Sadly, there was no mercy. My dreams were empty, nothing but the dark void that mocked me. In the middle of the void stood a demonic being, probably an image my subconcious made to personify my other self. It had jet black hair, the complete opposite of my own. Red eyes glared at me accusingly behind the bangs that fell around its face.

A voice rang out through the deafening silence that resonated within my very core. "If you weren't such a coward, I wouldn't have to babysit you all the time!"

I frowned at the accusation. I wasn't a coward. I was only human. In a fit of frustration, I called it out. "I thought you liked murdering people!" I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the entire situation.

As if on que, it grinned. "Maybe if you start thinking for yourself instead of relying on me, you might actually find the answers you are looking for!" Its hand reached out and shoved me. I could feel the air rushing by as I fell, and fell. Everything went dark and silent again...

Eyes flying open, I had to work to steady my breath. "So you've abandoned me..." I couldn't believe it. After all it had put me through, it actually ditched me in my time of need. Glancing over to the clock, it had only been about thirty minutes. The pain had died down considerably, but there was still that dull pain. Shaking my head, I got up and headed for the bathroom and got undressed.

Turning the shower on, I stepped in. Feeling the hot water wash over my exhausted body was pure bliss, and I couldn't help but let out a contented sigh as I leaned back and let the water pour over me. It was like this water had the power to wash away all my worries, all my problems, if only just for a little while. As a plus, I didn't have the voice nagging about long showers being girlish. Just as that thought came to mind, I felt a pang of emptiness. Emptiness? I shoved that thought to the side. I was better off without that thing anyway, but still couldn't help but feel uneasy at its sudden disappearance.

Sighing, I turned the water off and stepped out. Grabbing the towel I left nearby, I headed to my room for a change of clothes. As I finished getting the pants on, I frowned. Surely Cipher would be back by now, right? That uneasy feeling came back full-force and all I could think about was whether or not Cipher was alright.

Fearing for the worst, I grabbed my coat, not even bothering with a shirt, and grabbed the two guns I hid in the cabinet. Checking for the ammunition, I placed the guns at my sides and pocketed some extra ammo. It was something my other self often did to ensure there was enough for the job.

Obviously not interested in wasting time, I chose a pair of slip-ons and rushed out the door. Once outside, I realized I had no clue where to start my search. Normally I could rely on my other self to pick up trails, but not this time. I was on my own. Cursing under my breath, I started running to the nearest "Hot Spot". It's one of the places the dealers often hang out to sell their goods. The thing about these Hot Spots was that they periodically changed, quite often.

I remembered Cipher telling me about a recent Hot Spot a few days ago, so that was my first target. It wasn't too far, but getting to it was a pain. As the building came into view, I ran even faster. There were fences around it, but that wasn't a problem. At least not for me.

It was a several story parking garage. You know, one of those really huge ones? Upon reaching the enterance, I slowed down to catch my breath. There were some really nice cars in here, I had to admit.

After climbing a few floors, I heard a faint voice. "He knows too much."

Another voice joined the convesation. "Yeah, but what should be do about him?"

"The same thing we do to everyone who gets in our way."

That was all I needed to hear before I felt my heart begin to race as I ran up the last ramp. "Stop!"

The couple turned to look at me in surprise. "That little weasel called for backup?"

Looking them over, I frowned. One was weak. Thin and tall, but had a good look to him. He had to be the one dealing the drugs. The other was rather large, obviously meant to protect the other in case things got bad.

Slowly walking forward, I glared at them. "No one called for nothing. There are no authorities involved, rest assured." The thin one seemed quite startled with my approach, but the other simply grinned. My eyes widened when I noticed who was behind them.

Cipher lay in a heap in the corner, eyes forcused on me. "Kaito..."

Turning my attention to the dealers, I drew a gun. "He has nothing to do with this." I aimed the gun at the larger of the two. "I just want to know what is in the joint. I have a feeling there is more than meets the eye."

"But, he said it was undetectable!" The taller man looked at me as if I'd grown two heads.

The larger actually laughed. "Put that little toy of yours away before you hurt yourself."

I couldn't understand why he wasn't afraid of me. Most of my targets cower in fear of my presense. Reguardless, I wasn't about to give in to these creeps, so I stood my ground. The pain was coming back as I could smell the substance in question nearby. "What is in these things?"

A click could be heard as the larger man tightened his grip on his own gun. "I don't know, and I sure as hell wouldn't tell you even if I did."

Closing the phone, the taller one sighed. "This isn't good, Bones. We need to kill them before anyone else finds out."

Before anyone else could make their move, I made sure to run. The sound of bullets firing could be heard, but Cipher was more important, so I had to be sure to get to him before anything happened. Once I made it to him, I took my second gun out and shot the light.

The crack of glass caught their attention long enough for me to shoot the gun out of the large man's hands and render him useless. Snatching up Cipher as fast as I could, I had to work to avoid the incoming fist that was aimed at my face. Cipher weakly latched onto me while I avoided any further confrontation.

With speed I didn't even know I had, I ran to the next floor and set Cipher down. "Get the hell out of here."

Cipher was shocked at my sudden hostility, but slowly got up. "Y-yeah...Be careful..."

I was quick to run back and drew my guns. The piercing pain in my left hand caused be to drop one of my guns and I had to look around to find my target. He was hiding behind a fairly new SUV, getting ready for another shot. The rest of the shots were swiftly avoided, but my movement impared my own aim and soon we were at a stalemate, both left with no remaining ammo. Or rather, my own gun had jammed and I had no time to take it apart and fix it.

Laughing could be heard from the side and I saw the tall man take out a ciggarete. "This should be good. No one can match Bones' raw strength."

In response, the larger man ran over to me and went for a punch. Throwing both arms up to block, I hissed at the impact on my injured left hand. I was the punching bag, and he was the angry kid. Stuck on the defensive, there was nothing I could do against him. I turned to run, but he grabbed my arm. The jacket was loose, so I shugged it off as I ran to the other side of the room. Again, I was easily cornered, and when the sound of sirens rang through the air, he cursed under his breath before grabbing my and running for his car.

Throwing me in the back, he slid in with me while the skinny man jumped into the front seat and started the car. The larger man grabbed me roughly and punched me in the gut. "Bones, you can have your fun with him later! I'm trying to drive here!"

The very idea of there being a later made me panic, and I grabbed for the door handle. "Uh-uh-uh. Naughty boys should be punished." Grabbing me by the throat, he grinned. Breathing was becoming much harder, but I still struggled. "Fiesty little one, ain't ya!" He squeezed harder and spots began to form in my vision. The lack of air was effecting me rapidly, and I couldn't help but succomb to the darkness.

Waking up wasn't very pleasant, as I quickly found myself bound. As panic rose, I found myself jerking around, trying to free myself. A hard slap to the face haulted my efforts as I looked to see who was there. My anger rose tenfold, and the chair I was tied to fell back, hitting the ground hard.

There, in all his fucking glory, was Chris, laughing at my futile attempts to break free. "My my, look at the trash. Seems you're quite resilient, but don't think that will stop me from finishing you." I mentally face-palmed as I remembered how scared he'd been of me the first time we met. "So I hear you've discovered our little secret. Mind telling me how exactly you figured it out?"

Looking at him blankly, I didn't need a reminder when that foul smell hit my nose. "This...What is it? What is this shit?" Lungs burning painfully, I glared at the man before me. Nothing made sense anymore, and the pain in my chest certainly didn't help my thought processes any.

"What is what shit?" He asked, feigning ignorance. I knew he was fishing for answers.

Coughing harshly, I looked around. Crates, filled to the brim with some powdery substance that could only be some sort of drug were everywhere. "It hurts. There's something in this stuff, and I want to know what it is!" The pain only got worst with the smell in the air. "Why doesn't it effect you? Why? What is going on?!"

Chris gave me a grin before considering his answer. "So, it hurts you?"

"What are you playing at! You're against drugs, but you're dealing them?!" Tears stung at my eyes as the burn extended to my nostrils. "It doen't make any sense!"

Frowning, Chis pulled my chair upright and sat in a chair of his own. "Yes, I am against drugs. They are a scourge, spreading throughout our once glorious city. People who were once vibrant and full of life now scrape for change hoping they can afford their next fix. So entranced by these drugs, they'd do anything for them, even killing. All I see is this filth, all around me! If not I, then who will stand against this?!" He made hand motions as he talked, com[pletely wrapped up in his little speach.

Now panting for breath, I glared at him. "So, the solution...To this filth...Is to spread more drugs?"

Putting on his best cheshire cat smile, Chris stood up. "I am crushing all other drug trades, and flooding the streets with this special drug that I received. You still get your high, but your body begins to reject it. Sirius showed me the results in real time, and I must say, they are remarkable."

The name Sirius sparked something inside me, and I couldn't help but look at him incredulously. "Sirius? Who..." Going into another fit of coughing, I began to sweat. "No...This is wrong. What's happening...to me?" It felt like a sauna now, and I couldn't tell what was real anymore.

"Now that you know, it's about time you died." The words were wavering, going in one ear and out the other. The sudden need to rip all of my clothes off was maddening. Everything was blurring together, and I could barely make out a figure walking towards me. "You...terrible...poor...how...feel?" Very few words were registering and I knew I had to get out of here. Now I could feel warm air by my ear. Perhaps someone's breath? "Good bye."

Everything felt strange, disconnected. The darkness was growing, can all I could think about was killing this man. Murder. Mutilate, so many horrible things that I ordinarily wouldn't ever consider. But even then, those thoughts died along with the darkness.

It was cold. Freezing. My mind still felt as though it were stuffed with cotton, but I could clearly make of the cold waves lapping at my unmoving body. Even moving a single muscle took an extreme amount of effort, and I eventually just gave up.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally mustered enough energy to slowly push myself up some, arms shaking wildly with the effort. Opening my eyes revealed sand. It was late at night, and I was on what appeared to be a beach. It was clearly a private one, otherwise I'd have been found by now. Dragging myself further away from the water, I flopped back down, shivers running through me. I was fairly sure I had pnemonia, or something of that sort. Looking back at the shore, there were several shining objects. Upon closer inpection, they were bullets.

Looking down at my bare chest, there wasn't a single scratch. Frowning, I attempted getting up again, this time making it to the edge of the woods. Although fairly numb, I was still able to walk, albeit rather slowly. The movements were sluggish, and I tripped several times on tree roots. At one point, I walked straight into a tree. Finally reaching SOME sort of house, I collapsed against the front door staring blankly at nothing in particular. I felt my body slide some when the door opened, and was greeted by a screaming man as I fell to the floor. "So...Cold."

The man hurriedly grabbed me, and pulled me inside. After getting me some towels and dry clothes, he looked me over. "What on earth happened to you?"

Not wanting to go into details, I let out a groan. "Can...Can I use your p-phone?" He passed me his phone and I tried to dial the numbers, but my fingers hit the wrong numbers. Noticing my trouble, he took the phone from me and dialed it for me. Putting it to me ear, I motioned the man to go away.

As he left, I heard a skeptical voice answer. "Hello? And who might this be?"

Coughing a bit, a let out a sigh of relief. "You s-sound just...Peachy."

"Kaito?! Is that you?! Where are you? Are you alright?"

Frowning as I noticed the man come back, I couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of a steaming cup being placed nearby. "Yes, it's me. N-not sure where I am, and no, I'm n-not alright."

The voice on the other end broke into a panic. "You're stranded?! Shit...shit shit shit shit shit."

Letting out a small chuckle, I eyed the cup next to me. "I'll l-let you speak to this guy. M-maybe he can tell you w-where I am." Passing the phone to the man, I slowly grasped the cup and brought it to my lips. Still fairly numb, the cup slipped and spilled all over me. Looking down, I let out a sigh. The man, however, began to panic. Throwing the phone over to me, he hurried off to get something to treat my burns with, shich I hadn't even felt.

"What's going on?!"

"D-dunno. I s-spilled something on myself and he s-started freaking out." Just holding the phone up to my ear was beginning to be a chore, so I dropped the phone nearby and leaned back.

The man came back with towels and some type of ointment. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! How much does it hurt?"

Looking at him with a tired glance, I replied; "Hmmm? I don't f-feel a thing."

I dozed off as he was treating my burns and he grabbed the phone to continue where he left off. I felt something being draped over my tired body, but couldn't be fucked to even look.

The next time I woke, was to someone violently shaking me. "aito! Can you...Kaito!" Lazily opening my eyes, I looked over to find Cipher's worried face. "Say something..."

"Mmmm, how b-bout you're a prick for w-waking me up from my nice nap." Shifting a bit, I felt the pain on my thighs and cursed. "S-shit that hurts!"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Cipher helped me up into a sitting position and gave me a bowl of something warm. "Eat. You look terrible." As I took the bowl from him, he burst out hysterically. "I thought you were dead! I was so worried that I'd never see your sorry ass again! Do you know how worried I was?! It's been three fucking days!"

Pausing in my consumption of food, I looked over to him. "Th-three days?" Shaking my head, I went back to eating like I'd been starved, which I probably was. I still didn't have full feeling of my body, so I wasn't sure.

Cipher shifted in his seat, clearly uncertain of what to do. When I suddenly doubled over, he was at my side in an instant. "K-Kaito!"

Rubbing at my eyes, the blurriness had returned along with the sweat. "Ugghhh, just...I don't fucking know. Get me a beer or something." Slumping back, I closed my eyes to relax a little. When he came back, I greatfully took the beer which had already been opened and downed it. Cipher sat back down and took out a joint and lit it. The second he did, the feeling came back full-force.

Noticing my fit of coughing and wheezing, he threw the joint away before rushing to my side. "Whoa, what the hell happened?" Noticing my shaky breath, he frowned.

"Don't...fucking smoke that shit! It's fucking poison!" Coughing a few more times, I leaned back. "The Rat was right. I've gotten myself into some serious shit." Mulling over my thoughts a bit, I looked to Cipher. "Chris...Leader of Purge...You know him?"

Cipher looked at me curiously before nodding. "Yeah, I have. Christopher Murphey. Purge is a group he started a few years ago to fight the influx of drugs into our society. Lately he's been calling out hits for various dealers. The dealers are all in a panic now, and the customers quite unhappy. Scarlet plans to make her own move against Chris. Supposedly she has some dirt on him." Pausing for a moment, he looked at me. "Why do you ask?"

Staring at nothing in particular, I sighed. "He's involved in a hell of a lot more. He's responsible for the current load of drugs out in the circles. He hopes to flood the circles with this special mix to fight against drugs." Frowning, I looked back at him. "He mentioned a man named Sirius. Whatever is in those drugs are having a serious negative effect on me. Just breathing in the scent drives me over the edge." After a moments thought, I added; "I gotta talk to The Rat. Maybe even get in touch with Scarlet. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into."

I was interrupted by the same man from earlier. "I don't think you should over-work yourself at the moment. You have pnemonia, for christ's sake."

We both looked over at him before Cipher smiled. "He's tougher than he looks. Believe me, this is nothing, right Kai?"

"Right." I was surprised that he didn't agree with the man. "The sooner, the better. After all, I failed to off Chris from the start, so technically, I haven't finished my job for Scarlet."

Getting up, Cipher reached out to help me up. "Well, it's a good thing I drove here then. Let's get going, shall we?"

Following him to the door, I turned back to give the man one last glance. "Thanks." The man nodded and I shut the door, getting into the passenger seat of the car. "Turn on some fucking heat, would you?" As Cipher got down the road some, I nodded off some.