A seven year old boy was strapped tightly to a table. The table was set at an angle so that the boy's head was facing the ceiling and his feet were facing the floor. There were a total of ten straps holding him down. One around each ankle, one on each leg, one around each wrist, one around each arm. There was a huge strap around his chest and the last one circled his neck making him hesitate before he swallowed.

He couldn't remove them; he'd tried when he'd first been placed on the table. But it had been useless, so he just lay there waiting what would happen next. His expression gave away none of the emotions whirling around in his head. His chest was bare, showing off his already well-defended muscles.

A Bunsen was lit on a desk nearby; he stared into its fiery depths until a presence in the room caused his gaze to snap up to the approaching figure. It was Bathos Schild, he knew him and he knew what a meeting with him meant. Fear sparkled through the emotionless mask he used to protect himself.

"Now Kai, Boris tells me that you drew in a match on purpose. That you didn't even try to win. Is this true?" The man placed the tray he was carrying on the desk.

Kai's eyes widened as they fixed on the various knives and needles arranged on the tray.

"…no… I tried to win, but Tala's strong," he stammered, his mask cracking as more fear shone through. He was lying, but he felt an odd loyalty to the red headed boy. Not a friendship exactly, those weren't allowed in the abbey. But as close to a friendship as he could manage without Boris noticing.

"Don't lie to me Kai" Bathos warned as he selected a sharp looking knife off of the tray and began to heat it on the Bunsen flame.

"But" he started, then stopped just as suddenly as the adult matched the small boy's glare with his own.

"Boris said that whichever one who lost the battle would be punished, so…" Kai trailed off as Bathos approached with a red hot knife in his hand.

"So you decided to try and cheat the rules did you?" Bathos sighed like a disapproving parent.

Kai hung his head knowing that he'd done wrong, that he would be punished for it. He tensed his muscles for what was to come.

The knife had dulled in colour but he knew it still held great heat.

"Which hand do you use to pull the rip cord?"

"My right" was Kai's automatic response.

Bathos nodded to himself and moved the blade closer to Kai's exposed chest.

Kai bit back a yelp of pain as the flat of the blade touched his skin. There was a small hissing sound as an angry burn appeared on his rib cage. His whole body spasmed, trying uselessly to escape from the pain.

"You see Kai, the trick is" Bathos intoned as he drew back the knife to place it against another spot of unharmed skin on his chest.

"to get the blade to exactly the right temperature" he continued to place the blade again and again on unburned skin. To stare at each mark in turn, looking for something.

"If the blade is too hot, then the tissue will burn beyond repair and the wound will most likely scar. However if the blade is too cool, then there is a greater risk of severe bleeding or perhaps infection."

Kai had lost count of the amount of times he had been burned; the worst thing was that he didn't think that the torture had even really started yet.

"The trick is to get it just right, ah there." Bathos grinned at the finished result.

"You won't want to pull that trick again after this."

Bathos placed the tip of the knife over Kai's left arm, humming to himself as he found the right spot. Then he began to push, forcing the smoking blade into the boy's restrained arm.

The pain was unbearable, he opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. So he coughed instead, choking against the tough material wrapping his throat. He turned his head away.

Bathos tutted and forced Kai to look at the knife, using his free arm to move the child's head. Kai stared at the site, afraid what might happen is he looked away again.

Finally it was over and Kai was surprised to feel a liquid flow down his cheeks. That was odd, he never cried. Crying is an emotion and emotions are weak, he'd had that beat into him so many times that he cursed his body for betraying him.

"Hush" Bathos whispered, placing the blood stained knife back on the tray. He wiped the tears from the child's face in an almost tender way.

"Boris said that if you cried then I would have to do it again and give you another hole in your arm."

The slate haired child ceased crying immediately, his face stricken with pure fear.

Bathos chuckled at Kai's expression.

"That's good, you stop crying and Boris need never know you showed weakness, just promise you won't do it again?"

"I promise" came the weak reply.

"Good boy."

Bathos ruffled the boy's hair playfully and unstrapped him.

"Now you can rest for the rest of today, but you must attend training in the morning."

Kai stumbled from the room. His chest was burning and his arm was showing that it could be numb and hurt like hell at the same time.

"Tala you can come in now!" he heard Bathos yell.

Kai ignored the red-head as they passed each other, his mind was on his own pain.

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Ray yawned as the bus finally stopped outside of a hotel. He dragged himself to his feet and unfolded Kai's wheelchair. He'd kept the chair close by him, as he hadn't been quite sure what exactually Kai would do to the chair if left alone with it. Being stuck in a wheelchair wasn't Kai's idea of a good time, and the blader didn't bother to hide the hate he felt for the chair.

"Kai?" Ray asked curiously as he neared the team captain who had isolated himself from the others by sitting right at the back. The blader had curled himself up close to the window and appeared to be sleeping.

Ray smiled softly; he knew how exhausted Kai had been. His smile turned into a frown as he saw Kai's face.

His features were racked with pain and fright. Sweat trickled down the boy's forehead, as he turned suddenly trying to escape from something that only he himself could see. His breathing was laboured, and if he hadn't of belted himself to the seat he would have had tossed and turned his way on to the floor by now.

"Oh man, Kai" Tyson said as shocked as Ray. Only Max, who had seen Kai in this state before wasn't surprised. 'Although' he thought quietly to himself as he leaned over the back of his seat to get a better look. 'He looks a lot more frightened than he did before'.

"Kai?" Tyson tried again. He leaned down to try and shake his shivering friend out of the nightmare that had him trapped.

The effects were miraculous. As soon as Tyson's hand touched Kai's shoulder, the slate haired teen sprung up to a sitting position. Kai's eyes were still glazed and unfocused when his fist launched itself into Tyson's face.

After a minute Kai's muscles untensed and his breathing slowed down to normal.

The fifteen year old cast his sleepy eyes over the shocked group, to stop and stare in a half confused way at Tyson. Who was at that moment sprawled dazed on the floor, rubbing at his already red and swelling cheek.

"Tyson" Kai growled, his voice traced with exhaustion.

"What the hell are you doing on the floor?"

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So what do you think? I know that most of this chapter is taken up with a dream, but Bathos is just weird.

Anyhow, read and review. Please?

I'll update soon, sooner if i get a lot of reviews.