Act 3-2: What A Twist

"The Secret Six?"

"Yes, now, let's get to the first order of business-"

"Changing the name. It sounds stupid, it looks stupid on paper, it is stupid."

"Hey! I take offense to that…"

My eyes flitted back and forth between Maya and Hideki. So far, this had been the crux of what they were discussing so far, which wasn't much.

Nico had transferred herself to a closer bed, with Lucille and I taking turns at regular intervals to check if her fever was going down. Eric was sitting at the foot of said bed, still periodically checking his leg to see if it held under the splint Hideki had put together.

"Look, the aesthetics of our group has no bearing on our purpose." Hideki grumbled, before holding up what looked like a very hastily-drawn chart. "I chose you all because, in the advent of Maya's actions, I needed people I could trust to keep a watchful eye on Sasha to ensure that they don't do anything reckless."

"And you chose the girl who caused the possibility of such reckless actions to do the job." Maya snarked. "G-g-w-p, Cyclops. I'm going off."

"Hold up."

She had one foot out of the door before tilting her head in that infamous way I remember watching in Japanese anime. "What?"

Hideki held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not asking you to keep an eye on them specifically. I just wanted you to be in the loop, so that if we receive word that Sasha has decided to act out you'll have to be the first to restrain them."

"...First to restrain them?" Maya spun on the ball of her heel. "If you haven't forgotten by now, I'm not just a failure but the Super High School Level Failure. What business do you have thinking I'll actually be able to do anything of the sort?"

Lucille chimed in, apparently having caught on. "Because out of ze rest of ze people who are physically able to restrain Sasha, Faen is too nice while Eric is-"

"Look, ya don't have to bring up my bloody limp, okay?" he pouted.

"Regardless, you're the only one of the students who has the capability to restrain them should the unthinkable happen and they strike out against our hosts - I want to be able to trust you to stop them." Hideki's tone was neutral, but his expression was one of entreatment.

"...Whatever," she crossed her arms. "I can guarantee that I'll keep an eye out on them - because I'm pretty sure they want to forcibly eject me from this plane - but otherwise, you people are on your own, got it?"

"Zhat eez fine, right?" Lucille said diplomatically. "I don't wish to force Maya to do more zhen she eez comfortable with doing."

"Works fine for me." Hideki nodded. "Then there's nothing more to settle. Have a nice evening, Maya."

"Hmph." And with that, she was gone.

"...Second order of business." Hideki continued, in much quieter words. "Can I trust you four to keep an eye on Maya as well?"

"Hehe...I think we've done that quite a lot already." Nico shook her head and smiled. "Especially Ashie...now that I've thought about it."

"It's mildly true, I guess." I thought back to all the moments Maya and I interacted. "Why are we whispering though?"

"In case she's right outside and listening in."

We all blanched in unison, before Eric yelled, "Maya, if you're there, I love you! Pleae"

Silence ensued.

"Okay, she's definitely not there," he concluded with a smug grin, "Because she would have reacted otherwise, and probably break my other leg."

The loud, smacking sound of our faces collapsing into our palms echoed throughout the medical room.

Dinner was...interesting, to say the least.

"Sasha, you have to consume...something." I said gently, in an attempt to get them to stop staring and start eating.

They didn't remove their glare from Maya. "After the things the cook did, I'm not eager to consume anything."

"Ze cook? What is ze meaning of-" Lucille blinked. "Oh. Tien."

Hideki frowned as he cut his steak. "Look, there's nothing to worry about. There's no motive in play, and I assure you that I've safely disposed of all the poison on board the airship by flushing it."

"You don't have a great track record with poisons, Kenta," they sneered.

"Look, Sash, food is food." Nico picked at her shrimp. "Just eat something, will ya?"

Sensing that we were probably not getting anywhere on that tangent, I elected to check up on how everyone else was doing.

"Bonsoir, Ashley." Matthew greeted, as I set my plate down next to him and Jackie.

"You're learning French now?" I raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I didn't know you guys were offering language classes."

Jackie giggled, before taking his hand in hers. "Matthew has ze technical ability for the language - he is, after all, Canadian. I have been to Quebec, and while zeir accent and linguistics are different, zhere is not much zhat needs to be imprinted before someone of his calibre can speak ze bare essentials. As shown."

"Alrighty then." I got up. "I guess I'll leave you two to it. Have fun."

Faen and Johan were seated at another table, so I made my way over to them. "How's it going, the two of you?" I greeted.

"Ah, Ms. J- Ashley!" Faen coughed, before resuming that calming, perpetual smile of his. "Good evening, Ashley. We're doing as fine as one can only hope to be."

Johan laughed slightly, before taking on a more sombre expression. "By that, he means he's still slightly unwell from watching Tien."

"J-Johan! I am not unwell! I'm at the pinnacle of physical condition, thank you very much!"

To be frank, Faen's pouty expression then was really something else. Johan must have agreed, for he warmly embraced the Butler, before planting a kiss on his cheek. "To me you are, of course. You'll always be."

Giggling at a job well done from the pool party, I bade them farewell before looking at-

...What the?

I rubbed my eyes. I must be imagining things. There's no way Maya would be that concerned. I'm definitely mistaking-

I didn't mistake it. That was plain, unadulterated guilt written on her face every single time she turned to look at Eric.

Okay, just what is going on here?

"Maya, is something the matter?" I asked as I took the seat next to her.

She refused to face me for a few moments, before finally turning around and giving me the evil eye. "What do you want, Jubilee?"

"You and I both know that you're sneaking glances at Eric every five seconds." I whispered back. It was probably for the better I did - if I had learned anything from our talks, Maya enjoyed her secrecy. "This is nothing like how everyone else knows you, Maya. Something must be up, wouldn't you say?"

"..."

She spun a length of pasta around her fork, before sighing heavily. "I'm a failure no matter what I do. I can't even stop myself from hurting the people I care about."

"...Care about?" I inquired, now more curious than ever. This was a side of Maya I'd never really interacted with.

"Look, I may come across as an unrepentant, audacious bitch, but permanently injuring someone without reason is at the absolute top of my list of things not to do," she explained. "Granted, that's also at the bottom of my list, but that's because that's really the only thing I don't want to do."

My mind flashed back to the events of the pool party. "But you beat Eric up at the pool party-"

"With reason." Maya corrected. "He had that one coming. And besides, I wasn't aiming to break any of his bones."

"Then, what about using Sasha as a springboard?"

A ghost of a smirk played on her lips. "You're kidding, right? They deserved that."

"Hey!"

I groaned. Sasha was storming over now, and they looked pissed. "I heard that!"

"That was the point." Maya snarked, before dodging the punch thrown her way. "Honestly, you can't even take a bit of trash talk at this point?"

"Why I ought to-"

"Enough!"

Hideki rushed between the two of them, arms outstretched. "We've had this argument before, and I'd greatly appreciate it if the two of you don't try to claw each others' throats out every twelve hours! Now, stand down!"

The Mexican standoff had all three of them shooting furtive glances at each other.

Come to think of it, why do they call it a Mexican standoff? I mean, none of them are remotely Mexican or Hispanic...right?

A grunt broke the silence, as Maya turned her back. "Heck if I care anymore. I'm out."

And just like every other instance, she left the room.

Sasha sat down and resumed glaring angrily at their food.

Hideki and I shared a look, and I got the message almost immediately. 'Keep them calm. Don't have them blow up at Maya.'

Dinner was a much quieter affair after that. We broke off for our separate ways after that, and I found myself lying on my bed after a hot shower.

"The time is now ten o'clock! Night Time is now in effect! Please return to your rooms and go to bed! Also, the water supply is now cut off!"

Oh well. That's that for today, I guess.

Turning off the lights, I close my eyes, and sleep takes me easily.

Great. This place.

I'm back in that murky darkness of my subconscious, all over again.

"How dare you let us die..."

...Oh shucks. That's not the voice of my stepbrother.

Five apparitions manifested out of the murky haze. Each of them was wearing the same clothing I had last seen them wear in real life, and while their expressions were unreadable, their appearences spoke for themselves.

"The law was absolute...You allowed everyone to make a mockery out of it and me." JJ murmured, his torso and head bloody. "Unforgivable. "

In contrast, Ava's entire body was caked in her own blood, and her face was warped beyond belief. "You sent me to my death. You ALL condemned me, but you're the ringleader."

"Why couldn't you have done more? You should have questioned everyone, but you failed-" Xiang let out a hacking cough, as blood erupted from his mouth.

Tien shuffled forward plaintively. "I was so close. So close. But you had to derail me, didn't you?" She removed her already-dissolving glasses, and crushed them under a bony grip. "Didn't you?"

As for the fifth-

"Todd is getting really annoyed now! Can he pleeeeeease find out what happened to him?!"

"Goooooooooood morning, students! It's eight in the morning, so get ready to greet another beeeeeautiful day! But seriously, get your asses up, you bastards!"

My eyes cracked open.

...Well, that was unexpected.

Shuddering from the events that happened last night, I followed my normal morning routine. Shower, brushing my teeth, getting dressed. Today's outfit was a near-exact replica of the one I had worn when I first boarded - the airplane willingly, the airship not-so-much.

The walk to the ballroom was entirely uneventful - most of the others had to have gone ahead of me. My theory was validated as soon as I stepped into the Ballroom - all ten of my classmates were present.

Closing the door behind me, I waved hi to Nico and Lucille, before grabbing some waffles from Johan, and sitting down next to them.

And then the creak of the door signalled that it was being opened again.

Hang on, everyone's here...so who's-

We turned our heads to the now-open doors as a pair of figures stepped in.

"I suppose asking to borrow a cup of sugar is a step too far?" Ataru grinned.

Yukari held her hands up in mock surrender, a very disconcerting smile on her face. "We come in peace?"

Act 3-2 FIN

11 Students Remaining

A/N: First, review replies.

Random Stranger: It was a hyperbolized way of saying she had a really bad fever. Don't rule out anything, though.

SomeSnappyName: I can't say that bad feeling isn't justified….

stalky stalky: I very nearly spit out my tea when I read your name.

This guy: Yep, that's why we chose Ashley.

DrexelDragonz19: Thankie.

Khronovision: Well, Sasha agrees with you...Which considering their track record isn't exactly a good sign.

dashunterman: Naw. Right six. Spiderman can kiss my ass.

Disclaimer: I fucking love Spiderman. (Even his incarnation in Spidey 3? - SD) (Okay not really. I love Spiderman in general though.)

HeroinOfDarkness: Hahah...we've made you all ship the darkhorse ships…

You think you want to hear her story but. It's kinda. Not what you'd expect.

Anime nerd 88: He's still got four acts to die. Don't rule it out.

ezmonee6: Yeah. I kinda agree with you on both counts. (That protagonist-y-ness is why we picked Ashley. Things would've been way different with, say, Eric as a protagonist.)

A Dingus With Sweet Shades: You predicted AFoFD endgame. Nice.

Okay, actual stuff to address.

First off, sorry for the slower update schedule. We've both been busy, SD with school (and National Day rehearsals, good grief, those took long. - SD) and myself with work and a Tumblr RP group which I got into...somehow. Harper O'Malley's a god-tier meme now, yes. - Lime

Okay, over to me. So lately, I don't know if you've seen me around, but I've been applying and generally exalting my presence back on the SYOC front. That being said, I'd like to take this time to give a shoutout to a few stories.

First off, a warm welcome back to Unify for finally returning to finish up Encore of Despair. We at AFoFD studios wish them the best of luck in finishing what must be one of the most decisively well-written DR SYOCs out there, and all the best towards concluding the amazing epic.

Secondly, Armonizzare and her story, Behind The Masks. It features a very interesting take on your average-fare mutual killing game, and if anyone's interested, I'm the Puppy-who-looks-fabulous-in-a-tutu there. Cheers to you, Armi, and best of luck writing it too.

Last but certainly not least, Fujisaki-kun and their two stories, City Life of Despair, and the one I submitted to, Despair's Ruling Class. CLoD is preparing for its third act, while DRC will update as soon as the roster is finalized, so go check out both when you can, yeah?

In all seriousness, I encourage you to check out all three of them - they're wonderful authors and stories who deserve the attention. That's my spiel - have a wonderful day/night, everyone, and we'll see you again for 3-3. Cheers! - SD