Upon arriving at the Bunker dock, Chiaki and K1 were escorted by two androids while four other androids cautiously loaded the body onto a stretch. Normally the other androids would smile and could crack jokes, but for once they were acting just as serious as Chiaki. This was likely due to the foreign and dangerous person they were moving. Upon noticing the thick air of tension K1 was tempted to make a reassuring remark, but one look from Chiaki stopped him.
After a few more minutes of uncomfortably silent walking, all the androids arrived at the command room before Chisa. Chisa stepped forward to examine the deceased thing on the stretch. While all the other androids looked straight ahead, including Chiaki, K1's eyes wandered and glimpsed at his commander's eyes while she was examining. It was just a second before he looked away, but he swore he saw the cold emerald eyes of his commander soften when she looked at the body.
"Very well," Chisa said as she looked up. "I will personally examine this machine myself, so you four take it to the lab."
"Yes ma'am," four of the androids said in unison.
"You two are pardoned as well," Chisa said, pointing to the other two androids. "Now, C11, K1, allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your victory over the enemy."
"Oh… thank you," K1 said.
"Unfortunately the enemy's little tantrum caused our server to get scrambled during your fight, so we were not able to contact you immediately or monitor what happen," Chisa said. "So which one of you killed it?"
"It was a team effort," Chiaki said.
"Wait… I thought you killed her?" K1 asked.
"So it was you C11?" Chisa asked. "In that case, we will provide you with an adequate reward."
"Thank you," Chiaki bowed her head, "but I would like to make a request instead."
"And what would that be?" Chisa asked.
"I would request you suspend K1 from all work on the surface for some time," Chiaki said.
"What?!" K1 asked.
"Very well," Chisa said, "I'll allow it."
"But…" K1 tried to speak up.
"K1, until further notice you will be suspended from all work on the surface and thus remain here in the Bunker," Chisa commanded.
"I…" K1 whined a bit before giving in, "understood…"
"Good," Chisa said. "You two are excused."
Knowing K1 was going to whine some more, Chiaki guided him out into the hallway. Just as K1 was about to ask, M1 rushed up to them.
"C11!!!" M1 shouted before grabbing Chiaki's hands. "You're okay!"
"Of course," Chiaki said.
"Ugh I was so worried when I couldn't get in touch with you, then we had all these reports of android deaths, Monokumas were everywhere, and I… I was just so worried!" M1 said.
"You never have to worry about me to that extreme amount," Chiaki reassured her. "I will never die as long as I upload my data."
"I know," M1 smiled. "I'm just so happy you're safe and standing."
"Thank you," Chiaki said.
Finally, M1 noticed K1 just standing there awkwardly.
"Oh, you're C11's partner, K1," M1 said. "It's nice to finally meet you face to face."
"Same," K1 smiled. "I always figured you were a nice operator and you really are."
"Aww," M1 smiled, "you're really nice too. Just the partner C11 needs."
"What do you mean?" K1 asked.
"Ugh… nevermind," M1 said after getting a glare from Chiaki, "I have to go do more work, so bye for now."
Before K1 could ask, M1 scurried away into the command room. For a moment K1 completely forgot what he was going to complain about.
"C11…" K1 spoke up, "why did you make that request?"
For once, Chiaki did not respond to a question as she turned away from him.
"If it's about what happened with Kana, we don't have to worry now that she's dead," K1 reassured. "I'll stay close to you and out of danger."
"You are staying here and that's final," Chiaki raised her voice some while looking directly at him. "Understood?"
"But…" K1 tried to speak before submitting. "Fine…"
Suddenly, the lights flashed red as the whole Bunker echoed with the sounds of an alarm. Instinctively, the two androids rushed back into the command room. There the multiple screens were showing large swarms of Monokumas assembled all over the surface.
"I thought we killed Kana," K1 said, "so shouldn't all the Monokumas in the network be deactivated?"
"No," Chisa responded. "It appears the enemy planned to run a backup program just in case the controller was defeated."
"What do we do?" K1 asked.
"Simple, we'll assemble squads to attack each swarm," Chisa said. "Fortunately this back up program they're running on is more predictable than their last attack."
"That's a bit of a relief," K1 said.
"C11, you'll be in charge of squad 77," Chisa said. "Now suit up and join them at the dock."
"Yes ma'am," Chiaki bowed her head.
"Glory to mankind," Chisa said.
"Glory to mankind," Chiaki said before running to her room.
"What about me?" K1 asked.
"You will remain here in the Bunker," Chisa said.
"But this is an emergency!" K1 said. "Don't you need everyone?"
"I will not break C11's request," Chisa said. "Besides, your absence from the battlefield would not dramatically affect the outcome."
"But you're the-" K1 tried to speak only to be interrupted.
"I suggest you go to your room," Chisa said with a deadly glare.
"Understood," K1 gave in.
Defeated yet again, K1 stepped out into the hall and headed to his room, but not before he quickly checked on Chiaki. When he arrived at her door he rushed in without caring to knock this time. Inside, Chiaki was just about to put on her black helmet to top her combat armor. For a moment K1 forgot what he was going to say as he stared into Chiaki's deathly pale pink eyes.
"You are staying here regardless of the situation," Chiaki said, causing K1 to snap out of his trance.
"Fine," K1 said.
"I'm going now," Chiaki said as she walked to the door.
"C11…?" K1 tried to ask.
"I'll be safe," Chiaki finished his sentence before running ahead.
With nothing left to do, K1 left for his room.
Some time passed rather slowly as K1 waited. During this time, he looked through his collection of photos only for his anxiety to resurface upon seeing the more recent photos from his adventures with Chiaki. Since the photos didn't help, K1 decided to try something different to calm himself down. He remembered those lyrics and began to sing.
"I feel like I'm losing hope in my body and my soul," K1 sang, " and the sky it looks so ominous."
For a time, K1 sang the song Aesop had taught him until he heard something. When he looked around to see, he found a plain white envelope had been slid under his door. When he picked it up he found it had no markings or anything written on it. Curious, K1 opened the envelope to find a few papers inside. The first paper appeared to be a shipment order, but the only two items listed for transportation were repair materials and purified water while the rest of the transporters were empty.
"Is this… for the moon?" K1 asked aloud.
The next paper was an index listing every part of HOPE from its combat system to chain of command, yet among the parts listed was the council of humanity development department. Once he saw that name, K1 blinked and almost dropped the papers.
"That must be a mistake," K1 reasoned. "After all, it was the council of humanity that created HOPE, not the other way around."
Cautiously, K1 examined the final paper that was in the envelope. This one simply had a word and a definition printed in the middle of the page.
Despair Logic Virus: A virus that causes the host's mind and senses to slowly degrade until the host commits suicide from the intense suffering and hallucinations.
It was so simple and small, yet it only added more weight to K1's mind. K1 stood completely still for a time as he attempted to process the information these three pieces of paper were telling him.
"This can't be real," K1 said. "They have to be lies."
Eventually, K1 mustered up the strength to crumble the papers and envelope into a ball. He paused to hold the ball in his hand for a bit before throwing it into his desk and out of sight. Afterwards, K1 retired to his bed and tried to rest as a way to easily pass the time.
While K1 tried to avoid his discovery, Chiaki began to fight on the surface near the resistance camp. There she led her group like an alpha wolf and cut down any Monokuma in sight. While her group of 7 were strong in number, she could tell some of them were not as confident in their formation. Adding to the group's anxiety were the stormy clouds that formed above and began to release a downpour of rain on the battlefield. Soon everything became harder to see with billions of rain drops pouring from the sky and the grassy battlefield turning into a marsh. Regardless of the environment, Chiaki continued to fight and dispose of any Monokuma she saw.
"Leader," one of the androids said, "do you think we can defeat all these Monokumas?"
"Don't know," Chiaki said before slicing the head off an incoming Monokuma.
Unlike the berserk Monokumas Chiaki fought before, these Monokumas were more unified like the formation of androids she led. Their attacks although more predictable were strangely thought out as they sent out their strongest Monokuma types like the junk and ball types first. Just like the berserk Monokumas though, the Monokumas they fought seemed to have no end to them as a new Monokuma replaced a destroyed one at once. Even if it seemed like an uphill battle, Chiaki continued to fight with all her might. However, her followers were not as determined as their fighting slowly degraded the longer they fought.
"Leader," one android said, "there's too many of them!"
"Keep fighting regardless," Chiaki said.
"I don't want to fight anymore!" An android began to cry upon dropping her sword.
Before a Monokuma could pounce on the crying android, Chiaki sliced it in half.
"It doesn't matter what you want," Chiaki said as she handed the sword back to the android, "you will fight."
Alas the formation's morale only worsened with the time fighting the endless number of Monokuma's and the continued downpour of rain. The defeatist attitudes of her comrades was clear to see from Chiaki's point of view, but she never stopped fighting or protecting them. Yet no matter how many times she saved her comrades from being destroyed by their enemy, they continued to slip further into despair. Finally, the Monokuma's formed a circle around the androids before both their eyes glowed crimson. Chiaki rushed forward to try to break the circle, but she was too late. Right as she was about to swing her katana, each Monokuma in the circle exploded and produced a ring of electricity that hit every android, including Chiaki. Chiaki fell to the ground, knocking her helmet off and forcing her to see her comrades beginning to cry in agony.
"What… is this?" one android asked.
"I can't see…" an android cried.
"WARNING: DESPAIR LOGIC VIRUS DETECTED IN AI," Chiaki's cube-like machine said.
Chiaki listened to her comrades' cries until they slowly silenced despite their mouths still moving. She watched helpless on the ground as her comrades gave in to the madness. Just as one of her comrades stabbed themselves through the head with their sword, Chiaki began to hear voices echo in her head.
"Traitor. Traitor. Traitor," the voices repeated over and over again as if they were stabbing her.
Chiaki winced in pain as her circuits pounded like a quivering heart. The voices repeated the word so fast it caused Chiaki to hold her head in a vain attempt to silence them. Slowly the voices faded away as a new feeling began to take over. Although Chiaki did not have skin to feel, she felt an almost freezing static in her back and shoulder circuits. Then like the soft hissing of a serpent she heard a feminine voice whisper into her ear.
"Did you miss me, sunshine?" The voice asked.
Instantly, Chiaki jumped up on her feet and raised her katana in the direction of wherever the voice was only to find nothing. Although she was standing now, she could still feel the effects of the despair logic virus growing inside her.
"Unit C11 has been infected with the despair logic virus." Chiaki's cube-like machine said. "Proposal: seek help immediately."
"No," Chiaki said," Pod; Deactivate!"
"Are you sure you want to do that?" The cube-like machine asked.
"Yes," Chiaki said.
"Deactivating," the cube-like machine said as it hovered down to the ground before shutting off.
"I need to reach… the cliff," Chiaki said.
With those words ingrained into her mind, Chiaki walked off in the direction of the bridge.
K1 was fast asleep until someone forced him to wake up. Confused, K1 opened his eyes to see M1 standing over him with a panicked face.
"M1?" K1 asked. "What's going on?"
"It's C11!" M1 said, "We lost touch with her and her squad!"
"What?!" K1 jumped to his feet. "Where?!"
"They were last reported in the area outside the resistance camp," M1 explained.
"I'll go there now!" K1 said. "But what will the Commander do if I leave the Bunker?"
"That doesn't matter!" M1 said. "We need to do everything to find C11!"
"Right!" K1 said before quickly departing for the transport terminal.
"Oh, C11," M1 gripped her scarf, "I hope you're safe."
As soon as K1 arrived back to the surface he raced off to where Chiaki supposedly was. He didn't care to interact with any of the monokumas that got in his way and just ran past them. When he managed to reach Chiaki's squad, he found only one was alive.
"Where's your leader, C11?" K1 asked the android.
"There's no point…" the android said as she gripped the sword in her hand. "Humanity is dead."
Before K1 could ask her anything else, the android stabbed the sword into her head and dropped dead. Despite this tragedy, K1 refused to give up and soon found Chiaki's deactivated cube-like machine in the mud.
"If it's deactivated…" K1 thought aloud before shaking his head. "No, C11 is stronger than that!"
K1 looked around desperately for any sign as to where Chiaki had gone until he spotted a familiar red fox in the grass ahead.
"Aesop!" K1 called to her. "Do you know where Chiaki went?"
The fox responded by running in the direction of the bridge. Without hesitation, K1 ran after her.
Further away, Chiaki limped towards the bridge. Although she passed by a few hoards of Monokuma's, for some reason they didn't attack her. By this time, all she could see was monotone as everything was deathly silent except the voices in her head that kept repeating the word "Traitor" over and over. However two other voices began to speak.
"I'll always love you," one said.
"Your body and soul belong to me," the other said.
"Please…" Chiaki whined.
Finally as the rain began to clear and the sun shined through the clouds, Chiaki managed to limp all the way to the rope bridge. Due to the downpour of rain, the canyon below had been flooded with water that flowed rapidly like a stream. Over the canyon, Chiaki could see someone standing on air. Unlike everything else she saw that had become monotone, he was bright and colored.
"Come with me," he said as he outstretched his arm to Chiaki.
"Hajime," Chiaki said softly.
Chiaki drew closer to the edge, like a moth to a flame. In her monotone vision, nothing else mattered as she stared into his green eyes with her crimson ones. Yet, overtime she heard some blurred sound getting louder until it became comprehensible.
"C11!" A voice shouted and briefly shook Chiaki out her trance.
Chiaki turned her head to see K1 running desperately towards her from over the horizon. From where she stood, she could barely make out his face through her monotone vision.
"Kibou…" Chiaki said softly with a smile until her foot slipped on the wet rock.
Before K1 could reach the cliff, Chiaki had fallen in. Desperately, K1 reached out his hand and fell to his knees before the cliff in a vain attempt to save her. Instead, he only witnessed his partner hit the rapid water down in the canyon. Upon contact, the water instantly swept Chiaki away from K1's sight.
"C11…?" K1 called out, "C11!!!"
Upon his scream, the ground violently shook until white blocky materials shot up from the ground throughout the area. The white blocks continued to form and solidify into one massive palace centered outside the resistance camp and surrounded by three towers. Accompanying the palace's creation was a horrendous roar like a prehistoric beast that echoed throughout the land.
Despite all this happening around him, K1 did not move from where he was. He just kept staring at the water below all while the world changed around him. Eventually, a roaming Monokuma took notice of K1's vulnerable state and took the chance to strike. With a single jab, the Monokuma stabbed K1 through the head, causing him to go unconscious.
When K1 regained consciousness, he was back in his bed. It felt like waking up from a nightmare even though K1 had never dreamed. Softly, K1 stood up in bed to see the Commander was sitting on a chair at the end of his bedside. Her face held a such downcast eyes he had never seen from her before.
"Commander…?" K1 asked, "...where's C11?"
"K1, I'm afraid…" Chisa looked directly into his eyes, "C11 is dead."
