Could I have made mistakes? One does not build cities if one is guided by doubt. But can one govern in absolute certainty? I know that my beliefs have elevated me, just as I know that the things I have rejected would have destroyed me. But the city... it is collapsing before my... have I become so convinced by my own beliefs that I have stopped seeing the truth? Perhaps. But Atlas is out there, and he aims to destroy me, and destroy my city. To question is to surrender. I will not question. - Andrew Ryan


"So Mel, can I have a light?" Matt grinned as they huddled in the bathysphere – the door locked for safety.

"I still hate you Matt." Mello answered, not even looking at the boy. He had something far more interesting to study – if slightly uglier.

His left hand burnt to charcoal and cracked in several places glowed orange, like a dying fire with the embers still glowing under the ash. He chanced a subtle glance at Matt's hand, deciding it was noticeably prettier than his which looked burnt to a crisp. There was a similarity between them though and it was in their veins. Mello could see the luminous blue electricity coursing through the veins on Matt's hand like he could see the bright sanguine fire burning through his own veins.

"I'll let you touch them." Matt smiled hopefully, making Mello quickly look away – embarrassed at being caught.

"Touch what?" He replied, unnecessary anger lining his tone.

"You were looking at my veins." Matt laughed. "Don't you want to know what they feel like?"

Mello made a disgusted noise with his throat. Matt could always win him around like that. Mello's curious nature was more of a curse than a blessing. "Fine, but that doesn't mean we're friends again."

Matt beamed knowingly but didn't push it as he moved next to Mello and held out his hand. "Can I feel yours?"

Mello frowned but held out his own hand as his thin fingers traced Matt's glowing veins. Mello's eyebrows rose in surprise as he felt the electrons bouncing behind the cells. "They vibrate." He stated, failing to hide the wonder in his tone.

"I can tell you're impressed." Matt laughed, reaching out and placing his own fingers against Mello's blood vessel. His body reacted quickly and he pulled away instantly, his fingers bright red. "Jesus Mells, you could have warned me."

"Oh, are they hot?" Mello asked with fake innocence in his voice, hiding a smirk.

"Yeah, very funny. You happy now you got me back?" Matt grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Marginally. You still owe me though, Matt." Mello warned, his eyes returning to the mutilated state of his left hand.

Near had already fallen asleep, clutching the pink teddy bear as though it was a lifeline. He was a million times happier now that he'd found a source of comfort – not that anyone could tell the difference. L stayed awake to guard them and also because he couldn't sleep if he wanted to. He held the stick of a lollypop between two fingers and twisted it in his mouth while he studied the Plasmid from Tenenbaum and Mello's and Matt's new hands.

"You know, you should try to get some sleep. It's impossible to estimate the next time we will be safe enough to rest." L prodded. He was almost angry at himself for not thinking to bring blankets, but consoled himself by the thought that he couldn't have imagined what they would have found down here and blankets weren't a necessity. Mello voiced L's thoughts.

"L, do you know how uncomfortable it is in here? The metal is freezing and besides I think Plasmids give you energy. I don't feel tired at all. I guess it's just Near that needs to sleep."

"Try anyway Mello." L replied staring hard enough into Mello's eyes to make him uncomfortable.

Mello drummed his right-handed fingers on his leg, trying to fight against submission. "Fine, if you tell me a story."

L almost chuckled but regained his composure in time. "A story? What do you want me to tell you? I don't know any stories."

"Well then tell us about one of your cases. What about how you caught B when he ran away from Wammy's?"

"B… Backup. Fine, I'll tell you." L sighed rubbing his toes together. His head fell lazily to one side. "His real name was Beyond Birthday…"

Mello and Matt didn't fall asleep that night, even though L's story finished three hours before Near woke up. A moment before they were about to leave the bathysphere, someone contacted them.

"You found the Plasmid, ja? This is good news. Are you somewhere we can speak? I need to give you information before you can fight the Big Daddies."

"Yes, you can speak." L replied after signalling for silence from the younger boys.

"Now I will give you my confessions. There is a sea slug that can repair damaged cells. With a lot of research I found the Adam. With Adam we could adapt the human body to do whatever we wished. We could have surgery with no risks and powers beyond normal imagination. We developed the first Plasmids and they became an addiction to everyone in Rapture. Soon… We could not make enough of this Adam. We needed to make more."

"So you planted the slug inside a defenceless child and forced them to drink the liquid remains of corpses so that you could all fuel your addictions." L stated, an unusual hard edge to his voice. He couldn't listen to her talk so casually about the impossible damage she had inflicted upon the girls.

"Yes I know this. At the time we were blinded by greed. This does not excuse what I have done but all I can do now is put it right. With these little girls retrieving the Adam they were in constant danger from the Splicers. We had to find protection for them and we… We…" There was a long pause, lasting almost over a minute. L began to wonder if she had fainted when she spoke again, ridding her voice of guilt. "Suchong developed a… guardian for the girls. They were programmed to protect the Little Sisters with their life and Suchong mentally conditioned the girls to become attached with the Big Daddies. Now you can only separate them by killing the Big Daddy. They will be very difficult to kill so you should be careful. You are their only hope at being free now."

"Alright." L answered, simply. He was disgusted by the woman and wanted to speak to her as little as possible.

"No, you must wait! This next part is vital. You must know about the war of Rapture or else you will be easily tricked. It is still taking place as we speak. Ryan and Fontaine are fighting each other for power. In Rapture, power means Adam. If you have Adam then you have the ability to kill and you have control over everyone. Ryan had control over the Adam so… Fontaine started to kidnap children and he stole mine and Suchong's plans so he could turn them into Little Sisters. That's why he built –"

Another small voice spoke at the end of the radio. "Mama Tenenbaum, we finished our breakfast. Will you play hopscotch with us now?"

"Yes, yes, okay." Tenenbaum replied to the young girl next to her. "She is a Little Sister that has been healed. The girls climb through the pipes and I take care of them here in my safe house. I will speak to you soon."

At that point the radio cut out and they were left facing the closed bathysphere door. Matt sent an electric current through a specific wire and the door opened for them as they stepped back outside.

"So, are we going to try and fight one of these Big Daddies?" Mello asked holding fire at the end of his fingertips so Matt could light a cigarette. Near looked at Mello and Matt revolted but remained quiet as he walked alongside L.

"I suppose we don't have a choice." L sighed, wandering around in the hope of coming across a Little Sister.

Matt took a drag on his cigarette and choked slightly, spluttering smoke from his lips. He corrected himself as though nothing had happened, putting the cigarette back to his mouth.

"Something's in the shadows…" A playful voice teased, coming from a young woman. Behind the small arch they were approaching they could hear light footsteps padding around.

"Be careful." L whispered.

The woman spoke again seductively, getting closer. "Come talk to me…"

The woman came into view, and caught sight of the four detectives. She grinned flirtingly and leant against the doorframe, her sights set on L. "You wanna play with me?"

The girl had short, blonde hair cut into a bob. Black tear tracks stained her cheeks as well as various shallow cuts on her face and shoulders. She was wearing a torn cocktail dress but other than her bedraggled appearance she looked relatively normal in comparison to the two Splicers they had seen so far. L looked at the woman, not knowing how to react. He eventually settled for acting as though she wasn't addressing him and turned towards the younger three.

"We can't attack her if she isn't hostile." He warned them – mainly warning Matt. Near nodded in agreement, his righteous streak unwavering no matter what situation they were in. Matt and Mello caught each other's eye but said nothing.

The blonde Splicer approached L, swaying her hips as she walked. "I can make it nice for you down here." She promised, almost growling through her sultry tone. Her voice was shrill and loud and she flung her arms around L's neck, clinging on to him in a way that bordered on desperate. L's eyes widened as the stranger invaded his personal space so intimately that it was uncomfortable – especially under the eyes of three boys that looked up to him as a role model. He wrapped his fingers around the woman's wrists and unhooked her hold on him, placing her hands by her side.

"I'm sorry but I don't think that is appropriate." He told her, feeling his cheeks turn faintly pink and trying incredibly hard to stop them.

The woman looked terrified and broken, her eyes darting over L's face so rapidly that he could barely keep up with her movements. "What's wrong with me?" She asked in a small, baby-like tone voice. She sounded on the verge of tears. "I'm pretty enough…"

"Yes, you're very attractive but I'd rather you left us alone." L sighed, backing away from the heartbroken blonde.

"I don't wanna hear this…" She sobbed, teardrops merging with her mascara and falling down her face in black, dirty clumps of liquid. "I don't want to hear this!"

She covered her ears with her small, bruised hands and sobbed loudly, her sobs turning into howls as she worked herself into hysterics. L looked alarmed and grabbed the girl's wrists again to get her attention and so she could hear the racket she was making.

Near looked away, realising that consoling the woman would take time so he studied his surroundings instead, the tattered bear in one hand and the unused pistol in his other. Mello was glaring at the ridiculous Splicer, throwing herself all over L and causing a scene that could potentially put all their lives in danger. He looked at Matt and found Matt wearing the same expression, not willing to be patient.

"She's wasting our time and she's clearly mad." Matt muttered into Mello's ear.

"She's a wreck, it's only a matter of time before she starts attacking us anyway. It's not like there's a point in prolonging her life. She's just an example of the reason those girls were taken in the first place." Mello murmured back, his hand glowing fiercely.

"What's your name?" L asked in what he hoped was a soothing voice.

"B-b-baby Jane." The woman hiccupped through her tears.

"Well, we really need to get going and I'm afraid you can't come with us."

"Why not?" The woman shrieked before changing her tact. Liquid splashed under her feet as she took a step towards L again, placing her fingers on his neck. "I can take care of you down here. It gets boring all alone." She grinned at him, displaying a beautiful smile. L once again tried to move out of her reach, the contact making him feel uneasy.

Matt looked down at the liquid on the floor and nudged Mello, a grin on his face. Mello looked in the same direction as Matt before shaking his head. "I can't."

As the words escaped his lips an image flashed into his head and he whispered something in Matt's ear, whose eyes lit up. Matt took a long drag from his cigarette.

"Tell us when you're done L." He said, finishing his cigarette and dropping it onto the floor, straight into the oil him and Mello had just spotted. In less than a second the blonde Splicer had burst into flames and let out a loud scream as she turned and ran to find some water. After a few steps she fell to the ground and stopped moving all together.

L looked down at the oil and up to Matt and Mello, staring at them for a long two seconds. Whatever he thought remained in his head as he moved around the puddle of oil and in the direction they had been travelling in before without saying a word.