A/N: Sorry for being gone for basically the entire year and a month, my laptop died because I was doing stress testing but really I was trying to get it to die out on its own since it was 9-10 years of age and was already out the door.
Do not worry, I have a new laptop now and so far much better than the last. still saving for a new gaming/work pc but in the meantime I will use this laptop for most of my writing.
So thank you to all my current readers and hopeful new ones, the fanfic I am currently typing is already almost at the end and then I can focus on my website with most of my own stories, the website link is on my profile page, give it a visit if you're interested.
Warning: Contains nudity. Please stop reading if this offends you.
Disclaimer: I do not own either Lucky Dog 1 or Dramatical Murder and this is only meant to be a Fanfiction of the mind and has nothing to do with real life or the characters within the games.
Chapter 32 - Re-image
It was a mirror. Something continuously shining and blinding. An object that only he could see within himself and in the very back of his mind. As of right now, it was hollow and empty like any normal mirror. There was however, a slight difference to it. In the middle, a crack had appeared and had spread from one side to the other, making the mirror seem split in half.
On the top half, it was darkening like a shadow on the wall while the bottom half had looked to be paling in comparison. Afraid of the answer he would come to, Aoba pinched his arms to wake himself up from the odd dream he was having.
But his mind was keeping him there. An unknown force tugged at him from the inside out and Aoba had to clench his hands into fists to stop the strange feeling of despair. Over the course of the days he had been with Virus and Trip, he had found his body and mind both breaking apart and it was as though the pills his grandmother had given him, no longer had any effect or had even existed.
It was as though the other half of him had decided that now was his time to shine or perhaps it was his time all along? Whether the 'other' Aoba had good intentions or not, it was causing him to feel sick to his stomach.
Suddenly, a light shone above the large mirror and everything soon began to fade into the dark. Aoba blinked a few times before fully opening his eyes and found himself staring into the source of the light. It was Virus and he had been holding a small flashlight and was shining it into his eyes like a doctor would.
Feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion, Aoba let his head hit the soft pillow underneath and could not muster any strength to stop Virus from touching his body. His headaches were strangely gone but his stomach ache was still there. Whatever Virus and Trip had planned for him, he hoped they would do something soon.
As much as he hated the two of them, he felt oddly dependent on them when it came to matters of his health and mind. Even if they had the worst intentions imaginable, they were the only ones left aside from his grandma to know what his mind was capable of and knew how to counter the effects that it had on his body.
"We seem to be running out of time..." Virus spoke softly as though he were speaking to himself but Trip heard him all the same.
"Should we use Mizuki then?" Trip asked. Upon hearing his best friend's name, Aoba tried to sit up but Virus stopped him by placing a hand on his chest.
And with a shake of his head, Virus gave his order. "We won't need to. He is still fully conscious and we need the other one. We'll simply wait for him to come out for the right moment. His half will not want anything to happen to the other half."
Trip shrugged his shoulders and simply walked out of the room with his allmate, Welter following closely behind. Once they were both out of the room, Virus turned his attention back to the half-awake Aoba.
"I'm sorry, Aoba. I had hoped that we had more time to go through everything first but...it looks like we won't have long to do so." As if to show what he was saying, he looked down to the floor.
Sitting up, Aoba kept his eyes fixed on the man in front of him. He couldn't bring himself to feel at all sorry for him as it was them who had caused him to have this behavior in the first place. Deep down inside he knew that something was wrong with his other half, as though this entire dramatic problem had been affecting the both of them.
Whatever had been done to him back in the old hideout where they had originally locked him away, had obviously awoken something within his other half. Something more evil and sinister than that of his desires. Aoba wouldn't be surprised if Trip and Virus had put something in his food this entire time.
"Mizuki...what were you going to do with him?" He finally asked the question that he had been asking himself since he was held captive.
Rather than answering, the man gave out a small laugh as if he were pondering what to say before saying it. "That is what has always been on your mind, Aoba. I am astounded that you have not lost your hope on him.".
Virus then got up and looked at him with what Aoba could only describe was a softer look, one that he doubted even Trip had seen. "It would have always been him, wouldn't it?" The man became accusative towards him and was now showing him the regular look that he had been used to seeing by now.
It was a look that Aoba was not fond of since it would usually lead to him getting hurt by Trips allmate, Welter. It was a crude method to ensure that he did not think of anyone other than them and the pain they caused him.
He gripped the side of the bed before trying to swing his legs over so that they dangled off the bed. His clothes sat next to him which was a first for him since the two of them had never thought to give him any clothes as they had said 'he did not need them'.
They were the clothes he had ran away with, the same ones that they had captured him a few nights ago when he was in his most vulnerable state. Knowing Virus and Trip, they obviously had a plan that required him being somewhere. Aoba begrudgingly took the clothes and started with his shirt.
Virus left the room as if to give him what little privacy he had left. It was an odd thing for him to experience as he had never known Virus to leave the room with him alone unless he was actually going somewhere. Something was definitely not right.
Seeing that he had no option but to comply with their wishes, Aoba finished getting dressed as fast as his sore body could handle. His hair, although still a bit numb from Virus constantly pulling at it the other night, it was gradually fading to the back of his mind.
Virus soon came into the room and smiled upon seeing Aoba dressed and ready to leave. Without warning, he pulled Aobas hand and pulled his body towards him, pulling him into an embrace that made Aoba question what could be on his mind.
Rather than tug on Aobas hair, he simply smoothed it out gently with care as though he were an actual lover of some sort. Aoba winced out of habit as he used to do when actual pain had been done to him in the past.
"What..." Aoba stopped what he was about to say upon seeing Hersha sitting in a coiled position in the hallway. The snake hissed at him but did not do anything.
"Come, Aoba. We have a surprise for you. This procedure will hurt you quite a bit but it is necessary to achieve what both Trip and I want." Virus spoke as he left the hug and started walking out into the hallway and out to the main lobby of the warehouse.
He spaced out for a mere two seconds before his mind kicked in and he started hurrying after Virus with Hersha quickly behind him as to not let him venture any further than the warehouse itself.
It was finally shown why Trip and Welter were not there to witness Virus and his weird act of kindness. They were busy bringing people up from the depth of the basement. Mizuki was also present among them. One of them looked oddly familiar. An old woman with light pink hair and wrinkles around her eyes and cheeks.
A sudden tear swelled in his left eye as he rushed out of reflex towards the helpless woman. But before he could get any closer to her, Trip held him around the waist while Welter and Hersha stepped into his view. He stopped and turned back to look up to Trip.
"Why is granny here?" Aoba asked and could see nothing in Trips eyes. They were cold, dead of any warmth and seemed only set on the plan they had in mind.
A look that reminded him of what Mink would have looked like if he did not agree to work with him and the group to help look for his grandmother just a few years back.
The people who surrounded his grandmother however, looked around at their new surroundings and examined the room as though seeing something new for the first time. Which if anything, they were probably down in the basement this entire time knowing the way the men worked.
"You, Aoba, are going to be our savior in an experiment that we would like to call, 'Operation Mirror'. Trust me, Aoba, it will all make sense soon enough." Virus said and stepped forward toward the small group of people.
He pulled one man that looked to be in his early thirties, by the shoulder and pushed him toward one of the computer monitors that were turned on to what Aoba could make out as a security camera footage. Next to the computer systems however, were a pair of large, metallic doors that he had not noticed before now and must not have noticed them because of how well they blended in with the walls.
"Go." Trip merely spoke out and pushed Aoba forward with a push of his hand to his back. His grandmother, Tae, tried to follow after him after recognizing her grandson, but was stopped by Welter.
Hersha stayed behind as well to keep an eye on the rest of the group along with Welter. Virus pressed a few buttons on a keyboard and the screen quit the camera footage and was now showing what looked like a panel of sorts.
It displayed things like a health bar and something else that Aoba could not make out properly. But before he could get a good look at the screen, he was pushed through the now open doors and stopped walking when noticing the large glass container that had been filled with water.
It was clearly water but mixed with something that clouded it. He was now fearing for what was going to happen. What were they planning?
As though to answer his questioning look, Virus came up behind Trip, placed an arm on Trips shoulder and smiled down at Aoba.
"You see, Aoba. We have found a means to break you and your darker side apart from each other. It was an insane idea at first and we thought it would only kill your entire being if we were to try something like this before, but thanks to your lovely granny, we were able to find the secret problem."
"This way Trip and I both get what we want from you and without anyone feeling guilty. We can both have the person we desire most." Aoba could only stare at the two of them in shock.
This was the first that he was hearing of such a thing since Ren told him that he was only capable of doing it because he willed it to and that he had thought of him as another being already. It then made it possible that he could be a new person altogether.
But the only difference was that Ren's conscious was put into his brothers body and had been set up to receive it. So where would this 'temporary' body be for his other half?
'They'll destroy us.' Someone spoke to him inside his head with his voice. Desire? Aoba shook his head to clear his mind, thinking that his mind might have been playing tricks on him.
Virus continued on what he was saying earlier. "So Aoba, if you wouldn't mind." He gestured to the glass container of water. Obviously stating that he should remove his clothes and get into the tank of water.
"And do not worry about not breathing. The tank is specialized so that you can breathe in the water. Sort of like a never-ending snorkel of sorts." Virus positioned himself along with another young scientist, in front of a computer screen with two keyboards.
Trip on the other hand, 'helped' Aoba with his jacket and other belongings, stripping him bare in front of everyone including his grandmother. If all of this actually became possible, human kind would be witnessing an odd miracle of cloning. And everyone of them could thank Toue for such a feat.
Aoba blocked his privates and shuddered as Trip pushed him towards the tank. All he could think about at this moment, was Noiz. Before all this took place, he had been with Noiz in an intimate way and despite mocking the man for trying to be a grown up, he had come to depend on him.
He laughed inside his mind at the thought of having his 'final' moments of recollection of his past memories.
Meanwhile...
A group of five men surrounding a brief case in the middle of a long table was causing a bit of tension from the onlookers of the CR:5. Bernardo, Gian Carlo and Giulio were present as well. The three of them had been eavesdropping on the group of men and although confused by the ordeal, were still ready for whatever was in store for them.
Koujaku was now seeing what Noiz had meant from when they last talked. Inside the brief case was Noiz's latest contraption. A tracker of sorts that someone would only see in the movies. Regardless of where and when, the tracking device was nothing like his regular models and acted like that of government intelligence.
It was a spectacular sight to be sure. He had never been interested in tinkering with electronic devices other than his own allmate, Beni but seeing how Noiz handled his own, he was somewhat impressed.
"This is it?" Mink asked as he continued looking at the scanner as it went in circles.
Noiz tapped a few buttons and caused a screen to pop up into mid-air. This got a whistle from Gian Carlo. It had also gotten Bernardo interested as he was intrigued by such things and had always yearned for a world that would allow such items to exist.
For years they had been limited to only regular telephones and since these men had come into their graces, they had been able to see what was beyond their town and cities. Noiz then pointed to a part on the screen where a small dot was blinking nonstop.
"This is all I had to do. It's not like they could have left with so much on their plate. But we're in a hurry. They could be starting any minute." Noiz closed the scanner case and carried it with him.
"What do you mean? I thought their only goal was to have Aoba, which is what they got!" Koujaku kept himself in check from getting riled up over it.
"Unless it wasn't what they wanted all along. Them not leaving right away must mean they have other business. and you know what it is." Mink accused Noiz as he looked at him sternly.
Sighing, Noiz looked back at the group of them. "I placed a tracker before he was taken, back a few years ago. They found it later though and destroyed it before I could track them properly. But during the time that it was on Aoba, I could hear what they were talking about and what was said.".
"They...were using him for their sexual needs, if anything, they want two of him. One for Trip and the other one for Virus. From the sound of their conversation that I overheard, they needed to make something that required Aoba.".
If it wasn't for Ren standing behind him, Koujaku would have pulled his sword out by now. But because he had someone holding him back, he calmed himself down. "So that's the plan then. What are we waiting for? Let's get Aoba back." Koujaku said proudly and walked past Noiz and surprised all of them.
Noiz thought for sure that the man would go hellbent on killing everyone in their path but was shocked to see a whole new man walking ahead of him. Clear was the second person to leave along with Ren being the third and then Mink who gave him a cold stare while he and the three other men in the room were the last.
"Don't worry, we'll get him back and even a bit of money from these guys, right, Giulio?" Gian asked the man.
Giulio simply nodded in return and followed along side the two other men with his knife already in his hand. If it was to be a bloodbath, the man was all too happy to oblige.
A/N: Phew. I actually made it this far in just under two hours. I feel like I rushed but at the same time not since it is basically nearing the end of this story. Um, obviously only one more chapter to do and I think we're done with this fic.
After this fic, I will be focusing more on my own short stories and long stories so I'll be doing those instead of Fanfiction for at least a year until next year maybe.
Right now I only have a laptop but saving for a pc so that I don't have to worry anymore about something breaking or what have you.
My old laptop died last year, at the end of 2018 to be exact and I was left with only my tablet this entire year. After this last chapter I will finally be working on my first real story, it's called Souls Locket and I will also be working on a short story for free on my site, the site is in my profile. So yeah, thank you to everyone or whoever read this fanfic!