Dare to Love

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing

A/N: Keep in mind these characters are from "Hunt for Sviederbach" and "Hidden Beneath the Mask". We will see Aveline, Cece, and perhaps even mentions of PJ and Skyler in this story, even though the focus is on Martin Lamont and Kelly. This is that 'what if' implied by the changing of destiny.

Chapter 10 (Not Like Him!)

Eleven year old Martin Lamont stood before his younger brother, arms stretched out, guarding against his angry father. Blood dribbled from his mouth, his chest heaved in and out. Angry tears ran along his face as Zach clung to his waist. His father's fist flew into the wall above their heads, his growl echoed in Martin's ears. "We didn't do anything, Dad."

"I gave you very clear instructions. Do. Not. Leave. This area! Now Mala has run off and your mother has to go looking for her." Every time they did something wrong, this was how they were punished. Granted, this time, it was Zach's doing. Zach and Mala had been in the process of running away when Aunt Erin found them. Mala got away, but Erin brought Zach home. "Martin, step away from your brother."

"No! I won't let you hurt him!" Steven reached down, clenching his fingers around Martin's throat. Martin gasped out as his father's fiery glare burned into his retinas. "D-Dad…"

"I'm not asking you, Martin. I'm fucking ordering you, boy." If only his mother were here, but what could the woman do. She would just get beat down as well, so Auda had stopped trying to protect her children or herself. Martin didn't think it would be long before Steven killed all of them. "Here's what's going to happen when Auda brings Mala back here, you're going to give her the beating instead." Martin's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head.

"No! I don't want to! I don't want to be like you, Dad! I hate you! I hate you!"

"What was that, Boy?" Martin soon found himself sailing through the air, screaming as his father threw him hard against a nearby wall. Zach called out to him. Martin collapsed, his back against the wall and his hand cupped on the floor in front of him. His vision was blurred from tears and blood, and saliva drained from his mouth. He whimpered as his father's heavy foot slammed down before him. "You do not disrespect me, boy!"

"Y-You don't deserve respect." He had to be strong, he couldn't let his father win. A sharp pain struck his gut, forcing a scream up his throat, followed quickly by bile. He clenched his teeth and slammed his eyes shut as his father's heavy foot swung into him once more. "A-Again Dad…y-you're just weak…" Steven paused and threw his hand through his hair, scoffing.

"Act tough all you want boy, you must think you're the shit." Martin opened one eye and screamed as Steven's bony fingers clenched his hair and tore him from the ground. "You know better than to sass me. Do you know what happens when you piss me off, I'm forced to send you to see your Aunt Erin while I cool off." His heart began racing as he thought of his most dangerous Aunt, terror and grief struck him, and a scream left his lips. Steven tossed him back to the ground and proceeded to slam his foot into his side. "Never sass me! I am your father!"

He couldn't go to Aunt Erin, he just couldn't. She did things to him, very cruel things. He hated her more than anyone else. No one would listen to him when he said the things she would do to him, that she would touch him and abuse him. He'd rather take his father's beatings.

"Martin! Steven get off him!" Auda ran up to Steven, grabbing around his chest and trying to pull him back. She was thrown off, then became the next target for the man's hungry fists. Martin lay there among the cesspool that was his blood, weeping silently as he listened to the sound of his father's fists hitting his mother's skin. His mother's screams awakened him and forced him to try and stand. He coughed blood into the pool below him as his arms struggled to push him up without tearing from his sockets.

The fire spreading through his body, he tried to ignore, but the more he attempted to stand, the harder it became. He clenched his jaw and put his hand to the wall, using it to steady himself as he stood. He turned his angry glare towards his father's form, hunched over his mother, who was curled into a ball. Mala was standing off to the side, staring with wide eyes at the blood caked room. Martin needed to get the attention away from his mother, away from his brother, and hopefully away from Mala as well. His mother could never take him to Erin, she loathed the woman as much as he did, so Steven always did it.

Fear struck his heart as he accepted the inevitable outcome. His chest tightened and tears sliced his cheeks like Erin's pointy, murderous claws. He could feel her tearing him apart already. He closed his fists and took a shaky step forward. "F-Fuck you, Dad. Fuck you! I hate you!" Auda gasped out and the other kids in the room snapped their frightened gazes in his direction. Steven growled and slowly looked over towards him, his nostrils flared out and his eyes narrowed.

His chest heaved as his heart poured adrenaline into his legs. He had the option to fight or to run, but what was the use? His father would catch him anyway and send him directly to the demon. "What did you say to me, boy?" Martin wiped his eyes with his bloody arm, trembling as though there was an earthquake going on. They were in California after all, maybe there was an earthquake happening, there had to be.

"You heard me…I hope you die!"

"You little brat!" He shut his eyes as his father's roar drew closer to him. Cold fingers grasped his neck, his feet left the ground, and within seconds the front door flew open. "Time to go see your Uncle and Aunt, boy…" Martin's eyes flew open and gazed mournfully at the retreating doorway. Auda was standing in the doorway with Zach and Mala. She was holding Zach in place. Her cheeks were swollen, a black circle framed her left eye, and blood was flowing like water from her nostrils and her lip. She had tears streaming as confetti down her cheeks.

It was the last time he ever saw her cry.

"He…He's dead…" The words fell from Martin's shocked lips as Art parked the car next to the house. He hadn't been able to drive, the news was too shocking. He wasn't sure if he could believe Steven was actually dead, but whatever the case was, he understood clearly that he needed to contact Aveline. "That monster…taken out by a single arrow?" Of all the movies he'd seen, of all the video games he'd seen, the giant demon never went down so easily. Granted this was real life, but it never mattered, his father was always the most vicious demon of them all.

"Well if it's any consolation, he wasn't prepared," Mala muttered. She and Kelly were in the backseat, they hadn't said much on the car ride back. They had three shopping bags between them, then there was the box for the twin bed in the bed of the truck. He and Art would put it together. First, however, he had to process what had taken place. "Do you know who's next?"

"N-No…" Wasn't it supposed to be Ty's family? "Mom might be, I'm not sure. I think that's the direction we were planning, but…Aunt Erin…" He put his hand to his throat, trembling slightly as he envisioned his family's steel grip on him. His body twitched as he imagined his Aunt's hands on him, sparking along his body, rivers of blood trailing her nails. Would she come after him? It was taking everything in him to keep from lashing out. He didn't want the girls to see him upset, because when he got upset, he would get violent. He couldn't get violent, not anymore, it just wasn't allowed. "I don't want to be…agh…" Art looked to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Besides your father getting an arrow to the head, what else is the problem?" He looked over to Art, then back to the girls. His lips thinned as he met Kelly's warm gaze. His eyes slid down and a large breath of air filled his lungs. He could swallow his pride enough, perhaps talking to Art would be good. He never thought he'd be turning to Art in such a way, but what other choice did he have? He needed to calm down somehow.

"Mala, Kelly, do you think I can have a moment to talk with Art?" The girls nodded and slowly left the car. Art gave him a look, as if questioning whether or not he was incredibly stupid for wanting to be left alone with him. "I know it's crazy Art, but I have to talk to someone. I can't be like my dad, I just can't…" Art's hands dropped from the steering wheel and landed flat on his legs. A crease formed on his forehead and his eyes slanted for a brief moment.

"You abused Mala, Martin. Even if it was all the stress, all the anger that you took out on her, you still did it."

"I know, and it was wrong, okay? I just…when I start having those flashbacks, when I start thinking of my family, I get…I get to this point where it feels like I have to take it out on something. I didn't want it to be Mala, and I don't want it to be Kelly. Definitely not her…" Art's eyebrow lifted up and his eyes drifted towards the window of the car. He chuckled once and shook his head.

"Something tells me that girl would not let you strike her." Martin had to agree, Kelly gave off a very strong demeanor in his mind. She may have been wounded, she may have been hurt in the past, the gravity of which he did not know, but she didn't seem to let it beat her. "Anyway, I understand your plight…at least you acknowledge it's wrong, which already makes you better than your father was, I suppose."

"My dad…" Martin closed his eyes and pushed down the urge to vomit. His stomach was flipping out as a pizza-maker working the dough. His body was aching and his fingers trembling. "When I was eleven, Mala and Zach tried to get away. Aunt Erin brought them back and Dad tried to beat Zach, but I…I stopped him and took the beating instead." Art's lips parted and his expression softened as Martin slowly opened his eyes. This memory was far too difficult to speak on, but he had to let it go. "He threw me all over the room, kicked me several times until Mom came in and tried to pull him off me. He started to beat her next, and I stood up, cursing him out. I told him…I told him I wanted him dead. That he was nothing, and then he took me to Aunt Erin, who…was a million times worse…"

"Damn man…you need to get the fuck away from those people, it's not healthy." Martin rolled his eyes and moved his hand to his forehead, groaning lightly.

"No shit. Cause I really want to be abused for the rest of my life." Art stared at him for a minute then folded his arms across his chest.

"All right, so when you get freaked you get the urge to hit things. You just need to turn that into something healthy?" There was a healthier way to hit things? Seriously? "Pick up a hobby, do something. For me, I go to the gym. That may or may not work for you. You need a way to let out that negative shit, but a good start, is staying the hell away from your family. The way Mala talks, they're a massive trigger to you."

"They are…I only get the way I do because of them…"

"Then when they trigger you, that's when you need to find something to do. For instance, you enjoy putting stuff together?"

"Of course. Fixing stuff is a passion of mine, I'm great with my hands..." Which was an ironic thought, when he worked for good with his hands, he could fix and make anything.

"Then we have that bed to build. After you've calmed down, it may be a good idea to talk to Aveline. Collaborate with her, if possible." Collaboration? Fear gripped him and he quickly shook his head, there was no way he could do that without his family trying to kill him. "I know, from what Mala said, you're afraid of stepping away from your family…but dude, this is the start. The best way you can get away from them is to do exactly that, but you need to surround yourself with people that can actually help you. For instance, the royal Princess that is currently kicking your family's ass." Martin chuckled and closed his eyes.

"How am I supposed to talk to her without her trying to kill me?" He looked towards the house, sighing as he thought on Kelly. "Kelly said something this morning, I don't know if she wanted me to hear…but she said she didn't want to be alone. When we were talking about the concept of my eagerness to die, or something…"

"Right."

"I don't know if I want to die anymore…"

"I'm pretty sure Aveline won't kill you right off the bat. She still sees you alive as necessary for her finding her family, so bear that in mind."

"Good point…"

"Change is always on the horizon, Martin. So what do you say we go in there and put this bed together?"

"Yeah. Yeah, let's do that."

So what are your thoughts on everything? There's definitely further insight on his mom, his father, and a good conversation with Art it seems. Your observations my friends?