Chapter 11: Masquerade

"Even Master Altin couldn't get him to talk," Yura wakes up to someone's muffled voice outside of the door. "He passed out from the pain when Master Altin used his...usual method."

"Fine," he can hear the patience in the master's voice brewing thin, "sell him."

Yura freezes. What does that mean? He shudders. He remembers the master's last few words to him 'I am going to make you beg me to press that button...and make you regret that you were ever born'. There are things worse than death, he knows that. Like pain, being cut over and over again, given time to heal, then cut again. Or worse...stripped of all of his dignity.

The same two lackeys that Otabek sent away returns into his prison cell. Yura glares at them, his body still weak from the residual effect of the violet incense the Master lit paralyzing him. One of the masked guards shackles his ankles together, chained onto the shackle is a large metal sphere. The guard's nervous fingers avoid touching the silver bands of metal around his ankle. The master can blow up his arms and legs any time he wishes by pressing a button. Yura spits on the guard.

Enraged, the masked figure jumps up and swings his fist towards Yura's face, just before the impact, the other guard steps forwards to deflect the punch. "Stop it! We can't fuck up his face."

Growling, the guard delivers a blow in the stomach instead. Yura sees that coming and braces him myself for the impact. He knows, his training will not betray him. He knows how to receive punches, he tenses his muscles seconds before the impact. Weakling...he grits his teeth.

The taller guard chains his hands together and tugs him roughly forwards to leave the tiny dark cell.

Yura loses sense of time, the tiny pill Beka put under his tongue had given him a few hours of peaceful dreamless sleep. He wonders if his friend found Yuri and Victor. He walks forwards dragging the large metal sphere between his feet. he does not know how long he has been walking for, down dark corridors deep inside the labyrinth within the organization at the back of the night club named the Eternal. The walls are ancient, like the sides of a castle. He knows he cannot return to Yuri's side like this. The collar around his neck, when activated can flatten a few miles surrounding it. He is determined not to give the master the satisfaction of watching him writhe with pain. He will never beg or bow to him, even if it kills him.

The atmosphere of the tunnel feels like a tomb, they descend several flights of stairs. Yura notices illuminating the dark corridors there are no longer lightbulbs, but candles. Neither him nor Yuri have been this far deep into the organization before.

One of the guards gives him a rough shove around the shoulder blades. His body still feels leaden and...wrong, after breathing into that dark violet incense lit by the master. He could never see the scent of lavender the same way again. He finds himself facing a pair of wooden door. Carved onto it is the image of the sun, the moon, and one million stars amidst the several rows of metal bolts. The door creaks open, Yura peers into pitch blackness inside.

Slowly a glass elevator ascends and there is a woman inside. She is wearing a red velvet Venetian mask covering her eyes, with a curtain of brown beads flowing from the bottom edge of the mask. She is wearing a simple yet elegant dark red dress perfectly fitting her form. Her light brown hair is pulled back into a high braid. She nods at the guards as the glass door of the elevator opens.

The guards shove Yura inside, the only sound is his chains rattling and the sound of the metal sphere dragging along the cold dark ground.

"Keys," the masked woman stretched out one hand.

One of the guards remove a key from the large ring buckled to his thick waist and gives it over reluctantly.

Yura feels his senses sharpen, what if I knock her out, and take the keys. He starts to play the possibilities in his head, which angle he would attack from, how to render her unconscious.

The round glass door of the elevator closes soundlessly before them, inside on the roof of the elevator is illuminated by a chandelier, with tiny crystals projecting light onto each side of its glass wall.

Yura awaits for his chance, clenching his teeth. He watches the few feet of darkness of the earth being illuminated by their sole source of light.

"Otabek has a message for you," the woman takes a drink from her water flask then hands it to Yura. She unfurls a piece of paper from her satchel. "If I wanted to kill you, I could have many times over by now," she adds. There is kindness in her voice. "My name is Yoko."

Yura takes a big gulp of the water, the sweet elixir of life. She must be close to him, he deduces, to call him by his first name. Yura recalls Beka being the adapted heir to a powerful family of patrons.

He gazes down at the piece of paper before him. He's never seen Beka's handwriting before. The letters are big, bold and messy...It suits him.

Yura -

Master Katsuki asked me to bring you to safety.

Your friend,

-B

P.S. Howl is a monster. Yuri agrees.

Large drops of tears begin to pour out of his eyes, he commands them to stop, but they don't listen. He suddenly realizes how much he misses his brother. He feels like that dirty disheveled kid again, running barefoot on the streets of Brazil the first time he met Yuri. Another part of him cannot help but think of his friend, though their reunion is brief. Beka, you found my brother...and he is now the leader of the organization. Warmth swells from his stomach up to his chest, he can hardly breathe. He turns around facing away from Yoko, she understands he doesn't want her watching this one moment of weakness. Yura's palms slam into the glass of the elevator, he slides down against its side. Beka, where were you all my life?

He is glad Yoko didn't try to comfort him, but simply leaves him be.

She then takes out a lighter and sets the note on fire.

The elevator is decelerating and lights are coming closer and closer.

Yoko hands him a soft white handkerchief.

The elevator doors suddenly open.

Yura gasps.

"Welcome to the city of the Eternal." Yoko watches Yura's expression change with a slight smile. "I have to leave you soon, but Otabek will come for you, in the right way, at the right time."

There is an entire city teeming with life underground.

Yura watches as people dressed as aristocrats walk down the cobblestone streets. Yoko's appearance is not strange at all given the context of this place at all. This scene could be straight from a historical movie...Yura is still stunned. Of course, while the rest of the world dies of a disease caused by the virus this is the place where the patrons of the organization hide and wait. Once the old world dies, they will rise again, with their perfect children created by Project Genesis and live in the new world.

The city in the hollowed out earth is illuminated by lights so bright, it can be easily mistaken as daylight outside. From the ceiling there are projected images of drifting clouds. The Main Street has a market, except for the items the merchants are selling are luxurious to say the least. Fabrics with elaborate embroideries, furs, oddities like the complete skeleton of a bird, down to every tiny bone.

Yura bites the inside of his cheeks. How could these people enjoy themselves this way while the world above is dying. Those sick fucks wants the world above to die. He shudders as he thinks about his brother and Phichit working for people like these. He realizes what the organization really is, a tool, a weapon...

Otabek throws Yakov's old scarf onto his large four-poster bed, he hurriedly removes his black coat and his white shirt revealing defined muscles. As much as he hates admitting it, he is nervous. That is the mild way of putting it. The painfully honest way of describing how he feels right now is more like scared shitless. Otabek, the perfect soldier from the organization with the nickname Spider and an unsolicited talent for breaking prisoners sheds his skin to become the heir of one of the most powerful families in the New World.

He opens the door of his closet that spans from floor to the ceiling, on its door are elaborately carved patterns including the bear on his family crest. He was adopted by a family of the patrons three years ago when he was sixteen. He is still not used to the way of this world, the unnecessary extravagance he finds...disturbing. His parents though are kind, but distant at the same time.

He sighs as he buttons his white shirt with frills at the front. Then he puts on a grey vest matching his pants. Finally he drapes the white suit with elaborate grey shoulder patches and dark blue fleur-de-lis along each side of his chest.

He opens the other side of the closet revealing an entire wall filled with masks. Some elaborate with feathers and jewels, others plain with a single row of diamonds below the slits for the eyes. He is still not used to this world, despite being a part of it for three years. He thought about running away and to hell with all of this time and time again. But his mentor Yakov convinced him to stay, because 'someday he'll find something he would want to protect, and there is nobody but he can do it'. He shakes off the pain of Yakov's recent death, it seems as if Yakov can predict the future...Yakov knows his position both within the organization and the New World is far too useful...

Several knocks later a shorter figure bursts through the door.

"Hey Minami," Otabek greets his visitor clad in red and gold matching the color of his hair a little flatly.

Minami can be annoying sometimes, but Otabek is truly grateful today he is coming along. Unlike himself, Minami belongs to the world of the patrons, he was created to be the perfect child: strong, handsome, and intelligent, before he was born his genes had been pre-selected by using the forbidden Project Genesis. But Minami belongs in the part of the patron world who do not believe in destroying the old world above and to create a new one. He is also Katsuki Yuri's biggest fan. He admired the deadly assassin since he first heard of him from Otabek, and how he saved the children, Otabek and included, from the human traffickers.

"You look sharp, Master Altin," Minami puts on his own mask with a beak on it with yellow and gold feathers.

"You look like a tropical bird," Otabek is slightly sarcastic. "Let's go." He puts on his white mask with dark blue etched around the eyes and several sapphire. He wipes his mildly sweaty palms onto the side of his grey pants matching his vest.

Anonymity is paramount in this world, especially in where they are heading.

Are you fucking kidding me, Yura furls his eyebrows. After Yoko leaves a severe looking woman picks him up from his chin and forces his mouth open to check for cavities. She has hooked nose and hawk like eyes, her brown hair pulled up in a shiny bun.

"This one has potential, I suppose, though right now he is abysmal..." her voice matches her severe appearance.

Potential for what, Yura grips his fists tight making his knuckles white and his chains rattle. He feels clean and dirty at the same time, she dunks his head into cold water and scrubs with long talon like nails until all bits of dried blood caking his scalp comes clean. He wonders what the master means when he says to sell him. To do what? To whom?

The thin woman with a narrow face and hair in a high bun shoves him behind a set of dark red curtains, with one large key, she frees one of his hands, then tosses a white costume at him, "put this on yourself, or we'll do it for you."

Possibilities of escaping runs through his mind again as he plays the image of himself strangling her with the chains on his other hand and watching her eyes roll back while her face turns blue. But the darn chains on his feet and the large metal sphere will not budge. He suppose changing himself beats the indignity of being stripped by the likes of...her.

After he finishes putting on the ridiculous white costume the woman returns and somehow her expression softens when she gazes at him. She removes the elastic band pulling his blonde hair back letting those locks fall past his chin, she claps her hands together, "now that's beautiful. Drop that perpetually angry expression," she commands.

Yura folds his arms across his chest and narrows his eyes ignoring her. This costume is fucking awful. He looks down at himself. It is white, translucent with elaborate pieces radiating a pearly color scattered throughout reflecting every color of light. From the shoulders and arms, the extra fabric extends and flutters like angel feathers. This is as far from his character as possible.

The hawk-like woman others call Ms. Lilia places a firm hand on his shoulder and opens a set of wooden doors. Right before she leaves she whispers in his ear, "good luck out there, Yurachka."

She's with us...he realizes, Beka, what exactly are you planning. He touches his neck where the silver collar is with a groove down the middle and a single fuchsia light flashing. Inside that collar is enough explosives to flatten this place, and the master holds the trigger. He has similar but smaller manacles on his wrists and ankles as well. Suddenly the floor rises from beneath his feet, and every hair is standing on his body.

The platform stops rising, he finds himself inside a glass tube before an entire crowd of people in masks, except instead of stupid Halloween costumes, the shiny jewels studded on many feathered masks are real blood diamonds. His eyes has a difficult time adjusting to the myriads of colors, textures, the masquerade outside seems surreal. All of them carrying white metal disks that can project glowing red holographic symbols into the air. He taps the glass, they replaced his rusty black chains with elegant thin silvery ones, matching his costume. The cheering crowd in all directions sitting in the arena with Yura's stage at the bottom does not match the sound he is able to hear inside the glass tube. He feels as if he is stuck in a vacuum. For the first time he glances around at the stage. There are two girls that appears terrified next to him.

They are beautiful, in different ways, one appears innocent and pure. Her auburn hair falling down past her waist, her wide almond shaped blue eyes sad. She is wearing a shimmering purple gown, like gossamer, showing just the right amount of skin. And the other girl, who appears to be in her early twenties has dark and mysterious eyes, lined tastefully with feathers at the end of her lashes. Her dark dress as alluring, hugging her perfect figure.

Yura feels as if an elephant is sitting on his chest, he realizes what exactly is happening. This is an auction. And he is the prize.

Otabek didn't know his friend could look like this. He is glad that his mask is hiding his burning face. He turns on the tiny silvery disc that can project red letters and symbols into the air. A line written in red appears before him in midair, "select your symbol". He scrolls through the English alphabet subsequently into the Greek, and of course, he stops at the letter Delta.

He needs to win.

Because he does not like what plan B involves. Though prepared, he shudders to think about it. He aches when he thinks of what Yura must be thinking right now. Yuri warned him, knowing his brother's character, the less he knows, the better. He wanted to tell Yura badly through Yoko and Ms. Lilia. But he trusts Yuri. It took both him and Victor to convince Yuri not to come on his own. Because Yuri is the natural leader their rebel faction was missing since Yakov's death, and Otabek is meant to be the leader's right hand man, who whispers in his ear and does his bidding.

Auctions like this happen every week. Where people's lives are the price. Because everyone wears masks, nobody knows exactly where these lives go. There is a brothel where many of the pretty girls and handsome young men are rumoured to end up. No one knows who runs the brothel. Some 'fortunate ones' end up as slaves in the household. Others less fortunate can be sent to battles where slaves fight to the death while the patrons watch. People being auctioned usually come from the world above, Otabek suspects the organization has a part in this. There is no doubt the master sent someone to bid for his friend. And that someone will lead Yura to an unimaginably dark place. Otabek shudders. What a sick and fucked up world, it still makes his skin crawl thinking that he belongs with them. That they possess the most advanced technology, and that they stand at the pinnacle of civilization, yet they revert back to slavery.

"Let's get started -" a masked woman in a red suit is running the auction today.

Otabek feels cold sweat soaking through his back. He loses the sense of time as the other two girls are being auctioned and the crowd cheering when the deal is finally sealed. He sees the girls' terrifying eyes as the platform lowers back into the darkness. He says a little prayer for them, hoping it's not the brothel they are going. I will ends this, he silently promises.

Finally it's Yura's turn.

"Starting at one hundred thousand," their currency is different from the world above. The masked woman in the red suit begins.

Then various symbols are projected into the dark air above them from the potential bidders. Otabek's small red Delta blending in amongst the sea of red.

"Two hundred thousand," no change in the dancing sea of red.

"Five hundred." No change.

"One million." No sign of change.

"Two."

Otabek glances at his friend inside his glass prison. He looks...beautiful. He is standing tall, without any fear in those brilliant green eyes, but they are filled with dignity and defiance...

"Twenty million." Less and less red symbols remain in the air. That is a hefty price, even for a noble like Otabek, he can hardly breathe.

"Thirty."

Otabek has never seen prices this high before. The crowd is going crazy with cheers.

"Fifty."

Otabek feels a little lightheaded.

There are only about five red letters remaining.

"Seventy. Looks like we have a new record."

Otabek is thinking from here on he would need to start selling the robots that he designs as a hobby. Damn, Yura, you are expensive...his own red letter begin to flicker as a row of red letters begin to orbit around the disappearing Delta symbol stating 'insufficient funds'. He grips onto the disk tightly.

Two more glowing red letters remain.

From the other side the red Epsilon is not diminishing or going anywhere.

Minami senses his tension and taps him on the shoulder.

Otabek's heart almost leaps out of his chest as the fourteen year old next to him pulls out another silver disk. "Ms. Lilia insists that I take this." Otabek wants to kiss him. Minami hands him another silver disk. Gingerly, Otabek scrolls through the English alphabet into the Greek, stopping at the 4th letter. With two silver disks stacked together, the letter Delta glows stronger than ever, until they are the only letter left.

Otabek lets out a sign of relief at last.

They won.

The platform lowers him back into the darkness. The first person he greets is Ms. Lilia.

She wraps a long black coat around him and pulls him suddenly for a hug. "Thank goodness." Swiftly she unlocks all of the chains around his ankles and wrists.

Yura's heart races, he cannot help but grow more attached to the woman who initially appears hawk-like but now there is new softness in her features. Is it really over?

Ms. Lilia puts the hood of the long black coat over his head, "this way." She pulls his wrist gently towards the darkness at the back of the stage.

A wooden door creaks open, Yura suddenly starts to grin from ear to ear as Beka waits for him on his motorbike outside, on the cobblestone street in the mysterious and cruel underground city of the patrons.

Otabek hands Ms. Lilia a bundle containing his mask and ridiculous clothes, "burn these."

She nods.

"And thank you," he cannot express in words his gratitude for the older woman. The official story was she and Yakov were divorced, but they remained close, even up to days leading to his death. Beka suspects they love each other still.

He hands Yura a helmet, "let's go." His usual stoic expression breaks into a small smile in the dim simulated night. In this city, unless examining the sky closely, it is difficult to tell that this truly is underground. The lights on top simulates the night and day perfectly down to the projected stars and the moon.

Otabek's heart races a little as he feels Yura's face pressing against his back, and his hand gripping tightly along his waist. He steps onto the gas pedal and lets the familiar wind rush through his face and his body. He imagines Yura's beautiful golden locks flying in the wind behind him.

Beka's bathtub is ridiculously huge. Yura suddenly feels the fatigue of the past twenty four hours catching up to him. His entire body aches. Beka closes the door behind him leaving a pile of clothes.

Yura peels off his white costume, Ms. Lilia thought it was beautiful, he rolls his eyes. That costume is as unlike him as it can get. He steps into the bathtub the size of a swimming pool made from smooth cobblestone like the ones paving the streets. He lets the warm water envelope him. He dunks his head under, blowing a few bubbles from his lips and letting his golden locks float freely while the water around his ears make gurgling sounds. This is the most free he feels for a long time. He is naked except for the silver collar around his neck, wrists and ankles, which the master can trigger at any moment. The explosion has enough power to flatten several city blocks. But he is safe here, the master instructed for him to be sold to a place where he will 'regret that he will be ever born'. But he is just a little freer, thanks to his friend. 'You were expensive', according to Beka. 'No shit', Yura responded.

He floats to the edge and reaches for a simple blue bar of soap. He inhales its scent deeply, it smells like mint. That's what he smells like...

Yura feels his eyes stinging all of a sudden, because the scent of mint reminds him of the scent of the tea Yuri and him used to make at the cabin. There is a small patch of mint that grows every summer. Stop it. He commands himself.

He finished his bath and buttons Beka's white shirt that is a little too large for him and pull on the pair of shorts that goes past his knees.

Even his room is massive. He finds Beka sitting at his desk, with a box open filled with tiny tools, including some he has never seen before. He is fiddling with the wings of a mechanical bird.

"You built that?" Yura takes a few steps closer.

"Yea, it's a hobby," Beka imagines again what he would do if he is perfectly ordinary, if the organization and this mad world does not exist. He would be an engineer. "It's programming still has a few glitches." He scratches his head and sets the owl on its legs. It stands a feet tall, its mechanical wings glistening. He presses a button behind its neck.

Yura's jaw drops, the bird begins to take flight, making circles around the room with the high ceilings, around Beka's large four poster bed, and finally back to the spot where Beka left it. Amazing...

"You must be tired, we'll remove the collars tomorrow," Beka sees the dark bags under his friend's eyes. "It'll take some time, but you are safe here, the master would not set off the trigger now because he would be responsible for killing a dozen patrons."

Yura takes a few steps forwards suddenly and wraps his arms around him, pressing his head against his firm chest, "thank you, I mean it."

Otabek hopes Yura does not hear how fast his heart is beating. Gingerly he wraps his hand around his head, his blonde locks are still wet. He loves the color of his hair, so brilliant like the color of the morning star, like a beacon of hope that gave him a reason to live when they were kidnapped as children and trapped in a shipping container. I would do anything for you. He is a man of a few words and says nothing. "Let's go to sleep."

Yura curls up into bed next to him his back pressing against his. "Beka, you remember we used to sleep like this?"

"Yea," Otabek leans into his friend's warmth. When they were trafficked, before Yuri saved them. They used to sleep next to each other on the cold floor of the shipping container with their backs pressed against each other. They didn't speak the same language back then. The other children became more and more withdrawn as if giving up, but they kept on fighting until Yuri set them free. They were each other's reason to live.

Yura turns around and presses his forehead and nose against his back, and with one hand he pulls the fabric along his waist. "Where were you all this time?"

Otabek feels heat rising in his face and a twisting sensation he could not describe rising in his stomach. "I'm sorry." He was living a double life with one foot in the darkness and one foot standing in the light. He is a part of Yakov's faction within the organization that is awaiting for it to burn, at same time he is the heir, adopted into the family of patrons, the very world they are trying to destroy. I'll make it up to you Yura, with the rest of my life, if you'd let me. He turns around and runs his fingers through those beautiful golden locks. He presses Yura's head against his chest, his nose inches from his friend's forehead.

"You are not leaving again," Yura grips tightly onto the front of his shirt.

Beka nods. I would do anything for you. He cannot pin down his feelings for Yura, but he knows, there is something deeper than friendship alone. Even if we remain friends for the rest of our lives, that's...good enough for me.

Thank you for the kudos, the kind comments, and support!

We are coming close to the end, though I am sad to part with this story, I am also excited for my next story (Demon Song). I was writing it at night on a balcony in Hawaii while on vacation, there's no light pollution where I am staying at, only the ocean and the stars..and it was beautiful.

Let me know your thoughts!

xoxo

Antares

P.S. Brace yourself for the next chapter.

P.P.S. This story has a happy ending.

Reviews:

SomeRandomPerson: Thank you, that really means a lot :) it does take some time to back into writing again, looking back at the earlier chapters, I do feel like the later ones are getting more clear. Something major will happen in the next chapter (it might be shocking), but do believe me when I say I only do happy endings. Thank you again, readers like yourself gives me a reason to keep on going.