Miyu, Aoi, Tsubaki, Hiiro, Towa, and Esora were the first elected to enter the V4-VR. Miyu and Towa were obvious choices, then it was agreed that RONDO would go first for Nagisa, and Esora for Rei. Hapiara would wait for the second round so they could visit Rei together. It was hard, especially for Rinku, to not rush into the V4-VR as fast as she could, but Maho held her back and wisely pointed out that although waiting was painful, it would be more fair and fun if they went together rather than apart.

Once the first six students were seated, pulling the helmets on, Maho and Muni inspected the control panel together. It was a small device just beyond the glowing blue sphere of light encasing the V4-VR platform. Once the system was booted on and powered up, all the students heard an electric charge crackling down through the thick, black cords and wires attached to the helmets. Those in the helmets were blinded by a white flash followed by total darkness, then a little, spinning circle, a loading screen. They were in.

ooo

The two lines of students cried out, the first racing to the second with open arms and tearful eyes. The reunion was painful and beautiful, the epitome of bittersweet, as old classmates and friends embraced and kissed.

"Oh, Rei!" Esora's voice broke as she flung her arms around the Ultimate Pianist. She has both legs! She's whole again! And alive! So, so alive…!

"Esora…" Rei whispered in her ear, and the green-haired girl shivered with pleasure, breathing in Rei's scent and reveling in every inch of her.

"Oh, Nagisa…" Hiiro's breath caught in her bosom, and she brought a hand up to it as her eyes began to burn.

"Nagisa!" Both Aoi and Tsubaki were much more vocal and immediate, sprinting towards the Ultimate Guitarist.

"Guys? Guys!" Nagisa laughed and waved, and as soon as they were close enough—although Tsubaki stopped short, blushing in embarrassment— Nagisa was more than happy to leap into their arms. Aoi scooped her up instantly. "Woah!" Nagisa laughed again as her feet left the ground.

"Haruna! Kurumi! Miiko!" Miyu's heart panged in her chest. Oh! How long has it been since last I saw any of them? It feels as though it has been an eternity! Countless lifetimes, all of which should've been spent with them!

She began to ugly-cry as eager hands wrapped around her body. Miiko giggled and jumped up and down, clinging to Miyu's hips. Kurumi smiled impishly as she embraced Miyu's waist and nuzzled her shoulder. Then Haruna met her head on, resting a hand on her shoulder, eyes shining.

The only living student who wasn't elated or ecstatic was Towa. "S-Saki…? Wh-where's…? Where's…?" The other two…?

"Well, I'm still right here, Towa," Ibuki's voice emanated from Towa's wrist, and right as she looked down at it, Ibuki's hologram sprung up from it. This time, though, she wasn't just a hologram. It was Ibuki Niijima in the flesh and color, no longer a monotone blue and white. As for Noa? The trio looked all around for their missing fourth. Where was the Ultimate Theater Actress?

"She was… supposed to be here…" Saki muttered, forehead creasing darkly. "She was… right here… So why…?"

"Awww, jeez, you guys, you ever heard of this little thing called… "lag"?"

"NOA!" Startling those closest to her, but heedless to their surprise, Towa whipped around with a wide grin and wide eyes. Sure enough, coming from the opposite direction, was Noa Fukushima. And then the others cried out again as a green ground and blue sky began to fill their pure white world. What once was an empty void slowly saturated with colors and features. Eventually, even Hope's Pinnacle Academy appeared, but unlike the school the living students remembered, this one was vibrant and lively, the gates, doors, and windows flung wide open.

ooo

"So you finally told Tsubaki about ALTER-EGO, huh? Congrats!" Nagisa blinked in surprise as Tsubaki rambled with excitement and pride about Aoi's new pronouns. Nagisa's words immediately silenced Tsubaki and the rest of RONDO.

"Wait, you already know about that?!" Aoi reared back, mortified.

"Well… Yeah?" Nagisa seemed just as puzzled, tilting her head like a confused puppy. "Hiiro too, but I didn't know Tsubaki knew!"

"Wait. What?" Tsubaki finally found her voice again. "Why was I the last to know?!" She put her hands on her hips, gray eyes flashing indignantly.

"Nagisa, how did you know about ALTER-EGO?" Hiiro interrupted before Tsubaki could focus on the wrong point of interest.

"Well, Aoi told me a while ago. Don't you remember, Aoi?" Clearly not. "Well, allow me to explain!" Nagisa grinned, seemingly unaware of the tension her other three unit-mates were feeling. "You see, Aoi and I worked together as a team to help combat some of the Despair that was starting to take over our world, the academy, and our home city. I think we were actually serving in Towa City at the time, I was on Calendula and Aoi had this badass portable DJ set that worked just as well as my electric guitar!"

Nagisa pantomimed playing her guitar, but it was so much more than a sonic weapon. The axe had a blade attached to it, making it a literal axe, and there was a laser gun mounted on the neck that were activated by the frets and shot bullets from the head and tuners of the guitar. While she rambled about all of these battles and adventures that none of her unit-mates seemed to remember, Aoi tried to focus not on Nagisa, but their alter.

"Did you know?" they asked ALTER-EGO.

"Oh, of course, only involve me in things when it's relevant to YOU!" The voice in the back of Aoi's mind scoffed, cold and disdainful.

"ALTER-EGO…"

"Ugh. Yes, you dummy. We used to be in the military."

"The… military?" What?

Nagisa met ALTER-EGO by accident, similar to how Aoi's class met him in Stage III. Nagisa's guitar was long speculated to be cursed, and one particularly bad battle nearly seemed to prove that true, then it was ALTER-EGO to the rescue (as always, they would bemoan). But he and Nagisa wound up having rather heartfelt heart-to-heart, and by the end of it, they came out as friends, brothers.

Aoi was not the only genderqueer one of RONDO, as it turned out. Nagisa also had a boyish and androgynous streak, Nagisa had just never bothered with pronouns the way Aoi had. That was not to say either of their genders or identities were invalid, just that their paths of -discovery were different. Aoi's story was wracked with confusion while Nagisa's had always been matter-of-fact. Nagisa was what she was, and that was all.

"ALTER-EGO and I always used to joke that you might've been the Ultimate Jam-Maker, but you were also like the Ultimate Charmer, because it seemed like you hardly even had to try to get everyone to like you!" Nagisa continued, chuckling and reminiscing fondly. "You offset Calendula's curse for sure! Haha! Or maybe it was the jam. Your musical beats were incredible, and your food was delicious!"

"Nagisa!" Tsubaki blushed again while Hiiro chuckled weakly behind her. Aoi, meanwhile, could only stare and shake their head in wonder.

So many forgotten memories! I know Monochio stole them from us, but how and why does THIS Nagisa have them all? Why would it have uploaded Nagisa's consciousness WITH all these memories rather than without? And as Nagisa spoke of Aoi's jam—both the food and the music—even though no new memories came back, Aoi felt a warmth blooming in their chest. Ah, yes, that's right! My Talent! I know it was always kind of… silly… But I loved it. Jam-making has always meant a lot to me, because being able to make things with my hands, and smell the fruit of the earth, and of my labor, always helped keep me grounded whenever I was having flashbacks… It helped ALTER-EGO too, I know it did!

No matter how ALTER-EGO presented themself, they were not a bad person. And neither was Aoi. Aoi's heart grew even warmer still.

In another part of the academy, Miiko practically ran circles around her unit-mates as they explored the breathtaking hallways together. "Oh, oh, oh! And I 'member me 'n Big Sis Nagi having so much fun together!"

Big Sis Nagi…? It was perfectly normal for the overly-friendly Miiko Takeshita to adopt everyone she met as her family and friends, but this deep bond with Nagisa was new to Miyu. Is it something I have forgotten? Oh, how shameful of me!

Even though it was not Miyu's fault—and she was hardly the only one to wake up in the academy with fuzzy memories—it troubled her deeply. How much else I have forgotten? Just what is going on in the outside world?

Miiko continued to ramble on excitedly about how Nagisa would take her riding around Towa City on her motorcycle, trying to spread Hope to a Despairful world. "It was so much fun! Like riding on a metal horsie! We were searching for something, but… I can't remember exactly what!"

"Kurumi? Haruna?" Miyu turned to her other two unit-mates, biting her lip.

"Mmm, I think I feel like I remember running around and dressing up like a clown…" Kurumi tapped her chin, eyes drifting shut as she thought.

"Oh, Kurumi, honestly…" Haruna's sigh was world-weary as she shook her head, then she turned an apologetic gaze on Miyu. "I must confess, though, as much as I regret to say this, I fear that I do not recall much either. In fact, I seem to remember even less than Kurumi and Miiko!"

"Ha, and you have the audacity to say I'm the bad student, Chairman!" Kurumi teased.

"Hey!" Haruna snapped, hands flying to her hips as she seethed at the smaller girl. "Who are you calling Chairman?!"

Once again, Miyu felt a painful pang in her heart, and she laughed at their age-old call and response, tears escaping her eyes once more. Oh, God… I missed that more than I realize…

Rei and Esora roamed the gardens, fingers intertwined, Rei gently swinging their hands as they walked. "Oh, we had so many good memories at this school! If only we'd had more time together…" Her voice was wistful and longing. Esora felt the same.

Oh, Rei… I'm so, so sorry… I never meant to hurt YOU… I failed… you… and everyone…

"We didn't even get to spend a year together!" Rei sighed in frustration, squeezing Esora's hand. "Ah, wait, right, sorry! I forgot that you didn't like talking about the—Oh, wait, sorry again!" Rei clapped her free hand over her mouth, face flushing in embarrassment.

Esora, however, was immediately on the alert. "O-oh, Rei, th-there's no else around, so… you can say whatever it is that you wanted to say!" She bit her lip, stomach churning as she tried her best to coax whatever it was that Rei was hiding out of her.

Her charm and acting skills paid off and Rei's apologetic smile became relieved. "Right, of course. I just know the reserve course is a sore topic for you. It's not even just keeping it a secret from the others."

Reserve course?! Esora's stomach plummeted. Why would I ever be associated with—? A memory finally came back to her, of her sitting outside Hope's Peak with a table full of friends and classmates, some of whom she'd seen in the Implememor-Es. There was Yuka, Rei, Mikan, Hiyoko, Mahiru, Ibuki Mioda, and then two Talentless students. Sato and…

"Hajime Hinata!" Rei smiled cheerfully. "Oh, yes, I remember you were fond of him, even if you didn't want to admit it!" Her tone and eyes were teasing and playful while the pit in Esora's stomach got deeper and deeper and deeper. In her memory, she was seated right beside him.

Hajime Hinata. Hajime Hinata… That name… That name! It was so familiar, and yet still so faded and blurry. She could feel him, smell him, sense him, but his face was a mystery to her. All she remembered was spiky brown hair, intense and sulky green eyes, and a kindred spirit… Her heart sped up in her chest again, just like the way it did when she was alone with Rei…

N-no… Wh-what…? How? But I… I… I am an Ultimate! A Talented Student! The Ultimate Corporate Manager! So how? Why?! Why was she seated next to him and Sato rather than Rei and Yuka? Why was her uniform that of the Reserve Course? No, no! It simply isn't possible!

Wandering deeper into the academy was Photon Maiden. This version of the school was so beautiful that Towa almost forgot all the trauma associated with the original. It was so clean and well maintained, golden sunlight streaming in through crystal-clear glass windows. The Ultimate Idol Enthusiast lost track of time as she and her unit-mates explored the halls together, smiling and laughing and sharing stories of the good old days.

It was a day Towa hoped would last forever! But then, at one point, Noa quietly slipped her hand into Towa's, and right before Towa could give a loud "Eeeep!" of surprise, she felt Noa squeeze her hand. Shhhh…

While Saki and Ibuki continued on ahead, Noa kept Towa back. "Having me stay late after class?" Towa chuckled weakly.

"Towa. Do not believe what you see or hear in this virtual reality. It has all been created by Monochio. I have done my best to change some of it, but…" Noa squeezed Towa's shoulders urgently, eyes almost wild.

"Wh-what?" Towa shrank away fearfully. "Th-then how do I know I can trust you?"

"You shouldn't," Noa admitted in rueful frustration. "But surely you can agree that never trusting anything made by Monochio is good advice?"

"True that," Towa sighed. "But why are you telling me this?" She straightened up again, eyeing Noa warily.

"I am glad your skepticism is so strong, and you aren't just going to blindly, blithely go along with whatever people say."

"Hey! I'm not that stupid!" Towa stomped her foot. Noa chuckled and nodded approvingly.

"But listen. Monochio is going to attempt to have you resurrect us. It has no intention of allowing you to keep us once we are brought back, rather, it is attempting to resurrect… someone else. Someone outside of these walls… Junko Enoshima."

"Uhhh… I can tell from your dramatic pause and all that, that that name is probably supposed to have some sort of significance for me, but… I got nothing." Towa shrugged. Noa's shoulders sank and she sighed.

"Towa, I swear…"

"Whaaaat?" Towa asked innocently.

"Just listen to me, Towa! Please!" Noa insisted, gripping her shoulders again.

"Ok, ok, jeez!"

"I am working with Shinobu Inuyose to end this Killing Game. Kyoko Yamate is with her, however, Shinobu will do her best not to reveal too much. I want you also to pretend that you heard none of this, but do whatever you can to ensure that Shinobu and Rinku Aimoto stay alive. They are very important to the fate and future of this game, and if they fail, you all fail. If you want any chance of escape, do not let them die. Sabotage this motive if you must. You cannot allow Monochio to unlock the secrets of resurrection."