Danganronpa: Painful Truth

A Plan Gone Wrong

After I finished explaining my reasoning, Maki sighed deeply. "Fine, Shuichi," she relented. "I don't think I'll ever trust Kokichi, but I can trust your instincts as a detective, I guess."

"Yeah...even if you sound crazy, it's not like we have anything left to lose," Himiko stated gravely.

I sighed with relief. "I know I sound crazy, but...thank you both. Let's get moving."

Carefully, we crept out into the hall. It didn't take long to discover that the Monokuma that had spoken to us had been telling the truth. A large group of bear-like robots with horrifying teeth and claws lumbered down an intersecting hallway. We held our breath and clutched our electro hammers, but to our relief, they didn't turn toward us.

"Looks like we'd better hurry," Maki muttered.

We headed down the opposite direction of where we had seen the robots. When we turned a corner, our feelings of hope faded away. An Exisal stood facing us, only a few yards away. From what we could tell, it appeared to be mobile and fully operational.

Himiko screamed as it stomped quickly toward us. Before we could even think about running away, a familiar, rough voice called out through the speakers. "Hey, Shuichi! Maki Roll! Himiko! You made it!"

Maki blanched and nearly dropped her electro hammer. "W-what?"

My heart skipped painfully in my chest. "Kaito? Is that..."

The hatch on the Exisal opened, confirming that there were no tricks involved. Kaito climbed out of the Exisal, looking as healthy and alive as we could have hoped.

"Heh, you guys look surprised! You didn't still think I was dead, did ya?"

I shook my head slowly, hardly daring to believe he was really there. The ache in my chest began to recede to a gentle warmth. "No. They told us everyone was still alive... we're just so glad to see you, Kaito!" My voice cracked, but I didn't care. It felt so good to be in the presence of his enthusiasm once again. Having him there made anything feel possible.

"Yeah, I know, right? It's great to see you guys too!" He grinned and gave us a thumbs up. "But the big reunion's gotta wait until we're all back together!"

"All of us?" I repeated. "So you know where the others are?"

"Well, they gotta be around here somewhere!" He scratched his head. "We haven't found 'em yet, but we've got a plan!"

"We?" Maki narrowed her eyes slightly.

Kaito laughed. "You know me! I added a new sidekick to the gang!"

"Sidekick?" The image of the masked Monokuma that had helped us floated through my head once again. "Kaito...you're talking about Kokichi, aren't you?"

He glanced away from us sheepishly. "I know, I know. He's a pretty messed up guy," he chuckled, but his eyes still looked serious. "But even someone like that is still human underneath, ya know? He still has enemies, just like everyone else." He paused with a small sigh. "Well, you'll see what I mean in a sec." He returned to the Exisal and closed the hatch. "Alright, follow me, guys!"

*******

Kokichi hummed a popular cartoon theme to himself as he piloted the Monokuma around the facility. He and Kaito had been lucky enough to find the Monokuma door in the back of the hangar itself. He stopped back into the bio lab first, to retrieve the laptop he had given to Shuichi's group. He wanted to watch his own video at some point, and the others deserved to see theirs too.

With the laptop safely stowed in the rear compartment of the robot, he continued to roam the halls. "Let's see...what else can this baby do?" His eyes glinted with excitement and wonder as they scanned the various buttons and switches on the control panel. One of them was a slider that changed the robot's tone of voice. He giggled mischievously as he played the familiar 'puhuhu' sound effect in comedically high and low voices. "Looks like the tables have turned, Monokuma!" he announced gleefully. "You screwed with me, now I get to screw with you!"

A button with an image of a fish printed on it caught his eye. Curious, he pressed it, which caused the robot to hurl a dead salmon at the wall. He cackled in delight as he pressed it three more times. "This is so stupid, I love it!"

He continued to casually steer the Monokuma through the facility, launching fish at random intervals. His journey remained uneventful until he passed a specific office door. The camera that served as Monokuma's eyes, which had been crystal clear until that point, became slightly fuzzy. The only cause he could think of was that one of his minions was inside.

He chuckled to himself. With the plan going so smoothly, he had time to have a bit more fun. Ignoring the drop in visibility, he used the Monokuma's unique transportation abilities to slip into the office undetected. He was hoping to see either Ayu or Yoshi, since their reactions would be the most entertaining. Ryu would be the worst option; sneaking up on the burly brawler was likely to render his new toy broken and useless.

What he saw instead wiped the smirk abruptly from his face. His breath caught in his throat as one of his worst fears appeared on the screen, snowy and distorted like a bad dream.

Everyone who had come with him into the facility was now either sitting slumped against the office wall, or sprawled out on the floor. Gonta, Miu, and Tenko were there too. None of them moved. Through the static of the struggling camera, he couldn't tell if they were even alive.

He blinked away tears of frustration. After all of his planning, all of his stress and insomnia, it had still happened. His henchmen...his friends had been caught by the most dangerous enemy they had ever faced, and he was stuck in the hangar, waiting for Kaito. Even if they were still alive, they could easily be injured, or even brainwashed.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, striking the control panel with his fist. The slight but sudden pain brought him to his senses. Thinking quickly, he snapped a picture of the scene with the camera, then set off down the hall. If he could map out the route to their location, maybe he could save them before it was too late.