"My inner voice is telling me I need to... remedy this situation." Kiibo's voice broke through the silence. "That is why I will not give up! I will not give up hope until the very end!"

Junko gave him an annoyed look. "What?"

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

"Huh...? What hope...?"

"...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. 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!"

"Oh geez... how annoying..."

"The outside world doesn't just want despair... It wants hope, too. If our voices have reached the outside world, then what my inner voice is telling me is-"

Junko changed back into Tsumugi. "Oh, your inner voice? That's the voice of the outside world!" She chirped.

"...What?"

"I know cuz I wrote your plotline, too. There's no way I wouldn't know who that is your hearing. That's the voice of the outside world."

"The voice of the outside world...?"

"From the start of this killing game, you've had a unique role. You're the audience surrogate."

"A-Audience surrogate?"

Tsumugi transformed into the girl with lavender hair. "Your inner voice allows communication between yourself and the audience." The girl changed into the boy with the orange tie. "That function exists to keep the audience entertained." He turned into the boy in the white uniform. "Now tell me – what is your inner voice!? Speak clearly and enunciate!"

"An... audience survey?"

The boy with the magenta scarf returned. "Mwah-hahahahahaha! Well done! Yes! Indeed, that is the truth!" He transformed into the girl with the green shirt. "It's a two-way communication that lets you participate in the program from home." She changed into the girl riddled with scars and white hair. "That is your inner voice's true nature. The results of an audience survey."

"The voice I relied on for guidance... was just the audience... answering survey questions!?"

The eyepatch boy came back. "And every move you made was dictated by the audience's answers to that survey." He transformed into the boy with shark teeth and pink hair. "For this season of Danganronapa, the main gimmick is audience participation!" He went back to Tsumugi. "That antenna on your head lets you receive their answers."

Kiibo pointed at his ahoge. "Th-This is an antenna...?"

"When your antenna broke and you went crazy..." Tsumugi continued. "That was a big problem for us. We got flooded with complaints from the audience." She changed into the girl with the red jumper and pony. "But that's not your only role... You're also the audience's camera."

"C-Camera...?"

Tsumugi pointed at Kiibo's electric blue eyes. "Your eyes... are the eyes of the audience itself!"

"The... audience's eyes?"

"The outside world has been watching from your eyes the whole time! It lets them feel like they're really a part of the Danganronpa world!" Tsumugi smiled at a shaking Kiibo. "That's why I'm so glad you survived all the way through! Cuz now I can use you to plunge the outside world into despair!"

"D-Despair...?"

Tsumugi changed into Junko. "If the audience surrogate falls into despair, then the audience does, too. By making you fall into despair, I can make the entire world fall into despair! My despair will turn from fiction to fact and destroy reality itself! Puhuhu... Isn't that just the most delightful despair?"

"Wh-Why would you go to all this trouble!" Kiibo yelled. "Isn't Enoshima Junko... just a costume?"

Junko changed back to the boy with the red apron. "Oh Kiibo, mon petit doudou... my cosplay is a perfect reproduction." He transformed into the boy with the black coat again. "Actually doing stuff the characters would is totally part of that!"

"Is that why... you want the world to fall into despair?" Maki inquired.

"Wow... That's..." Ichika flatly said.

"That's messed up!" Himiko finished.

The girl with the orange kimono giggled. "Heeheehee... But that's the whole point of Danganronpa." The boy with the chain around his neck reappeared. "The outside world wants to see horrible setups and payoffs." He transformed into the boy with messy white hair. "What could be more horrible than fictional despair eroding the real world?" He changed back to Junko. "No one could've imagined an end this hopeless."

"..." Kiibo stared at the ground. "...No." He looked up and glared at the mastermind. "I won't give in to despair!"

Tsumugi tilted her head. "Huuuuh?"

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

Junko returned. "I already fuckin' told ya! The outside only wants despair!" She changed into the girl with lavender hair. "There's no way to spread hope to an audience that watches killing games."

"No! My inner voice already told me what to do! I need to remedy this situation! 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 in hope!"

Junko glared at Kiibo. "What is this?"

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

"Ugh, how annoying. Hope? That's not popular." Junko changed back to Tsumugi. "Well, if I can get someone like you to fall into despair, that'd be a great ending."

"I won't let you do that!" Kiibo barked. "Hope will never give in to despair!"

"Oooh? You're going that far?" Tsumugi transformed into Hajime. "Then, let's settle this." He changed into the boy with the green jacket. "The final battle between hope and despair!"

"Yahoo!" Monokuma cheered. "Now that's what Danganronpa's all about!"

"Settle this...?" Kiibo gave the mastermind a sceptical look. "How?"

"Yes, that is a problem." The boy with white hair sighed. "The class trial is in disarray because Monokuma broke a rule."

"You're the one who broke the rule..." Himiko grumbled.

"How about we start over with a special vote?" The girl with long blue hair and pink ribbon suggested.

"...A special vote?" Kiibo glared at the mastermind. "But you're the ones who broke the rules in the first place-"

"Whatever, man!" The boy with shark teeth said. "We've made it this far together! Let's just do one last vote!"

"Cuz that's what Danganronpa's all about!" Monokuma added.

"The final special vote will determine... Between Kiibo-kun and I... Which of us should get punished?" Tsumugi announced.

Kiibo narrowed his eyes. "...What?"

The girl with the two plats and round glasses returned. "Th-This'll be a vote to determine how this s-story ends..." She transformed into the guy with the chain around his neck. "You guys have to decide whether this story ends in hope or despair."

"To end in hope...?" Himiko started

"To end in despair...?" Maki mumbled.

"Hope or Despair?" Ichika continued.

"We decided?" Shuichi finished.

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

"Hope will definitely win!" Kiibo snapped. "No one here wants despair to win!"

"Y-Yeah... that's right." Himiko spoke up weakly. "We can't side with the mastermind-"

"Even if that choice ends in your suffering?" The girl with grey hair asked.

"Ends in... our suffering?" Ichika repeated.

"Alright!" The boy with flaming red hair shouted. "Lemme explain what's gonna happen after the vote!" He changed into Junko. "If Kiibo, representing hope, is punished, and I, representing despair, win..." Junko changed into the girl with the pink backpack. "Then per the rules, the killing school semester will continue until only two students remain."

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

"No need to worry!" The boy with the black coat exclaimed. "Cuz there aren't gonna be any more murders! My predictions are always correct 30% of the time!" He changed into the small girl with green shirt. "Even if we make new Flashback light motives for you, you'd know they're lies." The girl with the camera returned. "So no matter how many more motives we provide, it's more likely that nothing will happen."

"Nothing will happen...?"

"You can all live happily ever after in the academy..." The nurse girl said.

"No! That's no way to live!" Kiibo barked. "Imprisoned in this school, living lives of despair-"

The girl with plats came back. "E-Even if you went outside, there'd be n-no point..." She changed into the tall boy with blonde hair and glasses. "As I said, all your memories are nothing but fiction." He changed into the larger version of himself. "Your hometowns, your families, your friends... They never existed in the first place." He changed back to Tsumugi. "Cuz they're all fiction!" She transformed into the girl with the poorly buttoned-up blouse. "Danganronpa characters can only live in the Danganronpa setting." She changed into the boy with the red apron. "There's no reason to pull outta school. Only loser pull out."

"Th-Then at least put us back to how we were!" Himiko pleaded.

"Silence!" The girl with blonde hair and black bow shouted. "Weep not over spilt milk!"

"Nyeh?"

"Huh?" The girl in the red jumper and ponytail returned. "I told you guys already. You can't get rid of memories with Flashback Lights." The girl with lavender hair reappeared. "Flashback Lights can only overwrite old memories with new ones."

"But if you're absolutely serious..." Monokuma chimed in. "Then use the Flashback Light to become a different fictional character, instead."

Shuichi gasped. "So we... can't go back to the way we were?"

"Fuck yeah! How 'bout that despair?" Junko laughed. "But if I, representing despair, am punished, and Kiibo, representing hope, wins." Junko changed into the girl with the pink backpack. "Then this killing game will end of course." She transformed into the boy with the white uniform. "However, you must follow the rules! The game will continue until the final two!" He changed back to Tsumugi. "So only two of you can graduate."

"What...?"

Maki gawked at the mastermind. "Out of the five of us... only two can survive?"

The girl with twin drills came back. "Yes, that is so. I will let you decide the two who will survive."

Shuichi looked at the ground, tears streaming down his face. "We got this far... and you're telling us to sacrifice more of our friends?"

The girl in the orange kimono returned. "It's just three measly sacrifices, at least some of you losers can leave the academy." She transformed into the boy with the magenta scarf. "However... even if you do escape to the outside world, you will find it most unwelcoming."

"...No!" Kiibo shouted. "As long as we never give up, there will always be hope!"

"Tch..." The boy with the eyepatch clicked his tongue. "Well, if you're gonna be a pussy about it, do whatever you want." He changed into the girl with grey hair. "Can you choose which two will survive? Can you choose which three will be sacrificed?"

"I sacrifice myself!" Kiibo barked.

Shuichi's eyes widened. "What? Kiibo-kun..."

"If it will bring hope to everyone and the outside world, I will gladly sacrifice myself."

"B-But, Kiibo-kun..."

"...It's okay." Kiibo smiled weakly at Shuichi. "Even if it destroys my body, I will defeat despair!"

The boy with the long black coat and gold patterns reappeared. "Even if you sacrifice yourself, you still need two-"

"Then I will also sacrifice myself." Ichika spoke up.

Himiko froze. "I-Ichika!?"

"I've been... prepared to die for quite a while now..." Ichika sighed and smiled at the ground sadly. "I'm sure you know that."

"N-No, Ichika..."

"I don't care what I have to do at this point or what promises I need to break... if it means ending this killing game, then I'll gladly give my life to stop it!" Ichika announced with a determined smile.

"Well, you still need one more sacrifice." The boy with the green jumper said. "In order for hope to win, there needs to be one more sacrifice. Saihara, Harukawa, and Yumeno. One of them has to sacrifice themselves."

"I will never give up!" Kiibo barked. "Hope will never lose to despair!"

"Huuuuh?" Junko tilted her head. "How's not giving up gonna help you, huh? Huh?" She changed into the boy with the chain around his neck. "Even if you won't give up, as long as you don't sacrifice someone el-"

"I'll sacrifice myself." Maki spoke up, glaring at the mastermind.

Shuichi gawked at Maki. "What?"

"If Kiibo, Aki, and I sacrifice ourselves... then Saihara and Yumeno live, right? Then they can... survive this absurd killing game."

"Harukawa-san...?"

"After listening to Kiibo and Aki, I've decided... I don't want this killing game to end with despair. That would just... piss me off."

"Even if you only feel that way cuz I wrote you like that? Just like Momota-kun..." Tsumugi grinned.

"Even then... I'll choose that ending if it means I can kill you. Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will kill you!" Maki yelled, glaring at Tsumugi.

"Sacrifice? Wait, Harukawa-san!" Shuichi called out.

Maki clenched her fist. "I'm sorry... I've already made up my mind."

"B-But... what's gonna happen to us?" Himiko asked. "Can we really go back to the outside world?"

Tsumugi hummed. "What, indeed? I told you over and over there's nothing for you out there."

"No, once the audience sees this ending, I'm sure they'll help us." Kiibo smiled at us. "Everything is going to be okay! We'll definitely find hope-"

"What do you mean, hope?" Shuichi interrupted.

"What?"

"I... I refuse. I won't accept that hope!"

"Saihara-kun... What's the matter?"

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

***

"Despair takes everything from people!" Kiibo shouted. "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... They want hope, too..." Shucihi sighed. "Even if it's fiction, everyone wants to feel hope... It gives them... courage. And this killing game continues because we keep giving them what they want. While they ignore all the tragedies that we had to suffer to get there!"

"Saihara-kun, that's-"

"Then let's start the Voting Time!" Monokuma interrupted Kiibo.

Kiibo blinked. "...What?"

"The final vote! It's all gonna end here! You and your shitty hope!" Junko yelled.

"W-Wait! We're not finished talking!"

"Please... just let me ask one more thing. I have to know something before we vote." Shuichi asked.

"..." Tsumugi raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"If hope wins this final vote, Kiibo-kun, Aki-san and Harukawa-san will sacrifice themselves and you, Shirogane-san, the loser, will also be punished. Correct? What kind of punishment will they receive? Please, tell me what it is."

"..." Tsumugi remained silent.

"Why should I tell you?" Monokuma snapped. "I never said anything about a punishment, did I?"

Tsumugi transformed into the boy with the white uniform. "That's right! The punishment isn't the problem right now! The problem is-"

"No, that *is* the problem!" Shuichi barked. "Because if the punishment is what I think it is, then... everything would make sense. Including why Amami-kun participated in another killing game!"

"Amami-kun...? What does he have to do with this?" Kiibo asked.

"You know the answer, Kiibo-kun. If you really are connected to the outside world... then I want you to find the answer."

"..." Kiibo stared at the ground deep in thought. He then looked up at us with wide eyes. "I got it! The punishment is, you have to participate in the next killing game, right!?"

Maki froze. "...What?"

"Eh?" Ichika blinked at Kiibo. "Participate in the next killing game?"

Shuichi nodded. "Yeah... I think so. The punishment after the final vote... is to participate in another killing game. That's what Amami-kun was talking about. Something similar must have happened in the last killing game, and he was given a choice. He sacrificed himself... and was forced to participate again. All this means is... if we choose hope here, the killing game won't end. Shirogane-san will still be the mastermind, Kiibo-kun will still represent the viewers and Harukawa-san or, maybe even *and*, Aki-san will be the new Ultimate Survivors. The killing game will begin again. 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 a happy ending!"

"The killing game persists... because hope always wins?" Kiibo gawked at Shuichi who nodded.

"That's why I'm going to reject that hope."

Tsumugi changed into the boy with incredibly long black hair and red eyes. "Then it's despair? You're gonna choose despair to end the killing game? ...How boring." He changed into the girl with the twin drills. "But this is fine. Our audience loves despair, so this will please them too." She transformed into the boy with messy white hair. "After all, even if despair wins, the killing game still won't end."

"Then... hope has to win this game, too." Kiibo said. "If we continue to win for hope, then this killing game will surely end someday!"

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

"Th-Then what are we supposed to do!?"

"..." Shuichi sighed. "When Aki-san and Harukawa-san said they were going to sacrifice themselves just now, I thought... Why? So many of our friends have sacrificed their lives. Why Aki-san? Why Harukawa-san? Why now? Why do we have to go through it again...? The sorrow of losing Akamatsu-san... and Momota-kun... 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! I don't want to feel that way anymore! Even if this is fiction, even if we're all fictional... The pain in my heart is real." Shuichi had tears streaming down his face. "The sadness I feel when I lose the people I love is real!" He glared at the mastermind. "I won't forgive this game that treats us like toys... And if this is what the world wants then I will reject that world! I'll fight the world that inflicts suffering for entertainment!"

"Fight... the outside world?"

Tsumugi rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter what you do. No matter what a fictional character does or says, it's just fiction to the outside world."

"Then I'll fight the outside world within this fiction!" Shuichi retorted.

Ichika tilted her head. "Within this fiction? But, how do you plan to do that?"

"I... refuse to vote."

Tsumugi's face went dark. "Refuse to vote...?"

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