&Author’s note:

&Yume& fangirly squeal

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'Psychomachia', (c) Yumeko (Nibedita Sen) and Kasumi (Emily Pannell)

Role-played by Yume and Kasu.

Adapted into story format by Yume.

Yume: Envy, Greed, Pride, Chastity, Humility, Liberality, Kindness

Kasu: Lust, Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, Diligence, Patience, Abstinence

Chapter Ten

"What do you plan to do with me, then?"

Greed had stepped into the backroom for a moment, to check up on some of their supplies (the vodka suppliers were still absconding). Honestly, he had been glad to get away from the crowd and pounding music of the club for a moment. Lust was in one of her sullen, brooding moods--only growing worse as the hours ticked past and there was no sign of either Sloth or Wrath. Gluttony was, of course, his usual taciturn self. Even Envy had been ignoring him all evening, sitting with Pride instead. He was almost tempted to pout.

He was sorting through the assorted boxes piled in the storage room and checking them off on his clipboard, when the sound of the backdoor opening caught his attention. He turned, lowering the board...only to be met by the sight of a bruised but triumphant-looking Wrath sauntering in, followed by a puffing Sloth carrying a limp form over his shoulder.

Wrath smiled widely as she walked over to Sloth and picked up Liberality's slumped over head. "This is a Liberality, a virtue who is a complete sap. Thought I would like to bring something home with me, but I didn't think a basket would be good enough."

"You've got to be..." Greed paused for a moment, utterly dumbfounded. Then, a delighted smirk spread over his face as her words sunk in. For a moment, he didn't quite know whether to believe her. But there was no mistaking the familiar shivers running up his spine, the unmistakable effect of having his opposite here in such close proximity.

Striding over to Sloth, he grabbed the unconscious Virtue by his hair and lifted his head up, taking a good look. It was him, no doubt about it. The uncomfortable tingling sensation reached its peak, and he had to curl his free hand into a fist to restrain himself, tempted to take his opposite down here itself.

Releasing Liberality, he stepped back, grinning devilishly and gave the wearied-looking Sloth a thumbs-up. "I don't know how you two pulled this one off, but I'm can't wait to find out." He glanced at the door, wondering when his remaining brethren were going to show. They couldn't have failed to sense the aura of a Virtue within the building.

Sure enough, as if reading his thoughts, the door flew open the next instant, almost bouncing off its hinges. Pride bolted into the room and skidded to a halt a few feet away, eyes widening as she took in the sight. Envy entered close on her heels and at much the same pace, and promptly careened right into Pride's back as the latter came to her abrupt halt. It was actually comical.

Sloth gave a slight smirk as he laid Liberality against the wall, sitting down almost instantly in the seat nearby him, "Wrath came up with the idea, I just did the labor work." Which Greed gave him a weird look about. Since when did Sloth do labor work?.

The crowd now packed into the backroom now grew more as the door burst open once again; this time Lust with her nails extended. "Where is that virtue?! I swear..."

She stopped, however, when she saw Liberality out and on the floor, with Wrath and a tired Sloth beaming. Her nails receded to their normal size as she asked, "You were gone...all day... to catch him?"

When Wrath nodded, the scowl on Lust’s face vanished in an instant, and she instantly began to issue orders. "Greed, get Gluttony. We need to lock him up before he wakes up. Sloth...get some sleep, you look like you’re gonna collapse in that seat." Sloth murmured something under his breath as he straightened to his feet, and trudged out. "Wrath, come with me. Tell me about what happened while I fix you up. God, you look like hell right now..." Lust said, grabbing her arm as she pulled her out of the backroom, Wrath struggling in vain.

The remaining Sins cast slightly bemused glances at each other, then winced simultaneously as Lust’s distinctive voice cut through the air. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU STOLE MY RING?!"

x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o

"I have to get him?" Greed sighed heavily. Placing his clipboard down on a box, he shuffled slowly from the room, with one last smirking glance back at the unconscious Liberality. He closed the door behind him, and the room was silent once more, the sounds of the club blocked out.

"Heh," Envy snickered as the sounds of Lust's wrath (no pun intended) came drifting to them. "Whaddya think of that? She pulls off one move and suddenly she's Lust's darling."

"Yes well, Lust can have her for all I care." answered Pride dryly.

Snickering again, Envy strode forward and knelt down on the floor in front of the unconscious Virtue, whom Sloth had propped against the wall. "He doesn't look like much, does he?" she said critically, cocking her head to one side and surveying him. "Pretty pathetic, really." She turned to look up at him. "Any ideas what we're going to do with him?"

Pride gave a most unpleasant smile. "What else? We trade."

Before Envy could ask what that meant, the club door opened and Gluttony's hulking form entered. Giving the two only a cursory nod, he shambled over to Liberality’s limp form, and easily hoisted him up on his shoulder. Without a word, he then moved to the back exit and left in silence.

Envy quirked an eyebrow as Gluttony left the room. "Where do you suppose he's taking him?"

"The attic, probably." Pride checked her nails lazily, before lowering her hand to place it on her hip. "What I'm really interested in, is knowing how they managed to do it. Ah well." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, and headed towards the door. "I imagine we'll get to hear the whole story before long."

"I suppose." Envy followed Pride back out into the bar, wincing a little as the bright lights and music hit her once more after the relative quiet and dimness of the back room. A frown tugged at her eyes as she looked across the crowded dance floor, wondering where Greed had gone to.

Her attention was caught by a most peculiar noise, that sounded like the sound a balloon made when not tied tightly enough. Turning, her eyebrows shot up into her hairline at the discovery that it was Pride who was making the noise. The older Sin's hand was pressed tightly over her mouth, and she was trying, very unsuccessfully, to stifle peals of laughter.

"Holy...crap..." Pride managed to choke out, between snickers. She raised her hand and jabbed her finger at something behind Envy.

"Eh?" Envy spun around, and the next instant, doubled up in laughter herself as she caught sight of Wrath approaching them across the floor, looking very disgruntled. It wasn't the presence of her fellow Sin that was so funny, it was the fact that she was absolutely caked in excessive amounts of white powder, eye shadow and makeup, which she was attempting to rub off as she approached...unfortunately, only succeeding in smudging it more in the process.

"Shut up..." Wrath mumbled, trying to get the lipstick off. She didn't really blame them for laughing at her, she would have done the same if one of them got the same treatment. Feeling like an idiot, she stalked past Envy and Pride and towards the ladies room. She slammed the door behind her as she glanced in the mirrors.

O god, I look like I'm in the circus, she thought despairingly as she yanked out some paper towels and started the water.

Ah well. Not even this could spoil her good temper right now. Her fingers tightened around the damp napkin she was dabbing at her face, a smirk unconsciously spreading over her features.

x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o

The club was dimly lit for once, the only lights coming from the high windows. The Inferno had closed awhile ago. Of course, the club’s hours being what they were, it was nearing dawn by now. Around now, the sins would heading up to their rooms to get some much needed sleep, but instead they were all gathered around facing Wrath and Sloth.

Seeing as all the attention was on them, Wrath decided to begin the story.

"It really wasn't that hard to do. Basically, the idea was to get one of the virtues to begin to trust me enough. However, there were some things I needed to do to do that. As you may have figured out, I was the one who told the virtues about where Gluttony and Pride were going to be that day. “ She raised a hand to forestall any outbursts. “It wasn't because I was going against the sins, it was just a part of my plan to make them believe I was. Another thing I needed to do was periodically visit one of them, so I chose Liberality. It would usually be in a public location, where they wouldn't dare lift a finger to fight. It made it much more easier to talk to him, let him think he was getting to know me.

"Now for the capture, I needed the help of Sloth. The one message I needed to give out was I wasn't a follower of the sins anymore. So, I had Sloth beat me up to make Liberality believe that you guys had done it. It also gave him a good reason for him to get away from the church, for the aura would be bringing me pain. Now, I told Lust I stole one of her rings, but it was to disguise Sloth's aura, making it seem like he wasn't there at all. Then, I pulled Liberality into the nearby alleyway, and Sloth used his ability to knock him out. And from there, we carried Liberality back to the Inferno."

Wrath leaned back as she finished her story, looking around at the sins. Sloth only nodded in agreement, yawning as he did so. He didn't really feel like telling the story at all. Partly because he was still tired, and because he knew Wrath would want to tell how she came up with everything.

Envy laughed, breaking the silence that reigned following Wrath's narration, though there was a distinctly displeased tone to her voice. "Well I gotta admit, you've outdone yourself this time," she commented sulkily, leaning forward to place her hands on her knees. The others murmured assent, except Greed, who had a less than pleased look on his face for some reason.

Pride--perched up on the bar behind Envy--rapped her knuckles sharply on the counter, calling their attention. "Well that's not the important thing," she said sharply. "Question is, what do we do with him now that we have him?" She looked around at her fellows. "I say we use him as leverage."

Lust stood up as she said, "I think that we should exchange him for someone, but who? Any good suggestions?"

Sloth yawned again as he said, "We should trade him for Diligence. It'd be a hard decision for them to make. Plus, should we even give him away? I think we should take care of both of them..." Lust nodded in approval, then turned her attention to Wrath as she burst out of her seat.

"No way!" Wrath intervened, "I think we should go for their leader, Humility. Make it so much easier to strike at them."

"You're assuming that the Virtues are even going to agree to trade," Envy said pointedly, scowling.

"Please," Pride said dismissively, earning a glare. "You know what those simpering goody-two-shoes are like. They'd never abandon one of their own, especially when they're already one member short."

Greed spoke up, abandoning his sulk for a few moments. "Don't place too much weight on that. You know Abstinence will just have been reincarnated the instant he died." He shrugged, and leaned back in his seat once more, tilting the chair back.

Pride gave him an icy look. "Yes, but we don't have to worry about the new Abstinence--wherever, whoever he or she may be--for a good many years yet. The Virtues believe in allowing their fellows to 'come naturally into the realization of their being'." The disgust in her voice was palpable.

"I wasn't saying they’d abandon them. Please, they're too holier-than-thou for that. What I'm saying is, what if they try to pull something, or attack us to get him back?" Envy shot Pride an irate look.

"Easy," Pride said, smirking. "We'll just have to make it clear to them that he's dead if they try anything of the sort."

"Whatever we decide, we'll finish it up tomorrow." Lust said, making herself known again. "We're tired, we've been up all night. Let's head out for tonight, and decide what to do with Liberality tomorrow." Everyone nodded in agreement, standing up and leaving the room. Lust stopped Wrath while she said, "Go check up on the virtue. I'm sure he's dying for some company." She gave her a pat on the shoulder and walked off before Wrath could respond.

Why me?!

"Heh, good luck with that, Wrath." Pride commented. She stretched, yawning. "I'm heading off, then. Envy, you coming?"

Envy hesitated for a moment, glancing between Pride and Greed, who had resumed his sullen expression. "Go on," she said eventually. "I'll be there in a while." Pride's eyes narrowed, but she did not comment. Lowering her arms, she cast a distinctly displeased look at Greed, before turning to stalk off towards the back staircase.

With a little sigh, Envy turned back to Greed. She waited till the rest of her fellows had dispersed, and then walked over to him. "Oi," she said, with some asperity. She extended one sneakered foot and nudged his. "What's up with you?"

Greed looked up sulkily. "Me? Oh nothing. I just had to spend an hour outside doing Gluttony's job for him while he wandered around the club after seeing to the Virtue! Following Lust around, most likely!"

Envy's lips twitched. "You mean...you had to...oh dear God." She sat abruptly down on a vacant barstool, and doubled over in paroxysms of laughter, clutching her midriff.

"It's not funny!" Greed whined. "You try being stuck out there for an hour having people shove at you, tread all over your toes, and call you names when you say they can't get in!" This only made Envy laugh harder, till she was practically falling off her stool.

"And here I was thinking it was something serious..." she managed to choke out.

"It is!"

"Suuuuure." Envy wiped tears from her eyes, still hiccupping with laughter. "Hey, since you're obviously so good at it, maybe we should talk to Lust about getting you the job permanently..."

Greed scowled, expression thunderous. "Why you—” Envy dashed behind the safety of the bar as he sprung up from his seat.

“Nyaaa,” she commented cheekily, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Okay, that does it.” Greed sprung at her, a smirk on his face. Envy dodged, and he chased her around around the club floor for a few minutes, both of them dodging and weaving between the furniture and debris, before he finally managed to catch up with her. Grabbing her from behind, he wrapped one arm around her waist and all but hoisted her off her feet while he tickled her mercilessly with his free hand, to the accompaniment of squeals and giggles from Envy.

“Stop that!” she yelped, bringing her heel down hard on his foot. He yelped and dropped her, and she half-stumbled half-ran across the floor to the stairwell door. Recovering, Greed didn’t hesitate to give chase, and even as the door banged shut behind them both, peals of laughter and thumps echoed all the way up the stairs.

x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o

Wrath sighed as she heard Pride's comment, not too happy about what she had to do. She had hoped she could stay away from Liberality after catching him, but now she had to go and watch him. Great, just flipping great, Wrath thought, opening up a door toward the end of the second floor hallway. She looked up at the chilly dark attic, a chill going up her spine from being able to sense the virtue. With another sigh, she grabbed the railing and walked up.

She looked around the attic, seeing the ancient boxes and grey white statues, until her eyes fell upon where the only light was coming from. Lying near the sole flashlight was Liberality, his arms clearly tied up to the wall behind him. He looks so pathetic, just lying there, Wrath thought as she sat down about three feet away from him. She could see the pain in his face, knowing well that Sloth's ability was making him have his worst nightmares.

I guess I'll be kind enough to wake him up. She glanced around, looking for something she could poke him with. Seeing a dust covered candlestick, she walked over and picked it up, going back to Liberality's sleeping form. "Hey, wake up..." she said with asperity, poking him a bit in the chest with the candlestick.

x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o.x.o

Darkness. There was darkness all around. Not the usual, run of the mill kind of darkness, but one that seemed so malignant, so perversely clinging, that it was almost as if it was alive.

"Dil?" he called out frantically, whirling around. The blackness stretched like a solid wall on all four sides, utterly impenetrable. "Kindness? Patience? Humility? Chastity? Anyone?" He broke into a run. Still, no matter how far he ran, the darkness just stretched on infinitely, and no answers came from his fellows.

"Where are you all?" he all but yelled finally. Exhausted, he came to a stop and bent over, placing his hands on his knees and taking in deep shuddering breaths. He could feel panic gripping at him now.

Something poked him hard, in the chest, and he cried out and stepped back. He was poked again, and then abruptly, the darkness dissolved, swirling to form instead the outlines of a small, dim room with boxes scattered all over the floor. He was lying slouched in an uncomfortable position against the wall...and, as he discovered when he attempted to move, his hands were shackled to said wall.

What...the memory of his encounter with Wrath came rushing back to him, and he sucked in his breath quickly, eyes widening. It was just then than he sensed a presence in front of him, and looked up to see Wrath crouched in front of him, smirking.

For the time being, words failed him, so strong was the anger and humiliation he felt. So, he just glared wordlessly back at her, eyes filled with hurt and rage.

"Hey hunk, how was your sleep? Must have been hell, Sloth says he can make someone have their worst nightmare." Wrath said, placing the candlestick down and sat where she had first sat down. She could tell where it was, the dust had a clean patch where she had placed herself. As Liberality continued to seethe, she continued, "Aw, you’re not going to talk to me? Don't worry, we don't plan on keeping you a guest here for very long." She moved herself so she could stretch out on her side, propping her hand up on her hand.

"You--" Liberality opened his mouth angrily, but then shut it again. There was no way to express what he was feeling right now in words. He wanted to bang his head against the floor, and would have if he could. He was such an idiot! Walking right into her trap, falling for it like a gullible five-year old...And worse yet, his stupidity was going to go on to hurt his fellow Virtues too, now.

So instead, he pressed his lips tightly together and turned his head away, looking off to the side. Silence reigned for a few moments, and then he spoke, voice tight and full of barely-repressed anger. "What do you plan to do with me, then?"

Wrath laughed as she got close to him and said, "Now why should I tell you something like that? But since you look so cute when you’re angry, I will tell that we're most likely going to trade you for someone else. Can't tell you who though, not even we have decided on that." Wrath tapped her chin mock thoughtfully. "You want to know something? I didn't kidnap you for the sins, I just decided in the end to give you to them. I did it…" She leaned in, close to his face again, "I did it because I wanted to."

Liberality bit down so hard on his lip to keep himself from bursting out, he drew blood. Still, he managed to restrain himself, and looked away once more, face expressionless. He was not going to give her the pleasure of seeing him riled up. Even if it was a little late.

Just go away...

"Pssh, I was hoping for something better. Fine, I'll go because you’re boring me." Wrath said, standing up with a yawn. "I'll be seeing you later, hunk." She blew a kiss in his direction before turning to stride over to the door. Finally, with a slam of the door, she was gone.

A/N:

&Yume& Erm...please review? O.o