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IMPORTANT! READ THIS BEFORE CONTINUING!

Hello, everyone. It's been quite some time I've had this fic on my resume. In fact, we just passed its 5 year anniversary. Wow, 5 years. Long time to be dedicated to such a niche idea for a story.

For those who have stuck with it since its beginning, you have my everlasting thanks for your support. My mind has been elsewhere all these years, coping with lots of grief and overcoming many hurdles to better myself. As such, writing has taken a back seat. Now, however, I can safely say that my current standing in life is stable and I feel my passion for creativity churning once again. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been happier and more content with life than I am right now.

As such, I've decided that updates for Saw will continue on October 27, 2017 to coincide with the upcoming Saw film reboot. I feel there is no better time.

However, said continuation will be in a separate reboot fic as opposed to here. The reason for this is because I feel over the years I have honed my craft to the point where I can overhaul the entire narrative and as such, content I wrote in 2012 will contrast in quality to what I can compose now in 2017. If you're wondering why I don't just replace the chapters here with the new and improved ones, there are a variety of reasons. One of which being that many chapters here have been split since many were way too long. As such, if one were to read the reviews for a chapter that was originally whole, they may spoil themselves of what will happen in the second half. The structure will be thrown off completely, and as this is a rewrite, some of the reviews here I've gotten will lose context as many plot threads they elaborate on will be lost since some things were scrapped entirely. Lots of filler that plagued this fic has been done away with (including this prologue chapter, thank fuck) and I feel the story is better for it.

That being said, I'm going to leave this fic up as it is and as it has been for the last 5 years as a historical piece. As dated as I feel it is in comparison to what I can do now, I still feel it is a major stepping stone and represents a big part of my life and growth as a person.

In order to keep a good pace, updates for the rewrite will come on a monthly basis consistently and will continue to do so until the whole fic is complete. I find this will give me more than substantial time to ensure the story's quality all the while not having long breaks between updates. At the time I write this I have 9 chapters of material revamped and at the ready, and that is only going to rise.

Once the fic is completely written, the scheduled updates will be coming weekly as opposed to monthly.

I look forward to seeing you there in "Saw: The Trials of Minato Sahashi - Retrial"

I will leave this message at the end of the last chapter here as well. By all means though, if you want to see the early years of how this fic started you can feel more than free to read what is here. Just know to take what you see here with a grain of salt and that the conclusion to this fic will be in the rewrite.

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WITH THIS BEING A PROLOGUE AND ALL, THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS CHAPTER IS TO SET THE TONE OF THE STORY, AND DEMONSTRATE JUST HOW DARK AND GRAPHIC IT CAN ACTUALLY GET. THE ACTUAL PLOT DOESN'T BECOME ESTABLISHED UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER, SO IF YOU FIND THIS CHAPTER TO BE TOO MUCH TO BEAR, FEEL FREE TO SKIP AHEAD, AS IT WON'T GET THIS GORY AND VIOLENT UNTIL MUCH LATER ON. IF YOU CAN STOMACH THIS, THOUGH, THEN YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE ENTIRE FIC NO PROBLEM.

A/N:

Greetings and welcome, dear reader, to my third outing as a fanfic author. I have been indulging in quite a few Saw fanfics as of late, and to say that most of them were lacklustre would be a massive understatement. (key word being most)

I know, I know, I'm one to talk. My writing isn't necessarily stellar either, but I have the feeling that I could do the series more justice. Not a great amount of justice mind you, but just enough so it keeps the reader interested...or at least I hope so. Keep in mind though, that I've only been writing for a year, so I still have a lot to learn.

That, and I also figured that having more fics of different genres and fandoms under my belt would help me hone my skills, and present me with a more clear understanding of my strengths and weaknesses.

And before you ask, NO, Jigsaw will NOT become an Ashikabi at ANY point in this fic. That would have been way too predictable to include, and the story's serious tone would have no doubt suffered because of it.

This story will no doubt contain a VERY generous amount of flashbacks, including flashbacks within flashbacks (FLASHBACK-CEPTION!), so in order to differentiate between them and a normal scene, I'm going to insert a straight horizontal line at the top of each scene dealing with the present, and this (~o~O~o~) at the beginning of each flashback. If anyone can come up with a better way to do this, shoot me a PM and/or review.

On a final note, I would like to thank Omega Overlord for assisting me with formulating the idea for the opening Jigsaw game. Seriously man, you saved me from dealing with a hefty amount of unnecessary writer's block, so for that, you have my infinite gratitude.

Now with all of that out in the open, lets begin the fanfic.

Prologue

It was an average spring day for all but the most recent patient in MBI's medical center.

On the seventeenth floor, room #218, lied Sekirei #11; better known as Hikari. She had been released from the Emergency room no more than twenty minutes ago, and was yet to utter a single word to anybody since arriving at the hospital. She seemed distant...traumatized if you will.

Her head was heavily bandaged up, a white patch with trace amounts of dry blood firmly held in place over her right eye by three strips of medical tape. She was commanding her view through the substantially ample window adjacent to her cot, surveying the landscape of the entire city as well as the birds which flew by...how few there were.

She showed no interest.

No emotion.

Nothing.

There was a light rapping at the door, but the lightning twin gave it no acknowledgment. One heavy-set man entered her quarters, who was then shortly followed by two other slimmer associates. From the looks of them, they appeared to be private investigators. Each were dressed in top-of-the-line designer suits, which consisted of light brown windowpane wool flannel blazers with matching slacks, along with white striped shirts, black ties, and brown loafers. The portly detective made his way towards Hikari's bedside, while his two colleagues sat down in the chairs stationed by the wall at the end of her bed, just below the wall-mounted television set.

The private eye slid a hand down into his back pocket and extracted his wallet, flipping it open and presenting his badge to the distraught Sekirei.

"My name is Saito Fukushima. I am one of MBI's top ranking private investigators."

Not a single word fluttered from Hikari's tightly sewn lips. She sonorously struggled to ignore the presence her visitors, refusing to even make eye contact.

Investigator Fukushima continued, "The hospital contacted us shortly after you were admitted into the ER." He tilts his head, inspecting her eyepatch, "Tell me, Hikari, what happened?"

There was another period of dead silence. One of the associates slipped his fingers into his shirt pocket, pulling out a small notebook and pen, preparing to write down any notes. Saito pulled a chair out from the desk and rolled it over to the bed, easing himself down into it.

His words became more sincere, voice radiating with concern, "Hikari, my colleagues and I are here to help you. We want to apprehend whomever did this, but in order for that to happen, you need to speak with us and tell us what happened."

Hikari hung her head and turned away, speaking in a slight, almost inaudible whisper, "I-I don't..."

"You don't what?"

#11 was starting to become choked up. Whatever happened to her must have been harrowingly unnerving.

"I don't want to live through that again...please...just go away."

He sighed, "Hikari, I'm afraid I cannot do that even if I wanted to. I am under contract, which means that I must stay here with you until I get the information I need to build a case. I understand that whatever you experienced must have left you emotionally scarred, but rest assured that anything and everything you tell us will be kept completely confidential. No one besides the four of us here in this room will know the details. This, I can promise you."

Hikari's eyes drifted down to the bed sheets. She took a deep breath and gradually exhaled, "Alright."

"Start from the beginning."

"My sister Hibiki and I received a phone call from somebody posing as a police informant. He informed us that our Ashikabi, Seo Kaoru, got himself into trouble again, and needed us to bail him out of jail."

Saito leaned forward, his fingers locked together in his lap, while the associate began to jot down the information, "What happened next?"

"About half way to the police station, we were ambushed by two female Sekirei. They were powerful, most likely single numbers. We couldn't make out who they were, since they were wearing masks. Pig masks to be precise. They looked so real, as if they were actually severed from a real pig's body. We fought them off the best we could, but they were too quick. Too skilled. Too cunning. They were able to split us up and deal with us individually. That's all I can remember from the fight before I lost consciousness."

"Is there anything else you can remember?" asked the portly private eye, crossing his legs.

The blood drained from Hikari's facial features as she went on with the tale,

"I woke up, and I couldn't move. All I could see was darkness..."

~o~O~o~

A grunt escaped from Hikari's lungs as her drooping head gradually rose from the right of her bosom. #11's eyelids slowly cracked open, but no light was present. Not a single glimmer of hope. The room was cold, and pitch black. What little air there was had been infested with the stench of mold, and the decomposing anatomy of dead rats. The lightning twin's arms and legs floundered and jittered on instinct, but every time she pulled and tugged, each and every time, they would only budge mere inches, the chains locking her in place rattling and screeching from the tension. Only now was she starting to fully regain her senses. Her heart began to pace in a violent tempo, the intensity becoming stronger and stronger as she glanced around the room, up, right, down, left, trying her best to make out where she was, but ultimately failing. Her breathing became deeper and off-pattern, hyperventilating as waves of unrelenting panic flowed through her and manifested, making her blood run cold.

Up!Right!Down!Right!Left!Right!Up!Down!Left!Right!Left!Right!Left!Right!Down!Up!Left!Right!

"Where am I?!" she shouts. "HELP! Is anyone there?!"

Another voice echoed from across the evidently endless black void, "Hikari? Is that you?!"

Hikari identified the voice as her sister's, "Hibiki! Where are you?! How did we get here?!"

"I don't know! I just came too a few minutes ago, but I can't see anything! I can't use my powers either! It's these damn chains!"

*BZZZT!

A loud, booming purr of static sent a ripple of fear through the twins as a still, white image was cast onto the cobblestone wall, taking up more than half the space provided. They spontaneously and involuntarily jerked their heads in the direction the noise originated from as the screen crackled to life. They were soon acquainted by the presence of an eerily disturbing, yet well-crafted puppet, donning a black tuxedo with a red bow tie. The mannequin slowly and ominously cocked it's head towards the camera. It's red, soulless eyes which contrasted with it's pure white skinned complexion sent chills down the spines of the lightning twins. Their full attention focused on the screen, incapable of assembling any words from within as the demonic play-thing finally addressed them in a deep; yet shallow murmur.

"Hello Hikari...Hibiki... You don't know me...but, I know you. I want to play a game. Throughout the Sekirei Plan, you have both utilized teamwork to achieve your contemptuous goals, preying on the weak, the unwinged, and overwhelming them with greater numbers to improve your odds of survival. Some may look at you as strategists. I on the other hand, see you as cowards. Today, we will see just how well you both work as individuals, rather than as a unit. In order leave this room, you both must defy the teamwork which has lead to your success, and inflict a great deal of harm upon each other, although only one of you must succeed in doing so for the door to unlock. Hibiki's goal shall be to strip Hikari of her sight, while Hikari's task will be to immobilize Hibiki's legs..."

They both shouted in unison, "WHAT?!"

Flooded with anxiety, the twins hopelessly thrashed and flailed about in their restraints.

"LET US GO YOU SICK FUCK!"

"YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKING CRAZY IF YOU'D THINK I WOULD DO THAT TO MY OWN SISTER!"

"...If you do not comply before the three minute timer reaches zero however..."

The screen jump-cuts to Seo in an undisclosed location, with what could only be described as a rusted metal device tightly fastened to his head. The only audible noise he could make were groans, and grunts as his rope-bound arms and legs desperately churned about.

"...your Ashikabi will pay the ultimate price."

"SEO!"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"

"The device Mr. Kaoru wears is hooked into his upper and lower jaws. When the three minute timer expires, his mouth will be violently pried open. Think of it like a...reverse bear trap." The screen then cuts to a mannequin's head with the exact same device secured to it, "Here, allow me to demonstrate..."

tick...tock...tick...tock...tick...tock...DING!

The device went off, the model rupturing into tiny miniscule fragments of dust and giblets which coated the surrounding area as well as the camera lens as they dissipated, leaving only the neck in tact, and the twins in absolute utter shock.

"THIS HAS TO BE A FUCKIN' DREAM! YEAH, THAT'S IT! A DREAM! THERE IS NO WAY THIS CAN BE REAL, RIGHT HIKARI?! RIGHT?!"

"To assist the both of you in accomplishing the tasks you've been given, I have taken the incentive to scatter various tools around the room. Find them quickly though...as once the timer reaches zero, not only will Seo's life come to an abrubt end, but the door which grants your freedom will lock forever, and this room will become your tomb. Do not squander your time searching for an alternative exit though, as I assure you that there is none. Will you sacrifice your means of survival to go on living, or will the price prove to be too great? Live or die...Make your choice."

The chains and shackles grafting the sisters to the wall suddenly gave way without warning. They dropped to their hands and knees as the projected image lost focus and crackled to a black screen with a large digital clock, which assumed it's role as their only source of light...and only hope of survival. "Let the games begin..."

3:00...2:59...2:58...

MBI Medical Center

"After you were released, and the timer began to count down, then what happened?"

Perspiration was now flowing down Hikari's completion. She continued, nearly swallowing her tongue, "My sister and I rushed for the exit and tried to pry it open with our powers. But it was no use. The electricity just kept bouncing off. We then split up and searched the room for anything we could force the door open with."

Saito leaned outward, hands clasped together, "Did you find anything?"

"Hibiki found a crowbar...but she became overrun with fear. Consumed by it. She panicked..."

~o~O~o~

2:37...2:36...2:35...

The footsteps of Hikari's sister became more omnipresent with each passing second, whilst she surveyed the floor for more instruments that may prove useful. In moments, Hibiki's menacing shadow loomed overhead, encompassing her entire body.

Hikari seemed none the wiser of the danger she was in, "Hibiki, I assume you've found something we can use?"

Instead of a reply, all she heard were deep breaths which soon escalated into salivating snarls.

"Hibiki?"

In an action she would later regret, Hikari peered over her shoulder, only to see her once faithful sibling standing over her with a crowbar perched high above her head, teeth grit, nostrils flaring, eyes dilated and void of any and all sanity. A shriek of lunacy erupted from deep within as she slammed the crowbar down upon her sister's cranium at full force, leaving behind a crimson stain on the floor as it poured profusely from the crack in her skull.

The victim crawled away from her former ally/partner, gripping at the gash on her head as she continued to bleed out, "AGH! What the hell did you do that for?!"

Hibiki barked back, "You heard the man, Hikari! The only way we get out of here alive is if only one of us are left standing!"

She rolled out of the way just as the crowbar was about to make contact with the crown of her skull once more, the impact leaving behind a small web of cracks in the stone floor, "Wait! Can't we work this out?!"

Her sister blindly swung at her again, barely dodging the blow much like she did before. Hibiki hissed, leaping on top of her as she backed away, gripping the crowbar's shaft with both hands and raising it into the air, "I AM NOT GOING TO LOSE SEO OR MY LEGS!"

Just as her sister motioned to drive it's sharpened edge deep into her eye, Hikari caught it, ensnaring the weapon tightly in her grasp. Back and forth the crowbar bobbed and weaved as the sisters struggled to achieve victory in the contest of tension. Hikari eventually gained the upper hand, yanking the crowbar to the side and out of tenure, drawing her sister in closer as she lost balance.

"GET OFF ME!"

Hikari forced her palm into her twin's abdomen, sending Hibiki flying across the room and skidding across the floor with a well-charged electrical shockwave, tearing up a good portion of her clothing in the process.

2:06...2:05...2:04...

Hibiki recovered quickly, gliding her tongue across her lacerated lip and wiping the blood away with the stroke of her forearm. Hikari on the other hand struggled to her feet, still coping with the after-effects of the hard blow she sustained. She threw the crowbar to the side as her sister discharged a bolt of lightning from her fingertips. Hikari threw her hands up just in time and retaliated with a lightning wave of her own, utilizing all of her strength to draw Hibiki's efforts to the half way point. A sphere of purple lightning then began to take shape at the center, growing into a massive ball in a matter of seconds. The globe distorted and shifted back and forth, each twin vying for dominance over the other with neither letting up, the timer looming in the background as the seconds slowly ticked away. Every time one of them seemed to gain the upper hand, the other would predict their movements and the struggle would return to square one. Even though one of them had a fractured cranium, they were still equally matched. They knew each other too well.

Hikari tried desperately to reason with her sister, "Stop Hibiki! Don't you see that this is exactly what he wants?!"

The sibling retorted, drawing her arms back, then forcing them out farther, and the ball closer to her sister's side of the court with a hearty grunt, "I don't like this anymore than you do Hikari, but you know damn right well that we're both done for if Seo dies!"

Hikari exerted an equal amount of force as her sister, re-positioning the orb dead-center, "You mean to tell me that you trust this maniac's word over your own intuition?! Don't be so fucking naïve! Snap out of it!"

"BAKA!" she shouted. "Do you really think that sick fuck went through all this trouble for nothing?! Hiring single numbers to capture us and our Ashikabi, then setting up this elaborate scheme to have us fight each other?! Don't you think that if he wanted us dead, he would have killed us already?! He's provided us with a way out..." She exerts more strength in another powerful shove, forceful enough to bring Hikari down to one knee, "...and I'll be damned if I'm not going to take it!"

Hikari felt her powers starting to fade. She couldn't keep this up much longer, "Dammit, Hibiki, don't make me hurt you!"

Hibiki became more cocky and overconfident, letting one arm fall to her side while the other dictated and maintained pressure without aid. She taunted her sibling with a brash remark, "Hurt me? HA! You sure talk a fierce game for someone who was smashed over the head just a moment ago! Just try it!"

Visibly unamused by her sister's defiance, Hikari channeled the remainder of her powers into her arms. With a forceful push, and a loud vocal eruption, she managed to overpower her sibling (albeit barely) and launched the sphere in her direction quicker than she could hope to react, draining all but the last remnants of strength from her being, as well as her Tama.

"ENOUGH!"

The influence of the blast sent Hibiki soaring five yards into the wall behind her, the impact great enough to force the wind from her lungs, and leave behind a small crater. Hikari flimsily strides to Hibiki's side, strenuously panting with an exhausted, stoic expression peeled over her visage. As her sister lied there on her hands and knees coughing up trace amounts of blood, she kneeled down to her; gazes meeting.

Gasping for breath, Hibiki began to speak, "You were...always...the more...aggressive one..." In the hand which remained out of her sister's line of sight, she covertly grasped something in the dust with her fingertips, rolling it into her palm. A devilish smirk slowly faded over her lips, eyes mischievously narrowing, "...but I'm smarter!"

With lightning-fast reflexes, the frenzied Sekirei vaults off the ground and swings a right hook at her sibling's face, which she faintly evades...or so it would seem. Hibiki drives the edge of her fist and backhands whatever she had clenched into her sister's right eye. Hikari collapsed to the floor almost in an instant, rolling around and howling in unrelenting pain as death's warm red wine spurt from the corners of the deeply embedded rusty nail, painting her already gory visage even redder than it was.

Hikari backed away from her blood-bonded adversary, strafing her body along the cold, stone floor on her left hand with what little strength she had left. Her legs kicked, tears of blood still flowing from her badly pierced eye, trickling between her fingers, down her arm, and dripping from her elbow down to the floor. A scream of pure agony discharged from her abdomen as Hibiki carelessly yanked the deeply rooted nail out from just below her pupil, a trail of blood following just behind, splashing all over her clothing as well as the floor.

Now standing over her helpless sibling, Hibiki, who was seemingly remorseful as tears were now visibly flowing down her guise and dripping from her chin, reached down and ensnared her twin's throat with her free hand. Hikari's now blood-stained hands grasped her sister's wrist in an instinctive, yet futile attempt to tear it away, the pressure strong enough to feel the heart racing as it slowly squeezed the life out of her.

Through her grit teeth, she barely managed to even whimper, "...I cnt breet..."

Her sister reluctantly raised the nail high above her head, "Just one more eye, Hikari! One more eye, and it'll ALL be over!"

Hikari landed a hard kick to Hibiki's mid-section just as she brought the nail down, sending her tumbling back to the ground. As her sister recovered from the landing, Hikari's forearms and fingernails dragged and clawed her now exhausted, beaten, and nearly lifeless carcass to a darkened corner of the cobblestone torture chamber. As she continued onward into the darkness, her hand grasped onto a handle of some sorts. She raised it off the ground, but was still incapable of seeing what she was holding due to a combination of the darkness and her gravely damaged eye, but from the object's weight she assumed it were something along the lines of a baseball bat.

Her sister's hand grasped her shoulder, fingers digging deep, "Damn it, Hikari, you're making this harder than it needs to be!"

As Hibiki forcefully spun around, Hikari swung her "baseball bat" without hesitation in hopes of the blow knocking her unconscious. The look of horror soon crept it's way into the nerves of her terrified visage after realizing what she had done. She stood there in absolute shock, observing her only sister grasp for her throat and bleed out through the deep laceration, gurgling, and unsuccessfully gasping for air as her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

Hikari's head slowly drooped down, laying eye(s) on to her weapon of choice for the first time; a blood-stained machete. Her hand loosened it's grip, the weapon fell to the ground with a loud "ping".

Hikari's legs turned to jelly, "Oh my god...I thought it was a baseball bat..." She drew her now jittering and shaking hands to her face, knowing full well that she was incapable of assisting her dying sister. All she could do now was look on as Hibiki fought a losing battle with death. Hibiki's once peaches and cream complexion spilled from her neck, splattering to the floor as her face drained of all semblance of color. Succumbing to her fatal wounds, she collapsed to the ground, still choking on, gaging, and swallowing her own blood. She dragged her body towards Hikari, whose skin color matched her own, grasping at her feet and using her stature to help regain a vertical balance. Gazing into her sister's now tear and blood-saturated eyes, she reaches a single hand out to her face one more time before conclusively collapsing onto the floor, eyes rolling back into her head as final "sigh" departing through her lips, a steady stream of blood pouring from the corner of her mouth.

Hikari just stood there, wide eyed and gawking at her sister's twitching corpse. She tried calling out to her as the body went limp, "...H-Hibiki?" She drops to her knees and lightly taps the body with her hands, "Hibiki?!" She begins to wildly shake her back and forth, eventually rolling the cadaver over onto it's back, and tightly embracing her fallen sister in her arms, cradling her head into her shoulder, "HIBIKI!"

Loudly weeping as she rocked back and forth with her sister, she peered over her shoulder at the clock.

0:41...0:40...0:39...

Even though she had just ended her own sister's life, the clock was still ominously counting down the remaining seconds. The situation felt more real than ever now. With her sister dead, and Seo's life in turmoil, she had to make a decision. Time was running out, and there was only one option lingering. One hope for survival...and freedom.

She gently lied her sister down in a pool of her own blood. With the machete now in her blood-lathered grasp, she dropped to her knees, hands trembling, cold sweat dripping from her fingertips, tears slithering down her lurid, pale visage. She didn't want to do it, but if what the demonic mannequin said was indeed factual, Seo will perish, which would in turn end her life as well. Her sister was dead anyway, so it's not like she would feel anything. Didn't make it any less difficult for her though...

She pulled Hibiki's leg away from her body, hesitantly resting the razor sharp blade about four inches above the knee. Her breathing slowly escalated into hyperventilation as she tightened her grip, and stared daggers at the corpse...then at the machete...then the clock.

Then the corpse, then the machete, then the clock, then the corpse, then the machete, then the clock.

The Corpse. The Machete. The Clock. The Corpse. The Machete. The Clock.

Corpse. Machete. Clock. Corpse. Machete. Clock. Corpse. Machete. Clock.

Corpse! Machete! Clock! Corpse! Machete! Clock! Corpse! Machete! Clock!

Corpse!Machete!Clock!Corpse!Machete!Clock!Corpse!Machete!Clock!Corpse!Machete!Clock!

CORPSE!MACHETE!CLOCK!CORPSE!MACHETE!CLOCK!CORPSE!MACHETE!CLOCK!

corpsemacheteclockcorpsemacheteclockcorpsemacheteclockcorpsemacheteclockcorpsemacheteclock!

Then...time comes to a halt.

"...live or die. Make your choice..."

An intense, deafening, blood curdling scream ruptures from Hikari's throat as she ascends the machete into the moldy air, and drives it down upon the stiff's leg without mercy, tearing, ripping, and stripping flesh from bone.

HACK! "I'M SORRY!" HACK! "I'M SORRY!" HACK! "I'M SORRY!"

MBI Medical Center

Saito and his associates sat in dead silence, struggling to hold back their emotions as they observed Hikari break down more and more, describing every last detail to them. As hard as her story was to believe, they knew she was telling them the gods honest truth. Nobody could make something like this up, and they knew it. Whoever it was that did this to her, her sister, and her Ashikabi, they needed to face justice soon.

Investigator Fukushima had to keep pressure on her, "Hikari, I know this must be very hard for you, but we need you to finish the story."

Choked up, wheezing, and clearly shaken, Hikari questioned him, "What's the point? Seo is probably already dead."

Saito reassured her, "Your Ashikabi is alive Hikari, I know he is. The fact that you're here talking to us right now proves it."

She tilted her head, glancing out the window, "I suppose your right..." She sighs before continuing, "...but Hibiki is never coming back. She would still be alive if I would have just let her blind me. Why the FUCK did I have to fight back?!"

Saito delivered the cold, honest truth, "Hikari, you know that through the rules of the Sekirei plan that you or her would have either lost to another participant, or been forced to fight her if only the two of you were left standing. There would have been no way to avoid the outcome."

Hikari snapped back, startling her visitors, "I KNOW!" Her head slumped, and she picked up where she left off, "Time was almost up, and I was now running on fumes...sheer survival instinct..."

~o~O~o~

0:20...0:19...0:18...

To the lightning twin's bewilderment (and in some ways, fortune) there was very little blood oozing from the cadaver's amputated limb and stump. It was most likely due to the massive hypervolemia she sustained when her throat was unceremoniously slashed open, but that didn't change the fact that both the timer, and her Ashikabi, were on the verge of expiration.

Kneeling in a gradually expanding puddle of her sibling's, as well as her own blood, Hikari raises the blade once more, aiming at her sister's final lower limb. Her head sways side to side, eyes shut, lips puckered and sucked in, still sickened from the deed she must maintain to pursue, "One more, Hibiki. One more...and it will all...be over..."

Gritting her teeth, she slams the sharpened edge down at full force, the miniscule amount of blood sprayed and gushed, lacing her clothing more and more as bone fragments chipped away with each elapsing strike.

0:06...0:05...0:04.

The timer then ceased it's countdown. The chilling, morbid act had at long last come to an end. Hikari whipped the machete against the wall with a scream, which rapidly escalated into an uncontrollable and unsettling cry as it ripped through her stomach and out the throat. The salt of her soul bleed from her eyes, pouring down her face, dripping in the pool of gore below as she held her blood-soaked hands parallel to her visage, staring the tools of destruction. Hating them. Cursing them. Her mental stability breaking down more and more, inhaling her tears, choking on them as she clenched her fists and began shouting obscenities at the ceiling, which echoed and manifested themselves into the walls.

"I"VE PLAYED YOUR FUCKING GAME! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?! LOOK AT IT! LOOK AT IT! NOW LET US GO! HAVEN'T WE SUFFERED ENOUGH?!"

At the far end of the torture chamber, the door's lock made a loud click as it's restraints released, taking her by surprise. Hikari threw an arm up to her face, blocking a blinding white light which seeped in through the cracks of the threshold, burning her victimized eye as it slowly creaked itself open. As her eye(s) adjusted to the light, she dragged her body towards the exit, not having the will nor strength to even stand. An ear-piercing squeak sent ripples through her ear drums, halting her movement. The squeaking became more audible with each passing second as a shadow crept it's way closer into the chamber before the figure finally came to view.

It was the the same doll whom had appeared on screen just minutes ago, now riding a rusted red tricycle. A long moment passes, the silence almost deafening.

The mannequin addresses her "success", "Congratulations. You have passed your test. Some people willingly throw their lives away without a second thought, insisting on using their precious time making the lives of others more difficult. Never atoning for their past crimes. Never living up to their past mistakes. Never learning from them. But not you. Not anymore." The doll's hand opens, and a key dangles down from it's index finger, glistening as it twists in the light. "Now...come claim your prize."

Hikari was literally frozen with fear. She didn't dare move another inch.

The doll reassures her, "Don't be afraid. Come. Take it. You've earned it."

After crawling for what seemed to be an eternity, she finally reaches her destination, yanking the key from the demonic toy's grasp, sliding it into her pocket.

It addresses her one more time, "The key to your Ashikabi's freedom is now in your hands. Good luck." before a greenish cloud of gas seeps from it's mouth. Hikari coughed and gagged as she inhaled the fumes encompassing her body. Despite fighting hard to stay conscious, she collapsed to the floor, the demonic clown's shrill, possessed, infantile laugh being the final thing she hears before passing out.

MBI Medical Center

Hikari sat in a ball slowly rocking back and forth, her head buried in her knees, arms embracing the legs.

Saito's eyes peel towards his associates, then back to the visibly shaken and psychologically disturbed Sekirei, "I know that must have been hard for you to live through again, but rest easy knowing that you have played a major role in capturing this disturbed individual."

She sniveled, voiced muffled from her legs close proximity, "You mean "If we catch him.""

Saito got up from his chair and sat at Hikari's bedside, reaching his arm around her, holding her close, "We will. I promise."

"I would rather not be touched now." stated Hikari.

One of the associates spoke up, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but you mentioned something about a key to your Ashikabi's freedom?"

"Yes, do you still have it?" questioned the other.

She answered, "I do."

Hikari slid her hand down into her pocket, pulling out the key, and letting it dangle from her fingertips as she presented it to them.

The private eye inspected it, lightly grazing it's smooth, metal texture with his fingers.

His eyes drifted from the key, to Hibiki, to his associates, then back to the key. He deeply inhaled through his nose, holding it for a brief second before finally exhaling. He could sense that Hikari was not going to like what he had to tell her, "I'm sorry, Hikari, but since the key is hard evidence, we need to take it from you."

Taken by surprise, Hikari extracts her head from her lap and gives the investigator a tear-glazed glare, "You can't! What about Seo?!"

Saito lifts a hand in an attempt to calm her, "I know...I know. Relax. Think of it this way; Since the task force and myself are not bound to this hospital, we would have a better chance of finding your Ashikabi, as well as the sick bastard who abducted him."

She shouts, voice quivering, "That's not the point! This man gave me the key because he wants ME to find him! Who's to say that he won't kill him if someone else finds him?!"

"You are smart to think that way, Hikari. But this is not up to me, it's up to the law. If I don't acquire every scrap of evidence I find and present it to the higher ups, I would be convicted of a felony. I'd lose my badge and everything I worked hard for."

Emotions pulsated off the lightning twin's shaken voice, "Then let me help you!"

"I'm sorry. Unless the hospital releases you, there is nothing I can do." He reaches out to grab the key, but is zapped by the lightning crackling in her palm. "Agh!"

She barks at him, "You'll have to deal with more than just a little electrical burn if you try that aga-" Saito grabs her arm, cutting her off as her powers fade to nothingness, "...my powers...they've vanished!"

Saito explained his ability in further detail, "I have been trained to subdue a Sekirei's powers by means of Matsurou Ashikabi. If I'm not mistaken, your Ashikabi has this same ability as well." He reluctantly takes the key, "I'm sorry."

Hikari breaks down into tears once more, uncontrollably sobbing as the three heartbroken investigators look on in affliction, knowing full well that they could say nothing to suppress the pain of this little bird's plucked feathers.

A/N: First, to get this outta the way, I tried my best to describe the reverse bear trap in detail. I really did. But something this complex is just way out of my pay grade. Sorry.

Alright, if reading this made you in anyway sick or disturbed, I'll warn you right now, it will get much more graphic as the story goes on. MUCH. MORE. GRAPHIC. Not all the time, but there will be moments that have potential to top this scene. So if that bothers you in ANY way shape or form, STOP. READING.

There is not going to be a happy ending for anybody in this story. But then again why would you expect a happy ending? It's fucking SAW for Christ's sake!

You want a happy ending? Go read my other Sekirei fic "Tell Me". That story has a much warmer and light-hearted tone. It's also been very well received since I first posted it, so going off of that, I can whole-heartedly recommend it.

I try to cater to all sorts of different audiences out there, so if this story didn't appeal to you, I'm perfectly fine with that.

That being said, I am always open to suggestion, and love chatting it up with my readers. So if any of you can assist me with my writing/storytelling/trap ideas/etc, I'd really appreciate it.

On a final note, if any of you are wondering as to why I wrote "Machete!Clock!Corpse!" multiple times over, it was my interpretation as to how Saw uses it's frantic shaky cam to build tension and show a person mentally breaking down. Lemme know if I succeeded or epically failed in either a PM or review.

With that said, take care.