Blake stared at Adam, struggling to understand what he was saying. Not only was she still dizzy from being shocked in the lab, but discovering she could create clones of herself – or whatever those things were – was just too much for her mind to process.

She pressed a hand against the glass, leaning heavily on it. Adam stopped talking immediately, concern evident in his face. "Sorry. I got carried away," he said. "We'll, uh, talk about this later. Go rest. You'll feel better when you wake up."

Blake nodded weakly, then limped over to her bed and plopped down on it, pressing her face against the hard mattress.

She wasn't just a lab rat, she was also a freak. A freak with no family, stuck in some inhumane hole where there was no hope of anyone ever finding and saving her. There was Adam, and the others kids, but they were just as bad she was. No wonder they were all here together.

She hugged her knees and shut her eyes, trying her hardest to fall asleep. Hours passed before she finally did.


"Blake?" She heard him call hesitantly. "You awake?"

Blake shifted in her bed, turning her back to him. She blinked a few times, the bright light of her cage hurting her puffy eyes.

"Blake?" Adam called again. "I know you're hurt, but it's been days. It's not good for you to lay there all the time."

She covered her ears, trying to block out the sound of his voice, but Adam only spoke louder.

"Come on, Blake!" He exclaimed, anger seeping into his voice. "Stop being a child! You have to get up eventually, or we're never gonna get out of this place!"

"Shut up!" Blake screeched, turning around abruptly and sitting up. "I don't want to get out!"

Adam stepped back, startled by her sudden outburst. "What do you mean you don't want to get out?" He asked, his eyes narrowing. "Do you want to be a lab rat forever, is that it?"

"Yes! If that's what's gonna happen… yes," she said. "We're here for a reason. We're freaks."

"We?" Adam crossed his arms.

"Don't treat me like I'm dumb," Blake glared at him. "I heard what you said before. You have it too. It means you're also a freak."

Adam just stared at her for a moment, then scoffed and threw his arms up. He turned around and walked to his bed, sitting down on it with his back to her. "Fine. Give up. See if I care."

"I'm not giving up!" She exclaimed. "I never said I would try anything!"

Adam lied down, ignoring her. Blake returned to her former position, grinding her teeth angrily.


The humans came earlier than usual, opening her door while everyone else was still sleeping. Blake was ready for them, having been woken up by their bringing her food even earlier. She hadn't eaten any of it.

One of the men entered, casting a look at the untouched plate at a corner of the cage. "You didn't eat." He said threateningly.

Blake got off her bed and walked to him. She stopped right before him and looked up at him unflinchingly. "Force me."

He glanced at his partner, then shrugged. "Your loss."

They grabbed her by the arms and took her through the same hallways as before. This time, Blake wasn't subtle at all as she examined her surroundings, taking in and memorizing everything she could. One of the men noticed her doing so and slapped her in the face, but that only stopped her momentarily.

They pushed through a set of metal doors, pushing her in front of them. Blake slapped their hands away when they tried to grab her again, then looked around. This wasn't the same laboratory as before. That one had been compact, almost too small for comfort. This one was big, with lots of different and complicated-looking equipment.

The same doctor as before – Brown, she remembered his name very well – approached them, carrying a clipboard and pen in his hands. "Welcome back." He said, shooting her a wry smile.

Blake made to jump at him, but the men behind her grabbed her by the shoulders. "It isn't dosed, sir." One of them warned.

"Ah. Rebellious, now? Or maybe it enjoyed the pain from last time," Dr. Brown tilted his head towards her curiously. "Well, if you want to make things difficult for yourself, that's fine. I can't take that decision from you. But I expect full compliance, or else things will get more than difficult for you."

Blake pursed her lips. She looked around, searching for anything to use as a weapon, but everything was too far away, and she doubted she could put up a fight with these men anyway. She faced the doctor and nodded.

"Good," he looked at the men. "You're dismissed."

He turned and walked to a metal chair, gesturing towards it. Blake followed cautiously, expecting him to attack her or inject her with something. When he didn't, she breathed in deep and sat on the chair, keeping her legs tensed to run at the first sign of trouble.

"This is going to be different than the others procedures. Now that your Semblance is awakened, there is no need to inflict you any great pain," he shot her a meaningful look. "Unless you make it necessary."

"I got it." Blake muttered grudgingly.

"I hope so," Dr. Brown signaled for a nearby aid to get closer. "We're going to check her for everything, discover what others changes her awakening might have caused in her organism."

The aid nodded, then walked away to gather some instruments. Dr. Brown looked down at his clipboard and scribbled something in it, while Blake stared suspiciously.

"Her?"

"What?" He asked, not looking up.

"You said her," she said. "Not it."

"Did I?" The doctor smiled. "Yes. It is only expected, considering how cooperative you've decided to be. I think you are beginning to understand that you have to earn the respect you want, hmm?"

Blake frowned, not knowing what to make of his words. He was being nice now? Or nicer than before. Before, when she had kicked and screamed and tried to escape without giving her actions a second thought.

"What's your name again?" Dr. Brown asked. "I'm terribly forgetful."

"Blake," she answered quietly. "Blake Belladonna."

"Well, then, Blake," he looked up at her. "I have some questions for you, and I'd like you to answer them as honestly as possible. Nothing personal. It's just to make sure everything is working well in that head of yours."

"O-okay."

"Thank you. Now let's get started…"


The process seemed to take hours, and by the end of it, Blake was feeling tired physically and mentally. They had taken a bit of her blood, which left her feeling a little dizzy too. Despite that, she insisted on walking back to her cage, and to her surprise, Dr. Brown allowed it, though accompanied by his usual helpers, of course.

She realized halfway there that this was perhaps her best chance of escaping. She could turn a corner and make a run for it, maybe hide in a room along the way and lose her escorts.

She shook her head, dismissing the idea. They were much taller and stronger than her, and she could bet they were faster too. Her outrunning them was as unlikely as her defeating them in a fight.

And… well, nothing bad had happened so far. This session had been surprisingly painless, aside from giving some blood. And her escorts weren't being rough with her or anything.

They arrived at her cell, one of the men going over to the side and typing a code in a digital lock on the wall. He was standing between her and it, so Blake couldn't see what the code was, unfortunately. Maybe she should do something about that next time.

The door lowered, and Blake entered hesitantly. It closed behind her, locking her in. She looked around, unsure of what to do, until her eyes came across Adam's. They weren't receptive at all.

Blake looked away, shoulders slumped, and sat on her bed. Adam shook his head and turned his back to her.

A few minutes later, a human woman appeared before her door and lowered a plate to the ground, sliding it inside. She smiled to her, then walked away. Blake sat still for a moment, then hesitantly approached the plate.

Rice. A piece of fried fish. A cup of juice. Two chocolate cookies. There was a spoon but no knife and fork, but the fish was already cut. She took a little bit of rice and brought it to her mouth, chewing slowly. It tasted real, not modified at all.

This was… real food.

She began to eat fast, almost forgetting to chew. It was a wonderful sensation, which made her regret how she hadn't truly appreciated food when she always had it at home.

Home…

Blake smiled. Behind her, she heard Adam scoff and turn in his bed.


From then on, the sessions on the lab became more frequent, sometimes not even a day passing before she was called back for more tests.

The nature of the tests never got quite an intense as the one which had awakened her powers. She now understood, from hearing bits and pieces of Dr. Brown talking with the other humans, that what she had was called a Semblance, and that a great deal of physical and psychological stress had been needed to awaken it.

Her ability to create clones advanced steadily under the doctor's careful watch. She discovered how to do it at will and without suffering any ill consequences. These clones were still seemingly lifeless, but with great effort, she could get them to mimic some small movements, like a hand gesture or turning their head.

There was something else about her Semblance, something that, if she had understood it correctly, was not unique to her. She rarely got injured now, as if there were an invisible force protecting her body from harm. An Aura, as Dr. Brown had called it. He tested it very extensively, with all sorts of unpleasant methods, but it proved quite resilient to damage.

She continued to get better care in her room, from actual food, to a soft pillow for her bed and some new clothes. She had even been allowed to take a much-needed shower by herself.

But while everything else was getting better and better, there was one thing that remained bad: Adam. They talked at all since their argument. Blake would like to think she didn't care about that, but the truth was… she needed a friend, and Adam had been a good one while it lasted. She only wished he would quit being so stubborn.


Blake swallowed the last of her orange juice and set the cup aside. She sighed contently, savoring the aftertaste, then moved on to what was left of her fish. Her fork was midway to her mouth when she heard Adam speak up.

"You know that is really racist, right?" He asked, leaning on the glass between their rooms. "Nah. I'm just being a jerk. Surely they just guessed you liked fish, it had nothing to do with you being a cat faunus."

Blake gave him a weird look, then put the fish in her mouth and ate very slowly, keeping eye contact. Adam rolled his eyes.

"I'm just saying," he shrugged. "They didn't offer me fish."

Blake swallowed. "What do you mean?"

"They offered me other stuff. I mean, nobody really knows a bull's favorite food off the top of their head," Adam explained. He looked away for a moment, his expression thoughtful, then winced. "Ugh. I'm lucky they didn't offer me grass."

Blake took the plate off her lap and laid it down on the bed by her side, then got up on her feet and walked closer to him. "They offered you food? Why didn't you take it?"

"Because I'm not dumb enough to fall for their tricks."

Blake glared at him and started to turn around to get back to her food, realizing this was going to be another one of his tirades against their 'captors'. Before she could, Adam knocked on the glass and leaned closer.

"I'm sorry. I'm not being helpful. I just want you to understand what's happening here," he said. "Blake, you think those humans are being nice to you because you're going along with the tests, but you're wrong. They're afraid of you. They know how much trouble you could give them if you were angry, so they're keeping you happy by giving you those stupid privileges like fish and juice and not being electrocuted."

Blake crossed her arms, refusing to look him in the eye. "You're wrong," she said. "I think you're just upset at me because you're not getting all the stuff I'm getting. But all you need to do is behave, work with Dr. Brown, and then you'll-"

"Dr. Brown? Oh, that's just great. We're calling them by their names now? If that's even his real name..." Adam shook his head. "Blake, how many times have you seen them take me away since you got your powers?"

Blake frowned. She had seen them take him away, surely. They were always bringing kids to the laboratories. But… Adam…

"Exactly," Adam said. "Now that they have you, I'm worthless to them. Trying to experiment on me is more trouble than it's worth. It's only a matter of time before they get rid of me."

"Adam!" Blake exclaimed. "Stop it already! They're not going to get rid of you or… or anything!"

"Yes, they are," Adam sighed. "Listen, Blake. You said we are freaks, but we're not. We're just people. But not to Dr. Brown or any of his buddies," he paused. "To them, we were freaks even before we got our powers."

Blake turned away and returned to her bed. She looked at her food and pushed it away slightly, feeling Adam's eyes boring into her.

"I'm warning you, Blake. One day, they're gonna run out of uses for you, and then they'll get rid of you too," Adam said. "You need to do something before that happens. Hopefully you'll realize I was right once I'm gone."

He went back to his bed and lied down, staring at the ceiling, not saying another word. Blake stared in silence, her heart beating fast inside her chest.


"Dr. Brown?"

The human man ignored her, continuing to write on his clipboard without as much as casting a glance at her. Blake looked anxiously at the electrodes attached to her head, wondering if he would remove them anytime soon. They had been done with the testing for a while now.

"Dr. Brown." She called again, a little louder.

He looked at her, appearing quite irritated for a moment, but that was quickly substituted by an apologetic expression as he put his clipboard down on a table and went on to remove the electrodes from her.

"I beg your pardon," he muttered quickly. "Sometimes I get too engrossed in my work, as you very well know by now."

"It's fine," Blake said. "I… wanted to ask you a question. It's not about the tests or anything, but…"

"Go ahead," he nodded, removing the last electrode and retrieving his clipboard. "You're always free to ask me anything, Blake. I want you to always remember that, okay?"

"Okay," Blake paused briefly, wondering if she really should go on with her question. But he had given her the go ahead, so… "Why did you use to call me it?"

Dr. Brown's pen ceased moving, his eyes slowly turning to look at her. He cleared his throat. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just… I was just curious," Blake smiled nervously. "You know, it's just kinda weird, and Adam was saying that…" She stopped, screaming mentally at herself. Was there any worse way to throw Adam under the bus? "I-it doesn't matter."

"Alright. Remember, Blake, that is all in the past," Dr. Brown smiled. "Now how about you get back to your room and rest a little, hmm?"

Blake got up and turned towards the door. Dr. Brown walked past her briskly and opened it, leaning out to whisper in a guard's ear. His voice was so low, no human should be able to hear him from the distance Blake was to him…

Unfortunately for him, she was no human.

"Get rid of the bull. Get it out of its cage, take it somewhere else, and, I don't know, drown it or something. Be careful with its Semblance."

"Sir? Why now?"

"It doesn't matter to you. Just do it. But take the cat back to its cage first, and make sure it's asleep when you take the bull."

"Yes, sir."

Blake stopped, her blood freezing. Dr. Brown looked back at her and smiled, beckoning her closer. She swallowed dry and continued walking, her heartbeat echoing deafeningly in her ears.

"See you tomorrow, Blake." Dr. Brown said, closing the door behind her.

Blake looked at the guard, who looked back at her emotionlessly. She forced herself to smile and began walking, followed closely by him.

Adam was right. They were all just pretending, and they were going to get rid of him now. And if he had been right about that… it meant he was also right about her being next.

Curbing her panic as best she could, Blake began to search desperately for a plan. She couldn't run. She couldn't fight her escort either, he was too strong and he had a taser hidden somewhere, she knew it. Maybe she could trick him and disappear, but he would eventually realize what was going on and then she would be in trouble, as would Adam.

They reached the hallway with the cages, passing by various empty ones. They would soon arrive at hers. Time was running short. She needed to do something now

Blake slowed down. Holding in her breath, she stopped, making a clone of herself which kept walking next to the guard, who was oblivious to the change. She bent her knees and clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms to keep up the facade. She had never tried anything so intense with her Semblance before. One moment of weakness, and her plan would be ruined.

The guard stopped before her cage. Blake stopped her clone and turned it around. The man cast a glance at its lifeless face, shrugged, and started to type into the digital lock. The wall lowered into the ground.

"Well, then," he said, staring at the clone. "Go in. Your food will come shortly."

When it didn't move, he huffed in exasperation and laid a hand on its shoulder, as if to guide it inside. Right as he put pressure, the clone dissipated. The man blinked in surprise, his mind slow to register what had just happened.

Blake yelled and pushed him from behind with all her strength, shoving him inside the cage. She raced to the lock and inputted the code, which she had memorized from her other walks back. The wall came back up, trapping him inside. The guard screamed and punched the glass, but it was no use.

She walked over to Adam's cage and knocked on the glass. He got up from his bed and turned around, his eyes widening as he realized she was outside. Blake smiled and went to his lock, hoping the same combination would free him…

It did. Adam stepped out, his lips parting in a grin of relief. "I haven't been out here for weeks. Blake…" He laid a hand on her shoulder. "I knew I could trust you. Thanks."

Blake hugged him. He didn't react for a while, but eventually he returned the gesture. She felt small compared to him, but also safe. How she wished they had never fought at all...

"Sorry I didn't believe you," she muttered against his chest. "Dr. Brown was going to have you… you know…"

"Yeah. It's okay. Everything's okay now," Adam stepped back, looking around. "So, we're out of our cages now… But how do we get out of this place?"

"I kinda remember some stuff, but not a lot… They didn't let me look around, obviously." Blake said.

"We wing it, them," Adam said. "But first, we get everyone else out. What's the combination?"

"Zero six one six."

"Okay. Let's get to work."

Adam went to the next cage, quickly typing in the code and freeing another kid. Blake smiled, stepping towards him, but stopped when she heard the guard still knocking on the glass behind her.

Blake turned around, put her hands on her hips, and stuck her tongue out at him.

"See you never again, loser!"


It didn't take long for them to free everyone, as all the kids were quite eager to help and escape too, as expected. Although Blake didn't bother to count, she could see there were at least thirty of them, most of them around her age, except a couple who were closer to Adam's.

They moved through the hallways of the facility as quietly as they could, but their numbers made that very difficult, along with their fear and desperation. Adam had to raise his voice several times to keep the younger kids to from running ahead of the rest.

It was bound to happen that they would come across some humans, but luckily none of them had been guards yet, all easily dealt with. They didn't have any idea where they were going, but Blake had a feeling they were going in the right direction. She thought she heard cars in the distance, her hope growing quickly…

And then the lights went red and an alarm started to blare, making some of the kids scream in pain because of their heightened hearing. Blake herself had to cover her ears.

Adam grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him. "Don't panic. Everything's okay, remember?" He whispered to her, then raised his voice so the rest of the kids could hear. "Everybody! Don't panic! We just have to keep moving!"

He marched forward, Blake struggling to keep on her feet as he dragged her along with him. It was frustrating, but at the same time, she probably would have stayed behind if he left her there.

They walked for a long time, the alarm never stopping, but as Blake got used to it, she could swear she was hearing the distant noise of wheels and honking… Yes, there was a road nearby! They were almost there!

Finally, they turned a corner and saw, at the end of a long hallway, a set of double doors with sunlight slipping under it. Unfortunately, between them and the doors were a group of guards wielding guns and tasers, and in front of them, Dr. Brown himself.

The alarm stopped. The silence that followed was almost worse than it.

"Now, now," Dr. Brown spoke, joining his hands behind his back. "Kids, you can still turn back now and get right back in your cages. It's not too late."

"Screw you, you old bastard!" Adam shouted, getting in front of the kids to face the human. "We're gonna go right through you if that's what it takes!"

"Of course! I should have figure you would be one leading this little rebellion!" Dr. Brown smiled nastily. "Forget what I said. The kids can go back, but you - you sorry waste of air – you're going in the ground!"

He pointed forward, and the guards opened fire. The kids screamed, some getting hit and falling to the ground, but most of the bullets landed on their intended target. Blake screamed as she watched Adam be showered by the projectiles, which seemingly entered him and made him stumble and grunt in pain.

Dr. Brown raised his hand, ordering his men to stop. Blake reached to touch Adam, but just as her hand was about to wrap around his, he raised his head and smiled.

"You…" He said roughly. "You humans are all a bunch of arrogant pieces of shit, aren't you?"

He screamed hoarsely, thrusting his arms around. A beam of red energy shot out of the palms of his hands, blocking the view of the humans. An unbearable heat washed over Blake, forcing her to turn away and crouch. The lights went out, and smoke filled the air.

"Aaah… Urgh…" Adam groaned. "I've been saving that for a long time…"

Blake looked up. Half of the humans had disappeared, the rest were on the ground, dead or unconscious – none of them safe from horrible injuries. Dr. Brown was one of the survivors, but without an arm and a leg, that wouldn't last for long.

Adam walked over to him. Blake followed quietly, for some reason unable to look away from the carnage. It was horrible, scary, nauseous… but at the same time, she had an unexplainable urge to laugh in relief.

"Well, then," Adam grinned. "How the mighty have fallen."

Dr. Brown opened an eye, glaring straight at him, then Blake. "You two… You're so… stupid," he coughed. "What have you accomplished? Tell me. You're gonna step out there… and you're going to have nothing… because you don't belong in this world. You're worthless. You have no place. All you animals do is wait for someone to come along and-"

Blake stepped forward and kicked him in the head.

Something snapped.

Blake covered her mouth with a hand, stepping back in horror. Adam looked at her, smiled sadly, and put an arm around her shoulders.

"He had it coming," he whispered. "Let's get out of here, everyone."

He walked forward, leading her along, and pushed open the doors. Sunlight poured over their faces, almost blinding them. The air brushed against their skin, soothing and oh so wonderful.

They stepped into wet grass, tall foliage blocking most of their vision. A kid walked forward, parting the bushes to reveal a busy highway not so far in front of them.

"What now?" Blake muttered.

"What now?" Adam repeated. "Now… now we're free."


Yaaaay! Murdeeer!

...Ahem.

So, maybe I lied about the first chapter being the darkest? Sorry. Didn't mean to. I wasn't planning that little bloodbath at the end of this chapter... Oopsie daisies. But that's over now. I can honestly say, with 100% conviction, nothing else will get half as dark as that. Yay!

Thanks for the warm reception, by the way! I'm glad you guys enjoyed the first chapter and are looking forward to what comes next in this story and the following ones. My little heart is bursting with happiness *sniff*

See you next week!

-Zeroan