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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2014 6:48:23 GMT -6
What was she thinking?
This was quite likely the last place Liechtenstein should be going. Considering the questionable aura of the house and her tendency to run into trouble at every corner, despite all of her attempts to avoid such trouble, descending the damp staircase into the chilled air of the torture room was akin to offering herself up to whatever beasts surely lurked within. The torture room seemed as likely a place as any to have a crazy or two in it, and plenty of toys with which to make her regret this decision – not that she didn’t already as soon as her foot hit the first step.
The draft that blew by her when her feet finally touched the rocky floor caused her to hug herself and shiver from the cold. Were there even any windows down here? Why was there a wind blowing? In addition, she expected the entire area to be dark and, granted, that’s exactly what it was, but a small area in a corner was lit just enough to make sure the main room and any chambers adjacent received just enough light for the floor to be visible. Of note were the many dark blotches staining the floors beyond repair. She knew exactly what they were, but the question that popped into her mind was whether or not they were old stains piled over time, or new from a recent victim.
It wasn’t just the floor that was littered with torture devices. Huge expanses of wall seemed to have been set aside for the storage of smaller items that could be manipulated with the simple use of one’s hands. Pliers, corkscrews, brands… what caught her eyes however was a long span of rope hanging from a hook near the ceiling, a large portion of it draped loosely to the ground and curling in a pile. Glimmering slightly, its appearance seemed to belie a magical quality that Lili actually ignored initially, much too caught up in the discovery of an item that might have legitimate use to her somewhere down the line. Who was going to mind her taking a piece of rope?
A old wooden stool was pulled over to give her short body a boost, and though she would need to stand on her toes to remove the pristine rope from its hook, she would eventually manage. Her costume was now mostly useless and the old plastic flowers in her basket took up too much necessary room. She dumped the fake lavender and daisies and other species aside and would leave them there, their purpose having far been outlived. Lili had no idea that what she had found was a useful, magical treasure that would surely serve an important purpose later.
She turned on her toes and hopped down from the stool, but as she stood back up straight to prepare to leave (for she had stayed too long in this dank, gruesome place) she spotted a body that she had not noticed when she tentatively marched down the stairs. His eyes were closed, he was covered in blood… he looked like he was dead, which would have alarmed her if she hadn’t by now been introduced to the kind of travesties the Manor seemed to impose upon its guests.
What did alarm her was who it was. Golden hair, a familiar face… a slight movement in his chest alerted her to the glorious fact that this man was alive, but his being strapped to one of these monstrosities made her cry out his name in fear. “… Vash--!”
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2014 17:04:25 GMT -6
Lili…
He smiled, always having enjoyed when the two of them went out for picnics or up through the mountains for a hike. This time was no different, there was the smell of spring and they were sitting in one of his favourite places by his home. It was almost surreal how perfectly the flowers were placed and how pleasant the weather was. Granted, Vash prided himself in taking care of the gardens himself when he could…or as an excuse to get away from his desk. So, of course his gardens were perfect, just like everything else that belonged to him—if it wasn’t perfect it would be made so, no matter what it was.
Vash noticed that her teacup was empty and picked up the little delicate porcelain pot that had a nice cherry blossom tea in it and began filling up her cup. However, there was something off about the pot just then. The moment that Vash had grabbed the handle, he could tell there was something wrong.
The teapot was far too heavy for what was in it and the material it was made of, that much he could tell, and as he began pouring out the tea…the pigment darkened. And it slowly became red and thick.
Vash tried to stop pouring the teapot but it had seemed that his hand was almost acting of its own accord.
What was going on?
There were birds…when did that happen? The chirping was sweet, but he couldn’t quite place the type of bird that it belonged to, that was also quite strange…he knew quite literally everything that existed in his own home, especially within the vicinity of his main home.
What was going on?
He wanted to stand, figure out the source of the noise…it couldn’t be a spy could it? No, that was impossible. His home was the most secure in the world and he would have noticed something long before they had been able to make it this far.
His legs would not move, on the contrary…he shifted forward and peeled off the lid on a jam jar and began scooping it onto a piece of bread.
The chirping grew lower, faster, louder.
As Vash leaned over to hand Liechtenstein the bread with the jam, he caught the scent of the tea, which she had yet to touch. She seemed to be distracted by something off in the distance, as she wasn’t facing him.
The tea smelled like it was horribly over steeped and the chirping got deeper still. “Lili?” He called out to her, yet she didn’t turn.
The chirping lost its pitch; it started to sound like the noise of a train wheel when it first starts out of the station, an almost low thudding sound.
There was no way any tea smelled that metallic when it was over steeped. Perhaps, perhaps there was something wrong with the porcelain.
Yes, yes that had to be it.
“Lili?” He said again, this time a little louder…maybe she didn’t hear him over the strange birds.
Speaking of the birds, they were growing louder, now the sound was ringing in his ears like the pulsing of his own heart when he jumped out of a helicopter into the beautiful peaks of the alps…except the sound was making him feel sick.
“Lili!” He yelled this time, for his vision was blurring and the mountains began to spin around him, along with the flowers in front of him and the pot of tea on the blanket beside him. No…the world wasn’t spinning like that, that was quite silly indeed. It was his head that was spinning. The thumping grew louder and louder until he began to think that it was indeed his heartbeat—which was odd, he hadn’t heard it before. Was that what was making all of that chirping?
No…hearts didn’t work like that.
“Lili!” He screamed, his vision beginning to blur and fear collecting in his stomach in the form of a heavy pit that just sat there and grew…and grew, and kept on growing until he felt like it would rip out of his stomach.
She did turn just then, but it wasn’t his sister…not the way he knew her…no…the Liechtenstein he knew had a face. And yet, even without lips he could tell that the faceless woman in the shape of his sister was smiling across at him, and that was when the pain set in.
He was beginning to remember, slowly as the image was lost. However that feeling in his stomach stayed just the same, and it was accompanied with new aches and pains…and fear.
What had happened? The back of his head was the source of a sharp pain that he was beginning to feel more and more, oddly enough…it was pulsing in rhythm to the chirping of the birds.
Perhaps they never were birds to begin with.
Just then was when Vash heard his name and slowly he began to stir…as much as he could.
“Lili…?” He whispered.
Just then, the fear finally found its source…and it was in the very name that he just spoke. The fear was so great that he felt like he wanted to be sick. She had hurt him…she had attacked him when he wanted to protect her. But…she also wasn’t his sister and she was playing games.
She had struck him down…she wasn’t Liechtenstein and someone was playing a terrible, cruel game. He felt sick and fear quickly set into his features before he even opened his eyes, he couldn’t look…not at the face of a fake…hollow, evil mask that resembled his sister.
He tried to pull his arms down, but he was stopped by the fact that they were restrained somehow, as were his legs. He swallowed, slowly collecting himself and his temper taking over—he couldn’t fight his sister…even if it wasn’t her, it wore her face and he could never do a thing to hurt her.
He was going to die here…he was certain of it. As it was, the blow to his head was making it hard for him to focus and his pulse rang loud in his ears.
The stench of blood finally made its way to his nose and it was coupled with the dank…musty smell of an old basement.
“Where is she?”
He managed to keep his voice steady, an attempt to mask the certainty of his own demise in here…he had German blood in him damn it! He had managed to survive this long and no self-respecting Germanic nation would go down fighting...never! He wouldn’t just lie down and take it…he was one of the strongest out there!
However it was impossible to hide the concern in his tone, no matter how demanding it may have been. And while he wasn’t going to go down without a fight, the cold metal clamped around his wrists proved that he was indeed, already down. He was down and sprawled out like a deer being prepared after a good hunt. He would get himself out of this, he had to know what happened to his sister and make sure that she was safe.
He would make sure she was safe no matter what. Hell, he could be decapitated and his pure will power would keep him alive just long enough to make sure she was safe.
“What did you do with her?” He hissed, gritting his teeth and his anger beginning to show. “Enough of these games!” His voice was clear and rang with venom, his lips beginning to curl up into a sneer and he finally opened his eyes.
The moment he set eyes on her, all of his anger diminished and the pit in his stomach settled a little. His heart lurched and any evidence of the hatred he felt and his desire to quite literally rip his tormentor in half vanished. A shaky, distressed smile and little droplets of water forming in the corners of his eyes replaced all of the anger that he held before.
Looking at her, he just wanted to pull her into a tight embrace and tell her that everything was okay. Even in the dark, he could tell it was her, in contrast with what he remembered the replica Liechtenstein…how could he have possibly mistaken that for the real one. However, there was still a certain loss of innocence that he saw in his sister that was standing before him…and that quickly began chewing away at his anxiety. He knew he was overeager and far too happy at the idea of finally finding his sister…finally. Especially in this place he knew it was unwise to trust your emotions and that doubt was your first ally.
The moment that he had found out that his sister had been wandering this place alone was comparable to shooting him right in the gut…it hurt and he felt like he didn’t deserve to have her as a sister anymore…he was unable to protect her and he had brought her here in the first place! Hadn’t he?
Still, Vash cleared his throat and his expression hardened again…he couldn’t be thinking with his heart, he never did and this was the worst possible place to start.
“Give me proof that you’re my sister…” He uttered in the Bern dialect of German.
However, he never had the chance to wait for a response before there was the sound of a crank tightening and he felt a shock of pain in his joints and back as the chains began tightening and the studded roller dug into his back. He took a deep breath and grit his teeth together, he wouldn’t scream.
He didn’t have the ability to scream.
He would not give his tormentor that sort of satisfaction.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2014 8:43:36 GMT -6
Lili felt her heart break as she listened to her brother’s words, and saw the terror in his face. Her face and clothes were dusted by scuffles and skirmishes here and there, but the man before her had clearly been through a lot. She should not be surprised that he distrusted her, but it didn’t hurt her any less. He was down in this godforsaken hellhole, strapped to… whatever that was! Her initial panic for his wellbeing was now being replaced with the feeling of not being recognized as his sister, but being assumed as something else.
What exactly had Vash been through…?
She poke his name out of concern for his wellbeing, but Vash’s first words to her were a demand, for clearly the girl he awake to was not Liechtenstein.
“Vash, I… I’m right here.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, shoulders downcast and face dripping grief. “It’s me—“
What else was she supposed to say? Her lack of admittance did not seem to quell her brother’s fury, for he continued to shout his accusations at her. She was entirely ignorant to his situation excepting the scene right before her, and has her hand grazed over the straps that held him in place her spat more words toward her, causing her to recoil backward.
This wasn’t fair.
She’d finally found Vash, and he was trying to drive her away.
“Vash—shh…” Lili placed a finger to her lips. She wasn’t sure what she could do to convince the man of her sincerity. Clearly if he was behaving this way towards her, he had been through a lot. If he wasn’t sure if she was the real thing or not… God forbid she find a Vash who was not the real brother. Her brow furrowed and she attempted to reach for his bond.
“I’m going to try to let you out, Vash. W-We can talk when you’re free, and we’ll figure things out.”
Lili was closer now, perhaps nervously close. Vash was clearly disturbed by her presence, but she couldn’t leave him there, and even as she approached he displayed a huge amount of distrust. She concluded that most of the blood that remained fresh on the floor and torture device were likely his, which begged the question of how Vash was still alive and energetic enough to shoo her away.
The thought of her brother being made to bleed like that was pushed far out of her mind forcibly. She rounded the rack, looking for some kind of releash mechanism, or a key. She had no experience with this kind of thing and pursed her lips, frustrated, as Vash’s lack of trust cumulated in a final statement.
“Give me proof that you’re my sister…”
Lili hoped Vash’s hearing wasn’t keen enough to hear her heart shatter. She wasn’t even given much time to react, for even as she began to open her mouth to speak a crank on the rack squealed back to life and the bonds began to pull and tug at Vash’s limbs.
Muffling a shriek with her hands Lili was back upon the cranks. How was she supposed to turn this off? How was she supposed to release Vash from it?! No, no, no! She wasn’t going to let this machine take him from her as soon as they were reunited! Vash’s distrust be damned, his accusations could wait. Lili’s distress was replaced now with fear. If she didn’t work quickly, this could end very badly for both of them!
If only she’d stayed with the people she found. She found herself alone once more and, again, helpless!
“Do you know how to work this thing?” Lili’s wavering voice asked in a panic. “I… I don’t know what I’m doing!”
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2014 17:09:15 GMT -6
Pulling—twisting—turning. That was all he could feel his bones doing as they were slowly pulled farther and farther from their natural position. He tried to resist against it by pulling back with his own strength—however he wasn’t quite that strong, no, not enough to withstand some unnatural, unforeseeable force when Vash himself was essentially human.
But this didn’t stop him from trying hold himself together in one piece. He couldn’t die—he wouldn’t let that happen, no he had to protect his sister. He had to protect Lili and get her out of here, he promised himself and he would do just that no matter what.
Vash couldn’t let her see him like this, he knew…he knew it would hurt her more than anything to watch him die and he would refuse to do that to her, especially in this godforsaken hell hole. He wasn’t going to give up that easily, no—not here—not now. It would be far too easy to just die here…but Vash wasn’t one to go the easy route, and seemed to enjoy learning things the hard way. Granted—he had been able to hold his borders during the Second World War…how much worse could this be?
When Lili spoke, he could hear the hurt in her voice and the guilt just dug itself deeper and deeper into the pit in his stomach. The feeling that he had made his sister upset hurt more than the feeling of his entire body being pulled apart—much worse.
Vash had envisioned finding his sister and just pulling her into his arms and promising to her that everything was going to be okay, that’s all he had wanted to do…to make sure she was alive and keep her that way…..but that clearly wasn’t an option right now as there was slight cracking coming from his shoulders.
This was starting to bring back a few old memories, ones that he would rather not revisit. The times of the Roman and Holy Roman Empires were not exactly something he would say that he had enjoyed and he would have much rather forgotten about them entirely. Sure, things were simpler back then, but he was weak and could barely support himself—the physical strain was nothing compared to that outward feeling of being weaker than those that surrounded him…of being helpless. And well, this…this was bringing back those feelings.
And he could not. Would not. Feel that. He would not express that in front of his sister. He wouldn’t ask anymore questions, it was better to doom himself and risk being captured by a creature that mimicked his sister’s looks and actions than risk yelling at her and accusing her of being a fake again—of breaking her little heart.
Sure, she might not be his sister in the conventional sense, but he had adopted her as such and he had to act as her big brother…he had to protect her and keep her happy as big brothers should do, because he loved her dearly and couldn’t bare the thought of anyone hurting her innocence…but he was clearly already too late for that.
“Lili I’m sorry I didn’—“
He was cut off when the device tugged harder and started digging into his back, the dull pain shooting through him and there was another series of small cracks, this time coming from his back.
He took a deep breath to calm himself and try to think....of course she didn’t know how to use this thing, it was better that she didn’t—she had never been subjected to them and had never had to use them to his past. Well, that was what he knew anyway.
“There…should….be a handle, or…or a wheel at the bottom…” He bit his lip and forced himself to not curse in front of her.
“It….would be rotating the gears directly under it….jamb the gears….and break the wheel.”
He finally released the breath that he was holding and focused back on resisting the device, hoping that maybe he could break it from applying a high tensile force to the chains holding him there.
In the back of his mind however, and under all of the layers of guilt and pain his anxiety kicked in again and the hairs on his arms stood on end coupled with an involuntary shudder. His attacker was in the room—somewhere in the shadows, waiting.
“Hurry.”
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