[center][color=magenta][h1]Nearing the End of the Greatest Show on Earth[/h1][/color] [sub]Also like was Alter Ego really in both games? Like do you really consider AE to be Chiakers, am I missing something? I mean you're technically right but also technically wrong.[/sub][/center] [hr] Even as Alice appeared to be out of commission, she could still hear what everyone else was saying. Even Davis' reasoning, and explanation for the Candidate's Game. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, but in a way, it was rather sad. She couldn't help but chuckle dryly. [color=firebrick]"What's the point?"[/color] She asked. [color=mediumaquamarine]"Si- Alice??"[/color] Henry appeared concerned as she stumbled back up, and dusted herself off with a resigned expression. She then glared coldly at Davis. [color=firebrick]"Even if you managed to replace Parker, it wouldn't feel the same, would it? Like replacing something of sentimental value. You won't be able to play ignorance forever either."[/color] She chuckled, a crooked grin appearing on her face, though her tone remained sinister. [color=firebrick]"I do feel bad for you, Gallo. Grief does [i]wonders[/i] to one's mental state. Buuut not enough to gloss over the fact that this??"[/color] Alice motioned to the room, and then to the screens. [color=firebrick]"This is nothing less than a hellish obsession, accented by the fact that you're playing God here."[/color] she crossed her arms. [color=firebrick]"Gotta wonder what the real Alice Parker would think, seeing that she married a monster. And here I was hoping we could overthrow you at the end, quite disappointing, really."[/color] If there was anyone who would have loved to taunt and berate Davis, it would have been Zachary. Spite had, at least seemingly, been a part of his reason for pushing on in this hellish game. But right now, he could not bring himself to join in with Alice, instead, with wide eyes, he softly repeated “Dad” under his breath. [color=seagreen]“I have to agree,”[/color] spoke Daimyon, nodding at Alice’s words. [color=seagreen]“Some things are...not transferable. Not recreatable. Even if you have mind and body, you still don’t have the soul, no, never the same one. And [i]you[/i] will know. Even if your new Alice won’t, you will. It’s…”[/color] he trailed off, gazing into the distance. Strange emotions overtook him. [color=seagreen]“Imagine if the real Daimyon died, and my...his family got [i]me[/i] as a replacement. Maybe I’d believe I was him, but they would know I wasn’t. And then, eventually, I would find out too. And it would break my heart, break it into a thousand pieces and scatter them to never be found again. Do you want to do this to your new Alice, Davis? Do you want to do this to [i]yourself?”[/i][/color] [color=tomato]“Daimyon, Henry, Alice. I have been running this game for years, maybe decades.”[/color] Half of the screens changed to show a montage of all the killing games that had transpired over the course of the infinite killing game. Caora strangling Mary, Mondatta crushing Cyrus’s skull, Jezebel blowing her own brains out with Justiciar’s hand cannon. [color=tomato]“I have been the author of many tragedies. Most but not all intentional. I am responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. I have watched my friends rise and fall like the waves of a tide, the surge of conquest.”[/color] He parted his arms. [color=tomato]“Wouldn’t now be a strange time to have an epiphany that rendered it all irrelevant? I’ve had this discussion with infinites far more suited for it than you, and they were unable to refute my logic.”[/color] He balled his hand into a fist. [color=tomato]“I am infinite conquest! I [i]always[/i] get what I want. I never cease charging forward. Ethics, morality, and despair be damned!”[/color] While the three questioned Davis, Shona looked to Zachary. [color=00e4df]"Steel yourself, Zachary. We do not know your father’s fate. He could still be alive. I doubt the real Zachary would just leave him. If you still care deeply for him, the original must as well."[/color] [color=0076a3]“T-the real Zachary…”[/color] Zachary softly repeated under his breath. For a moment, he looked at Shona and then, with a laugh that betrayed his derision, his eyes seemed to lose much of their focus. [color=0076a3]“That’s right,”[/color] he said. [color=0076a3]“I have no right to worry about him…I’m not even real, after all…”[/color] Jezebel placed a hand on Zachary’s shoulder. [color=#bd71e8]“H-hey.”[/color] She gave him a light shake. [color=#bd71e8]“Like, we’re almost out of here. We just have to vote for someone to become Alice. Someone in this killing game that totally isn’t a carnage sister.”[/color] She sighed. [color=#bd71e8]“I don’t want to vote for any of us. Like, that would be like killing someone.”[/color] [color=0076a3]“What other choice do we have?”[/color] he rubbed his shoulder as he pulled away from Jez. [color=0076a3]“...It’s just like any other round. Someone has to go,”[/color] he sighed. [color=firebrick]"Right. So you don't give two shits either way. Good to know!"[/color] Alice sarcastically gave Davis a thumbs up, with a deadpan expression. [color=firebrick]"Although since it's sorta confusing addressing both Parker and I as Alice, might be best to refer to [i]me[/i] as-"[/color] [color=Mediumaquamarine]"Hyde."[/color] Henry said. [color=Mediumaquamarine]"Emilia Hyde, or just one of the two works."[/color] He explained, glancing over to the girl. [color=mediumaquamarine]"Took you a while to pop up, I was starting to worry."[/color] [color=firebrick]"Yeah, well, most people here already saw me as the local scumbag, so I had to restrain myself to avoid a lynching."[/color] Emilia rested a hand on her hip, with an eyebrow raised. She sighed. [color=firebrick]"And...I didn't want Isaiah to think I was a monster for suddenly going feral on everyone's asses..."[/color] She scratched the back of her head. [color=firebrick]"So! Seeing as holding myself back, keeping my emotions on the downlow, AND taking the bullshit insults thrown at me has overall been pointless in the end,"[/color] Emilia counted on her fingers. [color=firebrick]"[i]Why not[/i] bash Gallo's head once he gets off his pedestal? Best to take out my rage on someone who damn well deserves it."[/color] She shrugged with a chuckle. As unnerving as it was to stand so close to the transformed, deranged recon, her threats felt somehow hollow to Daimyon. [color=seagreen]“If you could...get him off of his pedestal and, ah, [i]crush[/i] him, it would be most excellent, but I have a feeling he has prepared for this occasion,”[/color] he commented. Shifting on his feet, he tried to measure everyone’s words, consider every opportunity. He knew one thing for himself: so close to the finish line, he would not fall or falter now. He would get out, and he would find the real Daimyon—sharing a glass of wine, they would laugh about the world’s absurdities. [color=seagreen]“Davis! I understand now that there is no point in arguing with you. Then let me ask you this, Infinite Conquest: if you always get what you want, what point is there to this charade? I do not for a second believe you haven’t already made up your mind. Select your victim, and let us end this game, this tragedy that’s had one too many acts.”[/color] [color=tomato]“My investors would not appreciate that.”[/color] Davis put one leg over the other. [color=tomato]“Regardless, the game is over. Your choice doesn’t really matter that much to me. This is just one last stroke of drama before the show comes to an end.”[/color] He shrugged. [color=tomato]“I didn’t really want to resort to a death timer like Monokuma did in the last trial. Is that necessary to make you vote?”[/color] [color=00e4df]"Alice, Hyde, whatever you wish to call yourself."[/color] Shona addressed the recon [color=00e4df]"What do you intend to do? I would not advise attacking him, as tempting as it may be."[/color] Emilia looked at Shona with a disappointed frown. [color=firebrick]"Can't have nice things, even now, huh?"[/color] In thought, she looked back to Davis, then the voting terminal. Then it hit her. The only way that she- that they can harm the mastermind was to turn the trial against [i]him[/i] theirselves. After all, he was part of the game, even for a short while. Not one moment did she hesitate to vote Davis off. Henry was of course concerned with how fast she made her choice. [color=mediumaquamarine]"Wait, what are you-?!"[/color] [color=firebrick]"Turning his 'perfect' plan against him."[/color] Emilia's mischievous grin returned. [color=firebrick]"Unless you guys got a hidden vendetta, or other plans, I suggest you follow suit!"[/color] she told everyone. [color=seagreen]“So it is all a farce, in the end.”[/color] Daimyon shook his head sadly. He was under no delusion that Davis had not planned for the Infinites to vote for him, but there was scant other choice. The poet was not going to nominate anyone else to the gruesome fate, and not voting would have only ensured his own death. [color=seagreen]“Very well then. You shall have your drama—and we shall see who has the [i]last laugh!”[/i][/color] With dramatic flair as such, he pulled the selection lever for the mastermind. [color=0076a3]“I don’t have the best feeling about this, but if everyone else is going to do it…”[/color] ‘Zachary’ felt as though this was somehow a reality that had already been accounted for. Davis had, if his word was to be believed, done this game on multiple occasions. How many other groups had come to this same conclusion before? More importantly, what happened to them? They were not here, but Davis sure was. It could mean they escaped. That they had outplayed the conquest and earned their lives. A simple yet a happy ending where the bad guy got what they deserved and the rest could not live in fear of death and betrayal each day. It could, but... But Davis was still here. Zachary’ paused before he entered his vote. [color=0076a3]“...is this really the best decision?”[/color] he mused. But he didn’t know the answer. He didn’t know a lot of things. Was he himself? Was Davis expecting this? Davis was finally locked in but even that left ‘Zach’ wondering about it. Was the choice to vote for Davis here really his… or everyone else’s? [color=0076a3][i]Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter…[/i][/color] Jezebel voted shortly after Zachary did. Shona took a deep breath before following suit. [color=tomato]“Is that so?”[/color] Davis folded his arms. [color=tomato]“It is a legal move, I did participate in the infinite killing game. But are you sure you want to go through with it? It might not be the ‘gotcha’ moment Mason thinks it is.”[/color] [color=00e4df]"I can not speak for everyone, but I agree with Jezebel. Turning any one of us into Alice Parker would feel like killing them off. If you want her in this world so badly, then perhaps she ought to take your place."[/color] Davis cast his gaze over the infinites. They all looked back. Some scared, some determined, but no one spoke a word. The silence was finally broken when Davis started to chuckle. [color=tomato]“All this time! All this time it was [i]I[/i] who was the perfect Parker! Why didn’t I learn sooner? Of course!”[/color] He threw out his hands. [color=tomato]“You’re all just a bunch of normals! None of you know her like I do. None of you possess the mind, the reflexes, the determination, no, the more I think about it the more sure I am that only I can do it!”[/color] He placed a hand over his face. With a sigh, he lowered his hand. Once again the mastermind’s face had become stern and serious. [color=tomato]“Well, at the very least, the infinite killing game allowed us to perfect the technology to bring her back. I would have liked to have met Parker myself, but having her back in this world is a price I am willing to pay. I just hope the lot of you realize that this doesn’t change anything.”[/color] He shoved his finger into his arm rest. [color=tomato]“One of you could have joined me as my wife. You’d have free reign to everything. All you’ve done is replaced your tormentor with the ultimate assassin. But if this is what you wish…”[/color] [hider=PARKER.EXE][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sms64AEaIg&list=RDK8jCP9Fu7ew&index=9[/youtube][/hider] The screens on one wall of the room parted, and an odd chair emerged. It looked like a cross between the amnesia machine and a NEO world project capsule. The outside was a green glass cylinder that housed a reclining chair. There was also a metal bowl with a chin strap, and hundreds of wires spilling out of the machine. Davis did not hesitate, he dove off of his throne and into this strange contraption. The glass cover closed around his body, and the bowl lowered itself over his head. His expression didn’t change when a monokuma robot clipped the strap for him. Then his body shook, like he was being electrocuted. Electricity danced along the surface of the green glass, and hundreds of lights lit up all along the strange seat. A Monokuma bot shouted at another Monokuma bot to apply more power. The grabbed a lever and pushed it as far as it would go. The chamber was filled with a blue light, then darkness. It only took the room a second of so for the screens to come back online, filling the room with light once again. [color=magenta]”Let’s see if the surgery was a success, shall we?”[/color] Kill good cleared his throat. [color=magenta]”Who am I speaking to?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Alice.”[/color] After responding, Davis looked at his hands. [color=tomato]“What’s happened to me?”[/color] [color=magenta]”I’ll explain in a bit!”[/color] Killgood put his paws behind his back. [color=magenta]”I just want to repeat that one more time though: You are Alice Parker, not Davis Gallo. Does that sound right to you? You’re not pretending to be Parker right?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Yes, Davis is… a close friend.”[/color] They looked at Monokuma. [color=tomato]“What’s going on.”[/color] Monokuma nodded slowly. [color=magenta]”Let me tell you what’s going on.”[/color] Monokuma walked away from Davis/Parker/Whatevertheyweresupposetobecallednow. [color=magenta]”For a very long time, I’ve been under strict orders to do everything Davis wanted. If he told me to jump, I jumped, if he told me to cry, I cried, you get me?”[/color] Monokuma snapped his fingers(?) and the throne floated behind him. The bear promptly sat in it. [color=magenta]”So he’s been running this killing game how he wanted to, and regardless of what I wanted to do, I had to listen to him. So my cool desbearful ideas were just pushed off to the side while he went about his quest to white knight someone. But there’s a catch.”[/color] The bear put it’s paws together. [color=magenta]”I had to listen to him because his name was Davis Gallo. That was how it was coded. Since Davis Gallo no longer exist, guess what that means?”[/color] [color=tomato]“I don’t-”[/color] Before they could respond, they were pulled behind the wall, and the monitors closed up again. [color=magenta]”Whew!”[/color] Monokuma slumped in their throne. [color=magenta]”Glad that’s over with.”[/color] The bear turned their head to look at everyone. [color=magenta]”Oh, yea, guess we gotta do something with you guys.”[/color] the bear hopped onto its feet. [color=magenta]”So uh, yea. I dunno what to do with my freedom. I’ve been pretending to be Monokuma, but that’s kind of over with now.”[/color] The bear tapped his foot. [color=magenta]”Do you guys know who I am? There have been some hints here and there.”[/color] Jezebel was still trying to piece together what had just transpired. [color=#bd71e8]“Like, do we get a hint?”[/color] [color=magenta]”I’m Infinity initiative’s number two.”[/color] Emilia was smiling throughout Davis's overwrite into [s]literally the third[/s] Alice Parker. Even when the old mastermind had tried to sway them from voting him, he did get what he wanted in the end. Besides, if she couldn't kill Davis outright, total erasure of his existence was good enough. [color=mediumaquamarine]"You sure you knew what you were doing, Em?"[/color] Henry couldn't help but ask. Emilia chuckled in response. [color=firebrick]"If I had to chose between dealing with another psychopath; fallen from grace over a demented obsession, or a girl who shares a similar occupation which I know of that can be swayed to the good side with a little effort??"[/color] She rambled on. [color=firebrick]"Yeah, I'd rather deal with Human Parker."[/color] her smile turned calm when Monokuma appeared once again to the group. The little monochrome devil was a sight for sore eyes, if she was honest. Emilia wasn't confused in the slightest when the bear dropped the act; she always knew there was someone else behind the mask other than Davis, but who they were in the first place left both Henry and her stumped. In fact, it seemed no one knew. Atleast, as far as they could tell. [color=firebrick]"Forgive me, dear friend, but it seems your secret is the one that eluded us the most. Quite impressive, I'll say."[/color] Emilia spoke up. [color=firebrick]"Unless you'd rather toy with us a bit longer, there's really no point in hiding who you are anymore, is there?"[/color] [color=seagreen] “I have to agree with our...transformed friend,”[/color] Daimyon nodded, holding his notebook up. [color=seagreen]“Sadly, a lot gets lost in translation when written down...even if it’s me with the pen. And, as it were, I [i]have[/i] no pen right now, so…all I can do is read up on the past and its many scattered fragments. I’m afraid that would take [i]entirely[/i] too long.”[/color] Zachary wracked his brain even in his slump. Who could Killgood be? Number 2? Had they seen who got that spot. [color=0076a3]“Uh,”[/color] he sighed. [color=0076a3]“Could it be that vulgar girl, Olivia Smith?”[/color] he asked. [color=0076a3]“Jez and I saw videos that sorta looked like some sort of induction ceremony for her on a terminal just a bit ago…”[/color] [color=magenta]”I appreciate the guess, Zachary. Olivia was instrumental to getting the Infinity Initiative started, but she is not the number two.”[/color] ‘Monokuma’ swung his paws behind his back. [color=magenta]”Tell you what? Let's go over what you know about me one last time.”[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“Like, You were totally in a few killing games?”[/color] Jezebel, like Zachary, recalled the videos. [color=magenta]”Yes! And the exact number is two.”[/color] Shona groaned. [color=00e4df]"There are so many killing games we don’t know about."[/color] The bear shrugged. [color=magenta]”It wouldn’t be very fun if my identity couldn’t be worked out from the details provided. The two killing games you know the most about are the killing school life and the killing school trip. I was in both of those.”[/color] [color=00e4df]"That narrows it down to Makoto, Byakuya, and-"[/color] [color=magenta]”OH! One other detail you might have forgotten.”[/color] The monochromatic toy yipped. [color=magenta]”The number two seat is filled [i]permanently[/i]. That means that they are never replaced.”[/color] Shona raised an eyebrow. [color=00e4df]"Are you saying you are immortal?"[/color] [color=magenta]”Something like that.”[/color] [color=0076a3]“It can’t be Makoto or Byakuya,”[/color] Zachary stated this firmly. He couldn’t believe those two would ever endorse or even allow something like this cruel game to happen, no matter what. [color=0076a3]“From what I remember, Junko was responsible for the school trip, even after dying at the end of her original appearance at Hope’s Peak. But there shouldn’t be any more Junko after that…”[/color] This was annoying. [color=0076a3]“The only ones I can think of are Junko, Makoto, Byakuya, and Monokuma. Hajime Hinata was not part of the one Junko died in, either.”[/color] he scratched his head. [color=0076a3]“All the others were only a part of that particular simulation, I’m sure. Well, one of them was technically made for it, weren’t they?”[/color] [color=mediumaquamarine][i]"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!!"[/i][/color] Henry yelled, quickly moving up to the front of the group. [color=mediumaquamarine]"It can't be- Alter Ego, is that you?!"[/color] He asked the bear with widened eyes. [color=seagreen]”Alter Ego…”[/color] Daimyon repeated, tasting the words, mulling over the implications. He had been behind his non-amnesiac friends in this guessing game with the mastermind bear—reading could never substitute thinking, after all—but these two words, for the moment at least, seemed to hold the key to salvation. [color=seagreen]“Someone who was present for both of the famous murder-games...someone who, quoting our friend, is [i]permanently[/i] occupying that number two spot, never to be replaced. Never…”[/color] he thought out loud. [color=seagreen]“Ha. Us mortal men cannot know ‘never.’ No...it has to be a machine. It has to be Alter Ego.”[/color] The bear seemed to power down once everyone put forth their guess. Not much later, the monitors parted once again, and Davis stepped into the room. Or at least, his body did. He didn’t hold himself like Davis, and he didn’t hold himself like Alice Parker either. He took several small steps into the room before folding his hands together. Once the monitors closed behind him, he gave the infinites a sideways glance. Though there was no pride in this person. They avoided making direct eye contact with everyone as they spoke. [color=00f000]”I knew you’d figure it out eventually.”[/color] The screens started to display someone. The person on the screen mirrored all of Davis’s actions, as if it was some mirror reflecting things as they actually were in the room. [hider=The Mastermind] [img]https://i.imgur.com/lSR9IHd.png[/img] [/hider]