AngelicDragonPuppy In reply to tanoor [2008-04-28 22:05:49 +0000 UTC]
Dylan was out on his usual midnight jog, reflecting sadly on how Charlie was going to get fat if he didn't find some way to persuade her to exercise, when a small, panting voice called his name, exhausted after trying to keep up with him.
"D-Dylan!! W-wait!!"
The vampire paused and turned, blinking.
A small, sleepy-looking white raven came to an awkward landing on the ground, breathing hard.
"H-hello, Dylan, it's me, R-Raphael. Can you... tell me where Alphonse keeps his... um... collection? He took something of mine and put it there, and he won't tell me where it is so I can get it back. Please, it's really important!!"
The werewolf lied easily, although his conscience twisted painfully with guilt.
The blonde haired vampire crouched in front of the raven, smiling at him.
¨Aw, is that so?¨ But then his face turned serious with a tinge of anger.
¨I'm not stupid Raphael, the blonde hair and goofy smile means nothing.¨ He said with a voice that sent chills up Raphael's spine.
But then the vampire's expression turned back to his usual fake smile.
¨You want to get rid of that collection, eh? Well since I don't really like having it here either I guess I could tell you....¨ He said and stood up, picking something out of his pocket. It was an ordinary silver key.
¨Inside the basement there's another door that leads to a large room, he keeps them there, but don't go to the basement near the kitchen, that's not the one. The one I'm talking about is near the garage. Oh and good luck! Wouldn't want to be you if he found out!¨ He said, leaving the key on the floor and going back to his jog, his smile now with a small glint of Alphonse's own sadistic smile.
Raphael glanced at the key, then at the happily running vampire, and moaned. He didn't like this at all, and he had a very suspicious feeling that Dylan was lying to him. Oh, joy. But perhaps he could still get his answer...
Picking up the key just in case, he snapped his wings and headed for the mansion, but rather then heading for the basement, he peeked into the windows until he found the one where the red-head was sleeping. He pried open the door, turned into a very small and furry fluffite, leapt on the bed, and whispered quietly to Charlie.
"Hey, do you know where Alphonse keeps his... erm... collection? He took something of mine and hid it in there, and I really need it back."
The red-head made some sleepy noises as she moved on the bed and slowly opened her eyes, blinking few times, finally focusing on Raphael. She squealed in adoration of Raphael's cuteness and glomped him.
¨Aw! Just look at how cute and fluffy you are!¨ She said, curling up on bed and covering herself and the Dracanian with the blankets, Raphael still in her arms. It seemed that the girl wasn't quite as awake as she seemed to be.
Raphael squeaked unhappily and managed to wriggle out of Charlie's grasp. The only reason he had turned into something small and cuddly was because he had thought the girl would get angry about being woken up otherwise. Sighing once again, he tiptoed very quietly downstairs, realizing that there was nothing else to do. He made his way silently through the house until he finally found a door leading to another basement, which he quickly entered before regaining human form and heading down the steps. He squinted through the darkness, saw another door, and pulled the key out of his pocket. Still glancing about apprehensively, he took yet another defense precaution and turned into a very small, very poisonous centipede before working his way under the door, pulling the key with him so that no one else could enter until he was finished.
Meanwhile, upstairs Alphonse was glancing out of the window, thinking about many, many things. Among those things, he was thinking about how he and Raphael's family would meet again, since those reunions seemed unstoppable and he could felt that something wrong would happen soon.
Shaking his head and moving away from the window he started to walk downstairs, to his routine revision of his beloved collection, carrying his own copy of the silver key with him.
Dylan had not lied; this was Alphonse's collection, alright.
Raphael didn't hesitate, but glided over to the first jar, placed his multiple little claws against the glass, and began to recite an incantation. Yes, he did not like having to cause Alphonse pain, but he could not stand to abandon those who had died here...
And he did this for another reason, as well.
Liora was not well. Ever since Alphonse had left, she had changed. She was no longer happy and playful, but reclusive and melancholy, spending much of her time alone in the city's parks and the nature preserves outside of it. She rarely spoke, and hardly ever ate; she was more susceptible to illness and injury.
She was wasting away, dying a slow and miserable death, and Raphael could do nothing to help her. And so he would do this, and pray that, perhaps, this act of righteousness would make fate smile on her and save her life.
He finished casting the spell, and the organ inside the glass faded away; back near their home, the person who had owned it was brought to life once more. The centipede scuttled to the next container and began again.
It did not take Raphael long to resurrect every single person who had died at Alphonse's hands, but the effect it had on him was profound. This form of magic required an immense amount of energy, and before he had even finished a quarter of the room he was shaking, his body throbbing with pain as he extracted every last inch of his power for the task. When he had finished most of the collection, he was too weak to retain his morphed form and slipped back to his own human shape, but he did not falter. When the last one had been saved, he stumbled towards the door, realized he would not have enough energy to get out. His throat was parched, as if he hadn't had water for days, and he could taste his own blood. He crawled painfully behind an empty display case, hiding himself from the view of anyone who might open the door and peer in casually. He was shivering, and realized he would have to wait a few hours before he could escape. But it would be alright, he reasoned, after all, what were the chances that Alphonse would visit his collection at the exact same time he had come? He pitied the vampire, knew how important this collection had been to him, but... He would explain why he had done this later, once he had had a chance to calm down...
And that's when he heard a key in the lock, and the sound of the basement door opening.
And then Alphonse came in, looking all around the room with his eyes wide, he dropped the key to the floor and then started to look desperately for a clue of what had happened to his collection, and so he found that clue, he found Raphael.
Snarling, he advanced towards the Dracanian and pinned him against the wall.
¨Where did you put them Raphael, what have you done with them?! Answer me!!¨ He yelled at the doctor.
Raphael was too weak to explain, merely looked at Alphonse with pleading eyes.
"P-please... water..."
And Alphonse gave him something to drink, but it wasn't water.
The vampire made a quick cut on his wrist and pressed it hard against Raphael's mouth, making him drink even when the Dracanian tried to move away.
After a few seconds he took his arm away from him and then used it to pin the werewolf to the wall again.
¨Tell me now Raphael, don't make me start another one with you as the first subject.¨ He growled, warning him.
Raphael lowered his eyes, trembling.
"I... I revived them."
Alphonse let go of Raphael and dropped to the floor on his knees, his eyes seemed lost.
¨Raphael you idiot, you stupid idiot, you don't know what you've done.¨ He started babbling.
¨You brought them back, hordes of murderers, bastards, maniacs, hunters...¨ He whispered and trailed off, then looked Raphael in the eyes again.
¨You've brought back every single person that has tried to kill me, even the ones who did.¨ He whispered weakly.
"I am sorry, but... It is not our place to be the final judges, Alphonse. Murdering someone because they are a murderer... how does that make you any different? They will be imprisoned, and then, maybe, they can be changed; at the least, they won't be able to hurt anyone anymore." Raphael said sadly. For a second, he reached forward to lay a hand on the vampire's shoulder, then hesitated, decided against it, and walked towards the door.
But before Raphael could walk out Alphonse tackled him to the ground and wrapped a clawed hand around his neck, piercing his skin slightly.
¨I hate you.¨
It was merely a whisper and his voice didn't seem mad, no, it was empty, cold and emotionless and so were the vampire's eyes as he looked down at Raphael. He gripped more tightly, cutting off the werewolf's air and piercing even deeper.
Raphael let out a small cry of pain and wrapped his hands around the vampire's, trying to pull them off.
"S-stop... even if you hate them, what about their families? Parents, maybe s-sisters like your own? Do they d-deserve to suffer, too? If you had truly d-died, your family would have been devastated, do you want to m-make others endure the same fate?" He choked out, gasping for air.
¨I don't care!¨ He shouted and lifted one of his arms in that position that Raphael knew all too well. He was preparing to kill him.
Alphonse closed his eyes after aiming at Raphael's chest, not wanting to see his face when it happened and flexed his claws.
At that moment, however, something slammed into Alphonse, knocking him to his side, and a shrill, enraged voice screamed at him.
"Damn you, it wasn't enough to kill my sister, now you have to try and take my brother too?! I'll kill you, and your stupid friends, and your damn family, my brother should have never resurrected them, you filthy, ungrateful bastard!!"
Ezekiel had followed his brother, finding it annoying how he could be both so smart and so stupid at the same time, and had only taken a second to shift into a small, jet black dragon before attacking.
He lunged for the vampire's neck, jaws gaping, as his clawed paws dug into Alphonse's chest.
Alphonse looked up at Ezekiel, that same lost expression in his eyes, so unlike Alphonse who would normally glare up at him angrily and bare his fangs hissing.
¨Kill me if you can, because I would kill you if I could.¨ He said, his voice matching his expression and wrapped his hands around Ezekiel's paws.
But suddenly, his eyes changed, and they seemed concerned and confused at the same time.
¨She's....dead?!¨
"Not yet, but she will be soon!! Ever since you left, she's been dying, starving herself and living alone, seeing no one, but why do you care, you felt nothing for her!!"
Ezekiel screamed in hatred and lashed at Alphonse's stomach with his barbed tail, ripping flesh but only making a shallow incision.
He returned to that cold demeanor and sighed slowly. The pain didn't seem to bother him while he was in this weird trance that made him emotionless.
¨I explained to her, but she didn't listen, wanted me to kill her but I couldn't..... should have, she begged after all.¨
"Yes, you should have, and then we could have killed you then." Ezekiel agreed, and then he whipped his head forward and sank his fangs into Alphonse's neck.
And then Alphonse's hand went right through the Drake's stomach, piercing in as he would have done with Raphael's chest and his other hand took a hold of Ezekiel's head, pulling it away from his neck.
¨But I don't want to die.¨ He whispered softly and twisted his hand inside the insides of the Drake, piercing several organs with his claws.
Ezekiel screamed in agony, paws becoming hands and feet once more, wings fading, scales disappearing, and he collapsed, unable to pull away from Alphonse when he had his hand inside of him.
"No, please, don't hurt him, I'm the one you want!!" Raphael screamed, unable to move from where he lay on the floor, exhausted, neck bleeding.
Alphonse turned things around with this, and he began to be the one hurting Ezekiel, even as the wounds he had inflicted were still bleeding.
¨I'll start over again....¨ He whispered, cold grey eyes looking down at his prey while his hand cut here and there, not really knowing what, he only knew that he had to cause pain in any way possible.
He removed his hand, taking with him a few pieces of flesh that couldn't be identified as organs and placed them next to him.
Ezekiel screamed again and as soon as the vampire had withdrawn his claws from his belly he rolled onto his stomach and shrunk against the floor, shaking, the only defense he had. A second later Raphael was next to him, ignoring the stabbing pain that came with every movement, and he pulled his young brother to his side, placed himself between Alphonse and his prey. He looked up at the vampire, eyes pleading, as he gently stroked Ezekiel's hair, unable to heal him when he was so weak.
"Don't hurt him, take me instead..."
Without saying a word Alphonse grabbed Raphael and threw him away, then pulled Ezekiel towards him and went to work on him again, still under that trance.
It had been so long since this kind of thing had happened, it had actually happened only three times with this time. When he killed those three boys who stabbed him, when he killed his family and now.
¨I won't have to worry anymore..... I'll kill you all.¨ He muttered.
The vampire pulled out another chunk of mutilated organs and placed them again at his side.
He wrapped a hand around Ezekiel's neck, cutting off his air.
¨I'll kill you......I saved you.¨ He said, a glint of his old self coming back to his eyes but he still didn't stop.
He made another incision next to that one, right were his ribs started but this wasn't so deep, it was one between the skin and the muscle and he shoved his hand inside softly, and slipped his hand between two of the ribs, making them move apart slightly.
¨But not this time.¨ He whispered as his fingers slightly touched the heart of the Drake.
Ezekiel was already close to death, a red haze emerging with every breath he managed to choke out, his body convulsing. Raphael screamed in despair and once again tried to force his way between Alphonse and Ezekiel, but the vampire merely grunted and tossed him aside once again. The werewolf closed his eyes, sobbing, and moved as close to his brother as he could, taking his hand and gently stroking his hair with the other.
"Shh, it's o-okay, it's almost o-over..."
But suddenly the vampire stopped, all movement gone, and he looked like some kind of marionette, who's owner had just stopped using it.
His face slowly went back to normal and when he was finally out of the trance he slipped his hand out slowly and jumped to his feet.
Alphonse walked backwards, eyes fixed on Ezekiel and Raphael, eyes wide.
¨Not again.¨ He whispered weakly as the images of what had just happened flooded his mind.
Raphael lunged towards Ezekiel, pressed his hands over the wound, trying to stop the blood loss.
"It's okay, it's going to be..."
There was no response, and slowly, very slowly, Raphael's face assumed the blank expression Alphonse's had so recently worn, and he gently laid a hand on his brother's neck, feeling for the slow pulse that the vampire possessed.
There wasn't one.
"N-no... No!!!"
He instantly placed his hands on Ezekiel's chest, directly over his heart, and began pushing down in time with his own beating one, his movements growing more violent as his actions failed to produce the desired response; the small Drake's emerald eyes were now quite dim. Finally, the werewolf stopped, shaking.
"He's... he's dead. And it's my fault... If I hadn't tried to s-save you when you didn't want to be saved, t-then..."
He was unable to say anything further, but pulled the limp body into a tender embrace and buried his face in his brother's hair, sobbing.
Alphonse just stood there, watching the two brothers.
Raphael did nothing for several minutes but hold his brother's corpse, and then he gently set him on the ground, shaking; then he realized Alphonse was watching. His lips twitched into an insane grin, and he laughed hysterically.
"What, what are you waiting for? You think I can bring him back? No, no I can't. Drakes and Dracanians are much more difficult to resurrect then mortals, because they have such pure souls. No, I'm afraid I don't have that power, and I probably never will. But you should be happy, right? I mean, he's dead, and Liora will probably have a heart attack and die once she learns what happened, and you're going to finish me off now, right? Right?!"
He looked at Ezekiel's dead body for a while and then glanced up at Raphael.
¨Don't worry Raphael, I bet someone will come here and kill me too, and then everything will be fine, won't it?¨ He whispered and then turned around to leave.
"Come back, you coward!! Finish what you've started, damn you!!" Raphael screamed, his face contorted with anguish.
The vampire's hands curled into fists and he stood still, not turning around.
¨Shut up Raphael! Just shut up! You knew this would happen if you kept on pushing, and I warned you, I did since day one, but you didn't listen, right? Of course not! Because you wanted to prove me wrong! Well I guess I'm not wrong after all, I guess you finally have something to prove that I was right all this time!¨ He turned around towards Raphael, his face was a mixture of anger and sorrow.
¨And you know what?! I won't kill you! And it's not because I give a damn about you, it's because it makes me insanely happy to kill your brother, to have your sister dying because of me and to see you break down! Just look at me! Can't you see how damn happy I am!? I must be the happiest man on earth!!¨
Alphonse shouted at him, but there was no happiness in his voice or face, there was everything but that.
"Yes, you're nothing but a sadist, a poor, tragic little sadist, but I won't give you the satisfaction of watching me wither away, I'm afraid." Raphael said, his voice a calm monotone. Without waiting for the vampire to respond, he picked up an empty jar and smashed it against the ground, then picked up the largest shard of glass and placed the tip to his chest, over his own heart.
"You can use our corpses to start your next collection, you should enjoy that. Remember, it's 'Raphael von Draken,' not 'Raphy.'"
In a second, Alphonse was in front of Raphael, clutching the glass with his own bare hands and pulling it away from Raphael's chest.
¨You idiot, your brother would kick your ass if he were still alive.¨ He said but not as a joke.
¨Don't throw your life away, he hated people like that.¨ He whispered.
Raphael snarled angrily.
"Silence!! Don't talk like you know him!!"
And then, without warning, he threw himself at Alphonse, screaming hatefully. He knew the vampire would do anything to survive, and so he would make Alphonse kill him.
¨I didn't know him, but you are his brother, you should know that better than anyone!¨
Alphonse shoved Raphael off of him and scrambled to his feet.
¨Would you really kill me Raphael? If I don't fight back, will you?¨ He said, and prepared to move out of the way if the doctor lunged for him again.
A harsh bark of laughter escaped the werewolf, and his eyes glittered with insanity.
"Yes, yes I will, not because I want you to die, but because you won't let me die otherwise."
And then the doctor's form started to blur, and seconds later, he was a dragon. He was, however, not the gentle looking white one with the alabaster feathers, but rather a dark, inky black creature with bat wings and ruby eyes. Blood dripped freely down his scales, making his body glisten even in the lightless murk of the basement.
¨I don't want to Raphael, I really don't.¨ Alphonse whispered sadly and prepared to receive Raphael's first move.
The dragon's eyes narrowed, head moving slowly back and forth like a snake's, and then he screamed, instantly shattering every bottle in the place, and leapt forward through the storm of glass, spreading his wings to protect Alphonse and Ezekiel's body, and laughing in delight as the shards drove into his body, which he had purposefully left soft so that the end would come quicker. When the hailstorm of fragments had ended, he dropped to the ground and reverted to his own form, his body lacerated nearly beyond recognition and covered in blood.
¨Raphael.....¨ He whispered softly and walked towards the werewolf, crouching next to him, and gently began to pull the shards out. ¨This is just stupid, you're not helping anyone with this.¨ He whispered, not caring if the doctor heard him.
Right then, the other blonde vampire came in, his expression grew worried as he saw what was inside the room. He walked towards Alphonse and crouched next to him, looking down at Raphael, who's breathing was shallow, but it was there.
¨Do you want me to bring the blood?¨ He asked softly and Alphonse nodded slowly, still taking the shards out.
¨Bring all the equipment, quick.¨ He said and Dylan departed to find what he had been requested.
Meanwhile, Alphonse continued to take out the glass, when his eyes darted towards Ezekiel's limp body.
Ezekiel was still unmoving on the floor, he would have to take care of the body later. He turned his attention back to Raphael and right then Dylan came back with the blood and the suitcase. He pretty much repeated what he had done with Ezekiel when Bane had attacked them and a sad memory came back to mind. Liora hugging him for saving Ezekiel, who now lay dead next to them because of him.
When he had finally finished, he and Dylan took the Dracanian to a guest room, one with no windows.
¨What about the other one? He's dead, isn't he?¨ Dylan asked as his eyes rested on Alphonse who nodded slowly. ¨We'll burn the body later.¨ He whispered.
At that moment, a broken cry of loss echoed from the room where they had placed Raphael, and it then fell eerily silent.
Inside, Raphael wasted no time in going for his own wrists with his canines, determined to end this, he couldn't live with the pain of losing his brother.
Alphonse quickly stormed inside and pinned Raphael to the bed, preventing him from hurting himself more than what he already had.
Dylan came in after him with a rope in his hands, it seemed he was expecting this after Alphonse had told him what happened, they tied him up quickly, using the rope to strap the werewolf to the bed and Alphonse tended to his new wounds.
¨Stop it Raphael, you can kill yourself once you get to your home.¨ He growled impatiently.
Raphael hissed and struggled against his bonds, glaring at Alphonse.
"Let me go, then, I'll go out into the forest before I kill myself, damn you!!"
Alphonse didn't respond, instead he dragged over a chair that was inside the room and placed it in front of the bed. He sat on it and glared directly at Raphael and talked, but to Dylan rather than the doctor.
¨Dylan, keep the girl away from here, lock the basement and don't touch anything, I'll take care of that myself.¨ He said and the vampire, who had been standing at the door, nodded without saying a word and walked out of there, closing the door behind himself.
¨I won't let you go Raphael, because right now you aren't thinking, so until you get rid of your angst, I'll be sitting here, making sure that you won't cut your wrists again.¨ He whispered calmly.
This idea, apparently, did not please Raphael.
He thrashed violently against the restraints, swearing and abusing Alphonse in every way he could think of, trying to provoke him to wrath.
"Stupid bitch, worthless maggot, every one of your collection, well, when I get out of here, I'll make sure they all come back here!! And then, I'll go and murder your pathetic family myself, put them back in hell where they belong, you idiotic, cowardly little girl!!"
Alphonse twitched slightly, but knew better than to hurt Raphael for that.
¨That's enough Raphael, don't make me bring the adhesive tape, after all, we both know you are just trying to make me kill you, and I won't.¨ He said calmly, not letting the werewolf's words get to him.
¨So while we are here, is there anything you would like to talk about?¨
"Yes, let's talk about how I'm going to kill your s-sister..." He started, but then he closed his eyes and his voice trailed off. He turned his head, shaking with the intensity of his anguish and whispering his brother's name. Every memory he had of the time he had spent with Ezekiel surged painfully through his mind, flooded him with misery, and he snarled and bit his lip until he drew blood, trying to drown out the images.
"P-please... please kill me..."
Alphonse sighed.
¨If I kill you, what do you think would happen to everyone else? I bet half of them would want to end their lives too.¨ He said sadly.
¨You still have people you love and that love you, do you plan on bringing them more pain with your own death? Or you just don't care?¨ He asked and closed his eyes.
"N-no... I don't... want to hurt them..."
And then, the sorrow was driven out of his face and replaced by hatred as his eyes snapped open, narrowing into slits.
"But I do want to hurt you... murderer."
Despite Alphonse's commands to keep everyone out of the basement, they weren't entirely being followed. A dark form slunk out of the shadows, tongues flicking through the musty air, and grinned down at Ezekiel's body.
"Not dead, no. Coma. If only he'd waited, he would have felt a pulssse... But it'sss okay. I need you for my own devicesss..."
Alphonse sighed again.
¨I would find it weird if you didn't....¨ He said softly, looking back at Raphael, his grey eyes cold as always but not quite uncaring.
¨Welcome to the club.¨ He whispered in a sad mockery of himself.
"Stop it, you bastard!! Stop acting like your sad, like you actually care!! Your a murdering, torturing corpse who doesn't give a shit about anyone but yourself and your own miserable life, you wretched worm!!"
Raphael bared his teeth, hissing, and a layer of ebony scales began forming on his skin.
Raphael was literally shaking with fury, eyes slits, teeth growing into fangs, but then he let out a low moan and sunk back into the bed, the anger gone once again. He had never been able to truly hate someone, and even after everything Alphonse had done, he was no exception. "What I said... it isn't true. I've seen the goodness in you, I've seen you make sacrifices to make others happy." He whispered mournfully, and then closed his eyes again.
Alphonse closed his eyes too.
¨It's easier if you hate me Raphael, it hurts less that way, believe me.....¨ He said and trailed off. He opened his eyes again to look at Raphael.
¨I'll probably die soon anyways, the rest of your family will come here to end my life, so I don't really need you to care for me, it won't change a thing in the end.¨
"...No. They will not, because of two things. The first is that I will tell them not too, as I think it's what Ezekiel would have wanted. And the second is that they care for you more then you know."
Alphonse raised his eyebrows. ¨What Ezekiel would have wanted.....¨ He whispered slowly as if trying to understand.
¨No offense Raphael, but I think you are kind of wrong about that, since the last thing he did to me was try to rip my head off.¨ He said, earning an angry look from the werewolf on the bed.
Then his face changed again, it was now hard to read.
¨About Liora......I didn't want this to happen, I tried to explain, because I just can't do what she asked....¨ He trailed off and then spoke again.
¨But I even offered to stay!.....I mean, what else was I supposed to do?¨
"...I don't know about Liora. Perhaps... if you told her you did care about her, but not in that way... If you said it was important to you that she lived... then she would recover. But, as I said, I think it's what Ezekiel would have wanted. You've been gone for a while, so you wouldn't know, but... Seth and Asmodeus daily take turns watching your family so that they aren't attacked, although they could leave it to the soldiers. Bane is teaching Simon to sharpen his nails like yours... Although that's probably not a good sign... But I'm sure there's emotion there, albeit in an odd fashion. Liora writes songs about you, although she denies it, but who else would she write love songs about? Me, I always keep an eye out for medicines that are extra effective at healing vampires, in case you might need them. And Ezekiel... he performs... He used to perform ceremonies for your happiness. I saw him burning herbs on the altar one day and saying your name, and he said he was putting a curse on you, but he wasn't using the right spices, and he doesn't make mistakes."
And Alphonse gave a big long suffering sigh at that.
¨And look what it has caused you, I think the only one who has benefited from me is Bane, who isn't as crazy as before, but still not sane enough. Really all of you are just throwing your lives away for me, and I'm not really worth it.¨ He said and stood up from the chair, walked towards the bed and crouched next to Raphael.
¨If I take the ropes off now, would you try to kill yourself again?¨
"No." Raphael lied.
¨Rrrright! Well, just in case you are lying I'll be staying here with you twenty-four seven, literally.¨ The vampire gave Raphael a sweet smile and then took off the first one of the ropes, one of his hands, and bandaged it since it got cut with the friction of Raphael trying to break free.
Raphael said nothing, just frowned and waited for Alphonse to release him, he would run for it then.
¨There!¨ He said as he got rid of all the ropes, all but one. Raphael's left arm was still tied to the bed and Alphonse walked back to his place, which was between the bed and the door.
¨Now just rest a bit, I used my own medicine on you so you should be all right by tomorrow.¨
Raphael said nothing, just growled, and his ears laid flat.
~~~
The demon started forward again, and the next half hour was spent closing the distance between them and the dark city ahead. Ezekiel fell asleep on the way, his breathing becoming gentle, even, and both his brothers smiled tiredly, praying that they would be able to bring him home safely. When they finally reached their destination, it was an unpleasant one; it was as scattered with broken corpses as the field, with rotting trash intermingled with the dead, the stench unbearable. Several of the city’s twisted residents glanced at them, but every single monster in the vincity immediately bowed in submission as they saw their military general walking through the streets. Walking quickly, Lucian led them to a large, clean manor that was guarded by several cerberi, who growled as they approached but then let out low whines and slunk back as they recognized Mariette. The demon shoved open the doors, holding it open for Seth and then slamming it shut on Alphonse, who muttered about exactly how he’d torture the demon as he wrestled the heavy door open and slipped inside. The house was dark, made of hard woods in deep resin stains and with blood-colored carpets and curtains, which had most likely been dyed using the precious red liquid. Much of the furniture was made of brilliant white bone, mainly ones that Alphonse recognized as human, and the pillows and lamp shades were made of bleached skin. At first, Seth started towards the bedroom to set Ezekiel down, but then he paused and glanced at Lucian, who growled and nodded, making his brother scowl, turn, and set the young boy down on a nearby couch instead, knowing that that room was the very one where Ezekiel had nearly been raped. Lucian dropped into a nearby chair and Seth and Alphonse followed suit, and then the demon leaned forward.
“Alright, Seth, you and Ezekiel are going to stay here, Mariette says she was going to bring Alphonse to see Liora.”
”…Wouldn’t she have brought Ezekiel along as her… pet?” Seth spat angrily, and Lucian frowned.
“Yes, but… I’ll just say he’s sick. She cares too much for him to drag him around when he’s ill, and the devils know that. Anyway, alley cat, you’ll just have to endure whatever they want to do with you… and I imagine it’ll be unpleasant…” Lucian purred, smiling, but a glance from his brother made the expression fade.
“…But just until I can sneak around, find whoever’s in charge, and dispose of them. Things will probably start happening pretty quickly after that, so I’ll teleport us and Liora back here, we’ll grab Seth and Zeke, and then we’ll run for the back exit out of this place. Mariette says the front one will be guarded as soon as we kill the devil in charge of Liora’s captivity, but she says it’ll take longer for them to reach the other one, which will give us just the time we need. Also, it opens out pretty close to the city, which explains how the devil’s army got so close to us without noticing… alright, let’s get going-“ Suddenly Lucian paused, and his face lit up in a delighted grin, and Alphonse turned to see what he was looking at. It was a small boy, only in his middle teens and dressed only in a tattered pair of pants, standing in the doorway leading from one of the rooms and staring at them, wide eyed. As soon as he saw their gaze on him, he let out a small cry of misery and turned to run, but Lucian lunged forward, grabbing him by the neck and pulling him backwards, purring.
“How convenient… I was feeling hungry.” He hissed joyfully, and the slave let out a small sob of terror while Seth turned away, his expression neutral.
Alphonse scoffed and glared at the demon. Seriously, what a bully.
¨Hey demon, you're supposed to be one of the 'good' guys, remember?¨ He muttered, making a gesture with his fingers to emphasize on the 'good' part.
“Actually, that would be the Dracanians… my kind has always followed a darker path. Besides, he’s just a mortal…” The demon purred, pinning his captive against the wall and letting his eyes roam slowly over the trembling form, trying to pick out where the juiciest muscle would be.
Alphonse rolled his eyes and merely stayed in his chair, after all, he didn't care at all about the kid....but thinking about it better...hadn't the demon messed up quite a few of his torture sessions? Yes, indeedy. And so, after reaching this conclusion, Alphonse stood up, grabbing his chair with him and used it to knock the demon away from the kid.
¨That's payback for calling me a kitty and interrupting my fun all those times.¨
Lucian snarled, but before he could attempt to snatch his victim back, Ezekiel stirred slightly, then gazed up at his brother with wide, sad eyes.
“-please… don’t hurt him…” He said softly, pleading, and Lucian groaned, walking away from the slave, who sunk to the ground, shuddering in relief. Then the demon grabbed Alphonse by the arm and started pulling him along towards the door, growling angrily.
Alphonse merely left himself get dragged away while he smirked happily.
Lucian obviously knew where they were going; they headed towards a large building made of ebony, which looked as if was some type of detention camp or prison, if the many guards surrounding it were anything to go by. Several of the soldiers checked ‘Mariette’s’ I.D., and then the two were allowed to pass. They reached the center building and walked quickly through several dark hallways, finally reaching a room that looked like a center of command, filled with electronic equipment, computers, and busily working devils. The northern wall was entirely composed of barred windows, which looked out over two rooms, one lit and the other dark. Bakkor was standing in front of them, and as the two entered he turned, smiling. Alphonse was roughly pulled away by a burly, red-skinned demon standing nearby, who shoved him through a doorway and into the lit room, locking the door behind him. The vampire turned to watch what was going on in the room beyond. Bakkor was approaching Lucian, who was fidgeting and looking extremely uncomfortable, and then he heard what the devil was saying.
“Come now, wife, aren’t you going to give me a kiss in honor of our victory?”
It took all of Alphonse's will not to burst into a laughing fit right then and there as he heard that, but in his mind he enjoyed himself as he planned many ways to bug the demon for the rest of his life if he did kiss Bakkor.
Lucian gulped.
“I’m sick, Bakkor, you’d best not… My new little toy had a fever, and he passed it on to me when I played with him.” He improvised quickly, coughing into his hand, and Bakkor sighed.
“Very well…” He turned away from Mariette, looked at Alphonse, and wasted no time in explaining what he was doing.
“Ever since you stopped killing and fell in love with an angel, Shroud, we have been worried. You see, several prophecies have been made concerning a white-winged darkness bringing about our end, and while we still believe this refers to Seth, you are being to fill the requirements… So now we will do all in our power to destroy what little purity you possess, by hurting you through your loved one’s pain.” He said, smiling wickedly, and it was all the demon behind him could do to keep from snarling in anger.
“Now, boy, we will give you a choice…” Bakkor hissed joyfully.
“You can save her life by turning her, or you can let her die. You see, we’ve injected her with several rather potent diseases, and I imagine she won’t last long if they aren’t stopped… and the only way they can be stopped is if she’s dead.” All of the devils snickered, and then slowly an opening appeared in the wall before him, leading into the darkened room, and Alphonse could smell her, the scent of strawberries, and he lunged forward, into the blackness.
She was lying in a corner, her skin fevered and covered with sweat, her eyes closed and her breathing coming only with effort. Her leg was lying at an odd angle, twisted, obviously broken, and her side was covered in blood, showing that several of her ribs were broken as well. She made no sign that she noticed his presence as he ran to her, desperately calling her name, and it was obvious from the scarlet seeping from her body and how pale and agonized her face was that she did not have long to live.
When he finally reached her he stopped, eyes wide as he took in all of what had been done to her, he quickly crouched next to her and gently took her in his arms, trying his best not to cause any more pain to her which was quite a task with all of her injuries. When he finally managed to hold her in his arms he buried her head under his neck, his mind racing.
There must be something wrong with this, some kind of hidden trick but right now there was no time, she was dying right here and right now, in his arms and he just went with the option that seemed to be the right one. He roughly bit his own wrist, leaving a deep cut and the blood trickled out freely and then, not wasting any precious time he pressed it to her parted lips, letting the blood slip in.
Liora shuddered in his arms, a weak, choked whimper escaping her, and she turned away from his bleeding wrist, coughing, unable to swallow the blood and not wanting it, the taste acidic and bitter on her parched lips. Before he could try to help her drink, her eyes flickered, and then her eyes opened and she gazed up at him, her eyes unfocused, dim. Slowly recognition dawned in her eyes, and let out a small cry of misery.
“A-Alphonse… n-no…. You shouldn’t have come, you should have stayed s-safe… If you are hurt because of m-me…”
Before Alphonse could speak, before he could comfort her, a roar of pure hatred rang out from the room the devils were in, and Lucian lunged forward, going for Bakkor’s throat.
What followed was brief and brutal; the devil did not even turn from the dying Liora and her lover, but merely uttered a word, and instantly Lucian was ripped out of Mariette, the woman sinking to the floor and panting as the demon was slammed against the wall, snarling, scales instantly spreading across his body; but then he stiffened, his hands curling around his own throat as if trying to pry someone off of him, and he sunk to his knees, breathing ragged, glaring defiantly up at the devil, who chuckled.
“It would be so easy to kill you, to rupture your heart… Your game was over as soon as my wife refused to kiss me, my wife who would think nothing of causing me pain by giving me a sickness. But I think I’ll let you live… for a while, anyway.” The devil purred, stepping forward and towering over the demon, who obviously could not move and was barely breathing.
“How amusing… you call yourself the Demon King, but you’re not a demon at all. You’re a daemon… a guardian. You pretend you don’t care, that you are immune, but you’re just as weak as the rest… You’d gladly give your life to protect those two, wouldn’t you? And not just your sister, but the boy as well… I can see it in your eyes, a feeling of connection with him, almost as if you regard him as brother… you really do care, don’t you?”
“Ummm… What have you been smoking, devil? I hate that little hoe!” Lucian choked, eyes lowered, but the devil merely laughed. “If that’s the case… then I’m sure you won’t mind if we kill him…?” Bakkor purred, his fingers moving towards a button on one of the computer keyboards, and Lucian closed his eyes.
“S-stop… Fine, I care about him. Happy now?” He snarled angrily. The devil laughed.
“You’ll make a wonderful skinner… But come now, open your eyes. You don’t want to miss this, do you? The moment when your sister is turned into a vampire? I’m sure she’ll enjoy it… having to live by drinking away the life of others, by inflicting pain. Having to stay out of the light she so loves, being called monster by the mortals she tries to save, being hated, hunted… And, of course, there’s the pain of the transformation itself…” The devil purred, and Lucian’s head bowed in defeat.
Alphonse let out a hiss, their plans had obviously failed but he immediately turned to Liora when she shivered as a wave of pain washed over her body. He frowned and held her closer.
"Liora, don't worry about me! You're dying, I can't heal you and you'll die, there's only one way and it's turning you-I know you would have to drink blood but I'll give you my own every time you feel hungry so you won't have to hurt anyone-and you can still see the sun in your realm!" He said in one quick breath, growing desperate to convince her.
"But please Liora, don't leave me, don't go away....just stay....just drink." He whispered softly and proffered his wrist to her again, waiting for her to make a decision.
Liora’s expression softened, and she smiled weakly. “I already told you… I w-wanted this, didn’t I?” She whispered, and then she sucked weakly at his wrist, barely able to drink but managing to choke down the glinting red liquid in small sips.
Alphonse closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair, taking in her scent once again.
"Thank you....for staying with me…" He whispered softly, eyes half open.
Liora smiled softly.
“Y-you’re welc-“
And then it was cut off, and she whimpered.
“It h-hurts…”
Alphonse frowned.
"Don't worry, it'll be over soon." He said softly and carefully moved her leg back to a more natural position.
The pain started to grow and he buried her head in his neack, stroking her back soothingly, but even as the pain of death itself took over her body, all and each of her wounds also began healing, her bones mended and the bacteria and other viruses in her system died as the pain grew.
The agony was, if anything, more intense then the torture Liora had endured at the hands of the devils, her back arching in agony as the pain began to reach its peak, low moans of anguish tearing from her as she writhed weakly in Alphonse’s hold, sobbing into his neck. The feeling was like being burned alive, as if every nerve in her body had been set on fire, and as her teeth began to grow into fangs and her heart began lurching wildly, she screamed in sheer excruciation, and Lucian’s howl of rage intermingled with her cry into a song of suffering.
Alphonse did his best to comfort her, to make this more bearable, even if he could do nothing for the physical pain, he knew this would have been even worse if she had been alone, if she had been left behind at her own luck, lying on the cold floor and writhing in agony, not knowing when it would stop.
Her screams hurt him like anything else and he wanted to tear the pain away from her and take it himself, but even when he couldn't at least she wouldn't leave.
Slowly, the pain started to vanish, the waves of suffering retreating.
Liora calmed in his arms and buried her head in his chest as her shaking lessened, her breathing becoming calm, the agony fading with her heartbeats.
“I love you, A-Alphonse…” She whispered, and he gently stroked her hair, kissing her lightly on the forehead.
“I love you too, Liora-“
“How touching. I’ll try not to get sick with the irony of it all.” Bakkor chuckled warmly, eyes glittering with malice.
“You see, we’re just going to take her away from you and torture her again, and now, thanks to you, she’ll last much longer before we butcher her like the stupid little animal she is.”
Alphonse narrowed his eyes and growled, slowly releasing Liora and moving in front of her, claws flexed.
"I won't let you."
The devil’s grin merely widened, and a moment later everything flickered, and Alphonse suddenly felt numb, detached, like he was watching a movie rather then being a part of it. He was dimly aware of walking away from Liora, and his mind snapped awake then, knowing this was wrong, and he half-twisted around, fighting, his mind raging against Bakkor’s control. Liora whimpered, trying to rise but collapsing back to her belly, still too weak to stand, and a moment later he stumbled backwards, over the threshold and back into his own room, and the door that led to Liora once again snapped shut; and then he regained control in time to hear the devil’s amused laughter.
The vampire's eyes opened wide and he pounded at the door, tried to break it but it was all useless.
"No!!"
He turned to Bakkor, snarling.
"What did you do?" He hissed.
Bakkor sneered.
“I merely exerted my authority over the lesser creatures of the night… You see, as Lucifer’s son, I think I am in position to control weakling such as you.” He said, and then he turned to Liora.
“…Even if we torture you, you won’t feel the pain anymore, or the fear, will you? Not with your precious ‘angel’ so close… He makes you feel protected, safe… So I suppose we’ll just dispose of you.” He said, smiling wickedly and licking his lips as he moved to one of the computers. The wall separating the two slowly turned to glass, and Liora wriggled her way forward, laid a hand sadly against the glass.
“A-Alphonse… promise me that… whatever happens… You’ll live, you’ll escape…” She murmured, eyes pleading.
“romise me, and I promise… that no matter what happens, no matter what you may see… I will come back to you. Always, and forever…” She whispered, and then the flames began licking along the far side of the room, and she shuddered as the waves of heat began to wash over her body, the fire slowly beginning to creep forward, and Lucian twisted towards the devil, begging.
“S-stop… I’ll do anything, just d-don’t hurt h-her!!”
“Hm… no thanks…” Bakkor purred, eyes fixed on the scene below with a smile of pure sadistic glee forming on his lips.
Alphonse punched the glass furiously but it wouldn't budge.
"No! Let her go damn it! Leave her out of this!!" He shouted at the devil, but not turning to look at him because his eyes remained on Liora's.
He moved away and then ran forward, crashing his entire body against it but it just wouldn't budge and the only result was that his side throbbed with pain but he tried again repeatedly, the flames growing nearer and nearer to Liora and she let out a low whimper, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again to look at him.
"Please Alphonse... p-promise me..." She started and he moved his hand on the other side of the glass, placing it right where hers was.
"I promise, I promise!" He said, looking around, trying to find a way to get her out but finding none.
He glanced back at her, eyes desperate.
"Please hold on, please...." He said pleadingly.
“I will… I’ll find a way back to you, I promise…” She whispered, pressing against the glass, wincing as a stray finger of flame brushed across her leg, biting down the cry of pain so that she wouldn’t hurt him further.
Bakkor snickered.
“Come now, I’m doing you a favor! Love is for the weak, for the stupid, and you’re not either of those things, are you, Shroud? Won’t it be nice to be able to get back to killing, back to not having to worry about a clumy little girl who’s getting in trouble all the time? And I’m also teaching you a valuable lesson about being a sadist… Just like there is puppy love, I suppose there is kitten sadism. You see, boy, cutting people open is all well and good, but the best way to create agony… the way to make someone endure truly unbearable pain… Is to take to lovers and only kill one, slowly, while the other watches, all the while explaining to the one you will let live exactly how it is their fault that their precious companion is about to die…”
“S-stop!!” Liora cried, pleading, not for the devil to let her go, but for him to stop tormenting Alphonse, her own pain irrelevant to her at the moment. Bakkor licked his lips and grinned broadly.
“And, of course, it is all your fault, isn’t it, Shroud? You are a very selfish little sadist… Instead of going and living like an animal once you were turned, you tried to pretend you weren’t a monster, you tried to return home, and that resulted in your family’s unfortunate deaths, didn’t it? And even though you know very well how unhealthy your presence is for Liora, you stayed with her, and now she’s going to die, too, and it’s all because of you…” He purred, and then Liora shook her head, desperately pressing against the wall that divided them.
“He lies, Alphonse. This is the path I chose… this is what I wanted…” She said softly, scarlet tears falling quietly to the floor.
“And just like your family came back… I will be with you, and return to you, always…”
Suddenly, there was a flash of crimson against the window that separated their rooms from the devil’s, but Alphonse’s eyes remained locked on Liora’s, and he only vaguely saw what was happening on the edges of his field of vision. Lucian had managed to wrench out of Bakkor’s control and attacked the devil, burying his teeth in his throat, and the devil snarled in vexation; before he could throw the demon off, however, Lucian changed tactics, knowing that killing Bakkor wouldn’t stop the flames, and he struck at the machinery, ignoring the pain as the electricity surged through his body, as half a dozen weapons buried themselves in his back and the other devils in the room swarmed around him. The fire continued to advance though, moving eagerly now, and he roared in fury, pulling away from the computers and launching himself at the bars and thick glass separating him from his sister, clawing desperately, hopelessly.
“I love you, Alphonse…” Liora whispered softly, turning her face away so that he wouldn’t see the terror there, or the agony as she was roasted alive, and a moment later the flames soared upwards, engulfing the entire room, turning Liora into a black silhouette against the dazzling blaze for a moment before she disappeared into the fire.
She supposed she should have screamed, as the inferno consumed her, but she did not want to cause him pain, and so she remained silent.
And then it was over. The fire died down, the roar from before turning into a dull crackling sound, that of an innocent campfire, before it faded away entirely, and where Liora had been moments before, there was nothing but a pile of ashes, still smoldering gently in the warmth of the room, and slowly, mockingly, the door that led to her room opened once more.
Before the door opened entirely, Alphonse had already scrambled in, eyes quickly scanning the whole room, looking for her because he just couldn't believe she was gone, or rather, didn't want to believe she was gone and now he was alone. But he didn't find her no matter how much he looked for her, and slowly, his eyes finally rested on the pile of ashes that lay on the floor instead of Liora. He staggered forward and as he reached them he fell on his knees in front of them, staying like that, not daring to touch them because they weren't mean to be touched.
Then they turned red, no, everything turned red as he watched them and his throat became sore for some reason, his breathing ragged.
Alphonse blinked and he felt something cold sliding down his cheeks, falling to the floor with a soft splash. His sides began to shake and a croaked sound escaped his lips without him wanting it to. Alphonse moved a hand towards his eyes, wiping them and when he removed it from his face, the red all around had faded almost completely because it wasn't in his eyes anymore, the bloody tears that had tainted his vision red now made contrast with his white skin.
He was crying.
Alphonse was dimly aware of the screams of the dying, of Bakkor cursing softly as he and Mariette vanished, and then Lucian slammed open the door to the room and raced to Liora’s side, staring at the ashes for a long moment, saying nothing, shaking with anger, and with loss.
When he spoke, his voice was hollow, detached.
“We’ll kill them. We’ll kill them all.”
For a few seconds, Alphonse said nothing, merely stayed on the floor, but as the demon´s words sank in he remembered why this had happened, the devils had killed her and now he would kill them all.
He stood up, hands balling into fists at his sides and his eyes flashed with a murderous anger.
¨We will.¨ He said simply and then he started for the door.
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