Her boots echoed off cold stone as she went down the steps toward the prison cells, the rhythmic thuds of a backdrop to chaotic thoughts whirling within her head. Every time she thought of Sabir, something twisted inside her chest. It wasn’t quite an obsession. No, obsession was too strong a word. But she could not deny that he occupied her mind far more than any other opponent ever had.

As she climbed down, her hands ran through the railings with an absent mind. Her short cyan hair swayed slightly with each step. Once again, she had dismantled Sabir, yet she still felt an inexplicable feeling of having lost. This feeling wasn’t even about almost losing in The Commons anymore, that was nothing but the past, but the feeling of beating down on a weakling, someone defenceless, someone she was taught to look down upon, for the first time in Elektra’s life she felt somewhat ashamed of her actions.

Shame? In punishing someone who dared to forget his place. Yeah right. She reasoned with herself internally. He dared to even think about harming a member of the main family, let alone a noble.

A shiver ran down Elektra’s spine, remembering his defiance. Only brought back those damned memories. The way his eyes had rolled back in that last second, leaving nothing but the whites of his eyes, the way he fought with reckless abandon, as if some demon were driving him from within. It didn’t leave her head. Every night, it confronted her in her sleep, the picture of Sabir with that vacant, zombie-like expression, his fists flying at her with unnatural force. And it wasn’t even a clean win either, and her pride couldn’t stomach it. There was something hidden deep inside him, something dark and powerful that she couldn’t understand.

She needed to find out what it was. Otherwise, she may never have the closure she sought. Yeah, that’s why I’m always thinking about him, she tried to rationalize in her head.

She thought back, when Warren had brought Sabir to one of their daily sparring sessions. Elektra had seen it as her chance to probe, to draw that power out once more. But to her disappointment, she’d been left beating up a defenseless dud. It hadn’t been the fight she craved. He had given her nothing. It was more of the same at the club. Maybe it was all a miracle.

Now, walking deep inside the cellar, she suddenly heard muffled shouting. Her brow furrowed with concern as she quickened her footsteps, her boots clattering loudly on the cellar’s cold metallic floor. Down she went, the shouting getting clearer; she recognized the voices: her brother, Sabir and her gopher.

“What the hell is going on now?” she muttered to herself, her curiosity piqued.

The shouting grew louder as she reached the end of the corridor, arriving at the sole prison cell. There, she saw Warren struggling to drag Zabo back into his cell. Zabo, wide-eyed and frantic, was digging his heels into the floor, trying with all his might to resist.

“I’m not going back in there! No way! The man’s a psychopath!” Zabo screamed, his arms flailing.

Warren clung onto Zabo, using the entire length of his arms to bear hug him. He attempted to pull him back before he got in trouble for allowing a prisoner to escape. “What the hell are you talking about? Calm down, man!”

Inside the cell, Sabir was pacing back and forth, glaring at Zabo with an annoyed look. “Quit calling me crazy, or I swear to god, you’ll regret it.”

Zabo’s eyes bulged, and he shrieked even louder. “Did you hear that, Warren? He’s a suicide bomber! I’m not staying here with him!”

Warren unconsciously loosened his grip on Zabo, before glancing over at Sabir, utterly baffled. “What the hell are you talking about, Zabo? A suicide bomber?”

Despite Zabo’s earlier show of strength, when he’d snapped his handcuffs like paper, Warren noticed he didn’t use any of his Esper abilities now. He was thrashing around weakly, not using even a fraction of his strength. Warren narrowed his eyes, wondering why Zabo was holding back. His eyes edged to Zabo’s side, where he could see the raw skin from an attack. It didn’t take great detective work to see who might’ve attacked him. It’s a surprise he was even walking, considering he took an attack from Noah.

Suddenly, they heard a small cough ahead of them. Warren and Zabo, still wrestling with each other, stopped and turned their heads forward, where they saw Elektra standing on the stairs, her cyan-colored hair reflecting weakly from the single light bulb from above. Wearing short black dungarees with a white T-shirt underneath and her long combat boots, her clothing elevated her calm look.

Zabo’s eyes widened with recognition. “Oh, shit... I’m so screwed.”

Before he could even blink, a blur of motion sent him reeling. Elektra catapulted towards Zabo. Seeing their prisoner attempting to escape, she sent a flying kick against the side of Zabo’s skull.

In an instant, Zabo’s world spun, and then darkness closed over him.

***

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Zabo awoke with a groan, his head throbbing as something cold dripped down his scalp. He blinked against the harsh light, squinting as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He felt liquid running down his face and hair, and with a groggy voice, he mumbled, “Stop pouring whatever the hell that is on me…”

He sniffed, trying to catch the scent of the liquid, and his face twisted in confusion. “Wait… Is this apple juice?”

Standing over him, Sabir held an empty cup, smirking. “Good. You’re awake.” He tossed the empty cup to the side and folded his arms.

Zabo scrunched his face up, trying to raise himself, but his arms barely budged. He looked down at himself and got even more frustrated. He was hogtied with two preposterously long chains-about fifty-five feet each-wrapped around him in stacks; they were fastened to a great number of heavy iron balls to weigh him down onto the ground. He groaned in disbelief. The sheer weight of the chains didn’t even allow him the luxury of sitting up.

“What the hell…?” Zabo muttered, his head still pounding, his hair sticky from the apple juice. His shoulders slumped in defeat as he let out a sigh. “Well, guess I’m gonna die down here.” He took one last look at the ceiling before closing his eyes, intending not to open them again. The weight of the iron balls and the sticky mess of juice in his hair made him feel even more miserable.

Sabir stepped into his line of vision, his golden eyes gleaming. He knelt beside Zabo, casting a long shadow over him. “I’ll cut to the chase Zabo- was it? Let’s try to escape.”

Zabo blinked, taken aback. For a moment, he thought he had misheard. “Escape? With you?” He scoffed. “Your nuts. There’s no way I’m teaming up with a guy who’s basically about to die.”

Sabir’s gaze didn’t waver. “Listen, I have no idea what’s going through your head, but I’m not going to die. You have a choice to make. Do you really want to stay here, tied to the floor, covered in apple juice, while the nobles laugh at you? Or come with me and escape.”

Zabo glared at him, still pinned under the weight of the chains, his voice dropping to a more serious tone. “I’m in–But you should know something… something about your body.”

Sabir’s expression shifted, the casual smirk fading as he leaned closer, his golden eyes narrowing. “What is it?”

***

A few moments after, having knocked Zabo cold, Elektra had leaned against the cell’s iron bars, regarding Warren with a mild curiosity. “What’s going on with him?” she asked, nodding toward Zabo.

Warren scratched his head, similarly confused. “Beats me. He broke out of his handcuffs earlier real scared, but he didn’t use his powers after that. He keeps referring to Sabir as a ‘suicide bomber,’ though. No idea what that’s about.”

“He’s probably physically drained after fighting Noah. Breaking the cuff was all he could muster.”

“Why is he here?”

“I don’t know. Apparently, Noah is really interested in him, God knows why. Maybe you should know, since he’s your classmate.” Elektra shrugged.

“Zabo’s usually pretty quiet other than catering to you hand and foot, he doesn’t really have any friends.” Warren looked towards Zabo’s passed out form, he seemed at peace.

“Well, you two should get along fine.” Elektra smirked, as her gaze shifted from Zabo to Sabir, who sat cross-legged on the cell floor, seemingly unbothered by the surrounding chaos. She couldn’t help but feel that familiar intrigue, that nagging obsession. What was it about this guy? What made him different from everyone else she had ever fought?

She let out a sigh and yanked her attention back to Warren. “But you really are an idiot, Warren. You must know Noah’ll kill you if his prisoner gets away, won’t he?”

Warren’s eyes widened in realization, but he shrugged defensively. “Hey, I’m not the one who put handcuffs on a guy with super strength. That’s on whoever thought that was a good idea.”

Elektra gave him a pointed glance: “Shut up, weakling. Don’t act as though you are off the hook. You should be the one paying attention.”

Warren rolled his eyes, but said no more. Elektra turned to go back upstair, her voice raised to summon the maids. “Bring me as much chain as you can find. And some of those heavy iron balls, too. The bigger, the better. Warren, go help them.”

Warren grumbled under his breath, scratching the back of his neck. “Great, more physical work. Like I’m surprised.”

Elektra didn’t bother responding to him. She already knew what to do. She wasn’t going to take any chances with Zabo, not now that Noah really seemed to take some sort of interest in him. As much as she hated the idea of wasting her energy on such a weakling like Zabo, he still had strong enough powers to attend the hunter academy. By keeping him in check, she would please her brother, hopefully he would show her some recognition for her efforts.

While the many maids hurried entering the cellar with long trails of chains and iron balls, using their telekinesis to carry them, Elektra’s gaze once again drifted toward Sabir. He remained seated, still as a statue, his posture relaxed, but there was an intensity to his stillness. It was like he was always waiting, calculating, even when he seemed to be doing nothing.

For a moment, their eyes met, her flashing blue against his deep gold. Elektra felt a weird tug, as if something, somewhere in there behind his eyes, was buried, ready to burst loose. And her heart thudded fast at the very thought.

Why do you keep holding back? She found herself wondering, her lips parting slightly as if she might say it out loud. But she didn’t. She couldn’t show that level of interest, not to someone like him. But in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but think that he was up to something.

Still, Sabir didn’t budge an inch. If anything, his eyes of gold seemed to narrow into amusement, as if he knew the inner workings of her mind, knowing exactly how much he’d gotten under her skin.

Elektra tore her gaze away, scowling. “Don’t get cocky,” she whispered to herself. Yet deeper inside, she knew Sabir wasn’t any prisoner. There was something in him, something strong, and she knew it.

As the maids once again came carrying obscene quantities of chain and iron balls, Elektra clicked again into command mode. “Warren, help them with the chains. We’re tying this idiot down properly.

Warren groaned again, but he did so, wrapping Zabo in the heavy chains as Elektra watched on with a critical eye. Meanwhile, her mind was still half-focused on Sabir, as fascination marred with frustration gnawed at her.