"Let's go! Up en at 'em, Pooh Bear! I've picked out a few gold chains for you!". Whinney turned beneath her blanket. She hadn't slept more than three or four hours and was not ready for whatever Aeshma had planned. She turned her head and looked over where she was standing. She had a self-satisfied smirk on her face, and from her hand dangled several long golden chains decorated with what looked like gemstones, before her. Whinney yawned and said, "Wht'r... What're those for?". "You'll wear em, always from now on, part of your kit". "Why?". "I requested them last night and got em this morning. They were made fur containment, but with some help, I had em slightly altered for ya. They should help you with self-restraint". Whinney sat up and reached out a hand towards Aeshma, who handed the chains over. They were delicate and felt warm to the touch. Several loops of chain with hanging, golden tassels, beads, and red gemstones. Each chain had one or more medallions attached, which looked like a large golden coins. She took a coin in her hand and looked at it more closely. It had an intricate circular design engraved on it. Several engraved rings enclose each other, with lines and dots crisscrossing them. "How? How would this help?". "That design you're looking at is magical. The original contained the hand's influence, with the alteration, you should be able to control the release of it as well". "How?". "New favorite word? You'll have to practice. Wear it beneath your shirt, around your waist. c'mon, get a move on". Whinney had never undressed before going to bed. She wriggled the chains over her head and down, then she pulled her shirt over the chains and tucked her shirt into her pants. She stood up, and the chains made a little jingling sound. "Wearing this is embarrassing". "No, I like it". "Why? You can't even see it, I don wanna jingle when I walk". "I like knowing you have it on, like you're wearing a leash and I'm the one holding it". Whinney's skin crawled. She didn't like how Aeshma looked at her. "Let's just go, what am I doing today?". She pushed past Aeshma, slipped on her shoes, and left the tiny apartment. Aechma followed close behind before pulling up in front of her. "Today we're trying out that belly chain, seeing how far you can push yourself. Agent Mot and your partner left before us".
They walked to the central staircase, and for the first time, Whinney saw the outside in daylight. Seeing the trees and the sky like this, she thought that this place might grow on her. People passed them in the hallways, and Aeshma greeted most of them. They were all happy to stop and speak with her for a while, no matter how much of a hurry they were in. Some of them gave Whinney a sceptical glance; no one gave her as much as a nod. Perhaps she had given this place too much credit.
When they passed through the garden tunnel, she asked Aeshma, "What's up with Elijah? I spoke to him yesterday. He said you had told him not to tell me about his influence or whatever". "I did, I wanted to save that for today". "Then what is it? He told me he had, death, something or the other". "That's right. We chose him as a partner for you because he can handle you no matter how violent you become. Besides, i'm hoping he might teach you a thing or two". "That's the thing. He didn't look that tough. And he told me he wasn't a very good fighter". "He's not, yet he's the S.O.F.'s longest serving and most successful freelancer. He never gives up, and he has nothing to lose. Tose two thist are virtues for you guys". "So he's stubborn? Is that really a superpower?". Aeshma chuckled but didn't answer.
They reached what looked like a gymnasium. Blue plastic matrasses covered a large part of the rubberized flooring. Wall bars covered the majority of the walls, and training equipment had been pushed to one corner of the room to make space. Elijah stood with a cup of coffee, wearing a white T-shirt and bright blue shorts. Beside him stood a tall, thin man with thining, long, gray hair. Mot, she assumed. She could see that Elijah and his boss were similar. They both wore the same distant, glum expressions. Her eyes darted back to Elijah's shorts, and this time she had a hard time keeping a straight face. The bright blue didn't suit him at all, and his scrawny thighs made the shorts look somehow too big; at the same time, they were so short they looked comical. She really hoped she wouldn't have to wear the same. "Let's get started. Pooh, you haven't got your training clothes yet, so you'll have to do with what you have on. You'll fight each other, don't hold back, but try not to cause lasting harm. Pooh, you should focus on keeping yourself under control, but don't be afraid to get angry". Whinney stepped up to the mat, and Elijah handed her a pair of mitts. He put a mouthguard in his mouth and assumed something resembling a boxer's stance. "Do I get one of those?". "Go!". Whinney looked back at Aeshma and saw her moving to stand by the door. Mot was doing the same. "Hey! Do I...". Elijah's fist slammed her jaw, and she heard a cracking sound from the joint. She stumbled back and fell to the floor. Her eyes began tearing up. "Ow! What the fuck!". she felt her jaw. "I haven't even put my gloves on dude". She did so and crawled to her feet. Elijah stood waiting. She heard laughing from where Aeshma was standing. She felt heat rising to her face. She rushed towards Elijah and lifted her leg to kick him straight in the stomach. She put all her force into the kick and felt it connect. No. Not connect. He caught her foot and held it. Before she knew it, his fist smashed her face straight on. She felt her nose flatten and her lips slam her teeth. The ground met her back, and once again she heard laughter from behind her.
Her vision was blurry, but she managed to sit up. She heard voices but couldn't tell what they were saying. She made out Elijah saying, "Really? You sure?", before someone else responded something she couldn't make out. She pushed herself up with her hands, but only made it halfway before Elijah's foot hit her stomach. He was about to throw up. She fell down on her face, reeling and gagging. Once again, Elijah kicked her, this time in the ribs. The feeling was unlike anything she had been exposed to before. The pain mixed with the rage that was building. This wasn't fair. He never even gave her a chance to fight him for real. She struggled against the repeated blows to her ribs, trying to stand. The golden chain felt tight and restraining around her. She got to her hands and knees and heard, "Sorry", then a sneaker struck her cheek. Her head whipped to the side, but the pain felt numb and distant somehow.
Whinney didn't budge, and Elijah let up his constant assault, seeming surprised. She stood up and looked at Elijah. She was mad, but more than that, she ached. Her whole body ached from the beating, but it also felt energized. A kind of adrenaline rush that didn't make the pain go away but instead made her want to fight through the pain. She swung wildly at Elijah, but he barely dodged it. "Thought you said you weren't a good fighter!". The words came out sounding far angrier than she felt. Elijah breathed deeply from exertion and said, "I'm not, but you're just flailing around." Whinney didn't like his attitude at all. She put more power into her next swing and tried to emulate what she had seen on TV, twisting her body with the strike. Her fist connected with Elijah's arm, blocking his face. She felt how his defence buckled and he jumped back holding his arm. She'd hurt him. That made her feel powerful. "Whose swinging wildly now?". Once again, she had a hard time hearing what they were saying around her. Blood was shooshing in her ears, and all she saw was Elijah's pained expression as he was mouthing words towards her, or maybe past her. Didn't matter to her; she pounced. She flew towards Elijah, but he let go of his arm and swung at her with the good one. His punch landed squarely in the chest, but she barely felt it. The exhilaration she was feeling made the pain feel like a motivator more than anything else. He smacked him across the face, and he folded like a napkin. She followed that up with a kick to the groin, and Elijah fell entirely handicapped to the ground. She followed him down, and when he raised his arm towards her face, she opened her mouth and bit him. Once she tasted the thick, savory, metallic blood, it was all over. Her body was no longer her own. Something primal took over. She liked how weak this poor guy was, so powerless he was to stop her. She retreated into that red darkness and let it take over.
When she came to, she was on top of Elijah. He was wheezing for breath. She herself felt like she could hardly breathe herself for the chain around her waist. It was restricting her breathing and making it hard to move, as if a weight was pulling it downwards. She looked down at Elijah and recoiled. Her mind cleared as she saw his bloody shirt. His good arm was no longer anything resembling a good arm. He had evidently been trying to get her off of him, but now the arm was bent at a strange angle, and deep wounds covered it. Teeth marks. His face was no better, swollen and messed up. His left eye was entirely swollen shut, and his jaw looked crooked. She scrambled off of him in horror. She could hardly believe she had caused all of that. She looked around the room. No one else was in sight. She crawled back to him and started feeling his face. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't". He raised his left arm, the least broken one, and waved her off. "No! I need to help you! Jesus Christ! What do I do?". The door to the gymnasium opened a bit, and Aeshma peeked in. "You good?" She asked. "Get over here! How could you? You knew I would do this!". Tears were beginning to roll down her cheeks like tiny pearls. Aeshma entered, and behind her, Mot followed with a pistol in hand. "We did, but I really wasn't expecting you to go this far. Poor guy's hardly breathing". Whinney looked at Mot and his pistol. Was this the last straw? A final test that she had failed? She was going to be disposed of. Aeshma made a gesture like wiping her mouth and said, "You've got something on your face, Bunny". Whinney wiped her face with her sleeve, and when it came away, it was soaked with blood. "Oh my god, oh my god". Mot stopped right beside Whinney and Elijah. "Looks like you just about killed him. Take a look at what you did here. This is what happens when you can't control yourself. People get hurt, and it's all your fault. You did this. The blood is on your hands. remember that, remember this feeling". Mot didn't make eye contact with Whinney, didn't even look at her. He kept that same sad gaze he had before fixed on Elijah's swollen, grotesque face. "I didn't mean to! I didn't want to hurt him," she cried. "You sure? It sure looked like you did". Aeshma came up from behind and crouched down behind her. She placed her arms on Whinney's shoulders, gave her a sort of half-hug, and said, "There, there, Bunny. Just close your eyes and this'll be over soon". Whinney saw Mot raise his pistol, and she tried to struggle free from Aechma's grasp. "Shhhhh, be still, Sweety". The gunshot echoed in the gymnasium.