"I don't understand, we defeated the Shadow Alliance." Terry speaks as he is standing at the window keeping lookout for any danger.
"What I don't understand is what they want with Gray." Yamato asks as he is sitting by the table as Bull is busy customizing his bdaman.
"Oh, there would be plenty that the Alliance would want with Gray." Wen answers.
"Like what?" Terry asks.
"He did betray them." Lee answers.
"So did the two of you! What makes the difference, why are you still here?" Terry responds.
After some thought Lee answers. "Somehow it's not the same."
"What do you mean it's not the same?" Yamato asks.
"Lee is right, somehow Gray's betrayal of the Shadow Alliance just seems so much worse than us running off." Wen speaks.
There's silence as everybody is trying to make sense of what is going on. They are so hard busy trying to think of something that they don't even hear the door open and someone coming.
"Hey, what's with all the gloomy faces?"
"Master Armada!" They exclaim as they see Armada standing in the door.
"Armada, you're back!" Lienna just about jumps into a hug.
"I'm glad I was missed." Armada had gone to another town to source some ancient method of molding bdaman parts.
"Armada, something has happened." Yamato drops his head and then they tell Armada about the Shadow Alliance.
"What!? What do you mean the Shadow Alliance!?" Armada is shocked. They defeated Marda-B, how can this be?
"And what would they want with Gray?" Armada has a lot of respect for Gray and he has always been glad to have him around. Gray being in the hands of the Shadow Alliance gives him a very, very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Maybe…" Everyone turns to Bull. "Maybe that's what happened with Enjyu. Maybe that's why we haven't seen him either."
"Then you know what that means." Yamato turns to look at the Yong Fa brothers. "The Shadow Alliance are rounding up those who betrayed them."
"Enjyu, Gray. That means that we're next brother." Lee turns to his big brother.
"The Alliance was probably just waiting for the opportune time to strike. Enjyu was off on his own and so was Gray." Bull points out.
"Then we better stick together guys and watch each other's backs and protect one another." Yamato declares as he gets on his feet.
"I don't know about that." Everybody turns to Shin who is lying next Aqulas' feet.
"What do you mean?" Terry asks.
"It's like Gray knew this was coming. This is what he was preparing for." Shin explains.
"Huh? You mean he wasn't training to battle Yamato?" Bulls asks.
"I'm afraid that Gray was preparing for something far worse." Shin answers.
"So, what are we going to do?" Lienna asks as she is holding her hands clasped together. "How are we going to get my brother back?" A stray tear runs down her face.
"No need to worry Lienna, we will get him back." Wen is by her side and comforts her as he puts his hand on her shoulder.
"First, let us stick together. We will be stronger and more difficult to be defeated that way. And then we will have to start looking for Gray. Where would you say we start?" Yamato turns to Wen and Lee. They come from the Alliance, they should at least have a clue of where to look.
"Unfortunately, we can't help you there. The Shadow Alliance as we knew it was completely destroyed." Wen explains.
"Yeah, we went back there after Marda-B was defeated just to make sure but there was nothing left. Everything was destroyed. Who knows where they are now." Lee adds.
Somewhere in an unknown location, Gray is fast asleep until he hears the door to his room open. Gray does not even open his eyes, he knows who it is. Only Ababa will walk around like he owns the place.
"What do you want Ababa?" Gray asks with eyes closed and making no effort to move.
"I've come to check on you." Ababa informs and Gray can hear him coming closer. Gray decides to ignore him like he is not there.
"You have to clean your back, or it'll get infected." Ababa gets to the point.
Gray can feel that there's dried and caked blood on his back and right now he really could not care any less. Well, just like the rest of his injuries that have gone untreated also. He is comfortable like this, and he doesn't want to move. And besides, how exactly is he supposed to clean his own back?
"I'll get right on it." Gray sarcastically breathes out.
The strong smell of disinfectant causes Gray to open his eyes and he finds Ababa standing next to him with the bottle tipped over onto a cloth.
"What are you doing?" Gray asks as he watches him with suspicion.
"What does it look like I'm doing Gray?" Ababa answers in a bit of a sinister tone and Gray is sure that his, well now again evil mentor, is here to make sure that he suffers as much as possible.
Gray sucks in a deep breath and closes his eyes as the cloth with disinfectant makes contact with his skin. Ababa then methodically cleans his back with something of, dare Gray say it, tenderness. He could have made this exercise a whole lot worse if he wanted to.
"So, what is your plan of action?" Ababa asks as he continues to tip the bottle over onto the cloth.
Opening his eyes, Gray stares at his bdaman. "Pick them off one by one?" It comes out a question, almost like he is not sure if it'll have Ababa's approval.
"Well, it will be completely stupid to face them in a group. You'll be sure to lose." Ababa agrees.
There is a moment of silence, then Gray closes his eyes again and takes a deep breath. His back feels like it is on fire again.
"I'm sure that you are aware of Wen and Lee's routines." Ababa states as a fact rather than a question. He is well aware that Gray is always watching, and he would know about the routes that the Yong Fa brothers take to patrol the surrounding town.
"Hmm." Gray affirms.
"As for Enjyu, we have been following him and we have his location." Ababa announces with glee.
Again, there is a stretch of silence.
"Why grab me first?" Gray asks. If they know where Enjyu is, why not grab him first? Surely, he is more valuable to the Alliance, well, something that Gray is trying to disprove.
"You seemed the most eager." There is a clear tone of amusement in Ababa's tone. "And that was all according to your plan, right?"
Gray remains silent. Yes, that is what he was hoping for. For him to get here first and to strike a bargain before anyone else gets involved.
"And you are also the most serious." Ababa states as he continues to wipe off the dried blood. "You're the only one who understands the situation, unlike the others."
The others all think they have defeated the Shadow Alliance, they are safe, and all things are well. But not Gray. Gray did not try and fool himself with that idea even once.
The next moment Gray flinches as something cold unexpectedly touches his face and then he hisses in pain as the movement has pulled the skin on his back.
"Lie still Gray, you might just hurt yourself." Ababa sarcastically comments as he wipes the cloth with disinfectant over Gray's temple attempting to wipe away the dried blood.
Gray pauses for a few seconds as his mind go blank, he is sure that he is supposed to be mouthing some sarcastic comment or just down right and rudely telling Ababa to back off.
"Marda-B specifically ordered that you receive no medical treatment." Ababa speaks as he continues to tip the bottle over and clean the wound on the side of Gray's temple.
"And what exactly do you call this?" Gray sarcastically points out.
"Torture? I can make it worse if you would like me to." Ababa responds in kind with sarcasm.
Before Gray can respond, Ababa continues. "This needed stitches, but it's too late now, it's going to leave a mark."
"Again, I ask, what are you doing?" Gray would like to pin Ababa with a glare with he decides to keep his eyes closed, getting any of that disinfectant in his eyes is not going to be fun.
"No need to worry Gray, just making sure it does not get infected." Ababa calmly answers.
Then there is silence as Ababa then continues to clean the wound. When he is finished, Gray is just about to take a deep breath of fresh air when the same cold sensation of the disinfectant is on his arm.
Opening his eyes, Gray finds that Ababa has moved on to his arm that is hanging off the side of the bed. There was quite a bad gash on his arm, definitely needed stitches but who cares at this point?
"Ok, that's enough. Get away from me!" Gray suddenly lashes out at Ababa but does not move a muscle so that he does not pull the skin on his back.
Ababa on the other hand continues on as he gives a snicker like he is entertained as he continues to wipe the dried blood from Gray's arm to locate the actual wound.
"I would say, 'make me', but that would just be cruel." Ababa responds clearly amused.
"Ow ow ow ow." There's a hiss of pain and Gray screws his eyes closed as the disinfectant cloth is pushed down on the open wound.
"Hmm, yes, that is infected, it is going to require actual medical attention and stitching." Ababa comments as he inspects the wound.
"You did that on purpose!" Gray hisses through grit teeth.
"On purpose? You mean like this?" Ababa responds.
"Ok ok, you made your point." Gray quickly changes his tune before more pain is inflicted on him but when he opens his eyes and finds that Ababa has already stepped away and closed the bottle of disinfectant, he realizes that Ababa is just busy toying with him.
Gray pulls an unimpressed face as Ababa grins back at him.
"It's too late for stitches." Gray comments as he closes his eyes again.
"They will have to open the wound again to clean it, it cannot be left like that." Ababa responds as he turns away from Gray. "Do rest up Gray, you've got all the time in the world." Ababa's tone drips with sarcasm.
Gray just remains silent. He is well aware of his situation.
His attention is drawn when he can hear something like fabric being moved. And for a moment he thinks that Ababa is going to throw a blanket over him. What is Ababa doing? This is getting weird.
But when nothing happens and the door opens and closes signaling Ababa's departure, Gray opens his eyes. He looks around in his view to see what Ababa could have been doing and then he spots the chair. It is empty, his poncho was hanging over the chair. Ababa took his poncho, why?
"And? Where's my mom?" Yamato jumps up as soon as Wen and Lee step into the cat café.
"The mountain pass has collapsed. No one can come through." Wen explains as he takes out a juice from the fridge.
"They are busy clearing the pathway, hopefully it will be open within a few weeks." Lee takes a bottle that his brother hands him.
"Weeks?" Yamato seems disappointed.
"Well at least we know why your mom has not returned. She's probably on that side of the mountain worrying about us too." Terry joins in on the conversation.
"Yeah, but I mean weeks. Who's going to feed me?" The disappointed look on Yamato's face stays put.
"My cooking is not good enough?" Everyone turns to look at Lienna who now has a hurt expression on her face.
"Of course, it is!" Lee jumps in before Wen.
"Yamato is full of nonsense. Your cooking is the best." Wen gives Lienna a big smile as he compliments her cooking.
"Rise and shine Gray." There is a scary joyful edge to Ababa's tone. Most certainly not the tone or voice, or person behind the voice to wake up to.
Gray opens his eyes and finds Ababa standing in front of him. He is still lying in exactly the same position as the first time he laid down, on his stomach. That does explain why his neck is feeling stiff. Painfully stiff.
"What do you mean?" Gray frowns with irritation.
"You've been asleep for over a day. I was willing to give you time to rest up but now it's getting out of hand." Ababa's tone has a slight mock to it.
He has been asleep that long? Perhaps he did not realize how exhausted he really was or maybe it's just because he is relaxed.
Believe it or not, he is actually more relaxed being here rather than out there not knowing at what point his impending doom was going to dawn on him. It kept him on his toes all the time, it never gave him much time to sleep, or relax.
The frown on Gray's face returns when a plate of food is placed on the bedside table next to him.
"Eat up."
Gray suspiciously eyes the food. Sure, he is hungry. No, correction, he is very hungry, starving actually. But there are two things that make him hesitate. One, he knows the moment he moves, the burning on his back from the tattoo is going to flare up and two, why is Ababa bringing him food? Why is he being so nice?
When Ababa disappears out of sight, Gray slowly pushes himself up with a suppressed groan of pain and maneuvers his way into a sitting position with his feet hanging off the edge of the bed. He even still has his shoes on and the same bloody clothes. Looking over at the sheets, there's some blood stains on there too.
Gray rolls his head from side to side to get rid of the stiffness in his neck and upper shoulders while trying to keep his back as still as possible. Slowly leaning forward to pick up the plate of food, a slight flinch finds its way onto his face as the skin on his back stretches with the movement. Gray then spots the bottle of painkillers just next to the plate. He is coming for them just now.
Taking a bite of the warm food, Gray remembers the cooking. For him it was always strange that the Shadow Alliance's food was always this good. But not like he is complaining.
Realizing that Ababa has not left, Gray carefully takes a glance over his shoulder, careful not to move his back, to see what Ababa is up to. Ababa has his poncho, and he is busy hanging it up on a hook on the wall and then Ababa makes a gesture of dusting it off.
When Ababa steps away, Gray gets a good look at his poncho. And what he sees gives him a slight stab of panic, then horror and then Gray turns back and takes another bite of food.
Well, this was the plan…
In the square where the red lines on his poncho cross, the yellow and purple eye of the Shadow Alliance's emblem is embroidered. This makes him wonder how his back looks like. They are putting their mark everywhere they can, his bdaman is probably going to be next.
"I thought that Marda-B said I'm to receive no medical attention." Gray comments as he refers to his arm. Two nurses or doctors or whoever they were, came, opened and cleaned the wound, which was excruciatingly painful, stitched it up and bandaged it.
"I convinced him that you are bleeding out and that you will be of no use to us dead." Ababa's tone tells Gray that is not the real story.
"So, what are you going to do with your bdaman?" Ababa then appears in front of Gray.
"Take it apart, rebuild it." Gray answers as he is chewing with his mouth full of food.
"That would be such a shame." A devious smirk appears on Ababa's face. "Oh, the irony it would've been if you defeated your former-friends with the very same bda-man that they had built you." Ababa seems to be getting some kind of twisted joy out of the thought.
When he gets no response as Gray remains silent and chewing away on his food, Ababa adds. "Well, I suppose that would be why you're going to take it apart."
Gray closes his eyes to avoid eye contact as he continues to chew. But when he feels something move by his foot, he opens his eyes and is frozen stuck for a moment. "What are you doing?" Gray asks almost in a rushed panic.
"I'm taking off your shoes. It must be uncomfortable sleeping with them on." Ababa continues to undo Gray's boots.
"Stop that." Gray slightly leans forward as he shoos Ababa away with his hand with the fork in it.
"You were limping, just making sure your ankle is fine." Ababa's tone has a mock to it.
"My ankle is just fine." Gray responds back, clearly running out of patience.
"I was just trying to help." Ababa mocks.
"Well don't, it's creepy." Gray just about commands in a very annoyed tone. Yes, he is creeped out. Ababa has been far too helpful and now it is going too far.
A wicked grin spreads over Ababa face and the moment he does that, Gray realizes that he is doing it on purpose. Gray's one eyebrow twitches in angry irritation. Ababa has always known exactly which buttons to push to get him all riled up.
"And when you're done, we're going to have to clean your back." Ababa states with glee in his tone.
"I can do it myself." The anger in Gray's tone is evident.
"I'd like to see you try." Ababa gives a slight laugh of amusement.
Putting the empty plate down, Gray grabs the bottle of pain killers while trying to ignore Ababa. After taking the pills and finishing the glass of water, Gray finds a chair placed in front of him.
Gray feels like dropping his head in annoyance. He's not too happy about Ababa touching him but logically thinking about it, if Ababa does not help him, he will not be able to do it himself.
There is a deep intake of breath as Gray moves off the bed. Sitting down with his legs either side of the chair, he rests his folded arms over the back rest. The smell of disinfectant fills the air and Gray braces himself for the cold feeling that will turn to fire the moment it touches his back.
"So, who are you going to take down first?" Ababa asks as he wipes the cloth across Gray's back.
"Who would you say I should take down first?" Gray asks in return.
"Wen or Lee. Together they can be quite a force to be reckoned with. I suggest you make sure that they cannot join forces and merge their bdaman together." Ababa casually suggests. "But then again, Yamato will be caught completely off guard if you were to show up now. He is distracted at this moment. Now will be the best time. If you leave him for last, his resolve will only grow, and his victory will be more secure."
Gray closes his eyes as he leans his head over forward. This really was not part of the plan. He did not plan for anything like this.
"Ooww!" Gray suddenly exclaims as he arches his back and then immediately regrets the movement.
"My bad, there was some dried blood that stubbornly did not want to be wiped off." Ababa explains his actions but with the tone he uses, Gray cannot tell if it really is the truth.
"How about warn me next time." Gray bites out in a mix of anger, irritation and a lot of pain.
"I'll do so." But Ababa's tone remains sarcastic.
Gray stays in the same position with his back arched, like he is expecting Ababa to do it again. If not for an actually patch of dried blood, then just for the kick of it.
"Shouldn't have put this off for hours." Ababa comments to himself but Gray can make out that he is talking about cleaning his back.
"I guess that means brace…..MYSELF!" Before Gray can finish the sentence a shout out in pain as Ababa gives a few rough strokes of the disinfectant cloth on his back.
Gray is left taking deep short breaths to get the pain under control as he still stays in the same position with his back arched, clearly expecting more pain at any moment.
There is another patch, but not as bad, but by the time Ababa is finished, drops of sweat are running down Gray's face.
"Almost healed." Ababa announces as he closes the bottle of disinfected.
"Hmph please." Gray gives a huff of protest. He can personally testify that it does not feel like it is almost healed.
There is a low growl that causes Gray to open his eyes and he finds Ababa standing right in front of him. As he is sitting, he is closer to Ababa's size and they are at eye level. Staring into Ababa's eyes, Gray can feel that glare just about glaring into the back of his mind.
"What do you want Ababa?" Gray closes his eyes as an annoyed frown crosses his face with this one eyebrow twitching.
"You better start hoping for a quick recovery Gray. Your betrayal is far from being dealt with and Marda-B is starting to get very impatient." Ababa tone is threatening to the core.
Keeping his eyes closed, Gray moves his head from side to side, trying to work out the kinks in his neck. "Of course." Gray is not so naïve to think that appeasing Marda-B is that easy.
There's silence and then Gray speaks up again. "Why are you still glaring at me?" Even though he still has his eyes closed, Gray can literally feel Ababa still glaring at him.
"You make sure that fire of yours keeps on burning, because it is going to get far worse for you, before it gets any better, Gray." Ababa states and then he turns and heads for the door.
Gray looks over to the closed door. Sure, he knows that Marda-B does not forgive easily, and he knows that Ababa really likes to pick on him. But just what else has the Shadow Alliance planned for him to make him pay?
