Bel had thought things couldn't get much worse, but he was wrong. He was quickly becoming desensitised to the basement door opening and coming to terms that he wasn't going to get away from Xanxus, so he no longer responded to the sounds of footsteps coming down the creaking stairs. He lay on the cold cement, trembling violently from the cold and the pain that was still aching through him, and he didn't react when he realised that Xanxus was taking photos of his naked, broken body; what was the point in trying to resist? It would only make things worse for him so he might as well just submit and wait for it to be over and done with.

Bel let out a pained groan as his bloodstained hair was grabbed and his head lifted into the air. He could feel his blood and tears rolling down his cheeks and onto the ground below, but it was the phone that was being pressed against his ear that really confused him; what was Xanxus…?

"Tell the shitty shark trash where you are. Tell him how scared you are, scum." Xanxus was as sadistic as ever.

Bel whimpered, terrified in this moment; he just wanted to go back home and never have to get out from beneath his blankets ever again. "…"

Xanxus could hear the dial tone for a few seconds before the call was answered. Listening closely, he heard his ex's quiet voice on the other line.

"Hello…?"

Upon hearing Squalo's voice again, Bel started crying. He couldn't contain his sobs any longer, letting the dam break as he wished desperately that Squalo could come and bring him back home. No matter how much he wanted to beg the man to rescue him, he could only lick his lips in between his cries.

"Tell him, trash," Xanxus hissed. He tugged at the other's hair hard enough to draw a yelp from his victim, eager to know how this would end; would Squalo try and play the hero, or would he abandon Bel when he realised where the younger was?

Bel cried harder at Xanxus' words. He tried his best to focus on Squalo's now-panicked voice; anything but Xanxus – anything but the man who had shattered him to pieces.

"Bel, where are you?!" It was the loudest Squalo had been for years now, having grown so used to speaking in a soft whisper – but in this moment, he was almost shouting as he felt tears of his own well up in his eyes. "Bel! Bel, it's okay; try and talk, okay? You have to tell me where you are so we can come and get you. Bel! Try and talk!"

Bel shook his head to Squalo's words before he started to scream from the pressure of everything that was happening to him. He reached up and pulled at his own hair, blood-tinged strands of golden falling all around him. "…!"

"Bel, I know you don't want to talk anymore, but you have to now; you have to tell me where you are!" Squalo was still trying to get answers, despite knowing in his heart he wasn't going to get any; if there were ever a time Bel definitely wouldn't speak, it would be now. "Is Fran with you, Bel? Bel! Is Fran there?! Say yes or no! You can do it!"

Bel's panic-filled eyes looked over to the corner, terrified to find Fran sitting on the ground with his mouth gagged. He wished he could say that much, but the more he thought about talking, the more he wanted to withdraw into himself; ever since that day, he had been too afraid to speak, terrified of saying something and sending someone in a flurry of rage like he had surely done to provoke Xanxus, even if he still wasn't sure how he had caused it – all he knew was that it was his fault it had happened to him, and he had done something to make it happen, even if he weren't sure of what.

Bel trembled as the phone was pulled away from his ear. He heard the beep that meant the call had been ended; what was going to happen now? He had failed to do as told, so surely he was going to be punished.

Xanxus, however, had different plans; sending the photos he had just taken through to Squalo, he then sent one last text, one that said, Look familiar, shark trash? Referring to the state of the blond's body, the man smirked; he would love to find out whether or not the long-haired man would once again stand up to him in this situation. To his slight disappointment, Squalo didn't contact him.

Xanxus kicked Bel hard in the face before he said, "Look, even the slutty shark trash doesn't love you enough to want to come and get you now that he knows you're with me. He's abandoned you, willing to leave you here for me to do whatever I please to you. He doesn't love you – not one of those scums ever did. They just let you think that because they felt sorry for your tight little ass that got torn to shreds by me. How does it feel to love people who never loved you?"

Bel started crying again at these words, wishing he could die. He looked down at his wrists through blurred vision and took in the scars that marred his pale flesh, remembering how he had done them by his own hand in attempts to kill himself. He hadn't succeeded in anything but earning himself therapy more intense than he already received, and now he was wishing he had just. Tried. Harder.

Xanxus sneered, knowing exactly what those scars meant. "You pathetic little shit. You should have cut downwards and graced everyone with your death – you fucking burden; the world would be better off without your abhorrent face around. You dumb, retarded piece of dog shit; no one will ever love you and if you don't off yourself soon, you'll be alone for the rest of your miserable life."

Bel could feel the very last thin string of sanity he had left snap at these words. Curling up into a ball, he let out the most heartbroken scream he had ever made, wishing he could just die.

Xanxus laughed at this. He nudged the other with his boot before he turned back to Mukuro. "I'm horny."

Mukuro sneered as his eyes crinkled with malice. He reached out, taking the gag from Fran's mouth before he nodded and spun around to head back upstairs. "Well, why did you not say this, Xanxus? I am, too."

Fran watched them leave before he got up from where he had been sitting, tears filling his eyes as he slowly made his way over to Bel. He didn't know what to say, so all he could do was sit by the blond's side and listen to him cry tears of agony.

Somewhere along the way, Fran, too, begun to cry.