Chapter 28: Revelations

Alex looked at his reflection. His freshly shaven face felt weirdly smooth after almost a month of letting it grow out. Then there was something else that caught his attention, he rubbed the raw vaguely mouth shaped spot where his neck met his chin and glanced at his satisfied looking girlfriend. In the week after Shiro moved back in with Ganta they had more than make up for lost time.

"Did you really have to leave such a big ass mark?" Minatsuki snickered at that.

"Yep, consider it a dog collar." Alex raised an eyebrow at this.

"A dog collar?" She walked over to him and cupped his chin.

"It means you belong to me."

"Kinky." They shared a laugh at this as they exited the bathroom.

"Would you have it any other way?" He sure as hell wouldn't.

Jason stood next to Tamaki in a small cylinder shaped elevator normally ment for a single person. It was a little cramped but there was enough room for them both to just barely fit without having to touch. Tamaki coughed into his hand before breaking the silence.

"To be honest I didn't expect you to take any interest in the subjects." Jason glanced over to the glasses wearing man and said the first thing that popped into his head.

"I want to know what I've been unknowingly going up against." To be fair that wasn't a complete lie. There were very few people who could go up against him one on one and survive and before a few days ago he thought there were none outside of his family. "They must be rather impressive to go so many rounds without dying."

"Well it certainly helps when you can have a healing factor." Jason was a little taken aback at this information but was able to hide it well enough.

"They can regenerate?"

"Well of course, they were all infected with a virus very similar to the one you have going through your veins." The Elevator came to a stop and the door slid open to reveal a long dark hallway. Tamaki stepped out and motioned for Jason to do the same as he stepped forward bright lights suddenly switched on illuminating the entire room. There were cells lining both walls with glass barriers allowing for observation. The teen stepped in front of one with the label Hermes and looked in. The cell held a overweight thirty something looking ginger man in a white t-shirt and sweatpants. Jason examined the man who didn't seem to care about the presence of a new person or even register that he stood there at all. The young man assumed that the glass was simply a one way mirror and turned back to his glasses wearing host.

"How many are there?" Not missing a beat Tamaki responded.

"Twenty one, there were more but... Well you know how Carnival Corpses can go!" Jason chose not to comment on that statement in favor of asking his next question.

"What sets them apart from me and Alex?" Tamaki seemed to perk up at this almost like he was waiting for that exact question to be asked.

"Well for starters they aren't as enhanced physically and their healing factors work slower." Well that was comforting at least he knew he could outmatch one if he had to. Th idea still didn't appeal to him but it was there."But the more interesting parts are their other powers. For example Phoenix can perfectly regenerate from just a single cell, Apollo spreads the virus to anyone he touches, and the weirdest of them all is Athena she can actually transfer the consciousness of one person into the body of another!" Tamaki was far to excited for Jason's liking, sure those were very impressive (or in the case of Apollo dangerous) abilities but the young director was practically jumping up and down with glee. Almost like a child showing off his favorite toy, it was embarrassing.

"So that's why you call them the evolved." He didn't know what effect name dropping these things would have on the childish Director. Then again that was probably why he did it, he had never seen what Tamaki looked like when confronted with his work.

"Well of cour- Wait what?" Tamaki hadn't noticed his term for the subjects at first but now he just seemed confused.

"That's what you named them isn't it?" There were a few moments of awkward silence before Tamaki cut right to the point.

"I didn't name them Jason. My father did." Wait his father? The previous Director? Hagire!?

"What?"

"Apparently they were a little pet protect he cooked up to try and recreate you and your brother." No, no that was impossible. Hagire knew how dangerous Jason and Alex were there was no way he'd make more of them on purpose. Jason narrowed his eyes at the Director and in a rather accusatory tone said.

"I assume you have proof of this." Tamaki had to hold back a chuckle. The young man must have thought he had it all figured out. it was almost cute how he stood there pouting.

"Oh but of course." He placed a hand on Jason's shoulder only to have it smacked away. He actually did laugh at that, one of the most dangerous people on the planet were so unsettled by him that he was almost shaking. Smiling at the younger man he continued. "I've already arranged to have everything we know about the Prime Deadmen brought to your office." Prime Deadmen? But Hagire said... "You and I don't like each other, that much anyone could see but in order for our goal to be fulfilled we need to start working together." Jason looked down. On the slight chance that Tamaki had been telling the truth then that meant Hagire had lied right to his face and about something this serious. But then there was what Tamaki had said about their goal almost like this madman thought he had the same one as Jason.

"And just what is your goal?" Tamaki smiled almost smugly before saying.

"I'm going to save the world." Well shit.

Alex walked down the hallway to the old Scarchain headquarters. He was getting tired of this, after close to two months of torture it was somehow Alex who was at his breaking point. So he decided if the bastard didn't want to talk today he was either going to drop the issue on Minatsuki or if she didn't want to try and make him talk, kill the fucker. He stood in front of the door and with a tired sigh forced himself to open the door. In the room Rokuro was still bound to the chair, the majority of his body either covered in burns, cuts, bruises, scrapes, or bent in the wrong direction. However he wasn't alone as Ganta stood in shock facing the brutalized man. Alex held in a groan and decided to get right down to business.

"What are you doing here?" Ganta turned with a look of horror on his face. Alex personally thought he should have been used to things like this by now.

"You... Alex tell me you didn't do this." Ganta pleaded hoping that his best friends sibling couldn't be capable of something like this. Alex just stared the teen down and replied unremorsefully.

"He has information I need. If he had just talked it wouldn't have gone this far." Gantas expression twisted from horror, to shock, to rage.

"Look at him!" Alex rolled his eyes as Ganta pointed to the former undertaker. "How can you justify that?" Justify that? The fuck did Alex need to justify? This son of a bitch had betrayed Ganta, was even going to kill him but for some reason Alex needed to explain why it was okay to torture someone who should have been shot like a dog? Alex could tell however that this reasoning would only enrage Ganta further and took a deep breath in order to calm himself.

"I did what needed to be done." This answer did exactly the opposite of what it was meant to do and made Ganta even angrier. He did what needed to be done? What the hell could ever justify this? It was WRONG no ifs ands or buts about it, there was simply no excuse.

"Bullshit!" The younger teen snapped and jabbed his finger into the elders chest. "If that's true then why did you hide it!?" Because they wouldn't... Because he... Because they would hate him for it. Sure Minatsuki and maybe even Senji wouldn't care but everyone else? They weren't broken like he was. "I'll tell you why, because somewhere deep down you know that they wouldn't accept this. That SHIRO wouldn't accept this. Because you KNOW that this is wrong!"

"I-I" Even as Alex tried to defend himself he knew Ganta was right. What he had done was wrong but what else could he have done?

"You told Hunter you wanted to change, that you didn't want to be the demon everyone made you out to be. So tell me then, why are you going out of your way to be a demon if you don't want to be called one." Alex stood there looking down. He didn't hear if Ganta said anything else before the boy stormed out. He knew this was wrong, that normal people would see him as a monster for what he had done. But he didn't have any other option... Maybe it was too late, maybe he was too far gone to ever really change... Maybe he just needed to embrace the demon

"Yes, embrace it!" Alex's head snapped back up at the voice, his head frantically looking around until he came to a rather scary conclusion. It was in his head. He had never heard it before in his life, it didn't sound inhuman but it's tone had a malicious intent behind it

"You know what, I'll tell you were it is." Rokuro looked at Alex in terror as the non-bound teen looked down at him. Rokuro had no idea Alex was one of them. If he had he would of gave him the laptop from the very beginning. But those eyes, those glowing red eyes that were already fading told him everything. Alex was a Prime Deadman.

Alex sat in the corner his head in his hands and a shattered laptop at his feet. He knew everything. He knew about Shiro's other personality, he knew Jason and Hades were the same person, he knew he was Zeus. He still couldn't outright remember the events of his childhood but that hardly mattered. A part of him had always wanted to know about the years he couldn't remember but now that he knew the outcome of those years... he figured he was better off not knowing. Then there was what they had done to Shiro. For fucks sake he didn't think he cold go through that kind of shit now and keep his sanity let alone if he was five fucking years old! Then there was him and his brother. In truth he hadn't given much thought to his twin assuming he had died at some point, but no the fucker was working for the prison in hopes of one day killing Alex. He would have laughed getting his own evil twin but on top of the other discoveries he had made it only piled up. Then there was Alex himself, he thought he was a bastard nowadays but back then? Calling him a monster would have been an understatement. Twentyseven confirmed kills by the age of eight. Then there was the video, it showed him standing over his brother. The boy looked scared, he was trying to crawl away desperately begging his twin to stop. Then the young Alex started saying things like 'They are inferior to us. We should kill them all.' and his personal favorite 'The human race requires judgment'. After it all set in he threw the laptop onto the ground and made sure no one would ever be able to use it again.

"Does it hurt?" There was that fucking voice again, mocking him. "Knowing what you are?"

"Shut up." Alex didn't know why but he had responded to the damn thing.

"Knowing what your family has done." Why was it doing this?

"I said shut up!" He closed his eyes and pulled on his hair trying to block it out.

"Knowing that you've always been a monster." The voice rubbed it in even further making him snap and his eyes flash a bright crimson even under his eyelids.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The scream that left his lips sounded so desperate, so afraid. Before anything else could happen he felt someone pull him into a tight embrace.

"Alex calm down!" He hadn't realized it but he was shaking, violently in fact.

"M-Minatsuki?" She pulled back just far enough to get a good look at him. When she walked in and saw him in the corner like that she knew something was up. But hearing him scream like that was what really kicked her into gear. Needless to say he looked even worse than he sounded, and she could have sworn she saw a light glow from his eyes but that was impossible.

"Yeah it's me, what the hell happened?" Alex's ragged breathing slowed as he went over the files in his head.

"I... Can't say." That did nothing to ease her worrying in fact she seemed to just get angry. Seeing this he looked down into his knees.

"Why not?" Alex didn't know to tell her about what he had seen. He didn't want to tell her either.

"I just... I can't okay." He sounded so defeated. It just madder worry, this wasn't like Alex.

"Did something happen?" He sighed and with a shaky voice answered.

"Rokuro finally told me what I want to know." He looked back up with tears running down his cheeks "And now I wish he hadn't." She looked behind her to see the shattered pieces of the laptop. Putting two and two together she went back to holding the frightened young man.

"I don't know what you saw on that laptop, but if you need or want to talk about it you know you can trust me right?" That helped. He still didn't want to talk about the damn thing but knowing she was there to listen put him somewhat at ease.

"Thank you Minatsuki." She smiled and gave him a quick kiss to the cheek.

"Don't mention it. You already know I love you." He wiped the tears out of his eyes and without even thinking said back.

"I love you too." Her eyes went wide as he said it. He didn't know why he had, it really just slipped out. But at the same time he didn't regret it or wish to correct himself... Maybe that means he really does love her.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to hear that." She said squeezing him tighter in a bear Hug Alex had thought only Shiro was capable of giving. All his fears and worries didn't quite wash away but it was a damn close thing.

Jason slammed his fist right through the desk, splitting it in two. That bastard Hagire had lied to him! Not only did HE create these Prime Deadmen, but he had also been the one to put him into the private matches. Jason sighed and looked at the file on the smaller half of wood that used to be a desk. Tamaki was being uncharacteristically honest about this. It scared the young man, anything that made that idiot act serious was certainly something to watch out for.

"Prime Deadmen huh?" It was the classification for anyone who had become a deadman through infection by Redlight. It didn't matter if it was the Original strain or this new less-stable one Hagire had created. This just so happened to include him and his twin. Jason didn't care about that little fact much, he already knew he was different from the Deadmen infected with nameless Worm and didn't care. What arbitrary name they gave him wouldn't change that. "I have to give it to that foxed faced bastard, this is a pretty good plan." He smiled and turned around in his chair facing two collared Prime Deadmen. The first was Kratos, a young man with platinum blond hair and grey eyes, He had the ability to manipulate the Branches of standard Deadmen. The other was Caladrius a thirteen year old girl with messy light brown hair and hazel eyes, Her ability was that she could take the blood of others and turn it into her own. They both wore a standard Deadman Wonderland uniform as well as the collars. The collars they wore had red lights on indicating that the Worm Devourer was activated. Worm Devourer was an advanced form of Worm Eater developed specifically to counter a Prime Deadman's immunity to the regular version, it had a few useful side effects as well however. For example a full minute of exposure to a standard Deadman would leave them unable to use their branch of sin for a few days, ten minutes of exposure would incapacitate them for a week, and twenty minutes would kill them outright. Kratos stepped forward looking Jason in the eye.

"Hades, sir what are your orders?" Tamaki seemed to have trained them well, they were acting like good little soldiers.

"Prepare the forgeries. Tomorrow we finish what my dear older brother started." This was it, the end was nearing very quickly. Now it was just a matter of getting the job done.