Chapter 10: Do You Really Think We're Going To Let You Go?
Lili watched as the second players took her brother and tossed him onto the floor like a sack of potatoes. Very red and battered potatoes. Doitsu, Lili thought subconsciously and grinned in spite of her current predicament. They were setting up a huge, wooden, wall like structure, with straps on the top and bottom. Lili recognized it as the torture device known as a rack and she shuddered. Why did big brother have to go through this? He was looking better, though. The swelling had gone down a lot, but he still had two black eyes and bruises. He was conscious now, however, and he was shackled. Before they started, Flavio interjected and gestured to Vash on the floor. She could see the second players groan and nod, and Flavio shoved Vash off the floor and up the stairs. After five minutes, it was clear nothing was going to happen for a while, and Lili turned away from the window. They had given her a small sketchbook, and she decided to draw for a few minutes. She sketched designs of dresses, cupcakes, and small animals. After sketching a design for a particularly detailed skirt, she heard a thump on the floor.
Lili rushed to the window and saw her brother standing there, but there were some major differences. He was wearing a pair of flexible slacks and a stylish short sleeved black shirt. The collar was neatly folded, and the shirt was cotton. Flavio had apparently convinced (a word that here means: 'threatened') him to let him cut all the blood out of his hair, leaving it in messy short style about the length of Arthur's hair. He wore a pair of black converse, and his cheeks were tomato red. Oliver grinned and said some kind of scathing remark that made Vash's cheeks burn even brighter, about the shade of a cherry jelly-bean.
Oliver forced him towards the rack and pushed him into the straps, tightening them lightning quick before he even had a chance to struggle. Two around his arms, two around his legs, and one around his neck. Oliver whispered something into Vash's ear that made Vash scowl and made him yell something that was faintly audible.
"Don't you...think...her!"
Lili felt a chill travel down her spine. She noticed that Luciano was heading to the door, so she dropped and picked up her sketchbook.
"Piccola ragazza, Oliver wants to see you." Lili stood up and brushed non-existent crumbs off her skirt. Luciano started picking his fingernails with his knife.
"Let's try to be quicker, bambina, or Oliver might use Big Bruder for target practice." Lili tried to rush out of the room, but was stopped by Allen, who grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground. The concrete rushed to meet her, and she slammed to the floor. She landed on her cheek, which immediately turned red and started to swell. She looked up and saw Allen standing above her, smirking, and she uttered the first "bad-bad" word she had ever said.
"Dick."
Oliver tutted. "That's not a nice word, poppet." He pulled her up, none too gently, and pushed her toward the wall, where he held her there with the palm of his hand.
"Apologize."
Lili gritted her teeth. Gone was the happy man who made her cupcakes and cuddled her when she was sad. In his place was a cold blooded, psychopathic killer.
"N-never." Oliver increased the amount of force he was applying to the small of her back.
"I said apologize."
Lili worked up the nerve to be sarcastic, something she thought she would never do. "It's kinda hard to talk when you're pressing my mouth against the wall." Oliver moved his other hand to the top of her head and pushed. She fell, dragging her cheek against the wall and grazing it badly. Oliver placed his foot on her stomach, forcing her to look up at him. His eyes were once again filled with pink, yet he wasn't grinning.
"Apologize, or big bruder here gets used as my personal dartboard." Lili choked up, a force filling her throat, threatening to make her burst into tears.
"S-sorry."
Oliver removed his foot, and Lili slumped to the floor. Her cheek was red and starting to bleed. Her white nightgown, which was already dirty, now had a large footprint on the stomach. Oliver looked her up and down with a glimmer of pity in his eyes. But that pity quickly turned to disgust, and he barked, "Flavio!" "Yes, Ollie?" Oliver's eye twitched. "Don't call me that." He gestured to the slumped figure on the floor. "Take her upstairs. Give her a shower, and get her some clean clothes. Maybe that dress" "Sure. Come on, piccola ragazza." Flavio jerked her off the floor and tugged her towards the stairs. Lili complied, since it meant that she would get to clean up a little. She hadn't been given clean clothes or a shower since yesterday. She also needed to dress the wound she had been given by Oliver. Her eyes burned as she was led up the stairs, threatening to spill over with tears.
~~~Betrayal~~~
Lili was shown, not forced, into the shower by Flavio, who seemed a little more decent than the rest of the second players.
"Try not to take too long, or Oliver might get mad again. I'll have clean clothes waiting for you when you finish. Don't try to escape or anything, okay?" He winked at her and left the bathroom. Lili undressed and stepped into the shower.
~~~This part of the story is skipped for what I hope is an obvious reason~~~
Lili stepped out of the shower and pulled on the pink bathrobe that was waiting for her. Her hair was tangled and messy, though less than when she had long hair. She felt a lot better now. Flavio was waiting outside the door. He handed her a small bundle of clothing and said, "Go get changed. I'll be waiting." Lili stepped back into the bathroom and pulled on the clothing, a black doll-collared dress with a white sash and trim. When she finished, Flavio let out a little cry.
"You look adorable! Now let me brush your hair out, so you can look even more adorable!"
Lili shook her head hurriedly. Flavio smiled, and suddenly he was behind her, holding a knife to her throat.
"I said, let me brush your hair out!"
Lili sighed, and nodded. Flavio removed the knife and brought her a chair. It was actually kind of peaceful, having your hair brushed by a psychopathic murderer, but she was tense the whole time. Flavio slowly moved the brush through her golden hair, detangling knots and unknotting tangles. He was clearly experienced with this sort of thing, which made Lili wonder; Did he do this to all his victims?
"And, the final touch." Flavio carefully and expertly tied a black ribbon in Lili's hair, completing the transformation.
"Now, come on. Oliver's waiting."
~~~A Nation's Healing Power~~~
Oliver carefully stroked the point of the blade around Vash's throat.
"Such white skin, such unmarked flesh... how did it get this way? You were battered and bruised beyond belief yesterday..." Oliver thought to himself.
"Aah... I forgot to take into consideration a nation's healing power. Look, your black eye's gone too. Well, one of them, anyway." Oliver giggled to himself.
"If external injuries heal within a day, I wonder if internal injuries heal faster...or slower."
Oliver turned to Vash.
"I want to keep you silent for just a little while longer." Oliver sliced the blade into Vash's throat, creating a large cut where his vocal chords were located.
"Let's take care of these, shall we?"
~~~Ashes, ashes, they all fell down~~~
Lili slowly descended the steps to the basement, with Flavio right behind her.
"Oliver? I'm here."
Oliver dropped the knife and walked slowly to Lili, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"You look adorable!" He giggled, and for a moment, the old Oliver was back. But then, the look in his eyes vanished, replaced by a hunger that Lili had never seen in his eyes before. She felt Oliver's fingernails digging into her shoulders.
"I've got something very special planned out for you!" He grabbed Lili forcibly by the hand and dragged her towards a long wooden table. Scooping her up like one would a puppy, he laid her on the table and fastened leather straps around her neck, arms, and legs. Lili was forced to look up, and she could see a large bucket, with a small hole in it. Water was slowly dripping through the hole, and she watched helplessly and the first drop fell and landed with a barely audible plock on her forehead.
"My dear friend Wang Zao taught me this one!" Lili gulped.
"C-chinese water torture?"
"Yep! Supposed to drive the unwary victim insane, albeit slowly. But I can wait. I will wait." He turned toward Vash again and picked up the knife.
"Let's get back to those pesky vocal chords."
Lili realized with horror what he was about to do, and she screamed.
"No! That's disgusting!"
"It's necessary for silencing your bruder, Lili." Oliver re-opened the cut at the nape of Vash's neck, which was already beginning to close a little bit, and located the vocal flaps.
"This will keep you good and quiet." Oliver giggled, and he slashed the vocal chords. The pain was unbearable, and Vash would have screamed, but he was silent. He couldn't speak even if he wanted to.
"Oh, come now, Vash. They'll knit together by, oh, maybe, tomorrow evening? In the meantime, we're going to have so much fun together." Oliver smiled, and pinched Vash's cheek.
Another drop of water fell onto Lili's forehead.
Alright. If I don't stop this, I might go insane. Then I'll be twins with Oliver. Lili closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. She drowned out Oliver's insane giggling and Vash's strangled gasping. She tuned out the casual dripping of the water on her forehead, and the steady plock of Vash's blood dripping down his chin. She tuned out the casual chuckling of Francois, and Allen and Luciano arguing.
A single drop fell on her forehead and ran down her cheek. Lili didn't notice.
~~~('-')~~~
It had been a while when Oliver finally undid the straps and helped her down off the table. Lili felt groggy, as if she had been asleep for a few hours. Then again, she probably had.
"Do you feel any different, poppet?"
"Nope." Oliver tossed her back into the little white room. Vash was already there, and he was breathing (thank god). Lili rubbed her cheek and turned over.
'Why do you do this to us? Why can't you just let us go?" Oliver started breathing heavily. He walked toward her and started deep into her eyes.
"I broke the ancient laws to bring you here. I planned for ages. I cast spells. I put up with Roland for three years. Do you really think I'm going to let you go?" He turned and walked out of the room, shaking. Lili could see he was crying.
"Oliver?" He turned.
"I'm sorry."
Oliver smiled.
"What a pity. If only I was, too."
I am a worthless human being. R and R please!