Valt watched from the office window as Theodore walked back into the Snake Pit. Holding out a remote the blinds started to close.

Valt pounded on the window again trying to get their attention but they seemed to be having their own problems.

Both Sasha and Fubuki looked terrible, still huddled in a fetal position of pain and misery. Aiger was mourning over the broken pieces of Achilles, Kris was away from the group silently crying.

Everyone else either seemed angry like Shu, Delta and Free or quiet like Drum and the Kiyama brothers.

Taking one last glance at Shu, Valt desperately tried to get his attention before the blinds shut him in for good.

Intense silence filled the air turning minutes into what felt like hours sitting and waiting for Theodore to return. Just the thought of being in the same room as him filled him with fear.

Finally, the door opened making Valt's heart beat even faster.

Theodore walked in, looking less composed than usual. His suit had wrinkles and his hair seemed a bit more messy.

But the thing that stuck out the most was his eyes, they were still glowing with power and madness. Almost as if he couldn't turn off his power.

"You may have me Theodore, but you will never succeed. There will always be someone to stop you!"

"They will all meet the same fate as you and besides I'm not here to hurt them Valt, I'm here for a different reason."

"Then why are you here?"

"I've always wanted you from the start, Valt, and the Requiem project was only a test to see how strong you were. Red Eye was only a mere warm up, you're the real prize. But..."

Pacing, Theodore circled Valt like a shark. His eyes turned distant as if he were somewhere else.

"But perhaps you should prove your worth..."

Sitting down in a chair across from Valt, Valt tried to get up but realized he was chained to the desk.

"Let me go Theodore! Please..."

Theodore ignored the pleas for help, he seemed like he was in another world.

"Theodore..."

Theodore turned to Valt, noticing him for the first time.

"Just let me go!"

Struggling in the chains, Valt's eyes started glowing blue.

Theodore's smile grew and he knew exactly what to do with Valt.

Walking out of the room, he brushed past other Snake Pit bladers immersed in their own tasks.

Opening a door he began searching.

Valt was special, but for Theodore he needed to make sure he was worthy. He needed to make sure his training had paid off, and that he was stronger.

Corruption could wait for Valt, for now Theodore needed to see what level Valt was at so he could work with him.

Walking back to his office, Theodore held something he had been waiting to bring out for a very long time.

But as soon as he came back, Valt was being held by Snake Pit bladers squirming in their arms.

His eyes were glowing blue and so was his resonance but instead it was dark blue. The chains lay discarded on the ground, broken.

"What happened?" Theodore growled.

"He tried to escape but we caught him in the hallway."

Looking down at Valt, Theodore immediately realized something was different about Valt. The way his power was...maybe just maybe...but needed more time to figure it out. He needed more data.

"You're dismissed, leave us now."

Both bladers rushed out, not daring to be alone with Theodore.

Throwing the outfit in front of Valt, all of his confidence and power immediately diminished. A brown and black Snake Pit outfit stared back at him, including his old mask.

The realization of what was going to happen suddenly hit Valt. He had been training so hard only to have himself fall right into Theodore's trap.

"Sit down and change."

It was at that moment Valt also realized why all the Snake Pit bladers essentially wore the same outfit. Closing his eyes he hung his head. Theodore was trying to strip them of their identities, just like in a prison.

"No." He said firmly.

Theodore slowly turned back to Valt.

His eyes were glowing again except this time they were full of madness and power. All traces of niceness and politeness seemed gone, replaced with a cruel smile.

Looking up at Theodore, Valt knew who really held the power. Valt could try and escape all he wanted but in the end he knew Theodore could just stop him using his power.

Which was why he was going to have to do it when he wasn't around. He was going to have to play along until Theodore was out of the picture.

Reluctantly, he started changing and Theodore's power softened a little with his back turned.

Holding out the mask, the brown eye holes stared back at him. Valt knew he was about to cross a line there was no going back from but he just needed to bid his time and power for the perfect moment.

Even if that meant facing his worst fears.

Sighing he put on the mask and everything was tinted brown, Theodore turned back around.

"Now then, prove your worth to me."

******

Walking down the hallway, Valt struggled to get free in the two Snake Pit bladers arms that held him tightly.

So far, Valt had gotten close to escaping a couple of times prompting Theodore to have escorts with Valt at all times.

"Where are we going?"

Neither of them said a word and instead continued down the hallway.

Frustrated, Valt started struggling again with his eyes glowing an angry blue. He managed to get free only to have them grab him again.

Their grips were like iron this time unmoving and firm.

At the end of the hallway, Valt had noticed the lack of bladers, distant screams of pain were heard in the distance.

A big metal door, different from the rest of the doors and materials, ominously creaked with age waiting for its next victim.

"What is this?" Valt asked.

Surprisingly, one of the bladers answered Valt.

"He trains us here, but it's also his idea of torture...these rooms." One of them said with his face turned away, darkened.

"Rooms?"

"He likes to see how far he can push us to our limit."

Opening the door, it revealed a long hallway lit by a single light.

This time, Valt had managed to get free sprinting as far away as he could from that door.

Behind him, both Snake Pit bladers chased after him but Valt was faster.

Ducking and dodging Snake Pit bladers, he jumped inhumanly high with his eyes and resonance glowing blue.

But just as he was gaining speed, he stopped in his tracks shaking.

Turning him around, Theodore stood looking angry.

The trip back to the metal door was silent but Theodore's power was still there serving as a warning.

But there was something else in his face, perhaps curiosity. But regardless the wheels were turning in his head.

Opening the door, Theodore threw him into shutting the door, immersing Valt in darkness.

But walking down to the control center, little did Theodore remember that Valt's bag still remained in his office, holding the mask containing Phi's power.