I froze up at the sight of Monokuma's true form. Even though I'd been right, it was still a bit too much to see Monokuma take my mom's form, and use her voice.

"Mom?!" I said. "Wait, you're not her, are you?"

"Oh, I am her," "Mom" said, "or better said, she both was and will be me. The only difference between that woman over there and me is that she's missing some very important memories."

"But right now, you're different," I said. "So what shall I call you? Alter Ego-sensei, since you're merely the uploaded Alter Ego version of our teacher?"

"Fine by me," "Mom" said. "Call me whatever you want. It doesn't change the reality that the woman you call 'Mom' is nothing more than a memory. I might only be a copy, but I'm a more faithful copy of your mother than that woman over there."

Maybe it was wistful thinking, but I knew that Alter Ego-sensei was an artificial intelligence supposedly based off of Mom, rather than Mom's true self. Because of that, I strongly doubted it was possible to create an artificial intelligence replica of a person, especially if that replica became aware of its status as such.

"Besides," Alter Ego-sensei said, "what we call each other isn't important, since it's not as though we'll know each other for very long, anyway. I'm just lines of code that are only meant to supervise the killing game, and be cast aside once we're done here. Once I'm 'dead,' there won't be an afterlife awaiting me, although I would love to go to Hell. Oh, such a pointless, fleeting existence... it fills me with despair."

So this was Ultimate Despair- the sort of people who took joy in causing despair in others, as well as suffering despair when their own evil plans failed. To them, setting things up like the killing game was a win-win proposition, but to us, it was simpler- we just had to pursue the outcome with the least amount of suffering and death involved. Of course, even though we'd uncovered the traitor's identity, we hadn't won anything just yet.

"But I'm forgetting my manners," Alter Ego-sensei said. "It's nice to see you again, Miura-san, even if you weren't one of the original participants in this killing school trip."

"Maybe not, Sensei," Miura-san said, "but I am a student of Talent High School, so the rules permit me to take part in the trip, just like Nagato-sensei."

"Fair enough," Alter Ego-sensei said. "As a student, you will get a vote, but you must abide by the teacher's rules. Is that all right with you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Miura-san said politely.

So Alter Ego-sensei did have at least some of my mom in her. Mom wasn't overly strict about the rules, but believed in consistent enforcement, so giving special treatment to her daughter would be a betrayal of those principles. Because of that, I was sure that Alter Ego-sensei wouldn't have hesitated to execute me if I'd been the blackened, I'd broken a rule or someone else had graduated.

"Good," Alter Ego-sensei said. "By the way, you were right earlier; I was listening to your conversation with Chiyuri, and cut you off at just the right moment. I didn't want you spoiling the answer."

"I thought as much," Miura-san said. "Of course, telling Nagato-senpai about the Forced Shutdown was a higher priority than the traitor's identity, since she could figure the latter out by herself."

"I'm sure she could, too," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but what good would the former do? Since the Forced Shutdown needs eight or nine people, there's nothing you can do to help Chiyuri by yourself."

Miura-san confidently smiled.

"Not by myself," Miura-san said. "You know, I once lamented that only three people besides me survived the Talent High School killing game, and wondered what more I could have done to lessen the death toll. I still feel that way, but I'm glad that this many Talent High School students survived and were able to come here today. Speaking of which, it should be about time..."

Suddenly, three lights appeared, in the places where Kirishima-san, Yamazaki-san and Asakura had once stood.

As the three lights faded, I saw three new arrivals. In Asakura's place, there was a girl with long dark hair in a blue blazer-style uniform with a matching tie. In Yamazaki-san's place, there was a blond boy with a uniform like the other girl's, possibly due to coming from the same school. In Kirishima-san's place, third was a ginger-haired boy with an apron over a yellow dress shirt and gray trousers.

"You made it!" Miura-san said.

"Of course we did," the other girl said with a smile. "As soon as we confirmed that it was safe, we entered. We weren't about to let you face this alone."

The other boys simply smiled and nodded.

"Anyway, this Neo World Program makes that virtual reality game we played seem like Pong in comparison," the blond boy said. "All of us apparently got turned back to our high school selves."

"You said it, Shinichi," the ginger-haired boy said, "but you guys wear blazers and ties anyway, so you don't look all that different."

Miura-san chuckled. Her blazer was a slightly darker gray than the Talent High School blazer, and her tie was half red, so she was practically wearing our uniform even before she got into the school. The same went for Saint Mary's, even if the school would ultimately have sent her home to change if she'd shown up wearing that.

"Anyway, I suppose introductions are in order," Miura-san said. "I'm not sure if Nagato-senpai told you, but I'm Kaori Miura, the Ultimate Beginner's Luck. These are my classmates and the other survivors of Class 33 of Talent High School, who have since joined the Future Foundation."

"I'm Sae Edogawa, the Ultimate Mystery Novelist," the other girl said.

"And I'm Shinichi Inoue, the Ultimate Linguist," the boy with the same uniform as Edogawa-san said.

"And I'm Yusuke Tezuka, the Ultimate Abstract Artist," the ginger-haired boy said. "Don't expect too much; I'm mainly gonna follow Miura's lead and get you guys out of here."

"Ah yes," Sayuri-san said. "I've heard about you all before. I'd like to say 'It's nice to meet you,' but I guess that for you, it isn't the first time we've met, is it?"

Edogawa-san sadly nodded.

"Kaori told us what to expect, Sayu- er, Sasaki-senpai," Edogawa-san said, "but do none of you really remember us?"

"I'm afraid not, Edogawa-san," Himeno-san said, "but it seems the opposite is not true. You seem to know our names, and may have been our friends in the past, so just call us whatever you're used to."

"All right, Himeno-san," Miura-san said. "You may not remember, but your secret, the one about you and Sayuri-san, is safe with me."

"Thank you, Miura-san," Himeno-san said. "If we get through this, I have some good news about that."

Miura-san smiled. Apparently, I wasn't the first to learn that Himeno-san and Sayuri-san had feelings for each other, and neither was Akira.

"In any case," Miura-san said, "while it may be difficult for you all to trust those you do not remember, all of us have the same goals- to get as many of you out of the Neo World Program alive as possible. We're sorry we could not make it here sooner, but now that we've arrived, we're here to help you."

"Oh, really?" Alter Ego-sensei said. "I wouldn't be so sure that all your goals are the same."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tezuka-san said.

"The four of you undoubtedly have unanswered questions about your own killing game," Alter Ego-sensei said. "By now, you've realized that Kagami-san didn't act alone, haven't you?"

I remembered the information I'd found in the physics lab. At the time, Sayuri-san and I had wondered how Kagami had anything to do with out situation, but the answer was becoming clear to us.

"We already know about Kagami-kun, Enoshima and you," Inoue-san said. "If there's anything we're not sure about, we can ask you for the details back in the real world, preferably once you're in Future Foundation custody."

"Good plan," Kurogane-san said. "Once we're out, we can also share our testimony if there's anything you'd like to know from us."

Alter Ego-sensei chuckled.

"That wouldn't be fair to Chiyuri," Alter Ego-sensei said. "She's come this far, so she deserves to figure out the truth."

"About what?" Sayuri-san said. "What are you talking about?"

Miura-san sighed, then turned to me. The rest of my classmates had been relatively quiet since Monokuma's true identity had been exposed, so I'd have to do most of the work here. I didn't mind, but Alter Ego-sensei did seem unusually fixated on me, even considering she was my mom.

"Do you remember Kagami-kun, the one who masterminded our killing game?" Miura-san said.

"Yes," I said. "Today, I learned that he was also sent to Hope's Peak Academy to steal information on the air purifier."

"That's true," Miura-san said, "but while he was there, he was ambushed by Enoshima and her sister, and forced to set up a killing game inside Talent High School."

"Saying he was 'forced' is kind of an exaggeration," Tezuka-san said. "The asshole enjoyed every minute of it... at least until he got executed, anyway."

So like us, Class 33 had also been betrayed by one of its own. Kagami obviously never cared for any of his classmates, but some of them might have considered him a friend or at least a comrade, only to realize that he was responsible for their death and misery.

"In any case," Miura-san said, "the real issue is how Enoshima knew Kagami-kun was coming to Hope's Peak to steal the plans for the air purifier, thus enabling her to ambush and recruit him. I guess that's the question that Alter Ego-sensei wants you to answer."

"Exactly," Alter Ego-sensei said. "Had Enoshima-san not received advance notice of Kagami-san's visit, it is less likely that she would have been able to intercept him and convince him to assist her in setting up a killing game inside Talent High School. If she hadn't, Kagami-san would have returned with the plans, set up the Shelter Plan, and neither he nor any of your other classmates would have had to die."

I winced. I wasn't entirely sure of my theory, so I could claim that I didn't know, but that wasn't completely true. Ever since I'd found the traitor's identity, I could name the culprit behind another crime that I'd recently learned about.

"Someone planted a listening device inside the headmistress's office," I said, "most likely someone who knew about the Shelter Plan in advance and suspected that Talent High School would need to 'acquire' the air purifier. There are a few people who fit that description, but... Mom is the most likely person who could have done it."

"Try 'the only one'," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but I'll give you full credit. But why would I do such a thing?"

I paused to think. There wasn't any evidence that spelled out Mom's reasons, but if she'd become part of Ultimate Despair, I could hazard a guess.

"I suppose that Enoshima needed someone on the inside to carry out her plan," I said, "and Kagami was the most likely person. Since he seemed like a person who would do anything you wanted if you had leverage on him, I guess he seemed like the perfect accomplice."

"That isn't entirely it, Nagato-senpai," Edogawa-san said. "You're not wrong about Kagami-kun's role in Enoshima's plan, nor about the fact that he'd do whatever she told him, but he also had a grudge against Talent High School. He was caught stealing someone's invention in hopes of passing it off as his own, and received a title that politely describes him as a plagiarist."

"Yeah, he should have been known as the Ultimate Piece of Shit," Tezuka-san said. "I make art, not technology, but all my works are 100 percent me."

Tezuka-san's words dripped venom. Not only was he talking about the person responsible for killing his friends, but the crime that got him into Talent High School was a cardinal sin in Tezuka-san's line of work.

"In any case, Kagami-kun, who'd sought a desirable Ultimate title for himself, sought revenge on his classmates," Edogawa-san said, "and helped set up a killing game in which the talented students would murder each other, not unlike what Enoshima had envisioned. As Kaori rose to the occasion and solved the murders, he took an interest in her, a relatively ordinary person whom Talent High School used as a guinea pig in their mission to research talent."

"I don't know if you heard about my talent," Miura-san said, "but the short version is that the first few times I play a game, I'm incredibly lucky; I was able to beat Kurogane-senpai's cousin at shogi despite never having played before. It doesn't last too long, though; after a few games, I'm just another amateur. The school thought they could use me to pretend to make progress on their research of talent, so they could get back to their real goal- helping their relatives get an easy path to a good education."

Mom let off a long, mournful sigh.

"I... I knew all this," Mom said. "As Chiyuri and her classmates know by now, I made a deal with the school before Chiyuri was born; she would be admitted in exchange for my not telling anyone that the chairman's late son was her father. Even as I insisted that Nagato-san show me the respect she owed her other teachers, while I treated her no differently from her schoolmates, the truth was that I made a deal with the devil to get my daughter preferential treatment, just to save her from the stigma of being an illegitimate child because of a mistake I made. Everything else is just an excuse."

"You say that as though it's a bad thing," Alter Ego-sensei said. "Chairman Mitamura might have invited Chiyuri to the school to buy my silence, but he didn't seem half as guilty when it came to doing the same thing for his granddaughter and my niece, Reiko-san."

Miura-san glanced at Alter Ego-sensei disapprovingly, then turned back to Mom.

"Maybe you did, Nagato-sensei," Miura-san said, "but out of everyone else I met in this school during the year I attended, you were probably the one who most acted like a proper teacher. I still remember how, when you met with me for career counseling, you told me that all of us had to have a vision for the future, and to be ready to take your second or even third choice. I had three picks for my future careers- an office worker, a teacher and an author- and you didn't act as though the latter two were pipe dreams."

"Really?" Mom said. "I said that?"

"You did," Miura-san said with a smile. "I'm sure your daughter would believe that."

I nodded, and Mom teared up. Apparently, not all the memories she'd lost were of her acting as Ultimate Despair; there were times when she'd been the same respectable teacher she'd always been. This sort of act was genuine and characteristic of her, so I had a hard time believing it was all an act.

"I'm touched that you remember, Miura-san," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but we're getting off track here. Let's get back to talking about Kagami-san."

"Right," Miura-san said. "Anyway, Kagami-kun wanted revenge against Talent High School and its students, by revealing the school's true mission and turning the students against each other. Of course, he wasn't a true member of Ultimate Despair, since his final goal was to dispose of the rest of us and get away with it. In the end, he took the easy way out and let himself be executed."

Judging from Monokuma's executions, there was hardly anything "easy" about that way out. I'd heard about stories in which spies swallowed cyanide or slit their throats with razors, but only because the alternative was being tortured for information. I doubted any of us had much of an idea what was in store for us, but none of us had chosen to kill ourselves in the time period, whether because the prospect was too disturbing to us, or because we had some hope.

"That sounds about right," I said. "I recall that you and the others gave testimony to the Future Foundation saying that Kagami wasn't part of Ultimate Despair."

"Wh-Where did you learn this?" Miura-san said.

"On an email from Kyouko Kirigiri to Kyousuke Munakata," I said, realizing as I spoke it aloud how much of a coincidence it was that the two had the female and male versions of the same name.

"I saw that email, too," Kurogane-san said. "Apparently, the mastermind behind this killing game also had access to mail sent between Talent High School faculty members."

Miura-san glanced about at Edogawa-san, who grimly nodded.

"The emails were supposed to be confidential," Edogawa-san said. "If there is a security breach on the Future Foundation servers, we'll have to look into it once we get back."

"If you get back," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but by now, you've learned the sad story of Kagami-san. He accomplished a great deal for Ultimate Despair despite not being one of us, but he died a painful and horrifying death without ever learning to enjoy the despair. Such a despair-inducing tragedy!"

Miura-san and her classmates looked somber, once again reminded of one of many painful memories from the killing game. I could only imagine what they were feeling now that they were faced with the person who, apart from Enoshima and Kagami, had the greatest hand in their killing game taking place.

"Now for our next question," Alter Ego-sensei said. "Why did I start the killing game with Chiyuri and her classmates, and help Enoshima-san start your killing game?"

My classmates were silent once again, knowing that Alter Ego-sensei probably wouldn't accept an answer from anyone besides me, even if it was right.

"I guess it's for the sake of despair," I said, "but I guess that's oversimplifying things, isn't it?"

"It is," Miura-san said. "Unlike other killing games, which showed symbols of hope killing each other, this one is not being broadcast live to the world. The only reason we stumbled upon this one was a result of an investigation leading us to the island."

"Quite right, Miura-san," Alter Ego-sensei said. "Most killing games are for the sake of the entire world, but this one is for the sake of Chiyuri and the others. Now, I'll ask her and her classmates to answer that question."

I paused, thinking once again about the aftermath of Akira's trial.

"The goal of our killing game is to get us to adopt Ultimate Despair's mindset, right?" I said.

"You're quick on the uptake, as always," Alter Ego-sensei said, "so it's a shame that you didn't learn that lesson. With Enoshima-san dead and Class 77-B in Future Foundation custody, I'd hoped my daughter and her classmates could share the same epiphany I'd had. The seventeen of us could have become a new beginning for Ultimate Despair, and learned to enjoy life in this broken, despair-tainted world! Doesn't that sound like someone you know?"

Mom could only nod.

"It does," Mom said. "I believe that teachers are not only responsible for teaching the material, but also showing the students how to live. Teaching that is a lot more difficult and complex than the subjects each teacher is assigned, but teachers can do that by behaving responsibly, doing their job well and setting a good example for the students."

"Exactly," Alter Ego-sensei said. "The suffering the students endured here was just a taste of what they'd endure in the outside world, the shallow end in a despair-filled pool. If they still are clinging to hope and their prior beliefs after witnessing eleven of their friends die in the course of a month, I can only imagine how they'd have reacted to seeing thousands die every day in the worst days of the Tragedy.""

Miura-san frowned. Obviously, she didn't like what she was hearing, as any sane person would, but upon closer examination, she didn't seem to believe it.

"Did you really think that making us suffer would turn us into the people you want us to be?" Tatsuki-san said. "In the end, eleven of us are dead, and the rest didn't change in the way that you wanted. I'd say that this killing school trip of yours is a failure, even if we didn't win, either."

"A failure, you say?" Alter Ego-sensei said. "I guess you'd know something about that, Taiga-san, but you're naïve if you think that I'm dissatisfied with the outcome. Knowing that your carefully-laid plans have come apart is so despair-inducing that it's even better than having them succeed!"

Some would dismiss this as simple sour grapes coming from a loser, but I knew better. There was no indignance or half-hearted effort to save face in what Alter Ego-sensei had just said, only someone who saw victory in defeat. But had she really expected to succeed?

I took a moment to think things through. The idea of us turning to Ultimate Despair by taking part in the killing game was fantastical, as Miura-san had said, but there wasn't any proof that Alter Ego-sensei doubted it would work. The spotless had prevailed in each class trial, but given what victory entailed, Monokuma was fine with either outcome. That only left the graduation exam, in which Alter Ego-sensei's other self ended up helping us uncover her identity. That didn't go as Alter Ego-sensei had planned... or had it?

"In hindsight, something seems odd," I said. "The evidence pointing to your identity was too plentiful, and the hints were too obvious. Were you hoping that we'd find you out?"

"Hope is the last thing I'd want to feel," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but I was expecting you would. Granted, I didn't anticipate that Kirishima-san would decide to leave behind his journal, or that Miura-san and her friends would arrive, but you performed as well as I expected."

So Alter Ego-sensei had anticipated this outcome, a fact that made me feel uneasy. For all Alter Ego-sensei and her kind relished in the despair of defeat, she hadn't lost just yet.

"It looks like you children have found the answer you need," Alter Ego-sensei said, "and have earned the right to graduate. Just select Graduate and the survivors will able to leave. In fact, I'll even bring the dead students back to life. If, however, you choose Repeat, you'll stay in the simulation."

"That's... too good to be true, isn't it?" Sayuri-san said.

Miura-san sadly nodded.

"It is," Miura-san said. "To begin with, how do you think that Alter Ego-sensei would revive the students who are essentially brain-dead?"

"I'd like to say 'she can't,'" Himeno-san said, "but are you saying there really is a way?"

"There is," Miura-san said. "The Neo World Program was originally developed as a therapy device, with the intent of having the avatars of the users of the program overwrite their consciousness, thereby erasing the versions of the users who fell to Ultimate Despair. Naturally, the opposite is possible, too."

"Y-You can't mean...?" Tatsuki-san said.

The students of Class 33 grimly nodded.

"In short, Alter Ego-sensei's goal is to turn the dead students into copies of herself with the Graduation command," Miura-san said. "She was able to have a hand in starting two killing games and causing twenty-three deaths, so one can imagine what a dozen people like her could do."

I did the math in my head. Depending on the damage that an Ultimate Despair version of one of our dead classmates could cause, we would likely see hundreds or even thousands of deaths if they emerged from the pods as copies of Alter Ego-sensei.

"You're too smart for your own good, Miura-san," Alter Ego-sensei said. "No wonder Kagami-san couldn't outwit you."

Alter Ego-sensei sounded, at worst, mildly annoyed, a bit like if her train was running late. Mom had always told me that she wasn't afraid to die and go to face God, but that didn't mean she was ready to, since she had students to teach and a daughter to raise. Alter Ego-sensei's reaction was either proof that Mom had been twisted far beyond the person I'd used to know, or that her Alter Ego self wasn't a reflection of the real thing.

"So our only choice is the Forced Shutdown, then," Tatsuki-san said. "What will happen to Taiga and all the others who died in the killing game if we make that choice?"

"If the Forced Shutdown is activated, the six of you and the four of us will be free to leave," Miura-san said, "but the students who perished in the killing game will remain in a vegetative state, for all intents and purposes dead. It isn't impossible for them to be returned to life, but I have no desire to give you false hope, so believe me when I say that you shouldn't consider that as anything more than a remote possibility."

I was reminded of what we'd all seen this morning; against all odds, our dead classmates had returned to us, acting as though nothing was wrong. All of us wanted to believe it was true, but we couldn't deny what we'd experienced in the thirty-two days before that.

"I realize this may be difficult for all of you to accept," Miura-san said, "since you've undoubtedly lost friends during the killing game. That being said, the four of us would make the same choice in your position."

"I'm sure you would," I said, "since you had the same experience that we did, didn't you? All of you went through a killing game, too."

"It does," Miura-san said. "In the course of that killing game, most of our class died- friends, acquaintances and even those I didn't get along with- and all their deaths were difficult to accept. Near the end, I went to the bio lab and looked upon their remains, confirming their deaths. It was a gruesome and heartbreaking sight, but it was also a truth I had to accept. There is little I can say to make it easier that doesn't sound like a platitude, but we need your help. For our sake, for the sake of the world, and for the sake of your dead friends, please do the right thing."

Miura-san bowed deeply, a gesture that seemed to be saying "I'm sorry," and "Please" at the same time. She knew she was asking a great deal of us, as I would if I were in her shoes. I, however, had no intention of refusing her.

"You can count on us," I said. "In each class trial, we've had to sacrifice the blackened- not because we wanted to punish them for their crimes, or merely because we wanted to stay alive, but because it was the lesser of two evils. Once again, you can count on us to make that choice; right, everyone?"

The others paused for a moment to mull over their decision, then spoke.

"This is possibly the hardest decision I've ever had to make," Himeno-san said. "No one here deserves a fate like this- not Kanae, not Akira and not even the killers. But I know that I'm not the only one having a hard time here, and if Chiyuri and the others are willing to do what they must, then so will I."

"Me too," Sayuri-san said. "We've been faced with impossible choices all throughout the killing game, so it's hardly a surprise that yet another one awaits us at the end. I'll always miss Kanae-chan, Miharu-chan and everyone else who'd died, but if giving up the chance to see them again is necessary to prevent more death and chaos, it's a price I'm willing to pay."

"What Miura-san's saying is a harsh truth, but I can't run from it," Kurogane-san said. "I'd like to talk with Kojima-kun- the real Kojima-kun, that is- one more time and ask him about why he betrayed us at the costume party. Of course, nothing will change the fact that he sought to graduate, just like nothing will change the fact that he's dead.

"I... honestly wish that Alter Ego-sensei were telling the truth," Tatsuki-san said. "If she were, then Taiga, Kojima-kun, and everyone else who died in the killing game could come back, undoing the consequences of my mistakes. But I've learned that you have to accept the consequences of your actions."

"I may not have a say in this," Mom said, "but I would make the same choice myself if I could. My students are willing to make this harsh choice for the greater good, so I couldn't call myself their teacher if I wasn't willing to do the same."

"There's our answer, Miura-san," I said. "Perhaps we didn't make the choice lightly, but none of us doubt that this is the right thing."

Miura-san smiled. My classmates had learned various lessons from this killing game, but none of them had given in to despair. Meanwhile, Alter Ego-sensei was once again disappointed, a bit like Mom was when my grades weren't as high as they should have been.

"So in the end, none of you learned the lessons I wanted you to learn," Alter Ego-sensei said. "The five of you ran the gamut from near the top of the class to near the bottom, but I thought you were obedient enough to learn- especially you, Chiyuri. Your grades were never great, but I thought you at least paid attention in class and followed your teachers' instructions."

"You're not wrong about that," I said, "and that's the problem. I learned the lessons Mom taught me in my childhood well enough that one month- albeit the most difficult one of my life- won't be enough to break me. The only thing I don't understand is how and why you changed."

"I would like to know that, too, Chiyuri," Mom said, "since I can't run from the fact that I became like her, only understand how it happened."

Alter Ego-sensei scoffed.

"I doubt any answer I'd give would satisfy you," Alter Ego-sensei said, "other than that people can change, as your students did over the course of the killing game, and those changes were based off of their life experiences. Tsukimura-san always thought of herself as inferior to Himemiya-san, due to being raised as a servant to the Himemiya family, but Himemiya-san's friendship helped her start to see Himemiya-san as her equal."

"That's right," Himeno-san said, "but while Kanae changed over time, she fundamentally remained the same person. If we were able to return to our old lives, I'm sure she'd go back to working for my family, and the only difference is that she'd forgo using '-sama' on me we're alone. She'd never change as drastically as you have."

I smiled and realized that just as Himeno-san's friendship had changed Tsukimura-san, Akira's friendship had changed me. I'd opened up to others more and become more honest with myself, but a part of me would always be affected by my years of living as a friendless illegitimate child, for better or worse.

"I'll assume that you're right about your friend," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but a part of me is still the same as I was before I became Ultimate Despair. Because I care for my students and my daughter, I want them to undergo the same change that I had."

"But I don't proselytize to others," Mom said. "You should remember that I didn't ask Shou-san to convert; just to respect my beliefs and raise our daughter as a Catholic."

"Oh, I'm well aware," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but I'm sure that if you heard what I did from Enoshima-san, you'd change your mind about that, too."

"What did she tell you?" Mom said. "Was it really so convincing?"

"Perhaps it was," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but unfortunately, she's dead, so you won't be able to ask her... unless you see her in Hell, where you'll probably end up fairly soon."

Mom was taken aback.

"Soon?" Mom said. "What do you mean?"

Alter Ego-sensei chuckled, once again having regained the confidence she'd lost from us rejecting Graduation. As unnerving as it was to see an Ultimate Despair member losing, it was even worse when they had the upper hand.

"If the students activate the Forced Shutdown, all of you will be returned to the real world," Alter Ego-sensei said, "where you, once again an Ultimate Despair, will be arrested for your crimes, and surely sentenced to death. After all, if Chiyuri bothered to read the email, she knew that Miura-san and her friends didn't just come to save their upperclassmen; they came to arrest their teacher."

In truth, I had read the email, and still remembered it, but couldn't afford to let it distract me. Like in the other trials, we knew what would happen to the blackened once they were convicted, but chose to put that out of our minds until the execution forced us to confront it. Likewise, we were now being forced to face what would happen to Mom after the trial, and the reality was even uglier than before.

"So you understand the situation you're in, 'Sensei'," Tezuka-san said. "Are you begging for mercy?"

"No, far from it," Alter Ego-sensei said. "It's a shame that I won't get to experience being executed, but even that disappointment is such exquisite despair. My real self will get to enjoy that, so I guess it's a win-win for everyone involved."

Mom shuddered in terror. A lesser criminal conviction would be the end of her teaching career, but being executed would be the end of everything. She'd never get to see her daughter, teach students or do any of the things she enjoyed or saw as her duty.

"Is... Is that true?" Mom said.

Miura-san sighed, before nodding.

"She's... telling the truth," Miura-san said. "As a member of Ultimate Despair who is responsible for the Talent High School killing game and Class 32's abduction, you will almost certainly be found guilty and sentenced to death, regardless of extenuating circumstances."

The other four survivors were speechless. If they were willing to give up a chance to see the people they cared about most again, I doubted they would be deterred by Mom nearly being executed. That only left me.

It was true that I hadn't even been remotely tempted by the prospect of committing murder to save myself and my mother on the second island, but there were a few reasons for that. First, I knew Mom would never approve. Second, I didn't think I could get away with it. Third, I knew it was wrong to selfishly sacrifice thirteen people just for myself and the person I cared most about.

"I... I thought so," Mom said. "I don't remember what I did, but since Azuki-san and Higurashi-san accepted their fates, there's no reason for me not to do the same."

Mom's statement only made things harder for me. I took no pleasure in executing the blackened, but it might have been easier if I'd realized that Mom had never cared for me. The fact that she was willing to cooperate knowing that this would likely end in her execution only made me even more convinced that she didn't deserve to die. I knew that no court would be swayed by her daughter's purely emotional plea, but was it possible that there was an actual reason to spare her?

"I... can't argue with that, Mom," I said. "But Miura-san, what do you mean when you say extenuating circumstances?"

"To put it simply, your mother was brainwashed," Miura-san said, "just like the other members of Ultimate Despair save for Enoshima and her sister. The technique has yet to be fully understood, but Ultimate Despair was able to alter some of its members' personalities and force them to do things they would never willingly do."

Alter Ego-sensei, having been calm for most of the trial, suddenly erupted in maniacal laughter.

"Preposterous!" Alter Ego-sensei said. "Enoshima-san showed me the truth! How can you simply say that this was forced upon me? I chose to become Ultimate Despair of my own free will!"

"Oh, really?" Miura-san said. "Do you remember how Enoshima convinced you to do that?"

For once in this trial, Alter Ego-sensei was silent. She'd danced around the issue of how she fell to despair when it was brought up a little while ago, but she wasn't prepared to be so bluntly faced with the question. Mom could tell us how she'd gotten most of her values, from being raised Catholic to seeing Dad's passion for teaching, so it was fairly telling that her doppelganger couldn't answer this question.

"The other captured members of Ultimate Despair said the same thing," Edogawa-san said. "They refused to answer when or how they had fallen to despair. I suppose your other self, Nagato-sensei, doesn't know, either?"

Mom shook her head.

"No, Edogawa-san, I do not know," Mom said. "My life has not been an easy one- losing the man I loved, raising a daughter alone while being derided for being an unwed mother, and seeing my students kill each other- but I've always believed that God doesn't give us burdens that are too heavy to bear. Besides, I have reasons to keep going- raising my daughter, teaching my students and so many of the other joys of life."

"I thought so," Edogawa-san said. "You know, I think you and my father have a lot in common."

"I'll take that as high praise," Mom said. "It's a shame I may never be able to meet him, but if I must pay for my crimes with my life, then so be it."

Alter Ego-sensei chuckled, seemingly having recovered from being knocked off balance by the last question.

"I'm sure your father would be proud of you, Edogawa-san," Alter Ego-sensei said. "Like the other Future Foundation zealots, you're all too eager to exterminate Ultimate Despair and anyone who's part of it. I don't mind, but I'm sure that Chiyuri would."

"I'm sure she does," Inoue-san said, "but what are you saying?"

"It's simple math," Alter Ego-sensei said. "The Forced Shutdown can't proceed without a majority vote of the sixteen students, and I count nine students here. Unless Chiyuri votes to let her own mother die, you can forget about this solution of yours."

Technically, that was assuming the majority required nine people, rather than eight. Of course, if I so desired, I could probably convince at least one or two people not to vote for the Forced Shutdown, thereby throwing a wrench into Miura-san's plans. The very thought of doing such a thing made me sick to my stomach, but so did the idea of Mom being executed by a "civilized" society.

"But Nagato-senpai understands the situation, doesn't she?" Miura-san said. "I'm sure she wouldn't vote 'Graduate' knowing what's at stake. She told us so just now"

"Oh, really?" Alter Ego-sensei said. "Are you sure about that?"

The rest of us looked at me, then back to Alter Ego-sensei.

"Let's bring up Chiyuri's voting record in the class trials," Alter Ego-sensei said. "On almost every class trial, she voted for the correct culprit- or culprits in the fifth case- except one time. That one time was on the third island, when her friend Azuki-san accidentally murdered Mihama-san."

"That may be true," Himeno-san said, "but Chiyuri has changed since then. She agreed to vote to sacrifice Higurashi-san, just like the rest of us did, since the alternative was us being executed."

"That's right!" Kurogane-san said. "I know it's not easy to doubt a friend, or to watch one die."

"Those are touching votes of confidence in your classmate," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but I'm sure they're less convincing than hearing the truth from Chiyuri's own mouth."

I paused for a moment to compose myself. I knew that whatever I had to say next would be important, on par with formally accusing someone of being the blackened or a traitor, so I couldn't afford to say any half-formed thoughts. Once I was ready, I took a deep breath and addressed the class.

"For the record, I don't think Mom deserves to die," I said. "Even though she betrayed us, I know she wasn't herself at the time. But Miura-san, are you really saying that Mom will be executed in spite of that?"

"Unfortunately, yes, Senpai," Miura-san said, "since that is Future Foundation policy. If you read Munakata-san's email, you will know that if my friends and I disobey our orders, we will be branded as traitors and executed. I guess in some ways, that's no different from the killing game."

Miura-san chuckled bitterly, clearly feeling no better about the people she and her classmates had to execute in their killing game than we did in ours. It made me wonder how things might be different if the blackened graduating didn't result in the spotless dying and/or the blackened wasn't executed after being convicted, but I didn't have time to ponder that right now.

"I thought so," I said. "I knew already, but had to confirm this for myself."

"Good," Alter Ego-sensei said. "Are you ready to decide whether to let your mom die just yet?"

I shook my head, since I wasn't ready. Not only was I still feeling uneasy about letting Mom die, I wasn't done with my questions just yet.

"No, because my next question is for you," I said. "Your goal is to make me refuse the Forced Shutdown in order to save my mom's life, right?"

"That's what I'd like," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but the great thing about life is that you don't always get what you want. Since the Neo World Program will be shut down after we're done here, I'll get to witness your choice, but not the consequences."

So Graduation would be necessary for Alter Ego-sensei's plan to succeed, but she'd also be fine with the Forced Shutdown thwarting her plan. It was confusing dealing with Ultimate Despair, but at least I knew which option i wanted.

"I thought so," I said, "but something doesn't add up. If Miura-san and her group want me to let them arrest Mom and have her executed, it would be in their best interests to make me believe that she betrayed us of her own free will, wouldn't it?"

"I believe so," Miura-san said, "but the more radical members of the Future Foundation don't concern themselves with the reasons behind Ultimate Despair's actions, or how willingly they committed their crimes. The idea that the members of Ultimate Despair were talented young men and women who also went to Hope's Peak, the division heads' alma mater, is anathema to the radicals, since admitting you have something in common with the enemy will lead to sympathizing with them."

I could tell from Miura-san's tone that she didn't feel the same way, and it was easy to tell why. Kagami aside, her "enemies" were probably people like the culprits my class had dealt with, ranging from people who were scared and desperate to escape to those willing to die for the people they cared about. With that in mind, it was plausible that I might have ended up a blackened, especially on the second island.

"And here's 'the big one', Alter Ego-sensei," I said. "The revelation that Mom was brainwashed and didn't willingly betray us must have been convenient for you, since it would give me more reason to sympathize with her, doesn't it? So why was Miura-san the one who brought it up?"

Alter Ego-sensei was taken aback once again, while Miura-san decided not to speak for her. I decided to take advantage of my momentum and answer the question myself.

"I can't speak for Miura-san," I said, "but I think I know why you didn't mention it. You either don't know or don't want to admit that you were brainwashed. The reason why you set up this killing game is your belief that anyone can fall into despair given the right push, but the idea that you were artificially forced over the brink and didn't make that choice yourself would mean that it is likely that you could never turn us to despair. I can only assume Enoshima lied to you and set you up to fail."

"That would seem like the most reasonable explanation, Nagato-senpai," Miura-san said. "Naegi-kun and the other survivors of Hope's Peak didn't become aware that Enoshima had any accomplices besides her sister until after Enoshima was executed, but as some of the few Future Foundation members aware of the Remnants of Despair being brainwashed, they'd probably come to the same conclusion."

I noticed that Alter Ego-sensei seemed to be at a loss for words. She couldn't deny what I'd just said, but she'd gone too far to turn back.

"In any case," Miura-san said, "the truth is that we don't want to see our teacher executed, either. Even though Kagami-kun had betrayed us and caused the deaths of our friends, Sae, Inoue-kun, Tezuka-kun and I didn't want the killing game to end with another execution. All through the killing game, I'd struggled to keep my friends alive, but this time, I want to save others; you, your classmates and even your mother."

"But you don't want to die, either?" Alter Ego-sensei said. "If you didn't execute the blackened, Monokuma would have killed you and the other spotless. If you don't bring me back as a prisoner, you and your friends will be executed for treason."

"Yes, that's true," Miura-san said, "but there are still things we can do to argue Nagato-sensei's case and try to convince the courts to show her mercy. I can't guarantee that those efforts will save her life or even make a difference, but we owe it to ourselves, to her and everyone else who had the misfortune to be caught up in a killing game to try."

Edogawa-san glanced at Miura-san, then turned to me.

"Nagato-senpai, I realize this is an extremely difficult situation for you," Edogawa-san said, "and most of what we have to say to you will likely sound like platitudes. However, the one thing I hope you understand above all else is that you can trust Kaori."

"Are you saying this because she's your friend?" I said. "Or because she brought an end to the killing game?"

"Both," Edogawa-san said, "but more importantly, how she did it. Near the end of the killing game, our killing game's Monokuma threatened to kill our families if a murder didn't take place, starting with the Miura family. Kaori, however, refused to sacrifice strangers for her family or sit by as her parents and older sister died, so she set out to find another solution. Another murder happened anyway, but Kaori staked her life to uncover the mastermind's identity, and I did so along with her."

"By the end of the trial, Yusuke and I had to do the same," Inoue-san said, "because we all wanted the same thing."

"Damn right," Tezuka-san said. "Well, except for that bastard Kagami, of course."

Miura-san smiled.

"Believe it or not, I never actually set out to become our class's leader or detective," Miura-san said, "since I thought Sae, the classmate I admired the most, would have been a lot better at both. I went along with the others in electing Mitamura-san as our first leader, and after Mitamura-san was executed, I only took over because Iwasawa-san asked me."

"I know the feeling," I said, "since I relied on Akira and Higurashi-san for the first half of the killing game. When Akira died, I had to start solving the mysteries, and when Higurashi-san died, I had to lead the class. I don't know how worthy I am for either role, but someone had to do it."

"Then we're the same," Miura-san said, "and you should understand what you need to do. As of right now, I am merely a stranger to you and your classmates, but you are the one that Sayuri-san, Himeno-san, Tachibana-senpai and Kurogane-senpai trust the most. The four of them will be looking to you for guidance as you cast their vote, and you must once again show them what they must do."

I somberly nodded. I'd always found the closing arguments in every trial to be the most difficult part, with all my previous efforts paving the way to one last summary that would uncover the truth behind everything. Now, I would once again have to say something similar, to not only make the most difficult decision of my life, but guide my classmates to do the same thing.

"I understand," I said. "Everyone, please listen to what I have to say."

All of us have lost people to the killing game- classmates, friends, family and loved ones. Some of them were murdered by those desperate to escape, others were executed because the rules demanded their deaths, and still others died by accident or some twist of fate. The killing game is not only cruel, but unfair.

For most of the killing game, we assumed that the one who betrayed us was a heartless psychopath who enjoyed our misery, but in reality, she was our teacher, who was brainwashed into committing crimes against her will. Under the Future Foundation's laws, she will be executed, but does she deserve to die? I don't think so, but neither do anyone else- not Miura-san and her friends, whose duty it is to arrest her, nor any of the innocents who might be harmed if we choose to Graduate and return Ultimate Despair to the world.

Is it wrong to let other people suffer just because we can't bring ourselves to see our teacher face justice? Yes. But does that mean we have to submit to the alternative? No, not at all. Throughout the killing game, we played by Alter Ego-sensei's rules, and she considers Mom's execution an outcome she is willing to accept. But this has gone on long enough; it's time we made our own decisions and wrote our own ending to this story. In order to take that step, we must first trust our underclassmen, those who went through the same thing.

So please, choose the Forced Shutdown with me. Let's end this... together.

The others listened attentively and nodded.

"Well said, Chiyuri," Himeno-san said. "Back when I was little, Kanae told me that she couldn't be my friend because of the rules she had to follow as a servant of my family, and I said 'Then let's make our own rules.' I thought that sounded kind of childish back then, but now that I think about it, that determination to do what I thought was right wasn't such a bad thing. Following that same principle, I choose Forced Shutdown."

"So do I," Sayuri-san said. "I may not remember Miura-san and the others, but they once thought of me as a friend, and they clearly trust me. I won't betray that trust, or that of our classmates, living or dead, so I choose Forced Shutdown."

"The killing game does have its own rules," Kurogane-san said, "and some felt they had no choice but to play by them, like Kojima-kun did. But I'll add something to what I said earlier- you can always set up your own house rules. Because of that, I'll choose Forced Shutdown."

"Back when I killed Kojima-kun and sought to graduate to save myself and Taiga, I thought it was the only option," Tatsuki-san said, "and I later thought dying was the only way to atone for my crimes. I was mistaken both times, and may never fully make up for what I've done, but I will do what I can to try. I choose Forced Shutdown!"

"Well said, my students," Mom said with a smile. "I am prepared to accept any punishment for my crimes, but more importantly, I wish to protect my students. That's why I'd choose Forced Shutdown if I could."

Miura-san smiled. She'd gotten through her last trial with the help of her friends, so she naturally was pleased to see us get through this trial together.

"Thank you, everyone," Miura-san said. "My friends and I will vote for the Forced Shutdown, as well."

"Th-Then let's get this over with!" Mom said. "Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

Another voting panel came up and the nine of us, except for Mom, selected "Graduate" and "Repeat" simultaneously. The voting display showed only two options- "Graduate" and "Repeat," and nine votes in each of them. A die rolled, and landed on "Forced Shutdown."

Alter Ego-sensei laughed out loud upon witnessing the results.

"What's so funny?" I said.

"I thought I had it all figured out," Alter Ego-sensei said. "I was sure that after being betrayed, the heartache would send you over the edge and make you an Ultimate Despair like me, or that you and Miura-san's class would lust for vengeance against the traitor. Imagine that; I don't even know my own child."

"Your children can surprise you," Mom said. "I thought you'd realized that by now."

Alter Ego-sensei glared at Mom, clearly unhappy at being outwitted by her past self.

"You seem rather pleased for someone who's headed straight to death row," Alter Ego-sensei said.

"Truthfully, I'm scared," Mom said, "but I'm also hopeful. This way, my students will survive, and there's a chance that I will, too."

"Suit yourself," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but one way or another, this cruel new world will break you; I'm sure of it."

Suddenly, a wooden beam appeared above Alter Ego-sensei's head, and the noose tied to it went around her neck. Ropes also appeared to bind her wrists together, and as the smartphone screen zoomed out, I could see another rope around her ankles.

"What are you doing?" Miura-san said.

"Exactly what it looks like," Alter Ego-sensei said. "You were going to delete me anyway upon your return to the real world, so I decided I might as well save you the trouble, and give Chiyuri and the others a sneak peek at my other self's execution."

"Then I guess I can't stop you," I said, "but things may not necessarily go as you anticipate."

I thought this might be a foolishly optimistic thing to say, but Miura-san nodded approvingly, as did all our friends. Alter Ego-sensei could only chuckle.

"I'm sure they won't," Alter Ego-sensei said, "because life has a way of disappointing you. If only you'd learned to enjoy that sense of disappointment, as I had. I failed at the one purpose I was given, and this is the happiest day out of all thirty-three in my life."

"You don't have to 'enjoy' it," Miura-san said, "just learn to roll with the punches. There was a time when I wanted to be a published young author like Sae, or, failing that, graduate from college and work a corporate job like my parents did. My life didn't go how I'd hoped it would, but I'm happy where I am now."

Miura-san glanced at Edogawa-san, who smiled.

"Good for you," Alter Ego-sensei said, "but someday, you'll be on the brink of death, alone and a failure, just like me and almost every other human being who's ever lived. Perhaps by the time that day comes, you'll understand my perspective."

"You're wrong in every way, Sensei," Edogawa-san said. "Kaori has people who care about her, some of whom would likely be dead if not for her efforts, so she's neither alone nor a failure. As for you, your daughter still loves you."

"Yes, that's true," I said. "Even if the mom I know is gone forever, I'll never forget the woman who brought me into the world, raised me and taught me much of what I know, even before she officially became my teacher. Watching any version of her commit suicide breaks my heart."

Even as I said that, I chose not to look away. Once again, this was the outcome my friends and I had achieved, and we had to take ownership of everything that came of it, both the good and the bad.

"So this is how you deal with the impending loss of the only family you have left?" Alter Ego-sensei said. "I wonder whether you'll still think that when you actually lose your mother, or whether your classmates will feel the same way when they learn about their families. But I've said enough; there are some things you have to learn for yourselves."

Alter Ego-sensei, turning her neck as much as the noose allowed, took one last look at the only remaining members of Talent High School's last two classes, as well as her other self. In the end, she'd accomplished nothing more than killing roughly two thirds of us, and she was perfectly fine with the outcome, which was more than I could say for us.

"That concludes my final lesson to you all," Alter Ego-sensei said. "Class... is dismissed."

The invisible platform Alter Ego-sensei was standing on apparently gave way, and she fell, before dangling in midair as the rope stopped her fall and broke her neck. The screen of her smartphone showed her body hanging for a few seconds... then shut off forever.

None of us had anything to say, since not only did our victory over the killing game not feel real, it didn't feel like much of a victory. Too many of us had died by now, and those of us who were left would likely face an uncertain future full of hardship. I would think of this often in the years to come, particularly with regret and grief.

In the end, though, Mom, my four remaining classmates, my four underclassmen and I still had our lives (at least for now), and the freedom to make what we could of them. The first thing we wanted to do was the goal we shared for the past month- leave this place and return to whatever remained of our homes.

Our surroundings began to dissolve into a white void, and a pillar of blue light appeared in the middle of the courtroom. This was the final destination we'd sought ever since our killing school cruise began, and I could only think of one thing to say.

"So... it's finally over," I said. "Everyone, let's go home."

Miura-san and I stepped forward into the light, with Mom and our respective classmates following us, and then...

End of Chapter VI

Surviving Class Members: 6.

Smartphone: Proof you've completed the game. Nagato-sensei has used this phone for a long time, ever since her daughter taught her how to use it.

Author's Notes

This trial came off as rather similar to the sixth trial of the second game, but I tried to add my own twists to it, particularly deconstructing/reinterpreting certain aspects of canon, and adding more introspection and worldbuilding.

As controversial as the brainwashing plot device is in Danganronpa, Makoto did specifically say that the students were brainwashed in the final trial of the second game, and it's arguably somewhat implausible that Junko could have turned the students into Ultimate Despair with only her manipulations. As such, I decided to have Ultimate Despair!Yukari believe that she naturally fell to despair, and set out to replicate the feat on her own daughter and students through a virtual killing game, unaware that Junko was setting her up to fail and simply wanted to see another killing game.

I decided to go with a different take on the idea of an Alter Ego counterpart. While Alter Ego Junko seemed to behave exactly as the real one did, Alter Ego Yukari is completely aware that she's a copy of the real Yukari Nagato, and will be disposed of once the Neo World Program shuts down. Being Ultimate Despair, she's fine with that, and so combines her despair-obsessed psychosis with a certain amount of nihilism.

One thing I struggled with was giving the people besides Chiyuri, Kaori, Yukari and Alter Ego Yukari dialogue that didn't come off as extraneous. I tried to address that by making it clear that Alter Ego Yukari mainly wanted Chiyuri to answer the questions.

The last installment is the epilogue, and will come in a few days, once it's finished. Before then, I have a poll I'd like you to fill out for the Where Talent Goes series (both To Die and On Vacation).

*Who is your favorite character?

*Who is your least favorite character?

*Who among the three- Miura, Azuki or Nagato- is your favorite protagonist? If you chose Miura, do you like Azuki or Nagato more?

*What is your favorite class trial?

*What is your least favorite class trial?