Game On (An oc x DRV2 au)

Chapter Forty

"Us?!" Dana repeats, appalled.  Her face is drained of color.

Rowan nods. "Yup.  You guys.  So now that the cat's out of the bag, we can go back and fill in the blanks."

Before anyone can respond- I don't know if anyone would be able to, anyways- they keep signing. "The date was May 5th.  You were all planning the street fighter's birthday party, because you knew that he barely celebrates.  But, well... I had other plans.  I, along with my two partners in crime, was ready to get the despair ball rolling.  To do this, we had to... cause an incident.  Somehow break your minds and make you all cave to despair in one foul swoop.  There was only one obvious thing to do.  What causes the most despair?"

I have a feeling I know before they even say it.  And then it's said.

"...the death of a friend, of course."

I feel like I'm going to throw up, and try to swallow the bile built up in my throat but fail. Rowan just keeps going, clearly taking pleasure in our reactions.

"But who could make a good sacrifice?  The youngest of the group?  Perhaps.  The innocent engineer?  No, we needed him to succumb to despair because of his unmatched engineering skills.  How about... a selfless hydroponics specialist, loved by everyone?  Perfect.  He was so naive when asked to take a mysterious elevator down to an unknown level he'd never heard anything about.  But he'd been told that he was needed for something as a representative of his class, and he'd been determined to make you all proud.  So he went without question.  The elevator, of course, dropped him in a winding, twisted death trap of a hallway.  I'd mocked him and berated him the entire time, but he never even flinched.  He showed no fear until the real torture began.  Spikes, falling rocks... soon, he was limping and unable to use an eye.  He was in pain, and he was scared.  It was just how we'd needed him to be-"

"Stop," Will interrupts, shaking his head.  His voice cracks as he begs, "No more.  Please."

"Oh, that's right!  We're talking about your little friend now, aren't we?" Rowan smiles. "I'm sure you must be feeling such despair hearing me talk about the way he was tortured.  The amount of blood, the way his body just wanted to give out and stop.  But do you know why he kept going?  Because he thought of you guys.  Because he wanted to live to see you all again and let you all know he was okay.  He loved you all so much, it just makes me sick thinking about it.  He was so full of... hope." 

I can feel the bitterness in the last word as Rowan signs it.

"Please stop," Will whispers, his eyes wide and glimmering with tears.

Rowan ignores him, but clearly hears him judging by the way they smile again. "I let him get to the end.  I let him see the fake exit, with holograms of you all happily waiting for him.  It made him so... so happy.  And then he was sawed in half.  The light, gone from his eyes in a split second.  Blood everywhere.  Despair in the air.  You all got to see this from a screen in the safety of the floor above you.  You know what happened then?  You succumbed to despair.  It stripped you all of who you were and twisted it into something that craved only darkness and misery.  You all became the Remnants of Despair and sought- and succeeded, if I may add- to wreak havoc on the world."

They pause for a moment. "Well... all of you but one."

This causes me to stop and think.  There's one person who was able to fight off the despair Zeben's death caused.  But who?  Selfishly, I want to believe it was me, but I know that like the deaths I witnessed here in this virtual Jabberwock setting, I wouldn't bounce back like that.  It takes only another few seconds for me to come to the realization.