In case you were unaware, there is an unused room on the Gigantic and its replica in Building Q called the Reactor that is featured in this chapter.

Chapter 10

Things unfold quite differently in the alpha timeline.

Keiichi sucks in a breath, struggling to find his voice for a moment. "Nona," he calls manages to then out, his eyes never leaving the screen. He hears the pounding of blood in his ears – or is it just the sound of his heart racing?

Musashidou is dead. Keiichi saw his father kill the man with his own eyes, but he felt no remorse, just in the same way he felt no remorse seeing Nijisaki's body explode from the bomb detonating in his stomach (though, he couldn't say the same for Nona, who was so disturbed by not only seeing his violent death, but being a part of it, that she nearly puked). He knew these men personally. On the outside, they display cool, pleasant demeanors – Uncle Kubota probably being the only exception – but inside, they are cold-hearted, selfish creatures who seek nothing if it isn't for themselves.

But now, the events unfolding in front of Keiichi very much surprise and scare him, considering the fact that he is working to make sure the Nonary Game goes smoothly, but didn't know this was going to happen at all.

There is no response from Nona, so he tries again, this time, grabbing and shaking her arm with his shaky hand. "Nona! Nona, wake up!"

She jolts awake with a gasp, blinking. Her eyes immediately move to Keiichi's wide, horror-stricken ones. "Keiichi . . ." Her voice is thick with sleep. "Wha – "

"A-Aoi just pulled the revolver on Akane!"

Her eyes fly open. "What!?" she croaks out, becoming more alert as she wrenches up from her seat. "What . . . w-why?! They didn't tell us anything about this!"

"I know," is the only thing Keiichi can answer, bewildered by this himself. "I'm confused, too, Nona, but they've gone into Door 9. We need to go to the Reactor now."

"But Akane – "

He shakes his head at her. This stuff has to be happening for a reason, he somehow just knows it – is Akane transmitting this knowledge to him through the morphic fieldset . . . ? But that's impossible, since he's not a receiver. "No, Nona. They know what they're doing." His hand grasps the laptop bag on the desk as he finally turns to face her, his eyes burning into hers. "We need to leave before they reach the study. Get your stuff – we have to leave, now."

She stares at him with unsure eyes, but nods at him, regardless. "Okay."

So, they grab their necessary things and scramble to the Reactor, a room unused in both the Nonary Games – though the second game is based on what Akane has seen through Junpei's eyes, he's not sure why his father didn't have them. (Though, the Torture Room was more than to incite fear within the children . . . maybe it was for the better that he hadn't incorporated this room into the game as well.)

As soon as Nona turns the key into the lock and pushes the door open, Keiichi immediately jumps for the red sofa, diving into the cushions. Relief flows through his body, especially legs, as he sinks into the dusty cushions. He didn't realize how tired he has been until now. He is still a little unnerved by what he saw occur through the CCTV footage, even though he knows that Aoi would really never hurt Akane, but tries to relax.

Nona laughs and simply shakes his head at him. She drops her heavy backpack, filled with all of the controls for the vibration platform he installed into the study, for the bell system, and for the water leveling on the staircase, onto the ground and walks straight towards the next door in front of them.

Keiichi's heart leaps out of its chest when he sees her unlock the door in front of them. "Don't!" he nearly screams, wrenching up from the couch.

Nona jumps and whips her head towards him, alarmed by his outburst and horror-stricken face. "What the fuck!? I'm just getting a chair from the other room. It's not my fault that you hogged the couch all to yourself."

"Oh. S-Sorry," he says lamely, feeling foolish. As he sinks back down into the sofa, an embarrassed blush rises to his cheeks. "I thought you were going down to the reactor."

A puzzled and slightly concerned Nona raises an eyebrow. "Why would it be a problem if I was going down there?" When he responds with a panicked expression on his face, she rolls her eyes. "Oh, silly, Keiichi. I appreciate the concern, but it's not like the reactor actually works. Building Q is only a replica of the Gigantic."

Keiichi stays quiet. He doesn't have the heart to tell Nona that if Akane and Aoi could withhold the fact that Aoi was going to pull a gun to her head to them, then who knows what other information or things they could be keeping a secret? For all they know, the reactor could be a working one, or there could be a trap laid downstairs.

When she returns to the first room, rolling an office chair into the doorway, Keiichi spies a pink booklet tucked under her arm. "What's that in your hand?"

She plops onto the chair and pushes herself to Keiichi, spinning once as she does. She holds up the book, "Super Sudoku," which looks quite worn and torn up. "Akane's book of Sudoku puzzles. She let me keep it to finish while we're supervise the game."

Keiichi is surprised. "Oh, uh, that was nice of her," he says awkwardly, as he opens his laptop to continue his surveillance. He didn't think Akane would do something like that, but at the same time, did it have to be a fucking Sudoku book?

As Nona works her way through the Sudoku puzzles, with her backpack on her lap, Keiichi keeps a close watch on Junpei, Clover, Light, Nona's mom, and the detective, chuckling slightly at some of the things they have to say. Like the rust on the metal machine in the back of the study! The rust did kind of look like a face, maybe Elvis's, Keiichi amusedly thinks to himself, as he watches them all sing about a pipe in the study, which baffles him. What the hell? How can they be so cheerful and sing at a time like this? It's none of his business, though, so he shuts up after that and watches them complete all of the puzzles, cheekily grinning to himself when he sees that the final solution to the Numbered Door Puzzle is the correct input of bracelets needed for them to escape Door q. Akane and Aoi are sneaky bastards.

At 6AM, Keiichi's watch on his right wrist – not the bracelet, which is on his left one – begins to be beep, as it does at the start of every hour.

Akane said once the participants would talk about the Ganzfield experiment and make speculations about Zero (after the last puzzle yields the picture of the Cradle Executives), at approximately 6AM, the study should shake.

The watch stops beeping, just in time for him to hear the participants discuss how Zero's next target will be Gentarou Hongou. Ha. As surreal the whole experience has been for him, he finds some amusement in hearing their talks, especially since they think Aoi is Zero, and because Zero doesn't plan to actually kill Gentarou Hongou.

"Nona," he calls out, the anticipation – or is it dread? – bubbling in his voice, "it's six o'clock! Make it shake, now!"

.

As Keiichi watches "Ace" punch Aoi in the stomach and snatch the gun to point at Lotus's head, he feels Nona's hand grasp his tightly. He gives it a small squeeze back as his eyes look to hers, in hopes to convey his apologies about his father's actions, but he is also trying to swallow back the bile that rises up his throat.

June – Akane Kurashiki, or Zero, as he now knows – towers over him. The warmth in her eyes that Gentarou has been familiar with for the past 9 hours has vanished, and in its place, a cold, calculating look pierces through his own eyes with resentment. Gone is the mask of sweet, caring peacemaker who had mourned at his feigned vigilant behavior. In its place, lays the true face of a cunning, vengeful mastermind, left bitter and heartless, but also sad and broken.

Gentarou has always heard to never judge a book by its cover, but Akane's true nature has taken him completely by surprise. Who would have thought that the meek, innocent, naive, and caring young woman, was the same subject from his experiment 9 years ago, who set out to ruin his life, because he had nearly ended hers?

"So, all of this, it was for revenge, then. I can't deny that I'm impressed by your efforts, Zero . . . or should I say Akane Kurashiki," he spits out bitterly.

The girl looks away, her face hardened into a grave expression. "Aoi told you already that revenge wasn't the primary reason," she answers him quietly. "I did it to save my life."

"Though I can't claim to know how this saved your life, frankly, I don't want to know. It wasn't just to save your life. Revenge had to be a large reason. You so easily manipulated me to do your bidding and have Kubota, Nijisaki, and Musashidou dead." He grins lecherously at her. "You don't have any blood on your hands . . . but what about the blood that will stain your hands when you kill me?"

Gentarou has already accepted defeat. He has lost to Zero, there is no doubt about that. But though Akane Kurashiki still stands, it wouldn't take much to make her fall as well. As devious as she may appear to him now, Gentarou can tell that there is a fragility to her that could be easy to break.

But as her eyes flash angrily and as she makes a step towards him, Santa – Aoi Kurashiki, the "secretary to Zero," as he called himself earlier – places a hand on her shoulder. The younger Kurashiki turns to her brother, who shakes his head. She grunts once before looking back at Gentarou with a look that wipes the grin off of Gentarou's face and sends chills down his back.

"Make no mistake, Gentarou Hongou – if I wanted you to kill you four, you would have been dead a long time ago." She speaks in a deadly, low tone. "It was your choice to kill them – I simply gave you an opportunity. It wouldn't have mattered to me if all four of you came out alive – I'd simply turn all of you into the police."

Such threatening words from such a sweet, high-pitched voice. It's almost laughable – if he didn't just see it for himself, he wouldn't believe that this kitten was actually a tigress.

A tigress that tore this lion to shreds.

"I did what I had to for the greater good," she answers back cryptically.

He barks out a weak, albeit sarcastic laugh. "Greater good? Let me be the first to tell you now, little girl – "

"You're in no position to talk, Gentarou Hongou," she tells him icily, and immediately, Gentarou loathes her and her patronizing tone. "Remember that you are the one who pitifully is tied up – "

"Playing God doesn't lessen the severity of what you've done!" he snaps angrily, frustrated by her taunting and by the fact that she's overpowering him. "You've kidnapped 9 people against their own will; you forced them to play through your sick games; you're responsible for the death of people. You and I, Akane Kurashiki, are cut from the same cloth. There is no difference between us."

"There is a difference between you and her - it's that you're a monster!"

Gentarou's blood runs cold at the sound of the familiar voice. "Keiichi?" he breathes in disbelief, struggling against the rope to turn around and see him.

His son squats down in front of him, staring at him with hard eyes. "You were wondering about my contracting gig." Keiichi turns his head slightly towards the enormous building and smirks. "This was it. Building Q. Four months of toiling, lying to and hiding things from the people I love and care about, all to help Akane orchestrate the Second Nonary Game."

Gentarou is in shock. His own son would betray him like this? "W-Why? Why would you do such a thing? Did you forget so easily that you're my son, my own blood?" His words end in a seethe, rage filling him at his son's disloyalty.

But Keiichi is unfazed. "Did you forget so easily that you put me, Keiko – your own children, your own blood – and 16 other kids into a death game for your sick desires?" His voice is ice-cold, but Gentarou doesn't sense any anger from him. No . . . he seems numb. He no longer cares anymore about Gentarou.

Was this game simply revenge for him?

Revenge has been exacted and served, and now Keiichi no longer wants any ties to him.

Understandable, of course, but Keiichi would never understand Gentarou's own actions and just why he had to do it.

"What are you waiting for then? Kill me. Just kill me, then. I'd rather die at your hands, anyway." Gentarou wouldn't normally like to die at anyone's hands really – only his own hands, at his choice – but better his son than the manipulative Akane Kurashiki. He feels too drained of energy that he'd rather put an end to this now.

"No." His son shakes his head. "I won't kill you. I won't stoop down to your level. You'd be willing to kill me, but I'm not willing to kill you."

Gentarou stiffens. Is that what he really thinks of him? His voice is dark as he replies to him. "I never would have killed you. You're my son, my own blood; I've told you a thousand times already, and I will tell you a thousand times more: you and Keiko are my jewels. I did this all for you. I wanted to see you! I wanted to see my own children's faces!" he insists, his voice raising by the end.

"I doubt it," Keiichi mutters scornfully, looking away. "If it had been me who was supposed to be stuck in the incinerator instead of Akane 9 years ago . . . I'm sure you would have let it come to that."

No. Never. Gentarou simply wouldn't allow it. Keiichi was his son. Never. Not even if he was in Akane's place in the incinerator. Not even if for all of the money in the world, even if his company was on the life, even if Gentarou's life depended on it.

. . . if he was in the incinerator, and was Gentarou's last chance at being able to see faces just once . . .

Maybe.

Yes.

Oh, my. So, his sociopathic nature extends to even his children, too, it seems, something that he hasn't been hoping for – his children are supposed to be the last thing that keeps him grounded to humanity. But it seems that even as a father, he is a failure. Not that it's his biggest failure, of course, but a failure nonetheless. And not that it matters, anyway. He has lost, totally and utterly to Akane Kurashiki.

Keiichi narrows his eyes, his hands clenching into fists. "I knew it. What else can someone expect from a pathetic man like you?" He squeezes his eyes shut. "I'm ashamed that you're my biological father."

"Hmph." Keiichi's first comment stings much more than his last, but only because he is right. Gentarou is pathetic, and foolish for that matter. He fell for Zero's obvious trap by killing "Snake," who was really Nijisaki, his only close companion. Furthermore, that insect, Junpei was able to see through Gentarou's actions and motive as if it were the clearest glass. He so easily succumbed to his downfall that his blood son had a hand in. Most importantly, though, he is disgusted with himself to have fallen prey to this seemingly innocuous girl's manipulation and to have lost to her.

What a pitiable end for a brilliant, cunning man as himself.

With a final, resigned sigh, Gentarou bows down his head in defeat, before Keiichi and Aoi tapes his mouth shut with duct tape and lock him in the back of an SUV.

While they wait for Nona to bring the other SUV they brought for their escape, Keiichi watches Akane silently as Aoi wraps a comforting arm around his younger sister's shoulders, making Keiichi wonder what his own sister is up to.

"I'm far from an angel, but I'm not a monster like him either, right?" Tears stream down Akane's cheeks, as Aoi quietly reassures her that she is not.

As much as he hates the way she plays God sometimes and is completely fine with manipulating anyone for it, including the man that she claims to love unconditionally, Keiichi truly feels bad for Akane. Her life has been full of hardships from a young age, and only became Zero so she could ensure her existence in the future.

He is sure that Akane doesn't regret much that has happened in Building Q, at least, with what has happened to the four Cradle Executives (Junpei is another story, he'd wager). This simply her finally cracking under the pressure since everything is over, the dam that burst open as soon it was free to break.

And maybe it's time for his dam to break as well.

"You're nothing like him."

Akane's head snaps up to his, and Aoi curiously turns to him as well.

"He's a disgusting, vile person, who wouldn't have thought twice if it was me, or maybe Keiko, in that incinerator instead of you, because he'll do anything for his own selfish purposes." Keiichi swallows hard. "He's the worst of the worst."

"Keiichi . . . " Aoi sighs.

Finally, finally, his throat tightens, as he feels the water welling in his eyes. "Scum." His voice slightly cracks. "Repulsive." His hands begin to shake. "Despicable." His nose strings before the tears spill from his eyes. "A demon on earth."

Keiichi wishes he actually could be as strong, cool, and nonchalant as he tries to appear.

He hears an exhalation from besides him, and feels a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," is all Akane says, and he turns to see her looking at him with pity.

But Keiichi doesn't want to be pitied, so he shakes his head at her. "No." His head then tilts upward to take in the scorching hot sun of the Nevada desert, closing his eyes. His tears are minimal, but roll freely down his cheeks now. "Don't be. He got what he deserved. I hope he rots in hell." As he roughly wipes moisture off of his cheeks, he wonders how Keiko will react to this all.

He needs a distraction. "Akane." His voice comes out graver and more hoarse than he intended. Damn those tears. "I've actually wanted to ask you something since the beginning of the game. We're in the alpha timeline where Junpei successfully was able to solve the puzzle and save you from the past, yet you broke out into a fever when the 'ninth man' exploded . . . Was Kubota supposed to die?"

Akane's eyes widen in surprise, and then flash in anger. She turns to glare sharply at Aoi. "No, he wasn't! And where the hell did Kubota get a knife from?!" she demands, stepping forward to punch her brother in the arm, who gives off a small smirk, shrugging, before he feels the force of Akane's fist and winces.

.

"A SOIS Agent hitchhiked a ride in the SUV we've left for them, and is guiding them to their Las Vegas Headquarters. You and Keiko will each get a phone call shortly informing you that your father has been arrested."

Keiichi nods from his seat at the shabby, secondhand dining room table – Crash Keys' official "meeting" table – though a pang of sadness runs through him. Today, poor Keiko will be exposed to their father's true colors. And then his eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Wait, what's SOIS?"

Akane looks up from the documents she has been reading across from him. "The Special Office of Internal Security." She frowns. "A secret branch of the Department of Defense that investigates any sort of threat to national security, through domestic or foreign terrorists or terrorist groups."

Aoi, who sits on top of the tabletop, his feet resting on the empty chair next to Akane, scowls. "Next thing you know, we'll have the fucking Feds on our asses."

Nona sits in the wooden chair next to Keiichi, passing two cups of instant coffee to him and Akane. "Wait, I thought the FBI is part of the Department of Defense?"

Keiichi shakes his head. "Surprisingly no. It's a very common misunderstanding," he answers, taking a sip. His foot taps impatiently against the concrete floor, causing Akane to shoot him a annoyed glare.

Suddenly, Aoi jumps off the table, landing on his feet with a resounding thud. He then takes a step towards Keiichi and grabs his hand to place a set of keys into his palm. "You and Nona will go to the Las Vegas HQ and meet your parents. Akane says that Keiko will already be there, by the time you get to the place, but pick Ennea up on your way." His eyes widen. "Before I forget . . . " He reaches into his pocket and produces two thick envelopes. "These are for you both. This is my small way of thanking you for helping me save my sister's life."

Keiichi stares at the envelope blankly for a moment. "You know that I don't need this," he finally answers. "I did this because I wanted to."

Nona, too, looks at Aoi with hesitation. "I . . . I can't take this, either. Sorry, Aoi."

Aoi rolls his eyes and shoves the envelopes into their hands anyway. "If you return those, I'll just deposit them to your bank accounts – and trust me, I will do that."

"You suck, man." Keiichi groans, reaching over to punch Aoi's arm softly, while Nona frowns, staring at the packet.

Aoi ignores their reactions. "We'll be in touch soon. Have Ennea update us on the ABT, Nona."

"W-Wait, where are you going?" Nona cries out.

Aoi folds his arms over his chest and smirks wryly. "You haven't realized it, yet? Akane and I are criminals on the run. We kidnapped 10 people and are indirectly responsible for the death of three.

"We're going into hiding," Akane finishes for him, standing up, the files in her hand cradled to her chest.

"I helped you guys repair Building Q," Keiichi points out calmly, arms crossed over his chest, "kidnap the participants of the Second Nonary Game, and help orchestrate the game itself."

"And so did I! And yet you're the only ones who have to be on the run."

Akane smiles sadly at Nona, taking a few steps towards her and taking her hand. "Your involvement in this was a secret from the start. We couldn't ask you to take the fall with us. You've already done more than enough. We put a huge burden on you and your conscious. The only thing we can ask you to do is to take this secret to the grave."

As he watches Nona and Akane exchange tearful goodbyes, Keiichi gets the distinct feeling that these words were meant only for Nona and not him.