Okay, so things get spicy and all that. Eliza is a multitude of things in this chapter. A protective sister, a complete bitch, and underneath it all, a matchmaker.
YOU CAN SKIP THE ITALICIZED SECTION IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE CONTENT. IT IS A FLASHBACK, BUT IT CONTAINS EZRA'S PAST... EXPERIENCES... WITH HIS ABUSIVE EXES.
On a serious note, if you know anyone in an abusive relationship, get them help. I am only putting the US Domestic Abuse hotline number here in case. This is not a laughing matter.
(US number. 1/800/799/7233)
...
Eliza was fucking fuming right now. Someone defiled her baby brother and she was going to fucking castrate them. She was going to do unspeakable things to them, torture which would put the ancient Geneva Conventions to shame, and oh there would be some high-quality black market dealing. Maybe sell them as whores to anyone willing…. That thought excited Eliza more than she cared to admit.
"I see that look in your eye," Ezra said softly from the floor.
Eliza finally looked down again and pulled away her knife before burying her head on his shoulder. "Is that where you got your scars?"
Ezra nodded, "Yeah, but I'm going to have to be the bearer of bad news. You won't be able to kill them."
"And why not?" Eliza said pouting.
Ezra sighed, "They are kinda already dead. I might have had something to do with it."
Eliza looked down at her brother in concern, "Please don't tell me you've tainted yourself. You never wanted to deal with that side of the life we live."
The younger Steele sibling did not reply. Except for saying, "Can you get off me?" Eliza did so without complaint. "Could you leave?" Eliza was about to complain but when she saw the tears, she never felt so conflicted.
"Could you at least let me know when you need me? I hate to leave you like this," Eliza said but underneath the words, she was pleading with him to let her stay. To hold him like she did when they were kids. Sometimes, you need someone to hold you, just to keep away the bad dreams and trauma.
"No promises, sis," Ezra said before falling onto his cot and closed his eyes. The nightmares were going to ravage him tonight, without mercy… as they did for weeks. Ezra never felt so powerless over that time.
Eliza left the room with her head hung low and one of Ezra's extra masks, which was actually one of hers and that made her crack a smile through the newly formed tears.
Once Eliza arrived in the common room, it was silent. Everyone was relaxing in the room. Pathfinder was in rest mode. Gibraltar and Anita were playing a game of chess. Bloth was sharpening knives. Crypto was on his drone, probably hacking into something or looking up someone for future blackmailing. Ajay was doing maintenance on D.O.C. Renee was actually not doing anything with weapons and instead laying in Natalie's lap. The latter was reading a book with one hand—her prosthetic—while the other hand was in Renee's hair.
As for the rest of the Legends, they were scattered about. The last they heard of Octavio… he was running or playing a video game. Natalie peered over the top of her book before seeing a look in her eyes. It may have something to do with how she just yelled. "Why'd you stop?" Natalie heard Reene murmur.
"You aren't worried about either of them?" Natalie whispered.
"Course I am, but that seems like it's Ezra's past and that's something we have no right in meddling with," Renee said as her eyes turned pearly white.
"You got that fucking right," a voice said from behind the pair. The duo turned/looked up to see Eliza with a mask on, covering her lower face, but her eyes were in slits. Her stance showed that she had dominance in the room. "Get up."
"Quoi?" Natalie asked.
"I'm not repeating myself, fucking move, or I will make you move," Eliza snarled, catching the attention of everyone present.
Renee looked skeptical, "I happen to be one of the most dangerous people in the room. Sure you may be Legends here, but outside this, what are you?" Eliza looked to Crypto, "You, does Alpha Tango Delta 45 mean anything to you?"
The hacker looked pensive for a moment, before recognition flashed in his eyes, "So that was you, wasn't it? Sure, it means something, but what's the passcode?"
"Stand united in the face of uncertainty," Eliza replied confidently.
Crypto sighed in dejection, "Well, that certainly is the answer. I will need to ask you questions later."
"Everyone out," Eliza put a hand on Natalie's shoulder gently, "Not you two." So, the Legends moved out of the room. Elliott even commented that Eliza was really scary when she was angry. When their privacy was all but assured, thanks to Crypto locking the doors, part of the deal that was made years ago. Eliza immediately turned and punched the closest object to her, which the object was actually the wall, creating a hole in it. Something most likely broke and her hand was now bleeding, but she didn't show an ounce of pain. In fact, it all seemed normal to her, "So, I just found out something that Ezra lied to me about, and I thought I would do the sisterly thing and let you know that if you ever make him feel that specific way again… I don't care who, what, or where you are. I will bring the entirety of the Steele Empire on you both."
Renee faced Eliza, "Pray tell, why?"
Eliza growled, but at herself, "You know how Ezra is polyamorous, which I goaded him into slyly admitting?" There were some head nods from the Dark Sparks peanut gallery. "His previous relationship, if it can be fucking called that, did not end as it should have. So I am giving you this final warning. You break this, you know what happens."
Natalie said, "There is something you are not telling us."
Renee agreed with her girlfriend, but added in, "What could have possibly happened, did someone drug him and had sex with him?" Eliza's eyes flashed dangerously, the violet iris twinkling just a little bit. Her fists were clenched, and again, showed no signs of pain. When they got no response, Renee's jaw slacked, "Oh no."
"Cheriée?"
"Please tell me something didn't happen with him," Renne borderline pleaded.
Eliza nodded, "Something did happen and he lied to me about it. I thought he could trust me… Just… just promise me something you two."
"If it concerns him, then we will most likely do what we can to help," Natalie said, gently encompassing Eliza's free hand in both of her own.
Eliza looked into Natalie's eyes and saw the resolve in them, "Oh, you two are going to make great sisters-in-law." Eliza grabbed Natalie and held her in a gentle hug. "I will be staying with him because whether he likes it or not, he needs some reassurance. If he acts cold and distant from you, or tends to avoid you, please don't take it personally. That's his way of coping."
"Should you even be telling us this?" Renee asked. Clarifying, "I mean, we're grateful, but won't he be upset that you've sort of told us this?"
"If he does, then he can fight me on it. I mean, we had a knife fight in his room, to which I'm sure you heard the shouting," Eliza said, getting bewildered looks from Renee and a side look from Natalie, who was still hugging the Steele sibling.
"Now what?"
Eliza huffed, disconnecting the hug, "Now… I help my brother land two hot-ass bombshells he calls squadmates, and you two help him when the time comes. I know you wanted to ask him after the Game, but given what just happened… not a good time. Just look after him as well out there, okay?"
"You didn't even have to ask," Renee said.
"What about the other Legends? What will they say?" Natalie mumbled, recovering from the gracious compliment from the sister.
"Fuck them, if they find out, I'll kill them myself and I won't be pleasant about it either. I'll make it hurt," Eliza declared. It should be concerning, but she did just threaten them as well.
"So we have a plan, and now we got to tread lightly," Renee said.
Eliza had moved to the other side of the room, opening the door, "That's an understatement."
He was chained down, having no choice in the matter. He watched with tears in his eyes as one of them got off of him and the other replaced them. He should've seen it coming, he should've left when he had the chance, but nooooo…. He was thinking with his dick again and look where it got him.
"Are you sure you didn't break him? He looks out of it, dearest sister," one twin had said. He then felt a slight nip of his ear lobe, a slight scratch on his chest. Shivers racked his body
"Not at all, I mean, he's still at attention and we would be horrible girlfriends if we didn't… appease him, now would we?" the second one asked with a seductive purr.
All he felt was pain, all he heard was the clanking of chains, and all he wanted was to die right there. No one should have to go through this. It started off easy and then snowballed to this. The number of times they brought him so close to the edge to then full-stopped was too many to count. It was taking a toll on him physically and mentally. There were times that they just left him strapped to a machine and let it do the job for them. He's already passed out once from overstimulation, and he was going to pass out again.
They even perfected the art of getting themselves off whilst not letting him get the same feeling. His wrists and ankles were red, rashed, and blemished. That was almost two weeks ago, or was it two months; he didn't know. He wanted it to stop and he prayed to whoever would listen to save him. Much to his disappointment, no one was coming and no one was ever going to save him.
"Should we let him have this one?" the first asked while her sharp nails scratched his chest just enough to draw blood.
The second one clawed at his face, leaving deep marks that would scar when they healed. "I think after all of this time, our little toy deserves it." So, that's what they did, they overstimulated him, allowing him to fall over that edge over and over again. He felt like once he fell, only the ocean was left to embrace him in its cold vice grip.
"Aww, you thought it was over?" One of them said.
"There's one thing that you have to learn…" the second started.
"It's never over, Ezra."
Ezra gasped as he shot up from his bed, panting, sweating, and shivering all at once. "F-Fuck…" he stammered.
"Why did you never tell me?" a voice asked that was none other than his sister's. "I would have come to help you, had I known. I…" she paused, "I never wanted anyone I know to go through that, so why?"
Ezra replied, his voice soft, but the tone carried a certain weight to it, "I wanted to prove that I never needed help."
"That's a lie," Eliza said, getting up from the desk chair she was in. "I will always want to help my family, my little brother whom I've watched grow into a man, one who has enough love in his heart for two."
"Why do you put up with me?" Ezra's question caught her off guard. "Why do you care about me so much? I've proven to you time and time again that I'm useless. So, Eliza, answer me… why do you care so much?"
"I-I just want to make sure you live a good life," Eliza said.
With the same dead tone of voice, "And there's that. Here you are worried about me when I should be worried about you. You lost your wife, your literal soulmate, and you're acting all fine, but I should be the one comforting you. Not the other way around."
"Will you just shut up for a minute?" Eliza asked softly. Ezra didn't reply but awaited his sister's words. "I made peace with that. I know it seemed to be so soon, but wasn't it my very own baby brother who gave me a lesson in letting go and cherishing the memories of what I had?"
"I guess," Ezra mumbled.
Eliza tsked, "Don't be like that. Now, go back to sleep, I'll be here in the morning," she hugged him and kissed his head, just like she used to do when he was seven.
"Thanks, big sis," Ezra said before gently lowering his head back down to his bed.
"Oh and about your squadmates? I have a plan, but I'm going to need you to follow along."
"I'm not going to like it, aren't I?"
As for the aforementioned squadmates, they were outside, having heard a good chunk of the conversation. When Natalie heard Ezra scream, that prompted her to wake Renee and go check on him, but when they got there, the conversation was halfway over. "I'm worried about him, Doudou. That, and I have to make adjustments to the Ring, but my mind is so split and this has only happened one other time and-"
"-and it had to do with me, I know, but you made it through it, and I have faith that you will make it through this too. We just need time."
"I just don't approve of this plan that she came up with," Natalie grumbled.
Renee chuckled lightly, pulling Natalie along, "Nat, if she weren't here, then we would be stuck in an endless loop, and I know from personal experience that they are not fun."
The next time that the Legends saw Ezra again was during the Games and even then, it was like that he had an inversion to his personality. Now, he was the stone-cold marksman that they thought he was going to be. He was still open to communication, but it was a one-way street, as counter-intuitive as it sounds. It's been a month since then and out of those four Games, the three of them have won two of them, but only just. The losses were only down to the final three and poor positioning
What was really the knife to the throat was that every time they tried to talk to him, he'd flinched and had this wild look in his eye that made him akin to a lion before a hunt. That was what hurt them the most. The fact that he's too scared to converse with them. It only seemed to get worse as the days passed. Ezra had a nightmare every single night, and it showed. Bags appeared under his eyes, and he was struggling to stay awake. Eliza was fuming as well, but there was nothing she could do. It angered her beyond belief.
That was when she decided to take action, "Ezra, come here."
"Fuck off," he said in monotone.
"Who the fuck killed you today? You're not my brother," Eliza said, goading him on,
Ezra stretched, "I'm merely possessing this body until he is no longer useful."
"Oh, then he won't mind if I told some secrets about him, would he?" Eliza raised an eyebrow as their eyes met. It may have been a joke, but Eliza was not all talk. She'll follow through, come hell or high water.
"What do you want, sis?" Ezra asked, all traces of joking gone off of his face.
"Are you ever going to let me help you?" Eliza questioned. "I want to help you, but you have to let me."
"Have you ever thought that I am beyond helping?" Ezra questioned seriously, his eyes narrowed. He still won't take off his mask. Eliza will have to change that.
"I've said it once, and I will say it again: Bull to the Shit."
Ezra signed, scratching his chin under the mask, "I've accepted that, but the trauma will shadow me till the day I die. You wonder why I haven't done anything about it yet?" Eliza waited patiently for this. "Because I'd know what it would do to you, and I couldn't do it. I'd never do that to you."
"Then how about doing something else, like taking off that damn thing? You hiding them doesn't mean anything, you haven't faced those fears. You think you have, but you really haven't," Eliza sassed. Hook.
"Where the hell did this come from. If I recall correctly, you were the one that suggested that I wear these to hide," Ezra said, his eyes sharpened.
"Well, I must have been one pussy bitch back then, because it is time to man the fuck up and face the music," she continued. Line.
"What the fuck do you want from me? Am I not allowed to be terrified of something that physically, emotionally, and mentally scarred me? Aren't I allowed to set my own boundaries?"
Eliza hated saying this because honestly, the opposite was true but… "Only real men can set boundaries." Sinker.
Ezra ripped off the mask as he glared angrily at his sister, advancing towards her with dripping malicious intent, "Where the fuck do you get off for this? Would you rather me dead, because you and I both know that can change and you wouldn't be able to stop me. Remember that we both know where all the vital veins are. We know how to end someone's life with a simple flick of the wrist. So, you think you can fucking lecture me on this, on how I feel?" He was standing over his sister and for the first time in a while, Eliza wonders if she pushed too far. "I have been living nightmares over and over about what they fucking did to me. I shelter myself from getting too close because I don't want that hope. I don't want to see it. They can be hopeful all they want, but it will never happen. I'd only be the disappointment that I know I am." His tone dropped as he seethed, "So tell me, dearest sister, how the fuck do you want me to 'face the music', hm?"
"E-Ezra?" Eliza's voice quivered.
Ezra seemed to realize that he was crushing Eliza's wrists. He tore himself away, "This is what I am talking about… I told you… disappointment."
"Not to us," a soft voice came from behind over Eliza's shoulders. Never has Eliza seen Ezra have this much fear in his gaze.
There at the door stood Natalie and Renee, both with soft smiles on their faces. "So this is what you look like. You don't know how long we've been waiting to see your face."
