Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own this franchise or any of its characters.
Author Note: Sorry for the absence. Blame Leon Kuwata and Combine. Also life. Anyway we return to your
Meltdown
Placido left earlier on today. Something about investigating the flawed timestream or some other stupid things. Jose left to investigate as well. So they leave me alone. And they tell me that I can't, old fools, I can do whatever I want. I'm not even a kid. I'm old, older than most people that aren't dead by now. We keep screwing up. People always die before they are supposed to. Last time it was Bruno Borelli, the time before that Crow Hogan, before that Akiza Iyazoi, before that I can't even remember. This time so many people are dead. They shouldn't be dead. Some of them shouldn't even have been here. They shouldn't have been anywhere near here. I think time is dying. I think the very being of it is coming apart at the seams because of how many times we've had to restart. Damn it. We were even late to the WRGP this time. Couldn't even enter. Couldn't go back in time at that point either. I could laugh. Time has croaked so much that it can't even bear my weight! Ahahahahahahahahah! No way it could bear anyone else's! Though time shouldn't be dying this quickly, it's as if it's dying at the twice the rate. Could someone else be- No that's impossible.
When's Placido coming hooooooome? I'm bored. I'm lonely. And I have some ideas I could share. I could tell him about my theories and then maybe we can finally not screw up. That'll be the day. We'll keep repeating, repeating, until the end of, ahahahahahahahah, time, hehe. It's hilarious! Isn't it? I think it is! That's the best part! Laughing! Laughing is the best part. Now Placido hasn't come home yet. I bet he got himself into trouble! Probably thought it was a good idea to punch someone out. Hehe. I don't care. He deserves everything he gets. That's a lie. I've got that wrong. He may be a dumbass but he's grown on me. Years with the same person will do that I suppose. Maybe that's why I keep thinking we could actually be friends. I'm lonely. Stupid feelings need to go away. I hate them. Why would Kami even give us feelings? They burn deep into my skin and they eat at my soul. Placido doesn't have any, any real ones. So why was I cursed? It's not fair. It's not fair but it's damn hilarious! Allow me to suffer like never before! For no reason! No reason at all! Isn't that truth?
He's getting really late now. What's happened? I open up a portal to where he said he was going. The center of Neo-Domino right? Placido wouldn't lie about something as important as this right? Yes that's right. He'd have to be something really, really, REALLY wrong to lie, right? Right. This is important. So it would be stupid to lie.
This is the first time I have been on a mission b myself. It's not that hard but Placido is such a diva he always has to take center stage. This time I will be useful and then Kami will give me more missions by myself. And then there will be no problems. Right? Right. And Placido isn't here. He lied. The man lied to me. He could be torn in half. He be trapped somewhere. He could be shut d- no, no he wouldn't let THAT happen. Not this time. This time I won't be the last one standing. I promise. So where is Placido then? Hey! Something funny, I remember earlier on he was ranting about some psychic. Ah Placido, good for you being unable to keep quiet! Dumbass! Exactly. So this psychic, this psychic can't be Akiza Iyazoi so it's gotta be, oh him. Well in hindsight this could have only ended terribly. And that's what makes it so funny! So hilarious! Right? Right! Ahahahahahahaha!
So now how will I get Placido? I know, I know. I'll make a threat. A threat to blow up the city. After all they do take bomb threats seriously right? Right. I wish Jose was here. He'd come up with a better plan but hey use what you have! Right? Right! And I just happen to have a bomb! That makes sense right? Right!
Some many people here ooh. I love peoples. They dance. They dance around a lot. It's kind of annoying. You'd think if they have 'advanced' so much humans would try and defy their set path more often, but they don't. Maybe they are just stupid. So really what's the point? What's the point in being so careful with their useless lives? We'll just reset again and again and again. As soon as I get Placido home. As soon. I promise. Right? Right.
I simply stroll into the middle of the road. Cars all around stop abruptly and people scream. This is the time to make myself heard.
"My name is Lucciano! I am one of the three Pure Nobles and I demand that Placido be returned alive and well or I'll blow you all sky high! Ahahahahahahaha! And then everyone goes bye, bye! Right? Right!"
Peoples' faces fall. Look at the misery, the corruption of humanity, it's disgusting. Humans are disgusting. Right? Placido would agree so it's right. He's pretty smart for a dumbass. Pretty smart. Right? Right.
Ooh look more dancers. Security I guess. That makes sense. Security tends to not want people to explode cities. Not like I'd do it. That could kill me! I could die! Still funny though. It amuses me. Maybe in the next cycle I'll get to help more. That be great. Right? Yeah. Right.
Wait don't I have a tracker? That'll help it! That'll help it! So where is Placido. He's moving. Oh. Oh he's really in trouble now. He could get smelted! Like during cycle 53 or shut down from brain trauma like during cycle 29. Stupid Placido. If you shut down then I might not be able to go back in time and then you'll stay that way, forever. Forever. Right? R-right. Let's do this then. No regrets. No accidents. I promise. I promise! Because watching him die isn't funny anymore. It's so boring. I spend the rest of the cycle with Jose and sometimes not even him. I spend so many cycles alone because he's too stupid. You know after this we probably only have another cycle or two. Two cycles to get it right. That hardly seems fair, right? It isn't. Life isn't fair though, I've lived enough to tell you that.
"The bomb is time release so if you arrest me it will go off regardless! Plus I can speed up the timer at will! You'll only harm yourselves!" I scream out.
Everyone considers this. I smile as wide as I can.
"Alright, alright." A deep voiced man sighs. "What do you need?"
"I need the hostage in the prison transport van that a Divine has taken." I reply.
"Alright. Let me deal with something and I'll get him alright?"
"Right? Right! Bye, bye! Hehe. I'll be waiting."
Okay so Placido will come home and everything will be alright. There's no need to be afraid this time. Right? Right! Next time we will succeed and time will live and we will live and the earth will live and Kami will be proud. I promise. Because I'm getting tired and I'm getting rusty. So stupid. So very stupid. Right? Right. Ahahahahaha! Why give me feelings when my sole purpose is t complete the circuit? Why give me emotions? There is no point. No point at all. I hate all emotions. I hate all feelings. Because I wouldn't be so desperate without them. I wouldn't be so lonely. Right? So I guess in the end the only thing to do is end it all. End this never ending cycle with one more. And if time dies then it will never end. And I can't bear that. No one can. Right? So this time I will get it right. Right? Everyone will stay alive until their duties are done. Placido will not get stabbed, shut down, smelted, smashed or stomped. Fudo Yuusei will not be murdered. Jack Atlus will not die. And most importantly someone will get that happy ending that I read about so long ago, even if it isn't me, because isn't that what we're fighting for? Right? Yeah. Yeah that's right.
"Alright kid. Calm down and we'll get you the hostage. Alright? Now relax. How old are you?" The man asks.
This man is really funny looking. Funny looking with big bushy eyebrows and a huge scar and all over greasy looking. Funny.
"Older than you!" I snap back.
He waves his hands in front of his chest.
"Listen kid if you don't calm down someone might shoot you. And you don't want that. I mean after all you're probably not doing this willingly. Alright?"
"For one I am and so? If I get shoot then bye, bye! So you can't do that. You can't kill me. Right? Right! Just get me the hostage and everything will be fine."
"Let me speak to someone about that, alright? Just tell me who your boss is."
"Kami. Kami is."
"Kami? I see. Alright."
They must think I'm insane. Whatever. I just need Placido back home. I need him. I need him to stay alive. Because I can't do this on my own anymore. Because every single time I'm alone horrible things happen. In the first cycle, in that cycle I ended up killing him. And Kami couldn't fix him. And he couldn't build another one because of the valuable information on him. So I had to go back before I did that. Back to before he was built. And that means that everything is my fault. Right? Right. I got angry. Anger ruins plans. Anger ruins everything. So why was I cursed with emotion? I cry and I bleed and I scream and I love and I hate and oh I hate. And Placido is having a bad day if he feels anything but amusement and anger. And that's how pathetic I am. That's how pathetic I am. Because I can't help but cry when people get hurt. I hate everything and everyone. Right? Right! And that's hilarious! Because androids shouldn't be able to feel this way should they and yet I do? Androids can't feel! Androids can't feel! And yet we do! Ahahahahahahaha! How flawed! Are we the ones dancing now? Right? R-right! That's exactly right. We can feel. And that's a tragedy.
"Sir the van crashed." A faceless, nameless, useless nobody mentions.
Crashed? Placido's hurt then. Placido is hurt. No. No. Nononononononononononononoonono. NO! Alone? Alone again? And I can't go back. Without help. Jose. He should be home by now and he isn't either. Everything is ruined! Everything! All for feelings? R-right? Yeah, yeah, yeah RIGHT! It's a tragedy, such a calamity. The loss of all time. The loss of all time. Is such a tragedy, such a calamity. Such an accident. Right? Yeah right. So I guess that I'll have to make gooooood on my proooooomise then, right? Right! Aha. Right.
I walk away from the scene and Security is so coooooonfuuuuused. And the explosion happens behind me. I mean I wouldn't keep a bomb thaaaaaat clooooooose would I? No. That's right! It'd be soooooo dangeroooous. Right! I need to calm down. He's okay. Right? He has to be. And even if he isn't then I'll, I'll, I'll do it on my own. I will turn back time. Right. Right! I promise!
I caaaaaaaan't dooooooo it. I'm worthless. I'm a calamity. I'm not good enough. It's pointless. This world doesn't even deserve to be saved. It's so flawed and so ugly. So I ought to just erase it completely. After all the people on it only want to harm each other. Blood and burns are in the air, I can smell it. Tears are being shed, I can taste it! Calm. Calm down. Because Placido needs my help and I will help him. I promise. I always keep my promises. Right!
And so I set off to his location. Because I WILL save this world, even if it's trash. For Kami. And maybe for myself, just a little. Just a little. Hilarious. Right? Right! So let's go!
Author Note: Lucciano's characterization was greatly inspired by Mary from Ib and Ib herself. So he's a very idealistic and brave boy in the cusp of insanity held together by someone he looks up to and his own troublesome emotions. He desperately wants to be something and he will be. Even if he falls trying. Anyway this concludes the Artificial Arc until the finale. It is also a fairly large chunk of the plot and of Sector Security's Tragic Calamity! We get to continue that next time and then, well then you'll see. Only eight chapters left until you can see the full extent of my handiwork! Right? Right! See ya next time.