.

"Those kids, the Warriors of Hope, they were in her class back in Hope's Peak Elementary School. They were the troubled class, and they were the ones that forced her into this game." Yukki said, earning a nod from the man. He sighed, tilting his head a bit.

"Honestly, you aren't wrong for putting a stop to them. But it is wrong what they are doing to this city, and to us. So in my eyes, them dying is only payback for what they have been doing to the adults."

"I suppose...but it's still messed up. They weren't like they are now back then..it's all Junko Enoshima's fault...she must have done something to them!" Kotoko said firmly.

"Huh? That famous fashion model? What could she had possibly done to those kids?" Taichi asked.

"As it turns out, The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Despair Inducing Incident in all of Human History was caused by Junko Enoshima. She caused Hope's Peak Academy to go belly up, practically over night. My sister, and Kotoko's brother were locked within the academy for an entire year. Three months ago, the academy opened up, and 10 people walked out. They had been part of a killing game she orchestrated...she had forced them all to kill each other so she could get her sick kicks." Yukki said firmly.

"No...that can't be possible. My daughter called me the day before I was captured, telling me she was fine...she said she was going to be locked up inside the academy, and told me to stay safe. Please...tell me she's alright?" the man said. Kotoko sighed, shaking her head.

"Honestly, I have no idea whether she's alive or not...I like you was captured for that sick game. The information I have is only stuff I learned in Towa." Kotoko said. Yukki gave her and odd look, but the one she got one in return told her everything she needed to know. She wanted her to keep her mouth shut. Taichi shook his head.

"Well, I have to hope that she's alive then. She's a tough little girl, she isn't going to get brought down by someone like that." he said cheerfully.

"Oh god, if only you knew." Kotoko thought to herself. The three of them got back into the elevator, pressing the S button once more. The small chamber slowly made its way up the rest of the way.

"Um Kotoko, you have the requirements to make a call right? The last thing we need is us getting there and being unable to do anything."

"I have my credentials yes. I also have something that will interest you." she said, reaching into her shirt. She pulled out a black and white card, which had a single crimson key attached to it. Yukki's eyes widened.

"Is that...the safety release key for our bracelets?"

"Indeed it is, it also has that key to get the antidote." She said.

"Wonderful, we can finally get these things off then." Taichi said.

"Sadly, it isn't that simple. If we swipe this card before injecting the antidote, it will give us a single massive dose, killing us instantly." Kotoko said, pocketing the key.

"Of course, it's never that easy...well I suppose if I can lend my support I will. Where's it located?" the man asked.

"Towa Hills, apparently it is being used as Headquarters for the Warriors of Hope. After we head back to the Secret Base, we're making plans to head there...you can come with us if you want, but you would honestly be a liability. I don't wanna sound like a cunt or anything."

"No no no, you're definitely right. I'm defenseless on my own, I wouldn't want to cause you guys any trouble." the man said, shaking his head.

"You wouldn't be...honestly I'm more of a liability now...but I can't stop. Even if my leg is sliced off, I have to keep going." Yukki said firmly. The elevator dinged, as they reached the final floor. The three of them quickly poured out of the room. Yukki's leg had stopped hurting after awhile, though she was still limping a bit. Kotoko did a quick sweep of the surrounding area, deeming it safe.

"Let's go over here...that way Yukki can sit down." Kotoko said, helping the girl toward one of the round tables.

Yukki let out a sigh, glad to be off her feet for awhile. Taichi set his computer down, and did an initial scan of the area. He hummed to himself as he checked all of the surrounding signals, to see which one was the strongest. Kotoko meanwhile was looking through the gift shop, searching for anything that could help them. To her surprise, she found various cans of food and water, along with some medical supplies. She grinned as she stuffed it all into a plastic bag, carrying it with her to the table.

"Bask in the glory that is Kotoko Utsugi Kirigiri. For I have brought sustenance for the covenant!" she said, placing the bag on the table.

"Thanks Toko, this will certainly help us stay strong." Yukki said, patting her head. She blushed a bit, moving toward the girl's leg, pulling out the roll of bandages.

"Let me properly wrap this for you...ah yes, Taichi you'll need to connect this to your computer. The tech should increase the signal of that laptop." Kotoko said, handing the man the ehandbook. He looked it over, eyes widening.

"What...what is this? This looks nothing like the ehandbook my daughter had with her."

"Oh, that was one that was made by the Ultimate Cybernetic Technician. She built that from the ground up with new hardware, she said it was a must for everyone who was part of the Remnants of Hope." she said.

"That reminds me...did you meet Kanon, Mr. Fujisaki? Because she handed me a special card for my ehandbook." Yukki said.

"Now that you mention it, yes I did meet her. We ended up escaping the apartment complex together with the Future Foundation. It's thanks to her that I was able to secure this laptop. Of course I had to make something that could air her and anyone else who needed a little edge. Have you tried it out?"

"I have, it made the handbook work so much better too. But I wasn't able to do much with all of this interference." she said. She hissed a bit as Kotoko peeled away the cloth bandages they had used. Her leg started bleeding a bit, but the girl was quick to apply some ointment to it.

"Sadly, this is the best I can do, I got some pain pills too. Seems this place wasn't just a gift shop." the pink haired girl said.

"Probably for the vertigo. We are pretty high up after all." Taichi said. They remained silent for a few minutes, the only sound filling the room was the man's constant typing. Kotoko had since then finished wrapping Yukki's leg, and had moved on to her arm, using the tie to keep the bandage secure, since she had no tape. After a minute Taichi finished typing, turning the computer over to Kotoko.

"It's asking for your credentials. After that the connection will be automatically made." the man said.

"Thanks, take a break would you? You've been working hard for us the last few minutes...you probably haven't eaten anything since yesterday right?" the girl asked, handing him some of the food she had found.

"You're right, I spent the last year and a half eating toast, eggs and an apple. I was honestly starting to get sick of it."

"You and me both." the girls said in unison, breaking into a laugh right after.

Kotoko took a deep breath as she typed in her credentials. All of them came out as stars on the prompt. She finished typing the password up, pressing the enter key. The call was automatically placed, the emblem of Hope's Peak Academy filling the screen. She sat down in front of the computer making sure to have enough room so that Yukki and Taichi could see it. The connection finally went through, making her smile.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" she called out.

"Spe...u...we...hea...ou!"

"This is Remnant of Hope, Branch number 4: Kotoko Utsugi Kirigiri reporting in!" she said. The face of Akira Tetsujima filled the screen, as she let out a sigh of relief.

"Kotoko, it's about time you reported in. Jeez, we were so worried about you!" she said.

"Ehe, sorry. I was gonna call ASAP, but sadly the Warriors of Hope are jamming the signal." Kotoko replied, rubbing her neck. Akira was about to say something when she was pushed aside.

"Kotoko, is that you? Let me see you're face!"

"Big brother?" she cried, eyes widening a bit. Yuno backed away from the screen, a look of relief on his face.

"It is you. Kotoko Kirigiri you are in big trouble! How dare you not tell me you were one of the figure heads here. Do you know how worried I was?"

"I'm sorry big brother...like I said I wanted to call, but the signal was being jammed. I'm so happy to see you, is big sis around too? I got a surprise for her." she said happily. Yukki swallowed hard, her heart beating a mile a minute. It wasn't long before the face of the Ultimate Pop Sensation filled the screen.

"Hey Kotoko, good to see you again...it's been awhile hasn't it?" she said, a bright smile on her features.

"Yes it has, listen I have some one here for you...she's been dying to talk to you practically since we met. Go ahead Yukki." she said, pushing the laptop toward the girl.

"Hi big sis!" the girl said. Sayaka gasped in shock, tears brimming her eyes.

"Yukki, baby sis I've missed you so much!"

"Me too Sayaka, I just wanna hug you so tightly right now...you don't know the shit that I've been through!" she said.

"I can take a guess. It hasn't been easy for any of us, thankfully nothing happened, the same thing can't be said for all of us."

"Right, the School Life of Mutual Killing." the idol said softly.

"So, you're already aware of it right? Seven of our dear friends, along with the mastermind ended up dying in that horrible game. We've been trying to cope but...it's been hard."

"Excuse me, could you please tell me if my daughter is alright? Her name is Chihiro Fujisaki, my name is Taichi...I'm her father." the worried man said. Sayaka's eyes widened for a second, sadness filling them right after.

"Mr. Fujisaki...I'm so sorry but...Chihiro was executed during that horrible game. She was forced to kill by our fellow student, Bryce Kotenok." Sayaka replied.

"Oh...I see." the man said. Kotoko hugged him tightly.

"We'll be over here, explain everything to them alright Kiki?" Kotoko said, pulling the man away from the laptop. Yukki sighed, turning to face Sayaka.

"Listen, I'm not gonna lie...all of us are pretty fucked here. Those kids captured us all, every captive in Junko's sick game, and strapped these talent bands on our wrists. Whenever the counter reaches zero, we'll get a dose of some talent serum created by Hope's Peak Academy. If we get all 45 doses of it, whoever has one on will die."

"That's horrible. Why would they do that to you?" Sayaka cried, her hand was over her heart, probably to keep herself calm.

"I wish I could tell you sis. They're playing some game called Demon Hunting, we've already taken care of two of them. Sadly we can't leave the city either, these wristbands are equipped with a high grade explosive. Someone tried to leave yesterday and ended up blowing up, I think they ended up taking out the bridge too."

"That makes it harder for all of us."

Yukki's brows knit together as a blonde woman appeared on the screen. She remembered her vaguely, most likely from the time she had been at Hope's Peak for a concert. God she missed those times. The woman gave her a bright smile.

"Hello Yukki, my name is Sonia Nevermind. I'm the leader of the Remnants of Hope, and the director of the 1st Division. Could you tell us in detail what is going on over there?"

"I'll try my best. I met this black haired man, and he handed me this hacking gun thing, and told me an agent from the Remnants of Hope would get me out of there. But he ended up getting killed...I ended up running into this other guy...his name was Nagito Komaeda...he was the one that put the bracelet on me. He told me that I had to play the game or that I would die. He said he had high hopes for me, and that this game was a stepping stone to hope." Yukki said.

"That does sound a lot like what Nagito would do. I formally apologize for what he did to you sweetie. He's one of our classmates, an Ultimate Despair...we've been trying to capture him, but he's quite elusive." Sonia said firmly

"I'm sorry too...I can't believe he's given in to despair...Junko Enoshima must have done something horrible to him." Yukki said, earning a from from the woman.

"Yes, but moving on..what else has been going on?"

"Um...well aside from fighting various Monokumas, nothing has been happening. The kids are all slaughtering the adults left and right, calling them demons. We faced one boy, named Masaru Daimon, who had killed over a thousand of them, and was boasting his kill streak. Kotoko faced off against Jataro Kemuri a few minutes ago. Currently we're in Towa Tower, in the Sky Deck."

"Alright then, Tatsumi...I need you to do a supply drop right now. Yes, right outside of Towa Tower...don't you worry Yukki, we're sending you some supplies, so be outside to receive them fifteen minutes after this call ends."

"Will do...thanks a bunch for this stuff Miss Nevermind. We're all planning on taking down Towa Hills. The antidote for this serum we've been injected with is currently there."

"Yes, if you could also take down that communications jammer, it would be great. Also, I would like to relay some news. It seems the Future Foundation plans on destroying all of Towa City."

"What? But aren't they supposed to be helping the world recover?" Yukki snapped.

"Indeed, but there's a correlation between Towa Group and the Monokumas. They were creating the Monokumas and the weapons to destroy them, effectively playing both half of the war. They built an air purifier, why? Because the knew the kinds of machines Kazuichi was building to purify the air. It was the same thing at the Academy. They used the help of the Ex-Ultimate Physicist to make the one in there."

"Those fuckers...maybe the reason why the kids attacked Towa City specifically was to get revenge on Towa Group...after all if it was well known that they helped the Tragedy increase, then maybe the kids see them as demons too. Maybe this is all Karmic revenge for them not wanting to help Junko Enoshima anymore." Yukki said, a frown forming on her face.

"That is an excellent theory...one that we will try to prove. Listen Yukki, it is imperative that you safeguard Mr. Fujisaki...he needs to be brought to a safe place. His skills could be of some use to use."

"His skills? Oh right, he's a good programmer...but that's kind of messed up. You only care for him because of his skills."

"No no, you misunderstand. We want him to see his child one last time, before we bury her. Thankfully the Biology Lab in Hope's Peak Academy is still functioning. All of the bodies of the Deceased are being stored there. We wish to bring Takaaki Ishimaru here as well, so he can see his son one last time. It is...the best we can do."

"I see...don't worry Miss Nevermind, I'll make sure to save him. I owe him my life after all...would you mind sending medical supplies to us in that care package? One of those Monokumas ended up biting my leg, and I could really use the pain meds." the girl said.

"Sure thing, sadly, it seems this will be the only time we can speak...if Towa Tower is the only place you can get signal from, it will make it harder to communicate."

"Yes, but when we take out Towa Hills, everything will get better. We just have to be super careful. Especially with the Warriors of Hope." She said.

"Everything will be alright. We will be sending someone there to rescue you soon. Ryouko Otonashi is already deep in the city...I must apologize as well for her...it seems her arrival into the city caused you all some issues. We received a signal in Morse Code from one of our field agents shortly before all communications ceased."

"Morse Code huh? Wish I learned that...that would have been really useful." the brunette muttered.

"Anyways, would you mind placing Kotoko back on? We need to explain a few things to her. Don't worry, we will figure out a way to get all of you out of there. Safely." the woman said. Yukki nodded, giving her a smile.

"I trust that you will, I'll be just a second." Yukki said.

She groaned a bit in pain, standing up from the chair. She limped over to where Kotoko was, still speaking with Taichi. The man looked destroyed, but was coping better than she had been expecting. Kotoko said a few parting words before walking over to where the laptop was. Yukki decided to stick around this time. She didn't know exactly what to say. Taichi was just staring at the horizon, a frown on his face.

"I'm such a bad father...I wasn't able to take care of her." he said, after a few seconds of silence.

"No you aren't. You couldn't possibly have known what happened while we were all trapped. This is all Junko Enoshima's fault." the girl replied.

"Yes, but how long can we keep blaming her? The Tragedy was her cause sure, but the rest lies in our hands. I fear the future will be much darker for us all. It will take everything the world has left to reach the blue skies of hope."

"We'll reach them together then. I'm sure Chihiro would want that, she would want us all to be smiling and laughing like the old days. So let's work hard, so we can bring that world back into the light." She said firmly. The man nodded, forcing a smile onto his face.

"Kotoko explained to me everything about Alter Ego, the program my daughter created. If I can get a copy of it, I could increase it's power. She also explained to me everything about the Neo World Program." he said.

"Huh? I haven't heard about the Neo World Program yet...could you tell me what it is?" Yukki asked.

"Yes, she said it was a virtual simulator, that's supposed to erase memories of despair and replace them with memories of hope. It is being developed to help the Remnants of Despair recover. Class 77B of Hope's Peak Academy, the ones brainwashed by Junko Enoshima. She said that if we can crack the code, we could possibly help all of the brainwashed humans around the world." he said.

"I've only seen Towa City, to be honest with you I really don't want to know what the world looks like now. If this place is horrible, then I don't want to know the terrifying horrors that lie beyond the bridge." she said, shivering a bit.

"It'll be alright. I'm not looking forward to it either, but we have to work hard to bring hope back to the world."

"No no, shit!" Kotoko suddenly cried, typing a few things into the laptop. Taichi and Yukki rushed over, seeing the blank screen greeting them back.

"What happened?" the man asked.

"I lost the signal. Sonia was about to tell me some very important information regarding the Warriors of Hope!" She said.

"I'll take a look at it." Taichi said, once again taking over the computer.

Just as he was about to, the power in the entire room was suddenly cut off. All of the metal shuddered on the window automatically lowered, a loud bang echoing through the sky deck. In a fraction of a second, the entire room was thrown into darkness.

"A power outage?" Yukki cried out, her voice sounding scared. Taichi kept on typing, using the light on his screen to look at his keyboard. After a few seconds, he pulled something onto the screen. It was an outline of Towa Tower, showing every sector within the tower.

"This place is still on the grid. It seems those little troublemakers have cut the power to the higher floors." He said.

"Meaning we can't take the elevator back down...shit...that's just what we needed." Kotoko muttered. She held her fanny pack to the light of the computer, digging her hand inside. She pulled out three glow sticks, and snapped them, shaking them a bit to activate them.

"Here, this is all I have for a light source. I hate to break it to you, but you'll have to lead us out of here Yukki." Kotoko said.

"M-Me?" the girl asked.

"That hacking gun has a Detect function, maybe one of those kids stepped on some paint. We can follow the trail that way." she said, handing Yukki one of the glowing sticks. She handed the other to Taichi, who attached it to his belt loop. Yukki did the same, placing hers at her waist.

"We won't be able to make contact with the outside anymore. It seems they increased the signal to cover everything above Towa Tower. Unless one of you is brave enough to climb to the top of the antenna." Taichi said.

"Hell no, I don't have a death wish." Kotoko said, loading a magazine into her gun. Yukki reached to her hip, grabbing the gun attached to it, handing it to Taichi.

"Here, I want you to take this. We can't all watch each others backs all the time." she said.

"I've never fired one of these before...I mean I had one when I worked security but...I never actually used it." the man said, accepting the magazines for it.

"Yeah I know...It sucks that we have to resort to firearms against kids...but it's the only way." She said, earning a nod from the man. He closed his laptop, slipping it into his messenger bag.

Yukki, while slightly perturbed, ended up taking the lead. The violet light of her hacking gun lighting the way. While it was still quite dark, she was able to see various things. She walked toward the observation deck, feeling her way across the room by using the shudders. They ended up walking around an overturned kiosk, wondering over toward a door on the opposite side.

"There's a door over here, maybe if we're lucky we'll find a fire exit." She said softly.

"Bet you're luck on it, we actually might be able to find one." Kotoko said, a grin on her face, though it could barely be seen due to the darkness.

"May I ask something, these bracelets inject us with talent serum, what exactly did you two get?" Taichi asked.

"Oh, I got the Actress serum, turning me into the Ultimate Actress...I try not to rely on it, but everything about me is an act. Inside I am burning with rage." Kotoko said happily, startling the man a bit.

"I got Ultimate Luck as my talent. I don't know why exactly, but I guess because of my luck we've avoided a lot of battles. I've been subconsciously relying on it the entire time."

"What about you, what did you get?" Kotoko asked, glancing back at the man, the light from their glow sticks making his glasses glow a bit.

"Interestingly enough, I got my daughter's talent. I'm the Ultimate Programmer now...I guess I can use this new talent to succeed my daughter's work. We need to focus on getting out of here first." he said.

Yukki pulled open the door, walking toward the dark room. The three of them walked through, aiming their guns around the room. Kotoko found it a little silly, seeing as they couldn't exactly see anything. Yukki walked forward, bumping into an information counter. She knocked a paint can to the ground, startling one of the Monokuma Kids that was hanging around. She let out a scream jumping off the desk into the invisible paint, racing off into the darkened room.

"I didn't even see her, Christ I could have shot her." the pinkette said.

"Well be glad that you didn't. She stepped in that paint, now we can track her prints." Yukki said, aiming the gun at the ground. Sure enough, footprints appeared, leading deeper into the darkened room.

"Those helmets are amazing. It must allow those kids to have heightened senses, including night vision." Taichi said.

"Yes, it's also turning them into mindless killers." Kotoko snapped sarcastically, causing the man to groan.

Walking around the corner, they noticed the little girl had walked over a large desk, hopping toward the other side. They did the same, jumping down to the tiled floor, quickening their pace a bit. Yukki let out a scream when she saw an overturned Monokuma statue.

"Goddamn it, that scared the piss out of me." she said softly, a hand on her chest.

"Try not to scream next time, I don't need it." her partner said, taking a few deep breaths.

They continued walking in silence, taking out a few surprise Monokumas that had been placed around the room. It had been a bit hard for Yukki to switch from Detect to Break every time she saw one. They had walked away from the path a few times, and it had been extremely difficult to find the footprints. They had decided to let Kotoko and Taichi shoot the Monokumas, as they couldn't risk being lost anymore. They finally reached the area where the little girl had been hiding, a mass of footprints on the floor below her. Kotoko grabbed her, pressing her against the wall.

"Tell us where the exit is!" she said.

"Whoa, no need to be so rough with her." Yukki said firmly.

"Yes, we wouldn't want to hurt her." Taichi added.

"I'm not gonna hurt her, I just want to coax the answer out of her. So, where's the exit?"

The little girl slipped out of her arms, pulling Kotoko with her toward a door. She pointed to a glowing sign, which showed a man walking into a stairwell. Shining her glow stick at the wall, she saw the sign that spelled Fire Exit on it in bold letters. She grinned.

"Alright, this will take us all the way down...let's go." she said.

The Monokuma Kid however slipped into the stairwell, giving her a small giggle as the door closed. Seconds later, a loud explosion rung through the area, the walls caved in, blocking the exit. The three Captives ended up flying back from the shock wave, all of them knocked out in an instant.

xxx

Hoshiko sighed as she received the report from the Monokuma Kids. It seemed as if Jataro had been taken down by Kotoko. There hadn't been reports of his death either, meaning he could possibly still be alive. She didn't want to breach that topic with Monaca, knowing full well she would start throwing a tantrum. She sighed, running her hand through her hair, her fingers slipping through her sky blue locks.

She originally didn't want to do any of this. Yes, she wanted to create a child's only paradise, a place where she could be safe from everything that had happened to her. She thought the adults were demons, but she didn't want them all to be brutally murdered. She was just a girl that was infatuated with Science. She wanted to hold experiments, and get the answers to everything she questioned. She held her own experiments in her room, coming up with thesis after thesis, hypothesis after hypothesis. But her current hypothesis was something that worried her.

She had been growing curious of Monaca's actions. She couldn't stand Kurokuma's voice, so she didn't stick around when they spoke. But she had seen the green haired girl doing a lot of weird things. She had been busy drawing a magic circle on the floor, and had placed a picture of Junko Enoshima in the center. She had muttered a few things to Kurokuma, things that she couldn't clearly make out.

Now she was standing there, her ear pressed against the door, hoping to listen into their conversation, but again it was too quiet. She pulled out a headset from her labcoat, placing a metallic bowl, connected with wire to the wall. She turned the dial a bit, trying to get the correct volume to hear the conversation, but someone clearing their throat behind her caused her to jump.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, Nagisa...so good to see you!" the girl said, blushing brightly. The blue haired boy looked at her, eyes narrowed.

"Yes...but answer my question first...what are you doing with that..contraption?" he asked.

"This thing? Oh it was nothing...just a failed experiment!" she said, tossing the device aside. Her heart shattered when she saw it break, but she knew she could easily rebuild it.

"Failed experiment...right. Have you given Monaca the report?" he asked.

"Report? Of what exactly?" the young scientist asked. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Jataro's failure of course. We need to plan our next course of action, we've lost two people already. We need to focus on building Paradise." he said, brushing past her. He pushed the doors open, startling Monaca and Kurokuma out of their conversation.

"Oh, hello Nagisa, and Hoshiko too!" the girl greeted happily.

"Well well, I was just talking to Monaca about you two. I told her the two of you were probably fuckin or something, seeing as you hadn't shown up yet, ha ha ha!" Kurokuma said, breaking into a laugh.

"Quit your repartee already, you disgusting mongrel!" Hoshiko snapped angrily. She really didn't like the black bear, and had forgotten how he had even showed up at their Headquarters in the first place.

"Monaca, the Monokuma Kids have reported in. It seems Kotoko and that Bimbo made it to the Top of Towa Tower. They defeated Jataro on the way up." the blue haired boy said. Monaca frowned, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh well, you can't win all the battles." she said.

"Uh...aren't you sad? One of our friends was most likely brutally murdered. We're never gonna see him again." Hoshiko said.

"It's alright, he'll be making dioramas with Masaru in the sky." the girl said, her chair spinning around, and act she did when she was happy.

"We need to focus on building paradise. We've lost two members already, so we can't keep delaying this. The game isn't giving us results, none of the captives have died yet." Nagisa said.

"Aw, it's alright Nagisa. We will build paradise together, Rome wasn't built in a day after all." she said.

"But..."

"Let it go Nagisa, you know it's impossible to get through to her when she's like this. But this is a pressing matter, I wasn't expecting my cousin to be so persistent." Hoshiko said firmly, glancing at the ground.

"Kotoko is a bit of an annoyance, but she'll get hers soon. I'll make sure to be nice and gentle too." Monaca said, causing the Lil' Ultimate Science to roar in anger.

"Don't you dare say that word around her. She may be an enemy, but she's my family." the girl hissed in anger. Monaca tilted her head.

"Hmm? Did Monaca make an oopsie? I'm sorry...I just wasn't expecting someone as Useless as you to care."

"U-Useless?" Hoshiko muttered, her face darkening a bit.

"Monaca, I don't think you should say that around her." Nagisa said firmly. The girl inched herself closer to the blue haired girl, a smile on her face.

"It's alright Nagisa. She knows she's just a useless little puppet, after all, her own mother didn't care about her. No one thought her talent was useful at all, she was nothing more than a fanatic, someone who loves science but isn't even good at it!" the girl said happily.

"No mother! I am not useless! I'll show you and this entire goddamn planet, everyone always thinks my keen intellect is the only thing that's valuable. But I'll show them, that Hoshiko Azayaka is much more than just brains." she said firmly. She reached for her watch, pressing a button to it. A Monokuma unit raced in, hobbling a bit on its unbalanced feet.

It looked just like the other Monokumas, only this one was wearing a safari hat atop its head. It also had a bright blue messenger bag, with the drawing of an eagle on it. Hoshiko quickly wrote something onto a sheet of white paper, folded it and handed it to the Monokuma.

"Deliver this to my cousin Mercurkuma, and deliver it posthaste! I must get ready to have a little fun with her!" she said, a grin on her face.

"Upupupupu!"

"You know, egging her on like this is only going to cause her downfall." Nagisa said firmly, earning a giggle from Monaca.

"Silly Nagisa, I'm not egging her own. I'm just giving her a sense of perspective." she said. The boy sighed, pinching his eyes.

"I don't have time for this, I have some things I need to do in order to make Paradise happen." he said, walking toward the door.

"You know Nagisa, I wouldn't mind doing that for you. You need a break sometimes too you know." Hoshiko said, blushing a bit. The boy blushed as well, shaking his head.

"No no, I believe I can handle it. Besides, you have your own...things to do." He said, stepping out of the room. She sighed, a frown on her face.

"Maybe I should have asked for acting lessons from my cousin...oh well, guess I won't be able to do anything like that anymore. Since she's gonna die and all." the girl said. Behind her, Monaca let out the tinniest of smirks.

xxx

"Ugn...my head." Yukki muttered, as she sat up, clutching her head. She felt a bit of dry blood on her forehead. Kotoko and Taichi were laying prone beside her. She quickly checked them over, sighing with relief when she saw they were breathing. Kotoko slowly awoke, sitting herself up.

"Oh man, that explosion...this sucks cock and balls." she said, gritting her teeth in pain.

"Well...we're alive at least." Taichi said, ignoring the profanity that had come from Kotoko.

"But the damn exit is blocked...how are we gonna get outta here now?" Yukki asked.

"Do either of you feel a draft?" the pinkette asked. She grabbed her gun off the ground, and started walking away from the exit. Yukki stood up, groaning in pain a bit as she limped behind her.

One of the shutters had been damaged by the explosion, bending it outward and warping it a bit. They heard the sound of a Monokuma unit and turned to face it, seeing it was a Bomber Monokuma. Yukki quickly switched to Knockback, and let out a small but powerful note, sending the robot flying back. It slammed into the shutter, exploding on contact. Metal and glass fell in all directions, allowing them a clear view of the outside world.

"Finally, fresh air! Hey, were the skies always that red?" Yukki asked curiously.

"Despair warps the minds of everything on the planet, plants, animals, humans...even the world itself changes to match it. I thought once that the red skies were due to the fires, but I think they changed when despair ran amok. It's crying for the souls that it has lost." Kotoko said firmly.

"That's a...very vivid explanation." Taichi said. Yukki took a step forward, swallowing hard as she looked down.

"Okay, that looks high as fuck." she said.

"No shit, we're on the top floor. There should be an access ladder around here...hey, you wanna see me do a handstand near the edge?" the little girl said.

"I think I should hold your hand so you don't endanger yourself." Taichi said firmly. She puffed her cheeks.

"I'm a big girl you know. T'was a joke from little old me." she said, once again in her British accent.

"Hey, that was pretty good!" Taichi said cheerfully, earning a groan from the idol.

She walked around the edge, trying not to look down. She saw something sparkling at the other end of the edge. She slowly walked toward it, noticing it was a piece of paper with sparkly pink ink on it. She picked it up off the ground, reading its contents.

"Those without talent have it easy...sometimes I wonder if I should have feigned stupidity around my mother. Maybe. Still, at least they are not bogged by massive expectations. Though seriously, I wonder whether or not I should have kept mother alive for a bit longer. I did enjoy her screams of agony, that'll teach her to call me useless. Meh."

"Huh...doesn't say who wrote this...I have been finding these quite spread out." Yukki muttered to herself.

She had been finding these diary entrees all through out the city. The first two had belonged to Masaru and Jataro. When she had read them to Kotoko, the girl had ripped them up, saying that she didn't need to worry about what those two had written. This one however seemed to be written by a girl, most likely around Kotoko's very age. She decided not to tell the girl about it. She folded the paper, placing it in her bra.

"Find anything?" Kotoko asked, as she walked over the bend. Yukki shook her head, walking past her and Taichi.

"It wasn't over here, it must be over here. Call me crazy, but I swore I saw a tiny ladder on that model you crushed." she said. The pinkette shrugged, following close behind her. Thankfully, they had successfully found the ladder seconds later. They looked down it, seeing it went down for quite a bit.

"Looks like we'll be climbing for quite awhile. I'll go last, I wouldn't want either of you to get mad at me." Taichi said jokingly, causing the two girls to blush. Kotoko decided to go first, with Yukki going after her.

"Come and enjoy the scenic view of Towa City. My ass, I hope this place gets brought to the ground." Kotoko said, gripping the rungs tightly.

"Jeez, try to be more upbeat."

"So ladies, where are we going after this? I can't allow you to go on your own. Is there a place where we could rest?" Taichi asked.

"Well, we do have a place filled with survivors. We promised a friend we would go back after speaking to the Remnants of Hope. We need to relay a message anyway." Kotoko said.

"Yeah, it's underground, in the sewers. So be prepared to smell like poo."

"Fantastic." the man said, not at all looking forward to it.

"Hey Yukki, I've had this burning question for awhile, since I met you actually. Sayaka has bright blue hair, but you had brown hair, why is that?" Kotoko asked curiously.

"Um...well, I ended up dying it this way after Sayaka made it big. I was still in that phase of, I want to be like my sister, but I don't want to be like her at the same time. I just wanted to be a little different than Sayaka. My hair is blue naturally, and while I was captured they did deliver hair dye to my room." she said.

"Hmm...so that means all of your hair is blue. Hey, does that mean your armpit hair is blue?"

"Do you want to die? Because I can easily step on your hands from here!"

"Now now ladies, let's not start messing around." Taichi said, causing the two girls to growl at each other.

"Just so you know, I have the cutest armpits, free of hair so no that question will remain unanswered!" Yukki said, making Kotoko roll her eyes.

It took them about an hour before they all finally made it to the second floor. Thankfully, they had reached Towa Tower's outdoor cafe. The door had been locked tightly, so they had no choice but to use the rope that had been tied to the railing of the building. They slowly shimmied down, finally reached the solid ground. The three let out a sigh of relief, looking up at the tower.

"This place was total hell...I am definitely not coming back here!" Kotoko said, spitting at the ground.

"Well, we can't really get back up there, even if we wanted too." Taichi added, rubbing his neck. He looked around at all of the destroyed Monokumas. He noticed a small plastic card, laying on the ground next to one. He picked it up off the ground, surprised when he saw his own picture on it.

"What is this? A hit list?" He asked curiously. Kotoko swiped the card from his hand, reading it over.

"So, we found another one, that makes number seven in this list. I've been secretly collecting these as we go along. Good eye Taichi." she said happily.

"Uh...why didn't you bother telling me?" Yukki asked.

"I didn't find it important. It's just some silly writing from some kids...but I'll let you see yours since I did find it before we met up." She said, handing the pink card to Yukki.

"Yukkisaurous Rex, real name Yukki Maizono. This stupid demon has breasts the size of planets. She can use her voice to lull you to sleep, if you want to kill this demon, attract it with Cherry Pie and then insult her boobs. While she's distracted, stab her in the throat. Who the fuck wrote this?" she shouted, anger in her eyes.

"I dunno, I just found it. There was a reason why I didn't feel like showing it to you!" the girl said, taking the card back.

Yukki grumbled to herself, heading back the way they came. They stopped when they heard the sound of jet engines above them. They looked up, seeing a fleet of F-16's being lead by a sleek black F-15 Eagle. The leading plane quickly swooped down, dropping a large black crate. It feel for a few hundred feet before a chute opened up slowing the box down until it landed on the ground before them. Just as fast as they showed up, the jets left, with the pilot of the leading jet giving them a salute.

"That must have been Tatsumi. He does deliveries to affected areas now, but he fights as well." Kotoko said. She walked over to the box, swiping her ehandbook on it. The crate beeped, opening a second later.

"Hehe, ladies and gentleman, I give you heaven on earth." Kotoko said, pulling out some freshly made food from within. Yukki's mouth watered when she saw the glass container.

"I haven't had anything other than curry rice for so fucking long. Gimme gimme gimme!" the girl cried, swiping the container from Kotoko's hands. She sat down right on the street, ignoring the pain flaring through her leg. She grabbed the plastic utensils attached to the contain and started wolfing the food down.

"She's a hungry girl isn't she?" Taichi asked, a smile on his face.

"That's why her boobs are so huge. Here, you need to eat too." Kotoko said, handing the man the second container.

After the three had a feast with the food they had been given, and taken down any Monokumas that tried to attack them, Yukki started looking through the supplies. She found some extra medical supplies, including some healing balms created by the Ultimate Pharmacist. She took off her soiled gauze, and started redressing her wounds. She sighed contently as the new balm healed her bite marks.

"This balm is amazing, it soothed away the pain, and I feel it healing me too." she said, slowly wrapping her leg up.

"That's Seiko for ya. Even if she's with the Foundation, she wants to help everyone out. It's one of the few treaties we have with them. We trade them goods from Togami Corp, and Seiko gives us medicine. If only we could unite and work together, instead of separately." Kotoko said, a frown on her face.

"I doubt the Remnants of Hope and the Future Foundation could work together. Especially with the Ultimate Despair currently within, even though they're normal, they're still responsible for what they did. Kyosuke Munakata wants them killed, so we'd never get along." Yukki said firmly.

"We? Since when were you a member?" Kotoko asked curiously.

"Well, there are some uniforms in there. Maybe we can change later on, though I want to give mine my own personal touch." she said, giving her a wink.

"There's a strange backpack in here...I think you should have it Yukki." Taichi said, handing the pack to Yukki. She looked at it, the blue cloth was glowing slightly, with some of the zippers were glowing at odd interval.

"Wait, I've seen something like this before. Akira made this, it's one of those backpacks that have a hyperspace inside. Apparently, it's designed to be like that storage cube from Jimmy Neutron." Kotoko said.

"She actually made something from a kid show into reality?" Yukki asked.

"Yup yup...it won't have infinite storage, but you'll be able to store a ladder inside it." Kotoko said. Yukki shrugged, and started placing everything she could into the pack. She was surprised when she was able to place several things inside and didn't feel the weight of it.

"Looks like there are some extra cards for your hacking gun too." the girl said, handing them to Yukki, who pocked them quickly. After they had gotten all of the supplies out of the crate, they started their journey back toward the sewers.

"I'm really not looking forward to going into the sewers again." Yukki said.

"Me either, but that's where we have to go...oh man we gotta walk through that grisly neighborhood again." Kotoko said.

"Grisly, I think it looks quite colorful!" Taichi said.

"Colorful? It looks like a mob of psychotic painters ran by here." Kotoko said.

"It's starting to grow on me. Come on, we best hurry, before we get attacked by Monokumas." Yukki said, a small smile on her face.

None of them noticed the odd looking Monokuma following right after them. It had a grin on its face, its crimson eyes glowing brightly as it focused on Kotoko's retreated form.