Part 29: Update XXVII

♪ BGM: Chapter Title ♫

Well, no sense in putting it off. Let's roll.



♪ BGM: DSO_Welcome Despair Academy ♫





I knew it, you're... You're Makoto, right!? Mister Makoto Naegi, right!?
...Mister?
You're safe... I'm so relieved, I was worried the whole time...
Same here... I wish I knew you were alright. I mean, I thought you had already died...
Oooh Makotooo! I'm so glad you're alive!
I'm glad too, Komaru. I thought...I'd never see you again...
But I'm relieved to find out you're safe.
Y-Yeah...
Hey... What about Dad and Mom? Are they with you?
Huh?

♪ BGM: DSO_All All Apologies ♫

I see... Then you don't know, either. I was hoping that you would...
Then...you don't know either!? B-But...
I-It's gonna be alright! Don't worry! I‘m sure they're just fine, wherever they are!
But...you have no proof of that... They could be...
There's no proof they're *not* okay either. So let's just believe in hope for now.
Y-Yeah, if you say so...

♪ BGM: DSO_Beautiful Dead ♫

Yeah, that's it.
Heh, it's funny... I never thought I'd hear you say something like that.
R-Really? Well, being positive is like... my only good point.
But more importantly, where are you right now!? What's going on over there?
I'm at a building called Towa Tower. I was told I could use the communication device here...
Wait, that reminds me... Why are *you* answering?
Wh-What do you mean by that?
I mean, I called Future Foundation! Why are you the one who responded?
You... You really don't know?
Don't know? About what?
I'm with Future Foundation. Branch 14, that's my division.
Toko...is this true?
Toko...? Wait, what? Toko is there with you!?
Tch...



You disappeared! Everyone was so worried about you!
Tch, "worried"... Like anyone would actually care if an intern went missing.
You know I would never stay behind on a mission like this, especially with Master going!
So you tagged along without orders... Well, I figured that was pretty much what happened.
W-Wait, hold on! You two know each other!? That's why Toko knew about me from the beginning?
Yeah, she...didn't tell you that?
Oh, sorry, did I not?
No! You very much didn't!
Yeah, that sounds like Toko.
Anyway, I'm glad you two are together.
I-I'm just with her because I have no choice. Your whiny little sister bawls when she's alone...
So basically I'm just a babysitter. I guess this will prepare me for my future with Master...
H-Hey! I wasn't bawling! Don't listen to her, Makoto!
So...where is Byakuya?
Master is...safe. Safe, but...captured by the enemy.
Just as I thought. Future Foundation's intel said as much. I just didn't believe it. I mean, Byakuya? Captured!?
He was p-probably taken by surprise by some fiendish cowards! There's no other way... Ugh, the son of the noble Togami family brought to the position of a mere *hostage*...
Sounds like the situation is pretty serious.
So serious the world is gonna collapse! The Ultimate Affluent Progeny is in danger!
Ultimate...?
Oh yeah, Byakuya, Toko, and I were all classmates at Hope's Peak Academy.
...Wait... You... You didn't know *that*, either?



Komaru totally not looking at anyone in particular right now.

W-Well, now's the time for your brother to explain it! Here's your chance. Now you can show off your utter lack of presence with your brother complex!
I-I do not have a brother complex!
I don't really know where to start... We weren't just regular "classmates"...



♪ BGM: DSO_DISTRUST ♫

We were forced...to kill each other. Our classmates.
K-Kill!?



Even after all this time, the memory... The despair... I can still feel it.



It wasn't a movie, it was reality. It actually happened.
And it was all broadcast live, as part of The Tragedy.



They wanted to show the whole world... ...the students of Hope's Peak Academy, the symbols of hope, falling to despair and death.



♪ BGM: DSO_Beautiful Dead ♫

...Well? No chiming in with a remark this time?
B-But wait, you two are still alive, so...
Yeah, we were able to defeat the mastermind who planned the killing game and survive. ...Of course, we couldn't save everybody...



But...outside, it was more horrifying than we expected. It was easy to get discouraged. But by supporting each other, the friends who survived Hell together...we moved forward.



To fight against the Remnants of Despair, who are still trying to spread despair to the world. Right, Toko?
Ugh...*sob*.
Toko!? Are you...crying?
Of c-course I am... Remembering the suffering and heartache, it...
I see... I didn't know about that at all. I never thought something like that was going on... But...you guys are so amazing. I gave up immediately, but you guys... You guys fought and confronted the problem...
I guess that's why you've changed.
No, not really... I was always being saved by everyone else...
Hmph, *you* saying that...
Your brother got so hyped up from being declared the Ultimate Hope... He was always dragging everyone along, so eager about everything.
H-Hey! I wouldn't say I was "hyped" about it...
Oh? But you don't deny the "dragging everyone along" part, huh...
Jeez, take it easy on me...
Makoto... You've definitely changed.
You too, Komaru? What do you mean? I haven't changed a bit...
No, really. You really changed. Might be weird for your little sister to say this, but you seem more mature now.
Just from this conversation I can tell you're more reliable than you used to be.
Well... I don't really think so, though.
But me... I haven't changed at all, not since my imprisonment...
...

♪ BGM: DSO_All All Apologies ♫

Listen, about that. There's something I need to apologize for.
Huh? Apologize?
The reason you were imprisoned there... It's because of us. If we weren't chosen by the mastermind, you wouldn't have ended up like this.
Huh? What do you mean?
You aren't the only prisoner in Towa. With you is everyone who was relevant to our classmates.



♪ BGM: DSO_DISTRUST ♫

The mastermind abducted people relevant to us and tried to use them as a motive.











In the end, the mastermind was swallowed by the despair, and that motive was left unused.



Probably the doings of the Remnants of Despair, trying to succeed the mastermind's will. Because of them, we were totally in the dark about where the Captives were being held.
But a few days ago, Future Foundation received an anonymous tip. We were told captives from the killing game were being held in a certain apartment in Towa City.



But because of those rioting little brats and their machines...



OK, I totally forgot this was in here. So I'm just going to think out loud for a bit here, because I think the original plans for the Captives are never further elaborated upon, since, well, the one doing that plan is now an Ultimate Pancake and all that. We've now established that the Captives were at one point planned to have a killing game of their own to really fuck with the Hope's Peak students in their killing game. The first question that comes to mind is "how do we know this" - the aforementioned Ultimate Pancake certainly isn't talking, and I don't think Junko is the type to keep notes, though I might be wrong on that front and might even be forgetting something from DR1. But let's just keep that aside for now and just assume Junko kept notes they could read and that's how they know of the unused motive.

The next question that comes to mind is "how was this to be organized". We know that every Captive is stuck in Towa City, but not exactly where. Komaru was in the apartment complex, but didn't run into anybody else there. The only logical explanation is that all the Captives were locked up in that same complex at some point, because otherwise the logistics of organizing a killing game in the midst of a completely normal city - remember, the riots in Towa City only broke out super recently, during the events of DR1 Towa City was doing mostly just fine thanks to Towa Group's air purifier and all that - would just be insane.

OK, so everybody is in the same apartment complex. So next question - "how did everybody get out". At some point in time, each Captive would have needed to go through these steps:

1) Escape from their prison in some way
2) Get caught by the Warriors of Hope
3) Get the exploding wristband put on them
4) Get released out into Towa City again

Both Yuta and Taichi mention being captured by the Warriors of Hope, so they're doing this themselves. Anyway, step 1) is where I have problems. When Komaru escapes from the building, it was burning, and as she got out, the Monokuma riots only seem to have started. The others were probably not released at the same time as Komaru, otherwise somebody would have run into somebody in some way. If they were released beforehand, then how did the capturing work if the riots haven't started yet? If they were released afterwards, how didn't the building burn down in the meantime? I guess the most logical answer is that they were released beforehand and managed to get out into Towa City, but there wasn't enough time for them to really escape the city before all hell broke loose.

OK, I think I've rambled on enough and answered these questions I have to my own satisfaction. On with the regularly scheduled program.



So did you figure out what the deal is with these Monokumas yet?
No, we still haven't figured that out...
Huh!? Jeez, Future Foundation's useless!
The Monokuma riot starting at the exact same time as the rescue operation... Strange...
Like I said, it's no coincidence, it's conspiracy! Someone's setting up Future Foundation!
Then that would mean the tip was a trap? Using the Captives as bait to lure us there...
...The Captives aren't just bait. They're targets for the Massacre Game the brats are playing.

Um, excuse me, Toko, the proper name is "Demon Hunting".

..."Massacre" game!?
They make hunting and killing the Captives part of their little game to taunt us.
Wait, does that mean the Captives are the ones wearing wristbands like mine? Then, Yuta and Hiroko, and that man with the computer, they... They're all Captives!?
Yes... They're people close to us. People who were imprisoned in Towa, just like you.
Komaru... What you just said... Is it true? You're involved in this Massacre Game, too?
Y-Yeah... They put a wristband on me. And now I'm being chased by these...weird kids...
Th-That's...
And one of the brats who started this sick game said something interesting earlier... Something about Big Sis Junko.

♪ BGM: DSO_Ocean Breeze Dead End ♫

Junko? You mean Junko Enoshima!?
Junko...Enoshima?
She's the mastermind behind the school... No, she's the mastermind behind The Tragedy itself.
And! She has huge boobs.
...Big boobs, too!?

10/10 dialogue.



As opposed to all those Fake Ultimate Despairs. You know, the ones you get sold at vacation spots for way under market value to the point where you should totally get suspicious but you still somehow don't.

She was...our former classmate.



Yes, Junko Enoshima is dead. But it seems her memory is still alive and well.



She's become a martyr to them... Now she's even more trouble than when she was alive.
It's like they worship her, like some big-chested despair goddess or something.

"Big-chested despair goddess". Awesome.



...She must have foreseen this possibility from the very beginning...
...

♪ BGM: DSO_All All Apologies ♫

Listening to you guys is... I just can't believe it's all real.
...Yes, her big boobs are indeed real.
No, not that part...
But I get why you think this is all just fiction. Crazy kids are...killing adults, y'know?
Y-Yeah, things are just so...messed up here.
Makoto! Hurry up and get over here!

♪ BGM: DSO_Welcome Despair Academy ♫

Because of the wristband, I can't get out of the city. If I leave without permission, it blows!
But Future Foundation can remove the wristband, right? So please, come save me!
Komaru...
... ...You can't.
Huh? I-I can't...? Can't what?

♪ BGM: DSO_Despair-Syndrome ♫

Why do you think they're holding Master hostage? They don't want Future Foundation to interfere. Like taking hostages during a bank robbery. Master Byakuya is being used as a deterrence. M-Meaning...if Future Foundation came to this city, Master would be...
...
Then...Future Foundation won't come save us!? Then what am I supposed to do!?
Didn't I already tell you? There's no other way. You have to fight against those kids. Get rid of them, and you can save yourself and Master.
Th-That's impossible!
No, it isn't! You have Master's gun! And I'm with you, too!

♪ BGM: DSO_Desire for Execution... ♫

B-But I... I can't take this anymore... I just can't do it anymore... I'm not from Future Foundation! Or Hope's Peak! I'm just a normal girl who can't do anything!
Komaru!
Makoto, please, I'm begging you, come save me! Hurry! Please!
I told you, you can't! If they come here to rescue you, Master will be executed!
Makoto, you better not come. If you even try it...



♪ BGM: DSO_DISTRUST ♫

K-Kill!?



M-Makoto!?



♪ BGM: Silence ♫





Makotooo!

♪ BGM: DSO_Despair-Syndrome ♫

What is this...? Why, all of a sudden it...
Out of battery? No, can't be. That must mean...
They found us?



Suddenly, all the window shutters start closing.



They're going to trap us! W-We gotta hurry and get out of here!
B-But I haven't finished talking to my brother!
We can't get through anymore! And it doesn't matter anyway, no matter how much you talk! As long as Master is in their custody, Future Foundation can not come to this town!
But...if it's Makoto...



...



♪ BGM: DSO_Junk Food for a Dashing Youth ♫

Toko, calm down! Don't panic!
I-I am calm! I-I've just been taking too many deep breaths, that's it! Just...lightheaded!
...Yeah, she's panicking.
It's fine! We just gotta get out of here! Hurry or I'll stretch your cheeks out like rubber!
... Got it...



♪ BGM: Welcome To Towa Tower ♫

And, well, now we're stuck in the dark and don't really have a lot to go on, but we'll deal with that next time. Also next time, we start getting into some real fun shit. Note: Fun shit might not be fun.