Ababa kneels and the purple hue appears, and Gray just drops to his knees with a painful grunt, not like there is any better way to get down in this state.
Gray has never been so happy and relieved to kneel as he takes the pressure off his foot.
There is an eerie silence in the room as Marda-B does not say anything. The purple hue, the flash and the continuing glow in the room tells Gray that Marda-B is definitely there. This is a deliberate dramatic pause to add to Gray's anxiety.
"And?" Marda-B's low tone vibrating through the room breaks the silence and Gray is sure that he just flinched.
Gray stays silent, he is sure that Marda-B is not talking to him but when Ababa stays quiet also, he starts panicking thinking that he is supposed to say something, but he does not know what.
He glances over to Ababa to see if he maybe gives a hint but Ababa grins back in response.
That's no help at all.
"Master?" Gray eventually decides to question.
"Do you understand now?" Marda-B again asks an obscure question that Gray does not know what to do with.
There is silence as Gray is wondering whether he should question again but he is weary to, Marda-B does not like being questioned in any manner.
"Gray, do you now understand that you belong to me?" Marda-B's voice rumbles through the room.
"Yes, master Marda-B." Gray acknowledges without a moment's hesitation. That was the plan from the beginning so that everyone else could be free. But hell, if he knew the torture and pain he had to go through to get here.
"Forever." Marda-B adds the words like he was still mid-sentence before Gray spoke up and interrupted him.
Gray squeezes his eyes shut for his mistake.
When there is silence again, Gray takes it as his queue to speak. "Yes, master Marda-B." Gray is not too traumatized by this. This was his plan from the beginning. He stays and everybody else is free. He is wondering why Marda-B is taking such pains to spell it out to him now.
"You will never be free, not even at the bargain of someone else." Marda-B's tone is clear that he wants Gray to know and understand his fate.
At the bargain of someone else?
Gray wonders what Marda-B means but he does not question. Perhaps it has something to do with what Enjuy said before he ruthlessly slammed his head into that stone pillar.
When this is all over, you will be free.
Gray almost snorts at the thought.
"Rise. Hurricane Gray." Marda-B's dark voice resonates through the room.
Gray shuffles onto his other foot and then slowly rises as he keeps this other foot with the burn mark rested on his toe to keep his balance. Even the faintest breeze and he will be off his feet, or foot.
Gray lifts his head.
"I am at your service." Gray speaks with conviction in this tone, no games, no pretending, just seriousness.
"Good." Marda-B's tone has a clear indication that he is pleased. And with that Gray takes a secret sigh of relief.
"You have been fully reinstated as a high ranked member of the Shadow Alliance, along with all your rights and privileges." Marda-B's words catch Gray slightly off guard.
He never thought that he would ever get that back. And he most certainly would not have expected anything like that while he still has not fulfilled the bargain about defeating Yamato.
"Thank you, master Marda-B." That is most gracious of you. Gray thanks him anyway even though he is suspicious about it and decides to leave out the latter part of his response, Marda-B might just think it sarcastic coming from him.
"From this moment forward, any punishments that you receive will be depended upon your behavior as of now." Marda-B's words again catch Gray off guard. He has just about resigned himself to the fact that he will pay forever and a day for his betrayal but it would seem that Marda-B has decided that he has paid enough.
Gray nods.
There is a low hum, almost like Marda-B is pleased. "You are dismissed." With that the purple hue disappears.
Ababa then leaves the room expecting Gray to follow without having to tell him.
Gray turns and stares at the door where Ababa just exited, he is in so much pain, he really does not want to go anywhere, he just wants to lie down, even here on the floor will do.
"Come, it's not that far." Ababa looks back through the door when Gray is not following.
"That's easy for you to say." Gray grunts as he starts hopping after Ababa.
"This way." As Gray turns to the direction to go to his room, Ababa takes him in the other direction instead.
Gray hesitates for a moment. Nothing good ever happens when he is taken somewhere else. But then again, Marda-B did just basically say that his punishment is over.
Gray picks up his right shoe that he carried all the way there and then dropped outside the door before entering.
Slowly they make their way through the halls and up some stairs. Again, Ababa patiently walking slow to keep up with Gray's slow hopping pace.
Ababa then steps up to a door where he was leading Gray to. He stops in front of it and a round glass-like device lights up on the door and then unlocks.
Ababa steps in and then holds it open for Gray to enter. Gray hops in looking around wearily just in case but he finds that there seems to be no danger. In fact, it looks like a living quarter. A small living room, a dining table, couch and then a short passage that leads to other rooms.
Ababa closes the door behind him and then steps around him. "Sit down." Ababa then pulls out a chair from the dining room table for Gray.
"Where are we?" Gray asks as he gladly takes a seat with a sigh of relief and then places his foot onto his other knee.
"My living quarters." Ababa answers with some form of glee as he disappears down the short passage.
Gray pauses for a moment and then he drops his right shoe next to him on the floor.
"It is closer than your room and I thought that you would want a break from Enjuy." Ababa reappears with a first aid box and places it on the table next to Gray.
"I barely noticed him." Gray muses as he looks at his foot. "I had other things to worry about." It is red, swollen and extremely painful. It is still burning, badly and the hopping did not do him any favors. Not to mention his wrists, shoulders and head aching just as bad.
He looks at the name that is now branded onto the bottom of his foot.
Forever.
MARDA-B.
Branded like a slave.
"What did Marda-B mean not even at the bargain of someone else?" Gray asks as he opens the first aid kit and starts looking through it.
"Enjuy made a deal with Marda-B that if he defeats you, he replaces you and you get kicked out of the Alliance." Ababa explains with a hint of amusement in his tone like he knew that Marda-B would never agree to it.
"Let me guess, Marda-B said 'sure, we have a deal' and then screwed him over." Gray can just imagine Marda-B doing that, as he applies the burn gel ointment to his foot and relief washes over him as the cold gel soothes the burn wound.
"Exactly, it's like you were there." Ababa answers with this tone dripping with sarcasm. "Oh wait, you were there. You were just unconscious." Ababa mocks jabbing at Gray for Enjuy getting one over on him.
"Freakin idiot." Gray mutters under his breath at Enjuy's idiocy, as he applies a bandage to his foot. If anyone, surely Enjuy would know who he is dealing with when it comes to Marda-B, surely, he is not that stupid.
"Yes, he is that stupid." Ababa confirms with a slight malicious edge to his tone.
Gray's heart skips a beat or few at Ababa's confirmation like Gray just said it out loud. But that's the thing, he didn't, that was just a thought.
Either Ababa does have mind reading abilities or it is quite obvious to Ababa what goes on in his mind.
After wrapping his foot, Gray then picks up the rubbing alcohol and tips the bottle over a gauze and then aims to where he is sure the stitches are on his forehead.
"Enjuy is going to pay for that." Ababa notes as he watches Gray tipping the bottle over again.
"Yes, he is." Gray confirms. He wasn't thinking about it at this current moment, but he owes Enjuy on this one.
Gray then wipes the gauze over the welts on his wrists where the restraints dug into his flesh. "Is that why you have separated us? Afraid we might get into it again?"
"You would lose." Ababa frankly states. "In this condition, of course." Ababa then adds as he walks away, and it appears almost like Ababa did it for Gray's benefit.
As Gray closes the bottle of rubbing alcohol, Ababa disappears down the hallway.
When Gray catches the smell of food, he suddenly realizes that he is starving. Gray thinks back to when he had his last meal and that was before he went to defeat Wen. It has literally been days since the last time he ate. He was so distracted with the pain that he did not even notice.
When Ababa returns, he places a plate of food on the table.
Without any hesitation or bothering to ask questions, Gray picks up the fork and starts eating. Gray still cannot get over how good the Shadow Alliance cooking has always been.
Ababa then leaves and then returns with a glass of water and a bottle of pills.
"I do not believe for one moment that Enjuy is here because he is concerned for my wellbeing." Gray snorts.
"Of course not. He is just a very sore loser." Ababa smugly confirms.
"I'm still waiting for the moment when Marda-B no longer gets enjoyment out of playing this game with me and screws me over too." Gray mutters as he chews the food. He would not be an ounce surprised if that is what happens in the end.
"He won't." Ababa candidly answers.
"Won't what? Get tired of playing with me or screw me over?" Gray asks in return without looking up from the plate of food.
"Neither." Ababa's tone is dripping with mock, and Gray can feel that grin on his face, he does not even need to look up.
Gray gives a groan of pain as he gently places his hand against his head where the stitches are. It is swollen, burning and throbbing in pain. A moment later he drops his hand clearly showing that his shoulder is in pain also.
He finishes his food and then he takes the pills hoping that they kick in rather quickly.
"You can either go back to your room or you can sleep on the couch. It's your choice." Ababa speaks as he disappears down the passage with the empty plate and glass.
Gray looks over to the couch as he thinks about it. His foot is hurting so bad, well, everything is in pain, and he cannot imagine trying to make his way back to his room. "The couch is fine." Gray answers as Ababa returns.
"Good, because I did not feel like taking another slow stroll." Ababa makes it sound like he is getting something better out of this deal rather than Gray.
Gray then gets up and hops over the couch on one foot. He let's out a sign of relief as he lies down on the couch.
A few moments later, Gray hears the flick of the switch as the light goes out and the room goes dark, except for some light from the hallway.
When Gray hears Ababa walking away, he stops him. "Ababa."
"Hn?"
There's a slight pause before Gray speaks. "Thanks." It's kind of a whisper but it's loud enough for Ababa to hear.
"Don't ever mention it. Anyone." Ababa's tone seems devoid of any mock or malice and then he disappears down the passage. "Bathroom is down the hall on the right." And then a door closes.
Gray stares into the darkness as he thinks.
A few years ago, he never would have thought that he would be sleeping on Ababa's couch. And that after Ababa gave him food, and pain killers.
Gray wonders why Ababa is so accommodating and nice.
And that is the last thought on Gray's mind before sleep carries him away.