Author's Note: To those of you keeping up with Defect Criminal's "I Used to Dig Holes," this is an alternate version of her most recent chapter, a draft I worked on a couple months ago and just fixed up again before presenting it to you to enjoy. There are a few differences of course, like being in the third person instead of first and some more violence that might put this into M, but it keeps up with the continuum of IUTDH. For those who have read my other stuff, this may seem out of completely out of character for me so I'm just going to say that if you're confused about this, leave now. And for those of you who have no idea what is going on, read Defect Criminal's "I Used to Dig Holes" first and leave her some feedback while you are at it. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own South Park or Defect Criminal's OC.

Warning: language, violence

Fear No Evil

When she had woken up that morning, Charlotte White had the feeling that today was going to be a shitty day. First off, she woke up too early by about ten minutes, the hot water was mysteriously gone, and she just couldn't decide what to wear despite her tendency to just throw on the first thing to catch her brown-colored eye.

If those were signs of complete, utter shitiness that she had to expect for the rest of the day, what she encountered on her way to school couldn't have been further from the truth. A marvelous breakfast was waiting for her that smelled too good to be passed up and the day outside was sunny without a cloud in the sky. Just those two little things that contrasted against what her gut told her only fed the confusion that she could feel growing in her mind and giving her a headache.

A long time ago she had been told to listen to her gut by a very knowledgeable person, someone that she didn't want to think about at this time, but man was this getting ridiculous. She shouldn't have been so surprised since this was South Park and all and the place was infamous for being weird—and hey, wasn't that Christophe and Annon driving by?

One ride to school later and she soon found that her gut had been right about today being shitty. Garrison was giving a fucking test that was more like a pop quiz since he told nobody about it beforehand as all teachers were required to do and nobody had studied for it outside of those real dedicated nerdy kids and Kyle Broflovski. She just knew that Garrison was gonna flunk her on this; ever since she had moved back to the hick mountain town, she had rekindled the animosity that she had shared with this particular he/she/thing (no one really knew what gender that thing was since it was usually something else every week).

Other than that, there was nothing really to be concerned about as she found out. Before lunch, it was still bright and shiny out, perfect for a little soccer during gym, and while browsing through the school's pathetic excuse for a library came upon a couple of Sherlock Holmes books that she had yet to read. That had been surprising and what else was was that she actually had the librarian check the books out for her when she should have been more focused on doing the English assignment the class was here to do.

Pfft, as if she let a little thing like a class project get between her and Robert Downy Jr.—er, the world's greatest detective since before Jacques Clouseau (the Peter Sellers version, not that piss poor performance of Steve Martin's thank you very much!).

It was during lunch that she snuck out to the back of the school, keeping her distance from the Goth kids' territory, and taking advantage of the bright and warm sun to take out one of her new books and begin to immerse herself into the world of fantasy and intellect. Once started, she couldn't stop as her brain soaked up every word on those thin pages and the outside world around her just disappeared.

Slowly, the hours ticked by and the sun moved across the sky, white clouds soon making an appearance and covering the sky above. Yet she was oblivious to this as the adventures of Holmes and his portly friend Dr. Watson consumed her every fiber. She was heedless of all the bells ringing in the school, signaling the ending of one class and the starting of another as a villainous plot was slowly uncovered by Holmes' impeccable investigative skills. When the final bell of the day rang out, she didn't hear it as she reached midpoint of the book and continued forth.

God this was so great; if only this guy wasn't some figment of imagination and real instead… Then again, she would take Death Note's L over Sherlock any day but that didn't mean she wouldn't chose him over school despite not being aware that she had just skipped half of her classes today unawares.

The wind picked up and while that was enough to disturb her a bit, it wasn't enough to rouse her from her book. High above, the clouds slowly darkened and the sunny day that had reigned all morning and most of the afternoon was gone but Charlotte didn't notice it.

"Hey, what cha doing here?" a lively voice asked her from behind and finally did what nothing else could. She nearly dropped her book in surprise and almost lost her page but managed to keep that travesty from happening as she spun her head around to see one of the school's black janitors staring right back at her.

"Don't cha know school's over, girl?" the man asked with a Jamaican accent.

Looking at her watch, she jumped in further surprise at noticing the time. Well damn, how could that have happened? "Oops?" she said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. This wasn't the first time she stayed up at the school before but it certainly was the first time a janitor had to tell her to go home. Home. Damn it again, what did they do in the classes she missed? Guess she'd have to ask someone but she bet that it wasn't much. The teachers sucked so bad at teaching here…

When a gust of wind blew past her, she shivered and folded her arms together. She had left her jacket in her locker and she asked the janitor if she could go in and retrieve it.

The man rolled his eyes. "Fine, but be quick about it missy. Don't need cha messin' up my floors now, ya hear?"

Rude but she ignored it as she squeezed past the man and back into the building. Of course, she almost embarrassed herself as the floor was still slick from being mopped but she had always been one to catch her balance quickly, her legs spread out and her arms wind milling. Giving the janitor a sheepish smile which only received another eye roll, she made her way carefully into the school, heading for her locker. It was just down this hallway, and a right here then a left there…

Huh, she paused as she turned the corner. Looks like someone else was in the building; a glass case that contained an axe that was to be used in case of a fire was missing, the door open slightly but not enough so that you could tell it was open from a distance.

She could only pout at that, though. Someone was vandalizing the building and they hadn't thought to invite her? For shame! There were a couple of rooms she wanted to mess up but it would be lame if she did that on her own without anyone else.

Well anyway, there was her locker right there. She quickly recalled the number to unlock it but just as she raised her hand up to turn the lock's dial, she froze up immediately as a loud booming sound rattled the windows and her nerves. She spun around and flattened herself against the metal row of lockers, eyes wide enough that her optic organs would probably just pop out with no provocation.

Through a nearby window, she could see that the sky was darkened by large storm clouds that had come out of nowhere and in the distance she could spy out a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky. Another rumble of thunder was the catalyst she needed to jolt out of her paralysis and into action and she ran down the hallway towards the nearest door. Right there was a janitor's closet but much to her dismay, she found it locked but that didn't stop her from jerking on the door handle in a frenzy.

She had to hide, needed to get as far away from the storm outside and tuck herself into someplace safe where she could protect herself from the memories that were just bubbling up deep within her mind. No! She couldn't remember them! Not now!

She became more frantic with the unyielding doorknob and was on the verge of stepping back and kicking the door open when another roar of thunder caused her to scream out and collapse onto her knees, her hands clutching onto the doorknob with a death grip. She whimpered as a flash of lightning temporarily illuminated the hallway, the school's lights flickering ominously.

She struggled with the locked door but to no avail. She was still out in the open and on the verge of breaking down. So wrapped up in her fear, she did not hear the sounds of soft footsteps making their way towards her, stopping only a few feet away from her.

"Charlotte?" a scratchy and velvety voice asked from nearby and she froze up again, this time in a more "no way" manner. Please, oh God, please don't let it be him.

Slowly she turned her head to a side, her light brown hair sliding along her shoulders to reveal two streaks of tears leaking from her eyes to the smaller individual that stood before her in a black trenchcoat. Two heterochromatic eyes bored into her with uncharacteristic flatness and a fine brown eyebrow lifted up in mocking inquiry.

Of all the people to catch her like this, why'd it have to be Bain Cynis?

He was the dog to her cat, the snake to her mongoose, natural enemies that were at each other's throats most days, forever deadlocked. It was no secret to anybody that there was something wrong in this boy's head but only she would purposely antagonize or physically fight him on a daily basis.

Did she have a death wish? Perhaps. But she had looked into that brown eye and green eye one too many times to not notice the sudden absence of arrogance and hatred that were usually the inflections in them.

A low rumble of thunder caused her to flinch before this insane bastard but Bain did nothing but stare at her, his arms conspicuously not visible to her. Then Bain's lips quirked up into a smug sneer, one that she had seen many of times on his face.

"Aw, is Little Orphan Annie afraid of the storm?" Bain asked, his voice condescending.

"Leave me along you asshole!" she threw at him as she twisted the unyielding doorknob.

"My, aren't you so full of surprises?" Bain said rhetorically, ignoring her insult. "Kind of surprising what a little research can show, eh?"

She paused as his voice slowly lulled her out of her fright. Why was his voice centering her so? Why did she feel suddenly so calm without no rhyme or reason to it?

Bain continued with a low chuckle, something he hadn't done in front of her or anybody else before, "So full of life and fire. To think that a good amount of it is nothing but lies. So naughty."

"What have you been smoking now?" she spat at him, wanting him to get to the point or leave her alone entirely. His voice had taken her from calm to pissed off faster than menopause.

"You never went to Las Vegas," Bain stated casually and she froze up again much to her shame. "Odd isn't it that there are no school records of you ever attending any of those schools? So where were you really, Charlotte? Where were you and your family hiding out? So full of mysteries you are."

"Shut up," she growled. She didn't want to get into this, especially not with a bastard like Bain. But like a shark tasting blood in the water, the boy plunged ahead.

Hell, the way he was looking at her now reminded her of a shark.

"Where did you go Charlotte?" Bain asked. "Could it be you went to…Daddy? Am I right?" When she didn't answer him, he continued as if she had just told him everything. "Yes, it's always Daddy who protects the family. And with the might of the United States Army backing him, you were as safe as safe can be. How was Italy anyway? I've heard it's breathtaking.

"But it wasn't a paradise, was it?" Bain grinned ferally, as if he could see into her mind and know the truth. "Something happened, something…tragic, yes? Did something happen to Daddy dearest? Did he fall trying to protect Daddy's little girl? Yes."

"Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!" she screamed at him, clutching at her head. She didn't want to remember. Did want to recall the blood, the flashes of light as a menacing figure stood over her, armed with…something, something sharp…

…I will fear no evil…

No. No! No more! Please! She couldn't take much more of it. She wanted to pound something to a bloody pulp, wanted to curl up into a little ball and sink into the ground. Something, anything, as long as it wouldn't let her remember.

"So strong and yet so weak," a voice spoke, very close to her. "Perhaps I can help you. Yes, let you join Daddy."

Her instincts screamed at her and she threw herself backwards just as the sharp end of an axe whistled past her face and impacted the door to the janitor's closet. She scrambled to her feet and backed away as Bain pulled his pilfered axe from the door, his eyes alight with an insane gleam in them. She had never seen him look like this before; usually he was so angry looking and arrogant but here he looked anything but.

"What's wrong, cunt?" Bain hissed tauntingly as he adjusted his hands on the axe's handle. "Don't you want to see dear old Daddy again?"

"This has got to be the craziest shit you've done fucker," she spat back at him, balling her hands into fists. She just wasn't going to let this infraction go, not this time. Sure he had tried killing her before but he was usually at a distance and not so…close and personal. Still, she wasn't going to let him think that he was going to get away with this, no sirree—

Thunder clapped and she felt all her newfound strength abandon her as she felt the need to scream like a toddler and run away.

Bain couldn't have picked a better time to come at her again as he swung the axe again at her, this time in a downward arc meant for her head. She managed to jump to a side and avoid the blade in time, taking this chance to rush him and possibly disarm him. What she didn't count on was Bain recovering quickly enough to bring the axe back and block her with its handle. He twisted his waist expertly and rammed the butt end of the axe into the side of her elbow, sending a spasm of electricity up and down her arm.

She grabbed at her numbed limb, her shoes squeaking against the tiled floor as she backed away then ducked as Bain swung his axe, this time burying it into a nearby locker. However, Bain seemed to have a plan in mind, as if he had expected to miss. Charlotte guessed this mainly because he suddenly removed a hand from the axe handle and used it to backhand her.

"Why are you fighting?" Bain asked, as if he was talking about the weather, pulling the axe out of the crumpled locker door. "I'm only trying to help you. Wait, that's right. You women don't know what you want because of your small brains. Well, lucky for you, I'm here to make the decision for you!"

Now normally she would have taken offense to this but when you have an axe blade trying to lodge itself into your skull, you tend to let a few things slide. There was another boom of thunder and she knew that she wouldn't be able to handle Bain. Maybe at another time, preferably when the sky was sunny, but not right now when he had the advantage of being an insane axe murderer without a care in the world while she fought a two front fight against both him and repressed memories that were trying to burst out.

It was time to run away for her life like a coward.

She didn't like to admit it, not even to herself, but she took off down the hall as fast as she could, shooting around the corner into an intersecting hallway. She then spotted a trashcan and skidded to a halt. It was empty but that made it light enough for her to pick it up with ease and wait until Bain turned the corner before throwing it at him.

Bain's heterochromatic eyes widened in surprised and he lifted up his axe's handle to block the projectile from hitting his head. Using his distraction to her advantage, she rushed Bain and used her body as a battling ram, hoping to dislodge the axe out of his hands.

He held tight to it so she immediately acted to grab the weapon and try and pull it away from him. Bain, though, wasn't having any of that as he shoved her forward and to a side, slamming her into another set of lockers and pulling away from her only far enough to hold his axe up and bring it down in another downward arc.

She rolled against the metal surface she was leaning against, not pausing to see the axe cut into the thin sheet of metal that made up a locker door. She didn't even pause to try and rush him again, seeing as how Bain was getting more efficient with the axe when he immediately pulled it out of the ripped open locker door, and took off down the hallway again.

Her heart was beating insanely and adrenaline was the only thing that kept her on her feet as she fled. Spying a door just up ahead, she angled herself so that she was able to shove it open and enter into a concrete stairwell. Panting for breath, she jerked her head all around, as if searching for something yet finding nothing but old blood stains and bits of what used to be an orange parka. Settling her gaze on the stairs, she made the immediate decision to run up them to wherever they led. The idea of laying an ambush on Bain had taken root in her head and since right now that seemed to be the only thing that might get her the opening to take the bastard down, she might as well cast her die.

It took her about four flights of stairs before she ended up in front of a door with a push handle and she found herself outside as soon as she shoved the door open. It was surprising, really, to find herself up on the roof of the school of all places; why the hell did the school have a set of stairs that led up to the roof? It just boggled the mind!

Well, this place looked as good as any to set a trap; all she needed to do was find some place to duck into and wait until Bain got into a vulnerable position so she could—

Her thought process was interrupted as thunder boomed overhead and a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, reminding of just how she got into this position in the first place.

Well fuck this shit!

Back to the stairwell she ran, determined to find someplace else to hide except just as she reached the door, it flung open and slammed right into her, forcing her to stumble back awkwardly. There in the doorway stood Bain who seemed only to be breathing deeply from his trek up the stairs or it could just be that he was too excited that breathing wasn't on the top of his things to do. Either way, he stood between her and safety and it didn't look like he was going to be getting out of her way any time soon.

"Nowhere to run now, bitch," Bain stated calmly as he took a step out onto the roof.

Rubbing her forehead from where the door had hit her, Charlotte was beyond trying to maintain her tough girl exterior. Prolonged exposure to the elements outside were slowly unraveling the masks that she put on everyday to keep others from prying into her business and the one obstacle between her and hiding out like a coward was not moving or yielding. Though she berated herself for doing so, she gave Bain a pitiful look, pleading to him for some kind of mercy.

Bain was not moved.

Slowly he ventured closer and closer to her, tightening his grip on his axe. "Come Charlotte," he said cooingly, "let me put you out of your misery. Just close your eyes and it will all be over."

A shriek of lightning was the catalyst that shredded apart the last of her restraint as she became something less than a frightened animal the way she cried at and ran at her would-be killer. Bain seemed taken off guard by such an action but nonetheless was acting to intercept her. He jabbed the top end of the axe at her, forcing her to back away momentarily and giving him enough time to raise his axe up for another chop.

As the axe cut down through the air, Charlotte reacted by catching the weapon by its handle and stopping it mid-strike rather than moving to a side to avoid it. Bain's eyes widened in surprise and she took advantage of it by twisting the axe out of his grip and throwing it far away from them, all the while trying to shove past him to get to the stairwell door.

However, Bain tackled her from a side and caused both of them to fall onto the roof where Bain pinned her arms down and practically straddled her hips, one of her legs between his own.

"No more running, bitch," Bain taunted, his eyes wild and his hair a complete mess, making him look like the lunatic he truly was. "No one's here to save you so you might as well stop struggling. It's not like Daddy's going to save you this time and we both know why!"

He suddenly stopped as his eyes widened to an eye-popping size. As he had spoke, Charlotte, in her near animalistic state and struggling to get out from under him, had kicked her leg up and nailed him right in his crotch. Immediately all the strength in his body fled and he fell down on her only to be shoved away to clutch at his family jewels in agony.

Rolling onto her front, Charlotte shot up onto her feet and took off without looking where she was going only to skid to a stop as she nearly ran off the school's roof. She may have been panicking but she was still in the frame of mind to not run to her death. Turning around, she got her bearings and began to run towards the stairs but Bain tripped her up by grabbing hold of her ankle and pulling her leg up, causing her to fall back down onto the concrete surface they were on.

Bain rolled her onto her back and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her upwards only to deliver a harsh head butt that put her in a daze. With tears beading up in the corners of his eyes due to the pain that throbbed in his groin, Bain nevertheless climbed onto her so that he now sat on her chest, his lower legs pinning her arms down.

Teeth gritted together, Bain glared down at her in fury and wrapped his hands around her throat, his thumbs apply pressure to her windpipe and cutting off the air flow into her body. She kicked with her legs, trying to do anything that would get Bain off her but he remained on his perch, his hands squeezing the life out of her slowly.

"Die!" Bain hissed at her. "Give it up and die, cunt! You worthless little bitch! Become a little angel and go meet Daddy. Give him my regards while you're at it!" From his lips a low pitch giggling escaped as his eyes lit up with homicidal joy, the kind that only a victim of a serial killer saw in their eyes right before they died.

Though…I walk through the shadow…

All her struggles began to weaken and soon she found she could barely move her legs. She gasped out for precious air but Bain's tightening grip prevented any from reaching her burning lungs. So this was how it was going to end huh? She was just going to slip away like this, quietly and with no knight in shining armor to come to her rescue. No friends to comfort her, no family to scream out her name as she passed on. Heh, wasn't it ironic that the person she dreamed of as her so-called knight was the same one who was choking her to death?

By now Bain was beginning to laugh, cackling in delight as he drew closer and closer to ending the life of this little girl and he was milking this experience for all it was worth. He was truly in his element and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that could take this away from him!

The next thing Charlotte knew, there was a loud noise and suddenly Bain was gone and her hearing became nothing but a loud, high pitched, ringing noise. There was a strange burning smell in the air but she found she couldn't bring herself to care as she continued to stare up into the dark-clouded sky.

Turning her head to a side, she caught sight of Bain laying on his back and from what she could see, it looked like he had gone through Hell in less than a minute. Part of him was covered with some gray powder and he didn't look like he would be getting up anytime soon. She turned her head back up to stare at the sky for another period of indeterminate time.

Entering her vision was the form of a black skinned man dressed in a janitor's uniform and while she thought he looked familiar, she just couldn't place him. He was shaking her and he seemed to be yelling at her but she couldn't hear anything. And then slowly her vision turned to black and her mind fell into the deep waters of unconsciousness.

I will fear no evil…

---

When she came to, Charlotte found herself laying in a hospital bed surrounded by her family and various friends who look on at her in concern. As soon as her eyes opened, those concerned faces were flooded with relief and the next thing she knew she was being bombarded by all these voices demanding to know if she was all right or if she needed anything.

Overwhelmed by it all, she said nothing as she let them all talk their selves hoarse before Christophe began shooing them out the door so that a doctor could check up on her. How nice of him, really; she was going to have to give him something in return for being such a sweet angel.

Finally when all the excitement was done and the doctor left her to rest, her mother took her sister out to get her something to eat, leaving her all alone with a stoic Christophe who didn't take his eyes off her for a minute.

As soon as the door closed behind her mother, Christophe began with his interrogation. "What hapeened?" he demanded in his thick accent. "It was Bain, wasn't et?"

"Can you slow down?" she rasped. "I don't even know how I got here or what happened."

Christophe stared down into her eyes, looking for any falsity. When he found none, he sighed and filled her in on what she missed. Apparently, a bolt of lightning had struck the school and when one of the janitors went up to the roof to check the damage, he found both her and Bain. She was littered with bruises and scratches but compared to the burn marks on Bain, it was nothing really minor outside of her going comatose for about a couple days. It hadn't really been a touch and go thing when it came to the doctors who were treating her but for the medical staff at Hell's Pass, they apparently brought in their A-game.

Hell's Pass, how appropriate.

From what she could recall, she was able to piece together what had happened but she neglected to let her friend in on it. For some reason, she had no doubt that "ze Mole" would try to make sure that Bain never touched her or anybody else again and for some reason she didn't want that.

It was weird how from the snatches of memories she could recall, the sight of Bain when in the midst of being a homicidal maniac, she was turned on by it. Her heart fluttered at the remembrance of those two different colored eyes aglow with something other than anger, apathy, or arrogance.

Yet she hated how she felt like that towards something and someone so insane. She didn't want to admit that she wanted to see that side of Bain again, wanted to see those eyes gleaming with that look of malevolence, and she couldn't help but feel disgusted with herself over it. Was she that desperate, that damaged, that she was finding herself attracted to that maniac?

No. No, there was no way she'd allow herself to think about it. Yet those eyes were burned into her memory and she couldn't get them out no matter how hard she tried. She had seen such eyes before, eyes that had once been so friendly and caring towards her but then had hardened and become crazed with anger, disgust, and insanity.

But she didn't find herself shying away from those memories. She still blocked them out, of course, but instead of seeing the eyes that haunted her nightmares, she instead saw a pair of heterochromatic ones and that calmed her somewhat.

Damn, she was really sick in the head, wasn't she?

"Charlotte," Christophe's gruff voice interrupted her musings. Looking up at him, she was captured but not captivated by those dark brown eyes that seemed to look right into her soul. "You know I'd do anyzing for you."

She nodded but said nothing. What could she say that wouldn't have him getting pissed off, whether at her or someone else…?

---

Night had fallen over the small mountain town and Charlotte found herself laying in her bed, unable to fall asleep. Her mother had taken her sister home and the rest of her classmates had left to go back to their respectful lives now that they were sure that she was going to make a full recovery.

But here she was, still, being forced to stay here for "observation purposes" until the med school drop outs that worked here deemed her fit to leave. That meant nothing but being bored out of her mind without her precious Sherlock Holmes books and enduring the crappy food here. The crap they served at school was more edible than the shit they served here…

Finally, unable to take it anymore, she got out of her bed and padded her way out of her room. She figured that a little walk around this morgue ought to tire her out a bit so that she could at least get a little shut eye. Down the halls she wandered, barely taking interest with her surroundings, cursing herself for not putting any socks or slippers on. The floor was fucking cold!

As she passed by a nurse station, she paused and raised an eyebrow at the sleeping security guard there. Wow, our taxpayer dollars at work.

Shaking her head, she continued her exploration, idly looking at various charts of patients, briefly glimpsing over the names of each patient. Finally, one name caught her eye and she stopped to stare at the door to the patient's room in indecision.

Should she…or should she not? Having nothing better to do other than ponder about why she was still thinking about the guy who tried to kill her recently, she found that she wanted to figure out just what attracted her to the bastard. Plus, from what she managed to pry out of Christophe, Bain had suffered worse injuries from the bolt of lightning that had struck nearby them, sending all this debris at them and since he was sitting upright at the time, he had bore the brunt of it.

To her surprise, she found herself entering the room of her own violation and the next thing she knew, she was standing in front of the bed that held none other than Bain Cynis himself. Half of his face was covered with a wad of bandages, a small hole in them to allow use of his green eye. She shook her head at that; so she had figured out which eye was which despite them being closed? Jesus Christ…

Looking down, she picked up the charts off the end of his bed and glanced through them. Huh, someone's paying for some skin grafts; wonder how that was going to turn out, she thought with a wry smirk. No sooner had she put the charts and medical information back in their place did Bain's eyes snap open and look over at her.

At first they were blank but then the all too familiar anger clouded them and from what could be seen of his mouth, Bain sneered.

"What are you doing here, bitch? Come to revel over my corpse? Sorry to disappoint you."

She rolled her eyes at that. "Excuse me for being concerned about your welfare," she spat at him.

"You're not excused."

She huffed at the other's defiance. No wonder people didn't like being around him. Even hurt as he was, he was still a fucking prick. But, she supposed, that was what made Bain, well, Bain. And she found that for some reason she wouldn't have him any other way.

Christ, she was becoming all mushy…

With measured steps, she slowly made her way towards the side of him that was not bandaged, Bain's brown eye following her every move with ill concealed loathing.

"What?" he sneered. As he observed her thoughtful continence, he frowned. "What are you thinking?" he demanded. There seemed to be a bit of…fear? Was Bain Cynis actually nervous? Was it because he suddenly couldn't read her like a book through her body language? Well, she supposed she wouldn't get a better opportunity that this one.

Slowly, she leaned over him, Bain's eyes never leaving her, and without warning, she closed in and laid a soft kiss to his dried lips. She closed her eyes and got lost in the sensation of her lips connected with Bain's, tasting him through their minor contact. Huh, he kinda tasted like spice, with a little bit of vanilla mixed in there somewhere. Oddly enough, she liked it…

Pulling away and opening her eyes, she got a good look at the new expression on Bain's face and boy was it one she hadn't seen before. His eyes were wide open but instead of there being surprise or confusion, she instead saw vulnerability. It was the face of a child's, one that was unlike anything she knew Bain to be. The innocence, the timidity, it made him look so adorable and cute, if you overlooked the bandages on his face.

Once again, Bain Cynis had surprised her but this time it was more of a pleasant surprise than it was the usual kind that usually threw her into a rage. And she found she liked it, she really liked it a lot.

Bain seemed to scramble in his stupor, quickly covering his vulnerability with the ever predictable anger he threw at everyone. "What the fuck was that?!" he snarled as she stood up straight. "What are you up to?! Hey. Hey! Where the hell do you think you're going?!"

By this point, she was halfway to the door, completely ignoring him, only stopping when he yelled out, "This isn't over!"

Slowly, she turned back to face him and replied solemnly, "I know."

Bain looked absolutely flabbergasted and before he could make a recovery, she was already out of the door and closing it behind her. Once again, she was all alone but she didn't feel so aroused anymore. Instead, she felt more resolved than ever before. Determined if anything.

In less than a minute, she had tore her way straight to the core of the person that was Bain Cynis and she had seen what he kept buried deep beneath his dark and cruel disposition. He needed help is what he needed and she was more than determined in wanting to give him that help. There was still a chance of saving him from becoming a monster like the one that haunted her nightmares and while she still liked his little quirks, perhaps she could tame him, help him gain control over his sadistic urges.

Yes, she knew without a doubt that she liked Bain, as in like like. And she would help him, even if he despised her for it. He was a challenge, a worthy one, and she never backed down from a challenge.

And for the first time in years, a phrase echoed in her head but she didn't shy from it. The final words of a man long since passed but ones that she couldn't help but feel described this situation of hers perfectly.

Though I walk through the shadow in the valley of death, I will fear no evil…