As they pass another hallway, Gray pauses as he spots Enjuy off in the distance turning a corner being escorted by a robot. Gray can see that Enjuy is fighting off a lot of pain to keep moving on his feet.
"Best leave him alone, he's had a bad day." Ababa comments as he continues walking.
Gray watches Enjuy walking away with his back to him. He can see the faint blood marks seeping through Enjuy's shirt in stripe like forms.
Enjuy was whipped.
"Who is taking care of him?" Gray finds himself asking without really thinking about it.
"No one." Ababa flatly answers with no remorse or care.
Something in Gray pulls at his heart strings, he feels sorry for Enjuy and he feels like he should do something rather than just walk away and pretend that he does not care.
"You can do whatever you like Gray, you are a high ranked member of the Alliance and no one will question you, as long as you don't do anything wrong that is." Ababa turns and speaks to Gray and a moment later he continues walking away, leaving Gray to make up his own mind.
Gray takes a look after Ababa and then he goes down into the opposite direction. He goes down a floor to the medbay and collects a first aid kit and no one asked him one single question about what he is doing.
As the door slams shut behind Enjuy, he stands still for a moment and then he sits down on the bed with a grunt, suppressing pain. A moment later he grits his teeth in pain as he pulls off his shirt with great difficulty.
Enjuy then leans over forward and rests his elbows on his knees. His back hurts like hell.
When the door opens, Enjuy does not even bother to look up, until Gray's boots comes into view.
"What do you want?" Enjuy spews out in irritated anger.
There is no response from Gray as he in silence places the first aid kit on the table and then starts rummaging through it.
Enjuy wearily watches Gray, is he here to torture him some more at Ababa's orders or perhaps even Marda-B's or is he here to really help him?
Gray then disappears into the bathroom and then emerges with a damp cloth. He then takes a seat next to Enjuy.
"It's going to hurt like hell." That is Gray's only warning before he starts wiping the wounds on Enjuy's back with the damp cloth.
Enjuy cringes in pain as he takes a deep breath to fight down the pain.
When Gray has finished cleaning the blood away, Gray then tips the bottle of disinfectant over a gauze and carefully starts dabbing the bloody welts.
Enjuy suck in air through his nose, yes this is hurting like hell.
"At least it is not in the shape of the Shadow Alliance emblem." Gray comments absent mindedly.
"Why, is that what they did to you?" Enjuy asks in return.
Gray pauses what he is doing. He forgot that Enjuy does not know all that Marda-B has ordered to have done to him. Enjuy does not know about the big hideous tattoo on his back.
Moments later, Gray continues dabbing the wounds on Enjuy back in silence, not offering any answer.
"Why are you here Gray?" Enjuy asks.
"Because I choose to be here." Gray answers plainly.
"No, I mean why are you here with the Shadow Alliance?" Enjuy makes it clearly what he is really asking.
There is some silence as Gray thinks about the answer and there really is only one.
"Because I choose to be here." It is the truth, he is here by choice so that his sister and his friends can be free and live in peace.
Enjuy snorts at Gray. "Please, no one believes that, definitely not me."
"You are free to believe whatever you like." Gray responds with no care.
"You know that there is no going back to the gang after this right?" Enjuy states as he hangs his head forward from the pain.
"I'm not planning on going back, I never did." Gray answers as he recaps the bottle of disinfectant.
"So, you actually are here out of your own free will?" Enjuy asks as Gray gets up and places the stuff back into the first aid box.
"At least I know what I'm doing here." Gray then picks up Enjuy's bloody shirt from the floor and disappears into the bathroom.
Gray thinks that Enjuy is a complete idiot, he was free, the moron, why did he come back to the alliance?
There's some silence before Enjuy speaks again. "I'm still trying to figure out what exactly it is that I have done wrong to deserve this beating. I know I lost, but it seems excessive." Enjuy breathes as water starts running in the bathroom. Gray is soaking his shirt in cold water.
"This had nothing to do with losing a battle with Aqulas. You betrayed the Shadow Alliance and Marda-B will make you pay, pay and pay some more. Trust me I know." Gray speaks from experience, and he is sure that he only got off easy because of Ababa but clearly Ababa has no intentions of helping out Enjuy.
"So, you spend your free time in the dungeons?" Enjuy asks as he sits up as Gray enters the room again.
"Something like that." Gray gives a vague answer and then heads for the door.
"Good luck." Gray gives on last comment as the door closes behind him.
Gray then returns to Ababa's quarters, well kind of Ababa's and his but he did not tell Enjuy that. He led Enjuy to believe that he is locked up in the dungeons but he is actually staying with Ababa, and in this place considering his circumstances, that is a luxury.
"So, did you leave Enjuy in a better or worse state than you found him?" Ababa asks the moment he steps in.
"What do you think?" Gray responds knowing that Ababa already knows the answer to it.
"Hn, do not go soft on Enjuy, Gray, Marda-B will exploit it." Ababa warns.
"No need to worry, I will beat him up the next time he starts up with me." Gray responds as he disappears down the hall to his room.
Gray then spent his time fiddling with Chrome Zepher until dinner arrived and Ababa summoned him to the lounge.
Both sit in silence eating until Gray breaks the silence.
"How did Enjuy end up in the Shadow Alliance in the first place?" Gray asks as he has been wondering about it for quite some time.
"I thought you would have caught it the first time. Enjuy made a deal with Marda-B that if he defeats you then…." Ababa starts reciting the story when Gray interrupts him.
"Not now. Before." Gray's tone is slightly irritated. He is sure that Ababa knew what he meant but gave him the run around.
"Hmm." Ababa hums like he is thinking whether he should tell Gray of not.
"He joined the Alliance willingly and happily, unlike you who needed extra incentive." Ababa's tone has an edge of maliciousness to it, and he is clearly talking about how the Alliance took his sister hostage after he refused to join them willingly.
He still remembers that day like it was yesterday. He and his sister were happy and free, living in Windtoon and yes, it took a village to raise them. And then one day someone with the Shadow Alliance emblem showed up and offered him the 'opportunity' to compete for the Shadow Allaince. Gray refused and the next day was his privilege to meet Ababa for the first time.
Ababa again offered Gray the opportunity to compete for the Alliance and when Gray refused again, Ababa gave him the option of joining willingly or by force.
Gray of course told him to go take a flying hike.
Four days later he could not find his sister and then reality dawned on him.
It had been a fight for his sister's freedom ever since.
And then of course it took a few months in the dungeons to convince him to co-operate.
"Enjuy hated his life. It was unlike you and your sister. He was more than willing to become a member of the Alliance." Ababa explains.
"It's a long sad story, one I'm sure Enjuy would not be happy that someone else knows. In fact, I don't even think that he knows that I know." Ababa keeps explaining as he thinks about where he found Enjuy in that run down, backalley neighborhood.
"And Wen and Lee?" Gray asks as it seems like Ababa is in a talking mood.
"They were very eager to be the best and I convinced them that the Shadow Alliance way is the best way to accomplish that." Ababa answers as a sinister smile spreads over his face.
Gray shakes his head as he slightly rolls his eyes, that is such a typical response for Ababa.
"Believe it or not Gray, you were the only one ever forced to join the Shadow Alliance. You were the only one that was unwilling to serve the Alliance." Ababa explains as he watches Gray's reaction.
"Well, was the only one." Ababa adds.
Gray looks at Ababa slightly shocked, there are others who are being forced? He cannot allow such a thing. It is fine if he is the only one, but he cannot sit back and do nothing while others are being forced to be part of the Alliance.
"There is now no one that is being forced to be part of the Alliance since you are here willing and of your own volition." Ababa smiles as he finishes his statement.
"The look on your face Gray is priceless. And to be honest, I could see that look in your eye that you get just before you pull a stunt of betrayal." Ababa's tone turns slightly dark as he points this out to Gray.
"Well, since there is no one here against their will, there will be no need to stab anyone in the back then." Gray responds without a care and then continues eating.