Tainted But Beautiful
Part 1: The Hunters
9. Blame
Pairings: AkuZeku, Zemyx, AkuRoku, AxDem
Rated: M
Warnings: Vampires, vampires, vampires...uh, yaoi, AU-ish-ness, ABUSE, NONCON, RAPE, GRAPHIC SCENES, character death, overall weirdness.
Summary: Axel is a powerful vampire slayer who's captured Zexion, a vampire, as his pet. What Axel doesn't bargain on is Demyx, his former student, developing a strong attraction to Zexion...
Notes: Again, going back on promises. I only have a few paragraphs left on chapter ten, though. But again...expect slow updates.
This is a fairly long chapter (although ten seems to be clocking at the longest chapters so far), but hopefully you should enjoy it because it's very Zexion-centric, and has...lots of abuse in it. Ha haaaa. Plus, it explains Zexy's reasons for not doing anything in the last chapter, and...well, it's very Zemyx-y. So read on, and enjoy!
Zexion had no idea how he had done it.
The instant he had felt Xaldin's presence--wild, like the wind, but dark and ominous--he had activated his defenses. It was almost an automatic instinct--here was a stronger vampire, and he had to hide. He didn't stop to wonder why Xaldin was here, or what he was doing. He'd just assumed that the vampire had been sent by the coven to find Zexion, never mind that the Superior and Saix had never before paid Zexion even a modicum of attention...
And Zexion knew what would happen if Xaldin found him. He would be taken back to the coven--and he would be punished. Punished for allowing a slayer to capture him...punished for having even chosen Axel as a victim in the first place. He knew the codes, all of them. Only special vampires chosen by the Superior had the privilege of going after the slayer families. But Axel's window had been open and he had seemed so tempting and Zexion had just--
Never mind why. He was too focused on just blocking his own presence to think, and throughout the entire ordeal--for as long as he could, at the dim periphery of his awareness, sense Xaldin--he had struggled to hide himself. Struggled to raise every single conceivable mental barrier, every blockade and shield, that he had, and prevent even a single idle thought from floating free and betraying his presence--
It had taken him so much effort that he'd fallen to his knees, bit his lip so hard that he tasted blood, causing his entire body to shiver and convulse. It was getting too much--he couldn't maintain it for much longer--
And then he sensed it--Xaldin's presence was gone. With a great, shuddering sigh of relief, Zexion released the barriers over his mind, and almost tumbled face-down into the dirty alleyway--he had to throw out an arm to catch himself on the wall. Still, he felt weaked, drained...yet oddly exhilarated. He had done it; his power had held. Held against a vampire supposedly much stronger than himself...
His happiness lasted for about seven seconds before a rough hand snatched him by the collar and slammed him so hard into the wall that stars burst in his vision. Zexion gasped, his hands automatically flying out to wrap around the wrist of his tormentor, still grinding him into the wall--
Shit. How come he hadn't been aware of Axel's approach? He'd been so drained by the effort of blocking his presence from Xaldin that he hadn't sensed Axel's scent, dark and overpowering and drowning him in smoke, cinnamon, fury--
The torment wasn't over yet. With a thunderous force Axel's fist slammed against the side of Zexion's face, dazing him even more. He tasted blood in his mouth but wasn't sure if that was from the force of the blow itself, or from him biting his tongue to keep from screaming.
Another blow, on the other side of his face. Zexion's head spun and he coughed out blood--what the hell was happening--what had set off Axel this time--
"You little bitch!" Axel was howling as he slammed Zexion into the wall over and over again, causing stars to burst in his vision and his stomach to lurch every time his head made contact with the wall. "You fucking little BITCH!!! Damn you to fucking HELL!!"
"Wh--what--what did I do now?" hissed Zexion between blows. He could barely think coherently now--brightly colored spots were spinning in his vision-- "S-stop--"
"You don't know? Don't lie, you fucking monster!" Again, his head was slammed into the wall. Something wet and warm started spreading over the back of his head... "Why the fuck didn't you do anything?"
"What--what do you mean?" gasped Zexion. Axel chose to vary his approach and hit Zexion, hard, in the side of the face. Zexion tumbled, falling to his hands and knees on the dirty asphalt, spitting out blood. His head was spinning wildly and the coppery tang of blood in his mouth overpowered all other scents. His blood.
"What the fuck do you think I mean!" roared Axel back, his voice just as angry. He grabbed Zexion by the arm and jerked him back up to his feet. Zexion met Axel's eyes--and it took all of his self-control from taking a shocked step backwards. He'd never seen Axel like this before. Never. Not with such anger burning in his green eyes, twisting his features... The slayer was covered with drying blood and injuries, but he didn't seem to care. It was like his rage was keeping him on his feet, electrifying him, keeping him alive...
"I don't know," whispered Zexion back, struggling to regain his failed nerve. What could Axel do to him in his anger? Before, he could always--somewhat--predict Axel's actions, but now...he had no idea. Axel could hurt him, hurt him beyond anything he'd ever done before...
"Like fuck you don't!" was Axel's furious reply, and quick as a flash of lightning his leg shout out and he kicked Zexion, hard, in the stomach. The vampire almost tumbled down again--only Axel's relentless, bruising, grip on his arm kept him from falling.
"I honestly have no idea--" Zexion was ashamed at how the words came out, broken and choking, but how could he talk when he was coughing up a torrent of blood? "Why are you--"
"It's Demyx, you little bitch!" snarled Axel, and he contempuously released his grip on Zexion and pushed the vampire aside. Zexion stumbled and fell, bumping against the wall, his head spinning.
Demyx?
Demyx.
Zexion tensed suddenly, now aware of nothing but--but his own scent, lightly clinging to himself; to Axel's scent, clouded with fury; to the clean and pure scent a few yards behind Axel, where Roxas stood watching the scene in wide-eyed horror. But there was one scent he couldn't detect. A scent of sea-salt, of a gentle ocean breeze...Demyx's.
"What," said Zexion, jerking up sharply to meet Axel's eyes, "happened to Demyx?"
"Don't be a fucking smartass. You know what happened and you did nothing to stop it!" snarled Axel, though thankfully he didn't hit Zexion--he just pointed an accusing finger at the vampire trembling against the wall.
Zexion was about to shoot back a retort to the effect of thinking before accusing, and just what the hell had happened to Demyx anyway, whatever it was it wasn't Zexion's fault--hell, it was probably Axel's! But before he could, Roxas spoke, his voice high and trembling.
"Um--uh--Axel--I think--I mean--um--I think he's telling the truth. He...he really doesn't know."
Axel whirled around to face Roxas, looking alarmed. He stood where he was, his every muscle tensed, looking for all the world like a predator prepared to spring--but then relaxed with a shuddering sigh, turning away from Roxas. "Oh, I see what this is about."
"No, really, Axel--" Roxas's voice had acquired an edge of desperation. He, too, was covered with blood and a few bruises and scrapes, but like Axel didn't seem to care at all about his injuries. "I really think he's--"
"You're under his spell, aren't you?" continued Axel, talking above Roxas, his tone heavy with disapproval. "That's it. He's cast a spell on you and now--"
"No! I'm telling the truth!" cried Roxas, his voice shaking from hysteria. "I mean it, Axel--I mean, I know it's awful what happened to Demyx but this is--you're being--"
Zexion decided to interrupt before this little proto-argument between Axel and Roxas bloomed into a full-blown fight, as fun as that might be to witness. Plus, it'd distract Axel's attention from him. But now, there were things he had to know--like just what the hell had happened to Demyx.
"Tell me. I need to know. What happened to Demyx?"
Both Axel and Roxas whirled around to face Zexion, bearing identical deer-in-the-headlights expressions. Zexion suppresed the strange, very incongruous urge to laugh, and met their startled stares with an even one of his own. Well, he hoped his gaze was even, but wasn't sure how well he was hiding his pain...again, his stomach lurched, and his head throbbed, sending more blood pulsing from the injury on the back of his head. No, this wouldn't do...this wouldn't...do...
"You already know," snapped Axel, the surprised expressing dissolving into one of pure hatred. "All you're trying to do is squander time, so your comrade can spirit Demyx out of the city--"
"Demyx got...Demyx got...taken," said Roxas, his gentle voice interrupting Axel's sputters of rage. "The vampire--Xaldin--he took Demyx his...prisoner..."
"What?" Zexion stiffened, feeling every muscle tense. A faint feeling of foreboding started growing in his stomach, but he blocked it out--he had to keep his wits about him. "Why? Why didn't you do anything to stop it--"
"Oh, fuck, yeah, listen to the hypocritcal shit you're spouting," said Axel, letting out a low, macabre chuckle. Zexion wondered for a wild moment whether Axel had finally gone insane. He knew it'd been coming for a long while...
"Axel, I really think he doesn't know--" Roxas placed a hand on Axel's shoulder, causing Axel to whip around to face him. "I mean, why would he pretend he doesn't know what happened?"
"That's easy! Like I said, buying time!" snapped Axel, throwing Roxas's hand off his shoulder--a very real look of hurt spasmed across Roxas's face. "And you're in cahoots to him! Listen to what you're saying! You're sticking up for a vampire!"
"Axel, look, be sensible--" cried Roxas. Ha. Axel, sensible? Axel and sensible were like oil and water. "What's--what's hitting him going to do--to do for Demyx? We have to get to the slayer authority...report Demyx missing...we have to do this the legal way! We're wasting time, just standing here and--" Roxas threw a brief, wild look at Zexion, and said nothing more.
Zexion's respect for Roxas swelled with every word the boy spewed. Clearly, he was sensible and sane, unlike the mad-with-rage Axel. Perhaps the boy would a good influence on Axel, or perhaps not. But certainly, a little sanity was in order here after all that had happened...
"The fuck, Roxas!" Axel's voice was raw with true hurt--he really did think that Roxas was betraying him! And just by being sensible, too. "What's gotten into you?"
"I should be asking you that question!" cried back Roxas in a burst of sudden self-confidence. Again, Zexion found himself grudgingly admitting that he had to respect Roxas. "C'mon--let's get back home--Axel--" With the last word, he placed a hand, gently, on Axel's shoulder again. Axel shuddered, but this time did not throw it off.
For a moment, judging by the way that Axel's face was contorting unpleasantly and the way his lips were moving soundlessly, as if he was trying to form insults and retorts, it seemed that Axel wouldn't follow Roxas' suggestion. But then, with a great sigh that seemed to convulse through his entire body, the red-haired slayer nodded slowly, and turned around to face Zexion again. The rage had left his expression, to be replaced by a cold hardness--Zexion wasn't sure if this was an improvement. Axel beckoned with one finger, and Zexion obeyed automatically.
Axel grabbed Zexion's cuff chain with a hard jerking motion, causing Zexion to stumble forward and almost fall. He managed to regain his balance by the time Axel had started marching off, turning back in the direction they had come from. Axel strode quickly, almost as if he was trying to make Zexion stumble to catch up with him. Roxas trailed behind like Axel's pale shadow, and together the three drifted their way home.
Home. No, not home, thought Zexion with a strong feeling of distaste. To him, Axel's expensive villa was nothing more than a prison. A place where he was confined against his will and would gladly escape if given the slightest opportunity. That was all. Nothing more.
Except, then...why had he come so close to calling it "home" when Demyx had been around...?
"Master Axel!" cried the butler Saunders the instant Axel, Zexion, and Roxas entered, alarm causing his eyes to bug. "What happened--Master Axel--are you all right? Do you require a clean change of clothes--?"
"Fuck off," snarled Axel in one breath at the butler. Saunders stood at the base of the stairs, looking stupidly wide-eyed for a moment, but then turned heel and marched up the stairs, muttering under his breath. With that out of the way, Axel didn't hesitate to drag Zexion towards--the opposite stairs, the ones that led to...
Funny. It had been little more than a week since Zexion had been released from the underground prison--now it appeared that Axel would be throwing him into it again. And why shouldn't he? Now that Demyx was gone, there was really nowhere else for Zexion to go...
Now that Demyx was gone. Demyx. Gone. Zexion couldn't explain why that thought made him feel oddly...hollow...inside...
"Hurry it up, bitch," growled Axel, giving the chain an extra-hard yank. Zexion hissed as the silver cuff was dragged over his already-sensitive wrist, burning the skin even further. He stumbled, but managed to avoid falling.
"Wait! Axel!" cried Roxas, his voice high and thin. Axel, rudely, didn't turn around or even acknowledge Roxas, but continued marching forward. "Axel! You have to report Demyx missing to the slayer authority--"
"You do it," snarled Axel, stopping abruptly as he reached the door to the basement. Startled by the abruptness of the stop, Zexion bumped into Axel--Axel rudely shoved him aside. "Go call Luxord and Xigbar. Their numbers are in my phonebook. And here's my phone."
He tossed something gleaming at Roxas, who caught it awkwardly, juggling it in his hands a moment before getting a secure hold on it. Roxas still wanted to protest, however. "But Axel--what're you going to do--"
"Isn't that fucking obvious," was Axel's rudely snapped response, and then he yanked open the door and dragged Zexion after him downstairs.
Zexion adjusted almost immediately to the darkness--it was, after all, his natural element. Axel didn't seem to be adjusting so well as he was stumbling and bumping into walls, but maybe that was because he was too angry to keep his balance. He stomped down at a vicious pace, yanking Zexion after him. Zexion bit back the protests that were rising in his throat, realizing that this was not the time--he'd only be tortured worse for protesting.
When they reached the bottom, Axel shoved Zexion into the far-right cell--the same one where the vampire had previously spent long weeks of imprisonment. Zexion fell to the floor with a thump, biting his lip to prevent himself from crying out in pain. His head spun even more from the sudden change in position, and he felt blood beginning to rise in his throat--but he refused to spit it out. He huddled on the floor, waiting for Axel to act, waiting for the inevitable torment...
The snapping sound of a lighter. The clink of glass on the floor. The smell of burning wax. Zexion turned in Axel's direction--but quickly turned away again, throwing his arm over his eyes to shield them. Axel had lit a candle and placed it on the floor, its small but bright flame casting a fickle, flickering light over the cell. Fire wasn't quite sunlight, but most vampires went out of their way to avoid it, because it was one of the few things that could kill them. It was dangerous, and it hurt--
"Unpleasant, huh, bitch? Don't like it?" said Axel, a self-satisfied note entering his voice. "Hey. Look at me when I'm speaking to you. Look at me!"
The order was sharp, pointed; Zexion had no choice to obey. Turning to face Axel, he lowered his arm with a vague reluctance because he knew Axel wouldn't like it if he was hiding his eyes. He hissed and drew back, his vision blurring as the offending light invaded it; he couldn't even make out Axel's face beyond the horrible, horrible, candelight--
"Hey, I need a little bit of light, you know," said Axel, and his voice had become almost maniacally-sadistic, cruel, delighting in Zexion's pain. "Now--tell me where the fuck Demyx is."
"What?" Zexion hadn't been expecting this line of inquiry. "I do not know."
"Don't you fucking lie to me, monster." Axel's voice was rough--but the blow to the face was even rougher, causing Zexion's head to swim and his ears to ring. He tasted the copper tang of blood in his mouth and this time spat, watching in fascinating horror as a splotch of bright red appeared on the dark concrete...
"I'll ask you again," continued Axel, and his hands were now at Zexion's throat, his fingers digging into the pale skin, choking Zexion, pressing his back into the wall...dimly, Zexion saw that Axel had slid on a quantity of shining silver rings on both hands... "Where is Demyx?"
"I don't know." Zexion gave the same reply--what else could he say? Nothing but the truth.
Axel hit him in the face again, and it took all of Zexion's self-control to fight back the scream rising in his throat--it hurt. There wasn't just the pain of the blow (which had been fairly forceful), but also the sharp, burning pain from the silver rings. The torment wasn't over yet--because Axel then kicked him, once, twice, in the stomach. Zexion coughed blood with each blow, and when Axel finally released him he sunk to the floor, limp like a rag doll, disoriented from pain.
"What the hell is going to convince you to tell the truth?" Axel's voice was feral, almost unrecognizable from rage. "Huh? Huh? How hard should I hit you? Huh? You stupid little bitch! Are you so intent on buying time for your fucking comrade that you'll let me do this? Huh? Answer!"
"I am telling the truth and I have been," retorted Zexion in a low snarl, before he could stop to gather his thoughts. He was--angry, damn it. Angry despite the fear. He'd always known Axel to be irrational, but the slayer had never before been this irrational. Claiming that somehow Zexion was responsible for Demyx's disappearance--and just what the hell had happened anyway? "I don't even know what happened back there!"
"What'd I say about lying?" Axel's foot made contact with Zexion's head. Stars burst in the vampire's vision, and, adding to the agony, he banged his head against the floor. Zexion struggled against his rising nausea, his head lurching, barely able to piece together coherent thoughts...
But he retorted anyway. "I've been telling you nothing but the truth. What reason do I have to lie?"
"Oh, that's simple," said Axel, snorting derisively and kicking Zexion again, this time in the side. "All you ever do is lie! Like you did that first night. Like you did in the study. Lies all. Well, I'm not going to listen. I see right through you, you little bitch of a monster."
Zexion seized on the opening--the smallest of openings--that Axel had given him, with the desperation of a drowning man. "So you're still hung up over that."
"Like fucking hell I am!" Zexion didn't know if this was a confirmation or a denial. Anyhow, he didn't have time to think about it before Axel had snatched him by the collar and hit him in the face again. Again, the burning--the stabbing--much to his shame Zexion actually cried out, coughing up blood at the same time.
"Oh? I wouldn't be so certain of that," said Zexion (deciding it was a denial), lowering his voice to a whisper, and meeting Axel's furious eyes. It was easier now that Axel's body was blocking the unwelcome candlelight; while the light was still flickering on the walls, it had lost the offensive, concentrated quality of the candle flame. "You never...actually...recovered from that incident, have you? I know you've been mulling intensely over what I said, if your six days of solitary confinement are anything to--"
He didn't get to say "go by" because at that instant Axel punched him hard in the face again. Zexion tumbled to the wall, his face burning, but couldn't help the little smirk that twitched at the corners of his lips. And why not? Once again--maybe Axel had the physical dominance in their relationship, but the one who truly held all the strings was Zexion--
He couldn't believe he'd ever been afraid of Axel.
"Damn you! That was you and your lies again!" shouted Axel, and he kicked Zexion again. And again. And again. Zexion counted--five times. Funnily, each kick seemed to hurt less than the previous one. His mind must finally be reacting to the pain, trying to dull it...
"I wasn't lying," retorted Zexion. A small part of him wondered if he was suicidal, deliberately provoking Axel like this. But most of him was just delighting--for at least this brief moment--in being the one in control. For once. "Everything I said to you was the truth. Can you deny it? You do believe that you failed Demyx, that you're failing Roxas--"
Another kick, harder than the first, straight to the stomach. Zexion doubled over and coughed up blood--but nothing could erase the smug glow of triumph that had risen within him. He was winning. Axel had let his emotions take overpower his judgment and now it was almost too easy for Zexion to control him. Not that there was ever such a thing as "too" easy...
"Don't try to change the subject, bitch!" Axel was shouting. "That has nothing to do with--nothing to do with what you did to Demyx!"
What he did to Demyx, now? Actually...in the strangest way, that almost stung. But only almost. Zexion found it wasn't hard to flash Axel a brief smirk even as the slayer hauled him up by the collar and slammed him into the wall again.
"How can you be sure?" said Zexion, lowering his voice so that Axel had to lean closer to hear. A bit of a dangerous position for Zexion, but the vampire didn't much care...nothing Axel could do would hurt him. "I rather think it does."
"Well, I don't give a damn for what you think," snarled Axel, though there was something cursory about his statement, as if he didn't believe it. Anyway, he then contradicted himself by saying, "What's that supposed to mean, anyway?"
"It means," said Zexion, drawing the words out slowly and enunciating as carefully as a news broadcaster, so that Axel didn't miss a single word, "that you're the kind of person who refuses to accept the blame for anything. You don't want to accept that you've failed with Demyx, that you're failing with Roxas--so you redirect your feelings of anger and self-hatred. You direct them towards me, because I cannot protest. I cannot resist. I'm your prisoner; I'm weaker than you. You can take out all of your rage on me and so you do. It's the exact same thing with this situation--you don't want to accept that it most likely is your fault that Demyx is gone. It gives you so much more comfort to believe that it must be solely my fault--augh!"
Zexion couldn't help it--he let out a cry of pain when Axel punched him in the face, harder than he'd ever hit before. The vampire's head spun, and for a moment his vision blanked out. His stomach was lurching, his head spinning, the salt tang of blood rising in his throat...
The punishment wasn't over yet. Axel then threw Zexion aside, causing the vampire to slam against the opposite wall, and slide back to the ground, shivering in pain, disoriented. Zexion experimentally cracked one eye open but soon regretted it--the brilliant glare of the candlelight invaded his vision, causing his head to spin...
He was quite sure he'd never been beaten so violently before. Not even back in the coven when he'd displeased Saix before...it had never been like this...
Axel paced back and forth across the dungeon; even though Zexion couldn't see him he could still hear the sound of Axel's steps, echoing against the concrete and ringing unnaturally loud in his ears. He winced, his head lurching--in his current state, even the smallest of sounds was torture to listen to.
When Axel spoke, his voice was quiet, almost--calm. But Zexion sensed the dangerous edge to the slayer's voice...and against his will, he shuddered. "All right, then. Tell me, and no more lies and-slash-or mind games. Where is Demyx?"
Axel's voice had dropped to a low, silky whisper with the last question. Again, Zexion shivered. He berated himself internally--he had no reason to be afraid of the slayer, not when he was taken over by rage as he was...but was he? Axel sounded reasonably calm...
Well, there was no use denying Axel an answer. Zexion said, struggling to keep his voice calm (what the hell was wrong with him...?), "As I said before, I do not know."
He cringed, expecting a blow--but to his surprise, none came. Axel had stopped pacing, and it seemed that he was now facing Zexion and...what? He wasn't doing anything yet, just standing there...
Then without warning both of Axel's hands were around Zexion's throat, pressing down, choking him--the vampire gasped, more startled by the gesture than harmed, seeing as he didn't need to breathe--but it still came as a shock. His entire body convulsed as he was once again slammed against the wall, his head ringing in violent protest. But it wasn't over yet--Axel removed one of his hands from Zexion throat (to compensate, he pressed harder with the one still there), and reached down, to tug, hard, at the fabric of Zexion's shirt...
Zexion's every nerve froze. So this was what Axel was intending...noticing Zexion's reaction, Axel said with a low, dark, insidious chuckle, "Scared now, huh? Well, I figure if other forms of persuasion aren't going to get you to tell the truth, I ought to pound it in you...this way..."
"I had nothing to do with Demyx's disappearance!" gasped Zexion; it was a bit hard to talk when Axel had a vice grip around his throat. Screw caution--he had to convince Axel now. "How could I--I didn't realize because I was hiding my presence--I didn't want him to find me--"
"You know, before when you lied you actually made sense," was all Axel said in response to this, his voice dispassionate.
"Axel--" But even as Zexion spoke he knew it was futile. Axel's mind was set...he tried struggling, but it was pointless, and Axel backhanded him with a swift, dispassionate motion. Zexion crumpled against the wall, coughing blood, head spinning. He could do nothing...
Axel was busy now with unbuttoning Zexion's shirt, tearing some of the buttons clean off in his haste. Zexion hissed, trying to draw back, but it was no use--he was just pressing himself further into the wall, leaving himself more vulnerable to Axel's ministrations...he could only stare in numb surprise as the slayer drew open Zexion's shirt in a sharp motion, exposing his chest...the half-healed bruises and scrapes standing out starkly against his pale skin...
"Hmm," said Axel, tracing one of the longer scrapes winding across Zexion's torso with his thumb--Zexion couldn't help but shiver in response. "You have a lot of these, don't you? Well, you're about to get a lot more."
Zexion couldn't believe the cavalier tone that Axel was taking--it was in such stark contract with the fierce rage that had previously been burning in the slayer's voice. And it was nothing like--
"It's horrible! How could he do this? How could he--how COULD he--it's wrong! He shouldn't ruin you like this, Zexion--!"
What the hell--? Where had that memory come from? No, he couldn't think of Demyx--not now--he had to keep all his wits about him--
Zexion's attention was suddenly snapped back to the present by a sharp stabbing pain in his chest--right where his injury was. Axel had pressed his mouth to the wound and was now tracing it with his tongue, causing sharp bursts of pain to shoot through Zexion's body--it hurt, damn it--where Axel's saliva met the half-healed skin, cold and stinging, where his tongue pressed deeper into the laceration as he moved steadily downwards...and then, when he reached the end of the wound, right above Zexion's navel, he bit, hard, on the vampire's pale skin. Zexion held back a whimper of pain.
Axel just laughed at Zexion's pain, a cruel laugh that pressed agains the vampire's ears and stabbed sharply into his chest with every peal. Zexion tried to draw away, causing Axel to laugh harder, and his arm shot out and wrapped around Zexion's waist, pulling him closer. He tried to struggle against Axel's unrelenting grip, but Axel merely tightened his grip, to the point where he was probably leaving bruises...
"Hurts, little vampire?" whispered Axel, his tongue tracing the shell of Zexion's ear. Zexion couldn't help it--he unleashed a tiny whimper of pain, a whimper that turned into a squeak as Axel's hands flew to the waistband of Zexion's pants.
"Stop--" gasped Zexion, but he knew there was no way Axel was stopping, not until he got what he wanted, but Zexion couldn't tell Axel because he himself didn't know--
"Like fuck I'm stopping," said Axel, sounding almost maniacally delighted as he pulled down the zipper of Zexion's pants, almost breaking it in his haste. Zexion struggled to draw back, squeezing his eyes shut and feeling his face flush from embarrassment--he didn't want Axel to see--
"Why're you protesting so damn much?" said Axel with a low laugh, leaning closer to Zexion so that his face was filling the vampire's entire field of vision. He had snatched Zexion's wrists by now, and had pinned them above Zexion's head, his grip tight and unrelenting. Zexion tried to draw back further but his head bumped against the wall, sending a burst of throbbing pain through his swimming head and a sick lurching sensation in his stomach.
Shit...there was no way out of this...
"M-Master, please--" he whispered, trying desperately to summon up what remained of his powers--but his mind was a murky haze of confusion and he couldn't focus--
"So it's 'Master' now, instead of 'Axel'?" said Axel, with another cavalier laugh. And then, with a single rough motion, he yanked Zexion's pants down--exposing everything the vampire had to offer. Zexion's blush burned even brighter but he had no idea why, he shouldn't be embarrassed, he was an incubus and he lived off this--
But only when he was in control. Right now, Axel held all the strings...and Zexion did not like that.
"Master--" Zexion began again, but had no idea what he was trying to say--he couldn't think--his head was throbbing too hard--all of his wounds aflame--
And anyway, he didn't get an opportunity to continue before three of Axel's fingers were shoved into his mouth, choking him, stabbing into the back of his throat. Zexion gasped, startled by the suddenness of the gesture, but recognized what Axel wanted and leaned forward, sucking with a near-desperate fervor, only barely entertaining the notion of biting the slayer--he knew it would just end up hurting him. And who cared, all he cared about now was sucking, sucking, sucking, making sure to coat every inch of Axel's fingers with saliva so that it wouldn't hurt so much when Axel entered...
"That's good," said Axel with a low, appreciate chuckle, slowly sliding his fingers out. He smiled as he held his hand in front of him, obviously pleased at how slick his fingers were...spreading his fingers and watching how the saliva formed strings between them...Zexion squeezed his eyes shut and turned away--but his attention was jerked back to his present situation when he felt something cold brush against his entrance...
"N..n-no, please," he whispered, gazing up and meeting Axel's eyes, terrified by the sheer, lustful intent burning in the slayer's brilliant green eyes--no, not just lust, something beyond it...the intention to harm. He wanted to hurt Zexion and he was going to enjoy it...
"Don't worry," said Axel, an impish smirk flashing across his face. "Since I'm feeling merciful today, I'll give you one last chance to make this stop--"
Zexion knew the question even before Axel asked it. So when Axel asked, no longer smirking, "Where is Demyx?", Zexion had a reply already on hand:
"I don't know."
Axel's face hardened, all the good-natured taunting slipping away in an instant. Zexion cringed, almost expecting Axel to slap him--but instead, Axel shook his head, sighed, and said, "All right, then. I guess that's the way it is. If you still wanna be stubborn, it's not my problem."
Zexion wanted to protest, but his head was swimming too much for him to piece together coherent words, and a sick sensation was growing in his stomach...and then, abruptly, all the breath was knocked out of him when, without any warning, Axel shoved all three of his fingers deep inside.
"Shit--!" Zexion's entire body tensed from the suddenness of the motion. It was so cold, and Axel was merciless, driving his fingers deeper in, his nails digging into the walls of Zexion's opening. He writhed against the invading fingers, now scissoring back and forth, stretching him...but there was no escape. Axel simply tightened his grip around Zexion's wrists, pressing harder, leaving bruises...
"Hurts, bitch?" said Axel, laughing again. Zexion turned away (ignoring the wave of vertigo the gesture incited), not wanting to meet Axel's eyes, but he could still hear Axel's low, sadistically-delighted chuckle... "You know, you can make this stop. Just tell me the truth..."
I am, I am, I have been telling the truth, Zexion wanted to cry out, but the words were stuck in his throat. Axel had slid out of him by now, removing his fingers one by one, but Zexion felt no relief, only a cold dread--Axel was only going to invade him again, harder--
"One last chance," said Axel, his voice falling to a low whisper, leaning closer to Zexion and placing a hand--almost gently--on Zexion's cheek. Zexion stared into Axel's eyes, seeing Axel's confidence, his lust, his sadism... "One last chance, little vamp. Where the fuck is Demyx?"
A wild part of Zexion flirted with the notion of lying to Axel, but he knew it'd be no use. Axel would find out and then...the punishment he'd get for that would... Swallowing, Zexion, once more, gave Axel the truth. "I do not know."
"I see." Axel pulled away, shaking his head in a disappointed way--but it was obvious he'd been anticipating that answer. "Well, then so be it. I should've figured your kind would be loath to betray each other--"
Zexion almost had a protest for this, half-formed in his mind, but before he could voice it, Axel had unzipped his pants, tightened the hand not squeezing Zexion's wrists on the vampire's hip, and--
It hurt. Of course, Zexion had been expecting the pain--but he could never get used to it. Never, no matter how often Axel did it. He almost screamed but managed to bite it down, but still it hurt it hurt it was like a hot knife was stabbing deep into him, over and over again, unrelentingly--
"Cry, c'mon," hissed Axel, his breath hot against Zexion's face, thrusting harder, deeper in--it burned--
"Nhh..." Zexion couldn't help it; he unleashed a whimper of pain. But no, he couldn't scream, not even when Axel was thrusting so hard now it felt like Zexion was being torn in two, with every thrust...he bit hard on his bottom lip, ignoring the taste of blood in his mouth, ignoring the stinging behind his eyelids...
"Cry," said Axel again in a feral snarl, and with that he thrust harder than he ever had before--it took all of Zexion's willpower to keep from shrieking in agony--and as he pulled out he came, spilling his seed inside Zexion. Zexion gasped and writhed as the hot semen gushed over his thighs, splattering on to the floor and the concrete wall behind him. Axel let out yet another low, insidious--and satisfied--chuckle, and stroked the side of Zexion's face with a gentleness that caused shivers to shoot up Zexion's spine.
"You didn't cry," said Axel, a slight perturbed frown tugging down the corners of his lips. "Why's that? Didn't hurt enough?"
Zexion said nothing to this--what was there to say? He could only hang his head, hoping that this was enough to satisfy Axel and that Axel would show him mercy...but even as the thoughts flitted through his mind he knew they were nonsense. Axel would continue punishing him until he divulged Demyx's location. And because Zexion didn't know...
...this would never end.
His fears were confirmed when Axel grabbed him by a fistful of hair, forcing his chin up so they were eye-to-eye. Zexion gasped and tried to pull away, shocked by the--the intent burning in Axel's eyes. A serious intent, a dark intent...an intent to hurt. Axel didn't want to kill Zexion--he wanted to destroy him. To break him, to make it so Zexion could never strike back with his words again, could never again place the blame where it rightfully belonged--
This was no longer about Demyx, Zexion realized with a cold tremor coursing down his spine. It was about--him and Axel. Their mutual grudge that had remained unsettled, ever since Zexion had first crept into Axel's window...and now Axel was going to settle it. Tonight. Right here and now.
And there was nothing Zexion could do to stop him.
It infuriated him to think about it that way, because he'd long clung to the belief that a word alone could make an entire army stand down, if it was carefully chosen and spoken in just the right way. But now, all of his flimsy defenses, his shield of words and manipulation, had fallen apart. Destroyed by nothing more than a single intent glare.
"Why the fuck do you still insist on being stubborn? It's starting to grate on my nerves," said Axel--but he sounded perfectly calm. He leaned closer to Zexion, so that their faces were only inches apart...Zexion suddenly reflected on how easy it would be to just lean forward and bite Axel--but doubted he would be able to do it. Axel would never give him an opening...
"I already told you," said Zexion, lowering his voice so that he was barely speaking above a whisper. "I don't know where Demyx is."
"Liar. Do you really need more persuasion than that?" Zexion convulsed in horror when he felt something warm--Axel's fingers--brush against his entrance. The simple gesture incited a burning, stabbing pain that shot through Zexion--it hurt, but of course it did; he'd just been raped--
That didn't mean anything to Axel, though. In fact, with a sickening, lurching sensation in his stomach--that had nothing to do with the vertigo in his head--he realized what Axel wanted. And with that revelation, for the first time, Zexion began to struggle. He knew it was hopeless, that Axel could easily overpower him when it came to physical strength--but no, he didn't want that--
But even as Zexion thrashed, trying to throw off Axel's oppressive weight, the slayer grabbed him by the shoulder--the injured one--and hurled him, hard, face-down to the floor. Zexion hissed in pain as his forehead slammed against the floor--he struggled to rise, but felt Axel's hand tighten around his wrists in a vice grip, and felt the slayer's weight descend on top of him...
Shit. Now he was in an even less desirable position than before. Pinned, straddled, helpless...vulnerable. Zexion opened his eyes a crack, and immediately wished he hadn't--the brilliant light of the candle invaded his vision, causing his head to swim and a fresh wave of nausea rise within him...he squeezed his eyes shut, but the vertigo didn't disappear. Neither did the pain...suddenly, he could feel anew all of the pain, all of the injuries...even the faded, almost-healed ones burst into flares of agony. He couldn't help the scream that was torn from his throat when Axel gripped Zexion's injured shoulder for leverage--he could have sworn the wound had opened, was spilling fresh blood down his back...it felt like knives were being driven into his shoulder...
And a new pain flared within him--a pain down there. Without any preparation, Axel had entered him in a single violent motion, and gave Zexion no time to adjust before moving within him, thrusting up and down over and over agin at a punishing rhythm. Zexion was now making no effort to hide his gasps and whimpers and cries of pain--it hurt so fucking much--and he couldn't escape, not when Axel was pinning his wrists behind his back and holding him down by the shoulder, and straddling his hips....he could feel every motion of the slayer inside him, and it burned...
It was even worse than the first time. All he could do was pray for it to end, was to keep his head down and bite the inside of his cheek in a futile effort to keep from escaping the gasps of pain that were beginning to sound more like sobs...he felt a stinging wetness behind his eyes, but refused to shed the tears. Even now, even while being assaulted with no mercy, even while Axel was practically tearing him apart from the inside, his mind still struggled to maintain his dignity. Or at least the carefully-constructed veneer of dignity he'd always put on, even though he knew that as an incubus he should have no concept of the very notion of dignity...
Axel came with a tremor that Zexion felt, and a wild peal of insane laughter. A part of Zexion wondered if Axel had finally cracked, but no--this was Axel as he truly was. A sadist, an uncaring man, who lashed out at others because he couldn't deal with his own problems--
The slayer thrust three more times--Zexion counted--to ride out his orgasm, before finally pulling out with a violent motion. Zexion convulsed, startled at the suddenness of the gesture--but relieved, too. It was over...
He collapsed to the floor, trembling all over, agony blazing down there. Axel had, by now, removed his grip on Zexion's shoulder and his wrists--Zexion grimaced when he saw the bruises standing starkly against his pale wrists--and had stood up. He seemed to be surveying Zexion dispassionately, not saying or doing anything, just standing there, staring down at Zexion, staring down at his conquest...
"I'd ask you the question again," said Axel, his voice quiet but pressing down heavily on Zexion's ears, oppressing him, "but I'm sure I'll just get the same answer. Won't I, bitch?"
For a second, Zexion had no idea what Axel was talking about--he was hurting too much to think. It took his mind a second to churn up an image of a smiling, oblivious blonde vampire slayer, a vampire slayer who'd confessed his...his love...to Zexion just the other night...
Unbidden, the burning behind Zexion's eyelids increased, and his throat tightened. No, not because he liked Demyx, just...it was just that out of everyone here...everyone he'd met during his nightmarish imprisonment...
Demyx had been the only one who had bothered to slow even a modicum of kindness to Zexion. In fact...
More kindness than anyone had shown Zexion before. A kindness that Zexion had only observed in novels and movies, not in the real world. An unabashed, entirely unselfish kindness unlike any Zexion had ever experienced, except maybe back then, in the old life before everything went to shit....
Axel's foot slamming against Zexion's head distracted the vampire from his thoughts, and against his will he opened his eyes and looked up, to see Axel looming above him, radiating dark displeasure. The slayer's arms were folded and his green eyes were fixing Zexion with a piercing glare.
"C'mon. Answer my question. You're just going to keep on lying, aren't you?"
"I...I am not..." Zexion coughed to clear his throat, alarmed by how hoarse his voice sounded, and started over. "I am not lying. I have not been lying. I have only been telling you the truth. I don't know where Demyx is. Please..."
He didn't know how he was going to finish that sentence, and it trailed off pathetically into silence. It was no use pleading with Axel for mercy...he lowered his head, squeezed his eyes shut, prepared for the inevitable punishment...
But none came. All Axel did in response was laugh, a dry, harsh, sarcastic laugh devoid of any amusement. The next instant, to Zexion's surprise, the slayer had crouched down beside Zexion--to tug Zexion's pants back up, drag his shirt over his shoulders. Zexion blinked in surprise, trying to see Axel's face through the offensive light. From what he could tell, Axel was smirking, a cold and humorless smirk that send shivers down Zexion's spine.
"Well, if you're not going to tell me anything now...believe me, I'll make you tell me. But for the meantime...I guess I'd better go to the slayer authority and try to locate Demyx from there. You can spend that time deciding whether or not you want to tell the truth. Hopefully, by the time I get back to you...you'll have made the right decision."
"M...Master..." Zexion managed to choke out, too startled by Axel's words to even think.
"Don't call me that." Axel's answer was swift, immediate--and burning with a deep and heavy disapproval. Zexion jerked in surprise, almost pulling away when Axel grabbed him by the arm and hauled him up, only to throw him against the wall.
"Wh...what..." said Zexion when he'd regained his wits. "Why?" As far as he knew, for the longest time Axel had been insisting on his supposed "mastery" of Zexion, even punishing Zexion if the vampire didn't call him "Master"...
"Because it's a lie," said Axel, his voice cold as he grabbed Zexion's wrist and locked it into the cuff of one of the silver chains attached to the wall. Zexion hissed when he felt the silver burn against his bare skin, but otherwise did not protest. "It's a lie, when you call me 'master'. Because you know as well as I do that I haven't mastered you. I think that's become especially apparent tonight...if your constant lying is anything to go by."
Zexion wanted to protest, but none came. He could only slump against the wall, watching Axel nervously through half-closed eyes (half-closed to keep as much of the candlelight as possible out of his vision), as the slayer continued chaining him--his other wrist, then, and now his ankles. He was being locked into this prison again...but with Demyx gone, did he have anywhere else to go?
"But don't you worry, boy...I plan on mastering you for real in due time," continued Axel, lowering his voice into a low, insidious whisper--and he reached and, almost gently, pressed a finger to Zexion's cheek. Zexion recoiled, startled by the uncharacteristic gentleness of the gesture. Axel just laughed in response.
"Soon I'll get you to tell me. Soon you'll tell me everything I want to know. Soon you'll learn to stop lying to me...to your master."
He stroked Zexion's cheek one last time, sending shivers down Zexion's spine, before standing up and turning around, picking up the candle as he went. Just before he exited the cell, however, Axel paused at the entrance, casting Zexion a brief, unreadable glance.
"Soon, my pretty pet. Soon."
With that, Axel swept out of the cell, disappearing into the darkness with only a flickering haze from the candle illuminating him. The sound of his steps up the stairs, the slamming of the door, and then--then he was gone. Zexion was alone.
Alone. Alone, with no one to turn to. No one to depend on. Not the members of his coven--not Vexen, not Lexaeus--and not even...not even...
Demyx. Demyx, the blonde, the smiling, the happy, the idiot...
The kind. The caring. The young man whose voice trembled in rage when he saw the injuries Axel had inflicted on Zexion's body, the young man who had hugged Zexion, compared him to a broken butterfly, had said he loved him...
Gone. Taken. Taken by a "fellow" vampire, to who the hell knew where. Lost...
Lost because of Zexion. Axel had been entirely right--it had been Zexion's fault. If he hadn't been so absorbed in trying to obscure his presence from Xaldin, he would have...he would have known. And he would have tried to stop it. No matter if it meant exposing himself to Xaldin--his own safety meant little when compared to Demyx's. This was a startling thought and one that Zexion initially rebelled against--where had this sudden nobility come from?--but he came to accept it. It was just...right. Not logically, perhaps, but it felt right...
Demyx was willing to stand up for Zexion. Demyx was willing to be kind to him, to intervene with Axel on Zexion's behalf...the least Zexion could have done was return the favor, and protect Demyx.
But he hadn't, and now...now he was alone with no one to help him. No one who would be sympathetic to his plight. No one.
"I love you, Zexion," Demyx had said.
All Zexion could say in response, his voice broken, choked by tears, quiet in the infinite darkness of the cell, was:
"I'm sorry, Demyx. I...I'm so sorry."
Awww...downer ending. Poor Zexion. I just love torturing him so much...*sigh* Plus, if you squint, a Tenth Doctor reference. *shot*
Anyway, chapter ten is called "Freedom"--what does that sound like, huh? It's by far the longest chapter so far, and if you already have trouble keeping up with my current ginormous chapters (sorry, I can't help it!), it might be a little too much for you to handle...anyway, preview:
A sound Roxas had hoped he would never hear. A sound from his nightmares, a terrible sound, low yet high-pitched from excitement at the same time, dark and insidious and delighted, utterly delighted, a mad, raging sort of delight that could tear the world apart if given the chance--Zexion laughing. Roxas had never before heard the vampire laugh and now he knew why, and he knew now that he never wanted to hear it before. It was a terrible sound that seemed to enhance the agony, the fire, quivering in his veins, a sound that pressed down and burned in his ears, so alive it was with sheer triumph...
O ho...anyway, that should be enough to tide you over for now. Expect another relatively slow update, because of upcoming finals and such-like. And I haven't started on the eleventh chapter yet. But hey, at least I'll have completed a whole third of the story--that's right, the first part, "The Hunters", will be ending very, very soon!
Meanwhile, be sure to review!