Ragged Army

Summary: Reports of young children going missing has swept through New York City. No clues, no leads to where they are being taken and if they're still alive. Only one girl seems to be attuned to the voices of the missing children…the problem? Everyone thinks she's insane…

A/N: Part of this chapter was inspired by the song 'Into the Nothing' by Breaking Benjamin.

Chapter 25

*If her arm hadn't been broken, she'd have pushed him behind her but instead she watched in helplessness as he stood beside her. Fang glared fiercely at Blake, taking in every detail of him before turning to gaze up at her. She met his eyes briefly before turning them back on Blake, "What did you do to Race?"

Blake's eyes were wild, more so than usual. He put his arm out and she saw the dress that was still draped over it. "Put this on, One. Lemme see you in it."

Stepping ever so slightly to the right, she pushed Fang behind her with her hip and glared at the man in front of her, "You're crazy. I'm not putting that on."

A noise from behind Blake had him glancing over his shoulder and she took the opportunity to dodge forward, aiming the knife at his gut. At the last second Blake's hand grabbed her wrist, enclosing around it in a steely grip and she couldn't keep a handle and watched in horror as her weapon fell to the ground with a clatter. Blake twisted her arms behind her back and brought her against him, "I always get what I want, One."

Three stepped forward in time to snatch up Fang before he could grab the knife and tossed him over his shoulder. "This one will do quite nicely." He told Blake as Fang squirmed in his hold.

Asylum let out a frustrated scream and struggled to get free from Blake. It would have been easy if, once again, she didn't have this broken arm. "Let him go!" She yelled at Three, "I don't care what you do to me, let him go!"

There are worse things to fear, she thought as Three quirked a dark eyebrow at her. Fear for those you love. Fang beat his fists against Three's back as Three began to move down the hallway away from Blake and her.

"Three." Blake said, stopping the boy in his tracks. "Put the kid down and pick up the knife."

Without question, he did what he was told as Asylum tried to push Blake away from her with her body. Blake's grip only tightened as he directed Three to place the knife on Fang's neck. Tears of frustration began to fall as Fang froze against the cold steel of the knife.

"Now, One, all you have to do is whatever I say and I'll let your little pet go." Blake whispered in her ear, his breath hot on her neck as he moved it across and licked her brand mark. She shivered in revulsion, feeling bile rise up her throat at how sick he was.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

Pushing her forward, he let her arm go, "Kill him if she attacks me." He ordered Three and then put the dress in her arms, "Put it on. Don't plan anything, either, or he dies."

She caught the hungry look in Three's eyes as she unbuttoned the shirt she'd been wearing and was thankful for the undershirt she kept on beneath it. Tossing her shirt, she slipped the dress on over her head and then stripped her trousers off and the undershirt so that neither of them could catch a glimpse of her naked. Lightly, she brushed her fingers down the skirt of the dress and marveled at the silkiness. It was a beautiful dress, far out of a newsgirl's price range, an aqua that shimmered between blue and green as it moved.

Blake crossed his arms over his chest and studied her in it and she suddenly felt as tiny as an insect. "Now that's what I'm talking about." He said, "Don't you agree, Three?"

Three grinned at Blake as he let his eyes roam up and down her. Asylum folded her own arms, wishing she was anywhere but in front of these two. Her eyes caught Fang and fear choked her as she stared at the knife against his throat. "Will you let him go?" She asked, meeting Blake's dark gaze and knowing, somehow, that he wouldn't. He'd never let her or Fang go; not as long as he lived.

Laughing, Blake moved forward and motioned for Three to give him the knife, "No, One. It's the only way to ensure your cooperation." He ruffled Fang's dark hair and then turned to point the knife at Asylum, "Hmm, what should we do now that you're all dressed up with nowhere to go?" He stepped forward and pressed the tip of the blade against the dip on her throat and slowly let it slide down her chest to rest on the neckline of the dress leaving a red trail, "Sharp isn't it?"

She swallowed, but met his eyes defiantly. They stared each other down for a moment before a loud bang a floor below them shattered the silence. Blake didn't even flinch, only directed his next order to Three, "Leave the kid here. Go check that out. I believe our guests have finally arrived."

An image of Spot appeared in her mind as he was the last night they had been together, when they had been fighting; his stern, exasperated look at her reprimanding him for kissing her in front of the other leaders and for her telling him off for disagreeing about her insanity. She wanted to hope that this was almost over, this war; this nightmare. She was so tired of being hurt and scared.

Three let go of Fang and sprinted down the hall as Blake directed his words to the seven-year-old, "You better not try anything, kid, or I'll hurt your precious Asylum. Now, I want you both to go back into the room you came out of." He turned her around, pressing the tip into the small of her back and ushering her forward. Reaching out, she took Fang's hand in her own and they headed back down the hallway to the room that had previously kept Race and her. The lamp sat in the corner and Race's still body was stretched out on the floor.

"Race!" She moved forward, kneeling down at her best friend's side and rolling him over to make sure he was still alive.

"He's just unconscious." Blake assured, but she didn't believe him until she could see the rise and fall of the newsies' chest. Sighing in relied, she brushed his dark hair back from his forehead and stood to watch Blake as he shut the door behind him, as if sealing them off from the world.

Fang clutched Asylum's hand and looked up at her, "Dagda will save us, 'Sy. Just ya wait. He won't let anyone run off with his magical Harp."

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked, glaring at the kid.

Fang returned Blake's glare, "Ya a Fomorian and Spot won't let ya get away with stealin' 'Sy."

Blake's black eyes turned to meet Asylums' golden blues, "I don't think Spot will have a choice."

Gritting her teeth, Asylum pivoted her hips preparing herself to launch at Blake regardless of her broken arm. Hopefully, her surprise attack will afford Fang and her sometime to recover the knife. If only Race was conscious to help, she was sure the two of them could take him.

Before she could do anything the sound of a gunshot startled all of them and the following silence had all three of them staring at the door as if whatever happened would come through it. Fear for Spot, for all the newsies, seemed to tighten around her middle and froze her in place. Unfortunately, the fear that froze her did not freeze Fang and everything happened before her eyes in slow motion; Fang was already half way to Blake when he slowly turned his gaze from the door. The small, light body was launched through the air much as she had planned but the events that followed were not at all as planned.

Staring in horror, a sob ripping through her before the knife had even pierced him; she stumbled forward as Blake stared at the boy now on the end of his knife. Sneering, Blake pushed Fang's shoulder and the seven-year-old fell backward and would have hit the floor if Asylum hadn't leapt forward to grab his small form with her good arm. "Fang!" She cried out, lowering him to her lap so she could press her good hand over his chest, trying to staunch the flow of his blood as her tears fell down her cheeks and splashed onto his face. Blake had to have expected one of them to attack him or else he'd have never had the knife down so low but it seemed he had thought it would be her because the knife, had it been her as it should have been, would have gutted her like a fish.

His bright, green eyes met hers as he opened his mouth to speak, "Spot'll save ya, 'Sy. Don't let da music of sorrow play forevah..." He stopped, coughing slightly as blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Shh, Fang. Don't talk. We'll get you a doctor. You'll be all better in a few weeks." She murmured, brushing his dark hair off his forehead, leaving a trail of blood behind from her hand. Choking back her sobs, she held him close, whispering softly that he was going to be alright as his breath grew shallow and finally…still.

"No." She rocked his tiny body, praying this was all a nightmare she'd wake up from. All her life there had been so few good things among all the bad and Fang had become such an essential part of her happiness that she could not imagine a world without him.

The sobs took over her body and she shook as she remembered the first time they'd met. He had won his first game of marbles and had gone around the bunk room, trying to tell anyone about the game but none of the boys had paid him any mind; often times the younger ones were neglected, though unintentionally. She had only been at the lodging house a month, slowly healing from her wounds and still shy around so many boys, but she had noticed the cute kid with those bright eyes in the corner of the room, detached and moping at the lack of attention and she had taken pity on him. Shuffling over, she sat down on the nearby bed and tilted her head gently to the side, "How did you beat the others?" She had asked.

It had only taken a moment for him to get over the shyness and then he had launched into the tale with such embellishment it had sent her laughing, which had been painful with her wounds but well worth it when, from then on, he had been at her side no matter what. No one since her mother had loved her so unconditionally and had asked for nothing but love in return until Fang had come along.

"Get up." A voice commanded, breaking through her memories and bringing her crashing back into reality.

Raising her head she stared up at Blake and felt hatred she had never known flood through her veins and she gently set Fang's body aside to stand and face the crazy man before her head on.

For a moment they stared each other down and then she spit in his face.*

A/N: Please, don't hate me for this chapter...

Truly,

Joker is Poker with a J~