(Adskaya Past, Russia, 2 years ago)

"Again."

"No!" Nikita growled through clinched teeth as pain blazed through her. It made all other pain she had endured over her life feel like a tickle. No matter how much she tried to push through it, the pain didn't let up. Finally her knees buckled and she dropped, panting, onto all fours. She refused to give HIM the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Finally, once she was on the ground, the burst of pain stopped. She brought her eyes up to the girl in front of her. She wasn't more then 5 or 6. She had been ripped away by her Master to be used as a training exercise. Nikita was many things but she wouldn't kill a child.

"Again."

"Go to Hell."

Her master chuckled lightly. "We are already here." He pushed the button on the small remote that he held in his hand

This time, she screamed as the power and the pain intensified. Her legs and arms shook as she tried to fight against it. She growled and forced herself up onto an unsteady knee before rising shakily to her feet. Her emerald gaze turned to her Master, With a deep primal growl, Nikita's form darkened and began to unwind, dissipating into a thin shadow that dispersed and disappeared.

"Find her!" Slater ordered as he pulled out a Desert Eagle from his pocket. His attention distracted, his finger unconsciously lifted from the button. For an instant, Nikita was free from the pain he had been causing. She didn't waste the opportunity. She materialized behind Slater in her natural form and lunged. Caught by surprise, he couldn't turn around fast enough. She landed on him, dragging him down to the ground with her but before she could strike, she was suddenly flung away and slammed into a pillar hard enough to snap bones. She lay stunned, the air knocked out of her.

"Didn't I tell you ..that was NOT the way to control her" the voice was cold and a shiver of fear raced up Nikita's spine. She groaned and tried to regain her feet. "Ah-ah," The ice blue eyes turned to meet her gaze. She tried to shrink from Damian Darhk's gaze but it pinned her in place. "You stay right there."

He walked over to Slater "What is the problem?"

"I can't.."

"Can't?" Darhk interrupted

"The girl," Slater nodded to the scared girl in the center of the room. "She refuses to kill children."

"Does she now?" He turned back to Nikita and suddenly her body was on fire as the runic tattoos on her lit up. He walked over to her. "You will NOT refuse anything. If you do, I will have Slater turn you over to me for a week." Darhk straightened up.

Nikita stumbled to her feet as the tattoos' glow fade. Her entire body shook from pain. His eyes pierced her. She tried to meet his gaze but she couldn't bring herself to challenge him. Her head dropped and turned slightly to the left in appeasement as her tail and ears tuck tight to her body. "Good girl." He turned to look at the little girl. Now, Kill!"

Nikita turned to the girl, grief in her eyes. After a second of hesitation, she lunges...

# # # # # #

The girl's screams rang in her ears as Nikita slowly raised her head from her paws, the memories still clinging to her.. She had been a coward that night and in doing so, she had ended the life of a small child. She could still taste the girl's blood in her mouth, still remember how easily her bones had broke in her jaws.

That was the night they had fully broken her. After that night, Nikita had died and only Kali remained. She had warned Oliver in the hopes that he would be prepared. In hopes that he would have to kill her. She should have known better. In every one of of their encounters, he had never hurt her more then necessary.

She could hear the voices of Oliver and one of his friends through the closed metal door. They are raised and angry. Nikita could have listened in if she chose, instead she just lay her head back down on her paws. She never meant to put him in the position where he had to defend her from his friends.

She had hoped to never involve him in anything related to her again. Unfortunately, her Master had different plans. She knew that soon she would be forced to attack again and she knew she wouldn't be able to hold her self back a second time. She had to find a way out, or a way to get him to release her. Maybe she could put distance between herself and her Master. She could outrun him, she had done it before. But he had said that Darhk was in town. There was no where in the world she could go that he wouldn't be able to find her. She rose and started to pace the length of the cell slowly, looking for any weakness or even a crack that she would be able to use to her advantage.

A sudden inferno of pain engulfed her. Screaming, she collapsed to the floor, her vision was weaving in and out as darkness edged into her vision. **NO.** Darhk...not her Master. Darhk knew she had failed him. Her muscles spasmed, pulling in on themselves as her back bowed. Blood started to drip from her nose and the corners of her eyes. She could feel the stress on her bones. She knew that he was going to slowly break every last one. She wouldn't die, she had learned that first hand but she knew that she would plead for death long before he was finished with her.

# # # # # #

"Listen, I'm sorry about John's arm but no one is to blame but himself."

"Do you even hear yourself, Ollie." Thea stood in front of her brother, her arms crossed and she was glaring at him. He had the fleeting thought that she looked a lot like their mother when she was angry.

He sighed lightly, running a hand through his short cropped hair. "Listen, Thea...she's a friend. An old friend.."

"It's an animal, Ollie. And it's dangerous."

"You're absolutely right. She IS dangerous...or at least she can be." He walked over and placed his hands on her crossed arms. "Listen, Thea ..She's like me. I know there is still so much you don't know about what happened in those five years when I was gone but the same happened to her."

Thea was about to say something. Ollie wasn't sure if it was to continue argue or to ask questions but their conversation was interrupted by an agonizing scream. Thea looked at Ollie both in shock for a second before he just turned and ran for the containment cells.

"Oh God, Ollie.." Her hand went to her mouth as she stood in shock. Oliver was standing by the containment cell, typing in the code that would open the door. Beyond the door, blood coated everything...the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Laying in the center of the cell, body still contorted and twisting, a young girl with moon pale hair lay naked. Her entire body was tattooed with runic symbols that shimmered and shined as she twisted under the light.

"Thea ..get me the herb kit from my trunk."

"Herbs...Ollie, I don't think..."

"Just do it!" He didn't wait to see if she did as he asked, he just ran into the room and dropped to his knees, carefully scooping the girl into his lap and cradling her tightly to him, trying to dampen the damage of her spasming twisting. It felt like an eternity before his sister got back with the kit. Ollie's business slacks and dress shirt were soaked through with blood, blood had been smeared up his arms and even across his face as he used his weight to help stabilize her.

"Got it!" She said as she hurried into the cell.

"I need you to take one of the herb packets from the pack and dump it in the mortar with some water from the canteen."

"Shouldn't you..."

"I'm a little busy, Speedy." He said as the girl in his lap screamed again.

Thea swallowed and nodded quickly. With Oliver walking her through it, she managed to fix the concoction and carefully fed it to her. The seconds ticked by and nothing seemed to happen. "Ollie?"

"Just wait.."

Finally, the girl in his lap slipped into unconsciousness, the tremors of pain still shooting through her but she otherwise lay still. Keeping the girl in his arms, he sighs lightly and leans back against the wall, meeting his sister's gaze.

"So ..not just a wolf."

Oliver's eyes go to the girl in his arms. "This is new to me."