Final Danganronpa 4: Another Despair

Epilogue - Smile Not at Hope and Despair in the Name of Yourself

Getting up from the capsule felt like an automatic process for me; I barely noticed how uncomfortable the metal was. I saw a closed capsule beside me without a window like the rest of ours and cringed, that had to be Monaca's capsule. But those of us still living, we were all back in the fake academy's gym, and the Neo World Program stood in front of us.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu: "Even if this is just a replica, this has too many memories for me. Makoto, you said that you wanted to destroy this thing, right?"

I silently nodded, too overwhelmed by everything to speak properly. I looked around the machine for the exposed wires that Monaca mentioned, and eventually found them on the side. Mikado was suffering in there, and everyone was staring at me, but if I could just pull them out...

With one firm yank, the wires were pulled, and the machine shut down. A sense of numbness washed through me as the whirring of the machine came to a halt. I always believed that everyone could be a good person if they just tried, but even if this was a mercy kill...I didn't know why I felt so terrible for someone who had killed Kyoko, Byakuya, Shuichi, and so many others. Maybe it's because I had to deal the final blow myself.

Himiko Yumeno: "So, he really didn't escape...his body isn't moving."

Yasuhiro Hagakure: "But, uh, it's not his to begin with, right? Her name was Akane Taira."

As they spoke, my eyes drifted to the sleeping body in the capsule, never to wake up again. That girl looked so peaceful when Mikado wasn't inhabiting her body, but I knew that her brain had died long ago. And with the last request I need to do, hopefully her body will finally die too.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu: "Akane Taira...she worked for Junko. She was an External Agent of Despair, special forces that handled a lot of under-the-radar jobs. I remember her being a freshman when I reached my senior year though."

Himiko Yumeno: "Huh, really?! She's just as wicked as Mikado!"

Makoto Naegi: "Hiro...please carry the body."

Yasuhiro Hagakure: "Huh? Oh, yeah, I can do that."

As Hiro bent down and threw the body over his shoulder, I searched around the area for a Monokuma spare. In my first game, each spare had a detonator in it that could blow up the plushie. When I finally found one, I took it back to the group and put it on the ground.

Himiko Yumeno: "Huh?! Why'd you bring that here?!"

Makoto Naegi: "There's a detonator inside this, if Monaca replicated this design too."

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu: "Right, I'll get it out for you."

To all of our surprises, he took out a pocketknife and began cutting into the plushie. We collectively decided to not question it, not after all the metaphorical slaps to the face we received recently. Unlike some super godly luck in the body of a braindead girl, a yakuza with a pocketknife was a lot more logical. After a minute or two, he extracted the detonator.

Makoto Naegi: "To make this machine permanently unusable, I'm going to set this off. On the count of three, we run."

I saw a cap on the side that looked loose, and had a red outline around it. The detonator must work like a grenade then. I had my hand on the cap and prepared to pull it.

Makoto Naegi: "One, two, THREE!"

I pulled the cap off and lightly tossed it towards the machine as everyone else ran in the other direction. I made sure that I had let go of it before I ran to join them too, and Hiro was by the gym doors to close them as soon as I ran through. As the four of us raced towards the entrance hall, we heard the sound of the explosion behind us. The program was finally destroyed.