Again she found herself surrounded by darkness. The figure of the familiar winged Grimm emerged from the blackness of the scenery, its eyes burning bright red like scorching embers on a dying fire. The beast jumped at the Faunus girl with its talons exposed. Amethyst deflected the blow and kicked the Grimm away.
"Why are you so persistent in attacking me when you know you can't win?"
The beast flapped its wings to help get off the ground. "To be sure. You need to be strong, or else I die."
The girl started to ponder on those words. It was impossible to tell if they can be separated and live through that process in their current state. The Grimm's way of thinking wasn't entirely without merit in that sense. However, the interactions with the monster made her think.
"You are a Grimm, right?"
The winged beast tilted its head, displaying the notion of confusion. "Grimm?" It asked in a cold monotone.
"Never mind… Do all your kin thinks like you?"
The creature folded its wings and squatted closer to the ground. "Because of the contact with your brain, I'm more aware of my cognitive abilities. Still, the way I think is similar to that of every other creature of my kin."
"So they aren't just mindless beasts…"
"To survive means to think. No beast is mindless in their pursuit of survival."
"That's a very interesting look at things," the girl was enamored by the Grimm's way of looking at life. "But have you thought about something more than simple survival?"
Again the Grimm tilted its head, "to live is to survive."
"I don't think you can move past that fact, can you?"
The creature was silent, eyeing her with its glowing red eyes.
"Do you have a name?" Ame asked.
"Name?" The beast asked back, not knowing what the woman was referring to. "What is a purpose of a name?"
"To know how to call you," she stated like it was something obvious. "People name other people to know who they are. We also sometimes give names to our pets or personal belongings we feel personally attached to," she stopped for a moment. "Huntsmen give names to their weapons because they are the closest to a partner they have in the field. Without it by their side, they are alone against the darkness… How do you feel about being called Vucub Caquix?"
Her monstrous companion narrowed its eyes and slowly got closer to her. A wave of exhaled air from his nostrils in the boney mask ruffled her hair. Even in her unconscious mind, they were too long for her liking.
"I don't really care," the beast said emotionless and pulled back.
Amethyst watched the creature as it slowly moved back to the darkness of the endless space she first thought had to be the afterlife. She closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, she was in the cage Aria put her in. The Faunus girl looked at her Grimm arm.
"Vucub Caquix," she smiled softly.
All of a sudden, Aria bursted into the room, mumbling something to herself. She got close to the cage Ame was held in and asked out loud. "How do I make the process as stable as you?"
The Faunus stood up and got closer to the silver-haired woman. "Are you working with other people?" She asked, concerned that the woman was still killing people to create another hybrid.
"I did," the captor answered quickly, "but I no longer have the necessary equipment or staff," she started to franticly walk around the room.
"Why do you even continue the experiments," Ame was confused. "You already have two perfectly fine hybrids."
"Because I was contracted to deliver a process of creating hybrids and not a human-Grimm hybrid themselves. I run out of resources, and the only option would be to ask for more money."
Aria eyed Ame, biting her nails. "Yes, you would be proof enough to keep the process going. He might agree."
"Who are you talking about?" The Faunus girl was amused by how the silver-haired woman acted.
"You said you wanted to help if you're able to, right?"
Tautara was taken aback by the sudden question. "I did…" She said, unsure of what that might entail.
The woman was thinking intensely, still biting on her nails nervously. After a short moment that seemed like an eternity in her head, she took out the keys to the cell and opened it.
Amethyst blinked a few times before she comprehended what just happened. "What are you doing?"
"I know you might just attempt an escape, and I'm risking my own life because of that, but I'm quite literally at the end of my rope." After a brief pause, she chuckled impulsively, "I'm acting like Aurelius… I just need you to come with me to see Raddock."
"Raddock?"
"He's my benefactor."
Amethyst's brain was getting fried from all the bizarre things that were just transpiring. Her captor just opened her cage and asked to politely come with her to a guy who made her do terrible things. She looked at the woman, assessing the situation. The last time they fought, Ame lost an arm and almost died under a collapsing warehouse. Was it wise to deal with her now? Was she strong enough to even try? She looked at her right arm, the part of her that wasn't really hers.
"Don't even think about it," Aria said commandingly, but her tone shifted right after, "please."
"What will I get in return? It seems like me helping you is a bit one-sided."
The silver-haired woman stood motionless for a moment. "Your freedom," she said slowly.
"You really mean it?"
"I am serious," she answered. "However, I need to be upfront about when. I cannot let you go until I completely understand the process and who'll make viable hosts for the Grimm."
"And how long would that take?"
Aria sighed, "it depends on how Raddock will approach the situation." She looked at Ame's Grimm arm, "if he deems the results unsatisfactory, he might end the entire endeavor there and then, which would mean your freedom immediately."
Amethyst was still unsure how to approach the situation. However, if she agreed, there would be no blood-spill, and with a bit of luck, she would go back to her normal life. Depending on one's definition of what 'normal' is. Her thoughts quickly went towards Neil. She wondered how he was holding up right now.
"I really need an answer," Aria hurried her.
It still required her some time to go through everything, but she finally agreed. The awaited "ok" made the corners of Aria's lips lift.
She opened the cell door even wider, "I hope you understand that I won't turn my back to you. You'll go first, and I will be right behind you telling you where to go."
Ame just smiled. "I wouldn't see it any other way."
They both exited the place and moved towards the lower parts of the city. Amethyst didn't recognize any of the streets or buildings they passed, but she was glad to breathe some fresh air. It was a few days since she was outside, and she never considered how much she would miss the earth beneath her feet.
"Can you stop swinging that thing left and right?" Only after saying that did Ame notice that she was involuntarily moving her tail around.
"Sorry," she chuckled, "didn't realize how stiff I was from sitting in one place for so long."
"Remember to hide your hand," the captor reminded her.
Before they left, she threw a coat on her to hide most of her features, especially the Grimm arm that would arouse suspicion immediately. The Faunus woman wasn't exceptionally inconspicuous on her own, and the added fact that she had a monstrous limb instead of a normal hand made it even more so.
When they got to the warehouse district, Ame finally started to notice some places she knew. However, she wasn't that good at directions and wouldn't be able to retrace their footsteps and find where Aria was hiding. They moved past a collapsed warehouse that wasn't the one they fought in before.
"What happened here?" The Faunus woman was thinking out loud.
"We don't care," Aria pushed her to move forward.
After just a few buildings, the silver-haired woman exclaimed: "we're here," and pushed the woman towards a narrow cave in the side of the mountain, just behind one of the warehouses there. The cave was pitch-black, so Ame decided to use her semblance. With the light from her hand, she was able to see everything clearly.
Aria jumped in the moment of the spark but quickly realized it was just the Lizard Faunus' semblance. After a few moments, the cave opened up, and they entered the room filled with a lot of different machinery.
"It's just you," a deep voice scared both of the women. It came from behind and caught them by surprise. "You're lucky I was considerate and didn't jump you immediately."
The person to whom the voice belonged moved past them towards a lit screen deeper in the cave. Amethyst had a good look at the man. He was very similar to Granola in stature, tall, and robust. However, he moved with more elegance than the Faunus brute and had much better posture. His every step exuded an enormous amount of confidence. He did have a similar style as Ame with the cargo pants and combat boots, and she personally dug the leather jacket with a fury undercoat that complimented the entire look. Still, the thing that made him stand out more than any person she knew was the animal mask covering his face.
"Who might the Faunus with you be? An effect of your and Aurelius' work, I presume," the man stated, still looking at the screen. He pushed a few buttons in a sequence and turned around to face the guests. "Speaking of the imp, where is he?"
Aria's lower lip trembled, but she composed herself before addressing the man. "Because of unforeseen circumstances, he is no longer with us, sir."
It was very difficult to see what expression did the man have underneath the mask. This fact made him even more intimidating.
"Very unfortunate," he stated, "he was brilliant in his endeavors." The man took a few steps forward. Even Amethyst could not turn away from the way he moved, dominating the space around him. "He also was the only man who knew my true intentions behind the project."
"What do you mean?" Aria was surprised at the statement.
"So you created a perfectly viable hybrid, right?"
"Yes, sir," she answered, looking into the blank expression of the mask the man was wearing. "This girl here is a perfect subject."
The man nodded, "and do you know how to reverse the process?"
The silver-haired woman's eyes widened. "Why would you want to reverse the process? With the raw power of Grimm combined with the intellectual prowess of people…"
"Ah, yes," he interrupted her, "the militaristic approach of the project. Grimm-like dog soldiers would be a powerful asset in taking control of the city." He slowly took of his mask and looked Aria in her eyes. "But I wanted a cure," his eyes were red, skin with specks of dark, Grimm-like ooze. His face was twisted in anger even though he spoke in a calm, composed manner. He put on the mask and took a few steps towards Ame.
"Maybe you have the answer: is there a cure?"
Amethyst was stumped. She had no answer to that question as she barely comprehended what was happening with her own body. When the man got closer, she felt her right arm squirm on its own. A feeling of terror made its way to the surface. Sensation not from her gut but from the Grimm inside her. For some reason, Vucub Caquix was terrified of this man and every fiber of its being wanted to run. A notion that slowly started to affect Ame herself.
"Didn't think so," he stated and slowly returned to his console.
"I believe a cure could be attained," Aria stated. She was thinking intensely the whole time the man spoke towards the Faunus. "It will be difficult, but now that we are capable of creating a working specimen, we can reverse engineer a solution."
"I know you would love to try, but I have eyes and ears all around Kuchinashi, and I know you are not really capable of creating a working hybrid."
"Then who is she!" Aria raised her voice, pointing at Ame.
"A fluke you had no idea how came to be," he stated, still going through things at the computer he was standing by. "It seems Raymond is much more capable than I initially anticipated."
Raymond? Amethyst's attention was pulled towards the man. Did he mean the same Raymond she knew?
"Who are you talking about?" Aria asked.
"Raymond Merlot, an agent of the Spider family who is meddling in the affairs of the city. Still, I can use him."
"What meddlings are you referring to?" Aria was still intrigued by those words.
"He was capable of inciting a war between Wave and the Black Sheep gangs. The result was quite obvious, though quicker than I could anticipate. Considering the success of his actions, the next viable move would most likely be to use the same tactic against Hana."
"Excuse me," Amethyst interrupted his thought process. "You're Vermillion Raddock, right?"
The man turned around, and even the mask he was wearing wasn't able to hide the smirk on his face. He raised his hand, and Ame felt something strange tugging at her aura.
"I am," the man said, and his hand created a ball of light. The same as Amethyst's semblance creates.
