My first Eragon fic. I don't even read Eragon and I make the fic ?! O.o And it's a slash fic. Lol.

Eragon © Christopher Paolini

Summary: Eragon thought Murtagh was dead. But was he really dead? What would Eragon do when he found out that his brother was alive, but broken... Post Inheritance cycle. Slash. EraMur.

Warning: Slash, weird pairing, me being cruel. --;

When I said EraMur, I really really meant Eragon/Murtagh. Eragon as the seme, Murtagh as the uke. You don't need to tell me, I know I'm weird. --;

Sorry for the bad grammar.

This fic is rated R for safety, although there's nothing dangerous in the first chapter. (Nothing dangerous in MY opinion. )

So, if you're not into slash, I strongly suggest you to click the back button.

Second Chance

Chapter 1

The Empire had been defeated. King Galbatorix was dead. All people were cheering. Prisoners were set free. Happy tears were spilled as family once again reunited.

Eragon smiled a fake smile as some prisoners and his family thanked him for defeating Galbatorix. While he should be the happiest person for being called the greatest man in Alagaesia now, he could feel nothing but pain and regret. He couldn't help not to feel jealous as he saw those people finally could be together again with their family. And him? His only remaining family had gone, sacrificed for their freedom.

It had been four years since a messenger brought him a gift from an anonymous sender. He and his friends were so surprised when they found out that it was the last dragon egg. He was in a state of euphoria, especially when the egg hatched for his cousin. However, few days after that, another messenger brought him a news that the king had the red rider executed for defying him. At first, he didn't believe the king dared to execute his own rider. Not until he saw it with his own eyes.

Flashback

Murtagh's head was displayed in the town square. His face was covered with bruises and scars as a proof of the torture he had gone through.

"No! It can't be him! It can't be him!!!" Eragon cried as he struggled to free himself from Roran's grasp.

"Stop it, cousin! They might recognize us!" Roran hissed as he dragged Eragon away from the crowd which surrounding that horrible display.

After they had finally left the crowd, Roran let go off his cousin. But...

"It can't be him… It can't be… I will go back and save him no matter what!"

"Eragon! Don't be foolish! He is dead!" Roran said sadly.

"NO! The last time, we also thought he was! But he wasn't! I won't make the same mistake!"

"You saw it with your own eyes!"

"No…" Eragon fell to his knees and cried.

"Accept it Eragon… At least he died as a hero…"

End Flashback

A hero? No… Murtagh died as the biggest traitor in Alagaesia. First he betrayed the Varden and after that he betrayed Galbatorix to take his throne. That's what everybody knew. No one knew that he was the one who stole the egg and gave it to the Varden. Galbatorix kept that as a secret so that Murtagh would forever be the shadow of Morzan. And he, Eragon, couldn't reveal the truth by risking his identity as the son of Morzan to be discovered. Even if he had done so, no one would have believed him.

It was all his fault… He was the main reason of his brother's suffering, even when he was still in his mother's womb. If it hadn't been for him, Murtagh wouldn't have had to lose his mother, left alone with his abusive father and Galbatorix who ruined his childhood. If it hadn't been for him, he wouldn't have had to lose his freedom. He wouldn't go to the Varden and imprisoned. More importantly he wouldn't be captured by Galbatorix and unwillingly became his slave.

Guilty overwhelmed him as he remembered what he said to him the last time they met,

"I don't have a scar on my back anymore"

He had never thought those cruel words would be the last thing he said to his brother. He still hurt him even after he had risked himself being punished for him. He even asked him to die and swore that he would kill him. Now, he really had died for him and he regretted everything. But it's too late…

It's too late to say sorry…

He always thought that Murtagh had betrayed him. But now he realized how wrong he had been. Murtagh had never betrayed him, at least not willingly. He stayed loyal to him until the end. He was the one who had betrayed Murtagh.

He left his thought when someone patted his shoulder. It was his cousin, Roran. It seemed he realized the gloomy aura that surrounded Eragon.

"Are you okay?"

Eragon nodded, his expression still hadn't changed.

"We have freed all prisoners. Let's go back."

"….."

"He has been free, too."

Eragon smiled sadly, "I know." He paused for a while and then talked again "Just go first, Roran. I think I want to look around this place a bit more."

"Are you sure?" Honestly, Roran didn't really like the idea of leaving Eragon alone in the place where his brother had been tortured to death.

Eragon nodded

"Don't worry, Roran. He will be alright." Saphira suddenly talked "Eragon, take as much time as you want. I'll wait for you here."

"Thanks, Saphira…"

"I'll go then" Roran said as he took his leave.

Eragon could hardly understand himself why he chose to stay. Looking around the dungeon only made him feel worse. It was dark, very dark. If he hadn't brought a torch with him, he could have hardly seen anything. The coldness and the stale air made him hard to breathe. The condition alone was enough to make the prisoners lose their hope. Not to mention the torture.

He checked every cell even though everyone had made sure that no one's left before. Of course they were all empty, but he still checked them one by one. Finally he arrived at the deepest part of the dungeon. Behind the door in front of him must have been the torture chamber. There were two torture chambers in that dungeon. The first one was for ordinary crime and the second was Galbatorix' private torture chamber which was located in the deepest part of the dungeon and was used only in "special occasion".

When he opened the door, the first sight which welcomed him was his brother hanged in chains. His body was covered with wounds. Eragon quickly rushed to his side, but he found no one aside of himself.

He laughed bitterly at that. What did he expect? His brother had died four years ago. Four years… Yet still not enough to erase his regret. His haunted face appeared in his dream every time he slept. Every night, he watched him being tortured mercilessly by the king.

Those nightmares were horrible, but they were nothing compared to the reality. This torture chamber was so much worse than the one in his dream. Blood was everywhere, most had already dried. The smell stung his nose, unlike in his dream where he smelled nothing of this. And what scared him the most was the various torture instruments which had never appeared in his dream. Eragon had no idea at all how to use them. He imagined what kind of pain they could have caused as he stared at some rusty metal instruments on the table.

He remembered what Galbatorix told him.

"He knows them all Eragon… He knows every single instrument I have in my torture chamber. I have tried all of them on him"

Eragon overthrew the table angrily. The instruments fell to the dirty floor, producing some loud noises. Eragon punched the wall repeatedly until his hand bleed. He wished he could turn back the time. He had forced his brother to walk the path of destruction while he actually had had so many chances to save him. Now, he cried for one more chance, but he knew it's too late.

Suddenly the wall in front of him moved, revealing a dark passageway. Eragon was surprised to find a secret passage there although it wasn't really surprising for Galbatorix to have something like that in his dungeon. Eragon entered the passageway, and examined his surrounding.

There were few cells there. The conditions were so much worse then the part of the dungeon he saw earlier. It was much darker, colder and the smell… He could hardly stand it. The smells of blood, rotten corpse, and shit mixed together. Eragon nearly jumped when he examined a cell and found a skeleton inside of it. He shuddered. It couldn't be his brother, could it?

The thought was quickly wiped out when he heard chains rattling from one of the cells.

Perhaps it's just a rat. He told himself. Nevertheless, he moved to check it.

He stared in horror as he found someone inside the cell in the very corner.

"Don't worry! I will get you out of there!" he said

Damn! I don't have the key!

"Do you know where the key is?" Eragon asked.

The prisoner didn't react at all. He just continued to sit there with his head tilted forward that his long matted hair covered his face.

"I guess no…"

Eragon used his sword to destroy the padlock and then he entered. The prisoner still didn't give any reaction. He looked like he had been dead, but his chest was moving up and down from breathing.

He is alive, but he is no better than dead. Eragon thought.

"Let's go out" he offered his hand to help the prisoner to stand up, but the prisoner turned himself away from Eragon. He just wrapped a rag, which seemed to be his blanket, around his body tighter.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he touched his face.

When Eragon's finger made a contact with his skin, the prisoner screamed hysterically. As he tried to kicked and punched Eragon, the rag fell from his body, revealing his naked skeletal body which was covered with scars and bruises.

Eragon pulled his hand back. The prisoner quickly retreated to the corner of his tiny little cell, trying to get as far as he could from Eragon. He curled his naked form there, his hand on his head as if trying to protect it.

God, what have they done to him?

To be completely naked in a place as cold as that only with a dirty old rag that could barely protect him from the cold, did they even consider this man as a human?! To be naked and shackled, only animals deserved that kind of treatment!

Even an animal doesn't deserve to be starved and beaten like this.

Suddenly Eragon caught a glimpse at a familiar scar on the prisoner's back which was half hidden by his long hair. It looked similar with the one on Murtagh's back.

It can't be!

"Murtagh…?"

The prisoner suddenly looked tense. He miserably tried to avoid Eragon even further.

"It's you, isn't it?!"

Eragon grabbed his hand. Again, the prisoner screamed as he tried to get away from Eragon.

"It's me, Eragon! Don't you recognize me?!"

"No…" he moaned softly. That was indeed murtagh's voice.

"Look at me! It's your brother… Eragon… I won't hurt you…" Eragon said as he brought Murtagh's face to face his own.

"No… don't…" Murtagh muttered although he didn't give much resistance.

Eragon was utterly shock when he saw his brother's face. The Empire symbol had been branded on his left cheek which meant he was the king's possession. Eragon had seen some of Galbatorix' slaves have it on their body. But to be branded on the face was a total humiliation. Had that thing happened to him, he would have never wanted show his face to anyone ever again.

Murtagh turned his face away from Eragon in shame. Eragon didn't know what to say to comfort his brother. All he could do was to hold him in his arm.

"No…" Murtagh whimpered, "I'm dirty, Eragon…"

"It doesn't matter" He hugged him even tighter.

His body was covered with grim and smelled totally like a shit. It looked like he hadn't had a bath for weeks. Or perhaps months? But it mattered not. For him, Murtagh was like a jewel. A jewel is a jewel that it won't lose its value just because it is covered by mud.

"You don't understand… Just leave me."

Leaving him in such a miserable place? Eragon had never been in a place worse than his brother's cell. Just to think that someone lived there had made him sick. And that unfortunate someone was his brother, and he had been there for years… And now he asked him to leave him there? Only with a dirty old rag as his only possession?! How could he think that he would be able to do that?

"Let's leave together, brother."

"I can't…"

"Why?"

"I have no other place to go in this world…"

Eragon was silenced. Murtagh might have been right. People thought that he was a traitor. But Eragon knew he wasn't. And he didn't deserve to be abandoned in a place such as that. That place was not for human to live in.

It was way too dark and cold and dank. Not to mention the sanitation is really bad. Eragon thought bitterly as he stared at the shit bucket in the corner. The content had overflowed to the grimy floor.

Even if he wanted to stay away from the rest of the world, it would definitely not here.

Or at least not alone…

Murtagh was startled when his brother suddenly sat beside him.

"Wh…what are you doing?!" he asked

"If you choose to stay here, I will stay here as well."

"Why?"

"I can't live without you, Murtagh."

Murtagh turned his back away to Eragon. He brought his arm around his leg and buried his face on his knees. He sobbed quietly. That was the first time in his life Eragon saw his brother crying.

I leave so many questions unanswered, I guess.

Where was Thorn? O.o

What was the name of Roran's dragon?

And etc.

If you want to find out, click the review button

But, hey! I can't even answer them myself!

Please help me to answer. Stupid me!!

Anyway, I'm happy to see more and more Eragon slash here! This place really needs more Eragon slash fic!!!