Drip. Drip. Drip.

The aching heart Hope had subconsciously cradled hit the ground.

He knew he had failed, all the signs pointed to it. He moaned in lingering pain as he slowly recalled the gory details of what happened to him. He heard the familiar dripping sound of his jail cell, remembering he had been stuck to the gate and never got it open and then blacked out. All of his body quavered in pain, he had been torn through by some strange magical force. His brain was splitting in two, his entire nervous system had broken down and rebuilt into a weird new structure. He had a foul vomit taste in his mouth, he remembered something nauseating gripping him and churning his insides until he cried and was forced into letting it out in pukes. And from what he could tell from the blur of his puffy eyes, his rough, dirty skin and ragged clothes were caked with dried blood and other liquids he did not want to name, even in his mind. They had come from...something that had torn open his right hand.

He blinked as he suddenly became aware that his right hand felt different. He sent an electrical pulse through his veins until he felt the message change, sending a strange sensation back up to his brain. It was sharp and hard, like he had pricked his fingers over spiky crystals. It ground on the inside of his brain and he bit his lip. He cautiously sent another message down his nerves and got the notion that something was wrong.

He wasn't touching crystals. He knew that. The feeling was more like his hand had been cemented into a spiky crystal casing. Like a glove, but one that was actually a part of him, one that sent a sickening feeling through Hope.

His heart was staked into the floor it had hit.

Hope sent a flurry of urgent messages to his wrong hand, wincing as it sent back its own barrages to his mind. Hope raised his other, seemingly normal hand up to his head even though it didn't help the internal stabs much. He groaned as he lifted his heavy right hand up, driving the knife through his heart deeper. He shuffled up to his knees, struggling to pull his dense hand up off of the ground. He lowered his other hand from his head to use it to pull the deadweight up to his eye line to examine the hand. Although he wished he hadn't.

His human hand was no longer there. But a Cie'th hand was.

Well that is if you could call it a hand. It very vaguely resembled a hand.

The skin had become a clear glass surface and his muscle and nervous tissue was transformed into dark green, blue, and black strains. The crystal veins glowed with a light green light that resembled the light that shined from his brand. Hope could see liquids, magic, and electric pulses circulating throughout, ebbing back and forth. Rough crystal spikes sprouted out from his wrist then abruptly ended like a glove or prosthetic hand. His palm was bowled up and his fingers curled awkwardly like his was holding an invisible circular item from the top and digging his fingernails into the sides to hold on with curled fingers. Speaking of his fingers, they were dis-formed into crimped, branch-like claws and the nails were pointed and sharp like barbed thorns.

His heart tore open from the inside out as it beat around the stake.

He shrieked as swung his arm wildly, it slumped down a little bit from the displaced weight. He slammed the hand into the floor hard, hoping to crack the crystals off. Instead, he felt immense pain from scratching the crystals. He realized that the crystals were a part of him from the shooting pain he got from the glassy nerves. He smashed it into the floor again out of hatred and fear. He screamed and tried to raise his monstrous hand up again but the weight was too much and he was too worked from shock to get it off the ground. He was so worn down that he slumped over, anchoring to the side due to the uneven mass.

Hope curled his knees in and pulled them close to his chest with his normal hand. He buried his face in his normal hand, his eyes hurting from losing too much moisture before, so much so that he couldn't close them and let sleep take him away. He sat there and just listened...drip...drip...creak...

Hope turned his head. Fang had opened his door and was slowly walking towards him. Hope snarled at her, "What do you want?" Fang unsteadily got down on her 'knees' and bent crooked to look at Hope in the face, "Came to check on you." Hope's eyes were cold, "So you can take me back to the ballroom right? Watch me nearly die again?"

He raised his normal hand with fire magic at the ready. Fang gave a side glance to his hand than looked down at Hope's face. He looked very serious and merciless with hatred blazing in his pupils, but something about him seemed off. Fang just kept looking down at him with melancholy, soft eyes.

Hope's eyes narrowed as he warningly flicked his fingers and sent a few hissing embers onto Fang's shoulder. She didn't even flinch, locked in a gaze with Hope. The corner of Hope's mouth twitched at her unblinking gaze and watched as Fang softly grinned. His eyes widened and his expression fell into that of a lost and scared child.

Fang chuckled and slowly raised one arm up to Hope's hand and lead it back down to his side, the flames dying away. She moved her hand over to his Cie'th hand and gently took it in her larger one. Hope shook a little and she whispered, "It's fine kid."

Hope blinked hard as Fang pulled him up by his heavy hand to his feet. She dusted him off, gently patting him down carefully with the back of her smooth crystal hand. Hope shivered a little and when she started to back away, he snatched her wrist. She looked down at him, his eyes hidden behind his silver bangs and pointed down at his grip. She chuckled again and ruffled the top of his head with her hand. He dropped her wrist and she moved over to the wall and unlocked his chains. He stood still, staring at the ground as he felt the chains clink as she gathered them up in her hands.

"Listen.", she whispered as she walked forward again, "I'm not here to take you back there. I never wanted to take you there in the first place." She opened the jail cell door and flicked her head to signal Hope to walk forward, "I'm here to take you to your father." Hope looked up at her, and her heart broke a little at the innocent, uncertain look on his face.

His eyes flicked from Fang's face to the ground, "You're...you're lying." Fang huffed and swiftly lifted his chin to have him stare up at her in all seriousness, "I'm not. The Mistress is letting you go see him." Hope shoved her away and hung his head so he didn't have to look at her. He shifted uncomfortably as he thought it through and she waited until he exhaled in exhaustion and defeat and nodded.

Fang patted his head again and said, "Don't worry kid." Hope continued walking and he went back up the stairs with Fang close behind. At one point, his foot slipped a little and Fang yanked his chain to keep him upright. He steadied himself and murmured, "Thanks." She said, "No problem." Hope lifted his foot to continue up when he stopped for a second. Fang's eyes narrowed curiously as she heard him whisper.

"Why aren't you prodding me along?" "How do you know your way around?"

Hope continued walking at that. Fang chuckled, "I knew you were a smart kid." "When did you want me to return your favor?", Hope asked, barely turning his head back. She said, "You're going to see your dad. I won't interrupt." He paused and turned to face her completely, "I will do it though." He looked up at her eyes then shied down.

"I promise."

He lifted his normal pinky up and flicked his eyes up at her then shied away again. Fang blinked then smiled and wrapped her claw around his pinky as carefully as possible, "You're a good kid you know that?"

She flicked her head, "What's your name anyway?" Hope looked up at her, "Hope." He wrapped his entire hand around her claw in a shake, "And you...?" "Fang.", she replied, taking her claw back and gathering up his chains in both hands again, "Come on now, let's not leave Dad waiting." Hope and Fang smirked then continued on.

As they approached the end of the flight of stairs, Fang let go of Hope's chains and said, "He's right up there. Cell on the end." She exhaled, raising her hand to her neck, "Listen Hope..." Hope turned to face her, "Hrm?" Fang looked down and mumbled, "About..."

Hope raised an eyebrow at her but was too distracted by violent coughing. "Hah-ho-", a husky voice stuttered in between coughs. Hope scurried up the stairs, "Dad?" "Ho-o-pe!", the intermittent coughs slightly drowned the yell. Hope hurried to the end of the hall and to the last cell. Hope smiled as he saw his dad mostly unharmed in the cell. He discreetly hid his Cie'th hand behind his back.

"Dad!", Hope almost yelled in delight, slipping his normal hand through the bar to his Dad. Hope's father was also chained to the wall but he managed to get to the bars. "Hope...", his dad mumbled as he took Hope's hand. Hope smiled then asked concerned, "Are you okay Dad? I heard you coughing and-" "No Hope, it's just a cold.", Hope's dad squeezed Hope's hand, "I'm just happy to see you're safe." Hope let out a half-hearted chuckle. Hope's face became downcast and his dad noticed, "Hope?"

"I have lots of things I have to tell you Dad. But first..."

Hope shut his eyes and pulled his Cie'th hand out from behind him and into the light.

What came next made Hope's heart explode.