Danganronpa: The Despair of Tomorrow

by Ulmar Vice

Monokuma is back and here to bring despair to the USA with an OC cast of sixteen American teens who're not prepared for what awaits them in the new Hope's Peak built in Los Angeles! Our protagonist is ready for his new class and his new life but is he ready for the harsh challenges the American School Killing Game will bring? OC death, blood, language, sexual implications, & more!

43. Chapter 5: End

"...Now then, let the true battle between the blackened and the spotless go as they face off in the thrilling Voting Time!"

Luca looked at me with depressed eyes. "Kai, please don't do this. You're going to be wrong."

I just frowned at him. "Maybe I will and maybe I won't. As long as you survive, I don't care what happens to me."

Our handbooks lit up as the six buttons for the remaining students were the only ones not grayed out. I quickly found Melinda's face on her button and clicked it before her full body picture appeared on the right as she was selected for my vote. Soon the timer stopped at the last second as I noticed Melinda was the last one to vote. She hesitated, knowing that her vote was now pointless but she still tried anyway.

"Now, let's see the results!" Monokuma announced as the giant monitor descended down and turned on showing the tallies next to our names with four tallies against Melinda and two against Luca. Again her full body picture appeared on the screen now with confetti raining down on her image. Melinda was now selected as the blackened. There's no going back now.

"The blackened has been selected by majority vote. Like nobody saw that coming. Sheesh! However, did you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one? I can't wait! I can't wait!" Monokuma squealed in delight as Luca and Melinda's podiums finally left the hot seats, returning to their original positions in the circle as the courtroom became dark.

Suddenly, like before, the Monokuma Vote machine lit up the room in the center of the circle. The Statue of MonoLiberty began flashing as the lottery ball cage began to spin around and around before a green ball popped out of the cage and slowly rolled down the metal railway to the end where it stopped on a pixelated face belonging to Melinda Jones. The next thing that happened was… fireworks and celebration music sounding as the familiar Monokuma popped up waving around American flags in each hand as Monocoins spilled out like before from a slot machine. A wave of overwhelming joy filled the atmosphere around us as we got the indication that in the end, we got it right.

Soon the lights came back on and Monokuma quickly laughed out, "I can't believe you actually called it! This fifth class trial once again goes in favor of the spotless! The true blackened that killed Ollie Peralta, the Ultimate Tattoo Artist, is none other than Melinda Jones!"

Melinda just blankly stared at Monokuma. "No! That can't be right! I know Luca did it! He even admitted to it!"

"I commend Mr. Archer for his commitment to his belief but not even he knew that he was one of the spotless this entire time! Allow me to show that video of the murder one more time but with everything explained!" Monokuma announced as the video started a bit before the shot rang out and zoomed in on the gun. That was when the video slowed down as Monokuma's commentary started up. "See, I have unique and keen bear eyes that help me see beartter than any human can, and just so you can see it, I've turned on the infrared for the video. The surveillance camera has infrared scanners installed in them. Ya never know when it might come in handy and this is that moment! See both fingers on the trigger are orange. That's because of those two fighting over the gun like sibling children over one's favorite toy. Yet both had moved and went red when the trigger was pulled so you're asking yourself, "Mr. Monokuma! How can you possibly tell which one of us truly pulled the trigger! Surely both of us are to blame!", and to that, I say nope! There can only be one blackened and here's why! The outer finger goes very dark red when it pulls the trigger, meaning it put a lot of energy into it while the inner finger barely went dark orange because they must have been forced to pull the trigger and did not do so of their free will. So that is how this murder was decided because the inner trigger finger belongs to Luca Archer and the outer one, the blackened, belonged to Melinda Jones!"

I smiled and looked back at Luca. "See? You never did do it! You did resist yourself from pulling the trigger and because of the heat of the moment when Melinda fired the gun, you thought you fired it instead. Add her huntress skills in and that's why you believed you killed Ollie when you never did!"

A brief moment of silence wafted over as Luca seemed to process this. His eyes closed before he began talking. "You're right. Maybe I'm not the blackened… but that doesn't change the fact I was an accomplice whose actions got Ollie killed! For that reason alone, I will never forgive myself!"

"L-Luca…" I said quietly before he spoke up again. "Kai, don't bother saying I'm not. This… this isn't the first time this has happened." Luca suddenly admitted.

My eyes went wide at this revelation! "No way. That can't be true!"

Monokuma chuckled quietly. "Puhuhu. He's not lying! I know of his dark secret! You wanna know what it was? Luca is a child murderer! Granted he only has one kill underneath his belt so it's not much of a title. Also to clarify, Luca is a child murderer in the sense that he killed a child and not that he was a murderer as a child."

Shana looked horrified at Luca. "That can't be right?! Luca killed a kid? That can't be right!"

"Sorry, Shana but it is. I already know I'm going to hell for it too. Because I can never forgive myself for his death and now Ollie's blood is now also on my hands," growled Luca.

Willie groaned out. "This is a lot to keep up with. My brain ain't havin' a good rodeo right now. I feel like I'm bein' bucked 'round by a mad bull with all the new info I'm gettin'."

"Luca… I can hear the regret in your voice for what happened. I don't know what happened to the kid but I know you're not to blame for Ollie's death. That blame can only fall on her!" I shouted out, beyond mad as I glared at Melinda. "This is all your fault! If you didn't try to frame Luca and have him kill Ollie then none of this would have happened!"

Paul then spoke up to her, "I want to know why and how you did this, Melinda."

Melinda's now fiery eyes stared deep into his eyes. "Why should I bother? You betrayed me."

"You betrayed me first! It is your responsibility to make me understand! So talk! Now!" screamed Paul.

"I wanted them to pay! Ollie betrayed you! I felt like her death would please you for not doing as you commanded! I was sure it was what you wanted!" Melinda cried out.

Paul huffed. "Amateur. It's like you don't know me."

"How did you do this? Why did you get Luca involved?!" I began shouting now.

Melinda's darkened face now stared into my soul as a chill resonated in it. "Because I despise you! You ruined the hunt for the blackened for me every time!"

"If it wasn't for me then we'd be dead!" I argued back!

"I would have figured it all out on my own!" She screamed.

"How? In the first trial, you were so focused on Jayden being the blackened that you didn't even think Evelyn could have used her talent to commit the murders! In the second trial when Sienna died, Mikayla fought back because she didn't want to know who she had trusted the EpiPens to had betrayed her, and yet you were so sure she did it! Need I say more?" I told her off.

"I hate you, Kai Brugger! I want you to suffer! Luca's death would have been the end of you, I know it!" Melinda snarled out.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

Melinda began explaining, "I was outside the dormitory hallway when Luca carried you from his room to yours. That peaceful look on your face! You looked so calm and carefree at that moment and I hated that. Why was it you get to have that sense of freedom in this game while the rest of us get to suffer? You may be a celebrity but that doesn't mean you deserve better treatment than us! So I waited for Luca to come back out from your room and I "encouraged" him to come with me into mine."

"By encouraged, she means she held the knife to my chest and forced me in," Luca clarified.

Melinda then continued, "I told Luca I wanted him to kill Ollie for me and of course being the peaceful angel he is refused and would have immediately stormed out had I not given him the rest of my proposition. He had a choice. Either he killed Ollie… or I would kill Kai. I would have used that rule Monokuma had about not swimming in the pool during the daytime to get him executed and me not punished since we discussed that during the second class trial."

The eerie silence was deafening as all eyes shifted and shuddered as Luca looked away in shame. I soon croaked out. "Then… you attempted to kill Ollie, Luca, just so you could protect me? But why?! What made you think I was so important to keep alive that you would kill the girl that loved you?!"

Luca remained still, not uttering a word before I screamed, "ANSWER ME!"

Luca began shouting at me as his tears began flying out. "Do you think making that choice was easy for me!? It was impossible for me to choose which of you to save because I knew Melinda wasn't bluffing! I still cared for Ollie and I hated the idea of betraying her after all we'd been through! I soon decided to go with my heart and protect you no matter what. You still have too much left to do! Your agent is missing and your best friend is trapped in her own killing game and I hated the idea that you wouldn't get to see this through to the end! I still hate the fact I had to sacrifice Ollie for you but she didn't have as much on the line as you. Her uncle is the most important person in her life and even after what she saw on the video from the first motive, she told me that he was strong and could take care of himself. He was a fighter and so she needs to be too. I felt like you still had too many things unresolved but she was more content. I couldn't do you dirty like that. I don't expect forgiveness for betraying Ollie. Hell, I don't want forgiveness! I just want to die and burn in hell for what I did do to Ollie!"

"Oh, Luca…" Shana whimpered, her hands covering her mouth.

"Luca… I-I'm sorry," I apologized.

Luca shook his head. "No. You have no reason to be sorry. I should be saying that but I won't. I don't want to be forgiven. I want redemption. Death and despair are all I deserve."

"That may be true but it isn't your time to experience that yet. That's for her!" Monokuma gleefully hollered out pointing at Melinda.

"Well, ya know what?! I hope you die next Luca because I want you burning alongside me in hell! Fuck all of you! All of you deserve to rot away for voting for me to be killed no matter the outcome!" Melinda screamed.

"You deserve this after the way you treated us! Don't think your behavior is any excuse for how you acted!" Shana shouted angrily back.

That's when a thought was suddenly struck in my head. "With… how she acted…"

Willie tilted his head. "Wassup, Kai? Did ya think of something?"

"Maybe but only Melinda can tell me if what I'm thinking is true or not," I noted as I looked to Melinda.

"Ha! Like I'm gonna help you with anything now!" Melinda huffed out, glaring ice daggers at me.

"Have… Have you been acting this whole time?" I asked her.

Everyone seemed flabbergasted by my sudden question, even Paul's usually composed face morphed into a new expression of shock. Melinda blinked at me as he let out a single, inner chuckle. "You… must be joking, right?"

"No, I'm serious. Have you been acting like you were intrigued in this killing game and the menacing huntress you have been this entire time?" I asked again.

Melinda then began shouting at me. "W-What?! Why the fuck would you think of something… a-as stupid as that!?"

"Well for one, you just suddenly became nervous and didn't exactly say I was wrong right there, now did you?" I replied with a smirk which she glared at me with clenched fists. I continued, "And secondly there's a saying of Simona Panova that comes to mind. "Everybody is equally weak on the inside, it's just that some will present their ruins as new castles and become kings". Or I guess in your case a queen. When our killing game started we were all scared and I believed that you did see this as a game to be played but there's a difference between playing and playing games. The former is an act of joy, the latter is just an act. You pretend to be strong and brave to mask your weakness and fear of the game from us."

I soon began stepping forward towards her. "Melinda… please… don't wear your mask in your final moments. Let me see the real Melinda Jones before we lose you forever."

Melinda just stared at me unyielding and stout. Her eyes unmoving before a light soon began to twinkle from them as her eyes shimmered from the tears building up in them like the summer winds gently petting the surface of a lake which reflects the sunlight in all directions. Melinda began to quietly sniffle and whimper as if she was still holding back. She then whispered, "It's not easy to just accept that I'm about to die. I'm not ready to go. My Dad is still wanting me to grow up as his successful daughter and marry a strong man and have many children! I want that! I'm not ready to die!"

"Then why? If you still have things you wanted to do, why would you jeopardize yourself by participating in the game you were scared of?" I asked her as I held her shoulders in my hands.

"I… I honestly don't remember. I mean… I remember meeting Luca and our conversation and the fight we had and all but at the same time I don't know why I did that. I don't know why that is," Melinda quietly whimpered out.

Suddenly his voice called out to us. "You're lying," Paul spoke up as he began walking.

I glared at Paul as he approached us. "How would you know that?"

"Because I know Melinda is. I've been with her the longest out of everyone here. I know her personality and background better than even you or Ollie did," Paul then turned his gaze onto her and said, "Melinda, if you do love me which I know you do then will you confess your true self to us?"

Melinda suddenly ran forward and clung onto his shirt tightly with her fists. "I-I don't know what you mean but if you can do something for me then I'll do it! I do love you and I want to be saved!"

"Then tell us who you really are. I've discovered it and now you must tell the others," Paul told her, sternly.

"I don't understand what you're asking of me," Melinda begged him.

"Melinda Jones! I demand you tell us who you truly are! Confess your true nature, traitor!" Paul suddenly commanded her which made us all go silent again as Melinda stared at him with wide eyes before she slowly backed off.

"Melinda is the traitor? Are… Are you sure?" I asked, confused.

Melinda's eyes were shaded over by her hat as her head tilted down a bit. Suddenly a small giggle resonated before it sounded again but louder. Each time the laughter started it was louder than the last time until it became so loud it was like a witch's cackle in the deafening pitch of a banshee scream.

Suddenly the laughter ceased as Melinda slowly turned her head back to me with one sprawled out hand covering her face with a wicked smile and bloodthirsty eyes that shook wildly around, seen through the wide spaces between each finger. The light I saw grow in her eyes earlier was instantly killed as only darkness loomed in every crevice as the despair only multiplied by a thousand!

Melinda soon spoke up. "I figured you would have figured me out sooner or later but fuck you took your sweet time, my love. But that doesn't matter anymore. None of you can even comprehend anything. The despair you've felt is only the beginning. Do you think there is hope if you escape? You have no idea how wrong you are if you think that."

"What's wrong Melinda? What are you saying?" I called out to her.

"I don't know what you mean, Mr. Celebrity. I'm finally taking off the mask like you wanted me to. But… now I think it's about time I took yours off too!" Melinda suddenly popped up at me with her Bowie knife unscathed as she lunged at me and before I could react I fell back as I was shoved down and I felt cold steel tear away at my stomach. I gasped out as my eyes went so wide it felt like my eyelids were also cut open more when the blade was stabbed into me.

"KAI NOOOOOOOO!" I heard Luca scream out as I heard multiple footsteps running toward us but then Melinda used her free hand to pull out a familiar handgun from out of a secret holster hidden inside her shorts. "Don't come closer or he gets a bullet on his head and he dies instantly like that slut did!"

"HOLY FUCK! SHE REALLY IS MAD!" Willie shouted out in pure fear as I managed to see him and Shana step back cautiously. I heard the last set of footsteps stop as Luca could now only stand and watch helplessly out of my sight behind the podiums somewhere as I gagged and sputtered out blood that began to creep out of my throat. She leaned in on me and began whispering in my ear as the blade delved deeper into my gut as I gasped in pain. "How does it feel? Describe the pain and despair you're experiencing right now. Hehe. You know you wanted me to not wear a mask anymore yet you can't seem to do the same for anyone else. You know what you truly are? A little hypocrite who deserves to die just as much as I do. So squirm for me. I want my freshest kill to be the sweetest of all my hunts. Please... let me see the light of hope in your eyes die away. You're my special prey right now and I want to give you the true joy that comes from a human being's death."

I could only lay as I felt myself start to spasm as blood now flooded from my mouth and stomach at a more rapid pace as the others were most likely frozen in complete horror. But then just as it felt like I might get swallowed up in the pain, a sudden rush of heat and energy flowed through my veins. "I… I w-w… won…t…"

Melinda's frantic expression raised an eyebrow at me. "What was that?" Melinda asked.

"I… won't…!" I growled out as I grabbed onto Melinda's hand that held the knife handle tightly as my adrenaline began to pump and give me a boost of strength as I slowly began to pry her fingers off. "I… will not play the damsel in distress… anymore. I will be the hero they need me to be. I… will never give in to despair! I AM THEIR ONLY HOPE!"

I shoved her off me and yanked the knife out and swiped up at Melinda's left eye and sliced it apart, all in one fluid motion from my gut to her eye in one go. She squealed out in pain as she covered her bleeding eye and jumped away from me. Luca immediately bound over the podiums to me in one leap only a traceur of his caliber could handle before I fell back down as he roughly pushed his hands against my stomach in an attempt to slow the bleeding. "You're going to be okay, Kai!"

Suddenly Melinda growled very animalistic as she spoke out. "You won't beat me. I'm the Ultimate Huntress! I hunt for my prey no matter what! And you are all my prey! None of you will escape me!" She screeched out before pointing her Beretta M9 at Shana. Shana gasped and froze before two shots rang out in an instant as Shana was knocked down the next. But what was even more shocking was the fact that Shana was only knocked down because Willie shoved her out of the way! He stood there as blood leaked from his neck before he collapsed.

"WILLIE!" Shana cried out in horror as she crawled desperately to his side.

Melinda then took aim at Paul but just before she could do anything a metal chain with a clamp grabbed onto her wrist and yanked it back as she glared at Monokuma. Monokuma then shouted, "WHOA WHOA WHOA! WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? You can't seriously kill everyone here! The game isn't over yet!"

"Don't stop me, bear! I will have my prey! The predator enjoys the thrill of killing her prey and I won't let you interfere!" Whilst she screamed out, her restrained wrist turned the gun enough to aim it and shoot at Monokuma whose hand got a hole blasted through it. For some reason, he cried out and jumped up from his throne and whimpered before he snarled at her.

"HOW DARE YOU! You were already guaranteed punishment as the blackened but now you violated the school regulations by attacking me! You're so gonna get it now! So let's get your execution over with!" Monokuma squealed.

Another clamp caught her other hand as the chain yanked her back. The metal creaked as it tried to pull her away but Melinda fought back with all her strength as she remained in place. "No! I must kill my prey! Let me kill them!"

"I've prepared a now extra harsh punishment for Melinda Jones, the Ultimate Huntress!" Monokuma announced as two more chains snatched onto her ankles.

But even with the four chains attempting to pull her away, she did not lose her footing. "I'm not gonna be executed! Only prey dies! I'm no prey! I'm the Ultimate Predator!"

"LET'S DO THIS! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" cried out Monokuma.

"I'M… NOT… YOUR... PREEEEEEEEEEY!" Melinda wildly screamed as one last clamp rocketed out and snapped around her neck before she was finally dragged off as the button rose in front of Monokuma. He spun his gavel in his hand before his front flip sent his gavel into the button and the screen lit up, revealing the pixel Monokuma as he struggled in pulling a fully-cocooned and squirming pixelated Melinda from the left side to the right.

"Melinda has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!"

(youtu. be/PyAm-V2yt5E)

Melinda was dropped off by the chains in the middle of a dense, tropical rainforest as it lightly rained down on her and her surroundings. She soon stood up with her now one intact, blood-red eye looking around as her body shook. She then held her Beretta M9 up, whipping around as there was a sudden rustle from behind her in the thick flora and she took a shot but was knocked over by something that moved too fast to be seen. She quickly recovered to her feet and grabbed her gun from the ground, only to find a massive chunk of the barrel bitten off! She sneered as she tossed it aside before whipping her rifle around with her right eye trained through the scope on her rifle.

Powerful Prey

More rustling sounded as she heard it all around her as her lips mouthed the words "I am not prey" and repeated those words like a mantra. Suddenly a shadowy figure leaped out but was swiftly shot down by Melinda, blood flying out. Then another jumped from her right but she whipped her gun over and clocked it, the blood sprayed as its body disappeared beneath the rainforest flora. One by one the unseen creatures lunged at Melinda and she kept shooting them down. The attacks grew faster as she kept up to speed with their assault.

But even with her deft speed in shooting and reloading, she soon felt her ammunition pocket and realized that she ran out of bullets. Melinda now held her rifle like a spear and began to swing at the monsters but they just got right back up again and again. By this point, Melinda looked desperate as she kept repeating her words and knocked her attackers away but they started to scratch and bite at her as her body was being damaged. She was soon crippled on the ground, her head now the only part seen above the plants. Then the plants began to shake as the creatures charged straight at her from all directions. She screamed in pure fear before she was submerged from sight. The plants hid it all as the sounds of Melinda being slaughtered were heard. Blood soon flooded all around where the ground was visible before everything faded to black.

It was done. Melinda was now executed and despite finding out the truth and all the pain she caused us, I couldn't help but cry as tears flowed out alongside the blood as I coughed and gasped as the air began to retreat from my lungs. Luca kept the pressure on my stomach as Paul rushed to me. "The bleeding isn't stopping." He deduced watching Luca apply the pressure.

Luca looked upset by this. "Dammit! FUCKING DAMMIT!"

I then heard Shana's cries as I barely managed to lift my head to see her shaking Willie's body. "Willie! WILLIE! WAKE UP FOR GOD'S SAKE! PLEASE!"

My head plopped down before I felt my weak vocal cords croak out, "I'm… sorry. I guess… this is good...g-goodbye…" Soon my eyelids lost the strength as my world went frigid and dark as Luca's voice screamed to me but no words reached me as my life faded from my soul.

The next thing I could comprehend was celestial lights surrounding me as I blinked and saw the beautiful sea of stars glimmer amid the black sky of the cosmos. The sparkles seemed to weave through the stars before they suddenly flew past me and wrapped around before a red curtain lined these shining stars that now decorated the stunning cloth. A seductive womanly voice soon echoed in the back of my mind.

"If you wish to be free then hear me," The voice called out, hushed and monotone.

"What do you mean? I'm dead now right? Am I not free?" I called out to the voice.

"The one who eludes you is the key to help you all understand the truth. Find the key," She kept speaking as if I hadn't said anything.

"Answer me! What is that even supposed to mean?" I frustratingly blurted out.

The voice just kept echoing in my thoughts as I was wrapped up by the curtain on my stomach as it got tighter and tighter. My eyes shut close as I struggled against it as it kept wrapping me up like a mummy and before I could react…

"Gahuuuh!" I gasped in a breath of air as my eyes wrenched open and I saw… ceiling lights above me? My head turned as I felt a softness holding onto my head. Wait… I know this feeling. It was a pillow! My head soon craned up as my blurry vision soon came into focus as the next thing I saw was Shana staring back at me with tear-filled eyes. "Sh-Shana?"

She soon beamed at me, a huge smile of relief streaking her face almost as fast as the tears did. "Oh, Kai! You're alive!" She bent down and gently hugged me as she began to cry happily. I was unable to hug her back as my mind was still processing what I was just informed.

"I… am?" I whispered in confusion.

Shana looked at me and saw me looking puzzled. She soon backed off and took a seat in the chair next to the bed I was in. I was soon able to see it was the same bed I was in last time I was placed in the Nurse's office. I slowly lifted myself up and soon sat up before a strike of pain shot up from my stomach. "Ah!"

"Careful! Monokuma's stitching is keeping your stomach together. You can move but you need to do so slowly," Shana warned me as she reached over towards the loose bandages surrounding my abdomen and began to tighten it up. It felt like when that curtain tightened around me. 'So then that was a dream like before? Yet it felt so… vivid. Like I was really there. Or like it's some kind of memory.' I thought as Shana finished tightening them up again.

"There. Now it should hold if you need to move," said Shana cheerfully.

"Um… Shana? What…? I mean how...?" I wasn't able to even fully speak my mind with how overwhelmed things were and it seemed Shana understood as she nodded before saying, "How did you survive? Well, you shouldn't have but I can tell you what happened after you blacked out."

Shana's POV

Kai was blacking out after croaking out, "I'm… sorry. I guess… this is good...g-goodbye…"

His eyes flickered trying to stay open but he just couldn't do it as Luca began trembling even worse than when Ollie had been killed. He began screaming to Kai, "No God! Please noooo! Please don't die on me, Kai! We can't lose you now! KAI!"

I was scared for Kai of course but most of my attention was on Willie who laid face down in a pool of blood. My lip quivered as I cried out, "Willie! Please! You can't die now! You wanted me to forgive you for how you treated me right? Then I forgive you okay? There, it's done. So please come back. I-I need you… just like I needed Tommy. Please don't leave me."

Suddenly Monokuma jumped in with a fucking smirk growing wider on his face. "Oh my goodness! Such despair everyone is suffering. It breaks my heart that I have to end it but I can't allow too many deaths to take place here."

Luca looked to Monokuma. "Monokuma please! Kai needs to be helped immediately! He's not gonna hold out in here much longer!"

I soon looked up. "Don't forget Willie! He was shot in his neck and chest! He needs help too!"

"Sure! I can save one of them for you," said Monokuma.

"No! Both of them!" I shouted at him.

"Here's the issue though. Technically Melinda being the blackened only had one kill under her belt and each blackened is allowed a maximum of two kills so Kai or Willie can become that victim but I cannot let a third victim die! That would go against my own regulations and I'd have to punish myself. Hmm… not a bad idea actually," He explained to us which only infuriated me more.

Luca was too as he shouted out, "But that can't be the case! We're not allowed to fight in a class trial! That's the rule!"

Monokuma shook his head at him. "Nu-uh! The class trial ended when you voted for the blackened! So no violation there. And don't bother saying only the blackened is supposed to die after the trial. Since neither Kai nor Willie was hurt by me or by the punishment Melinda faced, that doesn't count either. Your only option is to let me save one and let the other one die as the blackened second victim! You better act fast before they both die!"

Kai's POV

"Wait… then did you… is Willie…?" I interrupted before Shana glared at me.

"I was getting to that!" Shana growled at me before continuing recounting what transpired.

Shana's POV

"No! Neither of them deserves to die! They need to live!" I howled out as I felt a hand grab onto my own. I looked over and gasped as I saw Willie staring into my eyes! "Willie!"

He suddenly rolled over onto his back, breathing heavily and ragged. Luca and Paul both also gasped at this as Paul ran over. "How… How on earth did you survive?"

Willie let out a crooked smile with a single laugh. "Because I was sure... somethin' would happen when... the murder weapon vanished. So… I came prepared…" He began unbuttoned his bloody shirt and opened it up to reveal something to us.

"Is that body armor?" Paul asked in surprise.

He soon lifted himself onto his elbows as his upper body was now off the ground. "Don't know what that is but I found a bulletproof vest in the school store and thought I'd come prepared if the Shadow Vigilante had interrupted the class trial." Willie was now able to speak with pauses of pain interrupting him.

"Then that's why you took so long getting to the elevator. You were putting on the body armor underneath your clothes," I deduced. Willie nodded as I just shook my head at him before tears went streaming down my face. "But you still got hurt because of me."

Willie leaned up before he removed my helmet and gently caressed my head before cupping my left cheek. "That's where you're wrong. I did it because you would have died had you been shot. I wanted to protect you. A man should protect a woman no matter the cost. Tommy taught me that."

My body lightly trembled as I carefully hugged him, not caring about the blood on him. "Thank you," I whispered in his ear as I felt him slowly hug me back.

Soon Willie pushed me off and looked to Monokuma. "We have another option. My friends will treat me as best they can and if I die so be it. You, Monokuma, will not let Kai become a third victim. Deal?"

Monokuma sighed. "It's not how I'd wanted this scenario to play out but it works for me. Then it's settled! Willie, if he passes will be the second victim and Kai will not die, I give you my word as a bear and your headmaster!"

Monokuma suddenly disappeared and he somehow took Kai's unconscious body with him. Soon Willie lied back down as he began to lose consciousness again. Luca rushed over and began to pick him up by his right side and I immediately went for the left side. "Come on! We have to get him on the elevator and up to the Nurse's office now!"

Suddenly Willie's legs lifted up and we saw Paul was the one who was helping. "Then let's go." Luca and I couldn't help but stare at him with wide, gaping mouths and eyes. Paul suddenly glared at us. "What are you two idiots gawking at? Move it before we lose the imbecile cowboy!"

Kai's POV

"Soon we got Willie on and back up here and we finished treating him. Paul managed to dig the bullet out of Willie's neck. Luckily for us, nothing vital was hit so the only way he would have died is by blood loss but we got a blood pack with his blood type hooked up to him so he could regain the blood he lost," Shana finished retelling the events that unfolded as she reached over and opened up the curtain to my right, revealing a shirtless and patched up Willie lying there and grinning big at me.

"Well, howdy there, Kai. I sure am happier than ole Rascal layin' on the porch chewin' on a big ole porky puff to see you're alright," Willie greeted me.

I smiled back. "I'm happy to see you made it too."

Shana soon got up and approached Willie's right arm. "Looks like the blood pack is finally empty," she noted as she carefully unhooked the needle from his arm before bandaging the spot to stop any bleeding from where the needle was inserted. Willie seethed a bit when she did but soon sighed out as he looked back up to her. "Can you help me get up now?"

Shana giggled. "I think you can manage that yourself."

Willie groaned as he soon dragged himself up and sat at the edge of the bed closest to me as Shana came back around and sat down next to him. "I'm just happy you're alive. I was scared you wouldn't make it." Shana whispered before Willie slowly reached over and cautiously took her hand into his. Willie replied, "It takes someone with great strength to survive this long. I learned from the best."

Soon the two looked into the eyes of the other and I could swear I saw them blush as they smiled. I took this as my cue to exit stage left. I was smiling myself as I managed to get myself up and carefully get my shirt and vest back on. I slightly limped my way over to the front door where I saw my backpack resting on a nearby countertop and when I grabbed a shoulder strap I stopped. Next to it, I saw Melinda's Bowie knife laying there I had dislodged from my stomach and used to defend myself. 'Why did she attack us? I thought I had finally figured her out and then she went ballistic,' I couldn't help but wonder. I soon picked up the sheathed blade and soon found her insignia on the side of the blade when I partially unsheathed it. With a determined nod, I fully sheathed it back up and took the Bowie knife, slipping it into my backpack as I began to walk out of the office as the cute coupling behind me was completely ignorant to the fact I was leaving.

I had my eyes on the doorway as I walked down the hallway and then turned my gaze back to where I was walking only to scream at the sight of Paul blocking my way.

"Glad to see you're up and about now. You've been out for a good chunk of the day now," Paul told me.

"At least it wasn't the entire day like last time," I chuckled as Paul actually cracked a smile. "So what exactly is up with you?"

Paul cocked his head at me. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you seem more open now to the others and not just me. You willingly offered to help Willie when he needed it. That hasn't been like you," I explained.

Paul let out a small chuckle. "No, it isn't. But then again I'm the only one left in my crew now and so I have no one to rely on. I do trust we can cooperate together from now on." Paul said with his hand held out to me.

I was a bit hesitant to take it but after he put himself out there to help Willie, I decided I should trust in him and make the five of us who remained united at last. I looked around for a second before asking Paul, "Say do you know where Luca is?"

Paul looked back at the staircase up to the third floor. "The same floor where this morning started for all of us."

I nodded my understanding as I walked past Paul and left him behind as I managed to pull myself up three flights of stairs to the fifth floor as I stopped by the science lab and sure enough I saw two new fridges active with one having neon blue hair sprawled out underneath the edge of the sheet covering poor Ollie and the next one had different sized lumps of body parts covered up by the thick sheet. That must have been what was left of Melinda after she was killed. But Luca was nowhere in here so I left before long and looked around for him.

Soon I came across the VR room and I went to open the door only to feel the know jammed. It was locked which means it was in use. So then it could only be Luca who would be in there.

A digital voice soon sounded. "Hello. I'm afraid my services are currently in use. Please come back when my services are free," UsagiKuma informed me.

But before I could reply, I heard the door suddenly unlock as the door slowly opened and I audibly gasped as Luca came out. He looked absolutely horrible! His eyes were red with purple under his eyelids and his lips looked chapped to hell! "Luca?"

He soon looked up and realized it was me. "Oh, Kai! Thank God!" He almost cried out as he speedily came out from behind the door and gently hugged me close. "I was so scared I would lose you."

I soon hugged him back and whispered. "I can't afford to die now. I won't leave you guys here without me."

Luca suddenly looked a lot better after seeing me up and about. 'Was I really able to get his spirits back up so easily?' I wondered.

He then took hold of my hands and began pulling me into the VR room. "W-What are you doing?"

He smiled. "Come on! I wanna share this with you." He was like a child eager to pull their parent to the toy aisle as he pulled me in and locked the door to the VR room behind us. UsagiKuma soon spoke up. "Hello, participants Luca Archer and Kai Brugger. How may I assist you?"

"Please reload the previous memory you had up a moment ago," Luca requested.

After some digital beeping and hums, she spoke. "Request granted."

Soon the VR room began to morph and change and the next thing I saw was a major drop appear at my feet and I fell back screaming at the thought I may fall. Luca grabbed onto me and laughed, "Kai, Kai! It's okay! You're safe! I know you're not a fan of heights but it's safe. Remember, it's all a simulation."

I trembled as I gripped his jacket tightly in a death grip. "B-B-B-But it still looks real!"

"Don't worry. I won't let you go. Just stand up and look out," Luca calmly responded as he pulled me up and walked me near the edge again. Out of instinct, I buried my face into his chest. I didn't want to look down. He then lifted my head and made me look him directly into his seafood eyes. "Don't hide your eyes from the sight. You don't need to look down. Just look straight ahead."

I let out a breath as my heart beat a thousand beats a second as I turned my head and peeked an eye open before I slowly opened them the rest of the way in awe.

It was a cityscape of massive proportions and very contemporary. Yet it felt compact and was bustling with life in every building visible. Water divided the city apart as it forked in front of us and made a point of city landscape face at us. The sky was radiant with a rose-colored sunset that gave the city a mysterious aura and atmosphere. I was so memorized by the sight that I hadn't realized that I had finally released Luca from my death grip and faced the city with stars in my eyes. "It's so… vivid! Like a place I've been to before!"

Luca giggled. "Maybe because you have."

I looked at him in confusion. "Huh?" He then wordlessly pointed out to a specific building in the far off distance in the mass of city buildings ahead of us. The pointed building he pointed to was familiar to me. No, that's not right. It was too familiar! "That's the Empire State Building! Then that means this is New York!"

"You didn't realize it until now?" Luca asked.

"No, but that's what confuses me. I've been in this city more times than I can remember doing movie shoots, interviews, premiers, and conventions but I've never seen the city look so beautiful before!" I answered honestly.

"Maybe you were so focused on your career you never had a chance to see the beauty of the city itself," Luca suggested.

I lightly rubbed my arm, feeling a bit of regret suddenly hit me. "I… guess that may be why." I then thought, 'Have I really never noticed the beauty that New York City has shown before? Is that the case in California too? What about everywhere I've traveled to for work?'

Luca interrupted my thoughts as he said, "Besides you haven't even realized what we're standing on."

My eyes squinted at him as I looked under my feet and noticed an unusual pattern on the round object we stood on and then looked behind me to see spikes jetting out and then a little to the left behind me was… a torch!? "No way!" I screamed out! "We're standing on top of Lady Liberty's head!" If this were a movie, the camera would pan down from us and away to reveal the entire statue. "But why? Why are we up here?"

"I did ask UsagiKuma to reload the last memory of mine she used here, didn't I?" Luca asked me back.

The answer immediately clicked in my head. "Then… not only did you scale the Eiffel Tower but you scaled the Statue of Liberty too?! You really are the Ultimate Traceur!"

Luca's smile disappeared as he looked away before sitting down. "No… I'm not."

I blinked at him as I dropped to my knees next to him. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?" He asked, monotonous.

"You know exactly what! You keep acting like your talent is no big deal when it's really a massive accomplishment! Your talent is the most impressive talent I've ever seen!" I shouted at him.

"It's really not much to be impressed about," Luca mumbled.

I felt my hand ball up into a fist as I lightly shook in anger. "Stop that!" I yelled," Why do you do this to yourself? You keep putting down your talent like it's a bad thing!"

"It's because it is a bad thing! Because of my love of parkour, I killed my little brother!" Luca suddenly admitted as he whipped his head at me with tears in his eyes.

I was struck silent as my fist slowly loosened. "What do you mean? You had a little brother?"

Luca looked out in the distance, his chin resting against his folded arms that hugged his knees. He sighed before he began talking. "Samuel Keith Archer. My little brother Sammy. He was beyond important to me. See my parents were never too interested in my activities or hobbies, even before I got into parkour. I never got as much attention from them as a kid needed. The first few years of childhood were often boring and lonely but then little Sammy was born into the world and when I held him in my arms for the first time, the way he smiled at me and reached out to me, it gave me such an intense feeling of joy and love I hadn't felt before. From that moment on I was determined to be the best big brother Sammy could ask for."

"We grew up with a strong relationship as we played everything he wanted to play, watch everything he wanted to watch, and do anything he wanted to do. I let him take the wheel in what we did together because it felt right to support him in what he wanted to do. He had a lot in common with me and though we liked TV and video games, we loved being outside more, and the biggest thing he loved most of all was soccer. He adored the sport so much that we'd play together nonstop for hours on hours. He naturally grew to be better than me as he got older and he'd whoop me every time we played a one v one match. But again I didn't mind because we were having fun together."

"That's about when I got really big on parkour after watching American Ninja Warrior. I soon found a local group of active traceurs and I began spending time with them while making enough time for Sammy. When I did join up with them, my parents warned me from having Sammy join me and my friends take place in such a dangerous activity. I assured them I wouldn't get him involved unless I knew he could handle it and despite being physically active at the time, my nine-year-old brother wasn't quite ready for the physical stress that comes from parkour since his upper body wasn't as well developed as his lower body and legs."

"But I guess letting Sammy do anything he wanted kind of backfired on me because he soon felt like he was being selfish by always getting to do what he wanted and not anything I wanted. I assured him I was okay with that but I guess he wasn't convinced. One day after school I asked him what he wanted to do for the next few hours and he asked if he could join me and my friends on our special fun. I told him he wasn't ready for that yet. Maybe in a few years once he got stronger but he kept insisting that he could handle whatever it was since my parents made sure he didn't know what it was."

"After kicking his favorite neon-colored soccer ball around, I left with my friends as we began to scale and climb around an abandoned construction site near my hometown in Nevada. We had a set course we always had races on that had us climbing a stack of I-beams and then running up the arm of an excavator and leaping onto a high up runway on the framework of the unfinished building and so on. But a minute or so after I passed that part of the course, I heard one of the guys in last place call out to everyone. Apparently, he saw some random kid trying to follow us. I didn't believe him until I heard that kid call out to me specifically."

"I rushed back to the railing to see my little brother climbing the arm of the excavator and I screamed at him, asking him why he was there. He told me he followed me because he wanted to do something with me that I wanted to do. He got to the top of the machine's arm and I begged him not to do anything reckless but he was sure he could do it since I could. H-He wanted to be like his big brother. So he jumped and fell. He was rushed to the hospital and I tried to check on him but as soon as my parents showed up, my mom cursed me out and stayed with Sammy while my dad dragged me away before he punished me with the worst punishment of my life. I couldn't help but curse my brother for getting me into trouble."

I was speechless as he told me his tragic story but I couldn't help but mutter out, "My God… that's terrible. What kind of punishment did your dad give you?"

Luca looked away for a second before he turned his back to me and soon removed his jacket but then his shirt started coming off and at first, I thought nothing of it. It wasn't until his shirt came completely off that made me inhale in terror. His entire backside was riddled with scars and burns that looked pretty old.

He soon continued, "My dad went out of his way to get a whip and take his anger out on me by using it and then taking a heated iron for our fireplace and burning my back with it. For the first time in my life I hated Sammy because I blamed him for the pain I was suffering but after a few days, I soon realized it was my fault. If I had paid closer attention or made a move faster then maybe I could have prevented him from falling. I wanted the chance to apologize to him but when my mom came home that day, she informed me and Dad that Sammy's injuries were too much and he died at the hospital. Now, these scars are a permanent reminder of how I'm a failure as a big brother. And now…" His hand soon covered the bandage he got from his gunshot wound. "...I'll have a scar to remind me what a terrible friend and human being I am."

I was dumbfounded by all this but I shook my head at him. "No. Your parents are to blame, not you! If they weren't so secretive about you and your hobbies then maybe he would have truly understood what kind of danger you're putting yourself into! Also burning and whipping you is not a punishment! It's almost as bad as the punishments around here! It's sick is what it is! Besides, you can't be blamed for Ollie's death either! Ollie had forgiven you for what you almost did to her plus Melinda forced you to choose between your best friend and your girlfriend."

Luca looked down. "Maybe… but you're not quite right either."

"Well, okay maybe you didn't see her as your girlfriend but you two were dating, you can't deny that," I told him.

Luca looked ashamed as he spoke. "That's not what I meant. See my heart didn't beat for her… the way it beats for you, Kai. If you were never in the picture then maybe I would have loved Ollie back but that isn't the case."

I blinked at him, feeling a lot of thoughts go rushing through my brain. "Wait… what?"

Luca soon breathed in as he looked back at me and into my eyes. "Remember how I told you that you saved my life? Well, I was serious about that. After my brother died, I was lost and depressed and my grandmother had to take responsibility for me because my parents refused to raise me anymore. I even gave up parkour as I literally wasted my body away. She tried to help me and said things like it wasn't my fault for what happened to Sam. But I didn't believe it. I couldn't. I should have been more careful when going off with my friends and now the most important person in my life before this school is gone. Has been for three years now. All I've been able to do was cry and be depressed while my grandma made me still attend school and get good enough grades to go to the next grade. I was stuck and alone… that is until I met you."

"You met me? You mean on our first day here?" I asked him.

"Well, actually it was a one-way meeting since it was through the TV screen that I saw you in the first movie of yours I ever saw. My grandma was raving about all these movies that you were involved with and she forced me to stop sulking and watch. The one we saw is my favorite of your movies, "Freedom for All"."

"Oh wow! I haven't thought about that film in years! A pre-teen boy learns his only father has been drafted for the war and out of fear of losing him follows him in secret to the warzone where he soon gets captured by the enemy and forced to fight his father's troops on the frontline. Being forced to fight his way to his father and once he finally reaches him, his father is shot down right in front of him and they have a moment before he passes," I reminisced the movie's overall plot.

Luca nodded with a small smile on his face. "There's also a young woman in the enemy lines you befriended before the character's dad died and she finds him when his father dies in his arms. Once he dies she offers you an easy out and offers to shoot you to be with him again. But you decline her offer and the next few lines I have memorized. The woman said, "You were forced to fight your own people to reach your father and then you lose the only thing worth fighting for yet despite your grief you wish to keep fighting against your true enemy? How can you keep going when you have nothing left?" Then you responded, "Because no matter what disasters I may face, there's always another reason to keep the fight for survival alive. And my new reason is so you can see your father again." When I heard that… I broke."

"I do love that scene. It's powerful and its message is important but I still don't quite understand how I saved your life," I admitted.

Luca nodded his understanding as he continued, "It's because if I didn't see that movie at that time… I would have committed suicide at a nearby bridge I had been planning on jumping off of." I gasped in horror upon hearing this. "I was just so angry at myself and depressed that I wanted it all to end. After my grandma forced me to sit down and watch the movie, I figured I would just go afterward but… you gave me a reason to keep living and to keep hoping. After that movie, I began bingeing all of your movies and each one kept adding to the strength and motivation I was getting with hope for the future. I even got myself back into shape and parkour and started that YouTube channel for only one reason. So I could try and get into Hollywood as a stunt double so I can get the slight chance to meet you and thank you for saving my life."

"Jesus. I know I've impacted many lives with my movies but never had I heard a story like that. I'm honored I was able to help you reclaim hope again," I smiled at him, feeling overwhelming pride swell up in me.

"Yeah well, there's a bit more I want to say. See, before I could even dream about making it to Hollywood, I was approached by some guy and he asked me if I wanted to attend this elite school for gifted high school students. But I still hated my talent for what it did to my brother so I rejected at first and told him I got other plans but that's when he informed me about going to speak to you about attending after me. It was as if he knew my motivation and I thought if you did attend then I wouldn't need to weasel my way into Hollywood anymore. I could meet you as a fellow classmate and so I took the risk and accepted."

"I was ecstatic as hell when you walked through those doors into the auditorium just like Brenda was but I didn't want to rush you like she did despite every ounce of my body wanting to. When we did finally talk I wanted to thank you for what you did for me but then Mikayla lost those hamsters she was caring for and then the killing game was announced so I never really had the opportunity to properly thank you. So thank you Kai Brugger for saving my life," Luca thanked me with a big smile on his face.

I smiled back only to then realized something and shout, "Oh shit! The hamsters! What happened to them?! Has no one been taking care of them after Mikayla died?!"

Luca was composed as he answered. "Actually, I think they're taking care of themselves. I remember investigating her room before you did and I found their cage open and a small ventilation shaft unhinged. Mikayla raved about their intelligence and Monokuma confirmed that when he told me they escaped that way. Unfortunately, we couldn't do the same since the vents are only big enough for small critters like the hamsters to fit into."

"Oh. Well, I hope they're okay," I replied.

"I'm sure they are," he reassured me.

"So when you said I was the reason for your heart beating more than for Ollie was because of the fact I saved you? That doesn't sound quite right," I chuckled, lighthearted.

He then looked at me with the slightest hint of a blush streaking his cheeks. "Well, that's because that isn't all there is to that. Our time here has been hell but you've made things bearable enough for me to endure it all. You gave me hope and strength when I needed it most and even now I'm still alive because of you. When I watched your movies, I was inspired. When I met you I was grateful for you. Then we started talking and sharing our experiences and time together that we saw each other as best friends and brothers. But… But now I can't… I can't help but see you as something more." His hand reached over and cautiously took my cheek into it as my face immediately went red from the intimate contact he was giving me.

"You are my reason to keep fighting and the light of my life now. I lost the most important person in my life but now I have someone else who is so important for me to lose. That's why I couldn't give my heart to Ollie. Because my heart already belongs to you. I… I love you, Kai. More than a best friend or a brother but… as someone who wants to be there forever by your side. To help you and love you the way you deserve to be loved. Not because you're a Hollywood celebrity but because your an angel of a man who deserves to be treated like gold," Luca confessed with the happiest look plastered all over his face as he still held my cheek in one hand while now holding my hand in his other hand.

I won't lie. If my face was red before, it was probably sunburned with how much I was blushing now. I've had a lot of fangirls send me letters of declaration, confessing their love to me. They would also scream out to me how much they loved me and begged me to marry them at live events and gatherings. But I gotta say this is the first confession I've ever gotten that dare I say was the most poetic out of all of them. Not only had Luca left me floored by it, but it was also the only one that involved another guy confessing his love to me. I didn't know how to respond. He seemed to see that as he soon spoke up.

"I mean it when I say this too, Kai. I know so much about you! I chose this memory to share because I know you love New York City and sunsets are your favorite romantic setting. You love wolves, the color red, musical theatre, I learned everything I could about you because I guess in a way you were my first and only celebrity crush and then I got to know you on a personal level and I just can't help but fall even deeper in love with you. So… now that you know… tell me, is there… any possibility that you return my feelings?" Luca nervously asked me.

I was frozen in place after all that. All I could do was blankly stare into Luca's hope-filled eyes as he waited in anticipation for an answer. The next instant I felt something snap in my head and the next thing I was blurting out, "I don't feel the same!"

At that moment his eyes, which sparkled and shone brightly, instantly simmered and died away as he retreated his hands from me. I soon shook myself and began to clarify. "It's beyond flattering that you find me attractive like that but I… I just don't think I can return those same feelings."

Luca slowly looked away. "Yeah… no I-I get it. You're a huge celebrity from Hollywood. I'm… nobody special enough for you to be seen with."

I shook my head violently as I took his hand. "No, no! That's not what I meant! Our statuses have nothing to do with it! It's just I'm not attracted to guys like that. I do love you but as a brother and best friend would. You're always going to be important to me so please don't say things like that! Besides, you're strong a-and compassionate and I know that there is gonna be someone that can reciprocate their love back to you."

Luca's eyes were shadowed over as he looked down at my hands holding his. "There was only one girl I could love and I got her killed. Now the only man I could ever love… can't love me that way. I appreciate the sentiment, Kai but unfortunately, you and Ollie will be the only two people I could ever love. No one will be as wonderful and perfect as you two," Luca whispered before he forced his hand free from me and he stood up and walked off the head of Lady Liberty, breaking the illusion of our current setting as he unlocked the door and the room returned to its default state.

I suddenly called out, "Luca, wait!" He stopped from opening the door as he waited for me to finish what I was gonna say. "I… I-I… I understand if you hate me for hurting you. I'm so sorry." Tears fell from my eyes as I apologized to him.

"You don't need to be sorry. I can't control who you love. I don't hate you, really. I promise you I will find a way to move on. Besides, in the end…" He looked back at me with the most feigned smile I had ever witnessed. "...I'll at least always have you as a brother." With that said, he turned and ran out of the room with tears falling through the air as he ran from me.

It soon hit me what I truly did to him. Sure, I've laughed off the love letters and screams of marriage from fans all the time but this was the first time someone personally told me they loved me and this was the first time I actually inflicted heartbreak. But it wasn't just Luca who was feeling it, seeing him flee in such a broken state made my heart shatter even worse than when I thought he had betrayed us upon the revelation he was the Shadow Vigilante. I found myself curled into myself and crying out in pure agony as fluids leaked out of me like a faucet. I couldn't control myself anymore! I couldn't stay composed! I hurt Luca and now I'm suffering beyond description and all that ran through my mind was, 'What have I done? Why… did I lie?'

Chapter 5: The Fate of All for One Name

END

Deceased Students: 11

Surviving Students: 5

As my screams echoed throughout the hollow walls of the VR room, unbeknownst to me was the camera zooming in as if on cue upon my despairful state. Monokuma looked at the screen that had me screaming out and then over to another monitor that had Luca screaming in his dormitory room. "Such despair is so sweet to the tongue. Especially when I'm not the one to cause it to my students. But this is only the beginning, my young survivors of despair. The mysteries you're about to encounter will be sure to leave you in a state of incomprehensible shock. So be aware and beware of the answers to truths you never sought but you'll simply have to know. Because I guarantee by the time you do… you'll wish you were one of the lucky ones that were killed." The deranged headmaster of the academy of hope could only giggle quietly at his short yet meticulous monologue as those words would ring more true than anything we had yet come across.

Chapter 6: Despair is Always Greener on the Other Side of Hope

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Finally the chapter is was most excited to write is done! I really, really hope you all liked it as much as I loved it! Please leave a review with your thoughts! Now I'm not gonna spoil anything but chapter 6 is gonna be big. So big that I'm gonna need time to figure it all out so please be patient with me because the first chapter I release of chapter 6 won't be posted for quite some time. So until then despair for the long wait for the finale chapter to begin! See you not soon! Puhuhuhu~