The great steel door loomed before them. This unbreakable, oppressive thing that laughed at any idea of defeating it…

On either side, Junko's gatling guns hung limply in the air. They would never fire again, if they'd ever fired before. Not too long ago, Mukuro would have fallen in love with those guns. All they were, all they represented, the thrill of firing them, the burning of her muscles as she lifted them, the smell of gunpowder and heat in the air…

They were just metal, now. Barely more interesting than a table or a chair. Her old reaction to them was almost a little embarrassing, now. Like a middle school crush.

She cocked her head and glanced to her right. Taka stood in a corner, three overfull backpacks hanging off his shoulders, checking and rechecking a watch and a notepad, not seeming to notice her attention. Byakuya had put him in charge of tracking down what food in the warehouse was least perishable. It probably wouldn't last more than a week.

Behind him, Hiro leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. His eyes were closed, but Mukuro was pretty sure he wasn't asleep.

Pretty sure.

Leon stood only a little away from them, rubbing the back of his head. He looked back to her and gave the briefest of nods. The red scar on his cheek glinted under the stale ceiling lights, a permanent reminder of the mistake he'd almost made.

He kinda deserves it, to be honest.

To Mukuro's left, Toko scurried after the quick steps of her wished-for suitor, slouched over and carrying a set of books close against her chest. Byakuya himself paused in front of the door, even closer to it than Mukuro. His face and posture betrayed nothing except total confidence, but she could tell, despite everything, that he was at least a little anxious.

Hina stood to her side, and grabbed her by the shoulder. She smiled.

"You did it, Mukuro."

"We did it."

"No… You did. We were just your cheerleaders."

"Well, I couldn't have done it without my cheerleaders, then."

Hina laughed, and pumped her fists.

"I'd've been the best Ultimate Cheerleader, if I wasn't already busy!"

Last of all was Kyoko, who stood in the back of the room, where the door to the hallway met the entry hall. She leaned against the frame, arms crossed, smiling. Her eyes were still blank and gray. For the first time since the killing game started, she seemed almost satisfied.

"A–ah!" Toko sputtered. "M–Master, the air's s–still fresh here… W–we can stay here, y–you know?"

"Stay, and do what?" he replied, rolling his eyes. "There's nothing here worth staying for."

Mukuro nodded, mostly to herself. He was right about that. This place wasn't even a building anymore, not really. It was just a memory.

A bad memory.

She looked down at her good hand, expecting to find it pawing at Sayaka's old hair clip. But she wasn't. Consciously, she pulled it out of her pocket. She flipped it between her fingers for a little while, watching the light play off its edges, tapping it against a broken arm that no longer hurt.

Slowly, shakingly, she turned her hand until it was perpendicular to the floor. The hair clip fell out of it, and landed face-down underneath one of the guns, nearer to Hina than to herself.

She never saw it ever again.

"Is the world really destroyed?" Hiro asked. She hadn't seen him come up behind her. "Like, is there any chance that it's… I dunno, still okay? That it was all just a big lie?"

"No," Mukuro said, for she had the benefit of her memories. "It's destroyed."

"But there are survivors," Byakuya said. He didn't look back at them.

"How do we know that for sure?" Leon asked.

"Because if there weren't, there'd be no one left to work for me." He turned just enough for them to see the corner of his lips, and gave an evil grin.

"I–I'm still here, Master!"

"I'm going to find them," he said, ignoring her. "And then I'll rebuild the world."

"Bigger and better than it was before, I assume," Kyoko said, clearly amused.

"Of course!"

She was smiling wider than Mukuro had ever seen.

"Hey, Kyoko," Leon said. "D'ya… D'ya think your eyesight will ever come back?"

"Likely not on its own," she said, not upset. "I still only see black. Any chemical that could do this would have started to wear off by now, unless it was permanent."

"On its own…?" Taka repeated. "Then…"

"I'm sure that if there are survivors out there, then some of them must be doctors."

"B–but!" Toko stuttered again. "A–are any of them Ultimate Doctors?! Th–there might not be any o–other Ultimates left with m–medical skills!"

Mukuro licked her lips. She'd already decided to always face the truth for the rest of her life, but…

I can mention the Ultimate Nurse another time.

That one was a bit wacky even by the standards of the Ultimate Despairs.

"Toko," Kyoko chuckled. "We don't need the world's best for this. I'm sure a regular doctor will be enough. And if I'm wrong… that's okay, too."

"Y–yeah, but–"

"Oh my God!" Hiro screamed bloody murder.

Everyone looked to him, frightened and concerned. He stood there right behind Mukuro, clutching the sides of his heads, seeming like the world was about to end.

"What's wrong?" Taka asked, hurriedly. "Did we forget about something important?!"

He was shaking. Panicking and blue in the face, he cried:

"If Celeste was stuck in that tiny room the entire game… then where did she poop?!"

No one said a word.

And then, Kyoko laughed.

It wasn't one of the light chuckles she gave occasionally when she knew something the others did not. It wasn't one of the satisfied smiles she gave when she'd helped someone puzzle through a problem.

It was a full-on, mouth-wide, face-red laugh.

She laughed and laughed and laughed until her face was more red than pink. She laughed until her sides were too on fire for her to stand, and only by pressing against the wall did she stay on her feet. She laughed until she cried.

Two years, and Kyoko had never laughed like that even once.

Mukuro was smiling, too, when she finally finished. Kyoko wiped away her tears, stood up, and shook her head. She looked away, and Mukuro sensed that the redness of her face was now probably the result of something other than laughter.

"Uh… sorry about that," she said, quickly, not looking them in the eye, and adjusted her tie.

"Ugh," Byakuya moaned. "You were the only one I thought wasn't a complete fool."

"You should've known better, then!" Taka announced, proudly. "W–wait, no, I meant–"

Mukuro was the one who laughed this time.

It felt good.

"Wh–what are we going to find out there?" Toko asked. "Is it d–dangerous?"

"Yes," Mukuro admitted.

"Do you think the people out there will still hate you?" Leon asked.

"They can't!" Taka made a fist. "Everyone in the world saw what just happened! They know that she's changed!"

"It's okay," Mukuro said, and she meant it. "If something happens out there, you can–"

"We'll never abandon you," Kyoko said.

Mukuro looked back. There was no reasoning with her, she knew. She looked to the others, too, and saw that they all agreed.

But something told her that it didn't matter.

She couldn't feel the world's heart beating with her anymore, and she knew she never would again. The old her would have thought that she didn't deserve to; that she'd only been wrongfully blessed with that honor because someone needed to be, and that she ought to apologize for it forever.

There would still be people out there who would hate her. She didn't blame them, and she would accept that. But…

This emotion she felt transcended evidence, and she knew everything would be alright. The world had seen that that monster in the basement, the one not really worth thinking about, was just a liar. These last two years had been wasted, alright, but that was it. They wouldn't control the future. In time, even most of the Despair Cult would probably one day give it up and rejoin the real world. Get over it, the way Mukuro herself had.

It was so cliche and silly, but Mukuro felt hope. If she could go back in time and save Makoto and the others, then of course she would have, but she didn't have any room left for cynicism or regret, anymore.

"Besides Byakuya, what're you guys gonna do?" Hina asked. "Once we're outta here, I mean."

"Assist in rebuilding the world!"

"Help set up a grave for our friends who didn't make it."

"I–I'll be Master's wife!"

"No you won't."

"Dunno… figure all the people I owe money to are already dead, at least…"

"Impress girls with my music, duh."

"Probably get my dead arm amputated."

Hina looked aghast, but Mukuro shook her head and smiled. For the first time in her life, she knew things were going to be okay.

She pulled the switch with the silly red button out of her pocket. The others looked at it. Hina grabbed her by the wrist. Her hand was very warm, and Mukuro could sense her heartbeats through her palm.

She pressed down, the doors groaned and pulled open, and light flooded the room.