P.I.S. Chapter Eighteen: Showdown Pt One

(A/N): I apologize for such a long chapter. ^^;

I had never been so nervous. To know that this day may be my last I spend on this Earth, I realized then what it must feel like to walk onto the war-zone as a soldier, except I was no soldier. I was not defending freedom or fighting for my country. I was fighting for the next nameless victim that could fall into Beyond's hands or his minions. Whether I lived or died, I would be faceless and forgotten. There would be no medals waiting for me at the end. No ceremonial funeral awaited me were I to die. And were I to survive and live, no one would know of the horrors I faced. My family would never know the "true" me. They would only understand the lies they were told if I never made it home. And if I lived? Would I have the courage to face them and tell them who I really was?

I wondered if I should pray. Perhaps this was my last chance to redeem myself for my sins, and should I die, I'd have a spot waiting for me in Heaven. But I'm not the religious type, and I'm not the down on my knees, praying type either. Instead, I just stared out the window, knowing well that L had been watching me from the door. I wondered if he would say something about my solemn attitude. In fact, I waited for it.

Instead, he said, "Are you prepared for tomorrow, Light-kun?"

"Yes," I said before I had the anxiety had the chance to paralyze my vocal cords.

He continued behind me. "And are you afraid?"

I was honest. "Yes."

"Good. Fear will keep you alive." He shut the door and my eyes lifted to my window where the blinds were spread apart. The moon was hidden on the other side of the house and the gray clouds from earlier had covered the stars. I wondered if the sun would have mercy and make tomorrow (my last possible day) bright and warm.


We were on the flight before the sun was up. How I managed to sleep was beyond me. Now we were all crammed inside the tiny plane with the same flight attendants from the trip I took with my family from New Zealand to Japan. It was too early to be awake, yet none of us could catch any dreams. Next to me L was licking icing off his fork and his plate held his second piece of cake, this one being chocolate. His appearance and laid back attitude could make someone think he could care less about the impending doom that was growing closer every kilometer the plane was getting to Tokyo. However, from the way he was chewing slowly and taking his time in eating each dessert, I knew his mind was at the battle ahead. He hadn't spoken a single word to me since we boarded. His distant eyes showed me he was calculating his moves, putting together strategies, predicting what was to come; I didn't need my powers to hear the wheels in his head turning.

I tore my eyes from L to Mello in front of us. I could only see the back of his blond head and a little bit of the reflection from the window next to him. He had a bar of chocolate in his hand that was un-open. Since we got on the plane, he had just held it, either forgetting that he had it in hand or deciding to ignore it. Next to him was Matt. He was busy playing with an old version of the GameBoy but his mind was not on the game as his character died for the umpteenth time. I had seen very little of Matt since my stay at the manor, only seeing him at meals and running into each other in the halls. He had stayed in his room most of the time or I had been outside sparring with Mello or L. He had brought a very strange, silver device the size of a basketball onto the plane with a more oval shape. It sat in the seat between him and Mello. I did not quite know what its function was but I presumed it was some device to help him during his match. Whatever it was, it must be quite explosive since the few times I did see the redhead, the tips of his hair was singed and his fingertips had scars and bandages wrapped in them.

"You need to sleep."

I turned my head to look at L, his cake already half-eaten.

"It's a very long flight," he said, "You'll be useless if you're fatigued." I didn't feel like arguing with him about hardly being able to sleep when I was about to face a homicidal megalomaniac. He lifted his fork and pointed it in my direction with a rather large piece of chocolate cake attached to it. "Here. Have a bite."

I didn't really want to eat something so sweet and sugary but I leaned forward and tore it off the fork with my teeth anyway. Like I imagined, it was more chocolate that I would care for and almost made me gag but I swallowed effortlessly. L smiled at me and nodded with approval.

"Good? Now it's time to sleep, Light-kun."

I sighed and rolled over to the window on my left, wishing I had some water to wash down that bite of cake but I refused to drink anything made by the potion-making flight attendants. Perhaps that piece of cake wasn't a good idea, either.

I would discover that it was indeed a bad idea when I jerked awake in my seat which did not feel like my seat on the airplane. Panicked, I looked around and saw that I was indeed not on a plane but strapped inside a vehicle, an SUV by the size. Matt was next to me, using his kit and a small soldering gun to fix his goggles, which had more wires inside it than I thought possible. The smell of smoke and the crackle of the fire must have awoken from my strange and deep sleep. I looked around the car, noticing Mello was driving and L was in the front seat. I must have caused a commotion from waking so they had to know I was awake now.

I glared at the back of L's seat where I knew he must have been sitting. "Will you stop drugging me?" I accused.

I could see his smirk in the rear-view mirror. "I'm surprised that Light-kun's tolerance for such a small dose of anesthetic is so low. He must learn to be very careful. I ate that entire cake and did not feel the least bit groggy."

"Of course not. You never sleep, remember," I mumbled. Looking outside, I noticed the bright quarter moon overhead and the absence of buildings and the presence of a grassy plain that had probably been used as a rice field years ago. I had yet to see a sign indicating so, but I knew almost immediately I was in my home country; something about the air and the way it smelled told me so. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and was somewhat surprised that after being heavily drugged and dragged off a plane in an almost comatose state I did not feel the least bit sleepy anymore. Actually, I suddenly felt fidgety and my limbs were buzzing with excess energy. I felt as if I could run a marathon or ten.

"I can see it from here," Mello announced.

We were on a dirt road and below in a makeshift drop-off was a large concrete building. There were still construction equipment such as bulldozers and steamrollers waiting to be used. The faded letters of the Kawasaki logo were still eligible at the building's entrance. There was a metal fence around it and the parking lot construction with several warning signs and no trespassing zone posts.

Mello pulled the car off the road and it easily drove on the slick grass. He brought it to the side, next to the unfinished parking lot, which was at the moment only massive piles of dirt and a giant hole, and parked. We all climbed out and stared at the fence with barb wire wrapped around the top.

"There are the cameras," he said, pointing at several video surveillance cameras mounted on high poles. "Matt checked earlier and they are working. They want to keep teenagers away from using this place as a party house."

'Didn't stop Beyond,' I think to myself.

Matt was balancing his laptop on one arm and typing madly away at the other. "Except," he said, lips slightly curled in a sly grin, "as of right...now...they are not." We each looked up at the camera closest to us, seeing nothing unchanged. "They are, I'm sure of it."

"Okay, the next security measure they have are flood lights and an alarm that immediately contacts the nearest PD whenever it detects motion," Mello said, eyes facing the building in front of us. "Matt, can you disarm it?"

"Is Link the chosen hero?" He snorted at his joke and covered it in a cough after receiving a heated glare from Mello. "I mean, even though the last supervisor with the code was terminated, the access code has not yet changed from their corporate office. Thus..." He typed madly away at the binomial numbers that stretched across the screen, "Tada! Access granted."

I looked at the fence and the cameras, seeing nothing unchanged. "Are you sure it worked?"

"Of course it worked. What? You want the cameras to suddenly droop or something?" Matt waved a hand in front of me. "I am the best hacker in the world, y'know. I know a thing or two about disarming alarm systems.

"This is no time for recognizing reputations," L stated. We all faced him, slightly guilty for our petulant chat. "I'm not good with pep talk as you all may know."

Mello pressed a hand on L's shoulder. "Then let's forget the talk," he said, "We can only follow his rules so talk is cheap. I'm ready for action."

L tucked is hands in his pockets. "We are at his mercy and our resources are very limited. Don't lose your cool. Don't let down your guard. And more importantly, don't die." Gravely, we all returned his nod. His eyes looked back to Matt. "The fence is unarmed, correct?"

"Affirmative."

"Then let's get over. Mello."

Our blond teammate stood beside L and they grabbed wrists, making a square formation with their arms. Matt took a few steps back, ran towards them, and used their linked arms as a spring board to jump over the fence. Twisting his body, Matt's jacket just barely hovered over the razor-sharp barbs until he landed safely on his feet on the other side. He dusted off his knees and gave us a thumbs-up. Then Mello and L turned to me, letting me know I was next.

I had seen this maneuver done several times in the movies, but I knew better than to trust the cinemas. Jumping on someone's wrists and hurtling yourself eight feet into the air was not a very easy task and very dangerous; I had almost snapped Mello's wrist in half the last time we practiced this. If my landing was an inch off, I could hurt one of my mates or land on my neck.

But I was ready. I took a few steps back, inhaled, exhaled, and ran toward them. Right before I got to them, I jumped. My sneaker landed in the "net" of their wrists and we pushed against each other. I saw the fence's wires slide easily under me, however, there was one problem: I was too low. In order not to fall completely on top of the barbs, I put my foot out and used it again as a push-off point. One of the sharp edges caught the edge of my pants, ripped it, and seared into my skin. Several diseases came to mind such tetanus, bacteria, and staph infection, but I landed well with a small "ouch" escaping in a breath.

"You all right?" Matt asked me.

"Yeah," I replied, "It's just a scratch." But damn it hurt like hell. I could see a small crimson stain on the lower leg of my khakis and knew my sock was matching in color. This was not a good start.

L and Mello were already scaling the fence like spider monkeys and using Mello's leather jacket to cover the barbs. They gently descended, and Mello unhitched his jacket from the wires, showing long scratches into the leather. He pursed his lips as he looked over the damage but put it on anyway.

"That was easier than I thought it was going to be," he said, hands on his hips, "Apparently Beyond doesn't know we have the best hacker in the world to deal with alarms."

"That's not it," L said, "He told us we might have difficulty entering the grounds. Keep your eyes peeled for something out of the ordinary. Matt, Mello you watch the rear."

We began walking in dour silence. I looked around the equipment, hearing some kind of engine humming. I wrinkled my brow and turned to L. "Do you hear that?"

His large, rotund eyes pointed back at me. "Hear what?"

"That sound."

"The humming?" Matt asked, "I thought it was a generator or something."

"This building is under lockdown," Mello said, "There should not even be use of a generator. And if there is a generator, it's inside the basement, not out here."

"Then we shouldn't hear it," I said, my skin prickling with goosebumps.

We all stopped and looked around us, back to back. "I don't see anything," I announced.

"There's nothing here," Mello said.

"Up," we heard L's voice, "Look up."

And we did. Up in the twilight hours of the night a strange cloud form was circling above us, humming. However, upon observation, we noticed that it was not a cloud but a swarm of monstrous bugs. Hell Bugs. Their glittering, nearly transparent skin sparkled and their wings beat so quickly and loudly it sounded like an engine. They were circling us like vultures, but what really dropped our jaws were not just their mass numbers, as there had to be more than a hundred of them, but of their sizes as well. A normal Hell Bug could only grow to about the size of a rat and were invisible to humans; these monsters, however, were as large as dogs. Their jowls clicked and their beady eyes stared at us. The swarm suddenly stopped, suspending themselves in air, slightly bobbing up and down, and they were watching us.

"Run! Now!" Mello shouted. His yell stirred everything. We all turned and ran toward the building but the Bugs dove down on us. The tube-like structure of their mouth appeared as giant hypodermic needles. Though their smaller counterparts' bites were barely noticeable for humans, I felt as though one bite from these monstrosities would be very painful. They attempted to bite us; I could feel their wings flapping all around me and their prickly legs grab onto my jacket, but a quick punch to the face deterred them. We all swung wildly like windmills and ran as fast as we could.

Right when we were twenty meters from the entrance, we heard a scream. We spun around and saw Matt being lifted into the air by five giant Bugs five feet, ten feet, fifteen feet, and hovered at around twenty.

"Shit," I cursed.

"Matt!" Mello yelled.

Then he was falling. He was dropping to the Earth very fast, but we were fast, too. I saw his limbs flail, his eyes widen and his mouth open in a silent scream. Then Mello ripped off his jacket and before I could comprehend, I had one of the sleeves, too. We pulled it and Matt fell into it. It seemed to catch him for one second then there was a ripping sound and all three of us fell to the ground on top of each other.

Having the wind knocked out of us, Mello and I rolled off of Matt who looked more dazed than injured. "You okay?" I asked.

"Been...better..." he wheezed.

The loud motor-like sound of wings caught our attention again. The Bugs were whirling around us in a circle going faster and faster.

"Fuck," Mello cursed.

"Into the warehouse!" L barked, "Get inside!"

Mello and I grabbed Matt's arms and pulled him to his feet and followed behind L who ran ahead of us. He pulled open the heavy metal door and we scattered inside. L pushed the door shut once we came inside. All of us were panting for breath and took this time to look around. The inside of the warehouse seemed to be almost done, only the roof was half-finished. The floor was covered in metal shavings and dust from drywall. We noticed three doors with numbers one through three written on them with spray paint. Our attention was drawn to the white cloth covered table where three white candles were burning and silver dining sets on display. It looked as though someone was preparing for a romantic date.

"Welcome gentlemen!"

We heard Beyond's voice coming from upstairs. The construction elevator lowered and he and his bare feet walked out. He wore a lopsided grin and approached the table. All of us stiffened and watched his every move with predatory eyes. He simply smiled and walked behind the table.

"We're here, Beyond," L stated, "Tell us the rules."

Beyond shook his head and tsked at us. "Always rushing. Don't you want to have dinner first? No? Fine then." He clapped his hands together. "As you can see there are three platters with covers on the table." He waved a hand to show the silver platters like one of the prize-showing women on game shows. "One at a time, each one of you will lift a platter and whichever number is revealed to you is the door you need to choose. And as you can see, there are three plates and four of you."

"Because I am not participating in this selection," L said. His dark eyes narrowed slightly at the man in front of him. "My opponent has been decided long ago."

Beyond's wry grin spread across his face like melting oil. But instead of verifying L's statement, he continued to instruct us. "Once you pass through the doors and follow the directions, you are on your own. However, once an opponent is finished, that person may locate and assist his comrades."

This bit of news was good for us. We could assist anyone in danger. However, the same could be true for his guys.

"So who's first?"

Without even a pause, Mello stepped up to the table. He lifted one of the platter lids and placed it on a table. On the plate was a folded piece of paper, which he unfolded and displayed to us the number two. Beyond swept a hand, showing the room with the painted "2" sprayed on it. Without looking back, Mello walked through the door and it closed behind him with a click a little too loud.

I looked over at Matt who had suddenly become a strange milky color and smiled cautiously at me. "You first?"

I wasn't sure if I replied or not. I was standing between L and Matt and the next I knew I was holding a folded piece of paper in one hand a platter cover in the other. I unfolded the piece and revealed the number one. I looked up to see Beyond's toothy grin staring back at me. However, I refused to look at his eyes, keeping my gaze to his chin and under. Locating my designated door, I pulled hard on the handle and walked through. It was heavy and fell behind me, closing with a loud bang.

Now only three remained in the room. Matt swallowed and shuffled toward the table with his head bowed and nearly jumped out of his shoes when he heard Beyond speak.

"And then there was but one." Matt didn't look up. He kept his eyes down and lifted the platter. Of course, written on the piece underneath was the letter three.

"Hehe," Matt laughed with no humor, "Who would have guessed?" Squaring his shoulders, he approached the third door. Unlike the other two, this one was not that heavy. It was made of wood and slid easily on its hinges. He turned the knob and walked through.

This was not what he was expecting. He had entered into some kind of lobby area and from here, he could see cubicles lining up and down the room. Some were equipped with old computers from the nineties that were either smashed in by something or looked as though they got trapped in wires. He heard a snap and looked back to discover the door had closed itself. He twisted the knob but it wouldn't budge. He was stuck in this ghost office. He touched the arm of his device which was now strapped to his back like a backpack, took a deep breath, and took on step toward the computer graveyard.

"What is this?" Matt stopped when he heard the voice call out. "Is this really who I'm stuck with?" Row after row, fluorescent lights came on, flickering on and off. Someone stepped out from one of the rows and stood ten feet away from Matt. He wore thin rimmed glasses and a pressed white shirt with khaki pants.

Matt snickered. "Well, I must say I'm relieved. I was afraid I'd have to face whatever hellish thing made those Hell Bugs out there but it's just a nerd."

Simon sneered. "I wouldn't be calling anyone a nerd, goggle-boy."

"Ooh, nice comeback. Like I haven't heard that one before."

Matt's opponent balled his fists. "I was promised a fight, and yet I get stuck with you, a guy with absolutely no powers at all."

"How would you know if I-"

"I know all about you, Wammy child alias Matt," Simon interrupted. "You've taken every test to prove you were special, to prove you were born with an ability other than sight, but you failed every test. You're just human."

Green eyes narrowed. "All of us are human," Matt told him, "Even those of us that have powers."

Simon let out a loud laugh, a shrill laugh but it sounded grainy like an old recording. "That is where you're wrong, my acquaintance. Tell me, I know so much about you, what do you know of me?"

"Simon Gaffinis: age twenty-three, born December 7, 1987. Thirteen years ago, a freak accident at an elementary school caused several students in the computer lab to be rushed to the hospital with severe third degree burns after their computers suddenly combusted," Matt rambled, "The cause was unknown except it was studied by The Company, discovering that you had an ability in which you could actually transfer your human mind into technology that had hard-drives, mainly computers. Because of your behavior and disobeying authority, you were labeled as dangerous and placed under house arrest. But you escaped two years ago and no one's seen you since."

Simon laughed again. "Not surprising. You have great memory; now if only that were your power, not that it would be any help, but at least you wouldn't just be human."

Matt was getting angry. "You're human, too, Simon!" he shouted.

Icy gray eyes stared at him, grinning sadistically. "That's where you're wrong. You see, just like you said, I escaped from the horrible detention hall two years ago and vanished off the face of the planet. An all out man-hunt was after me for a few months but they gave up hope and retreated. But there were a few who found me who were quickly disposed of after seeing my experiment. I had to get rid of them before they alerted The Company, you see, and I had a real hassle on my hands. Honestly, you kill a few nameless guards and you're labeled as inhumane, when it is just that which makes someone human. Only people murder. Not computers. Technology never pulls the trigger itself without some tampering from human hands. Humans are faulty creatures with large minds but can do very little. Humans do not evolve, it is technology. Without technology humans would be dismal creatures."

A cold chill spilled down Matt's spine. "You're talking as if you're not human."

A low laugh rocked Simon's shoulders. "You fool. Do you not realize what I was saying? I have passed the barrier of perfection! I have upgraded myself above disease, illness, and age! I have become better than human!"

"You're insane!"

Simon's eyes had a strange light to them, as if there were a bulb inside his head. But his skin was glowing too, a strange light shining off him. The light was so bright his skin was literally melting off. Strips of flesh fell to the floor, leaving Simon's torso and limbs bald. Matt took a step backwards in horror as Simon's body began to twist and shift, air being released in a hiss as Simon rose to seven feet.

"Oh my god!" Matt gasped.

"No," Simon said, "I'm even better."

Instead of organs and bones underneath melting flesh, a body was made of wires and turning gears. His "bones" were rods of shiny metal like chrome. Simon's glasses fell from his face and were crushed underneath his metal foot. The only thing human on him was his face that was still protruding from the shell of his new cranium of steel.

"You're a cyborg," Matt said, side-stepping around the thin walls around the cubicles, "No one has ever come close to accomplishing this."

"No one is me and more," Simon said, "Only because of my powers was I able to make this suit and combine my mind to it to make it a success. And though I see you in awe, I must destroy you now so you cannot tell anyone else this. Goodbye human."

He raised his hand toward Matt and the plates on his palms divided into an opening.

"Uh oh," the redhead muttered and dove out of the way as a chain with a three-pronged claw shot exactly where he had been standing a second earlier.