In the Dark
by Lalita
Disclaimer~ Megami Kouhosei is not mine, never has been mine, and never will be.
Summary~ In their pilot days, Ikhny is tormented endlessly by Hiead, until... *evil laugh* Read to find out!
Author Notes~ This fic was taken down for MAJOR revisions and such. To be truthful, I lost interest in it after awhile, and I think the later chapters reflected that. So I've done my best with it now, and I hope everyone likes it more now! It's still a twisted Hiead/Ikhny fic, that much hasn't changed. The chapters are, for the most part, still pretty short, but I added a lot more detail. They are also no longer done in the characters' points of view.
I would also like to take the time out to say that if you don't like sick, twisted, non-redeemable Hiead, don't read this. This is not like other Hiead/Ikhny fics, okay? I better not get any reviews telling me this story is impossible, because in this fic, Hiead and Ikhny are NOT a happy, lovey dovey couple.
Please give me an honest opinion and tell me whether or not you think the revisions I made were substantial!
Chapter One~ Torment
The after-effects of the battle still lingered in space. Torn, bloodied remnants of VICTIM were scattered randomly around, along with quite a few chunks of machinery. GIS lay among the center of the battlefield, apparently none the worse, despite the obvious signs of disaster surrounding it.
In GIS, the pilots had returned, much to the relief of their repairers, although not unscathed. They stepped out of their battered Goddesses, bruised and bloody, but victorious. It had been a very dangerous fight indeed.
One repairer stood before the tall red and black Goddess, known as Himato- Kallisto, anxiously wringing her hands. When the silver-haired, demon eyed pilot emerged from the Ingrid, she spoke hurriedly, as if she was afraid he might not hear her out, not once raising her head. " Sir, I n-noticed something wrong with the Kallisto when you were engaged in the b-battlefield."
Her stutter, although still apparent in her speech, had vastly improved since their candidate days, for which Hiead was grateful. It made him somewhat more tolerant of her high, whiny voice, which was annoying enough as it was. He closed his eyes, as if to block out all thoughts of his repairer.
Still, Allecto persisted. " Sir," she pressed on, ignoring the way a muscle in his jaw had begun to twitch, " please listen to me. I-"
She broke off when Hiead opened his eyes and slowly faced her, his eyebrows lowered ominously. She wanted his attention? Fine. But she would pay for wasting his time. " I mean... She w-wasn't really responding accurately, was she?" Allecto whispered, the end coming out as a question rather than a statement.
" Allecto," Hiead growled low his throat. He was so sick and tired of listening to her babble on about things that were a repairer's duty, not his. In fact, he was so irked that he seriously considered strangling her. It certainly was a tempting notion at the moment.
" Y-Yes?" Allecto bit her lower lip, and, as if sensing his aggravation, took a step back away from him. She knew that Hiead was not above hurting other people, physically as well as emotionally, and something was telling her that he wouldn't hesitate to do so now.
She was not to be disappointed. " Are you a repairer or aren't you?" Hiead asked her, his tone deadly soft. When she did not respond, he shoved her. She stumbled, but did not fall. " Answer me!"
Allecto tightly gripped the computer console behind her, the one that had broken her fall. Her tongue darted out to moisten her suddenly dry lips, and she struggled to stop the trembling that had started to form in her hands. " Yes, sir," she replied, inwardly cringing for the outburst that was sure to follow.
Hiead held his smirk of satisfaction inward as he noticed Allecto's fear. Her chest was beginning to rise and fall rapidly; he could almost smell the stench cowardice emitting from her small, weak body. Hiead roughly grabbed her shoulders and dug his fingernails into her upper arms. " Then why are you bothering me with a repairer's duty?" he snapped, his eyes flashing.
Finally, she met his angry gaze with her own frightened one. Tears had already started to form behind her thick glasses, but she refused to let them fall. Instead, she averted her eyes from him and focused on a part of the hangar wall. " I'm sorry," she said despondently.
Hiead frowned and hoisted her off of her feet to meet his height, so that her feet dangled a few feet above the ground. As he watched, a tear leaked its way from her right eye and slid down her cheek. " Such a weakling," he thought dispassionately, and vowed, not for the first time in his life, to ever become so pathetic.
" P-Please, sir, let me go!" Allecto pleaded, struggling against him, but it was no use. His iron strength held her in place just as effectively a straight jacked would have.
Hiead, thoroughly disgusted with the mousy girl he was forced to have as his repairer, suddenly shoved her away from him. Allecto let out a cry of surprise before hitting the wall and sliding unceremoniously to the floor. Hiead walked over to her, ire and revulsion still clear on his otherwise breathtaking features.
" I won't do it again, sir," Allecto buried her face in her hands so as to hide the tears now falling with wanton abandon.
" Isn't that what you said the last time, Allecto? And the time before that?" Hiead raised an eyebrow as she failed to answer him. When he thought about it, the girl did lack the proper manners and respect due to him. His lips quirked upwards into a cruel smile. She needed to be taught a lesson, he finally decided. And who better than he to teach her?
The tears continued to course silently down Allecto's face, but she raised her head to look at him imploringly. It only served to raise his temper further. Still, he bit his tongue and deflected his words inward. " Can't she do anything besides cry?" he thought, utterly repulsed by the crybaby in front of him. Of course, he already knew the answer to that. She was a worthless, defective tool who was incompetent and weak, to boot.
Hiead savagely kicked her. Allecto, who had not been expecting any blow of the sort from him, cried out in pain and curled into a defensive position on the floor. Hiead smirked. That was where she, along with all the other fools, belonged. At his feet.
Still in the mood for a bit more violence that destroying VICTIM alone could not cure, Hiead bent down low and roughly tugged Allecto up to her feet. Then, he pressed her up against the wall, and said in a voice laced with menace and dislike, " You're pathetic."
Allecto, cringing, let out a strangled wail, and with a jolt, Hiead realized that he was digging so hard into her shoulder blades that there were likely to be several bruises. The thought only filled him with a sick, demented sort of pleasure, as it always did. He pressed even harder.
Allecto whimpered. " P-Please, sir," she begged, tears once again spilling out over cheeks. Her nose began to run, mixing in with the rivulets of her bittersweet tears.
Hiead was unable to resist the temptation any longer. Of their own accord, his hands had already begun to slide up and curl around her neck. Smiling evilly at the way Allecto's eyes widened in panic, he said silkily, " Something wrong, Allecto? Are you... scared?"
Another strangled, terrified sound emerged from her throat. Hiead tightened his grip on her neck, cutting her off. " What? Not having fun?" He actually laughed, albeit low and darkly, then added, " Well, I am."
Allecto began going limp, sagging into his arms. Her face turned to a startling shade of blue, and her eyes, partially hidden behind her large spectacles, started to roll backwards into her head, a sure sign that she was loosing oxygen- and fast. Her dull, stringy brown hair fell into her face as her head lolled.
Hiead was filled with a sudden surge of hatred so strong it startled even him. But footsteps, hurried, pounding footsteps interrupted him. He released Ikhny's neck, giving it one last, final squeeze before letting go. Besides, it would not do him well to be caught assaulting his repairer in broad sight in a corridor. If the scrawny, rat-eared girl- and he was certain that it was her and that moron, Enna, running along the hallway- caught him at just that instant, it would be jeopardizing his position as a pilot, and that was something he could not afford.
Hiead quickly looked around the hallway, calculating. If Enna and the girl found Allecto sobbing in a crumpled heap on the floor, they would suspect him. If they found him in the same side of the ship as she was in, they would most likely know it was him. His eyes rested on a closet, carefully disguised to blend in with the rest of the hall's wall. It was the perfect hiding place.
None too gently, Hiead shoved Allecto into the tiny, dark closet. Her senses had started to come back to her and she glanced wildly around, taking in her surroundings. Hiead knew for a fact that she hated the dark. In fact, it scared her even more than he did.
" Don't worry, Allecto. The fun hasn't even started yet," Hiead promised her as he shut the door on her, leaving her all alone, enclosed in the shadows. The last sight he saw of her was her mouth, open wide in a silent scream. He took special care to lock the door. After all, he didn't want her escaping and getting him in trouble, now did he?
Apparently, she was too afraid to cry out for help, or even to stand up, brush herself off, and open the door, for which Hiead was grateful. Of course, if she tried to get out, she would find her efforts futile. The chances of her escaping before dinner were slim to none. Hiead's lips curled into a nasty smile. That was, if he let her out.
Hiead did not worry about Enna and his repairer. Allecto would not tell. She would cover for him, as always. It was, perhaps, the most sensible thing she had ever done in her life.
Casually, Hiead sauntered down the hallway, his hands in his pockets, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Which was true. This was almost becoming a daily routine for Allecto and him. Alright, so he had been slightly harsher than usual, but it didn't matter to him. After all, the more pain he inflicted, the more he enjoyed it.
At an outraged cry and a string of curses coming from behind him, Hiead grinned wickedly. No doubt Tolleyk would be after him soon, for hurting her little friend, no matter what Allecto told her. " What a shame," Hiead thought, vastly amused. " I thought friends had more trust in each other than that."
Hiead grunted, which was his attempt at a chuckle of mirth. He had never had any friends in his life and he never would. He had pushed away everyone he knew, so he knew nothing of the pitiful relationships called friendships, nor did he care for them. However, he did know one thing. Bonds were easily created and just as, if not more, easily destroyed. They were a waste of time and effort.
Hiead rounded the corner and entered his room. He punched in the password at the small, square control panel on the wall, efficiently locking the door. Tolleyk was free to pound on the door and scream at me until she was blue in the face, whilst he would rest, so as to keep up his strength. Later on, there were sure to be confrontations with Enna, and he wanted to be at his best.
Hiead lowered himself onto the bed devoid of covers and pillows, for he had long ago trained himself to sleep without comfort, but sleep alluded him. He was far too eager for the next " lesson " he would teach Allecto and the possibility of a fight with Enna, further easing his frustration. Idly, Hiead realized that he shouldn't be focusing so much the weaklings surrounding him. He was far too self-disciplined for that, and, further more, he had much more important matters on his hands.
Ignoring the loud, swift kicks and punches to his door, as well as the various insults and swearing that went with them, Hiead fell into a sleep fraught with the recurring nightmares of his forgotten past. For once, the questions they arose were welcome. It finally allowed him to concentrate on something other than all the inferiors around him.
I will win... I will beat them all...