The Crypt

by CuteChibiChocoCloud

Disclaimer: I own Sephiroth, Cloud and a Cloud Clone: in the form of action figures. The real Sephiroth and co. are being held hostage in the evil claws of Square-Enix. Let us band together and save them!…but I get first dibs on Seph, then we'll figure out a rota for taking turns. (Who can honestly look at this and think I own FF? – thought not)

Chapter 20

As she woke up she realised three things: one, she was in the room that she found Vincent in; two, her hands and feet had been bound to the table; and three, she had been stripped to bare basics, her underwear. None of these things were comforting, not at all.

It could only mean one thing, that she'd been caught. Which in turn, meant that she was in the deepest amount of shit imaginable. She'd killed their Mother, and now she was going to pay the price for it. She went into things knowing what sort of outcome waited for her afterward, but it made it no less terrifying for her.

Once she'd gathered her bearings she heard it - breathing, deliberately heavy. There was only one person who'd be down here. Her skin turned to goosebumps, her stomach knotted nauseatingly.

"You're awake," She remembered the last time he had said it, when she'd woken from her coma-like state. Footsteps could be heard moving toward her, until he hovered above her, face inching closer to her face until he whispered, "At last."

She didn't know whether he'd quoted himself deliberately, so that she knew that what was coming up for her was nasty. Regardless, this was even more creepy than the first time he'd said those words to her. He was even smiling the same way he had back then - with ill intentions.

Anya didn't speak, afraid that doing so would make things worse for her. If it had been an accident, or she had been forced to through the boxed head in the fire, she would have apologised right about now. But she wasn't sorry, and she was too pig-headed to say sorry because it would be a lie. In fact, she was slightly proud that she'd managed to pull it off.

Long fingers curled in her hair, his face still a few inches from hers. Nothing showed on his face as he suddenly pulled on her hair. She could feel hairs plucking out of her scalp as she screamed. The force he was using was too much, it hurt more than it should have. Of course, more hurt was probably what he was aiming for.

"Did you really think you'd get away with it," He whispered over the screams, his voice carried through the room and over her own wailing, "You murdered my Mother!" Sephiroth tugged her hair, "Even if you had escaped before I got back, I would have chased you down, no matter where you ran to."

Letting go of her hair she moaned at the pain. She heard the metallic scrape of wheels on the floor, stopping beside her. Then Sephiroth mounted her, running his fine nails down from her neck to her stomach.

"You are going to pay for this, I will make you beg for forgiveness," On reaching her stomach he dug his fingers in, making her cry out, "I haven't punished anyone this way for hundreds of years now - it's been too long."

His hand left her stomach, leaving a dark bruise behind. He reached to that wheeled-table, picking up an item and held it so that she could see it. It was a large, metal stake. Her breathing picked up as she realised what he was planning to do with it.

"Where would you like this one to go?" Eyes watering she remained still beneath him, too afraid to struggle, "I was thinking here would do," He stroked her wrist with the sharp end of the stake as he said 'here'.

Grabbing her hand and holding it firmly down, he rammed it through her wrist until it met with the table and impaled it too. The scream she made was horrific. She'd never felt such a pain in her life. Now she'd started wiggling, but that only made the pain worse. But she couldn't help it, her body was panicking and telling her to run. There was no way she could stop moving.

Another sharp point scraped along her belly, upward until it reached the other wrist. This time there was no words of warning. He just held her down and shoved it in. She was now stuck in place, her body shaking with both shock and fear. Sobs clung to the walls, as she lay there helpless. Sephiroth grabbed another stake, playing with it in his hands like it were a toy he wasn't sure what to do with.

"I'm surprised you've not said sorry yet," He stopped playing with the stake, and looked at her dead on, "Or begged me to stop yet."

The smile on his face disturbed her deeply. It meant that things were probably going to get worse. And he wasn't holding that stake for show, he was most certainly going to do something with it.

Leaning back and turning his upper body slightly to the left, he peered down her legs. His eyes travelled back to her desperate face, taking pleasure from each and every reaction she gave. A hand stroked along her thigh slowly, softly as he watched her. It worked in unnerving her even further, if that were at all possible. The gesture made her sick to the stomach, her heart was struggling with it's frantic pace.

"Shall I make you beg now?" Anya made no reply, so he shrugged his shoulders and took his focus back to the left leg. He used the hand he'd been stroking her with for leverage, as he sent the stake into her leg, just above the ankle joint.

Things snapped, both physically and mentally. The only noise she made was screams. That was all she was capable of doing. There was no way to cope with any of this.

Quickly grabbing yet another stake, he turned to the right this time. Repeating what he had done with the left. Even though her cries were terribly loud, it failed to give him a headache. In fact he loved the sound, it stirred his insides until they tingled. It was a most pleasant sensation.

To her surprise and dismay, he reached over for another stake. She did not want to know where he was going to put it. But she was sure to find out soon regardless.

"It seems I have one more. Hmm, where to put it…"

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It felt like something was missing inside him. Yes, he had lost the link he'd had with Mother. He had felt what remained of her die, and it had been painful. However that was not it. The thing that was missing, was something else.

Sephiroth had reaffirmed that indeed Mother had been killed. It was the culprit of the deed that had shaken him the most. Anya: why had she done this? She too he was told, was responsible for Vincent Valentine's escape. Had the dark man persuaded her to do this? Did he taint her mind with his lies?

He bunched his fists, his anger shook him as he looked out the window. His eyes were focused on the door to Sephiroth's underground torture chamber. He'd been out there for over a day now, taking no rest from his 'work'. As much as he was furious at what she had done, he didn't wish such horrors on her. The thought of Sephiroth touching her, harming her in any way made him mad.

"You've been standing here for hours Kadaj," he removed his gaze and glanced back at his brother, "At least drink this."

He accepted the hot mug with a nod. Without looking he took a sip at the contents - hot chocolate.

"Thanks Loz, it's perfect."

As he raised it up for another taste Loz placed a tentative hand on his shoulder, "Look, I can only imagine how you're feeling right now, and I'm crap at saying anything useful or comforting, but-" he paused, heaving a lofty sigh, "You need to stop staring out there."

"He's right brother," Yazoo's voice entered the room, "You won't achieve anything by doing that."

"And we can't disobey Sephiroth, he'll hurt us, or worse…" Loz added.

"I know," Kadaj hissed through gritted teeth, "And what's with this 'we'? Anya killed Mother?"

"It still doesn't make things right," Yazoo walked over and leaned on the window pane, deliberately going into Kadaj's field of vision, "I've been down there many a time. No matter what, no one deserves such…brutality."

"Yeah. I know that you had the strongest link with Mother, so you'll be feeling it more than us," Loz mirrored Yazoo, leaning on the opposite side of the window, "But even so, I agree with Yazoo. Anya is family, and I just can't make myself hate her for what she's done."

"But she killed our Mother!" Kadaj said venomously.

"Yes she did. But Kadaj, who are you trying to kid? You're angry at her, but you care about her enough that it overrides that anger." The long haired brother spoke softly.

"Says who?" he argued.

"Would you be standing here staring out this window for so long, if you didn't care?" With that Yazoo pushed himself gracefully away from the window, and began walking away. Loz decided it was best to leave too, following behind his brother.

"Kadaj," he didn't look back at them, focusing on his hold on the warm cup in his palms, "I'm sure I speak for the both of us when I say, whatever you decide to do, we'll be there for you, brother."

As he heard his brothers leave his body began to shake. His mind was so confused, in so much turmoil that it hurt inside. He had been betrayed, and it stung deeply. However, as strange as it seemed to him, he couldn't find it in himself to care. The only pain that mattered right now, was the one deeper within his heart. He couldn't stand idly by, he needed to do something, and soon.

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She had stopped screaming a few hours ago. Her throat was raw and weak from her cries. Sephiroth was a haze of grey, white and black above her. A lot of blood had been lost, and she was beginning to feel the effects of it.

Sephiroth had impaled her five places in total: both wrists, both ankles, and finally her stomach. He'd threatened to shove it in a far worse place, so she was glad for such a small mercy. However, his only reason for not doing so was not comforting. He had also threatened to cover her in acid, so it would continually eat away at her flesh until it had dissipated. Instead of making her unsightly in such a way since he wanted something good to look at, (as well as it could have gotten on his precious skin, which he didn't want) he decided to cut away at her with several of his little 'props'.

With a twist of the stake in her centre, she coughed up more blood. It splattered messily onto her chin and cheeks. Sephiroth leaned forward, his tongue coming out to lap languidly at her blood. It was sick and twisted, and there was nothing she could do about it.

During her haze she had an epiphany. She remembered what Yazoo had taught her all those months ago. When he had taught her about controlling her third eye, and other talents that could be used through it. He had mentioned the dark place that she'd went to during her meditation:

"Now imagine yourself in a black room; devoid of objects and light, only you…This is your place, your haven when you need to be alone, where no one can find you."

It would be tough, but she was willing to give it a try. Her soul room was the one place that Sephiroth couldn't get into once she was in there. There would be no more pain. He could do what he pleased with her body, for she wouldn't feel a thing.

She began taking steady breaths. Her lower ribs rubbed against the stake in her stomach, a sharp pain coursing through her lungs. Regardless of the discomfort she continued, and eventually closed her eyes. It took a while, but she started to feel herself slipping into her meditative state. The slap she received felt more like a playful tap to her face, as she let herself go.

And then, there was nothing.

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AN: Funny how something can go from men with women's dresses in a closet to someone getting impaled with several stakes. Just lovely (note that I say this sarcastically). Anya is indeed in deep doo. Can Kadaj forgive her enough to come to her rescue? Only time will tell...