Entertaining a Small Thought

by GrimGenesis

Here's a small thought: What would you do if you lost all your memories and then you were thrown in a death game with 16 other strangers? That's the situation Rin Wakuri is in, if that even is his name. No one knows who he is or why he's there, and he somehow knows things he shouldn't know, but he's determined to to help everyone in the killing game without dying hopefully...

102. 6-9 Into the Finale

"I will not give up hope until the very end!"

"...Huh?"

From an outsider's perspective, that short interaction must have seemed comedic. The heartless robot was the one claiming he would not lose hope, all while the person orchestrating everything was left so dumbstruck he could only let out that confused noise. It would have been funny had the situation wasn't so dire.

"We can't give up. No matter what, hope is always within reach!" Keebo declared. "We must keep our heads high and search for hope, especially in deepest despair."

"Hope…?" Shuichi asked in an utterly exhausted voice.

"Hope? What hope can be found in this terrible place?" Izuru asked with a laugh.

"You said so yourself—this killing game is the Ultimate Real Fiction. If this is both real and fiction, then logically it can't all be fictional." Keebo surmised. "Even if this world is fiction, even if we're fiction, there must be something we can do. So there must be a way to break through this! I won't give up hope! Not ever!"

"Is that so? I suppose this makes things more interesting, having something to debate with at the end like this." Izuru hummed. "But are you sure? Do you really think hope can be found in such a hopeless situation like this?"

"Yes. I'm convinced the outside world doesn't just want despair… It wants hope, too." Keebo smiled brightly. "If our voices have reached the outside world, then what my inner voice is telling me is—"

"You mean the audience? Because that's what that 'inner voice' is. It's actually the voice of the outside world itself." Izuru revealed with a slight wave of his hand.

"...What?"

"I know because I was there when we designed you for this killing game! After all, I was the one who wrote you into existence and created your entire plotline!" Izuru boldly claimed. "There's no way I wouldn't know who that is you're hearing. Yes…it's the voice of the outside world guiding you as always. From the very start, you were given a very special role to play out in this killing game, Keebo."

"Special role? And it has to do with the voice of the outside world?"

"Yes. You are the audience surrogate!"

"S-Surrogate?" Keebo stammered in confusion.

"Your inner voice allows the audience to communicate with you throughout the killing game. Haven't you noticed how your inner voice acts? It's the collective voice of several thousands upon thousands of fans. If that's the case, can you figure out what exactly your inner voice is?"

"I-It's…an audience survey?" Keebo guessed.

"Indeed. It's merely a survey that's connected to your head. It's the result of a program that allows two-way communication that lets people participate in the killing game and you from their homes." Izuru explained. "That's the truth of that inner voice you always hear. That is its true nature. It's the results from our audience survey."

"Then…the voice I relied on for guidance…was just the audience…answering survey questions!?" Keebo exclaimed.

"Every single action you took in this killing game was dictated by the audience through that survey. Because of that, we were able to have the audience actively participate in this killing game for the first time. That antenna on your head lets you easily receive the answers from the outside world."

"M-My antenna…?"

"Yes. When that poor excuse of a copy broke off your antenna and you went crazy, that ended up being quite the problem for us as HQ. We got flooded with complaints from the audience. Some even sent death threats and doxxed some of our staff. And all the bots that flooded our systems…it was nightmare." Izuru sighed as he held his head in frustration. "But I digress. The problem was that you aren't just something for the audience to control through the survey. You're also their eyes."

"Their eyes…?"

"Yes! Yours, in fact, are a camera!" Izuru revealed. "Your eyes are the eyes of the audience itself! This entire time, there wasn't just the nanokubs recording everything. From the very start, the whole world has been watching this killing game play out through your eyes! It lets them feel like they're really a part of the Danganronpa world! So thank you, Keebo, for being a fantastic protagonist for the audience to imagine themselves as. That's why it's such a good thing that you've survived up till this point, because now that we're here at the final trial, I can use you to plunge the outside world into despair!"

"D-Despair…? That's your goal?" Keebo asked.

"That's right. After all, what will happen to the world watching with baited breath if the audience surrogate falls into despair, too? If you fall, so does the entire world. The entire audience will fall into endless despair! Then my despair will turn from fiction to facts and destroy reality itself. It will be the perfect end to this perfect tragedy. Wouldn't that be something grand?"

"But why go through all this trouble? Everything you told us about you being a creation of despair was just a lie, wasn't it?" Keebo asked.

"Oh, that? Yeah, that was just a backstory I came up with to make sense of my sudden entering into the story, but that's all fallen apart after you and the others broke down this trial into what it is now." Izuru admitted before a sinister smile formed on his face. "But that doesn't change my true nature. I hate the world. I find it utterly boring. Even with all these death games, it's just not good enough for me. Once you play as many as I have, even that heart-thrilling excitement becomes fleeting. Only one thing is so unpredictable that it makes me feel alive again, and that's despair! Of course, I'd want to share that feeling with everyone else, right?"

"That's why you want the world to fall to despair then? That…twisted vision of yours?" Kaede asked weakly in a cracked voice.

"I-I…don't understand… How can someone be so twisted!?" Tenko asked.

"Twisted? We're all twisted. We're all Danganronpa characters, after all. We're all meant to be twisted. We're all just caricatures designed to entertain the world, so I'm just fulfilling my own purpose. The outside world wants it, too. They love horrible setups and the payoffs that come with them. Anything else would just be disappointing to them. What could be more horrible than a fictional despair eroding the real world? It's so funny it makes me shiver! Nothing could be more hopeless!"

"...No." Keebo eventually said with all the confidence he could muster. "No! I won't give in to despair!"

"Oooooh?" Izuru hummed as he leaned forward towards Keebo.

"If I'm a surrogate for the audience…then I will use my inner voice to broadcast hope to the outside world!" Keebo declared.

"I told you already. The outside world only cares for despair!" Izuru argued. "How can you possibly spread hope when the world is obsessed with death and destruction born of this fictional world?"

"No! My inner voice already told me what to do! I need to remedy this!" Keebo shouted. "If that's the voice of the outside world, then the outside world actually wants hope! So I will trust the outside world! I will trust hope!"

"Hmm…This is…unexpected." Izuru hummed as a slight frown formed on his lips. "You've never had that much backbone before. Why is it now you're finally gathering up so much resolve?"

"This is the power of hope! I will not lose to your despair! Not when I'm carrying the hope of the outside world!" Keebo declared.

"Heh…Hahahahaha! Good! Then that means this show has its villain and hero for a final act!" Izuru declared as he shot out his hand, as though offering it towards the robot across the trial grounds from him. "Then come, Keebo! Let us dance to this deranged tune together! Let us fight for the fate of the world, but know that in the end, Despair always wins!"

"I won't let you! Hope will never give in to despair!"

"Are you sure about that? Are you willing to put your life on the line to prove that?" Izuru asked playfully as he made a grand gesture. "Then let's get moving! Full speed ahead towards our final climax! The final battle between hope and despair!

"Yahoo! Now that's what Danganronpa's all about!" Monokuma cried out as he pumped his paws up and down in excitement.

"Settle this…how?" Keebo asked cautiously.

"Yes…that is the problem. This whole killing game and this very trial are barely functioning as it is thanks to that faker and Kokichi's plan from the last trial, as well as due to my own involvement now that I'm here." Izuru sighed.

"You're the one who broke your own damn rules…don't blame us." Kokichi hissed out, though there was no strength to be found in his voice.

"Well, if the game has been broken, why don't we start over?" Izuru proposed

"Start over…?" Rantaro repeated before his eyes went wide. "You don't mean…doing what you did to Rin and Kirumi again…!?"

"NO!" Kirumi shouted in a frantic panic as she held her head and chest in order to stop herself from hyperventilating. "I-I…I can't…I refuse to see that again!"

"Oh, no. Not like that. That'd be a boring end. No, let's start over this trial with a special vote." Izuru clarified.

"A special vote?" Keebo questioned before anger flashed in his metal eyes. "But you and Monokuma were the ones who broke the rules in the first pla–"

"Whatever. Does that really matter now? We're trying to end it all, aren't we, so just follow along." Izuru demanded before he cleared his voice. "To that end, all it will take to end this killing game is one last vote. That sounds fair, right? It always comes down to a final vote, after all."

"That's what Danganronpa's all about!" Monokuma laughed.

"This final special vote will determine, between Keebo and I, which one of us will be punished," Izuru explained.

"...What?" Keebo gasped.

"This is Danganronpa. Someone has to die at the end of a class trial. That's how it works. This vote will just determine how this story will end afterward." Izuru stated. "It'll be up to you guys whether it ends in hope or despair."

"To end in hope…?" Tenko muttered.

"To end in despair…?" Kaede gritted her teeth.

"We decide…?" Shuichi closed his eyes sadly, all strength he had previously now gone.

At the same time, the audience watching began to go into a fever pitch of sorts and they excitedly began to clamor about, though some were still going on and on about trivial things, too.

"Oh, man, this is great! The outside world is starting to get jazzed up!" Monokuma noted happily.

"Hope will definitely win! No one here wants despair to win!" Keebo confidently assured.

"Y-Yeah…! That's right! We can't side with the mastermind after every–" Tenko began, but she was immediately cut off by Izuru.

"Even if that's what you say…even if that's really what you choose in the end, will it end your end suffering? Because I can assure you siding with me will." Izuru claimed.

"You'll…end our suffering?" Rantaro cautiously repeated. "I don't buy it. Why would you bother helping us now of all times?"

"If you'd let me explain, I'd get to that." Izuru sighed. "The idea is…should Keebo, representing hope, is punished, and I, representing despair, win, then per the rules, the killing school semester will continue until only two students remain."

"You're…going to continue the game?" Shuichi asked weakly.

"That doesn't seem like it would help us much…" Kokichi spat out.

"It will, though, because there won't be any more murders should Keebo be voted as the loser." Izuru revealed. "After all, no matter how many Flashback Lights we make now, or what we force you to 'remember', none of it will work now that you know its all a bunch of lies. No motives would affect you, so the realistic thing that would happen is that you all get to live here peacefully, with nothing bad happening to you guys anymore."

"Nothing will happen…? Is that true?" Kirumi asked.

"That's right. You all will be able to live happily ever after in the academy. Doesn't that sound nice?" Izuru asked.

"No! That's no way to live! Imprisoned in this school, living lives of despair–!" Keebo tried to argue, but–

"What would be the point of leaving? Even if you went outside, no one would be out there waiting for you. You have no homes, families, friends, or even potential lives out there. There's no point in leaving for people like you since you're all just fiction. Danganronpa characters can only live in a Danganronpa setting. Those who've tried to live in the outside world all ended up like that fake friend of yours: Obsessed with the killing game just like the outside world, but in a different way, though it still destroyed him in the end." Izuru argued.

"Then turn us back! Turn us back to who we were before!" Kaede screamed.

"That's not possible. Didn't I already tell you? We couldn't erase that fake Rin's memories of being Rin, only suppress them. The same goes for you guys. Nothing anyone does will ever remove those Flashback Light memories from your head. They only rewrite old memories with new ones." Izuru sighed.

"But if you're absolutely serious…" Monokuma began as he flashed his trademark crazed smile. "Then use the Flashback Light to become a different fictional character, instead! Do that, and you'll at least be able to avoid becoming broken trash like Mister Wakuri the 2nd!"

"Then…we can never go back to the way we were before?" Shuichi asked.

"Nope. You're stuck like this unless you change yourself like Monokuma said. You can continuously change yourself, but you can never return to what you once were." Izuru nodded. "But if I, representing despair, am punished, and Keebo, representing hope, wins…this situation will become even worse for you all, as the killing game will be forced to end. However, even if you do end the game, the rules must still be followed. The game will continue until the final two. The exit to this place only opens for two, after all, so only two of you can graduate and leave this academy."

"What…!?" Shuichi gasped.

"Out of the seven of us…only two can survive?" Rantaro gaped.

"Yes. I'll have been punished by that point, so the decision of who will be sacrificed for the two survivors will be up to you." Izuru shrugged.

"...You mean to tell us…that we got this far…and now you're telling us to sacrifice more of our friends?" Shuichi asked as he held his face as he openly sobbed muffled tears.

"I know it sounds tough, sacrificing five people, but in contrast, you've already sacrificed nearly as many blackened in this killing game." Izuru tried to comfort, though how well he did is…up for debate. "Think of it this way, only five more have to be sacrificed for the game to end, and at the very least two of you will be able to leave. But even for those two that managed to escape, the outside world won't be so forgiving or comforting as this academy. None of you belong out there."

"No! As long as we never give up, there will always be hope!" Keebo once again assorted, but…

"You keep saying that, but isn't it really unfair to your friends to keep pushing for an option that demands even more sacrifice of them just because its 'for the greater good'? If so, keep going. You're doing great, pal." Izuru rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Can you really do it, though? Can you choose which two will survive? Can you choose which five will be sacrificed?"

"I sacrifice myself!" Keebo immediately declared.

"H-Huh!? Keebo, what are you doing?" Kaede asked with a worried expression.

"If it will bring hope to everyone and the outside world, I will gladly sacrifice myself," Keebo stated with zero hesitation.

"B-But…Keebo…" Shuichi tried to speak, but what could he say in the face of the robot's noble sacrifice?

"...It's okay." Keebo tried to reassure his friend with a small, sad smile. "Even if it destroys my body, I will defeat despair!"

"K-Keebo…!" Tenko cried.

"Even if you sacrifice yourself, you still need four more." Izuru reminded them. "In order for hope to win, there needs to be four more sacrifices. Shuichi, Kaede, Rantaro, Tenko, Kokichi, and the fake Kirumi. Four of you have to sacrifice yourselves, or hope can't win." Izuru then let out a loud laugh. "Do you honestly have the guts to make such a heartless choice?"

No one could speak at that, because none of them were confident enough to make that choice even once, let alone four times.

"Do you understand now? Even if you choose hope, everyone will just suffer again. You'll suffer an even greater pain than what this killing game forced upon you." Izuru declared sternly. "But you don't have to choose such a painful path. No one expects you guys to do that. No one is forcing you to do anything anymore. After all, there'll be no more killing should you choose to stay here. So just…stay here. Together with your friends. You'll be happier that way, I'm sure."

"Stay here…together," Kirumi muttered as she thought.

"Yes. You'll all feel better once you vote for Keebo, I'm sure. You'll all get to live here peacefully together." Izuru gave a small smile.

"Don't let him fool you!" Keebo shouted. "Despair won't end this killing game. Only hope will!"

"Hope…?" Nearly all the other students muttered at the same time.

"No! Not this time! This time, this story will end with Despair!" Izuru chanted with all his might.

"No! I will never give up! Hope will never lose to despair!" Keebo yelled back.

"How is not giving up going to help you here? It's not gonna fix what needs to be done." Izuru pointed out. "As long as you don't sacrifice more people, you'll—"

"Then I'll do it." Kokichi suddenly said with a completely blank expression. "I'll sacrifice myself. I'll be your second."

"H-Huh?" Kaede gasped.

"Kokichi…?" Tenko began, but Kokichi just shook his head.

"If you need a sacrifice, then I'm a perfect candidate. No one will miss a liar like me." Kokichi said coldly. "Besides…I don't think I want to keep going after all this. Not anymore. I'm sick of all these truths and lies, and I'm sick of your hope and despair. Might as well help someone who does care, then. At least a death like that…won't be boring."

"Hmph. That's a shocking development, but you still need–"

"I will be the third sacrifice." Kirumi cut Izuru off.

"K-Kirumi?" Shuichi gaped.

"No. Don't…Don't call me that. I'm…not the real Kirumi Tojo. I never was." Kirumi spoke sadly. "From the moment I woke up after the ritual, I've been nothing but a fake. Everything about myself is borrowed, not even made for me." Kirumi's expression then hardened as she nodded to herself. "But…even so…I still have these feelings inside me. Perhaps they are the real Kirumi's…or maybe they are my own. No matter the answer, these feelings are telling me…that I cannot let despair win. Not like this."

"Really? Even if those feelings aren't your own, you'll live and die for them?" Izuru asked. "Even if all you feel is the result of what I wrote for your character, will you still follow your heart like this, borrowed though that heart may be?"

"Yes. Even then, I'll choose this path if it means it ends this once and for all so that no one else has to suffer like this." Kirumi then showed a small, weak smile as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "It's funny… Rin and I are so similar to each other…to the point that we've both endured the same violation to our bodies. Maybe this is what he meant during that last meeting between us."

"I…I don't think I'm stronger than him. He couldn't live with himself after learning the truth, and I don't think I can either. But even so, I do have enough strength to make this choice for my dearest friends. That…will be my final selfish act."

"Hm…So the heartless robot, the liar everyone hates, and the fake maid whose name and face aren't even her own will all sacrifice themselves." Izuru noted. "That still leaves two left that need to be sacrificed. Are there any other brave souls willing to give up their lives for the surviving two?"

"...Yeah. I think there is." Rantaro eventually said.

"Not you, too, Rantaro!" Kaede shouted.

"I mean…I already survived a killing game before. It seems…rather fitting for me to die in another." Rantaro let out a weak laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But honestly, I don't think I could do this any other way. I'd rather see my friends win and survive than survive myself but at the cost of our happiness. Nothing I did here mattered much, anyway, even though I was the Ultimate Survivor. I was just a bystander, really, but at least here…I can do something. I can put my life on the line and save my friends. I can't do that for my sisters, since they don't exist, but I can do it for you guys."

"Rantaro…" Tenko muttered before she closed her eyes. Then…she let out a fierce war cry. "GGGGGGGRRRYAAAAAAAH! That's it! I've made my decision!"

"Not you, too!" Kaaede yelped.

"That's right. We only need one more, right? Then I'll be the last sacrifice! That way, you and Shuichi can escape this place!" Tenko declared before shaking in place a little. "T-To be honest, I've never been more scared in my life. I'll die by doing this. But I won't back down! I can't let this guy beat us! I won't let him and despair win, because that would be worse than dying! Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will protect my friends and end this killing game!"

"Sacrifice…?" Shuichi muttered before his eyes went wide. "Wait! Hang on a second, Tenko!"

"Sorry, Shuichi, but you can't change my mind. I've already made my decision." Tenko said before shooting a furious, hateful glare at the smug Izuru. "I can't stand this guy! He's the worst person to ever exist for doing this to us…to doing this to everyone who's ever been in a killing game, like Rin, the real one and fake one! I won't forgive this guy no matter what!"

"But then…what will happen to Shuichi and me?" Kaede asked with teary eyes. "Will we…go back to the outside world by ourselves? Just the two of us after having sacrificed you all?"

"What, indeed? You should already know there's nothing out there for you." Izuru hummed as he placed a hand on his cheek.

"No, once the audience sees this ending, I'm sure they'll help us." Keebo smiled as he confidently spoke out his hopes. "Everything is going to be okay! We'll definitely find hope—"

"What do you mean, hope?"

"What…?" Keebo gaped as he turned to the person who spoke those words.

Shuichiclentched his fists as he closed his eyes tightly and shook in place. But then, he bared his teeth, before shouting at the top of his lungs.

"I REJECT that hope!" Shuichi then brought a hand to his face and held back a snarl. "I…I refuse. I won't accept that hope!"

"Shuichi… What's the matter?" Keebo asked cautiously.

"It's because of hope that this whole thing is happening!" Shuichi shouted. "I reject that hope!"

Keebo could only gape at what Shuichi said as the entire trial ground held its breath in response. A tense air enveloped Shuichi and Keebo as Shuichi narrowed his eyes at his robotic friend and began to explain himself.

"Hope itself is the villain here. We suffer because of hope. Izuru isn't trying to make us despair. He wants us to trust in hope!" Shuichi shouted. "So I say no! I reject that hope!"

"Izuru wants us to trust in hope? What does that mean?" Keebo asked.

"The reason this madness has gone on 53 times…It's because of hope. It's because the audience wants hope!" Shuichi explained. "They want to see hope beat despair in the end! It's Hope's Peak Academy all over again! So if we fight for hope, we'd just be giving them what they want! And the killings will never stop! They'll never end! Don't you see? Despair is the only choice!"

"No, that's wrong! It has to be!" Keebo exclaimed. "Despair takes everything from people! Even their strength to press onward! That's why it's not possible for despair to be better!"

"The people watching probably feel the same way… They want hope, too." Shuichi explained as a pain-filled expression flashed in his eyes.

"...What?"

"Even if it's fiction, everyone wants to feel hope… It gives them…courage." Shuichi said as he spoke softly. "And this killing game continues because we keep giving them the hope they want. While they ignore all the tragedies that we had to suffer to get there!" He yelled as he slammed a hand into his podium angrily.

"Shuichi…that's–"

"Then let's start the Voting Time!" Monokuma yelled over Keebo.

"...What?" The robot gaped. Why? Why was Monokuma pushing for the vote to happen now of all times?

"Yes…It is time for the final vote. This trial has gone on long enough. It's time we ended this. Who will win? What will you choose? Hope or despair?" Izuru asked as he remained steadfastly confident.

"W-Wait! We're not finished talking!" Keebo yelled back.

"Please…let me ask just a few more things. I have to know something before we vote." Shuichi pleaded.

"Is that so?" Izuru hummed as he looked at the weak detective with bored eyes. "What is it?"

"If hope wins this final vote, Keebo, Kokichi, Rantaro, Tenko, and…Kirumi will all sacrifice themselves." Shuichi began before he narrowed his gaze towards the mastermind. "You as well, Izuru, as the loser, will also be punished, yes?"

"That is correct… What are you getting at?"

"What kind of punishment will you all receive? Please, tell me what it is." Shuichi asked.

"..." Izuru narrowed his own eyes at Shuichi, the tiniest of frowns forming at that stoney face of his before he huffed and brushed some bangs out of his face. "Is that all?"

"No. I have one last question as well. You said that our Rin, the one you made as a double for the real Rin who died…you said you 'made' him in order to show off a prequel killing game, yes? Tell me…what happened to our Rin after he won that game as the blackened? The plot you described with the serial killer wasn't real, right? That was just part of the story you made for that game, so what happened to Rin once he got out of the game? He eventually joined that resistance group that tried to end Danganronpa, but did you let him go of your own free will?"

"..." That small frown Izuru had suddenly deepened a few notches as an eyebrow twitched on his perfectly crafted face. Before now, Izuru had remained entirely detached, but now…Shuichi had said something that got under his skin.

"Why should he tell you?" Monokuma suddenly asked, coming to Izuru's aid. "We never said anything about a punishment, now did we?"

"The bear is correct. You already know what the punishment is, yes? And you already know what happened to that fake in the end." Izuru huffed as he adjusted his suit and tie. "What you should be more concerned about is–"

"No, we don't know what the punishment is. That is the problem, but if the punishment is what I think it is, then…everything makes sense." Shuichi let out an airy breath before he hardened his resolve. "Including why Rantaro participated in another killing game!"

"Me?" Rantaro exclaimed as he gestured to himself. "What do I have to do with any of this?"

"Just think about it. If you do…it will all make sense." Shuichi told everyone.

Keebo thought for a moment, but then it hit him. But…no! That couldn't be right. If this was the answer, then…

"...I got it!" Keebo eventually said. "The final punishment…is that you have to participate in the next killing game, right!?"

After Keebo answered, a chilling quiet entered the trial grounds. Keebo pursed his metal lips as, slowly, he watched the dead and tired faces of his friends shift to shock, before they suddenly went wide eyed in confusion and morib horror.

"...What?" Rantaro was the first to speak after finding his voie.

"Yeah…I think so." Shuichi said through a deep frown of his own. "The punishment after the final vote…is to participate in another killing game. That's what Rantaro was talking about in his video."

"His…video…" Kaede muttered as she recalled what Rantaro had told them.

"You wanted this killing game, so you have to win no matter what. No matter what."

"Something similar must have happened in the last killing game, and Rantaro was given a choice." Shuichi explained his theory. "He sacrificed himself…and was forced to participate again, in a game where he was scripted to die."

"Is that…really what happened to me?" Rantaro asked. "I…I didn't win or really survive… This second game…is my punishment for being sacrificed?"

"Not just that…but I think this also explains what happened to Rin and even Izuru," Shuichi stated.

"Rin and Izuru, too? But…they weren't sacrificed, were they? What do they have to do with this final vote?" Tenko asked.

"Rin survived his killing game, too, but he wasn't sacrificed. He won as the blackened of the game. However, after that killing game, Izuru told us that he joined a resistance group against Danganronpa. But remember what Izuru said? Those people were survivors of killing games who 'broke away' from Team Danganronpa. That means they weren't willingly let go, and Izuru himself told us he had to survive numerous killing games just to get to where he is now! I doubt anyone, even Izuru wanted to go through as many killing games as he claims to have gone through, especially when each one he was altered into a different person entirely"

"What…are you saying, Shuichi?" Kirumi asked with fearful eyes.

"I'm saying…I don't think it's only the final punishment that forces you to participate in another killing game. I think the reward for surviving and winning a killing game in any way is to participate in the next." Shuichi said grimly.

"Winning…also forces you into another killing game!?" Tenko shouted.

"But…that's rigged! That's totally rigged! That means there's no escape whether you live or die or sacrifice yourself in the end!" Kokichi screamed as his face turned red in absolute fury.

"That's right. This all means…that even if we choose hope here, the killing game won't end." Shuichi said as he gritted his teeth. "Izuru will still be the mastermind. Keebo will still represent the viewers, and all of us will be repurposed into the next few killing games, whether as Ultimate Survivors…or as completely different characters. Don't you see? If hope wins, the killing won't stop! It's because hope wins that the killing never stops! It's what the people want! They want hope to win! They want the happy ending! That's why the killing game has gone on 53 times!"

"The killing game persists…because hope always wins?" Keebo muttered…the words feeling like poison and fiery brimstone as he spoke them.

"That's why I'm going to reject that hope." Shuichi declared with anger in his eyes.

"Then it's despair? You're going to choose despair to end the killing game?" Izuru asked. "How boring… But that's fine. The audience loves despair as well. After all, your fake Rin's last killing game ended in despair, too, but that didn't end the killing game either. Even if despair wins, the killing game still won't end."

"Then…hope has to win this game, too." Keebo tried to stand firm. "If we continue to win for hope, then this killing game will surely end someday!"

It had to. That thought went unspoken, but–

"No, you don't get it! It's not going to end, it's going to keep happening! Over and over!" Shuichi told him.

"Th-Then what are we supposed to do!?" Keebo finally broke down as he screamed back at the detective.

He was trying so hard to remedy this situation, but the longer things went on, the more useless that appeared to be. There was no fixing this. There was no remedy.

The terrible truth was that all the options given to them at this moment would end in their suffering.

Keebo didn't know what to do anymore.

…but Shuichi had an idea.

"...When Kokichi and the others all started saying that they were going to sacrifice themselves just now, I thought…'why'?" Shuichi began as he began to tremble at his stand. "Why? So many of our friends have sacrificed their lives already? Why Keebo? Why Kokichi, or Rantaro, or Tenko, or Kirumi? Why now?!" Shuichi's head shot up as tears gathered in his eyes as he scanned the room, his eyes landing on every single portrait that stood in place of one of their deceased friends. "Why do we have to go through it again…? The sorrow of loosing Kaito…and Rin…and everyone else! Why do we have to feel that sadness over and over and over again…? Why do we have to bear that burden…?"

"Well, I don't care how much the audience wants it, I'm not gonna feel that way anymore!" Shuichi then held his chest tightly as he started screaming as loudly as he could. "I don't want ANYONE to feel that way anymore!"

His mind wandered as he thought back to the last sights he saw of everyone who had died since arriving at this academy.

The first Kirumi's cold body, covered in numerous stab wounds, who was killed when attempting to look out for a friend.

Tsumugi, who was tortured to death after being brainwashed into being the mastermind's planned scapegoat.

Miu, who was strangled to death after finally finding the courage to fight alongside everyone.

Korekiyo, who was driven insane by the lies making up his terrible past before being betrayed by someone looking like the one he thought he loved.

Angie, who was manipulated after doing her best to be strong and protect everyone, driven into a corner after losing what she felt made her special.

Ryoma, who was killed after arriving at the wrong spot at the wrong time, killed right after he decided he should keep living.

Himiko, who was betrayed and forced to kill for her own survival, forced to kill one of her closest friends before being humiliated as she was killed.

Kaito, who was forced to suffer this entire time from an illness that was forced onto him as an attempt to 'improve his character'.

Gonta, who sacrificed himself to save someone who tried to manipulate him because he cared too much not to.

Maki, who let her new found emotions take over her instincts, causing her to regress back into the heartless killer she never wanted to be.

…Rin, the Rin they knew at least, who after discovering he was nothing more than a fake of a fake, gave up his life in an endlessly complicated plan in order to give the survivors a way to fight for their lives, fictional they may be…because he didn't see any other value left in his own.

Each image of his friends' corpses and deaths was burned in Shuichi's mind as he let out pained sobs and screamed what he felt in his heart.

"Even if this is fiction, even if we're all fictional…the pain in my heart is real! The sadness I feel when I lose the people I love is REAL!" He screamed before he took in a few haggard breaths to collect himself. "I won't forgive this game that treats us like toys…! And if this is what the world wants, then I reject that world! I'll fight the world that inflicts suffering for entertainment!"

"Fight…the outside world?" Keebo asked.

"As if it matters what you do now." Izuru rolled his eyes. "No matter what a fictional character does or says, it's just fiction to the outside world. You can't change it! You're not even a part of it anymore!"

"Then I'll fight the outside world from within this fiction." Shuichi declared calmly.

"From within this fiction?" Kirumi repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Shuichi, what are you talking about?" Kaede asked. "What…are you planning on doing?"

"I…refuse to vote." Shuichi then said as he stood tall and confidently.

"Refuse…to vote?" Izuru asked, his eyes once again twitching.

"Monokuma said that if we don't vote, we'll be killed for breaking the rules!" Rantaro shouted.

"Yes, I know. That's why I'm doing it." Shuichi said as he smiled softly. "If this ends without a single vote being cast for hope or despair, then the audience would hate it. They'd never accept an ending like that… So I abstain! I refuse to give the outside world the ending it wants! I won't vote for Keebo! Or Izuru!"

"I reject both hope and despair!"

Keebo…remained silent as he processed those words. Something inside him wanted to deny the detective's words as insanity and words born purely from grief. He wanted to so badly…but he couldn't. Because he kept going back to what Shuichi said before. Hope…won't end the killing game. That…seems to have been proven, time and time again.

If that's true, then this feeling deep within him telling him to win for hope is…

Keebo remained silent as he started to more closely examine these feelings inside him, all the while Shuichi continued to argue his point.

"I'll put a stop to this killing game!" Shuichi declared.

"You can't stop it!" Monokuma yelled. "If Danganronpa ends, I'll be out of a job!"

"Even if this is all fake, our suffering and pain is real!" Shuichi argued angrily but with righteous anger instead of blind fury.

"You think it was easy for any of us? It's a death game! Of course we're going to suffer!" Izuru shouted. "But going off the deep end like you are now is hardly suitable behavior! You're just throwing and tantrum!"

"I reject both hope and despair! I reject the world that would make us do this." Shuichi continued, undeterred by Izuru's words. "Which is why I abstain from voting! So this won't end in hope or despair!"

"Are you really just going to throw it all away at the drop of a hat just to spite me and the audience? You're going to kill yourselves for something as meaningless and empty as that?" Izuru asked, a twinge of anger now evident in his tone. "Where's the hope in that!? You're acting like a child!"

Keebo felt as though he was at war with himself. He knew he couldn't give up on hope, but…even so–! What he truly wanted, from the bottom of his own heart–!

It should end in hope…but even so–!

"No! You're wrong, Izuru! Shut up! Hope isn't the answer!" Keebo found himself yelling.

Izuru nearly tripped over his words as he physically stumbled from being interrupted. He spun around to face Keebo, pure befuddlement painted on his face as he stared at the robot with an incredulous glare.

"Keebo? What are you doing?" Izuru questioned sternly. "Did your inner voice really tell you to do that? Did it tell you to reject hope?"

Keebo remained quiet, before he finally took a deep breath (unnecessary as it might have been) and finally started speaking again.

"No… My inner voice is telling me…not to give up on hope." Keebo answered before clenching his fist. "But if that hope demands tragedy from us…then… I cannot trust it. I may be a robot, but the thought of my friends dying still fills me with sadness. I don't want anyone else to feel this way! So…I will abandon hope!"

"Y-You…! What do you think you're doing!?" Izuru suddenly let out an angry shout as his face twisted into a snarl. "Do you have any idea what's going to happen to you know, Keebo? To defy the audience is–"

"I don't give a damn. This killing game is over anyway." Shuichi cut him off. "New characters are created just to show the outside world a fictional hope. They get written into these killing games, forced to betray one another…and at the end of the slaughter…the tragedy, the despair…hope wins. Sometimes despair might win, but never for long, as hope keeps going. Well I've had enough of it. We're going to end this right now! We won't let it end the way they want! We won't make a good ending or a bad one! To end this killing game…and end it forever…We will reject Danganronpa!"

"Shuichi…!" Keebo smiled brightly at Shuichi's declaration as the other students, who before seemed exhausted and lifeless, started to turn back to the detective as his words rallied something within them.

All the while, Izuru held a hand over half his face as he stared daggers at Shuichi. He did not speak out, but his building frustration was very visible now.

"You were right, Izuru. You were completely right about me." Shuichi admitted. "I'm weak. I'm weaker than everyone else… If I didn't have my friends, I'd be useless. That's true even now! If Keebo, Kokichi, and the others didn't stand up…I would have ended it all right then. But it's because I'm weak and because I lost my way…that I finally realized. I finally realized how cruel this 'hope' really is."

"Y-You…! You're different now…! Suddenly, out of nowhere, it's like you're…a different person!" Izuru gasped as he tried to say something coherent. "Y-You…! What you're saying is just–!"

"Everyone. Will you abstain from voting with me?" Shuichi asked, ignoring what surely was rambling by the mastermind.

"H-Huh?" Tenko gaped.

"Us too?" Rantaro hummed as he cautiously placed a hand on his chin.

"You want us to abstain as well?" Kaede muttered weakly.

"You can't do that. If you do, all of you will be killed." Izuru stated. "That's no different from committing mass suicide! Do you really want to kill yourselves, especially in such a way?"

"It's still a sin to throw your life away. Even if your life is fictional." Monokuma pointed out.

"You've been fighting so hard up till this point. You fought tooth and nail to survive. Are you really just going to give up now?" Izuru asked. "That's nothing more than cowardice! You're running away because you don't want to face the real issue here!"

"I-I…I…!" Kaede tried to speak, but her nerves were getting the better of her. If she joined Shuichi, she would die! She fought so hard to survive, but she had to die now in order to really end things? That was too cruel…! It might not even work! It was just spite, plain as day. Did she really want to do this just for spite?

But in the midst of her turmoil–

"Kaede, please trust me. We can put an end to this insane killing game." Shuichi pleaded. "We're going to use our lives to end this madness!"

"Use…our lives…?" Kaede repeated as she latched onto the words.

"But…you have to choose, Kaede. You have to choose for yourself." Shuichi said as he gave her a small smile. "I know it's scary, but we can't look away from this. We can't back down now. We all have to choose what we do next. Only those who have found the truth can choose their destiny! I believe in you!"

Kaede stayed quiet for a moment before she took in a deep breath.

She was back here again. Back in the middle of a life-altering choice. Before…when she was forced to make this kind of choice…she failed…in every conceivable way. She hurt so many. Broke the trust she had with everyone. Nearly killed people she called friends, and for what? For her own sense of righteousness? What right did she have to make that choice again?

Only…this time it wasn't anyone's life on the line but hers. She was making a choice regarding her own life instead of the life of someone else.

Did she…really have the strength to keep going?

"If we refuse to vote…we all die," Shuichi admitted as he turned to face Izuru.

"Are you really so foolish that you would so easily give up your life like this?" Izuru asked. "You're insulting everyone out there who wants to live by making that choice!"

Did she…have the strength to make this choice?

"Hope and despair, neither the victor… No one would want an ending like that."

"You would throw away your life for that goal, even though it's not guaranteed to work at all? You'd all die meaningless deaths."

Could Kaede…really do this, despite her weakness?

"No, it wouldn't! Our lives are our strongest weapons!"

Kaede knew she was weak. That was so apparent to her now. She had it spelled out to her in the worst way possible by someone she trusted dearly…but even with those cruel words, there was a truth she had to admit.

She was weak. She never really did anything to help the others.

But would she let that stay the same way?

"And with these weapons, we revolt against the outside world!" Shuichi declared.

Kaede clenched her fists, opened her eyes, and then steeled herself.

Even if it cost her everything, she would put it all on the line for her friends! For those who died and those who still wanted to live, she would help end this twisted killing game!

"That's right! We'll end this killing game! Once and for all!" Kaede exclaimed as she let out a powerful shout. "Even if I'm a fictional character, my life is real… That's why this killing game is so entertaining. It's fun to see lives clash together like this, but I won't let you use me for this show! I'm the one who decides how I will live, and I'm the one who will decide how I use my life! And I say I'm going to use my life to end this killing game! For everyone who has died here, I won't let their deaths be in vain! The only thing I can use is my life, so that's what I'm going to do! I won't run away anymore!"

"Y-You've gotta be kidding me–another one of you is going to kill themselves now!?" Izuru shouted. "Suicide is suicide! What part of that is so hard to understand? You're not using your life as a weapon, you're giving up and running away! You're contradicting yourself!"

"No I'm not! This isn't running away! It's finally coming to a decision. I refused to be used like some tool. If this is the only way I can prevent others from getting dragged into this madness, I won't allow myself to hesitate any more just because I'm afraid!" Kaede declared.

"You're insane, that's what you are." Izuru scoffed. "Is it that perhaps you're trying to be contrarian for the sake of it? Are you trying to break free from Team Danganronpa's hold? What if these thoughts of yours are just another outline we created during the writing process? This could just be a part of our script, just like that fake Kirumi falling for that Fake Rin! After all, two fakes deserve each other! The audience agrees wholeheartedly! They were the ones that pushed for that plotline!"

"..." Kirumi could only look away, ashamed of herself and of her existence. She was just a copy of someone else. A copy of a fictional person. Everything, even her emotions, came with a writing credit. None of it was real. Even what she was feeling right now was surely just…

"That's right. You're starting to understand." Izuru smirked. "Because if none of you vote and I do, then I'll be the only one who survives. Doesn't that sound exactly like what the big bad mastermind would come up with?"

Kirumi snapped her eyes shut. She wished she was alone right now. Maybe then it would be easier to parse through her emotions and thoughts. Perhaps then she could figure out which ones were really hers and which ones were Kirumi Tojo's. She just needed a moment of silence to figure out where she truly began and where she ended and became the Ultimate Maid Kirumi Tojo, but with all this noise, doing that would be—

"It's okay, Kirumi. Believe in me." Shuichi's voice suddenly cut through all the noise in Kirumi's head.

"H-Huh?" Kirumi opened her eyes and turned to Shuichi. Her face was a mess, tear streaks on her cheeks that ruined her make up and her hair was now as messy as the current state of her heart. She tried to comprehend the detective's words, but really, all she got was one thing he said. "I'm…I'm not Kirumi Tojo, though. You saw that video. I'm…someone else. I've been lying to you this whole time."

"Maybe so…but to me, you're still Kirumi, even if you're not the one we first met. Just like how our Rin, despite not being the real one, is still Rin to us. Both you and him are people dear to me. That's the truth. So…even if you don't know who you are…believe in yourself, just like how you believe in Rin. I'm sure…that's the strength he really wanted you to have. The strength he couldn't build up for himself."

"Believe…in myself? Is that possible with what I am?" Kirumi asked.

"That's why you have to fight, even if you're scared. It's because you do have that strength. I know you do. You wouldn't still be standing here with us if you didn't." Shuichi smiled. "Think back to what he told you! Your life is your own! You need to decide what you use it for! Choose for yourself, not anyone else!"

Kirumi froze at those words. Those words… Those words were the ones he left her. Yes…that arrogant, frustrating, wonderful man who showed her that she could in fact live for herself.

But…those words were for Kirumi Tojo. they weren't meant for her. Could she still be selfish if that was the case?

"I sincerely hope that one day, you can live life to the fullest, not for anyone else, but yourself. Not many have the strength to do so."

But…those words were spoken many days after Rin learned the truth, wasn't it? Did he really believe…she was stronger than he was? Did he think…she could overcome this truth? The truth he could not?

But…was she really?

"Even your thoughts are works of fiction!" Izuru shouted. "It's all following my outline to a T."

"This whole shebang is fiction!" Monokuma laughed. "That's Danganronpa for ya!"

That's right… Everything about her was fictional. It was fiction built upon fiction. Her selfless devotion, her emotions, her goals–it was all designed by someone else and then transposed onto her. Nothing about her was real.

"Even if it is fiction, it's because of everyone's sacrifices that we've come this far!" Shuichi announced. "Their deaths have to be more than just fiction. There must be something we can do!"

Everything here was created by this cruel man. The mastermind. It would be easy for him to create them all in a way that led to an ending where he survived to create more killing games. Izuru was right about this ending being convenient for him, more so than the others.

"You mean you'll live your lives for the dead? Aren't you being hypocritical then by throwing your lives away?" Izuru asked.

"No. We're going to use this fiction to change reality!" Shuichi argued.

But even so, even if her feelings were all just a lie–! Even if she herself is just a copy of a lie, she still–!

"We're going to end Danganronpa!"

Even if all she ever desired was a lie and not her own, what she felt in her heart right now must surely be her real feelings. Those had to be true!

"Yes…if that is the case…" Kirumi began as she brushed her messy olive hair out of her eyes and fiercely looked ahead. "Then I will believe in myself and my friends! I will stand together with them no matter what! Even if everything is fictional, I'll believe in my own feelings. If I can't believe in my feelings, then my existence will have no meaning. Perhaps there isn't any meaning to be found in a fabricated existence such as myself, but even if that is the case, then I will create my own purpose. If we can change reality, then we won't just be fiction. Our lives will have significance, and hopefully…my feelings will have significance, too. That…is my own selfish desire."

"So you're saying…that it's okay for everyone to die together!?" Izuru gaped, but he regained his composure as he shook his head. "You say that's a good ending for you all, but that's just letting despair win! If you all die, then despair wins too! You said so yourself that both lead to killing games, so why is this option so appealing to you? If you die here and now, you won't be able to do anything afterward. You'll be dead, and the world will move on without you. Wouldn't it be better to keep living in order to keep fighting? Just look at your friend Rantaro. If he had given into despair before and killed himself like you all want to do, things would have been a lot worse for you all. Is that really want you want?"

Rantaro frowned as he tried to rationalize things in his head. That's right. He chose to be sacrificed in the last killing game. He chose to stay strong, for himself or whoever his friends were in that last game. Wouldn't following Shuichi be betraying those people? Those people wanted to live, too. But he's the one still alive, while his friends might be held prisoner, killed, or in some other death game. Could he really give up his life when he and others fought so hard to survive up till now?

"Rantaro, I can't speak for you or anyone else who might have been in the last killing game, but if I had been there, I would have wanted you to make a choice you could be proud of," Shuichi told the Adventurer.

"Something I could be proud of?" Ratnaro repeated as he raised a hand to look at it. "...Can I really be proud of anything now? I was just supposed to be a sacrificial pawn. Nothing more. I'm not special."

"That doesn't matter. It doesn't take a special person to change the world." Shuichi argued. "No matter what happens, you need to decide for yourself what you think is best. You already knew this coming into your second killing game, remember? Don't forget what you told yourself, even after sacrificing everything!"

What he told himself, huh? That's right. He remembered.

"You wanted this killing game, so you have to win no matter what. No matter what."

That's right…he said it himself, didn't he? He told his future self to win. The thing Rantaro now had to decide was what counted as 'winning'.

"If you all die due to not voting, you're letting despair win!" Izuru exclaimed. "If you let this game end in despair, the killing games will never end! Is that really want you want?"

"You're really considering mass suicide, are you sure you haven't fallen into despair already?" Monokuma asked mockingly as he began cackling.

Yes…doing this would kill them all in the end. If it doesn't work, there will be nothing Rantaro and the others can do…

"We're not in despair! We're finally putting an end to this twisted game!" Shuichi refuted. "After everything we've been put through, all our hopes and pain has only given the audience what they wanted. So we won't give it to them any more! We're not gonna let this end with hope or despair!"

They didn't have anything waiting for them in the outside world. No one would even care if they survived or died. With that in mind, perhaps there is despair in this choice.

"Not giving the audience what they wan't won't fix anything. I'll only make things worse. The audience will just move on without you, and you'll have died for nothing." Izuru snarled.

"No, we won't!" Shuichi shouted back. "Our lives will have meaning, even if we use them to fight the outside world! It won't be for nothing, and it won't end in despair!"

…But even if there is no one out there in the outside world who cares for fictional characters like them, the bonds they have with each other are real. Even if his family never existed, these friends Rantaro is with right now are real, and their suffering was real. So was the suffering Rantaro was forced through in the last game, and so were those friends he must have made.

"We'll use our lives and end this game. We'll end both this false hope and fake despair using our lives!"

Back then, he made the choice to become the Ultimate Survivor, and that decision wasn't an empty one. It had meaning. Just like this choice will in the end. So there was only one thing he could do.

"That's right. Even if it's all fake, our choices will still have meaning! Using our lives like this will have meaning!" Rantaro finally shouted. "It's true. In the last game, I fought to survive, and that resulted in my being here in this second killing game. If I hadn't done that, then maybe Shuichi and the others wouldn't have arrived at this conclusion. Perhaps they wouldn't have the chance to end it all. But that was then, and this is now. This choice isn't one born of hope, but it isn't born of despair either. This is our only chance at ending things completely, and Shuichi is right. We can't let this chance slip through our fingers. So I will also put my life on the line. I've survived this long, so now that I have this chance, I need to take it, no matter what."

"So you're just going to throw it all away? I thought you told yourself to win no matter what, not die!" Izuru yelled.

"In a way, if this works, then we really will win. Winning isn't surviving this death game. Winning will be ending it forever. So that's what I'm going to do. I refuse to remain a pawn for you to play around with and sacrifice of your own accord!" Rantaro exclaimed.

"You're joking! Do you think throwing away your life is the right choice? Do you think forsaking your life is taking control of it with your own hands? You're deluding yourselves again!" Izuru snarled. "How do you know if this will even save anyone? Most likely, you're just going to make things worse for everyone! Do you think that if you all 'noblely sacrifice' yourselves here the people in the next game will have it better? You won't stop the killing games. You'll just make them more terrible for the next batch of people. You're not saving anyone! Or what? Do you want to make the people who come after you to suffer worse than you have? Defying the audience never works out for fictional characters! You were made to kill each other and entertain the masses. Just give in and accept those are your only roles in your fictional lives!"

"..." Tenko just held herself as she pursed her lips. What had she done here that mattered? All her feelings and all her actions were dictated by other people. Tenko was just fictional. But even so, her life was real, wasn't it? It was real to her. But now the only way to end this was to die? After everything, that was the answer all along?

Why? Why now? Why did she and her friends have to die? What if they give their lives? What happens then? They'd be dead, and they wouldn't be able to do anything after that. If this didn't even work, then they would have died for nothing. Tenko didn't that, and she didn't want to make things worse for others should this, honestly, insane plan didn't work. Izuru was right in that defying the audience was the height of stupidity. They were the audience's playthings. When toys stop being fun to play with, they get thrown away. Wouldn't that be true for them and anyone else who gets thrown into a killing game?

Tenko didn't want that. She didn't want to make things worse for her friends and other people who might be forced to suffer though this torment, but she also didn't want to let her friends down. But she also didn't want to die. She hated pain! She hated feeling like this! She had built up enough courage to sacrifice herself earlier, but now that she knew even that was a lie, she couldn't take it anymore! What was she supposed to do!?

"Tenko, trust in me, and trust in yourself." Shuichi spoke softly. "You're a lot stronger than you think, too. You have the strongest heart of all of us."

"I…I do?"

"You care so deeply for your friends. No matter what happens or how much pain you might be in, you always look out for us. You always wear your heart on your sleeve, and you hate it whenever we go through any of the injustices this killing game forced onto us." Shuichi said warmly. "Now, we can finally take the fight to those who put us through all that suffering. We can finally end this game, for everyone who died, and for those who might get thrown into the next game. If we put an end to it once and for all. Our lives are our greatest weapons. We're the only ones who can do this!"

Tenko frowned a little in response to that, but then she started to think a bit more about the choice presented to her now.

What would the others who had died have done if they were in her position?

Tenko knew she wasn't as smart as the others like Shuichi. She wasn't a good leader, either. She was the kind of person who was better at following others. She had wanted to protect others, but she failed nearly every time. Maybe Rin was right when he told her she was a poor excuse for the Ultimate Aikido Master.

But even so, she was never one to give up, either.

"If we refuse to vote, we won't be giving the audience any kind of ending, good or bad. They'll hate it, and the killing game will end!" Shuichi assured.

"Defying the audience will only rile them up." Izuru shook his head. "You're only making things harder for everyone else involved in killing games. Is that what you want? To take the easy way out and leave a mess for others to fix? You're only hurting other innocent victims with your selfish choice."

Yes, Tenko was stubborn. In fact, the only redeeming quality she had was her stupidly stubborn heart. That was the only thing she ever listened to before.

"We're going to use our lives to rebel against the outside world! We're putting our lives on the line in order to fight the world that watches happily as it forces people to suffer and kill each other!" Shuichi shouted. "We're going to fight for a world without killing games and Danganronpa!"

"Yes! We're going to end this killing game forever!" Tenko smiled as she raised her head. "I may not be smart, and I might be scared, but Shuichi is right! We're doing this to stop the pain these killing games cause. Even if I'm not strong enough on my own, if we do it together, I know we can do it! So I'm gonna give it my all. To put an end to this insanity! I'm a fighter, so I'll fight with all my life!"

"Stupid words from a stupid girl!" Izuru screamed. "Let me repeat myself: everything you're saying is all because I wrote it into you! Every thought, every action, every single word you've spoken is just a bunch of lies that I wrote onto a script! You're all not real. You've never had a real thought since becoming fictional characters. You're just caricatures made to be entertaining. We designed you all for the exact purpose. You were all created to be who you are, down to every detail. This 'rebellion' of yours is just a reflection of your character. Clearly, you've all become faulty. Perhaps it's time for a 'hard reset', like what happened to the maid and the failure of a copy. Tell me, what kind of character would you all like to be turned into now? Perhaps something exciting like what we did with the Ultimate Supreme Leader. Everyone likes sociopath characters in a death game. It creates interesting conflict."

Kokichi clenched his fists as he bit back a snarling remark. He wanted to fight back, but what could he do? No matter what kind of scheme he came up with, nothing would work. Kokichi was useless here. He had tried everything he could think of to end the game before, and nothing worked. All it did was disappoint, and at worst, it got people around him killed. Now he was alone, and by himself, he couldn't do anything.

He found it pitiful, really. He had thought he had finally beaten the game, but then his partner was the one who took the fall just to get them here. And for what? To reveal this grand, awful truth? Kokichi hated it. He hated this truth. He wished he could go back to his precious lies.

Lies were supposed to be his freedom. They were supposed to let him be anything. To Kokichi, lies were not evil by themselves.

If that was the case, perhaps…he should take up that offer…and just let himself be enshrouded by more endless lies if this truth was going to remain. It wasn't as though there was anything else he could do.

"Even if you do change us into different people again, we'll still discover this truth, and then we'll fight you again! No matter how much you implant lies in our hearts and minds, you'll never be able to overwrite who we are at our core! You couldn't do that to Rin! That's why he still fought you till the end!" Shuichi shouted before turning to the small, purple-haired teen. "Kokichi, you can't give up! Don't let yourself be blinded by cruel lies! Instead, let's use these lies to fight for a better world! If this truth is so horrible, then we should change it, and the lies that make us who we are give us the perfect opportunity to do that! C'mon! It would be a lousy story if the villain gave up so easily!"

Kokichi found himself turning toward Shuichi, and then he let out a weak chuckle. The villain, huh? Kokichi had played a pretty convincing villain for this killing game, didn't he? He was always at odds with the 'heroes'. Yeah…there was no way he was a hero. The role of the evil villain suited him perfectly.

And that didn't change even at this moment.

"You're all our property. We can do whatever we want to you." Izuru hissed out venomously. "If we have to, we can easily just rewrite you into different characters and start this killing game over, and there isn't anything you could do about it."

"Danganronpa is always looking for fresh characters for its killing games! What kind of new characters do you want to be?" Monokuma asked as he bounced in his throne like a child. "No matter what you turn into, you'll see provide wonderful entertain to our lovely audience!"

Kokichi had made a decision at the start of this terrible game. In this game that forced people to participate against their will, the antithesis of what games are, he decided to do what he does best: lie. Now that everything around him, including himself, has been revealed to be nothing more than lies, why should he hold back? He was never one to wallow in self-pity for long.

"No matter what happens to us, our desires won't change. We may be fictional, but our lives and deaths have meaning." Shuichi refuted. "Even if you change us completely, that won't change! Our desires will reach the outside world!"

No matter how much he cried, his tears wouldn't bring anyone back. So at the very least, the person who is Kokichi Oma at this very moment will play his villainous role to perfection.

"Nee-heehee…! Yes. Let's have fun with this!" Kokichi smirked as he let out his iconic cheeky laughter. "Who cares what might happen to us? It's already the end of this season, right? We might as well go off with a bang! And nothing is better than the most unexpected ending! Who cares if people will hate it? It's all about the art and performance of it all! And really, what right do they have to complain? I'm just fulfilling my role as a villain, right? You made me to be a liar, so let's dance till our last moments in this fictional world propped up by endless lies!"

"A-Are you all insane!?" Izuru screamed as he gripped his face angrily. "So you're all seriously considering this…this nonsense!? You're all okay with dying together for some pointless spite!? Why do you want to die so badly!?"

"It's not that I want to die!" Shuichi argued back before placing a hand on his chest as though his heart was aching. "We fought so hard to survive… Of course we don't want to die. But it's not just about us. Everyone who died in the killing games felt the same way."

That's right. They all had wanted to survive. The first Kirumi wished to help and protect her friends. Tsumugi, even after being twisted into the mastermind's pawn, wished to bring joy to others, even if it was through this twisted game. Miu wanted to improve the world with her inventions and believe she could save everyone. Kiyo wanted to live the life his sister could not. Angie had an entire island's worth of people waiting for her. Ryoma had lost everything, but had finally begun putting the pieces of his life back together. Himiko was just starting to find the will to keep going after finding people who wanted to support her. Kaito had more fiery passion to live than anyone despite his terminal illness. Gonta wanted to befriend and protect everyone he met here, no matter how they treated him. Maki's cold heart had melted, and she began to genuinely care for people again. And Rin, even after discovering the truth of who and what he was, still wished for all of them to find a way to survive, even at the cost of his own life.

They all had reasons to live and fight for their own survival, or for the lives and survivals of others. They were all the same in that regard.

"They were all desperate to live. They wanted to survive. For themselves…and for someone else." Shuichi wiped away his tears as he firmly lifted his head again defiently. "That desire…isn't fictional to us! That pain isn't fictional to us! To us, the killing game is real tragedy!"

Shuichi then pointed right at Izuru, not letting the CEO's furious rage disway him from speaking.

"That's why we have to stop it! We won't let this happen ever again!"

"Like I told you, it's not going to stop. It will never stop because that's what the world wants. It wants more Danganronpa!" Izuru spat back. "As long as the world desires killing games and Danganronpa, none of this will ever stop!"

"Then we have to change it!" Shuichi screamed with all his might.

"Change it? There's no way you can change it! You're a fictional character! Fiction can't change the real world–!"

"You don't believe in the power of fiction?" Keebo asked as he flashed a small smile towards the CEO.

"Wha–eh?"

That simple question caused the usually composed, cold Izuru to be completely baffled. For once in his life, he let out a short, curt, undignified noise as genuine confusion coated his face as he turned over to the robot that had spoken that nonsense.

"It may not be a physical power, but our wish will surely be received by someone. If fiction has the power to touch people's hearts, then that power can change the world!" Keebo explained

"Those words… What, did that fake also say the same thing to you?" Izuru asked as his eye twitched violently.

"Fake? You mean Rin?" Keebo asked as he blinked a few times at the sudden interjection.

"That damn fool believed fiction could touch people's hearts, too, but look where that got him!" Izuru spat out like venom. "Fiction doesn't hold such power. Not when the outside world is the one pulling the strings!"

"...Yes, I suppose that might be true." Keebo sighed as he closed his metal eyes and thought about the last thing the 'faker' in question did for the robot. "Perhaps you are right, and that this will all be for naught, but still, I believe in the power of fiction. I believe in my friends and myself! And for our desires to come to fruition, then–!"

Keebo then did something shocking. He raised a hand up to his head, grabbing onto the long, sturdy, metal antenna attached to him. The thing that allowed him to speak to the outside world. The world blinded by hope and despair.

Keebo snapped it off without hesitation.

Opening his eyes, his mind once again cleared of any voice aside from his own, he smiled as he gave a small nod.

"I will make this choice of my own free will! Thanks to Rin, I won't allow myself to be controlled anymore! Our wish will be received by the world! That is what I believe! I will also abandon my vote, just as Shuichi suggested!" The Ultimate Robot declared, stunning both his friends and the mastermind himself.

"Y-You…! What did you just do!?" Izuru screamed, any and all composure now lost has his eyes started to turn bloodshot.

"Then it's decided… We all abstain from voting." Shuichi noted as he and all the other students nodded to each other, their choices cemented and their path sealed. They were doing this, no matter the cost. "We rejected hope and despair! We refuse to bow to the demands of the outside world!"

"Y-You're serious about this…aren't you?" Izuru gasped as he stumbled back a bit.

"Oooh~! I think someone is finally loosing his cool! That heartless CEO act of yours is gone now, and you seem to be freaking out quite a bit." Kokichi pestered with an endless grin.

"You all are insane! By doing this, you're letting me, the mastermind, survive, y'know!?" Izuru pointed out as he latched onto his podium to stay standing. "W-What about hope!? What about despair!?"

"Do whatever you want with hope and despair." Keebo shook his head as he looked away, uninterested in discussing things anymore.

"We've already made our decision," Rantaro stated.

"We've already quit this killing game." Tenko nodded.

"I don't care about this fictional world…" Kaede growled.

"No matter what I am, that truth remains," Kirumi added firmly.

"So what if we're lies? That just means we can make our own ending." Kokichi smirked.

"That's right! This class trial is over!" Shuichi shouted. "No, start Voting Time—"

"Voting time? Voting time!?" Monokuma repeated, his voice quickly growing louder and louder. "No! Impossible! I won't let it be voting time yet!"

Monokuma then began to pester the group with unanswered questions that were still left. How did they even arrive here? How was Rin immune to the Flashback Light. Who really was Rin, and who really is Kirumi? Endless inane questions like that were asked, but it was all merely white noise to Shuichi and the others.

They ignored each statement made and every question asked.

All the while, Izuru stared at them incredulously. It was like he was staring at a train wreck. His face twisted in horror and held-back fury, yet he did not turn away. He could not do so. He just watched the student's silent rebellion, still confused by their choice.

Eventually, Monokuma got fed up with the silent treatment, throwing up his paws in anger as he started screaming.

"Do the class trial right! Or the audience is gonna get bored!"

"Fine, be bored… We're not here for your entertainment. We're trying to survive! You're the ones who want us to be entertaining!" Shuichi glared at the bear. He then turned to the screens showing the audience, most of the comments now bitter and full of complaints. "If you're going to complain, then perhaps you should just stop watching!"

"Even if we have to make the entire audience hate us, we're not going to stop." Tenko cried out with determination.

"We're going to end our tragedy here." Kirumi reaffirmed.

"Just give up already and start Voting Time." Kaede pressed forcefully.

"All seven of us will be abstaining from voting, so you'll be the only one who survives, Izuru." Rantaro pointed out calmly, not afraid of death at this point.

"Nee-heehee…! Wow! It seems like you really shot yourself in the foot, huh?" Kokichi laughed.

"...You've got one thing wrong about that," Izuru mumbled as he ran his gloved hand through his now disheveled long hair. "I'm not voting either."

"...What?" Shuichi questioned.

"Only participants in the killing game can vote in Voting Time. I may be the mastermind, but that's due to my role as CEO of Team Danganronpa. I'm not actually a participant in this game. I'm more of a host, remember. I don't get voting privileges." Izuru revealed before he smiled. "However, if we're moving on to the vote, then that means there's still another who has to make a decision. After all, they've been participating this whole time in this game alongside you guys, too. I think they should get a proper vote this trial."

"Who..are you talking about?" Keebo asked.

"Oh, you don't know? But you were so well acquainted with them before you snapped off your antenna, Keebo." Izuru pointed out. "Who else but the outside world itself? The audience you've been helping participate in this killing game! Technically, this season allowed for audience participation. With that in mind, let's give the audience in our survey the right to vote in my place! What do you say, world? Should this game end without hope or despair?"

Shuichi felt his heart drop into his gut. Could Izuru do that!? If the outside world is allowed to vote, then they'll be the ones picking the ending, ruining Shuichi's plan!

"Y-You can't do that! That's cheating! They've never had the right to vote before!" Tenko shouted.

"On the contrary, they've always voted during the class trials. They voted through Keebo, their surrogate!" Izuru explained. "Since Keebo has so rudely cast aside his responsibilities to the audience, then they'll have to make their decision directly. So, what do you think now? Still think you can end the killing games by not voting? Because until the outside world gets bored of Danganronpa, they're always going to choose to continue the killing game!"

"...Then I just have to change their mind," Shuichi stated. "Our friends all died, and they gave everything for us to get to this point! This is our one last chance! If you're letting the outside world vote, then I'll just have to convince them. I know we can change the world! We owe it to everyone to try!"

"Shuichi…" Kaede gasped before she smiled at the detective, in awe of his courage.

"I told you it's impossible!" Izuru argued. "Fiction can never–!"

"The impossible is possible! All you gotta do is make it so!" Shuichi interrupted loudly. "You can even…change the world! No, we will change the world. For ourselves, and everyone who died."

"You're going to throw your lives away…for those who died?" Izuru repeated before baring his teeth angrily. "You fought to survive, and now you're throwing it away! If you die, it's all over!"

"If we die, it's not the end! Our friends who died…gave us their love. And we changed because of that." Shuichi smiled. "If we can inspire change in others, then that love will live on. That love will tear down the wall between fiction and reality, and it will live on…forever. That's why…we're going to change the world. As long as we have their love, we will change it! Even if this whole story is a lie, we will use that love to change the world!"

"That's right! We're not gonna just be fiction!" Rantaro joined in.

"Then let's hurry up and convince these mindless masses of that. Let's remind them just how powerful lies and fiction can be." Kokichi put his hands behind his head smugly.

"No… You can't persuade them like that! I know the outside world, and I know just out blind and deaf they are to voices like yours!" Izuru groaned as he held his head in frustration. "They all love the killing games! They can't get enough of Danganronpa! I'm giving the world what it wants! I'm maintaining the peace the world is currently enjoying! I won't like naive optimists get in the way with their blind faith! If you think you have a shot at persuading the world itself, then try to convince me! I won't allow you to interfere with the world's peace!"

"Then hear my voice and listen—Izuru Kamukura!" Shuichi shouted as they both began their final debate.

"Do you know how much I've put into this stupid show!? Do you realize how much I've sacrificed just to keep plebians like you satisfied!? You were from the outside world, too! You were just like everyone! Yet it was only after becoming fictional that you finally managed to come to this conclusion!" Izuru screamed. "The world doesn't care for fictional characters! They're not real to the outside world! Fiction can't change the world!"

"Fiction can change the world! It has the power to change reality!"

"I hate naive, childish characters like you, so drunk on your own self-righteousness! Don't you see that the world is uncaring towards such heroics? If it was such a nice place normally, we wouldn't need killing games in the first place! And have you considered what will happen should Danganronpa end? The world will return to how it was! Violence and pain and sufferring will return to the outside world instead of being contained within fiction! Are you really willing to put the world itself through that? It's better to let the masses indulge themselves endlessly with killing games! Killing games are the best form of entertainment for our world!"

"The killing game is wrong! I won't let you use our lives for entertainment!"

"The world is drunk on hope and despair! They can't get enough of it! So what if fictional characters suffer fake tragedies in order to get it? Better it happen to fictional beings than out in the real world. Here in this fictional world, we can have do-overs and remake characters, but in the real world, that doesn't happen! And these death games used to be worse for participants! You think Ultimate Real Fiction is cruel? You haven't even seen how cruel the world can be when it gets desperate for killing games! Think about all that you have and all you've gained here and how you're about to throw it all away! A pointless death because no one voted would be the worst ending for the world and you!"

"It's not pointless! Our lives are our weapons to rebel against the world and change it! We're going to use our lives to change the world!"

Izuru then let out a primal scream as he shot his cold, angry, bloodshot eyes right at Shuichi and stared him straight on without flinching.

"You're just rejecting a reality you can't change! You're just throwing a childish tantrum! This season will end, with or without your deaths, and the next one will begin! DANGANRONPA WILL NEVER END, AND IT NEVER WILL!"

"No! TOGETHER WITH OUR OWN HANDS, WE'LL END DANGANRONPA!"

It was spoken with such clear, powerful conviction, it was nearly blinding. Izuru was forced to take a step back as he stared at the young man across from him.

Unbelievable. This was unbelievable.

To think…for just a moment…that young man's words…

It caused something old and dead to stir again.

Izuru smirked though as he shook his head.

"Like I said, it's pointless trying to convince me or the world. You might have made your decision, but the world and I made ours long ago!" Izuru proudly declared. "There is no ending this game. There is no ending to this show! It will go on forever! The world loves Danganronpa, so it will never let it go. It will never let it die. Killing game entertainment will continue forever, long after any of us dies!"

Shuichi could only sigh. If that's what Izuru firmly believes, even after every word from the heart Shuichi spoke, then maybe there was no convincing Izuru Kamukura.

But what about the world? Was the world just as firmly stuck in that belief?

"Now then, let's proceed with Voting Time." Monokuma declared. "Puhuhu… I think the hopeful audience should vote for the despairing Izuru, without a doubt! Cuz that's what the outside world wants to see, right?"

"Yes, let's give it everything we've got!" Izuru smiled widely as he spread out his arms in that grand pose he had. "Presenting Danganronpa V3's final Voting Time!"

Thus, all the small screens on the students' podiums came to life, signaling them to vote. However, not a single person in the trial grounds moved to do so. They simply stood there as time slowly, but eventually, ran out. Once it was over, Shuichi felt a tenseness leave his shoulders, his choice made. All that was left was to see the results.

"Alright, looks like voting is over." Monokuma gave a wicked smile. "Let's hurry and announce the results."

"I-I didn't vote. That's what we all agreed on, right?" Tenko asked nervously, seeking approval and reassurance as she braced herself for what came next by hugging herself tightly.

"That's what I did." Kaede gave her a shaky nod as she let out a tight, nervous sigh.

"All seven of us will be penalized for abstaining during the vote, then," Rantaro grumbled as he ran a hand through his lime-green hair.

"But… What will happen to Izuru?" Keebo couldn't help but ask as he gazed at the CEO who ruined their lives.

"If the outside world wasn't convinced and still voted, they must have voted for Izzy, right?" Kokichi hummed as he hid a frown.

"And Izuru already told us he wasn't allowed to vote due to his status," Kirumi added.

"That's right. I had to abstain just like you all chose to do. Most likely, I'll be facing punishment." Izuru then let out a sigh. "Jeez. You'd think after making it this far and becoming the head of these stupid games I'd be safe from that, but nope. Here I am, back again with my life on the line. Oh well, I suppose I was ready for a death like this long ago, even in my previous lives."

"You aren't scared then of dying? Even in an execution?" Keebo asked.

"Nope. Can't say I care. I don't fear death. Living is much scarier and far more difficult." Izuru laughed. "But…for the kind of punishment that will happen, well, I think you all know what will happen next."

"Are we…all going to be forced into another killing game?" Tenko asked as she tried not to tremble.

"Most likely. It would seem all eight of us might end up in the next season of Danganronpa if you aren't executed in this game. Maybe some of you will be saved for a later date, but there will be a few of us who will be 'redesigned' for next season. Don't worry, though. You'll forget everything before that happens. You won't feel a thing, and you won't remember losing anything, so it'll be like it never even happened. It'll be either one of those two fates: either death by execution or being repurposed." Izuru reassured. "It's fine, after all. This is all just fiction anyway. Maybe it's a bit forced, but that's fiction for you. But that's fine. If you're all willing to die to end the killing game, I'll die to keep it alive. Even if it's just fiction, I gave up my life to make this possible. I've already given my life to Danganronpa. Nothing that happens to me can faze me now."

The students couldn't say anything in response to Izuru's words. Now, at the end of the trial, even just looking at him… There was this uneasy feeling that came over them whenever he spoke now.

Even after all he's done, they could only pity Izuru Kamukura.

"Well, we already know the outcome, but we should follow protocol." Izuru suddenly said. "Monokuma, the results please."

"You got it, boss! Let's begin!" Monokuma cried happily as he started showing the results on the screen. "Who will be chosen as the blackened!? Who will win—hope or despair!?"

Shuichi looked up at the screen, and before they even showed anything, he smiled.

This wasn't meaningless. Their sacrifice would not be pointless.

Because he believed.

And thus, the results were revealed.

Attention: No Votes!

CLASS TRIAL END

ALL RISE!

At first, there was silence. Everyone stared at the screen blankly at first, but then the results hit them. Tears began to form in the eyes of the survivors as some let out gasps of shock and others let out victorious cheers. Shuichi remained silent as he basked in their final victory.

They had done it. They had changed the world.

Only one person was left confused and in painful shock by that revelation.

"What…? What is this…?" Izuzu muttered as he stared at the screen. "No…votes? That can't be right. With our viewership, there should be something up there. The collective vote of everyone or the individual votes of everyone on the survey–there shouldn't just be nothing!"

"That means…we did it!" Tenko cried out before she literally jumped off her stand in her endless excitement. "We changed the world!"

Tenko then moved to the closer person to her and trapped them in the tightest teddy bear hug she could muster up as she let out happy squeals and cried as many tears as she could shed.

Unfortunately, after she leaped off her stand, that person just so happened to be Kokichi, who had just about enough of Tenko grabbing him like some toy.

"Let go of me you stupid, stinking musclehead!" Kokichi nearly screeched as he tried to claw his way out of Tenko's affectionate hug. "Damn it, why don't you go hug Kaede or something!?"

"I-I'm sorry…! I-I'm just so relieved it's over!" Tenko blubbered as she tried not to cry too much, though she obviously failed.

Kokichi just sighed as he slowly patted Tenko's back awkwardly, unused to showing such comfort himself, especially when he hated being where he was at that exact moment. He if could have swapped positions with literally anyone else, he would have done so.

"It's…over," Kaede said as she fell to her knees again, but this time, hope bloomed in her eyes as a smile grew back onto her expression. "It's…really over."

"I guess Shuichi was more convincing than you thought, Izuru." Rantaro chuckled as he moved to help Kaede back to her feet.

"Phew…I'm relieved." Shuichi smiled as he felt an indescribable relief.

"H-Huh…? Why!? What is this!?" Izuru demanded to know.

"It would seem," Kirumi began. "That the world has changed."

"Changed?" Izuru blinked at the word as though it was some alien language.

"If no one in the audience voted, that means they refused to vote as well. That means the world must have changed." Kirumi noted as she looked back up at the screens showing the results.

"It means that they rejected this killing game as well." Shuichi nodded.

"Th-That can't be…! After demanding killing games for so long, all it took was some detective with self-esteem issues and his rag-tag band of friends to change the world!?" Izuru cried out.

"It wasn't just us," Kokichi said as he finally pushed Tenko off him. "It was everyone involved in this killing game. They're the ones who gave us this opportunity. So it'd be more accurate to say it took sixteen teenagers and some sad adult with existential problems to change the world."

"S-Serves you right!" Tenko laughed as she wiped away her remaining tears as she taunted Izuru. "That's what you get for breaking the rules of your own game and torturing us like this!"

"F-Forget about that! You're saying the world has changed!? Is that really true!? Is that okay!?" Izuru asked as he rapidly shook his head. "Is Danganronpa…actually going to end now? The killing games full of tense standoffs and backstabbings among friends…is it really going to end with season 53!?"

As if to answer Izuru's question, the audience members that were being shown on the different screens surrounding the trial grounds suddenly began to disappear. Their cameras all, one at a time, began to shut off, leaving empty screens that showed no one who was still watching.

"H-Huh?" Izuru gaped as more and more began to disappear before his eyes. Shuichi just frowned as he shook his head.

"Your words can't reach them anymore," Shuichi told Izuru as the final audience members flickered away. "You never appreciated us…and it looks like you didn't appreciate the power of fiction! No one wants you anymore! No one wants to hear your sick, twisted stories anymore! It's over!"

Izuru continued to stand there, looking up at the screens that had now long since disappeared. They were all gone, the audience and everyone else who once cared about the killing games. Once it finally hit him, he closed his ajar mouth.

"It's over… This is it. It's finished…" He muttered softly, not a hint of emotion to be found in his voice.

Then, after a beat of silence, Izuru laughed. He leaned his head back before letting out oddly cheerful laughter. Once he was done, he ran a hand down his face, which…now looked refreshed now.

"Well, this is a disappointing end, isn't it? I've never seen anything like it." Izuru laughed as he tried to force back his smile, but it managed to persist despite his words. "Wow…I…never thought I'd live to see the day. You guys actually pulled it off. I'll be damned. That insane idiot was right."

"Idiot?" Kirumi questioned, causing Izuru to shake his head slowly before crossing his arms.

"Even in death, he remains a pain. Why must he always have the last laugh? I've never managed to beat him in anything, let alone bets, I suppose. How fitting…" Izuru hummed in a soft whisper. "I guess…I did forget the power fiction held. I can't believe I overlooked it in hindsight."

"So…what happens now?" Rantaro asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Now that the killing game is over, that means we don't have to face punishment, right? We don't have to die or 'redesigned', right?" Tenko asked hopefully.

"What a half-assed ending. This is no way to end Danganronpa." Monokuma grumbled at the ideo the martial artist presented.

"I agree. There needs to be a proper send off to this show." Izuru nodded. "It needs to end with one last punishment, at the very least."

"R-Really? You're so committed to the bit that you want a punishment even now?" Tenko whined.

"Now…if we…continue to live after this…the choice we made won't really matter." Shuichi tried to assure Tenko despite their coming fate.

"That's right. The people will just want another killing game if we don't go through with our words." Kaede muttered disappointedly, but no less steadfastly in her previous decision.

"So the only way we can stop this killing game is to kill ourselves. That's depressing." Kokichi laughed. "But it won't be boring at least, right?"

"You're priorities at the end here still confuse me, Kokichi." Keebo sighed. "Is that really all that matters to you?"

"Duh! If I can't live an entertaining life, my death should at least be interesting, right?" Kokichi immediately responded.

"I suppose it is too late to expect you to act any differently now of all times." Kirumi noted with slight amusement, or perhaps the better word is 'nostalgia'. "It will all end soon, anyway. I myself am fine with remaining true to my word in terms of my fate. I feel…fulfilled now. Despite what I now know, I can take solace in that fact."

"Grrr! Fine! I get it!" Tenko groaned as she slapped her cheeks to amp herself up. "J-Just get it over with! Make it quick for me! I can't stand pain!"

"...Very well." Izuru let out a chuckle at the request. "So it ends with everyone here being annihilated. I suppose that works as our ending. But since it's so unexpected…I'll leave it to the Exisals. Understand, Monokuma?"

"Got it! Already on it, boss!" Monokuma gave a mock salute as he pulled out a button and pressed it. "They're all set for the punishment! We're good to go!"

"Good. Have them destroy everything. Destroy this entire fictional world, and this killing game. Because that…is what the outside world wants." Izuru ordered before turning away. "Man, it feels weird to give that order. I worked myself to the bone keeping this show running as smoothly as it was ever since I became 'Izuru Kamukura'. I kept this show fresh and alive till the 53rd season, and now it's over in the blink of an eye."

"To think it'd be this easy to destroy all my hard work and the desires of the outside world," Izuru noted before closing his eyes. "Well done. Very well done. For the first time in my entire life, the one I can remember, I am genuinely impressed."

"I guess this is it for us, then," Kaede muttered as she and the other students made their way to a single point. This would be the last time they could all gather like this, after all.

"No survivors this time around." Rantaro hummed before rubbing the back of his neck. "...Kokichi is right. That is depressing."

"See!" Kokichi shouted.

"But it is better like this. We will be the last ones who suffer from the killing games." Kirumi smiled.

"Come on, everyone! We should be proud! We were able to change the world in the end." Shuichi reminded them.

"Yeah, all thanks to your words." Tenko smiled as she pointed to the detective.

"No. it wasn't just Shuichi. It was thanks to everyone's efforts this happened." Keebo argued.

"Even if this is all just fiction, then everything we've achieved up till now was just a lie." Kokichi noted. "But those lies changed the world, so they must have meant something. Perhaps they meant more than the precious truth this time around."

"Even if we are just fictional characters someone made up," Kaede smiled

"We were able to change the world." Shuichi grinned.

"Yes, you should feel proud. No one has managed to change the world in a very long time." Izuru told them as he stood off to his side of the room. "Yes…hold your heads up high, for you beat the world itself, and you beat me. You've finally achieved the wishes all fictional characters have had."

"Huh…?" Shuichi blinked as he turned to the still smiling Izuru. "W-What do you mean by–"

"Now then, let's begin! No! Let's end it now! Let's give the outside world exactly what it wants!" Izuru shouted as rumblings began to shake the room. "This is our final bow! Let's give it everything we've got!"

And then…the room went completely dark.

GAME OVER

Izuru, Shuichi, Kaede, Tenko, Rantaro, Kirumi, Kokichi, and Keebo will receive punishment.

Time to destroy the Ultimate Academy!

Thank you. Please enjoy this ending. :)

The once pristine Ultimate Academy was now up in smoke and flames as explosions and bullets rained down from every possible location within the dome. The final order had been given, and by the highest ranking top brass, too. The Exisals were giving it all they could in order to complete their final mission.

They proceeded to destroy everything. Every building, every structure, the very ground the held this academy of lies up—they were breaking it down and destroying, leaving nothing left standing.

If one was to watch the destruction from afar, they would believe they had walked into a war zone. It was hard to believe five mechas were destroying a school of all places with such brutality. But that was the truth.

And at the center of that destruction, right in front of the the academy that was being destroyed was none other than the one who made it. Izuru Kamukura, or whatever his name was. He's had too much to care. He stood there at the school entrance, standing up straight and proudly as he waved. He waved goodbye to an audience who was no longer watching, and he was fine with that.

He had dedicated himself to being a servant of the world, so if this was what the world wanted, he would not argue, nor would he fight it.

Even as Monokuma leaped to his side and began waving goodbye alongside him, Izuru's expression did not change. No hatred could be found in him, nor was there any apathy. Just acceptance.

To think the world could change like this… If it really has, then he–

SLAM!

Without any mercy or delay, some stray rubble fell on top of Izuru and Monokuma, crushing them into pulp.

Even so, the Exisals continued to destroy everything. Nothing was spared from their rampage. They stomped over everything and blew up everything. They destroyed and destroyed until finally…nothing was left standing.

…Except for that dome.

But there was a simple solution to that problem, a solution made clear when each Exisal began to flash with a glowing color.

In no time at all, all five machines exploded with the force equivalent of several hundred tons of TNT, enough to completely destroy anything that remained, including that dome. The glass shattered before it was all blown away.

And just like that, the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles…was no more.

Thus, this story came to an end.