Murder Game IV: Monokuma Rising

[Atomyk]

"If you please." He replied. "I am on the cusp of greatness after all. Before I go however as I said inside the machine, it was a pleasure, but let's never speak of this again."

@Atomyk

Makoto stares for a moment, but eventually smiles. "Right. It's a deal." You'll have to wait until everyone who wants to go home can be shuttled off together, but Makoto will make sure you get to your correct destination. He'll also put in a word to make sure you're never contacted by a Coalition agent ever again. You could always change your mind in the future, he'll later tell you.

@Jeremi

 

[Atomyk]

Jennifer - Coalition HQ - Ruby

Whatever your plans, Jennifer manages to catch you right after the debriefing. She gives a small smile, reminding you of the nine year old girl you saw her as not so long ago. "I'm glad you and your sister made it out all right," she says. "I was talking to Makoto about some of the data recovered from the simulation and, well..." Jennifer places her hands on her hips and gives you a confused look. "Does 'orange juice ice cream' mean anything to you?"

@york

 

[York]

Continued from here.

EPILOGUE
"Still Breathing"

Now that everyone has voted to spare Jennifer, Monokuma sighs. The light around him begins to grow. "Blame the dumb original programming, but this means I have to tell the lot of you that you passed the test. Congratulations, you're full-fledged coalition members!" Monokuma gets a few blank stares at this and he rules his eyes, "It's a part of the rules, you thickos! Whatever, I'm sure you are all aware that this particular training montage has failed spectacularly."

The bear salutes, disappearing with the shimmering light. The puppet Wendy follows him soon after.

"Everyone, I never got to properly introduce myself. My name is Makoto Naegi. I'd love to talk and explain a few things, but the program is about to shut itself down now that you've won. We'll see you on the other side." Makoto and Darth Rex disappear in a flash of white light, and soon the rest of you start following suit. You feel your bodies being lifted up into the sky and taken into a warm embrace. You feel different sensation caress you-- hot, cold, rough, smooth. Soon, eventually, it feels like you're waking up from a deep sleep. A glass panel above you flips open, and light stabs at your eyes. Someone pulls you out and supports you for a moment until you can get your balance. Thankfully, you don't really need it.

You were only in the machine for three days.

Still with such an ordeal behind you, you all find yourselves in a whirlwind of concern as people in suits touch and prod at you. Some of you are desperate to leave as soon as possible, but unfortunately you seem to be trapped once again by these people. They provide you showers, feed you, though give you as little information as possible while they do so. They at least tell you that you're at the Coalition HQ, wherever that is. You soon learn that not all of you made it out of the machine. Complications from the virus made some of you unrecoverable, even after the scenario was declared cleared. The majority of you made it out, though. A small glimmer of hope, that.

None of you see Jennifer for a while. Some of you probably suspect she was taken away for harboring the virus, despite everything you were told inside the machine. This doesn't seem to be the case however, as when all of you are brought before Makoto Naegi once again, Jennifer is standing beside him, looking noticeably not like a demon of any sort.

"First of all," Makoto says. "I need everyone to hold off on their questions until I've said what I have to say. I'm sorry we've had to be so vague with you since you woke up and I deeply regret the pain you've all been put through, largely because of our own incompetence. How a virus got into our program is something we're still figuring out, but thankfully we got the majority of you out alive." He looks to Jennifer. "And without harboring any demons, I might add." He pauses now, his gaze rolling over each of you. All of you so different and unique. "Whether by necessity or coincidence, you all were potential recruits before you went into the program. Though your memories of that time have been erased, we still consider you all as such. Some of you may get those memories back, some of you may never, but you'll never lose the memories you gained inside the simulation."

A knowing smile passes by his lips. "Considering what you've been through, we're offering you all a variety of choices. You've all passed the test, even if it became something it wasn't supposed to. You may all join the coalition between the Future Foundation and GORE and join in our fight if you so desire. That option will always be available to you. Of course, I would understand if you've had enough with all this, and you may leave right now if you wish. We can return you to your worlds at the exact same time and place you left it, though keep in mind that may not coincide exactly with your missing memories."

"And finally, if neither of those interest you, you can go anywhere you want. We have that power here. We can take you to whatever world and to whatever universe you so desire."

With that, Makoto shrugs his shoulders. "Any questions?"

---

???
"Out of Breath"

You've all left, but the program still lingers. From the edges of the simulation, from the data buried deep in the system... an entity emerges. It appears as a shadow that moves across the court room, bathing the room in darkness. Two students never made it out-- The Noob and The Engineer. After you all won and left, these two turned oddly quiet, their faces turning to blank expressions. Their bodies went slack, their weaponry falling from their hands.

The shadow passes over them-- They begin to move. The Ultimate Suckage, quite an odd pair to be sure. Who would ever consider them as recruits? Of course, they never were. The virus that had infected the system had taken the form of an unlikely pair.

The two 'Battlefield Friends' slide together, their bodies turning into tiny particles. The small lights dance around each other before soon converging together, forming a new entity entirely--

Who knows why he's having a selfie moment. Perhaps he's just feeling good about the latest developments. On his face forms a sly smile.

"The plan is working," he says to no one in particular. Hell, maybe he's saying it you, reader. "Manipulating the system... it couldn't have gone better. No-- more than that. It all went perfectly."

Then, he simply vanishes, and the program shuts down soon after.

...

...

---

NOTE: I've given you guys a lot of freedom when it comes to your epilogue! First off, you can have your characters remember the memories that they lost, and said memories can be whatever you want them to be. So, if you want to say you and a rugged pirate got it on in the missing time, go for it! As for the future, your characters can choose to become members of the coalition and fight against the demon threat, or they can just choose to go home! Feel free to have them vacation in new worlds if you want, or even have two people go home together! Hell, you could have your guys stay at the HQ and not actually participate in the war if you so desire. It's entirely up to you!

While this is the epilogue chapter, feel free to continue RPing at the HQ for a time if you want to do some set-up for a particular epilogue.​

Jennifer - Coalition HQ - Ruby

Whatever your plans, Jennifer manages to catch you right after the debriefing. She gives a small smile, reminding you of the nine year old girl you saw her as not so long ago. "I'm glad you and your sister made it out all right," she says. "I was talking to Makoto about some of the data recovered from the simulation and, well..." Jennifer places her hands on her hips and gives you a confused look. "Does 'orange juice ice cream' mean anything to you?"

@york

This surprised Ruby, but the look on her face turned from surprise turned to pure glee as she gasped in excitement "Yes! Yes it does! I remember I wanted to try some, it sounds... Delicious!" she said, talking faster and faster. Eventually she had to stop and take a deep breath before calming down and looking a bit embarrassed "Er... I'm Happy you made it out too Jennifer." she said a bit awkwardly, thankfully remembering to be polite despite still seeming rather energetic again upon hearing all that about Orange Juice ice cream.

 

[Atomyk]

Jennifer - Coalition HQ - Ruby

She can't help it-- she laughs. She doesn't mind that you forget to say it at first. "I'm not sure I've even heard of that kind of ice cream existing, but... You know, we could probably recreate it with the data we recovered." That you could also probably recreate it using some recipe on the internet doesn't seem to matter here. It wouldn't be the same, would it? "Me, you, Yang... I want to enjoy an ice cream with you both, at least before you leave. I mean, if you do plan to leave. I guess I'm not sure what you plan to do."

@york

 

[Mari]

The Epilogue:

"Bugger," Bayonetta said to herself.

She was looking forward to unleashing accumulated witch powers on the bear, Monokuma himself.

"No time for pillow talk!"

She thought back to the Engineer and Noob. She felt strongly, at later stages, that they were too intertwined with the world they were all brought to. As it turned out she was right.

Then, her thoughts turned to immediate needs... or, an immediate desire.

"Makoto, is it?" she said while approaching the person who had briefed them on the situation.

"Might there be a pub or bar here where I could have a drink?"

@Atomyk

 

[Akibahara]

Epilogue: The Battlefield Friends/Akibahara​

​

Akibahara sat upon his throne, a little irked at G.O.R.E.'s latest stunt.​

​

"It's funny, isn't it?" He said to PL4-GU3 or 'The Plague.'

The 'Aki-verse' was a pocket dimension consisting of a red nebula, caught in mid-detonation, suspended betwixt space and time, the cool interstellar winds buffeting the Arch-Demon's oriential-esque features. A sea of onyx stone twirled around aimlessly in space, orbiting Akibahara as he idly tapped his fingers upon his celestial throne – forged straight from a dying Red Star.

"... The acronym 'gore.' I've always discovered such a title humorous, yet so deliciously ironic considering their 'ultimate goal' of, ah, what do they call it again? Freedom? Such an alien and pitiful concept conjured by mere mortals." A pause, "Mm, not too bright, are they?"

The Plague, an android adorned in a silky red robe, coupled with a cast-iron cane and metallic beak took in readings over G.O.R.E.'s recent A.I program: Murder_IV_Monokuma_Rising.exe – so intricately developed, perfectly designed to prepare the rebellion for a Multiversal uprising, yet so foolish enough to implement embarrassingly weak firewalls. If PL4 could grin across that metallic beak of his, he would.

No matter, his Master would end everything oh-so-swiftly...
​

Soon.​

The Arch-Demon grinned, "Yes. It's almost time."

A blood-curdling roar erupted from his throat, a scream of power, anger, invincibility, the cry of a god! His skin peeled away, muscle and sinew bursting and expanding, giving way to tough, ebony reptilian scales, darker than black, "GRAAWGH!" A pair of massive wings tore from his spine, spread wide as arcs of electricity and the air shimmering around its body, his colossal size overshadowing the tiny throne he sat upon...
​

One more Murder Game left...

One to end it all...

The Tesla-Arc, his unlimited source of power fueling the Arch-Demon, powered on, illuminating the environment in a bright blue hue. It portrayed something: A man! Akibahara peered forward, his beady red eyes witnessing the final sacrifice to finally awaken and deliver himself to conquer the realms... it brought a smile to his lips, "Yes."

-----------------

CUT TO-

​

A man, his face covered in cuts and bruises, a bullet hole lodged deep within his sternum. His vision blackens as he presses his back against an unknown cave. The final traitor was on his way... now. Samwise Gamgee, the final innocent surviving his cast list, managed to survive until the dark, dismal end. ​

His shadow over looms the dying hobbit...

"B-but Mr. DeWitt, we were friends!"

A soft 'click' erupts from his 20th​ Century era revolver...

"Sorry pal, it's just business."

Boom.

The shot heard around the Multiverse rang, and the end began...​

 

[Atomyk]

"Makoto, is it?" she said while approaching the person who had briefed them on the situation.

"Might there be a pub or bar here where I could have a drink?"

He's a little surprised at your question at first, staring a bit dumbly your way. Eventually, he smiles and nods. "There is! The selection is quite exotic, considering our resources." He crosses his arms. "But a bar on a multiversal HQ or not, you'll still need valid ID."

@Mari

 

[Ryu Keiko]

Leia was overjoyed to learn that she wasn't just a bunch of data inside the simulation. As it turned out, she was a media specialist for the Coalition, tasked with the heavy job of reducing Akibahara's influence in ways outside of fighting. Her memories of this job were largely replaced, of course, with the fake memories of the simulation. They said that in time she would recover, but Leia was far from sure what she'd do in the meantime.

Sadly, her supposed 'rival' was never her rival at all. Both Frank West and Nick Ramos were indeed fake people made specifically for the simulation. She felt a connection to Frank, however, even if he was never real. It took a lot of schmoozing and about a thousand safety checks, but Leia eventually came up with a way to make herself feel better. Eventually, she found Axel.

"Hey!" she says, trying to be casual. We did not just go through a whole bunch of murder and stuff! Nope! No way! "Before you did... whatever, I wanted to give you this." She hands Axel a small chip and a belt. "Just put the chip in and turn it on, okay? I think you'll find it really cool!"

@Ryu Keiko​

Axel looked at Leia, trying to remember who she was before he smiled. "Oh you are that girl, Leia right?" he asked smiling as he tapped his head. "See, I always have the names memorized~" He said, grinning. He noted how happy she seemed, but didn't make much of it, considering for all he knew, she could always be this damn chipper. He took the belt and small chip and held it in his hands, wondering what it was. "Wait... What does it do?" he asked, knowing damn well she wouldn't tell and he would have to figure it out on his own.

@Atomyk

 

[Atomyk]

Axel looked at Leia, trying to remember who she was before he smiled. "Oh you are that girl, Leia right?" he asked smiling as he tapped his head. "See, I always have the names memorized~" He said, grinning. He noted how happy she seemed, but didn't make much of it, considering for all he knew, she could always be this damn chipper. He took the belt and small chip and held it in his hands, wondering what it was. "Wait... What does it do?" he asked, knowing damn well she wouldn't tell and he would have to figure it out on his own.

She grins. You've guessed right; Leia would rather you found out on your own. "Just try it! It won't hurt you, I promise."

@Ryu Keiko

 

[Ryu Keiko]

She grins. You've guessed right; Leia would rather you found out on your own. "Just try it! It won't hurt you, I promise."

@Ryu Keiko

Axel blinked and shrugged as he fitted the belt around his waist and looked at Leia, still wondering as he search for the slot the chip was supposed to go in. After a few moments, he found the right area and slide the chip right inside and powered the belt on. He awaited, really hoping he didn't explode or anything crazy...

@Atomyk

 

[Mari]

He's a little surprised at your question at first, staring a bit dumbly your way. Eventually, he smiles and nods. "There is! The selection is quite exotic, considering our resources." He crosses his arms. "But a bar on a multiversal HQ or not, you'll still need valid ID."

@Mari

"Bugger!" Bayonetta exclaimed. One thing she never had to carry in her life was ID.

"Never mind then," she continued, "I guess I do look far younger than my age, after all."

 

[Atomyk]

Axel blinked and shrugged as he fitted the belt around his waist and looked at Leia, still wondering as he search for the slot the chip was supposed to go in. After a few moments, he found the right area and slide the chip right inside and powered the belt on. He awaited, really hoping he didn't explode or anything crazy...

It looks so tacky, Leia realizes. She frowns at the design of the belt, considering apologizing for the look. Before she can, you've turned on the device, causing a light on the side to flash. It begins projecting something-- no, someone. Looking like a holographic image at first, Frank West stands before you. Eventually, his color returns, and he soon looks like a regular person. "Hey, buddy," he says, gripping at his usual camera. He snaps a photo of you, even though it's doubtful he'll ever get that developed.

Leia practically squeals in excitement. "I managed to save him before they locked down the program!" She points to your belt. "There are other devices, but I thought a belt would fit you best. I'm not sure now..."

@Ryu Keiko

 

[Atomyk]

"Bugger!" Bayonetta exclaimed. One thing she never had to carry in her life was ID.

"Never mind then," she continued, "I guess I do look far younger than my age, after all."

Makoto considers this. "How old are you?" Poor Makoto isn't aware enough to determine if that was a taboo question or not.

@Mari

 

[Ryu Keiko]

It looks so tacky, Leia realizes. She frowns at the design of the belt, considering apologizing for the look. Before she can, you've turned on the device, causing a light on the side to flash. It begins projecting something-- no, someone. Looking like a holographic image at first, Frank West stands before you. Eventually, his color returns, and he soon looks like a regular person. "Hey, buddy," he says, gripping at his usual camera. He snaps a photo of you, even though it's doubtful he'll ever get that developed.

Leia practically squeals in excitement. "I managed to save him before they locked down the program!" She points to your belt. "There are other devices, but I thought a belt would fit you best. I'm not sure now..."

@Ryu Keiko

Axel blinked and had a small blush on his face as he just suddenly burst out laughing, though slight tears formed in his eyes. "Oh god, this is great~!" He laughed as he looked at Leia. "I thought maye Frank had been killed or something.... But now..." He stopped and looked over at Frank and smiled. "Thank you, again." he said softly.

@Atomyk

 

[Atomyk]

Leia holds up a finger! "One more thing!" She reaches down without much regard for your personal space and presses a second button. Another hologram appears, this one being your friend Roxas, or at least the one that was created inside the simulation.

"Axel." He smiles. "I told you I'd see you on the other side."

Frank nods and places a hand on Roxas' shoulder. "Glad to have you around!"

@Ryu Keiko

 

[Mari]

Makoto considers this. "How old are you?" Poor Makoto isn't aware enough to determine if that was a taboo question or not.

@Mari

"My dear," Bayonetta replied, "I'm just over 603 years old."

"I guess I'm slightly above the minimum age, aren't I?"

@Atomyk

 

[Ryu Keiko]

Leia holds up a finger! "One more thing!" She reaches down without much regard for your personal space and presses a second button. Another hologram appears, this one being your friend Roxas, or at least the one that was created inside the simulation.

"Axel." He smiles. "I told you I'd see you on the other side."

Frank nods and places a hand on Roxas' shoulder. "Glad to have you around!"

@Ryu Keiko

Axel covered his eyes when he saw Roxas appear and smiled and just laughed more. "This...." he stopped midsentence as he almost choked before clearing his throat to speak again, "This is the best thing anyone has given me..." He said softly as he removed his hands from his face, revealing a genuine smile. "Thank you Leia... Really..." he said.

@Atomyk

 

[Atomyk]

"I guess I'm slightly above the minimum age, aren't I?"

You see the utter confusion that passes over his face in the moment he thinks you're joking. An agent of the Coalition or not, Makoto hasn't been to too many worlds outside his own. He eventually comes to terms with the idea, remembering that he once met someone who was little more than a gaseous cloud. "Well above the age, in just about any world, I think." He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out an ID card-- it's a simple design, with Makoto's mugshot and a few key details about himself. "It's my Coalition ID. The Future Foundation ones are bit more flashy, but GORE is a lot more secretive."

He puts it back and nods down the hall. "We could get you one. You're a totally valid member, now after all."

@Mari

 

[Atomyk]

Axel covered his eyes when he saw Roxas appear and smiled and just laughed more. "This...." he stopped midsentence as he almost choked before clearing his throat to speak again, "This is the best thing anyone has given me..." He said softly as he removed his hands from his face, revealing a genuine smile. "Thank you Leia... Really..." he said.

She smiles and nods, at a loss for words at your honest display of emotion.

"We're top secret data, so they say," says Frank. "They've got to keep us here. I hear work as an A.I. can open up so many doors for you."

"But," Roxas says. "Just because we're stored here, doesn't mean you can't talk to us whenever you want. No matter what world, no matter what universe, you can reach us. I'll help you find the flesh and blood Roxas, no matter what." He was going to say 'real', but even he doesn't seem to care about that right now.

Leia claps her hands together. "I'm just glad some good could come of all this, you know?"

@Ryu Keiko

 

[Mari]

You see the utter confusion that passes over his face in the moment he thinks you're joking. An agent of the Coalition or not, Makoto hasn't been to too many worlds outside his own. He eventually comes to terms with the idea, remembering that he once met someone who was little more than a gaseous cloud. "Well above the age, in just about any world, I think." He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out an ID card-- it's a simple design, with Makoto's mugshot and a few key details about himself. "It's my Coalition ID. The Future Foundation ones are bit more flashy, but GORE is a lot more secretive."

He puts it back and nods down the hall. "We could get you one. You're a totally valid member, now after all."

@Mari

"Only if it's not too much trouble, my dear" Bayonetta apologetically replied.

Getting a drink meant she had to get an ID, which meant travel down the hall. It sounded like another chapter in Bayonetta's adventures!

The words from Makoto about the coalition, though, rang in her head. She heard it earlier, but hearing it again made her more aware of it.

"So I'm now part of some coalition now?" she asked herself softly as she walked down the hall...