Chapter 1
Descent into Darkness
When Yuki woke up, he was disoriented. Something was wrong with his body. He couldn't move. Why couldn't he move? What...
Oh. They were in Yue's body. Well that explained that, but even that was a bit strange. They rarely slept in Yue's body, and he didn't remember...
Then a face loomed in front of his vision - Yue's vision - and it all came rushing back.
Since he had discovered Yue's existence, Yuki had steadily become better and better at remaining aware of what was happening while Yue was in control. The spells where he changed were no longer blank spaces in his memory, which was a profound relief. And he could still retreat into Yue's mind if he wanted to. But most of the time it was nice to watch over Sakura as Yue protected her.
Now, however...
Yuki felt a chill invading his entire body, even beyond the physical limits of the body itself. His mind felt cold, and he could feel Yue's conscious shivering as well. So cold.
The face in front of Yue's eyes smiled, and Yuki felt the temperature drop another few degrees as he desperately tried to piece together the chaotic memories that had swarmed into his mind at the sight of that face.
A man. This man. He'd been after Sakura, or rather, he'd been after her magic. She had been fighting him, but his speciality was draining magic, and he had nullified every attack. Then he had gone after Yue. It made sense; Yue was practically made of magic. For a while it had seemed like a stalemate, but then suddenly he had gotten a hand on Yue's arm and everything was cold, freezing cold, and Yuki had felt Yue start to black out. All he could think was that Touya would be so angry if they disappeared even after Touya had given them his magic, but then before he lost consciousness he heard Sakura yell "shield!" and suddenly, though it was still cold, the temperature stopped dropping.
And then they woke up here. 'Where are we?' Yuki thought. He tried to reach Yue's mind to ask him, but Yue had closed himself off, withdrawn into his own mind, and his walls were unbreachable.
The face was still there, above them, and Yuki realized that they were tied down to something. A lab table maybe; that might explain some of the cold. The straps were tight, and the expression on the man's face was beginning to frighten Yuki.
'It'll be okay,' he told himself. 'Yue's in control. Yue will know what to do. Yue isn't taken down so easily.'
The strange man ran a finger down the side of Yue's face, and Yuki shuddered.
"Your friend is very clever," the man said. His voice was deep and velvety, matching his dark hair and aristocratic features. There was something sharp about his face, menacing, despite its handsome appearance.
"Her magic appears to shield what is vital," he continued conversationally, one long, icy finger continuing to trail down Yue's jaw. "So I can't actually drain enough of your magic to kill you, unfortunately. It's a shame, really. You need a great deal of magic to sustain yourself, magic that could be put to far better use supporting my power. But I've taken as much as I can without threatening your existence, and even that is quite a bit. I think I'll keep you here a while. Maybe her magic will wear off, and then I can finish you."
He leaned close then, his eyes right before them, and Yuki suddenly realized that this man was probably quite insane. His eyes were fevered, mad, and desperately frightening.
'Why hasn't someone come for us?' Yuki thought frantically. 'How did we get taken in the first place? Where is Sakura? She must be okay. The shield card wouldn't still be working if she wasn't okay but where is she? Why is she leaving us here with this psycho?'
"Your energy is delicious," the man whispered, and lowered his head to Yuki's neck, licking a trail up to his jaw. Even then, Yue did not flinch, though inside him Yuki wanted to scream and strain at the bonds holding them to the table.
"I really don't like people interfering with my intentions." The voice came from around Yue's neck, and since Yue wasn't looking down, Yuki could only imagine the stranger's expression.
"I think I need to make an example of you. Show her that I am not to be trifled with. Either she'll let down this sheild and I'll have all of you, or she will come for you and see what I have made of you. If she doesn't want the same to happen to her, she'll do as I say. I don't want her life, after all. Just her magic.
He smiled then. Yuki couldn't see it, but he could feel it against their neck. "Either way, I'll have my toy now."
He moved then, climbing onto the table and straddling their body, his knees on either side of Yue's hips. He lifted his head back into Yuki's field of vision and licked his lips, a sick smile twisting his features. "Lovely," he murmured.
He ground his hips forward and down and Yuki recoiled. 'No. No, no, no, no... He's not... He wouldn't... No, please..."
Mercilessly, Yuki cut himself off, retreating into the back of Yue's mind where he wouldn't have to watch. He didn't want to have to see this. He didn't want to feel it. He'd rather be oblivious, take the black disorientation, the blank memory. Anything but this.
Then, just as he felt himself beginning to fade away, he had the sensation of being yanked forward, hurtling towards the light and suddenly he opened his eyes - his eyes - and stared right into the face of his captor.
His first thought was that the man had somehow managed to pull him out and switch their bodies, but a look at his expression told Yuki that the man was just as surprised as he was. Although in a moment, the expression changed back to the malicious smile.
"My my, so we have a pretty brother as well, do we?" he murmured.
Yuki tugged at the bonds, feeling panic well within him. This wasn't supposed to happen. Yue was the one. Yue was the one who was supposed to protect Sakura, take the risks. He was just along for the ride. He wasn't supposed to be hurt, he wasn't-
In desperation, Yuki reached back in his mind towards Yue, only to find the walls as stiff and impenetrable as ever. No! Impossible! Yue had switched them, and was hiding in his mind! That bastard! He was offering Yuki up as a sacrifice, shoving him out into danger!
"YUE!" Yuki screamed, thrashing violently. The man sitting on top of him chuckled and the sound made Yuki grit his teeth. "Get off of me!" he yelled. "Don't touch me!"
"Now that's what I like," the man murmured, ignoring Yuki's protests. "A fighter. Your friend was far too passive. I like the fighters." He leaned down and licked at the shell of Yuki's ear, eliciting a full-body shudder from Yuki. "It makes it so much more fun when I break you," he whispered.
'Yue!' Yuki called desperately in his mind, begging for mercy. But Yue was deaf to his pleas.
Yuki thrashed again as the man on top of him grabbed his crotch with one hand, the other sliding under his shirt. "You'll scream for me," the man said in an offhand sort of way, as though simply mentioning a fact. "One way or another, you'll scream. It's Rand, by the way, if you'd like to scream a name."
Yuki gritted his teeth in an attempt to hold back any noise.
But in his mind he was already screaming.
Previous Chapter I Next Chapter