A loud explosion occurred on campus, dangerously close to the dorms. The students were all in their dorms and they rushed outside to see what the noise was.

Shuichi looked around frantically. "Wh-What happened!?"

"The school building blew up! Wh-What happened!?" Himiko screeched.

"Heeey! Is anyone hurt!?" Ichika called out.

"Hey, over there!" They all turned their heads to where Maki was pointing and they saw Kiibo, shooting at the different school buildings, blowing them up.

"K-Kiibo-kun!?" Shuichi gawked at the robot.

"You're flying! Is it magic?" Himiko asked.

"Wooooah... So he can fight." Ichika hummed.

"I don't know what he's planning, but it looks like he's attacking the school indiscriminately. We need to hurry up and stop him... We'll get caught up in this mess if we don't." Maki said.

"But how do we stop him?" Tsumugi inquired.

"We have to talk to him! We can get him to come down!" Shuichi yelled at us.

Maki nodded. "It's dangerous, but... let's go to the courtyard and try to get his attention."

The students were still confused by the situation unfolding in front of them, but they all ran to the centre of the courtyard as fast as they could. More explosions went off left and right and random debris went flying.

"Eeeeeek! It's like a battlefield!" Himiko cried out.

"W-We need to get his attention!" Shuichi said in a panicked voice. "Get him to come down!"

"Kiiiibooooo-kuuuuuun! Come here!" Tsumugi shouted at the top of her voice.

"Are you trying to get us killed!?" Himiko barked.

"Please, Kiibo-kun! Come down and talk to us!" Shuichi yelled.

They all shouted out to Kiibo, who finally came to a halt mid-air and then slowly flew down to them.

"Here he comes..." Maki muttered, glaring at Kiibo.

"Did you call for me?" Kiibo asked in an oddly casual tone. "Please keep it brief. I have other matters I must attend to."

"Other matters?" Shuichi repeated.

"I'm going to end this killing game..." Kiibo sighed.

Shuichi blinked. "End the killing game?"

Kiibo nodded. "To do that... I must destroy the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles."

"D-Destroy it!?" Himiko exclaimed.

"This killing game cannot go on if I destroy this school in its entirety."

"So that's why... you have that weapon?" Tsumugi inquired, pointing at the machinery that adorned his arms.

"What's with that weapon and the jet pack?" Maki interrogated, glaring at the weapons.

"I obtained this equipment from my lab."

"You had equipment like that... in your lab?"

"I made some modifications to drastically improve their power output and functionality."

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "Didn't... you say that you didn't want to use anything from the lab?"

"Th-That's right!" Himiko pointed at Kiibo. "You don't like looking sci-fi!"

"Yes... I wanted to be treated like a real human. A creature of flesh and blood like you all. But I no longer have the luxury of clinging to that wish anymore! My course is clear! I must destroy this academy and end this killing game!"

"H-Hold on! If you do something like that... we'll all die too, y'know!?" Tsumugi frantically shouted. "There's no oxygen in the outside world... There are no living things... We're only able to survive because we're inside this spaceship, y'know!?"

"Th-That's right!" Himiko agreed. "Are you trying to kill us, too!?"

"If my actions result in your deaths... so be it." Kiibo sighed.

Shuichi blinked. "So be it...?"

"Monokuma told us that despair is our only choice. And unfortunately, he is right. As long as this killing game continues, only despair awaits us."

"Wait..." Shuichi spoke up. "We still have hope. Our hope is... everyone here. Our friends who are still alive."

Tsumugi nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah... If we all work together, even this killing game will-"

Kiibo cut her off. "It will not stop. It will never stop. And even if we did manage to stop this killing game and escape, where would we go? Earth is destroyed, humanity is extinct... We have no home to return to."

"Th-That... might be true, but..."

"Monokuma is right." Kiibo continued. "Despair is all we have here. We simply do not have the power to change the outside world on our own. All we can do now is refuse to submit to despair!"

"And would you be willing to let all of us die to accomplish that?" Shuichi asked.

"That is a far better alternative than allowing Monokuma to continue the killing game."

"A-Are you serious?" Himiko stuttered.

"Momota-kun and Ouma-kun gave their lives to end this killing game... We should follow their example! We should be willing to give our lives to end this killing game!"

"...Is that what your inner voice is telling you to do?" Maki growled.

"No... I can no longer hear that voice."

Ichika's face went blank. "You can't hear your inner voice anymore?"

"For some reason... my inner voice has gone silent. This decision is my will, my choice. I've chosen to modify myself and destroy this academy! We can never submit to despair! Because we are students of Hopes Peak Academy!"

Shuichi shook his head. "No that's wrong."

"...Wrong?"

"Because there might still be hope. There might still be a place to call home."

"And what are you basing that claim on?"

"I just have a feeling." Shuichi smiled.

"Just a feeling...?" Maki scoffed and a smile crept onto her face. "You sound like that idiot right now."

"There can be no killing game without an audience," Shuichi explained. "Hope's Peak Academy was the same way. It was a killing game made for an audience. This game must be the same way. Someone is watching this somewhere... There's someone left."

Kiibo hummed. "True, we cannot say there is absolutely no possibility. But even a mere possibility-"

"That possibility is our hope!"

"...What?"

"We haven't investigated everything. There are still a lot of mysteries in this school. If there are still questions to answer, then we haven't found the truth. And that means... we can't give up! We can't give up before we reach the truth."

"...Spoken like a true Ultimate Detective." Kiibo stared at the ground, deep in thought. "Very well. I shall cooperate with your attempt to stop this killing game your way. But you have until dawn. I will not wait any longer than that."

"Until dawn?"

"Though dawn here is simply an illusion projected onto the dome, if you cannot stop the killing game by dawn... I will destroy the Ultimate Academy and end this killing game mysel-"

"Puhuhu... You're gonna end what now?" Monokuma waddled in front of the students and sighed. "Didn't I tell you? It's impossible to end the killing game." The five Exisals jumped behind him. "Cuz the killing game is forever eternal!"

"H-He's back!" Himiko exclaimed, glaring at the bear.

"Attempting to destroy this precious academy is more than a violation of the school regulations. It's an act of mutiny!"

"So what!?" Kiibo barked. "You are sorely mistaken if you think I will allow this to continue!"

"Huh? Is the robot malfunctioning? He must be- why else would he try to defy me?"

"Then let's kill him until he dies from it! Hell yeah!" The blue Exsial yelled enthusiastically.

"Ripping a robot apart isn't gory at all, so I can go all out this time!"

"Pops! Can we kill him!? Please!?"

"Puhuhu... They're so brazen cuz they don't have any hair downstairs. Well, any last words?"

"Eeeek! Th-They're all in battle mode!" Himiko trembled.

"This place is dangerous. You all need to get out of here." Kiibo said.

"Kiibo-kun, are you okay!?" Shuichi called out to him.

"Saihara-kun... please find this 'truth' that you mentioned earlier while I stall them."

"..." Ichika stared at Kiibo. "Kiibo-san, I'm gonna fight with you!" Everyone, including Monokuma, looked at Ichika as if she had three heads.

"A-Aki-san!?" Shuichi exclaimed.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wH-WH-WHAT!?" Himiko screeched.

"Aki-san, what!? No!" Tsumugi cried out. "You don't have anything to fight them wi-"

"But I do!" Ichika grinned. "I'm already prepared for this!"

"Aki-san, you can't!" Shuichi barked. "We need to investigate together!"

"But then I'll just be a burden during the investigation." Ichika pouted.

Shuichi gawked at Ichika. "What!?"

Ichika rolled her eyes. "You guys keep talking about this peak of hope school or something. A memory that you got from a Flashback light I never received, so I don't really understand anything. Kiibo-san may have explained it to me, but you guys have every detail. I won't be able to provide much, and I'll probably be questioning a lot of things, slowing you guys down. You only have until dawn and that'll be here in an instant! I'd much rather help hold these guys off!"

"But still! It's far too dangerous! You could get killed!" Tsumugi shouted.

"Nyufufu, don't underestimate me." Ichika grinned proudly. "I'm a lot more fast and agile than you realize. I'm not the Ultimate Parkourist for no reason, y'know!"

"..." Himiko glared at Ichika. "Okay, but you have to come back alive! You need to come back alive, okay?"

"..." Ichika smiled gently. "Of course, Yucchan. I don't plan on dying anytime soon." She then pushed Shuichi and the others towards the main building. "Now hurry and investigate! You heard Kiibo-san, you guys have until dawn. Get cracking!"

Ichika turned to face Kiibo. "Kiibo-san! I need to retrieve some things. Can you hold them by yourself for a bit?"

"...Yes, I can." Kiibo gave Ichika an uncertain look. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Ichika nodded. "I'm not letting you do this by yourself."

"Grrrr... now I've got two rulebreakers on my paws... Never forgive rulebreakers! Anyone who messes with the killing game must die! Exisals assemble!" The Exisals all got into a stance.

"I'll be back soon, Kiibo-san!" Ichika ran off, only to be blocked by the blue Exisal.

"Oh-hoho, no you fuckin' don't!" It rose its arm to swing at Ichika, but a bright blue laser from Kiibo deflected it. Ichika slid underneath its arm and continued running.

Ichika burst the door to her dorm room open and rushed to grab the black bag, filled with various types of bombs, a bunch of knives, all glowing a bright neon blue, and an invention she got Miu to make a while back. Ichika also grabbed the large hammer she asked Miu to make that had a shining blade on one half, and the head of a hammer on the other and slung the black bag over her shoulder. She also found a medium-sized, lone black grenade rolling around on the floor, which she hastily stuffed into the inside of her jacket's pocket. She then grabbed the red button with a single black dial on the stick, with the numbers one to thirteen written on it that was lying on her desk and shoved it into her pocket with the grenade.

Ichika ran back out and saw Kiibo fighting the Exisals. He was shooting at the red, pink, blue, and green one. The orange came up behind him with its guns on its shoulders, ready to shoot.

Ichika reached into the black bag and pulled out a medium-sized grey bomb. "Kiibo-san! Behind you!" Ichika chucked the bomb in between Kiibo and the Exisal. Kiibo flew up in time and the orange Exisal got a huge explosion in its face.

"Gaah! What the fuck!?" Ichika continued running towards the Exisals. The red one swung its arm down to attack her. Ichika managed to jump to the left in time as the arm hit the ground, leaving a crater behind. The pink one ran at her and she skilfully ducked under its swing. Ichika came to a halt and faced the five Exisals and Monokuma. Kiibo flew over to her and landed beside her.

"...You actually came back."

"Uh, duh? I'm not about to let a friend fight alone." Ichika grinned, raising the hammer up and over her right shoulder. A wide smile spread across Ichika's face. "Well then... let the show begin."

***

Shuichi and Maki stood in Kokichi's dorm. Shuichi walked up to his bed and saw a horse head on it as well as a-

"It's a Monokubs Pad!" Shuichi exclaimed as he picked up the pad narrowed his eyes at it. "I don't believe this motive video is Ouma-kun's..."

"Then there's no point in looking, is there?"

"No, we should check. I want to know what he knew. It would explain his actions." Shuichi touched his finger to the pad and it switched on.

"Alright! Back by popular demand, it's time for the motive video!" The motive video exclaimed. In the centre of the video had the title, 'Akiyama Ichika's Motive Video.'

Shuichi blinked. "Aki-san... So he did have a different one." He mumbled, turning the device off.

"What a waste of time. We need to move on." Maki snapped.

Shuichi was about to put the pad down when he felt a piece of paper stuck to the back of the pad. Curiously, he flipped the pad over and saw a yellow sticky note on the back. It said-

"Aki-chan has my motive video. Retrieve it from her as soon as possible." Shuichi read out loud.

Maki blinked. "What?"

"Aki-san has Ouma-kun's motive video...?"

"But how does he know that? Weren't the motive videos mixed up?"

"Maybe he started with his own, but somehow swapped with Aki-san's..."

Maki sighed. "Whatever, it doesn't matter now."

"No... we need to go to Aki-san's dorm now."

"What? Why?"

"Because she has Ouma-kun's Motive Video. I need to see it to try and understand his actions."

"...Fine. But let's hurry. We haven't got much time." Shuichi nodded and the two students rushed over to Ichika's room.

Maki took one look around the room. "...This place is much cleaner than Ouma's. But her desk... why is it littered with so much origami...?"

"She probably did it to hide the folders." Shuichi walked over to her cluttered desk and pointed at the folders. He opened them and his eyes widened. "W-Woah... that's a lot of writing..." He looked at the corner of the desk and saw a Kubs Pad and picked it up. "So this must be Ouma-kun's motive video..."

Maki looked at the notes. "...You watch the video. I'll look through these notes. Maybe that brat has something important written."

"Ah... yeah." Shuichi switched on the pad and watched Kokichi's motive video.

***

"So Aki-san really did have his motive video..." Shuichi finished watching the video and placed the pad back on the desk. He then turned to Maki. "Harukawa-san, did you find anything?"

Maki shook her head. "I think she's written notes from before each trial occurred, and I think she's also written down notes on each student here in this binder... But I can't understand anything."

"Understand anything...?" Shuichi blinked.

"She's written all her notes in a few different languages, like the papers you found in the hangar..." Maki sighed.

"She probably assumed that we weren't bilingual, and wrote everything in another language to prevent us from reading the notes." Shuichi hummed.

"I see... but I did find something in English."

"You did?"

Maki nodded then tilted her head at the wall covered in paper with diagrams and notes written on them. She pointed to a long piece of paper pinned to the wall. "At the bottom of this list, there's a note. It says, 'reject the game' with a question mark."

Shuichi tilted his head. "Reject... the game? What does that mean...?"

"Who knows. I also found a disassembled Flashback Light under her bed."

"She disassembled a Flashback Light!?" Shuichi exclaimed.

"She must've taken the one Yonaga destroyed," Maki explained. "Anyway, you saw Ouma's motive video, right?"

"Ah... yeah, I di-" Shuichi was cut off by a deafening crash that shook the dorms. "W-What was-"

"They're here." Maki grabbed Shuichi's arm. "We've got to get out of here."

And with that, Shuichi and Maki left the dorms and went back to investigate the school.

***

One swing after the other, it was an endless fight. Right outside the dormitories, Monotaro and Monokid swung their arms at Ichika in a desperate attempt the crush her, occasionally slamming into the dormitory walls, leaving cracks and dents behind as Ichika ducked and weaved her way around.

"You fucking brat!" The blue Exisal punched the ground, the brick path Ichika started to run along to lead them away from the dorms.

"You coward! Come back here and fight us!" The red Exisal yelled out after her, waving its arm around.

"Shoot at it you dumb fuck!"

"Oh, yeah." The red Exisal readied its gun. "Fire!"

"-!" Ichika let out a sharp gasp and jumped to the right, the bullets zooming past her and exploding into the ground. Regaining her footing, Ichika heard more clicking of guns.

Reaching into her black bag and dropping her hammer right by her feet, she pulled out the invention she got Miu to make. A silver gun lined with black detailing and a glowing blue end and tip. Pointing it at the two Exisals who shot their bullets at her again, Ichika pointed the gun at the ground and pulled the trigger.

A huge burst of bright flames erupted and Ichika swung the gun up to point at the sky, creating a wall of burning flames. The bullets, once hitting the flames exploded on contact, the explosion spreading further and Ichika felt her arms burn as some flames hit her jumper, burning the fabric.

The flames started to die down and the two Exisals ran over the flickering flames, guns still out. They continued to shoot as Ichika grabbed her hammer and jumped back, reaching the stairs that lead down to a few labs and the elevator to the trial room.

Jumping on the rail and sliding down quickly, she ran to Tenko's lab while reaching back into her bag and pulled out a grey stick with a bright red button. The two Exisals continued firing at her as Ichika jumped from left to right to skillfully dodge. One giant leap to the right to dodge a rocket that shattered the ground, then rolling to the left to dodge the next rocket from the other Exisal.

Ichika ran into the lab and shut the doors behind her. She came to a stop and turned her head around to stare at the door. A few seconds passed when a metallic claw ripped through the door, splinters flicking out everywhere. Swiftly slicing through the door, obliterating it, Ichika saw the red Exisal force its way into the building, destroying and tearing down whatever was in its way.

"You idiot! How do you plan to get out of this one?" The red Exisal laughed and ran at Ichika.

Ichika grinned and slid underneath the Exisal between its legs and ran towards the blue Exisal that was punching away at the walls to make for easier access.

"OI! Monotaro what the fuck are you doing she got away from you!"

"Stop her Monokid!"

The blue Exisal swung its arm at the ground in an attempt to kill Ichika, who jumped back as the arm met the ground, more wood specs flying up in the air and planks shooting up like needles. Using her hammer, she swung it at the blue Exisals armour plate and hoisted herself up the Exisals arm, up and over it, jumping out of the half-destroyed lab.