Through the Never |Persephone, Kiyoshi, maybe Kat|

[Niall]

This wasn't his first trip down to Midnight's dungeons, but this particular saunter down the stone steps into the dimly lit hallways marked a special occasion: Niall's ascension to the rank of Master of Midnight.  Jeshickah had left the fortress in his care until further notice, which sounded as though it'd be quite some time, given her distaste for the Bruja situation that Niall had brought to her attention and her own desire to start up another fortress in another location.  It was fine with him, since he had this 'Bruja situation' under control.  He'd gotten the information he'd needed through bribes and threats, with a little torture added in there for good measure, and now it was just the final, glorious touches.  Persephone would be meeting him for this one, and he looked forward to watching her work as much as he liked the idea of doing it himself.

When he stepped into the larger cell, he was pleased to see that everything was prepared, just as he'd asked.  Stefan was waiting, mostly just to watch and assist, if necessary.  Niall had decided shortly after meeting the much younger vampire that the man was hopelessly brainwashed by his human ways, but still useful and more than willing to 'excuse' what he thought was 'bad breeding' in the case of someone outranking him.  Niall could read it off of him that Stefan respected him, and merely thought it was unfortunate that Niall hadn't been born Aryan.  Niall just thought it was amusing, and refrained from mentioning that he preferred the dark look, anyway.  It was more fitting.

Hanging from the wall in shackles that were infused with firestone for this very purpose were the two 'traitors'.  Really, Niall knew that they'd never been loyal to Midnight, so they weren't really 'traitors', but they'd pretended, and they'd been caught.  He gave them both credit for remaining silent as Stefan laid out a variety of sharp instruments on a table, and merely stared them both down for a moment.  The dark-featured vampire was the 'leader' of the two, that much had been made plain, but he could admire the macaw for keeping his composure during capture and since.  Birds weren't exactly known for taking beatings well, and neither of the two had been handled gently in the past few hours, nor were they going to be any time soon.  They had to know that, and as he regarded each of them, he knew that they did.  The vampire was steeling himself for it, it seemed, and Niall got the impression that the red-haired shifter was doing the same, but his bets were on the vampire being harder to crack.  Perhaps that was just pride in his own species, though.  He waited until Verity entered the room, since he was rather interested in seeing what she had in mind

"I would start off with questions if I had any, gentlemen, but I have to be honest with you on that one.  I got everything I needed to know from other sources, including your identities, and we're going to hurt you until I'm satisfied that my point has been made.  You'll both serve as proof that an attempt at attacking Midnight again would be suicidal," he explained, ensuring that they knew that there was no fast way for them to escape it.  There was nothing they could tell him, no surefire bit of information that would safe them from the damage he intended for them, and he nodded to Verity to begin.

Over the course of the next few weeks, he felt as though his point was made, plus some, and he gave them no indication that it was going to stop.

Ortega was given just enough food and water to ensure that his body's ability to heal would keep him alive while they tore into him, but Sullivan was denied any such luxury.  In fact, he'd refused to feed the first few times that Niall had offered him the opportunity, and of course that was because the only food source he was being offered happened to be his macaw comrade, but Niall eventually broke him of that little issue.  The former pirate eventually caved out of necessity after both Niall and Persephone had taken their hands to him, Niall with his own brand of magic to worsen the deal, and the new Master was still personally impressed that the other vampire had managed to refrain from killing the shifter.  There was still time for that, if he opted to be patient for it, though.  When he and Persephone were both finished tearing into their captives, he allowed Stefan the opportunity to try out some new techniques, and the only thing that Niall was displeased about was the fact that a macaw was only a chai elavie.  It meant no demi form for him to 'request' that Ortega take, though he and Kiyoshi had discussed another option.  He was interested in trying it out.

"Whenever you're ready, my friend," he invited the other vampire after having taken a seat to watch for the moment.  He'd invited the other vampire down for this express purpose, and since he'd never partaken in this particular brand of torment before, he wished to see all of the details.

[Kiyoshi]

  Kiyoshi was truly a disturbing individual because Kiyoshi was perfectly sane - or so he thought. To a normal human being, he was psychotic; a perfectionist, a demon in a man-suit, and a vicious and cruel killer. Kiyoshi only felt that he was doing what was necessary to keep things visually pleasing to him. If that happened to entail force-changing someone from animal to human and back a few dozen times to teach them to change as he commanded... well... Do what he says, and you wouldn't have a problem.

  "Fascinating," was all he said, his voice smooth like heroin. He folded his arms as he regarded the scene before him: Ortega was strung up, barely alive, but alive enough. He reached out to inspect him, being as light with touch and as gentle as possible. "Really," he said, turning to Niall. "Where on Earth did you find an Arini. Do you know how hard I've looked? And one just flew right into Midnight's window and broke his neck, it seems," he mused, his voice low and to himself.

  With a crack of his knuckles, Kiyoshi took a step back from the victim. "Let's see how this works, shall we? I can't say I've ever actually attempted this before. I imagine it will be quite painful," he added. With that, he lashed out at Rafael. His power, the ability to force-change a shapeshifter to and from their secondary form at will, would feel something like being burned alive or dragged over razor blades or something else entirely agonizing. Every shifter was different, every sensation more personal, but all extremely painful in the end.

  "You want me to attempt to half him?" Kiyoshi asked Niall for clarification. He had a hand slightly raised in concentration, fingers crooked like he was about to reach for something. It helped him focus, even if it made him look like a mystic of some sort. Currently he was just pulling at Rafael's essence, familiarizing himself with the man and the bird. Man. Bird. Man. Bird. Man. Bird. Man. Bird. Man.

  He ignored the screaming, speaking over it.

[Rafael Ortega]

Rafael would argue that they were all disturbing individuals, and he'd seriously been reconsidering what the hell he was doing there.  He'd agreed to going in for the 'good cause', especially with all that he knew of Midnight.  Hell, they'd kidnapped the guild leader's pregnant wife.  Seriously?  He was in.  There was nothing about being a hero or anything even involved, just the fact that it was wrong, and unlike some hunters, Rafael cared about that.  He didn't know, even now, what Lucien had used to talk Gabriel into it (since Gabriel wasn't a hunter, and didn't even seem to be pleased to be doing what they were sent in for), but from the moment he'd met the vampire, he didn't understand the 'nerd cop' comments.  Yeah, it was explained that Mr. Sullivan was moonlighting for them and taking time away from his usual job as police forensics, but there was nothing 'nerdy' about the guy.  Of course, he didn't understand that Gabe was just dropping any and all acts in favor of his true presence, and he'd felt confident in their chances at success.

Right up until Niall, Persephone and the Nazi showed up. 

In retrospect, he thought that he probably should have followed the direct order from Gabe when those three had come to get them, and taken off.  Gabriel had been pretty clear on the whole, 'get away if the shit hits the fan' issue, and Rafael had agreed pretty easily.  The problem came when it was really time for him to abandon the guy that he'd come to respect, and he hadn't been able to do it.  Thus, they'd fought, and they'd lost.  They'd fought well, but they'd still lost.  That had landed them both in the dungeons, under the knives and various other instruments of their tormentors, and the first time Niall had gotten Gabe to cave and bite him?

God, he'd wished that Gabe would forget himself and just finish him off.  Seriously, he didn't even know why he was hanging on, except that he didn't know how not to.  He knew why Niall and the others weren't killing him, just to prolong it, but he wished Gabe would do that for him.  It wasn't going to happen, but he wished.

He had no idea, as he was hanging there and thinking about how easy it should have been to just nod off and not ever come back, how much harder he was going to wish for that soon.  Frankly, the new vampire rolling in didn't even register on his radar.  He hurt so bad, and he was so starving and thirsty and hurt and tired that he didn't even care.  They probably could have released him from the chains and told him that if he made it to the door, he was free, and he didn't think he could make it to the door.  He'd try, but it was like every muscle in his body that was in working order and not trying to knit itself back together just wasn't feeling up to cooperating.  Besides the abuse he'd taken, someone had decided at some point to throw him some kind of meaty stew for food, and he'd been so starving that he'd eaten it without even caring, and it had been playing havoc on his body every since.  He'd thrown up most of it, which meant that he was ill and hungry all over again, and it was just increasing his general discomfort.  Yes, the new vampire was ignored, but only for the first few moments.  Kiyoshi didn't take long at all to step up in front of him, and then he barely raised his eyes enough to regard the vampire before the man was running his fingers very lightly over Rafael's abused skin, and if he could have pulled away, he would have.  Between the touch and what the vampire was saying to Niall, he didn't want to be there.  More than he already hadn't wanted to be there.

"I wasn't aware how hard you were looking.  I imagine by the time we're done with this one, it wouldn't be too hard to procure him again."

If Niall had been planning on saying anything else, he was cut off by Kiyoshi confessing that he'd never tried this particular trick before, and then reaching out to give it a try.  When he'd said he imagined it would be quite painful, he wasn't kidding.  It wasn't like Rafael was as stubborn as Connor was regarding screams, but even Batten would have done his share here.  He screamed, and even when it was amazing that he could have any strength left in himself to scream some more, he screamed.  If the external, physical pain had been bad, there was nothing that competed with the deep, razor blades and jagged glass feeling of having his animal form positively ripped from him.  Kiyoshi hadn't even truly done the job yet, just flexing and tugging, and Rafael thought it might kill him.  Realistically, he was a parrot, not exactly the most impressive of shifters, but it felt like that fucking bird was digging claws and beak into his insides, fighting every inch of the way not to do what Kiyoshi said, and all it did was give him the impression of blood and feathers. 

It made them all red.  No blue, no yellow, all red.  Redredred.  All he caught of Kiyoshi's question was 'half', and it made no sense, but what really made sense right then?  He was going to explode, or implode, he didn't know which.  He wanted to curl in on himself, and he couldn't because of the chains, but it didn't make him want to any less.  His muscles hurt so much, but he could still pull on the metal and firestone as though it might do something.

"Yes.  If it's possible, that's what I wanted.  If you can do that, you can do whatever you'd like with him, so long as he's able to pass on the message I wanted."

[Kiyoshi]

"If it's possible?" Kiyoshi asked? He lowered his hand for a moment, giving Rafael a breather. He turned his body more fully towards Niall, a brow arched. "I can't guarantee with any certainty that it won't kill him," he advised. He glanced back at the Arini, and then back at the Master of Midnight, as he stood.

  "But it's going to look spectacular, either way."

  With no response besides a cruel smile from the Silver, he raised his hand again. He couldn't remember a time where he'd ever really attempted to pull a shifter in half, to force them into their demi form - at least, not a Chai, not one who was never meant to have such a form. He took another moment to gather his power, and he drew the energy from all sides. The room began to darken and become cold - darker and colder than it already was, if that were possible.

  The gesture he made, a small flick of his wrist, was all it took. His power shot out like barbed chains, wrapping around Rafael's form, twisting and grabbing at his other half, ripping it through his body. The change from man to animal to man was fluid enough - this certainly would involve blood and broken bones - not that Kiyoshi was terribly concerned. If Niall gave him the green light, then 'whatever it took' was as good as done.

  A bead of sweat appeared on his brow; Kiyoshi didn't enjoy the prospect of dampening his energy down so much for one task, but this was going to be a first for him, and damned if he wasn't going to do it. He concentrated particularly at Rafael's back with his energy, making a twisting motion with both hands now, bidding his wings to unfurl and come forth.

  Excruciating was the word.

[Rafael Ortega]

A breather?  Rafael didn't need a 'breather', he needed a hospital stay that included lots of sleeping and medication strong enough to knock a shifter into a dreamless sleep.  If he survived this, and that was still a MASSIVE 'if' in his mind, he knew he was going to be messed up for awhile.  That 'if' was only encouraged by the fact that the new vampire, the oriental one, told Niall that he couldn't guarantee that what they were doing wouldn't kill him.

That whether or not it looked 'spectacular' when it happened was even a concern was fucking disturbing.  Rafael wasn't of the opinion that anything going on currently could look spectacular, except perhaps a crazy awesome rescue by Onyx, but he knew better than to think that would happen.  He also didn't really get what they were trying to do, since he'd been screaming when Kiyoshi confirmed what Niall wanted, and he hadn't been present for the initial discussion.  All he knew was that it hurt, he had a chance to breathe and glance towards Gabriel, who looked extremely grim.  He almost wanted try to get the point across to the only person who was on his side in the room that he didn't get what was happening and wanted to know, but it wasn't like he had time.  Gabe seemed to know, though. 

Time was really the issue.  His breather was short, and then Kiyoshi had raised his hand again and it felt like something deep inside of him was being twisted and contorted in ways it never should be.  If he didn't know the difference after Stefan's sessions, he'd have thought that it was really his insides that were being torn and twisted, but he knew the difference now.  He knew that it was something else, something that wasn't really physical, but made his whole body feel as though it was being sliced up.  At least, it started out as something that wasn't really physical, but somewhere in the time between him trying to choke down the screaming and Kiyoshi flicking his wrist, it became something different.  He'd thought he was in pain when the vampire was drawing power in and just feeling around.  He'd thought it, but he hadn't really.  He hadn't known what pain was, not pure agony, until Kiyoshi showed up, and now the vampire was trying to pull him apart from the inside out.  Metaphysical, then physical, and he would tell anyone who asked that metaphysical pain is much worse than the physical.

He spasmed as though he'd been struck when Kiyoshi flicked his wrist like that, and it was such absolute and all-encompassing agony that his screaming actually fell short.  He couldn't make himself even draw breath, so how could he expect to scream for those precious seconds?  He most certainly couldn't keep track of what his own body was doing, Kiyoshi's power working just like the puppetmaster's should, and even if he tried to think back later, he wouldn't really know what happened.  He did know that all of that agony and ripping suddenly converged on his back, and he seriously thought that the bone, muscle and skin had just exploded against the wall behind him for that instant before he completely passed out.  It was just too much, and the short gasp he'd managed right before bones and blood were introduced to the open air just wasn't enough. 

Spectacular was an excellent word for the demonstration he was getting.  Not only was the Arini hunter being tormented for his stupidity, but Sullivan was upset by the situation, Kiyoshi was testing out a new skill, and Niall himself wasn't putting out a single bit of effort.  All he had to do was sit there and watch what was looking like it took some serious force of will on Kiyoshi's part.  Frankly, Niall wasn't positive that it could be done, especially without killing the macaw, and he didn't really want that.  He could deal with it if the hunter accidentally died, but he much preferred returning the hunter in a broken, abused state to his 'friends' to let them know that making an attempt like this ever again would be suicidal.  Of course, he could always just dump the body for that same purpose, and he still had the vampire.

For an instant after Kiyoshi's display, which really was spectacular in a bloody, dark sort of way, Niall thought that the Arini was dead.  He'd stopped screaming, he was that overwhelmed, and he'd gone completely limp when the job was done.  Even if he had died, Kiyoshi had done it.

"Spectacular, indeed," he agreed quietly, standing and approaching for a better look.  Considering how rare Arini were, it was amazing enough that they had one chained before them to be tormented, but this was an impossibility he was staring at.  A Chai elavie, a macaw, was never meant to have a demi form.  It was a physical impossibility for him to be staring at those wings, but he was.  They were drenched in blood from their unexpected appearance, but he reached out to wipe at them, and it was obvious that there were yellow and blue feathers amongst the red.  The wings were as limp as the rest of the shifter's body, but they didn't appear damaged by the ordeal.  He reached out mentally to see if the man was still alive or not, and then offered Kiyoshi one of his more pleasant smiles.

"Excellent work.  He's alive."  Sadly for Rafael, but not for them.

[Kiyoshi]

Kiyoshi only nodded to Niall, before a dark sort of expression crossed his face. It wasn't quite a smile, but nothing suggesting a smirk or a sneer - no, his lips were curled ever so slightly, just enough to let them know he was pleased. He reached out and plucked a feather off of those gore-ridden wings, ignoring the shifter altogether entirely at this point. He pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his pants and wiped the feather clean, then reached out and nestled it just behind the ear of Persephone.

  The dark look she gave him was completely ignored yet again; Kiyoshi didn't fear much in the way of animals, and now? Now he'd hit a new level for himself. He was giddy with the idea of what he was going to put his pets through.

  "I must say, I'm a little pleased with how this has turned out," the Japanese man said, his voice measured, but thoughtful. He glanced to Niall, black eyes meeting black for a moment. "It seems my talents have become more useful than I had anticipated. I'm eager to try my hand against something with a form a little more demanding," he purred. At least an avian-style Chai had some sort of demi-form to go off of. Something like a Chamita or a Selkie - it could be a painful death, indeed.

[Gabriel Sullivan]

This whole damn situation was bad enough in that Gabe was stuck there.  He'd known that was a risk, hated the very idea and resented Lucien for even contacting him with the idea for this suicide mission, but he really couldn't stand the fact that someone else had to be involved.  Getting the bitch who'd shot Kat was high up on his priorities, but that was he and Lucien seeking vengeance.  In order to exact the level of vengeance that had been planned, others were needed to join in, and that was what Gabe didn't like.  He didn't like that he'd been caught and detained, but he liked it even less that Rafael had been with him when it happened.  True, he'd tried to get the Macaw to take off while he had the chance, but he knew that didn't change anything.  Rafael never should have been here, and that point felt like it was only driven further home with every scream the man let loose and every one that he couldn't summon the breath for. 

He shouldn't be here.

Gabriel hadn't tried to bargain for Rafael's safety.  He knew better.  If he'd tried, they'd have only focused more on the Macaw to get to him.  As good as he was at playing a part, and he was good, he was having trouble not reacting at all to Rafael's suffering, but he kept it to a minimum.  Concern, instead of the guilt and fury over watching and hearing his friend tortured.  It did help him keep his concerns mostly on himself when one of them settled in on him, especially since Niall himself seemed to like being the one to tear him up, but they'd all had their hands and knives in.  Personally, for as much agony as Persephone and Stefan could bring, he preferred them over Niall, just because of the way the new Master of Midnight could squeeze into his mind and transform the pain and injury he endured into something inflicted by nightmares, and it was bad enough that Gabriel couldn't even tell half the time if what he was feeling was real pain or something in his mind.  He'd learned long ago that there wasn't much difference, but he also hadn't had as much trouble differentiating in a very long time.  He attributed it to the torment, his lack of feeding, and finally, to Niall himself.  There was plenty of psychology to it all, but he knew that the man was powerful.  More so than he'd expected, but he was.  If he hadn't been in such a predicament, he'd have wondered what had done it, but what did it matter?

The absolute worst part of the entire situation, in his mind, had become the points when they offered to let him feed.  He was starving constantly, parched and weakened just because of that, and he knew that it was hurting his ability to handle what they were inflicting upon him.  He wasn't healing as fast as he should, he wasn't holding off mental attacks well, and the only thing he was truly pulling off was keeping them mostly out of his memories and thoughts.  Mostly, he hoped.  It was still a constant, nagging and completely demanding of his attention need, and almost all he could think of.  There were obviously other concerns, especially when Niall was flooding him with nightmares and Rafael was screaming, but it was still there, still in the background.  He needed to feed, and he'd held off for so long that he thought he might not make it through the next bout of torture when they finally saw him crack.  They'd been offering him blood, but it was Rafael's, and the macaw needed it more than he did.  He'd refused for as long as he possibly could before they finally drew a knife that had recently been used to open the Macaw up just beneath his nose, and he still didn't know how he'd managed to moderate himself when they presented him with one of the shifter's veins.  He had, he was at least proud to know, but he didn't know how he'd managed it.  He was still starving, still mentally arguing with himself over 'just a little more', as he pulled himself away from his friend, but Rafael was alive.  Weakened, he was ashamed to know, but alive and not nearly as low on blood as Gabe had wanted to leave him.  He wanted it all, wanted as much as he could get, but he didn't.  He took just enough to take the edge off.

That was almost a habit now.  They'd keep trying to get him to drink until he was at the breaking point, and then he'd take just enough to pull himself away from the edge.  Niall had started refusing to let him drink finally in an attempt to make him more desperate when he did, but he hadn't changed his own habits, yet. 

When Kiyoshi was called in, Gabriel knew the game was about to change.  He personally didn't see how having the vampire force-change Rafael into his macaw form would really do much of anything, since the whole point had been to keep them both alive during their torment.  A parrot could be killed far too easily, but he gathered much too quickly for his own preference what they were going to do.  When he made eye contact with Rafael finally, he knew that the macaw didn't understand, and he didn't even have it in him to warn the man.  How do you tell someone that their tormentors were about to do something that should have been impossible to them?  It should have been impossible, and when Gabriel saw the agony it was causing Rafael, his act broke.  There was no possible way it was going to do anything except tear the man apart, but what was he going to do?  His struggles only caused himself more pain, especially in his wrists where the firestone laced shackles were digging into his skin, and his yelling was lost in the macaw's screaming.  It did nothing, and Gabriel himself was spattered with blood that had splashed off of the wall between them when something actually did happen.

Rafael wasn't moving.

He saw the blood-drenched wings hanging between the man's body and the wall, but that was his focus.  Rafael wasn't moving, and the other vampires were far more concerned with the fact that the process had worked than whether or not his friend was alive.  It was Niall himself who congratulated Kiyoshi on his success and stated that Rafael hadn't died, but Gabriel didn't like how willing they were to risk it.  He didn't know what was planned for them when Niall grew bored of hurting them and hadn't really had time to consider it, but he didn't like the thought that they'd just kill them.  Of course, that was better for Rafael than being made into a plaything in some vampire's care, especially if it was someone like Kiyoshi, who might repeat this particular performance just for fun, but he also didn't want to see the man die.

On a personal level, he'd already accepted that he wasn't likely to make it out alive, since he couldn't be enslaved, and he found that he was alright with that.  It was Rafael's fate that bothered him.  Of course, he'd been resigned to the idea of a violent death since he was a young boy on a ship for the first time.  He just hadn't known when.

Kiyoshi had come to the same understanding that Niall had, and he wouldn't deny it.  The Japanese man had pushed his talents into something that wasn't just useful, but incredibly interesting to the new Master of Midnight, and Niall intended to put the new talent he'd discovered to good use.  His mind was already taking new possibilities into consideration, some of which he'd have to mention to Verity.  He would be sitting down with Kiyoshi to discuss them.

"Indeed, they have.  I'm interested in seeing what happens when you try something more demanding, my friend," he remarked, his expression serious and considering as he turned from his memorizing of Rafael's limp wings to the vampire himself.  "You stand to make yourself incredibly useful to me in the near future, if you so choose."

He'd already known that instituting the Arena would interest others, but he, like the Roman Emperors who'd come before, knew that having something new and exciting to show the audience was important.  He would like to see Kiyoshi's talents come to fruition so that they could be utilized in populating his Arena, and he would be rewarding the vampire very well for his efforts.  "Rest up, and inform me when you have anything new figured out.  I'd like to see."

With that being said, he opted to leave Rafael some time to himself while he tended to Sullivan.  If Gabriel had thought that Rafael was the only one that Niall had cooked something up for, he was a fool.  "Sullivan, a friend is here to see you.  Would you like to talk to your visitor?"

That got the vampire's attention, and Niall smiled to see the brief flicker of fear pass over the man's face as his mind jumped to the different possibilities of who it could be.  There was one that Niall knew stood out in the man's mind, and that was naturally the one that he'd gone with. 

"Stefan, could you please fetch our guest?  We shouldn't keep Mr. Sullivan waiting."

[Katherine Summers]

When Katherine had first seen Cerberus, she had assumed for a moment that he was a new SWAT trainee, considering she could neither lock onto his breed nor did she recognize him right away, but it was also for the fact that he was easily the same size as Wesley, and for all of the bragging about SWAT being nimble and lithe, their team consisted of a few heavy hitters that hit like freight trains.

  "Excuse me, Miss Summers? he'd said politely. She'd looked up from her desk, black eyes narrowed partially in confusion as to who he was. She'd been distracted about Gabe; he'd managed to contact her at least once a week, and now four weeks with radio silence between them. She didn't like it at all. She rotated her chair so that she could face the man more fully, setting her ball point pen down on the desk.

  "Can I help you?" she asked, her voice exasperated. She was in the middle of a rather large case that she was having to do mostly on her own now that their blood splatter expert was gone. The workload kept piling up; life didn't stop because Gabriel had gone to do some sort of side work, and Katherine was catching the bulk of it. She couldn't believe she, as a vampire, could be so worked up, but evidently not only was it possible, it was happening.

  "Actually, I think it's me who can help you," he said. He leaned down, putting his hands on her desk. "My employer was rather convinced you'd come without a problem if I told you I'd take you to Gabriel." He didn't smirk at her, but merely looked down his nose at her, as though he derived some sort of pleasure from the exchange.

  Kat swiftly grabbed the pen, intending to plunge it into the center of his hand, but he was just as fast, catching her by the wrist. There was a muffled crack as he shattered the bones in the joint, and the look on her face told him that she did not appreciate the pain, but she wasn't willing to scream.

  "You done?" he asked.

  The pen clattered uselessly to the floor as he half pulled Kat/Kat half stood from her chair. She retrieved her hand from him and hid the mangled part underneath her coat, which she draped over her arms. "I'm leaving for the day," she said as she passed the desk of a coworker. She offered no more explanation than that and followed in step at the large man's side to the black Escalade that waited outside for the both of them.

  Once inside, the man turned to her. "You'll understand, I hope, that I can't have you memorizing where we're going." The last thing she saw was a swift movement of his arm, and then everything went dark.

  When Katherine awoke, she was sitting in the vehicle. All the doors were open. She sat up slowly, wondering when it was that vampires could actually be knocked out. She supposed if he'd hit her hard enough he might have actually done internal damage and her skull had taken that long to heal itself. The back of her head was sore as she touched it, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She crawled out of the SUV, taking her jacket by the collar and pulling it out after her.

  "Welcome back," he said. He stood in a relaxed position, legs apart and hands clasped in front of him. Katherine supposed he could have been some sort of guard or something, but she wasn't sure. Whatever he was, he wasn't human.

  "Where are we?" she asked dumbly. "Where's Gabriel?"

  "If you'll follow me," he said, gesturing to the massive doors on the house/castle/estate/compound that stood looming overhead. "I'll be more than happy to....update you on the way."

  And now Katherine left Cerberus' side to accompany Stefan down a long, dark and winding staircase. It was stone and damp; all of it was damp, dark and murky. It reminded her of the villains from Rainbow Brite, but this was slightly more realistic than the childhood cartoon she'd loved so much. As she walked behind Stefan, she closed in on voices, and shrank to the side as another vampire passed by her, fondling a bright red feather in his hand.

  She locked eyes with him for a moment, stunned at the things she was sensing off of him. He was humming with power practically, in a nice suit with slicked back hair. He was Asian, that much she could tell, but not much else. She didn't want to know much else, not especially after that cold look he'd given her. She raced after the blonde vampire, forgetting herself, and nearly barreled into him as he came to a stop. He said something to her about "unfortunate colouring" and then glanced to another dark-haired man that she did not recognize.

  "Where is he?" she asked. She didn't know who she was supposed to ask, so she asked the group of them - the female with the lemon-lime eyes looked bored, the blonde vampire gruff, and the other... He'd a darkness about him that made Gabriel look like the Cookie Monster.
 

[Gabriel Sullivan]

Cerberus was an accident, as far as Niall had been told, but he'd come to understand from personal experience that the man was a pleasant sort of accident.  He was as loyal as his breed might suggest, not at all squeamish, and ballsy enough to stand up to whoever Niall wanted him to while still knowing when yo shut up.  Personally, Niall was becoming rather fond of him for his usefulness, and fully intended to speak to Verity on the subject.  For now, he had the doberman running errands, and he wasn't at all surprised that Stefan returned with Katherine.  It meant that Cerberus had done his part without incident, and that was exactly what he'd expected.  Stefan was one that Niall hadn't been certain of, considering the man's unfortunate brainwashing, but he'd come to realize that the vampire's discrimination extended to those that were below him (or whom he thought were below him) and skipped over those in power.  It was a wise way of thinking.

Stefan stepped aside with nothing more than a nod of acknowledgment returned to Niall as Katherine entered the room, and he couldn't help but smile ever so slightly when she asked where 'he' was.  Gabriel, of course.  Niall was in no hurry to point her boyfriend out to her, much preferring that her eyes find him themselves, and actually turned his own glance to the vampire that was hanging from the wall.  "I imagine he does look a little different than you last saw him.  We tried."

Starvation, bloodloss and pain wore on you after awhile.  Gabriel was actually a good example, as was his unconscious comrade beside him.  Sullivan was looking paler than usual, and Niall was pretty sure that Cerberus had described it as 'so white he's practically clear' when Niall had given him his orders.  He appeared thinner and his black eyes looked sunken, and that wasn't even taking into consideration the bruising and cutting decorating his body, or the blood drying across his skin, particularly around his ankles and wrists, which was where the firestone-laced shackles had their grips on him.  Niall was pleased with it. 

"Did you know what he was doing here, Miss Summers?"


As if hearing her voice wasn't torment enough, Gabe's eyes opened to see Kat standing there in the dungeon.  It wouldn't have been the first time Niall had shown her to him, but he didn't usually play this kind of game.  He didn't build up to it or make Gabe think that Stefan had fetched her.  He'd always had her just walk in for the nightmares.  Gabe didn't want to think it because he knew he had to be a fool to believe this one, but he thought it was her this time.

"Kat?  You need to leave.  You shouldn't have come here," he told her, working to project his voice.  The problem with that was that he'd been doing a whole lot of projecting and a whole lot of healing.  His body's last priority was whether or not he could talk without sounding like he'd spent all day and night at a rock concert.  He sure as hell didn't want her here, though.  Would Niall let her leave now that he had her here, or was she going to be their new way of getting to him?  God, no.

"Niall, get her out of here.  She had nothing to do with anything!"

Niall smiled.  "I know."

[Katherine Summers]

Kat put a hand over her mouth as she finally saw Gabriel. She thought she might vomit - perhaps human reflexes died hard, after all. He was so sallow and pale, like a walking corpse. Literally. He looked more like a zombie than he did a vampire, and that thought, the idea of what they'd had to do to put him to this point, was terrifying.

  "No," she whispered in acknowledgment when the man asked if she knew why he was there. She honestly didn't know; Gabriel had been careful not to tell her anything about where he was going or what he was doing, just that it was a side job of mutual interest and he couldn't tell her any more than that without putting her in danger. He was always worried for her safety, even now that she was a vampire - and now she could clearly see why. Her dark eyes wandered to the firestone shackles and she swallowed the sandpaper in her throat.

  "You brought me here to show me this?" she asked. She spoke as she looked at Gabriel, trying to reign in her self control. She finally managed to tear her eyes off of him, looking directly at Niall, ignoring the half-tilted sensation she felt from the things radiating off of him. Katherine didn't understand. Was there some sort of bargaining chip that she had that he wanted? She ignored very carefully the other man in the room, the shapeshifter in demi form, a feather from whom the vampire in the hall had been toying with, no doubt.

  Katherine was cautiously unsympathetic to everyone except for Gabriel. No names, no faces, no emotion attached. She was a cop, for God's sake. She knew how this worked; she could easily NHI the situation if it meant that she could get Gabe back.

[Niall]

Well, he had her attention, at least.  The instant she saw her boyfriend, he knew that she was going to pay very, very close attention to every last word he said.  That was good, because he wanted them all to be on the same page.  There was no need for confusion, since that would only end up getting someone killed.  Next time, he wasn't going to let them go.

"No, I brought you here to show him," Niall answered her smoothly, though it was true that allowing her to see this mess that they'd made of two formerly capable, strong individuals was also good.  He liked witnesses when they could spread word of the horrors that would befall any who stood against him.  Having Gabriel see just how easily it had been for Niall to have Katherine brought there was very important, though.  "Do you see, Gabriel, how easily I can take everything you care about away from you?  That entire precinct could be mine if I wanted, and it would be all your fault.  Starting with her."

He turned back to Katherine, approaching and increasing the aura he was putting out.  It was more subtle than an outright strike, much less than he'd been feeding Gabriel, but he liked that it was putting the young vampire off balance.  It was tempting to tear into her, just because he could and because it would only torment his prisoner more, but he merely brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek when he reached out to touch her face.  "You, my dear, are not going to leave here empty-handed, I promise.  Our poor Macaw friend is going to need help getting back to his people."

No, he wasn't letting Gabriel go with her.  He was going to have a word with him first, and he knew how much it would hurt them both if Kat were to leave with Rafael instead of Gabriel.  That being the point, it worked out pretty wonderfully.

[Katherine Summers]

Katherine's mouth fell open as Niall made his declarations. She didn't know what to say. She had no response - not that it would have mattered if she had. She was a smart girl, though, and she knew that in the lion's den you don't pull the tail. She merely shut her mouth and tried to mentally center herself, despite the sensation of fear washing over her in waves as the Master of Midnight put his hand on her face. The touch was gentle, almost comforting in design, but the meaning behind it was not lost to Kat.

  When he told her that the Macaw was leaving with her, though, she almost lost it. Her eyes were wide and it was all she could do to not exclaim things at him, particularly because now if the Macaw could hear her, to insist that she take Gabriel and leave would be detrimental to whatever fragments of his psyche he had left. Would Gabe see she didn't really have much of a choice? She hoped so.

  A compliant "Okay" was whispered from her as she waited for further instruction. They gave her no indication as to what to do, and what was she even supposed to do with this winged creature? His wings weren't even supposed to be out - he didn't have a demi form that she knew of. She didn't know him from Adam, and he certainly wasn't in the state to give her instructions on where to take him.

 

[Niall]

She was a smart girl.  That, he would give her any day, a concession as to her intelligence, and he could see his plans working out perfectly.  Gabriel would do whatever it was that he was asked to keep this woman safe, and Katherine would be his voice of reason should he ever think to stand against Midnight again.  He could see it in her eyes and her mind.  What she saw now and being told to leave Gabriel here made her want to snap, but she wouldn't argue with him.  Very smart.

"Stefan, bring our colorful friend back, please."

The blond didn't need any further instructions, grabbing a nearby hose (a more recent introduction than basically everything else in the room) and turning it full-blast on the unconscious figure.  You didn't have to be Rafael (or Gabriel, who'd been hosed down before) to know that it was ice cold, since just watching his body's reaction as he woke up was enough.  He flinched almost as though it hurt, which it might have irritated some of his injuries, and when Stefan turned it off, he was hanging there and shivering, looking miserable.  Just the fact that he was awake was a good sign, though it didn't look like he'd stay that way for long if something didn't happen to keep him that way.  His body was, again, hitting a point where sleeping was absolutely necessary to support healing and recovery, and his mind really just didn't want to be present for anything else.  Niall would have to work quickly to keep his attention.

Not a problem.  "Open the shackles."

Again, the former-Nazi did as he was told, and Niall knew that this was much more 'attention' than the former Mistress of Midnight had ever granted the younger vampire.  Possibly because the blond held to more violent methods of training, since Niall had certainly noticed the trend in the more violent being looked down on, but there was no denying that this one's methods worked.  Stefan had introduced Desten to him, and Niall had to admit that she was both beautiful and wonderfully devoted.  It was actually hearing some about Desten's training that had inspired this particular idea where Rafael was concerned, but Niall was taking it a step further than Desten had endured. 

He approached the Macaw as soon as the man was on the floor, wings hanging to each side around him, and he took hold of the first one almost delicately.  He flicked his eyes up to Katherine for a bare instant before snapping the bone he held between his fingers.  Naturally, that particular movement brought a new scream from the Macaw, and Niall turned to do the same to the other wing.  He was actually pleased that it had even worked, considering how much screaming Rafael had done while Kiyoshi was present.  Once both were broken, Niall stepped aside, gesturing to Katherine that she was welcome to take the man whenever she was ready. 

"Good luck, my dear."  She would need it if she intended to move him without hurting him further and without showing his brightly colored wings off to the entire public.  Especially if she didn't know where to take him.

Fortunately, Gabriel was looking out for both Kat and Rafael in that department.  He couldn't help either of them get there, but he wasn't completely incapacitated where he was.  He shot off a quick thought, knowing that Niall would catch it and be angry, but getting Rafael help was the least he could do. 

Onyx, Kat.  He's Onyx.  Cobriana.

By the time he'd finished, Niall's eyes were already narrowing on him, and he knew the next few minutes were going to be bad.  As it turned out, Niall waited just long enough for Kat to be on her way out the door before starting in on him again.  He briefly wondered if that had been the plan all the time, to have her leaving while he was screaming, or if Niall had decided to do it because of his outburst.  It wasn't like it mattered.

[Katherine Summers]

Katherine managed to keep her head held high through all of this, though inside she wanted to scream. Being a vampire had given her composure that, as a human, she lacked. Perhaps now she understood that there was indeed some sort of food chain to adhere to, whereas being a human meant leading a blissfully ignorant life. At any rate, she squared her shoulders as they offered the bird to her. She took a step forward before his body dropped.

  "I'm Katherine, and I'm taking you home," she said to him firmly. "I'm going to need you to walk. You can lean on me, but I'm not carrying you." No way was she going to leave herself that vulnerable to attack - imagine that, if she just scooped him up. She'd be wide open. Not only that, but she refused to allow the tiny iota of dignity he had left to be stripped of him, and that meant giving him the chance to walk, however much help he needed, out of those doors.

  She looked at Gabriel and nodded once, dark eyes smoldering. She wouldn't even blow him a kiss, a wink, nothing - she didn't want to give them anything more than they already had. So, with Rafael, who was thankfully light despite being very nearly dead weight, she walked towards the exit of Midnight. She reserved a sneer for Cerberus as he saw to the door, and then loaded the bird up herself in the SUV. Of course they wouldn't help; why should they?

  She looked at the massive man as he climbed in to the passenger seat, his shoulder turned as he gazed expectantly back at her. After a moment, she glanced at Rafael. "He's out," she said. She turned back to say something else, and again, the same sharp blow came to the side of her head. When she woke up, they were in the middle of nowhere at a busted gas station that was closed. He shuffled her out of the car and pushed the bird out with a foot from the back seat, before slamming the door. The SUV took off, leaving Katherine standing there and Rafael huddled at her feet.

  "Onyx it is," she said. She reached down and put her arms around him, carefully avoiding his wings. With a breath of pause, time bent around them as she teleported the both of them to the front steps of where the Guild House was. Between rifting through Rafael's mind and Gabriel's instruction, Kat found it easily enough. The hard part would be explaining what had happened before they took her head off, though.

  "Let's get you inside, shall we?" she asked, trying to keep her tone comforting. Rafael was mostly unresponsive, not comatose but close enough to it. She pushed open the front door with the man, still in his demi form, broken wings splayed about his form, and was met with several hunters who'd come to see if what the security cameras had shown them was true enough.

  "I can explain," Katherine said, holding her hands up.

 

[Cerberus]

|Rafael and Kat continued in Disposable Heroes|

As soon as he'd dumped Katherine and the Macaw somewhere out of the way that also wouldn't leave her stuck answering awkward or impossible questions (he wasn't THAT horrible of a person, just paid to do a certain job), he had orders to return to Midnight.  Naturally, that's where he went, straight down to the dungeons where Niall was waiting, and he actually winced at the smells that hit him when he entered to room.  That was all the indication that he gave that he might dislike what he was surrounded by, and he wasn't going to complain.  Torture wasn't his thing, mostly because he liked a good fight and the torture suggested that one party was unable to defend themselves, but he wasn't questioning Niall or his methods.  It wasn't his place, and he damn well knew it. 

"You had a new job for me, sir?" he prompted, standing with his hands behind his back at what the military would call parade rest, because he would wait as long as was necessary for his next orders.  He didn't end up waiting long, though.

Niall turned from Gabriel, finished jamming a sharp spike up into his chest cavity just to watch him choke on his own blood, and smiled very slightly for Cerberus.  "Yes.  You remember the second address I gave you?  That's where you're dropping him.  He shouldn't be a problem for you now."

Niall merely gestured for Stefan to approach and the blond did so, cracking Gabriel hard enough in the face that his nose had to have shattered upon impact, and he pulled the unconscious vampire out of the shackles that had formerly held him, dropping him on the floor at Cerberus' feet.  Stefan followed orders just fine, but Cerberus was still a guard dog to him.  A good one, but still a dog.  Cerberus knew that, found it annoying, and moved on.  You couldn't please everyone. 

He grabbed the man, a little surprised over just how light he was, and had to drag him upstairs and into the Escalade that had been his method of collecting and removing people all day.  This was supposed to be the last one, for which he was grateful, but he knew what he was dropping in on.  This woman used to be a hunter, and was still involved enough that he knew if she wanted to, she could be a threat.  He wasn't supposed to engage her unless she forced the issue, but getting a package like she was about to receive could make a person cranky.

Having a guy like Cerberus break into your place right before you're planning on getting home could do it, too.  He actually didn't expect to have that sort of timing, since he was just fine dropping Gabe there and leaving, but he didn't really have a thing against being present when she arrived.  It meant he'd get to drop an explanation for her before he left.  He was armed in case she got violent and more than capable of taking care of himself, which was also useful, so he wasn't really partial.  It was all up to her, and how she wanted to react to the wraith of a vampire he was leaving for her.