Hope and Despair [DanganStuck]

{Final}

The trial had already started. The group had seemed much smaller, mostly because it was. They had gone from fifteen people down to 7 people. It was scary, really. Losing that many people? Witnessing all of them die? It's pretty fucked up.

Well, now the trial had started. Cal once again went over the rules of the trial. John hadn't really paid attention, mostly because he's heard it all before.

"So.. We first need to discuss who was murdered," eridan says, officially starting the discussion. "Any clues?"

"Well," Rose says. "John, Nepeta, Kanaya and I figured it out. The student who was murdered was the student none of us met. Dirk Strider."

"Dirk Strider? Isn't that Dave's last name?"

"Yes, actually," Kanaya says. "He did look much like Dave, but his hair was styled differently. It was quite.. Interesting. I'm not sure who styled it, but it's quite ri-"

"God dammit, Kanaya! We don't have fuckin' time to talk about hair!" Eridan exclaims, crossing his arms.

"Right, sorry."

"Well, then it's settled! We know the fucking victim! Now do you guys have *ANY* idea who the murderer is?!" Karkat said. Everyone went silent. Nobody had a clue on who the murderer was.

Before the trial had begun, John went and looked at the body again. He noticed some sort of stab wound in the middle of the chest. But there's no way possible that someone could've made a hole that big and that deep! Until it finally made sense.

"What if.. What if we already knew Dirk, but he was just going by a different name..?" John said.

"Wh- are you fucking serious? That's the dumbest idea I've ever h-"

"Actually, it doesn't sound that dumb, Karkat," Rose says. "Please, continue."

"Well.. Like I said, maybe we've been with Dirk Strider, and not Dave Strider.. And.. Maybe we never knew Dave Strider... I mean, isn't it a bit suspicious that Dirk had the same wound as Dave? Same exact place too?"

"..." Cal was silent. "Well, I guess you guys figured it out! Congratulations. But the real question is, who killed him?"

".. Cal, *you* killed him."

"What?! No, I didn't! I'm not allowed to harm *ANY* of my students."

"But.. You were the one who executed him, which means you killed him!"

"..." Silence again.

"Stop being so quiet!" Karkat exclaimed. He was still silent for a moment.

"Well, I guess there's no point in hiding anymore.." He said. The lights dimmed down, and smoke effect were around where Cal was sitting. A silhouette of a person was standing in front of Cal. When the lights went back up, Dave Strider was standing there.

"Ta-da!" He exclaimed. "The real mastermind is here!"

".. Dave?!"

"I- I thought you died.." Karkat mumbled.

"That wasn't me, actually. John's right! It was my idiot brother. My brother was actually the one who created Cal! Pretty impressive, huh? Too bad he had to die so soon.. But I had to kill him somehow!"

".. Did.. Did Dirk not really kill Equius?"

"Nope, he didn't! It was really the clown guy!" He says, gesturing to Gamzee. "That guy scares the shit out of me.. But I had to get rid of my brother one way or another, so I made him take the blame for it! I even planted fake evidence so people would get suspicious of him."