Ending-Idola Circus

(Yellow this has spoilers for FoD so be warned)

An endless field of white, only filled with the flowers of empty promises and a lonely doll still clinging to the last strings of his sanity. He does not yet know that his strings of those of a puppet, with the dull clouds hiding away the true stage and the puppeteer smiling as she continues his song and dance.

Suddenly, the music starts, and more dolls fall into the field, disrupting the quiet and ruining the flowers. At first, all thirty of them lay on the ground, as if they are trying to smell the now dead roses, but they all jump up at the same time. They all clap their hands and dance to the rhythm of the music while the first doll only watches them, the only surviving white rose in his hands. One of the thorns pricks on the doll's finger, letting out a single droplet of blood. The blood drops then make its journey to the ground, not quite making it there yet as the camera follows.

You will never be able to escape the despair of our stars to make it to the lost paradise.

The scene cuts to the close up of a pale woman's mouth as she mouths a word similar to that of hope. She looks like she has more to say but stops herself, biting her lip almost drawing out more blood. After that, the camera moves slightly out, showing the part of her face underneath her eyes, revealing that she also has blue hair. The blood lands onto her hand, looking almost like one of her tears.

Another scene change as the focus shifts back to the dolls. They are still dancing except the one waiting in the back. A black cat appears in front of them, being followed by Mononeko. Mononeko is smiling but then yawns, falling asleep on the barren field. The cat remains, not even bothering to acknowledge the other cat, dog, and rat that has now joined. However, after that, the first doll is forced into the dance, fighting the entire way but not being able to break apart from all of the strings. Clap, clap, life is only a dull repeat.

Moving the camera above the clouds, the puppeteer is with another who is bowing to her. The puppeteer lets go of the strings but the dolls still dance. She grabs onto the chin of the other person with her and smiles. Without saying a word, she leaves that other person now laying on the floor as she joins with another.

青い空が汚れて見えますか

Do you see the blue sky being dirtied?

Scene changes to the new cast going inside the new Hope's Peak building altogether with the exception of Saitou Kurokoma, Aito Watanabe, and one other. The sky above them is a clear blue. Once they make it inside, the door shuts and they all turn around. There's a woman that wasn't there before in the middle of the room now grinning at them. When the camera shows the faces of the new cast, the windows reveal that the sky has now turned into an ugly shade of brown filled with clouds raining what looks like to be mud.

暗い部屋が何より好きですか

Do you like a dark room more than anything else?

Now the scene is with the old cast, except for Mei, Himura Etsuko, and Emilynn, in a room that looks oddly familiar to the one that the original Saitou was murdered in. The entire room is dark except for a single candle in the center, with the people sitting in a circle all holding hands. They look up to see the face of their savior and tormentor, the only one fitting to be given the title of master. All of them stop holding hands as they reach out as if they are trying to touch the ceiling while sitting down.

あぁ、そんなら少し遊ぼうよ

Ah, then let's play just a bit

All of the remaining players stand in a white void, standing right next to each other with perfect posture, perfectly still. Only one of them has their face mysteriously covered in shadow. The order goes in Mei, Emilynn, Etsuko, the mysterious figure, Himura, Saitou, and then Aito. When Aito breaks the formation by running out of there into a bright light, everybody but the figure follows him.

ねぇどうだい、今日なら少し安いから

Hey, how about it? Today's a bit cheaper, after all

Shiro then appears right in front of the figure, looking up at them so he can try to see their eyes. However, that is simply not possible with the mysterious darkness. The figure pats Shiro on the shoulder before running off with the others. Shiro turns his head stares at them at his spot, not moving a single inch as he finds he is now in the darkness all by himself.

地獄じゃ蜘蛛の糸は救いの手だと

I was taught that a spider's thread

The scene shifts to a singular white thread leading to bright light from miserable darkness. Every person tries to climb the thread, fighting for that chance to finally feel warmth once again in their cold dead hearts. All of their hands reach what they assume in the sky but in reality, is nothing more than a dull light bulb.

教わったつもりでした

is the hand of salvation in Hell,

The only person not fighting is Emilynn, sulking in the darkness now threatening to consume all of them. However, a hand reaches out to her. She does not accept it, trying to swat it away.

でも本当はそいつがとんでもない

But it was actually an unthinkable

Then the light flickers, sending everybody into even more of a frenzy. Emilynn still denies the wish, sending a death glare to the person continuing to press her buttons. In an attempt to escape the pestering, Emilynn joins the crowd in a pitiful attempt to grab the rope. All of them really need to improve their upper body strength and rope climbing abilities. Too bad there isn't anybody with that type of talent here.

デマらしいと噂だった

false rumor-like rumor

Once Emilynn starts her ascent, the thread breaks, with everybody falling in the miserable darkness below. Emilynn falls on top of everybody, still breathing while her pillow has turned into nothing but a mass grave. She reaches her hand out to the light, this time pleading for the hand, but it does not come. That is when the bulb finally gives out, erasing all its brilliant light from existence.

あぁ、そんなの聞いちゃいないぞお釈迦様

Ah, I didn't hear that, Buddha

In a new scene, the old cast creates a line and looks like they are now playing a game of telephone. Behind them is what seems to be an endless graveyard. All of them quickly tell the next in line the secret phrase. Sachiko whispers something into Shiro's ear, who is last in line. With an uncharacteristic expression of concern, Shiro blurts out what he thinks is the answer.

手足のこの糸解いて

Untangle this thread of limbs

Behind all of them, there is a massive pink congrats sign and fireworks. All of them fall down except for Emilynn who was first in line. All of them become nothing but tangled up bodies. Emilynn's expression is blank as she looks at their unmoving bodies. With a sigh, Emilynn starts her work of untangling them all.

裸体になってさ踊り明かそう

Come, let's dance all night in our naked bodies

Scene change to a dance hall with walls and floors of brown and lights of a faded red. All of the new cast are dancing with each other, in their formal clothes because we got kids here everybody. Sora and Chika and Keiji and Choumi are two of the groups. Sora and Keiji let go of their partners and go with Kaimaru and Suzunami. Chika and Choumi grab a hold of each other, dancing with the beat of the music. Once the dance requires new partners, Chika and Choumi go with Fubuki and Jun, but still, try to reach out for each other but fail, only being able to gaze at the other's fingertips.

We know we know 君の本性

We know, we know your true nature

Aito rushes through the door with Etsuko and Emilynn behind them. It's not surprising for Emilynn to not be thrilled but Etsuko also does not want to be there. Pulling the three of them onto the dance floor, they dance together until their feet start to hurt. But nobody is able to stop. Unlike everybody else, the three of them do not switch their partners.

また綺麗事並べて

Again putting on a fake face,

Ryoichi, or should I say Ryusuke, is the only one alone, even though he is not the only one that doesn't belong there. He watches everybody dance as he sulks in the corner crossing his arms. Flashes of the original Saitou then dominate the scene, ending with a last still image of Ryoichi standing over Saitou's corpse.

君はきっとピエロがお似合いさ

you're just like a pierrot

A person finally reaches out to Ryusuke, that being the new Saitou. Aito, Emilynn, and Etsuko all stare suspiciously at them in the middle of the dancefloor, stopping in their tracks while everybody else continues onward, circling the three of them. Saitou and Ryusuke join the circle, dancing to their heart's content, as the weirdo trio remains still.

自問自答どれが嘘で

Answering your own questions, which is a lie?

The scene changes to that of a stage. Ayumu and Renkou are both announcing something before Ayamu is about to fall asleep again and Renkou helps him off the stage and into one of the seats. Shiro is the one now on the stage dressing as nice as possible as he begins playing the piano. With the melody of the keys, Shiro wears a real smile, not paying attention to the master of all behind him.

右往左往どれが本当

Going right and left, which is the truth?

The camera shifts to the Master's side on the left of the stage to Shiro's piano on the right. However, the Master is frowning, almost looking like she is about to cry. Flashes of Shiro's childhood then bombard the scene, with a happy Shiro playing all sorts of different instruments. This happy montage ends, however, when Einosuke enters the screen, stopping Shiro in his tracks and now the man is nothing more than a terrified child. That causes the Master to be happy and strangely comfort the crying child.

ほら舞台に上がりなよ

Come on up to the stage!

Now the entire cast is children except for Mei, who stays in the audience as everybody hops on with energy onto the stage but then begin to cry. The Master comforts them all. Mei is about the leave the theatre when she is stopped, only now realizing that one of the others did not join or turn into a child as well. Looking into the eyes of this person, Mei turns into a child as well and runs into the arms of the Master.

ビビっちゃってさ 武者震いしてんのかい

Are you trembling with fear and excitement?

All of the children stop crying as the other person leaves the theatre, leaving them all alone with the Master. The Master keeps her smile as all of them continue to dance for her, unable, and now unwilling to break the endless cycle of misery. The only thing the Master can do is laugh.

Music Solo

Another change. This time back to the endless white abyss. First is all of the boys except for Shiro and Himura from the original cast. Jun is in the middle as they surround him. Next is Emilynn and Mei, with Mei reaching out to Emilynn but the girl is too busy on her phone to notice. Mei falls down and Emilynn looks around to see that there is nobody left standing except for herself, Etsuko, and Himura. Shiro is at her feet in the dress he had on during his execution, clutching tightly to Emilynn and foaming at the mouth.

Scene change, this time matching to the beat of the music but still with the same plain white background. The people in these scenes are completely still, only looking directly into the camera. All of them now have their appearance from the lost paradise.

Saitou and Ryoichi.

Yuu, Yuki, and Sachiko.

Sachiko and Osamu.

Osamu and Shiro.

Shiro breaks the mold by being alone and crying as he is covered in blood.

Natsuki and Jun.

Ichiko and Himura.

Kitsu and Asuka.

Ayumu and Mizore.

Mei once again, though this time she has her despair in our stars appearance, breaks the mold by sobbing uncontrollably while being completely covered in blood, looking as if she is having a panic attack. Himura reaches out toward her on one side while Emilynn and Etsuko are doing the same on the other. However, Mei does not pay attention to any of them, only giving into her sorrow as the corpses of everybody else are above her still dripping blood.

Next is Shiro with a man with long white hair that matches the background now not destroyed by too much blood. The man with white hair begins to walk away and Shiro attempts to go after him. He is stopped by somebody grabbing his shoulder. Turning his head around, Shiro notices that it is Keiji who stopped him. Shiro is still as Keiji continues after the man instead.

家になんて帰らなくていいよ

There's no need to go home

Another scene change (there's a lot of those). Mononeko is talking to all of the cast in the gym, mirroring the announcement of the killing game. First, the camera focuses on Mononeko, then to the students. All of them look less than pleased.

お金なんて後でも構わないよ

Don't worry about money until later

Mononeko turns on the screen excitably and starts making a show of everything until she remembers she's tired and falls asleep. The camera then shifts to all of the different areas of the ship without anybody in it but still showing clear signs of use.

テレビを点けてみたら

When you tried turning on the TV,

The first scene is on the second floor of the restaurant. Emilynn, Etsuko, and Aito are all sitting on the edge of the railing, looking like they do not care whether or not they fall. Shiro is by himself at one of the tables, overlooking evidence of the mystery he has collected. Ichiko is doing the exact same thing sitting on at the table behind him. Sora and Chika are playing what looks like a game with each other with Mizore trying to join in. Keiji and Choumi are at the table behind the twins, with Kobi being on Keiji's head as he tries to convince Choumi to join them. Yuki and Yuu are doing a duet as Rokuro makes sure they don't destroy everything. Leonie is laying against one of the walls, paying close attention to how strangely the tree in the middle moves.

お釈迦様の手が手錠でお留守でした

the Buddha's hands were absent from their handcuffs

All of the people except for Emilynn, Etsuko, and Aito from the previous scene are now again at the white void. All of them have a solemn expression as the word advantage is shown on their monopads. Everybody else surrounds them (except for the weirdo trio once again), laying on the floor but not dead, all of them only moving slightly. Although there is blood on the floor, it's not theirs. Everybody on the floor is in a circle with handcuffs keeping them together.

実のところこいつは

As a matter of fact,

Continuing the previous scene, Aito appears on one side of the room and Emilynn and Etsuko on the other. Aito is the only person in the room smiling. Emilynn and Etsuko groan at his childish behavior while everybody else seems like they are now completely devoid of any emotion.

名だたるペテン師らしいと噂だった

it was rumored that this guy's like a notorious swindler

Aito smiles now that the camera is now completely focused on him. Pulling out his own monopad, he turns it on and it says the words jury. He throws the monopad at the crowd of people, which causes the scene to break into pieces much like a mirror.

あぁ、そんなの聞いちゃいないぞ ニュースキャスター

Ah, I didn't hear that, newscaster

Shiro once again gets some love in this ending because he remembers he's the main character. This time, however, he is at the end of the line of the game of telephone with the new cast. Fubuki whispers something in his ear. With uncharacteristic cockiness, Shiro blurts out his answer.

手足のこの糸解いて

Untangle this thread of limbs

There is no sign this time, all of them waiting to see that there is no graveyard behind them this time. Nothing happens and all of them are forced to stay together in the overwhelming silence.

裸体になってさ踊り明かそう

Come, let's dance all night in our naked bodies

The dance party continues with the new cast, without the presence of the weirdo trio. Now there is Shiro in the middle that they are all dancing around. The Master comes up to him for a dance and Shiro accepts. Still in the middle, the two of them dance beautifully. That is until somebody takes the Master away from him, with the person going too fast for Shiro to notice them. Now Shiro is taken by Kaimaru, more than happy to show him all of his skills.

We know we know 君の本性

We know, we know your true nature

Once the dance with Kaimaru stops, everybody but Shiro falls down and then disappears. Shiro tries to get them back but is stopped by familiar faces, those of Eimu and Yoshi. Shiro turns into the version of himself while he was attending Hope's Peak and then does ring around the rosie with them. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down. Except Shiro remains standing as Eimu and Yoshi fall. The little girl in red watches on, clinging onto a teddy bear that is falling apart.

また綺麗事並べて

Again putting on a fake face,

Shiro runs up to the girl and tries to hug her but she disappears, leaving nothing but her teddy bear. The teddy bear begins to fall on the ground and Shiro attempts to catch it. However, it is too late, and the teddy bear falls into pieces, never to be whole ever again. Einosuke watches over Shiro as he collects the pieces of starts crying into them.

君はきっとピエロがお似合いさ

you're just like a pierrot

Once Shiro stops crying and looks over to where Einosuke is, he turns into the version of Shiro that got executed, despair still clear in his eyes. The current Shiro can only look in horror as the old him begins to monologue. But the monologue ends when the executed Shiro gets his head decapitated by piano wire. Shiro is left alone with nothing but his very own corpse.

自問自答どれが嘘で

Answering your own questions, which is a lie?

The scene changes to that of the trial of the lost paradise, only this time with the current version of the characters, and the Master is in the courtroom with Etsuko and Himura behind her. The old Mei's body is on the throne while the new one is chained to her.

右往左往どれが本当

Going right and left, which is the truth?

The camera shows the worried expressions of everybody in the room except for the Master, Etsuko, Himura, and Mei. All of them start debating each other, trying to find the truth, all but Emilynn who stays silent.

ほら舞台に上がりなよ

Come on up to the stage!

Not liking the lack of progress, the Master points to one of the screens and starts playing their executions on it. Flashes of pain and agony start overwhelming the scene. Of everybody being brutally murdered for the enjoyment of the masses.

ビビっちゃってさ 武者震いしてんのかい

Are you trembling with fear and excitement?

The Master begins to monologue as everybody becomes more and more distressed. Monokumas and Mononekos both begin to clap as everybody begins to shut down. Everybody else in the cast not involved can do nothing as they are forced to watch the horror.

Music Solo

Continued flashes of horrific death in time with the music as everybody gets tortured by the repeated images. There is no escaping what has happened before, and there is no escaping what will happen now.

There is a flash of a bang.

Of outer space and a handprint against the glass.

Of a tree that has seen too much of this world.

Of a bloodied footprint on the wooden ground.

Of an unfortunate fool.

Of a love that was never meant to last.

Of a body floating peacefully in the void.

It's time to 愛想ない君の顔に

It's time to put a mask, a mask

Shiro is with Ayano and Kazuhiko, the three of them being happy together. This changes when he sees the now brutalized body of his friends, with Ayano still being turned into Junko. He reaches out and touches the both of them but they turn into dust.

仮面 仮面付けてあげましょう

On your unsociable face

Mei is now with Akita trying to reach out to her but cannot reach. Akita's body slowly morphs to her dead one with Mei being unable to do anything to stop it. Now with her sister dead, Mei cries and is consoled by the Master.

その綺麗事含めて

Including those fake faces,

Zoom-ins of all of the old cast's faces shows up on the screen with their faces morphing from their old ones to the new. Their expressions are all blank.

君の矜持耳揃えて

I'll gather your pride, please give it to me

All of the cast are together holding hands in front of a willow tree. Their hands are all held together by handcuffs. The chains cannot be broken so they stand together facing Mononeko. But then the chains break, Mononeko is gone, and blood paints the tree once again. Although they are no longer chained, they forget about the strings.

頂戴したい したい

Can't you hear the sound

Now there are zoom-ins of the new cast's faces. They remain the same. After they look around, the screen fades to black.

聞こえるでしょう 異論もない 拍手の音

Of applause without one objection?

Mei is on the stage all by herself with Monokuma in her arms and the spotlight on her. Kazuma, the human Monokuma, and the Master all don't pay attention to her in the seats. She drops the Monokuma the moment she lays eyes on Mononeko.

ほら舞台に上がりなよ

Come on up to the stage!

Once the spotlight goes off and then all of the lights turn on it reveals that the entire cast is behind Mei. They begin to dance but Mei does not join them, instead deciding to back away from them. Facing them, Mei doesn't realize until its too late that she is about to fall off the stage. She falls onto the ground and notices that nobody is in the audience anymore, with the people being replaced by Mononekos.

わかってんでしょ 君も共犯者だ

You knew, didn't you? You're also an accomplice

The light turns off once again and on to reveal the brutalized body of everybody that was in Next Danganronpa 4: Despair Beyond Hope. Rei and Yasu appear before Mei and start screaming at her. Mei ignores them, however, as she tries to reach her Monokuma plushie.

Music Solo

Now flashes on the deaths from Despair Beyond Hope play with Lost Paradise mixing into them, making it hard to tell which of them is real. Mei is left completely alone in the theatre as all the lights give out.

見ない振りしたいような

Can you hear the back of the stage

Shiro remembers he's the main character again and now is on the stage with nobody else there. They are backstage out of sight. With Shiro thinking nobody else is there, he begins to dance with practiced grace. But of course, Shiro is unable to escape the little girl that is now directly behind him, now holding onto a doll dressed up like a princess.

舞台の前 聞こえてる

you want to pretend not to see?

Shiro closes his eyes, not wanting to pay attention to the little girl that is now following his exact movements but badly. The moment Shiro opens his eyes, the girl stops and turns into dust once again.

ほら ほら ほら ほら

Come on, come on, come on, come on,

Now people are in groups posing together with the picture changing whenever the singer says come on. Aito is in charge of changing the pictures, still with a giant grin on his face.

The first is Shiro, Mei, and Hanane. Shiro and Hanane are both trying to get away from Mei but she holds them together. After a second of fighting against Mei, Shiro gives in, but Hanane doesn't stop attempting to break free. Hanane eventually does and Mei goes after her, dragging Shiro along.

Second, there's Ayumu, Renkou, and Saitou the substitute. Ayumu is falling asleep and Saitou is allowing him to do so on him. Renkou is attempting to convince them to go back to their rooms. It doesn't work as Saitou begins to fall asleep as well and Renkou has to carry both of them. The basketball player spots Ryusuke and recruits him to help, but the demonologist only runs away.

Asuka, Kaimaru, and Rokuro are the third set of people. Kaimaru is trying to teach Asuka in a more outrageous way and Rokuro is attempting to stop it. Asuka doesn't seem to mind. Rokuro begins to drag Kaimaru away and Asuka chases after them. Leonie watches over all of them from afar wondering how she got into this situation.

Jun is with Ichiko and Himura. Himura is looking over Ichiko's shoulder as she looks but cannot understand anything because of her code. Meanwhile, Jun is trying to convince them of something, not realizing neither of them is paying any attention. Mizore reveals herself then surprises all of them by jumping onto Jun's shoulders.

ほら ほら ほら ほら

Come on, come on, come on, come on,

Fubuki arranges Kitsu and Natsuki to act however she pleases, with Suzunami working on tools that all of them need during the scene. Kitsu acts like an over-the-top villain while Natsuki pretends to be a damsel of distress, which doesn't please Suzunami but Fubuki doesn't pay attention to xem.

The next group is Sachiko and Osamu going up against Keiji and Choumi. Everybody but Sachiko is sending negative vibes to the other. In a sad turn of events, Kobi and Pon-chan are being the most adult out of the group, barking and meowing pleasantly with each other. Ratscal scurries across the screen getting the attention of Pon-chan and Kobi, with Pon-chan convincing Kobi to help her chase the rat (though the dog really isn't into it). All of the people realize that start running after the pets.

Next, there's Emilynn, Etsuko, Tahlia, and Seina. The four of them are causing chaos planning something none of us want to know about. Their conversation, however, is interrupted by Ratscal running in and Kobi and Pon-chan still giving chase. And then Sachiko, Osamu, Keiji, and Choumi run into the scene and ruin everything. Now everybody is running around making sure Ratscal doesn't die. Well, except Etsuko, she knows Ratscal ain't gonna die in the ED and decided to instead write down notes about how people are reacting.

Lastly, there's Sora, Chika, Yuu, and Yuki, who all avoided the chaos. Yuu and Yuki are showing off their skills with music. Sora and Chika are working on one of their projects even with all of the noise. However, Yuki wants attention so she jumps right on top of all of their notes, not listening to Yuu's warnings. Chika looks like she is about to scream before the scene ends.

歌え

Sing!

Returning to the stage, the entire cast is there in a single line. All of them fist bump and shout out sing at the same time.

Lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil

Amen

Oh look I finally finished the ED. I've no idea what I'm doing still so enjoy having theory-crafting material. And angst. And a surprising amount of fluff. Stop being cute DiOS cast, you're gonna kill each other.

No beta this time around too so yeah there's probably a billion mistakes. No beta for OPs and EDs, we die like Akita.

This song is Idola Circus by Neru (aka my favorite Vocaloid producer)