In the darkness of the night, no one saw the shadow walk through the corridors. Even though the corridors were lit, he went unseen - a shadow of a previous existence, returned from hell only for one reason. The reason he was back was that his prey had failed him today. This made him highly agitated, and he searched for a reason. He knew a perfect way to get what he wanted though.

No one saw him slip into a room in the inn. The person occupying the room was sound asleep, but the shadow knew better. He knew that the perfect prey, his perfect prey, would make him fight for what he wanted. The idea pleased him greatly.

He knew he would have to act quickly. He crossed the room, stopping by the bed with his weapon ready. He leaned over the bed silently, pressing his weapon at the sleeping boy's throat, but even with all the preparation, he wasn't fast enough. The Dream Chaser's ARM's barrel blocked the blade, the metal screeching against the gun.

"So... not a dream after all," the Dream Chaser mumbled, blinking. He stared at the shadow angrily, holding his gun between them to keep the sharp edge of the demon's weapon from being pressed against his skin. "I wasn't sure last night, but... It is you, Boomerang..."

"You didn't come," the demon whispered, holding his weapon with both hands. Rudy was really making him work for this, and he grinned. The Dream Chaser had to use practically all of his strength to keep the ARM between them, and Boomerang had to do the same. If he had used even a little less power, the boy would have managed to push him away. "I told you to come to me..." he continued, glaring at the boy from under his mask. "Come and give me what I need. Where were you...? You didn't enter any battles today."

"Guardians, you really are obsessed, aren't you? You're nuts, Boomerang," Rudy countered, managing to sound calm even though some annoyance was clear in his voice. "And isn't my fault anyway. I'm waiting for the others to get back. Cecilia went to check what was taking Jack so long around noon and then teleported back later to tell me that there was something wrong with the airship, and they'd get back tomorrow after having Emma check the thing!"

"So..." the demon snarled, letting go a little and leaning back. He snatched his mask off and dropped it on the floor. "All that's keeping me from getting my last fight is some cursed participation fee?!"

Rudy smirked. "Nah, I would've had the money for a fight or two. What if I just didn't feel like it?" He then sighed, pointing the gun at the demon as the blade moved away a little. "What's with you anyway? You helped us at Ka Dingel... I thought you didn't want us as enemies anymore. Why then... Why do you want to fight me? I sure don't want to fight you... So, there you have it. That's why I didn't participate in any fights!"

The demon moved abruptly, grabbing the boy by the throat with one hand. The ARM stayed pointed at him, but he didn't care. "But I do. It wasn't a dream last night, Rudy Roughnight. What part of it did you miss? I want you... The perfect prey."

"I... think you... obviously lost it... back at Ka Dingel... then..." the Dream Chaser managed to answer, seizing Boomerang's hand with his left hand. "Because... you really are... crazy..."

"Perhaps I am. But I will have you, one way or another!"

Rudy couldn't answer as the hand on his throat squeezed so hard that he couldn't breathe. The demon moved onto to bed, practically lying on top of him. The ARM stayed firmly pressed against Boomerang's shoulder, but the demon didn't care. Rudy didn't shoot. He could have done it, and somehow he knew he should have just pulled the trigger, but in the end he just couldn't. He didn't feel that this was the time and the place for a fight. He struggled against the hold with all he could otherwise, and he did manage to get Boomerang to loosen the grip at least a little.

"You failed me..." the black-clad figure on top of him hissed, eyes glowing with anger. "Don't want to fight me, you say? Fine then... We'll see about that."

"No... I don't." The Dream Chaser smiled sadly, pulling away his gun and dropping it to the floor. "I'm not going to fight you tonight, Boomerang. You might as well just get lost."

Boomerang laughed, discarding his weapon to the floor as well. His right hand stayed at the Holmcross' throat, holding so hard that Rudy had to grab his wrist with both hands just to be able to breathe. Even though the boy had just said he wasn't going to fight, he squirmed under the demon, trying to free himself. He was doing fine work too as Boomerang knew he couldn't keep the Dream Chaser down forever. He would have to act now.

With his free hand, the demon ripped off the boy's underwear. He then placed his hand on Rudy's chest, pushing the shirt up a little as he caressed the boy's skin. "Oh, you will fight. You say you won't, but I can give you a reason to fight me... I know a way. A reason that will make you hate me so much that you will want to kill me, my perfect prey. Then we will battle..."

Rudy stared at his attacker for a moment, realizing the meaning of the demon's words. He glared at Boomerang angrily, shaking his head. "No, Boomerang... you... You can't be that crazy... I won't let you..."

"Oh yes, I am that crazy," Boomerang answered, grinning. "I will not stop at anything to get what I want. You are my perfect prey, and I will have you!"

The boy didn't get a chance to answer. Boomerang leaned closer all of a sudden, capturing the Dream Chaser's lips for pressing a violent, suffocating kiss. Rudy was having trouble breathing already, so he fought only for a moment; he then slumped against the sheets, his strength fleeing him.

The demon took advantage of his momentary dominance over the Holmcross. He forced Rudy's legs apart, working on his own clothes a little. He managed to damage them but was far beyond the point of caring. Rudy blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his head. However, by the time he managed to get his thoughts together again and regain his strength, it was too late.

Boomerang let go off the boy's throat and grabbed him by the thighs, lifting him up from the bed slightly. He pulled the slender body against his own, closing his eyes for a moment. Feeling Rudy so close excited him more than he had ever realized. This was his perfect prey, and his alone. He guided himself with his left hand carefully, and on the very moment Rudy regained control over himself and was about to start fighting back, Boomerang pressed his member into the boy, not caring about the fact that there was no lubricant and it hurt.

Rudy cried out, slumping back against the bed. He felt ripped apart, and he could feel that he was bleeding. This lasted for only a short moment though. In a few seconds, he started struggling, trying everything to get the demon off of him.

Boomerang was returned to reality soon enough. He realized he couldn't afford anyone to hear his prey screaming, so he grabbed Rudy behind the neck and drew his head closer, successfully silencing the boy with another brutal kiss. However, his self-control was failing him. He couldn't control the desire very well as he pressed into Rudy, hurting himself in the process, but he didn't care about the pain. All he cared about was the satisfaction which didn't actually come from the act itself but from the fact that Rudy resisted.

"Mine... Yes, mine..." The demon mumbled against the kiss. He could have laughed if he hadn't been busy trying to keep his victim silenced.

The young Dream Chaser let out a muffled cry, struggling vainly under the demon. His position gave him a great disadvantage; lying on his back, legs forced apart and with the black-clad demon moving inside him and hurting him, there wasn't much he could do except squirm and try to beat at Boomerang's shoulders and maybe push him away. He didn't lack the strength anyway, and soon the demon found it necessary to grab the boy's hands and hold him down.

"...You are being difficult... I like that..." Boomerang whispered, holding the Dream Chaser down with one hand while being forced to adjust his position between the boy's legs. During this, Rudy succeeded in delivering a hard slap on the demon's face.

"Get... away..." The boy managed to mumble before getting his lips covered again. He closed his eyes, hoping to find a position where it wouldn't hurt so much but was unable to do so.

The demon ignored this, having to concentrate on being able to continue thrusting into his victim. Every move used too much energy, and he was getting exhausted quite fast. Rudy struggled more, managing to get his left hand free, and he dug his nails into Boomerang's neck, scratching hard enough to make the demon bleed.

"But... don't worry, my perfect prey..." the demon whispered, blinking several time to clear his view a little. "It... will be over soon... then... you will fight me..."

Rudy suddenly ceased fighting. The word 'fight' took control of his tangled mind, and he stopped moving altogether. What remained of his sanity kept reminding him that Boomerang wanted him to fight. He was running out of strength to struggle anyway, and if his struggles were what the demon wanted...

His desperate attempt worked better than he had hoped. Boomerang frowned, moving away a little. The sudden lack of response angered him. He pressed into his victim a couple of more times but Rudy just lay there, not giving him what he wanted. In reality, Rudy just found himself hurting too much to really move anymore.

"...Hrm." Boomerang stared at the Dream Chaser then continued for a few more seconds. He had been doing this long enough to be able to just let himself orgasm. He did so then just pulled away, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"That was somewhat disappointing..." he commented, tilting his head. "But maybe it served its purpose..."

Rudy didn't open his eyes. He didn't remember hurting this much since he had lost his arm, but he still managed to answer.

"...I guess. If... if getting me to hate you is... what you wanted... fine... we'll fight you..." He trailed off, unable to voice another word. He didn't, even after this, want to hate Boomerang, but he couldn't help thinking about it. What options did he have if Boomerang had done this to him just to get him to fight him?

The black-clad demon smiled, picking up his mask from the floor. Since his original intention had been to get Rudy to change his mind about fighting him, and he had succeeded, he was ready to leave.

"Good," he answered quietly. "You know I will be waiting. Don't let me down this time though..."

The young Dream Chaser didn't answer. He just lay on the bed, listening as the demon got his equipment and silently vanished, closing the door behind him. Rudy wished he didn't have to move, but after lying still for a long while, he forced himself up from the bed and to look for something to wash himself with and for some healing items.

He didn't really want to know why Boomerang had done this; why the demon wanted to die so much. But he knew something now. If someone did it, it had to be him. It had to be the 'perfect prey' as Boomerang called him. He also knew he was the only one who could do it.

"I... will fight you then..." he whispered to the darkness after he had returned to the bed. "Not because of hate... But because I'm the only one who can free you."

Author's notes:

Obvious sequel to "A Perfect Prey". Kinda PWP-ish, yeah.

Originally wanted to write this as a xmas gift to my proofreader, but I ran out of time and energy. Oh well. Wrote it later then, because I kind of promised to her to write after making her check all those fics I've written... So here's your pr0n, NK!

- Lady Harken (January, 2004)