"Death, where is thy sting?"

- W. C. Fields

                                                                                     ***

The blindfold seemed a bit theatric. The silver-laced rope tying his hands behind his back was more than a bit unnecessary. Bane's claws tearing into his left arm were utterly pointless. 

It was all just a prop.

Hades was more than capable of keeping Sirius docile, even if it was against his will. He didn't bother struggling. Rick was doing enough of that for the both of them, swearing and fighting every step of the way.

It didn't drown out the dull roar that was growing louder with every step they took. It didn't distract from the stench of blood filling the air. It didn't keep Sirius' stomach from heaving or his heart from racing in his throat.

A blast of frozen air swirled around them, and suddenly the noise was a physical wave slamming into Sirius. The stifling heat of too many bodies banished the brief chill of the gate. Sweat and blood and a dozen less pleasant smells battered his senses. A huge cheer went up, just as quickly followed by a single piercing scream and a collective groan.

Laughter rang out, a sultry sound bordering on madness and Sirius stopped moving.

"Welcome home, Sirius," Hades whispered in his ear. The blindfold was removed, and he squinted against the sudden brightness. 

"Holy God," Rick breathed at the wretched scene before them.

"Not down here," Bane purred.

No. Sirius knew they were about as far from God as one could reasonably get. Panic scraped along his veins, and he had to resist the urge to bolt back through the gate.

A cavern unfurled around them, packed full of demons and other, eviler looking things. The space had been fashioned into an ampitheater, harsh lights trained on the pit in the center. Bone torches ringed the highest walls, just over the heads of those in the nosebleeds.

A majority of the crowd was jeering at the only figure left standing on the sand in the center. His breath eased slowly from constricted lungs as his vision resolved, and he realized why everyone sounded so pissed.

The figure bent down toward one of the bodies, eliciting a round of wolf-whistles and nasty comments. When they stood, they held a head in their hands.

Moving with all the grace and power of an Olympic athlete, they sent the head hurtling through the air, over the crowd until it thumped to the ground at Sirius' feet.

"I told you!" Galloway shouted, pointing right at them. "Why don't you give me an actual challenge, asshole?"

The laugh snuck up on him before he could stop it. He snickered, then the sound grew louder, more real until his eyes blurred with tears of mirth. Turning slightly to glance at Hades, he said, "You gave her a way to fight and thought that would break her?"

Even Rick chuckled at that, and Sirius took a step forward just to be jerked back by his collar.

"Not yet, Sirius," Hades said. "Why don't you just watch for a moment. Then you'll see exactly why I took her from that prick demon."

He could hardly do anything else. Horrific as it was that she was here, at least she was here.

Hades snapped his fingers and the world blurred until Sirius found himself in the emperor's box. The view was much better, and he didn't let himself care that Hades now lounged in a familiar throne made of fused bones and slick, volcanic glass. He moved to the very edge of the box, leaning over the balustrade to stare down into the pit.

The golden sand was stained black and red, bodies strewn around. Guts and limbs were splayed like macabre confetti, surrounding the only person left standing after the last bout.

Beneath the sulfur reek of demon blood, the gagging stench of vomit and piss, he could smell her. His eyes were glued to her, soaking in every detail. Her blonde hair had been hacked away, making him growl at the ragged edges barely reaching the edge of her jaw. 

Carelessly, she stabbed the gladius she was using into the dirt. She crouched down in a clean patch of sand and picked up a handful, rubbing it over her hands to clean the slippery blood away.

They'd given her body back. 

And she was dressed like a leading woman from Resident Evil.

The first thing to catch his attention were her lips, painted a dramatic red. Red like her blood, and just as sweet.

Sirius couldn't quite keep himself from letting his gaze travel over her supple curves, each and every one of which was highlighted by the skin-tight leather pants and black corset she was wearing. Her arms were bare except for two cuffs on each wrist that looked suspiciously like manacles. 

Claw marks were raked over her left shoulder, red blood trickling slowly down her arm. Bruises were littered over her pale skin, and she was covered in dirt and blood.

He'd never seen anything so beautiful.

Sirius debated throwing himself off the edge of the balcony into the pit, but Hades' power snaked around his bones, freezing him in place. "I said watch," he commanded lazily.

Bane snickered and sat on the railing. He whistled, and Galloway whirled around, head snapping up. Sirius snarled when she smirked at Bane and lifted her hand to curl her fingers in a beckoning gesture at him.

All he could wonder was why she wasn't seeing him. How could she not?

"Because I will it so," Hades answered his unspoken question. "It wouldn't be any fun if I showed you to her like this."

Galloway jerked the sword out of the sand and pointed it at Bane before pairing it with a raised middle finger. Sirius nearly choked on the joy in his throat. Her voice was rough when she called, "Volunteering, Bane?"

"Not today, sweetheart," the other Hellhound said lazily.

She bristled just as Sirius did, her teeth glinting in a snarl. "Come down here and call me that. Or are you still too much of a little bitch?"

Rick snorted. Looking over his shoulder, Sirius caught the other Hunter grinning. "I think I love this chick," he whispered, rubbing blood from his cheek where Bane had cut him onto the shoulder of his jacket.

"She is rather spectacular, isn't she?" a sultry female voice said.

Fire sluiced through his veins, scorching him with the force of a renewed fury.

Sirius snarled, whirling toward Hades, but could move no farther than that. Lucia leaned against the arm of Hades' throne, practically purring when the god stroked a finger down her arm in greeting. 

Rage boiled away the longing and despair he'd found himself struggling with as soon as he'd seen Galloway. Hatred, the purest emotion he was capable of, made him struggle against the power holding him in place, even though he knew better.

Invisible thorns sank into his muscles, pinning him into stillness. Sirius wrestled with the urge to tear out the female Hellhound's throat until he had control of himself, and the magic eased off.

He curled his lip at someone he hadn't seen in at least a century.

Lucia wasn't pretty so much as striking, with dark brown skin and velvety black eyes that were tilted up at the corners. Her full lips were curled in a smile, the hint of a fang poking into her lower lip. Her dramatic, wide cheekbones and pointed chin made her unconventionally attractive.

"Hello Sirius," she said, like she'd seen him yesterday.

Like she hadn't turned him over to Hades when he'd tried to escape into Purgatory, less than twenty years old and already sick of the god's careless cruelty. Like she hadn't laughed when Persephone had him beat to a pulp before dumping him at Theron's feet. 

Like she hadn't helped kill the only thing he'd ever loved.

Lucia cocked her head, pouting at him when he did nothing but stare at her. The hatred threatened to strangle him, compressing his throat and shortening his breath, so he jerked back around and stared at Galloway. Hades didn't need another reason to freeze him again.

She was kneeling beside one of the bodies, ignoring the shouted insults and disgusting suggestions coming from the crowd. How long had she been here, he wondered. How long had she been fighting?

A wave of guilt slammed into him. How long had he left her down here, at the mercy of the mob?

He watched as she used the shirt of one of the slaughtered demons to clean first the hilt, then the blade of her sword. Before she could finish though, Hades snapped his fingers and the bodies disappeared. The sand swept itself clean around her.

Her shoulders bunched, and she slowly stood. Head slightly lowered, she reached to the small of her back, extracting a wickedly curved knife. 

Bane said, "Her last fight is always the best."

The sentiment seemed to be shared by the crowd, who had surged to their feet again. Excitement rippled through the air as bets were exchanged. A thrill went through him when she turned finally to glare up at Hades.

He was too far away to see the silver-mist shade of her eyes, but he knew well enough how they would flash. Defiant and magnificent.

She never should have been here in the first place.

Sinister trumpets blared, signaling the start of another round. Sirius couldn't stop the response that had been engrained in him from his own time on the sand. His claws shot out, ticking against the metal banister and he parted his lips slightly to keep his fangs from cutting him.

But no darkness skittered around him, allowing him to change. 

All he could do was watch as she retreated to the center of the arena, knife in one hand, sword in the other. Her knee-high boots crunched lightly in the sand as she shifted, watching first one gate, then another.

There were three in total, and she had obviously been here long enough to know that the gate they would open would always be the one at her back. Her movements weren't jerky or frantic. They never had been, and he was practically salivating over every fluid, familiar motion.

He knew how she moved better than he knew anything. That, at least, wasn't something that had changed.

All the blood drained from his face when all three gates burst open and three Hell-beasts came tearing across the sand toward her. His hands clenched, claws squealing against the metal, but he found he couldn't move any more than that. He could barely even blink.

They were made of shadow and fire, flesh and blood. Wings flashed in their darkness. Claws and fangs glinted in the light. One of them shrieked at Galloway, who had barely moved.

Sirius tried to call out a warning, but his throat froze and the words got stuck.

She didn't need it anyway. 

A forepaw flashed out, talons sharp enough to gut her barely missing. Galloway's red-painted mouth opened in a wild laugh, and then she was a blur of movement, dodging and whirling through the reaching claws and slashing, spiked tails. Everywhere her sword flashed, dark blood sprayed.

The crowd bayed, groaning and cheering in turn.

Sirius was beginning to grin, watching as her lithe form danced circles around the massive beasts. They looked positively clumsy compared to her.

They weren't really. He knew they weren't. But she made them look that way.

Then Galloway grabbed the edge of a flared wing, using the momentum to fling herself onto the back of another beast. The sword flashed like lightning before she brought it down into the back of the creature's neck. The crowd screamed in dismay as the Hell-beast went boneless and slammed into the ground without even a death cry.

Galloway jumped free, rolling across the ground.

"She has no appreciation of a proper show," Hades complained, looking somehow dissatisfied. 

Rick scoffed, his eyes glued to the action as Galloway sprinted full-tilt at one of the two beasts still standing. She ducked a spiked tail, then went into a slide right between the front paws of the creature she'd been aiming for. 

Her sword bit into its soft underbelly, spilling its guts over her.

The crowd groaned its displeasure. 

"How's that for a show," Sirius hissed, watching as she got to her feet, trying to wipe the blood from her eyes.

Hades chuckled. "She's not finished by half."

Galloway's chest was heaving, her sword dangling at her side. She was still trying to wipe the blood out of her eyes. The final beast was pacing back and forth, sniffing at the bodies of its deceased brethren.

It shrieked its displeasure, bat-like wings flaring, sending smoke and ash billowing across the arena. Galloway screamed right back, the sound containing all of her rage and defiance. Perhaps some of her madness.

The sound made a knot draw itself tight around his heart. Whatever madness she'd suffered was his fault.

"Just kill it," he murmured, like she could hear him. "Just kill it and you're done."

Both Bane and Lucia laughed.

A moment later and he knew why. The Hell-beast lunged, sending Galloway skittering backward—right as a gaping hole opened behind her. Her cry of dismay as she was forced to fling herself sideways and to the ground had the crowd jeering.

Galloway scrambled out of the way just as a massive Hellhound came tearing from the hole. It swiped at her, claws tearing at her legs as it skidded over the sand. The Hound collided with the Hell-beast, which retaliated, giving Galloway enough time to regain her feet.

She began to circle as the creatures snarled and snapped at one another, looking for an opening.

Sirius' heart pounded against the backs of his ribs with enough force that he was sure they'd begin to splinter. His mouth was dry as Galloway stopped moving. Exhaustion was obvious in the slump of her shoulders. The fact that the sword was hanging loosely at her side. The way her chest heaved with every ragged breath.

How long had she been fighting today? Did Hades fight her like he'd fought Sirius? Until every muscle trembled with exhaustion and blackness tugged at the edge of her vision. Until she collapsed, bleeding so badly that her body had begun to shut down.

Sickness wrapped around his heart. What kind of monster was he that he could leave her down here in this?

Galloway rubbed at her eyes again, her face painted black. He silently begged for her to stay quiet. To rest and simply let the two monsters before her duke it out.

Then he watched in dismay and rapidly rising terror as she adjusted her grip on the knife, and raised her arm.

"Don't!" Rick shouted.

But it was too late, the knife was already winging through the air, graceful as a silver bird. It hit home, right in the Hell-beast's eye.

The creature reared up, clawing at the air as it shrieked, beaked mouth displaying serrated teeth. The Hellhound whirled to face the threat it had been meant to attack.

Wearily, Galloway lifted her sword.

While the Hell-beast continued to stumble around, batting at its face, trying to dislodge the knife, the Hellhound charged toward Galloway. She began to swear, a string of filthy words as she swung the sword. But the Hound was more agile than the beasts.

It dodged each swing, pressing steadily closer with each attack, forcing Galloway to retreat.

Sirius watched in horror as he saw what Galloway couldn't—that the Hound was pressing her around the arena, toward the enraged Hell-beast. He opened his mouth, but his vocal cords were still frozen.

She snarled, swinging the sword faster, and he wanted to cheer when dark blood started to sprinkle the sand.

"Keep moving like that," Rick murmured beside him. "Atta girl."

The Hound yelped, then darkness engulfed it. He was changing.

Now! Sirius wanted to scream. A Hellhound was at their most vulnerable right after a shift. It had taken him decades to learn how to use the shift during a fight without getting his ass handed to him.

Galloway lifted the sword over her head, teeth bared in determination. Then she froze, lips parting in shock.

"What is she doing?" Rick all but yelped. "Kill the fucking thing!"

"She doesn't want to," Hades said, self-satisfaction oozing from his words.

Sirius' knees turned rubbery as the darkness cleared and he saw what she was seeing. Before her stood a dark-haired child, no more than seven years old. The child cocked its head, and in a clear voice asked, "Are you going to hurt me, Mama?"

A horrified gasp burned Sirius' throat. Hades laughed, the slick sound more explanation than taunt. 

He didn't see the tail any more than Galloway did before it smashed into her side. A scream tore at his vocal cords as she went flying across the arena, smacking into the opposite wall of the pit with enough force that every single thing in the cavern heard the crack of broken bones.

She slid to the ground, a cry echoing above the cheering. Sirius began to thrash against the magic holding him as the Hell-beast stalked toward her, shadowed by the Hound.

Galloway struggled upright, her undamaged arm scrambling through the sand in search of her sword. When she found it, she pressed her back to the wall and tried to force herself to her feet.

She was shaking, bone protruding from just below her elbow. With gritted teeth, she raised the sword.

Useless as it was.

Tears streaked silently down his face as the Hell-beast fell on her, teeth and claws ripping into her. The crowd descended into madness as scarlet blood sprayed across the sand.

"She won't die," Bane taunted, delight shining in his green eyes. "She won't die until Hades lets her."

That was somehow more horrific than the fact that he was still watching the Hell-beast tear into her. A scream echoed over the jubilant crowd as the beast shook its head like a dog with a ragdoll.

"Stop it," Sirius rasped. He whirled around to face Hades and fell to his knees. "Please. Please stop."

Hades sighed in pleasure. "Sirius, you know how far you can get with me with a  little begging."

Sirius' palms collided with the floor. His pride had been torn to shreds, just like Galloway. Another scream pierced his ears.

He would not leave her like that a second time.

"Please, my lord," he begged. "Please."

"Hm," Hades mused. "I don't know. What's in it for me?"

Bile rose in his throat.

"Sirius," Rick whispered, a warning in his voice. Nyx's words came back to haunt him.

What wouldn't he promise?

Galloway screamed again and his teeth clenched. He'd spent time as a chewtoy for Hades' pets. He knew what was happening as surely as if he were watching it.

"Anything," he said frantically. "Anything that isn't her."

"Don't try to be clever, Sirius," Lucia said with a sigh. "You were never any good at it."

"Hush, Luci," Hades said. Then he snorted. "It's cute when he thinks he has something I want."

Sirius' heart splintered, his stomach heaving. "Please," he whispered one last time, knowing it was useless. "Whatever you want."

The silence stretched for eternity, the cheering of the crowd and the delighted shrieking of the creature becoming distant and tinny in his ears. Galloway was no longer screaming.

"Oh, very well," Hades said with a sigh. Sirius' head jerked up, his lips parting in disbelief. Hades flicked his fingers in acquiescence. "I suppose that will provide some entertainment."

Sirius didn't wait for another word. He flung himself off the balcony, falling into the arena. His feet thudded into the sand, and he tipped forward into a roll to keep from breaking his ankles.

The darkness still didn't heed his call. Obviously Hades didn't want him changing. It didn't matter. 

Sirius forced his breath slow even as his pupils dilated with the rush of adrenaline searing at his veins. His steps were muffled on the sand, though the crowd had broken out into confused murmurs. 

The Hell-beast and the Hound were still preoccupied with Galloway, the sand under them a churned, red-gold mess of sand sticky with blood. He crouched down, eyes still glued on her body, which was pinned beneath one of the beast's massive paws.

His hands found the hilt of the sword she'd been using.

Too late, the other Hound caught his scent. He whirled, but Sirius was already on top of him, sending the sword through the Hound's ribcage. The crowd howled its surprise and outrage.

The Hound blinked up at Sirius, shock registering in his bloodshot eyes. Sirius jerked the sword from his ribcage and the other Hellhound sighed in relief. Then he yelped in surprise when Sirius gutted him, claws opening his belly in one swift, brutal swipe.

His guts spilled onto the sand and he pulled the darkness to him, shifting into his human form. Hatchet-faced with slightly protruding muddy brown eyes, he was no one Sirius knew.

He certainly wasn't the child Galloway had thought he was.

Snarling, Sirius lunged forward, and the crowd roared as he buried his teeth in the other Hound's throat. Black mixed with the red and the Hell-beast shrieked as the scent of new blood finally hit it.

Sirius rolled sideways just as a massive paw smashed down. The other Hellhound was left nothing but a mess of pulvarized flesh and jutting bone. Sirius' gaze darted to Galloway, and he realized that Hades had been keeping a tight rein on the creature during her fight.

He wasn't anymore.

Claws flashed and he ducked, just to have the thing's tail smash into his chest, one of the spikes going through the soft tissue just above his hip bone. He flew across the pit and hit the wall, then the ground. Sand shoved itself into his mouth and nose as he attempted to draw in anything resembling a breath.

The ground shook as he pushed himself to his hands and knees.

"Move!" Rick screamed. "Move, damn you!"

Sirius was trying.

The gladius was still on the other side of the arena. Between him and it stood the Hell-beast, a hundred times his size and extraordinarily pissed. Its spiked tail whipped behind it, its wings flaring as it cut off any possible route to the sword.

Sirius forced himself to his feet, clutching the new wound in his side. The sight of blood made the crowd scream and pound their feet with delight.

The Hell-beast hissed at him, flames flickering in the mangy feathers around its head. Its beak drove forward, aiming to skewer him to the wall. Sirius stood stock still, struggling for breath.

At the last moment, the sharp beak barely half a foot away, he turned sideways. The thing's head sent him spinning, hitting with all the force of a battering ram as its beak gouged into the stone behind him.

His ribs cracked under the force, but he made himself run, weaving between the stunned beast's legs. The sharp end of a broken rib stabbed him, his lung collapsing and black spots danced in his vision. Metal finally glimmered at his feet.

Sirius fell to his knees and snatched it up, turning just in time to find the creature bearing down on him. Hatred lit its bulbous, black eyes. It opened its mouth in a wild screech, and Sirius threw the sword.

The arena fell silent to Sirius' ears, all eyes trained on the gleam of the blade as it flipped end over end.

It lodged in the roof of the creature's mouth with a sickening thud. The Hell-beast gave a startled squawk, its mouth slamming shut, forcing the blade home. Sirius backed up quickly as it staggered forward, still in pursuit of him.

The fire in its feathers went out, and the creature fell to the ground, the arena shuddering with the force of its collapse.

Sirius' chest heaved, struggling to breath against the vaccuum of his collapsed lung.

The arena had fallen eerily silent as he turned and limped as fast as he could to  Galloway. Falling to his knees beside her, he reached out a trembling hand, but was afraid to touch her. Then he blinked the sweat from his eyes. 

Her clothes were in shreds, her body savaged by the Hell-beast's brutal teeth. Sirius whined, watching as her chest rose and fell, the movement shallow. Her breath rasped wetly and her eyes were closed.

Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and gently touched her cheek. Blood rattled her breath in her throat as she gasped and tried to jerk upright. Sirius stared in horror.

How was she still conscious?

A cold wind was his answer, and Galloway began to quietly cry as the tears in her skin sealed slowly. The deepest wounds stopped bleeding, rended muscle and ripped skin repairing itself.

Her eyes flew open and she struggled to sit up.

The tears stopped just as quickly as they'd started, and her gaze landed on him. Sirius' heart stopped dead in his chest, his lips parting before he realized he had nothing to say.

Galloway blinked several times, breath hitching in pain as her body continued to repair itself. Voice scratchy, she said, "I told you what would happen if you came here like that again."

Brow furrowing, he opened his mouth, but didn't get the chance to speak. Moving faster than she should have been able to, she lunged at him, hands going around his throat.

Tears of rage splashed down onto his face as her ragged nails tore into his skin. He couldn't even move to stop her as she tried to kill him.

All he could do was smile, tears streaking down his temples into his hair. He lifted his arms, wrapping them around her and pulling her down into his chest. Her grip on his throat loosened as he stroked her tragically short hair.

"I told you," he whispered. "I told you I was coming to get you."

Galloway shuddered. "No."

Sirius froze.

Slowly, she got up off of him. She stood proud as any queen, sneering down at him, her clothes in tatters around her. That haughty expression he loved so dearly passed over her blood-stained face.

Her boot drove into his side, making him yelp as his already broken ribs stabbed more deeply into him. Galloway grinned, the expression savage and exultant as she kicked him again.

Sirius rolled away from a third strike and wobbled to his feet. Panic washed through him as he looked at her, really looked, and found not the slightest trace of that love he'd become so addicted to.

"He's not coming for me," she said coldly. "He's long gone, on some fucking beach in Mexico probably."

All Sirius could do was shake his head, bewildered. Who was she talking about?

Galloway turned her back on him, striding toward the nearest gate. Over her shoulder, she said, "The next fucking thing who comes wearing his face is going to get their guts yanked out through their mouth."

The gates slammed shut behind her, and Sirius fell to his knees, Hades' laugh ringing in his ears.