Buzzing sounds returned to her mind, senses of reality came flooding back; scents, taste and light restored. Grusha dared not to open her eyes, controlling the pacing of her breathing with only the minutest of signs of awakening. Thick cuffs chained her firm in place on her back, a table that she recognized from long ago. It was the same foreign and alien odors that felt comforting to her from long ago, a place she could have called home once upon a time.

Whining and hissing alerted her ears, recognizing the theatrical entrance of the hooded figure of Static. To this day, she never had seen his face, as well as his true potential. His entire existence was a mystery to Grusha, the man was not even human, the stench of burning and decayed metals reeked from his body.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the chamber where she laid uncomfortably on the waving table, floating above from the ground with magnetic static energy suppressing her abilities. She suspected the cuffs also linked her mind with Static's neural network, which was why she processed her mental faculties under the subconscious mind in parallel to the conscious.

“How is my prize?” The raspy voice hissed, sparks of electricity emitted from each word, he took deep breaths from every syllable.

“In one piece, as you wanted.” Enigma’s said.

Good thing Grusha decided to not move a muscle and stay still, a single fiber of her moving would have made things more inconvenient for her.

“Excellent. At long last, our desires can run its course and be fulfilled as we all worked hard for.” Heavy feet tapped the floor, in half tones as if he climbed up short steps.

Enigma’s voice piped up. “Please. No more pain, I want it to stop.” She pleaded hopefully.

Static rubbed a finger across her cheek, then walked past up to where Grusha laid peacefully. Lifting long threads of her silky hair, he stroked and tugged the entire length. Two blue eyes glowed from the shadows of his hood, casting light that spotlighted everything that he turned to.

“By the same time tomorrow evening, you’d never have to worry about pain ever again. You will be freed from the chains of life, the curse this wretched world bestowed upon its every one inhabitant. Wildebeest understood that vision, and I thought we could have worked together. Trusting in each other’s strengths, bringing the world down to its knees with us atop.”

Turning his head towards Enigma, his voice deepened with anger. “But Grusha was too wild, she was beastly, and lacked finesse.” Punching the table next to Grusha’s face. “Atop of that. She considered herself as the sole ultimate being, I was nothing to her, just another rival that she respected for the time being that served her own purposes.”

Enigma remained silent, Grusha had no way of telling if Static could tell or not, but the poor little girl was scared out of her mind. It was so much fear that stank from her that Grusha had to stifle the thought to gag.

“You, however,” Static's voice softened, and resting Grusha’s hair back on the table. “Know your place, you fear me, you need me. Unlike Wildebeest, she never feared anything, which at times I found it admirable, but so damnably frustrating when I needed her to fear me.”

A pause.

“That’s why on the day I had acquired you, I sacrificed Grusha. A tool that was outdated needed replacing, as all things should be. She did something irredeemable, and that was the final straw.”

The room clambered, shaking and opening up a space beneath his feet. A long thin blade sliced from the floor, Static grabbed the handle of the blade and held it up, preparing to impale Grusha through the chest.

“Good-bye, Wildebeest, your death will pave way for a brave new world.”

He then thrusted the blade downwards. Time slowed down in Grusha’s mind, playing the sequences of what she could do and decided the route she found with the highest likelihood of success.

Eyes widened by surprise from Static and Enigma at once, cuffs sent signals to Static's mind the instant she enabled her conscious mind, and the energy core inside of Grusha alerted Enigma’s own energy signatures being expended. Energy pulsed into Grusha’s wrist into the cuff that dampened her strength, exploding the unreliable device. Rolling quickly on her side, she punched Static in the chest that sent him flying through the air, crashing through the wall forming a deep hole.

Enigma launched herself towards Grusha on the table, pummeling clasped fists where she was. Sending more pulses of stored energy into the rest of her ankles and wrists, Grusha freed herself from hampering bondage and rolled out of the way in a nick of time. Shockwaves sent her flying against the walls of the domed room, sending her to a screeching halt as she dug sharp fingers into the surfaces. Across the room, Static came back into the room with the chamber opening up in a shaking menace.

Wiping the dirt from his face, he waved the sharp blade dangerously near his face with carelessness. The hood that covered his head was torn off, revealing an intimidating metallic face that glowed from all his orifices and eyes.

Rasping an angered roar. “GRUSHA!” Coughing once. “How many times do I have to nearly kill to finally get what I want from you? All you have to do is just submit, the consequences would be all the same whether you come willingly or not. The only difference would be how much I’ll make it hurt.”

She grinned devilishly wry. “You had one thing almost right, but still wrong nonetheless.”

“And what’s that?” He asked tentatively.

“I didn’t think you were weaker than me, I knew it for a certainty all along.” Grusha taunted him needlessly.

Humming grew louder as hyperactive particles charged up, light grew brighter from his eyes. Grusha assumed the distinct different metallic odor that oozed from his pores was anger, judging from the bitter aftertaste it left on her tongue.

Rasping between each breath. “Stop speaking, or else the more I’ll make it hurt.”

Clamps from the surface locked Grusha’s limbs in place, preventing her from running away. Static lanced his blade through the air, Grusha could hear the wind being sliced in between the thin blades. Not wanting to be a testing dummy for the blade, she sent another powerful pulse through her body that shattered the metal bindings wrapping her, and jumped to the floor below her.

Sprinting towards Static across the room, he would never be able to dodge her relentless attacks, but he neither tried or needed to. Enigma barreled into Grusha, being able to keep up with her nearly impossible speeds. Two balls formed around her fists, ready to begin another intense battle.

“Take care of her until I make it into the throne room.” Static ordered in his raspy voice.

Enigma grunted, acknowledging that she heard. Static sunk into the floor disappearing altogether without a trace he was here ever to begin with, leaving Grusha like some sort of chore for Enigma to clean up.

“You want the pain to end?” Grusha started. “Then get out of my way, you did your part in bringing me here, not leave while you still can.”

Keeping her distance and alert, Enigma refused to answer or be tricked. Grusha squatted, letting her hair settle to show that she meant no anger towards her, not that it meant much to begin with. It took fractions of a second to be enabled again, so any signs of subsided aggression were meager attempts at best, but Enigma was someone who did not know her capabilities, yet at least.

“Respond, or let me reach that skorto before my patience runs out, you little girl.” Grusha hummed menacingly.

“What would you know about pain? You’re no better than Static! He at least plans to end it.” Enigma reasoned.

Scratching the back of her ear, Grusha responded. “What I know about pain?” She echoed back. Teeth bared and quills formed long spikes lining her back. “I know everything about pain. I wallowed in it, drowned in it, bathed in it. Then one day, I anticipated and relished the bitter sweet taste of pain. That’s why I shared that pain with so many others, and that is why you share so much of yours too.”

Enigma stood there unmovingly, anticipating an aggressive and mindless assault.

“Since I know so much pain, it was refreshing being shown compassion, a taste far more bitter and sweeter than I could have imagined.” Quills vibrated excitedly. “That is why I will reverse everything Static has done, and bring out an even braver world, one worth guarding rather than destroying. Static promises a world free of pain through pain, I plan to bring a world free of pain by the compassion it has bred.”

A tear rolled down the girls mask. “If you can bring about such a world, then prove it to me.”

Enigma stretched an arm out and beamed a shot from her hand at Grusha. A thick beam of violet hues shoved Grusha pressed against the wall, shielding her face with her palms, her skins crusted and flaked from the beam's onslaught. Hardened red flesh beneath the skin was exposed, the darkness eroded her outer protective shell that was once indestructible. Digging long sharp toes into the ground, Grusha trudged forward hunched over.

Enigma roared. A hundred voices resonating in the large chamber, causing sound echoing from bouncing against the walls that amplified her own voice. Charging her other hand that glowed a bright ball of white light, she punched the air and joined hands together that sent a wider beam crashing against Grusha. Her entire arm was being disintegrated from her body, then disappeared altogether.

Meters away from Enigma, she pounced and barreled into the girl from her backside. Hundreds of needlelike quills perforated Enigma, sending her limping to the ground in an inglorious fashion. Hacking from punctured lungs, she slumped lifelessly to the ground.

“I’m sorry for having to do this to you, perhaps in your next life you would find peace.” Grusha said.

The chamber roared angrily, a booming voice bounced from the thick walls. “GRUSHA!” Wailed an ever so angry Static.