Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update, these last few days have been very busy, and I'll probably be really busy for a while now. I'll try to get as much writing done as possible and post up the chapters as soon as I type them. Anyway, enjoy!

I was splayed out on the floor, my body drenched with sweat and covered with cuts and bruises. The Headmaster stood before me, his eyes narrowed in disappointment once again at my failed attempts of training. I let out a small cry of pain that I strained to hold back as he kicked my side. "Get up," he snarled, his voice striking fear into me once again.

I let out a small whimper and complied, standing up on shaky legs and wiping some blood away that had leaked from my nose. He was a brutal teacher, to say the least. In our combat training, he never held back his punches, dishing them out as if I were an enemy. He told me that it was so that I would be prepared for brutal hits in the future. Why did I even have to train to fight at an early age anyway? I was afraid to ask him, scared that he would only hit me again.

I looked at the Headmaster, and he went into a battle stance, his arms held up with his fists clenched, "Attack me," he challenged. I studied him carefully for a moment, partly to get my bearings, and partly just so that I would finally be able to hit him back and let out a bit of rage that had built up inside of me. I started pacing a bit before suddenly rushing at him, swinging one of my frail arms to try and land a punch to his face. In one swift movement, he sidestepped, entirely dodging my swing and grabbing my whole outstretched arm, flinging me over him and throwing me on the floor. I let out a small gasp of pain as I hit the hardwood floor, my eyes blurring slightly from tears. "Your attacks are too predictable," the Headmaster growled.

I scrunched my face up my pain, just lying there for a moment to get my breath back. It didn't help that this was probably around the third time he managed to fling me into a hard surface today. My head was pounding from his punches and my body ached from his attacks and from the attempts I made at attacking. I wasn't used to fighting, so it hurt like hell. I didn't want to learn how to fight anymore. "Can . . . can I be done?" I panted.

"Not yet. I still need to see how you do on the defensive stance. Get up."

There was more I had to learn and endure? I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach, painfully getting up again. I turned to face him on unsteady legs and held my arms before me as the basic defensive stance. The same one I had seen him do earlier. He smirked and before I could even fully prepare myself, he rushed at me, faking a swing to the right that I fell for and actually punching me in the gut with his other arm, sending me flying backwards from the impact. I landed with a hard thump against the nearby stone wall, getting the air knocked out of me. Through blurred vision, once again affected by my tears, the Headmaster stalked up to me, "You must always expect the unexpected, weakling! Falling for such tricks will never get you anywhere."

I felt the metal tang of blood in my mouth and spat out the crimson liquid onto the floor beside me. "A-all right," I stammered once I got the blood out of my mouth and had my breath back.

"Class dismissed."

"C-can I go back to Anya?"

He narrowed his eyes, "No. You will have your own room. You must learn to live without relying on others."

"At my age?"

"The world outside is cruel. There are those younger than you who learned to live alone out in the streets. Dependence is weakness. You'd do well to remember that."

I stood up shakily after I had recovered my bearings; his hits had left me dizzy and very much shaken up. My left eye was almost swollen shut and there was a cut above my brow. My nose was bleeding, which I tried very hard to stop from doing so, and my whole body was bruised with many shallow cuts all over the place. It hurt to even breathe. My ribs hurt from hitting the floor and walls so many times, and my head had a pounding migraine. Did every kid have to go through this? I couldn't even fathom how the outside world was crueler than the man that stood before me. "Where is my new room, then?" I asked quietly.

The Headmaster grumbled to himself and then shouted to a lone guard with brown hair who was standing just outside the room, "You there!"

The guard jumped and looked to the Headmaster in confusion, pointing at himself, "Who? Me?"

The Headmaster rolled his eyes, "Yes, you! Who else would I be addressing?"

The guard turned a bright shade of red, most likely from embarrassment, "Oh, right. . ."

The Headmaster let out an exasperated sigh and grumbled, "I'm surrounded by idiots," and then saying in a louder tone, "Get over here!"

The young guard nodded and scrambled over to us, "What are your orders, sir?"

"Escort the beast to her room."

I clenched my fists and glared at the floor beneath me, a small lump forming in my throat. Was I no longer considered human for failing to learn how to fight quickly enough? I glanced up at the guard and looked at him in confusion. For a moment, I thought I saw him look at me with sympathetic brown eyes. "Of course, Headmaster," he replied, and motioned for me to follow him out into the hall. After we walked a good distance away from the training room, the young man spoke up, "Looks like he gave you a really hard time."

I looked up at him in surprise and nodded, "Yeah. . ."

"You really look beat up, are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," I was now utterly baffled, no one except for Anya had treated me kindly before this man. "You're new here, aren't you?" I asked after a while.

"Yes, got here a few weeks ago, actually. How could you tell?"

That explained why he was being nice to me. He didn't know that I was only a science experiment. "Just a guess," I said after a few moments of silence.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked.

I looked up at him with wide eyes, "What?"

"What's your name?"

I looked at the ground before me, "I . . . uh . . . I don't have a name."

"You don't?" I heard the surprise in his voice.

"No. . ."

"Well, that's absurd. Everyone has a name."

"Not me. . ."

"Don't worry," he said reassuringly, "you'll get one someday."

I looked up at him, not knowing what to say to that, so I simply asked, "How about you? You got a name?"

He chuckled, "Alik. Alik Galdin."

I smiled a bit, talking to him almost made me forget the pain I received. Almost, but not entirely. "Nice to meet you, Alik," I said quietly.

Alik smiled, and then paused before saying, "If you don't mind my asking, what's a little kid doing in Hydra?"

My smile immediately fell. I didn't know how to respond. I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. He was the only other person here to treat me nicely. "I was born here," I said. It wasn't really lying to him; it was only a half truth, so I didn't feel too guilty.

"Ah, odd place to be born," he responded before stopping in front of a large black door. "We're here." He opened the door for me and I slowly walked in, looking around at my surroundings. It was just like Anya's room, only shabbier, if that was even possible. It looked like the room hadn't been used in years.

The room was dusty, with spider webs in the corners of the room. In the far corner of the room there was a small bed with a thin, tattered sheet that barely covered the mattress. In the opposing corner, there was a small wooden table with a single chair. The floor and walls were a cold, dark gray stone and in the far wall was a barred window in which light filtered through. There was no glass to block out the cold chill that blew in from the outside world.

I looked back to Alik, giving him a tiny smile, "Thanks," I said quietly.

He chuckled a bit, "No problem," and then paused before adding, "Want me to fetch the nurses to patch up those cuts?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but I stopped short, remembering the Headmaster's words. Dependence is weakness. What did that mean? Did it mean that I couldn't even ask for aid when I was injured? I decided to take no chances, lest I disappoint the cruel man again, "No."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, they'll heal eventually."

"All right then," he said doubtfully, "See you later, kid." At that, he closed the door and walked away, leaving me to myself in the cold, dungeon-like room.