Ace, Cherry, Skyler, and Jim were rudely woken up and lowered from their cube cells. The Granians below, including Huntress, One Horn, and a couple of others, held blood mutant blockers and a special mutant cell blocker in the form of a collar designed for Skyler to prevent her from transforming. "Greetings, you little tools," Huntress greeted with a seductive smile on her scaly face. "Are the four of you ready for intense training?" "Not like we have a choice," Skyler sheepishly answered while struggling to keep her eyes open. "How intensive is this training going to be? Also, are we going to get something to eat... when I say ’we’, I mean me. These guys seem alright." "You and your orange-haired lover are going to have it the worst," Huntress grinned while running her tail across Skyler’s chin, who was rolling her eyes at Huntress for claiming she and Ace were lovers. "After taking out his eye, Lord Grim has been waiting patiently for your turn. I’ll have fun watching you struggle to keep up." "Also you, Ace," One Horn muttered, staring directly at Ace with his green, sharp eyes. "I’ll take you on myself if Grim isn’t available. I understand you’ve gotten stronger, but what I want to see is how you were able to kill Murdock so easily." "We already went through this, Horn," Huntress whispered, "It was by chance. Besides, he was doing that thing blood mutants do when they move up a rank." "Can we get this over with already?" Ace asked, irritated by the Granians’ constant talking. "So anxious, I see," Huntress smiled. ". We’ll take you to Lord Grim." With Huntress at the front, Lilly in the middle, and One Horn at the back, the four humans were led to the simulation room, where they were going to be trained by Lord Grim himself, supposedly the strongest Granian of their time. As soon as they entered, Grim was stretching at the center of the colossal room with only his sword beside him. The four humans marveled at how his appearance had changed; the Granian before them was not the one they had seen a couple of hours ago. "Lord Grim," the three Granians bowed in respect and left. With the collar removed from Sky’s neck and the blood mutant blockers no longer in range, the four humans were free to transform and ambush Grim all at once. However, none of them dared to challenge him. "Is it me, or has he gotten bigger and taller than before?" Cherry asked, keeping a wide distance between herself and the Granian. "Could he have a symbiote too? That’s the only logical reason I’ve come up with," Jim wondered. "Please step forward." Grim spoke, his back still turned to the humans behind him. Despite the distance, they heard every word he said clearly. "Let us begin." Initially, none of the humans dared to move, except for Skyler, who moved forward out of fear. Seeing Grim’s increased size and hearing the suppressed anger in his voice made her believe he was going to attack her first. ’Stop it, stop it, stop it. Why are you moving?’ Sky berated herself in her thoughts. ’Why isn’t my body listening to me? Stop moving, Skyler. Do you want to die?’ "Can’t let her go in alone," Jim sighed, his body rapidly transforming, unaware that Skyler wasn’t moving because of bravery but because of fear. "Come on, you two, let’s go." "We don’t even know what training he has in store for us," Cherry replied. "What if that damn alien makes us do some freaky bullshi—" Ace and Cherry froze as they felt the air suddenly thicken. Standing behind them was Lord Grim, who had somehow closed the distance between him and the mutants. ’How... how did he move that fast?’ "You should learn to obey orders given to you, human," he said to Cherry while slowly wrapping his tail around her neck. "I understand you have issues with mood swings. Keep those away from training and the battlefield." Grim released Cherry and returned to his original position. With one more command, the humans approached Grim steadily, as neither wanted to experience what Cherry had just gone through. "I understand you have questions, but I’ll ask you to keep them to yourselves for now," the humans, standing next to Grim, listened as he looked at each one with a serious gaze. "You three are part of our Biological Warrior Program. My kind and I have traveled to many planets, testing and experimenting to find species compatible with the blood gene. We failed miserably until my ancestors landed on your planet and discovered humans. Your humanoid shape was no surprise; there are over a billion species shaped like you. However, they experimented with two people and succeeded." "Unfortunately, the first two humans that were transformed joined the Ethisians and waged war against us." "So you want us to dispose of them?" Ace asked, showing interest. "Did they become too powerful for you to handle?" "Like you," Grim answered, "We subjected the humans to intense training. We managed to keep them in check, but they were persuaded by the Ethisians and waged war on us. You three haven’t been chosen to handle those two. You’ve been selected to help us get rid of the Ethisians." "Why?" Cherry asked. "Can’t you handle it yourselves?" Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵 "We could if we weren’t smaller and weaker than them," Grim answered. "Besides, the blood mutants they have with them will hinder our plans. Do not interrupt and listen well," Grim raised his finger, sensing that Cherry was about to ask another question. "The Ethisians will come to Earth and enslave all of mankind. Sooner or later, the blood mutants they have will grow old and weak, which means the Ethisians will come to Earth, turn many into blood mutants, and force their way to conquer different universe sectors." "What stopped you from turning all of us into that?" Jim asked. "If you fear that the Ethisians will enslave the rest of our kind, why didn’t you do it?" "Not all humans can become blood mutants. We’ve experimented on over ten thousand humans; only one hundred were compatible, but you three are the only survivors. The rest killed themselves or died due to shock. Also, I understand that you think we’re wrong for what we did. Please understand that we had your best interests at heart." "BEST INTERESTS!!" Skyler and Cherry argued. "You gassed the whole planet, enslaved us, and made life back on Earth dangerous. How was that in our best interests?" "The end result was stronger beasts which could be used for research and weapon making, stronger humans with Gifted abilities, advanced technology, and more. Your kind will be able to take care of themselves... but not against the Ethisians." "All of this is confusing," Ace said softly, with his eyes closed. "Let me try and summarize it. You abducted and turned us into blood mutants because there’s another race out there that you theorize will come to Earth, create more blood mutants, and conquer the universe?" "Precisely, but that is only the tip of the iceberg, as your kind says," Grim concluded, as the environment shifted to a dry, flat, rocky red plain with mountain ranges surrounding them. The sky turned a bright pink, with a red sun shining down. "Welcome to one of our colonies. This will be the first place where we will land. Currently, the real colony is infested with Ethisian warriors. For your training, you three will face a real Ethisian controlled by me." The ground beneath their feet shifted, pushing the three humans back, and Skyler was held by Grim. Meanwhile, two black pods fell behind Grim, and two massive creatures emerged. Unlike the Granians with lizard-like faces, human figures, and long tails, the two standing behind Grim had flat, rocky faces with bone structures on their foreheads. Their bodies were almost human-like; their toes resembled elephants’ and their muscular hands were lined with thick, tough scales. "These are what Ethisians look like. Find a way to kill them before they hurt you," Grim shouted to Ace, Cherry, and Jim. "You will remain behind. This isn’t your fight." "Works for me," Skyler answered, watching the large creatures approach the blood mutants. "Their scales are obviously too thick and hard to break," Jim analyzed. "We’ll have to find a way to break their defenses somehow. If we rush in with all the blood we have, we’ll run out before the fight even starts." "You’re right," Ace muttered, his hands in his pockets. "I doubt any of us can make our blood hard enough to cut deep. We’ll need to work together to bring them down." "Now I see why these Granians are afraid of the Ethisians," Cherry said, wide-eyed, as she watched the Ethisians approach. "I’m getting afraid too. Let’s get stronger and keep these blasted things from heading to Earth." [Hold your ground against the Ethisian clones before you. Ten experience points will be granted for every successful hit.]