"Get up."
Lexi groaned and opened her eyes slowly. Titus stood over her, arms crossed in front of him and sword at his belt. She closed her eyes again- she didn't want to face whatever he and Scorpius had in store for her as punishment for denying partnership.
"I said get up," he repeated, getting angry. She didn't move. Even just lying here on the floor of her cell, she felt weak. She hadn't had anything to eat in three days, except for that one stick of celery back home.
Death, she missed home. She missed her friends, she missed school, and most of all, she missed Kid. She would take extra practice with Stein every day for six hours straight if she could just be back there.
Titus took a small step backwards. "Lady Scorpius has instructed me to bring you to her... Using whatever means necessary." He brought his foot back and, before she could move, kicked her full-force in the stomach. She gasped, her eyes wide, and curled up into a tight ball, trying to subdue the pain to one part of her body. Her ears rang slightly, and he suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up. She winced- she had been right about his hands bruising her shoulders. It hurt to move her arms, even a little. He pulled her out of her cell and into the hallway. She wondered why he didn't chain her up this time. She stumbled along the hallway, barely able to stay on her feet.
They reached Scorpius's throne room. He just entered- he didn't bother knocking or bowing to her at all. He dragged Lexi so she was in front of the witch. She was too weak to resist. Scorpius stood in front of her.
"Have you reconsidered my offer, Soul Master?" She asked in that voice Lexi hated more than anything. She slowly raised her head to look at the witch.
"No," she replied. Her voice was a bit hoarse. "I haven't. My decision stands as it is." Scorpius turned to her.
"That really is unfortunate," she said. She raised her hand and suddenly slapped Lexi across the face. Her head flew sideways, an angry red mark already starting to form on her cheek. Scorpius walked over and bent down so her face was right in front of Lexi's.
"How about you fight?" She asked. "If you win, you can leave. No catches, no loopholes, nothing."
"And if you win?" Lexi asked through gritted teeth. Scorpius laughed.
"Oh, no, my dear," she said, "it's not me you'll be fighting." Titus released Lexi, and she fell to her knees and glared up at Scorpius, who pointed to Titus. She looked at the warrior, and her heart skipped more than one beat. He was drawing his sword.
"You'll be fighting Titus," Scorpius went on to say. "I want to see the powers of the Soul Master in action. Now get up and fight."
Lexi took a deep breath and slowly got to her feet. Scorpius walked to and sat on her throne. Titus held his weapon at the ready, and Lexi raised her hands, ready for the fight.
"Go!" Scorpius called.
Titus made the first move. He ran at her and swung the sword. She ducked, and it swung harmlessly over her head. He lashed the blade down at her, and she rolled out of the way a second before it hit the ground, causing sparks to fly around it. She got to her feet again, and Titus ran at her, brandishing the sword above his head. He leapt into the air and swung the sword down again, and Lexi somersaulted underneath him. She rolled to her feet behind him and turned. Titus landed on his feet on the ground, growling. Now he was mad. He swung the sword repeatedly, taking steps toward Lexi as he did and forcing her back. She took steps to dodge, but her back hit a wall. She was cornered. He smirked and raised the sword above his head. He brought it down on Lexi, and it made contact with her arm.
Sparks flew as blade met blade, an a look of pure shock crossed Titus's face. Scorpius sat up in her seat- things had just gotten a lot more interesting.
Lexi had turned her right arm into a blade.
She began swinging her arm madly at Titus, forcing him back the same way he had forced her. He blocked most of her shots, but one found its way to its mark and cut his right shoulder. He gritted his teeth- it was a deep cut, not an easy fix. But he kept fighting.
When Lexi had a weapon, she was a better fighter than Titus. However, she was weak. Using her own body as a weapon and a meister at the same time was taking her energy faster, like it always did. She hadn't eaten anything in days, so her body was weaker already, but she was still as good of a fighter as Titus. When she had succeeded in giving him a few relatively deep cuts, he decided to call in backup.
Four guards ran in. Two transformed into weapons- an ax and a war hammer. The other two guards held their weapons tightly and ran into the fight. Lexi saw them and turned. Her left arm turned into a long chain and wrapped around the guard with the ax. Titus sprang to his feet and ran at Lexi, wielding his sword. She changed her other arm to a chain and wrapped it around him, rendering him immobile. She had forgotten about the third guard.
Big mistake.
The guard ran up behind her, his war hammer raised high above his head. With a loud cry, Lexi turned just in time to have the hammer smashed into the side of her head.
Her vision blurred. Pain spread rapidly throughout her head, and her chains changed back to arms. She dropped to her knees, hands on the ground in front of her, steadying her from falling face-first on the ground. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the pain. Her thoughts were jumbled in her head. One moment, she was on the ground. The next, she was on her feet, being held between two guards. Another moment, and her hands were cuffed behind her back. She didn't notice the blood running down the side of her face. Black spots danced wildly in her eyes, and her face felt hot. Her hearing was muffled. She began to feel lightheaded, and blacked out just as Scorpius walked up to her.
"Incredible," the witch whispered. She lifted the unconscious girl's face to the light and gently wiped away some of the blood near her eye. A large bump stood on her head, surrounding a smaller gash in the middle of the lump, where the blood originated. Scorpius looked at Titus.
"Is it ready yet?" She asked. Titus nodded.
"It is finished, my lady," he replied respectfully. Scorpius nodded.
"Bring it in here and set it up," she said. "I want to be able to watch." He nodded.
"Consider it done." He turned to the guards. "Let's go," he ordered them. They suspended Lexi between them and began dragging her out of the throne room. Titus walked behind them, sword pointed at her back in case she woke up. At the dungeons, they threw her roughly back in her cell. She didn't move, and Titus smirked.
"Some Soul Master," he said as he slammed and locked the door. He turned to the guards.
"She is dangerous," he said to them. "I want two guards down here, stationed at her cell at all times. Escape attempts shall be met with punishment swiftly and severely. No mercy." The guards nodded and took the first shift, standing on either side of her cell. Lexi didn't move.
Titus walked to the mechanics shop inside the castle. As he opened the door, every worker stopped and bowed respectfully, then resumed work. He went to the engineer, who saluted him formally.
"Sir Titus," he said stiffly. Titus nodded at him, and his hand dropped back to his side.
"Lady Scorpius wants it in her throne room, so she can watch," Titus said. The man nodded. "We can move it in there in under an hour," he replied. Titus nodded in approval.
"Good. See to it." The man nodded, and Titus walked out.
Lexi groaned and opened her eyes. Her head was killing her. Damn war hammer. She slowly sat up, leaning her back against the smooth glass wall.
Wait. The wall of her cell was concrete, not glass.
She looked around her. She was in a large glass tank of some sort, with a tiled floor and... was that a drain at the bottom? The top of the tank was sealed, but there were various holes in the glass around her, so she had air. In the top of the tank, there were... little holes. Hundreds of them. That, plus the drain... What was this?
"Good morning," a voice said. Lexi's insides boiled with anger at that voice.
Like poisoned wine.
Lexi's head, which was leaning against the glass, turned slowly to look at her. She sat calmly in her throne, like a large glass tank that hadn't been there before was completely normal. She painfully got to her feet, and Titus walked in the large doors. She glared daggers at him, but he only smirked. Scorpius stood.
"Since you've refused my offer," she said, "you must be punished. No one defies me. And if I can't have you join me..." She smiled evilly. "I'll have to kill you. Slowly and painfully."
Lexi glared at the witch. "What are you going to do?" She asked sarcastically. "Give me a shower until I'm so clean I die?" Scorpius smirked. "Something like that. Titus, now." Titus nodded and walked over to the machine. He grabbed a small remote off the side of it and pressed a blue button.
Water began falling, exactly like a shower, all over the tank. What didn't hit Lexi was drained through the bottom. Once Lexi was thoroughly soaked, she glared at Scorpius.
"Kay, now I'm cold and wet," she said, holding out her arms. "How is this going to kill me?"
Scorpius nodded at Titus, who turned his attention to the remote in his hand. He turned a small dial to the first number, then pressed a red button.
Lexi gasped. An electric current ran through her body, more painful than it should have been for her. She panted and leaned against the side of the tank, waiting for the pain to subside. When it finally did, she was panting. "What... what was that?" She asked breathlessly.
"An electric shock," Scorpius replied. "It was only the first level out of ten, though. The electricity's effect is amplified through the water, you see. Level five is deadly to a normal human." Lexi glared up at her.
So this was how she was going to die.
Lexi's a fish! Glub-glub-glub! Just kidding. She's in real trouble now. I don't own Soul Eater. Please R&R!
