Danganronpa XIX (A Christmas Miracle) - The End

[Hawkwing425]

"Why did you do it?"

"..." Hm. Looks like you're not going to get an answer. Simon's face is totally emotionless. He's just watching Santa.

[Gasocea]

"Well, no time to waste either way," Santa begins hohoho'ing, "Hohohohohohohohohohohohohohohoho... Yes, surprise!"

His laughter slowly turns hoarser and deeper, until you hear a rather familiar voice coming out of Santa's mouth.

"A great plot twist! I am, in fact, the Grinch! I made that old geezer kick the bucket long ago!" he grins, "Though I must say, it was amusing to act like that old bastard."

The Grinch removes his fake beard and the pillows hidden underneath his clothes. He also throws his Santa hat away. Looking at him now, you note he actually is quite lean and has a strong build.

Without saying a word, he leaves the room for a mere second before re entering with a spear in hand. Its blade is bloodied.

"For those wondering: yes, I did lie about Simon's last actions. Yes, that is what accomplices are for. Also yes, this is the murder weapon. I still find it ironic how the 'spear of friendship' was used to end two friendships," he points his spear towards William, "Well, three. Or five if we count what's to come after what's to come."

He shrugs, "Eh, but that is just the minor details. Now, Simon, come over. Tell me who two people you want dead along with this guy."

With some unvelievable quick movements, the Grinch closes in on William... When he realizes what's going on, he feels the tip of the spear touching his neck. Any unnecessary movements from his part will result in death.

[Hawkwing425]

“I... I want you all to know... I still consider everyone here my friend. Even if you don’t consider me your friend.” Simon’s face is still expressionless as he approaches the Grinch.

[LetitiaWilson]

"A great plot twist! I am, in fact, the Grinch!

Letitia is still sat on the ground quite some distance from the group, apparently on her way to being completely arseholed, going off the previously mentioned stolen booze in her hand and the fact it is now nearly empty.

She looks over her shoulder at the group, her expression that of someone who has just run out of fucks to give.

"Nobody is surprised, you pathetic parody of a cheesy 90's cartoon villain,"

[BRVR]

Kijah lets out a laugh.
"If you really hate us that much, why not kill us here? I'd be fine with that. If not, just make sure I die."
He pulls out Vincent's ball and lays down in the fetus position with it.
"Haven't we suffered enough?"

[Alicitzen]

[Segaco]

Simon walks over to the Grinch, who menacingly grins as he removes the elf's hat and ruffles his hair.

"So? Who's it gonna be?"

Glancing over the spear still by William's throat, Simon mutters some words. Although quiet, the Grinch's advanced hearing allows him to catch the two names.

"Letitia and Alice, is it...? Alright. That will do."

Slowly pulling the spear back, giving William a second to release the breath he had been holding, the Grinch smiles... right before propelling it into the elf's chest. William spurts out blood and coughs, and it's not until the Grinch pulls the spear back that he is allowed to collapse, holding his stomach.
A pool of blood slowly forms underneath William, and when he gets to open his eyes, he is met with the Grinch and the spear of friendship being right above him. With a smile that could easily make a person scream with terror, the Grinch raises his spear for one last time...

Except this one last time is quite literal.

A gunshot resonates thorough the room. The Grinch takes one step forward before dropping the spear and falling onto William with a newly made hole in the back of his head. Some feet behind these two is Simon, holding a revolver with a smoking barrel.

Like cowboys do in cowboy movies, he brings the barrel close to his mouth and blows, thus making the smoke go away.

[Hawkwing425]

Simon, after acting all cool like he did, pulls the Grinch off of William to inspect William’s stab wound so he can check its lethality.

“...what have I done? I’m sorry, William. This is all my fault.”

[Gasocea]

Simon pushes the Grinch off the poor elf and, after getting William's hands off his stomach, examines the still bleeding stab wound.
It's not lethal, but if left alone it surely will result in death.

[Hawkwing425]

Simon runs over to the pillows that the Grinch was using for his disguise, grabs one, and uses it to press on William’s wound before, while holding the pillow in place, he starts to drag William off to the infirmary. Hopefully, he’ll find some bandages and medicine to slow bleeding...

[LetitiaWilson]

"By the Great Old Ones, you really are a dense twat, aren't you?"

Letitia hadn't moved from her position during the entire proceedings, only acknowledging her name being called with a small twitch, and not even reacting to the gunshot.

But now she stands up and strides over to Simon and William, a new sense of determination in her movements, the bottle still in one hand but now the other contains...bandages, which she quite literally throws at Simon.

"Wound like that, worst thing you can do is move him. Use these and try to keep pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding, Kijah or Alice can make themselves useful and go to the infirmary for anything else you need.

But before you do anything else..."

Letitia points at the fallen Grinch.

"Shoot that bastard one more time. Last thing we need is this turning into some corny slasher flick and this fucker getting back up,"

[Hawkwing425]

Simon catches the bandages. “Oh-! Thank you...” Then, he hesitates, but shoots the Grinch in the head again, right where the brain stem is.
Then, he does as Letitia instructed- bandages William’s wound, keeps pressure on it.

“...What are we all to do now?”

[Alicitzen]

"Couldn't you have done that earlier?"

[Hawkwing425]

"Couldn't you have done that earlier?"

“I... couldn’t have shot him while he was looking at me. And I... I didn’t want to. I really didn’t want to hurt anyone... but I didn’t have a choice in the matter. The Grinch is- was too strong for me to fight face-to-face. There had to be trickery involved. So... I went along with the Grinch’s plan; the whole murder plot was his idea. Then I waited until he revealed himself... and...” Simon looks crestfallen. “I’ve kept a lot of information from all of you. I’m sorry...

The truth is, I was working with the Grinch.”

[LetitiaWilson]

"Well, going off the lack of responses from anyone else, I'm guessing that either A) We already figured that put and don't give a fuck, or B) We didn't know and don't give a fuck.

Either way, I don't think anyone gives a fuck,"

[Hawkwing425]

"Well, going off the lack of responses from anyone else, I'm guessing that either A) We already figured that put and don't give a fuck, or B) We didn't know and don't give a fuck.

Either way, I don't think anyone gives a fuck,"

“I suppose that’s better than the alternative...”

[Segaco]

As Simon treats William's wounds, a shiver runs down his spine. He stops to turn his head to where the Grinch is, meeting with his cold eyes that gleam with pure rage under the lighting.
Simon pales, and rubs his eyes to fade away what he presumes to be an hallucination. That is when the thing's body begins to get up.

"A slasher film does sound nice, doesn't it...?!" when he is steady, his body grows until his head is mere inches away from the ceiling. This is followed by green hair growing all around his body, covering it whole. With his transformstion now finished, he shoots Simon a glare, "And you... After all I did for you, you just come around and stab me in the back...! I'll teach you who you are dealing with, you tiny piece of gnome shit!"

He picks up the spear, which really is just a toothpick now, and looks down on the shivering elf right by his feet. The Grinch just cracks the thing with two fingers and raises his foot up in the air...
But before anything bad can happen, Letitia jumps in to push Simon+William out of the way! After the very unexpected hero event, Letitia faces the Grinch's foot... only for it to miss by a hair's lenght thanks to Alice and her quick running skills.

The Grinch roars, but no one gives him time to do anything else as they run out of the room. Seconds after, two gigantic fingers try to fit through the door gap, albeit unsuccessfully, and retreat. Then an eye appears, and glares towards every single elf in the room before also disappearing.
Kijah runs to the door and slams it closed. He wipes some sweat from his forehead and turns around, heaving a sigh of relief...
And this is when the entire building shakes after a loud, deafening noise comes from the Entrance wall, causing some dust and leftover party decorations to fall from the ceiling. It is only then that all elves look at each other in the eyes, opting to ignore the crack forming on the wall separating them from the Grinch.
Right now, there is only one thing they could possibly do:

Find a way out.

Zero Escape Hope

- Another exit exists. Your objective is to find it and escape from Santa's workshop.
- You will be given three actions to do what you want. This will work like a normal night, but cut in half.
- Another difference from the night is that, after both the first and second actions, you will return to the cafetria to discuss what you must. You can trade things with each other if needed be.
- After the third action, whoever is not in the room that contains the exit will die. If people are in that room but no one is using the exit, everyone will die.

---

You've got 24 hours to discuss and send actions. Good luck.

[Bluedetroyer]

"Thanks.

So we can check 10 rooms total, right?"

[Hawkwing425]

“Oh... no, no, no, no, no...” Simon’s pale as a ghost, and he looks shaky on his feet, though whether that’s the fear or the exhaustion is anyone’s guess. After some mumbling in German, he starts talking. Fast. “I think the secret exit is either in the Workshop or Santa’s office. That’s why Steve and Merk were using a ladder on the fourth night, it must be in the ceiling, we need a ladder. That must be why the Grinch ordered me to kill both of them. There’s no point in fighting back against the Grinch, we just need to search the Workshop, find the exit, and get out. Unless anyone has any other ideas, I propose that’s what we do. I’ll- I’ll try to think a bit more if there’s anything else that can help us. I’m sorry, everyone. It’s all my fault...”

[Hawkwing425]

Simon suddenly jolts, as though he was nodding off for a moment. “WAIT! Curse my lack of clear thinking, Steve and Merk were in the pool room at the end of Action 5, weren’t they? That must be it, because I was the only one in the workshop at that time! Or maybe... no, no, I was ordered to kill them for a reason.” He’s still speaking at about Mach 5. “Oh, but what if... right! I didn’t tell anyone this, but on the fourth night, at the end of the fifth action, I saw the Grinch leave Santa’s office, and didn’t mention it because I wanted to keep my involvement with him a secret, so that must be why Steve and Merk couldn’t find their ladder after they woke back up! We just need a way to get up to the ceiling, and then we’ll probably find the exit, because the Grinch can’t stop us yet! Yes, that must be it!” He’s pacing and gesturing like a madman. “We need someone to find a ladder or a rope or anything that can get us up to the ceiling, and then we can use our second action to get up to the pool room ceiling and find the exit, and then we can escape! Hahahahahahaha! Brilliant!” And now he’s acting like a hyperactive lunatic.

[LetitiaWilson]

"When I was searching the Office, a ladder had been hidden behind the door, along with a rock. The ladder was the extendable kind, one you could use to reach great heights. I thought it was just what the Grinch had used to string up the bodies, but now I don't think so,"

[Hawkwing425]

"When I was searching the Office, a ladder had been hidden behind the door, along with a rock. The ladder was the extendable kind, one you could use to reach great heights. I thought it was just what the Grinch had used to string up the bodies, but now I don't think so,"

“That must be it! I can go grab that ladder for my first action, and then we can take it to the pool area to find the exit!”

[LetitiaWilson]

"You're assuming that the exit is IN the pool room. What if it's not? Steve did mention that what he and Merk tried didn't work, so it's possible that it's not there. Also, there was a rock near the ladder which I think Steve or Merk mentioned taking. I don't think they were looking for the exit - I think they were trying to make one, by breaking the glass dome that is the pool room roof.

Although...the Grinch taking the ladder does highly suggest that the exit IS somewhere high up...I mean, why take it unless you don't want it to be used?"

[Hawkwing425]

"You're assuming that the exit is IN the pool room. What if it's not? Steve did mention that what he and Merk tried didn't work, so it's possible that it's not there. Also, there was a rock near the ladder which I think Steve or Merk mentioned taking. I don't think they were looking for the exit - I think they were trying to make one, by breaking the glass dome that is the pool room roof.

Although...the Grinch taking the ladder does highly suggest that the exit IS somewhere high up...I mean, why take it unless you don't want it to be used?"

“Especially because he NEVER left the office before last night normally... right, right... I wonder if I can also search Santa’s office for an exit while I’m in there getting the ladder... could the exit be upstairs?”

[LetitiaWilson]

“Especially because he NEVER left the office before last night normally... right, right... I wonder if I can also search Santa’s office for an exit while I’m in there getting the ladder... could the exit be upstairs?”

"Possible, but that would mean it's either in the infirmary, one of the dorm hallways, or in one of the dorm rooms, which, if there is only a single exit and it's in one of those bedrooms, we have a small chance of finding it because we can only search a set number of rooms, and searching only a portion of the individual bedrooms would completely use all our chances. Which would be a huge waste of time if it turned out not to be in one of those.

No, there's got to be some kind of hint as to the location of an exit...all I can think of is, back when Charlie was killed, we never figured out how the extra bed was added to the room, though we all heard the sounds of it being dragged in, despite both doors being blocked...could there be something in the entrance room? Is it possible that there's secret passageways in this building?

Oh, and one more thing -"

Letitia turns and glares at Alice and Kijah.

"Any time you two feel like it, perhaps you can try contributing and helping out? It's not like we're in a life-or-death situation with a time limit here! We need to talk and co-ordinate our actions, so that we cover as much ground as possible!"