Danganronpa: ReProgrammed

(Chapter 6) Ultimate Despair: Part 1

"Alright," Kyoko got to her feet after making her statement, and clapped her hands in reassurance "I think our first move in this battle is to find Chihiro...wherever he ended up."

"Yeah, I agree," Mondo said "if he's alive somewhere, we can't just abandon him like that."

"Hey, Alter Ego," Taka asked "you said you had access to the academy's servers right now, didn't you? Can you locate Chihiro by any chance?"

"Judging from what Monokuma stated earlier...I do believe that the game cabinet that Master is locked in is located in the garbage disposal," Alter Ego explained "it's the place where all of the rubbish and things of the like end up after they are thrown away."

"Damn, then we'd better find him soon," Mondo considered "but wait...here's a question. Isn't he like, metamorphed into the machine or some shit? How are we gonna get him out if he's inside the video game?"

"I figured you would ask that," Alter Ego said "and it's because of that that I would like you to take this."

Alter Ego handed Kyoko an electric taser. Where they were hiding it, nobody knew, or in fact, wanted to know.

"I predict that if you restart the electric current of the machine, Master will pop out of it," Alter Ego said "however, I am not sure. It is the most likely way to work."

"Well, if push comes to shove, we bring the whole cabinet out of the trash and help Chihiro live life as an arcade cabinet." Taka joked, which earned him some unfortunately scornful looks from his peers.

"I think the real dilemma is how it is that we're even supposed to get to this garbage disposal," Mukuro asked "not even I know how to do that."

"Well," Kyoko considered "wouldn't it be the most obvious assumption to make if we thought that the way to the garbage disposal is from the room that we used to dispose of garbage?"

"Now that I think about it, there IS a hatch on the floor of the trash room," Mondo thought "maybe we could use that?"

"And how would you get it open?" Taka asked "it's a one way system, it only opens from the other side. You can't get in, but you can get out."

"Wouldn't it be logical in that case," Kyoko thought "to go in the way that we know we can get there?"

"Huh?" Taka asked "what do you mean?"

"Well, we all watched Chihiro fall into that trapdoor, and I'm thinking that it leads to the Trash Disposal, just like Alter Ego said," Kyoko said "and given that we only just got out of the trial room, I doubt Monokuma's attention is going to be on it very much."

"Wait, hold on," Mukuro asked "are you suggesting that we infiltrate the trial grounds and find a way down from there?"

"No," Kyoko shook her head "I suggest that I by MYSELF will infiltrate the trial grounds and find the trapdoor."

"Huh! B-But isn't that dangerous!?" Taka exclaimed.

"Well, logically, yes," Kyoko smirked "but if Monokuma truly still thinks his killing game is still going on, he should still be restricted by the rules of the game, shouldn't he?"

"But does that really matter now that the Mastermind is pissed off?" Mondo asked "I mean, the rules clearly don't even matter to the Mastermind! They literally rigged the Class Trial to kill you off!" 

"But it would have been much easier to just kill Kyoko personally and blame it on one of us instead. It's more surefire and safe, yet they chose the complicated way of doing it. The Mastermind themselves must be bound by the rules just as we are," Mukuro said "I believe it's worth a shot, but I do fear for Kyoko's safety."

"The Mastermind is back in the drivers seat though, and I bet the red door that leads to the trial grounds is already locked," Taka said "so breaking down the door may result in your doom Kyoko..."

"It's ok," Alter Ego spoke up "I can hijack the security camera that leads to the door. If it goes dark for a few seconds, the Mastermind might not notice. Also, I can activate the elevator down to the trial grounds without any alerts going off."

"I also don't think there are any camera's down in the trial room," Kyoko thought "I don't remember seeing any, so once I'm down there, the Mastermind won't know where I am."

"That makes sense...after all, Monokuma is always present in the trial room," Taka considered "but...are you sure you want to go by yourself?"

"If we all go in a group, we'll get noticed easily if we all drop off the map," Kyoko said "it won't take the Mastermind long to find us. It's safer if I go alone, for all of us."

Everyone sat in silence for a brief moment, weighing their options. Letting Kyoko go by herself meant that everyone else would be safe from the Mastermind's potential wrath if she was caught, but at the same time, Kyoko herself was in mortal danger if she went alone. Before anyone else could say anything though, Mondo suddenly got to his feet.

"Kyoko...sorry, but that ain't gonna cut it," Mondo said "I'm comin' with ya. Just me by myself should be fine, yeah?"

Kyoko was silent for a brief moment, staring at Mondo with a befuddled look, but then she smiled and said...

"Fine..."

"Really? It's ok?" Mondo seemed pleasantly surprised "y-you ain't gonna say no?"

"Well, I can take a few guesses to your reasoning, and I know this is important to you," Kyoko told him "and to be honest, I could definitely borrow your strength for something like this."

"Are you sure Mondo?" Mukuro asked "I trust you not to get yourself killed, but this is still quite dangerous."

"Chihiro Fujisaki saved my fucking life," Mondo growled "I don't mind risking it if it means I can save his and make it up to him. And I made a promise to him too. A promise between men. And I swear on my life that I ain't gonna break this one."

"Alright then," Taka reassuringly patted Mondo on the shoulder "in which case, I wish you both luck. Alter Ego, are you absolutely sure you can distract the Mastermind while they infiltrate the trial grounds."

"Of course," Alter Ego saluted "I won't let the Mastermind have their way, I promise you."

A few minutes later, the group decided to split up. Kyoko, Mondo and Alter Ego arrived at the large red door that led to the elevator down to the trial grounds, while Mukuro and Taka opted to stay in the cafeteria until further notice.

"When I hack into the security, the Monokuma that I'm inside will become temporarily inactive. When that happens, I want you to immediately bust down the door," Alter Ego explained to them "it's a sign that I've successfully infiltrated the academy and hacked the cameras. You'll only have a few seconds to get through the door, and onto the elevator. Got it?"

"Of course," Kyoko nodded "a few seconds...You ready Mondo?"

"'Course I am..." Mondo cracked his knuckles and rounded his shoulders "I've been ready for this since the day that this fucking killing game started."

"Alright, good to hear," Kyoko said "but I want you to promise me one thing..."

"What's that?" Mondo asked.

"In the off chance that something dangerous happens, and we can't take whatever it is," Kyoko told him "promise me that you'll be able to run away, regardless of whether you're on your own or not. Don't even think about coming back for me."

"I...yeah..." Mondo half heartedly made this promise, clearly not planning stick with it. However, any sort of confirmation was good enough for the Detective Girl. However, she wasn't expecting Mondo to add something on the end of this.

"But if I'm gonna do that," Mondo said "I want you to promise me the same thing. If I fall behind, then I'll get left behind. Don't come back for me if I get caught, y'hear?"

"I doubt Taka will forgive me for that," Kyoko said "but sure..."

"Alright," Alter Ego said "are you two ready?"

Kyoko inhaled a deep breath of air, and then exhaled it.

"It's game time..." she said with a nod.