![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Notes: Written for the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
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, Final Act: Et Lux in Tenebris Lucet
Part: 4 / 4
Fandom: Skyfall & Haunting Ground
Pairing: James Bond/Q ; one-sided Dominic Greene/Q
Rating: r
Beta: Em
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.
Final Act: Et Lux in Tenebris Lucet
They gave Dominic's crumpled and broken body a wide berth on the bridge as they hurried across it towards the House of Truth. Blood was pooling out from where the bones had pierced through the flesh and the smell was awful; the body smelled of iron and something else, something sickly sweet that spoke to decay.
There was no way around the House of Truth. The bridge led straight to its stairs and it was ringed on either side by high, twisted iron fences.
Everything about the manor that loomed before them screamed 'do not enter'. Despite the seeming innocuous appearing, there was something not quite right about it. There was a large caduceus inlaid into the door in burnished gold. It had no knob, but it creaked open as Q approached.
The inside of the House of Truth was cavernous. The ceiling vaulted high over them, covered in leaded glass. An array of walkways, hallways, and doors splintered off from the main cathedral-like room, the walls twisting as though they were made of trees or vines. The entire place looked warped, the floor looking uneven.
Above a silver pool of water, a giant statue of a hooded cobra stood poised, its fangs bared and ready to strike.
Q walked in, the door swinging closed and locking itself as he did. When he looked back at it, the door had melted seamlessly into the floor and walls. There was no going back.
They were locked in with whoever this Silva was.
A winding, crooked staircase led them down to the lower level, which was lit by flickering torches and tinted an eerie shade of red. Down here, there was only a single door, one which led into a strange and warped tunnel.
The stone was rough and untreated, huge stalactites reached down from the ceiling, flowing into the floor. Nothing looked carved, just as though the rock had been poured into place Stained glass windows of symbols and unrecognizable scenes were set into stone alcoves.
The only sounds was that of Q's bare feet padding on the stone floor and the clicking of James's claws. They wandered through the labyrinth of halls, Q marking their way by the stain glass windows that they passed.
A large, narrow red door confronted them, carved with ornate symbols with a Latin inscription carved into a bronze plate at its heart. It looked like a name.
With a shaking hand, Q reached out, taking the knob in hand and turning it. He was blasted with warm air as he slowly stepped inside.
The room inside was small, lit only by the light of a single lamp that through dull, crimson light on the walls. Papers and parchment were pinned to the walls, books stacked on the floor, open and dog-eared or stacked in large piles. A desk sat in one corner, its surface a mess of instruments and smoking vials and beakers.
A high-backed wheelchair creaked into sight. In it, sat a wizened old man, his straggly blond hair hanging around his face. His face was horribly sagged in, as though all the bones in one side of his jaw had melted away. He was smiling when he saw Q, slowly pushing his wheelchair forward towards them.
James growled, sinking into a crouch.
“Oh Q, I'm so happy to see that you are no worse for the wear after all you have been through,” he simpered. “Dominic was a very naughty boy, putting you through so much. But you're here now, and that's what matters.”
“Who are you?”
“I have many names, none of which are important. You may call me Silva.” He smiled and it looked wrong with how his face sagged; he was missing several teeth which looked as though they had rotted away. Silva leaned forward in his wheelchair, inhaling deeply.
“Ah, I can smell your fear and it is intoxicatingly sweet. You have nothing to fear, Q, I shall make sure that you do not suffer... but your mother, ah yes, your mother. She was stolen away from me. But now I have you. I always knew that you would come to me one day.”
“How... how do you know my mother?” Q took a step back, edging towards the door.
Silva's eyes flashed, “Once, she would have been mine. But then that bastard came and stole her away from me. With her, I could have achieved everything; we were perfect. Eternal life... everlasting youth... together we could have had it all. Our line would continue through me. But she was taken. Her and her azoth was taken.”
He leaned back in his chair, falling back into that smile of earlier, “Dominic was an effort to recreate her, though he was a failure. He was always a – I suppose you would call him a bad apple. M might be gone, but she passed her azoth on to you, and with it I shall claim what is rightfully mine.”
“You mean the azoth.”
Silva's wheelchair inched towards Q, “I will drain the azoth from you – the very life from you. Azoth is life. It is power. To those who know how to properly use it, it grants immortal life and eternal youth. We alchemists alone know its secrets – know of its true power.”
A skeletal hand reached out to try and grab Q's hand, but James bit down on it, hard, pulling Silva from his wheelchair and to the floor.
“Curse you, you foul beast! I should have known better than to trust that abominable woman with your disposal!”
There was a flash of red light and James jumped back, whimpering as he covered his nose with his paws. Silva held a crushed capsule in his hand, smirking. He dragged himself across the floor to Q, grabbing his ankle.
“It matters not what creatures you have to come to your aide. I am above them all and I shall have what I desire. Your azoth is mine. You belong to me!”
Stomping down on the hand with his other foot, Silva released Q with a howl of pain. Q reached behind himself, grabbing the door knob and wrenching it open. James jumped out ahead of him as Q rushed out, slamming the door behind him and running for the stairs.
He could hear Silva laughing, the sound echoing throughout the entirety of the House of Truth.
“No matter where you hide, Q, I shall find you. You are mine. Your azoth calls to me... it sings a song. It longs for me in ways you know not. And I will have it. Run wherever you like, you will not escape me.”
His maniacal laugh faded, echoing through the halls and making the hair on the back of Q's neck stand on end. James was rubbing his paw over his nose, making a strange snuffling noise, as though something was stuck in his nostrils. He sneezed loudly, sending up a cloud of red dust.
“Are you alright?” Q asked, dropping to his knees. He held James's face between his hands, fingers sinking into the fur as he tried to get a good luck at James's muzzle.
James's eyes were bloodshot and his nose was running a little, but Q couldn't see any other signs of irritation. There was certainly no sign of whatever it was that Silva had thrown in James's face to make him act like that, still James snuffled and rubbed at his muzzle with his paw.
“I don't see anything wrong. Do you–”
James jumped backed, snarling. His head snapped around, as though he sensed something. His eyes were wild and his fur stood on end, tail erect. He kept his wary position, snarling at something that Q couldn't see or sense.
Carefully, Q moved closer, keeping his hands raised in a pacifying gesture, “James, James, are you alright? Can you hear me?”
James nodded, but he didn't back down. He stalked in front of Q, moving down one of the long, winding hallways. It forced Q to jog to keep up with him, hoping that James had some idea of where they were going.
They wandered through the twisting hallways for what felt like hours, making no progress. Just when it seemed like they might have found a way out, the hallways themselves seemed to change; twisting their form and layout so that they just became even more lost within the depths. Q got the feeling that getting them disoriented and exhausted was the point; it would make them easy prey for Silva.
Sometimes, he could hear Silva's voice, taunting them as it echoed through the halls. It sounded like it was changing, losing some of its simpering tone, growing deeper.
“Don't think that you can run from me forever, my precious bearer of azoth. You are playing my game well. Keep going; I'll have you soon enough.”
He sounded disturbingly close sometimes, like he was whispering in Q's ear, “I can see your every step. Never doubt that I own you. I am coming for you.”
Q jerked around, trying to see Silva there, but there was no one behind him.
They continued on, checking each room as they came to them. The majority of them held little of interest, in some cases there was naught but a bloodied symbol painted on the wall. In others, there was absolutely nothing. Several doors simply opened to reveal brick walls.
Q wasn't sure how long they had been wandering until they stumbled across a blank door which was painted black. As he looked at it, his shoulder lit up with a burning pain. Q groaned, wincing as he brushed his fingers over it; he could feel the raised edges of a car there, one he had had for as long as he could remember.
The door in front of them glowed, a brilliant red symbol outlining itself upon the door. It was a perfect match for upon Q's shoulder.
Out a trembling hand, Q pressed his fingers against the mark. It hummed, warm under his fingers.
“You bear the mark of azoth.” It felt like fingers were ghosting over his birthmark. The fingers were cold, like death, and Q whirled around, breath catching in his throat, but there was no one there.
With shaking hands and a reassuring look from James, Q pushed the door open.
Inside, there was nothing but a simple altar, upon which sat a golden key carved with the likeness of the sun. Inserted into a hole in the altar, below a carving of the god Hermes, caduceus in hand, was a dagger. The dagger's hilt was decorated with a blood red stone that reminded Q of the Red Godstone he'd lost when Dominic had captured him.
Arising from the hilt of the dagger and twirling around half the blade's length were two snakes, each carved from sparkling blue and red crystal. The dagger itself was carved from a pure golden metal, twisting around itself and into the stone which it had been stabbed into.
Q grabbed the key and then wrapped his hands around the hilt of the dagger and pulled it upward. It came up from the stone easily. Despite its ornate appearance and the material it was made from, it was light in Q's hands and felt like an extension of his arm.
He held it for several moments, feeling the warmth of the metal soak into his hands. Then, Q took a deep breath and tucked the knife up the sleeve of the gown he was wearing. Just in case.
James watched the entire thing with wary eyes, bumping his nose against the back of Q's knees once the the knife was hidden. Key in hand, they left the room.
Having calmed down from his earlier freakout, James sniffed at the key. He turned his nose upwards, then struck out along a different hall. Q followed him as they hurried at a brisk pace towards the exit. Or, at least, Q hoped that the key led to the exit.
They passed through another set of doors, these ones leading into another wide, open cavern. Stone columns wrapped around the walls, spiraling upwards towards the vaulted and ribbed roof. Near the ceiling, crystals were sent, providing a brilliant, white light.
Ridges ran along the floor, carving out patterns into the stone that Q couldn't understand. If he had a better vantage point, then he might have been able to make out what they were. As it were, he had no idea what the symbols might mean.
As they moved through the room, James pulled ahead of Q, scouting ahead. He carefully avoided stepping on any of the ridges, which Q did as well, and kept his nose low to the ground. Despite the seeming relative safety of the room, Q felt apprehensive. Things were going way too easily.
When they were halfway through the room, the floor seemed to drop out from under them for a barely a second, sending Q sprawling to his knees and James stumbling for balance.
The ground shook violently, sending Q sprawling. Brilliant, glowing crystal walls of purple shot up, separating Q from James. Punching it and throwing his full weight against it did nothing; the wall didn't even budge. James snarled, clawing at it and pouncing on it, but he was knocked back with a crackle of electricity. James stumbled back, stunned. He shook himself, sparks flying from his fur.
Q hammered his fists against the crystal barrier, which made a ringing noise like a gong each time he did. It vibrated under the blows, but didn't move at all.
“Fuck.”
“And how my little bird sings. Sing more for me. Sing of your pain, your anger, your hopelessness... I yearn to hear it all!”
Whirling around, Q pressed himself up against the crystal wall. He could hear James howling and clawing at it behind him, but James seemed a million miles away.
Silva stood in front of him. The aged, withered old man was gone, replaced with a youthful man who would have been considered handsome if it weren't for the horrible smile on his face and the way his eyes glinted. Every movement he made screamed predator as he slowly, languidly, moved towards Q, as though he had all the time in the world.
He leaned in close to Q, reaching out and cupping Q's chin between thumb and index finger. He roughly jerked it upwards, forcing Q to look at him.
“Such a shame that your pretty looks are to be wasted, but I can always create a new doll in your image. One which is... much more docile. Severine was quite the flawed creation. I shall not make the same mistakes with yours that I made with hers.”
He smiled, laughing, “Never fear, my precious Q, you will live on. I think I will keep your face. It is quite fetching to behold.”
His stroked his thumb along Q's lower lip, “I can think of all sorts of uses to put that pretty mouth of yours to...”
Silva leaned in close. His breath stank of decay. He breathed out, “Yess.... I can think of many uses for that pretty mouth of yours...”
He reacted without thinking. Lunging up, Q slid the knife up his sleeve out and shoved it as hard and as deep as he could into Silva's chest. He twisted it as it sunk in, the twin snakes digging and tearing through the flesh until the blade was pressed in to the hilt.
Blood spilled over Q's hand. Silva made a noise of surprise, blood flowing past his lips.
“Where – you little–!”
Q was breathing heavily, pulse thundering. He glared at Silva, “I am not some toy for you to play with!”
He twisted the knife, the blade humming with energy before it burst into flame. The fire didn't hurt Q, but it caught on Silva, spreading until he was covered in flame. The blond man stumbled back, screaming with pain as he did.
The walls of crystal shook and shattered to dust. That dust rained down in a glittering shower, catching and reflecting the light. Silva stumbled back, his body burning. He raised his hands up, but one of them dropped off, hitting the ground with a dull thud as it continued to burn. The man himself collapsed to his knees, before his body hit the ground face first.
Standing up, Q stepped back, feeling the adrenaline pulsing through him calm. James growled at Silva's corpse, before gently nuzzling into Q's hands, licking at his fingers in a comforting gesture. Dropping to his knees, Q wrapped his arms tightly around James's neck, burying his fingers into the fur and holding on tightly.
It was over.
James licked his face, making a whining noise. Q held him tighter, pulling himself together as best he could. There was one last thing that they needed to do.
For some time, they just stayed there like that, until Q was able to stand again. Holding the key tightly in hand, he and James walked across the large cavern room, away from Silva's smoldering remains. Pushing open the large, double doors, they emerged onto a familiar pathway.
This time, the castle grounds were lit with the faint light of early dawn. The key marked with the rays of the sun weighed heavily in Q's sweaty hand as they walked to the main castle gates. Q could hear his heart thudding loudly in his veins, his nerves almost getting the best of him. This was it.
Pushing the key into the lock, it turned easily, opening with a loud click. Q took a deep breath. He looked down at James.
“Ready?”
James barked. Q smiled and pushed the heavy wooden gates open, revealing the winding road beyond which led into the forest. The two of them stepped out, letting the gates thud closed behind them. The sun was warm and bright as it crested over the horizon. In the distance, Q could hear the faint howling of wolves.
“Let's get out of here.”
THIRD ACT |
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, Final Act: Et Lux in Tenebris Lucet
Part: 4 / 4
Fandom: Skyfall & Haunting Ground
Pairing: James Bond/Q ; one-sided Dominic Greene/Q
Rating: r
Beta: Em
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.
They gave Dominic's crumpled and broken body a wide berth on the bridge as they hurried across it towards the House of Truth. Blood was pooling out from where the bones had pierced through the flesh and the smell was awful; the body smelled of iron and something else, something sickly sweet that spoke to decay.
There was no way around the House of Truth. The bridge led straight to its stairs and it was ringed on either side by high, twisted iron fences.
Everything about the manor that loomed before them screamed 'do not enter'. Despite the seeming innocuous appearing, there was something not quite right about it. There was a large caduceus inlaid into the door in burnished gold. It had no knob, but it creaked open as Q approached.
The inside of the House of Truth was cavernous. The ceiling vaulted high over them, covered in leaded glass. An array of walkways, hallways, and doors splintered off from the main cathedral-like room, the walls twisting as though they were made of trees or vines. The entire place looked warped, the floor looking uneven.
Above a silver pool of water, a giant statue of a hooded cobra stood poised, its fangs bared and ready to strike.
Q walked in, the door swinging closed and locking itself as he did. When he looked back at it, the door had melted seamlessly into the floor and walls. There was no going back.
They were locked in with whoever this Silva was.
A winding, crooked staircase led them down to the lower level, which was lit by flickering torches and tinted an eerie shade of red. Down here, there was only a single door, one which led into a strange and warped tunnel.
The stone was rough and untreated, huge stalactites reached down from the ceiling, flowing into the floor. Nothing looked carved, just as though the rock had been poured into place Stained glass windows of symbols and unrecognizable scenes were set into stone alcoves.
The only sounds was that of Q's bare feet padding on the stone floor and the clicking of James's claws. They wandered through the labyrinth of halls, Q marking their way by the stain glass windows that they passed.
A large, narrow red door confronted them, carved with ornate symbols with a Latin inscription carved into a bronze plate at its heart. It looked like a name.
With a shaking hand, Q reached out, taking the knob in hand and turning it. He was blasted with warm air as he slowly stepped inside.
The room inside was small, lit only by the light of a single lamp that through dull, crimson light on the walls. Papers and parchment were pinned to the walls, books stacked on the floor, open and dog-eared or stacked in large piles. A desk sat in one corner, its surface a mess of instruments and smoking vials and beakers.
A high-backed wheelchair creaked into sight. In it, sat a wizened old man, his straggly blond hair hanging around his face. His face was horribly sagged in, as though all the bones in one side of his jaw had melted away. He was smiling when he saw Q, slowly pushing his wheelchair forward towards them.
James growled, sinking into a crouch.
“Oh Q, I'm so happy to see that you are no worse for the wear after all you have been through,” he simpered. “Dominic was a very naughty boy, putting you through so much. But you're here now, and that's what matters.”
“Who are you?”
“I have many names, none of which are important. You may call me Silva.” He smiled and it looked wrong with how his face sagged; he was missing several teeth which looked as though they had rotted away. Silva leaned forward in his wheelchair, inhaling deeply.
“Ah, I can smell your fear and it is intoxicatingly sweet. You have nothing to fear, Q, I shall make sure that you do not suffer... but your mother, ah yes, your mother. She was stolen away from me. But now I have you. I always knew that you would come to me one day.”
“How... how do you know my mother?” Q took a step back, edging towards the door.
Silva's eyes flashed, “Once, she would have been mine. But then that bastard came and stole her away from me. With her, I could have achieved everything; we were perfect. Eternal life... everlasting youth... together we could have had it all. Our line would continue through me. But she was taken. Her and her azoth was taken.”
He leaned back in his chair, falling back into that smile of earlier, “Dominic was an effort to recreate her, though he was a failure. He was always a – I suppose you would call him a bad apple. M might be gone, but she passed her azoth on to you, and with it I shall claim what is rightfully mine.”
“You mean the azoth.”
Silva's wheelchair inched towards Q, “I will drain the azoth from you – the very life from you. Azoth is life. It is power. To those who know how to properly use it, it grants immortal life and eternal youth. We alchemists alone know its secrets – know of its true power.”
A skeletal hand reached out to try and grab Q's hand, but James bit down on it, hard, pulling Silva from his wheelchair and to the floor.
“Curse you, you foul beast! I should have known better than to trust that abominable woman with your disposal!”
There was a flash of red light and James jumped back, whimpering as he covered his nose with his paws. Silva held a crushed capsule in his hand, smirking. He dragged himself across the floor to Q, grabbing his ankle.
“It matters not what creatures you have to come to your aide. I am above them all and I shall have what I desire. Your azoth is mine. You belong to me!”
Stomping down on the hand with his other foot, Silva released Q with a howl of pain. Q reached behind himself, grabbing the door knob and wrenching it open. James jumped out ahead of him as Q rushed out, slamming the door behind him and running for the stairs.
He could hear Silva laughing, the sound echoing throughout the entirety of the House of Truth.
“No matter where you hide, Q, I shall find you. You are mine. Your azoth calls to me... it sings a song. It longs for me in ways you know not. And I will have it. Run wherever you like, you will not escape me.”
His maniacal laugh faded, echoing through the halls and making the hair on the back of Q's neck stand on end. James was rubbing his paw over his nose, making a strange snuffling noise, as though something was stuck in his nostrils. He sneezed loudly, sending up a cloud of red dust.
“Are you alright?” Q asked, dropping to his knees. He held James's face between his hands, fingers sinking into the fur as he tried to get a good luck at James's muzzle.
James's eyes were bloodshot and his nose was running a little, but Q couldn't see any other signs of irritation. There was certainly no sign of whatever it was that Silva had thrown in James's face to make him act like that, still James snuffled and rubbed at his muzzle with his paw.
“I don't see anything wrong. Do you–”
James jumped backed, snarling. His head snapped around, as though he sensed something. His eyes were wild and his fur stood on end, tail erect. He kept his wary position, snarling at something that Q couldn't see or sense.
Carefully, Q moved closer, keeping his hands raised in a pacifying gesture, “James, James, are you alright? Can you hear me?”
James nodded, but he didn't back down. He stalked in front of Q, moving down one of the long, winding hallways. It forced Q to jog to keep up with him, hoping that James had some idea of where they were going.
They wandered through the twisting hallways for what felt like hours, making no progress. Just when it seemed like they might have found a way out, the hallways themselves seemed to change; twisting their form and layout so that they just became even more lost within the depths. Q got the feeling that getting them disoriented and exhausted was the point; it would make them easy prey for Silva.
Sometimes, he could hear Silva's voice, taunting them as it echoed through the halls. It sounded like it was changing, losing some of its simpering tone, growing deeper.
“Don't think that you can run from me forever, my precious bearer of azoth. You are playing my game well. Keep going; I'll have you soon enough.”
He sounded disturbingly close sometimes, like he was whispering in Q's ear, “I can see your every step. Never doubt that I own you. I am coming for you.”
Q jerked around, trying to see Silva there, but there was no one behind him.
They continued on, checking each room as they came to them. The majority of them held little of interest, in some cases there was naught but a bloodied symbol painted on the wall. In others, there was absolutely nothing. Several doors simply opened to reveal brick walls.
Q wasn't sure how long they had been wandering until they stumbled across a blank door which was painted black. As he looked at it, his shoulder lit up with a burning pain. Q groaned, wincing as he brushed his fingers over it; he could feel the raised edges of a car there, one he had had for as long as he could remember.
The door in front of them glowed, a brilliant red symbol outlining itself upon the door. It was a perfect match for upon Q's shoulder.
Out a trembling hand, Q pressed his fingers against the mark. It hummed, warm under his fingers.
“You bear the mark of azoth.” It felt like fingers were ghosting over his birthmark. The fingers were cold, like death, and Q whirled around, breath catching in his throat, but there was no one there.
With shaking hands and a reassuring look from James, Q pushed the door open.
Inside, there was nothing but a simple altar, upon which sat a golden key carved with the likeness of the sun. Inserted into a hole in the altar, below a carving of the god Hermes, caduceus in hand, was a dagger. The dagger's hilt was decorated with a blood red stone that reminded Q of the Red Godstone he'd lost when Dominic had captured him.
Arising from the hilt of the dagger and twirling around half the blade's length were two snakes, each carved from sparkling blue and red crystal. The dagger itself was carved from a pure golden metal, twisting around itself and into the stone which it had been stabbed into.
Q grabbed the key and then wrapped his hands around the hilt of the dagger and pulled it upward. It came up from the stone easily. Despite its ornate appearance and the material it was made from, it was light in Q's hands and felt like an extension of his arm.
He held it for several moments, feeling the warmth of the metal soak into his hands. Then, Q took a deep breath and tucked the knife up the sleeve of the gown he was wearing. Just in case.
James watched the entire thing with wary eyes, bumping his nose against the back of Q's knees once the the knife was hidden. Key in hand, they left the room.
Having calmed down from his earlier freakout, James sniffed at the key. He turned his nose upwards, then struck out along a different hall. Q followed him as they hurried at a brisk pace towards the exit. Or, at least, Q hoped that the key led to the exit.
They passed through another set of doors, these ones leading into another wide, open cavern. Stone columns wrapped around the walls, spiraling upwards towards the vaulted and ribbed roof. Near the ceiling, crystals were sent, providing a brilliant, white light.
Ridges ran along the floor, carving out patterns into the stone that Q couldn't understand. If he had a better vantage point, then he might have been able to make out what they were. As it were, he had no idea what the symbols might mean.
As they moved through the room, James pulled ahead of Q, scouting ahead. He carefully avoided stepping on any of the ridges, which Q did as well, and kept his nose low to the ground. Despite the seeming relative safety of the room, Q felt apprehensive. Things were going way too easily.
When they were halfway through the room, the floor seemed to drop out from under them for a barely a second, sending Q sprawling to his knees and James stumbling for balance.
The ground shook violently, sending Q sprawling. Brilliant, glowing crystal walls of purple shot up, separating Q from James. Punching it and throwing his full weight against it did nothing; the wall didn't even budge. James snarled, clawing at it and pouncing on it, but he was knocked back with a crackle of electricity. James stumbled back, stunned. He shook himself, sparks flying from his fur.
Q hammered his fists against the crystal barrier, which made a ringing noise like a gong each time he did. It vibrated under the blows, but didn't move at all.
“Fuck.”
“And how my little bird sings. Sing more for me. Sing of your pain, your anger, your hopelessness... I yearn to hear it all!”
Whirling around, Q pressed himself up against the crystal wall. He could hear James howling and clawing at it behind him, but James seemed a million miles away.
Silva stood in front of him. The aged, withered old man was gone, replaced with a youthful man who would have been considered handsome if it weren't for the horrible smile on his face and the way his eyes glinted. Every movement he made screamed predator as he slowly, languidly, moved towards Q, as though he had all the time in the world.
He leaned in close to Q, reaching out and cupping Q's chin between thumb and index finger. He roughly jerked it upwards, forcing Q to look at him.
“Such a shame that your pretty looks are to be wasted, but I can always create a new doll in your image. One which is... much more docile. Severine was quite the flawed creation. I shall not make the same mistakes with yours that I made with hers.”
He smiled, laughing, “Never fear, my precious Q, you will live on. I think I will keep your face. It is quite fetching to behold.”
His stroked his thumb along Q's lower lip, “I can think of all sorts of uses to put that pretty mouth of yours to...”
Silva leaned in close. His breath stank of decay. He breathed out, “Yess.... I can think of many uses for that pretty mouth of yours...”
He reacted without thinking. Lunging up, Q slid the knife up his sleeve out and shoved it as hard and as deep as he could into Silva's chest. He twisted it as it sunk in, the twin snakes digging and tearing through the flesh until the blade was pressed in to the hilt.
Blood spilled over Q's hand. Silva made a noise of surprise, blood flowing past his lips.
“Where – you little–!”
Q was breathing heavily, pulse thundering. He glared at Silva, “I am not some toy for you to play with!”
He twisted the knife, the blade humming with energy before it burst into flame. The fire didn't hurt Q, but it caught on Silva, spreading until he was covered in flame. The blond man stumbled back, screaming with pain as he did.
The walls of crystal shook and shattered to dust. That dust rained down in a glittering shower, catching and reflecting the light. Silva stumbled back, his body burning. He raised his hands up, but one of them dropped off, hitting the ground with a dull thud as it continued to burn. The man himself collapsed to his knees, before his body hit the ground face first.
Standing up, Q stepped back, feeling the adrenaline pulsing through him calm. James growled at Silva's corpse, before gently nuzzling into Q's hands, licking at his fingers in a comforting gesture. Dropping to his knees, Q wrapped his arms tightly around James's neck, burying his fingers into the fur and holding on tightly.
It was over.
James licked his face, making a whining noise. Q held him tighter, pulling himself together as best he could. There was one last thing that they needed to do.
For some time, they just stayed there like that, until Q was able to stand again. Holding the key tightly in hand, he and James walked across the large cavern room, away from Silva's smoldering remains. Pushing open the large, double doors, they emerged onto a familiar pathway.
This time, the castle grounds were lit with the faint light of early dawn. The key marked with the rays of the sun weighed heavily in Q's sweaty hand as they walked to the main castle gates. Q could hear his heart thudding loudly in his veins, his nerves almost getting the best of him. This was it.
Pushing the key into the lock, it turned easily, opening with a loud click. Q took a deep breath. He looked down at James.
“Ready?”
James barked. Q smiled and pushed the heavy wooden gates open, revealing the winding road beyond which led into the forest. The two of them stepped out, letting the gates thud closed behind them. The sun was warm and bright as it crested over the horizon. In the distance, Q could hear the faint howling of wolves.
“Let's get out of here.”