Assiduous Atrophos
By: Angelus Erreare
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to ATLUS USA.
A/N: A nasty idea I had in mind. I just had to write it; it had been nagging me to do it, so I did. It was supposed to be a oneshot…but oh well. Here we are.
NOTE:
The Junkyard here is Purgatory; my idea of the Roman Catholic Purgatory. A mixture of the purgatory in the game and my idea of Purgatory. The plot, though, has nothing to do with the game. There are no ATMA and no Cyber Shaman. It's just about people's feelings about being trapped in Purgatory.
WARNING: AU, OOC, SUGGESTIVE SITUATIONS, LANGUAGE, ANGST
Chapter 1: All Seeing Eye
He gasped, out of breath, with sweat bathing his entire body as he sat up abruptly, his peaceful sleep disturbed.
No. That was a mistake.
He didn't sleep. He didn't dream. He was having a nightmare.
He swung his legs to the side of the bed, his red eyes glowing dangerously. He had had the same nightmare…
He closed his eyes and wished he hadn't. There, within, he had seen her face…
"Why…?"
That was what he would ask, over and over, within the dream.
There, within, he would find himself splayed on the floor on his stomach, bleeding profusely…And from the distance, he could hear…a cackle.
He remembered turning his head to the side then, wanting to know who it was that had dealt him this abysmal fate.
And there…his eyes met hers…
And then, he would ask, "why…"
His question…no matter how many times he had asked it, he now realized, would never be answered.
He growled and without further thoughts, donned on his uniform. A few moments later, he found himself outside…alone.
He looked at the night sky and let out an angry and trembling breath and asked, "Why…?"
Yes; he was asking why.
He was asking the gods…the deities…or any supernatural entities up there who might be listening to his pathetic pleas.
Why.
Why had he been thrown in there; in Purgatory?
Why?
What had he done that he had been judged so mercilessly…? Was it really that unforgivable…?
Why was he suffering from this disease? Within each passing day, he could feel himself fade away…little by little…He was diminishing…
He was suffering from continuous deterioration…this assiduous atrophy…and he didn't know why…His sanity was slipping away…as well, wasn't it…?
Why…?
There were so many things that he wanted to know…But there was no one there…No answer his questions. There was no one there to hear his pleas…
He knew that there was God. But…did God know that he existed? Did He hear his pleas?
Well, the fact that he was there, still living a miserable and dull life at the Junkyard was answer enough. He closed his eyes as the rain met his face…He had been there, almost a few minutes, completely exposed to the elements, but he cared not.
He knew that this was something that he needed to do.
He just couldn't take it anymore…He just wanted to let the sky know that he existed. This was a burden that he needed to be taken out from his chest.
"Why?"
He abruptly opened his eyes.
He suddenly narrowed them. Yes. He remembered it a bit clearer now. It had been her. That woman. She was the cause of all of this, wasn't she?
Heat clenched his hands into fists and his chest tightened, rejecting the oxygen from the air that he had just breathed in.
Yes…
Just before his eyes had closed for the last time; just before he had succumbed to the call of death, it had been her face that he had gazed upon…
Her hazel eyes…
He frowned; she didn't have hazel eyes anymore…
No.
Now…she had bright pink eyes…
Yes…She was there. She was there at the Junkyard with them…With him…near him. She had always been near him…and not once did he feel anything for her. He had always regarded her as anther useless individual…
But now that her identity had been divulged and revealed to him at last…he knew that he had to pay her his respects…
She was the cause of why he had been transported at Purgatory, wasn't she? Up to how long would God punish them this way…? The answer to that, he didn't know…
He glared at the sky once more; he may not know when God would appear and judge them, but he certainly knew what to do in order to pass the time.
He looked at the walls of the buildings in front of him. He then turned around and went inside. Once he was within his room once more, he carefully stripped himself and wiped himself dry. And then, as he wrapped his white towel around his waist, he sat on his bed and began to think once more.
His thoughts again fell to his female "comrade".
He sneered at that. Comrade?
No; she wasn't a comrade…She was his betrayer…She was the one who had killed him. She was the one that had been the cause for his eternal damnation.
He suddenly smirked as he imagined her. He nodded in appreciation. Cleary she had a body that had served as the envy of many other women…and the desire of many men…
But such desire had been taken from them…Yes; that was the original punishment of God. But not anymore. For if it was, then, he wouldn't be feeling the way he did about her.
No. He definitely felt desire for her.
He grinned evilly.
Just as she had given him a life in purgatory…He would give her a life in hell.
xxxxx
Heat had not been able to sleep ever since his dream had woken him. He now sat at the mess hall, drinking his cup of coffee calmly. His eyes were narrowed as he continued to ponder over his dream.
He hated her.
He sighed and closed his eyes. His head hurt and his eyes did too. He knew that they were bloodshot…
But he really couldn't afford to not participate in the drills…He was glad that that was over. But now, he had been overwhelmed with the extreme fatigue.
He groaned. He really shouldn't…
"Hey Heat. Mind if I seat here?" a female voice asked.
He stiffened. It was…
He turned and saw her. Pink met red. He shrugged his shoulders, "No. Go ahead."
He crossed his arms, not letting her presence irk him. Oh, but it did irk him. Even if no words were exchanged between them, he had let every sound that she had made, loud or minute, enter his ears.
He was intent in watching her. Her breathing was calm and she was silent. Aa…a true soldier. Why was she here in the first place? She knew him. She knew that he did not like having company so early in the morning…but still, she had persisted and had asked to sit. Why?
There was no doubt that he hated her. He hated her guts…her presence…Her everything. But he could not do anything about it…
At least. Not yet.
"Hey. You alright?"
"I'm fine." he gruffly answered.
She giggled, "Same old grouch eh?"
He raised an eyebrow; a grouch…? Same old…grouch? He was getting irritated. Can't she just…leave him alone?
"I'll see you at the Strategy Room Heat. Thanks for letting me sit."
He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and watched her leave. He looked at the empty mug beside him, in front of where she used to sit. She was a quick drinker.
That afternoon, they had met once more. He looked at the sky. He sneered at its assiduously raining state, "You just love riling me, don't you?" he asked bitterly, his query directed at God.
"Hey Heat. You and I are scheduled for a weapon's check at Warehouse 17 at 1800 hours." Argilla said firmly, a small smile in her face.
He nodded, "I'll be there."
With that, he removed himself from her presence.
xxxxx
He was angry. Why was she doing that? Why was she doing the things she did? Why did she say the things she had said? Was it to get close to him?
And if it was, for what purpose?
Their assignment at the warehouse had been a cinch. But he didn't like it. He didn't like spending time with her like that.
She was vexing him to no end. Her voice…her silky voice was so alluring that he knew that it was false; it was there…to serve as another test. Would he fall for her spell like he did in his past life? Or would he be wiser and rebuff her?
He chose the latter.
Was she trying to seduce him? Was she trying to gain his friendship…? He sneered at that.
Before, he was indifferent towards her. After all, she was another useless individual in their team…He cared not for her presence. Although they had done everything in coordinated motion, team spirit was not something that he felt for the woman.
But at least, he could say that he did not loathe her…
However…
All changed when he learnt the truth.
Whereby before he was indifferent towards her, now he abhorred her. How could he continue to coordinate with her when he realized that she was his murderer…? No. There was no way at all…
She was the reason he was there.
Now, there was only hate. His heart burned and his chest tightened. Tomorrow…Tomorrow it would all change.
xxxxx
Argilla moaned painfully as she clutched her head in pain.
"W-what happened…?" she asked groggily.
She opened her eyes slowly and looked around. All was dark.
Where was she…?
She couldn't remember much of what happened. All that she remembered was that she was returning to her room after her training exercises…
She was planning on grabbing an early dinner with the guys and then…Suddenly someone had hit her quite powerfully at the back of her head, knocking her unconscious.
She shivered a bit as she felt quite cold. She hugged herself and gasped as she felt her own bare skin.
She had been stripped.
But thankfully, not completely.
She still had her black bra and panties on.
But still, that was beside the point. By now, she had realized that she had been abducted…and was taken hostage. Her throat suddenly felt dry and cold sweat began to form on her skin.
Who was it that did this to her…?
And for what purpose…?
At that moment, she felt something metallic and cold stuck on her ankle. She felt her way towards it and growled as she realized that it was a shackle. She tentatively kicked openly, wanting to test it.
It was strong.
She frowned; she didn't know if she would be able to yank it from the wall or slip her foot through it.
She suddenly stood up as the door to her cell had opened. The light from the outside nearly blinded her that she had to close one of her eyes and shielded the other with the back of her hand.
She heard a chuckle.
She blinked and saw the silhouette of a man.
She glared at him, resisting the urge to cover herself, or at least, try to. "Who are you?" she asked calmly. Although she felt unnerved and totally mortified at him seeing her in her undressed state, her hands remained at her sides, not giving in to her desire to hide her private parts from her captor's eyes.
She wanted to but she shouldn't. If she did, she would be showing weakness. And at these sorts of situations, it was one of those things that would worsen them.
She should remain ever steadfast; unwavering and strong.
"…"
He said nothing but just continued to stare at her. She blinked, "Tell me what you want."
Again, the man said nothing.
The man, after staring at her for a few more seconds, turned away and began to walk away.
"Wait!" she yelled. But nothing…
He had already gone.
She could feel her self-confidence and optimism go out with the light as she found herself, once more in complete darkness…
She cursed and there immediately set to work to free herself.
xxxxx
Heat looked at her from the control room. He had installed a small camera in that room. She would never know where it was. And if she had somehow come to know of it, she'd never get to it…
He recalled back as to how it all came to be.
He had hidden himself with her room and had waited for her…It had all been easy…Her place to stay had been prepared days before…
He had picked up a small ring along their travels through the wasteland…It was a ring with a blue jewel in the middle. At first he had wondered at what it might do but soon, he had realized that it had permitted access to places that had been sealed with supernatural powers.
It had the power to nullify and reapply the power of blue walls.
He had been lucky that the western part of Muladhara was falling apart…There were many sealed rooms within that no one would dare venture into.
He had delved deep within that place…and there selected the place where his "beloved" would spend her days and nights in.
He had selected the most remote one of course. The one behind the blue wall.
And then, after that, he had prepared everything…
And when she had entered her room, he had been lying in wait.
The rest was easy…He had carried her off and had placed her in her new room. He remembered himself shaking in desire as he beheld her helpless form in his arms. She was unconscious and her chest was heaving up and down delectably in front of his face. He looked down then, looking at her legs…
They peeked seductively from the skirt that she wore and there he found himself laughing.
What was she wearing and why?
He shook his head.
He had stripped her bare then. But not completely…
No…
Not yet.
First, he wanted her to feel fear. He wanted her to feel what it was like to be sucked from the world that she knew only to be hurled at another that was completely alien to her. He wanted her to feel what it was like to be watched by an entity that she couldn't possibly identify…
He wanted her to wallow in the feeling of helplessness and despair as she begin to realize with each passing day that her hopes of getting free would be impossible.
He wanted her to feel vulnerable…weak…unprotected…naked.
He wanted her to know what it was like to feel frightened…like a caged animal that had been condemned for death…never knowing when her time would be up…waking up each morning or night, feeling only utter fright. He wanted her heart to race in dread and anticipation knowing that her life was in his hands…He whose face she would not know…
He whose face she would never came to lay eyes upon…
He wanted her to suffer…
He wanted to break her. He wanted to shatter everything that she had stood for; her courage…her fortitude…her pride…
He wanted to take all of that away from her.
He wanted her to feel powerlessness.
To feel utter despair at realizing that her fate had been sealed unfairly…unjustly…
Just as his had been…by her.
He narrowed his eyes at that.
That was why he wouldn't take her…not yet. He wanted her to almost die with nervousness and trepidation. He knew how the standard female mind worked. Their bodies were one of their most treasured possessions…and being taken so savagely by a man was one of their worst nightmares.
Even hers.
She may be a soldier…but without her armor, her rifle…her uniform…she was just a woman. A naked woman in front of him.
He knew that she would feel utter nervousness within each given day, thinking whether or not this day may be her last.
Aa…to see her writhe in pain like that.
That would bring him absolute pleasure.
And it would be her suffering that would make living in this Purgatory bearable.
He looked into the monitor again and with the night-vision camera, he was able to know what it was she was doing. He chuckled deeply within his throat, seeing how she was futilely attempting to free herself from the shackle.
Aa…
He shook his head. She would come to know, in a while, that it was useless…
He smirked as that moment had arrived and there, he saw her beginning to get angry. He watched with curious eyes as she stood up, with her tiny hands clenched tightly.
He listened in utter amusement and amazement as she shouted and cursed…daring her captor to come and speak to her.
Standard response…that was.
"Come on Argilla…You can do better than that…"
But still, no matter how provocative she would become, he would not leave his perch. He would continue to watch her…He would continue to patiently wait until the very essence of humanity began to ebb away from her…reducing her into nothingness.
Within each passing day…she would continue to fade away…
Aa…he wanted to see that.
"I'll be here Argilla. I'll be right here."
xxxxx
