I awoke feeling refreshed and realized that, once Master had finished with the bars, I had slept better than I had in years. It was strange, not having them there, and I couldn't help but run my hands along my arms and torso to assure myself that they were gone. The tiny holes in my body where they had been reminded me of their presence, and the pain from the sore places they had been told me it was not merely a dream.

My memories from the previous night were fuzzy, but some images were vivid. I remembered doing something bad that made Master angry. I remembered being punished with a full voltage and begging Master to turn it off. He had listened, which was strange, but I was too relieved to notice then. Heero had left and Master took me into the bedroom, where he proposed to remove the bars from my body. I had thought it was a trick, wasn't able to imagine that it was anything but a trick, and panicked. Master had calmed me, relaxed me, and removed the bars. I could still hear them being snapped off and dropped into the bowl, one by one.

With a shudder, I rose from the bed and walked into the kitchen. I had not truly grasped the situation yet, so that my feelings were still scattered and I was left empty, unsure of anything. Because of this, I wasn't sure if I should hug Master or run from him when I saw him sitting at the table. I settled for sitting in front of him.

I could tell right away that Master was unhappy. Slaves quickly become attuned to these kinds of things, and Master wasn't trying to hide it from me. I tensed, but held my ground, knowing that there was really no where to run. So I sat silently in front of my imposing master, wishing that Heero would come home. Perhaps he could calm the Master, for my presence only seemed to be angering him further as he glared at the table.

I soon noticed what he was staring at. On the table to his left was the bowl, and inside it I assumed were the bars he had removed from me. To his right was the controller that I had hoped in vain never to see again. Though I knew, mentally, that it held no power over me, the sight of it still made me cringe. Before him on the table were scattered a few of the bars, and one had been sliced open with a razor to expose the wires within. There was a battery in either end, and wires through the middle connecting them. I could see the small patch of metal in the middle which allowed the bars to shock me.

"I must admit," he said with a mirthless laugh as he continued to frown somberly at the gadgetry before him, "that this device is ingenious. The outside is covered in a thin layer of rubber, so that the master does not receive a shock when he touches you. Only the very inside is left exposed, and that part is wrapped in skin, so that only you are shocked. The voltage can be lowered to the same amount used to train a dog, or raised so that it could kill a man in mere minutes. The controller allows the Master to raise and lower the voltage whenever he pleases, from wherever he is."

I said nothing, as there was nothing for me to say. I held my silence as Master rose from his seat and came around to my side of the table. I was going to be beaten. I sat very still, hoping that perhaps Master wouldn't hurt me so much if I were still and quiet.

Master slapped my face with a resounding crack, forcing my face to the side. I had to grab the counter to keep myself from falling out of the chair, then worried that I should have fallen to the ground. I could more easily defend myself curled up than I could from the stool.

But no more strikes were forthcoming. Slowly, more out of surprise than daring, I allowed myself to look at Master. He was still giving me an angry look, but he made not move to strike me. Instead, he lifted my chin to look at him.

"Don't you ever," he said forcefully, "ever hide something like that from me again. I will never allow one of my slaves to be tortured and tormented like that. You could have been killed! I do not condone this kind of senseless brutality and I will not have it in my home. Do you understand me? There is nothing, nothing, you could do to warrant such a punishment. I will not have a machine..."

"Nothing?" I wondered incredulously, so struck by the thought that I forgot myself. Master stopped in his rage, but did not drop my eyes.

"Nothing," he said with conviction.

"But...? How can that be? I must have done something... yesterday... for you to..."

"It wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong. It... was an accident. I know that's no excuse, but I didn't know."

"Didn't... know?"

"No, or I never would have allowed it. I was going to ask you about it when you came back, but... well, you know. I promise you, it will never happen again."

"Never... again? But what if you need to punish me?"

"Then I'll do it without resorting to torment. That wasn't a punishment, Trowa, that was pure cruelty. I won't do that to you."

"I... I don't understand."

"You will," he said softly, wiping tears from my face that I hadn't known were there. "I'll show you. Don't worry, you have all the time in the world," he said, pulling me into his arms. For once, the contact of another body did not bring pain to me, and I could feel years of anguish that I had stored inside draining out of me. Perhaps... just perhaps...