I did not know how many days had passed since I was caged inside that crystal room.
Occasionally, they did allow me to take showers and used the restroom, but with supervision.
In order to conduct a series of tests, they fed me with high protein meals.
It was so that I could produce my Aegis crystals at its peak. Also, I doubted I could survive without them.
But on that particular day, only Alicia, Miranda, and the little girl were present.
"Hmm, I still need to check if her body is really compatible with the new Aegis." Alicia skimmed through a bunch of documents.
Her lab coat covered the dark blue military uniform underneath. "There could be an interference from the first Aegis inside her."
Miranda was standing a few meters away from me, and so did the little girl.
"How long will this take, Alicia?" asked Miranda.
The little girl still wore her intricate golden design red dress. She brushed a few strands of her dark hair at the back of her ear while staring at me.
Until that day, I still had not heard her name being called. Despite everything that happened, she looked comfortable to be in the crystal room. I even wondered if she was sane anymore, given how okay she was with all that. Even so, she was one of Alicia's test subjects. That kind of change of personality was not unexpected, to say the least.
My straggly black hair shadowed the scowl on my face.
Ever since Alicia stepped into the room, I had always watched her. Thinking of when the time would come for me to choke the life out of her.
Either way, my mind would be at ease just from having a chance to strike at both of them. Like when I had hurt Alicia back at Grand Amina.
Alicia looked at Miranda. "I just need to make sure if Ava can form two different kinds of Aegis crystals at once. As for her secondary specialty, that will have to wait. It's not like a User just knew how to draw out his or her Aegis's specialty right off the bat."
"I agree. I accidentally used my Aegis specialty back then too. When fighting against the soldiers of Russia," said Miranda. She looked up as if to reminiscence those times she had spoken of.
"Her blood needs to be examined thoroughly after this. We can't waste time figuring out her specialty. It could be something useful," muttered Alicia as she read the documents in her hand again. Her grin stirred up my hatred towards that woman.
"I heard her first Aegis can talk? Like, why? That's the most boring Aegis I've ever encountered," said Miranda. She attempted a quick look at me but brushed off that idea.
I was wondering why I hated her too.
Perhaps it was just me. After all, I hated everything.
I watched as Alicia pulled out that metal cube from her lab coat's pocket. It was the object that could be used to control me by utilizing my second Aegis. "You think so too, Miranda? I guess it serves her right. That's what she gets for not being unable to fully control her Aegis."
The little girl stared at Alicia hopefully from her spot. Her turquoise eyes appeared to be glittering of some sort.
"Oh, but you're different, Aya. At your age, you already can utilize your Aegis easily." Alicia rubbed Aya's head affectionately. "You're the most talented test subject I've ever had."
Aya giggled. "Thank you, Mommy."
Seeing Alicia being so nice to the kid made me want to vomit. I darted my eyes away from them. Just seeing those two acted like so triggered some of my unwanted memories.
The memories of the time I had spent with Alicia and Bart. Those were happy times indeed, but it was built out of a sheer sense of curiosity. They wanted to know my power better. And they lied just to obtain more knowledge about it.
Alicia held the metal cube controller in her palm.
"I command you, Ava, to form your Aegis crystals," shouted Alicia.
The familiar jolt shot up from inside my body and specks of deep blue appeared from my arms. I was surprised.
Instead of the crimson crystals that I had accustomed to, my eyes were greeted with that dark blue crystals instead.
Alicia frowned. "Wait, why isn't the crimson crystals popped up?" She shouted the same command as before but the result remained the same. The deep blue crystals piled up each time at my arms.
"Perhaps you gave the wrong command?" answered Miranda.
"No, it couldn't be." Alicia gave it some thought and stared at me again. "I command you, Ava, to form two different types of Aegis crystals."
I did not feel that jolt when she said that. Supposedly, the commands issued would only work if it was something I could do on my own.
My Aegis still did not talk to me. And I doubt it was resting.
"Huh. This is strange." Alicia turned her back towards me and looked into her documents.
"Kid. I want to ask you something," said Miranda as she approached me.
I kept silent.
"I'm sure you've met Hughes, right? The flame Aegis User? What happened to him?" asked Miranda. Her purple eyes glinted a bit, anticipating for a good reply.
Of course, I would not give her that.
"I killed him," I said simply.
Her shocked face made me grin somehow. "What do you mean?! You..."
"I said I killed him. He attacked me back then in Yellowknife. So, I killed him."
Miranda glared at me, unable to mutter any more words.
Ignoring her, I thought about the controller Alicia had. If somehow, I could take it away from her, or even better, destroy it, then there would be no one to control me.
I could do my own thing after that.
Then, there was my second Aegis. The drug that they had injected inside my body somewhat suppressed my control over Aegis for the past few days. And then, the new Aegis crystals just formed from my arms. Perhaps the effect of the drug had vanished.
The sight of my white shirt was the same every now and then, tattered and stained with blood.
"Maybe I can..." I tried to focus on the new Aegis, narrowing my inner wish for it to produce more of that deep blue crystals.
"What are you doing? I can sense it from here," said Aya with her gleaming turquoise eyes.
"Nothing... You may want to stay back a little bit," I said.
"Oh."
Aya moved over to the left side of the room.
Miranda was watching me closely, unaware of what I was about to do.
When my red irises flaring up, five sharp tendrils of blue shot through the air and destroyed the metal chains connected to my shackles.
I was free.
"That kid!" Miranda lifted her palms at me and charcoal-colored crystals went at my direction. Fortunately, it was too slow. As if she had not used her Aegis in a long time. Her crystals struck the floor as I dodged it fairly easy.
I could make a run for it.
The pathway's entrance was no longer blocked by the clump of green crystals.
I could make it.
My legs ran as fast as it could towards the open pathway. I was about to reach it when a gigantic paw crashed in front of me. Instinctively, I looked behind my shoulder to see the one involved.
The little girl, Aya, was the one responsible. The gigantic paw was connected to her left arm as she stared at me with her turquoise eyes in confusion.
"Where are you going? Mommy hasn't finished yet," said Aya. Her Aegis crystals were the color of red blood. At a glance, it almost resembled mine.
Alicia chuckled. "Oh, come one, Ava. You have to try better than that. I left it open just for you after all."
She baited me. How expected of her. I shot a sidelong glance at the red blood paw. 'Could I break it?' I thought. No, that was not possible. An Aegis crystal was very hard. But I have the ability to use the new Aegis. Perhaps a quick attempt would do the trick.
I formed a long blade from my right palm, and again, it bore the color of deep blue. Similar to a lapis lazuli.
"Are you sure, Ava?" asked Alicia jokingly.
I ignored that woman as I slashed the paw with all my might.
CRACK!
A huge gap opened up at the paw, but it was not enough. Just one more slash and I would be able to escape. Definitely.
"Mommy hasn't finished with you yet. Please, stay," said Aya when a spray of red powder burst out of the gap that I made and surrounded me. It entered my nose and mouth and I coughed. It had a very strong smell of blood to it.
"What..." My head felt dizzy to the point I fell face first. I could not move. My eyes were heavy. So heavy that if I even tried to blink, a long, deep sleep would certainly hit me.
My ears heard approaching footsteps.
"Well, I didn't think we need to experiment with her anymore. I just need her blood sample," said Alicia. "Good job, Aya."
"Thank you, Mommy." Her face brightened with a beaming smile.
'How can she be so happy after all that she had gone through?' I thought. There must be a trick that she used. Or it was all an act. Like how Bart and Alicia had done.
Still, Aya reminded me of myself long ago.
An ordinary little girl with a seemingly bright future, before it all, had crumbled in just a blink of an eye.
I needed to sleep. So I closed my eyes, a huge weight was lifted from me. And for that alone, I was grateful.