*****
Nikolas couldn't believe this was happening. It had been a week since his own charge, the kind, caring, innocent--
Innocent! That's why they wanted him. There was no other explanation. This whole deal was certainly more than they'd originally thought...Nikolas sighed and closed his eyes. How would they get him back? He knew the blond angel could hold his own for a bit, but how long? Suddenly, the day he'd first seen Lance popped into his mind...
*~*Flashback*~*
Nikolas looked at the young man that had curled himself into a tiny ball. "Leave me alone," he drawled. "I'm sorry...I don't...this is a dream, please...just let me wake up and...please, I just want to..."
Nikolas was perplexed. He'd never seen anyone scared of this place before...most welcomed it with open arms. "Um, James--"
"I know I'm a sinner...I'm bad, I shouldn't...I just want to go where I belong, I don't..."
Nikolas bent down next to the shaking young man and sighed sadly when he flinched at the touch. "Shh," he said. "It's all right, you're fine now, don't worry..."
He'd continued to soothe Lance for the better part of a day before he'd calmed down enough to listen to reason. "You're all right, no one will hurt you again."
Lance looked up for the first time, and for the first time, Nikolas saw how unusual his eyes really were. "You promise?" he asked, his voice still small and scared sounding. He was twenty-one, but he was scared out of his mind. Who cared of it wasn't the 'masculine' thing? Nikolas didn't seem to mind...
"I promise."
*~*End Flashback*~*
He'd broken his promise. Lance was hurting now, he was sure of it. And he knew that when he'd been taken away from earth, he was hurting then too. He'd broken his promise. How could Nikolas have known that they would come after him, though? How could anyone have known what would happen?
*****
"Do you get the feeling that there's something more...something neither of them are telling us?" Justin asked, scratching the side of his face and rubbing his eyes. He looked at JC, who'd finally fallen asleep after being assured that the others wouldn't try to pry more information out of him while he was sleeping. He'd tested them a few times that week, and they fell for it every time. Joey had disappeared, they figured he went clubbing or went to sleep. Justin and Chris were having a "serious" conversation, the first in...a long time.
Ken was gone. Lou said he was on a "break." Of course, Ken got a break, but they couldn't have one?
"I don't know," Chris replied. He was thinking about Ken, too. And how none of them were getting along with him lately...case in point being that all out fist fight they'd had. But he deserved it, Chris reasoned with himself. He'd crossed a line. "I wonder if...maybe...what do you think he's dreaming about now?" he asked, seeing JC with a small smile curling his lips and an expression of happiness on his face. He snuggled closer to the pillow he'd somehow managed to start holding onto, and buried his head in the one it was on.
"I think he's dreaming about someone," Justin said with a smile. "Look at the way he's holding that pillow."
Chris grinned and tried to tug it away mischievously. JC only moaned a little and held it tighter. "Aww," he said.
Justin tugged at Chris. "Leave him alone, Sparky," he said.
Chris shrugged and allowed himself to be pulled a little. "But he's so cute!" He yanked back on Justin's arm. Caught unaware, Justin fell to the ground. Chris started laughing. "Poor baby."
Justin got up, rubbing his butt. "Freak," he muttered.
"Me?" Chris asked innocently, finally getting up and leaving JC alone. "Hey, what are you waiting for? Leave the poor man alone!"
"You are a freak, you know that?"
"And you're a jackass. Who cares?"
*****
Lance could feel the hot breath on his neck. "You aren't getting my soul. Sorry."
"Then I can't be held responsible for what happens to precious Joshua," Satan sing-songed. "And it would be terrible if--"
"Maybe I didn't make myself clear," Lance said. "You're not getting my soul and you're not touching Josh. You're crazy."
The Devil turned around and Lance pulled again, feeling the restraints almost fall apart. "What was that noise?" he asked, quickly turning back around.
"What noise?" Lance asked, feigning innocence.
Lucifer looked back at Lance suspiciously. "And what makes you think you can stop me?" he asked. "You're powerless here. And you have a weakness that hasn't been hard to discover. A certain few men, maybe? Two more than others? That's your weakness, James, and that's how we caught you." Lance flinched but didn't say anything. "You know what we're capable of. We did manage to get you, didn't we? So why don't you just cooperate?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Lance said quietly. With one final yank, he felt everything holding him break and he was free. "I won't let you touch them." He surprised both of them when he softly started to glow. Spreading his wings, he looked at the other one more time. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave them all alone." He looked away and that was his mistake. Suddenly, he felt something grabbing at his wings and he fell to the ground in pain. He struggled as he heard maniacal laughter coming from more than one mouth.