It was a strange feeling to be in the position Selene was in. Minutes seemed to be hours; hours seemed to be days. In truth, Selene was held captive for a total of 10 hours by the time she was rescued by Michael. What held her rescuer up was none other than her capturer. After divvying up the teams and relaying their missions several times to ensure a smooth time, Leon and James finally 'kidnapped' Michael and brought him underground to the Death Dealer's fortress.

Michael had, by then, composed himself and was determined to liberate Selene from the pain she was in.

They brought Michael straight to Marc, by accident. Marc had been passing by the entrance when they had entered. Bad timing, bad sign, Michael worried.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" Marc demanded.

Leon looked at Marc sheepishly, faking innocence. James copied him. "Who, him?" Leon asked, indicating Michael.

Marc nodded, ready to blow up at any second. "Yes, him," he spat.

"W-we just thought that we'd save you guys the trouble of kidnapping him and we did it for you," James explained.

"Uh huh," Marc said. "Whatever. Bring him to Erika, see what she wants to do with him."

Leon had gagged Michael before they walked in and James had tied him up to create the appearance that they did kidnap him. They dragged Michael to Erika's office, next door to where Selene was being held.

Erika's head shot up when she saw Michael. "What the fuck? Did Marc order you to—"

"—No, no he didn't. We did it on our own to save you guys the trouble."

Erika looked pleased. "Wow. Thanks – even my own guys aren't as thoughtful."

Marc walked in, unsure of what mood Erika would be in.

"I have to say, Marc, that your guys are very proactive. Nice surprise." She batted her eyes at him.

He blushed. She ran into his arms and they shared a long, wet kiss. Michael suppressed a gag. "I'll be patrolling, babe," he said, and left the room. Erika sighed contentedly at his exit. Leon and James rolled their eyes. Unlike the traditional Death Dealers' leader's room, hers was decorated with pictures of hunky men and pink and black paint.

She snapped at Leon and James, "Put Michael on that couch."

Suddenly, a scream – Selene's – sounded from the next room. It was a pained cry, and while Erika ignored it, it made Leon and James jump and break into a sweat. Were they going to be too late?

They exchanged a nervous look. "Milady, why don't we take him to Selene? That way, we could begin our plan?" Leon tried not to gulp. Their whole plan relied on Michael being able to rescue Selene, and get her out of there if she was too weak to fight. That way, the team waiting outside could storm the fortress without worry about catching their leaders in their line of fire.

Erika seemed pensive for a moment. "Fine," she said. She seemed to want the room to just herself, anyway.

Almost sighing with relief, Leon and James brought Michael to the next room, the room where the scream had come from.

It took all their self control to keep from screaming when they saw Selene's state.

Selene was chained to the wall by the wrists, ankles, and abdomen.

Her face was covered with blood and bruises, her arms drooped with strange metallic shards protruding from them. Her legs had cuts and slashes, her body appearing to be cruelly and mercilessly whipped for hours, which she was. There were spots on her body that had marks that looked like she had been branded, like a cow, and her hair was wet, like she had been held under water.

Needless to say, the sight was not pretty.

The interrogator looked up at their entrance. "Another toy for me to play with?" he asked eagerly.

"No," Leon snapped. Realizing he didn't want to arise suspicions, he made his tone more gentle. "Daisy wants us to leave Mike here so they can start whatever it is they have planned, Greg." The soulless vampire nodded.

"I'll leave, then, so you guys can set up." Greg began packing up his box of torture utensils.

Selene, in the meantime, had just hung limp, silent from her bonds.

Greg pointed at Selene. "Quite the stubborn one," he commented. "I've beaten, stabbed, slashed, burnt, whipped, cut, held her under water, and stuck crap in her body and still her spirit remains intact." He scoffed. "What a fucking waste that her alliance is not with us."

James pretended to feel the same way. "Yeah, it's a real bummer."

Greg walked over to Selene. "Stubborn one, aren't you?" he asked her. Her eyes snapped open and she glared at him, breathing heavily. He smirked. She struggled pitifully to break out of her chains, and in return Greg gave her a powerful blow, enough to force a gasp from Selene's lips. She didn't move after that blow, hanging her head. "Real stubborn."

Trying to get Greg out of the room, he said to him, "Let's leave Mike here and we can start setting up."

Greg nodded hesitantly. "See you two outside." He walked over and gagged Selene, then left the room.

Following this, Leon and James let out a long sigh of relief. They quickly loosened but not completely removed Michael's bondages, then left him there. "Get Selene out of here through that door over there. If you can't find your way out right away, just make sure you aren't seen. We'll stall in the meantime." Michael nodded to what Leon said.

"We'll send the signal to Damien's team," James added before they both left.

That just left Michael alone to finish his part.

He ran over to Selene after releasing himself from the ropes that were tied around him. "Jesus Christ," he muttered. He easily broke the chains that held her to the wall.

He gently carried her and placed her on the ground. He looked over all of her wounds, surprised that she wasn't howling in pain.

"Michael…" she murmured weakly.

"Shh, I'm here now," Michael whispered, kissing her forehead. "It's okay."

"Leon and James…?"

"They're not really on the other side," he explained briefly. "Marc is, though."

"Oh." Michael suddenly realized she was wheezing and breathing heavily, more so than before.

"We gotta get you outta here," he said, picking her up in his arms. For all he knew, she was knocking very hard on Deaths door, and he had no intention of letting It answer it.

"I've had worse," she insisted. "You don't have to carry me."

He smiled at her typical bravado. "Can't you just act like a damsel in distress for once? Can't you just do it for my pride?"

She laughed quietly. "I'll try."

They shared a look, then Michael kissed Selene and even though she was in pain and was tired, she kissed back with even more passion than he kissed her.

"I knew you'd come," she said to him when they finished.

"Well, it's good one of us knew that," he remarked.

Without any more talk, he carried her through the door Leon had pointed at.

Michael immediately regretted it when he saw marc and Erika – Daisy – in the next room.

Marc was grinning from ear to ear. "Hello, Michael."

"Where are your two buddies?" Erika asked. "Getting reinforcements?"

Shit, Michael cursed. He didn't say a word.

He placed Selene down. She stood by herself, although she looked as if she might faint at any moment. He readied himself for a fight.

But all that ended when Erika hurled some kind of dart at Michael's chest. He pulled it out. A pang shot through him, and he felt himself changing, losing control of himself and his actions. Oh no, he wailed in his hybrid mind as some other Michael took over. The liquid! The liquid he had been warned about was now coursing through his veins, taking the driver's seat with a full tank of gas.

Michael tried to resist it, fight it, but all hope was gone.

Selene realized it, too, but could do nothing as Erika and Marc made their escape through another door and left her to hold her own against Michael.

Weak, tired, drained, and vulnerable, Selene cursed her bad luck as Michael surged forward to deliver a devastating blow to Selene's chest.

She didn't want to fight Michael, but she knew that she had to if she wanted both of them to survive the night.

A/N:

plays dramatic music

I have to reveal that the next chapter might be a bit devastating to some readers, so prepare yourself when you read the next chapter...

Then there should be maybe one more chapter (short one), followed by an epilogue.

There should be one more story following this one. After that, I don't know what I'll do.

Thanks for reading. PLease leave a comment on what you think!

KATEB819