The paint on the walls melted to reveal metal, the officers and jury ripped away their suits for bright orange ones, all putting on their scientific goggles. The only thing that didn't change was Lysandre, sitting at the other end of the room, glaring with dilated pupils and a slightly open mouth at the teens opposite him. 

"You...", he growled, "I did everything I could to stop you. I sent a gang after you, I hijacked a plane with your friends on it, I trapped you in a room filling with arsine. Yet, just like when you were little, you somehow managed to get out of every situation"

"Father...", Ash almost whimpered, "...Why? Why are you always doing this? Testing me mercilessly, trapping me in situations where I might not make it out alive"

Holographic images flickered onto the walls. 

"I didn't just test you this time"

Images of all of them. Clemont and his family, Serena and hers. Shauna, Trevor, Tierno and Sawyer. Mairin, Alain and the Professor.

"That 'dream' of yours was a simulation. An experiment, rather. All types of people trapped in one world together"

He pointed to Clemont.

"An genius, inventive mind and his curious little sister"

Serena.

"An overdramatic young girl with a tendency to use her feelings"

Alain.

"A rude young adult"

The four.

"Young, hopeful students"

The Professor and Mairin.

"A young, naïve girl and her kind-hearted father"

Ash.

"My son. Who was always a disappointment to me. But in this simulation, you showed strength, you showed strategy, you showed skill. I have never been prouder"

"In order to keep you in this state, I had to induce your coma. That way, in a month, you'd dream what felt like a thousand days of journey, and I'd really get to see the decisions you'd make"

Footsteps echoed into the room. Ash looked to his left to see none other than Alain, holding a pile of blue papers in his hand.

"So, these are the blueprints, huh..."

"You?! What are you doing?"

"Wait, you know him?"

Alain scoffed.

"Oh, yeah. When I ran away from you guys, this man stopped me and offered me 'revenge'. I said yeah, but I wasn't serious. Why would I be? Then I found out this man's actually Ash's dad, and I remembered Ash talking about blueprints or something in a memory about his dad, so I went and found 'em"

He slowly made his way to the Professor, looking him straight in the eye.

"...And I know now why you're always so disappointed in me. Ash's dad sees him as a failure even though he's an entertainment idol and a lawyer"

"Wait, you were in the courtroom? Why didn't you defend me?"

"But he's still got something to fall back on, you know? I know I kinda missed a bunch of opportunities. It'll be hard to get back on track. But I'll do it"

The Professor pulled him into a hug, enjoying holding his son in his arms for the first time in years.

"You may have flunked college...but you've got good street smarts"

But the warm moment didn't last for long.

"How did you even do this?"

"Simple. The Professor often visits his students, and he himself used to work with me. We were quite close, in fact. I had someone implant the simulation device onto him, which lead him to implant it onto his students, who frequently visit his house. Then they implant it onto their families. Then I easily get the device onto my own son, and I have thirteen subjects to observe"

They were all quite disturbed discovering they were unknowingly test subjects of an illegal experiment, but Ash was really starting to get sick of these tests.

"I am not an experiment, Father. I am not a subject for you to test. I am not a specimen you produced in a lab. I am your son, and you have never treated me so"

"Oh, but you are"

"...What?"

"Why don't you take a look at those blueprints?"

He did as he was told. The others, unable to help their curiosity, peered over his shoulder at the gridded paper.

It appeared to be the planning of a character. The white outlines were identical to his physical characteristics. Even his weight, his height, all of his bodily measurements. He even saw psychological aspects involved.

"...I...I don't understand..."

"I think you do. I needed an heir. Your mother was infertile. Big Hit needed a new idol"

He found himself unable to move. He felt his breathing hindered by a sick feeling in his throat.

"Who else than my beautiful, superhuman son?"

He cackled seeing the agitated feeling on his son's face, crossing his leg on his red and black throne. And as nobody was watching him, he found the perfect opportunity to pull out his gun.

"...I feel it is my duty to let you know that before you was a child named Red. But he wasn't good enough. And neither are you"

Without warning, a sharp pain pierced his chest, consuming it and its mobility. It was so agonizing he almost felt numb. All he could hear was a constant ringing as he felt his knees touch the floor. He knew his friends were on the side, calling out to him.

They tried to run, but were held back by those in orange suits.

"Don't think I don't need to get rid of you, too. Why would I let you leave with that information?"

They started to feel heavy in their hearts, more in a fearful way than a sad way. They were almost certainly going to die, just like in their dream. Except it was actually real this time.

"Wait, where's Ash?!"

"Oh, who knows. He likely escaped, just like he did after all the tests I gave hi-"

Lysandre could no longer speak when he felt something firm pressing against his throat. Choking him.

"I didn't escape", said Ash as he threw his father off of the throne, claiming it as his own, "I never did. What I was doing, Father, was trying to find you. I was always looking for you; it was always over when I saw you. I now that I'm seeing you like this...pathetically lying on the floor gasping for breath...it was worth it"

His vision started to blur as he was reminded of the ringing sound. 

"It was so...so...worth it"