Wings of Avalon: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

coolmegan123: Well, he's not any kind of good in my AU, anyway! Yes, Meli's time as a Nobody will certainly not be for nothing. The changes may be subtle, but there are definitely some changes.

xOneSkyx: Thanks so much! I'm glad it's a good evil and a good crazy twist haha. It's definitely possible that he wasn't always bad. Of course it's definitely possible in canon that he's still not...? But in my AU he def is. I'm glad you're happy to have Meli back, so was I when I wrote it!

So I only missed Saturday by a couple of days this time. Also, I don't know if I've ever mentioned that I'm writing original fiction now instead of all fanfiction...? But I am. So if you like oc stuff, particularly lady oc whump, you should check out any of my like, 5 series on Tumblr (actress4Him, my masterlist of series is pinned to the top of my blog). Some of them are pretty much straight up whump, others have more plot with some whump mixed in. One of them is on AO3, also, if you prefer, it's called Querencia and is about a found family team of superheroes.

Chapter 26

Perspective – Riku

The band was unexpected.

I didn't know what I did expect after waking up in Xigbar's secret lair – that part I did predict, and the blank whiteness of said lair really didn't surprise me, either – but being completely healed from my injury and wearing the infamous band, Meli's band, was not it. I never thought we'd ever have to see the thing again, particularly since the remote was supposed to have vanished along with Saix. But Xigbar showed up pretty soon after I woke and proved that that was still around, too, somehow. The first thing I was gonna do when we got free was set fire to both of them, then drop them into the deepest part of the ocean.

I hadn't realized, from living through Meli's memories of wearing it before, how lightweight and unnoticeable the thing would be, until I had to have its existence on my body pointed out by Xigbar. He seemed to get a kick out of that and my reaction to it, or maybe he just enjoyed getting to be there when his diabolical scheme was discovered.

"So you know how this thing works, huh?" His one golden eye flashed with excitement. "Stil, you've never actually experienced it before for yourself, so a quick demonstration won't hurt. Or, will hurt, actually, but semantics." He shrugged and whipped what I assumed was the control for the band out of his pocket. "So, I tell you to do something, you don't do it. I turn this on to Level One."

That was all the warning I got before I was zapped. It was really more startling than it was painful, though it certainly wasn't pleasant and I had the feeling that it would become distinctly more unpleasant the longer it stayed on.

He clicked it back off as suddenly as it had come on, still waving the controller casually. "You keep refusing to do what I say, I turn it to Level Two."

The second level was more along the lines of the muted pain I had felt in Meli's memories, just sharp enough to make me want to yelp. I refrained, barely, but did tense up every muscle in my body against it. I could distinctly feel the electricity traveling through my veins, and an image of the lightning shaped marks on Meli's body flashed through my mind.

Xigbar's thumb swiped over the controller, turning it off again. "I'm sure you can imagine how this goes from there. It's basically like you're my dog, and this is your shock collar."

I sucked in a deep breath to try to calm the vibrations that persisted underneath my skin, with little success. "Do you really think some pain is gonna keep me in line? I'm pretty used to pain at this point in life."

He let out a loud laugh. "I think that if I turn this thing up high enough I can stop you from doing pretty much anything, 'cause you'll be too busy lying on the floor. Did poppet not share that part with you?" The mental pictures that came up then made me grit my teeth and growl, but unfortunately, Xigbar wasn't done talking yet.

"Besides, if you won't behave for your own sake, I know you'll behave for your girlfriend's."

I froze then, my eyes widening in fear. "You didn't..."

He laughed again, more of a cackle this time. "Don't worry, there's only one of these babies. Too bad, really, having one for each of you would have been perfect." Instantly I deflated, too relieved for words. "But I can just picture the look on her face when she has to see me use this on her boyfriend. It's almost poetic, don't you think?"

He was right, and I hated it. Seeing the band used on me would probably be worse for Meli's mind and newly returned emotions than having it used on herself. I hadn't thought it was possible for me to hate somebody more than I had hated Saix, but using Meli's trauma against her was quickly making Xigbar break that record.

The cuff on my wrist preventing me from using magic had already been explained to me, but that didn't mean that I couldn't still fight. I lunged forward suddenly, hoping to take him by surprise, but somehow he was far too fast for me. Fire shot through me. It was clearly a higher level than the two he had already demonstrated, and my feet faltered under me, nearly sending me into a face plant on the floor.

Xigbar chuckled, shaking his head. "You'll learn sooner or later." Then he was gone.

For a couple of days – or at least that was my best guess of the passage of time based on the meals that randomly appeared in the tiny white room – I was left alone, pacing the floor, trying in vain to remove the band or cuffs, attempting not to let my thoughts run wild wondering where Meli might be and what he might be doing to her. It was, in a word, agonizing. Around and around the room I marched, hands sweating, stomach in knots, until my feet were smarting from blisters. I tried then to make myself sit still, to lean against the wall and rest, but my brain wouldn't stop swirling and my leg wouldn't stop bouncing up and down with nervous energy. Pretty soon I couldn't take it anymore, and I was up pacing again. I only managed to stop long enough to actually sleep once, and it was a restless sleep full of nightmares.

The next time I saw Xigbar was when I was transported without warning into another room, where Meli was chained to a chair and on the verge of a panic attack. I had to admit, as much as I had missed her having actual emotions, I had not missed that part. The relief at seeing her there, alive, whole, human again, felt like barely a drop in the bucket toward putting out the fire of my anxiety. I couldn't relax. Not yet. Not when she was chained up, and hurting, and Xigbar had control over us both.

And to top it all off, her reaction to seeing the band was just as bad as I had feared it would be. I wanted so badly to lie to her, to say that he hadn't even used it on me, but the poor excuse for reassurance that I did give her seemed to help at least a little.

"See, if you don't behave, he gets punished, and we all know you don't want that." Xigbar lifted his heavy hand from my shoulder, and as much as I had hated him touching me, I wanted him near Meli even less. But that's where he was headed, of course, and I couldn't do anything to him that I wanted without risking him going for that remote again. He was supernaturally fast at getting a hand on it.

He circled behind Meli's chair, and it was far too predatory for my liking. "If he doesn't behave, then he still gets punished. It'll hurt, yeah, plus he knows what it'll do to you to see that." I hated the way Meli jolted when he dropped his hands down onto her shoulders, almost as much as I hated the self-deprecating wince that came after. "Between you and me, I don't think he'll want to risk misbehaving too many times, even if he is the one wearing the device." He had leaned down close to her ear, but kept his gaze straight on me. "I mean, I do have you right here where I could do...literally anything, as long as I keep you alive."

I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna. I can't. I can't, but I want to, so bad. He kept watching me, barely holding in his mirth. I hoped my eyes fully conveyed my message – maybe not now, but eventually, he was going down. And if you so much as look at her the wrong way...

Before I knew it, I was back in my own room, staring at nothing but blank white walls again. And Xigbar had still been with Meli when he had sent me away. Screaming, I rushed at the wall and kicked it with all of my might.

"Stay away from her! You leave her alone, you hear me?" I roared, not even caring if I ended up getting zapped for it now that Meli wasn't around to see.

For a moment I stood still, heaving out breaths, but nothing happened. I hadn't really expected it to, if I was being honest. I was there as a pawn, a tool, and until I was needed, I could probably scream and kick and protest and refuse to eat and do whatever else I wanted to, and nobody would care or even notice. Dropping the top of my head against the wall, I shut my eyes against the burning of tears that wouldn't actually fall. I hated this feeling of helplessness. I hated knowing that Meli was so close, and I couldn't do anything for her. She was finally herself again, and I couldn't even hold her.

I'm sorry, Sunshine. I've failed you.

A/N: Bit of a short chapter this time, but we get to see Riku's perspective and get a taste of Riku whump for once :)