Since RomaDura is still being written (chapter 2 has like...900 words written out at the moment and that's not even close to the end of the chapter), I decided to upload an ending I considered before I decided to just wing it with the part that could have been 17 2/2.

When 17 2/2 comes out, I promise I will upload the DuraOni version of that. Until then, RomaDura continues on.

I own nothing.

Izaya's hand found the light switch, and with the light, he found himself staring directly into Steve's eyes.

Before Steve could even react properly, Izaya was whacking him over the head with a book from the nearby bookshelf.

"Die! Go away, you...you..."

"Ow! Could you stop that? Geez!" Steve shouted.

Izaya froze.

What. WHAT.

Steve did not just talk. It was a monster that killed his friends-and Izaya himself-at least once.

"What? Is it that surprising?" Steve asked, tilting its head.

"You. You're not supposed to talk," Izaya accused.

"What?...oh, you must have met my clones," Steve realized.

"Your...clones?"

"Yes. My clones. I thought you were the smart human."

Izaya gaped at Steve. He was speaking to him as though they weren't in the mansion, Izaya's companions hadn't died over and over again, and Izaya didn't have to worry about the people outside fighting for their lives.

"Hello, earth to brain-dead human?" Steve questioned.

"I'm sorry, but I know you as a murderer. Who the hell are you and what have you done with Steve?" Izaya asked.

"Ste...oh, that's the name your group has been calling me? Well, it's certainly shorter than my real name," Steve commented.

"And what would that be?"

"If I tried to say it in your language, it wouldn't make a lick of sense."

Kida felt a lump form in his throat as he took a step towards Shinra.

"Shinra...how many fingers am I holding up?"

Shinra's face instantly formed a scowl.

"You're flipping me off? What the hell, Kida?" he shouted.

"AHA! You were faking being blind!" Kida accused.

"I never faked being blind!" Shinra protested.

"Then why didn't you notice my stuff!" Kida asked, shoving it in Shinra's face.

A few moments later, it had instantly degraded into a slap fight.

Celty, Kasuka and Shizuo tore open the door.

"IZAYA!" Shizuo shouted when he saw the silver back of Steve.

Izaya glanced behind Steve, perfectly unharmed.

"What now, Shizu-chan?" he asked.

The trio gaped in surprise. Izaya wasn't fighting Steve, nor was the monster trying to murder him.

"What's going on here?" Kasuka asked.

"From what he's told me, Steve is the original alien, his clones were tricked into thinking we would kill them all, the whole 'Ao Oni' story is true, and Steve knows a way out," Izaya explained as Steve turned around. There was a lively glint in the alien's eyes.

"...what? Izaya, what the..." Shizuo stammered.

"He's telling the truth. I'm not as violent as my clones," Steve confirmed.

"I think it's better if we go back to the safe room," Izaya suggested.

Mairu and Kururi arrived in the safe room at the same moment Izaya and his posse did. Everyone seemed shocked to see Steve following Izaya.

"What..."

"Izaya! What are you doing?"

"Everyone, charge Steve on the count of..."

"Enough! God, you guys..." Izaya groaned.

"This Steve isn't like the others. He can talk, and he hasn't tried to kill us," Kasuka explained.

"I promise I'm not going to eat any of you," Steve swore. Mikado tenatively stepped backwards.

"Mikado, relax. He won't hurt us," Kida pointed out.

"In any case, what do we do now, then? The, er...clones in the past time loop are dead, Masaomi has his stuff back, and...Steve seems to be able to talk," Namie asked.

"I know the way out of here," Steve informed.

"You...you do?" Shizuo asked.

"Well...yes and no. That key that was supposed to be in the numbers room is our ticket out of here, but Ao knew this time that Izaya would succeed in finding it, so he took it from the mutation in the top floor and laid a trap there, guessing that would steer things off course," Steve explained.

"Then where's Ao?" Isaac asked.

"He's hiding outside," Steve responded, frowning heavily.

"And the others are outside as well...crud. Steve, do you think you can lure Ao back in here?" Shinra asked.

"Possibly. If I die, Ao only has his 'children' left, and with the number of people in and surrounding the mansion, he could be worrying about his fate," Steve explained.

"Okay, I demand explanations. One, why would Ao go outside when he knows there are more people coming to the rescue? Two, why didn't you show yourself before? Three, can't you stop your clones? And four, why are you on Earth?" Kyohei questioned.

"Ao went outside to hide. He doesn't know that a bulldozer is coming here to destroy the mansion and the clocks outside, so it's possible he will be killed by the bulldozer. I was kept trapped in a room hidden near the clock room. I have no control over my clones-we're not a hive mind. And I'm on your planet because one day Ao decided to take a spaceship from our planet and crashed it here," Steve explained.

The room fell silent, a few people trying to listen for any noises outside that indicated someone had fallen, or a bulldozer was coming.

"How are we going to lure Ao inside?" Miria asked.

"Simple. You all will chase me to the foyer, where you will pretend to kill me. Ao will have no choice but to get back into the mansion. If he chooses to use the front door-which seems highly likely-one of you will have to knock Ao away before he can shut the door and defend it until all of your friends are safe," Steve responded.

"Pretend to...but what if pretending doesn't work?" Izaya asked.

"Then you will have to take my life. If that is the case, the clones will all disappear. They are all technically parts of me, and I would be considered the head, and I believe your human logic can apply to what will happen if I am killed. Ao will confront you personally, but as long as you can get him away from the door and defend it so you all can escape, my life doesn't matter in the aftermath," Steve informed.

"No. Steve, I promised to get everyone out-"

"And that's what you'll do. Izaya, you can't rewind time for a monster like me. You have to get out. It's partly my fault you and your friends have died several times. Besides, I wouldn't be welcome in Ikebukuro," Steve pointed out.

"What about the nations?" Anri suggested.

"My brother, Tony, already lives with America, and the nations don't know it wasn't really me that killed them in their time loops before they got out. Maybe if I explained, I could live with them, but I would have to go home sooner or later, and there will be questions to answer, like why I was on Earth, where's Ao, why was I away for so long, and such. They could find me guilty of murder even though his blood isn't on my hands-so to say, I abandoned him in a mansion where he could starve or possibly be killed by humans," Steve denied.

"Wow...so you're going to be in trouble no matter what, huh? But leaving you in the mansion with the other guy...he might be guilty of murder too if he decides to kill you, if I'm following, correctly?" Kida asked.

"No. My planet is just as screwed up as yours. They'll see it as 'I cloned myself without unauthorization and Ao killed me before I could continue to murder anyone or thing' or they would see it as he putting me out of my misery. Cloning ourselves in our planet can eventually lead to going insane. It's not as easy as you think it is," Steve responded.

Izaya stood up.

"Then we can't keep wasting time here. Ao might be murdering one of our friends or one of the nations as we speak, and I'm done rewinding time!" he shouted.

Steve nodded.

"Come along, now. Time is running short," he ordered. The group slowly filed out of the safe room, Miria taking the treaty paper and the list of things to do once outside the mansion.

In the hall outside the safe room, Steve took a deep breath.

"May the ones chasing me be swift to drive me away and strong enough to escape at last."

Firo barreled along one of the forest paths to see Czeslaw squirming helplessly in a giant, blue alien's grasp.

"Firo! Firo, help!" he squealed.

The blonde wasted no time in kicking the blue alien's chin, stunning it, then stealing Czeslaw away.

"Czes, how did you manage to get caught by that thing?"

"He snuck up on me! I was about to smash the clock when he found me and tried to eat me!"

Firo looked up. The blue alien was observing them, its ugly, twisted face filled with glee. It wasn't trying to kill them at the moment, but something was off. It wasn't the silver-gray aliens they had been fighting...was it some sort of rare, off-color breed?

Suddenly, an inhuman screech pierced the air, Firo's breath catching in his throat as he ran through his list of combatants in his head.

Maiza couldn't have sound like that, maybe Ennis...

About .5 seconds passed before the blue alien's eyes widened and he barreled towards the mansion, with Firo's phone ringing in that exact instant.

"Firo, what was that?" Ennis questioned on the other end of the line.

"Ennis! I thought that might have been you or one of the nations..."

"No. We're all safe. The aliens just headed towards the mansion. What's going on?"

"That screech came from the mansion. Oh god, it might be Isaac or Miria..."

"No. Firo, that pitch wasn't even close to theirs. Someone else might be close to death in there."

Firo fell silent for a moment before asking, "Do you think it might be Izaya?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's him, or maybe it's one of their foes."

"Let's hope it's that. Stay safe, okay?"

"I will. Keep Czeslaw safe and get them out."

"I will."

Ennis hung up, leaving Firo shaking a little.

"Firo? Was it Isaac or Miria who screamed?" Czeslaw asked.

"It's possible, but they could be safe and sound," Firo reassured.

Czeslaw closed his eyes.

"How are they going to get out?" he wondered.

The group chased Steve down the steps, Shizuo shouting obscenities at it. Izaya's heart rose in his chest as a blue alien opened the door.

"Well, aren't you a bunch of brave little humans?" it questioned, sneering.

"Now, Shizuo!" Izaya ordered.

Shizuo dashed to the door and managed to knock Ao away from it, holding it open.

"All of you, get your asses out of here!"

Without wasting another second, the group ran outside, Izaya and Steve being the last to reach the door before Ao grabbed Steve by the neck.

"Oh no you don't, my little slave," the blue alien hissed.

"Run, Izaya!" Steve half-coughed, half-shouted.

Izaya hesitated, leaving Shizuo to grab and toss him out.

"Shizuo, tell Izaya I'm sorry!" Steve pled. The blonde nodded, and left, leaving the two aliens in the mansion.

"It's just you and me, you traitor. You know, I gave you everything. I even made sure you didn't go mad at the last second. And this is how you repay me?" Ao questioned.

Without warning, Steve's eyes flashed, and the next thing Ao knew, he was bleeding from a large hole in his stomach. Giving a sputtering cry, he released his grip on Steve and fell to the ground, twitching until he fell motionless.

"THere. Take thAt, you traiTor," Steve hissed.

Turning to look outside the window, he realized Izaya was still looking at him, pleading him to join them.

Steve smiled.

"I'm sOrry, Izaya. BuT I woulD only haRm you alL. Good-BYe."

He stabbed himself in the stomach, and it all went dark.

Izaya winced as Steve fell, the life in him gone.

"Izaya! Look! The clones are disappearing!" Kida shouted.

Izaya turned around to see silver-gray shapes hidden behind trees, bushes and anything else fading away. Their original was gone, and with that, they were to go as well.

"Everyone back up! Bulldozer!" Kugelmugel shouted.

The people near the mansion hurried away as a bulldozer crashed into the house and wrecked it. Headaches struck those who had been in the mansion, even Izaya for once.

.::.::.

Isaac and Miria set Izaya on one of the beds, fear in their eyes.

"Izaya, please, just try to stay alive! We'll go get one of the others, and they'll heal you-"

"Miria, that's not going to happen. I am going to die here, and that thing won't hurt you guys anymore," Izaya interrupted. He took out a journal and handed it to Isaac.

"What's this?"

"A journal that will enable you to turn back time. I used it for a few time loops to try to get us all out."

"But why us?"

"Isaac, you and Miria are people I can trust easily. Please, just get them out in time, and tell Shizuo I'm sorry."

Izaya's eyes shut, and he went silent. Miria shook him, but it was of no use.

"Miria...Izaya said that this journal allows people to rewind time, right? Maybe we can do that and save Izaya?" Isaac suggested.

"But Isaac...how do we do that?" Miria asked. As if in response, certain pages of the book started glowing, and Isaac flipped to the first glowing page.

'This journal is proof that the owner has willingly agreed to allow themselves to be actively pursued by the monster of the mansion. In return, the owner is allowed to turn back time as long as they find the main clock and use it. Will you accept these terms and conditions?'

Isaac and Miria nodded, lacking anything to write with. The question faded, and as Isaac turned the next page, their names slowly formed on it, on the lines below other names. A name was faded beside the others, while others looked freshly written.

.:.:.

The world came back into view, and Izaya looked at Isaac and Miria.

"So I died...in another time loop?"