Ace Attorney Investigations: Virtual Despair

Chapter 3: PokéMaster's Anguish - Part 2 (Daily Life)

~ Ultimate Software Engineer Zachary Moore's POV ~

*DING DONG BANG BONG*

"Goooooood morning, everyone! It is now 7am. Let's get up and get ready for another beeeeeeee-autiful day!"

I trudged into the restaurant as usual, dragging a hand through my coal black spiky hair to tame it somewhat. I was in the middle of climbing the stairs when I stopped, the sound of crying reaching my ears. Confused, I cautiously continued walking up the staircase and peered into the restaurant. I saw the back of someone's head, but I managed to recognise them thanks to their attire; Jordan. He was stood near the front of the room, hands over his face as he cried.

"Jordan?" I called out, instantly knowing that something was wrong. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

He gasped upon noticing that I was there and jumped back, looking terrified. "P-P-Please don't kill me!" he wailed. "I-I'll do anything!"

"What's wrong with you...?" I whispered. I glanced into the corner and saw Susumu; who wasn't crying, instead looking incredibly stoic, which I found odd for someone who was always so silly. "A-Are you okay?" I repeated to him.

"Oh, it's you..." Susumu grumbled, rolling his orange eyes. "Why do they call you the Ultimate Software Engineer, anyway...? It's not like you have any talent... You completely suck with computers..."

"Wh-What?!" I exclaimed. "Seriously, what is wrong with you guys...?!"

I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye, so I turned towards it to see Akari stood in the doorway of the restaurant, followed by Kazashi. The latter had a somewhat crazy look in her salmon coloured eyes and had her hand pressed near her forehead in a constant salute. "Zach? What's going on?" Akari questioned. "Kazashi's acting weird..."

"Oh! So I am acting weird!" Kazashi exclaimed. "Thank you for telling me, kind miss!"

"Same with Jordan and Susumu." I sighed. "Jordan won't stop crying and Susumu's all down and gloomy. Something's definitely wrong with all of them."

"We need to gather everyone up and talk about this." Akari decided. "Can you watch them while I go find everyone else?"

I nodded and watched as Akari rushed away from the restaurant, her red hair bouncing. It wasn't long before the rest of the group had arrived, forming a large circle around the three that were acting oddly. "What's wrong with them?" Venisa asked. "They are acting quite unlike themselves."

"Hey, Monokuma!" Kyle yelled. "Get out here and explain what's going on, will you?!"

The monochrome bear appeared out of nowhere as he always did, waddling towards us with that creepy grin plastered on his face. "Oh, this won't do..." he muttered in his usual weirdly cheerful voice. "It appears that Jordan, Kazashi and Susumu have fallen ill!"

"Ill?" Akari repeated.

"Yup! These guys have what I call... the Despair Disease!" Monokuma cried. "Y'see, there are miniscule insects on this island that carry this disease and can infect you if you're not careful! Let's see... Jordan has the Coward Disease, Susumu has the Liar Disease and Kazashi... has the Gullible Disease, I suppose. The symptoms vary from person to person."

Kenta frowned. "Could this be... our next motive?"

"You got that right, Starry-Eyes! The Despair Disease is your next motive for murder!" Monokuma announced. "Those who get the disease have their personality totally flipped, have a high fever and symptoms of that nature. But be careful; the disease is highly contagious, just like the common cold. Don't hang around these guys too long, or you might be infected too!"