Madoka wiped his eyes, staring with a subtle sense of awe at the trick Faussin had performed. His eyes stuck to the card--the Queen of Hearts, the symbol of everything Eriko had worked so hard for--and the longer he stared at it, the more courage began to rise.
They still had hope. They had to still have hope. If they didn't have hope, what
did they have? A growing sense of dread? Hatred? Fear?
Despair?
As he looked around the room, Madoka realized almost everyone's eyes were drawn to the card. Faqir wiped tears away, his usual carefree smile springing to his lips. Romano's stone-cold expression shifted slightly to show a warmth in his gaze. Oni had stopped mumbling her verses, soaking up the light Faussin's card had brought.
The only two who still seemed consumed were Clair and Braeden. Clair had stopped screaming and her eyes seemed drier, but she continued trembling miserably against her stand. Braeden...
Braeden silently passed his chain to Vivara.
He looked around at the others, taking a deep breath.
"...'Thank you.'"Clair sniffled, looking up from her hands.
"Eriko..." Braeden paused, as if composing himself.
"Eriko had some last words she wanted me to tell all o' you. ...Those words were 'thank you.'"Madoka felt tears return to his eyes, but this time they felt different.
This time, he wept to honor Eriko's memory, not to grieve it.
Braeden stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking over at Vivara with a bored expression.
"...Yo. Ya said you were workin' on somethin' with those jewels. ...So before all o' you send me to the choppin' block, I want you to promise you'll include mine.""Braeden..." Even if he had committed the killing blow, Madoka found he couldn't hate the Ultimate Yankee. For the first time, he remembered they were all high school students, forced into something they couldn't control, forced to act to save their own skins, forced to confront a terrible reality that they could do nothing to fix...all of it was outside of them.
For the sakes of those who had acted on that helplessness, Madoka felt more strongly than ever that they had to find a way out.
Braeden looked up at the ceiling, oddly contemplative.
"She was grateful to have met us. All o' us. ...Man, that one sure was a queen."He paused. After a moment of thought, Braeden drew his hands out of his pockets and clapped once.
"Yep, that was it. Don't think she asked for anythin' else. ...Listen, ya gotta vote for someone, a'ight? An' if ya vote wrong, this world loses twelve lives instead o' one. Not like this 'one' ever contributed anythin' to society, anyways. If anythin' you'll be doin' everyone a favor pressin' that button. I've done a lotta really sh*tty stuff. ...But if a sewer rat like myself even deserves any last requests, then mine's this: you gotta get outta here. You gotta get outta this place, get back to your homes and families, and...you gotta tell my mom I'm sorry. Tell 'er I really tried to make 'er happy. Tell 'er that even if I was a mistake, I really did love 'er. Tell 'er..." Braeden took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
"...Tell 'er I tried."Clair's eyes flickered with realization. She nearly bolted upright, her face contorted.
"I'm so sorry, Brae. I-I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I-I...I'm so sorry.""Little late for that now, Green-Eyes." Braeden offered an awkward smile to Clair, eyes sparkling.
"...And one more thing, if it ain't too much trouble.""Nothing's too much trouble for you, man." Faqir smiled at Braeden, who returned the gesture with a nod.
Oni reached out to touch Braeden's podium, eyes watering. He touched her hand.
"Then this one's the most important." Braeden cracked his neck, a fire in his eyes that made Madoka realize why he had been the Ultimate Yankee.
"Kick that f*cking bear's a*s."Faqir "whoop"ed. Monokuma looked aghast.
"Well, I never!" Folding his arms, the bear looked out over the students.
"Geez! Save the emotional breakdowns for the last trial!"Madoka surprised even himself by the words that came out of his mouth.
"This is the last trial."Braeden laughed, all previous tension seemingly alieved.
"There's that spunk, kid. Keep that attitude up an' maybe you can actually escape this place with everyone else.""B-Braeden..." Madoka swallowed. He had to say something.
"Let the voting begin, then!" Monokuma cheered. The buttons popped up on everyone's stands, and slowly, one at a time, the students locked in their picks. Madoka stared at his panel, then glanced up and locked eyes with Braeden one more time.
"I forgive you."Braeden's eyes shimmered; he reached up to wipe his eyes, chuckling.
"...Go ahead an' press it, kid."Taking a deep breath, Madoka's finger pressed down on his choice.
...
...
...
"And there you have it! The blackened, voted in by majority rule: the Ultimate Yankee, Braeden Carmichael!"Madoka realized the wording--"majority rule" versus "nigh-unanimous vote". He wondered in that moment just how many of the students had selected someone other than Braeden.
"As mentioned, only whoever made the killing blow is counted as our blackened, so..." Monokuma grinned. Madoka tried not to look at him.
"Let's give it everything we've got! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME~!"Punishment. The word weighed heavy in Madoka's mind.
By the time he had decided to beg Monokuma to reconsider, Braeden was already gone.
The battlefield was a deserted street. Police sirens wailed in the background, a crowd of Monokuma robots dressed in various forms of street clothing slowly closing in on the lone human in the center.
Braeden noticed a rusted crowbar by his feet and lifted it, gaze swapping from quizzical to amused as he bopped it in his hands. A laugh escaped his lips.
"Ya gotta be kiddin' me."As the first Monokuma launched itself at Braeden, he whirled and caught it in the ear with the crowbar, leaving a fist-sized dent in its skull. The thrill of the fight seemed to kick in--adrenaline pumping, Braeden charged the next group, mowing them aside with expert accuracy. The numbers steadily increasing didn't even seem to slow the momentum of the Ultimate Yankee, his fists, feet, and crowbar connecting smoothly with each would-be assailant as they advanced with metal pipes and iron knuckles.
Cutting down the Monokumas was surprisingly easy.
Some "punishment". Ya gotta do better'n a fight to kill me, b*tch.A light appeared near the end of the street. Laughing uproariously, Braeden charged for it, barely hindered by the always-approaching robot bears.
The light took shape into Melissa.
Braeden froze. Melissa turned, slowly, and seemed to spot him. She grinned, opening her arms.
Mom?Barely looking, Braeden smashed an incoming Monokuma to the ground, taking cautious steps towards his mother. She beckoned him closer, her features soft.
Mom.He broke into a sprint, kicking up dust on the way towards home. Somehow--through some miracle--their hope had been worth it. Monokuma had been soft. Did the evil creature really expect to actually hold Braeden back using something as mundane as a street fight? He'd been in hundreds--no, thousands--of those.
He was going to live. He was going to survive, get home to his mother, finally prove himself--
The Monokumas threw away Melissa's disguise just before Braeden could reach her fingertips.
A bullet surged into his shoulder, throwing him backwards a few feet.
And as the remaining Monokuma robots caught up, iron rods, iron knuckles, and robotic feet smashed him until the blood was drained from his body.
In the background, a single siren carried on into the night.