Chapter LVI: Forced Move

XxX

Naegi

Ikusaba and I knelt in the tunnel, making sure to keep our bodies as slow and silent as possible. Normally these tunnels were soundproof, but it didn't hurt to avoid the risk of making noise, especially given where we were at the moment: on the fourth floor floor, directly behind the entrance to the data processing room. It had taken a long time to reach the room stealthily, but it was hopefully worth it. If all went well, Enoshima would have no idea where we were. If that were the case, we would hopefully take her by surprise and keep her from setting any last minute moves into motion.

Suddenly, I saw Mukuro flick up a single finger beside me. I tensed up, checking that my earplugs were still in my ears and readying my anti-Monokuma weapon. Ten seconds.

A few moments later, she pressed a button on the side of the passage. As it slid open, she quickly tossed a flashbang through the opening. The moment it detonated, she and I pulled the door open and entered the room, both of us scanning for any chasses. When we saw none, we relaxed and turned to the room's sole occupant, who was rolling on the floor and clutching her head. A few seconds later, she dropped her hands.

"Damn, that never hurts any less! Was that really necessary, sis?"

Both Mukuro and I froze for a moment before Mukuro responded.

"Is that a serious question, Junko? Now is not the time for jokes." Her voice went ice-cold on the last words.

Enoshima laughed.

"Always with the seriousness and the drama! I shouldn't have expected any less of the two of you though. After all, you made it here, didn't you? It's just a shame that not all of your friends were here to see it, hmm?" She sighed and smiled at me, eyes closely meeting mine.

"Is that your best, Enoshima?" I responded calmly. "If so, this is going to be rather boring. What's next, you give an evil monologue?"

"That would be what the story demands of the villain," she replied. "On the other hand, I've never been about typical villainy. I've always aimed for the more extraordinary despair, the flash, the dazzle!"

Mukuro cut her off.

"Sadly, sister, it seems the only flash and dazzle left for you is going to be your funeral pyre. This is the end of the road for you."

She unsheathed her combat knife and stepped towards Enoshima, carefully watching her sister's hands as she entered the possible range for a counterattack. I swiveled around to watch the entrance to the room. If she had any last tricks up her sleeve, they would be coming-

"Wait!" Enoshima held up a hand. "I wasn't going to tell you this, but it will actually be more fun to see your faces when you realize."

-now.

Mukuro's voice could have cut glass.

"What are you talking about, sister?"

Enoshima giggled softly.

"You might want to watch the screens for the next few moments. I give you my word that no harm will come to you if you do."

I turned slightly and walked backwards into the room until I had both the screens and the entrance in my field of view, then turned to watch the remaining screens. They were focused on the troops on the 4th floor and the students on the 5th floor, and nothing seemed strange; the soldiers and my sister were talking quietly, as were the students. Suddenly, as I watched, the camera focusing on the students flashed black and fizzled into static. When it eventually faded back in, the students were gone. My eyes widened.

"They escaped?"

Enoshima smiled.

"That's right! Your friends will be back in the hands of the soldiers any minute now! You've won, Naegi! You've beaten the villain!"

Against my better judgement, I felt a bit of hope flare up in my mind at the thought. This could mean no more deaths, no more fear...it could all be over. We could start rebuilding. At that moment, Enoshima caught my eyes and sighed.

"Wait, did I say 'you've won'?" Her hand flicked a hidden control, switching the camera to the tunnel above the soldiers. The tunnel currently full of Monokumae.

"I meant 'you've lost'. I do have such a bad habit of doing that."

XxX

Kirigiri

We ran down the hallway quickly, looking behind us every few feet to make sure the Monokumas weren't following. I almost couldn't believe that Celeste's plan had worked. I couldn't argue with the results, though. The Monokumas had suddenly become almost unresponsive at a seemingly random time. Whatever Alter Ego and she had planned, it had worked brilliantly. For the first time in days, I felt hopeful.

We rounded the corner and reached the stairwell. As we approached it, two uniformed soldiers reached the landing, weapons raised. They saw us at the moment we saw them, and we all froze for a moment, examining each other. Seconds later, they lowered their weapons and began speaking rapidly into walkie talkies of some sort. I stepped forward.

"Who are you? You don't appear to be Despair."

The seemingly more senior one stepped forward.

"We're Future Foundation troops, Delta Battalion wing 1. We were sent in here to rescue you."

I couldn't stop a smile from breaking out on my face. It was finally over. We could get out of here. Celeste stepped forward from behind me.

"It's done, Kyouko. We've won. We're alive."

Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Togami and Fukawa smiling, tears glimmering on Fukawa's cheeks.

The soldiers saw our smiles.

"Come on," the senior one began. "The main contingent is on the fourth floor. We need to check you over first before we can extract you."

I nodded and we followed the men eagerly. It was time to get out of here, for good.

XxX

Naegi

Mukuro and I froze. Enoshima turned slightly and laughed at our expressions.

"Oh, this isn't even the best pa~art! That's coming now!"

On cue, the other students appeared around the corner and walked towards the soldiers. I could see the smiles on their faces even through the grainy camera images. As we watched in horror, my sister walked forward and began talking to the students quietly.

"Isn't it so cute?" Enoshima laughed. "They're all so hopeful that it's over, that they can live again, and they have no idea what's coming!"

Mukuro stepped forward, pressing the hilt of her knife into her sister's neck.

"I won't do you the insult of threatening your life, sister. We both know you have a deadman's switch."

Enoshima's expression instantly switched to seriousness.

"That I do. If I die, those Monokumae go berserk and kill everyone in that hallway, before coming in here and killing you. You won't get out of here that easily."

"I wasn't finished." Mukuro replied. "We also both know that I will not hesitate to kill you regardless. Especially if I don't see any option that leaves us alive at the end of this."

"Of course, sister. I expected no less of one of Fenrir's best."

I cleared my throat.

"It would seem we are at an impasse. So, what do you want? If you wanted them dead, they'd be dead already and so would we. What has this all been for? Why?" My voice grew strained on the last few words.

"One last trial, of course!" She grinned, all traces of seriousness gone. "I couldn't just let you out of here without a final showdown between hero and villain, protagonist and antagonist, hope and despair! That just wouldn't be satisfying!"

My voice, when it came, was just as cold as Mukuro's had been.

"With what body, Junko? Do you anticipate one of us would kill? Now, when the students are so close to freedom? If so, I am disappointed in your emotional prediction skills."

"You think so little of me, Naegi? You think I would leave this to chance? No, I already have a body prepared for this trial. You'll just have to wait and see whose."

My eyes widened. A moment later, Mukuro responded.

"Wouldn't happen to be your own, by any chance? That would make disposal a lot easier for me."

Enoshima winced.

"Such harshness, from my own family? What have I done to deserve this kind of cruelty? This is what drove me to despair at first, and now you repeat your mistakes? How could you?" I could have sworn there were tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Oddly enough, I wasn't there when you first broke down. You would know that, seeing as you were the one who drove me into Fenrir."

Enoshima's tears vanished.

"True, true. I guess I just can't help overdramatizing. What were you asking, again?"

"Whose body you were planning to use." I replied.

"Ah, of course, of course. I could tell you, but what would be the fun in that? You'll just have to wait and see."

XxX

Kirigiri

"...So, that's the situation as of now." Komaru drew to a close as I and the other students began considering her words. They didn't hit home as hard as they might have, honestly. We all knew the world was at least partly broken, the intelligence we had seen told us that much. Hearing about the individual deaths didn't hurt because we had seen so much death in the past few days. We were inured to everything, now. Enoshima had seen to that.

"Any questions?" Komaru asked.

Togami stepped forward.

"Yes. What shall we do now?"

"Oh, of course!" Komaru responded. "I should have told you earlier. We're going to get you out of here to our nearest forward operating base. After that, we'll debrief you before getting you to some Foundation therapy. Trust me, you all need it. I don't even want to know what kind of effects living like this has had on you."

"And then?" Celeste asked.

"After the therapy? You join the war effort. There's a place for all of you in the Future Foundation."

"W-what war effort?" Fukawa asked. "Are we not k-killing the Mastermind here?"

Komaru nodded.

"We are, but there's more to Despair then her. The remaining troops should be weaker without any central command, but that doesn't mean they'll be gone."

"Wait," I interjected. "How are you getting to Enoshima? The data processing room was impenetrable from the outside. Do you have an inside man?"

She smiled.

"And an inside woman. They should be reporting back any moment now."

Suddenly, her communicator vibrated and a soldier's voice crackled through.

"We...we are being overrun...retreat...retreat...fifth floor compromised..."

Our eyes widened simultaneously and she pointed to the stairs.

"Bravo company is coming to reinforce us soon. Go!"

We turned and ran for the stairs as the soldiers behind us took up positions. I suddenly saw a flash of silver from the ceiling. Then everything went dark.

XxX

Naegi

Enoshima turned to us as the Monokumae efficiently captured the remaining students and my sister.

"Oh, don't look so down! You almost had me! It's not like they're dead or anything, I just had to make sure everybody was in place for the final trial. I couldn't have anybody tardy for something of this importance. That would just be a dereliction of my duty as headmaster."

"So, what happens now?" I asked. "We throw down our arms and surrender or you kill everyone?"

She tilted her head.

"I suppose I could do that, but...nah. Too normal. Also, what would have been the point of taking the antidote to the knockout gas if I wasn't going to use it?"

My eyes widened. An instant later, my vision went black.

A/N: The moments where the light shines brightest are those the darkness most loves to take away...

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