The Puppeteers

Chapter 18: The forbidden reality we seek

"I really don't think the things you just told us are helping. You just said the exact definition of what a traitor is supposed to be!" Tsukasa said, frustrated, "Isn't the traitor already someone with enough power to keep us trapped in here? And what do you mean by what REALLY caused the overlap?"

"Tsukasa, just think a little. If any one of you 8 teenagers were the traitor who had power to keep you all trapped, wouldn't they be doing a lot more than just keeping you in here? Wouldn't they also possess the power to harm you all? And for the second question, which feeling do you think it was that brought you all here?" MEIKO replied to him.

"Why would they harm us?! Why would they keep us trapped in here?! I don't get it!" Ena also said in a frustrated tone. 

"There's a really simple answer for that. I guess in a way, they survive by feasting off of the energy that your feelings bring."

"Huh? So they're like eating our feelings or what?" Mizuki questioned, "Who the hell would eat feelings? A vocaloid?"

"Yes Mizuki. A vocaloid would. But not just any vocaloid. In order to get to that sort of insanity, they'd need to be a corrupt voicebank of some sort..."

(Maybe it's Nightcord Miku? We only saw her once, and she always acted kind of suspicious. Whatever it is, everything seems to tie to the vocaloids more than any of us, but also if that's the case then why should we even trust Miku or MEIKO?) One of them thought.

"Anyways, do you guys trust me?" MEIKO asked them, "If you don't, it's totally fine, but if you see truth within the things I say, then I have a plan for your grand escape."

"You have a plan?" Mafuyu asked.

"Yes. You've gotten lots of different information and ways of thinking from everyone that you all have interacted with. I want all of you to think about everything that was said, and try to find the truth and seperate them from the lies together. Think of it like a group discussion, or debate."

"Huh, interesting." Rui nodded, putting his hand on his chin.

"Once all of you, and I don't mean the majority, I mean all 8 of you have agreed on the same truth, I will help you get justice for whatever you believe is right."

"So you're leaving it to us to find our own truth? But what if we get it wrong? Why don't you just tell us what's right?" Emu asked with a worried voice tone.

"It would be unfair if I acted and did the necessary things my way without consulting the victims of the situation first. You all need to get a clearer understanding of what's going on, find the right things to do, and decide for your own future yourselves. It would be morally wrong to intervene."

"Also, I don't mean to make you rush or panic at all, but it really would be nice if things went a little faster."

"Why? You getting bored?" Rui stared at the vocaloid with a smug face.

"c2h1dCB0aGUgZnVjayB1cCB5b3UgbGl0dGxl"

"I think you made her mad." Ena commented with her arms crossed.

"Haha!" The boy giggled.

"I think I should leave before my connection to this realm runs out. There's something I'd like to say though." She cleared her throat, "I've noticed that time in the real world seems to be passing faster lately. I don't know if it's because I haven't checked the time there in a while, but my conciousness was here since you all got stuck in this overlapped SEKAI, and I was thinking that it has only been 3 or 4 days since you've all gotten here. The real number is...shocking, to say the least."

"What's the real number...?"  Tsukasa questioned nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"27 days, 9 hours and 3 minutes. Atleast that's what the data of this Overlapped SEKAI tells me. Maybe it's counting too fast or glitching because it's overlapped? I'm not sure. Whatever, that's all I wanted to say anyway."

(How strange. Miku told me and Nene while we were in Snow Peak that time doesn't exist in SEKAI, and that it was an illusion from our brain. So, is this perhaps related to...)

After thinking for a bit, Mafuyu smiled at MEIKO. "Thanks for telling us about this." She said warmly.

"It's no problem. I couldn't handle it any longer, I was waiting for any moment now to...b2ggZ29kIG9oIHNoaXQgaSBmdWNrZWQgdXA="

The vocaloid's eyes narrowed in fear. "She's...bWlrdSB3aWxsIGtpbGwgbWU= She's here...dGhlIHRyYWl0b3IgaXMgaGVyZQ=="

They all watched as MEIKO slowly turned into a bunch of pixels and disappeared.

"Who's 'she'?" Nene put her hand on her arm and clutched it tightly.

"Hiii guyssss!" A blue haired figure appeared infront of them.

"Uwaaa!" Most of them got scared by the presence of the girl.

"M-Miku?! Emu shouted, putting her hands up. Miku smiled.

"You've all been working so hard to find the traitor, haven't you guys?" She said, still smiling, "I can see you've all made it sooo far into your journey and have discovered so many new things that brought you closer to your true feelings...and the traitor, ofcourse."

Nene felt a sweat trickle down her face. 

"Now then," Miku cast out her arm in a fancy way, giving a sense of pride within her words, "I shall take all of you to a special place within the SEKAI, a courtroom where we'll have the Final Debate, get rid of the evil traitor, and free ourselves from this long trial of doubt!"

The world around them started changing, looking somewhat like the big showhouse in the Wonder SEKAI, but shaped like a courtroom, and colored in a slightly greyish tone like the Empty SEKAI.

All 8 of them appeared in the room.

"Can you feel it?" Miku told them, "The air reeks of justice. It's time to confront the truth! Welcome to...The Court of Epiphany!"

They all looked around, confused. Everything felt like it was happening too fast. But it's good that they've finally gotten to this point, isn't it? Maybe this is the last chance they have to set themselves free.

Miku snapped her fingers, creating small tables infront of everyone, making them debate in a circle. Next to Emu and Ena, she created a bigger table for herself, making her seem like the judge.

"Where...Where do we even begin?" Mizuki vocalized, feeling more nervous by the second. "Are there any rules? Will the traitor...be executed...?"

Nene felt a shiver down her back. 

"Fufu, I'm glad you asked!" Miku replied, "There are a few rules, ofcourse. Firstly you must not, under any circumstance, leave the courtroom. Two, the discussion will continue until most of you have reached a similar conclusion. Once that has happened, I will count your thoughts as votes and execute the person whom you think is the traitor."

"Why do we have to execute them?!" Emu weeped. Miku glared back.

"It's the only way you guys can truly escape this place, by getting rid of the anomaly. And besides, don't you think that they deserve it for keeping you all trapped in here for so long?"

A loud silence filled the courtroom.

(This...isn't right. Doesn't this go against everything MEIKO has told us?) Mafuyu, Rui and Kanade thought. The atmosphere felt more serious by the second. It felt like everyone was ready to spill everything that they've been thinking about since they have arrived.

Well, once they spill everything, it'll be obvious who the traitor is right?

Miku cleared her throat, interrupting the silence they once had. "Now that that's settled, let the Final Debate begin!"

authors note: this danganronpa ass fanfic i swear to god. miku is so furina coded in this chapter like the way she talks iykwim...