Chapter 12

~o~

Arthur sat frozen where he was, his green eyes wide as he looked up to what was undoubtedly his transformed lover's silhouette in the moonlight. Alfred wasn't even recognizable in this light and the author felt naught but a chill of terror that went through him at the sight of the monster in the dark.

It's Alfred. This is Alfred, he told himself, even as he held his breath and tried to keep his heart from beating. It only sped up.

The black silhouette disappeared from the roof, the dark mass moving silently down to the street where Arthur sat defenseless. There was not another soul around. If the beast really wanted a meal, then Arthur would be it.

His body still trembling violently from his abrupt departure from a moving car, now added with the fear that was bleeding into his very bones, the Brit slowly brought out the little scrap of paper that held the spell for the bracelet's unbinding. Breathe, he told himself, you have to breathe if you want to talk. His hands were shaking so badly he couldn't read the words scrawled on the sweat soaked paper. "Τῆς ψυχῆς..." he started, recalling the words from rote memory.

Suddenly, he was shoved onto his back. His hands pinned to his sides, the spell paper flung from his fingers from the sheer force of the motion. The huge beast was right on top of him, pressing him down and trapping him underneath its bulk. Arthur panted sharply, his eyes wide with panic as a rippling growl escaped the hulking monster. There was no mistaking it this time. The vampire was hungry.

His eyes squeezed shut as the maw came close, sure that he was about to get his throat torn out. He'd be mauled to death, sucked on like the innards of a watermelon. People would think he'd been torn apart by a wild animal like Francis.

Several seconds passed. Nothing happened. Arthur cracked open an eye. What he saw was the top of the beast's head. It was... sniffing him. Growling, its nose buried itself underneath his arm. Buried itself in Alfred's jacket...

Oh... Oh! Arthur held his breath, suddenly realizing why he was safe. He smelled like Alfred. Maybe he didn't act or feel the way another vampire should, but the scent alone was enough to confuse the creature. Alfred's jacket had savedhim.

Realizing that this was his chance, he hurriedly spoke the well-practiced words, "Τῆς ψυχῆς αφήσει να πάει. Αφήστε το βάρος σας από τη φυλακή."

The monster reared back, letting out a scream of agony as the prisoner's cuff around its wrist began to glow with a hot blue light. The smell of burning skin filled the air, the pops of flesh crackling churning Arthur's already unsettled stomach. The beast thrashed, clawing at its hand, scratching at the bracelet as he turned brighter and hotter.

A sound, like crystal rock cracking, filled the air and the black band crumbled into piece and fell down to the asphalt below. The vampire let out a rippled groan as the eyes bled from red to blue.

His breath shaking, Arthur looked from the broken shards to the freed wrist. He expected a change right away, to see those enormous clawed fingers to shift back into slender human fingers.

Nothing happened.

His panic beginning to rise, Arthur's eyes snapped from the beast's wrist up to the still monstrous face.

He hadn't changed back.

Alfred was still a monster.

A deep growl rippled from the beast, its sharp blue razor-slit eyes bearing down on the little human, like a cat looming over a tiny mouse. Arthur stared back up at him, his eyes wide with terror. He was supposed to change back. Why hadn't he changed back?!

Arthur had no idea what to do. He'd simply assumed that Alfred would return to himself once the bracelet was free. Was it already too late for him? Was he too far gone for him to turn back?

No. No, it couldn't be. He couldn't have turned into this thing forever.

The author's mind raced back to Ivan's words, to Eduard's, to Ludwig's. This was Alfred's highest state. Surely... surely, there was a way for him to come down from it. There had to be. H-he just... he just needed the right motivation...

His hands trembling like leaves in the wind, Arthur cupped the beast's jowls turning its blue eyes to meet his own. "Alfred," he said softly. "Alfred, wake up. Wake up." Then he tried something that he was pretty sure was going to spectacularly fail, like the souffle he intended to make for his and Alfred's first anniversary. He pressed a kiss to the beast's maw, his face squelching in disgust as his lips hit sticky, bloody saliva and razor-sharp teeth.

~o~

. . . .

But that taste...

no! . . .

A tiny part of him flickered back to life, a bud of sentience fighting against pure primal instinct.

. .hearthelovelybeat.

Arthur... the name came back to him like a song, his eyes closing as he smelled, tasted and felt his heart come back to him. The only true heart he ever had.

Fool! .youdesiretofeeddon' .

He raised a hand, cupping the back of his heart's beautiful, soft hair, pulling him closer with greedy abandon.

...

Alfred dismissed the Want, his fingers sliding over his lover's body as he wrested the author up closer against his own. "Arthur..." he breathed, mouthing over his boyfriend's lips. "Arthur... Arthur, Arthur..." he moaned, pressing a heady kiss against his dear lover. He felt the Brit arch up against him, responding to the pheromones the vampire had unwittingly released with his Want so strong and so drunk on power he'd never felt before. "Oh fuck," he cursed, knowing that Arthur hated the pheromones. He snapped them back with a will he hadn't realized until now, leaving Arthur only half-sated.

"Alfred..." the author moaned, his eyes still dilated from the effects of the powerful aphrodisiac. "Alfred, please..."

"Right, alright, alright," the vampire gave in easily, only then taking in Arthur's very unusual attire. Bulletproof vest? What? Oh well, it didn't matter. All he needed to take off were Arthur's trousers. His eyes glanced over the Brit's shoulders and his lips pulled back into a wide grin when he saw what else Arthur was wearing. "You look good in my jacket~" he teased, his fingers tugging down Arthur's pants by the belt loops.

Arthur was already fully erect as his trousers were wrested free of him and he gasped at the sudden exposure to the cold air. Alfred hungrily leaned down to devour Arthur's lips, before positioning himself over his lover's aching need. He hissed sharply as he straddled Arthur and let himself be filled bareback. "Ungh, God, Arthur... I love feeling you like this," Alfred moaned, rocking against his lover with steadily increasing momentum. "So, so good..."

"Alfred... Alfred, missed you. Missed you so much," his lover babbled beneath him, his fingers gripping the vampire's hips tightly enough to bruise. He let out a sharp gasp as Alfred increased the pace, his pleading turning into unintelligible noises. Alfred breathed sharply, propping his hunched body up with an arm alongside Arthur's head.

Arthur's body suddenly tensed up underneath him, letting out a sharp gasp as he released into the vampire. He fell fully onto his back, completely spent. Alfred panted sharply, his chest heaving as he slowly pulled himself off of his lover. He collapsed down next to him, his strong arm curling around Arthur's waist.

It was only then that Alfred noticed something a little... odd. This was definitely not their bed. He was pretty sure that last time he'd check, he was up in their bedroom. No, this was definitely the... sky? His brow knitting into a frown, he tested the ground. "How in the-" he muttered, pushing himself up to his elbows.

...And he was buck naked. Out in the middle of a street. His jaw dropping, he tried to shake Arthur out of his post-coital daze. "Arthur. Arthur! Where are we?!" he demanded, but the author was busy being a useless pile of aphrodisiac-soaked human flesh. Huffing, Alfred pushed himself up to a sit, trying to get some sort of bearings.

That was when he saw the huge super-cool blood-scorched Hummer speeding up to them along the street. With a yelp, Alfred yanked his jacket off of Arthur to make himself remotely decent. And maybe didn't get Arthur's trousers back up in time when the bright yellow car pulled into a stop in front of them. Several faces popped out of the back of the car, ogling the pair of them. Like it was any of their business! When they had... basically done it in the middle of the street.

However, Alfred was absolutely not prepared when a very familiar face climbed out of the driver's seat. "Ivan?!" he called out incredulously.

Ivan looked the pair of them up and down appraisingly. "Hm," he humphed, "you vork too quickly. No stamina." He came over and clapped a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "Now come. Zen ve vill decide to kill you or not."

Alfred gaped at him. "Wait... what?"

"Nozing," Ivan replied lightly. "Now get in car before I wring neck."

~o~

Arthur woke up to a scene far too similar to the one he woke up to a week prior. Stone ceiling, stone walls. A barred door. Gray sack clothes. Groaning, he pushed himself up in bed and wondered for a plot second if all that he had remembered was merely a dream. Then he saw his bare, healed feet.

Alfred. He got up to his feet, still woozy and unsteady thanks to whatever Alfred hit him with. "Hey!" he called out, slamming his hands hard against the metal door. "Let me out! I know you're out there! Eduard! Raivis! Ivan! Let me out, you wankers!"

The metal door suddenly gave way. An irritated Ludwig stood in the doorway, squaring Arthur down with a cross look. He was still pale, a little worse for the wear, but awake. "The door was open," he growled, then turned back towards his room. "Now go back to sleep."

"Wait! Where's Alfred?" Arthur demanded, stepping out into the hall, though he had the grace to blush.

"Downstairs," Ludwig replied. He wisely stepped aside as Arthur rushed past him. The author dashed down the hall, nearly tripping over his own feet as he ran down the stairs in his haste. Down in the asylum basement he could hardly see a thing, the stone halls lit only by dark red emergency lights. It was like stepping into a dungeon. Before he even took three steps in, Arthur nearly trampled Ivan before he even noticed the man.

"Vhere are you going so quickly?" Ivan asked, grasping Arthur by his shoulders to keep him from running any further.

"I want to see Alfred," Arthur shot back. "He's the only reason why I helped any of you! I need to see him with my own eyes. Now let me go!" he grunted softly, trying in vain to get past Ivan's impossibly strong grip.

"Niet, you vill not see him," the slav said without the least bit of amusement in his voice. "He vill stay in isolation. He is vampyre, addict. Vhether he lives or not is decided by if he can resist his instincts."

"But..." Arthur started, his heart wrenching painfully at the thought of never seeing Alfred again. Not unless he passed Ivan's arbitrary humanity tests. "I want... I have to talk to him. I have to let him know that I know everything. He doesn't need to hide anything from me anymore." He looked past Ivan and down the chasm of the dark corridor. "Alfred! Do you hear me! I got thrown out of a bloody car and nearly mauled by your army of ghouls for you!"

The author turned back to Ivan, leveling the doctor a dangerous look. "Does he have his phone? If he doesn't, give it to him. You owe me this." He turned on his heel, stalking back towards his room. Arthur ignored the look that Ludwig gave him, slamming the door to his own cell room closed. He curled up on top of his thin mattress, his eyes falling on his phone on the little table beside his bed. He willed it to ring for hours, waiting long, long into the night.

~o~

"Arthur, you cannot keep moping," Ludwig sighed as he came to bring the author his breakfast. The Brit was still curled up against the wall on top of his bed, his hand wrapped around his phone. "We need your help taking care of Negrescu. You were vital in the first part of the operation. You cannot just refuse to help now."

"I don't see why not," the author muttered darkly, his eyes never straying from his archived text messages. "You kidnapped me. Imprisoned me. Stole my money."

"I made Raivis return the Hummer," Ludwig said in exasperation. However, Arthur continued on as if he hadn't heard him.

"I just want Alfred. I'm pretty sure I made that perfectly clear the entire time I've been here." Arthur's green eyes finally flicked up to meet the Captain's blue. "Now you fault me for sticking to my priorities?"

"You are consistent, I will give you that," the Captain allowed. "But we need people like you in the Watchers. We have work to do yet." Arthur rolled his eyes. The fact that they needed competent people didn't move him. Though, it probably wasn't completely their fault. How did one recruit for the Watchers without scaring away all the sane people?

When it was clear the author wasn't going to respond, Ludwig tried a different tactic. He went to the foot of the bed, propping his arms on it as though it were a table and he looked the author square in the eye. "You realize that Jones is not safe until we take care of Negrescu, right? After all the time Negrescu invested in Jones, he will still want him."

"You have drones watching him," Arthur replied, though his tone grew more uncertain. "He doesn't have that bracelet to control Alfred anymore. We would know..."

"He doesn't need the bracelet to control other creatures," Ludwig replied. "It merely enhances the control, makes it longer reaching and more effective. Should Negrescu get anywhere near Jones again, all your hard work will be for nothing." Now he had the author's full attention. "Arthur, we need your help. Help us stop Negrescu once and for all."

Arthur's eyes dropped down to his phone. Then he thought of that vile creature that had so inserted himself into his and Alfred's happy life. Now thanks to him, Alfred tasted the sun, only to never be able to stand in it again for the rest of eternity. He clenched his jaw, hatred boiling up in him like bile. "One condition," Arthur said after a long pause. "Get Alfred a phone."

"There is no signal in the basement," Ludwig explained for the umpteenth time. "You cannot talk to him until he is safe to be around humans."

"And when exactly will that be?" Arthur demanded bitterly. "He had one taste of Francis and it took him a month to recover. By all accounts, he had been killing humans every night for at least two months. That will mean it will take years for him to kick the habit."

"Do have a bit of faith in your partner," Ludwig retorted, though not unkindly.

"Oh pardon me for not wanting to die of old age before I get to see him again," Arthur snapped irritably. "You seem to have some IT tech on payroll. Put him to work and only then will I agree to help."

Heaving a great sigh, Ludwig left Arthur's breakfast and headed out without another word.

~o~

Down in the dark of his prison, Alfred lay curled up in the far corner of the wall. Stuck in a state of half-transformation, his body trembled with Want, sick with exhaustion and withdrawal. He had forgotten how bad the Want was without the bracelet. This was the worst he ever felt. He wanted to die. He wanted the bracelet back.

The metal door to his black prison opened and Alfred wearily glanced up to see Ivan approach with fresh bags of blood. The sight of them made the vampire's stomach churn nauseatingly and he turned away from the door. Ivan had been very sparse with details, but one thing was clear and that was his bracelet was damaged beyond repair and there was no getting it back. When he'd heard that the first time, he started screaming and couldn't stop.

I haven't needed to drink blood for months... But maybe that was a lie. How could a vampire last without blood, really? Everything felt wrong. His body felt completely out of whack. He was so cold.

"Arzur vants to talk to you," the slav informed him, making a wave of panic rush through the vampire. "On computer," Ivan added before Alfred could protest.

An entirely different type of anxiety set into Alfred then, his eyes wide when Ivan brought in a rather decrepit looking desktop with its own power supply. "D-do I have to?" he asked, staring at the computer as if the monitor would turn into a maw and bite him.

"Da, because ze others decided zey need Arzur for planning. So you vill talk, so ve can use him," Ivan explained, his gray-lavender eyes boring down hard into the vampire and making him very, very small.

"What others?" Alfred demanded shakily, forcing his sharp eyes to meet the slav's own. "You still haven't told me anything about what happened!" However, Ivan merely shrugged and shut the cell door behind him, leaving the vampire alone with the computer. Alfred stared at it for a long time. He still didn't know what Ivan's deal was and whether whoever had taken Arthur was a malevolent force or not. He didn't want to cooperate if it was going to put Arthur in any danger.

Not to mention, one of the few things that Ivan let him know was that Arthur was now completely aware of what he was. A vampire.

The very thought paralyzed him with fear. He couldn't face Arthur now. Not after the web of lies he'd spun. Christ, how was he even supposed to explain Estonia? What if Arthur hated him? What if Arthur never wanted to see him again? More than the thought of losing the sun, losing Arthur would make his entire world shatter.

Alfred stared at the computer. He'd never before been so terrified of the machine.

Although... Ivan did say that Arthur wanted to talk to him, right? What that talk meant, the vampire had no idea. Arthur may want to (rightfully) break up with him. Then again, ignoring Arthur would only make the author even more pissed off. The Brit had the patience of a... well, human.

Chewing on his lower lip, Alfred tread carefully over to the desktop as if it were a trap. He could... send an email. A totally perfect email. One that would explain everything about how sorry he was, why he did what he did, how much he loved Arthur. Right, it would be perfect and truthful and Arthur would have no choice but to forgive him. Right? Right.

...The thing was writing that perfect email.

~o~

It was well into evening and Arthur hadn't had a single message from Alfred for hours. Dressed back in his own clothes, he stormed the asylum halls to look up and down the place for Eduard with his neglected phone in hand. Clearly, there had to be something wrong with Alfred's connection. He should have heard from him by now!

Throwing open the door the conference room, Arthur hardly noticed that the Watchers were all engaged in a meeting. When he did, he didn't rightly care. "I thought you gave Alfred internet," he growled when their attention snapped in his direction. "The connection is obviously broken. I need you to fix it."

"Sir, we're a little busy here," Eduard cried out in exasperation.

"You told me-"

"Arthur, we'll fix it after the meeting," Ludwig cut in sharply. He gestured for the author to sit. "You may as well join us. We are reviewing the files that I have from the NYPD regarding Negrescu." Arthur frowned. Ah right, he'd forgotten Ludwig had a day job. As did Ivan. Wait, were they all working? Why wasn't he allowed back home? Annoyed, the author sat down nonetheless. The faster that they got this meeting over with, the faster Eduard could fix this entire internet issue.

Arthur barely paid any attention to the meeting at all, his mind a million miles away. Or at least to the many yards down to the bowels of the asylum. He idly played with his phone, constantly checking it as he waited for some word, some message to come through. It felt like years since he had been able to properly talk to Alfred, even before this entire mess happened. Since Francis had died...

Arthur's green eyes flicked up to the projector screen, looking upon the creature that had murdered his childhood friend, using Arthur's lover as his chosen weapon. His very image spread anger through the author like poison. Vlad looked so arrogant in that picture, eyes mischievous and smile cocksure. His fingers reflexively gripped his phone more tightly. Alright, yes. He would help. Even if he couldn't get in touch with Alfred again. Only because Vladimir Negrescu had ruined their lives. They deserved their retribution.

The author nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone suddenly buzzed in his hand. His eyes snapped down to it, seeing the new email alert. From Alfred. His breath caught, all thoughts of Vlad forgotten. Ignoring the others' looks, he departed from the room to get more privacy. When he was safely holed up back in his little room, Arthur curled up on the bed and opened up the email.

Dear Arthur,

I'm so sorry for taking so long to write to you. I was trying to write the perfect email and I kept deleting my drafts over and over again. So, sorry if this all comes out like word vomit.

Arthur, I'm so sorry for having ever lied to you. I never wanted to hurt you and I never wanted you to be put in harm's way. I've spent my entire life to everyone about who and what I am, but never has it hurt more than when I did it with you. You probably figured out that my "dad" isn't real either. I really don't know why I did that, it was so stupid. I felt sick with guilt every time I pretended to be him. I know I've betrayed you in every possible way and you have every right to walk away from me.

Please don't. I don't have any right to ask you this. But I love you so much. More than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life. And I've lived a really long time. The day you walked into my life was the day my life actually started. This may make things worse, but the only reason why I lied was because I wanted to be with you. Only you. I really, really love you so much. You have no idea how happy you've made me.

You don't have to forgive me, but please don't push me away. I will spend every minute of every hour of every day making it up to you. Believe me, you haven't seen how devoted I can be because it would have freaked you out. Whatever you want, I'll do it. Without question. I would die for you. I would die without you. I was ruined the moment you drunk-dialled me and told me you loved me.

Yeah, really sorry for not writing sooner. Please don't take as long replying back. I know that's not fair. I'm sorry and I'll never lie to you ever, ever again.

Love, Alfred

Slowly, Arthur released the shaky breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. His face felt hot and he closed his eyes to calm himself down. Alfred might not yet know it, but Arthur was going to hold this over Alfred's head for the rest of their lives. And it would be the rest of their lives. He would never let Alfred go. (He was going to get angry later. Very angry.) However, right now, he just needed to hear Alfred's voice.

Quickly, he typed in his reply. Do you have Skype?

The reply email returned just as swiftly. Yeah, I can install. No vid though. I have headphones/mic.

Good, let me know when you're done.

After what seemed like a horrendously long five minutes, Arthur saw Alfred's Skype handle come online and he tapped to call it before Alfred could change his mind.

*H-hello?* the voice on the other side called out, sounding sick and desolate. Clearly, withdrawal was a bitch.

"Hullo Alfred..." Arthur spoke softly into the phone.

The gentleness in the author's voice seemed to break him, as soon the other line was filled with sobs and blubbered apologies. *Arthur... Arthur, I'm so sorry about everything! I didn't mean to lie to you for so long! I've been so stupid! Please forgive me, I can't stand the idea of you hating me. I'll do whatever I can to make you happy! I promise!-*

Alfred continued on, a complete sobbing and babbling mess, while Arthur merely listened from the other side. The Brit's lips pulled into a small smile, affection and warmth spreading through through him as he listened to his lover's voice. His Alfred was finally back.