[Grim's Ship: Main Control Room]
As soon as the Elites were deployed, Grim, Huntress, Murdock, and the rest of the Granians on his ship watched the different available cameras in awe and amazement. They witnessed how the Elites effortlessly slaughtered their enemies, facing no challenges whatsoever. It was a custom among the Granians to watch their own species engage in death-defying battles against other species, always emerging victorious. They took pride in the strength of the Elites and wondered how much easier their battles would have been with more of them. Nonetheless, they were satisfied with the results they were seeing.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Grim said to Huntress, who was squatting on the floor. "The sheer wildness in them reminds me of your first time."
"Please, Lord Grim," Huntress struggled to speak. "When shall we move out to fight? I cannot contain myself any longer. I might end up hurting these humans behind us." She pointed her tail towards Jason, Hurt, General Luke, Michelle, and Zain. "Please... let me have my time."
"Patience, Huntress," Grim responded with a hint of agitation in his voice. "I told you we shall not leave until we see the boy before us. He is our main objective. I will not let you waste your energy on these simple humans. Let the Elites flush him out, and then you'll have your chance."
"V-very... very well," she replied, remaining on the ground. The Granians continued watching the fight as their human captives whispered among themselves.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Michelle asked, forgetting that the other humans, like her, did not understand the Granians' language. She was confused as to why they were just standing there, seemingly waiting for someone to appear.
"I have no idea," Zain replied, his head hung low. "But if I'm correct, they're talking about Ace, just like we were not so long ago."
"We need to find a way to escape, guys," Michelle urged, but no one seemed to be paying attention. "Come on, if we try hard enough, we might be able to remove these power blockers."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Hurt asked, glaring angrily at Michelle. Her overly cheerful attitude was starting to grate on his nerves, as it did with the others. "Do you think we have the strength to break these chains and remove these collars? We don't even know what kind of metal they're made of. What if it's something more indestructible than what we have here?"
"I... I don't feel... so good!" Jason weakly whispered as his body fell to the floor. Grim and the other Granians glanced back at him but quickly returned their attention to the ongoing fight.
"There has to be a way," Michelle said, tears welling up in her eyes. The thought of not surviving to see another day weighed heavily on her, fuelling her desperation to escape.
"I... I think there's something wrong with Jason," General Luke declared, pointing at the black veins spreading around Jason's head. Jason's mouth foamed with a greenish-white substance, and his body thrashed about like a fish out of water.
"HEY!" Michelle screamed, finally catching the attention of her captors. "HE'S NOT DOING WELL. HELP HIM!"
Grim's sharp, piercing eyes locked onto Michelle, silencing her immediately. His frown transformed into a smile as he approached Jason. With his tail, he felt the boy's body and smiled inwardly.
"Your friend is starting to transform," Grim said, using a translator. "Soon, he will become just as formidable as those big boys out there, and none of you will be able to stop him."
"What did you do to him?" Michelle barked with anger, attempting to strike Grim. However, the chains restraining her prevented her from reaching him. The Granian looked at her with pity and knocked her to the floor with a powerful swish of his tail.
"Sit down and be quiet. You'll get your turn soon if that's what you're crying about." Grim returned to his previous task while Michelle remained on the ground, her head pounding. Those around her felt a mix of shame for her outburst and surprise that the kind, gentle girl from earlier had transformed into an angry and desperate figure fighting for survival.
"Is she alright?" Zain asked.
"She's been knocked out. She won't be getting up for a while," Zain replied. Meanwhile, General Luke had his eyes fixed on something else. Like the Granians, he too was focused on the screen, wondering if there would be any help for him and the students he was with.
"Hang on!" he finally exclaimed, capturing the attention of Zain and Hurt, the only other two awake students. "Look over there. There's a girl with orange hair... and she..."
"It's... it's Ace," Michelle, regaining some consciousness but still in great pain, spoke. "He's behind... the girl... look!" The girl on the screen seemed to be creating some kind of projectile in her hands and then threw it at the top of the ship.
As soon as the projectile struck, the other Granians started to worry and panic, but Grim remained calm. "They've come out," he said, observing Ace and Cherry standing side by side. "I knew this would work out. Prepare the second fleet. Instruct them to capture those two without causing severe harm."
"Yes, Lord Grim!"
The captured humans watched as the cameras shifted from Ace and focused on another room in the ship. The area was massive and filled with hundreds of Granians, lined up and preparing for battle. This sight unnerved the humans, who wondered how Ace and the girl with orange hair would survive.
"Wake up, Jason," Grim spoke without using his translator. Jason's convulsions ceased, and his body grew larger. His muscles burst through his clothing, leaving him completely naked. His arms broke free from the chains binding him, and the collar around his neck snapped, enabling him to use his lightning ability.
"Since you failed to complete your objective, you'll have to compensate for it. Bring me your friend, alive. Bring the girl as well."
"I thought we were going?" Huntress asked, but Grim completely ignored her.
"Do you understand?" he asked, and Jason, now nearly as big as the Elites, nodded in response. "Very good. Go now. It's time to play."