A/N: A reviewer asked me in the last chapter, why Fai's eyes turned gold like when he was a vampire when this story is post series. Here's the explanation I gave her. (You might want to skip ahead to the story itself, if you haven't gotten to the end of the manga since there might be a small spoiler in there)
Explanation: Fai is not a full vampire. I just like to think that even though he got his magic back, he still retains the vampire characteristics, like strength and speed healing and well, the trademark yellow catlike eyes. But it's like Yuuko said, he just doesn't need Kurogane's blood anymore. And when he's very frustrated, or very angry, that is the time when the vampire eyes how up.
Hope that cleared it up.
Now go ahead and enjoy.
Don't forget to leave a review since in the end; my life might depend on it. ;)
The first thing that caught my attention as I slid back into consciousness was the dry scent of dust, the dull hum of electricity and the metallic taste of blood that filled my mouth. I became aware of that much before a sharp pain erupted in my chest and skull. All thoughts were erased from my mind as the feeling enveloped my entire being.
Despite myself, I cried out, screwing up my already closed eyes, as I mentally willed the pain to go away. That, of course, did not work at all. If anything, the hurting only grew worse.
Confused about my whereabouts and the condition I was in, I attempted to massage my head. It was with a jolt that I realized I couldn't move my arm. It was strapped tightly to a flat surface. I tried my other arm only to get the same results. But it wasn't just my arms that were strapped down. My ankles and waist had met the same fate as well.
Panic swept over me as my eyes snapped open. Not caring about the fact that I was already in pain, I pulled against the restraints, testing their strength, trying to see if I could jerk myself loose and get out of here, but they didn't feel like would give out anytime soon.
With a lot more effort than the action would normally require, I turned my head sideways to observe my surroundings. My eyes watered despite the room being submerged in semi darkness. The only source of light was the flickering light bulb overhead.
The walls on either side of me were lined with huge metallic structures. Wires sprouted beneath them, snaking along the floor in various directions.
"Good to see you're up and about," a soft melodious voice spoke from somewhere to my right. My head snapped in that direction only to meet a pair of pitch black eyes inches from my face.
I blinked a couple of times before asking almost automatically, "Where am I?"
"You're in a room," she said, stating the obvious as she pulled away a little bit, a slow smirk appearing on her face. I refrained from the urge to roll my eyes at that.
"I can see that much." Six months back I would have probably asked her again, in a slightly more polite manner.
But now…
I guess people change.
"Then I don't see the need to ask me that." She said simply as her gaze traveled to the large metallic door in the left side of the room. I found this rather odd, seeing as the room itself was quite small.
"Alright then," I decided to ask something different, "who are you?"
"My identity is something you should not concern yourself with," she said as she walked around the metallic table I was strapped to. Her footsteps echoed loudly across the room as she approached the door. She opened a small window built into it and spoke to someone outside in a quiet voice.
After the person on the other side told her something she slid it shut and turned around. Her malicious dark eyes were fixed on my face, never leaving me, as she began pacing around the room.
I stared back with equal intensity, neither of us uttering a word. As more time passed by, anxiety began making its way into my mind. The pounding in my head had subsided considerably though the pain in my chest was still making its presence known rather insistently.
Questions began chattering back and forth in my mind as I tried to ignore the feeling.
Was Sakura safe? What of Fai? And Mokona? Had any of them been injured? Were they alright? How long had I been out? Had they realized I was gone? What was this woman planning to do to me?
"Why am I here?" I decided to voice one of my thoughts out loud.
She did not answer my question as she walked back to me.
"You'll find out soon enough, boy" she replied in condescending tones, ruffling my hair with one hand, an amused smile plastered on her face.
I tried to shake my head out of her grasp, even though it squared the intensity of the hammers beating against my skull.
"You are such an amusing thing," She retracted her hand with a mirth-filled laugh. "It's only going to get more amusing from here onwards."
I felt a bead of sweat trickle past my ear, the earlier sense of foreboding passing over me in cold-heated waves once more. I tried to keep the panic I felt at bay even though I knew from the way this woman had spoken that whatever it was she had in mind for me, it was far from amusing.
Subconsciously, I found myself tugging at my restraints once again. Maybe if I kept at it, I might be able to break one of them and get myself away from this place. Although how I would manage that was beyond me. I decided to worry about that once I was free of those straps.
The metal door she had glanced in the direction of earlier creaked open and a man walked in. He whispered something in the woman's ear and then walked over to one of the metal structures. He opened a small compartment built into it and began fiddling with something inside.
The waves of cold heat, tripled as I strained to see what was inside, but the angle wasn't right.
The woman gave another chuckle as her hand came to rest on top of my head once again.
"Don't touch me," I snarled, trying to jerk away, but in the next moment I discovered that that had been a very bad idea. My jostling had apparently shifted one of my broken ribs- I suspected they were definitely broken given how badly they hurt. A stabbing pain erupted in my chest, making me cry out.
My head snapped to one side when the palm of her hand connected with my cheek. My face stung from where the woman had slapped me. A little surprised, I turned my head back to look at her, only to find her face twisted in rage.
"Never use that tone with me boy" she said through gritted teeth. "Ah. There we go." In less than a microsecond, all traces of anger were gone from her face as a gleeful smile lit it up. I blinked a couple of times, wondering about the mental state of this woman.
A crackling sound emitted from where the man had gone in. Alarmed, I once again whipped my head in that direction. Black filled my vision for a few seconds as a wave of dizziness passed over me. When I was able to see, I noticed that the man was gripping two giant metal clamps in his hands. They were attached to the wires that I had noticed before. He clapped them together, and electricity zapped and crackled brightly around them.
I froze, cold dread radiating out from my core, sending uncontrollable shivers through my arms and legs. I tried to take in long deep breathes in an attempt to calm myself but they came out as harsh, rugged pants.
Don't scream… I told myself, understanding what was going to happen. Don't shake… I ordered, trying to keep my body from quivering. Don't give them the pleasure of seeing you afraid…that's just what she wants…
The woman held out her hands like an excited four-year-old and the man deposited the clamps in them, one in each.
"This is going to be so much fun," she giggled as she closed in, holding the clamps right in front of me. I watched with bated breath as she drew closer and closer.
"You're sick," I spat, finally overcoming the initial fear. Her wild, grinning face loomed over mine as she leaned over, attaching one of the clamps to the right side of my platform, next to my leg.
Panic began to set in, and hard. I threw myself against the restraints once more, ignoring the pain that shot through my chest and head. I had to get away. This crazy woman was going to kill me with that much electricity.
She leaned in towards me, her warm breath tickling my ear as she whispered. "Now, now, no need to get all fidgety, boy."
A wave of pure terror washed over me as she lowered her hand to fasten the remaining clamp on the other side. Taking a deep shuddering breath, I braced myself, the muscles of my body tightening in an attempt to prepare me for what was about to happen.
The world went numb for a split second, every hair on my body prickling with static. And then, the electricity hit. It shredded through my being, through my flesh and bones, through my skull and broken ribs, through my very soul.
All thought of resistance abandoned me as I screamed out in agony, thrashing against the straps holding me down to the metal table.
Unbelievable amount of pain surged through my body, past endurance. My mind had gone white; my chest felt like it was going to burst open any second.
I was going to die.
I knew it.
There was no way in hell that I wasn't...
But just as soon as the reality of death hit, it was over. A strong ache still lingered in my arms and legs, but it was over...
I lay there, limp against my restraints, gasping for breath, hardly able to believe I was still conscious. I kept my eyes shut tight as sweat and tears trickled down my face.
"How was it?" her voice whispered menacingly in my ear, sending a visible shudder through my body.
My mind felt completely numb, my throat dry and my chest as if it was being stabbed on the inside by blunt edges knives.
I bit my lip to hold back a reply. I had made it through once, and I was determined to do it again. I could not really imagine why she was putting me through this. Maybe she wanted me to talk. To tell her about the others and where they were. Or maybe she just wanted to see me suffer.
But whatever it was, I wasn't going to give in without a fight
After a few moments of silence, the woman gave a small chuckle.
"Alright then, have it your way."
No!
She attached the clamp once more and the energy seared to life, ripping through my muscles, burning skin and flesh alike. I writhed and thrashed against the bonds holding me down. It felt like I was being fried on the inside. I felt the metallic taste intensify in my mouth, filling it up and choking me while I screamed. I had no way of knowing how much time had passed since to me it seemed like an eternity. I couldn't keep my thoughts straight anymore. At that time my entire world was consumed by just one thing.
Pain.
I could feel myself fading away, my numb mind welcoming the blissful darkness. I barely had any strength left to remain conscious.
After a long time, she pulled off one of the clamps and cut off the electricity flow. My stomach churned violently as the smell of burnt hair and flesh filled my nostrils. My injured body shook violently as I tried to breath. A horrible silence pervaded the air around me.
I felt completely disoriented, disheveled, no longer sure which way was up and which way was down. After several long minutes, I finally managed to crack my eyes open and look up. Her grinning face was inches from mine, looking more demented and happier than ever.
"I hope you're having fun, boy, because this is just the beginning." She gave a maniacal cackle of delight as I swallowed hard. Fear began coursing through my veins as the woman kept laughing. I knew this was going to hurt awfully but there was nothing I could do about it anymore.
In the back of my mind I saw their smiling faces. They were all smiling at me. Even Kurogane. His smile was more of a smirk, actually, but it was good-natured all the same.
I braced myself for another round of electrocution as tears began welling up in my eyes. I tried to hold on to the faces of the ones I loved as she clamped the metal clip once again, waves of pure agony crashing down on me in powerful waves, drowning me, removing all other thoughts from my mind.
The wild, deranged laughter of that woman overlapped my own anguished screams as they tore through my throat…
A/N: H-hey. Guys. Why are all of you standing there with pitchforks and flaming torches?
Oh. You just wanna kill me is all. Okay… Say WHAT?!!
N-no. Oh come on people. It's not like I'm the only author who tortures the good guys for reasons known to only themselves…
Um, Guys? No! Get that away from me! Hey, poke that somewhere else. Put me down! Put me down! Noooo…. (And she gets carried off by an angry mob)
Fai: Hmm, well that was an interesting reaction. I wonder what they'll do when they find out what else she had planned in mind for him.
Mokona: Fai, shouldn't we go and help her?
Fai: Nah, let the reviewers do that. We always save her from angry mobs.
Mokona: But what if they join the mob instead?
Fai: Crap. That could be a problem. *sigh* Alright let's round up the ones willing to save her and go rescue her.
Me: (screams from the top of a burning pyre) Hurry up guys! This fire is hot! And it burns…
Mokona: You know what to do.
PS. There is no need for me to say this but I need at least three reviews before I write and post the next chapter. (Holding stories at ransom is a very good way to get reviews. Should have thought of that earlier. ;) ;) )
