Cutting it close again but I am still on time by my time zone! Yay! I warn you now though…this chapter holds little to smile about but it will still hopefully be one to enjoy so, now, read on!

The Fifth Turtle

Chapter 37: Afraid This Time

"…Master."

That had been the only word Lucian had got out before his head had snapped back as a fist slammed into his temples, the force causing his ears to ring and his vision to swim. Bringing his head back around to face his old master, Lucian's strong gaze met the cold dark depths of Saki's, the man's face twisting into a sneer.

"I am not your Master."

Lucian couldn't help the smirk of satisfaction that crept up onto his face.

"You're right. You don't deserve that title, father." The fist slammed into the other side of his temple, head twisting to the other side before coming back to face the front, the skin darkening rapidly as a small trickle of blood trailed down his face. Saki scowled at him, grinding out in a icy tone,

"And you are no son of mine."

His mouth set in a firm line, Lucian stayed quiet, eyes narrowing in anger up at the man who had taken him in, trained him, raised him as his own…but had never looked at him like he had at Karai…never acknowledged him for his work…never truly been there as a father...

"No, guess not."

The calm tone which he had spoken in only seeming to anger Saki enough that the man had driven his elbow into the turtles neck, bruising the oesophagus and causing the turtles eyes to fly wide, gasping for the air that was suddenly in limited supplies. His eyes had watered, darkness blackening the edges of his vision as his head spun, mind screaming for oxygen. With his breath rasping in his throat, Lucian had fallen forward, consciousness giving out.

That had gone down several hours ago.

Now Lucian knelt on his knees on the cold stone floor of a cell, body bare of his usual gear with his ankles bound beneath him and wrists secured in front. A thick metal collar encompassed his neck, the thin but sharp spikes attached to it turned inwards so that each spike dug deeper into the tender flesh of his neck with the slightest motion.

His whole body was tense and still. Even swallowing to wet his parched and swollen throat only served the drive those spikes deeper but, he refused to let out a single noise of pain, the hatred of his master keeping his mouth set in a firm line and his resolve strong.

After all, he wasn't alone anymore.

His gaze slowly rose as the cell door suddenly clanged open, the shadow of a mammoth figure blocking out the light even as the low chuckle echoed through the small area. Lucian almost let out an exasperated sigh.

Hun was back.

Saki glared at the piece of simple fabric he held in his hand, the colour only seeming to mock and remind him of Lucian's betrayal. White: a sign of new beginnings…a clean slate…all a pack of lies! Tossing the mask aside in anger, Saki's scowl deepened in frustration. He must have gone wrong somewhere in the turtles training. He had wanted a mindless solider and, for years it seemed like he had that exactly.

Back then, Saki had almost looked at the turtle in pride, seeing past his unnatural appearance to the fiery spirit within waiting to be moulded in his image. Lucian had shown such promise, hanging onto his every word and had rapidly grown in skill and strength as he grew older, easily bypassing Karai and continuing to grow. He had almost become the perfect ninja subordinate Saki had wanted by his side once he had destroyed his enemies; not that he'd ever let that fact be known to anyone. Lucian had been strong, capable, skilled, adaptable and obedient…

Then… Saki growled low in his throat …then those FREAKS had shown up and all had gone to hell! Lucian had gone out, kept secrets, disobeyed orders, failed missions, freed a prisoner, and lied to his face! All those things he never would have done beforehand. The turtle had forced his hand after that little incident and Saki had punished him accordingly for his actions. But even in death Lucian had continued to mock him, coming back only to desert the Foot clan and run back to the freaks he now called family.

But now, now Saki had Lucian within his grasps again and this time, he wasn't letting the turtle slip through his hands again. This time, he would break Lucian down piece by piece until the turtle gave in and returned to his master's side…or died resisting him. His lips twitched upwards at the corners, a devilish smile creeping onto his face as he turned and exited his main room…

…he had a turtle to visit.

Another bucket of ice cold salted water hit his face, drawing a muted hiss from the bound turtle and pulling him out of the darkness he had slowly been heading toward.

Lucian's whole frame was shaking, teeth biting painfully down on his lower lip to stop himself from letting out any sound other than the quick hisses of pain. The water dripping off his skin had cooled his body to a dangerous level, the salt causing the torn flesh on his neck to burn like it was on fire while his quivering frame just sent those spikes in deeper, igniting the burning pain all over again.

He knew that if his temperature dropped anymore he'd be in trouble…not that Hun cared. The blonde man was grinning at him, clearly enjoying the pain he could see printed across Lucian's face, every single muscle visibly bunched beneath his skin.

"Can't have you falling asleep on us before the Master arrives now can we?"

Lucian didn't answer, head lowered as he struggled to draw breath without causing more damage to his already mangled throat. He clenched his eyes shut as another load of water was dumped over his head, whole body tensing even further to prevent himself from jerking at the searing pain that followed. The cuffs were digging into his wrists, nails cutting into his palms. It was such a simple method of interrogation..but it was usually effective. Taking a deep breath in through his nose, Lucian sat up a little straighter, locking his gaze with Hun's, saying everything he needed to through that simple eye contact. Then his frame seemed to tense even more as his ears picked up the faint steps against the concrete, the voice that followed one he knew very well...

"Enough, Hun. Leave us."

Maybe it was the way his tone held a promise of torment that caused goosebumps to rise across the back of his neck, maybe it was the cruelty he could see within those bottomless coal black pupils or maybe it was just the knowledge that this man had killed him once before and had smiled afterwards that caused the tendrils of fear to writhe their way through his body.

He hated to admit it and refused to show it to anyone but…this time…he was afraid.

TBC

And there you have it! Another chapter done! Phew, was almost going to be late with this one after hitting a block with wording but I overcame it and this is the result. I was listening to Linkin Park so that probably didn't help with the whole 'dark scene' thing but oh well ^_^ It still turned out as I had planned…in a way.

Well, I hope you all liked it and stay tuned for my next update! I have also posted the second chapter to Returning so feel free to go check that out and let us know what you think by clicking on the link below!

Returning: s/10750536/1/Returning

As usual, please comment before you leave. All words are greatly appreciated whether they be good or bad! :D

Thank you for your patience! Hope the wait isn't lessening the excitement… Anyway, I will catch you all next week with another chapter! ^_^

-Lucian