"Please excuse the mess," Odafe said, standing up from behind his desk. "I haven't had time to tidy up since my predecessor departed."
The greeting was intended sardonically, but the room really was in quite a jumble. Ordinarily, guests would find themselves awash in the blend of elegance and nostalgia, surrounded by luxury accommodations and rare artifacts from Killing Games past. Now the marble statues of Monokuma and Usami were flanked by twin server banks, and thick cables coiled beneath oil paintings of Hope's Peak highlights. A messy compromise, but one that was essential for the rapid installation of Odafe's MotherSec security system. From his desk, he could monitor and control the entire hotel. And that meant Kokichi was walking right into the belly of the beast.
"Sounds like there's a lotta turnover in your line of work," the Overlord quipped as he ushered Himiko into the penthouse, his eyes briefly flicking to the two Exisals at his back.
"It's a demanding position," Odafe admitted. "But one that is quite efficient at weeding out the weak."
"Meaning everyone besides you, right?" The Overlord returned the condescending grin. "I wonder if the last guy thought the same thing too."
A retort leapt to Odafe's tongue, but he forced it back down. Trading verbal jabs would do him no good; he needed to maintain an air of measured calm and control. "Have a seat, won't you?" he offered, gesturing to the two hand-carved chairs on the other side of his desk.
"Aw man," the Overlord frowned as he sat down, pulling Himiko into the seat beside him. "When I saw your eyepatch, I was hoping you had a hook-hand too. But I guess the get-up isn't a pirate thing, huh?"
"This is not a fashion accessory," the Programmer sniffed, gesturing to his covered eye. "It is a scar I obtained in the line of duty. I consider it a badge of honor."
"Well without a hook-hand or peg-leg, it just looks like you're half-assing it," Kokichi yawned.
"Maybe you could get a parrot," Himiko offered.
Kokichi brightened. "Yeah! He should get a parrot! That's a great idea Himiko! So great, I won't even stab you for breaking the 'No Talking' rule!"
"Nyeh?" the Magician gasped.
"Enough," Odafe grit his teeth. "I didn't come here to play games, Kokichi. You said you wanted to negotiate, so let's negotiate."
"Oh c'mon, cut me some slack," Kokichi laughed. "I've been dead almost a year. You can't blame me for wanting to have a little fun, can you? Besides, playing games is kiiiiinnda my thing. You would know that if you did your homework like a good little boy."
Odafe crossed his arms. "So that's what this is to you then? Just another game?"
"Oh the best kind," The Overlord answered, idly turning the knife in his hand. "The kind where everything is at stake, and the winner takes all."
"I see," Odafe's eyes narrowed. "And what exactly does winning mean to you?"
"You mean my demands?" Kokichi smiled. "Well I'm glad you asked!" He suddenly leaped on the desk causing both Exisals to aim their palm cannons at his head. Odafe recoiled in surprise, but Kokichi didn't continue forward to attack. Instead, he paced across the desk like a dictator before his army, gesturing with the knife for emphasis. "Demand number one!" he announced. "You will rebuild the Ultimate Academy as my own personal headquarters of evil, and install me as its sole ruler."
"Headquarters of evil?" Odafe exclaimed, watching with Kokichi's performance with mounting dread. If he got a centimeter closer, the Exisals would automatically fire and cut the Overlord down where he stood. But whether by luck or design, he always managed to stay just out range of that invisible red line.
"Demand two," Kokichi continued, swishing his cape. "You will rewrite Shuichi and Maki's memories so that they believe they are minions in my organization. Oh, and Himiko too, I guess. She can be our mascot or something."
"Wait, that's not fair!" Himiko exclaimed. "How come I gotta be the stupid mascot? With my magic, I'd be a way better minion than Shuichi or Maki!"
"But mascots should be cute, shouldn't they?" Kokichi cocked his head. "So it'd be the perfect role for you, right?"
"Oh..." Himiko blushed. "I guess that make sense. I am the cutest by far."
"Nah, never mind," Kokichi shook his head. "Nobody likes a conceited mascot."
"Hey!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Odafe hissed, his eyes darting between the two teenagers. "Surely, you can't be serious."
"Sure am, Shirley," Kokichi giggled. "I'm super, duper double-majorly serious."
Odafe stood. "And suppose I don't give into your demands. What then?"
"Simple," Kokichi hopped off of the desk, landing in Himiko's lap and waving the knife. "I kill Himiko, then myself. And you lose this little kingdom you've tried oh so hard to earn."
"W-wait," Himiko stammered. "Y-you can't kill the m-mascot so easily, right?"
Odafe suppressed an exasperated sigh. Clearly, trying to reason with Kokichi was a waste of time. Not only was the impudent brat unhinged, he was incredibly annoying to boot. "There's no chance Team Danganronpa will agree to such ridiculous demands," the Programmer explained. "Our objective is to salvage as many investments as we can-why on earth would we give away three high-value assets to save the life of one?"
Kokichi blinked, the scope of the situation appearing to dawn on him for the first time. "Ooooohh...you're totally right!" he shouted, smacking himself in the forehead. "I got so caught up in the moment I completely overplayed my hand!" He paused, then met Odafe's glare with a disarming smile. "Well, if the evil headquarters is out...how 'bout a McDonald's gift card?"
That was enough. The Programmer snapped his fingers. With a chirp, the two Exisals shot their tails forward, yanking the Magician and Overlord apart and binding them tightly.
"H-hey!" Kokichi gasped, struggling to speak as the metal cable squeezed tighter. "Wh-who told the metal apes th-they could cut in? Wh-what ever...urk...happened to the p-pirate code of parlay?"
"You really thought you were going to bargain your way out of this?" Odafe sneered. "Perhaps if you begged for your life I would have allowed you work as my servant. But now I see the best you can be is a thorn in my side." Odafe waved to the Exisals. "Take them away."
"W-wait..." Kokichi choked. "Eh...you d-didn't hear me out...I have...m-more to offer."
Odafe raised his hands, halting the Exisals by the door. "Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"
"I-if you...egh...let me t-take a goddamn b...ugh...breath, I can explain."
Odafe paused. This was probably just another one of Kokichi's lies but...well, there was no harm in letting this play out, since the Programmer held all the cards. "Very well," he said, gesturing for the Exisal to drop its diminutive cargo. Kokichi hit the ground with a thud, and looked up to find the Exisal's palm cannon pointed in his face. "Choose your words carefully," Odafe advised.
The Overlord coughed, rubbing his throat. "As I was saying...Himiko isn't the only chip I have to bet. I also have...information. About Paris."
"The Hacker?" Odafe scoffed. "What good would intel about her be? She's dead."
"But her friends aren't," Kokichi answered, his voiced tinged with joyful malice. "And I know where to find them."
Odafe cocked an eyebrow. Now things were getting interesting.
The moment the T.V. flicked on, Maki's eyes snapped open. She had been dozing at the foot of her bed, her version of getting a good night's sleep after her failed escape attempt. Now her crimson gaze was riveted to the bright screen, staring in disbelief at what she saw.
It was security footage of the penthouse suite. Team Danganronpa's computer guy was seated at his desk with Himiko tied up in an Exisal nearby. And standing in the center of it all was a monster Maki hoped she would never see again.
Somehow, someway, Kokichi was back.
Maki shot to her feet, every muscle in her body tense and ready to pounce. How was this possible? Did Kokichi actually fake his own death back at the Academy? Was he working for Team Danganronpa? Did Kaito...did Kaito die for nothing?
Hot rage poured into Maki's veins, burning through the confusion and fueling the fire in her heart. Whatever the explanation, it was clear Kokichi had brought Himiko back here. And now he was trying to buy favor with the enemy. Which meant there was only one thing for Maki to do.
The Assassin tore her attention from the broadcast and headed for the door, fists flexing at her side, her bloodlust rising. She didn't care if there were Exisals, traps, or the devil himself waiting out there. She was going to claw her way to the penthouse or die trying. And when she did, she would make sure she never had to hear that despicable liar's laugh ever again.
"I'm saying it wasn't just Paris," the Kokichi on the screen explained. "She had a whole team of anti-Danganronpa anarchists helping her every step of the way. I'm talkin' hundreds!"
Shuichi watched the T.V. in silent shock. After Himiko had left, he knew she would likely come back to rescue them. And he had also deduced that she would try and use the Necronomicon to help her on her mission. Yet for her to be tied up before the de facto warden of the hotel, and for Kokichi to be responsible for her recapture...it was almost too much to believe.
No. Shuichi set his book aside. Something else was going on. The fact that this security footage had suddenly appeared on his T.V. meant that someone wanted him to see it. There were two possibilities in that case: either Team Danganronpa was broadcasting it to taunt him...
...Or it was part of someone else's plan. And there was only one person Shuichi could think of who would launch a scheme this elaborate. It had to be Kokichi's doing.
It was the only explanation that made sense. If this was a set up by Team Danganronpa, they wouldn't have to rely on ad-hoc streaming from a surveillance camera. Plus, why would they choose this moment to start showing it? As an intimidation tactic, it didn't make sense.
So it was more likely that an accomplice of Kokichi's had hacked into the system and was trying to tell the prisoners something. And if that were the case, it followed that Maki would be watching this too. Meaning...
A realization shot through Shuichi's mind like a bolt of ice. Dammit. It was just like Kokichi to deploy such a dangerous gambit. The Detective sprinted for the door of his room, hoping his deduction had been quick enough. He needed to get to the penthouse before something awful happened.
Paris watched on the monitor as Shuichi dashed out of his room. Good, it was all going just as Kokichi had predicted. The Hacker had never doubted the adorable Overlord, but for it to be lining up so perfectly...she couldn't help but grin.
It was an ingenious scheme: thanks to Himiko's sleight-of-hand abilities and a fake blood capsule hidden in the scarf binding her arms, the three Ultimates had managed to fake Paris's death with gorgeous perfection. The signal jammer she had bound to her torso had done the rest, ensuring that the Exisals' thermal scan would draw a blank. Of course, bodies don't actually lose all their heat upon death, but the Supreme Leader had bet Odafe would have neither the experience nor presence of mind to realize that in the moment. So instead of being taken in as a prisoner, Paris was dumped into the hotel infirmary as a corpse. Now Odafe's many eyes were elsewhere, and she was free to do as she pleased.
Well, more or less. Paris cast another cursory look over her shoulder to make sure nobody had wandered in the dimly lit operating theater. Most surgeries were automated nowadays, and Odafe had fired most of the staff, so the odds of her being discovered were slim. To the Hacker's relief, that held true: nothing behind her but the empty gurney and shelves of medical supplies.
She turned back to the room's computer terminal, making sure the programs she had smuggled in on her data card were running as intended. Odafe had beefed up network security since the run that sprang Himiko, which is why Paris needed a machine on the inside this time. Even now, the Programmer's ICE was slowly coming for Paris's operations, like a pack of white blood cells closing in on a virus. As much as she longed to watch the furious hearts clash in the penthouse above, she had to do her job and keep moving.
With a wistful sigh, Paris blew a kiss to her fellow warriors and executed one final routine, commanding the system to fry its own circuits in 60 seconds.
She had halted the Ultimate Programmer's machinations. Now it was time for Kokichi and Himiko to burn them down.
"D'ya get it now?" Kokichi asked. "Get rid of me and you'll never find out where Paris's hidden army lives. And let me tell you, from one Master of Evil to another, these are not people you want after you."
Odafe shook his head. What a disappointment the Supreme Ruler had turned out to be. "Again, Kokichi, you are woefully mistaken. Even if you really have information on this supposed insurgency—and I doubt very much you do-there's no need for me to bargain with you. I'll simply capture you now, then extract the data one way or another. After all, we'll have all the time in the world," he added with a cruel smirk, "And Team Danganronpa has rather perfected the art of getting what it wants."
Kokichi's cocky expression faded. For the first time since he had arrived at the hotel, he was speechless. He stared at the floor, his gaze clouded, his lips quivering slightly in defeat.
The Programmer laughed. "What's the matter? No clever comeback? No more lies to delay the inevitable? Ah, well. At least you've provided me a little entertainment." He flicked his wrist at the nearby Exisal. "Take him away," he commanded.
Nothing happened.
The Exisals didn't move.
Odafe hesitated, then repeated the gesture. "I said 'take him away!" Still no response. He huffed, frustration turning to desperation. "Access command! Launch routine 578111-D, authorization N60236!" The Exisal seemed to recognize this command, only to then groan and lower its arms in submission. Its partner did the same, allowing Himiko to easily slide free from its grasp.
"Ta-daaa!" She proclaimed. "Fall to your knees before the Amazing Himiko's Anti-Robot Escape Magic!"
Odafe staggered back. "H-how did you..?" he stammered. This was a nightmare. Why weren't the Exisal's responding? It was inconceivable to think that any of the 53rd class had managed to hack them. So then...how?
"Neeheehee," Kokichi giggled, the helplessness in his eyes melting into wicked glee. "Ahahahahahaha! You actually fell for it!" he cackled, doffing his cap with an exaggerated flourish.
Odafe paled. Beneath the Overlord's hat rested a tiny pink grenade, a digital timer on its side counting down to zero. The Programmer recognized it in an instant: an Electro Bomb. And one with only three seconds left until detonation. 2...1…
"Idiot!" The Supreme Leader jeered. "It was all a lie!"
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