Raining Blood


Trapped in purgatory
A lifeless object, alive
Awaiting reprisal
Death will be their acquisition
The sky is turning red
Return to power draws near
Fall into me, the sky's crimson tears
Abolish the rules made of stone
Pierced from below, souls of my treacherous past
Betrayed by many, now ornaments dripping above
Awaiting the hour of reprisal
Your time slips away
Raining blood
From a lacerated sky
Bleeding its horror
Creating my structure
Now I shall reign in blood


Disclaimer: I don't own the song 'Raining Blood' or X-Men: Evolution.


This story features slash, death, and other assorted nasties. I am writing this partly to express my incredible disgust at Fanfiction.Net's restrictions. This may be my last post on FF.Net. In the makings of all these rules, the place where one could write freely has gone, leaving instead a structured area. Not good. I am not amused.

I enjoyed writing this, in some morbid way... I hope you enjoy it too... it's a bit of a Kleenex-fest, though...

This story contains slash between Lance Alvers and Pietro Maximoff, as well as death.

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It had began well, that night, in the Brotherhood house. Fred and Todd had taken Wanda somewhere, and Mystique was out at the mall, for some reason, so I had had Pietro all to myself. We played for a little while, then I made love to him, slowly, as it always was. I can still remember his face, the way he looked when he came. The feel of his skin and his hair in my hands, soft and silky, and yet full of resilience.

I swear he knew. He knew somehow, because he said something to me then, in the afterglow of our love, that I did not understand...


"Death will be the acquisition, Lance. But when you wake up in the morning, I'll be watching."


Now, as crimson clouds fill the sky and I look upon the still face of the one person I have ever loved, I can understand what he meant.

Of course, then, all I did was kiss his forehead and tell him that I loved him. Oh God, do I love him. His body was still warm, cradled against mine. I love him so much.


How could this have happened? I swore that I would protect him through thick and thin. I've failed him, and now he's gone... my angel, the only thing that held me up...


-"Death will be the acquisition."-


And the worst thing is, he gave his life for me. Well, for all of us, but he looked at me as he said that he would give his life for those he cared about. And a life was what Magneto needed. He didn't care if it was his own son's life. I heard Wanda screaming, begging for the man to stop as he drew a knife and raised it, pointing it at his son. Then I could hear another voice intermixed with the Scarlet Witch's depserate babble, and realised it was my own.

But Pietro just raised his head, and closed his eyes. And Magneto smirked. He fucking *smirked* at his own son, and told him he was weak. What a thing for a father to say to his son. But then, Pietro wasn't a son to Magneto. In fact, Pietro wasn't a person to Magneto. Just a tool to be used for his own ends. But that's not what he was to me. I love you, oh I do.


I can still hear him saying his last words, before Magneto's face twisted in rage. His normally-chirpy voice was full of anger and pain, and he spoke with agonizing slowness, disdain dripping from his lips with his blood.


"You kill me now, Father, and you'll prove that Professor Xavier was wrong. There is no hope for mutants and humankind to live together. But which of our two races do you think will die out? We've evolved too fast. So go ahead and prove him wrong, Magneto, and rid this world of another mutant. I hope it will make you happy." He turned to us, and cocked his head to one side in that cute way of his, and smiled. "Be seeing ya, guys. I love you, Wanda.... I love you so much, Lance... remember, I'll be watching..."

I know that's the way I'll always remember him, with his head cocked to one side, just standing there, knowing he was going to die and not caring, the bright spark in his beautiful blue eyes still there.


Then Magneto slit his throat, and he crumpled to the ground. His eyes faded, and slipped shut. And Wanda *shrieked*. It was a terrible scream, of grief and hatred, and she broke the bonds that held her. She did not stop screaming, and I thought she would attack Magneto, but she didn't. She just crumpled to the ground, and began to sob desperately. Me? I was waiting to wake up. I was still desperately hoping this was all a dream.


Magneto laughed in that maniacal way of his, looking down at his son's crumpled form. I don't think that even he could believe what he had done. I wanted to cry. I wanted to sob, scream, and most of all I wanted to *rip* Magneto in two with my bare hands. But I couldn't do any of that. I just stood there, still chained to the wall, frozen.


Ths was all a dream. This could *not* be reality. This was wrong! I desperately willed myself to wake up, but to no avail. I was just waiting for the moment when Pietro would spring up and cry, "Fooled ya!" But he did not.


Then it started to sink in. Pietro was dead. He was gone. The light in his eyes had faded forever. His speed, once so fast that he moved past everything else, had slowed, and now finally stopped, in the cruellest of manners.

I could feel it. The pain, oh God, the pain. It was like someone had stuck a knife in my heart and then twisted it. Then Magneto stooped, and took something, and then clicked his fingers. The bonds holding us all to the walls moved away. I was free again. My hands dropped to my sides, and then he floated away.

I could feel my denial fading. He was dead. He was dead. He was dead. My angel had gone. I wanted him back, I wanted him back, I wanted to hold in my arms and whisper to him in the way that only lovers should, I want to make love to him again, feel the silk and soft and steel in my hands again. But he was gone, and I was too late as I ran to him, and lifted him up in my arms.


Blood, there was so much of it everywhere, spilling from the cruel break in the skin at his throat. Blood, crimson red with a silvery tinge, seeped across his perfect neck, staining pale skin. His face was perfectly still; peaceful, even. It was a cruel irony that he'd died looking as beautiful as he had when he lived. There was a small smile in his face. He had known he would die somehow. I looked down at him, and the denial came back.


"Pietro," I said softly, "Pietro. Come on, this isn't funny anymore! Wake up! Wake up, damn you!!" I was screaming now, and I didn't care. "Why won't you wake up?!" I collapsed to my knees, holding him close and letting his blood stain my clothing as well. I heard a choked sob behind me, and realised that Todd was crying. A powerful cry issued from my lips, and the ground started to tremor.


"WAKE UP!!" I screamed, "please..."


"He's- he's gone, Lance," Fred said softly, tears running down his chubby cheeks. I looked down at my Pietro again, feeling his soft hair brushing against my neck. Was I never to see his sparkling eyes again? Never to feel his soft touch? Never hear his lovely voice raised in pleasure, never to have his lips against mine? Was this just? Was it fair? Was it alright for some to have everything, like the X-Men in their huge mansion, and on the other side, have people like me who lose everything they love?


Painful sobs came to my ears, and it wasn't for a moment that I realised they were my own. I buried my face into his hair, and cried, and the rain fell in rhythm with my cries. My love... my angel... he was gone, gone, never to live again.

Eventually, I calmed, as the X-Men arrived in their massive jet. I felt a burst of anger at them. They were always there when we didn't want them there- why had, this time, they come too late? What cruel fate was this? I stood to greet them, knowing I looked terrible, my hair askew and eyes swollen, Pietro's silvery blood caressing my skin and clothing. Upon seeing them, Fred and Todd fell apart, and wailed. Tears seeped down my face again as Summers came and stood before me.


"Lance..." He said softly. It was one of the few times he had ever called me by my first name.


"What do you want, Shades?" I choked out, "You were too late. Look. So was I."


"We can only hope he's in a better place, Lance..." Scott said softly.


"Bull shit. You're probably all glad he's dead. 'Ah, good, one less commoner for us to worry about.' Ha! Better place. His place was here, with me." I replied bitterly. Then I could feel warm hands wrapping around my waist, and Scott quietly took Pietro from me. I turned, and saw Kitty there, her soft brown eyes looking up at me with compassion and sympathy, tears falling from the corners of her eyes.


"It's not like that, Lance. It's not like that at all." She said, and I fell apart as the others had before me, my head falling to her shoulder. Then all there was were tears, and grief, and horrible, horrible pain...


And here I am now, in a bed at the mansion, crying softly to myself and wondering why. So tired... so heartbroken... so lost... where was he? He should have been cuddled to me now, sleeping quietly, my arms wrapped loosely around him and his around me as I, too, slept. Where was he? I began to sob again, closing my eyes, trying to recall his face, his voice.


-"When you wake up in the morning, I'll be watching."-


But what if there is no morning, Pie? What if I cannot sleep without you at my side? What if I cannot be without you? I love you. I do. I'll be with you soon, my darling, my angel...


I take the bloodstained knife from the bedside table, looking at it with hatred. This is what Magneto had used to kill my Pietro. I looked at it wonderingly, wondering how something so small could cause so much grief and pain.


I hope you weren't too impatient, my speed demon. I hope that you waited for me.


I closed my eyes, and pushed the knife to my wrist.


-"Death will be the acquisition."-


Wait for me.


-"When you wake up in the morning, I'll be watching."-


I love you, I love you so much...


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Well, that was a little depressing... I cried writing it... and I'm not joking... and I've decided that I will continue writing here. I hope you enjoed this, in some morbid way. Don't forget to review, and tell me how I can improve...

-Nefthoron