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The silence left a window of opportunity for a shrill scream to echo from someplace unknown. The anger digging its claws into my chest erupted in a crack in my mind. Before I realized what was happening, I felt a drop of water slide down my cheek.
It sounded like a drop of rain hitting concrete. Not glistening in the light, as it should have been, but eerily dark, lacking the reflection of the bright rays. It seemed to pass by so quickly, it took me a moment to register I was crying, but it felt like it had been lingering for so long after it was already gone, leaving a small puddle in its wake on the ground.
I couldn't stop myself from allowing more tears to slide down my cheeks.
"Oh Naegi, aren't you just so precious?"
A voice whispered from behind. I whipped my head around but I couldn't see anything. It was too dark to see two feet in front of me, even if I squinted.
"So full of hope."
I turned around again to be met with a grinning face only centimeters from mine. For half a second, I could smell the anger leaking off them but I didn't have a chance to take it in, falling back and hitting the ground painfully.
I prepared to scramble to my feet but a foot on my chest stopped that. I couldn't control the fear filling my body like a toxic ooze. I didn't get a good look at them but for a moment, I swore I recognized the person now above me. That couldn't be right though because... They were dead. What kind of cruel joke was this? "Are you crying?" The female wondered, almost sounding mocking.
Was I? I wasn't even sure, it all felt numb. I couldn't feel a thing, I wasn't even sure I felt anything at the moment. I thought I was scared, maybe even angry but as a cold chill swept over my body, it froze what I was feeling too.
Was this... It's the mastermind, isn't it?
But... I thought she died. She died right in front of my face! I saw it, I saw the blood, I saw the body, so how? I couldn't make out her features in the dark but the silhouette of the teenage girl was no mistake. Her thick ponytails on either side of her head and the short dress she wore appeared more easily, but when I rose my head, when I looked into her eyes, I could see malice, the evil behind the smile, the glowing of her bright eyes, it made my heart ache in pain. I could feel the tears down my cheeks, the salt as each drop touched my lips became stronger. I couldn't make a sound though, what could I say, how could I scream? I was going to die, wasn't I? I was going to die just like everyone else and be another forgotten name among thousands of other completely normal people. That thought... Scared me the most. I wasn't talented in any special way, I wasn't strong, I wasn't smart, I got here from pure luck but maybe it was all just misfortune. I... Don't want to be forgotten. "Get..." The words left my lips before I knew what I was saying. "Get off me!"
I heard a small gasp from the girl before a low, dangerous chuckle erupted from her throat. "For a nobody, you're brave!" Her voice sounded sweet, it was like any other teenage girl, completely normal, but the emotion from it made her voice sound different. If I didn't know who she was, it would probably still make my skin crawl. Instead of letting me up, she kneeled down right above me, keeping me pinned down before grabbing my hands. Her long nails dug into my hands as she held them on either side of my head. I tried to struggle and fight back but I couldn't move. I was smaller than her.
"You still have hope? Wow, how long are you going to go on?"
Pity... Why did she pity me like that?
"That hope of yours is disgusting. Why won't you just give up already? I win." She giggled again, tilting her head to the side. "You're a nobody, you'll never be anything, Makoto Naegi. Maybe I'll be nicer when I kill you if you join me." Lowering her voice to a whisper, I could feel her breath on my neck. It gave me goosebumps. "I would totally have killed you when you started causing trouble but you're not boring at all. All you have to do it give up that little bit of annoying hope for me. Can you do that?" I felt her release one of my hands to slowly drag her nails down my chest. When I released I could move though, I used my free hand to push against the ground as a lever and kicked her off. The girl hit the ground and released an angry hiss. I tried to scramble away but failed as she raked her nails across my cheek and caused me to fall again. I could immediately taste the blood mixing with the salt. I wasn't afraid though, I could feel my anger rising instead.
"You ungrateful shit!"
She pulled herself back up and wiped her clothes of non-existent dust.
"I'm sparing your life, idiot! Those other students are useless, you should just get rid of them and stop being so stubborn!"
Useless? That's not true at all. The hope I felt for my friends, for the others that are trapped here, I'll never give in, I'll never give up, that's how I truly felt.
"That's wrong!" I started, making sure to glare back in her furious eyes. "I wouldn't have gotten this far without them. I'd never betray my friends. Even if I can't see you, I know you're scared, otherwise, you wouldn't have attacked me alone like this. But... You should be scared of my hope, I'm getting out of here with everyone else. Let us go!"
"Don't you know who I am yet...?" She suddenly sounded much softer, replying without hesitation. "I'm... Junko fucking Enoshima; this world is mine, you're just living in it you fucking retard!"
In a swift swoop, she flicked a lighter and I could see her face, dimmed but features made clear. Bright, olive green eyes, perfect porcelain skin, but she lacked the freckles she had the last time I saw her which meant... The person I saw die wasn't really Junko, was it? This is a Junko I've never met before. A wide grin spread across her face, as though she were some sort of creepy doll and she turned the lighter off, melting back into the darkness once more. "I'm not scared, you could just kill me now, but you'll never get out of here that way. You saw my face, you know my name, go ahead and run like a little rabbit, scared shitless of its own shadow to your little pathetic friends and tell them. Even if they know, it's not going to make much of a fucking difference. You're still going to be stuck here. But is that really so bad?" A gentle giggle escaped her lips before she let out a long sigh. "Being stuck with me here forever and ever? I'll treat you right. You, so full of hope, and me so full of despair, I could show you how good despair feels if you'll let me feel your hope..."
Before I could say anything, I found myself forced against the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"We can't trust him."
"He could be a spy."
"Just kill him now and get it over with!"
These voices all around me...
Why are they all directed at me? I didn't do anything wrong; haven't I proved myself enough? I've already shown my skill to the Future Foundation over and over again but to still be judged for something I couldn't control, by who my parents are, how unfair could it be? My entire life, I've heard those distrusting words and done nothing to deserve them.
To work even harder than everyone else just to stand in this room now and still hear them, it really pissed me off.
"Hey." A voice rose above the others. I turned my head to one of the girls at the table, giving me a gentle smile. "If it's worth anything Victor, I trust you. I can see the pain in your eyes. I write about such feelings all the time." She brushed some dirty blonde hair from her face and dropped her eyes to her lap. Even as she said that, I could feel all their eyes on me, discussing me again.
"Everyone shut up!" An older man with white hair stood up quickly, pushing his chair back. "We don't have time for it. Victor can stay."
Perfection is all I'm allowed to have. One mistake would cause the distrust to flourish.
"Have you forgotten who he is?!" Another spat. "The son of Junko Enoshima, the enemy!"
"But he's also the son of Makoto Naegi, our ally." A soft, young voice muttered in response. What could I say? I'd have more luck if I just kept quiet and let them argue... Again.
"Victor has never shown we couldn't trust him. He's one of us."
"I'm so tired of this fight." The white-haired man sighed. "He's a valuable asset. The Remnants won't attack the child of their hero."
"So I'm just bait?" I couldn't stop myself before it came out. "I'm not just some figurehead to get close to the despair. I'm a human, just like all of you." Now that I had already spoken, it was too late to go back so I may as well go all out and expect to be kicked from the meeting again. The girl next to me widened her eyes and looked around, probably seeing if anyone was going to rebuttal.
After a moment, I kept talking. "How many times do I have to prove myself just to sit in the same room as you? I'm not her, I never even met my mother. She died just days after I was born and my father couldn't even look after me. This hellhole of "protectors of the earth" locked me in a jail, treating me like a prisoner since I was a child just because I share blood with the enemy. But after all that, I'm still here, I'm still working for all of you, and you still doubt me."
Nobody had a response and I felt somewhat pleased with that. I'm tired of the distrust among comrades.
"He's ri-right." The girl spoke with a small stutter. "Victor is good, can we just end this stupid ar-argument and actually get the real enemy out there?"
As the man calmly sat back down, I couldn't help a heavy sigh of relief. I've heard stories about my mother since I was little. I knew her name, I knew she started the apocalypse we're worked so hard to fight against, I knew how she had imprisoned my father's class when he was still a teenager, but I didn't really know who she was.
This Future Foundation... It's been around as the rebellion since my father had escaped her clutches, maybe even longer. That was a long time ago. The original founder was gone and well... I like to call my comrades now the next generation. There are fewer members than we began with though.
After the meeting, which just discussed the next moves and routine patrols around the base, we flooded out into the hallway, a few people pushed me aside as they walked past, almost knocking me over as they left me behind at the door. Only one person stopped for me, the girl only giving an apologetic smile before catching up with the others.
Now alone, I relaxed my nerves and leaned against the wall. Why was it all so troubling? My father is still a part of Future Foundation but we can't see each other very much. He's on the rescue team, traveling all over the world to save survivors. He's usually gone for months at a time and it just so happened he wasn't around now so I had to stand on my own without his defense for me.
After a minute of losing myself in my thoughts, I pushed myself off the wall and looked back in the meeting room once more. A professional round table surrounded by chairs, pretty boring and normal I suppose. Unlike the hallway which was lit brightly, the meeting rooms were usually dimmed unless absolutely necessary. I wasn't quite sure why they were always so dark but I guess it's to make people focus instead of looking around the room.
There was only one thing that could distract people from talking and that was the large TV hanging on the wall in the far back. Nothing was playing except static, not even making a sound though. It felt... Like a ghost town in the meeting room now. Creepy.
I was about to turn around and leave the area when I thought I heard a voice. Just a whisper, small and carried in the air for a split second. I could have believed it was just my imagination but I heard it again, much more clear this time around.
I couldn't make out what it was saying though. "Hello?" I tried to call, looking around. "I'm not in the mood for pranks, why don't you come out?" Moving into to the meeting room, I looked around for any of my co-workers but I could see nothing.
"Victor!" I heard the voice of the girl that had returned. She looked a lot like her parents, the blond hair of her father, the lithe figure of her mother, she even took on a bit of their talents. Her parents and my father were all in the same class so she's someone I could relate with and talk to when I needed advice. I don't really consider us friends though; we're not all that close. She's just someone I could lean on, like a therapist of a sort. "Are you co-coming?" She waved, jogging down the hall as she called. I went to open my mouth when I heard it again. That voice... Moving my attention away from her, I looked up to the monitor as a figure started to come through on the static. "Te-Test- Testing-" The voice cracked, cutting off a bit. What was this?!
I looked back to the girl who had stopped with wide eyes.
"Testing testing!" It came through more clearly.
"Who.." I started, unsure what to say. The figure looked human but... Not, at the same time.
"-Am I?" It finished with a small chuckle, making the voice more clear. It sounded like a woman. "Who am I?"
Picture melted into focus, I could see... Hair. Blonde hair, bright eyes, perfect skin, this was...
"I'm the greatest, aren't I?" She had a far-off look in her eyes, a small blush across her face. "To die and come back again and again-"
"That's-!" The girl trembled.
"Hell yeah! Junko Enoshima!" As she yelled out, finishing for her. There was no time to react, no chance to escape. The doors slammed shut behind me, cutting off her screams for me. I tried to jiggle the handle and pound against it but to no avail, as the electronic door remained locked. It was soundproof but I could only guess that she was on the other side, pounding away as well.
"Aw, don't you want to say hi to your mommy? It's been so long, big boy." Junko's silky voice echoed across the room. I didn't want to look, I didn't want to see her, but something made me turn around anyway and meet her eyes. A small smirk fell across her lips. "God, you look so much like that hope freak, it's revolting. I see a little bit of me in you as well though so I guess it's okay." She crossed her arms, looking to the side. "Whatever. I didn't hack the Future Foundation to complain about your looks. I have a proposition for you."
I didn't want to hear anything she had to say, my death glare pierced into her like a knife but she seemed to enjoy it. When I didn't reply, she kept going.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm an AI but I'm still your mommy, aren't I? Now listen up."
The dim lights lowered even more to a pitch black, leaving only the monitor visible. "You're someone I can rely on, right? You're my son, so you can trust me, can't you?" The voice became only a whisper, but the echoes around my head sounded like yelling. Her eyes swirled into insanity as she started chuckling. "I need you to help. I need you to join me. We'll rule the world together! You'll be mommy's baby boy again! Despair will infect the Earth, Future Foundation won't know what hit it. Don't you want to get back at them? They don't even trust you. You have no friends, you have nothing to hope for. Aren't you tired of being an obedient little pup for a group that doesn't even respect you as a person? I'll give you that respect... I'll give you the world if you spread my despair."
Despair? That... Doesn't sound like such a bad deal.