A/N: Oh yes, I'm back. (grins) I've been typing like a mad person for a couple of days now. My head's all full of Reid right now. I even dreamt of him. (smirks)

First off, THANK YOU, so much, for your fantastic reviews! (GLOMPS) Writing can be quite overwhelming sometimes. It means the world to me to know that so many of you want to read more of my tales. (beams) So thank you!

Awkay. (takes a deep breath) It's go time. Are you sure you're ready?

The Price of Sin

After his encounter with Doctor Spencer fell into a complete haze. In his case the physical pain wasn't the worst part. The most horrible bit was that his eidetic memory made it impossible to break out of those memories, to convince himself that it was all just a sick nightmare. He couldn't sleep and everything he ate came right back up. Days blurred together.

Exhaustion taking the best of him Spencer was finally almost falling asleep when the room's door was opened loudly, furiously. His muscles twitched with tension when he took in Auntie's posture. The woman's rage radiated all the way to where he sat.

Something was badly wrong.

"So, Spencer… I just heard some quite interesting rumors." She made her way to him, kneeling. "A word leaked to the press that a FBI agent has been taken. Agent Spencer Reid."

Spencer swallowed loudly, ice filling him. It felt like the walls had been closing in on him. "I… don't know what you're talking about." It was stupid, most likely futile. But he had to try, for the sake of his life.

Before he even saw it coming she punched him, so hard that a nauseating crack could be heard. He was too dazed to feel the pain. "Don't… lie to me. Understood?" She grabbed his hair, pulling him up with her so harshly that he yelped and whimpered. Didn't she understand that his body couldn't handle such harsh motions? Most likely she simply didn't care. "We need to talk. With this round… I'm expecting nothing but honesty from you."

Pain blinded Spencer for a moment, made his mind black out. When he was finally coherent, with his line of vision swaying but still, he was in a tiny, extremely filthy bathroom. There was a far from inviting bathtub full of water right before him. He could feel the water's coldness even without touching it.

"Get in", Auntie ordered in a tone that left nothing to be questioned.

Spencer swallowed although his throat had gone completely dry a while ago. "I… I'm sorry, that I lied." He couldn't bring himself to look at the woman. He could only stare at the water that'd gained a rusty shade from the ancient tub. The water looked just a little bit like drying blood. "You… don't have to…"

The push came faster than a bolt of lightning. Spencer hit his head to the tub's edge on his way down and for a moment stars danced in his line of vision. Then came the cold. The sheer, utter cold that took his breath away. He gasped, absolutely every cell in his body begging for an escape.

Auntie wasn't about to grant him one. She grabbed his neck, almost hard enough to choke him. Spencer attempted to fight but with his injuries and shock all he managed to deliver were some scratches. "First question. Do you work for the FBI?"

Spencer's teeth clattered. It was almost impossible to speak. Her hand on his throat didn't make it any easier. "Y-Yes."

She nodded. "Alright." She'd been expecting that answer which was why the next question came soon after. "Do they know that you're missing?"

Even in his barely conscious state Spencer knew that he couldn't be honest with this one. If his captors would know that the FBI was after them it was more than likely that they wouldn't waste time before getting rid of him – and possibly the other captive as well. "No", he choked out.

Without a beat of hesitation the woman pushed him below the surface. Spencer attempted to struggle once more, accidentally inhaled a unhealthy amount of the filthy water. The cold and lack of oxygen filled his line of vision with black spots.

Just before Spencer would've blacked out his head was pulled harshly above the surface once more. Auntie's hold on him was even tighter than before. "For your information, it's been nine days, now. It's only a matter of time until your little friends join us. Before that… I'll make sure that they'll receive a greeting they'll never forget."

Terror made Spencer's heartbeat rise until it hurt. "I'm not… letting you… hurt them."

Auntie actually laughed at that one. "Do you honestly think that you're in the position to give me orders, Spencer?"

This time he was under the water even longer than the previous time, or perhaps it only felt that way. Cold did its trick. He couldn't fight back at all anymore. All he could do was wait and pray that his tormentor wouldn't be eager to kill him just yet.

She pulled him up, as close to her masked face as possible. "I… am not going to let them catch me and lock me up. Not anymore. No one is going to control my life. When they come I'm going to fight. If they're stupid enough to get in the way it's their own fault."

Spencer twisted his wrists with despair, tears leaking from his eyes. "Don't… hurt them."

"You can stop fighting, you know?" The wasn't a trace of emotions in her voice. Her hold on his throat was suffocating. "You're already dead." With those words she pushed him under once more. This time she didn't pull him back up.

Slowly yet surely he slipped away.

Slipped away, into cold darkness where he didn't know or even care if he was dead or alive.

Spencer knew, on some level, that he wasn't alone long before he reached consciousness. Someone was sitting beside him, humming softly. He had absolutely no idea of how to feel when he opened his eyes slightly and his vision cleared enough to allow him to see Doctor's face. The man didn't bother to hide his face anymore. For the longest time they simply stared at each other, both deep in thought.

Spencer's whole body stiffened while memories of their previous encounter filled his head. Would the same thing happen all over again? Or was the man there to kill him this time?

It seemed to take ages before Doctor spoke. "So… FBI."

Spencer nodded cautiously, knowing that lying wouldn't get him anywhere. "Yeah."

Doctor licked his lips, running a hand on his bald head. In a while the man took eye contact once more. "What, exactly, is it that you do?"

Spencer didn't know how far he could explain without taking a risk. He began quietly. "I… profile serial killers. Explore their minds. I help with catching them."

"'Them'?" Doctor's voice wasn't sharp but his eyes were. "You mean… people like me?"

Spencer swallowed loudly and nodded slowly, not daring to speak.

He was hurled against the wall so fast that he cried out with startle, struggling instinctively. Doctor's hold was stone hard while the man brought his face only millimetres from his. "Go on ahead, Spencer. Profile me. That should make an interesting round." Spencer's eyes widened when the man pulled out a exceptionally sharp-ended screwdriver. "Whenever you get it right this hits the wall. Whenever you get it wrong… Well, you're a FBI. I'm sure you know."

Spencer shook his head, blind panic striking him completely numb. "No", he breathed out.

The screwdriver was brought right to his eye. "Start… now." Was that… despair in the man's eyes? Fear? What was he so afraid of? "Please. Now. Before she comes."

Spencer gulped. He had to search for his voice for the longest time. He didn't manage to look away from the tool threatening him. "You… You've had mental problems since you were a child – most likely schizophrenia. But… You hid it well, you were never diagnosed. That's… That's why you managed to become a psychiatrist."

Spencer didn't breathe at all when the screwdriver moved. By the time it hit the wall right next to his head he was getting dizzy. Doctor's eyes flashed. "I've always known that I'm… different. Long before Auntie, and Bellringer." Did the man just inch closer? "More!"

It was hard to breathe, let alone think. Doctor's smell filled Spencer's head, clouding it and making him feel sick to his stomach. "Your father… He couldn't take it. Your mother… She raised you the best as she could."

The knife was plunged to the tender skin and flesh of his shoulder before he could blink. He yelped with pain, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. He barely managed to focus enough to hear Doctor. "My father died before I was born. He killed himself. My mother was a pathetic drug addict. She had absolutely no idea of how to raise a child. She abandoned me to a church when I was five. That's how I met Bellringer." The screwdriver was twisted a little bit. Spencer whimpered, his knees growing weak. "Try again, agent."

Spencer gasped, desperately trying to think through the fresh pain. Warm blood trickled on his skin. "You… You were tested, the same… the same way you test people now." He inhaled and exhaled sharply for a couple of times. "Bellringer… He tested you."

Spencer gasped, unable to produce a sound, when the screwdriver was pulled out of him. A dull thud could be heard when it hit the wood, right next to his pelvis. "I owe everything to Bellringer." Doctor's eyes were serious and sincere. "Everyone else… They gave up on me, would've let me die. But he made me stronger."

Spencer stared into the other man's eyes, lightheaded and still breathless. "He… guided you. You… You were his… best student. You… saw the light."

This time he saw it coming, although he wasn't sure if it was better or worse from before. He could've sworn that someone else screamed along with him when the screwdriver pierced his leg, right above the still attached spiked chain. It sunk almost all the way to the bone. "I was never given the light! That's the price of my sins!" Doctor snarled at him, the man's face filled with despair. "Don't you understand? That's why I want to help others. I was never granted that gift. This, seeing others reach out for salvation… is the closest thing to it I'm ever going to get." There were tears in Doctor's eyes. "That's… That's why I want you to see. You need to see, do you understand? We need to find that light together."

Spencer winced and whimpered, the pain swimming everywhere almost more than he could take. His eyes strayed, spotting the scars all over the other man's arms. Self inflicted. "You… You tried… to find it… didn't you? That's… why you couldn't be a doctor anymore. Someone… Someone noticed."

Doctor's eyes were unreadable while the man pulled the screwdriver off of him once more, then hit it to the wall as deep as it went. Only the man's hold kept him standing. "She was my first kill. Auntie… She delivered her to me. Nothing's ever made me feel the way it did. I've never hated myself more, or felt as excited."

Spencer was beginning to see double. It was getting even harder to stay focused, now. "Auntie… She tested you, too."

The pain was absolutely everywhere. Spencer couldn't even tell where the blade sunk. "She, Olivia, was my first kill. But Auntie was my first player, long before." There was a chilling look on Doctor's face. "Three strikes. You're out."

Everything in Spencer's line of vision exploded to blinding white. In a moment of semi clarity he wondered if that experience was what Doctor meant when speaking of seeing the light.

It took Spencer a while to recover from the previous round. While he lay on the floor, struggling to keep his mind connected to the time and place at hand, his senses sharpened to what was happening in the other captive's room. What he caught made his skin crawl, hurt physically.

Hissing. Screams. What smelled suspiciously lot like burned flesh.

"You've been marked, now", Doctor's all too familiar voice announced, almost hollow. "This, is to make sure that you'll never forget again."

"I've… tried to kill myself… three times, while I've been here. Twice… before this." That voice… It was so familiar that Spencer shivered. Why couldn't his head form the connection? How badly out of it was he? "What the hell… makes you think that… I'd stop trying now?"

Doctor's reply came almost instantly, as though the man had been expecting the question. "Because next time it won't be you I mark for your sins."

At that moment Spencer's head began to catch on. The realization was so sharp, so unexpected, that it took his breath away. His eyes widened dramatically.

It can't be…

Something beyond curiosity caught a sickeningly firm hold of Spencer. Defying all exhaustion he forced his aching, utterly spent body to motion, pushed himself on all fours. It was then he noticed the hole on the room's wall. It must've formed during the previous round.

Spencer swallowed, shivering all over.

This… could be his only opportunity to see, to make sure. To know if…

In some miraculous way he managed to crawl all the way to the hole. Without doubting a second he peered in, not entirely sure if he really wanted to see.

There was dried and fresh blood on the room's floor and walls. In the middle of it all was Doctor, holding a piece of metal that was still red with heat. Before the tormentor was kneeled another man, with words 'Choose Life' burned to his chest. The other captive's bare upper body was marred with cuts, bruises and scars. Spencer's horrified eyes traveled upwards, finally meeting the man's battered face. For three unhealthy seconds his heart stilled entirely.

For the first time in yeas he was staring right at Jason Gideon.

So far in a state of shock Spencer was, that he didn't hear the person approaching him before it was much too late. "Did you think that I wouldn't know?" Auntie's hissed words sent chills down his spine. "That I wouldn't understand that the temptation is too much to resist?"

Spencer turned his head, still shocked and dreading what was to come. "I… I just had to see. I had to know…"

Auntie nodded, deviously patient. "I know, Spencer. I get it. And that's how I knew to prepare this special round for you." She revealed what she'd brought along. Suturing equipment. "You've seen and spoken too much by now. I have to make sure that it never happens again. I must warn you, though… I'm not as good or gentle as Doctor."

Spencer couldn't utter a word, couldn't move an inch. All he managed to do was stare. His heart thumped wildly while his mind raced a million miles per hour.

No… No, no, no, NO!

Auntie kneeled down to his level. "I really hope that you're not afraid of the dark, Spencer."

TBC

A/N: (winces) Awkay… I'm actually trembling right now, just a little bit. Poor Reid! 'Wonder what the final two rounds are going to be like…

I've gotta tune out right about now. BUT, first… PLEASE, leave a note before you head off! Pwease…? It's a beautiful summer day outside. Doesn't it just make you want to review?

THE NEXT CHAPTER is a little bit of polishing from done. How'd ya feel about a relatively quick update…?

Until next time (or should I say round…?), folks!

Take care and enjoy the summer day!

Steph: No worries, I got your reviews. (beams) It flatters me to hear that the story's still got you in its hold.

Let's hope that the team appears soon. This game's taken such a toll on Reid already. (winces)

Gigantic thank yous for the review! Until next time, I hope.

Stacey: Oh, I'm so, so, so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! (grins from ear to ear)

No, hun, you're NOT bad person. Just take a look at what I write! What does that make of me? LOL!

Colossal thank yous for the review! I truly hope that you'll enjoy the ride to come.