The March to War [Panta, Panas, X, Open]

[Panas Demidov]

Panas shuddered as a girl came in and stroked his hair, speaking gently to him. No, no! She was a Liberatore, she wasn't trustworthy! 'She wouldn't let anyone touch him'? The doctor was touching him! She was touching him! The Russian boy started struggling to avoid her hand, despite her calming tone and benevolent movements. He knew he couldn't run away, and as the doctor said, if he cooperated things would be...bearable.

Normally, a distraught prisoner would be relieved by a woman coming in and acting kindly towards him--but it only invoked more panic and terror in Panas. Man or woman, Innocenzo or Liberatore, all people caused him grief and stress.

"Dwon't hand! Dwon't hand!!" He cried, his heart pounding as he turned his head as much as he could while still in the doctor's grip.

"Doktor! Doktor, please, dwon't let her hand me!"

[Xenophon Xiuhcoatl]

Ignoring the Japanese's comment, X was about to use his teeth to uncap the syringe and inject the chemical into Panas' neck, until a small girl came to try and hush the boy up.

He frowned at Velia's unsuccessful attempts at trying to calm Panas.

"He ees askeeng me nwot to let you twouch heem, and he cwonteenues to be a nuisance. Vhy zhen, should I back down?" Xenophon pressed the side of his forearm against Velia's chest, and shoved her just enough so that she was out of his way.

Uncapping the syringe, X gripped Panas' face in hand and quickly sunk the needle into his jugular vein. It only took a second for him to inject all of the contents. Then in a practiced motion, X removed the needle and was putting pressure on Panas' neck with a piece of gauze.

"You vill feel better rebenok. Swo shut up." He growled. Holding the gauze, he glanced up at Anslem through his opaque sunglasses and lifted a brow, "Vhere dwo I take heem?"

[Beyond Birthday]

Beyond didn’t care to be dismissed, but as the doctor looked like he wasn’t going to play any longer he merely inclined his head in an obviously facetious show of loyalty. He gave X one more leer before he sauntered out of the room, passing Veila as he did, and audibly chuckled as the prisoner begged for her to leave him be.

He stretched his arms and yawned, he go and sleep for about eight hours and be well rested. Then he do his usual prowling listening for the whispers people thought would go unheard and for the squeaks and cracks that indicated hidden life. Beyond Birthday was a Death God, he had many lines of communication open to him.

[Anslem Aslem]

Anslem was thankful the begging stopped. A dark memory was stirring in his head at the sound of frantic pleading, his fingernails dug into the couch as he willed his mind away from the horrific images that lingered in the deepest depths of his conscious. He sighed; thankful the doctor was as brusque as ever.

“Faith is a concept that does not get one far in this world Masque, facts do,” he said simply but he did walk over to her and offered a hand to help her up. “The Innocenzos will be bringing protection; I recommend we do as well. It is however Tore’s decision to use my own talents.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the Italian before he turned back to look at X levelly.

“The room that is at the end of the second story west hall,” Anslem recommend, it was windowless and the vents were too small for a human, even one as small as the prisoner, to slip through. The only way out was the door. He frowned at the boy.

“I’ll have the maids strip it if you think he’s a suicide risk.” He told the doctor, he was not going to put such a valuable prisoner in a holding cell where he could be mutilated or easily set free by a plant. Not to mention the room was “equipped” for interrogations, he was certain the Russian was already familiar with it.

[Panas Demidov]

He shuddered as the needle was stabbed into him, his scream dying in his throat and his struggles getting feebler as the drug flushed through his bloodstream. Soon, he went all but limp, he hands dropping to his sides and his sense of perception seeming to be warped. His terror was still there, it just seemed to blur at the edges of his conciousness.

A room? He heard the German say something about a room. They were going to take him there? Yes, he remembered, he was a hostage. Interrogation.

Torture.

The very thought made him cringe, wrapping his arms around himself in a concious effort to make a wall between himself and reality. He caught a glimpse of pale skin, and recalled he had lost one mitten. Wanting to see more, Panas sluggishly rolled up one sleeve to his elbow, revealing once more the self-inflicted scars.

Bitemarks. Biting. Eating. And Panas oh so craved for that tiny taste of human flesh right now, it was a relief only he could provide himself, a brief respite from this nightmare.

Without hesitation, he bit down into his arm, feeling his teeth bruise, then break the skin.

[Velia Walsh]

Velia sighed and stood, turning away from the obviously unconvinced child, glaring at him as soon as he couldn't see her eyes.

He's either gay or traumatized. With Beyond, it's probably the latter...

"Whatever." She muttered in response to him, instead turning to Anslemt to hear his answer.

"Faith does more than you'd imagine, Mr. Aslem. Religion has controlled people for millenia based simply on the concept of faith. True, it's only the weak willed, but still. This boy's simply too traumatized to accept what little hope I gave him. Normal people would've jumped at it."

She glared again, eyes glancing at the boy out of her peripheral vision. Clearly she was bitter at the boy for resisting her advances. "Nonetheless..."

"And yes, I suppose you're right about additional protection. I'll bear that in mind."

That being said, she retreated to a corner of the room, content to watch events unfold.