A/N : We're getting closer to the climax! I hope you're still with me (and thank you so much for doing so! you're all the best!)
Disclaimer : I do not own Glee, but the plot of this story is mine
Action and Reaction
Their journey toward the dungeon was, unexpectedly, quite smooth; mainly because Puck wore his most threatening look to get away from the nosy guards. When they were passing patrol guards, Puck acted as their shield while Rachel helped Kurt walked as quickly as they could.
The pain helped Kurt to distract his conflicted mind, as he did not know what he would do when he met Devon. Part of him was still angry and wanted to lash out some of it to the Dalton spy, but deep down he was hoping that he could find him not guilty for all the murders he had been accused with.
Especially for his father and Santana's death.
"Don't think too much, Kurt," Rachel said gently, somehow sensed his worries. "Just let your heart say what it needs to know."
Kurt sighed and said, "What if it doesn't know what it wants?"
A sad smile blossomed on her lips as they arrived at the mouth of the dungeon. "Oh, it will."
Puck ordered the patrol guards that Rachel scolded earlier to guide them to Devon's cells and the three of them followed in total silence. For Kurt, fear began to creep onto his spine as he did not know what he would find at the end of the path.
They finally stopped in front of the last iron door. After the guards unlocked the door and were being dismissed by Puck, Rachel let Kurt's arm go and gave him a bottle of red liquid that he recognized as the standard pain reliever for McKinley soldiers in battle.
"Puck and I will guard the door- Yes, Puck, us- while you talk to him. Ask him about everything you want to know, including Santana's death, "Rachel added quickly before Puck could give a loud protest, "but make it quick. We don't have much time."
Before Kurt could give his respond, Rachel opened the door and urged him to go inside before she sealed the door again. Knowing that there was no going back, Kurt turned his face from the metal door to what was waiting for him inside.
The cell was small but it had a single torch as the source of light. The first thing that his eyes caught was the smeared of red on the stone floor near where he currently stood. When he traced the source, he covered his mouth in shock.
In the middle of the room was Devon, lying on his back while blood was pooling around him.
Kurt half sprinted half threw himself onto the floor and crawled his way to the motionless figure. His chest was beating painfully as he prayed that he was not too late. Devon was lying too still; he could not see his chest moving and his head was turned to the other side so he could not see his face. As he moved closer, he got a better look and his chest was beating faster. Gods, was that . . . bone?
Kurt swallowed back his bile and was finally able to reach to him. He sat beside Devon and for a second he just stared at him. He did not know he was crying again until after his vision gone blurry. Gingerly, he sneaked a hand below Devon's neck and slowly turned his head to him. He failed not to wince when he saw the state of his head and how his palm quickly smeared with blood from the head wound.
"Devon," Kurt's harsh voice broke through silence, but the eyes were still closed. He used the other hand to cup his cheek and bowed so his mouth was closer to Devon's ear. "B-Blaine."
Fear began to creep onto him, but the hand on his neck could still feel a weak pulse so Kurt did not give up. "Blaine, enough with the playing dead game. Get up."
Nothing, not even a flicker in the eyes. Tears were brimming once again and the next thing he knew, he was sobbing in desperation and anger. Why was he crying? He should have shaken him instead, using any means necessary to wake him up. Why was he felt concern about his wellbeing? Why all he thought about was now was how he could save his life?
Why was it so hard to hate Devon?
The last thought yanked his mind so hard he stopped moving.
It was because he loves him.
Even if the past events that he had with Devon had been a fake, what his heart felt now was real. The feeling that he had when he saw Devon at the market until after he realized that he was a Dalton was never changed.
I judge people by their action, not by their ancestry.
Kurt smiled sadly when he remembered saying it to Sunshine. How could he forget? It was true that Devon was the son of the enemy, but what he did until his cover blew up was nothing but trying to protect everyone around him, especially Kurt. Just because his eyes were different than his, did not mean that he was downright the bad guy.
He understood now. Devon was not a fake persona. Devon was Blaine; his Guardian, his friend, a Dalton prince, and most importantly the person that could heal his broken heart. No matter what color lies beneath those closed eyes, he believed that he was still the person he knew back at the market.
With those thoughts easing his mind, Kurt hover on top of Blaine's bloody face and, closing his eyes, he planted his lips to his. For the first time, Kurt kissed Blaine and not Devon; and his heart still beat like crazy when he did it.
His heart clenched when he tasted blood on his lips. Their first time should not be like this. Blaine's lips was supposed to respond in the same way and his were eyes on him, looking lovingly like he used to be; not lying still like this and fighting Death alone in this cold cell.
Out of a sudden, the moment Kurt lifted up his face from Blaine, the red lips beneath him cracked and let out a strangled, hitched breath. Kurt waited painfully until the spasm was over and left Blaine more wrecked than before. Gods, he looked so small like this.
"Blaine? Can you hear me?" Kurt tried to bring him back once again.
Slowly, his eyes cracked a line and showed Kurt the red of Dalton beneath it. Kurt suppress the urge to step back and instead bowed to face it. Those red eyes were struggling to focus on his for a while; but when it started to get the sense around him, Blaine suddenly made a move to drag his broken body away from Kurt.
Kurt's heart was smashed once again. He was afraid of me. The movement might not be much since most of his bones were broken, but the urge to put a distance between them was more painful than Kurt had expected.
Kurt steeled himself and tried to approach him but Blaine let out a broken sob and whispered three words that made Kurt's anger lit up instantly.
"Please . . . no more."
Elliott is a dead man.
Kurt tried to speak to him, begging him to look at him but he kept struggling. Running out of ideas and desperation got into mix, Kurt, against Blaine's struggle and denial, cupped his cheek with both hands and once again planted a kiss on his trembling lips.
Blaine instantly froze. Kurt kept his eyes closed, did not dare to face the fear reflected from those red eyes.
Slowly, Kurt felt him kissing back. Surprised, he opened his eyes and saw Blaine's tired eyes were locked onto his. Smile blossomed between their kiss and once again Kurt felt his face wet with tears.
"Kurt," Blaine whispered his name once they broke away. Confusion was written all over his bloody face. "Why . . .?"
Kurt silenced him by laying his forehead on top of his. "Just stay still, alright?"
Blaine gave a small nod and let his eyes trailed sluggishly at Kurt as he retrieved the potion for him. Kurt carefully snaked a palm under Blaine's neck and slowly raised his head a bit from the ground. Blaine instantly moaned in pain and shut his eyes; must be from the wound on his head. Kurt gave him a moment to regain himself before slipping the lip of the bottle to his lips.
"Try to drink it. It will lessen the pain," Kurt said.
The process was excruciatingly slow and painful for Blaine, as he choked up few times and made a fit of cough that wrecked Kurt's chest, but eventually he managed to empty the whole bottle. The effect was shown almost immediately. Blaine let out a deep sigh as the tense muscle slowly relaxed a bit and most of the pain was dulled by the potion. Kurt let out a relieved sigh to and took a sit beside Blaine, carefully avoiding moving his injured leg too much.
"Y-you're not . . . here t-to. . . to kill me?" Blaine's hoarse voice suddenly broke the silence. Kurt turned only to meet a pair of unfocused red eyes looking at him in confusion. For a moment, Kurt lost his words. His mind was jumbled with so many things he wanted to say to him. Finally, he decided to pick out the ones that stood out the most.
The truth.
"When you reveal your identity, I felt betrayed. I tried to hate you. Your family caused us so much grief and pain to my people. You trespass this land. Gods knew how many men you have killed while you are here. There are so many things I could use to hate you." Kurt took his breath while wiping out the tears that trickling down Blaine's eyes and continued.
"But it's not fair to pass the sin of the parents to their son. The color of our eyes was just a distraction from our true selves. You're my enemy, yet you save me so many times, Blaine; more than you know. You save my friends when Carmel attacked us. I would not be standing here if it were not because of you. Last night, I literary beg you to kill me, but you don't. Instead, you blew up your cover to stop me from proposing to you. Why would a Dalton spy do such a thing?"
"Then I realized, that the reason you did all of that was the same as what drove me to say all of this. That we love each other."
Blaine choked back a sob as more tears streaming down his face and forced himself to speak. "We . . . we can't . . . be together . . . your throne . . . Elliott . . . accused for treason . . . and I'm a Dalton . . ."
"I don't care about the color of your eyes or that you're the prince of our enemy. I love you, Blaine Devon Anderson, and that is all I care right now."
Blaine seemed to be out of words and kept crying in silence. Kurt used the chance to move closer to him and grabbed his palm, one among few parts of Blaine's limb that was not injured. "But you're right. Right now, both of us are in difficult position. So help me to help us by start telling me the truth. Can you do it for us?"
Blaine's breathe rattled as he inhaled deeply, putting some amount of air to his wounded lungs. Then, slowly and with voice merely above whisper, he said, "What do you . . . want to . . . know?"
It was Kurt's turn to take a deep breath now. "Did you kill my father?"
"No."
Kurt let out a relieved sigh at that. He knew he should trust him but this put an end to his doubt.
"He knows . . ."
Kurt's head snapped back at him.
"He knows . . . I'm a Dalton . . . could have killed . . . me that time."
His heart leaped a bit at that news. Of course he did. After all, Blaine was the son of his mortal enemy. "Then why didn't he?" Kurt could not help himself but to ask. Of all the people in Kurt's life, his father without any doubt would be the first one to make strong objection toward their relationship, dead or alive.
A small smile cracked between Blaine's bloodied lips. "I said the t-truth . . . love you . . . wants to protect you . . . he wants me to . . . to keep my word."
"Oh Blaine . . ." Kurt laughed and cried at the same time at that remark. He was beyond relieved to know that his father knew about them. To hear that he was actually gave them his bless made Kurt suddenly missed him so much more.
Thanks for believing in Blaine, Dad.
"What about Santana?" Kurt already knew the answer but he needed to reassure himself and his friends about this matter.
"Carmel soldier, not me . . . too late . . ." The grip on Kurt's hand tightened a bit as Blaine spoke.
Kurt closed his eyes for a moment before continuing.
"How many McKinley soldiers did you kill during your stay in McKinley?"
Blaine's breath hitched. He knew that these questions were opening Blaine's and his own wounds but if they wanted to get out of this situation, the truth must be told.
"McKinley's patrol group . . . near the border . . . got caught . . . protect myself . . . I'm s-sorry . . ." Blaine's voice broke at the last part. "I know . . . wasn't excuse . . ."
"Like you said," Kurt stopped him even though the fact made his heart sank a bit. "You were only protecting yourself."
That leaves him to the final, most important question. "Of all the soldiers in Dalton, why you, Blaine? Why sending a prince to the enemy's territory?"
"Father . . ." Blaine's word slurred as his eyes were starting to lose its focus. Kurt cupped his face and panicked when he noticed how cold his skin was. "Blaine, keep those eyes open for me." A single glance was enough for Kurt to realize that Blaine's injuries were too fatal for the potion to work optimally. The sight of blood pooling around them made him hated himself for losing his power. "Blaine!"
Slowly, those trembling red lips were starting to move again. Kurt sighed, a bit relieved, and bowed down to listen to the weak whispering sound.
"Father . . . sent me . . . Mc- . . . McKinley attacked . . . my friend . . . revenge . . ."
Kurt blinked.
"Blaine, did you say McKinley attack Dalton?" Kurt urgently asked him. Blaine's eyes moved sluggishly to meet his; confusion written all over those red eyes.
"Wes . . . burnt wounds . . . Puck . . .?"
"Blaine, I don't know wha-" Kurt abruptly stopped. A gear clicked inside his mind and a horrible realization came to him. Could it be? The chance was quite slim, seeing that Puck's victims were more than both of them could count. But, the most recent attack that he did involving his power and a Dalton was . . . "Does this Wes has dark hair and almost as the same height as you?"
Blaine nodded weakly.
Kurt closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, the sorrow that he felt when he saw Blaine's state doubled in seconds. What did he do to deserve this, Lord Dalton?
"You know . . .him?" The weak voice came from the man lying below him. Kurt could not stop a single tear dropped from his already exhausted eyes as he faced Blaine and made sure he was still conscious to hear what he was about to say next.
"McKinley did not attack your friend, Blaine."
It took five seconds to long for Blaine to process it. "I don't . . . understand . . . father said . . ."
How could a parent send his own son into a suicide mission like this? Kurt shook his head and almost sobbed when he continued. "He was a spy that killed my previous Guardian before you came. Puck caught him when he was about to attack me. Your friend managed to escape but without suffering injuries from Puck's power."
Blaine's whole body shook as his breathing was taking one beat faster now. "It can't be," he whispered with a hint of denial in his voice. "Father . . . Sebastian . . friends . . they all . . ." His voice trailed away and for a moment Kurt thought Blaine had passed out, but then he felt a new tremor came from his clammy body and when he looked closer he saw him laughed in silence.
"Blaine?" Kurt called him hesitantly, not sure what to do.
The laugh continued for a moment before it changed to a silent cry. Hot tears got mixed with all the blood in Blaine's voice when he looked away from Kurt. Kurt, however, would not let him take all the blame for himself and once again cupped his face and forced him to face him. Blaine chose to close his eyes and he began hyperventilating as panic and devastation overcame him.
"Blaine, Blaine listen to me," Kurt tried to remain calm for both of them. "Try to take a deep breath. In, out. In, out. Come on, you can do it. That's it, slow and steady."
"I caused . . . you all pain," Blaine's voice suddenly broke, "I killed . . . so many . . . people and . . . drag you . . into this mess . . . because of . . . my father's . . lie . . ."
"Blaine, don't . . ." Kurt said with no better voice than his.
"I let . . . Sebastian use . . . his power . . . conceived me to . . . take revenge . . . Gods . . ."
"Hey," Kurt tapped his cheek to get his attention. Gods, those eyes. He used to say that he could see the true self of a person through the color of their eyes. Now he understood why Blaine's eyes were so dark and tinted with pain and sorrow.
"All of this is not your fault. It's theirs. You are much better than them, Blaine. You came here because you think someone hurt your people and that was a noble act of a true prince."
Blaine's lips were trembling when he spoke again. "I murdered . . ."
"You were defending yourself," Kurt cut him with firm tone. "What's done is done, there's no point on playing 'what ifs'. To be honest," his voice softened and a smile cracked from his lips, "I'm just glad that you're not like your father."
Blaine took a shuddering breath. "Me too."
Kurt's smile grew wider. "That's my Guardian. Now can you . . ."
"Hold it, you two!"
Kurt's head snapped at the shout from outside the door. Footsteps and more people who were shouting, including Puck and Rachel, grew louder and closer to them. He quickly turned back to Blaine and gave him a deep kiss, as if that was their last one.
"I love you, Blaine," Kurt said in hurry. "I'm going to make things right and save you. So hold on for me, okay?"
He was about to stand up when Blaine's fingers clutched weakly around his boot. Kurt turned to him the exact moment when his mouth was forming a sentence that made his rage boiled.
Elliott only wants your throne.
"I'll make him pay for both of us."
Kurt was on his heels and ran toward the door. When he opened it, Puck and Rachel looked pale but their eyes were directed not to him, but to the other end of the corridor. Kurt followed their gaze only to see a bunch of soldiers with swords on ready, only few steps from them, with Finn, Elliott, and Lady Sylvester stood at the back. Finn looked taken aback by the sight but he did nothing but stood beside the Lady.
"Now that everyone is present, I will repeat my instruction once again," Lady Sylvester's sharp voice cut through the tension. "Throw away your weapon and surrender."
"Do as she said, Kurt!" Elliott yelled, face frowned in distress. "Don't let that spy take over your mind!"
Kurt's anger rose again at that remark. "You traitor," he hissed. "All this time, I trust you! I let you love me and use me to get the throne!"
"Kurt, don't," Rachel urgently held his arm, preventing him from assaulting the armed soldiers. Kurt, however, did not break his gaze toward his so called fiancé and he swear to McKinley for a second he saw a smirk came out from Elliott's face before he wore his mask again.
"He's been poisoned by the spy! Guards!"
Kurt did not wait for them to react and quickly grabbed Rachel's sword from her belt to charge first. He knocked down one soldier and was about to dodge from the second person's when a ball of flame flew passed him and hit the soldier in the chest, knocking him down. One soldier sparked something shiny from his palm and Kurt blindly attacked him before he could do anything with his power.
His vision suddenly covered in white smoke. Rachel must have used her power, too. There were still six guards to beat before he could reach Elliott and the exit. They should be able to . . .
Something hard sweep through his feet and made his lost his balance, making him fell face first. He groaned and was trying to get up when he realized that Puck and Rachel were also on the floor. That was when Kurt noticed the thing that hit them.
A thick layer of iron had replaced the floor beneath three of them. The remaining soldiers had taken few steps back so only they who stood on the iron plate.
It was too late when they realized their mistake.
Kurt slammed into another plate of iron that was formed out of nowhere when he tried to get away from the first one. The second plate became a wall and stuck itself to the first one. Then, more plates appeared before them and next thing they knew, they were inside a giant metal cube.
"Damn it!" Puck threw another fireball at the wall but it did not bulge. Kurt's eyes met Rachel's and the other could see panic was written all over their face. They were trapped like a mouse by Elliott's power.
Suddenly, a small part of the wall disappeared and left a hole as big as a fist not too far from Puck. However, before any of them could do anything about it, water poured into the cube from that hole.
"She's trying to drown us!" Rachel screamed in panic.
As if that was not enough, the wall began to move to their direction, making the cube smaller by inch. Puck tried to light up the hole and vaporized the water but it still found its way to get into the cube. Kurt dropped Rachel's sword and with her he banged the wall for help.
"Finn! Finn help us!" Rachel cried desperately.
"Let us explain this! We're not controlled by Dalton!" Kurt shouted, but the water kept rising up.
Their body was being pushed to the middle of the cube by the wall until they had to stand closer to each other in order not to get squished. Water had reached their chest and there was nothing they could do but waited for Lady Sylvester's mercy.
It was a nightmare.
"Why didn't Finn save us? He could also control water," Rachel sobbed as the water began to reach her neck. "He should have saved us!"
None of them could give her the answer because the water quickly rose and filled the cube entirely in no time. Three of them were trying their best to hold their breath but eventually the water won. Rachel was the first one to collapse; panic was written all over her face until the eyes rolled back and her body floated like a rag doll. Puck and Kurt kept banging on the wall but the water slowed their movement and absorbed the impact.
When Kurt's vision blacked out from the lack of air, Kurt just realized that maybe this was what Elliott wanted when he told Blaine about his fraud. To make him do what he had done just now.
Now he, his friends, and most likely Blaine would pay the price.
"STOP! Stop you'll kill them!" Finn yelled the moment water appeared from Lady Sylvester's palm and trailed down to go inside the cube. He was about to run toward them and called off the water using his own power when a metal blade appeared just inches from his head.
"Don't interfere, Hudson!" Elliott barked at him, even though his concentration was still on the cube, which was starting to shrink now.
"They are our friends! One of them is your fiancé!" he said incredulously, looking back at him in total disbelief.
"Which is why this has to stop now!"
"General Hudson," Lady Sylvester interfered before Finn could attack Elliott, "You're now on the highest position of McKinley hierarchy system beside the council itself. Think carefully before you act or you will end up like Prince Kurt."
Her words were like a blow to his face. Did she just confirm that Kurt had been demoted from the throne?
He looked back at the cube. Screams and loud bangs could be heard from the metal box. Rachel's voice was the worst. She was calling him for help and yet he just stood there and did nothing.
His heart, above all, wanted to save them. From where he stood now, he had no problem attacking Elliott and Lady Sylvester as well, since they were occupied with their own power. But then his mind prevented him from doing anything stupid, just like the Lady said. If he helped them escaped but failed, not only that he would go to prison with them, the throne would be passed to the royal family's closest relatives or associates.
Elliott.
Finn slowly lowered his fist and could only stare in defeat at his friends. He turned to Lady Sylvester and asked her, "You would not harm them, would you?"
"I am merely trying to contain the situation, General Hudson," she said if not grimly. "The last thing I want to do is harmed the only person left from Hummel bloodline."
So there he was, standing just few steps away from his tortured friends and did nothing. The waiting was excruciating, especially when he sensed that the water was already filled the cube completely. The banging continued but slowly it grew weaker until it stopped.
"They must be out by now! Pull back the water!" Finn half shouted half begged her but she remained stoic. "Pull back the water!"
Finn almost lurched at the lady when suddenly she broke the dreading silence. "Elliott, let them go."
The cube's wall collapsed to the floor with a loud clang and water splashed everywhere, followed by Rachel, Puck, and Kurt's limp body which were falling like a dead weight above the plate. Finn did not wait for Sylvester's permission and pushed away the soldiers to reach to Rachel first. She did not move an inch when he cradled her. He put his palm on her chest and tried to expel the water from her lungs. Only then she reacted, coughing harshly while water sprayed out from her mouth.
Without moving away from Rachel, Finn did the same to Kurt and Puck and now the three of them were gasping for air around him. However, Finn's attention was all on Rachel's trembling figure. She had not said a word to him and still gasping for air, but the look she gave to him was enough to tell Finn that he had betrayed her.
"Rachel, I'm so sorry," Finn said pathetically, and then followed by a lame excuse. "I had to."
"I trust you to escort them to their own cell, General," Lady Sylvester's voice erupted from the other end of the corridor. "Do not waste my trust on you." With that, she and Elliott walked away from his sight, leaving the guards for him.
"Finn," Kurt's hoarse voice came from Finn's side. He tried to get up but fell back face first and groaned when he used the wrong foot as a lever. "F-Finn, help us. B-Devon and I can explain everything."
"They have demoted you, Kurt. I'm in charge now." Finn felt worse than before when he saw Kurt's reaction. "I will help you but give me some time. Guards."
He avoided their accusation look when the guards helped them to stand. The last one was Rachel, but before she was escorted away from him, she spat at him with such a low voice that only he could hear it.
"I can't believe I want to marry a coward like you."
He had been in war too many times, but her words were worse than any wound he had received until that day. He kept convincing himself that this was necessary and for their own good, but now he begun to doubt it. Had he became like Elliott?
"Take them to the cell." His voice sounded strange even for his own ears.
As he watched them being taken away to the other side of the dungeon, his eyes slowly trailed to the cell where Devon had been held.
For the first time since his birth father's death, he felt lost.
Sebastian was running toward the Great Hall as fast as he could. His heart was beating fast not because that he was running, but the fact that King Anderson summoned him in the middle of night. He never like what he saw whenever he met the King personally. Who does, anyway?
When he reached the door to the hall, he took a deep breath and fixed his uniform from any wrinkle before going in.
The hall was illuminate with torches on the wall with the big one hung above the room. There was no one other than King Anderson himself, sitting on the throne and was still wearing his full attire. Sebastian walked in silence until he was only few steps from him then bowed.
"You wish to see me, my Lord?" Sebastian asked politely.
"Yes, General. Starting from tonight, you are replacing General Wes as the Great General of Dalton," the King said, straightforward.
Sebastian blinked dumbly at that. "M-My Lord?"
The King looked at him for the first time since he came and Sebastian noticed that he was in a good mood.
"You will lead our army to McKinley and fight alongside Carmel," King Anderson stood up and walked toward him with hands clasped on his back. "They agree to let us lead the war while the act as back up. Not that we need them, of course."
So the rumor was true. Carmel had asked them to join the alliance against McKinley while they just lost their King.
"Not that I question this decision, my Lord, but why the sudden act?" Sebastian carefully picked his words. "Don't we need to form a plan before . . ."
"Are you afraid, Smythe?" The King's eyes pierced through him. "I can choose another soldier who is up to write history in Dalton."
"N-no, my King. It's just . . ." Suddenly, he remembered that Blaine was still there. "What about Blaine, Sir? He is still there."
"If he's still alive, this will be the chance to bring him back."
King Anderson's cold remark sent shivers to his spine. He was talking about his son as if he was a piece of meat. He tried to put this aside and think about the plan. The King was right on one thing, though. This would be a good chance for them to bring Blaine back. The lack of news from him had worried him for weeks now.
And he did not want to deny the opportunity to be on the good side of the King for his own sake.
"I accept the position, My Lord. When will we leave?"
King Anderson's smile looked menacing under the shade of light.
"At dawn. Let today be the last day McKinley could enjoy the sun."
