Paradox Live Stage Battle "FATE" - Part 3
[sfx: piano riff from Shooting Arrows]Yohei: [sigh]
[sfx: piano stops]
Yohei: This ain't workin'...
[sfx: piano resumes, then Yohei drags his hands across the keys and gives up]
Yohei: Ah, dammit all... nothin's workin'. [sigh]
Saimon: How does some coffee sound, Yohei?
[sfx: Saimon walking over, setting down a cup of coffee]
Yohei: ... ah.
Saimon: Mm. Caffeine stimulates the brain. It's the perfect way to take a break from working on something creative.
[sfx: cat meowing]
Saimon: See? Spot is in agreement.
[sfx: meow]
Saimon: There, there. [laughs] I'll give you some cat milk, too, Spot.
Yohei: You spoil that thing too much, professor. He's starting to get fat, y'know?
Saimon: Is he? But he's cute like this, don't you think? Right?
[sfx: meow]
Yohei: C'mon...
Saimon: [hums] Aren't you overdoing it, Yohei?
Yohei: Hah?
Saimon: I mean that from what I can tell, you've been staying here in the shop for the past few days, pulling all-nighters to work on the new song.
Yohei: [tsk] Shiki, that rat fink... thought I told him not to tell Saimon about this...
Saimon: It wasn't Shiki who told me. It was Ryu.
Yohei: Ryu? Him?
Saimon: [chuckles] He said, 'at this rate, Master will disintegrate into a pile of goo~!'. He's worried about you, too.
Yohei: For real? That weirdo?
Saimon: Ryu has grown a lot, so...
Yohei: And that's just it, innit?
Saimon: Hm?
Yohei: We all got a lot out of the last Paradox Live. Not just keepin' the bar, but TCW has definitely grown as a team, too. ... even though there's still that thing hangin' over us...
Saimon: You're right. That incident was a chilling reminder of the power of phantometal. It was terrifying, but at the same time...
Yohei: You got a sense of hope, didn't 'ya?
Saimon: Yes. Connecting people to oen another with music... it convinced me that what Tsubaki wished for is possible.
Yohei: I get that. What we thought was just a pipe dream, our mu-- I mean, TCW's music, can accomplish it. That's why, this time around...
Saimon: We can't afford to lose, right?
Yohei: You gonna argue the point, Saimon?
Saimon: No. I'm in agreement.
Yohei: We'll be going up against 1Nm8 first, sounds like. Though they're basically new on the scene, their musicianship seems solid. Especially that Miyama Kei dude. We gotta be careful with him.
Saimon: If I'm remembering correctly, I believe I heard that he used to be a member of VISTY.
Yohei: Yeah. Heard from a few bar regulars that he was pretty popular. Hm. Phantom live idols... total load of marketing bullshit, but they had chops in their scene, but just as they were about to become real proper idols, Miyama Kei suddenly ditched the team. Seems there were also rumors flyin' around that he'd given up on music entirely, but...
Saimon: He returned as a member of 1Nm8. I see.
Yohei: ... [tsk] It don't sit right with me. Hard to believe a guy could just ditch his comrades and then rejoin the battle with a new team. ... anyway, break time's over. I've gotta do somethin' with this phrasing[1] before Shiki and Ryu come back and start making a racket.
[sfx: door opening, bell ringing]
Yohei: Ah, sorry, we ain't open today--
Kei: Yes, I came here aware of that.
Saimon: You boys are...
Kei: I'm Miyama Kei from 1Nm8.
Itsuki: I'm Itsuki. If this is inconvenient, we can return at another time.
Saimon: Ah, no, it's alright...
Yohei: So whaddaya want? You here to scout out the enemy?
Kei: No. On the contrary, we have no intention of inspecting you.
Yohei: Hah? The fuck you goin' on about? In the next battle we're gonna be--
Kei: Yes, we will be competing. Of course, we have no intention of losing. However, we have come to ask for your cooperation.
Yohei: "Cooperation"...?
Kei: Yes. I'm certain that you will be sympathetic to our goal. That is why I came here.
*
[sfx: footsteps, bag rustling]
Shiki: [sigh] Five lemons, four limes, two bags of mixed nuts, and three bags of crackers... I haven't forgotten anything.
Ryu: Hey, hey, Shikki! Let's take a shortcut on the way home~!
Shiki: Shortcut...? Isn't this already the shortest path to the bar...?
Ryu: Buzz! Wrong answer!! Black-Spotted Demon King DX will give you an earful for that, meow meow meow meow, like that!! The correct answer is--!
[sfx: Ryu jumping over a fence, complete with slide whistle sfx]
Ryu: Come on, Shikki, you do it too! Jump, jump!
Shiki: Eh? I, I don't think I can just jump over a fence...!
Ryu: Over this wall lies freedom! Up-and-down, wriggling into spaces and jumping all over the city's secret shortcuts like a kittycat! Going fast and spinning around~! See? You do it, too, Shikki.
Shiki: U-uh... Going fast and spinning around...? Wait, Ryu-kun, no! You can't do that! A shortcut isn't an excuse to cut across someone else's property! It's trespassing, and I have to carry all of the groceries, too...!
Ryu: Eh? How bo~ring~!
Shiki: Come on, it's dangerous up there, you'd better hurry up and get down...
Ryu: Ah! Beepbeepbeep! Distress signal received!
Shiki: What is it this time?
Ryu: Over thattaway! There's someone sleeping in the middle of the street!
Shiki: You mean... did someone collapse...!?
Ryu: Let's go rescue them, Commander Shiki!
Shiki: When did I become the commander!?
Ryu: Here it is!
[sfx: Ryu running]
Ryu: Hmmm! So the army of the Dark Space Empire is attacking! Hang in there, comrade!!
Rokuta: Uwah... [groaning]
Shiki: A-are you okay?
Rokuta: My stomach's.... my stomach is...
Shiki: Does your stomach hurt? Hold on, I'll call for an ambulance...
Rokuta: My stomach's... sooooo empty....
Shiki: ... huh?
Rokuta: Wanna eat candy... Might die if I don't eat candy...
Shiki: ... uh.... huh?
Rokuta: I see the light... [thud]
Ryu: Oh! He's dead!
Shiki: H-hey! Hang in there!
*
[sfx: Rokuta eating]
Shiki: [sigh]
Rokuta: Ah, that was really good! Thank you for the food~!
Shiki: That was amazing... you just devoured all of the crackers and nuts in no time flat...
Rokuta: Ah! Sorry!
Shiki: N-no, it's fine, but, are you okay...?
Rokuta: Yeah, I'm fine! I always just collapse real easy whenever I get hungry.
Shiki: Ah...
Rokuta: That's why I always keep candy in my pocket, but while I was waitin' around in the park, I ended up eating all of it. And I was like, "oh no!" and thought I might head over to the convenience store, but...
Shiki: But you collapsed on the way, huh?
Rokuta: Yep! Itsuki-nii always says I get really awful gas mileage.
Shiki: Itsuki-nii... were you waiting for your big brother?
Rokuta: Oh, nope, Itsuki-nii is like a big brother, but he's not actually my brother. Kinda sounds like Kei-chan is my brother, though.
Shiki: Um...
Rokuta: They said they had to talk about some important stuff, so they told me to wait here, and then I got hungry and passed out, mister... uh...
Shiki: I'm Shiki. Ando Shiki. ... you... by any chance, might you be one of the guys from 1Nm8...?
Rokuta: Yeah! I'm Rokuta! Are you and Zero friends, Shikki?
Shiki: "Zero"?
Rokuta: Yeah, Zero!
[sfx: Ryu running back in, making Ryu noises]
Ryu: Commander Shikki! Private Ryu-kun has returned from the Space Convenience Station! [opening bag] Hehehe, and he bought lots of drinks and candy~!
Rokuta: Zero!
Ryu: Huh?
Rokuta: You're Zero, right? It's me, Rokuta! Or, um, #6!
Ryu: Huh? #6?
Rokuta: We were together at the Alter Trigger facility, 'member? ... don't you remember, Zero?
Ryu: Zero? Who's that?
*
Yohei: Ryu was... a human experiment subject?
Kei: Indeed. The Alter Trigger company gathered children without any families to miss them, and spent public funds to continue their human experimentation with phantometal.
Saimon: That incident that happened before... after that happened, and the Alter Trigger company dissolved, and this came to light?
Kei: Yes, but the details were never made public because of the extent of the inhumanity involved.
Yohei: So how d'you know all about it, then?
Itsuki: Rokuta and I were discharged from that facility.
Saimon and Yohei: ...
Itsuki: For as long as we can remember, we were raised within a facily run by the Alter Trigger corporation, and we were subjected to varied experimentation.
Saimon and Yohei: ...
Itsuki: As a side effect from the experimentation done to me, I lost a degree of my emotional affect, and gained in its stead a superhuman memory. Everything I see, hear, and experience are instantly recorded in my brain, and I can access said memories at any time.
Saimon: But in return, there's no way for you to forget anything you've experienced, voluntarily or otherwise... that's the sort of ability it is, isn't it?
Itsuki: Correct. It is very much a curse to me; however, it is thanks to this ability that I can state to you with confidence that Natsume Ryu was one of the subjects of experimentation. He was an exceptional successful case from the phantometal trials-- the experimental subject Zero.
*
[sfx: can opening]
Rokuta: Ah, so you don't remember me at all, huh, Zero? [drinking] Waaah! This sweet coffee is really good!
Shiki: Um... about the Alter Trigger facility you mentioned earlier...
Rokuta: Hm? Yeah, it's like a place for researching all kinds of classified information. Itsuki-nii and I grew up there, and there were lots of other kids, too. And Zero was there, too!
Shiki: Do you remember any of this, Ryu-kun?
Ryu: Uh-uh, not at all.
Rokuta: He went missing all of a sudden one day, and I always wondered what had happened to him, but... yeah! Anyway, I'm glad Zero's doing well!
Ryu: Not Zero. Ryu-kun is Ryu-kun!
Rokuta: Um... got it! I'm not #6 anymore, either, so, I'll call you Ryu! Oh, yeah! And as a thanks for saving me, I'll show you somethin' cool!
Shiki: Something cool...?
Ryu: I wanna see! Showmeshowme!
Rokuta: You see see this little can? [crushing it] I'll make it even smaller!
Shiki: No way, that's like a steel can... for you to be able to crumple it so easily...!
Rokuta: Hehe, are you surprised? [crushing the can continues] I get real bad mileage, but in exchange, I'm suuuper strong. But I get hurt a lot 'cos I don't know my own strength. [crushing stops] Alright, all done!
Ryu: Whoa~!!
Shiki: That's unbelievable... you folded an entire can up into the size of a 500 yen coin[2]...
Rokuta: I can crumple up frying pans like tissue paper, too.
Ryu: Really~!? Commander Shikki, let's invite Space Hero Rokuta back to our mothership~!
Shiki: To the bar, you mean...?
Ryu: Hehehehehe. We have lots of frying pans there!
Rokuta: Can I crumple them? Yay! I'll go, I'll go! That's super fun~!
Shiki: Eh-- wait, no! If you do something like that, then Master will--
Ryu: And awaaaay we go~!!
Rokuta: Yaaay! Let's go!
[sfx: Ryu noises, Rokuta laughing]
Shiki: W-wait! Rokuta-kun, not you, too...!
*
Kei: Having said that, I'm sure that you are able to understand why we're here today.
Yohei: The hell you mean 'understand'?
Kei: Rokuta is my younger brother, who was taken in by the Alter Trigger company and used as an instrument in hellish human experimentation. My brother and Itsuki were discharged together. The moment I found out the truth, the knowledge weight on me like a curse. I had undertaken the path of phantom lives and becoming an idol to try and find my missing brother. I had been searching for my brother using the very thing that had caused him to suffer.
Yohei: Then, Visty are...
Kei: Indeed. The phantom lives... no, music itself. I was prepared to throw all of it away so that I could live peacefully with Rokuta and Itsuki, somewhere...
Itsuki: But they want to hold another Paradox Live.
Saimon: Then, that being the case...
Kei: Yes. We could have kept our heads down and not concerned ourselves with it, but doing that, nothing would change. [slapping hands on table] The danger posed by the phantometal is clear, even if it's not widely known to the public. All of us -- myself included -- are using hellish tools made of this demonic metal. That's why I've decided that we will win the Paradox Live and put an end to phantom lives once and for all.