(Before we get to today's chapter, I just wanted to thank everyone whose read and supported this fic up til now. Sharing this has been one of the highlights of my year, and it's all thanks to you. So here's wishing you happy Holidays and a great New Year!)
A cool breeze whistled through the field of metal shells and cracked pavement. Maki's mind raced with the wind, rapidly re-assessing the opponent that mirrored her stance on the other side of the clearing. Chloe was daring Maki to attack, to test her calculations against those of the Ultimate Psychologist.
Maki gradually strafed to the right, forcing her enemy to match her, beginning the dance that would decide their fate. No matter what Chloe did to psyche her out, the Assassin wasn't going to let it get to her. She had faith in her strength and, more importantly, in her ability to kill.
But…was it really her ability? Or were her techniques merely a copy of the woman she now faced?
"Let me ask you something," Chloe suddenly remarked, as though reading the intrusive thought on Maki's face. "Do you know why you're fighting me?"
"You know damn well why," Maki spat, still circling, still searching for her angle.
"I'm not sure I do," Chloe pressed. "The obvious answer is to escape Team Danganronpa, but that just raises more questions. You were living quite comfortably under our roof, as far as I could tell. Yet you've thrown that all away and put you and your friends in serious danger. And for what?"
"Don't try and twist things," Maki shot back. "We were your prisoners in that hotel. We've been your prisoners ever since we woke up in that damn school."
"You're referring to the Killing Semester," Chloe's eyes narrowed. "Is that what this is about? All this violence and hate, just to get back at us for an event you volunteered for?"
Maki grit her teeth, forcing herself to remain calm. "Your people keep saying that, but there's no proof we ever signed off on that stupid game. Even that video Tsumugi showed us could've been a fake."
"I see," Chloe arched an eyebrow. "So you're willing to commit murder because there's a chance your rights were violated. Does that sound like a worthy cause?"
"I don't care how you try to spin it: any organization that forces teenagers to kill each other doesn't deserve to live. It's as simple as that."
"What if we didn't have a choice?"
Maki blinked. "What are you talking about?"
Chloe sighed. "You and the others seem to think the Killing Game exists for pure entertainment. But there are easier, cheaper, and less dangerous ways to give audiences a thrill. That's not what Danganronpa provides. Danganronpa gives them hope."
Maki grimaced. "Don't bother with that hope and despair bullshit. It didn't work when Tsumugi tried it, and it sure as hell isn't going to work now."
"But it's true. The evidence is right here around you." Chloe stretched her arms wide, gesturing to the fields of bombs imbedded in the pavement. "This is what happened when humanity lost all hope. This is a world without Danganronpa!"
There. That was the opening. Maki lunged forward, striking at Chloe's exposed torso. But it was a trap: Chloe brought her guard in the moment Maki's muscles tensed, allowing her to block the attack and its follow-up. Maki continued the assault, but the Psychologist read each move the moment before impact, deflecting every blow and twisting out of every grapple with practiced precision.
With a growl, Maki finally slipped between Chloe's guard, landing an elbow to her stomach and twisting behind her back, in perfect position for a choke hold. But the Psychologist shifted and brought her arms up at the last second, halting Maki from crushing her windpipe and locking the two combatants in place.
"You know…it's really…quite hypocritical," Chloe quipped between strained breaths. "You see no problem killing to…save your orphanage or your friends. But when we kill to save the world…you sentence me to death."
"That's not the same."
Chloe glanced over her shoulder, managing to meet Maki's eye. "Isn't it?"
Maki felt her grip loosen for just a split second, but it was enough. Chloe ducked out of the hold, using her greater size to turn the grapple against the Assassin and throw her over her shoulder. Maki hit the ground with a grunt, rolling and then springing back to her feet, ready for the Psychologist's follow-up.
But none came. Chloe remained where she was in a defensive stance, seemingly uninterested in taking the offensive.
Maki slowed her breathing, trying to tamp down her frustration. "I know what you're up to," she said. "You know you can't beat me in a straight fight. So you're just biding your time, trying to get in my head so I'll make a mistake."
Chloe frowned. "You really do think I'm a monster, don't you? Let me ask you this: have you ever considered why I'm fighting as well?"
"I don't care." Maki suddenly shot forward in a blur of crimson, closing the distance with Chloe in the blink of an eye. Chloe raised her arms in anticipation, but this time it was the Psychologist's turn to be duped. Instead of striking, the Assassin sprung into the air as she approached, flipping and hand-springing off her opponent's shoulders.
As Chloe staggered, off balance, Maki landed gracefully at her back, right beside the wreckage of the downed van. In one smooth movement, the Assassin scooped up a dagger-like shard of glass, whirled around on her opponent, and brought it arcing towards the nape of her neck.
Chloe managed to spin around millimeters from death, the improvised blade skimming her cheek as she danced out of reach. The Psychologist retreated some distance, clearly caught off guard. A fresh red slash now arced across her pale cheek: a shallow cut, but one that brought Maki no small satisfaction.
Yet as the Psychologist brought a hand to her face, and examined the fresh blood on her glove, she seemed neither shocked, nor enraged. There was a strange weariness in her gaze, like a disappointed mother whose child is beyond help. "It seems I'm not making myself understood," she stated flatly.
"I understand plenty," Maki scoffed, flipping the glass in her grip and approaching for another attack.
"So headstrong, so sure of yourself," Chloe shook her head. "Sometimes I forget that you're all still teenagers at heart."
"Not anymore we're not," Maki retorted. "You and your stupid Killing Game made sure of that."
"You're right," Chloe admitted. "The things we've done to you…the memories we've placed inside of you…even most adults wouldn't be able to handle it." The Psychologist lowered her arms, dropping her guard right as Maki neared striking distance. "That's why I don't want to fight you, Maki; I want to save you."
Bullshit. Maki lashed out at Chloe's throat, hoping to cut the conversation with one swift stab. The Psychologist dodged the attack, then continued to duck and weave between the gleaming blade as the Assassin pressed her assault.
"I don't want to destroy Danganronpa," Chloe said as she danced out of harm's way. "But that doesn't mean I think what we did to you was right. You deserve better, Maki."
"Enough!" Maki angrily thrust the glass towards Chloe's heart, only for the Psychologist to grab the Assassin's wrist, wrenching it aside. But rather than counterattack, Chloe stood her ground, locking Maki into place, their eyes boring into each other.
"The Killing Game was necessary to keep the world safe," the Psychologist continued. "But there was no need to inflict you with so many horrible memories. There was no need to burden you with a life of abandonment and pain, no need to twist your thoughts and feelings for the sake of a tragic finale."
Maki tried to break free of her opponent's grip, but the Psychologist held fast. Despite herself, the Assassin couldn't help but notice how clear Chloe's eyes were. They shone like ice, yet there was something warm burning underneath. Was it…was it actually sympathy?
Chloe's expression softened. "You were never meant for happiness, Maki," she said. "Everything about you: your past, your disposition, your relationship with Kaito…it was all built to fail, to cause you to self-destruct in increasingly spectacular ways. Even now, that horrible engine in your head is still working, still driving you to lash out, to court death, to push people away and isolate yourself from love. It's how we made you, Maki. And it's what you're fighting to preserve."
"Shut up!" Maki roared. She spun her body around, yanking her hand free and whipping a devastating kick into Chloe's torso. The Psychologist flew back with a pained gasp, skidding against the pavement before slamming into the side of her sports car.
Maki advanced with enraged strides, gripping the glass so tight her hand started to bleed. But she couldn't feel it. Her body was consumed by a maelstrom of rage and confusion. This woman…no, this monster before her. Overseeing the Killing Game was enough to warrant death. But to turn the other cheek and pretend to care…to twist and manipulate Maki's own heart against her…to try and take the blame for Kaito's death. It was too cruel. It was…it was…
Chloe looked up as the Assassin's shadow fell over her. Maki could tell there was no fight left in her: that kick had cracked one of her ribs, and from this position it would be nearly impossible for her to escape anyway. All the Assassin had to do was end it.
Yet the blade in her hand remained still.
Chloe tried to sit up, only to wince and slump against the car door. "Why do you fight so hard to save what's killing you?" she asked. "You could've been saved…we could've wiped your memories and given you a second chance. Yet you still cling to the darkness that's trying to swallow you. Why?"
Maki's hand trembled. Don't listen to her. Just end it. Now. Shut her up.
"I guess I can't blame you," the Psychologist coughed. "I'm guilty of the same crime myself. The memories I carry…the sins I've committed…I'm terrified of them, yet I'm more terrified of what will happen if I lose them." She sighed. "If trauma is what make us who we are, than removing it is tantamount to erasing the self. Still, I found myself wondering what's on the other side." She lifted her gaze, meeting Maki's with a humorless smile. "What do you think?"
The Assassin looked away, suddenly unable to meet her target's eyes. It should be easy. It should've been over the minute Maki landed that kick. Every instinct in her bones was screaming for her to finish the job. But the Psychologists words had created a spark, rekindling something in the deepest recesses of her mind. It was a flame Kaito had once fanned, a light guiding her away from her worst instincts, showing her another path forward. She didn't have to be a killer. Maybe she never was in the first place. Maybe…maybe…
That's when Maki noticed it: the Psychologist's car was still running. Not only that, but the police radio in the dashboard was still turned on. And it was broadcasting a tracking signal.
Before Maki could process this, the air was expelled from her lungs by a sudden blow to her torso. She could only manage a weak gasp of pain as she felt her arm pulled behind her back, popping out if its socket as Chloe completed the maneuver. Her fingers grasped around the Assassin's throat, hoisting her into the air and squeezing what little air remained inside her. Maki squirmed feebly, but already she was struggling to keep her eyes focused.
"I'm sorry," Chloe said. "It's nothing personal."
Maki's arms went limp at her sides. Black spots blotted out her vision. It was over. She had lost.
Crack. Chloe's body suddenly jerked as blue sparks leapt across her body. She fell to the ground in a limp heap, dropping Maki along with her.
The Assassin hit the ground with a startled wheeze as air suddenly flooded her lungs. Her mind spun with exhaustion and confusion as she gasped desperately for oxygen, rubbing her throat where the Psychologist hand had bruised. She turned in the direction the stun shot had come from, and almost couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Nyeh, t-that's what you get for hurting my friend!" Himiko shouted, Chloe's lost pistol still smoking in her hand. "My lightening spell has +2 damage against st-stupid jerks like you!"
"H-himiko?" Maki coughed, struggling to stand. "Wh-when did you…"
"Maki, wait!" Himiko cried, nearly tripping over Chloe's unconscious body as she ran to the Assassin. "Don't move so fast, you're hurt!"
"It's…fine, I…"
The sound of sirens echoed in the distance, cutting her off. The Magician moved to the Assassin's side, helping her up and trying to support her as she moved. "We have to get going," Himiko groaned, clearly struggling to keep Maki upright and trying to hide it. "Paris and the others are inside, but they're probably on their way to get us now. I ran off on my own 'cause I knew you needed my magic fast."
"Wait," Maki said, snatching the pistol from Himiko's grip. "There's something we need to finish." She aimed it at Chloe's prone body on the ground, flipping the setting to "lethal" as she did.
To her surprise, Himiko grabbed Maki's hand, stopping her from shooting. "No, you can't kill her!" the Magician protested.
"Why the hell not?" the Assassin glowered.
"I…I...I don't have time to explain," Himiko stammered. "But I promised Kokichi I would stop you. I-i-it's important!" she added when Maki's eyes narrowed. "Th-that's the truth, okay?"
Maki hesitated a moment, then let the gun fall limply at her side. She no longer had the energy or strength to protest. She just wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.
"Alright," the Assassin relented. "Lead the way."