Chapter 16

Sho-dono: Yo, sorry it's been so long, but Shiinmaru-dono was in Europe for a while and…yeah. Do the disclaimer, Shiinmaru-dono!

Shiinmaru-dono: I'm getting so tired of repeating this same dumb line over and over; we don't own Artemis or any of its affiliates. This is the LAST time we do any sort of disclaimer!!! #snarls before stalking back to den#

Artemis groaned; his body hurt like hell and he could smell the copper scent of blood. "Awake already? Impressive recovery time," a hateful voice spoke before promptly dumping a bucket full of salted ice water over Artemis' entire body. The sudden, painful cold completely woke Artemis and dripped everywhere. Another bucket of salted ice water was dumped on him when he tried to sit up; this one hit him full in the face and he accidentally swallowed some. He coughed and sputtered as some of the water slid down his windpipe. Shaking his head a few times, Artemis removed the water from his eyes and sent a glare off towards his captor, the insane Rei.

"Where am I?" Artemis growled; trying to get up, he failed. The pain radiating from his rear was excruciating. "What the hell did you do to me?!"

Rei chuckled, "You poor, poor naïve fool. You can't even recognize the signs of rape; and you call yourself a genius." Rei grinned maliciously as he walked over to Artemis, "Perhaps I should remind you what it feels like..." Grabbing Artemis' chin, Rei forced Artemis into a brutal kiss, tearing his lip and shoving him onto his back. Rei broke off the kiss and pinned Artemis' wrists above his head; Rei then thrust his cock into Artemis' abused opening, savagely raping Artemis once again.

Another six days of rape and torture passed. Artemis had withdrawn into himself and no longer responded to anything in his environment. The once vibrant blue eyes had faded to a dull ice-white; his hair had become greasy and matted, no longer did it shine with life. His breathing had become shallow and, at times, seemed to cease all together. Artemis no longer cared about what Rei did to him, so he didn't react when Rei began to rape him once more.

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF HIM, YOU BASTARD!" an angry voice roared from the doorway. Liam, Butler, and Holly rushed into the room; before anyone could blink, Liam had slammed Rei against the wall with a blade pressed against his throat. "How DARE you touch what is mine?!" Liam snarled.

Holly and Butler had run to Artemis' side and stared in horror at Artemis' mutilated body. Though Artemis had no clue how much time had passed, his body clearly showed proof of the week he had without food or drink; his ribs protruded through what little skin was still intact. Bruises covered every centimeter that was not sliced; several places were cut cleanly to the bone and many muscles had been completely torn off from the ligaments, hanging loosely away from the bone. Artemis' chest was the worst, though, for Rei had carved the word "WHORE" into his flesh, all the way to the bone itself. Infected and rotting burns covered his shoulders and the left side of his chest. Artemis' face was skeletal and barely recognizable as human; his fangs shown more distinctly from torn and bloodied gums; his left ear was nearly sheared from his head while his nose had obviously been broken several times.

Butler, who had seen many of the depraved actions of man, was sickened by the sight and smell. But his precious charge's eyes pained him the worst; their listlessness hit home as to how badly he had failed. Tears dripped from Holly's eyes before she felt the all-consuming anger; never before had she so hated humans, THEY were the monsters to have done this despicable act towards a young innocent. Holly looked up and saw the pure hate upon Liam's face; all directed at Rei. The Captain was sorely tempted into letting Liam just kill the psychopath, but she knew that it wouldn't undo the wrong.

"Liam," she called out, "come here and carry Artemis. Butler, do something to incapacitate that monster. After you knock him out, wake the parents and call the police; jail would be the best place for such a fiend."

3 Days Later: In the Hospital

It had been three days since Liam, Holly, and Butler had found Artemis. Three days since Rei was arrested on charges of kidnapping, rape, and attempt at murder. And three days since Liam had slept, eaten, or even left Artemis' hospital bedside. Everyone was starting to really worry; whenever someone tried to talk to Liam, he wouldn't respond, he would just continue to hold Artemis' hand and ignore whomever had spoken. Mother Alanna was on the verge of a panic attack and finally sent in her last resort: Amaya Maro, the man that had come over a week ago to adopt Beka and Liam.

Amaya walked carefully into the hospital room; Liam had just started responding in violent ways to those that snuck up on him. Amaya stopped at the chair that the blind man had stationed himself in during his constant vigil. Placing a hand on Liam's shoulder he spoke, "You should come home and rest, Liam. You'll end up in a hospital bed yourself if you keep this up." Liam didn't even glance at him; he knew what home Amaya was referring to; knew that it was Amaya's mansion. Not to be discouraged, Amaya pressed forward, "You won't be of any use to Artemis if you don't take care of yourself. You need to rest."

Amaya sighed when Liam continued to ignore him; starting to walk away, Liam responded, "I just want him to see me. He doesn't react right now and I want to be here when he can see me again."

Amaya knelt next to Liam and pulled him into a hug, "I know you do but you're going to end up killing yourself if you don't, at the very least, eat and catch a nap."

"But—" Liam was slightly choked; Amaya looked at Liam's face and noticed that the blind man was crying.

"Shhh, don't cry," Amaya wiped away Liam's tears with his thumb. "Go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Then, go to the visitors' room and take a nap on the couch. I promise to wake you if Artemis shows any signs of coming 'round. Now go." Amaya gave Liam a slight nudge; Liam slowly moved from the seat, going to do what he was ordered. When Liam was clear of the room, Amaya looked at the unresponsive Artemis, "You better wake up soon; I don't know how much more of this Liam can take before he breaks..."

Shiinmaru-dono: I'm tired; do whatever you want, Sho-dono (within reason). Don't flame us or send us any form of hate mail, please. We warned you in advanced that we would have Artemis violently raped; you chose to continue reading. I'm going back to bed now; Shiinmaru-dono out.

Sho-dono: #is busy trying to untangle hair# Your dogs are evil, Shiinmaru-dono: they ran off with my hairbrush. Oh and any Harry Potter fans who are reading this need to go and read our other story: Something Wicked This Way Comes. Well that's all; see yuz. #goes to try and find hairbrush#