Evening My Lovelies

I'm BAAACCCKKK! So very, very sorry about the delay in updating this! I hit a major spat of writer's block followed almost immediately by a surge of laziness-induced procrastination (definitely not a productive mix!)

HOWEVER! Did managed to get something done eventually and here it is :D I'm very pleased with how it turned out so I'm hoping it's decent enough to earn your forgiveness!

Notes On Reviews:

pallysd'Artagnan: Thanks for the review - Definitely not the nicest way to be woken up but I figured after dealing with his own nasty nightmares for so long Aramis would instinctively go for the method that would wake his baby brother quickest. Enjoy the new chapter! x

beeblegirl: Thanks for the review - Well I'm pretty sure if that didn't wake him up nothing would lol :D Aramis was definitely influenced in how he acted by his own recent experience with nightmares but thankfully he'll be there to calm our pup now he should be awake. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - It's definitely a possibility :) Honestly I hadn't intended on him being a good guy at the beginning when he was first introduced but he's definitely grown on me since then so we'll see... who knows, maybe I'll be evil and have something happen and kill him off or have him betray them :D ... Damn now I'm tempted lol... I'm not dead set on one fixed outcome for this character I'm willing to go wherever the story takes him :D Aramis was definitely more violent than perhaps he needed to be but I figured he would be affected still from his own recent nightmares. Enjoy the new chapter! x

WelshEssex: Thanks for the review - It probably didn't do either man's injuries any good but it just wouldn't be one of my stories if they didn't continually make their wounds worse lol :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reading/reviewing

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Darkness Inside

The juxtaposition of the confident, bordering on cocky, attitude coming from the man who, in all the time they had known him, had been so soft-spoken and humble was definitely a shock to the system for Athos, although thankfully not as much as it might have been had the swordsman not suspected the man's true motivations before their current encounter.

If anything Athos found the man's newly revealed attitude to be more annoying than anything else, reminding the musketeer, almost eerily, of the stuck up nobles who would come compete in the King's tournaments, each thinking they were better than the rest.

Frustratingly however some of Liam's attitude was indeed warranted as the man definitely had some skills with a blade, managing to hold his own against Athos even with just the stolen dagger.

Jumping back from a blow that was intended to land in his gut Athos decided to voice the question that had been on his mind since his initial suspicion of Liam emerged. "So," he grunted, parrying yet another swing, his attacker was relentless. "What happened to the real Liam?"

Athos knew Treville, who had given the inseparables the man's name as a contact, would want to know what befell the Brother and Athos was not going to leave the man he so respected without answers, though he suspected the man before him had harmed the priest to then take his identity as his own.

A suspicion which was then confirmed by the smirk that blossomed on the imposter's face, so malicious that it actually sent chills down the musketeer's spine even as his words reignited the anger in the swordsman.

"That trusting fool?" mocked the imposter with a dark chuckle as he ducked under the swing of Athos's blade, following the move with a harsh kick to the man's shin, almost pouting in disappointment when it didn't send him to the ground like he had hoped and only made the swordsman stumble back a few steps. "He's long gone."

It was unquestionably clear with the way he spoke that the real Liam was dead and had not simply been spirited away from his post at the church and that realization sent a wave of dread through the musketeer's body. He had suspected as much but hearing it confirmed meant that it would fall to him to inform Treville of the man's fate when they eventually reunited and he knew the man and the priest had grown close in the years they had known each other and that the news of the man's death would greatly grieve the Captain. However, he didn't allow himself to dwell on the eventual difficult conversation for too long as he instead decided to mimic the imposter's earlier move, only with significantly more strength in his blow, succeeding in knocking the man's leg out from under him and sending him crumpling to the ground with a cry of pain.

Never one to waste a perfect follow up opportunity, especially considering his ever-darkening mindset, Athos quickly moved to plunge his blade deep into the man's shoulder, actually feeling the steel scrape across the bone as in was forced through the imposter's body, all but pinning the man to the ground.

It was not the move he would have liked to have made, even though he did get a flicker of sick enjoyment from the scream of agony that tore its way from the imposter's lips at the move, but Athos knew he couldn't kill the man, not yet at least as he would need to get information out of him before that became a viable option.

Applying a bit more pressure onto his blade as he knelt by the man's side Athos smirked darkly as another scream tore its way from the imposter's throat, once again satisfying a dark part of the vengeful musketeer.

"Who are you working for?" demanded the swordsman with a growl, sharply twisting the blade when the imposter stubbornly remained silently, tearing yet another scream from the pained man, who now had tears flowing unbidden from his eyes.

There was part of Athos, the honourable, good part of him that was absolutely disgusted with himself for the torture he was inflicting on the man, but that part of him was overshadowed by the rage and grief he felt over D'Artagnan's death and the vengeance he felt driven to seek on the young man's behalf.

"You do not want me to have to ask you again," stated Athos, his voice deadly calm as he stared down at the injured man, the darkness in his eyes promising untold pain should his questions go unanswered.

"R-R-Rochefort," gasped the imposter, quickly gritting his teeth as another scream ravaged his throat as Athos, yet again, twisted the blade in his shoulder. Despite the pain, the fake Liam was relieved that Athos's focus was on his face and words and not on the slow movement of his uninjured arm.

"Do you take me for a fool?"

"W-W-What?"

"There is no way Rochefort could have known of our plans to come here, let alone have had the time to set this all up before we arrived… Now you can continue to lie to me as much as you want but know that doing so will only prolong the agony you will face."

"Just kill me!" snapped fake Liam, his eyes burning with equal parts pain and resilience. "I'm dead anyway!"

Nodding Athos reached over, his dominant hand never relinquishing its grip on his sword, to grab reclaim his stolen dagger, twirling it casually in front of the downed man. "You are going to die," he agreed, the darkness in his eyes growing with every word he spoke. "But you'll do it on my terms once I'm sure you have revealed all of your secrets."

"So," he stated, pocketing the dagger once more. "Do you want to try answering that again?"

Porthos had been frantically searching for his brother for what felt like hours when the sound of a scream tore through the air, stopping the man in his tracks. The panic that shot through the musketeer's body was intense and it took focusing on the realization that the scream didn't belong to Athos to enable him to move.

Many thoughts and scenarios had run through the musketeer's mind in the time it took him to reach the room the screams had come from but none had included seeing his dear brother torturing the man who had welcomed them to the church with a scarily dark look on his face.

Having come to suspect the priest himself during the search for D'Artagnan, Porthos ignored the pleas for help coming from the man when the pair realized he had entered the room, choosing instead to pull Athos away, knowing that his brother would be disgusted with himself when he returned to himself for what he had done.

Athos was reluctant to leave the imposter's side but agreed after an imploring look from his brother. Before he moved though he leaned into the imposter's face, whispering something into the man's ear which Porthos suspected was a dark threat if the flicker of fear that crossed the man's face was any indication.

Porthos had every intention of leading with the news of D'Artagnan actually being alive, knowing that was the most crucial piece of news he had to deliver but that choice was taken away from him as panic flooded through his veins.

Launching himself at his brother Porthos could only pray he was quick enough as Athos's name erupted from his throat.

"ATHOS!"