Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down ❯ Freedom and Possession ( Chapter 4 )

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

Freedom and Possession

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Author's Note: This chapter will contain gore and a slight non-con sexual situation. It will depend upon the reader if the situation is considered as rape.

This is a fair warning to those who may be uncomfortable reading about forced sex.

Don't hate me for any harm that is to come to Kenken!!! I don't enjoy doing it!!!

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The foul smell of something burning pulled me out of the darkness, tendrils of comatose-like sleep seeping away, releasing me to move forth into another day. My eyes flickered open but I quickly squeezed them shut against the sharp light around me, wiping away the sand around my eyes, pushing away the thick cool material that enveloped me, bracing my hands upon the mattress as I pushed myself up. I did a quick double-take, realizing that there were things missing. The white sheets, pillows, and feathers were gone and I lay in the middle of the naked mattress, somehow in awe as to why there was no familiar whiteness around me. A harsh splash of color covered me from the waist down. I pulled the cool fabric up far enough to realize that it was a thick leather threnchcoat, adorned in the same exact style that Claude was accustomed to wearing. Folding the trenchcoat at my side I eased off the side of the bare mattress, shivering as my socked feet came in contact with the cold floor. Looks like Claude must have removed my shoes as well. I rechecked to see what else was missing, only finding my weapons and the wrist guards gone, probably put back in their appropriate compartments.

I happened to catch my reflection in the bathroom's mirror as I brushed my teeth, grimacing at the redness from crying and the bruises underneath my eyes. I rinsed out my mouth, finishing up by washing my face and running fingers through my hair, considering that to be better than nothing.

The smell struck me again as I exited the bathroom, nearly forcing me to clap a hand over my nose and mouth to avoid inhaling the putrid stench. I found my way into one of the side rooms, surprised to see that the fireplace was lit and burning merrily, charred pieces of unknown material smoldering and popping within the flames, thick gray smoke twisting up the vent that released the roiling cloud outside. I happened to catch sight of Claude sitting in the single available chair close to the fireplace, staring deeply into the flames as they burned brightly. Orange and gold light spilled over his rigid shoulders as he clasped his hands tightly within his lap, seemingly lost in thought but the angry haze of emotion around him proving otherwise. I attempted to try to retreat back the way I had came but Claude was already aware of my presence.

"Imagine my surprise," His soft casual tone made the hairs on the back of my neck tingle as he continued, "I returned home to find you lying in bed crying in your sleep with feathers, tears, and blood spilled over the bed sheets. I couldn't stand to look at it." Claude reached to his right just outside the range of my sight, his hand coming back into view gripping a handful of feathers. "I am very upset by what I had seen." Claude stated calmly yet with a firm edge, tossing the feathers into the flames, watching them dance within the blazing fire, turn black, and smolder to become small piles of ash. The Necromancer rose fluently up onto his feet, his assassin gear crackling as he shifted around the chair to face me.

Words failed me as I opened my mouth to try to explain yet I couldn't find the strength nor the will to speak. I sighed softly, lowering my head in shame, knowing that I had not proven anything by losing myself last night to my confusion and irrational tears.

"You haven't been taking your medicine again." Claude commented. "You've been without the medication for much longer than usual. You know that the medicine helps to control your mood-swings yet you persist in refusing to take the serum."

"I don't really need it." I said half-heartedly.

"I disagree. You always get like this when you've gone without your medication." Claude sighed with a heavy air of disappointment, "No, I think it's time that we upgrade your medication to more stronger doses. Perhaps that will help you deal with your little mood-swings. It'll also help with whatever so-called 'memories' that have been troubling you."

Take away my memories…You can't do that!… For once I couldn't agree more with that private indignant cry, some force inside of me not wanting to submit again to the effects of the medication that forced me into a comatose state for hours whereupon I woke up feeling as if some sort of fog was floating within my mind leaving only static-filled images and broken voices.

I gathered whatever courage I had and spoke a single word that resulted in Claude's eyes darkening and his hands clench at his sides.

"No."

Claude stood silent, watching me, and I fidgeted beneath his unmoving gaze, losing that small moment of courage, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. The long-haired man released a low whisper of anger before his fist slammed into the chair, the force of his blow lifting the furniture clear off its legs and sending it crashing into the farthest end of the room. I flinched at the explosion of wood striking the wall, finding myself holding my hands in front of me in a clear sign of surrender. I moved back hastily as Claude moved steadily towards me, his electric blue gaze not leaving mine as he followed my quick retreat. I swallowed dryly as I backed up against the hallway wall, trying to make myself invisible as I plastered my back against the unmoving foundation.

"Claude, please wait-" I gasped in shock, ducking and leaping to my right as Claude's fist slammed through the wall near where my head just had been. I knew that the Necromancer had anticipated my dodge otherwise he would not have struck at me with such ill-restrained force. Claude jerked his fist out of the wall, thin white dust and pieces of plaster sprinkling down to scatter across the floor.

"So now you want to wait." Claude growled, baring his teeth in a feral snarl. "Too late for that now, Vincent." Claude warned solemnly as he reached for me, his hands closing over my shoulders. To both of our surprise I fought back, striking Claude's hands away and my leg coming around to kick Claude's legs out from underneath him. The Necromancer howled his fury as he landed with a loud 'whump' on his back, fingers biting deep into the floor, ripping gouges out of the thick wood as he nearly spit in rage.

I couldn't believe that I had attacked Claude but I also knew that there was no possible way to beg for forgiveness. With a blind effort I dashed past his fallen form, aiming for the main door so that I may at least flee to a safe area to wait for Claude to cool his temper.

I only made it three steps before a rough hand clenched tightly around my ankle and yanked hard, sending me to the ground, my knees, elbows, and chin smacking roughly against the floor. A faint fearful whimper trickled from between my lips as I felt Claude rise over me, his entire body pinning me against the floor while one of his hands trapped both of my wrists within an unbreakable hold. I was greatly surprised that Claude didn't strike me down but my relief was short-lived as the man pulled me up onto my feet, hands still trapped as his other arm wrapped around my waist, lifting me clear off the ground with my back pressed snuggly against his chest.

"What are you doing?!" My plea was overlooked as Claude all but stomped down the hallway while carrying me with effortless sedateness.

"I do not know what your problem is, Vincent, but I will not tolerate this behavior." Claude nearly threw me onto the bare mattress before he retraced his steps only stopping in the doorframe with a warning, "Do not do anything foolish," before he disappeared into the farthest reaches of the house, most likely searching for our other stash of serum since the one in the nightstand had run out.

I waited to make sure his footsteps had disappeared before I dove for the cabinet drawer near the bed, reaching in and shakily pulling out the cell phone placed there for emergencies.

Well, this seemed to be an emergency.

I had to get out of here. I feared for my safety, not positive as to what Claude was possibly planning. I'm unable to follow what numbers I press but I huddled fearfully against the headboard as the phone ringed softly as it tried to gain some sort of connection.

"Thank you for calling The Koneko. This is Yohji. How may I help you?" A familiar voice drawled with boredom on the other end of the line.

I nearly dropped the cell phone. Oh gods, why had I called Weiss of all people?

More importantly, how in the world did I know their phone number?

"Vincent! What are you doing?!" Claude shouted from the other side of the safehouse, somehow instinctively sensing that I was up to something.

"Hello? Is someone there?" 'Yohji' asked, a trace of doubt within is voice, probably wondering if this was some sort of prank call.

"Please help me!" I begged before I could stop myself.

"Ken?! Is that you? Why are you-fuck! Forget that! What's wrong?!" Yohji demanded, someone else speaking in the background but Yohji cut the person off.

"Please! He's coming. I don't-I can't fight him. I don't know what he's going to do to me!" I said brokenly, the cell phone shaking in my hands as running footsteps swiftly headed in my direction.

I was quickly running out of time.

There was some sort of argument on the other side of the line before another person's voice spoke, "Hidaka, this is Crawford. Talk to me. Do NOT put down the phone. Tell me where you are." Crawford instructed authoritatively.

"I can't tell you where I am! Claude's already angry at me!" I argued but I might as well had not said anything at all.

"Hidaka, do not argue with me! You can't change Claude's mood! Tell me where the hell you are right now-" Crawford yelled into the phone with so much force that I nearly dropped my own phone.

"VINCENT!!!!" Claude yelled with so much ferocity and anger that I was sure that anyone else in the room of The Koneko could hear the Necromancer. The man nearly filled the entire doorway with his presence and I huddled even further away as I could possibly get.

"Claude-" I said fearfully, curling up into a fetal position against the headboard, hugging the cell phone to my face, my only lifeline to some sort of salvation.

"Put the phone down, Vincent!" Claude ordered fiercely.

"Hidaka, do not put the phone down!" Crawford yelled over the line.

"What the hell's going on!!?" Yohji's voice reached me as he shouted over Crawford.

"Tell me where you are, Hidaka!" Crawford demanded for the second time.

"I-I'm-I'm at-" I stuttered, cowering beneath the force of Claude's rage, knowing that there was no way out of this situation.

"Give me the phone!" Claude roared, moving towards me with indescribable speed, his hand closing over the one that held the cell phone.

"I'm at the Gold Crest-" I managed to answer Crawford's order before Claude slammed into me, my own shouts echoed by the noise coming over the cell phone that was caught between the both of us.

I fought against the taller man, shouting over Claude's own words as the cell phone fell to land on the mattress close to my head, the glowing red light signifying that the phone was still in use.

"Stop it, please!" I pleaded, flailing helplessly against Claude's hands, crying out as a hand clapped over my mouth, fingertips nearly digging into my cheeks as he silenced me. I screamed wordless against the barrier clamped over my mouth, kicking and slamming my fists against Claude's larger form but it only seemed to make him angrier.

"Don't you dare fight against me!! Stop struggling!" Claude shouted, managing to straddle my hips so that I was unable to kick at him. I didn't heed his warnings, twisting and writhing beneath him to try to rip free off his restraint.

"You leave me no choice then." Claude said with an eerie sense of calm and my struggles stilled momentarily until I recognized the vial of red fluid that had somehow appeared within his right hand.

"n-NO!" I exclaimed, twisting left and right as Claude managed to unscrew the top of the vial one-handed. "You can't! Not again! I told you! I told you!" I shouted wildly, unable to comprehend how Claude was so willing as to go so far as to deny my obvious wishes.

"It's for the best and you know it! Now drink the serum willingly before I pour it down your throat!" Claude ordered, ignoring my outraged cries as he caught my chin within his hand, fingertips clenching into the space between my jaws, slowly and steadily forcing my lower jaw to open.

I gagged dryly against the unmoving hold, wrapping my hands around the wrist belonging to the hand forcing my mouth open. My Empathy was of no use against him, Claude's natural ability to shield himself against mental attacks nullifying my desperate strikes.

The serum was tilted dangerously close to my mouth, the red fluid mere inches away from being poured before Claude cursed suddenly, his concentration distracted by the furious shouts over the working cell phone that filled the rough silence around us. "Damn that thing, I'll get rid of it later!" Claude growled promisingly before he returned to his previous course of business.

"Ken! KEENNN!!!" Yohji screamed over the phone, his voice a small tendril of hope that filled me with irrational sense of faith. Faith in being safe, faith in not having to be alone or afraid anymore.

The first mouthful of serum nearly drowned me and I coughed and choked, the fluid spraying out of my mouth and over both of us, the shade a forebodingly similar tint of blood as it trickled down Claude's face. Claude's eyes narrowed determinedly as he once again attacked, this time taking more care to administer the fluid so that I wouldn't have difficulty breathing.

A sporadic memory of blonde hair and dark sunglasses snapped across my line of vision and I recognized Balinese-Yohji's- face, the tall man laughing at something Bomb-Omi- had just said.

Omi…Aya…Yohji……

"YYYOOOOOHHHJJIII!!!!" I screamed in unwilling defeated as Claude's next move proved effective, the red serum flowing into my mouth. Claude wrapped his hand around my mouth and over my nose, not allowing anymore fluid to seep out, effectively cutting off my air. I whined pitifully against Claude's hand, my fists striking weakly at the Necromancer's arms and chest, the heavier man not moving nor acknowledging my wordless pleas. He tossed away the nearly empty vial of fluid, his free hand grasping the still-working cell phone. Claude listened to the angry voices over the phone before his hand squeezed, the plastic and wires of the cell phone crackling and snapping as the Necromancer effectively killed the connection.

I managed a small groan of dismay as I forced myself to swallow, managing to draw in a ragged gasp of air when Claude removed his hand-

-And then everything faded into darkness.

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I'm back here again. Back in the darkness.

{Back where you belong.}

Damn it. The serum. The one means for the Doctor to have complete influence over me.

No! No, not you! I won't listen to you anymore! Damn you, Doctor!

{Stop acting like such a child! You are a killer, now act like one!}

I may be a murderer but at least I killed to protect people! You kill just so you gain blood profit at the expense of others' lives!

{Enough! Do not fight the effects of the serum. Let it wipe your memories clean. Let it bury those useless emotions such as faith, rage, sorrow, empathy.}

NO!

{Vincent!}

My name is Hidaka Ken!

{You are Vincent!}

I won't listen to you anymore! I won't hide in the darkness any longer!

{I am your master!}

You are my tormenter! I am not Vincent Gray, I am Hidaka Ken! I won't hide anymore!

And I won't be your puppet any longer!

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"How is this possible?"

"I don't know, sir."

"He fought the serum." The voice said in stunned amazement. "He's never fought the serum before."

"Because he didn't have anything to fight for." The other voice replied darkly.

"This is very disappointing, Claude. I expected you to have better control of the situation."

"Do not dare to patronize me!" Claude snarled.

"I will not tolerate insubordination, Claude." The Doctor cautioned.

The Doctor….. I thought silently.

That man……

That bastard…. I hissed solemnly to myself.

I twitched imperceptibly, remembering to keep my eyes shut as I shifted carefully. There were some sort of metal restraints on my wrists as well as my legs.

So then, looks like the 'Doctor' was back to the old drawing board, so to speak, since he was reduced to physically restraining me once again.

Once again…… I tried not to acknowledge those persistent bitter memories that threatened to rise although thankfully it wasn't too hard. It was strange. Apparently from having fought the serum I had once again fully attained my memories as the Hidaka Ken, of the J-League, Weiss, and Schwarz. I was even aware of the general happenings between the Doctor and myself but I could not recall in exact detail what had transpired. Now that I thought about it, it was also difficult to recall where or when Claude had made an appearance.

I'll worry about that later…right now, I have to get out of here.

"The monitor indicates that he's awake now." The Doctor's voice shattered through my half-doze.

Well shit then.

"Open your eyes, Vincent." The Doctor ordered calmly.

It wasn't worth the effort to muffle the sigh that escaped me. My eyes flicked open and I offered the Doctor a dispassionate stare. "You never really learn, do you? My name is Hidaka Ken. For a man of your intelligence you seem very inept at grasping such a simple name." I said neutrally, hoping to avoid angering to man since I was of course restrained.

The Doctor was furious, his wrinkled face lined with even more lines of frustration. "All my work wasted due to your stubbornness." He hissed fiercely. Claude appeared to smirk in the background, seemingly amused by the Doctor's frustration.

"You're so conceited." I observed. "You use humans as your guinea pigs yet you fail to anticipate that your creations may turn around and tear your throat out in their 'gratitude' for your interference in their very lives."

The blow would have knocked me off of the table and onto the floor if I hadn't already been strapped down. The side of my face slammed into the cold steel table and I winced from the bruise already beginning to form. The cut along the inside of my mouth was already healing over but a small trickle of blood seeped out of the corner of my mouth the stain the smooth finish of the table.

"Insolent whelp. Must I always waste valuable resources on you?" The Doctor demanded, his hand still lifted from the harsh strike he had delivered. Claude was beside himself in anger, eyes promising a slow and painful death as they bore into the Doctor's oblivious back.

"Don't be so disappointed. Your serum worked partially. He may have his memories once again, but that does not mean he isn't at our disposal." A chill settled deep within my gut as Claude turned his assessing gaze towards me. "'Ken' here has been on the serum long enough that he will suffer from withdrawal symptoms if he isn't given an immediate dose every thirty-six hours." Claude turned back to face the Doctor. "I believe that is enough compensation for the loss of your 'perfect' assassin." Claude said mockingly.

The Doctor ignored Claude. "I gave you a new life." The whispered disbelievingly as he looked down at me with a perverse sense of betrayal burning in his eyes. "I gave you the name of my son that he carried while he was still living. I nurtured and harnessed your unborn Abilities, made you better, faster, stronger. And you oppose me?"

You're such a fool…I thought with a small tinge of pity, but that was quickly devoured by the amount of disgust and anger I felt from my eight-month period of time in the Doctor's 'care'. "You beat me bloody and you call that nurture. You locked me away in a soulless black room and called the training. You pitted me against other fighters and gave me the option of 'fight or die'. You used every physical and mental method available in an effort to destroy me." The Doctor visibly flinched beneath my hard gaze. "Be grateful, Doctor. I don't hate you; I won't allow myself to be consumed by such dark emotion. I won't stoop to your level."

"But disgust, anger, pity? Yes, I certainly feel that." I promised gravely.

//I can't fell hate, I don't want to sink to that level…// I thought speechlessly, //But I am able to feel the heavy weight of despair, pain, and regret. I certainly have killed people who were no better than those that Weiss assassinated, but I have also killed helpless victims who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. I had hidden away in the darkness of my mind, attempting to bury the reality of the killer I had become//

//I am Hidaka Ken, yet I am also Vincent Gray. We are the same yet we were created under different circumstances. I can not even beginning to fix the pain and wrongs I have done when I went under either name//

//I may have regained what I have lost, yet the Doctor has won, in his own way. He nearly broke my spirit. I pull on a façade of indifference when I face him, yet I'm trembling on the inside because I know what he is capable of. Never before in my life have I felt such fear and utter loneliness//

//I feel so alive….//

//But yet…..//

//I'm so afraid…..//

"Well then," The Doctor said hollowly, snapping his fingers, and in a dramatic entrance two large men entered the room from beyond my view, "If you still wish to fight me, then it will just be harder for you. Fight your lost battle, Hidaka, but you can only survive the pain for so long."

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Gods, how could I have ever forgotten this kind of pain?

I gasped against the stinging pain that washed over me, the cold manacles around my wrists biting deep, bleeding me even further, my shoulders screaming from the burning ache from my arms being forced up above my head to hold all of my body weight.

How long has it been since they dragged me into here? Eight hours? Ten hours? What was worse than the fact that I couldn't remember how long it had been was the cold hard reality that this was only the beginning of the Doctor's steps to remold me into the 'perfect' assassin.

Thankfully the two guards had left me to Heal from my injuries, having grown tired of using a whip to split open cuts along my back and the back of my thighs, leaving me hanging here with strips nearly torn off of my back and my pants torn to ribbons.

I was hanging shirtless in one of the Doctor's many chambers, or education rooms, as he so perversely called them. There were other chains and shackles other then the ones connected to the ceiling holding my arms above my head. Thick tight manacles were clasped snuggly around my ankles, forcing me to stay in the direct center of the room. The pressure elicited from the manacles on both my wrists and ankles was causing me to lose feeling in all of my limbs. The chains were the only things keeping me from collapsing bonelessly to the frigid concrete floor of the cell that was dampened by natural moisture and by various spreading puddles of crimson.

"At least….I haven't been in the Hole……" I coughed dryly, my voice loud within the still chamber yet rough from the hours of screaming and cursing. The chains clanked and hissed as I shifted, twisting my individually restrained arms in an effort to relieve the tingling needle-like sensation running across my skin. Sadly no luck.

The metal hinged door creaked open and I mustered the will to force my head up to peer through sweat dampened hair at the two familiar men from earlier. One of them grinned viciously, slapping the inside of his hand with the edge of a thin riding crop. The other large man spun a thin dagger between his fingertips, chuckling as I watched the spin of metal warily.

"You haven't passed out yet. Good." The first man complimented, swishing and snapping the riding crop against the wall.

The second man moved past the first, soon coming to stand in front of me and block my view of the other torturer, not a good sign if I wanted to avoid any further pain. I hissed as the man trailed the sharp edge of the small blade along my stomach, barely drawing enough blood from the thin wounds, somehow appearing fascinated by the way my flesh Healed over but the fresh blood remained.

"If you promise to serve the Doctor with utmost loyalty then you will be free of this pain." The other man warned from behind me, running the riding crop along some of the half-healed wounds along my back.

I was nearly ready to promise them anything if they would just make the pain stop but I bit my bottom lip bloody to hold back that small spark of desperation inside of me.

My determination was reward by a vicious horizontal slash just below my rib cage and three sharp slaps of the riding crop across my trembling back. Blood created a thick sheen across my front and back, coming close to completely dying the waist of my pants red.

"So pigheaded." The man in front of me tsked, eliciting a sharp gasp of pain as he traced the open wound with his fingers, touching the torn skin and nearly dipping fingertips inward to bury his fingers even further to feel the blood pumping within the wound.

"You make this so much harder than it has to be." The one behind me droned, reaching around to run the riding crop along the tattered edge of my waistband.

//Not there….Please not there!// I nearly sobbed and cringed at the thought of them using either weapon along my groin or inner thighs. "The more you hurt me, the more I'll fight." I lied, managing to keep the tremble hidden from my voice.

"Shouldn't make such promises." The man in front warned, tracing idle bloody patterns within centimeters of the other man's riding crop.

//What the hell am I supposed to do?// I wondered numbly, //I was only able to use my Empathy on Farfarello because he hadn't anticipated such an action. I was able to control Omi because he was sleeping and his mind was easily influenced. These men know what I'm capable of and expect some sort of retaliation. But how the hell do I actually retaliate?//

Sixty-four million dollar question of the day.

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Upstairs

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"How much longer do you plan to keep this up?" Claude demanded, nearly pacing as he watched the security cameras monitoring Ken's 'reeducation'. His hands clenched tightly at his sides as he watched the Empath' flinch and a grimace form on the brunette's face as the man with the dagger began to trace bloody patterns along his strung-up inner arms.

The Doctor glanced at the Necromancer from the corner of his eye, back turned from the screens, attention focused on datasheets spread over his computer terminal. "As long as he keeps resisting." The Doctor offered uncaringly.

"And you prove so much by bleeding him ragged, don't you? Makes you feel all high and mighty I bet." Claude hissed in disgust.

The Doctor didn't rise to the bait. "You and I are no different, Claude. You would use any means yourself to keep Hidaka by your side."

"Perhaps. I would use bribery and threats, even if it would cause him to fear me. But resolve to this level….No thank you, Doctor, but I want a companion who is whole in both body and mind, not an empty husk that has no will of its own."

"Your opinion matters little." The Doctor sighed, unable to gather any valuable information from the datasheets. "Well, if it helps for you to know I am moving Hidaka to the Hole three days earlier than I planned. Perhaps that will be enough the break the man."

The hand that snapped closed around his upper arm visibly stunned the Doctor, the strong limb nearly jerked his feet off from the ground. He gulped warily beneath the cold gaze that the Necromancer directed towards him, the light-haired man shockingly close, having covered a distance of over thirty feet in less than a second.

"Do…not…touch him…." Claude threatened coldly.

In foolish disregard for his safety the Doctor grinned cruelly. "Little possessive, are we? You think I am a monster yet you're no better than I am. I can see the desire and lust within you when you look at the boy. You want nothing more than to shove yourself deep into him, make him scream and beg beneath you."

The grip around his arm tightened to nearly unbearable proportions. "Yes. I want him. But I want for more than casual lust. I want him by my side or within my arms as both companion, lover, and comrade." Claude said darkly.

"How nice. Let me go, boy. You're whining is merely stalling the inevitable." The Doctor commanded authoritatively, not realizing his error as Claude's bangs shifted to hide his electric blue gaze, appearing to tuck himself close as if he were in pain.

"You will continue to persist in harming Ken?" Claude questioned softly.

"If it is necessary." The Doctor answered casually.

"…..You'll never stop trying to control us, will you?'' Claude asked darkly.

"You're such a stupid boy. You think I'm such a sickening old man for my desire to control Hidaka, yet you would do no better if Hidaka resisted your advances as both partners in power or partners in bed." The Doctor said snidely.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I can't see into the future. But there is one thing that I am certain of." Claude uttered solemnly.

"And what is that?"

Claude tilted his head up, a maniacal sneer painted across his face, "You won't be a part of our future."

Claude's free hand shot forward in a knife-strike, burying wrist deep, cracking through ribs and tearing through flesh and muscle, strong fingers wrapping around an old beating heart. The Doctor's mouth opened and shut, a low wordless gurgle escaping him, a small waterfall of blood spilling out of his mouth and over his chin and blood filled his old lungs.

Claude grinned at the Doctor's stunned expression, luxuriating at the pain elicited from the tightening of grip around the man's beating heart. "How does it feel, Doctor, to be destroyed by your own creation? Didn't expect it, did you? But what should you expect," Claude tilted his face close, whispering his next words close to bloody lips, "when you create and raise a monster from fetal stage to full adult? Would have thought you'd have learned that after Project World's End."

Claude didn't wait for a response. Not as if he would have received one anyway.

He crushed the frail organ within his hand, sighing softly as he sensed life slip out of the husk within his grasp.

The Necromancer nearly shoved the corpse off of him, leaving the crumpled form where it fell while stepping over the rapidly spreading puddle of blood. He walked fluidly back to look at the security screens, watching as the two men who had tortured the Empath finally leave after bleeding the bound man some more for their own entertainment.

They would have to die as well.

Claude ran bloody fingertips along the computer terminal's screen, tracing the contours of that life-sized face, painting a similar pattern like that of the tears that fell soundless from the Empath's shuttered gaze.

"For you I will do almost anything," Claude whispered fondly, "And for you I will destroy everything."

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It was the screams that pulled me out of my state of hovering mindlessness. I groaned softly as I shifted, listening to the various sounds and alarms pealing outside of my cell. The alarms screamed continuously and feet pounded outside as guards and men ran in scattered groups shouting jumbled words and orders. My Empathy extended outwards and I could sense the fear and confusion of the men scattered throughout the facility.

My Empathy also caught a trace of a familiar presence. No, more than one. I could practically smell old soil and spicy potent blood that was not my own.

//My Gods…// I thought in horror, //Claude has released his zombies…He's allowing them to massacre everything that moves……//

And massacre his creatures did, tearing and digging tooth and claw into any that fell within their grasp, men and women screaming as they were brought down under the force of an ocean of zombies.

My breath hitched as I heard something rub along the outside of the door, loud clacking and scraping alerting me of claws scraping in exploration along the outside of the door. A small period of silence hung tremblingly in the air before metal screeched beneath the jagged lash of ridged claws, black and yellowed talons tearing large fractures as if the door was mere paper. The creature grunted with minimal effort as it forced the door off of its hinges by smashing its large bulky shoulders against the weakened frame, claws clacking over the fallen mangled door as it stalked into the chamber.

This was one of Claude's most prized creatures that he created from scratch, breathing life into this creature by using various pieces of bodies and other items that he found of interest. It was horrendously terrifying, its black and gray patched shoulders reaching well past my waist, moving across the ground on four limbs, the front two eerily resembling two long-fingered hands with sickle-sharp talons, the bent back limbs threaded with sinewy muscles and rippling with immense strength.

Lidless yellow eyes stared up at me with deep-seeded intent, the creatures long black-skinned ears tilted back as it sniffed the air. Its jaws were remarkably similar in length and shape to that of a crocodile's, blue-gray lips that were now wetly dyed red curled back, a thready hiss trickling between sharp gray teeth, thick bristles of gray skin feathered along its lower jaw.

I shuddered violently when the creature slid up against me, strong dark fingers skimming along the top of my thighs while avoiding any of the still open wounds. It used my hips as leverage to pull itself up onto its hindquarters, rubbing its warm muscled chest along my abdomen as it nearly snaked up my front, reptilian jaw coming dangerously close to my throat as it nudged the dangling chains around my wrists. Its head pulled back minutely before snapping forward and down upon the steel chains, cracking and shattering the chains to pieces within its strong jaws.

I collapsed forward though thankfully falling across the creature's strong back, the thing not even stumbling from my body weight as it fell back onto all fours at the exact moment it had bitten through my shackles. The creature twisted around far enough to snap me legs free of the shackles imbedded into the floor before it shifted its shoulders in order to keep me balanced more properly across its back.

I hung dazedly across its large form as it backed out of the chamber, my limbs feeling weighed down by the bands of metal still stubbornly clasped around each wrist and ankle. Something nudged my wrists and ankles as the creature beneath me moved steadily through the hallway, moving between wandering zombies and stepping over torn corpses. Tilting my head to the side I looked into the blank gaze of a bloody zombie that was fingering the shackles on each of my wrists. Judging by the shifting movement on the opposite side of me I could only assume that there was another zombie inspecting the shackles on my ankles. With surprising delicacy and a quick tug that brought little pain the two zombies neatly ripped the shackles off, allowing the metal to ring loudly across the floor as the shattered pieces fell.

The creature finally stopped after stalking up two flights of stairs and down three bending hallways, the gore and bodies becoming even worse with each moment. I squeezed my eyes shut and forced back the acid rising in my throat, not wanting to see the pieces of flesh and bones that littered the floor, my stomach already weak from the pain that still ran through my Healed body.

If anyone ever tells you that Healers can Heal their wounds, numb the pain, and refresh their blood supply with impressive ease, then that person was shitting you. Healers can do two out of three, but we can't by any means numb the pain. We get to feel each and every agonizing nerve wrenching jolt even minutes if not hours after the wounds are Healed over.

Yeah, life's tough, get a helmet.

"Good job." Claude congratulated the lean-muscled form beneath me, strong yet careful arms tugging me off of the creature's back. I groaned pitifully, my body still nearly writhing from the pain that persisted in digging its merciless claws even deeper no matter how well the wounds had Healed over. "Look at you, Ken, you barely have enough clothes on to cover a small child."

I couldn't argue no matter how much I desired to, the tattered strips of my pants a unavoidable mark of my lack of dress. Hell, I couldn't have fought back a weak kitten in the state I was in. Claude easily shifted me in his arms so that one arm was underneath my knees and the other under my arms without any further discomfort to my shivering form. "Time to go, Ken. Must not wait around any longer."

"Go where?" I asked weakly.

"Home." Claude answered simply, his strides easily eating up distance as he moved through the compound, his creature and zombies scurrying to catch up with him.

"Hell yeah he's coming home!" Someone shouted ahead of us and Claude jumped slightly from the sudden outburst.

"Yohji-" I said in amazement, recognizing the seething blonde in his assassin attire. Yohji snapped his left wrist forward, thin wires shooting out aiming for Claude's head. Two zombies darted out in front of the Necromancer, taking the hit meant for him, barely loosing their footing as the wires wrapped around their throats and lopped off their heads. Yohji was visibly surprised as the zombies bent down and scuttled across the ground on hands and knees, desperately searching for their rolling heads.

"Oh, that worked well." Schuldig drawled sarcastically, moving into range from a hallway perpendicular to where Yohji stood.

"Bite me." Yohji growled. Schuldig leered at the blonde and Yohji flushed from whatever silent message the telepath sent him.

"Yohji!" I shouted, squirming precariously within Claude's arms, managing to yank one of my arms free and reach beseechingly towards the blonde. Claude cursed colorfully, struggling to hold me tightly against him. "Let me go, I want to go with them!" I demanded.

"Not an option." Claude argued tightly. He turned fractionally to look at the creature at his side. "Kill them." He ordered.

"NO!" I screamed, struggling wildly as the creature screeched wildly, rushing at the two men, forcing them to make a desperate dash down the hallway in which Schuldig had appeared, trying to outrun the creature that was currently hunting them down.

"Damn it!" I cursed as Claude began to run down the hallways with his zombies trailing after, the Necromancer fleeing in order to avoid any further contact with either Weiss or Schwarz.

//Damn you!// I didn't know if I was cursing Claude or cursing my own momentary physical weakness.

It didn't truly matter now, though. We were moving steadily away from my one hope of freedom.

Once again I was unable to escape this miniature version of Hell.

< < < < <> > > > >

"I said stop it!" I yelled, slapping away Claude's hands that were trying to undo the zipper of the remains of my pants. I ducked under his reach, circling around to try to escape out of the bathroom.

Claude growled as he caught me by the shoulder and jerked me back, slamming and locking the bathroom door shut. "You only make this harder." He said placidly.

"I can take a shower by myself." I argued although my statement was hardly reassured by the trembling of my knees, the effort to hold myself up greatly tiring from the amount of time spent shackled and hung within the chamber in the Doctor's facilities.

The Necromancer didn't bother to tell me of what had happened to the Doctor but I was fairly certain that the man was no longer living. Hell, practically every living creature in the facility had been slaughtered, so it was hardly unlikely that the Doctor had managed to escape.

Claude had dragged me halfway to our secondary safehouse before slapping a hand over my eyes to keep me from registering where we were, making sure to send his zombies and creatures into well-hidden nooks and corners to guard over the area on the lookout for Weiss or Schwarz. I had grumbled and struggled heartily before finding myself in our newest home that was designed fairly similar to our first except this one sported shades of black and red, opposite to the other safehouse's white and gray tones.

After locking and barring any available exits to ensure my proper containment, Claude had turned his interest in removing my blood-spattered and sweat dampened clothes, or what remained of them. He got as far as my shoes and socks before I began protesting over him removing my pants.

"This is ridiculous." Claude groaned, ducking under a wild swing that I threw, catching me around the waist and hauling me towards the edge of the large shower, nearly cracking the glass door as he slammed it open. I yelled and struck weakly at him as Claude managed to gain purchase on my waistband, finally achieving in undoing the zipper and shoved my torn pants off, having to lift me up with one arm in order to free my legs from the twisted and torn material. My face flushed hotly as he pulled my boxers off and I managed a sharp kick to his shin in retaliation, desperately trying to shield my nakedness from him.

I nearly swallowed my tongue when Claude pushed me further into the shower, warily standing guard while removing his long-sleeved black shirt. I finally managed to gain enough air to speak as his hands were beginning to work at removing his belt. "Hey, hey! No! No no no no no no! Out! Get out! I don't want to see you naked!"

Claude ignored my protests, loosening and tossing away his belt, kicking off his shoes and bending down far enough to remove his socks while making sure I didn't make a desperate dash for freedom. "If I leave you alone you'll probably crack your head open when you fall from being unable to remain on your feet." He stated calmly.

I clapped my hands over my eyes as he shucked off his pants, nearly dying from embarrassment.

Note to self: Claude does not deign to wear any sort of undergarment underneath his pants.

The glass door was shut and I gasped and sputtered underneath the sudden thick stream of water, shoving long wet tendrils of hair out of my face. Strong hands nearly caused me to leap out of my skin as they began lathering shampoo through the tangled strands of hair, removing the grit and sweat from earlier. My struggles only lasted as long as it could before I leaned my forehead against the cool damp tile, feeling the weariness seep deep into my bones, water washing away the caked blood and somehow seeming to wash away the sickening stench of the Doctor and my two tormentors.

I tilted my head further under the stream of water to wash away the shampoo, thin streams of white bubbles trickling down my shoulders and along my biceps. Claude reached around me to put the shampoo bottle back in its nook, reaching back and apparently lathering and rinsing out his own longer hair. "So you finally have sought out your revenge against the Doctor." I stated over the soft hiss and patter of falling water.

Claude didn't answer verbally but instead wrapped strong sinewy arms around me from behind, long damp silver hair wrapping and twisting around me and I hissed as the ends of his hair tickled across my bare hips. "Claude-" I said warningly.

"I have what I want." He whispered huskily, his words running across my skin just as his tongue traced a vein along my neck. A cold chill shot through me as Claude's erection pressed against my lower back, long fingers smoothing up and down my stomach and navel. "Claude, no-"

"You would deny me this?" Claude asked throatily, reaching past me to shut off the water valve, the showerhead shuddering with a metallic clank before the water-flow ceased.

"I can't give you what you want, Claude. You know that."

"Not willingly?"

Now that certainly made chills shoot up my spine. I wheezed softly from the strong arm that curled strongly around my waist, lifting me clear off my feet as Claude forced open the shower door. He nearly broke down the bathroom door, moving both of our wet naked forms into the bedroom that was situated just across from the bathroom.

The crimson and burgundy sheets were thick and cool beneath my damp skin as I was propelled onto my back, strong hands preventing me from turning over to hide my nakedness. "Claude, no-" I repeated, helpless as his threaded our fingers together, trapping both of our hands on each side of my head. I whined pleadingly against strong lips that closed over mine, clenching my eyes shut as a strong firm tongue pushed its way past to twist along mine. A groan of dismay and alarm escaped me as I felt myself unavoidably responding to his body heat, my groin coming to life against the strong press of Claude's erection.

Our lips separated with a wet sound, Claude running his tongue along his lips. I twisted and tossed my head, silently pleading for the Necromancer to stop as he trailed his lips along my chest and down my stomach while keeping my hands caught within his. "I don't want this!"

Claude pressed a soft kiss just below my bellybutton. "Your mind may not, but your body says otherwise. Let me make you feel good, Ken." Claude purred, trailing a damp line across the sensitive skin.

I cried out helplessly as Claude closed his lips over the tip of my shaft, eyes tearing up powerlessly against the moist heat of the Necromancer's mouth slowly and steadily swallowing my shaft. I gasped brokenly as Claude began to move his head up and down, lips and tongue forcing a physical reaction in my otherwise resistant body. I begged mindlessly for him to please stop and was sickened that a part of me didn't want him to stop, the heat, moisture, and pressure of his mouth nearly driving me insane.

Claude only persisted his attack for so long, finally pulling away at the precise moment that the pressure within my shaft was becoming maddening. "You're a virgin, aren't you." It was more of an observation than a statement.

I was unable to answer, simply burying my face against the thick billowing sheets.

"It's alright." Claude murmured in seeming assurance, "You're first time doesn't have to be with you being penetrated."

"W-What-" I watched in numb amazement as Claude rose to straddle my hips, lifting himself up far enough to reach between his thighs to grasp my half-erect shaft. With sick realization I comprehended as to what he was planning to do. "Wait! No! You'll hurt yourself!" I gasped, knowing that it would hurt him more than me if he were penetrated dry.

Claude smiled confidentially. "I'm much more relaxed than you. I can handle it."

"Wai-aahhh!!" I shouted as Claude angled himself over me and sank down, taking in half of my length in one swift movement. I shook uncontrollably from the intense tight heat, echoing Claude's tight groan as he sank all the way down to impale himself on top of my hips, his loud sound of exhalation more out of pleasure compared to mine. I whimpered quietly in defeat, biting my lips to still further sounds of anxiety. I didn't want my first sexual encounter to be like this. It didn't matter that Claude was the one penetrated and not I. To me it still felt like a violation.

Claude leaned forward to lick at my pulse, lips closing over my neck. "You feel so good." He sighed, rolling his hips to elicit a stunned gasp as electric heat shot through my groin. Claude threw back his head as my shaft rubbed over his prostate, long hair half-dried and skimming like a lover's fingers over my chest and abdomen. My hips rocked inadvertently against the fierce sensations, my face hot and flushed from the pressure surrounding my length.

Even though he was the one being penetrated, Claude was the one in control. He rested firm hands on my collarbones for leverage, rocking and thrusting himself back, moving my length in and out in hard steady motions. The Necromancer's hisses and sounds of pleasure filled the dimly lit room, our shadows dancing across the walls. I tilted my head back from the steady onrushing pressure that was building, my eyes staring vacantly up at the ceiling, soundless cries spilling out of my open mouth.

"Look at me." Claude commanded sharply. I didn't resist, angling my head to meet a steady burning electric blue gaze. Claude caught my lips in a strong hard kiss, his hips rolling and ramming back hard enough to cause bruises for both of us in a heavy physical jolting force. My release was sudden and hard, spots dancing across my vision as I cried out into Claude's mouth. The Necromancer only lasted at least ten more seconds before he came as well, proof of his release dampening my stomach. He collapsed on top of me, both of us still connected, tucking his face against my neck, forearms encasing the side of my head as he kissed languidly along my neck and collarbone. My arms lay as dead weights at my side as I tried to regain my breath, panting heavily from the mental and physical ordeal.

"I have….everything…that I need…right here." Claude gasped breathily, pulling back enough to cup my face between his hands. "My one greatest enemy has been destroyed. The city is at my mercy. I have an entire undead army at my beck and call. I have creatures that are beyond comprehension. And I have you. What more do I need?" Claude asked huskily.

I stared at the man vacantly, "My loyalty?" I asked.

Claude peered at me curiously. "I have your fear, and I have the serum that is your only means to relief. That is enough for the moment. There is enough time in order to gain your heart."

//I thought the Doctor was a threat. I was wrong. The Doctor was only a beast…// I thought helplessly.

Claude was worse. He was a demon.

**************

To Be Continued

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