Chapter 4: RanRanRonpa
IF gazed upon the monitor with a look of bewilderment across her face. She couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach. She had meant to finally be able to lay in bed and rest in peace, but little did she know that she would regret using that particular choice of words.
"Aw, don't look so gloomy! Smile for the audience! You're being watched by hundreds of thousands of people online right now!", DanDan announced.
The monitor now displayed what indeed appeared to be a livestream. The viewer count was well in the hundred thousands, with millions of views. The chat to the right moved completely rapidly and was completely unreadable, save for when people were spamming emotes or messages in caps lock. Most notable to IF, however, was the indistinguishable website. She was familiar with the most common live streaming websites like Neptube and NepuNepuDouga, but this website in particular seemed to be quite shady. It must have been one of those dark net sites that you need special software to access…
"Now that that's cleared up, let's get you ladies moving so we can get this show on the road, shall we? I need to keep my viewers entertained!", the monitor boomed again.
Smiling was the last thing IF could do at this point. She wasn't sure whether or not she should feel relieved to find out that she wasn't the only person who seemed to have been kidnapped.
IF looked around the room she was in and stopped when she found the door. Taking a deep breath, she firmly held the knob and turned it, slowly opening the door. She looked up to make sure there wasn't a guillotine waiting for her to poke her head out before actually peering outside.
It looked like an ordinary conveniently abandoned factory that nobody would think to check at all if a bunch of people happened to have been kidnapped at around the same time. IF gulped before she stepped outside.
She walked through the dark, concrete hallways with caution, keeping her mind at high alert. Obviously, she couldn't trust this "DanDan". Cameras followed IF as she walked down the hallways. She couldn't help but look up at some of them as she passed by. A sense of unease grew within her chest as she thought about the "audience" that was watching her. What exactly were these "games" she was going to be forced to do in front of these viewers? Why hasn't anyone reported a stream that broadcasts the victims of a kidnapping? IF's mind continued to wander until she reached a large gate.
After pressing a large button beside the gate, it opened up and IF walked through. She was now inside an enormous room that contained an assortment of large machinery that was in surprisingly good shape. If it weren't for the shape the rest of the factory seemed to be in, you wouldn't think it was abandoned at all.
The assortment of people gathered here seemed to be pretty normal. It's like they were just plucked out of a crowd and dropped into someone's twisted doll house. IF did, however, recognize at least one person here. Unfortunately, it wasn't someone she wanted to see. Even more unfortunately, this person jogged over to IF before she had the chance to hide.
"Hey! You're one of the one who lost my bike!", the athletic girl said, "Leafy, right?"
"Iffy. But that's just a nickname. My actual name is IF", the chuunibyou reaffirmed, "And most importantly, I didn't lose your bike! Do you have any idea how much trouble we had to go through because you didn't pay us properly?!"
"Well, maybe if you had done the FULL job, you would have received the FULL payment.", Elsa rebutted.
The other people gathered inside the factory began to glance towards IF and Elsa.
"Don't give me that crap! We did the job, so we get the reward! You can't just give us half of what we were offered because YOU messed up!", IF barked.
The two girls exchanged glares before they were interrupted by the large monitor appearing in front of the group.
"Ladies, ladies, ladies! There's no need to fight! Save it for the games!", DanDan announced.
Everyone's eyes drifted over to the monitor, bracing themselves for the possible barrage of pig puns and the revelation of what was going on. IF crossed her arms and listened in to hear what DanDan had to say.
"How do you find my pig pen? I made sure to clean it up for you! Now that you're all here, allow me to re-introduce myself! My name is DanDan, and this is RanRanRonpa! The show where our contestants must live in a factory among total strangers! Who KNOWS what will happen! Romance? Drama? Friendship? Will they squeal with despair, or will they be able to hoof off unscratched?", the pig-faced narrator announced.
IF and a few others cringed at the hamfisted puns. One of the sharp looking captives spoke up.
"I never agreed to this! My lawyers will surely hear about this tasteless charade! Now, tell me where the exit is and maybe I'll reconsider whether or not I'll press any charges.", he said.
Everyone watched the sole male as he spoke, then their attention slowly drifted back to the monitor to see their captor's response. Though the dark side of her face was grinning by default, the white half of DanDan's face broke out into a grin that mirrored the darker half.
"Ah, my apologies, sir! Why, of course I'll let you go!", DanDan responded in a cheery tone. One could say it was the "normal" tone that "Ran Ran's" spoke in. It was almost like she had just snapped out of a trance. The swine lady appeared to push a button, and a grand door seemed to open up behind the crowd.
Everyone pivoted around to look at the exit, forced to cover their eyes from the bright light that greeted them. The sweet sounds of freedom could be heard from the other side, as if calling to the captives to approach it.
The sharp businessman adjusted his tie. "I'm glad we could resolve this in a professional, civilized manner. Now, if you'll excuse me…". He muttered as he approached the exit with no hesitation whatsoever, everyone else in the room watching in awe and anxiety. Was it really that going to be that easy?
As soon as he stepped into the ray of hope, all that could be heard was a shriek of despair. Everyone felt goosebumps and a sense of dread come over them. A curiosity that just couldn't help but crawl it's way into their minds emerged within them as they wondered what exactly happened to the gentleman. IF turned back to look at the monitor, which now displayed the livestream and chat reactions. Out of all the absolute illegible spam, IF could only make out a few messages such as "Friggin' rekt", "it begins" and "20 credits the flatty is next".
After a few tense moments of silence, IF was startled when one of the girls spoke up.
"W-what did you do to him?", she whimpered.
"Hmmmm? I didn't do a thing~! He stepped out on his own! As to what happened to him… well… ah! There he comes now!", DanDan responded nonchalantly.
All heads turned to face the exit once more. Expecting to see someone of a man's height, they were astonished when all they saw a pile of his clothing moving in on it's own. However, upon further inspection, his fate became clear: he was turned into a Ran Ran pig.
Gasps and shrieks could be heard throughout the group and the air seemed to become much heavier. IF's heart skipped a beat as she was unable to fend off her own fear. Elsa averted her eyes and bit her nails to try to cope with the shock. DanDan's screen took up the whole monitor once more.
"Anyone else wanna get some easy curves? No? Aaaaaaaalright then! As I said before, you'll all be living here! And as our volunteer was so kind to show us, anyone who tries to leave will be Ran-ified!", the pig mistress announced.
"I don't want to live in a factory! I have to get to school!", one girl spoke up.
"Yeah! I gotta go job hunting! Rent's due next week…", a hooded one ranted.
"I… I don't feel so good…", a meek girl said.
"I don't want to turn into a pig!", another girl shouted.
"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT YOUR MEATHOLES FOR A SECOND?!", DanDan roared.
The room fell silent as the small crowd grew fearful of what their captor might do next. In the silence, IF tried to calm down and maintain her composure. Panicking about turning into pork wouldn't be of any help to her here. However, this thought reminded her of the man- now pig- who now waddled around the room aimlessly as it's clothing dragged along behind it. DanDan noticed the newest little piggy now waddling among the crowd, and scratched her chin.
"Hm… I guess I should take care of this fresh meat before I continue. Momma DanDan always said to clean up our own mess! I mean, we're not animals, am I right?", DanDan snickered.
Suddenly, the monitor opened up in half, and a claw shot out from the curtain behind it. It snapped around the pig, and yanked it into the abyss before the monitor snapped back together to become whole again. A girl who was standing near where the pig was plucked up fainted.
"W-what are you going to do with him?", one girl asked.
DanDan grinned so wide that it looked like her mouth could barely fit on her face.
"What kind of factory do you think this is?"
Elsa bit down onto her nail so hard that her finger began to bleed. Slowly but surely, everyone figured out what exactly the kind of factory they were in. Everyone began to panic among themselves. IF felt a terrible chill overcome her, and reached for her elbow uncomfortably. It certainly wasn't an idea factory.
"Aw, don't be scared! I won't do anything unless you try to leave without my permission!", DanDan said in a reassuring tone.
"How're we supposed to get your permission, then?", Elsa asked.
"I thought you'd would never ask!", DanDan snickered, "Back in all of your rooms, you'll find a gun. Don't worry, they're not REAL guns. They're RanRanGuns! Give someone a zap and they'll be squealing in no time! All you've gotta do is convert someone into a Ran Ran! Once you do that, you'll have my permission to leave. Just walk right out!".
This made the room feel even more tense than before. IF could feel everyone's eyes shoot across the room trying to figure out who they could and couldn't trust.
"But that's not all!", DanDan explained, "To prevent this from becoming some sort of battle royale, there are also some other things you need to worry about. Whenever someone gets porked, you guys have to try to figure out who did it! If you guess wrong, the real perpetrator walks free, and the accused AND the accuser get turned into Ran Ran's! Guess right, and I will personally meet out Justice upon the perpetrator! And because I am a gracious host, the 'accuser' who guesses correctly gets to go free! No strings attached!"
"This is ridiculous! I don't want to be a pig! They're fat and play in the mud all day!", Elsa responded.
"This pig lady's friggin' nuts!", the hooded girl shouted.
"WHAT was that?", DanDan glared.
"N-nothing, ma'am!", the hooded girl squeaked.
"Good. Now, you're all free to roam around and do whatever you want! Go mingle and meet your pals! Start some drama! Plan their demise! Get steamy for the cameras! The viewers will love it!", DanDan said with a snort, before the monitor went dark.
While everyone began to scatter and mingle, IF held her chin and thought to herself. She thought about where she was, and how she could get out. The least risky way, she concluded, was to find some trustworthy allies and find out how to take down DanDan. While worrying about not getting turned into Ran Ran's, of course. She nodded to herself and set out to gain some allies.
However, unfortunately for her, everyone seems to have already left… IF looked around frantically for someone she could talk to. Anyone. She quickly ran through the main factory and at the turn of a corner, ran right into someone else. They both recoiled and fell backwards onto the ground. After a moment to recover from the impact, IF summoned one of her daggers and leapt to her feet, holding the dagger towards the girl who was now beneath her.
"W-waaaah! Please don't shoot me! I'll do whatever you want!", the hooded girl begged. She covered her face and shut her eyes as she cowered in fear.
"Really, now? How do I know you're not gonna shoot me the first chance you get?", the brunette asked, menacingly.
"I don't even know where the rooms are supposed to be! What the hell kinda factory has bedrooms, anyway?!", the girl insisted.
"...Fair point.", IF responded. She put her dagger away and stepped back to allow the girl to get up.
"Everyone here's friggin' crazy! A bunch of people are actually trying to get their hands on one of those Gal Guns or whatever! Why the hell isn't anyone trying to find where that half-burnt bacon is instead?!", the girl barked.
"Hey, quiet down! Are you trying to piss her off? There are cameras everywhere, you know!", IF said in a hushed tone.
"Cameras? She's not gonna record us while we change our clothes or anything, right? In front of a bunch of creeps online? This is seriously messed up...", the thuggish girl sighed.
"Well, I wouldn't worry about what a bunch of no-life losers think. If anyone decent were watching this stream, they would've already reported it. Those people probably don't even leave their homes…", IF reassured.
At that moment it felt as if thousands of Flat Enthusiasts were suddenly silenced…
"Anyway, the name's IF. A Gust a Wind, soaring through Gamindustri!", IF said, while brushing some of her hair aside for dramatic effect.
"Aw crap, I got stuck with some kid…", the girl mumbled. She pushed herself up and dusted off her gray hoodie. "Yeah, that's great and all, but we really need to get moving. I ain't turning into a freaking pig!"
"R-right. Let's go do that.", IF responded. She felt completely shut down after her introduction was brushed off.
The two girls began looking around the main room of the facility, searching for a corridor that might lead them to the dormitory wing. They moved through the labyrinth of machinery until they finally reached a corridor that was different from the others. They began to walk through it with each one of them moving along opposite sides of the corridor.
"So, you have some sort of brilliant plan to get us out of here?", the hooded girl spoke up to break silence.
"None that I'd bring up while we're out in the open like this.", IF responded.
"Still paranoid about that creep's cameras, huh? There has to be some sort of limit to them. I mean, did you see that stream? This is whole thing must be a one man show!", the girl explained.
"Oh, I get it! Since she has to keep the audience entertained, there's no way she could keep track of everyone at once!", IF replied.
"All we've gotta do is be really boring so that creep won't even think of giving us screen time! It's genius!", the girl boasted proudly.
Little did they know, their enthusiasm caught a camera's attention and they were now the ones being displayed on the stream. As the gracious host DanDan was, she offered commentary for her viewers.
"And now we have these two sharing a warm moment in the cold depths of abyss! I guess you could say they found common ground with a good ol' heart to heart. Good thing they don't have any knockers in the way to stop that, am I right? Gee, I wonder what will happen next?", DanDan snickered as the stream chat tried to incoherently answer her question.
"By the way, I never caught your name.", IF brought up. The girl nodded at IF.
"Oh, I guess I never introduced myself. Better do that now before I for-"
"Stop right there!", a voice cried out from behind them.
The pair froze in place and dared not to move a muscle. The hooded girl seemed to struggle against the urge to make a run for it. IF took deep breaths to remain calm.
"I didn't think you were the type to shoot someone you know, Elsa.", IF said. The athlete held her gun up and shuffled her aim between the two girls.
"Hands up, Leafy. I don't trust those sleeves of yours. Then turn around, slowly.", Elsa demanded.
IF obeyed and refrained from correcting Elsa while giving her a piercing glare. Elsa pointed her gun towards the hooded girl.
"You. You're my underling now. Pat down Leafy here and check for anything useful."
"Why the hell should I listen to a broad like you?", the hooded girl barked.
"Well, my daddy's rich so I could solve that rent problem you mentioned earlier!", Elsa said.
"Y-yes ma'am! I'll be your underling!", the girl responded quickly. She huddled over behind IF, whose eyes widened with surprise.
"W-wait, you're just gonna join her that easily?!", IF complained.
"Sorry kid, nothin' personal…", Underling mumbled, before checking IF. She patted down her coat and checked her belt pouches for items.
"So? What did you find?", Elsa asked.
"All she's got is a lame looking phone!", Underling answered, as she held it up.
"Hey, give that back! It's not like you can make a phone call here, anyway!", IF shouted.
"What makes you think I need your dirty old phone? Daddy already bought me the latest phone on the market months before it even hit the shelves!", Elsa scoffed.
Despite their roles, IF and Underling still had it in them to glance at each other in disbelief over Elsa's reaction. Underling went ahead and handed IF her phone back.
"As you can see, neither one of us are even armed. Why don't we cut the crap and just work together?", IF said.
"You're not armed? Don't tell me you two haven't even found the dormitory wing yet...", Elsa said disappointed.
"Sorry. I got distracted trying to figure out how to get out of here rather than how I can turn this place into a pig pen.", IF responded as she crossed her arms.
"Well you're not going anywhere if you stand around thinking all the time.", Elsa shrugged. She placed one hand on her hip and pulled back her gun. "If we're going to be working together, then you're going to need your own guns. Come on, I'll lead you to the dormitory wing."
Elsa had the two of them walking ahead and behind her as human shields as they made their way to the dormitory. It was eerily quiet, save for the occasional sound of foreign footsteps echoing through the hallways. At the turn of a corner, they were now in a brightly lit corridor with doors lined up on both sides. Above each door was a light that displayed the number each room was assigned.
"The dim ones are free. Hurry up and get your guns before someone finds us!", Elsa encouraged.
IF nodded and entered room number two, shutting the door behind her. She walked in and found a neatly furnished room complete with a bed, desk and shower.
"No food, huh… I guess our 'gracious' host doesn't plan for us to last long.", IF muttered.
She spotted the RanRanGun on the desk and walked over to it cautiously and poked it. After not getting any sort of response, IF deemed it safe enough to take. As she picked it up, she noticed a note underneath it. She picked it up and read through it.
1- Be careful who you bring into your room!
2- Follow the rules!
3- Listen to point 2!
4- Smile for the camera!
5- There aren't any cameras in the rooms, though. I have standards.
6- Everyone get to your rooms when the bell rings! I've got to get my beauty sleep too, you know!
7- Don't even THINK about trying to break the rules!
IF rolled her eyes as she read through the list. She gave a sigh of relief, now knowing that she at least had a place to lie down. IF gazed at the bed, longing for it's soft, fluffy embrace... She quickly snapped out of it and put the RanRanGun into one of the pouches on her belt.
Because she was partially distracted, IF dropped the note onto the ground. When she bent over to pick it up, she noticed there was some writing on the back of it. However, unlike the list on the other side, this seemed to be scribbled down in a hurry. In… pink.
DON'T PLAY HER
GAME
FIND THE
TRUTH
FOLLOW THE NOISE
COMMIT THE
INNOCENT SIN
-JOKER
IF's eyes widened. This "Joker", whoever they were, left her some sort of hint. IF held the note to her chest and closed her eyes to pay her respects.
"I won't let this go to waste. Thank you, Joker."
"Jeez, did you get lost in there, too? I told you to hurry up!", Elsa scoffed.
IF simply shrugged in response as she regrouped with Elsa and Underling in the hallway.
"So, what's the plan? How are we actually gonna fry that hog?", Underling said.
"Please, enough with the pig puns. I abhor them.", Elsa complained.
IF rubbed her forehead, trying to relieve her mind from the absolute horror of puns. She reached into her pocket to pull out the note she found, only to be interrupted by something flashing in her eyes.
"Wha- get down!", IF shouted. She dropped down onto one knee as low as possible.
Elsa and Underling didn't process what was going on until a blast of light hit the ground before them. At the entrance to the dormitory hallway was a girl wearing sunglasses and a multitude of gold jewelry that sparkled viciously, making it hard to see her. She held her gun forward and pulled the trigger once more to take another shot, however nothing happened. After a few clicks, she realized that her gun wasn't going to fire anymore and threw it towards the group.
Out of reflex, Elsa leapt into the air and bicycle kicked the gun back towards the attacker. As Elsa hit the ground, a loud thud could also be heard ahead.
"Don't let her get away!", Elsa shouted.
Underling looked at Elsa then down the hall and repeated this once more before bolting ahead. After taking a moment to get off the ground, IF and Elsa followed her down the hall. When they caught up with Underling, she was scratching her head as she gazed down upon the knocked out attacker.
"The hell do you eat, boss?", Underling coughed out.
"It's not like you'd be able to afford it, anyway.", Elsa shrugged.
IF walked up to the knocked out shooter and crouched down to check on her. She poked the back of her head to see if there was any response, then checked for a pulse like how Compa had showed her. After finding signs of life, IF stood up and faced the other two girls.
"Yeah, she's out cold alright. It was pretty clever of her to try to blind us with that shiny jewelry. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have the aim to back it up.", IF explained.
She looked around at the ground and found the attacker's RanRanGun by the wall next to the girl. IF picked it up and inspected it. She held it up towards the ceiling above Elsa and Underling and pulled the trigger.
Click.
Click.
Nothing. Even with her elementary knowledge of handguns, IF could tell something was off about the gun.
"H-hey! Watch where you're aiming that thing!", Elsa shrieked.
"Guess we're lucky it jammed, am I right?", Underling smirked.
IF continued to inspect the gun and ejected the cartridge. "No… it didn't jam. There was only ever one shot!", IF said surprised.
"I guess that pig wants the best shot to win.", Elsa muttered as she crossed her arms.
"Good thing that broad's aim sucked!", Underling smirked.
"Yeah, we did get lucky. But why didn't DanDan tell us there was only one shot in the first place?", IF wondered out loud.
"Probably to make things more interesting for her audience. She wants to see the look on our faces when we take a shot and then freak out when we find out we can't shoot anymore. Just think about it- unless you don't miss, you're a sitting duck if you waste your shot." Elsa suggested.
"Y-yeah, that would really suck…", Underling chuckled nervously.
IF and Elsa slowly turned their heads towards the green haired thug and stared at her for a very long moment in complete silence. Elsa finally broke the silence. "What did you do?"
"I-I didn't shoot anyone, I swear! Do you really think I wanna play that swine's game?!", the hooded girl stuttered.
"I don't trust her.", Elsa responded as she readied her gun.
"Don't shoot! This is exactly what she wants!", IF shouted as she raised her sleeve in front of Elsa.
"I'm sure this street rat's already used to playing in the dirt. What difference would being a pig be?!", Elsa growled.
"No, not HER! I'm talking about DanDan!", IF barked. She grabbed Elsa's hand and shoved it away so that she wasn't aiming it anymore.
Elsa stepped back and raised her gun towards IF. "And how can you be so sure?".
"I bumped into her not long after we started. She wouldn't have had enough time to make it to the dormitory and back with a RanRanGun, and she was with me the whole time after that.", IF explained.
The young Gust of Wind started to walk around Elsa to stay out of her line of fire. She began to circle the girl slowly, and Elsa's aim followed. Underling looked on with wide eyes as the two girls locked into a close-range showdown of wits.
"How am I supposed to believe that? Do you expect me to take your word for it? You two are obviously teaming up to take me down!", Elsa hissed.
"If we really wanted to turn you into a pig, we would've already done it! You were wide open after kicking this girl's gun back to her.", IF explained, trying to remain calm.
Her heart beat rapidly as the adrenaline truly began to kick in. IF knew that what she was doing was completely insane, but she had no choice but to believe in what she believed to be the absolute truth. All she could do was hope that Elsa would see the reason in her logic.
"Oh, I get it now. You just want to be the one to accuse her so you can get out of here. Do you think I'm gonna just let you take the all the credit for that? I should just shoot you right here myself!", Elsa threatened.
"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do after that? You only have one shot, and there's two of us! The other one can just accuse you and get it right, guaranteed!", IF grumbled, "If you're so sure that she shot someone, then why don't you just accuse her at the trial!".
IF stopped walking and stared back at Elsa, whose gun was now mere inches from IF's face. Underling's teeth chattered nervously as she did all she could do- watch. The air grew heavy as IF and Elsa gazed into each other's eyes, a passionate bitterness towards each other being silently exchanged. The fragile link was broken when Elsa finally made her move.
Bang.
IF collapsed and took in several deep breathes as she panted heavily, having held her breath in her silent showdown with Elsa. Her ears were ringing thanks to her proximity to Elsa's gun when it fired. At the last moment, the athlete elected to use her only shot on the knocked out jewelry-clad attacker.
A bright light filled the corridor, blinding everyone's sight of the poor, nameless victim. All their senses could pick up were the sounds of harsh squealing. When the light finally died down, the girl was now a small, pale pig. It now began to waddle around as it's clothes and jewelry dragged behind it.
"Y-you… you actually freakin' did it…", Underling stuttered in fear, "But why? You could've just not shot anyone at all!".
IF gave several more coughs for air and watched the pig's futile attempts to go far. The small creature decided that it no longer had a need for clothing, and wiggled it's way free before wandering off into the network of corridors.
"You do realize what this means, right?", the hooded girl muttered.
Elsa dropped her gun and remained silent as she processed what she just did. IF was now having trouble trying to remain calm. It could have been her. It was almost her. She knew she should've felt relieved. But now she had to make the choice of whether or not to accuse Elsa. For as much as she didn't like her, she didn't want to strip her of her humanity.
"W-wait, this doesn't add up…", Underling spoke up. The two other girls raised their heads and glanced at her to see what she was talking about. The hooded girl picked up the gold chains left behind by the pig and held them up. "This stuff's fake!".
"Fake? How do you know?", IF responded.
"The chains that chick was holding up at up glittered like crazy. This stuff's not shiny at all!", Underling explained.
"Let me see that.", Elsa said. She walked over and held her hand out for Underling to pass one to her. After the green haired girl reluctantly handed it over, Elsa appraised the 'gold' chain herself. After a few seconds, she dropped the chain onto the ground and stomped it. The chain shattered easily, breaking into multiple pieces.
"This is just a cheap knockoff!", Elsa hissed.
"This doesn't even make any sense! The chains she was wearing were definitely real! Where the hell did this crap come from?!", Underling said in an annoyed tone.
"You two sound pretty sure about this, so I'll just take your words for it.", IF said. She pushed herself up onto her feet and took another deep breath before turning towards the other two girls. "What do you think this means?"
"Does the blast turn clothes into cheap knockoffs, too?", Elsa suggested.
"Nah, that's too complicated.", IF shrugged.
"More like they were switched out! If there was a way to turn things into cheap jewelry, I'd be rich!" Underling ranted.
"Wait, hold that thought. You might be onto something." IF interrupted.
"Now is NOT the time to discuss scams!", Elsa scoffed.
"No, not that part! I'm talking about-", IF was interrupted by a loud bell ringing throughout a speaker system.
After a few rings, DanDan's voice came from the speakers.
"Heeeeeeello, my pretties! It looks like someone's already been porked! And you all know what thaaaaat meeeeeans! Everyone go back to the main factory! It's time to meat out some Justice! That is, if you guys are worthy enough!", DanDan announced.
"Did she just…? Oh, for crying out loud…", Underling mumbled.
After what appeared to be DanDan reaching off screen, a series of arrows lit up the floor, all pointing in the same direction.
"I have to say- I'm impressed! Usually people try to mingle a little more before trying to stab each other in the back! Look's like we've got quite got quite the vicious herd this time!", DanDan winked, "Go ahead and follow those arrows back if you don't know how to get back to the main facility. And make it snappy! This downtime is no good for my viewers!".
After the announcement ended, Elsa's face grew pale.
"W-what're we gonna do?!" Elsa panicked.
"Since you already fired yours, you're gonna be a prime suspect. You're pretty screwed, boss…", Underling said as she scratched the back of her head.
"Y-you're fired!", Elsa whimpered.
"Woah, seriously? Good grief…", the hooded girl complained.
"Enough already! We need to get back to the main factory. Who knows what will happen if we keep her waiting.", IF huffed.
"B-but what about me?! I can't turn into a pig!", Elsa cried.
"Gee, you really broke down fast. Don't worry, I have a plan.", IF reassured her.
"Whoa, seriously? What did you come up with?", Underling asked.
"Don't worry about it. Just trust me, okay?", IF smiled.
IF walked ahead and followed the arrows back to the main facility. Elsa and Underling looked at each other nervously before following.
Their footsteps seemed to echo painfully loud as they entered the main factory. IF could feel people stare knives into each other as she arrived at the the area in front of the large monitor. As the brunette slowly walked into place, she saw the look of suspicion and dread painted onto everyone's face. She took a deep breath to make sure she kept her composure. Despite what she told Elsa and Underling, IF wasn't entirely sure about what she had planned.
"Aw, lame! We're the last ones here, aren't we?", Underling spat out.
"W-would you be quiet?!", Elsa said nervously in a hushed tone.
"What? It's not like these broads are gonna actually blame whoever LOOKS the most suspicious, right?", the hooded girl shrugged.
As if on cue, the monitor displayed static noise before flickering to an image. The devilish swine's smug, twisted grin was now on display for everyone's displeasure.
"Aaaaaaaalright! Here we go! The main event! It's time to see who's going on a one-way trip to the slaughterhouse!", DanDan announced.
Elsa was now, subconsciously, biting her fingernails again. Underling's gaze shifted to the walkways above the monitor as she held the back of her head. Everyone began to shift uncomfortably.
"Oh, come on! You all look like you're about to give up! At least TRY to put up a fight!", DanDan grumbled.
Nobody responded.
"Oh, I guess I haven't explained how this works yet. Well, just go ahead and try to figure out who you think shot someone. Then, pick someone to be the 'accuser'! That accuser will have the final say in picking who the suspect is. So choose wisely!", DanDan chuckled, "Don't keep the audience waiting, now!".
After a few moments of people shuffling about, a small group approached IF.
"Y-you were one of the last ones to arrive! That's awfully suspicious!", a pig-tailed girl said.
"It had to have been one of you. Just tell us who it was so we can… can...", a glasses wearing girl spoke up, but couldn't finish her sentence.
"Please! If you did it, just turn yourself in!", the tallest girl said.
"Hey, back off already! I can hear you just fine!", IF barked.
The three girls were startled and exchanged wary glances. Despite not having been here long, they looked absolutely exhausted. IF could tell the utter hopelessness of the situation was weighing heavily on them. Their shoulders dropped and they turned to leave.
"Wait. I'm sorry, I'm just really on edge here.", the brunette called out to them.
"We all are!", the glasses wearing girl sobbed.
The tallest girl began to pat the crying girl on the back to console her. The pig-tailed girl walked back to IF.
"Please… do you have any idea of what happened?", the pig-tailed girl asked.
"I think so. I'm just not entirely sure.", IF responded.
"Oh… well, I hope you can figure it out. Then you'll be able to leave and get us help…!", the pig-tailed girl said cheerfully.
Just for a moment, IF noticed a glimmer of hope light up in her eyes like an oasis in a desert of despair. After this exchange, the three girls left IF alone to bring their pleas for a confession elsewhere. Now alone, IF stood in quiet contemplation before walking up towards the monitor.
"Hey, DanDan. I think I have an idea of who did it.", IF announced.
Everyone's head turned at once to gaze at IF dramatically in a display that was worthy of being put into a painting. A bead of sweat couldn't help but crawl down IF's cheek.
"Hahaha! Orly? Well then, spit it out! As DRAMATICALLY as possible, please!", DanDan snickered.
After a moment of holding back the urge to break the monitor right then and there, IF gulped and made her announcement.
"One of the two girls who I was with must have done it. I saw the victim myself get hit myself!", IF said loudly, so that everyone could hear her.
Upon hearing this, everyone had the two girls in their sights. Elsa bit down on a nail too hard, causing it to bleed. Underling looked around at everyone looking at her with a look of shock on her face.
"What the hell?! I can't believe you'd try to sell us out like that!", Underling lashed out.
People started surrounding the both of them menacingly and the sounds of someone cracking their knuckles could be heard. Thanks to the encouragement of their peers, Elsa and Underling felt compelled to take a walk of shame (or rather, walk of blame) down the aisle and stopped to stand at the opposite side of the monitor to IF. Both girls glanced at the adventurer with a mix of both shock and betrayal plastered onto their faces.
"Well, would you look at that! Going for a spot in the 'Top 10 Anime Betrayals' list, huh? I like you!", DanDan cheered, "Well, don't keep us waiting! Take your pick!".
At that moment, IF dived deep into her mind. She was suddenly riding on her motorcycle through some sort of digital landscape. As she was riding down the seemingly endless highway, she saw two green signs up ahead, indicating what the next two turns were for. The left one read "Underling", and the right one read "Elsa". As she continued moving at high speed down the highway, another sign indicated that a junction was ahead. After being given a split second to choose, IF made a sharp turn into the left lane and ascended the ramp.
The landscape around her transformed as she soared across the road. The digital road turned gray, and the space around the road turned green. It began to twist and turn, defying gravity itself as IF strode along while avoiding the pitfalls that began to spring up. A single sign appeared above the road that read: "When did you meet Underling?". Further down the road, there were two more signs indicating that there were more turns ahead. The left one read: "Long after the match started" and the right one read: "Soon after the match started".
IF thought back to when she met Underling. She was lost in her own thoughts after DanDan gave the order to begin, then ran into the thuggish girl soon after snapping out of it. After nodding to herself, IF turned to the right.
The road seemed to be moving faster. Or was it was her bike? Regardless, IF traveled down the path after the turn and found the road seemed to contain some more hazards. Nothing she couldn't handle. She evaded them skillfully without much of a fuss. Another sign sprang up down the road. "Did she have any time to attack anyone before meeting her?". There were another two signs further down the road. "Yes" on the left and "No" on the right.
IF took her time to think this through before continuing. According to DanDan, the RanRanGuns were only supposed to be available in the dormitories. She and Underling took a while to look for the dormitories themselves, and it wasn't until they found Elsa that they were even able to get to them. After running through this thought a few times, IF turned right.
At this point, her bike seemed to pick up even more speed, and the road seemed to have even more extreme twists and turns. The unexpected difficulty spike caused IF to run off the road, falling into the infinite green…
When IF woke up, she was somehow riding her bike again. Another pair of signs entered her vision down the road. "Underling" and "Elsa". After cursing under her breath, IF turned left and began to take the same route she had taken initially.
She turned right to answer "No" again to whether or not Underling had the time to attack anyone. IF made sure to carefully avoid any random pitfalls and was more ready to hit the brakes this time. After treading more carefully, IF finally reached the next sign.
"Did Underling ever have the chance to shoot anyone?". IF cleared several gaps consecutively after crossing the sign and then rode up a curve to ride on the "wall". She was confident that Underling was with her the entire time they were together. However, there was the brief period that wasn't accounted for- the time they entered their rooms to get their guns. IF turned left to answer "Yes".
Dodge. Jump. Switch lanes. Repeat. IF was used to the rhythm of the road now. "Who did she shoot?". At this point, the brunette had to take a gamble. The two options were "An Attacker" on the left and "She didn't shoot anyone" on the right. IF elected to trust Underling and turned right.
After falling off the road once more, IF frustratingly made her way all the way back again and rode through the increasingly difficult road puzzles. After avoiding all of the hazards, IF finally reached the next sign. "Did she shoot at all?". IF hit the brakes and drifted down the road slowly. She thought back to when Underling started getting iffy about wasting shots. She wouldn't have been nervous if she hadn't shot her gun at all. If she did hit someone, then DanDan would have called everyone back to the factory for a trial. The two signs ahead now read "She didn't shoot anything" on the left and "She shot something" on the right.
After turning right, the road ahead was clear and unbroken. IF continued to think. If Underling didn't shoot someone, then the only thing left for her to hit would have been an object. Another sign came up on the horizon. "What proves she hit an object?". IF's bike seemed to speed up on its own and she was quickly brought up to the next two signs. To the left, "Something inside her room", and to the right, "The victim".
Even if whatever Underling shot was inside her room, IF had no idea what it was and couldn't prove it. However, upon thinking back to when the victim was shot, it seemed weird that IF was checking the victim's clothing instead of the victim herself. Her curiosity confirmed that she already fired the shot and hit something that wasn't a person.
After a hard right, IF was now on a calm road once more. The road seemed to end up ahead and IF brought her bike to a halt. Suddenly, the green space and gray road beneath her faded into black. A moment later, a large monitor flashed to life in front of IF, displaying a simple message across the screen.
CONCLUSION:
UNDERLING SHOT AN OBJECT
At the blink of an eye, IF found herself back on an all too familiar road once more. After sighing internally, she turned right to select Elsa's path. The color of the scenery matched the silver and blue of Elsa's school track suit. However, there weren't any signs. The road twisted and turned and IF avoided all of the obstacles as she had done so before, but there weren't any signs. Just a straightforward obstacle course. IF already knew what the truth was.
Upon reaching the end of the road, all of the colors faded to black. The monitor appeared just as before, however all it displayed was static interference. Then suddenly, the all too familiar sound of laughter could be heard as DanDan's face flickered onto the monitor. The images of her laughing flickered back and forth with the message:
CONCLUSION:
ELSA
IS
GUILTY
The text was red, and it became more and more distorted with each flicker. DanDan's laughter grew louder and louder, until it eclipsed all other thoughts in IF's mind, causing her to black out.
IF snapped back into reality. She looked around frantically as if she had just awoken from a long nightmare. However, it seemed as if nary a moment had passed at all. After going through all the twists and turns of her own logic from within her own psyche, IF was now mentally fatigued, but resolute. She knew what she had to do.
The brunette slowly reached into one of her belt pouches and pulled out her RanRanGun. Several gasps could be heard among the small crowd as IF pulled the weapon out and held it sideways, pointing it forward at the space between a terrified Underling and Elsa.
Once more, IF ran through the two conclusions in her head. Elsa was, indeed, guilty. She also gave her a bunch of trouble before by not paying her in full. IF aimed her gun at Elsa. The athletic schoolgirl was biting her nails, bawling her eyes out.
Another thought arose from within IF's mind. Without a doubt, working with Elsa would increase her chances of succeeding. The girl's athletic skill and reasonable logic would certainly be beneficial to her. Subconsciously, IF moved her aim towards Underling.
IF had nothing against Underling. However, the odds just didn't seem to be in her favor. She betrayed IF as soon as Elsa offered her money. Granted, Underling easily returned to IF's side after that. At this moment, IF recalled her conclusion about Underling's actions. She shot something, and that caused her to search the victim's belongings for some reason. This is when IF remembered what Underling said when they tried to figure out why the chain they found wasn't real.
IF took several deep breaths. A final memory flashed into her mind. The final, out of place piece of the puzzle that shouldn't have been there, but was. A stray ray of hope seeping through the cracks in this big box of despair. The brunette stared at the ground and shook her head. What was she thinking?
"Don't play her game...
Find the truth...
Follow the noise...
Commit the Innocent Sin."
IF retracted her arm and looked down at her gun, breathing heavily. The answer was right in front of her the whole time. The young girl slowly raised her gun up for the final time as everyone in the room watched in awe. However, this time, her gun was aimed at neither Elsa nor Underling. Not at anyone in the crowd. Not at the monitor RanRan's face was on.
In what would be her final move, IF held the gun against her temple and burned her dread.
The next thing IF knew, she was enveloped in a blinding flash of light and the floor beneath her opened up. A metal claw jolted up and clasped around her waist, administering an electric shock that caused her to wince in pain. The maddening squeals of a pig could be heard rising up from beneath her as she was promptly yanked below ground. She felt something that felt like her own coat swing by as she descended.
IF was now being pulled through some sort of underground tunnel system. She summoned her daggers and cut the claw's arm off. She fell to the ground and skid a few more feet before coming to a halt. After a few grunts, IF pried the claw off of her waist and began to make her way back through the tunnels...
Meanwhile, back at the factory, everyone was in complete shock over what had just happened. Everyone, save for DanDan.
"Whoooooooooa baby! Who could've seen THAT coming! The audience LOVES this! What a twist! Bravo! Bravo, my fellow pig! This will get me a TON of shares!", the devilish pig cheered.
"What the hell are you going on about now?!", Underling lashed out.
"Oh, you didn't know? I set up this whole shebang so I could get shares! Soon I'll have so many shares, I'll be able to overtake that S-Sha girl!", she snickered.
"You mean you set up this whole thing just so you could get more stupid points than some other chick?!", the hooded girl growled.
"They're not POINTS! They're- bah, forget it! You probably won't live long enough to see me claim my spot at the top anyway!", DanDan responded, "Now, I STRONGLY recommend you show me some respect if you don't wanna end up like your little friend right there."
The pig that took IF's place wandered about the room and minded it's own business, going nowhere in particular. The oversized blue coat fell off and all the piggy was left wearing was IF's black shirt and short shorts.
After the display of IF's selflessness, Elsa had fallen onto her knees and was staring at the ground aimlessly in complete disbelief. The pig wearing IF's clothing approached her and sat right in front of her. The girl couldn't help but hug the pig out of guilt, trying to gain some comfort after what she had caused. This is when she noticed the "buckle" on the pig's shorts.
"...This is fake.", she muttered, "It's not metal at all."
"FAKE?! Don't be ridiculous!", DanDan quickly responded, "Come on, let go of the pig already so I can send her to the grill!"
"Go to hell.", Elsa growled.
"Ha! I'm already there! And you're all here with me, sweet cheeks!", DanDan smirked, "Hell, I can smell a grill from here… barbecue! My favorite!"
A blast of fire erupted through the ground, and from beneath the floor arose IF.
"You like barbecue, huh? I hope they have that in HELL, then!", IF yelled.
The chuunibyou ran up to the monitor and unleashed a merciless combo upon it while in mid-air, utterly shredding it into pieces. After IF nailed a 10/10 landing, the monitor fell to the ground and completely fell apart.
"No way! The kid didn't get turned into pork at all!", Underling exclaimed.
"W-what?! But how?!", Elsa shrieked. Shortly after saying this, she realized that the pig she was hugging wasn't actually IF and promptly let go of the pig in disgust.
"The two of you helped me figure it out. Well, that and some luck.", IF smiled.
"You're the craziest kid I've ever met.", Underling sighed.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll tell you all the details later! It's time to pay our 'gracious host' a visit!", IF reaffirmed, "I broke the pig switcher thing's circuit board while I was down there, so it should be safe to leave now. You two take everyone and get out of here!".
"You're going to fight her on your own?!", Elsa said surprised.
"There's no freaking way I'm letting you have all the fun! I wanna pound that swine myself!", Underling grunted.
"We don't have time for this! Elsa, get outside and call for help! Underling, help everyone get out safely!", IF demanded.
Elsa looked back at IF and nodded.
"I… won't forget this." Elsa muttered before running off.
"Agh, dammit! I'm gonna come right back and get my fill, you hear me?!", Underling shouted before turning to the group, "Well don't just stand there! Come on!".
IF was now alone in the main room of the facility. She turned to look at the black "curtain" behind where the monitor once stood. She walked over the debris and slashed at the space, revealing that it was, indeed, merely a curtain. IF raised her phone up and used it as a flashlight as she ran down the dark hallway behind it.
She could see the monitor's wiring running along the floor. After following it down the straight hallway, IF found the room the wiring led to. She put her phone away got her weapons ready before kicking the door down.
"Come on out, DanDan! We both know you can't win anymore!", IF called out.
The dark room suddenly was suddenly lit up as a monitor showed itself.
"Hohoho! Do you really think that's all it would take to get me?! Catch me if you caaaaaaaaaaan!", DanDan taunted. After she said this, more and more monitors flickered to life all over the room, all of them displaying DanDan laughing. "Hahaha! BAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAAAAA!".
As monitors continued to laugh, IF simply walked up to the real DanDan, who was standing out in the open, and punched her in the face.
"What?! How did you-?! Oh, wait…", DanDan responded weakly.
"Don't try anything stupid. Since you had to use all these underhanded tactics, it's obvious you're not the fighting type.", IF said as she held placed her foot on DanDan's chest.
"Haha…ha…", DanDan coughed, "Finish me then! Deliver 'Justice'!".
"I thought really hard about what I was gonna do when I finally got the chance to see you face-to-face.", IF responded, "But in the end, I decided that I won't even humor you with that much. I'm done playing your games."
IF kicked off of DanDan's chest and left her coughing on the ground. When she turned around, she found Underling standing at the doorway. IF began to make her way towards her.
"You're not gonna try to stop me, are you?", Underling asked sternly.
"I don't have the right.", IF said.
"Heh. Thanks... IF.", Underling smiled.
"Wait, hold on... SHE'S IF? Hehehe... Hahaha!", DanDan laughed.
"What's so funny?", IF grumbled as she turned around.
"The seeds of your despair have already been planted! Hahaha... and I didn't even have to do anything!", DanDan cackled.
"...Bring her outside when you're done so they can lock her up.", IF said to Underling before leaving.
"You hear that, broad? I'm gonna turn you black and blue!", Underling grinned as she cracked her knuckles.
DanDan's white half seemed to turn even more pale...
Upon reaching the outside of the factory, IF found that rescue crews from Lastation and Planeptune had arrived at the scene and were tending to all of the captives. Guild members were being dispatched into the facility to search for even more captives held inside. Several paramedics approached IF and brought her to a helicopter to be escorted out of the scene. From within the helicopter, she looked back as the chopper moved further and further away from the facility...
After swiftly arriving in Planeptune, IF wandered through the streets aimlessly. The sun broke through the night sky and illuminated the horizon. The sleeping streets slowly came to life as people began their morning commutes. Amidst the growing crowds, IF found her bike, just as she had left it. She waddled over and slumped onto it, dozing off right then and there for just a moment...
CHAPTER 4… RanRanRonpa... END.