Hello! Didn't think I would make it to this chapter, did you? Well, I'm struggling, but I'm trying hard!
Disclaimer: I do not know the BSB nor do I know their orientation. The following is a work of fiction. All under age 18 are advised not to read as this contains content of an adult nature.
(Again, when I say 'Frank', I mean Frank's soul in Nick's body, and when I refer to 'Nick', I'm talking about the real Nick)
The moment Deth had fallen down to earth, all curses were broken, all magic destroyed. Brian and Frank slowly regained their memories as they stood in the police station, gazing at Nick's beautiful face.
Brian quickly took a step towards Nick and smiled. "Nick?"
Nick stared blankly at Brian. "You . . . you must be mistaken. I don't know you!"
Frank immediately stepped forward. "Yes, you do. You just don't remember us!"
Kevin stared awkwardly. "Ummmm . . . could someone please enlighten me as to what's going on?"
Brian ignored Kevin and continued to stare at Nick. "That fiend . . . that monster . . . he stole your soul from your body and then placed Frank's soul in its place. Nick, your soul belonged on Earth, but somehow, it was taken away by a guy who claims that you owe him a debt."
Nick gazed at the two in confusion. "I . . . I think I remember owing somebody something . . . an eternity of servitude . . . but . . . but my head hurts." Nick quickly pulled his hands up to his head, massaging the soreness.
Frank stepped forward. "I . . . I can second that." By now, Frank realized that if he didn't tell them the truth, he would not be forgiven. Plus, they have to find a way to make things normal again. He couldn't stand another day without Nick. Nothing against Brian, but he missed Nick too much.
Frank sighed and continued. "Nick . . . you owed this spirit named Deth a debt of servitude. You owed him because back in the medieval times, you had traded your soul for Brian's. Basically, Brian killed Kevin here out of jealousy and so, his soul was condemned to hell. You found a way to bargain with Deth for Brian's forgiveness. But in return, you promised your soul to Deth for an eternity."
Brian and Kevin stood there in total silence, shocked by Frank's confession. Neither realizing the depth between their bonds.
Sighing, Frank continued. "But you had escaped, because Deth had forced you to serve not only him, but others as well and you had gotten so upset, you escaped from Hell and swam down the River of Forgetfulness, to the Pond of Reincarnation. And so, you escaped back to Earth. But at that time, Deth became extremely jealous and had to go down to retrieve your soul. Unfortunately, he had lost some of his powers along the way. By the time he came down to Earth, he wasn't strong enough to use his powers on you. So he had to borrow bodies in order to come into contact with you.
He wasn't strong enough to command a conscious body unless that person agreed to let him use the body. I . . . I had agreed to let him use my body so that he could be able to enjoy a sexual relationship with you every night . . . in return . . . I got to feel some of that lust and enjoy the physical intimacy with you.
But as time went along, I no longer wanted him to use my body . . . I wanted you all to myself, so I shoved him away. That was why he had to find a dead body to control, to find a way to get some physical contact with you.
And as time passed, he became stronger and stronger, to the point that he could finally control a conscious body. And that was when he finally was able to drive souls out of their bodies and replace them with other souls."
Frank looked at Brian and Kevin as he continued the story. "And I'm guessing that was what happened! That Deth stole Nick's soul from his body and placed my soul there."
Brian and Kevin were just gaping by now. "And why is Nick here now?"
Frank sighed. "I'm guessing that Nick had escaped once more . . . or he somehow was able to drift down the River of Forgetfulness once again to escape. I don't know."
Nick, until now, had remained silent. The memories slowly coming back to him as he heard Frank recount the story. "But how do you know?" Nick questioned Frank softly.
Frank immediately turned to gaze at Nick. "I know . . . because I was sent down from heaven to retrieve you myself. I . . . During the transition from heaven to Earth, I lost all my magical powers, but retained my memory. I was sent to protect you . . . but," Frank smiled sheepishly, "I guess I got caught up in all these emotions . . . and let my selfishness determine my actions. I made a deal with Deth. Nicky, I'm so sorry."
Until now, Kevin had not said a single word. Finally, he was able to utter something. "Then tell me why, in the past life, Brian had wanted to kill me."
This brought them all to a startle. Frank looked at Kevin regretfully. "Brian had fallen in love with Nick in the medieval times. You came and rescued Nick when Brian wasn't there for him, and in turn, you captured Nick's heart. He . . . for a while . . . he fell in love with you. And when Brian found out, you two set up a dual to fight for Nick. The problem was, Brian didn't want to lose, so he . . . he did things that weren't so noble and defeated you, and killed you!"
Kevin looked at Brian incredulously. "I . . . I don't think I could believe that!"
Brian, too, stared amazedly at Kevin. "No way! I wouldn't ever do that to you, Kevin! We're family!"
Frank coughed. "Ummmm, not then, you weren't! It was anything for Nick's love."
Nick blushed at that statement. Then, Nick looked at the others. "I think I can remember that now . . . I spent lots of years in Hell, serving Deth. And this second time, after he had captured my soul, I thought I was going to die down there . . . but Deth didn't want me too so he tried to rescue me. We both fell into the River of Forgetfulness. The good thing is that we didn't drink too much of the water so . . . I think we both are regaining our memories."
Brian groaned. "What are we going to do with that guy? Will he still have his powers?"
Nick shook his head. "No. If you fall into Earth like this, you basically lose all your powers."
Frank gazed, wide-eyed. "You mean, he can't hurt us?"
Nick shook his head. "But technically speaking, his father can. I . . . I have served his father once, and he . . . he is very protective of Deth."
Brian walked up to Nick, no longer able to hold the emotions back. Nick sensed that and blushed once more.
"So what do we do now?" Brian asked.
"Bail both Deth and Nick out!" Kevin answered. "If not, we're gonna have a problem on our hands! We have to bargain. I mean, Frank, if you're sent from heaven to save Nick, then can I count on the fact that there are other heavenly beings there to support us?"
Frank looked at Kevin with doubt. "Technically speaking . . . no. I was sent by one of the hermits in heaven. Actually, I wasn't supposed to even be down here. I basically disobeyed some orders just to come down here and retrieve Nick."
Nick shook his head. "I don't want any of you to hurt because of me. I'm going to settle this myself."
"No!" Brian shrieked as he hugged Nick desperately, causing Frank and Kevin to look strangely at him.
Kevin looked at Brian, exasperated. "You know, Bri, I think Nick has a point. If this Deth dude is truly in love with him, I'm pretty sure that what Nick does will have far greater an impact than if we came along and just make things worse!"
Brian refused to budge. "I don't want you to die again!"
Kevin looked at Brian, exasperated. "I wish I knew what exactly is going through that petty little head of yours!"
Brian ignored him. "Didn't I just verbalize that? I don't want Nick to die."
Nick looked down strangely at the shorter man. "Uhhhh . . . you don't have to be that dramatic, Brian. I don't think Deth can kill me at this moment in time."
Frank gazed, frustrated by Brian's clinginess. "You know, you hug Nick any tighter and Deth will want to kill you!"
Kevin shook his head as he pried Brian off of Nick. "All right cuz! Stop this childish behavior."
Brian simply placed his face into Nick's chest. "MMMNOOMMM" he uttered with his mouth on Nick's chest.
"Brian! I'm not going to get hurt!" Nick said gently, stroking Brian's neck, realizing that that would cause Brian to melt instantly. True enough, Brian calmed down and slipped his arms off Nick's body.
Nick smiled. "That's better. I'll be back!" Nick said as he disappeared back into his jail cell.
Frank stared incredulously at Brian. "What was that all about?"
Brian grinned at Frank goofily. "Nothing. Just wanted to show him some affection."
Kevin tapped Brian on the shoulder. "Not to sound too mean or anything . . . but cuz, I was totally embarrassed for you just now!"
Brian smirked. "I have my ways. You guys just don't be so darn critical!" With that, the three waited for Nick's return.
Nick stepped in front of Deth warily. Deth, by now, probably had regained his memory.
"Deth? Master?" Nick asked uncertainly.
Deth's icy blue eyes penetrated Nick's pale complexion. "You happy? You managed to get me to lose my powers and now . . . this crap happens!"
Nick quickly tried to touch Deth, to let him know that he never wanted this to happen, but Deth pulled his arm away, refusing the act of love on Nick's part. "Don't touch me you vile monster!" Deth spat.
Nick became flustered and looked to the ground nervously. "Brian will bail us both out!"
Deth had to hold onto his laughter. "Like hell he will. He would only bail you out! But I'm warning you, once I get out of this freakin' place, you both will get a piece of my mind! And you . . . you insolent monster . . . you will be locked up forever. I don't think I even want you anymore!"
Nick only gazed at Deth sadly, realizing that he couldn't patch anything anymore. With that, he turned around and walked back to Brian, Kevin and Frank as the three were working on the papers to bail both Nick and Deth out.
"So what did he say?" Kevin asked calmly, not even letting Brian the chance to talk.
Nick looked at Kevin sadly. "He's really angry. But I think we should still bail him out. Otherwise, he's gonna make an even bigger mess for us!"
"Then you shouldn't stay with him tonight. You stay in my room!" Brian replied, unashamedly.
Frank immediately stepped in. "I object."
Brian gazed at Frank with a little more than disdain. "And why? Do you prefer that Nick sleep with you . . . with a mirror image of himself? Don't you think you've spooked him enough?"
Frank ignored Brian. "I think I need to be in the room too, just so that we have power in numbers against Deth. Kevin, I think you should keep an eye on Deth!"
Kevin gazed at their conversation with disbelief. "And may I ask who will come to retrieve my remains after the night is done?"
Brian laughed. "Or all five of us can fit into the room! Me and Nicky on one bed. Frank and Deth on the other. Kevin on the couch."
Frank gazed coldly at Brian. "Sounds like an excellent plan to get rid of me! What happened to this past year? Did you not feel an inkling of love for me? What about all those promises of living happily ever after, that you would never betray my love for you?"
Brian rolled his eyes. "Stop it! You're being selfish. That's before I knew that you were a fake Nick!"
Frank caught himself. "True! But you have to admit that you felt some attraction for me!"
Nick just let the argument gloss over his brain. "I'm tired. Let's just go home first!"
Brian immediately jumped to Nick's side and eased him back to the car. All waited nervously as the police escorted Deth into the car with them.
Deth entered the car with much hostility, but still chose to sit next to Nick, all the while pushing Brian away from the boy.
Brian simply gazed at Deth with even more hostility, but decided against acting on it.
Once they got back from the airport, Nick chose to immediately go to bed, but not before he tried to talk to Deth once again. "You . . . do you want the bed? I can take the couch."
Deth glared at him. "Yes, I want the bed! And as far as I'm concerned, I don't care where you sleep." With that, Deth stamped off into Brian's bed and immediately went to sleep.
Brian motioned for Frank to take that bed, but Frank simply remained rooted in his place. "Nah ah. I'm not going to put my life on the line. I say we just give him the darn bed and I'll sleep elsewhere." Then Frank grabbed a blanket and slept on the floor, worsening Brian's guilt.
Nick watched the interaction carefully before he decided to go ahead and sleep on the bed. As bad as Brian felt for Frank, he wasted not time in hopping onto the bed with Nick, quickly wrapping his arms around the boy possessively. He did not realize it, but the other three had stared at Nick all night long, envious of the closeness that Brian had gotten to the young blond boy.
All were waken in the middle of the night by a mysterious sound. Deth was the first to recognize it as his father's presence.
"My Lord?" Deth beckoned.
The Lord of Hell instantly flashed some light into the room and sent all the others crashing into the wall, waking all of them in the process. "I have come to save you, my son! And to put an end to those who have tortured you so!"
With that, the Lord gazed at Nick, his eyes full of anger and hatred. With a wave of his hand, he forced Nick's body towards his, grabbing Nick's throat with one hand. "This creature has caused you too much sorrow!" He squeezed tighter, making Nick's face turn into a pale blue as Nick struggled to breathe.
Deth looked on with fear. "No, no. Don't My Lord. He's . . . I'm not done. I want to torture him myself."
The Lord of Hell looked with more disgust at Nick. "Why? He will only put you through more torture. It is about time someone did something about this rebellious little brat." The Lord of Hell shook Nick's body violently, willing the life to be sucked out of the body. "He destroyed your powers!"
Slowly, Nick felt his mind collapse from the lack of oxygen. None of the others-Brian, Kevin, Frank were able to get near him. But Nick didn't care. If taking his life meant saving the others, he didn't have a regret about it. He stopped struggling as he let the effects of the Lord's grip pervade his body. Slowly, his arms fell to his side.
"Nooooo!!!" Brian screamed. "Please don't. Nick is innocent. He didn't mean for anything to happen. He would never hurt your son!"
The Lord of Hell simply smiled. "You mean to tell me this monster here is innocent of all the sins he had committed? He had poisoned all of your minds as well?"
Deth ran up to his father, trying to pry his father's fingers loose from Nick's fragile body. "Father! Please don't! I don't want him to die!
The Lord of Hell glared at his son before releasing Nick's body to the ground. And it landed with a thud.
Deth immediately stooped down to touch Nick's face, willing the life to come back to the body, but Nick's body merely laid on the ground, motionless.
Brian screamed in the background. "You big oaf! Nick is innocent! He's merely a kid! Hasn't he been tortured enough, with all the demons having their share of him? If anything, you're the one who's torturing him! Look at him! He never hurt anyone! And here you go blaming him. He didn't shove your son down to Earth!"
Brian ran towards Nick's body, only to be shoved back by the Lord of Hell's powers. "And you? You insolent little twirp!" The Lord icily gazed at Brian. Nick would rather prefer you over my son?" The Lord quickly lashed out at Brian, throwing Brian into the wall.
"No!" Kevin cried out as he jumped in to help his cousin.
Frank too couldn't help but join in. "My Lord, I don't think that is wise. I have been sent from heaven to redeem Nick's soul. He was unrightfully detained in Hell for your son's pleasure, and your world has had more than enough of his soul. You have ransacked it from inside out and the powers of Heaven are very displeased."
The Lord glared at Frank. "And why should they be displeased? Because we soiled your one pure soul? I do not believe i did anything wrong. He had offered his soul to my son, and if he were truly noble, he would honor that promise. Not run away at every chance, giving my son so much pain and grief!"
Frank held his ground. "But in the debt that he owed you, he only offered himself to your son, not your entire underworld! You have tarnished the pact and took advantage of his powerlessness. So the heavens have sent me to retrieve him."
The Lord laughed. "How could you retrieve him back to a place of purity when his soul is now dirt from inside out? Tell me, my people have basically made his soul as filthy as us now, raped it in every way possible. His soul is too impure, too tarnished to be accepted back to heaven.
All the while, Brian and Kevin were healing from the impact that the Lord had used against them. Brian looked to Deth and knew that there was only one way left. "Deth! You love him, don't you? Well, show it! I know that your love is pure. Why else would you jump into the River of Forgetfulness to retrieve his body and risk losing your memory and powers? Please! Do for him as you know he would do for you! You know he would never break his promise unless he was completely broken himself! Show him the way. Please!"
Deth tried to look away from Nick's face, but felt Brian's words tearing at his heart.
Kevin immediately chimed in. "He's not cruel. He has never hurt a soul, nor has he ever purposely tried to break anyone! He's lost and what he needs now is affection. All you've been trying to do is strap him to the bed! Any creature would feel the shame, let alone one that is as pure and gentle as him."
Deth felt the tears flow one by one. The Lord seemed to have been subdued somewhat.
"Then what should we do?" Deth asked sadly. "He owes me the debt."
"And he had paid for it with his happiness, with his hopes, with his life!" Brian answered. "Does that not mean anything to you?"
"He belongs to me!" Deth continued stubbornly.
Kevin stepped forward. "And you have doomed him by bounding him to a promise that he made a long time ago, to a promise that probably had different meanings for you and for him. You've stretched his words to something beyond our understanding and faulted him for not playing by your rules!"
"Enough!" The Lord of Hell shouted. "Do not play mind games with my son and I. Nick had broken the pact and so, we no longer care that he repay it. I will respect the beings from heaven and not destroy his soul, but I will not let him cross the boundaries back to heaven. He shall forever remain on Earth!" With that, the Lord placed a deep trance on Nick, a trance so strong that nobody would be able to break it. With that, he disappeared, bringing Deth back to their home as well.
Brian, Kevin and Frank stared numbly at Nick's sleeping body. His breaths had become even now, but his body no longer showed any recognition or responded to any stimuli. He simply slept soundly, even as Brian picked up his body and placed him on their bed gently.
Brian wept his silent tears while Frank stared in shock. Even Kevin offered no words to soothe the situation. They gazed at Nick's sleeping form, their sleeping beauty. He looked so peaceful, so accessible. But never would he ever return their love for him.
"No!" Brian sobbed silently as he placed his cheeks next to Nick's, his tears rolling down Nick's cheeks. "I will fight for you, if you will fight with me! Please . . . "
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