Scylla opened her eyes and found herself strapped to a table in a dimly lit room. It didn't take her much effort to know her predicament was bad but she focused on how she could get out of it.
"You're awake," Hearst said cheerfully, hovering over her face. "Now we can get to work."
Scylla struggled to free herself even though she was restricted by the neck brace he had put on her. "Afraid I'd bite?" She noticed that he was still wearing his voice box around his neck that put her at a disadvantage.
"I just don't want you to hurt yourself," he said. "You're too pretty to scratch." He ran a hand down the side of her face.
"Careful doc, your followers might think you're falling for a witch," she taunted.
"I won't make the same mistake my father made," he said confidently.
Scylla was surprised by that revelation. She wondered if that was why he hated witches so much. "Did your father abandon you for her?" She decided to engage him to find his weakness that she could use.
Hearst smiled wickedly and decided to reveal his parentage to her. "She was my mother; so no, he didn't abandon me at all. Like your girlfriend, I'm a half-witch and destined for something great."
Scylla resented the comparison but kept her reaction in check to keep him talking. She flinched when he drew blood from her arm. "Are you checking on my pedigree?"
"It doesn't hurt to double check," he confirmed. "I wouldn't want surprises because you are essential to my plan."
"And what plan is that?" she needled him to elaborate.
"To become the most powerful witch which I should've been," he revealed. "You see, my siblings were witches but I was denied my birthright."
Scylla could see the resentment in his eyes. "Maybe the goddess made sure of that knowing you'd become a Camarilla."
"I was always going to be one because my father was one of the best of them," he revealed more about himself, enjoying the shock in her eyes. "He was sent to eradicate my mother's family but he fell in love with her instead."
Scylla wondered why neither side prevented the union. "It's not love if he put a neck collar on her."
"He didn't," he continued. "They truly loved one another and I had no idea witches existed until the day my sister was conscripted. That's when I learned I was a half-witch and had to keep it a secret. Then when my turn came, I wasn't called."
"You should consider yourself lucky," she goaded him.
"If I wasn't a witch, then who was I?" he recalled that pivotal moment in his life. "That's when I discovered who my father really was and thought that my mother had worked on him so I killed her."
Scylla was unable to suppress the gasp that came out of her from the horrible revelation of what he had done.
"I thought he would be proud of what I've done," he recollected. "Instead, he sent me away. So, I found my new family, a group of Camarilla elders who knew my father when he wasn't corrupted by his love for witches. I took my father's place in the organization."
"Did they know you were a half-witch?" she questioned.
"I'm not a witch, remember? But I proved my loyalty by killing my father and sister," he said with pride. "And I've found a way to suppress the witch side of my brother and my niece. They were very young and I could still alter their development."
Scylla realized that he had passed off his niece as his own daughter and probably used her for Camarilla experiments all her life. She, however, wondered what happened to his brother.
"You must be wondering what happened to my brother," he guessed correctly. "You've met him already; he was quite smitten with you. I thought I had driven that out of him."
"But he calls you his boss," she continued.
"He was but a baby in my mother's womb when I killed her," he explained. "And when I returned home, he was still too young to understand what was happening. He just knows I've been his benefactor ever since."
"Does he know what you want to become?"
"No one knows," he admitted. "When I become the most powerful witch, it won't matter."
"You can't just become a witch," she argued. "That's why you rely on that clunky voice box."
"The reason for this box is because these vocal cords won't work implanted in non-witches or half-witches even," he clarified. "But your girlfriend's will work perfectly for me."
"She won't let you have hers," she declared, struggling against her restraints.
"That's where you come in handy," he revealed. "She would do anything for you."
"I'd never help you!" she asserted defiantly.
"I can be persuasive," he sneered. "Now, don't go anywhere while I test your blood."
.
"Raelle," Scylla whispered over and over hoping that somehow, she would connect with her wherever she was but when that didn't work, she looked for anything that could help her escape. She kept tugging at the wrist strap expecting that she could eventually fray it enough to break free. She ignored the pain as she repeated it over and over hoping the goddess would help her. She stopped when she heard the door open.
"Good news, you are a perfect specimen," Hearst announced.
"Are you sure?" she asked, challenging his conclusion. "You clearly miscalculated before."
Hearst looked perplexed by her opinion of his work. "I've come further than any who've come before me. And with your help, I'll get the vocal cords I need to achieve my ultimate goal."
"So, won't the Camarilla come after you when you become a witch?" she taunted him. "They just need to throw witch plague at you to end you."
"Which is why I needed to find the witch who was strong enough to survive it," he said. "I thought that General Alder would be the one but she didn't survive the attack. Raelle, however, she just keeps surprising me."
"She'll never submit to you," she reiterated.
"You'll be surprised what someone would do for love," he said. "My father turned his back on the Camarilla for my mother and Ben almost did the same for you; I think Raelle would give up anything to save you."
"I won't let her," she reiterated. She watched as Hearst checked on the witch plague in the vial he held. "I don't think you have enough there." She intentionally made it clear she was mocking him to rile him up and see if she could turn it into her advantage.
"Alas, this is all that remains," he admitted sadly. "I used up most of it during the attack thinking that I'd become a witch after that night."
"And that's not a miscalculation?" she jeered with a matching wicked smile.
"A setback," he admitted. "But it showed me whose vocal cords I really needed." His expression changed to that of a predator longing for his prey.
"How sure are you that it's going to even work?" she asked, hoping to plant enough doubt to move Raelle away as his target.
"I've studied witch physiology all my adult life," he began explaining. "Witch plague when given to young witches prevents their additional vocal cords from developing further. But it's deadly to any witch who're past that stage. Surprisingly Raelle survived the most lethal version I've made."
Scylla now understood why the Camarilla were targeting the young witches and how he probably first tried it on his own family members. "How did you create it?"
"Quite by accident really," he replied honestly. "I was trying to create something that would stimulate the development of my additional vocal cords but discovered that it did the opposite so I used it as a weapon instead."
"All that death and destruction just so you can become a witch?" she said sadly.
"Collateral damage," he said callously.
Scylla silently wished that the goddess not only deprived him of his witch heritage but of his life itself. She also wished that the witches weren't too consumed with fighting one another to have noticed of his existence before it came to this.
.
"Scylla," Raelle kept repeating in her head in response to Scylla's calls. She quickened her pace hoping the voice would guide her towards where the brunette was.
"Raelle, slow down," Jin called after her. "We can't keep up."
Raelle looked back at her companions and saw that even Ash was lagging behind. "She's nearby; I can hear her." She knew that sounded strange especially after saying it out loud.
"We believe you," Jin assured her. "But we can't do work to rescue her if we're breathless when we reach her."
Raelle relented and let the pair rest while she looked around just to be doing something besides worrying. She was further away when she felt something snap and saw the tripwire too late. "Duck!" She didn't know if the guys heard her but she felt birds flying over her head and wondered what they were doing. When things calmed down, she carefully got up and found several birds on the ground with darts on them. She looked further and found both of her companions also out cold. She ran to them and tried to wake them up but then saw her crow friend tapping near her. She realized he was warning her so she took salva to float out of sight. She watched as several Camarilla men came with dart guns drawn not long after and picked up Ash and Jin to take back to hopefully wherever they were keeping Scylla. She waited and snuck up on the guy in the rear to take his place in the group.
"Something wrong?" the guy up front asked when she rejoined the group.
Raelle gave him a quick thumbs up and followed in silence. She was glad that they were unknowingly leading her to a concealed cave entrance that led to their secret facility embedded inside mountain. She knew even with the help of the birds, she wouldn't have figured it out. She noted that there were only a few guards around but didn't want to risk a solo rescue of now three witches yet. She watched one of the guards pick up a phone presumably to get orders from Hearst.
.
Raelle tried to remember each turn they made as they carried Ash and Jin further into the facility. She saw Hearst exit a room which she could just tell was where Scylla was being held. It took effort for her to wait and see what happened next.
Hearst took one look of the two incapacitated male witches and immediately knew it wasn't who he wanted. "Did you check if there were any other witches out there?"
The guards all turned to Raelle for a response.
Raelle nodded and signed a zero in reply. She saw Hearst clench his jaw in disappointment.
"What do we do with these guys?" the lead guard asked.
"Get rid of them," he ordered and disappeared back into the door he came out of.
"You heard him," the guard closest to Raelle prompted her to move aside. "We're taking them back out."
Raelle was torn between rescuing Scylla or her two companions as the group started to head back out. She opted to help the two because she knew she would need their help to get Scylla out of there. She was getting ready to put the guards to sleep when they were outside the cave but they unceremoniously all fell to the ground themselves.
"If you pull something like that again shitbird, I'm going to …" Abigail began to say as she reappeared after Adil ended his invisibility work.
Raelle hugged the taller girl in appreciation and felt more confident she had the numbers to defeat Hearst and his men. "Wait, how did you find us?"
"Jin left a trail for us to follow," Tally explained as she tried to wake him and Ash up. "It's not nice to put us to sleep."
"I didn't mean to; but so, it's alright for you to do it to me and not vice versa?" Raelle both apologized and questioned.
Anacostia gave Raelle a disapproving look when she arrived but knew they had more pressing matters to deal with. "How many are we up against?"
"Not many," Raelle reported, recognizing the woman Anacostia was dragging behind her. "What is she doing here?"
"Bargaining chip," Anacostia replied simply.
"Do you know where Scylla is?" Abigail asked, heading into the cave with the group.
"I think so," Raelle replied, confident she felt Scylla nearby before.
"Guys, we've got company," Tally warned as guards started to arrive and surrounded them.
"I knew you'd come for her," Hearst announced from behind the guards.
"Where is she?" Raelle demanded, getting impatient.
"She's alive if that's what you're asking," he replied smugly.
"She better be or someone you care for will pay the price," Abigail threatened and tilted her head towards Gregorio who was holding on to their captive.
"Dad, what's going on?" the frightened woman asked.
"Eve?" he called her, looking suspiciously at her. "You're not supposed to be back until next week."
"Adam changed his mind and wanted to get back early," she explained. "Why is the Army after you?"
"You think I'd fall for a fake Eve?" he challenged them. "Besides, you can't harm her; she's a civilian."
"We're the Spree," Ash revealed, stepping next to Eve menacingly.
"Would you like to risk losing your daughter?" Abigail asked.
Hearst hesitated but then made his choice. "She's not my daughter. She's the spawn of my witch of a sister."
Everyone who heard were shocked. The momentary confusion allowed Hearst to slip away.
"Where did Hearst go?" Abigail realized quickly and looked towards Tally for an answer.
The group started to follow Tally's lead but Raelle noted that it was the opposite direction of where Scylla was. This time Raelle made the decision to go to Scylla instead.
"Raelle, where are you going?" Abigail asked, noticing she wasn't following them.
"Scylla needs me," Raelle reasoned. "You don't." She looked at the group of witches ready to help her take down Hearst. "Just make sure to leave some of him for me to punch."
Abigail was going to remind her that they were a unit but Tally intervened.
"Good luck," Tally said. "I hope she's alright."
Abigail gave in and let her go. "Go, before I change my mind."
.
Scylla was very still on the metal slab when Raelle found her that made the blonde worry that she was too late.
"Scyl," Raelle called to her as she shook her shoulder. She was quite relieved when the brunette's eyes fluttered open. "Hi beautiful."
Scylla looked around quite disoriented and watched as the blonde released her from her restraints.
"Let's go Scyl," Raelle said, pulling her in a sitting position. "Let's get you out of here."
"My name is Scylla," Scylla said, eyeing Raelle closely.
"And my name is Raelle," Raelle replied, thinking Scylla was either joking or was still groggy. But then she felt the brunette grab and put her in a choke hold. "Scylla, what are you doing?" She stammered as she struggled to free herself from Scylla's strong grasp.
"You are my enemy," Scylla whispered in her ear.
Raelle managed to break free and head-butted Scylla to subdue her. "I'm not. You love me!"
"I told you what you needed to hear," Scylla sneered, wiping the blood flowing from her nose. "It got you here, didn't it?"
"Scyl, Hearst did something to you," Raelle said, wondering how he could quickly turn her this way. "Let me fix you." She extended her hand for the brunette to take but was slapped away.
"I don't need fixing," Scylla professed defiantly. "I am who I'm meant to be."
Hearst appeared on a screen in the room interrupting the two. "Didn't I tell you she'd come for you?"
"What have you done to her?" Raelle demanded angrily. She knew in her heart that Scylla would never ally herself with Hearst.
"I've shown her what she could become if she helps me achieve my goal," he revealed arrogantly. "As you can see, she supports it."
Raelle looked into Scylla's eyes hoping to see some hidden signs that this was a charade but when Scylla lunged to attack her, she had to defend herself. "Scyl, I don't want to hurt you."
"My name is Scylla," Scylla reiterated angrily and unleashed a series of punches that Raelle barely deflected. She then kicked Raelle to the floor. "You are weak; your gift is wasted on you."
"Careful, don't damage her vocal cords," Hearst reminded her, watching Scylla reach for a neck brace to put on Raelle.
Raelle turned quickly and wind struck Scylla across the room. She worried she may have overdone it when the brunette slumped to the floor. "Release her! If you want my vocal cords, come get it yourself, doc!" She glared at the screen knowing that Hearst could see her.
"I will release her if you surrender your gift to me," he demanded, hiding his deceit.
"Couldn't get it from your niece, could you?" Raelle retorted, seeing through his dishonesty. She saw Hearst turn away and get distracted. "Unlike you, I have friends who will come after you." She didn't know what was going on after he disappeared from the screen but when Tally came into view, she figured out that he had slipped away again.
"Why are you still there?" Tally asked, hoping that she had taken Scylla to safety by then.
"He did something to her and I have to know what to fix her," Raelle explained.
"We're trying to get to him," Abigail said, joining Tally. "Adil is trying to find his escape route."
"Behind you!" Tally warned as she saw Scylla armed with a scalpel charge at Raelle.
With the warning, Raelle evaded but not quick enough as Scylla slashed her leg and drew blood. She kicked Scylla back and moved to the other side of the metal slab. "Let me fix you." She offered again hoping to reach the real Scylla trapped in the enraged brunette across from her.
"She's being pushed," Tally observed. "It's coming from within her."
"The tapeworm," the trio concluded simultaneously.
Scylla picked up an object from the floor and looked at Raelle with coldness. "You dropped your combat charm. What would happen if I destroy this?"
"Give that back!" Raelle commanded angrily. She jumped over the slab quickly to tackle Scylla to the ground.
Scylla looked at the charm in her hand and heard her own voice say "sexy weird" before she fell to the ground and felt winded by it. She dropped the charm and saw Raelle pick it up quickly before seeing the blonde holding back from punching her. "Raelle."