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Running Away
Like Weiss on Rice

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Came to represent and carve my name in your chest
You can come test realize you're no contest
Son I'm the gun that won that old Wild West
Quick on the draw with my hands on the four
-Method Man

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Nero’s mind raced from one moment to his life to another, trying in vain to fight off the almost mind numbing boredom that came with being trapped on his pillar yet again.

Nero remembered. He remembered a nice man that he enjoyed being around when he was younger. He loved him like a father. He had a ‘funny accent’ as Weiss used to describe it. Of everyone who was cruel and harsh, he was the most gentle and kind man he ever knew. He let him sit on his lap and gave him sweet things to eat and drink. He made him so happy.

His short name was Niles and he could remember it relatively well since he did a word game and said, “Niles name goes on for miles.” His family had a habit of giving their children many names. He had five middles names. He couldn’t remember them or his last name anymore.

He spent so much time with him when he was a baby he learned English from him in his own accent. He had a proper was of speaking, at least he thought so… it was so natural he didn’t hear it anymore… everyone else sounded strange to him.

Niles was a linguist. He read the announcements to all of DeepGround in some of the more common languages. They needed someone like him, as they kidnapped people from all over the planet.

He was special though. Niles would read stories to him in other languages and Nero always thought it was fascinating to hear them… he wanted to be just like Niles.

He remembered that he had grown an aptitude for language… because he had spent so much time with Niles in his young life. The scientists continued playing recordings for him even after he was gone, but the voices over the tape player were never as enthralling to him as listening to the romantic way in which his ‘father’ spoke.

Niles always told him how much he cared for him. He never knew that he was being sexually abused. He thought he was just showing him that he loved him by letting him do those things… by doing those things to him.

He still couldn’t remember what he did to him… he just remembered Vivian taking him away from Niles. He hated her for a while when he was growing up.
But given her personality he grew to like her when he realized she meant him no harm… but he never forgot Niles. Vivian told him when he was old enough what his friend had done to him. He was curious about him and she didn’t want him to seek him out.
He used to think he was so wonderful… that Niles loved him. But he didn’t love him at all. How could he do something like that to him? He was just a little boy. He trusted him.

He knew he heard his voice over the loudspeaker a few times when announcements were being made to the whole of Deep Ground. Weiss once said: “Listen, that man has the same accent you do!” And Nero told him what he could remember. Weiss listened to him with rapt attention. It was a long time ago. He wished he never said a thing. Weiss tip toed around him after that. He didn’t hug, touch or kiss him as much as he used to.

Nero shook his head. Things were different now.

Sure, some things had stayed the same. He still had that sweet tooth of his… he liked sugar more than anything. He wondered why it didn’t make him sick since Niles used to give him candies for favors.

Maybe because he never associated sugar with Niles. He associated it with Weiss. Weiss could have very little sweets when he was younger. Restrictor said it made him ‘hyper’ and he was too annoying. But there was precious little that didn’t aggravate that man when he it came to his brother. Weiss would usually give Nero his sweets, not wanting them to go to waste.

He thought about their lives growing up… how different. Which was better: Being unknowingly sexually abused by a seemingly kind man or being beaten and mentally abused by an awful human being? Of course, Weiss’ sexual abuse caught up to him when he was a teenager. It seemed like no one could escape that fate, not even the famed Emperor of Deep Ground.

Sometimes when he thought about it… it made him tremble with fury. He hated the way they were treated. It wasn’t fair. The two of them together were a couple of the strongest soldiers in the world and yet they were completely at someone else’s mercy. He hated them. He just wanted to leave here with Weiss.

He and Weiss always thought to themselves: Why couldn’t anyone hear their screams for help on the surface? Did they choose to ignore it? There were so many people who came and went… surely someone would’ve said something by now… in the many years these practices had been going on. No one ever came down to help. They did nothing.

So they would wait here, in this miserable hole until they could break free. Weiss had planned their escape long ago… adding fragments here and there until the plan took on a definite shape.

He was afraid for his brother. He didn’t want him to die. But Weiss said it would be alright so he would believe him. He just wished Weiss’ plan wasn’t so slow. He thought of something a long time ago… it was definitely more reckless. But he would do anything for Weiss.

If he could do anything for him at all like this! He tried to remain calm on this idiotic pillar. He tried to breathe, tried to meditate, tried to think… tried to do anything to keep his mind from going absolutely insane.

“NIIIIIIII-SAAAAAAN!” He shrieked suddenly, startling a scientist who dared to watch him in his room. He laughed hysterically at that, his body jumping at any stimulation it could find. “Brother! I can feel you out there! If you cannot come to me then I will come to YOU!” His darkness broke forth and he watched with amusement as one of the scientists tried to scamper away. A black, almost snakelike vine rushed forth and grabbed the scientist’s leg. He laughed at his pitiful attempts to free himself as he lifted him up to look at him. “Hello there,” He greeted, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. “I was hoping you would free me for a moment.”

“I-I can’t do that!” The man trembled.

“A pity…” Nero’s eyes flicked away then, looking truly mournful. “I guess I’ll have to spare someone else then.” He had no other options really, it took a great deal out of him just to hold the man he had right now. A repeated performance was out of the question. But the scientist would no doubt believe he could grab a hold of anyone else just walking by.

“Wait!”

“Reconsidering? How unexpected.” Nero tittered. “You can start with my neck if you do not mind.”

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Weiss lifted his head up from his sleep and felt the heavy weight of his shackles on him. “Mmm…” Restrictor was standing there. “What is it?”

“I-” Before Restrictor could utter another sound an ear splitting siren went off. The room and all the hallways were bathed in a flashing light. It was a black light this time, which meant Nero was the Tsviet that needed dealing with. “You stay there.”

Weiss rolled his eyes. He said that as if he could go anywhere else much less get out of his chair. He watched the dark appareled man leave the room and he let out a puff of hair from his lungs. He still had anxiety rolling around his stomach. What he wouldn’t give for that light to be shining blue or red right now. “Nero… what are you doing?” Weiss asked to the air, the siren finally turning off as the matter already had Restrictor’s attention. Once the light went off the problem was dealt with.

“Nothing much.” He heard a voice behind him.

“Nero!” He turned his head suddenly.

“Shhhh…” Nero tittered. “They might be monitoring you.”

Weiss tilted his head at an angle until his bangs covered his mouth. “What are you doing?” He asked quietly.

“I wanted to see you.”

“Well, I wanted to see you too.” Weiss tittered, “But don’t you think it could’ve waited until they freed us again?”

“No.” Nero hissed. “I don’t know if they told you… but they aren’t planning on letting me go.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means… they are never going to let me down.” Nero whispered. “They are changing things again. They aren’t allowing us to be free anymore. There are no rules… the humanitarian side of things is all gone. We don’t have our home to go back to.”

Weiss wondered how he knew this and he didn’t. He couldn’t imagine not going back to their home. It was the only thing they had together. It was the only thing keeping him human. He loved being with his brother, he loved taking care of him. He couldn’t imagine being stuck down here all the time like when he was younger. He couldn’t…

“The scientists talk around me when they think I’m sleeping.” Nero explained. “But I never sleep… not anymore.”

“Are you… okay?” Weiss worried, his brother’s tone was a little frantic. It was understandable though. They were being chained up for longer and longer periods. Never a year like before… but it was getting very unbearable. The things he was saying sounded a little too far fetched… like maybe he dreamed it.

“No, but I have an idea.” Nero purred.

“What idea?” Weiss asked.

“I cannot tell you. It would take far too long. I need you to follow me though… and I need you to be quick.”

Weiss didn’t know if he would like this or not, but he was up for anything at this point. “I think I can do that.”

“Good. Now I need you to relax and let me pull you in… we need to get those chains off of you. I will take us as far as I can. Tell me when you feel uncomfortable.”

“Alright.”

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The alarm went off overhead again. This time the white light shined out along with the black. Damn it! Restrictor cursed. He couldn’t help but feel like had been duped. Did they plan this all alone? Having him run off to find one while they escaped together… just marvelous. At least Hojo wasn’t there anymore to scream at him for his incompetence.

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Weiss had no idea how they were going to do this. If they crossed Restrictor’s path even once this would all be over. The red and blue lights went on just then and Weiss smiled. Apparently the other Tsviets had the same idea Nero did… or they wanted to join the fun and bother the man a bit.

“Here it is.” Nero said in a hushed voice. They were in one of the storage containers. “I knew they wouldn’t just throw this away.”

Weiss watched as Nero threw off the tarp to his motorcycle. It had been a while since he saw it last. So this was his plan? He was more than slightly worried what he had in mind.

Nero checked to see if there was any gas in it. There was. The key was in the ignition too. Perfect. He turned the key and the motor came to life.

Weiss flinched at the loudness of it… especially in such a quiet place. Surely they would be heard a mile away. “Nero?”

“Get on.” Nero flipped his leg over the seat.

“I…” He wanted to say he didn’t think this was the best idea in the world, but he bit his tongue. “Alright.” He positioned himself behind his sibling and sat down.

“I am going to drive really fast now, try to relax and move with me.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “Okay.” He agreed anyway. The bike wove down the cobblestone roads. It was late and the rest of Deep Ground was fast asleep… all except for the white and black lights that greeted them and cast their shadows on the ground in loops. Weiss supposed they felt it was for their own good, letting everyone know no matter how far away they might be that the Tsviets that held a color title were up and about.

The blue and red lights were out. The weaker of the four trouble makers had been dealt with. Restrictor might have encountered them along the way to his two main objectives.

Weiss couldn’t help but feel that sickly feeling from forming in the pit of his stomach. Everything was quiet except for the noises made by Nero’s motorcycle as it sped along.

“Halt!”

Weiss felt that familiar tightening of his body. He couldn’t move, but it didn’t matter as he was on a vehicle Restrictor couldn’t stop with words alone.

Nero must have heard the sharply uttered command as well, because he turned his head around and smiled at Restrictor in an infuriating way. He returned his gaze to the road in front of him but he couldn’t help but gloat just a little. He allowed one hand off the bar long enough to stick two fingers up in the air and made a razzing sound with his tongue.

Weiss chuckled at that. When he felt his body softening up he renewed his hold on Nero. Apparently just in enough time as well, because just when he heard Restrictor’s renewed order his body would have surely fallen off with the tight turn Nero took.

He chanced a glance back and saw that Restrictor was running, literally running behind them! He didn’t even seem winded as he moved steadily closer and closer to them. If Nero didn’t have his bike going top speed he was sure that Restrictor would have caught them by now.

Restrictor seemed to notice he had Weiss’ attention just then, because of the way his helm turned. Quicker than the eye could see, he produced one of his short blades in his hands. He wasn’t holding it like he might want to cut someone with it, he was holding it as if he meant to shoot at them… and he did. A gunshot whizzed past his face and he heard his brother grunt in pain. He turned his head and saw Nero. His winged fingers were holding the bars while he nursed his shoulder with his natural arm.

Weiss scowled in his rage. He gripped the gun out of Nero’s holster before he turned his head around and pointed his newly acquired weapon at his keeper’s face.

Restrictor paid him no mind, as if he thought he might be bluffing. There was no way Weiss would kill him. He was proven wrong seconds later as he felt his helm being shot off. He growled his rage at this exposure. This time he made sure to dodge Weiss’ shots. He lost ground until they hit a rather large bump and the gun was sent sailing out of his hand. Restrictor managed to side step the weapon at the last moment.

Weiss heard Restrictor’s breathless laughter as he rushed forward. In a moment he was close enough to reach his hand out and touch him… until Nero hit a ramp and they were sent sailing into the air over a small building.

Restrictor stopped of course, he had no way of jumping that high without a bike of his own. He would have to go around the building.

Weiss continued to watch a while longer as he looked up at them hatefully. Restrictor’s visage popped out of existence just then, the only thing indicating he had moved was a flash of light. He was transferring his body elsewhere. It made him worry. Obviously he was just toying with them or this would have been over already.

Weiss knew that this wasn’t going to work even from the moment they started. This only confirmed it. Nero didn’t know though and part of him wanted to try it anyway even if they were doomed to failure. How many times had he tried to escape from Restrictor only to be caught again? He didn’t know.

Even though it seemed like a longer time, they were just in the air for maybe a moment. The bike came crashing down again against the rough ground, jostling them to say the very least. Weiss went cross eyed from the pain of him landing so roughly on the seat. He almost felt sick from it. Nero felt something of the agony he felt too, but he kept moving forward anyway.

Nero smiled, “The bridge.” He announced as they neared it. Only… there was a shimmering blockade in front of it. “I have a card.” Nero pulled it out of his shirt quickly and the block gave way. They drove up the hill a ways only to find a dark figure standing there in a stance that told them he had been bored waiting for them. He had a blockade behind him as well. They couldn’t just try to drive around him.

“Hello Weiss, Nero.” Restrictor nodded to both of them. “I see you broke through the first wall. I’m glad to see that you both aren’t completely brainless.” Nero visibly bristled.

“Nero, we need to turn around.” Weiss informed him, but he could tell that his little brother was having nothing of it.

“Good advice. But…” Restrictor pulled something out from under his cape. He fiddled with it, weaving it in and out of his fingers before he flipped it up for them to see. It was the keycard that would free them. “This is mine. I’m sure you know what that means.” They could use it as many times as they liked without it crumbling. “Want to try to take it from me… Nero-kun?”

Nero growled. It’s not like he would be alone in the fight. He was sure his brother would help. Then again… Restrictor would probably freeze him on the spot.

“You don’t really need this though… do you Nero? You can leave whenever you like. But your brother will need it to advance, won’t he?”

“Nero, we really need to back away now.” Weiss reminded. They might be able to hide for a few days if they were lucky.

“What do you say?” Restrictor put the card back in a safe place under his cloak. “Want to try?”

Nero wanted to challenge him for it, but Weiss was right. Even if they fought him together without a restriction they couldn’t beat him. They needed to back away. Nero cursed quietly before he whipped the bike around and sped back the way they came.

Restrictor’s laughter wasn’t far behind them.

Weiss glanced back and didn’t find the insane man standing at the bridge any longer. He moved his eyes forward, wondering if he might suddenly appear in front of them.

The bike dipped as if they might have hit a bump. The motorcycle sparked as it protested the added weight upon it. Weiss felt a warm heavy weight at his back. He must have been standing on the tailpipe.

“Hello Weiss.”

He heard Restrictor’s voice softly purr out before he felt sharp metal being pressed into his neck. With the roar of the engine he knew Nero couldn’t hear him.

“Why don’t you be a good boy now and let go? I’d hate to slice up your pretty little throat.” And when Weiss declined, “Don’t be like that my pet. You know very well that if you refuse, I’ll be alone with Nero-kun on this death trap. You don’t want that do you?” Weiss let his arms drop to the side away from Nero. “Good boy.” He felt Restrictor’s arms envelope him before he flashed off of the bike. He landed soundly on the ground.

Weiss watched as Nero sped away, only now becoming aware of his removed weight. The knife was no longer at his throat, but Restrictor’s arm was up, keeping his head in a hold. He might not slice his neck but he could break it now. “What are you going to do?”

“Hm, watch!” Restrictor laughed manically holding his gun up so Weiss could clearly see. Nero turned his head around, about to double back now that Weiss had fallen off.

“No!” Weiss screamed just as he heard the shot ring out.

The bullet didn’t imbed itself into Nero, but his front tire. The vehicle slipped madly out of control after that and Nero bailed. He caught himself with his wings but was going so fast that he couldn’t completely stop himself from impacting against the wall. He hit the bricked surface with a sickening crack and fell down unconscious.

“Nero!” Weiss tried to move again but was unable to break the hold that Restrictor had on him. When he stopped moving he felt the older man nuzzling his neck.

“Aren’t you pleased?” Restrictor chuckled. “I left him alive just for you.”

Weiss growled, attempting to struggle but Restrictor’s hold on him only tightened as he did.

“How ungrateful you are my dear.” He felt his smile against his skin and it gave him a frightful chill. “I’ve been meaning to pay you back for stabbing me and hitting me over the head.” He tisked in Weiss’ ear and he felt a shudder go down him. “And if that wasn’t bad enough you shot at me. You make me so angry my little pet.” But he didn’t sound mad at all. “Don’t worry. I won’t knife you. But…” And then he saw nothing.

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When Weiss awoke he was on the floor in his throne room, resting against the wall. He heard Nero moan in pain. He had been dumped carelessly on the ground from the way he was positioned.

He felt someone kick the bottom of his boot. Restrictor. He looked up then and saw something close to tenderness in his gaze. It made him was to retch. Restrictor laughed at his expression, he must find tormenting him endlessly amusing.

He wondered if he lost his helm since he could still see his face. No, he saw it just a few feet away against the wall. It was dinged badly in the front and completely unwearable. It was so strange seeing him like this… he still had his mantel on his shoulders… probably because of the cold weather. His collar from his cape was high enough to brush against his cheeks.

But that didn’t stop him from seeing them: the scars on his face that he himself carved out over a year ago. Restrictor seemed to notice this and flushed with pleasure before he rubbed his gloved hand across his cheek.

No matter how many times he acted this way it always sickened him. He didn’t do it so much anymore. But when he did it gave him a cold feeling inside, it was almost as if he thought of him as his possession. It was… disturbing to say the least. If he had shocked him by acting flirtatious before he stopped once Restrictor wised up and began dropping a few hints his way. Then it was his turn to be shocked and speechless.

When Nero awoke Restrictor was all seriousness again. His face turned into a closely guarded mask, just like Vivian’s. Thank goodness, he didn’t want Nero to see the way he treated him at times. “I hope you boys had fun.” He ground out.

Nero looked at him with shocked eyes. He hadn’t really paid attention to Restrictor back at the bridge so much as he was looking at his keycard. Weiss hadn’t been teasing when he called Restrictor handsome. He was secretly glad he didn’t know until now that he looked so good. He might have been tempted when he was younger… what in the hell was the thinking?! This was Restrictor!

Restrictor wasn’t sure why Nero seemed so conflicted, but he laughed anyway. “You caused me a lot of trouble over the years… and now you tried to run away.” The aggravation was clear in his voice as he spoke the last part of his sentence. “I think I need to pay you back.” Restrictor’s hands shot down to grab the both of them at once.

They both closed their eyes, this was it.

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Author’s Notes:
-Thanks again for another review FakeMemory! =D

Not my longest chapter ever! Only about seven pages without spacing. I am so glad this chapter is over… I had more fun writing the ending if anything. The next chapter was the most fun to write of all. It shouldn’t take long for it to be posted.

It’s the most action I think I’ve ever written about – I am awful at this sort of thing. I just wanted it to be over as soon as possible. While I love Method Man’s lyrics – and they remind me of Nero more than Restrictor… I listened to Car Chase City while writing this hehe. Thank you Tenacious D for the inspirado!

Thanks for the tips for last chapter Aquila! I’ve added a paragraph so the reader can tell some time has passed between Nero’s departure and return. (hug)