Chapter 36

A/N: Upset with you, Mells. -pouts- 'Nywho, should you spot a few mistakes here and there, ignore them.

'Care to play a game?'

Matt wasn't sure what to say. How to react. He had seen enough horror movies in his short sixteen years to know that this crazy mother fucker didn't exactly want to play some fuckin' Scrabble with him. He was just playing with him; working his nerves to let the fear seep in through every pore in the redhead's body and fuck was it ever working.

His breath hitched when cold fingers brushed against his throat despite his efforts to keep himself calm. All the people in those horror flicks died because they closed themselves up, allowing the fear to overcome them. He had to relax.

"Game?" He asked and was surprised at how cool and smooth his voice had sounded.

The vampire's cold fingers trailed up his neck and over his jaw line to trace the outline of the redheads trembling lips. A soft chuckle sounded low in his throat making the redhead flinch away from the cold touch, but it only earned him a hard slap across the face. And Matt cried out. Fuck! He couldn't see anything with the damn blind fold on and it scared him so much. He would rather be able to see what the vampire would do to him then wait in the darkness for the attack he knew was coming.

Christ...he felt so claustrophobic.

Footsteps as B circled the hyperventilating redhead. Matt kept his head up as he tried to follow the vampire's movements with his ears. What was he doing? Was he just going to kill him? Or...torture him? The second seemed so much more likely and Matt couldn't help but whimper in fear. He couldn't help it. Fear was a real fuckin' bitch sometimes. There was a soft rustling sound as something was pulled from the bag, previously thrown beside him and Matt felt his heart stop for a second as that same something was trailed across his cheek. Leathery and rough...

A whip.

His fathers face flitted across his closed eyes and B's next words sent a chill down his spine.

"Mail," His name rolled off the vampires tongue with a tone of familiarity that had Matt shaking. How had he known his real name? Fuck, it was down right unnerving to hear it echo around him after having not heard it in so long. Amused laughter blended in with his name. "Scared yet?" Though it was plain as day that the redhead was about ready to piss himself.

Matt's lips trembled and his hands were shaking, making the metal keeping his hands above his head clink together. Yet, he managed to put all that aside and mutter a very determined; "No." Then, "You have no idea what Hell is coming your way if I die. Mello will destroy you."

It was as if B had been waiting for him to finish his little speech because as soon as Matt had finished speaking, the whip crashed against the side of his cheek forcing a sharp cry of pure agonizing pain to burst from his throat and past his blood coated lips. Oh bleeding christ, the pain was unbearable. He thought he might pass out from the relentless white hot pounding in his cheek -wished he would rather than endure it- but he remained conscious and fully aware of just how deep in shit he really was.

For a long while, there was nothing but the sounds of his own labored breathing. He was more afraid of when he couldn't hear what the vampire was doing then when he was actually hitting him, Matt concluded. Then, cold fingers were trailing up his spine from behind him, up under the material of the black t-shirt Celestria had loaned him.

A shiver ran down his spine but he kept his mouth shut. It was only when the razor sharp nails bit into his skin and began to drag down did he actually make a sound. It was another cry of pain as the burning sensation spread across his back. Already he could feel the warm blood seeping down his back only to collect at the waist band of his jeans and stain.

"Scared yet?" The vampire's voice was so close, it made the redhead whimper involuntarily.

Christ, yes, yes he was. But he was not going to give this crazy son of a bitch the satisfaction. He let his head hang, bangs falling over the silk blind fold secured over his eyes. And he shook his head no. As much as he regretted it, he just shook his head.

A warm tongue pressed against his back, licking up the blood. Still, he kept quiet but for his ragged breathing. Cold hands reached up under his t-shirt, running up his stomach, chest, then back down slowly, slowly. Sharp nails dug into his hip bones forcing another sharp cry of pain to rip from his throat. "There we go..." The vampire cooed. "Scream for me."

And he did. Fuck did he scream when those razor sharp nails dug into his flesh. "St-stop it, please!" He begged. Tears were soaking through the blind fold as his screams rose in volume, echoing and catching each other as new screams formed and ended. It was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

The pressure was gone from his hip bones and he almost moaned in relief, though his knees buckled and had the chains not been holding him up, he would have fallen right on his face. The way he was chained to the ceiling made it so that even if he couldn't hold himself up, he would merely hang there; knees a few inches off the floor, not really touching it. And that's how he was now, but the metal around his wrists dug into the soft flesh painfully as it clung to support his weight.

"Scared yet?" This time there was a laugh in the vampires tone.

And Matt couldn't deny it anymore as something cold and sharp pressed against his Adams apple. The blade of a knife. "Y-yes.." He croaked.

- - - -

Mello's fingers traced the grooves of the silver crucifix hanging from the rosary around his neck. Idly, he wondered why he even bothered carrying something like this around his person when he believed they were all too damned to be saved. Maybe, he thought with a sigh, it was because deep down he hoped and prayed to what god would listen, that maybe, just maybe there was hope for him. That maybe God had an extra miracle laying around somewhere...and he was feeling generous enough to toss it to a hopeful demon. Maybe.

A cool breeze rustled the leaves in the rose bushes near the water, stealing some of the blood red pedals and carrying them up and away towards the ocean. Mello released his hold on the silver crucifix, sighing. His hair was wet, and his clothes were uncomfortable as the leather rubbing against his legs and thighs was wet and slick and it made him grimace at the feeling. The swim had been a whole three hours to get to France and now that they were here Mello just wanted to keep moving, because they were just so close! But Aaron insisted they take a time out to plan.

Had they not done enough planning? Had they not done enough talking to last them an eternity? Mello thought so. And besides, plans were limited. They limited your actions and in the end, most of them just tended to back fire and blow up in your face. It was better to act on will alone. Plans and blue prints just got in the way. But, seeing as the others were keen to listen to what Aaron had to say, he was outnumbered considerably and so he kept his mouth shut and waited patiently.

Hours seemed to have passed, when really it had only been a few minutes. Celestria had come to sit beside him after the first minute of his sitting in the wooden park bench, her head resting delicately against his shoulder, saying nothing and everything without words. "Thank you," Mello murmured. His eyes were closed, feeling the breeze blow through his still damp hair.

"You are like my child, Mello." She whispered. "If you are hurting, I am hurting. Please don't doubt otherwise for even a second."

Mello managed a small half smile despite the dark, bloody images playing and replaying in his mind. Images of his Matt being tortured and beaten..."I won't."

"Celestria," Aarons voice made them both look in his direction. The tall platinum blond vampire gestured with a curl of his finger for them to come and join the group and so they stood to do just that. They had finished discussing their plans, and they would be moving once more. Mello didn't want to hear it though, so when Aaron parted his lips to speak, the blond held up a single leather clad finger to stop him.

"No," He said. "I'm not exactly what you call a man with a plan, Aaron. I'm not exactly a man at all, but Hell...you understand." Mello ran a hand through his wet hair, a look of complete impatience on his face. "Shall we?"

The vampires didn't need anymore pushing. They ran again, moving in sync in quick speed, weaving through crowds of people and homes, over rooftops, right under the noses of the humans but none were spotted. They were too fast. They were nothing more than a whisper the wind carried.

- - - -

"Again,"

"Aah!"

"Beautiful, louder."

The whip came down against is back again, breaking skin. Blood oozed from the wounds trailing down his now bare back. Matt could smell the salty, iron scent of his own blood; almost taste it with the thick scent of it. His eyes swam with tears and his throat stung from all the screaming and crying he had been forced to do. Matt almost wished that this crazy fuck would just bite him, suck him dry, if only to stop this torture!

"Louder!" B shouted.

"FUCK!" Matt screamed. "YOU!" Fresh tears ran down his cheeks with both cracks of the whip. Those last two had stung like the licks of wild fire against his already burning skin. "Ah-ha..." He moaned in pain as this time the vampire's hand connected with his cheek. Blood filled his mouth and he hung his head, parting his chapped, dry lips to let it spill onto the floor. Where was Mello?...

His shirt had been torn from his body so he was exposed now, his chest was covered in deep gashes and his back looked like a tick-tac-toe game gone horribly wrong. The stings and throbs came from every direction and he didn't know to which he should audibly respond to first, so he just threw his head back and cried out for all he was worth because fuck did it hurt!

The whip stopped suddenly, blissfully, and Matt welcomed it with open arms. Christ, the whip had been relentless for a whole half an hour. Though it felt much longer than that. His breath was heavy and his lungs burned painfully with each breath he took, but he kept the soft whimpers to a minimum. Idly, he wondered if he would just pass out soon from all the blood he was losing. He really hoped he would.

"Here," B's warm breath brushed against his cheeks and he couldn't help but yelp and flinch back. He hadn't heard him. "I'll be kind, and let you have a look at me." With this said, the blind fold was untied and pulled from the redheads eyes. Matt whimpered again, and shut his eyes tight. He didn't want to see what the vampire looked like. He didn't want to have to see him behind his closed eyes if he even lived to see another night. "Open your eyes." He ordered but Matt refused.

A low growl rumbled in the vampire's chest and Matt was slapped hard across the face again. "Open them!" And Matt was left with no other choice but to open his eyes and look into the face of his death. He gasped. This vampire looked so much L. For all he knew it probably was! So, he voiced his concern.

"L?..." He squeaked.

B looked confused for a few short beats before a cruel smile spread across his lips. He chuckled darkly before replying. "No, not L." Though he had the same messy midnight black hair. The same lips...same facial structure. He was L in everything except his eyes. B's eyes were the color of blood and they glinted with lust and hunger.

Matt had to look away before he let the scream of fear -that had begun to bubble up in his throat- free. "Not quite." He added as he leaned in to press his cold lips to Matt's blood coated ones.

And Matt struggled. He tossed and kicked and tugged at the chains keeping him there but the dark haired vampire merely wrapped his strong, cold arms around the redhead's waist, bringing him flush against his cold stone body. A warm tongue parted his lips, snaking in to taste the fresh blood. Though he continued to struggle, B's grip on him only tightened.

Well, this was certainly a lot better than getting the snot beat out of him, but he felt so dirty. He felt like a cheater. Mello was still his, and somewhere, wherever the blond was, he was thinking of him, wracking his brains and trying to figure out how to get to him and Matt was repaying him by letting this sadistic vampire kiss him.

But what could he do? He relaxed against the vampire's stone body, at least that way he didn't have to support his weight with his wrists, and the metal wasn't digging into the skin. Tear collected at the corners of his closed eyes as B's cold hands moved down to unbutton his jeans.

- - - -

'Not much longer, Matt.' Mello's mind was a whirlpool of different emotions and scenarios. They were already in Belarus by now, no longer stopping for anything. The attack was full ahead and the coven would not stop until the battlefield came into view.

'Not much longer...'

- - - -

Matt's body was sore. He stood there, half conscious, only the chains supporting his body and keeping him off the stone floor. His jeans -stained with blood as well- had been slipped on over his hips once more after B had had his fun but he had left them unbuttoned, and the redhead feared that they might slip and fall from his waist.

Christ, everything hurt. And Mello had yet to arrive.

Hope was beginning to sound a lot more useless by the second. For all he knew, Mello was out hiding somewhere, forgetting about the human boyfriend he had sworn to protect. And love...Matt shook his head only to groan in discomfort. The slightest movement caused him great pain. But he was happy. B was gone for now. He had finished his business, pulled his own jeans back on and left the room. For now, Matt was safe.

God really had a sense of humor. The door to the room opened and he looked up weakly. It was Kyosta.

"You son of a bitch!" Matt shouted, ignoring the rawness in his throat. "This is your fault! Get out! Get away from m-me!"

Kyosta's approach didn't falter in the least. He strode over the redhead with confidence. "Matt," His tone was soft, almost caring. "Understand that this was not how I would have had things go. Light is my master, my creator. I needed to obey orders." There was a look on the purple haired vampires face that almost made Matt feel sorry for him. Almost. But not quite.

"Screw you."

"Child," Kyosta growled. He grabbed a fistful of the red hair, tugging back and forcing the teen to look at him. "Mihael is my blood. Yes, I've done some horrible things, but that doesn't mean I won't regret it. I will..." The anger vanished. "I will always regret it."

Matt didn't know what to make of this. This vampire, Mello's cousin, had separated them. He had jump started the war and now he was...what? Apologizing? Really? Repenting? Matt snorted. Kyosta's eyes flashed with anger for a short second before they softened. Honestly, if vampires were able to cry, tears would be collecting in his violet eyes.

A soft sob sounded in Kyosta's throat. "I'm telling you this...because I don't want Mihael to think badly of me. If you die, this...this will not have been my fault. It was simply orders. And I would like for you to understand that as well." Another sob, and Matt found himself rolling his eyes. This apology was really fuckin' cruel. "I'm sorry."

Matt shook his head slowly, seeing as Kyosta still had a grip on his hair. "Don't cry for the dead. Cry for the forgiveness you so desire." He was surprised how hard and cold his voice sounded. But he didn't care. "Cry for the lives you will destroy, but not because you truly want to be forgiven, but because you're damned. Only then can you ever really ask for forgiveness. When you're too far lost to be forgiven." He spat. Where that had come from, he had no idea, but it was how he felt.

Kyosta looked stunned. His eyes were no longer the glassy, sparkly texture, the soft sobs had gone and he simply stood there looking at the redhead as if he had just slapped him. Slowly, his fingers uncurled from the red locks, and silently, he stepped towards the door, leaving the redhead to look on after him. "Don't kill him, yet." He heard Kyosta murmur before walking out the door.

B was back, wearing a wide grin on his face. Eyes glinting with blood lust. "Got cha..." He replied before closing the door once the purple haired vampire was out of the room. "Mm, ready for another game?"

"Not you! No please! Ple-Aaah!" "

- - - -

Russia.

How long had it been since he was last here? Well, to put it shortly, it had been a rather long time. The air was warm and sweet and it filled him with a sense of home sickness that he knew would never be satiated, because, in truth, he was home. But his home would never be there to greet him again. Home had died, just like his family. No, no, no. That was total bull shit.

Matt was his home. His home was somewhere out there, waiting for the time where he came back. And fuck if anyone was going to stop Mello from coming home.

St. Petersburg was too small for both he and Light, so it wouldn't be long for the two to meet and when they did, the world would see the true monsters and demons from its worst nightmares.

Oh, so, you think there's a connection with B and L? -shrugs- could be.

A/N: Not very long, I know. Half an hour to write up, five to spell check and double check. Still turned out like crap. I'm just really upset tonight, despite having watched HP6 which, was AMAZING. Whatever. B is a sadist, Mello is homesick, Kyosta wants to be forgiven, Matty is preaching. Light is a douche bag, we can all agree. I cuss a LOT have you guys noticed? I'm sorry. Excuse my potty mouth, and I'm hoping you enjoyed this, because I predict two more chapters and then calling it quits.

Reviews are love.

~ Matt.