The man was woken up by something resembling banging on a glass panel. When he opened his eyes, he could barely see. The last thing he remembered was a sting in his neck while he just minded his own business. Where was he?
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. His vision was still blurry, his mind fuzzy. Another banging on the glass, this time it was nearby. He looked up to see a figure behind a transparent wall. A light was shining on it, and he could not distinguish who or what that was.
"Where am I? What are you doing?" He asked, but his voice was weak, his throat dry.
The person behind the wall took something from their pocket and started talking to it. "Subject H7 seems to be in good condition. Ideal for testing."
The voice was masculine with an accent that he could not recognize.
"What subject? What are you talking about?" He stood up and got closer to the glass door.
His eyes slowly adapted to the light, and the blurriness started to fade away, followed by a slowly creeping headache. He tried to make sense of everything he saw and heard, but that only made his head spin.
"My father will hear about this!" He shouted, in a weak attempt at a scream.
"Hmph," the person behind the glass scoffed the remark with general amusement and walked to the side. "Subject F16 still unconscious. Will get to it later."
Only now the man noticed that he was locked in a glass box, next to other similar ones. He faltered backward and fell on a bunk. Was he in a prison? What the hell was happening here? A sudden scream shook him to the core. Though it wasn't quite a scream, more like a beast howling. A chilling sound that he could only attribute to a Grimm.
"Aria!" The person that was just beside his cage shouted. "How many times do I have to tell you to wait with the trials until I end inspecting the new test subjects?"
A melodious female voice resonated from further away. "We are behind schedule, Blaine. I'm just saving time!"
"Progress cannot be rushed! We are standing on a precipice of something great here! We should delight in the prospects!"
"Again with the melodrama," it was clear the woman was annoyed. "I just want to get the job done."
She mumbled something else, but the man in the cage could not hear that. His headache was getting stronger, almost nauseating. He looked to the cell to his side and noticed a person lying there. Not a person actually, a Faunus. Feathers behind his ears were hard to hide.
"Stop ignoring me!" He shouted in another attempt to force a reaction.
The man with the accent walked towards the cage. He had a white coat and neatly groomed blond hair made even more vivid with the lights' backdrop.
"I'm not ignoring you," he said after looking at the man. "I'm just above fraternizing with a lab rat."
Angry at the entire situation, the caged man rushed towards the wall trying to break free. "I don't know who you are, but if you know what's best for you…"
"Yes, yes," he answered unamused, looking at some notes he had with him. "You have some powerful friends… yada yada yada. I've heard this kind of talk a dozen times before. Just be silent and let me do my job."
He then continued to move to the next cage in line.
What was this place? Why was he here? What is going on? A dozen questions rushed to his head, which still hurt like hell. He collapsed on the bunk in the corner, looking at the ceiling. The light shining directly into his eyes made this position highly uncomfortable. The pain was getting more severe, and he felt like vomiting. He started to scream in hopes of attracting someone's attention. No one came. He cried for a while to no avail. His throat was now sorer, and he himself lightheaded. The splitting headache was just too much.
After some time, he lost consciousness…