Chapter Seven

Chapter Summary: Desire's plans finally come to fruition
Warning(s): Spoilers for season one of Dead Boy Detectives; spoilers for season one of The Sandman; AU; references to violence and torture; references to canon character death; non-consensual sexual touching; character death
Pairings: The Cat King (Thomas)/Edwin Payne; Edwin Payne/Monty; Desire/Unity Kincaid

###

The blindfold was still off Thomas' face when the air shimmered, like a wave of heat had passed through, and the familiar form of Desire appeared in the middle of the cell.

Thomas' whole body tensed up, making the injuries he'd sustained ache and throb, despite Monty having treated them to the best of his ability. Forcing himself to relax, knowing that he couldn't afford to make his injuries worse, he stared into Desire's eyes and asked the same question he'd been asking since he'd been brought here. "Why are you doing this?"

Instead of answering his question, Desire replied with one of their own. "What would you do to save Edwin Payne?"

"Are you threatening him?" Forget trying to keep his body relaxed so that he didn't make his injuries worse. Worry for Edwin, for the man he loved, had him tensing up once more, preparing to act. If he could get out of the chains, he might stand a chance of stopping Desire and protecting Edwin.

Between one blink and the next, Desire was standing in front of Thomas. They reached out and circled one of his nipples with a sharp nail, but didn't scratch hard enough to draw blood. "Your little lover boy isn't my end goal here, but his connection to you doesn't hurt my plans." They dropped their hand and took a step back. "I don't care what happens to him. Or to you."

"If you kill Niko, he won't rest until he avenges her. He thought he'd lost her once already."

Desire's laugh was low and promised a world full of pain. "What could two dead boys and their psychic tagalong do to one of the Endless?" they asked. "Besides. It doesn't have to be Niko."

It doesn't have to be.... "What does that mean?" Thomas asked. "What are you trying to do? Maybe I can help you," he offered.

Golden eyes flashed towards him as Desire studied him consideringly. "You're weak," the Endless said bluntly. "Away from your subjects for too long, you'll eventually wither away into nothingness. You can't do anything even if you did have the power to."

"How do you know unless you try?"

Desire's gaze was unblinking, almost disconcerting. "Your domain isn't over death. Or life. It's over cats."

That gave Thomas a little more to go on. Not much, as he didn't know who Desire wanted to bring back to life...and he didn't know why an Endless couldn't bring someone back to life when Death was their sister. But he was good at making deals; and he was very good at getting things he wanted. "Instead of summoning Death by killing someone who's living, why don't you summon her and make a deal with her?"

Desire glanced away, eyes narrowed slightly as a look of frustration passed across their face before it cleared. "She won't come."

That was an explanation, even if it only explained a little about what Desire was trying to do. "Does she know how desperate you are to bring them back to life?"

Something flashed in Desire's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Thomas unsure of what he'd seen. "She knows." That was all the Endless said. It was all they seemed willing to admit to.

"Do you think that killing someone before their allotted time is going to make her do what you want?" Thomas asked.

"I don't care about the life of a random human. They mean nothing to me," Desire stated.

"Someone means something to you." Thomas narrowed his eyes, studying the Endless closely. He wasn't just listening for verbal cues now. He was studying Desire's body language. "You want to bring someone back to life."

"Careful," Desire warned. "You're still my prisoner. And I can do anything to you." They stepped closer to Thomas, stalking towards him like a predator. "I could bring you to the very edge and make you beg for release." They stroked between Thomas' legs, then squeezed his member firmly.

Thomas winced as his body responded to the unwanted touch against his will. Luckily, Desire quickly released his member and retreated a few steps.

It was a far cry from what the Endless had put Thomas through when he'd first been captured, and Thomas cocked his head to one side, watching Desire even more closely. "Someone's holding your leash."

"Don't be foolish. I'm just not interested in you."

Maybe that was true. Thomas might be the Cat King, but he didn't really consider himself unique enough to catch the attention of an Endless, even one as promiscuous as Desire. Still, Desire had spent time playing with him when he'd first been captured...so he thought he was safe in assuming that someone had made sure Desire didn't do anything more than they already had. "We're in the Dreaming. Has Dream given you limitations on what you can do here, if you're using his territory?"

Desire's face was blank...expressionless. They stared at Thomas for several long moments before shaking their head. "You don't have long left. You'd better hope Monty does what he needs to, because if he doesn't...you won't be going home." They disappeared from view.

Thomas sighed and allowed his head to drop and the rest of his body to slump.

Desire was right. He didn't have long left.

###

They'd been following Monty for what felt like an eternity. Edwin's patience was beginning to run out...and he could tell that Charles had reached that point already. He was surprised his best friend had been holding onto his temper for as long as he had been, since if Edwin's nerves were frayed, Charles' had to be holding on by a thread.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, however, Charles sped up his steps and moved in front of Monty. "Are you really leading us to Thomas?" he demanded. "We've been following you for ages. And the longer we're here, the more danger he's in."

Niko pressed a bit closer to Edwin and slipped her hand into his. He could feel the hard pressure of her soapstone bear against his palm and he cast a glance down at her, then focused his attention on Charles and Monty in front of them and started, "Charles...."

"How long do you think Thomas is going to survive, trapped here in the Dreaming, away from his people?" Charles cast a glance at Edwin. His surprise must have shown, because Charles' lips curved in a smile that was more bitter than anything else. "I've been paying attention."

"It's not far," Monty said quietly. Despite the spelled headband Edwin had put on him, he still looked like he was in a bad shape. His steps had become slower, as if each step was sending agony through him. Maybe it was.

"Charles." Edwin said his best friend's name again, taking a step closer to the other two. "Monty isn't going to delay us." He left unsaid why. The spell had taken something from Monty...and the other man didn't have long left to live.

And even though Edwin had seen death...so much death...since he'd escaped his imprisonment in Hell, the thought of watching Monty die hurt. He wished he'd known the price of the spell before allowing it to go ahead, but he couldn't do anything to save Monty. Not without some help.

Sighing quietly, Edwin focused his attention on his best friend. "I think it's the Dreaming. We don't belong here. We're dead."

"What about Unity Kincaid?" Charles asked. "She's dead, but Juniper has been hearing her name. And there's a connection here, to the Dreaming. She's a ghost and she's here."

"We don't know that for sure," Edwin said. "We don't know anything about Unity Kincaid, aside from the fact she moved in the same circles as Crystal's parents. And that she's dead. There's no evidence that she's in the Dreaming at all."

"Unity?" Niko perked up.

Charles and Edwin stared at each other for a few seconds, then Edwin turned slowly to look at Niko. "You recognise the name." It was a statement, not a question.

"I met a woman who said her name was Unity. When I was in the igloo," she said. "She was very nice."

"Do you know where she is now?" Edwin asked.

"I'm sorry." Niko shook her head. "She was just visiting. My Sprites actually stopped swearing so much when she was there." She bit her lip, looking at each of them in turn before glancing into Edwin's eyes. "Sorry," she repeated apologetically. "I didn't know she was important."

"She's a key to what's going on here. To why Thomas has been captured and is being held prisoner." Edwin looked towards Charles. "But it answers that question, at least. She is here, in the Dreaming." But that raised another question, of course. "Why she is here, in the Dreaming, and hasn't moved onto the afterlife? If she's dead, she shouldn't be here anymore than we should be."

Charles shifted from one foot to the other and cast a glance towards the trees that surrounded them. "It feels like something's watching me," he muttered.

Edwin might have told Charles it was only his imagination, but he could still see figures moving out of the corner of his eye. If he concentrated hard enough, he could hear voices...whispers moving through the branches. Insidious whispers, that beckoned him to listen to them; that beckoned him to follow them.

Telling Charles to ignore it would be pointless. His best friend looked like he was on edge anyway; and Edwin was worried about Thomas...and Monty. Too worried to be the voice of reason that was needed right now. So instead of trying to provide reassurance through empty platitudes, he turned to ask Monty if the other man knew how much further they had to go.

Monty had his head cocked to one side, like he was listening to something.

Niko let out a sudden gasp and pulled her hand free of Edwin's. The soapstone bear dropped to the ground, landing in the foliage, as she slipped between the trees.

"Niko!" All Edwin could think was that they'd lost her already...that he'd thought her dead once already. Ignoring the way Charles called after him, he darted through the trees, heading after her fleeing figure.

Within seconds of leaving the path, Edwin found himself surrounded by a thick, white fog. It was damp and clung to his clothes and skin. Branches plucked at skin and clothes, making it nearly impossible for him to force his way through. When he tried, he found his skin got scratched and cut. Unlike in the world of the living, the scratches hurt.

There was no sign of Niko. Edwin didn't know how she'd managed to get so far ahead of him in such a short amount of time...but now that he was off the path and within the trees, he couldn't hear the ethereal whispers anymore. There was nothing trying to draw him further off the path, because he was already in the midst of the trees.

Edwin turned slowly, wincing as the sharp twigs and branches tore at his skin and hair. The fog that surrounded him was almost impossible for his eyes to penetrate through. He wasn't even sure if he was facing the right way to get out of the forest.

This was the kind of behaviour Edwin would normally expect to see from Charles, not from himself. And now, his biggest concern was that he was trapped within this forest...while Charles was with Monty. And with only Monty there...who was dying...there wasn't going to be anyone there who could stop Charles from doing something stupid or dangerous.

Edwin closed his eyes and struggled to calm himself. It was easy to think about what he should do. It was easy to think that he should have waited, instead of just following Niko into the forest without considering everything first.

It was too late for him to worry about that. He just needed to focus on finding Niko, then on making his way back to Charles and Monty. And then he needed to find and rescue Thomas from the Dreaming.

It was all so simple, really.

Opening his eyes again, Edwin squinted, trying in vain to pierce through the fog that surrounded him. "Niko!" As soon as he called her name, he flinched. Instead of echoing through the forest, his shout just seemed to die in the air. Like he was shouting into the void.

Forcing away the discomfort of the branches plucking at his skin, hair and clothes, Edwin forced his way forward, pushing past the wooden barriers that tried to slow his progress. Twigs snapped underfoot, and his feet sank into damp foliage that covered the ground.

The fog made it impossible to hear anything, no matter how much Edwin strained his ears. He wasn't sure he was going in the right direction, but he had to keep moving. If he just stopped and waited, he'd run out of time. He wouldn't be able to save any of them.

So he kept moving. And he focused everything he had on finding Niko.

###

Charles stared at the spot where Edwin had disappeared into the forest. If he hadn't just seen Edwin take off after Niko with his own two eyes, he never would have believed that his calm, sensible, level-headed friend had just run off into a forest without saying anything or stopping to make any kind of plan. "Fuck," he muttered, before dropping his pack to the ground and rifling through it.

"What are you looking for?" As Monty took a step closer to him, he began to cough...hard and violently. Blood trickled down the side of his mouth and he raised a hand to wipe the crimson smear away, body shuddering a little.

"Rope." Charles found the coiled rope and stood up, stretching the rope out. He wrapped one end of the rope around his waist, tying it in a tight knot. Then, he walked over to a tree that appeared sturdy enough and wrapped the other end of the rope around it, tying it off firmly.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Monty asked. "This forest isn't to be trusted."

"What do you suggest?" Charles gave the rope an experimental tug. "Tie the other end to you? You'd snap like a twig." He walked to where Edwin had entered the forest, stooping down to pick up the soapstone bear Niko had dropped. "You should stay here." He spoke without looking over his shoulder at Monty. "If the forest can't be trusted, I don't want to end up in there with the rope suddenly undone or cut. Keep an eye on it, yeah?"

"Okay," Monty agreed quietly.

This wasn't the ideal situation, and Charles took a few moments to consider what Edwin would do in this situation. His best friend was less likely to rush headlong into danger than he himself was, though. It wasn't supposed to be Charles going to rescue Edwin. It should have been the other way round.

But it wasn't. It was Edwin who needed Charles to save him. And Charles wasn't going to let his best friend down, no matter what.

"Stay here," Charles reiterated. "If you see anything dangerous...if anything happens...don't do anything stupid. Tug on the rope. Give me a bit of warning." He still didn't entirely trust Monty, but he knew that Edwin cared about the other man, so he figured he needed to make sure Monty didn't do anything stupid, since Niko and Edwin had done enough for all four of them.

"Got it." Monty limped over to the tree Charles had tied the rope around and leaned against it.

Charles hesitated for a second or two, part of him hoping that Edwin would walk back through the forest, leading Niko with him. Of course, there was no sign of either of them

Shaking his head, Charles headed between the trees, following the same route Niko and then Edwin had taken.

As soon as he stepped into the forest and left the path, he was surrounded by thick, damp fog. It was almost impossible for him to see through the fog, it was so thick. The fog also meant that he couldn't see back the way he'd come when he turned his head.

There was no sign of either Edwin or Niko. Placing one hand on the rope wrapped around his waist, Charles began to walk, carefully pushing through the twigs and branches that pulled at his hair and scratched at his skin.

After what felt like an eternity, Charles finally caught a glimpse of a familiar figure a few feet in front of him. He sped up his steps, ignoring the stinging scratches from the sharp twigs that caught his skin, and found himself standing next to Edwin.

Edwin's eyes darted towards Charles and then widened a fraction. "You followed me in here...? I can't find the way out."

"Yeah? Well, luckily, I kept a clearer head than you did." Charles gripped the rope and held it up for Edwin to see.

Edwin frowned and reached out, taking hold of the rope. After a few tugs, he was holding up the other end of the rope. "You didn't tie it to anything outside?"

"What? Of course I did!" Charles grabbed the rope out of Edwin's hand and stared at the frayed ends. "It's been cut. Monty cut the rope," he whispered.

"Charles...."

"Niko ran off in this direction. And you followed her. It was only me and Monty left behind. And I followed you. So who else could have cut the rope?"

"Charles." Edwin placed a hand on his arm and squeezed gently. "I know you're struggling to trust Monty, but tell me honestly. What do you think he could hope to gain from betraying us?"

"Why are you so set on trusting him?" Charles replied. "He betrayed us once already, after Esther turned him human."

"And he helped you get free of Esther," Edwin pointed out. "He's not a bad person, Charles."

"Yeah? Well, he's not a good one, either." Charles dropped the rope with a disgruntled sound. "This is useless." He began to undo the rope from around his waist.

"I wouldn't say that," Edwin said. "Tying it to something outside was a good idea."

"An idea that wouldn't have been necessary if you didn't take off running without a thought or a plan like you were...well, like you're me," Charles said. "Don't think I'll forget about this when we get out of the Dreaming."

"I don't think that. I know I made a mistake. I've probably made more than one mistake since we took this case." Edwin sighed. "I'd appreciate it if we could wait until after this is all over, though. And then you can deal with my behaviour however you see fit."

"I fully intend to," Charles said. "Have you seen Niko yet?"

"No," Edwin admitted. "I lost sight of her when I followed her off the path." He glanced back the way Charles had come, then focused on him again. "I'd suggest we try retracing our steps, but the fog is so thick, I don't think we'd be able to find our way back again."

"Okay, so we don't try retracing our steps." Charles placed his hand over Edwin's. "We focus on reaching Niko. We just focus on that. Nothing else. Just Niko."

"Just Niko." Edwin nodded and closed his eyes. His lips began moving...mouthing Niko's name.

Charles closed his own eyes and began to do the same.

After only a few seconds, there was the sound of air rushing past them, and a breeze weaved its way through Charles' hair. When the rushing stopped and the breeze died away, he opened his eyes again.

They were standing in what seemed to be a prison cell. As Charles turned in a slow circle, he glimpsed a figure hanging from a set of chains.

Thomas didn't look like he was in much better shape than Monty had been. His chest was bare, covered with scratches and bite marks. His head hung down and his eyes were closed. He looked like he was unconscious...perhaps even dead.

"Thomas." Edwin pulled free of Charles and ran towards the Cat King's side. He reached up to begin fiddling with the chains that held the older being bound.

"They're enchanted." Thomas slowly raised his head, blinking a few times before focusing on Edwin's face. "Edwin?" he whispered.

"I'm here." Edwin reached up and placed a hand against Thomas' cheek, looking into his eyes. His own were shimmering, as if there were tears in them. "You're alive," he whispered.

"Just about." Thomas groaned softly, making an attempt to push himself up before his body slumped forward again. "Not for much longer," he mumbled. "I need to get back to the cats. The longer I'm away from them...." His voice trailed off.

"Charles. Your lockpicks." Edwin spoke without taking his eyes off the Cat King.

"Right." Charles quickly dropped his pack onto the floor and began to rifle through it. After only a second or two, he had the lockpicks out and was moving to Thomas' other side. "You got a good grip on him?" he asked Edwin. "Soon as I pick the lock, he's gonna fall. You'll need to catch him."

"I've got him." Edwin wrapped his arms around Thomas' waist, holding on tight.

"It's not going to work."

Charles glanced up at the words and looked towards the middle of the cell.

Monty was standing there, his face so pale, it was nearly white. One arm was wrapped tightly around Niko's torso, and he was holding a sharp dagger against her throat.

"Niko!" Edwin's eyes darted between Thomas and Monty.

Charles ground his teeth. "I told you he would betray us."

Thomas said something, so quietly that Charles couldn't hear it...but Edwin turned his ear towards the Cat King's lips, eyes narrowed in concentration. Then, he carefully stepped away from Thomas and towards Monty and Niko, hands spread out to either side. "Monty. I know you don't want to do this."

"If you come any closer, I'll do it," Monty threatened, pressing the blade against Niko's throat and drawing a tiny trickle of blood.

A tiny whimper escaped her lips and she turned wide, pleading eyes onto Edwin and Charles.

Charles left Thomas' side, wielding his bat, and stood next to Edwin. "You need to let her go. Now."

"I can't," Monty said. "It's the only way to save my life." He swallowed visibly. "Desire offered me a deal. They'll let you all go. They'll save my life. There's just one small price to pay." The dagger he held against Niko's throat was shaking; his hand trembled visibly.

"Healing...life...at the expense of another person is no real life at all." Edwin took a step closer to Monty, his hand outstretched. "I'm sorry you're dying, Monty. If I'd known what the cost would be, I would never have allowed the spell to be cast. But you don't need to do this," he whispered. "I'll stay by your side while it happens. I won't leave you. And you can stay with us, as part of the Dead Boys Detective Agency. Isn't that right, Charles?" He glanced towards Charles.

"Yeah. You've just got to put the knife down." Charles gripped his bat tighter, preparing to swing it.

Something flashed in Monty's eyes; hope, maybe? Then, he was shaking his head. "No," he whispered. "No. I don't have a choice." He plunged the knife down.