"Since our lives here together first started...you're all I've thought about..." Junko monologued "is it not natural that I would grow to care for you guys? With that in mind, since I love you guys and all, you wanna know something else? There's a little thing I wanna tell you about called the "Ultimate Despair's plan to bring Despair to all mankind!""
"The Ultimate Despair? All mankind?" Chihiro parroted.
"Our story begins two years ago," Junko spoke as if she was reading off of a book "when you, the 78th class of Ultimate Students, first came here. The first year as students for you were overflowed with peace and Hope. You lived sickeningly normal lives, and everyone was perfectly content. Man, weren't those the days, weren't they? However, the peace didn't last for very long...There was only peace for the first year, because one year after you lived as regular students at this regular school, an incident occurred that threw humanity into Despair. An incident by the name of the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History, and with it, the world's era of peace came to a screeching halt. Of course, Hope's Peak Academy was no exception. Nearly all of the schools students were annihilated during the tragedy..."
"Who...?" Kyoko cut in suddenly.
"Huh? Who what?" Junko asked.
"The Ultimate Despair caused the Tragedy, right?" the lavender detective asked "I can't imagine it was just you and Mukuro Ikusaba behind it...So who? An organization? A group? A family?"
"Wrong, wrong, and wrong again unfortunately my dear sweet Kirigiri," Junko said "it's a little more abstract than that...Despair is more like a natural phenomenon. It's contagious. Everyone Despairs, and now...everything in this deceased shell of the world is in Despair. Therefore, if you take up arms against Despair, you're effectively taking up arms against the whole world!"
"I...I don't understand...!" Kyoko growled.
"I don't care if you don't understand! No one cares if you understand!" Junko spoke high and mighty "but thanks to you, we've veered off the subject. Getting back on topic, having suffered catastrophic damage, the only remaining class in Hope's Peak Academy were Class 78, AKA, yourselves. You were the only remaining students left alive in the academy. And that's when something AWESOME happened! Work began to convert Hope's Peak Academy into a shelter to protect all of the survivors! Wowzaz! It also happens that the one who was in charge of this operation was also the one responsible for locking all of you inside here. Does anyone want to take a wild guess as to who that was?"
1 – Junko Enoshima.
2 – The Prime Minister.
3 – Jin Kirigiri.🔫
"It had to have been...Headmaster Jin Kirigiri..." Chihiro considered, noting that Kyoko's face tensed up at the mention of her father's name "he turned his own school into a shelter so that he could protect us from the effects of the tragedy..."
"That's why he had us make the commitment," Mukuro explained "the commitment to potentially spend the rest of our lives inside the academy."
"I'm sure what dear Jinny-Jeans was thinking was: "As long as you, our Hope for the Future, survive, then we can rebuild the world as many times as we need to." He had so much Hope for you all..." Junko sighed.
"And we knew that..." Chihiro said "and that's why when he finally asked the question, we all agreed..."
"Unfortunately for him, Jinny-Jeans idea of converting this place into a shelter was also his biggest mistake!" Junko smirked "I find it oddly hilarious. He was the HEADMASTER of HOPE'S Peak, and yet he still was blissfully unaware that Mukuro Ikusaba, and myself, Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Despair Sisters, had already infiltrated this academy. And we turned the shelter that was supposed to protect you all into a cage that kept you from escaping the Despair! I mean, I gotta extend my gratitude to the guy! He saved me a ton of work, don't you know? Oh and uh...one more thing? I know you guys have been wondering all this time who it was that put those iron plates and high security on all the doors and windows. Now that you know what you know, do you wanna take a few guesses as to who was responsible for that?"
"Don't tell me...!?" Taka gasped "we...did it ourselves...!?"
"Give this man a gold star!" Junko cheered "Hip-Hip-Hurrah for Kiyo-Ta-Ka!"
"We trapped OURSELVES in here!?" Mondo cried.
"Yeah, and then you started making this big deal of like "Aw Shit, We Trapped!"" Junko snapped "once the conversion was complete, Mukuro and I made our play..."
"And thus began the first Mutual Killing Game..." Mukuro said "Junko described it to me as the climax of our plan to bring Despair to all of humanity."
"And the reason why you all survived the Tragedy was due to our influence protecting you, so we could keep you alive up until this point." Junko concluded.
"You're saying you let us live JUST so you could make us kill each other!?" Taka cried.
"Why go that far!?" Chihiro exclaimed.
"Actually, it wasn't JUST so you could kill each other," Junko said "I actually had a totally legit reason for doing this. To put it simply, it's kind of like a witch-hunt. A method of weeding out every last bit of Hope left in humanity?"
"What does that even mean?" Chihiro asked.
"Think about it," Junko frowned, extremely annoyed now for whatever reason "there are over 7 billion people in the world, much less now that most of them are dead, but even so, at least one or two of them are gonna hold onto their Hope. So I wanted to put on a show for them, and for that I...Well, what do you THINK I did?"
Junko had to do something...so that she could put on a show for the people outside...
[Hangman's Gambit]
_ _ O A _ _ A _ _
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
B R O A D C A S T
NOW I UNDERSTAND!
"That's it!" Chihiro exclaimed "you hijacked the broadcast signals!"
"Yes, yes, that I did..." Junko replied "I wanted the stragglers and the rest of the world to watch the students of Hope's Peak Academy, the last Hope for humanity, murdering each other...That was the goal all along! The climax of the plan of the Ultimate Despair! By watching despair bring you to your knees, watching you, their Hope, take up arms against each other...The Despair they felt would spread like a coronavirus pandemic, wiping out all the remaining Hope they held. Isn't it amazing what TV can do!?"
"You're saying that you broadcast this to the outside world and no one, not ONE person came to try and save us!?" Taka exclaimed.
"Hey, slow down, I didn't say that!" Junko said "actually, a bunch of people DID drop by and try and bust you out...unfortunately, I precured some heavy weaponry at the gates, which made short work of them...They all got exterminated in seconds flat..."
"E-E-E-Ext-terminat-t-ted?" Taka body was now shaking in an unhealthy way at hearing this.
"It's all 'cause of you guys though," Junko said "that I was able to grant the Ultimate Despair of death onto the insubordinate loaches that tried to resort to force."
"You USED us...!?" Chihiro's face went pale "you used us to bring Despair to the people outside!?"
"Look at it this way," Junko's face became mousey "they died, sure, but in exchange, you got to live! Think of it as a...give and take..."
""Give and take" my ass, you crazy bitch!" Chihiro snapped "give me a break!"
"Chihiro, bad boy, we have GOT to work on your cursing!" Junko jokingly became demanding "and after all I did to keep you, my dear, sweet classmates alive up until now...In fact, it's only because we were classmates that I had all the other students at this school killed and you left alive for the game."
"That's a lie!" Mukuro snapped "you told me it was just to intensify everyone's Despair when they found out we were their classmates!"
"Stop ruining my fun big siiis!" Junko whined "you're always doing iit! Still, she's right! And that's the whole truth!
So tell me...How deep is your Despair?"
"D-Don't tell me...!?" Kyoko clasped a hand over her quivering lips "you...PLANNED for the truth to come out? You WANTED us to catch you!?"
"So what if I did?" Junko asked "if my true intent was to squeeze every last drop of that disgusting Hope out of you, or if on the other hand, it was to give you a chance to solve the mystery all to see just how hopeless the truth is...what's it to you?"
For the first time since this whole killing game started...Kyoko was left speechless...
"See now?" Junko asked "the truth isn't always shrouded in Hope...This one is a fucking nest of Despair!"
"Nest...of Despair...?" Chihiro quaked.
"Also, just to clarify..." Junko added "all of those incentives that I gave you over the killing game? Given that the world's already ended, they all seem a bit meaningless, don't they?"
"Meaningless..." Taka's face was drained of life "which means...people in this game have been dying over nothing...!?"
"The main reason was to escape this place..." Junko sighed depressingly "to escape the very place you all locked yourselves away in..."
"All the while, unaware that we had been best friends for the last two years...!" Kyoko gasped.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKK!!" Mondo screamed in agony towards the sky.
"Aaaah...So this is how a mortal reacts when faced with ruin..." Junko said "but I told you all this right from the very beginning, didn't I? The only thing I want out of you is Despair. No reason, or anything else along with it. And because I don't have a reason, you can neither comprehend my actions, nor prepare for anything that I do...I'm incomprehensible! I'm irrational! I'm unpredictable! THAT is who I am as Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Despair!"
"Hold on a second..." Chihiro spoke up "you keep preaching to us about all this garbage, but let me ask you this: How do we know that anything you've said is true!?"
Everyone's eyes suddenly turned surprised in Chihiro's direction, Junko's included.
"Sorry?" she asked.
"You say that the world is in ruins, but the only thing I've seen of the outside world is images through a monitor!" Chihiro proclaimed "and unless I see it with my own two eyes, I refuse to believe that it's the whole truth!"
"So until you've seen it with your own eyes, it is both true and false?" Junko asked "this is the Tragedy Chihiro, not Schrodinger's Cat."
"What are you getting at Chihiro?" Mukuro asked "you can't just keep saying you refuse to believe until you get outside and see it for yourself. Even if you don't believe Junko, believe me. Go outside into that dead world and you'll be dead along with it!"
"I trust you Mukuro, I'm not saying I don't," Chihiro said "but even if it IS true, I am NOT giving in to Junko! I will NOT LOSE to Junko! Because it's not just about me! It's about Makoto too, and everyone else who's died up until this point at her hands!"
The mention of Makoto's name clearly got to Mukuro, as she backed down.
"I'm sorry, "died at MY hands?" You guys were killing each other! The only person I actually killed was Byakuya. As for everyone else, I just gave each of you a little push, that's all. It's not my fault you're a species who are driven to murder and fall into Despair so easily. That's the entire reason for this game and I fucking love it!"
"This was no game!" Chihiro spat "it's a one-sided massacre! YOU stole our memories! YOU fabricated motives and used that to back us into a corner! YOU Masterminded this whole Tragedy! It's all YOUR fault, you crazy psycho!"
"So you've completely shifted the blame onto me?" Junko asked "is that really all your Hope has to offer?"
"There was no shifting involved...!" Chihiro growled "the blame has always been on you!"
"Alright, whatevs, I don't have time to argue anymore..." Junko sighed "I think it's about time we brought this case to a close..."
"Huh!?" Chihiro stammed "wh-what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Voting Time, duh-doy!" Junko stuck out her tongue and pointed to her head "a Class Trial is a Class Trial, and rules are still rules! Saying that, given that this is the final Class Trial, the rules for the Voting Time have...ever so slightly changed up a bit."
"You changed them?" Alter Ego asked "how?"
"I am the symbol of "Despair" and you are the symbols of "Hope"," Junko explained "those are two collective sides, so the vote will decide which one will be punished. And if there's even ONE vote that favors punishing Hope, then I will be declared the victor, and Team Hope will be punished!"
"So what you're sayin' is...!" Mondo tried to process her words "all 6 of us have gotta vote for you, or else it's game over for us?"
"What about you!?" Taka asked "you're a participant of the trial, aren't you? What if YOU vote against yourself?"
"Oh, my vote won't count in this case," Junko said "I won't even be participating in the ballot this time."
"Alright, but that still doesn't change the fact that you've got a huge advantage on us..." Taka said.
"Except she doesn't," Chihiro beamed "think about it for a second Taka! If we lose, we all die, and I doubt any of us are crazy enough to choose to have ourselves executed!"
"O-Oh yeah!" Taka remembered "good point!" However, his expression turned from relieved to tense in an instance when Junko started laughing...
"Puhuhu...Puhuhuhu!"
"What's funny?" Kyoko snapped.
"I fear that I wasn't specific enough in telling you what your punishment actually is..." she said "Chihiro's right, if you lose this vote, then you WILL die...But you'll die...OF OLD AGE! You'll peacefully and quietly go senile locked inside this academy, TRAPPED FOREVER until you rot away and pass away!"
"What!?" Chihiro cried.
"S-So what you mean is...!?" Mondo trembled.
"We'll just...continue living here forever...!?" Taka asked.
"On the one hand, it means that we survive..." Mukuro accounted "but on the other..."
"If you DO choose to execute me, then you'll be forced to go out into the outside world. The dead world. The world where only despair, death and destruction exists. I don't imagine you will survive for very long." Junko jeered.
"What's your point?" Chihiro asked "you're effectively just saying that no matter what, we're doomed!"
"HEY! WAITAMINUTE!" Junko exploded suddenly "I just came up with a great idea! We've got an audience, and having you rot away here won't cut it for them! In which case, I'll at least give one of ya'll one Extra Spectacular Muthafuckin' Punishment!"
"You're going to execute one of us!?" Alter Ego exclaimed.
"S-Seriously!?" Taka cried.
"Ok, let's see now..." Junko's eyes darted from each individual person "eeniee...meenie...mieniee...YOU!"
Everyone's hearts stopped as Junko made her declaration and pointed her red, glossy nail...straight at Chihiro.
"ME!?" Chihiro exclaimed.
"Oh, you, and your little AI too!" Junko added, moving her finger pointing at Alter Ego "I don't like you Chihiro. You've been REAL damn defiant since this killing game started. I was able to off Makoto, who was similarly annoying, but as long as you're still around, things won't go my way."
Junko did a twirl around and turned to greet everyone else in the courtroom.
"Let's go over it one more time!" she said "if you choose to punish Hope, then all of you will live here peacefully, never to see the outside world again, whilst Chihiro and his Alter Ego will receive a thrilling execution. If you choose to punish Despair however, then you'll be forced to leave this place. Leave, all so you can die miserable deaths in the outside world..."
"You...You've got to be kidding me!" Chihiro exclaimed.
"Hold on a second..." all of a sudden, Mondo's face became serious, and while he was still coldly sweating, he now had a look of determination in his eyes "we get to live if we vote against Hope...but instead...we have to throw Chihiro to the sharks?"
"Pretty much?" Junko teased "whyyy?"
"Why?" Mondo asked, all of a sudden, raising his fist and slamming his desk "BECAUSE FUCK THAT!"
M-Mondo...!?
"Mondo, what are you-?" Mukuro's eyes widened.
"The world might be in a state of shit right now!" Mondo bellowed "but there's only one reason why I'm still alive up until this point! And that's because Chihiro saved me! I wouldn't do something so dickish as to fuck him over to save my own goddamn neck! I'm DONE LETTING PEOPLE DIE IN MY PLACE!"
"Mondo...! You...!" Chihiro, despite everything, couldn't really believe it...The Despair of what happened outside was clearly getting to Mondo, but even so, Chihiro didn't think he would be willing to face it if it meant he could save his life.
"Mondo...Mondo is right!" Taka declared "Chihiro's fate notwithstanding, I could not be proud of myself if I allowed you to get away with doing whatever you want! I may be a law-abiding citizen and rule abiding student, but I am done following your damn rules! I'm not sure what I should do...but I'm sure not going to lay down and let you walk all over me with your tasteless high heels!"
"We've come so far..." Kyoko said "we've seen so much death and slaughter, and now we know that it was all for a lost cause...But why would we subject ourselves to this life, and sacrifice Chihiro? The deaths hurt, but they also emboldened us! We owe it to everyone who's died to survive!"
"What's...going on...?" Junko seemed oddly bemused by the charge that Mondo was leading.
"These people haven't given up Junko," Mukuro told her "instead of falling into Despair, they're desperately looking for Hope."
"All because they don't want to kill their friend?" Junko tilted her head "I mean...it's certainly entertaining, but it's fruitless in the end..."
"Who are you...?" Chihiro trembled with rage "to say something like that!?"
"Alright then..." Junko sighed "if you're still holding on, then allow me to show you..."
"WHAT DESPAIR TRULY MEANS!"