Welcome to another story!

I hope to provide my views on the aftermaths of SDR2, while attempting a serious story about the cast. Characters may seem OOC, which I apologize for. This will be a three part story that already has a clear beginning and end planned out, so it should conclude quickly.

This started out as a bet and a side project to Everyday Life at Hope's Peak when I was having writer's block, and has since expanded. Hopefully this story is still enjoyable!

~Vineron~

Chapter 1 - A Second Chance

Yasuhiro Hagakure coughed as he opened his eyes. Wiping his mouth, he stared at the blood on his hand. He was resting against a wall, stomach bleeding out. He had already given up trying to stop the bleeding, his blood pouring out from his body like a dam that burst. He glanced at the knife used to stab him, his own blood glistening over the blade. The ceiling was crumbling, explosives bringing it down. Chunks of it fell around Hagakure, but his mind was filled with only a single thought. He had been left here to die. The thought echoed in his head constantly. He had been left here to die. He had been left here to die. He had been left here to die.

It wasn't supposed to end this way. Everything was supposed to be alright after the Future Foundation came. They had survived the mutual killing games, and now they would return the world to its former ways. He and his friends, they had been given a second chance. For their friends that had died.

So... So why was this happening to him?

Sonia Nevermind gasped. As she opened her eyes, a glaring green light filled her field of vision. She weakly covered her eyes, trying to block out the light. A hissing noise could be heard, like steam being released. Then the lid of her capsule popped open, natural white light enveloping her.

Shaking, she got up. Her thoughts were a swirl of confusion, a disoriented mess. Where was she? What had happened? Her head ached, as if someone had drilled into it. Similar hissing noises could be heard around her, but she was too out of it to care. She rubbed her forehead, trying to remember how she had got here.

There was a school...? No... An island... Sonia's eyes went wild, trying to sort the stream of memories in her head. She was on an island? That didn't match up with her memories of a school... Wh-what's going on?

"They're already awake!" She heard a voice shout, then running steps. She felt a hand wrap around her shoulder, slowly helping her up. She steadily got up, eyes adjusting to the light. Sonia blinked, looking at the face of Makoto Naegi.

"... Naegi?" she whispered, voice hoarse. Her throat was parched, as if she had really been on a tropical island. She felt light headed, and the world seemed to spin in front of her.

"It's alright. It's over." he said, smiling. Then Sonia passed out.

"How are they?" Byakuya Togami curtly asked. He walked up to the ship's deck, the standing figure of Hajime Hinata still visible at the dock they had just departed from.

"Well, they are alive." replied Naegi.

Togami narrowed his eyes. "You know what I mean."

Naegi didn't say anything, looking away.

"Naegi. Answers."

"From what Alter Ego has found out, it seems their memories of the VR weren't completely eradicated. However, it didn't override their previous memories as well. They're confused and disoriented from the two sets of memories in their minds."

Togami furrowed his brow. "That's no good."

"What do you mean?" Naegi turned to face him. "Did something happen?"

"Funny you should mention it." snorted Togami. "It was your own foolish plan that got us in our current situation."

"Isn't the situation over? The kids are safe!"

"It's far from over." Togami looked Naegi in the eyes. "The Future Foundation is coming, and they aren't pleased."

"That fast?" Naegi said, incredulous.

"I'm sure they were already suspicious when you gave in so quickly to their demands of handing over the remnants of despair. And now they know exactly where we are. If they get their way, the students you worked so hard to save will die on that island."

"We have to convi-"

"Convince the Future Foundation? How do you plan on doing that?" Togami sighed. "We already tried our best. It's over."

"No. We're not done yet." Naegi stormed off.

"Where are you going?" shouted Togami.

"I'm turning this ship around right now! We're going back."

Kuzuryuu stared at his reflection in the mirror. An eye patch covered his missing eye, a mirror image of the one he had received on the island. Except here, he had taken his eye out of his own choice. He grimaced, a sharp pain running through his head. Whenever he tried to differentiate the simulation from reality, it was like the conflicting memories were colliding in his mind. He held the side of his head, waiting for the pain to subside.

He put his back against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. Everything that had happened, it was finally catching up to him, taking its toll on his body. Everything that I've done... I can't change it. I can't change the past. He looked up and noticed the ceiling lights at the edge of his vision, out of sight from his good eye. He touched his eye patch, hands shaking.

"Nnraaaagh!" Kuzuryuu suddenly screamed, slamming the wall with his fist. However, his anger was short lived, and soon tears started hitting the floor. After a couple minutes passed, Kuzuryuu wiped his eyes, trying to hide his tears.

He remembered the hope he had felt in the simulation, the fleeting hope that was now rapidly disappearing. It was one thing to be told of the terrible actions that he had done by the AI of a dead girl. It was another to see them for himself, to vividly remember what he had done. And worst of all...

"Peko." he whispered, voice raw with emotion. Along with the rest of their classmates that had 'died' in the simulation, they were now stuck in a coma, not really dead, not really alive. How ironic that the moment he had accepted her death, thought he was ready to move on, he was told they were still 'alive'. Who knows when they'll wake up, if ever. There's no way of knowing, and all I can do is wait...

"... Fuck this." Kuzuryuu got up, briskly walking out of his room.

Naegi reached the dock, seeing another ship was already docked there. This isn't good... Picking up his pace, Naegi ran.

Togami and Kirigiri followed suit, running after him. "Naegi!" shouted Kirigiri. "Calm down! Look!"

Naegi skidded to a halt, noticing a large group of people waiting for him on the island. I'm too late, he realized. The group stood shoulder to shoulder, wearing the same type of black suit that Naegi and his friends wore in addition to their sunglasses. Standing in front of them was a group of four.

He immediately recognized Hagakure, Asahina andFukawa. Future Foundation brought them here as well? But the 4th person, he had never seen before.

The man, likely 22 to 24 years old, had neat blonde hair that was combed to the side. Wearing a particularly fancy black suit, the way he presented himself gave off the same feeling as Togami, as if he was superior to everyone around him. As he took off his sunglasses Naegi noticed the pure white gloves he appeared to wear. Without his sunglasses, his crimson eyes seemed to pierce through Naegi as the man stared at the three of them, unwavering and not blinking once.

Then he spoke.

"I am a representative from the Future Foundation. Don't worry, now that I'm here everything will be fine. Despair will be taken care of." he said, flashing a smile that chilled Naegi down to his core.

He took one last cursory glance at the three of them. Then the kindness in his voice disappeared. "Now show me where you're hiding them."