The Scariest Thing

How had he gotten himself into this? That was the question Miles Edgeworth kept asking himself over and over as he waited for the inevitable. He was only in his early twenties, but he was intelligent and had become known as a genius prosecutor who was feared by those who faced him in the courtroom. People had even referred to him as a “demon” in the old days. So how had he wound up like this?

Perhaps it was ungentlemanly of him, but he blamed Maya Fey. This was all her fault. She was the one who had dared him to come to this cursed place and try his luck. He had given in, not believing the stories he’d heard about how frightening and difficult it was. The truth was that he was the type who got scared easily. But since his pride wouldn’t let him admit it, he’d gone along knowing that he’d end up being humiliated.

There had been a high price to pay upon entering the foreboding building, and the pair were swarmed by unusual beings who looked like they’d jumped right out of some freaky television show. There were pale girls-and guys as well-in flowing dresses. Their hands reached out, clawing at Edgeworth, who frantically tried to bat them away. Boys that he guessed were previous thrill-seekers who had come here only to be maimed by those ghastly women-and men-were similarly groping at Maya, who was squeaking and trying to escape them. They had hair that stood straight up, having perhaps frozen that way in their fright. Most carried gigantic blades and huge, strange-looking guns that had either failed to protect them or were for attacking newcomers like them.

The women and men who were assaulting the pair let out a shrill squeal, which would have made even the voice of one Wendy Oldbag sound like a heavenly melody.

Edgeworth cried out in agony and placed his hands over his ears. He could no longer hear the horrible, gleeful wails of his tormenters, but the attack on his senses did not stop. His eyes were targeted next, and he suddenly found himself blinded by brilliant flashes of light. Instinctively, his hands left his ears to cover his eyes. Over the horrific noises, he could hear Maya crying out to him.

Daring to open his eyes, he thought he saw her walking away from him. Had these awful creatures hypnotized her? Knowing he couldn’t let anything happen to the girl, Edgeworth struggled to push his way through the mob.

But they wouldn’t let him escape so easily.

Edgeworth cried out as claw-like fingers grasped his jacket. Desperate, he let them have it and broke free. Some of the terrible beings swarmed the jacket like insects, while others gave chase. He didn’t know what would happen if they caught up to him, but recalling the horrible stories he had heard about these creatures, he definitely didn’t want to find out.

The young prosecutor finally reached Maya and grabbed her shoulder. To his horror, the girl that turned to face him was not her, but rather, someone who looked strikingly like her! And there were others as well. All shared a very similar appearance to Maya, but there were some differences, such as build, clothing, and even gender.

“Doppelgangers?!” Just what kind of madhouse had she dragged him into?

“Edgeworth!” Thankfully, Maya’s frantic voice called out to him from one of the nearby rooms.

And not a moment too soon. His pursuers had just about caught up with him. He felt a strong blast of air strike his back, causing him to stumble forward. Thankfully, he did not fall, which would have surely been the end of him. Hoping the Maya calling him was the real one, he took a deep break and burst into the room her voice had come from.

It was dark inside, the only light coming from various screens displaying everything from cutesy humanoid animals to horrific acts of violence. Some even showed cutesy humanoid animals committing acts of horrific violence.

Maya was standing in front of the largest monitor, which was situated at the center of the large room. Two strange squares were on the floor, each with a person moving strangely on top of it. The people displayed on the screen were moving in a similar fashion, and he wondered if this device was how they imprisoned their victims. It appeared that Maya was next, and from the hypnotic way she was watching the poor souls, he feared it might be too late to save her.

As the frightening music blaring from the monitor slowed, the people on the squares stopped flailing around. The one who had apparently lost collapsed and was carried off. Maya moved towards the now-empty square.

This must have been the device that Maya had spoken of-the reason she had brought him here. She’d dared him to experience it himself. So many had lost to this thing…Many tears had been shed…many lives had been consumed…and many had lost their loved ones….

Edgeworth was going to be damned if he let that happen to Maya.

Shoving the teen out of the way, he boldly stepped onto the square. As the music started up again, he felt as if he was being pulled into the scene playing out on the monitor. His own body began to move against his will, but he bit back his urge to scream. He had to endure this for Maya’s sake. If he won, maybe these creatures would let them leave.

Edgeworth broke into a cold sweat as he became fully immersed in the false reality playing out on the screen. He had to keep moving. Maya was counting on him! If he couldn’t keep up, this might be the end for both of them…

The man stepped forward. He couldn’t take much more. His body was not used to this kind of strenuous activity, no matter how much his muscular build suggested otherwise. The only exercise he did involved the lifting of teacups and the turning of book pages. How long would it be until this torture ended?

Jumping to the right, then quickly over to the left, Edgeworth earned a cheer from the spectators. He could hear Maya rooting for him faintly. She was coming out of her trance! Just a bit more…

Unfamiliar slang flashed all over the screen in bold lettering. All the rapidly flashing and moving colors just about drove him to a seizure, but he was never one to fall for such dirty tactics. It was the truth. He had certainly never erased any evidence of such things ever happening. The flawless Miles Edgeworth would never fall for-

“Urk!” He had become too immersed in his thoughts and had stopped paying attention to the dire situation he was in. As a result, he had stumbled, initiating the siren-like sound that had pulled him back.

“You can do it, Edgeworth!” The noise seemed to have awakened Maya from her own trance. She was now cheering him on enthusiastically.

With her encouragement, the pink-clad prosecutor summoned up the courage to take that last step and claim victory. Gasping for breath, he staggered away from the monitor and nearly collapsed into Maya’s arms. The teen supported him as they left the room and made their way outside.

Though it had been early in the day when they came, it was now night. Though it had seemed like the whole ordeal had only taken a couple of minutes, it had really been hours. To think that such horrors could have happened while it was still light out…

As the cool night air hit his face, Edgeworth let out a sigh of relief. It had been a surprisingly long day. They were tired and bruised, their clothes were torn, their faces were pale, and both of them looked like they hadn’t slept in days. They’d been mauled, groped, enticed to move in strange ways, and felt as though they had just left some kind of strange fantasy world. But most importantly…

…they had survived.

Beside him, Maya yawned, giving up trying to fix her messy, swear-matted hair. She smiled up at him.

“Aren’t anime conventions great, Edgeworth?”

The moral of this story? Well, there isn’t one. But never forget the lesson you learned here today. Anime conventions are dangerous and scary things, but the scariest thing of all, is watching an elegant man in pink trying to play DDR like his life depended on it.