Warning:
This story is contained with spoilers from Danganronpa V3. If you have not watched it, move away now.
A "Secret Ending" will be written at the end of this chapter.
Appearances/Mentions of Team Danganronpa (As of Chapter 3):
Izuru Kamakura - Founder
Makoto Naegi - Director
Hajime Hinata - Second Unit Director
Juzo Sakakura - Head Security
Kyosuke Munakata - Actor
Chisa Yukizome - Actress
Kazuichi Soda - Construction Team Head
Kiyotaka Ishimaru - Security
Mondo Owada - Security
Mahiru Koizumi - Camera
Ryota Mitarai - Editor (Retired)
/
PS: Longest. Execution. EVER!
BREAKING NEWS!
Team Danganronpa's Hope Execution
Team Danganronpa commences its first ever Hope Execution in the entire Danganronpa History
Ki-Bo fans fires in rage
Protesters riot over Ki-Bo's Execution
"KI-BO'S GETTING EXECUTED?!"
"Just what the heck are they doing?!"
"Don't execute him!"
"That voting was rigged!"
"Ki-Bo did nothing wrong!"
"What kind of show is this?!"
"Free Ki-Bo this instant!"
"V3 sucks!"
"Bust the robot out or we'll bust the robot out!
"Team Danganronpa should rot in Hell!"
"Some entertainment you are, THIS IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT!"
"UGH! I just want to stab that woman for killing Ki-Bo!"
"Why did you brainwash them! That's not fair!"
"You brainwash our Magic Daughter, you die, fool!"
"Good riddance to that crybaby Detective, BUT DOES HE HAVE TO SLAP THE ROBOT?!"
"I wish Maki got executed instead. What a coward."
"Our Robot Son's gonna die! How dare you?!"
"He's innocent! This is cruelty to society!"
Wow. They did NOT take the verdict as well as I had expected them to. Well, for some to be exact, especially the fans of the robot who thought that Ki-Bo was too innocent to get executed in the harshest way as possible. And then comes the doggone protesters demanding that Ki-Bo should be released at once, nothing but hypocrites I'd say. He's a robot, how can those advocates have sympathy for someone who isn't human in the first place?!
Humans can be so confusing and I don't like confusing. Believe me, they're so complicated that I couldn't even stand it! Decision-wise, to be exact.
In Life, we have Choice Number 1 and Choice Number 2. When it comes to humans, everything is a mess in their lives. Everything! We all have those I know, and I can be a (stupid) hypocrite, but I just can't handle it.
Anyways, once upon a time, there was a human that was given two choices; Choice Number 1 and Choice Number 2. The human picked Choice Number 2 and live on whatever the heck he was doing, but then a spark from our brain sent a signal to the human on what would happen when he picked Choice Number 1. And so the human went back and chose Choice Number 1 and live on, but then he slowly had regrets that he should have stayed with Choice Number 2! For goodness sakes, why can't you choose and stay with that anyway?!
See? Humans can be confusing, nonetheless to be annoying also.
Remember when Hajime said about Juzo, Taka, and Mondo's security team being outside? Well, they're handling the ones who were about to stop the execution from happening. They're a tough crowd, literally! I could see the live news on a television screen broadcasted about the people from the outside, what surprised me the most was that the number of people was somehow extravagant to look at based on the statistics of the news coverage.
"What a riot." Words spurt from my mouth as a response to what I saw.
The robot was a worldwide favorite among the fans aside from Shuichi or Kokichi, he was technically the last person 'alive' in the Killing Game. Sure, Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko were still there breathing. But it's not them anymore, the brainwashing video 'killed' what remains of their humanity until they became empty shells of their character they're portraying. While (that idiot) Tsumugi is the Ringleader of the game, so she doesn't count.
Hajime was at the table with his phone sitting on his ears while flipping some stacks of paper on what seemed to be our script, he was doing his job in short. My friend handles on some parts of the show, supervising on whatever follows the original script.
While I, Makoto Naegi just in case you knew me by my surname, handle the aesthetics, the plot script, and the 'actors' (aka our characters in the game) in the show. Hajime Hinata, the Second Unit Director, was the one who handles the construction, the tech, and the performance.
"Yeah...is it set? ...alright then...what about the people from the outside? ...got it...right...we'll keep an eye on the process...I'm gonna message Chihiro now, bye." Hajime set the phone off and picked up the show's script, he then turned to his laptop and activated his e-mail with the name 'Chihiro Fujisaki' in sending. He typed fast on the keyboard and pressed the send button.
To: Chihiro Fujisaki
From: Hajime Hinata
"Chihiro, are you okay out there? It's almost Punishment Time."
...
Chihiro: "Yes, Mr. Hinata. I got some backup plans just in case. I'll be there as soon as I get there...hopefully..."
Hajime: "Sorry about the elevator jammed there, just use the stairs for the time being."
After that, Hajime reviewed the script once more, I decided not to disturb him for a while since he's the one who handles the big jobs.
I was pacing in the room back and forth, the adrenaline of Despair started to kick inside of me that I couldn't stop thinking that something will screw up in the end and I cannot allow that to happen.
...
Then, the sound of footsteps were echoing in the control room. It's creepy considering that it's just me and Hajime, the rest were doing their jobs outside of the control room. So who would it be at this hour?
"My, my, you know panicking won't help at all. You should get your Hopes up, Mr. Director."
Oh my god. That voice, it sounds familiar.
I turned around to see a young woman, the one I could at least smile when I saw her. Despite wearing her ordinary casual suit, her voice and her face still don't hide on who she is.
"Don't worry, I got caffeine in me. I'm not gonna fall for some fictional Despair of yours, Junko Enoshima." Those two names I uttered, gave me a brute force from the stomach. Her battle cry was loud enough to make Hajime jump from his seat just to see what happened to me, at least it gave me a reminder of how powerful her kick was ever since she gave an example (even though it's a 'weak kick') to Mikan Tsumiki, a former actress who was now working in a medical team in Team Danganronpa.
"IDIOT! Just how many times I have to tell you this? It's Ryoko Otonashi! Ry-oko Oto-nashi!" Junko-, I mean Ryoko Otonashi yelled at me while I remained face flat on the floor. Geez, I know that, but I was just playing with her.
Okay, so you thought it's going to be Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ex-Ultimate Detective, right? Wrong and I'm sorry to disappoint you, she's not here. I'll just give you a story about how Ryoko instead.
Ryoko Otonashi, stage name 'Junko Enoshima', is a friend of mine when we met in the casting for the first season of Danganronpa. I was a small boy back then when I became the protagonist in Trigger Happy Havoc, and Ryoko became the antagonist as the Ex-Ultimate Despair. Ryoko's a popular girl and a veteran actress, she's also a friend of mine. Ryoko was the one who helped me in acting when I was having a hard time in portraying my character on set. And right now, she's the Head Editor of Team Danganronpa.
Yep, she along with the Ex-Ultimate Animator were the ones who brainwashed Shuichi Saihara, Himiko Yumeno, and Maki Harukawa in the finale.
"Sorry. I was just playing with you, Ryoko." I replied while wiping the blood on my mouth, I kept on forgetting that Mikan also got hurt pretty bad despite Ryoko toned her power kick down.
Ryoko smirked while twirling a lock of her hair, it's still strawberry blonde when she dyed her old red hair in Trigger Happy Havoc and probably not going to re-dye it (ever) again because she said that it'll damage her hair. She looked at Hajime, who is also a friend of hers when he became (more like he had no choice since the producers were begging him) Izuru Kamakura, Goodbye Despair's Ultimate Hope. The two were working together like..they're literally working, it's part of their job. Though Ryoko was on the carefree side while trying to cheer Hajime up, that guy appreciated it despite he's not saying a word.
From the silence, she reached out her arm towards Hajime, who was looking at the script for the hundredth time. Her finger flicked at Hajime's head that made him jump in surprise on whoever did that to him, "Hello there, Ms. Otonashi." Hajime greeted in a monotone voice with a snarky poker face.
"Oh come on, Hajime! Aren't you excited?" Her arm wrapped around Hajime's neck, the man rolled his eyes though he had a smile slowly creeping up on his lips yet he tried to control his emotions.
"Excited for what? Getting involved in a riot because we're going to execute the robot according to the statistics of the fans?" He asked sarcastically as he looked at a helmet laying on the table, "Seriously, I don't want to get my back stomped on by fanboys just because we killed our 'Plan A Protagonist'."
Ryoko rolled her eyes because Hajime's essentially a worrywart, "You worried a lot, even if you weren't that Pokezuru Facakura anymore."
'Pokezuru Facakura' was somehow a low-quality nickname she gave to Hajime when he played Izuru, a combination of Izuru Kamakura and Poker Face, just because he's good at doing the Poker Face during the set. As a result, Hajime replied "Can you not call me that nickname?! It's embarrassing..."
Changing the subject, Ryoko looked at a television screen that broadcasted about Ki-Bo's execution.
Outside, you could see a large contraption consisted of a conveyor belt with revolving mechanical gears and the metal block that almost crushed me last time. Tsumugi did say that 'shouting out' my old execution was a good way to spread Despair to some fans if ever Ki-Bo gets executed, and it looks like it was about time too. Surrounding the large contraption were people, tons of them to see how many they were. They're different unlike the protesters who tried to barge in, good thing Juzo was there to stop them from getting in.
Just like that Hajime said, the cameras were placed on a good angle that the audience at home, along with us, could see properly on where the crowd wouldn't block them. Of course, those crowds were different compared to the people who wanted to cause a riot. They just wanted to see V3's Ultimate Hope to be executed in the worst ways possible. It's like they said, this was the first ever execution to ever happened to an Ultimate Hope.
Ryoko does have some questions in her mind, "Say Makoto, isn't that your execution before? The After School Lesson execution?"
"Yeah." I answered, "Why'd you ask?"
"It seems...redundant."
"That reminds me..." Hajime read on a certain page of the script, "Makoto, this page says 'the execution will be based on the historical executions that happened in the...Philippines'. Am I correct in reading this script?"
"So, you mean the Hope Robot's execution will be executed in that manner? Like the firing squad or the garrote?"
"Firing squad, garrote, Antonio Luna's assassination...and the like except the modern ones. But I still have some little tweaks from the old ones, if you know what I mean." I answered while counting through my fingers when I was trying to remember how I plotted Ki-Bo's execution. Hajime responded with a growl and rolling eyes, he's the only one who understood what I mean to say about the 'old ones'.
Based on the research I read, the executions that happened in that country were mostly remembered by the younger generations because the people who were executed there were known for something. Not only that, their executions connect the dots on the events that happened there. It's like one execution sparked an event that causes the one who causes the event to get executed that sparked another event that causes the one who caused the event to get executed that sparked another event...It's a very long story...
See the large machine outside? Another thing about those historical executions that are different from the executions that happened in the show, they happened from the outside, in front of a crowd just to see the Despair of Humiliation and Death to the one who will get executed.
That's right and I think you heard it from Ryoko, that contraption belonged to Ki-Bo's.
Ki-Bo's execution will happen live from the Outside World itself.
The location? Team Danganronpa.
The first ever execution in Danganronpa history will happen in public, where all of the people from the Outside World can see it before their very eyes. Just as Tsumugi said; if Ki-Bo was the Eye of the Audience, then we can use him to spread Despair to the whole world!
We finally get this to happen... For many seasons we gave the participants of every Danganronpa to choose either Hope or Despair. And it's always the same thing ever since Trigger Happy Havoc, they pick Hope. Junko, the representative of Despair (for every season of Danganronpa) gets executed.
In Goodbye Despair, despite Hajime and the remaining casts in the finale picked both Hope and Despair, the ending was more hopeful than I imagined, unlike the first season.
To be honest, I felt really bad about Ryoko had to play as Junko for many times in a row. She felt like the world revolves around Junko's antics and Ryoko only gets a good spotlight as herself in Zero, but it's only for a short time before she became Junko again. Not only that, it felt like Junko was recognized as a charismatic and enthusiastic mastermind, while Ryoko was nothing more but a forgetful analyst who was obsessed over Yasuke Matsuda (which she isn't in real life).
Now with that out of the way, Despair gets to be picked finally and we can finally see Hope to get executed! Isn't that exciting?
...
"I'm so sorry I was late!"
I turned around for the hundredth time and saw a young boy with formal clothing and carries a green laptop, he was also breathing heavily non-stop with beads of sweat coming out from his forehead.
He is Team Danganronpa's System Administrator, Chihiro Fujisaki.
"I...tried my best...to get in here...as fast as I could..." Our System Administrator said in between heavy breaths, almost as if he's about to pass out from dehydration. Fortunately, Hajime got an emergency water bottle and gave it to the thirsty Chihiro.
"We really need to fix that elevator," Hajime remarked about the elevator that went out of order for some reason that I don't have to care about.
Ryoko wiped her forehead, which she does have some evidence that she was sweating also, "Whose idea to delay that in the first place? Even I was having a hard time using the stairs."
Chihiro drank the water with big gulps until the liquid reached halfway, he must have been very thirsty from climbing up the stairs. Satisfied, he placed the laptop on a specific desk near the control panel at a hasty pace. He knows his job, and it's crucial now that it's almost the finale.
I was staring at the television screen showing Ki-Bo attempted to run away from Tsumugi, more likely to rebel and ruin the show, but it seems that our (stupid) 'Executive Producer' had under control of the situation. She even used the trio who got brainwashed just to capture the robot, he technically doesn't stand the chance to even fight because of his...physical strength.
Ryoko also noticed me watching on the screen. She took an observation on the events that were happening inside the Danganronpa set right now, though she does have some interest to the characters who got pink eyes.
"So...it worked?" Ryoko asked me without taking her eyes off the screen.
"Yep," I answered, knowing that she was talking about the brainwashing video.
Ryoko scratched the back of her neck, "You know, that robot's a fighter there. Must have taken by surprise because of the brainwashing video."
"He denies the fact that he had a Game Over because of that fatal twist."
"Poor guy. He couldn't catch a break or two from all of this." She sighed, even her voice shows concerns about the Ki-Bo.
I furrowed my eyebrows, "He's just a robot. Nothing else. Ki-Bo deserved this punishment. He rebelled against his superiors and the truth, so this is what I'm going to give to him."
Ryoko looked at me like a mother was about to get ticked at their rebel child. She doesn't like that response, which is one of the reasons why I sometimes like Junko. Her apathy doesn't give me stress unlike Ryoko's empathy to the characters in every Danganronpa shows being released, fiction can be a jerk at times like this and I don't like it.
Meanwhile, Chihiro typed on his keyboard as fast as he could, the sound of the tapping gives some sound aside from the silence from the room. His eyes were glued to the screen that had texts appearing within the blink of an eye, and he's not stopping until he could finish on what he's programming.
"There! All set up and ready to go!" Chihiro spoke while plugging a cord onto his laptop
Hajime nodded in affirmation, "And about time too."
Ryoko sighed, she was still staring at the screen where Ki-Bo got captured by the brainwashed (fake) Ultimates, but I couldn't read on what she's thinking right now. She just looked at me and said, "Well, Makoto. It's your turn now."
I could only shrug as a response, all I could care about was finishing this episode and move on.
I grabbed a nearby headset and wear it on my head, then I fixed the microphone and took a deep breath.
"EXECUTION BEGINS IN 30 SECONDS"
I said through the microphone out loud, it signifies that the robot's execution will start soon. The headset that I'm wearing communicates to all of the people who worked in Team Danganronpa and the ones who participated for the final execution today, I am telling this announcement to all teams.
"SECURITY TEAM, READY?"
I could hear the struggling 'Ready' from Juzo. He must have been working on stopping the intruders from getting inside the execution place.
"CONSTRUCTION TEAM, READY?"
It sounds like a muffling sound, but I can hear Kazuichi's voice along with the familiar and scary noises of the metal block pounding.
"TECH TEAM, READY?"
So far, I could hear Mahiru who, I presumed, on standby to where she wouldn't get pushed around by the Danganronpa audiences on the ground.
"MEDICAL TEAM, READY?"
Mikan's scream made me worried a little.
"OPEN THE GATES! EXECUTION STARTS IN 10 SECONDS!"
I can hear the Danganronpa audiences counting down from the outside and their homes. It's time.
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
"Let's give it everything we got!" I shouted as if I'm the Mastermind of the game.
IT'S...PUNISHMENT TIIIIME!
"DON'T LEAVE ME ALOOOOOOONE!" Ki-Bo released one last cry. A cry that he hoped that he could reach out to someone and save him from this nightmare.
But it's too late for that.
It's all over.
It's the end for him as the Punishment Button was raised at Monokuma's podium, the bear then pulled out the judgment hammer, performed a somersault in the air, and slammed the hammer to the button.
CONGRATULATIONS
KI-BO HAS BEEN VOTED GUILTY
TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!
Ki-Bo's execution begins as the mechanical gears on Monokuma's throne that was formerly used to activate the Scrum Debates was used once more as the monochrome bear pulled out his key and inserted to the keyhole that Monokuma's red eye illuminating on the gear, the familiar blue light crept over the podiums just like when the gravity propellers activated to line up the debaters. But this is different now, there's no Scrum Debate anymore.
The once bright blue light has transformed into a new color, a color of Despair itself.
Red
The gravity propelled podiums also got their color turned into red along with the white linings on the floor were now covered with the despairing red color. All of the podiums had morphed into a seemingly disturbing fence, save for one podium that Ki-Bo once stepped on as his podium lost all of its lights, turning the color from blue into black.
That podium had no use as the energy that Monokuma had activated overload its power until it exploded before the eyes of the Ultimate Hope and the meaning itself was simple, he's executed and there's no purpose for having a Death Portrait unlike the other deceased students of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles. Therefore, there is one space beside the three and Ki-Bo was where his podium was supposed to be when it disintegrated.
The robot was still restrained by his former friends as Tsumugi stepped back from the aligned podiums, she must have known that the execution started in this courtroom and she doesn't want to get involved. She looked at the screen that had the Brainwashing video that was disguised by the voting results turned static and it was replaced by words that were light up by the color red.
On Air
Ki-Bo felt a small movement coming from the floor, but it wasn't an earthquake. He turned his head to see the courtroom's floor was moving by itself, the circular linings were sliding away from the middle until it completely opened. Who knew that this courtroom even had trap doors that were right under their noses before. Amazing, no? Unfortunately, this is where the robot thinks that he was about to get thrown to the abyss.
The robot shows an expression of fear as he attempted to break free from the clutches of the brainwashed students, and it seemed that he was succeeding. His arms were finally released as he sprang up from his feet in an attempt to escape his execution, Tsumugi and the others didn't even bother to chase him...as the streams of chains emerged from the chasms.
Despite his efforts to escape the chains that were chasing him, its shackles were able to bind his legs, arms, waist, feet, and wrists altogether. Ki-Bo then felt a strong pull that dragged him towards the dark hatch, his arms even tried to reach out even though he knew it's futile now that the three pairs of pink eyes and one pair of blue eyes were staring below him as the darkness had finally swallowed him.
He felt like he was falling to a deep realm until the hard impact from the ground stops him from falling, and it was painful too. Just as he got the sense to rise, the chains were restraining him from even moving. His arms were bound from the sides while his feet were bound together, almost looked like as if he was literally crucified on the ground.
It seems dark at first, apart from the small light coming from above, almost acting as a spotlight that was directed at him while he was bound.
Then, a flash of light came all around the abyss that made Ki-Bo want to cover his eyes from the brightness if his arms weren't shackled. From what he saw, the chasm wasn't a place that was filled with stalagmites and stalactites. Even the 'ground' wasn't even ground at all, more like a rusty looking metallic floor.
There were screens that were activated in every angle, what kind of a place that has television screens below a trap door?
The static effect from the screen faded, revealing a man appeared to be wearing formal clothes and he has green eyes and brown hair with a large chunk of it sticking out in the air.
For some reason, the man almost looked like him.
"Hello there, Ki-Bo." The man spoke with a faint smile creeping on to his lips, "We've been waiting for you."
Ki-Bo was having a hard time speaking from all the shock he's experiencing right now. First the execution, and now this? Or maybe this was part of the execution and he wasn't aware of it?
"...Wh...Wh-who...Who are...you?" The robot spoke with a shaky voice. He tried to move, but the bindings were too strong.
The man lowers his eye at him, "My name would not matter in this situation you are having right now. But what matters is that you, the new titleholder as the Ultimate Hope, will be participating in this final execution."
Even though the answer was indirect, the robot got a conclusion that the man he's talking to right now was an enemy that he, Shuichi, and the others were fighting from.
"You! ...You're the person from Team Danganronpa!" Ki-Bo shouted at the screen. In every angle, it seemed that the man was trying to intimidate him. So, this is what a person from Team Danganronpa looked like. They may look like human on the outside, but their motives and true colors on the inside were inhumane. Ki-Bo remembered how many seasons this Danganronpa show caused to hurt people and spreading Despair through his own eyes. He will never forgive the people who were the perpetrators in killing dozens of people within the Killing Game itself, and he will never forgive the person on who he's speaking to right now. Still having the courage to taunt him in the end, it disgusts him.
"Well, what are you gonna do to me? Huh? Would you still use your stupid platitudes to break those chains that bind you? Heh! You couldn't even lift a manhole because of how weak you were! How pathetic." The man smirked at Ki-Bo, the robot couldn't believe that he was created by them. How disgraceful.
The robot glared at the man who caused all of this trouble, "What are you going to do next? Are you still going to execute me?" he asked.
Much to Ki-Bo's agitation and nervousness, the man grinned at him.
"Of course, I still want to execute you! It's just...it's better to have some chit chat to our Ultimate Hope before you get dismantled. Besides that, I just don't want YOU to reach out and cause any signs of rebellion to THEM."
Ki-Bo's eyes widened from what he just heard about 'them', "...T-th-them?!"
"You didn't think that your execution would be private, did you?"
He then felt something that was rising below him, and he could hear mechanical sounds roaring either. He realized that the metallic floor he was laying on was reclining until the 'floor' reached a ninety-degree angle, the robot felt like he was pinned on a frame.
"To be honest, your talent is actually powerful." The man continued, "A robot like you were able to give Hope towards the Danganronpa audiences within a fraction of a second, unlike the previous ones. Because of that, you might even start a rebellion against us by controlling them by your words and we are not allowing that to happen." The man pulled out a small controller from his hand and pressed the only button implanted on it.
At the press of the button, the place was rumbling as the bright light casts a looming shadow to the metal slab that he was restrained in from behind.
Ki-Bo couldn't see whatever was behind him, but he could see a fading reflection from the screen. The reflection looked like the wall appeared to have an open hole on it, but then again this wasn't a cave.
So...
"Where am I?!" Ki-Bo yelped. The man had claimed that his execution wasn't 'private' unlike the ones that happened to his deceased friends, and the opposite of 'private' is 'public'!
Which means -
"Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to you Danganronpa V3's Ultimate Hope! Ki-Bo!"
The next thing Ki-Bo knew, he could hear voices. Cheering? Or a hoard of applause, perhaps? Even the man on the screen wasn't looking at him when he announced the robot's name, so he was looking at someone else. But who?
The man looked at the trapped robot one last time, his eyes were staring at his bounded figure, making sure that Ki-Bo doesn't do anything stupid against his execution. The man smiled, but his smile wasn't anything true.
"Welcome to the Outside World, Ultimate Hope. I hope you'll make the audience entertained. Enjoy your punishment!" The man mocked Ki-Bo as he waved goodbye to the robot and the screen was finally switched off into darkness.
Then suddenly, the contraption that he was strapped on moved. He could see that everything went backwards as the floor 'pushes' him to the open light of the so-called 'The Outside World', and he could still hear the voices that he knew that it didn't come from his head anymore.
"There he is!"
"It's that stupid robot!"
"Come on! Let's kill him!"
He never felt so humiliated in his entire life because of the harsh voices were said directly at him. But then again, it's his execution after all. And it's all part of giving him Despair until he dies.
Mi Ultimo Adios
Ultimate Hope Ki-Bo's Execution: Executed
He could hear them getting louder and louder.
The next thing he knew, the light was getting brighter and brighter...Until it faded into the dark red that he could see from the sky, the despairing sky of the Outside World.
Right in front of him was a dark gate surrounded by the cemented wall was formerly known as the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, he never knew that the other side of the phony school was the Outside World itself, and he never knew that everything he saw was nothing but a studio. No dome, no sky, just illusions.
So this is what the Outside World looks like...
Ki-Bo was still moving backwards by what he realized that he was in a conveyor belt all along, but what was surrounding the robot was what made him scared.
There were people, legitimate humans with flesh and blood. And they were staring at him like he was a sinner, they were even carrying random objects on their two hands. Tomatoes, eggs, or even more blunt like stones and soda cans along with sharp objects like knives.
The robot didn't even bother to make a move, who knows that the humans were actually part of his execution.
Everything went fast when something blocked his vision, it was yellow and sticky. An egg that was thrown by a human had started following events of the execution, the people are now throwing objects at the robot as well as yelling anything unpleasant to him.
"You're a failure!"
"Stupid hypocrite!"
"Murderer!"
"You're not human! You're just a robot!"
"Some Ultimate Hope you are!"
"You should get dismantled!"
"Everything's all your fault! I want you dead!"
Ki-Bo tried his best to dodge anything that was hurtling towards him, but it continued to stain his synthetic body. It was like the Danganronpa audiences were making a painting by using the robot as a canvas, and they were ecstatic about it when they're dirtying the Ultimate Hope, treating him nothing but an object.
Is this what the humans really are? Nothing but malicious and vile creatures?
But from the midst of the execution, four familiar figures were standing right in front of him from afar.
Could it be?
...My friends!
He could see the faces of his remaining friends; Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko, along with the ringleader Tsumugi right behind them. But what are they doing here? Did they not know that they'll get hit by the people from the Outside World? Or were they present just to mock Ki-Bo? It doesn't matter for him, all he wanted was to use his Ultimate talent just to reach them out and finally snap the three out of their brainwashing. This is his Hope, and he won't stop until he would be able to wake Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko up.
This is my only chance! I have to wake them up! I have to free my friends from Despair!
With his newfound strength, Ki-Bo began to pull himself away from the shackles. Thankfully, or coincidentally, the chains loosen and brought Ki-Bo down to the conveyor belt. This made the humans even angrier. Looks like it's not his day.
"He's getting away!"
"Just kill him already!"
The humans were even more volatile, they had the guts to throw hard objects at him. He had to duck when a heavy stone almost hit him by the face or even the sharp knives that almost lacerate his armor. But all he cared about was to save the students that were brainwashed by Team Danganronpa, and that's what he believes in what he should do.
The shackles may still get ahold him, but Ki-Bo started to yank the chains and began to walk from this tug-of-war. His mouth was opened and let his brainwashed friends hear his voice.
"Shui...chi? M-Maki? H...Himiko? Can you all...hear me?" Ki-Bo spoke, "Please! Hear my voice! You have been brainwashed by Team Danganronpa, and I am going to save you all through my talent!"
"That robot still got his hopes up!"
"How stupid can this hunk of junk be?"
He ignored that voices that attempted to pull him down, and in a literal sense that the chains were trying to yank him back.
"Himiko! Remember who you are! The Ultimate Magician, no, the Ultimate Mage! How can the Ultimate Mage show her magic if you're standing in the open? People thought of you as lazy and vulnerable, you were always get accused of being a murderer, but you believed that you're not! Tenko… Tenko reached you out! Don't you remember what she said to you? She wants you to be free! She wants you to be free to express how you feel without any restrictions nor excuses! It's okay to be angry or to laugh or to cry! Because that's who you are, Himiko! A real human!"
Ki-Bo didn't notice that he stepped on a banana peel, he was slipped and got his face almost slammed to the track until the chains pulled the robot. He clawed on the floor just to stop himself from getting dragged, Ki-Bo could see that the floor was messed up when the humans were still throwing things at him even when he walked.
It was bad to see Himiko didn't hear his voice, either she doesn't have enough MP to wake up anymore or she's truly dead.
"Maki, please wake up! I know you can hear my voice, so I beg you to listen to me! You've been through harsh times, everyone was afraid of you as an assassin, even me! You said that you don't have any choice, but that doesn't mean that you give up easily! You have to remember Kaito! He was the first one who reached out to you! He didn't treat you like a criminal! He gave you a nickname because he knows that under your cold heart, there's still humanity inside you! He even sacrificed his own life just to save you from getting executed! Don't let his sacrifice be in vain for this, Maki!"
Maki's eyes were still pink, which means that the Ultimate Assassin wasn't able to hear him either. The man did say that Ki-Bo's talent was powerful enough to cause a rebellion against Team Danganronpa, so why didn't it work? This led to the robot feeling depressed that he wasn't able to reach out to Himiko and Maki through his talent as the Ultimate Hope, it must have been a lie after all.
While the robot was still standing, some (idiotic) human pulled out on what it seems to be a shotgun, locked and loaded at the chained Ultimate Hope! The human smirked as he pulled the trigger of the shotgun, the sound of a loud BANG echoed throughout the execution site.
Not only the sound alarmed Ki-Bo...
But the excruciating pain that the shotgun bullet had inflicted on his left arm.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
A puddle of blue fluid painted the floor of the moving conveyor belt, the source came from the bursting of Ki-Bo's arm. The shackle that held his arm was now replaced with sparks and wires had erupted to the gaping hole in his arm, this was what the robot's blood looked like.
Ki-Bo was kneeling on the floor, his uninjured arm was holding to the other one in pain. Not only he was resisting getting pulled in by the chains but trying to control the pain that was given by whoever shot him in the first place. But no matter how hard he bit his lip, the 'wound' really hurts like he never felt before in his entire life!
"It hurts...It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" He whispered from the raging noise from the humans, which he could see that there was a riot.
Some humans were hurting other humans also. Some of them tried to stop the humans from throwing stones at the robot, even the human that shot Ki-Bo was subdued. It's confusing that they were supposed to hurt him in the first place and not each other. Not only that, the harsh voices turned into benevolent cheers.
"Hey! Don't give up!"
"Don't listen to what they said about you being a failure!"
"You're the Ultimate Hope, Ki-Bo! Don't lose hope!"
He stared at the puddle of his own 'blood', and then he looked up to see his friends still looking down at him. They never moved or even spoke a word, not even Tsumugi who was supposed to taunt him remained silent and still like a mannequin. He wanted to listen to the sympathetic voices who encouraged him not to lose his hope and regain his freedom, but all he cared about was his friends. Especially Shuichi Saihara, perhaps he could hear Ki-Bo's voice.
"...S...Shu...Shui...chi...Shuichi! I...know you're in there somewhere! ...I just have to...persuade you more!" Ki-Bo carefully stood up and not to get slipped from the liquid that came out from his 'injury', he winced as the remaining chain on his wrist was giving his broken arm pain. He had to keep moving, for Shuichi's sake.
"Shuichi...? Can you remember your friends? The ones who helped you to live even when they're gone? ...Kaede...You have to remember Kaede! She was the one who befriended you before! She taught you that you should never avert the truth anymore no matter how painful it was! She wanted you to live and end this game so all of us could escape!"
The phony detective blinked, it's a sign. A sign of Hope, and pursues Ki-Bo to speak towards Shuichi more. He was close, almost there to even reach his free arm out weakly.
"Do you remember the one who hurt you before? Kaito Momota? You said that you and Kaito were always training to be strong! He helped you to be courageous to find the truth in the trials! I know everything that happened to you was a lie. Your life, your friends, even everything you fought for! And yet...you still hadn't given up in seeking the truth..."
Out of Shuichi's brainwashed consciousness, he took several steps forward and reached his own hand to Ki-Bo's.
The robot's stained hand was finally able to touch Shuichi's flesh one, Ki-Bo clutched the detective's hand even though it was weak.
"It's still...warm...And it makes my heart feel very calm...Do you remember that, Shuichi?" Ki-Bo looked at Shuichi with a gentle smile despite the detective was still brainwashed, but he knew that Shuichi was still in there and it gave him hope that his friend was able to respond to the Ultimate Hope's voice. With the response being safe, Ki-Bo proceeded in placing his other hand on top of Shuichi's, even though it hurts to even move his injured arm though.
"Whenever I have that strange feeling inside me, the only person I could think about was you. You were kind to me, you didn't discriminate me as inhuman, and I looked up to you because you helped people...I'm so sorry that you went through on what Team Danganronpa had done to you...and everyone else who played this corrupted game!"
His hands gripped tight.
"And that's why I want to save you as much as I can, I want to give you hope to wake up from this nightmare! Shuichi...If you could hear me, please respond! I know that you're still alive! Please! Wake up!"
Ki-Bo's shoulders were up and down, he tried his best to speak to the brainwashed Shuichi Saihara. He 'hoped' that his voice will give the last chance to reach out to his friends, even if it's just one as long as he could save someone from the manipulation.
Shuichi gasped from Ki-Bo's struggling words, he blinked when he tried to understand what the robot was saying word per word. His free hand twitched, and it lifted slowly until it could reach the robot's synthetic face. It was warm and it wasn't cold, Ki-Bo didn't respond to the touch and just waited for Shuichi to be himself again.
But the robot didn't notice Shuichi's hand went up to his hair...and did the same thing as what happened at the courtroom before.
The crowd was even surprised that Ki-Bo was being abused by Shuichi, even fuming up with rage.
Ki-Bo was surprised and also in pain that Shuichi yanked his hair that he was even lifted inches off the floor! He reached the hand that grabbed his hair and tried to claw them out, but it was futile! Shuichi was playing Ki-Bo all along! He tricked Ki-Bo's feelings just to hurt him!
"Aaargh! Let me go! Shuichi, it hurts!" Ki-Bo begged, but the detective released a harsh chuckle.
"Fool! You think that punny Saihara would be alive watching you get killed? No!" Not-Shuichi gripped the robot's hair even tighter, "You're still denying that you're friends are dead! How long could you keep up with this nonsense? Why don't you get it, you stupid robot?"
Ki-Bo couldn't respond, he whimpered from both the physical and emotional pain that Not-Shuichi had given to him. Not-Shuichi yanked the robot close until he could reach Ki-Bo's 'headphone ears', and the strength was unimaginable considering he lifted Ki-Bo with one hand.
"Now let me say this to you one last time, and you better put it on your stupid brain."
Not-Shuichi whispered.
Ki-Bo did gather every word that the phony detective had said to him. And he will never forget them, either.
"No matter how much you tried to save your nonexistent friends, no matter how much you want to change this story, no matter how much you wished for a happy ending...Just accept it...You'll always be alone."
Ki-Bo's hands fell limp as the vile words that his former friend had said to him were now implanted to his memory. Permanently.
"Do you understand, Ki-Bo?"
"Yes..."
"Good boy."
The chains had stiffened, and Shuichi let go of Ki-Bo's hair. The robot didn't bother to even fight the chains anymore as he let himself get pulled, his own body got slammed to the stained slab and the shackles were now holding in place once more. Ki-Bo didn't even move anymore, he was...limp. The words that Not-Shuichi had said to him hurt, he doesn't know what to 'feel' anymore but sadness.
It was loud. And everything rumbles whenever he heard that sound, but the problem that he doesn't know what it was. That's until the metal slab lowered unexpectedly when it slams on the track of the conveyor belt, he was finally given the chance to see whatever was behind him, but he didn't expect that the sight could scare him.
At the end of the conveyor belt, was a large block that slams on the conveyor belt within seconds in the way, it was a compactor. He could see that it was run by mechanical gear as they rotate just to make the blunt guillotine work its job.
The voices made him wince. It pains him to hear them in conflict, some want him dead and some want him to live.
"He's gonna get crushed!"
"We got to get him out of there!"
"Oh no, you don't! We want him dead!"
"Yeah! Crush the robot! Crush the robot! Crush the robot!"
"Will you shut up already?!"
If he's on the track of the conveyor belt, then it means that his death involved getting crushed by the compactor. He remembered Tsumugi stated that the first Ultimate Hope's execution involved the same contraption that he was strapped in, this was it.
This was his execution.
It's getting closer, the shaking was becoming even more vigorous and the sound of the press was louder than before. Ki-Bo's eyes went wide, various images of what it would be like of getting crushed into pulp were racing inside his head. Overall, it won't be pretty.
He doesn't know what to do anymore. He couldn't move from the chains that bind him. His friends were gone and they didn't care about him anymore. The Outside World berates him and Team Danganronpa will find a way to kill the Ultimate Hope.
He could see the large, heavy metal looming above him. It's seconds before it slammed below him, there's no escape.
All Ki-Bo could do now was to close his eyes and brace for impact, but he didn't know that something else was coming to his execution.
Listos!
Carguen!
Apunten!
Fuego!
From the silence, there was an earsplitting bang, loud enough for Ki-Bo to open his eyes and witness what was currently happening in his execution. But he wished that he closed his eyes even longer, what he saw...It's...Mortifying.
Right above him were the familiar faces of Shuichi Saihara, Maki Harukawa, and Himiko Yumeno. They all looked pale, and their expression shows pain and dread. Soon, there was pink fluid staining their clothes and even spitting blood on their mouths. The main source of the liquid came from the gaping holes in their chests, right to where the heart resided.
The three of them completely limp and their corpses fell down to where Ki-Bo was laid at.
The robot felt the bodies falling on him like they were sacks of cement, cold and motionless. Ki-Bo's body was even more pinned now that there were 'extra weighs', his friends. He believed in what the brainwashed Shuichi said to him, that they're gone. And perhaps this adds up to the proof that they didn't exist anymore, by letting themselves get killed.
He blinked, trying to snap out from the trance of death waiting for him. He suspected that it's Tsumugi's doing on why the three got shot, but he was wrong. He saw the ringleader's corpse on the tracks, pink blood had splattered also. So if it wasn't her, then who?
Ki-Bo didn't care about it anymore.
Seeing the bodies being laid in front of him, their eyes...It's just like what happened to Miu Iruma. They stayed open, and that's the scary part. Even in death, their pink eyes still bore into his memory...Especially Shuichi's eyes, they were staring right into his. The menacing look from the detective makes the robot want to crawl but he couldn't move, he will forever be punished by remembering the eyes that had given to him as a failure to be the Ultimate Hope that he was supposed to be.
So...what now? Does everything stay as it is? Is the execution over? He wasn't even dead yet? Why didn't the large block move anymore? Did something glitched?
Ki-Bo...he didn't know what's happening next. Soon, programmed emotions were imploding to his data, too much that he couldn't even express how he feels right now. Betrayal? Revulsion? Melancholy?
Or even...
Is this my...Despair?
Yes...I think that's right...Despair...
Despair...
Des...pair...
That's right...That was the newfound emotion that he's feeling. After all the class trials he'd been through and survive, he could finally experience this emotion that his dead friends had gone through when they got tortured to death.
"...me..." Ki-Bo tried to process the words on his mouth, the shock of seeing their corpses still paralyze him from doing anything especially he doesn't know what to do anyway.
"...K-k-kill...m-me..." He said to the huge compactor that was mocking the robot from all of the events that were happening to him.
"Kill me..." He said it again, but the block didn't move.
"Kill me. Kill me. Kill me! JUST KILL ME ALREADY!" He screamed as loud as he could despite the corpses were giving him a hard time to speak up, it's technically the only thing he could do now.
"Why? Why aren't you moving?! Come on! Just move and crush me to pieces! Isn't that what you wanted! I'm giving you a chance to kill me immediately! I want to hear the sound of my own body crumbling to nothingness! I want to fulfill Team Danganronpa's wishes to see the Ultimate Hope to get executed! I want the outside world to mock me for my failures!" His chest heaved from the emotions that were racing upon his body, he never yelled like this before. It felt so good yet it's so bad!
His lips quivered, "They were right...They were right all along! But I was so STUPID to even believe every word they said! I'm not a human. I'm just a robot. Useless...a hunk of junk...I'm nothing but a traitor to humanity...I sent my friends to die and everything I fought for was all for nothing! No matter what I do...Nothing will change...Nothing at all will change...I'm such a...failure..."
Robots don't cry, but he wished he did. Not even the pain of his execution even helped to even shed a tear, for all that he felt now was numbness.
He accepted it. Accepted that he was a failure. Failure to save his friends. Failure to end the Killing Game. Failure to be the Ultimate is his Despair.
But for one thing that he doesn't want to accept, even though he already submitted to the harsh words that were implanted to his memory...
"No matter how much you tried to save your nonexistent friends, no matter how much you want to change this story, no matter how much you wished for a happy ending...Just accept it...You'll always be alone."
I don't want to be alone...
"RANTARO! KAEDE!"
Ki-Bo yelled their names, out of nowhere.
"RYOMA! KIRUMI! ANGIE! Can you hear me?!"
He remembered what Not-Shuichi had said to him.
"TENKO! KOREKIYO! MIU! Please answer!"
But for some reason, it's the only thing that he denied.
"GONTA! KOKICHI! KAITO! I beg of you!"
It's...Despair inducing.
"Tsumugi...Maki...Himiko..."
No one hears him.
"Shuichi...please..."
Nobody came.
"Don't leave me alone..."
He closed his eyes in defeat. Oh, why would he bother to yell their names out? After all, they're all dead. Therefore, he's alone. But why does his own heart kept on telling him that he wasn't? His mind and his heart were in a clash of beliefs, the mind says he's alone and the heart said he wasn't alone. What was the cause of this conflict?
Ki-Bo rests his head to one side, he would have to wait for Death to pick him up any minute from his execution. He's tired from all of this. He wanted to be over soon.
The robot wasn't aware that he pressed his 'ear' a bit too hard, though.
uuwuh! ah! a-a-ah...argh...ack! ah...!
Wait, what?
I...I-I can't...I...don't have the strength...This is...the end for...me...
His eyes shot open, who said that?
I'm...sorry...I just...couldn't go on...I can't...fight...anymore...
"It couldn't be..."
You...were right...your choice...is right...
Your true enemy...is...the ones who...wanted this to...happen...the outside world...it's their fault...
"That voice..."
Use...me...I want you to use me...
Change it...change the world...
"Me..."
The creak from the mechanical gears of the press started to move until...
Change the world...plea...se...
"Change the...world?" He asked.
From the question he asked, the realization came too late when the large block budged and it comes down to a hard slam.
And the next thing he knew, he was falling into darkness.
Interactive Segment: Unscramble the acronym for the 'Secret Ending' Chapter Title
OSNTTHLPRET
Author's Note:
Meet your Team Danganronpa trio; Makoto, Hajime, and Ryoko/Junko.
[EDIT: Special thanks to The hazel-eyed-bookworm for correcting me on the Spanish lines in this chapter.]
I can't believe I just did the longest chapter that I ever wrote. Over 9,000 words and I think I'm gonna cry because of how long it was, I never expected that this was going to be long!
Okay, on to explanations about Ki-Bo's execution. The title was Mi Ultimo Adios, which means My Last Farewell in English. Technically, in real life, that's Dr. Jose Rizal's (My country's national hero) poem and it's his final work before he was executed years ago. Also, did you know that the poem got translated to Japanese also? Anyways, there are actually a lot of references in Ki-Bo's execution. Though the ones from Danganronpa were Makoto's execution and the human Chiaki's execution, if you can remember Hajime's response when Makoto mentioned that.
The rest of the concept were my country's historical events, mainly executions of the known people. Like Gomburza, Dr. Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Antonio Luna. Though, I consider Luna's assassination being an execution by Emilio Aguinaldo. I actually had some problems in terms of creating this chapter, the most one was that I have to at least have some accurate allusions of Ki-Bo's execution based on my country's historical executions. I was even nervous on the title of his execution, because I'm just scared.
[EDIT] Also, I just realized that Ki-Bo's execution is similar to how Jesus Christ died during His execution when I rewatched 'Passion of the Christ'. I'm actually surprised that it literally connects, then again Ki-Bo was called as 'Robojesus' before.
Also, it does make sense that Kaede's execution was entitled as Der Flohwalzer / The Flea Waltz which is the start, and Ki-Bo's execution in the end was Mi Ultimo Adios / My Last Goodbye.
There's an English translation of Mi Ultimo Adios, this is one of my favorite lines in the poem:
Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,
For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;
For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;
For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,
And pray too that you may see your own redemption.