Graham Forester's Story

If nothing else, having time alone to sit and stare at a wall for hours gave Madoka plenty of time to actually process through his emotions.

There were hundreds of thoughts in his head all whirling rapidly. Levi had eventually slipped into hyperventilation and the combination of a lack of breath, trauma, shock, and blood loss drove him into unconsciousness. Faussin was still struggling in the midst of an episode Madoka couldn't seem to calm him out of. Mercy was actively dying. Faqir had completely given up.

Madoka knew now more than ever he had to hang in there and be "strong", but if he were honest with himself he felt weaker than ever. He had already been drained enough--Junko's pamphlet only made things even worse and being sedated by Levi felt like a slap to the face. Speaking of slaps to the face, his ongoing, constant crisis over what he thought about Levi certainly didn't make him feel any better about repeatedly striking Levi earlier (especially considering how clearly aroused Levi had gotten).

In the end, Madoka's conclusion was that he was downright miserable.

Even so, things could be worse--as upset with himself Madoka was, he took comfort in knowing things could clearly be much worse as they were for Mercy, Faqir, Faussin, and Levi.

I don't want to do this, but...but if I have to, I think I can make it somehow...

Needless to say, Madoka looked forward to a long stay in a therapist's chair as soon as they escaped.

Levi stirred on his mattress. Madoka glanced over at him, noting Levi slowly sitting up. Their eyes met.

Madoka opened his mouth to ask how Levi was doing, but the nervous smile on Levi's face stopped him.

"Hey," Levi greeted.

Madoka swallowed. ...Levi...

"H-hi," he mumbled. I really... "...Levi, I'm--"

"Stop." Levi's expression returned to vaguely serious. He glanced down at his hands, distracted. "Don't apologize. I was...not in a good place. I needed it, okay? When I get that bad, sometimes the only thing that can fix it is...someone hitting me. I'm alright now, promise."

Against all odds, the makeup artist did seem oddly relaxed--Madoka decided to trust him for now. He would need the support moving ahead.

"You read my note?" Levi guessed. Madoka nodded, twiddling his thumbs. "Thank goodness...I really am sorry, I've been a horrible friend to you."

You have. Madoka took a deep breath, cracking a smile. "Y-you're not horrible, Levi. I-it's true you've hurt me, but I...I forgive you. ...I-I shouldn't have hit you, I..."

"Like I said, I needed it." Levi yawned, observing his hands. "...You wrapped my hands."

"Of course I did. I couldn't let you keep bleeding...I-I wiped the blood off your face, too, but I couldn't really wrap that. Does anything hurt? I have pain meds..."

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Levi insisted. He coughed--Madoka realized for the first time how hoarse and raspy his voice was. "Sorry, sorry. I kinda lost my voice from screaming so much. Where's Fauss?"

"Ah, right..." Madoka glanced down at his hands, fidgeting. "I-I really tried, I swear...I-I tried to get him to come over here, b-but after you freaked out I think it scared him even more and even the tiniest touch freaked him out so...I let him stay in the ice cream parlor. I've been going over to check on him every once in a while. I just got back about ten minutes ago and he was still freaking out...I-I'm getting worried."

Levi nodded slowly. "I'll visit him in a second. Mercy and Faqir? How are they? Is Graham still asleep?"

"Graham is asleep," Madoka said quickly. "...A-as for the others, um..."

Levi sighed, moving to sit up from the mattress. "...I see Mercy's awake. Do you have Eriko's handbook? Someone has to get us out of here and her room is the last place we need to check. I hate to do this, but whether you can come down with us or not we need to go."

Madoka started, alert. He noticed for the first time that Mercy seemed to be awake on her mattress. He recoiled--tying her up had been surprisingly easy, but Madoka still didn't feel fully right doing it. If she was unstable enough to take a knife to herself, though, that meant she needed to be restrained the same way Levi and Fauss did no matter how strange it felt.

I wonder if Levi and Fauss were going to tie me up too.

It would make sense, wouldn't it? Madoka had snapped--it would only be right for them to tie him to the mattress.

I wonder...why they didn't.

Maybe they felt bad, but that didn't seem like the full story. Madoka decided to ask Levi about it eventually--for now, he didn't want to bother Levi with irrelevant questions.

...Ah! Viv's portrait!

"Can either of you draw, by the way?" Madoka asked. "Before we leave, I...want to draw Vivara a portrait to go with her jewelry. S-since she made all the other ones she doesn't have one...it doesn't feel right."

Levi shifted. "I can work with colors, sort of. And yes, I realize the irony of saying that because I'm colorblind. I've adapted to work well with shades and tints and hues and all that. I mean, I can't actually tell you which color is which but I can help with shading? ...I can't actually draw worth a lick, though. Mado, we...don't have a lot of time. We should get out of here. But we'll definitely make Viv a portrait once we're free, okay?"

Free.

Yeah...we can make Viv a portrait when we're free. I think that would make her happy.

"Oh!" Madoka's face brightened suddenly, struck with a thought. "My sister Juri is an artist! She's really good--particularly at landscapes and still-life, but if she had a reference I bet she could make a really nice portrait for Viv. I'll ask her when we get out."

Speaking in terms of "when" put the pep back in Madoka's step. He felt a weight lift, suddenly more aware of just how close they really were. It wasn't earned without difficulties, but they were going to escape. They would escape. It was no longer a matter of "maybe", it was a matter of "yes". They would escape, make Vivara a portrait, get Mercy and Faussin the medical help they needed, and return to their homes happy and healthy.

God in heaven, I know it's been difficult...but you're still going to get us out of here. Thank you.

"Faqir," Levi said suddenly. Madoka perked up. "You never answered. Where is he?"

Madoka bit his lip, reluctant to answer. He wasn't even really sure where Faqir had gone, all he knew was that the jeweler had left immediately after dropping Mercy off and had been entirely absent for every hour since. Frankly, a piece of Madoka was terrified he had gone off to kill himself after his meltdown earlier.

Please bring him back safe. God in heaven, please bring him back to us safe.

As if on cue, the doors to the market suddenly slid open. Faqir hobbled inside, a pool stick in one hand and a bottle of something in the other. Madoka immediately pinpointed the blood caked over his hands, soaking into his sock, and painted across his chest. Extremely concerned, Madoka jumped to his feet and hurried over to Faqir, noticing the odd swerve he walked with.

"Th-thank goodness you're back!" Madoka gasped, reaching out to offer an arm to Faqir to help him balance. Faqir completely ignored him, expression terrifyingly vacant. "...F-Faqir, you're hurt. Why don't you sit down? I'll take care of--"

"I'm fine," Faqir shot out, voice coming in an odd slur and with clear hoarseness. For the first time, Madoka realized where he must have gotten the bottle.

"Where were you?" Madoka demanded. "You must have gone to the second floor to get that pool stick. Did you go all the way to the bar with that foot? W-wait a minute, i-is there real alcohol in that bar? You were drinking, weren't you? W-we're too young to drink!"

"I'm f*cking twenty years old, just lay off me!" Faqir snapped, limping towards the nearest seat and flopping against it. He mumbled something, popping the cap off his bottle and taking a long swig. "F*ck, you sound like my mom. Probably dead by now. Not like it matters, right? F*ck, my head hurts..."

Ah, Faqir... Madoka found himself unsurprised at Faqir's horrible state--after a breakdown, it was logical for him to seek out some kind of escape, wasn't it? (On that note, was Faqir really twenty? Madoka decided to ask him when he wasn't apparently sloshed.)

"You're bleeding," Madoka muttered, approaching Faqir's side. Faqir snorted, staring over at the wall. "Can I treat you?"

"Touch me and I'll f*cking punch you." Faqir took another sip from his bottle, wiping his forehead on his wrist. "I'm fine. Been worse before. Middle school kids used to beat me up all the time. I don't need you to f*cking baby me."

Madoka winced, slowly returning to sit near Levi. Levi bit his lip, then flinched, releasing it. Hesitantly, the makeup artist moved to sit next to Madoka.

"What happened?" he asked quietly. Madoka sighed, shrugging.

"He's not doing well," he settled with. "It was a pretty bad breakdown. I figured he'd be in bad shape, but this is...a lot worse than I expected. ...W-why is there alcohol in this place? A-aren't we all teenagers? Except Faqir, apparently, w-which is weird to me."

Levi only shrugged. Madoka sighed again, flopping back onto his mattress to stare at the ceiling.

We're going to get out, so we can just push all of this aside, right? We're going to get out, so stay focused, Madoka. We're going to get out...

---

Is he...?

Mercy moved to see everyone more clearly, suppressing another soft cry of pain. Her eyes almost immediately zoned in on the bottle in Faqir's hand.

He's f*cking drunk. This is completely my fault.

Of course. Of course she'd broken him. Of course she'd done this to the one person alive that she still actually cared about. Clearly, Mercy should've stuck with being cold and distant when it came to every single person she ever met, because that was all she was good at. Hurting people. She'd hurt Harvey, she'd hurt Faqir, and she'd probably hurt her parents with the awful way she turned out.

Why had she even looked forward to Faqir coming back? Why was she still hanging on now?

What reason was left?

If she was going to continue ruining everything, then wouldn't it be better if she just died now?

F*cking h*ll, I knew I should've stabbed twice! You still made me hesitate, jewelry boy!

Again, she felt tears begin to well in her eyes. How many mistakes was she going to make and how many regrets was she going to leave with until she finally got to die? All she'd ever wanted was a hug from her mom and dad, but she would never be able to get it. The man who had been like a father to her was now most assuredly dead and the one person left she cared about probably hated her, so why was she sticking around?

He doesn't need me and I can't do anything right.

Someone let me f*cking die already, please.

Mercy regretted not stashing a knife in her pocket or something of the sort. She regretted being so lenient with the tying of her hands and arms. She should have finished the job when she still had a chance.

When I still had a chance.

It wasn't gone now. She'd gotten this far, and it was so close.

She had the wound. All she needed to do was make it bleed before someone didn't notice until it was too late. That would be easy, wouldn't it? The wound is still fresh. It'll be easy to irritate. This'll work. Just let me die so I can leave and see everyone I love. I'm so close now that I can feel my foot on the step of death's door.

I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to think, I don't want to feel pain, and I don't want to cause anyone else more than I've already caused. It's better this way. For all of us.

I just have to make sure they don't notice. Faqir's drunk, Levi's concerned with other things, and Madoka's distracted, right? It'll all be fine. Fine, fine, fine...

The endeavor of trying to loosen the bandages with her arms tied behind her back was going to be a tricky one. But if she could take the pressure off of the wound and move around enough for it to start bleeding again, that would be enough, wouldn't it? Then it'd just be a matter of time and a matter of making sure they didn't notice in time.

Shrugging her shoulders upwards, Mercy bent her hands at an angle to where she could just barely grab one of the bandages--heart racing, she tried pulling it loose. She clamped down on the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't make a sound from the pain. No one better be f*cking paying attention. She messed with the bandages for a minutes until she finally managed to loosen them some, then breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing for a moment.

Sh-sh*t. Dying hurts. ...What the f*ck did I expect, though? H-haha.

C-come on, Mercy. Suck it up. The sooner you bleed, the faster you die.

There was comfort in that. She played it on repeat in her head as she silently stretched her abdomen out, twisting and turning while trying with all of her might not to scream from all of the pain. The hunter refused to take even a two-second breather until she felt the familiar wet, stickiness of blood on her skin--and after an agony-filled minute, she did. Y-yes. Finally. Finally. Breathing rapid and eyes watery from pain, she turned her front away from everyone else as her blood began to flow.

J-just...a matter of time. Come on. C-come on...

...Alright, Madoka. Let’s get us out of here, okay?

Madoka forced himself to sit up, then stood, stretching. He clapped once, glancing down at Levi. “Alright! I’m going to get some water. You get a bucket. We’ll leave those with Faqir and go finish the investigation. U-um, did you find the other pamphlets already?”

Levi nodded, rising to his feet. “Mercy has Eriko’s handbook. Her room is the last place we need to go. You never answered me, can we have it just for a bit? I understand if you trust Madoka to take it instead of me.”

“Ah, um...well, Mercy is...I-I’ll go get it from her.”

...He hasn’t noticed, has he? Levi, you’re in worse shape than I thought…

Madoka decided now was a bad time to tell Levi that Mercy had stabbed herself and probably wasn’t in any shape to actually say anything. He headed towards her mattress to see about picking up Eriko’s handbook.

Madoka immediately realized her wound had been disturbed.

“Ah...!” Sent into an immediate panic, Madoka rushed to grab a roll of bandages from the pile of medical supplies he’d brought up. “F-Faqir, I-I need help again! She’s bleeding!”

Levi stiffened, alert. “Who’s bleeding? Wait, that’s a stupid question, don’t answer that. Why is Mercy bleeding? What did I miss?”

Faqir released a dry laugh, rubbing his eyes. “Why bother, right?! Clearly she’ll just end up making it worse again! F*ck it, if she wants to die so badly, have at it. I don’t care anymore.”

This is so much worse than I thought… Even if he was completely wasted, hearing Faqir outright confirm that he had entirely given up on getting everyone out only made Madoka’s panic worse. He hurriedly returned to Mercy’s side, reaching out to check the bandages and figure out how best to fix it. “You don’t mean that, Faqir. You’re just not thinking straight right now. I-I need someone to help keep pressure on the wound, c-can you please just come here for a second?”

More cloths--finding something clean would be ideal. There were a couple sitting near the mattress that appeared slightly (or very) used; instead, Madoka gathered one from his fresh pile. My last one left. Ah, maybe adding a couple used won’t matter too much…

“Screw it.” Faqir took the last swig from his bottle, then angrily smashed it onto the floor. “If I couldn’t fix her then, what makes you think I can fix her now? I clearly don’t mean as much to her as she does to me! I tried a billion times and I failed, no use trying again. Not like we have any hope of getting out of here, right, you f*ckin’ a*shole?!”

Madoka bit his lip, very aware that Faqir was addressing the mastermind by now. He was about to fly into another panic when Levi appeared at his side, taking the cloth and pressing it against the center of the spread of blood.

“I’ve got it,” he insisted. “I’ll keep the pressure, you wrap. Let Faqir be, he’s not going to be any help to us until he flushes the alcohol out of his system. A good amount of water will help and as much as I hate to say it, the more of it he throws up the better off we’ll be. Water and a bucket, right? Let’s take care of Mercy first and we’ll get to Eriko’s room later.”

Oh, thank goodness…

It was like magic, really--somehow, even when he hit his absolute worst times, Levi seemed to have some sort of “reset” button that always got him back to a general stability. His calmness was something Madoka desperately needed--Clair’s resolve had given him courage in the earlier trials and Levi’s would do it now.

Focusing on just following commands, Madoka worked to re-bind Mercy’s wound with Levi’s help, trying to keep his breathing steady.

Faqir’s wrong. We do have hope. We always have hope. So I’m not giving up on any of you, okay?

---

"F*ck off!" Mercy hissed, trying her best to push both of them away with her arms and legs still bound. Even if they patched her wound up again, she could just tear it open one more time, couldn't she? It could be an endless cycle--tear, fix, tear, fix, until she lost enough to finally die.

I'm sick of this. I'm tired. I'm...

Her breath caught--she laughed suddenly.

...What's the point?

All of this time, she'd been assuming that her family would actually love her.

But what could they possibly love her for?

If I hurt everyone around me, then what do I have to go to when I die? Aren't I just going to hurt them, too? Isn't everyone already disappointed in me? I turned out to be a cold, heartless, failure, so they're just going to greet me the way I deserve to be greeted.

Dead or alive, I...I can never stop hurting the people I love.

She laughed louder.

Why am I like this?

Why can I never be happy?

What do I do?

On the mattress beside her, Graham twitched. Mercy felt her laughter slowly devolve into tears, followed by sobs that shook her entire body. Each breath she took hurt like crazy, but she couldn't stop sobbing now no matter how hard she tried. Through the pain, she still tried to squirm away from Madoka and Levi, much less because she wanted to die now and more that she wanted to be left alone.

Which was better--misery during life or misery after death? Her very being was flawed. More than anything, she wanted another person, but she hurt everyone she touched. Alone she was empty and miserable, but with someone else, she caused hurt and misery, which just served to make her feel even worse. No matter what she did or what she thought she wanted, she always ended up making everything worse.

Mercy really could never be happy.

So then...

What was she supposed to do?

I-I'm still selfish, she realized, laughs sneaking back into her sobs. I...I-I want to stay. I still want to be with Faqir, but the longer I stay the more I hurt him...I-I can't...please...

I-is there really no end to this?!

Come on, keep working...don’t loosen up, Levi.

Ignoring Mercy’s shoves (Madoka briefly realized he might end up with bruising from how much she was trying to push them away), Madoka continued working to wrap her wound while Levi held the cloth against her stomach. In a few minutes, they had finished.

Madoka stepped back slightly, heaving a sigh. Levi patted his shoulder awkwardly, then glanced down at Mercy, expression unusually harsh.

“I’m going to be blunt.” Levi glanced over at Faqir for a second, then looked down at Mercy. “I’m glad you’re okay, but frankly I don’t give a flying f*ck how badly anyone wants to give up or die or whatever right now. If you all want to rip your own chests open, fine. But I’m. Going. Home. I won’t make you actually give us Eriko’s handbook yourself, but if I have to f*cking pat you down and find it myself I’m making Madoka do it.”

Madoka jumped. “W-wait, why me? ...A-and don’t say cruel things like that! Of course we’re all going to escape together, right? I’m glad Mercy is okay for now, b-but regardless you should be more gentle when you talk to people!”

“I’ve tried being gentle. Now I’m mad.” Levi leaned over Mercy, slamming a hand onto the mattress near her shoulder. Madoka shrieked, going to drag Levi further away from her. “I am not letting Fauss spend another second in this hellhole and to be quite honest I don’t care who gets hurt in the process anymore. Look around! Eriko’s room is our last ticket out of here! A half hour in there and we can get this d*mn f*cking sh*thole trial over with and get the ever-loving f*ck out of here! You all want to ruin that?! P*ss off! I’m not letting anyone ruin this for me!”

“Levi!” Almost without thinking, Madoka turned Levi to face him and slapped a hand across the makeup artist’s cheek. Levi bit his lip, glaring over Madoka’s shoulder at Faqir. “Stop saying that! Mercy needs time to relax, please, w-we can’t--”

“She can relax perfectly well while I go downstairs and finish reading. If I stay in here for another f*cking day I’m going to snap and kill someone just to get the h*ll out of here! I’m sorry, I really am, but I can’t stay here!”

Hints of Levi’s previous breakdown were beginning to sneak back into his voice. For a second, Madoka was reminded of Levi’s shouts about how difficult it was to have friends who cared about keeping him safe.

Oh, Levi...you’re not alright at all, are you…?

Frowning, Madoka dragged Levi away from Mercy’s side and shoved him down onto a mattress, hushing him.

“We’re going to get out of here, okay?” Madoka soothed. “But yelling at Mercy is not going to get us out of here any faster. Let her rest, we’ll get the handbook when she’s ready.”

“It’s not just her!” Levi glared daggers at Faqir, who gazed at him warily. “What happened to you, huh?! What is getting wasted off your a*s supposed to do to help us get out of here faster?! It’ll take twice as long to search Eriko’s room with one of us f*cking bleeding out on a mattress, one of us utterly p*ss-drunk, and one of us in the middle of an unstoppable psychotic episode! Do you guys even care about getting us out of here?!”

“I said stop!” Madoka’s head swam--they couldn’t fail. Not now, not here, not so close to the end goal. Levi was right--they had one room left to search. “I promised I would get you out of here and I’m going to follow through, o-okay? Just calm down and let’s regroup when Mercy is feeling better! She needs this right now!”

“We need to get out of here! F*ck, this isn’t even about me anymore!” Levi snapped. “What about Fauss?! He needs actual treatment from a trained professional! Mercy needs to get stitches or something on that stab wound before she bleeds out! I need f*cking therapy and a pet comfort cat! I want to get out of here and I’m not letting one little handbook get in the way of that!”

“Well, woopdy-f*cking-doo, aren’t you just everyone’s hero?” Faqir slurred. “Y’know what? I don’t care about getting us out of here! Screw it, we’re all gonna die anyways, why not just die in here like everyone else?! Like our families! And oh by the way, Mr. ‘Don’t-You-Care-About-Us’, don’t f*cking forget it was your whore mouth that gave us that lovely tidbit!”

“Both of you be quiet!” Madoka ordered. “Now is not the time to start fighting! I-if you keep fighting, I’ll...do something!”

Levi hissed, making to stand. Madoka shoved his shoulders, forcing him back down to the mattress.

“You asked me!” Levi cried. “You’re the one who baited me into asking for it and then asked me to help you figuring out why the names were weird!”

“Guys!” What do I do? What do I do? O-oh gosh, what do I do…?!

“Oh, sure, just like someone asked you to trigger Fauss, right? Did someone ask you to try and kill yourself?! Talk about f*cking halting the investigation, that’s all you’ve been doing since we first got here!”

Madoka’s eyes pinpointed his pile of supplies. In the mound was a familiar sight. I can do this. I have to stop you. I’m sorry…

“I’ve been trying to make that up to all of you! H*ll, I’ve done more work in this last investigation than all of you combined and oh by the way, let’s not forget it’s your impulsive a*s that nearly got us all killed in the fifth and third trials!”

Madoka sprinted for his pile, scooping up a section of it. If it’ll make us stop fighting...if it’ll make us calm down...I-I have to…

“So are you gonna blame me for Eriko’s death too?! It’s all your fault we’re even in this mess!”

With a cry, Madoka charged Faqir, nearly tackling him against the back of the chair. Faqir barely had time to let out a roar before a suspiciously familiar syringe found its way into his wrist.

...I’m sorry, everyone.

Faqir hissed, moving to slam the edge of his pool stick into Madoka's temple. Deterred but not stopped completely, Madoka continued to inject the sedatives into him--only about a third of a full dose however, due mostly to worries over how the drug would interact with whatever alcohol was already in his system.

After finishing, Madoka allowed scarcely a moment before changing course and heading for Levi. Levi hissed, moving to escape, but Madoka threw him forcefully back onto the mattress, jamming a second syringe into his wrist. Levi hissed.

“Do you even realize what you’re doing?!” Levi demanded. “You...y-you can’t do this! I-if you do this, we’re going to end up staying here forever! I don’t…”

Madoka leaned in to hug Levi close for a moment, waiting until his thrashing slowed to a stop before taking a third syringe over to Mercy. He knelt beside her, trying to get to her bound wrists with the sedative.

“I’m sorry, Mercy…” Madoka hesitated. “I won’t take Eriko’s handbook while you’re out. I just can’t let all of you tear each other or yourselves apart. Y-you can all forgive me, right…?”

"F-f*ck! Stop! Wait! Wait!" Mercy hissed at him through clenched teeth, tears still spilling from her eyes. As best as she could manage with the pain, she scooted away from Madoka, trying to keep her wrists out of range of the needle. She didn't suppress her winces and clear cries of pain this time, too focused on getting Madoka to delay sedating her for even just a few more moments. "S-stop! You c-can have it! Eriko's handbook, front right pocket! But d-don't you f*cking dare take the note! And give the handbook back when you're done or I'll---I'll take it from your dead f*cking corpse!"

Sh-sh*t, it hurts to breathe. Hurts to breathe, hurts to move, hurts to talk, I-I can't...! F*ck! Just give me a few more f*cking seconds, Madoka, just a few more f*cking seconds...

"W-wait," she begged again, breathing heavily. "Y-you---I...p-please..."

Promise me...

Madoka hesitated, admittedly unsure. Any other scenario and he would have stopped immediately to listen to what Mercy had to say, but with the current situation a piece of him was scared of losing more time.

What harm will a few seconds do? Madoka, just don’t lose your nerve, but...it’s okay to be kind.

“One more thing,” he decided. “But I...I can’t let you stay awake, I’m...I’m too worried about you hurting yourself. I-I won’t take the note, I promise…”

Levi was right, we need to get out of here...but we can be kind to one another while doing it.

“I’m sorry,” he added. “I-I’m sorry, Mercy, I don’t...I-I don’t know what else to do, but you can...I’ll wait.”

Oh, thank God...

Relief clear on her face, Mercy relaxed, taking a moment to recover somewhat.

I-I need my breath back before I can actually talk. Just a sec. J-just a sec...

"Th-thank you," she breathed, letting herself rest against the mattress. She took another deep breath, held it for a few moments, then exhaled, trying to calm herself down somewhat. Doing this a few times, she finally found a way to get out what she wanted to say--Mercy sighed, briefly wondering if she'd disturbed her wound even more. "I just--I-I worry that...I-I don't know how else to say that..."

She glanced sidelong at Faqir's unconscious self, glad that she could get this out without his drunk self being awake to hear it.

"...F-f*ck. Listen, I-I just--w-want to ask a favor. I would do it myself, but clearly I'm too worthless, tactless, cowardly, stupid and selfish to do anything right, so I can't. If I try, I-I'll make everything worse. I always do. So can you please keep an eye on Faqir and make sure he stays okay? Or...o-or f*ck that, he's already broken, but make sure he doesn't get any worse. Don't let him near any more beer, don't let him tear himself apart, treat his injuries while he's out cold if you can, just...please."

Mercy bit down on her lip, taking another deep breath.

"Get. Him. Out. I don't care what he f*cking says he wants, this isn't what he deserves. Find him his family, find him his sanity, o-or at least just...help him. For the love of everything, please, just help him. E-everything else is bad enough, but I...I-I can't listen to him break like this. Not when I'm the one who caused it."

She paused. "Or...or just don't. I-if...j-jeez, I know I've already done enough already, it's just...consider it. For him, not me. Again, Eriko's handbook's in my front right pocket, you can take it. Just--just give it back, please. And don't let Levi touch it. He's the one who f*cking killed her, he doesn't get to put his slimy fingers on it."

They're so close. Just get him the rest of the way there. Please.

Mercy shifted, finally offering Madoka her wrists.

"I...that's it. Thanks. I'm sorry I'm...a failure."

“I’m a failure.”

There it was again, that phrase that had been uttered so often lately. If there was one thing having time to process through his feelings had taught Madoka, it was that no one person could be blamed for this series of breakdowns. It had been going for weeks now, hadn’t it? Everything had built up from the first death--no since the first announcement. Madoka could sit around blaming himself for getting Eriko killed, not paying enough attention to Faussin, and the myriad other things he’d done wrong as long as he wanted, but in the end...would it change anything?

No, in the end it could only make things worse. It could only make him fall back to a place of begging someone to kill him. And when they were so close, well...what was the point?

Madoka had always been rather apathetic about himself. He promptly decided he didn’t care what he’d done wrong.

He was average--not exceptionally bad, not exceptionally good. In a sense, they all were. So what good did it really do to lament the bad without praising the good?

“Mercy, I’ve made a lot of mistakes…” Madoka smiled weakly, fiddling with the needle of the syringe. “...Well, a-as you can probably guess. But...I’ve tried to do better lately. I think we all have. We’ve all made mistakes, so it’s kind of unfair to decide everything was one person’s fault. Mm...I think I’d rather blame the circumstances than any particular person. If I tried to blame a person I would be here all day trying to decide who to ultimately blame!”

The pep in his voice surprised even him. Somehow, deciding to just not care about everyone’s mistakes freed him to focus on their positive qualities instead.

“So...instead of wasting energy trying to blame someone for all these awful things, I think I’ll just thank them for the good things they’ve done instead. So thank you for staying strong so long, Mercy. I get it if you can’t anymore right now--you were really amazing all this time! Oh, and thank you for helping treat our injuries...I think we’d be lost without your medical knowledge. Thank you for carrying people around for us when we needed you, and...you helped Levi in the trials a lot and brought up points we missed, so thank you for that too. And even though things are hard now, even though it might seem like you made things worse...it was just a series of bad events stacked together. Thank you for letting me try to save you anyways. And thank you for letting me use Eriko’s handbook!”

Yeah...I like “thank you” more than “I forgive you”.

“In any case...I’ll definitely make sure every one of us gets out of here. That means you too, even if I have to sedate you to protect you. I’ll make sure Faqir is alright...there might be a hangover cure downstairs. Until we can get out…”

I don’t want you to have time to try and think about anything other than what you’ve done right. So…

Madoka carefully inserted the needle into Mercy’s wrist, pressing down on the injector. His wrist felt oddly warm--Madoka was suddenly more aware than ever of the healing properties of his apatite bracelet. He took a deep breath, smiling a sincere smile at Mercy.

“Get some rest, alright? Thank you for everything you’ve done right, Mercy. I’ll get us out.”

---

Ha...ha. ...Haha.

I guess...I made Eriko smile...didn't I? I...

I'm...sorry.

---

H-haha...

H-hahahaha...!

Th-they're not gonna...I'm going to...!

"B-be right back."

Graham forced himself to his feet, sweating and shaking violently. Hardly able to keep himself upright, he stumbled off the mattress and in the general direction of the door, forcing himself to walk like a normal, perfectly fine person would. He gave a curt wave to Madoka before he swung open the door and nearly slammed it behind him, immediately sprinting to the nearest bathroom. He only got as far as the door before he fell against it, vomiting.

I can't. I can't. I can't!

Nightmares. The nightmares. It was like they were coming true. They were already ingrained into his skull along with all of the other executions, but waking up to Mercy bleeding out beside him, he really could just see her hanging from the ceiling, he could feel the horror, he could see Faqir's head roll away from his body, he could...

Graham let out another round of vomit, shaking and sweating even more.

C-can't get it out of my head. Can't get it out of my head. Can't get it out of my head.

He crumpled to his knees, leaning against the wall for support. It was too much. He couldn't take it. The feeling was back in his chest and it worse than it had ever been, suffocating him, pinching him, ruining his insides, making him feel like he was about to burst into thousands of bloody pieces.

He threw up again, coughing. Acid burned the inside of his mouth.

What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Why are you sitting here like a WIMP?!

It really is going to all come true if you don't find a way to MAN UP for once! You don't get a break, Graham! You get off your *ss and you do something for once in your life so that none of your friends have to suffer! You know, maybe it's you who deserves to suffer! Maybe you're not suffering enough already!

Clutching his stomach, Graham threw up again, gasping for breath between fits of vomit.

I-is that what you need to calm down?! To suffer?!

That was what he deserved for sitting around and taking a nap while everyone started breaking again. Of course the second he woke up it was to sobbing, yelling, bleeding--he vomited again, horrific sights from both real life and nightmares coming back--and breaking. Why did he think he ever could take a break? Why did he ever go to sleep? Why did he ever think about giving up when that was the absolute last thing he could do?

You idiot, failure, moron, liability, disappointment, weakling, crybaby, you can't do that.

Find whatever way works to clear your head and get back in the game. I'm so sick of you.

Graham.

Madoka thought back to his last conversation with Graham. They were both alone, weren't they? Now here was Mercy confirmed that she cared about Faqir and both of them shattering into pieces. No, not just them--how long had Graham been awake? Did he know about Levi and Fauss too?

There was nothing else urgent to be done. Madoka paused just long enough to get Eriko's handbook from Mercy's pocket before he raced out the door behind Graham, tracing the sounds of someone vomiting to the thief's form just outside the bathroom.

Two options weighed heavily on his mind--on the one hand, Graham had specifically requested hugs last time they spoke, right?

...On the other, Graham was currently vomiting and Madoka wasn't keen to get thrown up on.

In the end, his mind settled on a compromise. He slid to his knees near Graham, reaching out to hesitantly place a hand on his back. "Graham, I-I...I'm sorry, I promise everything is under control now...e-everyone is going to be okay, I-I just had to...I had to be make sure no one could hurt anyone but they'll be alright now...I-I'm so sorry..."

Ah...I'm doing this wrong, aren't I? Just stay calm, Madoka. Listen to what he says and see if you can do anything. Just watch and make sure he'll be alright...I don't think any conscious person should be alone right now. ...On that note, check on Fauss on your way back.

---

NO! No! No! Crap! Go away, Madoka, I'm fine!

He felt another surge of bile coming on, the panic in his chest growing worse and worse. Don't you dare comfort me! Don't you dare help me, Madoka! I don't deserve it! I-I can't take this! I'm really going to f*cking explode! Move out of the way so my guts don't get all over you!

More graphic thoughts meant more fits of vomit. He had nothing left in his stomach to cough up now--each fit grew more and more painful and acidic.

How do I make this stop?! How do I make this feeling go away?!

I---I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

Graham shivered violently, just barely holding back a scream. He couldn't do this in front of Madoka, not now. Somehow finding a pause between fits of puking to wipe the sweat from his brow. The inside of his mouth felt gross and his felt downright terrible--it was pounding and it wouldn't stop. He panted, digging his nails into his pant legs. Get it together! Stop this right now! I don't care how you feel or how much you 'can't take it anymore', you deserve everything you're feeling right now and more!

He forced a smile, wiping his mouth off with his sleeve. "I-I'm fine, Madoka, don't worry. Th-the blood...freaked...n-n..."

Why would you bring that up when you knew it was going to make you puke again?! D*mmit, Graham!

Recovering somewhat after yet another round of vomit, Graham fell against the wall, trying to take a breather. Don't make him worse. You better not make him worse. Get it together, and don't you dare start crying now. I will actually get a blade to cut you with.

...Ha.

Haha.

Would that work?

"C-can you...g-get water...?" Graham asked, raising his head to flash the lucky student a nervous smile. Take your time, Madoka. I need it. I think I know how to relax. "Feels like...m-my throat...is burning. H-haha."

Madoka couldn't explain it, but he had a gut feeling that leaving Graham alone would be disastrous.

Maybe it was the amount of people who had been ground to a pulp through the endeavor--leaving Levi alone resorted to his falling into self-harm again, Mercy nearly killed herself, Faussin fell into a psychotic breakdown, and Faqir got drunk and busted every bone in his body. What would Graham do?

Madoka wasn't sure, but he resolved himself not to find out.

"I'll go if you think you can come with me," he decided. "I...don't want anyone alone right now. I'm worried about what everyone will try to do when they're alone. When we're just one room away from escape, we can't...oh, that's right! Graham, we're almost free, you know...Eriko's room is the last place to explore. And I'm doing great right now, s-so don't worry about me at all! I'm just so excited to leave, and we're so incredibly close, so..."

We're close...I wonder how close Levi, Fauss, and Faqir are to killing themselves. Two of us have already come within an inch of their lives....twice, even. If they're all breaking, why...why should Graham be any different?

Of course...he's not okay. He's not okay at all. Madoka, don't let him do this alone...you can't leave Graham now. Not even for a second. Graham I'm sorry, but of all the things you've taken...I won't let you take your own life.

"Graham, I'm sorry, but...I just don't think it's a good idea to let anyone be conscious and by themselves right now." Madoka shifted, removing his hand from Graham's back. "It's not that I don't trust you!"

It's just that I definitely don't trust you.

"I would just rather be safe than sorry. And since I can definitely handle taking care of things, there's no need to be worried or scared...let's go get you some water together, okay?"

---

Graham felt his frustration and panic grow more and more uncontrollable.

Why? Why?! WHY?!

Leave me alone, Madoka!

Let me calm down, Madoka.

I-I can do this, I--I need this!

Leaning against the wall with one hand and clutching his stomach with the other, Graham took a few more moments to try and collect his strength. Each self-aimed insult, every cry for help, and every single pent-up thought he'd been having from the start of this entire killing game began to manifest in his core as an uncontrollable pit of despair, desperation, and frustration--he laughed to himself, then laughed harder, using the wall as support so he could stand.

"It's fine, Madoka. I'll just get some water for myself instead!"

Exploding. I-I knew it. I'm sorry you're going to have to pick up the pieces, Madoka.

"Can't you see that it's perfectly fine?"

He wiped more sweat from his forehead.

"Why are you worrying? Why be safe when you can be fine?!"

It's so simple.

"I'll be right back, Madoka. I don't know how long it'll take, but I'll be back, I promise," Graham assured. He offered Madoka a smile that was far too genuine and waved to him, walking off in the direction of the foot court so he could find a knife to snap himself out of his stupidity with.

He got the feeling Madoka was going to follow him, so he moved quickly--more quickly than he'd ever really moved in front of the others, he realized. I'm a thief. I'm quick. I'm smart. I wonder if they underestimate me sometimes? He would have full on sprinted, but his stomach was still a mess. He didn't want to have to stop on his way so that he could puke again.

Besides, Madoka would let him relax, wouldn't he?

I need this, Madoka. So don't worry.

Anxious to unwind the knot in his chest, Graham stepped into the grille and headed for the kitchen, looking around. There were plenty of knives there--very sharp ones, too. The sight was enough to make him throw up again. Suppressing another surge of bile, however, Graham warily moved toward the nearest collection of knives.

He took one into his hands, fingers trembling as he held it by the handle.

...Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. I-I...

...D-do it. Suck it up. O-of course you're going to bleed, what did you expect?

Swallowing, he aligned the edge of the blade with his skin.

I-I...I-I can't...! No! No! NO!

Nightmares, executions, and student deaths all rushing back to him, he screamed, jumping back and dropping the knife moments after it pierced his skin.

No...I can't even...why can't I...?!

Beyond frustrated with himself, he fell back into a nearby counter and slammed the palm of his hand onto its surface, letting out a full-on scream.

"WHAT DO I DO?!"

He slammed the back of his foot into the counter in frustration, then proceeded to spin around and kick it again with all of his might. The boy paused only to throw up again, spend a moment to recover, then storm off to start senselessly beating up the refrigerator.

"WHY. CAN'T. I. CALM. DOWN?!"

Graham threw a punch at the fridge and screamed out, both feeling and hearing his hand crack.

"No matter how hard I try!" Graham shouted. "No matter how much I tell myself I need to! No matter how much of--of this builds up inside me, I can't get it out, and it builds and builds and builds until I--I--!"

He cut off, leaning to the side to puke again. Panting, he slammed his non-injured hand against the side of the fridge, forehead soaked in sweat and skin already paler than usual. Coughing, he stopped himself from falling to his knees again, physically unable to get any more words out.

The thief slammed his fist in frustration again instead, knowing in his heart that if he'd been man enough to actually use the knife he'd come to get he wouldn't feel nearly as bad as he did now. The pain would've snapped you out of it, but you're too much of a wimp to actually use it. ...But maybe Madoka could?

Another trace of laughter seeping into his voice, he leaned against the refrigerator, eyes drifting to the knife he dropped on the floor. He couldn't look at it for long without triggering another round of vomit, so he averted his gaze to the ceiling, swallowing.

That's how I'll do it. That's how I'll relax. I'll ask Madoka!

We're friends, aren't we? H-hah! He'll have to say yes!

And...and if he doesn't...

Then I'll just puke and puke and puke until I can work up the nerve!

Everything will be fine!

After all his time spent with Levi, Madoka had gotten pretty good at picking up when someone was absolutely not "fine".

Shouting about being "fine" was probably the number one sign of absolutely not being fine.

Madoka took off after Graham immediately, rather quickly being left behind (of all the things Juri had passed on to him, how to run quickly was not one of them). He didn't know how frustration manifested in Graham's case, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Even if Madoka was the last man standing, he had to do everything in his power to make sure Graham was okay.

He finally found the thief in the grille, slumped against the refrigerator. Skidding, Madoka slid to a stop and hurried inside, desperately trying not to let his panic show in his face.

Come on, Madoka, come on, you can...

His eyes pinpointed a knife on the floor, far too close to Graham for Madoka's comfort.

...Please, Graham...not you too, I can't...I don't want us to fail here! We're too close!

Madoka swallowed, wracking his brain to find the best words to choose to try and talk Graham out of hurting himself. A drunk Faqir, a tied down Mercy, and an injured Levi are one thing...but I don't think I'm strong enough to sedate Graham. I have to think of something, but I...

The words stuck. Madoka swallowed again, trying to curb his shaking. What do I say? What do I do? I-I don't know, I don't...I don't know...

Madoka, you can't shut down now...I know things are hard, but we're too close! We're too close to give up!

Even with the attempted encouragements, Madoka found himself entirely unable to actually say anything. His first attempt to speak ended in a hoarse squeak.

Graham...I'm so sorry I let this happen...

---

Upon seeing Madoka enter, Graham felt himself sigh in relief--Yes! Okay. Come on, Madoka. Be my friend. Help me out in a time of need!

He coughed, still breathing heavily. Water. I would actually like some water, this is...burns...

Spitting the contents of his mouth out onto the floor, Graham took a deep breath and leaned his entire body weight onto the fridge for a moment, closing his eyes. Come on. Don't you want to be fine, Graham?

"M-M...Madoka. W-weird question, I know, but can you--I'm very stressed right now." He rubbed his eyes, laughing. "I-I think we all are, right? But I don't deal with stress well. And it's b-building, and building, and I just can't take it anymore! But I know how to make it go away. I just can't do it myself, because holding the knife just--just freaks me out. So...so..."

Trying not to look at it in fear of puking again, Graham gestured to the knife with his foot, eyes on Madoka. "...S-so can you be a pal and hold it for me? You're my friend, aren't you? You'll do it? If--if blood makes you queasy, it's fine, you don't even have to look, just--just hold the knife and I'll throw my arm against it and everything will be fine! Because that's what we need, right? Everyone's so broken and weak that w-we need to be fine! We need to be perfectly fine so that we can finally get out of here and breathe fresh air, and live, a-and...haha...h-haha! We're so close, Madoka! Wh-why am I doing this now?!"

Overcome by manic laughter, Graham slammed his now injured hand against the refrigerator again. "Why am I losing it now?! Why is everyone else breaking now?! I-I told Faqir I couldn't take it anymore, I told Faqir I could barely even stand, but I guess I should've known that I don't have a choice! Haha! Haha!"

"But it can all be fine, Madoka! I just need to snap myself out of my stupidity with some pain and blood and a blade, and that'll get me back in my right mind! S-so for our friends, please, just help me!"

The second the request first left Graham's mouth, Madoka began making his way across the room to stand in front of Graham.

The second Graham finished talking, the back of Madoka's hand whizzed across his cheek, sounding out a loud "slap".

Graham...if you want me to hurt you, I'm sorry. This much is all I'm willing to do.

Trying to keep the tears forming in his eyes from spilling, Madoka grabbed Graham's shoulders firmly, controlling his shaking as much as possible.

"I'm not going to help you hurt yourself like that!" Madoka shot out, trying to help Graham stay upright. "You're right, Graham, we are so close! So close to our families! So close to getting home to my sisters, to...to your dad! We have one room left before you can go home and see your dad again! If I have to do this alone it'll take me twice as long, so please...please, let's just get through that one final room so we can go home!"

We have to do this. Please, we need to go home...it's just Eriko's room, so please, let's just get out of here!

I...I miss my family! I want to go home!

I won't make you do it alone, but please...let's go home, Graham...

---

Go home.

I want so much to be able...to go home.

Again, the frustration built.

But I don't have the strength, Madoka. Don't...d-don't you get it? Don't you get it that I feel like I can hardly move a muscle? Graham sniffed, cheek stinging. That I feel like, even right now, I'm about to collapse? I...I-I...when I said I couldn't give any more strength, I really meant it. I can't. It's all gone. There's no bone inside me that feels like it can move.

The pain...the pain is supposed to help.

It's supposed to make the frustration go away. It's supposed to spur me into moving. It's supposed to help me ignore this feeling, but I can't do it, you won't do it, and...

I...I want to give up, Madoka.

But I can't, because if I give up, I never go home. Wh-what do I...

Graham rubbed his cheek, then his eyes, taking a deep breath. "O-one more room. Then we...home. Home. I-I can't...no more. Just home."

I-I need to move now. I need to get out now. I want out now!

He briefly hugged Madoka, then took the boy's wrist, leading him out the door and making a beeline for the stairs. It felt as though there weights attached to his ankles as he walked, dragging him down as the muddled mess of emotions in his chest nagged at him to give up completely. Moving was harder than it had ever been for the thief, but Madoka was right. They were so close to home.

One. More. Room.

"Y-you have her handbook, right?" Graham murmured, glancing back at Madoka. He wasn't sure whether or not his quick pace was too much for the lucky student, but if it was, he could always resort to carrying him. The faster the better. ...Then again, the thief was still considerably nauseous, so maybe that wasn't a good idea. "...C-can we bring a bucket? And w-water? I-I wasn't kidding about that, m-my mouth tastes nasty."

It occurred to him to apologize for being a general wimp, but he hardly even had the energy to do that. He could apologize once they were breathing fresh air and at home with their families already.

Beyond relieved, Madoka stumbled after Graham, trying his best to keep up with Graham. He pulled Eriko's handbook out of his pocket, clinging tightly to it.

"I have it," he offered. "And we can stop and get water and a bucket...s-should we pop into the market or do you think they might have something in the casino? To...hold chips or something? Maybe something in the bar..."

I don't think I want to go in either of those places right now.

Both of them were too connected to Eriko's death. Somehow, they were currently the last places Madoka wanted to be--the Market was best after all.

"We'll figure something out. Anyways, let's get back home!"

Together, the two boys grabbed a bucket and water for Graham before hurrying down to Eriko's room. Most of the sections had already been gone through and some of the papers seemed to be missing--Madoka pinpointed the section on Romano and began there.

By the time the two finished (complete with Madoka taking occasional trips upstairs to check on Fauss and make sure he wasn't hurting himself too much), approximately forty-five minutes had passed. For the final time, the loudspeakers flared to life:

"Congratulations, scrubs! You somehow managed to scrape yourselves off the floor and finish your final investigation! Whenever you're all up-and-at-'em, head to the trial room for your final trial! We'll see who gets to go home and who faces the final punishment. Upupupupupu!"

Final. The word was simultaneously terrifying and relieving. Madoka and Graham headed back upstairs to wait for the others to wake up--on the way, Madoka stopped to check on Faussin again and grab ice cream for the two. They chatted, ate ice cream, and treated all untreated injuries until the remaining members of the group (minus Faussin, who Madoka continued to check in on every once in a while) stirred--Faqir took slightly longer than the others, likely due to the combination of alcohol and sedatives in his bloodstream. (It was at this point Madoka finally consciously processed that Faqir had not been wearing a shirt this entire time. Madoka made him put one on again.)

Eager to get downstairs, the group began migrating.

First, Graham carried Mercy downstairs while Madoka piggybacked Faussin to the trial room (Faussin was somehow both heavier than he had expected and incredibly light--Madoka decided he could probably support the magician's weight in an emergency, but he likely wouldn't choose to carry Faussin if other methods were available). Levi awoke nearly catatonic, though by the time Madoka and Graham made it back up the stairs he and Faqir seemed to be more alert. Faqir paused to grab himself a bucket and some water, then offered an apology and used his pool stick to try and hobble back down the stairs while Madoka gently led Levi behind him. Halfway down, Faqir tripped down the stairs and Graham promptly decided to carry him the rest of the way. During the pause, Madoka ran upstairs to get rope before rejoining the others--they would need it.

Finally, they all reached the trial room. The emptiness of the elevator ride down and the room as a whole was just as terrifying as ever. Madoka promptly made rounds throughout the room, tying Mercy and Levi to their podiums just to be safe. He almost got Faussin as well, but Levi snapped to attention for the first time since awakening to insist that was a very bad idea; figuring Levi knew Faussin best, Madoka decided to trust him and leave the magician be.

As usual, Monokuma emerged from his place at the podium, staring out at the remaining students. His red eye was more menacing than ever, but Madoka resolved himself not to stare at it too much.

"...Well, well, well. Here we are, then!" Monokuma rubbed his paws together. "I see you've decided to make sure some of you can't reach the voting? Well, that's not fair! They should get to choose, right?"

"I'm sorry, but we've already decided we're all going to get out of here." The courage in Madoka's voice surprised him; grateful, he continued. "No matter what it takes, all of us are going to get out of here. You can go ahead and start the voting so we can let it time out and go home, please."

Faqir groaned, resting his forehead against his podium. "What he said. ...Can't believe I have to do this with a f*cking hangover. Whose idea was it to let me drink? Mine? Clearly I'm incapable of making good decisions."

Thankfully, Faqir seemed to be slightly more cheerful now...but the sheer despair he felt was also incredibly obvious through his lack of a single smile since waking up and general quietness (though that may have been in part due to the fact that he had been rather drunk mere hours ago). Madoka had almost tied him up too for good measure, but he decided against it when Faqir insisted on being alright enough to just get everyone out.

"That wouldn't be very fun..." Monokuma trailed off, tapping his paw on his chin. "How about this instead? I have all sorts of fun tidbits that I still have to share with you guys! Like how you got here, what's going on outside, what happened to your families..."

"We know what happened to our f*cking families. But hey, you're still gonna keep us here, aren't you? F*ck. I knew it wouldn't be this easy." Faqir muttered something, reaching to pick up and drink from a bottle of water Madoka and Graham had made him take along.

Madoka bit his lip. "It doesn't matter. None of that matters. We just want to go home, a-and you promised, so let us go home!"

"You wanna vote?" Monokuma activated the usual voting panels--familiar buttons popped out of everyone's podiums, though this time only the six survivors were left. "Go for it! I won't stop you!"

"We'll stop ourselves!" Madoka declared. "N-none of us are going to vote, so please, let us go!"

"Hmm..." Monokuma paused, considering. "Wellllll...that wouldn't be much fun! Besides, you ever notice there's no door in this place?"

No door?

Come to think of it...Madoka had never noticed a door leading outside. He'd always assumed it was just somewhere they hadn't looked, but...that didn't make sense.

There's...there's no door...?!

"F*ck, I hate it when you're right!" Faqir let out a hoarse laugh, wiping off his forehead on his sleeve. "Why not just vote everyone up then, right?! This whole escape was just a f*cking lie!"

"Stay calm!" Madoka insisted. "Monokuma, there has to be a way out or there wouldn't be a way in, so...so how do we get out?"

"Simple!" Monokuma puffed out his chest. "There's a button up in my office that opens the walls so you can get out. But only I have the key to that office, so we're not leaving 'til I say we're leaving! That said--"

"Monokuma."

It was only the second time Levi had spoken since waking up--his voice was still hoarse, quiet, and broken, but at the moment Madoka was just glad to hear him contribute.

"Speak up, sugar!" Monokuma sat back against his chair.

"Our Messiah."

Monokuma perked up slightly.

"You aren't the mastermind. You aren't our Junko. You didn't orchestrate this mass purge to cleanse the world." Levi licked his lips, eyes drained. "I want to see our sword of justice. Who is the mastermind? Who are you? I won't have this conversation with a robotic stand-in for our savior."

What is he talking about? What Messiah? Levi, you're really so much worse than I thought...

For a moment, Monokuma was quiet.

"...So you get it now? You really get it? You want to meet the genius behind all of this? Well, well, well! Sugar, you've got guts!"

"So you'll come out." There was an odd lack of inflection in Levi's voice--Madoka moved closer to him to touch his arm, concerned.

Again, Monokuma was quiet.

"...Well, it's the last time we'll meet so I guess it won't hurt. Besides, I have been wanting to meet you lost little lambs in person. Fine, then! I'll humor you 'cause I like your attitude, sugar."

Madoka's heart pounded in his chest. He gripped his stand, unsure of what to expect, what to feel, what to think...unsure of anything, really. He gripped Levi's sleeve, unreasonably anxious.

This is it. This is where we find out who's behind Monokuma. This is where we see who's been tormenting us. This is where we see who killed everyone. This is...

I...don't know if I'm ready...

The wall at the back of the trial room behind Monokuma slid open. From behind them, a figure emerged, slowly walking out into the light. It stopped just behind Monokuma, a head of perfectly groomed dark brown hair visible over the crest of the bear's head.

Madoka sucked in a breath and held it there, shaking.

I'm not ready at all. I-I'm not...

With a loud creak, the mastermind moved Monokuma aside...and for the first time, he made himself known to the group.

Their mastermind was tall, impeccably dressed in all white, and well-groomed. He had broad shoulders, hair combed neatly to one side, and long limbs. Slight wrinkles showed he was getting up there in age, though--Madoka estimated him at his early forties.

As he opened his mouth, a smooth, deep voice--completely opposite Monokuma's childlike cuteness--emerged.

"For your persistence, I award you your mastermind. I am Akuma Ouji, and I am on a quest to rid this world of scum just like you."

---

He...he's the one who...k-killed...

...everyone...

Wh-what am I...wh-what do I...feel?

The mastermind. The person behind Monokuma. The person convinced that everyone in that room deserved to die.

"Why?" Graham squeaked, speaking without thinking. Trembling and utterly terrified, the thief stepped backward as the mastermind, the serial murderer, the person behind it all, turned his eyes on Graham. Akuma. Th-that's his name. He has a name? He's human. He's here. He's...

"That's a question the lot of you seem to ask a lot," Akuma observed. "Why what, exactly?"

Why everything?

Graham could hardly speak. Even if he wanted to hear the answer, he couldn't get so much as another word out--the thief stood instead, a frozen, pathetic mess. He was both overcome with emotion and completely devoid of it at the sight of Akuma. More than anything, it was his brain trying to process that the person in front of them existed, that there was a person who'd actually done all of the horrible things he'd done and believed in it all. It was far easier for Graham to picture him as an evil, two-toned robotic bear rather than another human being.

"...I suppose I'll just assume if you can't find the words to speak just yet. Of all the things you're wondering, I'm sure the one weighing most on your mind is my motivation for all of this. And that is--"

"I don't want to hear a word about you," Mercy nearly spat. There had been a deadness in her eyes since the moment she woke up--but now, with it, there was a flicker of fury. "None of us do. None of us f*cking care. Get on with whatever you have left to torture us with so we can get through this trial and get out of here."

Akuma's expression spelled disapproval. "Someone as young as you shouldn't speak so crudely. No one should, for that matter."

"No one who calls themselves 'human' should orchestrate a killing game in which f*cking teenagers are forced to go at each other's throats to ever get a chance of seeing home again," Mercy snapped. She huffed, squirming against the ropes that held her to the podium and Graham watched, worried that she was going to disturb her injury.

"I'm more human than any one of you here," Akuma replied. The confidence with which he spoke was unnerving. "Did you not hear me when I said you were the scum of the Earth? This was necessary to--"

"I said we didn't care and I meant it," Mercy interrupted, hissing. She violently jerked against her binds and Graham flinched, wanting to shout at her to stop. "You're lucky I'm tied to this f*cking podium or I'd come over and take the keys to the manager's office right off your dead f*cking body!"