At first, it was excruciating. Every breath, every blink, every small movement, the pain came, every time stronger than the other. Sharp, boiling daggers shooting up through his body. Agony. Now, it's just normal. Every time Finn takes a shaky breath, he expects the pain as if billions of nails were being rattled and poked through his already weak lungs. Whenever he moves his head, he expects the pain of burning coals smothering his skin. Every time he tries to move his legs, fingers, arms, he expects a sharp shooting pain coursing through his veins. He just expects it. The pain is now normal. Agonizing, horrid, excruciating, but still, normal...
Finn keeps his eyes closed. He doesn't want to see the world anymore. What's the point. The world is just full of torture, darkness, evil. It builds you up, just to watch you fall even harder. The world is wicked, cruel. It's full of horrid people. It's useless.
He doesn't want to go back there.
Finn Whitman wants to die.
He wants it all to end. He wants it all to stop. He wishes Maleficent would've thrown a second fireball, he wishes that Frollo had just stabbed him in the heart. He wishes that Yzma would've smashed his face with her sledgehammer instead of his legs or that Hades had burnt him to a crisp instead of boiling him. He just wishes he was free from this cruel world. He wants to be dead.
The only part of his being that connects him to the world is hearing, the one thing that he still latches onto. He sometimes hears Overtakers talking, discussing. They would mock him, knowing he could hear them. He could hear the three that stood outside of his cell door guarding it.
"Some leader," said Hades
"Weak," said Dr. Facilier
"Pathetic," said Frollo
These are just some of the insults. All vile, all wicked, all cruel. All making Finn hate the world even more, all making him want to shut it out completely, forever.
The pain becomes harder to ignore, causing the boy to let out a pained groan from his dry, cracked throat.
He doesn't care anymore.
He wants it to be over.
He wants to be done.
He wants to leave.
He wants to leave...
Permanently.
Suddenly, a new sound echoes through the room. The sound of a boy's voice, and another, and then a girls.
No, it couldn't be...
Finn peals open his crusted eyelids, the wall of the torture room revealing itself to him, the scorch mark still there. Eyes wide, he listens.
A loud clang fills the air, followed by a strong thud.
The keeper's breathing turns shaky and quick, his worn, weak heart racing. Pain fills his back as he tries to pull himself weakly off the table he's strapped to. The boy cries out and falls back down onto the frigid, blood stained metal surface, his bare chest burning with hot pain.
Raspy coughs escape the boy's lips, spitting some blood from his dry mouth.
The sound of footsteps clambers closer. Finn's heart almost stops when he hears a voice.
"Guys I think he's in here!"
The boy's eyes widen like saucers, tears welling in them. One slurred, shaky word escapes his lips.
"M-man-d-da."
Metal clatters against the floor, the door swings open with a loud creak.
No Overtakers walk in. No torture. No pain. No blood. No mockery. Nothing.
"Finn!"
Sobbing, Finn sobs, tears stream down is face. A girl's face appears next to his. Her chocolate brown hair cascading past her beautiful face, tears streaming down her own.
"M-m-an-d-da..." The boy croaks.
The girl nods, caressing her gentle hand through his hair. She leans in close, her soft lips touching his.
Warmth fills Finn's body, sparks flying. Slowly, the boy closes his eyes, focusing on the feeling of Amanda's lips against his. He never thought he'd feel her warmth again. The pain almost seems to vaporize. The tortures of the world oblivious to him.
The girl's lips slowly pull away, a small amount of blood staining them, but she doesn't seem to care.
"I missed you Finn." She says, staring into his green eyes.
"I missed you too." Finn slurs, a small amount of blood sliding down his chin. The girl gently sets her hand on Finn's.
"We're going to get you out of here okay?" Amanda says, looking straight in to his eyes, full of assurance.
The boy weakly nods, the warmth of the kiss still tingling on his chapped, bloody lips.
A boy with ginger hair appears in front of Finn.
"Ph-Ph-"
"Finn, it's okay, we need to get you off of this thing." Philby says. "It may hurt for a short amount of time, but it will be over soon. I promise."
Finn nods, he slowly closes his eyes, a weak smile forming on his face. They really came for him. They're here. It's over. No more torture, no more pain, no more blood, this is it. It's all going to be over in a matter of simple minutes. He'll be safe, he'll be away from this horrid place, he'll never have to come back here. This is it.
"Okay Whitman, you ready?" Maybeck asks from behind him.
The captive nods weakly. Amanda, seeing this, nods to Maybeck and Philby. She gently rubs her soft hand up and down Finn's arm.
"Shhhhh, it's okay. We're getting you out of here...it will be alright."
Finn takes a shaky breath between dry sobs.
"1,2-" Philby says, his hand clutching both of the straps on the boy's wrists. "3."
Both boys undo the belt-like straps, freeing Finn from the torture table, but also getting rid of his only support.
The keeper slides down the angled table, pained groans escaping from his lips.
"Woah!" Philby shouts, rushing and grabbing Finn under the arms, pulling him mostly to his feet. The injured boy cries out in agony and topples onto the floor the second his feet come in contact with the ground.
"Finn!" Amanda shouts, rushing over and kneeling beside him.
The ginger quickly holds up his hands. "I don't know what I did but-"
"No wonder he couldn't stand, both his legs look like they've been smashed with a sledgehammer or something! "Maybeck points out. The girl quickly shoots him a glare.
"One of us has to carry him then." Amanda states, eyeing both of the boys.
"I volunteer Philby!" Maybeck quickly says, smirking slightly.
"HEY!" Philby retorts.
"Philby. Please." The Fairlie sighs.
"Okay. I'll carry him." The ginger agrees, bending down next to Finn's curled body.
"Okay buddy, this might hurt a little bit but it will be over soon."
Philby carefully puts one arm under Finn's shoulders and another under his knees. The tortured boy groans in pain.
"Be careful Philby." Amanda says quickly.
"I know."
Carefully, the boy stands up, holding the boy in his arms bridal style. "Wow, he's lighter than I thought."
"Okay, let's get outta here." Maybeck states, peering towards the doorway. "I don't know how much longer Mulan and Hercules can hold off those guys..."
Finn holds on to Philby's shirt as tightly as he can through broken, bent fingers. His eyes closed, he zones out from the world, the sound of clashing swords clashing, shouts ringing through the air fading out behind him. All he can think is one thing. The came. They actually came for him. They were wrong. They were all wrong. The Overtakers, telling him his friends didn't care he was gone, telling him they weren't coming. Lies. Amanda has missed him, she had kissed him. The warmth still tingling Finn's lips. Here he is, clinging desperately in Philby's arms, heading towards freedom. Freedom. Freedom from the pain, from the torture, from the darkness that has surrounded him for the past 4 days, 13 hours and 21 minutes. This is it. This is the end to the darkness. Hope fills the tortured boy's soul, overflowing and spreading through his entire body, masking the pain.
He's finally free. He's going home. He's safe. He's safe.
The last sound Finn hears is the sound of a door slamming open and many people talking over him, but all he can think is one thing.
That was it. It's over.
This was Maleficent's favorite chapter that she wrote. I loved it too. Many people did. Finn was finally rescued.
But it was not over yet. Upcoming is the flashbacks and healing. Stay tuned my chicklets!
From your favorite Fanguy and Fangal
Jacob/Hades/Sonicphantom47 and Mary/Maleficent/Hendemar2000
(All credit goes to Hendemar2000)