Author's note: Thanks for the review and sorry once more for the delay!

/

She'd known she was going to break as soon as she'd woken up.

It had been hard to sleep. She was so confused. With no natural daylight, it was impossible for her to tell how much time was passing. It felt like forever, apart from the gaps between the sessions with her uncle, those never seemed to be quite long enough. She wasn't getting much sleep. Every time she managed to close her eyes, it seemed as if something came along to disturb her and ensure that she couldn't quite get the rest that she needed. Even when she could sleep, more often than not she found herself disturbed by nightmares, only to awaken and find that her reality was scarcely any different.

The morning that she broke was worse though.

She found herself shaking, trembling from head to foot. It was always unpleasantly cool in her cell but this was something more, something worse. For a short while, she thought that she might be sick. That notion was dismissed however as some little voice inside of her informed her that it was simply dread. She knew what was coming, what was always and inescapably coming: pain and torment.

For months now, or what she assumed to be moths, she had been fighting. Struggling tooth and nail with every last scrap of strength that she had to muster in an effort to resist. It was getting harder and harder with every session. Today, she simply couldn't face it. Not again…

There was no describing what the attacks were like. They were both physically painful, agonizing at times and left her near crippled for hours afterwards and also felt like something of a violation as her own mind was intruded upon by that of another. She couldn't fight it exactly. That would imply that she stood a chance of being able to resist the pain or expel the intruder. No… All she could do was endure; grit her teeth and stubbornly refuse to yield to the Hood's demands. She'd clung to hope, convincing herself that the Tracys or the GDF will come for her. Any day now… She just needed to last that little bit longer. Just one more day.

Sitting there, shivering and too weak to even stand. Now, she knew that they wouldn't. This was going to be her for eternity…

Havoc and Fuse had to pretty much drag her before the Hood. Not because she was struggling but simply because Kayo couldn't walk. Once more, the man made his demands and she just about managed to find it within her to resist. The session seemed somewhat different. She couldn't quite say how… It seemed more intense. As if her uncle could sense every single one of the cracks which had formed within her and was now actively assaulting them, breaking them open further and further.

She just lay there, withering and gasping. The pain continued as her uncle carefully approached:

"Why do you do this to yourself Tanusha? You could make it stop… It really doesn't take much." His voice was uncharacteristically soft.

"I-I can't..."

"Why not?"

"I can't- I won't..." She could scarcely speak. "I can't let you hurt them."

"The Tracys? You're doing all of this for them? What have they ever done for you? It was their blundering that brought you here?"

The attack suddenly intensified. She couldn't help but let out a scream. It felt as if the entirety of her head was literally ablaze, like someone had stabbed a red hot poker through her left orbit and was now twisting it round. The white noise that accompanied it became deafening. She raised her hands to her head, pressing against her temples as if that might somehow be enough to block it all out. It failed miserably, leaving her rocking back and forth on the floor, howling with pain. She was going to die, she was certain of it.

"Stop it! Stop it please!"

"You can make it stop. You know what you need to do."

"I can't…" She'd stressed, tears threatening to spill. "They're my-"

"They are not your family! I am! And where are they now Tanusha? Where are your precious so-called brothers and the heroic Jeff Tracy? Where's your loving old father? They haven't come, have they?"

She closed her eyes, trying her best not to hear his words. Despite her best efforts, some of it did seep down. It found all of the fear and doubts which have been festering away inside of her for these past few months. Fueled them. They weren't coming for her or if they were, they were never going to find her. She was alone. Despair took hold as she scarcely managed to choke back a few sobs. She was the closest that she had ever come at that moment she felt for screaming for her mother.

Tanusha wanted, she needed it to stop. She lay there gasping, struggling once more against the invisible force as it assails her. Then, the words just slipped out:

"W-We use a Z band network."

The pain stopped almost instantaneously. It left her head feeling almost empty. Weak and dazed, she continued to lie on the food, unable to pull herself together enough to properly process what had just happened. She was vaguely aware of her uncle moving round nearby. The man approached so as to stand only a few feet away. It took her a while to be able to realize just where he was and what he wanted now. That infernal desk with the pen and paper were still there. Despite the concession she'd just made, he wasn't quite done done with her just yet.

Once more, there was the voice inside of her which screamed that she couldn't give in. She had to continue to fight. Yet she found herself getting to her feet, shaking as she did so. Even something as simple as standing was a struggle but she managed it. It was as if her body was on autopilot. It took over from her mind, guiding her as her stubbornness refused to do what was best for her. Now, it would do what was required to protect her from herself. So, as it was, she found the pencil in her fingers being guided along as with a trembling hand, she drew out the layout of her home, from the lounge to the bedrooms where usually she and her family would be sleeping. She knew it off by heart, so the memories came easily enough, allowing her to draw it out.

Finally, when it came to an end, she pushed the paper away from her, looking anywhere but towards the evidence of her betrayal. It felt as if she could have collapsed.

Then, suddenly, it hit her like a ton of bricks: the realization of what had happened, what she had just done. It was more than that: everything that she had suffered through over the past few months, as well as the realization that she was well and truly trapped struck her a blow greater than any that she thought she'd ever received before. She'd betrayed them. Betrayed the only family she had ever known. Somewhere along the line, she knew that they would still love her. They would still be out there searching for her. That knowledge burned at her. The last few pieces of her courage crumbled away.

With her pride and bravery gone, tears fell. She could neither control nor conceal them as they made their way down her cheeks. Her sobs were loud ones, uncontrolled. She slipped from her chair, falling down to her knees. She raised her hands to her face, briefly trying to conceal her weakness. It was impossible. There, she broke down.

Just how long it was that she spent crying, she couldn't have said. A while at least. She remained mostly oblivious to the changes occurring around her. It was only after a few moments that she became vaguely aware that something had changed.

"There, there Tanusha..." Her uncle spoke to her with all the softness usually reserved for a child weeping over a grazed knee following a fall. "That's the worst of it over now… Come on, how about some of the reward that I told you about?"

She could understand his words but somehow they just didn't quite register. She could wrap her head around the potential implications. All she could do was raise her gaze to look up at the man as he spoke to her. He offered her his hand, just to pick her up off of the floor.

Driven once more by that dumbness, the inability to think for herself, Tanusha accepted the man's assistance. She allowed herself to be guided along, her face still wet with tears. Another door that she hadn't seen before was open now. From the other side of it, she could make out something that she hadn't witnessed or felt in so long now… She took baby steps, confused and clumsy into the other room.

It marked a stark contrast with where she had been imprisoned these past few months in that this felt much more like a home, lived in. She could only assume it to be something of a dining room. There was certainly a large table, already set out for two people to eat. That didn't quite register so much though. Not to the same extent as the vastness of the ocean and the horizon which lay out before her. Her uncle left her for a few seconds, drifting away so as to talk to one of his henchmen. Kayo could only approach the glass and stare out towards the rest of the world. She found herself lost, almost detached from her own body as she stood there.

The world was so big… Yet so cold… Despite everything, she found that she felt nothing. Not even as she rested her hand against the glass.

"Don't worry niece." Her uncle spoke to her once more as the smell of a freshly cooked roast made its way to her nose. "You'll be out there soon enough. For the time being come and join me for something to eat. You must be hungry and there's a great deal for us to talk about."

Once more, she'd felt herself powerless to resist. It had taken months but finally Kayo found herself unable to fight. Instead, the young woman was quiet as Tanusha sedately brushed the tears from her eyes before going to join the Hood, as the man wore a triumphant smirk basking in his victory.

Kayo sits with her legs folded on the edge of her bed. Every minute that she had lived through seems to have been acid etched into her mind in such a way that would prevent her from ever forgetting them or the pain that was associated with every memory. She should be outside, doing something "normal" but today, for whatever reason, her heart just simply isn't in it. Maybe it's because her birthday is coming up. All of this talk of celebration and cakes seems so alien to her. Her heart simply isn't in it enough to prompt her to go outside and risk herself.

Instead, she fidgets. Her gaze isn't focused on anything as her mind travels elsewhere.

It sits full of regret, fear and uncertainty. They're always there but today, for whatever reason, they seem to weigh all the more heavily upon her shoulders. She grips at the fabric of her bed sheets, tensing up as she comes to a conclusion that she's come to a hundred times already and yet knows is pointless.

"I can't do this."

"Of course you can!" Comes her uncle's voice mere seconds later.

"No… I won't. I-"

She stopped suddenly as its as if someone has stabbed her through the eye again. The pain is so sudden, so sharp that it sends her crashing to her knees, depriving her even of the opportunity to do so little as scream. It's a brief but sharp reminder of what she hadn't been forced to endure in a while. It's a little taste really. Enough to serve as a lesson and to cause her to recall just why it is that she caved in in the first place all those months ago. Despite its brevity, it leaves her gasping, practically shocked.

It takes her few moments to pull herself together enough to truly focus on what's going on around her once more.

"You'll play your part Tanusha or else, have my word, it will never end. No matter how much you beg."

Her uncle adds nothing else. He doesn't have to. She's got the message.

She sits there for a few minutes longer, continuing to wallow in her own helpless sorrow. She feels pathetic, as if she should be coming up with some sort of ingenious plan, some trick which will get her out of this mess and finally allow her to be free. Try as she might however, the young woman finds that neither her spirit nor her mind are willing to play ball. She almost finds herself longing for her prison cell. At least she hadn't had the power to do anything. Now, she knows that with just a couple of words, she could save her family. What she lacks is the strength to speak them…

There's noise from outside: footsteps.

She discards them initially. People come and go. The villa is lived in after all. It's only when they stop directly outside of her door that she finds herself freezing like a deer in the headlights. Whoever it is, they linger there for over a minute. She doesn't know their identity but she can just about make out a shadow as they block out some of the light from the other side of the door. Tanusha holds her breath, hoping that somehow she might be able to go unnoticed.

There's a knock. Too late… Aware that it will be suspicious to do anything else, the young woman calls out:

"Come in."

The door opens slowly.

She finds herself stunned to see Scott standing there. He's the one brother that she hadn't seen much since coming back here. Even now he stands there looking almost lost, as if he's not quite sure what comes next. There's a certain glumness about him. For a moment, Tanusha wonders if he might not have been marched in here by Grandma. The elder has a way of twisting others' arms. She'll know soon enough she tells herself. If he doesn't want to be here, he'll make his excuses and leave quickly enough.

He stands there awkwardly for a short while, considering her. Another day, she would have grown angered by the way that he was staring at her but her uncle's attack has left her too shaken for frustration. So she just ends up fixing him in return.

"Are you okay?" He asks eventually. "You look a little pale."

"Just a migraine…" She answers. "I'll be fine."

Once more silence. She shifts uneasily, feeling nervous. For a brief while, she considers trying to chase him out of the room but thinks better of it. Instead, she tries to act as naturally as possible. It isn't as easy with Scott as it would be with the other brothers, if only because he hasn't provided her with an opportunity to practice these past few months. Finally, despite everything, she begins to lose her patience with him.

"What is it with you?! I can't remember the last time you spoke to me to say more than three words and then you pick a fight with Colonel Casey like that? I don't get it..."

He stands there as if she'd just slapped him across the face. Maybe she has in her own way. It takes a few seconds but he eventually lowers his gaze, looking down at his feet as he stands before her. The tide seems to shift. She goes from being the one feeling somewhat awkward to being the one faced with it. She doesn't quite know how to react to the eldest of the brother's sudden change. He seems sheepish, ashamed. The young woman waits a few moments patiently until he finally manages to pull himself together and present her with an explanation.

"I wanted to apologize." He breathes out eventually. "I know I've been avoiding you."

"You have..."

"I know… It's just- It was wrong of me. I- I just didn't know how to speak to you." She raises an eyebrow perplexed, prompting the young man to sigh. "It was my fault that you were taken. If I had listened to you then- I'm so sorry."

She just stares at him. In truth, the day that she'd been taken was a little hazier in her mind or rather the details leading up to it were. Usually, had she been rescued promptly or escaped, then she would have pondered just how it had happened and who or what was to blame. In the light of everything that had occurred it all seemed almost stupidly irrelevant. Oh, she'd been angry at Scott Tracy. Cursed him from time to time but that had faded away with the constant pain… Now it all seemed to be so pointless.

She could understand why he would have blamed himself. It was the sort of thing that he did: blame himself for everything that went wrong. It was as maddening as it was noble. Kayo lowers her eyes, shaking her head slowly before answering:

"I don't blame you… There wasn't anything you could have done." She tells him softly. "It's done and dusted now."

"Maybe… But you still got hurt."

"Scott… Just forget about it, it's in the past."

She raises her gaze to meet his. She finds some pain behind his blue eyes but for the first time since he'd entered into the room, the young man doesn't look away. Had she ever been angry with him, it's forgotten in those few instants. She's reminded that deep down, he'll do pretty much anything to protect the ones that he loves and that somewhere along the line, her disappearance had pained him more than she suspects that she could begin to imagine. The words that she'd spoken in the hopes that they would be enough to convince him to leave her be. Instead, she actually finds herself trying to take her own advice.

It's in the past, at least for the time being. She knows that eventually all of that is going to fall apart but for the time being, she won't think about it.

It takes a few moments of contemplative silence before Scott speaks once more:

"In that case, you want to meet me in the hangar tomorrow at two o'clock. Assuming there's no emergencies that is."

"You know I'm not allowed down there..."

"I'll be with you."

"What's this all about?"

"It's a surprise..."

For the first time in months, she sees Scott smile. It's sly and a little bit teasing, an invitation of sorts. It's a bit of brightness on what has otherwise been a terrible day. So she'll take it. She'll go for the surprise and pretend that everything's all right for just a little while longer...