Chapter 25: Madness

"You should be more scared for yourself, Lance." He heard a familiar voice say behind him. Lance whipped around, but found the room empty.

 

Was this what they were going to use to punish him? Did they even want to know his name? Maybe the whole point of sending him down here was to get him to admit that he was being punished? He sat down at one of the tables.

 

His stomach growled and his eyes wandered around the room in boredom. There were no windows, which surprised him, though he supposed there was probably a camera system that monitored what was happening upstairs.

 

The door swung open and Lance jumped in fright. He turned to stare in surprise as Shiro walked through the door. "Hey."

 

His clothing was shredded, he was bleeding as he hobbled in the room, and his normally pristine black hair was a mess. Shiro looked like hell. "Are you ok?!"

 

Shiro ignored him and moved toward a chair. He sank into it and rested his head on his arms in defeat. He closed his eyes, clearly exhausted. Lance was worried about him. When did he even get here? How did he find him?

 

"Don't speak about...anything, Lance..." Shiro warned. His gaze was fixed on the table in front of him, avoiding eye contact with anyone. His voice broke slightly as he talked. "Just listen, please."

 

Lance nodded. Shiro sighed quietly and pulled something out of his pocket. A knife, Lance noticed. An unfamiliar knife, with strange symbols carved into it.

 

"You want to save Suri right?" Shiro asked.

 

Lance nodded hesitantly, his curiosity growing despite the situation. Shiro sighed again as if he had expected as much.

 

"Weren't you with Aleena?" Lance asked. 

 

"Aleena is here too." He responded. 

 

"Wait, they said my Dad sent me here to learn a lesson?!" Lance replied. 

 

"This company opposes the Crimson Crow...how did you get tricked?" Shiro questioned. 

 

"No idea. I got caught in the crossfire." Lance muttered.

 

Lance noticed the collar on Shiro's neck. It was covered by his shirt which Lance took notice of. He wondered just why he was wearing it, maybe to keep it hidden from anyone who could recognize him. 

 

Either way, Shiro didn't seem to mind it. He had always been weird, but this definitely takes the cake for being weirdest.

 

His face reddened hiding it as he gawked down at the floor. He mumbled softly, almost inaudible,"I always had this…I had no choice…."

 

Lance frowned, confused and hurt. Was everything really that bad here? Were they treating him this way because of who he is? Wasn't he good enough? Was he too weak or not good enough? What had happened to him to make him feel like this? 

 

"You have that collar because of Aleena don't you?" Lance questioned. 

 

Shiro raised his head slightly and looked at Lance for a moment. He nodded and swallowed thickly.

 

"Aleena is part of the reason we are locked up here. Because she is the one that caused all this trouble fighting back to the black bears, but she wouldn't allow me to fight!" He growled. 

 

He suddenly rose up and began pacing, gripping his hair tightly as he muttered something under his breath that Lance couldn't hear. Lance was startled when Shiro suddenly burst out laughing hysterically. 

 

"Shiro, calm down!" Lance asked, completely bewildered. 

 

He didn't understand what was so funny. What kind of situation was this? Shiro shook his head, still smiling to himself. "We need to use the seraphs…” he muttered quietly, staring off into space for a moment, “…because I can't fight without him!" He smiled brightly. Lance watched as a small light came into his eyes. A spark of hope, as if he had just realized something incredible.

 

"You can’t fight can you?" Lance thought. 

 

"The collar prevents me from using my abilities..." He admitted. 

 

"But if I can use the seraph’s power to use its power against her..." He trailed off for a moment.

 

Lance stared at him in confusion, unsure of what he was planning. He hoped the plan wasn't stupid. "She won't ever bother us again. Then we can all be together again!"

 

Lance took the back of his hand slapping Shiro hard enough to leave a red mark on his face . Shiro blinked in surprise at him and then glared at him.

"No. Absolutely not. This isn't going to work, I'm done playing your game Shiro," He said sharply. "You need to calm down and think!" 

 

He yelled. "If you go and use the Seraph you will never get your powers back!" He continued.

 

Shiro paused in shock at Lance's words. Then he chuckled softly. "That may be true…"

 

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Lance let out a sigh of relief. "See?" He muttered. "Calm down! Think about this rationally-"

 

"I told you, I have nothing else." Shiro interrupted glaring again, his eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. 

 

Shiro's eyes closed slowly as he felt to the floor fainting into Lance's arms. "Shiro?" Lance whispered as he helped him sit up. He held his head gently, looking him over. "What did they do to you, huh? Answer me, I need to know."

 

There was no asnwer. Shiro remained silent and Lance became alarmed at how unresponsive he seemed. He tried shaking him to wake him up, but he couldn't bring himself to actually move him. He didn't care what they wanted to do with him. 

 

[He is just tired, Lance] 

 

“I guess…” 

 

[He will regain consciousness soon. We shouldn't stay here longer than necessary]

 

Lance ignored them all, instead choosing to worry more about Shiro than anything else. "Can you walk?" He asked gently. 

 

Shiro gave a nod, albeit with great effort. Slowly he pushed himself up and staggered slightly as if he hadn't moved in days. Lance reached out to help him steady himself. Shiro shook his head, giving Lance a small smile. "It's okay, Lance." He said.

 

Trying the door Lance knew they were locked inside, Lance sighed. "There is no way we're getting out."

 

Shiro frowned. "I guess that's true." He sighed, his body visibly deflating as he slumped to the ground. Lance sat next to him with a worried expression.

 

After several moments Shiro spoke up, "...What's wrong? You've been acting strangely since I met you."

 

"I'm fine."

 

"Bullshit." Shiro snapped.

 

Lance winced. He hated that he had become someone who reacted badly to anger, but he really couldn't help it.

 

They stared silently across the room for awhile. All Lance could hear were the quiet hum of machinery around them.

 

Shiro readied himself at the door as he heard people coming near their cell, causing the two to snap to attention. Lance watched anxiously as the doors opened, revealing three guards with guns pointed towards the duo.

 

They walked closer until two of them forced Shiro to his feet. His forehead glowed seraphic symbols giving the silver-haired man confidence to fight the men who came to retrieve them. 

 

“I will show you how a real super hero acts!” He said excitedly. 

 

He glanced down at Lance before nodding for him to stay behind. He grabbed a sword that was on the wall as the two went to grab him and shoved them away. The other two were knocked back instantly. Shiro grinned at them and rushed after his partner. 

 

Lance stood frozen watching as Shiro fought valiantly. He wasn't quite sure how he was doing it. He knew his ability required him to focus and direct himself to where the target should be, but there were only a few times he had seen Shiro fight. And that time...wasn't now.

 

Shiro ran past him and threw his blade into one of the guards' legs. Lance gasped when he saw it pierce through. The guard cried out and fell backward and the others took advantage of that opening and attacked him.

 

One of them swung his gun at Shiro. He blocked it with his left arm and kicked another one back. Lance jumped forward, intending to join the battle. As he approached though, he was surprised to see it was one of those soldiers from earlier. 

 

"Stay back." He commanded. Lance froze.

 

"Why?" Lance asked cautiously.

 

"Just do it." He answered simply.

 

Lance frowned, unsure what to do. He looked around desperately for some weapon or tool to aid him, but there was nothing. He bit his lip trying to come up with a solution to their predicament.

 

Then suddenly he felt an arm grab him tightly around the shoulders pulling him backwards, making him stumble and fall on his butt.Then suddenly he felt an arm grab him tightly around the shoulders pulling him backwards, making him stumble and fall on his butt.

 

When he opened his eyes, he saw Shiro smirking as he held him tight against his body. 

 

"Hey, what-"

 

"Look out!" He shouted, cutting Lance off.

 

Lance turned around seeing two of the men pointing their guns at Shiro. He quickly pulled Lance away as the bullets flew towards them. Lance watched in awe as Shiro shielded them both from the bullets as they hit. In the distance, Lance could hear the sound of sirens growing closer and louder. There was no doubt in his mind who was driving those sirens.

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