Wonderland Fallout

Tseng's POV

As of right now, I would gladly take a bullet between the eyes. I would welcome death with arms wide open, if only to rid me of the utter humiliation I was being forced to endure. And for what? For the life of a boy I didn't even know. I tried to tell myself over and over again that I wouldn't feel any remorse for Jiao if he was killed due to my actions. I kept trying to convince myself that his death would not affect me in anyway. Even now as I reluctantly allow myself to be dressed in this scandalous attire, I am still pondering the thought of rebellion.

My fingers twitched by my side as an outward expression of the rage that boiled within me. I glanced over at Jiao as they continued to dress us. Anxiety and fear were etched into his features. I kept my expression neutral, although I was fiercely upset.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally finished. The colorful, frilly men took a few steps back to admire their work. They looked very pleased with the outcome, and even the guards seemed to be highly impressed. I didn't want to look at myself, even though I could clearly see what I was wearing.

The frilly men directed Jiao and I to a large full length mirror. I resisted the urge to gasp in horror. I was looking at myself in the mirror but I wasn't seeing myself. No…this cannot be me. There was no way this image reflected my figure correctly. For the mirror reflected me to be dressed in a lose fitting black Kimono with accented red roses. It hung off my shoulders loosely, exposing them and partially my chest in a seductive manner. A long, dramatic slit on the side of the dark Kimono exposed a smooth pale leg. My hair was combed down and flowed freely, completely opposite to the slicked back, conservative way I usually fashioned it. My lips were rosy and a single red rose was placed behind my ear.

If only Reno could see me now.

I scowled at my image; the thought of escaping was becoming more prevalent. Jiao had on similar attire to me, though his Kimono was a soft lilac color with pink cherry blossoms. He blushed as he looked at himself in the mirror. Then he turned to me and smiled shyly. He made to speak but was interrupted as a man entered the room. All attention was turned to him. They made way for him to cross the room over to where Jiao and I stood.

He was very short, no taller than five-two at the most. His hair was dark and greasy, and he had a long, hooked beak nose. His clothes were dull and almost all black. A wide, amused smile spread across his face, revealing slightly crooked teeth.

"Welcome to Dante's Harem." The odd looking man said; his voice surprising deep. "My name is Carous. I am the overseer of this place. I will give you an overview of how things are done here. Please, follow me."

Jiao looked uncertain and stood very close to me. I was a little hesitant myself, but I followed the birdlike man anyway. He led us out of the room and into an elegant hallway. For a whorehouse, this place was sure high class. Crystal chandeliers adorned the beautifully arched ceilings. Lavish paintings and tapestries decorated the walls. Jiao, unable to control his awe, was open mouthed and looked very surprised.

"I'm going to give you a rundown of the rules here. First of all, Pero Donte is your master and you are his slave." Carous said promptly. I resisted the urge to snort in annoyance. I was nobodies fucking slave.

"He has purchased you both for a substantial amount of money and you are now his property. Secondly, you are to perform whatever request a customer may ask. Failure to do so will result in punishment and more time added to your service here. The customers pay a hell of a lot of money to have their fantasies fulfilled and you are not to deny them, unless the action they requested would result in your demise."

"And thirdly, do NOT try to escape! You will fail, and you will be caught and punished immediately. As you both know, you were transported here in complete darkness, and then moved into this building while you were unconscious. We do this as a precaution, so that you won't know where you're going, or where your located. So even if you somehow escape from these walls, you will have no idea where to go or which direction to head for."

We entered another hallway which contained red and gold ornamented doors, each with a gold number on it. He stopped in front of a door marked 9.

"This is the room you both will be sharing for now. When you build up a regular clientele you will be given your very own room."

He pulled out a red key and unlocked the door. Signaling for us to enter, we followed him into the room. It was as lavishly decorated and as beautiful the rest of the building. Jiao bounded into the room, immediately heading toward one of the king sized beds in the large room. He pounced onto the bed, very much resembling a playful kitten.

"Oh, Tseng!" He shouted ecstatically. "This bed is huge, and so comfy! Have you ever seen such a large bed?"

I wanted to say I had a bed of the same size in my nice spacious apartment located at Shin-Ra, but I held my tongue. Carous grinned at Jiao, and then looked at me. I kept my face neutral and seemingly uninterested. He snickered.

"Well, aren't you going to examine your new residence?" He asked.

"Fuck this place." I hissed out bitterly. Carous only smiled, which caused me to become very suspicious of him. The bird like man signaled to the bouncing Jiao that it was time to leave. Reluctantly, he left comforts of the bed with a pout. As we exited the room, Carous grabbed Jiao's hand and placed the red key in it. He pulled out another key and made to grab my hand. Defiantly, I stepped away from him, refusing to take it. I did not belong here and I was not going to take a key to my assigned room like I was a willing resident of this horrid place.

Carous merely shrugged and placed the key back into his pocket. Jiao shot me a look of slight apprehension. He was worried that my defiant actions would result in both of us getting punished. He stood close beside me and leaned over.

"Be careful, I don't want to get in trouble." He whispered nervously.

I ignored him and continued to follow Carous. We walked down corridor after corridor; the beauty of the place was truly enthralling. As we walked, I was inwardly memorizing the pathways we took and where each corridor led to. If I was to ever escape from here, then I would need to know the layout of the place. If there was one thing Verdot taught me it was to try and be as familiar with a place as you possibly could before ever taking action. This applied to both missions and detainment. Because when you're running for your life, you can't hesitate because of confusion.

Unfortunately, I could never get Reno to fully understand the importance of this. He never took the time to study or memorize the mission plans, maps and objectives. He considered it a great big waste of time. His logic was, and I quote, "Ya can't plan out a mission because you neva' know what's gonna happen, ya know? Cause like, shit happens and you can't do damn thing about it. Might as well just go in there and hope for the best."

His logic was…questionable, but I did see the perception. However, if he had just taken the time to study the plans, then he wouldn't have to ask where the hell he was supposed to go and do every five minutes. It was the flaw in his little so called "logic", because when you're life is on the line, you're going to want to know where you're going with no hesitation or uncertainty to slow you down. Of course Reno didn't see it that way and could not be convinced otherwise. He could be so stubborn sometimes, and neither Rude, nor I could persuade him to rethink his reckless principles.

Without me realizing it, a slight grin had formed on my face. Just thinking about the red-haired menace and his impractical ways had brought a smile to my face. It didn't go unnoticed by Jiao, and he beamed at me, obviously thinking I was smiling at him. My faint smile immediately dispersed once we entered a large open area. It was vast and grand, with a large water fountain situated in the center.

There were others here, other whores that is. Most of them were lounging lazily beside the fountain, chatting lightly to each other. As we made to cross the area, they turned their gazes toward us. They were all beautiful, and fine boned. A few looked at us with curiosity, while others held animosity in their eyes. I ignored all their looks and kept focused on my memorization of the place. Jiao felt uncomfortable under their stares, and he walked close beside me.

Carous led us to a hallway that was different from the others. The walls were lined with red lanterns and the doors were all made of metal. On each door was a red number which stood out against the dark metal. We stopped in front of a door numbered 21. Carous smiled as he unlocked this door and signaled for Jiao to come forth. He moved with reluctance, but eventually entered the room. Carous directed me to follow them into the room as well. Most likely he wanted to keep a close eye on me. I walked into the room after Jiao.

The room was large and beautifully decorated, the obvious focal point being the large bed in the center, though there was a sitting area and a small bar. There was also a large chest in front of the bed. Jiao took it upon himself to open the chest out of curiosity. I inwardly cringed at the objects it contained, which obvious Jiao didn't know what they were, or what they were used for. Carous stood at the door entrance, his eyes carefully watching us.

"This is your workplace, Jiao. After careful consideration, I have selected you to work here in this hall. We call this, Hall Rouge. Each Hall on this side of the building has a different color to represent different specializations. This particular hall specializes in fetishes."

Jiao had a blank, naïve look on his face. He obviously didn't have a clue about what he was talking about. I shook my head and grabbed Jiao's arm. I pulled him closer to me and whispered into his ear the best explanation of what his new occupation would involve. After I told him, his cheeks immediately flushed in embarrassment. Carous smiled.

"You are required to entertain at least twice a week." Carous said.

Jiao's face lit up. "Did you hear that Tseng! I only have to work twice a week!"

The short bird like man pointed to the door, which of course, didn't have a handle on the inside, but there was a number panel. There was no way this building would pass a safety test. How dangerous was that, having doors that only open from the outside. What if there was a fire?

"You can unlock the door from the outside, but once you're in, you're in. We use this as a precautionary just in case someone tries to escape. We do not restrict time limits on our customers, so they may choose to stay only an hour, or they may stay for the night. Only your customer can release you from your services. They have a code they have to enter to have the door opened. Once the code is entered, it signals to the front to send an escort to unlock the door."

This place was highly secure and thorough, I thought. It seemed more like a fancy prison, than a whorehouse. Jiao nodded in understanding and Carous signaled for us to exit. He placed the key in Jiao's hands and closed the door behind him. We walked through several more "colored" halls. Various colored lanterns lined the walls. I wondered what each color represented. At some time during our tour, Carous glanced back at me and grinned. I shot him a look of annoyance, but he shrugged it off.

Finally, we reached a hall that had black lanterns as it color. The dark shade of the lantern caused the hallway to be eerily dark. We stopped in front of a door numbered 6. He pulled out a black key and made to hand it to me. I scowled and refused to take it. Again, he shrugged his shoulders and reclined his hand. He opened the door slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. Once the door was unlocked, Carous' grin widened.

"It's because of your hostile attitude that I've chosen you for this particular hall. Most of our, "roughnecks" work here." He pushed the door opened and stood to the side, his arm outstretched."

"Please, go in." he said slyly. I raised a skeptical eyebrow, and proceeded to enter the dark room with caution, Jiao hot on my heels. It was pitch black in the room and I couldn't see a damn thing. I moved forward cautiously until I bumped into what I thought to be the bed. Oddly enough, when I hit the bed, I thought I heard the sound of something rattling. I kicked the bed and the clingy sound erupted again. What the hell?

"Would you please turn on the damn light." I commanded, more than asked.

"Why, certainly." Carous said; amusement obvious in his tone.

As soon as the light switch was flipped on, my eyes went wide in horror. I couldn't even stifle the, "Fucking hell" that slipped from my lips as the light revealed the room to me. The bed in front on me was huge, with black sheets with a crimson red trim. But the real horror was the chains that hung from the ceiling and dangled over the bed. I did a quick 360˚ of the room and my anxiety only escalated. Whips, chains, knives, sexual toys and other unmentionable paraphernalia hung on the dark walls. I shot a fierce, feral gaze at Carous. I was beyond livid. His amused smile did not falter though.

"I thought Bondage and Discipline would be the best choice for you, seeing as how you are so very much untamed."

That was it. I had had enough of this. There was only so much I could take. I made to cross the room and charge at him, but Jiao grabbed my arm in desperation. He wasn't very strong, though he was heavier than he looked. He held my arm tight; tears were starting to fall from his eyes. I continued to approach him, though Jiao was slowing me down. My eyes screamed bloody murder and I was more than ready to beat the hell out of this guy. Jiao was holding me back though, and was making it hard for me to reach Carous. I was built for speed and agility, but adrenaline was giving me an edge, and I began to drag him along.

"Get the fuck off of me!" I hissed out, enraged. My eyes still locked onto my target in front of me.

"Please, don't! Don't do this, Tseng!" Jiao pleaded with me. But I was too far gone. I barely heard his cries over the hot blood that was pounding in my head from anger. Jiao tried to pull me back, but he failed. I was getting closer.

"No, stop this!" the dark haired youth yelled.

I pressed forward until I was almost to him. I couldn't wait to wipe the grin off his ugly bird face. Suddenly, several guards rushed into the room, coming full force at me. Jiao immediately stopped pulling at me and stood frozen. I pushed him down and with headstrong determination, I charged the guards. I could still almost see the little figure of Carous by the door. Sneaky bastard, he had probably planned this all along.

The guards were definitely bigger than me, but they were much slower. I slipped through them easily, maneuvering through them as if they were minor obstacles. More guys rushed in and I scowled. I dodged their hits, and evaded their attempts to grab me.

Only one more huge guy stood in my way. A smirk graced my face as I slid underneath his meaty legs, and continued onto Carous. He was unprotected and open. I could hear the guards running after me, but they were to slow. I grabbed the crooked nosed bastard by his shirt and slammed him into a wall. The impact drew a startled gasp from his lips. I made a fist and drew my arm back, ready to hit this guy with all my might.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell is going on?" The plump figure of Pero Donte appeared through the door. He glanced at the scene and shook his head. "Can't you guys handle one little rambunctious whore!"

The guards looked embarrassed and stood awkwardly underneath the scrutinizing eyes of Pero Donte. I on the other hand, was considering whether or not I should land this punch in this asshole's face. It would be so easy just to break his face. I would love to hear the sickening crunch of his bones breaking.

Donte made a sound of disappointment with his teeth. "Didn't I tell you that if you misbehaved, it would be Jiao's liability?"

As if on cue, Jiao was hoisted up by the group of thugs and a gun pointed at his head, again for the second time today. His cries intensified.

Donte Pero glanced at me. "You have ten seconds to release him, or Jiao will be shot."

"Please Tseng, I don't want to die!" Jiao yelled fearfully.

"One. Two."

Damn it. I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip on Carous' shirt.

"Three. Four."

I would be so easy to hit him, all I had to do was forget about Jiao. If I didn't care about what happened to him, then they wouldn't be able to use him against me.

"Five. Six."

I glared at Carous who was practically grinned from ear to ear at my predicament. Wouldn't it have been funny to have seen the pained surprise on his face if I had shocked everyone and actually punched him?

"Seven. Eight. Nine."

"Oh god. Please save me Tseng." Jiao sobbed. "Please!"

Son. Of. A. Bitch. I shot one last glare at Carous before I released his shirt. He quickly moved to the side beside Pero Donte. The guards were among me within a matter of seconds. They grabbed me by my arms and shoved me down to my knees. I scowled in anger. Donte walked over to my forced kneeling form until he was standing right in from of me. I turned my head, mostly due to the fact that his crotch was in front of my face.

He grabbed my head and roughly yanked it up. I was staring eye to eye with him, amusement in his eyes, and anger in mine. An eerily wide smile graced his lips as he looked at me. He stroked my cheek with the backside of his other hand. I resisted the urge to draw back.

"You sure are a vicious one." His finger trailed over my lips and this time I did snap at him with my bared teeth. He immediately withdrew his hands from my mouth. His smile widened. He ran his fingers through my long dark hair softy, before he roughly grabbed a handful of it and violently yanked my head back. I hissed at the sharp pain and gritted my teeth. Suddenly, Donte wrapped his hands around my delicate neck. He constricted his hands and began to choke me.

I couldn't breathe and I felt his hands tighten around my throat. Dark spots danced in front of my eyes. My lungs convulsed, desperately seeking oxygen. Did he mean to choke me to death? I began to thrash and struggle violently against my captors, but they held me tight. I was becoming lightheaded and felt my life slipping away from me.

Suddenly, he released my throat and my head fell forward. I desperately gasped for breath as oxygen filled my lungs. Donte leaned down to my level, his face still smiling. He brushed his thumb against my cheek in an almost caring display. I was still panting for breath as he caressed my face. He placed two fingers underneath my chin and lifted my head up to look at him.

"You will submit." he said sharply. Then he stared me down, as if daring me to rebel. And rebel I did. I gave him a sly grin of my own, and laughed lowly, sounding borderline psychotic. His smile faded, obviously not expecting the reaction I gave. Once my laughter died down, I locked eyes with him again. My eyes were dilated and my lips curled up into and amused sly grin. He looked at me with confusion and a bit of fear.

"By holding me captive, you have condemned everyone here to death. You and your men will suffer and there will be no mercy." I said sharply, with edge.

Donte made a sound of annoyance with his teeth, trying to pretend my words hadn't affected him. But I could tell he was shaken. His eyes held a certain fear as he stared down at me. Suddenly, he slapped me hard in the face, causing my head to whip viciously to the side. My cheek stung but it wasn't anything I could handle. In his anger, he kicked me in my stomach and I grunted at the pain. He pressed his boot to my head and started to add pressure.

"Shut up you! How dare you threaten me, your owner and master! You belong to me and you will be submissive!" He slapped me and added more pressure to my head to put emphasis on his words.

"You see this; this is where you belong, underneath the sole of my shoe. You are nothing but a whore now, and you will obey me!" he hissed out. "Take him to his chambers, and make sure he stays there!"

They hauled me up roughly onto my feet, and began to escort me out of the room. But before I exited the room completely, I looked back at Donte and Carous. I shot them my most homicidal glare, one that promised death. They both tried to ignore my psychotic stare, but I could tell they were indeed shaken up. The eerie amused smile that always graced their faces was nowhere to be seen, and instead they had been replaced with tight lipped frowns. They knew they had their work cut out for them.

A/N: Review please and thanks! Next Chapter: Reno and Rude are out for vengeance.