Death of Innocence

Jack
Ever since Jack's return form his own personal purgatory he had felt. Different. There was those dual sets of memories and identities to deal with, although in hindsight the memories of the man behind the door were uniquely drab, mostly just staring into the abyss with the odd break in between when he possessed Jack. That and those delightfully random thoughts. When he returned to the seat of pride in his current state, nobody had really been that surprised. Jonah in particular just nodded him in as he always did and gave a recent report (albiet not mentioning Sera's little fall from grace for obvious reasons).Jack was, more or less pleased with that. He'd left Sera out there on her own to deal with the gauntlet. After all there or not there she still needed to go through it if she was going to be accepted by this lot as his queen. He hoped she came back alive. He was getting rather fond of her little smile. With that dealt with and out of the way. Jack had just sat on the throne enjoying the silence of the ruins for what seemed like days at a time. Almost made him want to carve a sign on the wall reading " home sweet home"

Sera
Five days had turned into nearly 8 before Sera had finally found her way back to the seat of pride. She was torn and bloody, dragging the carcass of a slain demon behind her. the type of demon could not identified since various aparts and vital organs were missing. The head she carried under the other arm. It might have been a fear demon, or even a lust demon, but one would never know. She didn't look to happy as she walked through the demons, watching them part as she made her way towards the throne room. A smile that could only be considered evil pulled at her lips as she whispered darkly, "Momma brought presents." She then tossed the carcass into the throng of demons and continued walking. "Sorry, kiddos. The head is for Daddy." She was covered in blood as she slammed open the doors leading into the throne room. "Honey, I'm Home." She called out." She then muttered darkly as she chunked the head of the mutilated demon at Jack. "Brought you a present." Her chest heaved in anger and frustration, as she stood up straight and tall, her head held high after her throw. Sera was more than angry she was in a high fury. It was all because of the asshole that sat in the throne that had made those eight days so damn difficult. Blood continued to drip from her tattered clothing, those red eyes sparking almost like flames. "We need to talk."

Jack
Jack was throughly pleased to see that Sera had survived his little trial. Although appearing somewhat worse for the wear. As she chucked the demon head at him he extended out a hand and caught it. He looked the thing over, " Nice". He said taking time to examine the cut which had severed the head from the corpse. Brutal. Just the way the minions would like it. His eyes looked back up at her and unfortunatly she didn't seem to be in quite as pleasant a mood as he was. " Good to see you are!". He called out. She then said that they had to talk, and Jack began to get the feeling it wasn't one of those pleasant talks, but one of those talks where women actually said they needed to talk. Meaning, " I'm going to cut off your man hood and turn your ballsack into a coin purse". Tossing the demon head behind him. He folded one leg over the other and placed a finger on his chin. " I'm not going to enjoy this am I?".

Sera
She watched him tossed the head back behind him and tapped her foot. "Probably not. But I would prefer in private." She crossed her arms in front of her heaving chest. She would wait until this room and the one she had entered from emptied and if it did not, she snarl "I will bless this ruin, if I do not get some privacy. See how all of you like to be weak. Cause then I will turn you all into little harmles frogs. Not even demonic ones. Frog legs, I hear taste like chicken." She meant every word. Finally when they had some privacy, she would look at him and approach. "Now that you are alive, I have some confessions to make. And I would rather not die before they are made. I did some thinking while out there. First off, I cannot lie to you. I am not capable of doing so. But while I thought you were dead, I felt it in my heart, like it was wrenched away, I went to get stronger to pass the gauntlet and tie up some loose ends." She took a breath and let her wings unfurl, the normally beautiful white expanse of wings, were spotted with blood and one hung at an odd angle. "Before you
cut me off. I will tell you the whole story. I went to visit Noah, an old friend. Found out that seven other spirits inhabited his body. Yes he's a Kami as well. Well the strongest spirit was controlling the body and in order to get Noah back into control, I kissed him. I also found out that my heart died with you. I felt nothing, not even a spark. I was empty, devoid of emotion. Nothing else happened other than that. But I did find out the number of his army and the size of his city. Also while I was there, I found out that he was raising an army to find you and attack you to wipe you completely off the history books. Since I had told him, while I couldn't remember too much about us, that you had captured me." Here she approached and knelt in front of the throne. "I have done you a disservice and a wrong." Her head bowed as she continued. "I would rather know my fate and or punishment before I consider this a homecoming."

-1095-

Jack
Interesting how she got rid of the others, creative if nothing else. But jjust why did she want to be alone? The moment she started spilling the beans Jack's pleasant demenor quickly disappeared. So, not only had she purposefully locked lips with another male (harming Jack's pride in the first instance) she had also told this male about Jack and what he had done. Thus resulting in a kami wishing to wipe Jack and his people from realms. She had in short, betrayed him twice. The first one indeed required punishment. But the second, he didn't even know how he was going to start punishing for that. True she had done it in the throes of amnesia but. Still. This was unforgivable. He gripped the stone throne with both hands until the rock cracked and crumbled. Damn, he liked this chair she knelt in front of him. And at that point he was all too tempted to stand and punt her in the face. But. He didn't. He let his temper flow away. He wasn't going to let her go unpunished. The demons would eat him alive for that. She was going to have to go on the rack, whether Jack liked it or not. Still, some personal sense of satisfaction could be drawn from that one. Particularly in the first instance. " I see, well then..." Jack said mumbling his words slightly. " I suppose then I have to punish you....first off. Lets get rid of those defiling lips of yours". Jack stretched out his hand and with it has magic over matter. At Sera a spell would be fired that would disassemble her lips at the atomic level, giving a similar appearance to the flesh literally melting away. " As for the other punishment". He said regardless of his prior spells success. " Meet me in the torture chamber".

Sera
As she looked up and awaited her fate, his spell hit its mark straight and true. Her lips melting away leaving her dumbfounded. The pain that was torture in of itself. Jack had learned a few new spells. She reached up and covered her mouth, tears brimming. in her eyes as she muttered behind her hand, her control of the magic of life regrowing her lips. When this was finally accomplished, she stood and moved to the room that all of this had begun in. This whole entire journey through hell had started in that one room. Now it looked like it was going to end there. How poetic, how utterly ironic. She kept her head high, since she knew that she had at least told him the truth about everything. How he handled it was up to him. If he killed her, then so be it. She had offered him her life out there so that he could remember. Not like he would understand that. He was a demon after all. And she had sworn not to ask him to be something different. But then again, he had made that same oath to her. And yet, he required so much from her and gave little of himself in return. She opened the door to the room and stepped inside, doing as she was told and meeting him in the torture room.

Jack
Jack himself was in a state of well, confusion. Jack was at the moment a man of two sides. But which part of those two sides encompassed each feeling he didnn't quite know. Part of him was looking forward to this punishment. She deserved it. He knew that much. Another side of him. Not so much. The side that semed to actually give a rats ass about it seemed to be telling him that this entire thing was out of order. Mistakes could be made and they could easily be rectified. That it would be better if he just took her in his arms and they flew away to some arse end of nowhere never to be seen or heard from again. But it couldn't happen that way. Call it a pull of fate or a cruel irony of natures gift. Jack strolled into the torture room with eyes than were strangely both solemn and at the same time. Intense. " Ready for this?". He stated quietly in a blank neutral tone.

Sera
Her head tilted up a notch and she watched him stroll into the room. She was nervouse and afraid, but she was ultimately a creature of pride just as he was. A change had occured out there in the wilds of hell. A change that had only made her stronger and merged the two beings into one. She had embraced Dark Sera and Jack's blood completely while out there by herself surviving. So she would not show him that fear. A simple nod was all he received as she tried to swallow beyond the lump in her throat. Her eyes watched him and she would not demean them both by begging. Since she also knew it wouldn't work. She had learned a few things about demons while out there. One of which was that she had failed him not once but twice. And had hurt his pride. This could not go unpunished. He would be viewed as weak if he let her off the hook. And it would also destroy her own place among them. Make the gauntlet all for naught. She could only hope that he would forgive her failures.

Jack
Jack pointed to the wall, there were shackles there. Not the regular chained ones but ones actually attached to the wall. It was like a rack. One that would allow her virutally no movement whilst he performed the horrors that were coming upon her. He didn't show any emotion at this stage, to do so might give her the wrong idea. Might make her think that there was a way out of this but he couldn't let it away. " Put your arms and legs in between the shackles. I'll place them on, and then we'll begin "

Sera
A deep breathe was all she gave him. His voice giving her no assurances. But she would meet this with pride and take the punishment. She had given him her oath and would not back down. She had given him everything. But for a moment, Sera wondered if any other demon had ever just walked into here and accepted their punishment. It would be something to think about. With that she moved over to the shackles on the wall and did as she was told. Why was she doing this, because she understood why he had to do this. She didn't like, but it was the way of things down here. But still, he had sworn that he would not force her to be anything more than what she was. Her eyes were cast straight ahead and not meeting his. She was still silent, her heart thudding against her chest the only sound and clue to her fear.


-1224-

Jack
He stepped in as she placed herself where he had ordered her to go. Shutting each of the shackles around her wrists, putting them in so that their size would be enough to hold her in place, but not be so tight as to restrict the flow of blood. He stepped back at this point. Down the corridor in the silence one could hear the sound of a trolley card being pushed along the stone floors. Its wheels squeeky. There was a knock on the door and Jack opened it. It seemed a demon had been bringing something. Jack pulled the trolly in and pushed it up to Sera. It was draped with a dirty rag covering whatever was on the trolly. He pulled back the rag and, as would be expected upon it lay a great number of terrible devices of pain. The first which he lifted from the trolly was a questionably clean knife. He looked it over. And then approached Sera. Emotionless. He'd draw the first blood. Driving it into her arm just below the shackle.

Sera
She did not look, would not look at the cart. It would only cause her nerve to fail. BUt the knife she had no option but to look at it as he approached with it. Her eyes closed as she ground her teeth. The sharp edge pressing into her tender flesh. She almost cried out, but instead hissed in pain. It was only going to get worse. His emotionlessness only added to the torture. She couldn't tell what was going on his mind. The lack of words was another factor to the torture and she only hoped he would not take this too far. She would not beg for him to stop. It would only fall on deaf ears.

Jack
Unfortunatly that would not be the end of the knife, keeping a hold if he twisted it in her flesh. This would add to the pain that she would experience tenfold as well as the blood loss from this particular wound. He withdrew it. Then picked up from the table what looked like an iron bar. He blew on it. And his breath seemed to heat it up to a glowing hot standard. [Flames of Lazerus] it was a well known method to caterise a wound to press heat on it to sear the flesh closing it with scar tissue. Which is precisely what followed. He pressed the glowing hot tip onto, and into the wound of the knife. His eyes looked up at hers, staring deeply in as he did it.

Sera
She opened her mouth to an almost screambut slammed it shut again as he twisted the knife into the flesh of her arm. The blood leaked out around the wound and she hissed as he pulled it free. Her breath was labored and harsh as she sagged against the shackles. When he brought the iron closer and heated it up, those eyes opened wide, knowing that he was going to scar her flesh. The perfect ivory of her body would be marred by the iron searing the flesh. She wasn't sure if she could heal it properly after this. The first scream was torn from her mouth, but cut short by her that same mouth shutting, by this action. Her eyes closed trying to not to let the tears slip from those closed lids. Out of everything he could have done, the scarring of her flesh was the worse. Her wings were behind her still, one broken and covered in blood. They tried to move as she squirmed against the bonds. Why had he chosen to scar her? Why not anything else? But the blood did cease to flow from the wound. As she sagged against the bonds again. She would not beg him to stop. She would not damage anymore of her own pride. He was doing enough of that with the iron against her flesh. The smell of the sizzling meat filling the air. She still did not look at him. Not trusting herself to not cry and beg.

Jack
Jack withdrew the iron. It was a small thing, but lasting. Pain only lasted so long. A physical reminder did more. But there was more yet to come. He had to steel himself against the sounds she was making, even if she did not fully give into the hopelessness of the situation. He looked on the table and wondered just what horrible thing he would do next. Strangely. More ideas popped into his mind than normal. Perhaps it was something to do with th man behind the door and his memories. Perhaps. He looked back up at her. Noah was a kami. Sera was a kami. He could could tear off her wings. Just see how well she dealt with that one. It would probably be far too much however. Yet he remembered the thought. Store it up for the next time something happened if that is she did indeed ever decide to forget this little lesson of thirs. Which was unlikely. So instead he went back to the table and got himself a funnel. He approached her and commanded " open". Whether or not she did this, he would force it into her mouth. Reaching back to the table he picked up a mixture of salt and dirt from outside in onitoshi. And began to pour it down the funnel and into her mouth.

-940-

Sera
She would open her mouth upon the command, but she was soon wishing she had offered some sort of fight against it. The mixture of salt and dirt causing her to choke and tear up. She had opened her eyes when the command to open had been issued, and those once warm depths were swimming in tears as she choked upon the mixture. The moment the funnel was removed, she would be puking the mixture up. the vile bile splattering the floor with a mixture of blood. The salt drying her mouth out and causing her to thirst, where as the brimstone of the dirt burning her from the inside. She hung her head and silently tried to keep herself from sobbing. When would he call it enough? Could she stand any more of this? Her body shivered and trembled in the shackles.

Jack
It wasn't over yet, but Jack felt that he'd probably saved the worst for last, standing back from her dirt and salt ingested vomit. Waiting till she finished before he cast out his magic for the final blow. Jack knew Sera could regenerate, so doing this wasn't as much of an issue for him as it would be on someone who didn't have her kind of powers. He stretched out his hand and with the first act of the magic. Would cause one of her kidneys to rupture from the inside, using his matter magic to create a hole in it. He moved that onto her liver. Then onto her lungs. Moving around all organs in her body at a steady pace without touching her heart. He didn't want to kill her. When it finished. He took a step back, and then angrily picked up the trolly and threw it into the wall opposite them both.

Sera
The last was certainly the worse physically though not mentally. The first was to her, the worst by far in that respect. But the slow destruction of her vital organs was causing a slow painful death. Each rupture, each hole causing a small death in her and pulling scream of pain and a pant. in the end she sagged against the shackles, unable to breath, unable to muster enough air to mutter a single word of a spell to heal herself. Each time was a met with a bubbling wheeze from the punctured lungs. Red foam coated her lips as she bled internally, her eyes wide as she gazed at him. That look said everything, she fully believed he was going to kill her. Those once beautiful eyes that held so much affection, were broken and drowning in hurt. But under it all was acceptance, acceptance of her own death at his hands. Those eyes grew dim as she just gave up trying to cast the spell. Her head fell forward as her body just gave up completely. her last breath an outward push so soft and overpowered by the sound of the cart smashing into the wall. He chose his spell wisely and yet he aimed it so poorly. And as for the crash of the cart, he could not here the last word that was spoken from the lips of dying woman. Her chest just stopped falling as she stopped breathing, her heart had continued to pump blood through the torn and destroyed organs. As it appeared that she might have actually died from the destruction upon her insides. Blood stained her lips, her cheeks, her thighs, her nose. Her red hair hung down like a curtain shielding her from him in her last moments.

Jack
He looked over at her. He had been angry that he'd had to do this, but ultimately that last spell would prove that he hadn't gone easy on her. She was a horrible gorey mess. And yet he hadn't quite expected it to have such a horribly profound effect such as death. And yet when she slumped down all the blood dribbling to the floor. Jack moved over to her, hand cupping her chin and lifting her face. To his horror. She had stopped breathing. He gritted his teeth. " I didn't permit you to die". What he said might have sounded callous in the longer sense of things. But he was serious. He didn't believe that Sera had managed to give up through these things. Yet he knew that his power was great enough to cause such horrors. But he hadn't. Immedietly he waved his hand and those shackles holding her to the wall faded into metallic powder. Dropping her down into his arms. He would brush her hair aside and stare down at her. " Awaken Sera, its over. Do not die now, not when things are just begining!".

-837-