AN - Thank you to those of you still following me on this madness, and to those of you that just started. I appreciate the reviews!
It's about to get raw =/
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
"Scream for me, Lin," Carlos hissed, dragging a knife across her ribs, slowly, counting them as purple blood oozed from her side. "One… two… three…"
"Kill me, or are you too much of a pussy?" Lin spat. She was chained to a table in a dark, mouldering brick chamber. Candlelight flickered from the walls, casting Carlos in a ghoulish way as he leered down at her.
He ground the blade into her side, frowning, twisting and shoving it into his former sister's body.
Now Lin screamed, gritting her teeth and clenching her eyes shut.
"That's a good girl," Carlos told her, pulling the knife away and brushing her hair out of her face on his way to the altar for another implement to hurt her. "Pain is the way to salvation. Mother will be happy with me; bad girls need to be punished."
"They do," Mother agreed, walking into the chamber. "That buffoon Killbane is dead, his Fallen scattered. I suppose I owe the leader of the Saints a bit of thanks for that, it saves us time disposing of him."
"She's gonna kill you," Lin growled darkly. "Or I am when I get free."
"Lin's very powerful, Mother," Carlos told the older woman, who was nearing the table. "Be careful."
Mother seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Come, leave her. I want to know what happened to you when you were gone, mon fils. Tell your Mother everything."
Carlos nodded, setting down the serrated grapefruit spoon he'd picked up, and left the room with Mother.
As soon as they were gone, Lin pulled at her bonds, but they wouldn't give. Closing her eyes, she drew on her power, feeling her strength double, triple, chains cutting into her wrists as she pulled, but it wasn't enough. Sighing, she fell back on the table, staring at the ceiling. Now she was hungry, too.
"I know you're out there, Boss," she said quietly, eyes flashing. "Don't keep me waitin' too long."
"Never keep a lady waitin'," Johnny agreed as he and Aisha walked in. He picked up the knife, blade covered in drying purple blood. "Mother wanted Eesh and I to keep you company while Carlos tells her all about his little trip."
#
Donnie felt a little uneasy as Ljubica led him through Purgatory, very conscious of the green flags he still wore in the middle of the headquarters of the 3rd Street Saints. Men and women in purple glared at him, gesturing rudely at their passing.
"He's being with me," Ljubica growled, pushing past two heavyset men and heading down the hall to her personal armory. The Saints hadn't cleared the zombies out of the basement yet. She led him into her bedroom.
"Wait here," she ordered, moving into the closet. She opened a panel on the back wall and punched in her access code, '5582422.' The wall slid open to reveal racks of weapons. She grabbed two K-8 Krukovs off a rack and two of the large box magazines they accepted, then headed back to Donnie.
"I have a plan," he said when she appeared. "But you gotta trust me. It doesn't involve assault weapons."
"Unfortunate," she shot back. "Because I am not trusting you."
"Look, the Fallen and Circle are kind of allies," Donnie explained. "If I show up with you as my captive, they'll let me in."
"Like hell I am letting you be tying me up, mudak," she retorted, frowning.
"Trust me, storming the place is a bad idea!"
"Nyet! Is shit plan, Donnie!"
"Do you wanna see your people again?"
Ljubica glared at him for several moments. "Mother dies. No trading, no deals. The suka is dying."
"That's on you," Donnie told her. "I only care about getting Lin out."
Ljubica nodded, narrowing her eyes. "Let's be getting dangerous."
#
Ljubica hated the idea even more now that she was standing in Mourning Woods with no weapons, hands bound behind her back. If Donnie messed this up, she was dead. He had her Nocturne strapped to his back and held a Viper rifle to her back. A S3X Hammer was slung at his side.
A chill, bitter wind tore at her hair, and she wished her hands were free just so she could pull up the hood of her sweatshirt.
"Get moving bitch," he hissed, then lowly, added "Sorry, it has to look real…"
One of the Circle's assassins moved from out behind a tree, confronting them. "Fallen are gone," it said, voice ethereal, yet raspy.
"I'm still here," Donnie retorted, shoving Ljubica forward roughly and making her stumble. "With a delivery for Mother."
"She has no need of further sacrifices," the creature whispered. "Leave."
"This sacrifice is the leader of the Saints," Donnie said arrogantly. "Mother's gonna wanna see this one."
Ljubica didn't like being called a sacrifice. She cast a baleful glare over her shoulder at Donnie.
"I will take her down to Mother."
Donnie shook his head, improvising. "If the Fallen are gone, I wanna talk to Mother about joining her crew. This bitch won't have one much longer."
The assassin seemed to cock it's head for a moment, then nodded. "Come with me."
#
Ljubica looked around as they splashed through cold, fetid water. The tunnel they were in was long, lined with cracked stonework, and descending at a shallow angle. Other tunnels joined it or branched off from it. Old, metal-caged service lamps lit their way with a sickly, dim, dark yellow light.
The Circle emissary was several paces ahead, not even looking back at them. Suddenly Ljubica's wrists were free, and she flexed her fingers behind her back as a pistol was tucked into the waistband at the small of her back. Then she felt the handle of her sword pressed to her palms, and she curled her fingers around it. Carefully, she brought it around to the front of her, and with two quick steps she lunged, stabbing through the creature's back. It let out a shrill, piercing wail before the tattered shroud of it's clothing fell to the water with a splash, empty.
Ljubica winced. "Do you think they were hearing that?"
Donnie gripped his Viper tensely, looking around in the low light. "I hope no-…"
He was interrupted by a sudden chaos of sound; groans, screams, and shouts filling the air. The tunnel ahead of them was full of Circle and shambling zombies.
"Real fucking shit plan, Donnie!" Ljubica shouted, quickly strapping the Nocturne to her back. It was a bad weapon for the tunnel.
"You're the one that made all the noise!" he shot back, tossing her the Hammer.
Ljubica fired into the first zombie that reached them, it's head rupturing and splattering backwards. The headless body collapsed into the water.
"We need to be getting to end of tunnel," she said, blasting another zombie into pulp. "Then we are splitting up."
Donnie nodded, moving up next to her and focusing his fire further back. Ljubica's STAG shotgun was making short work of anything close, and showing to be quite effecting at mid-range, too.
As the were nearing the halfway point, Donnie fell into the water. He'd never fought the Circle before, and one of them had grabbed him as they made their way past her.
"Boss!" Donnie cried, spluttering water and wrestling with the spike-haired woman intent on drowning him.
"I am not your-…" Ljubica started, then turned and cracked the woman over the back of the head with the stock of her Hammer. "Suka," she spat, kicking the body off him and putting a blast of energy pellets into it. Then she turned and started firing rapidly into the zombies that had gotten close while she was distracted, her Hammer's power system thrumming with each burst.
"Fucking be getting back up, Donnie!" she shouted. "Before this thing is overheating and we are overrun!"
Donnie clambered to his feet, firing rapidly to give her some breathing room. As they gained ground, he eased up before his own weapon overheated.
"Couldn't we have brought regular guns?" he whined. "Keeping track of these things is a bitch."
"Are you wanting to be running out of ammo in tunnels beneath the city surrounded by undead?" she retorted wryly as they stepped into a chamber.
"Holy shit," Donnie breathed. "We made."
"Was there ever being any doubt?" Ljubica asked smugly, looking around. There were several exits, and the roof was barely visible in the dim light, high over head. Pipes ran every which way, laced with cobwebs.
"This is as far as you're goin' Boss," Johnny sneered, stepping in from a walkway. His katana was held loosely to his side, but his grip tightened, bringing the blade up in front of him.
"Go Donnie!" Ljubica cried. "Be finding Lin, I am having this!"
Donnie nodded, sprinting for a far exit, but Johnny ignored him. His eyes were on Ljubica, who hadn't even drawn her sword.
"So, Ljubica, long time no see," he said casually, starting to circle. "Carlos had a lot to talk about, you know. Your little trip? Sounded real fun…"
Ljubica frowned. Carlos had seen a lot, and heard a lot. What had he told them? For that matter, had Johnny been running around telling everyone her name?
"So you and Lin again, huh?" he asked bitterly.
Ljubica shook her head. "She was kissing me, Johnny, not other way around."
"Not how Carlos put it."
"Carlos is fucking liar, then," she shot back. She'd hurt him, and there was no telling what he would do or say now that he was back under Mother's sway.
"Or you're a lyin' bitch," he spat, taking a swipe at her. She danced back out of the way, feeling the air move as his blade slipped past.
"Johnny, be fighting her," Ljubica urged. "You are strongest man I am knowing, you can be breaking free! Do not make me be killing you!"
Johnny laughed. "You ain't even drawn your sword. You're about to die, Ljuba."
"Johnny," she said gently, raising her Hammer to her shoulder. "You are not like them, remember?"
Johnny froze, smirking. "So I'm not…"
Ljubica had studied her STAG weaponry extensively. With Kinzie's help, they'd discovered the power cells could be overloaded and turned into a makeshift bomb. She flipped the safety lever to 'O' and squeezed the trigger. There was a sharp whine, and she threw the S3X up into the pipes over their head, throwing herself back into the tunnel.
The explosion ripped through the chamber, broken chunks of concrete and pipe crashing down onto Johnny and sending a cloud of dust and debris into the adjoining corridors. Ljubica was on her feet before the dust settled, drawing her Nocturne and moving forward warily. Johnny was pinned under several twisted metal beams, blood trickling from a wound on his head, and his glasses were shattered and askew.
"Johnny?" she asked quietly. Had she over estimated his toughness, had she just killed the man she loved?
She let herself get distracted for too long.
Ljubica grunted, staring down dumbly for a moment at the spear point protruding from her stomach. Part of her mind reasoned that at least it was to the side, and not directly in the middle. But then it was twisted viciously, and she grit her teeth against the scream ripping up from her throat, stumbling and forcing her knees not to buckle.
Aisha grinned darkly from behind her. Mother was going to be proud of her. "Die, bitch," she said with satisfaction, twisting her weapon again. "Scream for me, suffer before you die. Johnny never loved you-…"
Ljubica roared defiantly, spinning in place with enough force that the spear stayed buried in her middle and was wrenched out of the former RnB singer's hands.
Instinct had taken over, fight or flight. Ljubica's sword came around, and Aisha's head tumbled to the dirty sewer tiles, bouncing a few times before rolling to a stop, eyes staring blankly.
"Eesh!" Johnny bellowed, long, drawn out, and full of anguish. He struggled against the rubble pinning him down, but was unable to free himself. "I'll fuckin' kill you bitch, you hear me!?" he raged. "You're fuckin' dead!"
Ljubica stifled a cry as she pulled Aisha's spear out of her body, letting it clatter to the ground as she wavered on her feet. Her hand went to her side, blood trickling hot over her fingers. It was a nasty wound, and would probably kill her if she didn't see to it soon. She would feel terrible later, but right now, her mind wouldn't let her dwell on who she just killed.
Ljubica plucked her knife from her boot and cut off the sleeve of her hoody, packing it into the hole left by Aisha's spear. It would have to do for now.
"I am not having time to be bleeding," she growled, ignoring Johnny's screaming and stalking towards the next chamber.
#
A high whine pulsed outside the door several times, then went silent. Lin's eyes fluttered as she fought her inner monster, struggling to maintain control. Whenever she was badly hurt, some… thing inside her raged to take over, to fight, to kill. Her pale skin was covered in her purple blood, most of her clothing cut away to reveal several ragged wounds still oozing. She'd healed as best she could, but Johnny had just kept going until she was exhausted. Now she hungered, she couldn't heal for some reason, and she smelled food outside the chamber. If it would just come to her…
Donnie kicked open the door to the room she was being kept in, eyes finding her in the darkness. "Lin!"
"D-Donnie?" she made herself whimper. "C'mere, Donnie, I'm hurt bad, I need help…"
Lin grinned slyly to herself in the dark. Just a little closer, asshole…
"Where's the key?" he asked as he ran up, seeing her terrible condition, her gaunt and sickly frame. "Did you see where they put the key?"
"P-Please, Donnie, don't let me die again…"
Panic rising, he took careful aim with the Viper and fired into the chain at her ankle. The first shot damaged it, and a second snapped it with a sharp twang. He quickly took out the rest and moved to her side.
"Lin, it's okay, I won't let you die again, I love-…"
Lin's eyes flashed open, irises a brilliant and bright purple. She sat up in a flash, baring her fangs, and then dove into him. As they fell onto the floor, she bit savagely into his neck, and Donnie's screams echoed throughout the catacombs.
#
Ljubica was covered in blood and gore. Using the Nocturne on zombies would do that. She made her way into another chamber, urgency driving her. She was feeling a little light-headed, but pushed on; she had to find Mother and kill her, then she could come back for Johnny.
As Ljubica entered the chamber, there she was. Mother was standing between a wall and an altar with her back to the doorway, attention on some vials and urns. The Russian woman reached back for her Shepherd, but grasped nothing but air. She'd lost it at some point in the fighting. Quietly, she stalked into the room, gripping her Nocturne tightly.
"Niña," Carlos purred, and Ljubica turned just in time to deflect a blow from a massive wood sword, the blow staggering her backward. It was nearly as big as she was, and the edges were lined with jagged shards of obsidian. She'd never seen anything like it.
"You made it very far, Saint," Mother announced. "But I think you've come far enough. Die."
Pain lanced through Ljubica's body and she doubled over. Her heart felt like it had stopped beating, slowly being crushed by an unyielding pressure; agony bloomed in her body, and her breath rattled in her chest. She grit her teeth, forcing each breath in an out of her body, but her hands fell open and the sword clattered to the ground at her feet.
"I said Die," Mother hissed, and a wave of power swept across the room.
Ljubica finally cried out, falling to her knees. Blood began to trickle out the corners of her mouth, and blinding pain seemed to shatter her skull. Ever defiant, she pushed up onto one foot, then the other, and managed to stand against the onslaught of suffering that assaulted her.
"Curious," Mother purred. "Once would have killed almost anyone, two for certain."
"You fucked with the wrong woman," Lin growled from the door. She'd tracked Ljubica here, and a pale Donnie stood just behind her, cradling his Viper laser rifle. The vampire stalked into the room, Donnie covering Mother with his rifle.
"Leave her alone, Mother," he ordered. "You're finished."
Ljubica spat out blood, panting and sweating, but she was slowly recovering. "Is being over, suka."
Carlos, being ignored for the moment, snuck up behind Donnie and cracked him over the back of the head; the mechanic collapsed to the ground with a yelp. Mother wanted him to suffer for his betrayal, and death would be too quick.
"Hardly," the Matron of the Circle purred. She unceremoniously pulled an NR4 from her altar and fired several times at her former daughter.
Lin cried out as bullets ripped through her body, spraying the wall behind her with blood. She looked down at herself, then up at Mother in disbelief before crumpling forward.
"Lin!" Ljubica shouted, turning towards her enemy, face contorted with hatred. Aisha, now Lin, maybe Johnny, how many more people would she lose every time someone came at her? She braced herself for a charge.
"You lost that protection when you left me, dear daughter," Mother explained, turning her attention back to Ljubica.
"Now, Die…"
Ljubica's eyes bulged, and a spray of blood misted from her lips. She fell to her hands and knees, wheezing and coughing, back spasming and bowing as another wave of searing agony burned through her. Carlos watched in silence. Inside his head, he screamed at Mother, begged her to stop this, but he could only watch from within as the woman he still cared for, still loved, was tortured to death in front of him.
Ljubica retched up a gout of blood, and she slumped forward onto her face as her elbows finally collapsed, refusing to hold her weight any longer.
"Nyet…"
"Hmm?" Mother asked. "You are a stubborn one."
"Nyet," Ljubica growled, pushing herself up onto her hands and knees. Groaning, she forced herself back to her feet, swaying slightly for a moment and wiping blood from her chin with the back of her hand. "I won't be beaten by some suka in my own city."
Mother frowned, raising the NR4. "We'll do it your way, then."
She squeezed the trigger.
Carlos threw himself in the way, taking three bullets to the chest, before another struck him in the head just above the right eye.
Ljubica watched in horror as Carlos stumbled back and fell, blood streaming from his wounds.
Not again, niño...
Rage welled up inside her, and as Mother brought the pistol to bear on her again, Ljubica charged.
Mother began firing, and Ljubica zigged and zagged her way towards her. Pain burned in her hip and arm as she was hit, but it was distant and she dismissed it as unimportant. With a ragged battle cry, she dove through Mother's altar, scattering it in every direction, and tackled the older woman.
Mother's head slammed into the brick floor as they landed, and Ljubica started viciously beating her about the face. Blow after savage blow landed, orange blood spraying from split skin. Even when there was a pop, pain lancing down her forearm to announce a broken bone in her hand, Ljubica kept fighting. This woman had done horrible things to her and her people, her friends had died, or would live with the terrible things they had done. Ljubica poured all her hatred, rage, and pain that this woman had caused into each and every shattering blow, until Mother's face finally caved in under the brutal onslaught, a mass of bloody, pulpy flesh. Only then did Ljubica stop, chest heaving and eyes wild.
It was finally over. Mother was dead. Ljubica slumped against the wall, still straddling her enemy's corpse. The stone was cool against her face, and she wanted nothing more than to just lie there until the pain went away. But her people needed her, maybe it wasn't over, yet.
"Carlos!" Ljubica gasped, staggering to her feet and stumbling over to his body. She jerked the knife from her boot and sliced her wrist open, pushing it to his lips. She noticed the hit to the forehead had only been a graze, maybe there was hope for him after-all.
"Be coming back to me Carlos!" Ljubica urged, an edge of desperation in her voice. She blinked against the tears welling in her eyes. But Carlos didn't respond, laying there cold and dead, brownish blood seeping from his wounds.
Why did he always have to die-… she started to wonder, and then he latched onto her wrist with a growl. Ljubica's brow furrowed, it didn't feel like Lin; it felt creepy and unsettling, like some dead thing was sucking her life from her. With a grunt, she pushed him away, gazing down into his soft, brown eyes again.
"Niña…" he breathed.
Then Carlos' eyes widened in horror. Realization of what he'd just done hit him, and he got up, facing away as feelings of shame and anger fought for control. "You should have let me die, niña… instead you helped me become more of a monster."
"Carlos," Ljubica said gently. "We will be working it out…"
"Sure, I'm fine," Lin croaked. She was covered in blood with several ragged holes in her back where the bullets had exited her body. "I need a vacation…"
Ljubica didn't think, she just scooted over and pressed her bleeding wrist to Lin's mouth. With a growl the vampire started feeding, fangs pricking into her flesh.
Ljubica felt herself swoon as that incredible euphoria swept over her. The high was better than any drug the Saints sold, the pleasure insurmountable. It started to carry her away when an ugly voice broke the near-silence.
"Well, well, well," Johnny said from the doorway, voice bitter and ashen. His clothes were tattered and torn, glasses gone, now. "Seems little Ljuba has a new playmate, don't it."
Ljubica went cold with anger. She'd trusted Johnny with her name, something she'd never done before, and he just spat that trust right back in her face.
Lin didn't seem to notice, and Ljubica jerked her hand free. The vampire surged to her feet, baring fangs and hissing upon seeing Johnny and feeling Ljubica's anger at his presence.
"Johnny," Ljubica said softly, hoping he'd see reason. "I was not chopping off her head until her sword was stabbing me in back."
Carlos glanced at Ljubica. Her name was Ljuba?
"But you killed her!" Johnny shouted, voice thick with accusation. "And just like he did! How fuckin' could you?"
Carlos turned his eyes back to Johnny. That explained why Aisha was missing.
"She was being my friend, too!" Ljubica shot back, anger growing hot instead, keeping her mind forgetful of her body's injuries. "But I am not dying because someone else is wanting to be killing me!"
Johnny shook his head. "How could you?" he asked again. "I loved you…"
"Apparently you were loving her more," Ljubica shot back, growing bitter as well. She didn't want to do this, but Johnny wasn't giving her a choice. "I am loving you, Johnny, you are knowing that! But knowing you still loved her was being hard on me…"
"Don't fuckin' talk to me about love," Johnny spat. "Don't you fuckin' dare!"
"Johnny…" Ljubica murmured, feeling like she'd just been slapped. "Johnny…?"
Johnny swallowed. "You're fucking dead to me, Ljubica. Go to fuckin' hell."
Lin looked at Ljubica then. Knowing her name was overshadowed by the pain etching itself on her leader's face. "Boss?" she asked quietly, rage welling up from the depths. Rage, and power. "Say the word and I rip him apart."
Ljubica let herself go cold, dark. "If you are not wanting me, then be fucking off and dropping your god-damned flag, bitch."
"Damn fuckin' right," Johnny growled. "You ruined the Saints!"
"Leave before I am killing you, then, Johnny Gat," Ljubica growled softly. Louder, she nearly shouted "Fucking go away from me!"
Lin narrowed her eyes, lips curling back in a snarl. "Go Johnny. Before something bad happens."
"Man, fuck you, too, Lin," Johnny retorted. "Soulless dyke."
"Who the fuck do you think you are," Lin hissed. So much was going on, so much blood, so much tension, that her control was slipping dangerously close to something evil.
"Just go," Ljubica said quietly, sounding tired. "Just be leaving, Johnny. We can be fighting about this another day."
"What's wrong with today?" Johnny asked heatedly. "Poor Ljubica is too fuckin' hurt!? That ain't the bad-ass I know!"
"Quit saying my name, Johnny!" Ljubica snapped, forcing herself to her feet.
Johnny grinned darkly. "You know what? Killing you now, that's only going to make me feel better short-term. I'm fuckin' outta here, I got a better idea. We're done here."
Johnny stormed out of the chamber. Lin started to go after him, but Ljubica put her hand out.
"Let him be going," she said wearily, slumping with a splash to her knees in the muck.
Lin came to her side, giving Ljubica a tight squeeze around the shoulders. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Boss, believe it or not."
"Lin?" Ljubica asked tiredly. "And Carlos…?"
"Yeah, Boss?" they said as one, glancing at each other afterward.
"You two are knowing my name," Ljubica said with a sigh. "You can be using it in private, now."
Carlos swallowed. "I don't, I mean I can…"
"No problem," Lin agreed. "It beats calling you Ivana."
Ljubica leaned into the other woman, fighting back the sorrow that threatened to rip from her throat. Her best friend and lover hated her. "Just be fucking doing it, Carlos, okay? Or niña, whatever."
Lin managed a faint smile, though it was mirthless. "Ljubica, huh?"
Ljubica nodded. "Not how I was wanting you to be finding out."
Lin nodded. "I bet. So, you foreign-…"
"Yes, it is having meaning," Ljubica interrupted, remembering Johnny had asked the same thing. Her throat caught at the memory, but she pushed on. "It is meaning violet."
"No shit?" Lin asked.
Ljubica nodded.
"Can you walk?" Carlos asked.
Ljubica forced herself to stand, again, wincing at the pain that lanced through her middle and leg. Taking stock, her entire body was one big searing, burning ache. "I am thinking so."
Lin smiled gently, as Carlos got on her other side. "Then let's get you home, Ljubica."
There was a groan from behind them, and as they turned, Donnie was sitting up, rubbing the back of his head. "What happened?"
"Hey, sorry about that," Carlos said, chuckling. "I kind of knocked you out."
Lin rolled her yes. "Will you ever stop sucking, Donnie?"
"We might not be here with out his help," Ljubica admitted wearily.
"It hurts me, too," Lin retorted, sounding sour.
"Let us be going home, comrades," Ljubica told them, Lin and Carlos helping her limp towards the tunnels.
It got raw