Chapter Twenty-Two:
"Man With A Napoleon Complex"

Light begin to unbutton the shirt of the Japanese peasant attire that he was given by the Evangelist to mock him. Erstwhile, he looked around the room. Sappho's brother lived well and he was not afraid to exhibit a certain narcissism, minus any self-portraits. But for some weird reason, taking into account Sappho's age, forging any unconfirmed believe her brother wasn't much older than she was, he wagered the Evangelist was in his late twenties and youthful in appearance like his sister.

Sappho said that her brother was a self-proclaimed Evangelical Minster, so he obviously had not gone through the normal religious training one might endure to become a preacher with its stature, recognition, and following. These days, anyone can claim such a thing and a background check would not be needed. All they would have to say is they 'found God' and to tout the correct message to gain an audience. And in Gravitti joining him, he and the Evangelist were obviously a pair of fallen angels.

Light once again took particular notice in the painting of Napoleon Bonaparte on the far wall.

It was a renowned portrait of the French general riding his horse. It was a very famous painting called Napoleon Crossing The Alps. The original equestrian portrait was one of five versions on oil canvas painted by the French artist Jacques-Louis David between the years 1801 to 1805. Napoleon had a nick name: 'The Little General'. And used his power to over compensate for his short stature. Having the painting here was indicative of a man with a Napoleon Complex. It was an Interesting thought.

Of course, Light knew this painting was a forgery. It would not be in the possession of a religious fanatic. Currently, one of five such paintings was in France in the Château de Malmaison Museum. But this fake did look pretty good.

Noticed before, he saw multiple pillows adorning the bed which was covered in white sheets. He put his hand on it and felt the softness of cashmere. He was a bit jealous. One day he swore he would have sheets this soft.

He saw a tall mirror with wheels standing against a wall that was facing backwards. He turned it around.

After he took off his shirt, he looked at his face and the wounds on his upper body.

Orthrus, Gravitti's wolfhound pet, which was probably nothing more than a large, grey, scruffy Irish Wolfhound dog, according to Sappho, had done a number on him with a permanent scar across his left cheek. It ruined his perfect complexion, but it didn't ruin his good looks. But when he finally escaped this place, how would he explain it?

He figured Gravitti had obviously used his mind trickery to impose the image of the two-headed hound from ancient Greek legend into Light's mind because the animal's name ascribed such to a person with knowledge of historical lore. And considering Gravitti had done his homework on Light before their encounter, the villain knew it would work on him.

An Irish Wolfhound could grown to an average height of two feet, ten inches tall. I was a very large animal for its breed. Light remembered he was shocked when he first saw it, its nails clicking across the hard floor of the Judgement Hall. The illusion of it being born from Greek legend was frightening with its two heads and sharp teeth. Gravitti's illusion was very good.

But that was before I saw through his trickery, Light thought. Now I know better and I can push against it.

Sappho had taken him to the Judgment Hall during the tour. It didn't appear anything special. It was the place he had been first been brought to when he arrived. The upper tiers were observation balconies and the room was a gathering place. It was not a court room, per se. And yet, he had been judged and sentenced—found guilty and convicted with Orthrus attacking him.

He had not noticed it before when he first arrived masked with darkness, but surrounding the cross on the floor was a triangle. The cross sat within it. It was the Evangelist's symbol for his order—The Order of the Cross, Sappho told him.

He remembered Riki's warning, and after his experience with Gravitti, he now understood it.

Be careful of your thoughts. Think positive, Riki had said. That's what he meant, Light thought. And that is how I will beat Gravitti if he tries to use his mind trickery on me again. I will use it against him. It is an intriguing gift.

He slipped off his pants and noticed something different. He wasn't wearing his normal jockeys. Instead, he was wearing a pair of black speedos. He hadn't noticed it before because he was more concerned with his surroundings and the people he was meeting. Had Riki replaced his underwear along with the rest of his clothes? Why? Had Orthrus ripped his jockeys with his pants?

Then he felt something poking him in front. It was small, hard, and metallic. He pulled back the speedos and looked down. It was a key. He removed it and looked at it. What was it doing there? What did it unlock?

Then he looked into the mirror at the control collar around his throat. Light smiled. Clever kid.

Riki probably slipped it in there when he changed my clothes, the speedos kept everything snug and secure.

He used the key to remove the control collar. Sappho said nothing about it during their tour. He tossed the collar to the floor.

He then decided to do a little investigation of the Evangelist bedroom. He left dressing for later.

He went into the walk-in closest. To his surprise, he saw his watch sitting out in the open on a display shelf with other watches belonging to Sappho's brother. All top brands. He knew this was his watch. Sappho probably didn't think anything of it because she thought it belonged to her brother. And only she had been in here when picking out his new attire.

Light was thankful he found it. The Evangelist probably kept it because it was unique due to its unusual hidden compartment.
Pulling the side pin three times fast, he opened the hidden compartment he built to house the small piece of the Death Note. Unfortunately, the piece was gone. But the pin was still there. He pushed back the panel and clipped the watch on his left wrist.
He then went to leave, when he noticed something else that belonged to him sitting in plain sight on another shelf. And again, it was a surprise he found it here. To anyone else, it looked like a mini-flashlight. But it was something completely different.

Since graduating from the academy and achieving excellent marks in self-defence training and on the advice of his trainer along with his gun, he chose to carry a secondary weapon that he chose to wear strapped to his inner left thigh—a small, extendable baton. He had used a similar baton to defend himself against Nazareth, Terrance Claw's Yukaza's enforcer, when he had been kidnapped by the criminal organization. Nazareth had fought him using a military-grade style knife and unfortunately had cut it in half, but each piece was useful enough for Light to use them as escrima sticks. Filipino defensive, non-lethal, style weapons, that looked like two fighting sticks.
At the academy, Light's instructor was impressed with his use of a Bo Staff, but suggested escrima sticks because they were less cumbersome and easier for Light to use. Light tried them and was very successful. Unfortunately they were illegal to use in the field, so he had to settle for a smaller secondary weapon—a baton. Still illegal, but no one knew about it. The baton extended to three and a half feet, which was a good back-up if his primary weapon was unavailable. It was also easy to hide.

Unfortunately, it did have a drawback. One time when he was wearing it and sat down on the sofa in the sitting room in his apartment, wearing khaki pants, Misa made the innocent comment when she saw it that it looked like he an erection. He was careful abut his sitting posture from then on.

With all batons, after the first use it locked into place. It had not been used, lucky, and it was still retracted. This version was different from his previous one he used during his fight with Nazareth. And if he needed, it would come in very handy.

He slipped it into his left pocket.

He began to dress. He put on a pair of black socks he found, then his pants. He went to button his shirt when—

He heard Sappho scream.

Forgetting his shirt, he opened the door. Standing on the landing overlooking the lower-tier, holding the banister, what he saw was unfathomable. He was dumbfounded, bewildered, and shocked.

Standing at the threshold of the Evangelist's abode was the very image of himself. A perfect copy. Same height, same thin frame, same hair, and the fake him was dressed exactly the way he would be and in clothes Light knew that belonged to him.

"What the hell is going on here?"

The Fake Light cocked his head. He looked up at Light.

"Well, isn't this a surprise?" the other said, then looked at Sappho. "I come here to give your brother Light Yagami's Death Note that he instructed me to get from his apartment in Japan and I find you with Yagami, partially dressed. I hope you cleaned up after yourselves? You have always been a flirt, dear Sappho."

Sappho was not look amused.

Light crossed the upper-tier to the spiral staircase, then descended to the main floor. He was confused, but he kept a cool head.

"Is this another one of Gravitti's illusions?"

The Fake Light smiled more broadly. In fact, the muscles around his mouth protruded into an almost abnormal half moon smile. Humans did not have that ability. "I'm afraid not, my palpable twin," he said, his mouth returning back to normal.

Sappho took a few steps back. "W-who are you?"

The Fake Light chuckled. "Don't look so shocked, Sappho," he said. "You know exactly who I am and what I am. But this is the first time I've taken this form. For the sake of introductions," —he looked at Light. "You may call me Revolver. My name is indicative of my ability to borrow identities and manipulate others and to revolve into anyone I wish. Your sudden disappearance from the crime scene at Hansel Dragoon's condo apartment had your father worried, but it has since has been settled. Your father believes you went home because of a tummy ache after eating some spicy ramen on your way to the crime scene. I also managed to persuade the Astral God who found me in your apartment later on to engage in a little fun."

Light's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean fun?"

Revolved winked. "The very fun kind," he said smiling again.

To be continued...