Obscura, Third Act: Res Nullius

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Notes: Written for the 00q_bb. I'd been wanting to write a Haunting Ground AU for 00Q for a while and this was my first and best opportunity to do so. You should also definitely check out the awesome art that goes with this fic and I cannot express my gratitude enough to the lovely artists who worked on this with me – you guys are wonderful! Also, if I have missed anything that needs to be warned, please let me know so that I can edit the warnings to reflect that.
Title: Obscura, Third Act: Res Nullius
Part: 3 / 4
Fandom: Skyfall & Haunting Ground
Pairing: James Bond/Q ; one-sided Dominic Greene/Q
Rating: r
Beta: Em
Words: 8 143 words
Warnings: Warnings are for blood, torture, violence, implied and threatened rape, threats of forced non-consensual impregnation, violence against animals, disturbing images of childbirth, character death, and other horror themes.
Contains: Talk of male impregnation and pregnancy, werewolf!Bond, other mythological and alchemical ideas and elements.
Summary: When he woke up in a dungeon, it was only the start of this living nightmare he found himself in. The only ally that Q finds in this place is a wolf that isn't all he appears to be. As it stands, though, with him being chased after for something he doesn't know or understand, Q has one goal in mind: survive.

Third Act: Res Nullius
Although it was fairly obvious that James's wounds weren't completely healed, he still pushed himself to his feet and made his way back over to the stairs. Q followed a short ways behind him, the Pluto key clasped tightly in his hand. He gave James a worried look.

“Will you be alright?”

James inclined his head, heading down the stairs and through the half opened door. He barked back at Q as though to say “hurry up.”

Rolling his eyes, Q followed after. It figured that he would be stuck with a stubborn old werewolf.

They had to retrace their footsteps back through the dungeon and back out into the manor. Everything seemed... far too quiet. Even though Severine was dead, Q felt jumpy and as though there was someone watching him somewhere. Dominic was still out there, along with this mysterious 'master' that Severine had been talking about; Q didn't think that it referred to Dominic, but he couldn't know for sure.

Outside, the wind had died down so everything was eerily still. They returned to the crypt within the mausoleum and the mysterious door at its rear marked by the symbol of Pluto. The key easily fit into the lock and it clicked, opening to reveal a damp staircase that opened into a cavern of some kind light by an eerie green-blue light. It almost looked like it was underwater.

Venturing into it, Q and James carefully looked around. Q was uncomfortable with how his footsteps echoed in this place, sounding as though they were coming from everywhere at once. It would be hard to tell if someone was following him.

From the cavern, the underground area branched out into three separate paths. The one directly ahead of them, across from the Pluto door, had a glowing green mark above it that Q recognized as a caduceus – the symbol of Hermes and one that he recognized from the book about azoth from the manor's library.

As though his feet had acquired a mind of their own, he started walking towards it. Perhaps, behind that door, lay the answer he wanted.

The door was heavy, made from what he guessed was cast iron, and riveted. It took a considerable amount of effort for Q to push it open and step inside. James followed behind him, sniffing the air and growling low in his throat.

The only thing within the large, circular room, was a mass of strange machinery connected to a large, glowing, green ball. As he got closer, Q realized that the green glow was emanating from within the glass ball, which was supported by large, metal supports that ran all around it. There was some kind of mass inside, and it appeared to be full of liquid.

When he was close enough to see what was inside, Q stumbled back against the machinery with a gasp. James growled, crouching low to the ground.

Inside of the glass enclosure, there was a a human form curled up into the fetal position. It was connected by an umbilical cord to a mass of... of something. Q had no idea what it was.

“Beautiful, isn't it?”

Q stumbled, whirling around and backing up against the strange machine. Standing in the doorway, the only thing visible from under his hood was a sadistic grin.

“Now, now, my darling Q, there is no reason to be afraid. It is simply the creation of life from nothing. But now, I must ask that you come with me.” He gave James a disdainful look, spitting out his next words, “There is no reason to bring this mutt with you.”

“I'm not going anywhere with you.”

“Where else do you have to go? Your parents are dead and this entire castle,” he gestured above his head, “now belongs to you as M's heir. It would be best for you to come with me. I promise that I shall took good care of you.”

Q shuddered. He didn't want to know what Dominic considered 'good care', not after everything he'd seen here. He shrank back as Dominic drew closer, reaching out a hand to touch a hand to Q's face. He jerked back.

“Fuck off!”

He kicked Dominic between the legs at the same moment as James sank his teeth into his leg. Dominic went down, cursing, and Q vaulted himself over him, running for the door and finding the strength to slam it shut behind him. Panting, he followed James as he ran down one of the other hallways.

They passed by several strange, grey masses that looked like men, but who simply stood there and muttered to themselves or banged their heads against the wall.

James and him kept running, Q following after the large wolf who seemed to know the route they were taking better than Q did. He could hear Dominic swearing behind them over the sound of his blood rushing in his head, followed by a loud bang. The column a few feet behind them exploded in a shower of dust.

“Oh, he's got a gun too. Great.”

James barked, jerking his nuzzle to a turn up ahead as he skidded to a stop, turning to face Dominic.

“James, you are not–”

James barked against, kicking Q with his hind legs like he was a horse. Q stumbled forward cursing. He continued on, chancing a glance back at James as he bolted around the corner. The last thing he saw was James tensing and then lunging, trying to get his jaws around Dominic's throat.

The hallway continued on, before branching off into two separate rooms. Q grabbed the knob of one and yanked it open, running inside and shutting the door behind him. Inside, there were tables stacked with instruments and notes of all kinds along with a strange device that resembled a furnace that dominated the back wall of the room.

There was also a hole in the wall that was just large enough for Q to crawl into. Dropping to his knees, Q crawled inside and managed to pull one of the tables near it over it to try and hide it. He managed to squeeze his way as far into the back of the hole, pulling his knees to his chest and willing his raging heart to slow.

As his pulse began to quiet, the silence became deafening. The only thing that Q could hear was the sound of his breathing, his blood rushing in his ears, and the quiet crackling of a fire.

Several times, he swore he could hear the frantic footsteps of Dominic along with his cursing, but it was just his imagination. The footsteps he heard thudded in time to the beat of his heart. He held his breath whenever they seemed to become too loud, hands tightening on his knees into a white-knuckled grasp.

Time seemed to come to a halt as Q waited with baited breath. He so wanted to leave his hiding spot and make sure that James was alright, but Dominic terrified him. Something about him seemed off – more so than either Vesper or Severine had.

For what seemed like hours, he waited there, breathing hard and heavy. His feet went numb and he could feel pins and needles in the soles of his feet. He hoped that James was okay.

The door slowly creaked open and Q's heart jumped into his throat. He held his breath.

The shuffle of paws and a steady sound of liquid dripping to the ground had Q crawling out my his hiding place and peeking out from under the table. James stood in the doorway, bleeding from a gash to his shoulder. He kicked the door closed behind him, stumbling his way over to Q where he collapsed into his lap.

Q caught James, running his hands through his fur and looking for more injuries. The wound was already starting to heal, but slower than before. James made a small noise that sounded like a whimper and a content sigh. His blue eyes were closed in rest and his breathing was heavy, but he was obviously still awake.

“Did you see where Dominic went?”

James huffed. He inhaled a deep breath, wolf form melting away as he retook his human form. Q turned his eyes upward, but couldn't quite hide the slight tremble in his hands which were still buried in James's hair. It seemed to completely be his luck that this would happen – and if he were in any other situation than the one he was currently in, he would certainly be taking advantage of being alone in a room with a ruggedly handsome and naked man. Now, though, was not the time to be thinking of that.

Blue eyes fluttered closed as James sighed and relaxed into Q's lap. He took a deep breath, “He fled back towards the manor to lick his wounds. I have no doubt he will be back. I'll get him next time.”

“And what if he gets you?” Q's hand resumed stroking through James's hair and his voice trembled just a little.

James opened one eye, smirking savagely, “I'll kill him before he gets the chance.”

Perhaps he should have been afraid. After all, his protector had just pledged that he would kill a man the next time he saw him, but Q couldn't find it in himself to be afraid. James had given him no reason to fear him, and he had every reason to fear Dominic. After every thing he'd seen and been through, Q knew that there was no way that Dominic harbored any innocent intentions towards him.

The gash on James's shoulder had faded to an angry red line that was only barely bleeding. It was gradually knitting itself closed, flesh smoothing over the wound and leaving no scar behind. A quick examination revealed that James had several scars dotting his torso – several jagged white lines, others puckered and knotted, like bullet wounds.

Absently, Q traced his hand over one that looped down from James's collar bone, a frown marring his brow. “If you heal so quickly, how do you have scars?”

James looked up at him, ice blue eyes boring into Q's. To Q's credit, he didn't back down.

“Certain wounds heal better than others,” James replied, slowly. He caught Q's hand with one of his, giving it a squeeze as he held it over his heart. His heart beat steadily under their joined hands. “Others were inflicted with cursed weapons, which always leave scars no matter what is done to heal them.”

“You werewolves are something else,” Q remarked. “To only be scarred by cursed weapons.”

“Werewolves claws will do the same. The bites are the most serious. Unlike that saying, our bite is worse than our bark.”

Q smiled, “That was terrible.”

“But it did make you smile.” James gave one of those little half-smiles that made Q's stomach do flip-flops in his chest. He sat up, still holding Q's hand in his, “Which is lovely by the way.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“A shame, really, I was only getting warmed up.”

“Perhaps you can try again later,” Q said. “When the atmosphere is more charming.”

James looked around, “Yes, this atmosphere isn't very conductive to such things. I'll take my leave of you for now.”

Before Q could say anything else, James raised Q's hand to his lips and pressed a light kiss to the knuckles. He smirked as the fluid transformation from man to wolf took place, leaving behind one very smug looking wolf and a faintly blushing Q who quickly pulled his hand back.

Looking anywhere but at James, Q pushed himself back to his feet. There wasn't much of interest within the room, aside from a piece of parchment nailed to one of the walls. There was a diagram drawn on it. At the top, were the words Prima Materia. Then, a line of arrows went from extraction, to purification, to synthesis, and finally to transmutation. After transmutation, it had a drawing of a bright red stone that was labelled as a Red Godstone – whatever that meant.

Q looked away, looking back to James, “Let's find a away out of there.”

They backed out of the room that they had been in and checked the other one. This one was an operating theatre, stained with blood and with the gruesome remains of a small baby lying in a container near the doorway. Q covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to throw up as he stumbled back from it. The half-rotted torso of a woman lay in another corner, her stomach and womb ripped open.

Q immediately stumbled backwards, slamming the door shut. He leaned against it, trying to catch his breath and with his hand clasped tightly over his chest. He felt the fear bubbling up and crushed it back down, locking it behind tight walls. Now was not the time to be panicking, they needed to find a way out.

The only other room in this wing of the underground complex of hallways was securely locked, but it had a small window carved into it. With shaking hands, Q pulled himself to peek through and immediately wished he hadn't.

It was yet another prison cell, again containing the rotting body of a young woman. Her body was bloating and her skeleton was peeking through in several places, but Q was certain that her swollen stomach contained an unborn child. Another skeleton lay on the floor, limbs thrown asunder.

He didn't want to think of what those corpses had suffered through when alive. And what they meant for him.

The other wing split in a fork, one led to a dead end and yet another strange machine, whose large leaden pipes reached up and sunk into the ceiling. The other hall ended in a flight of stairs which led up towards a archway.

The archway opened into a large columned room. Just beside the the arch that they had come up from, were a large pair of double oaken doors with the image of a caduceus set into them in iron. Across from the double doors was a large marble statue of a man. In one hand, he held a caduceus which point down towards the earth, and in the other he held a scale. On either side of the statue were two doors – one painted a deep, blood red, and the other a shade of royal blue.

Along the base of the statue, something was carved: Bring to me the stone of heaven and weigh it against the sins of Man. Should it prove righteous and pure, the way shall open to you.

“Well, that sounds like a way open to me,” Q remarked. “But where would we find this stone to heaven? Not exactly something one would leave lying around...”

Pushing open the red door enough to look inside, what lay beyond was a hallway lit by red light that filtered in through the stained glass windows and the red-tinted lamps overhead. There was another door at the end of the hall, guarded on both sides by two of those strange, grey men.

Q pulled the door shut. They could check that hall later.

Unlike the red door, the blue door led outside into a small garden. Broken stone benches lined the sides of the garden, whose plants were horribly overgrown with weeds. Many of the plants that were supposed to grow there were dead, their dry husks hanging over the planters.

At the far end of the garden was a fountain, no longer working and whose basin was choked with dead leaves. However, when he leaned closer, Q realized that there was something glimmering under the leaves. Shifting them aside, Q pulled out a strange looking rock that gave off a soft, unnatural glow in his hands.

Turning it over in his hands, it felt warm and surprisingly light despite its apparent weight.

He held it out to James, “Maybe this is that Prima Materia that document was talking about?”

James sniffed at it and barked. Q decided to take that as a yes. He held the stone carefully in his hands, “Now... we just need to find a way to turn this into the stone of heaven.”

Humming thoughtfully, they left the garden and return to the room with the statue with the god. Q was running through the steps that would need to be taken, “Extraction is first, than we need to purify it, synthesize it, and finally transmute it.”

He tapped a finger against his chin, “Do you think those machines downstairs have anything to do with this?”

James barked his agreement.

Q sighed, sucking in a deep breath. He really didn't want to go back, but it seemed like there was no choice. They'd have to return to the tunnels full of corpses.

He followed James back down the stairs and down the hall to the room with the diagram. Each of the different steps were colour-coded according to their name. There was a rough sketch of symbols along one side of the diagram, several of which Q recognized from the strange machines dotted around the area.

“Alright, I think I've got this worked out.” Q smoothed the paper out on the table, memorizing it. “It doesn't seem too difficult... hopefully these machines are easy enough to operate...”

They had to backtrack to the room with the figure floating in green liquid. The machine attached to it was marked with the first symbol on the diagram, marking it as the Extractor. The door to it was closed with a latch, that Q was easily able to open. He placed the Prima Materia inside and pulled the only lever on its side.

There was a loud bang as the machine roader to life, pipes straining. There was a flash of bright light. Then silence.

Opening the door carefully, Q ducked out of the way of the awful amount of smoke that issued outwards. Once it cleared, he carefully reached inside and pulled out what had once been the Prima Materia. It's appearance had changed from the metal it had once been.

The next one was the purifier which was located at the dead end near the staircase which led up to the statue's room. Q repeated the process from the first machine with this one, with a very similar result. This time, the ore that he pulled from the machine was silvery in hue, catching the faint light and glowing like the moon.

The third machine was in the room where Q had found the diagram. The machine was a little more run down than the other two. Q kicked it, hard, and stubbed his toe, but that jerked it into working properly. When he pulled the synthesized silver ore from the machine, it was glowing an eerie light and was the size and shape of a large oval. It fit neatly in Q's hand.

Retracing their footsteps back up to the room with the statue, Q looked at the red door. The last machine to complete the process was probably beyond the door at the end of the hall. He looked down at James.

“James, you need to take out those two things guarding the door. I'll make a run for the door.”

James barked. When Q pulled the door open, James darted past him, nothing more than a blur of grey and white. He was already bearing down on the first creature when Q blinked, sinking his teeth into his neck and crushing its neck. It collapsed to the ground with a wet thud.

In the seconds it took for Q to squeeze through the door and run towards the door at the end of the hall, James had already caught the other creature's leg in his jaw, crushing the bone. It collapsed to the ground with a muffled shriek and James tore its throat out in the next breath. He snarled, mouth stained red and looking like the wolf he was.

Q paid it no mind, opening the door instead and stepping into the room. It was boiling hot in there and Q was sweating in seconds. He hurried over to the machine, prying open its hatch and placing the white stone within its depths. He slammed it closed and secured it, pulling the lever that would transmute it into the Red Godstone needed to reveal the path.

There was an explosion of heat and light. Q backed up against the door, shielding his face and eyes with his arms. It faded all too soon and Q lowered them, blinking in the sudden dim light. He moved suddenly, feeling more than a little off-balanced, to retrieve the Red Godstone.

It wasn't much larger than a tea light, glowing from within with a bright red light all its own. In his hand, it was light and warm. Q closed his fist around it and rejoined James in the hallway, returning to the statue of the god.

Carefully, Q stepped onto the dais the statue stood on, using the caduceus as a balance as he placed the Red Godstone in the empty bowl of the scales. For a second, it wavered, sinking lower than the weights on the other side, before it soared back up. There was a loud click and the sound of a door creaking open.

James barked and Q looked back to see that the huge double doors behind them were open and unlocked. Biting his lip, Q grabbed the stone from the scales and jumped down from the dais. Nothing happened.

Cool air wafted in from the opened doors, sweet smelling. Q walked over, knees shaking just a little, and pushed the doors open just a little wider, stepping out into the evening air. He emerged from out of the castle onto a sweeping flight of stairs that split into two and arched around to an expanse of dirt path that led into the forest. As he stepped out and looked back, Q could see the castle towering over the thick outer walls.

He gasped. They were outside. They had escaped.

He turned to James, “You said you could get out us out of here if we reached the forest, right?”

James nodded, barking.

Q looked over to the forest, which stretched ominously towards the horizon. A worn dirt path ran from the entrance to the castle into the depths of the forest. Q's heart was hammering in his throat and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

He looked back up towards the castle. Then he looked back at James, “Let's get out of here.”

They took the left arm of the staircase to avoid the mumbling grey man who stood halfway down the other arm. James growled at him, but he didn't move or react, simply remained where he was, staring and mumbling at the ground.

When the hit the dirt path, James's nose shot up into the air and he snarled, head snapping around to a mass of bushes. He growled, ears standing straight and tail pointing straight outwards.

“James? What's–”

With a blood-stopping snarl, James tensed and ran, easily leaping over the stump of a dead tree and into the bushes. Q heard the sound of rushing feet, of James snarling, and then nothing. He started after James, stumbling up the embankment on the side of the path.

BANG!

The loud crack of a gunshot shattered the silence and sent a swarm of birds flying in a panic. Q froze, his blood running cold. It couldn't...

“James!”

He scrambled up the embankment, but he couldn't get through the bushes. They were grown so tightly together and covered with thorns that he was more likely to get caught and trapped in them than get through. Q slid back down the embankment, his heart hammering in his chest. James's name was a chant in his mind in time to the frantic beat of his heart.

The dirt paths of the forest formed a labyrinth, one that Q knew he wouldn't be able to navigate safely on his own. But the adrenaline thudding in his veins drove him onward, he stumbled along, running and calling out James's name. He stumbled across two dead ends, finding nothing, and feeling the hope draining from him.

James had always come. He couldn't lose him now. If he lost him here, if James died, then it would be his fault because James would never have been in this situation if it wasn't for Q. It was stupid to think so – after all, James was a grown man and more than capable of making decisions for himself – but he wasn't thinking too clearly.

He tripped over the upraised root of a tree, falling to the ground in a heap. He scratched his palms up on the dirt and gravel path, but that didn't stop him.

Climbing back to his feet, Q continued on. He ran along the path, calling out to James, trying to find where the werewolf had run to. He knew he couldn't be far; that gunshot had been very close.

He was breathing heavily and his face was smeared with sweat and dirt as he stumbled along in the twilight of the forest. After several minutes of running around in a blind panic, the fear set in, curdling into a ball of ice in his stomach. He was also certain that he'd run past that one particular tree four times.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, Q carefully retraced his steps as best he could, wandering around the path that he thought was the closest to where he'd heard the gunshot. Walking along it for several minutes, Q worried that he'd chosen wrong.

There was a splatter of blood and a large pool of it at the centre of the path only a short ways in front of him. Eyes opening wide and inhaling sharply, Q slowly edged along the path, following a trail of blood along the path. Dread was flooding through him. It was a lot of blood, certainly more than he'd seen James lose before.

A little ways ahead there was a tuft of white fur snagged on a branch. Reaching out, Q gently pulled it from the branch. It was matted with blood. He weighed it in his hand and then hurried onward.

The path curved up ahead and Q turned around it. There was more blood and fur snagged on the bushes. He could hear a soft whining noise now, the one that James made when he was hurting and in pain. It got louder the further Q moved along the path until he sounded like he was right on top of it.

A sharp bark caught Q's attention and he whirled around, spotting a small path nearly obscured with bushes. He shoved his way through them, finding James collapsed and bleeding from a bullet wound to his side on the ground.

He rushed over, stumbling and falling to his knees at James's side. He tore a chunk of fabric from his tunic, pressing it against the wound. It was the only thing he could do to stop the bleeding; he had no medical supplies on him at all and he had no idea where to find some. If he ran for help, there was a good possibility that James would die.

“It's alright now,” Q said, trying to comfort him. He couldn't keep the tremor from his voice. “I just need to stop the bleeding and you'll be fine.”

James made a high-pitched noise, jerking his head from side to side. He was moving, trying to force himself back to his feet, but he stumbled back to the ground.

“James, you have to stop moving! You're only going to make it worse! What's–”

He heard the click of a revolver.

“It's pathetic, really, how much you care for that filthy animal. I suppose I shall have to put it out of its misery for you then, my darling Q.”

Q whirled around, but he couldn't see Dominic anywhere. He tried to hunch over James protectively, but he was bucking too violently and flung Q off, back towards the path. James's nostrils flared as he gestured frantically with his muzzle. His blue eyes blazed, “RUN!” That was what he was trying to tell Q, he realized. This was a trap; Dominic had meant to lure him in, capture him by using an injured James as bait.

BANG!

James let out a loud, pained howl as another bullet tore into his shoulder. He struggled to his feet, collapsing back to the ground, his legs refusing to hold him. He whined at Q.

Q got the message. He stumbled to his feet and out of the bushes. He could hear Dominic swearing from somewhere inside the bushes. He ran down the path, trying to put as much space between the two of them as possible. Hopefully, Dominic would come after him and leave James, but Q had very little hope that James would be able to survive those wounds.

He raced through the forest, running faster than he could remember having run before. His feet kept slipping on loose rocks and errant tree roots, but he just caught himself and stumbled on.

As he ran, he swore he could hear Dominic's heavy breathing behind him. He was only relieved not to hear another gun shot.

He stumbled out of the forest and onto the clearing of a cliff. Sliding towards the edge, Q peeked down. There was no safe way down that he could see, it was just one long fall down a mass of jagged rocks to the river below. He took several steps back, turning around with the intent to find another path.

Dominic blocked his way.

He stepped forward, towards Q. “Well now, it seems you have nowhere left to run. A pity. I do enjoy a good chase. You have put up quite the good fight, my darling Q.”

“Shut up! I'm not your darling anything!”

“Oh, but you are,” Dominic purred. “You are my darling, Q, our precious child. It is through you that I will be reborn again... this time with your azoth.”

“What do you mean? What azoth? I don't know what you're talking about!”

Dominic grinned, “Azoth... the essence of all life. All living beings contain some small amount of it within themselves, with women containing the most. But you, my darling Q, you are unique. You have your mother's azoth. With it, I shall possess immortal life – I will be complete!”

Q breathing shook, “M-my mother? What does she have to do with any of this?”

“Ah, you don't know then. Well, I'm certain this will be... quite the shock to you then, my darling Q.”

Reaching up to his hood, Dominic pulled it back, revealing a painfully familiar face. It was certainly the face of a man, but Q recognized the eyes, the shape of the nose and lips.

Dominic was almost a completely perfect copy of his mother.

“You see, my darling Q, your mother and I... well, we are clones.”

“N-no...” Q took a step back. “That's... that's not possible.”

“Oh, but it is. Unfortunately, my darling, I was not quite the perfect being that your mother was. It was she who inherited the azoth, she could who could grant eternal life and youth. But now, she is dead, but she had the good sense to pass her azoth on to you. And now, I shall take it from you.”

Dominic had his arms open, as though to embrace Q, who took another step back, foot landing on a loose stone. His ankle rolled, sending Q falling backwards.

Shit!

His body crumpled under him and his head struck a rock. His head swum and consciousness was rapidly being blotted out by darkness. Q cursed; he couldn't fall asleep now! As his vision faded completely, he could see Dominic leaning over him, a savage smile on his lips.

“Soon, you shall birth me once again...”

– –
Consciousness was slow to return to Q this time. His head felt as though someone had been tap-dancing on it with cement-soled shoes. He felt tired and sluggish, limbs and eyelids heavy as he pushed himself up into a sitting position to look around. The tips of his fingers brushed against his glasses. Picking them up, he unfolded them and put them on, looking around.

He was locked in some kind of cell, the bars rusted, but sturdy, and the floor was wet. Aside from himself, there was nothing but a bucket half-full of some truly foul-looking water in the corner.

Standing shakily on his feet, Q had to lean heavily against the bars to keep his balance. His feet were cold against the hard ground, and Q was both quite startled and also more than a little terrified when he realized that his clothes and shoes were gone; they were replaced with a bloodied hospital gown of some kind that barely reached his knees.

Q had to lean heavily on the bars to support himself, stumbling over to the cell's door. His fingers were shaking as he tried to grab at the lock, frustrated when he found it to be in excellent condition. There was certainly no way he could break it on his own and there was no key in sight.

Hopelessness settled in and he collapsed to his knees, his legs not having the strength to support his own weight. Dragging himself to the far corner of the cell, Q pulled his knees close to his chest, resting his forehead against them.

He was trapped.

Dominic had him in his keeping now. He was free to do whatever he so pleased with Q.

His shoulders trembled, not only from the cold as the cell was incredibly chilly. There was a small, narrow window set into the wall of the cell opposite the bars, but Q couldn't bring himself to look out of it. Freedom was an ever elusive concept for him, he never should have thought he would be able to escape this hell.

And it had cost James his life as well. James had done nothing but stumble into this. He had stayed for Q, had fought for him, and now he was dead because of it. That lay on Q. If only he had done something, James might have still been alive.

The pain and loss made his heart shrink and a lead weight settled into his very bones. Q pressed his head against the wall of the cell, feeling the cold dampness against it. He stared at the opposite wall of the cell, eyes unfocused and not registering it.

He could only resign himself to his fate now. Whatever it might be.

The cold and the damp sunk into him until Q felt numb. His emotions retracted into a tight ball, burying themselves deep within his chest. There was nothing now. He was lost. Q crushed everything back, packing into tightly into that little ball with his emotions; he would have no use for them. Better to be numb, the pain of whatever awaited him would hurt less.

“Now is not the time to be nodding off, Q.”

Q blinked, but didn't move. It seemed that hallucinations would plague him now. Was that how it was to be? That he would hear James's voice until Dominic came for him? Performed whatever experiments he wished upon him to harvest the azoth he had?

“I know you can hear me, Q. Answer me.”

“I know you can hear me, Q. Answer me.”

Q didn't respond. He didn't move. The pain would be too great to respond to the hallucination now. It would destroy him when it inevitably vanished.

“Damn it! Q! Answer me!”

There was the sound of metal wrenching. Q winced, drawing back against the cold walls of his cell, arms tightening around himself. Was this truly how it was going to end?

A large, warm hand settled over his, the finger tips were callused. Another gently reached over and cupped his chin, forcing his head up and to meet a pair of achingly familiar icy blue eyes.

Q stared. Any words he could have or would have said were caught in his throat. His breath seemed to have left him. He felt a little light-headed. It... it couldn't be...!

“James...” he whispered, breathing rushing back as the ball of his emotions cracked. It was like an avalanche inside of himself. He threw himself forward, arms coming up around James's neck and nearly throwing him off balance.

James caught him, one large, muscled arm wrapping around Q's shoulders, holding him tightly, “Oh good, you haven't lost your voice.”

Q punched him in the chest, “You bloody arsehole! I thought you were dead!”

James hummed thoughtfully, fingers playing with the ends of Q's unruly brown curls. “I would have been, if it wasn't a lovely young lady who came to my aide.”

That made Q jerk back, looking up at James. One of his hands fell to James's thigh, which he was relieved to discover was clothed, “What does that–”

James shook his head, laying a finger over Q's lips, “Later. Right now, we need to leave this place. I doubt that bastard will be gone long.”

Standing up, James reached down and helped a still unsteady Q to his feet.

Q's knees were still trembling violently under him and now that he was on them, he was aware of a burning pain inside of himself. He thought he might be sick. He stumbled into James as a searing cramp tore through him, balling his hand up into a fist. The pain was like nothing he had ever known; he thought he might burn up from the inside out.

James steadied him with hands under his elbows, holding him up, “Q, are you alright? Did he do something?”

Shaking his head, Q fought back the urge to vomit. The burning pain was awful, radiating outwards and making his limbs shake, “I don't remember... I fell and that's all I remember.”

James growled, the sound coming from low in his throat. It was jarring to hear when accompanied by his human form, but Q was distracted by the horrible pain he was in. He pulled Q towards the wall, helping him to lean against it.

“Do you think you can walk? Just until we can get out of here.”

Q inhaled a deep, shaky breath, and nodded. The pain was awful, excruciatingly so, but it seemed to be getting slightly better as time passed. It was barely a marginal improvement, but it was one none the less. Besides, it wasn't like he had much of a choice in the manner.

“What? You're not going to carry me out of here like a prince with his princess? You are rescuing me after all.”

James rolled his eyes, “You're no princess, Q. Perhaps I'll take you up on that offer at a later time.”

He stepped away from Q, who sagged against the wall, shuffling out of the pants he had been wearing as he made the change from human to wolf. He nudged the pants with his nose, before trotting back over to Q, making a low noise in the back of his throat.

“I'll be fine,” Q choked out. “Let's just get out of here.”

He stumbled along after James as they left the dungeon, leaning heavily on the wall as James scouted ahead. He kept one hand clamped over his stomach, which felt as though someone had lit a fire underneath the skin and muscle.

They had barely left the cell and into a roughly carved out cave, than Dominic's voice echoed around them.

“I see that the mongrel is not so easy to kill off as I thought. Well, no matter, I shall deal with him. As for you, my darling, how are you feeling? It takes quite a bit of time and pain for your azoth to be stimulated enough from its latent state to allow for me to be reborn, but once I have dealt with this pest, you will be ready for me.”

Q recoiled against the wall. James snarled, lowering himself into a crouch.

Something brushed against Q's cheek, feeling like the brush of fingers, and he jerked away, nearly falling over. James leapt past him, teeth sinking into some unseen entity. Q felt his blood run cold.

James was thrown to the side, crashing into the stone wall. He stumbled back to his feet, dazed, but shook it off, leaping in front of Q so as to defend him. He snarled.

“Ah, so it's working then. A pity it doesn't work on animals, but it matters not. You can no longer see me, can you, my darling?”

Q scrambled back, ignoring the pain emanating in waves outward from his stomach. He looked around wildly, trying to see where Dominic was, but he could see nothing but the cave walls.

“I own you. You are mine. You shall not escape me, but give birth to me. Your azoth will be wholly mine.”

Q's blood ran cold. But he was stuck on one tiny detail.

“In case you haven't noticed, Dominic, I don't have the necessary equipment to give birth to you.”

Dominic laughed, the sound crazed and loud, echoing in the confined space of the cavern. “Oh, I assure you, my darling, that your, ahem, lack of equipment shall not pose an issue. Azoth is the essence of all life. All it shall take is for me to introduce my essence into your body, and it shall take care of the rest. Unfortunately, you shall not survive the birth. Truly a pity.”

Q inhaled sharply. Those other women whose bodies he'd seen in the castle...

“I have been trying for many years, you see my darling, to be completely reborn, but every time a failure. But with you? I shall have no need to fear as such. The azoth within you shall be more than enough to ensure my successful rebirth and grant me what I desire.”

Dominic chuckled, “But enough chit-chat, I'm afraid I have a few... last minute preparations to make. You will be joining me shortly, my darling, and I shall deal with that mutt that insists on following you then.”

A heavy, potent silence fell over them. Q found himself frozen, not even the burning pain brought him out of the chasm of horror he'd stumbled into. He clenched his hand over his stomach. There was something stirring inside of him, swimming round and round inside of him.

He stumbled back to his feet, “We need to get out of here. Now.”

James barked in agreement, falling in at Q's side. He gently nuzzled against his hip, as though to offer him comfort, which Q appreciated greatly. The two of them stumbled through the cavern's many tunnels, trying to find a way out. James walked a little ways ahead, nose in the air as he tried to sniff out fresh air.

Q fell to his knees, breathing heavily, as he willed the pain away, next to a wooden crate. There was a folded note pinned to the top of it, he noticed, and it had his name scribbled upon it. With trembling fingers, he pried it loose and unfolded it, curiosity getting the best of him.

A shaking, looping script greeted him.

“To my dearest Q,

“I am afraid that Dominic has trapped you within the water tower, which has no exit. However, you may create one using this magisterium. Bring it to the top of the tower where you shall create a bridge to the House of Truth. I await you there and pray for your safety.

Sincerely, Silva.”

Prying the lid off the wooden crate underneath, Q pulled out a small, bronze model of a bridge. It was rather heavy, but Q held it close as he stumbled back to his feet. His limbs were shaking and his stomach and throat felt as though he'd swallowed a hot poker.

James whined, coming back to him and squeezing himself under Q's arm. Leaning on him, Q was able to pull himself back into a standing position. He doubled over almost immediately, the pain shooting up his spine as sweat beaded on his brow. Even if the pain was somewhat dulled, it was still the worst thing Q had ever experienced.

After what felt like several hours of pain and wandering, they finally emerged from the dripping, underground caverns, and into a wide, open space. A large, spiraling staircase led up to the very top of the tower, while a pair of carved double doors with no handles, were set into another wall.

Q glanced down at James, “I suppose it would be too easy if we just left through the front door.”

James shook his head, gesturing upwards with his muzzle. There were a number of narrow windows set into the walls of the tower. James must have slipped in somehow.

Following the spiraling staircase up higher and higher, Q didn't look down. He'd always hated heights; if he looked down, the world would start spinning even worse than it had before and there was a good chance he'd start hyperventilating or puke – actually, he would probably do both, knowing his luck.

The higher they climbed, the thinner the air seemed to get. Or maybe it was just an illusion.

James dropped lower to the ground the higher they climbed, as though he was stalking a wounded animal. His head swept from side to side, ears perked and twitching. Every now and again he growled, making Q pause, until he stopped and they could continue on.

Eventually, they emerged through a narrow doorway to the top of the tower.

It was nothing more than a rudimentary observation platform, its railings having crumbled away to nothing. On all sides of the tower, there was nothing but water and, in the distance, a sea of trees and a manor. Just to the right of the doorway they had come out of, there was a bronze model of a manor and the tower itself, separated by a moat of water, represented in the model by a pool.

Carefully, Q set the bridge between the two models. It clicked into place and the entire tower began to shake violently, sending Q to his knees. James crouched low to the ground, growling. There was the loud sound of rushing water and the grinding of stone.

Once silence fell again and Q stood up, leaning against the wall and panting, laughter could be heard.

“I see you made it this far. I suppose I shall have to deal with you now. How would you like the mutt to die? I can make it quick and painless if you give yourself to me now; your surrender shall be oh so sweet, my darling.”

Dominic was cackling madly now. He was still invisible. Q pressed himself back up against the wall as James shifted in front of him, snarling at an enemy that Q couldn't see.

“I see you require a little more.... persuasion, my darling. Don't worry. I can drag out the torture for as long as need be. I will have you, even if it means I must break you first. Your azoth shall be mine. I shall be reborn from your ashes just like the phoenix.”

He was still laughing madly, voice echoing and seeming to come from everywhere at once.

“Oh, I have yearned for this day. I have dreamt of it, surely, but nothing could compare to the truth. I will be complete, and I shall prove to that old man once and for all that I am the superior one.”

The illusion flickered for a second, and Q could see Dominic. He had a revolver pointed right at James, primed and ready to fire whenever he wished. He was circling around the two of them, clearly enjoying his moment of triumph.

The husky voice of a woman whispered into Q's ear, sending shivers down his spine, “Cover your ears, and I shall deliver you from evil.”

Q's eyes flew wide open. He recognized that voice, but it couldn't... he clasped his hands over his ears anyway, sticking his head between his knees and screwing his eyes closed. He focused on the sound of his blood rushing in his ears and of his ragged breathing. The pain in his stomach faded to nothing.

He chanced a glance up at Dominic, who had stopped talking. He looked confused, eyes wide and flickering back and forth. He didn't move. Then he was shouting something as his body twitched, eyes glazing over as he took a large step back, his gun falling from lax fingers.

Dominic took another step back towards the edge of the tower, foot stumbling over a loose bit of rubble. Q couldn't read his lips too well, but he was certain that he was cursing someone out.

James stalked forward after him, ears folded against his head as he snarled, legs coiling.

On the edge of the tower, Dominic's entire body trembled. James lunged, slamming into Dominic and knocking him backwards. James used the man's body as a springboard, pushing himself back off of it as he sent him tumbling over the edge of the tower.

There was an ear-splitting scream of Q's name. The loud sound of bones snapping. Then... nothing.

Lowering his hands from his ears slowly, Q could hear the faint notes of a song fading into the distance. He shook his head, shaking off the lingering traces of its spell and pulled himself to his feet. He felt... invigorated. The pain was gone.

He looked at James, who was looking out over the tower and the bridge connecting it to the manor that must have been the House of Truth. Maybe he would get the chance to thank Vesper later, maybe he wouldn't.

“Come on, James. Let's finish this.”

SECOND ACT | FINAL ACT