Note 1: I am afraid I have some bad news. I am hired as an artist to draw a manual for a certain product (this will act as a second job) ... so that means I will be working probably 24/7 so I won't have much time to write. I have no idea when the next chapter will be released. All I can do is pray that you readers will be patient and don't abandon me. =(

Ps: everyone, give Fantasywriter16 a big hug! For she is my beta-reader for this story!

"Here by my side an angel... Here by my side the devil..."

Guilt.

The void was a wonderful thing... at least to him it was. There was absolutely nothing here; no light, no warmth, no sound... nothing. It was a place that gave him comfort and he felt totally at peace. For him, this place—despite its twisted and horrid sights—was his safe haven; it was his sanctuary, for nothing or no one could harm him here… or better yet, he couldn't harm himself. All that was left in this anguished and deserted room was him and his lonesome, defeated self.

His mind was an utter and complete mess. After everything that had happened to him he was surprised by the fact that he was still somewhat sane. Really, why was Fate so cruel to him? Why had everything happened the way it did? Was precious life, given by his birth mother, only for him to experience a never ending hell? He had never believed in Fate, but now he wasn't so sure anymore. It was always like someone else was making the decisions for him, and his ass was just along for the hellish ride.

That faithful day when he decided not to tell his friends about Adachi... Was that really his decision?

"-ji"

What was that just now? It felt like there fell a droplet in the void which caused a ripple big enough to move his conscious. How is that possible? He was alone in his little world and not a single soul could disturb him here. Right- just ignore it and everything will be fine.

"Souji."

There it is again. There really is someone calling his name, but it's so faint that you can't make it out. No matter, he should just go back to slee-

"Souji!"

And his eyes shot open. The bright light filled his vision so instinctively he narrowed his eyes a bit and let his eyes adjust. After a few seconds when he thought he had adjusted enough he fully opened his eyes and saw something he wish he hadn't.

In front of him he saw a bruised and beaten Yosuke chained up against the wall. His entire face was blue, green and swollen, but his eyes still seemed strong.

"Ah the princess woke up."

The silver-head bit his lower lip when he saw his shadow standing next to his friend. Images of what had happened a while ago filled his head with embarrassment as he looked down, hoping that his nude body wasn't being gazed at. To his surprised he was fully clothed, and there was absolutely no evidence that the shadow had touched him... broken him.

It send shivers down his spine and he just couldn't look up anymore. He was scared to face his shadow because he wasn't quite sure that what had happened actually did happen. For one, his body didn't hurt. Well it did hurt, but not down there. And his other self seemed to act so casual... He just didn't know anymore. It was like his mind had been raped instead of his body.

While he was thinking about all that just happened to him, he failed to notice a familiar black-haired figure sitting on his bed close by. He finally snapped out of the intense memory as his horrid filled eyes glanced over to the left as soon as the figure stood up from the bed. Immediately, his eyes widened as his mind went into a complete blank, his breath immediately stopped as he finally identified the person that stood close by.

It was Adachi...

What scared Souji the most was that malicious smile on his face and the two guns he was holding in each hand. Was this it? Was he going to execute Souji and Yosuke right here and right now? Was it finally going to end? Was he allowed to rest? His feelings certainly clashed with each other because he was scared, but at the same time he felt calm and at peace. He... was just so tired... so very tired. He had come at a point where he just wished that Adachi would shoot a bullet through his head and be done with it. But at the same time a small voice in his head screamed at him to stay alive and fight back. These two feelings drove him mad and he grit his teeth.

But just as he wanted to say something he saw Adachi giving his shadow a look, and the other Souji gave a faint nod. He walked to the real Souji and opened the handcuffs that imprisoned the boy against the wall. As soon as they opened he fell on his knees and on all four's he kept staring at the floor. To be honest he didn't know who he should be looking at. Adachi? His shadow? Or Yosuke?

Yosuke... It was his fault that he was abducted to this place. He should never have sought contact with the brunette! He should've known that Adachi would find out about it and of course there would be consequences.

"You know-" Adachi's voice broke the silence. "-I had already anticipated that you would pull a stupid stunt like this." The cop gave a disappointed sight, and he looked harshly down on the silver-head. "Still, I can't help but feeling a bit disappointed. I thought I had broken you already, but it seems like you still have some pride left. No matter, we will get rid of that. When I am through with you I will make sure you are nothing more then an empty shell. You will be a breathing corpse that will yearn for my attention!"

After Adachi spat that last sentence he kicked the teen merciless in the face. The boy fell to the ground and the taste of metallic began to fill his mouth.

"And so I thought to myself... Gosh, I am really bored. The cries of humanity while they are being turned in shadows really becomes tedious after a while, so I thought I should have some fun with you guys. And guess what; I came up with a really fun game!"

Adachi threw a gun to the shadow, and then he threw one in front of Souji. "Pick up the gun."

Souji, still stunned by the kick, didn't even dare to move. His vision was blurry and he had a headache so bad that he thought his head would split in two.

"If you haven't picked up the gun by the time I have returned to the bed, I will order your shadow to shoot Yosuke through the head. Do you understand?!"

Adachi turned around and like he said he returned to the bed. With trembling hands the teen reached for the gun and clenched it tightly to his chest. He sat up and he let his gaze wander to Adachi- like he was awaiting orders. The former policeman had taken place at the edge of the bed, and he seemed pleased that Souji had listened to him.

"Well then, we are going to play a game similar to Simon says... Do you know the game Simon says?"

Souji gave a faint nod.

"Good. Well then, I will give you an order and you will follow it. If you decide to be brave and ignore it, I'm afraid your... friend... will have to face the consequences. Well then, are you ready?"

Another faint nod.

"Ok, stand up."

He stood up.

"Shoot yourself in the foot."

Souji blinked several times with his eyes and stared with full disbelief at the man on the bed in front of him. Did he hear it right? Did Adachi just order him to shoot himself in his foot?

The former policeman gave a faint smile and raised a finger. Souji's shadow turned the safety off and aimed his gun down at Yosuke's right foot.

"Each time you decide to ignore an order, your shadow will inflict the order on your dear friend. So here comes my question... Just how dear is Yosuke to you? Is he so dear to you that you will hurt yourself? Or do you love yourself so much that you don't care what will happen to him? Really! I am so curious!"

He said the last few words with so much sarcasm that it made a chill go down Souji's spine. He was really at a loss... He didn't want Yosuke to be hurt, but he also didn't want to shoot himself. His eyes wandered off and they stopped when they met Yosuke's. The brunette's eyes were red and his mouth was halfway open like he wanted to say something, but no words would leave his mouth. He was probably too terrified to say anything at all. This was probably it, he knew he was going to die here.

"Tick tock, Souji. If you don't decide soon I will order your shadow to shoot you both in the foot. "

Yosuke's eyes went from Souji to Adachi and then back to the teen. He was scared... scared shitless... Damn... It was Souji's fault that he was here. If he had cut off their contact before he became involved he could've spared him a death full of pain and agony. Instead he would've received an order to go and assassinate Yosuke, just like he had done to Shirogane.

With trembling hands and aimed down on his left foot and without thinking he pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang and the sound of spilling blood and snapping bones could be heard. Souji screamed out loud as he fell towards to ground again. Now on the ground, he thrashed about in pain as he wanted to scream his lungs out. Tears were streaming down his eyes and for a second he thought he would lose it. But no, he had to stay strong and take it all. This was all his fault after all, and there was a slight chance that Yosuke could leave this place unharmed. So he sat back up but he didn't dare to look at his foot...

He could hear how Adachi clapped his hands. "Unbelievable! I didn't know you had it in you! I was sure you would whimper and beg for me to withdraw my order. But instead you actually did it! Good boy. "The former policeman laughed a loud fucked up laugh that angered the teen from head to toe. Good, rage is one hell of an anesthetic after all.

"Good. Since you followed my last order like an obedient little shit, why don't you shoot yourself in the hand?!"

No, he couldn't be serious?!

"Souji! N...no!" screamed Yosuke suddenly. His voice sounded awfully hoarse and broken. "Don't... That's enough... Let him shoot me... You have suffered enough."

Yosuke. Just what was he saying?! He had suffered enough? No... His suffering had just begun, and he had deserved it. Everything was his fault and he had to pay for it. Yes, that's right. This was his punishment and he had to take it. Fuck, what was he even thinking? His mind is just so messed up right now that even the easiest thoughts didn't make sense anymore.

Another bang, and again screams of agony filled the small room. The shadow that had been watching the whole ordeal just stood there with a huge grin on his face. From time to time he would lick his lips like he wanted to devour his light half.

All of a sudden Adachi stood up and removed yet another gun from his belt.

"Isn't this game just fun? I swear I could just do it all day... But sadly, I am afraid we are at the end of our free time. The world is about to end and I really want to be there to witness it. I mean, what can be more beautiful then seeing an entire reality go down in shit?"

He continued walking until he stood on the other side of Yosuke. With the loop of his gun he began to caress the brunette's face like he was a precious fragile baby.

"Here comes my last order Souji." Whispered the man in Yosuke's ear, but loud enough for Souji to be heard.
"Shoot yourself through the head."

His heart almost skipped a beat.

Terrified he looked over his shoulder and stared Adachi straight into his eyes. He hoped desperately that he was joking about this order, but the former policeman didn't move a muscle in his face. This was his last absolute order and ignoring it meant the end of them both. One of them had to die right here and right now...

"Souji-

"D-Don't..." Groaned Souji, tears still streaming down his cheeks. " I am... so tired of this... I-I just can't continue on like this. "He was hiccupping and sobbing out loud. All the restrains he had laid upon his feelings just broke down and everything came pouring down like a big tidal wave. "I fucked up! I killed Namatame, I killed Shirogane and I failed humanity. Really! I have no reason to exist! My parents hate me, I suck as a leader... I...I... It's fine. I tried my best but I just couldn't be the leader you guys expected me to be. I am only human and I can make mistakes!" He was just rambling now and he had no idea what he was saying anymore. He had completely broken down... Adachi had won.

With his good hand he aimed the gun at his temple and he closed his eyes. "At last... I can rest."

Peace... tranquility... complete isolation...

BANG

...

...

That was strange. He was sure that he would feel one last intense pain before he would die... wait... before he would die? Isn't he dead yet?

He opened his eyes and to his surprised he found himself still on his ass while he was holding the gun to his head. He pulled the trigger... click... and he pulled the trigger again... click... No, don't fuck around! Did this mean he was out of ammo? But he was certain he heard a bang. No. Oh my god no. Yosuke. No...No...no nononononon!

He turned his head to the right and found Yosuke's dead body hanging on the restrained against the wall. He had two bullet wounds on each side of his head.

"Oh my dear Souji." Grinned Adachi innocent. "Did you really think I would allow you to commit suicide? Didn't I already tell you that I would break you? You are mine you little fuck!"

He couldn't even cry anymore. All he could do was staring motionless to his dead friend...

To Be Continued~~~

Note 2: I...am so sorry...!...