(Violet and I made our way over to the mall.

We both walked rather slowly as we adsorbed the crazy and colorful cityscape around us.

Eventually we made it to the towering mall, and once we entered-)

Jack: HA HA HA! You two are exceptional performers!

Paige: Thank you, thank, we'll be here all night!

Chatty: No you dunderhead, we're probably gonna be here for the rest of our lives!

Jack: HA HA HA! Eh?

(The brigade of morons finally noticed us.)

Jack: Ah! When did you-? Don't you know it's dangerous to sneak up on a ninja?

Violet: I thought it was impossible to sneak up on a ninja.

Jack: I-It is but my guard was down. These two comical witches placed a distraction spell on me. Never again will I allow this to happen you maniacal wenches!

(Jack pulled out a handful of flour from his pocket, threw it at us, and ran off somewhere.)

Ryan: *cough* *cough* He better not do that every time we see him.

Paige: Aw where'd he go? We were having so much fun.

Ryan: You shouldn't be having fun, we're supposed to be searching.

Paige: But this place is too biiiiiiiiig...

Ryan: You haven't searched at all?!

Chatty: We searched what we thought was necessary you twat!

Paige: Yeah, we looked inside a few stores and found that they all have the same exact layout. None of the stores have any back-rooms or secret hatches or anything cool like that.

Chatty: And we rode the elevator to the top floor, turns out this place has 96 floors.

Violet: That's crazy just for a mall...

Paige: That's the weird thing! The elevator is glass so we could see through it as we ascended, Cat has fear of heights so she held onto me the whole way up-

(Cat blushed and shook her puppet around.

That really wasn't relevant information at all.)

Paige: -We noticed that every floor after the 6th has no open stores, they're all gated off and they're all completely empty!

Violet: What? Then why's this place so tall if a majority of the rooms aren't used?

Ryan: Maybe...maybe this place isn't a mall.

Violet: What do you mean?

Paige: Ooh! Ryan's actin' all detective-like.

Ryan: If you think about it, a lot of the stores have Monokuma-lookin' things in their logos right? So, maybe this place was turned into a mall by whoever brought us here, it isn't supposed to be a mall but it is one now.

Chatty: Then what the hell is it supposed to be Sherlock Herpes?

Ryan: First of all, that was hardly a pun. Second of all, how the hell am I supposed to know what this place was?

Chatty: I think you're the asshole who brought us here...'cuse you're an asshole.

Ryan: There's no way that I, or any one of us are responsible for all this.

Paige: So you're finally starting to trust us?

(Damn, I almost am...)

Ryan: Y-You guys all seem too stupid to mastermind something like this. Everything is way too elaborate, I'm begging to think we were brought here by some type of group or something...but whatever that's not important right now. We should theorize about stuff like after everyone's done searching.

Paige: We're done searching.

Violet: Ryan, we haven't done any searching we've just been asking people about their own searches.

Paige: What? You were scolding us and you haven't done anything yourself!

Chatty: What a dick.

Ryan: Hey hang on! Everyone's got everything covered, there's pretty much nothing left for us to look at. Plus, I didn't think we would find anything important, and guess what? We haven't found anything! The most useful information we got was Monokuma telling us that there's nothing we can do.

Chatty: You can't believe that plushie-piss-bag.

?: Why can't he?!

Paige: AH!

(Monokuma jumped up out of nowhere, again.

How is he doing that? Does this robot have camouflage?)

Monokuma: I truly appreciate the teamwork citizens! A helpful community is a happy community! But, well, Ryan is correct. Searching for an exit or clues is completely pointless! There are none anywhere! Ya know what, I'll just make this a public announcement so I don't need to repeat myself.

(Monokuma clapped his hands and in ran, another robot.

This one was just like Sentrykuma, a pair of bear legs with a an object on a stick coming out of them. Instead of a gun, it was a video camera.

Monokuma pulled out a microphone from...somewhere and began talking to the camera.)

Monokuma: Are we live?

Camerakuma: *beep boop*

Monokuma: Nice! *ahem* May I have your attention please!

Paige: Woah did you hear that?

Ryan: He must be streaming this to the monitor outside.

Monokuma: I regret to inform you all that your search for answers or an escape...is futile! The only way to leave is to play the killing game, if you don't want to play then you'll be living here for the rest of your life. There are no loopholes! This is not fake news! You. Can. Not. Leave. ...That is all, have a nice day!

(The Camerakuma ran off somewhere.)

Monokuma: That should finally get the message across.

(Monokuma left.)

-end -

(That's the third time he's had to say that, he really means that, and I've known that this whole time.

Looks like the others are still having a hard time accepting it, they're just standing here distraught.)

Violet: It can't...be true.

Ryan: Well it is don't you get that yet-

Paige: I-It's not true! W-We must've overlooked something, this mall has gotta have a way out! Let's go look some more Cat!

(Paige grabbed Cat by the arm and ran off into the mall.

Violet was trying hard to hold back tears.)

Ryan: This is getting depressing to watch...can you guys please just accept that-

Violet: The hotel!

Ryan: Huh?

Violet: We haven't checked in there yet, it has to be the way out! It's our only hope now!

(Violet ran to the hotel with determination, but nothing significant awaits us there, I know it.

Everyone is just being stubborn at this point. They don't actually have hope, they just don't want to agree with something Monokuma said.

I begrudgingly walked after Violet to the hotel.)

(Once I entered the hotel, I saw Violet standing on weak knees in front of Tom and Beck.)

Ryan: Uh...what's going on?

Violet: It's hopeless...it really is...

Ryan: Huh?

Tom: We were about to go and tell everyone that this hotel has nothing. Every room is locked and there are no keys anywhere.

Beck: Yup, and we checked every single door on all 12 floors. Yeesh, I've never yanked at so many hard knobs before.

Tom: Please stop saying things like-

(Violet suddenly collapsed to the floor.)

Tom: -Woah! A-Are you ok?

Violet: We really are trapped...

Beck: Nah come on, you can't believe what that damn robot said.

(Violet started crying.)

Violet: But we've looked everywhere! A-And there's nothing, no way out, no clues, no reason...

(Naturally I feel sad having to watch her cry, but this was bound to happen, and it's better that it happens now rather than later...)

Tom: Ryan what's she going on about?

Ryan: The truth. She's finally realized the truth that I've known the whole damn time.

Tom: B-But that can't be!

Beck: No way we're stuck here!

(Just then, everyone else began to enter the hotel, seems their meaningless searches are finally done.)

Benny: Sounds like we've got some drama in here.

Curt: Why are you guys yellin'?

May: Are you all fighting because...look, we'll find some way out don't.

Paige: Yeah. Maybe today's search went almost nowhere but-

(I can't listen to this anymore.)

Ryan: We are trapped you idiots!

(Shit I've snapped, but if we're gonna find an actual work around in this situation then, they need to leave their optimism behind.)

Ryan: Quit lying to yourselves! There is no way out! There is no fucking hope! We found nothing today, we'll find nothing tomorrow, we'll never find anything!

Suds: Calm down solider. Why are you so angry?

Ryan: Because being angry is the only way I can get this concept through your thick skulls!

(They're all staring at me.

I probably look like an idiot to them, but they all look like idiots to me.)

?: Now we're talkin'.

(Monokuma showed up, again.)

Monokuma: This is the type of development I like to see. Your forged friendship has finally fallen apart!

Paige: What are you talking about? Weren't you just saying you appreciated our teamwork?

Monokuma: Yeah and teamwork is important for a stabilized community, but the way things are lookin' now, this community is stable no longer!

Cookie: Shut up! W-We still...we still believe that-

Monokuma: See that? You can't even bring yourselves to say it anymore! This is it, this is finally it! That wonderful, wonderful emotion that only a life or death situation can produce! You're all finally falling into despair!

(Despair huh? Yeah...that's the word for it.

Violet is still crying hysterically, despair is the only emotion that could produce that many tears.)

Monokuma: Now that you're all finally in despair, things will get interesting!

Tom: What'll get interesting? Why are you toying with us?!

Monokuma: None of you seem to want to stay in this fair city of mine, but you've all come to accept that there is no way to leave. Oh what a hopeless scenario-but wait-you shouldn't lose hope about escaping, because there is one way to escape! One way that you're all trying to ignore.

Ryan: ...The killing game.

Monokuma: Yup! Winning the killing game is the only way to leave! That's my law, and my laws are the truth! Puhuhuhu! Ryan, I have to thank you for kicking things into high gear, I can't wait to see how this one will turn out! Enjoy your city life folks, enjoy it to your heart's content...

(Monokuma left.

He injected us all with despair, and left.

I've known this whole time, I've know there was nothing we could do, but still.

Hearing it from that damn robot and seeing the distraught expressions around me...it's all fucking with my head.

This despair we're feeling, it's just entertainment to the assholes behind the scenes.)

(May spoke up through subtle tears.)

May: I'm not...going to kill anyone...none of us will *sniff* we've already agreed on that.

(She's really a natural born motivator.)

Ivy: Then...that...that means that...

May: We're staying here.

(We all hate the sound of that solution but, it truly is our only solution.)

May: We'll all learn to trust each other...and love each other *sniff* and we'll live together in this secluded city...we'll defy that stupid bear.

(Everyone, sniffling up a storm, verbally agreed with May yet again.

But this agreement, this must be permanent.

It's a crazy decision we're making, but it's the only decision we can make.)

(This is unfair...why us? Why me?

Why is any of this happening?

We might never know, and we need to accept that and move on.

I guess it's a good thing all my memories are gone, 'cuse I've got no problem turning away from whatever my original life was.

I've got no problem accepting,

This despair city life.)

(The next morning, we all met up in the hotel cafe again.

However this time, nobody came down together, and nobody spoke.

We all sat in silence, enjoying the meal that Cookie somehow had energy to make.

Nobody wants to address what's happening to us, but at the same time, nobody wants to casually ignore it.

We couldn't even say "Good morning!" because that would be the same as saying "Good morning! It's the first day of willingly ignoring our past lives and living a demented city! Yay!"

None of us are happy about this, but if we express any sadness or despair, that would be letting that bear win.)

...

...

...

(What the hell is going to happen to us?

Are we seriously going to be like this...forever?

I...I can't take this but I can't-)

Curt: I'm a man.

(Huh? Curt spoke up out of nowhere and everyone looked at him.

Why'd he say that?

As far as we know he is a man, yes, true...so...why did he-)

Curt: We have one place left to try and as a man I can not ignore it!

May: Huh?

Violet: What are you talking about?

(Before he could answer our rapid fire questions, Curt bolted out of the hotel.

Way to cause a scene dude, we've been trying to prevent that.

Everyone else got up and ran after Curt.

I guess I should go too, but where the hell is he going?

How has he not given up hope yet...unless...

"One place left to try"...?

Oh.

Oh shit!)

(I ran after everyone and sure enough, they were all crowded around right outside the hotel.

Some people were trying to hold Curt back, but they were no match for him.

Curt was released and ran right for the wall of barbed-wire-covered rubble next to the mall.

Yeah, that wall is defiantly blocking something off but...is it really blocking an exit? I doubt that.

We haven't look there but, that's because we can't! Not only is it covered in wire but also Monokuma said-)

(A siren started blaring across the whole city and a spontaneous Sentrykuma began running up behind us.)

Sentrykuma: ROGUE-CITIZEN-DETECTED.

(The sentry ran past us and took aim at Curt, who was just staring his rough climb.

He has hardly made any distance but he's already bleeding from scratches in his legs and palms.

Everyone was helplessly screaming to get him to stop, but he wasn't listening. He was too focused on his goal. Too focused on hope.

Someone could climb up and drag him don't, but we're smarter than that.)

Jenn: Breaking news! Wrestler dude is totally insane!

Tom: What are you doing man?! You're gonna get yourself killed!

Violet: You're already hurt! You need to get down from there! Please!

Ivy: The gun's aiming at you!

Sentrykuma: TAKING-AIM.

(We can't do anything to help.

It's only up to him.

Will he use logic and live, or will he use belief...and die...)

TO BE CONTINUED...