A/N: If you get confused later on, which I swear to you that you will, everything should be explained in the next chapter, the next chapter would be a chapter on Nero's past which should explain what he is able to do later on in the chapter, just so you know I haven't gone completely crazy.
By the way, sorry I couldn't update yesterday, I was at a baby shower. I got candy! I love candy! XD
"So here are the ground rules. Rule number one, wake up on time. Rule number two, do not question my methods. Rule number three, do not disobey me. Those are the main rules; the other ones will be made up along the remaining time that you are here." Nero said with a bored look on his face. "Here's the thing that is going to be hard on me though, Pops told me that I should not touch you… Maka is it?" he asked, but Maka and Carlo knew that he didn't care, but Maka nodded anyways. "Although, there is a catch… he didn't mention anything about not hurting this young boy." Nero said with a twisted grin as he grabbed onto his whip and flicked it in Carlo's direction.
The whip twirled around Carlo's wrist, making his wince. Nero pulled on the whip, pulling Carlo along with it, making him crash into Nero. Nero turned him around and twisted the whip around his neck. Nero slung his arm over Carlo's shoulder and held onto him tight. Carlo stayed still, knowing the consequences if he disobeys.
"One little mistake and your weapon gets what you should have been punished for. He's been through this training already, and now because of you… he's going to suffer through it once more, perhaps even more painful than the last." Nero said, tightening the whip a bit.
"Let go of him!" Maka exclaimed making a move to grab the whip.
"No!" Carlo said, wincing when the whip tightened considerably around his throat, stopping Maka before she did the stupid thing she had planned. "Think things through before doing them." Carlo managed to say, his jaw clenching to deal with the pain; he was having trouble breathing already so he tried to save as much breath as he could.
"I see what Pops meant when he said you let go. You need to think things through. Watch what'll happen to your weapon all because of your foolishness. I need to put you in your place before you start acting up against me." Nero told Maka as he pulled the whip off of Carlo's neck and pushed him in the direction of the training room.
Carlo took in deep breaths, the skin on his neck raw from the whip.
"No! Leave him alone!" Maka growled, reaching out to grab Nero's arm to stop him.
Nero froze; he turned in Maka's direction and pushed her away from him, snarling at her. "You dare touch me in such a manner?" he shouted, his booming voice making Maka flinch, Carlo's eyes widening, he had never seen him so pissed, no one had ever been so stupid to actually touch him that way. "There are things that I could do that could leave you scar-less, but they will still hurt you." Nero snarled, taking a step in Maka's direction.
"No. You were going to hurt me, not her." Carlo growled stepping in front of Maka.
Nero glared at him, but he took in a deep breath and smiled his demonic smile. "Alright then, once I'm done with you and the sun comes up… Maka is running for three hours instead of the original two hours that I had planned, there will be no beverages for her." Nero said.
Carlo glared at him but followed Nero into the training room. He turned around to see Maka. "Don't listen, put on head phones or something just… don't listen." He said calmly, but Maka knew better, the look in his eyes shouted out painful fear.
"Carlo-" Maka began but Carlo held his head up high and walked down the stairs with a determined look on his face.
Maka ran after him but he looked back at her. "Don't Maka." He warned.
"No, let her watch." Nero said standing underneath two chains that hung from the ceiling, his demonic grin stretching from ear to ear.
Carlo's jaw clenched. "I don't want her to see this." Carlo said through clenched teeth.
"She needs to watch." Nero said with a dark, yet lifeless chuckle.
Carlo looked back at Maka and frowned. "I'm sorry." He muttered and walked to stand under the two chains along with Nero, his back to Maka.
"You know the drill Carlo." Nero said, his grin turning to some sort of demonic smile.
Carlo refused to look in Maka's direction as he took off his shirt and let it fall to the floor.
Maka's breath caught in her throat as she saw all the scars on his back. Her eyes landed on the whip in Nero's hand and the scars on Carlo's back, the chains hanging from the ceiling and she connected the dots. "No!" she yelled out, running in Carlo's direction.
Nero glared at her, his hand extending in her direction.
Maka's eyes widened something that she couldn't see plowed against her and held her against the wall, knocking the breath out of her lungs. She looked up at him in shock.
"You don't know the things I'm capable of doing Maka. Control yourself." Nero growled his black eyes had turned an eerie shade of white.
Carlo closed his eyes and took deep breaths as he raised his right hand in the air. The chain circled around his arm with a clinking noise. Carlo got a good grip of it as he raised his other hand in the air, the other chain doing the same thing.
Maka watched with horror as it started.
Carlo hung his head, trying to control his breathing as the chains lifted him until his feet weren't touching the ground.
Nero's grip on the whip tightened as he started to whip it against Carlo's back. Carlo's jaw tightened, his eyes shutting tight with agony, his hold on the chains tightening with every hit on his back.
Nero wasn't satisfied with the first few hits. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated more energy on the whip instead of on what was holding Maka to the wall. He let Maka fall to the ground. She didn't feel the pain of the fall though; she was frozen in horror at what was happening in front of her.
"Carlo, last time I heard of you, you thought of women so lowly. You changed for this girl?" Now that he could concentrate more on his whip, Nero let Carlo have it. The whip slammed on top of one of Carlo's old scars and opened it up, blood pooling from the re-opened wound.
Carlo held back a scream, refusing to traumatize Maka, so he began to breathe in through his nose, trying to find his happy place as Nero began to open up his old wounds.
"Do you really think she would take your place in those chains?" Nero asked with another flick of his wrist, the whip opening up yet another wound.
Carlo sucked in a breath of pain. "I don't want her too." He managed to say through his clenched teeth.
"Are you really foolish enough to think that she cares for some low life like you?" Nero asked with another blow.
Carlo arched forward in agony, biting on his lip until he tasted blood, shaking his head at the question.
Maka was afraid to speak up, fearing that it might cause more pain on Carlo than it already has.
After minutes of this Carlo gave in a let out a scream of agony, he couldn't hold it in. The chains rattled as they loosened their grip on Carlo.
Carlo's now weak arms couldn't support him anymore and he fell to the ground, his body twitching in searing pain as blood poured out of his open wounds.
The blood dripped to the ground next to him as Carlo panted, grunting a few times in between his gasps of air.
"Get up Carlo." Nero growled.
Carlo's arms tried to support his body but they gave out underneath him and caused him to fall to the ground once more.
Nero chuckled. "Maka, look at your weapon." He said.
Maka was against the wall, tears in her eyes as she looked at her weapon. "I'm sorry Carlo, I couldn't help you." She managed to say and then looked up at the man in front of her. "What kind of human are you?" she asked, angry.
"Who ever said I was human?" he asked.
Carlo felt his eyes slowly start to close. "M-Maka." He stuttered.
Maka quickly crawled over to his side. "I'm so sorry." She said.
"Not your fault." Carlo managed to say before he passed out from the pain.
"Don't listen to him Maka, you are the reason he is here in the first place. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't be here right now." Nero told her. "This is all your fault."
A/N: Yes, Nero has special powers which, like I said, will be explained in the next chapter. X)