0 o…. XD! YAY! THE REVIEWERS ARE BACK! And they brought friends! (ULTRAHAPPYSQUEE!) (HUGS AND DIGITAL COOKIES ALL AROUND!)
To DigitalDreamer: SQUEE! X3! I'm so glad it turned out okay! T.A.T.u is awesome, and DigitalDreamer Industries just sounds cool anyway lol XD!
To Robhol: (blush!) Aw! Thanks! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!
To Lyn: Yay! You're back! I feel your pain…my dad is retired from the Coast Guard, so I've moved more than enough times to know how it goes lol. My last move, I was without internet connection for nearly an entire YEAR. It was sheer HELL! I'm so glad that the flashback scene turned out alright. I guess I'm a sucker for dramatic romance 8B! Raz'll get back in the swing of things eventually! For chapter 9, that's exactly what I was shooting for! Yay! Yes! Byebye, Ruliano! And…remind me never to provoke you 0.o…lol, just kidding. Yes, Fred is wise and Vernon is just inexperienced; and as for Boyd's sandwich; I think he'd probably have a taste for weird stuff like that, lol. Thanks for the review!
To Firefly: Thank you and I guess you're about to find out lol! Thanks for the review!
DarkestBeFourDawn: I have sudden random obsessions that come and go too, XD! I'm honestly very curious to know where you expected me to take the story…(Blush!) aw, thanks! Yes! Tatu is awesome! Thanks so much for the review and fave!
To Zikka-Chan: Squee! Thanks! You can count on more FredxBoyd fluff coming soon!
Chapter 10
RAZPUTIN!
His name was said again, but this time, the tone was softer and anxious.
Razputin!
Then, it became a soft inquiry.
Razputin?
Then, it fell to a whisper.
Razputin…
"…Suffering from severe mental overexertion…"
A different voice was speaking now. It was another female that Raz was certain that he knew from somewhere.
"…Was lucky we found him so quickly and were able to treat him."
"Will he be alright?" It was the first voice again. Raz was starting to hear the voices more clearly now.
"With a few days of strict bed rest, yes." Said the second voice. There was a long silence.
"…And the others?" The first voice asked very softly and hesitantly.
"…Others?" Raz thought to himself.
Suddenly, he sat bolt upright.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHERS?!" Raz cried. Lili and Elka jumped; startled by his sudden unexpected outburst. There was also a blonde male in the room who must have jumped six feet in the air at the sound of Raz's voice.
Raz quickly regretted the outburst when an intense wave of fatigue and dizziness crashed down on him. He would have fallen out of the bed had Lili not caught him.
"Dear god…" The blonde male gasped, leaning against the wall and clutching his chest as he recovered from the scare.
"Raz! Thank god!" Lili whispered, hugging him tightly. Raz sunk into Lili's embrace and closed his eyes, trying to pull himself together. When Raz was able to raise his head, he got a good look at the blonde male. The blonde male was staring right back at him; his expression wary.
"My god…Nils? Nils Lutefisk?" Raz asked softly. The blonde rubbed his eyes and turned around. He quickly whirled back around to face Raz, wide eyed. When Raz was still there, the blonde raked his shaky fingers through his hair slowly.
"Holy shit…this is for real…you really are back…" He whispered. He turned back to the wall to try to compose himself.
"Nils is still a little overwhelmed by all this." Elka said, putting a hand on Nils' shoulder.
"Well, honey, put yourself in my shoes! I don't get visions like you do! You call me in the middle of the night completely frantic; so I think something horrible has happened to you, and you call me down to some little alleyway in some hellhole crime infested New Jersey town to help you drag 4 old friends; two of whom are convicts, one who I haven't heard from in years, and one who's supposed to be DEAD to Dogen's house and all the while I only get snippets of some gay love story, revenge, and a gunfight between Russian and Italian mobsters and a rebellion!" Nils cried.
Lili found herself caught in Raz's piercing stare. His expression was grave.
"L-lili…What happened to Benny, Maloof, and Mikhail?" Raz asked. Much to Raz's horror, all three parties in the room refused to meet his gaze.
"I caught up with you and Benny just in time to see you pass out. Benny was unconscious with a gunshot wound to his shoulder…a-and…" Lili said softly.
"What about Maloof and Mikhail?" Raz asked.
"We got ahold of a couple of mob flunkies…From what we've pieced together, we're guessing that Mikhail joined up with the Russian Mafia for the sole purpose of having the opportunity to get at Maloof. Last night, Mikhail carried out a hit on the Italian mob boss in exchange for being allowed to do whatever he wanted with the boss's consort; the consort, of course, being Maloof. So, after Mikhail killed the Italian boss, the other Russians had sense enough to run in case someone heard the shot and called the cops while Mikhail stayed to finish off Maloof." Lili began.
"After seeing the Russians run off, the Italians must have figured out something was going on. They discovered that their boss had been shot. They went after Mikhail to get revenge. The Russians saw this and rushed to help Mikhail. When they all got there, Maloof and Mikhail were strangling each other. The Russians shot at Maloof to save Mikhail and the Italians shot at Mikhail to save Maloof…" Lili said. Raz paled dramatically.
"I-I've done all I can for them…" Elka whispered.
"There was blood everywhere…they were lying there…barely breathing…Maloof still had his hands around Mikhail's neck from when he was trying to strangle him and Mikhail still had his arms around Maloof's waist, trying to pull him off." Lili said quietly. Raz leaned back against the headboard of the bed and hung his head. For a long time, he just stared at his own hands.
"H-how bad?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I-it's bad." Lili whispered, her voice wavering.
Benny lay awake in the next room, staring at the ceiling with tears streaming down his cheeks as he listened in on the conversation in the next room.
"Maloof is suffering from 5 broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a gunshot wound to the arm, three more to his back, and a fifth that blew out his left kneecap. He's lost a lot of blood." Elka said softly. Benny could tell by the way she spoke that she was crying.
"Maloof is doing just a little better than Mikhail…oh, god…what can I do!?" Elka sobbed.
"What is it?" Raz asked.
"Both of Mikhail's kidneys were damaged beyond salvation…unless he gets a transplant soon, h-he…he'll…" Elka whimpered.
"That can't happen. If Mikhail dies, Maloof won't be far behind." Raz said softly, voicing Benny's thoughts. Benny hoisted himself out of bed and hobbled toward the doorway.
"What's Mikhail's blood type?" Raz asked.
"B negative." Elka said softly. Raz cursed vividly.
"Damn antigens…" He growled.
"If only I hadn't taken that bullet back in Tailand; I'd have a second kidney to spare!" Nils hissed, frustrated.
"If only I didn't have that damned antigen…Fucking B positive blood…" Raz fumed.
"Save your energy for things that you'll be able to make a difference in, Raz." Benny said grimly, hobbling into view of the others. Raz cursed again.
"There has to be something!" Raz said.
"Somebody drug this guy before he hurts himself, please!" Benny drawled. Raz went livid.
He gave Benny a look of disbelief, astonishment, and absolute outrage that would have had Benny rolling on the ground crying with laughter at any other time. He had never before seen that expression on the rambunctious redhead.
"You're just going to have to let me give Mikhail one of my kidneys, find a support group, and deal with it." Benny said. Raz's expression softened; but he still gaped at Benny. Lili and Elka were staring as well.
"I got 2 healthy kidneys and B negative blood." Benny said. "Take one of my kidneys and give it to Mikhail. If it'll save Mikhail, it'll save Maloof; and it'll be well worth it."
Benny tapped his foot impatiently as the others continued to gape at him.
"Well? We gonna do this or what?!" Benny asked. "Best do it now, before I regain my sanity!"
Elka nodded slowly and hesitantly led Benny out of the room. Nils sunk down into a chair with a loud sigh.
"Damn…what a day…" He whispered.
"Maloof's captor is dead, so we didn't have to send Mikhail's parents and Maloof's mom into hiding after all." Lili said softly. "Elka contacted me just before I could get ahold of them. She said that she had had the same vision with Maloof and Mikhail over again, but this time, you and Benny were lying on the ground with them. That's when I turned around and went back to find you. I met up with Elka and we found you just after you had passed out."
"How do you feel?" Lili asked. Raz sighed, unable to get up. He closed his eyes.
"Like shit." He said softly.
"You did everything you could, Raz. If you start feeling guilty about this, I swear I'm going to make you wish you'd stayed in France." Lili said. She fidgeted slightly. She knew that she wasn't very good at this sort of thing.
"Well…on the bright side, Nils has agreed to join the rebellion." Lili said, motioning to Nils. Nils smiled slightly.
"What the Psychonauts have become…what they're using their agents to do…it doesn't feel right. Sasha stood against it, JT stood against it, Elka's standing against it…hell, you're practically back from the dead and standing against it…none of you have ever led me astray, so I'll stand too." Nils said.
"You've matured into a good man, Nils." Raz said with a light smile. "Thanks for your faith and your help."
"Speaking of Jt…while I was trying to get Mikhail's parents and Maloof's mom into hiding; I started thinking that there's a possibility that Sasha could have sent JT into hiding through the same system." Lili said.
"You have a lead?" Raz asked. Lili nodded.
"Don't worry about it. Dogen is on it. Just get some rest for now." Lili said, tears stinging her eyes.
"Lili? What's wrong?" Raz asked. Lili shook her head and wiped her eyes.
"You had me really worried, Raz. When you collapsed, I didn't know if you had been shot or what…for a minute, I thought I was going to loose you for real…" Lili said softly. Raz sighed and hugged Lili gently. She buried her face in his neck and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Promise me that you'll never leave me like that again, Razputin Aquato." Lili whispered. Raz kissed Lili's forehead.
"I swear to you. Lilith Zanotto; I'm not going anywhere." Raz whispered.
Thisisthelinethatmeansthesceneischangingthisisthelinethatmeansthesceneischanging
Fred's entire body was tense. He was unconsciously holding his breath and his fingers were crossed.
"Adder, Riley; Passed. Anderson, Fillmore; Failed. Baroli, Tulus; Failed." The instructor read.
"Bennet, Harold; Failed. Carson, Jillian; passed. Charelston, Viola; Failed. Cooper, Boyd…" The instructor continued. Fred's eyes went back and forth from the instructor to Boyd.
"Passed." The instructor said. Fred managed to refrain from bursting into mad cheering. He exhaled the breath he had been holding and slumped against the wall, muffling his gleeful laughter with his jacket.
It seemed like an eternity before the instructor finished reading the list of trainees and finally dismissed everyone.
"All right, Boyd! You da man! I KNEW you'd do it!" Fred laughed, hugging Boyd. Boyd was still a little overwhelmed by the fact that his dream was coming true. Fred chuckled and patted Boyd on the back.
"So, Mr. Cooper; what do you plan to do now that you've passed your big exam?" Fred asked in a reporter-like tone. Boyd laughed.
"well…I'm afraid I'm a little old for Disney World…" Boyd said.
"How about a celebration dinner at Le Petite Café? My treat." Fred said. Boyd gaped at him.
"It's IMPOSSIBLE to get in there!" Boyd said.
"I guess that makes me amazing; because I have reservations for us tonight." Fred said, winking at Boyd.
"I don't think I own anything fancy enough that would allow them to even let me in…" Boyd chuckled.
"Wear your new uniform. It suits you well, Officer Cooper." Fred said, elbowing Boyd playfully and gesturing to Boyd's newly issued uniform.
"Go hit the showers, get changed, and we'll go. I'll wait for you right here." Fred said. Boyd nodded faintly and turned toward the locker rooms.
"I can't believe this is really happening…" He muttered dreamily as he walked away. Fred chuckled to himself.
It didn't take very long for Boyd to get changed. When he came out of the locker rooms, Boyd noticed that Fred had a troubled expression. He hadn't noticed that Boyd had come out of the locker room yet, so he jumped when Boyd put a hand on his shoulder.
"What's bothering you, Fred?" Boyd asked. Fred hesitated for a moment before answering. He looked to Boyd and smiled.
"Nothing that can't wait. Now, come on. Let's go!" Fred said, not giving an opportunity for Boyd to press the subject.
Fred was grinning like a madman the closer the two came to the café.
"What are you up to, Bonaparte?" Boyd asked.
"You'll see." Fred cackled as they approached the door of the café.
"Reservations under the name Bonaparte." Fred told the host. He nodded and led them into the café. Boyd started laughing as he figured out which table they were to be seated at. Phoebe, Quentin, Gloria, and Edgar were all sitting together, grinning from ear to ear. Before Boyd could dodge them, they all got up and set off party poppers.
"CONGRADULATIONS, OFFICER COOPER!" They all cried. Boyd laughed and greeted each of them enthusiastically. While Boyd's attention was focused on greeting the others, Fred whispered to Phoebe.
"Where are Franke and Vernon?" Fred asked. Phoebe shrugged.
"I'm not sure. We didn't know if Vernon would be coming in the first place; but Franke said she'd be here…" Phoebe whispered back.
"Sheegor isn't here either…" Fred said.
"She said she couldn't make it. She sends her love, though." Phoebe said. Fred nodded.
"I could hardly get of the plane, dear! This one wanted an autograph and that one wanted a picture; but being here to celebrate this day with you is well worth it. Besides, we come down here for Christmas every year since we were freed; so this just means we have an extra two weeks to spend together!" Gloria said.
"It's not every day a close friend lives his dream." Edgar said.
"I don't know what I did to deserve such good friends, but I sure am glad to see you guys." Boyd said.
They all sat down to a wonderful dinner; but Boyd noticed that, behind all the smiling faces, everyone seemed to be acting strangely.
"You guys? Is something wrong?" Boyd asked. Edgar shook his head.
"No. Nothing's wrong. It's just that…You've got that same sparkle in your eyes as he did on the day he was inducted into the Psychonauts." Edgar trailed off. He chuckled.
"I barely knew him, but when I watched him get up on that stage during that ceremony, I felt such pride for him as though he were my own flesh and blood." Edgar said. Gloria smiled sadly.
"He had a way of evoking peoples emotions. He was living his dream that day, just as Boyd is now." Gloria said. For a moment, Boyd forgot about Raz's return himself.
"I can't tell you how many times that I've wished that I could have taken his place." Boyd said softly.
"He'd be so proud of you right now, Boyd." Fred said.
"We're all proud of you." Edgar said. Gloria put a hand on Boyd's shoulder.
"Just please…Try not to follow Razputin's ways too closely." Gloria said softly. Boyd chuckled.
"I wouldn't worry about it, Gloria. Being like Razputin…those are some high standards. Standards that I don't think I'll ever be able to measure up to. I don't think I'll ever be that good." Boyd said.
"There are very few who will ever be so good." Fred said softly.
"We just hope you'll be careful." Gloria said.
"I will, Gloria." Boyd said. Boyd glanced over to find Phoebe whispering worriedly to Quentin, who, Boyd realized had been oddly silent all evening. Fred had noticed it too.
"Boyd, I think we need to leave now." Fred said quietly to Boyd.
"What's wrong?" Boyd whispered back.
"I-I'm not sure. I just get the feeling this is not the place we need to be right now…" Fred whispered back. Boyd nodded. He could tell Fred felt strongly about this.
"Edgar, Gloria; you two must be tired from your long trip. Why don't we take the celebration back to my place?" Fred said. When no one disagreed, the party left the café.
Fred moved to walk beside Quentin.
"Something's gone wrong, hasn't it?" Fred said quietly.
"Something…but I'm not sure what." Quentin said back. "whatever it is, it's causing great panic and anguish. It's close, but at the same time, very far away."
Fred suddenly found his eyes drawn to a street corner. He couldn't look away. He was waiting for something. Quentin had paused for a split second before continuing down the street.
"It's right around that corner." He whispered, looking toward the same corner that Fred was looking at.
"What should we be ready for? Friend? Foe? Attack? Defense? Should we try to evade?" Phoebe asked, immediately becoming alert.
"…just keep moving forward." Quentin said hesitantly, quickening his gate slightly.
Just before they reached the street corner, Quentin stopped in his tracks and hissed a soft curse.
"Bobby!" He whispered. Just as a figure walked into sight, Phoebe and Quentin engaged their invisibility.
Much to Fred's surprise, he found himself locking eyes with a very frazzled and out of breath orange haired woman.
"Franke? What's wrong?" Fred asked.
"Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time. Congratulations, Boyd!" Franke said, running up to the group.
"Not here." She whispered to Fred, faking an excited smile.
"Well, I'm afraid you missed dinner. Care to join us back at my place?" Fred offered.
"I'd love to." Franke said. The walk back to Fred's place was occupied by feigned cheerful chatting. Once they were inside, Fred and Franke became dead serious.
"I was being followed. They sent Bobby to come looking for Vernon!" Franke blurted.
"Where is Vernon?" Fred asked.
"I tried to make him listen! I really did; but you know he's just so stubborn…he's just so hurt…" Franke rambled.
"What'd he say?" Fred asked.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He had no emotion whatsoever. He just went back to his room and started packing, then Bobby showed up…" Franke said.
"What happened?" Fred asked.
"He's gone to the Mayan Ruins!" Franke said, sobbing softly.
"I don't get it. What's happening?" Boyd asked. Gloria and Edgar looked equally puzzled.
"Phoebe and Quentin have left…Everyone to my office. Gloria, Edgar, we have a lot to fill you in on." Fred said.
Once everyone was in his office, Fred closed the door and lowered the blinds.
"Gloria, Edgar…I was planning to wait until Christmas so that you could see him for yourselves; but I think you deserve to know that Razputin D'artagan Aquato is very much alive." Fred said. Gloria and Edgar gaped at him.
"How? When?" Edgar stammered. Fred and Boyd went on to explain how they found Demetri who turned out to be Raz. Edgar and Gloria were silent and pale.
"In light of this…I think there is something that you all should know…" Gloria, Edgar, Fred, and Boyd said at the same time. They all looked up at one another.
"Ladies first." Fred said hesitantly.
"Well…I'm sure you all know about Agent Nein's secret rebellion…" Gloria began nervously.
"A-as a matter of fact, I..I-I happen to have been a part of it…" Edgar confessed. The others all gaped at him.
"W-well…well so was I…" Gloria said.
"You know…with Razputin's return…" Edgar began.
"We could rebuild the rebellion..." Gloria finished.
"Already taken care of." Fred said. Gloria and Edgar gaped at Fred.
"The rebellion never died in the first place. Boyd and I have been a part of it all along as well." Fred said.
"Why ever didn't we know that we were all in the rebellion together?" Gloria asked.
"Sasha is a brilliant man. He wanted to make certain that the rebels couldn't all be linked together; and thusly traced to usurp the entire operation. He made sure that we were disjointed and had limited knowledge…brilliant…absolutely brilliant…" Fred muttered.
"So the rebellion is still active?" Edgar asked. Fred nodded.
"Even now, we have a plan in motion. Razputin has joined us. He will reveal himself to the world soon. Lerio will want someone as well respected as Raz is on his side. He will keep Raz close to him; therefore Raz will become our most valuable spy." Fred said.
"What is your position in the rebellion?" Edgar asked.
"When Sasha was leading us, I handled the coordination of all of our spy operations." Fred said. "I've also been a financial supporter as well as a deviant for the rebellion. I bait the public with false fabrications to explain activities in the media that are a result of the work of the rebellion to lead them away from straying into ponderings of a conspiracy." Fred said.
"I've been a financial supporter as well as a messenger. I create paintings that actually contain a code for a message that needs to be passed on. I know by the strokes used in the piece and the comments made by the buyer whom to give the painting to to be decoded. Even I do not know what most of the messages I paint mean." Edgar explained.
"I, of course, have been a financial supporter too; but I have also been a front used to gather information. When I go on tour, most of my stage hands and such are rebels. Other rebels come to the performances and exchange information in codes. Of course; the people change so often, I don't know who is and who isn't a rebel and I never know when the information is being exchanged since it's in a code that I don't know. One of the rebels always tells me what I need to do." Gloria said.
"So then…for all we know, there are still operations being carried out under our noses that we don't know about." Fred said.
"It would seem so." Edgar said.
"Razputin is currently on a recruiting mission. He'll be back here with us during Christmas time and you'll be able to see him again." Fred said.
"We just got a disturbing report from New Jersey regarding a double homicide." A voice said from right beside Boyd. Boyd jumped when Quentin appeared right beside him.
"Fugitive Maloof Canola and deserter Mikhail Bulgakov murdered each other in a bloody mafia power struggle incident." Phoebe said, appearing beside her husband.
"T-th…they're dead?" Franke whispered.
"There's a fifty-fifty chance that Raz found them and set up fake deaths for them." Phoebe said. Quentin looked grim.
"It was also reported that two people matching Benny's and Raz's description were involved in the incident and sustained injury. The two remain unidentified and missing." Quentin said.
"There's nothing we can do but wait until they contact us." Fred said grimly.
"What was Bobby doing at your house, Franke?" Quentin asked.
"He was looking for Vernon." Franke said softly. She was starting to cry.
"Tell us what happened." Phoebe said.
"I-I was trying to tell Vernon about the rebellion and how Raz was back…but he just wouldn't listen…he wont hear it…it must have upset him; so he went back to his apartment and started packing his bags, and that's when Bobby showed up. The agency sent him to talk to Vernon. Vernon just asked if Bobby was going to spew bullshit too and then he left. When I asked him where, He just said that he was going away." Franke said.
"He's going to the Mayan Ruins, I just know it! He'll be gone for god knows how long and burry himself in his studies and just grow colder and colder!" Franke sobbed.
"I miss my friend Vernon…the one with the warm, tranquil eyes…the sweet, serene disposition…the gentle nature…the calm and caring and peaceful outlook…the one who's a tad bit shy, but doesn't mind too much what others think of him…will I ever see that Vernon again; or did he die when Elton had his accident?" Franke whispered.
"That Vernon is in there somewhere, Franke. He's just very shy and afraid and needs some coaxing out." Fred assured her softly.
"I'm afraid that for now, we can only wait and give Vernon his space." Phoebe said. Quentin shook his head.
"No. someone needs to be keeping an eye on him. I get the feeling that he may be in more danger than we or even he himself realizes." Quentin said.
"How so?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know. I just get the feeling that Lerio wants Vernon for some reason aside from his skills in the sciences. There has always been something vaguely ominous to Vernon; even when we were all children, I noticed it." Quentin said. "I get the feeling that he might be hiding something; and Lerio has figured out what it is. Lerio has an eye for detail; I'll give him that much."
"H-how good an eye?" Fred asked hesitantly.
"Really good. Why?" Quentin asked, raising an eyebrow at Fred.
"Well…um…have you ever noticed anything…abnormal about me?" Fred asked.
"You're eight feet tall." Boyd said flatly.
"Aside from that!" Fred said, blushing deeply.
"Define 'strange'." Quentin said.
"As in my psyche." Fred said. Phoebe and Quentin looked at one another.
"No…nothing really jumps out at me." Quentin said.
"I was afraid you'd say that…" Fred said.
"What's going on, Fred?" Phoebe asked.
"Lerio came to see me today. He said some things that got me wondering…" Fred said.
"What sort of things?" Phoebe asked.
"Do you guys think I might be a psychic?" Fred asked hesitantly. Everyone looked genuinely surprised.
"What brought this about?" Quentin asked.
"You guys said that nothing jumps out at you about my psyche…" Fred began. An expression of realization donned on Quentin's face.
"How could I have missed that for all these years?" Quentin breathed.
"What?" Phoebe asked.
"NOTHING jumps out at me about Fred's psyche. Absolutely NOTHING. I am one of the most sensitive empaths in the world; and I've never sensed anything from Fred." Quentin said.
"There are only three things that could result in such an outcome. Being brain dead, being insane, or having incredibly powerful mental defenses…" Phoebe said.
"He's not brain dead, and he's not insane, leaving us with only one option…" Quentin said. Everyone stared at Fred.
Thisisthelinethatmeansthesceneischangingthisisthelinethatmeansthesceneischanging
The door to Benny's room was open just a crack. The crack was just big enough that he could see Maloof crying quietly into his pillow.
Raz was resting in a room down the hall; out of Maloof's sight and knowledge; because it seemed like a bad time to push that kind of shocker on Maloof.
Maloof hadn't spoken a word since he regained consciousness. He didn't even seem to realize who Elka, Nils, Dogen, and Lili were. Benny had yet to approach Maloof.
Maloof had, on his own accord, against the protests of the others, gotten up and gone into Mikhail's room; so, the others tried a different approach and moved Maloof's bed into Mikhail's room. The others kept a close watch on the two to make sure Mikhail didn't wake up and decide to attack Maloof.
Benny felt his heart fracture little by little as Maloof got up, intending to walk over to Mikhail, but loose his courage and curl back up on his bed, crying.
It was almost like Maloof was taunting him; rubbing it in Benny's face that Benny wasn't the one that Maloof loved most.
Maloof froze as he heard Mikhail stir. Cautiously, he glanced over at the Russian. He saw Mikhail's eyes flutter open and turned to face away from the Russian dejectedly.
Mikhail took a few minutes to take in his surroundings before he noticed Maloof lying in a second bed a few yards away.
Benny's heart was pounding as Mikhail's eyes locked onto Maloof's battered body.
Part of Benny wanted to scream for someone to go in there and stop Mikhail from killing Maloof as Mikhail got up slowly and started toward the smaller boy; but another part of Benny was at peace with whatever should happen between them. Even if it meant watching Mikhail murder Maloof right then and there; that seemed alright since the murder was committed by the hands of Maloof's soul mate. At least there would finally be a closure between the two.
Benny started wondering which was worse; silently watching Maloof being murdered, or the sight he was witnessing instead.
Mikhail gingerly climbed up onto Maloof's bed and laid down beside him; slipping his arms around Maloof's waist and pulling him close to his chest. He buried his face in Maloof's soft curls and inhaled his scent deeply, then gently moved to press his lips against the tantalizing golden skin of Maloof's neck; Mikhail was doing all the things that Benny had dreamed of.
Not once during this did Maloof look at Mikhail. Maloof cringed under Mikhail's touch and drew back from his advances.
"We're alive, my beloved." Mikhail whispered, planting another gentle kiss on Maloof's neck.
"Are you sure that we're not just in hell?" Maloof whispered back.
"If this is hell, then I regret nothing I've done in my life." Mikhail breathed, stroking Maloof's soft curls. "If anything, this is heaven. Why else would I be holding such a perfect angel in my arms?"
"Please stop." Maloof whimpered, tears springing to his eyes once more.
"I'm sorry…am I hurting you?" Mikhail asked, carefully putting a little distance between himself and Maloof on the bed.
"You have no idea…" Maloof whispered.
"Why won't you look Misha in the eyes?" Mikhail asked softly.
"I can't…" Maloof whimpered.
"Why not?" Mikhail asked.
"Because Misha's Tiny Boss was murdered a long time ago." Maloof said.
"What are you talking about?" Mikhail asked.
"This can't be happening, Mikhail…" Maloof said.
"But it is." Mikhail whispered.
"You don't understand. Mikhail, I can't do this!" Maloof said.
"Can't do what?" Mikhail asked.
"I can't be with you!" Maloof sobbed.
TO BE CONTINUED…
SURPRISE! Gloria and Edgar are in the rebellion! They, along with Nils and Bobby have made their entrance into the storyline.
Could Fred indeed be a psychic? Why can't Maloof be with Mikhail? Find out in the next exciting chapter of Up Against the World!
Your reviews have, this week, all gone to help Boyd pass the Police exam and get him onto the force! This week, all reviews will go to the "Extra Fluffy Moments" fund to promote many fluffy moments between couples in the next chapter; so leave a review so we can get that fluff flowing!