"Can you..." Changkyun swallowed, gesturing vaguely to Minhyuk.

Minhyuk nodded, crossing the room and sitting on his bed, crossing his legs as he held out a hand to Changkyun. "I'll need something of his."

"Right," Changkyun said, startling as he ruffled through his pockets before hesitantly producing Hyungwon's collar. His fingers curled around it before he took a deep breath and placed it in Minhyuk's waiting hand. "Be careful with it," he instructed automatically, his face tightening as he tried not to let his emotion get to him.

Minhyuk just nodded, turning the collar over gingerly and reading the tag with gentle eyes before looking up at Changkyun and nodding. "All right, I'm ready."

Changkyun have a terse nod, taking several steps back to give Minhyuk space.

Taehyung and the others watched as Minhyuk closed his eyes, his hands glowing a warm yellow as he traced several characters in the air before picking up the collar. The yellow light spread to the collar, enveloping it, and then the light began to fade, first from the collar and then from Minhyuk's hands.

When he opened his eyes, they were yellow.

His body started to shake involuntarily, and his spine caved in a bit as his frame lost its confidence. His head abruptly snapped to the left, and he gasped, mouth opening before he closed it, biting his lip. His shoulders hunched as his lower lip wobbled, but his eyes remained open, still illuminated by the strange yellow light.

"No," he whispered, his voice desperate, hoping, questioning, beseeching.

His head snapped to the right several moments later as he flinched, his shoulders hunching up once more in a feeble attempt to protect himself. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tightly. "No. No, no, no-"

Changkyun looked on with tortured eyes as Minhyuk's body convulsed in agony.

From Minhyuk's shut eyelids crept silent tears, and that was what finally broke Changkyun.

"Hyungwon," he said, lunging forward and grabbing Minhyuk by the shoulders, shaking him. "Hyungwon! Please! I'm here! Please, stop, I'm begging you-"

The golden light faded and Minhyuk opened his eyes, looked up at Changkyun sadly.

Changkyun's fingers dug into his shoulders. "Bring him back," Changkyun commanded, his voice steel in contrast with his wet eyes. "Bring him back right now."

"I can't," Minhyuk said, shrinking back. "I can't sustain it for long. And you broke the connection when you made contact with me. I won't be able to try again for at least a day."

Changkyun let go of Minhyuk, stepping back, and he put his hands in his pockets to keep them from shaking or unjustly punching anyone. Pain and anger could be easily mistaken for one another, and he couldn't differentiate between the two at the moment.

"That was Hyungwon?" Taehyung asked, looking to Minhyuk, who returned his gaze with a sad smile.

"Not exactly," Minhyuk said, running a hand through his hair. His hand was also shaking. "My ability lets me mirror the physical condition of someone else. I can't hear what they're hearing or think what they're thinking, just mirror the physical components. It's like making a copy."

"Did he see us?" Taehyung asked, biting his lip. He felt indescribably nervous at the thought of Hyungwon seeing him after what he'd done. He hadn't done enough yet to make up for his past actions. He wasn't ready to face Hyungwon yet.

He sighed in relief as Minhyuk shook his head. "He will have no knowledge that it ever happened. That's why it's kind of like a two-way mirror. I can see him in a sense, but he can't see me or any of you."

"He's alive," Changkyun said, the only consolation he could pull out of the session.

"Undoubtedly," Minhyuk confirmed. "But why did Seungcheol even want him? Seungcheol doesn't care about humans, and he probably has his own familiar or conduit. So why did he bother to piss you off to get to him?"

Changkyun's face darkened, but instead of answering Minhyuk's question, he stormed out of the room, leaving Jooheon to throw Taehyung a worried look before following after him.

***

"Changkyun," Seungcheol repeated, smacking Hyungwon, and he felt his head snap to the left.

In some desensitized part of his brain, he was amazed that his face still had feeling, that it could still feel pain. He'd been kneeling for hours or maybe days or years. He'd never had a good estimate of time. A different part of his brain wanted to respond to the name, but he knew that he wasn't supposed to talk unless Sungcheol wanted him to talk, so he kept quiet.

"He knows where you are," Seungcheol whispered. "He's the most powerful witch there is. If he wanted to, he could teleport here right this very instant and reclaim you. If he wanted to. But he doesn't want to, because he doesn't care about you."

"No," Hyungwon whispered, forgetting about the rule, and he hunched his shoulders up, wincing preemptively, but Seungcheol was merciful enough to let his mistake slide.

"He never cared about you," Seungcheol continued. "He just wanted to use your power. He's done it before, right? Used you as a conduit for his magic? Im Changkyun."

Another slap, and Hyungwon felt his eyes start to water from the pain. Why wasn't Changkyun coming for him? Why wasn't Changkyun saving him?

"You think he would have taken you off the streets if you had been useless to him?" Seungcheol laughed, a dark, ugly sound that always seemed to be refracting somewhere in the depths of Hyungwon's crumbling mind. "You think he would have given you food, clothing, and pretty things if you didn't have anything to offer him?"

Hyungwon tried to physically shrink away from Seungcheol's words, contracting his muscles and drawing his body in closer together. He felt his bones scraping against one another. There wasn't much skin left to stop them. Changkyun could have found him by now, surely. Hyungwon wouldn't have to endure the pain if Changkyun had just come to save him. Maybe Changkyun wanted Hyungwon to suffer?

"He doesn't want you anymore," Seungcheol said, his voice soft, gentle. Kind. "You're too much trouble for him. But it's okay. You're not that special, not to him. He'll just find somebody else. Maybe not somebody as pretty as you are," Seungcheol paused, setting a hand down lightly on top of Hyungwon's head and running one finger through Hyungwon's soft locks, curling several strands around his finger. Hyungwon hadn't realized how much he'd missed kind touches, gestures of care and not pain. But Seungcheol was being kind to him. Magic had been cast to hold Hyungwon in his human form, and Seungcheol must have realized how much Hyungwon missed being pet. "But that's okay. You were just a toy to Changkyun, a pretty little toy, a tool for him to use. But he can always get another toy, a new toy. Because the first toy didn't matter all that much to him anyway. Maybe he's been wanting a new toy for a while."

"No. No, no, no-" Hyungwon whispered, and if his hands weren't tied behind his back, he would be pulling at his hair, yanking at the ends, digging his fingers into his skull. Seungcheol wasn't kind. Or was he? Who had been kind to him? Seungcheol, or Changkyun? But Changkyun was the cause of his pain. Seungcheol had kindly explained to Hyungwon that he wouldn't have to hit Hyungwon if it weren't for Changkyun. It was Changkyun's fault, really. It was just too bad that Hyungwon had to pay for it.

Hyungwon shut his eyes, trying to bring up an image of Changkyun in his mind, but he couldn't focus. The face was blurry, the expression unreadable. Had Changkyun ever cared about him? Or was Seungcheol right? Was Hyungwon just a tool? A toy? Was that all he had ever been? "I'm not...I'm not a toy," he whispered uncertainly, and it was only then that he felt tears leaking down his face.

"It's okay," Seungcheol whispered, bringing his hand down from the crown of Hyungwon's head to below his chin, trailing his fingers up Hyungwon's throat with gentle movements before caressing his cheek. His fingers were warm against the coldness of Hyungwon's tear-coated skin. "Because you're my toy now, and I don't want any other toy. I only want you. I won't replace you. I won't throw you away. Not like Changkyun."

"I don't want to be thrown away," Hyungwon echoed, his shoulders shaking as his tears grew in intensity. Years of darkness flashed through his mind, horrible times in his long-distant past. Doors slammed in his face. Dark alleyways. Rain, with nowhere to go. A world with no place to call home. Shadows, swallowing him up, spitting him out. "Please don't throw me away."

"I won't," Seungcheol promised, using his right index finger to catch one of Hyungwon's tears before holding it up to his mouth and dropping it on his tongue. His tilted his head as he tasted the salty flavor of human sadness, and he allowed a smile to come over his lips. "Changkyun-" He grinned as he watched Hyungwon involuntarily react to the name, flinching just as Seungcheol had conditioned him to. "-lied to you from the beginning. I won't lie to you, Hyungwon. I want to use your power."

He put a hand out, smoothing his fingers over Hyungwon's forehead, and Hyungwon automatically leaned into his hand, trusting it, trusting him, trusting his promises and whispers. "Do you want me to use you?"

Hyungwon's face contorted as his emotions fought with the conditioning Seungcheol had been carefully ingraining. "I-"

Seungcheol pulled his hand away from Hyungwon, delighting in the pain that flitted across Hyungwon's face at the absence of his touch. "You are a tool, Hyungwon. I don't have to use you. I can throw you away if I want."

"Please," Hyungwon begged through his tears, dropping his head so his chin rested on his chest. "Please, don't get rid of me."

Seungcheol placed his hand on the nape of Hyungwon's neck, squeezing gently. As he'd expected, Hyungwon grew still, his muscles relaxing as he hung limply from Seungcheol's grip, his feline instincts instructing him to grow passive, to place complete trust in his master. Seungcheol knew that he could snap Hyungwon's neck in a moment without moving a muscle, but he restrained himself. The pleasure he could reap today would be nothing compared to what he would yield with Hyungwon as his compliant tool, docile to his every command. He'd made mistakes last time, scared the boy, instilled fear and hatred in him which had driven the boy far away. This time, he would direct the fear and hatred toward a different source. He would teach Hyungwon to love him, to fear him but wait desperately for his next command, to long to be of use to him. After all, Hyungwon would be unable to leave him if he became completely and utterly dependent on him.

Seungcheol eagerly awaited the day he would destroy Changkyun by letting him see his broken toy come crawling back to Seungcheol's feet, craving Seungcheol's attention, even if it destroyed him.

"Do you want me to use you?" Seungcheol repeated, his voice soft so Hyungwon would have to listen closely. He rubbed his thumb over the top vertebrae in Hyungwon's spine, tracing the same circle over and over again.

Hyungwon shivered. "Yes," he whispered, his voice rough. "Please."

Seungcheol stepped back, ignoring the whimper that came from Hyungwon as he once again broke the contact between them. Seungcheol ran his tongue along his bottom lip, deciding it was time for a test. With a snap of his fingers, the magical energy binding Hyungwon's hands behind his back disappeared.

Hyungwon didn't move from his position, his arms remaining in their position as he remained on his knees, waiting.

"Get up," Seungcheol commanded.

Hyungwon stood and turned to face Seungcheol.

"I didn't say turn around," Seungcheol said, and Hyungwon's eyes clouded with self-loathing at his own failure as he moved to turn back, but Seungcheol held up a hand, stilling Hyungwon. "It's all right," Seungcheol said. "I will forgive you this time," he said, smiling at his new toy. "But you have to do as I say from now on. If you can't listen to me, then I'll have to throw you away."

Hyungwon's eyes welled with tears, but he didn't speak.

"I don't want to throw you away," Seungcheol reassured, trailing a finger along Hyungwon's face but leaving an inch of space between his skin and Hyungwon's. Another test, successful, as he observed Hyungwon straining, his muscles clenching as he forced himself not to move and close the gap between them. As a reward, he placed his finger on Hyungwon's lips, moving his finger down and pulling Hyungwon's bottom lip down with it, exposing his perfectly aligned teeth. Hyungwon didn't resist, remaining flexible in his hands, clay willing and wanting to be sculpted. "Good kitty," Seungcheol praised, and Hyungwon trembled slightly, trying to restrain himself, but Seungcheol smiled.

He was proud of himself.

After all these years, he finally held the key to shattering Changkyun.