Worst Fears, Best Pleasures (Rei no Kaado)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro froze as the bright light shot up around Seth. A trap?! When the light faded, Seth was strapped to a wheel Atsuro remembered a little too well. The difference was that now Seth was strapped to it, not a monster. His eyes widened as he realized what was going to happen, and before he could do anything to stop it, the wheel span and raked Seth with its teeth.

Atsuro looked toward Dark Malik and glared. His free hand was clenched into a fist, and he seemed to be trying to decide what to do. His glare deepened as Dark Malik spoke.

"If I'm going to have to choose between getting killed by you or getting killed by Abel, I'll take you any day," Atsuro snarled. There was an underlying meaning to that, though. Atsuro wasn't leaving Seth here like this. Even with the bitterness and jealousy, Seth was still Atsuro's friend. He refused to leave Seth here to die. Even if Abel wouldn't kill him, Atsuro would not have the guilt of two of his friends dying because of him

Cerebus dropped away from the Ka and gave a snarl toward Dark Malik before rushing at him. Before his claws could make contact on the man's back, a light flashed and a red claw reached up from the ground, grabbing the demon. Cerberus yelped and whined as it was pulled down into the ground, and it scrambled to gain a hold on the ground before it closed down around it and it dissolved into a black mist.

Atsuro was frozen in his tracks. He didn't want to summon another demon, in fear of it getting pulled under or otherwise killed like Cerberus had. But he didn't want to die like this, either...

[mugenginga]

Seth was wincing from more than the slight pain as Atsuro spoke. He couldn't tell the other teenager to run. He just didn't know how Abel would react to this. Besides, he could see in Atsuro's eyes something that had come up a few times in the demon realm. It had to be Keisuke he was thinking about. His COMP was back in his pocket, he couldn't do anything with it like this. Dark Malik had begun to chuckle as Atsuro told him he'd prefer to be killed by him then this Abel.

"As you wish, but your friend here is at the moment of more entertainment... You just wait there," Malik stated with a wide smirk.

Two lights shot up from his deck. Dark Malik grunted a bit as the monsters appeared to either side of him. Again with the monsters Atsuro would recognize, and likely again with the worry given how Dark Malik had used them in the anime. The cards were known as Holding Arms and Holding Legs, and appeared to be Egyptian stylized shackles. There was something of note in Dark Malik's appearance as well though. A few more veins had popped out on his face and there were a few beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

"I trust you remember this little strategy...?" he chuckled before he threw his hands forward.

Atsuro had three options at this point. The first one was to run, but the odds were that was leaving Seth to die a painful death. The second was to let the shackles that were now flying for him grab him and hook him to the building wall behind him. He'd be immobalized and unable to do much. The third and probably the only viable one he'd see would be to dodge... however, the speed at which the Ka were flying at him meant there was only one direction to dodge, a direction Viser Death wasn't far from...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro took a step back as he realized what those Ka were. Those particular shackles he remembered a little bit too well. But there was something off about Dark Malik. He seemed to be straining himself a bit more with each card he used.

Before Atsuro could think more about that, Dark Malik threw his hand out and the shackles flew toward him. Running and letting those things grab him weren't options. He rolled out of the way, which put him at a mighty nice position nearby Viser Death. He wouldn't be able to move out of the way quickly enough to stop the Ka from electrocuting him.

[mugenginga]

There wasn't enough time to dodge, if Atsuro was on top of the situation he'd realize that as soon as the Ka flew at him. That wasn't the main problem. The mian problem was the way Dark Malik's grin had widened about half a second before the Ka leaned back so it was more horizontal than vertical. The main problem was that it shot forward, hitting Atsuro with a rather painful Zio-like shock... before he would suddenly find himself unable to go much of anywhere.

Because the Ka had pressed down to either side. More than it had done with Decarabia. There was a very minor but constant electric shock pulsing through Atsuro. It would sting more than actually hurt, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was that the Ka now had itself locked around Atsuro's throat. There was a small gap between the two gold metal prongs, but not enough for Atsuro to get through. The grip was similar to what handcuffs would have. Atsuro could twist his head and breath just fine, but he was still restrained.

And after the initial shock, the Torture Wheel spun around again. Seth drew in a surprised breath at the movement, and Dark Malik was smiling like a psychotic fool as his screams came out as he was raked again. He walked over to Atsuro and grabbed the teenager's chin with his hand, wincing as another shock hit both him and Atsuro. He stuck his tongue out as if he were responding to the pain and wagged it at Atsuro. The sound in his voice made it clear that even with the shock he was enjoying this.

"So eager to participate rather than observe, are we..." he was chuckling again.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

There quite simply hadn't been enough time to dodge before the Viser Death shocked and restrained him. Atsuro had been a bit focused on the pain from the electric shock to realize that he'd just been restrained all the same, just by something different, and in a way he'd be able to fight back. There was a constantly pulsing electric current through his body now, and he continued to wince as each pulse shot through his body.

However, something else happened when the Viser Death shocked Atsuro. That first shock had been rather strong, and it had actually shorted the COMP out, a feat in its own. Earlier that day, something important had been confirmed to the group. When COMPs were damaged to the point of being unable to be used, an alert was sent out to all of the other COMPs in that group. At that precise moment, a very shrill beeping was being given off by something in Seth's pocket. Despite the pain, Atsuro gave a wide grin at that noise.

"Yeah, sorry, but you're kind of screwed now. That beep means my COMP's been rendered unusable. That beep also means Abel's gonna be on his way here to find out what's going on. When he sees what you did to Seth, he's gonna kick your ass," Atsuro said.

----------------

Abel had been sleeping. He hadn't wanted to think about what had happened earlier. He didn't want to think about those damn markings. To top it all off, he had a headache. But when that noise went off, he practically shot up in bed and looked toward the COMP. Twice in one day?! The only people it could be were Kaido and Atsuro... No, he didn't sense Seth in the hotel. He jumped out of bed, threw his shoes on, and rushed out the door, COMP in hand.

[mugenginga]

Dark Malik had straightened up and turned a bit as the beeping started. He winced a bit and pulled his hand from Atsuro's chin thanks to another pulse. Well that was an annoying noise, in any case. He looked back at Atsuro and seemed rather delighted at his words. Seth was wriggling in his restraints, trying to get to his pocket. Dark Malik walked over to him, stopping a bit to allow the wheel to spin again and obviously savor the groans (he'd stopped screaming by this point) before closing the distance and reaching into his pocket.

He pulled out the device and looke at it with a bored expression before chucking it to the side. It hit a wall, but the device was tough enough to survive that. The Egyptian looked over at Atsuro and chuckled as Viser Death sent another shockwave through his body. He gestured towards the device and spoke as Holding Arms flew towards it.

"So much concern over Seth, eh..." That ever present smile widened, "Well then, let's give Abel something more to worry about."

The Ka reached over with one of its shackle "hands" and grabbed the COMP before clamping down and putting a hole clear through it. The thing gave a weak spark as the Ka released it. It hit the ground with a dull thunk. The wheel went to rotate again, but it suddenly vanished, depositing Seth on the ground. He was pushing himself up when he suddenly found his arms and legs suspended in mid-air by the two Holding Ka.

Dark Malik ignored anything Atsuro had to say as he walked forward and stepped behind Seth. He bent to the side and frowned a bit as he could see bits of Seth's back throught he holes in his shirt. He growled and was suddenly grabbing his head. For a moment it seemd almost as if his face was going to split in two, a sort of phantom reflexion tearing off to the side. It hadn't even faded before he was cackling maniacally, which quickly faded to a full dark laugh with his head thrown back, one hand still covering half his face.

"This is delightful!" He laughed, "Such pleasant memories!"

The guy seemed broken. Atsuro would realize it wasn't that simple.

----------

Cain had grabbed the COMP when it went off and flipped it open. He had full intentions of ignoring it if it was Kaido. The man was becoming a bit of an annoyance, and if Abel felt like killing him for letting an ally die, he didn't quite care. He smirked. His death might actually do his brother some good, after all. However, the display Abel hadn't thought to check said Atsuro. Now he had his points among the group. The man sighed and turned of the alarm, standing up and leaving the apartment.

He managed to get out in time to see Abel's cloak disappearing down the stairs. He was rather calm with his walk after the teenager when the COMP went off again. He growled and yanked it out of his pocket, opening it up. His expression was nothing but amused when he realized the identity of the second COMP. He'd stay back far enough to observe without getting involved with this development...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro's eyes widened as the COMP had a hole put through it by the Ka. Shit, that was three COMPs down in one day. Those were tough pieces of technology, and that Ka had easily put a hole through that thing. He actually didn't react to Seth being pulled up by the cuffs. He'd.... kind of expected that after the wheel disappearing like that.

However, when Dark Malik walked around behind Seth and grabbed at his head, Atsuro looked rather startled. At the moment the tearing effect appeared, Atsuro's eyes widened. That phantom face thing again?! What the hell? The "pleasant memories" comment just made things even more fun. He'd seen Seth's back, so....

Atsuro winced as another wave of electricity moved through his body. Dammit... what was he going to do to Seth now!?

--------------

Abel didn't stop running as the next shrill beep came. He didn't stop running as he pulled open his COMP and saw whose COMP had broken next. His eyes widened as he saw the name, and he started running even faster. His pupils were slitted as he ran, and his mind was filled with thoughts about what could have possibly happened to both of them at once. The pain in his temples had gotten stronger, too.

It was a good thing the people who could keep track of Abel were giving him right of way, because he really wasn't looking where he was going. All that really mattered right now was finding Seth and Atsuro, and finding out what happened to them.

[mugenginga]

Cain had moved past walking to more of a trot now. He'd lost track of Abel quite a while back. If he was managing that speed with the limiter... he was using the COMP to keep track of him, and even it was having trouble with the fix. Cain shifted the focus to where Atsuro and Seth's COMPs had last read from. Given they were right next to each other, it was likely there were still there... if they lived. In any case, it would be no problem finding them. One of the map adjustments Cain had made to the COMPs mapped out routes any of their group made.

----------

It took a few moments for the laughing to die down. There were still chuckles, the sort one might expect from someone who was having trouble controlling his laughter. Dark Malik reached into his boot and pulled out a slender dagger. Seth's eyes widened as the Egyptian made a point of letting him see the bit of light streaming into the alley glint off it. He pulled at the Ka a bit, but they were maintaining their position with ease.

"You know Seth, there are ways to remove scarring..." Dark Malik chuckled. He stepped behind Seth and put a hard grip on his left shoulder with his free hand. He glanced up and gave a wide smile to Atsuro, "Of course, I don't see you living... but you'll scream well, won't you?"

There was no chance given for a response before Dark Malik turned the dagger a bit and slammed the side of it in the hollow between Seth's shoulderblades. He hadn't even bothered to remove the shirt, what was left of the torn cloak being too far up to interfere with the action. Seth let out a scream that could easily wake the dead and clenched his eyes shut. An involuntary tear dripped from his right eye.

Dark Malik pulled on one of the holes of the shirt to expose more of the back as Seth screamed. The blue haired teenager's voice blocked the sound of tearing. Malik dropped the connected fabric piece after Seth stopped shouting, although he was still gasping for breath. Right now, aside from the all too familiar pain, he was wondering why Atsuro just hadn't run.

He was still gasping for breath when Dark Malik brought the dagger to the side and at an angle. The scream was louder this time, and more tortured. Seth looked like he still wanted to scream, but he was clearly out of air. The tears had increased. Dark Malik was chuckling to himself. Atsuro couldn't really see for the angle, but a flap of skin was now hanging off Seth's back. What Atsuro would see was the heavy flow of blood causing large drops to fall onto the ground at Seth's right, trailing down from his shoulder... He'd also see Seth's shoulders shaking. His head had fallen in a manner to conceal his eyes, but the black haired teenager would still be able to see the flow of tears increasing.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro didn't even realizing he was holding his breath as Dark Malik brandished the knife. His eyes followed the man as he stepped behind Seth, still giving small chuckles. Atsuro actually jumped as Malik looked right at him and gave a wide smile before slamming the dagger into Seth's shoulder blades. He winced at both the scream and from the current going into his body.

Atsuro forced himself to look away as the dagger was brought down into Seth's back again. He looked back toward Seth, and his eyes widened as he realized Seth was crying. There was a large amount of blood dripping down from Seth's back, and it was obvious the injury Dark Malik had done was rather serious.

It was at this moment that Abel appeared at the entrance to the alley. He'd stopped following the map on the COMP the moment he'd heard Seth's scream. He had stepped into the alley, and then he'd just stopped. He didn't even seem quite there, and he looked like he was looking at something far into the distance.

Because this scene was one he'd seen many times in his head, except instead of Malik there was Belphegor, and instead of Seth, there was Keiji, and there were no floating shackles, just a wooden cross. He didn't even see Atsuro there. There was no Atsuro here. Just that scene from the castle.

And suddenly Abel was no longer at the alley's entrance, he was shoving Dark Malik into a building's wall, and there was a rather large crater from where he had shoved Dark Malik into it. There was a grin matching Dark Malik's on Abel's face, and he didn't seem quite sane as he spoke. He didn't even realize he'd slipped into using the same tones and inflections he used while speaking with the demonic tongue. He was still speaking Japanese, that much was clear, but there was something very demonic about it.

"Not again. Not again, no, I killed you before. I killed you twice before. You got away the first time because you killed yourself, and you got away the second time because Keiji stopped me. You're not getting away this time. I'm going to kill you. You're going to pay for what you did, you're going to suffer for it." Abel's voice was deadpan as he spoke. "I'll start with your fingernails, and then your finger joints, and then I'll move on to every bone in your body, and when I'm done with you, you'll be a little cripple bastard, and then maybe, just maybe, I'll be nice and kill you. Or maybe I'll leave you like that, broken and dying on the ground. Perfect end for a little sloth like you, don't you think?!"

He grasped Dark Malik's wrist and squeezed until he finally dropped the knife. Abel then kicked the weapon away and leaned in a little closer, a quite-fitting demonic grin on his face. It was likely that with everything else that had just happened, no one noticed that the screen on his MP3 player had cracked down the middle.

[mugenginga]

Abel hadn't been exactly quiet about his arrival. The fact that stopping meant he had to drive his feet into the ground and maintain balance due to abilities not quite human had made quite a bit of noise. Dark Malik had stopped with his hands on the scrap of flesh hanging from Seth's back. He'd intended on tearing it off for starters, but that arrival had to be that 'Abel' Atsuro had spoken about. He was chuckling to himself, visible more by his shoulders than his voice, as he turned...

...and was slammed into the cement side of a wall before he could as much as blink. The speed had been fast enough Dark Malik hadn't had time to drop either of the things he was holding. This meant Seth had howled as part of his back skin had been torn off from the force, but Abel didn't seem to notice (or care...) given his lack of reaction. He was more concerned with giving his heavily accented speech to Dark Malik.

The Egyptian had felt that. He had more then felt that. Hell, the pain from that managed to slip past what he considered enjoyable and into actual pain. For a second there he'd lost consciousness. Not long enough for his other self to surface, but his vision had been black for a moment and the egyptian eye on his forehead had dimmed. He came too about the time that Abel finished the first part of his speech. He heard the list of what Abel was going to do with perfect clarity... and he looked terrified.

His eyes got steadily wider as Abel spoke. The eye didn't fade, the veins were still there, even the expression while scared was still very Dark Malik like. But there was terror there, enough that the teenager would be putting off moderate levels of magatsuhi. Not high, but it sure as all hells wasn't low either. Dark Malik could tell he'd cracked a shoulder blade with that move, and a bit of blood was streaming down from his hair, dying the pale blond a light pink in one area.

There was an instintive reaction of trying to keep a hold of the knife. Dark Malik dropped it before Abel could do significant damage to the wrist. It would bruise like a mother, but it wasn't cracked or broken. The pupils of his eyes were dots and the eyes themselves seemed gigantic as Abel leaned in towards Dark Malik. That expression of pure terror was another Atsuro would know... Dark Malik had sported it when he had finally realized he was going to lose. That Atem was going to destroy him. The expression fit the voice his floating eye had used when Malik had surrendered the Duel that ended the Battle City tournament.

Something else rather significant had happened the instant Dark Malik had been slammed into the wall. Two beams of light had shot up from the ground behind where Seth was, just vanishing without explanation. The three Ka Dark Malik had been keeping active all vanished. Atsuro was free from the constant shocks, and wouldn't fall down unless he was highly unstable becauseViser Death had allowed his feet to remain on the ground.

The two Holding Ka had vanished and Seth had crumpled to the ground. The wound was still bleeding rather significantly, but one could see a bit of muscle within the blood stained back and half ripped off shirt. He was breathing, and he was shaking. It wasn't clear if it was from pain, fear, or tears... it was actually a combination of all three. Dark Malik wasn't the only one radiating magatsuhi at the moment. Seth was only vaguely aware of Abel's presence. His eyes were closed, but the tears falling were fresh and the shaking did indicate he was conscious.

The fear was rising in Dark Malik as Abel leaned in close. The magatsuhi was rising to compensate. Perhaps odd to Abel, despite the likely fact he wouldn't care, was there was an everpresent feeling of anger. Magatsuhi was connected to emotions, negative ones had better "flavor". Despite the obvious fear and steadily rising panic, Dark Malik was radiaiting a constant aura of hatred and anger, as well. None of that was present in his expression. None of that was present as he began to beg for his life.

"R-relax, I wasn't going to kill him! J-just a l-little fun, I s-swear!" It was a lie, not that Abel likely cared either way. His voice was getting shakier with every word, "Y-you don't have to k-kill me, r-r-really!"

(OOC: I didn't forget Cain. He's just not Lightning McDemon over there. XD)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd felt this kind of spice. The man that had hurt Seth was radiating so much fear, not as much as some people had given off before they'd died, but it was enough to excite him further. He was torn between killing Dark Malik or playing with him a bit more. His grin only widened as the man told his lie, and he leaned in even closer.

"I don't like liars," Abel said once again in that emotionless tone. He placed his hand in the center of Malik's chest, and pressed down very deliberately. There was a satisfying snap as a few ribs broke. The way Abel had broken them meant it would be hard for him to breathe. Humans were so fragile.

"It's always for 'fun' isn't it? Keiji was tortured for 'fun' and the pain forced him to remember something he never should have. I was helpless then. And now that I have power, I'm going to keep him from ever being hurt like this again." Abel gave a chuckle. It didn't sound altogether sane.

Atsuro had put as much distance between Abel and Dark Malik as he could. Atsuro doubted Dark Malik realized it, but that expression of fear on his face was only making Abel more frenzied. It was likely Malik was going to die here.

Abel grabbed hold of Malik's hand and held it up. He reached up with his other hand, took hold of Malik's index finger, and pulled it, breaking it. Abel grinned.

"That's one," Abel said. An emotion had finally slipped into his voice then. It was amusement.

[mugenginga]

Dark Malik was trying to get loose. That much was obvious, but Abel's grip was far too much. The Demon King had a grip many demons would have been hard pressed to pull free from, let alone Dark Malik. For all his insanity, Dark Malik was still human. He tensed up again as Abel placed his hand on his chest. Abel was still holding the hand that the Egyptian had dropped the dagger from, and the way he was leaning forward was putting a fair amount of restraining weight on Dark Malik. And then he'd pressed down.

The teenager gave a very slight jerk. Far less than Abel might have been expecting, really. The pain wasn't hitting his negative emotions as much as it should, either. But there was another spike in fear. Dark Malik's mind was trying to deny the obvious here. If this kept up, he was going to die. He didn't have Ra on him. Hell, he didn't even have a Millenium Item. He'd given the Ring up to that "god" out of self preservation and hope he'd make the mistake of wearing it. He couldn't get enough energy in focus to summon a Ka, either.

Dark Malik jerked again, his breaths shallow from the broken ribs, as Abel grabbed his right hand. It was forced up with enough force that Dark Malik was positive a muscle had been pulled. He jerked again, but the grip was iron. And every twitch, every breath, added more pain. He felt like he couldn't fill his lungs cause of the broken ribs. His hand was off the wall, but there was no running.

Abel grabbed his right index finger and slammed it down against the back of Malik's hand. The Egyptian teenager tried to gasp as it snapped, but the broken ribs only made it sound more like a sharp and sudden whisper. He tried to yank away again, but it was evident he wasn't going anywhere. His desperation shone clearly when the expression he turned towards Atsuro was pleading.

Seth continued to lay on the ground. Where was the next part? He couldn't run. Maybe he wasn't restrained, but he couldn't run. Last time they'd tried to run, a trap had triggered. Another one would trigger. This... this was different. This was a game to Malik. Was he doing something to Atsuro? He didn't hear screams.... the teenager's blue hair was concealing his face. He felt really dizzy. Blood loss? His consciousness felt a bit fleeting... and the wound was still bleeding.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel's grin didn't change much as Dark Malik gave his reactions to each subsequent injury he inflicted. Muted as they were, they were reactions to his torture. He grabbed the middle finger next, and pulled it down as well. He moved on to the next digit, and counted off with each digit he broke.

"Two, three, four..." Abel chuckled to himself. He snapped the thumb last. "That's five. Say goodbye to your right hand." He grabbed the hand and slammed it against Dark Malik's right lower arm. There was a rather loud crack as his wrist snapped.

Atsuro gulped and looked away as he saw the pleading look on Dark Malik's face. He couldn't do a thing to help Malik now. He'd seen this scene too many times with demons back in the Demon Realm. The way he looked away from Dark Malik meant he looked toward the injured Seth, and it finally hit him how badly Seth was injured. He rushed over to Seth's side and looked toward the injured shoulder. It was still bleeding rather badly. Quickly, Atsuro pulled off his jacket and placed it on the wound to try to soak up some of the blood. He shivered from the cold, but right now Seth was more important.

If I had my COMP, I could heal this a little bit, Atsuro thought bitterly to himself. But if his COMP had not been broken, they'd likely still be being tortured and Abel wouldn't have had a clue until their dead bodies showed up later on...

[mugenginga]

Dark Malik had a high pain tolerance. One did not have hours spent getting one's back carved into or the months of lingering pain without building up a resistance. It was likely had he had a normal childhood, he would have passed out by now. But he wasn't. Each wince was less pronounced as Abel broke finger after finger, and he did lose the ability to stand. His knees buckled and he was only kept upright by Abel's grip.

The Demon King was holding him in the air by his lower arm after he snapped the wrist... Abel would know his consciousness was beginning to fade though. The dip in magatsuhi output alone would indicate it was fading. Anyone actually watching would notice that the "third eye" was dimming quite a bit as well. He wasn't out just yet, but as the entire hand became a mass of purple and black, his consciousness was drifting.

Cain had paused for a brief moment when he heard cracking. It wasn't so much that his hearing was beyond human ranges. He was just that observant. Abel was being rather loud about things as well. Cain considered not turning the corner where he knew the group was at for a moment. To call it fear would be to misunderstand Cain. It was a simple hesitation as he played the risks in his mind. He didn't close his COMP as he turned the corner.

None of the scene surprised him. No, that wasn't quite the case, but surprise was perhaps too strong a word. There was a frown for the second it took for him to put things together. Abel was doing this to a human. It was the kind of thing that took normal humans years. A sort of instant acceptance. Unlike the others, he did note the broken limiter. His expression was flat, lacking both anger and the usual smirk as he came up beside Seth and lifted Atsuro's hand off the compress. If Atsuro tried to fight it, it would be thrown off. Cain wasn't dealing with bullshit right now.

He hadn't announced his presence or said a single word.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro jerked as Cain grabbed his hand and lifted it off of the compress. He looked up at the man, and the situation suddenly seemed so much worse just because of Cain's expression. "Cain..." He scooted away from Seth and let Cain take over.

Abel only gave a frown as his victim's knees buckled under him. Dark Malik was fading out of consciousness, that much was obvious. It was a shame. With the kind of pain tolerance this man had been showing, he'd expected him to last longer. He kneed Dark Malik in the stomach and let go of the man, finally dropping him to the ground. He had planned on killing Malik, but it wouldn't be fun to anymore.

Abel already knew Cain was there, so the man's presence didn't surprise him when he turned around and spotted him. Silently, Abel walked over to where Seth lie on the ground and crouched down in front of him.

"Are you alright?" Abel asked hesitantly. If Seth looked up (or was even conscious), he would get a very good view of Abel's broken limiter and his still slitted eyes. Abel's demonic accent had dropped and he was using a kinder tone more associated with his human self, but his eyes remained slitted.