Ace Attorney Investigations: Virtual Despair

Chapter 6: The End Approaches - Part 4 (Deadly Life)

~ Ultimate Pokėmon Master Akari Hinata's POV ~

I began to block out the virtual world around me after the fates of our fallen friends became clear. Whether or not they had also died in the real world was still unclear, but it was clear that they still wouldn't be waking up with us.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought about Susumu. I gripped the white scarf I had around my neck, the scarf I wore in memory of him. I felt people gripping my shoulders, shaking me, yelling at me to snap out of my trance, but I ignored them. My thoughts were much more important.

I had subconsciously closed my eyes to stop the flow of tears, but I soon realized that it hadn't even slightly worked. I reopened my eyes and watched as the others argued with the Dezpaire twins. I couldn't hear what they were saying and my eyesight was blurred, but I watched anyway.

I was quickly growing tired and bored of everything. I just wanted it all to stop. Sapphire had said that, along with Niamh and Zach, my mind had changed in some way. She could have said that just to confuse us, but I truly did feel different in several ways.

I quickly shoved those thoughts out of my head and focused on my memories of Susumu. I remembered when we really first met; when I had walked alone onto the beach and he followed after me. I felt myself smile slightly as I remembered the joke he told me.

"Akari."

I gasped upon hearing my name. What alarmed me more was the voice that said it; it sounded just like his voice. I shook my head, believing it to be an auditory hallucination as a result of my daydream. "Akari," the voice repeated. "Come on, you're not going to leave me hanging, are you?"

Reluctantly, I looked up, blinking away the last of my tears. I sobbed upon seeing him. It was Susumu. He was stood there, arms crossed, smiling in the heart warming way he always did. "H-How...?" I whispered, rubbing my eyes frantically to dispel the possibility of a hallucination.

Susumu grinned and knelt next to me, placing an encouraging hand on my shoulder. "Hey," he said.

I said nothing as I hugged him. He wasn't some kind of fake, I didn't fall straight through him or anything. He was really there. He hugged me back. He stroked my hair.

He broke off the hug, and suddenly he looked solemn. "Look, I don't have a lot of time." He began. "But you need to know that I'm... I'm not exactly real."

"N-Not real?" I repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's all technobabble that only Zach would really understand, but I can kind of explain how it works." He chuckled. "When someone dies in the game, their avatar is deleted from the game. It's essentially like real death. But their data, what they used to be, still hangs around."

"So you weren't completely gone?" I deduced.

Susumu nodded. "Something like that, yeah. The program must have sensed your desperation just now, and put pieces of me back together to come talk to you. It really does make little sense, but it doesn't matter. I'm here now."

I sniffled as I gripped his hand. "I-I've just... lost all hope." I told the comedian. "They're implying that you and everyone else who died in the game won't wake up with us once this is all over."

Susumu smiled, although it was a sad smile rather than his usual carefree grin. "You really miss me, huh?" He asked. "Look... I know that it sounds like the end of the world right now, but... it's not all bad, I promise."

I shook my head violently. "But I want you to come back!" I exclaimed. "I don't want to be alone anymore!"

"You won't be alone." Susumu replied. "You've still got your big brother to go back home to, remember? I'm sure he misses you. If you don't want to do it for his sake, or even your own... then do it for mine."

"F-For you?" I echoed.

Susumu nodded. "Yeah. Once you and the others get out of here, lingering on what happened here is just going to hold you back. It's not going to do you much good. That's why you need to move forward. You can remember us, but don't let us take over your every thought."

"I don't even know if we can get out of here." I sighed. "I doubt those two are going to release their precious guinea pigs just yet."

"You're right; they're not." Susumu agreed. "So you'll just have to get yourselves out."

"How do we do that?" I asked, the feeling of emptiness in the pit of my stomach slowly disappearing.

Susumu glanced back towards the podiums we had been standing behind during this whole debate. "This is what you have to do," he began. "On those stands is an electronic panel. Once you activate it, you'll have two options: 'Shut Down' or 'Reset'. I'm pretty sure you can guess what each one does."

"Shutting down lets us leave while... resetting will erase everything and start over?" I figured out.

"Pretty much." Susumu nodded. "With the Reset option... picking that might reset everything entirely, meaning the deaths that occurred."

I gasped. "S-So everyone who died will come back to life?!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, but you have to go for the shut down." Susumu cut in quickly. "I know you want to see me again for real, but resetting will just make you repeat this whole thing again."

I looked away from him and focused on the ground, not wanting him to see my tears. He noticed them anyway, using his thumb to wipe away the tears on my face. "I know this is difficult." He whispered. "But you're strong. You can pull through."

"O-Okay." I nodded. "Okay, I'll... I'll do it. And... when we wake up... I'll wait for you. I'll wait and I'll never forget about you."

Susumu smiled, closing his eyes. "Thanks. That really means a lot to me." He said.

I giggled, my smile vanishing once I blinked and Susumu was gone. I wanted to call his name, to ask for just a few more seconds with him, but everything he had said remained in my mind. I pushed myself back to my feet, rubbing my eyes with my sleeves.

"Everyone!" I exclaimed, turning towards them. "We can get out of this game for good! Let's shut it down!"

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one last helping of susukari for you all

AceAttorneyFan over and out!