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Re: Danganronpa F8: The Machine - Chapter 4 - Elimination MaTopic%20Title
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WinterCoat wrote:
"Nobody said they wanted to see it, but I'm doing the cool trick," Lilith announced to anyone who was listening. She leaned forward and puked up a puddle of black sludge. The viscous goop coalesced into a humanoid shape no more than seven centimeters tall. Its shape continued to take form until it looked like a miniature Preston, though, that phrase was redundant. He tapped his foot three times before breaking out into a little dance routine he had been practicing. Lilith watched curiously as the little sludge man danced his gooey heart out before he burst into flames because his dancing was just too hot. He let out little high-pitched screams of agony as he completely melted away and subsequently evaporated.

A panel of cockroach judges seated at a nearby tiny table applauded and gave him 10s all around, except for the Russian cockroach judge, Commissar Ivanovsky, who gave him a 2.

"Excuse me, friend."

Clive rubs his eyes slowly. "What the FUCK?"

"How did you- But- Um- That's-" Clive spends like five minutes trying to say something but it never happens. The performance was too much for his heart.
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Doctor Nanjo wrote:
Gilbert's eyes go wide, "Hey, let's just all take it easy. We don't want to become just as bad as Mister Hammond. Sure it could be nice if he could tell the truth, but you can tell it's oh so very hard for him. I'm suddenly very scared of Miss Smith."


“What?” Zarmilla turned to Gilbert, “I’m saying I’d be more willing to spare him if he actually came clean. As it stands we can’t tell how dangerous he is, so we’ve got no choice but to vote to have him executed. But it doesn’t have to be that way”

“Though it don’t look like Hubert is interested in cooperating,” she added, letting go of him. “But whatever, least I tried...”
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This CYOA follows Vesti Gates and Lauren Tehra, two detectives who search for the truth, whether in their own dimension or otherwise.

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Re: Danganronpa F8: The Machine - Chapter 4 - Elimination MaTopic%20Title

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DootDootDoot wrote:
Hubert just frantically shook his head. "It wasn't me... It was Lilith, Carmilla, Kent, Linwood, it could be any of them! You have nothing on me..."

It seems he's set on keeping this up right to the end.

Kent smile vanished and a massive frown crept up on his face as he began to shake his head, "Oh, no no no. You're not going to get away with this after you tried to frame me. Did you see how I treat people like Clive who try to mess with me and my family? Even if you somehow make it out of here alive, let's just say that your future won't look too bright."

Last edited by Winston Payne on Mon Nov 16, 2020 9:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Danganronpa F8: The Machine - Chapter 4 - Elimination MaTopic%20Title
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Kachu wrote:
"Excuse me, friend."

Clive rubs his eyes slowly. "What the FUCK?"

"How did you- But- Um- That's-" Clive spends like five minutes trying to say something but it never happens. The performance was too much for his heart.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either. I was hoping it would be shaped like Dante, but oh well," Lilith sighed. "I need to practice that trick more before I go back home to Father."
Re: Danganronpa F8: The Machine - Chapter 4 - Elimination MaTopic%20Title
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"...Yeah, good luck with that."

"If we truly all end up in hell, I'll be happy to try and make amends for all of this. I'll be voting for Lilith and Hubert..."

Clive lets out a deep sigh for hopefully the final time. "Strangely enough, it's been fun. I can't bring myself to hate either of you, as crazy as I might sound saying it...."
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"It's okay, Clive. I still consider you a friend."
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Clive hangs his head and frowns. "...Yeah, same here. You're a friend."
Re: Danganronpa F8: The Machine - Chapter 4 - Elimination MaTopic%20Title
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"Well, I guess this is it then. I really wish this had gone a lot better, but the two of you can't be helped. Myself and my butler will be voting for Miss Long and Mister Hammond."

Gilbert looks away, scared about what will happen next.

They hear a click from the little robot as it presses the execute button by itself, "oh yes... this will do... quite nicely..."

The hammering of a gavel can be heard from a distance. Hubert freezes in place with fear. Lilith laughs, apparently excited for what will come next.

[MUSIC]

Hubert sobs uncontrollably, unable to face his final fate as it rings in his ears. Everyone recalls the scene that the machine had predicted. Hubert quakes with fear.

The gavel thuds one more time and Hubert struggles to escape his captors when a metallic hand flies though the air. It wraps around his neck and clamps down. In a second, Hubert's spirit leaves him and he collapses to the ground.

The hand then snakes its way over to grab onto Lilith and her cockroaches, but just before it does, Carmilla jumps in the way. Nobody thinks that she is doing this to save Lilith, rather it seems to be an attempt to join her.

Carmilla's corpse falls to the ground like trash in front of Lilith, and the cockroaches swarm to the corpse. Lilith is caught off-guard. The second where she is in this world and Carmilla is not feels like an eternity to her.

The hand reaches over and chokes her to death, ending her. Then, one last grinding of gears can be heard, jolting the machine to a halt and the arm falls to pieces.

"remember me and how useful I would be... I must be fixed... I must... be..."

The voice of the machine fades. The machine is gone. The game is over.

Chapter 4: Elimination Match End

[Seven Survivors Still Yet Live]


Helicopter sounds can be heard from overhead as one slowly lands in front of the house. Two men dressed black step out. IT seems help has arrived.

Gilbert eyes the three corpses uneasily.

[Everyone please post freely if you wish. I'll end the game when everyone has checked in and is ready for the game to end.]
Re: Danganronpa F8: The Machine - Chapter 4 - Elimination MaTopic%20Title
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Florsy watches the execution unfold in front of her, a blank expression in her eyes. She's clearly gotten too used to it.

"Why on earth is she so obsessed with Long, I can't even..."

She turns to Zarmilla.

"Esther, we can finally get out. Are you really going to keep living on as that creep? I think you're lovely for your own personality, and I hope the rest of the world does too."

She looks over the survivors. Kent, Teddy, Lou, Clive, Cake, Zarmilla... She sighs.

"You aren't so bad after all..."

She tries her dearest not to look at Kent.

"I hope we can all get out of prison, reintegrate with the rest of society... and deal with our inevitable PTSD too."

She looks on to the helicopter.

"What do you think guys? Will this thing crash and burn? The video showed six people, but here we are seven. And the robot, if we chose wrong, it would have said something I hope. No, things will be fine, I'm sure of it!"

Florsythia gives them an honest genuine smile.
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She rises to her feet and steadily carefully steps around the corpses, trying her hardest not to look at them. She instead stands near the entrance, watching the helicopter land outside.

“I think we did it, y’all. Looking at those last two videos, there’s a whole lot that’s different now. We just gotta face the future with everything we got.”

Lone wrote:
She turns to Zarmilla.

"Esther, we can finally get out. Are you really going to keep living on as that creep? I think you're lovely for your own personality, and I hope the rest of the world does too."


She gives Florsy a pleasant smile.

“Thank you, Florsy. But nah, I don’t need her anymore. I don’t need to be rich to have a rich life, and living in the body of a crazy librarian ain’t gonna accomplish that.

“Speaking of which,” she adds, turning to the others. “I don’t wanna hear the name ‘Zarmilla’ anymore. Too many letters that ain’t mine. Call me Esther. I know it ain’t the name I was born with, but it’s one I want to live with.”
Vesti and Lauren's Interdimensional Investigations
This CYOA follows Vesti Gates and Lauren Tehra, two detectives who search for the truth, whether in their own dimension or otherwise.

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"Esther? That sounds like a pleasant name! You're ready for the big time with a name like that! It might sound silly but once I became Gilbert I rose rapidly to superstardom! You will be doing high-speed car chases in no time!"

Gilbert notices that there are dead people on his property.

"Oh there are stand your ground rules here so I think I can say I killed them and it wasn't illegal. It seems really awkward though that I will have to say I choked two young women to death."
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“Couldn’t you blame the Butler?” Clive let’s put a half chuckle.

“I don’t know what’s in store for most of us, but I think I’m ready to face life without hiding behind anything. However much time I have, I’m about ready to enjoy every last minute of it.”

“As sad as I am that all tbis happened, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier my whole life.”
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Kachu wrote:
“Couldn’t you blame the Butler?” Clive let’s put a half chuckle.


"Aw, the butler doesn't deserve that! What a twisted joke!" Gilbert is taken aback.

"That said, I am glad you're happy, Detective Linwood. I can see now that Mister Hammond is the one who got you into this trouble in the first place when you didn't deserve it. Hopefully it's liberating that he's gone now. I wish I could kill the man who took my hair but I guess my story is for another time."

"What will happen to you though? Back to prison? Dear Vice President Steel, can you have these fine folks pardoned, perhaps?"
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Doctor Nanjo wrote:
"Esther? That sounds like a pleasant name! You're ready for the big time with a name like that! It might sound silly but once I became Gilbert I rose rapidly to superstardom! You will be doing high-speed car chases in no time!


Esther chuckles delightedly.

“I mean, I hope things can get a little more peaceful now,” she replies, “But I guess if they put me back in the slammer I’ll have to get into a few car chases. That might be exactly what I need though.”

“Oh, and Clive?” Esther adds, turning to the horribly disfigured detective. “I’m glad we met, even if the circumstances were pretty terrible. Hopefully this ain’t the last we see of each other.”
Vesti and Lauren's Interdimensional Investigations
This CYOA follows Vesti Gates and Lauren Tehra, two detectives who search for the truth, whether in their own dimension or otherwise.

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Planetbox wrote:
“I mean, I hope things can get a little more peaceful now,” she replies, “But I guess if they put me back in the slammer I’ll have to get into a few car chases. That might be exactly what I need though.”


"Hella! If you want one of my cars you can have it. I always wanted a cool muscle car, but as it turns out they are scarier than mid-sized roller coasters and are way past my thrill zone!"

Gilbert doesn't know about Esther's former dream of being a cool racer. It's just a weird coincidence.
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Doctor Nanjo wrote:
"Aw, the butler doesn't deserve that! What a twisted joke!" Gilbert is taken aback.

"That said, I am glad you're happy, Detective Linwood. I can see now that Mister Hammond is the one who got you into this trouble in the first place when you didn't deserve it. Hopefully it's liberating that he's gone now. I wish I could kill the man who took my hair but I guess my story is for another time."

"What will happen to you though? Back to prison? Dear Vice President Steel, can you have these fine folks pardoned, perhaps?"

"I kid, I kid. It was only a joke. I apologize." Clive smiles a little.

"I regret that I couldn't end things on better terms. With Hubert, I mean. Just as I feared for my life in prison, I'm sure he was in a similar situation. He wasn't always bad, you know? At least I think so. We had our hearts in the right place, once. But we got selfish and ruined everything..."

Planetbox wrote:
“Oh, and Clive?” Esther adds, turning to the horribly disfigured detective. “I’m glad we met, even if the circumstances were pretty terrible. Hopefully this ain’t the last we see of each other.”

"I'm happy to have met you as well, Esther. You're certainly better with names than me, too. Heh. Prison or no, I'm sure we'll have a chance to meet again. Anything for a friend."

Clive sits down on the floor or something with a bit of a thump. "I'm pretty tired, actually. Though I think we'll all sleep well tonight. Even if it's only one day of freedom. Though I have to wonder... Actually, maybe there's no need to dig into all of this. Maybe we're better off not knowing."
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"Aw come on. You didn't ruin Mister Hammond when you worked together on your case, Detective. He didn't even go to prison afterward and you did! I'm sure you're just being a little hard on yourself!"

Kachu wrote:
Clive sits down on the floor or something with a bit of a thump. "I'm pretty tired, actually. Though I think we'll all sleep well tonight. Even if it's only one day of freedom. Though I have to wonder... Actually, maybe there's no need to dig into all of this. Maybe we're better off not knowing."


"Better off not knowing what? What kind of dark secrets do you think we'll learn?"
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"Can't say I really get what this whole thing was supposed to be about, but whatever, it's over I guess," Cake sighed at the helicopter. "Can't say I'm too thrilled about going back to prison or the streets, but I guess it's better than a murder game, right?"
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Doctor Nanjo wrote:
"Aw come on. You didn't ruin Mister Hammond when you worked together on your case, Detective. He didn't even go to prison afterward and you did! I'm sure you're just being a little hard on yourself!"

"Ah, maybe you're right." Clive nods a few times. "I still didn't wish it had to be this way, though."

Quote:
"Better off not knowing what? What kind of dark secrets do you think we'll learn?"

"I'm not quite sure. It could be anything- Something plain and boring or something crazy and twisted. And I think I've had enough to not want to find out more. I've had enough of putting my nose where it doesn't belong. Heh."

"Thank you again for being kind enough to let all of us stay here, even those you kept outside."

Clive then turns and nods to Cake. "I'm with you on that one. Anything's better than all of that."
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Franzise Deauxnim wrote:
"Can't say I really get what this whole thing was supposed to be about, but whatever, it's over I guess," Cake sighed at the helicopter. "Can't say I'm too thrilled about going back to prison or the streets, but I guess it's better than a murder game, right?"


"Can't someone here please for the love of heck pardon poor Cake? Or at least get her some sorta false identity or something! Help her out? Anybody? Is there something I can do? Oh but the Vice President is here and he would know if I broke the law!"

Gilbert looks desperate.

Kachu wrote:
"Thank you again for being kind enough to let all of us stay here, even those you kept outside."


"No problem! It was nice having you all! I am a bit mad that you all used all the eggs, but I understand that keeping company is a lot. In particular, you were really interesting Clive. I also hope you don't go to prison."
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"Actually, I'd be fine with staying here?" Cake suggested airily. "Say I was lost at sea or something? Not like they'd bother looking for me or anything, and that'd solve the whole thing with too many people on the helicopter, right?"
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Gilbert's eyes light up and he nods rapidly.

"Oh really, yes of course! You can stay here! Oh what a brilliant idea! You may have any of the spare rooms, and I know you'll fit in great with all the people here! They might be old and rich, but they're very fashionable and cook nice dinners! That's how I like to think about it. Everything here is overpriced, but I can give you a lump sum of cash so you can live comfortably and enjoy the beach!"

"I would love for you all to stay, but I don't know if I have room for everyone, unfortunately," Gilbert says, his house clearly big enough for everybody.

"Anyway, I really appreciate meeting you all. Vice President, thank you for your continued commitment to serving your people. If you ever wish to chat again, let me know!" As he says this, Gilbert has a sad look in his eyes like he knows it won't really happen.

"Esther you can still have the car but you need to figure out how to get it off this island. Sir Davenport, if this experience has taught me nothing else, I would just like to say that it told me the importance of knowing a blacksmith for various reasons. You seem really cool and I might ask you for your services if you can oblige. I know you're very famous, so hopefully the swords aren't like six figures? I figure they can't be right? Please tell me they're just five..."

"Oh, and Detective! Best of luck to you. I really feel inspired by you, proving the haters wrong! Maybe I'll follow my dreams to become a hat fashion model!"

"Mister Palomer, I know you can kill me, so let's not make anything extra awkward, eh? Heh, heh, heh..."

Cake, Gilbert, and the butler wave as the other six approach the chopper.

[MUSIC]

Kent says a few words to the black suits and climbs inside. Teddy crawls in as well with all his armor on (seems like a hazard but apparently the service guys are cool with it), followed by Florsy, Lou, and Esther. Finally, Clive waves his goodbye and gets on the chopper. Then it flies up and crashes into the house actually it doesn't crash everyone lives! Heck yeah my dudes!

Everyone is shocked to find that there survivors on the cruise ship that whole time! A lot goes unexplained to the general public about what happened on the cruise, but maybe that's for the best, huh?

The butler goes into the house, and tosses The Machine into the trash...




The Machine was an invention created by Val Valvier.

The Machine would observe actors making complex decisions in tense situations and create models which could be used to observe their behavior.

The models were then used to map the character of a person, showing if they were destined for good or evil.

Val Valvier had many test runs of the machine. Each time she would request nine prisoners into the experiment, and the machine predicted their future actions nearly-perfectly. Of course, in the process there were deaths at the hands of the so-called "Survival Games".

Investors flocked to her, thinking she had created something that could truly replace the criminal justice system.

In the end though, when she had made one such meeting with investors on a cruise, she spoke with one person about the nature of the machine.

That person was Hubert Hammond, and it was the last mistake of her life.

In the end, none of the investors were supposed to be brought into the world of the game. The ship captain's terrible crash forced them in, however.

Readjusting it's model in its final moment, The Machine understood the following things would occur in the world where the remaining players made their escape:

Spoiler: Florsy End
“Good news Ms. Willow!”

Florsy looks up from her tiny prison cell. The guard appears to be smiling at her.

“Come to the Warden’s office!”

The guard holds her arm, and very gently tugs her along. He doesn’t even bother to cuff her. He escorts her into the warden’s office, before taking his leave.

The warden stands, his back to Florsy, facing the window.

“It’s a fine day today, isn’t is Miss Florsythia?”

He turns around smiling. She tosses a newspaper at her. Florsy looks down at it, and quietly reads out the title:

“Weed now legal.”

Florsy looks back up at the warden.

“Well, what does this mean?” she asks. “Does this mean… I can go free?”

“Yes… and no,” says the Warden. “Your sentence has indeed been reduced… but we know perfectly well about all the weed you smuggle in.”

Florsy puts a hand to her chest, trying to give a look of shock, but her hand is exactly where she keeps all her weed.

“Yes,” the warden nods. “Just because we can’t strip search you doesn’t mean all those guards you bribed didn’t figure out where you kept it. We can’t exactly let someone go who hasn’t learned their lesson. But… we could potentially turn you a blind eye and let you go, if you…”

The warden winks at her and opens his hand.

“I heard it was some damn good stuff.”

“O-oh,” says Florsy. “Sure…”

She takes out a joint, and the lighter from her bra.

“This is my last one,” Florsy mutters, handing the joint to him. She was being entirely truthful; she’d used up her entire stock by now.

“Then I’ll make sure it counts,” the warden winks at her. He uses his lighter to light the joint, and takes a deep, satisfying puff.

“Man… that’s some good shit,” he says. “Go back now Florsythia, pack up your stuff. You’re free to go. As far as anyone here’s concerned, you never smuggled anything into here.”




A few years pass…

Florsy sits in a tiny, tiny flat. A medical degree hangs in a frame behind her. Florsy sits at a computer, a glum expression on her face. She’d been running her own herbalist business after getting out, but business wasn’t doing too well. Just a few of the regular stoners, providing just enough to live with. Most of the other businesses she tried to contact, wouldn’t respond or chose other more big-name vendors.

Toadette sits behind her in a tank. She appears to be sitting next to a large number of toad eggs.

Florsy sighs and takes out her phone next. Pictures of men come up, with messages for Florsy next to them.

“Mm, no. Poor, and no manners.”

She swipes to the next one.

“Oh no, this one won’t do either, he sounds like a total sociopath.”

She swipes again.

“…he’s really fat. But he sounds really sweet… maybe I’ll give him a callback.”

Toadette croaks, almost as if mocking her.

“Oh be quiet Toadette,” Florsy snaps. “Just because you found a mate before I did…”

An e-mail notification arrives. Florsy jumps.

“What’s this… approval! They want a large shipment… of these many herbs? Oh yes Toadette, all of our hard work is finally paying off!”

Florsy holds up Toadette in joy.

“And this is from… Maye Pharmaceuticals…”

She and Toadette exchange looks.

“It’s Zayne… we were going to try and find him, but he found us! He’s saved us! We owe it to him; we need to tell him what happened… we need to help him cope…”

Overjoyed, Florsy steps out into her luscious garden and takes a deep breath. All the herbs let off their own unique aromas, culminating into a truly indescribably scent.

Florsy sits down and closes her eyes, taking it all in.

‘Life may have been tough, and I still have many hardships ahead of me. My plants are finally going to help people. They’re going to be used in Zayne’s medicine, they’re going to save lives! I’m glad I learned my lesson, I’m glad… to finally be useful.’

Florsythia opens her eyes and smiles her widest.

The world was finally ready for Florsythia, and Florsythia was finally ready for the world.


Spoiler: Esther End
(CW: Self-Harm)

She lost her face somewhere in a dilapidated surgery room wedged in an alley beneath a throwback diner. It was the only part of the procedure she couldn’t perform herself. The cold, sharp knives took the dimples from her cheeks, the cleft from her chin, and the last sense of purpose that could be drawn from within herself.

What was left of that woman sank beneath the ocean. The official records told me she disappeared. I still blamed myself for not even remembering what year she ran away. I think that particular night I was lying in a ditch, aged moonshine coursing through my blood.

I never looked for her. Not like my wife did, anyway. I think losing her taught us what we were doing wrong. I started actually being a parent. Actually being a man. At least as far as I could understand what that meant.

But, the worst part was…I started to understand her sense of restlessness. I started to see the decay in our small town. The cigarette butts in the sidewalk, the fields strewn with broken automobiles, houses wedged in the armpit between the city and the country. I traced back the choices that led me here to this family and saw only voids where choices should have been.

So I waited until my last kid was old enough to survive alone.

And I got in my car, and I left.

—————

She had a nice car. Sleek but understated—at home on a drag strip or the parking lot of a fishing shop. And it hadn't had two of its doors sheared off by a collision with a guardrail like mine.

“Well?” The driver asked, “You gonna stare at me like a danglin’ trout or get in the car?”

“Oh, sorry, miss. If you could just drive me to the nearest town, that’d be lovely.”

She reached out and took my calloused, weathered hand in hers. She pulled me in and shut the door.

“Quite a nasty spin-out you had there. Lucky thing ya’ didn’t careen off the edge. Not even Rover here coulda pulled your sorry butt outta that gorge.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice. Lucky you came along so soon, too.”

“You plannin’ on getting a tow truck out here?”

“No point. That truck was nearly fallin’ off its hinges anyway. I just wanna get outta here."

“Can do. Hold on to ya’ dentures, old man.”

She slammed her foot on the accelerator, and the car shot like an arrow back onto the road. She whipped her wheel to the side, gliding smoothly around the next turn. She drove like she had somewhere to be, but I could see in her smile that this road was the only place she wanted to be—flying like the wind down its coal-black asphalt.

I shouldn’t have known it was her. Her eyes were green where they used to be brown. Her hair was blonde now, flinging wildly through the air as she drove. Her white shirt cuffed off the shoulder and gold necklace were more expensive than the tuition for her old high school.

But I saw the way she gripped the wheel like it was the only thing left in the world. The way her voice flowed like a brook over pebbles. They were the parts of my daughter a knife couldn’t erase. The parts no father could ever forget.

“I didn’t catch your name,” I eventually said.

“Esther,” she replied.

It was a surprise, but not one that made me doubt what I knew in my heart. She didn’t ask my name. I guess there was no point looking for answers you’d already found.

Whenever we could hear each other over the roar of the engine, we passed the time with small talk. The conversation hummed like a fiddle string over its soundboard, never quite reaching the most important subjects.

I sank into the passenger’s seat, waiting for that string to snap.

Soon, the wheels rolled to a stop. I rose in my chair and peeked over the dashboard. She’d parked the car by a viewing platform, revealing the quilt-like mountains on the horizon beyond the windshield.

Esther rested her hand on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. Her hair had fallen over her face, shielding her eyes from me. A faint scowl played on the corner of her lips.

They slowly opened. A hoarse whisper emerged.

“Far from home, ain't ya', Dad?”

And the checkered flag came out.

“The whiskey didn’t taste so sweet no more,” I said. “Not since you left. What the hell've you been doing?”

“A lot. But I’ve been working as a makeup artist lately," she said, "For a film company, so I'm traveling all over the country."

"I never knew you were any good at makeup," I said, scratching the stubble on my chin.

"Never had time for gettin' dolled up," Esther said, "Not while lookin' after all o' your children."

My hand twitched, wanting to reach for the door. It was an embarrassing thing to feel like less of an adult than your own child.

"I paid for it," I said. "Sent them all to good colleges. It was hard. Both of us had to work for the money, but—"

"Y'think I give a hoot anymore?" Esther said. "I changed my name for a reason."

"You never think about going back?"

"Have you?"

My dry throat couldn't find any words. I thought of the faces of my wife, my children. The dilapidated swingset in the back yard where'd I'd spent my formative years. But none of it meant anything. The entire time, I was always waiting for something to change.

"I should have been a better father," I said, "But I couldn't handle it. To have everything I was supposed to want—that should have satisfied me. But I was still unhappy."

Esther finally locked eyes with me.

"Some of us aren't born to settle down. We're born to ramble."

"Same as you, huh? I suppose you ain't met a nice man yourself?"

"None worth parking this car for."

"Hmm. Rover, you said?"

"Named it for a man, actually. One who was always running from something. Reminds me of myself."

I finally gazed at the floorboards of the car. They were covered in business cards, receipts from various dives, and travel brochures, but rather than a trash heap, it looked like a scrapbook.

"...I don't suppose you'd ever forgive me," I mumbled.

"Sarah Marie Smith doesn't. But, crazy as it sounds, Esther here's willing to try."

Esther gave me a smile. It was the same one my wife had stopped giving me years ago.

“You wanna know what I found out a while ago?” Esther said. “It was never that mud pit of a town I was sick of. It was me.”

I could hear a stark gravity in her tone. I turned in my seat to face her.

"What are ya sayin'?"

"I thought leaving that town would make me happy, but it didn't. Cause it was still the same old me rattlin' around in here. That me that was just scared and confused, reaching for something I couldn't grasp, not realizing that the secret was right there inside me."

"And...that secret...?"

"Just a little somethin' called self-respect," Esther said, her cheeks seeming to glow. "The knowledge that I knew who I was and liked it. That's why I changed my name. Not to hide who I was but to show it to the world."

She reached out a hand. Without thinking, I reached up and grasped it. I'd forgotten how much I'd missed holding hands with my daughter.

"So, I'd like to know somethin', old man."

She fired a reckless grin.

"Who are you?"

-----------

Tucked beneath an old throwback diner in an alleyway, I found a dilapidated surgery room. The doctor was covered in tattoos and looked like he could crush my skull with his pinkie finger, but I still faced him confidently.

"Hey, hate to bother ya', but do ya' keep records of your patients' faces here?"

He frowned at me from behind a desk that clearly used to be a blackjack table. His fists clenched on its surface.

"I could slit your throat for asking that," he said. "This stuff's strictly off the record. Why do you want to know?"

"Ah, sorry. I was just hoping to see my daughter's face again," I said. "In that case, how much to borrow one of your knives."

The burly man's hard stare softened. I wondered how many people like me had came by his establishment. He sighed and held a scalpel over the desk.

"Keep it if you want. It's on the house."

I nodded. I took the scalpel and stepped out into the city streets. Seas of people flooded down the sidewalk and the street, merging into one seamless mass. From afar, they lost any semblance of their identity.

I sat on a brick staircase and watched them pass, hat pulled over my eyes. The scalpel flipped and spun between my fingers.

Slowly, a hand slipped up and pressed the blade to my cheek. Beads of blood started to form and drip down the scalpel.

I could feel her smile in its kiss.


[I assume this will be the only ending actually, but feel free to give me an ending no matter how short, and I'll throw it in!]

Danganronpa F8: The Machine - FINAL END
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