"Are you insane?!" Zitrinna whisper yelled, absolutely horrified at the idea her son was suggesting.
"Mother!" Judice shushed and looked around them again just to be sure they were still alone. "It's the only effective way of getting what we want."
"But Daeken?!"
"Yes mother. You're forgetting that the mutt isn't the only one in our way. Our biggest obstacle is actually Neine."
"But she's a god!"
"Exactly! That's why we need the help of another god. You know how devoted father is towards Neine." Judice reasoned with exasperation, hoping his mother will see the logic behind his plan. "This way, we can get rid of them both, and father will be all yours."
Zitrinna rubbed her temple in thought and muttered, "You definitely inherited Pye's manipulative nature."
Judice chuckled at that. "So you'll do it?"
After a pause, the Captain of Hell sighed and nodded. "I will try. Daeken is a difficult man to negotiate with."
"Be careful mother. I would have gone myself if I was allowed to leave Hell."
Zitrinna smiled at the worry clear on her son's face, and couldn't resist messing up his hair again. "I'll leave now then. Keep the Commander occupied."
"Of course mother."
~
The Commander of Hell floated on a big bubble near the ceiling of the servant's dining hall, stacks of books rested on top of smaller bubbles floating around him. He liked to bring his work here once in awhile, the chatty atmosphere kept him awake and he could eavesdrop on some of the servants' conversations. Of course, he had casted an invisibility spell around him so no one could see or smell or hear him.
Reading off a page of one book, Joker made another note on the parchment in front of him. It was nearly full with his neat cursive writing, and only a little section at the bottom offered him more space for more writing. But that was fine, he was pretty certain these were all the ingredients he needed to make the potion for Tiger. Detailed instructions were also noted on the sides for some of the more tricky procedure he didn't bother trying to memorize.
As he waved away his books and pen, Joker stretched out his tired muscles. As he did so, snippets of the servants' words floated up and caught his interest.
"...portal suddenly openin'! That's exactly what he said!"
"And I say it's damn straight impossible! You can't randomly open up portals in Hell." A buff demon argued, crossing his thick arms stubbornly.
"That's what I said." The first guy defended and shoved another forkful of food into his mouth. "But he swore by the Hell he serves that a portal appeared 'n demons came through."
A third demon sitting at the same table as them snorted skeptically, "I don't believe you. Who'd you hear this rubbish from?"
"My mate knows this guy whose boyfriend delivers goods there, she told me straight last night. Says he was in the guard house 'n overheard the guards talkin' about it."
The others laughed, "So it's one of those heard from a friend who heard from a friend kinda thing. The words probably got messed up by the time it got to you mate."
"No no," The first guy protested and waved his fork around to emphasis his words, "They were pretty worried. Says there's gonna be trouble and whether they should tell one of the higher ups."
The buff demon still had a hard time believing the story, "I still say it's impossible. Only the Diábolos and maybe the Commander got the power to open a portal in Hell in the middle of nowhere." His voices dropped significantly when he mentioned the Commander, as if scared the real thing would appear at the mention of his name. Little did the demon know that Joker was listening intently to them right above their heads.
"Well, if you don't believe me, go ask yourself. It's where the snake pit is." The first guy huffed and restarted his nearly forgotten meal.
"Pfft! You know that place is off limits to us."
The snake pit was at one of the far corners of Hell. There wasn't anything really interesting there, it was just another one of the places they torture souls and harvest the energy of their pain and suffering. Joker hadn't visited there in a long time; perhaps he should quickly check the place out, just in case.
Leaving the servants to babble on between themselves, Joker jumped off his bubble and landed on his feet in midair. After straightening the wrinkles out of his dress shirt and pants, the blonde put away his parchment of notes.
One second he was there, and the next instant he vanished.
The snake pit didn't actually have snakes everywhere; in fact there were no real snakes at all.
Joker appeared out of teleportation and grimaced; there was a reason he didn't like coming here. The sky was the colour of fresh blood, and thousands of brilliant white streaks of light were like little shiny shakes as they rained down from the red sky to the ground. But as if there was still some form of intelligence in them, the rain of souls avoided hitting anything during their freefall, and landed neatly within a pit. The snake pit was more or less a flat rocky plain with deep fiery pits sinking into the coal black ground. The only interruption to this flatness was the guard house near the center, and the mountain range encircling the area.
The sharp shimmering of the white translucent souls against the glowing red sky instantly sent a sharp pain to Joker's temples. In fact, there were more blind creatures around here than anywhere else in Hell because they were less bothered by the lights. He really had no idea why Neine made this part of Hell like this.
"Who goes there?" Came a shout behind him.
Despite his headache, Joker was happy to note the quick response time of the guards here. He turned around and looked at the two demons pointing their arrows at him.
"Answer now or we shoot." One of the guards warned again when Joker didn't answer.
It had been such a long time since he came here that the Commander wasn't really surprised they didn't recognize him; they were most likely recruited after his last visit. Plus, he normally kept his powers hidden so he could move around Hell without anyone sensing his presence.
Upon the guard's words, Joker released the blockage on some of his powers and allowed it to crush into the guards. Most of his magic was still busy at work, but this bit should be enough to make his point.
As predicted, both guards instantly dropped their weapons and face-planted into the ground. "C-Commander!" They gasped, terrified that they would be punished for not knowing what the Diábolos's right hand man looked like. "Our d-deepest apologies for not recognizing the master!"
The corner of Joker's lips twitched in amusement, and he floated over to the guards, not bothering to walk. "At ease." He said while keeping his tone emotionless. "I hear a portal was opened here."
"Y-yes master. Just recently." The larger of the two answered, his raven coloured hair blocking his downcast eyes. The muscles on his tattoo covered back was tense; it was his first time seeing the Commander of Hell, and his presence was more overwhelming and frightening than the rumours do him justice.
"Why was I not informed?" Joker asked, making the guards flinch.
"The portal and intruders were all destroyed, so our leader said we shouldn't bother you or the Captain with it."
Joker raised an eyebrow at that. "Summon the Vanguard in charge." Vanguards are ranked below Lucifers. Their power levels are higher than normal demons, so they are often placed around Hell as station leaders.
"Yes, right away master." The larger guard quickly brought a small whistle to his lips and blew a few silent notes.
A moment later, the blackened ground beside them cracked and out emerged a pale green naga followed by a few more guards. The naga had spiky fins protruding from his arms and back. Seeing the large jewel embedded in his chest, Joker vaguely remembered Neine telling him that she had decided to follow through on the name "snake pit" by making the leader into a half snake using the stone.
The Vanguard's slit eyes instantly fell on the Commander, and in a flash, he was bowing deeply in respect. "Master, welcome to the snake pit." The demons behind him quickly followed their leader's movements.
Joker thoughtfully noted the sudden spike of delicious fear in the half-snake creature. "Explain why you felt it unnecessary to notify me of a portal opening in Hell, as well as the fact that creatures came through said portal." His voice was like sharp ice, and for good measure, he also added a bit of lust to the air just to mess with the leader.
The naga shivered and bowed deeper, he sounded less confident when he tried to explain himself. "T-The situation was contained. Um... I heard the master is a busy man, so I didn't think..." He trailed off, not sure how to continue.
Joker laughed, startling everyone. "Did you not know that the only one allowed to open a portal straight into Hell is our God? Anything else coming into Hell not by way of the Gate is a severe breach of security." Leaning down, Joker firmly nudged the naga's face up to meet his eyes. "Not to mention," he added after a slight pause, "We had never experienced such an intrusion, until now."
The leader gulped audibly at the glowing golden eyes that seemed to be able to slice through to his deepest core.
Joker chuckled in amusement, but the good humour did not mask the coldness of his gaze. "Come now mon petit. What aren't you telling me?"
The confrontation was too much for the naga, and he broke down begging. His chin was still held firmly in place by the Commander, but his eyes glanced around wildly at anything but those golden eyes. "P-p-please b-believe me master! I d-don't know any-anything!"
His pleading was doing nothing but calling out the dark hunger in Joker. With no reason to hide it, Joker let his lust roam freely, entangling the leader within its mist. "Explain yourself." He purred and ran his finger seductively along the Vanguard's strong jawline.
"I-I can't..." The leader's voice sounded breathless, as if he was having trouble concentrating. He licked his dry lips and swallowed nervously before trying to clarify himself. "I d-don't know w-why I didn't report. It... It just happened..."
Joker paused and studied the creature in front of him for signs of deceit, finding none; he sighed and looked away at the guards. The most of them were staring at the ground as if wanting to burn a hole through it, the larger one who spoke with him before quickly dropped his gaze too when he saw Joker looking down at them.
In one swift motion, the Commander grabbed the top of the naga's head with one hand; the other sank its claws into the creature's chest and pulled out the red stone. Then, with just a flick of his wrist, Joker threw the large figure into a nearby pit like a piece of garbage.
The blood curding scream of the ex-leader echoed in the air long after he was swallowed by the flames of Hell.
"Now then." Joker's voice made the remaining guards jump. "Tell me more about the intruders."
They led him to the mountain range surrounding the black plain. There was a large border on the mountain, and behind it was a shallow cave where the portal appeared in.
According to them, they were just doing their regular rounds when they felt a surge of energy from this direction. The nearby guards quickly went to investigate, and instantly got into combat with the two dozen or so intruders. More guards came to help upon noticing the fighting. In the end, they were able to destroy all the intruders and the portal with few casualties. From the guards' descriptions, the trespassers were just regular misfit demons; no one really powerful. As for the portal, it appeared to have come from a black glass ball. When they shattered the glass ball, the portal melted and disappeared along with the glass remains.
It wasn't that much information to go on. When they finished explaining, everything fell silent as all waited for the Commander's reaction.
Joker played with the red jewel absentmindedly, as if he wasn't really paying attention to them. There was power within the stone; whoever used the stone will gain a boost in their magic. But at the same time, there was a curse on the stone that can turn its host part snake. Joker could remove the curse, but it would require more effort than it was worth. After a while, he pointed a finger at the tattooed guy he first spoke to. The man was also the one who did the most talking and explaining. "You. Tell me your name."
The demon was startled at being singled out like this, and looked around to make sure the Commander was indeed pointing at him. Swallowing nervously, he answered, "Bobanor, sir."
"Well Bobanor. Today is your lucky day. Here." Joker threw the red stone to the guard who caught it automatically. "Eat it."
Bobanor stared at the stone for a second, beads of sweat rolled down his tense neck muscles. Not wanting to keep the Commander waiting any longer, he put the jewel in his mouth and swallowed it quickly.
"Good boy." Joker praised before turning his attention to the rest of the guards. "Bobanor is hereby promoted to Vanguard status. He is your new leader."
The news was too sudden; even Bobanor gaped up in surprise.
"I expect he will be more competent than your last leader." Joker continued, "Do not disappoint me Bobanor."
The tattooed man bowed deeply, "Yes master."
"Good luck." And in the blink of an eye, the Commander disappeared.
As all the guards burst into excited chaos at what happened, Bobanor groaned and fell forward.
"H-hey, you okay?" His ex-partner bent down quickly, asking in worry. The others shifted back to give them room.
Bobanor couldn't answer; he was too consumed in a burning pain that spread through his entire body. His throat had closed down to the point where he couldn't even scream out the agony. Twisting onto his back, he clawed at his chest with more strength than he should have, destroying his armor and undershirt.
In front of everyone's eyes, black fins ripped out of the skin of his arms, at which point his entire body went limp. A few seconds later, a ripple ran through his lower body. With a tear and crunch that made everyone cringe, the bones in his legs cracked into pieces and his skin split open. Bobanor appeared to have lost his consciousness, and his body laid there lifelessly.
"W-what just happened?" Someone asked in a fearful whisper. Did their new leader just die?
"Wait, look!"
Slowly, the remains of Bobanor's bottom half melted together, as if healing itself. The process gradually sped up, and pretty soon, a black scaled snake's tail took the place of his legs. In the middle of his chest, the skin parted and the red jewel emerged.
Suddenly, Bobanor's eyes flew open, startling everyone. The pupils of his eyes were now thin black slits.
~
Joker stepped out of teleportation at the Gate, the gatekeepers, two giant hellhounds, instantly kneeled on one of their front paws.
"Name me everything that passed through the Gate recently." Joker got right to the point.
Neine, Tiger, Joker and Zitrinna were the only ones who entered or left. Zitrinna being the most recent traveler who left just a few days before the portal opened.
Joker would have been suspicious of the Captain if he wasn't so certain of her stupidity and incapableness. He just hoped she wasn't wasting away too much of his money doing whatever useless things she was doing.
After warning the hellhounds to keep their mouth shut about his questioning, Joker hid himself at a quiet deserted section of the castle.
The blond took a few deep breaths before closing his eyes. One by one, he turned off the illusions of himself that were working on less important tasks. Retrieving that power and combining it with what he had left in him, Joker stretched a thin net across all of Hell.
He knew he was definitely overworking himself with this, but it was the most efficient and reliable way to prepare for another portal opening up. This way, he will instantly be notified as soon as there was disturbance in the air. With that taken cared off, Joker set off to the laboratory; time to make the potion for Tiger.
As he got all the ingredients out and started preparing them, Joker realized his hands were shaking. It was a sign that he should probably eat something before he collapsed; this happened more often than it should because he always forgets to eat.
Judice arrived with a tray of food soon after being summoned. He could feel his father's sharp gaze on him as he put everything in position, and it made him nervous.
"How is your mother?" Joker asked offhandedly, his eyes never leaving the boy. If he could only eat Judice's heart like he wanted, then he will be able to gain a large boost in power. The boy had already grown so much; it was way passed the ideal time for consumption. Maybe he should go ahead with this special meal; it wasn't as if he officially promised Neine to keep off Judice...
The boy cleared his throat quietly, "She's fine."
"She left Hell. Do you know what her plans are?"
"No master..." Judice was becoming more anxious as the conversation progressed. Was his father becoming suspicious already? He knew he shouldn't underestimate Hell's Commander, but this was ridiculous. He could swear everything was going as planned. Maybe he should shift his father's attention to something else for now. Thinking that, Judice waited for a period of silence as Joker concentrated on a particular delicate step.
"Tiger has been making progress." The boy informed softly when Joker straightened back up.
"Hmm."
"He was able to go on one of the running machines. Of course, he couldn't run yet, but he's definitely getting better."
Joker was silent as Judice updated him on Tiger's improvements, and made no comments on it before dismissing the boy.
It wasn't until after his son left that Joker paused his work and stared at the door. Judice had tried his best hiding the fact, and Tiger might have been foolishly ignorant, but the Commander had always known the dislike and jealousy Judice held toward the wolf. Thus, it was suspicious for his son to speak well of Tiger in front of him.
Yes... It was definitely suspicious. Especially considering they were just speaking of Zitrinna. It was almost as if Judice was trying to change the topic away from his mother.
Could the Captain be doing something mischievous after all?
Such thing wasn't impossible now that there was the chance that Judice might be involved.
~
The empty syringe laid quietly beside the glass tube, waiting to be filled with the milky white fluid contained in the tube.
Nearby on the sofa, Joker had fallen asleep with his head propped up by a hand. His expression was so relaxed and peaceful; one would not have guessed him to be so ruthless and sadistic when awake.
A twitch of his brows shattered the tranquility of his features, as an instant later, his eyes flashed open. It took Joker a second to realize what had woke him, and he was gone as soon as he did.
Stepping out of teleportation, the Commander surveyed the land beneath him; he was floating high in the air of the boiling rock. Similar to the snake pit, the boiling rock was another soul processing plant at the edges of Hell. Black mountains circled the area to keep out unrelated people. The grounds held one gigantic cauldron that was half buried in the rocks. Along the rim of the cauldron, with equal distances between one another, stood four opened doors. A flood of gleaming white souls poured out of each door into the flaming pot.
Joker's lips curled into a smirk. This was the place they first discovered Tiger.
The shouting of the guards down on the ground jolted Joker out of his fond memories and reminded him of his purpose. He focused his gaze toward the edges of the mountain side, where the discrepancy of magic came from.
In the blink of an eye, Joker teleported to the spot before the guards arrived. A group of intruders was just coming out of the portal. They froze in their tracks as their eyes settled on the tall figure standing at the opening of the shallow cave.
Joker studied the creatures in front of him as more of them piled into the cave. There was a variety of species that included different wereanimals, kappas, hybrids, and even a few death dwarfs. It was a weird combination indeed, and there were definitely a greater number of them here than was reported in snake pit. Joker took a step back out of the cave to gain more maneuvering space, and temporary recalled all his powers around Hell.
The trespassers mistook the Commander's retreating step as a sign of weakness, and after sharing a quick look, they all attacked at once.
Joker held up his palm and gave the air a little push.
As if a tsunami crashed into them, the intruders were thrown back from the invisible force into the walls. The crunch of bones or armors against rock echoed against the cave.
Keeping his hand up, Joker slowly clutched his fingers into a fist. Screams of pain and the sickening cracking of bones accompanied the gesture.
"Commander!" The leader of the guards, a centaur, came running with wide eyes.
"Hello Martkix," Joker greeted and pulled with his outstretched hand. The motion flung all the intruders out of the cave and onto the heated ground. "Take care of these will you. I want a few live ones for questioning in a moment."
"Yes master." The centaur bowed and quickly ordered his subordinates to their tasks.
In the mean time, Joker reentered the cave and approached the portal. It was a swirling mass of dim lights that originated from a glass ball on the ground, exactly like the one at the snake pit. It was difficult to feel the magic and know who might have made it, but this was better than nothing.
Joker picked up the glass ball and watched the portal spiral back into the object as he pondered. For the portal to open, someone would have to have placed the glass ball here first. That someone would also have to be either a deliverer or an officer, because anyone else wouldn't have been able powerful enough or have the authority to enter both the snake pit as well as the boiling rock. This whole thing would be a huge headache if another God was involved, but considering the fact that outside Gods and their officers will lose their powers upon entering Neine's Hell, it leaves only one explanation. There was a traitor among them. And whoever this person was, they must be working with someone powerful, maybe another God with the power to rival Neine, in order to create such an object and open a portal.
Judice and Zitrinna immediately came to mind even though there was no real proof against them. There was only this feel in Joker's guts that could very well just be his hunger to eat his son and get rid of a useless Captain.
With a wave of his hand, Joker sent the glass ball to somewhere safe to be examined later. Then he exited the cave to resolve his next clue.
Three battered up creatures kneeled on the ground waiting his questioning, guards stood right behind each one in case they tried anything stupid. Joker assumed the rest of the trespassers were nicely settled in the bottom of the black cauldron, being burned away by Hell fire for the rest of eternity.
"Welcome to Hell." The Commander greeted the three in good nature. "Depending on what information you can provide me with, I might consider letting you leave without further harm. However, if you prove to be useless, please keep in mind this is Hell, and, "Joker took a second to chuckle in gleefulness, "we take great pleasure in torturing and breaking your everything."
Sometime later, the Commander of Hell strolled through the grand hallways of the palace. He felt like stretching and working out his muscles with a little bit of exercise, even if it was just walking.
It was hard for Joker to contain his dark hunger. He needed to hurt and destroy something, preferably something pure. Yes, he will give himself a little free time after he took care of the Gate and Tiger.
The three intruders turned out to be absolutely useless. They were just pawns who knew nothing of who was behind their actions, or what their ultimate goal was. All they knew was that they were supposed to go through the portal and cause chaos.
On his way to the Gate, Joker had called Zitrinna and Mu and told them to return to Hell. He tried calling Neine too, but she was unreachable.
Mu wasn't an officer, but he was powerful enough to be a Captain. And despite his childish looks, he had been with Joker ever since the beginning. Mu was one of the few people he can trust whole heartedly right now.
While he waited for their return, Joker ordered the gatekeepers to refuse anyone leaving Hell without his permission. He would have just completely shut down the Gate if Zitrinna and Mu weren't still outside.
~
Too many days passed without any signs of Pye. At least Tiger thought it felt like days, hard to keep track of time in Hell because the scenery outside the windows were always the same; sunset in a wide open prairie, Joker's recent favorite scene.
Judice came regularly to bring him food, each time making Tiger felt more and more shameful that he was being treated so well even though he was so incompetent.
He could stand and walk for longer periods of time now, but that doesn't even come close to a mere shadow of his physical powers before. Was this all futile? Was he doomed to stay an inadequate dead soul, too weak to be useful? He believed it when Pye confessed love to him, but that was back when Tiger had his strength. Things have changed now. He was barely worthy of Pye's love before, now it's just a matter of time before he was thrown away.
Pye doesn't love him anymore.
It was such a stupid and conceited thought that Tyson wanted to punch himself in the face for thinking it. He never deserved any love. But he couldn't help it. He had seen and felt the warmth back at the hotel, and later in his dreams. Now that he experienced happiness, it would be unbearable to lose it...
Pye hasn't visited him once since tasting his blood. Was that the last time?
The night Tiger thought that, Joker returned to the bedroom. Judice came in as well, holding a small tray in his hands.
Tiger had just showered and collapsed onto the bed after an exhausting day of walking and trying to jog when they came in, but he still pushed his sore body off the bed to greet them. He was ecstatic and nervous that Pye finally came. What can Tiger say to prove he was still of some use?
But before he could open his mouth, his eyes fell on the large needle on the approaching tray.
Joker stopped in front of the bed and took up the needle. His mind was occupied by the recent development in Hell, and so his voice was cold and emotionless. "Come here boy."
The sound of his voice instantly triggered Tiger off the bed and to the other side of the room in the blink of an eye. The movement was faster than anything the boy had managed to achieve these days, but he didn't even notice, his eyes were wide with panic as he stared at the needle.
Joker raised an eyebrow and gestured to the puzzled looking Judice. "Hold him down." He commanded his son, really not feeling patient enough tonight to be gentle.
Judice set down the tray and quickly made his way to the mutt. He was disturbed at how fast Tiger had moved just now; maybe not all of his powers were gone?
Tiger fought tooth and nail to get away from the person trying to hold him down. His wide eyes never left the approaching needle. Logic and everything else vanished in his mind; it was just the needle and this urgent need to get away from it.
He gasped for breath, but couldn't seem to get enough air.
"With this, we'll be able to heal the entire eighteenth platoon that got ambushed. I know we usually give you injections through the machine, but I can only give you a bit of localized anesthetic, or else it might lessen the potency of the final serum," Sue's eyes were feverish with excitement as she held up the syringe and squeezed out a drop to make sure there wasn't any air bubble.
Tiger didn't reply nor acknowledged her, his empty eyes stared straight ahead.
A sharp point buried itself into his left arm, and the full pain that followed was quickly numbed as the drug took effect.
A few more scientists joined Sue as she cleared away the station.
Something in the atmosphere was different than usual, and Tiger was brought out of his trance-like state by the tight pressure asserted by a twist of the tourniquet.
The first incision was felt but the pain didn't yet register. The blade went around the entire arm.
Tiger blinked and slowly tried looking as far to the side as he could with his neck still tightly secured down.
He sucked in a sharp breath out of pure panic, but instantly regretted it as the smell of anesthetics and blood assaulted his senses.
He tried to get back inside the warm safety of his dream.
Too late.
He was stuck in the cold reality.
A sharp burning sensation slashed through his arm. His left side was on fire.
His mouth opened in a scream of agony, but his voice had long abandoned him.
Sharp blade parted his muscles.
Couldn't move away from the pain.
Scratchy persistent screech of the bone saw.
Trilling scream of his bones.
He couldn't move.
Something held him down, a painful pressure on the small of his back and his forearm pinned him face down to the ground, along with a cold shackle like grip around his other wrist. The only thing he could move were his feet, but as he was on his stomach and the weight wouldn't let up, he was helplessly stuck there as the needle pierced through his skin and vein.
Tiger screamed in his mind, unable to release the overwhelming terror verbally.
Judice wasn't magically advanced enough to hear, but Joker flinched from the shattering telepathic scream and quickly set up a mental block before his headache became worse. It didn't take long for him to finish the injection and removed the needle. However, the mutt had already been reduced to a hyperventilating mess.
The blonde stood up and frowned at the gasping boy on the ground. He couldn't comprehend such dramatic reaction, and if he was less tired, he might have been intrigued to investigate.
But not today. The Commander waved a hand at the mess and turned to leave, "I will leave the rest in your hands."
His son nodded from where he continued to pin Tiger to the ground with his knees, "Yes master."
Judice waited for Joker to leave the bedroom before getting off his charge. The mutt quickly curled up into a shivering ball and started clawing at his arm where the needle and been injected. Judice watched in surprise as Tiger remained oblivious to his surroundings and his nails dug in, drawing out blood. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Judice quickly pinned the mutt's hands down to prevent further damage. "Hey Tiger! Snap out of it!" He urged, hoping Joker wouldn't blame him for the bloody damage already done.
The mutt strained blindly against his hold, but their level of strength couldn't be compared.
"Tiger, it's me! Damnit." Looked like words couldn't reach the boy underneath him, which meant he had to try something else. It sickened him to think this was his only option. What else could he do, chain the mutt up? But what if his father comes back?
With a sigh of frustration, Judice leaned in and kissed Tiger, badly hoping that this would calm the other. A docile mutt was much easier to handle than a crazy hyperventilating one. At times like this, he envied the higher-ups for their ability to summon lust like one would summon up a thick fog.
Luckily, the mutt calmed down slightly, no longer the thrashing body from before. Assuming he was doing the right thing, Judice grinded against the other as he deepened their kiss. Good thing Tiger was already naked, so he didn't have to bother with clothing.
The panic-stricken frantic breathing slowly changed to hot panting as Tiger blindly began to respond to the hard on between his legs. He hungrily returned the kiss to those mysterious lips that seemed to know exactly how to turn him on.
Tiger leached onto this softer dream, desperate to get out of the reality where he was back on the facility's table.
~
The next day, she came to visit.
Zitrinna was in such a gleeful mood when she stepped out of Hell's Gate; she couldn't wait to see her Joker as soon as possible. Everything had gone well with Daeken, it was just a matter of time before the love of her life was completely hers.
So imagine her annoyance when, upon entering the Commander's chambers, she was greeted by a sleeping Tiger instead of Pye himself.
The crack of a whip immediately followed by a stinging pain on his back shocked Tiger to instant wakefulness. He sat up straight and winced from the soreness of his body.
What happened? Why was he on the ground? How come his ass hurts like he was on the receiving end of rough sex? All he remembered was lying down on the bed after his exercise...
A throat cleared pointy above him and he finally noticed the pair of dominatrix-styled boots in front of him. They were attached to a pair of long sexy legs. And, as he looked up further; oh crap, it was an angry Zitrinna glaring down on him.
"It seems you've become arrogant in your time away mutt." She said coolly and went to sit down on the sofa nearby. "Have you forgotten your basic manners?"
Joker had been extremely lenient toward him these days, but Tiger had not forgotten, servants of his rank were suppose to hear the higher-ups coming and get into a bow before or upon their arrival. He honestly didn't hear her come in though...
Offering a timid grin of apology, Tiger quickly went to her and kneeled down on the ground before leaning in and kissing her boots. Normally slaves did that, but he figured he needed to degrade himself a bit more to appease her.
"You can't fool me mutt." The captain said, her voice still icy, making Tiger wonder if he had offended her in something else.
She continued without waiting for nor expecting a reaction, "I will get to the point because your presence disgusts me. You were, and are, just a toy for Joker, so don't even dream of achieving something more. The only reason he kept you for so long was for his fun and games, since you happened to be the only one who survived his experimentation of turning dead human souls into an intact shapeshifter." She paused with a smirk as she watched the shaking form of the pathetic boy kneeing in front of her feet, "Shift for me. Let me see what your beast looks like now."
Tiger's nails dug into his legs. This was it. Other than Judice, he hadn't told anyone else of the fact that he couldn't shift forms anymore. He was hoping to hide it for as long as possible. Well, guess this was going to happen sooner than later.
"I said, shift for me!" Zitrinna commanded again and struck him across the face with one foot. The force of her kick threw the naked boy scrawling on the floor, blood dripped off his chin onto the thick carpet where her heels scraped in.
"You are pathetic." The Captain laughed, "Pathetic, weak, and useless. You should have taken the hint already when Joker purposely gave you to the scientists of that world."
Tiger's head snapped up, he forgot his place and looked right into Zitrinna's eyes meeting her gaze. Joker did what?
Her light green eyes narrowed dangerously at his boldness and her whip stuck harshly across his front without warning. "How dare you look me in the eyes?"
Blood started dripping from the new wound, unnoticed by the boy. His mind was too numb with confusion and hurt, but he automatically lowered his head upon hearing her commanding sentence.
Calming her anger, Zitrinna giggled, "Didn't you know? I overheard it myself, Pye made a deal with the scientists to take you off his hands. He doesn't have any more use for you. The only thing you have going now is Neine's sympathy."
He fought back the tears begging to fall from his eyes.
"I bet it was Neine who insisted Pye kept you in his room."
She had to be a lying. Pye might not love him now, but he did loved him then. He swore he loved him.
He lied. A small voice at the back of his head whispered.
No. No. No. It couldn't be. That would mean...
Tiger choked as his thoughts raced ahead. That would mean that all those hopeful sweet dreams he had back then, the only thing that helped him keep his sanity, was just that dreams? Wishful thinking and empty dreams?
Don't you always dream for happiness?
Always dreaming about the unattainable.
Why does he still exist then if he wasn't wanted?
He did his job then right? Pye got that stone. There shouldn't be any need for him anymore.
Why couldn't they let him die then?
Why torture his emotions like this?
Just let him die.
These thoughts chased each other around in Tiger's head. He could feel the tears sliding down his cheeks. There must be something wrong with him, for people to enjoy hurting him so much.
Zitrinna had gotten up from the sofa and stood in front of the boy without him noticing. "If you don't believe me, go ask Joker. He's at the back of the banking chamber." Bending down, she mercilessly yanked him up by his hair. "Why don't you do us all a favour by getting rid of yourself for us?"
"Mother?"
Zitrinna dropped the mutt like he was contagious. Straightening up, she looked to the doorway to see her son standing there with a raised eyebrow. "Hello Judice. I was just putting the mutt back in his place."
Judice nodded expressionlessly, "I see. Father wish to speak with you."
At the mention of Pye, Zitrinna's expression lid up into a warm smile. "Alright, why don't we walk there? I have some exciting news!"
She followed her son out of the room, leaving Tiger on the floor in utter emotional disarray with not a thread of self-confidence. There was no sound from the boy as he laid there grieving silently; his blue orbs shed voiceless tears like rain droplets sliding down a glass window. The blood oozed freely from Zitrinna's whip wounds and the cut on his chin, but Tiger paid them no mind. His body was too numb to feel the physical pain.
How depressing to think he could not escape the emotional hurt even after death.
That bullet through his head was supposed to end everything.
He was supposed to be free.
So Joker had sold him to the scientists.
A small smile stretched humorlessly across his face as he tried to laugh at his own stupidity of allowing himself to be betrayed.
He should be used to this, should have expected this.
He shouldn't have dreamed about happiness.
Should he ask Pye for the truth? He wanted to hear it from the Commander himself, he needed to hear if the other really cared so little of him. There was nothing else to lose anyway...
Plus, if Joker can lie, then so can Zitrinna. Maybe she just made that stuff up because she was angry.
Clinging onto this last strand of hope, Tiger pushed himself off the ground to look for the Commander. He accidentally crashed into corners in his stunned state of mind, but none of the pain registered in his head. It was as if he couldn't feel anything anymore except the need to confront Pye.
When he finally reached the banking chamber, he found books and papers littering the ground, tables, and chairs. It looked like a hurricane had flung itself through the room. But Tiger saw none of that; his eyes were glued to the figure at the large study table near the back.
Joker had a stack of parchments in front of him, each of his two hands held a golden feathered pen that was scribbling ferociously on the paper.
"Yes?" the Commander of Hell asked without bothering to glance up.
Tiger swallowed nervously at how busy Joker looked. Maybe this wasn't a good time?
No, he had to know. The boy took a deep breath and summoned his courage to ask the one question he was betting everything on. He struggled to keep his telepathic voice void of all the emotions thundering in his mind. Back in that world... Did you set me on that mission knowing I'd fail? And that they'd do stuff- Experiment on me?
Joker continued his work without a pause, "Yes. I did."
Tiger felt faint. ...But why?
"It was convenient."
What...what about the 3 days we spent together...? You told me-
"To pass the time with," The blonde interrupted coolly and looked up, "I was curious to see your reactions. One who used to be human, but who is now immortal."
The life drained from the boy's eyes, it was the final strike to crush the pieces of his already shattered heart.
"Is that a problem?" A slight frown creased Pye's perfect forehead. He couldn't understand the expression playing across the boy's features. He also noticed the new injuries on Tiger's body, and briefly wondered where they came from.
But something else required his attention currently, so he will have to postpone this discussion later.
"If there is nothing else, then you may leave."
Tiger turned and left the room quietly.
He was too tired of this emotional torture. Too drained.
The defeated boy slowly made his way to the Hell's portal, not feeling the protesting of his weak legs wanting to give out under him. He had cried too much, his eyes burned.
The two hellhound guardians rushed forward to stop him as he approached the Gate. But one look from Tiger kept them rooted at their place, ears flattened against their heads submissively. There was something about the boy that made them hold their ground, even despite the Commander's orders.
Darkness enveloped Tiger as he finally slipped into unconsciousness and passed out. The last thing he felt was the freezing coldness biting into his naked skin.
He curled tightly into a ball. Perhaps this was what true death would feel like.
zm