"Your sadness it is quite lovely, but it's the sadness of a slave."

- A. A. Bondy 

                                                                            ***

He couldn't bring himself to even bare his teeth when Hades stood in front of him. The crowd was murmuring quietly, watching the god with curiosity. Sirius could only stare at the closed gates, her footprints disappearing as a chill wind swept through the pit.

A cold finger under his chin forced his head back, and he stared up at Hades. He couldn't feel his heart beating. He couldn't even feel if he was breathing. The only thing that mattered were her hopeless eyes. The fact that she truly believed he had abandoned her to this.

"What did you do?" he croaked, the sulfur taste of his own blood filling his mouth.

"Oh, Sirius," Hades said with a sigh. Gently, Hades gripped his arms and hauled him to his feet. He placed a cold hand against Sirius' face, making him flinch. "It's not what I did. Nothing I've done has turned her into that."

Sirius turned his face away from the god's touch. "You brought her here."

"Being here didn't break her," Hades said, voice still obscenely soft. "You did that long before she got to Hell."

The words shattered through him, the truth behind them forcing his knees to crumble. Hades snapped his fingers and Sirius' knees collided with the ground behind the bars of a cage. Trembling, he stared at the familiar dark metal. 

"You told me you'd give me whatever I wanted if I let you go to her," Hades said, leaning casually against the bars. He paused, and Sirius didn't dare look up. He'd made the promise and now the bell was tolling for him.

"I want you to remember where you came from, Sirius," Hades whispered. "I want you to remember where you belong and what you are."

Shock kept him quiet for several long moments. Sirius' eyes flicked up to meet the god's. Dully, he replied, "I was never one for self-reflection."

"Oh, I know." Hades laughed, his white hair gleaming in the low light. He crouched down to be at eye level with Sirius. "So to help you along... here."

He tossed a thin vial into the cage where it chinked lightly onto the stone near his right knee. Sirius blinked at it uncomprehendingly for a moment, then all the blood in his face rushed toward his stomach. Nyx's words again echoed in his head.

Hades snickered, standing up and straightening his leather jacket. The buckles jingled softly, ringing in Sirius' ears. "Tomorrow you'll finally be back where you belong," the god purred, black eyes lit with unholy delight. Throwing a meaningful glance at the vial, he said, "I'd save that until then."

Then Hades was gone and Sirius slumped sideways, shoulder colliding painfully with the bars.

He didn't look up when a door was opened and Rick's voice snarled through the cavern as he swore and fought against whoever had a hold of him. There was a high yelp and a wicked laugh from Rick. Then the harsh thud of fists against flesh.

A vicious clanging made Sirius' ears ache. It was quickly followed by a thumping sound and another echoing crash. 

Sirius waited until the silence had reestablished itself, then glanced up to find Rick shaking his head as he stood up inside his own cage. A bruise was making his left eye swell shut, purple leaking down the side of his face and across his cheekbone. Blood trickled from a split lip, but otherwise the Hunter looked fine.

With a sigh, Rick looked around, taking in the other empty cages with a scowl before he turned his attention to the lock on his own cell. He rattled the bars, then went to reach into his pocket, just to scoff at himself.

Quickly he patted at his pockets, then muttered, "They took all my weapons."

Sirius didn't bother responding. He was still staring at the vial glittering softly on the ground before him. The liquid inside it looked like mercury—deadly quicksilver. It was something so much worse.

The craving it woke inside of him was vicious, and Sirius gasped before he picked up the vial, intent on hurling it at the opposite wall. His fingers tightened around the warm glass and his muscles trembled.

Before he realized he was doing it, he'd slipped the vial into his pocket instead.

Rick sat back down with a small groan, resting his elbows on his knees. Wiping gently at the blood from his split lip, he looked around again, eyes growing uneasy as he glanced at the other cages. "Should we expect company?" 

Sirius just shrugged. It didn't really matter either way. Hades liked all of his toy soldiers locked tight in their boxes when he wasn't playing with them. 

There were more pressing things to worry about anyway.

His lungs weren't expanding properly despite the fact that her scent still lingered, even as her blood began to dry. The feeling of her body pressed against his lingered. It had made it worse. Getting to see her, getting to touch her, hold her, hadn't helped anything.

It just made it worse. 

He was stuck here. And she was God didn't even know where, believing that he'd left her to rot even though he'd sworn he wouldn't.

They'd cut her hair. Unceremoniously chopped off those strands of gold. He rubbed his hands together, thinking about how he'd wanted to bury his face in her hair and sleep, truly sleep for the first time since she'd died. How he'd wanted to all but smother himself in the thick curls that smelled of sunshine and silver. 

Her eyes had glowed with rage and hatred as she'd looked down at him. His ribs still ached from where she'd landed each powerful kick, and the skin on the sides of his neck burned where her broken nails had clawed as she'd tried to strangle him.

Sirius rested his temple against one of the cold metal bars. She'd never looked at him like that before. Like she didn't know him, but hated him anyway. His heart shriveled up into a shivering mess as he wondered if there was some damage that simply could not be undone.

If the fact that he loved her more than existence wouldn't matter at the end.

What would happen to him if, after all this, she decided to leave? Sirius nearly whimpered at the very thought. What if she got out of Hell, and he woke up one morning to find her gone, not even a note to explain that she was done with him?

His eyes blurred and he quickly closed them. Now wasn't the time to be thinking that. 

"She didn't know it was really you, man." Rick's voice floated across the space between them, making Sirius raise his head to peer at the Hunter through the gloom.

He was watching Sirius with a too-knowing gaze, his arms crossed over his chest, his legs sprawled out in front of him.

"If she knew it was you, she would have been happy."

Sirius blinked twice, then slowly shook his head. "I don't know if she's ever happy," he rasped. "She's not always sad... but I don't know if I've ever seen her happy."

Apparently that was not the response Rick had expected judging by the way his mouth opened, then closed, and how his brow wrinkled. He eventually just shrugged and muttered, "Hate to break it to you, Fido, but that's probably not about you."

A sharp laugh barked from Sirius—a wretched sound that hurt his throat. With a shake of his head, he whispered, "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does," Rick snapped. "Yes it fucking does."

"What do you even care?" Sirius snarled back, taken off guard by the vehemence in Rick's tone. His temper suddenly ripped through his heartbreak, relishing in finding the sharpest words available to him. "You and I, we're not friends, Rick. You're here for Caleb, and that's it. So why are you sitting there pretending like you fucking care if she's crazy? Or if she hates me? You hate me. Who cares if one more person does too?"

Rick's mouth pressed down into a hard line, and Sirius was astonished when hurt actually flickered across the Hunter's face.

But it didn't matter. Not a single damn thing mattered beyond her.

Voice filled with soft malice, he said, "You need to know something."

"What's that," Rick said stiffly after a moment too long.

Sirius met the Hunter's eyes, forcing his expression to something cold and long-dead. "I will always pick her." He didn't blink, or shift his gaze. "If Hades puts the both of us in that pit tomorrow, and it's a choice between you or her, it's her. It will always be her."

They stared at each other for another long moment, and Sirius found himself clinging to the tattered shreds of his conviction. But before he could say anything foolish, the Hunter snorted and shrugged.

"Consider me warned," Rick responded, voice bored. Then he turned his back to Sirius, stretching out as best he could over the hard ground.

Sirius stared at the Hunter's back before he copied him and lay down on the cold stone. He lay flat on his back, focusing on the painful itch of his ribs repairing themselves. Even that couldn't stop the replay of that moment in the pit. 

Behind his eyelids, he watched as she stood over him, lip curled in a sneer. Watched as she brought her booted foot down with vicious intent. Watched as she reveled in his pain.

Tears, hot and uncontrollable, pushed past his lashes to roll down his temples. 

Hades had been wrong. He hadn't broken Galloway.

She had broken him.

                                                                                     ~~~

The soft tap of a claw against metal had his eyes flying open. He didn't remember falling asleep. Slowly, he let his gaze fall to the side.

"It's been a long time, Selene," he said quietly after a long moment of staring at the Hellhound in question.

"Why couldn't you just do as you're told," she replied softly. "Why could you never just do what you were told?"

Sirius snorted softly before he sat up, crossing his legs under him. The other Hellhound was kneeling just on the other side of the bars, one slender hand clutching at the metal. Her face was still as sweet and lovely as ever. 

A thousand memories swirled up. Once upon a time, she'd fought by his side and taken the time to bind up ragged, messy wounds. Once upon a time, she was the place he'd found solace, before he'd realized there was none to be found. 

Selene sighed, shifting to where her shoulder leaned against the bars. She shook her black hair out of her face, onyx eyes watching him with what could have passed for sadness. Her olive complexion still glowed with a golden tint. Hers was a beauty that never faded.

"You should have stayed, Sirius." She reached forward, but Sirius leaned back before she could touch his face. 

"I never had much say in anything, Selene," he reminded her. "None of us did."

She pursed her lips, her hand dropping back down to her lap. "Was it really all that bad? Was it really so awful that you had to run? That you had to piss Persephone off enough to get yourself carted off to the newbies?"

Sirius finally met her eyes, giving her a dead stare. Then he smiled and shook his head, a small, wicked laugh bubbling in his throat. Selene at least had the grace to look away. This wasn't exactly what he'd planned on discussing when he saw her, but bad blood always ran hot and strong.

"You knew exactly what it was, Selene." He cocked his head. "You know exactly what this is."

"Sirius—"

"Did he send you?" he cut her off. "Is this what he meant when he said he wanted me to remember where I was from? Where I belonged?" He snarled when she opened her mouth. "I found exactly where I belong, Selene. And it sure as shit isn't here."

"It's with that Hunter?" she spat, teeth lengthening slightly.

"You're damn right it's with her." He shot to his feet, lunging at the bars. Selene's eyes went wide and she skittered backwards, out of the reach of his claws.

Darkness rippled around her arms, her hair floating around her in an ebony cloud. She bared her teeth but didn't shift. Instead she just growled at him. "He wanted you to remember that you don't belong anywhere but in a cage," she snarled. "You're just a slave, Sirius. That's all you've ever been. That's all you'll ever be."

"That's a little rich coming from you, Selene," Sirius drawled. 

"I'm still not the one in the cage, Siri," she purred, making his hackles raise. She smirked. "I'll still be the one sitting next to your master, watching you bleed out on the sand today."

It was a little horrifying that she could say that, considering how much time she'd spent in the fighting pits for Hades' entertainment.

"I don't have masters," he hissed. "That's what you could never understand, Selene." He made his voice sympathetic. "It's hard to understand when you love the one holding the fucking leash."

"He's never leashed her," a new voice called. Slow steps echoed off the rock walls. "Well looks like the gang's all back together." 

Sirius closed his eyes, suddenly very beleaguered. "Malechi."

The fourth and final member of what might have passed for his family a thousand years ago swaggered up to the cage. The sullen Hellhound nodded at him, then shot a dark look at Selene. "You were supposed to bring him up, not play catch up."

Selene just shrugged. Malechi rolled his eyes, shaking his shoulder-length blond hair back as he stood beside her. She glanced up at him, then at Sirius. 

He didn't blink when Malechi placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her into a hard kiss. A growl came from low in Selene's throat and Sirius sighed deeply, annoyed.

A sideways glance told him Rick was just as aggravated by their stupid little games as Sirius was. He waited for a moment longer, but judging by the way Malechi's hands were traveling it was more likely that things would get awkward before they got interesting.

"Touching as it is that you finally tore Mal out of his nervous little shell, I believe we've got places to be?"

Malechi finally pulled back, giving Sirius a small smirk. "Ah, she's done more than that. I've had a lot of fun with your bitch since you've been gone."

"You always had an affinity for sloppy seconds, Mal," Sirius returned, grin sharpening as Malechi snarled.

The whole play was unsurprising. Malechi had lusted after Selene for centuries, Sirius' position as alpha the only thing keeping him at bay. He looked at Selene to find her with that same dead-eyed expression she'd worn every time she came looking for him after she got back from an assignment. After she'd been used and abused by whoever Hades had sent her to that week.

Maybe he would have pitied her if her claws hadn't torn into Galloway that night. Maybe he would have felt sorry if she hadn't come down here just to remind him that he was once again at the mercy of the being he despised more than anything else in the known universe.

But he still couldn't hate her.

He wanted her dead for Galloway's sake, but he couldn't make himself hate someone who didn't realize they were more of a slave than he had ever been.

Something of that must have shown on his face, because Selene bared her teeth at him again before she strode away from the cage, leaving him alone with Malechi. He was still watching her when she glanced back over her shoulder, eyes clouded with confusion and pain. 

A clanging sound brought his attention back to the other Hellhound as the cage was unlocked. Before Malechi could find a reason to drag him from the cage, Sirius stood and dusted himself off. His hand brushed the vial still in his pocket, making nerves shiver through his body.

Rick met his eyes, but didn't so much as blink when Malechi grabbed Sirius' arm. Darkness immediately snaked around them, pulling them through space. 

The dull roar of a crowd crashed into his ears as he found himself in yet another familiar place. The underbelly of the arena. Hades had really taken to the whole Roman gladiator thing, even after the empire fell.

Shock and despair numbed him when a familiar scent hit his nose.

Various holding cells spanned the walls of the staging area and he looked over to find Caleb leaning against the bars of his own cell, eyes riveted on something across from him.

Malechi grinned, nodding toward Sirius' pocket. "It's gotten better. Works faster now."

Slowly, Sirius looked across the dim space, ignoring him. Malechi snorted, then disappeared in a cocoon of black.  

Galloway was staring at Caleb, her face salt-white as she paced back and forth behind the bars. She was wearing the same thing he'd seen her in yesterday, but she was clean this time.

The cuffs he'd seen on her wrists were indeed manacles. Now they were attached to long chains anchored in the wall, keeping her from getting any closer than two feet to the bars. They clanked with every step, but didn't keep her from looking like a pissed off lion.

A strange little smile twitched at his mouth as he wondered what she'd done to warrant such precautions.

"What's going on here, Sirius?" Caleb said, though he hadn't looked away from Galloway. "What did they do to her?"

Galloway rattled her chains, tossing her short hair. "Better question is what am I going to do to you if you don't take that goddamn face off."

"You weren't supposed to get caught," Sirius said, and Caleb finally looked at him, scowling deeply.

"Neither were you," he snapped. "But I guess we don't always get what we want. Now we're here. Where is here?"

"Where's Rhys?"

Caleb shook his head, face grim.

Galloway had fallen silent, her gaze burning into him now. Sirius dared to meet her gaze and for less than a second something flickered there in her eyes. His breath caught, but then she shook her head and smirked.

He knew that expression. It was the expression she wore when she was trying to hide how much of a mess she was on the inside.

"You think I haven't killed a thousand of you assholes?" she purred. "When will you learn that his face doesn't work anymore?"

"What if it's not just a face," he asked softly.

Galloway's face went blank for a moment. Then she said, "Same old song and dance, sweetheart. Face, memories, whatever—you're not him." She tossed her hair. "You're here for one thing, and one thing only."

"And what would that be?" Caleb jumped in.

Neither of them looked at him, which pleased Sirius immensely. Her attention was as riveted on him as his was on her.

There was no way he could have missed the sorrow that passed over her face, lovely and deep as the sea. She studied him with tempered longing, like she was looking at a picture of him instead of the real thing.

He didn't bother to check the longing he knew was painted across his face.

Finally she smiled at him and his heart caught in his throat. "You're here to entertain. You're here to die bloody, terrible deaths for the amusement of a bunch of asshole demons and other assorted nasty beasts. But you already knew that."

Sirius cocked his head. "We're the ones who are supposed to die?"

Her eyes grew pensive. "Yeah," she said softly, but without a hint of remorse. "I let someone with that face kill me once. And Hades made me pay for it. So it doesn't matter how much I used to care about that face." She looked at Caleb. "Or that one. You're going to die, and I'm going to come back here wondering why I even bother anymore."

With that, she retreated to the far corner of her cell, obviously unable to bear looking at them for any longer. 

Sirius slowly peeled his gaze away from her to look at Caleb. The Hunter's returning gaze was full of terror. With a small shake of his head, Sirius sat down as well.

She was already pushed too far and fraying to a dangerous point. 

Caleb swallowed hard, then looked over at Galloway. He ran a hand through his dark hair, then said, "Can I tell you a story?"