Danganronpa: Anachronism - Day 28
[KENNY]: … We’re leaving.
[KENNY]: We’re going to get out of here. We’re getting out of here!
[For the first time, KENNY laughs with genuine happiness.]
[KENNY]: Oh my god. I literally can’t believe it.
[JAIME wants to tell him not to get overexcited, but in truth, he’s overexcited himself.]
[JAIME]: Do you know yet?
[JAIME]: … That I’m in love with you?
[JAIME]: I--I know you don’t like me back. Fuck, you probably hate me now. But, I mean, since we’re leaving and we’ll probably never see each other again… I guess there’s no point not telling you.
[JAIME]: Sorry. I know you’re pissed.
[KENNY’s voice breaks. He pulls JAIME into his arms.]
[KENNY]: I love you. I’m sorry.
[The alarm rings out again. One final time, the students drag themselves down to the auditorium.]
[XAVIER]: Man, I always forget how bad these get.
[KENNY]: That makes one of us.
[KENNY]: I think I’ll always remember these.
[FOX]: I just wanna say I’m sorry. For everything. For screwing you all over.
[ELLIE]: It’s not your fault, Fox. It really isn’t.
[FOX]: But it is. I was the one who brought your files in. I could’ve saved you.
[ELLIE]: Well… I think Nadia would call that something like… acting under duress, y’know? You didn’t wanna do it, but they made you.
[FOX]: I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know what I was doing. And it’s not like I really hated it. I guess… in a lot of ways, some sick parts of me like that you’re miserable right now. And that makes me a bad person.
[DAISY]: You’re one to talk.
[XAVIER]: None of us are. You’re a thief and a drug addict. Maia lied in a criminal trial. Kenny hates us.
[KENNY]: I don’t--[sighs]
[XAVIER]: Jaime’s obsessed and losing his marbles. Ellie… is fine, actually.
[XAVIER]: … And I’m me. We all suck.
[XAVIER]: My point is, it doesn’t matter if we’re good or bad anymore. What matters is that we’re making it. Somehow.
[KENNY]: I’m not used to you being nice. This is weird.
[DAISY]: And where’s the dog?
[As if on cue, MONODOODLE takes her place at the microphone.]
[MONODOODLE]: Hell-lo, students!
[DAISY]: Oh, mother fucker.
[MONODOODLE]: So. Motive time already again, huh? Oh, how the time flies!
[MONODOODLE pries a timepiece off her shoulder with her mouth and tosses it into the air. She gives a robotic laugh. The students flinch away. None laugh.]
[MONODOODLE]: … Seriously? No points for effort?
[DAISY]: Get to the point.
[MONODOODLE]: You’re not even laughing right now? Daisy, I thought you liked me.
[MONODOODLE]: U--um… anyway! You guys remember the morning games?
[DAISY]: No. N--no… you can’t… [She laughs.]
[MONODOODLE]: Well… they were--
[DAISY]: I know what they are! You can’t bring them back!
[DAISY]: You can’t keep hurting us like this, god dammit! I hate you!
[XAVIER]: … Daise, maybe you should go lie down for a second.
[DAISY]: Mmmm…. I’m fine. I’m totally fine.
[KENNY]: You’re not fine. Go lie down.
[MAIA]: C’mon. I’ll take you back.
[MAIA puts her arm around DAISY and leads her away.]
[MAIA]: C’mon. We can do it.
[XAVIER opens the freezer door. He’s not especially hungry, but DAISY needs to get something, doesn’t she?]
[He steps further in. The door shuts behind him. Christ, this freezer is creepy. It’s way too big for the remaining seven people. And it’s cold. He wraps his arms around himself, goosebumps bristling against his skin. Maybe he can find some fruit in here or something. He can’t cook, but he can cut fruit.]
[XAVIER]: ‘Yello? Anyone in here?
[XAVIER]: Of course there’s not. What the fuck? Am I crazy?
[Footsteps. XAVIER freezes.]
[XAVIER]: The fuck was that?
[XAVIER tries to open the door. It doesn’t move.]
[The alarm sounds again. The group shuffles into the auditorium--there is still a circle of 16 desks. Most of them are empty. It’s depressing.]
[KENNY]: … Feeling better, Daisy?
[DAISY]: I’m sorry I freaked out.
[ELLIE]: We all freaked out.
[MAIA]: Where the Hell is Xavier?
[MONODOODLE]: Well, we can’t start the game until he’s here!
[KENNY]: I’ll go find him.
[XAVIER is freezing to death.]
[He’s weighed his odds. He figured it out. Someone locked him in the freezer to die. Someone isn’t going along with their plan.]
[He figured it would be him who screwed things up. How--]
[Someone’s banging on the door.]
[KENNY]: Xavier?! Xavier, are you in there?!
[The door swings open. KENNY runs in and helps XAVIER up.]
[KENNY]: What the fuck?! Why are you in here?!
[XAVIER]: … I was trying to get something for Daisy.
[KENNY]: You could’ve died!
[XAVIER]: I know I could’ve died! I almost did!
[KENNY]: That still doesn’t answer my question. Why was the door closed?
[XAVIER]: I don’t know. Someone locked it on me.
[KENNY]: Someone did fucking what?!
[XAVIER]: I don’t know who it was! Someone came up and locked the door.
[KENNY]: Well, come on. The game’s about to start. We need to get you warmed up.
[XAVIER]: Yippee. Another stay in the medbay. Lucky me.
[KENNY]: I’m just getting you a jacket. And a blanket. You’re cold and it’s chilly out there.
- [TW: discussion of mental health conditions, discussion of abuse, depiction of violence, depiction of spiders, consumption of non-consumable things.]
[KENNY returns to the auditorium with XAVIER, holding a cup of coffee. MAIA stifles a gasp--he’s wearing one of EVAN’s hockey sweaters and wrapped in a blanket from RYAN’s room. It hangs off his wiry frame like a curtain, obviously meant for someone much larger-bodied than him. She refuses to look at him from then on.]
[DAISY]: … Xavier, what happened?
[XAVIER glares at each student separately. KENNY hands him the coffee and he takes an angry sip.]
[XAVIER]: One of you shitheads locked me in the freezer.
[Gasping. MONODOODLE wanders into the center.]
[MONODOODLE]: Hell-o students! Today you’ll be playing a little game I’ve called Fear Factor.
[KENNY]: Isn’t that just a reality show?
[MONODOODLE]: Nuh-uh! Not like this it isn’t!
[KENNY]: … okay. Not gonna ask.
[MONODOODLE]: You have each had two challenges or punishments tailored to your own personal fears and phobias. You must either take that or have a claim read out from a deceased student’s profile.
[MONODOODLE]: Fun, right?
[MONODOODLE]: You guys are boring.
[MONODOODLE]: Can’t we just start?
[MONODOODLE]: Round one. Xavier Hassan, please step forward.
[XAVIER steps up to the centre of the circle.]
[MONODOODLE]: You may either choose to have your face submerged in freezing water for thirty seconds, or have a claim read out from Kathleen Suzuki’s student profile.
[XAVIER]: I… I’ll pick the water.
[KENNY]: He’s hypothermic! You can’t do that!
[MONODOODLE]: Alrighty then. Xavier Hassan, please take item number two from under the table.
[With a grunt, XAVIER pulls a tub of water out from under the table.]
[MONODOODLE]: A student aggressor is being selected.
[XAVIER]: [Sighs] Can’t I just do this myself?
[MONODOODLE]: No. James Halley, please step forward.
[With a sigh, JAIME steps up to the centre of the circle.]
[XAVIER]: Why are you apologizing?
[JAIME doesn’t reply. XAVIER kneels down on the floor in front of the water tub.]
[XAVIER]: There. Now hit me.
[JAIME]: I’m… sorry in advance.
[JAIME lowers XAVIER’s head into the water and starts counting down. Immediately, goosebumps start to ripple across his skin. Bubbles.]
[DAISY]: … Kenny, thirty seconds shouldn’t be fatal, right?
[KENNY]: I don’t think so.
[DAISY]: You don’t think?! Kenny, you have to know!
[KENNY]: I mean… there’s always a chance he might freak out like Charlotte did… [mumbling] man, poor Charlotte. And since he’s so weak, what with the hypothermia and the eating disorder and all…
[MONODOODLE]: Your time is up.
[JAIME removes his hands. Immediately, XAVIER straightens up, coughs, and gasps for breath.]
[XAVIER]: Holy shit--[panting]
[DAISY]: Oh, thank fuck! [relieved laughter]
[MONODOODLE]: I wouldn’t celebrate now, Daisy Foster. You’re next.
[DAISY grits her teeth and steps forward.]
[MONODOODLE]: Round two. Daisy Foster, please step forward.
[DAISY]: I’m already right here!
[MONODOODLE]: It’s a preprogrammed greeting. Not my choice. You may choose to either remain locked in the calm room for the next twenty-four hours or have a claim read out from Thomas Schandlinger’s student profile.
[DAISY]: You don’t get it.
[MONODOODLE]: Very well. From the time he was three years old until his death at the age of seventeen, Thomas Schandlinger suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, maladaptive daydreaming, and dissociative amnesia stemming from abusive familial relationships.
[KENNY]: Can we not reveal dead people’s secrets here?!
[MONODOODLE]: Daisy Foster, you may return to your seat. Kenneth McKellar, please step forward.
[MONODOODLE]: Kenneth McKellar, you may either have a slash inflicted on the underside of your forearm or reveal a claim from Charlotte Barrett’s student profile.
[KENNY]: I--I… I pick Charlotte.
[ELLIE]: You’re an asshole! You’re a hypocritical asshole!
[KENNY]: My blood doesn’t clot, okay!?
[MAIA]: Uh… yeah, valid reason, I guess.
[MONODOODLE]: At the time she was taken into the killing game, Charlotte Barrett was recieving regular psychoactive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and was on a Lexapro prescription that prohibited her from driving.
[XAVIER]: I feel like we knew that about her.
[KENNY]: No, we didn’t. That’s why this sucks absolute ass.
[DAISY]: You’re the one who revealed that.
[KENNY]: Fuck you. I could’ve died, Daisy.
[DAISY]: You need to calm down.
[MONODOODLE]: Round four. Pandora Liu, please step forward.
[MONODOODLE]: Pandora Liu, step forward.
[MONODOODLE]: Pandora Liu, you may choose to either relinquish all personal belongings including clothes and access to dormitories, or have a fact from Margaret Baker’s profile revealed.
[FOX]: I’ll give my stuff up.
[MONODOODLE]: Very well. You may leave to change out of your clothes.
[MONODOODLE]: Round five. Elizabeth Goldman, please step forward.
[ELLIE steps up to the center of the circle.]
[ELLIE]: … What do you want?
[MONODOODLE]: Please pick up box number four from the table and remove the contents.
[ELLIE opens the box and screams.]
[ELLIE]: There’s a spider in there!
[KENNY]: That’s so nasty.
[MONODOODLE]: You may choose to either consume the spider or reveal a fact from Evan Nakamura’s student profile.
[Visceral reactions of disgust]
[ELLIE]: Evan! Evan, Evan, Evan.
[KENNY]: Yeah… can’t blame you.
[MONODOODLE]: Evan Nakamura cheated on his girlfriend, Lilah Thomas, due to repeated physical and emotional abuse he experienced at her hands for the past year.
[MAIA presses a hand to her mouth and stifles a sob.]
[MAIA]: … Evan, I’m so sorry…
[MONODOODLE]: James Halley, please step forward.
[JAIME steps into the circle.]
[MONODOODLE]: You may either inflict a small slash on Kenneth McKellar’s arm, or you may reveal a claim from Gabriel Yang’s student profile.
[MONODOODLE]: You may either--
[MONODOODLE]: Okay. Gabriel Yang was sent to the hospital for a broken leg when his sister pushed him down the stairs. Maia Preston, please step forward.
[MAIA stands and, without another word, steps into the circle.]
[MONODOODLE]: You may either choose to be strangled by Xavier Hassan for thirty seconds, or reveal a claim from Ryan Marin’s student profile.
[XAVIER]: Wh--?! Why me?!
[KENNY]: Sh--shit, because… [a shaky sigh.]
[MAIA]: It doesn’t matter, Kenny. I’ll take it.
[XAVIER]: Yeah. Okay. Fine.
[XAVIER steps into the circle.]
[XAVIER]: Is there… a specific way I’m supposed to do this?
[MONODOODLE]: No. I was assuming you’d do it in the same way Evan Nakamura did to Charlotte Barrett.
[XAVIER]: Yeah, but… that nearly killed her.
[XAVIER sighs and locks his hands around MAIA’s throat. She sucks in a sharp gasp through her teeth--then goes silent. KENNY presses his lips shut and pretends he’s not about to freak out.]
[KENNY]: … I’m fine. Everything is fine.
[MONODOODLE]: Your time is up.
[XAVIER removes his hands. MAIA takes a shaky breath, but has no other reaction.]
[KENNY’s hands shake as he sets up the medbay.]
[JAIME]: … You gonna talk about Maia?
[JAIME]: I didn’t think you were that close with her. You completely freaked out when she was getting strangled.
[KENNY]: Yeah. she… told me something.
[JAIME]: Are you gonna… tell me?
[KENNY]: … Don’t tell her I said this, but… when we were handcuffed, she… she said something about how her her brother…
[KENNY]: … slammed her against a wall and strangled her.
[KENNY]: Listen, you can’t say anything to her about it. Just look at the medication.
[JAIME]: Do you understand what that means? It’s not safe for her to go home.
[KENNY]: She’s an independent woman, Jaime. She can handle herself--and she will.
[MAIA sits in her room, hands pressed to her mouth, holding back tears. FOX opens the door.]
[FOX]: Hello. Y’know, Ellie filled me in on what happened at the end of the game.
[MAIA]: … am I… a bad person?
[FOX]: Of course not. Why would you be a bad person? You didn’t know about Evan.
[FOX]: No. You didn’t have to do anything, okay?
[FOX smiles at her. Her canines are missing.]
[MAIA]: … Okay. Is--is your mouth…?
[FOX]: Oh, I’m fine. I lost them a while ago.
[MAIA]: How the fuck did you bite Charlotte?
[FOX]: I can still bite people without my canines. It just shreds rather than piercing.
[MAIA]: Um… okay. Sounds painful
[MAIA]: I’ll miss you so much.
[FOX]: I’ll miss you, too.
[FOX cradles MAIA’s face in her hand.]
[FOX]: You’re one of the first people I’ve ever loved, y’know.
[MAIA blinks tears out of her eyes and intertwines FOX’s fingers with her own.]
[FOX]: Of course I love you.
[FOX traces MAIA’s lower lip with her thumb. MAIA lets out a shaky sob.]
[MAIA]: You love me. [A laugh.]
[MAIA closes the distance between them. Contact. It’s awkward at first, bumping noses and clicking teeth, but they settle into it. She wraps her arms around FOX’s neck and leans in further. When they break away, MAIA’s hands rest on FOX’s shoulders. FOX smiles.]
[FOX]: We could have had everything.