A/N: Another unbeta'd chapter but it's still the promised update. And for once, it doesn't end in a cliffie that makes you wanna kill me. (sorta)
Enjoy!
Fai didn't really find it hard to act scared of the woman before him. His body instinctively recoiled from her cold fingered touch and whimpers automatically formed in his throat when she looked his way. He was confused why it was happening but seeing the relieved look on Syaoran's face, he knew he was getting the act right at the very least.
"Have you had time to think about my question, Fai?" the silver-haired woman whispered in a rather seductive tone as she leaned closer to him.
"I-I…" the blond stuttered, his thoughts racing. What question?
"Pity," she said coldly as she struck him hard, a feeble cry erupting from his lips as he hit the floor with a thud, his cheek stinging from where her hand had hit him. Something warm slid down the side of his face and his heightened sense of smell picked it up as the scent of his own blood. Her long nails had probably raked his face when she had slapped him. Struggling to sit up again, he pushed his body on feeble, shaky arms as black dotted his vision for a fraction of a second. Why did he feel so weak? "I had hoped I'd have spared you from further pain for now."
His arms gave out under him, his body hitting the grimy floor with a thud that sent waves of pain from the point of impact to the rest of his body. His mind completely blanked out for a while but he regained his senses, he could see the woman's face peering down on him as she nudged his side with the pointed toe of her high-heeled shoes. "I'll ask one last time, tell me, where is the essence hidden?" The way her dark eyes glittered with malice as she stared down at him made Fai want to do nothing more than spit the blood currently pooling inside his mouth and tell her to fuck off but somehow, the part of him that was trained to be afraid of this woman before him made him shrink back in fear as a soft 'I don't know' left his mouth.
"So stubborn," the woman tutted in mock regret as she made to turn away from him but instead of leaving the room, she kicked him in the gut. Hard. "Now don't get any funny ideas. I'll be right back." With that, she sashayed out of his cell.
Coughing, Fai struggled to push his body into a sitting position but apparently all the energy that the rush of adrenaline had lent him upon discovering what Syaoran had tried to do to him had left him. When his arms refused to support the weight of his body for the fifth time, he just left them slump to the ground as he lay partially face-down on the floor.
Fai-san? He felt the apparition move closer to him, the teen's spirit-like body barely making any sounds as he appeared the blonde's line of vision. The boy's amber-eyes were filled with concern as he peered down at him but Fai could not bring himself to care for the gesture as he glared at the brunette through narrowed eyes.
"Explain everything," he hissed, his tone demanding and unyielding despite his currently pathetic state, "Now."
And explain everything the brunette did.
-0-
"You've learnt some new tricks, haven't you bitch?" Bauld growled dangerously as he clutched at his bleeding shoulder with his free hand while the gun was uselessly grasped in the hand of his injured arm.
"I'm not a weakling." She spat venomously, anger overtaking the fear in her tone as she glared at the hunter, "and I'll be damned if I'll let you bastards capture me again."
"I'll make you eat your words once we're back in Metropolis," The hunter took a menacing step forward and Masooma instinctively drew a step away. Seeing this, the leering grin on the hunter's face widened. "I can see the fear in your eyes bitch. I can smell it on you. You're still afraid of me guardian."
"N-No… I'm not scared." She drew in a deep breath before drawing herself to her full height. She was still a head and a half shorter than the man but despite his towering stature, she did not allow herself to cower before him. She stared at him with defiance shining in her amber eyes. Next to Fai and Nixon, Masooma was one of the fastest spell-casters in all of Celes. She had been his apprentice after all, so she could very easily use a transportation spell to get her back to the safety of Magihidusi before any of the hunters could actually break through her conjured shield. But she knew she'd never be able to get back some of the confidence she had lost when she had been held captive and then tortured and raped by the leering man before her if she did not see this confrontation through till the end.
"If you're not now," Bauld took another step in her direction although this time Masooma forced herself to stand her ground, "you will be soon enough."
And with that he lunged towards her, the silver metal bracelets glinting in the dull sunlight as his hands touched the shield and she felt the magic falter and begin to give.
"No." she gasped, immediately knowing that the metal that formed the braces around his wrists was no ordinary one. They were made from Cerelium, the only material that held the power to nullify most forms of magic.
A glowing brown arrow whizzed through the air and landed where Bauld had been a fraction of a second before. The dry grass crackled and hissed as the magic started breaking it down.
"Healer Masooma!" she heard Captain Neumro call out her name just as five dark forms dropped around her in protective crouches. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She answered, sounding rather stiff and cold even to her own ears. "The hunters are armed with Cerelium." She continued, both meaning to warn them as well as explain to them the reason as to why she had been frozen in her spot, appearing defenseless.
"Not to worry." At his almost imperceptible signal, the remainder of the guard drew their weapons and charged towards the party of hunters, while the captain stayed with Masooma. She had little reason to doubt that the men were there due to Nixon.
"Take care of yourself? Just like you did back in Metropolis? I could see how wonderfully you had accomplished that when I found your bleeding body back in that cell…" his words from earlier made her clench her fists in rage. How dare he? How dare he still treat her like such a weakling?
"Neumro," she addressed the captain, just as she cast a spell she had not cast since the first time she had arrived in this world, "you are free to leave my side and join the fight." A silver staff, tipped with a large crimson jewel, materialized in the air before her. "I have a score to settle with someone." And then without waiting for a response from the captain she rushed at the hunter that had ruined her life.
-0-
The next morning, they found the kid lying unmoving in his bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling, failing to once again respond to anyone touch or voice. Had it not been for the slow rise and fall of his chest, he could have easily been mistaken for a corpse.
"Kurogane-san," The princess addressed him as she silently entered the Infirmary and walked over to him. The ninja noticed her gaze stray in the kid's direction once but he saw her take a deep breath and her eyes harden in determination. "I have discussed Syaoran's condition with Yukito-san and we both agree that…" she drew in another breath, "it won't worsen his condition any further if we were to change worlds tonight. As you can already see, he has regressed into himself once again and as much as I wish he would trust us enough to actually understand that we're only trying to help him… I think you can already tell he won't take kindly to us moving him from here."
"Are you sure you want to bring him along with us?" he asked, not missing how the girl's tone had taken on a professional and detached air. He had to bit his tongue briefly to keep himself from commenting on this. She was still hurting but she had found a way to deal with the pain for now. "The High Priest could care for him until we return here with the Mage. It would still fulfill the terms of our price."
"I know," she nodded, "but Nixon-san insisted that we bring him to Magihidusi. He says there is someone there that can help him more than Yukito-san. I just want him to get better again."
Kurogane had a vague idea as to who that someone might be but he decided not to voice his thoughts out loud for now. "I see."
"… Do you… Do you think Fai-san would end up like Syaoran?"
"The bastard is stubborn." Was all that he said, his gaze landing on the boy's unresponsive form. The mage might have been stubborn in his own way but then again, so had been the kid. But those hunters had managed to reduce him to this empty shell. Who was to say that…
"I hope he's fine." She said softly as her right hand started to reach for the kid's head but she stopped halfway through. "I… I have to go check on a few things before we leave. I'll see you in the evening Kurogane-san. Please keep an eye on him and alert me if anything happens." It did not take a genius to see through her flimsy excuse but the ninja let her go.
"You better take good care of her," he heard the young king say as he strode up to him only a few minutes later, "… and the brat as well."
"So you've decided not to stop her?"
"Nothing in the world can stop that little monster when she sets her mind to it." he sighed in response. "She'll never forgive me if I keep her here against her will. I can see that she cares about your companion just as much as she cares for the brat… but then again, being the compassionate girl that she is…" he trailed off.
"It's hard for her not to care." Kurogane decided to complete for the king. "The princess said she has been receiving training from you."
"She's come a long way." He replied, "I'd love to see her kick the brat's ass."
"If she is indeed as good as you have claimed, then you should not worry about her. I'll be right with her."
"The brat got himself captured, didn't he?"
Kurogane chose not to respond. After all, the man did not know of the circumstances surrounding the kid's capture but he was in no mood to actually explain it all to him. The king could keep on thinking whatever he wanted.
"Just…" he could feel the other man's gaze on him so Kurogane turned his head to meet the king's eye, "don't let her get hurt."
As those words escaped the king's lips, Kurogane could see the thoughts racing through the man's head and the emotions raging inside his eyes. He was truly worried for his sister, terrified that she might get hurt and angry that he could not go with her.
"I won't." The ninja promised and he saw the other man relax a fraction of an inch. With a curt nod, Touya turned around and left the red-eyed man alone with the unmoving kid.
"I know you've heard this countless times before kid," Kurogane sighed as he looked at the copy of his student, "but the princess wasn't the one that hurt you. And… neither was I."
-0-
"So then why is it that I can tell who she is now?" Fai demanded quietly, "Why don't I still see as Masooma?"
"I'm not sure but I think it has something to do with your vampire half." The apparition replied thoughtfully, "it's almost like whatever they've been giving you, get nullified when your vampire half takes over."
"I see… Syaoran-kun?"
"Hai, Fai-san?"
"I hope Tsubasa-kun is okay."
"Me too." The spirit admitted softly, "what are you going to do now? The Oracle said that the others will come to rescue you soon but… what will you do until then? Can you pretend to not know anything until they get here?"
"If you had asked me that question while we were still travelling, Syaoran-kun, I might have said yes." Fai replied, "But just knowing what the hunters have been doing to me till now, wearing my best friends' faces while they hurt me… I don't think I can pretend anymore. No. I can pretend but I won't. I'm going to give them one hell of a time now."
"You do realize that it might get you killed."
"They think I have something they want. I don't think they'd be eager to get rid of me so quickly. And if nothing else, I can bet the hunters would be interested in knowing how I can resist their drug."
"But defying them will only make things harder for you. They'll hurt you more."
"They'll hurt me regardless of that fact." The blond responded lightly, as though speaking about his own torture at the hands of his captors was no big deal, "I just don't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing that they have broken me."
"…"
"Say, Syaoran-kun?"
"Hai?"
"You wouldn't happen to have a bit of Kurgy's blood on you, would you?"
At the incredulous and slightly freaked out look the brunette shot him, the blond erupted into soft chuckles. "Sorry, it's just that, my vampire half needs to the blood of its prey to regain some of the strength it's lost in trying to heal me. It's been ages since I actually needed his blood this badly before."
Before the spirit could respond though, the loud clack of heels against the cold stone floor echoed in the hallway outside. There were sounds of other, heavy and big feet, added to the noise letting the magician-vampire hybrid know that the woman was back. And she had brought company. His blue-eyed gaze slipped towards Syaoran for a fraction of a second and he could tell that the spirit looked panicked.
"I'll be fine." He reassured his companion in a quiet voice just as the door to his cell was opened with a loud squeal.
"Bring him." He heard the silver-haired woman order in a cold voice. He was roughly grabbed by his arms and hair, dragged across the length of the cell to the door, a cry of pain escaping his lips as the skin on his bare, damaged back began to bleed. The woman said nothing as she began leading the small procession down the narrow, corridors. Despite the amount of pain he was in from being dragged on the dirty floor by his hair and wrists, Fai still noticed the beams of Cerelium lining the roof of the hallways. The metal was probably the reason why his magic was inaccessible to him. Part of it might have been the drug's fault as well, but more or less, the metal lining the roof was the reason why he could not just escape right then. He was dragged into what appeared to be a torture chamber. Not that the rest of this place was any different but the sight of so many devices created for the sole purpose breaking their victims made the magician seethe in anger though there was a bit of fear too. What was going to come next would be no doubt painful for him. But then again, he doubted he'd ever experience more pain than he had when he had been transformed into a vampire against his will in a rather ironic way to save his life. This room however was not to be his destination as he was just brought to a smaller side-room. He was harshly pulled to his unsteady feet and brought to what appeared to be a pit in the floor. Above it, a metal frame rested horizontal to the ground with metal cuffs set in it near the head and the foot area, no doubt to keep the victim in place.
Seeing the look on Fai's face, the woman's smile grew.
"Still sure you don't know where it is, Fai? I can spare you this pain if only you tell me where it is."
"Even if I knew where it was," Fai hissed, his eyes flashing as his vampire half started to take over, "I'd never tell a bitch like you."
"So it seems you've grown immune to the drug," the woman said as she quickly overcame her shock at seeing his wilder-side. "You're quite unlike the other freaks you know." She told him conversationally as she sidled up behind him. Her cold hands roamed all over his chest and back as he felt the grip of the two brutes holding him tighten. He hissed as her nails scraped the various cuts and wounds marring his torso, tearing open the scabbing wounds to make them bleed anew. "But I like different." She whispered in his right ear. "It's such a refreshing change from our usual routine." He stiffened as her roaming hands reached the waistband of his tattered jeans that now barely hung of his emaciated frame. "And it doesn't hurt that despite all your injuries, you're rather attractive."
"Get away from me." He growled dangerously, hitting her with the back of his head just as she undid the button.
"Why you!" she spat angrily as a punch connected with the side of his head. "… should be grateful." Whatever else she had said never really made it to his brain since the punch had caused him to black out for a short while. Something cold traced a random pattern on his back, leaving a stinging sensation in its wake, stopping only once it had reached his hip. Before he could even process what was happening, he heard a loud ripping sound as the last piece of clothing that he had been wearing was torn from his body.
"You won't be needing that rag from now on." She informed him coldly as she stepped around the men holding him and stepped into his line of view. He only glared at her as the woman gave him an appreciative once over before she leered at him rather vulgarly. "Did you know the room next to this is where Bauld enjoyed your virgin little girlfriend for the first time?" She stepped closer to him, her breath almost burning against his chilled skin, "I'm almost tempted to do the same to you right about now." She whispered breathily before kissing him rather forcefully. Fai felt disgusted with the way the woman pressed against him but he bid his time, chomping down hard the minute her tongue slipped into his mouth. The taste of blood filled his mouth as she drew away with a startled cry. Not giving her a chance to recover, he spat the blood on her face, watching in grim satisfaction as he noticed the way she seemed to bristle in anger. From the look on her face, no prisoner had ever defied her like this, especially in front of her minions. Knowing that his next word might just seal his fate, Fai let a deranged grin form on his bloody lips, narrowing his eyes to let his hatred show. "Fuck you."
"You'll regret doing that mage." She snarled in rage as her hand connected sharply with his cheek. "Do you think smart-mouthing me will make me put you out of your misery sooner?" she grabbed his hair, pulling it back until he was forced to look at the cerelium lined ceiling of the chamber. He felt her cold dagger press against his jugular, drawing a thin trickle of blood. "Huh, is that what you think?" she demanded, pulling his head back even further, many hair parting from his scalp from the force, "well if that's what you think, think again." She hissed in his ear, roughly nibbling on the flesh of his ear lobe, "I'm going to make sure you experience pain like you have never before, for a long, long time before I rid this world of you for good." She let go of his hair as she stepped away from him. "Tie him to the rack." She ordered as she walked out of his line of sight. Fai struggled to make them let go but to no avail as only moments later, he found himself strapped to the metal frame, with his arms shackled above his head. He heard a hiss below him before the air below him began to grow warm.
"Your girlfriend never did get to enjoy this particular contraption of ours." She leaned over him, her long hair brushing his torso like silky threads of molten ice, "Bauld had a hard time leaving her alone you see. But enough about that bitch," she added haughtily, "I'm sure you're dying to know what we'll do to you now."
"Oh yes, I can barely contain myself." He responded acidly, his blood boiling at the thought of Masooma having suffered so close to the place where he was.
"You'll find the meaning of the word 'hot'." The woman grinned as the air around him began to grow uncomfortably hot.
A/N: So it seems like Touya's actions sent Syaoran back into his unresponsive state. Sakura seems to be doing somewhat better though. Masooma is about to kick some ass. ;) Touya has allowed Sakura to go with Kurogane even if he hasn't told her that yet. And lastly, things are getting interesting for Fai. I wonder what you guys think will happen to him.
Oh and I'd love it if you guys could check out my Halloween one-shots. They're my first attempt at horror and I want some feedback on whether it'd be a good idea for me to try my hand at that genre again or not. One's called 'Eternally Damned' and the other is called 'Mist'. Mist is rated M because I'm somewhat paranoid and the descriptions that I've used there are rather graphic. ^_^; And Eternally Damned is actually the first part of what I plan to be a series of one-shots. (If I ever get around to completing them)
So until next time.