20
You know what happens in Hell? This.
~~~OO~~~
Hades opened the door to his cell.
Voltaire Hiwatari sat chained in one corner clutching his left arm and moaning in pain. It bent at a weird angle and there were fresh burns on his face. His finger tips were bleeding and as Hades came closer, he noticed fingernails lying near his feat.
Of course, he mused. That was her favourite torture method how he could have forgotten that. She lay in his bed snuggled inside the duvet, eyes wide open staring at the ceiling.
Her lying in his bed was his favourite scene. And besides, it had saved him the trouble of going all the way up to that murky little shed which marked Kryptos's location above the ground. One of these days, he was going to pin her on that same bed and fuck her until she passed out.
If Hades had been smirking, his smirk grew wider at that thought. And the way a pillow flew at him and hit him square on the face, she must've guessed what he was thinking despite that headband which prevented her from using her powers.
Boris had ordered her to wear it at all times now, except when ordered to remove it because she had been given way too much free reign according to him. Hades agreed with that. It wasn't exactly right but then, she was free again and with him and that's what mattered.
"You are not going to catch any sleep like that." He pointed out as he proceeded to change in something more comfortable to wear to sleep.
She didn't reply. He finished changing then arranged a thick mattress on the floor – 'cuz the glorious day was still far away – near the bed for him to sleep on. He brought out another duvet from his cupboard and lay down blanketing it over him. It was like a wordless agreement between them, but an agreement nonetheless which satisfied both sides.
Hades had just lied down when she got up from the bed with a grunt of annoyance. "Why did he stop screaming?"
"Because he's an idiot," Hades replied.
She pulled a handgun from under the pillow and shot a bullet at Voltaire that hit him in his feet, just grazing the skin by a couple of centimetres.
Voltaire yelped in pain as blood oozed out from his feet. She put the gun back and lay down again, satisfied with listening to the howls of pain again. He knew it pacified her, calmed her down like music would to normal people even though it was practically sadism at its peak.
But who was he to say? Just because he had been out a lot of times on missions and assignments and knew and preferred the outside world, doesn't mean that he wasn't one of them. That he doesn't try to find peace in screams of his victims, that he doesn't enjoy the sight of a gore murder.
The only thing was that he knew was that it wasn't right and somewhere deep down he had grown wanting to change these ways. But for her, it was nothing like that. That line between right and wrong didn't even exist. She was badly in need of a psychologist. Or a psychiatrist. Hell, he always forgot the difference between the two.
"How did you know by the way?" He asked, propping himself up on an elbow to have a better look at her.
She turned to him and cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
"That I keep a gun under that pillow. I didn't tell you and you're yet to invade my brain so how did you know?"
She twirled the gun absently as she scrunched her eyebrows in thought. "I… I don't know. I just knew it was there. I don't know how."
He scoffed. "So Boris lets you remember that there's always a fully loaded gun under my pillow but he doesn't let you remember who I am. Perfect. Just bloody perfect. If only I could have him chained here too, my life would be awesome."
A playful smile tugged at her lips. "Would you like to repeat that again?"
"I'd rather marry my shoes."
She laughed at that. Hades liked how she only laughed only when she was with him. "Cleric Gustov told me you went to the shed again."
She sighed, like someone who was just waiting to be caught in their crime.
There was this dilapidated old shed in the centre of Russian Tundra which served as the only entrance to Kryptos from the outside world. There were three other ways too, but none of them were as much in plain sight as this shed was. They used it for bringing down supplies of food and drinks mostly, but nowadays with the world thrown in chaos, it had fallen into disuse.
"Persephone, we talked about this." He reprimanded. "Stop making trips to that shed before Boris finds out. You know he won't like it that you keep going out again and again."
"Out? Hardly," she scoffed and Hades knew she was right.
Electric barriers surrounded the shed to prevent unwanted and unauthorized entry and exit of people and animals, but through the small openings in the roof, several bats came in and because of the dark appearance, it somehow pleased them to be there.
And it pleased the occupants of Kryptos too.
After all, one cannot always take a human life to satisfy the thirst of blood. Bat lives were far easier and far cheaper.
"You can't kill those mammals every time just because you feel like killing. You can't keep that habit forever."
"You're the one saying that?" She countered. She was up now, propped on her elbow to face him.
"Yes, because I still have less murders in my ledger than you. Way less to be honest. You human murder count is almost twice of mine."
"But I don't remember any of them so-"
"Spare me! You remember more than you let on."
He immediately wanted to take back those words - because somewhere they hurt him more than they could've hurt her. A sad smile gradually overcame her features as she stared at him with a faraway gaze in her eyes.
"I just pretend I know everything, Hades, because that is far easier than accepting that I don't even know my name." She said softly, and the fact he was able to hear her made him realize that Voltaire had stopped moaning in pain. "And I know you know it but you still won't say."
"Why?" he asked, plopping down on his back, "Is 'Persephone' not good enough for you?"
And like always, she didn't reply. Like always, he turned his back to her without waiting for her reply.
But the reply came. And then the murders started.
~~~OO~~~
Hilary lay down on the cold stone floor of her cell curled up like a ball, her hands tightly clenched across her stomach. She hadn't eaten anything for what she assumed was nearly 4 days, simply because she wasn't given anything to.
If she had known that that meal after was her last, she'd have eaten more. Honestly.
Normally it wouldn't have been a big deal because being in Kryptos for so long she had learned to remain hungry. She was often not given food by the workers and guards because she refused to satisfy their wants of five-minute sex. But this time, it had exceeded.
Hilary thought she should obey them and even though that little voice at the back of her head told her it wasn't exactly right, she refused to listen to it over the sound of her stomach rumbling.
She would sometimes laugh at this. How Kryptos had made her so desperate.
The lights overhead had long since turned brighter so she knew it was day time. But what good that knowledge would do to her, she never knew.
She tried to distract herself from the painful hunger by focusing on the sounds and voices of another Training Session going on down in the Arena. There were gunshots. Lots of them. Maybe it was target practice. She'd seen them do that once, though she couldn't tell when or how. It was just a passing glimpse of lots of virtual non-static targets in the Arena, who burned skin on contact and the men of Kryptos trying to shoot them down.
It was good that her wall was fixed now – opaque as before. Given the things she had seen, she really didn't want to see that place ever again. And she didn't think herself of being capable to look at Hades without trying to strangle him.
Just then, as if answering her thoughts, the wall started turning transparent. Anger rushed in her veins but she was so tired and weary that she didn't find it in herself to protest. Besides, there was practically nothing she could do against that. She didn't want to move, didn't want to get up.
The gunshots had stopped and silence engulfed them like a blanket. She was aware of Kenny asking her if she was okay when Tyson's hands came to hold her and made her sit up.
"It's alright. I'm here," he said. He was staring down in the Arena and Hilary followed his gaze.
She was dragging a man in rags to the centre. The guards and agents who had been training, were inching away slowly to give her a clear way. There was something unusual about her which seemed to terrify the men around – even Hades stood silent, too stunned to speak. And as she came nearer, Hilary noticed that too.
Her whole appearance was refined by a blue aura around her. Sparks cackled in the air and blue curls of energy danced around her palm like flames of fire.
She was barely holding her anger and she was really angry. So angry that Hilary was sure that that man would never make it alive out of her hands.
"Is...Is that...?" Max turned to them with wide eyes and Tyson looked uncertainly at her. She nodded and Tyson went to have a closer look. She closed her eyes to control the nausea building when there was a loud cry.
Tyson had thrown himself on the glass wall punching it hard.
"Tyson!" She tried to get up and rush to him but Ray got there first and Kai held her back holding her by her wrist.
"Don't." He hissed and she wanted to punch him. She jerked her hand free but what she saw down in the Arena, made her blood run cold. Hilary's heart probably missed a beat as she stood there, staring at the scene slowly unfolding in front of her.
"...H-Hiro? HIRO!" And if Kai hadn't caught her, she was sure she'd have fallen down.
Hiro was damaged beyond recognition. Kryptos had hollowed his face, making it gaunt and skull-like. He was bleeding from the head; one of his legs bent a weird angle and a huge burn scar on his back gaped from his torn shirt. He was trying to struggle but even he knew it wasn't any good as he tried to scan faces on the windows and when he caught Hilary's eyes, she was pretty sure he smirked, even if it came out as a grimace.
He wasn't going to make out of this alive. She knew it. She knew it by one look of her face.
~~~OO~~~
Hiro kept throwing obscenities at her as she dragged him to the Training Arena. If he was going to die after all, then why not have some fun.
When they entered the Training Arena, all the trainee guards automatically parted to give her way – which must've had something to do with how her whole form had started to illuminate by a blue aura. Her grip on his collar tightened and she threw him in the centre and he called her a bitch again, loud enough for everyone to hear.
There were audible gasps from around and that was when he got a look of her face as he sat up coughing blood. She was seething with anger, blue sparks cackling around her like electricity. Wisps of blue energy slithered down her hand and she raised it to aim a blast at him, when suddenly Hades stepped in between them.
Hiro took that moment to release a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He tried to get a grip on himself to control his shaking limbs. After everything, he couldn't believe he was still terrified of her.
"Persephone, look, we can talk this out." Hades took a step towards her, his voice soft as if trying to console an angry child. Perhaps it had to do with their age difference, Hiro found himself thinking, because after all Hades was somewhere in his thirties while his 'Persephone' was just 19.
Hiro had always hated how he called her 'Persephone'. She had a name but still he called her so and by doing that, in a secret way, he conveyed to everyone how she was his alone. He was Hades – the king of this Underworld and she was Persephone – the queen of this realm. Guess who the fan of Greek Mythology is.
"Move," she said, more like a threat than an order with her eyes still fixed on him.
Hiro was trying hard not to flinch. Staring in those silver eyes which were now a bottomless pit of black, so empty and so dead, it was like falling in a deep void of nothingness. He turned his eyes away, no longer able to bear looking into hers only to land his gaze on his brother who stood frozen out of his wits behind the glass of his cell.
Tyson. He tried to move towards him but a sharp pain shot in his legs and ribs. He had almost forgotten that probably half his bones were broken. When he saw Hilary yell his name, he tried to smile but it only came out as a wince.
"He has BH-53 in his veins for God's sake LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Hades yelled.
"Enough Hades," she said, as she walked away to where Hiro lay but Hades grabbed her wrists.
"Why are you doing this? You know Hiro Granger is not to be killed. Don't defy Boris's orders you know what the consequences will be. That's an order, Perseph-"
"I said ENOUGH!"
Her eyes flashed blue and Hades dropped her wrists as if they were something poisonous. For a moment his eyes were wide, like he was afraid but he quickly masked it by throwing a look of disdain at Hiro and turning to walk away.
Perhaps someone had put the double-way speakers on too because the moment he moved aside, screams and shouts of the Tyson and Hilary and everyone pierced Hiro's ears. He had met Tyson just three days back but still, Hiro felt as if it had been forever.
Then Tyson yelled something that he definitely shouldn't have and a well aimed blast hit the glass straight where his face was.
"TYS – AH!" Hiro screamed as a pain cut through him. Two knives had flown and thrust themselves in his hands, pinning him to the ground.
The blast left a gaping hole in the wall. Ray and Tala had pulled Tyson away in time so he wasn't hurt but if the glass had been that thick, consequences could have been different.
Hades was giving away orders, "Vacate the Training Arena! And for God's sake someone cut off the speakers I can't hear over those brats shouting!" He tapped his earpiece. "Control Room – Turn off the cameras. Alter the details and tell Boris it's a technical fault. Every recording of this should be wiped off or I'll wipe off you."
The voice of Tyson Granger and his friends were muted just as his Persephone slashed a deep cut in Hiro's abdomen. His deafening scream rang in Hades's ears and he stopped in his tracks as suddenly he remembered something.
"Bozhe Moi."
The silent curse by Hades fell in her ears and it was a second too soon that she realised what was happening. BH-53. Hiro's body was going to explode.
She didn't even have time to think when there was a blast and she screamed as it took all her energy to contain the explosion around Hiro in one energy sphere. Her hands ached and it pained from the sheer effort it took to hang the explosion in a state of limbo; she had never manipulated reality and time like this.
It was perhaps that haze of pain that made her feel that Hiro had just smiled at her – that magnetic majestic smile which reminded her it was too late to back down now. She moved the blast higher and higher when her powers gave up and with one last effort she channelized her strength to form a cover on the glass walls of Prison cells.
Hiro's body exploded and everything shook like an earthquake. Small rocks and debris fell upon them and everything was covered in a haze of smoke.
She fell down. Alarms and sirens rose. There were shouts and screams and sounds of chaos around but it seemed like her brain was shutting down. She heard Hiro's name – it was like a distant echo getting away by each second.
She smiled – BH-53 blasts off people in tiny microscopic particles. Strange how nothing was left of that man but still he was everywhere – in the air, on the ground, on her clothes. Is this what they call irony? Perhaps.
With that last thought, she drifted off in a world of darkness dimly aware of Hades shouting 'Persephone'.
~~~OO~~~
Bozhe Moi : (Russian) Oh my God.
A/N: I'm sorry for the super late update but the next one's coming on Saturday because well, Diwali's round the corner the next 5 days are going to super busy (and exciting!). Do tell me what you all think about this chapter and thanks to everyone reading this story. You guys are the reason for my strength :)
So with a wish of a very happy and safe and amazing Diwali to all my friends here (who celebrate and who don't celebrate alike ;P), till the next time,
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