Stage IV: Re:mix, Re:ality, Re:surrect, Re:vive

Jesus. I've known Among Us lobbies with less tension than this. Despite herself, Shinobu Inuyose—second-year Ultimate FPS Gamer—smirked. Oh well, if it gets us one step closer to defeating Monochio and ending this damn "Killing School Transfer", then I'm all for it!

She stood inside the Virtual Vision Vida Verse Virtual Reality Machine (or V4-VR for short) of Hope's Pinnacle. It was a white, cyan, and blue world, flickering with holograms and glitches in the distance. Reality shifted all around Shinobu as she stared at the rest of her "crewmates". First was AI-buki. Then Nozomi Kamukura. Then AI Alter Ego. Then Chiaki Nanami. Then Lumina Ichihoshi. Then K1-B0.

This is a ragtag team of misfits and weirdos and outcasts if I ever saw one! Shinobu was the token human teammate. K1-B0 was a robot, though he was unable to be there in body, or even sprite/avatar. Instead, he could communicate only via text, and he also spoke on behalf of some of the Hope's Peak professors. From what he was able to convey, they were trapped in a different part of Hope's Peak apart from where another Killing Game was already occurring. They were able to break through the barriers set around the school and reach K1-B0 for communication.

Now he was doing likewise, trying to break from his school Killing Game to attend the meeting in Shinobu's. The professor he had the strongest connection to was Photon Maiden's Ultimate Producer, Shano Himegami. Despite her own ineptitude with technology, she was often in charge of communications while the rest of her unit-mates worked elsewhere to combat the Tragedy. Then everyone else in the meeting was an AI.

First was AI-buki, slain in the previous Stage (III) of Monochio's Killing School Transfer. Next was Alter Ego, a first-year boy from the main Killing Game inside Hope's Peak, close to where the four professors were trapped. Then there was Chiaki Nanami, a second-year Ultimate Gamer Girl that Shinobu used to play with from time to time. Then lastly was Lumina Ichihoshi, though of the group, her connection was the weakest, her shimmering outline constantly flickering in and out of existence. She was also the most mysterious of the group, at least in that the others knew the least about her. Nozomi's glowing eyes occasionally glanced in her direction, full of distrust.

Well, I guess Nozomi is the closest I got to another human, but honestly, she's more a super soldier! A GMO! The cliché and stereotypical human that experimented on themself until they got superpowers. Sheesh, I always knew Noa Fukushima was as unhinged as she was smart…

ooo

"So, what's the intel so far? I'll be sure to take notes," Shinobu started off the meeting, as snide and sarcastic as ever.

"Well," K1-B0 started off, "unfortunately, my peers and I are still in a deadlock inside our Killing Game. That is why I am unable to be with you "in person". We have a VR machine of our own, powered by the Neo World Program, but the distance between there and here is just a little too vast. The connection gets weaker if I try to send too much data to you all at once. However, I have been informed by Ms. Himegami that Ms. Kase and Ms. Amano have traveled to an island known as Jabberwock in hopes of summoning some sort of aid from there…"

"Pfft! We don't have time for Gods or fairytales!" Shinobu interrupted with a snort. Not more Izanami Resurrection bullshit!

"I beg to differ," Nozomi smirked and Shinobu shot her a scowl, narrowing her eyes.

You're just as insufferable as Fukushima ever was, "Nozomi".

"Rather, look at the motive facing you today," she said to Shinobu imploringly, expression softening slightly. Shinobu was right about her being unhinged, if nothing else, but as Shinobu also noted, Nozomi was still human. An AI now perhaps, her body slain, but the consciousness that was uploaded into the V4-VR still remembered…

My "baby brother", Izuru Kamukura… He, however, is a slightly different matter. He is still human too, just as I am, but I refuse to fall to the same mistakes he did. As difficult as it is to be human, to love and see in shades of gray rather than black and white, it is the only thing that prevents the polarization of Hope and Despair. He was unable to learn his lesson in time, and so lost the one nearest and dearest to him. Nozomi's eyes flicked briefly over to Chiaki Nanami. But I know better. I chose differently. Her girl was still alive, still on the outside, for better and worse…

But even Nozomi could slip up sometimes. Even though she and Izuru had not been created by the same people, their projects were indeed inspired by one other, the scientists responsible locked in a bitter battle for Ultimate dominance. In her earliest days, Nozomi went on a Kawaii/Kowai craze, purging the Ugly from the world so that the Cute could inherit the Earth. It was her own form of Hope and Despair. But her love of humans, of a classmate of hers, saved her. Humans were more than ideologies. They could not be treated as such.

"Monochio is asking of you to resurrect a fallen Goddess to resurrect your fallen classmates. Not only is this Goddess all too real, but be careful, for it is toying with your emotions. Remember, it is a cat, and it views all of you as mice," Nozomi continued sagely. Fury flared up inside Shinobu, but unfortunately, she knew that Nozomi was only speaking the truth. That damn "headcatster"! But then her eyes drifted to AI-buki. When their gazes locked, Shinobu looked away quickly, but AI-buki continued to stare at her, wincing in understanding.

"Of course, I would like to be brought back," she said quietly, voice robotic, "but remember, some of our memories were erased when we first woke up in Hope's Pinnacle. Ever since Monochio woke up this copy of my consciousness, I have been able to remember more and more of that which it intentionally tried to suppress… I don't know if it's intentional, or a glitch in the system, but…" She tapped her chin before slowly explaining. The last thing she remembered was working at the Future Foundation, which was colloquially known as the American Hope's Peak.

She and the rest of Photon Maiden were sent there as ambassadors and delegates, and they oft worked with another DJ quartet known as Abyssmare. Well, "worked" was putting it lightly. More often than not, the two units were squabbling, both in English and Japanese, both units knowing both languages well enough to insult each other endlessly. But more important than that was the implication of the Future Foundation. Someone was fighting back. And Photon used to be directly part of that resistance.

"But I remember… Actually being the Ultimate Team Captain…" For the duration of the Killing School Transfer, Ibuki was convinced she was the Ultimate Runner. It was the Talent she remembered having, and she was indeed the fastest of the 24 students. So why was this memory diverging from the other one…? Well, knowing what was capable because of Nozomi, it didn't take them long to speculate that Monochio and its Masterminds had likely done more than just memory tampering.

"Jesus, I wonder what other Talents it stole from us," Shinobu growled.

"Well, for some other good news!" Alter Ego chirped up, politely waiting last to speak. "My Killing Game is over! It breaks my heart to say that so few of us made it out alive. Even I am just a copy—a backup—of the original Alter Ego, who in turn was a copy and backup of the programmer that created us! But from my understanding, my surviving classmates are doing their best to join the Future Foundation and combat some of the evils occurring in Towa City!" Alter Ego did not voice his worries, but he knew that his creator's father—Taichi Fujisaki—was there. He could only hope that the man had not succumbed to Despair in light of what happened to his precious child…

Ah, no, wait, there was still one more person yet to update the others on their progress in their respective Killing Game. Chiaki Nanami. Lumina Ichihoshi was unfortunately unable to participate, even farther away with an even weaker connection than K1-B0. She was able to listen in, but unable to relay information, at least not this time around.

"I can talk to her later," said Chiaki Nanami, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. While Shinobu was fiery, and AI-buki leaderly, and K1-B0 anxious, and Nozomi ever in flux, (and Lumina unable to speak) Alter Ego and Chiaki Nanami were the quieter, calmer members of the meeting.

"Unfortunately, we are also stuck in the midst of our Killing Game," she said ruefully. "But we're still on the right path! I think…" She sighed. "I have so many dear friends from my class, and I hate seeming them suffer as they do… I have hope and faith that they will make the right decisions in the end, but I agree that we cannot remain idle. It's like a video game. We have to keep leveling up. Whether or not we're the player character or just an NPC, each of us has an impact on each other, and right now, I want to help everyone protect the copies of their consciousness from Monochio in case it ever tries to take them away from you again."

"Jesus, really vying for Ultimate Hope, aren't ya?" Shinobu muttered under her breath. Something about Chiaki's flawless righteousness was grating, but she didn't fully understand why. Chiaki paused, staring deeply at the other pink-haired gamer girl.

I wish you remembered… Chiaki was not a native of Hope's Pinnacle, or its wifi, rather, like a virus—a trojan horse—she snuck in. I remember you, Shinobu Inuyose… That was where they diverged. We were friends. Even though we weren't in the same class, we were in the same grade. Sometimes I would meet you up online, even though we didn't fully know one another back then. As gruff and course as you can be, you always played with me. Yeah, you would get angry sometimes and it would make me chuckle, but I always felt safe with you…

And although Chiaki wouldn't have ever been so bold as to assume Shinobu felt the same way about her, it was true. Had they been able to unlock those memories, they would've seen Shinobu, coarse on the outside, but secretly always looking forward to gamer nights with Chiaki. It would drive Shinobu up the wall that Chiaki would win so effortlessly, but Shinobu was at least grateful that Nanami was no noob. And no matter how angry Shinobu got, Chiaki never held it against her.

I mean yeah, sure, I got the rest of my unit to play with, and the likes of Muni Ohnaruto, thought Shinobu with a mild scoff. But none of them are gamers like Chiaki and I are. And Muni? Well… That was like asking a sparkler to play against the firecracker. Muni could be good, but she and Shinobu had equally intense gamer rages. Only Chiaki could calm Shinobu's inner storm, seemingly immune to the rage that could consume other gamers. Shinobu felt safe with Chiaki too, as embarrassed as it made her feel to admit that.

"Talent," Chiaki said suddenly, "is subjective. I mean, I know we are assigned Talents, but humans are more diverse and divergent than that… I think. We aren't meant to lock ourselves into one path. Where is the freedom or choice in that? I can be more than one thing, and so can you, Shinobu Inuyose." I know my words are cryptic, but I pray you understand… I can't elaborate further, we have too much else to focus on. But please, believe in me, Shinobu! I can feel your distrust, and I understand why! But do not allow yourself to be distracted. I understand why you are concerned, thinking Monochio is toying with your Talents. But the primary focus is escaping Hope's Pinnacle!

The Ultimate Gamer wished she could've taken the other gamer girl's hands into her own. You were my first friend, even before… Him…

At the same time, Shinobu's eyes narrowed warily. Why you gotta be so damn cryptic?! This ain't a video game puzzle! And you ain't some annoying-ass tutorial-guide-character! … Or maybe you are. But our entire-ass lives are on the line, so out with it! Why do you seem to care about me so much, and what are you talking about subjective Talents? Monochio is clearly capable of fucking with us and our minds and memories, so how can we trust anything or anyone?! Even ourselves?! Heck, what if I'm not even the Ultimate FPS Gamer myself?!

"Do you mean to suggest that our Talents are inaccurate and interchangeable?" K1-B0 sounded alarmed. Ought we compare notes?!

"Well, not exactly…" said Chiaki slowly. Oh dear, I have only succeeded in troubling the others… Our paths our diverging again…

Gee, way to soothe his nerves. Shinobu finally smirked slightly. Wait. Do robots even have nerves? Is that robophic to wonder?

"But look at AI-buki, and… Nozomi…" The Ultimate Gamer couldn't bring herself to look at the "Ultimate Ultimate". Not when she reminded Chiaki too much of the other Ultimate Ultimate. That is why I'm here. I believe that everyone trapped inside these wicked Killing Games is truly good at heart. They, like myself and my classmates, were just manipulated, our human fears weaponized against us. My heart breaks for everyone. None of us deserved this. It's not just a debt of gratitude that compels me to be like these guys' tutorial guide. As divergent as we are, we cannot allow Despair to drive us further apart. That would be playing exactly into the Masterminds' hands…

It wasn't just because of Nozomi's connection to Izuru, or AI-buki's to Nozomi, or even Shinobu's to Chiaki. Chiaki was doing it for all of them, and in the name of their shared, convergent humanity. There was strength in numbers, so they ought to have compared notes rather than hiding them from each other. That level of distrust was for the Despairs, not the Hopes. And it was why Chiaki was also working with Lumina Ichihoshi, K1-B0, and Alter Ego, though she did have a much stronger connection to him. Or rather, his human creator. It was going to take all of them—human, robot, and AI—to defeat the final boss and shut down Monochio's evil Killing School Transfer once and for all!

"It will take all of us," Chiaki finally said aloud. "To unite in Hope, to become Ultimate Hopes in our own right, and to become each other's Ultimate Hopes. We must become each other's dreams and each other's stable foundation if we want any chance of overcoming the Despair."

The conversation turned to logistical matters next as every member of the secret alliance received a new task upon which they would report back in several days. Shinobu's instructions were to train under Nozomi, and prepare for the role she was set to play in ending the Killing School Transfer. She raised her chin, eyes flashing with confidence and severity. Chiaki couldn't take her eyes off the other girl's face.

Yes, I see the fire of Hope in her, but… is it the kind of fire we need? Shinobu was a raging inferno. Chiaki was a warm and gentle hearth with a comfortable, cushioned chair sitting beside it. Nevertheless, it is as I said before. We need EVERY playstyle on our side to win this game. She is the Ultimate FPS Gamer, and I suppose in a way, Danganronpa is technically a shooter game, so... I choose to have faith in her! I can only hope that she chooses to have faith in herself. I know, Shinobu, that you don't always think very highly of yourself, even though you may act like you do. But I also know the true you inside. You were my first gamer friend who didn't judge me for my interests… You're more heroic than you think you are.

"You should think about it," Chiaki finally breathed, voice ghosting across Shinobu's face as she turned to the other pink-haired gamer girl and handed her a copy of the notes from the meeting. There was so much more she wanted to say, but they were out of time, and Chiaki could sense that even if they had all the time in the world, Shinobu was slow to trust. It broke Chiaki's heart that Shinobu only had shadows of memories of their time together, but she counted her blessings that Shinobu remembered her at all, and was willing to help out despite her reserves.

The other AIs vanished all around them, departing for their missions ahead. Their paths were diverging again. Shinobu opened her mouth to reply to Chiaki, but by the time any sound came out, Chiaki was gone.