#optional chapter

Lilac grabbed whatever he thought would be necessary, and threw it into a suitcase.  He ran out the door and didn’t both to lock it, he wouldn’t be coming back anyway.  He ran around the corner and fell in a heap when he collided with something solid.  He dimmed when he looked at what it was.

Roseby was snarling down at him, but his face looked as though it had taken quite the beating.  Lilac chuckled tensely, “Hey there, Roseby.  You look like shit.”

Roseby grabbed his collar and yanked him up, holding his off the ground, voice just a low whisper, “You will pay for this.”

Lilac stiffened and before he could respond, his world when dark.

________________________

Lilac groaned and pulled lightly at the restraints,  they were horrible tight and were cutting into his skin pulling a hiss from his lips.  The chair was metallic and stiff, his legs slightly separated as each foot was tied to a leg of the chair.  He tried to keep his breath even, he just had to talk to Roseby.  Easy.  He had to have something that the guy wanted.

The door flew open and slammed into the wall, lightly swinging back as Roseby threw a bag on the table and pulled out different objects.  His face was neutral, which was far more terrifying than if he was angry, it meant that he was thinking clearly.  Lilac watched as he took a slow breath before spinning around and driving a thin rod into his leg, almost parallel with the bone.

Lilac screamed as it happened, his skin being forced away as the rod naturally pushed away from the angle.  The pain was worse than he had imagined it would be, the pulling of the skin was driving him insane.  And Roseby was only getting started.  Another rod was slipped under his skin, his left arm this time, causing him to choke on cries of agony and jerk violently against the restraints.

Lilac gasped and looked over at Roseby, his voice weak, but filled with desperation, “There…...There has to be something you want.  Just say what already!”

Roseby turned, face cold and filled with loathing, “I want you to beg for death, then keep screaming until your vocal cords tear.”

Lilac breathed, trying to steady himself as his mind was screaming for this to stop, “I-I’m sorry.  They didn’t give me a choice.  And you all got out, you can go into hiding, you - GAAAAAAAAH!”

Lilac was cut off as a blade was shoved into his thigh, Roseby’s voice quiet and slow, “Vio didn’t get out you jackass.  He’s dead because of you.”

Lilac’s eyes widened in horror at the words.  Vio couldn’t be dead right?  Unless they didn’t tell him everything.  He scowled, why did he trust that low life hitman.

Lilac’s thoughts were interrupted as another rod was run into his shoulder downward.  How did it not kill him?  He just screamed as he felt the metal sink in at least seven inches into his torso.  He twitched and cried out further.  There was no escape, this pain was already driving him to lose his mind.

There was no telling how long the rods were left in, but none were added for a time, Lilac’s muscles were growing stiff as he didn’t dare to move, and anytime he began to relax, agonizing pain shot through him.  He’d heard of what Roseby could do before, but he never imagined something like this.

He gasped in pain and relief as the rods were quickly removed, it still stung, but good god was it so much better without the metal lodged into his body.

Roseby looked down at Lilac and sneered.  Why was he so easy to break, it was pathetic.  How did this worthless waste of life cause Vio’s death.  He tightly grabbed the wounded shoulder and Lilac cried turning away and closing his eyes.  Roseby smirked as he healed Lilac’s mangled body back into working condition.

Lilac groaned as he felt his body pull back together.  He would fear it more, if he wasn’t so worn and exhausted by the pain he had already endured, but he knew he was long from being free.  He looked up at Roseby and found him scowling at him, disgusted.

Lilac’s voice was quiet as he barely formed words, “What…..what if I just work for you?  I can be of use, you know I can.  Just throw one of those damned collars on me already.”

Roseby punched him in the face when he finished, it stung terribly, but he was already feeling numb to such dull pain.  Roseby snarled, his voice dripping with venom, “I don’t just keep people around.  And you already proved I can’t trust you, so fuck off.”

Lilac opened his mouth, but words wouldn’t come to him.  He was right, there was nothing he could offer now.  He was nothing in this room except a traitor to him.  And he would die like that.  The real question was:  How long?

Roseby sighed and moved back over to the table.  He was feeling conflicted over this.  Dammit all, he was feeling conflicted.  He hated Lilac so much for what he did, but he had also know and worked with him for years now.  To be doing this to him was harsh, but he had to, just remember Vio’s face.  His final expression.

Roseby yelled and punched Lilac again.  Lilac grunted lightly at the hit, but was otherwise unreactive to the blow.  Roseby snarled and stormed out of the room.  He hit the wall, but only hard enough to connect, he had learned his lesson on hitting walls already.  He heard talking from upstairs and quickly walked toward the main house.  He closed the sound proof door behind him as he walked up.

When he entered the living area he saw a fuming Blue and Sinder.  Blue pushed Sinder causing him to fall to the ground.  Roseby stormed up and shoved Blue away from him, “What the hell do you think you’re doing in my house?”

Blue punched at him, but Roseby moved out of the path of the hit.  He was a bit shocked at how easy it was to dodge though.  He looked at Blue flatly, “You’re drunk aren’t you?”

Blue spat at his feet, stumbling a bit, “What do you fucking care.  I need to pay back Vio for all the shit you caused him.”  He went to swing again, but only stumbled.

Roseby caught him and straightened him, causing Blue to scowl at him.  Roseby sighed and waved a hand, “I don’t have time for this, I have enough to deal with without you barging into my home.  Drunk at that.”

Blue leaned against a wall and his face fell, “Vio never would have let me get like this.  When I was upset, he would be sure I never got close to the booze.”

Roseby jumped when Blue started to cry.  What the hell was going on?  Roseby was the last person Blue would talk to last time he checked.  He looked him up and down, “I’m sorry, alright.  I really am, but I am busy dealing with it myself right now.”

Blue glanced at him, his voice shaky from the emotions that he couldn’t keep down, “And how might that be done.  How do you deal with causing death?”

Roseby glowered at him, “By getting pay back.  Now you can leave so I can get back to that.”

Blue looked at him confused, before his eyes brightened a bit, “You found that bastard, didn’t you.  I want a go at him.”

Roseby rolled his eyes, “I don’t need him dead.  I’m a long way from being done with him.”

Blue stood and sneered  with an eager glint in his eyes, “I don’t plan anything that bad, but it’ll make me feel a hell of alot better.  So just let me have a go at the bastard.  Something tells me that you’ll do worse to him.”

Roseby relented from his last words.  He was right, he would do far worse than what Blue would dish out, “Alright.  Don’t touch anything and keep up.”  Roseby glanced at Sinder who had quietly sat through the conversation, “You alright?”

Sinder nodded and moved over to the couch, not moving once he was settled.  The day seemed to also have taken a toll on him.

Roseby let the way back down to the basement, once the sound proof door was opened, quiet sobbing could be heard.  Roseby scowled, did that guy have no dignity left.  He led the way down the hall and opened one of the doors, showing a Lilac, curled over and quickly holding back his sobs and sitting up.  His eyes widened when he saw Blue.

Blue stumbled forward and didn’t hesitate to punch at Lilac, his head violently jerking to the side, Lilac crying out from the hit.  Roseby’s eyes widened a bit, he didn’t really notice just how hard Blue could hit, and was now realizing that even when he hit him, Blue was holding back.  Well he wasn’t holding back now.

Blue swung into his chest causing Lilac to choke on air and gag, keeling over before he took another blow to the head.  Roseby grabbed his hand before he could bring down another hit on Lilac, “That’s enough.”

Blue sneered, though he almost fell when he turned toward Roseby, “I’m done when I say I am.”

Roseby gave him a level look, “You need to go home.  I can handle this.”  Blue looked like he was going to protest further, but Roseby cut him off, “I can make him hurt far worse than a few hits to the head.”

Blue finally sighed and pulled his hand from Roseby’s grasp, “Fine, but he better be a goddamn mess when you’re done with him.”

Roseby looked over his tools, a wide selection that offered enough options to last for hours.  The guest in question was still out cold, a bird like monster that had clearly been through a scuffle or two.  The girl had thrown a few good hits, but wasn’t as well trained as he was, so it didn’t last long.  He lifted a knife off the table and smiled at his reflection before turning to his guest.

He shoved the end of the blade into her arm, pulling a agonizing cry as she was forced to wake.  He removed the blade and gave a sly smile, “Sorry, dear, I was worried you wouldn’t wake.”  The false sweetness of his voice was sickening.

“You asshole.  Where am I?”  Her voice was filled with rage and strength.  Roseby chuckled at how he would drain those both away from her.

“Now, now.  No need to be so aggressive, I just want to have a chat with you.”  Roseby tilted the knife to her collarbone, but she refused to move away.

She smiled, “I’m not afraid of that thing.  I bet you don’t even know how to use it.”

Roseby quickly brushed the blade over her skin, tearing it along her bone and exposing it.  The air that connected with the marrow and she screamed out.  Roseby grabbed her jaw and turned her head to face him, “I am very adapt at this, don’t test me.”

Her breath was already growing ragged and she lightly shook from the cries of her muscles, “How…how do you know anything about torture?”

“Tsk, tsk.”  He puts the blade through her hand and the arm of the chair, leaving it there, “I’m the one asking the questions.”

“FUCK!”  Screams and cries continue to escape her for a few minutes, and Roseby closes his eyes getting lost in the sound.  She scowls at him through her tears and shaky voice, “What do you even want from me?”

He opened a single eye and smiled at her, “Right to the point then.”  He walked over to his tools and hovered his fingers over them, “It’s simple really, you’re going to tell me about this ‘revolution’.”

Her head was hanging as she gave ragged breaths, a quiet whisper leaving her lips

Roseby moved over and leaned forward, “What was that, sweetheart?”

She spat in his face, “Fuck off.”

Roseby flinched back from the spit, which quickly turned to steam.  He gave a light glare and sighed, “What a shame.  I guess this will take some time after all.”

She laughed, but cringed at the pain it caused, “What?  Did you actually think I would just tell you.  You can’t break me so easily, sorry to disappoint.”

Roseby chuckled as he looked over the tools again and lifted a wide hammer, “No, that’s not it.  It’s a shame that you wish to suffer, I however, will enjoy it quite a lot.”

She froze and the only sound was the quiet drip of magic essence spilling out of her hand and arm, “W-what do you mean, yo-AAAAAAAAAA!”

Roseby had brought the hammer down on her knee and the shattering sound was almost unbearable, her leg now titled at an awkward angle.  She screamed and he hand jerked through the blade, tearing through and separating her fingers.  Through hisses she slowly formed words, “Hehe…….I...won’t last…...at this….rate.”

Roseby leaned in and smiled, his hand removing the blade from the chair.  He passed it to his opposite hand and placed his own back down on her mangled one, pulling a gasp of agony from her.  His grin only widened until he finally stepped back, twirling the blade in his hands.

She began to snarl, but her expression paled when she saw her hand and arm.  The wound on her hand no longer existed, and her arm had only a small graze of a cut.  Her mouth was agape at the horror of her realization.  She began to desperately struggle at the restraints, her leg making sickening sounds and tears began to spill over her face.

Roseby grabbed her face and growled, “Stay still.”

She froze at the touch, a few tears slowly streamed down and sizzled when they met his hand.  She gave a shallow nod.

Roseby gave a soft, almost sweet smile, “Good.  Now, where were we.”  He meandered back to the table, but seemed disappointed at the selection.  None of them offered what he was wishing for.  He smiled to himself and chuckled.  He slowly turned, hands empty.

Her breath was ragged and she looked him up and down confused, “What, are you-”

“Don’t speak unless spoken to.”  Roseby’s voice was filled with venom, and when he took her face this time it was met with her screams drowning out boiling flesh.  He released and she whimpered softly as she looked down at her knees.  He folded his arms and stared down at her.

She slowly turned up her head, fear filling her eyes, “There’s a big group, they are meeting a-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Roseby stabbed the blade into her shoulder, “I told you not to speak unless spoken to.  I did not ask you anything.”  He pulled the blade out and brushed it against her shirt sleeve to remove the residue.

She opened her mouth, but quickly shut it, understanding that the smallest sound would rise him to inflict even more pain.  She trembled as she look up at him.

Roseby waved his arms before him with a smile, “That’s not so hard, now is it.  Why are you talking out of turn?”

She didn’t move for a moment before she realized that he had addressed her.  Her mouth moved slowly, trying to assess that each word she said would not cause her harm, “You asked earlier about the revolution.  I’ll tell you everything, just-”

She froze when he lifted a hand, her eyes wide and terrified at what might happen.  Slowly he lowered the hand and smiled, “I know that, but I’m not finished.  You just gather everything I want to know, or after this bout, I’ll just move to another.”

She gave a shaky nod, and he turned away taking a tool from the table and returning to the chair with it.  She was a bit confused that it looked like something to tie down.  He walked up and forced her head back, pulling a hiss from her lips as he tied her head into place.  That’s when she realized that most of the back of the chair was empty, her mind raced trying to figure out what he would try to do.

It felt like a bolt of lightning struck through her left side from her shoulder.  A small cry escaped her as she realized that a hand was at the source.  Another bolt, another cry.  She whimpered as the hand lifted, but couldn't help the moan that left her lips as the fingers traced slowly down her back.

The retracted for a moment, “That sensitive, huh.  Well, I guess I can let you have that.  You won’t remember the feeling anyway.”

The fingers stopped and pressed causing a sensation of a wave of knifes rising up her back.  She cried, but it was weaker than before, but she still twitched just as violently.

Roseby enjoyed working with pressure points, they offered some of the most pain, while also doing the least damage.  It took a skilled hand to work with, but years of practice had helped him map out every touch, both painful and pleasurable.  After some time, she could only manage gasps and twitches from the touches.

Roseby lifted himself, removing the restraint, and walked back to before her, “Are you ready to answer my questions?”

She nodded, but kept her gaze downcast and broken.

Roseby snapped his fingers, his expression flat, “Look at me.”  She turned her gaze upward, her eyes hollow and empty.  Roseby smiled at the sight, “Now, tell me everything.”

She nodded and her lips moved quickly, but still slow enough that every word was clear and audible, her terror keeping her pace, “We are meeting at the lava pools of hot land.  The plan was that the attack on New Home would be done after we organized.  I’d estimate that we have somewhere between 50 and 60 people, but some more could be recruited before then.”

Roseby tilted his head as he weighed the information, “And who is leading this attack?”

She sat for a moment as she thought, “I don’t have a name, we just call them ‘Savior’ because they will actually set us free of this prison.”  She looked panicked as she looked at him, “I swear that’s all I know.  They don’t talk much about any of it.”

Roseby nodded and gave a soft laugh, “I believe you.  Now, I’ll let you go.”

Her eyes lit up until the blade was run through her, she gasped and choked on air.  He smiled as she writhed for a moment, her movement slowing until only dust remained.  He brushed off the blade and moved over to the table, cleaning off the tools he had used and brushing himself off.  The door slowly opened and he looked over to see Sinder

He stopped at the door, “I’m guessing you’re done then.  I don’t sense anyone else in here.”

Roseby smirked, “Yes, I’m done.  Could you contact Vio, tell him to prepare a meeting at his club tomorrow.  Also to bring Blue.”

Sinder shrugged, “Sure.  I’m guessing you’ll contact Scar then.”