"Oh… damn," Banksy breathed as a small contingent of guards approached them with Sani in the lead. He was a tall, slender man with a pencil thin moustache. A frown was etched upon his face as he paused in front of the group. He looked down at Romeo with disdain, before glancing at Banksy, and finally letting his eyes fall on Azalea.

"Oh, my dear, even you?" Sani sighed and pointed at her. Two guards quickly moved to grab her, but Banksy stepped in their way. He lifted up his fists, completely lacking in confidence but ready to attack never the less, but a thin sword was plunged into his side before he could even begin to cock back his arm. With a cry he fell the floor. Azalea let out a near silent gasp and Romeo cursed.

"No, no, wait, don't kill him," Sani ordered as the guard who stabbed Banksy lifted his blade for the finishing blow. "Don't kill either of them. If she won't talk, I'm sure one of them will. At the very least, I can at least get some useful numbers out of them before they die."

"Fuck you." Romeo managed to gasp out as he was roughly pulled up from the ground by the guards. Banksy soon followed, his wound burning with every jostle as they were escorted back into the lab and down another hallway. The room at the end of this hallway did not contain a vault; instead it contained a series of metal chairs and tables. Banksy noted with apprehension the straps and chains that adorned them.

"The loud one," Sani pointed at Romeo. "I'm sure I saw him use magic, so put him on that table there. Make sure to secure him well."

"What about this one?" The man holding Banksy aloft shook him roughly.

"Hmmm." Sani leaned down and peered at Banksy. "Can you use magic?"

Banksy didn't respond and Sani's eyes moved to the rings hanging around Banksy's neck and the few that still adorned his fingers.

"I suppose that would be a no then, otherwise I doubt you would need so many of these." Sani said as he tugged on Banksy's necklace. He looked at the guard. "Put him in that chair and restrain him. He presents an interesting test subject."

"Harold." Azalea struggled to free herself, but the guards held her tight. "Harold, please, you don't understand."

"Oh, I understand quite well," Sani said as he removed his jacket and began to move around the room, taking a moment to wash his hands. "I understand that you have been a snake in my organization. I understand you were attempting to steal my valuable research. I understand you hired these thieves to assist you. From where? I cannot say. But I am going to find out."

"Harold," Azalea said quietly, tears leaking from her eyes. “Please.”

"Such sweet tears." Sani gave her a sad smile, reaching out and brushing away a stray tear with his thumb. "But I'm afraid I won't fall for them. Not this time, my dear. Take her away. I wish to speak to these two alone."

"Sir!" The guards quickly filed out of the room, taking the crying Azalea with them and leaving Sani alone with the restrained Romeo and Banksy.

"Now, then.” Sani went up to a cabinet and removed a small glass box. Slowly he opened the case and removed two syringes, one filled with green liquid and the other with blue. He turned back to them with the green one in hand. "Shall we begin?"

"Piss off,” Romeo growled.

"I'm afraid that's out of the question," Sani said as he stepped to Romeo and pressed the needle into his arm. Romeo strained against his bindings but to no avail. With a slow, deliberate movement, Sani injected half of the serum into Romeo's bloodstream. Smiling, he moved to Banksy.

"Hey!" Romeo yelled. "What is this? What are you doing to us?"

"Oh, I'm just testing something," Sani said as he jabbed the needle into Banksy's arm and injected the remainder. “Getting subjects for this part is always somewhat… difficult, you see. Though I suspect it will only continue to become easier.”

"Testing what?" Banksy said as his arm went numb.

"This the newest concoction we have come up with. A sister serum to that blue compound, which is a booster, of sorts. It's very technical so I will spare you the details of how, but I have found just the right combination to eat away at the bodies of a magic user. All in the name of finding what will help them, of course. Must study the poison to find the cure, I'm sure you know. Much like you must break into a safe to create a better safe, isn’t that right, my thieving friend?”

"Drop the act, we know you're a Son of Ash," Romeo said.

Sani laughed at that. "Oh, do you now?"

"Yeah, and everyone else knows too so if you don't let us out, that information is gonna get leaked, big time!"

"I see. Then I will have to deal with that matter when it comes up, though I am not very worried. I am more what you might consider… an outside contractor? While I do not disagree with the objectives of the Sons of Ash, I myself am more motivated by my research. Now, as to the matter at hand." Sani cleared his throat. "The poison I have injected you with will begin to kill you quite quickly. It will eat away at you. Devour the magic that permeates your very being. Then, you will simply fade away. There is, or course, an antidote and I am more than willing to give it to you, but-"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Fuck off, we ain't talking," Romeo snarled as he struggled against his restraints.

"But," Sani continued, ignoring Romeo. "If you wish to receive the antidote, you will need to answer my questions. All of my questions."

"Didn't you hear the idiot? We ain't talking, so fuck off," Banksy said, forcing more bravado into his words than he felt. He could already feel the poison coursing through his veins, slowing down his heart with every beat.

"Such bravery," Sani sighed before he leaned down and rested his hand on Banksy's shoulder. "You don't have magic of your own. Instead, you use magical items. That should have left residual magic on your being. I'm sure this poison will kill you the same as it will kill your friend. The only difference is, he will die much faster and with considerably more pain than you will. So, if you can watch him die, then feel free to stay silent, but if not..." Sani straightened up and retrieved his jacket before moving to the door. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have to deal with my fiancée. I will be back quite soon, I'm sure. Try not to die until then."

The door clicked shut and Romeo let out a groan, "That guy is suuuuuuch an asshole. And what's he talking about, Fiancée? Who would marry that guy?"

"Azalea, apparently."

"Oh…." Romeo let out a dramatic sigh. "Of course."

"Yeah," Banksy said and the two fell into a heavy silence as the poison wormed its way through their respective bodies. Banksy lost count of how many minutes had gone by before he realized his eyes had started to close. He jerked back awake and looked over at Romeo, but couldn't clearly make out the mage’s face. He felt a weight settle on his chest.

"You still alive?" Romeo suddenly called out. The words were heavy and it took Banksy a moment to process them and find a reply.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I'll live longer than you."

"Good. I don't want the last thing I hear in this world to be you bitching and moaning."

"Oh shuttup," Banksy half sighed and the silence returned for a time before Romeo again broke it.

"So, since we're going to die anyway," Romeo tugged weakly as his restraints and glanced over at Banksy. "There is something I've been wanting to get off my chest. Man to man. Well, you're mostly a man."

"Don't be dramatic, we're not going to die, idiot," Banksy said, but the words came with effort and his body slumped over another few inches in his chair. "We'll…. get out."

"Yeah, you're right." Romeo gave a weak smile. "But just in case, I want you to know… I know you didn't screw me over. With Azalea and that vase."

"Romeo... You don't-"

"I do," Romeo sighed. He could feel his heart beginning to slow down and his eyes were growing heavier by the second. "I wasn't really mad at you. Well, sure I was a little mad at you, you did break the bro-code. You have to wait at least two weeks to date your friend’s ex. Dick."

"That's fair," Banksy breathed out a laugh. He tasted blood in his mouth.

"I was mad at myself." Romeo sucked in a reedy breath and held it for a moment. He didn't know how many more he was going to get. "My parents, they're nobles you know? And I love them and they're great… but they weren't around much. No one was. I was alone a lot. That's why I started travelling. I just wanted to find… to find something. I wasn’t sure what, and maybe I’m still not… but, Azalea… man, I thought I found it with her. What I was looking for. I really thought she cared about me. She played me good. I can't even be mad. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. She played me better than I ever played anyone else."

"Not like you're the only one," Banksy murmured. "I knew too. I just… "

"Didn't want to put all the pieces together?" Romeo offered.

"Yeah… I didn't want to see it. I just wanted someone to blame besides myself." Banksy let out a weak laugh. "Funny what pride makes you do, huh?"

"Yeah, you were pretty pathetic." Romeo lifted up his head and shot Banksy a grim smile before falling back against the table with a dull thud. "I'm real sorry, Banksy. About all of it. I shoulda said that sooner and all."

"Yeah, I should have, too," Banksy said as he lost the strength to hold his head up.

"Just so you know, this still doesn't mean I like you," Romeo said after a few moments of silence. "I just wanted to clear this up before… well just before."

"That's fine, I never liked you anyways. I should have told Lexi to kick you out day one," Banksy replied without missing a beat. He struggled keep his eyes open and had no doubt Romeo was having just as much trouble, if not more. They had to get out of the restraints.

"Now that we got that settled, and not to pressure you or anything…" Romeo's voice sounded like it was coming from very far away. "But I really don't actually want to die. So, if you could go ahead and do that thing you do where you pick the lock or whatever and escape like the sneaky little bastard you are. That'd be great."

"No lock. Can't pick what isn't there," Banksy said. The world was beginning to spin and black was eating at the edges of his vision. He looked down at the leather that held him tightly in place. The straps were thick and heavy, too solid for him to break out of by force and too tight for him to try to wiggle free from. With a groan he lugged his head to the side to the table that Romeo was chained to. A series of thick metal bands held the mage down, keeping his body firmly locked into place. Banksy blinked multiple times as a plan began to formulate in his hazy mind.

Leather.

No lock.

Romeo.

Mage.

Leather.

Lightning.

"Romeo."

There was no reply.

“Romeo!”

Still the mage remained silent.

Running his tongue over his dry, and cracked lips, Banksy sucked in a gulp of air and yelled with all his might, "Hey dumbass!"

"Wha?" Romeo's body twitched. "What happened? Am I dead? Is this heaven? Why are you here? Oh man, this is hell isn't it?"

"Shut up," Banksy gritted out. He already didn't like this plan. "Romeo, do you have any magic power left?"

Romeo moaned. "Maybe?"

"Okay. Okay. Okay, Fuck, I really don't want to do this."

"Do what?"

"I need you to shoot at me with everything you've got."

"…Really?" Even being at death's doorstep couldn't keep the glee from Romeo's voice. This was almost a dream come true. So long as you ignored the whole 'might be about to die' part. "You're serious? Everything?"

"Try, Romeo, really try, to hit the leather with most of it. If a strong enough… strong enough…" Banksy's brain refused to cooperate and he couldn't find the words to adequately describe his plan. "If you use enough power, the leather might ignite or something." Banksy couldn't believe how stupid that plan sounded aloud. "Please, please, please don't kill me. I'd rather die of this fucking poison than die by your hand."

"Well, if it doesn't work we're dead either way, so no one is gonna know, right?" Romeo said as he angled his pointer finger towards Banksy and closed one eye in concentration. "You ready for this?"

Banksy swallowed hard and screwed his eyes shut "Maybe we should think of a better plan?"

"Too late. We need to get out here and save Azalea. Beside I like this plan!" Romeo said as a bolt of lightning discharged from his fingertip and streaked towards Banksy. The young thief only had time to curse before the bolt impacted with his body.