A Case of Falling From Grace Ch. 11 [RusPru AU]

Alfred pulled a thick red book with the words, "Demon Encyclopedia" across the spine off of the shelf. The front was emblazoned with an inverted pentagram. It wasn't one of the symbols that Alfred was looking for, but the book itself seemed promising. He carried it over to a table and opened it to the first section. Immediately he saw one of the two symbols he was looking for.

The first section was on Lucifer, and above the heading was the symbol that had been on the wall of the asylum. A downward facing triangle made of a series of lines was quite clearly the same. Alfred's heart started pounding in his chest. If this was really a symbol of Lucifer, then there was something truly dark going on here. He had to turn a few pages into the section to find the symbol again. It was labeled as the seal of Lucifer and the paragraph beneath it explained that the symbol could be used to evoke the devil. Alfred swallowed the worry rising in his throat and scrawled the word Lucifer at the bottom of the drawing of the symbol.

He started flipping through the book in search of the other, the sword through a pentagram. The next few pages were not helpful, and then he stumbled upon it. It was captioned, "One of the many symbols of the archangel Samael." Alfred turned back a few pages and found the beginning of the section. It was labeled Samael: The Angel of Death. Alfred's hand was shaking as he attempted to write this name under the symbol he had drawn. This was strange, to find the symbols of two of the most powerful fallen angels in a place that felt so sinister. He had known that there was something supernatural and evil in that place, but now he was beginning to suspect that it was demonic.

He heard a voice right behind him, "Alfred." He immediately sprung to his feet and turned around. He raised one hand as if he was expecting to strike whoever was behind him. Arthur was looking at him like he was crazy, "Calm down, you idiot." Alfred took a breath and sat back down. He ran his hand through his hair and realized that he was being paranoid.

Arthur sat down next to Alfred and said carefully, "I didn't want to believe that there was something dodgy with the job, but with your brother in the hospital I can't ignore it. I went through those files I pulled out and I found this." He pulled a faded folder out of his bag and laid it on the table. Alfred could see the faded outline of a swastika on the front. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. Demons were one thing, but Nazis were a different kind of evil all together. Combining the two was truly disturbing. He flipped open the file and the picture of a handsome albino staring up at him. The man's face was very striking, but the light in the back of the eyes was clearly evil. The red eyes seemed hauntingly familiar. Since he didn't speak German, Alfred couldn't read any of the records, but the single word Auschwitz was all he needed to see.

He looked back up at Arthur and said, "Is this real?" The other nodded, "As far as I can tell." Alfred whistled slightly and tried not to shiver. This was something he had not been expecting, and he voiced that, "What are the chances of finding a Nazi at an obscure asylum like this? What was he institutionalized for anyway?" Arthur sighed and started to drum his fingers on the table. Alfred caught on and said, "What is it, Arthur?" The other responded, "I checked the records. He wasn't a patient. He was a doctor." That seemed all the stranger. Alfred tried to bring some sense to this and said, "Well, what happened to him?" Arthur responded, "That's really the mystery. He completely disappears off any records after the closing of asylum." Alfred put this in simpler words, "So, he disappeared."
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When Gilbert got back to his room, he immediately looked for the books on demons. His mind was fixed not on the lobotomy he had just approved. He was thinking about Natalia's assertion that Ivan was Lucifer. He didn't want to believe it, but all of the given information was pointing to. He grabbed the book and flipped it open to the beginning of the section on Lucifer. He read through it again quickly, looking for information to disprove the theory on Ivan's identity. On his first read, the only sentence that stuck out to him was, "He is capable of shifting his appearance to be pleasing to his target."

Gilbert turned away from the book for a minute to try and tell himself that it couldn't mean what he thought it meant. The devil could have chosen to appear as his old lover in order to tempt him. Gilbert flipped back to the beginning of the section again and started to read again. He found himself pacing across his room so fast that he felt like he was going to wear a groove into the floor. He was willing the words to change, to mean something else. He needed something truly concrete to deny all this nonsense. The words that continued to affirm Natalia's accusation. For the third time, he read the sentence; "The devil knows every person's hidden sins and will use them to his advantage." It was too accurate to his situation.

He slammed the book closed and, in a single motion, hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a loud thud and slid to the floor. Gilbert didn't care about the fate of the book; he was too concerned with the undeniable realization that the man who looked so much like his old lover may be the devil. He stopped pacing and sunk to the floor. He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes. None of this was actually true; he was just getting himself worked into a mania. Being surrounded by all this madness was clearly getting to him. He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself. His chest was heaving as though he was actually exerting himself in the effort to calm his mind. He spoke aloud, "I don't believe any of it."

The light touch of flesh ghosted over the back of his neck. The albino felt himself exhale slowly. A very familiar voice spoke in his ear, "Nor should you." The albino's eyes fluttered open and he looked behind him. His eyes met bright violet. He felt himself smile as he looked into Ivan's face. He felt one arm around his waist and the other was caressing his neck. He didn't bother to ask how Ivan had gotten here when Gilbert was completely awake, it didn't seem to matter. When Ivan spoke again, it became clearer, "That book will just turn you against me."

The voice was a rough whisper, but it was tinted with a heavy Russian accent. This was the version of Ivan that was based off of memories; this one only existed in Gilbert's dreams. The hands felt real enough, as did the hot breath that Gilbert could feel against his neck. The two versions of Ivan seemed to be merging into each other. One was spilling from the world of dreams into reality and it was utterly confusing. The albino leaned back and found that the Russian's shoulder was there to catch him.

The albino closed his eyes and shook his head in an attempt to figure out what was real and what wasn't. He felt the other's arm tighten on his waist, almost protectively. With his eyes still closed, Gilbert spoke again, "You're not actually here. This is just another fucking nightmare." His ears were filled with a soft chuckle, "Don't pay attention to what logic tells you. Pay attention to what you feel." Soft sweet kisses were pressed to the albino's neck. The red eyes opened again and found the Russian still beside him, lips pressed to skin.

Gilbert reached over and put his own hand on the other's leg. The solidness and the warmth beneath his hand were all the confirmation he needed. Without any logical reason, this was completely real. The albino spoke again, "This is real. How can this be real? I saw you die." Ivan moved the hand that was not around Gilbert's waist so that it was sitting on top of the hand that was on his leg. Their eyes met and the Russian spoke, "I came back for you, that's all you need to know." He leaned forward and kissed the albino on the forehead.

Gilbert was not done with his questions. He said, "But why come back?" The violet eyes widened in shock, as if he couldn't believe that he was hearing. He smiled and said, "You shouldn't have to ask that. I love you. Do you love me?" Gilbert felt himself melting beneath the other's eyes. The feelings from years ago were no longer repressed, but a grain of caution was still holding him back. He looked down and said, "I want to say that I do, but I can't." Ivan sighed but the smile didn't slip from his face, "Obstinate as always, aren't you?"

Gilbert felt himself smile and reached up to touch Ivan's face. The other mirrored the gesture and put his hand on Gilbert's face. The Russian crooned, almost to himself, "You're so close now, so close to being mine." The other purred, not caring what he sounded like, "I want that, Ivan." He leaned in closer so that there were only a couple inches of space between that. The Russian smirked, "You don't know what you're asking me for." He leaned in and kissed Gilbert on the cheek. As he pulled away, he put his finger to the albino's lips to stop him from speaking. He continued to speak, "Go to sleep, you'll need your rest for tomorrow." Gilbert immediately felt drowsiness pierce him to the bone. As he closed his eyes, he leaned back and his head was perfectly cradled by Ivan's shoulder.

Sharp wrapping on the door awoke him. Gilbert sat up and only then registered that he was lying in bed, despite distinctly remembering falling asleep in Ivan's arms on the floor. It didn't bother him though, considering that this was far better than waking up from a nightmare. He got out of bed and got dressed before answering the door. He knew what to expect, but it didn't make seeing Antonio flanked by orderlies any more pleasant.

He nodded wordlessly at Antonio and walked out into the hall. The Spaniard started talking, "You seem to be in a more cooperative mood this morning." Gilbert grudgingly responded, "I realized that there was no point in arguing with you." Antonio chuckled slightly under his breath, "Well, that makes things easier." They stopped outside of the room that Natalia was being kept in and waited as the orderlies went in to retrieve Natalia.

The girl looked pathetically small between the two orderlies. She looked up at Gilbert as she was led out. She spoke directly at him, completely ignoring Antonio, "Now you'll see. He'll save me." Gilbert slowly shook his head. He knew that there was no way for her to get out of this. But, he also knew that there was no way to talk her out of her delusion. He didn't respond, but he did look at her pityingly. She was continuing to struggle against the two holding her, but it was useless. Antonio spoke to the orderlies, effectively returning the brush off that she had given him, "Take her to the surgery room. Everything has already been prepared." They dragged the girl away like she weighed less than a doll.

Once she was a few feet away, Gilbert turned to Antonio and said in one last attempt, "We don't have to do this. This won't do any good and it certainly won't help her." The other looked the albino over with a smirk, "You really do have moral compunctions, don't you? Don't worry; I won't make you do it. I plan to perform this surgery myself." He started to walk away and Gilbert fell into step half a foot behind. They descended into the lower levels of the asylum and finally stopped at a plain door. The orderlies had already unlocked it, so Antonio only needed to push the door open.

Natalia was already half-restrained and kicking out against the men who were attempting to restrain her legs. The room itself projected a feeling of gloom. The walls were covered in light grey tiles. The floors were paneled in a very dark wood. There were no windows in the room, so the entirety was illuminated by a series of bright light bulbs in the ceiling that made the room almost unbearably bright. There wasn't a single dark corner. All of the objects in the room cast sharp shadows. The operating table was at the center of the room and it was the sight of the uneven struggle between Natalia and the orderlies. The two men finally withdrew when the final restraint was tightened around her ankle.

Antonio spoke directly to Gilbert, "Sedate her." The albino didn't dare defy direct orders, not now. He walked over to the table next to the operating table, which was full of shining metal tools. Gilbert had assisted in so many surgeries before, forced sterilizations mostly, but this was the only one that made him feel slightly sick. Numbly, he picked up a vile and a syringe. He stuck the needle into the vile of sedative and extracted as much as was safe for Natalia's body weight. He walked over to the table and carefully plunged the needle into the pale flesh of the girl's upper arm. All of the fight slowly faded out of all of her muscles. Her hands and feet went completely limp. Gilbert watched as her big violet eyes slowly clouded over with the effects of the drug.

Antonio walked over to the other side of the operating table and looked down at the semi-conscious girl with a small smile. He looked back up at Gilbert and said, "Let's get this over with. Hand me the orbitoclast." Gilbert grabbed the shining instrument, which resembled an ice pick. It felt unnervingly smooth and cold against his skin; it was almost like grabbing ice. He handed the implement across the table to the Spaniard, who took it wordlessly. Antonio negotiated the point of the instrument under the eyelid right next to the tear duct of Natalia's right eye.

He took a slow breath and then looked back up at the other again, "Hand me the mallet." Again, Gilbert complied, but the feeling of dread was mounting. Antonio took the mallet and struck the back of the other instrument, driving it through the thin bone of the back of the eye socket. The metallic sound of metal hitting metal was accompanied by the wet crack of metal piercing bone. Antonio slowly exhaled through his nose, as though attempting to steady himself. He brought the mallet down again and drove the spike still deeper into the skull. This time the soft squish of tissue was quite audible.

Then, slowly he pivoted the spike, so that the tip of it moved beneath the bone of the skull to cut the nerves. Once that step was completed, Antonio took another shaky breath. His hands were steady, but it was clear that he was not entirely comfortable with what he was doing. Carefully, he returned the instrument to its original position. He raised the mallet again and exhaled as he brought it down again, the metallic clang and the squish of soft tissue again accompanied the strike. Antonio made one final rotation with the spike to cut the deeper nerves, and then he slowly removed the spike from the eye. Slight purple bruising was already blossoming around the eye. A shaky smile spread across Antonio's face. He looked up at Gilbert and said, "That went perfectly."

A single wisp of wind floated into the room. It was icy cold and Gilbert felt it seize him immediately. The cold spread up his legs and arms, like it was spreading through him like it was traveling in his blood. Suddenly, Natalia started to jerk and thrash against the restraints. The leather of the restraints creaked in its attempt to hold onto the girl. Gilbert and Antonio quickly shared a worried look before looking back at Natalia.

The light bruising around the eye was now turning darker and darker red. It spread out around the eye very quickly, like liquid flowing freely. She started to cough and wheeze. Dark red specks of blood came out when she coughed. Blood bubbled up in her throat and filled her mouth. The jerking started to subside as the dark red liquid filled her mouth and ran out of both sides onto the table. She tried to pull in one more unsteady breath and only managed to make tiny bubbles appear in the pool of blood forming in her mouth. With one more substantial jerk, she stopped moving completely.

Gilbert grabbed her wrist and desperately searched for a pulse. He couldn't find one, and the realization quickly dawned on him. He voiced it hollowly, "She's dead." Antonio was staring at the body with a look of complete shellshock on his face. He spoke with no real emotion in his voice, "I don't understand. I didn't do anything wrong and she just started hemorrhaging. It shouldn't have happened like this. I don't understand." Gilbert looked down at the dead girl, who was now lying in a pool of her own blood and said, "I think I do."