---Chapter XVI: Darkness (Part 3)---


///Third Person PoV//



Darkness.


That's what everything turned into after seeing the painful memories that felt like sharp knives had sliced through her heart, her mind, and her soul.


After a few silent moments, (Name) slowly fluttered her eyes open to see that they were back in the room. The flash of memories was over...but clarity was just about to begin.


Before anything else, she had to take deep breaths, as if to calm herself down from the previous event. Her hands were even shaking...but then she realised that it wasn't just hers.


She turned to her side to realise that there was a certain auburn haired Italian that was still holding her hand, eyes closed and body trembling ever so slightly. His expression was what came to her attention, though.


It was a look of pure sorrow.


If he was still seeing something painful, she figured that the best thing to do was to bring him back to reality. "L-Luciano..." she whispered, patting his shoulder.


For a moment, he just stood still, but then his lips parted slightly and he spoke softly, "(Second Name)..."


"Yeah...it's me, Luciano..." she replied in a small voice, unsure why his eyes were still closed.


Slowly, Luciano opened his magenta coloured eyes, his gaze landing upon her (e/c) orbs. "(Second Name)!..." he suddenly shouted, grabbing both her shoulders with an expression that seemed like a mix between relief and sadness.


"Wh-What? Hey, Luciano....we're--we're back, see?" she told him, gesturing at the old looking room.


Blinking repeatedly, the Italian looked around and began to take a grip on reality. "Ah! S-Si...we are. We're...back... I mean, we're...here..." he breathed out, letting go of her and taking a few steps back.


Clearing his throat, the Italian looked down and spoke, "....Sorry. I didn't want you to find out about...all that."


"I...can see now why you wanted so... Actually...I'm sorry... I--I didn't know that--"


"--No, ragazza... We...We don't need to go back and talk about what we just saw earlier. I think you've already understood what had gone on and what you have seen." Luciano cut in, looking away.


Sighing, the girl nodded. "Alright, I understand...but, can I at least ask questions beyond that? You see, I've understood some things after seeing those memories, but then some things don't add up to the present and stuff like that..."


"Very well, then. What would those be?" he replied, still not facing (Name).


"There are so many questions in my mind that I have no idea which one to ask first, really. I've started to accept the fact that, yes, this isn't my first time loop...but...what were you planning, in all honesty?" she asked.


She'd seen so many things from those memories. She had also learnt. The Second Players were actually the first people she met, and judging from how they treated her...up to their very end...they actually cared for her...and she cared for them.


Above all that, she learnt that she had a very special relationship with this Luci here. Though she had no idea how, and she's pretty unsure about his real nature towards her of this time, there's something within her that tells her that he was genuine.


Well, he sure didn't lie when he told her that when she died, she was in his arms.


But...something's bothered her about that.


Why didn't he leave her past self? If he knew that Feliciano was able to go back in time and he was able to follow after him, why didn't he just leave her past self since there would be another her that will be there in the time loop after that?


She knew that they have their crazy sides, but she thinks there something more to it. There must have been some reason for him to, you know, have possession of her lifeless body from the past time loop.


She saw Luciano fidget with one of his switchblades. It seemed like something that calms him down for some reason. He faced her with an uneasy expression. "...You...want the truth?"


"What else would I want?" she replied.


Taking in a deep breath, Luciano then spoke, "...I...I actually planned to bring you--the you, who's alive and well... back to the past."


"Back to the...? Wait, what?" she said, my confusion growing.


Looking up, he stared blankly at the ceiling. "I...gave your past self my respects...then placed you, er, her..in a sack and brought it along with me to the next time loop in hopes that I could find a way to bring you back beyond your first time loop in the mansion.

I planned on finding the you, who was alive in that time loop, erase your memories, and bring you to a time where you would never be part of our plans, and leave your past self in the mansion.

To balance out your existence, I thought of replacing the 'you' of the first time loop, with a 'you' of a current time loop.

If I brought a 'you' that is alive and well in your first time loop, then it would be like you never died. And also I'd make sure that you wouldn't end up in the mansion. By doing that, all the time loops you'd go through in the mansion would have its existence erased."


(Name) tried to process everything that Luciano was trying to elaborate to her. "Why would you do that? I seriously don't understand...why...I'm...I'm really confused..."


Luciano shrugged momentarily. "Ugh... It's complicated and confusing, I know...but the thing is, I just...wanted to bring you to a time...where you would never end up being stuck in this cursed mansion.

Away from all this insanity.

Away from us."


"...But...wouldn't that also mean....that I'd also be in a time...and a reality...where I would have never met you or everybody else...?" she asked him softly.


Looking down, Luciano answered, "...Si. It's for your best, anyway."


She clicked her tongue, then sighed. "Idiot."


"What?"


Slowly, she brought a hand over Luciano's cheeks and spoke, "...Have you...forgotten the last thing I told you...before I...died?"


Before the Italian could reply, she smiled and spoke the same words that had been carved deep within Luciano's heart.


"....I'm so glad to have met you, Luciano Vargas."


His magenta-coloured eyes widened as he heard those words, he couldn't even think of how to reply. Seeing this, the (h/c) haired girl chuckled a bit.


"I'm standing by what I said. Past or present--or even future. It's not going to change the fact that I'm glad to have met you and everyone else here in this mansion. You might think that I would completely regret the fact that I entered this mansion, or resent you for the fact that you took me here....but to be honest...


...I find it to be worth it." she told him with all sincerity.


Luciano couldn't believe his ears at the moment. He felt so bewildered at what was happening, what was said. He didn't know if he should be happy, or worried, or confused. All he knew was that he felt like a large weight was taken off his shoulders. Everything feels so light all of a sudden.


He also feels warmth. A strange, yet familiar kind of warmth accompanied by a fast-beating heart. What was it, again?


Staring down at the girl's (e/c) orbs with his magenta ones, he realised it.


Ah, yes. Now he remembers.




He abruptly stepped away from the girl, earning a puzzled look from her. "What's wrong, Luci?" she asked, using the nickname she learnt from her past self.


"Y-You don't need to call me that." he told her, looking away and feeling his cheeks heat up slightly.


Shaking her head, she smirked playfully. "Heh. 'It's still your name, so I will call you as such'..." she quoted. It was the same thing Luciano told her when she said she didn't want to be called by her second name.


Rolling his eyes, he gave in. "Fine, (Second Name).." he said, emphasizing the name. He snuck a look at her from the corner of his eye. "By the way..."

"Hm? What is it?"


Shifting in place, he spoke, "...Uh, how far did you see in the memories?"


"Oh, hmm..." She thought for a moment, then answered, "Ah, as soon as...you know, my past self passed away, I got pulled back from the memory. Why? Was there more to it?"


Running his hands through his auburn hair, he replied, "...No, nothing much..."


The girl tilted her head in puzzlement. "...Okaay. Anyways...you do know that I've got, mhmm...most of my memories now, right?"


"Si. What about it?"


She frowned. "What do ya mean, 'what about it'? Obviously, I know that you just took me away without letting my other friends see if I was okay or not. They're probably worried. And...they might have misunderstood some things..." she said, lowering her voice at the last bit.


"Don't worry about that, you'll see them soon. I just need to discuss a few things with my comrades in the other room." Luciano reassured her.


A bit surprised, her (e/c) coloured eyes widened. "R-Really? Weren't you usually so adamant on separating me from them? And what have the others been doing anyway?"


"Yes, but... it's different now. As for the others, they just finished breaking clocks, too. They're probably sorting out the memories, so they're pretty quiet at the moment. I've already explained to them what happened. I just need to talk to them about something important." the Italian said, walking over towards the door.


Nodding, she started following after Luciano. "Okay, then. I'll go with you."


"No."


"What? I'm part of this, too--"


"--That's not what I meant. Please, just...stay here for a while. To be honest, you need to sort out your own memories, too. That, and you need rest. If you're not careful, you might become saturated with the memories and lose them all over again." Luciano told her as he opened the door.


Understanding Luciano's point, (Name) sighed. "Alright. Just make your little meeting quick and call me when you guys are done. There are some things I'd want to talk to you guys about, too, so don't take too long with your discussion. You might end up forgetting about me. Okay, Luci?"


Luciano chuckled as he exited the room. "I wouldn't even dream of forgetting about you, (Second Name)."


Realising what the Italian meant, (Name) suddenly became flustered and turned away from the door. Luciano saw her reaction and smiled. He closed the door and proceeded walking to the meeting room, leaving the (age)-year old girl in the dusty room all alone.





Or so she thought.




"Eew. You two are all lovey-dovey and stuff." a small voice piped up.


Suddenly, she saw a familiar little girl wearing a frilly red dress.


"Oh my god..." (Name) breathed out, practically speechless by the surreal happening. She took a step back, as if a bit scared of the little girl. But that sounds preposterous. She wouldn't be scared of a little girl...



...Especially if the little girl happened to be her.



=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

>First Players side, saferoom


"Hello, Italy. This is Lithuania." a timid voice was heard from the other line.


Italy's face brightened upon recognising the person. "Veh, it's been a while! Is everything all right there?"


"Yes, you could say that. Anyway, may I talk to Russia, please?" the Lithuanian asked kindly.


Tilting his head in confusion, Italy inquired, "What, you can't call Russia's phone?"


"No, no one can call him from outside... And it looks like he can't call us either. It's like we can call anyone in the house but Russia." Lithuania explained.


Nodding, Italy started walking up to the tall Russian and spoke, "R-right... Russia, Lithuania wants to talk to you."

The Italian approached Russia, who was in the middle of studying some papers on the long wooden table.


Russia sighed. "Aww, but I'm busy now...Oh, well. Sorry, Italy, I'll have to borrow your phone."


"No, I don't mind..." Italy told him, giving the man his phone.


"Hey, Lithuania. What do you want? --Yeah.-- What?! They're gone?! Wh-where? Oh, so they heard about that... Sheesh. Wasn't that a long time ago? Yeah...Yeah... Right. Okay. I'll go and take a look. Yeah. Thanks for letting me know. Good luck to you, too~ Just don't die. There. Thanks." Russia said after the phone call, handing the mobile phone to Italy.


Italy looked unsure of what went on with the call. "N-no problem. Um, what happened? Do I even want to know?" he asked the Russian.


"Hm? It's fine. Er, you, see, my sisters and the others have gone off on their own. With the enemy still out there, they could get in trouble..." Russia explained, sighing at the thought.


Italy's expression turned into a worried one. "The others? You mean the other girls?! And why did they leave?"


"Remember that hole that lead into the house? The one that Spain and your brother fell into? They caught wind of that and... they figured that if they came through it, they'd be able to find me."


"What?! But isn't that extremely dangerous?!"


Russia nodded and stood up abruptly. "Yeah I'm a little worried, so I'm going to the basement. I hope they won't be there, though..." he told him, walking out of the room before letting the others have a say on it.


"Oh! Wait!" Japan tried to call out, but the door was already slammed shut.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

>Basement tunnel


"They shouldn't be here. I mean, it'd be a problem if they were..." Russia muttered as he walked through the basement tunnel, following where the light was coming from to reach the wall where the burnt ladder used to be.


Suddenly, the sound of footsteps were heard a few feet behind him. He turned around to see that Japan and China had followed him.


"Russia! Please wait!" Japan panted.


Raising an eyebrow, Russia crossed his arms. "What? What's the matter?"


"You...We told you not to go around on your own! And you're too damn fast!" China scolded, feeling a little tired himself.


"W-Were you just following me?" Russia asked, unsure of his comrades' action.


Japan nodded. "It would have been dangerous otherwise."


"...Y-Yeah. Thank you." the Russian spoke softly, a bit happy that they were worried about him.


China stepped closer to him and spoke, "So? I'm not even sure what we're doing here. What's going on?"


"Well, my sisters are looking for that hole up there. I have to tell them they shouldn't come to this dangerous place for my sake and that the enemy is out there, too..." Russia explained, pointing at the exit above.


Shaking his head in disbelief, Japan spoke up, "Belarus and Ukraine? That is really dangerous. But it seems that they have not yet found it, and this place--"


"Russia!!" a loud voice resonated in the cave-like area. Their eyes shot up above them, there they saw two girls with light blonde hair leaning over at the entrance of the basement tunnel.


Russia's eyes widened as he realised that his two sisters were present. "What?! B-B-Belarus!! Ukraine!"


"My dear brother!! I found you!!" Belarus exclaimed passionately.


Ukraine sighed in relief and smiled. "Russia! Thank God! I was really worried! Are you hurt?"


"My brother...brother brother brother!!" the Belarussian girl cried out.


Russia rubbed his temples. "Ugh...Um, anyway, why don't you go back? I'm fine here and, well..."


"Russia, I'm coming there right now! Please catch me, and I'll show you my new Belarus Lock while I'm at it!" Belarus told him excitedly.


Shaking his head, Russia looked back at her with a strong glare. "...! You can't, Belarus. You can't come here."


"Why not?! I will overcome this height with the power of love! Catch me, Russia! And then we can get married!" Belarus proclaimed, a slightly(?) scary smile gracing her lips.


China's spine chilled when he saw the girl. "What an intense little sister."


"No...Go home..." Russia grit his teeth.


Belarus frowned. "No! I-"


"...GO HOME, BELARUS!!" Russia yelled angrily, making Belarus flinch at the sudden treatment.


Recollecting himself a little, Russia shrugged. "Don't. At least this once, you can't come. I'm fine, so just go home with Ukraine."


"...You know, Russia, today I'm on Belarus' side. We can't go home. I'm sorry." Ukraine told him, a sad smile on her face.


Not expecting her older sister to go against his wishes, Russia gave a confused look. "What...?!"


"Ukraine." Belarus looked at her older sister with surprised eyes.


With a gentle smile, Ukraine spoke calmly. "You have made new friends, Russia. And so has Belarus."


"Oh..." Japan understood.


China stepped back slightly. "Time to read the mood" he thought.


"You don't seem too be hurt too bad, and if you were able to make such precious friends, you should definitely get out for them. If you can promise me that... We will both wait for you to get out. We can't go home, but can you at least let us wait for you?" Ukraine asked of him.


Not wanting to just wait outside for her brother, Belarus tried to protest, "Ukraine! You can't just decide that on your-"


Before the Belarussian could finish her sentence, a loud gunshot was heard outside in a distance.

"A gunshot?" Japan thought out loud.


Belarus froze. "There was only one person around here who had a gun...Could it be...?That girl...What if she's been attacked by the enemy? What am I going to do? Now that I've finally found my brother, I don't want to part from him again! But...1 What should I do? Where should I go...?"

There were so many things that ran through Belarus' mind. She wanted to be with Russia so much. He loves him, and they're going to get married, she believes. She doesn't want to leave him now when she just got to see him again after so long. But...


But...that kind girl and her friend...must be in danger right now, too.


Belarus always thought to herself that all she needed in her life, and all that mattered to her, would be her dear brother...but...


But now...


...she also has new friends. New, kind friends.


And this is something that she never thought she'd want to have...but now...it's something that she feels she doesn't want to lose.


What should she do...?


"...Go, Belarus. Go help your friend. I'll be fine, really." Russia said.


Feeling torn, Belarus leaned over and met her brother's gaze. "But, Russia, I want to be with you--"


"I'm sorry I told you to go home. I take it back, Belarus. I want you to be careful and wait for my return." Russia told her, his lips curling into a smile.


Tugging on her younger sister's sleeve, Ukraine spoke, "Belarus, we have to go now--"


"But..." Belarus trailed off.


Japan looked up and reassured the girl. "It's all right, Belarus. Your brother will definitely get out with us. We are all in this together."


"Well...yeah." China agreed.


Taking a deep breath, Belarus looked down at her brother. "...Russia"

"Hm?" Russia tilted his head.


Belarus stood up and rubbed her elbow nervously. "I'm sorry...There is something I need to take care of now, so I can't be with you. So please...take this instead." she said, dropping down a parcel. Russia caught it in a nick of time.


"Hm? A parcel?" the Russian eyed it curiously, then proceeded opening it, slowly revealing soft cloth. "It's a new scarf! Did you buy it, Belarus?" he asked happily.


Nodding, Belarus turned to her sister. "Ukraine helped me pick it. Think of it as if it were me. Let's go, Ukraine."


"Right. Well, then, we'll be waiting for you at the exit. Take care." Ukraine told them before she and her sister went off to help out their friends outside.


Smiling, Russia called out to them. "Uh, okay. Thank you for the scarf! You, too, take care, Ukraine, Belarus!"



"You have such a nice family." Japan pointed out, giving a small smile.


Distracted while putting on the new scarf, Russia spoke in a daze. "What? Oh...yeah. I do."


"Shall we go now?" Japan asked his two comrades.


China rubbed his stomach. "Yeah, I'm hungry."


"Huhu, it's so warm..." Russia murmured to himself as the three of them left the empty basement tunnel.



Little did they know that it wasn't as empty as they thought it to be.


=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Outside of the mansion, by the ponds


"Aahhhh...I hope Belarus is all right..." Lithuania sighs. Given that he finds a liking to the Belarussian beauty, he couldn't help but worry about her. He hopes she won't get mad at her for selling her out, though.


A blond Polish man ran towards him in a fabulous fashion. "Liet! Liet! We're screwed! Like, totally!" he said in a valley girl way of speaking.


"What? What's wrong, Poland? Did you find any clocks?" Lithuania inquired.


Poland nodded, but placed the back of his hand on his forehead and spoke dramatically. "Yeah, we did, but the enemy was there, too, and it, like, ate Latvia!"


Lithuania's face instantly changed into one filled with horror and worry."WHAAAAT?! That's serious! What about Estonia?!"


"He's kinda in danger." Poland vaguely described.


Taking hold of Poland's hand to have him run with him, Lithuania exclaimed."Aaaargh! W-we've got to hurry!! Let's go, Poland!!"

A loud ring was heard from one of their pockets. Lithuania pulled out his phone and answered the call.


"Hm, who could it be? Yes?" Lithuania asked.


A female voice was heard on the other side of the line. "...You told my brother, didn't you? Even though it was none of your business. I couldn't get in, and my heart was broken."


"Bela- Oh, um...I'm sorry." he apologised.


The line was silent for a while "But thanks to that, I could help a friend." Belarus told him, a gunshot was heard in the background.


"A gunshot? What's going on, Belarus?!" Lithuania asked, suddenly more alarmed.


Belarus sighed and spoke quickly. "I'm hanging up."


Lithuania was about to ask further but Belarus already ended the call. "Er, wait- ...Good luck to you, too."


"Liet, we gotta go, or else we'll be really screwed!" Poland told him, tugging his sleeves.


Lithuania nodded. "Oh, sorry. Let's go, then! We have to help our friends, too!" he said, walking forward.


"Oh, Liet, I kinda have a feeling that we should paint the enemy pink. Don't you think it'd look, like, totally cool?" Poland suggested, smiling at the thought of using the fabulous colour.


=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=


Russia, Japan and China had safely returned to the saferoom, closing the door behind them.


Prussia, who was taking care of some weapons, looked up and greeted them. "Oh, you're back. Looks like everything worked out for you."


"Yeah. Sorry for running off all of a sudden~" Russia apologised with a childish smile. A moment later, they heard a cellphone ring.


Looking surprised, Prussia spoke, "The phone again? The reception has been pretty good lately."


"...Yeah, looks like it. Could it be Belarus? Excuse me while I answer it." Russia said in a lowered voice, heading towards the bathroom to answer the phone.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-


// PoV _I always love it when he gets a pov_///


"What took you so long? What have you been doing? What? Just tell me already. Do you want to cooperate with me or not? What the heck? I don't care. Where are you now?" I heard a familiar voice.


I just walked out of a cubicle and noticed that Russia had entered the bathroom. It seemed he didn't come here to bathe or use the toilet, rather, he came here to answer a call. He seemed quite frustrated about something, too. I know it's not my business to pry, but I've been...slightly suspicious of the Russian for a long time now. The are already a great number of times he would distance himself from us and be on the phone. I would assume that it would be Lithuania or maybe even his sisters...but sometimes...I feel as if he would be talking to a completely different person.


"...Why would you do that? I can't believe it. I did find it weird. Playing tricks like this...Are you really sure you want to do that? You sound like it's against your will. Well, it's not like I care. I approve of it, actually. It's better that way." Russia continued, not noticing my presence. Not like it was unusual.


Though I felt kind of guilty for eavesdropping, so I decided to let him know I'm here. "Um..." I spoke, trying to get his attention.


But...yeah, he didn't see nor hear me.


I was about to just leave the bathroom quietly, when a piece of dialogue made my ears perk up.


"Go tell the others about your plan, then. As for mine, I intend to keep this game of ours going. It's not everyday we get to do fun stuff like this together~" Russia said in a childish yet dark manner.


"...What?" I thought to myself, immediately freezing and making sure I was kept unnoticed this time. What did Russia mean by that?



"You wouldn't dare. I already complied with your previous one. There's no need to tell them, it'll ruin everything. They should never even know of this whole thing. What? If she wants to see them before you get rid of her, then just let her go back here herself. I don't them to know I have connections with you." the Russian man said in irritation.


Furrowing my brows, I tried to analyze what he just said. He mentioned a girl? Who is he talking about? His sister? Well, he did say Belarus tried to go here through the basement tunnel. Maybe that's it?


"No. They don't need to see (Name) anymore. The rest of us here will be busy playing this game. I want some more time, then we'll talk about leaving and trying to kill each other off." Russia chuckled. "Hm? What? ...Oh, please. You're just lying to me now. Listen, I don't have time to talk to you right now, they're going to start to suspect if I'm gone for too long."


I felt like my heart stopped when I heard (Name)'s name.


No...


Don't...don't tell me...Russia's...


Things were starting to go in place in a puzzle I've been trying to solve. I don't want to realise it, because if I let myself do so...I might get consumed by pure, and utter rage.


Russia...


...just don't...


...confirm my suspicions...


If you dare do...


...I don't know if I'll be able to control myself.


I started clenching my fists and gritting my teeth, waiting...waiting for that piece of the puzzle. If what I'm thinking of is true...I should be hearing a certain name by now...the name of....


"...I'm ending this call now. It was fun cooperating with you, but I want to have my own fun. So I'll get back to you later,.." Russia paused, then looked at the screen of his phone to find the End Call button. ".......Luciano Vargas."


As soon as I heard the name, I slammed my fist on the wall beside me, making Russia turn around to face me with a completely shocked expression.


Probably shocked to see me with a completely infuriated one.



Russia took a step back. "...!! C-Canada...you-er-how long have you been there?" he asked me.


I glared at him intensely. Before either of us had realised it...I balled my hands into a fist, not able to control myself any longer, and threw a strong and heavy punch on the large Russian's face. The impact even made Russia hit his back against the wall behind him.


I have no idea how I was able to do it, but my anger wasn't diminished the slightest bit. With an ice cold stare, I spoke in a voice that was no longer a mere whisper compared to others.



"...I've been here all along."



=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

///Luciano's PoV///


"Hello? Hello?" I tried calling out, but the line seemed to have already been cut off. Clicking my tongue, I placed my phone back in my pocket.


Lutz raised an eyebrow and asked me, "What happened?"


"The Russian First Player's being stubborn, and then the call got cut off." I frowned. "We'll deal with him later, we have other matters at hand."


I looked over my comrades inside our meeting room. Everyone still looked the same as they always were, but their eyes told a different story.


A while ago, when I entered the room, everyone looked so...broken.


Strangely enough, though, they looked broken...but renewed.


I don't know how I should actually put this in words. We weren't really the open kind of people. When they were done seeing what was held by the clocks and after they sorted out their memories, they were pretty silent for an ample amount of time.


We didn't talk about how we saw each other die, and how horrible we felt when we lost each other or whatnot...but, in a way, we knew. We knew that we've gained something from it. And that a lot of things have and will change between us. For once, it's the good kind of change.


My brother was a slightly different case, though. As soon as I entered through the door, he immediately flung himself unto me and started crying--sobbing, whatever you would call a grown man loudly crying out with tears incessantly flowing from his eyes.


But I didn't mind it at all.


Going back to our so-called meeting, I explained to them earlier about what happened. Along with what I have done and with what I have told (Second Name). I even told them how the girl managed to make me expose my own plans to her myself.


"Hm. You've already told her about the plan, so there's no way in hell the dollface's gonna let you do that." Allen said, revealing his crimson eyes as he lifted his shades and placed it over his head.


"I know that, obviously." I responded. Looking over Kuro's way, I continued. "Kuro, you've kept the item I told you to take, right?"


Nodding, Kuro replied, "Hai. What is it for, anyway?"


Taking a seat, I met their gazes before I answered in a low voice.




"Plan B.