Once again, Alois woke up in a lot of pain. His head hurt and blood matted his blonde hair. He tried to get up, only to find that his arms were cuffed together. With what little strength he had, his muscles flexed as he tried to pull them apart, but to no avail. The fact that he couldn't break the cuffs frightened him. Once his eyes adjusted, he could see the runes and inscriptions on them, alerting him that they had somehow managed to create anti-freak cuffs.

Drat. What's worse, is that he rubbed his thumb against his ring finger on his left hand, only to find it empty. His heart felt empty with it. There was no doubt in his mind that Preston had it disposed of. To think that the man responsible for ensuring that the ring got to its owner safely in the fist place would throw it away just to crush Alois' spirit. Alois failed to see the irony, as he was too wrapped up in his loss. So far, it was working. The blonde knew it was silly to think that his spouse would be angry at him that it was disposed of, but the thought lingered, despite knowing better. Truthfully, he knew that Ciel would be more furious at Preston. Rings could be replaced, but not that one. That was the ring that his husband placed on his finger on their wedding day to signify their union. It was irreplaceable.

The loss hurt Alois more than he expected it to. He didn't even want to get up after this. He just wanted to lie down and mourn, and considering his situation, he had time. While he didn't know where exactly this "base" of Preston's was, he was sure that it wasn't nearby. What he was certain of, however, was that he was in for a rough time until his spouse found him. Alois didn't know how soon it would be, but he knew that it was inevitable and in the near future. By taking the blonde Phantomhive, Preston sealed his fate.

Eventually, a door opened and through it came the captain himself. Alois made no movement to address him, and instead followed the man with his eyes. In truth, the menace didn't have energy for much, as he had just underwent two "fatal" injuries only hours apart from one another.

"Why, if it isn't captain Omid?" the menace greeted, looking up at his former-friend. "How are things on the deck of the Bra-Master?"

"It's 'Brahmastra'." corrected Preston, remembering the blonde's mischeivious nature a tad late.

"That's what I said." mockingly fibbed Alois, speaking with great certainty over the matter. With a roll of his eyes, Preston brought his boot down on the demon's shoulder, causing the Phantomhive to grimace.

"I don't have to put up with your stupid jokes anymore." spoke the Omid as he ground his heel into the man beneath him. "Where did you put your gun? I know you had one. Did you drop it? We couldn't find it when we searched you..."

"Hmmm..." The menace made a sound as though he were pondering something, pursing his lips in thought before looking back up at the other again. "Maybe it's somewhere shoved up your ass? Have you tried there?"

The boot came down on Alois' shoulder again, this time more harshly. Despite this, the blonde smiled with satisfaction. Despite the pain that he was in, he still needed the last laugh.

"Don't fuck with me." Preston snapped, his voice rough.

"I wouldn't dream of it! Even if you took my ring, I'm still happily married." Alois answered, only to be stomped again.

"You won't be laughing for long. Once we get to the base, we have a special contraption that was put together just for you." the Omid warned.

"You won't be laughing, either. You fucked up by taking me, you know. If you thought I was bad when Ciel went missing, just wait until Ciel comes for ya. That man knows revenge like nobody else I've ever met. You would know that too, if Black Annis hadn't rotted your brains."

"Let him come. I have an army."

"And a very humble demeanor, obviously..." Alois said. "You're a fucking idiot, Preston. You're going to mess with the guy who was at one time blamed for killing the queen? He doesn't give a fuck who you are, or what you have. He's going to come for ya. It's not going to be pretty. Doesn't matter what kind of shitty army you have."

"It keeps getting bigger every day. I think we can handle it."

"Yeah, like you 'handled' those H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. air raids. Don't think I don't know about that, Bra-Master." scoffed the menace. "You've gotten really arrogant. In fact, you're deluded. Even members of your own crew want you dead. It was a stupid move, enlisting Araneus."

"Araneus is a demon. A powerful one, if he managed to survive you." Preston replied. "Having someone in our ranks is going to help us exponentially!"

"He's going to terrorise your other soldiers." the blonde said bluntly. "People like him can't be 'cured' or 'rehabilitated'. They're going to do what they've always done because they think they can. You're probably gonna give him a leadership position, huh? That's just gonna make it easier for him."

"And what's that?" questioned the Omid. "What did Araneus do that's so bad?"

"Owned child sex slaves." the menace said, his brow furrowing. At last, his smile fell as he adopted a tone of severity. "Back when he was alive, Araneus was the Earl of Trancy, and I was his favourite. Use your head. How can you not have put that together by now?"

"You're making that up..."

"Ask him. He loves to brag about it."

"Stop it..."

"He's not going to take just your soul, you know." Alois stated. "He's going to take everything you have, breaking you mind, body, and eventually, your soul. That's how he gets his sick kicks. You don't know him like I know him. You will only know when it's too late."

"Stop it!" bellow the Omid, stomping his foot again. He kicked Alois while he was down again and again, but the blonde did not utter a peep. Preston's teeth were bared, his face in a snarl as he clenched his fists and kept thrashing the menace.

When he was finally done, he took a step back and glared down at the blonde. His chest and shoulders rose as he huffed and puffed, but he still didn't get the response he was looking for. In fact, Preston wasn't even really certain as to what that response would be.

"Ugly." Alois finally said, his voice hoarse. He coughed as he stared at the other man's boots from his place on the floor. "Ugly as fuck."

Clenching his fists tighter, Preston grew angrier and angrier by the second. Abruptly the man reached down and grabbed Alois by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the floor. He held the menace high up. The blonde was almost looking down at him from this position.

"So you are a lot stronger..." the menace mused.

"Shut up!" Ordered Preston, slamming the other's back against the wall. "Tell me about the gun!"

Veins protruded from the man's forehead as he screamed his demand at the menace. He grew angrier as the blonde smiled. A slight grin graced Alois' face as he peered down at his former friend, but then, his lips moved.

"Eat. A. Cock." Alois said simply, still wearing a haughty grin despite his condition.

"You fucking-!"

"Sir." called a voice from behind Preston, prompting his attention. Slowly, the man looked over his shoulder with eyes still aflame, sparking fear into the poor soul who had come to fetch him.

"The base is in sight, sir." the intruder said and Preston's gaze turned back to the menace. Harshly, he threw the blonde to the floor again before turning around to walk toward the door.

"Get him ready." Preston ordered. His likeness then disappeared through the doorway, leaving Alois and the flunkie alone for the time being.

It wasn't long before the menace was escorted out of his prison and into the sun. There, he awaited a new prison that was much harsher than the last. From the deck of the Brahmastra, he could see the base, and couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that it was an actual place momentarily.

They were what looked like large, two-story buildings on stilts poking out of the water. From the outside, at least, they appeared old and decrepit. Brown rust coated each one, and it was a miracle that the structures were still sturdy. Connecting them were a series of zip-lines and bridges so that it's residents could get from one building to another. Alois could see people there, waving at the ship he was standing on. Reg banners flew above the buildings, brandishing the Scarlet Order's initials. This was indeed the order's base. The ship pulled up next to a building with an odd pavilion at it's top, and the crew began to board.

"Welcome to the Maunsell Forts." spoke one of the werewolves escorting him. Alois made a mental note of the name before he was rudely pushed forward so that he would start walking.

The Phantomhive was marched into the building and realised that it wasn't as bad as he initially had thought it would be. Certainly, it was not in the best of states. In fact, it was bad. That said, the order had cleaned it up and made it hospitable. There was furniture and there was electricity.

"There used to be people living here." one of the wolves said. "Some of 'em died. The rest are still here."

"Sometimes, human boats come by for a tour, but we're supposed to shoot them down or scare them off." said another. "Shame."

Alois had hoped that the group escorting him would disperse, but alas, he was being escorted by about fifteen werewolves up to the roof! They knew that he was dangerous and they knew that it was going to take a lot of muscle to keep him secured. Still, he was not afraid until they finally reached the roof and he discovered what was under the pavilion awaiting him. Instinctively, he began to back away, but he was met with being roughly pushed and dragged toward the restraint system.

It was custom-made to suit housing a supernatural of Alois' strength. Once he was immobile in the wolfmens' grip, his cuffs were separated from one another and he was pushed down into a kneeling position over the flat metal surface. His cuffs were then bolted to the table and he was strapped in. His ankles were cuffed to the floor as he was forced to sit on his legs. None of this was the worst part, however. Then came the spears.

Alois screamed and tried to shake himself free, but he was held down by the werewolves still as more restraints were put in place. One werewolf stood over him with what looked like a long spear with anti-freak inscriptions on it. He aimed it at the blonde's lower back on the right side before running it through. There were holes on the other side for it to slide through the metal and into the floor. Then, they repeated the action on the blonde's left. Alois screamed and shouted as the wounds burned, and he did his best not to let his tears fall, but inevitably, they did.

When he couldn't scream anymore, he simply panted and stared up at his captors with eyes of hatred. Even as the wolfmen wrapped a few strands of barbed wire, they were afraid. This beast was more frightening then they were and they had angered it beyond recognition. The cheeky young man who walked with them up all of those steps was gone and all that remained was this, a feral beast that was going to rip out their throat and dance on their bones as soon as something came loose. Alois would show them what it meant to be a monster.

After they had fled, Alois' gaze turned to Preston, who smiled over him with great pride. If there was one person who Alois wanted to destroy more than anyone at the moment, it was Preston. That bastard. That fool. Alois would show him the gravity of what he had done as well.

"Comfy?" mockingly asked the leader of the order.

"Die." answered the menace, his throat raw from shouting and screaming.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Preston replied before turning to look at the woman behind him from over his shoulder.

"Wink," he called, "I want a few members of your crew guarding him."

"Yes, sir." the witch answered with a slight bow of her head, prompting a scoff from Doctor Hobbs.

"Isn't there a more brutal team who can handle him?" the doctor inquired.

"No one is more skilled than the crew of the Prudentia." Preston answered. "Now go tend to Araneus."

"Yes, sir..." Hobbs replied before shoving off. With no more instructions to give, Preston crouched down to Alois' level and gently placed a hand on the demon's cheek.

"Who's the tough one, now?" Preston asked his former friend. "You've always thought you were better than me. Now look at you. Who's hunting who, now?"

With no retort to the deranged man in front of him, Alois simply gathered the blood mixed with saliva in his mouth before launching it at the other man's face. It landed on Preston's cheek, and Preston's hand landed on Alois' hard. Despite being battered, bruised, bloody, and run through, Alois got the last chuckle for this encounter.

Standing up, the Omid wiped his cheek before turning to Wink. "Whoever you pick," he began, "Make sure they know that they can feel free to make his life a living hell."


A/N: This whole arc is just sadistic and nasty. This series has gotten dark...

Nobody feels bad for Preston anymore. He ruined that last chapter. The comments for him are very interesting, now...

Basically, everyone wants him to die.

The audience, the characters... everybody.

Preston gets no love.

It'll only get worse for him from now on.

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


CHARACTER SHET

Question: "To Tegwen and Kyung-Soon, how goes things?" by SlothWoman

Tegwen: "It's going. Not used to being chief. I almost fainted when I saw the desk for the first time! I feel like I could be doing more useful things. Kyung-Soon says not to worry about it. I'm not sure if anything does worry her, come to think of it.

She's been living in my apartment for months, now. She just kind of gradually moved in? She helps pay the rent, though, so it's hard to complain. I do wonder what her deal is, though. She keeps kissing my cheeks and getting lipstick on me, and I can't figure out if she is messing with me or what."

Kyung-Soon: "Everything's good. Living with Tegwen is a lot of fun, but the guys at Girasol weren't too happy. They came by wondering what I was doing at a cop's house, and I had to explain to them privately that this chick is really cool and kinda cute and they need to lay off. No problems since then though. Living with her REALLY makes me wish I could eat 'normal' food, though... Only drawback. Also she's incredibly oblivious. Other drawback."