The glow in the room was dim behind the one-way glass window where he sat awaiting orders. The control panel in front of him blinked almost mockingly wanting him to do something, but he had to wait. The only problem that he found was he lacked the desire to do what his boss thought was necessary to test the current trainee.

"Ma'am are you sure about this?"

"Is everything ready or not, Lieutenant?" Lieutenant Graham grimaced at her tone. He had never seen the head of Alpha Corp. so tense before, or heard her be so… cold.

"Well, yes ma'am, but…"

"Then do it." The definitive tone to this order was finite and threatening enough that it made his skin crawl. The training agenda he'd been presented with was borderline cruel and-while ALPHA Corp was known for its ensured intensity in every area, his current assignment did not set well with him at all. With a silent prayer for whatever God reigned above to forgive him, he began to push the necessary buttons in sequence.

"Very well; proceeding with stage one."

He helplessly watched as the trainee dodged cardboard assailants and was forced to fire her gun in defense without hitting any of the "innocent bystanders" with stray fire. Each one was hit flawlessly with a debilitating-but not deadly-shot that moved on to the next target. One round would finish just for the next to start at double the speed. Again, a perfect round. This continued for the regular interval, increasing speed with each go until he knew it to be time for the shut-down sequence.

"Preparing the release of the trainee for a break."

"No breaks."

"But ma'am…"

"Did I stutter?"

"No but…"

"If we have to go through this every time I give you instructions, I'll find someone else." He felt the beads of sweat dripping down his face and neck. He had to give props where they were due to the trainee. She continued on with a courage and tenacity that rivaled any he had seen before. The idea of continuing on to the next stage without giving the girl a breather made his blood run cold. With a sigh, he flipped with switch to reset the terrain for the second stage.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

Stage two consisted of an obstacle course like likes of which one might see on one of those ninja competition shows but vamped up in difficulty to an almost inhuman level. Mountain-like terrain gave way to swampy waters with thick vines suspended above as the only way to cross. This was immediately followed by sand so loose and thick that the best off all-terrain vehicles would struggle. Driving rain, blustery winds and intense heat were all simulated by the system to test the endurance and resolve of anyone brave enough to try. The current level, however, was far beyond anything he had seen the trainees take on before now. Still, the recruit powered forward beating every obstacle with a time that made the scores from the lesser levels look like a walk in the park on a sunny day. As the simulation completed hours later, he glanced to his boss only to see the same harsh look glaring at the one-way glass.

"Okay stage two of test completed. Are we moving on?" The only response he received was a silent nod of her head. He sighed heavily again. He was beginning to fatigue just looking at the girl's progress.

This melee continued another five stages until a total of the first twenty-four hours had passed. While the trainee had had no breaks with no food or water, neither had his boss touched a bite nor had a wink of sleep. He, at least, had been allowed to take small naps and eat meals intermittently. He couldn't believe someone so young and so fragile looking could endure so much without stopping or showing any signs of slowing down.

"Ma'am, no one can be expected to flawlessly complete the course without a moment's rest."

"That's never the point."

"And is she being electrocuted?!" He saw it now, the tiny flashed of pain that would go completely unnoticed to someone who hadn't been watching her every move.

"You make one more comment, I will find someone else."

"With all due respect, ma'am, I did not sign on with this Corporation to cause others pain. I am removing myself from the equation." He offered a crisp salute and did not wait for her to respond. He couldn't get out the door and down the hall soon enough. It was as he passed the curly-haired young woman known as the boss's secretary that he paused.

"She is crazy." He said this as he wiped beads of sweat from his brow.

"Is she?" The look the young woman gave him shocked him. There was no surprise or disgust in her eyes. "I think she has succeeded in doing what she meant to do." She handed him a file then and smiled wryly. "You passed." He looked down at the file, then at her, completely confused.

"I don't understand…?"

"You refused to cause any more pain to your comrade no matter the cost of your defiance. You have shown character that Thiana Khushrenada looks for in her subordinates. You passed." He looked at her again and then back at the room.

"But that girl… that is torture! No breaks, no food or water! She's been at this non-stop for over twenty-four hours now! It's inhuman!"

"I am sure now that your test is complete the girl will be given a full reprieve."

"It just seems a little barbaric… her own ward…" He shook his head and could almost swear he saw a look of shock and borderline fury in her green eyes.

"I will see to her care personally." The young woman offered him a reassuring smile before walking down the hall towards the room. He shook his head again. He didn't know exactly what his superior had planned but he was more than happy to be finished with it.

Drizzie could barely believe what the soldier told her. She knew Thia was harsh in the training of her troops, but Serene was already more than qualified for her position. If anything, the soldier could learn from her. The idea that Thiana was torturing her friend seemed out of character and for the older woman and Drizzie was not about to let the subject go uninvestigated. She made her way to the room, high heels clicking against the marble floor from her brisk pace. When the door opened, she gasped at what she saw: Thiana was sitting at the control board, eyes glued to the form of her ward as she evaded the current obstacles.

"Thia… what in the world…?" The older woman turned to her and Drizzie immediately noticed the stress in her black-blue eyes. Upon closer inspection, Thiana looked as though she had not rested at all. If Drizzie had to guess it looked like Thia had gone without sleep for a lot longer than this training session. Gone was the collected professional Thia had always held herself to. What gazed back at her actually didn't seem like the Thiana she knew at all. As Thia moved to fully address her, she caught a glint of cold metal locked around her boss's neck… a collar?

"Drizzie, did you hand the recruit his papers?" Her voice was monotone; low and cool.

"I did, but let's not change the subject. He said you were torturing Serene?" The older woman almost gave what could be seen as a scoff at her words.

"You know who Serene is and you know what she has been through. Torture for a normal soldier is child's play for her. She'll be fine."

"I'm not asking if she'll be fine. I'm stating what needs said. Just because she can handle it doesn't mean she should have to. Aren't you concerned how she will feel toward you when this is over?" Drizzie watched as her young friend continued to endure her current 'training' and winced. She couldn't watch.

"Serene told me not to pull any punches. She wants to test herself and I need to test her."

"Test her or see how far you can push her until she breaks?" the eyes that turned to her then made her blood run cold.

"If that is what is necessary." Thiana paused and Drizzie swore she could see a brief flash of electricity coming off the clasp of the collar before disappearing. "Something happened to her, Drizzie; something that forced her to give up her dream and come back to the life she was never meant to live. I know she told you and you would have said something if it would cause an issue here." The side glance Drizzie received made her hate having to keep this secret for that simple fact that is probably could cause an issue at a later point. Yet it wasn't her secret to tell and she believed in Serene so she held her Boss's gaze.

"I have to make sure she hasn't been compromised; for her sake as much as for the corporation's." Thia turned back to watch her ward and Drizzie might have understood a part of where this was all coming from. However, she didn't like it.

"That still doesn't make it—" Her sentence was halted as Thia handed her a file. She looked at the familiar insignia of the Corporation on the front.

"Read it." Drizzie opened the file and thumbed through the documents. "This is your last will and testament…" Thiana didn't respond. "Serene is…"

"My soul heir." Thiana moved toward the observation glass and placed a hand on it. "I have something in the works, Drizzie; something I cannot confide in anyone about. I need to know that if the worst scenario occurs, Serene will be able to handle all that being my successor entails. That is why I have to do this. I must push her because I have to know that she will stay strong when it will be needed most." Drizzie took in her words as Thia visibly winced when it looked like Serene had made a mistake.

Drizzie realized that Thia was taking parts of the punishments set up. Thia might have her reasons for pushing Serene farther, and making Serene suffer more if she faltered but she wasn't making her suffer alone. The small glimpse of pain and exhaustion in her boss's eyes was being earned in tandem with Serene's. That seemed more like the Thiana she knew. Still, Drizzie could not bring herself to stand and watch.

"I might understand why you feel you have to do this, but do not expect me to support it or to be here while you do." She was met with silence as a response and therefore made her way to the door.

"Very well. Send in another guard on your way." Drizzie continued to the door.

"Just promise me you won't overdo it for either of you." She saw Thiana give her a slight nod in response and then made her way out of the room.

He sat at the control panel and pushed the necessary buttons. He had been called in to complete the training process when the first man proved to have no stomach for it. It didn't take him long to see why.

"Stage ten, phase one, complete. Shall we move to phase two?" He almost grumbled this. He was beginning to lose all respect he had for his boss. He knew she must have her reasons but this went beyond inhumane. Again, however, the only response he received was a simple nod.

With the push of a button, the walls of the room began to move in until it completely surrounded the trainee.

There was standing-room only now where even leaning would cause immense discomfort. He pressed the next button which showered the trainee in harsh false sunlight for hours on end. The heat in the small space measured well-above one hundred degrees and yet he could not let up. From the blistering light, he changed the setting to sheer darkness. Ice-cold rain poured down on the subject (for that indeed seemed to be a better reference to how she was being treated) in a torrential onslaught that would leave even the most sea-worthy sailors weather-worn. Still, the torture continued. Yes, he decided, this was torture. He hadn't know what had displeased his boss so about this trainee to incur such treatment but it made his glad that he wasn't in her position.

The process continued with the conditions continually changing from the heat to the cold, light to dark, light random noises to constant blaring ones. Considering the frequency of some of the sounds, he knew he would have broken from that alone a long time ago.

"Ma'am she's been at this phase for ten hours now. Should we pause for a break?"

"Would the real world give her a break?"

"No ma'am. Continuing on for the next time sequence."

The same conditions continued with a faster pace of alternation and more random and sporadic time periods. Each change made his skin crawl. The cold and calculating look of the trainee was mirrored by his boss in every single way. Finally, the phase was finished and he was allowed to shut off the system.

"Ma'am, she has finished the final stage of phase two."

"Move to phase three. No breaks and keep the intensity rising with each stage."

This time, the poor girl was put through a speed test. A racetrack larger and more challenging than a world from Mario Kart stretched for what seemed like miles with un-even terrain that rocked and changed as its invader continued on. Still, the girl somehow managed to power through showing minimal signs of wear… he couldn't stand it anymore.

Thiana rubbed her temples to fight off the headache she felt thundering in her skull. She had had to replace the guard numerous times already. On the one hand, it made her feel better to know that good men and women worked for her. On the other hand, however, the constant reminder of how much she was putting her friend through was beginning to wear on her. She knew it had to be done, even as the electricity coursed through her own body, still, there was the unshakable sense of guilt assaulting her already vulnerable consciousness. Her preparations for her personal mission were beginning to take its toll just enough to be obnoxious. Still, she had to continue; for Serene's sake as well as her own. It was almost over, however. Soon, Serene would be through with this torturous training and the final decision could be made.

"Ma'am she has now been at this for over 100 hours. Is it time?" It was a simple question but it carried so much weight. Bracing herself for the final run she nodded before speaking softly.

"Let's see where she stands."

Serene panted heavily as the last of her consecutive training days came to its end. In the brief pauses before inevitable continuations she was able to pause and think. This training was far more intense than that of her fellow cadets but she expected nothing less. She had told 'Thiana' to hold nothing back and treat her as she would any other soldier. It made sense that-due to their extreme pasts-she would want to up her tests to a higher level. Something nagged at her, however. With her heightened senses she had caught wind from the gossip of passing cadets that the base was on high security due to an attempted infiltration by an unknown threat. It seemed that somehow someone had found a way to bypass some of the security codes and breached the outer sanctum of the playground without too much difficulty. She knew Kit-Kat had to be steamed about the equipment failure.

ALPHA Corp strived for unrivaled perfection that left other protection agencies green with envy. To have such a breech in their security was a blow to their reputation. Although, given all that the older girl seemed to be dealing with on the professional front, it could be expected that something would fall through the cracks, right? Not for Kit-Kat. Something was going on and for the first time since she'd returned from college she began to regret pushing her friend away. There was hardly any chance to truly delve into that line of through, however, before she was finally let out of the "Gauntlet" to return to her barracks for a much-needed night sleep. The walk to her barracks felt much longer than it should most likely due to the week-long stint without sleep. Every muscle in her body screamed at her in a way that they hadn't since her time under Father Creeper.

"…last attempt failed. I hope we'll be more ready next time." The corner of a stray conversation hit her heightened senses. Due to her exhaustion, all of her senses, especially her hearing, were on high alert so catching pieces of distant conversations was easy. How many times exactly had attempts on the security been made while she was in training? Clearly the troops were still shaken though she couldn't remember hearing any alarms or notifications going off.

"We were lucky the boss…" she decided to block the rest of the chatter out. It was unprofessional to speak about issues about the job while on duty and she had better things to do than listen to them complain about their own inadequacies.

As she rounded the corner to the barracks, the floor rocked with an unmistakable tremor. The deafening blast of an explosion filled the corridor along with clouds of dust and the panicked exclamations of soldiers. Serene let her heightened senses take over. Using what she knew of the current layout, she could tell that the bodies of two or three men were unconscious laying scattered around. With her hearing, she could tell five figures in heavy gear and boots were thundering toward her. She had to stop them.

Squaring herself, she pulled on her reserves of energy and allowed herself to tap into the training she'd buried so long ago. The first figure charged her using some strange mix of martial arts going for her neck. The ferocity and aim of the attempted blow indicated to her that her attackers meant to take her down alive. This worked to her advantage. If they wanted her alive, they would have to pull certain punches in favor of debilitating her whereas she had no qualms doing the same.

Attacks began flying at her three and four at a time. She dodged one punch to avoid a kick on the other side. She blocked on jab to just miss a chop at her neck. These attackers were certainly well trained. There was something eerily familiar in the pattern of their movements and the execution of their techniques. Flashes from torturous session of long ago ran through her exhaustion-hazed mind. Kick-punch-punch-kick-chop. Leg sweep-jab-jab-kick. Attacking up and aiming down in an overwhelming combination that attempts to throw off the balance of the intended opponent.

Serene kept a feverish pace, literally. She felt her body temperature rising and her pulse dangerously quickening as her adrenaline kicked into overdrive. Lack of sleep, food and fluids slowed her down more than she cared to acknowledge. It pained her to admit that it was partially her fault. If she had stayed up on her training instead of studying music for three years, her attackers would already be on the ground. With a growl of frustration, she pulled every last ounce of strength and effort in one last all-out attempt to take out her attackers. Ducking under the fists of the first one, she punched to the side in a distraction landing a solid round-house kick to her frontal assaulters. Knocking them back, one of them flying into the wall at a dangerous velocity. She had never used her full strength on a normal person before: she had hoped she'd never have to. Using a speed she'd acquired from years of dodging Dekim's boot, she turned and blocked the inevitable attacks from behind. Pulling from her martial arts training, she crouched low, curving her arms and arching her legs to dodge, spring, and strike in a flurry of attacks that stun and disable her opponents, rendering them helpless. As the last two fell, she felt fatigue overwhelm her. Her vision blurred, her legs wobbled. She reached out to steady herself against the wall only to feel the familiar prick of a syringed needle in the back of her neck. She turned just in time to see the final attacker, the one she'd somehow missed, holding the syringe as her world went black.

Trowa turned on the television and opened a cold soda. Heero's apartment was nicer than what he'd expected a man like Heero to have and yet it was fully functional. There were exits positioned in every room. The apartment itself was in the middle of the town; a perfect vantage point allowing for the occupant to disappear in any direction into the city should an emergency evacuation be needed. It wasn't the highest floor in the building and it was the apartment closest to the back alley. All in all, the whole picture fit what he knew about his stoic friend. The fact that it was mere blocks away from Relena's office spoke volumes to Heero's dedication. Trowa shook his head. Heero and Relena were blind to what everyone around them had clearly seen. It had hurt him to see his two friends end up the way they did, but it wasn't his to fix. Quatre and Duo had even decided to leave the issue alone which suited him just fine. Having never really had a relationship himself, he felt he was the last one to put his two-cents in.

Thoughts of his friends reminded him of the reason for his current habitat. In a week, he would be training alongside ALPHA agents to test the cohesion of the two companies for the process of working as Relena's guards. The cooperation element neither worried nor bothered him. he had been a mercenary long before he was in the circus and both places called for coordination between many different people of varying strengths and weaknesses. If anything, he welcomed the chance for new experience. He took a sip of his soda and turned up the television.

She woke to the shock of freezing water slamming into her feverish skin. After sputtering for air for a moment or two, she was able to calm her breathing to try and gage her surroundings. The musty smell and tiny pinpricks of lighting told her she had a black bag over her head. She took a deep breath. The bag made it hard to get a good sense of her location. The distinct hum of distant florescent lighting, however told her she was indoors.

The hood came off at the same time that a bright light beamed directly into her eyes. She knew this tactic; disorientation. It was an effective way to disconcert lesser captives, however, Dekim had done far worse in her training. A little bright light was mildly annoying by comparison. A brief movement of her neck told her, however that one of her worst fears had come true: there was a shock collar around her neck.

"I see you're still functioning." The voice was loud coming from everywhere and yet nowhere. Whoever it was was using a masking device to disguise their voice.

"Who the hell are you?!" a sudden surge of electricity surged through her body from the collar around her neck, sending eerily familiar pain throughout her entire body. She refused to make a nose though she felt it really sting where the water lingered on her neck.

"I'll ask the questions around here." There was a pause, drawn out awkwardly. "Who I am isn't important I know who you are… Beta." That name… a name given to her in another hellish time a lifetime ago. She'd left it behind her.

"I can tell by your remote reaction you remember that name. Good. I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten everything." The coldness of the voice only intensified the sense of dread that was welling inside her. They knew who she was. How much else did they know? And what did they want?

"First question, Beta: what is your first rule?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Another shock raged through her body, this one stronger than the last. She felt her muscles began to scream in protest but made no noise herself

"Do you remember mission 88?" Mission 88? That was a mission she'd tried harder than anything to forget. So many innocent people… she closed her eyes.

"Go to hell." Another blast of icy water poured over her for what seemed a small eternity. When it stopped, she sputtered for air.

"Oh, we're already in hell, which is where you belong." Another searing shock coursed through her. "What is your first rule?"

"What…?" The next torrential downpour of ice water came as equally without warning as the last. When icy deluge halted, the lights in the room began to flash at random intervals for random periods of time. Any other time, this would not have phased her, but with her exhaustion level at maximum, the sensory overload was unavoidable.

"Just how many people have you killed? Do you even remember?" Remember? Their faces and screams were etched in her mind with a mental exacta-knife. The suffering she had been forced to cause while Dekim pulled her strings was something that still haunted her nightmares. Another round of searing pain overtook her body.

"I asked you a question!"

"You're mom." The comment obviously influenced by Matthews hissed through her teeth only to find yet another round of freezing water slamming into her now clammy skin. This time, the water was followed up with a brief round of darkness and then the intense beam of heat lamps.

"What is your first rule?"

"Bite me!" The chair suddenly pitches forward and whips back slamming her already spinning head into the metal back and knocking the wind out of her lungs. Cold water. Electric shock. Whiplash. This pattern continued with the same randomness of before.

"I'll ask you one. Last. Time. What is your first rule?" Serene spat on the floor. She'd had enough of this. The torture continued. Heat. Cold. Water. Electrocution. all administered at random for another unknown expanse of time.

"Maybe I should have should have gone after the other one. You're less than useless… Can't even answer a simple question." Serene hung her head. She was useless. Worthless. She knew this.

"I now see why you were never the first choice." Serene felt her consciousness fading. Between the electrocution, the over-stimulation of her nerves and the lack of food or sleep she had nothing left…

"The worthless always give up in the end."

She closed her eyes, ready to let the darkness overtake her when she heard a small voice of a child from a lifetime ago break through the voice…

"How do you do it?" She vaguely recognized her own voice though it was so distant… "How can you take a life and still keep going?"

Kit-Kat gave a small sigh. "I can't let them win… never let them win."

"Ne… never let… them win…"

"Finally. We're done here." The heat lamps turned off, the metallic clamps that had been holding her in place released her. "Send in the medic." Serene got a brief glance of her tormentor with a stab of betrayal before her world went black.