Chapter 6: Awaken, City of Hope! Part 2 (Deadly Life)

Remaining Citizens: 6

Ai Mizuno (Zombie Land Saga): Ultimate (Zombie) Idol

Ryuji Sakamoto (Persona 5): Ultimate Track Star

Emma (The Promised Neverland): Ultimate Moral Compass

Gold (Pokémon Adventures/Pokémon Special): Ultimate Hatcher

Miles Morales (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse): Ultimate Successor

Yu Ishigami (Kaguya-sama: Love Is War): Ultimate Pessimist

Third-Person POV

"Party… time?" Ishigami stared blankly.

"Pretty cool, huh? Now the odds are kinda even." Gold smirks.

Miles then spoke up to Gold, "Hold on a second, you had these guys with you the whole time?"

"Huh? No, of course not!"

"Then how did—LOOK OUT!" Miles thwipped a Monokuma and swung it across the area.

"Well uh… a while ago I heard Trunks and Killua talking about that classroom. Sunbo, Sunny Day!" Gold says as he commands his sunflower Pokémon.

"Wait, what?! You heard them talking, then you knew about their plan?" Emma stands behind Polibo as the water Pokémon shields her.

"Use Whirlpool! Anyways, I just heard the part about the classroom, so I had know idea they'd fight or something! Didn't even get to look inside all of it either, I just snuck in, grabbed my team and bailed!" Gold slides down his goggles over his eyes.

"You couldn't just tell us about the classroom beforehand? Probably just wanted to hide it from us so that the dramatic reveal that you had your pocket monsters would go well, huh?" Ishigami snarks as he ducks under Aibo as he uses Double Hit.

"Come on man! You gotta admit that it was cool, eh? I even trained them a bit when I visited Ryuji in the hospital, just so they could stretch their legs!" Gold then walks towards his Mantine, Tibo.

"You knew about this too, Ryuji?!" Emma looked to the track-runner.

"I uh… sorta. I thought he was joking about training, didn't think he actually got his team! " He replied before getting hit by a Guard Monokuma riot shield.

"I do admit this is awesome, Gold, but you kept this from us when it could have been really important to know! You should have been more considera—wait, where are you going?" Emma asked him.

"I figured to make up for hiding this from you guys, that I can be the bait for the bears." He tipped his cap to her.

"Huh? Wait! We can't just leave you and your creatures here on your own! What if something goes wrong and…" Her head lowers, not willing to let another of her friends go.

"Antenna Girl, Emma. Trust me, I've come back from situations like this before. I don't go down that easily. Plus… Pokémon vs a billion robot bears? Pretty obvious who the winner will be. Alright, let's fly! Oh, and Emma?"

Gold recalls Togebo and tosses his Pokéball towards her, "Take care of him, he's just as reckless as I am, heh."

"Come on, we're almost there to the school. Just a few swings away, make sure you hold on." Miles held his hand out for Emma and she took it.

Gold launches into the air with the twenty Remoraid attached to Tibo using Water Gun. Emma watches him depart, "Good luck Gold."

Emma holds the ball closs and nods as Miles struggles to swing while carrying her as well as Ryuji and Ishigami.

"Now Exbo! BLAST BURN!"

Gold commands his Typhlosion to light up the crowd of Monokumas, and with Sunny Day already being used it does increased damage. A path has now been made to the school building.

Ryuji lifts his legs up so he doesn't get burnt by the flames, "HOT HOT HOT!"

"Y'know… even after we find what we're looking for, we definitely need some backup." Miles tiredly stated.

Emma spoke up next, "If Bernie's message managed to reach in time, I'm sure they're on their way."

"That last message we received from the survivors has managed to confirm my theory… and my fears…"

Shuichi grimaced as he read the final words written on Bernadetta's letter.

"Fears? What were you so afraid of?" Maki asked him, hand on his shoulder.

"I have to explain something to the others before I say what it was. If you don't mind listening, of course." Shuichi turned to his fellow Ultimates as they sat down in front of him.

"We don't mind much, go ahead." Hajime assures him and Mahiru nods her head in agreement.

Byakuya pushes up his glasses, "As long as it isn't unimportant to the conflict at hand."

"Right. Ahem, we have told you all about where us three come from, correct? Another world where the killing games existed as a form of fictional entertainment, and we became fictional characters in one ourselves."

"Yeah, it must have been so hard for you all…" Mahiru looks at the detective sympathetically.

Shuichi looks down in remembrance of what occured, "Indeed… but continuing on, the mastermind behind our killing game was someone that did not stand out among our group. The Ultimate Cosplayer, Tsumugi Shirogane."

"Uh… why are you bringing her up now then?" Himiko tilted her head in confusion.

"If you're all survivors of your killing game, she must be dead or did you escape somehow?" Nagito asks.

"Well… we actually chose to sacrifice ourselves to end the killing games once and for all. But… we made it out of there alive, choosing to walk through a portal hoping to end up in the 'real world'. Turns out it was just a gateway to yours." Shuichi rubs the back of his head embarrassingly.

Aoi is amazed, "Wow, what are the chances that you'd end up where the killing games were reality, huh?"

"It must be the will of causality… but what are you implying when you are bringing up your killing game?" Gundham opens his eyes as he gives Shuichi another question.

"This may be a bit hard to believe…. But after seeing how the city has such a large love towards Danganronpa, and the last message we received from the survivors…. I deduce that the mastermind of that new killing game… is Tsumugi Shirogane."

The others were appalled at the revelation, especially Maki and Himiko.

The latter was struggling to respond, "W-W-W-WHAT?!".

Himiko trembled as Maki's eyebrows furrowed, "That doesn't make any sense, how can she still be alive? Keebo destroyed the school, and almost took us down with it!"

"I must agree with Harukawa, at least with Enoshima it was an artificial intelligence inserted into the Neo World Program." Byakuya shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah… still sorry about that whole thing." Hajime says, remembering what happened during the second killing game.

Mahiru pats his back to try and cheer him up, "It wasn't your fault, we all were under her control and committed horrible atrocities. Anyways, how did you three survive then?"

"We hid under some rubble while the academy was completely destroyed by K1-B0, aka Keebo, the Ultimate Robot." Maki explained.

"Hm… you say Shirogane was killed, but did you see a body?" Gundham speaks up.

"Well… no. We did see a giant piece of rubble with blood splattered underneath it. Plus, she did say that she did not want to live without Danganronpa." Shuichi answers.

"Then something or someone managed to bring her back into the living if that's the case. We now know who our opponent is, but how do we infiltrate this metropolis of malice…" Gundham wondered aloud.

"Here's the thing… we might have to wait a little while longer." Shuichi laughs embarrassingly.

"Oh no, no no no no. We've been sitting here long enough. The killing game could still be going on as we speak." Byakuya has become far too impatient.

Shuichi then looked him in the eye, "I doubt it. Based on the way this 'Bernadetta' has been writing, she must have been quite an irreplaceable person to their group. She mentions leaving another message to her friends in the event of her death that will ensure their success. Losing her would most likely drive the rest to fight back, and for better or worse, we need to rely on their actions so we can get in."

"What?" Byakuya stares at him in surprise.

"Ha, he really has rubbed off on him." Maki smiles.

His words seemed to have convinced the others to wait a bit longer as well.

"Truly splendid. Even if you aren't a true Ultimate." Nagito applauds.

"Way to go kid! I'll believe in our survivors too!" Aoi pumps her fists.

"Fuhahahaha! It looks like we're all in agreement then. Very well, once the walls come down, we shall send that Shirogane back to the fiery pits where she belongs!" Gundham guffawed.

"... Fine, but this better not backfire, Saihara. As long as the individuals inside manage to do one thing, they'll be saved."

Shuichi turned to Byakuya wondering what he meant, "Excuse me, one thing?"

"Shutting down the power could open the gates, allowing us to pass through. Like lowering a drawbridge in a castle. So I hope that your belief in them isn't blind, and that none of them are complete idiots."

"He's a complete idiot if he thinks he could last that long against all those Monokumas." Ishigami says as he runs with his three fellow citizens.

"I have hope that he'll join us soon. You should learn to have more faith, Yu!" Emma told him.

"I thought I told you not to call me by my first name. We're friends, but I haven't given you that right yet." He rolled his eyes.

"Ehehe~, sorry! Here it is!" Emma looks at the sign and reads "77-B".

"This is the place, huh? Yeesh, definitely a room the mastermind would want nobody to enter." Ryuji steps back after seeing the mounted machine guns attached to the cameras.

Miles shot out some webbing to cover the cameras, so that they could pass through without being shot at. Right when they walked in, it definitely didn't look like a normal classroom. Oddly tiled floor, steel barred windows, and surrounding them, sixteen stations for weapons.

"Huh, there's pictures of us next to these things. Huh, different kinds of webbing and whoa! New suits…"

Advanced Tech, 2099, The End, 2020, Uptown Pride, Programmable Matter… suits that can give Miles an edge in battle. Remote mines, impact webbing, gravity wells, holo-drones, basically gadgets for a Spider-Person.

"Just normal weapons for me. I wonder why these are all here…" Emma picks up a small pistol with four muzzles.

There were also bows and arrows, knives, and other weaponry that can be carried around easily.

Ryuji looks over his section,"My Phantom Thief outfit? And a whole bunch of sick shotguns and melee weapons too! We hit the jackpot, we can totally use this against that crazy cosplay chick."

Ishigami glanced over at Ai's station, "I'd ask what kind of idol would wear a sentai suit, but after thinking about it more, a zombie idol is already crazy enough."

Emma looks over to the station nearest to the door, "I see, so that's where Gold's Pokémon were. No wonder he didn't get a chance to check the rest of this room out."

She observes the empty holes where the Pokéballs were placed, "There's also stations for our fallen friends too, but why are any of these things here?"

"Beats me. Huh, just a new laptop for me. Didn't really expect too mu—wait a sec…"

Ishigami turned on the computer screen and his eyes widened in shock. He browsed through each window, realizing what this was made for.

"What's up?" Miles approached him and looked over his shoulder.

Ishigami began to stutter, "T-This is…"

"What is it, dude?" Ryuji asked.

Ishigami lifted the other laptop and showed it to them, "'Hello Yu Ishigami, if you're reading this message, congratulations! You have successfully been converted into a member of Team Zetsubou! This laptop will allow you to put those treasurer skills to good use by taking control of the funds for companies or governments across the multiverse!'"

"Excuse me?!" Emma shouted.

Ryuji stumbled on his words, "Converted to a member of what?!"

"It must be the group that Shirogane is a part of. But… What does it mean by being converted? And why would you need a laptop like this to begin with?" Miles kept questioning, but no answers came.

"I seriously have no clue. But I don't want any part in this weird despair cult thing." Ishigami shivered.

"UGHHH MY HEAD HURTS THINKING ABOUT THIS! HAAAAH!"

Ryuji then slams one of the maces he has into the floor, breaking the tile up.

Emma takes it away from him, "Hey hey! Calm down, we need to… huh?"

Emma moves the broken tile pieces and reveals what was underneath, a staircase leading underground.

"Damn… wonder what's down there?" Ryuji looked down.

"Well, we don't get very far if we don't keep looking. We already have the tools to take on Tsumugi, but my Spidey-Sense isn't telling me there's any danger… yet. Let's keep going."

Miles walked down, and the others followed.

"WHAT. THE. FUCK?!" Ryuji let out as the others reacted similarly, just not as loud.

The sound of bubbling gave them all chills.

The luminescent red glow of the hidden room lit up their horrified faces.

Looking around, they find out the answer to one of the questions that lingered in their minds; Where were the bodies of their fallen comrades?

"I-I-It's everyone…"

Right here.

Emma, Ryuji, Miles, and Ishigami saw the corpses of those who had been killed, whether by murder or execution, hooked up inside scitentific pods. Breathing apparatuses attached to their mouths, all of them wearing darker versions of their original clothing.

"Bernie, Espio, Aoba, Alice, Sucy, Misato, Marty, Shantae, Trunks…. And Killua. They're all here. What is this place?" Emma walked up to Killua's pod with a fearful look on her face.

"Creepy as shit, that's what it is!" Ryuji says in reply.

Miles taps on Espio's glass, "Are they… alive?".

Ishigami looks at a small screen to his right and reads it aloud, "'Upload 60% complete…', Eh?"

The screen then turned into static as they heard a high pitched voice they recognized and showed anger towards.

"Hello hello, citizens! Puhuhuhuhu~!"

"Monokuma… why are the bodies of our dead friends, and Aoba, stuck down here!" Ryuji pointed at the bear.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan!"

Monokuma then hit a button with his gavel.

"You deserve this, you're all criminals, bye Mr. Criminal!" The bear giggled as he waved goodbye, looking forward to punishing the rulebreakers.

That button caused four of the pods to open.

Marty McFly (Back to The Future): The Ultimate Time-Traveler.

Shantae (Shantae): The Ultimate Half-Genie.

Alice Nakiri (Food Wars): The Ultimate Gastronomist.

Misato Tachibana (Nichijou): The Ultimate Arsenal.

They stood up, while greeting their old friends with glowing red eyes and a couple of twisted smiles.

"T-They are alive!" Ishigami began to slowly walk up to Misato.

Miles's Spidey-Sense finally went off as he shot a web onto him just in time, as Misato began firing a round of bullets from a machine gun pulled from hammerspace.

"Gwack! My shoulder…" Ishigami clutches his left shoulder as blood runs down.

"Those aren't the flour blanks she's used before, those are real bullets now!" Miles realized.

"You four, wake up! It's us!" Emma tries pleading with them.

"Hee hee hee…" Alice simply laughs as she tosses a kitchen knife straight at her.

Emma dodges out of the way, "Ugh, they're not listening… something's got them under control!"

"It must be what that upload was for… that conversion message too…" Ishigami says as he tries to take in some deep breaths, "Once they die, the machine brings them back under Shirogane's control… and the weapons we found were intended for them."

"That's freaking horrible! That bitch is probably planning on doing it to the rest of us if we die here! Then setting us loose on our home worlds for us to go nuts with the badass armory!" Ryuji scowls.

"We need to get out of here or we'll be joining them soon…" Ishigami grunts.

"No! We can't just leave them here, if we can free them, then maybe we could stand a better chance!" Emma tries holding back Alice as her knife makes a small cut on the girl's face.

"Whoa, Shantae! Whoa, girl!" Miles tries to hold down the half-genie, who had transformed into her elephant form.

"Transform!" The despair-filled Shantae exclaimed as she switched into a crab to cut out of the webbing.

"Ow!" Miles's finger got clenched by Crab Shantae's claw.

"You know what, Emma, you're right. I ain't gonna run from this, I'm no chicken!" Ryuji bats Alice away from Emma.

"Chicken?" Marty, who had been silent the whole battle suddenly speaks up.

"Huh?" Ryuji looks at him confused.

"Nobody… calls me… chicken." Marty punches Ryuji and he's knocked back to join the other three.

"But I wasn't even talking to you…" Ryuji mutters as he holds his right cheek.

Marty then whips out a guitar and plays an almost deafening chord, echoing off the walls of the lab. The four citizens blocked their ears to try and prevent their eardrums from bursting.

The four crazed individuals reunited before slowly walking towards the team. The latter felt exhausted, plus they didn't want to hurt their former companions too badly, even if they were filled with despair.

Emma closed her eyes, expecting the worse…

…

…

…But what came next happened so quickly, it was like… lightning.

Alice gets chopped on the back of her head, knocking her out.

"Huh?" Ishigami opens his eyes and finds the gastronomist on the floor.

Shantae gets slammed into the ground with a quick strike.

Miles was impressed, "That's some speed…"

Misato gets a quick shock of electricity before falling over unconscious, before Marty is then kicked and sent flying into a wall.

"No fucking way…" Ryuji looked at what he just saw.

A figure stands before them, sparks flying off their body as they turn around.

"What a wakeup call… Took you all long enough to find this place, but I knew you all would. Wait, Emma, where's Ai and that idiot, Gold?"

The familiar voice fills the orange-haired girl with immense joy and relief. Emma runs forward and tackle hugs her returning friend.

"KILLUA!"

So that's what was in that room, huh? Pretty exciting stuff. The ideas in my head are finally coming to light and I couldn't be more thrilled to share them all with you. As usual, share how you feel about the chapter, any sort of final predictions before the end, questions, and what you may have liked! See you all next time as the finale of Fictional Nexus continues…. Also there will be an epilogue and two post credits scenes once the finale is over.