It was the organisers greatest fear: when the safety equipment malfunctioned.

Screams were heard when they saw the young boy's buckle on the safety harness fail, causing him to fall out of it and downwards. The rope that was holding Kyle up was connected to the waist strap, and the waist strap was held together by the buckle. Thus, when the buckle opened up, Kyle no longer had anything to hold him to the rope.

However, to everyone's amazement, the moment Kyle fell backward and looked like he was falling down headfirst, his leg reached out straight and wrapped itself on the rope above the safety harness. It stopped him from falling and he simply indicated to the people below to continue letting him down.

They did so quickly.

As he was being lowered, Kyle brought himself up and held onto the rope before untangling his foot from it. Once he was close to the ground, Kyle simply jumped down. The moment he did so, he was surrounded by the officials who wanted to make sure that he was alright.

That, and to placate him so that he wouldn't sue them for the faulty equipment.

"Go get that checked out!" one official barked, pointing at the safety harness. "And who was it that checked it before he went up?"

Another official checked the name list and looked around, "He's not here."

"Well, GO FIND HIM!" the guy roared.

He turned to Kyle, and asked worriedly, "Are you hurt anywhere? We're so sorry for this unfortunate incident. We'll get to the bottom of this."

Kyle nodded, saying, "I'm fine. My reflexes are quick enough for something this small."

The official couldn't say anything to that. It was true. The quick reflexes of the young man in front of him not only avoided serious injury - if not death - it also saved the competition. If something that major had happened, the entire competition would have to be shut down. Even now, the higher-ups were frantically trying to salvage the situation.

Kyle looked around the crowd, seemingly out of boredom as the official prattled on. His eyes narrowed a bit as he spotted one figure hurriedly leaving the area.

.:*・°☆...:*・.:*・°☆...:*・

[Warning: R18]

Nitocris sighed.

He stood there stoically, watching with indifference as his Boss started another one of his rampages while making mental notes about the things that he would need to replace later. After the last incident with Kyle, Nitocris actually bought in bulk of all the items that the Boss had in the office. His intuition told him that he would need it.

He was right.

May was standing at one corner, shivering as she hugged herself and holding on to the leash of her own collar. Although it was scary to see, she preferred the Boss smashing things up as it was far better than having him pay any attention to her. Doing things to her that made her cringe.

Yet, at the same time, she felt pity for him as she watched him throwing things about.

She would remember how nice he could be, saying such sweet nothings to her at night and even treat her gently. Apologizing each time after each abusive act, pouring out his heart about his lack of control and how she soothed him in this manner.

She felt like she was going crazy. She must be going crazy. How could she even pity the man that did such things to her?

What May didn't know was that the Boss was imprinting himself on her. Making her become dependent on him in the worst possible way. Total domination and control.

Stockholm Syndrome.

It develops when one is placed in a situation where they feel intense fear of physical harm and believe all control is in the hands of their tormentor. Their tormentor was both their saviour and their abuser. The human brain kicks in as a survival strategy for the victims. When you are at the depths of despair, a word or act of kindness would bring you back up.

The victims start feeling sympathy and concern for the tormentor's sufferings. They start making excuses for the abuse they fall under and even welcome it in the end, so long as the tormentor treats them well afterward.

Nitocris noted the conflicted emotions going through May's face and sighed.

The Boss loved this game. Take pure, innocent girls and ruin them. Make them completely dependent upon him. Control them completely. However, once he reached this stage, he got bored of them and killed them. Seeing their eyes looking at him in fear and confusion, wondering until their last breath what they did wrong.

Nitocris looked away and waited. Finally, after venting, the Boss sat down, his breathing heavy.

"How the hell did he escape this time?" the man demanded.

"Everything had been executed according to plan. The screws from the holds of the higher levels of the Wall taken out to loosen it, the volunteer in charge of Kyle's safety harness had unlocked the buckle before Kyle went up," Nitocris dictated from the report Drako gave,

"And??! If all was so great, how is he still alive??!" Boss exploded, banging the table hard.

Nitocris didn't even flinch as he said, "Kyle simply avoided all of the holds that were loose, and when the buckle failed upon descending, he managed to grab hold of the rope with his foot," Nitocris summarised.

The man in front of him started looking like he was ready to explode.

"Loose ends?" he growled.

"Volunteer - and his daughter that we used to threaten him - are dead. Dumped them at the normal place. Fake safety officers that took out the screws are dead as well, their car plunging down the cliff," Nitocris replied.

The man nodded, satisfied, "Tell Drako to go to the next stage. He can use the Squad," the man said, "I. Want. This. Damn. Boy. Dead. DEAD. Do you hear me? D.E.A.D. DEAD!!"

Nitocris suppressed an eye roll and answered as normal, "Yes, Sir. Dead. Got it, Sir."

The Boss glared at him then barked at May, "Come here!!"

She jerked, and slowly made her way to him. When she saw his face scrunched up in annoyance, she quickly ran over. He grabbed her arm, pulling her onto his lap.

"Do it," he commanded, looking at her in the eye.

Nitocris said, "If that is all, Sir, I will take my leave now."

The Boss grunted as he watched May's trembling hands unbuckle his belt. Seeing this trembling bunny trying so hard made him want to pound himself into her even harder. He waited as she released his thick shaft from the confines of his pants and positioned it at her entrance.

May rubbed the tip at her entrance in an attempt to get herself wet first so that it wouldn't be painful when it went in. However, the Boss was not willing to wait and so he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her down savagely onto his shaft, relishing the flash of pain that flitted over her face.

Nitocris was at the door, his hand on the handle when he said, "Mother is expecting you tonight. Please don't be late."

The man grunted, holding May down as he looked at the stiff back of his son, and replied, "Noted." He then looked at May and commanded, "Move."

May closed her eyes, tears glistening and started moving, biting back the pain she was feeling as the thing was inside her when she was still so dry. She felt the straps of her negligee being pushed aside, and fall down, exposing her twin peaks to the Boss's rough hands and slobbering mouth.

Nitocris walked out.

Once outside, Nitocris punched the wall in frustration, hardly caring if the Beast inside there heard him. Knowing that the same blood ran through his own body made him want to puke. Yet, he couldn't deny it. His cold, ruthless and apathetic nature was similar to the man that he refused to call Father.

The only light in his life was his Mother. He could never understand how she ended up with that man in the first place. Ever since the accident, she had completely forgotten her past and her pain. She was now living happily in a fantasy world that she created for herself. A perfect family with a filial son and doting husband.

The filial son was true. The doting husband? Laughable.

Right now, that 'doting husband' was the only reason his Mother was happy. Nitocris would do anything for his Mother. His Mother was the one protecting him and showering him with her unconditional love as he grew up. She was the one that saved him from the abyss of torture and pain.

She was also the one that tried to get him away from this life ... and that was the reason she got into the accident in the first place. It was his fault that his mother turned out this way. When he saw her broken body, held up and being kept alive with all those wires and machines, he vowed that he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her. When she woke up without any memories of her past life but instead, had a fantasy life, Nitocris knew what he had to do.

He made a deal with the Devil.

He would serve that Devil of a father and in return, the Devil would turn into a doting husband in front of her. Nitocris was the Devil's only son and the only heir on his Mother's side. His Father had the power he did through marriage and if he was to lose his wife and son, he would also lose that powerful backing.

No longer would Nitocris fight his father and cause problems. He became his most trusted right-hand man that got the job done, no matter what it was. His father was extremely satisfied and would always keep his side of the bargain in order not to lose such a precious commodity.

Nitocris gritted his teeth and looked at the injury on his knuckles. He sighed. His emotions got the better of him this time. It can't happen again.

Nitocris walked off to get it treated before going to meet with his mother.