NOTE: This would probably take place around chapters 8 and 9. I wrote this recently (10/15/2017), for no reason at all. (I mean, I did finish this fanfiction a few months ago.) I couldn't figure out a way to fit this into the original story, so... here ya go. Enjoy. :)
(Also, just if you're wondering: The victim is now "The Victim" because I feel like it's more organized that way... if that makes any sense.)
For a moment there was only silent weeping, as his blood-soaked fingers covered his face. Then he slipped downwards, submerging his head into the lukewarm water. As the dried blood streaks on his face melted into the murky liquid, bubbles rose up, and broke through the surface. The Victim counted the seconds. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven… Eight. Nine. Ten… Eleven. Twelve…
Abruptly, Gerard's head shot out of the water. With his eyes shut tight as if to squeeze his misery away, he took in a gasp of air…
Then, he let go. He didn't care anymore.
And as crystal tears cascaded down his face, he broke into a mad, hysterical laughter. As the tears trickled down, they combined and darkened from the sticky blood, dust and grime that coated his sickly, greyish skin. "D-do you know what it f-feel like to be s-separated from the person you love the most? T-to watch her die in front of you!?" He choked out each word, while practically drowning in his own suffering.
"…I'm sorry…" The Victim spluttered, only to soon stare in dismay at Gerard's dreaded wailing.
"Ha, ha-ha, you are! Of course, you're not a robot, a servant of them! Of course, a machine like you can generate emotions, of course you can feel grief and sympathy!" Gerard spat, his eyes gleaming with hatred and sorrow. His voice cracked, and his tear-brimmed eyes clouded even more.
The Victim held nothing but dead silence. For quite a while, Gerard's hideous sobbing echoed through the musty room. The Victim did not bother to count the time; all he cared about was how his captor was gathering all his emotions, and turning that cocktail into something catastrophic.
"I HATE YOU!"
All his emotions erupted, as if he were a dead volcano that suddenly woke up again. Spewing flames and scorching lava everywhere, burning every piece of misery that lay in its path. If the Victim weren't in chains, and if Gerard hadn't tortured the poor man, then perhaps the former Draculoid would've bent down and tried to comfort the shattered thing in the bathtub.
"I-I hate you for everything you've done, everything you've done to ruin my life, every atrocity and crime you've ever committed against my precious Helena, EVERYTHING YOU'VE EVER DONE AGAINST ME!" He was now violently hyperventilating, panting for air. Yet, somehow, he was still snarling at the victim.
"Have you ever had to watch your lover churn and writhe, to hear her scream in pain and terror and despair? To ultimately see her body become nothing but a twisted shell!? SHE WAS INNOCENT! THEY WERE ALL INNOCENT!" His voice was filled with pure, raw, bitter agony. An ocean of tears spilled out like a tsunami over a defenseless city, pouring down his face and through the cold, heartbroken air, mingling with the red mixture already inside the bathtub.
"I WISH YOU COULD DIE, I WISH YOU COULD ALL DIE AND GO TO FUCKING HELL! I WISH THIS FUCKED UP TYRANNY OF YOURS HAD NEVER EXISTED, I WISH MY EVERY SINGLE FUCKING WISH COULD BECOME FUCKING REALITY! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU'VE TAKEN AWAY FROM ME!? FIRST MY FAMILY, THEN MY FRIENDS, AND NOW, HELENA TOO?"
The Victim could feel his captor's tremendous sense of anguish; it was eternal, never-ending, itching at his soul, somehow gnawing away at his disconnected heart.
Gerard bawled. He couldn't stop bawling. His entire body was uncontrollably trembling now. Water splattering everywhere; onto the floor, onto the blood-stained walls, onto everything.
"It's all because of you," he pointed accusingly. "You and your pitiful friends." His voice came out as an unsteady, hoarse whisper. He was an emotional wreck, an unrestrained wreck, rotting away at the insides.
"She was beautiful. She was an angel. She was my angel! And you took her away from me! You took every person I ever cared about away from me!" He pounded his chest, as if to physically express his internal pain.
The Victim gave no response. He didn't know how to, he didn't know what to do.
Suddenly Gerard turned away from the Victim, and stared at the ceiling.
"As le-lead rains, we'll p-pass on th-through,
Our ph-phantoms,
Forever, forever;
L-like sc-scarecr-crows, that f-fuel this f-flame,
W-we're b-burning,
Forever, a-and ever;"
His voice was unusually sweet, like a father humming a gorgeous lullaby to his child. Blubbering, Gerard continued.
"Kn-know h-how much I-I want t-to show y-you, you're th-the on-only one,"
Though Gerard was crying no more, as with that shuddering, distorted voice and occasional sniffle, the Victim expected tears to return very soon.
"Li-k-ke a b-bed of r-roses, there's a-a d-d-dozen r-reas-sons i-in this-"
And they did. As Gerard sang the word "gun", his voice caught itself, and he broke down once more. Between muted whimpers and aggressive sniffles, Gerard's voice trudged on.
"A-and as we're f-falling d-down, a-and in th-this p-pool of b-blood…
And as we're t-touching h-hands, and a-as we're f-falling down!
And i-in th-this pool of b-blood, and a-as we're falling d-down!"
His voice gurgled from phlegm rising up his throat. But in an urgent gulp of air, Gerard seemed to have swallowed the bile back to its rightful place.
He could not sing anymore. Cupping water into his hands, Gerard washed away the trails of drying tears on his eyes, only to whimper even more, until deafening screams lashed out from his mouth, shattering what little remained of the Victim's ease. Cringing, the chained man slunk backwards, trying to stay as far away as possible. He wanted to give the vampire his support, but then, considering just how insane and unpredictable the thing was, he thought he'd rather not get so close.
It remained like this for a while- just Gerard crying, and the Victim watching. Gerard had his face buried in his hands as his shoulders shook. His dirty black hair swished around as he once more submerged himself into the water. The Victim observed his captor- how sickly pale he was, and how emotionally ill he had become.
For a moment, he felt guilty. Even though he had not directly caused Gerard's and his lover's suffering, he still felt guilty. He had served them once, and nothing could change that awful history.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Neither knew how much time passed before Gerard finally calmed down a little. The frequency of his sobs slid near zero times per minute. His breathing became quieter, mellower- although a slight edge still remained. Gently leaning against the side of the bathtub, the gorgeous vampire stroked the surface of the shallow water (there was now a reflecting pool of considerable size that surrounded the feet of the bathtub), almost as if he were soothing his lover. Then, he petted the droplets on his forearms, smoothly wiping them off, letting them fall down like tears and create tiny ripples on the stilling bathtub water.
"I loved her." He croaked, a sniffle afterward.
"I know." The Victim could see he was trying hard not to lose it again, to snap like he had done multiple times today. Gerard's eyes remained open, despite the nagging urge of his brain.
"I still love her." Staring at the water, Gerard game himself a small but mesmerizing smile, although that mesmerizing smile soon morphed into a miserable frown and a trembling of lips.
Until today, the Victim never knew of the gaping hole in Gerard's heart- the hole that was constantly expanding, constantly tormenting his captor.
Perhaps the Victim's own torture was insignificant now.
