Gosh this is late. I'm sorry everyone! Life decided to be a bitch and I only just finished this ^-^;

Hopefully I'll be forgiven by the end of this chapter ;)

Chapter 12

The Squid king, ruler of the Underwater Kingdom, rubbed at the bridge of his nose, brow scrunching in irritation. Three weeks had passed since he had given Sky away to the king of the Nether. Over twenty one days had passed since then and still Lillian wouldn't spill. She refused to utter any sort of sentence that didn't involve the words 'give me back my son' or just plain screaming. Granted, she'd been screaming for help ever since he had kidnapped her and forced her to marry him, but at least back then he would threaten Sky's life and she would shut up.

Now though, without Sky here for Squid to threaten to harm, the blasted woman wouldn't stop her aggravating screams and shouts.

Squid didn't even want her alive any longer, he hasn't wanted her alive in the first place. If it wasn't for her fucking husband, he would have killed Lillian and her son the moment he had the chance. But no, Hunter had made sure his family would live. Even in his grave, Hunter still taunted Squid. It had always even a giant joke to that man. Never had he been serious, even when Squid had murdered him, the man never showed any form of concern. He had always been a carefree man, even with his fortune, and Squid loathed him for that.

Squid was a greedy man, fully intent on gathering all the riches this world had to offer. He'd sought after Hunter treasure for most of his life, the man had been rumored to have more than triple Squid's own fortune and that did not suit well with the greedy king.

He'd gone after Hunter, threatening and chasing after the man, the jewels and riches being what kept him going. But Hunter was smart, he moved to the countryside where no one knew his true identity and no one knew of his fortune. Squid couldn't find him for many years afterwards, though he searched endlessly.

Finding Hunter once more had been a tough job, one that took many years. It had almost become an impossible task had it not been for a tip Squid had received from one of his many spies. Apparently, Hunter had made a family of all things. His wife, a woman going by the name Lillian, had born him a child. A young lad going by the name of Sky.

As interesting as Squid had found this, he had immediately found a way to corner Hunter. The man had laughed right in his face, refusing to give Squid the whereabouts of his fortune. Of course, the king hasn't been happy at all. He had threatened Hunter's precious family and then, only then, did Hunter actually become serious. For the first time since Squid had known the man, Hunter had lost the ever present grin on his face. i'You wouldn't dare lay a finger on them,'/i he'd said, i'kill me, you'll still have a chance at finding my treasure. Kill them, and you'll never find the accursed thing you've spent so many years after.'/i

In a fit of rage Squid had brutally murdered Hunter, leaving him with only the clue that as long as Lillian and Sky were alive, he'd still have the chance to get the treasure.

Getting Lillian to marry him had been easy, he held Sky's life against her ad she readily agreed. Replacing her with a fake so Sky wouldn't be suspicious of her absence was easy as well. In fact, Sky hasn't seen his real mother since Squid had forced the woman to marry him. It had been rather amusing to hear how betrayed Sky had looked when he was being dragged away and his 'mother' had just stood there watching.

"Just tell me where the treasure is and I'll let you go." Squid grit out, eyes flashing as he glared at the chained woman in front of him. Fiery green eyes glared up at him, wild black hair framing the woman's face.

"Suck a dick," she whispered out, voice hoarse as Squid walked towards her. He lifted a hand, back handing the small woman, ignoring her sharp cry as he pulled her up by her hair.

"Listen here, bitch," he spit out, face dangerously close to Lillian's, "you're gonna tell me where Hunter hid his treasure." Lillian grinned wildly, surprising Squid as a low chuckle left her swollen lips.

"Or what? Gonna hurt my son? Like you always said you were?" She questioned, her voice high as she let out another laugh. Squid frowned, sweat beading his forehead as the woman slumped forward, the chains rattling as they kept her hung by her wrists, her ankles shackled to the floor. "That's not going to work anymore, you sold him away. You sold my son away, and now you have no leverage over me," she hissed, Squid tightening his grip on her hair, disgust written over his features.

"For all I know, he's dead by now. You cowardly sold him to the king, scared to fight a much stronger opponent," she continued, eyes half lidded as bitter laughs wracked her small frame.

"I'm not afraid of the king of the Nether," Squid denied, throwing her roughly against the wall, furious at the woman's insolence. "I sold your son to get rid of him, I had no use for your bastard son."

"Oh really?" Lillian whispered quietly, silence reigning afterwards, the candles in the dungeon room flickering as the Squid said nothing. "What if I told you he was the key to the treasure? That he's the only way for you to get your precious treasure?"

Throwing her away from him in rage, Squid stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him with a roar. He'd been so close! So close to that blasted treasure and he'd let the opportunity slip out of his hands!

He marched down the hallways of the dungeon, no destination in mind as blood pounded in his ears. How was he to get Sky back? Was the boy even alive by now? Squid couldn't care any less what happened to the boy, but if he was the key to the treasure, he would do whatever it took to get him back. As long as Squid finally had his hands on Hunter's treasure, Sky could rot in the Nether for all Squid cared.

He stopped, breathing heavy as he looked around. He'd wandered deep into his dungeons, to a place he hadn't been in for quite a while. Teeth flashing in a dangerous grin, Squid took in the scene in front of him.

He was in one of the lower parts of his dungeons, where the cells were far apart from each other and the air was damp. Cobwebs littered the walls and water trickled down cracks in the ceiling, moss grew sparsely throughout the floors and a cold draft caused Squid to shiver beneath all his glamorous robes. Most of the cells were empty in this particular corridor, all but two at the very end.

Walking forward, his steps echoing as he let out a low chuckle as he glanced between the two cells on either side of the corridor. "How are my favorite prisoners?" He taunted, eying said prisoners.

The two had their backs pressed against the bars of their cells, each had one arm sticking out between the iron bars, fingers straining as they attempted to touch the other. Shadows covered the entirety of both cells, the torch in Squid's hand the only illumination in the darkness the two prisoners lived in.

"Now, now, not even a hello?" Squid continued, rocking on the balls of his feet with a frown, silence meeting his question. "What if I were to say I had a deal for you? A way for you two to gain your freedom?" Squid his a laugh as they both straightened at his words, eyes glinting as they turned towards him.

"Not for both of you, I just need one of you to do me a favor, a small thing, and I'll set the both of you free."

The two prisoners glanced at each other, a silent conversation passing between the two of then as Squid tapped his foot impatiently.

"What's the deal?" One of the two men inquired, voice hoarse from misuse as the other shook his head rapidly, eyes practically pleading the other to refuse. Squid nodded, satisfied with the response.

"You'll be fetching someone for me, I need him back in my clutches desperately. You bring me him and I'll let you and your precious friend," Squid cackled at this part, knowing the twos relationship was far stronger, "free. That's all there is to it."

"Don't do it," the other man begged, voice barely above a whisper. "Don't do it, Jerome."

Jerome said nothing in response, nodding solemnly as Squid nodded. "Good, I'm glad you see it my way."

Taking out a set of keys, Squid walked to the other cell, Jerome watching with alarmed eyes as Squid unlocked the other man's cell. Gripping the frail boy by the back of his tattered shirt, Squid dragged the young man out of the cell.

"Let him go," Jerome warned, standing as he gripped his cell bars, Squid shaking his head in return.

"You do what I tell you to do and Mitch," Squid shook the man in question, ignoring how he was clawing at his hands as he stood in front of Jerome's cell, "won't get hurt. For now, I'll be keeping him in one of the rooms above. He'll be nice and safe until you return."

Squid watched, absolutely gleeful as Jerome's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Deadlox, c'mon! I wanna see already!" Sky whined playfully, the demon's hands covering his eyes. He gripped Deadlox's wrists as the taller man gently guided him. "I hear birds, why're you taking me outside?" Sky questioned, eager to see the big surprise Deadlox had to show him. The demon had been guiding him for the better part of the last hour, taking him up long spiral stairs and twisting turns, Sky was beginning to grow impatient.

The two had grown closer since the first few days Sky had spent at the king's palace. Sky had accepted his new role and Deadlox had grown used to the other man's presence. Neither had had any nightmares since they had met the other and things were going smoothly. The palace staff were extremely pleased with the change in Deadlox's personality. The king had all but stopped in his tantrums and maniacal tendencies. Sky took up most of the king's time but the staff were just glad the king had stopped beating them. In fact, the king had grown almost... Gentle in attitude. As long as Sky was in the vicinity, Deadlox had become almost pleasant to be around. Screams no longer echoed throughout the palace and blood no longer needed to be washed out of the king's clothes or the walls of the palace. It was practically a miracle.

"Keep your eyes closed," Deadlox warned quietly, pulling his hands away from Sky's face. The king hid a grin at Sky's pout, instead turning Sky around to face him, wrapping his arms around the human's smaller frame. He couldn't help but feel rather pleased at the blush that spread across Sky's face. Readying himself for what was about to take place, Deadlox tucked Sky's head under his chin. He looked over at the edge of the tower Deadlox had brought them to. It was the tallest tower of his palace and the best spot for what the demon was planning on doing.

"D-Deadlox, w-what are you doing?" Sky questioned quietly, his hands gripping Deadlox's shirt, eyes obediently closed. The king hummed in answer, guiding the two of them to the very edge of the tower, the ground far below them.

"Surprise." Deadlox muttered, stepping off the ledge, wind tubing around them as Sky shrieked in shock. The human immediately began struggling, eyes wide as the ground rushed closer.

"Deadlox!" Sky screamed, completely frightened as he clenched his eyes shut once more, gripping the older demon closer than ever. The demon's only answer was a low chuckle as the king unfurled his wings, catching the two of them just as the ground came up to meet them. With a powerful push, Deadlox brought them back to the elevation they had been on just seconds before. Smirking down at Sky's shivering form, the demon lazily flapped his wings, flying higher up.

"You can open your eyes now," Deadlox murmured encouragingly, unwrapping one of his arms from around Sky a gently cupping his face. The human kept his eyes stubbornly closed, Deadlox chuckling at the action. "I'll let you go..." He threatened, laughing as Sky opened his eyes wide in alarm.

"You wouldn't," Sky accused, Deadlox grinning.

"Yeah, you're right, I wouldn't," Sky relaxed slightly at the demon's words, though his hands stayed gripped around Deadlox's shirt. "Look around," Deadlox suggested, his hand dropping from Sky's face to wrap around Sky's waist once more.

"We're in the clouds," Sky said, awe dancing across his features. His grip on Deadlox lessened, golden hazel eyes darting around, trying to take in everything at once. The sun had begun lowering, shades of red and shades of grey dancing across the dark colored clouds, the Nether's version of a sunset. "It's beautiful," Sky concluded, returning his gaze back to Deadlox, a happy smile on his face. The king nodded, a relived grin on his face.

They were silent for a moment, each studying the other in quiet contemplation. "Thank you," Sky murmured, brushing his lips along Deadlox's cheek. The king spluttered at the touch, face a dark red as he froze. "Don't stop flying!" Sky yelled, panic written over his features as they began dropping. Clearing his head, Deadlox flapped his wings, keeping them in the Sky, his heart pounding.

The king cleared his throat in embarrassment, "sorry." Sky just shook his head, amusement clear on his face as he laughed.