(PS: This is not an info dump chapter. It is merely to clear up certain mysteries of the Apocrypha that some may find confusing as well as answer certain questions that have been pending in the story for a while now. This chapter does not cover all the details of every Apocrypha which means that there will still be a few mysteries remaining to keep the story going.)
*****
"I'll tell you all you need to know about the Apocrypha."
These were the bargaining words of Anastasia who was pleading for her life. Her words intriguing Layla like a child to a lollipop. Information about the weaknesses of the Apocrypha could be of great value.
"You're willing to give out information on your own kind?" inquired Elio.
"Yes... I know who you all are. Zane and Layla at least... If you two survive then all of humanity survives. I'm willing to help humanity!"
Zane pondered before he spoke, "Why though? How does helping humanity benefit you? Won't this only put you up as a traitor amongst your own kind?"
"Yes... but even so I know humans have emotions. They feel pain and sorrow just like us... Cultivating them like cattle is cruel in my eyes. I hate seeing pain and suffering amongst any species..."
Ashley stepped forward ready to defend her claims; "She helped me survive! All my family got taken and when I was supposed to be killed she stepped in and saved me... I believe in her and I'm willing to bet my life that she's friendly too."
Layla snickered, "Fine then, tell us everything you know about the Apocrypha, but first release Nick from his hypnosis."
"Okay, but promise me you won't allow him to attack me once I do..." pleaded Anastasia in a brittle tone.
Serenity walked over to Nick and removed the pair of scissors from his grasp. She made sure to hold onto his arm tightly just in case he went in attack mode the moment he was released. "I've got it, don't worry."
Anastasia carefully got herself up; ensuring them she wasn't trying to be hostile. She moved over to Nick and placed her hand on top of his head. Nick gasped for air as he awoke from his hypnosis. Serenity held him tightly making sure he didn't try to attack;
"Nick! It's okay! Don't attack!"
"Damn... my head feels like it was in a freezer... I don't think I could attack even if I wanted to..."
Layla turned around and placed herself back into the drivers seat. "I'll drive while you speak. I don't want your kind to ambush us while we're off-guard." she cursed spitefully.
Zane gave Anastasia and Ashley a kind-hearted smile as he too went back into the passenger's seat. Elio, Nick and Serenity all did the same easing themselves on the uncomfortable seating's in the back.
"Okay, you can start." prompted Layla as she drove off.
Anastasia took a deep breath as she prepared to leak every bit of information she had.
"I'll leak information rank by rank. First off you should know about the selections. The selections are basically a method of selecting Apocrypha to join the hunt or harvest if you must. They do this by selecting the most suitable candidates from our home world. Candidates are chosen due to skill, intellect or even if that Apocrypha has committed a crime. This hunt is a game to my species but it's a hunt where one can very much lose their life. So as much as it is deemed fun, it is also deemed as punishment. Younglings and adult Apocrypha alike are all chosen once they suit the criteria. If the King and Queen instructs you to join the hunt, then you have no choice but to follow orders or else you die."
"That's harsh... even children of the Apocrypha are forced into this..?" appalled Zane.
"Don't fill us with that nonsense. I couldn't care less about the Apocrypha society. What I want to know is about the ranking of Apocrypha and their different weaknesses." demanded Layla.
Anastasia blasted an Apology instantly, "Right! I'm sorry... Okay then I'll start off with Rank 1. Rank 1 Apocrypha are ordered not to kill humans under any circumstances. They are the lowest and least intelligent of our species. Any and all humans they capture must be sent back to our mothership to be consumed by the royal family."
"Okay what about the Rank 2 and the Chimeras?" inquired Nick.
"All Rank 2 are ordered to bring at least one Chimera dog along with them. They are slightly more intelligent than Rank 1 and are able to speak any human language. They can kill and feast on humans by their own discretion. As for the Chimera's, there are honestly many types. Chimera's are like the cousins of Apocrypha. They work alongside us evolving every few years. Their ranks are slightly different from our own. The Chimera dogs for example are considered to be rank 2 despite them being the lowest and weakest types of chimera. Rank 1 does not exist with them."
Zane jumped in shock as he digested her words, "Wait?? You're telling me the dogs are the weakest among the Chimeras?? I saw those things take on a full grown black bear and mountain lion and almost whopped their butt!"
Anastasia sighed, "I know it's hard to believe but it's true. To be frank, Chimera's are like a more aggressive version of Apocrypha. They bare much more agile movements and bodies that are built for ripping apart their prey."
"Okay, enough about the Rank 2. Move on." commanded Layla.
"Right... Next we have Rank 3. They are extremely deadly and smart. They aren't released from the mothership unless given permission. The same varies for Rank 4 and 5. You see, the higher the rank goes, the more that Apocrypha has evolved and the more restriction is placed upon them to preserve their precious lives. An Apocrypha evolves by eating the brain of a smart species. Once we do this, the Apocrypha body begins to mature and we are able to access higher abilities. The Rank 3 are the first step into this evolutionary chain. They can access the memories of the human brain they consume as well as take their forms once they have tasted their blood. It's like a more advanced version of camouflage that some animals on Earth use like the chameleon."
Nick placed his hand to his chin as if thinking about something. He met the eyes of Anastasia as the thought of Almarie assaulted him. "What about the Chimera of this Rank? Almarie was taken by some winged humanoid creatures."
"First of all, it's not humanoid. Humans are Apacranoid. You were designed to look more or less similar to our species. Secondly, Chimera vary in many forms. The one's you describe are rank 3 chimera. That's basically the second lowest ranking chimera. That entire system however changes once you get to ranks 4 and 5. High ranking Chimera are deadly and come in many different forms. Even if I were to sit here all night and tell you about every type of Chimera, we would still need more time. There are just that many. I can at least tell you that the Chimera's of the upper ranks all have special abilities just like us Apocrypha, but once again I can not explain due to the length."
"Well, I'm certain to have nightmares when I go back to sleep..." muttered Serenity.
Layla gave a short sigh as she let the first bits of information seep in. It was more or less all that she had already known, just with a bit more detail.
"Okay, move on to the Rank 4." she prompted.
"Greek mythology begins to seep in once you touch Rank 4 and 5. Rank 4 Apocrypha are all based off the Greek God Hypnos. We feed off the fear a human radiates. The more fear we draw from you, the more in control of your body we'll be when we catch you in our hypnosis. We increase the fear in your hearts by taking the form of demons and monsters all humans secretly fear. The forms are not limited but my preferred form is a singing demon, and as you should already know, we can also take the form of a regular human being just like the Rank 3."
"Wait, one question. You said the more fear we develop in out hearts, the more in control of us you will be? Does that mean we can overpower your hypnosis if we have little to no fear in our hearts?" Asked Layla intrigued.
"Yes, that's correct. If a human being can limit the fear in their hearts, then they can break the hypnosis of an Apocrypha."
Zane sighed as if he had lost hope. Even though it was a good thing, he didn't see himself not being afraid of the Apocrypha. Who could blame him? They looked deadly and wanted to turn him into a meal. If that wasn't enough to scare him then he might as well be as emotionless as a dead person.
"What about the Rank 5? You didn't really explain that one to me..." asked Ashley.
Anastasia paused as a look of discontent flooded her face. The tone of her voice became shallow as she began to speak; "I'm sorry but I don't know much about the Rank 5..."
Layla wrinkled her eyebrows as she stared at her through the rearview mirror. "What? You're a Rank 4 yet you don't know anything about the Rank 5? That's bullshit. You have to be lying."
"No! I swear it on my life! It's a rare sight to ever see one... They are extremely sneaky and have abilities that even us Rank 4 couldn't even dare to fathom. Even the Rank 5 Chimera are rarely seen. The fact that you met upon Lord Apollo was just raw luck. Good or bad, that's for you to decide, but believe me when I say all Rank 5, whether Apocrypha or Chimera are extremely rare. They are like higher beings and are only released under special circumstances. Their intelligence is out of this world..."
The group went silent as they allowed that part to seep in. Rank 5 Apocrypha had no intel on them. Just how dangerous could they be? And what would they do if they encountered one that intended to kill them?
"Fine, I'll believe that for now. Anyways what are your weaknesses? I already know you're all afraid of sunlight but what else is there to it?"
Anastasia looked up at Layla with a confused expression across her face, "Sunlight? We're not afraid of sunlight. Who told you that?"
The group froze in confusion. They were almost sure the Apocrypha reacted negatively whenever it came on to sunlight.
"We've seen the Apocrypha react to sunlight in a negative way. I've even seen Rank 1 Apocrypha dressed in full white suits protecting themselves from its rays in the day." proclaimed Layla.
"I think you all have it wrong. It's not sunlight that we fear, it's temperature."
A moment of shock zoomed through the ambulance. Layla in particular began thinking about it deeply. Her mind flashed back to the day they met Apollo and the time when they stopped the snow back in New York.
"Wait! Temperature..? What range??"
"Any temperature under zero degrees Celsius or thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit will slowly destroy our bodies. Same goes for temperatures over eight degrees Celsius or forty-six degrees Fahrenheit. We can bare it for a short time but the pain is so intolerable most of us just avoid it. It's one of the few flaws of our bodies not being able to adapt to temperatures even with our technology."
No one could believe their ears. This information was of great importance. They finally had some deep intel about the Apocrypha and their weakness.
"Is there a way to counter it?" inquired Zane.
"Well sort of... Rank 1 and 2 wear suits inflated with warm air perfectly suited for their bodies. As for ranks 3 to 5; we can take on human or monster forms which helps to combat the harsh feeling. This raises our heat resistance to around twenty degrees Celsius or sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above that will however scorch us to death. The base temperature of zero degrees is however not affected by our transformations."
A smile made itself known across Layla's face as she thought of the numerous situations she could take advantage of with this new information.
"Lets say I take a block of ice and implant it into the stomach of an Apocrypha. What would happen then?"
"That Apocrypha would dissolve. Even the head would completely dissipate."
"Are there any other weaknesses that we should know about? I mean the temperature knowledge is cool and all but that won't be applicable to every situation." Implied Nick.
"Well, I should say that the higher the rank, the higher the temperature resistance, but there is one main thing you should take into account."
"What's that?" inquired Zane.
"Our heads. It's more delicate than you think. The tentacle like hairs that float above our heads are extremely fragile. The tentacles are like an extra attachment to our brains. They pick up stimulus from the environment around us. We smell, taste, see and hear with them. It contains four of the five senses that humans possess. Just grabbing onto a tentacle can paralyze us."
"Then why not wear something like an helmet to protect your heads?" asked Ashley in worry.
"We've tried but it's extremely uncomfortable. It's like having your senses numbed which is really unpleasant. Some Apocrypha bare with it but it's not recommended. Studies among us have shown than wearing a protective helm can cause neuron damage over an extended period. It's the one flaw of our bodies. Most Rank 3 to 5 Apocrypha usually just take human or monster form which hides the tentacles inside our heads. We can even wear protective gear that way."
Nick released a short whistle showing his enthusiasm. They had learned some valuable points about the Apocrypha that they didn't even know about.
"This is awesome honestly! I never knew the Apocrypha had such critical weaknesses. We can take this to our advantage!" squealed Layla in excitement.
Ashley and Anastasia took a deep breath of relief.
"Does that mean we're off the hook..?"
"Certainly for me" exclaimed Zane.
Nick and Serenity nodded in agreement to Zane's remark. Layla however was not ready to accept them so easily;
"Well for now you're off the hook. First off, we haven't confirmed if what you say is true. Secondly, you're still an Apocrypha of the same kind that killed my father. I can't simply put that behind me."
"Okay... that's fairly understandable..." accepted Anastasia. She slowly turned her head to Elio who had been deafeningly quiet this entire time. His sinister smile still not removed from his face as he looked at her.
"What about you Elio..?" inquired Ashley in a soft and careful tone.
Elio chuckled, "Sure, this is an interesting turn of events. I'll accept you two."
Nothing more was said pertaining to the topic. They drove off into the night towards their next encounter.