Disclaimer: We own nothing but the right to fuck with Edward…and Jasper's head as we see fit.

Dark Salvation, chapter 43: Reality Bites

AN: For those of you wanting a happily ever after for Jasper, stop reading now. Emmy-love and My name is Seren Dipity, this chapter and the one following are not for you. Seren, you already said you are going to read it anyways, but you've been warned. :)

MajorWhitlock and Belward, you're gonna bitch no matter what, so I hope you enjoy it.

For those of you looking for the mind fuck- your journey starts now. I recommend reading chapter one again before continuing. The next chapter (44) is the epilogue to this and will have some info regarding the photo some of you have seen floating around Twilighted.

JPOV

Leo's hand slid over my hip.

"I don't like how the bullet wound on his thigh is looking, Master Aro."

I heard flesh hitting flesh and winced. I was numb from pain and couldn't tell if Master had hit me or Leo. He was my handler, he didn't deserve to be hit.

"I didn't ask what you thought, slave."

I drifted back into my dream world where it didn't hurt anymore. I was floating in a sensory deprivation tank with that beautiful green-eyed young man Alice had a photo of in her wallet. She told me he was family but I hadn't gotten a chance to meet him yet. I was always too busy with work.

A ripple of pain pulled me from my happy visions of Alice, round with my child, walking barefoot on the grass as we looked out over the lake. It was a happy dream and would sustain me until I could get free.

Master Aro took the cat-o-nine tails from Leo and brought it down over my already swollen welts. I could feel the blood dripping from them. Fresh pain ripped through me and I screamed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Master. Mistress, I'm sorry! I'll do anything! Just stop, please, Master!"

Aro paused and had Leo wipe up the blood with a wet cloth as he admired the work.

"That's how you properly punish a sub who has lied to his Master and Mistress." Aro turned from Leo, who was looking upon me with sad eyes, a slight shimmer of tears over the brown.

"Once you've healed up, you might make a good slave for my brothers and I back in Italy. That is, if you can gain Maria's trust first. She is a much more lenient master than you will find me. Did I strike you too strongly, slave?"

If I answer wrong, I'll just get more. If I answer right, I'll probably have more tomorrow anyways.

"Only as strong as you saw fit, Master." He laughed, pleased with my response.

"Oh, you're a good one, Jasper. You sense what your masters need and give it. I will enjoy breaking that spirit one day." Aro ordered that my punishment stop until my skin healed and then be sent back to Maria for inspection and further orders. He ran his hand over my ass when the medic stretched me out on his table and I could just feel the anticipation radiate from him. Escaping before his next visit to our compound was a necessity. I didn't want to be his bottom boy for the rest of my life, however short it may be.

Carlisle sprayed me with an anesthetic and began to stitch some of the deeper wounds, butterflying those that were shallow.

"Master did a real number on you, Jasper. I'm afraid you're going to scar despite my best efforts. I don't have the instruments I need to do a proper job, but I'll do what I can. My son is the real plastic surgeon. He can do anything with an improvised scalpel. If you get out of here, you look up McCarty-Cullen Medical Center in Seattle. Tell Emmett that Dr. C sent you. He'll leave your back smooth as a baby's without any cost."

I drifted off through his treatment and awoke at night. Leo was sitting beside me, holding my hand.

"Jasper, if you wake up, please know that I'm sorry I had to hurt you. Master would have done worse to me if I hadn't."

My hand flinched and he looked up at me.

"I know, Sir." Leo shook his head. "Leo. How bad off am I?"

He shrugged. "I've seen worse but not by much. Mistress is really upset and told Master he could do as he wished until you learned your lesson. Doctor C and I are worried about the wound you received in Mistress's chamber. It is starting to look infected but Mistress said we're not to waste any antibiotics on you. I saw Doctor C give you a small injection into your hip and I'm not sure what it was for. I'm hoping it will clear up the angry red lines growing around the wound. It's just not healing well, Jasper."

I thought back on the night in Mistress Maria's chamber.

"You lied to me, Jasper. It isn't nice to come in here under false pretenses. You've been such a good sub. I bet you needed it. I bet you get off on me telling you what to do. Is that why you have a government job, pet? You like having someone tell you exactly what you need to do, day in and day out? I'm not fond of the government so I don't answer to them. Out there, you may be Jasper Whitlock, FBI, but here you're just my pet who has lied to me and needs to be punished." My jaw fell open.

"Oh? You think I didn't know? Peter's friend Charlotte used to be Aro's slave until she ended up pregnant. After he had things taken care of, she was physically unable to submit to his desire for a few weeks upon doctor's order. He let her go with a small pension and we had her set up to watch for us. You think you're big enough to bring down the Volturi Brother's slave ring? I'm the best Domme they have and you thought you would get something past me. What world are you living in? This is Aro's world and you'd best learn to accept it. You will not get out of here alive, my pet." She snapped her fingers and Felix came back with a leash in hand. "Do not let them kill him, but make him scream. I want him to remember what happens when you cross your Mistress."

"Yes, Mistress Maria." Felix hooked the leash onto the collar. "Stand unless you wish to go down the stairs on your knees." I stood up and followed him from the room without giving her a second look.

I pulled the leash free and ran from Felix the moment we were outside the door, heading straight for the fence. I could withstand some scratches from the wire if I outran the dogs. Sadly, I forgot about the gun and fire went through my leg. The bullet exited cleanly, leaving minimal visual damage, but the pain crippled me. Felix and Demetri, Aro's sons with Lady Sulpicia, carried me into the infirmary where Doctor Carlisle bandaged me up.

Ice cold water dripping down my face startled me from my memories. Leo wiped a cold rag down my face and chest, the water left trails of goosebumps in its wake as the drips ran down my sides to be absorbed into the sheet. He gave me a sheepish grin before rubbing the rag over me again.

"You're running a fever and this is the only way I can treat you. Mistress locked away all the over the counter medicines, so we can't even give you any more Tylenol without her key. Doctor C is with her now, pleading for some antibiotics. Master ordered another round of punishment tomorrow for you wasting the time of all the medical staff."

Leo and I both looked to the door as we heard a throat clear. "Leo, you know…you're not his sub."

Leo glared at James. "Excuse me?"

"You're not his sub. I am. Mistress assigned me to take care of Jasper. And I look after my master. You'd best get back to the handlers' room, Leo. Mistress will have you stripped and given a dose of your own whip if she hears what you've been up to in here."

Leo looked at me sadly and then left without a word. He shoved James back as he walked by and looked every bit the sulking spurned lover he was trying to be. James sauntered in, a pair of navy silk boxers rustling as he crossed the room to my bedside. "You aren't Mistress's favorite any longer, Jasper." He leaned over me, his lips closing upon mine, sucking at my lower lip as James' hand rested on my cock. "I bet I can make you forget all of your pain. Bella, come in."

He pulled back the sheet as the slim slip of a girl crawled into the room and stopped beside my bed. James curled one finger toward her, indicated for her to suck my cock with a mere point of his fingers. Bella stood and then lowered her head to let her lips settle over the shaft of my cock. Her tongue flicked over the sensitive skin and then Bella let her tongue stroke along the head, causing me to harden despite my lack of desire. I whimpered at the contact and she hummed around my cock.

James grabbed Bella by the hair, forcing her to take my length in all at once. "Don't you stop sucking his cock, Bella. If it's the fucking President of the United fucking States of America you are not to stop. If your own mother comes in here and sits down and stays a motherfucking hour, you are not to stop. If our Mistress comes in, you will not stop unless you are ordered not to. Understood?"

She made an "mmm-hmm" sound in her throat which caused a moan to vibrate through my chest. James grinned at the moan and reached up to stroke my cheek.

"Isn't she so much better than that Edward fellow you were dreaming about earlier? He must have been something to cause that wood you were sporting. You love your dream boy. Perhaps I should send you to your dreams permanently. Mistress wouldn't like that though. She doesn't like it when a sub harms another.

"I'm stronger than she thinks though. I'd kill you if I had the chance. Hell, I'd kill Carlisle for what his boy did to me. Did you know that the doc brought me here? His son fucked me and then dumped me, forcing me out onto the streets. Doctor Carlisle thought it would be better for me here than on the streets of Seattle where I could sully their good name."

"That's enough, James." Carlisle was holding my clipboard, looking in on the scene. I tried lifting my arms to shove Bella off of me but outside of her deeply reddened cheeks from blushing, she showed no signs of stopping and I was too weak to push her away.

"Come in, Carlisle." My voice was a harsh whisper.

"Maria wants you out of here and back in the kennel. She authorized me to give you a dose of a pain killer but that is all I could manage. I maxed out the daily dosage in a time delayed drug. It should help get you through the night. Bella, you can stop now."

Bella shook her head slightly, the motion taking me to the brink. My hips arched, setting off another round of pain through my leg and back. She began to cry and let go, curling up into a ball on the floor. James moved to strike her but Carlisle intervened.

"Isabella, go to my office and stay there. I'll have you work as my assistant the next few days until he cools down." His voice was the barest whisper as he calmed her down.

~*~

Maria called for me two weeks later when most of my injuries had healed, the deeper ones still scabbed over. The bullet wound had mostly closed over thanks to Doctor Carlisle's meticulous care and stolen doses of antibiotics that he'd grabbed when obtaining a pill for another sub with an infection.

I was bathed and had my pubic hair trimmed as she preferred; Leo had let it go while I was being punished. I was dressed in a pair of leather pants with a small opening in the front with a cock ring fitted to it. Bella, still blushing crimson when near me, allowed me to stroke myself until hard and then she rolled the ring down my shaft until the pants were snug against me. Demetri escorted me across the lawn to Maria's mansion and in through the patio doors.

We walked in to a glorious sight. Victoria was on her knees besides the bed, her full lips buried in Maria's pussy. If I hadn't been hard already, I would have been at that. Demetri shoved me down onto the ground beside the bed as he watched. At my present position I could see that he was just as enchanted by the show as I was. After Maria had climaxed for the second time, she pushed Victoria off and she landed in my lap, my cock protesting at the sudden jostling. I winced, there had been no sexual release in over five weeks. I was likely to burst with any further contact.

"Oh, my pet, you've returned. The pants I chose for you fit nicely. Don't you agree, pet?" She sat up, reaching to stroke her fingernails down the inside of my thigh.

"Yes, Mistress. Thank you, Mistress." I stared at my feet and focused on counting backwards from one hundred as her hand moved closer to the bulge of my balls. She dismissed Demetri and Victoria, and I let my mind fade back into the magical world I'd created.

Edward, Bella and I were wrapped up in my bed linens, our bodies at rest after a long night of love making. "Show me that you missed me, my pet." I ignored Maria's voice, pretending that I was burying my cock into Bella as I fucked my Mistress. She pulled me off balance and the chain from my bindings fell across her throat.

I instantly picking my arm back up. "My apologies, Mistress." I continued to thrust into her, expected Eleazar to have seen me nearly strangle Maria and send guards into to save her. The cock ring maintained my erection but prevented my orgasm and allowed me to work her up to three separate orgasms before I found an angle that had her moaning repeatedly.

Still no one came into the room. I dropped my arm down, the chain going around her neck. This time I wrapped it around her head and pulled, maintaining my thrusts as her cries of pleasure were slowly brought to a stop. She was still breathing, barely, when I spilled within her, a hoarse grunt leaving my chest.

If only I could kill her. Then I could go home to Edward. I could even take Bella with me. Alice would understand, wouldn't she? I had to ensure that Bella and Leo were safe. Eleazar would destroy them for me killing Maria. But maybe, just maybe, he really doesn't want to be here. He was so kind to me at first. He said that I'd be able to bring down the house of glass that Aro and Maria had created.

I fell atop Maria, tightening the chains even more until her heart stopped. Her eyes were half-lidded and already the color began to drain from her cheeks. I withdrew from her depths before she could turn cold and crawled around the bed, reaching beneath the rug for the key I'd hidden several weeks prior. I dragged the key with me to the bathroom where I cleaned myself off and tucked my dick inside my pants. I put a washrag between my skin and the access hole so that I didn't have to worry about finding new clothing. I used the key to remove my shackles and quietly set them down.

I slipped on Maria's thick bathrobe and left the bathroom on my knees again and went back to the bed. I checked once more for a pulse and found none. She was truly gone. I opened her wardrobe and pulled out two loaded guns, slipping them inside the waist band of my pants. I only had a few moments before Eleazar checked on the room and sounded the alarm. I fled down the hallway, the only guard asleep in a chair in front of the door leading to the back patio- the only door not guarded with Jane's electric toys. That was going to hurt but I'd stood up through it before.

I ran to the front door and felt the warning zap as I touched the door. I opened the door and stepped back, letting the buzz die down. When it had stopped I took a running leap through door, a siren starting as my body shook as if tasered on high.

It didn't end until blackness swallowed me. I could hear voices around me but could not make out the words. Occasionally, I heard Bella humming a song and gently washing my body. Other times, I felt myself lifted and my legs moved. I couldn't make my eyes open though. It was if I was drugged, just barely beyond full consciousness.

"James, how is he today?" I heard Mistress's voice from the other room. But, I killed her? She was laying there still as stone when I checked for a pulse.

"No, no. You're dead." My voice was muffled, the merest mumbling past my lips, but it was enough to start her rich laugh.

"Oh, my pet, it takes much more to kill me than that. Eleazar was watching and came in. He found my very weak pulse and with Carlisle's help, revived me. I'm quite alive, and you, my pet, are not. Until Aro comes for you, we're going to keep you sedated. I came in to administer your next dose once James reported you were beginning to stir."

I felt a warmth spread through my arm and drifted back into my imagined life with Edward. He was saving me from slipping into the darkness of Maria's world. My dream Edward would see me through until I was back in Alice's arms. I will get out of this.

~*~

I tried my best to remain still when consciousness came upon me again. "I can see your heart rate picking up, Jasper."

James was taunting me. Now I remember why I dreamed of killing him. I'd love to bludgeon his head into the dock repeatedly just for keeping me under with the sedative. Watching his eyes stare blindly from beneath the water's surface was filling me with a sense of calm as I waited for Maria to return with the next dosage.

"I have to make sure he's dead, Jasper."

I watched, dumbly, as Edward felt James for a pulse. He did not respond but grabbed for the fishing pole I'd used and held James' body under the surface long past any chance for an air bubble to surface. He's gone. He is dead.

"No, I am not. But you will be soon enough. I don't like hearing that you killed me, Jasper. You have been talking more than that sweet little Bella does in her sleep. So, you're going to drown me, Master?"

With James left to watch over me until my "master" arrives, I was beginning to understand why my subconscious had put James into the part as my assigned Submissive.

"You didn't even feel remorse for killing me, Master. Do you know how that made me feel? What would happen if I filled the syringe with air and then inserted that into your IV? Would you feel the physical equivalent of the emotional pain you have caused me?"

The only thing I felt was a low level of pressure on my face and then warmth when I tried to breathe. I smelled bleach and... feathers? A pillow. Trying to turn my face side to side resulted in him pushing the pillow down on my nose and mouth more firmly.

"James, stop! You will not hurt another of my pets, even if he has been a rather bad boy. Apologize to Jasper immediately. Jasper can't control his dreams. Show me that you forgive him."

I felt James' lips wrap around my cock, coaxing it to harden. The sedatives made me sluggish, even in that reaction, and it took him some work to get me hard. I didn't want him to, even when my mind put Edward's delicate face in place of James.

"No, it's not... You don't."

"Shh. Just feel, my pet. Jasper, let James make you feel good."

Edward leaned forward and nuzzled my cock, placing a thousand soft kisses along my shaft. His kisses were soft as the flutters of butterfly wings occasionally flicking his tongue across the head as I swelled at his touch. He took me into his mouth, still soft, and gently sucked while stroking with his lips and tongue. I stiffened with each pass of his lips until I was hard as rock from his ministrations.

In my dream world, Edward's hands cupped my buttocks, squeezing as he worked up and down my length. "Fuck, Edward. It's not right when..."

"You're right, Jasper. It isn't right to enjoy such a gift while you're dreaming of killing your mistress and another sub. It certainly isn't right to dream about someone else giving you a blow job when James is here offering his services. But I am Mistress here and decide what will and will not occur. Make him come, James."

I groaned as he hummed around me. One hand slid down my ass and thigh to the where the bed sheet covered me once again, traveling up to tease my entrance. His finger slid back and forth without pressure, making me want more, as his tongue fluttered deliciously along me, bringing my passions to a boil. I was going to come too soon. Fear filled me. I was worried what would happen once I burst. Would Maria kill me now?

"Come for me, Jasper."

Maria's voice filtered through my unconscious, the drugs wearing off enough that my eyes opened. Edward's green eyes faded out to James' blue looking up at me. I could see Maria beside my bed and she raked her nails across my chest, pinching my nipples. "I said come for me, Pet!"

I came with a gush down James' throat, my mind still locked on Edward..

"Fuck, Edward!" My throat burned with the effort to even get out that grunt.

"It's not Edward, pet. You're stuck here with your mistress. Didn't you miss me, Jasper? I've missed you. You were such a bad little pet wanting to kill my Jamey. Apologize to him."

My mouth didn't work as I tried to work up the saliva to say I was sorry. I looked at both of them, my eyes no doubt filled with fear as I worked furiously to try and speak again.

I felt a warm hand snake up my stomach and then grip my hand, hard. "Come back to me, Jasper. I'm here. Your memories can't hurt you here." I gave in to my Edward and let him take me back under. Or perhaps it was the syringe in Maria's hand that sent me back into my blissful dream.

My sleep was fitful and I awoke often to the darkened room, the beeping of the heart monitor was my only company. I tried to dream of my happier days with Alice. Instead, Edward's lovely visage was the only thing to come.

James awoke me while bathing me some number of days later. "Master Aro is here. He arrived an hour ago and is making his rounds. You need to look as good as possible. You've really wasted away here in the bed, though."

James pulled me up into a seated position and was shaving me when the door slammed open. Each time the razor stroked over my throat, I cringed. I was glad to have him set down the blade.

I could just barely turn my head to see Aro coming in, a black on black suit making him look rather sharp. His gaze took in the both of us and his eyes turned dark with his fury. I was thankful that it was directed at Maria who walked in behind him.

"Look what you've done! Look what you did to my lovely creation! You've broken him! It's all your fault, Maria! He was going to be my crowned jewel. Now I must find another. None of your slaves are good enough."

Aro came forward and almost lovingly caressed my cheek. "My poor Jasper, they broke my toy. Has James been threatening you? You seemed scared of him having the blade at your neck."

"Send in Jasper's handler."

James let go of me and it was only Aro's arm that suddenly wrapped around my shoulders that kept me from falling over onto the floor. "I'll take you back to Italy and we'll try to get you back on your feet, although you'll never be what I wanted."

Leo entered and dropped to his knees beside Maria, waiting for Aro to acknowledge him. Aro turned to him. "You let your charge stay in this manner of health and did not contact me? You work for me directly, not Maria. You report to me!"

"Felix, hold him." Felix turned Leo and held him still. Aro unbuckled his belt, one handed, the other still supporting me.

Images of Seth, Alice's assistant at the clothing shop, holding back Edward merged with those of Felix holding Leo. He didn't deserve to be whipped. Maria had stopped him from doing anything. "Let him go!"

Maria tapped a button on her bracelet and I writhed in pain as electricity surged through me. I want to die. Just let me die, Aro. It hurts. Just let her kill me.

James took me from Aro's grip and set me down on the bed. The shock continued until I I felt my body seize up, even through the electricity. When it stopped, the left side of my body was not responsive.

"Get Carlisle in here, stat!"

I felt my chest tighten and began to gasp for breath. I couldn't get air in fast enough. It felt like more and more of me was losing control of my muscles. Carlisle's face was the last thing I saw as I felt a needle prick in my right hip and then again in my chest as I went under.

~*~

It was daylight when my eyes finally opened once more. I was so tired from the medication and then being shocked. The room was much different than any I'd seen. It was up higher, I could see tree tops through the window. I must be on the second or third level of the house, up in Carlisle's private suite. James was seated beside me, flipping through tv channels. The wires and monitors were all gone except for my IV.

"Master had us bring you up here so that the doc could give you special care. You had a seizure from Jane's little toy being used too strongly. Carlisle isn't too sure you'll fully recover although Master Aro believes you're strong enough to withstand anything. I don't think you're strong enough to withstand me."

I was fading in and out of the real world and the one I wished to be my reality. In my dream, I was holding onto the bathroom counter, barely staying on my feet. If I could die, I'd be free. But I couldn't do that to Alice. I have to fight. I have to get home to my love. She needs me.

"G-g-go 'w-w-way."

James laughed at my stuttering. I couldn't get my tongue to work right.

"If I kill you now, Alice will never know. Mistress will dispose of your body and no one will ever find you. Perhaps during your next bath I'll drown you. That would be justice, wouldn't it? You drowned me so I'll drown you."

I stared myself down in the mirror before me. James flitted in and out of my peripheral vision. "You can't get rid of me, Master. I'm a part of you now. Come with me, it would be easy. Just a swallow of water with those pills you keep in the bathroom cabinet. That would be the easiest on your precious Cullen. He'll be the one to find you, you know. Alice won't come out for weeks, but Edward will come tomorrow."

Oh, Edward. You can't see me like this. I have to be strong for you.

"Come with me, Master. Just let the world fade away like you want."

I watched as James pushed a button on the bed and blue filled the small vial at the bottom of the IV pole. "This won't hurt a bit, to me, Jasper." Sleep overtook me.

~*~

Carlisle was moving my arms and legs a bit and I felt a pricking sensation and worked to focus my eyes. He was scraping a needle along my left shin bone.

"You're getting some sensation back, that's good. Master Aro and Mistress Maria will be pleased. Rest now. Master is working to get another doctor to travel on the jet to Italy with you. He's taking you with him for further medical care. If Mistress would give me more money to work with, we'd be doing better. But she's given me a budget cut and I can barely afford to keep our medication cupboard stocked with rudimentary supplies."

Doctor Carlisle kissed my forehead gently. "I wish I could have done more for you. At least I kept you alive. Sleep some more, let your body heal itself. We most likely will not meet again. Be a good sub for Master. I don't want all my work to have been worthless."

~*~

Maria came to visit me, it must have been morning as her hair was still in damp curls around her neck, the rest pulled up into a bun. "I will miss you, my pet. Master says that when you're well, he'll let you come visit me to play. Can you kiss me, Jasper? Show Mistress that you know I only did what you deserved. You were a naughty sub but you took your punishment as well as any could have."

I used my good arm to push myself up and pressed my lips limply against hers. She smiled and then sat down beside me. "Do you want to go to Italy, my pet?"

"O-only if-f..." She held up a hand to interrupt me.

"Yes or no will be sufficient, Jasper."

I mouthed "no" and then closed my eyes. Lifting myself had tired me already. I wanted to fade back to the other realm where I was in the middle of ending it all. Perhaps the dream-Jasper could find his happily ever after.

Maria left without any additional fanfare and I turned my head to watch out the window. The sun was rising higher in the sky. It was a beautiful day. Perhaps I could later talk one of the handlers into helping me out onto the balcony for some air.

"You look peaceful."

I let my head fall to the other side to see James standing in the doorway, jeans and a dress shirt on.

"I'm going to Italy as well. Master wants someone who knows your tricks, Jasper. Of course, I'm not letting you get that far. Your journey has gone far enough."

James went to the cabinet and took out two medications, one of them I could just make out "barbital" on the side. He injected them both into the bag of saline and then squeezed it. My arm flooded with cold and started to feel numb.

"Goodbye, Jasper. When Mistress and Master finally let me go, I'll take care of Alice for you."

My vision grew hazy and I locked it on the image of Edward kissing me on the couch as our families ran around us at the birthday party.

It could have been so beautiful, Edward, and I never even knew you. You would have saved me; I'm sorry you didn't get the chance. I love you, even though you'll never know.